How to Make $1.6K/Day on Facebook Marketplace Transcript, AI Summary & Key Points

00:00 I was a high school math teacher. Teachers [music] income baby coming. So just trying to come up with something. That's where I started. >> What were you making as a teacher? >> 40,000 maybe. I profited 20 to 30K that that summer. Just summer. Yeah. >> And so then alongside teaching it was absolutely past it. So our best month we did 1.1 million last year >> in a month.

00:23 >> In a month. Yeah. >> Holy crap. >> It was posted for $300. >> What? and I sold that for $3,000. And this is a really big hack for you guys looking to buy and sell lawnmowers. So, last week I come across this guy on the internet and his claim to fame was that he had made $50,000 of profit in one month flipping riding mowers on Facebook Marketplace.

00:47 My antennas immediately went up and I'm like, I got to talk to this guy. So, we hopped on a call with my team. They vetted him out, discovered that yes, Matt's legit. And so, I had him on the pod. Pat, how did you in rural Michigan, Jackson, Michigan, population 30,000 people, how did you make $50,000 in one month buying and selling riding lawnmowers?

01:04 Not flipping them, not fixing them up, just buying them undervalued and selling them at market value. I'll give you a tip. Yes, he buys from individuals, but he also buys from dealerships. That's the secret. Today, he has his own dealership doing over a million dollars a month during the busy season. And yes, he's still buying and selling used and new.

01:24 So, if you want to make thousands of dollars a month flipping, riding mowers, or anything on Facebook Marketplace, this episode is as tactical as you get. Please enjoy. >> Okay. Well, Matt, why don't we start by you telling us who you are and what you do? >> Yeah. So, right now, who I am, I own an equipment dealership. And you know, I think we're talking because they started this entire journey buying and selling used, not even just equipment, but couches, washers and dryers, church pews, TVs, Nintendo Wis, right?

01:51 So, it all started just buying and selling stuff and, you know, now I've got an equipment dealership and, you know, trying to take over the uh the world, one lawn mower at a time, pretty much. >> Okay. So, you started flipping stuff before you opened your dealership? >> Yes. So, probably seven years ago, I was a high school math teacher. I have no equipment industry background.

02:12 I played sports growing up, high school, college basketball. You know, there wasn't really an interest. It's not like it's about lawnmowers for me or anything like that. But it definitely, you know, taught me business in a short period of time, but now my passion is absolutely business. So, >> okay. So, what got you selling things on Facebook Marketplace?

02:33 Like what was the the event that started that? You know, the initial event is just teachers income, >> wife at home, baby coming, and you see a bank account that's just staying the right. So, just trying to come up with something to increase the income. So, you know, that's what spawned it all basically. And that's where I started. It was literally I went to an estate sale and I I I saw this be beautiful uh church pew and the entrance way.

02:59 they're selling for $80 and I just thought to it was just it that was my first moment you know I think of like large entrepreneurship of thinking that is worth more than $80 >> and people talk about flipping and so I just tried it with that right and so I sold that you know probably a few hundred bucks and I bought some other things and you know that idea started there right and it was in the process trying to do other things to make money >> YouTube certified research on how to flip houses that I moved and was doing a

03:29 live-in flip and arbitrageing Craigslist, arbitrageing Facebook. That started because I saw a couch that I had to sell when I moved. I saw the equivalent couch for $50 and it was in better shape than the one I had sold for $200. And that's where it all started. I'm I'm going to buy this to straight flip it, you know, right off the internet. And I made, you know, $250 within a day.

03:55 And that just the the itch started, you know, right after that. >> Where did you hear about this first estate sale that you went to? How did you end up there? >> That's a great question. Who knows? You know, I was probably surfing around Craigslist and I >> I always like going to garage sales and things like that. So, I I don't even know how, you know, that came to be, but I I love going to estate sales.

04:14 I love garage sales because that's that's what deals are. And that and yeah, Al, >> my passion is sales. I love sales. But it was the art of finding the deal. Like that was absolutely passionate, right? So that's kind of where that stem from for sure. >> Now when you bought this pew, did you do any research on what it was worth or you just assumed to be worth a few hundred bucks?

04:38 >> That question is the exact framework that I work off of is when I'm exploring a new market to try to buy something different, it is an absolute nobrainer that I'm going to make money. Okay? because I'm buying it for the first time I enter into a new market. It's an absolute no-brainer than making money. So, for example, the first enclosed trailer that I ever bought used.

04:58 Now, you tell me without doing any research if you think this is a good deal. A 16 ft enclosed trailer. So, you can picture what an enclosed trailer >> Yep. >> was posted for $300. >> What? >> Yeah. So, you don't know about that? >> I know what those cost like. >> So, yeah, I sold that trailer. That was my first trailer and I sold that for $3,000. Right.

05:20 So that >> why why was it so cheap? Did they just mispric it? >> So was they steal it? >> Cover knowledge been sitting there for years and it was this guy needed it gone and it wasn't about the price and whatever. So he started to you know make this into a business but I was a teacher right? So, I this was still when I was teaching and I had a former student that had two lawnmowers on the back of a trailer on the east side of the state of Michigan and this guy on Craigslist lives 10 minutes from where I had one of my

05:49 students out on the road and you have to win on speed, you know, with and I saw this four minutes after it was posted. So, I tell him, "We're on the way. The stars have aligned because I've got my guy 10 minutes from that location and I send him over there. I've got a trailer full of lawnmowers and I just told you know the kid I said pay I just just pay the guy okay just pay him and we will come back and the guy actually he you know he has a title with it which you would think this thing's stolen and it's not and I

06:18 didn't even know about titles at that point you know but he had the title for it and you know you just figure things out as you go because you know what you know what happened when the kid the high school kid went back to pick this trailer up is he's getting onto the highway and you know the guy tells him because with trailers you got a twoinch ball.

06:38 You got a twoin >> I know where this is going. I know exactly where this is going. >> It goes and of course there's no safety chance, right? There's no safety chance. So it detaches from the truck. It goes ac on the highway across median into the other [laughter] side. No, >> no one is killed. No one is hurt. He hooks back up. He may have gotten a ticket for no safety chains for 30 bucks or something.

07:01 I mean, just crazy. You, you know, >> wow, >> that was probably, who knows? If it was me, I I hope I would have seen that, right? But the point is, you just you take action. You figure things out as Yeah. >> You know what I mean? >> So, that was the $300 trailer. >> That was the 300. That was the first >> And if you're five minutes later, it's gone.

07:20 Like, a deal that good. >> He got there within 15 minutes of the post and the guy's You can imagine rate a trailer posted that low. So, and that's the exact Yeah. learn how to what to say to keep the deal and all that sort of stuff, but I didn't have the skills at that point to know how to keep that deal closed to me. I was so lucky that I had someone, you know, in the area.

07:43 >> So, what are those skills that you developed? If someone comes across something like this, what can they do? >> Yeah, that's a good question. So, number one, you need to get them actually talking to you. You need to get them on the phone. That's number one. Okay? Because you and me talking right now on Zoom, that creates a whole different level than if we were texting.

08:00 Yeah. >> Right. It's a whole level from email. >> Someone else is going to get them on the phone. So, it better be you. >> If you and me were across from each other sitting right now, you would that much more as well, right? So, you got to get that pro the closest proximity to that point. You're going to sell better. But you have to ask those questions.

08:18 The other guy is going to offer him $600, right? And so you can literally frame people and you can say,"I want to know that your word is good that we have a deal." And you have to just go crazy to reaffirm that the deal is closed. You know what I mean? And so >> yeah, >> you know, one thing, but there's a lot of things you have to do. And so, of course, you can give a deposit on Venmo, PayPal, all you know, things like that.

08:45 >> And you can protect against scamming and you know, you're talking to a real person at that point, right? So that that's that's one, right? give them a deposit on Venmo, PayPal, any of those sorts of things, and that will absolutely secure the deal. No one's gonna no one's gonna actually sell it out from under you if you have given them some money.

09:02 >> Now, I love it because most people would see this in a different area. They're like, "Dang it, that's such a good deal. Whatever. Let's go find the next one." And you're like, "No, I I know a guy. I'm going to call him." And even if you didn't know a guy, everything's figure outable. Like, you could hop on a local Facebook group and say, "Hey, 150 bucks to whoever can get this trailer the soonest."

09:20 then you could pay him a deposit and then you could just, you know what I'm saying? Like there's a hundred ways to make that deal work even if it's not close to you. >> This is how the business started to create is you realize it's all about speed, right? So now I develop people that I number one it's me first doing it, right? And already I got to the point at that point that someone else was in a truck for me.

09:39 But you have to figure out what's the dollar amount that you could literally call somebody and in a moment's time they would say, "Yep, I'll get on the road and help you out." They're a do for 10 hour. >> Will they do it for 15? >> Is it a retired guy? Is it your dad? Dad will probably do it for no money. You know what I mean? So >> yeah, >> but the point is if you want to build an actual business, you got to do it from, you know, someone who's not related to you.

10:04 For me, the sweet spot is like 20 to $25 an hour if it's my it's literally like4 to $60 an hour if it's their truck. That number doesn't matter. You just got to do the math on that and take that out of the deal and you do the math on seeing if it can go. But that you got to build, you know, if you're flipping like that, you got to build out the call list, so to speak.

10:26 You know, if people if this guy can't do it, I'm calling the next guy. >> Yeah. >> If I get four or five down the line and this deal is going to make a thousand bucks, you know, I I hate to ask it of my wife, but can I miss dinner tonight? You know, you don't want to. So the longer you build that out, the more you protect Yeah. >> actually be able to have a life, you know.

10:47 >> Yeah. So when you started doing this as a teacher, how long until this income replaced your teachers income or exceeded it? >> Once I started buying lawnmowers, it was instantaneously. So >> okay, >> the first lawn mower I bought was right at the summer of, you know, a summer and I made a couple bucks on the zero turn. Then I bought >> And remind me what city you're in again.

11:12 >> Jackson, Michigan. >> Jackson, Michigan. All right. >> 100 bucks on your first zero turn. >> The second one I made closer to 500. And that's when the light bulb really went off. And that summer I bought and sold 30 of them. So I profited 20 to 30K that that summer. Just summer. >> Yeah. And so then alongside teaching the you know it it was absolutely past it you know and that was hard right because you're teaching that's happening after you know teaching hours at the end of that teaching or the students that didn't

11:47 like me you know because I was too regimented or whatever it would be telling the principal he's he's calling people in between class to strike deal. [laughter] I was like it's true you know I knew I was leaving by the end of that summer anyway. So >> yeah, >> I liked it. But I I caught something that just grabbed hold of me, you know, that >> love with, you know.

12:07 >> Quick reminder. I know you've heard me say this before, but if you know someone that might want to make money buying and selling mowers on Facebook Marketplace, then please share this episode with them. It could change their life. What were you making as a teacher? [snorts] >> 40,000, maybe 45,000 with them. >> Jeez. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. What turned you onto that first lawn mower?

12:24 How did you find that deal? Where did you find it? And where did you sell it? So number one, I was buying and selling couches. Then it went to washers and dryers. Heating element went out on the dryer that I sold. And I'm thinking, golly, I I I want to do things the right way. I want to live my >> according God and I want it to be under the right principles.

12:43 And it felt dirty that I sold something that didn't afterwards. And there was this little doubt of maybe I should stop. But when I tried to sell my first house, I didn't. I couldn't actually sell it. And so I rented it to a guy, >> the live-in flip, >> the one that I was living in that I did the live and flip, that's the one where everything started to get discovered.

13:03 And the house that I moved from, I ended up renting out instead of selling. Okay. Okay. That guy had a zeroturn lawn mower and it looked like ragged, terrible. And he told me it was worth $2,500. And it blew my mind that that could be worth that much money. Mhm. >> So, I'm thinking in my head, 15% of 2500 bucks is a lot better than 15% of 300 bucks.

13:28 And that's my whole thing. Like, even me right now with mowers, if I could get into construction equipment that sells for, you know, 100 to a million that that, you know, less train, it's it's the same amount of time, you know what I mean? Same amount of skill. >> Where did you come up with the 15% number? >> Just in general, right? you realize you're selling something for 400 bucks and you bought it for, you know, you're into it for 325, you know, just >> Yeah.

13:53 Okay. >> Could be 20%, 30%. It's just a number. But >> so you you bought it from this guy that was renting your house for 2500 and then what? >> Yeah. So the idea was zero turns are worth a lot more money than the stuff I was selling. So that's what turned me on to thinking, let's try it with a mower. And a mower >> Yeah. >> Agical because I do I know anything about mowers?

14:14 No. But do the blades turn on? Does it move forward and back? You can actually take it through a full testing cycle. Unlike these dryers, you know, you got to run. You're hauling them all around. These have >> 200 bucks. >> Yes, exactly. Here's the biggest misconception about flipping stuff. I knew nothing about equipment. People buy and sell stocks because they know what it's worth now and they wait until it's worth more, right?

14:41 So, you got to learn to think about items like that. Buy it when it's low and preferably when it's beautifully perfect condition. You don't need to do the value is not in fixing it up. The value is in buying it low. Right. That's >> Oh, so and then selling it for what it's exactly worth. And so I was Yeah. >> within a week like every time it was it was quick.

15:07 It's about a fast. You got to be able to get it for a price so you can sell it quick. >> I'm gonna throw a wrench into this. I'm going to switch things up a bit and then I want to get right back to that story. Yeah. >> This is by total coincidence. Total coincidence. Just last night, I bought a zeroturn mo mower for myself like to to mow my lawn, right?

15:24 Because I need one. I had a John Deere. I didn't like it. I sold it, you know, at the end of the season and now it's getting warmer here in Dallas. Yeah. Yeah. And >> so I went on Facebook Marketplace and um I want to show you what it looks like and tell you I want you to tell me what you think I should have paid >> what it's worth. >> Under value cuz you're you're a deal guy.

15:44 >> H I am. But I also like I didn't >> I didn't work that hard on this one because I'm not trying to make money on this. I'm just trying to mow with it. So I kind of look at it differently. >> But let me um I'm gonna share my screen and just don't look at the price on the right side. Okay. >> Oh man. >> Let's let's do this. I was thinking I should buy this after I talk to Matt because he'll tell me what to pay, but I'm too impatient.

16:04 So, >> okay, I got it covered. I don't know the price. My first mower was a Toro. I'm a Toro dealer. Good for you. So, you got a Titan. You got a good one. >> It's a 50 MX 5400 54 inch 171 hours. >> 179 hours. So, that brand new sells for about six grand right now. So, you got it used with that load. That's about a 10-y old lawn. >> It's got suspension on the seat.

16:27 It's in great condition. It's got a roll bar. >> You need to tell me. I know everything about that. >> I don't know. >> Well, I'm hoping I'm hoping for sure. For sure. I I certainly hope you paid less than 3,000. But if you got it for under 2,000, you did really really well. >> I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed. >> Now, with that being said, if you bought it for 3,000, that to me is market value.

16:52 So, if you paid above that, you went high. >> Okay? So it was listed for four eight weeks ago. Never sold. >> Yep. >> He put it to 3500. >> He So he above market value. That's why it didn't sell. Keep going. >> Yep. And it's also winter time still, right? No one's mowing right now. >> And I said, "Hey, I could have lowballed him, but I said, "Hey, if you deliver it to me," he was 45 minutes away.

17:15 Deliver it to me, I'll pay 3,300. >> There's bad. >> That's what I did. >> And him delivering it. So that's why you were willing to pay more. >> He's like you. He was a flipper. I would have been the same thing, you know, at a price or I mean you retail buyer. You're the retail buyer. >> It's funny because when he came I was like uh I'm interviewing a guy tomorrow that made 50 grand in a month selling.

17:36 He's like what? 50 grand? Him and the other guy. And uh he was like, "Man, the best month we ever had was August 2025. We sold a mower every day for the whole month. 30 mowers. We made 30 grand. And that was like 80 hours a week of working." And uh >> my guess is he's he's fixing these himself, right? >> I think he is. >> Yeah. >> Bought that. >> He should have bought it in the exact condition that he sold it to you for for two grand, but he probably bought it for a thousand and he did a bunch of work to.

18:09 >> He made more, but his time per hour was way worse. And that was that's why he could never scale. >> Yep. Yep. >> Unless he fixed it, right? So, but it's very hard for someone that knows how to fix stuff to take that approach. So, that biggest advantage, right, is that is that I don't now I know how to fix some stuff, but I choose not to do it, right?

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19:42 Just go to beehive.com/chris to learn more. That's beehiv.com/chris. Okay, so the way I understand it is you start with couches, then you go to appliances. You have this one bad appliance experience which is not abnormal, right? The heating element went out and you're like, what am I doing? all this work for 50 bucks, 200 bucks. >> Then you by accident come across this mower.

20:06 Do you make 350 bucks just flipping it, not fixing it, just buying it and selling it as is? What do you do from there? How do you start scaling this mower operation? >> So really, the first thing is what I already talked about, right? You got to hire someone. What's the what's the biggest leverage task that you're doing? And what is it when you're flipping?

20:24 It's finding the deal. That's the thing that you can't that's very hard to outsource. It's very hard to teach that part of it, right? So, what's the easiest thing to do? What's the most time consuming thing to do? It's to sit in the car for 5 hours if this thing is 2 hours away. You know what I mean? So, that's the first thing you should outsource. You should not outsource that until you've done that yourself a handful of times.

20:47 >> Amen, brother. >> So, >> say the same thing. It's a lot easier to get somebody with super low skill to drive for 20 bucks an hour than it is to someone who's got negotiating skills. So, you've actually got to learn to negotiate the deal all the way down as low as possible. Get an agreed upon price first and then go. But you can't be okay of losing the deal.

21:10 And you got, you know, speed to lead on the sales side is the same thing on buying and selling. So it is more effective to do that negotiations in person, right? But you just you can't scale if you do every negotiation in person. So you do it over the phone. >> Now what I would do is I would send someone with a slip of paper that's like an inspection sheet.

21:30 Okay? That's what I would do now. And then I would have them call me afterwards and then I would renegotiate even lower. >> Let's say you see this Toro two hours away, the same one that I just bought in Michigan. It's listed for three grand. you're not going to pay over two for it. So, you get him on the phone, you're like, "Listen, man. I know I do this that has this.

21:49 It needs a new tire, yada yada yada. I can get you to 2,300." He's like, "H, I'll be there today. I'll be there in two hours." Okay, cool. I'll send my guy. Awesome. He comes with an inspection sheet. Like, yeah, actually, the blades a little bent, right? It's rattling a little bit. I can do 2100. I can do 2,000. Right. Is that kind of how you do it?

22:08 >> That's Well, that's kind of it. But you're missing some, you know, like negotiating 101. He who speaks first loses. >> Right. Right. Right. Just says the price. >> Yeah. But you Yeah. Obviously the the core concept is the same. But like the best way to negotiate with me, a dealer or any what you're trying to buy anything, you make them lay down the number first.

22:26 Okay. Yeah. >> So they've already done it by 3,000, right? But you've got to ask what's the lowest that you would possibly consider taking. Now the biggest mistake people make is that's their first question. >> No. >> Yeah. >> What's got to work them to that >> build rapport. What's the only thing that you have in common with that person? The only thing you have in common with that person is knowing about that machine.

22:50 So what do you do? You talk about that machine and you don't totally contrary. You don't talk it down. Now you ask them a lot of questions about it, but you actually talk it up. You talk about how nice a machine it is. The more that they connect with you over the machine, then you know they're willing to actually take a lower price. >> Yeah. Because they're liking you.

23:15 They're starting to like you more. >> Yes. Exactly. They lay down the number, right? And then let's say they don't lay down the number. What do you do if they're forcing you to say the first number? What do you think? What's your guess? They won't say a number. >> Uh you walk away or pretend to walk away. >> You offer an unrealistically low number. So, let's take what you should have done if I would have gotten a hold of you before you did this.

23:37 What should you have done? What's a number that in your wildest dreams you don't think he he would accept on that? So, he had 3500. What is >> 1500? >> Yeah. So, just say say you know and obviously the further you go you know the more that they won't but that will force him to actually say the number right. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, you should you should have built rapport.

23:59 Then you should have said, "Well, what's the absolute lowest you could possibly consider taking for this?" You shouldn't have brought up the delivery yet. And let's say he says 3,000. You're quiet, right? You're just listening. Oh, man. You know, you just let that silence sit. You know what I mean? Well, tell you what, you know, and obviously if he already said three, I was literally thinking like a couple thousand bucks.

24:22 And then he'll say, "Oh, jeez. Oh, big." you know, it'll go on and say, "No, that's what I was thinking." But like, I mean, I is there a middle ground? You know, is there a middle ground? But I'll tell you what, people might they will if you're not dealing with a flipper, >> they might just be tired of it and say, "I tell you what, I can do that." Surprise you the amount of people that will take the number that you think is crazy.

24:47 >> So, you lay down an unrealistically low number, right? And then work off that. And if they don't say anything, let's say that he doesn't say 3,000 and you say 2,000, he will then actually say the real number that's going everyone's got a number in their head. >> He'll say three grand when he never would have before. Right. So that >> that's like negotiating 101 right there.

25:08 >> Okay. So after you sold the first one, what were your next steps to start scaling that? >> To scale it, you have to understand it, right? So I was just in the trenches doing it myself for the first >> You just started buying and selling yourself. >> 15. I'm going to drive. I'm picking it up. I'm making calls. All that sort of stuff. She's getting upset cuz I'm on the road at night, you know, and then you start to real you start to pick up patterns of like, gosh, I'm spending eight hours a day in the car, you know,

25:34 and so that's when you realize, okay, I got to call someone. >> Okay. So, how many mowers would you say you bought yourself before you hired your driver? >> I bet it was like five to 10. It wasn't a crazy amount. Second layer of this actually turned into a business. I bought one. It worked perfectly, right? because I didn't want to buy something that I didn't know, you know, I didn't know how to fix it.

25:52 Well, one of them just stopped working when I was driving around the middle of my lawn. You know, I had no idea. So, I thought, you know, I I driven by this house that always had these old lawnmowers sitting in front of them, just drove up to this guy's house. I knocked on his door and I said, "Do you do you like fix these?" And he said, "Yeah." Well, turns out this guy, Bill, so I drive him over to my house and he determines that the fuel pump went bad.

26:19 And so then all of a sudden I got a mechanic, you know what I mean? >> And people when you're trying to scale a business, notice what I don't have full-time employees. I've just got >> Yeah. >> It's a 1099 basis. You're in there, you know, basis. And then you start to 1099. You start to like hire people and you start to realize, my gosh, I've got this guy like he's he's been doing like 20 hours a week for me at that point.

26:41 Hire him part-time. >> What were you paying Bill for this stuff? >> Bill had his own rate, right? But he was probably working at like for he's probably like 14 bucks an hour. So the more hustle stuff like you'll find right now, what's my shop rate? It's $125 an hour. Why can I charge that? It's because I market myself. I did the work of finding Bill.

27:04 If he would market himself, he could easily charge 20 25. Yeah, that's not He wasn't optimizing for money. He just wanted something to do here and there. You know what I mean? I started to push >> beyond his limits, you know? He's seven-year-old, he's got a cane, you know? [laughter] >> So, once you found Bill, did you start uh like opening up your parameters of what you could buy?

27:25 Like being more willing to flip things and not just buy and sell? >> Ow. I shouldn't buy even with a mechanic in the back. I should not buy anything that needs any kind of work. A little bit different formula now that I've got a dealership because I'm trying to keep the guys working in the offseason. So then it actually does make sense so I can keep his wages.

27:44 So the whole, you know, everything changed, right, when I actually this turned into an actual dealership. >> All right. So you use Bill, Bill fixes the fuel pump. How do you scale to your biggest month ever? Like how did you have that monster month? What did that month look like? Part of how that one came together is at that point I'd probably been doing this for like a year and a half.

28:04 Okay. And everyone thought I was crazy when I quit teaching and gave up the benefits. They they picture that I've got these little lawnmowers sitting in front of the house. They got no idea what's actually going. So my cousin is telling me like you are crazy dude to possibly do this. He's work he's a corrections officer and uh my wife doesn't want me to do it.

28:23 She's riskaverse. And anyway, what ends up happening is my cousin Dan, he ends up quitting. He ends up quitting his job to come work for me out of my barn >> at the prison. >> Yeah. He quits working at the prison, gets out of there. And there's other guys that I play basketball with in college and I taught them how to do this. Okay. And what I had a deal structure set up that I would teach them how to do it.

28:48 We would use half of their money, half of mine. We would use my equipment, my setup, and I would get a certain percentage of that deal. And I think it was like a 50/50. So if they found a deal, I would still get 50% of the pie. This is what I thought the big business was going to be. I built a business called Family of Flippers. So I would teach people, but it was kind of using some of my capital.

29:08 I had a guy from Nashville, Tennessee doing it. We had like I had like five guys doing this alongside myself. Most of them doing it from my barn. Some of them doing it from afar. It was a really big trust basis thing because I knew these people. Me personally, you know, this video that that you discovered me off of, me personally, the stuff I bought and sold was about like 30 to 35 grand that I made.

29:30 And then there was like, you know, 15 to 20 grand made from like the 50s from the other people. Number one like really pivotal piece was like number one, you got a monster trailer and you're going out to Ohio. Ohio is like the hot bed of I'm in Michigan. Ohio for what? It's the hot bed to find the equipment. I don't know what it is, but they'll come back with four or five pieces of equipment.

29:52 Well, and this is a really big hack for you guys looking to buy and sell lawnmowers. There are dealers that just hate dealing with used stuff. And I came across one of these dealers, the nicest guy in the world, became a mentor to me as I actually opened up my equipment dealership here. Shout out to Wanomakers. Okay, these guys the largest Simplicity dealer in the nation and this guy's just getting droves of lawnmowers in and the first one I buy is just crazy underpriced.

30:20 I'm like, how is a dealer selling it for this cheap? And so I put two and two together. I'm like, this is like a source for me now. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. >> And so that we didn't just buy the first time. I said, "Well, what else do you have?" We left with a trailer full of three or four. And I I got to the point where I was probably buying like, you know, 20 30 mowers a month just from this one guy.

30:42 Talk about leverage, right? Now you can call out I'm still searching, >> but get massive volume from this guy. And so that was a huge I mean and there's enough room for me to make a,000 $2,000 $2,500 on the mowers that he's Yeah. So >> each >> each. Yes. Yes. >> Wow. you know, so like a zeroturn mower that I sell brand new now. I mean, they can get to like 12, 15, $20,000.

31:06 It's crazy what they can sell for. And that's why this is such a good niche, you know. Um, so you can have a used lawn or that sells for five grand and great value because they sell new for 15 grand, you know. >> Yeah. What do you make on the new ones on average? >> It's a volume game, you know. It's 18 to 22%. And that's that's if you're doing it right.

31:26 That's if you're doing it right. you know, dealers that aren't doing it right, you're probably making more like 10 to 15%. You know, >> so you'll buy a new one for 12 and try to sell it for 15. >> Yeah. And they've got like uh it's called MAP pricing, which is minimum advertised allowed pricing. And so you pretty much follow MAP. There are dealers that don't follow MAP.

31:44 They'll go above it. You know, I I'm trying to build a national platform with what I'm doing, right? So, I'm going with like a constant steady a fair price. Some people maybe are trying to sell it under that, but I would rather go volume. And that's the same thing when you're flipping, right? You don't want to you don't try to make all the money. You try to make 80% of the money and move it within a week, you know?

32:10 >> Yeah. So, let's let's talk timeline. When did you go from like when did you buy your first mower and then you started scaling up and then when did you open your actual dealership and then when did you start selling new from your dealership? >> I bought my first zero turn. I quit teaching doing that for probably about exactly a year and then this was from third of an acre property.

32:30 I had eight lawnmowers sitting in a little twocar garage. I've got five or six enclosed trailers in the backyard. So imagine your neighbors got to love you right for that. >> [laughter] >> That's why matter. I had great I had a great relationship right with my neighbors. But I moved to after I quit teaching then I bought a a 20 it's a 24 acre property with a barn behind it.

32:53 And that's where I could actually I had the space to actually do it. But that in of itself they had an estate sale right at the house that I live in right now. And I'm back there trying to find a lawn mower. And then I realized I'm like what are you guys doing with the house? What are we going to put on the market in a couple months? So, I bought it, you know, it's a 1970 original house with neon in one, you know, room and and uh, you know, all these bright colors.

33:19 So, just imagine a 1970 original house and uh, it's just been awesome. It's like American dream, right? You you buy the now now you got the the finishings in there and I' I've got the skills to do that. So, but even that, right, I've got now instead of me fixing the house myself, I'm paying someone at 30 bucks an hour because my time's worth more than that.

33:41 Then I operated like that for probably like a a couple of years or years ago. This was a dance studio when I bought it. It wasn't a dealership. I just bought a building. And again, I'm a deal guy, so I got a great deal on the real estate. They didn't market it the right way. Shame on them. But we were driving by and thank goodness my wife was looking, you know, she said, "It's for sale."

34:03 And um and I had no lines, right? I just I literally I bought this and these people probably thought this guy's not going to make it. There's 10 or 15 used lawn mowers sitting out there, this baby blue building, you know, that I'm not going to walk there. And uh you know slowly you pick up brands, you pick up Toro, then you pick up Trailer Line, then you pick up Bad Boy.

34:27 And now I mean if you came you would never know. I mean it's a full-fledged dealership at this point four years later. So >> that's amazing. Are are you still buying used on Facebook Marketplace as well? >> I did a couple weeks ago because there we're kind of slow in the winter. You know, that's another hack. I'm trying to figure out what to do. So, we bought I'm trying to think of the last deal I got, but I I bought like a K Cabota side by side.

34:50 So, like, you know, you can sit beside each other. That's why they call it side by an ATV. And I bought it for 8,000, but this needed work. And I've got this listed for 13 grand right now. But, we did have to put work into this. Okay. >> Probably hope to make a few grand on that. This is a I bought one that needed work. I bought a Polaris Ranger that needed work and I got a crazy deal on it.

35:14 I bought it for maybe $4500, $5,000 and I sold it a few days ago for 10 grand. It needed some work on the engine and my mechanic knew what he was doing. He got it fixed. I probably made like four grand on that. Then the guy traded in his side by side. We got that for I think it was 40. What do No, no. I bought that for 3750. That one's probably worth eight grand.

35:35 So that's >> people think Here's the other big hack for you guys listening. They you think that you don't want people to know that you're buying and selling. People want transparency. The guy that you bought that from, he ended up telling you. You might tell your buddy to call this guy. >> Yeah. >> He might that, right? Or you might call him back in three years and say, "Hey, what do you got?"

35:57 And you trade that in and he makes money on that again. So >> you being transparent is everything, you know? >> Yeah. It's more profitable. >> And it's it's all about how you word it. You don't say, you know, you start to learn the verbiage. I You don't say I flip stuff. >> Listen, I know you're watching this on YouTube, but I also have an audio podcast where I publish episodes that don't make it to YouTube.

36:17 Just search up the Kerner Office on any of your podcast platforms or check the link in the description. Next time you're driving around or doing the dishes or mowing the lawn, listen to the audio version. What are your monthly sales at your dealership during like the busy months? >> So, our best month, we did like 1.1 million last year. >> In a month?

36:36 >> In a month. Yeah. >> Holy crap. And what's your net margin on that? >> You know, we're 20 to 25. So 90% of my business is sales. That's not a healthy dealership. You you should be like 60% sales. >> Mhm. >> I do so much on the sales side that that's just grown so much faster than the service side, right? But >> yeah, >> so think like 20 to 25%. You got the brick and mortar, the overhead, all that.

36:58 So good dealers are walking away with like 7 to 12% net, you know, at the end of the tunnel. >> That's amazing. >> Yeah. What's crazy to me is you're in a city of 30,000 people. Jackson, Michigan, right? Like if someone just >> Texas, we got a mower going to Texas. >> There you go. If someone didn't want to scale, like they didn't want to open a dealership, they just want to do this on the side from their house on Facebook marketplace, buying on Facebook, selling on Facebook.

37:24 How scalable is this like in all markets? Because you're in a cold market that I mean Texas is a better market because they're mowing nine months out of the year here. Is it pretty scalable? It's absolutely scalable. And you tell you what, the secret is not lawnmowers. It's not trailers. It's that you pick something. And it doesn't even matter. You could be pressure washing a house.

37:44 It doesn't. >> And the more you do it, the more you learn what works and what does not work. And if you happen to want to do with mowers, you're going to watch a channel, you watch the Matt How channel, you're going to learn how that works. You know what I mean? But the point is, you get on board with someone that you resonate with and then you don't do it for a month.

38:03 you do it for 10 years and then yeah, absolutely. You know, >> I've been on the mo on the market for this mower and it's led me down these rabbit holes on Facebook marketplace where I'll see like the same guy selling multiple mowers and I'll click into their profile. I found five to 10 guys that have dozens of mowers listed, not dealerships, just guys.

38:23 Would you suggest that people like they simply try to buy on Facebook and sell on Facebook, not things that need to be fixed, but just buy undervalue, sell at or above value? Or would you suggest that people try to find these estate sales and garage sales so they can find stuff that's like off the radar and then sell it on Facebook Marketplace? >> You should try to do that.

38:43 Here would be my suggestion. Start calling dealers and seeing what used equipment they have. That is way under arbitrage. There are people that are just buying all their stuff from dealers. Find the dealers that are not advertising well. Find the one not putting their inventory Facebook like they should be. Have to actually like hit the hit the phone book, you know, go on Google and start calling the ones and you'll start.

39:09 Do you have any used and you'll find one. That's probably the biggest hack I'd say right there. >> Yeah. I love that. It's one point of contact for mowers every week, every month. Yeah. Anytime you get a trade in, let me know. Exactly. And then you just visit them. Maybe they don't call you because they're so busy. Just you call them. You hopefully they're local enough that you can go find them.

39:29 That guy comes to my store. I'm giving him the ratty mower out back. That's not the mower you buy. You buy the one that's >> complete ready to go. For me, if I've got 10 lawnmowers sitting out there and some guy walks up on my doorstep, a young mad how, and he wants to buy all 10 of them, I'd give him a deal. I would absolutely deal. And more people will buy from him out of his barn than me sometimes because they feel like they're getting a deal when it's not from a dealership.

39:56 So you don't >> Yeah. Yeah. >> You know, go to a dealer and just find the best one or two, you know, mowers he's got, you know, don't just face value do that, right? But vet that a little bit, you know. >> Yeah. Now, I've got a buddy that that rents out washers and dryers. And in the process of doing that, he discovered by accident that a lot of these momand- popop appliance shops need people like independent drivers to deliver appliances.

40:20 They don't want to deliver them themselves. Do you think there's an opportunity there to just be a delivery guy for these dealerships? Every time they sell one, you deliver it or maybe I mean that's a job at that point, but you could maybe that helps you learn the industry a little bit. People talk, yeah, for >> someone for free to learn an industry, you know, and uh that's that's no one's actually willing to do that, but you know, people pay you what you're doing, what you're worth.

40:44 So, >> yeah. Well, it it was a good setup. He worked it as a business and the individual would pay the appliance shop a delivery fee and then they would just pass that on to him. So, he would just have like a route every day. He was like just a third party delivery guy, right? Are there any other opportunities you see in the space maybe tangential to mowing or tangential to flipping that you think are still in their early stages today that people could attack?

41:08 >> It doesn't matter for flipping. It's not about a mower. It's not about a trailer. There's some item on Facebook right now, I don't know what it is, that is worth a good amount of money, two to five grand, that has a big margin to it and no one's buying and selling it right now. >> But you got to pick a market that people are actually buying. It's an actual need, you know, that's out there.

41:31 >> Yeah. >> I don't know what it is, you know. >> I know a guy in North Carolina that does that with sheds. He buys and sells sheds. >> Yeah, it could could be that. >> Oh, Matt, this is amazing. Um, is there anything I should have asked you that I didn't ask you that people would might like to hear or learn? >> Number one, my life without the person of Jesus Christ is far worse.

41:48 Okay. >> Amen. And I can tell you that from the experience of being super filled with my faith. And I can tell you that for being more of like an agnostic, like I don't really even know if there's a God. But the last year or so of my life, I mean, God was gifting me with learning about business when I when I wasn't following him. And he made it abundantly clear to me that he was gifting me that skill that when I actually do have faith, I could use that for his and my life is not even 10 times better.

42:22 Not even 100. It's infinitely better when it's in accordance with my faith. >> I'm glad you said that. That's awesome. Thank you. I'm a I'm a believing man as well. >> Yeah, >> completely agree. Thank you, Matt. Where can people find you if they want to learn more? >> So, buy a lawn mower for me. We'll ship it to Texas. We'll ship it to anywhere at How Equipment.

42:40 um >> equipment on YouTube. I'm in the trenches right now. >> So, if I'm just a little bit ahead of you, hopefully I could help you, you know, if you watch that channel. >> All right. Thank you, Matt. >> Thank you. Appreciate you. >> All right. What you think? Please share it with a friend and we'll see you next time on the Kerner