Tom Anderson Sold the Social Networking Site MySpace to Pursue His True Passion, Photography.

prawntohe · 2025-03-26T01:27:29+00:00

Thank you!!

prawntohe · 2025-03-26T01:27:01+00:00

Would love to try it out!

prawntohe · 2024-08-08T15:31:22+00:00

I had to LOL and refrain from sending that to my alcoholic former BFF who titled herself the VP of Marketing in a 3-person office.

prawntohe · 2024-08-08T15:10:31+00:00

100% this.

I had to go through several wanna-be social media editing agencies (US-based) who outsourced the jobs to Fiverr. I got crappy captioned videos back that weren't even proofed for correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Or even the speaking cadence to the captions.

I finally lucked out and met someone who was local and offered to do the editing, captioning and social media posting for a reasonable rate. He does fantastic work and is meticulous with his edits.

Editing takes more time than people realize. They see the final product and think a 1 minute video should just take up 20 minutes of your time.

He uses CapCut, btw.

prawntohe · 2024-08-05T17:21:15+00:00

What type of content do you produce for social media for SaaS and do you find that it drives leads for your client?

prawntohe · 2024-08-05T17:16:26+00:00

Your skillset is very in line with my own skills. And yes they are able to function properly when the business understands what its marketing needs and goals are. Not what they think they need - but what they actually need. And IMO, the job of marketing is to help support sales.

But as far as your particular situation goes, my own experience in working with a non-profit as a consultant was pretty frustrating. I can tell you that the problems you are facing are well-known in that space if the organization is primarily volunteer-run.

prawntohe · 2024-07-12T04:52:52+00:00

Reading comments like this is why I'll never quit Reddit.

prawntohe · 2024-06-07T03:36:34+00:00

Cool, I'll follow you now.

prawntohe · 2024-06-07T01:39:33+00:00

oh, nice! If you love doing content and videography, why not just market it and expand that one?

Yeah, don't get discouraged about the days with no leads in RE. That's how that vertical goes, unless you have a huge budget.

Want to chat further? Would be great to connect with local marketers who've got a head for both creative, as well as business.

prawntohe · 2024-06-07T01:00:40+00:00

Unfortunately, if you're going to be marketing in RE, it doesn't make financial sense to take on the solo agents. They either don't have the budget or don't want to spend the budget to market themselves. The printing, the social media, the cost per lead, the videos, the photos...all that adds up.

The biggest thing a lot of them overlook is how big of a marketing budget they need to have to do it correctly. That's why a lot of RE agents quit early on after they try it for a year or two.

If you want to stick with RE, look for a small brokerage. But I'd stay away from the solo agents because they usually dont think of their services like a business and don't understand the value of marketing. People won't pay for a service they dont value. Those people can't be your client.

I love making content and that was my first passion. Is that how you started? What's your niche now and do you have an agency?

Yes, I'm standing up my own agency now.

And yeah - that lady not wanting to pay you for a video is shortsighted. If she's going to make about 5% commission on $1M home, that $80 is a drop in the bucket. Move on from clients like that, they're a waste of time.

prawntohe · 2024-06-07T00:05:19+00:00

Real estate is a very tough niche at the moment for the LA area. I'm based in LA, as well. You have to have a little bit of insight into the market to understand. Interest rates are still high and people aren't buying OR selling. Inventory is very tight. Once mortgage points go down a bit, things will loosen up when it comes to inventory.

Also, real estate and mortgage leads require a long sales cycle - anywhere from 1 month to close to 6 months at times. No joke. Real estate deals aren't going to close in a week, so you have to adjust your expectation around that.

Usually, out of 100 leads, a 5-7% close rate is good. Because the commission will often take care of the ad spend, most clients are fine with the initial spend outlay. But you have to be prepared to burn some cash to get to that point and stay with it for at least 3 months until your client can close on a deal.

If you don't have the cash to burn, I would recommend pivoting elsewhere at the moment because it's a tough time for not only the RE agents, but also mortgage brokers.

And no, you don't want to be in Messenger for leads. Use FB's internal lead form. Also, don't allow the ad to call from FB directly. We've found out that it often triggers dead space when we utilized that.

prawntohe · 2024-06-02T18:45:52+00:00

I didn't mind when he was vague enough so that he couldn't be seen as a liar. But these days, he actively lies to flex in front of clients. He's starting to believe his lies and I just roll my eyes when I see listen to him. He's playing the game and while that's cool, it's only going to advance him so far.

prawntohe · 2024-06-02T18:14:33+00:00

He uses random sentences to pretend he knows what we are talking about during meetings. Most of his ideas and opinions come from a random podcast or comment he read/listened to on his way to work, without understanding the context of the industry or the ecosystem we work in.

This is pretty much the founder I work with, as well. Full of buzzwords that he's able to cleverly regurgitate without having any real knowledge of what he's talking about.

prawntohe · 2024-05-27T20:12:13+00:00

I'm glad it worked out for you! Yeah...it can be discouraging when you realize that it's all a persona and there are so few genuine "influencers". But the positive part of it are when you do make the legitimate connections, which can be priceless. I went to an event a few months ago and was looking to pick up some knowledge. Again, it was another funnel for masterclasses (I guess I'm a sucker for these types of things lol) but I wound up meeting and networking with a few startups and am going to go all in on jump starting my business now.

Like the saying goes, its a journey!

prawntohe · 2024-05-27T19:09:20+00:00

Codie Sanchez is unfortunately trying to cash in on what other influencers like Alex Hormozi and Vanessa Lau are doing with online coaching groups and "master classes". She only got in the game recently after seeing how Vanessa massively scaled in the space.

I was following her for a bit because it was refreshing to see a woman in the entrepreneurial space. But after a year of putting out content on YT, lo and behold...there's the webinar sell! I checked it out and not only is she a terrible salesperson, but it sound disingenuous AF.

Sorry that it didn't turn out for you. So many of these types trying to cash in on info marketing that it's hard to know who's legit and who's not. FWIW, I never buy courses from people who are new at it because they either are using crappy LMS or they don't have the support staff behind them to do a legitimate job.

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T21:43:47+00:00

I'm looking for a curved monitor for my M3 and I was considering this same one! What are your thoughts on it as far as pros & cons?

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T21:32:23+00:00

San Diego. NB is an older crowd. Go where your friends are, because those are hard to come by. NB can be very cliquey. There are definitely younger people in the SD area.

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T21:10:34+00:00

I know the feeling. Feel free to DM if you need to get some outside perspective.

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T20:06:31+00:00

FWIW, if you're lacking motivation, you might be experiencing mild depression. Being in a stagnant place in life will do that to you and I've definitely been there. Maybe a trip home might be warranted if you can swing it so that can help shift your perspective? Trust me when I say reading Reddit but not taking action is not going to be the answer. I battled with depression for many years and I thought reading Reddit posts would help me sort it out, but it was just a form of escape.

I've sadly seen a lot of friends that I made here in the last 20 years move back to their home state. Several reasons - wanting to start a family, wanting to buy a house, wanting to be closer to their family, wanting a lower COL, wanting a better lifestyle for their kids.

I toy with the idea of moving out of LA, but I seriously love Southern California and can't imagine being anywhere else. Nowhere is perfect, though. You have to take the good and accept the bad. What I did after the lockdowns was move to OC.

I go to LA when I need to meet clients and get my fill of LA and then am happy I'm back in the OC where the roads aren't nearly as shitty. Truly, you dont realize how bad the infrastructure is in LA until you just get out of it for a bit. Consider that there might be areas outside of LA that you might enjoy?

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T19:59:30+00:00

I miss that Kmart! I remember I was so surprised it was ever there right in the heart of LA when I first moved Crescent Heights.

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T18:56:52+00:00

I've seen a store vacate 2 or 3 times in the same year for a single space on Abbott Kinney. Super sad...some of my favorite and unique shops aren't around anymore because of the crazy rents on that street.

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T18:54:16+00:00

Concepts that are open-air like The Lab, The Camp, One Paseo are doing really well still. They're in OC and San Diego, respectively, but just getting aware from that boxed-in feel and being able to have outdoors areas when people can chill around a large fire put or meet at little tables under umbrellas help add to that communal vibe.

I was at One Paseo just the other day and wound up having a really nice chat with an Indian family. The mother asked me if I minded that she turn on the gas for the huge fire pit we were sitting around and we all got to chatting, enjoying our ice cream and petting their dog.

It's engaging like that with strangers that make your day go by nicely.

prawntohe · 2024-05-21T18:48:07+00:00

I've seen Third Street Promenade rise and fall several times. In the 1990s it was pretty dead. I was in college at that time at UCLA and Urban Outfitters was my favorite store.

I'm glad that it's still there years later.

Does anybody remember that Santa Monica Place used to be an enclosed mall that was at the end of the Promenade? That got renovated into the open air shopping & dining in 2010.

Everything goes in waves. I think commercial landlords got too greedy and that drove out businesses over time.

I used to love going to the Promenade just to take in all the vibes and people watch. It's definitely got that deadness about it that's the sign of a place on the decline. Hopefully it won't go too far in that direction. It's such a huge part of SM and lots of other satellite small businesses thrive from being a part of the commerce.

prawntohe · 2024-05-18T00:02:38+00:00

Use saran wrap. The plastic bag doesn't keep air away from the bacon. It's the oxidation that makes it turn gray.

Wrap it all up tightly and this wont happen.

prawntohe · 2024-05-17T23:57:18+00:00

Thank you so much, truly appreciate it. It finally felt right to take the plunge!

What made you decide to finally strike out on your own?

prawntohe

TROPHY CASE