The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex - From Ordinary To Extraordinary ft. Vince Conquer

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

In this episode, Vince shares his incredible transformation from being one of Paul’s mentees to becoming financially free through credit card processing. Learn how Vince, a first-generation Mexican-American, navigated the challenges of starting his own business, overcame the mindset hurdles, and built a successful residual income stream.Key Takeaways:Vince's journey from HVAC technician to a thriving entrepreneurInsights into the merchant services industry and the benefits of the cash discount programTips for beginners on how to approach business owners and secure their first clientThe importance of mindset in entrepreneurship and taking imperfect actionVince's mentorship program to help 9-to-5ers build an additional source of incomeFREE Mastermind Group to learn how to build residual income with credit card processing - https://t.jo.my/fbmastermindInstagram: Conquer.paymentsFacebook: thevincentconquer“Your Network is your NETWORTH!”Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:Instagram: https://jo.my/paulalex2024Facebook: https://jo.my/fbpaulalex2024Youtube: https://jo.my/ytpaulalex2024Linkedin: https://jo.my/inpaulalex2024Looking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur?Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you:www.ATMTogether.comwww.Merchantautomation.comFREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream”www.officialPaulAlex.comLeave a review, like and share to help others and let’s level up together!

Welcome to the Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight-figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together.

Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Hey guys, and welcome to the Level Up Podcast with Paul Alex. This is a brand new episode, guys, and this is going to be our very first interview on this podcast. I'm super pumped to actually be interviewing this entrepreneur. He's in merchant services, which is aka credit card processing, guys, and he's going to drop a bunch of gems on this podcast for you guys

so you guys can start making residual income with credit card processing, guys. Hey, Vince, how are you doing today, brother? Hey, how's it going, Paul? Thank you for residual income with credit card processing, guys. Hey, Vince, how are you doing today, brother? Hey, how's it going, Paul? Thank you for having me. No, absolutely, man. Hey, so I'm pretty pumped that you're actually here in Miami, man. You're originally from Florida, right? Yeah, Tampa. Tampa? Tampa Bay. Born and raised? Born and raised. Love it. Love it. Now, so if you guys didn't know, Vince, he was actually one of my mentees for a couple of my companies, ATM Together, Merchant Automation.

And now he is squared away, guys. He's making residual income. He's at the point where he's financially free and he's able to take care of him and his family. And, guys, now he has some new upcoming things up in his pipeline. And, hey, we're here to talk about it. Okay, so, Vince, let's go ahead and get into it, bro. So, like, what are you currently doing right now for a living? Yeah. So I'm doing two things right now. First is building my book of business through credit card processing and now officially launching my program where I help nine to fivers build an additional source of income through

credit card processing. Whoa, that's pretty badass, bro. Yeah. I love that. So let's talk about your journey in merchant services, okay? So when did you start merchant services? Back in November. So it's been eight months now in merchant services. Eight months. Man, a lot of people will still consider you a rookie, right? Yeah. No, yeah. It was the same thing when I was in law law enforcement and, you know, as a cop dude, like I was voluntold to go into investigations after like a year and a half. Typically cops, you have to wait till five years to go in investigation. So I feel like you're in the same boat, but with merchant services. Okay, cool. So you got eight months of experience. What have you been able to do in those eight months? Yeah. Since November, I started the

merchant automation program and I've been able to learn from nine figure entrepreneurs like shout out John Sarabia on how I could approach businesses. And for me, with no sales experience, that was huge to really make it possible. So I was able to tap into my network and truly understand the path that I should take. Because, of course, you could, you could go one way, you could go the other way. So being able to tap into merchant automation, I built up my book of business right now, 10 accounts. And that's huge for my family, right? Absolutely. Especially when you start seeing the residual income hit, that's when you really start believing. And I mean, just within this next two weeks, I have five accounts ready to get signed up. Right. Yeah. So it's really tangible

and especially with your network. Right. And mentorship, I was able to get to this point. Now, I would say I don't have the years of experience, but that's the beauty of it. That's when ordinary guys like myself could get together and share those tips those those what's going on in real time yeah like the the struggles right the trenches dude i i love that and i love that vince because like essentially you are not only doing it but now you're helping other people get into it. And the great thing about you, bro, is you're very relatable. You know, I have over a decade of being in entrepreneurship. And I mean, I'm older, bro.

I'm 36, right? You just turned 30, right? Yeah. Yeah. So you're getting into your prime, man. I'm exiting my prime. I'm going to my 40s, bro. But I'm just kidding, guys.

But with that being said, guys, no, in all seriousness, you know, especially in the online space, when people try to launch programs, it's just like they never it seems like they never do what they're selling. Right. So I like the fact that you're actually still doing it. It made you financially free. And dude, you're still locking accounts left to right, which is badass. And yeah, shout out to John Sarabia. Dude, if you guys don't know the background behind John Sarabia, John Sar Sarabi is actually one of my business partners out of Los Angeles, California. This guy is a maniac. Like he is a straight G when it comes to sales and merchant services. Right. Absolutely. So like the guy, I mean, he does like three sales clinics a week, guys, inside of our group.

Cashless ATMs business for beginners on Facebook. It's one of the largest for merchant services. But yeah, I mean, he's been a rock star. I know him and Rob and his partner, they sold literally over $170 million in revenue in the past 15 years within their organization. They're our ISO, Independent Sales Organization. So they definitely know what they're doing. And you have great mentors, bro. John is just a class act, bro. Okay, cool. So they definitely know what they're doing and you have great mentors, bro. John is just a class act, bro. Okay, cool. So let's get into the trenches, man. Man, let's get some exciting shit. All right. I'm pumped. So what is the hardest part of starting your own merchant services business? The hardest part I would say is the mindset behind it. Because as you get into a new endeavor, right? And with having little experience, or maybe you do have experience, it's understanding how to navigate the business owners.

Yeah. We have many merchant service providers out there. So how coming into the space, how could you be different? Right. And it really does fall down to the mindset and giving the business owners an experience. So it's more or less enjoying the process. That's what I come to realize. Because in the beginning, it it's, oh man, what are they going to tell me? Am I going to be rejected? Am I going to get a note? But once I switch my mindset and understand the value that

I bring to them, I go into business owners like, hey, you know, I just come to introduce myself X, Y, Z, and I come with the energy because I'm not under pressure so that was the game changer for me no that's a good that's a good golden nugget man i mean i feel like with beginner entrepreneurs you think way too much we're human right we like to overthink and i always tell people man like these two words is what changed my life imperfect action you know taking a perfect action dude just going for it just saying like hey man you know my back's perfect action, dude, just going for it. Just saying like, Hey man, you know, my back's against the wall. I need to do this. I need to build residual income because it's just like Warren Buffett says, if you work and you don't, if you don't make money

while you sleep, guess what? You're going to work till you die. And that's the reality, bro. That's especially in 2024. I mean, we were just talking about this when we were coming up to the office, right? To the pod. It's just like, you know, with inflation. Blackstone, one of the largest companies in the world, they're saying that they run America, bro. You know, they run the world because they have more money than any other country besides the United States and China, which is insane, bro, when you think about it. The trillions and the trillions. So the fact that they have that much money and they just bought eight, count them, eight condo buildings here in downtown Miami, which is, dude, nine figures in itself.

And they're going to upgrade them to raise the rent. What's going to happen to all the people that live here that actually were born and raised in Miami? They're going to get pushed out. They're going to get pushed out because now inflation is going through the roof. So what do people need to do, Vince? They need to build residual income, right? So, okay. So I know John Sarabi and Rob saying they focus mainly on like cash discounts. So let's talk about cash discount. If I was a complete newbie, bro, okay, since this is going to be on YouTube, it's going

to be on IG. You're going to blow up after this. Like explain to the person who doesn't know what cash discount is. cash discount is quite simple every time you go to a business and you pay with a card the business owner has to pay for that processing fee typically 20 cents 30 cents depending on the ticket but for a business owner times that by 300 people talking about three six hundred dollars even a thousand plus right that i've seen a month so what the cash discount program does is giving the business owners the ability to pass it on to the customer. Right. Yeah. And we see it all the time. We see it on light bills, movie tickets and many other places where they're taxing on fees.

So why can't small business owners do the same to really get out of, you know, we're experiencing inflation like you just said, right? So that's what cash discount is, is you're giving them the ability to pass a fee onto the customer. Therefore, they're saving hundreds or not thousands. And I mean, prime example is with a local grill in my community. I walked in there and told them, hey, we can implement the cash discount program. When I seen what they were paying, a thousand dollars a month. That's crazy. It is. And now they're able to reclaim in two years, twenty four thousand dollars.

So for him, I was able to provide a life changing experience with simply a credit card machine. It's not hard. Yeah. Yeah. So what what makes you different from your competitors, bro? I love that you ask that question because I try to communicate that as well. Right. That's part of the process where it's an experience I'm giving you right to the business owners is, hey, if something, for example, with Square, when somebody brings it up saying, hey, we're happy with who we're with. I'm like, when was the last, what's your last experience when you had to call them? That's when, oh, well, you know, I had to wait on call. I got

to do this. Makes sense. So then I use that to my leverage. When you're working with me, we're partners. So my best interest is ensure that your business is successful as well. So once they actually realize that you're not there to sell them, and that's what I had to realize with no sales experiences, you can't go in and sell. You got to give them value and the experience of working with you. So, OK, let's let's let's get a little salesy here, man, because I was in corporate America for like six years before I went into law enforcement. But I sell every single day. I was even selling in law enforcement. And guys, don't say I was selling drugs. This ain't Street Kings. This ain't Training Day.

No, no, no. What I'm saying, I was selling in law enforcement. I'm saying I was selling myself. Right? Rebel judo, bro. You got to talk to people. You know, I remember the first time I got into a street fight with this crook because he was vandalizing like a Holiday Inn Express. And, you know, I went in

there, I was the police. I was just like, Hey dude, you gotta go. He's just like, man, I don't care about the cops. And then we had a fight and ultimately I took him to jail and all that. But it's just to go through the paperwork, the hassle, the hospital, all this stuff. It was just it was control chaos, bro. So as I matured finally, right. I was just like dude in sales it's all about the value it's all about educating folks and it's all about how you actually relate to the person because people buy who they like right i feel like i get mistaken for like filipino white all the time but i'm hispanic so when i speak in espanol you know people are like oh okay i will talk to you paul i'll talk to you right so that's cool man man. So let's talk

about the sales process real quick, especially for newbies that are watching this right now, right? So as a newbie, how can they go ahead and approach? Like how can they get their first client, bro? That's a really great question. What changed me? This was the first time I realized how simple it is. When you go up to a business owner and just say, hey, I'm here to introduce myself. I am the local payment processor. That alone just breaks down their sales resistant. And in the beginning, we get pressured as in what are they going to say? Are they going to say yes? Are they going to say no? So let's just say you go into 10 businesses, not even for the objective of selling or providing the service. You're just, hey, I'm this person. I do this. If you need me, here I am.

So once you have a game plan, going to these business owners, not putting pressure on you, you start, like you get the introduction. And after that, you move to the next stage for the next 10. And then you already got the introduction down because you just did it 10 times.

Now you go to the next side, right? The sales process. And I've realized I'm down to the end where in the beginning, I'm like, let me introduce myself. Let me say hi. Let me, let me just give them my name, smile, give them the experience. And then as I continue to do, it becomes easier, easier, easier as you go down the pipeline of the sales. Wow. So essentially in a nutshell, you're giving them such an elite experience at a high level that they have no option, but to do business with you, bro,

because no one else is going to bring it like you. That's awesome. I love that. So for beginners, that would be key is don't even put pressure. It's all about mindset. Don't put pressure on yourself because that's when you trip and fall. It's like, it's like, don't come off salesy. Don't come off salesy. And that was my issue, right? I had to learn it. I had to learn it the hard way, right? But one thing I would say after every interaction what did i do good what did i do bad what could i do better that's it your mindset yeah no i'm all about mindset bro i mean this is why i made this podcast yeah right level up level up bro all right cool so let's go ahead and and talk about talk to the audience bro and what if like somebody's watching right now and they're super inspired by you

because you got an inspiring story bro like we didn't go deep into your background but like go into your background on what they made you like because i feel like as an entrepreneur you're made like you're you're made into an entrepreneur people don't grow up especially like average people like us and they're born and your parents are you be an entrepreneur be the riskiest profession out there. No, they don't see that. They say, hey, go get a job, go to school, security, right? Benefits and all that shit.

So what made you become an entrepreneur, bro? Like, what was the transition? Being a first generation Mexican American, just like you said, all we knew was to work or school. So for me, I knew I wanted some sort of success. And at first, my success was in the early stages. It was first starting as a pizza boy, pizza delivery at $5 an hour. And that helped me understand, okay, I do not want this for myself, right? So then I moved on to HVAC thinking, hey, that's a trade is really good money. And I come to realize you work hard with your body. Being in the attic or under mobile homes, running ducks, Florida heat, it doesn't

play, right? Yeah. So again, I was just looking, what is success, right? And I didn't have that blueprint handed to me. Yeah. And so I thought school was the next step, right? I couldn't work with my body. I couldn't work with, you know, delivering pizzas. So let me go to school. And for me, like you said, I don't come from a background where I have money. Yeah. So I had to depend on a government loan. Right. And luckily my mom was there to sign for me. And so that's what I thought success was going to be. Right. And I would say I dedicated myself to to work very hard in my career. And that's why I went from nine dollars an hour all the way up to six figures

within 10 years. Yeah. And I I thought that was success until I realized, especially like you mentioned earlier, inflation and everything included is not the same. Right. And I have two boys now and I wanted to give them the experience of being nurtured by their mother. So that just puts pressure on me to make sure I come ahead. So again, success and entrepreneurship, you don't know that you have it until you know that you have it, right? Once you see the opportunity, oh, this is what success or entrepreneur really is. And essentially that's just financial freedom. Yeah.

And being able to do what you want, how you want, whenever you want, and spend time with the people that matters the most. I love that. I love that. And that's why you're sticking with merchant services, credit card processing, because it builds you residual income. And essentially, it's going to make you financially free, or it already has. But that's why you're trying to create a program, right? Brother, it's crazy when you get paid last month on residual income. How many hours did I truly spend on those clients? Yeah.

Right? Yeah. So, yeah, exactly. And that's why I want to show others, you know, I'm ordinary. I'm an ordinary man with, you know, like I said, first generation of Mexican-American. And I didn't have the tools accessible to me. Yeah. So I want to be able to provide that to others that look at me as inspiration. Like I want to work with that guy. Right. Because there's many places you could go to.

And once again, it's building that experience. So being able to do that for others and seeing their fulfillment. That's what really drives me to build this program of helping nine to fivers add an additional source or even become financially free through credit card processing that's fire bro so tell the audience basically like i know i know there's a startup fee with you know the program that you took obviously i mean business is not free guys you have to have some skin in the game but after you pay up the startup fee for the program what would be like the cost to enroll or sign up a merchant? Okay. I know there's startup fees.

I know there's fees that you had to pay for your mentors in your program. I mean, nothing in life is free. So what are you paying now? What's the average like cost for a terminal or POS that you have to install? It really depends on the needs of that business. You could have a simple terminal, which typically costs two, $300. There's Deja Vu's, there's Valor's. And then once you get into POSs, there's Clover, which, you know, they run about a thousand, 2000. But the beauty of the

program is that you get to really manage the way you want to present it. So you can have the business owner pay the cost, or if it's a big enough account, it's an investment for residual income. So it really depends on the way you manage the deal itself. But typically I would say average $300 to $2,000 all depends on the business itself. Oh, that's not bad. That's not bad at all. Especially if what's the average that a terminal can make you? Average is typically $200, $300 per terminal. I mean, I got locations running me at $600 to $1,000, right? Damn. That's a good location, bro.

What is the most you've ever seen from your counterparts, bro, or your teammates or whatnot that you know that are also in this business? So a stud that I really look up to in this space because he started when I started is Bryce from Merchant Automation. And he's to a point now where he built up six figures of residual income or getting close to it, right, for the year. So just understanding how achievable it really is,

it's just putting in the work, right? Putting in the time, the energy, which that essentially determines how fast or how slow you get it. At the end of the day, you could get it right. We all have friends that have businesses or know people that know businesses. It's as simple as reaching out to others. Right. It's true. So let me drop a golden nugget right here. This is how I one of the ways I plan to scale up to 100 is through tapping into marketing businesses. So businesses that offer websites, CEO branding, adding my processing as a white label to their business as an offering. So now when they talk to business owners and they

are kind of scared of the marketing costs, hey, we got payment processing that offsets some of that so you could pour it into marketing. So imagine how much leads could pour into you, not with just one, two, three, four, five marketing businesses. And as simple as that, right? It's, it really is your network is your network, right? Yeah. No, your network is your net worth, bro. But man, you dropped a ton of gems on this potter and I appreciate you, man. So just to just to summarize everything that you guys heard. I mean, Vince Conquer is legit as they come, guys. He's doing the business and now he is doing a program. So the program, is it a coaching program? Is it a consulting program? Who's the program for? The program is

for nine to fivers that want to build additional source of income through payment processing. And it's more of a consulting program. So it's being involved in a community and directly with me where I'm either going live or even dropping videos in real time, me approaching businesses. What was my mindset at that moment? How did it go? How did it finish? What did I do right? What did I go do wrong? Like I said earlier, right? So I want to be able to give that i already recorded for myself to really look back and process what just happened so why not give it to others to where they're not spending hours of trying to learn it yeah because they're learning in real time with me right and so i feel like that's very powerful especially for a nine-to-fiver with the time constraints we have in a day you got to find ways to do it fast. And this is a way they

could do it fast, right? And how to manage your time. Like I had to manage my time either before work, during lunch, after hours, right? There is a science that goes behind it. I love that. I love that, man. So your program is to basically help people start this business, make an additional source of residual income, and then you're building out an entire community for like-minded individuals. That's badass, bro. I love that.

I love that. Kudos to you, man. Kudos to you. All right, cool. Where can people find you? So there's a couple ways you can find me. One is through IG, Vincent Conquer, and also our free Facebook group,

Cash Flow with Credit Card Processing. And that is where we will make the magic happen. Well, there you go, guys. Vincent Conquer and Cash Flow with Credit Card Processing on Facebook. Man, you guys got to take advantage of this. It's a free community, right? Absolutely. I love that.

I love that. Guys, my name is Paul Alex, and this is the Level Up Podcast. We're here with Vince Conker, and we'll catch you on the next one. Let's level up. Remember, I always have your six. Make sure to share this episode with your family, friends, and anyone you care about. The world's already hard enough, and we need to take care of each other. Make sure to share this episode on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and share it with the world.

Do me a big favor and tag me, Paul Alex. Also, keep the five-star reviews on iTunes coming. This episode's going to help change the way the world thinks and will help everyone level up in their life. And lastly, if you want to continue to level up, learn more about business and life, then make sure to get a copy of my book,

From Blue to Digital Gold, The New American Dream, on Amazon or at officialpaulalex.com.