For Jack McNamara, coin collecting runs in his blood. His great-great grandfather was a coin dealer from New York City. At five years old, he was introduced to the hobby of coin collecting with Lincoln wheatback pennies. By the time Jack graduated from Rutgers University, coin collecting was his hobby, nothing more. He had an eclectic collection that included colonial coins, especially those from his home state of New Jersey. While working at an insurance company, he realized he wanted to turn his hobby into a profession. He made a list of coins to sell and advertised them in “Coin World.” He worked at Stack’s Auction House, but then saw an opportunity to become a coin buyer in California. He met Rick Tomaska and together started Rare Collectibles TV in 2014. Working with Private Advisory Coin Team collectors, Jack enjoys the hunt for rare numismatics.
Please tell us a little bit about your business – what is Rare Collectibles TV all about.
Rare Collectibles TV was created to share my passion for collectibles, particularly coins, in an entertaining and educational way. I wanted to build a community of like-minded people who appreciate all the aspects that collecting has to offer. Artistry. History. Rarity. There’s just so much to love about collecting.
Moreover, I wanted to help explain why collecting is so appealing to people who haven’t been bitten by the collecting bug just yet. I think everyone is a collector deep down, they just need to find that special item that speaks to them. I want to help people find that passion.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company.
Coin collecting has been in my family for well-over a century at this point. You can say that it’s in my blood!
You see, in the late 1800s, my great-great grandfather was one of the few dozen coin dealers in all of America. That passion has been distilled and passed down through the generations. Eventually, that passion was passed down to my grandfather. Then my grandfather showed me numismatics and everything that coin collecting had to offer. After I graduated college, I decided that coin collecting was going to be my lifework. I started working for Stack’s, which was America’s oldest and most prestigious auction house in the country at the time. A few years later, I moved to California and met my partners. We all had such a similar vision and complementary skill sets, it just made sense to work together. That’s how Rare Collectibles TV started.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
You have to be adaptive. The future is the key to your success and times are always changing. If you can’t adapt to the current marketplace, there’s no way to build a business that will last. Humility goes hand in hand with adaptivity. You need to accept when things aren’t working, and you must be willing to change your direction if necessary. You can’t be too proud. You have to do what’s best for your business. You also have to respect people. If you don’t treat people properly, then you will miss out on so many opportunities to grow. You need to be willing to listen to different people from a variety of backgrounds and learn from them.
What are your plans for the future, and how do you plan to grow this company?
Rare Collectibles TV may have started with its focus on numismatics, but we are at the point where we feel comfortable expanding into new categories. This was always my vision when creating this company, it’s just that my background was in coins, so that’s where we started. The name Rare Collectibles TV is very purposeful. The vision is to provide the highest-end collectibles possible, not just coins. Currently, we are working on replicating our success in categories like militaria, fine art, and vintage posters. I can also see us breaking into different collectibles too. For example, sports memorabilia and musical instruments.
How have the pandemic and lockdown affected you or your new business?
Believe it or not, the pandemic and lockdown weren’t bad for Rare Collectibles TV. Since so many people were stuck at home with nothing to do, they were able to rekindle their passion for their hobbies. Since we sell through the internet, television, and over the phone, we were still able to transact business relatively well. The most difficult part was figuring out how to ensure the health of our employees. We had to find a way to allow a majority of our employees to work from home in a very short period of time. Our business was built to function in an office, so it was very challenging to get our employees all working from home efficiently.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
At Rare Collectibles TV, we want to give people an unparalleled experience. Our customer’s experience is our top priority. We don’t come at our clients with sales pitches. We want to entertain them. We want to educate them. That’s what is most important. I think that if our customers know about the collectibles we offer, then they will buy them. Our goal is to teach a client everything we can before making a sale.
We are also always willing to work hard. Many companies are out there just selling the most recent collectibles available. Things that are easy to source. At Rare Collectibles TV, our team of buyers is dedicated to finding the best. Our network of suppliers and dealers is second to none, and that is why we are able to build the high-caliber collections that we do.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
At first, most of our marketing was from television. So, we made the mistake of buying far too much airtime before we had built our base. That was our first mistake. Once we did have a base, we realized that we couldn’t just focus all of our efforts on television. There were so many different avenues to use and we needed to take advantage of them. Viewing habits were changing, and we couldn’t rely as heavily on television as we once did. We decided that we had to pivot. In turn, we created a stronger internet presence and built our Private Advisory Team that works with clients one on one. All of this together really helped bolster our television sales. This really taught me that building a business is like building a house. Everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you initially thought it would.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
One of the reasons that my partners and I are such a perfect fit is our different fields of expertise. Greg Thomas, our CEO, has an extensive background in marketing and media. Rick Tomaska and I, on the other hand, have been collecting and acquiring numismatic coins for decades. Between our experiences, we are able to reach the greatest number of collectors with the highest quality products possible.
We differentiate ourselves with our service. If people are educated and entertained, then they are willing to purchase. We aren’t using hard sales tactics; we aren’t trying to scare people into buying our products. We talk about the history, we talk about the art, we talk about the rarity. If a customer becomes interested, then they will be more likely to buy. Our programming is far closer to watching the History Channel than it is to watching the Home Shopping Network.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Organization is the key to productivity. It sounds simple, but it isn’t. Utilize every way you have to organize your day. I’ve found that the most important organizational tool is my online calendar. I have so many responsibilities to deal with and so many places that I need to be, that I would be lost without my calendar. Whether it’s talking to our salespeople about a new campaign, educating our marketing department, working on scripting a presentation, or meeting with a buyer, my calendar makes sure I’m on top of everything I need to be.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
That’s a really hard question to answer in my field. After all, we are dealing with rare coins, and they can be very expensive. But this goes back to the lesson my grandfather taught me about collecting when I was a kid… you have to buy the best you can afford. Value is based on demand. If you buy something that is hard to replace, someone will want it. If you buy common things, buyers will have other options. So, this might sound crazy, but I’d spend it all in one place!
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
One of my main motivating factors is that I love what I do. I genuinely have a passion for collecting and I love learning about it. And then there’s the business side as well, there is always something new to learn and that’s very important to me.
Another great motivator is people. Of course, there are my wife and kids who rely on me, but we also have 100 employees now. It’s not just my family anymore. I have to be thinking about all of my employees, and it’s not just them. It’s their families as well. Knowing that my business is providing for so many people motivates me to succeed more than anything else.
What is your favorite quote?
There are so many great leaders and inspirational quotes out there, but there is one that truly stuck with me through the years.
“Trust but verify.”
The first time I heard this quote was from President Ronald Reagan. People, in general, are coming from a good place and are well-intentioned, but if you have blind trust in them, it may come back to haunt you. I have so many people that I work with, whether it’s inside or outside of Rare Collectibles TV, and they are all very smart people. But I need to make sure the advice they give me lines up with my trajectory. I need to make sure that the information I’m hearing actually applies to me before I utilize it. That’s why I think “trust but verify” is such a valuable sentiment.
How do you personally overcome fear?
In my experience, the best thing to do in times of fear is to put your head down and run! You’re going to have to do what you have to do regardless of your fears. If something is intimidating you, you have to face it. I know that’s easier said than done, but I’ve learned that it’s absolutely true.
For instance, I never wanted to be a public speaker. I didn’t want to be in the spotlight- they say more people are afraid of public speaking than they are of death. I definitely felt that fear when I first started doing television presentations, but instead of shying away, I dove in headfirst. As horrified as I was at the time, I’m so grateful that I met that fear head-on.
How can readers get in touch with you?
You can get in touch by vising my website RareCollectiblesTV.com on social media Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
