SPEAKER_01 0:00

What we do is so much more than just an ad. What you do is so much more than just like being a part of this app. Like you gotta show up. You gotta be authentic, too.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

All right, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we have conversations with Northern Colorado's best networkers and find out some of their tips that have led to their success. Today I have Mr. Erie, uh Jesse Levy from Greet Erie. Jesse, welcome to the show. Thank you. It's good to be here. Jesse, on Friday, I was just at your uh locally loved business event where you've assembled quite an awesome crew of uh local business owners. Um share a little bit about the origin of locally loved business and uh some of your goals with that.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Yeah, yeah. So honestly, you were kind of an inspiration to that, I must say. Um, the whole goal was that is to get people outside of the original marketing box of behind a screen on a piece of paper and actually connect them with other people that they might even know or not know in the community and just build the more long-lasting relationships between people and residents and businesses. That was kind of the big goal for that.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Well, I love it. Well, and as somebody who's you know curating this publication where you're serving the town of Erie, which is uh a big place but a small place at the same time, like it truly is your business to be in the know of the best people in town, the best residents, find the best stories. Um but I love the way that you're like cultivating the environment where it comes to you rather than that hunter approach. So uh I guess take me through that like systematic approach of how you're growing that part of your business.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

That's a good question because I want to make sure that the connections matter, right? There you go. Um and I want them to be authentic because when someone looks in the publication and they act on one of the businesses that are advertising, it looks good or bad on me. And I do take that seriously. So I do sit down with every business, not like an interview, but like we want to make sure that I'm a good fit for them, they're a good fit for me. So I do do some prospecting through a couple different channels. Um, but a lot of it's organic and natural too, in the sense of I don't want someone doing something that isn't a good fit or that they're not comfortable with. Because in turn, the relationship gets rocky. Um, and so there's a little bit of both. It's not really me, like, yeah, going out hunting, fishing too hard because I don't want to do that anyway. No one really appreciates that in this day and age, anyway, either. Um, and I do want the relationship to be authentic. So when I say, yes, use this individual, I actually can stand behind that because I've met them, I've shaken their hand, we've gotten lunch or coffee. Like I kind of know them at that level too. Um, and it works because there's been other businesses or people that I'm like, that's just not a good fit. I don't think we're gonna drive together. And, you know, that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

What do you love about Erie?

SPEAKER_01 2:50

That's a good question. There's a lot of things that pop up. I mean, so being a native growing up here, I was born at the old Boulder Community Hospital, so technically in Boulder, but you know, lived in Lafayette Erie my whole life. Just seeing the change of it, it's just cool to see where something can go, but then also kind of be a part of that change too, um, hopefully for the better. Um, and I just think like the small town, small town feel, even though it's grown so large. I think it's in the top 10 fastest growing cities in the US per capita, of course. But um, it still has that small time feel. Like we, my wife hates it. We can't go anywhere without, oh, Jesse, oh hey, oh, you're the Greek guy or you're the gym guy or whatever it is. Um, so you still have those connections, like cheers, you know, walking into the bar. Norm. Um, but it's large enough to be like, okay, we can kind of be on the outskirts a little bit too.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Well, and being being a native is is a pretty unique thing, right? Erie has grown so much, and a lot of the houses I'm sure that your publication shows up at uh were built in the last five years or so. Yeah, yeah. Um so from a from the advice from a native for somebody moving in and settling into Erie, how would you recommend that they're maybe if they own a business, like making connections, uh getting involved in their local community?

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Well, they should move back home. No, I'm just kidding. No, I I think it's great because it just strengthens the infrastructure. And um, I think a lot of people have like a smaller mentality of, oh, there's like three roofers now. It actually authenticates that industry versus being one and being able to choose through those. They're all gonna actually boost each other up. And I try to help business owners like with that mentality too, is like there's plenty of fish in the sea. Like there's you know, over 45 um 45,000 residents, you know, I don't think you can service all those. Right. And so um I think it's good that that growth continues too, because as the city grows, more houses, they need more restaurants, they need more businesses to help thrive with that too, with the tax flow and everything. Um, but I'd say people coming in is just like be authentic when you're trying to integrate into a community. I I see a lot of it like somewhat fake, or maybe they just don't know, which is totally valid. And it's just like awkward sometimes like talk. Like, what are you doing? You know? Um, and so like, you know, just going to the downtown restaurants, actually, you know, introducing yourself, not just going, eating, and leaving, uh, being a part of the local chambers or getting involved with the church or your just community, city involved things. They have a lot of like free events that they, you know, want people to get together. Just go to it and just be happy, you know?

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah. So the publication started uh January, right? Was the first episode or the first issue?

SPEAKER_01 5:34

So that was the first issue that went out was January of this year, 2027. Most people don't know really know the backstory, so it had been in the works since March of 26. Um, and so a lot of back end things building up, you know. Um, and so it is a franchise through the N2 company, which um that was a great partnership, and I can I can dive more into that too. But um, my goal for this was it's not what's gonna look like in 27. It's what is it gonna look like in 2037, 24. Like, what is that next impact? Because um I didn't want it just to be a magazine that people are like, oh again, like let's just put it in the trash. And so I really went with a different approach of like, so like only residents are featured on the front. It's just actual stories. I'm not doing filler things, it's not just random advertisements, it's it's something where they can refer back to and be like, actually, I didn't even know this family. Like their kids go to my school, now I know a little bit more about them. And so the building process took a while, obviously, to get the funding for it through the advertisements because it costs quite a bit to send out to over 10,000 homes. Um, but luckily we've been able to retain in the 90% um reading rate, which is great, just because of what we're doing with the content. And I have I actually had a new email this morning that it came up to of a resident that said, I'm not getting it. How do I get it? I I heard it from another friend in the community. I want to be a part of this, and so it's really cool hearing that as well.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Well, and you were saying um because it's the the local nature, there local stories and local residents, local businesses, the the trust that from the readers to the people who are advertising or the stories they are is at a higher level than just finding it on Google.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Yeah, yeah. And so the nice thing about being a part of larger organizations as the N2 company is we do have third parties gathering analytics and data for us, which is nice. Sometimes that's just like a must for some people to know. Um, and so readership through print is oh almost in the 90% now, where trust rate via digital is in the low 400, uh 40%. And so there's this split happening. I think a lot of the uh, you know, unfortunate AI stuff, even though AI is a great tool for things, um, people don't know what's right, they don't know what's wrong, they don't know what's local, and they just want something that they can know and trust. And so the fact that it's, hey, this is somebody in my community that I probably know. If they don't know me, they should know me. Let's go grab lunch or something. Um, but this way it's it's not like just anything random. It's hey, this is a real family that just wants to tell you about their story, or a gentleman that wants to feature his Mustang, right? That he built with his father, just things like that. And so people really relate to it. Um, and we actually did a survey in July to the residents of like, hey, um, from these businesses in here, um, do you trust the businesses versus outside sources? We it was like, yes, no, maybe a little bit, absolutely, and 100% said absolutely, which was really cool. That's cool.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Yeah. Well, it's like the business that's sponsoring the kids' baseball team. Exactly. It's super uh community focused. And you know, I think like if a hail storm comes in, all the out-of-town people will come in. Yeah, people want to do business with somebody they know is gonna be their neighbor, be around, yeah, uh well after. Um let's talk about the N2 stuff because uh um besides Greed, I know there's some other publications that they offer, uh, but also that you've collaborated with Celia. Um if you want to talk about that and how that looks.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

Yeah, yeah. So all yeah, all in all, we have about six publications. Um so the really community folk, or our flagship, I should say, was the stroll publication. That's in just a neighborhood. So like Mapleton Hill and Boulder, it only reaches about 600 homes, a little bit different focus. Super, super yeah. So that's why they like strolling through your neighborhood where greeting your neighbors or your so mine's the same thing, just larger essentially. And the nice thing is they're all ran by a local person. Like, I can't open one up in Texas, like we have to live where we are at, which I think is important. Um, otherwise, it'd kind of have that breakage. But yeah, then we have uh Celia owns and runs the B uh Be Local, which kind of focuses on an area. So she's like North Metro Denver. So she really helps new home buyers just figure out all the stuff that they're like, we gotta figure out these things to buy, this to get, where is the coffee shop? Where do I get diapers at? Like all these different things. Most people do some research, but the nice thing is when they get that new home buyer guide, they're like, We have a list of every coffee shop in the area. Here's like the local businesses that we've kind of tested through to like trust of like, hey, we need to get radon mitigation. Great, mile high radon. I know who to use now. And so just things like that, too. It's just because um statistics show and Sila could probably have a little bit more direct numbers, but um, you know, they say um when you move within the first year, um, over 50% of people buy a new car. So there's certain things that they need to buy or want to buy. They're in those spending habits, and they're like, let's keep spending money. Um, and then we have our um Salute, which is our military magazine, focuses on that community, our uniquely you, which is on uh the life on the spectrum type of thing, um, supporting that community through a lot of nonprofit organizations, and then our real producers, which is our Realty magazine, featuring high-producing realtors throughout the US and just businesses that would want to be in their network, essentially.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Really cool. Yeah. Uh, I see you building partnerships. Um, like, for example, Fausto doesn't just interact with you, he creates like a recipe that's like people can actually learn from a chef that they've loved in Erie for a long time, and then all of a sudden his stuff's in your magazine with like a how-to, or uh former podcast guest uh Rebecca Silence uh came on the show. I know she does kind of a feature within you. I'm curious, like, how do you meet really interesting, talented people, but then set it up where you're you're truly creating some partnership where they're contributing every single month, ongoing.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing is just letting people know, like, hey, it's your like it's your magazine. I'm just the owner publisher, whatever fancy thing you want to say. Like, I wasn't good at like writing articles or anything like I wasn't a publisher, like that wasn't my thing. I was I owned a gym, I was like a whole different route, and I did sales marketing, and then I realized, oh, like I'm gonna be publishing a magazine. That's kind of cool. Let's figure it out. And so partnering with the right people too is important. And so I do, I've been hiring, you know, team members, staff members over the years. So it's kind of helped me decipher who's good, but I always present it to the community of like, guys, this is for you, by you. Like, this is your magazine. I'm just gonna make it look pretty and send it out to all of your friends and family. Um, and so I think with that approach too, they get the idea of like, it's not really a pay-to-play. You know, if you want to have an advertisement, yes, you have to pay. Unfortunately, just life isn't pretty, right? It costs a lot of money. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But as far as the content goes, that's what draws people back every month. I'm very transparent. Like, people aren't flipping through that first time for an ad. It might catch their eye, but it's the second, third time, fourth time, they're going back to like, I really do need this. And I have a lot of good success stories about that too. And so, yeah, the first time I sat down with Rebecca, Fausto, it was like an immediate thing of like, they were like, Well, how do we like just be more in the magazine? And I'm like, Well, I have an answer for you because it's actually yours too. Like, you're in the community. And so it's it's kind of that open door invite, I think, that I present at the beginning that they kind of see and they're like, Oh, like you're not just taking my money. I'm like, no, I just want you to be a part of your community magazine. And then if it turns into something, that's great, you know, help help fund the magazine. But that's how a lot of them have started too.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

Is it like co-created where you have obviously an audience you're trying to serve and you're using them as a vessel, but they're all yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

And I don't want it to think like I need you for the content. Like the residents submit content, like we're already booked through 2027 for the featured family photos.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Cool.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Um, so like I hire my photographers, they go out and you get free family photos, you get a nice a fun article on you, and it's kind of funny seeing that dynamic of there's like this half that's like, that is me. Take a picture of me. And the other families are like, I'll read it, you know. Like, so it's it's fun seeing that difference too. And we have different articles that kind of appease to both, of course. Um, but yeah, so it's more of like, hey, what do you want to see? I know we did we through the survey, we asked, like, hey, we've gotten a lot of inquiries about nonprofits. We did a community matters article, and it's been blowing up. A lot of nonprofits have been like coming out of the shadows of like, we need help. We'd love to like, and it's like, guys, this is free for you. Like, you're a nonprofit in the community, you're trying to serve the community. I'm not gonna charge you. Like, I'll pay for it. Like, let's get you in the word out. And so I think that approach too has been really cool. And so, Fausto, um, it was more of like an organic thing of just knowing him, be like, hey, I'm gonna help you run your advertisement. But at the same time, why don't we utilize some of the stuff behind the scenes to bring that to light too? And I it's been funny. I've heard a lot of residents are like, I've been ripping them out of the magazine. I was like, I can send you the digital file. You don't have to rip your magazine, but like, sure, you know. And so I think that has been really cool too, where Rebecca's like, how do I give back? And like, well, you know, like let's help people with struggling on XYZ, whatever that might be. We'll do a little um article on that. Or Brittany's been doing stuff on like, hey, here's your financial focus. Of these are questions about a 529. So you don't have because that's kind of a sensitive topic of like, I call it the pants down industry of like, give me your financials, your social, you're this, you're that. You're like, sometimes people are hesitant. Right. So for them to kind of see that from a professional, they're like, oh, it's not as intimidating, or it's actually kind of simple. I do need some guidance on this, and so just kind of those kind of things where they can read it but not feel super intimidated too.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

Well, when we're out networking, uh you have this squad of like where people guys that are like super loyal to each other, you pass a lot of business. Uh, Sean Kelly was a former guest, but I know Alex. Um, and it it's it's endearing. Like, I think people who are networking, they they want to have what what you all have um with just the loyalty, the the passion for each other, the the amplification of each other. So um, I don't know, give them give them your squad a shout out, and then uh I'm curious, like, how did it grow into what it is now?

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Yeah, yeah. Well, I I I mean the squad you're talking about for sure. Um, you know, Alex and Sean, and I'll I'll touch a little bit more on them. It's definitely grown larger than that for sure. I think the biggest reason why, though, is like, first of all, I want to treat people the way I want to be treated. Um, and uh, this comedian um that I actually saw recently, Michael Jr., he said, I want to give like I would want to receive. Yeah. So he he bought this family a car and he got the platinum version. It was like a gift for them. They didn't have a car. And he's like, hey, if someone gave me something, I'd want a platinum too, you know? And so I was like, that's interesting. Because so it's more of like, I want to build those authentic relationships that better their business and hopefully and turn it a better mine. If it doesn't, that's okay. At least I've made a footprint to better somebody else. I think that's the ground rule. Everyone's like, what can I get out of it? And it's like, guys, that's not why we're here. We're here to make everyone else better and help them grow. And we will see that growth and betterment too. And so I think it really clicked. So, Sean with the merchant solutions, I was like, that's a service I don't do and I can't do. I mean, I could do it, you know, down that rabbit hole, but he's very personable, cares about people. Um, and it was a great addition to my business model of like, hey, we we can help you with whatever you need. And now I can really say that of like, let's lower your credit card fees. So I brought Sean in and we started contracting. And then Alex, we we we kind of started our company, uh, mine back in the day off of website design. That was the first initial thing. And as you get busier and you find other people that are more talented than you, it's okay to say, you're better at this. If I want to truly give the best experience, I actually want to hire you to do this. And so we've contracted in that realm of all website stuff has been going to him. And I've recently found different branding people and Morgana, my media manager, um, I'm not good at social media. Um, and we want to be able to boost um the presence of these businesses in an impactful way. I'm not the person exactly for that. I have the tools necessary and the foundation. And so Morgana's been a great addition to that of like, she just goes nuts. And we've been able to triple, you know, the following, the view, the monthly views for a lot of these Facebook pages and uh Instagram pages because she knows what she's doing, where most businesses either don't or they don't have the time. So I think the biggest thing to nail it down is like, well, I would love that for my business. Why don't we do that for theirs? And we'll see if that kind of reciprocates back. And it always does. You know, you know, too, being in that networking, they go, You sent me a lot of clients.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Here's a client. They're like, Well, I sent you 10 and you gave me one, but that's okay. No, we're not counting. But yeah, so I'd say that's one of the biggest things is you know, like treating others as you'd want to be treated is like the foundation of it.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

That's awesome. Uh so you you talked about the networking, and I see you network in a lot of places. The chambers and the uh, you know, the locally loved business. You're involved in my community as well. Um, and as a community builder, somebody who serves the business community, who's building a community of uh advertisers, readers. Um how how do you suggest community builders network with each other? Because you seem to have quite this like abundance mindset to this rather than this territorial mindset about like, hey, I'm doing it, you need to come to me. It's like I see you everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

Yeah. Yeah, I I think it's I I say it to a lot of people. So I'm I've recently been on the board of directors at the Erie Chamber. They've been asking and asking, I'm like, all right, like you know, like the chamber has given me a lot, let me give back to it now, too. Um, and I think that's another thing too. It is people just go, here's my fee for your networking, or here's my fee for this, or here's my fee for the ad. And I'm like, guys, what we do is so much more than just an ad. What you do is so much more than just like being a part of this app. Like, you gotta show up, you gotta be authentic too. And I think that's the biggest thing, too, is like just thinking about the impact of your community too. Um, I think that's why the magazine's so cool and unique, is like it does impact it in a more positive way. And Andrew Moore, the mayor, we've talked a lot about that too. And he's kind of mentioned how it's coming a good time to help with that growth, especially when there's so much division out there. Um, but I think just being authentic through it, not always wanting to get the most out of it. I mean, getting the most out of it is is beneficial, just not like what can I get more? Just like a relationship. You don't you didn't marry your spouse to be like, it's me, me, me. If you did, it's not gonna work out very well. You're sleeping on the couch. Um, but I think the biggest thing is once again, just being authentic about it, creating the relationships and then see what happens from that. I can't even tell you, like, probably some of my best clients that have been with me the longest, Sean and Alex being a good example, actually. It was, hey, I like what you're doing. I think you're making a good impact. I think I am. Let's connect on some things. And then we were, I think we're at Taco Tuesday one day, which is another little group thing that we've started. And he was like, How do I just like support the magazine? I think this isn't he initially was like, I don't even want an ad, but how do I just like financially help with this? And I was like, I mean, I'd love the support. And so we kind of figured out a deal for him, and then um he mentioned um this other guy, Ryan, that I know who's a lender, and he was like, Hey, Jesse's been doing this for me. And sh Ryan and I had met in the back in the day, but it wasn't me being like, hey, you need to sign up for this. It was like, who are you? Here's who I am. And he texted me, he's like, I think I want to get in the magazine now. Sean was talking about this, and so just like those like meaningful things, um, I think people just think if they're gone, they're gone forever. And sometimes that happens, but you can't be looking at them like a like a dollar. It's it's an actual person, it's a business, and like they see success, they don't see success. And how do you leverage with that too? Of like, you want them to see success when you see success and both together. And so I think if you carry that around even in the networking groups, of just like you say it really well of like, don't just talk about you when you introduce yourself. Like, what do you do? Oh, you have family, like actually getting to know the people, not just being like, Okay, we got 30 seconds, I'm a roofer, I do this, I do that, and like here's my card. I have a hail. If you see hail, call me, you know, like things like that. And I should be dogging on roofers, right? We could use an example for anyone. Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

Awesome, Justy. Well, man, uh, this is so good. It's been um awesome to network with you, to watch your community grow, to partner with your your magazine and and uh um with what you're doing at the Erie. So if somebody's interested in in meeting you, coming to an event or um advertising with Greet, how do they get hold of you?

SPEAKER_01 22:07

Yeah, I mean, I'm a I'm a meet-in-person type of guy. So they could email or call, text, whatever. Um, I'll say let's set up a meeting, let's grab coffee or lunch anyway, because once again, I do want to stand by of like if it's a good fit to partner up, great. If not, that's okay. We can still network together. And it's not just the magazine itself. So even though a magazine's like the big thing, I'd say that's like the cake. We do digital advertisement stuff. That's like the frosting and events, that's like the sprinkles. Now we have a really nice looking cake, you know. Um, and so, and what I've noticed too is it all kind of grows together as well. Um, but yeah, call, text, email, smoke signal, whatever works.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

To an event, I'll probably be there. Walk around eerie billions. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Yeah, I'll just pop in a town council meetings just because, you know.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Right on Jesse. Well, man, I appreciate you coming on the show. We'll see you around Northern Colorado. Awesome. Hey y'all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me, or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh go in the podcast description. There's a way so you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe uh you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.