How to lock down profits by sitting outside events
Today in 10 minutes or less:
✔️ Contrarian framework: negativity instinct
✔️ Inconvenience 👉 opportunity
✔️ What kind of cashflow does this biz bag?
✔️ How to get into the mobile bag check game
Contrarian framework: negativity instinct
Each week we share a mental model or framework. Because you don’t make money by following the crowd.
Humans, it turns out, like to believe things are going downhill pretty much all the time.
Hans Rosling has a book called “Factfulness” that shows when you ask the population about life expectancy, pollution, crime, electricity coverage, and so on…we generally think things ain’t great.
But it turns out we’re wrong. Despite just about everything you hear, there has never been a better time to be alive. That’s what we believe.
How could your world change if you believed the same?
Feeling skeptical?
Don't worry, I get it (Hans has taught us well). But trust me, there are opportunities abound in the current economy, despite what the pundits on TV say.
Join me next week for my free masterclass where I'll break down exactly how I plan to turn 2023 into one of my most profitable years yet (and how you can too).
Inconvenience 👉 opportunity
Have you ever gone to a sporting event and gotten turned around at the gate because you didn’t have a clear bag or your bag was too big?
I’ve been there. The last thing I want to do is take a 30-minute hike to my car and back.
This is the exact problem Geoff Walker saw over and over in 2016, when he was working as the Operations Director for three Copa America Centenario soccer matches.
The event enforced a clear-bag policy at the gates, and Walker saw hundreds of ticket holders with no place to store their personal items. Some were so fed up that they left and didn’t come back.
Walker had the classic “there needs to be a better way” moment.
What if there was an on-site bag check service near the gates where guests can store their items?
The demand would be there. Instead of walking back or going home pissed off, people would pay for convenience.
Walker also had an advantage: connections.
He has over 30 years of experience in sports and entertainment event management, including being a college and NFL mascot. So he knew how to get into the events.
Next came the execution.
Costco and masking tape to the rescue
Walker’s first event was with the Seattle Sounders Major League Soccer Club. But what did the actual service look like?
It started in his garage (classic startup backdrop), mapping out a space with masking tape on the floor and buying a bunch of shelves at Costco.
With the layout squared away, he just needed a way to store and transport the shelves and lockers to events. Solution: a box truck that he purchased for less than $20K.
Imagine one of your first CLIENTS being an NFL team
After early success with the Seattle Sounders, he secured home games with the Seattle Seahawks and The University of Washington Huskies football team. He added the Minnesota Vikings a year later.
Talk about a helluva kickoff.
What kind of cashflow does this biz bag?
Let’s pause and run some numbers.
The average attendance for the Seattle Seahawks last season was just shy of 69,000 people.
→ 1 box truck cost $20K
→ 1 box truck interior fabricated with Costco shelves cost $1,200
→ 1 professionally designed truck decal for $600
→ 3 employees at a generous $50/hour for 6 hours a game = $900
→ Charge $20 for a locker rental
→ One truck holds up to 500 lockers
If Walker fills up one truck, he just made $10K (minus mobile credit card processing fees).
Now imagine he expands his fleet or invests in a larger truck that can hold more lockers.
Even if Walker’s Lockers got 2% of 69K (1,380) people and decreased the price to $15/locker, here’s what he could make:
1,380 X $15 = $20,700
$20,700 X 8 Seattle Seahawks home games = $165,600.
Remember, that’s just one NFL team. If we’re talking about a college football game at UW, there are close to 100K people who attend those games.
When you add in hours of tailgating, you know thousands of buzzed people will forget about the clear bag policy and need help—and they’ll be ready to pay for convenience.
Here's how he saves big on marketing
Word of mouth.
His team doesn’t necessarily have to hand out cards in the tailgate lot, run PPC ads and target Seattle Seahawks football fans.
People go to the gate and staff will direct them where to go. Sure, you can pay to make a handful of signs to post throughout the parking lots.
Or you can make a deal with the event venue and ensure the gate crew knows you exist.
One of the biggest marketing expenses you may have are the decals for the trucks and a functional website for credibility.
All kinds of events need mobile lockers
Walker’s Lockers has expanded from professional sporting events to set up outside popular running races and concerts.
On some days, his company works up to eight events simultaneously. He now has a small fleet and earns easily $30K daily.
There are also events all over the country. You can live near Santa Fe, NM, and set up shop at an event like the popular Zozobra Festival (which has a clear bag policy) where people gather to watch Old Man Gloom burn.
Last year’s festival set a record with 71,000 people. One truck with 400 lockers at $15/locker would pay out $6,000.
I actually saw one of these set up guerilla-style at the bottom of the mountain in Telluride. They’d take your shoes, lock them up in plastic IKEA bins, and you’d slip on your ski boots for the day.
For the price of 5 bucks, our man Jose watched our furry-topped knee-highs.
Brilliant.
How to get into the mobile bag check game
There are a handful of other companies doing what Walker’s Lockers does. Competition, though, is a good thing.
Another popular company is The Mobile Locker Co., which sets up shop in more than 15 cities. For example, The Mobile Locker Co. goes to the San Diego Half Marathon where thousands of people attend.
What’s beautiful about race events is that all the people running the race need a place to put their bags—you don’t ever see them running with a backpack on, do you?
One note on The Mobile Locker Co. They actually fabricate lockers in most of their trucks. Yes, it looks more legit and feels more secure, but you don’t have to pay for that.
Use Walker’s Lockers’ approach of making secure shelves or wooden cubbies in a truck. As long as you have staff on-site to monitor the truck at all times, the bags are secure.
And all you need to start is one box truck.
Go on Facebook, Craigslist or Commercial Truck Trader, and you’ll find box trucks starting at $10K. So potentially buying two trucks can cost you $20K-50K. But the overhead is low.
You can accept cash. You won’t have a large number of employees to pay. You can buy a Square chip reader for your phone to take digital payments on the scene.
There will be other costs as you scale. You may want to make t-shirts for staff, decals for the truck, tents, a website, digital ads, etc. But you can find freelancers on sites like Upwork or Fiverr to save on costs there.
My advice: Research your market and determine the need for a mobile locker service.
Make some calls and emails to local sports teams or entertainment venues (outdoor and indoor) and find a way in. Some events may not have a clear bag policy, but most will have a bag size policy.
One truck to profits.
Be a builder in a world of users,
- Codie
PS - Mobile lockers are just 1 example of a simple, "boring business" than can be your personal cash cow that keeps on giving. If you want to learn how I acquire businesses like this one, grab a spot on a masterclass I'm hosting next Wednesday.
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