WEBVTT 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:13.460 All right. Awesome. All right. Ashley, dig in. 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.420 Okay. So before founding Growth Bones Technologies, 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:21.820 what does your career path look like? I've been 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:27.059 in IT since probably before it was called IT. 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:30.839 I started when I was 14 at a local computer store. 00:00:30.969 --> 00:00:37.170 and just kind of was in that field ever since. 00:00:38.250 --> 00:00:40.810 And leading up to this, the majority of my experience 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:44.689 was either a freelancer, I was kind of a one 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:47.329 -man show doing a lot of things, or at different 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:50.270 points in my career, I worked in IT leadership 00:00:50.270 --> 00:00:52.490 in different places, in schools, in government, 00:00:52.549 --> 00:00:56.969 in a few different places. But basically during 00:00:56.969 --> 00:00:59.990 the pandemic, I decided it was time to try to 00:00:59.990 --> 00:01:03.250 do something that was bigger than I could do 00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:05.609 as a one person corporation, try to build something 00:01:05.609 --> 00:01:09.810 with a team and really try to create some good 00:01:09.810 --> 00:01:12.030 jobs and do some good stuff. And that's where 00:01:12.030 --> 00:01:14.650 Growth Mode Tech came from and how we got here. 00:01:15.750 --> 00:01:18.069 Okay. Awesome. Was entrepreneurship always a 00:01:18.069 --> 00:01:20.590 part of your plan or did it happen kind of unexpectedly? 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:24.189 I don't know that I ever really thought about 00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:26.989 it that way, but yeah, I would say, I mean, I 00:01:26.989 --> 00:01:29.799 started my first company when I was 18, so I 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:32.760 think it's fair to say that that was sort of 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:34.159 part of my plan. Like I said, I don't know that 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.900 I ever called it that, maybe until recently. 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:43.060 But yeah, I started my first job at a local computer 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:47.219 store. Started with a guy who built that business 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:50.140 and that really inspired me and taught me so 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:53.159 many things that I still stick to today. And 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.280 that's probably, like I said, the inspiration 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:59.019 for that and just the way I saw it. the only 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:03.439 way to do it. Okay. And growing up, you just 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:04.900 kind of mentioned that, but growing up, were 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:08.539 there people like family members, mentors, business 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:10.699 figures who shaped your mindset or approach to 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:14.620 work? Yeah, absolutely. So like I said, my first 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:19.259 boss, his name is Joe, probably taught me more 00:02:19.259 --> 00:02:20.960 about the professional world than anything else. 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.319 But even before that, you know, when I was a 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:27.360 little kid, My parents bought a home computer 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:30.560 when I was five years old, which at the time 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:35.500 in 1985 was not super common yet. I'm like those 00:02:35.500 --> 00:02:37.039 old people. We were the first to have a color 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:39.080 TV. We were the first to have a home computer 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:44.780 on the block. And that sort of definitely helped 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:49.620 set my nerdy path from that stage forward. Understandable. 00:02:51.370 --> 00:02:53.509 Was there a moment or experience in your life 00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:55.490 that made you realize you wanted to build something 00:02:55.490 --> 00:03:03.289 of your own? Yeah, I mean, lots, right? First 00:03:03.289 --> 00:03:05.310 and foremost, I'm probably not a great employee. 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:10.530 I don't necessarily work well for other people, 00:03:11.310 --> 00:03:13.250 depending on the people, but in general. And 00:03:13.250 --> 00:03:16.289 I think that's one of the biggest things that... 00:03:16.810 --> 00:03:19.069 is the inspiration, but also you look around 00:03:19.069 --> 00:03:22.710 and you see that the only way to really achieve 00:03:22.710 --> 00:03:24.909 the things that you want is to do it yourself. 00:03:25.009 --> 00:03:28.650 And that's how I've come to be here out of pure 00:03:28.650 --> 00:03:35.409 necessity. Yeah. Okay. What inspired the launch 00:03:35.409 --> 00:03:37.830 of Girl Folk Technologies and how did the idea 00:03:37.830 --> 00:03:41.469 first take shape? Yeah. So, like I said, I had 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:44.590 been an IT freelancer for the majority of my 00:03:44.590 --> 00:03:47.620 career. Um, but the problem is that sort of, 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:50.039 you know, that's, that's, you are your own business 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:52.879 and in your own boss in that situation, but it's 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:55.159 really just a matter of creating a job for yourself. 00:03:56.039 --> 00:03:59.000 Um, where I wanted to build a company and I wanted 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:02.539 to be able to, um, you know, kind of, kind of 00:04:02.539 --> 00:04:05.560 live my values, which is to, to help people and 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.039 build jobs and, and things like that. And I thought 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.680 rather than, uh, screaming on the internet, Hey, 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.620 you should pay people and treat them well. So 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.379 let's, let's prove it. Right? And start an organization 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:19.120 that is designed to create good paying jobs and 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:22.120 demonstrate that, um, if you treat people well, 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.019 you can be successful and knock on wood. That's 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:27.399 exactly what's happened. Is there like a certain 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:29.120 experience that made you like start thinking 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:33.319 that way? Uh, not really. I think just overall 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:37.540 life, you know, um, kind of seeing what's, what's 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:40.379 happening in society and, and things that I'd 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:42.920 like to change or have a different way. And like 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:46.259 I said, at some point you sort of realize that 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:50.000 nothing will happen unless you make it happen. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:54.740 So that's what I've at least attempted. I think 00:04:54.740 --> 00:04:58.079 you're doing a good job. How did you identify 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.459 the opportunity or market gap that Growth Mode 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:02.939 Technologies now serves? Yeah, so that's a great 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:07.639 question. So like I said, Growth Mode Technology 00:05:07.639 --> 00:05:11.310 primarily is an IT company. And I've worked over 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:15.009 the years in sort of multiple capacities, right? 00:05:15.050 --> 00:05:17.769 So what we do primarily is provide IT services 00:05:17.769 --> 00:05:21.350 to businesses. We are their IT company or their 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:24.689 IT department, rather, instead of typically having 00:05:24.689 --> 00:05:28.470 internal employees. And I've worked with companies, 00:05:28.670 --> 00:05:31.269 I've brought in folks like me, and I've worked 00:05:31.269 --> 00:05:33.430 with other organizations like me to provide these 00:05:33.430 --> 00:05:37.649 services. So I've got a really good idea of A, 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:42.040 the need and also what everybody else in town 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:45.060 is providing. And there is a massive gap and 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:48.759 it's kind of a mismatch. And that's kind of been 00:05:48.759 --> 00:05:52.540 the area that I've tried to fill is to do things 00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:54.720 a little differently than everybody else in town 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:58.019 with a strong focus on getting people what they 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:04.540 need more than anything else. Awesome. For someone 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:05.899 who has never heard of the company, how would 00:06:05.899 --> 00:06:08.180 you describe what Girlfriend Technologies does 00:06:08.180 --> 00:06:13.180 in simple terms? Yeah, technology services for 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:19.540 business is the shortest description. And probably 00:06:19.540 --> 00:06:22.839 the most accurate, honestly. We used to say we're 00:06:22.839 --> 00:06:26.540 the computer guy. Nobody really uses those terms 00:06:26.540 --> 00:06:30.680 anymore, but yeah. When did you officially start 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:32.480 the business and what did the earliest version 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:35.819 of it look like? I started, let's see, it's going 00:06:35.819 --> 00:06:37.980 to be four and a half years ago now, Growth Mode 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:42.600 Tech. The earliest version, first few months 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.240 started out with me just working out of my house 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:50.060 by myself. And then after landing some business, 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:53.480 we rented a small office in downtown Syracuse 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:56.639 where you could rent literally by the room. And 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:59.379 that was kind of our first real business location 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:02.259 and in the spot where I brought on the first 00:07:03.389 --> 00:07:06.810 I think two or three employees, and then we move 00:07:06.810 --> 00:07:12.649 to this location. What is unique about Growth 00:07:12.649 --> 00:07:14.449 World Technologies compared to their competitors 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:18.529 in the IT and podcast media space? Yeah, so a 00:07:18.529 --> 00:07:23.949 couple things. In the IT space, one of the things 00:07:23.949 --> 00:07:26.850 that really stands out with us is we do everything 00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:30.370 as a sort of all -you -can -eat service. So what 00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:32.870 that means is our clients pay us a flat monthly 00:07:32.870 --> 00:07:35.589 fee, and for that, they get everything they need. 00:07:36.029 --> 00:07:39.230 Unlimited tech support, remote and in -person, 00:07:39.490 --> 00:07:42.170 cybersecurity protection, their Microsoft licenses, 00:07:42.589 --> 00:07:47.910 their phone service, laundry list of things for 00:07:47.910 --> 00:07:52.790 a very, very affordable price, but one that doesn't 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:54.350 nickel and dime. And that's one of the places 00:07:54.350 --> 00:07:57.589 that I think really stands out. There are still 00:07:57.589 --> 00:08:01.100 a number of organizations in town that do things 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:04.120 hourly. So they bill you by the hour like your 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:08.439 lawyer. And it's a horrible situation for both 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:13.800 parties. It can be expensive. Companies can suddenly 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:16.000 get a bill one month for five times the amount 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.720 that they had been paying just because something 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:23.120 occurred. And for the IT provider, if they're 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.319 good at something, they get penalized when you 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:28.560 charge by the hour. If I can solve a problem 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:31.560 in 15 minutes that most people takes them three 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.340 hours, I'm going to be paid less than all those 00:08:34.340 --> 00:08:37.919 people. That doesn't make any sense. And what 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.279 happens is it drives organizations who have good 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:44.879 people to then, I don't want to say overbill, 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:48.120 but purposely spend more time than they might 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:52.759 need to on things. And at the same time, when 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:54.700 you're billing by the hour, you get to pick and 00:08:54.700 --> 00:08:56.320 choose. So a lot of times companies will go, 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:59.220 I don't know if I want to spend five hours on 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:00.820 you addressing this problem. I don't know if 00:09:00.820 --> 00:09:03.639 that's a super urgent problem. When in reality, 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:05.500 that's the kind of like basic maintenance that 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:09.299 can save you massive amounts in the future. So 00:09:09.299 --> 00:09:13.360 it's a big deal to be able to offer people just 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:15.659 like I said, everything they need for a flat 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:18.940 price that works out to be less than they pay 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:21.669 from other people. Yeah. Do you have like that 00:09:21.669 --> 00:09:23.490 same mindset when it comes to growth mode content, 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:27.389 like the podcast? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So 00:09:27.389 --> 00:09:29.070 growth mode content, just to give you a little 00:09:29.070 --> 00:09:30.889 background on that, that started at the beginning 00:09:30.889 --> 00:09:33.730 of this year here, just in the beginning of 2025. 00:09:34.730 --> 00:09:38.090 And the idea there was first and foremost, I 00:09:38.090 --> 00:09:40.070 grew growth mode tech, I grew my IT business 00:09:40.070 --> 00:09:43.350 by making podcasts and content about the business. 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:47.220 Well, what would happen is I would make content 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:49.139 and then I would get some business and be too 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:52.539 busy to make more content, right? So I needed 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:54.779 some help. At the same time, I had a couple of 00:09:54.779 --> 00:09:56.980 friends in business who saw what I was doing 00:09:56.980 --> 00:09:58.440 with that one to do the same thing for their 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.179 business. And the idea was I'll start a co -op, 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:04.480 so to speak. Basically two or three of us business 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.220 owners will split the cost of one person who 00:10:07.220 --> 00:10:10.460 can do this editing and the basic stuff so we 00:10:10.460 --> 00:10:14.220 can crank out content. I started talking to it 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:15.840 to more and more people and I finally put it 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.120 out there and people came out of the woodwork. 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:20.679 And suddenly we had more than a co -op. We had 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:24.120 a full on business, um, and enough clients to 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.240 support a full team now. So that kind of popped 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.519 off immediately. Uh, but to your original question, 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.039 um, yes, I do kind of take that same mindset 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:38.779 to that, where we try to provide more value than 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:42.460 anybody else possibly would. for the price you 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:47.419 pay. So, for example, most of our clients are 00:10:47.419 --> 00:10:51.259 on a package where we shoot a podcast for them, 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:58.679 take that and create 30, 60, 90 pieces of content 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:01.879 that we distribute for them on their social media 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.980 and manage all those different things. And it's 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:07.720 really probably a suite of services that in many 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:10.159 cases people pay three different parties for. 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:13.330 um, and ended up spending three times the amount 00:11:13.330 --> 00:11:15.470 of money. Uh, and that's, you know, it's that 00:11:15.470 --> 00:11:17.409 type of thing that, like I said, I guess is always 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:21.350 my philosophy is, um, yes, I can provide a high 00:11:21.350 --> 00:11:24.230 quality service, but nobody knows that until 00:11:24.230 --> 00:11:26.809 you can work with them. And the best way to work 00:11:26.809 --> 00:11:29.570 with them is offer them as much value as possible. 00:11:29.690 --> 00:11:33.570 So it's a no brainer. Yeah. Very true. Who did 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:36.250 you talk to, research or learn from when evaluating 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:40.029 the idea early on? That's a good question. Um, 00:11:41.610 --> 00:11:45.289 really just other people doing it first and foremost, 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:49.190 which there aren't many. And that's one of the 00:11:49.190 --> 00:11:51.909 things that sort of led me to this. I saw great 00:11:51.909 --> 00:11:58.190 demand, but not necessarily a huge supply, which 00:11:58.190 --> 00:12:01.570 to me as the entrepreneur is immediately ringing 00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:05.289 bells, hey, this is a great place to be. And 00:12:05.289 --> 00:12:08.309 that's really kind of where I did it. I had a 00:12:08.309 --> 00:12:10.289 background in the content business for quite 00:12:10.289 --> 00:12:12.600 a while, actually. I opened the first content 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.519 studio in Syracuse over a decade ago as part 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.100 of another venture that I was in. At the time, 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:21.000 nobody knew anything about a podcast and the 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.120 social media stuff that we do now with the clips 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.059 and the reels and the shorts, that didn't exist 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:29.019 at that time. So it was a different world and 00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:31.659 it was not a successful business at that time. 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:37.179 But I had been in it since then and worked with 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:41.179 a lot of people and done a lot of things in that, 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:42.980 and that gave me a really strong background in 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:44.960 these things. That's what helped me leverage 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:48.019 that initially to initially grow the IT business 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:51.419 with content. And we've just sort of taken it 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:55.519 from there, you know? Yeah. I don't know if that 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:58.259 answers your question. Yeah, yeah, it does. What 00:12:58.259 --> 00:12:59.879 are some of the first, you kind of like touched 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:02.259 base on this, but what were some of the first 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:04.379 concrete steps you took when launching the business? 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:11.899 I think really just the basics, right? So setting 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:14.580 up the website, setting up the right resources 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:18.240 so that when we announced we had things there, 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:21.720 the thing I didn't want to do and the thing I've 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:25.659 seen others, the mistake they make is put too 00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:28.159 much out before it's ready. And then you go, 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:30.259 hey, I got this great new thing. And people go, 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:31.659 ah, cool. I want to check it out. I'm like, oh, 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.559 the web's nice. It's not ready yet. It's not 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.620 cool. So, you know, it was those basics, some 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:41.990 business cards. I'm a big fan of swag of all 00:13:41.990 --> 00:13:44.789 sorts, so I likely ordered some of the company 00:13:44.789 --> 00:13:49.730 shirts and hats and mugs pretty early, if I remember 00:13:49.730 --> 00:13:53.529 correctly. But it's those basics, really, to 00:13:53.529 --> 00:13:55.730 get things going. And then it's a matter of finding 00:13:55.730 --> 00:13:59.169 clients. Yeah, makes sense. And on the basis 00:13:59.169 --> 00:14:01.330 of ordering stuff, did you require funding in 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:03.750 the beginning? If yes, how did you secure resources? 00:14:04.129 --> 00:14:06.269 If not, how did you sustain the early stage? 00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:11.370 So I luckily did not. A, because I had enough 00:14:11.370 --> 00:14:14.529 of my own revenue from everything else that I 00:14:14.529 --> 00:14:16.929 could sort of float that to some degree. Also, 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:19.230 we really came out of the gate with a full suite 00:14:19.230 --> 00:14:21.970 of clients. And that's one of the things that 00:14:21.970 --> 00:14:26.649 I was able to do is sort of pre -sell. So I think 00:14:26.649 --> 00:14:31.710 we had over a dozen on the day that our team 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:36.480 started. And I've always... tried as much as 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:39.659 I can. I've never actually had investors or loans 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:41.500 or anything in any business I've done. It's always 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:46.100 been bootstrapped. And it's a matter of finding 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:49.620 enough business to pay for the resources. And 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:51.220 when you find more business, you can get more 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:56.320 resources. I'm not necessarily saying that's 00:14:56.320 --> 00:14:59.419 the best way to go about things, but that's what 00:14:59.419 --> 00:15:01.539 I had available and that's how I've done it. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.129 Awesome. All right. I kind of talked to us a 00:15:05.129 --> 00:15:07.350 little bit with Amanda, but did you vote the 00:15:07.350 --> 00:15:09.730 team right away or gradually? And how did you 00:15:09.730 --> 00:15:13.309 decide who to bring in and what? Yeah, so gradually. 00:15:14.870 --> 00:15:16.889 Really, again, like I said, because we've been 00:15:16.889 --> 00:15:19.429 completely bootstrap, it's a matter of as soon 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:21.850 as we can afford it, right? We didn't necessarily 00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:23.769 start with a bunch of capital where we could 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:26.870 grab folks before there was business to support 00:15:26.870 --> 00:15:29.090 them. So it was just, you know, kind of naturally 00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:34.980 that way. In the IT business, The first position 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:37.720 that we needed to fill was a tech, another person 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:42.120 to go do the work, right? And I got incredibly 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:46.320 lucky that I found our guy Anthony who's running 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:50.299 around here somewhere. And like I said, it was 00:15:50.299 --> 00:15:53.220 incredible luck because he's been an incredible 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:58.620 experienced member of the team. And the fact 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:00.659 that he was our first hire is one of the reasons 00:16:00.659 --> 00:16:04.539 we've been so successful. And again, from there, 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:08.000 it's just kind of continue as we have the need 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.740 and the funds to add folks. I believe in, you 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:15.580 know, paying and treating people really well. 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:18.399 So that also factors into it. It's not a matter 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:22.200 of do we squeak every penny to get one more person 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:24.360 as first and foremost, as everybody else who's 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.559 here taking care of. Um, should we give them 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:29.740 more before we do something like that? That's, 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:33.200 that's always a consideration. Um, but other 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:35.659 than that, you know, uh, in the IT world, what's 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:39.039 unique about us as well is, um, I hire folks 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:40.940 for their personality as much as their technical 00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:45.919 skills, because what we do, um, as much as we 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:48.779 kind of play the role as the IT department, we're 00:16:48.779 --> 00:16:51.179 not their IT department. We're not employees 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:53.200 and we are a contractor. And at the end of the 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:55.500 day, it's our job to provide customer service. 00:16:55.580 --> 00:17:01.059 And so we need technical people who can speak 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:04.519 to the computers and the humans, which is a little 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.859 bit rare. But like I said, I've been lucky enough 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:10.700 to find a number of folks who have those skills 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:13.619 and that's really been everything for us. Yeah, 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:17.599 true. What were the biggest real challenges you 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:19.980 encountered early on and how did you overcome 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:26.970 them? I think the biggest challenges are just 00:17:26.970 --> 00:17:29.829 a matter of having those resources when you need 00:17:29.829 --> 00:17:32.769 them. So when we get to the point where we need 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:36.009 three people, do we have the funding for three 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:39.190 people? You know what I mean? Those sorts of 00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:45.309 things. And luckily, we were able to grow at 00:17:45.309 --> 00:17:48.549 a rate to where that wasn't too big of a deal. 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:52.170 But I would definitely say those are always the 00:17:52.170 --> 00:17:58.869 biggest challenges. Yeah. Have there been any 00:17:58.869 --> 00:18:00.549 moments where something didn't go as planned 00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:03.450 that taught you important lessons? Yeah, nothing 00:18:03.450 --> 00:18:06.450 goes as planned. I mean, that's the lesson in 00:18:06.450 --> 00:18:11.289 all honesty. Nothing goes as planned and everything 00:18:11.289 --> 00:18:14.970 takes longer than you would expect it to. And 00:18:14.970 --> 00:18:19.170 if you just sort of accept those realities, it 00:18:19.170 --> 00:18:22.190 gets a tad less stressful. It's just nothing 00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:24.410 you can do about it. You just have to accept 00:18:24.410 --> 00:18:29.230 that. Okay, this is also a question I was wondering 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:31.630 too. How do you balance your personal life and 00:18:31.630 --> 00:18:34.710 the demands of entrepreneurship? That's a great 00:18:34.710 --> 00:18:40.390 question. Some would say I don't. But the reality 00:18:40.390 --> 00:18:46.789 is I do. So I constantly am making time for family 00:18:46.789 --> 00:18:50.309 and for even myself to do nothing whatsoever. 00:18:52.269 --> 00:18:53.970 People might be surprised to know the amount 00:18:53.970 --> 00:18:58.180 of TV that I watch. Um, and it's because I'm 00:18:58.180 --> 00:19:02.079 up all night, but, uh, I need to do things like 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:04.640 that to disconnect and just take a couple hours 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:08.059 to be mindless and play a video game and, and, 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:10.140 uh, you know, take the family out of town for 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:13.640 the weekend and things like that. And, um, I 00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:17.339 am likely answering emails and texts as I'm doing 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:20.599 all of those things. Um, but at the same time, 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:24.680 that's what I signed up for. So, um, this isn't 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:29.009 a job. Uh, this is, this is everything for me, 00:19:29.009 --> 00:19:32.849 uh, out of necessity and passion, right? So, 00:19:33.230 --> 00:19:37.509 um, you know, it's, it's, it's not quite the 00:19:37.509 --> 00:19:39.710 same. Uh, when you're an employee, you talk about 00:19:39.710 --> 00:19:42.190 work -life balances as an, as an owner. You know, 00:19:42.210 --> 00:19:44.829 like I said, this is really, uh, unfortunately 00:19:44.829 --> 00:19:47.509 my whole life or fortunately maybe, and that's 00:19:47.509 --> 00:19:50.089 what I've signed up for. So, um, everything I'm 00:19:50.089 --> 00:19:52.589 building is for my family and they get that. 00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:55.380 My kids are a big part of the business. My adult 00:19:55.380 --> 00:19:57.880 kids both work in the business. My younger ones 00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:02.400 are Determined to take over one day. Yeah You 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:06.259 know, so That's the balance is this it's what 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:12.500 we do Amazing how do you think about innovation 00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:16.599 and staying ahead in tech plus media? Yeah, great 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:21.920 question You 100 % have to do that in both counts, 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:25.680 right? And the crazy part is both move rapidly 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:28.259 fast and it's incredibly changing. IT, they used 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:31.079 to say, reinvents itself 100 % every six months. 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.259 And that stat was from years ago. It's before 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:38.440 the days of AI. So it's more likely doubled. 00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:42.180 You know what I mean? The way to stay on top 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:45.779 of it is to be plugged into the communities, 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:50.059 right? So whether... you're going to industry 00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:54.299 conventions, you're part of even online forums 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:56.859 and things like that for people in the industries, 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:01.059 networking with other folks. I don't really believe 00:21:01.059 --> 00:21:03.859 much in competition. I think there's more than 00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:07.660 enough business for everybody in all these fields 00:21:07.660 --> 00:21:11.720 and we can only get better when we sort of collaborate 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:16.230 and share news and things like that. And that's 00:21:16.230 --> 00:21:17.930 just kind of what you got to do. You got to just 00:21:17.930 --> 00:21:21.190 have to try your best to stay on top of these 00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:25.170 things. And it's, it is a challenge, but it's, 00:21:25.170 --> 00:21:30.630 you know, it is a big part of the game. Yeah, 00:21:30.730 --> 00:21:33.549 that's definitely big. When you look back, what 00:21:33.549 --> 00:21:35.789 is something you wish you knew at the beginning? 00:21:38.130 --> 00:21:41.369 That everything takes longer than I would expect 00:21:41.369 --> 00:21:45.190 it to and nothing will go right. Yeah. Yeah. 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:48.299 And what advice would you give to someone starting 00:21:48.299 --> 00:21:53.940 their own business to that? That's a wonderful 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:57.859 question. You know, it all depends on what they're 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:02.400 doing. My biggest advice, and I guess I would 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.599 just say generically without real context, is 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:10.299 to A, make sure you're not over -leveraged, meaning 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:14.809 I really... just personally don't like businesses 00:22:14.809 --> 00:22:18.190 like restaurants or retail where you have to 00:22:18.190 --> 00:22:20.529 have a large amount of inventory and equipment 00:22:20.529 --> 00:22:25.289 and a lot of things just to do business is not 00:22:25.289 --> 00:22:28.250 my game. And there are folks who love that and 00:22:28.250 --> 00:22:32.710 they do great in it, but just kind of have a 00:22:32.710 --> 00:22:37.730 plan is the biggest thing. And that doesn't mean 00:22:37.730 --> 00:22:43.149 it needs to be an MBA style business plan. But 00:22:43.149 --> 00:22:46.250 you need to at least have some semblance. You 00:22:46.250 --> 00:22:47.630 know, everybody says chase your passion. And 00:22:47.630 --> 00:22:51.910 I agree with that. But, you know, just because 00:22:51.910 --> 00:22:53.369 I'm passionate doesn't mean I'm going to make 00:22:53.369 --> 00:22:57.210 money, right? You really have to understand how 00:22:57.210 --> 00:23:01.109 to put those two pieces together. We had yesterday 00:23:01.109 --> 00:23:03.910 on the show, we had the musician and producer. 00:23:04.009 --> 00:23:04.950 And that was one of the things I asked him, how 00:23:04.950 --> 00:23:07.569 do you take the artist and then learn the business 00:23:07.569 --> 00:23:09.130 piece of it? Because it's a whole other world. 00:23:09.309 --> 00:23:13.319 Yeah. But it's something that you have to figure 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:17.880 out how to meld together. Definitely. What do 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:19.880 you think separates successful entrepreneurs 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:24.680 from those who give up? They didn't give up. 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:28.319 In all honesty, right? So that's, perseverance 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:32.099 is the biggest thing. And some might even say 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:34.500 it's a matter of how much shit can you take? 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:40.319 Because there will be a lot. And business ownership, 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:44.359 entrepreneurship is like a, it looks like your 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:47.740 EKG chart where it goes like this, right? One 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:49.900 day you are on the absolute top of the world 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:51.859 in the next day is the worst day of your life. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:58.779 And repeat every other day forever. That's kind 00:23:58.779 --> 00:24:00.079 of how it goes. And for a lot of folks, they 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:01.660 don't want to deal with that and it's completely 00:24:01.660 --> 00:24:04.839 understandable and they bail. The ones that make 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:08.559 it are the ones who sit through all the, make 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:11.599 it through all the horrible pieces and still 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:16.240 want to do it. Yeah. Okay. And we'll add it off 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:18.319 with looking to the future. Where do you see 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:20.299 growth -mode technologies in the next few years 00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:22.740 and what excites you the most about that direction? 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:27.519 Yes. So what really excites me is that both of 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.859 our businesses, both growth -mode technologies 00:24:29.859 --> 00:24:32.259 and growth -mode content are growing rapidly 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:35.559 because we're in high demand spaces. You know, 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:38.859 every company on the planet, um, not only needs 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:42.359 IT, but it is now probably one of the most important 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:45.299 things. Technology is what drives every business 00:24:45.299 --> 00:24:47.900 from the oldest traditional company to, you know, 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:52.400 a modern app. Um, so there's no shortage of that. 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:56.319 Uh, and then, you know, when we come to the content 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:59.660 business, social media marketing, content marketing, 00:24:59.660 --> 00:25:04.119 uh, is clearly not going anywhere. And it's something 00:25:04.119 --> 00:25:07.779 that's booming and still there is a small number 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:11.279 of agencies like ours that are dedicated to just 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:15.400 that. And so I feel like we've got a wide open 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.279 market in an area that's high demand. And then 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:20.160 you mix in all the fact that central New York 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:23.420 in general is on a massive upswing. You know, 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:26.500 this area is booming. It's one of the top places 00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:30.160 in the country that people are moving to. And 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:33.619 that's because massive businesses are expanding 00:25:33.619 --> 00:25:35.599 and opening up. And we talk about Micron, but 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:41.579 there's just one of many. So as a company that 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:44.779 provides services to other companies, we're in 00:25:44.779 --> 00:25:48.359 a great town. Yeah, definitely. Okay. Awesome. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.599 That was all my questions. Awesome. Thank you.