Make the most from Tax refunds

Pete and Danny kick things off with a reminder that tax refunds don't all arrive at once — the IRS opened filing on January 23rd, with Earned Income Tax Credit refunds arriving around February 28th and the filing deadline falling on April 18th. That means stores need to be ready and ramped up now, not waiting for the rush.

On the collections and retention side, the guys share a lineup of practical strategies: always get delinquent accounts caught up before discussing payouts, consider offering customers two months paid ahead instead of paying out entirely, and don't be afraid to make creative deals to keep customers in the door. As Pete puts it, "a little lost now could be a lot gained later." Danny adds that tax season is also the perfect time to evaluate your account managers — if they can't collect now, how will they perform in the slower summer months?

The conversation shifts to maximizing revenue through retail cash sales, accessories, and counter add-ons. Stream boxes, robot vacuums, air fryers, gaming computers, and the upcoming PS5 VR system all get the spotlight as high-potential items to push this season. The hosts also weigh in on e-bikes and e-scooters — a product both stores have largely stepped away from due to service and return issues — and invite listeners to share their own experiences.

The episode wraps with a preview of the TRIB Group's Meeting of the Minds 40th Anniversary show in Atlanta, Georgia, where Pete will be representing the RTO Show. Danny won't be able to make it, but encourages the RTO community to attend, network, and share what they learn.

Transcript

Danny Lastra 0:07

And welcome to the RTO show with Danny and Pete. I'm your host, Danny.

Pete Shau 0:10

And I'm your host, Pete. Today we're talking about taxes, toys, and trips for the first quarter. Love it. Love tax season time. It's a good time. It's uh it's the money time. And to be honest with you, I think almost everybody in Rentone would tell you. First quarter is the money quarter. This is what uh helps pay the bills for the rest of the year, right?

Danny Lastra 0:27

Well, I I believe Kale once said I think like half or two-thirds of the year's profit actually comes from tax season time. Well, I mean, it sounds about right. Yeah, I mean, you gotta, you know, you gotta get it where you can, right? You gotta hit hard when it when it gets good.

Pete Shau 0:39

So, so what tips do you have for everybody as far as the tax season time, Pete? Well, the first thing is to remember is that just because it's change of the year doesn't mean that all the taxes are gonna be flooding in at one time, right? So according to IRS.gov, January 23rd was the first day that you can actually start getting your taxes filed. And then this year, April 18th, is the deadline before they start taxing you because you didn't do what you're supposed to do at the right time. So make sure that as you start ramping up, you want to start getting things done right now because you want to get ready for what's going on. Now, the IRS accepts things, you know, they have a basically around a 21-day hiatus this year. You you fill it most of the time, it's gonna be about 21 days. Earned income tax credit will be a little bit weird. They're gonna be uh available more likely around February 28th of this year, you know. So you want to make sure that you have everything caught up because this is the time to get everything paid up, paid off, or purchased, put it in their mind for the next month. And uh we got a we got a couple max, we got a couple uh ways to maximize your tax tips right going on. I mean, uh the first one I want to tell you right now is make sure the account is fully caught up before you discuss payout, even before they have that discussion, make sure your account is paid up because they're gonna be thinking about the last number that you put in their head, and it shouldn't be the payout number. It should be if it's caught now. If it's caught up, of course, then it's a payout number. But if it's not, get them caught out first, then do payout. That's number one.

Danny Lastra 2:01

Yeah, you definitely want to get your your back rent if they are in in delinquency before you discuss the payout. That way you can achieve that before they make the decision whether they're going to pay it out or return. Now, that's because that's part of the the season, is you're gonna get a lot of returns, a lot of payouts, because they have the money to either pay it off right then and there or to go get it somewhere cheaper, somewhere down the road, possibly at a at a big box retail. So those are things you have to think about. So to maximize your tax dollars, like you just said, is you definitely want to get your back payment up front before discussing that payout. So that way you at least obtain that. And that'll help your dollars out for the for the for the quarter as well.

Pete Shau 2:34

Well, we always got to remember once you do that, then the first thing you have to realize is that the intent of everything that you're doing is to keep customers, right? Customer attention is the biggest goal. At the bare minimum, you want to plant seeds for the future, like you said. You want to make sure that everything is is in their head right now at the time of payoff because they can go anywhere. But you know, this is a good time to make sure. Don't be afraid to make the deals to make things happen to keep the customers. Grease the wheels, grease the palms, make them know that you're you're willing to go outside the box a little bit to help them out because the truth is a little bit lost here could be a lot gained later. And that's exactly the hint of rent to own, right? You have the same as catch option, and it's a little bit more now, but it saves you in the end. Well, rent to own is a little bit different. If I can help you out now and you go long term, that's where we're gonna make you know things happen and profitability. You need to make sure that people know that, you know, make those deals.

Danny Lastra 3:23

Well, you know, Paul Schiller, our owner, he even made the comment. He's like, you know, to try to prevent the payout, try to convince the customer, just pay two months ahead. Hey, you know, keep that extra money for yourself, go do something fun with the family, or you know, go do something else with that. But instead of paying us out, you know, why don't you just pay two months ahead? You ain't got to worry about us for two months, and you know, you're already in uh in an affordable payment plan that you signed up for, you know you can afford it. So instead of just paying us out and spending that thousand dollars, you know, why not just give me, you know, the two, three hundred dollars to cover you for the next two months, and I'll talk to you in May. I mean, that's that's a strategy you could use. Is that a bad idea?

Pete Shau 3:55

I mean, right now we've we're we're on the precipice of a possible recession, and everybody that I talk to seems like it's gonna get worse and worse and worse. So if it's gonna be that way, is it not better to keep some money in your pocket for a lot of other things that might be headed your way? I mean, groceries are going up, gas is is thank God came down, but I doubt it's gonna stay there forever. Price of everything is going up. Maybe it is a good idea to keep those low weekly, monthly payments, but you know, have something in your pocket for a real emergency, like the car breaking down or the kids have a situation. It might be a good idea, and we're not fear-mongering guys. We want you guys to know that hey, listen, we just want you to think about the future and what's going on because we're gonna be here for you no matter what. But there's a lot of real things that are out there. Maybe this is a good time to talk about them. And, you know, another thing is, guys, don't forget at the counter to talk about every single one of your services, not just the product that they have or the open account that they have, but talk about everything. And this is a good time to remember, don't leave anything out. Accessories are big, just like we talked about in our previous podcast. Go to you know, your accessories and the things that make the house look good. These are not super expensive items, but they can really make a difference in a home. And I think this is a good time where you can get uh a lot of things moved out, moved out of the door.

Danny Lastra 5:05

Well, I feel in in addition to the accessories and the add-ons, you know, this is a great opportunity to also maximize your cash sales, you know, even for your non-traditional rent-owned customers, because everyone has some good change in their pocket. Unfortunately, I feel in our industry, we all when we think of cash sales, we think of clearance items, we think of damaged products, we think of refurbished products and just trying to push it out the door. But you can cash sale some new product and and still give a customer a good deal, get some good margin on it, but then it's a win-win for everybody. You're maximizing your revenues, maximizing your profit. They're getting a good deal. Now you have to promote it. That's the difference, is because we're rent-owned, a lot of non-traditional rent-town customers don't know that we can sell retail as well. And I think you really got to promote it. And here comes the annoying parrot again, social media. Post it on social media, Facebook, offer up, Craigslist, even. I mean, that's kind of an old school site, but it can work. I think you could easily generate probably five to six thousand in cash sales if you promote and market it correctly.

Pete Shau 6:02

That's the key, right? And then you have to understand customers can go anywhere. So what you need to do is know where you can and can't. Like you said, that some people just don't know that we can do retail, and we're all about the retail tip, just like we're trying to do rent-to-own. Of course, we always want somebody to put on rent, right? That's the bread and butter. But if we can sell it, we can. But then there's those always those things, you know, always remember you've got to know when you can make a cash deal, and you got to know when you shouldn't. An example that we were talking about before the show is the PS5 pricing. There is no rent-to-owned company that I know that's gonna beat the big box retailers. Like when we talk about it, we talk about Walmart, we talk about some of the big box retailers, even sometimes GameStop. Sometimes I don't know, GameStop's been a little iffy lately. But those are the places that they get it at cost and they sell it right at whatever the MSRP is. It's a little harder for rent-to-owned to do that. So you might want to talk to your team and say, hey, we can do it on this, this, and this, and this. But we have a few select products that this is the bare minimum that we can take because we want to make the right deal. I mean, you'd never want to make the wrong deal on your situation. You want it to work out for both parties. But there are some things that we just need to be careful about, right?

Danny Lastra 7:09

No, absolutely. But I think that also goes back to what you were saying about, you know, don't be afraid to make a deal. Like if you have a customer that's been renting that PS5 for six months, but they already passed your same as cash. That's something you might want to get with your upper management and get it approval. Like, hey, can I do this special buyout? Because they've already paid me X amount. They can go get it brand new for $499, $599 at Walmart Best Buy. Can I match that buyout price so we can obtain that revenue? I mean, again, it's a it's always gonna be a case-by-case scenario, but it's don't be afraid to think outside the box and to of course get with your upper management approval to do that.

Pete Shau 7:43

Well, you have one advantage, right? It's already in their home, it's already connected to their TV. The kids already have all their game systems on it, they have all their saved spots on it, they have their favorite, you know, they have Netflix stored on it, right? So it is a it is a sale point where you can say, you know, listen, I'll make you this deal instead of having to go out, bring mine back, go get theirs, put theirs in. I'll make you a deal on this one, and you can keep the one that you have. And not only that, it reminds them that they didn't have to go somewhere else to get that deal. They have a product in-house that they got from you that they made payments on and you helped them out, and they didn't have to go somewhere and change it out. Because once they change it out, subconsciously, every time that they look at that product, they're gonna go, it was theirs, but then I had to go somewhere else to find the right deal. And that's what you don't want. You got to make sure that you're keeping that in your mind as you're going forward because everything matters. In these times, everything matters. Every seed that you plant, every conversation that you have, everything that's coming up, make sure you work on it. Make sure you get your salesman, you brush it off, and you make it happen. You you kind of put the best foot forward.

Danny Lastra 8:41

Absolutely. And then, of course, this is the perfect time to do some was it, uh, shopping the competitors.

Pete Shau 8:46

Yeah, yeah. We're gonna we're gonna price shop competition. But we're not gonna just price shop competition as in I'm gonna go to other rent tier owned companies, I'm gonna check their websites. What I want to do is I'm gonna go and check everybody's website. I want to check where everybody's deal is because this is this is what's going on. When you have a lot of cash in hand, you're not always thinking about renting. Now, it's our job is to make that one of the priorities that we talk about, but that's not always gonna stay on the forefront. If I have something that I can buy cash and save money, I'm gonna do it. Remember, guys, there's a lot coming up in this recession and people know about it. This is not something that's hidden. They know about it, they want the deals. So make sure you know what you can buy your things for at different places like Walmart, Target, Sam's. Go to the local furniture shops and see what they're selling it for, and go to your RTO company competition and see what they're selling it for so that you are right there. You are competitive and you're on point. You know what you're talking about. So somebody doesn't come in and say, yeah, they got this, so you know, for like $300 cheaper. Eh, I kind of went over there. They really don't. If you read the disclaimer, it says you have to do this, this, and jump through this hoop and then go back and give your aunt's phone number, and that's how you're gonna get it. Over here, you don't have to do that, and I'll save you money without going through those hoops. So it's good to know those, and it's good to read the fine print on anything that they have going on, especially the sales and circulars.

Danny Lastra 9:58

I feel with the taxis and tiny, it's almost hard not to collect your revenues. So I was just talking to my team about this in the first quarter. I personally feel you have to be very sales mentality, very marketing mentality, very retention mentality. Because if you go to full-on credit mode and only worry about getting your dollars, I think that's where you lose customers and you lose your rental revenues for the month because you're just focused on that. I think it's easy to collect in this time of the year. It's also a good time to evaluate your account managers because if they can't collect during tax season time, how are they going to collect during the summer months? So I personally advise my GMs to go in the opposite way. Don't neglect your credit, don't neglect the collections because that's part of your day-to-day business. But you need to be more proactive on the salesmanship and on the marketing side. You know, with the payouts at the counter over the phone, you need to try to get them into another to another rent, another rental agreement, whatever that may be, whether it's an add-on, whether it's the accessories you were talking about, whether it's a hot new toy, which we'll probably get to that here in a second. But you got to really attack it every day. How to retain the customers. Don't pay this agreement all. Give me two months in advance. You I won't hear from you till May. You get you take some time off on payments, but you get to keep the product and you get to keep some cash in your pockets. It's a win-win for everybody. So we get to keep the customer, they get to keep some money, and they're still at an affordable rate that they originally agreed to. So definitely try to be optimistic and obtaining and containing your customers because if you can come out of this quarter at the same customer level you started with, you're set up for the year.

Pete Shau 11:30

Absolutely. And then last but not least, because we did touch on that, and he's he's got a pretty big point. The point here is retention, customer sales, customer growth, because anytime you grow in the first quarter, that means a great year. But if your guys aren't collecting their dollars at this time of the year, you really do need to reevaluate what's going on. Now, that doesn't mean that they're terrible, but I'm gonna tell you right now, it doesn't get much better than the first quarter. And I can tell you guys mostly there is a cycle. You come into the beginning of the year, January, beginning of February, you're gonna probably start running into you know some credit issues. Little tip that I'm gonna say is don't be crazy out there and go out there and try to demand money and get your merchandise. If you can wait, and I'm gonna say if, because this changes for everybody, if you can wait, wait for the money at the end of February, beginning of March, because that's when you really should start seeing your credit drop. It's gonna give you a lot of more sales opportunities where you guys can put on their salesmanship and make it happen. And this is where your customer service really kicks in. Now, with that said, now we're going into the toys that can make some differences on the sales that are coming up. And we got five things that we really believe that you guys are gonna be interested, and one thing that I'm not interested in, but you guys might be interested in it anyways, because it's just not my cup of tea. But what are the what are some things that we need to talk about, Danny? What's the new items out there that people have really been looking for these last few weeks?

Danny Lastra 12:50

Well, I think the the new hot item that's gonna be coming out is that PS5 VR system. I think you know you can pre-order that now. I think that's gonna be the hot item of the year. I we already did the Oculus, and everyone that I spoke to did so well in the fourth quarter with Oculus, that was like the hot item of the fourth quarter. So I think the PS5 VR system is gonna be that new toy that gamers are gonna want. That's just my opinion. But I see an increase of sales of that. So if you haven't pre-ordered, I would definitely jump on that now.

Pete Shau 13:18

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Danny Lastra 15:02

Well, and then another item that is it's very affordable friendly is the stream boxes. I know we've been doing very well with them at Ranking, and I had some managers that really bought into it. Our new Zephyr Hill's location here already has like 2025 on rent. I mean, I think you really have to learn about it, but it's user-friendly. It can cut your cable bill. I think you just got to get behind it and educate the customers. But if you educate them and know that they can save money in the long run with these stream boxes and you can get everything from Netflix to you know Disney Plus, etc., I think it's a way to go to do a quick little add-on to a TV and to help them out in the long run as well, because if they cut their cable bill, they pay you, which is less than a cable bill. It's almost a no-brainer. I think that's a neat toy that everyone should be looking into as well.

Pete Shau 15:44

So if you guys are interested in stream boxes, somebody that we use is uh Gabriel Johnson. Um you can act, you can actually reach him at Gabriel.johnson at c2squared.com. That's Gabriel G-A-B-R-I-E-L dot Johnson, J O H N S O N at C2Squared.com. He has got some deals right now that are coming out. They also come out with a VPN on some of their boxes that makes it a lot easier for certain places. I know Spectrum sometimes a little bit hard on those stream boxes, but listen, guys, those stream boxes they have live TV, they have all kinds of movies that are on there, new, old, and everything in between, and they have some pay-per-view events. I'm not gonna say, I'm gonna say this for a disclaimer, Pete does not endorse any uh products or facilitating any streaming illegally, but I will tell you this it is a deal and a half to get. If you don't have it, get it, because that can change any TV to an entertainment hub. And I'm gonna tell you, if people are trying to cut back on that, you know, basically spending too much money, this is the way to go. This is the way to make it happen. And this is what we were talking about one of those accessories at the counter when they're paying up or they're paying out, throw a stream box in. It's almost a no-brainer. You almost cannot fail with this thing.

Danny Lastra 16:59

What are what are the products you think are some cool toys, Pete?

Pete Shau 17:01

You know, I hate to say this, but you know, and I love my wife, and we kind of we kind of get busy and we stuff. She works from home. Uh the baby's here. But I will tell you, what's really saved me, we actually have a rumba. And we turn that thing on and it takes care of the living room or it takes care of the uh the family room when we're just too busy or when the baby's sleeping, and my wife still has to work, but we want to get cleaned up. We have a robot vacuum. And let me tell you, that thing is amazing. I mean, you know, it sounds crazy because uh when I was younger, you know, we had these old big vacuums that were like they had the bag in it. You know, they didn't even have the cylinders, they had the bag and had a little spring on the back to hold in the bag, and it was the front of it looked like oh my god, it looked like the front of a 57 Chevy, right? And he's you know. Now we literally grab the remote, we hit a button, and boom, it just goes off by itself. It does a certain area, and when it's done, it goes back, recharges, it makes it so much easier for people. This is one of the products that I think you guys should try. I wouldn't go heavy on it, but I would definitely try it and see. Hey, do you guys like this or your customer base? Is your customer base like this? And try it out because I think this is going to be uh something else that's gonna be big for rent to own.

Danny Lastra 18:08

Well, you know, and think about that. So you you have a Roomba, and that's a name brand, that's a top-tier name brand for those robotic vacuums, but they have some second and third tier robot vacuums that are affordable. They have Sharks, they have iRobot, they have iHome Autovac. And I mean, if you look on maybe like Walmart or Best Buy, you can see affordable products of that department and bring them in, try them out. It's not gonna cost you an armor leg, it's not gonna cost a customer an armor leg, and let them try it out and see how they feel about it.

Pete Shau 18:37

I think, yeah, you can definitely get one or two or three, try them out. If they sell, get some more. I wouldn't stock up heavy on them, but they even have a version right now that you can sweep and mop your floor with one item, which is which is amazing. Now, I'm not saying that everybody has those floors, some of us have carpet, some of us don't, but I mean, I know the kitchen isn't always carpeted, right? The kitchen always has tile or always has vinyl or has something. That's an area that's a lot of use. Why not get one of those for him or her and make it easier for them during the day? I mean, that's to me, that's one of the great things that are coming out. Another thing that has been kind of crazy for the kitchen area is air fryers and stoves with the built-in air fryers. Now they're doing away with oil, right? It's just you shouldn't do that. It's gonna give you a heart attack, right? Air fryers are the rave right now, especially. And I've been hit up twice for customers who want the stoves with the built-in air fryers where the oven is. You know, it used to be convection or whatever you want to call it now, but man, that that that is an amazing amazing and with being in the stove, dude, you could do like a full-size freaking chicken turkey in that thing.

Danny Lastra 19:38

No, absolutely. And then, you know, the air fryer has been a big thing for the past couple years. I know we got one, I'm sure you have one, and now it's becoming almost I don't want to say a necessity, but it, you know what it's healthier for you, but it tastes just as good as frying your food. So, I mean, definitely look into those air fryers. You can get portable air fryers, you can get the stoves with the air fryers in it. You know, think outside the box with household appliances as well. You know what we also did well in the fourth quarter was blender mixers. I had some some stores out in the Polk County area, they did real good with the blender mixers. I had some Hillsborough stores that they got some coffee makers. I drink coffee every day. A cure reg machine. Think about that. You know, we we got one for my friend's wedding gift. She was so happy she received it. Again, they're not expensive, but for people that are on the go, people are working, you know, instead of that old school pot, you get them a cure reg machine, you have that on display, you know, and again, it's it's just a small little add-on again. It could be like $688 a week, $988 a week, whatever, whatever the formula comes out to, but that's something to look into as well. Little household appliances that aren't super expensive, but it's just a nice little gift.

Pete Shau 20:38

Something to think about. Talking about gifts, what kid doesn't want a gaming computer or a gaming laptop nowadays? It used to be, listen, you got a TV, you got a game system, whether it be an Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, whatever the case is, and kids were okay with that. Now, just like any other generation comes before and after, the one before is simpler than the one after, and now kids want the serious gaming. I mean, I'm gonna tell you right now, gaming computers and laptops have been on the rise for the last 12 months. I don't think you're gonna really get away from them, but man, they're making some games that are unfreaking believable, but they need these gaming computers to run. Kids know it. Kids know all about it. Like, I mean, I didn't know for a while, I actually had to sit down and read on it. They are the rave right now. They're not cheap, but man, they are an investment that I think your customer will really enjoy.

Danny Lastra 21:25

You know, you say kids, but I don't think it's really kids. I think it's a lot of adults. I think it's the millennials in their 30s that are getting these products because I don't know about you, but I'm not getting a lot of requests for basic laptops or basic all in ones. I'm getting a lot of requests for continuously gaming laptops or gaming desktop computers. And I think some might be for you know their kids, you know, but I I I'm seeing a big majority are in their late 20s, early 30s that they're just into gaming.

Pete Shau 21:51

Well, they're into this spec driven buying, right? I want something that has a, you know, let's say 27 to 32 inch curved mode. Monitor. I want the refresh rate to be this fast. I want to make sure that this memory, when you have the solid state and you have a regular one, a regular hard drive just to hold everything that I need, but I need the speed. I need to make sure that this gaming card is going to be able to render this and whatever I want it to do, all the way from you know 1080p to 4K. And we've got to keep up with that. I mean, that's that's where it's going. I wasn't going to say adults because you know I might have a gaming computer myself. But the thing is, is that you gotta say you got to go where you gotta go. And if it's there, it's there, right? So and guys, everything that we're telling you is something that you can keep at the counter, whether it be the stream box, whether it be the vacuums, whether it be the you know the Oculus systems, whether it be the gaming stuff, you can keep all those right there. These are counter buys when you were talking to those deals about you know the tax time dollars and what they're gonna do with it and how to retain them. These are something that you can put in your face. Now, something you can't put on the counter, which I don't ever want to put these things in my on my counters or my stuff, but you know what? I'm not gonna say anything because they are they are good products. Well, let's just call what it is. It it's it's a controversial product. It's a controversial product, guys, and we're talking about e-bikes and e-scooters. What I mean, what do you guys think? Please hit us up, let us know, email us, right, and let us know. You can Pete at the RTO ShowPodcast.com or Danny at the rto showpodcast.com. Put in the subject line e-bikes and scooters and let us know what you guys think. Because I'm telling you right now, I I just I'm not for them.

Danny Lastra 23:23

Well, they they sold quick, they were a quick sell, there were hotcakes, you know, going out the door, flying out the door all all last year for the last six months. But what we're seeing is the return and the service issues that we don't have anybody that can service the service that product. I I even spoke with um a member of Happy's that they don't even sell them anymore. They don't they don't stock them, they don't sell them. We just made the conscious decision at Rank King. We're probably not gonna sell them anymore, we're not gonna keep them in stock. It might be a very, very special case by case. You know, you have that gold customer that's been with you for five, ten years, spent thousands of dollars, sure. But to just keep it in stock for the for the normal rental customer, probably not, because it'd be in a service nightmare. But I would definitely love to hear from anybody else somewhere that maybe that's out of state or someone that is local. And if you have somebody that services bikes, I mean please let us know. Uh, we would love to have that information. But just let us know how you guys feel about the e-bikes and scooters in general. Are they a good sell? Or do they sustain, do they stay stick out there for the full term? Or are you guys seeing the same thing that we're seeing? I'd love to hear any kind of feedback regarding that.

Pete Shau 24:28

How did you conquer the e-bike situation? That's what we want to know. Please let us know. Send us an email or contact us on the website. And then last but not least, part three is trips. And we have a trip coming up. Uh, unfortunately, Danny's not gonna be able to make it this time around, so you guys will only see my ugly mug in Atlanta, Georgia. But the trips are the trib show, meeting of the minds um in Atlanta, Georgia. Their 40th anniversary is gonna be celebrated in Atlanta in February 2023. Danny, I wish you were going to this one.

Danny Lastra 24:59

Yeah, unfortunately, I just had some personal matters come up. Unfortunate circumstances, I'm just not able to go, but you're gonna go. The the owner's gonna go, uh, Keith Miller's gonna go. So I think y'all do a great job there. You know, again, bring back any information you guys get from the convention, the classes. I know you might be speaking there. I don't know. Have you have you heard anything about it? Possibly.

Pete Shau 25:18

You know, Mike hasn't reached out to me, and I I'm gonna tell you what, I am okay with working the midnight oil if he calls me last minute to make it happen. This is the meeting of the minds. So, you guys, if if you guys want to meet my minds, please let the trib group know. Uh, if you don't, it's quite all right. I don't mind a handshake and just seeing you guys there at the trib show. What I do want to know is, guys, when you guys uh happen to be out and you guys see the RTO show, whether it be on a t-shirt, whether it be on a mug, whether it be on a bag, please come up and say hello. I'd love to get your information. I'd love to talk to you. Listen, I'm hoping that I see um some of our favorite people there. You know, Dan Fisher is always a great person. I love, you know, I'd love to see when I'm out. I'm gonna see my ski hand. We've already talked about it um the other day, so I'm gonna see a couple of my favorite guys out there. I love seeing Mike Tissett. Regardless of whether he remembers me or not, I love seeing him. He's just he makes my day all the time and going, you know, with the owners and just being around everybody. Um, I don't know if we'll see Kale that much, uh, Kale Sr. that much. Um maybe you'll see Kale Jr.

Danny Lastra 26:18

there, but I think Kale Jr. will be there. And then of course our owners, Larry, Larry Pivotal, Paul Shaler. I don't know if Sharon's going, but you know, CPL would definitely be there as a group. And then uh Mr.

Pete Shau 26:28

Keith Miller will be coming with us this time, which uh might be a new role for him, so that's gonna be awesome. And listen, guys, meeting of the minds is for us to listen to everybody and talk to everybody and share with everybody what we've learned, what they've learned, what's going on in the business, what's going on in the future of the business as far as this year and as far as the years to come. It's a great, great time. If you can ever be a part of it, I'm gonna tell you guys, especially anybody who's in the Georgia area or close to the Georgia area, you should go to this. It's a very, very interesting time to kind of put our minds together. We have a lot going on in the world today, and the world of rent to own is just it's ever changing. Put your put your thinking caps on, get there, talk with, network with everybody. This is gonna be a good, good show.

Danny Lastra 27:08

And uh lastly, if you if you would like to be a sponsor of the show, please email us. Pete already provided the email for us. If you're not following us on social media, we're on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at the RTO show. So make sure you hit that like button, make sure you subscribe to us. When you listen to our episodes, make sure you download the episodes uh so we can get credit for it. Uh, we love the support, love the feedback. Give us an email, hit us up on social media, love to chat with you guys. Uh, we do have a couple interviews coming up shortly, I believe, right?

Pete Shau 27:37

Well, I've got to get a hold of Leroy because he is next, and I've been telling him that he's next for a while. I just wanted to get past all the digital problems that we had with the first uh interview. George was a great interview. Like if you guys listen to the whole thing, George has some serious words of wisdom on our last podcast. An amazing, amazing interview. Love to have. We have a couple of people that we're gonna start calling up so we can get those on rotation to make sure that we get those out to the listeners of the RTO show. Also, remember, while we're talking about sponsorship, by the time this airs, hopefully the podcast uh will have some sponsors, but more sponsors. But we do have we're gonna have a sponsor page. It's gonna give you an idea of how to be a sponsor for the RTO show. You will get some shout outs. And if you're in concern about the RTO show, because you just want to make sure that we're here forever, you should buy a shirt on our on our website, www.therto showpodcast.com. Go there, send us an order. We are so busy right now. I'm gonna promise to tell you, it is tax time and we do have jobs, but we want to get sponsorships because this is how we give back to you guys. And sponsorships make some of our merch a little bit easier to bring the price down or it gives us a lot of uh better ability to get more things out to you, different types of merch, different types of conversations, the interviews, the sponsorship as important to us as it is to you for hearing the content. So anything that you can do is great. If you cannot, it's okay. We love you either way, it doesn't even matter. We love you no matter what. And so you should come just if you have any questions, please come to the website www.therto showpodcast.com. We have a couple more videos that are coming out and we'll be up by the time this comes out.

Danny Lastra 29:08

Oh, the videos are gonna be stupid hilarious. The president's day one. Uh I didn't care for that one too much for myself. I don't think I did a great job. You did an awesome job, bro. You listen, I was trying to sounded great.

Pete Shau 29:20

I was trying to get an Oscar for that one. I want to get a Tony or an Oscar or whatever they are.

Danny Lastra 29:24

I was trying to get it. I would vote for you. Straight up. I would vote for you. Um, but yeah, give us give us a shout out, give us a checkout. Love the support, love what we're doing, guys. Uh, if you want any other additional tips, please submit them into the email and we'll love to make an episode on what you guys want to hear. And with that being said, this is the RTO show with Danny and Pete