Black Entrepreneur Blueprint 541 - Jay Jones - The Pros And Cons Of Making Money As A Middleman

[00:00:12] Welcome to Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, the number one podcast and resource for Black entrepreneurs.

[00:00:19] I'm your host Jay Jones and Black Entrepreneur Blueprint was created specifically to educate and inspire Black entrepreneurs to launch, build and grow successful, sustainable businesses.

[00:00:32] Join us as we help build an economic power base in the worldwide Black community by building and supporting Black owned businesses.

[00:00:41] If you're currently an entrepreneur or want to be an entrepreneur, you're invited to join us each and every week here at Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:00:50] Welcome to the BEB family and get ready to elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:00:56] Welcome to the Black Entrepreneur Blueprint, episode number 541.

[00:01:07] I'm your host Jay Jones and today we have another outstanding and informative show in store for you.

[00:01:13] Today we're going to be doing a rebroadcast of one of our most downloaded and impactful episodes from April of 2023 titled The Pros and Cons Of Making Money As A Middleman.

[00:01:25] The Pros and Cons Of Making Money As A Middleman.

[00:01:29] Now let's get ready for today's show content.

[00:01:32] Now millions of dollars are being made each day guys by middlemen ranging from billion dollar companies to entrepreneurs and even sole proprietors.

[00:01:42] So on today's show I'm going to discuss some of the pros and cons and I'm also going to talk about how you can leverage the middleman position for profit.

[00:01:51] Now before we get to today's content I just want to share a few things with the Black Entrepreneur Blueprint family.

[00:01:57] First and foremost I want to welcome all first time listeners to Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:02:02] Welcome to the BEB family.

[00:02:05] Please stick around until the end of today's broadcast and I'm going to share all my social media contact information and resource links such as the link to my latest book.

[00:02:15] Unlocking the power of chat GPT.

[00:02:18] The ultimate prompting handbook for beginners.

[00:02:21] You can go to unlockingchatgpt.com for more information.

[00:02:28] Unlockingchatgpt.com for more information.

[00:02:32] So if you've been listening to the news or reading anything you know right now chat GPT and artificial intelligence is the talk of the town.

[00:02:41] The question is what side of this technical revolution are you going to be on?

[00:02:45] Are you going to be one of the people that possibly lose their job or get swallowed up by artificial intelligence in chat GPT?

[00:02:53] Or are you going to be able to leverage the new technology to be profitable and also be more productive?

[00:03:00] So if that's something you're interested in make sure you go to unlockingchatgpt.com

[00:03:06] And I'm going to show you and give you examples of prompting.

[00:03:11] And prompts are what you ask chat GPT to get the responses.

[00:03:16] And the way you prompt chat GPT can be the difference between getting a vague paragraph back versus getting a book back.

[00:03:23] And so the whole key is prompting.

[00:03:26] And that's what the focus of the book is.

[00:03:28] It's the ultimate prompting handbook for beginners.

[00:03:32] Here's something I want you guys to understand.

[00:03:34] There are companies out there that are actually hiring for prompt engineers.

[00:03:39] And they're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[00:03:43] So that's why I created the book Unlocking the Power of Chat GPT.

[00:03:47] The ultimate prompting handbook for beginners.

[00:03:50] Because if you don't use this technology for your own endeavors.

[00:03:55] You can actually use it in a corporate structure.

[00:03:58] Where you can be an employee and be a prompt engineer.

[00:04:01] So go to unlockingchatgpt.com

[00:04:05] Now let's get ready for today's content.

[00:04:08] So what we're talking about today guys is the pros and cons of making money as a middleman.

[00:04:14] So the term middleman has gotten a bad rap for many years.

[00:04:17] Because many people feel that a middleman increases the cost to the end user.

[00:04:22] So whatever that product or service is.

[00:04:24] Most people think that the middleman is the reason that the price is inflated.

[00:04:29] But there's also profit to be made if you're a middleman.

[00:04:33] And we're going to discuss the pros and cons today.

[00:04:36] And so first I want to give you the definition of a middleman.

[00:04:40] So a middleman is an intermediary or agent between two parties.

[00:04:45] Especially a dealer, agent or company intermediate.

[00:04:48] Between the producer of goods and the retailer or consumer.

[00:04:53] So pretty much a middleman is what it is.

[00:04:56] It's somebody that's in between two sides of a transaction.

[00:05:00] Obviously it's usually a seller and a buyer.

[00:05:03] And we're going to discuss why this is important.

[00:05:05] And how you can be profitable as a middleman.

[00:05:09] But let's take a look at some of the most popular middlemen.

[00:05:12] And most of you obviously have heard of these companies.

[00:05:15] But we'll talk about a few just to make sure you guys understand.

[00:05:18] So Amazon for example.

[00:05:21] Amazon connects buyers and sellers to the tune of over 1.29 billion dollars a day in revenue.

[00:05:29] So all Amazon is is a platform that connects buyers and sellers.

[00:05:33] And they're doing over 1.2 billion with a B dollars in revenue a day.

[00:05:39] Another very popular one is Airbnb.

[00:05:41] They connect travelers with lodging.

[00:05:44] Airbnb doesn't own any of the hotels or any of the spaces.

[00:05:48] All they are is a middleman.

[00:05:51] Another one is Uber.

[00:05:52] They connect riders to transportation.

[00:05:54] Once again Uber is the biggest taxi company out there.

[00:05:57] But they don't own taxis.

[00:05:59] They are a middleman.

[00:06:00] They're a platform.

[00:06:02] And we're going to talk about that a little later.

[00:06:04] You can also look at Kayak.

[00:06:06] So if you want to go traveling.

[00:06:07] Kayak connects travelers with airfare, hotels, car rentals and all of that good stuff.

[00:06:13] Kayak.

[00:06:14] That's another middleman.

[00:06:15] Let's look at something else.

[00:06:17] Lending tree.

[00:06:18] Right.

[00:06:18] I'm in the mortgage business.

[00:06:20] Was in the mortgage business.

[00:06:22] And get ready to get back into the mortgage business.

[00:06:24] But lending tree.

[00:06:26] That connects loan shoppers to lenders.

[00:06:28] So if you're looking for a mortgage, a credit card or something like that.

[00:06:32] You can go to lending tree.

[00:06:33] And what lending tree does.

[00:06:35] It takes some basic information.

[00:06:37] And then it's going to connect you with the appropriate lender.

[00:06:42] Be it a home loan if you're looking for refinance.

[00:06:46] If you're looking for a credit card or whatever.

[00:06:48] A home equity line of credit.

[00:06:50] But lending tree.

[00:06:51] Very big.

[00:06:52] Been around for a long time.

[00:06:53] Now on a smaller scale.

[00:06:55] You can look at an independent insurance agent.

[00:06:58] So if you're an independent insurance agent.

[00:07:01] And you're licensed with many different companies.

[00:07:03] Then what you're doing is you're connecting consumers.

[00:07:06] Who are the end user to the insurance companies.

[00:07:09] So you may be licensed or appointed with 15 different insurance companies.

[00:07:14] Unless you're a captive agent.

[00:07:16] Right.

[00:07:17] But you're still a middleman.

[00:07:18] So you as an insurance agent.

[00:07:21] You connect the consumers to the insurance companies.

[00:07:24] There's another platform or company out there called Peer Space.

[00:07:28] Right.

[00:07:28] So if you want to rent a space for an event.

[00:07:30] What it does.

[00:07:31] It connects consumers to event spaces.

[00:07:34] So if you own an event space.

[00:07:36] You're going to put it up on Peer Space.

[00:07:38] And if you're looking for an event space.

[00:07:41] Somewhere to hold an event party or whatever.

[00:07:44] You're going to go to Peer Space.

[00:07:45] And you're going to start searching.

[00:07:47] And once again.

[00:07:49] They act or that platform acts as a middleman.

[00:07:52] Here's some more examples of smaller entities that act as a middleman.

[00:07:57] So for example.

[00:07:58] If you're in the real estate business.

[00:07:59] You're a real estate agent.

[00:08:00] You connect home buyers to people that are selling properties.

[00:08:04] You're a middleman.

[00:08:05] You don't own the property.

[00:08:07] You're the middleman.

[00:08:08] You're the connection between the home buyer and the home seller.

[00:08:12] If you're a travel agent.

[00:08:13] Right.

[00:08:13] You're not flying the planes or whatever.

[00:08:16] You're helping travelers plan travel.

[00:08:18] You are a middleman.

[00:08:20] That's why a lot of people right now.

[00:08:22] They go directly to the source.

[00:08:25] But travel agents.

[00:08:27] That's a good business.

[00:08:28] You can make money if you know what you're doing.

[00:08:30] Okay.

[00:08:31] Another one.

[00:08:32] If you're an affiliate marketer.

[00:08:33] All you do is act as a middleman.

[00:08:35] To market someone else's products or services.

[00:08:37] There are people that are making millions of dollars a year.

[00:08:41] Being an affiliate marketer.

[00:08:43] For all types of different products or services.

[00:08:46] Now a lead generation company.

[00:08:48] Right.

[00:08:48] You connect prospects to specific companies by generating leads.

[00:08:53] And we're going to talk about this a little more in detail later on.

[00:08:56] So if you are a lead generation company.

[00:09:00] And you're generating leads for insurance agents.

[00:09:03] What you're doing is you're connecting the consumer.

[00:09:07] Which is the end user.

[00:09:10] The purchaser.

[00:09:11] The person that wants to buy insurance.

[00:09:13] With the insurance company.

[00:09:15] You're selling those leads to the insurance company.

[00:09:18] So these are some examples of a middleman.

[00:09:21] And as you can see.

[00:09:23] There's some very lucrative entities that are in this business of being a middleman.

[00:09:28] Like I said.

[00:09:28] I know a lot of times it gets a bad rap.

[00:09:31] Oh you're a middleman or whatever.

[00:09:32] You're just shooting up my prices.

[00:09:35] But in some instances.

[00:09:36] It doesn't.

[00:09:37] It actually helps.

[00:09:39] There are other instances.

[00:09:40] And I'll give you real life examples.

[00:09:42] In the mortgage business.

[00:09:43] Right now.

[00:09:44] My ex-business partner.

[00:09:46] My old business partner.

[00:09:47] We're about to go back in the business.

[00:09:50] In the mortgage business.

[00:09:51] And I had a question the other day.

[00:09:53] From a family member.

[00:09:55] Why should somebody come to your mortgage brokerage firm.

[00:09:59] Versus going to directly to Wells Fargo.

[00:10:02] And this is an example of where middlemen actually help you out.

[00:10:06] And they didn't understand.

[00:10:08] And they're like.

[00:10:08] Well why should we come to you when I can go to my bank.

[00:10:11] And I explained to them.

[00:10:13] I said.

[00:10:13] When you go to your bank.

[00:10:14] If you're looking for a mortgage.

[00:10:16] That bank has employees.

[00:10:18] And they have one specific program.

[00:10:20] Not one program.

[00:10:21] But they have a set of criteria.

[00:10:24] Underwriting criteria.

[00:10:25] That if you don't match.

[00:10:27] Or exceed that criteria.

[00:10:29] Wells Fargo home mortgage is going to tell you no.

[00:10:32] Right.

[00:10:33] They're an A lender.

[00:10:34] So if you don't have good credit.

[00:10:36] Assets.

[00:10:37] And all that good stuff.

[00:10:38] Work history.

[00:10:39] Ability to repay.

[00:10:40] You're not going to get approved there.

[00:10:43] Now.

[00:10:43] As a mortgage broker.

[00:10:45] We're licensed and contracted with banks such as Wells Fargo.

[00:10:49] Bank of America.

[00:10:50] And also many wholesale lenders.

[00:10:53] That don't sell directly to the public.

[00:10:55] And what I had to explain to them.

[00:10:57] I said.

[00:10:58] Many times.

[00:10:59] Our rates as a broker.

[00:11:00] If you look at Wells Fargo rates.

[00:11:03] Are better.

[00:11:04] Than the rates the actual bank can give you.

[00:11:07] Because there's no overhead attached.

[00:11:10] To our rates.

[00:11:11] So when you're getting a rate directly.

[00:11:13] Going into the branch at Wells Fargo.

[00:11:15] Or on the phone.

[00:11:16] Guess what?

[00:11:17] They're paying for that employee.

[00:11:19] They have the employee salary.

[00:11:20] They have commission.

[00:11:21] They have benefits.

[00:11:22] And that's a cost.

[00:11:24] That they don't associate with a broker.

[00:11:27] Now me as a broker.

[00:11:29] I generate my own leads.

[00:11:31] And then I can take out.

[00:11:32] My rate might be a quarter of a point cheaper.

[00:11:35] An eighth of a point cheaper.

[00:11:37] Going directly through me as a broker.

[00:11:40] Than Wells Fargo.

[00:11:41] So in this case.

[00:11:42] A middleman.

[00:11:43] Is actually going to help you get a better price.

[00:11:46] We also have the ability.

[00:11:48] To give you different options.

[00:11:49] Options.

[00:11:50] That's just what LendingTree does.

[00:11:52] It gives you options.

[00:11:53] So if you come to me.

[00:11:54] And your credit is a little banged up.

[00:11:56] Yeah.

[00:11:57] I know Wells Fargo.

[00:11:58] Isn't going to take you long.

[00:11:59] But I have some other lenders here.

[00:12:01] That may take you long.

[00:12:02] And so that's the benefit.

[00:12:04] Of being a middleman.

[00:12:06] When it comes to the mortgage brokerage industry.

[00:12:09] And like I said.

[00:12:10] It doesn't necessarily cost you more money.

[00:12:13] Just because you're using a middleman.

[00:12:15] And in that situation.

[00:12:17] That I just gave you.

[00:12:18] Or example.

[00:12:19] You're actually probably going to be saving money.

[00:12:21] We see it all the time.

[00:12:22] I got friends.

[00:12:23] That are still working for banks.

[00:12:25] And they're like damn.

[00:12:26] How can you give.

[00:12:27] Give.

[00:12:28] I work for the bank.

[00:12:29] And I can't sell this loan at this rate.

[00:12:31] And that's the reason.

[00:12:33] So what we're talking about today guys.

[00:12:34] Is the pros and cons of making money as a middleman.

[00:12:38] So we told you what a middleman was.

[00:12:40] I gave you some examples.

[00:12:42] And now let me give you a couple of pros.

[00:12:44] Before I do that though.

[00:12:46] So today's show is going to be a little bit shorter guys.

[00:12:49] I'm traveling this week.

[00:12:50] And so it's going to be a little bit shorter than normal.

[00:12:54] But it will be just as impactful.

[00:12:56] So here's some of the pros of being a middleman.

[00:12:59] Number one.

[00:13:00] You don't have to create the product or service that you're selling.

[00:13:03] So me as a mortgage broker.

[00:13:05] My company.

[00:13:06] I don't create the products or services.

[00:13:08] Right.

[00:13:08] I don't.

[00:13:09] I don't have to do that.

[00:13:10] All my job is to do is to facilitate transactions between the end user.

[00:13:16] Which is the consumer.

[00:13:18] And then I'll run the deal through the appropriate lender.

[00:13:22] Okay.

[00:13:23] So once again.

[00:13:24] I don't have to create a product or service.

[00:13:27] Another pro.

[00:13:29] Number two.

[00:13:29] Is it's usually a lower barrier to entry versus selling your own products or services.

[00:13:34] Now this is going to depend on your industry or your vertical.

[00:13:37] Now in order to become a mortgage broker you have to pass tests.

[00:13:41] You have to get licensed.

[00:13:42] You have to pay for all types of surety bonds.

[00:13:45] So there is a cost to that.

[00:13:47] But if you're doing something like you're a middleman and you're selling furniture.

[00:13:52] Then once again.

[00:13:53] You don't have to buy the furniture and sell it out of a furniture store.

[00:13:58] You can be the middleman and sell the actual end product.

[00:14:01] So usually it's a lower barrier to entry versus selling your own products or services.

[00:14:07] Number three pro.

[00:14:08] Is it's a tremendous revenue potential based on a product or services that you're marketing.

[00:14:14] So if you're into real estate and you're making 3% commission on a $400,000 house.

[00:14:22] That's $12,000.

[00:14:23] Now I don't know what your split is with your broker or whatever.

[00:14:26] But once again you have the ability to make great revenue based on the products or services that you're selling.

[00:14:35] Pro number four.

[00:14:37] Ability to market multiple products or services or change the products or services that you're marketing.

[00:14:43] So you can market more than one product.

[00:14:47] So say for example you're in the furniture business.

[00:14:51] You're a middleman.

[00:14:52] You're selling furniture for a furniture manufacturer.

[00:14:57] Then if you want to maybe you can start selling carpets for carpet manufacturing.

[00:15:02] So you can create multiple different products or services that you sell that make sense and are synergistic.

[00:15:10] Okay.

[00:15:10] So you have that ability and you also can change up the products or services that you're selling.

[00:15:16] Say for example that furniture company you're working with.

[00:15:19] They change their commission structure.

[00:15:21] And it's not amenable to you.

[00:15:24] Guess what.

[00:15:25] Then you can stop selling the furniture or you can go find another deal.

[00:15:29] So you have a whole bunch of flexibility with that.

[00:15:32] And we're talking about the pros and cons of making money as a middleman.

[00:15:36] Pro number five.

[00:15:38] Right.

[00:15:38] You're learning the most important aspect of business guys which is learning to generate leads.

[00:15:44] And I'm not going to go and do another session or another podcast episode on lead generation.

[00:15:52] But listen to what I'm saying.

[00:15:55] You're learning the most important aspect of business which is learning to generate leads.

[00:16:02] If you have leads you can sell.

[00:16:05] If you know how to generate leads you can sell anything.

[00:16:10] Because you're going to generate the leads that have a high propensity of buying whatever you're selling.

[00:16:16] So if you're selling furniture you're not going to go out and try to generate leads for selling sneakers.

[00:16:22] It's totally different.

[00:16:24] But if you know who your target market is and you have the ability to generate leads on a consistent basis with a system.

[00:16:33] Not knocking on doors.

[00:16:35] Not cold calling.

[00:16:36] But with a proven system.

[00:16:38] Then that's the most important skill you can have in business.

[00:16:44] It's learning how to generate leads on a consistent basis.

[00:16:49] Not just leads but qualified leads.

[00:16:52] Leads that are ready willing and able to purchase from you.

[00:16:56] Okay.

[00:16:57] So that is the number one thing that you can learn from being a middleman.

[00:17:02] Number six.

[00:17:03] Last but not least.

[00:17:04] And there's a ton more.

[00:17:06] But I'm just going to focus on these six pros.

[00:17:09] If you're smart.

[00:17:11] Right.

[00:17:11] Here's a caveat.

[00:17:12] If you're smart.

[00:17:13] Right.

[00:17:14] You'll own the customer like Amazon.

[00:17:17] Okay.

[00:17:17] You're going to own the customer.

[00:17:19] If you can generate leads.

[00:17:20] It's not enough just to generate leads.

[00:17:23] You want to own the customer.

[00:17:25] That means putting them in a database.

[00:17:27] So when you sell a product on Amazon like I do.

[00:17:31] I have multiple brands.

[00:17:32] I don't have all of them on Amazon.

[00:17:34] But I do still sell on Amazon.

[00:17:37] Amazon tells you up front.

[00:17:39] Hey.

[00:17:40] AJ.

[00:17:40] These are our customers.

[00:17:42] We're just going to allow you to sell your product here.

[00:17:46] Okay.

[00:17:46] So pro number six.

[00:17:48] If you're smart.

[00:17:48] You'll own the customer like Amazon owns the customer.

[00:17:52] So here's how that works in real life.

[00:17:54] Right.

[00:17:55] Say for example.

[00:17:57] You're a middleman and you're selling furniture.

[00:17:59] Okay.

[00:18:00] The furniture manufacturer that you're dealing with changes the arrangement.

[00:18:04] Now they're cutting your commission in half.

[00:18:07] If all you've been doing is getting leads.

[00:18:10] And just selling furniture without building a database.

[00:18:14] You're screwed.

[00:18:15] But just imagine over the years that you've been working with this manufacturer.

[00:18:20] You've built up a database of 5,000 prospective customers.

[00:18:25] Some are customers.

[00:18:26] And some are people that you spoke to that didn't purchase as of yet.

[00:18:31] So now instead of just selling that customer.

[00:18:34] You've built a database where you can consistently market to them.

[00:18:38] Now what can you do now since you own the customer?

[00:18:42] Hey customer A.

[00:18:44] I'm working with a new manufacturer.

[00:18:46] Better product.

[00:18:47] Better pricing.

[00:18:48] Bah bah bah.

[00:18:49] Let me show you what I have.

[00:18:51] So now if you're smart.

[00:18:54] You'll own the customer.

[00:18:56] And you can do this by building your database.

[00:18:59] So a lot of affiliate marketers get into a situation where all they're trying to do is sell a product.

[00:19:05] And they're not.

[00:19:06] And I'm going to go a little deep in this.

[00:19:08] And they're not actually being smart and owning the customer.

[00:19:12] So here's an example.

[00:19:14] I don't want to digress too much.

[00:19:15] But I want to give you guys real life examples.

[00:19:18] So say you're an affiliate marketer.

[00:19:20] And you're selling some type of funnel software.

[00:19:24] Right.

[00:19:25] So a lot of times what affiliate marketers will do is they'll get their link to their affiliate link.

[00:19:31] So they'll send that link out.

[00:19:34] People go directly to that affiliate link.

[00:19:37] And if they buy that software, that funnel software, they'll earn a commission.

[00:19:42] They don't know who the hell bought that funnel software until that software company gives them a commission.

[00:19:50] What smart affiliate marketers do is they own the list.

[00:19:54] So what they'll do is they'll create a lead magnet or something where they'll have to opt in to get the link.

[00:20:02] Hey, get my checklist on how to set up a sales funnel, a lead generation system.

[00:20:09] And in doing so, now they've got that email address and contact information.

[00:20:15] And now they send them the link.

[00:20:17] So if they if they get 500 people to sign up for that lead magnet and only 30 people go get the use the software, they'll get a commission on 30 people.

[00:20:30] But they'll still have the information on all 500 people.

[00:20:34] So those 470 people that did not use that software or did not convert, they still have them in the database.

[00:20:43] So now they decide to start being an affiliate for another funnel funnel company that makes sales funnel software company.

[00:20:51] They have the customer information.

[00:20:54] They own the customer.

[00:20:55] And that's what I'm talking about when I say owning the customer.

[00:20:59] So those are the pros of being a middleman.

[00:21:03] And obviously there are a ton more, but these are the first six that came to mind.

[00:21:07] And I think that are most important.

[00:21:08] Now, let's talk about some of the cons.

[00:21:11] Not everything is all all gravy, right?

[00:21:14] So con number one, you don't own or control the end product.

[00:21:19] So you don't control anything.

[00:21:21] In the example I just gave you about the furniture manufacturer, they actually can stop making that that furniture.

[00:21:27] They can get sold.

[00:21:28] They can go out of business.

[00:21:30] So you don't own or control anything when it comes to the end product.

[00:21:35] You're just a middleman.

[00:21:37] Okay.

[00:21:38] Con number two, you're at the mercy of the product owner or service provider to get paid.

[00:21:44] Now I've seen situations where people were middlemen and they can't get paid.

[00:21:51] Companies don't want to pay them.

[00:21:53] They're happy when the sale comes through, but when it's time to pay out, they don't want to get paid.

[00:21:58] I mean, they don't want to pay the actual middleman.

[00:22:01] So if you are a middleman, make sure that you're working with reputable companies or individuals to make sure that you get paid.

[00:22:09] So for example, I'm not going to call the name.

[00:22:13] One advertiser that was running a big company that was running on my platform.

[00:22:17] I was doing ads on the podcast.

[00:22:20] You know, they had a marketing agency that they were using to, you know, to place their ads.

[00:22:28] And it took me, I was supposed to get paid in 30 days.

[00:22:31] It usually, it almost took me 90 days to get paid.

[00:22:35] Oh yeah.

[00:22:35] We're waiting to get paid from the company so we can pay you.

[00:22:39] Bah, bah, bah.

[00:22:40] That's not what the agreement said.

[00:22:42] The agreement said is I'm going to get paid in 30 days.

[00:22:46] Okay.

[00:22:46] So number two, you're at the mercy of the product owner or service provider to get paid.

[00:22:52] Con number three, products and services can be changed or discontinued.

[00:22:58] Products or services that you're selling can be changed or discontinued.

[00:23:02] So what happens when a product, I don't care what company it is, what happens when a product isn't selling well, right?

[00:23:09] That means that they might discontinue that product.

[00:23:13] Now I love Honest Iced Tea, right?

[00:23:15] I love their Honest Green Tea.

[00:23:17] Honest Tea.

[00:23:18] I've been looking around for the last couple of months and I'm like, I can't find it anywhere.

[00:23:23] And I'm like, damn, it's the best tea out there to me because it has a hint of sweetness, but it's real good.

[00:23:29] I like the green tea, the Honest Honey Green Tea.

[00:23:33] I look online and I think Coca-Cola bought Honest Tea.

[00:23:38] They decided to discontinue it at the end of 2022.

[00:23:42] So I'm like, damn.

[00:23:44] So if I was selling Honest Tea as a middleman, guess what?

[00:23:49] The product is discontinued.

[00:23:51] So number three, products and services can be changed or discontinued.

[00:23:55] And here's a real life example.

[00:23:58] Years ago, probably about 10 years ago, I had an affiliate arrangement or a dealership arrangement with a company

[00:24:08] that had this DIY do-it-yourself credit repair software.

[00:24:13] So instead of doing the credit repair, I would sell the software which would allow them to go in, write the dispute letters and do all of that stuff.

[00:24:23] And it was going like crazy because I had my mortgage business.

[00:24:27] And if they didn't want to pay for our in-house credit repair, this was an alternative.

[00:24:32] Okay.

[00:24:33] You don't want to pay for that.

[00:24:34] If you want to do it yourself, you can.

[00:24:36] If you need help doing it yourself, here's the software.

[00:24:40] And we would sell that.

[00:24:41] And all of a sudden, and we were selling probably about 100 units a month, which was decent ancillary money.

[00:24:48] They said, you know what?

[00:24:50] We're going to stop.

[00:24:51] We're going to stop this whole agent or dealer program right now.

[00:24:54] And we're going to go direct to the consumer.

[00:24:57] So once again, products or services, this is con number three.

[00:25:01] Products or services can be changed or discontinued.

[00:25:04] So that was a real life example.

[00:25:06] And con number four, you may have no input or limited input on the fulfillment of the product or service that you're selling.

[00:25:14] So it's not just about selling.

[00:25:16] If they know Jay Jones is the one promoting this, and once the customer buys, and we'll use the furniture example,

[00:25:23] and the expectation is, oh, yeah, your furniture will be in in three weeks.

[00:25:28] And the fulfillment of that order, they don't come in until three months.

[00:25:33] What's that going to do to your business?

[00:25:36] What are people going to say?

[00:25:38] Man, Jay said that this thing would be here in three weeks, and it's been three months, and I still haven't gotten my furniture.

[00:25:44] Once again, that's number four.

[00:25:46] You may have no input or limited input in the fulfillment of the product or services.

[00:25:52] Okay.

[00:25:53] So once again, you don't have control.

[00:25:56] And that's really what it boils down to some of the cons.

[00:26:00] All right.

[00:26:00] So we talked about the pros and we talked about the cons of being a middleman.

[00:26:05] But here's something I want to tell you guys.

[00:26:08] The secret to making money as a middleman.

[00:26:10] I want y'all to listen closely.

[00:26:12] The secret to making money as a middleman that will always ensure that you will be able to make money, guys.

[00:26:20] And you will never go broke if you learn how to build a lead generation system.

[00:26:25] Okay.

[00:26:26] If you can systematically create leads, you can sell anything.

[00:26:31] That's why I'm trying to drill it in your head.

[00:26:34] Right.

[00:26:35] You know what your product or service is.

[00:26:37] You know who your target customers are.

[00:26:39] Right.

[00:26:40] Well, you should anyway.

[00:26:41] The problem is most times or many times you don't have enough qualified leads to sell to.

[00:26:49] So the secret to making money as a middleman is being able to generate qualified leads on a consistent basis.

[00:26:57] Okay.

[00:26:57] The reason a lot of these companies need middleman or affiliates is because they either can't generate enough leads to make it cost effective or they don't know how.

[00:27:07] Okay.

[00:27:07] But if you can control the lead, you can control everything.

[00:27:11] That's why I talked about when I gave you the pros.

[00:27:14] Pros number six.

[00:27:15] Pro number six.

[00:27:16] If you're smart, you'll own the customer like Amazon does.

[00:27:19] That means you'll build a database.

[00:27:22] And so some of these businesses, they need you.

[00:27:26] They need the middleman to actually sell.

[00:27:28] And I know in the mortgage business, once again, there's certain lenders that if I told you their names, you would have never heard of them because they don't sell directly to the public.

[00:27:39] They sell through brokers, they're wholesale lenders.

[00:27:43] So they'll come into the office.

[00:27:45] Hey, we're ABC lending.

[00:27:47] Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba.

[00:27:48] Here are our rates.

[00:27:49] When you have a deal that fits our profile, send it through.

[00:27:53] We'll get it approved.

[00:27:54] Ba, boom.

[00:27:54] Okay.

[00:27:55] So some companies, that's their only focus is they work specifically with lead generation companies or middlemen.

[00:28:04] And there are other companies that work with middlemen because they don't know how to generate leads or it's more cost effective.

[00:28:12] That's why I gave you the example of Wells Fargo, a loan officer at Wells Fargo.

[00:28:17] There's a cost that you have when you have an in-house salesperson.

[00:28:22] And that cost is going to affect the price that you can give it to the end user.

[00:28:27] So a lot of times people always say, oh, let's cut out the middleman.

[00:28:30] That's true in most cases.

[00:28:32] But sometimes the middleman is what's going to get you the better price.

[00:28:37] That middleman may be able to deliver because there's no expense to that company because the only time the middleman gets paid is when a transaction happens.

[00:28:48] So they may be able to give you a better price.

[00:28:52] So it all depends.

[00:28:53] And also depends on if you're the middleman making money or if you're the consumer trying to save money.

[00:28:59] So you have to look at it both ways.

[00:29:02] OK, but the secret to making money as a middleman, guys, is being able to generate consistent, qualified leads.

[00:29:10] You can be in any business and be profitable if you have systems to generate consistent, qualified leads.

[00:29:20] If you don't have that, you're going to probably be hurting for money or go out of business.

[00:29:27] That's what it's all about.

[00:29:29] And we used to have a loan officer that would hold, walk around.

[00:29:33] We would joke, me and my partner, and we were cool with him.

[00:29:37] So we're like, yo, man, let go of that file, bro.

[00:29:40] You walking around the office with this one file like you're carrying a baby because you're so focused on that because you don't have any other leads you're working on.

[00:29:49] So when you got 10, 15 deals in the pipeline, you're not going to be worried about that one specific deal.

[00:29:56] And the problem was he didn't know how to market.

[00:30:00] You know, we used to give them leads.

[00:30:01] But if you're a real go getter, you're going to be able to learn how to generate your own leads.

[00:30:07] And that, guys, is what's called independence.

[00:30:10] When you're able to generate your own leads, you can take your business anywhere.

[00:30:15] Who's giving the best deal for, you know, for furniture manufacturers?

[00:30:20] Who's paying the most?

[00:30:21] Because I already got my database.

[00:30:24] I already got a lead generation system.

[00:30:26] I can take this to the highest bidder.

[00:30:28] That's what's called control.

[00:30:30] So that's the secret to making money as a middleman.

[00:30:35] So now if you're really smart, I'm going to digress a little bit more.

[00:30:39] You'll create what's called a dual sided marketplace.

[00:30:43] And I'm actually going to do a full show on this, a dual sided marketplace.

[00:30:49] And the definition of that is it's a platform that brings together two groups, usually buyers and sellers.

[00:30:55] And the way the platform makes money could be multiple ways.

[00:31:00] They connect the buyers and seller.

[00:31:02] And many times the platform will make money by the transaction fees when somebody buys something.

[00:31:09] When the seller sells something to the buyer, say it's a $50 sale.

[00:31:15] The platform may make 10 or 15% of that.

[00:31:19] So for example, when you do, when you sell a product on Amazon, there's a 15% fee, right?

[00:31:26] Or transaction fee that Amazon charges you based on the sales price to your product.

[00:31:31] So when you sell something, Amazon gets a fee.

[00:31:35] But another way you make money in a dual sided marketplace is could be a subscription to the sellers on the marketplace.

[00:31:42] So say you're, I'll use my example, besmartbuyblack.com, which is about to come back in a different way.

[00:31:51] Okay.

[00:31:51] So I'm reworking that right now.

[00:31:53] But on besmartbuyblack.com, you have the sellers, people that have, you know, black owned products that they're selling.

[00:32:01] And when they sell the product, 10% of the sales price is what besmartbuyblack.com makes.

[00:32:08] Now there are other companies that are similar, not necessarily selling black owned products.

[00:32:15] But what they do is they actually charge the seller to be on the platform.

[00:32:20] So they may charge the seller $20 a month and not charge them a commission when they actually sell something.

[00:32:27] Or they could charge them a subscription fee each month and a small commission.

[00:32:33] And the benefit is if you do create a two sided marketplace to guarantee that you're going to make revenue,

[00:32:40] you want to charge the sellers on the marketplace a monthly subscription fee.

[00:32:45] It could be $10 or whatever.

[00:32:47] And that's really what happened with besmartbuyblack.com.

[00:32:51] I'm spending all this money and I couldn't really advertise it the way I wanted to because I was only making small money off of the transactions.

[00:33:00] So when it comes back out, excuse me, it's going to be a subscription fee each month for people that want to sell on the platform.

[00:33:08] It's going to be nominal $10 a month.

[00:33:11] But what that will allow me to do is there was $10 a month per person that's selling on there is going to allow me to market and push the platform itself.

[00:33:22] So more people will come there and more people will make sales.

[00:33:25] It's a win win.

[00:33:26] So if you're really super smart,

[00:33:28] you'll create a dual sided marketplace where you can provide the consumer and you're the seller.

[00:33:35] So you're making money off of that interaction.

[00:33:39] So we're talking today, guys, about the pros and cons of making money as a middleman.

[00:33:45] Before we close on out, let me just share my social media contact information and resource links.

[00:33:51] And then I'm going to do probably about another five minutes and then we'll close it on out.

[00:33:55] I'm going to keep this super simple.

[00:33:57] Go to the website, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:34:01] All of my e-commerce courses, online ecosystem, everything is on the website on the first page.

[00:34:09] I have bebeacademy.com, which is an online learning portal.

[00:34:14] Get three days free access to that.

[00:34:16] It's on the website, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:34:19] We have pinpoint monetize your genius pound for pound.

[00:34:23] One of my best programs, being able to monetize the intersection of your passion and your talent.

[00:34:28] That's on the website, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:34:33] Also, if you're in the e-commerce brand builder, Academy Elite will help you build a physical

[00:34:38] products brand or digital products brand and sell on your platform, Amazon and all the other

[00:34:45] appropriate platforms.

[00:34:46] Go to the website on the first page, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:34:52] My latest book, All the Ecosystem and Everything is on the website.

[00:34:57] Now, if you want to connect with me anything long, hit me on my email, jjones at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:35:04] J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S at blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:35:09] Facebook, Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:35:11] Twitter, jjones001.

[00:35:14] J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S-001.

[00:35:17] Instagram, I got two IG accounts.

[00:35:19] The first one is jjonesforreal.

[00:35:21] J-A-Y-J-O-N-E-S.

[00:35:23] The number four, R-E-A-L.

[00:35:26] Second one is Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:35:29] LinkedIn, connect with me there.

[00:35:31] Just type in and search for jjones, Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:35:35] Also, YouTube.

[00:35:36] Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel.

[00:35:39] Go to YouTube, hit Black Entrepreneur Blueprint.

[00:35:41] We have additional content on YouTube that is not on the show.

[00:35:46] Once again, just go to the website, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:35:51] If you hit the about button, you'll see my bio right under my bio are all of my social media

[00:35:57] contact links that you can click.

[00:35:59] Also, make sure you hit the learn button because there's a drop down on the website and it has

[00:36:04] all types of content to help you elevate your entrepreneur IQ.

[00:36:08] There's going to be content on marketing, content on e-commerce, scaling your business, finance,

[00:36:15] strategy and mindset, side hustles.

[00:36:18] Everything you want is on the website, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:36:23] If you're lazy, take the shortcut.

[00:36:25] Go to bebconnect.com.

[00:36:28] It's going to take you to the same site.

[00:36:30] Let's do this recap real quick, guys.

[00:36:32] Once again, we talked about the pros and cons of making money as a middleman.

[00:36:36] So when you're in a consumer position, when you're looking to buy something,

[00:36:41] many times we look at the middleman as being a negative.

[00:36:44] But if you're an entrepreneur or a business person, being a middleman,

[00:36:48] obviously can be super lucrative.

[00:36:50] I have many friends, especially in the real estate industry over the last year and a half

[00:36:56] when it was just like shooting fish in a barrel.

[00:37:00] People were selling houses at the highest rates they've sold in a long time.

[00:37:05] One of my buddies who's a real estate broker, he has about 25 agents.

[00:37:09] He was like, man, I can't even afford to show houses.

[00:37:13] But for five or 10 minutes, I got so many people coming in.

[00:37:17] So it was like shooting fish in a barrel.

[00:37:19] So being a middleman in that economy, man, he was making money hand over fist.

[00:37:24] And he said most of his agents made the most money they've ever made.

[00:37:29] But once again, economies are cyclical.

[00:37:32] And if you don't have systems in place to have consistent lead flow with qualified leads,

[00:37:38] then guess what?

[00:37:39] When the interest rates go up like they have and now you can't buy as much house,

[00:37:45] that's going to slow down.

[00:37:46] But it's only going to slow down for people that are dependent upon the market going up and down.

[00:37:53] Anybody can, not anybody, but many people or most people can do well

[00:37:58] when the market is going, is booming like crazy.

[00:38:01] But what happens when the market changes?

[00:38:04] Do you have the systems in place to be successful?

[00:38:07] And that's why I talk about guys, the number six, the most important pro

[00:38:12] when it comes to being a middleman.

[00:38:14] If you're smart, you'll own your customers.

[00:38:16] You'll be able to build that database by having a lead generation system.

[00:38:21] And I'm not going to go into it again, but I've done multiple episodes

[00:38:25] about generating qualified, consistent leads.

[00:38:29] That's the difference between being a multi-million dollar business and going out of business.

[00:38:35] So I'm going to give you another example, right?

[00:38:37] If you've seen large companies like Quicken Loans or Rocket Mortgage,

[00:38:42] you see them advertise all the time, right?

[00:38:46] So that's part of their lead generation system.

[00:38:50] So now they have the resources to do Super Bowl commercials and all that good stuff.

[00:38:55] And obviously many of us that are listening here, myself included,

[00:38:59] we don't have that type of money or resources to do it.

[00:39:02] So we have to be smart.

[00:39:04] And the beauty about that guys is a thing called the internet.

[00:39:07] So now we can connect with an audience very easily and very cheaply.

[00:39:14] And if you know what you're doing, you can create and generate leads.

[00:39:18] So for example, here's one of my cousins was like,

[00:39:22] yo man, you getting back into the mortgage game rates are,

[00:39:24] you know, they're at 6%.

[00:39:26] I said, that's perfect.

[00:39:28] Because the people that were in the game when it was super easy,

[00:39:32] they're not going to be around anymore because they don't know how to build systems.

[00:39:37] They don't know how to generate leads on a consistent basis.

[00:39:41] So I said, it's a perfect time for me to get back into the game.

[00:39:44] And I'm super excited about that.

[00:39:46] And I'll keep y'all posted on that because I know, you know,

[00:39:50] what did he say?

[00:39:51] A high tide rises all ships, right?

[00:39:53] But when the low tide is there, who's going to be able to sail out of the dock?

[00:39:58] The people that know how to generate qualified leads.

[00:40:01] The other people are going to be stuck in the dock because

[00:40:04] it's not going to be any water because they don't know how to generate.

[00:40:08] They're just riding the wave.

[00:40:10] They're riding the tide.

[00:40:11] You know, I'm a man.

[00:40:13] I'm not just a student at this.

[00:40:15] I'm a professional entrepreneur.

[00:40:17] I spend time.

[00:40:18] I spend money and I invest in myself to be successful.

[00:40:22] So I take it as a profession.

[00:40:24] Most people play around with entrepreneurship.

[00:40:27] Now, if you're a full-time entrepreneur, you better be a professional entrepreneur.

[00:40:31] And professional means you get paid to do something.

[00:40:35] All right.

[00:40:35] If you're not getting paid for something, you're a volunteer.

[00:40:39] So either you're a volunteer entrepreneur or you're a professional entrepreneur.

[00:40:44] I don't know about y'all, but I want to get paid for my expertise.

[00:40:48] So in closing, guys, make sure you understand the importance of a lead generation system and

[00:40:55] also building your database, owning your customers as a middleman, just like Amazon owns its customers.

[00:41:03] And just a real quick note to that.

[00:41:05] So when you sell on Amazon, if you're selling products on Amazon, you don't get the people,

[00:41:10] your customers, the customer's email address.

[00:41:13] Remember is Amazon's customer.

[00:41:15] So if you want to contact that customer, you have to go through your Amazon back office

[00:41:20] and it's an encrypted email that you'll have to send to the customer and they will never

[00:41:26] give you that customer's email address.

[00:41:29] So if Amazon does it and they're doing $1.2 billion a day, they understand that owning the

[00:41:37] customer is the key after they acquire it, they own it.

[00:41:41] You should be doing the same thing too as a middleman.

[00:41:44] Don't just sell a product or service, own that customer and build a database and also

[00:41:50] a lead generation system.

[00:41:52] So you can be independent.

[00:41:54] You can take your business anywhere you want because you got what everybody needs.

[00:41:58] You got the leads, right?

[00:42:00] Every, every business needs leads and he who has the leads.

[00:42:05] And when I say he, he or she who has the leads is the winner.

[00:42:09] Now say this each and every week, guys, we get more and more downloads because of you,

[00:42:13] the BEB family.

[00:42:14] I appreciate you guys so much.

[00:42:17] Please continue to spread the word about the podcast, the blog, the ecosystem, the new website.

[00:42:22] Make sure you go to blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:42:25] We want that to be the go-to website for black entrepreneurs, all types of resources on the

[00:42:32] website.

[00:42:33] Make sure you check it out, blackentrepreneurblueprint.com.

[00:42:37] Remember guys, it's not about me.

[00:42:38] It's not about you.

[00:42:40] It's about us.

[00:42:40] It's about building an economic power base in the worldwide black community by building

[00:42:45] and supporting black owned businesses.

[00:42:47] Love you guys.

[00:42:48] See you same time next week.

[00:42:50] Peace.

[00:42:51] Peace.

[00:42:51] Peace.

[00:42:51] Peace.