Step 4: OPM – “Other People’s Money”
Frank Goodman is a legendary name in New York wrestling. His promotion was super-successful for many years and it was largely built on OPM. The ironic truth is that Frank never went after people to invest in his shows… they always found him. Goodman took sponsorships to the next level, allowing people to buy their way onto shows. While the purist may frown on such activities, the realist saw Frank Goodman’s shows draw great houses, the talent paid very well, defraying the costs of running in uber-expensive New York.
The key to finding investors is to determine where their “flinch” is. If you are asking a potential investor for $25,000, ask for half a million. They’ll flinch and say “HALF A MILLION DOLLARS?!? ARE YOU CRAZY?” Then you ask them for the $25,000 you wanted from them all along and it seems more reasonable. You learn where to find the “flinch” in pre-qualifying. Of course, if you never get the “flinch”, you always wonder if you left money on the table.
OPM is at the core of selling franchises so don’t think it’s some kind of “boiler room” scam. OPM is one of the most common techniques for raising capital in wrestling history but it never goes out of style.
