The Small Business Safari
Brotherly Bonds: The Mendoza Brothers' Journey to Success started Early
How can you work with you brother and be successful? Michael and Mark Mendoza have figured it out. They have turned their childhood experiences in an entrepreneurial household into a series of successful ventures. From humorous golf course encounters to serious business insights, this episode is packed with personal stories and practical advice. Michael and Mark take us through their early days, sharing how their parents' diverse business ventures—from restaurants to car dealerships—inspired their entrepreneurial spirit.
Michael started a restaurant, recruited his brother, Mark in and TADA... Magic. Then Mark leaves the restaurant business to a corporate role at Sports Clips. He opens up about the vital role of franchise support and the lessons learned from launching hundreds of franchise stores. Then its Michael who gets recruited by his brother and they now own over 50 Sports Clips Franchises. But the weren't done there, now they have purchased VaVia Dumpster rentals in the Atlanta market and are growin those as well.
Gold Nuggets:
Trust, open communication, and complementary perspectives are the cornerstones of their success.
Growth through acquisition is a WORKOUT
Build Culture and recognize that SMALL THINGS MATTER
How can you work with you brother and be successful? Michael and Mark Mendoza have figured it out. They have turned their childhood experiences in an entrepreneurial household into a series of successful ventures. From humorous golf course encounters to serious business insights, this episode is packed with personal stories and practical advice. Michael and Mark take us through their early days, sharing how their parents' diverse business ventures—from restaurants to car dealerships—inspired their entrepreneurial spirit.
Michael started a restaurant, recruited his brother, Mark in and TADA... Magic. Then Mark leaves the restaurant business to a corporate role at Sports Clips. He opens up about the vital role of franchise support and the lessons learned from launching hundreds of franchise stores. Then its Michael who gets recruited by his brother and they now own over 50 Sports Clips Franchises. But the weren't done there, now they have purchased VaVia Dumpster rentals in the Atlanta market and are growin those as well.
Gold Nuggets:
Trust, open communication, and complementary perspectives are the cornerstones of their success.
Growth through acquisition is a WORKOUT
Build Culture and recognize that SMALL THINGS MATTER
Well, how much bad stuff do you want to know about the business that we've also got into before all the good stuff?
Speaker 2:I think we need to hear it, because it's not all good stuff, right?
Speaker 1:Well, I think entrepreneurs and again it's hard to sometimes talk about yourself, but what franchise did we not get into? I think that's more of the question.
Speaker 3:Welcome to the Small Business Safari, where I help guide you to avoid those traps, pitfalls and dangers that lurk when navigating the wild world of small business ownership. I'll share those gold nuggets of information and invite guests to help accelerate your ascent to that mountaintop of success. It's a jungle out there and I want to help you traverse through the levels of owning your own business that can get you bogged down and distract you from hitting your own personal and professional goals. So strap in adventure team and let's take a ride through the safari and get you to the mountaintop. Alan, I feel like getting my hair cut today, baby, because we got to go somewhere. But you know what? What? I don't have any hairs to cut, so we have an incredible guest today.
Speaker 2:Why do we even have him here?
Speaker 3:Well, because you know what to do, I do have a lot of shit I need to dump and I gotta dump it somewhere, and so I dump it with these guys. So we got some incredible guests today, but before we got started, we had to talk a little bit about the g word golf it's a four-letter word for it is.
Speaker 3:It is. So here's the question I'm going to ask her before we get started introduce everybody. If you had the chance, would you rather golf with your wife and a couple's outing, or with your buddies in a foursome? Alan, you go first, no buddies in a foursome.
Speaker 2:100 michael, he loves his wife. I've already established okay, good man, he's honest. Oh, you can trust him.
Speaker 3:Michael, I was setting it up because you said oh, no, no no no, listen to this.
Speaker 4:No, no, no. He said no, I'm buddy to all the other ones.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, all right, mark, my wife doesn't have clubs. Thank you, that's the best answer.
Speaker 3:I could have said the same thing. My dad and Dad, you should be thankful that it's going like that, I said, and you need to find the other single guys and just play golf with them. That's what this is about. I'll see her after I get off the golf course, because that's my sport, men's sport. That being said, the one time I ever played Pebble Beach, troy and I, troy and I got, uh, paired up with two women, so I'm not playing pebble beach and they probably whipped you, kicked the ever living shit out of it. I mean, just, were they regulars there? No, uh, they played there twice before, but they're regular. But funny story is they're from atlanta, we go all out there and they're in the druid hills golf club here and uh, and I mean they were phenomenal.
Speaker 2:uh, it wasn't like it was a competition, but kind of ended up when you're getting your ass kicked.
Speaker 3:Especially after that. You're like, oh my God, I mean, everything was down the middle, everything was close to the green or on the green, hitting greens and regulation. I'm over there flying shit into the ocean. There's a lot of balls out there, my friends. All right guys, we got to get going If you're driving, because this is one you want to listen to, we're gonna have a lot of fun. This time. These guys even said we're off the bat, please don't give me an agenda. I'm like, oh, thank god, because, uh, if you've been listening to the podcast, you know we don't do agendas, we just fucking three-wheel it don't we?
Speaker 3:yeah, but we end up coming up with gold every time, every time, and and there's a direct correlation with how full your glass of bourbon is, which is quite copious oh, we're gonna go deep today, because they're in studio, we're ready to rock and roll and, uh, truth be told, they were a touch late, so we decided to drink before they get started. So we're pre-primed, ready to rock and let's introduce them, shall we? Let's all right, we got the mendoza brothers, michael and mark, out of nashville, tennessee.
Speaker 4:Cheers, fellas that's right here, boys, I want to give a shout out to woodford. Uh, thank you for sponsoring this. That's right this, uh. Next, 45 minutes to an hour sponsored by woodford reserve. We are ready to rock and roll also ready for that phone call, if you do want to actually sponsor it.
Speaker 3:See that this is a guy after my own heart. Every time, right, he's the sponsor. Right, let's get it going. So these guys grew up in an entrepreneurial household. Watch mom and dad struggle through it, probably probably go through everything that we all go through. Right, there's the ups, there's the downs. Maybe they shared this stuff with them, maybe they didn't. We're going to find out what kind of business were they in.
Speaker 4:We've been in the restaurant business, car business.
Speaker 2:This is your folks.
Speaker 4:Marketing business for our folks growing up.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 4:A little bit of corporate America, but not much. But yeah, wow, a little bit of corporate america, but not much. But yeah, we had a, a beautiful upgrade. I mean nothing to complain about, but we learned, we learned the. We learned the ins and outs of mom and dad working hard.
Speaker 2:So that was that was a great example for us.
Speaker 3:That's super cool, all right. So you guys grew up in that household and still decide to go into it, but you didn't go right into it, right, because that would be like let's get after work at 18, but no, we can't do that. So what'd you guys do at 18? Went to college? No, yeah.
Speaker 4:No, I think it's a quick, just a quick story about our life is, and once again we'll just give a shout out to mom and dad real quick. But Mark and I shared a room till I was 18 years old. I got two years on him For 18 long years I had a roommate and then I got to go to college for a little bit and then one year after he left home he became my roommate again. So we have not left our side.
Speaker 1:I tried a quick stint over at University of South Florida, okay, and then my bro was down at Arizona State and I said you know what, stint over at University of South Florida. Then my bro was down at Arizona State and I said you know what? That doesn't seem like a bad place to go.
Speaker 4:If you've ever been there. Not too long after we became roommates again.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:Where'd you grow up?
Speaker 4:Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Speaker 2:No kidding.
Speaker 4:We got a family restaurant there that's been there for about 40 years and then still there, still kicking. If anybody ever goes to Albuquerque, new Mexico, you got to check it out. What's the name? What's the name? Padilla's New Mexican Kitchen. Padilla's New Mexican Kitchen. It's the best in town. Best sopiz in town, best red chili in town. Go get it.
Speaker 3:40 plus years got a shout out for padillas in albuquerque. Go check it out everybody.
Speaker 2:I tell you what the new mexican food most people don't know about is. It's special. Yeah, it's really good best in the world it's what it's about, judy judy and I were in santa fe this, uh, this last fall and we got some of the chimao chili powder, brought it back and I was like really, yeah, and I still got the guy's card. He doesn't have an email or anything. I guess I have to call him to get some more. I'll bring you some, okay.
Speaker 3:Ah, there you go, you got a hookup hey 188 episodes and it all paid off Finally finally, alan gets something, as opposed to having to bring Chris bourbon and beer.
Speaker 2:All right, or you know somebody wants to buy or sell a building in Atlanta well, you know what, the way this guy's building.
Speaker 3:Well, he's a commercial real estate agent, he's ready to. So if you guys are ready to buy, he's ready to sell. You got it, we'll talk off. We'll talk off camera. I like it. Oh, I told you you guys would be fun, all right, so let's talk about that. So that's Arizona State. What?
Speaker 1:is that devils? Uh, yeah, forks up tempi, arizona good spot nice, all right.
Speaker 3:So you guys do that. You go off to college, but the whole time you're still thinking. When I come out of business, I can't wait to go to corporate america, sit in a cubicle and work for the man for the rest of my life all right, I'll just say mike was, uh, working at a restaurant there in town and you know, when I got there I needed a job too.
Speaker 1:So you know, you know the restaurant was hiring.
Speaker 3:So you went to work at the same restaurant as your brother.
Speaker 1:We just jumped in to the same restaurant and started working there, bartending, serving and yeah, you know just.
Speaker 4:We met our eventual partner. I was, I don't know 23 years old, 22 years old and going to school full time and trying to make ends meet to enjoy the Scottsdale nightlife. But yeah, which, there's a fair amount to enjoy.
Speaker 1:You got to work Friday and Saturday night we started this restaurant. We had to get to the second part of the night.
Speaker 4:We had about 1,100 square foot of a pizzeria restaurant. We had about 1,100 square foot of a pizzeria restaurant and I think we opened it in 2002 and grew this space out, built out probably another 500 square feet out for seating to continue growing, and then build out the patio.
Speaker 3:In the Arizona area.
Speaker 4:In Scottsdale, yeah, Scottsdale.
Speaker 3:Arizona. You actually purchased, started a restaurant while you were in school.
Speaker 4:Correct. Yeah, we partnered with an Italian family from New Jersey, and sure enough.
Speaker 3:That's Uncle Tony. I don't know about that.
Speaker 4:His name was Vinny Vinny. Vinny is a good guy.
Speaker 4:But yeah, and we all went through it 2007 we're like man, this restaurant's killing it. We need a bigger space. We need a bigger space. And in the same in the same, I guess, mall area uh, a 4 000 square foot spot opened up that used to be a david's bridal underneath the ruth chris. Underneath the ruth chris steakhouse shout out to ch Chris. They fed us a lot of great food, but opened up the space opened up. We're like, yeah, 2007, we're killing it. This restaurant is growing. We have no more space. We have no more room.
Speaker 4:Everyone knows what happens after 2007 and we got into a 10 year lease the Phoenix market got slaughtered built out a beautiful 3500 square foot restaurant, open kitchen concept kind of the first in the area, and we were excited and then, boom, it happened. But you know what local talent wins out in those moments and we had a awesome clientele um a great staff and we crushed it, we did it, we made it through the system. Mark bartended, if anybody was in Scottsdale from 2008 to 2011, you got heavy drinks on Thursday, friday and Saturday.
Speaker 3:And what was the name of this restaurant?
Speaker 4:It was called the Cove Trattoria. The what? The Cove Trattoria? Oh, it's still going. No, no, we sold it. I got out and we'll get into that later, I'm sure but we got out and ended up getting out in 2013 and moved to Nashville.
Speaker 3:Why Nashville? Well, wait a minute, let's back up and come back we got a lot to cover before that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we got.
Speaker 2:No, I I got an idea all right, should we let the listeners in on where they're at now and then go back and back there. We go all right, because before they're like, okay, these two guys bounce around blah, blah, blah all right.
Speaker 3:So today, where do you guys live and what businesses do you own?
Speaker 4:notice, I said businesses um, we both live in nashville, tennessee, close to downtown. We currently uh, I'll let mark talk about um one of them, but we we opened up a dumpster roll-off company two years ago called the via v-a-v-i-a. Um, excited about it, love the industry, but there's a reason why we got into it. I'll let mark kind of get into. But we also are part of another franchise which is yeah, we started.
Speaker 1:Uh, well, I moved to nashville, I think around 2008 ish, um, with the opportunity with sport clips, haircut, so, um, I don't know if we'll go back or forth, but, um, yeah, I was working for the, for the corporate office at the time, and was lucky enough to be able to find opportunity in Nashville.
Speaker 2:God, they're modest.
Speaker 1:How many of those freaking things did you do so we've got it was three at the time. It's gone north of 50 and and, uh, you know, through acquisition and building and selling, we, we, we, uh, we've got 50 now. Um that we own and operate uh throughout the Southeast. So, yeah, we're, we're happy and, um, yeah, there's uh, I think we'll get into it, but there's a lot that we've learned through the, through the uh, through the years for sure.
Speaker 4:Okay, so 50 plus and growing sports clips franchise, and, and so we uh, we own uh atlanta, and that's I.
Speaker 3:What do they call that? One or a couple franchises, uh it's we.
Speaker 4:We're the franchisees for this area currently.
Speaker 2:You're the area developer.
Speaker 4:We own six territories here in Atlanta. There's obviously more available, but I mean, we own the majority of Atlanta.
Speaker 1:We've got six territories here in town and eventually we'll see if we can get down to where we really like. But we also own territories in Mobile and Pensacola, so we love it down south.
Speaker 2:All right, so now we can go back, two knuckleheads with freaking Uncle Vinny.
Speaker 3:Again, everybody listening Bob B a great platform and program. What that is is roll-off dumpsters go into the residential sites and they work with all different sizes. And I was telling Alan this is how I came across these guys is because, as a remodeler, you know you can go with the big dogs, your waste managements of the world, your Uncle Benny's, or you can go with guys who can work with you and can work with your size and what you're doing on weeks but also take care of your customer just like you would. So that's what we've liked working with these guys. So there's a great niche market. But they also work with residential customers just looking to dump stuff out of their homes as well.
Speaker 3:But it's like a white glove dump, definitely a white glove dump. So they come in, they put down the plywood, they put the dumpster down. When they pull it away, they make sure there's no uh crap sitting on the driveway. There's no nails sitting on the driveway. Never had a complaint with a bavia uh pull from all of the ones we've used. So it's been great for us. But it's just a testament to the, the idea and the franchise and, obviously, the business they run. So now we can go back? Yes, because bavia needs to actually, uh, jump in and sponsor this podcast as well, as long as woodford.
Speaker 4:I do agree with that. I'll give off the franchisor.
Speaker 3:I like it, let's do it All. Right, let's get back to this. So, mark, you said something that I didn't realize. So you left the entrepreneurial world. You were sitting doing restaurants and you said now I'm going to go to Sports Clips Corporate. Did you have an eye on getting into the franchising business? Or was this like hey, listen bro, love you, but I'm going to nashville and I gotta do this thing?
Speaker 1:well, I needed a job and I'll chime in on this.
Speaker 4:I'll tell the real story after he's done.
Speaker 1:Nice, let's hear mark's story, I think you have one, go in a quiet room you know we had a good thing going.
Speaker 1:but at the end of the day, you know, I think you, you know, go through school and you have a great life and you know stuff's happening and you know you want to put and you have a great life and you know stuff's happening and you know you want to put that degree to work and uh, I have been very, very fortunate to have uh good people in my life. But you know I had a marketing degree. So where was that going to take me? And uh, so lucky enough to to, to, to fall into a really really good company, so lucky enough to fall into a really really good company, and you know, through that time you know kind of learn more of a model. But at the end of the day, you know, michael and I we're operators and so we probably knew that long term wasn't going to be. You know that nine to five At the time I was helping the grand opening process and probably opened about 300, 400 franchise stores and uh, you know kind of got that opportunity to find that there was, you know, some stores available in Nashville.
Speaker 1:Uh, things had worked out and we probably knew at the end of the day that we probably would be entrepreneurs at some point. Uh, when was that point going to happen? I didn't think it was going to happen at 24 um, but I think when, when, uh, when that opportunity happens, I think you have to take it so you went to.
Speaker 2:You went to. They're out of nashville. Sports Clips is.
Speaker 1:Well, they're out of Austin. They're out of Georgetown, Texas, actually just north of Austin, and I was still lucky enough to be living out of Phoenix while I was doing that job and you were there on a marketing capacity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was flying out every Monday we would be doing a grand opening on that Friday or Saturday but flying out, going business to business, letting people know that we were going to open and really trying to build that brand awareness in that market. And then, lucky enough to be able to hand off the relationships that we had built on the corporate side to the franchisee so that that franchisee had a chance.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's amazing franchise support. To be honest with you, I'm super impressed, right so everybody.
Speaker 3:if you've been listening, you don't know this. I'm going to refresh everybody's memory. Alan not only left Enterprise to start his own and bought into a franchise, he then went and went to work for a franchisor. So he knows the good, the bad and the ugly. And it sounds like Sports Clips does it right, because setting somebody up for success, doing what you just said, canvassing the network and doing the cold call, doing the pulls- yeah, having that corporate support right up front, as opposed to a lot of franchises that sell it and hope it sticks and then they backfill the support, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that sounds kind of like Chick-fil-A level Chick-fil-A level.
Speaker 1:Well, I think what happens you know and as a franchisee, you know you're focused on that grand opening, you're focused on that start right, but what's going to get you there? You know you need those clients to walk through that door that first day. And same thing in the dumpster business. You know, before we launched in April, you know we were canvassing, you know, since January and really kind of getting our name out there and starting to talk to people.
Speaker 3:But you did that on your own Correct Right but sports clips. So you went off, cause we're going to give it to you in a minute, Michael, but so you went off, went to sports clips. Why Nashville again?
Speaker 1:So we ended up having an opportunity to buy stores there Work. I was working out of Phoenix, obviously, the, the, the company's out of Georgetown, texas, um, but it didn't matter where I live, cause I was going to Oregon, I was going to North Carolina, I was going to Nashville, I was going to wherever the new store was opening, and so I would help that first week, um, but really I was just going to the next place, um it didn't matter where it was so.
Speaker 3:So that's where you said, hey, I got a chance, I gotta, uh, go look at some stores in nashville, that's correct, so move yourself up there, kind of looked at the area, had to equate yourself with the area, right, you probably didn't even know it we didn't know the area, um, at the time it didn't really matter.
Speaker 1:Again, the same thing you travel, you travel, you travel. Uh, nashville is a great market. It's not what nashville is today, that's for sure. Uh, but had the opportunity to say that, but for everybody what?
Speaker 3:what does that mean? Because there was a lot of people don't realize how big it.
Speaker 1:There wasn't the cranes, there wasn't the travel, there wasn't the tourism. Uh, franklin, tennessee has now made a name for itself, but that's where where we bought the first two stores with one extra in Nashville?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think a lot of people. That's why, when you guys said Nashville, I'm like huh and the reason I went huh is I'm finding so many people are finding either I'm going to retire there or that's where I want to live because they like the climate, they like the temperament. Obviously it's got a great vibe with the country music scene and even and but a lot of people don't realize it's not just country music, there's all kinds of music there. It's just a live place to be in a great place in vanderbilt.
Speaker 3:But yeah, we got in this little school there yeah, yeah oh yeah, you've got.
Speaker 1:You've got belmont. That's making a name for itself. You've got uh vandy, right there and coming off the CMAs. Nashville looks a lot bigger than it is.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so that's exactly what I was going to say. That's why a lot of people are moving there. It's got that small-town feel, but you still have the big town.
Speaker 2:But everybody goes to.
Speaker 3:Franklin, which is funny to me, Right. So long story short. Back in late 1999, I built a call center up in there for Ford Motor Credit, so I got to stay in Nashville and leave them from Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte's a banking town, Nashville the music town. You can imagine the nightlife difference between those two towns and you're like man, this city is alive. It was so cool. This is the 90s. I mean, dude, we're going on almost 30 years now.
Speaker 3:We're paying some ford motor credit okay well, thank you for that yes, we're paying some of that too, so I like that, yeah, so no, uh, all right. So you moved to nashville. That's why I wondered if it was just the temper you wanted to get out of the albuquerque heat. But no, these guys still, you can totally love it, but nashville was the opportunity. So you go, you start it, but somehow you had to suck Michael out of there. But I want to hear you got it going before he came up.
Speaker 1:Well, how much bad stuff do you want to know about the business that we've also got into before all the good stuff?
Speaker 2:I think, I think we need to hear it, because it's not all good stuff, right, I think entrepreneurs and again it's
Speaker 4:hard to sometimes talk about yourself but what franchise did we not get into?
Speaker 1:I think that's more of the question. So yeah, petro's chili and chips Great franchise.
Speaker 3:We didn't make it through.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's great. Chili's and chips, frito Pie concept, I mean, come on.
Speaker 4:Who doesn't like that? It was my worst Thanksgiving every single year by far.
Speaker 1:Well, we were in the mall and one of the things that we had to do is, when Mike came down, we had to go to work, right?
Speaker 4:Oh no, you guys worked in a mall inside, uh, inside of our beautiful food court in uh rivergate in hendersonville almost, I guess not hendersonville rivergate, rivergate, uh, there is a uh carousel, a um a circle of screaming kids.
Speaker 4:It wasn't this kids, it was the music that happened every I don't know two and a half minutes that are our um beautiful mall kiosk, not kiosk, but mall, mall restaurant. Mall restaurant stood in front of. And so every I come in on thanksgiving to, to visit family and stuff, and my shift started early Wednesday morning and it didn't end until oh, so wait a minute.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Black Friday. Your visit to come family for a vacation was working. Oh yeah, that sounds familiar.
Speaker 4:Welcome to being an entrepreneur. My friends, I was on the chili I had the huge cauldron.
Speaker 1:I got mom a shirt, I got brother a shirt, I got everybody a shirt, my brother-in-law we got.
Speaker 3:Everybody was working and you told everybody it's Black Friday and this is the best day ever don't ever go to Nashville, because they're going to put you to work. I know that's what I'm thinking now. I was going to go up there and visit. I thought we'd be playing some golf. You're going to be like hey, hey, can you cut hair?
Speaker 2:we'll go down. Look at me. Yeah, that's how they lure you in. We will first you got a stint on the chili bucket but yeah, all right.
Speaker 3:Hey, can you cut hair?
Speaker 1:no, yeah uh, those guys are great. Uh, they're doing a great job up in east uh, tennessee. Uh, based out of knoxville, they do some good stuff. We just weren't, um, we just weren't the right fit, um, um why don't you think it's a great concept?
Speaker 3:So why don't you think you're a great fit? Cause this is a good learning lesson for all of us.
Speaker 1:I think that you know, for us, we've always looked into franchising. Uh, you know, they were probably pretty young at the time and it's just trying to figure out where's the right space. Uh, is it freestanding, is it, you know? Is it a mall concept? You know? Where does it kind of take place? Um, so, after that, we've, uh, we dip and dabbled in gg's cupcakes, which was a fantastic model, uh, based out of nashville as well, you did buy gg's cupcakes.
Speaker 3:I can't wait to hear this one, because I was, uh, I was sitting there. I poo-pooed you all day long.
Speaker 2:Yeah, every time I looked at my son worked at the ggs here really there you go.
Speaker 3:Every time. When I saw it I was like this thing is never gonna work. It's totally.
Speaker 2:You kept eating them, didn't you? Well, look at me so I guess that's.
Speaker 1:uh, you know, we're trying to figure out how did we get to nashville? Um, I wasn't gonna do ggs cupcakes so I needed so I needed to phone a friend that knew a little bit about food, and that's where Mike came in. So, yeah, we kind of bought the concept before letting him know that he was going to be moving to Nashville.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was an interesting call. I think before that our restaurant in Phoenix was doing well, I mean, we were surviving and we were getting to that next level. But uh, mark's being modest, he uh, I think in 2012 or 13 is when our journey really started, uh, getting back together. Uh, they bought 18 stores in a day for sport clips. And I remember that phone call and he was just like man, I like what next? Like, oh my god, we had, we had five or three or four stores. And then he's like now we have 22 stores. Oh my god, what's next?
Speaker 4:so much small growth in one day he's like he's like, you need to figure your side out, you know, obviously. You know we trust each other and we'll get into that later. But you know he's like all right, well, let's just roll in. Let's, let's get this rolling. My exit strategy is now okay, you know, I want to be partners with my brother and it's what we've done our whole life. So let's just, let's just get this thing moving. And then, I don't know, a week later, he's like hey, by the way, I think, I think we just bought a cupcake franchise.
Speaker 3:Well, huh get after right after buying the 18th.
Speaker 4:Yeah we're like, okay, all right, do that, let's keep rolling. And so we had. We had stores in knoxville, nashville. Uh, we had a food truck which was a disaster nobody getting. Uh, thank god for the food truck people, but it's a tough business. Um, but our, our then plan at that point was all right, how can we make this thing work? And we bought a store in south lake, texas, just a suburb out of dallas, which is pretty nice spot in town. I actually I know it, yeah, I know it's a great area. And to Chris's point, could this thing work 100%? It could have. We had the number one store in the country. We were doing about $20,000 a week in cupcakes In Gigi's Cupcakes in South.
Speaker 3:Lake Texas, and I did. I'm telling you, guys, I was the biggest If you would have said, hey, chris, if we knew each other. I'm doing Gigi's cupcake.
Speaker 4:It was an amazing. It was so fatty, but it was fat-t and fatty. It was a good concept. It was just man. It was a lot of cupcakes and a lot of it was a little bit hard to manage.
Speaker 1:My guy was whipping out some cupcakes.
Speaker 3:I'd say that much, mike, you were the cupcake maker.
Speaker 1:Who else do you think was going to move to Dallas?
Speaker 3:Wait a minute. So you mean as an entrepreneur, chili? No, it's cupcakes.
Speaker 4:I wish I could show you guys pictures. This is the old saying fool me once, shame on you.
Speaker 1:We're not. We're not going to furnish the apartment, but you know, somebody is going to have to live there.
Speaker 3:Oh, my God.
Speaker 4:That's awesome. Yeah, we had a nice apartment.
Speaker 3:See everything's entrepreneurship right, especially in today's world. You know, if I'm an influencer, I just take a couple pictures. I'm going to have millions of dollars. How about slinging chili in a mall with a carousel going do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-. I got another idea why don't you start making cupcakes at 5 am in the morning?
Speaker 1:With about four and a half inches of frosting, and this is all while still trying to run the main company that's making the money. Oh my God.
Speaker 4:That's awesome. So, yeah, I think the cool thing about you know this accelerated journey that we went through together is, you know Mark's first story about Sport Clips being hired by you know, going and kind of doing that corporate life a little bit. I think he learned so much that benefited you know our next 15, 20 years and now it's going to benefit you know our next 30 years. I mean, I think that hard work that he did, going into every single city, every single market, um, really truly being being the person that helped that franchise, that new franchise owner, to feel comfortable by, you know, obviously, buying the license, buying the franchise, spending a lot of his hard-earned money to, you know, build a new business, be an entrepreneur, which most franchisees aren't right.
Speaker 4:Um, I think what he learned in that space to to teach, to teach these guys how to market their business number one, I mean that's it, that's what it is. I mean, market yourself, market your business, and people will come right, but without, without him being in those markets and opening those stores I don't know where. I mean he wasn't the only one, but they had a great team that was out there doing that and I think we learned a lot because every single business we've owned since then that's our footprint, all right back to gg.
Speaker 3:So footprint I want to hear so how long did it last before you had to give it up? We?
Speaker 1:sold in uh 2017. Um, the company was actually uh bought and, um, being at Nashville, they were, they were, they were, they were born out of Nashville. Um, but the company was out of Fort Worth. So, with them buying uh the company, the best thing for them would be to have a flagship store, a training store. We were in Southl lake, so you made, you did pretty good with that one.
Speaker 3:It was fine, all right, I clearly, uh, I want to, but I gotta go back to this one. So I got five stores and here I am I've been burning, slogging, killing it, yeah, to get my ass kicked for 16 years, and you bought 18 stores in one day. How the hell did you do that? We bought three the next three months, yeah. So tell me how?
Speaker 1:this 20, 21, 21 stores and about like uh, I mean we're trapping on some stones addiction 21 stores in about it was in about six months and I think you know that was the the biggest kind of transition of work and when, when you're, you know you're trying to find out what you're going to do and you know, for us we thought probably 10 stores would be a good, would be a good way to live, and you don't, you know, you could pretty much run that you can have some. Obviously we, we, we are thankful for, you know, our store managers and our area managers because at the end of the day, they're the ones that are, that are the ones working. But when you're looking to scale and we're looking to grow, you know you take on, you know that what's that next step? And you can kind of sit in that 10, 12, 15 store area, um, but yeah, when you get that next opportunity to say, okay, I've got, you know, opportunity to to grow 21 stores in six months, you know, do you think you can do it?
Speaker 3:So what were the challenges? What talk to us about the thought process for so, for a lot of us, you obviously did acquisition growth strategy, so obviously number one us, you obviously did acquisition and growth strategy. So obviously number one there's financials. Number two there's operational. Number three there's leadership and support. So talk to us about how you went through all that.
Speaker 1:Well, I think the first part is that we know the business, we know the business model.
Speaker 1:Two different sides of what we do now versus what we've done kind of in our past is that it's people dependent and we knew that if we could get in front of our managers and our staff that we could be successful.
Speaker 1:And I think that's the biggest thing is that if you can get that trust and if you can build that trust and if you can kind of put that path in front, then you will get people that follow and, uh, building culture, having fun, you know doing the right things as far as culture and bringing in food, and you know just doing that small stuff means so much to any individual. That's kind of the recipe is that if you can have really good people and that's no different than today in any business and I think we probably know that more now than 10 years ago it's about how you treat people, it's about the things. The small things do matter. And I think when they see that, I think you know at the end of the day they're more than willing to go open up a store at 9am and close whenever they close, right, or take that extra client when they come in just before closing time, they come in just before closing time.
Speaker 2:Culture is a huge thing to me and it's a very top-down thing and you guys obviously are awesome. I can tell already. But you've got 50 stores, you know there's the old, you crack the whip. You don't know if it snaps at the other end. I mean, how do you implement this culture across that kind of a scale?
Speaker 4:You hire people, yeah, and I think the one thing we've been blessed with is the first person Mark ever, I mean, was associated with the Spokles business. She's still with us today, and so when the whip is whipped, we know it's getting whipped because she's the leader, she's the person that we follow. I mean she's, she's our culture.
Speaker 3:All right, Give us one little secret. One little little things matter. You said it and I love how you said that, Mark was little things matter. Give us one little thing that you would tell people. If you did this, it might make an impact.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I just got a text message this morning with somebody saying thank you. I, I don't know. I just got a text message this morning with somebody saying thank you. I think it's just, it's those thanks, and at the every single time you walk out of a store, or you know if it's the dumpster business or whatever it may be I think you just tell people thank you, like you know, thank you for doing that. Or you know we still go get haircuts. I mean now our kids go get haircuts, and you know, whatever it may be, but when you walk out that door you say thank you Every single time.
Speaker 2:I think it's the appreciation.
Speaker 1:It's got to be genuine We've done a.
Speaker 1:We're not as good as you guys. We don't do a pod, but we do a. You know, we've had a running conference call for 15 years and it's every Tuesday at 7 am. It's never changed and we have every single one of our managers and our area managers and our leaders on that team or on that call, and you know, again, it's something that you don't take for granted. It's the thanks, it's the celebrations, it's why are we here? And I think it's always making sure that you're saying that, not just that. Oh, they know that. You know we're thankful for them. No, you have, you have to actually say it.
Speaker 2:Well, and the other thing that they're doing by scaling so quickly is now you can offer a career path where you can be super appreciative, and if you've got your two stores, it is what it is. You know, you all your people sort of cap out, but when you've got your two stores, it is what it is. You know, you all your people sort of cap out, but when you've got 50 stores, you've got a career path.
Speaker 1:Well, we said, uh, the first person I ever met, um, she came kind of as part of the package she was. She came with uh, the, the guy that, uh that we bought the company from, and uh, that was in Nashville. She was traveling all over middle Tennessee. She's still with us today. She's a season ticket holder of here in Atlanta.
Speaker 4:The Hawks. We love the Hawks.
Speaker 1:We're a big Hawks fan.
Speaker 3:Now you know, she's definitely a true fan. She is a loyal person Very loyal.
Speaker 1:Very loyal and you know who else is a manager of ours Her daughter, oh wow.
Speaker 3:There you go. Obviously, she likes working with you guys because there's a vibe. So one of the things that I picked up and if you guys didn't and I'm a big fan of this one and that that cadence of getting together. So we do training every other Wednesday in my company but my sales team and my project managers get together every Wednesday and we're there and we're in person and we're making it happen. And you're right, it's those little things, but that's that little things of cadence that build that culture and that culture permeates down. Because, back to the fact that you guys have 50 plus stores and in 50 plus stores you have at least what? Five, ten, I don't know how many uh, stylists you have we have about 400 styles underneath our belt right now.
Speaker 3:You will not touch all of them. You guys will not know all of them, you won't even know their names. You don't know their names, they don't know your names, and so you've got to find a way to get your culture and your thought process down to them. And it's happening that way, and that's again when you scale and you take those that I I want to go back to this again. You went to 18 and one day I mean the stones there, bro, is big. It was an sba lending. Was it money? Was it family, was it? Hey, uh, michael, don't ever spend another dollar again, because I'm using all your savings.
Speaker 4:I think that the learning curve and all of that was learning how the world works, whether it's bank funding, private funding, all that kind of stuff. I think that was a huge learning curve that we all lived and learned and it was a little bit of everything.
Speaker 1:I mean, you do what you have to do to make the deal work, and I think that's what we did and I think I think most people would be shocked that, like, sometimes you got to keep your own job while you go into, maybe you're you know if you're trying to start your own business or something like that a lot of times you have to keep getting paid by who you're getting paid by, um, but I think a lot of people would be shocked that there's a lot of individuals that will carry that note and if you don't ask, you don't know If you don't ask, the answer is no.
Speaker 3:Again. So owner financing, getting creative with the deals Again, that's the stuff that we just never heard about before the internet. And you didn't know this stuff was going on. People didn't share this with you unless you had a great mentor who would say you know, you wouldn't know until you asked. But a lot of guys might say, hey, you know what pay me out over the next five years or 10 years. You don't know. And you, because you're always like, oh my god, I got to come up with a million bucks to buy this machine shop or you don't have the, or you don't have the experience to go to the bank, right, right, yeah.
Speaker 1:And so, yeah, there's, there's a lot of folks out there that want to see people succeed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's the part where, if you get really myopic and down on it because it's easy to get in your own head and go, oh my God, I got to come up with all this money myself and nobody else can do it but me. Perhaps I'm the only one at the table like that, but that's how I did it, because I didn't launch. I didn't want a partner, I didn't want a brother. I love how tight you guys are. He is. I got a brother. He's five years younger than me.
Speaker 2:He's wildly more successful by the way, I was going to ask.
Speaker 3:Because he doesn't even follow that partnership model. But don't worry, I'm getting this kid sucked in.
Speaker 2:I was going to ask about partnerships because our listeners know chris does not play well with others. He does not. He just sort of tolerates me in his space right here. Partnerships are hard and it's a. It's a thing that we've talked about over the years. We've done this podcast, and what's even harder is a family partnership. So how do you guys make this work and what are your separations of duties and how, yeah, how do you guys make this work and what are your separations of duties and how do you not step on each other's toes?
Speaker 4:I think that's a great question. I think everybody that we've ever met asks us the exact same question, like how do you guys even coexist? And the easy answer is we don't know another way. But I think the best way is trust. I think any partnership, whether it's family, outside, whatever is trust. There's no one I can trust more than my brother. But on top of that, we don't think anything alike, and so I think what keeps us on our toes every single day is we have problems, we have highs, we have lows, we have situations that need attention on every level, whether it's finance, operations, anything, and we will not give the same answer.
Speaker 4:So what's the deciding vote? Meet in the middle usually, but there's just ways that it works and I can't. There's not a secret recipe. There's just ways that it works and I can't. There's not a secret recipe. But I'm more inclined to speak on, maybe on an employee kind of operations level, and he kind of sees a long-term vision quicker than I do, and I think that is so helpful. So he's strategic, you're tactical Probably Okay, yeah, but I think that's helpful in our, in our individual partnership. I think that's just helpful because there's always going to be a. There's always going to be an answer out there, but we just have to get to it and it'll take. It'll take a couple days maybe, but more importantly, like you know, we just drove here from nashville. We didn't say one word to each other for almost five hours.
Speaker 1:That's what I was going to say. It's almost like, probably, with the two of you guys saying hold it for the pod, right, right.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so, yeah, we'll go five hours in a car and not talk to each other, right?
Speaker 3:And so it's just like It'll be totally cool with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's fine, we're just, we're just the same thing you know, listen to podcasts.
Speaker 4:We're doing everything that we need to do or answering phone calls but we'll go out to dinner.
Speaker 1:I'm not talking, I'm talking to the guy next to me not next to me, but the guy next to me, right, and it's like you know we don't.
Speaker 3:It's kind of that same way and you don't, you don't, you don't get this, oh my god, he's not talking. It's holding for the pod.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like, it's kind of that mentality of uh, you know, we get home and we'll get questions at home. They're like you didn't talk to mike. I'm like, no, what do you know? Because you might know more than I do, or somebody that works for us may know more than than I know because I just haven't talked to him. Yeah, I've been with them. It doesn't mean I've been talking.
Speaker 2:So do you then work together on everything? You don't have any separation of duties, and then you just sort of tackle all the problems together.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, it's kind of weird how it works, that's interesting, but it's weird how it works.
Speaker 1:I mean, you know, what are you going to do if somebody goes on vacation?
Speaker 4:Yeah, we need to have all the answers. No, I think.
Speaker 2:Well, but normally it's like he's got his marketing.
Speaker 4:I mean I don't want to. I mean if she's listening, great. But like we had a salary conversation yesterday with one of our long-term employees and we're like what do we, what do we need to do? And I kind of I kind of gave my two piece, like my quick little two minute conversation, and then he listened and then he kind of gave and we got there like almost the exact same number, without actually saying the number. And it was weird just because I said what she was doing and the amount of work and stuff like this, and he said, well, this is how this looks, you know, long term, and if we can get there by the end of the year, what does that number look like? And it was the same number. It was kind of weird how it ends up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think what you guys have is obviously very special and I don't think can be duplicated um, or replicated um. You know, maybe it should. Well, maybe, uh, but they need to write the book on it because this is going to be interesting, because I watched. Have you written a book?
Speaker 4:we are our um, we should. I mean you probably should let me tell you how it works, right alan oh, I wouldn't know, chris, all that rightmanship's not great, yeah, and and you know, look that, and entrepreneurship is not for everybody, obviously, but I think the lows are extremely, extremely low, and it happened way more often than the highs, but then when you get that high, it's just like this is this is why we do it and we love each other. Do we fight? Of course, but then 30 minutes later we're fine.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think that's the big part too. Again, back to every great partnership. We've had a couple great partners. Come on, they do a great job of segregating duties is what we've heard before.
Speaker 2:Right, that's what I normally hear. That's why this is you.
Speaker 3:They agree to disagree and then hash it out. They both agree that I'm thinking about the Outback Deck guys first, and then it doesn't matter. But they go. Hey look, all right, decision made, get over it. Don't get butt hurt. You've got to move Because at the end of the day, the problem is way outside of these four walls and we've got to go attack that.
Speaker 4:And I think, to answer your question again, it took us a while to learn how to delegate. We're all control freaks. If you own your own business, you're a psychopath. I mean period, you have to be. I mean, I'm lucky enough to be in a lot of meetings now with Chris. I identify with that.
Speaker 4:I was given a there is not a Usually in our meetings meetings he has an opinion on almost every topic. I kind of try to stay quiet but uh no, you have to be. You have to be that person. But it took us a long time to learn how to delegate tasks. You know, at the high level. You can, we can kind of talk it out, but putting the right people in the right places to kind of take that this not necessarily decision-making off our hands, but people that are going to make the right decision faster, I think is crucial. I mean, I think delegating tasks on a daily basis for any sort of whatever level.
Speaker 1:I think that we would be blind to not share that. We have always, always, always hired before we need that person, always. I love that.
Speaker 2:Love that. Again a lot of half a person ahead, yeah.
Speaker 3:Two or three probably, but yeah, I've done it a couple of times. I've done it. He's right A hundred percent. Because you grow into it, you do. And you know what I just got done telling my guy in athens um, hire the next two techs right now he goes, but I only need one. I'm like, hire the next two and I guess what.
Speaker 4:you'll probably find a way to talk to him on tuesday, by the way. Yeah, yeah, you know, maybe he moved me out there.
Speaker 3:I'm like all right, cool, all right, good, that's funny. So michael brings up that he was. Uh. He said I've been with me in meetings and I just had somebody else say that they're like hey, chris, you're always good for an opinion, I need your question, I need your answer. So I got a call, uh, because we're all in the uh national association of the remodeling industry.
Speaker 3:Shout out nary, that's good um, so it's been a great group for me, you know, getting involved nationally now, which has been fun. Uh, I learn a lot more about my business as I'm giving uh into it. But, um, but that comment came back now twice in the same week. I'm like, okay, good, so now I know exactly. Um, I'm not mysterious, um, I'm definitely not holding any cards back, and this is why I think you were, why this is why in corporate america, I had to go to the shrink twice. Yeah, I literally had to go to couch at the corporate america office where they went ch, you're not like everybody else. I'm like, really, what the fuck does that mean?
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Why you?
Speaker 3:just said that. All right. So back to you guys. So you're growing, you're doing your thing. I mean, we're in the middle of this, what's next? I mean, where do you guys? As it comes, you're just kind of catching it like a salmon in the river.
Speaker 2:Well, I think, how many salmon have you caught? Zero, I love salmon.
Speaker 3:I'll eat it. Though you catch it, I'll eat it. Remember I'm out sighted.
Speaker 2:I'm not outdoorsy. Yeah, I know you would let somebody else cook it for you.
Speaker 4:In fact, I got poisony.
Speaker 3:Uh, playing golf the other day because I went looking for a golf ball and it just wrecked me. That's a bad shot and that problem you were looking for a golf well number one uh, I got a lot of those uh. Number two I'm so cheap that I will not give up on a three to the half dollar.
Speaker 1:It's a top flight, bro. Just let it go.
Speaker 3:I can't do that hey, I costco we call those mother-in-laws and now I did and my buddy was yelling at me what are you doing? And sure shit, I am really susceptible to voice ip it's. It takes you like 20. Well, for me, it takes me a month to get out of my system and then you're like legs.
Speaker 4:Are you like it all cut up?
Speaker 3:oh yeah, thank god, this is a podcast and not a video. Yeah, because I'm ripped.
Speaker 4:No, uh no, I think, I think we're excited for everything that happens. You know, I think things naturally just fall, not necessarily fall in our lap, but I mean, I think the more people you talk to, the more interesting conversations you have. Whether it be at Nary or anything else, I think things happen. But that's where Lavia happened too, and that's why we have a dumpster company is because, yeah, how'd you find this idea? We were building a store, um, for sport clips, I don't know, probably three and a half, four years ago, five years ago, don't remember um, but we signed lois. Our lease is ready to go. Like you know, sometimes you get that little grace period and the grace period's over and our store is not built yet, not open yet, and so we're calling our contractor and we're like what's going?
Speaker 4:on man like why isn't this thing done? We're ready to go, we have a team, we have a staff, like let's go. He's like I can't find a dumpster, so the next week, that's the rickster.
Speaker 2:That's the rickster yeah, I love rick, but the next week that's the rickster.
Speaker 4:That's the rickster. Yeah, I love rick, but the next week, mark starts getting into his hyper focused mode and we gotta find a dumpster company boys, we went to that's what I heard. We went to a franchise show that like you're looking for a dumpster, I'm looking for a dumpster company we're gonna get a checker literally yes, we had dialed in about five concepts that we really liked the model, we liked the brand and we walked into this first show and the first first booth was Vivia and we're like this is this is ridiculous.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, there's all kinds of different.
Speaker 4:There's Ace Hardware. There's all kinds of different concepts out there.
Speaker 1:The first one and we're like we're in trouble. Yeah, and I had a buddy of mine that uh is a contractor in nashville and uh, he had given me the owner of the company's phone number, uh, probably a year before, and so the same thing. It's like, yeah, we walk in. I'm like, yeah, I'm, I'm completely aware of this company. Like we're gonna, we're just gonna move forward on it, like, let us, where are we gonna sign?
Speaker 3:and that is such a power, pull right there. Hey, uh, we need a dumpster. All right, I'm gonna go buy a dumpster company. What do we? No, no, I just need a dumpster. Yeah, well, whatever, no we're going another.
Speaker 4:We need to fix this problem. We need to fix this.
Speaker 1:I will also say and? And he had went to the first meeting but the contractor was supposed to be part of this plan. Uh, you know we, you know our plan was continue to do haircuts but, um, as still one of our best friends today, uh, works his tail off and he was just like man. I know I led you to this idea. He's like I'm too busy. I can't do it. We're like, well, we don't know anything about this business.
Speaker 4:So I guess we're going to do it. I think the risk there was too as well. I mean, it's hard to really jump in with everything you got and say like, all right, I'm going to do this. But you know, we, we did it, we're happy about it, we're excited about it.
Speaker 3:Um, all right, so you've launched though here oh hell yeah, they've been rolling for over a year, uh two.
Speaker 4:We're coming on two and a half years, but yeah, we wanted to. Our first goal was to have a hundred containers on job sites in a year.
Speaker 2:We met that in almost nine months, and then now we're shooting for that next hundred and it sounds like your marketing is just super grassroots.
Speaker 4:So it's, it's. You're looking at it right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you won't. The way they're marketing their business very interesting Again. They are really not doing B2C. They're doing B2B right. So you won't see them in all the B2C marketing I'm doing here in Atlanta. They're coming through the groups like Nary. But here's the thing that they're doing in Nary in our group they're pouring in to get out and again back to all these networking groups. We've talked about this. This is how Alan and I met. You want to get something out. You got to put something in. You put something in and guess what? It might not just be dollars coming out, but it might be relationships, it might be how to run my business better. And then, oh, by the way, it might be the fact that a company that does over 2,300 jobs a year might use you on their dumpsters when they only need them maybe a tenth of the time.
Speaker 2:It's such a tricky thing to teach somebody how to do when it comes to networking, because they're like, okay, I got to put in, so I get out, and all they're still focused on is getting out. How much do I have to put in to get out? But to really get, you got to selflessly give.
Speaker 4:And I think that's the hardest thing about networking is like that's a big word. I hate the marketing word, I hate networking, I hate all like these big words that really mean so many more things. But you know, I think we've learned it through the model that you know, we, we've been taught. But I don't think if it's your business, I don't think you, you can be afraid for that. No, I don't think, like when you go into the networking business, if you don't say hi, if you don't say this is who I am, then you're going to go home.
Speaker 3:And that's the hard part, especially so he's talking about is uh, alan is a self-identified introvert, uh, he, uh. You wouldn't know it because he's on this podcast. I'm a gregarious introvert, he is uh. But but he'll say hey look, I left my own devices. I'd rather be sitting at home and left to my own and I'll do my own thing. I don't want to talk to you, I'll just. I'll just text or email somebody. If I, if I, if I, if I can't talk to somebody, like in COVID, I was going nuts.
Speaker 3:I mean literally, I was the guy who was on Zoom, because I was going crazy I miss COVID, I know you do, I'm sorry I don't. I was like, oh my God, this sucks. And so they said we could do cohorts here in Georgia. So my buddies and I, all we did was travel the wrong way, call travel. We didn't even know covet existed.
Speaker 1:But that's yeah uh but being in the south wasn't a bad thing during coven. No, it was no, it was a great thing especially, um, all my family up in michigan.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's you, buddy brent, my brother, who I'd never go into business with. Oh, I'm kidding, um, but no, he's doing way better than me. All, right, right, we got to wrap this up, you guys. Man, this has been an awesome episode. If you guys haven't figured out, man, we got like mind melds going on with these two you got to go see the YouTube video. We're going to put it out there. I told Alan I was like I said I thought I swear to God, I originally, when I met them, I thought they were twins.
Speaker 2:They're like no, and I mean there's a family resemblance. But come on, chris, they're two completely different people, so I'll give that to everybody.
Speaker 1:Brains and bronze right? That's what they say. You guys figure out yeah.
Speaker 2:I like it. One is the eye candy, so I the whole outing me as an introvert. Was there a point to that? There was.
Speaker 3:But I can't remember. I don't either. It was the fact that he said you know getting out there and networking, even if you don't want to. Michael said that, but Michael's clearly extroverted and loves talking to people, but maybe he identifies as an introvert. That's what I was going to ask, I think.
Speaker 4:I do, you'd rather not? Talk to people and sit there and cook no, I mean I, I think I've learned that. I think I've learned that. But I mean our mom will tell us, tell everybody till they're blue in the face the story of when we're like when you guys were kids and you had to sell the candies for the baseball team and stuff, you know, I sent mark to the door, I, I waited on the sidewalk, so you were the intro, I was the introvert.
Speaker 1:So I would say today, if you ask me, I would say you're taking Miss Gibson, her first grade.
Speaker 4:Christmas present for you and Mark is in kindergarten. I'm in first grade. Mark had to give her the apple or whatever I gave her. I remember I fell in those candy bars. But I hear these stories now I don't remember that, but I'm like what happened? I remember that what?
Speaker 3:happened. Here was the difference between us, and so I started the Trusted Toolbox. I had never done a B2C business in my life. I had always either worked I worked as a machinist, I worked as a manufacturing engineer, I worked as a consultant in banking and then I eventually worked at a bank. I had never worked for the general public. But my mother used to say, when it came to selling those candy bars, she was like you're the first one out there, and I used to tell you no, no, no, christopher, you have to come home.
Speaker 4:You're, you're you're done, you're done.
Speaker 3:Here you're too far and I would keep going.
Speaker 4:I'm like mom, we gotta keep going I'm hot, I'm hot, give me another box, like right now. No, he was the best. He was the best and it continued, obviously, but yeah, I learned I learned? The big bro learned from little bro a little bit that's nice.
Speaker 3:Honestly, this is a great family story.
Speaker 2:I want to play golf with these guys let's go all right.
Speaker 1:You know what it's a good force and alan, only we finally, of course, nearby finally, alan, you know what? You're gonna get your invite there's a lot of golf in Georgia.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 2:As a matter of fact, there's some just on the other side of those trees, right there.
Speaker 1:Green of number 16. We just bring our sticks just in case we get a chance to play.
Speaker 3:You know what we might have to do the podcast from the golf course. We could do a live remote talk a little business we could do that.
Speaker 4:We'll be like Bryson DeChambeau, I bet you have a nice patio over there, looking over at number 18.
Speaker 3:I will find a patio. Big Daddy will set you up. In fact, we may find that, right after this podcast, my friends, we may have to drive up there because you guys have nowhere to go. Let's do that. You know what we could ask the four questions, or we could get the hell out of here.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody.
Speaker 3:Let's go. You listen, you might not have a brother that's as cool as your brother or these guys' brothers, but you know what you can do. You can go out there and make stuff happen, like these guys did, because they figured it out. You got to make it happen. Sometimes you got to make chili, sometimes you got to make cupcakes at 5 am in the morning.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you got to listen to the freaking carousel go around and around every two and a half minutes With the worst smelling mall smell ever no-transcript.