The Value of Time with Ben White: An EOFire Classic from 2022

0:01John Lee Dumas:Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. And on today's classic episode, we'll be breaking down the value of time. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Ben White and the EO Fire Studios. And Ben is a guy who has a passion for life and adventure, especially skiing. He runs a paragliding school and a home concierge service, which are both on fire. And today we talk about how we never get time back. It's our most valuable resource and not spending time with friends and family is kind of a waste and oh so much more.

0:37John Lee Dumas:And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Ben and our sponsors. Fire Nation, meet Hotworks, the number one boutique fitness franchise with 850 plus locations. They pioneered virtual workouts inside infrared saunas with recurring membership revenue, a low labor high tech model in a proven franchise system, entrepreneurs gain a scalable business built for growth. Visit hutworks.net slash franchising to learn more. Stop duct taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place. And when you sign up at highlevelfire.com, you get a 30-day free trial plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more.

1:19John Lee Dumas:Visit highlevelfire.com. highlevelfire.com. Ben, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. What's up, Fire Nation? I'm Ben White. And something about becoming successful that most people disagree with, probably that I don't feel like I have to bend to the whims of every customer. And I think something that's super undervalued is learning how to fire the customer. Fire Nation, fire your customers when they deserve it. Because guess what? This is your life. This is your business. You're an entrepreneur to run your train.

2:05John Lee Dumas:And we're talking about the value of time today. And I can tell you, I value time at such a high level. I know Ben does as well. And we're going to be talking about some really cool things around this topic. But before we do, our backstory, Ben, And I mean you and me. Our backstory is so cool. I want to talk about it. So you start, because I think it'd be funny, because I think you and I have potentially slightly different memories, because of course, we all kind of have revisionist history of how things work. But tell me your memory of our first meeting. My now ex-girlfriend and I, we were skiing in Chamonix, and we're at this spot on the run and we were kind of like, oh, this is a really pretty spot.

2:50Like maybe we should take a selfie. And then we heard these guys speaking English and we said, maybe they'll just take our picture for us and that'll be a little better than a selfie. And so I got to meet John and his buddy from Maine in the natural habitat and they took our picture and then we skied the rest of the day together, got lunch and basically for the rest of the week, while John was in France, right before I posed to my girlfriend, she would go to work and then I would hang out with John and his friends. And so that's how we got to know each other.

3:21John Lee Dumas:Well, I will tell you, in this case, revisionist history is basically identical on both sides of the equation. And it's kind of funny, Fire Nation, because he says ex-girlfriends. He proposed with, by the way, a gemstone from the mountains of Chamonix. Am I saying that correctly? What exactly was it? There are a select few mountain guides in Chamonix who have crystal collecting licenses. and they're allowed to harvest crystals from Mont Blanc. And so the ring that I gave her has a Mont Blanc crystal collected from a mountain guide made by this amazing sweet lady named Marin in downtown Chamonix.

4:01And the ring looks kind of like Mont Blanc in the metal band and then it's got the stone kind of underneath that and so it kind of looks like the glacier. It's pretty excellent, I think.

4:14John Lee Dumas:Excellent is the word I would use as well. Such a cool thing. It makes my ring that I gave to Kate seem so lame and so pathetic and so lacking of story, but that's for another day. But no, it's exactly the kind of story I wanted to share right now, Fire Nation, because, you know, here I am in Chamonix, France on my bachelor week, my bachelor party that I had for a whole week where I wanted to go skiing. I wanted to focus on skiing, not the whole kind of drinking aspect of things. So I wanted to have an active bachelor party with my buddies. And there we were day one. Me and my brother-in-law, Justin, are just skiing.

4:50John Lee Dumas:And this couple comes up to us and like Ben said, asked us to take the picture. We did and struck up a conversation, jumped on the lift line together, and now have become friends. And now he's an entrepreneur who's on fire. And one cool thing I actually want to share that was super cool is that as a paraglider, he's like, yeah, I'm about to jump off this cliff over here. Do you guys want to watch them? We're like, heck yeah. And so I have one of the coolest videos from my trip is him skiing right past me off of a cliff. And I mean, how many thousands of feet are you in the air above the Chamonix Valley?

5:21John Lee Dumas:Do you have any idea about what that was? Probably about 4 ,000 feet of vertical. And so it was kind of nice to fly down. Wow. And I mean, I'll probably have to post that video actually now that I'm thinking about it in the show notes page, Fire Nation. So go to the show notes page for this episode. to watch that video of Ben skiing right past me off of what essentially is a 4 ,000 vertical cliff and just serenely circling and gliding down to the town of Chamonix, which is picturesque in and of itself. It's unbelievable. And we had some great times together. We actually went to a glacier together.

5:57John Lee Dumas:I took one of the coolest, or he took one of the coolest photos of me that I've ever had, which was jumping up in the middle of the glacier and kind of doing one of those Daffy's. It was an awesome trip overall. And all of this to say, Fire Nation, you never know what being nice, what being kind, what having a conversation with a fellow human being is going to lead to. Now he's probably coming out of Puerto Rico to visit. And I'm sure our friendship will extend going forward here. Now, getting back to the value of time, I want to talk about getting the word out about your business, Ben, because it's so tough these days with everybody vying for everybody's attention.

6:35John Lee Dumas:What do you do to get the word out? What do you do to advertise? I have two businesses. One of them, I teach paragliding and I don't have to get the word out so much. That one's very simple. The other one is a home concierge service, and that one's really tricky. When people want to learn how to fly paragliders, they look up paragliding school or they ask their friend, hey, do you know a guy who teaches paragliding? And they find me. a home concierge service is a different story. Very, very few people are looking up a home concierge service or a part-time personal assistant. Some people are, but ultimately, my service is, nobody really knows what it is.

7:16And it's a double-edged sword. I do get to talk about it one-on-one with people, which is a really good time to educate the customer or a potential customer, but also that's not scalable. And so to get the word out about my concierge service, I have to advertise, and it's usually through my own social media channels, individual services that I can render and package into one. So there'll be house cleaning, car detailing, window cleaning, light duty landscaping, pickup and delivery, ski and bike tuning. I have to advertise for five plus different avenues. And that starts to get kind of tricky, but it's a good fun challenge.

7:58John Lee Dumas:And so what have been some of the unique ways that you've really been able to get the word out? Like, is there a specific thing you're like, wow, I didn't know that was going to work and it did, or just something you're like, okay, that's cool. Cause that really worked. Like talk, talk to us about some specifics. I had no idea how powerful Instagram story polls would be. And I'm at the point where I've pretty much tapped out my own personal audience. But throwing up on Instagram, a very simple in my story poll saying, who wants house cleaning and making the options? I would love that or I will do it next month.

8:35and boom, all of a sudden I have qualified leads generated and I can reach out directly to them through Instagram direct messages and say, hey, JLD, thanks for responding yes to my story. How can I get you set up with house cleaning? Do you have any particular needs you want met? And away we go. And I can bang, bang, bang, house cleaning, car detailing, ski tuning, three of those in not very long and then get some results from it. But I've done that too much. And so now I'm looking for the next thing.

9:08John Lee Dumas:Always looking for that next thing, Fire Nation. But those Instagram polls would definitely be something that you can look into because, hey, you probably haven't exhausted your audience at this point. Now, speaking of that, you're always looking for that next thing to continue to build your business and to lead the life that you want, which is traveling, having experiences, adventures. So I want to talk about cold, hard cash. Do you have cash problems? Yes. At the bootstrapping startup stage, I definitely do. A couple of my people, they went out and did some landscaping and house cleaning yesterday, but I had to pay another guy who did some handyman work, kind of in an emergency style.

9:49And so we're not talking big numbers here, but guess what? The cash reserves were a little bit depleted. And then after doing some internal projects, it's like, hey guys, you're going to have to wait a couple of days to get paid. And they're okay with that. But yeah, definitely bootstrapping, it's really fun. It's very rewarding when it goes well, but it can be a little lean at times, but that's okay.

10:12John Lee Dumas:Well, that's what I love about having you on the show right now is that we interview entrepreneurs who are on fire. And in my opinion, you're leading an on-fire life when it comes to experience and adventure and traveling and freedom and doing what you want, where you want, bootstrapping. And you're still, hey, you're here, you're talking to me right now. You've obviously got food in your belly at some level. I mean, you're still making it happen. And not everybody is making five, six, seven figures a month right now. So I know a lot of people listening are resonating with you in this bootstrap situation you're currently in.

10:45John Lee Dumas:So before we move on, what do you want to say to those people in Fire Nation right now who are like you, bootstrapping and a little cash strapped? Feed yourself first, but you got this. Oh my gosh, you got this. Like it's going to be okay. Fire Nation, it will be okay. Take our word for it. And we have a lot more to talk about when I get back from feeding myself first by thanking my sponsors. Fire Nation, you know I'm passionate about freedom. And as entrepreneurs, we spend a lot of time creating freedom in our businesses. But what about creating more freedom in our lives? We all define freedom in our own way.

11:23John Lee Dumas:And for many, freedom might come with having a plan B, essentially more options for where you could live, invest, and protect what you've built without being completely tied to any one country, government, or system. That's exactly what Mikkel Thorpe and the team at Expat Money help freedom-minded families and investors do. Mikkel has lived as an expat for over 25 years, so he's not just talking the talk. He's lived this firsthand. Today, he uses that experience in his network around the world to help others create their own international plan B. That might include second residences and citizenships, international real estate, or offshore legal structures, all designed to give you more options and greater control over your future.

11:59John Lee Dumas:And Expat Money has created a free report to help you get started. Go to expatmoney.com slash fire to get your free report today. That's expatmoney.com slash fire. Some businesses make money. Some make a difference. The best businesses do both. Imagine owning a business where people leave feeling better than when they walked in. That's Hotworks. Hotworks is the number one boutique fitness franchise, combining infrared workouts, virtual instruction, a recurring membership model in a scalable proven system that's helping entrepreneurs grow successful businesses while making a difference in their communities.

12:35John Lee Dumas:And as entrepreneurs, we know how valuable it is to have a proven system to follow. Instead of starting from scratch, Hotworks gives franchisees and established brands a unique fitness concept and a business model designed to create recurring revenue. Hotworks has 850 plus locations, giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to join a growing brand while bringing something unique to their own community. because building a successful business isn't just about the bottom line. It's about creating something you're proud of and making an impact along the way. You don't have to choose between purpose and profit.

13:03John Lee Dumas:With Hotworks, you can have both. Visit hotworks.net slash franchising to learn more today. That's H-O-T-W-O-R-X dot net slash franchising. Fire Nation, ideas are exciting, but systems will allow you to create freedom. That is where High Level comes in. High Level allows you to build and run your entire business from one platform. Website builder and hosting, funnel and landing pages, email marketing, automation and workflows, calendar booking, payments and subscriptions, even course and membership hosting. Everything works together seamlessly. Plus, award-winning 24-7 support so you are never stuck.

13:40John Lee Dumas:And when you go through my link at highlevelfire.com, you unlock my full bonus stack. A 30-day free trial of High Level with full access. a private 15-minute coaching call with me, weekly live office hours with me, a digital copy of my book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, my 50 Days to Something execution roadmap, and more. Stop piecing tools together. Start building momentum. Visit highlevelfire.com and start building your something today. Ben, we're back, and you collect a lot of information about people so you can actually anticipate their needs. how do you store this info and when it comes time how do you access it right now bootstrap stage i keep all of it in some google sheets and so people's um house information like if they get house cleaning and car detailing from me then i keep their square footage number of bedrooms number of bathrooms if they get car detailing from me i keep their year make and model uh how often they like these things, what their favorite type of coffee is.

14:46That way, if one of my people are inbound, you know, house cleaners, they can be inbound and we can get them a cup of coffee just the way they like it. Super extra little personal touches. But yeah, right now it's all Google Sheets and I am in the process of choosing a CRM, leaning towards HubSpot, maybe Salesforce.

15:11It's a lot of Google Sheets and I access it by knowing my way around them and writing out really important, really as specific as I can instructions to my assistant. And she's wonderful.

15:23John Lee Dumas:Well, since they are today's sponsor, I got to give a personal shout out to HubSpot. I mean, they're obviously so much better than Salesforce and Salesforce. Hey, if you want to start sponsoring the show, reach out, but I'm going to be honest, HubSpot's taking your place right now for sure. make it happen. So I love this fire nation because what this is telling me is that yes, Ben is bootstrap, but what he's doing is he's making sure that he's maximizing every opportunity from every client. He's keeping track of the dates when they might need, you know, some additional service or a repeat in the service because a certain amount of time has gone by.

15:54John Lee Dumas:He is building a very valuable database. Are you doing the same? Are you collecting data? Are you being efficient and effective with what you have? Because when you are hand to mouth, when you are bootstrapped, when you are a little cash strapped, every dollar counts. And once you make it, hey, you can slack off a little bit like me now and just work, you know, one day a week. But until then, you've got to remain focused. Because believe me, I was working seven days a week, long, long hours per day, every single day for a long time. And I was making the most of every opportunity like Ben is as well.

16:30John Lee Dumas:And I want to move into the concierge business. First off, what the heck is a concierge business in a concierge in general? And does the concierge do anything other than just take care of people's chores? And yes, Fire Nation, I like saying the word concierge. So that's a great question. I'm not even really sure if concierge service is the right term for what I do, but I named it concierge service because I had the idea. I thought, okay, I'm naturally a people person. I like to connect people. And I absolutely really do not like it when one of my friends says, it's been a great day of skiing, but I got to leave at one o 'clock to go, it could be fill in the blank, right?

17:20Clean the house, meet a contractor for a bid. It could be anything like that. And I just, I wanted to solve that problem. And I thought, okay, why can't we have the hotel front desk in single family homes? And so I took the hotel front desk, which is often can be referred to as a concierge, right? You can walk up to the hotel concierge and say, you know, here's the keys to my Porsche. Can you get it detailed and take my suit, get it dry cleaned, and then recommend me an Italian restaurant nearby. And I thought, Why can't I just put that into single-family homes, and that way my friends, they can go skiing, and all their stuff can get done, and they don't have to end their day skiing.

18:04And so that's basically what I do. And so what that in reality looks like is people ask for housecleaning, landscaping – those are the two main revenue drivers – and then a little bit of car detailing, window cleaning, and pickup and delivery ski tuning. but those other three, those are the new customer creators. And so if you know a little bit about sales, it's kind of like once we have this relationship, why can't I sell you something else? Why can't I connect you with another person that I know who does a really great job and make the magic happen?

18:39John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, at the end of the day, it's all about making magic happen. And I want you to kind of take a step back right now, Ben, and I want you to take the microphone, take the stage, so to speak, and realize that we're talking today about the value of time. What is the overarching message that you want to get across to Fire Nation about everything we talked about here today in accordance with the value of time? We never, ever get that back, ever. It's by far our most valuable resource, even more valuable than oil. At the end of the day, right? Well, at the end of our lives, right? We can probably imagine a relative and they're laying on their deathbed and going, you know what?

19:25It's been a good time with you or you know what? I wish I had spent more time with you. And the simple math is most people work about a 2 ,000-hour working year, right? That's 50 weeks of work, 40 hours a week. So if you're making$100 ,000, then your time is worth 50 bucks an hour. Um, and if you can find a service that is less than$50 an hour, or, uh, maybe a little more, but doesn't take time to get, then do it. Absolutely. Because you can get another dollar tomorrow, uh, but you'll, you won't have today again ever and cutting your ski day short, uh, or your fishing day or whatever you like cutting your ski day short to not spend quality time with friends and family is kind of a waste, but we do have to do it sometimes in real life.

20:16John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, real life is real life. And sometimes real life does take over. And something that we haven't talked about today is, hey, pay the bills first, pay the bills first, because you know what, you've got to keep going in this world and making things happen. But I just love when I see and meet people like Ben who are just out there living life, being free, you know, not slaving away at some corporate job that they hate or going into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to get some degree that they hate or some law or medical degree that they end up miserable for the next 40 years anyways.

20:47John Lee Dumas:They're just out there enjoying and living their version of life. I love that. I respect that. And if I could do it all over again, I'd be doing that at a younger age than I got to. I've made up for it, believe me, over the past decade or two, for sure. I've had my share of adventures, but man, oh man, we just don't get time back for any way, shape or form. So Ben, give us a way to connect with you. Fire Nation wants to learn more about what you have going on. Maybe we can replenish some of your Instagram followers that you can kind of go back to those nice Instagram polls and also any call to action you may have and then we'll say goodbye.

21:22Thanks a bunch. My Instagram handle is benwhiteskis, Ben like Ben Franklin, white like the color and skis, S-K-I-S. That's my favorite thing to do. And then my website is whitecloudconcierge.com. And if you want, you can fire me an email through the email contact form and I'd love to hear from you.

21:40John Lee Dumas:Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you've been hanging out with the most and you've been hanging out with B-dubs and JLD today. So keep up the heat. Head over to eofire.com, type Ben in the search bar. His show notes page will pop right up. Check out his Instagram, Ben White skis. Check it out. It's a very enjoyable Instagram. I will say being a follower myself, he really keeps things interesting. It's not just poll after poll, believe me. There's some really cool content on there. He keeps it fun. He has a good way of producing that content. One more time, Ben, what was that website?

22:17WhiteCloudConcierge.com. Thanks for asking.

22:19John Lee Dumas:Ben, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute your brother and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation. A huge thank you to Ben for dropping value bombs on today's episode. And Fire Nation, over the last decade, I've interviewed more than 3 ,000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, and I created a revolutionary 17-step roadmap to your financial freedom and your fulfillment. I put it all into my first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, personally endorsed by Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk.

22:55John Lee Dumas:The Common Path to Uncommon Success is the step-by-step guidance that you need to achieve the lifestyle of your dreams. Visit UncommonSuccessBook.com and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Fire Nation, meet Hotworks, the number one boutique fitness franchise with 850 plus locations They pioneered virtual workouts inside infrared saunas. With recurring membership revenue, a low-labor, high-tech model, and a proven franchise system, entrepreneurs gain a scalable business built for growth. Visit hotworks.net slash franchising to learn more. Stop duct-taping your business together. High Level runs your website, your funnels, email, automation, scheduling, payments, and memberships all in one place.