Creative Financing You Never Knew Was Possible
The fintech world has exploded but don't forget, the people looking for capital and answers as just that: people. Benji Nunn, CEO of CreditHub, recognizes that and so we get into the details of getting your brand financed. You might think you have cash flow problems but maybe you've got too much cash. Say whaaatt??? Yup, I said it. Tune in for more.
View Video Podcast Here.
Michael Maher 00:00
Welcome to The Longer Game, everybody. I'm your host, Michael Maher and we talk about retail, reimagine. What does that mean? It means we are looking into the future of retail, it's changed drastically in the past couple of years, the pandemic has accelerated that change, seeing almost 10 years worth of growth in quarter two of 2020. It's a year and a half later, things are still different or continue to look different. So we're gonna get into it with our guests. Benjie Nunn, none other than. Oh, man, I'm sure like a ton of people have done that. I need to maybe go back and edit that. But Benjie Nunn, you are the CEO, founder of Credit Hub. Am I correct in saying that?
Benjie Nunn 00:40
That is my original title. I definitely spend more time in operations than a CEO probably should.
Michael Maher 00:49
Well, I remember when we talked, you're a doer like me. So you started out doing development. And that's kind of where your heart your passion is, like, I started out doing advertising. Really, that was kind of my Milia on Amazon. So you'd like to get your hands dirty in the work.
Benjie Nunn 01:06
100% 100%. But I think,
Michael Maher 01:09
You look clean, you look fresh, but you like to get your hands dirty. You know.
Benjie Nunn 01:13
I really do. I really do. I like to I like I said, I spend more time with our clients. And I think that's where that's where my passion lies. That's where I think my views come from, you know, in business because I learned from them. You know,
Michael Maher 01:31
You're very relationship-based like myself. We had the great fortune of meeting in person this year in, can't believe it was April, right? Was it April, or what? No, it was, it was a June. I don't remember now. I feel like it was April.
Benjie Nunn 01:45
It was definitely the summer. I feel like we were definitely on a summer vibe. Okay, do I, do I, do kind of distinctly that remember that a little bit?
Michael Maher 01:53
So maybe it was June but okay. Okay. So we met in Atlanta, at Allianz and we met there at the business and bourbon event. The first one that run out did Ron Richards a business in bourbon? Ron Richards LLC, as the man the myth, the legend, he, he had his first event for his podcast business and bourbon back in Atlanta, his hometown. And you and I were standing next to each other. I remember, there was a bottle of bourbon that was raffled off. I think apparently you were upset about that.
Benjie Nunn 02:25
*inaudible* upset? I think I've missed part of it. But I was happy that it leaked because I think you were the proud recipient of it. So,
Michael Maher 02:33
What, no, no, no. So, so I also commiserated with you because I, there was a drawing for who came in the furthest. And I flew in from Cincinnati, so that was like, you know, an hour. It's like a probably an eight hour drive. Well, there's another gentleman who flew in from DC. He wasn't there when they called the ticket, though. So there was another bottle that got one I had it in my hands for probably about 20 minutes. And he said, How did you when he came up to me and said, How did you win that? I made the stupid mistake of telling the truth and saying I was the furthest away and he said, Wait, no, I, from I'm from DC. And so we looked up on our phones. And he's like, Hey, I was further that's my bottle. And I was like, You know what, you enjoy this bourbon. I have plenty of bourbons at home, and I'll get drunk by myself.
Benjie Nunn 03:19
*inaudible* I got a call infusion because I really thought you want.
Michael Maher 03:24
Yeah, so um, so anyway, but we do both like bourbon. We both have had the opportunity. The next day, you are gracious enough to open up your schedule. And we went and got some drinks and some dinner and you were the, having dinner with you was the second time I've ever had an oyster in my life. I'm 35, I think the first one I had was like when I was 32 is in Denver of all places. One, I had one. So I had second, third, fourth, fifth 6789 10 I had like, you know, 12 or 20. With you and you show me a different way to eat them. And so started with an oyster revolution.
Benjie Nunn 04:01
I heard right. And who knew, right? And I thought it was gonna be just just just super simple because as much as I love the oyster, I wanted to share with you the bourbon because we both missed out on that right?
Michael Maher 04:12
Yeah. So we were sharing that and you there was a great old fashion that was there.
Benjie Nunn 04:18
Exactly.
Michael Maher 04:19
And they had salted ranomite, is that oh no, they had salted cherries.
Benjie Nunn 04:23
Salted chocolate ice *inaudible*. Exactly was inside.
Michael Maher 04:27
And that's unique. I mean, I've never seen that before.
Benjie Nunn 04:29
I think they lit it on fire and smoky before they brought it out later. Yeah. So I want you to see that experience too. I only saw it a handful of times when I travel. And I thought that was super cool.
Michael Maher 04:42
I thought when I left that dinner, we, I went to the closest liquor store because I knew being in Cincinnati and being so close to the heart of bourbon country. It can be difficult to get products because everybody's turned on a bourbon so they know it's good. They know what is good. There are people that are trading how half bottles of you know William LaRue Weller Elmer T Lee all that kind of stuff. I mean I'm a big buffalo trees fan. Anyway, but basically anything that's hard to find Buffalo Trace people are trading other you know other brands like a Kentucky owl etc. I had the pleasure of having the Kentucky owl ride with a buddy of mine recently very opposite of angels NBRI but equally as good and the angel’s envy is very very sweet syrupy like smells like maple syrup. And this other rise is more spicy.
Benjie Nunn 05:33
I think that's what does for me is the smells right? Yeah. Yeah,
Michael Maher 05:36
I mean, I people say it's like 150 Smells 115% of taste or something like that. So, pretty important.
Benjie Nunn 05:46
I don't think *inaudible*
Michael Maher 05:46
But I went to the liquor store closest by and saw a beautiful wall of blends. Green Label Red Label, Weller, William Blue Weller. Some, some. I think there was wild turkey stuff that was rare. There was Elmer T. Lee. I mean, there was just incredible bottles. And I went to take a picture of it just because I was so excited. And the woman behind the counter was like, oh, you can't take a pic, you can take a picture. And I was like, okay, so I showed her I deleted it, which I did. And I was looking and it said point system or something. And it was like you have to show every time you shop there, you get a single point. And just to go there, it was like 50 points to be able to purchase the bottom and the prices were good. But that meant you meant you had spent 50 transactions there. I would just go every day and buy a little bottle of fireball. Get my 50 points come back and be like boom, I want the armor to lead. Boom, I want I don't know if it's like 50 points a bottle, but that would Ryoji. But I didn't take any home. So I was disappointed. *inaudible* I hope you enjoy Atlanta, though, you know, hope you go *inaudible* I had a great time, honestly you made my experience better. And right after I left the liquor store, I went to the dirtiest bathroom have ever been to my life, like pee all over the floor. And some of the most insane things written on the wall that I took pictures of and sent to my wife. I was like, Babe, you gotta check this out. Look at what people writing on the bathroom stall.
Benjie Nunn 07:17
That's the best part is just sharing it with your partner, right? Just yeah, not believe what I saw. He would not believe what they said.
Michael Maher 07:24
You had great hospitality. And you made me feel welcome. And part of the reason why I wanted to have you on the podcast because you bring a really unique viewpoint, a unique lens. On retail, we talk about all things retail, but you are the inventor, founder mastermind behind credit hub, which is a really unique lending platform. So tell people a little bit more about that. And, and, and then it will be interesting to get your perspective on what's changed in retail, in the past, you know, five years, even the past year with the pandemic, because I'm sure that as sales change lending patterns change, so tell people about what credit hub is. I mean, they can go to credithub.com, and and check it out. Is that right?
Benjie Nunn 08:12
Yeah, yeah, credit hub access. And that's where we, we developed this hub, really to differentiate the, the person and the company right?
Michael Maher 08:25
credithubaccess.com
Benjie Nunn 08:27
Yeah, credithubaccess.com. The platform sits in kind of a SAS FinTech world where we we blend finance and technology, I like to call it high tech and high touch. Right? Um, I like that. Alright, so
Michael Maher 08:42
that was a technology so that you can be a better steward of the human-to-human contact.
Benjie Nunn 08:47
100% I think that's all about meeting kind of the human where they actually are right? We know business has changed tremendously throughout the, you know, the, some of the largest companies weren't around 10 years ago, and so forth, and so on. Right. So it's a lot of changes and being able to be nimble is one of those things where we wanted to focus on the entrepreneur, we know that entrepreneur may or may not have or had in the past credit challenges. They may be looking for program that they don't even know the name of right, but they know they need a particular solution for their industry. And anyway,
Michael Maher 09:26
I'm an entrepreneur that has had credit problems in the past. So I'm one of your ideal clients, I had to work through some stuff just you know, made some mistakes, credit cards or loans. Anybody out there if you're using a credit card as a loan, you're doing it wrong. And, and I had to I had to, you know, had some issues with my credit that was bad for a while and ran my business 100% cash, which was that was very interesting time but you know, made it work. God provided and I'm all good now. So, but yeah, I mean, you've you you're the heart of who you're working with is entrepreneur. It's not necessarily, I mean, I'm sure you would lend to anyone, but it's not necessarily big businesses. It's the entrepreneurs. Am I right? Well, you'd be surprised. And okay. Because you know, when you think about small business, right, what does that cap around 10 million, right? Maybe five, five to 10 million. So we still consider ourselves a small business lending solution, right? And in that regard, but yes, you'd be surprised. On to what extent that may lend itself right. Pun intended. Because for us, Very well done.
Benjie Nunn 10:34
I like to, I guess, I guess to take it all the way back without making it super long winded. You know, you have traditional lending, you have alternative lending. And if you've ever been in to your, you know, your your local bank, you may love your local bank for certain products, right. You may love it for your home mortgage, but you may not necessarily want to build your business and your platform based on their lending and opportunities. Right.
Michael Maher 10:59
Okay. Yeah. And I think a local bank, unless it's a, unless it's, you know, a smaller bank that really is, is doing maybe more custom stuff for you, you're gonna get a lot of blockage, I think.
Benjie Nunn 11:13
And some may even feel the same way. When you talk about a larger bank. Right, you could argue both ends of that I do that often, depending on what you're trying to accomplish. But I think,
Michael Maher 11:21
That a large man could also do something custom. Is that what you're saying? Well, just
Benjie Nunn 11:24
Well, just that the every bank isn't lending all the time, and every bank doesn't necessarily love your industry. Right. Okay.
Michael Maher 11:30
Yeah. You know, it's like, you and I, are I have a niche. I mean, I'm going across multiple categories, but we're focusing on Amazon, that totally makes sense that a bank would be hyper-specialized. I think a lot of I even think of a bank as just being a bank. But as I experience more, and you know, even in this conversation, I'm like, Yeah, okay, that makes sense that someone would, would specialize in that.
Benjie Nunn 11:52
Right. And I think that's where we deliver the first you know, value, right? You may not know where you need to go. But based on your industry, there are certain lenders that are designed for you. Right? And,
Michael Maher 12:05
Can you give us an example? So we would know.
Benjie Nunn 12:07
Sure yeah, we can look at, um, we can look at, you know, real estate, just because that's kind of where I've been dabbling in recently, we have a commercial real estate division. And within that division, you'll, you'll see that kind of based on trends, real estate investor may not necessarily always be able to go through traditional means of seeking capital for their investments, right? Because it's a risk, right? You got to think when every time you bring in an investor, at some point, that investor now needs to be liquid, you know, you need to get get liquid so that you can pay that investor back. So it's all tied into the investment. You know, some banks on they say, want to get into real estate business. So where does that investor go? Where does he or she seek funds on a routine basis to grow? Because what I'm learning is that it's the cost of opportunity, right? So the fastest companies grow, and sometimes faster than they can even make or create cash flow, right. And that's sometimes a great problem to have. But it depends on what was your initial strategy in the beginning,
Michael Maher 13:09
Where the biggest issues we see brands on Amazon facing. And this is not a flex at all, it's just the truth, we can get you growth. And I think a lot of people could get you growth now. How good a return are you getting on advertising? Are your products really ranking higher, organically, all that stuff? You know that the devils in the details, I mean, I hope the devils know Villar nowhere near me, but I heard he's in the details, and what, but when it comes to, you know, creating growth, you can, you can increase sales. But there's a cost that's associated with that. And so you need capital, that even if you create high demand for your product, let's say you have 100 units, and you sell out of those 100 units in a month, and you have them for six months. What's your lead time, if your lead times two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, you're off, by the time you're to two weeks in, if you have a three week cycle, by the time you're two weeks in the month, and you've sold 50 units, you're already going to run out. So you and you do have the capital to not just purchase 100 more units. But notice, okay, our demand is six times faster. So we need to order 600 units for six months. That is a huge problem. So we can get you growth and a lot of a lot of service providers or freelancers can get somebody growth through strategic marketing or advertising, but got to have the capital come to come behind that to be able to purchase inventory. That's where someone like credit hub access comes into play.
Benjie Nunn 14:37
100% 100%. And, and I know, depending on where they are in that equation, right, maybe they're brand new, and they're trying to acquire their first piece of inventory, or, you know, they're in a scenario where they have purchase orders and now they're, you know, floating, right so some of the terminology is kind of using right?
Michael Maher 14:56
They're doing like net 90 net nets *inaudible*
Benjie Nunn 14:59
The larger the firm you're dealing with the longer-term they want. Right?
Michael Maher 15:02
I heard someone had net 121 Time for someone that that was paying them for service. And I was like, No, my kids, my kid can eat off net 120 I'm not, I'm not messing with that
Benjie Nunn 15:14
100%. And so on scenarios like that you can take those purchase orders, you can take those invoices, and we have factoring for that there's financing design just for that. And it doesn't even always have to look like a loan or be based on their personal or business credit scores, right? Because it's based on the, the inventory is based on the value of that order. Right. And in a lot of cases, they'll do up to 95%. So you're not you're not even having to float as much as you know, you may have to pay the premium at the end. But now you got a chance to recoup your cash, actually purchase more product, because you know, product is going to be king in this scenario, right? Especially with shipping being what it will be for a while.
Michael Maher 15:55
She didn't talk about that. Why do you say that? I mean, I I have I understand what you're saying, but tell our guests who may not be so educated on what's happening from shipping out their brand, they're likely already seeing this. But,
Benjie Nunn 16:08
Yeah, it's a lot happening. You'd be surprised how much of America is a marketplace. And it's based on a lot of moving parts. And a lot of these moving parts aren't based here. And a lot of that traffic isn't necessarily translated and is actually now translating more into costs, right? Because the longer something sits on, sits in the water, right, if you will, for an analogy, say, and they can't get on to land, then that has an expiration dates, right, some of the stuff can go bad. And that creates a whole nother set of costs, or it may cost them more just to deliver because now you have that whole supply and demand chain being interrupted, right? That's a big problem. And it's not necessarily gonna, it may take longer than most people think, for it to resize, to fit to have a full resolution. And so plotting and planning for that, and building a brand for that and building a moat around that as more and more important now than it has been because now your clients may have to wait on this product.
Michael Maher 17:11
Okay, we keep it real on the show. Your microphone is just scratching a little bit on your your, I mean, you look awesome. It's just scratching a bit on your tie. So,
Benjie Nunn 17:21
Okay, yep.
Michael Maher 17:21
Just okay. But hey, look, we're still live people, won't, we're not actually recording. But that's an that's a big issue. It's a big issue. Because if your product is on the water, where is ,where are the salaries for the people that you're paying? Where's the money for your overheads? Where's that? Where's that at? It's sitting on the water.
Benjie Nunn 17:42
Right? Your, your staff isn't going to wait on that they're not going to understand they don't have as much passion is, as you did.
Michael Maher 17:48
As you do about your business.
Benjie Nunn 17:51
So well, it's really just, unfortunately, having a plan for the inevitable, you know, unforeseen, right. And that's one of the things that I like to or we like to work with our clients on right above just offering that initial bandaid or that, you know, hopefully permanent solution to solve that problem. But we know that that's an ongoing thing. So we have clients that we consult on a long term basis, if you will, right? Because it's one thing to, well, it's one thing all in itself to be able to qualify for the program that you want. So that's all in itself a thing.
Michael Maher 18:24
Sure.
Benjie Nunn 18:24
Once you qualify for the program, how do you debt service it? How do you maneuver yourself out of that program? How do you get back to profitability, and those become, those become the challenges that you want to that you want to see happen and see and see follow through because you realize that your company can operate on less than what you probably are, are, are accustomed to utilizing, but you either A. may not have as much capital as you believe you need, or sometimes I've encountered companies that had maybe too much of an injection of capital and needed to streamline that a little backwards, right? Because,
Michael Maher 19:00
Talk about that because that's people are, I think, are often saying, you know, we got cash flow issues, we've got all these problems, and I think it's probably less of what people think. And it's just how you're strategically set up for your business. A good example would be CEO, who's, you know, paying themselves $25,000 a month. And they're like, man, we got cashflow issues, the next pay person is five grand a month. And they're like, Well, we're just not profitable. The markets, you know, it's markets messed up and it's like, no, you're paying yourself a lot of money. I'm not saying you're not worth it, but if you want to be profitable, then you might want to, you know, keep some of that money in the business. So I think it's how people frame things how they look at it. So I think the I think even the people that are like we've got cashflow problems, maybe it's not cashflow problems, maybe it's something else. But talk about getting too much capital now how that could hurt a brand.
Benjie Nunn 19:55
Sure, how well having, you know what, I'll give you an analogy. Have you ever met or or knew the kid or maybe were the kid right that had the brand in? This is like Little League stuff, right? I don't know if you ever play Little League?
Michael Maher 20:13
I did. I played one season. And I have a great picture of me. Looking, you're talking about baseball? Yeah, I was. I was looking into the sun crying. And they're like, open up your eyes. And I've got these blue eyes that are super sensitive. The sun. I'm like I am I've got my eyes open. And I'm like crying. That's like, several. Okay, but yeah, good memory.
Benjie Nunn 20:35
You're totally gonna get this. So just imagine right? You got the brand new cleats you hadn't broken in yet? Right? You got the brand new glove. You haven't had a chance to split test it yet. And you got the brand new uniform. You got the brand new. You got brand new everything. Right?
Michael Maher 20:50
By the way, I love that you have analogies. I'm an analogy freak. So *inaudible*
Benjie Nunn 20:53
Right? You haven't played the game yet, right? Yeah. Okay. All right. And you haven't played the game yet. But you are so well equipped to play the game that I think mostly
Michael Maher 21:04
Supposably.
Benjie Nunn 21:04
supposably. Right. Having that false level of confidence. For me, when I first got out in the field. I took a bad hit. Right? And needed I really get it together and actually didn't need the extra cushioning, needed less cushioning so that I knew what it felt like, right?
Michael Maher 21:22
Ah, there we go. So we're talking about perception as well.
Benjie Nunn 21:26
Mm hmm. So it's all about that sometimes. Where are you may think it's a cash infusion that you need. But yeah, you're right. It may just mean that how lean can we operate? And remember, when you were operating lean, right? What were you able to accomplish then? Because yeah, it's great to have a big budget. But if you don't know where it's going, or if you can't quantify the KPIs on when it comes back, then then you're really in trouble because now you don't know why it's not working.
Michael Maher 21:53
Because you know, you're putting it just in the wrong places to.
Benjie Nunn 21:57
100% and what you'll learn is that even if you have access to capital which you when you the way you should seek out capitals when you don't need it, most people don't, it's contrary to what most people think. Right? *inaudible*
Michael Maher 22:08
Go playing that a little bit more because yeah, that sounds interesting.
Benjie Nunn 22:12
Right? Um, you want to seek out capital when you look the best?
Michael Maher 22:17
Ah, yes.
Benjie Nunn 22:19
All right. And,
Michael Maher 22:21
You look the best today you win that.
Benjie Nunn 22:23
Hey, I was trying to, I was trying to impress you on your show. .
Michael Maher 22:27
Hey, it worked. All I got is this, this print shirt on that I got for my birthday? Which I think it will do I think I told him *inaudible*
Benjie Nunn 22:34
'Cause he got it more than anybody. Yeah, yeah. Brand,
Michael Maher 22:39
Alter, yet someone in his house that was altering his clothes for him. See, he had it. But I mean, when you're 411 and you're in heels all the time, you probably have to have someone custom make stuff for you. Or you gonna shop in the the the junior boys section.
Benjie Nunn 22:54
You definitely probably have your own style for sure. You have to.
Michael Maher 22:58
I've actually thought about could I, could I start doing custom alterations? Could I start you know, looking a little bit different 'cause I mean, I got beach shorts on and a prince t-shirt. I like, I liked, I like dressing. Sometimes outlandishly with like, the crazy prints and the patterns, I had had this shirt that my wife got for me, specifically to go to Key West. And I mean, it was bright floor. I'll send it to you after this. I think you'll appreciate it. And it was my key west shirt. And I think a couple, I sent it to a couple people and they teased me. And I was like, Hey, man, I'm just, I'm just leaning into it right now.
Benjie Nunn 23:34
Not I'm actually, I will say I don't, maybe I don't know, maybe 10 years ago got into custom fits. I will say that, if you haven't experienced that you should is definitely was worthwhile. You know, but yeah, come from where I come from, you know, that was, that was unheard of. So the minute I heard, I wanted to at least explore that, you know?
Michael Maher 23:59
Sure. But I mean, honestly, you look the night of the business and burn vent event that we were both at. You look sharp, and it showed and I think that stuff. Again, we're talking about perception here. But that was the first time I had worn a suit in a really long time. And I just dropped a bunch of weight. So I was able to get a better suit. I felt better about myself. And it was a good-looking suit. And the thing is, it wasn't a name brand, but it looked good on me. So who cares? It was a, it was from the Benjie Nunn collection. You know, maybe you can get your own line as suits, man. But yeah, I think when you, when you put out the perception of, you know, of confidence, and like you said, you could have too much confidence. You could be overly confident in your skillset. But if you show up and you're dressed to play
Benjie Nunn 24:50
The least get at bat, right? Yeah, you want that at bat as often as possible, you know, and as many times as you can get it and obviously you want to perfect that as often as possible to but that that even comes into play, you know, when we talk about retail and products, right? I swear, I love products, right? I wish I worked with more product companies, a lot of the companies I work with on a regular basis are more service-driven.
Michael Maher 25:14
And we're gonna we're gonna take some of our clients and they're going to work with you. Because, you know, one of the things we're doing is trying to grow my agency cartology is trying to grow, and we want to be able to provide different services to our clients to help them grow their business overall. So we partnered with credit hub access, and help people or credit hub, I'm sorry, credit hub access, is that the URL? Right?
Benjie Nunn 25:35
Right.
Michael Maher 25:36
But we partner with you, because we, we believe in what you're providing. But we want, we want to be able to provide solutions. So anyway, you want to work with more product companies. I interrupt you.
Benjie Nunn 25:46
Yeah. More. More. It is, it's interesting, right? Because I hear you talk a lot about brand right and and how that's going to be the new evolution to the retail experience. And of course, it's almost like when you buy a car you see the car everywhere you go now so it's like everywhere I go now. Yeah, those things like, man, it is so true. So I've just been I've been putting my ears to the ground just kind of paying attention as maphack is in preparation for meeting with you. I just kind of been diving in, kind of did even some case studies with some of my old clients because I have some FBA Amazon class, I have some guys that even did the pallets, right, they kind of bought on pallets and, and started their arbitrage that way. And I remember talking to him early on and and how they were able to do it, and we had some solutions for them. And we were able to help them accomplish that initial seed capital. Right? I find myself either I either meet the client or the customer at the very, very beginning. Right, from a startup standpoint, or after the first hurdle. Right.
Michael Maher 26:48
Okay, yeah.
Benjie Nunn 26:49
You know, kind of meet in the middle.
Michael Maher 26:51
It's kind of like, oh, we do need help they really *inaudible*
Benjie Nunn 26:55
Had a little life, I've had, I've already bumped my head there. They told me no, there. And yeah, usually takes that for them to want to, you know, look at some different options, right? Because, yeah, you think, you know, one way I'm gonna go to the bank, and they'll make it happen for me, when you realize,
Michael Maher 27:13
There's so many ways to skin a cat, I apologize to anyone who's a cat lover. But there's a lot of different ways to get things accomplished. And sometimes, I mean, not sometimes, but I believe always the tough experiences and things we go through, we could get real deep. I think even someone that has survived, you know, domestic abuse, there's, there's purpose in that, it's not that you deserve that, but the world is is a crazy place. And so bad things happen. But in that is your story, you can tell that and you can help enable other people to stand up for themselves and prevent that from happening or to happen in the future. And I believe it's, it's because of those experiences, not in spite of, but because of those experiences where you bump your head, or if you're like myself, made really bad decisions with money. I've been a lot smarter with money on this, you know, when I was first selling product, and I was any, you know, ecommerce as a as a, as a brand as a reseller made some really bad decisions. And I run my business a lot differently now. And I'm in a much better place, been able to pay myself more got cash in the bank, able to pay my team more and profitable and looking at things in the right perspective. And if I hadn't experienced those bumps in the head, I don't think I would be where I am now. And so, you know, if you are learning, if you're in the midst of learning something right now you're in an incredible place, because you have an opportunity to change your mindset, and then go into it saying, okay, so this is not the way it's going to get done. But what is the way that it's going to get done?
Benjie Nunn 28:49
100% 100% I couldn't have said it better.
Michael Maher 28:54
I bet you could have.
Benjie Nunn 28:55
Yeah, you got it. I mean, for me, I think it's also to just to add any layer to that is it's there's something to be said about those 10,000 hours if you've ever heard that analogy, right? Yeah. How long have you been in the game, if you will, your cost of entry can be whatever it is, right? But once you pay that cost for entry, you know you obviously want to minimize that cost as much as possible with experience or previous endeavors or learning curve from a mentor however that may behoove that person but yeah, you're after you're in the game is something to be said about just staying in right. A lot of companies have done well just by staying in long enough to find out what their competitive advantage ended up becoming right. They thought it was,
Michael Maher 29:43
Not everybody comes out saying Oh, I know that we're gonna do you say, Hey, I'm gonna be a lender to people or I'm gonna help brands grow and take but what is *inaudible*
Benjie Nunn 29:51
I thought I was just gonna call my friend and family, man.
Michael Maher 29:55
Okay, yeah. *inaudible*
Benjie Nunn 29:58
Yeah, I just knew that the information that I would get from platforms that when my personal credit didn't know that I was a business owner, I knew that I wanted to be a business owner.
Michael Maher 30:07
Okay, yeah.
Benjie Nunn 30:08
Strategies that it would take for me to buy a home, it's not the same strategy I would take to buy a business. It's completely different rules. And you know, and I don't, there wasn't at least I couldn't find a platform that knew what I my goal. And I think that's what I was looking to build, build something that I actually wanted write something to kind of bridge that gap, but it created that separation, so that you could be self-employed, right, and have a family and, you know, and be independent, because I think as much as somebody may want to be, I don't know, Jeff Bezos, I think most entrepreneurs want just the freedom, you know, they want the freedom human, you know, maybe not always the lifestyle business. But definitely the freedom, right?
Michael Maher 30:52
I think freedom is, is what makes the lifestyle better, I can tell you this, I know I could make more money. If I just went and worked at a bigger brand, or I worked in an agency and help build out an Amazon service, I know I can make more money right now, I don't know that my quality of life would be the same, I don't know that I would have the time with my family that I want to have. And then I can prioritize, I don't know that I'd be able to impact my team in the same way that I am right now. Because of the freedom of how I choose to run my business, how we impact clients, there's all this stuff, that's trade-offs. But I know that, you know, in the long run, I also believe that there's going to be the capability to earn more money in the company overall, as opposed to just getting a high salary and maybe cashing out or, you know, getting bonuses and stuff like that. There's a lot more to come. And I wanted, I wanted to, I wanted to be able to have that. So I think you're absolutely right, and you hit the nail on the head when you said, you know, you created a solution for something that wasn't there. I mean, that's the that is the entrepreneurial dream. That's how things start. It's like, This thing doesn't work. We need to create something for that. And, and you see a gap in the market. You get out there and like you said, I think that's great. You sell you're out there long enough from a product standpoint, you're out there long enough realizing, okay, we started the business for this reason, but we're still in it because of XY and Z. Like the reason I started as an entrepreneur, being an entrepreneur, I hated my job, and I wanted to get the hell out. And the reason I'm still an entrepreneur is because I can be impactful. And I enjoy the freedom. It wasn't that I didn't want to work in the beginning. It was just I didn't like what I was doing. And I thought okay, well, I'll just start doing some my own because I know that I am capable to put in work even if I don't know exactly what I'm doing so,
Benjie Nunn 32:41
Well 100%.
Michael Maher 32:43
I love talking to you man, you are so fun. We need to grab, we need to grab a drink again. I'm sure I'll be back down in Atlanta, because I have friends and no family. But I've got friends there. And I mean, I've got you so.
Benjie Nunn 32:57
Oh, no way. I'll be up there too. You know, I am round fourth quarter I kind of, kind of hunker down a little bit and kind of have my summer. Right. But yeah,
Michael Maher 33:08
That was, is that more summertime for you?
Benjie Nunn 33:10
Yeah. Early, early in the quarter. Right? Because it's interesting, man, third and fourth quarter. Getting ready for black Friday's getting, you know, like this is I mean, I would love to get out of town. Don't get me wrong, but this is probably where all the pivoting is happening.
Michael Maher 33:28
Okay. So that is actually your busy season.
Benjie Nunn 33:30
Oh my gosh, yes. You know, most some people fiscals are at the end of the year. Some people change their fiscals too, but depending on what the strategy is. But yeah, no third or fourth quarter. Yeah, no, that is our that's our busy time.
Michael Maher 33:43
Benji, if people want to find you, where are they going to look? Are they going to look at the Oyster shack? Are they going to look at the bar with the nice old fashions? Where are they? Where are they going to find you?
Benjie Nunn 33:52
I try to make sure we're everywhere. But YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, all credit hub. And let's see here. Facebook, as I mentioned Facebook. Yeah, so many platforms credit hub access.com. I'm working on a personal brand. So you know, I'll probably be out there pretty soon.
Michael Maher 34:18
Let me be your number, I'm gonna be your first follower. Your personal brand. Tell me.
Benjie Nunn 34:23
I hear that's what we're supposed to do today. So,
Michael Maher 34:25
I had a friend who was on a podcast and they said, Where can we find you? He's like, Well, I'm on Facebook and Instagram, but I never get on there. But I do walk the streets of Cincinnati because I work downtown. And so I walk the streets of you. You can just find me on the streets and I was like, Bo he said you can find me in the streets but he actually means it because he's literally walking the streets not as a prostitute.
Benjie Nunn 34:48
Right? No, but it's applicable. It's like walking,
Michael Maher 34:53
the streets of Atlanta.
Benjie Nunn 34:56
You can absolutely come by the office though.
Michael Maher 34:59
I think that sounds much more appropriate. Well thanks for coming on people if you want to find Benjie, credithubaccess.com, check out the platform especially if you're a brand owner and you are looking to get capital for you know your busy season whether that's Black Friday Cyber Monday something that's applicable for you know Amazon it could be prime day if you're on Amazon. It could be if you're in the health and fitness industry January, February, March and August are typically your busy season so get credited up get hubbed up. I'm going to, I'm going to come up with something different get credit hubbed up.
Benjie Nunn 35:38
Ya know, hey, you know what, can we loop that? I'm gonna use it.
Michael Maher 35:42
Okay, let's do I mean, I don't know if we're gonna get in trouble for singing that but *sings*. Yeah, I feel like we need to get the ying yang twins in on this too. Remember the Whisper song?
Benjie Nunn 35:58
I do remember the Whisper song. I don't know if it'll go. What are you gonna say? I don't, I don't know. *inaudible*
Michael Maher 36:03
Yeah, it might not be so great. It's not gonna be a friendly, family-friendly platform anymore. But people check out Benjie, he's a great guy. He's building a personal brand. He's a sharp dresser. He is a wonderful gentleman. I'm happy to know him. And appreciate coming on the show. If you guys want to find out more about the longer game go to thelongergame.com And that's the show man. We don't, we don't we just keep it real. I mean, that's it. I don't have anything else for you. So bye bye.
