What's up. What's up welcome to side? Also school money miss Cristel about. Let's talk about hometown pride, I not personally, I confess something to you here. I am not a big football. When I say up all these, in this case, I am referring to american football. Some, not a big fan. Myself replied I am well aware of the tribalism it can attract the tribalism and the tremendous loyalty, especially with college football. Not long ago and what seems like another life I used to live in Alabama for a few years as a kid at a teenager, and whenever you met somebody there may be. Some of our listeners know this. Whenever you met It was almost like a litmus test to find out which football team they were a fan of, particularly when it came to the Alabama Auburn Rivalry, which are the two big college teams there, and work on the story, I remembered a store in the mall where I used to go as a kid. I spent

At a time in the mall, when I was a kid, actually ran away from home once and slept overnight in them all until I was discovered the next day. But that's that's why the let's talk about the one it relates to our episode. I Remember that there is a store in the mall call. The Alabama Auburn store okay. Now these are the teams that are the rivals, but there was one store, that's old items like jerseys and its in posters and hats and all kinds of stuff change me. Whatever you wanted to probably name baby there and this store sort items were both teams and they actually divided. The store in half and half of the story was for one of the teams and the other half was for the other team and they had to Colors, you know on either side. Speed clearly tell there was this border and when you walked in He went to one side or the other. Now, when I thought about this, I was like men, you know when it comes to football rivalries, those guys they are the real winners, the people who run that store who, like me, don't you which team you like working, you like, I'm gonna, sell you a jersey. If I could go back and I wasn't it who is running away and sleeping in the mall, and I.

To get in this kind of business? That's exactly what I would do find a way to sell to both groups, because you had almost actually play them off against one another. You know when somebody comes to check out from that bring store you like Haiti, Alabama guy, just spent more. You know he bought three things. You ve got two things their royal. Let that happen anyway. I'm not sure what happened with those guys with the store with them all in general. But to the point of our story. It's all about a designer who, it's a million dollars not only once but over a number of years, and these also bringing and consistently thousand dollars a month in profit month after month. He does this creating a series of sports themed, penance and t shirts that put hometown pride on display. This guy is from Alabama, has lived elsewhere in the shop and migrates north to Boston there when he finds himself missing. Homey starts this business and gives it what will call the old college? Try so there's a set up for you, stay tuned and I'll. Tell you how I make this happen.

The Whitson had spent his entire life in the south. He'd never set foot any further north than the Mason Dixon Line, which is the line separating these States from the north and west. By the time you got married, he felt he needed to experience something new. He and his wife decided to pack up the car and head north beginning a new life with his skills as a designer. They ended up in Boston with a world apart from what they do, but they settled in well like a landed, a job as a creative director with a large health company and they start of the family. But although he had left the shop, I've never truly left Micah That was a part of his spirit, a peace that would be with him for ever, but it wasn't until twenty eleven that micro realise just how important that peace was to him. It was here when some of the worst tornadoes on record ravage the region, particularly Michael Holmes, state of Alabama, watching the devastation,

unfold from afar made him long for a connection to home. Where did you find it after thinking for a while? He was reminded of the types of flags and close people work to their college football games, those colours and tag lines and symbols could bring a sense of community. Then the penny dropped. He was a designer and he had a friend who was a printer. He decided he would create posters. Pennants n T shirt that symbolized schools and towns of the south, he'd recapture the magic of the Old College football Games, their spirit and commerce. We would be on display in the designs of his products. It was his first sight, hustle and agile. Here he turned this overtime project into a self made championship. By the way, as we go along, some of my sports metaphors may break down, because you know I don't know much about football. I was like it's gotta, be extra innings, no, eight that doesn't work. I think the word is overtime. He decided to call it the old try name from the expression. The old college. Try, which means to give something your best shot, even at the odds, are against you. Coincidentally, the same at it.

You need, when starting a project like this of your own, MIKE also needed a series of designs that capture the heart and emotion of people from the south. To find these days he drew his own experience. He lived in for the southern states and felt he could represent them well, he took common phrases and images from the area and began to design posters and minutes before He had a handful of designs. He was products. Everything was printed made it his brain shop in Somerville, just outside of Boston into showcase them. He built a website without sight. The designs ready to go. It was time to throw a hail Mary pass and work on Saint promotion. Mica wasn't expecting much when he launched the sight. He set out a few emails to prominent bloggers to inform them of what he was hoping to achieve and, as luck would have it, a small blog called design. Sponge picked up the story: Designs, bunch is actually not that small they receive over seven hundred thousand daily readers, so things were about to get real from mica and the old try website. That one feature resulted in over twenty thousand page views, thousands of deaths.

And orders and, most importantly, it was the kickstart he needed to fully died. It MIKE his wife celebrated by inviting friends over for a packing party to get the first one hundred orders out now you could put that launch in that blog mention down to luck, but Michael felt he had a concept that resonated with people again a shared sense of community. Remember this project started into eleven the site hustle was coming of age. At the same time as Pinterest and Instagram the types of products Michael was making were photo friendly and likely to be shared. Over the months and years, some of my guest posted gone viral and have even been shared by celebrity, such as Russell Simmons and resources are spent. This has helped to increase sales further and dry further growth in it. Growth, has been fuelled by new designs and suggestions from customers. People are passionate about where they come from more than willing to email, MIKE ideas for new products, the feedback he receives influences what he will make next in terms of money, your success. The all try has won the Heisman trophy think. That's a trophy that people get for doing something in football:

since starting in twenty eleven mica, has generated over one point: five million dollars in revenue and, after all, expenses generates around five thousand dollars in profit. Each month. This has all been built on a foundation of just seven thousand dollars and investment and all while Mica has continued to work his day job. Looking forward, he sees a clear road to franchise expansion The old try currently has designs for a small fraction of the total areas of United States around a hunter and thirty different incorporate places. There are thousands more show. An obvious drug channel is to expand the range promoting hometown pride across borders. Right, so tribal identity, loyalty, a sense of belonging people. Really emotional really passionate about these things. And how do you show your loyalty and shared identity is especially in the context of sports, but also in terms of your geographically.

Shit or other affiliations its by putting that identity on display, you can put it on display, either privately or publicly so publicly would be like wearing the teacher right. That's my favorite sports team. If I run into somebody on the street he's like yet go sports team. That's really interesting because you could be travelling in a completely different city you dont know anybody, but if you see him you're. Somebody sees you and yet you're wearing something that that kind of demonstrates this. This identity, then you feel this kinship or somebody that you, ever known before- and you can also put it on private display, which is like a poster appeared at or something that you just having your house. So it's not so much that anybody also seeing it, but your kind of reminded of it and noticed what all these things common. They all require you to buy. Something is really no way, at least in this context, to demonstrate that world without making a purchase so finally and e commerce platform with these beautiful original designs is well suited for this kind of project and from there you know just a process of iterating and improving because this guy mica, maybe he did get lucky without design sponge mention. But what did he do after that

He went from those first one hundred orders to thousands of orders. By continuing to add nine and improve the process so lucky something that comes or goes but you're consistency, you're ocean to something, especially when you know it's working a little bit. You just want to make it work more, that's the key to going above and beyond which, in his case, one point, five million dollars and sales since he started, and five thousand dollars a month in profit can't argue with that. I would be a truly or for those results, just like a mature later for you. That's the whole point of the show to tell you these stories. Said. Hopefully it inspires something in you gets you thinking it maybe helps. You realise that there is something you can do to. Even if you ve never Anything like this before I like, I said in a story. This was my For a site I saw for him and good for you to thank you for listening, what are at Titusville school dot com, six hundred and forty nine to come and check out some of his designs. He just website and social media, and if you have a comment or question for the show, give me a. On the hustle hotline, eight thousand four hundred and forty nine hustle, eight hundred and forty four nine thousand four hundred and eighty seven

three. You can also send me an email podcast outside us or school tat, caught back again to Morrow. My name is critical about, and this is side us all school.