WEBVTT 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:49.479 to help your lawn care business level up and 00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:55.539 build a legit, thriving business and create freedom 00:00:55.539 --> 00:01:01.020 for yourself. I am your host, Andy Wilson, and 00:01:01.020 --> 00:01:05.359 today we are diving into a subject every business 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:12.579 owner faces, how to stop working in your business. 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:19.120 and to start working on your business. When I 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:22.879 first started out, I was on every mower. I trimmed 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:27.680 every edge. I trimmed every bush. I blew off 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:32.280 every sidewalk. But there came a point where 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.480 I realized if I wanted growth and if I wanted 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:40.280 to scale my business and take it to the next 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:44.859 level, I had to bring on people that would help 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:50.319 me fulfill my vision, help my dream come to pass. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.060 So that's what we want to talk about tonight. 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.519 And tonight we have a very special guest with 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:03.439 us, Neil. He's from Voltage and we're glad he's 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.939 a guest with us tonight. Neil, thank you for 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:08.639 joining the Lawn Hustle. Yes, sir. Thank you 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:12.259 for having me on. I appreciate it. So what does 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:18.840 it actually mean to work on your business and 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:23.699 not in your business? Yeah, that's a great question 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:27.900 and Some individuals my answer differently obviously 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:30.139 we have a slightly different business models 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:32.620 But at the end when you run a business the business 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:35.319 of doing a business regardless of its services 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:37.860 or software or physical products ends up in kind 00:02:37.860 --> 00:02:40.639 of the same conundrum in the growth cycle where 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.280 you move out of the I'm the guy who hustles, 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.780 I got things moving. I spent more time, energy, 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:48.300 attention and money than anybody else to get 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:50.280 where I'm at. And then how do I actually bridge 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:54.139 that gap between being the, you know, sole producer 00:02:54.139 --> 00:02:58.120 into a multi producer and a replication of my 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:00.419 efforts, right? A force multiplier, as we refer 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:03.419 to it. And one of the ways I've found to get 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:06.819 myself out of that way is instead of employing 00:03:06.819 --> 00:03:09.319 people, which I know is a way a lot of businesses 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:11.780 can run and maybe run more so in the services 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:13.199 industry, even though I'm more in the physical 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:16.680 product online space, is to train people into 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.620 those positions to empower them to become successful. 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:22.639 and then partner with them on areas of the business 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:24.900 where they have a greater aptitude for certain 00:03:24.900 --> 00:03:28.000 parts of the operations or control or marketing 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.159 or finance or whatever. And as we've done that, 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:33.500 I spent the better part of my last 12 years. 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:37.520 training up people in our business model to work 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.319 with them one on one for 12 and 24 and three 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:42.919 years and four years and five years and get them 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:44.780 successful in a business. They understand how 00:03:44.780 --> 00:03:46.620 to run. They understand the profit and loss, 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.240 the services, the support, the customers, the 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:51.919 business of doing the business. And then said, 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:53.740 hey, would you be interested in partnering with 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:56.199 me? You're a really great operator. You do these 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:57.819 things really well. We trained you to do them 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:00.259 really well. Would you partner with us? And that 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:03.699 has created an ability to incentivize individuals 00:04:03.699 --> 00:04:06.479 out of their success, not make them an employee 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:08.419 of a system they tried to get out of in the first 00:04:08.419 --> 00:04:11.400 place, but then partner with them in profit sharing 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:13.659 for the success of the whole company. And that's 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:16.939 allowed us now to have more than 20 million a 00:04:16.939 --> 00:04:19.360 year under our control. And I have five operators. 00:04:20.139 --> 00:04:22.319 and I'm training my daughter into one area of 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.040 that business right now at the ground level so 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.360 she can start working at 17 into the business 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:28.120 which is great because she's learning a skill 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:29.819 and a trade and something that she can you know 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:31.699 enter the business at the ground floor level 00:04:31.699 --> 00:04:34.930 doing. and then empower them and whatever necessary 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:37.829 to do the job they know they need to do without 00:04:37.829 --> 00:04:40.870 me watching over them, micromanaging them and 00:04:40.870 --> 00:04:43.529 having to track every detail of what they do. 00:04:43.970 --> 00:04:46.850 So to get out of me working in the business that 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:48.870 I started and did all the hustle and did all 00:04:48.870 --> 00:04:51.910 the work and did all the activities, it took 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:54.689 years of finding the right people to train them 00:04:54.689 --> 00:04:57.149 into the right roles with the right aptitude. 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:00.220 and then empowering them to do whatever is necessary 00:05:00.220 --> 00:05:02.600 without me having to watch every minute of it 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.779 and then finding out they could be in a trust 00:05:04.779 --> 00:05:07.959 situation and then letting them go and in essence 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.060 getting out of their way and it's taken years 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:14.279 to do that but in the end I don't have any employees 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:18.639 I have a lot of partners in my operations that 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:23.339 are incentivized by sharing well tell our listeners 00:05:23.339 --> 00:05:28.139 what it is you do yeah Well, and it's probably 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:29.720 maybe a little bit different than some of the 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:31.120 individuals might have thought when we started 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:32.800 this conversation, because I'm actually in the 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.519 physical product world. We provide services and 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:38.339 support to some companies. We have our own products 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:41.939 and businesses that we run and manage in the 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:45.019 online space. We use the private label branding 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:47.540 for manufacturing products that we control and 00:05:47.540 --> 00:05:49.740 own ourselves within trademark and intellectual 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:52.079 property. We sell them on multiple channels. 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:55.360 Amazon is one location. We sell on TikTok, Shopify. 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:58.060 We even sell in retail stores with some of our 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:00.660 products that have a mass retailing opportunity. 00:06:01.019 --> 00:06:03.939 And so we brand and build those products, build 00:06:03.939 --> 00:06:06.339 those businesses up. And the goal is to build 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:09.540 them to an exit and do it within, you know, five 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:12.720 years to hit certain metrics of run rate and 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.579 growth and then sell them off to a private equity 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:18.019 company that we helped form called Patriot Growth 00:06:18.019 --> 00:06:20.639 Capital. So we're actually operating members 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:23.899 of that company. And it is a veteran -backed, 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:26.600 veteran -owned, veteran initiative to build these 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.079 companies up and then employ veterans into whatever 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:31.259 level makes sense to employ them and give them 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:33.720 opportunities for skill and growth. Tutelage 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:35.860 and then at some point, find out who could be 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.680 raised up to run the entire business and maybe 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:40.800 even acquire the business away from us after 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:44.360 five years of doing that mentorship. So that 00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:46.759 kind of turns into business as a mission as we 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:49.240 grow and build these companies. That didn't employ 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:51.439 people for the purpose of you know supporting 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:53.500 veterans and then their community and their families 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:58.759 Well, we support our veterans we We thank them 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:03.420 for their service. We honor their service and 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:07.019 So I appreciate you doing that with the veterans 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:10.740 that that really Touches me. So thank you. My 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:13.060 father's a veteran. He was a two -tour Vietnam 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:16.459 vet served on a destroyer I didn't, unfortunately, 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:18.199 not have the honor of going. I wanted to be a 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.959 fighter pilot and I got rejected. As I'm six 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:22.600 foot five, that wasn't really the problem, except 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:24.740 for all my height is in my waist up. So when 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:27.180 I sat down in the F -16E training cockpit, I 00:07:27.180 --> 00:07:29.579 couldn't, they couldn't close the lid with the 00:07:29.579 --> 00:07:31.899 helmet on. So they're like, sorry, you're out. 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:34.279 I'm like, well, crap. Guess I'm going to college. 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:37.639 Which was a waste of time too. Anyways, I went 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:38.939 through three years of college and then dropped 00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:42.459 out because I was a waste of time. So why do 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:46.720 you think so many business operators or owners, 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:50.920 whether it's in the service industry or the food 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.579 industry or wherever, why do you think so many 00:07:54.579 --> 00:08:00.439 people get stuck doing the day to day instead 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:07.019 of the scaling? What I've typically found is 00:08:07.019 --> 00:08:11.769 that there's this sense of Powerful ownership 00:08:11.769 --> 00:08:14.069 that comes with the risk you took to get that 00:08:14.069 --> 00:08:16.449 to a certain position and it becomes very difficult 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:20.490 to trust other people To deliver you may have 00:08:20.490 --> 00:08:23.290 someone who sort of does a c -player game and 00:08:23.290 --> 00:08:25.050 you really thought you hired an a player So now 00:08:25.050 --> 00:08:26.610 you have to kind of make up for their work and 00:08:26.610 --> 00:08:28.509 you're like, well that was a waste of time Or 00:08:28.509 --> 00:08:29.910 you get yourself a B player and you're like, 00:08:29.990 --> 00:08:31.649 hey They're gonna do really great and they're 00:08:31.649 --> 00:08:34.230 definitely don't turn into an a player and the 00:08:34.230 --> 00:08:36.250 problem with hiring an a player a lot of times 00:08:36.250 --> 00:08:38.370 who could do a really good job is they usually 00:08:38.370 --> 00:08:40.330 cost more than most people are willing to pay 00:08:40.330 --> 00:08:42.330 for things they can do themselves. And so they 00:08:42.330 --> 00:08:44.950 get caught in a bit of quagmire of I could do 00:08:44.950 --> 00:08:46.929 this better and no one else can because I can't 00:08:46.929 --> 00:08:49.070 find anybody else to do it. So really what they 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:51.669 have is a management by exception problem. They 00:08:51.669 --> 00:08:54.309 have got their risk to reward ratio imbalanced 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:55.950 because then they think, well, if I pay this 00:08:55.950 --> 00:08:57.909 person this much money, well, I'm not paying 00:08:57.909 --> 00:09:00.750 myself that money anymore if I have to pay it 00:09:00.750 --> 00:09:02.950 to that person. And so they don't see the forward 00:09:02.950 --> 00:09:05.860 thinking opportunity. of which particular role 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:08.179 is most important in the business. And they get 00:09:08.179 --> 00:09:12.080 confused in the business management, sales, marketing 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.019 and development role with the operations control 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:17.779 and fiduciary management roles. And they tend 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:20.200 to can't figure out exactly which one of those 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:23.240 roles they fit the best. And does that sound 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:26.639 about right to you? It's my experience. What 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.620 is up happening is they try to figure out that 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:30.980 they feel they're most comfortable in their risk 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:34.250 being the operator. When in actuality the challenge 00:09:34.250 --> 00:09:36.470 of becoming someone who works on a business and 00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:38.629 not in it is to get out of the operator control 00:09:38.629 --> 00:09:42.409 It's to get into the business of growth development 00:09:42.409 --> 00:09:45.350 and Forwarding the company so additional clients 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:48.009 or sales or marketing initiatives will come out 00:09:48.009 --> 00:09:51.750 to create more Revenues therefore you can you 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:54.149 know hire more people and build the business 00:09:54.149 --> 00:09:56.889 a little bit more and I would usually say that 00:09:56.889 --> 00:09:59.389 it gets down to their risk to reward ratio and 00:09:59.389 --> 00:10:03.179 It's sometimes out of balance or what systems 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:07.220 or processes have you put in place that allows 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:12.879 you to step back from the daily grind and work 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:17.840 on the business and not every day in the grind 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:22.240 working in the business? Yeah, great question. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:25.399 A lot of people have heard of key performance 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:27.740 indicators. but they don't always understand 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:30.879 what they are or how to apply them. So it's an 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:34.179 older methodology, a little more corporate. What 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:37.460 I prefer is one called Objectives and Key Results, 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:41.039 what are called OKRs. And for each role in a 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.539 business, whether it's the operator, the business 00:10:43.539 --> 00:10:46.019 development guy, the sales guy, the finance guy 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:52.240 or whatever, the role has a defined set of revenue 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.879 generating metrics. every role should be in a 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:58.279 forward revenue generating position or it simply 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.440 shouldn't exist. And you're like, well, man, 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.080 I'm just the one that mows the lawn. How am I 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:04.279 in a revenue generating position? I'm in an executable 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:06.600 operational position. It's like, no, if you've 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:09.779 done a great job, if you've engaged the person 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:11.919 and said, hey, could we come back again in two 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:14.240 weeks and do your lawn? If you said, hey, do 00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.299 you any of your neighbors want to, you know, 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.500 get a long job, too? Could I speak to them? Then 00:11:18.500 --> 00:11:21.460 you're in a revenue generating role. Right. So 00:11:21.460 --> 00:11:23.240 every person has that opportunity, but I don't 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:25.919 think everybody sees them that way. So what objectives 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:28.700 and key results do is they say a specific objective 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:31.159 that should be accomplished by that role. And 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:34.259 then there are three key results that allow that 00:11:34.259 --> 00:11:37.759 objective to occur, right? And the three key 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:40.659 results that should be defined should be relatively 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:43.360 simple, but each of them should align with the 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.379 revenue generating goal. So it would be how many 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:48.059 people, you know, you mowed the lawn in that 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:49.620 neighborhood, but how many other neighbors did 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:51.340 you talk to while you were there? That could 00:11:51.340 --> 00:11:53.000 be a key result, right? Well, I'm going to make 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:54.919 an effort to speak to five additional neighbors 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:56.779 every time I finish a lawn in that neighborhood, 00:11:57.179 --> 00:11:59.779 right? So they could set up certain metrics of 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:01.919 performance and then incentivize them that each 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:04.389 of those clients that come through. when they 00:12:04.389 --> 00:12:06.450 hit those certain metrics on their peer review 00:12:06.450 --> 00:12:08.610 every 90 days, they're going to get a bonus. 00:12:08.830 --> 00:12:09.970 They're going to get a pay increase. They're 00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:11.929 going to get something beneficial to the new 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:13.809 business that they generated because they took 00:12:13.809 --> 00:12:16.330 that effort as part of their key result. And 00:12:16.330 --> 00:12:18.669 if there's just three key results to my particular 00:12:18.669 --> 00:12:22.980 objective of my role in the company. then what 00:12:22.980 --> 00:12:25.519 happens is they know their objectives you only 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.200 have to manage that exception maybe 10 minutes 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:30.360 or 15 minutes a week because everybody knows 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.120 what those objectives should be they've helped 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.419 define those objectives so they're comfortable 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:37.320 understanding what they are what the language 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:40.080 is and what the output of that should be and 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:41.980 then they understand if they don't meet it the 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.480 real clear criteria is you have another week 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.519 to resolve you have two weeks to resolve any 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.980 issue with your objectives that maybe isn't mine 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:52.279 to resolve, but is yours to resolve as a part 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:53.960 of your role. If there's something I can do to 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:56.799 help you or you need solving that problem, you 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:59.000 know, we can solve that problem. Simply saying, 00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:02.159 I can't is not an option, right? Saying, you 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:03.679 know, there's a problem to solve. What are we 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:05.039 going to do to troubleshoot it? I'll help you 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:06.600 through that process. And then I only need to 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:08.200 meet with that person, you know, for 15 minutes 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:09.580 each week and just say, Hey, what do you need? 00:13:09.929 --> 00:13:12.049 How are you doing? Where are you going? And how 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.049 are you going to get there next week? And the 00:13:14.049 --> 00:13:16.289 objectives should be laid out. And if the performance 00:13:16.289 --> 00:13:18.009 is there, the person met their performance, they 00:13:18.009 --> 00:13:19.889 know their goals and their outcome. I know that 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:22.230 they're doing the roles that are necessary to 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:24.149 provide that outcome. And they know they get 00:13:24.149 --> 00:13:26.470 a bonus if they do. And they also know that they'll 00:13:26.470 --> 00:13:28.789 self -correct if they don't. Because if they 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:30.769 don't correct in the next two weeks, then there 00:13:30.769 --> 00:13:32.750 will be a situation by which we understand you 00:13:32.750 --> 00:13:35.250 are now not fulfilling your obligation as an 00:13:35.250 --> 00:13:37.370 employee or a contractor. And thus, you know 00:13:37.370 --> 00:13:40.279 what the outcome will be. termination, right? 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.500 You have an opportunity to turn this or you will 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:44.120 walk yourself out of the business and it's a 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:46.519 non -conflicting kind of situation because you 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:48.320 both agreed at the very beginning, what are the 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:51.539 boundaries? All right, here are the boundaries. 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:53.399 So we don't go into this with any ambiguity, 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:55.200 we go into it with an understanding that this 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:56.500 is your role, here's what's going to happen. 00:13:56.539 --> 00:13:59.240 If you're in the lead development role of opening 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.340 the doors and finding out new businesses and 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:02.960 you go along with each crew and you're out the 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:04.580 door trying to talk to those five people because 00:14:04.580 --> 00:14:07.340 that's your job, then there's a particular criteria 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:09.679 that says here are the three key indicators of 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:12.220 your success role and you will receive a bonus 00:14:12.220 --> 00:14:14.440 you know every 90 days that these roles are hit. 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:16.879 You were rewarded when the companies were awarded. 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:18.639 So I prefer objectives and key results because 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.419 they're a little more simpler they can be defined 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:22.779 by the individuals and it's very clear the boundaries 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:26.000 between positive and negative. So in order to 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:31.340 get your employees or your partners to that point 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:35.929 where they understand the objective They understand 00:14:35.929 --> 00:14:40.450 the vision and the goal Do you have to spend 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:46.830 a lot of time in training employees To get yeah, 00:14:46.970 --> 00:14:48.830 you would if you had employees and I did once 00:14:48.830 --> 00:14:51.809 have 12 employees and we managed about 21 ,000 00:14:51.809 --> 00:14:53.529 square foot of warehouse with those employees 00:14:53.529 --> 00:14:57.629 and Quite honestly, you know that was a situation 00:14:57.629 --> 00:15:00.330 that I'm gonna refer to as my crime of opportunity 00:15:00.330 --> 00:15:05.039 It sounded really good Uh at the start and it 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:07.159 looked really sexy on paper, you know, oh yeah 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:08.500 warehouse blah blah blah We got these people 00:15:08.500 --> 00:15:09.799 in all this trucks are rolling. It's already 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:12.639 great We're moving 10 trucks a week of semi trucks 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:14.100 through there and everything looks really good 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:16.000 And we actually ran that business to eight figures 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.820 But it was not as profitable as it should have 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:20.980 been and it came with a lot of problems and the 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:23.379 problems were that you know people When left 00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:25.440 to their own devices a lot of times if they're 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.440 not the quality players, you know that you think 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:30.059 they are They'll tend to get in trouble or just 00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:31.940 not do things or they tend to just earn their 00:15:31.940 --> 00:15:33.980 paycheck and not move along And so I thought, 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:35.419 well, there's got to be a better way to do this. 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:39.039 So in my process, we changed it into a, you know, 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.399 I attract the right individual who's interested 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:43.820 in doing what we do. And then I spent 12 months 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:47.039 with them one -on -one to support that process 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.500 of their growth. And as I raised up people that 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.059 became successful, I just asked the members of 00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:53.940 my business builder group who wants to train 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:57.419 with me on new members and all incentivize you 00:15:57.419 --> 00:15:59.860 out of profits, you know, as we train new members. 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:02.159 And so I ended up with, you know, three coaches. 00:16:02.649 --> 00:16:04.889 who are business builders who started with us 00:16:04.889 --> 00:16:06.950 and built successful companies and built them 00:16:06.950 --> 00:16:09.090 off of our playbook and our methodology. And 00:16:09.090 --> 00:16:11.850 now they train along with us. So I basically 00:16:11.850 --> 00:16:14.029 kind of backed myself out of the training role 00:16:14.029 --> 00:16:16.450 and have inserted them into the meetings. And 00:16:16.450 --> 00:16:18.669 they now train and work with the individuals, 00:16:18.769 --> 00:16:20.450 answer the questions and deal with a lot. And 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:22.769 my job is just kind of hover over and make sure 00:16:22.769 --> 00:16:25.389 everything is being needed. We have weekly reports 00:16:25.389 --> 00:16:28.669 that are produced on everybody's status and their 00:16:28.669 --> 00:16:30.210 individuals are now doing the ones that are doing 00:16:30.210 --> 00:16:33.190 all the coaching every week, not me. And so with 00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:35.210 that I backed myself out with people who know 00:16:35.210 --> 00:16:37.169 the process became successful in our training 00:16:37.169 --> 00:16:39.389 others on the success of that process and I get 00:16:39.389 --> 00:16:41.090 to see how they perform and if they have any 00:16:41.090 --> 00:16:42.789 questions they think come to us and they say 00:16:42.789 --> 00:16:44.289 hey these are things we need to know or things 00:16:44.289 --> 00:16:46.710 we want to be trained on or and I support them 00:16:46.710 --> 00:16:49.009 in more of an exception rule so I've been able 00:16:49.009 --> 00:16:50.929 to back myself out of that which has given us 00:16:50.929 --> 00:16:54.269 a lead way to support a lot more. Well let's 00:16:54.269 --> 00:16:56.830 take a short break and hear a word from my show 00:16:56.830 --> 00:17:01.539 sponsor, Eartha Pro. payments and losing track 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:05.160 of jobs. 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At what point 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:54.400 did you realize you needed to start building 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:58.259 a team instead of trying to do it all yourself? 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:04.910 If you're familiar with the Kiyosaki quadrant 00:18:04.910 --> 00:18:08.630 at all, the four stages of individual growth. 00:18:08.910 --> 00:18:12.910 Yes. Yeah. And OK, there, if you're progressing 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:16.829 through that process of an ultimate goal of becoming 00:18:16.829 --> 00:18:20.390 a business owner, then you're going to find that, 00:18:20.390 --> 00:18:23.509 again, the risk to reward ratio is going to change 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:27.009 as you try to grow that business. So as I started 00:18:27.009 --> 00:18:30.190 to identify what are my key skills, what are 00:18:30.190 --> 00:18:34.660 my key values to this business, it's tough to 00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:38.339 balance the sales and operations, right? So what 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:40.359 I've discovered was really at the end of the 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:43.140 day, I'm the sales, I'm the front end, I'm the 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:45.619 marketing, I'm the engine that drives the business 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:47.339 development conversation and this kind of stuff. 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:48.980 That's actually what I'm really good at. It's 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:52.130 where I should stay in my lane. And then about 00:18:52.130 --> 00:18:55.150 12 years ago, I met someone whose lane is operations, 00:18:55.450 --> 00:18:58.069 who's became my partner. And over 12 years, we've 00:18:58.069 --> 00:19:00.450 developed these businesses together because the 00:19:00.450 --> 00:19:02.910 two components of who we are have made one person. 00:19:03.609 --> 00:19:07.210 So it's almost a business marriage relatable 00:19:07.210 --> 00:19:09.710 to my marriage, which has been around for 18 00:19:09.710 --> 00:19:12.390 years now. And my wife is the other half of my 00:19:12.390 --> 00:19:15.730 brain. So she's very different than me in many, 00:19:15.730 --> 00:19:18.349 many ways. And she's a kind of a polar opposite 00:19:18.349 --> 00:19:20.720 in some ways. But because of that, we balance 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:23.700 each other out because I'm more of like, let's 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:25.799 jump off the bridge and figure out, you know, 00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:27.599 figure this out on the way down. She's kind of 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:29.119 like, no, we need to make a list before we jump. 00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:30.480 Right. And these are the things we need. And 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.019 I'm like, well, OK, you know, my brain doesn't 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:33.579 operate that way, but I get it. And now they've 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:35.420 kind of figured out both her and my partner after 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:38.400 being together for so long. My business partner 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.619 has figured out, well, I'll just pack a bag and 00:19:40.619 --> 00:19:42.519 have it ready. And so if Neil says jump, we jump 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:44.039 off the bridge and then I'll try to figure out 00:19:44.039 --> 00:19:45.559 how to build out whatever it is on the way down. 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:47.660 put some guardrails around it and some guidelines 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:50.519 and make sure we don't crash. My wife has kind 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:52.500 of been that person too. And with that flexibility 00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:54.940 to be who I am, I've pushed the boundaries of 00:19:54.940 --> 00:19:57.960 things they would probably normally not do. risk 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.900 or think about or challenge in the business or 00:20:00.900 --> 00:20:02.920 life. And they've come along and been expanded 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:05.279 that way. And because they're strong and make 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:07.359 lists and have a particular process by which 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:09.660 they execute things as individuals, they pulled 00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:11.579 me back a little and said, Hey, what about this? 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:13.779 Or, Hey, I think we should go that direction 00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:15.660 instead of this way. And I understand what you're 00:20:15.660 --> 00:20:18.380 saying, but what if we did it that way? And because 00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:22.779 I am now a big enough person to be okay with 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:26.299 criticism, I've been willing to accept them taking 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:28.440 lead on things that I thought maybe should go 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:30.039 one way, but they want to go a different way. 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:31.819 And I'm like, that's okay. We'll go your way 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:33.680 instead. I understand what you're saying. I understand 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:35.640 this risk. I understand that challenge. Let's 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:38.509 do it this way instead. And I think what you 00:20:38.509 --> 00:20:41.069 do as you grow and you give that up to other 00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:43.730 people, you actually move through those quadrants 00:20:43.730 --> 00:20:46.269 with really becoming a business owner who is 00:20:46.269 --> 00:20:49.750 allowing others to fail and be okay with it. 00:20:49.849 --> 00:20:52.630 Let them challenge and figure out and not have 00:20:52.630 --> 00:20:54.950 to control every aspect. And as I've done that 00:20:54.950 --> 00:20:57.170 and gotten older, I've suddenly I realized that, 00:20:57.269 --> 00:20:59.670 you know, there are many of those people who 00:20:59.670 --> 00:21:03.250 when you give them that control, that trust, 00:21:03.390 --> 00:21:06.049 they don't want to disappoint you. They're gonna 00:21:06.049 --> 00:21:08.109 do anything possible not to and so the trick 00:21:08.109 --> 00:21:10.269 then becomes to make sure there's a comfortable 00:21:10.269 --> 00:21:13.990 place of open conversation and dialogue where 00:21:13.990 --> 00:21:15.730 you don't shoot their ideas down and make them 00:21:15.730 --> 00:21:18.190 feel inferior or whatever the case may be. Maybe 00:21:18.190 --> 00:21:19.750 they're going a little slower, you could go a 00:21:19.750 --> 00:21:21.750 little faster, that's okay because then they 00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:23.710 start to make sure that they feel comfortable 00:21:23.710 --> 00:21:26.190 telling you the truth and they don't make up 00:21:26.190 --> 00:21:27.869 exaggerations and they don't try to just tell 00:21:27.869 --> 00:21:29.609 you what you want, they actually give you the 00:21:29.609 --> 00:21:31.869 real truth. And there's that area that I think 00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:33.450 a lot of people get caught up in because they 00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.789 feel like their employees or partners are lying 00:21:35.789 --> 00:21:38.950 to them or not just lying point blank, they're 00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:40.690 maybe just a little white gray area somewhere. 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:42.920 and they're like, well, that's not exactly, I 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:44.460 don't really feel good about this conversation. 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:45.799 I don't really think you're doing what you said 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:47.259 you were gonna do or I don't really understand 00:21:47.259 --> 00:21:49.619 what's going on here because I feel like maybe 00:21:49.619 --> 00:21:51.420 you're just trying to play me or you're trying 00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:53.259 to tell me what I want and what I actually want 00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:55.819 you to do is do it or tell me what I could do 00:21:55.819 --> 00:21:57.819 to help you do it. And so business people can 00:21:57.819 --> 00:22:00.660 get caught up in that. And just the last point 00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:04.220 of that would typically be because you are putting 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:06.039 a lot of pressure on the person you're hiring. 00:22:06.509 --> 00:22:08.410 to know everything about that job from the very 00:22:08.410 --> 00:22:10.670 beginning because they have experience. And here's 00:22:10.670 --> 00:22:12.970 what I'll tell you. Every person you hire or 00:22:12.970 --> 00:22:16.529 engage has a level of experience, but it's based 00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:19.410 on another rule book, not the one that you're 00:22:19.410 --> 00:22:21.369 currently operating within. And so you need to 00:22:21.369 --> 00:22:23.390 give them that space to teach them and train 00:22:23.390 --> 00:22:25.750 them and mentor them into your space and away 00:22:25.750 --> 00:22:28.390 from their previous experience before you expect 00:22:28.390 --> 00:22:30.630 them to fully take it on. Does that make sense 00:22:30.630 --> 00:22:33.170 when I say it that way? Yes, sir. That's good. 00:22:33.829 --> 00:22:39.700 What steps do you take? to build that trust between 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:45.839 the business owner and the partners or the employees 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:50.420 to release them to do the job and trust that 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:53.099 they'll do the job. It's really just being the 00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:56.259 first one to trust. then when something goes 00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:58.779 wrong if it wasn't done maliciously and you don't 00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:01.099 believe it was done out of you know like a malicious 00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:04.500 intent to harm or change or a fiduciary responsibility 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:06.279 that was being negated but mostly it was either 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:08.700 just timing or a decision that maybe could have 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:11.400 been made a different way I think that you know 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:13.279 giving them that grace and that space is very 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.440 important to figuring out what level of trust 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.740 they end up with so I'm always a kind of a trust 00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:21.819 first verify later situation and if I can feel 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:24.400 comfortable in that because it's my risk to allow 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:27.039 that to occur then I'm giving them a space to 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:29.160 show me what they're willing to do, what they're 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:31.940 capable of doing. The moment I realize something 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:34.839 has changed or something is no longer in balance 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:37.920 or I caught you in a lie, you're out. And that's 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:39.819 a very clear statement from the very beginning 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:42.599 of any conversation I have. And frankly, just 00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:46.359 watching my people rise themselves out of challenges 00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:48.700 and difficulties they faced building their own 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:51.779 businesses with us has shown me exactly who they 00:23:51.779 --> 00:23:53.460 are. As they say, the cream of the crop rises 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:56.490 to the top, right? So I've been able to see that 00:23:56.490 --> 00:23:59.130 that process work. And then the same way as I 00:23:59.130 --> 00:24:00.829 homeschool my daughters with my wife and I see 00:24:00.829 --> 00:24:02.829 my four daughters going and doing things and 00:24:02.829 --> 00:24:05.369 growing up in their uniqueness of each of their 00:24:05.369 --> 00:24:07.589 individual personalities, which sometimes this 00:24:07.589 --> 00:24:09.230 cracks me up because they both came from us and 00:24:09.230 --> 00:24:11.609 how are you so different? Right. And I see them 00:24:11.609 --> 00:24:13.769 growing up. I see where some of them have challenges 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:15.710 with that. Some of them have challenges with 00:24:15.710 --> 00:24:17.490 the gray area when they think they're going to 00:24:17.490 --> 00:24:19.089 get in trouble for doing things. And others are 00:24:19.089 --> 00:24:21.170 just very strong and want to go this certain 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:22.910 direction, but need wrangled in a little bit. 00:24:23.609 --> 00:24:25.470 on the way they do things and at the end it's 00:24:25.470 --> 00:24:27.230 just well am I gonna be willing to take the time 00:24:27.230 --> 00:24:29.250 to sit down and have that conversation and manage 00:24:29.250 --> 00:24:31.269 them instead of just saying well these are my 00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:33.190 priorities I can't do that I don't have the time 00:24:33.190 --> 00:24:36.130 so in changing this you have to change the language 00:24:36.130 --> 00:24:38.450 if you're listening to this today you have to 00:24:38.450 --> 00:24:39.869 change the way you think about the priorities 00:24:39.869 --> 00:24:42.609 of your time energy and attention especially 00:24:42.609 --> 00:24:45.869 that falls backwards into money why if I say 00:24:45.869 --> 00:24:48.650 I don't have time to do something what I'm actually 00:24:48.650 --> 00:24:50.750 saying to that person is you're not a priority 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:53.380 Right. You're not a priority right now. My priorities 00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:55.400 supersede you or other priorities supersede you. 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:56.839 And you might as well just look at them in the 00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:59.779 face and say they're not a priority. Right. Because 00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:02.779 it's very difficult to come to the table and 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:06.000 say, you know, your all of my things supersede 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.920 yours in this way. And we have to change that 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:10.960 language because we actually can make the time 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:13.500 what we actually have as a time prioritization 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:16.720 issue. OK. We get busy. We got all these things. 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:18.519 We got a family. Got to get home. We got this 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:19.960 job. We got other things we got to get done. 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:22.359 And so we feel like we're constantly rushed because 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:23.960 really at the end of the day, we're simply not 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:26.359 prioritizing time correctly. We are putting some 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:28.819 priorities above others. And then, you know, 00:25:28.819 --> 00:25:31.400 we're looking at time in a very wrong way. We're 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:34.339 seeing it as all scarcity when time is actually 00:25:34.339 --> 00:25:37.339 in abundance. And if we can shift the way we 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:39.359 say this language, instead of saying I don't 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:41.920 have to do this, I say I get to do this. And 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:44.519 as I train my language into my builders and I 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:46.980 train that into my daughters, I don't accept 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:50.039 that language that says I can't. or that I have 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:53.380 to. What you do say is, you get to do this, because 00:25:53.380 --> 00:25:55.019 your alternatives are, you don't get to do it, 00:25:55.019 --> 00:25:57.579 you don't get paid, you don't get to do it, you 00:25:57.579 --> 00:26:00.380 can do it somewhere else, or you just simply 00:26:00.380 --> 00:26:02.720 change the language by which you empower yourself 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:04.619 to take responsibility for the things you're 00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:06.880 doing, you're not a victimization of time, you're 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:08.980 not being victimized by it, we all have the same 00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:11.740 amount of time, okay? in the day. We don't have 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:13.099 the same amount of time in life, but we all have 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:15.339 the same amount of time in the day. And so how 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:17.559 we prioritize that against certain individuals 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:21.160 or situations or family and work, you know, you 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:23.559 have to look at the way you speak that language 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:26.140 out. It will be an empowerment to your people, 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:28.180 your partners and your employees and your family 00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:31.279 if you change the way you speak about priorities. 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:33.079 And if you don't have your priorities and time 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:34.680 management set as a business owner, you will 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:36.559 fail in everything we've talked about today because 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:39.259 that's the one area you can fail in as a business 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:43.819 owner. Well, I will never forget when I first 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:47.500 Sent out two guys to take care for some properties 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:51.819 for a day the next morning when we were at the 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:56.279 shop loading and Our little morning meeting that 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:01.140 we have They asked me did you drive by the the 00:27:01.140 --> 00:27:03.220 houses we moved yesterday and look at the yards. 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:08.960 I said no I Trust you to do the job If there's 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:11.859 an issue, the homeowner will call me and we'll 00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:15.259 deal with it at that point. I'm not gonna create 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:18.619 a problem if there's not a problem. I trust you. 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:22.839 So I wanted them to know that number one, I've 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:28.960 trained you. I've taught you everything I know 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:32.380 about doing the job exactly the way I would do 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:37.690 it. And if you did your job, then... the jobs 00:27:37.690 --> 00:27:41.109 are done just like I would do them. So I trust 00:27:41.109 --> 00:27:44.990 you. And I think moments like that helps build 00:27:44.990 --> 00:27:49.990 that confidence between employees and business 00:27:49.990 --> 00:27:53.750 owners to where the employee doesn't feel like 00:27:53.750 --> 00:27:57.130 they're being micromanaged or that I'm looking 00:27:57.130 --> 00:28:00.269 over their shoulder every day or following them 00:28:00.269 --> 00:28:05.019 around checking jobs. So Yeah, and if you can't 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:08.099 hire an A player you find a B player and you 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:10.380 train them to become an A player Right suggested 00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:12.980 ways you do that is you give them the trust capable 00:28:12.980 --> 00:28:15.559 of becoming an A player And you find out how 00:28:15.559 --> 00:28:18.720 far and how fast they can go or are there any 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:25.740 daily habits? That you have That helps your team 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:30.299 members do their job Yeah, I check in on everybody 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:32.289 every day How's it going? Good morning. How are 00:28:32.289 --> 00:28:33.609 you doing? Is there anything you need for me 00:28:33.609 --> 00:28:37.069 today? I personally get myself ready for the 00:28:37.069 --> 00:28:39.109 day by walking four miles a day with my wife. 00:28:39.549 --> 00:28:43.049 So a physical exercise, a decompression. I try 00:28:43.049 --> 00:28:46.430 to always get at least six hours of sleep every 00:28:46.430 --> 00:28:48.529 night so that I'm in a good mental state to take 00:28:48.529 --> 00:28:50.769 care of myself. I've been a lot more physical 00:28:50.769 --> 00:28:52.950 work on myself to prepare as I got a little older. 00:28:53.029 --> 00:28:56.160 I'm 49. I'm not going to last forever. So. I've 00:28:56.160 --> 00:28:58.059 been doing more things physically to kind of 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:00.900 control myself in both, you know mindset and 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:03.220 body and I'm down 40 pounds now because of that 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:05.680 and You know, I do a lot of mental and physical 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.599 control. I've live on a homestead of 50 plus 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:09.700 acres So I'm always out doing something physical 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:12.869 all the time In this property right and we love 00:29:12.869 --> 00:29:15.329 I love my wood stove. We're out here in the Ozark 00:29:15.329 --> 00:29:18.690 mountains So it gets cold and so I put a lot 00:29:18.690 --> 00:29:20.849 of wood away Which means I got a cut and chainsaw 00:29:20.849 --> 00:29:23.369 and drag and haul and do a lot of wood and now 00:29:23.369 --> 00:29:24.829 girls are a little older So they'll help dad 00:29:24.829 --> 00:29:26.569 now and it's time to you know, unload the wood 00:29:26.569 --> 00:29:28.690 So I keep them busy with that too, which is a 00:29:28.690 --> 00:29:30.369 part of just cross -training their physical side 00:29:30.369 --> 00:29:32.589 not their mental too But it is a lot of mental 00:29:32.589 --> 00:29:35.150 over physical and I know you know that firsthand 00:29:35.659 --> 00:29:38.619 From your own personal experience right as mental 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:40.460 and depression can kick in when physical becomes 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:43.700 a problem And and so really yeah my coping mechanisms 00:29:43.700 --> 00:29:45.680 are one of the biggest things I do in order to 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:48.079 maintain my support and being able to continue 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:51.200 to give as a dad one of the things I think as 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:52.880 a husband and a father and a businessman But 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:55.440 I think it crosses all of those things as a pattern 00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:57.799 of behavior You will do in your home life what 00:29:57.799 --> 00:29:59.539 you do in your business And if you're separating 00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:01.440 the two of those things then you're basically 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:03.019 two -faced and you got to be careful with that 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:05.400 So for me as a dad and a father and a husband 00:30:05.400 --> 00:30:07.839 is to show up and provide anything my daughter 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:10.839 and daughters and wife need ahead of myself, 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:14.180 right? So I get the last of things and I'm okay 00:30:14.180 --> 00:30:16.960 with that because I'm a provider. I'm a hustler. 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:18.799 I do things for life and business. This is what 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:20.420 I do. But I want my kids to know that they always 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:22.940 have a priority. My wife is a priority. And then 00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:25.259 what I get, you know, comes last and that's okay. 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:27.819 It just means that in the last, you know, like 00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:30.400 all the opportunity of stuff you've created and 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:31.859 the businesses that have done well and everything, 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:33.619 I just, until the last five years, I didn't really 00:30:33.619 --> 00:30:36.200 feel like even buying myself a truck. So, you 00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:38.900 know, I got myself a new truck. But that was 00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:41.079 only in the last five years. You know, things 00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:42.779 that I got that I knew wasn't taking from my 00:30:42.779 --> 00:30:44.940 family. And so I think that, you know, you prepare 00:30:44.940 --> 00:30:47.400 yourself mentally to do these things, to be a 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:49.740 giver, to be a care provider. You put yourself 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:52.420 in the role of that as a man and you double down 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:54.670 on what's necessary to get it done. And then 00:30:54.670 --> 00:30:57.190 you provide that same level of support to everybody 00:30:57.190 --> 00:30:59.730 in your business equally by supporting them in 00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:03.250 every possible way you can. And that should be 00:31:03.250 --> 00:31:05.869 your reward. And so that has become my reward. 00:31:05.910 --> 00:31:07.349 That's why I sleep good at night. That's why 00:31:07.349 --> 00:31:09.630 I go to rest easy, is I know that people are 00:31:09.630 --> 00:31:11.509 doing it. And I know they don't want to let me 00:31:11.509 --> 00:31:14.269 down. And they know that I'm there for them whenever 00:31:14.269 --> 00:31:17.109 they need me. And I just check in and say, how 00:31:17.109 --> 00:31:18.609 are you doing? What do you need? Is there something 00:31:18.609 --> 00:31:20.710 that I can help you with? And usually they're 00:31:20.710 --> 00:31:22.130 like, no, we got it. And we'll let you know. 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:24.740 if we need anything, right? And that's good. 00:31:25.140 --> 00:31:26.980 I trust that and I understand it. But I do a 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:29.119 lot of personal work on being able to let go 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:30.980 of those things, let going that fear, that risk. 00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:32.500 And like you said, you send those two guys out 00:31:32.500 --> 00:31:33.940 on that job. Well, what's the worst that could 00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:36.579 happen? Well, they screw the job up. You lose 00:31:36.579 --> 00:31:38.660 the client. Can you get another client? Yes. 00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:41.000 Is it really something to cry over? Probably 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.190 not. Right. It's probably not. And so at that 00:31:44.190 --> 00:31:46.009 point, if you're not going to be willing to do 00:31:46.009 --> 00:31:47.789 that and you're not, then you didn't. You're 00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:49.109 going to be that person. Again, we talked about 00:31:49.109 --> 00:31:50.630 a minute ago who falls back and like, I'm just 00:31:50.630 --> 00:31:52.289 going to do it all myself because no one else 00:31:52.289 --> 00:31:53.650 can be trusted to do it. And you're going to 00:31:53.650 --> 00:31:56.069 get stuck. I'm going to get stuck doing it by 00:31:56.069 --> 00:31:59.849 yourself for the rest of your life. Well, you 00:31:59.849 --> 00:32:04.710 said something there. You are in your business 00:32:04.710 --> 00:32:09.140 what you are in your home. Yes, and that is so 00:32:09.140 --> 00:32:12.480 good because I think a lot of people get confused 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:17.099 They want to be a good boss But they're not necessarily 00:32:17.099 --> 00:32:21.339 a good father a good husband or they're a great 00:32:21.339 --> 00:32:24.400 father Great husband, but they're not a good 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:29.220 boss And it's impossible to play both of those 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:31.920 field. It's mind -numbingly difficult the guys 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:34.579 I see that do it. I'm like you're wearing yourself 00:32:34.579 --> 00:32:41.980 out just So with that being said, I think it 00:32:41.980 --> 00:32:46.559 comes down to your mindset. What do you think 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:50.720 of your family? What do you think of your business? 00:32:51.619 --> 00:32:55.420 Are you just a guy with a mower or are you running 00:32:55.420 --> 00:33:00.839 a legitimate business in your community? And 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:05.589 so let me ask you. What is the biggest mindset 00:33:05.589 --> 00:33:10.289 shift that has helped you go from a worker to 00:33:10.289 --> 00:33:17.049 a business owner? I read a book once That really 00:33:17.049 --> 00:33:21.970 kind of refocused my Concern about giving up 00:33:21.970 --> 00:33:24.450 trust and financial and you know letting others 00:33:24.450 --> 00:33:26.970 take lead It's called feel the fear and do it 00:33:26.970 --> 00:33:30.329 anyways by Susan Jeffries And part of that question 00:33:30.329 --> 00:33:32.089 I asked a minute ago came out of that and that 00:33:32.089 --> 00:33:33.789 is, you know, what's the worst that can happen? 00:33:34.490 --> 00:33:36.450 If you, in your moment, can put yourself into 00:33:36.450 --> 00:33:38.589 what's the worst that can happen in this situation? 00:33:39.329 --> 00:33:41.930 Accept that, understand it, think a way to deal 00:33:41.930 --> 00:33:44.029 with it, even if it doesn't happen, you've already 00:33:44.029 --> 00:33:46.910 sort of kind of prepared yourself mentally to 00:33:46.910 --> 00:33:49.009 deal with it because you get to, not because 00:33:49.009 --> 00:33:51.710 you have to. and to put yourself in that position 00:33:51.710 --> 00:33:53.690 to say I will dedicate the time or energy or 00:33:53.690 --> 00:33:55.109 attention or money or whatever is necessary to 00:33:55.109 --> 00:33:56.630 fix it should it go this way and if it doesn't 00:33:56.630 --> 00:33:59.069 go this way then we'll go that way and once you've 00:33:59.069 --> 00:34:03.899 assessed that risk level then you let it go What 00:34:03.899 --> 00:34:06.220 about everything? What if this? What about that? 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:08.300 What if this? What if that doesn't happen next 00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:09.659 year? What if this doesn't happen next week? 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:11.900 Like people in business can get themselves caught 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:15.300 into this idea that there's a certain requirement 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:17.139 of things to happen in a certain time frame and 00:34:17.139 --> 00:34:20.300 they get their mind all jacked up on what their 00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:22.699 priorities should be. So I think the success 00:34:22.699 --> 00:34:24.980 mindset and one that really pivoted for me was 00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:27.500 the realization that to assess a situation is 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:31.420 to look at it for what it is. to see what the 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:33.559 possibilities of it are, fully negative or fully 00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:35.320 positive, and then deal with it. And then realize 00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:37.420 that if you're not willing to deal with that, 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.900 then you're never going to have the failures 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:42.280 required to get the experience that brings the 00:34:42.280 --> 00:34:45.519 wisdom. And you can't get to the wisdom without 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:49.110 the experience. Learned how to become a father 00:34:49.110 --> 00:34:51.769 and a husband through a very difficult divorce 00:34:51.769 --> 00:34:54.090 in a marriage that collapsed and having to access 00:34:54.090 --> 00:34:56.150 What was my problem in that relationship that 00:34:56.150 --> 00:34:58.130 allowed that to occur and what could I do better? 00:34:58.170 --> 00:35:00.190 And how could I be a better man a better husband? 00:35:01.230 --> 00:35:03.030 Luckily didn't have children during that time 00:35:03.030 --> 00:35:05.110 frame. So really it was mostly about well Why 00:35:05.110 --> 00:35:07.309 did this occur and what did I you know have problems 00:35:07.309 --> 00:35:09.829 with? To later on finding the love of my life 00:35:09.829 --> 00:35:11.389 and getting married and having this wonderful 00:35:11.389 --> 00:35:13.469 family event But then ten years after we got 00:35:13.469 --> 00:35:16.050 married we ended up in a bankruptcy and had to 00:35:16.050 --> 00:35:18.449 deal with that situation from a bad business 00:35:18.449 --> 00:35:20.610 dealing that went south and, you know, got out 00:35:20.610 --> 00:35:23.389 of whack really fast and had to go through that 00:35:23.389 --> 00:35:25.489 bankruptcy process. And then, you know, what's 00:35:25.489 --> 00:35:28.650 the worst that can happen? Well, I had $567 in 00:35:28.650 --> 00:35:31.550 my bank account. I can tell you what the worst 00:35:31.550 --> 00:35:34.869 that can happen. It is giving up, right? It's 00:35:34.869 --> 00:35:37.489 giving up and never risking anything to see what 00:35:37.489 --> 00:35:40.650 the reward potentials are. And I will never regret 00:35:40.650 --> 00:35:43.789 that I've risked it all and gained all in the 00:35:43.789 --> 00:35:46.400 process of living life. so that I could fully 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:48.599 say, I understand what that looks like. Those 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:51.079 who are still trying to understand or trying 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:54.179 to avoid that pain or those challenges will ultimately 00:35:54.179 --> 00:35:56.199 end up meeting them head on. The difference will 00:35:56.199 --> 00:35:58.260 be they simply aren't in the right mindset to 00:35:58.260 --> 00:36:02.860 overcome it. It will overcome them instead. Well, 00:36:02.860 --> 00:36:06.340 you will overcome or you will be overcome. So, 00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:08.300 you know, that's basically the only two ways 00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:10.000 it either gets better or it gets worse. But the 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:13.400 control of which one ends up being easier and 00:36:13.400 --> 00:36:16.769 which one's being harder is you. Right. So my 00:36:16.769 --> 00:36:19.309 realization was, well, this is crap. This is 00:36:19.309 --> 00:36:22.449 embarrassing. I let my family down and my, you 00:36:22.449 --> 00:36:23.929 know, I have friends and family that don't really 00:36:23.929 --> 00:36:26.349 want to talk to me right now because I am that 00:36:26.349 --> 00:36:28.389 thing that they think I am. And then they want 00:36:28.389 --> 00:36:30.130 me to get a job and I'm not going to go do that 00:36:30.130 --> 00:36:32.570 because I'm on the path of, you know, making 00:36:32.570 --> 00:36:34.869 my life as a business and my lifestyle as my 00:36:34.869 --> 00:36:36.389 family. And so I'm not just going to go back 00:36:36.389 --> 00:36:39.469 and get another job. And the realization that, 00:36:39.469 --> 00:36:42.670 you know, if I'm going to get this thing figured 00:36:42.670 --> 00:36:45.119 out, I'm going to work my way out of it. So I 00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:47.199 got to work because it wasn't any time to complain 00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:53.300 well speaking of books I Read a book and I'm 00:36:53.300 --> 00:36:57.119 reading it again. It's called the mountain is 00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:02.880 you It's an excellent book if there's a problem, 00:37:03.260 --> 00:37:07.840 it's me I need to be a better Boss, I need to 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:11.179 be a better husband. I need to be a better man 00:37:11.789 --> 00:37:14.989 I need to represent my business better in my 00:37:14.989 --> 00:37:18.210 community. Because when you're a business owner, 00:37:18.769 --> 00:37:22.469 everything you do points right back at your business. 00:37:23.050 --> 00:37:26.289 And that's why I try to tell people, they're 00:37:26.289 --> 00:37:31.010 not just buying a yard mowing or they're not 00:37:31.010 --> 00:37:35.190 just paying you to trim the bushes. They're investing 00:37:35.190 --> 00:37:42.559 in you, your reputation, your goals. What you 00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:47.139 want to achieve in that job so they're investing 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:52.000 in you and And the mindset, you know, it just 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:55.059 if you if you think you're a loser you've already 00:37:55.059 --> 00:38:00.500 lost, you know Yeah, if you already come beating 00:38:00.500 --> 00:38:03.380 yourself up you'll be your worst enemy. There's 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:05.940 no doubt about that Well, what else would you 00:38:05.940 --> 00:38:10.340 like to tell us about? What your business is 00:38:10.340 --> 00:38:15.699 what products you sale? Where people can shop 00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:20.960 for your business products and Go from well, 00:38:20.960 --> 00:38:22.139 you probably heard this thing called Amazon, 00:38:22.300 --> 00:38:25.980 right? Yes So if anybody's shopping on Amazon, 00:38:26.139 --> 00:38:28.300 you can check out my products there We have a 00:38:28.300 --> 00:38:30.800 quite a variety of different products on there. 00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:33.340 We've got a ice cream maker called the blizzy 00:38:33.610 --> 00:38:36.090 which is doing extremely well after launching 00:38:36.090 --> 00:38:37.789 here recently, which is super cool. It makes 00:38:37.789 --> 00:38:40.230 ice cream on the countertop in 30 minutes or 00:38:40.230 --> 00:38:41.809 less. You just pour the ice cream mix in the 00:38:41.809 --> 00:38:43.449 top, you wait, and then you just pull the handle 00:38:43.449 --> 00:38:46.090 and out comes soft serve. So people are absolutely 00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:49.289 loving that machine. It's on Amazon. You can 00:38:49.289 --> 00:38:51.250 make homemade ice cream at home in 30 minutes 00:38:51.250 --> 00:38:54.510 or less. It's a super cool product that we launched 00:38:54.510 --> 00:38:57.309 recently. We've got a coffee brand called Embrista. 00:38:57.750 --> 00:39:00.230 For those who love coffee, which I do, we have 00:39:00.230 --> 00:39:03.300 a coffee brand that sells a digital brew. a master 00:39:03.300 --> 00:39:05.280 that has a built -in grinder and we also sell 00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:07.980 an espresso machine that is doing it extremely 00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:10.920 well if you like espresso. We sell bed sheets 00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:13.639 in a company called Linen and Lane where we have 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:17.099 bed sheets in there that are amazing bamboo based 00:39:17.099 --> 00:39:19.099 microfiber sheets so they're cool and they're 00:39:19.099 --> 00:39:22.019 warm and that's also on Amazon and I could keep 00:39:22.019 --> 00:39:25.380 going because we got like 12 of these that we 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:27.719 sell. We sell all physical products, manufactured, 00:39:27.860 --> 00:39:31.679 created, developed, discovered, built, and sold 00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:35.130 by us. in our different brands and we predominantly 00:39:35.130 --> 00:39:37.090 sell on Amazon but also mention the other channels 00:39:37.090 --> 00:39:40.360 we sell as well. We work under an arrangement 00:39:40.360 --> 00:39:42.360 with those who want to do it with us in a 12 00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:44.760 -month consulting agreement to help them launch 00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:47.460 a brand. For those who might be aspiring entrepreneurs, 00:39:47.659 --> 00:39:50.099 you can go to VoltageDM .com to check that out. 00:39:50.300 --> 00:39:52.460 That's VoltageDigitalMarketing .com. And of course, 00:39:52.519 --> 00:39:54.380 all social medias. If you look up my last name, 00:39:54.579 --> 00:39:56.119 Twa, or go to Voltage, you'll find me on one 00:39:56.119 --> 00:39:57.820 of the social medias where we're all over the 00:39:57.820 --> 00:39:59.900 place. You can even check out my book, Almost 00:39:59.900 --> 00:40:02.460 Automated Income with FBA, which is also on Amazon 00:40:02.460 --> 00:40:06.320 as well. And there are, you know, development 00:40:06.320 --> 00:40:09.460 of brands and product types that we launch with 00:40:09.460 --> 00:40:11.280 the goal of specifically getting them out to 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:13.739 five years and exiting them. So everything we 00:40:13.739 --> 00:40:16.760 build is built as a saleable asset from the ground 00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:18.400 up from the very beginning. And so there's no 00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:21.019 side hustle or hobby businesses here. These are 00:40:21.019 --> 00:40:23.619 all, you know, true businesses with brand development 00:40:23.619 --> 00:40:26.579 and multi products so that we can move them into 00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:28.380 the market. And, you know, we have investors 00:40:28.380 --> 00:40:30.900 lining up at the door to buy them. So. There's 00:40:30.900 --> 00:40:33.719 lots of huge opportunity. I jokingly tell everybody 00:40:33.719 --> 00:40:36.019 this is the second oldest profession in the world, 00:40:36.420 --> 00:40:38.699 which is selling physical products. Everybody 00:40:38.699 --> 00:40:40.539 knows what the first one is, right? We don't 00:40:40.539 --> 00:40:43.039 sell those. But yeah, there's plenty of products. 00:40:43.179 --> 00:40:47.380 And upside, it's a huge market. In fact, in about 00:40:47.380 --> 00:40:50.460 15 years, according to market research from Bank 00:40:50.460 --> 00:40:53.280 of America, Forester Research, even the Department 00:40:53.280 --> 00:40:55.960 of Commerce, we're going to invert retail to 00:40:55.960 --> 00:40:59.630 online commerce. So what is... Still a majority 00:40:59.630 --> 00:41:02.329 of retail sales over online e -commerce sales 00:41:02.329 --> 00:41:05.530 is actually going to flip. So all the movement 00:41:05.530 --> 00:41:08.210 of product sales is literally moving online. 00:41:08.750 --> 00:41:11.630 So there is this huge generational wealth transfer 00:41:11.630 --> 00:41:13.610 that's happening right now. It started about 00:41:13.610 --> 00:41:16.389 six or seven years ago. And through that time 00:41:16.389 --> 00:41:20.630 frame, we saw hyper growth. as mobile purchases 00:41:20.630 --> 00:41:23.690 surpass desktop for the first time ever in 2021. 00:41:24.309 --> 00:41:26.190 So more people buy on their mobile phones now 00:41:26.190 --> 00:41:27.909 than ever, which is giving them the ability to 00:41:27.909 --> 00:41:30.250 purchase something anywhere and everywhere that 00:41:30.250 --> 00:41:32.650 they want to buy something. And Amazon is a juggernaut 00:41:32.650 --> 00:41:36.469 of sales machines. It's about 6000 units a minute 00:41:36.469 --> 00:41:39.949 moving through Amazon's whole ecosystem. Most 00:41:39.949 --> 00:41:42.449 people know about it as it arrives to their door 00:41:42.449 --> 00:41:45.010 when they order things. Uh, we jokingly saying 00:41:45.010 --> 00:41:46.730 my house, if my wife hasn't ordered something 00:41:46.730 --> 00:41:48.789 in 45 minutes, Amazon calls her to find out if 00:41:48.789 --> 00:41:51.329 she's okay. Uh, they're checking in on us, make 00:41:51.329 --> 00:41:53.710 sure you're okay, Ms. Tua. Uh, stuff shows up 00:41:53.710 --> 00:41:55.869 all the time and we use that infrastructure to 00:41:55.869 --> 00:41:59.210 deliver our products. So we don't have to warehouse 00:41:59.210 --> 00:42:01.030 them. We don't have to ship them. We don't have 00:42:01.030 --> 00:42:02.210 to deal with the returns and everything else. 00:42:02.449 --> 00:42:04.610 Amazon does that. And when I move it out to the 00:42:04.610 --> 00:42:06.389 different sales channels, like our website, or 00:42:06.389 --> 00:42:08.670 I go to TikTok with those sales channels, Amazon 00:42:08.670 --> 00:42:10.730 also delivers our product too. So it becomes 00:42:10.730 --> 00:42:13.579 a multi -channel. You know infrastructure of 00:42:13.579 --> 00:42:16.039 planes trains and automobiles. It's a miracle 00:42:16.039 --> 00:42:18.059 the dang thing even works as well as it does 00:42:18.059 --> 00:42:21.380 It's a huge machine. And so we set that up about 00:42:21.380 --> 00:42:24.500 12 years ago. We launched our first brand Got 00:42:24.500 --> 00:42:26.380 to their first seven figures in sales around 00:42:26.380 --> 00:42:29.739 2015 and built -in processes and standard operating 00:42:29.739 --> 00:42:31.860 procedures. We eventually developed a software 00:42:32.269 --> 00:42:34.929 to support the internal operations. We call it 00:42:34.929 --> 00:42:38.269 Greenlight. It's advanced now through AI. We 00:42:38.269 --> 00:42:40.489 have an intelligence data engine called Cayman 00:42:40.489 --> 00:42:42.530 that we developed that helps us discover the 00:42:42.530 --> 00:42:45.170 products using AI and Amazon's actual data that 00:42:45.170 --> 00:42:47.949 we get from Amazon sales. So we understand exactly 00:42:47.949 --> 00:42:51.170 the demand and what's in the market. And then 00:42:51.170 --> 00:42:53.190 we follow a process by which we launch the products 00:42:53.190 --> 00:42:55.630 into the market to find out which ones the market 00:42:55.630 --> 00:42:58.190 wants from us. And when the market tells us which 00:42:58.190 --> 00:43:01.320 ones it wants, we give them more product. And 00:43:01.320 --> 00:43:03.639 it's a repeatable process and it's a scalable 00:43:03.639 --> 00:43:06.360 process. You know, we've had business owners 00:43:06.360 --> 00:43:09.019 and brands go to tens of millions a year in five 00:43:09.019 --> 00:43:12.400 years or less. And it's a huge market of opportunity. 00:43:12.760 --> 00:43:14.519 Sell everywhere in the United States because 00:43:14.519 --> 00:43:16.820 it's a total, you know, we don't sell just locally. 00:43:16.900 --> 00:43:19.139 We can sell products to people all over the country 00:43:19.139 --> 00:43:21.280 through that infrastructure, which is super great 00:43:21.280 --> 00:43:24.639 because it opens up that whole marketplace. It's 00:43:24.639 --> 00:43:27.230 beyond local. So there's positive and negative. 00:43:27.269 --> 00:43:29.409 I understand the local challenges with small 00:43:29.409 --> 00:43:32.010 businesses and dealing with Amazon, for example, 00:43:32.010 --> 00:43:33.969 or any online marketplace. We live in a town 00:43:33.969 --> 00:43:36.829 of 1 ,800 people, so we try to support the small 00:43:36.829 --> 00:43:40.409 businesses here that we can too, as well. There's 00:43:40.409 --> 00:43:42.530 negatives to working with large companies, of 00:43:42.530 --> 00:43:45.630 course. But there are positives, especially when 00:43:45.630 --> 00:43:48.550 it comes to opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs 00:43:48.550 --> 00:43:51.150 to build a company and build up a lifestyle business, 00:43:51.530 --> 00:43:53.210 which is one of the things I've taught people 00:43:53.210 --> 00:43:55.909 how to do because that's what I did. I built 00:43:55.909 --> 00:43:58.550 this business up and I get to live here with 00:43:58.550 --> 00:44:00.090 my family and homeschool them and live in the 00:44:00.090 --> 00:44:02.130 country and live my lifestyle and have all these 00:44:02.130 --> 00:44:04.610 businesses running online. So there's a tremendous 00:44:04.610 --> 00:44:07.230 amount of opportunity. And how long have you 00:44:07.230 --> 00:44:12.210 been in business? Let's see, this will be 18 00:44:12.210 --> 00:44:16.590 going on 19 years now. In those 18 or 19 years, 00:44:17.090 --> 00:44:21.630 as you look back from where you are today to 00:44:21.630 --> 00:44:24.889 where you started. Yes, is there something you 00:44:24.889 --> 00:44:29.329 would have done different to expedite success 00:44:29.329 --> 00:44:35.670 You know, here's my problem with that if I changed 00:44:35.670 --> 00:44:39.190 too much I May not have four daughters. That'd 00:44:39.190 --> 00:44:41.789 be really sad If I changed too much, I might 00:44:41.789 --> 00:44:44.289 not have found my wife if I changed too much. 00:44:44.289 --> 00:44:46.420 I don't know where I'd be And I really like where 00:44:46.420 --> 00:44:48.739 I am like where I'm in business. I like where 00:44:48.739 --> 00:44:51.400 I live. I like so many things. And honestly, 00:44:51.400 --> 00:44:53.280 there's a lot that I could go back and really 00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:55.940 just rip off like 10 things that I, you know, 00:44:56.059 --> 00:44:58.079 well, I don't want to change this. I dumb stuff 00:44:58.079 --> 00:44:59.699 like, well, I wouldn't have sold a Bitcoin that 00:44:59.699 --> 00:45:02.380 I had, you know, I might have invested in more 00:45:02.380 --> 00:45:04.699 Amazon stock, you know, those kinds of things. 00:45:04.760 --> 00:45:08.019 Right. I would have I would have tried to catch 00:45:08.019 --> 00:45:09.820 on sooner when my business partners were stealing 00:45:09.820 --> 00:45:11.500 money out of the back of the company and I didn't 00:45:11.500 --> 00:45:13.780 even know it until I went bankrupt. You know, 00:45:13.780 --> 00:45:15.139 those are things that I wouldn't but at the end 00:45:15.139 --> 00:45:19.119 those are such tremendous lessons in life. That's 00:45:19.119 --> 00:45:24.460 a so much Coulda woulda shoulda but ultimately 00:45:24.460 --> 00:45:27.460 it created a much stronger person you see in 00:45:27.460 --> 00:45:29.500 front of you as someone who has a lot more faith 00:45:29.500 --> 00:45:32.659 than they used to have In life and business and 00:45:32.659 --> 00:45:34.880 something greater than me as I believe in God 00:45:34.880 --> 00:45:36.519 and Jesus Christ those are things that I know 00:45:36.519 --> 00:45:38.440 that if I hadn't gone through those struggles 00:45:38.440 --> 00:45:40.480 I wouldn't have found a way to be closer to God 00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:43.150 and So, I don't know if I'm answering it the 00:45:43.150 --> 00:45:45.150 way you intended the question to go, but for 00:45:45.150 --> 00:45:48.289 me, I really wouldn't change a whole lot because 00:45:48.289 --> 00:45:50.949 I really like wording it up. That's perfect. 00:45:51.989 --> 00:45:58.550 I love the answer. I am a believer. I believe 00:45:58.550 --> 00:46:02.710 in God. I believe He's my Savior. And I know 00:46:02.710 --> 00:46:05.210 that if it wasn't for Him when I was going through 00:46:05.210 --> 00:46:09.250 my throat cancer, that I would not be here today. 00:46:10.590 --> 00:46:13.849 When the doctors looked at me and said you have 00:46:13.849 --> 00:46:17.349 a tumor the size of a golf ball in your voice 00:46:17.349 --> 00:46:22.030 box. It's wrapping around your vocal cords and 00:46:22.030 --> 00:46:25.929 it is paralyzing your vocal cords. If we don't 00:46:25.929 --> 00:46:29.989 get it out, you have two weeks to live. You'll 00:46:29.989 --> 00:46:34.989 die in your sleep because the tumor will close 00:46:34.989 --> 00:46:38.010 off your airway and you will not be able to breathe. 00:46:38.599 --> 00:46:41.539 Wow, so I went to surgery not knowing if I would 00:46:41.539 --> 00:46:44.699 ever speak again Because he told me there was 00:46:44.699 --> 00:46:47.579 a great possibility that he would have to take 00:46:47.579 --> 00:46:54.079 my whole larynx to get rid of it Wow But I went 00:46:54.079 --> 00:46:59.619 to surgery Tears streaming down my cheeks Telling 00:46:59.619 --> 00:47:02.940 my wife and my two small kids at that time. Daddy 00:47:02.940 --> 00:47:06.159 loves you. I love you, babe You know not knowing 00:47:06.159 --> 00:47:09.679 if I'd ever be able to tell them that again So 00:47:09.679 --> 00:47:14.579 that was a very difficult, hard time for us as 00:47:14.579 --> 00:47:18.699 a family, for me as a man, because, you know, 00:47:18.699 --> 00:47:21.960 I wanted to be the provider. I wanted to be the 00:47:21.960 --> 00:47:27.940 strong, the strong guy, you know, and so just 00:47:27.940 --> 00:47:29.920 I just don't know how anybody can do life without 00:47:29.920 --> 00:47:34.000 faith, quite honestly, business and most. examples 00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:36.840 I would give and even my own and yours it just 00:47:36.840 --> 00:47:39.579 doesn't operate without faith right I don't know 00:47:39.579 --> 00:47:42.699 how you do it without faith quite honestly most 00:47:42.699 --> 00:47:45.500 of my friends who run businesses that are you 00:47:45.500 --> 00:47:49.460 know as the same or even larger than mine are 00:47:49.460 --> 00:47:53.000 faith believing people they they don't walk in 00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:55.519 the world the same way and I think they're successful 00:47:55.519 --> 00:47:57.880 because of that and I know it has a lot to do 00:47:57.880 --> 00:48:01.559 with just their faith and their belief of things 00:48:01.559 --> 00:48:03.699 that are greater than what we can currently see, 00:48:03.760 --> 00:48:06.940 and I honestly don't know how anybody can look 00:48:06.940 --> 00:48:11.179 at the way things are, the way they could be, 00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:13.860 and not examine it through the eyes of faith. 00:48:14.019 --> 00:48:16.940 I just, I personally don't understand that. Right. 00:48:17.340 --> 00:48:20.579 Too much fear, too much concern, too much unknown, 00:48:20.739 --> 00:48:23.380 you know? And when you put all that aside, it's 00:48:23.380 --> 00:48:24.980 much easier to focus on the things that matter. 00:48:25.679 --> 00:48:29.590 Well, I had to pray, Lord, I believe. Help thou 00:48:29.590 --> 00:48:33.070 my unbelief. You know, we all have those moments, 00:48:33.070 --> 00:48:35.050 man. I had some unbelief moments, you know, I 00:48:35.050 --> 00:48:39.429 did. Mine wasn't with my own health. Mine was 00:48:39.429 --> 00:48:41.849 dealing with my wife who had a hysterectomy that 00:48:41.849 --> 00:48:43.630 went sideways and when she was supposed to come 00:48:43.630 --> 00:48:46.809 out of the hospital in the second day after recovering 00:48:46.809 --> 00:48:50.150 went into a fight for her life. She died in front 00:48:50.150 --> 00:48:53.389 of me and one time they had to she got overdosed 00:48:53.389 --> 00:48:56.809 on morphine. by the doctor in the hospital and 00:48:56.809 --> 00:48:59.250 that coded out and then they resuscitated her 00:48:59.250 --> 00:49:02.030 in front of us and then she went into an emergency 00:49:02.030 --> 00:49:04.409 surgery because she had a bleed from a carterizing 00:49:04.409 --> 00:49:06.769 machine that failed to carterize and so she had 00:49:06.769 --> 00:49:09.269 like six liters of blood up in her cavity which 00:49:09.269 --> 00:49:11.670 were causing just extreme pain and so they tried 00:49:11.670 --> 00:49:13.809 to solve that problem with the first surgery 00:49:13.809 --> 00:49:15.849 and that didn't work so they went back to the 00:49:15.849 --> 00:49:17.730 second surgery and that didn't work and they 00:49:17.730 --> 00:49:20.650 were into the third surgery within 36 hours and 00:49:20.650 --> 00:49:22.269 she coded out once on the table while she was 00:49:22.269 --> 00:49:24.440 in there as well and they resuscitated her. And 00:49:24.440 --> 00:49:26.619 so by the time I get down 36 hours later, I didn't 00:49:26.619 --> 00:49:28.940 sure I had four small children under the age 00:49:28.940 --> 00:49:31.940 of five and a young wife and a life that all 00:49:31.940 --> 00:49:34.079 of a sudden for three days, I wasn't sure I wasn't 00:49:34.079 --> 00:49:36.159 spending the rest of my life without my wife 00:49:36.159 --> 00:49:38.360 and dealing with small children. Thankfully, 00:49:38.539 --> 00:49:40.519 God, you know, healed her through that process 00:49:40.519 --> 00:49:43.760 and took a year to recover. But I had to face 00:49:43.760 --> 00:49:45.960 that moment where I thought, man, that's it. 00:49:46.079 --> 00:49:49.340 I'm going to be a dad of four girls by myself. 00:49:49.949 --> 00:49:52.889 That was a tough moment of faith. That was a 00:49:52.889 --> 00:49:55.150 tough moment of recognizing what is happening. 00:49:55.849 --> 00:50:01.329 I appreciate so much you bringing your faith 00:50:01.329 --> 00:50:05.670 into the podcast because I think we need to get 00:50:05.670 --> 00:50:11.409 that out there in the podcast community and share 00:50:11.409 --> 00:50:16.570 our testimonies. I have a Facebook group. It's 00:50:16.570 --> 00:50:20.639 called the Green Industry Prayer Group. to where 00:50:20.639 --> 00:50:23.159 people can leave a prayer request or share a 00:50:23.159 --> 00:50:27.739 testimony of victory. And you know, I just think 00:50:27.739 --> 00:50:33.480 we need each other. And if you expressing your 00:50:33.480 --> 00:50:37.539 faith on my podcast can help a lawn care guy, 00:50:37.559 --> 00:50:41.739 you know, get enough strength to get up and go 00:50:41.739 --> 00:50:45.940 to work tomorrow. It was worth it. Yeah, 100%. 00:50:45.940 --> 00:50:49.159 That's our freedom, right? That's my five F's. 00:50:49.239 --> 00:50:51.440 faith at the top and then you got friends family 00:50:51.440 --> 00:50:54.400 finances and freedom without freedom of choice 00:50:54.400 --> 00:50:57.059 you know uh what else do we have right we have 00:50:57.059 --> 00:50:59.179 our freedom right at the end of the day and this 00:50:59.179 --> 00:51:01.539 is our opportunity to spread that freedom right 00:51:01.539 --> 00:51:06.460 yes sir absolutely well is there one piece of 00:51:06.460 --> 00:51:12.340 advice that you could give our listeners to encourage 00:51:12.340 --> 00:51:19.860 them yeah that's a big Question, one piece of 00:51:19.860 --> 00:51:23.500 advice. I would just remind people that the mountains 00:51:23.500 --> 00:51:27.880 they carry, you were supposed to climb. So you 00:51:27.880 --> 00:51:30.960 have to figure out how to let those go. And typically 00:51:30.960 --> 00:51:37.119 the process is to remember to leave your excuses 00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:39.920 at the door. Your opportunity will start at the 00:51:39.920 --> 00:51:42.699 end of your excuses. Oh, that's good. Get up 00:51:42.699 --> 00:51:47.300 and go. That is so good. Well, I really appreciate 00:51:47.300 --> 00:51:52.599 you being a guest on the show tonight. I'm very 00:51:52.599 --> 00:51:55.619 honored. Thank you for having me. Your insight, 00:51:55.920 --> 00:52:02.000 your wisdom, and your experiences has given our 00:52:02.000 --> 00:52:06.000 listeners some actionable things that they can 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:09.900 set in place in their business to help them begin 00:52:09.900 --> 00:52:13.980 to work on their business and not in their business. 00:52:14.519 --> 00:52:17.300 you know, the trust issue that you talked about, 00:52:18.000 --> 00:52:21.000 putting your faith in your employees or your 00:52:21.000 --> 00:52:24.440 partners, you know, all of that just rings home 00:52:24.440 --> 00:52:29.559 so well to our listeners because I'm sure there 00:52:29.559 --> 00:52:34.320 are lawn care professionals out there that might 00:52:34.320 --> 00:52:40.420 be a little hesitant to release the jobs to people 00:52:40.420 --> 00:52:45.059 to do because they want to be They want to be 00:52:45.059 --> 00:52:50.460 involved in every aspect. And so you have given 00:52:50.460 --> 00:52:55.159 us some actionable things that we can do to help 00:52:55.159 --> 00:53:00.440 us grow, to help us scale our business and to 00:53:00.440 --> 00:53:03.260 be a better man, to be a better husband, to be 00:53:03.260 --> 00:53:06.800 a better father, to be a better business owner. 00:53:07.260 --> 00:53:11.179 And that's my desire. I want to be better. So 00:53:11.179 --> 00:53:14.980 I appreciate you sharing your wisdom with us 00:53:14.980 --> 00:53:20.219 your testimony and I'm so happy that God touched 00:53:20.219 --> 00:53:26.139 your wife and saved her life and That your four 00:53:26.139 --> 00:53:28.579 children can grow up with a mommy and a daddy 00:53:28.579 --> 00:53:33.300 So I I am just grateful for everything that that 00:53:33.300 --> 00:53:36.559 you shared with us tonight And we're gonna call 00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:41.139 this a wrap And until we meet again, always remember, 00:53:41.579 --> 00:53:47.119 the grass is greener where you water it. So thank 00:53:47.119 --> 00:53:50.099 you for joining the Lawn Hustle. And I appreciate 00:53:50.099 --> 00:53:54.780 you listening to our show. And we will talk again 00:53:54.780 --> 00:53:55.539 real soon.