From Friendship to Profit: The BizBros Story
Episode Notes
Luis & Fonzi Camejo have spent the the last seven years developing strategies and techniques for turning content into profit. Their expertise lies in helping businesses achieve the elusive Frictionless Sale through effective messaging and consistent content creation. With a proven track record of working with top-tier clients like Redbull, Orangetheory, Chet Homes International and F45 Fitness, they know what it takes to turn content into profit. They specialize in transforming long-form content into easily digestible, cash-generating assets that maximize impact and drive business growth. Join them on their journey to uncover the secrets and frameworks that will help your business succeed.
1. Coffee serendipity and community
2. Soccer scholarships and Dad's advice
3. Pitch slap and how to ask for time on Linkedin
4. Covid and rebuilding business, all the pivots!
5. Finding the right business and how to divide their roles
6. The cookie analogy and bringing value to customers
6. Live podcast for better conservation of time
7. Delegating for your zone of genius and outsourcing
8. Seeing opportunity and becoming more creative by letting go of tasks
9. Taking initiative and uncovering opportunities, optimizing your time on what you love for efficiency and for joy
10. Mother-in-law saves the day to help Luis spend more time on his business and with his family
11. Struggling and trying to make everything works sometimes makes it feel like nothing works
Holly Shannon's new Youtube Channel, Subscribe here!
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Transcript
Holly Shannon 0:00
Coffee Culture is brewed for connection under the guise of coffee. We've been meeting in cafes for centuries. Today is no different. Coffee Culture, the podcast explores the meetup. If you are a coffee enthusiast, maybe seeking Modern Love on a coffee date, we'll want some health hacks. We'll dig into that too. I'm Holly Shannon. Come wrap your hands around a hot cup of connection with me on coffee culture. Hello, coffee culture family. Today, I am with a very special guest. He's one half of biz bros. His name is Luis cometo. And I probably didn't even pronounce it correctly. I'll let him say it right. But I am going to let him do a bit of an introduction because he has a very special energy about him. And we're going to hear about his origin story and how he got to be biz bros. But Hello the way so I'm gonna let you do a little intro. How are ya?
Luis Camejo 1:04
Hey, Holly, how are you? I'm Thank you for having me. You're amazing platform. And yeah, absolutely. So I'm Louise, the better half of the base rows, for those of you wondering. So this was just really me on my brother. That was like the first business that we started about seven years ago, it has evolved quite a bit. So that's the name. There's a story behind the name, we can get into that later. But currently, what we do is we have a podcasting and content agency. And we also have an amazing show called content is profit, which Holly will be guest. And we're gonna learn all about her. But yeah, we've been involved in media for a bunch of years now. And yeah, this is what we do, which is create platforms and have fun in front of cameras. That's the that's the fast version of it.
Holly Shannon 1:48
Thank you so
Luis Camejo 1:49
that you love coffee? I do is you do? Yes. Do you drink?
Holly Shannon 1:56
Well, I'm trying to be good and only have two cups a day to be honest. Because there's only so much I can handle but yeah, it's the quality for me. Like I want a really good cup of coffee. And if I start drinking one that sucks. I don't even finish it.
Luis Camejo 2:12
Okay, okay. So in Venezuela is there's a big coffee culture. Coffee is really good. And I remember the morning smell of coffee is my childhoods like smell because I will wake up i My mom, we'll have a cup of coffee with her every single day. And it was crazy. And we have an episode called Coffee, serendipity. And it was like how we build relationships in the coffee shop that we work off in the mornings. We are there before they open they just have a cup of coffee for me on my roller, which it's insane. And, and he's been amazing. We've met incredible entrepreneurs and people that just for some reason get there as an independent shop. And it's been awesome. So
Holly Shannon 2:51
we so your first coffee was with your grandmother is am I
Luis Camejo 2:55
would know my first coffee ever. Like I will not drink coffee like I'm was here in the States during college, because I was like, yeah, it was like finals week or something. I was like, Okay, I guess I'll do it. And I worked in Red Bull back in Venezuela. When I did two years of college there. My main job was with them in the marketing side. So energy drinks has always been a part of my life. In a sense, I was like, I'm getting my fix with my energy drink, but But what happened is we had an office space near downtown. Well, near like this, the shopping center in Jacksonville was like the very commercial space where we were shooting all these videos and whatnot. And we will just stay there like to have this like coffee machine. And it was like the best thing ever. But then, when we moved, I moved like to the suburbs a little bit away from that area. I build a studio inside of the house. And I'm like, well now I don't have a coffee machine like where I'm going to do on my brother found a coffee shop that's like three minutes away from my house. And we started going there just to like get worked on and you know, just see people, right? Like this was like at the end 12 of COVID. And we ended up meeting their manager, their assistant manager, their owners, my brother is now my brother's girlfriend's is the owner of is the daughter of the honor. So he's dating the daughter of the owner. And they just become like this extended family now, so we are there early. So I do my workout. And then I go straight there. And they open up around seven. I'm there six, and they have their coffee ready for us. And so it's been amazing. And we met incredible people that we worked with and incredible people that have building these amazing projects. All worked out of there. And it's just been like, well, we call it a coffee serendipity is because you know, you're sharing this cup of coffee or you're in this place where coffee is being exchanged. And you don't know who's sitting next to you and all of a sudden you start having this conversation and they're amazing. They have an amazing story. They're working on amazing things. Like just two days ago, we met the owner of the fitness studios that I was working on and she just like stopped by. And she's like, oh my god lose your hair. And I haven't seen her in two years. And turns out and now she's building this amazing community for women, where they're building 20 homes for homeless people. And you're like, what? And she was meeting in the coffee shop with the person that's helping them build all this. And then she's like, You guys need to meet and then connect it up. And you're like, wait, what? So coffee shops are this amazing space where, you know, you can meet people, you can build amazing relationships, and something good always comes out of it. So yeah, coffee has a special space for me.
Holly Shannon 5:38
So is this an entrepreneurial shop? It's not like a Starbucks. It's like a private, little cute coffee place.
Luis Camejo 5:47
Yeah. So they, they purchased this, like they started renting the space. And it was called twisted compass. And, and it was just one shop. And they hate Starbucks, like Starbucks is like to like, a block away. They have like these amazing, you know, coffee machine that was brought from Italy's like, 1000s of 1000s of dollars and the espresso machine, right, and it's like, professional level, and they've all trained and the braces are there. So it started there. And it was like very modern shop. They have like a back room where you can like relax and stuff. But unfortunately, there was not like the revenue that they were making was not the best. So what there's a group of four owners, one of them this found an opportunity with a franchise called parlor parlor doughnuts. So they're like, Yeah, are you familiar
Holly Shannon 6:34
with them? I feel like I've seen that before. Yeah,
Luis Camejo 6:36
it's like, it's like a Crona is like a croissant with like, done like it's, it's delicious. It's so good, but so bad, also the same time. But what they did is like they just rebranded that shop, but they kept the coffee section. So parlor does not have coffee. So what they do is they just kept the baristas and so they provide that coffee. And people come in, they come in for like a doughnut, but then they stay for the coffee, which is amazing. So what they're doing now now they got the license to all Jacksonville on all the air. So now they're opening shops that just opened the second one. And the whole concept is first coffee, and then the donut, which is amazing. And they've been doing really, really good. So yeah, we love them. And, again, extended family now that you know, we're in their house. And it all was born out of this coffee shop experience where that story. Yeah, so her name is Ray and David. They're like the managers and David is like a trained barista. He loves experiment. He was like the guy there at 5am. You know, you know, I don't know measuring the shot or what I have a term for it where it's like, he has to be right. So I will come and be like he'll he'll have like four espresso shots lined up and he's like, Hey, can you train with me? Which one tastes better? I'm like, I have no idea. Like, I have zero reference on what good coffee is. That's how bad I was right? Still, right? I just I just like the, you know, the Carmel latte. That's what I get. But when he knows like, he'll be like, Here, he gave me like, here's the Starbucks shot. And here's our shot. And I was like, Whoa, night and day, right? Like, this is like, you know, taste burnt what it is. Yeah, that's what he told me. So anyways, now I know. But But yeah, so that he might be the person to like, maybe experiment with it. So yeah, I can make a connection. If that's
Holly Shannon 8:23
an idea in my head. I just need the right little company that's like, oh my god, let's do it. But
Luis Camejo 8:30
yeah, well, part of our life project in a sense, my brother wants a coffee shop where he has a ton of books. Like I say he's a researcher, he reads a ton. So he just wants like a library mix with a coffee shop. And me I'm like, I love movies and superheroes and all that stuff. You see, like that side of the studio. That's all that. And it's like, where I can I put all my superhero paraphernalia before my wife keeps me out of the.
Holly Shannon 8:56
You know what? That's a really cool idea, though. What if you found a space because you're in Florida, that has a back lot to it. And you can drop a projector and have evening movies, where you feature those movies that you love to have and they'll serve like, you know, maybe decaf or some sort of bourbon with a little coffee in it or something like you change it like what what's presented. I don't know
Luis Camejo 9:29
that. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's in the books. It's it's part of the project but one step at a time we're in the media company grows at the moment and but yeah, easy, easy on the other sharp and he's like, he's on it. He's like, off I'll find your spot and but yeah, it's awesome. It's just like it's just brought so much joy to her to her life. And it's awesome. Yeah.
Holly Shannon 9:53
I love that. I love it. So, what I want to do is I want to go back to Around 2010. Because I understand that around the time that you came from Venezuela over to the US on, I believe a soccer scholarship, so maybe can I take you back in time and ask you to share that part?
Luis Camejo 10:13
Yeah, absolutely. And it's funny, we were in an event a couple years back, and we're sharing all these stories. And people were like, Wait, like, how old are you? And I was 30 at the time, and my life in the US start when I'm 21. And we have all these Venezuelan crazy stories that happen on this in the soccer world, right. But, but you know, when that ended, in a way, where we were looking for a new opportunity, right in, in the United States, and part of it is we, we've been training for years and years, so we professional soccer players, that was our dream. And I got the chance to play in Italy and play in Spain. And we went back to our home, which was Venezuelan, they were not a political situation was not the best, right. And for the dreams and the aspirations that we had, were like, well, maybe we have to go and find a different way to get those achieved. You know, we saw opportunities just being shut down, left and right, in our country, sadly, but, you know, that presented an opportunity. And we decided that we were going to record ourselves, playing some soccer and scoring some goals. And we created this real video, and we ended up sending it in a cold email to all the coaches on D one, D two, and D three, the United States. So we call the email every single coach with a pitch brilliant. And here's our video, here's the thing, and here are grades. And we use an academy to you know, do our SATs, and there's an English test called TOEFL. So we had all that ready and we emailed everybody and I was very lucky that I got two offers. One of them was in Florida and the guy that was kind of guiding us through the process he's like, Man, this is a D one school in Florida, you have to go and to me that meant nothing right? I had no idea what a D one school D two school meant. But I'm like, sounds good. I guess I have, you know, I have an aunt in Tampa, I guess I'll be able to go and see her but. And that's how really this adventure started. So, you know, that led to an amazing four years in college meeting my wife in college playing the sport I love in college. And then that started, you know, the thought process on building our own company on our own thing from those four years. So yeah, that was really the start of biz Bros. in a sense.
Holly Shannon 12:29
That's amazing. I love how inventive you guys were with your cold email and your video and everything. I feel like nowadays, people need to maybe think outside of the box, maybe even go old school again, on certain things. Because we're so inundated with social media and things happening that if you if you don't break out of the box, if you don't do something really incredibly different to get attention. It's really hard to get noticed. But so I love that you did that, by the way.
Luis Camejo 13:06
Oh, thank you. Yeah, I mean, I, I'm not gonna lie, I have to give credit to our data at the time, right? Like, he's a no excuse kind of guy. And you can get pretty defeated when you don't know the process. And you don't know how things work. And that can be very overwhelming. And he's like, let's just go straight to the source. Right? Let's just go was making the decision that coach, let's just find out who like what a milk and within this and we'll start doing it, you know, consistently every single day. And to this day, that's a lesson that that we take, right? Especially, you know, like you mentioned on social media that it can be very overwhelming. Just the fact that you open your phone and you're trying to you know, interact with your audience and you get distracted and an hour later, you're like, Wow, I'm still on my phone. What's happening? That's on like the consumer side, but also on the building the relationship side or the business side. Same thing like how are you unique, right? What how's your message unique? How's you? How are you different from from everybody else? And that has been a journey that has been really interesting in the last three years, especially with a podcast on how can we be ourselves, be comfortable with ourselves, and then sharing, you know, our message and just reach out. And that's how we connected over over in LinkedIn. You know, it was a message and we're like, wow, there's some synergies here. Let's connect, let's continue the conversation and maybe something's happened, right? And are we brave enough to actually go do that and there's amazing people that are doing it. There's also amazing people that just need that little nudge to start doing it.
Holly Shannon 14:35
Well, I I have a lot of respect for you for First of all, like listening to your father and understanding like that he might have some insight into this area that you didn't and you took his advice and it really did pay off and, and I will say to people I get hit up in my DMs on LinkedIn. all the time. And I always try to respond people, you know, and usually it's, I feel bad I kind of am letting people down because they're always asking for the chat, the virtual chat, you know, can we catch up by, you know, or I connect with them, and they immediately send me a pitch, which I call pitch slap, because they haven't gotten to know me. Yeah, there's like, there's no connection made, they've made no effort to, like, look at, you know, my content, maybe leave some comments and start to develop a relationship in, in engagement using what, what it's for. And so nine times out of 10, maybe even more than that. I say no, to people for that virtual chat. I don't really of the time, like I'm busy, I'm really super busy. And those virtual chats with strangers around the world can really fill up your time. And, and I did that during COVID, I was much more liberal in doing that. Because, yeah, you know, we were all trying to find a way to connect them. But I can't do it now. But there was something about your energy Luis, and there was something about your delivery, you've carried through, even from when you first did your applications for those D one schools, like you've carried through to certain piece of you in it that didn't feel as corporate, I can't quite explain it. And I'm not going to tell anybody what you did on my DM, because I don't want them to mimic it. Because it was that's why we're here. That's why we're here. And honestly, you, you might be one of two people, I actually took up on an interview for people who reached out to get to know me. So you're doing it right.
Luis Camejo 16:53
Awesome. Thank you. I'm honored. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Yeah. And I mean, if we if, you know, if you're on LinkedIn, you'll probably get those messages, right? For those that are listening every single day. Right? So same thing, it's like, okay, how can we create connection early in our journey with publishing, we understood the power of our relationship, right? And it's okay, like we've seen, we've developed relationships from two years ago, three years ago, that today, we continue to be connected. And there might be an opportunity, right, like, one of the my brother, one of the things that he says, is like, our ultimate goal is to just to make a ton of friends, right at the end of the day, that we really want to work or engage with the people that we enjoy being around. And at the beginning, we had such a negative experience trying to be somebody that we were not. And then we ended up working with people that we didn't really enjoy working with. And it was just a lot of drag a lot of friction. So we made that decision. We're like, okay, you know what, from this day on, we're just gonna be ourselves everywhere, on our DMS, in our social media outreach in our content in the things that we say. And I think that has been very empowering. It was very scary at the time, right? Because we don't really know what that looks like. But, you know, you start hearing feedback and things like what you just said, and it's amazing. So I really encourage everybody, right? Like, what what is that unique thing and just don't be scared to go put that message out there. And, you know, obviously, there's a tactical version of this and leverage of technology and how you can do these things. But at the end of the day, we separated this is us doing the DMS there's a reason sometimes I spent like, two months maybe I don't respond, but when I respond to be like, I am so so sorry. Like, it was literally me. I was busy with my four year old my one year old and I have not, I have no sleep. So anyways, but yeah, I'll present now, if you are down to chat, let's do it. But yeah, so thank you for recognizing that I really appreciate it.
Holly Shannon 18:44
Yes, he's not getting any sleep. But he he put a trampoline and last weekend. And so his kids are getting like nice and exhausted from from playing on there, and they're sleeping better. So he might have just figured out the trick for all new parents go get a trampoline. trampoline. Yeah. I love that. So, um, you know, I want to share with people what you're doing now. But you didn't start there. And you started with a screen printing business if I'm not mistaken. And because we've all iterated and innovated and shifted and pivoted for the past two years or so. It's not uncommon for any of us to have changed what we did I mean, I was doing you know, marketing and business strategy and working contracts and leading task force in the boutique industry in hospitality specifically. And then I was on the user experience side and built in content and started a podcast now. There are different you know, like we all had to do what we had to do in April 2020. So do you want to take us like a little bit on a journey so we could understand how you got from there to here? Yeah,
Luis Camejo 20:11
absolutely. I mean, I'll say what we do now. And then we'll go back and be like, wow, like, these guys are a little crazy. But so obviously, what we have now like our main platform is a podcast called contents profit. Like that's our that's our baby. We've been, we've done more than 420 episodes, we do them live three times a week. And it's just been an incredible journey of self discovery, building relationships, talking to people like Holly Right. And, you know, we've been very blessed that hotspot believed in so we're part of their network. And that has been like the the main thing, you know, that we've done over the last three years. And then on the back end, we do have a content production agency, right, that can look in many ways, but we help people publish consistently and an increased revenue. So that's like, the main core thing that we do, how we got there. Oh, boy. So it started, right. Like we graduated, I graduated in 2014. from college and, and had no idea really what I wanted to do. But I knew that I didn't want to go into a corporate job. For some reason, I saw a very negatively my friends at the time that were being graduated the CDM in this a lot of logistics and banking. And that's not the thing that really attracted me. I was always, you know, doing side gigs, or I was like, coordinating high ropes course and doing like active things. So I never really saw myself in that environment. So I was like, Okay, well, let's just get a job somewhere where I have time, and I have a resource of time to try to figure out this thing, right. And I was very lucky that my girlfriend at the time now wife was very supportive of me. And she's like, go do your thing. You know, you'll enjoy. So that led to screen printing, like you said, but we started with vinyl stickers. So we ended up buying this machine. And we started cutting vinyl in one of the extra rooms that we had. In our house. I had six roommates who was a seven bedroom. And it was a little bit of a crazy, crazy time in our lives. But we were having a blast. And we will literally cold call, like on a knock on the doors of these local businesses be like, Hey, do you want this $20 sticker. And, and that's how we started to build this local relationships that evolved into screen printing, we went to an event once where you actually needed to be a legit business to get in and prove that was a website. And we're laying this line to actually get into this into this event. And our website was not up. And we had a roommate at the time who was our partner here. And he was really tech savvy. So we noticed like the we had four people ahead of us about to go into the event. One gets denied because our the website was not up. And we're like, oh boy, we have the tickets with like, what's the thing missing? And we see my roommate and his phone just trying to figure out the website thing. And he got like a version of it up. And then as soon as we step in, he like shows it to the lady. I'm like, Okay, you're good. And then we went in, oh my god, that was a such an amazing experience. Because we were exposed to the industry on on those sites. It was an expo called surf Expo in Orlando. And we met up a bunch of manufacturers and people will go to ask a ton of questions learn a lot. So that's what we decided to do. And as we were building a relationship with small businesses and selling them a bunch of T shirts for events for five K's and these things, people started asking what else do you guys do? And my brother was tinkering with cameras at the time. And he's like, Well, we you know, we're doing these videos. And he showed him that like something that he did at home, he's like, could you do that for like our 5k or race or an event. And we're like, Sure, or, and so that's how content started, we will go to these events and start recording them, editing them and sending it back. And then we decided that the t shirt business was not our theme, because we have this machine in our garage in Florida 90 degree weather, you know, 80% humidity. So I was a studio manager, I was a fitness manager at the time. So we'll come from Mike my end of the day about 8pm. And then we will be screen printing T shirts till 2am 3am. And it was just a little hectic. So we decided that that's not the thing that we wanted. And we shifted, because we're developing a brand at the time with that. And we're like we're learning all these things. Well, I think we can help other businesses do it. And our tagline at the time was we were the anti marketing agency. And we were like, wait, what? And we were like, well, what's your marketing agency doing now? And they will tell us, right? And they'll be like, Well, my frustration is x. And we're like, awesome, we can help you solve that. And we will like literally go ahead and and figure out how to help them in that way. And this was like smaller businesses like gyms and chiropractors and dentists. And that part of it, we started building funnels, email campaigns and things to help them generate that revenue. And then on the back end, they were like, Oh, my gosh, but we need to create more content, we need to be in control of our message. How do we actually do that? So we started building these frameworks to help them record that and we will show up on their location will record the kind of content that they wanted to record and do it and that was really the start of it. And then COVID happened. And then when COVID happened, all these businesses closed. Within a week we lost about 85% of our sales and our monthly recurring revenue. Yes, it was really painful. I went into a crisis mode my brother almost law Got me twice in the face, he just talked, he told me go, we'll take a walk. I was like the spreadsheet guy. So when we came back, we're like, Well, what do we have? No, we have time right now, you know, we're not working on this project, we were freelancing at the time, we had no team. And we're like, you know, what I think is start for us to start the podcast and putting our voice out there and do these things. And keep in mind for like, a year now, we were publishing all Facebook Lives internally for us. And we were able to launch the show. And immediately right after we were able to develop one key relationship in the first 20 episodes, that led to a very big opportunity. And we're like, wow, this is a really cool way to find the people that you really want to work with. And do that. So after that experience, we're like, this is where we're doubling down. And things started to move forward. And, you know, three years later, here we are.
Holly Shannon 25:49
It's amazing. And, you know, I don't you know, I don't want to preach the power of podcasting, because not really what this particular show is about, um, you know, people can find that out from, from my book or somebody else's book. But, you know, I tell people all the time, you know, podcasting, if you have a strategy, the right strategy, you can fashion your show to be seen as a thought leader and get yourself on stages and make some really interesting relationships. You also could do a focus on bringing interviews in with businesses you want to partner with, you know, that you can be very strategic, you could use it as a sales funnel. So like, I think a lot of people don't realize how powerful the platform is. But we won't, we'll stop there on that, what I want to point out, and this is something that I learned from you. You stayed hyper local, when everything kind of went awry, and you lost all that business. And I think, you know, my show is a lot about connection, right? Like, why we meet up, we want to be with people, right? And people started meeting up and trying to find communities trying to find their tribe, whether it was on Facebook, or at their church with their mask on, or some sort of outdoor activity, like everybody joins for, like an outdoor yoga or something like that. We're always seeking connection. And during that time, and thereafter, more than ever, I believe. And I think what was so powerful, what you had shared with me, was how you really while you were building what you did, you really worked on the community side of it, like you recognize that you could help people even locally. And so I wanted to sort of lean in on that side of connection, because I think that's part of your sweet spot. And part of why people love you guys and and why you were able to slide into other people's inboxes so easily, because it's who you are, like you like you said, we're just going to have fun, like, we're just going to be genuine and who we are, you know how to connect Luis. So how do you tell me about that a little bit? Yeah, just drop that. There you go.
Luis Camejo 28:22
Yeah, absolutely. So I mean, initially, the hyperlocal thing was because we were dealing with physical locations. So as a studio manager at the time, I was very lucky that I was in a in a high end fitness studio. So a lot of the members were local business owners, right. So part of my job was to build that relationship with them when they were coming in and you know, sweating away all their worries. And I was able to just become friends with a lot of people, right? So we were always having this project on the side where people started asking questions and be like, Hey, by the way, like, this is something that my brother might be doing for somebody else, you should try it right. And then we started building this trust that we'll try, they'll get results. And when I come across, they'll come back. And I'm in a business way we saw opportunity there. But at the end of the day, it's like, how am I serving the person that I'm talking to? Like, how what value can I provide? And we have this analogy. I love is the cookie analogy. I don't know if we talked about this earlier, but it's like, if you have a kid, right, you know, you grab him right? Bring into the kitchen, right? And if you have some cookies, some you know cheap toys or whatever, like you know, Girl Scout cookies, you give that kid a cookie, right? And I'll use look at my son, my four year old as an example. So I'll grab Luke and be like, Hey, here's here's one cookie for you. And he'll be like, super excited, right? He'll be when we got that. Thank you so much. And they'll be like, Hey, here's another cookie, right? Two cookies. me like what? This is so good. And they'll be like, here's a third cookie, Ryan for him. That's very valuable. He'll, like grab him here, you know, salivate. He's like I'm gonna about to eat him and then be like, Oh, hold on. Let me grab one of those speakers. So I'll grab one cook and he'd be like, a little like confused but then he'll be like, I still have some I still have to cook it. So I'm still happy. All right, then what happens right in that situation where if I give him one cookie and be like, Oh, this is so exciting, here's your cookie. And then I'll be like, Oh, but wait, let me let me grab that cookie and then eat it, he won't be happy at all, he'll throw a fit. Right? So this analogy cookie is the same as when are we providing value to the people on the relationships that were having. So in that specific case, inside of the studio, what was happening is I was giving them tips and things that I thought that that will help them because it was helping other people that were similar, and they were going to execute it, and then they'll come back be like, what else? And we will give them something else. And they'll execute on that. What else right now that this gives me an ability or the permission to go for an ask and be like, Hey, by the way, like if this is helping, will you be open to a meeting with me and my brother about this thing? Right? And that led to so many opportunities, right? So he was like, a lot about like, cookie, cookie cookie? And then you know, and ask, right, so what is it? What is a cookie that you've given that person? And then we saw, we saw that we were getting a lot of traction and a lot of conversations. And at the time, we were trying to figure out what really we wanted to do, right? In a sense, like, what's intrinsic for us? What makes us feel good, what serves the client? So when we decided to do the jump full time for these rows and the agency, that was the same approach that we ended up doing, right, we're like, okay, how can we provide value. And then when we lost all that business, because of the situation that the country was in, right, a lot of businesses were like, it's just, we don't know what's gonna happen next three, four months. So you know, this, this thing, this paycheck that we're giving you guys, there's a lot of value conversation in there, right? We're like, this is not the right time to stop communicating with your community, right? Like this is when you have to double down. But even though when they were canceling, we'd send them with like, a framework and a recipe, like, here's how you can add value on your own time. And here's how you can leverage it. And that was incredible. Because when everything opened back up, they came back and be like, Hey, guys, we're ready to come back. And these kept us kind of engaging with those people. So again, more cookies, right? Like, when is an opportunity where I can give them a cookie full of value. And then that will give me permission, you know, to go and do an ask. So when we launched the show, that was the whole concept. We're like, Okay, we're gonna do interviews three times a week, right for us, is great, because we build and once I authority, relevancy, and trust, and again, we're talking podcasting. But this can be a video, this can be an Instagram Live, this could be like, any, like a one conversation, a connection, conversation. And then on that podcast, we're providing value, because the person that comes into it in their perspective, that is value to them, so then we'll refer them to somebody. And then after that, our ask is simply, hey, will you be open to learn a little bit more about what we do? And you'll be surprised, right? So it was behind that cookie concept that we built this amazing platform. And I encourage every single one that you mentioned earlier in your DMS, like, oh, my gosh, you know, all these people, the the pitch slap, right? It's like, right off the bat, it's like, they give you that cookie, and then they take it away real fast. So again, if we're going to talk hyperlocal, it's the same thing. It's like, what is something that I can provide that can help that person? Is it a connection, right? Is it information that is going to lead them and give them an awesome result? Is it just a really cool conversation with no sales pitch? Right, they there's so many ways that we can do this. And that's how we were able to build initially like our hyperlocal you know, Jacksonville community of the people that that we helped them serve. And that evolved quite a bit and that's how we replicated on the online world. And for us, our playground was Facebook initially. So which is the same framework? Same thing, it's like how much value can I actually provide? And the little people are very scared of like, oh my gosh, I'm just gonna tell them everything I'm like, Sure, why not? If it's going to help them right there's going to be an opportunity where you can also ask something back so that was a little bit hopefully I answer your question you did
Holly Shannon 33:45
I you know, the whole marketing side of me is which I think we talked about before is like is coming through right now. And so what I want to tell you is that I think it's Oreo cookies that let you do you know put like your logo or your name or something on the cookies where you could do biz Bros and I think you should send to all your clients a box of Oreo cookies for Christmas.
Luis Camejo 34:12
I will eat them all before isn't I'm addicted to Oreo cookies and if you put next to me avoid like that's it they'll be destroyed.
Holly Shannon 34:20
Ready? I'm so snooty about my cookies now because I live in a city where I have access to like all of these really great little entrepreneurial shops and making like these beautiful cookies like all different kinds. My favorite being Lavon although they they're a little bigger and now they're in a few cities but yeah, yeah, I I'm down for Oreo cookies too, though. You know, like something that takes you right back with us. Right? I
Luis Camejo 34:50
love it. Yeah. Oh, great idea. I ties on to the story so well. That's so cool.
Holly Shannon 34:59
Hey, coffee. lovers, I have two quick announcements. I am opening a YouTube channel at Holly Shannon. And I'm going to have all of coffee culture on there. So you can capture the little shorts for five minutes here and there. Or you can capture the full length interviews. Also, my book zero to podcast is on Amazon, and it's on my website. And it is the How To Guide to start your podcast really fast and get your voice and ideas on iTunes and Spotify like I did, makes a great holiday gift for you, perhaps a graduation present. Or maybe it's your New Year's resolution. Both links are in the show notes. And now back to our show coffee culture. So you and your brother have your your podcast together. So what are you on the community side? And he's on the tech? Like, where's the divide on there? Do you both do everything?
Luis Camejo 35:58
Yeah, good question. So at the beginning of like our journey, we're both doing everything at the same time together, right? It's like, we will jump on a call, we're both to be on the call, like we will go on a meeting, we both go in a meeting. And I remember through those relationships, we ended up going to a mastermind. And in the middle of like one of the speech, the speeches were like, we looked at each other like, we're, I don't think we're too smart right now. Like we're wasting so much time and, and, and expertise, right. He's very, he's very creative, right? He's the idea guy, he comes out, he loves to do research, he loves to like go in and deep dive into topics and all these things. Right. And he is great with people as well. But I think I lean more into that. Right? So I lean more into the conversations I lean more into building that relationship. I love the operational side. So on my side, you know, I will build the back end of admin side, like what is the product management tool that we're going to use? What is the process? What is the system, right? So at the time, we're trying to identify again, what was the market fit for what we were doing, but also has that relationship with him with my my work partner in a sense, and he's actually my real brother, right? We're trying to figure out like, what was a roll. And that took a couple years and a lot of tries, right? And we have these amazing conversations with intrapreneurs I'm I have a partner in crime, or they're married, and they're doing business with their, with their, with their spouse. And a lot of the questions is like, how are you guys working together? In a sense? So on the podcast specifically, you know, to your question, he like we decided, we just sat down one day and be like, what are all the tasks? What are all the things that we need to do to release this podcast, you know, from asking the person to come all the way to the end. So there's some times that we both do so often people is like, if he's if you see somebody that could be a really cool fit, he'll go and he'll have that conversation, and he will do it, but we both don't have to be there, right, that will multiply in time. And then I will trust 100% His judgment of the person that he's coming, just like he trusts my judgment, or the person that comes after that there's a series of of tasks that initially was like, oh, yeah, I'm free, I'll do it, or you're free, you do it, but now is very specific now is like, you know, from this time to this time is both production, there are certain steps and, you know, a change from where it was just me and him to now we do have a team. So now, what does the team deal with for some time? But yes, is I mean, if we're gonna get a specific at the time, we love to have control of on our show, our show is live. So there's little to no post production on the back end, except for the micro content. So we set it up that way. Because when we identify those tasks, we're like, well, we cannot spend a whole hour editing this podcast, because we have other things to do. And we want to make sure so that became kind of like the brand. And we structure it in a way where we when we do the interview, and you experience this, where everything is laid out already. So when all he has to do is just grab the files and put them in the computer, maybe do some clipping in here and there. But it's very, very efficient. So I encourage people like in the things that you're doing right now in your relationship with your partner, whatever have you done first, like a time audit, have you done? Like the have you taken the time to just label all the tasks for a specific project that you might be doing? And if it's two of you, and there's some like overlapping? How can you divide that based on what you like to do? So I manage all the backend of the podcast, he manages all the front end of the podcasts because he's a creative guy, and I trust 100% of what he's going to put out, he's great. And he trusts 100% of what I'm going to build is going to be effective. So that has been a journey not gonna lie continues right. There's hearing there, but it's been super an interesting ride. And we've taken that to other parts of the business and other parts in our private lives as well.
Holly Shannon 39:37
I love that. You know, I think in business this is a really great takeaway for any entrepreneurs out there on it's what do you specialize in? Because if you do everything, there's probably 100% chance that you'll do mediocre job at everything. But if you know what your sweet spot is, if you know where you shine, and you can find focus on that, then you can delegate the other things. And delegating is really, really hard for entrepreneurs, which is why you guys probably did a lot of you had a lot of overlap for so long, because it's hard to let go of things. So I know how to do that, I'm just going to do it. If I can get it done quickly, I'll just quickly do it. But you quickly do that, and it rolls into something else that you need to do, and it rolls into something else, or you have a problem technically, and it sets you back. Because it's not what you specialize in. So you're never going to do every step of the journey. Well, and I think that that is probably the hardest, hardest lesson for entrepreneurs. So I think that that's a really great takeaway, a really great lesson that you shared, that you have to literally make a checklist of every step that you take in your work and decide, you know, what parts am I going to do? And what parts am I going to outsource. And there's a lot of outsourcing technology now with, you know, Fiverr, and Contra. And like all of these different places, you could go and find very inexpensive, good quality help, believe it or not, they both exist on the same person, you just need to make that effort to find it so that you can really do what you do well. Because if you are the community person, and you're really good with people, and your reach out is spot on, and your conversations or your interviews are beautiful. Well, you probably should not be editing the video. Because that takes a hell a long time, regardless of how good you are at it. Right? So absolutely,
Luis Camejo 41:44
absolutely. Ya know, 100%. And, you know, the number one problem that we see in our community with the people that we support, and we help is consistency, like at the end of the day, right? Consistency is the mother of everything, right? Like if we're not consistent, we cannot measure anything else. So especially like in the content world, right? Just producing a lot of people start doing it themselves, because they they think that they enjoy the process, right? And then all of a sudden, you start finding out the things that really dragged you that that fight that maybe are a little bit of a friction point, right? For me was editing 100% I'm not an editor, right? Like, I won't go there at all. So to me, it's like, okay, how can I find either a tool that can help me speed up this process and make it easier, right? Or a person that can help you do that? So and that I think applies with everything. And I remember being in a in an event where he was another one of those lightbulb moments? And it was okay. What are the things that you do on ranging from one to 10? Right? So if you can get them initially to like a six, right that in your mind, that will be probably a 10. But in the Outworld? That might look like a six? As soon as you identify that, and you do a time study on it, like how long? What resources Am I using on this right? Maybe you can find that tool, that person that can elevate that from a six to a 10. Right. So you will get that process all the way to a six you document that process. And then you plug somebody in, or a tool that can help you make it faster and better. And then you'll see you let them fly, right, which to me personally was so, so hard, right? Like we spent like the first like three years not this podcast, but before, right trying to figure out content. And it was because we're trying to do it all ourselves. And the second we plugged in that first person who for us in our process is the person that scans the information and selects the clips of information that are valuable to our audience, right. We're going through the video on trying to fight your free with this out. It just added a ton of friction in my life. And I was not enjoying it. I was like If this continues, the podcast stops. But the podcast is an amazing tool for us to build relationships and build our business so it cannot stop. So how do we figure this one out. So that was our first hire the person that we'll go through that content, and identify that that process has evolved quite a bit, but he was a he enjoys every second of it. He does it remotely in anywhere in the world where he's at. And I don't understand how he loves it so much. But you'll find people that will love the tasks that you don't enjoy to do. And that was a huge realization. And then as soon as that happens, we start seeing opportunity everywhere. Right? And you know, if we want to take it to a real life, I just saw a clip of somebody with like, Yeah, I do have a house assistant, right? And, and he goes into the house assistant type of deal. And for him cooking and cleaning and doing all these things. He has a family, he's like, my time is better spent with my kids enjoying time with my kids doing x right. And that's his perspective. And I totally understand it. And he's like, Well, I do have the resources. So now we have a house assistant that helps with tasks in the house. She enjoys doing it, you know, she's part of the family now. And I get to enjoy my time with my family. So it's like okay, well, that concept, can we apply it in every single stage and on the personal side? You know, I know that I by the way this happened. I went to my wife I'm like babe, we need somebody to come and do this. And for her the value in our relationships is me taking the initiative and doing the things. So we also have to recognize what is what is the value right in the relationships that we're offering. So, you know, there might be some negotiating that needs to happen. But it's also amazing how you can uncover these opportunities. And think a little bit different on how you can take that task from like a six to like a 10.
Holly Shannon 45:21
Well, again, another great takeaway, it's, it's really optimizing your time based on your skill and what you love. So if you can focus on what you like, you're obviously going to be extremely efficient. And you're gonna get it done. And by letting go of some of the ancillary tasks that you do, it opens your mind up to, well, how can I do what I'm doing better now, now that I can just focus on my sweet spot, or did this create room for me to recognize I need something else, so that I can maybe have more personal time or, you know, house assistant is such such a great idea. I mean, it doesn't fit for everybody, I get it, because maybe financially, it doesn't work. But you know, the flip side of that the way you did that is on, you decided that you, you have the energy to get up at five, even though you have a four year old and a one year old to get like your workout in and do other things for yourself. So by focusing on what you do best, you know how to use your time wisely. And you know, where you can find those pockets, so that you can open your life up to some other things. So maybe you didn't get the house assistant. But maybe you got a chance to get your workout in. Because because that's the core of who you were like you used to be a fitness instructor. So finding a spot to fit that in is important for your productivity, right? Like that's your productivity hacker that?
Luis Camejo 46:56
Yeah, absolutely. This is real story, right? Sometimes we keep these thoughts in our heads, right? And we don't express them, we don't share it. And I remember to me cooking is I'm not going to say I love it. But like, it's like my wife doesn't cook. And I cook the basis, right? So we're like, we're done. Like, we're not probably the best fans to feed our children. But here's the thing, like, as soon as we had the children, we had this conversation. And we're like, we need to figure this one out. Right? So because she doesn't cook then I'm like, Okay, I'll raise my hand and now cook. Right? But then we were on my endless. And my mother in law, wonderful. She's the best was part of this conversation. And she's like, I enjoy cooking. Like she loves it. And she has like a remote job. And she she just takes a lot of pride. And she enjoys the process. And she's like, Guess what, are we honored? Like to make home made baby food for your kids? And I was like,
Holly Shannon 47:53
what? Haley? My God, it's got this rubs.
Luis Camejo 47:56
What are you saying? And she's like, Absolutely, let's I'll do it. Right. And then by the way, just bring him we'll have breakfast. And we're like, Oh my gosh. And just by having that conversation with something that caused friction in our life, right, that was potentially setting us up for a lot of discussions ahead of time. Right? Just by having that conversation and finding that person that will take that task from a six to a 10. Right. And and I hate to read like so formal. But by that conversation, our lives had been exponentially easier in a way. And my mother in law was happy because she spent a lot of time with the kids. We are happy because they've been fed amazing and delicious and healthy food, right? And to take a step forward. She was like, hey, Louise, I have time because I cook for my family. Do you want me to do something for you? And I'm like, Oh my gosh, what are you just saying? And her birthday present to me was six months worth of lunches. So I'm like, Wait, what did you say? And every time I share this story, people are like, Oh my gosh, like, I hate you secretly. But it's amazing. And, uh, you know, I'm extremely appreciative and, and, you know, makes her happy, makes me happy. makes my day a lot, like very efficient, right? Makes my kids happy. It's a lot of winning, winning, winning winning situation. And it's just started by having that conversation. And maybe we could have gotten to a different solution. But right now is working because I was thinking, I think I'm gonna have to go get a meal prep service, right? And she's like, Stop, you cannot do that. And she's like, What are you talking about? And then she went into I love doing this. Why don't I do that for you? And I'm like, Oh my gosh, how can I return that? That's you tenfold and she's like, I just want time with with my kids like her dream has been so we have grandma perfect. There's a lot of time with the kids who spend a lot of time together. So it just got the relationship a lot better. And I encourage people to find those spaces in either your private life and your business. You will be surprised that a lot of opportunity out there.
Holly Shannon 49:48
That is really really beautiful. I love that story. And you know, I think sometimes we we forget to ask We're so busy, we're so inundated with work and home life that we just struggle through. Right? We struggle, and we push, and we just find a way to make it work, but it's never working well. And if we just lean in on the people that we love that we connect with our community, our community doesn't have to be all business. It could be pleasure. It could be our sport, it could be family, it's all the same thing. It's stopping and making maybe a checklist for that with somebody that you trust, like your wife or your partner, your friend like, Oh, absolutely, this, this is what I do with my day. And these two spots are just, they don't work for me very well, you know, and this is why and then, you know, people offer ideas. So I'm so proud that you just put yourself out there like that. And it looks like it's paid off. So that's really awesome. Every but everybody wins. You know, grandma gets more time with the kids and you get more time maybe with your wife and you guys get nourishing meals. It's like a win win win.
Luis Camejo 51:14
Yeah, absolutely. I'm still trying to figure out what was the small print and in the deal that we signed, you know.
Holly Shannon 51:23
I love that. You see, I was gonna ask you if you use coffee as a productivity hack, but I liked this fine. I like what you ended with. So I think nothing go there. Thank you so much. Luis. I'm so glad you came on coffee culture, and we got to talk a lot about connection and community. This is really awesome.
Luis Camejo 51:40
Yeah. So thank you all for having me and coffee culture. Thank you for having me. And I hope you resonated and you know, we can be friends when they
Holly Shannon 51:47
absolutely heal. You'll find him in your DMS.
Luis Camejo 51:50
Yes, absolutely. Send me a message. If you listen to this episode, be like, hey, you know, I met you with Holly Awesome. Yeah, totally. Totally.
Holly Shannon 51:57
Gonna put all your stuff in the show notes. Everybody will know how to reach you. But go watch his go listen to his show and watch his show content is profit and reach out. So thank you. Bye, Holly. Thank you. Would you like to join the party coffee lovers. I have two ways for you. Please go over to YouTube now and subscribe to at Holly Shannon. And there'll be all the videos of this podcast there as well. What's the second way you can do that? You can leave a review with your ideas in Apple podcasts. Either way, I would love it if you share a hot cup of connection and coffee culture with a friend. And if you'd like to support this new podcaster you can buy me a coffee the link is in the show notes. Thank you coffee lovers
this season is produced by pale blue studios