Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by on pay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a fun one today on the show we have Lamar Tyler and he is with traffic, sales and profit. Welcome, Lamar.

Lamar Tyler: [00:00:35] Hey. Welcome. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:37] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about traffic, sales and profit. How are you serving, folks?

Lamar Tyler: [00:00:42] Sure, traffic sales and profit is a business network. What we focus on increasing the amount of entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs in the African-American community, right? So we know that if we can have more sustainable businesses, we can lower unemployment and we can help close generational wealth gaps and other issues that we may face, right? Just because we will have more opportunity.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] So what’s your back story? What inspired you to take on this cause?

Lamar Tyler: [00:01:07] Sure. So I’ve had different businesses over the years and my my corporate background. I worked in I.T.. I ran the I.T. department at Fox five in D.C., Washington, D.C. and my wife and I actually started a blog about 15 years ago now, and it was around marriages, around parenting, and the blog took off. We started doing documentary films and e-books and audio books and membership sites and really learn how to market and leverage digital media to connect with customers to sell products and services that actually met needs and challenges that they face and really learn how to build a business. And at the time, it was very visible. We got a lot of press behind it, so people started coming to us and saying, Hey, can you teach me how to do the same thing? And we did, and that’s when we started traffic, sales and profit. So I said to to show other entrepreneurs, if so many people had great ideas that had great products, great services, but just didn’t know exactly how to get them into the hands of consumers and really didn’t know how to leverage the internet in the process. And that’s what we help people do.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:04] So what were the first kind of breadcrumbs that kind of made you think, Hey, this thing’s got a chance here?

Lamar Tyler: [00:02:12] You know what it was, and it was not like an immediate hit, even though we had a previous brand that had a sizable online community and presence where we quickly learn is that this new business that we were starting had a different avatar, had a different perfect customer and had a different pain point that it solved. So we started with online courses and trainings, and they did OK. We did a conference and we said, Hey, this first conference, we hope to have two hundred people there. We didn’t get that say we’ll have at least a hundred didn’t get that. Forty seven people showed up and half of them had free tickets anyway to come. But we just kept being consistent and as we were consistent, we started to see online community grow right with the focus of a free Facebook group that we have called traffic sales and profit. So we saw online community grow. We saw people start to show up more and it just was the more we were consistent with building that network and pouring value and information into those people, then we could see the breadcrumbs of an audience starting to come, people starting to want more information, wanting to come to events, wanting to get a hold of the resources that we had available to them.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:16] And there was there any kind of mentor or anybody that was kind of helping you at all at this time? Or this was you just kind of throwing stuff against the wall, just trying a variety of things until you were kind of finding things that worked and just expanding upon that?

Lamar Tyler: [00:03:30] Sure. My wife is in business with me, so I’m the the the idea guy, right? She’s the one that actually makes the ideas work. She’s a project manager by trade. So together we were in it and with our original that marriage and parenting brand I talked about, we did what you said. We just kind of were throwing things at the wall. This stuff just didn’t and we were successful, but we learned that that was probably the hardest possible way to do it. So with this new business, as we kind of grew and we got down the path where we started doing was hiring consultants, getting into masterminds and coaching programs and things that basically to give us a shortcut because we were connected, what other people had already done, what we wanted to do. So instead of trying to figure out what worked and what didn’t, they could point in that direction. Get us 80 percent of the weight in, and we just had to do the work to see if it fit for our audience so that,

Lee Kantor: [00:04:18] Well, you know, in this world, it’s kind of the Wild West out there. How did you kind of identify who the kind of real people were and who were the pretenders?

Lamar Tyler: [00:04:28] Oh, that’s a great question. For us, it was really going out right and is interesting now because we don’t really do it much because everything went on, but it was going out and meet people in person for one. So going out, meet people in person, going to conferences, going to networking events and being able to really get a personal feel. Because all we say, the thing is great about the internet is that anyone can be there, right and represent their business. The thing is bad about the internet is that anyone can be there and represent their business. So it’s a lot harder to tell who’s real and who’s fake, who’s who’s really done it, who can validate that they’ve done it online. So so really a just meeting those people in person, pulling up to them. But then b the other thing we learn is that it’s not so much. That we focus on the coach of the consultant. We want to focus on the people that they’ve actually worked with, right? What are the results that the people that have come to their programs have actually attained? So it’s not about how much money they have, how many resources they have, how how big they are, like, where’s the fruit from that tree? And can we see success all around that actual coach or consultant of that program? Because if a lot of other people came through and they were successful, then we know we probably can be successful too.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:37] And as part of the journey, you moved here to Atlanta.

Lamar Tyler: [00:05:42] Definitely so. So, like I said, we were in the Washington, D.C., area. We moved to Atlanta in one of the reasons I moved here and I actually moved here when I transitioned from working my nine to five to being a full time entrepreneur because at the time, everyone that was doing what I wanted to do in that digital space lived in Atlanta. And when I got here, I realized how different it was because it felt to me right on, on a professional. And as far as, you know, success and things like that, there were a lot of successful people I know in the D.C. area. But when I got here, what I realized is that there was a different kernel of entrepreneurship here. And that’s what I’m always telling people is it’s like Atlanta is just different when it comes to business, when it comes to entrepreneurship. I think there are a few different factors that play that play into it, but I don’t think there’s any place like it in the country.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:30] I find that our ecosystem is pretty collaborative and the economy is very diverse. There isn’t kind of one specialty like in D.C. it was probably a lot of people around the government. But here there’s a lot of diversity in terms of the economy

Lamar Tyler: [00:06:45] In terms of go ahead and would you say it’s only it right? In D.C., everything is government or government contractors, but like you said, here is so diverse and to be honest, also just like the cost of living makes it a lot easier to go out and try and bootstrap or start something on your own. If you don’t have, you know, five years worth of funding where in the D.C. area because of the cost of living like oftentimes you would need not only be working, but you would need a successful, well-paying nine to five and your spouse would need a successful, well-paying nine to five just to make kind of ends meet. So when we got down here and we saw the cost of living was a lot lower. One of the things we saw a lot of were entrepreneurs and stay at home parents, and that’s what we did not see in the D.C. area, just because the cost of living is so high.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:29] So now how have you kind of immerse yourself in the community? What groups are you kind of gravitating towards? And you know, what are some of the things that you’ve been up to?

Lamar Tyler: [00:07:39] Sure. Well, we’re a member of several chambers. And then what we’ve done was interesting enough. We do two conferences a year here in the Atlanta area. Most recently, we’ve been doing them at the Westin in Buckhead, next, next to Links Mall. But interestingly enough, we first came. The majority of our audience was not actually coming to the events from Atlanta. They were coming from the D.C. area of Chicago. We have a lot of folks from Houston and Dallas in Texas to come in, but by being consistent and just growing our presence here, right, we’re going to get more people from the actual local region. And so again, that consistency part I was talking about and really like I said, just as we connect it, more entrepreneurs connect with us, just connecting with them, finding out more about their stories and sharing their stories. It’s been a great benefit to us and being a part of this community.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:28] And then the ideal client fit for you is this kind of entrepreneur that is kind of have a higher purpose that there’s a kind of a why behind what they’re doing. They’re just not here trying to make money. They’re trying to really make a difference.

Lamar Tyler: [00:08:42] Definitely. So, you know, because you know, you know, you definitely can make money just making a widget every day, day in, day out and selling it and scaling it. But really, what we want to do is we want to impact the communities that we’re in and we want people that, hey, like, I want to make money and I want to make an impact in the difference all together. So that really is who we speak to. It is really who we find show ups for our events and our programs and we like to work with.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:05] Now are you working with the whole gamut of entrepreneur, that person who has maybe just like you said that day job and has a dream, as well as that person that is struggling and wants to get to a new level?

Lamar Tyler: [00:09:19] We do, but we work through them through different types of programs. So, for instance, we have like an online course program that just kind of gives information, has some group components, right, where we have coaches come in and do answer questions, kind of set people on the path if they’re just starting out. Now we do say you need to actually have a business. We don’t really coach around clarity around what should I do, but if they have a business, they can come in and we do help with that. But then on the other end, we do have multiple six figure seven multiple seven figure companies that are on the other end of that scale that are looking for kind of growth, looking for help around leadership and looking for help to kind of get the different components that they need to try to reach eight figures and beyond.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:58] And then is the primary kind of driver are these kind of big events that are bringing people together and then they can splinter off into these other courses and the other services?

Lamar Tyler: [00:10:08] Sure, it’s between big events. We do a lot of online challenges as well, right? So we do our free online challenges where entrepreneurs can kind of come in and get the information that they need because a lot of times they had somebody in the face on Facebook, say, just a few days ago, like like, they’re doing a lot of things right, but it just could be like two or three degrees of separation between like where they are and where they want to be. And a lot of times just pulling one lever that they may not have pulled yet. They kind of catapulted, catapults their marketing or gets their product or service in front of more people. So we do do a lot of free challenges as well online just to bring people into our ecosystem. To help share and show some things right, and again, to as we talked about before, validate that, hey, we actually do know we’re talking about, we actually do the things that we teach. We haven’t just read them somewhere and then kind of regurgitate them to you, and we can help you kind of move the needle forward in your business.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:56] Well, how about we give some advice for the entrepreneur out there that maybe isn’t maybe ready to talk to you yet, but has a dream of, you know, taking their business to a new level? Is there something in their digital marketing they could be doing today that it’s going to move the needle tomorrow?

Lamar Tyler: [00:11:13] Sure. Number one, what I would say is really focused on what is the problem or challenge that you solve, right and right? The bigger that problem, a challenge is for the people that you solving for the more opportunity there is and the more opportunities for you to kind of make money in that market too, right? If they really want that pain to go away. They really want that problem to go away. And it’s something that they’re really aching and they want to get rid of. I really will focus on that. The next thing I would do is really get clear on who the people that you’re serving are too many times ahead. Entrepreneurs say, Well, you know, I serve women or men between the ages of 20 and 80, and they can live in Atlanta or Chicago or Bali or Mexico in. And obviously, if you’re serving everyone, you’re really not serving anyone. So getting crystal clarity around what is the actual problem of challenge challenging my product and service overcomes. Who specifically is the person that I’m speaking to? What’s the demographic data? Was the psychographic data? What are their thoughts, their beliefs when they come to me? Are they frustrated or are they stressed out? So I know how to talk to them? And then? What I would this is what I prefer to build communities, right? I’m all I’m a community. I like building communities of people that we can speak directly to to have these certain pain points. And then it’s not like we’re fishing in a small pond that’s stacked full of fish, right? And instead of going out into the ocean and I like like really, really building a community of people that face the issue to face a problem and then being there to provide a solution for them. So those got like some initial things I would look at as you begin to say, Hey, how can I get more traction towards my business?

Lee Kantor: [00:12:42] And if they said, OK, I buy into this community building strategy, how would someone start a community from scratch?

Lamar Tyler: [00:12:50] Well, what I would do first is I would look at what social platform your community is on, and just a quick Google search can give you demographic data. It’ll say, Hey, if I’m going be to be, maybe I want to be on LinkedIn. If you know, if I’m reaching a demographic and based on what you sell and what you do right, you may want to be on Pinterest. So maybe it’s Instagram, or maybe it’s Facebook or such, but really find out where your people are and then that’s where you should be as well. And then when you’re there, another tip I’ll give is two things right. You do not have to build a community specifically pointed to your product, and I want to kind of bring some clarity around that. Like a lot of times, if people see a community, maybe it’s a Facebook group, for example, and it’s built around your product name. If I don’t know your product, I’m not joining that group. But if it’s a community built around the name of the problem or the issue or, you know, whatever the thing is that I’m facing, if I’m a realtor and I’m in real estate and I want more clients, I can say, OK, Lamar Tyler Realty, which is not a real thing, folks. I don’t look that up. I can say Lamar Tyler.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:50] Yeah, it might be. Who knows?

Lamar Tyler: [00:13:52] Five years? Right? I don’t know. But if I had a group called Lamar Tyler Realty, unless you know me, you wouldn’t care about that group. On the other hand, if I had a group that said, you know, best homes and neighborhoods in Gwinnett and, you know, then I may attract people to either living on that or they want to live in Gwinnett or interest in maybe moving to Gwinnett. And then I could create and curate content around, you know, maybe these are the the best schools in Gwinnett. These are the safest neighborhoods in Gwinnett. All the things that people in the home buying process may be interested in. And now, once I have a large pool of now, I’m creating value in a resource to them, then I can get them to know like and trust me, I can start to build rapport with them, and it’ll be a lot easier for me to move them into my products and services because they’ll already know who I am and what I do.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:38] Now I find a lot of entrepreneurs, especially aspiring entrepreneurs, they’re trying to kind of fast forward the process in terms of, well, look, I’m going to go on Facebook, let me just buy some Facebook ads or let me buy some ads and that’ll solve all my problems. I find that that’s kind of sometimes ineffective. And unless you have a lot of money, it’s hard to really make that payoff over time.

Lamar Tyler: [00:15:04] Well, you know what, you’re right, if these people do not have clarity and that’s the thing I always talk about, I love it, one of my mentors told me a long time ago, he says, three ways you can build traffic and everybody listening. Traffic is just leads with people. If you’ve got a brick and mortar, traffic is the people that come into your store that are looking and could potentially buy if you have online traffic is the people that come to your website. But he talked about and said, You can build it, you can borrow it or you can buy it, and buying it is the quickest way. Which is, like you said, advertising paid ads, things like Google ads or Facebook ads, or it could be radio, TV newspapers, any kind of legacy media buys as well. But when you buy in traffic, you need to be crystal clear on who you’re speaking to, how you speak to them, how you attract them, and then make sure you have an offer that converts on the back end because, like you said, you can spend a lot of money quickly. For good or bad, right, so you have to know what you’re doing. The other thing is right is most people, what they do is they try to build traffic, which is the organic just growth and going out and I call it like the digital version of shaking hands and kissing babies. And maybe you have a Facebook page, maybe you have an Instagram or LinkedIn.

Lamar Tyler: [00:16:09] Maybe you post things periodically, but it’s like you’re going out doing these, these things. Maybe you’re doing livestreams or going out, you know, getting a few people at a time. The thing is great, as these are your ride or die people thing as bad as this, just slow. One of the other things that people don’t do enough of is borrowing traffic, which is when you find a community or a person that already has your avatar in it, they’ve already accumulated a group or a community like we talked about of people, just like the people that want to purchase or need to purchase your product or service. So looking for groups like that and there are online groups and offline groups and figuring out how can I connect with that group? How can I offer value to them so that I can get my product to service in front of their people? And like, what’s in it for them to give me access to their crowd? So they’ve already spent the time building. I don’t have to spend a time building mine. A lot of times you have to pay for it up front like you would advertising, but you get access to that audience, make money and then maybe do some type of revenue share or split on the back end with the people that actually organize or own that group.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:05] Well, folks, if you’re listening, that was the tip of the day. If you kind of take that information, those three ways to generate traffic build borrower buy that should be money in your pocket because I think you’re exactly right there, Lamar, that that is the key to success in, especially in a digital world that we’re in now. Yes. Now, if somebody wants to learn more about traffic, sales and profit, you know, go to event, check out some of the courses. Just connect with you. What is the best way to do that? Is there a website?

Lamar Tyler: [00:17:37] Sure. Everything is on our website. You can go to WW W traffic, sales and profit and that’s and traffic sales and profit on that. You can find me find more information about the events, our programs and anything else that we’re doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:52] Good stuff. Well, Lamar, a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Lamar Tyler: [00:17:59] Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:01] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you next time on Atlanta Business Radio.