HUSTLE, HARDWARE, HAPPINESS: HOW ERIC BUSSEY BUILT AN 8-FIGURE BUSINESS BY ACCIDENT

It wasn’t the brittle-to-gooey-in-10 seconds gum that got him. That’s for sure. 

11- year-old Eric Bussey was obsessed with baseball cards. That’s the kind of obsession that fuels action. Any household chore his parents offered to pay him to do, he was on it. Laundry, cleaning, odd jobs, they were all great opportunities to make money to buy more card packs. 

When he ran out of tasks at home, he hit the streets. He knocked on neighbors’ doors and offered to mow their lawns for a crisp Jackson. Of course, he couldn’t drive. So, in a story he’ll need to tell his three daughters until they roll their eyes at him, he pushed his mower up the big hill in his neighborhood to do business. 

It was hot, sweaty work… even before doing the work that paid. But dude didn’t care. He was hooked. His earning potential was capped only by how many customers he could get. Eric was FREE. 

Until he grew up and became an employee. Restaurant server, sports store manager, substance abuse counselor in Colorado - he took a turn at each by the time he was 23. 

But the entrepreneurial bug always resurfaces, no matter how long it lies dormant. So, Eric built an 8-figure business, built a second business and exited, and started a freaking brilliant consultancy. As one does.

In this week’s edition, we’ll fill in the gaps on an insanely impressive entrepreneur’s story. You’re going to love this one. Plus, you’ll pick up a nature-boosting hack that’ll work no matter how busy you are. No more looking longingly out the window wishing you could have a few minutes of recess. And a quick update on the latest at Idyllwild Woods Retreat center.

But first…

Anyone in here want to grow and monetize their list? What if you could get your hands on an email genius’ best bits of advice… for free?

And what if, just by saying yes and sharing this gem, you could also get a chance to win free access to Greg Johnson’s “More Money with a Small List” course ($399 value)? 

Here you go! Devour it. Share it. Win more cool stuff.

Now, where were we?

Oh yes. Eric, with a full resurgence of entrepreneurial itchiness in his system, moves back home to Georgia and takes a job doing pest control. He was ready to build his own thing. He just didn’t know what it would be… yet.

That’s when a long-time buddy told him how he was making money. He’d go to garage sales, then flip that stuff on eBay. A modern day treasure hunt. The coolest thing in the world. Eric was in! It was every bit as fun as it looks like on TV - a sweet side hustle.

And then in 2012… they discovered Amazon FBA. You never saw a couple of guys pivot so fast. They were all in, hiring teams all across the country. These folks shopped for the goods, sent them into Amazon, and got a share of the profits. By 2016, Eric quit his full-time job.

It was great! Until it wasn’t. Competition drove the prices down, down, down to the point the reward was not worth the sweat. 

But these guys had a workaround. They found a source of secondhand tools. They bought chainsaws by the pallet and sold them on Facebook Marketplace. Eric did his best Leatherface impression QAing chainsaws his driveway. The neighbors had to wonder.

They ramped up, buying two pallets of chainsaws at a time, plus a host of other tools . And then when Eric’s garage was full, they ramped up further by listing on eBay and Amazon. Still, there was no end to this opportunity in sight. 

They got serious. Rented a small warehouse for $1,500 per month, which felt scary. But not nearly as scary as hiring employees. (The guys were already committed to replacing themselves in the business.) When they did both scary things, the whole business blew up. When Eric would show up at their ‘storefront’ there’d be a line of people waiting to buy.

Then the pandemic came. So they moved to a 20,000 square foot warehouse. As one does. This baby just kept growing! Now they’ve got three stores, almost 50 employees, and the demand just keeps climbing. 

TBH, now, anytime Eric shows up at the stores, he’s kinda in the way. (That’s a good thing - and a great thing to know!) He’s gotten great at managing people… then training other people to manage people. Everyone who’s there came in knowing nearly nothing and worked their way up. One guy started out listing stuff on eBay for them. That guy now runs all three stores.

OOPS, WE STARTED AN 8-FIGURE BUSINESS

“We’re three guys who accidentally started an eight-figure retail store,” Eric says. They paid their dues, learning on their way past a couple of commas. 

They knew they were living the dream. Looking back at their path, seeing where they’d overcome roadblocks - that’s satisfying. So is having the financial resources to homeschool your kids, take great vacations, and participate in their kids’ lives the way they’d always wanted to. That’s the goal this group of partners (now there are three) had from the start. And they did it.

For many people, that’d be enough. Kick back, hang out with your family, get into raising alpacas. You know.

But Eric has learned something important about himself. He needs to do something with his time, on purpose. 

So, he launched Rebel Tool Co., an ecomm business selling tool organization products. Now it was time to learn about online marketing. Eric was a quick learner. He’d had to be, when he and his partners started the retail stores. The CFO was wonderfully stingy. This made Eric, the CMO by default, get smart fast. He became a Facebook ads master and an email GOAT.

And all along as he grew the retail stores… he’d been building the list for Rebel Tool Co. Smart, yeah? Well, a buyer thought so too, a little more than a year in. There’s probably a name for that kind of speedy exit. 

It wasn’t the kind of exit that leaves you weak in the knees with a bad case of the vapors. But it was the kind of exit that makes you know, right in your core, that you’re going to be alright no matter what. You know how to launch and grow a sellable business. Beautiful.

So, now Eric becomes a “normal” person? He could have just gone fishing for the rest of his life. But Eric has learned a second something important about himself. 

“Younger me thought that if I could just not work and hang out with my family all day, then I would be happy. And what I realized was that just sounds like the right thing to say. 

“That’s not actually what I believe. I discovered that while that’s super important - and I love that I was able to quit my full-time job to fully be here with my kids. I don’t think that’s the most important thing for everybody. And it was a huge driver for me, but I also really love business. The most important thing to me, I boiled it down to… relationships.

“Business is just meant to bring people together,” he says.

MAIN STREET MAVERICK IS BORN

Eric noticed something about his retail stores. Maybe 10 people a day would come in trying to sell him advertisements. The old-fashioned kind, on radio, billboards, and TV. Just as many SEO-sellers would message them every single day. 

Business were buying this stuff.

But only because they didn’t know there was another, much better way. 

Remember how Eric built the email list for Rebel Tool Co. while he was building the list for the retail stores? Well, he did it again. The whole time he was gradually stepping away from day-to-day operations in the retail stores, he was building and testing a marketing system for local businesses.

It worked. He was his own case study. An 8-figure case study.

So, when Eric launched Main Street Maverick, he knew he could predictably help any local business bring in new customers and build a giant list properly. He’d gotten really, really good at it. All because his CFO was, um, frugal.

Now, Eric’s helping other small businesses. And for many, that would be enough.

But Eric’s going to Eric. He wanted to learn something really cool and fun and profitable. So, he went to Travis Sago, as one does when one wants to learn something cool and fun and profitable.

What Eric’s doing now is serving clients who sell digital products with a high-ticket offer, maybe like a $20K mastermind. But they’re having trouble getting butts in seats on that upsell.

Eric will pop the hood and take a peek to see if there’s anything he can do to help. On his own dime, for a percentage. He’s extremely picky about who he can do this with. But when it’s a fit, it’s a great fit. Eric wants his operators to take as big a bite of the apple as they can. When they toss the core into the trash, he picks it up and sees what he can do with the rest. What he does runs in parallel to what his clients’ sales and marketing teams are already doing. Here, he serves coaches, course creators, and consultants. 

NOW, ERIC OPTIMIZES HIS LIFE AND BUSINESS FOR FUN

Eric’s girls were asking him what he did for fun as a kid. He realized that every single thing he told them was an outside activity. Playing in the creek, catching crawdads, playing basketball and football… he never came inside until dinnertime. 

He’s seen what happens when we grow up and spend all our time trapped indoors. It’s easy to be on Zoom calls all day, longingly looking outside but never going there. He’s prioritized outdoor time as a non-negotiable. Eric typically walks 10,000-15,000 steps per day. He’ll head to the park, or go play some tennis or softball any chance he gets, too.

And in between, if you’ve got him on the phone, he’s probably outside pacing during the call. If you want to talk with him - either about selling more of your high-ticket offer or getting marketing help for a local business, reach out to him at [email protected]. Tell him we sent you!

RING, RING, RING! NATURE CALLS: THE BUSY ENTREPRENEUR’S HACK TO OUTDOOR BLISS

Hey you, the entrepreneur glued to your screen! 

Feel like your office chair is plotting to become a permanent part of you? You know that getting outside is your golden ticket. We’re talking improved mood, boosted creativity, and a happy, healthy you. 

But… you’re juggling emails, calls, and the occasional existential crisis. Nature? That’s for people with spare time. You’ve got a business to run, for crying out loud! 

You want some of that? I gotchu, boo.

What if I told you that your phone – yes, that thing you’re probably holding right now – is your secret pass to outdoor nirvana?

Enter the findings from a fascinating Inc.com article. 

Apparently, those phone-pacing people (you know, the ones who look like they’re trying to wear out the carpet) are onto something. Science says moving around while on a call boosts creativity, improves focus, and hey, it even counts as exercise (take that, gym membership!).

So, here's your new game plan…

Next time your phone rings, don’t just sit there like a lump of dough. Spring into action! 

Grab that call and make a beeline for the great outdoors. Walk, pace, or if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, do a little dance. Your brain, body, and probably the neighbors (free entertainment, folks!) will thank you.

Building this habit is easy. Start with setting a reminder or stick a post-it on your phone that screams “MOVE IT!”. Pretty soon, it’ll be second nature. Walking meetings, pacing brainstorm sessions – the world is your oyster, my friend.

As of today, your phone is no longer just a business tool. It’s your ticket to combining business with the pleasure of the great outdoors. 

Next time that sucker rings, let nature be your conference room. Go on, get out there and show the world how multitasking is really done!

Quickest barn update ever… no barn yet. Ice, snow, and cold are not great conditions for barn building, so maybe next week?