Show Notes:

[00:01:55] – (First question) – The role that Rao’s restaurant has meant to Ira’s business and career

[00:06:11] – A look at Ira’s bail bonds business and how that industry works

[00:06:22] – The Fixer: The Notorious Life of a Front-Page Bail Bondsman

[00:08:31] – The story of how a pizzeria was a bad piece of collateral

[00:11:10] – How often does Ira deal with bail jumpers

[00:12:10] – What is the size of the open liabilities

[00:13:14] – How long will the open liabilities last

[00:14:55] – Ira’s relationship with his clients and the importance of character in this business

[00:17:46] – the amazing story of how Ira got started in this business

[00:31:05] – His early years of being a bail bondsman and how important his wife was to his success

[00:29:52] – How Ira balances family with this kind of work

[00:32:22] – Ira’s ability to be amazingly efficient on the phone when in social settings and a work call comes in

[00:33:14] – Ira is the fixer

[00:36:40] – Exploring the “Sources of Power” and where the balance for Ira of who he knows vs who he has shifted in this line of work.

[00:38:29] – The importance of intense reliability, consistency and empathy, and why Ira can trust his clients may be considered bad people

[00:30:19] – Two cases where Ira got emotionally involved

[00:47:26] – Why Ira is not worried about people coming after him

[00:48:57] – When a bunch of detainees were wailing to wait an extra day in jail for Ira because his wife was pregnant with their first daughter

[00:54:06] – Ira’s relationships with Ja Rule and DMX

[00:58:32] – What does Ira enjoy most about the business still

[01:01:51] – Will Ira ever stop?

[01:04:02] – What advice would Ira give to someone early in their career just getting started

[01:08:42] – The importance in having a willingness to fail mixed with the passion for what you are doing

[01:10:11] – Ira’s health scare and what it taught him about appreciating life