Nick Gray, founder and CEO of Museum Hack. Nick thought museums were SO BORING!! Before he launched Museum Hack, he used word of mouth to advertise his idea and give free museum tours to his friends. Now his business is making over 1 million dollars per year.
Famous Five:
Favorite Book? – The Power of Full Engagement
What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Bezos
Favorite online tool? — Revue
Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No. Use SleepTracker.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? – Do less drugs.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:40 – Nathan introduces Nick Gray
02:15 – How did you get into museums?
02:25 – “Renegade museum tours.”
02:40 – Revenue comes from charges for live tours
03:00 – Launched in 2013
03:10 – Over 10000 tours sold last year
03:20 – Total revenue was 1.3 million
03:30 – Average cost is $75 per tour
03:45 – Labor cost is $88 per person
04:15 – Net margin relies on high-end tours
04:40 – In the beginning, they got new customers from word of mouth
05:25 – First year revenue was $60k
05:45 – They want to attract people to keep coming back
06:00 – They need to up their repeat rate
06:15 – There are plenty of people to target
06:40 – He just started paying himself a salary
07:20 – His mom is his accountant
07:40 – He is learning to be a better CEO
07:50 – He supported himself with a full-time job at the beginning of the business
08:15 – He built up savings and committed to his museum business
08:40 – His last job gave him a very healthy salary
09:15 – He has always been a big saver
09:45 – His advice: Treating your passion like your job, and creating a demand by providing that product for free
10:30 – Some passions are worthless
10:45 – His team size is 12 full time and 25 part time, along with remote staff
11:15 – Expenses are up to $80k per month
11:40 – The pressure to break even does not worry him
12:10 – Moms and their lectures on receipts
13:10 – A connection with Trip Advisor
13:50 – “It was just a fluke.”
14:05 – His goal for this year is 2.2 million
14:15 – Museumhack.com and NickGray.net
15:45 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Create a demand for your product by offering it for free.
Treat your passion like your job until you can transition to that passion full time.
Build up your savings, and be willing to take risks.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Toptal – Great for business people to start building their app
The Power of Full Engagement - Nick’s favorite business book
Revue – Nick’s favorite online tool
NickGray.net – Read Nick’s weekly newsletters
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
