Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
What's up, you guys? This is Michael with the Proper form podcast. Excited for our guest today. Kind of really crazy. Chris and I have known each other for, golly, maybe seven or eight years. We'll tie into that in just a little bit. But Chris Barda with Tactical Fleet, but now possibly another automotive pursuit. If could you share a little bit of that here to start?
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Yeah, just left Tactical Fleet three months ago. Working on this new pursuit. It's called Design Auto.
[00:00:42] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: It's going to be a online platform for cars. 100 grand and up.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: Okay, awesome. We're going to stop there. That's going to be our teaser for you guys. But to go back. Yeah. Chris and I actually met through, I guess really my time at Pogue Construction and kind of client, I guess of, of some car purchases. Ben Pogue. I was the corporate trainer there. And then I ended up, you know, respectfully moving on to some other adventures through business and career. And then I ended up opening up my own concierge personal training studio. And I, I looked up to you. I respected you as an entrepreneur and just a go getter. And I ended up going to Chris's place at the time. Tactical Fleet. This was probably almost over four or five years ago.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Yeah, we opened that almost seven years ago.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: First like Addison, that was probably five.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: Or six years ago. Yeah, that was a long time ago.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: And I just was like, man, I, I literally just walked in, I was like, dude, I, I look up to what you're done doing and what you have done and kind of how you're disrupting the car automotive space. I'm trying to kind of do that with this high end concierge personal training experience. I also am kind of building home gyms. That was the beginning of like more of the intentional birth of me enjoying the design and like the build process for, for clients in home gyms. And I was like, man, if I could ever value to you or your team. And then you called me like eight months later and trusted me to build out your home gym for sure, which we love. So that's awesome. So even just a little bit of that, of just like, man, you never know what can happen from conversations and even I just feel honored to have you here on this podcast today. And again, you are continuing to disrupt this, the automotive space. And I'm excited to learn more about this new pursuit. But also like, it hasn't happened overnight. Like you haven't been an overnight success.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: 15 years.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: An overnight success over 15 years. And so, so could you, could you discuss A little bit of how did you get started in the automotive space?
[00:02:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:31] Speaker A: And then how did your. Your vision and your entrepreneurial mind just, like, expand?
[00:02:36] Speaker B: Sure. Yeah. So my whole background's marketing. I went to Arizona State for marketing, got my MBA from SMU for brand management. And I was going to be. I always thought advertising and marketing was really, really cool. So that was kind of like my bread and butter. So my first jobs out of college were, like, kind of. What would you even call them? Marketing jobs. Advertising jobs. Ad agencies is where I was working.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Interesting.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: And then I worked for an ad agency in Chicago, moved back to Dallas to get my MBA at smu, Worked for a couple ad agencies around here. And then I was like, I'm gonna go to the client side. Like, work for, like, a PepsiCo or Frito lay was kind of my big grand goal. And I got a job with Jim Beam Beam Global Spirits and wine in 2009. Right. Okay. And I was like, this is it. You know, it's creative. This is my spot. And then I laid off, like, three months later. And this was. This was housing crunch. You know what I mean? There was no jobs.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: This was like, 09.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: This was, oh, this is the end, 09. And I just got my MBA, and I just got this job. And I was like, oh, this is it. I'm set. Work from home. Stock options. This is what I'm going to do. And then, like, I got laid off. And my wife, who was also in advertising, her boss's husband was the general manager of Bentley Dallas. And kind of through the grapevine, they were like, see if he wants to sell cars. So my wife comes home. She's like, do you. Do you want to sell cars? And I was like, oh, cars, bro. I was like, dude. I was like, I thought I was so much better than that. I'm not a car guy. I wasn't a car guy. My family was, like, my dad was a doctor. My mom was a nurse. And like, we drove, like, you know, minivans and Buick Lesabers and stuff like that.
So I go interview. This was Park Place in Dallas, and there's a Bugatti sitting there and, like, a Drophead Phantom. And I'm like, what do these guys make? He's like, my worst guy makes 100 grand. My best guy makes 200 grand. I was like, well, shit, I'll try that. You know what I mean? So he's like, well, not. We're not looking for sales. We actually want you to go. Right. Service in the service department. And I was like, I'm not a car salesman. I'm definitely not writing service. So I was like, I don't, I don't know if I can do. I don't know if I'm the guy for that.
[00:04:43] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Then like a month later, he calls me, he's like, hey, we have a sales job if you want to come sell cars. And I was like, I do. This was January 2010. All right.
[00:04:52] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: And I took that job as like, this will be my job till I find the job I really want. Right. I'll sit there and send out resumes. And then I like got good at it because it's a different, it's a different sell. It's, it's the high end stuff. So, like, it's relationships. It's like networking. You know, you meet a guy and you can sell them two cars at the same time. You can sell them a car today, you can sell them a car a week later. It's not like they lease a car and then they come back in five years and lease another one. And it's, it's just different. So, like, I got good at it. And it was all my follow up. And I did. Your follow up's awesome too. And I just followed up with people all day. Like, I knew if I knew they had money and my threshold was like, if it had a million dollar house on their driver's license, I would just call them forever. And this was also 2010 where a million dollar house was like a big deal, not like now.
[00:05:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: So that's what I did, man. And then like, you know, I got really good at it. My business partner and I were in the same sales training class in 2010. He was at Porsche, I was at Bentley. So I kind of became the Bentley Rolls guy and he was the Porsche guy.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: And then did you really even like, realize as you're in advertising marketing post college, before you got laid off, like, you kind of had these gifts, if you want to call them on, like the relationships and the networking, like, did you see that a part of yourself?
[00:06:07] Speaker B: No idea. It was like, that was news to me because, like, you know, and I was like, I was like, I didn't consider myself a sales guy.
[00:06:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: But it was more like, you know, just, just follow up in relationship and like, not saying too much and just kind of giving a little feedback here and there. And, you know, for the most part, they're all smarter than you are and they all know more about the cars and you, you're just kind of guiding them yeah. And then people just like it when you're like, hey, what about this? Or, hey, what about that? And that's just what I did. Yeah. And then as time went by, you know, one day I was trying to sell this guy a Rolls Royce who's a big real estate guy, and he was home. This was over a summer. He was home because he was having surgery on his foot. So I was just by, like, what about this? And what about this?
[00:06:52] Speaker A: Literally bringing it to him, to his house.
[00:06:53] Speaker B: And he would come look in the garage and be like, no, it's too big. No, too small. And then I was. I was leaving there one day, and he's like, hey, have you ever thought about getting into real estate? I was like, what do those guys make? He's like, my worst guy makes 300. My best guy makes over a million bucks. I was like, I'll try that. So, long story short, I ended up going into commercial real estate for a year and a half. Not with that guy, but another guy.
And when I was in that business, which is commercial, cold calling door, too. Talking with business owners.
[00:07:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: Everyone was calling me for cars. Hey, can you. This. Everyone was still calling because I was like, I just spent four years building myself as the car guy. Now I'm pivoting to real estate. And it just was like a different. Oh, I thought you were. I thought you were the Bentley guy. You know what I mean? So I was still the car guy. And I was like, talking to business owners. I was like, dude, I just need to open my own car dealership. I can. I was like, I can do this. So I left real estate after a year and a half, Went back to my same job, same desk. And this time I was like, I'm going to learn the car business. I want to know, like, can you make money selling these things used?
So that's what I did. I went back for another three years. You talk about, like, overnight. I was there for four years, left, came back for another three years. But this time I was like, I'm going to open a dealership. So I'm going to. I'm going to get all these people. So when I have a dealership, you know, I got people to call. And that was kind of my mindset.
[00:08:16] Speaker C: Wow. Yeah.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: That's crazy. So over that. Really eight years, because you. You had a break kind of in between of the year and a half that you did the commercial real estate.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: And then you're like, okay, this is not. This is not it. I'm going to go Back to being the car guy.
[00:08:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:30] Speaker A: So then going back to that, to going back into the car world, you've built a lot of those relationships. Your. Your buddy, who I'm assuming was your partner that you ended up opening Tactical Fleet with.
[00:08:39] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:08:39] Speaker A: How did that conversation go with. Did you approach him first? Did he approach you? Like, dude, let's. Let's freaking do this.
[00:08:45] Speaker B: So I took a real estate proposal that these guys used to build a building on the tollway, and it was a PDF and I just edited it to look like a car dealership. So I changed their copy, and, like, I changed the pictures a little bit. And it was going to be Design Auto because I saw this building in the Design District, and I was like, it's going to be Design Auto. It's going to be $100,000 ish cars. I call them cheater cars. It's a Bentley for, like, 100 grand. And work. The sales guy is going to look like this. The website's going to look like this. And, like, it was like a marketing proposal for a car dealership. So I called up Jason, and I was like, dude, I got this idea for a car dealership. And he was like, now's not the time for me. I just broke up with my girlfriend. I just moved to Nashville. I'm running some car dealerships up here. I was like, all right, well, I'm going to figure it out. So I went back to my job, and I was just. I was just watching, and, like, I did everything I could. I, like, I watched everything people were doing. I was. I was. I was going to do it all by myself, was my plan. And then I was like, all right. And then I'm going to pitch it to a couple car guys, right? So I was like, who could I do this with? You know what I mean? I'm not going to. No one's going to. I'm not going to go to a bank and borrow a couple million bucks. You know what I mean? I'm just some guy. So I mentioned it to, like, three car guys, and one I mentioned, and the guy we went down this long rabbit hole with, I was literally on a test drive with this guy, and I was like, hey, I got this idea. It's called Design Auto. And he was like, what'd you need for that? I was like, like, 15,000 square feet and, like, million bucks or so. He's like, all right, let me think about that. And long story short, I go down this long rabbit hole with this guy where it goes from Design Auto to like a fleet management company. We were going to manage his fleet of trucks for this company that he owned, and it ended up not happening. So that's where the name Tactical Fleet came from. Because we were going to. We were going to be a fleet management truck management company for a massive electric company. Right. And then it was like Shark Tank style. You go in front of the, you know, the lawyer and you're like, this is my presentation. This is how much money we're going to make. And they ended up not doing it. And like, Jason's like, what do we do, man? He's like, I'm already moving back to Dallas. I sold my plate because Jason was with me the whole time.
[00:10:57] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Because he was like the numbers guy and I was like, kind of the creative guy that was like our. Our mesh. So then I was like, just fly to Dallas. You know, I got some other guys in mind. And then he flew in. We pitched it to three guys and it went from like, fleet management to like, kind of fleet management to the third pitch was like, it's gonna be like, it's a car dealership.
[00:11:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:18] Speaker B: And the guy's like, how much money would you need? We're like, 500 grand. He's like, all right, that's not bad. And the guy has millions of dollars worth of cars. So he was like, 500 grand's nothing. Right? And that's how we got going, man. We just borrowed 500 grand from a car guy that I met cold calling one day through the CRM system. That's how I met the guy. Yeah.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: That's crazy.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: Isn't that crazy?
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Yep. So that very first location before. The one that it currently was, was. There wasn't one before that, right?
[00:11:43] Speaker B: No, that was it. That was. That was the one. The one you were at was. We had probably just been open for like a few.
[00:11:47] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: Because there's a picture of you where you guys are like at like a fold up table.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: In the. The. Because it's all indoor, like industrial, big building.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: Yeah. We got a warehouse. So I had a checking account that said pending 500 grand, and that was it. I had like, I had no cash, I had no credit. And this was 2018, so the market was different. Like, you would never get that building today. But we found this building and the tenant was going out of business and he was in a sublease of a sublease or he was. I think he was the first sublease or the second sublease. So he was just trying to get his. He was just trying to get out. So we show up, and he's like, when do you guys want to move in?
We'll be here on September 1st. And that's where I grabbed the folding table from my. It was like our Thanksgiving folding table and brought it down, and we just started selling cars with literally. Literally 500 grand.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: That's crazy.
[00:12:38] Speaker B: That nuts.
[00:12:38] Speaker A: That's wild. Just you two.
[00:12:40] Speaker B: Just the two of us. And, like, like, you know, we had a plan, but not really. We still didn't even know what we were gonna be selling. Is it Rolls Royces? Is it trucks? Is it BMWs? And, like, we just started going, man.
[00:12:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:52] Speaker A: I think a common question or some people ask or think of, like, man, if knowing what you know now through what you went through, would you go back and do it again?
[00:13:01] Speaker B: 100. Yeah, 100. But I would have gone back and, like, enjoyed it a little bit, you know what I mean? Because you get so, like, so stressed out, and this. That's where the fitness thing comes into play. Knowing what I know now. But, like, man, we were just working and working and Christmas Eve, like, if you wanted to look at a car, dude, you could. You could tell me when we'll. And you're buying it, too.
[00:13:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:13:22] Speaker B: By the way. So, like, if you're. If you have the ability to buy it, I have to sell it to you.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: That was, like, the mindset. So. Yeah. But it was like, you know, we were pushing it really, really hard with no money, so we had to, like, we were just juggling and juggling, juggling everything. Titles and bills and, you know, payoffs and. And then, like, there's little ways, little loopholes in the car business where you can kind of get cars without really having to pay for them immediately. So we're just, you know, kind of figuring out, like, the first car we sold. The first car we sold was to Ezekiel Elliott, right?
I had a Bentley on consignment from a guy that I'd sold a Bentley to. And he. He saw what I was doing. He's like, do you want to sell my Bentley? I was like, yeah, dude. It was a GTC speed black with white seats. And I sold it to him new. I was at the Bentley store, and he was so trusting because, like, our building was under construction. Like, our website, like, had one car on it. Like, it was a lot of trust. And then Ezekiel Elliott hits me up, and he's like, you got any Bentley convertibles? This was, like, the next day at lunch, and I was like, I Have a Bentley convertible. Yeah. I was like, what color are you looking for? He's like, I'm looking for, like, a black one with white seats. I was like, you're not gonna believe this, dude. I have that car. So he ends up buying it. Like, he's buying it at that table, and there's, like, construction going on. He's like, you guys are nuts, man. And, like, we literally registered it. We took the title down to the tax office, and we're like, hey, we need some license. Like, we figured all that out.
[00:14:48] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: Yeah, it was nuts.
[00:14:49] Speaker A: That's crazy.
[00:14:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:50] Speaker A: I mean, that if. That doesn't define entrepreneurship.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Yeah, it was crazy.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: Just.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: Just. We did all of it, man. We built our website, and we tried. And what I really wanted to do with the marketing background, I was like, I wonder if you can make a used car dealership cool. So that was like, I'm gonna make it cool. So, like, even if you could afford cars there, great. If not, I just want it to be, like, a cool place with, like, a WeWork type vibe and, like, cool Instagram. And, like, we gave hats to everybody, and, like, we just put our logo on everything, and we had this camo look going on, and there was a bar in there, and it's like, it was a cool, cool spot.
[00:15:25] Speaker A: Yes. That's crazy. So you said going back. Like, if you could go back, you just wish you would have enjoyed it more. And. Yeah, I think probably, like. Like, you literally said, if someone messaged you and you're like, man, I can be there in 10 minutes, you would do it. But there's. There's so much tension and, like, just stress in that, because that's. It's all, like, you just had to hustle.
[00:15:45] Speaker B: Hustle, Right. We were just hustling all day long. And I'll never forget, dude, it was Christmas Eve, and we didn't have any banks either. So if you wanted to buy the car, you had to pay cash for it or you had to go get your own. Fine. Because banks don't do little independent shops. They'll do, like, a Ford or a Toyota.
[00:16:02] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: But they're not doing tactical fleet in some warehouse in Addison because that's how they lose money. So, like, if you want. If you didn't want to. If you didn't have cash, you had to go get your own financing, which was something we didn't really realize, but this guy comes in on Christmas Eve, and there was one bank, it's called Woodside Credit, that would do independence, but it was 144 months with 20% down at, like seven and a half percent. So if you didn't want that, that's all I had. So this guy's, like, comes in on Christmas Eve. He's going to finance it. We're like, all right, at least we got Woodside. We send it over to. We sent it over to Woodside, and they, like, declined it. And we're like, oh, dude, we just both spent our whole Christmas Eve down here trying to sell this guy a car, and he can't even get approved. That's what we dealt with, dude. It was nuts.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: I, like, come home and to hand it to the fam, I was like, oh, did you.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: Did you sell it? I'm like, yeah, still working on it.
[00:16:55] Speaker A: Sorry.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:56] Speaker A: Gosh, man, that's crazy. So, man, as you guys continue to evolve, where did, if you could say, some of that tension and stress start to. I mean, that's a loaded question. It's always there in a sense. But, like, where did you feel like you kind of started to, like, take some bigger steps, gain some momentum?
[00:17:13] Speaker B: Yeah, we started to get, like, a lot in. It's retail. So, like, you know, I was calling all my people. We were blasting all over social media. We would go to all the car shows and hand out hats, and I would mail out hats, and I'd put on Instagram, hey, if you want to hat, just DM me your address. And, like, all these addresses would come in. I was like, I hope this guy can afford a car. At least I hope his dad can. You know what I mean? And I would send it out, and it started to get traction. But it's like. It's like a restaurant because it's like, you open it and, like, a couple of people come by, and then they got to go tell people. And then they got to go tell people. So it takes a while. Even if it's your best friend. Like, your best friend didn't show up for six months or a year, unless he's in the neighborhood. It's weird, man. So we had to kind of go through all that, and then people started to, like, really, like, dig the place. And, like, I love your website. Oh, I love your social media. Saw that post. That was funny. And then, like, you know, we would. We would always kind of, like, we just kept moving the. Moving it down the field.
[00:18:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:11] Speaker B: And then we would get a little bit more cash or a little bit more line of credit from a bank. We actually got a line of credit from a bank.
[00:18:18] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: And then, yeah, it's kind of like it was getting momentum and it was like, you know, you. You were still kind of like, all right, is this. Is this gonna. Well, it's gonna make it or I'm gonna die? It's literally like the mentality that's kind of how I felt. So, like, yeah, man. It just never in next thing you know, like a year and a half by and like, you're like. You kind of like, all right, cool. It's built. It's a brand. People know the website. It was a cool feeling, for sure.
[00:18:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: So the total time from starting it to kind of where it is now, we. We'll discuss kind of some next chapter stuff.
[00:18:48] Speaker B: What.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: What was that timeline? How many years?
[00:18:51] Speaker B: You know, so we've been open almost seven years now.
A year and a half into it was getting a little dicey where our original investor kind of wanted his money back. The line of credit we had from this bank, they didn't really want to do a car dealership. We thought we had a bigger line of credit coming in. And then that deal didn't go through. So we were kind of in this, like, pickle about two years into it, and it was like, all right, this is going to be a big problem here. And then, long story short, I'm calling because you don't. There's no banks. So I call Ally and I get this lady at Ally and she's like, oh, I love this dealership. We're going to. We're going to finance your cars. I was like, great. And then that didn't happen because they don't do independence.
[00:19:31] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: And then one day she calls me and she's like, I got this guy who wants to do something in the exotic space. Do you mind if I give him your phone number? I was like, yeah, give him a. Give my number.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: Give me his number.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: So the guy calls me one day and it was the Driver select guy. Do you remember driver select 75? He took that. And when we were kids, it was like, their business model is like they kind of sell less expensive cars. They don't make a lot of money on the car, but you finance it and you buy the warranty. And that's kind of their business. Business model. And they sell a lot of cars. And he sold it to a company called Sonic Automotive, which it's now called Echo park, if you've ever seen those.
[00:20:07] Speaker A: Which is.
[00:20:08] Speaker B: Yeah, they're massive. They're green. Yep, yep. Those guys all over the US and he sold it to Sonic and then he was leaving Sonic to go do something else. And he thought he wanted to do something in the exotic space. So he calls me one day as I'm driving a Ferrari to work, so I can't hear anything. And I'm like telling him about Tactical Fleet and like what we do. And it's totally the opposite of his business because like, his margins are like this and ours are like that. Um, but I have no service department. Like we're. It's totally different. And he's like, are you going to be in town from like May through like September? And I was like, yeah, I should, I should be there if you want to come by.
And then he comes by one day and thank God I was there because he was like, I'll be there in like five minutes one day. And I'm like, dude, thank God I'm sitting here right now.
[00:20:53] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: And he's. We go down this path where he was interested in buying us and it wasn't really going anywhere. And then he like mentioned Sonic Auto. He's like, mind if I bring these Sonic Automotive guys by? And I'm like, sonic Automotive. So I Google it. I was like, oh, you see the, like the stock ticker? And I'm like, oh, publicly. Yeah, bring them by.
So long story short, Sonic ends up buying Tactical Fleet 2, about two years into it. And then it was. Then all the stress. Well, I say that, but then all the financial stress was just gone.
[00:21:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:25] Speaker B: Because, you know, we had basically had unlimited money from there. So that's when we bought a dealership in Charlotte and turned it into Tactical Fleet, opened a store in Beverly Hills. Because my vision was like, you know, I wanted to make it cool, but can you also put it in like other markets and will it work? You know, because it's not a Starbucks. You know what I mean? You can't just turn the sign on and hire some people. It's different. It's relationships.
[00:21:47] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:47] Speaker B: And like a lot of people get that. A lot of people don't.
[00:21:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: And we did well in Dallas because I'm from here. I got, you know, I've been selling cars for eight years here. I can call those people. I don't have anyone in Beverly Hills. I don't have anyone in Charlotte.
So yeah, then we went coast to coast. We were the first ones to ever do that, as far as I know. I don't think anyone's ever gone coast to coast with pre owned exotic cars. And we grew the inventory to 95 million. I don't know if anyone's ever had that much inventory before.
[00:22:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: And then we moved from 30,000 to 100,000 square foot building here in Dallas, which you've been to is. Is like freaking never seen anything like it.
[00:22:22] Speaker A: Yeah, no, it's not a, it's not a dealership. It's like a bar lounge. Like, it's a place I would vibe and want to go, like totally have a coffee or cocktail at and massive TV in there.
[00:22:31] Speaker B: It's like, it's a cool vibe.
[00:22:33] Speaker A: All glass. You can see into where you gu are doing the tent and the wraps. And like even in that space, it's like so clean and just, I mean it, it expresses and exudes, you know, high end, exotic everything. It's preaching.
[00:22:46] Speaker B: Yeah. We wanted it to be like transparent, you know what I mean? Because everyone's so skeptical of the car dealership. So like, you know, we were like, if you walk in, we're sitting there. If you have a problem, we'll fix it for you. And that's kind of what we did. And this. We're just both really nice guys, like at heart, you know what I mean? Like, we genuine. Like you do like, we genuinely care about people. So like, if there's a problem, we're go fix it. And I was just like, what we did. Which is hard to do in retail now because people like, people take advantage, man. As you know.
[00:23:12] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh yeah.
[00:23:13] Speaker A: So, dude, over seven years, almost eight within tactical fleet. You kind of mentioned you had the idea or the Design Auto has always been a name, a vision. So man, share a little bit about that. Like, and then also like, you've just got freaking jacked over this past year. Don't let that go to your head too much. But seriously, you're looking great, you're feeling great. Like, how has all of that kind of tied into just you're this next wave of like excitement for your business, for your health and what's next for Design Auto?
[00:23:42] Speaker B: Yeah, so we sold it in 2020. We opened it in 18, sold it in 2020. Then we grew it and got huge, rode the COVID train, which was like awesome for the car biz. Like you couldn't, you couldn't miss. And then I was kind of like hitting this point, man. I'm 43 now, not 28 like I was when I started. Yeah, I was kind of just like, I wasn't eating right. I was drinking. It's a very drinking culture, you know, I mean, we had a full bar there. Yeah, my, my, my health was like, I wasn't like, you know, 500 pounds or anything. I just didn't look great, and I didn't feel great. And I was like, all right, dude. I don't know what's coming, but, like, something was like, you got to get. You got to fix yourself first and then go from there.
[00:24:22] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:24:23] Speaker B: So, you know, I stopped drinking. And like, 10 weeks after I stopped drinking, I was like, all right, I'm going to get in shape. And I end up finding this. I saw a guy who was a little older than me who had made a lot of money, sold some companies, and he got jacked in. Like, I was like, dude, how did you do that? He's like, you got to hit my trainer up. His name's Alan. So I call up this Allen guy who's in Canada, of all places, right?
And he's like, all right, do this cleanse. And I was like, you didn't. First of all, no one say anything about cleanse. So I'm like, what's this gonna be? So he sends it over, and it's like fruits and vegetables, and you kind of watch your water intake. And I'm like, I'm doing it. If it worked for this guy, I'm doing it. I got nothing going on right now. Tactical fleet's a thing, right?
[00:25:06] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:25:06] Speaker B: I'm just gonna focus on Chris Barta. So for the cleanse is 16 days. I went from 213 to 193. And it was like, just like that. And I just didn't. I didn't cheat on it. I didn't cheat on it once, and it wasn't hard. First two days were hard because you got, like, the sugar addictions and stuff. You got a kick and caffeine. And then the two days, you don't get that. And then it all comes back. And then by. And I was just weighing myself. I was like, all right, dude, we're winning right now. And then he's like, all right. I was like, so, what's next? He's like, all right, I'm gonna send you your workouts, and I'm gonna send you your meal plan. I'm like, this is where plan is going to be. Like, track your macros and take a picture of the barcode and make sure you take. And I was like, this is where he's going to lose me 100.
[00:25:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: So I get the meal plan, and it's a one sheeter. He's like. I was like, what? Just eat this. He's like, eat this till I tell you to stop. He's like, Body likes the repetition. I was like, okay, I can do that. And I'm like, this is where the workouts are going to be insane. You know, I mean, I'm like, is it kettle balls or bells or whatever they are my flipping tires. Is this like CrossFit? And the workouts were like, totally middle aged guy workouts. He's like, I don't. He's like, these are designed so you don't get hurt.
[00:26:12] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: So I was like, all right. So it's like machines and stuff. Yeah, stuff like, you know about, but I'm, you know about it. But like, Joe's not. We're not using it, you know, because in high school you get. Or college you grab a bench press and it's how much can you bench? You know what I mean? And then Tuesdays back and by like, stuff like that. But this was like full body workouts and it was in the trainer eyes app. I'm sure you're familiar with that, which is a great app. App with the clock and everything.
So like, dude, I started that in April, June, July 4th rolls around and I'm like, dude, I got abs. I got like a chest. It wasn't hard, you know what I mean? And then like another added another three months. So six months into it, I was like jacked. And all I was doing was just following the plan. Dude.
[00:26:53] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: And this was 2024.
[00:26:55] Speaker B: This is. Yeah, this was last year. April, last year.
And I was just like, I. I hit every workout out. I didn't miss. I didn't derail off the diet. I didn't follow it 110. But yeah, you know, you eat some stuff here and there.
And then I was like, dude, this is. This is it. And then, then my brain. Then your brain comes back. It's crazy, dude, because you start to be like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I was living in that, like, fog of like, you know, not. And then I started appreciating everything, like vitamin D and sleep and like water and, you know, a vegetable. Because, like, I wasn't really a vegetable guy. And I like, how. How important are the vegetables? Like, dude, you have to eat the vegetables. It's like the most important part. I was like, I never knew that. No one told me that. And then. And then I was like. And then my brain was like, all right, Chris, the body's back. You know what, what can we do with everything you've learned in 15 years? So that's when I really started thinking about, like, okay, Tactical Fleet's a thing. It's got people. It's probably okay to leave it if you want. You know, I've seen what it could do. Coast to biggest car dealership ever. Coast to coast, you know, super proud of that.
But like, what's next? So then I really was like looking at the space and like the dealers we know and the inventory, and I was like, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna build a website. And I started looking at all the. I looked, started going through our bills and we were spending these astronomical fees to be on like autotrader and CarGurus and Cars.com and CarFax and ebay. You have. Because you have to be like. Because you don't know where the guy's coming from.
[00:28:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:34] Speaker B: Some of them just Google it. So SEO is a big bill too. You know, some. Some people are literally like, lamborghini for sale in Dallas. And that's how they find cars.
So then I was like, all right, let's look at these websites. And I started going through the websites and I was like, all right, these all came out in like the tech bubble. 99, 2000.
And they're really, over time, they've been built to help like the average Joe buy like an average car. And they just educate, educate, they over educate the consumer, which is great for a normal car because you don't want, pay for, you know, if you make 50 grand a year, you want a good deal on a car. If you make $10 million a year, you don't need a good deal on, on a car. You just want the car you want. You want the car you want or you want to find out about it. So then I came up with Design Auto, which goes back to the design thing, which was going to be in the design district. And it was just going to be a website for cars, 100 grand and up. And I'm just going to delete all the stuff. So there's no like, negative in my. My mindset is like, as a dealer, we spend so much money to advertise in these platforms, but they don't help us. They're just like, they help you, they help the shopper, but they don't help the dealer.
[00:29:40] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:29:40] Speaker B: So I was like, I'm gonna help the dealer sell more cars. I'm gonna make it easier for the dealer. So like, I'm gonna delete all the stuff. There's no negative reviews. So like, you know, hey, I only got one key. Chris Barda sucks. One star. And then like that kind of stuff you know, I mean, and so, like, all I'm trying to do is help you give me one. That kind of stuff. And then, like, a lot of them will do, like, these price drop alerts. Right? So, like, you go in there and I'm like, you can see I just dropped the SVJ 20 grand. You think you're going to call and pay that price, you're going to offer another 20 grand off from there. You know what I mean?
[00:30:14] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:15] Speaker B: And then, like, the pictures aren't great. And then there's just so much stuff, like written word, like, it's got seat belts, it's got, you know, four seat. Like that. No one cares. Right.
And then the other thing that was really bothering me, and I've always been the sales guy, even after, like, it was as big as it was, dude, I would. If you came in the door, I was going to help you. If you called in, I was going to answer it. If you sent an email, I was going to respond to it. And, like, what I learned through that process is, like, it's a lot of repetitive same question over and over. I'm sure you get it at the gym. I know you do, because I see it even at the fitness thing. People like, what kind of protein you take. Yeah. You know, what's isolated it, that kind of stuff. What brand should I buy?
[00:30:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:56] Speaker B: So then I was like, all right. Like, the phone rings, and the guy has, like, a simple onesie twosie question. Like, how many keys does it have? Do you have the window sticker? Is that the factory paint or is that a rep. Th. Those. They're not, like, questions he can find on the Internet. And then I'm like, yes, here's the window sticker. And then, like, someone sends an email. Do you have the window stick that. Send them? You know, I mean, so you play that. Play that game. So I was like, all right, this car is 100 grand and up. There's no. No fluff on there. And then the communication process is all on this website. So if you had a question about a car, you can write it in the comments. So if you're like, what year are the tires? You can put it in the comments. And the sales guy can be like, they're from this year. So when the next guy comes in, he can be like, I was gonna ask that question. It's already answered there, I'm sure.
[00:31:39] Speaker A: Maybe even with, like, AI and talk technology now, like, they could type in a question and then it would already show that it's been answered.
[00:31:45] Speaker B: Yeah, cool. That's the, that's the plan is the AI stuff's going to be in there, so then you can chat with the sales guy. So if you're like, you know, hey, can you send me a. Everyone wants a video for some reason. Can you send me a walk around video?
[00:31:57] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:58] Speaker B: He can go out like you can on Instagram. You can go take the video and you can send it to the guy. And then that way the guy also knows what car he's talking about and so does the sales guy. Because you get so many leads. Like they get confused about which car they're talking about. So the cars up here almost like on Face. I'm kind of meshing them all together. Facebook, marketplace. Yeah, Instagram, you can like a photo. But if you want to do any of that stuff, you have to, you have to sign up. Right, Right. And put your profile picture in there and give us a little information so that like, you know, some kid out of high school who's just playing on the Internet is not encouraged to be doing all that stuff. So theoretically it'll be better leads with better response time is kind of the plan, man.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: So that's a lot. But also it makes total sense. And I mean, you're just being an entrepreneur, you're. You see a problem, you're going to try to add a solution and to, to solve the problem. So what, what's it looking like on the launch of the designer?
[00:32:50] Speaker B: It should be like online next week. Week. I got like five dealers ready to go.
I shot my social media content yesterday, which is going to be. Wait till you see this, dude. You're like, holy cow. This is, this is a real ad for a dealership. Click.
[00:33:05] Speaker A: That's cool.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's cool. So. And it's going back to like. And I'm also going to do. Because it's just me, right. It's just Chris Barter this time. There's no business partner. There's no other company. Wow. So, like, all the stuff I ever wanted to do, I'm just going to do it.
[00:33:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:33:18] Speaker B: So like, I was on Bradley's podcast last Thursday.
[00:33:21] Speaker A: Crazy.
[00:33:22] Speaker B: Which was a really. Because he's a car guy.
[00:33:23] Speaker A: Did that episode come out yet?
[00:33:25] Speaker B: That'll be out probably next week.
[00:33:26] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: I'm trying to tie it all together so it all comes out at the same time. And then so on this website, I'm a big social media guy. I know you are too. I'm gonna, there's gonna be like an internal social media platform for car dealers. Cuz like you were saying when I sat down, you guys do really cool content.
[00:33:42] Speaker A: Super cool.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: And I can only post it on Instagram, maybe YouTube, maybe Facebook. And that's like it. And then it goes into the abyss of, like, you know, it's competing against. Against, you know, your algorithm. Yep. So hopefully you see it because you follow Tactile fleet. You might not, though. And maybe I spent all this time and money on this video and you never even saw it. But they can also post it in here. So when you're tooling around, you're like, what's. That's a cool video. What's Tactical Fleet? Oh, shit. They got $50 million worth of cars. Oh, look, there's the. There's a Ferrari. I was actually. You know what I mean, that kind of stuff keep you on, like the wheelhouse, and that's kind of the plan. So. Yeah. Yeah. And then all this kind of stuff I'm going to put on there.
[00:34:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: So, like.
[00:34:22] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:34:22] Speaker A: You're practically making almost like, like a car patron, social media dealer, consumer platform. I want it to be experience.
[00:34:32] Speaker B: Yep. I want it to be. When you think of a car 100 grand and up, that's where you go.
[00:34:35] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:34:36] Speaker B: To get your news, to look for cars, to, like. If you have a question, there's chats on there. So if you're like, what's the horsepower on a McLaren 720? Instead of asking the sales guy guy, just put it in the chat. GDP will be like. It's everything, you know? And you can. Even on chat, you can be like, what's the difference between a 458 and a 488? And it'll tell you, you know, better than a sales guy could. It's just the little. Like, you still need the sales guy because you still need the. Well, what do you think? You know what I mean?
[00:35:02] Speaker A: Of course you need that. The relational component.
[00:35:04] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm 64. You should I get an event store? You're not going to fit in it. Oh, okay. Good to know you're not. Or like you kind of meet somebody. Same with working out. And you're like, yeah, you're not going to like that car. Really? Because. Because I know it looks cool, but you're going to hate driving that car. Just from talking with you, I can tell stuff like that.
[00:35:22] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:35:22] Speaker B: So, yeah, that's the plan.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: Dude, that's awesome. Well, yeah, we. This. We're at the end of February right now, going into March. Next week, this episode is going to be launching right during that same time Time frame of when the. The Design Auto is going to be launching out. So is it designauto.com designauto.com is where you go.
[00:35:39] Speaker B: Yep. And then it'll be all over my social platform. CP Barda. Instagram. My TikTok's pretty good. CP Barda. TikTok. My YouTube's weak, but it's CP Barda. And then I'm gonna start kind of interviewing dealers, talking to car guys.
So I'm talking to. Do you know Wes Watson is.
[00:35:58] Speaker A: I don't think so.
[00:35:59] Speaker B: Look that one up, dude. It's. Oh, you have to look that one up if you're in the gym space. Yeah, he's, he's, he does the programs. Right, okay. But he also has a Bugatti. He's had everything Bugatti and he's in Miami. He's huge tatted up guy. But I'm gonna go talk to him about his cars and then he's taken to me to his local car dealership, which is going to be on my platform too. And then we're going to kind of tour there. So it kind of helps everybody. Yes. I mean, yeah. So like I, what I really want is to help the dealer sell more cars. And then I also want you to find cars and find dealers you normally probably wouldn't have found.
[00:36:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:36:31] Speaker B: Because like on the other ones, you start scrolling around and it's like, all right, these are the ads. Okay, that's not even what I was searching for. Let me scroll past that. Here's another ad for a car that's totally irrelevant. You know what I mean? Stuff like that. I'm just like, I don't want you that.
[00:36:45] Speaker A: Yeah, well, man, I think like, like I said at the beginning, like, you have continued to kind of disrupt the market, the, the industry in ways that aren't normally conventional and kind of in the same way, you're, you're doing it again and you're, you're just like, I mean, you're being a relational piece and just connector and puzzle piece put together. Yes, that's what it is concept. But you're also having fun with it. You're creating content. You're creating a platform where buyers, sellers, dealers, enthusiasts. Yeah, like young, old can come. And you're just, you're creating just like a hub of a place where people can enjoy community and a, you know, a hobby that they're passionate about. 100 and, you know, that's something that you've, you've evolved in and, you know, have refined and are continuing to refine through your 15 years and, you know, Lord willing, 20,000 more.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:38] Speaker A: You know, throughout your. Your entrepreneurial journey. So that's super cool.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Thanks, man. I appreciate that a lot. Lot.
[00:37:43] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:37:43] Speaker A: Well, man, I'm. I'm pumped. You kind of already said, like, where we could find you on social media with your YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, the design, auto.com we've got. You've got a lot of super cool content coming out over the next couple weeks with the launch of it, the podcast. Obviously, this one will be collaborating, obviously, if you want to, with some of the reels from our conversation. And then this platform will be able to be found. Excuse me. This podcast will be able to be found on Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, and then, of course on Instagram as well. But any last concluding pieces that you've.
[00:38:17] Speaker B: Got, man, first things first is your health. Right? So, like, I don't know where anyone is in life. Fix that first. If you're. If you got your head on straight and your body's straight and the food intake's good, dude, you can do anything you want doing. And that's what I didn't do. Back to the, like, you know, I wish I would have enjoyed it more. Like, I couldn't enjoy it because it was just like, I was so worried about money and this and that and like, you know, that you forget. Like, dude, if you, if you get sick, it's all gone. You know what I mean? And you. And what I've also found from the fitness thing is I'm sure you see it too. It's like most of these people are like 90 days to, like, 180s, 180 days away from where they really need to be. It's not long, it's not 10 years.
So, yeah, man, it's health, health, wealth, your family.
[00:39:04] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: You know, pursue your passion. If you have an idea, go, just try it. Yeah, go get it. Like, Bradley was like, what happens if this fails? I was like, we'll just pivot, man. Maybe it's design houses next. You know what I mean? Maybe it's design custom gyms. I'll help you with that.
[00:39:17] Speaker A: Let's go. We can talk about that.
[00:39:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Yeah, dude, that's awesome. Yeah. Seriously, taking care of yourself. Enjoy the process. And that's even as I've been on this journey, like, looking around, like, there's. There's too many great people, family, friends around me that a won't let me fail. Like, if I try to quit, they're not. They're Gonna, like, kick me in the butt and say, get back up.
[00:39:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:35] Speaker A: Then be like, just that drive inside of, like, man, I'm. I'm. We might fail, we might succeed, but, like, no matter what, we're gonna continue to figure it out.
[00:39:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:43] Speaker A: And just taking that drive and then trying to enjoy the process, it's like, man, it's. You don't say it's. Nothing's impossible, but it makes it pretty dang tangible to happen.
[00:39:53] Speaker B: Yeah. And let go of the ego, too.
[00:39:55] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:55] Speaker B: You know, don't be scared. Whatever. Hop on a podcast. You know, post that. You know, it's the video that you didn't even want to post that gets all the views. Like, I thought that was dumb. And everyone's like, yeah, it's got 1.4 million views. I didn't want to post that. And it's. Just post it, man. And then the other thing. So when I started getting in shape, I was like, I'm gonna post myself at the gym every day. So when I do get in shape, I don't get that. Yeah, well, you're taking TRT or you're on steroid. I don't. I'm not gonna. Because I'll be like, did you not see me posting for the last 300 days?
And then, like, these guys will hit me up and be like, dude, I've lost 20, 20 pounds because of you. Because I see you at the gym. So I go to the gym. I'm like, I didn't even know you were following me, man. And he's like, you know, I get those little things. I'm like, that's really cool, man. It's just cool to see other people, like, trying stuff and, you know, putting themselves out there. It's like, you only got one life, man. We all know that. And it's like, it's shorter than it should be. So, yeah.
[00:40:46] Speaker A: Heck, yeah, man. Well, I appreciate you. If you guys ever get to meet Chris. Chris, Chris. You can see his authentic, just true personality here. That you're seeing is also how he is in person. And obviously, that's been a reflection of just our relationship going on over these past couple years, so. So make sure to check us out. Make sure to go see and follow Chris along this exciting new journey with the Design Auto. And thank you guys for listening to this podcast. We'll see you next time.
