The Buzz On Better Business
Positioning your business as one that is trustworthy is something that we know is important but what does it take to accomplish this? Join BBB Serving Acadiana President/CEO, Chris Babin each month as we unveil the world of local Accredited Businesses who have it mastered and have positioned themselves as ethical leaders in our Acadiana marketplace. Each episode contains the latest buzz on these better businesses; it is designed to help you engage your customers and stay on top of the changing trends while navigating the difficult landscape of today’s marketplace with honesty and integrity.
The Buzz On Better Business
Harnessing the Power of Perseverance and Empathy with Jonas Hebert
Jonas Hebert never thought he'd find himself expelled from high school, yet here he is, years later, inviting you to discover how grit, growth, and grabbing life by the horns can lead to unexpected success. Join Chris Babin and his inspirational guest, Jonas Hebert from Gritic LLC, as we traverse the landscape of professional achievements that don't necessarily start with a cap and gown. Jonas's story is a testament to the power of second chances and the value of trade schools, hard work, and the kind of self-improvement that transforms a person from within.
Our conversation is a heartfelt narrative that intertwines Jonas's ethical approach to entrepreneurship with his own personal tales of resilience. We're not just sharing success secrets; we're giving you an all-access pass to the hard-knocks life lessons that forged a successful man's path. From the significance of accountability to the importance of empathy in business, this episode is a goldmine for anyone looking to make their mark in the world with integrity and heart. Discover how Jonas turned his aspirations and adversities into a force for creating solutions that serve our communities genuinely and generously.
Rounding off our chat, we delve into the delicate art of balancing the scales of work, family, and fun. Jonas and Chris lay bare the strategies that keep them grounded and focused, whether it's through visualization, embracing hands-on learning, or the lighter side of life, like Jonas's unexpected foray into comedic food reviews. So, tighten your tool belt or pour that second cup of coffee, because this episode is about hammering down the foundations of a fulfilling life and career, no matter where your starting line may be.
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What we were taught in high school. You go to college. Yeah, absolutely so you have a whole generation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's only now. Are they really starting to say trade school? That's part of the reason we've structured our scholarships the way we have Trade school, community college. There's so many successful paths to careers that aren't necessarily university four-year education.
Speaker 1:We're finally starting to understand that. The thing is that college is not for everyone, but you don't need everyone to go to college.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:So college is for some, trades is for others.
Speaker 2:The Buzz on Better Business podcast. Positioning your business as one that is trustworthy is something that we all know is important, but what does it actually take to accomplish this? Join your BBB each month as we unveil the world of local accredited businesses who have it mastered and have positioned themselves as ethical leaders in our Acadiana marketplace. Thank you for joining us for the next episode of the Buzz on Better Business podcast. Joined this episode by Jonas Hebert with Gritik LLC. You'll find out a little bit about where Jonas is from, which might be different than what you would actually assume or think, if you meet the man he is today. And something about coffee I know it, it tastes good. Where can you find it and how do you get started in that business as well? Thank you for joining us, jonas abare, with us from grittick electrical services.
Speaker 1:How are you, great chris? How you?
Speaker 2:doing. Oh man, I'm good I'm glad we matched. Thanks for sending me the black polo alert before. Uh, we didn't do that on purpose, but um well, I figured you couldn't go wrong with black right. Uh, it matches your car too, which is nice. So how you doing?
Speaker 1:man, oh, doing fantastic chris, just busy out there grinding, you know, uh, it's been a journey, quite a journey. The last three years has been uh, pretty, pretty crazy and it ended up and the the thing is that within those three years so a lot of things come with, sort of a lot of things happen to get me at this table right here. So what's been fun is the self-growth. So self-growth is huge. I don't know if you have to kind of do the same thing to get in the position you're in. Right is, identify areas that you can grow in, accept accountability and then grow. So that's actually been the. If people ask me, like, what's the best part about owning your businesses? And to me it's been the self-growth.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it almost is a kind of an ongoing process right, whether it's like physical fitness or, you know, mentally, emotionally, you know figuring out. Of course, none of us are perfect. We're going to make mistakes. We've all got blemishes on our record, on our you know everything we've wanted to accomplish. If you had asked me at 18 years old where I'd be at, I would turn 40 this year, which is a number I'm kind of struggling to swallow.
Speaker 1:You know I just turned 40 Thursday. Oh good, I'm kind of struggling to swallow.
Speaker 2:I just turned 40 Thursday. Oh good, I'm glad you're with me. Look, I'll be honest, though 30,.
Speaker 1:I wasn't ready for 100%, was not ready to turn 30, was scared of 30. 40, I'm excited. I'm excited about 40.
Speaker 2:Well, good, I'm working on the excitement. It's not until the end of the year. Yeah, okay, I, um, I'm, I'm easing into it. I actually I already kind of used 40 as the number, because 39 is just, I mean, it's so, it's so close. But anyway, if you would ask me at 18 where I'd be I don't know that this is, it's for sure, not what I would have told you.
Speaker 1:yeah, 100 so what the thing is? I saw something from you recently and I think you said most uh, business owners, if you talk to them at eight, they'll tell you that 18 and never imagined they would be in the position that they're in. That's 100% accurate.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like I mean, at 18 years old, I was very what irresponsible.
Speaker 2:I mean it was you know you weren't ready to have the business at 18? No, I would have never thought I would.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't think that's where I would be.
Speaker 2:No, not at all when you run into, uh, you know, an old high school. Yeah, classmate it happened to me the other night or even one of those teachers that you know you haven't seen in 20 years, and they're like you're doing what? Yeah?
Speaker 1:exactly. Look, I was that kid too, so I was always the one that was very loud. I was always when I needed all attention on me, right? So so when I see those teachers, they're like oh, john is okay, you're doing pretty good. Yeah, they probably thought I'd be somewhere else you know, yeah, yeah, well, you had a successful place.
Speaker 2:Let's, but where? Where did you start? Where where'd you come from? What? What little Jonas do as a kid?
Speaker 1:so, uh, little Jonas, actually it was funny that whenever we got here with some of my music, I wanted to be a country singer, but then very early, I realized I wasn't. I wasn't, that wasn't okay, yeah but uh, I went to avery island elementary, uh, a little small school, you know, uh avery island elementary.
Speaker 2:I'm from here.
Speaker 1:I never even heard of that, yeah well, it got wiped out with, I think, uh, one of the hurricanes, uh, right after katrina, I fuck uh. Well, anyways, they shut it.
Speaker 2:But it was a small school, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:Right. So you went there from kindergarten all the way to sixth grade and from there that's when you finally started moving to New Iberia and going to Iberia Middle, niche, freshman High, all of those schools. So you had a very small class that you stuck with for six years. You didn't know anyone outside of that school because when we took field trips, we took field trips to Avery Island, you know, you didn't go anywhere else. We had the Pepper Factory, we had Joan Gardens, so we had all of these.
Speaker 2:All that stuff y'all needed to learn was right there, yeah, and we walked.
Speaker 1:We didn't take buses either.
Speaker 2:So I'm guessing we gather now. Looking back yeah, correct.
Speaker 1:Now we did have Harvard Rabbit, so you know, and apparently they still put on an act. Really, yeah, you familiar with Harvard Rabbit.
Speaker 2:Uh-uh.
Speaker 1:Oh no, Harvard Rabbit was awesome. I'm telling you, Harvard Rabbit was the best.
Speaker 2:So that's some Avery Island, New Iberia stuff there. Yeah, sure Okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what stuff there? Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah. So it's a. What it is is some ventriloquists. They come up with an alligator and they got a rabbit, they get a bunch of different animals and it's a guy and his wife and they come and they put on a whole show for you. That was like it If, if the rabbit was coming, you'd make sure you did not miss school and that was the only day you didn't want to skip.
Speaker 2:Man, that's good stuff. I'm hoping somebody's flashing back thinking and hear about this. That's from out there. So you went to New Iberia Senior High.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:Okay, you graduated there. What were your plans?
Speaker 1:Well, the thing is I didn't graduate from NISH Okay, so that's what I'm saying 18-year-old me. So I actually got in some trouble and I was expelled and I moved to my dad's house house my mom and dad was divorced and my dad lived in sunset louisiana so I moved out there and I graduated actually from beauchesne I got you sound familiar beauchesne okay so I graduated from there, uh, and at that moment, at that part of my life, when I was 18 and these things was started happening to me, that's when I kind of started accepting a little bit of accountability.
Speaker 1:But the thing is that it was always never my fault, right, because it's always the teacher's fault or someone else's fault yeah yeah, but I went over there and I graduated but I started hanging around different types of people.
Speaker 1:So that's when I started realizing at an early age now I soon to make good decisions until I got a little bit older but that's when I really started realizing that you really are a product of the people you hang around with you, know man, you're so uh transparent you know, just like look, I didn't make good decisions till, like, probably not too long ago.
Speaker 1:No, yeah, I'm just just being honest, yeah, 100, because the thing is is I want people to understand that you know you can mess up, it's okay, but it's accountability and to learn from your mistakes is what's really going to take you to the next level, because everyone's always wondering you know, how do I get there? How do I get here?
Speaker 1:I'm never going to make it because of this, because of that my thing is is that once you start understanding that a lot of it has to do with your own self and the people that you're surrounding yourself with, that's when you're really going to start seeing the fruits of of your growth right, yeah so the thing is is that you can be the hardest working individual I'm talking about you could.
Speaker 1:A lot of people probably will outwork me, but the thing is is that what really took me to the next level is is owning up in accountability. Like you have to have accountability and kind of we started talking with self-growth. Is that the only way you can fully jump to the next level is to really start working on yourself. Once you start working on yourself and you start accepting accountability for your actions, start understanding why certain things are happening to you.
Speaker 1:That's when you start growing and you actually take yourself to the next level professionally. You know, I mean, they'll say it, You'll hear people say it there's a lot of hardworking people that don't get to that level and that's one of the things you think sets it apart. It has to be it has to be self growth. I mean you have to be looking internally constantly.
Speaker 2:Well, and something I've heard you know over the years, I guess regardless you know it applies to almost anything is is awareness is kind of the first step, right, and if you're not able to be honest with yourself, whether it's again about your physical fitness, you know if you're just convinced you're in the best shape and you're not yeah then you're probably not going to do anything about it. So being aware is one of the first things, and then, I guess, accepting that and the accountability of it.
Speaker 1:Well, you got to think what starts coming from that? So discipline starts coming from that, right? Because now, now you're holding yourself accountable. So if you're, if it's physical fitness, then you're going to start going to the gym, right? So then you start building all these habits, all these traits that it takes to be, to be successful, to get yourself to the next level. Right, you know it's, it's tough, it's not an easy journey.
Speaker 2:Well, and it's neat, and I think what people want and we've talked about this this before is transparency, whether it's in the marketplace or the business or just an interaction with people. You know they want the transparent, honest, raw, situate, the, the, the person, the business, what, what's really going on? That's kind of the point of this podcast, right, because if you look at Jonas today, he's got multiple businesses ethics award winner last year. You're such a great guy, nice, easy to talk to, fun to be around. You know you'd never know, since you mentioned it get expelled from high school 100?
Speaker 1:yeah, exactly. And see, one of the things that I brought into. I remember when I was at a. I was at a point in my life and it was right before I started critic where I was, okay, what, what does Jonas Saber want to do, what is Jonas Saber trying to accomplish? Right before I started Gritik, where I was like, okay, what does Jonas Avery want to do, what is Jonas Avery trying to accomplish? Right.
Speaker 1:And I told myself, well, look, if I'm going to go into this, I'm going into this 100%. I'm giving it 100% of myself. So I made that decision. But I also told myself that I wasn't going to BS my way into it, that I was going to be honest with every single customer I dealt with. I was going to give every single person that I met a hundred percent of jonas. So not only was I there to do work for you, but you got to know me. We built a relationship together. So I fully got to understand what your needs were and what you were looking for, and then understanding where your financial uh, you know where you were financially.
Speaker 1:So that way I can try to give you the best solution for that's affordable for you, to where it doesn't put you in a hole. There was some customers where I went to that really couldn't afford it but needed it, and I found a way to make it work for them. I remember this one client in particular. She's awesome. She still talks to me today.
Speaker 1:She had nothing really and her son was an electrician at plants, so she really didn't have much money and she was living in a house for three months with no electricity. So her son came and hooked everything up and taught her to the pole to make sure that try to get her service turned on. And she called every single electrical contractor and every single one of them told her that they wasn't touching it because her son worked on it and that they was going to pull all of their service out and redo all of it. I went over there and understood their situation. I said, well, this is what I'll do, I'll make it, I'll test it, I'll run 100 point inspection, you know whatever, making sure that his work is good, and then I'll, you know, I'll put my name on it. And that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 1:And she now she has electricity wow but and and all I charged it was permit fees, and the reason being is because I understood her needs were more important than me making. You know, let's say, I did a 30 margin on that and I would have took home maybe 400 total you know, that'd be my commission. Or or let's say, 250 off of that project. Right there, it was more important to get her in her, in her in her house, with electricity on, because she was living there with cats by herself. It was.
Speaker 1:I just I couldn't imagine you know, and I was and I tried to think about situations.
Speaker 2:Okay, if I was in that position, I would want someone to help me, and sometimes they're great people, they're just in a bad situation, you know yeah, absolutely, and you gotta sometimes meet people where they are, which is kind of what you're doing in that situation and I think when you, you know, kind of humble yourself enough, put others before yourself. I think, in the end, what you end up with as a business owner is a business that's thriving, more than the guy that is necessarily looking at what's the most lucrative, what's the biggest margin what's the? Projects we can get.
Speaker 2:Um, and there's probably a couple of reasons for that, but one of them being, you know, I think, just them being you know, I think, just you know, karma takes care of good people.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I was going to say next. So, whenever I started, I made a promise because I'm still developing my faith, right, I'm still on this spiritual journey, which is good, but that's also, I feel like, what's got me to where I am now and I made a promise to God that was like look, if you help, if, if you give me the ability to help people, I would, I would promise y'all give back just as much I receive, like I'll help as many people you know as I can. And to this day, I'm still applying that, because that's a promise that I made to myself and, uh, you know, to God. So I take that very seriously.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's uh, it's obvious in what you're doing, you know. It's obvious in the work, it's obvious in our awards process. Last year you guys received our Torch Award.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:Which you know, for ethics, which is the biggest, you know, biggest and highest honor we can give.
Speaker 1:My name is Jonas Hebert. I'm the president of Grittek Electrical Services. We're a full-service commercial residential and industrial electrical contractor. We build new homes, new construction, commercial buildings. We also do sports lighting.
Speaker 1:What really sets us apart is the fact that we lead by faith over fear. We go out there every single day to produce a product that I think we can all be proud of. I think we all got the same mindset, same goal, same vision, and that's to grow a company that is bigger than yourself. There's times when you're out there in the field and you get lost in the work. People could be used as data and as numbers and as profits and as margins, and with our company it's a little bit different. We get more personal. We get to know our customers. We get to know them to the point to where we understand the situation they're in, and sometimes our morals and our ethics comes first.
Speaker 1:We have this one customer. Bless her soul. She's a great woman. She gives back to the community. She works for the local diner right and she's been dedicated over there for, I think, the last 20 years. She doesn't have a lot of monetary value, but she has more value to the community with her service that she gives and her home had no power. Her husband is very ill. He has a few medical conditions. That requires oxygen tanks and all these other components in order just to keep him healthy.
Speaker 1:Her electrical panel went completely out. Could she afford $4,500 it was going to cost her to do a complete repair. No, she couldn't. That didn't mean we couldn't serve her either. We took care of her servers, got her electricity back up and running at the cost of us. That right, there is, I think, what sets us apart from most other electrical companies and the reason why we were chosen for this award. Every single individual that's a part of our team is a part of the same mission, the same goal. One philosophy that we have at GRIDIC Ubuntu is an African philosophy and it's a way of life. What that actually means is that I go out there every day and I give every part of me because you're giving every part of you. We put Ubuntu in simple faith over everything that we do. It's on our sleeves of our shirts, every letterhead that we sign. I mean it's everywhere, and I think if you go out there in the field and you ask our guys, they'll all tell you the exact same thing.
Speaker 2:Through meeting you, through that process. Personally, I'm like we've got to get this guy on our board. So now you're a board member because I wrangled you into that after meeting you and everything with the award process. But going back, I guess, years. What made going back, I guess years? What made you choose electrical services? What made you choose that industry?
Speaker 1:well. So I felt like it almost chose me, because so the thing is, is that, uh, when you're young and you're trying to provide, but it's also not even trying to provide, like when you're young, you're trying to keep up with the joneses, right, you're trying to wear polo shirts, you're trying to do all these other things to impress people. So you work hard, you jump from job to job, chasing a dollar, chasing a dollar fifty, right, you never really fully cement yourself somewhere to build a career. At that point that young, you know, you don't understand how important it is to build the relationships, to build networks and to grow inside of a career.
Speaker 1:So I was a machinist and I worked my way up from a machinist to a programmer and then, when the oil field tanked you know, I think that was 2000,. What that was? Around 2016, when the oil field tanked, it tanked, I got laid off and I had worked my way up very high. I was making like $28 an hour, almost $30 an hour, making good money, bringing home some nice checks. I got laid off and I tried finding a job in that sector for like eight months and, uh, my girlfriend at the time she was like.
Speaker 1:She was like we got to make a decision like nobody's hiring, you know, for this work anymore yeah and, uh, I had already previously worked at ep, bro, so I ended up getting a an opportunity to go back, and I mean together my uh, my now wife, you know we made a deal. I was like look, I was like they're gonna call the all field is going to pick back up, maybe not where it was, but it will, because it always does I said they're gonna be calling.
Speaker 1:They're gonna be calling because my resumes, they're gonna want me to go back and we both made a commitment that I wouldn't, that I was going to build a career somewhere that I was going to take take the time with a little bit more stability correct yeah, yeah, in maturity to invest somewhere right, to start investing my, my, uh, and start investing in my career.
Speaker 1:And then I went to ep, bro, and I made a promise to myself that I was going to work myself up to master electrician. I already set a goal. Now it, mind you, I took a 15 an hour pay cut, so I went to 13 an hour, like we was literally living off ramen noodles uh, I mean ham sandwiches. I was bringing a sam, a bologna sandwich, a bag of doritos and my buddies in the front front seat are eating sonic foot long cheese conies and stuff and I'm sitting and I'm sitting.
Speaker 1:looking, I'm sitting there like, oh man, that smells good. But I understood at that point what I was trying to achieve. Now, of course, like I said, we got calls, I got emails job offers. And we looked at it and every time we stuck to our word it was like nope, not doing it. So I worked my way up to fourth-year journeyman, stuck with the apprenticeship, learned as much as I could, excelled, tried to succeed.
Speaker 1:Now, don't get me wrong, I had bumps during that road up and down up and down right, because naturally as a man you know you want to provide and you want to be. You know that solid, firm foundation in your family, to where you don't want your family to worry about anything. They just come to dad. Dad, strong dad guys, strong shoulders he can put everything on his back and he can lift the world Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like that's, that's who we want to be. But when you're making $13 an hour it's kind of hard to be that person mentally. So that's the thing I could. You could pretend to put on a persona, but mentally you got to be there as well. So of course we had our ups and downs with it, but eventually it got to a point to where I was in my fourth year and I was excelling and I went to take my journeyman test and not many people pass this test on their first try. Went there, boom, passed on my first try. I'm proud, I'm pumped.
Speaker 2:I'm excited.
Speaker 1:And then that's when I start thinking okay, what's next for Jonas? Right, I'm 30. I'm 32. What's next for me? I understand my son's about to turn 16. Right, I'm at the bottom of vehicle. My wife and I wanted to have a baby.
Speaker 2:That's 10 grand, right you know, I mean you know, that's cheap, man, no right, expensive too right so I'm looking at all these things and these different variables.
Speaker 1:I'm like man, like I have to do more, I have to make more, like how am I going to make more right and? But I didn't want to make more Right and but I didn't want to leave my job because I loved my job, I loved who I worked for.
Speaker 1:I loved the company I worked for. It was a great company. They helped me become the man that I am now, right Cause they helped me with growth. They, they, they held me accountable, so I was forced to grow with them and become the man that I am today. You know it all. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens, you know, in time. And uh, and I started doing side work, you know, and I was making some more money. I started realizing how good I was with people. I'm a people person. I love people. I love helping out people.
Speaker 1:I was it was easy for me to talk to people to find out, you know, what people needed, what people wanted to help them, and uh, and then hurricane uh, laura hit and I was sitting there. One day it was in my they call it the backyard at my mother-in-law's house. It's an outdoor kitchen.
Speaker 1:We sit there and hang out, family, very family oriented, and we drinking, and I'm like man, I'm telling you I could start a company right now. And I was like I'll go to Lake Charles and I said that will fast track five years of my growth. And because I started doing all this market analysis and I started figuring out exactly what it would take, how much I would make, like, what was the demand for electricians, and I just had a feeling inside my gut, you know, and I kind of prayed on it, and they say God talks to you in different ways, and something kept telling me go, you know, do it, do it, do it. And it just so happened every, every, because I was watching YouTube videos, motivational videos, and everyone that would pop up suggested was about starting your own business and taking that leap Correct.
Speaker 1:And Steve Harvey said it. He was like like, eventually you're just going to have to do it Right. Eventually you got to do it. So I'm doing side work Now. I'm doing side work in Lake Charles because I'm trying to prove my point, because my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my best friend, you know everybody around me is like Jonas, you got a good job at a good company. Like you. Sure you want to jeopardize all of this that you worked hard for?
Speaker 2:for a hunch, you know? Yeah, because at that point they had no idea.
Speaker 1:I didn't even have an idea that maybe I might be good in business. So I'm out there working. I get off of work at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I work till 3 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the morning, go to bed, wake up, go do my full daytime job, work that leave over and over and over and over. And then I kept telling my wife because my clientele book kept just growing, kept growing kept growing.
Speaker 1:Now I'm at work and I'm still getting calls. I told my wife I was like look, I was like I'm telling you right now I could succeed. And she was like you know what she's like. I'm tired of hearing you talk about it. She was like either do it or don't do it. I was like either do it or don't do it. I was like okay, and I just took that At that point. That's all I really needed.
Speaker 1:I just needed to say and the thing is, is what I want people to understand too, is that you can't do this alone, like your spouse has to be in it 100% with you, like you have to do that together because there's going to be times where you're going to need that person to talk to where. Because there's going to be times where you're going to need that person to talk to where you're going to need that person to confide in. Because there's a lot of times to where I was in a position and I was able to bounce it off of my wife because she supported my decision. We made a good decision collectively, right, yeah, so that's where it's at. So the thing is is, if you find yourself in that position and you're at odds with your significant other, I wouldn't suggest doing it, because it's not going to work out from the beginning.
Speaker 1:You have to have that foundation, you know, and so whenever, when she gave me that, go ahead.
Speaker 2:That was it, that was it, that was it.
Speaker 1:Two week notice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was it, and I was gone and I went to.
Speaker 1:I went to Lake Charles and, just like I said, it fast tracked me. But the thing is, is that there's? Such there was such a demand for tradesmen, right. Yeah, like you didn't realize at that time, I guess maybe other people did, but I didn't personally realize how much of a shortage there was, huge shortage in tradesmen, not not just electrician plumbers, you know.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that kind of continues to grow and that's something we see in industry with reliance on automation and ai and different things. You know you're running out of skilled labor, craftsmen 100 that can physically do a job, because a certain segment of the generation starting to retire yep, you know that's where there hasn't been enough backfill of people for them to train, and it it almost feels in some instances that if it continues to go, you'll end up with almost nobody that knows how to do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what the thing is. So think about it. You're in our generation because we're the same age, basically, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:What we were taught in high school. You go to college. Yeah, absolutely so you have a whole generation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's only now. Are they really starting to say trade?
Speaker 1:school.
Speaker 2:That's part of the reason we've structured our scholarships the way we have Trade school, community college. There's so many successful paths to careers that aren't necessarily university four-year education.
Speaker 1:We're finally starting to understand that. The thing is that college is not for everyone. But you don't need everyone to go to college. College is for some, trades is for others. Some people just want to get out of high school and go straight to work. I'm going to be honest with you. I have and people ask me how I do it but I probably have the youngest workforce out of anybody in this area, and I mean I mean my average age is probably 21,. 20 by 21 is probably my average age. Uh, and the reason being is because these cats are coming out of high school hungry. They want to learn, but they also want guidance. They want mentorship.
Speaker 1:They want people who's going to invest in them and fast track them, you know, on their maturity and their growth. So that's one thing. That, at Gritik, is one thing that we hold in on, like, yes, we're going to teach you a trade. Yes, we're going to give you the skills you need to be successful in your trade. But we're going to teach you a trade. Yes, we're going to give you the skills you need to be successful in your trade, but we're also going to try to help you become a better man and a better person. Like, I'll have some of my employees that'll call me for advice and I'm not trying to brag by any means, but they trust me enough and trust my opinion up there. Call me for advice before they call you know someone closer to them Right.
Speaker 1:And because the thing is that we're fully invested and we're we're 100 a team. So from there, I imagine, uh, right away, started the apprenticeship program which I should be kicking off next september. So I just got actually just got accredited and now I have my uh, I just passed my program director test. But that right there gets me so excited because we're able to take young men straight out of high school, or someone in my situation, a 20 years just want a career change.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep and give them let them go to work, work 40 hours a day I mean we're 40 hours a week and learn a trade at the same time and and finish with the license a certificate yeah, you know how. Like one thing that really helps uh, that helps you is you give someone hope, right?
Speaker 1:and then you give them to uh, you give them a certificate to where you put your hope right, and then you give them a certificate to where you put your hope in the right place. I mean, now you feel like you're unstoppable. You could accomplish anything.
Speaker 2:So a couple of things you're talking about that I want to touch on, for one is the family aspect. You talk about your wife family-oriented, and how closely a lot of times that ties to what we do in our careers. Sure, you know, you can't necessarily live a personal life that's completely unaligned with what you're trying to do professionally and expect that to necessarily be successful. Now, of course there's outliers out there, but for the most part you know, uh, the the person somebody is is how they're going to treat and run their business 100%.
Speaker 2:And how much you know. You mentioned earlier surrounding yourself with the right people and you know, yeah, you get involved with the wrong crowd and you're getting advice from the wrong people and before you know it, you're 10 miles down the wrong path.
Speaker 2:Correct, but the opposite is also true that you surround yourself with the right people, like-minded and that are going to support you and that are going to help pick you up when you stumble, because nobody's perfect, we're all going to make mistakes, right. And then the other aspect that I want to mention that you point out is talking about the apprenticeship program and the hope of of helping other people succeed and how much in return that helps your business and what you're doing oh, it helps a lot.
Speaker 1:So it's the culture, right. So the thing that I did right like I don't even know how, I guess, was from reading the books and then listen to the podcast. But I already, and I already knew that there was two most important things at the beginning of my business that I needed, right, well, one was a cpa, because I needed I'm just gonna be honest with you because I didn't know nothing about my books.
Speaker 1:I didn't know, know anything but I had to make sure my books was correct, right, because I didn't want to get screwed at the end of the year. And then it was culture. What type of culture do I want to establish? What type of brand? I was already thinking day one. I'm the only employee besides my helper, which was he still works for me now. I was building my brand already. I was building my brain already. We was already working on our brain and the culture of our company, because I understood that everything I did now was going to affect me two years from now.
Speaker 1:So at Gritik, we're already thinking now. We're thinking five years ahead, but we're also so we have short-term and long, mid-term and long-term goals. So we think in two years, we think in five years and we think in 10 years. So we're putting in to play things into place now that that won't even benefit us until two years from now, but we understand that. So that's kind of what I'd apply to the beginning. The culture of your company is the most important thing. Are people going to enjoy to come to work? Are people going to buy?
Speaker 2:into your mission.
Speaker 1:Absolutely right, your mission statement your vision, or they already align with your vision, right? So that's, that's all things you have to check off your box. So, so the thing is is that you can be the business to where you're a two-man show and you're okay with it and you just want to work for yourself.
Speaker 1:You want to make a median salary right you just want to provide for your family, or you can be the guy that wants to try to scale this thing and see how far you can take it and try to to touch as many people's lives as you can and affect them in a positive manner. See, that's where I'm at and the thing is, in order to do that you have you have to invest in the brand and the culture of your company. Understand of how important that is.
Speaker 2:Well, it's something I'm hearing and I think you're kind of reaffirming my own personal belief about it, and really that thought process is what's behind. Even having started this podcast is for somebody that's, you know, worked a couple of places and they, they have a successful career, but they've never been on the upper end of management or owning a business. And the decisions that go into that, the things that may keep you up at night, that you're thinking about for the next couple of years, what do I need to do? The hard decisions that come across you?
Speaker 2:know, whether it's how do I, how do I reprimand an employee that didn't follow what we're, what our culture? You know those things that aren't always thought about, and there's a lot. When you, you know, pull back the curtain, we'll say to that goes into running a business and what it really takes to be a good business, a trustworthy business, one that people respect and love and care about in return, because that's what it's really about. Yes, sir, you grow a customer base that really cares about your business almost as it's its own person 100%.
Speaker 2:Then that business, I mean, you know kind of going a little out of line in a way, but that business is never going to fail.
Speaker 1:No, no, sky's the limit on that business, right, and that's what that's. That's, that's your goal, like, like you said, you want to build a loyal customer base, but it's your reputation, right? So, like there was one point at Gritik, whenever I was explaining, you know to guys in the field that every single thing you did, like right now we don't have a reputation, we're building our reputation. So are you going to be there? So let me ask you a question, okay? So let's say, you and I walk into this room and there's a piece of paper on the ground, are you going to be the guy that's just going to walk past it or are you going to be the guy that's going to pick it up and put it in a trash can?
Speaker 2:Do the right thing, that's two different people. You know, that is two different people. That's two different people. That is two different people.
Speaker 1:It doesn't make the first one a bad person, but mentally that's two different people Do the right thing even when no one's looking. Well, and it's yeah, the work done in too often in society, the one that's not picking up the paper?
Speaker 2:No sure. Yeah, you know, and as a business owner, in a way, you've got to be able to either be willing to hire and grow that person, because everybody has the ability to get better and grow. Some people just don't know better.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They don't know, they even need to look at the paper.
Speaker 1:No, you see exactly. I'm glad you said it, because I find myself more often than not trying to help that person.
Speaker 2:And then not only are you helping that person individually, but long term you're building loyalty within that person to you as a business, and his family.
Speaker 1:So you're changing the culture of his family, changing the culture of that man. I mean, you're breaking chains at that point, right? So a lot of things stems from your youth, you, how you was raised and how you grew up.
Speaker 1:I just had the ability which I think because I had great people around me to break those chains, to understand okay, this isn't right, this isn't wrong, I don't want to do this, I don't want to be this, this is where I want to be, and through relationships, through having the right people around me, I was able to finally break those chains and then be that person for other people. So I also made myself a promise that I would try to help and change as many people's lives as possible, because I came from the worst of the worst. I guarantee you, right now there's a lot of things, conversations. We could probably have this on another podcast, which I don't mind.
Speaker 2:I'm just telling you, I don't mind.
Speaker 1:I'm just telling you, I don't mind telling my story by any means, and because the thing is is I'm a firm believer. So every day, when I first met my wife, we would drive on the road right and we'd be driving and I'm jamming my music. I'm always in a good mood. And she's like how are you always in a good mood? I was like, well, you woke up this morning. It's cliche, but it's true. There's a lot of things to be thankful for. You just got to find them. So I'm always a person just waving to somebody and my wife's like why do you?
Speaker 1:do that, why are?
Speaker 2:you always waving to somebody, I'm like well.
Speaker 1:I was like well because I said you never know what type of day that person's having.
Speaker 2:I said that one wave.
Speaker 1:That person might've been on their way to their house to go drink their sorrows and drink them away or whatever else, but now someone, a stranger, cares All right, so I would wave. So this actually just played out recently at one of my coffee shops. So awesome woman. She comes in one morning and she's always there. And I just happened to be there that morning and for some reason our POS was acting up and I told her I said look, I got your coffee today. Don't even worry about it, it's on me. I got it. And she's like you know, Jonas, you sure I was like, yeah, I was like I got your coffee. I didn't know, but she was having that day Like everything in her life was just going completely wrong.
Speaker 1:She had gone through a bunch of situations, things within her family that I didn't even you can even tell, right Cause the thing is is when most people are dealing with pain, you can't tell. I mean, it's all internal, it's mental yeah.
Speaker 1:And uh, and I paid for a coffee and then that afternoon I went back to the coffee shop to go check on it and they had a card there with my name on it. It's like, well, where is the word? You know where this comes from. You know I I opened it and it was a card from her, with a $20 bill and telling me how much me buying her her drink that day changed her whole perspective on a day.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Right, so and that, so that's what you're trying to do with people in their families as well. You pull a man in that people would be beaten up, but he's good to his core, he's good to his soul. He just hasn't had an opportunity right To really show who he really is. Right, he's getting judged on actions. He's getting judged on habits that he's developed over time, that he don't even know, like you said, don't even realize because that's all you know.
Speaker 2:Just hadn't been taught better yet.
Speaker 1:Correct. So you pull that guy in and you help him. You show him love, you show him compassion, you show him how you know how forgiveness, you show him how to change the dynamics of his culture around him and the people that he hangs around with, and you start putting around good people, because now you have a team right At the critic. We live by Ubuntu, which is a person's a person through other people.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:We're firm believers in that. You start introducing him to that environment. Right, you change. You change his life. You not only do you change his life, you change his family's life, you change his kids life, you change other. Maybe now you're touching people around him because breaking the cycle yes, because he's, because he's sharing this right, so now he's sharing this with the community. So what it what happens is is when they say be the change you want to see in the world, that's exactly how it starts happening.
Speaker 2:That is how it starts happening. So what's Gritik mean?
Speaker 1:So Gritik, so I was coming up with a name. Look, that's the hardest I'm going to tell you right now. That's the hardest part of opening a business.
Speaker 2:What am I going to call it? You're right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because then naturally you're thinking, okay, I can't do, I have a name. So, bro, I was at my, I was at my my cousin's house and I always looked up to my cousin because my cousin's always been an entrepreneur, like ever since we were young. I always wanted to be him because he, he had the kahunas to get out there and do it at an early age yeah right and actually not in the cones. The maturity right. That's also what it takes. It takes maturity I didn't.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna tell you right now I didn't really mature, so I was like 28 be honest with you but I was, so I'm at his house because anytime I had an idea, I went to him because I trusted him and we're like, oh, we need a name, we need a name. And then, uh, so we, we didn't. I was like I know what we're going to do. We end up taking and put it together and make Gritik.
Speaker 1:So we just put Gritik for an electric right and then, we made Gritik, and that's where we came up with the name, because I wanted. So. The thing is, I didn't want A-Bear Electrical.
Speaker 2:Because I never wanted Jonas is electrical I never wanted, see, I never wanted to be small. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So I went into it and wanted to scale it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And understood that, that in order to scale it, it had to have a name and a brand. So that's why you'll see the symbol. That has to be easily identifiable. Right, it has to be, it's true, like think about McDonald's, starbucks, burger King.
Speaker 2:Yeah, something that's easily duplicated, easily put places.
Speaker 1:So when you see that symbol, exactly, All that thought went into the name, the design, the logo, the whole nine yards.
Speaker 2:So how did you get from electrical services to coffee shops?
Speaker 1:Well, that's funny. So the thing is is that with your children, you try to find things to have in common, right, and it's easy when it's sports, because you know nine out of ten times you played sports when you were younger. Everyone says they were the best, but we all know that. You know we were better.
Speaker 2:As we get older, we were better. Exactly right, yeah. And you're like I can hit a home run now and you get up there and you know you're a backstreet surgeon. I played just real quick side note. This was probably so 40, I mean I was probably 30. It was probably 10 years ago. Played in, you know, the softball tournament Dude. I hit the ball, took off from home plate and I mean I just completely ripped my thigh, cool Thigh muscle, yeah, you know, because you think you're still 16.
Speaker 1:No, 100%, well you want me to tell you something funny about myself. So I was at uh ep bro and I was playing and, like you said, rec ball we had our first practice. Okay, first practice. I'm playing third base. They hit a pop fly short, short. Uh, left field. I'm running the thing. I'm chipper jones, you know like you said you still think you you're 16, 17 years old. I jump up. Now people say I didn't jump that high to me you ever watch angel in the so?
Speaker 1:to me. I felt like I was floating. You know, look, I can't, I catch the ball. Right after, look after I catch the ball. I landed on my left leg and apparently a lot of things had to happen for this to to work out. But my acetabulum I don't know if you know what that is. So I learned that after I broke it. Well, I fractured it, so that's what holds your hip joint right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I landed right there First practice, not even a game First practice.
Speaker 1:So after that they changed the rules at the company. Now you got to have the accidental policy, all type of things. You got to sign a waiver. Now they're lucky to even have a softball team. But so so it was the right amount of pressure or, you know, at the right angle, and it fractured. I never played baseball, never played softball again after that but, like you said, you think, you still think you're young, right?
Speaker 1:so I didn't. You know you're trying to prove point to your kids because your kids are watching you. You know, and then in your head you're like done or not, done or not? Yeah, you know, yeah.
Speaker 2:You know top 10.
Speaker 1:I caught the ball. Though I caught it, I never dropped it Make sure you had that. Yeah, yeah, but I was out of work for like seven months.
Speaker 1:And then I started, uh, I started selling fire sticks. I was all. I was always the one to try to hustle, and that's when I started building. No, no, okay, let's get back to that. So the coffee shop started, so the thing is is going back. So you always try to find things to do with your children so you could bond with them, build relationships, because that's very important. I always want to foster that type of culture within my family.
Speaker 1:And my son. We always find ourselves at a coffee shop. When we go to Florida, when we go on vacation or even locally, we always find ourselves at a coffee shop, something we had in common. And for two years, you know, I told my wife, I said I'm telling you, lorville needs a coffee shop, it needs something where people can gather right where people can gather.
Speaker 1:And the library had just closed because they opened to build a new one, and my son was, jokingly, was like well, dad, just build a coffee shop. What you waiting on, you know? They told me that and just like when my wife told me, I was like well, okay, and it was at my mother-in-law's house one sunday I said I'm thinking I'm gonna build a coffee shop and in the building that I'm in now had just became available one section of it that's on church alley no, no, that's, that's the that's the other one.
Speaker 2:I got you.
Speaker 1:I got you okay so the one in the main street, lorville, that one became available. So right away I called him, you know, and I took that one on the lease and in the building next door to it, which is it's all one building, there's a duplex unit but there's a door that that joins them. So that became available. So I signed that lease right away. So now, so that's where the first coffee shop came from. It was from my son and I. We would always find ourselves a coffee shop, something that we had in common, something that we could do together. My wife was a supporter of it, of course. Like I said, you always got to do it together. And then Church Alley became available while I opened up Main Cup, and I was like, okay, this will help me speed up the process of the main cup, because now I have system processes and everything else already in order that I could take, I could copy and I could paste, and then I could just from there modify them as I see fit, as I see needed.
Speaker 2:And it's been successful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's been successful both of them. Yeah, I'm about to open up my third location in Delcambre, yeah.
Speaker 2:So the outline areas and places where community community gathering a place like that is needed it's needed which other other coffee shops.
Speaker 1:Nothing against any other coffee shop or brand out there, but maybe would have overlooked the opportunity well, they won't, because the thing is, is that for them to make money, right, uh, you have to have a certain amount of foot traffic, a certain amount of knowing these little all-line areas, but the thing is, they still need, in these communities, they still need somewhere to go. Right, they still need somewhere to. But the thing is, they still need, in these communities, they still need somewhere to go, they still need somewhere to gather.
Speaker 1:And the thing is is that we lead by faith. So that's why I named it Simple Faith Coffee Company, because my grandmother always taught me when I was younger is that faith is simple. You just have to believe. So that's where Simple Faith comes from. And Simple Faith is on well, it's not on this shirt, but it's on everything that we do. Uh, when I first started my uh critic electrical services, down the back, down the spine, with simple faith. You still see it on every shirt, every shirt that God wears in the field. Simple faith is on, is on the sleeve. So that's good man, it's such an enlightening conversation.
Speaker 2:Um, you know things about successful companies out there that people may or may not just realize they're like yeah. Jonas, you know, I'm sure his dad was an electrician and taught him how to do it and turned his business.
Speaker 2:So you know you just never know, and nothing against those situations. But at the same time, coming from you know a troubled past, maybe didn't always make the right decisions, ended up unemployed for a while. Coming from you know a troubled past, maybe didn't always make the right decisions, ended up unemployed for a while, not sure how you're going to provide for the family to successful businessman doing things right. You know that that people are excited to be a part of. You know you're a really a beacon in the community of light for other people that want to do things ethically and responsibly. Um, you know which is exactly at BBB, what we strive to be involved with, because as an organization, it's just as much about your business as it is about BBB and what you know accreditation means and that. But what did we not talk about today or something you wanted to mention that maybe I didn't ask about or didn't quite fit in before.
Speaker 1:Before we wrap this up, I mean, the only thing I would like give advice out there because the thing is this this this doesn't have to apply to to just business, but just your, your personal life is that take, take a real good hard looking and at yourself and within right, and then see what you're trying to accomplish. And if you don't have a vision board, you should, you should do a vision board right away. I don't know, do you do a vision board?
Speaker 2:Something similar, not necessarily what would qualify as a vision board, but I know what you're talking about. We've done that organizationally at BBB, yeah.
Speaker 1:So that works? I'm going to tell you right now. You might think it doesn't work or it might seem like a lot of work, but the thing is you got to understand that it's going to take work to get you to wherever you're trying to go. And I guess we all have different ideas of success, right? So don't think you have to own a business to be successful, because success has it's open to your own interpretation right. So, the thing is, but a vision board I feel like is very, very important and vital.
Speaker 1:So, you started writing down anything and everything. It could be a pair of shoes, it could be a certain type of shirt, it could be a Lamborghini, it could be multiple things. That gives you something to visually look at and see, to try to achieve, and the minute you see that, you start working towards it and then you just check them off as you hit them.
Speaker 2:Well, and it's a lot of times you learn things, and when you do it, it makes more sense. It's easier to, to grasp the concept especially, um, you know a lot of people don't necessarily love that, you know, talking about the university path you know, necessarily love classroom learning. They love hands-on. Similarly, you make a vision board, literally a board with pictures of what you want. Um, even if it's a Photoshop picture of your face on a you know surgeon's outfit, you know, whatever it is. That's what the value is is seeing that and manifesting.
Speaker 1:You're seeing is believing.
Speaker 2:As you try to achieve that. Now, jonas, as I've gotten to know you, you're such a fun guy. You're so genuine. Again, going back to transparency and those things you know, genuine is a good word. So we looked at your Instagram I think it's Instagram Before we came on and there was something that I just really wanted to bring up a video.
Speaker 1:Well sure, I come from a long line of pimps. I've been pimping since pimping, been pimping, pimping, damn that's a long time I used to be a pimp in training, but now I'm a full grown pimp. But I'll tell you one thing for sure I'm a pimp, but another thing this is the reason why Jesus has risen. This is the reason for the season he came back for that burrito.
Speaker 2:Hey, that's a good burrito.
Speaker 1:Look, if you ever come to New Iberia, I'll take you to my burritos and we can go try it out.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's man, I'm going to come out there just for that. No, definitely I got to learn about this you have to Look.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I'm saying it correctly I'm probably butchering but Barrera or Barilla, burrito or tacos.
Speaker 2:Barilla is the kind of meat right.
Speaker 1:Barilla correct, it's a steak and they also make a pizza. So me and Mason, so this is one. So Mason works for me, he does shipping and receiving for me. Great character, awesome heart, one of the best guys you'll probably ever meet. But he's also funny, right. So I kind of did a food review one day, as a joke, you know. And it kind of took off a little bit. You know I mean it didn't go viral.
Speaker 1:But it went enough right. So then next thing, you know me and him make one together on an accident, and then everybody loved it. So I was like, well, look, this is something you and I are going to start doing. But one thing the reason also I started doing this is I was trying to get other businesses that are that are smaller, that's in the area that normally people not even going to try. They're just going to drive up, drive, drive past this business. So if I could help them get the word out and try their food, then it's a win-win for me, because I'm eating fantastic food, I'm having a good old time with Mason right here, kuyon number two. And then we're also getting the word out about local businesses, restaurants.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think Go ahead.
Speaker 1:One thing that we could both Everyone always has in common is food right. You gotta eat.
Speaker 2:Yeah, gotta eat. Well, right, you got to eat, got to eat. Well, I'm breaking bread together. You know that there's a there's a nice, nice part of that, but I think it also reaffirms something we maybe don't talk about enough in in in some of the podcast, or we don't mention it enough. But what it really boils down to is, while you're doing all these great things, making sure you're enjoying life and having fun.
Speaker 1:Oh, 100 percent, you have to. So people they ask me they're like, how do you do it? So they're assuming I'm really, really stressed. Everybody's like you know you're pulling your hair out, but no, Just enjoying life, man, day by day. Have a good balance. But the thing is a delegation and you have to understand that your system is going to fail. It's not going to be perfect, you can't control this company.
Speaker 2:What can we do to fix it a little bit and move forward? That's it right.
Speaker 1:Reward that actually At the company. You reward that because you want people to understand that it's okay to mess up, it's okay to fail. It's how we respond to it. So, like I tell my employees all the time is that I don't care who did it. I'm not going to point fingers, we're not going to do that, we're not going to pay this blame claim. We're just going to figure out how it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again.
Speaker 1:That right there takes so much stress off of you. Also, you have to find a good balance between work and family. On Sundays. Don't call me. I'm not answering. At one point I was. I was finding myself getting to that stressful point Now. Saturdays and Sundays you'll catch me on a Saturday, sunday. I know what you mean, man, absolutely, I'm spending my time with my family and after a certain amount of time in the evenings, unless it's really important. 6, 7 o'clock.
Speaker 2:Well, and that's a good point. As we wrap it up, I'll just say, you know I reinforce this at BBB as well, because I've been in employment roles where, you know, it's almost number one priority. It's like it's paramount over anything, all day, every day. And although it's, it requires work to be successful and and you, you really got to put your heart and soul into it to be, you know achieve 100 it at the same time I think it's worth and as we grow and mature, like we were talking about, it's just as important um to make make your family and personal life a priority, and I reaffirm that at the office, we're all about business, right, that's all we do is business day in and day out, but at the same time, when you're off, you go home.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you go to your family. This is a way for us to support our families, to make a living, to do something we enjoy doing and love doing and and and make money while we're doing it, but make sure you're you're taking time off when you need it, you're taking care of your family. Somebody's sick, you're, you're attending to them. You're handling personal life before you're necessarily taking care of business.
Speaker 1:You have to yeah.
Speaker 2:And have fun while you're doing it.
Speaker 1:Look at, people will respect you so much for it, because there's a lot of times where people get taken advantage of and to me that's not the way to operate.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because family is very, very important.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Like you said, the reason why we do everything we do is for our children and our wife. Anyways, you know.
Speaker 2:Oh man, jonas, appreciate you, what you're doing in the community, appreciate you joining us and talking about it, being so genuine and transparent about it. Um, thank you so much for being here. Yes, sir.
Speaker 1:All right, Chris Thanks.
Speaker 2:I really hope you enjoyed the show. Thank you so much for joining us To help support the show. Please like, share, follow us on um, whatever podcast application, or even on YouTube, wherever you caught this episode at. If you want to find out more about the Better Business Bureau, you can contact us 337-981-3497. You can find us on social media, bbb, acadiana and, as always, you can go to BBBorg for any information you're looking for. See you next time. Thank you so much for joining us.
