Episode 7 | Is the Cost worth it

Yo yo yo yo yo, and welcome back to Sticks and Stones, the podcast where we bring serious buyers and serious cigar smokers together. I'm joined here today with Brian Lindenbound, my director of operations and also the owner of One-stop Board Shop. They are the experts in personal electronic vehicles. It's actually how we met. What's up, Bri? >> What's going on, Ang? How are you doing, buddy? You know, every day is a holiday, brother. That's the way I look at it. Every day is a holiday. >> That's right, man. That's right. >> And the holiday always gets started when you're having a drink. >> You know, I'm uh uh I'm not as uh flexible during during the you know, the five o'clock somewhere. So, >> yeah, it's five o'clock somewhere. >> No drink for me right now. You know, we're >> I don't know where that is. Biz I don't know, but >> it's five o'clock. So, as we have conversations all the time and you're always trying to me in on finances. So, the the question is, is the cost worth it? Right? So, I brought on the show today a bunch a bunch of different sticks, right? So, like this is the one that I'm going to be smoking right now. This is the surplus by CAO. It's a Maduro. Phenomenal stick. Like $29, right? >> Right. And and you would think that at $29 that sounds like a [ __ ] cigar, right? like it's that that's going to be a [ __ ] sandwich rolled up that you smoke. It's actually phenomenal. So then I've got I've got this this is the the Grand Habano uh Tiger Persian King, right? Still phenomenal stick. This is definitely a daily driver, but it's like $7.49 depending on, you know, where you get it. It's not going to break the bank. And then you move up to the Girka Fat Boy and that's like sub sub nine bucks, like 850, something like that. Still phenomenal stick, right? And then I'm going to jump all the way up to the Connecticut Asylum 13, right? >> Just >> so this is this is a Yeah, this is a a 70 This is a 70 ring gauge, right? It's like >> 13 plus dollars. This is like 14. It's 14 bucks. But is it better than the Girka Fat Boy? No. >> It's a great point because, you know, I'm not an expert as you are in cigars. I I smoke probably what you do. >> For me, I am, you know, you would think, well, when I do it, I want to treat myself. I've I've tried that. I've done that. And I've had, you know, I've had experts come in a humidor with me and, you know, here, smell this, and I got one for you. try this. And I prefer the sub $10 cigars. I yet to find one that costs more than 15 bucks that I've actually enjoyed more than one that costs seven or eight. >> Do you think that's more psychological on your part though? >> Okay. >> Absolutely. That is a effect in and of itself. You hand me a cigar that's $35, tell me it costs nine, I'll probably tell you I love it. I, you know, or vice versa. That being said, I I I I smoke for recreation. I smoke for enjoyment. I smoke for, you know, >> uh, a social aspect. I've never smoked a cigar by myself. I've only ever smoked with people. If I'm getting more enjoyment out of knowing that I got a great deal, then it's doing >> I think that's a big part of it. But like I I'll tell you this, I have not in our country. I just want to preface that. Not in our country, okay? I have been overseas and I had a legitimate Cohiba Beik, which is like the unicorn of cigars. Everybody looks for the original Bik, right? Rolled in Cuba, grown in Cuba, the whole thing, right? I paid over 115 British Sterling pounds for this cigar. I think I took maybe six puffs of that [ __ ] and then walking down the street of London. I think I saw like a, you know, a brick storefront. I left it on the window sill. >> Bad or hit you hard? >> That's how bad. It was just bad. >> It was like trash. Now, don't get me wrong, >> I'm not trashing on the Cohiba brand. It's a great brand. Lovely. I love it. That particular stick and for that price, I was so distraught. Like, for the money I just spent, that cigar should have blew my world apart. Did not. Absolutely did not. I'm about to light up a $2 stick. That does blow my world apart. that. So, outside of the cigar world, being the guy who, as you so eloquently mentioned, reigns in your finances. >> Mhm. >> Makes me happy to hear that. >> Yes. Yes, I know. Duly noted. But you know what? That just goes that translates across every border, dude. Like, all right. So, tell me, let's let's let's talk about that in the PEV world, right? >> Mhm. you are by far the biggest expert that I know in personal electrical vehicles or otherwise known as PEV, right? So, there's the One Wheel and there's like all these other brands and stuff like that. Do you really get is the cost worth it? So, you tell me like you would say that the OneHe is the is the top of the hotel, right? >> So, it depends on what you're talking about because if you're talking about a PV in a silo, you know, it there there are five different segments to it. ebike, e scooter, uh, EU, eskate, and one wheel board, right? Um, so in the onehe space, it's a it's a loaded question because the the the one wheel is the only option if you're not going a DIY custom route. So, I'd rather pivot that question to more something like an eskate world. >> Sure. >> The there are absolutely it's a hit or miss question because there are absolutely brands that you get what you pay for. You know, I know that the crappiest low end of a particular brand is going to be better than the high-end of another brand. But then you're talking about, you know, if you're talking about like a tier one company versus like that's where that comparison comes. Like if you compare two different tier two companies, you could have one of these companies makes a product that costs three times the cost of another one, but the cheaper one specwise, supportwise, you know, whatever, blows the other one out of the water, right? >> Because they're not spending as many marketing dollars. It's a little bit more word of mouth. So there there are factors that go into that. But I'd also like to pivot that that quality conversation. So listeners, um, Angelo and I met through my business. I also professionally I'm in contract law. So I would also like to point out that you don't in let's use the word cost and change complexity, right? Because you can have a 72page contract that's as complex as as the the end of the world and it doesn't do what you need it to do. >> We've seen some of those. >> We've seen some of those for sure. We've seen some of those that are like 15 50 pages of this are are nonsense. Like this is streamlined and efficient if we just make this a 10-page agreement. So, >> right, we've seen leases that have like a not seriously, but like a fart clause. If you're going to flirt, make sure that you do it outside the space. Like, it's great. >> That's been the deal killer. We've had we've had >> deal killers. I you know if this is how we're going to be in in the negotiation stage in contract revisions how are you going to be when we go postexecution as as as in a working relationship and you know whether it's >> or technology or healthcare it's all you know uh the industry is is is agnostic the the concept >> so there's many different avenues that you can talk about this and cost is not just a financial cost it's a it's a it's a cost in any way shape or form you know the premium that you pay for whatever it is that you're doing to get it Right. >> Yeah. Well, like for instance, right right around the the pandemic, right? 20 2020 to 20 23, let's say, everybody and their brother was off about multif family buildings. It didn't matter what it was, where it was, how many units it was. Everybody went nuts for multif family. They were paying way over what they were worth. Like way over. and to the point where some of my buddies in in the city in New York City, they were closing deals at negative N. So, they were selling the building for a ridiculous amount of money. I'm talking like hundreds of millions, >> which ended up bringing the the net operating income to a negative because it wasn't producing the rental. >> You can't get enough money out, >> right? And the only the only factor and this and this became a conversation of value versus cost because the owners own the two sets of buildings next to this building. So in order to have all three, they wanted to be Mr. Monopoly. In order to have all three, they paid a ridiculous amount more. But then like everybody was on the multif family buzz and they were just like what whatever it is, whatever it is, where it is, find it for me and I'll buy it because money was so cheap to buy. interest rates were ridiculous >> and low and they were like, "Okay, it's people got to live someplace. Everybody's locked inside. We get a multif family building, right? We have 20 units, 21 units, 100 units, whatever it is. We're going to rent them all and it's going to be mailbox money, so it doesn't really matter." >> Mhm. >> But then after all that craze, they quickly found out that it mattered. >> And that's a great point, right? Because I think that a lot of things that are happening in a bubble, people don't have the foresight to see what is this. Okay, this is great now. And unless you're a day stock trader today and sell tomorrow, you have to think about these investments that you're making >> 5 10 years from now. And if you bubble that can never I I know that I know that this channel say, but you brought up multif family. Um, so >> you cut out like every every other word or so. So, can you hear me better now? >> I can hear you, but like every every once in a while it'll just cut out. >> What if I just pop that out? Can if I talk a little? >> Yeah, that's fine. >> All right, good. I told I told you at the start of this my AirPods were like I mean I I think I think Black Friday I'm getting some some some some new newbies. >> So, I know this is a commercial channel uh commercial real estate channel, but you brought up multif family. So, so let's talk residential for for a hot second. There are, you know, >> people buying houses now today. the inflated housing costs. The the the numbers aren't real. It's funny money. I mean, unless you're actively selling and not buying something else or taking equity out of your home, it's it's not going anywhere. It's, you know, houses are worth so much more than they are. So, so much more than they should be. And the rates are I mean, they're coming down, but like 5 12% in 3 years. I mean, 22 there was sub 3%. >> Oh, it's crazy. >> It's insane. >> But here's the but here's the thing. right now it's the 2020 to 2023 the home buyer and as you know I'm I don't do residential at all but being in multiple residential firms being the like one of the only few commercial guys there you see you see everything and you hear everything you're at the water cooler and you you hear all the [ __ ] right people were just buying houses to buy houses then >> it was just like oh my god we got 2.75% let's just go buy a house and and and let's pay 175,000 over asking Yeah, that's that's a great idea. But it didn't matter because the price at which they bought the money, they're still ahead of the curve. Even with the property values, even with the taxes, like even with everything at two 2.75%, they're still so far ahead of the curve. Even though they paid $200,000 more, they're still good. They're still in good equity right now, >> especially because of what the market is right now. And that also caused another problem. We're talking about cost, right? And I know that I know the topic at hand is is the cost worth it, but just pulling back and zooming out on the the totality of cost as a concept. That cost that people were taking advantage of in 2020 is now affecting the market as a whole today because people who could have bought there's no inventory left and whatever inventory is left is worth I mean we're seeing $300,000 houses sell for $700,000. >> Yeah. That's the problem in the Northeast right now. And the problem in Texas is there's too much inventory, not enough buyers. >> Well, and that's an interesting concept, right? Because the regional differences between, you know, New Jersey is one of the original 13 colonies. We have a lot of old historic houses. We have a lot of population that came before it migrated out west to Texas. Texas is known for new builds. There's a lot of land and there wasn't a lot of houses. So, Texas is building like crazy. And it's an interesting concept because you want to talk about is the cost worth it, right? Personally for me, no to any viewer out there who, you know, please don't take any offense to this, but I would take an old house that I have to tune up and maybe doesn't have the best layout over a brand new build of the same spec, right? You know, 3,000 feet to 2,000 feet, two car garage, >> same size. Yeah. >> Any day of the week. I live I live in a My house is 1965. It's There's problems, but I can fix those. >> But Bri, they didn't they didn't build things back then the way they do today. Today they're disposable houses. They're disposable online who all they do is new build inspections because it keeps like they like they just don't have time for anything else. It keeps them so busy because they're so poorly built. >> And not all builders, you know, I got to give some builders credit, >> right? But a lot of them and I see a lot of them coming out of Texas specifically. Texas and California. So >> yeah. Yeah. And and Florida. >> Yeah. Florida. >> A lot of builders in Florida. Lot of builders in Florida. A lot of builders in Texas. Their whole their whole thing is we have to build as many units as possibly as as we can because we bought this big track of land and we've got to put all these units on it and we got to get it out there in order for people to start buying at a certain date. something is going to sacrifice in its quality >> every time. >> Are you seeing the same uh the same thing in the commercial side? I mean, you know, there have to be new commercial buildings going up. I I I would presume >> there's new commercial buildings everywhere here and everyone's having a hard time filling the buildings that are currently available and there's buildings going up every day, >> you know, >> and I like I don't see it. I don't see how this fleshes out to be a good thing to anybody. That's it's an interesting concept about all the buildings going up because you know one of the things that we're seeing here in New Jersey is there's so much development across the board and >> again we're a really small state. I mean you know >> three hours tip to >> I used to drive the whole thing. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> I get your uh you know I text you and I get the I'm driving notification. I'm like what's new? >> Yeah. Because constantly driving. Yeah. We drive the whole damn >> state. Don't even don't even say response. Uh but you know, one of the things that they're doing with, you know, these commercial buildings, I mean, you know, even on Route 22 in uh in in Bridgewater, Greenbrook, they're building so much. They're taking down forestry. They're Bound Brook is a great example, right? They're they did they're doing so much building that they're these leveies can't control all the floods. So, they're they're they're trying to push the the levies up, you know, the Delaware Canal. It's causing flood zone areas to fine. Okay, we fixed this. All we've done is push the problem down to our neighbor and >> all you did was push it down further. >> Yeah. Of something that wasn't a flood zone is now a flood zone. And that affects commercial and >> resial. >> The problem the problem in Bound Brook was solved by pushing it down to Manville. So now Manville, instead of getting a two-foot surge, they get like a 12oot surge. So now the whole damn town's underwater. Um, for our viewers, um, I won't get into the names of the streets or the builders or any of that. Um, you know, so that there's, you know, we we reduce our liability. It's not slander or liabil if it's true. But I also, you know, let's let's let's not let's not cause problems for oursel. >> Let's keep it anonymous. Yeah. >> So, they have on the commercial side of things. They have, you know, you're talking about is the cost worth it? There are some spaces that are being built for commercial. You know, I I ran a retail store. So when we were looking for new retail space, there are certain developers coming from New York and, you know, and and Bergen County and, you know, building these, you know, these multi-billion dollar developers who are building these these these uh, you know, commercial complexes that, you know, think that, okay, well, it's brand new and I'm from New York, therefore you should pay New York prices. And they don't understand that market. And it's like, bro, I'm not going to pay $32 a square foot in a $12 square foot market. like that's we're just not going to do that. >> But here's here's where the monkey wrench gets thrown into that. Somebody somewhere will see because it becomes a value versus cost. >> Somebody somewhere, let's just say somebody that has a an upand cominging emerging brand. Let's let's call it a retail center because this is happening all over Jersey, right? Retail centers typically are anywhere from and you know this we've seen it from $18 a square annual numbers to like 30 32 a square >> 55 in some places. >> There are centers that like specifically where the uh the world market used to be >> and the sacks off in Bridgewater that place is 75 bucks a square foot all in 75 or 77. >> No it's not. >> Yes it is. But to someone that's coming in with a brand new or emerging brand and they want to make a splash, that becomes value over cost. Like my brand is going to look so good in this center with my sign lit up on the fascia of this. You know what I mean? Like it's worth it for me to overspend to get that notoriety in that beautiful center than for me to save a couple bucks on the rent. even if their margins and their P&L sheet don't reflect I mean are they willing to take a loss solely for the brand recognition. >> Yeah, there are people out there >> that blows my mind. >> And here's what that does. Here's the big problem though. We're not talking about one tenant. We're not talking about one company's decision, right? So I know of and we're not going to name names. I know of a center in New Brunswick that was recently built and don't get me wrong, it is completely gorgeous. I mean, the building is beautiful. It's multiple hundred luxury apartments. >> I know what you're talking about. >> Living units on this on this space, right? The broker is so arrogant and so cocky. Like, we're at the $50 foot base rent, >> pream, pre- opex, pre- insurance, >> pre, right? And the passroughs are like 20 bucks because I don't think they got a pilot and the expenses are very, very high. >> Really? They didn't get a pilot. >> Insurance is crazy. No, I don't think they did. >> And this is this is this is a this is it's an apartment complex with a a first floor commercial. >> Yeah. I know building you're talking about Ruckers, are you ra >> right? Not far. Right. So, but the responses I got were you better hurry up now because we have backup offers and you better be as close or over asking on the base. So, but here's here in lies the problem. We're not talking about one company's decision or one tenants's decision, right? Once that one tenant makes that decision, it becomes the comp. It becomes the new norm. And now, how do you expect that landlord to give this tenant, call it 75 bucks a square, and then going to cut this guy, tenant number two, a deal at 25 bucks a square. Not happening. even if they wanted to the 75 bucks a square would never let it happen because they would say um no I mean some of it's private but some of it's not um you know and one conversation with somebody and they find out that so even if even if the landlord wanted to I mean you know yeah I mean you're you're absolutely right all it takes is one there's you know we have one house in our neighborhood um that sold for like 40% more than the average home cost and we were all like like in cash, right? We're all like, "Yeah, because like we just all watched all of our property values go up because of this one. >> Our property values just went up into the sky." That's a cuz cuz here's the here's the conversation. I'm representing a tenant and I go to that broker and I say, "Okay, this is my tenant. Here's the tenant profile. This is the whole story on the tenant. What they're trying to do, what they want to do, what the permitted us is, all of that. What is what is your asking rent?" "Oh, it's $50 a square." Are you out of your mind? This is New Brunswick, >> right? We're we're talking in the 22 to $30 a square. Yeah. I just rented three spaces at 75 all in. >> And so it doesn't just affect their own building and their own comps. Now it affects all the comps in the area. >> It brings the entire town up. >> Yeah. >> Right. So it's like >> which means the only survive are Starbucks because small businesses >> that don't have they can't swing that. >> Yeah. Not even, believe it or not, not even marijuana because the margins are so tight on marijuana today. They can't, it doesn't matter how much money they're bringing in gross, they're not netting that that much money. So, not even dispensaries can pay those kind of dollars. They they >> It's insane because it's, you know, when you talk about tenants and affordability, it's based off of income, right? It's based off of revenue, revenue, >> revenue, income. um you know at the end of the day it's profit but you know your profit's based on revenue minus expenses. You translate that exact same thought process some you know I mean you see it all over I mean you see all of these you zoned uh complexes their apartments with a with a first floor commercial. >> Yeah. The mixed use. Yeah. >> And mixeduse. Yes. Uh you know the commercial small businesses can't afford that. And then, you know, you have the people who, you know, not getting raises, you know, not getting promotions. We're were in the worst unemployment, um, you know, uh, uh, market of my generation, you know, so now, and you're charging $3,500 a month for for a two bed, one bath, you know, that that that has, you know, a 10% escalator year-over-year, you know, all this development, you know, it's like this is this is my point bringing back to the, you know, five years out, what happens to this building when, you know, what do they need for return? they need 80 90% occupancy across residential and and commercial. I mean, when they don't hit that, at what point does that become a depreciable loss that goes under, right? I mean, >> almost immediately. And then that's when if they got a mortgage on it, the bank steps in and they're like, "Wait, you signed promisory notes that says this is going to maintain whatever vacancy rate >> for the life >> for the life of your loan, >> which is the point you're not doing, which is the point of a pilot, right? A pilot is, you know, is is is a township's break for a developer to get in and see can this work and >> right so for all the viewers out there pilot stands for payment in lie of taxes. So you get a huge tax break by building a new center and it's it's done quite a bit in New Jersey and I don't think those guys got a pilot program. It's and you know and and the one thing you know I think pilots work in certain areas but you know the problem is that they've become such a norm now mind you that last part that t taxes in lie of taxes. So what that means is that guess who ends up paying those taxes the residents of the town. So, you know that these pilot programs are just they're just ways for these developers to get these tax breaks and see can I get this to work and then when it fails they're like well I've made my money back from not h you know >> and then what are they abandoning the building and then you know someone comes in and we have a situation like what's that plaza in Ritton that the acme went out and there's that one that one like that that guy from up the Indian uh restaurant the one behind the dollar trade you You know what I'm talking about? The Raron Mall. Oh, the Ron Mall. Yeah, the Ron Mall, you know, and and now they're now they're trying to build on that because, you know, >> they are building on actually. Yeah. It's approved. It's approved. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They got their permits and everything. >> I went to a I went to a town hall at Ritton um for for myself uh back when I was still looking for a space to find out about the development to see whether or not it would be beneficial to us. And all of a sudden, I found myself in the middle of a mob. >> Yeah. And that's going to that's going to happen. >> It was bad. Let me So let me ask you this because I I truly believe that is it worth the cost? So it all depends, right? So you you know I'm a fashion [ __ ] right? So like you've seen the way I dress. >> Plug your IG. Plug your IG. Style broker with style. >> Yeah. Broker broker with style. So like >> my thing is fashion. It's it's one of my many things. But I dress in a suit and tie on a daily basis, right? The only day that I reserve for a casual day is Friday. Mainly showing me up hard right now. This is >> my dry cleaner bill is ridiculous because I'm constantly in a suit. And you know, just for everyone to know out there, you don't give your suits in to dry clean after one use. It's, you know, still multiple uses, but you definitely want to you want to clean them [ __ ] your your shirts. You want to clean them [ __ ] every every time you use them. So, I'm always I'm at the dry cleaner every week. So, I reserve Friday as a as a casual day. But I will say that I probably have close to 100 neckties, right? The majority of them are $100 or more. They're very expensive. They're Tom Ford, they're Brioni, you know, they're Panki or some Sevenfold ties, which, you know, $125 or more. I have those ties from 25 years ago that are still kicking today, right? I I've bought shoes that like the shoes that I'm wearing right now are Salvatore Farerragamo. They're not cheap. However, they are over 10 years old and they look brand new. >> I have another pair of Ferragamos that I actually got at an outlet mall cuz I can't be frugal at sometimes. Regardless of what you think, I think I paid like 200 bucks for these shoes, right? They're older than my 19-year-old daughter. I bought them before she was born. They look brand new. Now, you could save some money and buy stuff on on Amazon or, you know, one what wherever one of these cheap outlets are. It'll be done in within a year. Like within a year, it'll be done. You know, like if you want to talk like workout like workout apparel, you know what I mean? Like like outer apparel or whatever. You go and you can you can get a a cheap pair of sweats at Costco or whatever, right? And Lululemon is, not to plug Lululemon or anything, but they're like $125, $138 for one pair of workout pants, right? Those [ __ ] will last 10 years plus and look brand new. >> So, so there's a quality aspect, too. >> I see what you're getting at. And you're asking, is the cost worth it? And I think that that's a question of perspective and use for you who wears um fancy clothes every day. Those shoes need to last you a while. I I have good sneakers and I I I you know I mean you know cuz that's what I wear every day. But my good shoes, my good my nice dress shoes are probably like 75 bucks. And if they last five years, they owe me nothing because I wear them a dozen times a year, >> right? >> It's so So for me, a $200 pair of shoes, absolutely not >> because I'm just not going to get the use out of them to justify. I mean, you know, my dad just uh just bought a grill. I' I've been telling him for years. He's been getting these cheap $100 jobs. He finally got the Weber I've been trying to get him to get for years because I grill a lot. I have a my first grill that I ever bought with my own money. Well, that's not true. When when my wife girlfriend at the time bought our first house, she got me a grill for like, you know, uh for for like a housewarming gift to myself. So, when I say my own money, I mean, you know, our money. >> Our own money. >> Yeah. But she knew that's the one I wanted, right? And it's that was 10 years ago. And you know, I mean, I have to replace the the heat shields, but it's still rocking >> because it's a good quality grill and I use it regularly item. >> If you're going to grill once a year, >> you would never spend that much money. For me, it was worth it because I use it so regular. It takes so much abuse. So that's that's, you know, is the cost worth it? It's a matter of perspective, too, you know? >> Right. So quality quality plays into a part of that because some people are like, you know what, I'm going to budget could buy this item, right? Like let's just say that you you sign a lot of documents on a daily basis, right? So I'm not going to go buy a $1,000 MLANC pen because that's just showing that I'm a douchebag and I just want to have a M Blanc pen. Like if you want to have a ML pen, that's great. It's awesome. I love the brand. It's great. But if I'm going to budget, I could buy 12 $5 pens that'll do just the same job and when it shits out, I have a backup. You know, that's like, is the cost worth it? Is a M Blanc pen worth it when it's a it's a writing tool? Are you Nobody writes books anymore by hand, >> you know? Right. So, it's it's not like you're using it as your profession. If you're just signing documents, you know, and you want to be a tool and sign it with like a fountain pen or get one of those fake ass, you know, uh quill pens, you know what I mean? Just just so you you look cool. That's a completely different story to me. And and I'm a I'm a writing instrument fan. I collect pens. So if it if that's the aspect of what you're going for, that's a whole different story cuz some people can look at that as an investment because a lot of Montbanc pens every Montlanc pen is serialized. So some serial numbers are worth more than others, right? So they they appreciate in value. That's a completely different story. But if you're buying a MBlanc pen, like the bottom of the barrel MB Blanc pen is a couple hundred bucks, right? There's no reason to have that. There's no investment value in that. You're not going to make any more money on that. You just want to have a Mlanc pen in your pocket. Okay, fine. Whatever. But is that is that street cred, that social status worth the cost? To me, I don't think so. If it's a special edition Mont Blanc that you buy for $2,000 today and it's worth $10,000 in five years. Yeah, I can I can see that, right? Because there's there's a motive behind it. Does anybody need a $2,000 pen? No, not at all. But it's like that with everything. Like, what do you see as worth the cost? So, like I'm going to I'm going to tell you something that I did really really stupidly. And you know that I've done a lot of stupid [ __ ] right? So, I went shoe shopping with my brother-in-law. And I am the type of person, you would definitely hate going personal shopping with me because I don't ever look at price tags. And when I get to the register, no matter how shocked I am, I still pay. Like I out of embarrassment, I will not tell anybody, "Put that back." One of the biggest >> Yeah. One of the biggest bonehead moves I ever did was I went, first of all, step one was I went shoe shopping at Nean Marcus. I love that brand. I love that store. But if you are not rolling in dough, don't go. I'm just I'm telling you that right now. I'm saving you a lot of heartache. Don't go. Cuz everything you see, you're going to want and everything is a fortune. >> So, I go shoe shopping at at Nean Marcus and I'm with my brother-in-law and I'm just there trying on shoes and I'm loving everything. And you know, my brother-in-law is one of those type of people where they will buy stuff just to get people jealous. Like that's their main motive in >> well they're Jones anything. >> They're Jones. >> Yeah. With cars, with clothes, with anything, right? So I see a blue pair of shoes and he was like, "You should buy those. Everyone's dying to have those shoes and you can afford it." And I was like, "Yeah, but I don't like those. Those are ugly as [ __ ] Like I Yeah. Yeah, they actually were. They were they were Tom Fords. I think they either were Tom Fords or Manolo Blondics, right? And I was just like, "Those shoes are ugly as [ __ ] I'm not buying those shoes." And I saw a pair of Tom Ford zip up Chelsea boots. So I was like, "Oh [ __ ] I have to have these." So I try them on. They fit. I go to the register. $1,700. >> Did you buy them? >> Like $1,750. Yeah. I bought them out of embarrassment cuz I was like, after all of this work, I mean cards away from you. I'm in charge of them from now on on shoes. >> I mean, this was like I want to say in 2011. I have those shoes till today and they look brand new still and I wear them all the time. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Granted, >> but that was one of the biggest [ __ ] my pants cost. Is it worth it? I still don't even know if it was worth it. >> We're we're going hard off tangent from from this from this this this topic now. Why were you embarrassed to say, "Whoa, I I thought 300 tops. Why? Why? Why not? >> Always been that. Always been that way. I just always been that way. >> I feel like I'm there for a purpose. The salesperson's there for a purpose. They have to make money. They have to feed their family. I I ran them around trying on like every kind of shoe possible. If I'm real talk here, I bought more than one pair of shoes. So, it was a lot more than 1,700. But the rest of them would deal >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was a philanthropic uh mission there. But that was the biggest shock. I was like, "Okay, I knew what these around cost." When they said $1,700 for those boots, I nearly [ __ ] myself. But I paid for everything. I still have all the shoes till today. So, the quality is there. But tell me about one situation where you were like it was a gulp moment like a >> So, >> but you went through with it. So I I I >> And was the cost worth it? >> All right. I don't know if I I don't know if I could say it's a gulp moment, right? Because there's very little that I would allow myself to be forced into unless I had to unless it was something that >> Yeah. >> like the only real gulp moment where you don't have a choice to back out really. There's there's two places that I really like we we spend our money, right? I personally I'm I'm I'm I'm a techie man. I I spend money on on technologies. You know what what what I like to buy technology-wise, other people would look and go, wh what? So, I get that. But but I also know that going in, right? I know that going in. And if if I was looking for, you know, a device that I was like, "All right, this is going to cost about 500 bucks." And then they said it was 3,000. There's no goal. There's, "All right, we're going to put that back." Like, you know, >> that looks better on the shelf. That looks a lot better on the shelf than in my house. Yeah. >> Hey, hey, um, can you show me your open box section? Like I I got no shame about it. Right. >> Where's the clearance section? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I got you. I got you. >> The biggest gulp I have where Oh [ __ ] And I have to do it. Is there's two types of way to spend money in this asset. One is by choice and the other is not by choice. My home, right? We we like to invest in our house. We're We like to do projects. We like to improve. There's things that we can do very easily. As I said, I'm a big fan of technology. So, our entire house is IoT. You know, if if I told you how much I've invested >> that's internet of things for people. >> Internet of things for for those. And if you really want to get down to the layman, if you don't still don't know what internet of things, it means things that are not computers that have internet connectivity. Internet connectivity. You know, you know those fridges that have, you know, refrigerator. Yeah. Your fridge that has, you know, you know, for no reason connected to the air. don't have one. But it's not because I don't want one. It's because when we bought this, >> they're too damn expensive. >> It's not. No. I have a Subzero fridge and it's built in. >> Those are not cheap. >> They're not cheap. And it came with the house. I would never have put one in. Never. There's no I looked up how much it cost >> cuz that damn refrigerator is like 8 N grand. >> 12. >> Yeah. >> I looked up my model and when and and 12,000. And it's a built-in, right? So, unless I'm willing to tear down the wall, redo all the cabinets, every time it breaks, I have to refrigerate. >> Yeah. And that's not true. >> I would I would be it would give me great joy to rip that thing out and put in a Wi-Fi $3,000 fridge because that would be cheaper than the fixing it of the Subzero. But, um, >> for real. >> But, you know, I mean, like, if I told you how much I spent on smart switches, you go to you go to the Home Depot, it's $150 for a switch. You get 40 of them for your house. Cost you >> like 30, right? I think it's like 30 for a smart switch. >> No, no. My smart switches are about 65 bucks a piece. Yeah. Yeah. Because I I I have a specific ecosystem that I want to be on that does specific things and integrates into other ecosystems, you know, that I that I utilize. So, I mean, you know, I I I'm a big fan of platform uh symmetry. So, you know, again, I'm I'm a big tech nerd. So, you know, all that being said, that what you just, you know, it's it wasn't a gulp moment for me because I knew what I was getting into, but it's, you know, it's it's a it's it's something that, you know, I I hear $1,700 on shoes and I'm like there's there's no world there's there's no world in which I would ever spend $1,700 shoes, but $1,700 on, you know, a really like Apple Vision Pro just came out. It's like $3,500 bucks. I'm not getting one yet, but man, do I want one. I I want one so bad. >> But you want one and you could see the value in it. >> Absolutely. I know exactly what I would use it for, too. It's not just I want one cuz it's there. I know exactly what I would use it for. >> But, you know, it's all relative, too, Bri, because it's like, you know, 17 $1,700, right? It was like 1756, whatever, whatever, whatever the [ __ ] it was. But that's like that's that's a gulp moment for me. That's a really big gulp moment for you, right? When you hear that on shoes, but then someone else will be like, $1,700. I remember when I had my >> Yeah, exactly. >> over a pair of shoes. You know what I mean? like it ain't [ __ ] to somebody, you know, of of that caliber, you know what I mean? >> PV, right? I mean, way back when I first got into it, my first board, my buddy got me into it. He he he the very first one back then was $1,500. I I had this for a skateboard. I I rode his. I loved it. I bought it that night. And now the new the new models are going for 3,000 plus. And you know, I have very I I don't I don't have as much of an issue spending it on that cuz I know I love it and I know what it's worth. Some other people would see, you know, $3,000 and think on a skateboard. But then you look at some of the other >> That's exactly that's me. I would be like on a on a [ __ ] skateboard. Really? >> But then you see some other PEVs. You see, you know, EU's are coming out and you know, you see some higherend ebikes and whatnot and they're costing $7,000. Well, I was actually going to buy one of those ebikes, the one that I tried at your shop and then almost killed myself on it. So then I said, "No, I still have two I actually still have two bikes left from from the store. They're Ray Volt bikes, a Torino and a a Cruiser, and they retail at $4,300 a pop. Um, and I'm selling them, you know, shameless plug. Anyone who wants a Rayolt ebike, I'm selling them for like 30% off right now. Um, you know, hit me up for a deal." But like that's there's somebody that sees the cost like it's that cost is worth it to them. >> Like they use a bike every single day. Like they work these are like >> you know handcrafted leather. You know you can get a $1,000 ebike for a commuter. This is like you know it's a high-end bike with regenerative braking. It's app based. Most of them have built-in controller modules. So I mean it's an upgraded bike, right? So someone someone who's like in that lifestyle can see that like that cost is worth it to them. And I guess that's what the the whole purpose of this is. Whether whether it's $1,700 Tom Ford boots or whether it's a $2 CEO, you know, cigar, whatever it is, it's got to be worth it to you, right? It's whatever that cost is, it's got to be worth it to you. And it's what is the worth, right? Like where do you see the value? Is it in the name? Is it in what that affords you? You know, like people walking around on the street with a Starbucks cup in their hand. Is that drink really worth $10? No, it's not. But because you have that green mermaid or whatever the [ __ ] that is on that that logo, it's worth it to you at that point >> because the whole world or everybody on the street that's that's seeing you knows you spent $10 on that drink. >> And that's a great concept, right? Designer versus, you know, versus non-designer. Are you paying for the name? I'll give you a great example right now. I I I work from home now >> and I'm I'm I'm in a chair, you know, um and and at a desk hours on end, you know, I all day, all day, you know, 10 plus hours a day. I am currently in the market to invest in a good standing desk and a good ergonomic chair. This one's an ergonomic chair. I just got this one. I I cheed out. I went on an Amazon Prime Day deal. It was like a hundred something bucks. I hate it. It's going back. I'm I'm, you know, I was trying to avoid the $550 chairs. Guess what? My wife and I talked about it last night. I need one of the $550 chairs, you know, because because >> Yeah, because $175, right? You get two of those, you're at $350. >> But this one's also It's not comfortable. >> 85% of the way there, right? >> Exactly. So >> So just spend the money and get the chair cuz you're in it all day long. >> What do they say? Cry once, buy once, you know, and and it it it all depends on what you're doing. I mean, is that Starbucks coffee worth it? Are you good to to have a a curig at home? Do you want to just, you know, deal with the the $100 chair or do you want to really enjoy and not have your ass go numb and you know? >> Right. Well, that like like that's the thing. I I had I had a couple meetings this morning and then instead of instead of going to the office because there was a special like headshot day where they they brought a photographer in and everybody was getting ready for their head shot and I'm like [ __ ] out of here. I'm not doing that [ __ ] I I don't want to be there in the office when there's like a hundred residential agents getting their their head shot that all look the same way, by the way. Every one of those head shots look the same [ __ ] way. And I was like, "No, I don't want to do that. I'm going to go to the coffee shop. I'm going to go to the coffee shop where they have internet and I'm going to chill out there." And, you know, I'm on a like very restrictive diet. So, one of my only cheats, but is still in the carnivore, low carb, whatever, is whipped cream. So sometimes I have like an iced double shot of espresso with a little whipped cream on top. So it kind of makes it a little creamy and it gives it a little bit of taste. And I was like, you know what? There's a a coffee shop not far from here that I love. I love their coffee. It's called the Java Cafe. And I get there and it's just like I've never seen this parking lot so full. There was not one space available. And I was like, well, I guess God doesn't want me to have this coffee today. So, I went home and I made espresso in my kind of like it's like a it's an espresso machine, right? I made an espresso. I put a little whipped cream on there. Got the job done, right? I wasn't crying. >> I wasn't crying in my beer. >> But wasn't a coffee shop place because I remember when you took >> It really wasn't. >> But that's that's the thing, right? I mean, you know, I'm a functional coffee drinker daily. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the nice treat. When we went to Short Hills for you to show me that that place, um you know, you were like, "Bro, you got to try this coffee spot." And you you took me over there. We got like those little little biscati things and this like it was delicious. It blows my curig out of the water, but I'm not going to have every day because you know, >> not every day. >> It's a treat. No, right. >> So, yeah. >> Where where did where did we go, by the way? Do you remember where we went? >> The name of the place? >> Yeah. Like, do you remember like roundabout where it was? >> Yeah, I can I can >> Was it a Was it like a one-off? Was it a one-off place? Yeah, it was it was a it was a um um a standalone individual, not a franchise, not a corporate chain, none of that. It was >> Was it across from the >> It was like >> the place that I took it to was next door's place that you took me to. >> It was like two or three down. >> Okay. Yeah. Yes, I remember. Now I remember. Yep. >> Yeah. And and that's how you actually got cuz I didn't want to go to Short Hills, remember? I was like, I'm not going to Short Hills for a space. You're like, listen, take the drive. We're going to go to this coffee shop. It's worth the drive just for that. I was like, all right. It's gonna be worth it, right? >> Yeah. >> I'll let you sucker me into that one >> after after I nearly killed myself on the way there. >> So, any listeners who are who are who are on here, Angelo is always in the car and he doesn't drive like a smart car. He drives like a freaking boat. And there's one day where we're we're going to the short hills and I I like I'm watching him and you know cops who are watching this happened in the past and this is a hypothetical story. It didn't really happen. >> Yes. And I don't drive like this anymore. I'm just going to I'm just going to plug that right now. I'm going to preface this. I don't drive like this anymore. >> I have my GPS on. It's three lanes. If we're both in the right I'm following him, but I have my GPS on and he uh he you know I'm like it's telling me to get off left. I'm like nah, he knows where he's going. I'm just going to follow him and like so so I see him like driving like this and then look up and go whoop and he just cuts across and I'm like all right, I guess I'm going to take a U-turn. That is the life of a real estate professional because you only have what you kill. >> You are constantly on the phone. So on that particular drive, I was on the phone audibly. I was texting and sending an email and it's it's always for the real estate professional. This is the one thing that you guys out there don't really understand. for the real estate professional. The attorneys, the buyers, the sellers are always putting so much heat on us. They can get back to your email whenever the [ __ ] they want. If if they want to get back to your email in 3 days, a week, 2 weeks from now, it's fine. They have the license to do that. If you don't respond within 30 seconds, everybody wants to shoot you, murder you, hang you, and then take the listing away from you. It's like they want to take the food out of your children's mouths because you didn't answer an email in 30 seconds. So, you're you're constantly driving and you're you're emailing and you're texting and I was doing all of the above that day. >> I would like to say two things to that point, Angela. One is not everybody cuz I know >> present company excluded. >> Present company excluded. Number two, on that same note, anyone who's watching this who is in the market for anything on the commercial space was um you know uh too humble to do this, so I'm going to do it for him. I I need to plug my boy here. We worked together for almost a year trying to find a spot. We never we never got there because, you know, existential circumstances, Angelo, you know, there's there's a I mean, level of of what a commercial real estate agent should be doing. There's a job description that here's the roles and responsibilities. Anything outside of that, there's another service for, go pay them. Angelo took the ownership and not because I asked him to, simply because he did. simply because he cares and simply because he's not just a volumebased churn him out broker. I think in the very first podcast you were talking about relationships and it's not a platitude. It's not a credo. It's he lives and breathes it. He is relationship focused before he does anything else. There's a reason I I to any readers listening at the end of the day not $1 transactionally was shared between me and Angelo during the days where I he I hired him as my broker because we never found a spot. So he worked for effectively a year kind of for free for me and again doing more than just brokering. He wrote me tenant profiles. He helped you know we we we actually revised you know sections of my business plan to make it more attractive to brokers and landlords because as a small business I'm not Starbucks. My financials were good but they weren't they're not Starbucks. So, he was trying to help me find a way to like make myself more attractive to help, you know, you know, we found spaces that landlords wouldn't even want to talk to us. They were regardless of how expensive they were, whether or not they've been the right fit. They simply saw you're not um massive conglomerate national chain. I don't want you in my place. Angelo went above and beyond in every way, shape, or form. If you have a need in the commercial real estate space and you're on the fence and trying to figure out who do I go to and hell, you're watching this channel for cigars, doesn't matter. Hire Angelo. You will not regret it. It will literally give you the shirt off his own back and take money out of his own pocket to ensure that you get everything you need. I have seen him work tirelessly for absolutely no money, not just for myself, but for others as well. And that's one of the biggest reasons why I'm actually joining his team is because I see what he puts into this business. And I don't want to work for somebody or or partner with anybody who isn't going to put in that that level of dedication when my name is on the line, when my time is on the line. So if you're on the fence, give them a call. I'm telling you there there's there's there's just no regurg. So do you do you no regrets? Do do you like All right. So that whole ordeal is behind us, right? I can tell you this now. Do you know why I did that? >> Well, for the sake I have several We've talked about several things, but for the sake of the podcast, you know, and and given that, you know, that was a very on the nose question that you've never asked me before. Tell me >> this is this is like a this is the um this is a safe space, right? This is the uh the tree of the line. >> So, we're good there. >> Yeah, I forget the line in in old school. This is the uh safe space with the with the tree of forgiveness. Before you say it, I want to make sure that we that that the listeners know I'm no longer Angela's client because I've converted my business to a non-physical operational sto uh uh e-commerce store. Not because I don't, you know, I he didn't do a good job. I simply I'm no longer in a physical space. That's the only reason why I'm no longer a client. Not for any other reason. Just want to make sure that's clear. >> Two reasons I I did that. It's kind of like two and a half. One is I gave you my word. In a world of contracts and you can't even trust somebody when they sign a contract, I am very very old school. When I give you my word, I will do it or die trying. And I almost die trying >> several times >> with in front of you. That's one. Number two, I love seeing the underdog. I love it. Absolutely love it. When I see a small company beat the brakes off of a Starbucks or like beat the brakes off of a mattress giant or I [ __ ] love it. Like there's no greater accomplishment I see than that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Mattress Giant or Starbucks. I'll represent anybody, but when I see that, now don't get me wrong, I have dealt with people that I passed on their assignment that were a small startup mom and pop shop, but I didn't see that drive. I didn't see the twinkle in their eye. I didn't see that drive. I didn't see that need to do something. You could you couldn't pay me enough. you could not pay me enough to do that job because in the end I know that that business is not going to survive. Right? If they if that person feels some sort of a sense of entitlement or they need to be there or you know they're they're they're going to do this just because I'm Bob. Yeah. That that doesn't work for me. >> But when I see that twinkle in your eye and I see that passion, I'm like, "Okay, this is the guy who's going to beat the brakes off of, you know, whatever big company." And that's what really drives me. And then when I met your family, your mom and your dad and everybody, I was like, "Okay, now I have no choice. Now I now I got to do this." Like this is I was already at the point of do it or die trying. But now it's just like it's only die trying now. Like that's that's it. It's not do it or it's just die try. Like die trying. >> When you watch my daughter run through, you know, an open space and I'm like, "You like the space baby?" And uh you're like, "Oh, I got to get him to space." >> That's it. that that that was that was it and that is just the type of person that I am. I why I got into this field is because a lot of people rightly so they discredit my field. They they discredit my profession because a lot of people and and I say this with no regrets. There's a lot of real estate professionals that don't give a [ __ ] >> They are just there for their commission and that's fine if that's your business model. Great. You want to turn out a million listings a year? Awesome. That's great. I have been represented by brokers like that because I have been on the other side of the fence. I have been a tenant. I have been a purchaser, a buyer, and I have been represented by some of the most piss poor brokers that you ever want to meet. And then I said, you know what? I can turn something loose on this industry and I can show people the difference of a broker that cares and a broker that is atomically precise in what they do. Do you remember how why I reached out to you originally? >> I sure do. >> So for our listeners, Angelo was representing in the space that I was in last in Somerville. Angelo was the broker representing the landlord. my broker. Angelo is my fourth broker in five years because every single one that ever, you know, I mean, they they're they're they're all they're all dime a dozen and they don't give a [ __ ] you know, and and I'm not going to mention any names and I'm sure if anyone one of those people who represented me is watching this and be like, "He's talking about me." Absolutely. I'm talking about you. >> Go [ __ ] yourself. >> If I if when this link is up, I might even send it to a few of them. Just absolute piss poor. I don't give a [ __ ] You know, uh, zero just no no fs given, right? Angelo worked for the other side. His job was to make sure that his client got the best deal. And let's pretend let's pretend he did or didn't, you know, is relevant, right? Um cuz I, you know, I think I think, you know, it was it was relatively fair. But my my broker >> it was >> my Yeah, it was my broker my broker didn't I mean he was so much more interested in just sch smoozing the landlord and you know I called him whenever I called him about anything he made it seem like Brian's calling again like I felt like I was a burden an imposition and then when I needed another another broker for the for the for the the last you know potential move I called you. The fact that I had your number and you weren't my broker in the first place, that should go to show you, right? So, I called you and I first made sure that there was no conflict and there wasn't. >> Mhm. >> And then I and and you know, you're the only broker that never got me a space and the only broker that I'm, you know, if I ever need a commercial space again, I will never use anybody else. How crazy is that, right? That's crazy. >> That's the kind of broker you are. >> I appreciate that. >> Got you, bud. It was I'll tell you it it's another reason that I do this work is because I get to learn people's businesses and I try to enrich however I can. >> You actually did learn my business fairly well and it's a pretty complicated one that nobody understands. >> Right. So, like that's I think that's I think that's a God-given gift is that I can I can adapt and I can learn very quickly and I learned your business very quickly and I tried to connect you with as many people as possible. City people, >> you know, like congressmen and other people that could have catapulted the business. I'm going to I'm not going to name names, but I don't think he ever called you. I don't think he ever reached out to you. I had a client that was a very very notable person in the tech space and I reach I sold him a building and I reached out and I think he ghosted the both of us. I don't think like and just one word from him could have changed the trajectory of everything. No, no matter tariffs, no matter >> to be fair, he ghosted us but his team did not. His team ended up really Mhm. I don't I I I I think I told you. I maybe I didn't. >> You never told me this. There will be a video coming out from not his main channel, but a sub channel of his. It's like a studio channel. >> Mhm. >> There's going to be a video coming out. Was supposed to come out in the spring. I don't know what they did. They actually came and borrowed one of my devices to shoot this video. >> Are you serious? >> I met him, but I didn't. >> You never told me that. >> I can't believe I never told you this. >> You never told me this. >> I can't believe I never told >> All this time I was like, I can't believe he did me like that. >> Yeah. No, I and and and I had, you know, again, it wasn't the 19 million followers. It was the um it's like 250,000 or 400,000 or something like that. But >> but nothing to sneeze at. So, you know, and uh I don't know. We'll see what happens. They borrowed it and they they brought it back with a with a busted mount I replaced and it was, you know, it was fine. But uh you know, no, it was it >> but that that's like what I do, right? So I I don't >> So don't don't sell yourself short. It did it something did come out of that. >> I'm I'm so happy that I know that now. Like didn't I don't ask questions to be nosy. I ask questions to see how I can enrich this business. Like who do I know that I can reach out to? I don't have to do that. That's not in my job description. It's not in any broker's job description, right? But if I can help you in other ways than getting you space, you're going to going to remember that for life. You're going to remember that for life. And the next time you need something, you're going to come back to me. And ultimately, this is the ultimate goal in that, right? Like, let's just say I connect you with somebody and that becomes like a huge thing. I had a part in that. >> Mhm. >> You know what I mean? It's like that sense of accomplishment. Like, see that guy over there? See that guy with like 5 million viewers? I had a part in that. Like obviously everybody does what they have to do and they hustle their ass off and they work. But it was like I was the main cause of that. >> What you just said why you got involved with mine my business for exactly that reason. Why? That's why I'm here for yours returning the favor, right? I'm going to have a part in your your big glow up. >> Yeah. I just use the word glow up. >> Exactly. That was such that was such a a a Gen Z. >> I know. I know. I I'm I'm I'm I'm already like Can we just go back in time to where I didn't say that? >> Dude, this this episode was awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope all of you out there enjoy it. Like we said on the phone, I'm not doing any more podcasts alone ever again. >> I've been trying to tell you >> this is way it's way too much. It's way too much fun. I I this is this is the this is probably like the 20th and 30th podcast I've been on, but the first one of this nature. I I I love the model and I'm excited to be a guest on it again. Maybe next time. >> I think we need to get him on because I think we're going to between me, you, and him, we're going to have people pissing in their >> pants. There needs to be a little bit of entertainment value. >> Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So, I know you got you got stuff to do. I got some stuff to do and uh we're gonna we're gonna call that a wrap on this one. So for sticks and stones, keep it rolling.