Nick Glassett Entrepreneur, Inspiration, Side Hustle, Work

That Time I Hit the Bounce House Lottery

A LONG time ago I said that I “wanted to change the world”.

I firmly believe that you don’t ACTUALLY change the whole world, but rather impact one person, thus changing THEIR world, and when you do that, you have succeeded…Then that person you impacted goes and spreads it, and you’ll never know what came of it, meanwhile you keep working to change another person’s world.

It’s a process that repeats in perpetuity and there is no finish line!

In a million years I never thought that the vehicle for me to execute on my ambition to change the world would be a Waterslide and Bounce House rental company! But…

When You Hit The Bounce House Lottery

What the hell is the Bounce House lottery? 

Well, in this case it happened to be a 14ft enclosed trailer with 9 bounce houses in it, and we bought it for a mere $2000.

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To put that in perspective, the newest slide that we just bought on July 12th 2020 was $2300 used, and a good deal at that!

So how did I score that trailer? It’s a story of hustle and people.

It was early in the week of Thanksgiving, and I had quit my job back in September.

I was driving Uber and selling old stuff on eBay and FB Marketplace to make money. I had got some old bikes from my buddy Kip to sell, and the guy that came to buy them a few days later noticed the bounce houses in the garage. Turned out he had his own business too!

We had 3 at the time…he had 28!

We chatted for a bit and then he said, “You’re a cool guy…”

I knew he was about to tell me where he buys his slides at! I took out my little journal I keep in my back pocket and he said…”Tony and Red Stick Entertainment. He sells them in bulk…”

After he left with the bikes I called Tony. No luck the receptionist wouldn’t put me through. I tried 2 more times and still couldn’t get him.

I had to drive out to Prairieville the next day to bid a job for the first business I’d ever started, Christmas Light Installation! (It’s called Lets Get Lit and I kill it on hanging lights, FYI).

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                                 Logo prob looks familiar 😉

Tony’s shop was in Prairieville too…odd coincidence. After I bid the xmas light job, we drove over to his shop (It’s a freaking warehouse actually!) and knocked on the door cold. My mom was with me b/c she was looking to invest in The Jump Off!

The receptionist was NOT happy to see me, but I talked her into getting Tony for us. 

He walks through the doors a few minutes later and is NICE AS CAN BE. He leads us back through warehouse 1, full of inflatables and forklifts and games….our heads exploded, then out back to a big shipping container. He said we can have all 25 in there for $5000.

Uhhh…yeah, a bit much for us to handle.

So he said “Ok I also have that trailer back there, it has 7 inflatables in it, and you can have them for $1800. If you want the trailer too, $2000. I just want it gone.”

HOLY SMOKES!

He only wanted cash, so we went back the next day with $2000 and bought the trailer and towed it home having no clue what was in it!

We started pulling stuff out and blowing them up when we got back home, and it was so fun! 

One blows up and we yell “It’s a bear one!” or “Oh, it’s a finding Nemo water slide!”

We unfortunately couldn’t keep the trailer because we have a HOA where it’s not allowed. It was a little beat up, so I posted it for $1600 and it was gone, sold to an awesome guy named Joe, in a day.

Then we rented one unit from the trailer (after scrubbing it to death) to two different clients over Thanksgiving weekend for $200 each time…

$1600 + $200 + $200 = $2000

We were even on our investment in 5 days!

That’s how the Jump Off got to scale, and THAT my friends, is called Hitting the Bounce House Lottery!

Lesson here: Hustle is super important, but if you slow down just a tad to CONNECT with people, amazing opportunity WILL come your way!

Much love,

Nick Glassett
Owner
The Jump Off

985.212.8510

Nick Glassett Business, Entrepreneur, Guest Post, Inspiration, Side Hustle

How You Can Achieve Small Business Glory Without Taking Too Much Risk

It’s oft-said that one is likely to get rich by going into business, as opposed to working for somebody else. While this does make sense in more ways than one, the fact remains that not everyone has the luxury of taking such a leap of faith. After all, becoming an entrepreneur does come with risks—most of it, the financial sort—so it can be hard for the average person to fully commit to it from the get-go. 

However, it’s actually not all black and white. You can, in fact, go into business for yourself without putting your finances at risk. The key is in going into it slowly but surely, rather than taking one big, splashy plunge. Here’s how.

Start small.

Contrary to what many people might believe, you can definitely start a small business without having to give up your day job just yet. Some business experts even recommend it, and it is, in fact, now more important than ever to get into entrepreneurship. This is because rapid developments in technology are making it so much easier to pull off these days.

Of course, taking this essentially “hybrid path” to entrepreneurship while still earning a livelihood does come at a price, too. For one thing, you will lose much of your free time. For another, it can be hard to juggle different responsibilities when your work and business don’t align. And yet if they do, you might inadvertently find your intellectual property at risk, too. 

But despite the challenges, it’s still worth starting your business small in this way. This way, you maintain your peace of mind and security. In some cases, you might even be able to keep your job and other resources—though it’s still best to keep it on the up and up, of course.

Get the best help. 

Now, as you start your small business, you will, of course, want to give your focus to the business aspects that you know and are good at, such as the actual profit-making operations. However, there are many factors and responsibilities you’ll need to account for when starting a small business. Beyond offering your product and service, you also need to think about all the other things that are just as essential in running the business (e.g., marketing, accounting, customer service), which can be a bit much to one who is new to entrepreneurship.

In order to avoid being overwhelmed, therefore, it’s more than wise to let go of the mindset that you need to do it all yourself. In fact, delegating some business functions will not only do wonders for your operations and eventual growth, but it could even save you money in the long run (despite the initial cost). 

Thankfully, it’s easy enough to find people to help you these days—and without even having to take on the cost and responsibility of hiring someone full time to boot! Case in point, as your business grows, you may need a bookkeeper to ensure that your financial records are in order, as well as help you maintain your business’s financial viability. Look to online job boards like Upwork where you can hire virtual bookkeepers who have the expertise, experience, and credentials to do the job and do it well.

Ultimately, while it does take guts to go into business for yourself, there is really no reason to be reckless about it. Rather, you can choose to err on the side of caution and still find glory on the other side. In this day and age of massive opportunity coupled with a great deal of uncertainty, it may even be the smarter way to go into business. So go ahead and do what feels most comfortable for you. The important thing is simply to take that first step.

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