This documentary follows Mark around, as well as the different businesses that he’s either invested in, or is thinking about investing in, or businesses that are just starting up. For someone like me, it’s fascinating. I love to see the behind-the-scenes operations of any business. We enjoy getting to see what works and what doesn’t work. We can then take the good ideas and apply them to the clients that we work with in order to help them grow.
COVID Business Impacts
The show was definitely entertaining and takes a really interesting look at some of the businesses he has invested in. Mark is a partner at Wahlburgers, so there’s a whole section on that. I won’t go into that part in detail, because we all know what happened to the restaurant industry during COVID.
Mark has also launched a clothing line called “Municipal”. I ordered a few items off their website. Launching this business really was a big unexpected challenge. However, they were able to work together with determination and teamwork to get it launched. What I ordered was their classic hoodie sweatshirt and it is phenomenal. It’s the nicest sweatshirt that I own; very comfortable and well made. And it’s so well designed. I got my son their classic t-shirt, which he loves – it looks great and absorbs sweat during work-outs and such. The design of it and how it fits the body is really flattering.
Aspire To High Standards
When you watch Wahl Street you will see how Mark pays really close attention to all of the items that were designed for him and the materials used, even discarding anything and everything that doesn’t meet his high standards. We should all aspire to high standards and our true vision for our businesses. Mark’s companies are a priority for him, as I think he is probably the main partner shareholder. He had a vision of what he wanted to put his name on and what he thought would sell and also what he wanted to put out there in the world.
In the beginning, what was shown to him wasn’t what he had in mind, so that takes a few iterations and finally, Mark is satisfied and says yes. That is what it takes for any business to succeed – it really needs that vision. You don’t want to settle on anything less, because it will show through.
Municipal looks great and I see their ads all the time on Facebook and Instagram, so I assume that the business is probably doing well. I don’t know for sure, because they had just launched Municipal when the final episode of the Wahl Street documentary aired, so they don’t talk about the numbers but my hunch is that it’s probably doing really well.
Avoid Fixed Cost Overheads
One thing I will say about Wahlburgers, that they didn’t really elaborate on in the documentary, is how well they weren’t doing. Wahlburger’s headquarters looked empty, because again, they were a couple of months into COVID. Having a restaurant background and looking at Wahlburger’s headquarters I can see that this is a lot of overhead.
If you were hanging on to that much overhead and then experienced a mass shut-down for any period of time, that’s going to kill most businesses. I’m sure Wahlburgers are doing great, but I’m sure they had a big set back. You can see how Mark could be thinking “I didn’t realize we were paying for all of this,” so that was interesting.
Invest In Things Which Inspire You
Mark also has a gym operation which is so cool and I actually saw there are at least five of them in Mass, called F45. Unfortunately, there are none close by, otherwise, I would certainly go there. I can see why he liked the operation when he first visited, before deciding to invest, become a major partner and also a franchisor.
What Mark said appealed to him; during his visit, was seeing a college athlete there working out next to a 50-something-year-old woman. They were high-fiving each other throughout their workout. It is great to see such an amazing sense of community which unfortunately you don’t find in many other places. That really resonated with me because I thought it seemed very similar to a small boutique-like gym here in Rockland called the Iron Way.
There are bodybuilders, college and high school athletes and women like me, in their 40s, 50s, 60s, all working out together and all doing the same things, with different weights and skill levels. Everybody comes together to cheer everybody else on. It’s a great environment and very invigorating to work out in. It’s inspiring that Mark gladly invested in terms of his time and energy, commitment and money into F45. It also was hit by COVID but it looks like they’re getting back on track.
Before Committing, Check The Numbers
The final example I wanted to mention, which was in a couple of the last episodes, was this concept of a healthy convenience store. I won’t mention the name because I don’t want to get in trouble. Mark was really into it and I remember sitting there watching this and thinking from day one, I hope he doesn’t invest in this! The concept is certainly interesting. Imagine a 7-11, but only selling healthy foods, beverages and snacks. For example, if you want to grab a typical snack, what are your options? Chips and perhaps some granola bars which are usually filled with sugar. In this case, this was a convenience store, but your options were all uber-healthy.
Good Intentions
I know Mark wants to change the world, because a lot of what he does is health-conscious; work-out-conscious-fitness and things like that. However, a convenience store is extremely difficult to make money in. I have already looked at a few sets of convenience store books and it is possible to make some money, but it’s not a lot of money. Also, it is extremely hard work, and you as the owner are paying for all the snacks, sodas and crackers etc.
There is not a big margin there. You need to sell a lot – you need the volume – and you need to keep your other overhead down. This is why you often see the owner working in the store; because it is difficult to afford a manager or other people to work there, and convenience stores are open late hours also. There is just not a lot of money to go around.
Check the Numbers
The business concept is sound and we need healthy convenience stores. However, doing it with health food where store shelf-stocking costs will likely be higher to begin with, could add another layer of difficulty. The potential customers of a health-food convenience store would probably not want to buy an apple for $3.00, for instance.
However, it was good to see that the woman behind this idea was an entrepreneur and she was very excited and gung-ho about it, and Mark really, really liked that. It was sort of intoxicating. However, I knew the numbers weren’t there. Sure enough, in one episode of Wahl St, Mark enlisted an investor friend of his to look at the potential numbers. It was exactly what was going through my head – profitability is a key need and this business model did not have it.
A New Planning Tool From Spark
So, to wrap all this up please bear in mind that it is very, very difficult to make money in certain businesses. You should know what you’re getting into before you get into it. There are other businesses that have higher profit margins than others, yet some are more steady or predictable, and really depending on what your life goals are, you should really know what you are looking for and what you need.
At Spark, we are working on a business plan outline that’s going to be downloadable through our Spark store on our website. If you have a business idea, we’re going to make it super easy for you to enter in your numbers and figure out if this is going to be profitable for you. I really think this will be a very important tool going forward. Especially if you’re thinking about starting a new business or starting another business.
Starting a business isn’t easy. It takes time, effort and a LOT of research into the numbers, market, competitors and projected financials. Inspiration and excitement are GREAT motivators. However, as you can see on many great shows that go over the nitty-gritty details, you have to make sure that your business idea is truly viable from all angles.