1 00:00:06.750 --> 00:00:09.210 Sean Murray: Okay, hello, everybody. My name is Sean 2 00:00:09.210 --> 00:00:11.700 Murray with deBanked. Thank you for your patience and waiting 3 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:12.480 for us today. 4 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:14.910 Johny Fernandez: And I'm Johny Fernandez. And as you can see, 5 00:00:14.910 --> 00:00:16.830 we are not in the studio, we're at a different location today, 6 00:00:16.830 --> 00:00:18.750 here in midtown Manhattan, because today is going to be an 7 00:00:18.930 --> 00:00:25.440 awesome day where we have a day full of live interviews planned 8 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.620 out, but we'll get to that in a little bit. But Sean, let's kind 9 00:00:28.620 --> 00:00:33.360 of go into what we usually go into. Let's talk about the daily 10 00:00:33.360 --> 00:00:36.270 news and kind of, you know, the different topics that we've been 11 00:00:36.270 --> 00:00:40.140 talking about for the last week or in the last couple of days. 12 00:00:40.260 --> 00:00:43.350 Sure. So Sean, first thing, let's start talking about COVID 13 00:00:43.350 --> 00:00:46.380 recovery. I mean, that's obviously on everyone's mind. 14 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:48.420 And that's something everyone's been talking about with the 15 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:51.900 vaccine. But also, you know, in the business in the industry, 16 00:00:51.900 --> 00:00:55.410 and just in general here in New York and across the country. 17 00:00:56.190 --> 00:00:59.610 Let's talk about number one, how we've seen businesses affected 18 00:00:59.610 --> 00:01:03.150 because of COVID. And then we'll talk about the comeback, the 19 00:01:03.150 --> 00:01:06.660 recovery aspect of it, because here in New York, we have seen 20 00:01:06.660 --> 00:01:09.270 that, you know, there are a lot of businesses that are shut 21 00:01:09.270 --> 00:01:12.390 down. So it's definitely something that's impacted, you 22 00:01:12.390 --> 00:01:15.510 know, the city and the economy across the board. 23 00:01:15.510 --> 00:01:18.690 Sean Murray: Sure, yeah. And when you were talking about what 24 00:01:18.690 --> 00:01:21.720 we've been talking about what Johny's referring is that we've 25 00:01:21.720 --> 00:01:24.390 been live streaming technically, for the last few months. Yeah. 26 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:27.750 Right. This is their first off site, live stream, we've 27 00:01:27.750 --> 00:01:29.940 actually been doing this every Monday and Wednesday for the 28 00:01:29.940 --> 00:01:32.970 last few months, we usually do it around 12:15. So if you ever 29 00:01:32.970 --> 00:01:36.240 want to tune in, you can go to debanked.com/tv. And you can 30 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:39.240 tune in and you can watch Johny and I anytime for free. You 31 00:01:39.240 --> 00:01:41.340 don't have to register, you don't need to subscribe. You 32 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:44.730 don't need Zoom. It's usually Johny and I. And so we've been 33 00:01:44.730 --> 00:01:47.760 talking about different things throughout the last few months. 34 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.390 And now here we are off site kind of in celebration of the 35 00:01:51.390 --> 00:01:55.290 COVID era starting to wind down. Yeah. And you were mentioning 36 00:01:55.290 --> 00:02:00.510 about businesses being impacted and how it's affected New York. 37 00:02:00.510 --> 00:02:03.960 And what's interesting is that we've been in it. Yeah. In New 38 00:02:03.960 --> 00:02:04.680 York, right. 39 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:05.430 Johny Fernandez: From the start. 40 00:02:05.460 --> 00:02:06.120 Sean Murray: From the start. 41 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:08.700 Johny Fernandez: Do you, I remember it like looking back 42 00:02:08.700 --> 00:02:12.990 when we when this kind of thing, that we did not know what it was 43 00:02:12.990 --> 00:02:17.460 started last year. You know, we like you got everyone in the 44 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:20.430 office together and said, hey, we're gonna go ahead and take 45 00:02:20.490 --> 00:02:24.210 two weeks off, and, you know, hopefully come back. But those 46 00:02:24.210 --> 00:02:29.700 two weeks turned into the longest year ever. Yeah. And now 47 00:02:29.700 --> 00:02:33.180 we're back though now things that things are starting to wind 48 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:37.890 down, especially the last couple of weeks with, you know, the the 49 00:02:37.890 --> 00:02:41.340 amount of vaccines that people have been able to get and then 50 00:02:41.640 --> 00:02:45.870 just I don't know about you, but for me, specifically here in New 51 00:02:45.870 --> 00:02:50.370 York, you know, it's just been different seeing spring come 52 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:54.000 around and seeing the winter really kind of come to a close 53 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.990 because that also put a huge damper on just life in general 54 00:02:57.990 --> 00:03:01.050 here. But now things are starting to kind of seem more 55 00:03:01.050 --> 00:03:05.070 alive and the weather's great, and you walk outside. But one 56 00:03:05.070 --> 00:03:09.030 thing that is very interesting is seeing like when you do walk 57 00:03:09.030 --> 00:03:13.020 outside how different companies and how different businesses 58 00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:19.080 are, are no longer there. But there's also a sense and a 59 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:21.810 feeling of hope that new things are coming along. 60 00:03:21.930 --> 00:03:25.050 Sean Murray: Sure. Yeah. And I don't remember what article was. 61 00:03:25.050 --> 00:03:29.400 But I saw a stat that said, like one out of every six, New York 62 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.670 City restaurants is already going out of business, but that 63 00:03:32.730 --> 00:03:36.450 the rate of new restaurants starting up in New York has 64 00:03:36.450 --> 00:03:41.040 actually doubled over what it normally is. And so that's great 65 00:03:41.040 --> 00:03:45.120 from an economic standpoint. But I think as it pertains to our 66 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.170 audience, who is heavily invested in the business finance 67 00:03:49.170 --> 00:03:52.740 industry, that it's in a huge opportunity. And that's because 68 00:03:53.190 --> 00:03:56.220 typically, if you're a small business, you need a large track 69 00:03:56.220 --> 00:04:00.030 record a lot of time to go and get a bank loan. Yeah. Right. 70 00:04:00.480 --> 00:04:03.120 And if you're starting up, if this is the year, you started 71 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:07.230 up, and you're like, you know, I here like, I'm helping I started 72 00:04:07.230 --> 00:04:09.510 my restaurant. Yeah. I'm gonna go get a loan from a bank, 73 00:04:09.750 --> 00:04:12.930 they're gonna find out pretty quickly that banks aren't going 74 00:04:12.930 --> 00:04:16.710 to lend to a startup. Yeah. And so what we're going to find as 75 00:04:16.710 --> 00:04:20.430 we begin this recovery is a lot of startups who are going to 76 00:04:20.430 --> 00:04:23.220 come out of the woodwork and be applying for capital for the 77 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:25.290 very first time. And that's a huge opportunity for the 78 00:04:25.290 --> 00:04:27.810 business, you the you know, the alternative non bank business 79 00:04:27.810 --> 00:04:28.560 finance industry. 80 00:04:28.630 --> 00:04:30.580 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. And I think it's interesting to also 81 00:04:30.580 --> 00:04:35.080 point out that, you know, there there has been different things 82 00:04:35.080 --> 00:04:38.020 going on in New York and something like me and my 83 00:04:38.020 --> 00:04:40.600 girlfriend were discussing yesterday, for example, is that, 84 00:04:40.840 --> 00:04:43.930 you know, New York always changes but specifically with 85 00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:48.460 COVID and how it hit New York, it has revolutionized and it has 86 00:04:48.460 --> 00:04:52.720 changed how New York operates, I believe so. But some people 87 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.930 would say it may be in a good way some people may or may not 88 00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:59.260 fully agree and you know, we've seen people leave to go to other 89 00:04:59.260 --> 00:05:03.700 states. But I think overall, the New York recovery specifically 90 00:05:03.700 --> 00:05:07.480 for COVID, because of COVID is going to be something completely 91 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:10.870 different. And I think it's going to change New York, and 92 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:13.960 it's going to change New York in a unique way. And I think like 93 00:05:13.960 --> 00:05:17.710 you said, we are going to see different businesses come back 94 00:05:17.710 --> 00:05:19.990 to New York, and there are going to be probably a lot of 95 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.750 startups, you know, there was an article that I did read that 96 00:05:23.290 --> 00:05:26.440 businesses and you know, millennials are now this is 97 00:05:26.440 --> 00:05:29.320 their opportunity to come into the city and enjoy it at a 98 00:05:29.320 --> 00:05:32.950 cheaper price. Sure. And it's definitely an opportunity for 99 00:05:32.950 --> 00:05:37.450 business owners, like you said, to start something, and also, 100 00:05:37.510 --> 00:05:41.080 you know, take advantage of alternative finance if they 101 00:05:41.080 --> 00:05:44.110 can't get the funding from a bank. So Sean, let me ask you 102 00:05:44.110 --> 00:05:49.390 this, when it comes to having people in the industry, utilize 103 00:05:49.390 --> 00:05:56.620 this specific opportunity to help other businesses really 104 00:05:56.740 --> 00:06:01.450 capitalize on making sure they get funded correctly. What would 105 00:06:01.450 --> 00:06:04.540 you say to that? Like, what would you say to the people in 106 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:09.370 the industry that are trying to, you know, maybe feel stuck right 107 00:06:09.370 --> 00:06:13.060 now, and or aren't getting enough leads? Or, you know, are 108 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:14.050 trying to survive? 109 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.090 Sean Murray: Yeah. Well, I mean, that's, that's a long time. And 110 00:06:17.090 --> 00:06:19.910 that's a long topic, right. And we have some guests today, who 111 00:06:19.910 --> 00:06:24.170 will probably weigh in on that. But, you know, we just had the 112 00:06:24.200 --> 00:06:27.320 COVID winter. And it's kind of twofold, because you have 113 00:06:27.320 --> 00:06:30.080 businesses whose revenues dropped down significantly. And 114 00:06:30.080 --> 00:06:32.060 that heavily impacted their ability to get funding, but you 115 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:36.140 also had PPP, and the EIDL program, and imagine competing 116 00:06:36.140 --> 00:06:39.320 against a free government grant. It's like, impossible. Yeah. In 117 00:06:39.320 --> 00:06:42.770 fact, the whole concept of a free government grant or a 118 00:06:42.770 --> 00:06:46.670 forgivable loan, is what it really is, isn't really supposed 119 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:50.300 to exist, right? And yet, it did in the last year. And so if 120 00:06:50.300 --> 00:06:53.180 you're a broker out there, and you struggled, it's kind of it 121 00:06:53.180 --> 00:06:56.390 goes back to what I said before, its going to get better, a lot 122 00:06:56.390 --> 00:07:01.100 better, because PPP will be over EIDL will be over. And then 123 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:03.470 you're gonna have all these new businesses that are going to 124 00:07:03.470 --> 00:07:06.800 come in, that are not going to have a track record, to go to a 125 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:10.610 bank, and they're going to need alternative finance. So I have 126 00:07:10.610 --> 00:07:12.710 been saying it since the very beginning, that we're going to 127 00:07:12.710 --> 00:07:16.940 have the largest demand for capital that we've ever had ever 128 00:07:16.940 --> 00:07:20.030 had you know what I mean, once this is all over, and you 129 00:07:20.030 --> 00:07:22.130 mentioned something about millennials moving into the 130 00:07:22.130 --> 00:07:25.580 city, in the wake of COVID, I actually moved to the city to 131 00:07:25.580 --> 00:07:30.290 Manhattan in 2008. Okay. The whole city was, you know, 132 00:07:30.290 --> 00:07:32.960 clearing out because of the financial crisis. Yeah. Rent 133 00:07:32.960 --> 00:07:35.450 plummeted. And guess what? I moved right in. Yeah. You know 134 00:07:35.450 --> 00:07:38.180 what I mean, so, you know, they were talking about the death of 135 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:40.310 New York City back then, in terms of, you know, housing and 136 00:07:40.310 --> 00:07:44.120 all that stuff. But for me as a young person, in those days, I 137 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:47.090 moved right in. So I think right now, if you're a broker out 138 00:07:47.090 --> 00:07:50.660 there, and you're struggling, I think, just hold on, and I think 139 00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:53.000 you're, you're in for, for pretty good times. 140 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:54.890 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. And let me ask you this, Sean, like, do 141 00:07:54.890 --> 00:08:00.080 you think that brokers, you know, in the industry, but also 142 00:08:00.080 --> 00:08:03.320 people that are moving here, new business owners, when do you 143 00:08:03.320 --> 00:08:09.560 think they will need this assistance from, you know, I 144 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:13.310 feel like everyone can benefit from everyone. So when will the 145 00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:15.650 brokers need the assistance of the new businesses, new 146 00:08:15.650 --> 00:08:18.260 businesses, need the assistance of the new brokers? Do you think 147 00:08:18.260 --> 00:08:20.750 it's something that if you're watching this right now, you 148 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:24.860 should join in immediately and start taking advantage of these 149 00:08:24.890 --> 00:08:27.650 opportunities, because even though COVID isn't over, but we 150 00:08:27.650 --> 00:08:32.210 are starting to see the cusp, and of you know, what, COVID 151 00:08:32.210 --> 00:08:38.420 like I guess a hardcore COVID time. So what would you say? Do 152 00:08:38.420 --> 00:08:41.510 you think people should start jumping in and really starting 153 00:08:41.510 --> 00:08:44.420 to seize advantage and start looking ahead or start focusing 154 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:45.470 on what they've lost? 155 00:08:45.470 --> 00:08:48.810 Sean Murray: Well, I don't think anyone should be looking back at 156 00:08:48.810 --> 00:08:50.790 what they've lost. I think it doesn't make any sense to look, 157 00:08:51.150 --> 00:08:54.840 you know, look in the past and only look forward. And as far as 158 00:08:54.870 --> 00:08:58.380 should they just jump in. I think it's going to depend on 159 00:08:58.680 --> 00:09:01.080 the geography of the country that you're focusing on and on 160 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:03.450 the industry that you're focusing on, because we've 161 00:09:03.450 --> 00:09:06.690 already seen in Miami that the economy has kind of already 162 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:09.420 rejuvenated itself there, right? And as for a business owner, 163 00:09:09.420 --> 00:09:11.340 when are they going to one are they going to go and apply for 164 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:15.300 this capital? I think a part of it is going to be as soon as 165 00:09:15.300 --> 00:09:19.350 they realize that they are that they need the employees, and 166 00:09:19.350 --> 00:09:23.220 that they need the inventory. Because a lot of these vendors 167 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:26.070 out there who are selling the supplies to restaurants, they're 168 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:29.160 gonna want to get paid in cash. You know what I mean, I don't 169 00:09:29.160 --> 00:09:31.260 know how forgiving they're going to be with terms and stuff and 170 00:09:31.260 --> 00:09:33.450 stuff like that. So they might say, I'll take you on, but I 171 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:35.550 need to get paid in cash. And the restaurant or the business 172 00:09:35.550 --> 00:09:38.040 didn't have to be a restaurant. It's like, well, I really need 173 00:09:38.040 --> 00:09:39.810 the cash upfront. I'm going to turn it all over and make a lot 174 00:09:39.810 --> 00:09:42.060 of money. Yeah. That's the time when they're going to go out and 175 00:09:42.060 --> 00:09:45.240 get funding from an alternative finance provider. Same with 176 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:48.570 employees, a lot of the companies that at least in the 177 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:51.630 New York area that survived. They really, you know, they 178 00:09:51.630 --> 00:09:56.490 downsized substantially. And once they realize they are going 179 00:09:56.490 --> 00:09:59.070 back to full capacity, it's going to create a hiring boom, 180 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:01.950 but it doesn't mean you, you all of a sudden have all the money 181 00:10:02.280 --> 00:10:04.920 to hire. Yeah. You kind of need the money first. Yeah. It's 182 00:10:04.920 --> 00:10:08.220 risky to just hire someone hoping that you will make the 183 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:10.830 money quick enough. To make the first payroll. Yeah. Right. Like 184 00:10:10.830 --> 00:10:13.800 you have to kind of have to get the money first, then do the 185 00:10:13.800 --> 00:10:16.140 hiring, and then hope everything else. I mean, that's what I 186 00:10:16.140 --> 00:10:20.190 would do. Personally. And, you know, we we mentioned before 187 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:22.650 we've both been here. Yeah. Through the whole thing. Through 188 00:10:22.650 --> 00:10:23.490 the whole thing, right? And. 189 00:10:23.550 --> 00:10:26.430 Johny Fernandez: We didn't leave, to think about that is 190 00:10:26.430 --> 00:10:29.610 why it's because we literally did not leave at all. 191 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:31.370 Sean Murray: Yeah, well, a little disclaimer, I did leave 192 00:10:31.370 --> 00:10:36.740 for from March to June. March, March to June, and then I came 193 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:39.830 back. And I've been taking the subway ever, ever since. So 194 00:10:39.890 --> 00:10:42.380 since June of 2020. I've been taking the subway and I took the 195 00:10:42.380 --> 00:10:44.000 subway to the studio here today. 196 00:10:44.570 --> 00:10:46.100 Johny Fernandez: So talking about that I also took the 197 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:52.220 subway here to Manhattan. What was your experience like? What 198 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:55.970 is New York, in your eyes, I mean, you know, going into the 199 00:10:55.970 --> 00:10:59.000 office and going home, what has it felt like for you? 200 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:00.980 Sean Murray: Well, in the beginning, it was weird, because 201 00:11:01.010 --> 00:11:03.260 there were times when I was actually the only person on a 202 00:11:03.260 --> 00:11:06.350 train car. Yeah. And usually, that's a really bad sign. But 203 00:11:06.350 --> 00:11:09.290 it's really you do not want to be the only guy in a train car. 204 00:11:09.380 --> 00:11:12.320 Because that means something bad happened in that train car. And 205 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:15.050 you don't want to be in that car. But there were a lot of 206 00:11:15.050 --> 00:11:17.150 train cars like that, and nothing bad happened in them, 207 00:11:17.210 --> 00:11:19.100 and then I started to worry, should I be worried that I'm 208 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:21.110 alone in the train car, you know, because something happened 209 00:11:21.110 --> 00:11:25.460 to me. So I took pictures and I have some video footage where 210 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:28.070 you know, I'm like, took 360 degree shots, I'm like, here I 211 00:11:28.070 --> 00:11:32.390 am on a train by myself. Yeah. But that has started to change 212 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:35.210 substantially. I noticed that around the holidays where people 213 00:11:35.210 --> 00:11:38.480 started to pick back up. Yeah. And right around the train. And 214 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:42.050 then today I took the took the what was it the B train. Yeah. 215 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:46.640 And, you know, it wasn't like what it was. But I thought it 216 00:11:46.640 --> 00:11:49.010 was pretty full. Yeah. You know what I mean, like, people were 217 00:11:49.010 --> 00:11:51.380 standing you didn't have to get. Yeah. You didn't get a seat. 218 00:11:51.380 --> 00:11:53.956 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. So it's funny, because I think I believe 219 00:11:54.012 --> 00:11:57.004 I've had a very similar experience to you being here, 220 00:11:57.060 --> 00:12:00.391 you know, locked down in my apartment, when everything went 221 00:12:00.447 --> 00:12:04.060 down last year, and then seeing the city progress. And then like 222 00:12:04.116 --> 00:12:07.503 all the changes, you know, we went from like, I used to live 223 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:11.002 close to the park. So I would see like no one outside, and it 224 00:12:11.059 --> 00:12:14.502 was the craziest thing. But then from there, like I would see 225 00:12:14.558 --> 00:12:18.114 people starting to come. And I think a big factor is definitely 226 00:12:18.171 --> 00:12:21.670 the weather, the weather is a huge factor when people come out 227 00:12:21.727 --> 00:12:25.226 here specifically. So you know, last summer, things were a lot 228 00:12:25.283 --> 00:12:28.669 different things were a lot livy, but a lot more live. But I 229 00:12:28.726 --> 00:12:32.338 also did notice that people were a lot cautious. They were super 230 00:12:32.395 --> 00:12:35.951 cautious about moving, you know, and being close to people. But 231 00:12:36.007 --> 00:12:39.620 as time progressed, and now that we're here, it definitely feels 232 00:12:39.676 --> 00:12:43.119 a lot different, because I feel like people have finally been 233 00:12:43.176 --> 00:12:46.450 able to relax a little bit. Yeah. But also, like you said, 234 00:12:46.506 --> 00:12:50.006 the transportation, getting in a cab, you know, getting on the 235 00:12:50.062 --> 00:12:53.505 bus, you know, it's definitely different because now, similar 236 00:12:53.562 --> 00:12:57.174 experience to you, I had to take the blue line, you know, the A, 237 00:12:57.231 --> 00:13:00.617 and then I transferred. And it was very interesting, because 238 00:13:00.674 --> 00:13:03.835 there was no room to sit, you know, and I think that's a 239 00:13:03.891 --> 00:13:07.221 really good indicator of you know, what exactly is going on 240 00:13:07.278 --> 00:13:10.721 in regards to number one people going back to work. Sure. And 241 00:13:10.777 --> 00:13:13.543 then also people being comfortable to take public 242 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.704 transportation or to take something as simple as a cab. 243 00:13:16.760 --> 00:13:20.204 Like, I feel, I felt like that was something that people were 244 00:13:20.260 --> 00:13:23.534 also very nervous about doing. But it was a safer way than 245 00:13:23.590 --> 00:13:27.090 riding the train. And I've been in situations like you where I 246 00:13:27.146 --> 00:13:30.589 was also, you know, the only one in the, you know, the subway 247 00:13:30.646 --> 00:13:34.202 cart that is just like me, by me by myself. So it was also very 248 00:13:34.258 --> 00:13:37.419 interesting seeing that, you know, at certain times that 249 00:13:37.476 --> 00:13:40.975 you're just the only one there and I think I've gotten used to 250 00:13:41.032 --> 00:13:44.023 that. But now I have to reprogram my mind and realize 251 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.579 that like this may have been a once in a lifetime thing. Yeah. 252 00:13:47.636 --> 00:13:50.910 Seeing New York like this. And now things are coming back. 253 00:13:50.910 --> 00:13:52.670 Sean Murray: Yeah. You mentioned something about people getting 254 00:13:52.670 --> 00:13:55.040 more comfortable. I want to give a special shout out to all the 255 00:13:55.040 --> 00:13:58.040 people I saw on the sidewalk this morning with the mask down 256 00:13:58.040 --> 00:14:00.560 smoking old fashioned cigarrettes just blowing the 257 00:14:00.560 --> 00:14:03.140 smoke around. I was like, alright. We're back. Yeah that's 258 00:14:03.140 --> 00:14:06.080 the sign. That's a sign. That's a recovery. That is a recovery. 259 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.450 The New York recovery looks like this with smoke blowing around. 260 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:10.040 Yeah. I was like alright, we're back baby. 261 00:14:10.040 --> 00:14:12.140 Johny Fernandez: We're back. We're back. Let's do it. And 262 00:14:12.140 --> 00:14:14.720 it's exciting to see the city come back. You know, it's 263 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:18.560 exciting to feel the energy and I went to Times Square because I 264 00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:24.410 had a friend visit from college. And we went to Times Square and 265 00:14:24.410 --> 00:14:28.490 it was packed. It was crazy. Because the first time in 266 00:14:29.030 --> 00:14:33.260 probably maybe six months that I've seen it that packed where 267 00:14:33.260 --> 00:14:36.950 you're like literally having to fight your way from 42nd Street 268 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:41.330 just to get in and like kind of move around. And it felt like 269 00:14:41.390 --> 00:14:44.270 old times even though it wasn't and you know, there's still the 270 00:14:44.270 --> 00:14:47.420 pandemic going on, but it felt like old times, and it was 271 00:14:47.420 --> 00:14:51.260 great. It was great to see just the city, you know, start coming 272 00:14:51.260 --> 00:14:52.190 becoming alive again. 273 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:55.240 Sean Murray: Yeah. And you know, that's good because a lot of 274 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:57.370 people been working from home and I think that we'll find a 275 00:14:57.370 --> 00:15:00.790 lot of people return to the office. Yeah. And I think that 276 00:15:00.790 --> 00:15:05.710 what we're gonna see is we're gonna see brokers return into 277 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:10.330 the business. I said on I said on social media before that, the 278 00:15:10.330 --> 00:15:13.360 brokers will come back, and a lot of them never left. But 279 00:15:13.390 --> 00:15:16.060 interestingly enough, and this is a stat, I haven't told 280 00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:20.800 anybody, but people want to know how many how many people left or 281 00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:25.060 are gone, right? Well, we happen to run the DailyFunder, which is 282 00:15:25.060 --> 00:15:29.590 a great way, which is a great way to measure that activity. 283 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.650 Yeah. And we sent out, here's what we did, we sent out an 284 00:15:32.650 --> 00:15:37.990 email in March of 2020. Okay. And then, without adding anyone 285 00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:42.610 to the email list, from then until March 2021. So this 286 00:15:42.610 --> 00:15:44.500 doesn't include any of the new people that have joined 287 00:15:44.500 --> 00:15:47.950 DailyFunder since we then sent out a second email. Okay. Right. 288 00:15:48.430 --> 00:15:51.550 And we've just to see, you know, for a variety of different 289 00:15:51.550 --> 00:15:54.550 reasons, but one was to monitor how many of these people don't 290 00:15:54.550 --> 00:15:58.150 exist anymore. Yeah. And it was about seven and a half percent 291 00:15:58.570 --> 00:16:02.050 of the audience. It was. Yeah. I mean, that's, that's 292 00:16:02.050 --> 00:16:04.930 significant. But we're talking about hundreds, hundreds. And 293 00:16:05.110 --> 00:16:07.660 these are, these are the accounts. These are the email 294 00:16:07.660 --> 00:16:11.080 addresses that no longer exist, right. So theres more brokers 295 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.740 that left a business who whose domains haven't expired or you 296 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:16.540 know what I mean, or they haven't cancelled. Those are 297 00:16:16.540 --> 00:16:18.790 ones that have lapsed to the point where their domains don't 298 00:16:18.790 --> 00:16:22.090 exist anymore. Seven and a half percent, is what was what fell 299 00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:25.630 off. Now we've gained a lot of new followers on on DailyFunder 300 00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:28.000 since and we've seen a huge influx, I don't want to say 301 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:33.730 huge, but an influx. Yeah. Of brokers joining DailyFunder. And 302 00:16:34.330 --> 00:16:37.120 you know that brings us back to well, people are joining, 303 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.640 joining the business. Yeah. For the first time. 304 00:16:39.660 --> 00:16:41.010 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. Well, I was gonna ask you I was like 305 00:16:41.190 --> 00:16:44.550 think that that's a perfect segue for the next conversation 306 00:16:44.550 --> 00:16:48.450 that we want to have is if a new broker joins a business within 307 00:16:48.690 --> 00:16:52.320 this year, which has been a crazy year, what would your 308 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.160 piece of advice be for that new broker a day in the life of a 309 00:16:56.160 --> 00:16:59.880 new broker? Like, how do you get started? How do you, you know, 310 00:16:59.910 --> 00:17:03.360 pretty much gain these leads? How do you compete with number 311 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:06.840 one, everyone else that was here before you, but also in a time 312 00:17:06.840 --> 00:17:10.680 that is very unique, that no one's really, really had an 313 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:13.230 instruction manual about how to navigate? 314 00:17:13.360 --> 00:17:15.640 Sean Murray: Yeah, well, it's a little bit of a different period 315 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.670 of time starting to be a broker now. I said a long time ago, 316 00:17:18.670 --> 00:17:21.820 probably at this point six, seven years ago, if you only 317 00:17:21.820 --> 00:17:25.060 have a couple 1000 bucks in startup capital, don't start a 318 00:17:25.060 --> 00:17:27.340 broker company, because you're gonna find out that the cost, 319 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:30.940 the learning curve is enormous. You have all these other costs 320 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:34.060 that come with running a shop that are enormous, you're gonna 321 00:17:34.060 --> 00:17:39.430 have to pay out something in attorney fees or something. So 322 00:17:39.430 --> 00:17:42.670 if it's just a couple 1000 bucks, I would, you should go 323 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:45.790 work somewhere, you should go work for a broker shop, but you 324 00:17:45.790 --> 00:17:49.420 shouldn't start a broker shop. And we were just talking about 325 00:17:49.420 --> 00:17:52.000 this, just, you know, I don't think we've done on video, but 326 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:53.890 we were talking about what does it take for a broker to start 327 00:17:53.890 --> 00:17:58.330 up? And it's as simple as you know, you know, a phone an 328 00:17:58.330 --> 00:18:02.950 email, and leads and also a relationship with the funder, 329 00:18:03.070 --> 00:18:07.750 right? And five years ago, you know what else was there? What 330 00:18:07.750 --> 00:18:11.230 other piece of it was to that whole thing? It was you were 331 00:18:11.230 --> 00:18:13.690 competing against other brokers. Yeah. Right. And leads were 332 00:18:13.690 --> 00:18:16.450 expensive. You were competing against other brokers. And 333 00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:19.510 what's changed now, especially after COVID? You say, well, how 334 00:18:19.510 --> 00:18:23.260 is it any different? I think one of the main differences is that 335 00:18:23.290 --> 00:18:26.020 you're not just competing against other brokers or, you 336 00:18:26.020 --> 00:18:28.900 know, or funders, right? You're not just competing, you know, 337 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.110 against other people. And I don't want to say you're 338 00:18:32.110 --> 00:18:36.070 competing against, you know, tech, right. Yeah. But you're 339 00:18:36.070 --> 00:18:40.420 competing against a button, like an actual button that now exists 340 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:43.330 in a lot of software that business owners use. Yeah. 341 00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:46.570 Whether it be an inventory thing, a point of sale, or a 342 00:18:46.570 --> 00:18:49.600 credit card processing thing. It's pretty common now to see a 343 00:18:49.600 --> 00:18:53.110 button. Yeah. I've seen it in Square, yeah, you know, you can 344 00:18:53.110 --> 00:18:56.260 swipe a card, or you can key enter a card, and then theres 345 00:18:56.260 --> 00:19:00.280 the capital button. And it will tell you how much you're pre 346 00:19:00.280 --> 00:19:03.250 approved for and you just click it and you're funded. And that's 347 00:19:03.250 --> 00:19:05.920 it. Right? So if you're, if you're a broker, you now need to 348 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:08.620 compete against that, and you need to find out you need to 349 00:19:08.620 --> 00:19:11.980 figure out if your product is competing against it, or if your 350 00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:15.730 product is an add on to it, are you the broker that comes in 351 00:19:15.790 --> 00:19:18.940 that says, what you got through Square or Stripe? Or you know, 352 00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:22.420 with any of these companies was it not enough? And can I help 353 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:26.170 you with additional, or if you believe to be if you believe 354 00:19:26.170 --> 00:19:29.620 yourself to be competing against those customers, how do you 355 00:19:29.620 --> 00:19:33.340 reach them reach them in such a way that they trust you more or 356 00:19:33.340 --> 00:19:38.080 that they I feel like one of and this, this is a larger 357 00:19:38.110 --> 00:19:41.380 discussion, but one thing that you could potentially use as a 358 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:44.950 broker is to convince somebody that it's better to have 359 00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:47.260 somebody to hold your hand through the whole thing and 360 00:19:47.260 --> 00:19:51.730 compete for a better deal versus whatever the machine you know, 361 00:19:51.730 --> 00:19:54.130 the software the button is giving you because if you click 362 00:19:54.130 --> 00:19:57.760 the button, oftentimes there's nobody there to guide you 363 00:19:57.760 --> 00:19:59.830 through anything and I don't think there's any competing 364 00:19:59.830 --> 00:20:01.900 offers presented to you. It's kind of like, here's what you're 365 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:04.570 approved for. Do you want it, yes? Fund. Right? And so if 366 00:20:04.570 --> 00:20:07.630 you're a broker, and maybe it's about proving your value of 367 00:20:07.630 --> 00:20:10.210 working with a person who could potentially get you some 368 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:13.630 something better, and also talk to you through the whole thing, 369 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:17.980 because I know, you know, when you get the fine print, and, you 370 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:19.840 know, they brag about how you can do it all from your 371 00:20:19.840 --> 00:20:22.990 smartphone. And what are you signing like a 20 page contract 372 00:20:22.990 --> 00:20:24.910 on the smartphone? You know what I mean? Yeah. Do you really know 373 00:20:24.910 --> 00:20:27.760 all the terms? Yeah. I don't, maybe, you know, maybe they do. 374 00:20:27.760 --> 00:20:31.240 Johny Fernandez: Yeah, I mean, yeah. But it's also like, 375 00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:33.850 realistically speaking, like, usually, you just scroll 376 00:20:34.060 --> 00:20:36.040 everything down, and then you just don't even read it. 377 00:20:36.070 --> 00:20:37.840 Sean Murray: You just yeah, like when you sign the, you know, the 378 00:20:37.870 --> 00:20:40.120 new license, the new license agreement, right? Yeah. Like 379 00:20:40.120 --> 00:20:43.150 when you download anything that's like, did you accept the 380 00:20:43.150 --> 00:20:45.550 terms? It's like when Facebook updates. Yeah. And you're like, 381 00:20:45.580 --> 00:20:47.980 I just want to get to my Facebook. Yeah. And its like, do 382 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:50.980 you agree to this new 100 page of like, you know, surrendering 383 00:20:50.980 --> 00:20:53.500 your identity to Facebook. And you're like, yes, because I want 384 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:54.340 to post a picture. 385 00:20:54.430 --> 00:20:58.960 Johny Fernandez: Yeah. Yeah, no, that's it's great advice. And, 386 00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:01.240 and I think throughout the rest of the day, we're also going to 387 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:04.990 be hearing about different tactics and just advice from the 388 00:21:04.990 --> 00:21:07.180 different people we have. So Sean, let's go ahead and just 389 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:10.690 walk people through what people and what our viewers can expect 390 00:21:11.110 --> 00:21:13.330 today for the rest of the day. And what we have planned in the 391 00:21:13.330 --> 00:21:13.740 Sean Murray: Yeah, so it's, this is the two and a half hour 392 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:14.100 agenda. 393 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:18.670 event. So this is going to be over by about one o'clock. One 394 00:21:18.670 --> 00:21:22.990 o'clock. We have two brokers and funder here with us today. We 395 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:26.920 have a Horizon Financial Group, we have United Capital Source, 396 00:21:27.070 --> 00:21:29.920 those are from the broker end. And then we have Central 397 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:33.070 Diligence Group from the funder side. So Horizon Financial Group 398 00:21:33.070 --> 00:21:36.580 will go first. These are not presentations. Yeah. These are 399 00:21:36.610 --> 00:21:38.830 these are these are conversations, there will be an 400 00:21:38.830 --> 00:21:41.500 interviewer. It is for the most part, unscripted, there hasn't 401 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:44.590 been any rehearsing, or any or anything like that. So it'll be 402 00:21:44.590 --> 00:21:47.410 an open discussion, get to pick the brains of the brokers and 403 00:21:47.410 --> 00:21:50.110 and of the funder. Yeah. And there will be some content 404 00:21:50.110 --> 00:21:54.790 that's played in between that as well. And this, you know, this 405 00:21:54.790 --> 00:21:58.030 isn't necessarily an event. In fact, this is just a way for us 406 00:21:58.030 --> 00:22:01.330 to, you know, bring you back into the industry, right? 407 00:22:01.330 --> 00:22:04.390 Because it's the spring, it's new beginning. And if you want 408 00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:06.550 to keep following these type of things, well, you can do that 409 00:22:06.550 --> 00:22:08.950 every day, or not every day, every Monday and Wednesday. 410 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:11.740 Yeah. Tune in. You can hear from Johny and I, and sometimes we 411 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:13.780 will have guests there. And if you want to be a guest you can 412 00:22:13.990 --> 00:22:14.560 you can reach out. 413 00:22:14.560 --> 00:22:17.140 Johny Fernandez: Reach out to us. Yeah. So and obviously if 414 00:22:17.320 --> 00:22:21.100 you know viewers have any ideas or they have they want any they 415 00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:24.130 want to take you know, any input and give it to us hand it over 416 00:22:24.130 --> 00:22:28.450 to us. Definitely reach out online, email us and really let 417 00:22:28.450 --> 00:22:31.180 us know because we definitely want to hear from our viewers 418 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:35.920 and kind of really start a relationship with them and us 419 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:39.190 and really give them what they would like too and like you said 420 00:22:39.190 --> 00:22:42.550 it's kind of like your your jacket, things are blooming. 421 00:22:43.450 --> 00:22:45.190 Sean Murray: Yeah, my jacket bloomed this morning. 422 00:22:45.190 --> 00:22:48.280 Johny Fernandez: It exactly did. What was your reaction when you 423 00:22:48.280 --> 00:22:49.150 left the house? 424 00:22:49.270 --> 00:22:53.860 Sean Murray: I got some, you know, eye rolls. And even some 425 00:22:53.890 --> 00:22:57.070 well, not on the subway. Okay. On the subway. I look, this is 426 00:22:57.100 --> 00:23:00.820 this. This is New York. This is the normal getup, right? Nobody 427 00:23:00.820 --> 00:23:02.920 batted an eye. That's how you know we're back. 428 00:23:02.950 --> 00:23:05.800 Johny Fernandez: That's how you know were back yeah, people. I 429 00:23:05.800 --> 00:23:08.680 had a performance on my subway today. You did? Yeah. Okay. 430 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:11.770 Yeah. So that's how you know New York is back. So. Nice. 431 00:23:11.800 --> 00:23:12.700 Hopefully soon. 432 00:23:12.750 --> 00:23:15.360 Sean Murray: Oh, I want to give a plug. Because here we are 433 00:23:15.360 --> 00:23:18.840 doing this live stream. And for those of for those of you who 434 00:23:18.840 --> 00:23:21.840 are wondering, when are we going to be all together in person. 435 00:23:22.050 --> 00:23:24.960 Well we're going to have Broker Fair, our biggest event its 436 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.480 going to come back to New York. We're in New York right now. But 437 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.210 we want all of you to come back to New York on December sixth, 438 00:23:30.300 --> 00:23:33.240 at convenient Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan, you can go 439 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:36.870 to brokerfair.org to learn more information, and also register 440 00:23:36.870 --> 00:23:40.560 to get a ticket. And so, you know, this is just this is you 441 00:23:40.560 --> 00:23:42.870 know, this is not a virtual event. This is not really even 442 00:23:42.870 --> 00:23:47.070 an event. Yeah. The event is coming in person, massive event 443 00:23:47.100 --> 00:23:48.120 and Broker Fair. 444 00:23:48.150 --> 00:23:50.400 Johny Fernandez: What's what's great about that is that that is 445 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:54.600 going to be, you know, just a preview of next year when 446 00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:57.570 hopefully things get back to normal. And we can all be 447 00:23:57.570 --> 00:24:01.380 together again, and we can all kind of get back to what we 448 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:05.220 knew. But I feel like this is going to be, next years just 449 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:08.970 going to be a way for us to reunite and be better than what 450 00:24:08.970 --> 00:24:10.110 we were before. 451 00:24:10.230 --> 00:24:10.770 Sean Murray: Yeah. 452 00:24:10.890 --> 00:24:13.170 Johny Fernandez: So totally exciting. It's an exciting time. 453 00:24:13.170 --> 00:24:14.310 I think it's an exciting time. 454 00:24:14.340 --> 00:24:16.500 Sean Murray: And to that end, when you talk about next year, 455 00:24:16.530 --> 00:24:20.790 we'll be back in Miami, in 2022. We do not have a date yet. So 456 00:24:20.820 --> 00:24:24.420 stay tuned for that. But Miami we'll be back we have not 457 00:24:24.420 --> 00:24:26.340 forgotten Miami in fact, you you've been in Miami. 458 00:24:27.030 --> 00:24:28.980 Johny Fernandez: A few times. Yeah. And it's really 459 00:24:28.980 --> 00:24:32.280 interesting seeing just how things are going down there and 460 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:36.840 for the business aspect of things to also just seeing like 461 00:24:36.870 --> 00:24:40.200 the community and the vibrancy of Miami so Miami is definitely 462 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:43.200 back. And they're excited to have us I mean, everywhere, you 463 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:45.810 know, within the industry, everyone knows deBanked, 464 00:24:45.810 --> 00:24:49.320 everyone knows Sean Murray, everyone knows, you know, we 465 00:24:49.320 --> 00:24:52.650 have a couple of surprises when Miami happens, you know, and 466 00:24:52.890 --> 00:24:57.000 it'll be exciting. So. Yeah. So again, it's an excitement just 467 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.360 like your jacket and we'll definitely be seeing everyone 468 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:05.370 soon and again, for deBanked News Live, I'm Johny Fernandez. 469 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:07.080 Sean Murray: And I'm Sean Murray. 470 00:25:07.170 --> 00:25:09.434 Johny Fernandez: And we'll see you guys next time in the studio 471 00:25:09.483 --> 00:25:12.584 but for now stay tuned because there's definitely more exciting 472 00:25:12.633 --> 00:25:13.470 things coming up.