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Episode 104 · 1 year ago
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Episode 104 · 1 year ago
#104 Rob Kessler - Million Dollar Collar - BrianVee WhyWeWork
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
...welcome to why we work with your host Brian V. As he speaks to people like you from all over the world as we together dive deeper into our motivations, struggles, joys, seemingly missteps, hopes, warnings and advice, which will be an encouragement to us all to get up. Get going on, keep on working. Working is tough, but working is good. Now here is your host to why we work. Brian V. I'm Brian V, and this is why we work today. Have the great pleasure. Speaking with Rob Kessler, Rob is an inventor, a boat captain, a serial entrepreneur and the inventor of the million dollar collar. Today, I want to find out from Rob how he's been able to take some of the skills he's learned in other industries and transfer them over in tow. What he's doing now join me today in my conversation with Rob Kessler. I'm Brian V, and this is why we work today. Have the great pleasure speaking with Rob Kessler. Good day. Find, sir. How are you? Brian? Good to see you. I'm well, it's good to see you as well. We've got to have a little chat here a moment ago, and I really appreciate you coming on here, taking the time and sharing with people what you have to offer in the space of work. What what industries are you in currently? And what is some things that you're up to nowadays? Uh, it's a good list. I am a inventor. First of all, is that my main thing? I invented million dollar collar. So think collar stay except nine inches long, and it goes down the front of your shirt where the buttons and the holes are. So anybody watching could see that my sure just pops right back in. So most people don't wear a tie with a dress shirt these days. And after seeing my wedding photos and you know bad, my shirt looked, I decided to come up with a solution. So I invented a million dollar collar about, uh, eight years ago. My wedding anniversary is in a couple days, so it was eight years ago. Um, we also have our own Drescher called Go Thailand's, which is the first shirt designed to be worn without a tie. Um, with my technology built in, obviously on. I'm also a 50 ton, about 300 done, Master Captain. So I have a yacht charter business here in Los Angeles. Eso we take people out for pleasure cruises and, you know, get out and enjoy the weather and look for dolphins and have a couple cocktails. I mean, they dio I don't, But when the government decides that we can work, then we get to run that business. But we're in between right now. You are in a few different industries, and I know that you were in several more. When did it all? When did it all start for you, Rob, What was your first job? Maybe is a print preteen teenager? What was the first thing that maybe got you out of the house to make a dollar? Uh, well, I wanted my driver's license, and Mom said, If you're going to drive, you got to pay for the insurance. So the only way to do that was to get a job. Um, so I'm from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where we have the world's largest music festival called Summerfest. It's 10 days long. We have 10 to 12 stages and for 12 hours a day on all 10 stages, there's music going constantly, and it draws people from all over the world. There was a little pizza joint there that I was serving slices of pizza and that's where that was my first job and I ended up going to work at the restaurant. I worked all the festivals all summer long. How old were you then? 15 15.5 of whatever. You can start working. Um, no, I did lawns and stuff when I was younger than that. It wasn't a natural job, but, um, start cutting all the neighbor's lawns and things, But the first job that got me into thinking about entrepreneurship and and really doing my own thing. Waas. When I was about 16, I got a job at a soccer and volleyball store on the It was a highly competitive soccer player. I was sorry.
What was it? What was it called? It's called sport Works. It was a little soccer and volleyball store in my town, and, um, from day one, the owner gave me a key to the front door. He gave me a code to the alarm and just put all of his faith and trust in a 16 17 year old knucklehead. Let me and all the other guys, and we all just poured our heart and soul into this guy, Just made us feel like it was ours. And I mean, within a year I had kind of worked my way into the finance side of it and was helping with ordering and doing some books and like learning that side of the business. And it just felt like it was my business, and it was really, really amazing. Did you find it's hard to? No, you thought then. But that made school a little bit more lively in some of the subjects that you were learning because I didn't have that experience, especially if someone's pouring so much into you and you're getting to experience different aspects of the business. You weren't just delivering pizza slices to someone you were in behind the scenes and working with money and all that you found. Do you find that that might have helped you with your idea of the purpose of school? I actually was the opposite. I couldn't wait to get out of school fast enough to go do that like I just want to be a part of it. So after high school and I graduated college. I had that job and I would literally go to work for a couple hours in the morning, then to go to a couple classes and then go back to work for a couple hours and then go back to a couple classes and then go back to close the store. So and then the stuff I felt like I was learning in school was just not applicable to what was really happening in real life. So I had a really hard time with school. About two years in, I had started sloughing off on classes. I was taking the minimum amount of Rick credits required, and after two years, I was about to drop out, and it took a long, hard look at life. I mean, I was making $14,000 an hour or a year at, you know, 18 or 19 years old. I thought I was in hog Heaven. But, um, I took a long, hard look, and I decided to graduate. I was the first person in my family to ever graduate college, so I caught up. In the last two years, I still worked full time throughout those all four years of college was able to catch up, graduate in four years with my degree in marketing while working full time. So so one of those people. When I get a goal, I just stick to it and just bullheaded and just barrel through and just keep going. So So as you started to get a little bit more perspective on the need for college or to finish it at least what were you thinking you were going to do with it? Was that part of the soccer and volleyball stores? Well, you're thinking you could use this with it or you were going to go off on a different adventure. So about that time I was going to quit school, the two owners of the soccer volleyball store parted on. One was being the guy that hired me, and that gave me all that confidence was being advised by my father, who had his own business. He had a jewelry store, several jewelry stores, And so Tim and my dad were working together. Uh, Tim was trying to buy out the other owner he didn't want to sell, so, you know, went the other way, and then Tim literally walked into my dad's office one day and said, I'm coming to work for you And he said, My dad was like, I I don't have a job for you And he goes, I don't care. I'll whatever you want me to do If it's take out the garbage, I don't care what it is, but I'm coming to work for you and I ended up following him about six months later. And so I went to work. My dad with Tim, Why did they want to work for your dad? Was there something that he saw in your dad? Just the industry that he was in? My dad's pretty visionary. Um, you know, he he broke all the rules in the jewelry industry and became the third largest independent jeweler in the country. Um, if you anybody's in the jewelry...
...industry, they know our our family, our business. If you were anywhere in the state of Wisconsin, he ever had a radio on. You know our name because my dad ran about 3000 radio ads a week. What was the name of the business? It's called Kessler's Diamonds. And it was, you know, unlike most jewelry stores, we could get watches and crystal and colored stones and all that. It was diamonds. Diamond engagement rings totally Diamond focused. Um, he also implemented the strongest warranty in the industry where everybody says, Well, we have a lifetime warranty. You just have to come in every six months and have it all checked out after about the first six months or second, six months, you forget about it, and then your warranty is void. We have no loopholes, no nothing. Um, nothing like that. Never had a sale after 1991 or 1992. My dad hated negotiating in life, so he said, Well, I'm not gonna do it my business. So he just set prices and that's it. There's no negotiating. There's no sales. There's no up. There's no down. This is the price. Take it or leave it full time. Full warranty behind it. Uh, he just exploded from the smallest independent jeweler to the largest in Wisconsin in about 10 years. What would have been the reason why you didn't get into it earlier? Or was it something you want? You wanted to go on your own? Was that just not a jewelry business? Yeah, into the jewelry business. You know, it just never was an opportunity. Really? My dad and I, we kind of but heads a little bit when I was a teenager and growing up and eso during college and after college, you know, we kind of gotten closer and, you know, can you imagine going in and spending 568 $10,000 on an engagement ring from a 18 year old kid? That's you know what I mean. It's just a little bit of where do I belong? But my sister, she did she She was much more mature than I was, but she from 18 until today she works for the company. She's been there. She is the head buyer now, And, um so she's been with the company over 20 years. So, um, but that was her path. And so, as you went into the business and you moved into being a boat captain and inventing the shirt that you have now the million dollar collar, what are some of these skills that you have developed and you're able to transfer over into the work that you do today? One of the things I really learned throughout the years is customer service. Um, you know, even with my with million dollar color being an online business that I am, I respond to emails as fast as I can. I try to do everything I can to make it right on. That's something I learned from my dad. I mean, if you if you just take care of people better than they expect, then you know it's gonna be a good thing, and it's going to come back in spades. And so customer service, no matter what we do, we just always try to go above and beyond what people's expectations are, no matter what business we're doing. How did you get into being the boat captain? That you are? I always just loved being on the water. My, my, my aunt and uncle were in Detroit s O. I would go over there every summer and spend you know, Fourth of July on their boat on. Then my wife. She grew up on boats as well. So, you know, she spent some time on boats and we just kind of had the passion. We ended up getting a little ski boat when we were in Wisconsin. before we moved out to California, and it just is always kind of found a way into our lives because it was something we're passionate about. So was it a little nerve racking Where you hesitant about starting your own touring company? It's always nerve wracking, starting a business e mean, but I always think big and go big, too. So my first house wasn't a house, It was a duplex. And it was like, I don't really know how to do any of these things. Now I gotta learn how to do it on two houses in one house. But it turned out great because my downstairs tenants, I always had a tenant, and so they always paid the mortgage. So I never had a mortgage payment for nine years, and then we...
...bought a commercial building, and so same kind of thing, like we get about our business is up and running, and then we rented out half of that building and those guys paid for our mortgage. So instead of me just buying a thing or doing a thing, I always try to find a way to make it pay for itself. So, um, that was nerve racking for sure, especially when it took five months to get licensed through state. A lot of the city of Los Angeles and we couldn't really run our business. And so we have this asset that's costing us thousands and thousands of dollars a month, and we can't even operate. So it was a little scary in the beginning. A za money was dipping down quickly. So you're you're in real estate for a period of time. Are you still in real estate? So I had my real estate, my residential real estate license in Wisconsin for 15 years on Ben. I started buying commercial real estate. I do want to get back into it. I really am passionate about it. I, um I went to college to do architecture originally because I could I would rearrange my bedroom all the time and that soccer volleyball store I would rearrange it just so I could see conceptually and specially where stuff could go on where it should go. And I really thought that real estate was the way or architecture was away from me. And, um, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee was like the number to architecture school in the country so it was insanely competitive. You had to carry a really high G p a. And I just wasn't a student that could compete with that. So I ended up going into marketing and then getting in real estate. Um, where I'm from was on the east side of Wisconsin, the east side of Milwaukee. You know, this houses all built in the twenties and thirties. So really, really amazing architecture and lots of detail and old craftsman. And so I got to tour all of these amazing houses and then help people by him and eso. I thought that was the best of both worlds. That's right. And carrying what you said about the skill over taking care of people, customer service. And I think that's not better seen in real estate, where you're helping people get their homes, sometimes their first homes, which is one of the biggest investments of their lives. And if you could be that person there that they can trust and always go to with your questions, help them find their dream home, then you have it made. Yeah, I mean, I like to say that I sold the three biggest things that most people buy houses, cars and diamonds. And so I think that the customer service, especially when you get to that level and that price point, you know that much more important. So that's so. So now that you're in with the million dollar collar promoting that as well as your tireless shirt, what is some satisfaction, but also some difficulties you have with this venture. So the hard part with Million Dollar Collar is that it's sewn into the shirt Onda reason. That is because both sides of the placket that part with the buttons and the holes is visible. So I looked at doing an iron on. I looked at doing all kinds of different ways to do this, and financially, the least expensive way was actually just so it in. But in the US, at least in the U. S. People are somewhat lazy. We don't we just don't put a lot of value into tailoring and altering clothes like people here just bite off the rack and either fits or doesn't. And in the rest of the world, where we sell a lot of products without a lot of advertising, people are going to the tailor all the time. You know, they're always taking those shirts in and out. Make sure the pants fit right, so it's not as big of a thing to overcome. So the overcoming that was a challenge of million dollar collar so original focus was direct to consumer aan den. We spent a lot of time working with dry cleaners and tailors and going to trade shows and introducing the product of them because you know the guy that's dry cleaning your clothes, you know he cares about the way that he looks enough that he's paying somebody else to clean his...
...clothes. So we thought that that customer was there. So we're in about 650 dry cleaners and Taylor's now eso that has paid off. Andi were really pushing back and getting back into the licensing side. So we're looking at big brands to just take the technology and install it during production because it's almost seamless into their production process. So we originally after we got the patent went right to the manufacturers and they thought it was cool, but they didn't have any. We don't have any numbers. We have any sales. We just had this idea. And so that's why we went right to consumer and built up the sales base. We sold about 325,000 sets, 330,000 sets so far. So now we've got that like, Hey, people love this there were getting five star reviews people are saying is totally change the way that they look and dress shirts. We know that people want it now it's We have that leverage to go back to the brands and try to get the license to them. You make a point about the dry cleaners. Here in South Korea, every little section of apartments has a dry cleaners, and they're relatively close. They're really big part of just everyday life, whereas in the United States or Canada, you know not many people you know their businesses and they do well. But it's not at the forefront of most people's thinking of getting my shirt altered or doing something else to my clothes. Yeah, it's just one more thing to have to do. You know, it's one more stop you have to make, and fortunately, the dry cleaners, some of them are paying attention, and they have pick up and drop off services, which makes it a lot easier. I mean, when I worked at the car dealership even and that the real estate, they just came to the business. So I just hand them a bag of dirty shirts. And on Monday morning or Tuesday morning, I would get all my shirts back and I'd have my clothes for the week, so they're really starting to think. But what we found so far is most of the dry cleaners are just This is my business. I launder shirts and they don't make much money on it. I mean, if they make 75 cents laundering a shirt because there's so much labor involved, that's a lot of money. And so we felt we were offering in this really great opportunity, and, you know, the business guys have gotten on board, but it's been a lot harder to get to the dry cleaners, and I thought it was gonna be We can order online the collar. Correct. What is the proper name for the mechanism that goes into the shirt? So we call it a placket stay so that part of the shirt, like I said with the buttons and the holes called the placket. We're not called perfect placket because almost nobody knows what a placket ISS. So million dollar collar kind of puts you in the right region. Um, but yeah, it's called the placket state so we can order those. And we could just take them to our own Taylor if we would still choose. Yeah, absolutely. Every order comes with really detailed instructions. It's literally open an inch of stitches, slide it and sew it back together. Don't so too tight. Otherwise, it works great in the last selected shirt. What is some satisfaction? Go ahead And you have what I was gonna say. There's a video on our website about how do the installation they? What is some satisfaction you're getting out of this? Well, I mean, a five star review is, you know, a totally unsolicited dude. This has changed this or people put up a photo and tag us on social media, and it's like they care enough about the product that they've gone out of their way to say, I look great and this is why that's I. I wore a sure today, which was doing I didn't do it on purpose. It was my very next one in line. I'm like, Oh, you know what? This is perfect Just falls down naturally contrast as you mentioned, skill, the skills that you have, the skills that you carry forward. How are you staying productive with using your skills and staying on top of all the businesses that you're in this year has been a little bit different, but what gets you your feet on the ground and into all your businesses each day? Um, you know, there's just certain things that I need to dio. I have a...
...list hanging from my computer that blocks out 30 minute time schedules of Get this done. Get this done. Get this done. So make sure that I get my social media posts out. I'm always on emails. If I, you know, unless I'm in a project, you know that email thing, beings, I want to respond right away, especially if it's a customer. So I make sure that I'm on top of that. Um, the boat is challenging in that there's always something that I could be doing on it. So, you know, little projects to fix here and there. Do an oil change or whatever. Wash it down. That's a nice the boats actually been amazing because if I didn't have that, I would sit in my computer all day long and be emailing people or doing QuickBooks or what? Like just just focused in and And you can't be creative. Or at least I can't be when I'm just tunnel vision in on this one thing. But being in the boat business when I'm driving, you know, people are kind of doing their thing. I get an opportunity for my mind to just wander. And I don't have to feel bad because, like, I feel like if I'm on my computer, I should be working on. But if I'm driving and I'm like, Okay, you know, here, the people I've been talking to, maybe this is an avenue and my creativity can kind of spin off on DSO. It's been really good for me to be able to just step away and have that reason that I have to get away and start to think outside the box. Yeah, it's good because you're you're still getting paid. If you're out on your own boat, you go for a ride today, then you're guilty and all that do you have knowing that you serve pizza when you're 15 or so as one of your first jobs mowing lawns as well and other people who changed their career? Do you have any tips for people who are getting into work one way or the other? Um, I would cut the grass at 13 years old, 14 years old. This is just totally screwed up. My dad would pay me five bucks to cut his lawn, and the lady next door was paying me, like 10 or 12 or $15 like this is just I mean, he's putting a roof over my head. I get it now, but at the time, I'm like, this sucks. But I would, I literally would think, when I was 13 and 14 years old, cutting the lawn like I'm gonna cut this grass so good that the neighbor across the street is going to come over and say, You really cut that grass good Nobody ever did. But I always cut it like somebody was watching and that they were going to see that that long was cut really well and that they were going to come over and compliment me. I think it was, Wilt, Chamberlain said. You know, give more than anybody expects, you know, and I just I just want to give mawr. I always do more than what people think they're going to get. It's It's a really good point to watch however you wanna look at it is Thio. Do whatever you do as if someone's looking, I mean, for the benefit of it. But as if you do it well, If no one's looking, however, you wanna look at it still, the idea of doing it to your best and I think that's a good message, especially for younger people. But for older people to write whatever we're doing, they'll be slacking off and in cutting corners and taking the easy way out. And, you know, all of us do it to a degree. I would say no one does everything perfectly, but it's great advice for people to really think Why are you doing this thing? And you know who could be watching you or you know who's going to see the work that you have done At the end of the day, I think it's it comes down to integrity, right? You know, if you're walking down an alley and you're unwrapping or you're eating a candy bar and you think nobody's around and you just throw the wrapper on the ground because you think nobody's watching. But if you were out on the main street, you would stick that rapper in your pocket and wait to get to the garbage can. To me, it's integrity of doing what you would do, whether somebody's watching or not. And that's served me well. Yeah, I think when I was younger, I didn't have that as much. And if I did...
...do it, it would because it would be because I thought someone was watching. I wouldn't want someone to think something about me but doing those things, regardless of who's who's watching and and being of integrity. I think it's it's something that we can all learn from and take pleasure in knowing. And E wouldn't say Be proud, but to know that we're setting a good example, and if no one sees you doing it, it's the right thing that was done. So when the next person walks by and sees garbage on the ground like what? What fool just through that or who dropped that? You may. They may not see it directly, but indirectly, they'll see thes attempts were making toe help people and do things that are right. Rob, is there a mistake that you would have made that you bring with you into your work and it may be encourages you to do things differently? Um, I don't know. You know, I I tend to focus on the solution and not the problem. As much. Things are gonna happen all the time. I've definitely made mistakes in life and in my career, even in in million dollar color. We were the first time we went to a dry cleaning trade show in Las Vegas. Four days. Every major dry cleaner was there. All these huge brands were there. I mean, Dickie's, which is a huge brand, was right down the aisle from us. We barely scraped together enough money to get the three of us there. And a couple of you know, people we hired for the show. We have this little 10 by 10 corner booth and it was spilled over for four days straight. Like the guys from Dickie's from Billion Dollar Dickie's were like, What are you guys doing down here? You've given away cocaine and drugs and like, cash. Or why are there so many people here? And so we had built up a really good direct consumer business, and I would I deal with the shipping and I was dealing with logistics, and it drove me crazy when the post office would lose in order because that it looks bad on me. You know, you never think that it's the post office that lost. It's like the guy that shifted, didn't I'm like, I don't own the avian. Jeff Bezos doesn't own the shipping company yet. So, you know, Third Party drove me crazy. And so I hated that customers weren't getting their product. We had almost 400 dry cleaners that represented 2000 locations of dry cleaners in the US alone that were like, This is the best thing ever. Sign me up Here is my personal cell phone. Here's a copy of my birth certificate like they were in love with what we were doing. So I told my guys to shut off our Facebook ads direct consumer because we were gonna be in 2000 dry cleaners overnight, and it's a couple of years later in those 2000 locations still aren't there. So I jumped the gun and cut off the revenue sources. We had thinking that something that's gonna happen that had happened. I'm a lot more cautious toe like shut things off with this point. But, you know, you're you're living that too, with with being an entrepreneur in doing different things. Being a boat captain is I think this is wise advice inadvertently as well, in that we need to be ready for the changing flow. While you might have had a good revenue option, a possibility and opportunity, and it may be there tomorrow. You had to keep this other thing coming as well, because we never know. Especially I heard some of the other day said when I went to School Cove it was not on any of my tests or in any of my books to experience anything like this. So to be, um, pliable to be able to be able to be stretched and do use are different skills in different industries and as well as be ready to make income in different ways, I think is a wise...
...decision and you learn from that mistake. Yeah. I mean, a great book. Um, I think it's Stephen Covey is, uh, who moved my cheese. I mean, it's a 45 minute read, 30 minute read if you're a quick reader and it's just all about being able to see that things are changing and adapting to the situation and not waiting for it to happen. So, um, I think you have to, especially in this day and age. You have to be fluid and able to adapt quickly. You adapted when you found that you weren't interested in school, but a couple years later, do you have a view of education? Is it hold true still today? And what about exercise? So education and exercise, How do they play a role in your life? My personal view on college is it depends on what you're trying to do. Um, I'm a big fan of Gary V, and I think he's hit it on the head instead of going to spend 50 60 $70,000 going to college and getting a degree and then going to try to get a job in the industry that you love with no skills. I think you're better off going to find the number the top 10 people in that industry in your town or wherever you're willing to go and say, I'll give you 10 grand or just I'll come work for you for free. I just wanna learn and spend the money in because I learned Maurin, that little soccer volleyball store than I did ever did in college. And if you can, if you're passionate about interior design, I don't know that going to college for interior design is the way ago. I think finding the top interior design firms and just just don't care. Giving a broom like Tim said to my dad, I don't care what it is. This is where I wanna be because I know I'm gonna learn from the best. And that's my dad in the Pan Am and on hiring him. And he said that he was going to be the next person that took over that company because he was just so passionate about what was being done in my dad's you know, ecosystem that he had built. So if you can put yourself into that mentality and it's so different than what you know, our parents thought off. My wife and I talked about the other day like, you know, we've done several different things. We've been together for 10 years and we've had commercial properties and she had a gym and now she's a stuntwoman. And now we have a boat business, and we're talking about maybe leaving California. And so it's like the last generation they would get a job and work for 30 or 40 years, and that was the thing they did. Now, you know, we hop around every few years doing something different because we liked the challenge. We like learning something new, and it's not wrong, You know, that way struggle sometimes, but that struggle builds the hustle, and it's been great for us. Some people like the security. My mom give me a job, Give me a thing. I just want to know that there's revenue coming in every two weeks and I get my paycheck and I don't have to worry about it. My dad was the opposite, so I got the best of both worlds, and, uh, my wife and I just kind of figure it out. But where it's just so different. Now you just have to think about, you know, a different way to do it with the struggle and the challenge. Where do you place exercise? Well, if you see my wife here in this photo, she's shredded stunt. Yes, she must be. She's just Yeah, she's a stunt woman. She's got always had six pack abs. She's starting her own online fitness business. She had a gym, So, um, she's definitely more into the fitness than I am. But you know, you she drags you along and you're feeling guilty as you eat a donut. Yeah, I definitely eat much better. I used to eat a whole frozen pizza with, you know, ranch dressing when I first met her. I don't I don't do that. I don't dip anymore. But, you know, I work it in. You know, the cool thing with her. Her new site is it's all based on 10 minutes. You know, it's not about what is your wife. It's called the Transformation Room fit dot com, and it's all about 10 minute...
...workouts because everybody's got 10 minutes in their day and you don't need to go to the gym for an hour to feel accomplished. Sometimes it's just peeling away 10 minutes and just doing something for yourself to just get the part rate up blood flowing. And that impact that 10 minutes a day can impact you a lot more than thinking that you're going to go to the gym for an hour, three days a week. And it just doesn't happen so you can knock out 10 minutes. So I've been much better at just peeling off and saying I'm shutting everything off for 10 minutes. I'm gonna go do 100 push ups or do my pull ups or dips or whatever or watch one of her videos and just get something in every single day. Um, because health is so much more important than anything else. I should have had that yesterday. Yesterday I put my because I had a class to teach, so I put my exercise clothes on before the class. It was just here at home. I didn't need a suit or a million dollar collar for this class. Anyway, My other classes, Ideo and I have my exercise clothes on all day. Then I didn't exercise. E used every excuse in the book, even in the end. I was eating chips with my exercise clothes on, but I surely needed that. Just just do this. As you said, Do some push ups, do some watch the video and that my dear wife actually did her exercises yesterday e guilty that she pined out. Yeah, it's tough. She's so good at it, like even when she really came up with it, because, like, today, she's on set. Um, and you know, sometimes you have some time in between shoots or in between takes or scenes or whatever, and she's sitting in her trailer is like, Well, I don't want to sit here and twiddle my thumbs. I need stuff that I could do, even if it's for 10 minutes and I don't need to get sweaty, but I just need to kind of get the blood phone a little bit, get a little energy back in. Um, that's what you're doing with your business as you go out on the boat. You're thinking about these other things. And while she's out on the set, she's taking care of herself, which is part of her business. So you guys have that same thing going for you, Rob What is a new overarching goal that you have, whether it's for the million dollar collar or you know, some of your other adventures, your So the big goal with million dollar collar is to be a big Quintus. I mean, there's just really no reason why it shouldn't be in every shirt I love. When a customer gives me a review, Ince's. This should be in every single shirt because it's so lightweight and flexible. You can button all the way up and wear a tie so it doesn't affect you if you want to wear a tie. If you don't want to wear a tie, it's there. So there's really no reason not to have it. I think it's like the next collar stay. Um, you know, nine. They say in the U. S. At least 90% of dress shirts most of the time are born without a tie. You know, we're talking to the biggest brands in the world and they're like, Oh, no, we're coming out with the stretch collar like you are so far behind. Who cares if you have a stretch collar for 10% of the market, where tie everyday way have a thing for the 90% of the market for the people that don't wear. So I feel like a million dollar color eventually, hopefully will be in every single shirt or most shirts made. That's the big goal. With that, um, go Tyler's were actually pivoting a little bit. We were going to make our own dress shirts and kind of compete in that world. But I've got an idea and a little concept that we're kind of pivoting the company, and we're going to take it a little bit different direction. But it's gonna be insanely cool and a huge company. Um, and the boat business, you know, we could go Either way. We could we could grow. We could add two more boats under our license. We've had clients out that said, Dude, I could go to a Michelin restaurant in New York and I get better service on this boat than I do there. So if you want to add more boats or you need financing or whatever you wanna do, you wanna expand this business, I'll fund it. I mean, there's people that have come out literally said that to us, so our plates really full. I mean, we have, I think, six or seven LLCs between my wife and I active right now, So we're very into a lot of things, and so we're...
...kind of trying to find, tune a little bit and focus a little bit more and, uh, yeah, the world's gonna take. That's common, though. Uran Entrepreneur, you're an inventor. So you're going toe, have other things on the horizon. You're gonna have other things up your sleeve, things that you're not not necessarily saying right now, but things in the works. Is there any any other things that people or anything in particular people may not understand about you, Rob, so that they can have a better appreciation of the work that you're doing? Um, you know, it's all about To me, it's all about the hustle and the grind. I mean, as long as I make a little bit of progress every day, I'm I'm working in the right direction. So this is taking longer than I thought it was to be where I needed to be or where I thought it would be. But giving up doesn't allow it to grow anymore, So I've been sticking with it through. I've heard 10,000 knows, Um and we're starting to hear yeses, and we're starting to hear people turn the corner. And I think coming out of co vid any of these brands want to compete in the market in the next couple of years are gonna have to innovate in the same old thing. Dress shirts been made the same way for 100 years, and they're gonna they're going to come out of this and stand out, they're gonna have to innovate. So hopefully that works in our favor. Um, I'm very accessible. I mean, if anybody has a question anybody wants to know about the patent process or where I've been or if they have, I love talking business. Eso If anybody wants to reach out, I'm absolutely available. You can email me and, um, connect with me on linked in whatever, and we'll have a conversation. I'm happy to help any way I can. What I find fascinating about doing this podcast and talking to people like yourself, especially people who have different things going So you're able to not not like a child like a baby, but say, Well, this child, this business is, you know, it's It's on the go. I I receive. Some knows it's growing. We have some difficulties. You're able to separate these different things and they're not yourself. It's not like I'm failing in my business. No, I have to successful things going on over here. And I find that really interesting how you're able to differentiate between the the business side of it, your personal life and say, You know, I'm I'm putting this my effort into this this baby, this this thing right now and watching it grow and seeing how far I can take it. I find that really interesting about business people. Well, again, I think it comes. It comes down to focusing on the solution and not the problem. I mean, I think people get caught up. Oh, I got a flat tire on the highway. And why did this happen to me and boo and Bob? Okay, you got a flat tire. How do you fix it? Is it run flat to get to ah, place to get a new tire? If it's not gonna change it like, find the solution and let's move on. Yeah, problems come up all the time. so they could drag it down. I mean, and then the other thing is living in Los Angeles. It's either going to inspire you to see Lamborghinis and Ferraris and McLarens all over the place, or it's going to make you insane and want to hate all those people. And to me it's inspiring. That means that it's possible. I mean, I drive our boat and there's I look up houses that are for sale, and there's a $110 million house, one of the places where we anchor and people that come in from out of town. You're like, Oh, how much of these houses like that one's $110 million like you can't even fathom that kind of money. But it's right there, and I live close to it, and I could see it. And that means that somebody I know that I know that I know knows the person that owns that house, and that's crazy. That would be great for you to be a real estate agent there, too, because you can point like you want that one. Yeah, right, because you could be taking people on the thought about it. I thought about it. I just I loved real estate, but I really wanted to focus on Million dollar Collar, and it's been it's been good. Is there any adversity that you have faced Rob, that you use in your work either to motivate you? Or maybe it kind of brings you down at times. But in the idea of encouraging other people who have faced adversity?...
Um, yeah. I mean, look, I did not have, uh, like, super spectacular childhood. I mean, my dad and I've gone through probably five or six years total of not speaking or seeing each other, and that was brutal, especially when you're 13 years old, 14 years old and developing, growing and becoming a man. And I don't have a father. So you know, I've been through really, really tough and dark times. I would drive weirdly, I would just, you know, I got my license, and my way to kind of just decompress would just be drive around. I told you I loved architecture. I grew up in the east side of Milwaukee. There's all these beautiful homes, and I would just drive around, and there was days that I felt so down that I'm like, you know, there's a bluff right there and I don't have to deal with this anymore. And But I said, I don't want I don't want that to define me. I don't want I didn't whether whatever the problem was, I didn't want that toe win. Mhm. So I mean, you look at Oprah and she's if you, on paper, she should not have been. She should not be where she's at, based on her childhood and the things that her But you know, you can either focus on the problem or focus on the solution. I don't know. I just no bad stuff happens to everybody, and it's It's how you wanna handle it, how you wanna look forward, Rob. How can people get in contact with you? Eso The main email is Rob R. O. B at million dollar collar dot com. That's my personal email that's open all day long every day or find me on linked in, um, Robert Kessler. I think Rob Kessler. So just look, look up million dollars salary. You'll find us one final question there. Rob, why do you work? Um, I want the eventual freedom. You know that's part of it. I think the success. I watched my dad grow his business from nothing to massive. He sold the company to his employees two years ago, and it was doing 35 or $36 million a year in revenue from literally zero in his lifetime, which is pretty amazing to watch. Um, and I see what he gets to do. You know, he helps out his family. We go, he takes us on vacation every once in a while, like every few years. And but he just gets to do stuff that he's got freedom. But he loves the challenge. I mean, he's very actually involved in million dollar color and a tireless. And now I talked to him every single day. We're working on different, you know, problems. We're you know, we're together, we're growing. And so the success of having done something is exciting to me. You know, I meet somebody new or ah, friend introducing me. Oh, my God. This this million dollars, you gotta meet Rob and people that think that my product is amazing is like is rocket fuel. I mean, it's the best feeling ever. So I just I couldn't do nothing like I just need to feel like I'm accomplishing something like the hardest thing moving from Milwaukee, where I had these commercial things in our house that had this like basement full of tools and moving to Los Angeles to an apartment was getting rid of all of my tools like I don't have my saws and I don't have my cameras and like, Oh, give it all My brother in law and I'm like, Dude, I it's like, took part of my manhood away like I need to fix stuff. I need to use my hands. I mean, I was screen printing business and I just loved actually screen printing because I could see it go from a blank T shirt to this design that somebody handed me. And I created all this stuff in between and I made that shirt happened like that was cool, like I just like being ableto see it grow and develop something. So I just love building stuff. I mean, I've got other ideas in my head, and I need to get through the first couple to get to the next one to get to the next one and if you look back at the last 10 or 15 years and what I did that rolled into...
...the next thing, it's rolled into the next thing that brought us the yacht, that is now this great business that were, you know, looking to figure out what we're gonna do next. And it's just cool to look back. I mean, people get caught, I think in the moment. And they forget to, like, look back for a minute and say, Where was I five years ago and say, Dude, you've come a long way? Yeah. I believe you have come a long way. Rob Rob Kessler, an inventor, boat captain, serial entrepreneur and with a great name and great product, the million dollar collar. I appreciate the time you've given me. And I appreciate the work that you dio. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you for listening to this episode of why we work with Brian V. Be sure to subscribe, follow and share with others so they too can be encouraged in their work. I hope that you have yourself a productive yet joyful day in your work.
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