Brock Briggs  0:00  

Hello and welcome to the Scuttlebutt. If you’re current or former service and you're looking to live an average life and keep the status quo, you tapped into the wrong podcast. That's actually the next one down because here, we're about winning. Now, how do we do that? We study history from the people who have done it. 

On the show, we talk to entrepreneurs, film producers, executives and more - all who have served in the military to learn how to make better decisions, think clearer, and make more money. I'm your host, Brock Briggs. Thanks for tuning into my conversation today with the Chief Smoking Officer, Joey Dizon. You're about to hear how Joey turned his time in the Marine Corps into a business selling a million dollars worth of cigars a year. 

In this conversation, Joey explains why people are so foundational to our experiences in life, how to approach a service based business that keeps you at the top of your customers’ mind and how he develops world class salesmen. Another couple less serious pieces I really enjoyed, he walks through the process that tobacco undergoes from plant to actually smoking a cigar and also make some really good recommendations on Filipino food. Joey was a riot to talk to. He's motivated and hungry, the exact way that we wanna be. Please enjoy this conversation with Joey Dizon. 

Brock Briggs 

I can tell like first thing right off the bat here that you have a sense of humor, which really makes sense that you were in the Marine Corps and makes it even better that you made a joke right off the gun that I wish I was recording for talking about your sex life. I know that I'm not gonna be able to pull that out of you. Joey, I'm happy to have you on today. I would love to kind of hear what gets you started in the Marine Corps and talk a little bit about your early career life. Because you've been there, done that. You have had your toes in a lot of different ponds.

Joey Dizon  2:11  

Yeah, no, you know, I've always known, especially when I was younger. I just knew that I wanted to be in the military. You know, I joined you know, back then Boy Scouts, I love team things. I like challenges. And that played a pretty big role in my life. And back then I wanted to join the army, right? Because it's all I knew, you know, and I always got like, I remember buying those little green miniature toys, you know what I’m talking about? 

Brock Briggs 

Oh, yeah

Joey Dizon

And I'd be like in my room, just you know. And the funny part was, like, I'm an only child, so I'll just play by myself. And it was just like, I'll just be doing that, you know, watching movies, I was very into history. And one day, it was in high school. And I had a good friend of mine, his father's a Marine. And he knew I wanted to join the military. He knew I wanna join the army. And at that time was in the marching band, you know, I played an instrument. And we were doing this parade in my town, and there was a Marine Corps league tent there. And he goes, hey, I want you to do you see some guys and these guys, you know, older fellas, right? And he's like, hey bros, this is Joey Mac. you know, he wants to join the army. And they ball busted me for like, it sounded like 10 minutes. I'll just like, you know, you know what army stands for, eighth grade V Marine yeah and all these other like, kind of like jokes that are like corny, but kind of funny, you know. 

And I just and then they started talking about the Marine Corps and you know about what it meant to them. And at that point in time, was when I was like, I remember walking back because it was like, I grew up in New Jersey. And it was like St. Anthony's, you know, like a parade and we ended at church. And we're going up the stairs and I remember I pulled his dad, Mr. Longo aside, I was like, you know what? I wanna join the Marine Corps. And that's what started it was just like, someone talked to me with talked about how it meant to them with challenges with men because like, no one in my family like really served. So I didn't grow up with people that served around me. I was just very interested in that culture, in that environment. That's pretty much set me of like doing the path of joining the Marine Corps, when I was like maybe 15, 16, 9th grade whatever age it was. 

Brock Briggs  4:43  

It's interesting that they've led with that like what it meant to them. And I think that that is very representative of how the Marine Corps is generally. There is like a sense of pride in that branch that is just unmatched by any other branch. You walk into any other branch of a recruiting office and they're not telling you how much it means to them. Like they're talking to you about, hey, here's this cool job that you can go do and like, the pitching is much, much different. So that's interesting. But I think that that aligns with what I know about the Marine Corps, that's for sure.

Joey Dizon  5:19  

Yeah, that's pretty interesting. Yeah, I got asked, like, you know, it's all the stories I hear, like, why did you join the Marine Corps? Some of the challenges, sometimes it could be family members, with stories, you know, but it's pretty cool just to hear from people there just like, I was inspired by someone else. And I was like, dude, I wanna do the same thing. I wanna change my life like that. So that was pretty cool.

Brock Briggs  5:41  

Sometimes that's all it takes, you know, being at a point in your life when you're maybe like looking for that thing. Particularly, it's, you know, sometimes I feel like looking back on being like a younger man and being in kind of like an maybe not impressionable, but especially during that time of your life where, like, if somebody had a strong opinion about anything, they would probably be able to convince you on it. And so yeah, that's interesting. You said that you were interested in history and you got your degree. Is it while you were in?

Joey Dizon  6:17  

Yep. Yep. So well, so I want to apply for academies, right? And this is going through that mentorship we're just talking about. I wish I had more of that. You know, I think positive mentorship or just having someone with inspiration, just talk to you, I think just helps push you to the next level, right? I wish I had more than that in my life. Like, you know, I grew up in a household where, you know, my mom took care of me and I was the only child and she's, you know, she I'm first generation born here. I think it's just like, everything that I've done in my life. I've had some sort of mentor and inspiration that kind of pushed me to the right way, right? And then so when I was going to the academy, you know, trying to get into the academies, my cousin was attending Norwich University. 

And I remember we had a family vacation. It was like, California has a bunch of us. And I remember him. He was just like, he was like playing the piano. He was like, cooking, like all the families like oh, Jean’s and like, he's going through this military school. And I was just like, so in awe. I was just like, man, this guy is awesome. Like I told him, I was like, hey, I'm just playing the characters like, you should look at Norwich University. It's up in Vermont. You should go check it out. And so yeah, absolutely. So I went up there. I did, you know, I did a night stay. And he was still going to school there. And I didn't know how much of an impact he had on that university because a lot of people were asking if I was his cousin, Jean. 

My cousin's name is Jean. You’re Jean's cousin was like, yeah. I was like, what the hell, you know. But you know, he just made a lot of friends with a lot of great networks and connections. So I applied to and you know, it's funny. I was one of those kids, like, you know, I was on the Honor Society, played an instrument. You know, I was a varsity athlete. You know, I did extra curricular activities. And then my counselor was like, so what do you wanna do? I was like, go join the Marine Corps. She goes, like what? She's like so much dalit and, you know, we're probably talking about my ASVAB score because the guy was like, hey, what do you wanna do in the Marine Corps? You got pretty good score. I forgot what it was. But you know, he goes do you wanna do this? This, that? You know, cool. Was like, nah, dude, I want to be in the infantry. 

He goes, so? I was like, you know, I really want, that's the thing that I wanted to do in my entire life. So I told her. I was like, she's like, did you apply to any colleges? I go yeah, but I applied to one. She goes, well, if you get it. And I'm like, I'll just go active duty. She says, you should apply to other colleges. I’m like, nah, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna go all in on this college. If I don't get accepted, let's go active duty and then figure it out afterwards, right? And then so I got accepted. And three days after I graduated high school, I had a party at my house, and then 2am, 3am, a recruiter picked me up. I went straight into the airport, right to Parris Island, graduated September 23rd. 

You know, I called the school I told them like, hey, listen, you know, I'm going to be in, I said this before. I'm like, hey, I gotta go to boot camp and I got my infantry school after SOI afterwards. So I could probably come in, in January for the spring semester. So okay, cool. So I did that. And so my whole game plan during that whole time was, alright, the military, go to the school, become an officer, get out and then, you know, stay in the military, but of course, life changes throughout the whole thing. But yeah, I studied history in college.

Brock Briggs  9:39  

Any particular like specialty in history that really interests you or anything?

Joey Dizon  9:46  

I mean, there's certain points like I'm always fascinated with like, all the, you know, the Roman Greco history, military history. It's always great, cultures are great. I love traveling. Like when I travel, I look at two things. Things like the historical structure of the book's head location. And of course, the food, you know, food is a big thing. Like if I go, if I'm traveling, I wanna taste the food because that's when you can taste people's culture. So, I mean, obviously, I don't even know if this is on video. But if you can't see me on break, big boy

Brock Briggs  10:19  

Just like to eat, that's all. I'm in the exact same boat. So yeah, you do learn so much about a place. And especially, that's where I think that that's gonna be an interesting thread that will probably come up a lot in this conversation. And something that I've heard and like, listen to you talk about is this very, like experiential thing and like how important that is. And food is the place where like, I mean, I didn't like grow up in like a small town or whatever. But my family like the dinner table was where it was going down. Like we had sat down at the dinner table every night. Anytime, like families coming into town, it's the question is like, oh, what do you wanna do? It's like, well, what are we gonna eat? Like, what are we gonna do? And like, the food is what kind of like bonds people at least in my family. And I think that that's prevalent in other cultures as well. But

Joey Dizon  11:12  

I agree. I mean, when I grew up, it was a town called Belleville, a lot of Italians. And most of my best friends growing up, you know, I had different, I guess, ethnic friends or whatever. I don't know what the PC culture is, whatever, that I had a bunch of friends from different cultures, but like, it was like, predominantly and like, all my best friends, although the last names ended with a vowel, you know, I'm saying? And so it'd be me and my mom and my uncle. And we would just, you know, they invite us to Thanksgiving, to Christmas and, you know, food, you know, even for us being you know, I'm Filipino. You know, we got that Spanish culture in us, that we love that you bring tons of food. And that's how you party, you know what I’m saying? Absolutely, absolutely.

Brock Briggs  12:02  

What is the, for maybe somebody that is unversed and like, maybe doesn't know any better and I'm speaking about myself here. What is the best Filipino dish that you think exists?

Joey Dizon  12:15  

All right. So I'll give my okay, here's the try it out. So there's something called lumpia. Which is kind of like a spring roll. Yeah, a lot of people, if you've met a Filipino, you definitely had a lumpia. Yeah, it's funny, each family because there's like over 1000 islands in the Philippines, right? So each family kind of has their own kind of way and style. So that's kind of like unique in itself. And then there's something called pancit, which is like a noodle dish, which, you know, that has influences from Chinese or Chinese descent of just noodles and pan frying it and just adding from vegetables to different proteins. Pretty solid. Now, if you wanna go pretty good, it's like a Filipino breakfast. It's called it's like longganisa. So it's kind of like our version of like the chorizo so that with fried eggs and garlic, fried rice, or like you put some spam, so terrible for you, but so delicious. You know, it's

Brock Briggs  13:11  

Definitely, it sounds unbelievable.

Joey Dizon  13:13  

Yeah, it's one of my top five breakfasts. If I have that in front of me, I'm like, I'm devouring it. And a lot of people who've had had it are like, wow, what is this? So it's pretty good. It's pretty solid.

Brock Briggs  13:24  

It's funny. You mentioned fried rice. I never knew that, like rice was something that would be eaten for breakfast until I joined the Navy, actually. And because they served, I was joking with Michael Pecota, a guy that I had on a couple episodes back because he talked a bunch of shit about it, but they serve this thing on the boat called breakfast rice. And it's just like, they made rice and it's just like the vegetables leftover from the night before. And it is so good. Like, throw some eggs in there. And of course, hot sauce on everything. 

Joey Dizon  13:57  

Oh, yeah. Hot sauce, a little soy sauce, a little pepper. You know, it's just simple. And you just fry that. Can we curse on this thing? 

Brock Briggs  

Yeah, let it fly. 

Joey Dizon

Yeah. Like can I? Am I make clear to go? No and you just fry that up. And it's such a great, great dish. But yeah, my family breakfast lunch and dinner. I try not to eat too much rice because obviously it's not that, you know, it's pretty hefty, but breakfast, lunch and dinner like Filipinos eat that. A lot of Asians do that. 

Brock Briggs

Right, right. 

Joey Dizon

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Brock Briggs  14:31  

You said that you're a first generation like born in the US. Do you think that there were like in hindsight were there any like cultural things that were maybe working for you or working against you? Like growing up and kind of going through this time that have kind of like shaped your life from the very beginning?

Joey Dizon  14:52  

You know what, man? I always say this like I didn't have a lot of family around. But a lot of friends became family. Okay. And the people that I hung around with are like, It's true what they say, man, whoever you hang around with, it's kind of like, show me your friends show me your future. You know what I'm saying? And a lot of the people that I hung out with were good people. And, you know, my mom worked two or three jobs. And sometimes I'll be just home with my uncle. And you know, I had no brothers and stuff and or siblings. I would invite friends over and we're just hanging out, you know. Back in the day when we had no cell phones, you just ride bikes to each other's house and just played some video games, car games, or play, you know, weird little basketball hoop at the end of our block. That was like, awesome. 

And so I think growing up in the kind of like that blue collar, like neighborhood or the kids or just like, it was different back then, you know. Like I said, there's no cell phones, video games for just like two players, you know what I'm saying? And you're just like taking turns, you know, just passing the control around. And there's no such thing as internet, it was just like, it was like fun. I think growing up in the 90s and early 2000s because I'm 87. So it's kind of like, we're in that transition of technology and how it shaped our world today. So we're like, we're with the family that didn't have like the computer or the Internet and we're growing up with it. So everything's new and then we're growing, you know, what it is today. 

So, culturally, you know, like I said, a lot of my mom allowed me to, you know, she had this one rule, she was like, you know, every time a friend came over, I gotta meet the parents. I get it. I get it now, but it would be so funny. I'm like, bro, you can't come over. I told my mom meet your mom. Like dragged up. You know what I’m saying? Did we make this happen? So we could hang out. So they would meet and then we'd be like, yes, we can hang out, you know what I'm saying? Because, you know, she wants to know who's like, I'm the only son you know, but no, dude, I thought every decision I made from growing up led me to where I was today. And I have no regrets to the people that have, you know, touched my life growing up. So it's been good, man.

Brock Briggs  17:18  

You said that you were you'd like describe yourself as rebellious. But like, hearing some of the rest of this story. Like play out you're playing video games and hanging out with a blue collar kids but you're also like, sound like a really smart kid. You're in band. Like come on, like, you couldn't have been that bad, playing bad.

Joey Dizon  17:41  

So bro, so

Brock Briggs  17:43  

Like I will go on record, there's not one person in band that's getting in trouble. Like they're either too smart. And they're like somehow evading it or they're like, you know, blaming the class clown of the school and somehow getting him in trouble or they just, like, aren't interested in that at all.

Joey Dizon  18:03  

You know, it's funny, I hit up one of my childhood best friends, right? Literally last week and we had to get together and stuff. And I was like, dude, we gotta bring the band together. Like band has like the people. And we used to call ourselves the OT Forelle, which is outrageous teens for life. So whatever. We're older now. So you know, we would take or whatever this is like, can get indicted. If this was like 15 years ago, we would take like, you know, here’s mom's car, pick us up and we just go joyriding. I don't know if that's a rebellious. Yeah.

Brock Briggs 

I’d say that's a little rebellious 

Joey Dizon

A little rebellious, but we would do that. Then we would go to one of our friend's house, they had a pool. We would be in the pool and play video games and just drive us back home. And like, I know we weren't and the thing is we didn't even drink like crazy. I don't think I drank like crazy or anything during high school. But yeah, nothing. Yeah, rebellious. Yeah, that's rebellious. I guess

Brock Briggs  18:57  

That's a good amount just to like kind of be considered rebellious, but enough to where you didn't get in trouble. So that's a good thing.

Joey Dizon  19:04  

Correct, correct. So it was cool. It was good times. 

Brock Briggs  19:09  

What were your kind of like, I know that your ambitions were to like join the Marine Corps and we can kind of talk about that. But I'd love to hear how that kind of evolved maybe over time because I sent you over my outline and kind of like looking through your back history. You have like done a ton of different things. Like you're, you know, you were in the Marine Corps. You were a rugby coach, financial rep, you worked at like a protection agency, like kinda helped me piece together some of this stuff and like, what were your interests that were maybe driving these or was it just kind of like, hey, this came up and this sounds interesting.

Joey Dizon  19:49  

Yeah, this came up. This sounds interesting. You know, financial, when I was in the financial district, that's where I learned sales, learn sales, learn how to build business. I had a great coach, Carlos Salazar that helped me out. And that's, you know, I guess I still give him credit today of what I've done in my business because of him. Prior protection, you know, I had a good friend, fellow Marine, Mike Rios, who was in our unit. He taught me about customer service and setting expectations and quality of service because he wasn't doing private protection for like, you know, he's doing not for athletes. And he's doing it for like billionaires, you know, he was doing it for people who made a shit ton of money. And that's a different level. 

And you know, he taught me about being on time, how to tax you know, saying hello, how to greet people. He taught me the quality and care and service which then, you know, all these things, in turn, have gotten to our business. Rugby was a huge part of my life. I played rugby at Norwich University. You know, I served on the Norwich scrum alum. I'm there. I only missed one year after I graduated. But I've been there every year. I'm a huge supporter. I'm currently on the board of directors for the university, very involved. That school has changed my life. It's so funny because of the story of my cousin going to that school. It's so funny, you know, we both graduated from there. We know the same great amount of people. And then he just got accepted to the board. So me and him are like, you know, cousins and we just hang out and laugh and just be like, Dude, this is so fun. 

But yeah, rugby to me was a big impact in my life, the amount of friends, the challenges, the wins, the losses, the camaraderie. Everything I've done in my life has like brought me to where I am today. And yeah, it's pretty much and then, you know, one of the jobs I did right after college, my roommate's father, he owned a painting company. You know, entrepreneur, I've been to his house multiple times over in Connecticut in a beautiful house, puts his kids through college. And I knew no one growing up, who owned a business, you know what I'm saying? Everyone worked for someone else. And nothing against that, you know, it just that didn't know what I didn't know. You know, my mom was a hard worker. She was a nurse.

A lot of my friends just worked in different parts of you know, different professions, but no one really owned a business that I knew. And he was the first person to actually talk to me. He was like, hey, man, being entrepreneur is great. He's coming on business, you've been to my house. And he's like, this is like, this is what I do in my life. I'm very passionate about it. I've had like, kind of like, spoke to me, that was like the first seed that came into my mind was like entrepreneurship, that sounds pretty cool.

Brock Briggs  22:29  

What was he selling you on about entrepreneurship in general? Was it just like, the ability to or I guess, I’ll just hear from you. What did he think was so attractive? And like, why did that resonate with you?

Joey Dizon  22:45  

The quality of life, the freedoms that he had, you know, providing to his family. I think those are like big things of what I wanna do in my life, like I wanna provide for my family. I wanna have the freedom to do this. You know, he has a company, he has teams of people, so people that like look on to him for getting jobs and stuff like that. So being a leader in the community, he does a lot of community work as well. Mr. Marty Heiser, great, you know, I still keep in contact with him. You know, I just talked to, you know, his son, my old roommate a week ago, just, you know, wishing him a Happy Veterans Day and we just chatted and reminisced. 

But yeah, it was just all those things that I thought were positive things that were great that outweighs the, you know, and he's told me. He's like, those are some jobs like, you know, entrepreneurship is like a journey of just, you just go up you see downs. But you're going in this growing trajectory, right? So it's kind of like you're going upstairs with a yo, yo. So while you're going upstairs, you know, you'll be a low point. But that low point is way higher than where you were at the bottom of the step. And that's how I envisioned it. And that's what I thought was pretty cool about it.

Brock Briggs  24:05  

It's funny that the pitch for like taking care of your family and providing for your family was what was attractive about entrepreneurship because and it's ironic that that is the reason a lot of people don't do it. Like there are way more unsuccessful entrepreneurs than there is successful ones, I would guess, in terms of that metric of like being able to make enough money to provide for their families. So he must have been doing very well for himself for him have that kind of belief.

Joey Dizon  24:39  

Absolutely. I mean, the statistics are like, I think 90% of small businesses fail in their first year. And then after that percentage, a lot of them are like a very small amount around after 10 years, you know what I’m saying? So the percentage of if I’m always like that. I always like challenges in a way and that just stems from playing video games to playing sports to being in a band, right? We sought to compete. And we started a level of service. But I joined the Marine Corps, it was always great just to kind of like compete with yourself.

Brock Briggs  25:15  

Yeah, it sounds like a lot of the elements of your background were a really great recipe for those things. You know, you highlighted the team aspect and like working together in a group probably leading a small unit of some sort, sales customer experience. Like you know, if you understand the back end of like, the financial part of what it takes to run a business and you worked in the financial services space, I'm sure you did like that. 

Joey Dizon

Yeah

Brock Briggs 

Sounds like a great concoction right there.

Joey Dizon  25:43  

Oh, absolutely. It's made me learn a lot. As I said, every step of my life where, you know, there were just like, that's what it was meant to be. Every step was meant to be. You know, like I said, no regrets, have done things better. Absolutely. But listen, you know sometimes you learn from those things. A lot of those things that don't happen the way you want it to, you learn from them. And then you learn from it. And you move forward. Absolutely. There was this quick story. So I was playing rugby and our senior year, I was a captain. And it's been a while since we've been in the playoffs since 2004, 2005. And then that year, we made it to the playoffs. And we lost to a team by one point. And we went undefeated, we only had one loss and that team ended up winning, right? We had one loss and game after that, we just kept winning and winning. 

And we started getting the backing of the school because we're a club team. Now we're a varsity team now. And that one game, and I remember one of my guys, he's an army officer now, Chris hein. He was a kicker. I know it was a very hard kick. And I remember, I went up to him and it was the last kick of the game. And I was like, hey, bro, whatever happens, I still love you, dude. And he made that kick. And it was way left. And we all saw it, the whistle blew. And we all just fell to our knees like just crying, sobbing like, but you know what it did? That taught me things in life of like, hey, things could be going well, sometimes you get kicked in the dick, whatever. But you have to get back and you gotta keep moving along. You gotta keep moving along. And it was a great run. 

But you know, that's how you build up. But that was a big impact in my life of playing that sport for four years. And being in that quality of guys that we just played and blood and sweat and cried together. And it was such a great moment in my life. And I was very proud. You know, like I said, at the end of the games, like whatever happened, love you guys. And we wind up losing, but we continue on. We're still brothers with our families. A lot of people are selling the service, some people are out, continuing their life on but that's how life is, man. But you learned from it, you remember those memories and you just keep going. So

Brock Briggs  28:12  

It's everything that you just described, kind of really drives home I think, a major issue of why people have such a hard time like separating from the service, not just like physically getting out, but like also kind of mentally getting out. Do you think that that's something that you've ever struggled with? 

Joey Dizon  28:35  

You know, it's funny. So someone once asked me, so how was your transition? Because when I was at Norwich, right? Four years from 2006 to 2011. And during those years, I deployed to Mongolia, Norway, and Iraq at 08, 09. So I had to take a year off from school and then come back. And people like, how was that transition like? And I really thought about it, I was like, you know what, those people? That was my therapy, like the people around me that made me laugh, had a good time, you know, we've been joking around and stuff. Those keep up, you know, I still have things, you know, challenge with, you know, that I have to work on or improve on. 

But those people kept me sane. And when I came back from Iraq in 09 and went back to school, and I just saw the same people and they just, you know, we still had a good time. And that was my therapy. I was still around people that kept me, kept my mind going, right? And I think a lot of the challenges of what happens when you get out is that you kind of get along. So here's a piece I like to talk about where you because I served in the reserves, right? So I could go to college. The good thing about the reserves is like your unit, it's in your state and these people that I grew up with in my unit, they’re now police officers, politicians, business owners. They work in big companies, are doing well. They have families and they're all in New Jersey. That's a perk. 

The thing about active duty is you meet your best friend, you live in New Jersey, he lives in California. You kind of get that separation. Where can I find my tribe and community that understands me? And you know, this past Veterans Day, I was calling a bunch of guys saying, what's up, ball busting? How was everything, you know, we're just shooting the shit. But you need that. And so that transition for me, especially coming back from Iraq, I was going back to my school because it was a military school in its essence, right? That's where I found that therapy of just being able to get back into the groove of things. And just like be with my people. So yeah.

Brock Briggs  30:53  

The reserves has been pitched to me a lot of different ways. But I've never heard that way. Say that before. And that's really interesting. Because you do have the opportunity to kind of foster those relationships outside of like, the military environment. And like you just said, if you're active or deployed, you get out and then or leave there. And then all of a sudden, it's like, all of the it's weird because it's almost like the experiences that you had just like don't even matter anymore because all of those people you will never see again.

Joey Dizon  31:28  

Yeah and the people that are around you, definitely if they're not military, will not understand your lifestyle, your humor, your culture, the way you think, the way you act. And yeah, that's pretty much how I got, you know, that therapy was through that it’s just keep my mind saying keep it going and be with these people and talk with them. But yeah, absolutely right. And that's why I said once you know, when you're in and you're like, okay, like for example, my business partner. I've known him, you know, how we became friends. I was an E-3, he was an E-3. We both checked in. He checked in a month after. And guess what? E-3s and below got cleaned the head, got a freaking mop the floors, gotta do the working party. That's where your friends show up. Because you're like, you're like scrubbing and like, hey this sucks, but you're like embracing the suck together. You know, we've all been there. 

And we're just like, alright, what do you guys doing after? Where do you guys live? They're like, Oh, I live in, you know, I lived in Bridgewater at the time or Riordan. And you know, we had called people that live nearby or live close. And we're just like, oh, dude, what are you doing like next week? Let's like hang out, you know? And then so you get to cultivate that. But yeah, it's, that's how I think it's kind of like, like a plus side if you really play your cards correctly. Like I said, there's people like my old Gunny, I do business with him. And you know, I've supported him. And there's Marines that call me like, dude that are like, realtors are like, hey, I got this festival going on. I wanna hire you guys. 

Or, you know, hey, we're doing an event for the unit. I wanna hire you guys. You know, it's like, it's like a good foundation, especially belonging to a state. But exactly what you said, if you're from a small town, say in Kansas, and you meet your boys from all rests and you go back to your small town, it's like, unless you find, like, some VFW or something, it's kind of hard to get that essence back, that unique essence.

Brock Briggs  33:23  

Yeah, well and you're also like kind of, you know, at the time, you were like going to school and had to like pause for deployment and whatnot. But you also have the opportunity to continue working on what your personal and professional life look like outside of the service. And I think that that's one of the things that I've realized is a lot of people you join active duty, and like any kind of personal professional development that has nothing to do with the service is just paused or like you've maybe never started because you joined. And then all of a sudden, it's like you did four years, maybe more you're coming back to a civilian world. You don't know shit about shit. Like it's, you don't have a LinkedIn with 1000 connections. You don't know anybody in the industry that you're working in like, and those things mean something when it's time to like, raise money to start a business or like you don't have that.

Joey Dizon  34:19  

Yeah. And you know, like the private security. He was hiring guys from my unit 225. And that's how I met him. And he was and it's great because Mike Rios and a couple of the other guys that came from that unit became like these many mentors in my life that like taught me a thing or two. It was like, hey, you should do this, you should do this, you should do this. And sometimes that's, you know, the military tries you know, they have some sort of program for traditional veterans. But it's nice when you actually got a guy who's out that you know, that's like helping. There's so many guys right now that are like in who are firefighters and police officers because they had someone from the same unit, like, hey, man, this is what you need to do, get this done, get this done, I put in a good word. And I can help, you know, after your military career, at least get you career outside or get you career while you're doing the military.

Brock Briggs  35:17  

I am very, I grow more and more dubious about the impact that large organizations have on people in that transitioning stage because the true value is found in like talking to other people. Like you have to have that thing. And it's hard for I think, as an organization to jump in there and like solve that problem because it's individuals that are doing it, not this entity called the business or if it's nonprofit or whatever.

Joey Dizon  35:52  

Yeah. And I always tell veterans, I'm like, first of all, once you get out, no one knows no shit, honestly. It's like, there's so many programs out there, they're not gonna give you a freaking handout. They're gonna be like, hey, there's so many doors of opportunity that are opening up for vets. I'm like y'all playing to the door. But if I'm gonna put a word in for you, you better do the due diligence of showing up early, you know, wearing a nice suit, having a resume, and presenting yourself in a way to get hired for that position. You know, I'm saying? 

Like, there's so many opportunities. You can't just walk in and just be like, yeah, I'm a veteran. Yeah, you know, I did this. The world doesn't work like that. You know, even though a lot of people say they wanna hire vets. One is you got to do that first impression and you still got to do the work. Being a vet is awesome because you have that kind of like that label. And you have, you know, when people look at you, they think of things of like, okay, I feel like they're good with time management. You know, I feel like they're loyal. They're passionate that they can get stuff done. They can learn things on the fly, they can fix problems. Absolutely. But you have to portray that out yourself, you know.

Brock Briggs  37:00  

That's so true. I was just emailing somebody about this the other day is like, they were asking what I have learned over the last year and I was like, I have learned that, like everything that I thought was wrong. Like it's, there is way more resources than you think there is. And it is the need isn't for that, it's for us to like rise to the occasion. And not that, you know, there may be some people looking for handouts and there definitely a need for some aggressive resources. But you got to like, wear that as like a hey, this is like, this is a cool thing that I did, but that doesn't entitle me to something.

Joey Dizon  37:42  

Absolutely. And you know, I was always like, you know, around the friends and culture were like, yeah, you don't expect a handout. But you know, you and I are on the same page. Like, there are some people out there that need assistance. And there's and we're not talking about those people, you know what I'm saying? And there's programs, there's amazing people out there that will be more than gladly to help them. Whether it's, you know, finding a job, homelessness, financial stability, family stuff, finding, you know, writing a resume, absolutely, right? There's a large majority of us that like, you could freaking walk through that door, let's not be lazy. Now let's get it done. Let's make these connections and make it go so.

Brock Briggs  38:25  

Well, and if you think about it, I think comparing the type of work that needs to be done, it's just like, we're not talking like hard stuff like, compare it to like time on a ship or, you know, time deployed. It’s a lot easier to like send a couple 100 LinkedIn messages and like network with some people online than it is to, you know, be working 12, 14 hour a day for seven months straight.

Joey Dizon  38:53  

You know, it's funny, I just got into a conversation with someone and, you know, maybe it was just my dark humor sometimes or like, you know, sometimes war’s just simple, right? You wake up, you do your shift, you do your patrol, then you get back, you clean your rifles, and then you just got to get briefed, and then you just repeat it every day. Sometimes it can be simpler. Now, I gotta deal with people. You know what I’m saying? You can't yell at clients when they do things right. Yeah. You know, so it's two sides, right? So 

Brock Briggs

Yeah

Joey Dizon 

It's pretty unique, pretty unique.

Brock Briggs  39:34  

So you are working at the protection agency like through 2018? Is that kind of the point and or was there a specific point when you realize like, now is the time for me to pull the trigger on starting my own thing? Or had you already been maybe doing stuff kind of on the side?

Joey Dizon  39:53  

You know what? During those years, I helped a couple people start their own business or like learn about business and talk to Mike Rios, who owned that business. Now he owns another business where he does power washing, right? I learned a lot from him because he was a business owner. And I just learned so much about him and what he does and how he takes care of us. That's how I want to be. I was like, you know what? I want to, well, you know, not for nothing. I'm like, I tried to be weird about but I'm like, I'm tired for working for someone else. I wanna build my own thing. Like and you know, I showed nothing but love for him. 

But I'm like, I wanna do something that I'm passionate about. That's my baby, you know? So yeah, so that's 2018. I met with my other business partner, Miley, and he was working in New Jersey. We played rugby together, went to school together, he came back from Afghanistan, he was in Fort Hood. And then he took a job here in Jersey. And then we sat together and we talked about a mobile cigar lounge. And he was like, that would be a great idea especially in New Jersey.

Brock Briggs  41:05  

We gotta like, dig into that a little bit. So first of all, when I first came across you, I was like, what the fuck is a mobile cigar lounge? And then you act like it was just something that like, because I don't. Is that even something that other people have done? Or like, what gets you thinking about that specifically?

Joey Dizon  41:26  

Yeah, so one is, we're coming up with different names, right? It's actually, when we first our business, we wanted to sell cigars at Food Truck festivals, at Wine festivals, at different festivals, different venues, stuff like that. So I forgot the name of what we came up with from beginning. But every time people are like, so what is it? And we're like, oh, it's like a mobile cigar lounge. And my partner, Patrick. And he was like, Dude, what if we just call it the mobile cigar lounge? So we went online. You know, we did our research. Like, there's nothing there's no in the website wasn't taking the Instagram wasn't taken. 

I was like, yeah, dude we should be called the mobile cigar lounge. And we should call it because people were asking, like, what is it? And I was like, it's a mobile cigar lounge. You know, we bring the cigar experience to you. And that's how we came up with the name. And that was kind of like how our business started was that name. I wish I could find, I forgot what the first name. I got to text him. I'm like, dude, what was the name of our company in the beginning.

Brock Briggs  42:33  

I love that you just took like literally the description and made that the name because it is kind of that weird stage where you're like maybe starting something new and everybody like wants to ask you about it. But you're like trying to come up with like the words that like kind of changes each time. And you're like, well, it's kind of like this, but you know, something different.

Joey Dizon  42:54  

I'm actually texting him right now. What's the first name of our business in 2018? I bet you he forgot. But it was exactly it. So what is it? We're like it's a mobile cigar lounge.

Brock Briggs  43:05  

So it's one. It's interesting. I had a note here to ask you if you had like, tried other things. But like, obviously, you're still doing that today. And so I think that it's interesting and very notable that the first thing that you tried, well, and maybe this is the discussion that we can get into is like, the first thing you tried either worked well enough or you pivoted enough to where like the business model and stuff made sense. So what was kind of like that initial launch looking like? What was like the reception? Is it one of those things you just kind of had that product market fit right off the bat? Or was there a bunch of like, this element of it doesn't work. We need to like kind of go a different way.

Joey Dizon  43:50  

Yeah, it was just like I knew there's a lot festivals that happen in the state, right? And I was like, you know what, let's go to festivals. The first festival I'll pull up to the first festival that we did, it was called a Firewatch festival. It was for veteran owned businesses, happened in September of 2018. And the best thing is so what I did was, what me and my partners did is we took like 68 cigars that we thought were great, arranged them to mild, medium and full. 

And that we thought were good. Put some price points so we could sell at these events. You know, if you go to food truck festival, you know, if you go to a whiskey festival, you know, people want cigars. Yeah, dude, I picked it up. So 9/22/2018, we had our first cigar event. And I remember, especially being a business owner when someone puts that first, like $10 in your hand and you put it in your POS and you're like, this is when your business is real, you know what I’m saying? Yeah, we're buying. So that day, I'll tell you because I like writing notes and stuff. Yeah, I did. This is pretty funny. We made $496 

Brock Briggs

The first day? Okay. 

Joey Dizon

Yeah, first day, went very well. We set up next to the beer garden. We made 496,000 sales, I was just just the following sturdier tent, better banner and cigar banners for our booth made a lot of great contacts and network with other veteran owned businesses. 

And by the way, the person I met here was back reflect brewing. A year later, she will be the one sending me to cigar rolling school. 

Brock Briggs

Oh, okay. 

Joey Dizon

Yeah, so we'll chat about that once we get through the middle of it. But yeah, 9/22/2018, we made 496 sales our first day. And during that year, from September to December, made a total of $7,967. So eight grand.

Brock Briggs  45:49  

Wow. That's very cool. Well, and I think that starting off in like, obviously, there are some interesting things that are just innately in your favor from like the business model perspective, it's something that's consumable, potentially high frequency use, depending on if you're that type of person and especially in those social settings. You know, you've got a beer, you got a drink, like, of course you want but even the non cigar smokers are gonna have one because that's just like, kind of a social thing that you do.

Joey Dizon  46:23  

Yeah. Yeah. And that's what we loved about it, you know? Yeah, I'm just looking. Yeah, it's just so funny. Yeah. 

Brock Briggs 

A throwback to the old 

Joey Dizon

Oh, absolutely. And you know what? Something I wanna start with my business, I want everything. We have Excel spreadsheets of notes, how much we made, you know, who the point of contacts, event times, setup times. And yeah, we did about a bunch of events from September to December.

Brock Briggs  46:49  

That screenshot, oh, that'll be in the history book someday. What kind of price points were you selling these just to kind of get some perspective of, you know, like, 400 some odd dollars in sales? Like, how much are you selling them for individually? And then what is like the margin that you're kind of making on each one?

Joey Dizon  47:12  

Let's talk about that. Let's get into numbers. Let's go. So

Brock Briggs  47:16  

I've got a finance background. I'll sit here and talk all day. So yeah.

Joey Dizon  47:19  

I’m cool with it. You know what, I think numbers should be more talked about thing I loved about business, it's all metrically done, right? So let's say the average would be $12, right? Per stick, because it ranged from $10 to I think $18 was the most that we had, but $10 or let's say $12. Because that was like a Romeo and Juliet is, reserved for royals. I think we have Perdomo as an anniversary, great cigars as kind of like a mild medium stick. So $12. So if you did 496 divided by 12, whatever that number is. So how many six that we sell that day? 496 divided by 12? 

Brock Briggs

41?

Joey Dizon

Yeah, 41. So we sold like 41 cigars there. 

Brock Briggs

Okay, that's a good amount. 

Joey Dizon

Okay, let's talk about the margins here, right? So think about New Jersey is we have our wholesale price, then we have a 30% tobacco tax attached to that plus the sales tax. So the margins could be less than probably less than more around 30 to 40. If we're talking about net margins without talking about paying somebody. Our first two years, myself and my two partners did not pay each other for our first couple of years. We just

Brock Briggs  48:37  

That's just the cost of purchasing the cigar without the tax or anything like that.

Joey Dizon  48:44  

No, that's with the tax, so like

Brock Briggs  48:47  

You’re making 40% on one cigar. 

Joey Dizon  48:51  

Yeah. So talking about this. So it'd be $10 stick, right? Say, it’d be like $3 wholesale 30% probably around like four or five plus, that's 6.6 now, what's the sales? Well, the sales tax, then that would be an extra like, you know, maybe $6. So make $4 a stick. So the thing about the cigar game is is the more volume just like any other business, the more sales, but the thing is what I found out for the first year and a half, I took our events and I divided by how long were there and how much money we made per hour. And we probably did like eight or nine weddings in 2020 and shit ton of like festivals in 2019. I mean 2019 less than 10 weddings around. I made quadruple amount per hour than I did at a festival, which then what we talked about in 2020 is when I started doing weddings more.

Brock Briggs  49:53  

Okay. So how quickly did you or did you know from the beginning that it was gonna be like very event based. Like, is that kind of what you had in mind initially? Or were you like, oh, we'll just kind of go anywhere and do anything.

Joey Dizon  50:10  

Event based, solely. I didn't have any. You know, I was thinking about opening a storefront, but mostly it was event based, like we come to you. We bring the cigar experience to you. Yeah. 

Brock Briggs  50:24  

Okay. So let's talk about for a wedding, like let's maybe talk today what it would kind of cost for somebody that's booking you. So is there like a booking fee? And then like price per cigar? Like, what are the kind of breakdown of?

Joey Dizon  50:39  

Yeah, yeah, great question. So we have three that have three different types of experience, we have a gold, we have our platinum, and then we have our diamond or gold is just a feature one, or purchased cigars and have custom bands that can range to anywhere between 300 to how many cigars you want, right? Starting around 300. Now, if you wanna do just a cigar bar, which is our platinum package, you can have a certified back in there. You could have the cigars, custom bands to ours. That could be starting around 700 range. And then if you're looking at 50 cigars with a cigar roller, you're looking over 1000 for two hours.

Brock Briggs  51:24  

Okay. Wow. So are they, how are you guys are like buying a selection of cigars. And then you guys are like making custom little wraps for them, like with the bride and groom name on them or something like that?

Joey Dizon  51:38  

Correct, yeah. And that's how we do it. We just set it up. And we just mark it the hell out of it and just network of people and just work hard at it. And just getting our name out there. You know, marketings are a big game, this one like a comical business cycle. But yeah, that's what we did.

Brock Briggs  51:56  

I wouldn't have ever thought that that would be something like now, as you're explaining this, that seems like such a layup idea. But I had never heard of that. And it's such like, you're also targeting a time when people or everybody, like all the guys usually go smoke a cigar after like, the ceremony or whatever. That's such a common thing. And so you're like, kind of almost bringing it to them. And like, you know, something when two people are already ready to do it.

Joey Dizon  52:26  

Bro, I fucking love what I do, right? So for example, are you married? I don't know if you're married.

Brock Briggs  52:31  

Yes, I am, just as of two weeks ago.

Joey Dizon  52:33  

Let's go. I didn't get a call. That means, I'm not marketing where you are. But check this out, right? People are married and people who have been to marriages to receptions to weddings. Yeah, was like two marriages, two weddings, right? I want your last two hours. Was that mean? The last two hours you do the cake cutting. And I would say this, you got the music going, get the drinks flowing. Now let's get smoking. And what I mean by that, the cake cutting happens, right? Now people, women take off their heels. Guys take off their ties or jackets, and they're just party, like, long day, especially a lot of the guys it's kind of easier. But for the women they've been up earlier, the guy that just kind of like, walk into it, you know what I’m saying?

Brock Briggs  53:18  

You're walking with your clothes. 

Joey Dizon  53:21  

Yeah, yeah. Maybe you got fresh cut that day or you got the day before. But like our days are pretty easy, right? But you go through that long day, but still it's a lot of emotions, a lot like excitement, a lot of you know, anxiety, which can happen. And so those last two hours are kind of like let's party like the DJ. Everything's done, all the formalities are done. So the thing is, when you have that dessert hour, you know, you have coffee, dessert, and people are just partying. That's what I want to be because that's why I think it's a great time to celebrate, people come out. They want get some fresh air, they have coffee, they have drinks, they have just wanna smoke cigar. And that's essentially why I started this. I wanted to grab that experience and just make it unforgettable for them. Not only for them, but for their guests. And it stems, right? So it stems to being in the military, where bring me back to the smoke pit. So when Patrick and I, that's a quick

Brock Briggs  54:22  

Yes, the smoke pit, I’ve spent a lot of hours at the smoke pit before.

Joey Dizon  54:27  

But bro that was and that's part of my thing when Patrick and I deployed in 2008. You know, we’re far from friends, far from home, far from people that we, you know, that we love. You just wanted to find a little piece somewhere in your chaotic life. And that place where I found it was in the smoke pit, you know, even as five minutes has what's famous line, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, right? Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, a bunch of guys, they come in. And there's two ways to look at it. You know, I was talking to a colonel, he said he was a young lieutenant. His superior officer says, hey, you wanna find out what's going on? Go to the smoke pit and just listen and just hear people talk. And you know, you go there and you just enjoy cigarette, or sometimes you enjoy cigar if you have more time. 

But that was what I truly miss. It's where you find your camaraderie. And a big thing I'd like to say is I don't miss the circus. I'll always miss the clowns. And I think that's a huge passion of what we do. And you know, people always ask, what was your like, first cigar where I'm like, dude, I don't remember my first cigar. But I'll always remember the people I smoked it with. So I take that translation and I move it to a wedding. People don't smoke but they’re celebrating your biggest day, one of your biggest days, right? In your life. Let’s immortalize that, let's create a smoke pit at your wedding, which I know, I mean, listen, I hire veterans, first responders of those connected, what more can you have when you have someone that truly understands the value of life, that truly understands the capture the day, the night because you never know when life is going to end. 

So when you have those people working at your event, working in your wedding, working, you know, birthday party, working in celebration, these are the people that have because they know how precious life is. Unfortunately, some people just walk through life and are not grateful of what they have, right? You and I deployed, a lot people that are listening deployed, you get to understand what it means to shit in a plastic bag for eight months to not have running water. You know, I'm saying? And now I could go stock full of you know, we live in America, man. I could go into the hotel stock cleaned, I don't have to worry about anything. You know, I go to different parts of, outside the country, you know, I just traveled to Scotland and I'll be doing some traveling out of the country next year. 

You know, these places where there's no toilet paper, you know or there's no freaking seats, you guys like squat. Like, you know, dude, I don't want to squat. You know, I'm saying? But going back, these are hours going. But I think it's when you truly understand the notion of life is when you can really embrace that. So having us there to create a smoke pit, fuck yeah. Let's go, you know, see yah later. It was a pleasure.

Brock Briggs  57:29  

No, that's so true. Well and what a great environment to be in as like. Like, as the business owner, like while you're “working”, you're going in hanging out with people that like are excited to be there exactly how the smoke pit was, you know. Usually, I would always joke that in the smoke pit, you can find like a variety of people. It's like, you know, one guy, his girl just broke up with them. These other people are like getting ready to rage for the weekend. Like it says it's the whole array. But like at a wedding, you're like, everybody's excited to be there, you're getting the best time and kind of even the best, like maybe even the most borderline shitshow time depending on the type of whatever you’re going through. 

Joey Dizon  58:19  

100% and I love it. Because that's the best time to let's go, let's rage out, let's party. And people are in good moods, right? Even though they might have you know, you get those. Sometimes you get like, you know, yeah, couples like dude just had a long day, you know, it wasn't on time or something, my stop. Do I need like cigar or I need to like relax and just really just end your night in a proper way. So yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I get from drunks to do like, oh, my girlfriend's pissed at me because I'm not dancing with her. Yeah, smoke pit, same thing. Just like I'm back where I was back in 2008. And you know, during my career, so yeah, absolutely, man. It just brings it back to it. 

Brock Briggs  59:06  

The place that will accept you with open arms, no matter your condition.

Joey Dizon  59:10  

Absolutely. You know what? I think there should be more smoke pits to solve what we have today go beyond the United States. But you know what? I will say this. I've had some of the best conversations over cigar. I've watched from religion to politics to really these kind of like, but like in a civil manner over cigar. It is like awesome. Like, I just sit there and I remember they were just having like, political like stuff. You know, you're not supposed to talk about politics. They're just going at it but like civilly, and they can be like, hey, listen, I can agree with that. But I don't agree with this. It's like okay, you know, we agreed to not to disagree. And then we're just going back civilly, and I was just like, this is a great fucking conversation. 

Like, I'm just, I was like, dude, yeah, I totally agree with that. Oh, you know what? The way he's putting it. Yeah. I totally can see that way, you know what I'm saying? And I think that that just stems from. That's why I love cigar lounges and cigar bars. I think they're one of the last social places, you know, there's not places where you could go to and you can have a cigar and it's like, you got to socialize, you know what I'm saying? I rarely go to cigar bars. You know, some guys work there for work, just the banks are fine leave or on their phone, but it's a very social atmosphere. 

You sit down, like, hey, what's up, man? How's it going? What are you smoking? Cool, are you from around here? Yeah, all right, cool. You know, I've met so many great people. When I travel, I find a cigar lounge and I'll meet someone there. And just, you know, shoot the shit. You know, the music isn't loud, I don't have to yell. It's just like it just basic. Let's just communicate with each other and socialize. I like that. Actually, I love it. 

Brock Briggs  1:00:54  

Well as kind of the nature of just smoking a cigar in general kind of automatically pushes you towards the things that lead to better conversation. So the first thing about that is that I'm thinking of is you're sitting down and you're committing to like 25 to maybe 45 minutes of like smoking this thing. And so many conversations are cut short by basically people walking away or leaving because they don't wanna continue it. So you're like committing to sit down and like chat with somebody. And then you're also committing to shutting the fuck up to when you wanna smoke your cigar, you need to allow that other person to talk. And so like those two things, it's kind of like a natural conversation location.

Joey Dizon  1:01:39  

Absolutely. And the whole thing of, you know, when people are like, oh, I got like, 20 minutes to smoke a cigar. I always say, because of the whole culture of cigar because it's handmade. And you all respect it. Because it's like one of those things are like it's a premium luxury item that literally you're taking 20, $30 to just smoke in front of you, right? But just the essence of you're committing to the time and you're showing respect to people that made that cigar. Because it takes for cigars to be made, it takes an average of 300 pairs of hands to actually from start to finish. Because what they're doing is the farmers, tobacco farmers are constantly feeling it to make sure that the thickness, you know, the resin on it, how it looks, they're constantly touching it. 

And so by the time it gets to your hands, you know, people think it's got that beautiful thing, you know what I'm saying? But that crafted cigar in front of you from seed to shelf, had 300 pairs of hands to make sure from when it turns into see and the proper care to get right into your hands for premium cigar. And that's why I'm like, if you're gonna smoke a cigar, don't ever rush it. And going back to you, what you're saying yeah, you're committed to that cigar. I won't smoke a cigar if I know that I have to rush it. Like I just don't feel comfortable doing that.

Brock Briggs  1:02:59  

A little bit ago, you mentioned that one of the packages you guys offer like, you can have somebody that comes there that is like hosting it. That's like a tobacco test, I think you called it. And then you also were just mentioning some of the processes that cigars go through. I would love if you would just like give a dummy who knows nothing about it, like the start to finish process of like what that looks like? And then kind of how maybe from plant to, you know, me smoking it? What is that? What does each stage kind of look like? And why is that important?

Joey Dizon  1:03:35  

Yeah, you know, big thing that's important is the knowledge and the history of the cigar, right? Because when you look at that, it's such a beautiful thing of the history behind it. When Christopher Columbus came and met the Native Americans that were here, there were smoking and just bundles. But to them, when they smoked it, you're inhaling the earth and when you breathe out, you're giving it back to the earth. So not only was it like a social thing, it was also a spiritual thing. So when people smoked cigars, it was like huge thing. So a lot of the plants, right? They could grow up to five feet, the tobacco plant itself. It could go pretty high, it starts from the bottom of it, each part of the leaf can be used for different parts of the cigar. 

So to kind of like dumb it down a little bit where they cultivate seeds takes a couple of weeks, couple months. And then what happens is they take the leaves but then like I said before the farmers are constantly touching it because each part of the leaf, it's used for one section of the cigar. One section is used for the filler, one section is used for the binder, one section to use for the wrapper and it's all placed in different sections of what the plant is. And the strength of cigar comes from the lejero or the corona or the top of the plant because that's the youngest part of the plant which means it has the most resin, that means the least kind of like sun put into it because it's just grown. 

And that's where it's getting a lot of its power from, right? And so when you take a mix of those, think of wine, right? There's different regions of where wine can come from, France, can come from the United States, can come from Italy. Tobacco can come from different regions from Dominican Republic, Honduras, Cuba, Nicaragua, parts of Asia, parts of Africa. And you can take all those leaves and combine it and make it together to create a cigar and certain type of flavor profile, like how you can mix grapes. And that's how I like to compare it because some people, you know, when you compare things makes a lot easier. I think that helps, right? And then the leaves could then be processed, some wrappers, some leaves could take three to five years to just don't even get to see a cigar, right? And it's just those processes in between of the care of the farmers of drying it out of putting in these things called cologne so that the moisture comes out. 

And it starts getting this kind of like ammonia smell, it just releasing all its liquid so it could dry out. Then go into the hands of a cigar roll or blender and putting it together and wrapping it and then letting it age. So it's just a huge, beautiful process that I wish to say took only a couple months, but it could take a couple of years to make it happen just like any five things of like wines, whiskey, scotches. A lot of those things take time and that's what makes it beautiful when you're looking at a handmade product. So if anyone who's looking to try cigars, definitely try something. What I like to say is everyone's palate is different. Don't let someone dictate their palate onto yours. Because like for example, you know I like my steak medium rare. How do you like your steak? 

Brock Briggs  

Medium rare

Joey Dizon 

Medium rare, some people might like it well done, some people might get like moving, some people like it medium plus

Brock Briggs  1:07:05  

We don't wanna talk to anybody that likes it well done though, so. 

Joey Dizon  1:07:08  

Yeah, you know, it's like the same thing with you know, like wines like they don't want you know they don’t think Moscatos. Like those sweet wines are actually wines. They’re wines but they don't, cigars could be actually black and milds you know, their little mini cigars but you know, for us they're not like cigars, but they technically are. But you know when they move into the world of just cigars, it's starting something like easy kind of like a mild or it could something that could be infused or it could be kind of have like a flavor to it, might be a good way to start smoking. 

Brock Briggs  1:07:45  

Okay yeah, I wouldn't say that I'm like a cigar connoisseur but I am certainly in that like I'm figuring out what I like phase and usually start out by going to the tobacco shop buying six or eight and like writing down the names of them in my notepad and like writing down like oh, I didn't really like the taste of this. So I then tried to get different ones each time. Now is probably the best time to ask what is your favorite? Or like that a couple recommendations in each category.

Joey Dizon  1:08:17  

So I'll start off with this. I get this question asked a lot. What's your favorite cigar? And this is how I like to answer. I would rather have a bad cigar with good company than a good cigar with bad company. So I'm a social smoker so I usually barely smoked by myself. So when if I'm smoking, I've smoked like a three $5 cigar with great people and still enjoyed it. Thankfully, I've never had a good cigar with shitty company. Usually when I'm like, perusing I'm like okay. All right, I had this happen. We're looking good. The people I'm with are like chill people. I'm like today I'm gonna smoke a good cigar, right? 

And some cigars I smoked are pretty much up there as like celebration cigars or good cigars or drone 1926 sort of 75th anniversary or 50th anniversary, great sticks, very consistent, Nicaraguan cigars. I think those are just like my top because usually you can find them in most places. To a fun day, put some out some really nice high end cigars like I have the shark or the Don Carlo or the god of fire. Dab it off the charger laid out and these sticks are probably going to be ranging 20 and up you know. Sometimes around 30, $40. Some of them even 70, $80 but it has to be a special moment that I don't smoke those cigars frequently. Those are like I'll smoke them when I have something to celebrate about.

Brock Briggs  1:09:57  

I love what you said about the company and how important that is to kind of dictating that experience.

Joey Dizon  1:10:05  

Absolutely. Yeah, I'm not gonna. Yeah, I'm never gonna smoke an awesome cigar that took time and quality and premium cigar with like, shitty situation. I like if I'm gonna smoke down with smoke to celebrate something.

Brock Briggs  1:10:24  

What do you think has been the biggest challenge for you in the Mobile Cigar Lounge since starting this?

Joey Dizon  1:10:31  

The biggest challenge is every day is like a new. Because you know, we're hitting these different points, we're learning. It's just always constantly learning. I don't find like a challenge. I think it's like, yeah, I mean, is defined as a challenge by I just look after it every day. It's a new challenge. How do we solve this? How do we do this? How can we make this better? That's why I like business, it's kind of like you have to improve in different areas of your business to make it successful. 

You can never have a successful like top business, right? You can always get better, always get better, you could change your marketing, you could change your price points, you can hire new people, you could, you know, get talent acquisition, it all plays a major role. So the challenge is to always stay on top of it. But I enjoy that. But for some people, it can be difficult. But for me, I find it with open arms like okay, here's the next challenge. Okay, how do we solve it? How can we get out of it? Let's go. Let's do this, you know, so yeah.

Brock Briggs  1:11:36  

What kind of, I'll let you snake your way out of that question. But I'm gonna amp it up a notch and take another approach. What is the biggest challenge that you're facing right now or that lesson that you're kind of learning in your business right now?

Joey Dizon  1:11:51  

Absolutely. Working on our sales process, I wanna grow my business three times as right now. Right now, it's putting people in the right place, driving our sales revenue and putting people in the right place to make sure we hit a certain amount goal for 2023. So that's what I'm working on right now is, if you had to ask me what part of my business I'm working on, my sales process.

Brock Briggs  1:12:14  

Okay. And is that like the active art of booking events? Or I guess, what does that look like specifically?

Joey Dizon  1:12:25  

Making phone calls, we're hiring new two to three new salespeople. And the next week, you know, training them and getting them to make the phone calls to reach out to potential clients to have us at their event. So we develop the sales script, we developed a process of sales funnels, where they go to. We are currently working on email, the new set of email automations. With each stage, you get like 10 to 20 emails, you know, each time just to, you know, I learned that from some of the greats like people forget and sometimes life happens. 

But just to constantly remind them and listen, if people are going to, here’s a thing about business, if you're going to pick someone that follows up with you or who doesn't follow up with who you are, pick the person obviously that follows you. Because I stick in your head, if you have to make a decision at the end of the day, the person that calls you twice or the person that called you 10 times or contacted you 10 times through via email, checked up on you, made sure I always tell people, I'll tell my sales team, so I'll go to bat for you. I have not gotten a single call that you guys are calling too much. Like I want that call. That'd be great. 

But the thing is, I know it's certainly hey, listen, my team is passionate about what they do. My sales team are so sold in about what they do that can you imagine how sold in what we're going to be at your wedding. That's how I see it, you know, I have a different mindset mentality. So right now, if you had to pinpoint of what keeps me up at night, it's kind of improving my sales process and keep people in the pipeline and make sure we're in front of their head all the time.

Brock Briggs  1:14:04  

I appreciate and respect that you're so aggressive about sales and not taking the approach of like, hey, we've got this cool kind of niche business. And you know, we're not gonna just like prop our feet up and wait for calls. Like if you're hiring salespeople and you're like, you know, having them dial on the phone all day. Like that's aggressive. And I like that.

Joey Dizon  1:14:28  

I'm very, I'm bullish in terms of, you know, different types of business. So there's bull and then there's where that goes there. Yeah, bearish. I'm bullish, when it comes to I won't get in your mind. And you know, what's crazy I was just learning and learning from a business coach, the average salesperson contacts a person twice, two times. I tell myself teams, I want to do more than that. Because if I'm just contact you twice, that's a problem to me. I should be in your mind 24/7. Because by the time you make that decision, if you talk to someone twice or talk to someone who's building a relationship with you and check the ball and answering your questions, and I have a dedicated Concierge Team to make sure that your event is as best as we can make it, who you're going to go with? 

Yeah, we could be a higher price point. But with the best price point of where we're at, from the experience that we're going to deliver. I think that's important. I think the value of what we do is exactly where we need to be at our price point and our value of what we offer our clients. I get clients are like, oh, this is too expensive. I got something that's $600 less. I'm like, let me ask you a question. If we're the same price, who would you go with? We have about like, 605 star reviews. And listen, I have clients, this is what we do. I don't do this as a side job. I do this full time. Woohoo. You're pick or you guys? I'm like, so what's stopping you? Yeah, yeah, I could go down $600. But you won't have this. You won't have this. You won't have this. Yeah, but yeah, e're, you know, for where we're at, I think it's a great point. 

And a lot of our clients gave us that opportunity to become who we are. Because all those reviews and testimonials that we get, you know, people can read them. You know, some of the best services are a great way to end the night. Husband loved it, wife loved it, you know, love to have these guys again. I am sold into my business. You know, I did around 700 weddings this year, right? I have to do, yeah 700 weddings this year. There are like 40,000 weddings happening this year in New Jersey. I did only 700, do the math less than, what's the percentage? Whatever.

Brock Briggs  1:16:52  

Small

Joey Dizon  1:16:54  

Small. And I'm not gonna get there by sitting on my ass and getting clients just to find us. I'm very bullish on my sales. Yeah, in a good way. You know, I'm not like, you know, I'm not calling them like every single time you know, I'm touching base. We're very creative. Sending gifts, sending pictures. Hey, I just got this. I just got this. We just got this client testimonial this week. I thought about you, you know. I'm not doing the oh, hey, just wanted to touch base. I'm doing like, hey, just thought about you. We just have this client testimonial coming about their wedding. I can't wait to be in yours. Cool, corny stuff. 

Brock Briggs 

I like that. 

Joey Dizon 

But people remember you. People remember you, you know what I'm saying? And that's why, you know, I'm excited to grow my sales team. Because I wanted to be like savages on the phone. Like, yeah, losers, you know? Because if I'm sold in from what I do and it's just like, why not have this? I think every wedding should have this, right? Because it's just like a great way to make something different celebrate the end of the night. The average wedding is around $36,000, $38,000 in New Jersey. $1,000 to you for a two hour experience make your guests love that moment. And the pictures that you get with your husband smoking or your groomsmen smoking, blowing smoke in the air. And then pictures like that, you’re gonna remember that for the rest of your life. I am so sold in my business like, yeah, that's why I'm bullish about it.

Brock Briggs  1:18:28  

I love that little like tidbit about like a tactic for, like driving home and like closing on the sale. And it sounds like you have done a great job of instilling your passion for the business and the industry into the people that work for you. What have you learned about how to do that effectively? How do you make somebody care about the business and want to kind of hit the ground running and be a closer on the phone every day the same way that you would?

Joey Dizon  1:19:00  

Well first off if I hired them and not patching the business, that's my fault. Because a lot of people kind of try and blame them like, oh, they're not like doing anything. They're not focused to business. Well, I was the first one that hired them in the first place. So that was a poor planning on my part and poor execution. I was reading this thing: hire slow fire fast, where I'm meeting, you know, our sales team, they're gonna have four interviews. Like I'm the last interview because we wanna know who they are. And a big thing that I looked about is coachability and trust. And, you know, I was talking to a good friend of mine, he was a Green beret. And he was saying any high level of business or the teams or special forces, they have kind of like this chart where it's up and down is abilities and left you know, left to right is trust. 

And they find out that hey, your abilities. Yeah, we can help you run faster, run farther, shoot better, and train you but that level of trust that is so huge, that if they cannot trust you, they don't want you on the team. The same thing as a business owner. If I put the trust and the knowledge for you to get better, yeah, you're going to perform well. And I think it's kind of like your duty and obligation to make sure that you give your team the best tools possible. And let's say I'm not saying our process is perfect, but me and my business partner, Patrick, we're always looking for ways to improve it and make it better. Because we have people now that are working for us that like, you know, that we're part of a team. Plus, I work with vets and first responders. So we're, it's kind of a good time because we could joke around and we could do some stuff. 

But it's fun, man. But yeah, I think too, one is to have that culture if you're hiring someone. One is to hire slow, right? Because if they come in and you hire them too quickly and they don't develop that culture or the environment, that's your own fault. You know, that's my fault, you know. And I've done it, I've hired people that are like, damn not right fit, was not the right fit, but you hire slow. And then you have that culture in place of this is who we are, this is what we will inspire to be, these are our values, you know, being, you know, having integrity, having fun, commitment, and you value those values, just like if we do. We could coach you to get better. But that trust has to be there.

Brock Briggs  1:21:30  

I like that. And I think that hiring from a pool of like first responders and veterans, you're kind of naturally they may not instantly be high trust just because of that, but you're it's probably a safe assumption that they are generally gonna be further down that scale than just your average guy.

Joey Dizon  1:21:51  

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, there's shitbags, right? In the military or not only in the military, but I was taught you have your top 10 bottomed people that will humiliate you. In any form of life, you don't have your bottom 10 of people that just suck, you know, it's just, they're just there to do anything at church, at a McDonald's, at a high end business, you know, at a small level of, you know, large level, you're gonna find those types of people there. It's just that, you know, that's why it's how you identify and keep moving, keep the ship moving.

Brock Briggs  1:22:23  

Can you kind of let's zoom out a little bit. And where did kind of remind me what you guys did in sales in 2018? And then kind of bring that forward to today, what are you guys gonna close out 2022 in, in sales?

Joey Dizon  1:22:39  

Okay. September to December we at 8000. 2019, we did around 65,000. 2020, because there was no events whatsoever. We're literally in the pandemic, like New Jersey was one of the first states to close down. We close out to 145,000. Last year in 2022, we did 650,000. And this year, we're going over a million. 

Brock Briggs  1:23:05  

Wow! That is like nothing short of fantastic. That is like I don't know what I was expecting. But it wasn't that like.

Joey Dizon  1:23:16  

8,000? 10,000?

Brock Briggs  1:23:18  

That's like, that's very exponential chart, man. You know, a little bit of compound interest slow and steady wins the race. That's straight exponential.

Joey Dizon  1:23:28  

Yeah, I attribute a lot of that to, I'm a very big BP student. You know, I've had the reason why we did well in 2020. And why switch over is because what's his name? Daymond John, the shark? 

Brock Briggs

Yeah

Joey Dizon

He had a free program. He gave his free business program to veterans in 2019 on Veterans Day and I just took it. And of course, I've been in different accelerators. So I took it and I learned a lot from it. And then I invest a lot into business coaching because it's so important to me. Like if I didn't have my business coaches or take those classes or courses that different organizations or colleges or entities have, I wouldn't be where I am today, 100%.

Brock Briggs  1:24:12  

What was the most valuable accelerator or coaches that you've had? I know that you did participate in the Bunker Labs program. And that's like a cool program accelerator for vets if you wanna highlight that or if there's another that was particularly meaningful and helped you and what about it that was so good?

Joey Dizon  1:24:30  

So I took a thing called veterans launching ventures over here in Fairleigh Dickinson. It was business owners that wants to learn how to create a business plan, a marketing plan, a growth plan, everything, and a mission statement, all that stuff. Because remember, when I talked about my buddy Miley about like, hey, we should open up a multiple college. I came home that night. And I took the same template that I used for that and made my business plan for the mobile cigar lounge. It was like 10 pages long. I literally sat with my laptop and just started typing away. And I just like dah, dah, dah. That was pretty cool in how to start. 

There was a, each and every one had their own like touching my life where because in our business because even though it talked about marketing, you might know stuff about marketing, even though it's basic, it's boring, I'll probably find one little nugget in there that could change your business from like, you know, from x, you know, from A to B, X, Y. Yeah, X Y. Sorry, forget the letter after. But that was good. Bunker Labs is great because I love being with my community with veterans. And talking to veteran business owners and spouses, it's a different level. Now I'm part of the CEO circle where you have to be making like 800, 900 or close to a million in revenue. 

It's a different level of business. Because you know, you're not asking, I was joking around. We just did it a couple of last week.

CEO circles now place where you're talking about like, oh, should I have a website? Or what kind of LLC should I have? Now we're talking about talent acquisition, we're talking about logistics, we're talking about, you know, higher levels of marketing strategies. You know what I'm saying? It sounds like we don't have these concepts. These are people when you're making half a million up and you've been in business for quite a while. They're looking to make changes and looking to divulge in different parts of their business and in terms of like, getting better at. 

So definitely Bunker Labs. You know, I'm a big Grant Cardone fan. I don’t know if you know Grant Cardone. I take his business courses, that's what helped drove four to 645,000. We do private coaching with them. I've been doing a bunch of his courses, bunch of lectures, from marketing people to sales, I think it's truly valuable. Because like I said, since the beginning of this podcast, every part of my life, I've always had a coach. It could have been music, it could have been sports, you know, teachers. I've always had a coach and I think those people always make you better.

Brock Briggs  1:27:07  

What has or like when you were first starting out, what did you think the end goal of your business would look like? And maybe what does that look like now today? Maybe compare and contrast, like your initial vision to where do you wanna take the business in the next five years?

Joey Dizon  1:27:25  

Yeah. So when we first started, you know, my first business was just being every festival just to sell cigars. Now it's changed now, I want to become the must have experience for any type of celebration. So that's changed, right? Just like anything else. But our goal is just to get big, you know. Me and my business partner, we're just recently in a meeting probably like the beginning of this year, where our guys were teaching the other new guys on how to do the events. And we're just, we're just picking our head and I was like, damn, bro, we actually like this is a business. Now we have our guy, Ryan, who's a Marine, who does our social media. He has all social media stuff. We call him the director of propaganda. He just puts a bunch of stuff out, yeah, we have fun with our things. 

But I think it's just great just to be with those certain amounts of people and those changes, but where we're going now is either right or we're gonna break a million this year or the 3 million next year. And then by that having 3 million, I won't be the best number one experience, which we are still in New Jersey. But I want a bigger slice of the pie. There's a lot of weddings that we do not have, you know. I was just talking to our sales team. I'm like, guys, there's no reason not to find any wedding. There's, you know, close to 40,000 weddings happening this year, we only get 700. Like, let's get 1000, 2000, right? For us to make 3 million, we have 2500 events going on. 

And what that means we got, oh, we need 250 events that need to be booked every month. My apologies. And so was that mean? And that was our team look like. So it's building our team, being in different areas. We just started with doing wedding expos in Florida, in the Miami, Hollywood area, Fort Lauderdale area, so that we can make our business kind of like a 12 year, fully rounded business where we're just doing weddings constantly. But yeah, we're working on those things. 

Brock Briggs  1:29:27  

That’s so exciting. That is a big vision. And that you get that look in your eye. I wouldn't bet against you.

Joey Dizon  1:29:35  

It'd be fun. And you know what the best part? I'm just drinking and smoking along the way.

Brock Briggs  1:29:41  

Right. You make it sound easy.

Joey Dizon  1:29:43  

Yeah. But you know what? We all have our challenges, but you know, I mean, I enjoy what I do, you know, love what I do. So

Brock Briggs  1:29:53  

If our listeners didn't take anything else from this conversation, what do you think is the one thing that we can take from you, learning wise and implement in our lives today?

Joey Dizon  1:30:05  

Have someone that's 100 steps ahead of you in your life.

Brock Briggs 

Not five steps, but 100. 

Joey Dizon

100. Why is that, right? And this is a concept that I found out like a year and a half ago until I started doing Grant Cardone they called the BHAG, Big Hairy Audacious Goals. And you got the reason why you have big, hairy, three millions a lot. It's a three times amount of what it looks like. But the thing is, you're asking questions that you never would have asked if you never put that goal together. So like in Bunker Labs, I'm one of the ambassadors. I'm telling people have higher goals because it's gonna make you understand. If you wanna double your business, that means you would have to double pretty much everything and what is that business going to look like? 

And not just in business, but if you have a coach for your fitness, your family, your religion, your business, who's 100 steps ahead of you, to help coach you and get better, why not? So if I could leave with that is someone who's 100 steps ahead of you. But don't do five steps. Someone who's doing it credit when I was in that CEO circle, I was the smallest guy there and making a million. I'm sitting with someone making 2.7, 14 million, 70 million in revenue. I wanna be in that room. I wanna listen, I just wanna take notes down because that's the best way to grow. You know when you're the smartest person in the room, it's time to change the room. So I would always say find a coach. Find someone who's 100 steps ahead of you financially, in their family life, their religious, their faith life, their fitness life, and have them because like I said they'll know what to do and it's gonna save time. It's definitely gonna save time.

Brock Briggs  1:31:49  

Awesome. Joey, this has been a really really fun conversation. I appreciate your transparency and sharing with us today. How can me and or the listeners be of use to you in your business? Either that social, whatever.

Joey Dizon  1:32:04  

Yeah. Hey, listen, if you're having a party, if you’re going to a business, golf outings or you're getting married or you know, wedding planners or venues, connect me with them. I would love to talk with them. Because like I said, we want to be the ultimate cigar experience for any celebration, the must have experience for any celebration. I am passionate. We are so sold on to it because we know we do. We know the impact of what our business does. Yeah, you know, someone asked, oh, cigars, you know, isn't that like, you know, tobacco? I’m like, the cigar is just the vessel. The opportunities to experience, to create. I would love to connect with people who are going to weddings, if you're doing golf patterns, you belong to big business. You're doing holiday parties. I'll come out. We've been to 17 states, so we'll be good.

Brock Briggs  1:32:56  

Awesome. Joey, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.