what's going on everybody welcome back to stacking slabs this is your hobby content alternative i am brett flagship episode time coming at you hopefully you are doing well enjoying your collecting experience that this fine hobby offers so much to do all the time so much to think about what we like to do here on the flagship episode is dig into a topic that i think a lot of us are thinking about or feeling and explore it and we're gonna do that today it is been a while since we all saw each other at the national maybe not that long but still we had a hell of a time getting together as a community buying cards trading cards selling cards building our relationships and i want to talk about what goes on after a big show like that i think we spend a lot of time in the preparation we do a lot of content while we're at the show talking about the experience but what about the aftermath that is what we're going to get into today before we do that gotta shout out inferno red technology the official sponsor of the flagship episode inferno red technology is the engineering team behind some of the biggest names in sports and collectibles like dc sports eighty seven comc collectors upper deck and ebay from ai powered solutions for startups to full stack platforms for industry leaders their team can tackle your toughest technology challenge they build awesome software for the hobby for leagues and fans and everyone in between see what they can build for you at inferno red dot com so the national ended a week ago or i guess two weeks ago i record these in advance and sometimes keeping up with the whole timing of it all gets confusing but it is ended we have unpacked our cases we have our cards where they need to be we have posted our pickups the hobby has moved on to the next release the next auction and maybe even thinking about the next show this is how it always works there is a drumbeat of content before the national then the event starts and the volume gets louder pickups deals booths dinners trade nights interviews reactions all of the content coming at us fast and furious and for a few days it feels like the entire hobby is in one building then everyone goes home the content slows down the excitement fades and real life starts again but i think that is where the second half of the trip begins we spend a lot of time talking about how to prepare for the national we spend almost no time talking about how to process it and that doesn't make any sense to me think about what it takes to attend a show like this you spend money on travel hotel food tickets this is not even talking about the money we're spending on cards we all take time away from work we take time away from our family we walk miles we talk to more people in four days than we might talk to in a month you see more cards in your mind than you probably ever think is possible then you come home tired i know i have felt like i'm trying to catch up on sleep deprivation and then we just move on if the only question you ask is what cards did i bring home you're measuring a small part of the return i think the better question is this what did the experience change what did you see that gave you confidence what did you see that challenged your plan who did you meet that you want to know five years from now what caught your attention that you didn't expect this is what i want to talk about today the personal return from the national not only financial return not a scorecard that forces every conversation to turn into a a deal i'm talking about the return that comes from clarity conviction relationships opportunity and of course action the trip is over the value of the trip is still being decided i think there's a difference between having an experience and learning from an experience we tend to assume the learning happens on its own we saw the cards we had the conversations we felt the energy therefore we learned something i'm not sure it works that way an event gives you inputs reflection turns those inputs into judgment and there's research behind this a group of researchers from harvard business school hec paris and the university of north carolina studied the role of reflection in performance in one field experiment employees spent the last fifteen minutes of each training day writing about what they had learned a control group kept working during that time the group that stopped to reflect scored twenty two point eight percent higher on the final training test than the control group they did better after spending less time on the task the lesson was not that effort has no value the lesson was that experience becomes more useful when we stop to make sense of it this applies to the national you spent four or five days collecting inputs at a rate that is hard to process in the moment moving from table to table conversation to conversation your phone was filling up with names pictures notes and messages your mind was responding to whatever sat in front of you you did not have space to ask what it all meant but now you do weeks later the distance helps the first emotional rush has settled some moments still have your attention others have disappeared and i think that matters the goal is not to preserve every moment the goal is to identify the moments that contain information this is also where you need to be honest with yourself a crowded table is not proof that a category is staying power a card that you wanted on saturday is not proof that it belongs in your collection a conversation that felt very exciting at midnight with someone that you've maybe been connecting with on instagram about something isn't necessarily a business plan big events distort scale when thousands of people millions of dollars in inventory and a flood of content sit in one place everything feels important weeks later you get to test that feeling what is still with you what still feels true without the crowd around it i think this is where the useful work begins so we can start with cards the most direct return from the national is not always the card you bought it might be a clear understanding of what you no longer want i have a specific taste in cards that makes a show like the national both exciting and overwhelming there are cards for everyone most of them aren't for me that isn't a complaint but it's useful information when you see that much inventory at once your reaction becomes easier to compare which cards made you stop which cards look better in person than they did on the screen which cards had a price that made you realize your interest was weaker than you thought which purchase felt urgent at the show but has lost its pull since you have come home what card did you pass on but can't stop thinking about those answers tell you more than a pickup post they help you separate attraction from intention before the show you might have had a list of ten cards you wanted after seeing them in person that list might be three that's a return you did not fail because you came home without buying all ten you save money remove noise you raise the standard of what enters your collection the show might also expose a new lane you might handle a card from a set you had ignored and feel an instant connection to it you might see a collector display on a on a run-in a way that changes how you think about completion you might notice that the cards drawing you in share a a feature you have never named might be a team memory it might be event used relic it might be a design period it might be one player in a uniform that means something to you the national puts your taste under pressure that is useful if you pay attention to the result there's an exercise that you can do do not start with what you bought write down five cards or displays you still remember without looking at your camera roll then ask why each has stayed with you not what it's worth why it stayed with you the pattern in those answers might tell you where your collection wants to go next then make another list what did you see over and over that left you cold that list matters too collectors spend so much time building wantless lists the national gives us a chance to build a not for me list the list protects your money and attention personal roi starts when the show makes your collection easier to understand the next return is conviction sometimes you walk into an event believing something and sometimes you walk into an event believing something and leave with more confidence in it that happened for me with wrestling cards wrestling was my gateway into cards i love the category so i'm not a neutral observer that bias is worth naming if you care about something you are more likely to notice evidence that support your belief that means conviction needs a test wrestling card takeover and hosting it gave me one we did not only walk around the show and notice more wrestling cards and cases we helped create a place for wrestling card collector to gather then we watched what happened the room filled collectors came together around the same category people traded cards shared stories they met people that they had known through a screen businesses put money and resources behind the event because they believe the category deserves attention the show floor showed us inventory wrestling card takeover showed us participation those aren't the same signal inventory tells you the cards exist and sellers believe there's demand participation tells you that people want to belong to something for a category participation matters more people building businesses around wrestling cards matter too they're taking a risk they're allocating money labor and attention based on a belief about where the category is going one business placing a bet isn't proof several people making separate investments starts to form a pattern the event gave me more confidence in the work we're doing around wrestling cards it also gave me questions what does the community need next what parts of the market are being served where are collectors asking for more education access or connection and how do we support growth without stripping away what made the category matter to collectors in the first place and i think that last question matters collectors without discipline turn into promotion if i only tell you that wrestling cards are growing because i want them to grow i'm not giving you insight i'm giving you my preference the better move is to write down the signal and the evidence behind it for me the signal was not i sell expensive wrestling cards the signal was collectors showed up in droves for a focused wrestling card event and businesses were willing to support the space around them that's specific now i can watch whether it repeats you can apply the same test to your own experience what belief did the national strength strengthen for you you can ask questions what did i observe what other ex explanation fits what i observed what would i need to do next for this to become a pattern that keeps conviction from turning into confirmation bias the show should not tell you what to believe it should give you evidence to examine the third big return is relationships this might be the largest return from the national and it is the easiest one to waste you meet someone in a hallway you talk for twenty minutes you exchange numbers or follow each other you say we should stay in touch then both of you go home and return to your lives the relationship ends as an introduction that is not because the conversation lacked value it is because relationships need another point of contact there is research on the value of connections outside our closest circle in twenty twenty two researchers studied randomized changes to linkedin's connection recommendation across more than twenty million people during the five year study users formed about two billion new ties and moved into six hundred thousand jobs the researchers found the weaker connections increased job mobility through the effect change based on the strength of the tie in the industry i'm not saying a hobby conversation is the same as a job search i am saying the study supports a larger point people outside your normal circle bring information and opportunities you do not receive from the people you talk to every day the national gives you access to those people at scale and that is hard to find anywhere else in the hobby the return does not come from collecting contacts it comes from continuing those right conversations this week look through your messages and pictures choose five people not fifty five for each person write down why that conversation mattered then send them a message that proves you remembered the conversation great to meet you is polite it does not move the relationship forward reference the moment share the thing you promised ask the question you did not have time to ask set up a call or send a picture of a card you know they like don't force a transaction some relationships will lead to deals partnerships some will lead to a card that you've never found on your own some will give you a person you trust when you need an honest answer some will become friends you do not need to know the outcome today you need to give the relationship a chance to continue the people you met are not part of the trip recap they are people treating them the way that way is how the return compounds over time i have been following up with people ever since the national following up politely following up strategically following up very personally i wanna plant the seeds because i know if i plant the seeds bigger things can come from those relationships the fourth return is opportunity a large event shows you what exists it also shows you what you're missing you hear the same frustration from three collectors you watch people struggle to find a category inside a room full of cards you notice a group creating its own gathering because the main event does not give it the space you meet an operator who has a problem where your experience fits you see a form of content that draws a crowd because it helps people understand the hobby those moments can lead to a show an event a product a partnership or maybe even a business but there's a trap event energy makes ideas feel more complete than they really are a strong conversation is not market demand a room a full room is not a revenue model a problem is not proof that people will pay for a solution the goal is not to come home and start five projects the goal is to capture the opportunity before normal life makes you forget it then test it without overcommitting you can ask yourself questions do i hear this from more than one person is the problem specific enough to describe in one sentence am i in a position to serve it better than someone else starting from zero if the answer is yes define one next test not a company not a twelve month plan one test host a conversation publish an episode invite ten collectors to a room start a group chat ask an operator what the problem cost them create a small version and watch what people do that is part of what wrestling card takeover represented for me it was an event but it was also a test of belief we believed wrestling card collectors wanted more dedicated space people showed us that now the responsibility is to study what happened and decide what deserves to continue the wrong lesson would be the room was full so make everything bigger the stronger lesson is the room is full why what part mattered most what needs to stay the same what is the next step that serves these collectors growth is not the only proof that an opportunity is worth pursuing fit matters the national can expose ten possible twenty possible different directions your job is to decide which one deserves your attention there's another return that has nothing to do with cards or business it's personal energy pay attention to the moments when you felt most present was it when you were negotiating a deal talking with someone sharing a card trying to figure out what event you're gonna attend next when you do this it tells you how to build the next version of your hobby life you do not need to attend the national the same way every year the trip can change as you change one year might be about buying the next year might be about relationships the next year might be about showing your collection maybe you're bringing your family because the event ruled so much maybe you decide you wanna create a space for the category you collect in think it all matters because attention is limited time away from your family carries weight i know i felt it i did fanatics fest had a week back at home and then the national that was a lot for my wife and for my kids i think it's important to respect the sacrifice that you and your family make it does not mean forcing the trip to produce profits it means refusing to let the experience path without listening to what it taught you joy is a return clarity is a return a stronger relationship is a return knowing what you want to stop doing is certainly a return the hobby does not need to pay you for the trip to have value but you owe it to yourself to understand the value that you received especially during the sacrifice both financially and the sacrifice that you and your family are making by attending a big show like the national i think there's something we can all do you can set a timer for thirty minutes open up a blank page and answer five questions what five moments from the national remain clear one week later don't use your camera roll start with your memory next what did those moments teach you about your collection name what you want more of what you want less of and what you want to study next what belief did the show strengthen or weaken write the evidence then write another explanation for the same evidence fourth which five people deserve a follow-up from me beside each name write the next action fifth what is the one thing i will do because i attended and make it specific research on implementation intentions has shown why this matters a goal has a better chance of becoming action when you decide when where and how you will act i wanna stay in touch is an intention i will message him thursday morning and send an article that we discussed that's a plan i want to tighten my collection that's an intention on sunday night i will move the ten cards i no longer want for my saved searches that's a plan i think the category needs more coverage that's intention before wednesday i will invite three collectors to record a test conversation calendar then let the rest wait the point of reflection is not to create a new pile of work it is to decide what deserves to happen next i'm a pretty systematic operator i need systems my mind is going a million miles an hour at all times i'm a hundred on per in personality type on ambition i'm go go go and if i don't build systems nothing ever gets done systems help me build my business improve my collection and help me establish relationships if i don't have systems to do everything in my life nothing gets done and that's no good for anyone there would be no stacking slabs episodes without a system in place a lot of people said to me at the show i value the consistency you bring to the table that's the number one compliment i could possibly receive i build systems to stay consistent and consistency is a competitive advantage the national gives us a lot to look at the week or two after gives us a chance to see what matters you might have come home with a card you've chased for years you might come home without buying anything one conversation might have changed the direction of your your collection a roomful of wrestling card collectors might have given you confidence that a community is stronger than what the hobby gives it credit for you might have met someone who will matter to your life and work years from now you do not know the full return yet that is the point the return from a show like the national is not settled when you check out of the hotel it grows through the decisions you make when you get home i know i've asked you to ask yourself a lot of questions here i ask questions all the time i'm curious i ask myself questions because i like to explore my mindset the question is what will be different because i was there if the answer is nothing the trip becomes a memory if the answer leads to a clearer collection stronger relationship a tested belief or one meaningful app action the trip keeps working for you the national isn't over believe me now decide what you are bringing forward make sure you hit the follow button tell a damn friend run on over to the patreon group i appreciate your attention each and every week to what we are doing the stacking slabs network will continue to build out collector and operator focused content for you the collector or the builder in the sports card industry appreciate the support take care talk to you soon