Lawrence
How Lawrence Went From $0 To $14,000 in 3 Weeks Working From Home – Merchant Cash Advance
Oz Konar: Hey everyone. Oz here. I have my guest here, Lawrence. He recently signed up to my program Merchant Cash Advance Success Blueprint and has been having a massive success so I wanted to bring him on and have him share with us his journey so far in his business and where he was and where he is right now. Hey, Lawrence. Thanks for joining. We appreciate it.
Lawrence: I’m really happy you have me. Thank you.
Oz Konar: Yeah. Let’s get started. I want to go back to what it was like when you first started out. I know that you kinda knew about the industry when you came in, so let’s go back there. How did you get introduced to the industry? What you were doing before and how things were working out?
Lawrence: Previously, I was a stock broker series seven. I had a ton of success working for different firms on Wall Street, got good enough to where I was able to have my own office, run my own branch in New York from a Florida based company. I was alone in New York. I had a few partners. Did really well. High intense. Really, really immediate gratification kind of business to where I can be on the phone with someone and when I’m hanging that phone up I know I just made X amount and it’s done and it’s trade purchased, done.
One thing led to another where I had to leave that industry and more so out of desperation I got connected to someone who knew someone who knew someone in the merchant cash advance industry. I’d heard of it before. Never really knew much about it. Had really little knowledge in regards to what it entailed. Jumped in at an office because, again, I had really no choice. I’m in Long Island. I have a ton of expenses and I had no job, no career. My whole career was pretty much cut short. So, 30 years old and I need to make a move and I had to go back to working for someone in this industry and that’s what I did; someone who runs an office. A merchant cash advance office. Was really slow. Was really not what I was used to. The salesmanship tactics and the salesmanship skills that I learned as a stock broker really did help as far as just keeping guys on the phone because I was doing cold calling, so I wasn’t doing anything other than reading a list like a UCC-
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: A bunch of sheets, just going through them, talking to secretaries. Never had a problem with that based on my previous experience, but it was something that was just slow as anything and I wasn’t getting paid anything. I had no salary so I was just sitting there dialing my butt off and getting out [inaudible] and getting them in-
Oz Konar: How many phone calls were you making, Lawrence, on an average day?
Lawrence: I would keep track. I have a dial sheet. I was doing between 200 and 300 calls a day.
Oz Konar: Yep.
Lawrence: Yeah. I would go in. I wanted to start really early but they were running the ship where they would start at 10 AM. Don’t know why. I would be forced to take a break around 12. Take an hour, come back and go from basically one o’clock to six o’clock every day, six, six 30, as late as I wanted to. I was seeing nothing. I’m seeing no results. Every deal that I was getting in as far as files with bank statements … I learned how to do it, but when I would pass it along to my manager who would then look at it and go forward to submitting to lenders, one thing always seemed to happen. Always was something different. This file’s no good. Throw that one out. This guy’s not gonna get much money. Blah blah blah. One thing after another after another after another. I did that for six months.
Oz Konar: Wow.
Lawrence: Yeah. And it was … I felt that … I was scared, honestly, because … And I’m sure a lot of people are, too, about the industry, itself because if you don’t feel that immediate gratification you just wonder how is there money being made here? For me, personally, the situation is that I’m in a position where I have a ton of expenses. I own a home, I own cars, I own a ton of things. And having zero income-
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: -Is a scary thing. I felt that there was no money to really be made in the industry at all because of what I was seeing. And in six months I only funded two deals.
Oz Konar: Wow.
Lawrence: One was-
Oz Konar: And that’s like hitting the phones every single day. It’s not like you sitting around and waiting for deals to come to you. Because there are two types of people. One is well, you’re simply lazy. You’re looking for a reason to blame the boss or the product or the industry. Or you’re working your butt off just you did but something was off. I’m yet to figure out what was going on with that company, honestly, that you were funding two deals and they were defunding deals right and left.
But you’re 100 percent right. Usually the perception of someone who comes into this industry and they look at the commission charts and what the potential income is while our crocodile brain immediately kicks in and says well, this is a scam. There’s no way you can make this much money. And combine that with your previous failures, then it becomes a fact. In fact, it’s not a fact. It’s just the way you’re feeling about it based on your … It’s the mindset thing. Thanks for touching on that. That’s where a lot of people get stuck and they can’t get beyond that and see the real opportunity because their brain is telling them run. There’s something here. But, in fact, that’s just being exposed to the wrong source of information. Maybe the wrong people in the wrong company. Is that how you felt at the time?
Lawrence: Yeah. And the funny thing is when I first joined that company it was myself and I believe it was the manager and he had six other guys with me. And every single one of them was doing the same thing I was doing.
Oz Konar: Okay.
Lawrence: And one by one they would fall by the wayside and they’d be gone. They would just disappear. There was no resignation. There was no this guy got fired, this guy … No. Just one Monday, this guy’s not here anymore. People were just falling by the wayside because you’re waiting and waiting for something to happen and how long can you really do that? For me, I felt that pressure because I literally had no way to cover a ton of expenses and now my credit, which was once an 800 when I got this house in Long Island … Now my credit’s getting hammered because I’m missing every bill and I’m feeling all these pressures and I’m getting threats. It’s like this is not a life I ever wanted.
So, I was literally standing there because my desk … Literally standing because I had one of those Varidesks that you actually can stand at the desk. So, I would literally stand there, work as hard as I could. I’d get a ton of app outs and everything that would come in … What I found out later, now coming from this perspective, is that everything that needed any type of legwork … If the merchant that was submitting the file wasn’t just a supremely A paper, flawless online checkout, on deck kind of client, that they would take two seconds to get funded just submitting the paperwork, this guy, my manager, would not want to touch it. He was all oh, that’s a shitty deal. Throw that out. Ah, that’s a shitty deal. Throw that out. You’re not gonna make any money on that.
The reason … This is what I figured, too. The reason I wasn’t … Those are shitty deals that I’m not gonna make money on and pass them on is because I was only getting 25 percent of that commission that would come through and he was splitting it with his partner 75 percent. They would split. If a deal would come through where the commission was only a few hundred dollars he would just say no. Or a few thousand dollars, forget about it.
The two deals that I ended up funding, one was 80 thousand and one was 100 thousand. It stinks because the commission that I saw come through was 12 thousand dollars for the 100 thousand dollar merchant and I got, I think 20 something hundred dollars or whatever it was. It was just rough. It was rough.
Oz Konar: Oh, that’s hard to swallow. Yeah.
Lawrence: One more thing I’ll tell you is from January up until just July when I was really there full-time I made a grand total of eight thousand dollars in seven months. Where I’d previous been working as a broker, I made 500 thousand dollars in 15, 16 and 17 and then to have eight thousand dollars in for seven months my parents are coming to help me out. It’s like a place I don’t want to be as a 30 year-old. I’m like I’m in [inaudible].
Oz Konar: Yeah, yeah. Plus, you’re not used to … You’ve never been there before. When was the point that you said enough is enough and what did you start doing, then, at that point?
Lawrence: I’ll never forget it. It was July 4th, to be exact. I needed something to give me a spark, in my opinion, for there. I mean, I was dialing … I’m getting all outs. I’m looking how many applications are going out and what’s coming in and I’m like what more can I do? And I would ask him what more can I do? And he’s like nope, you’re doing great. Just search for the whales. Just search for those whales out there. The guys that need a few million or need a few hundred grand. I’m like … For me … With respect, I would tell him I don’t give a shit if I have to fund 20 deals that are-
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: -10 thousand a piece. I have real expenses. But all he would tell me is just dial the phone, man. It’s gonna be great. Then I found out later his expenses were nothing. He lived at home with his family and I don’t have that luxury. I have a [inaudible][crosstalk]
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: -Here, you know? So, he couldn’t really relate. But on July 4th I went on YouTube and I was just looking for some information, really, on how to not so much hook the guy because I was fine with that. It was more so just am I missing something in the follow-ups? Am I losing it? ‘Cause I would get the apps out. I would get some contact and then the guys would vanish on me over and over. And I’m hitting my head against the wall like what am I doing? I found you and you were the one person or one YouTube channel that I found that it wasn’t just some merchant cash advance company advertising this-
Oz Konar: Okay.
Lawrence: -Is what’s good about a merchant cash advance and it’s a great thing and the video is like 12 years old and it’s a guy in suit and it’s a big video background. It’s like you were the one person that seemed to hit every single thing that I was hitting; all the resistance that I was feeling. And the sucky part is by the end of June I was the only one man left in that office. The other six guys quit in that office and exactly to what you’re saying because you’re either gonna tough it out because you know already from whatever … My past taught me that you have to go through a lot of shit sometimes to get things to go so just stick with the process.
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: But not a lot of people can trust it, especially when they’re in a desperate mode and they don’t have any history in a commission only kind of business like this.
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: So, I understand why guys that you’re talking about … People sometimes give up on this just right before the things gonna break through. I know to push through that but not everyone does, so I would advise anyone listening to … You’re always gonna hit that big resistance and you’re gonna wanna just turn around and say this is just too much for me. But if you can just weather that big punch that you’re taking, there’s another side to it.
And so, I found you. And I didn’t have any money, either. I had nothing. I mean, I had to break up the payments to you of 475 dollars in two payments and I didn’t have that. I think I just barely had 475 in the bank. But I said to myself, you know what? I know better. I’ve been at zero before. I’m at zero now but I’m gonna invest in myself. I don’t care if it’s 475. That 475’s gonna go towards me.
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: I’m gonna make something with that, you know? And one of your presentations had something about doing something today that your future self will thank you for. It said it on there. It was like do something today that-
Oz Konar: Yeah, I have a canvas in my room. I read that every day because as you know, there’s no yesterday and tomorrow is not here. We only have today.
Lawrence: Yeah.
Oz Konar: And five years from now when you look back the decisions we make today will shape where you’re gonna be five years from now. I think we all have experienced that. Either you have two options. You can say oh, shit. Life is not treating me well. It’s not my fault or whatever you believe is punishing you. Or you can say well, I’m the product of my decisions.
Lawrence: I do.
Oz Konar: You make certain decisions and they have certain outcomes. And I’m a firm believer of that and I know whatever will happen to me in the future is a result of me thinking right now and deciding at that moment.
Lawrence: That’s right. Never be a victim, so to speak. Don’t ever be a victim.
Oz Konar: Oh, don’t. Do not. Because it doesn’t help anyone.
Lawrence: Nope.
Oz Konar: Have you ever seen a case that becoming a victim helps you? It just does not, right?
Lawrence: It makes it worse. It makes it a lot worse, actually. And believe me, I could tell you. Anyone, again, listening. I was in the bottom of the bottom because I lost my entire career and I was literally spending days where I’d be on the couch until one o’clock just laying around. I stopped going to the gym. I just hit this awful down swooping thing and now I’m in a new industry that I can sell guys on the phone. I’ve been cold calling my whole career. I have a lot of fun with that. And I have a lot of success with it. But it wasn’t translating to money in my pocket.
I funded two deals. I made five or six grand on those two deals and I got a couple extra dollars from other things to make eight grand. I sold some stuff on eBay. I made eight grand in seven months. For me, that was hell because my expenses in my home at the time were as high as 17 thousand a month. I got them all the way down to 10 thousand a month but I mean, I’m making nothing.
That resistance that everyone feels where they want to turn back or maybe it’s not right, this business is a thousand percent real. It’s a thousand percent not a scam and it is exactly what you make it. It’s exactly what you put into it. If you give 100 percent, you’re gonna get it. It doesn’t happen like that and you can’t expect things like that to happen like that. When you run your own office, you run your own business … Man, I’ve heard of guys going a year without being profitable or two years without being profitable, but if it’s yours and you’re working for yourself, you give yourself that respect and you tough out those waves …
That 475 that I sent you that day was the best money I’ve ever spent in my entire life and that put me to zero dollars and I had no fear after that because I was watching and I was going through your modules and I was flying. I was so immersed in it and I knew that if I can be that way in the whole business and just get myself to know all these aspects, which by the way, to this second I still don’t have it all down. It’s so many different pieces-
Oz Konar: Yeah. Oh, there’s so many. It’s an entire business model. People see it as a one product deal. I’m gonna sell merchant cash advance. No. Yes, you will sell products but this is a comprehensive business model-
Lawrence: Yes
Oz Konar: -With many products. And that’s the beauty of this. You never want to put your eggs in one basket and rely one product, right? You want to be a consultant because as you know, I’m big on being a consultant, not just a sales person pushing products down a client’s throat because you wanna make recurring revenue from each client-
Lawrence: Yup.
Oz Konar: -And that will only happen if your clients like you.
Lawrence: That’s right.
Oz Konar: If they hate your guts, well guess what? They’re not gonna come back to you. So, let’s get to that point where you are. You decided to join the program and I tell everyone. Thanks for being a testament to that. When people tell me about the pricing and the investment I’m like listen, you’re not doing this for myself. This is just for you. If you feel like you’re worth it, make the investment.
Lawrence: That’s right.
Oz Konar: If you think you’re not worth it and this is not gonna work out, well I’m not a magician and this is not a get rich quick scheme. You’re gonna have to put in the work and this is just you giving yourself a little bit of commitment that you’re gonna make it happen. That’s why you’re paying for this.
Lawrence: 100 percent.
Oz Konar: You took that major step. What has … I know you’re very passionate about our program and what you’re doing here. I wonder from you, what was different than what you heard for the past six, seven months that you’ve been calling, calling and trying to transform everything. What’s been happening?
Lawrence: So many things. Number one, the fact that money can be made in this business. I’ve made more this month than I made in … And I mean August is brand new. I made more in the month of August than I made in eight months combined. All it takes is you to put … You gotta respect yourself first and foremost because your name is on this business and you’re the one running this show. There’s no one that’s gonna come save you and no one’s gonna bail you out of anything. So, if you gotta put the extra work in, the extra nights in … Become a student, I would say, more than anything because there’s never a time where there’s something you can’t learn in this.
As far as the things that I was steered wrong with, number one, I would say that all you can do is merchant cash advance in this. All you can do is MCAs. If the guy wants that daily or weekly payback, that’s the only way to make money. It’s nonsense. I passed up and I was told to throw away so many guys that are overqualified because I couldn’t bring them anything but a merchant cash advance and I’m on the phone with these guys and the conversation’s going great. I’m intelligent. I know what I’m talking about. Then they get to a point where it’s like well, if it’s a merchant cash advance I’m not doing it. I’m looking for an LOC. I’m looking of a line of credit.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: I’m looking for an equipment lease. And I’m like oh, I’m sorry. I gotta let you go. And I feel like an idiot and these are guys I’m now calling back today because there’s actually lenders that you can work with this stuff-
Oz Konar: Oh, absolutely.
Lawrence: You just have to open your eyeballs to it. That’s one thing that was really misleading; that merchant cash advance is the only way. You can have … And you touched on this, too. That struck a chord. You have to have, I should say, multiple streams of income in this.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: Because you can’t just fall back on one thing.
Oz Konar: No.
Lawrence: You can be a specialist when it comes to merchant cash advance, sure. But you’re gonna be passing up on so many opportunities, whether it’s just even credit repair. Most candidates for these MCAs … I mean, I’m talking to them. They’re in the fives or 600 credit. If you tell them you can get them to a credit repair program, you’re gonna get maybe 50 dollars for a referral. Who cares?
Oz Konar: [inaudible].
Lawrence: You just do something to always … Every day you gotta move the chains, I like to say. Every day you gotta add to your business ”cause every day you don’t add to your business it goes backwards. That’s one thing. This has so many different aspects. Be a student. Immerse yourself in it. Literally, the word immerse. It’s not a part-time thing as far as I’m concerned, anyway. This is not a part-time job. If you want to do it part-time, that’s great. You’re gonna get the part-time results. Remember, when you give 100 percent, you get back 50 percent. You know? It’s just how it works in these kind of commission things. If you give 10 percent, you’re gonna be applying for a job somewhere else or looking to work for someone else. And you can’t do that when it’s your business and your name’s on it. Give yourself that respect.
It’s not a scam, K? I was in a business before. I know what scamming is. I talk to a client I’m telling them I guarantee you, this stock is going up. Well, if it goes down I’m fraudulent. I’m into some big trouble. I didn’t do that, by the way. But I’m just saying.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: In this world, everything’s out on paper. The merchant knows what he’s going with, what he’s getting from you, what he’s paying back on what structure. And all these contracts are so intricate and so detailed. There’s no secrets. There’s no back doors. There’s no trickery. You can’t lie to the guy because the guy’s gonna get it on paper and he’s gonna have it in front of him before you guys proceed.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: So, there’s no tricking. There’s no scam. And if you’re cold calling and the guy’s like oh, that’s big scam, they just had a bad experience. Just tell them I know you had a bad experience, but this is different. And you paint a picture different about how you’re different. That’s all.
But I am barred from the stock industry and when this happened I was afraid and I was sad. I was really upset because I felt like that was my calling; that was my thing. It was like I had a whole career ahead of me. I’m only 30 years old. I’ve been doing it for five years. I had immense success, built my whole life out in Long Island on it. I was dead wrong. This is the business that I am in love. I’m in love with this thing and I just … There’s not enough hours in the day, really, in this business because I just want to learn and I’m seeing the results and I don’t mind talking about anything you want to talk about. I will disclose any information that … I’ll be happy to disclose-
Oz Konar: Yeah, that’s fine. I think people who want to know where do you see yourself by the end of August as far as the revenue or commissions are concerned with the way things are going so far?
Lawrence: Sure. As of now, what I did do was one of those deals that I funded at my previous employer … Of the two of them, one of them was 100 percent gonna fall through because the merchant did not like speaking to my manager and he told me so. I don’t like the guy. I’m not gonna talk to him anymore. Can I speak to LJ? They call me … My name is Lawrence but they call me LJ, right? And my manager went as far to write me this long email, which I have on my desk upstairs as a nice thing I look at and he’s like LJ, don’t waste your time with this guy. He’s not coming in. He’s messing around with the contracts. He’s gonna not come through. He’s just fucking around. I don’t want to deal with this bullshit. If you want to call him and waste your time, by all means go ahead. And I have the email upstairs.
The next morning I called this merchant. I got the contracts in. I got all of his truck leases that I needed to get in. My manager was so angry at me out of just … I don’t know what it was. Maybe jealousy or envy. By the end of that day the merchant was funded 80 thousand dollars-
Oz Konar: Oh, God.
Lawrence: -Trough … It wasn’t On Deck. Through … And not a top tier company ’cause I think he had some issues, but it wasn’t one of the top lenders. It wasn’t Yellowstone. But he ended up getting 80 thousand dollars by the end of that day and I have this whole email upstairs and a breakdown of all these notes that he was writing to me telling me how it’s never gonna happen.
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: And I just look at that and I’m like … That’s when I knew … That day I actually opened my S corporation and I said I know I’m gonna do this for myself. The second merchant got 100 thousand dollars through On Deck, who is … That’s a name you definitely want to be associated with if you can. They’re fantastic. He was funded 100 grand. This month, I got him funded in a second position for 61 thousand through Pearl. Pearl allows you … If you’re gonna go ahead … In my opinion, anyway … And look through these lenders and try to partner up, Pearl Capital gives you a calculator where they’ll show you, okay, this merchant. You can get them 75 thousand and you’re gonna charge zero percent but they show you a scale and you can charge up to 16 percent on this, 16 points on this thing, but the merchant will only get 60 thousand.
I know the merchant. He likes me a lot. I pitched him the idea of 60 thousand, see where he stands. He wanted contracts. He was ready to go. 16 points. And then Pearl says as a brand new member or affiliate they’ll give you three extra points. On a 60 thousand dollar second position I ended up making 12 thousand dollars. They wired it into my account the day after he makes his first payment, so within two days of the funding.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: I wake up in the morning and I’m like holy crap, 12 thousand dollars for that guy. And then you tie that together with another small … Not my … Oh, sorry. I’m sorry. The merchant with Pearl, you look at the days on this thing. I think it was 140 days of daily payments. You already know, since I roped him in, I brought him in-
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: -He’s going to come back for more.
Oz Konar: Of course.
Lawrence: And he’s coming to me when the time is right. He seems to reach out to me. And he went ahead and reached out to me today and said listen, is there anything else we can do? And sure enough, I submitted his file to Yellowstone Capital and they approved him for 40 thousand dollars and they’ll give me nine percent and he’s going to accept it. He requested the contracts. You build a rapport with the right people and you become their money guy. They’re happy to talk to you. And the one thing I learned that was different is that you don’t have to be so professional. Don’t be so uptight with these guys.
Oz Konar: Nah. Yeah.
Lawrence: They’re regular guys. These are construction workers. These are the guys that are digging in. Contractors and truckers. These guys … You can just shoot the shit with these guys and talk to them. Don’t be … You’re not Wells Fargo. And you can tell them that and they’ll appreciate that ’cause they can’t go to Wells Fargo, some of these guys. They can’t get into a bank and get a bank loan.
That, alone, was 12 thousand. A file that I was told to throw out in the garbage I submitted and he was funded 12,500 through Yellowstone Capital on Friday and that got me an additional 1000 dollars and they wired that the same day, so that was 13 thousand so far.
Oz Konar: Okay.
Lawrence: And then another merchant was 5000 dollars, which got me 400 dollars. Now, listen. You add those up, you put them together and in one week’s time it’s 13 thousand and change. This is coming from someone who made 2600 and 3000 on two fundings in seven months, so this has been amazing. And I’m retreading through things I was told were not worth it because I built such a good rapport with those guys initially and they remember me. You gotta do that.
Oz Konar: And that’s how you build recurring revenue as well, right? You don’t need a ton of clients. If you have a good 20, 30 clients who like you and they’re gonna come back for more and more and you’re gonna make up your month. I mean, look at this. This is the 7th of August and I think you’re beyond 15 thousand dollars in commission so far and you have three more weeks to go with pipeline and things like that. That’s why being a consultant is important. You hit the nail in the head.
People are not looking for a corporate guy who’s following the strict rules. They don’t want to call the 1-800 number. They want to talk to a human being ’cause just like you said, most of the fundings you’ll do will be small mom and pop businesses. As long as you show them that you understand what they go through every day, like their fridge breaks, the employee doesn’t show up, they have no money in the bank account, they wake up and [inaudible] because they don’t know 100 percent how to manage their money. If you ever known a small business in your life, you know the problems they go through. Be the guy. Show them … Or lady. Show them you understand what they go through and people just do appreciate it. That’s what it takes.
Lawrence: Yes. You have to work smart. One thing I told myself I needed to do was to learn what each business really spends their money specifically on. As I get better rapports with these guys I’ve learned … You have a trucking guy on the phone. You say how many trucks do you have? And he tells you how many he has. Maybe he has one. And you ask him how much he’s making a week on that? And then all of a sudden you put the numbers to them because these guys, they’re workers. They’re not corporate guys. They’re not behind a desk with calculators. They’re on the road. They don’t even think about that stuff until you actually put it out there and-
Oz Konar: Correct.
Lawrence: -If you sound smart to these guys and you actually give them something like hey, wait a minute. I’m making 10 thousand a week on these trucks. I know I can buy another truck. I do have an employee lined up for it. But how much is the truck gonna cost? And he’s like oh, it’s 40 thousand. I’m like well, look at what you’re making on that over a year? If you work smart. They’re like oh, shit. I didn’t realize that. Yeah. That is true. And it’s like oh, if you went down there … 40 thousand. Well, what if you went down to a 35 thousand cash. Would they give it to you? And it’s like you have to put the numbers in their head and get them spending it, you know?
Construction. You talk about their works in progress report, the things they have upcoming, and they start thinking. I’m owed this money. They’re future receivables in construction. I know in 30 to 60 days I’m supposed to get this and this, but I could really use it now to start this other project. Start-up money. You’d be smart instead of just being a salesman with these guys. You don’t gotta push the money down their throat.
Oz Konar: No.
Lawrence: It doesn’t work.
Oz Konar: You got to be an active listener. Things like that, you gotta catch only if you’re actively listening at somebody. Or if you’re thinking of what you’re gonna say next, that means you’re not listening. You’re gonna just keeping the product. And when you do that, people are not stupid. I think people in finance have this idea that small businesses don’t get it. They don’t know how to spend money. So, they treat them like lesser than they are, which is a bad idea because that person controls our income. Don’t be stupid. Show them the respect that they are experts at their business. They don’t know how to finance 100 percent. It’s your job to be a consultant-
Lawrence: [inaudible][crosstalk]
Oz Konar: -Expert and show them how it can be done, right? 100 percent on that. That just makes a ton of difference when you show them that you’re really there to help them out with the products and the portfolio; things that you have in your arsenal, pretty much.
Lawrence: Yeah. Yeah. You have to be … Don’t just be superficial or on the surface of things.
Oz Konar: No.
Lawrence: Don’t just be a typical salesman. Okay, this is what I’m gonna do. Can you use 100 grand today? Yeah? Okay, good. Take the application. And they’ll yes to death to get you off the phone because they just don’t want that conversation. And you’re never gonna hear from the guy and he’s gonna know that your phone call is coming and they’re gonna block you forever.
If you can show them hey, listen, I know you’re in construction. You have a project that you’re working on. How much do you have to start up with? Or how much money do you have to lay out to start that project? That’s coming out of your own money, right? Oh, 30 grand. Well, you need 30 grand to start that project. Instead of using it out of your own operating capital. Then the guy starts to think huh, that’s true. I can use … You can use my capital. It’s gonna come at a fee. I’m not Wells Fargo but at the same time, you use my money, you roll my money over and over and you don’t ever have to touch your money. You’re sleeping well at night kinda money. You put to the side and you keep that in your account. They start to put that in their head and you sound different than these other hundred people that are calling them-
Oz Konar: Yep.
Lawrence: -Or speaking to them, especially when you get in these UCC leads and things like that, which I’ve gone through. And it’s hard but they’re in there but at the same time you have to sound different. You have to bring something different to the table other than the same thing because just like a car dealership, yeah, you can buy a Mercedes Benz at the dealership over there. Maybe your payments gonna be 1500 a month. And then the dealership across the street is gonna be 1499 dollars. There’s not a big difference in price. Basically, we’re all gonna be offering somewhere in the same ballpark.
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: But who is gonna give them that warm, fuzzy feeling like this guy is actually different. He actually has something different. That’s the difference because we’re all gonna be bringing them the same numbers, going through the same lenders, bringing them the same ballpark rates. They know their own skeletons or how their credit is. They know these things.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: They’ve been through this before. Why are they gonna choose you over the other 20 people that call them today? Those kind of things. ‘Cause it’s all gonna be the same going rate. It’s the person that has to bring something different to the table. You can’t just be a salesmen kinda thing, you know?
Oz Konar: Absolutely. Absolutely. So far, you’ve been through the program and you’ve been really active. What is your biggest takeaway from the program since you joined? What would you say the biggest thing that shifted things for you?
Lawrence: The biggest thing for me was working with lenders and learning. You gave a really good list of the right lenders to work with and I was apprehensive because I thought, or at least I was led to believe, that you have to have a long list of credentials and a lot of connections in order to get these lenders to partner up with you.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: I have a landing page thanks to you. I have an email. I have my name. I have a registered S corporation in New York as of March 22nd, I think it is. And they just have you fill out a simple form. You fill out a form, they tell you what you’re thinking … Pardon me. They ask you what you’re projecting to do for this year, this month or how much have you done. I was very honest with them. What have you done in the last whatever? Year in this business? Zero. This business is just starting. I am partnered with On Deck. I am partnered with Yellowstone. I am partnered with Everest. I am partnered with a ton of these names that people are very familiar with and it didn’t take much.
That was surprising to me. I thought it would be a lot harder to partner with lenders and start submitting the files. It was a same day kind of thing for the most part.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: That was a-
Oz Konar: A lot of lenders scare you that way or the companies you work … I hear that a lot from people who used to work for another lender. They come on the phone and they’re like yeah, I want to do my own business. I want to be an ISO but I know that it’ll take me six months to build a relationship. I’m like six months? Six months for what? Well, they don’t accept the application and I heard the application … That’s all bullshit.
Lawrence: 100 percent.
Oz Konar: There’s no application process most of the time. They’re looking for honest ISOs to work with most of the time so if you are that one, they’re gonna jump on it. That’s how they do business. That’s how they make their money, right?
Lawrence: That’s right.
Oz Konar: But you don’t know. That’s just what it comes down to.
Lawrence: I was told it was really hard and you have to have connections. That pulled me back a little bit and that’s why I was very nervous that day. But when I spent that money with you, the first 475 part, I had a list of lenders. I went and emailed them all the same day. The next morning I had a bunch of ISO agreements in my email. Just sign this, sign this and tell us basically you’re address and that was it. It was that quick. There’s not one lender that I can think of that I had any real trouble with. It was a same day thing for the most part and they’re all right away, thank you for wanting to work with us. Please fill this out but in the meanwhile you can still submit to this thing. It’s like they’re right in the mix. And you keep a nice relationship with them.
I have lenders that I deal with and submit to their text in my phone. Hey, how’s this file doing? What’s going on with this one? We have this. What do you think he’ll do? Do you think he’ll … They’re really just like you. They’re out there. It’s not what you think. That was really surprising because that was the biggest piece of this puzzle and that’s the thing that excited me the most. Getting that information back from them like oh my God. My business is going to be partnered up with these people.
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: I can really do this. You know?
Oz Konar: Yes. It’s good to hear from them and know you’re backed up by lenders. Obviously, you are very passionate about this and this was amazing. You’re gonna be such an inspiration to many, many people.
Lawrence: [inaudible].
Oz Konar: What would you suggest to anyone whose kinda on the fence about joining my training and getting started with this industry. What would be your one suggestion to them?
Lawrence: Firstly, you have to look at yourself I would say. If you’re tired of working for someone, you’re tired of being told what to do, you’re thinking that you can do better and you believe in yourself and maybe you earned your stripes in your own regard and you feel like, you know what? I think I can do this on my own. Then take the risk. Take the risk on yourself. That’s my advice because the last thing you want to ever have is a what if or regrets, right?
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: In life, I feel that especially when it comes to business, the biggest regrets are not the things that we actually do; they’re usually things we don’t do. And I would be sitting right here, probably laying down at this point. And I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing if I did not go forward and say, you know what? I might have had 500 dollars in the bank. How much is it gonna cost? And I see the numbers on the screen and its-
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: -Worth this and I’m like … Ah. And it could be this. And it’s gonna be this. I’m like where do I sign for this?
Oz Konar: Right.
Lawrence: Because you know what? If you’re not gonna take a chance on yourself, then who else are you gonna take a chance on? And nobody else is gonna take a chance on you, either. So my advice would be to jump in with two feet all the way. Ask questions because it’s silly not to ask questions. Be knowledgeable. Don’t take it lightly. Do not take it like it’s just something you’re gonna kill and you’re gonna nail it no matter what your past is. And if you’re gonna do it, go 110 percent and give it all you can because this is yours. It’s yours.
And I would be happy to speak to anybody and give any honest, open testimonial what your program has done for me. I never thought I’d be sitting here talking to you about this at all, man. I took a chance on myself and I advise anyone else that’s-
Oz Konar: It hasn’t been long.
Lawrence: No.
Oz Konar: I think you’re just barely a month old in the program.
Lawrence: Yeah.
Oz Konar: A little more than that.
Lawrence: It’s been a month and I got sick for one full week, so I didn’t actually work for one full week [inaudible] but the coolest thing about this is that it’s given me a flexibility to where I take my breaks but I’m home. I can be with my dog. I can be out in the yard. I can relax. But at the same time, my business is in the house. And you’re running the show so, again, give it the respect that it deserves and give it 110 percent. If you’re on the fence, then you jump with two feet. If you have fears, face them because, again, you’re only gonna live one time and you’re gonna regret it if you don’t. Believe me. You will. You definitely will.
Oz Konar: Yeah. Just like you said, I think it belongs to Mark Twain. I think he says that when you reach the end of your life you’re not gonna regret the things that you have done, you’ll regret the things that you could have done that you said well what if? And then you end up not doing it, you know?
Lawrence: That’s right. It’s a [inaudible][crosstalk]
Oz Konar: That’s one of the things … I think that’s what makes an ISO entrepreneurial successful. Just believe in yourself. It’s usually not the product or things and that. It’s just your belief system that determines your success or your failure. Yeah. I mean, it’s a month and you’re already here and we’re doing this interview-
Lawrence: I know.
Oz Konar: And you’re [inaudible] other people.
Lawrence: I’m so happy, man. I’m really happy and I’m really thankful. I can’t really say enough how … And also, to anyone listening, don’t ever let anyone tell you anything negative. Don’t take negativity.
Oz Konar: No.
Lawrence: Because usually it’s the person’s reflection on their own past and their own failures. They just wanna put it on you. You are different and you can be different in this. You can be something really special if you want to. You have to be able to dig it and also weather every storm. If it feels really heavy like it’s too much, that means you’re getting somewhere. It means something good is going on. You gotta stick it out.
Oz Konar: Yeah. And also, Lawrence, would you say that it’s good to get vocal? We have a tight community. Like Facebook group. If you’re stuck or if you’re feeling emotionally down, just reach out. We have a ton of people who are super positive and they’re killing it like yourself. Sometimes it’s good to talk to someone whose actually doing it. You can call your friends and buddies, your girlfriend, boyfriend. That’s fine. But we’re all going through the same thing every single day. It’s okay. If you’re feeling not good today just talk to one of us and I think you’ll be fine. What do you think about that?
Lawrence: I would agree 100 percent because that’s how I found you.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: On July 4th I was home, I was doing nothing all day and my family was in Queens. I’m over here and I needed something and it wasn’t my manager because when I call him he’s oh, just dial. That’s not the answer. There’s more to it. Just dial sounds great when he’s not leading by example. He’s not dialing. Why do I have any motivation to do that? So, I found you and I looked for that help on YouTube of all places. I was just bored. I said I gotta take a stab. Maybe something. Found a bunch of nine year-old videos of old guys just talking about how it’s beneficial. And then I saw you and I was like …
And it was that. I’m telling you. Man, I can’t believe it. It’s August 7th. That’s something that’s gonna change my life, man. I’m deadly serious and I’d be willing to talk to anybody that would ask any questions or anything they want to know. I’m more than happy to talk about it, too. I’d be happy. I think it’s a great idea to have a place where everyone can come together on a forum because someone, somewhere in this group I’m sure has been through all of this already. Whatever someone’s facing, there’s someone in there that has been through that before, you know?
Oz Konar: That’s what I love about our community like the Facebook group. We’re a bunch of positive people and people helping each other out. Outside, you know, and the merchant cash advance industry, people steal each other’s deal and back dooring it. In our community, people always jump in and help each other. That’s unheard of.
Lawrence: I don’t think it’s-
Oz Konar: That’s very unheard of.
Lawrence: Yeah. I think it’s a wonderful thing and I’m telling you, you’re making such a path that has not been traveled. I could tell you because I’m lucky I found you ’cause I didn’t see anything or find anything like you before you. And I’ve looked before and I just got lucky to find your channel. I’m telling you. It’s without a question one of the best things that has ever happened to my life and I’m extremely-
Oz Konar: Aw, these are … I’m humbled. These are great compliments, man.
Lawrence: You’re welcome, man. It’s a great-
Oz Konar: I know you’re busy. I don’t want to take a lot of your time but I truly do appreciate it. It does mean a lot to me and I hope people are listening. Even if they get a bit of inspiration out of this and that spark sometimes turns into a wildfire and you gotta watch out for those things. Once you see it, don’t miss the opportunity. That’s the spark that changes things. Usually things that transform our lives are not seen to us as obvious as maybe it should, but they’re just small sparks and the person who catches that just like yourself, it doesn’t even take 30 days to change it because you already had it in you. You didn’t need more sales training. You didn’t need this. It was just that mindset switch that would open the route for you.
That’s, I think, what I try to do best as much as possible. Not just teach product but show people hey, there this a way. If you’re serious and if you’re committed you can just-
Lawrence: That’s right.
Oz Konar: -Jump in and make that happen.
Lawrence: 100 percent.
Oz Konar: With that, any other last thoughts before we wrap up?
Lawrence: Besides the fact that I’m extremely gracious and thankful that I found your program, I would advise anyone out there … Besides weathering storms … Again, I can’t stress that part enough because there is times when even though I had experience I wanted to give up on this. I was like this can’t be right. I’m making nothing and there’s no way. You can change your perception but you are the person that’s ultimately gonna be in control of that. Like you said, you have those sparks.
What I like to say is you cling to the positives. If it’s a small positive, you cling to that and you start going from there. You cling to every single plus. You don’t gotta sit there and worry about the bad stuff. Oh, this deal fell through. Oh, boy. And don’t hang on one deal, either. You got a bunch of merchants out there but you got a few in or you got a merch to submit your deal documentation and you submit it to a lender. Don’t just sit there. Go after new guys. I believe big time in business karma.
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: It’s like you have something big on the hopper. If you go lay down and you know it’s a big deal and it’s gonna go through and you’re so sure of it. It’s perfect. I feel like if you just go relax it’s gonna fall through. It’s just the way things … Of looking-
Oz Konar: Yeah.
Lawrence: What I used to like to say is go dial it in or … ‘Cause I do a lot of cold calling. However you prospect your business. But go do that and go after new people and put that current deal out of your mind. It’s already on the back of your mind. It’s in process. Don’t harp on anything. Just go after new stuff and keep that fire going and you now will build on that and clean to those positives. Don’t rest ’cause it’s your business. This is your business. Give it 110 percent while you still can. You don’t want to be 60 years old and looking back with regret. You don’t want to do that. Trust me.
Oz Konar: And you’re 100 percent right. You want to give it a hard push for a short while so you can just take advantage of the fruits of your labor because in this business you can take off for a while. You can work from any place you want. You can be down on the beach and still close deals. We have members who do that.
Lawrence: That’s right.
Oz Konar: It doesn’t matter. You’re not gonna have customers knocking on the door to your office. This is not how it works.
Lawrence: Right.
Oz Konar: And once you have a client base, they’re the ones who are gonna come back to you and you’re gonna close the easiest deals you ever do.
Lawrence: That’s right.
Oz Konar: Because it’s just gonna be a phone call. Hey Lawrence, I need another 100 thousand. Boom, done, and your commission is paid. You might be all the way in California. Different areas. Wherever you are. Overseas. It gives you the flexibility and it doesn’t take a ton of clients.
With that, I want to thank you again, man. Great to know you. Great individual. I’m humbled to have you as a member of the community. But, yeah, we’ll definitely stay in touch. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Lawrence: Anytime. Good luck to everybody and just keep at it. That’s it. Thank you.
Oz Konar: All right, man. Thanks so much.
