There are a lot of us out there that have BIG ideas, yet almost none of us know what to do with them…at least when we start out. Maybe we finally come up with a plan to get where we want to be, but then we’re too afraid to take risks.
Don’t be. Roll the dice.
Too often people associate the word risk with failure. When that happens, you should know you’re in over your head.
In reality, to take a risk means you’re taking advantage of an opportunity. Risks, albeit calculated ones, are the catalysts for success.
Before Steiner Collectibles, I started Steiner Associates, which was basically me running around booking different athletes for appearances at corporate events, conventions, private speaking engagements and other things.
I had to hustle and yet it still wasn’t enough. I was doing an insane amount of appearances, 2,000-3,000 per year, for tons of athletes with just a high school intern helping me out in a shared-office in Manhattan.
I remember coming home to my wife Mara and saying, “I’m killing myself here. I might do a $1,000 appearance with an athlete, which means I’ll walk away with only $150.”
I needed something that could catapult my business to the next level. I needed to take a risk.
I was doing a corporate appearance with Roger Staubach when my client comes running in with a ton of equipment he wanted signed, all bootleg though- wrong helmet, wrong football, etc.
He told me he did the best he could. He went to the local sporting goods store and that’s what they had.
So I said, “Next time I do this, I’m getting the stuff.”
For the next appearance we did with Roger, I brought him the real game-model footballs and found some great photos from some magazines. Remember, I was making only a percentage of what Roger was, in this case $1,000 out of $7,500, and traveling for two days, etc. To get my client the equipment he also wanted, I had to lay out $2500, so I charged him $5,000.
He told me, “Charge me anything you want. This is better than Roger. I can give this stuff to my clients, give it to my kids…this is great!
That’s where the seeds to Steiner as a collectibles company were planted. When did signed collectibles become the #1 focus? You’ll have to read about it in my book, You Gotta Have Balls (Chapter 9).
