Start It or Scrap It

Michael Terkanian and Mr. Gummi
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Start It or Scrap It is the ultimate brainstorming session you didn’t know you needed! Join Mike Terkanian, a seasoned business attorney with a knack for spotting potential pitfalls, and Mr. Gummi, a dynamic marketing expert with a flair for turning dreams into reality, as they dive into the wild world of Reddit. Each week, they uncover unique ideas, dissect ambitious plans, and give honest, actionable advice. Whether you're looking to fine-tune your business pitch, pivot a passion project, or find the courage to scrap what’s not working, this duo has you covered.Laugh, learn, and get inspired—because every great idea deserves a moment in the spotlight (or a reality check). Ready to Start It or Scrap It? Tune in now!

  1. 1d ago

    How I Almost Lost Everything to a Social Engineering Scam (And How to Protect Yourself) | Ep. 81

    Send us Fan Mail Mike teaches white hat hacking and social engineering. And yesterday, a scammer almost got him. Episode 81 of Start It or Scrap It opens with Mike breaking down exactly what happened: a spoofed Google security email that was verified clean at every technical level, a convincing phone call from someone with an American accent, and an auto-saved password on a fake login page that gave scammers 30 seconds of access before Mike changed his password and locked everything down. If he had waited three more minutes, they would have had access to his brokerage account and potentially everything else. The episode then moves into one of the most practical conversations the show has had about where business opportunity actually is right now, why the trades are going to be the gold mine of the next decade, and how to use AI as a business tool rather than a reason to stay on the sideline. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Cold open highlights 1:00 Intro and World Cup US team discussion 3:30 Mike reveals he almost fell victim to a social engineering scam 4:22 The Poland login panic at the World Cup set him up for this 5:30 The spoofed Google email: how it passed every technical test 7:10 The convincing phone call with an American accent 7:48 He entered his password and immediately knew what was happening 8:00 How he got out: changed password, froze brokerage account, hung up 8:27 Three more minutes and they would have had everything 9:13 How someone who teaches this fell for it anyway 9:50 The number one rule: never enter your password when asked via a link 10:53 Your bank and Google will never call you about a security issue 11:35 Enable two-factor authentication on every account 12:42 Different password for every account, no exceptions 13:00 Scammers exploited the anxiety from the Poland incident two weeks earlier 15:10 Mighty Tiger question: how to step away from doing all the work 17:00 The process of building processes: start with the first hire 18:30 Document the job, hire someone, then build the next process 22:15 Gnarly Carl question: business models that are underrated right now 27:18 The trades are going to be the gold mine of the next decade 27:38 80% of current tradespeople are within ten years of retiring 28:29 Average age of a home builder has increased 20 years in seven 29:33 Two couples: trade school vs college degree, who is winning? 30:03 The college fund argument and why the electrician path may win 32:06 Supply and demand in the trades: prices have doubled in five years 32:58 That is the one thing that will not change in 100 years 33:42 The CEO of Ford and the mechanic shortage 34:50 Lean on Me and what mechanics made in the 80s vs today 36:21 You do not have to do the work to own the business 36:47 Sponsor someone through trade school with a work contract 37:24 The handyman franchise whose ideal buyer was a restaurant manager 38:42 If you can project manage, you can own almost any service business 41:27 Benny Link question: should AI competition stop you from starting a business? 41:51 AI is not a reason not to start. It changes what you should start. 43:42 Gummi is building a personal AI assistant to answer his phone 45:22 How AI filters out unqualified leads before they reach you 47:41 AI and the skill gap: great people get dramatically better, others get marginally less bad 50:00 AI chatbot case study: filtering 90% of junk calls for a client 51:50 The AI voice agent for Okeanos that handles 70% of calls without a human 53:00 Does AI voice remove the upsell opportunity? The tradeoff discussion 56:15 Clayton McDonald and the AI business discussion: Codex breakdown 57:00 Marketing your AI business and why coding knowledge helps output quality 58:00 How regional language nuance makes the difference between good and great AI output 59:30 Claude argued with Mike for six minutes about something it was wrong about 1:00:00 You are in the top 2% of AI users if you know to prompt by region 1:01:00 The wife at the Fortune 500 company who was the advanced AI user 1:02:00 Clayton invited to be a guest on the show 1:02:45 Daycare vs T brand: do not start a daycare 1:03:38 Closing Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney and software developer) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/kZWdUExmI94 Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST. Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #scam #startitorscrapit #socialengineering #trades #ai #cybersecurity #founders #businessgrowth #handyman #tradesman #artificialintelligence #voiceagent #codex

    How I Almost Lost Everything to a Social Engineering Scam (And How to Protect Yourself) | Ep. 81

  2. Jul 23

    How to Make Money From the World Cup (And Start a Business With $10K) | Ep. 80

    Send us Fan Mail Mike and Gummi went to the France vs Iraq World Cup match in Philadelphia. They watched Iraqi fans set up drums in the concourse during a weather delay and turn a thunderstorm into one of the best moments of the tournament. Then they came back and talked about how small businesses can use all of it to their advantage. Episode 80 of Start It or Scrap It is a live Q&A covering World Cup business strategy, the best businesses to start with $10,000, a business model that generated $5 million in three years with zero ad spend, nostalgia marketing, and why your promotional product budget might be the best marketing money you are spending. In this episode: World Cup business opportunities right now: how to become soccer-friendly without spending a fortune, why country flags and colors are completely free to use while FIFA branding is not, how to use the decision round bracket to position your products and marketing in the right cities before the matches are announced How to capitalize on international fans visiting American cities for the first time and genuinely loving everything about being here Nostalgia marketing: how to tap into shared cultural touchstones without it feeling forced, why smell and music are the two most powerful nostalgia triggers, and how to make summer nostalgia work for a local business right now The deck company that went from zero to $5 million in three years without placing a single ad: monthly promotional products to past clients, a first-year anniversary gift basket, and an engineered referral system built entirely on staying top of mind TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Cold open 1:00 Intro and welcome 2:00 World Cup obsession: Gummi's social media is good again 3:30 The decision round breakdown and how to use it for business 5:00 Country-colored merchandise and soccer-friendly business strategy 7:00 Licensing warning: do not use FIFA branding without a license 7:45 International fans visiting the US and the business opportunity 11:55 Mike and Gummi attended France vs Iraq: the Iraqi fan experience 13:30 Weather delay, lightning exclusion zone, and the drums in the concourse 16:30 Starting a business for beginners with $10,000 17:45 Why service-based businesses are the right starting point 18:30 The handyman business: marketing, referrals, and the flywheel 22:30 Become the central figure: refer what you cannot do 24:00 You do not have to do the labor yourself 27:30 Connor's story: from estate cleanout to property maintenance 29:00 Adding a recurring revenue layer to a once-and-done business 30:40 Snowbirds and vacant home monitoring as a business model 31:30 Franchise alternatives: franchise brokers, SBA loans, and Rita's 35:00 You Break It: the rage room franchise that beat 40 others on ROI 36:30 Marzano6 asks: nostalgia marketing tips for this summer 37:30 What nostalgia actually is and why smell and music trigger it most 40:00 How to use summer nostalgia without it feeling forced 43:00 Promotional products done right: quality over quantity 45:00 The hat that starts conversations and the t-shirt worn on Christmas 46:30 Customer acquisition cost vs promotional product cost 49:30 The deck company: $5M in 3 years with zero ad spend 51:00 Monthly promotional items to past clients as a referral engine 52:00 Riding viral waves: what happens after the wave is gone 53:30 It is ten times easier to keep a customer than get a new one 55:00 Start trends instead of chasing them 56:00 Godin asks: is it too early to plan for Christmas marketing? 57:00 The answer: no. Start planning now, start advertising in November 59:00 Black Friday is largely a pricing myth 1:01:00 Founders Drop update and closing Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/F-Gpcz87rD0 Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST. Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #worldcup2026 #startitorscrapit #marketing #businessideas #franchise #nostalgia #promotionalproducts #founders #businessgrowth #sidehustle #handyman #soccer #recurringrevenue

    How to Make Money From the World Cup (And Start a Business With $10K) | Ep. 80

  3. Jul 16

    What Business Owners Get Wrong About Insurance, Subcontractors and Commercial Auto ft. Rick Millham

    Send us Fan Mail Most business owners do not think about insurance until they need it. By then it is almost always too late. In Episode 79 of Start It or Scrap It, we sit down with Rick Millham Jr. CIC, owner of Millham Companies Inc in Doylestown, PA, a second-generation insurance agency with 35 years in property and casualty insurance. Rick reads every policy. All 300 to 400 pages. He is the kind of advisor who catches the things that blow up your business before they happen. In this episode: Why going directly to Progressive or Geico for business insurance can leave you with a catastrophic gap and an audit bill you never saw coming Why you need commercial auto the moment you put signage or lettering on your vehicle, and what personal auto will and will not cover when you are using it for business Why you should screen your customers and proactively fire the bad ones before they drain your time, margin, and sanity The four trusted advisors every business owner needs: a good CPA, a good business attorney, a good insurance agent, and a good banker. Get those right and they handle what you cannot. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Cold open highlights 1:06 Intro and welcome: Rick Millham from Millham Companies Inc 1:47 Rick's background: 35 years in property casualty insurance, second-generation agency 3:02 Why should business owners care about insurance? 4:52 What kind of insurance does a typical business need? 5:29 General liability, property coverage, workers comp, and commercial auto explained 6:39 Why independent agents beat direct carriers for business coverage 8:46 Why a relationship with an independent agent changes everything 9:50 Commercial auto vs personal auto: when your personal policy stops covering you 11:27 The moment you put signage on your vehicle the rules change 12:22 The your work exclusion: what general liability does not cover for contractors 13:44 The plumber who installed the water softener that leaked 16:18 Dealing with customers who deny authorizing work and threaten chargebacks 20:52 How to fight chargebacks: document everything, get final sign-offs, never stop submitting 23:29 A retailer shipped $3,600 in shoes overseas and had it all charged back 24:50 Develop policies and make sure your employees know them before you go on vacation 28:10 Workers comp: what it actually does and why a single claim can wreck a small operation 29:23 Experience modification: how your claims history follows you for three years 30:34 Why not every state requires workers comp and what the criminal penalties look like in Pennsylvania 31:42 The uninsured subcontractor trap: why their payroll gets charged to you 33:14 Independent contractor vs employee: the quagmire that bites contractors constantly 33:32 The father who hired his son-in-law as a subcontractor and got sued for workers comp 34:49 Why insurance companies have basically stopped fighting subcontractor injury claims 37:33 The 1099 employee trap: when the IRS decides your contractor was actually an employee 42:30 Screen your customers: fire the bad ones before they destroy your margins and morale 43:15 PEOs professional employer organizations: what they are and why Gummi made the switch 43:22 Why Gummi does not know why anyone uses traditional payroll when PEOs exist 43:38 The PEO benefit nobody talks about: getting on W2 payroll early as an LLC owner 44:47 What a PEO actually handles: taxes, filings, workers comp audits, employee handbook 45:55 How PEO group buying power works for insurance and what it means for a four-person company 48:55 Protein bars arrive live on the show: Zach from Founders Drop gets a real-time review 55:27 Crypto and workplace integration: what crypto actually is at its core 56:05 Smart contracts: what they are, why they matter, and how Ethereum built a business on them 57:06 How smart contracts could eliminate credit card fees for contractors 58:39 The future of crypto in insurance: why Rick hopes to be golfing before it gets there 59:41 How property deeds are actually recorded today and why crypto changes everything 1:02:24 The four trusted advisors every business owner needs: CPA, attorney, insurance, banker 1:03:41 Closing thoughts and World Cup preview Guest: Rick Millham Jr. CIC, CEPA Millham Companies Inc, Doylestown PA Website: https://www.millhamco.com Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/3txtjnaKZ3A Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST. Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #insurance #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #startitorscrapit #businessinsurance #workerscomp #contractors #founders #businesslaw #chargebacks #peo #crypto #businessgrowth #buckscounty #trustedadvisor

    What Business Owners Get Wrong About Insurance, Subcontractors and Commercial Auto ft. Rick Millham

  4. Jul 9

    GTA 6 Side Hustles, AI Voice Scams, Business Banking and Why Your Big Bank Is Working Against You

    Send us Fan Mail Most small business owners do not know what they need to open a business bank account. Most of them are also at the wrong bank when they need to borrow money. And most of them have no idea that a video with 117 views can generate more business than one with 5.7 million. Episode 78 of Start It or Scrap It covers all of that and more with Kevin Dolton, a 39-year banker and relationship banking manager at First National Bank and Trust of Newtown, one of Bucks County's oldest and most established independent banks. In this episode: What you actually need to open a business bank account: the documents most people show up without, why the bank cannot open the account without them, and how to walk in prepared the first time What happened when 97 websites got hacked and malware sat dormant for 30 days: how AI turned a week-long all-hands cleanup into a three-to-four-day one-person job The GTA 6 digital side hustle opportunity: selling skins, mods and in-game digital assets before the market gets flooded, and why getting in on day one in a niche that nobody else is filling is the play How AI voice cloning is being used to scam people by replicating the voice of a family member, using publicly posted social media data to make the story believable, and why the best defense is verification before reaction The social media chaos survival strategy: build a real community around a niche, stop chasing views, and find the people who actually want what you have World Cup 2026 business opportunities and the broadcast licensing reality that will get you into legal trouble if you try to show matches publicly without the right license TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Cold open highlights 1:00 Intro and welcome: Kevin Dolton from First National Bank 2:36 Kevin's background: 39 years at one bank starting as a teller 4:07 What it takes to stay at one company for 39 years 5:38 What you need to open a business bank account 7:22 Fictitious name registration, EIN numbers and the paperwork most people miss 8:46 Go to the bank first and ask what documents you need before you get anything 9:41 What Gummi has been up to: 97 sites hacked, malware dormant for 30 days 10:47 How AI turned a week-long cleanup into a 3-4 day one-person job 11:30 The reality of being a business owner when emergencies hit at 2 AM 12:57 You cannot predict what is going to happen when you start a business 14:22 Triple the money. Triple the time. The honest advice from a 39-year banker. 15:29 Kevin's tip: look for a no minimum balance business account in your first year 16:28 Community bank vs big bank: the difference when you need to borrow money 17:50 Can a signed PO or contract help you get a loan? Here is how it works. 20:25 The relationship is everything: why a banker who shows up at your office changes everything 22:46 Vanity metrics are lying to you: 117 views vs 5.7 million views 24:53 The story of a community built around weird AI music and 12 million Spotify streams 27:00 GTA 6 side hustle: selling digital skins, mods and in-game assets 28:45 The WordPress plugin model: why giving away the core and charging for the add-ons works 31:00 Go niche inside the game before the market gets flooded 33:46 Banking tip for side hustlers: always tell your banker you still have your day job 34:32 Social media chaos: how do entrepreneurs stay consistent when everything is noise? 37:30 Working in your business vs working on your business: the shift every founder must make 40:45 You can hire a boss. You do not have to become one. 43:19 Boats, marinas and solving problems before they become problems 46:00 Stop spending business revenue on personal toys: what bankers actually see 47:15 AI scams: voice cloning, fake arrest calls and how social media data makes it believable 51:25 The $30,000 fake arrest scam: how they used a boarding post to target a mother 53:40 How AI is going to automate social engineering at scale 56:24 Assume everything on social media is false until proven otherwise 57:00 World Cup 2026: sponsorships, fan events and the broadcast licensing trap Guest: Kevin Dolton First National Bank and Trust of Newtown Website: https://www.fnbn.com/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevin-dolton-9007868 Bank Social Media www.facebook.com/fnbnewtown www.twitter.com/fnbnewtown www.youtube.com/fnbnewtown   Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/8HfhvRs79Ko Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST. Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #businessbanking #startitorscrapit #communitybank #founders #ai #scams #socialmedia #sidehustle #gta6 #banking #businessgrowth #vanitymetrics #cybersecurity

    GTA 6 Side Hustles, AI Voice Scams, Business Banking and Why Your Big Bank Is Working Against You

  5. Jul 2

    Door Hangers, Billboards and Why Traditional Marketing Is Beating Digital Right Now

    Send us Fan Mail Your employees are not your friends. Traditional marketing is outperforming digital for a lot of businesses right now. And most people quit right before they hit success. Episode 77 of Start It or Scrap It is a live question episode, just Mike and Gummi taking real questions from the audience in real time. No script. No guest. Just honest practical answers to the questions founders and operators are actually dealing with. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Cold open and intro 1:51 What happened this week: Google Business Profile verification nightmare 7:23 It was easier to finance a $70K truck than get a GBP verified 8:05 Never take the government's word for it: the B&B food license story 12:05 Always verify with a lawyer when dealing with regulations 12:44 The value of a decades-long network: from idea to business in 2 weeks 16:22 How guerrilla marketing through the network gets you in front of customers instantly 17:18 Locally Farming Out asks: when do you quit vs keep pushing? 20:00 Go back to the business plan: the first step before throwing in the towel 21:22 The number one business plan mistake: underbudgeting marketing 22:01 Almost everybody quits right before success 25:01 The first 3 to 4 years of entrepreneurship: what to actually expect 26:59 If it must be nice: why the owner grind is invisible to everyone else 29:38 Rachel Carpenter asks: what marketing channel surprised you most in the last 12 months? 29:44 The answer: local TV ads and billboards are outperforming expectations 30:19 Why traditional marketing is massively underrated right now 30:47 Door hangers for service businesses: the math and why it works 34:09 Door hangers at 11 cents each: the ROI breakdown 34:48 Meta ads: when they work and when they do not 35:14 Seasonal and opportunistic marketing: market when your customer needs you most 37:33 When is your busy season and how to plan around it 39:15 Business insecurity: Gummi on not finishing his daily task list 41:06 Why emergencies always push the plan off track and what to do about it 41:28 Business insecurity: Mike on the fear of making the wrong decision 43:32 Own your decisions. Not making one is still a decision. 44:32 Merry Go Round just hired their first employee and is terrified of managing people 47:24 Managing people starts with doing the right thing every time 49:01 The most terrifying part of having employees is not managing them 50:12 How to interview and what hiring is actually about 50:32 Put your employees in a position where they can succeed 51:31 The mold employee: how to identify and deal with the morale killer 55:16 Your employees are not your friends: the professional boundary and why it matters 55:39 You have to become skilled at knowing when to fire someone 56:26 The mold employee grows slowly until it covers the whole office 57:43 Never hire friends or family unless you are willing to fire them 57:48 The story of the dad driving the wrong way up a one way street 59:18 Having your employee's back in public changes the whole culture Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert) Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST. Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #hiring #management #startitorscrapit #marketing #doorhangers #founders #businessgrowth #networking #googlebuisnesprofile #traditionalmarketing #employees #firsthire #businessadvice

    Door Hangers, Billboards and Why Traditional Marketing Is Beating Digital Right Now

  6. Jun 25

    Is College Worth It? The Honest Answers Families Need to Hear | Jay London, The College Advice Guy

    Send us Fan Mail Is college worth it? Are Ivy League schools actually about the network? And how do you avoid overpaying for an education that may not get your kid where they want to go?   In Episode 76 of Start It or Scrap It, we sit down with Jay London, the College Advice Guy and Independent Educational Consultant, for an honest and practical conversation about one of the most expensive decisions a family will ever make.   Jay has helped over 1,800 students and families navigate the college process in his 16 years of practice. He only takes 25 senior clients per year because the process is that personal. And his approach is simple: treat college like the major consumer purchase it actually is.   TIMESTAMPS   0:00 Cold open and intro 1:31 Meet Jay London: the College Advice Guy and Independent Educational Consultant 3:46 How Jay approaches the college process: the student first, not the school list 5:36 How Jay got two students off waitlists at top ten schools 9:38 Why better fit equals lower cost: how marketing yourself to a school reduces tuition 10:26 How many students Jay has helped in 16 years and why he limits to 25 seniors per year 12:11 Live question: how do you stop shiny object syndrome as a founder? 14:37 The dopamine hit of new ideas and how to journal through it 15:29 Why overnight success is usually a seven year overnight success 20:18 Live question: how do you start college without a traditional background? 23:37 Why a community college or online degree is a legitimate and smart path 24:43 Live question: is college worth it if you can make good money without a degree? 25:03 Why college is only valuable if it leads to a specific outcome you actually need it for 26:18 Why certifications often outperform degrees in practical job performance 27:11 The stat: 70% of workers are not working in a field related to their degree 29:51 Online college vs in-person: what Jay actually recommends 30:02 The truth about Ivy League networking: does it actually work? 34:23 Real example: the one time an Ivy connection actually opened a door 36:27 Live question: college is a waste of time for entrepreneurs. Change my mind. 37:05 Why going to business school is often the worst path for a true entrepreneur 38:01 The Enterprise Rent-A-Car example: from top employer of college grads to high school grads 43:27 MIT OpenCourseWare and free alternatives to a formal degree 45:08 How AI is going to change the structure and cost of higher education 47:37 The future of college: the University of America and centralized AI-delivered education 50:09 Live question: degree vs common sense and experience in hiring decisions 51:22 Why employers default to degrees and what that actually tells you 53:10 Why a college degree no longer signals what it used to signal to employers 54:49 Live question: I want to start a business serving older people but do not know where to start 55:18 How to figure out what product or service you are actually offering before anything else 57:36 A real senior companion business in progress: companionship, mahjong and daily living 59:30 Why cognitive decline in seniors is driven by lack of social activity and what that means for service businesses 1:01:25 Final takeaway: you do not have to know everything to start. Just know your offer and your audience.   🎙️ Guest: Jay London​ The College Advice Guy​ jay@thecollegeadviceguy.com​ https://thecollegeadviceguy.com 215-350-8714   Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert)   Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST.   Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/   #college #collegeadmissions #financialaid #entrepreneur #startitorscrapit #collegeadvice #studentdebt #highereducation #founders #ivyleague #onlinecollege #businessideas #seniorcare #shineyobjectsyndrome #ai

    Is College Worth It? The Honest Answers Families Need to Hear | Jay London, The College Advice Guy

  7. Jun 18

    Don't Hire a Helper... Hire for Results | Franchising and Niche Business Strategy w/ Phil de Paul

    Send us Fan Mail How do you build a business that actually lasts? According to this week's guest, it comes down to one thing: someone has to fully own it, breathe life into it every single day, and hold the standard relentlessly.   In Episode 75 of Start It or Scrap It, we sit down with Phil de Paul, a serial entrepreneur and home services franchise operator on Long Island, NY running both 1-Tom Plumber and United Water Restoration Group. Phil has started businesses that succeeded, businesses that failed, and is in the middle of building something entirely new. He brings the kind of perspective you can only get from actually doing it.   TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Cold open highlights 1:51 Meet Phil de Paul: franchises, failures and Staten Island 4:10 Why franchising flips the odds (80% succeed vs 80% fail) 6:47 What went wrong with the junk removal business 9:48 How to win in a commoditized industry by going ultra-niche 13:52 Phil's favorite failed idea and introducing Boomzeal 21:10 Live questions begin: how are you actually using AI in 2026? 22:24 Gummi's AI stack: Claude, GPT, Gemini, voice agents and audits 30:33 Claude Coworker as an executive assistant: auto-send emails and inbox management 34:15 Should you use AI before hiring your next assistant? 35:43 Testing AI before automating: the right way to roll it out 36:05 The one tool he would pay 10x for: Tesla Optimus 46:11 Cybersecurity for small business owners: what actually works 51:07 Social engineering: the threat your staff is not trained for 52:29 Stop using paper checks and why 54:44 Data backups, breach alerts and your legal responsibility 55:19 Privacy policy and terms of service: how often to update them 1:01:51 How to filter freelancers: open rates, click-throughs and proof 1:03:17 Do not hire a helper. Hire for outputs. No task monkeys. 1:06:25 Final advice: fail fast, start it before you are ready In this episode: How franchising flips the odds and why the success rates are nearly the inverse of independent business survival rates   What Phil did wrong with his junk removal business and what he would do differently today   How two operators dominated a commoditized industry by going ultra-niche: one only does estate cleanouts, one only does garage cleanouts, nothing else   Why every business needs someone who lives in it and owns it every single day   How AI is being used inside real business operations right now: Claude Coworker auto-sending emails, managing inboxes, auditing documents and finding gaps in operations manuals   Why you should stop fighting how AI thinks and instead unleash it to structure things the way it wants to   The one tool he would pay 10x for: Tesla Optimus   Cybersecurity basics every small business owner needs to know: stop hosting anything yourself, use cloud providers, and train your staff to recognize social engineering attacks   Why paper checks are a liability and a real story of how a check got whitewashed and rewritten to someone else   How to review your privacy policy and terms of service and how often you actually need to update them   How to filter freelancers and contractors: ask for open rates and click-through rates, not hours or intentions   Do not hire a helper. Hire for outputs. Task monkeys drain your time and kill your business.   Why testing, iterating and failing fast is more valuable now than ever Guest: Phil de Paul 1-Tom Plumber and United Water Restoration Group, Long Island NY Boomzeal: Phil's emerging personal brand and movement built around leading from within and doing life with high standards   Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson (marketing expert)   Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns every Thursday at 11:30 AM EST.   Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram: https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X: https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/   #entrepreneur #franchise #smallbusiness #homeservices #startitorscrapit #ai #cybersecurity #hiring #businessgrowth #founders #businessstrategy #failfast #nichebusiness

    Don't Hire a Helper... Hire for Results | Franchising and Niche Business Strategy w/ Phil de Paul

  8. Jun 11

    How to Get Your First 10 Customers, Beat Burnout & Build a Business Worth Selling | ft. Alex Booth

    Send us Fan Mail How do you get your first 10 paying customers? What does it actually take  to recover from burnout without quitting? And when you're ready to sell —  what do buyers really look for? In Episode 74 of Start It or Scrap It, we sit down with Alex Booth —  owner of Get CSM, a customer success manager staffing firm, and  Huckleberry Consulting — to break down the real answers to the questions  founders face at every stage of business. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 – Intro & cold open highlights 2:00 – Meet Alex Booth: Get CSM, Huckleberry Consulting & the Rich and Remote podcast 5:37 – Golf as a networking tool: closing deals on the course (and walking away from bad ones) 13:53 – How to get your first 10 paying customers 20:37 – Marketing & sales tools we're actually using: Go High Level, Claude, Zoho & more 21:36 – AI in business: how to use it lean without losing the human element 26:14 – How Claude manages his LinkedIn 100% — and reach went UP 28:24 – The #1 marketing mistake brick-and-mortar businesses make 30:39 – Brand marketing vs. performance marketing (40–60% should be brand) 36:37 – Burnout: how to recognize it, fight it, and plan through it 43:41 – Delegating and stepping away: why your team gets stronger when you get out of the way 47:21 – Personal branding in 2026: quality vs. quantity, and what's actually working 55:22 – Why copywriters are making MORE money in the AI era, not less 56:45 – The AI power user gap: only 2% of users actually know what they're doing 59:47 – Building a business with an exit in mind: what acquirers look for in 2026 1:01:24 – The 3-year growth rule: why buyers look back three years (and why one good year doesn't count) 1:02:10 – Recurring revenue, churn rate, and long-term contracts as exit multipliers 1:03:19 – The pest control business model: build to sell, repeat 1:05:43 – When should YOU sell? Why founders hold on too long In this episode: - How to land your first 10 customers (the exact approach Alex used    to build from zero) - Why networking remains the single most important factor in business    growth — no matter how big you get - How to fight burnout as a solo operator or small team founder - How AI is being used to run lean operations — from LinkedIn management    to voice agents to quality control audits - The AI power user gap: why only 2% of AI users actually know what    they're doing (and how to be one of them) - The #1 marketing mistake brick-and-mortar businesses make - Why brand marketing should be 40–60% of your marketing budget - What acquirers actually look for when buying a business: EBITDA,    3-year growth, churn rate, recurring revenue, and long-term contracts - When to sell vs. keep growing — and why founders almost always    hold on too long - Why customer retention directly increases your business valuation    and exit multiplier 🎙️ Alex Booth Links: Websites: GetCSM - https://getcsm.com/ Huckleberry Consulting - https://consulthuckleberry.com/ Rich and Remote - https://richandremote.com/ Social Media: LinkedIn - https://mx.linkedin.com/in/alexander-booth-huckleberry Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/alex.booth.965 TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@huckleberryconsulting?_r=1&_t=ZS-93yPOvQXVhs 🎙️ Hosted by Mike Terkanian (business attorney) and Gummi Sigurdarson  (marketing expert) 🔔 Subscribe for weekly live business breakdowns — every Thursday  ~11:30 AM EST. Follow Start It or Scrap It: Instagram → https://instagram.com/startitorscrapit TikTok → https://tiktok.com/@start.it.or.scrap.it X → https://x.com/StartItScrapIt LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/startitorscrapit/ #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #businesspodcast #customersuccess  #startitorscrapit #networking #burnout #exitstrategy #ai #founders  #businessgrowth #customeracquisition #recurringrevenue #businessstrategy

    How to Get Your First 10 Customers, Beat Burnout & Build a Business Worth Selling | ft. Alex Booth
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About

Start It or Scrap It is the ultimate brainstorming session you didn’t know you needed! Join Mike Terkanian, a seasoned business attorney with a knack for spotting potential pitfalls, and Mr. Gummi, a dynamic marketing expert with a flair for turning dreams into reality, as they dive into the wild world of Reddit. Each week, they uncover unique ideas, dissect ambitious plans, and give honest, actionable advice. Whether you're looking to fine-tune your business pitch, pivot a passion project, or find the courage to scrap what’s not working, this duo has you covered.Laugh, learn, and get inspired—because every great idea deserves a moment in the spotlight (or a reality check). Ready to Start It or Scrap It? Tune in now!

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Terkanian and Mr. Gummi
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    81
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Start It or Scrap It
  • Show Website
    Start It or Scrap It