angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

BRX Pro Tip: How to Craft Your Elevator Pitch

January 16, 2023 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: How to Craft Your Elevator Pitch

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BRX Pro Tip: How to Craft Your Elevator Pitch

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, let’s talk a little bit about how to craft your elevator pitch.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:10] Yeah. I’m not usually a big fan of having an elevator pitch at the ready, but I think it’s important for you to be able to articulate the value you provide and what makes you different and unique in order to help you identify those ideal fit client. So, an elevator pitch, just the exercise of coming up with one, might help you kind of explain your unique value proposition better when you’re introducing yourself to other people.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] One of the things that I like to do when it comes to our business is, I like to say I’m an expert in helping professional service providers meet more of those hard to reach people that actually move the needle in their business. So, that’s usually my go-to elevator pitch when it comes to our thing. Or some version of that, I’m an expert at using the media to help my professional service clients with business development.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:05] So, I like to kind of explain that my target is professional service providers. I like to explain that if there are challenges, meaning hard to reach people or helping them get more business, that’s kind of what I do. That’s why I tried to craft it around that. I didn’t get into, you know, “We’re radio people. We do internet radio or podcasts.” I don’t talk about any of that stuff.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:30] It’s what is the value that I’m delivering, and the value is always around helping our clients get more business or meet those hard to reach people. Some version of that resonates with me in terms of the value we provide.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:47] Because if who I’m talking to is a good fit, usually their next question is something about the how, “How do you do that?” And that’s when we can kind of get into the weeds about explaining, we do that by reverse engineering radio shows to help our clients meet those hard to reach people or the people that are important to them.

BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Time

January 13, 2023 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Time

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BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Time

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips, Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, today’s topic is the value of time.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:09] Yeah, it’s funny how people value their money more than they value their time, even though you can make more money, but you can’t make more time. I was talking to a friend of mine and they were so proud that they drove across town to save 10 cents a gallon on their gas. But at the same time, they’re telling me how they wasted half the day on social media, you know, because some guy was trolling something about something that they had no control over, but they were got kind of absorbed in this drama.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] And it was funny to me that this person’s hourly rate is a lot, and he didn’t take that into consideration. So he doesn’t take it into consideration when it comes to driving across town, doesn’t take it into consideration in terms of how much time he’s wasting on social media and something that isn’t moving the needle in his business.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] I think that it’s important to just become aware of whatever your hourly rate is and then just hold things accountable to that and go, is this worth this amount of money to be doing this activity? And if the activity can be done for less than the hourly rate, delegate it to someone else.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:24] And if you spend more time doing what you do best, you’re going to grow your business and you’re going to eliminate a lot of stress. So focus on the most important things and make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to your time, because if you don’t value your time, then no one else will.

Danielle Levy with The Boardroom League

January 12, 2023 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Danielle Levy with The Boardroom League

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Danielle Levy is the CEO and Founder of The Boardroom League. A sought-after executive who has helped six and seven-figure businesses expand with clarity and efficiency, Danielle established The Boardroom League to give other entrepreneurs a little black book of trusted industry professionals to help them implement and scale their businesses.

The Boardroom League consists of experts in a variety of fields; including metrics, design, copywriting, strategic pricing, funnels, social media, and more.

Danielle’s vision came to life when she realized that she was taking this team of experts with her from project to project, and recognized that other entrepreneurs could benefit from her trusted team as well.

With a background in agency work, Danielle has experience in the traditional business world, as well as the online entrepreneurial space.

An Integrator at heart, Danielle believes in helping business owners build a trustworthy ecosystem of professional resources, so that they can focus on their zone of genius, instead of being distracted by day-to-day business obligations.

She holds an MBA, is certified as a Project Management Professional, and is a Certified Online Business Manager. An energetic mother of two boys, Danielle understands the balance of being both a hockey Mom and a successful entrepreneur.

Connect with Danielle on Instagram.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

How to have hard conversations with your team
The best way to get the right people in the right seats in your business
Why every business needs an ICE plan
Why operationalizing your values leads directly to sales
Why skyscrapers aren’t built with duct tape
The key steps to building a legacy business structured around knowledge rather than individuals

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:15] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Danielle Levy and the Boardroom League, the lady herself, Ms.. Danielle Levy. How are you?

Danielle Levey: [00:00:34] Good. How are you?

Stone Payton: [00:00:36] Oh, I am doing so well and have really been looking forward to this conversation. Got a ton of questions. I know we won’t get to them all, but I’m thinking a great place to start. Might be if you could share with me and our listeners mission purpose. What are you what are you really out there trying to do for folks?

Danielle Levey: [00:00:54] Sure. So I consider myself to be a business growth strategist. And what I do is I take a holistic look at different companies, brick and mortar and those in the online space and break them down by I generally think about businesses in three different sections, the front of the house, PR, marketing sales, their offers, and the reason they’re in business in that middle section and then the back of the house, all things operations and really work with CEOs to make sure that they have the infrastructure in place to really scale.

Stone Payton: [00:01:28] So what’s the backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Danielle Levey: [00:01:33] Yeah, so I, I had a very successful corporate career. I sort of slid in the back door, I think. I don’t know if any of your listeners have watched the show Mad Men, but that was very much the the the feeling of the companies that I was I was working at. And I did that for 15 or maybe just a little more than 15 years. And I ended up at graduate school, really burnt out. And I treated myself for a milestone birthday and I almost didn’t go through with it. My travel companion had to back out and one thing led to another. But I said, You know what? I’m just going to go ahead and take myself on this adventure. And I had a happenstance introduction who I didn’t realize was one of the executive directors for one of the biggest influencers in the online space. And we just kind of got chatting and, you know, in came my next clients. And I think that was such an amazing moment for me because it was when I slowed down to celebrate my birthday that I had the biggest shift in my career, right? And then I did it as as I did it solo, right? I’m a super introverted person and I still sort of pinch myself that I, that I, that I made the shift. But all of the skills were very, very transferable. And I’ve been having a blast ever since.

Stone Payton: [00:02:54] What a marvelous origin story with the breadth of issues that you find yourself addressing, because it sounds like you’re working in a lot of different domains, pockets of the organization. I got to believe sometimes you find yourself needing to have the hard conversations with the client and maybe even helping the client have the hard conversations with their team. Is that accurate?

Danielle Levey: [00:03:23] It is. You know, I am a very, very people first individual, personally and professionally, like I am that friend that will always remember to drop off the birthday gift or so and so is in feeling well let me get them a meal or oh no, did I hurt your feelings or, you know, whatever the case might be. But I found in business, when I think about serving the business, not serving the CEO, that’s probably paying my invoice or, you know, not trying to be friends with the team. And I’m truly serving the business. And what does the business need? Hard conversations are much easier because for me, they’re not emotionally driven, they’re very fact driven. And certainly I’m not meaning to come across as cold in any any way. I think people are the heart of our businesses. But when you’re able to really look objectively at a situation both in the diagnosis of it and then the handling of it, it becomes much easier.

Stone Payton: [00:04:23] So at this point, what are you finding the most rewarding? What are you enjoying the most about the work?

Danielle Levey: [00:04:30] I love working with CEOs when they just sort of take that deep breath and they realize that they’ve been able to actually step into that CEO seat. You know, I think so many times that either I work with a lot of folks that were originally like passion partners that have become CEOs or CEOs that have experienced a tremendous amount of growth. And it really becomes unwieldy very, very quickly. And you sort of think you’re in this great situation because you’ve made it to the top or you’re running your own business or whatever it is. But the reality is, is that the business is running them instead of them running the business. And so when they’re actually able to say, Oh my gosh, I’m going to clock out and it’s Friday afternoon, or I’m going to step away, or thank you for helping me find this right hand or just that sigh of this is possible, this is sustainable is something that I very consistently see across the board. And it just brings me so much joy because these are people that I’m working with and are able to bring so much positive impact into the world that I hate to keep that all bottled up.

Stone Payton: [00:05:37] Do you feel like you’ve gained some insight into how to help people recruit, develop, retain and get the right people doing the right stuff?

Danielle Levey: [00:05:48] Yeah, I think it’s it’s twofold. I think one is understanding the situation at hand and what is the problem that needs to be solved. And separately, understanding either the people in play currently or the person that you need and then bringing them together. And, you know, it’s it’s not like a set of puzzle pieces that just sort of always match up. There are adjustments that have to be made for that. And I think also as businesses change, you know, those definitions will change. And so it’s not a a set it and forget it kind of thing. You know, Susie Q or Tom Smith used to be the one that did all of these things, but now the business is at a different state. How do we assess for where it currently is and where it needs to go?

Stone Payton: [00:06:34] So is there methodology, discipline, rigor or plan? Like is there a way to to systematically stay on top of that kind of thing?

Danielle Levey: [00:06:43] Sure. I mean, I think you can go at it from a couple of different ways. I’m a big fan of accountability charts and accountability charts for those that aren’t familiar. Kind of look like an org chart. You know, as the CEO, if you’re also filling this role, that role. And the other thing, like I really want to see what functions you’re doing within that accountability chart. And so it very is a it’s a great visual for people to see where folks are spread too thin or not covering enough ground within the organization. So that’s kind of one way to look at it top down. The other way that I like to look at it is making sure that there is an up to date job description. And I’m very clear on job description as opposed to a job posting for each position within the organization, making sure not to unicorn that position. I don’t believe in unicorn except in very rare, very rare instances. I have been convinced, but those are definitely one offs. And then setting a real clear key performance indicator against each one of the the components of the position.

Stone Payton: [00:07:46] When I have a chance to visit with experts in their field like you, I often find that they come across preconceived notions, assumptions. I’ll even call them myths sometimes that the rest of us hold that just that’s just not really the way it is. Do you find that there are some myths, preconceived notions, that sometimes you have to you have to help bust or put in the proper perspective in your work?

Danielle Levey: [00:08:12] Oh, without a doubt. You know, I think communication is is everything in an organization. And I think specifically around our team, if people are not thriving in the environment, it’s it may not because they’re not skilled enough or because they’re not trying hard enough. Right. It’s what information do they have? You know, even as as recently as a couple of days ago, I got into a fairly stern conversation with a colleague of mine. And we had very different philosophies on the approach to something. Well, what we didn’t realize was we had each been in in between the time the two of us had last met, we had each been in a different meeting and had gathered different information. And so it was actually just about coming together, getting through that kind of intense conversation and in a really professional. And it was kind of funny when it was all happening and realizing that we were actually both operating with different sets of information. So it’s quite possible that team members don’t have operating procedures or they’re not aware of a certain piece of the business, or there’s just so many things in play that I think it’s important to always just do a real thorough diagnosis of any situation rather than just saying, Oh, so-and-so said so, or this statement of work said this thing or this service offering said the other thing, right. It’s it’s really important to do your due diligence and your homework on every issue.

Stone Payton: [00:09:35] So are you finding that you’re gravitating toward certain types of organizations or industries or where are you finding the work is more easily and quickly embraced and put to work effectively?

Danielle Levey: [00:09:51] Yeah. You know what? I’m I’m not. And the reason that I say that is I had a thriving business before the pandemic, but the pandemic really, really forced a lot of people to get online and to show up in ways that they hadn’t been needing to show up before that with their audiences. So I really do work across a huge set of industries, everything from finance to dentistry to life coaches and Montessori schools and everything in the middle. You know, I think at the core of it, I think a lot of the folks that I work with are fabulous subject matter experts in the thing that they’re trying to bring to market or expand their market visibility for. But running a business is kind of its own, its own niche that has a lot of the same success stories and a lot of the same struggles.

Stone Payton: [00:10:42] So let’s dive into the work itself a moment, if we could. I know in reading my notes, I saw a mention of ICE plan or ICE plan and mention of this, this whole idea of operationalizing your your values. Can you speak to to those topics a little bit?

Danielle Levey: [00:10:59] Sure. So an ICE plan and I would encourage again, your listeners to think about this with a lens for both your home and your personal and also your business. But an ICE plan is in a case of emergency plan. And I think the last thing that any homeowner or CEO wants is for them to be the bottleneck of a business, whether it’s planned or not planned. There are times that other people need to step into a business to be able to serve certain problems. And obviously you want to have a certain amount of security around those things. But life happens, right? And so it’s about setting up a plan for the legacy of your business should someone need to step in. You know, we’ve all turned on the news and there’s just horrific things happening. It would be a shame. Of someone needed to step away from their business, even if it’s just for a brief time. And because communications with customers have gone away or because team members didn’t know how to react or whatever the case might be, that the business suffers from that. So my ice plan is really getting inside of your head and taking all of that valuable information, compiling it in a really safe and organized kind of way so that if and when someone does need it or has the opportunity to need it because, you know, there’s a vacation or we were chatting, a hunting trip involved or whatever that that they’re able to do.

Stone Payton: [00:12:17] So I think I’m going to walk away from this interview with some homework because I don’t feel like I’ve done enough on that front. No. Hey, guys, if you want to get some free advice and learn a lot, get yourself a radio show. But all kidding aside, I think what you’re describing, I don’t think me and my business partner have done enough of that. So thank you for that.

Danielle Levey: [00:12:35] Yeah. No, no, no. Of course. I mean, if you think about it in terms of your home life as well, right? If I were to go away on a girl’s weekend or, God forbid, something happened, like, would my husband know where all the bank accounts were or would my husband know how to reach out to my clients and say, this is what’s going on, Right? I don’t want my business to crumble. I don’t want my mortgage not to get paid because someone else that I really trust in my life doesn’t know how to solve for these problems. So I would encourage people to think about that personally and professionally. In terms of the other piece of the question that you asked, which is operationalizing values, I feel pretty strongly about this, and forgive me if I’m about to get into a soapbox here, but I have quite literally been in the physical space of meeting rooms and office locations with senior level executives where we figure out what the company’s core values are. They get jotted down. And quite literally, I’ve seen them posted on a wall and I’ve also seen them quite literally collect a whole lot of dust. I think a lot of times when businesses are getting started, it’s it’s not seen as much of a need at the start. And I would argue otherwise. I think having a set of core values gives your customers and gives your team a clear picture of what you stand for and also specific to your team, how they can embody them.

Danielle Levey: [00:13:52] It creates an incredible amount of efficiency confidence. It builds team culture very quickly. It gives a set of guiding principles to the work that’s being done. And I’ll give an example of this definitely putting myself out there, but I made what could have been a critical business mistake for a client of mine, and there was direct dollars involved in the mistake. And when we were talking about it in the retrospect, she said, Daniel, why did you take this set, this next step? And I explained to her, based on her core values and based on the plan that we had in place, this was a very logical next step. And she said, you know what? It was a mistake. And I can absolutely see why that was a very logical thing to do. And we recovered from it and it was not a big deal in the end, but it really opened up some great conversation in how do we want the business run and making sure that all team members were running in the same direction. So I just I can’t say enough about just making sure that that team members and customers know what those those core values are and what the company stand for.

Stone Payton: [00:14:54] What you were describing on both of those points also suggest to me these are things that you want to do. If you ever want to prepare to exit and or if you are genuinely invested in leaving a legacy of your intent. Legacy is is important to to a lot of us. And I bet it’s important to a lot of your clients in it.

Danielle Levey: [00:15:16] It is. And I think we spend a lot of time talking about or we working with a team that’s generating a high salary because it’s one thing to have an extra salary, it’s another thing to build a legacy and build a business that’s a stand alone. And I very much want to work with companies to help them that have that transition of mindset and accomplishment of doing so.

Stone Payton: [00:15:39] So how do you get the work? How does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a person like you, a practice like yours?

Danielle Levey: [00:15:47] Mainly through word of mouth? I was fortunate when I made the shift to working independently. I had an incredible network that really understood who I was and like I said, I’m very, very people forward and I spent a lot of time with the folks in my network and in my community.

Stone Payton: [00:16:07] So as hard as you run and as much as you invest yourself, I got to believe from time to time maybe you start to run out of gas a little bit. Where do you go? And I don’t necessarily mean a physical place, but where do you go to recharge and kind of get re-inspired so you can gear up and serve the next client? What’s your approach to that?

Danielle Levey: [00:16:26] So I do work hard and I would say I probably I’m definitely a workaholic and I love doing it, but I can literally feel my body when I’m not being as productive as as I should. And that is always a cue for me to get outside. And it doesn’t matter if it’s for 15 or 20 minutes to take a walk. It doesn’t matter if I’m able to get away for a little bit longer than that. As soon as I feel myself not being as productive as I should be, I know it’s time to step away and get that. For me, it’s it’s all about the fresh air.

Stone Payton: [00:16:58] But it’s so important that those of us who are leading organizations and trying to serve others, it’s important that we make that that space and that time available to ourselves, isn’t it?

Danielle Levey: [00:17:09] It really is. And, you know, I’ve I was brought up to believe that you work hard all the time and you don’t let your your foot off the gas. And and I still believe that. But I also believe that, you know, it’s important to be effective, efficient and deliver it the highest quality. And we’re all just human. And it took me many years of burnout and really being physically strung out and exhausted to really understand and to see the difference for taking that break versus versus not and to create those boundaries and how important they are for me.

Stone Payton: [00:17:45] Before we wrap, let’s leave our listeners, if we could, with a couple of pro tips, some things that they should be thinking about, reading, doing, not doing in this domain. Number one pro Tip gang is reach out and have a conversation with Danielle. But short of that or prior to that, some things that maybe we ought to be thinking about on some of these topics.

Danielle Levey: [00:18:08] Yeah, I am a believer in always staying in motion. A lot of folks have heard the mantra from tiny acorns, Great oaks grow, right? That’s an age old saying, and I couldn’t believe more in that. Just continuing to take that one next action step. Just saying I just have to find, even if I don’t do the thing, I need to figure out what my next steps are. I need to make that one reach out just to continually stay in motion. Because over time, all of those micro actions really, really build up.

Stone Payton: [00:18:38] Well, I’m glad I asked. I think that’s marvelous, Counsel. All right. What is the best way for our listeners to reach out, have a conversation with you, tap into your work, whatever you feel like is appropriate. Linkedin, email, website, that kind of thing.

Danielle Levey: [00:18:51] Yeah. So my website is Daniel Levy dot com and Instagram is a great way to get in touch with me. I always love DMS and to chat with people directly. It’s Danielle underscore C underscore Levy.

Stone Payton: [00:19:05] Well, Danielle, it has been an absolute delight having you on the show this afternoon. Thank you for sharing your insight and your perspective. This has been informative, inspiring and keep up the good work.

Danielle Levey: [00:19:18] Thank you for having me. I’ve really enjoyed.

Stone Payton: [00:19:20] It. Absolutely. My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Daniel Levy with Daniel Levy and the Boardroom League and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

BRX Pro Tip: Pricing Strategy – Add More Value

January 12, 2023 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Pricing Strategy - Add More Value

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BRX Pro Tip: Pricing Strategy – Add More Value

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, under the heading of pricing strategy, what are some things we should consider beyond just adding more value?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:17] I think it’s important to kind of always be reevaluating your services, and to see if there’s something you can add to an existing service that adds more value that you can sell it for a premium price, five to ten times the price of anything else that you’re offering. And once you do that, then maybe you have the ability to sell it to a larger company, or maybe you can tweak your offering to sell it to another department in a current client’s business. You know, maybe you can offer a bundle, some of your things together. And if you’re working in one area of the company, you can bundle something together to work in another or multiple areas of the same company.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:53] What is it that you can be doing right now that can make whatever service you have or are offering bigger or better or different? Start thinking in terms of adding this premium product to your arsenal in your menu of items. Number one, this will help anchor a higher price and more value in your offerings, which will help your brand and make you seem more valuable and kind of more premium price. And it’ll help your clients see you as they made a good investment. This is kind of the best service provider because they offer these kind of services.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:29] So, you don’t want to kind of keep working on the lower end of the pricing scale. You should always be kind of pushing higher and coming up with more and more expensive services that you can be providing that provide more value that help maybe a larger type client engage with you.

Stone Payton: [00:01:47] Well, I got to tell you – and I’ve learned this from you and our studio partner, John Ray – I’ve witnessed it firsthand, I think there’s some wisdom in paying careful attention to the sequence of the communication. But I have tried to exercise this discipline to some degree. And, initially, in a sales conversation, when we get to that topic, I’ve learned to talk about that premium product service suite, and I think you used a great word for it. That sort of anchors that. And then, if we need to move a little further down the continuum to fit the needs of the client, great. But that does seem to be a much more powerful way to just frame up the entire conversation.

Farrell Middleton with The Bell Curve of Life

January 11, 2023 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

Farrell Middleton with The Bell Curve of Life

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Sponsored by Business RadioX ® Main Street Warriors

Farrell Middleton grew up in Savannah, Georgia as the youngest of four children from a middle-class family, and unfortunately was a product of divorced parents.

He met his wife, Kathy, in high school, they have been together for 42 years and married for 36 years, and they have two adult daughters that live in Atlanta.

He attended Georgia Tech and graduated with honors in four years while receiving a degree in Building Construction. Upon graduation, Farrell entered the homebuilding industry in Atlanta, Georgia and had a very successful 36-year career.

Early last year, the decision was made to pursue his long-awaited second career as a teacher, this has been a lifelong goal He has been loosely working on The Bell Curve of Life concept for many years, and it was finally time to pursue it.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:24] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning. And today’s episode is made possible by the Main Street Warriors program Defending Capitalism, promoting small business and supporting our local community. For more information, go to Main Street Warriors dot org. You guys are in for a real treat this morning. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with the Bell Curve of Life. Mr. Farrell Middleton. Good morning, sir.

Farrell Middleton: [00:00:57] Good morning. Stone. How are you doing today?

Stone Payton: [00:00:59] I am doing well and have really been looking forward to this conversation. I think a great place to start. If we could share with us, if you will, a little bit about mission purpose. What are what are you really out there trying to do for folks, Man?

Farrell Middleton: [00:01:14] All right. Well, my goal with this, I retired from a very long career in production homebuilding just last year. And I’ve always wanted to be a teacher in my second career of some sort. And my desire right now with this program is to basically help people live a better life. I’m going to go very simple here. I want to help them work on overall better attitude, improve problem solving ability, enhance interpersonal communication skills and healthy relationship building. That is what I want to do.

Stone Payton: [00:01:46] So I got to know, man, tell me more about this back story. What compelled you to open up this this next chapter of your life?

Farrell Middleton: [00:01:54] Well, again, after a very successful career, I just wanted to spend my professional time differently. I’m only 58 years old. I got a lot of years left and just desperately wanted to get into the arena of, again, being a teacher, a life coach guide. There are many words to describe it, but then all of them are very appropriate. But I just felt compelled to have my life experiences help other people, and my one of my main focuses is going to be managers in their early thirties and younger. I think I can really help anybody with my program. The materials appropriate for everybody. We’ll get to that in a minute. But managers in their early thirties and younger, they could benefit tremendously from the program that I’ve put together.

Stone Payton: [00:02:42] So have you chosen a niche or to a type of industry, a geographic area.

Farrell Middleton: [00:02:51] Geographic areas here, the Metro Atlanta area? And right now my main focus of business clients is going to be the homebuilding industry. I was in the same industry and the same city for 36 years. Yeah, I know a whole lot of people and they know me. And I can say comfortably, I’ve got a very good reputation in the industry and I feel very comfortable with that. And so that is my current wheelhouse of potential prospects with homebuilders, suppliers, subcontractors, that type of business arrangement. But my program can help anybody. I actually had a two hour session, as I call it, with some Chick-Fil-A folks last week, the International Supply Chain Group. I went in and helped them. They had a one day seminar offsite and I went and helped them a little bit. And I am working with some other companies outside the homebuilding industry so I can help anybody. I really can.

Stone Payton: [00:03:48] So where in your experience, do things sometimes come off the rails or where is there opportunity for more efficiency and effectiveness when people are managing these? What I can only assume are incredibly complex projects.

Farrell Middleton: [00:04:04] Yeah, what basically can happen there is and very quickly, I was a manager at the age of 22 when I started my homebuilding career, and since then I have of course recruited, hired, trained, managed and motivated hundreds of people over the years. And what I have found and I’ve confirmed this with many of my friends that are in business, that with the current employment situation that we’re facing right now, they as business leaders are needing to promote younger individuals maybe a little sooner than they were expecting into a management type of a role. And I witnessed this and experienced it myself in my career as an executive manager. Basically, we just unfortunately, in some cases, that was just the better choice that we had. And some of these younger folks, male, female, you know, doesn’t matter the educational background or whatever the case may be. They just need some guidance in how they just manage their daily life. And my program can help them do that. The program is broken down. I call them topics, and I have what I call sessions and the sessions last 90 minutes. I am very deliberate about that. Everyone’s time is very valuable and basically with the way the world works with phones. And I watches and, you know, iPads, all that kind of stuff. 90 minutes is about the the amount of time somebody can break away for a little while.

Stone Payton: [00:05:32] So are you sharing skills, disciplines, methodologies and then sharing it and then having them practice it with each other? Is it kind of a peer to peer?

Farrell Middleton: [00:05:41] It’s not really a practice thing, but basically it is a group engagement in the session, and my optimum session is ten people in a room with me and we will discuss a topic, for example, for my middle manager category. My favorite topic is there is no wrong answer, which basically means that if a subordinate or employee comes to them with an issue, ask them what is going on. Please give me the facts without any repercussion. They solve the problem together. The manager becomes a better manager with this skill and hopefully the employee becomes a better problem solver along the way. So hopefully we get two things out of that. And the main thing that I’ve got going with me is that the I have my sessions and I have bundled them into what I call a series, which is five sessions, 90 minutes at a time, once every other week on the same day of the week, the same time of day. So maybe Tuesdays at 10:00 or Wednesdays at 4:00 or whatever the case may be. And Stone, I want less than one business day, seven and one half hours of group face time with these people. And I know that I can help them live a better life. I know I can.

Stone Payton: [00:06:55] So at this point, what are you what are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it for you?

Farrell Middleton: [00:07:01] What I’m finding very rewarding is and this was a hope that I had, is that the participants, as I call them, they are learning as much, if not more from each other than they are from me. And so what I’m doing is I’m kind of facilitating the conversation. Again, there’s one topic for that particular session and we will discuss that and I’ll start. I’ll prime the conversation with my experiences related to that topic and basically I’ll kind of get it going. And then I will ask people to participate in the conversation, share their experiences relative to that topic. And so the conversation gets a little, you know, it starts kind of flowing a little bit, that kind of thing. And then what I have found, you know, the first session can be a little bit awkward if people don’t know each other, you know, you know, just that kind of thing. I’m sure you’ve run into that before in your career, but once we get going in the session and then have the second, third and fourth session with the same people, everyone is very comfortable and the conversation flows very nicely. And I believe that people so far have gotten a lot out of this and they’ve been very appreciative of my efforts.

Stone Payton: [00:08:06] So tell us a little bit about the experience of putting the curricula together, because that I mean, that is the that’s the fulcrum, right? You got to have the right stuff. What was that?

Farrell Middleton: [00:08:19] Basically, this is a compilation of my 58 years of being alive. And I’ve got information that goes back to my childhood years on the personal side of things. For example, my topic there about relationship building is Kathy and Farrell had nine parents between them and my wife Kathy. We’ve been together since high school about 40 years ago. But yes, through divorces and remarriages, all that kind of stuff, we ended up with nine parents and that is the basis of the topic for relationship building. And so go back to my childhood years with that. The majority of it as well, of course, is professionally related. And for example, I’ve got material for personal life. I’ve got four categories, personal life, and then three for professional. I’ve got owner, CEO director material, I’ve got middle manager material and I’ve got associate material. And my favorite topic for the owner, CEO director is a performer, C performer, a environment, C environment. And the fundamental of that is that a a C performer in an A environment can become an A performer. A a performer in a C environment will become a C performer or they will leave. Yeah. And so the goal there in helping to guide the owners, leaders of these businesses is number one, work on an a environment, whatever that may be for your business. But the basic fundamental thing there is do you have a clear vision of the desires and goals of the of the company? And do you share that with your staff? And then the next part of this is, as managers, how do you manage your staff on a routine basis for them to be as productive as possible? So you want a performers in a environments and there’s nothing that will stop you from having a great business.

Stone Payton: [00:10:11] So you made a conscious decision to include personal life, life skills. Why did you make that decision and what are some of the topics that you.

Farrell Middleton: [00:10:22] That was a big part of it. And, you know, I think one of the terms that’s been overused a little bit sometimes as work life balance. However, I’m a firm believer in that I worked very hard in my career. All of my friends work very hard. And, you know, you come to find out that stress of work can certainly get to you. But personal life is very, very important. And I’ve worked with some companies where that was a main focus and I’ve worked with others where it was not a main focus. And so when the personal side of things like the relationship building, I start in that I’ve got family relationships, that’s how you do it. And then my other favorite topic that I end the series with is Try to be yourself. Everyone else is taken.

Stone Payton: [00:11:07] I like that. Yeah. By the way, shout out to Kathy. I’m a little intrigued. What was that like when you went home one afternoon and said, you know, I’m going to quit this thing that I’ve been doing for so long, so successfully and I’m going to jump off this cliff over here. What was that like?

Farrell Middleton: [00:11:22] Well, that was kind of interesting, I must say. I think she was a little surprised by it. However, we had had the pleasure, I suppose, of raising two daughters and they both live in Atlanta now. They’re working professionals now, but they were we educated them. They were out of college. One is now married. We’re very pleased with that. But I was at a point in my life where I was just ready for it. And yes, there was a little, little challenge there. Also, I’ll admit it, Hey, I’m a regular guy like everybody else. And we’ve been together, like I said, for 42 years, married for 36. But she is my best friend, my soulmate and my biggest supporter. And it didn’t take too long to get her on board with it.

Stone Payton: [00:12:03] So moving into this line of work, did some things surprise you? Did you come across I don’t know if you would characterize them as myths or, you know, it’s not really quite like it is. I thought it might be like this. And it’s more like that as you’re as you’re starting to do this kind of work.

Farrell Middleton: [00:12:16] Well, I think what I’m coming to find is that everyone let’s take our business leaders and owners. And I’ve got friends that work for Home Depot, for example. And like I said, I’ve got my Chick fil A friends, and I’ve got some very good friends that work in the waste management business. And what I am coming to find is that they all have the same issues relative to personnel management growth of their employees. You wouldn’t call it training. Again, I think training is very, very important, but my training is on life skills. And what I have come to find surprisingly, is that everyone’s got the same challenges out there. And it was a remarkable when I did my Chick fil A thing last week, the similarities between Chick fil A opening restaurants and builders, opening neighborhoods. There were some extremely close parallels. And I was I was just very surprised that other that was that was what I found. And, you know, they they get all kinds of supplies from all kinds of different places. And they end up in one spot, that being the restaurants. And they serve the product to the customer, similar to home building where we get a lot of products and they get assembled on site and we they converge to a spot where we deliver a house for a customer. And so I think I’m going to be coming to find that out quite a bit. But again, getting back to the main thing for this is that over the last several years in all of my business relationships and I had, I’ve got a ton of relationships with folks outside my direct companies against suppliers, subcontractors, county government that I’ve dealt with as well. They all have these similar challenges of how do they help their employees just be better employees, and I want to help them be better employees, better managers, better directors, that kind of thing.

Stone Payton: [00:14:07] So how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a practice like this, a business? Like, how do you get to have conversations like this with someone in charge who can at least consider engaging you?

Farrell Middleton: [00:14:19] Okay, well, well, basically that’s where the networking thing comes in. And again, like I said, I know a lot of people in the homebuilding industry here in Atlanta and, you know, and surrounding areas. Last company I was with, we did some work in Alabama as well, had a couple of neighborhoods over there. But what I found myself doing is getting out face to face. I’ve joined the Atlanta Homebuilders Association as an associate member. I go to a lot of their social events. I go to the board meetings, that kind of thing. And I’ve just let people know what I’m doing. And I’m going to a remodelers association event this evening. So I am just getting out face to face, introducing myself. And obviously I’ve got some marketing literature that I’ve got that I send out specifically once I introduce myself to someone. And basically it’s a matter of engaging, again, ownership CEO director in my services and the value that I can provide to them and their organization.

Stone Payton: [00:15:12] And you do have to get them engaged, right? I mean, if you don’t, they’ll train them quicker and you train them, they you.

Farrell Middleton: [00:15:18] Might be right about that. I want to be careful there. But yes, I think you’re absolutely correct. But. The principles of what I have put together back to where the where this came from. The principles are timeless. What I have put together can be reviewed in one year, five years or 20 years, and the fundamentals will still be the same. Like, for example, in relationship building with a in a professional environment, my first tip to the folks that I get in front of is return every phone call, email or text in an appropriate time frame. If you can do that, then people will recognize you as someone that they can take seriously, will be a problem solver, will communicate well no matter whether it’s good, bad or indifferent news. Respond back to people and you will find yourself in a totally different place professionally.

Stone Payton: [00:16:10] And it sounds so simple, but it sends so many critical messages when you exercise that discipline, doesn’t it?

Farrell Middleton: [00:16:17] It does. It does. Yeah. These the concepts here, they are simple concepts, but they can be complicated as life unfolds. You know, people have to wake up every day. And, you know, one of my topics as well is there are five workdays in a week. You’re going to have one good, really good day, three good days and one day that you would wish you could forget. But your day starts when you pull your head up off your pillow and we kind of just go through what are the things that make a day unfold. And the best thing you’ve got is your attitude. It is the facet in life that dictates whether you will be successful or happy or content or whatever it is. If you have a good attitude, no one can take that away from you. And that’s where it starts.

Stone Payton: [00:17:03] So if I’m a senior executive in an organization that might be a good prospective client for you, what are some signs that I ought to at least reach out and have a conversation with you? What are some symptoms or things that I might be seeing that indicate, you know what, I probably ought to reach out and at least have a conversation referral.

Farrell Middleton: [00:17:21] Okay. A few of those signs would be let’s take a company with, you know, 100 employees. And that was the size company that dealt with mostly my career, and that’s the SAS companies I was with. They will have a few vice presidents over different departments, that kind of thing. And of course, you know, staff levels going down there, some assistant managers, that kind of thing. Number one for the business owner are is that executive management level? Are they getting along well? You know, are they on the same page? Do they share your mission of what you want, the goals of your organization to be? And then below them, the same thing. And one thing that can happen very quickly and easily, and nobody’s blamed for any of this stuff. Stone Let me be clear. No one’s to blame for it, but it’s just the way that human nature works. But I call it what’s the silo effect where a department of people in a company, they focus on what they do. For example, in production, home building, you have your internal operations department, the purchasing, estimating architecture people, and then you have your on site construction staff.

Farrell Middleton: [00:18:24] If those two departments aren’t getting along well, it’s going to be a tough draw to get those houses built. It really will. And so those folks have to be on the same page. And that is a that’s a big, big issue. And again, in my conversations with folks, as I have been doing this for the last seven months, I have found that they’re saying, yeah, yeah, gosh, now that I think about it, my folks really could get along a little bit better. They could communicate a little bit better. And one thing as well that I’ve noticed back to your question a few minutes ago, in companies departments, they are their own internal customers. And if they don’t act like they are their own internal customers and they have to service that, then again, you’re going to have some problems that yours are going to grind and things like that. And if you don’t have that inside your company, then how in the world can you produce a good product for your customer in order to be a good are you good to that customer? If if you don’t have good internal customers in your departments?

Stone Payton: [00:19:22] So over the seven months that you described, are you finding that leaders are embracing the idea?

Farrell Middleton: [00:19:28] They are. Without a doubt. It’s it’s new. And I’ve always got the economic situations again. For example, home building is kind of slowed down a little bit. We all know, you know, with the interest rates and that kind of thing. But basically the feedback have gotten has been very, very strong. And I think it’s just a matter of can they commit the either their time And again, I got material for owners as well and I would love to get directly with owners.

Stone Payton: [00:19:55] Yeah.

Farrell Middleton: [00:19:56] And I’ve got all the stuff on my website of course with what I’ve got broken down. But you know, basically it’s just a matter of convincing them that if I can get less than one business day overall in an eight week period with their staff, they will perform better. And that’s that’s the task that I’ve got, is how do I convince those people to do that? And my, my, my material is it’s good quality. It is. And it’s a very fair price as well. We’ll talk about that in a few minutes, I’m sure. But yeah, it’s a good program.

Stone Payton: [00:20:26] Yeah. Let’s talk about fee structure and maybe dive into a little bit about some, at least at the headline level, some of the key components of the material, if that makes sense.

Farrell Middleton: [00:20:35] Absolutely. Absolutely. So yeah, the cost structure is very simple. Like I said, I’ve got a five session traditional series, which is 590 minute sessions. That’s $500 a person. Basically, the simple math is $100 a person for an hour and a half, you know, in a group setting. And then I do have an executive leadership series as well that I’m working on promoting, which is a meeting once a month, the same 90 minutes and again the 90 minutes. I have talked with educators at Kennesaw State University about. That’s about the maximum span of a session for learning and that kind of thing, just the way people are wired these days. But anyway, the executive session, again, it’s $600. There are six sessions of 90 minutes each and it’s $600. And then as well, what I’m also offering are my services for one or two hour sessions with either monthly or quarterly staff meetings. Like I mentioned, the Chick fil A, and it was an offsite retreat for this particular buying group. And then as well, trade associations with their with their, you know, quarterly meetings or whatever the case may be.

Farrell Middleton: [00:21:42] I’d love to be a guest speaker there. And so I’ve got I got that. But, you know, I’m flexible, I’m available. And, you know, some of the material, like I said, I’ve got material for personal life. We’ve already talked about the relationship building with my family situation. And then as well, try to be yourself. Everyone else is taken. And actually, it’s funny, I read that on the outside fireplace side of the volunteer fire department in Hickory Flat, Georgia, about 20 something years ago. It’s never left me. And then as well, I already mentioned for managers, my favorite topic is there is no wrong answer for the ownership. Again, I think I might have mentioned this. Maybe not, but anyone can hold the hill when the sea is calm. And that is absolutely true. True leadership comes out when things don’t go as planned. And how do owners, CEOs, directors handle that in making sure that, you know, they might be churning on the inside, but they have to let their people know they’re in control?

Stone Payton: [00:22:40] Yeah, I would think that coming back and and sharing some of the experience that folks have had and relating it to some of the topics that we talked about last time, I would think that would be invaluable, particularly and sharing the stories with each other, right?

Farrell Middleton: [00:22:55] Yes, it is. And a couple of the groups that I’ve had so far, one was a grouping of ten people and they were from four different companies. There was an HVAC company, a sheetrock company, an insulation company and an erosion control company. And again, these are all folks that I’ve dealt with in my career. And so I had some ins, so we had this fantastic group of these ten people that came from different companies all in the same industry. They had the same challenges every day of how do we provide our finished product to the customer, which is the builder. But it was just a fascinating exercise. And again, as the sessions unfolded, everybody got more comfortable talking and that kind of thing. Another one I did was with a specific homebuilding company based here in Woodstock, Georgia, right down the street from here, Tony Perry’s company. Tony Tony’s a great guy. And so I did some work with eight or ten of his employees over a five session period. And we did talk a lot of specifics about internal workings of homebuilding and, you know, skill sets, priorities, policies, procedures, that kind of thing. And they all got a bunch out of it as well.

Stone Payton: [00:24:04] So I hadn’t thought about that. But so so there’s the in-house committed program for for an organization, and there’s this more open enrollment opportunity where.

Farrell Middleton: [00:24:13] Yes, there is, Yeah, yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:24:15] I could see advantages in both.

Farrell Middleton: [00:24:17] There are advantages to both. And basically what I’ve got and again, there are over 90 topics in my portfolio. Wow. I’ve scripted 20 of them so far. Those are the ones that I focus on. I’ve got five of those topics per category, like I mentioned, personal in three professional categories. And what I’ve done as well, I’ve mixed and matched topics from the, the different categories for a particular group, like I’ll have one for the personal side of things combined with a middle manager topic or two, and then with a traditional staff level topic or two or something like that. So I am very flexible with this.

Stone Payton: [00:24:51] Well, congratulations on the momentum, man. It seems like you’ve got an awful lot of good stuff going. You’re making the right connections. You’re beginning to help the right kind of folks. Before we wrap, let’s leave our listeners with a couple of pro tips. I mean, number one, pro tip game is reach out and have a conversation with Farrell. But you mentioned one pro tip earlier, but maybe just a couple of other things that they should be beginning to think about. Read about.

Farrell Middleton: [00:25:15] Absolutely. Let’s let’s take one and I mentioned earlier about the, you know, professional contact getting back to folks. Let’s take one on the managerial managing your time. Let’s put it that way. One of my topics is Friday. Pm Did I have a good week? This is going to be an excellent topic for me as I move forward. I’m going to use it quite a bit. And basically the goal here is that the at the end of your workweek and let’s say it’s a typical Monday through Friday workweek on Friday afternoon, Saturday or Sunday, reflect back to see how you did that week and then before the next workweek starts, you want to identify the have twos and the want twos. My topics are very simple, as we’ve already discussed. And so in everybody’s professional life, no matter what they do, the next week is filled with the half twos. The thing. So just have to get done daily, weekly or routinely. And then what you need to do is fill that in with some want to’s. The things that are sitting on the corner of your desk or in the back of your mind that you know, you need to get to at some point in time, but you just can’t find the time to do it. The way to have a productive week is, number one, get all the have twos done and an extra productive week is if you can throw in one or two, one twos, whatever that may be, just just decide what it is. And if you can get that done, then you will have an extra successful week. It’s very simple stuff, very simple, but it’s hard for people to focus on it on a routine basis.

Stone Payton: [00:26:38] Yeah, I’m glad I asked.

Farrell Middleton: [00:26:40] Well, there you go.

Stone Payton: [00:26:41] All right, man. What is the best way for folks to reach out? Learn more about tap into your work, maybe have a conversation with you, website, LinkedIn, email, whatever you feel like is appropriate.

Farrell Middleton: [00:26:51] Sure, sure. So basically the website is the Bell curve of Life dot com. My email address is Ferrell at the Bell curve of Life. That’s F as in Frank a r e. L l at the bell curve of life. My cell phone number which I give out, I give this out to my homeowners over the years. I wouldn’t scare. I’m not scared of anybody. My cell is six, 786182024. I’m available by phone or text as well. And LinkedIn, it’s under Pharell Middleton, Facebook, Pharrell, Middleton and that’s how anybody can get in touch with me. And as I mentioned earlier, if you get in touch with me, I’m going to get back in touch with you because that’s the way to be a good professional.

Stone Payton: [00:27:33] Well, Ferrell, it has been an absolute delight having you on the show today. Thank you for coming in and joining us and sharing your insight and your perspective. Congratulations on the on the early momentum and keep up the good work.

Farrell Middleton: [00:27:46] Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you. And my last statement here is the only thing I’m truly an expert on is being me. Let me be very clear. And I’ve channeled my 58 years of personal professional life into this program, and I just want to share that with people, to have them live a better life. And we’re going to have a lot of fun while we do it as well. It’s a very casual environment and basically I’m so excited about it. I’m having a great time.

Stone Payton: [00:28:09] Well, I can tell your enthusiasm just comes on over the airwaves and here in person. And I’m just thrilled for you and delighted to to have you in our circle here at Business Radio X, man.

Farrell Middleton: [00:28:20] Thank you. All right. Well, thank you very much, Stone. I really, really appreciate the time.

Stone Payton: [00:28:23] Absolutely. My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guests today, Ferrell, Middleton and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.

BRX Pro Tip: 2 Questions Your Website Must Answer

January 11, 2023 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: 2 Questions Your Website Must Answer

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BRX Pro Tip: 2 Questions Your Website Must Answer

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, when it comes to crafting an effective, productive website, there are probably a lot of considerations, but there are absolutely two questions that your website must answer.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:19] Yeah. You have to be pretty direct about this and you have to be pretty obvious about this. This shouldn’t be hidden with creativity and cleverness. It should be really obvious and simple for the people coming to your website to find.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] But two of the questions your website has to answer are, number one, What problem does your service solve for your ideal prospect? Does it save them time or does it make them money? That problem has to be there and the answer to it also has to be there.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:48] And within that answer, the other question your website must answer is, Why are you uniquely qualified to solve their problem? And this is an area where testimonials work, case studies work, and that will be a lot more persuasive than you just telling them how great you are, or how long you’ve been doing this, or how many years of service that your whole team has had. That stuff doesn’t matter.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:16] The people coming to your website are searching for answers to basic questions, and if they don’t have a satisfactory answer, they are not going to contact you. More and more people are relying on websites just to do their first line of defense when it comes to research. So, your website has to answer those questions. What is it the problem you solved and why should they pick you. If they don’t get that answer, if it’s not crystal clear, they will not contact you. They’re just going to just move on to another website that can possibly help them solve the problem they’re looking to solve.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:53] So, focusing on the basics and then add all that jazz hand creativity to it after. But you’ve got to answer these basic questions if you want any traffic and any kind of success coming from your website.

New Podcast Intake Form

January 10, 2023 by angishields

Dereck Jensen with Jensen’s Precision Power Washing

January 9, 2023 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

Dereck Jensen with Jensen's Precision Power Washing

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Dereck Jensen is the owner operator at Jensen’s Precision Power Washing and restoration.

He is a Canton resident, and all around great guy.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:05] Coming to you live from the Business RadioX studio in Woodstock, Georgia. This is fearless formula with Sharon Cline.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:19] And welcome to a fearless formula Friday. And I’m your host, Sharon Cline. We talk about the ups and downs of the business industry and offer words of wisdom for business success. And I’m very excited to speak to my guests today in this studio. He is the owner manager, CEO of Jensen’s Precision Power Washing. He’s been here in Georgia for five years, but he is a transplant from Boston. And you’re going to hear it because I’m from Massachusetts, too. And it’s like I’m talking to family here, so I can’t wait to introduce you to Derek Jensen. Hello.

Dereck Jensen: [00:00:53] Hello. And thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it. It’s awesome to be here. We really love what you do with inside of Cherokee County, promoting all the small businesses and bringing them on and just networking and bringing everyone together, getting one together. It’s an awesome experience. It’s kind of like my first little podcast too, so really? Yeah, this is great. This is awesome.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:12] Oh, I’m so happy to have you. And it’s it’s a joy too, because we get to really get to know the people behind the business. It’s not just a business name, it’s your story. And that’s one of the joys I have about doing this show is is being able to connect someone with the person behind the business. So you get to know why someone’s doing what they’re doing and what their philosophies are, and then you become like real. It’s not just in their head, you know? I love that. And that’s why I’d love to have this conversation with you. And it’s funny, when we talked on the phone briefly, I was like, Man, this is like talking to my brother. You know, it’s I just love your accent.

Dereck Jensen: [00:01:45] It’s the pressure washing guy from Boston.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:50] That was awesome. Good for you. Yeah. So I find it kind of just interesting to think that you chose Woodstock, You know, out of any city you could have come to. So can you tell me a little bit about what brought you here from Boston?

Dereck Jensen: [00:02:01] Sure. Five years ago, I had decided to change my life around and make some real changes that needed to happen. You know, so many times in life, things happen to people and it gets them down and gets them in a place that gets them in a bad place. And they just they know people, places and things need to change, but they just don’t have the courage or the fortitude to make that happen. Quite frankly, I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired. And so I changed people, places and things. I left Boston with the clothes on my back and came down here to Georgia and started fresh.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:33] What brought you to the city is specifically Woodstock.

Dereck Jensen: [00:02:37] There was really no rhyme or reason behind that. God kind of worked his magic. I really owe everything to him. I live by the phrase that Boston raised me and Georgia saved me. And I mean that. I mean that wholeheartedly. Because if it wasn’t for a an opportunity, for a blessing to happen, I wouldn’t be here. Buddy of mine had hernia surgery and it was pretty bad. His body had rejected the mess three separate times. And so he needed help, big help. So me being in the position I was, him being the position he was and we had been friends forever. So we trust each other. We knew each other. He said, Look, I need someone to come into my home and take care of things that I can trust. And you’re the only one I trust. Wow. And so I said, Say no more. I’m common. This is old school friendship. I’m coming. You call me. I’m coming the same way I run my business. You’ve got a problem. I got a solution. I’m coming. So I came down to Georgia, stayed with him six, seven months. And that’s all it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be. Come down here and help him get his stuff right. Get him healed up, get him back on his feet and back to whatever it was going to be. But being down here and having that conversation with him, meeting people here in Georgia, seeing what Georgia was all about, and I just I just couldn’t leave. I just I knew I was home. I couldn’t.

Sharon Cline: [00:04:01] Leave. I think that’s so interesting. It’s just this notion that there isn’t sometimes you’re being led and you don’t know that you’re being led or things work out just sort of perfectly when you’re not really trying to plan it so hard or you’re trying to plan something else. And it’s just not. I always find those stories fascinating because life just unfolds.

Dereck Jensen: [00:04:19] Sometimes it does. And before you can even realize what’s happened and it’s already happening to you. And that’s the beauty of it. That’s that’s really the magic behind God himself is you don’t know, you know, when it’s your time, it’s your time, and he’ll let you know. And that was kind of like the biggest part for me is I was never really a religious guy. You know, religion was just something that wasn’t. You know, they’re for us. But coming down here and seeing it and experiencing it and learning, it was just awesome, you know? I never in my life thought that I would say to myself, Oh, I’m saved or this or that. But I am absolutely so proud to say that I’m saved and I’m a Christian man now. It’s just it’s just been great. And again, that’s something that helped my life, too. You know, the transformation coming from Boston to Georgia down here and then the transformation spiritually has helped me grow into the man that is behind this business today, behind all the ethics, behind this business. Everything comes through prayer. Everything. We don’t do nothing unless we pray about it around here.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:38] Well, so how how is it different culturally here from Boston, do you think? Was it a surprise to you how different people were, or are we all the same?

Dereck Jensen: [00:05:47] Can we cuss on the air?

Sharon Cline: [00:05:48] Sure.

Dereck Jensen: [00:05:49] You got a little BLEEP me out there.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:51] Maybe we’ll.

Dereck Jensen: [00:05:51] See. So I’m going to tell you, this is funny, but this is a real story. So the biggest thing for me was I realized culturally, I was in a like on the moon pretty much.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:00] You felt here in Georgia?

Dereck Jensen: [00:06:01] Yeah. This is this is kind of what happened to me. I was always here. And bless your heart, you know, because I’m running around like a not out here. And so I’d knock people’s carriages over in the store or something, you know, just because I’m I’m a Bostonian, I’m fast paced, everything fast, fast, fast. And I just I hadn’t slowed down yet. Right. And so I was getting bless your heart, all over the place. And I had no idea what it meant.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:26] How do you think?

Dereck Jensen: [00:06:27] I thought they were praying for me. I really thought they were praying for me. So I come home one night and, you know, I’m changing out Greg’s bandages and things like that. And we’re having the conversation. And I says to him, I said, Man, this place is great. I really and this is about three months in now. I said, I don’t think I’m going to go home. He’s like, What do you mean? This this place is awesome. He said, Well, tell me what’s going on? And I said, Well, Greg, listen, I got to tell you, like, you know, I’m kind of a space shot when I’m looking for something and I’m shopping, I’m in the store, I just want to get what I want to get and I want to get out so I can be a little obnoxious. I said, I knocked this lady’s cart over in the store the other day and her stuff went everywhere. I said, So know I’m trying to pick it up, trying to help her. I’m apologizing. And she says, Don’t worry, bless your heart. And it was like a fourth time I heard it. After I’ve done something stupid, I’m like, These people are great. Like you screw up and they just pray for you. So I knew I was in a good place. And when I said that, he just started laughing and he’s like, You’re such an asshole. He’s like, I got a hernia and you’re making me laugh. Like, that’s not what’s supposed to happen right now. So he’s like, You dummy, They’re not praying for you. They’re telling you to go, you know, yourself. And I said, No way. And he said, Yeah, absolutely. And so nice ways, right? You know, And so and that’s exactly it. So I said, no way. And he had to show it to me. And when he proved it to me that that’s kind of the slang behind that, I was like, You know what, Greg? Hey, listen, if that’s really what that means, it sounds so great. I might just go try it. So here I am. I stayed.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:49] I know. I consider New England. That’s like my one of my homes anyway. And. And just the like. I love that when we’re here in Georgia. It’s such a contrast to be able to speak to someone when you’re waiting in line somewhere or you know, you’re about to get coffee and you’re speaking to the person behind, they want to talk to you. It’s not the same in New England. Not that that’s bad. It’s just a difference.

Dereck Jensen: [00:08:12] It really is. I mean, that southern hospitality, it’s it’s real. It’s not a joke. It’s not a cliche. It’s not just a saying. It’s it’s something these folks down here really live by. And the rest of the world could use it, to be quite honest with you. I mean, this is just a great place, you know, to touch on. Why Woodstock? Basically what I realize is being from a city, I knew one thing. I didn’t want to be in another city. Like, that was just the biggest thing. And when I saw what Cherokee County had to offer, I said, okay, we’re 45 minutes an hour north of the city, so not a big deal. Shoot right down 75. You’re right there. Not a big deal. Cherokee County has a lot of small town country feel. You know, you go through Woodstock, Holly Springs, Canton, up into Jasper, up in the ball ground Alaska. You go up into all those areas. Also, those are my areas I cover when I work in. So I see them all. Excellent. But when you get up in these areas, it’s just there’s there’s a multitude of convenience, but yet it’s got that down home country feel and it’s back roads and it’s you know, it’s a healthy, healthy environment. Last time I checked, this was last year. But when I looked at some of the statistics. Cherokee County is one of the most. Wealthiest, booming counties in Georgia. This little honey hole that we’re in is really doing some big things. And that was super attractive to me as well. And I said, okay, well, I’m looking to do big things. Let’s go with it. Doing big things and let’s do big things together.

Sharon Cline: [00:09:55] So what brought you to pressure washing?

Dereck Jensen: [00:09:58] This is an awesome story.

Sharon Cline: [00:09:59] I love awesome stories.

Dereck Jensen: [00:10:01] So I was working for Custom Homes, building custom subdivisions, and I was managing five different builds in three different subdivisions. It was a lot. I was getting up at about 430 in the morning and I wasn’t ending my day until about 1030, 11:00 at night. This was Monday through Sunday, and it was just a nightmare. Constantly going, go and going, go and going. And three years of that, I burnt myself out. I just I literally burnt myself out. So I had had I had had a talk with the owners of the company, and I let them know. I said, Hey, listen, you know, we’re going to have to either do something different or this is where I’m going to have to go my own way because I’m getting burnt out. I can’t I can’t keep. Doing what you need me to do effectively. With the load that I have on me. So we’re going to need to do some things to take that off of me so I can continue to do what I do effectively. Or I’m just going to have to step aside because I’m not going to half ass anything. And that was like a three week back and forth conversation. And we just we agreed to disagree on some things and parted ways. On my way home from that, I stopped to get gas pulled in the gas station and I’m pumping my gas and this truck rolls in with this trailer on it.

Dereck Jensen: [00:11:25] Now, this is about 830 at night, 930 at night. It’s dark. And this truck pulls in with this trailer behind it and it’s lit up like the tanks that lit up neon green. And it’s got all this stuff going on. And I’m thinking a circle just rolled into town, you know, here’s a circus. Where’s the elephants? Popcorn, peanuts, cotton candy. I’m just what is this? And and so when over talk to him, strike up a conversation, just ask him. I said, What is this? What do you do? He’s like, Oh, it’s a pressure washer rig. I said, Pressure washing. What is that? And he started to explain it and, you know, I took a real interest. I said, Listen, can I get your information? Can I come watch like what you do? Can I come see this? Because what you’re saying, I can’t register, it’s not registered and I need to see it. And the gentleman’s name was Jason Annesley out of NZ. He is out of Rome, Georgia. I want to give him a big plug. Thank you, Jay. He’s kind of my mentor. He said. Sure, come on. So I went on watch him do a job and just I knew it. I said, There it is. That’s, that’s, that’s what I’ve been called to do this. This is my calling. I knew it right away.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:35] It’s just so crazy that if you weren’t in that exact spot and that exact moment, you may not have had any inspiration to be able to find out what this is, you know? But because this truck came in, it inspired you, and now it’s led you to a completely different path. How cool is that?

Dereck Jensen: [00:12:50] Again, You know, we talked about it earlier. This is God’s divine timing. You know, I had no idea. I just left the job. I just quit a job, basically, and, you know, had no idea what I was going to do. But he did. You know, he did. And so after talking with Jason a little bit, going on that first job, watching him and getting some real knowledge, I just basically told him, I said, Jason, look, you don’t have a choice. You’re going to teach me this like I’m going to be successful in this. And Jason was awesome. You know, I can’t I can’t thank them enough. He took me right under his wing. He said, okay, go get some equipment, hop shot. And so I said, okay, well, what do I go by? And so he, you know, he kind of helped me along the process. The first year in business, it was a huge learning curve because to be honest with you, I really didn’t know what I was doing.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:38] But I feel like that’s important for all of our listeners is to if they have an idea and they’re not sure even where to start, that’s how it all works. You just try to figure out what you’d like to do and then almost work backwards. And so what kind of things could you tell someone like, what did you do? You have to get an LLC or a DBA or whatever it is. Set up your own business. How did you do it? Did you Google? Because that’s how I did to do my voiceover work.

Dereck Jensen: [00:14:02] I use Google and YouTube if I’m being completely honest and total transparent with you and all the listeners, Google and YouTube, those are the two things. If it wasn’t for those two platforms.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:16] Like where do you start?

Dereck Jensen: [00:14:17] This would never happen and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But the biggest thing for me was. Just being able to ignore the fear. Right. Know, holding my nose. No, getting scared that it’s a deep end and I may not be able to swim. None of that. I just jumped all in.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:37] Oh, how did you do it? Because the show is fearless formula for that reason. To encourage people to know that fear is a universal emotion. But it can hold you back. Right? And this is what I love about this show, is giving people an inside look into how someone managed, whether they had a good year or a bad year. What was it like for you during the pandemic? Did you almost not survive? You know, how do you deal with the anxieties and fears that come with the financial pressure of having a business? So how did you get to that feeling of I know there’s fear here, I mean, you’re jumping. How did you do it?

Dereck Jensen: [00:15:18] I mean, everyone’s different. Everyone has their own little thing. I guess you either reach a point in your life where you’re ready for that or you don’t. Like I said earlier, for me, it was I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I already made the move to Georgia and started myself and established myself for three years here. So it was a little bit easier for me to do that again because I had just done it with success. I left Boston, came to Georgia, built a really good thing with Tig. Custom Homes, established a name for myself. And saw what that did for me.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:57] So you built on some of your past successes to give you to bolster you, I guess to have.

Dereck Jensen: [00:16:02] Right. It was pretty much like, okay, we we can we can swim in the shallow end. We know that we’ve done that. Let’s let’s jump off the diving board now.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:09] I love that. I mean, I think more people would really pursue their dreams if they kind of had that feeling of, you know, let me just see what happens. Let me just be. Just have courage.

Dereck Jensen: [00:16:20] Well, here’s the thing. You can’t be afraid to fail. Okay. That’s that’s the biggest thing. Number one, you can’t be afraid to fail. I guess that’s the main fear is, Oh, my God, what if I fail? Now change that. Oh, my God. What if I don’t try? Just change that.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:37] Well, there’s there’s this sort I don’t know, for myself when I haven’t tried something, I have, like, already I have almost like, a guilt about it. So I feel like either way, I’m going to fail or I’m going to have a guilt because I didn’t try. There’s like not a win at all there, you know?

Dereck Jensen: [00:16:53] Well, I do. But here’s the thing. If you don’t try, then you don’t fail. And if you don’t fail, then you don’t have another chance to get up to try again. So what do you really lose if you fail? Nothing. You gain everything. There’s nothing to lose in failure and there’s everything to gain in failure. So why not? Why not try?

Sharon Cline: [00:17:13] Such good words. I love that.

Dereck Jensen: [00:17:16] Derrick, Thank you very much.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:17] You’re welcome. We’re going to talk a little bit about your business. We have some I had some questions that I wanted to ask you. And specifically, there’s there are things I don’t know as a layperson who imagining myself, wanting to find a pressure washing company, there’s a difference between a pressure washing company and an exterior cleaning solutions company. Can you explain to me?

Dereck Jensen: [00:17:39] Sure. So basically what we have is everyone knows this as the pressure washing industry, when someone needs their house or their driveway or their roof done, you Google whatever you know, they’ll go on next door or they’ll go on Cherokee connect. There’s a little plug for Cherokee Connect. Thank you. And you know, they’ll put in looking for my driveway clean or looking for whatever they’re looking for, for pressure. It’s pressure Washing is the word that the public knows, right? So that’s the top of the umbrella. But under that, you have a lot of different realms within the industry. Pressure washing is kind of died off. The name has stuck, but but the actual process is dead because pressure is bad. High pressure is bad. High pressure is going to break stuff, damaged stuff, rip stuff apart. Soft washing. Replace pressure. Washing five years ago.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:34] It’s just as effective, soft washing.

Dereck Jensen: [00:18:37] It’s more effective because it reduces the pressure to something similar of a garden hose.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:44] But it gets all of that.

Dereck Jensen: [00:18:46] But it’s able to yes, you’re able to deliver a solution that gets all that off. So you basically saw what soft washing did to the pressure washing industry. Was it basically eliminated the risk overnight? Of damage from pressure immediately, it eliminated that risk immediately. So within the industry, of course, businesses jumped right on that because that’s a way to know.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:17] Protection of the company, right?

Dereck Jensen: [00:19:19] Well, yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:19] And property.

Dereck Jensen: [00:19:20] But the most important part of that is its efficiency within the company. Now you’re operating a much more efficient basis. And when you’re. More efficient, you’re more productive. And when you’re more productive, you’re more profitable.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:34] Is it does it use less water? Because in my mind pressure washing has like just this, this speed to it and power behind it. And then but if it’s soft washing, I’m imagining it. You don’t even use as much water.

Dereck Jensen: [00:19:47] So there’s, there’s two different methods of actually soft washing. When soft washing first come out, it was done through a 12 volt system with a pump and the most you could get was five gallons a minute of flow, which is basically a little bit more than the water spigot that comes out the side of your house. A little bit more than that, the water spigot that comes out of the side of your house, that’s roughly 3 to 5 gallons flow per minute. Very rarely do you see five out of your water spigots. It’s more like three and a half, four gallons a minute. The the 12 volt pumps. They can come in one and a half gallons a minute, two and a half gallons a minute, three and a half gallons a minute. Four and a half gallons a minute or five and a half gallon a minute. Just recently, they they came out with a ten gallon a minute pump. That still kind of it’s been out for a year. It’s still kind of in its phases. The bugs are being worked out of it. Some companies swear by them and love them. Other companies just haven’t had much luck with them. And then some are in the middle of the road about it. It’s it’s one of those products that I truly believe that the companies that are manufacturing them like Northern Tool and things like that Sheriff lo ever flow they’ll get the bugs worked out by the end of this year and I’m sure those pumps will be much more effective.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:05] Do you feel like you need to explain this to people who ask you about your pressure washing business? Like I want you to pressure wash this and if you have a different way that you do it, do you explain what this is?

Dereck Jensen: [00:21:15] The only time I find myself getting into that and it’s all the time, is when I have to give them the price of the quote.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:21] Got you.

Dereck Jensen: [00:21:22] Right. Because you got a lot of guys coming around out here that are charging $99, $100 to wash your driveway. And then I come in and I tell her it’s going to be 4 to 600 to wash her driveway. Why? And so then I got to explain. Okay, well, you have these types of stains. Some are organic, some are non organic. These are the chemicals that are going to cost you to take them out. And this is what they cost. So I have to go down and break down the whole process of what I do, how I do it. And usually at that point, it’s it’s an easy sale. The biggest thing is I’m using hot water. Oh, wow. So. Pressure washing company, soft wash companies. It’s it’s all cold water.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:12] Right from my house or whatever.

Dereck Jensen: [00:22:13] Right. Or from a tank that they filled up with from your hose. It’s all cold water with me. I’m using a separate machine. The water is fed to the machine. The machine then pumps it through a coil in a diesel burner, which I can heat it up to up to 290 degrees Fahrenheit. So I’m not only cleaning, but I’m disinfecting also. Wow. At the same time.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:40] So every time I think of hot water is being something that you clean with, of course, it feels like it’s going to do a better job. So that must be a really important point to be able to mention to your customers what kind of stains you can get out by using hot water.

Dereck Jensen: [00:22:54] Exactly right. It’s it’s a combination of the hot water, the application of the product that we’re using to remove the stain, and then that makes up for about 20% of it, the other 80% of skill set.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:12] Which you’ve honed over three years.

Dereck Jensen: [00:23:14] Then again, I got to give a plug to Jason Ainslie at NZ Exteriors and Greg Townsend up at Townsend under pressure, and Dalton did the other two exterior cleaning solutions company in Georgia. There’s only three of us in North Georgia anyway. There’s only three of us. Only three. There’s only three in North Georgia. I’m the only one in Cherokee County. And like I said, they’ve been great. They’ve been awesome business mentors, business friends. Just, you know, they saw what I had. They saw the drive and they’re like, okay, well, we’re not going to make this easy on you, but if you want to learn, we’ll teach. And so that’s how that’s kind of gone for us. And that’s kind of where it is. You know, you you meet people, you find the best in your industry, and you try to model a business plan, something similar to that because it’s successful, it works, it’s effective. And that’s in a sense what I’ve done. And I owe everything to those two guys.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:09] Well, if you’re just joining us, I’m speaking to Derek Jensen of Jensen’s Precision Power Washing. I wanted to ask you another question to I mean, we talk about a lot in this as we network and meet different people in Cherokee County and their businesses. A lot of businesses want to give back in some ways. And we had briefly spoken about that. So would you like to talk a little bit about what you’re interested in doing in that regard?

Dereck Jensen: [00:24:34] Sure. So one of the big things is community is everything an old timer taught me years and years ago. My first job was shining shoes in a bathroom at eight years old.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:46] In a bar. Yeah. So Boston? Yeah.

Dereck Jensen: [00:24:48] We didn’t do school.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:51] You did? School of Life.

Dereck Jensen: [00:24:53] Exactly. Hard knocks. Anyway, so an old time at one time it said to me, Now you need to understand something. If you take care of your community, your community will take care of you. And that stuck. I was eight years old, but that stuck and it stuck with me all the way up till today. And again, Cherokee County has been so, so good to me. I just. It’s on my heart, you know, It’s been on my heart for for a little bit now the past few days. It’s it’s been really, really on air. And I got to do something about it. So what I’d like to do is I’m trying to reach out to any type of group, home foster home, institution, boys home, anything like that, where these youthful young kids are really up against it and unreachable. I want to come in and talk to these kids because I can reach them. I speak their language and the folks that are trying to fix it don’t. That is the problem today. You know, you got you got these kids sitting in the room and they’re talking to a person who can’t identify. They don’t come from where they come from. They have no idea what they’ve been through. All they know is what they’ve read in a textbook. And when they start talking, the kids looking at this person like you don’t even know and they just shut down, you.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:17] Can’t reach connect there.

Dereck Jensen: [00:26:18] They can’t reach them. You can’t reach them. So if you can’t reach them, they’re not going to listen to you. I can reach them.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:24] I feel like that’s one of the things that we’re supposed to do here on the planet, is to help each other.

Dereck Jensen: [00:26:29] Be a good human. Yes, be.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:30] A good human and help each other. It’s hard enough. It’s hard enough just doing all the best you can. But when you have somebody that you see that you can help and make something a little bit easier for them, there’s not only do you feel like a joy that not everybody accesses all the time, but it’s really a wonderful feeling. But also you’re giving them an opportunity to to feel like, okay, now I know what it’s like to get help. I would like to have that same feeling for someone else. And it just grows, I guess.

Dereck Jensen: [00:26:55] Well, I’m going to touch on that because you’re absolutely right. Once you experience a feeling, whether that feeling is good or bad or in between, you develop a a opinion and a mindset on that, Right. So good.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:10] Or bad.

Dereck Jensen: [00:27:11] Yeah, exactly. And so that’s what these kids that’s what’s happening with these kids. Things are happening to them that’s way beyond their control. Shouldn’t be going on in the first place. But we live in the world we live in. So it does. And they disconnect, right? They get that bad feeling. They get that bad vibe. And they they see that everyone in their life is treating them like that. So that means that everyone is going to treat them like that. And it’s it’s corrupting them at a young age. So by the time they hit teenage hood, you’re not changing that. You know, they need to see someone like me who is actually spent time in federal prisons, who’s actually gotten their life together and who’s overcome those things because I’m the one they’re going to listen to. They’re not going to listen to the guy saying, well, prison is bad.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:57] And.

Dereck Jensen: [00:27:58] They’re not going to listen to that. They’re not going to listen to that. They’re going to see the the street corner level hustler that’s got the new car, the new jewelry, all the women. He’s in and out of jail, but he never loses anything. Yeah, they see that. And so you think they’re listening to you? They’re not. They’re not. One of the biggest things that was given to me was. I was told, Why don’t you make a trade? And I said, Well, what trade do you think I should make? And my buddy Greg, who lived down here in Georgia, that I came down to help with the hernia. He said, Why don’t you make a trade while you trade your your inmate number for an iron number?

Sharon Cline: [00:28:40] Wow.

Dereck Jensen: [00:28:41] And I was like, Well, what is an iron number? And he’s like, You’re an idiot.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:44] No, you just didn’t know.

Dereck Jensen: [00:28:46] So. So but that’s the motivation, right? So. So I didn’t get mad at him. I didn’t I said, okay, yeah, you’re right. I’m an idiot. Let’s stop being an idiot. There’s the accountability. That’s what makes it hard, is people can’t accept the truth. The truth is the truth.

Sharon Cline: [00:29:00] You just don’t know what You just don’t know. Like, there’s there’s a pride that you kind of have to accept. I’m not going to be able to say I know everything about this or I have to learn the hard way. Some people don’t like to give up that pride.

Dereck Jensen: [00:29:10] No, they don’t. But that’s ultimately what hurts them and stops them. It’s it’s what prevents their growth. And they think that they’ve got to be prideful to to grow. But it’s the exact opposite. So I Googled it, I checked it out. I figured out what an iron number was and, you know, went on YouTube and said, okay, well, I got an idea. I want to do pressure washing. And, you know, now I know how to kind of think I know how to do this. So I just registered and did what I had to do. And I’ve had some people help me along the way. You know, if I got questions, I, you know, I’ve called some people and said, hey, listen, I’m I’m a little unsure what to do. Matter of fact, I have no clue what to do. Can you help me out? And they’ll tell me, yes, I can help you and no, I can help you. And there’s no shame in that, right? If you don’t know something, ask don’t.

Sharon Cline: [00:29:57] I think I love that because we talk about this on the show a lot, about how important it is to surround yourself with people who are willing to help in personal life, but also with networking and business because we all are trying to watch each other succeed. That’s what I think so great about Cherokee County or specifically Woodstock, where I do a lot of business. It’s nice to see that the business owners are all like happy to support other business owners. You know, it’s like a little family, but well, maybe it’s sort of like a family because I know I could call any of those people and they would help me.

Dereck Jensen: [00:30:28] Exactly.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:29] And that’s like a little gift in itself.

Dereck Jensen: [00:30:31] So and that’s the other thing that I’m doing with within my industry, trying to help people, bring them up to speed, letting them know, hey, listen, you know, there’s a much more effective way we can be servicing these customers out here and servicing our industry as well, you know? I can’t stress enough the use of proper techniques within a service industry. It’s just one of those things where. The hardest part is getting the customer to understand what’s going on. Again, because some of the prices can be really drastic.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:13] Clarity.

Dereck Jensen: [00:31:14] Yeah, right. So one guy is charging $99. One guy is charging $400, but it’s the same job. To to make that make sense can be really difficult at times. So the best way I found to do it, it was to keep doing what I’m doing, keep educating, keep showing, and then come on and do things like this. Excuse me. And then let basically let the public know, hey, listen, if you’ve got any questions, comments or concerns, I’m always there to answer the phone, and that’s free. Knowledge is free. It’s the work that you pay for.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:48] What are some of the challenges that were super surprising to you as you got into your business? I know one of them obviously being that you you you need to explain to people kind of what you’re doing. But are there any other kind of surprises that came along? You were just like, huh, I wish I had known that before I got started or something. You could offer someone who might be interested in the same kind of industry.

Dereck Jensen: [00:32:11] Yeah, I one of the biggest things that I wish I had known. But before starting this was the industry in itself. I wish I had known more about the industry before I got going because like I said earlier, I went through a year of a learning curve and that was a hard learning curve. I mean, I took a beat in my first year.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:38] And you did it by actually doing it. Not like just going to school, studying something. You actually did it physically, right?

Dereck Jensen: [00:32:43] Well, yeah, What I did was I. I have an ethic about me and I have a sense of responsibility. So I wasn’t going to go out there like a lot of these companies are and experiment on somebody home that’s paying me. What I would do is I’d go to construction sites and grab used stuff from houses that were being torn down and then work on that. So in case I ever did something wrong, I’m not ruining someone’s $800,000 home. Right.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:11] Smart man.

Dereck Jensen: [00:33:12] The last thing I wanted to do was get sued. I knew that much. So that’s how I kind of started. But again, you know, doing that, I would I would have to regularly call Jason or call Greg and be like, Listen, what do I do? How do I do this? What do I use? And it was a year of that. Just practice, practice, practice, learn, learn, learn. And being humble, you know, being humble to to to constantly make these calls and say, I don’t know. And being okay with that, letting that be OC Because it is. Oc Right. So I didn’t know I made the call. I got the knowledge. Now I know that’s great, isn’t it? It’s okay not to know.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:56] What are some of you you mentioned your ethics. What what are some of your sort of tenants that you that you run your business by? What are some of your like a list of ethics that you would say, I’m going to do it this way. This is what I believe and I’m not going to bend.

Dereck Jensen: [00:34:11] The biggest one is honesty. I’m always going to tell you the truth, whether you like it or not. I’m going to tell you the truth. The other thing is integrity. We stand behind what we say and we back up what we say. And that’s that’s one of the hugest things, is our customers know that when when they do business with us, they’re in good hands. Everything is covered under one umbrella. And if they’re ever not happy, we’re going to make it right. Lastly. I’m just a very competitive guy in general. I played sports all my life, football and couldn’t afford hockey but wanted to play real bad. You know those aggressive sports, right? Real competitive. And one of the things that I did was I said, I want to separate myself from everybody else. Right. And what was that niche? Because I heard a great one. I’m going to I’m going to quote Gary LAMB here of the black sheep mafia. I’m going to give him a plug to Gary. I’m going to see him wrestle tonight. So that’s going to be great. Oh, yeah, he’s going to have some ass anyway. So, Gary, Gary had given me a real gem and he had said and it’s one of his podcast on black sheet Mafia. The riches are in the niches, so find your niche and you’ll get rich. And he wasn’t talking money, right? He was talking mentally, physically, emotionally, those types of things. Find your niche and you’ll get rich because the riches are in the niches. And that was just like a gem, like a whole raw gem. I’m like, Oh, Gary. Oh, son. So with that, that’s what I did. I set out to find my little niche, and this was it. I said, Okay, there’s no one in Cherokee County that’s doing this. No one none of these companies are buying into it. I’m going to make a believer out of them. And here I am.

Sharon Cline: [00:36:26] You know, I’m gonna have to think about that one like it’s in my head now.

Dereck Jensen: [00:36:30] Thank you. You’re very welcome. Thank Gary, though, because he’s the one that gave it to me. I just gave it to you. Sharon’s. Karen.

Sharon Cline: [00:36:37] I appreciate that. It’s something that those little nuggets, little phrases, they can be so inspiring in just the right moment when you need it. So I love hearing that. All right. So I also have a question about a banner that you have posted at the North Metro Miracle League baseball field. Yes. Tell me about that.

Dereck Jensen: [00:36:55] So last year was our second year in business and we had experienced some real major, major growth. It was let me just start by saying I have no business being in business. So for anybody who’s thinking about starting a small business, do it. Do it. Okay. Because I got no business being in business and here I am in business kicking ass. So do it.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:25] All right.

Dereck Jensen: [00:37:28] I met a man by the name of Robert STROH’S Meyer, and he is the one who put that all together. He actually had that field built. He did it for the children that suffer from like. All different kinds of mental health and physical. Right. And it’s all kids that are on the spectrum, on all sides of the spectrum, some some some away on this side, some away on this side. Truth And and all of them are definitely different. Right. And so Robert’s just just one of those kind of guys. He he’s a he’s Cherokee County, you know, he’s he’s a Cherokee County guy and he’s really that’s his that’s his niche, Right? That’s that’s what he is is soft on is the kids that that are different you know and because he’s a sports competitive type of guy as well, he wanted to create an atmosphere so that these kids didn’t feel different so they could still have their time and have their place. That just that just resonates so much with me. You know, as a kid that’s got learning disabilities with ADHD and dyslexia and not doing well in school at all.

Dereck Jensen: [00:38:44] Graduating high school with a third grade education level, thank God that the the SATs weren’t mandatory or else I would never got a diploma. Thank God for the the eighties and nineties. Huh? They were great, at any rate. So that’s that’s kind of what happened there. And I was able to meet Mr. Robert at an event that he did and see what was going on, and I kind of just latched on to him right away and was like, Hey, listen, I really, really like what you’re doing. I really, really respect this a great deal. How can I help? Right? Like what? What what can I do to help? Like, do I need to come here and change your trash bags? What do I need to do? How can I help? This is awesome. And we developed a really good friendship, you know, and I wind up basically sponsoring his league. There’s many different sponsors that sponsor it, but I wind up sponsoring his league and doing some things. And I basically said, Hey, look, any time you guys need me, let me know and I’ll never charge you a dime.

Sharon Cline: [00:39:49] Wow. It must feel so good.

Dereck Jensen: [00:39:53] It’s the right thing to do. It goes back to being a good human. Just be a good human. It’s not hard. Just wake up in the morning and look yourself in the mirror and say, I’m going to be a good human today and then go do that.

Sharon Cline: [00:40:03] What do you find most rewarding about your job?

Dereck Jensen: [00:40:08] Boy, that’s a that’s a really, really tough question. There’s so much and I’m not even being facetious. There’s really so much. I think the biggest one is. A real sense of independence because.

Sharon Cline: [00:40:25] You did this?

Dereck Jensen: [00:40:26] Well, not only did I do this, but. I can wake up in the morning and decide what I want to do. I don’t answer to nobody. I have complete freedom. Complete freedom. I don’t have to worry about anything.

Sharon Cline: [00:40:42] You don’t have someone micromanaging you?

Dereck Jensen: [00:40:44] Not. And I don’t have to worry about appeasing nobody or pleasing nobody. It’s. It’s. It’s all right here. And I love me, Sami. So we’re good.

Sharon Cline: [00:40:55] Sorry. I’m going to use that in future conversations with people. Another gem. Another gem. That was funny. Okay, so what else do you find most rewarding? I mean, I know it’s like wonderful other people have mentioned this to on the show that it’s just wonderful to be your own boss. But. What else would you say is sort of what drives you?

Dereck Jensen: [00:41:19] I guess basically the. The knowledge part, right? Going out to these people’s homes and educating them on exactly what exterior cleaning solutions is, and then showing them and then breaking down the process for them. And then also that translates to the industry as well. Because I’ve been able to help out some other pressure washing companies. You know, I’ll see the $99 sign on the side of the road and and I’ll call that kid. I’ll pick up the phone and call that kid and say, Hey, listen, do you want to learn? Wow. Know do you want to learn the right way or do you want to up your tickets because you’re killing the industry right now doing this. And I’ll try to teach them and I’ll try some of them a little hotheaded. They bless them. They need some time and they’ll get it and they will eventually they’ll delete the delete the learn and they’ll make the adjustments or they’ll go out of business. It’s really that simple. But that’s the most rewarding part of it, is being able to educate on both sides of the spectrum. Because I’m highly desired in Cherokee County, a lot a lot of these other companies see what I’m doing. I just came on the scene. I’m kind of like the new guy, but yet I’m making a whole lot of noise. And so we did the steeple up at the Little Ones Learning Center in Canton. And people were just blown away with that. It looked like a brand new steeple. Everyone stopped to ask questions. And other companies are seeing it. People are seeing it. So they’re asking me, you know, Derek, what is this? What is exterior cleaning solutions? What is this thing? Because now the curious before they thought it was a gimmick. But now they’re curious because.

Sharon Cline: [00:42:59] This is.

Dereck Jensen: [00:43:00] All right. And so they’re asking me questions. And basically what I tell them is I say we live in a world that’s ever evolving with technology. I’m going to use your cell phone for an example. An iPhone comes out today. Five more come out within three months and yours is obsolete. It’s constantly evolving. It’s constantly changing. And that’s what happened within the pressure washer industry. Pressure washing was the only trick in pony for a very, very long time before a couple of smart guys come out with soft washing and a way to do that. And they they introduced electric operated pumps over gas powered equipment. So that was a real solution right there. That was a big solution to a major problem. And it took off. I mean, it really took off. And then, lo and behold, it was way more effective as well. So it stuck. Pressure washer went bye bye and and soft wash and took over. And it’s been on a five year hard core run, hot and heavy. And it’s been doing great. But again, things change. We live in that kind of world now where if you are not constantly staying ahead of that curve, you’re going to get passed, you’re going to get left behind. It’s just the way it is. And a couple of us who Greg’s been doing it a long time.

Dereck Jensen: [00:44:22] Jay’s been doing it quite a long time. I’m still kind of I consider myself a baby. I’ve only been in the business effectively for two years. My first year was just learning, so I can’t take credit for that. But I’ve actually only been watching two years and. Being able to wash at a level. That I’m washing at, applying the techniques that I’m applying, not using bleach, using proper chemicals, going out and speaking to these chemical manufacturers, going out and touring their facilities, going out to different events and getting the education and getting the knowledge. That’s really the biggest joy that I that I have is because. I get to do the work and then I get to see the benefits from that work and I get to see it on multiple levels. I get to do the work on one level, but then I get to see the benefits of it on multiple levels. I get to see the industry respect me. I get to see the community, respect me, I get to see my customers, respect me, and I even get my competitors and my haters to respect me. So we’re going to have to get some new haters, huh? Because the new the ones I got now are fans.

Sharon Cline: [00:45:40] Where do you want to see your company in like five years? What would you like to see your company do in the future?

Dereck Jensen: [00:45:48] Well, I haven’t set that five year plan. We’re currently three years into a five year plan, and the first five year plan was just to make it through the five year plan alive. Kind of. No, I’m kidding. But the first five years was basically, look, let’s really see if we can do this. Give yourself five years. Go ahead. Try and give yourself an honest five years and then see where you’re at. Don’t get discouraged the first year in the second you give it, give it five years and see where you’re at and you’ll have a chart to look at a growth chart. You know, a year isn’t enough. Two years isn’t enough. You need five at a minimum to to average a growth.

Sharon Cline: [00:46:25] Chart to really see it, to.

Dereck Jensen: [00:46:26] Really see it and make an educated decision at that point. Is this worth it? I’m three years in and I can already answer that question. So I’m getting ready to write a five year plan and that’s going to be it right there. The question you just asked, Where do I see myself? Right now the vision is. To basically. And I know this sounds really huge, but change the way the industry is done right? I want to be an innovator within the industry and I want to change the way these things are being done and bring the knowledge to the people that, look, you don’t need to cut corners. You can use the right products. You. You should be charging the right price. It’s okay.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:17] If people want to get in touch with you, if they would like to inquire about your services or even the way that you are giving back to the community, what’s the best way they can find you?

Dereck Jensen: [00:47:26] They can find me on Facebook. Jenson Precision pile washing restoration. It’s a public. It’s not private. You can find me on there. You can find me on YouTube. Precision power washing my cell phones. 4044314576. If you want to call me, call me. I’ll answer the phone, I promise. You can go on Google. You can check us out on Google. We’re a five star company and again, we’re the only exterior cleaning company in Cherokee County. But I really do encourage anyone who has any questions or has any thoughts about this. Go ahead and look at that Google Review sheet that I got on there. Check out what the customers are saying about me. Don’t take my word for it. Take the people that are paying me. And lastly, in closing, if I could just touch on a little bit. A few of the major, major things that have been just so. So beneficial to me for being a good human. And this is I want to touch on this a little bit is the strength of of this community. I don’t know many other communities in Georgia because I’ve only been in this one. But I can tell you the strength in this community, I mean, it is just unreal, you know? People in this community really care. They really do. And it’s sincere. It’s not fake.

Sharon Cline: [00:48:49] It’s special.

Dereck Jensen: [00:48:50] It really is. I haven’t quite figured out why that can’t expand some more, but it really is. It’s really great. And I want to give a huge thanks to the whole Cherokee County community. Everybody within that community that does what they do, whether I know you or whether I don’t know you, I want to say thank you for making and keeping Cherokee County awesome, because it is I mean, it’s just a great, great place.

Sharon Cline: [00:49:16] Well, Derrick, thank you so much for coming into the studio and sharing your story and all of you listening. Thank you for listening to a fearless formula on Business RadioX. And I also just want to say I really appreciate that you’re giving just in closing, you’re giving a shout out to the people who really maybe struggle in the beginning parts of their life, because lots of people do and they don’t like to talk about it. And in just normalizing that as being there’s a way to get through it and there are people that can help you. I just appreciate that. So thank you so much for doing that.

Dereck Jensen: [00:49:47] You’re very welcome. It’s it’s one of those things that’s much needed. You lead by example and maybe more people see how this goes and and you break the cycle.

Sharon Cline: [00:49:57] That is huge. Breaking the cycle. All right. Well, this is Sharon Cline reminding you that with knowledge and understanding, we can all have our own fearless formula. Have a great day.

Horizon Baseball Coach Casey Weatherford, Lauren Ham with the City of Acworth and Bob Brooks with American Eagle Mortgage

January 9, 2023 by angishields

Charitable Georgia

Horizon Baseball Coach Casey Weatherford, Lauren Ham with the City of Acworth and Bob Brooks with American Eagle Mortgage

00:00 /

Casey Weatherford is a Horizon Baseball Coach who enjoys being on the field with all the athletes. In 2019 he was awarded Chevy National Youth Coach of the Year. Casey loves kids and loves being part of the Horizon League.

Casey is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma when he was 26 years old.

He lives in Acworth, Ga and participates in all community events in his city.

You can email Casey at Caseyjoew@gmail.com

Lauren Ham has been the City of Acworth’s Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator since 2009.

Originally from Wisconsin, she has a Bachelor’s Degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Recreation and Leisure Studies. Lauren is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional.

Lauren and her family live in Kennesaw with their dogs, Zoe and Oliver.

Bob Brooks grew up in Acworth and after spending 25 years in the electrical engineering industry.

He switched gears and became a Mortgage Originator with American Eagle Mortgage powered by CrossCountry Mortgage.

He quickly started giving back to the City of Acworth fell in love with the Horizons special needs program as a coach.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta. It’s time for Charitable Georgia. Brought to you by Bee’s Charitable Pursuits and Resources. We put the fun in fundraising. For more information, go to Bee’s charitable pursuits dot com that’s bee’s charitable pursuits dot com. Now here’s your host, Brian Pruett.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:45] Good, fabulous Friday morning. Everybody out there listening to us. We’ve got another great show with three fabulous folks today sharing. You know, what’s really cool about the show, obviously, is all the positive stories. But we talk about networking a lot. We all do networking. And everybody that I’ve had on my show so far, I’ve met somewhere or another in the networking and I’ve heard their stories by doing one to ones relationships or knowing some folks. And it’s really cool to hear all these stories, and that’s another reason why we’re doing this show. So we’re going to start this morning with Lauren Ham, who’s the therapeutic recreation coordinator for the city of Acworth. So, Lauren, thanks for being here this morning.

Lauren Ham: [00:01:19] Thank you for having us.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:20] First question I have for you, I know you’re originally from Wisconsin, So did you order the the weather for Christmas?

Lauren Ham: [00:01:25] I did not. No, that was miserable. I moved away from the cold weather and it followed me.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:32] Well, I also just kind of noticed that you’re carrying a Houston Astros bag. How does a Wisconsin girl become an Astros fan?

Lauren Ham: [00:01:39] Honestly, we went to the what was it I, World Series? World Series. Thank you, Bob. It was a blank. So we went to the World Series and they did an advertisement for our coach of the Year and our Horizon athletes. So we were able to experience that firsthand. So that was one of the swag that Chevy provided for us.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:02] Well, it’s free, so that’s why you keep it. It’s free. It is free is good.

Lauren Ham: [00:02:05] And it’s durable.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:06] That’s right. So tell me what the therapeutic recreation coordinator does.

Lauren Ham: [00:02:12] Basically, I program everything for anybody with physical, cognitive, social or emotional disabilities. I try to modify programs so they can participate in baseball, adaptive lacrosse, even something as simple as bingo. We modify it so they’re part of the community and they can participate just like you and I can.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:35] Awesome. And how long have you been doing this.

Lauren Ham: [00:02:38] With the Horizon League? I’ve been here for 14 years, but I started originally in Wisconsin over 20 years ago.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:46] Doing the same.

Lauren Ham: [00:02:47] Thing. Yep, yep, doing the same thing.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:49] So this is your your background. You’re you’re actually, I guess, your passion then?

Lauren Ham: [00:02:52] It is. Yes.

Brian Pruett: [00:02:54] Why? Tell me why this is your passion.

Lauren Ham: [00:02:56] Honestly, I started volunteering in high school with the VA, so I worked with the veterans and I saw the benefit of those just who couldn’t do a normal program. So the benefit of them getting out in the community, modifying their lifestyle so they can do recreation. And I saw the vets, you know, enjoy it. So then I kind of worked with children and really found my niche.

Brian Pruett: [00:03:19] So when you came to the growth area, are you the one that kind of got it started for the city of Acworth?

Lauren Ham: [00:03:24] Honestly, I wasn’t. There already was a nonprofit established, but I was the first coordinator that they hired on, so I was the first paid employee and since then we’ve just grown. I’m still a staff of one, but with these fabulous volunteers that we have, we can do so much more.

Brian Pruett: [00:03:44] Awesome. So for those who don’t know what the Horizon League, can you share a little bit about that and a little bit of the story you’ve just shared, but more of what it is and and what you do and how people can get involved?

Lauren Ham: [00:03:55] Sure. So we offer therapeutic programs. We offer, like I mentioned before, anybody ages five and older who have a social, cognitive, physical disability, they can participate in our programs. We have three different leagues where we go from a 5 to 12 year old youth league, 13 to 21 and 22 and up adult league. So our biggest program coming up right now is spring baseball. And we have over 18 teams and 200 athletes that come out on Saturdays and Thursday nights and participate. We rely very heavily on volunteers. We do the buddy system where buddies come from the community and they work one on one with the athlete on the field, in the dugout, and just kind of helping them have the experience and allowing those parents to have 50 minutes to sit back and enjoy and watch their child and know that they’re in a safe environment. So so the best way to get involved is probably to contact the Horizon website. So it’s at special needs dot com or Acworth Parks and Recreation, and I can get in touch with them and if they’re interested, we’re always looking for volunteers and even though we have 18 teams, we don’t require volunteers to stay all day. They can just come for that 50 minute game once a week or if they want to stay longer and come and help out and allow that child to feel like his peers.

Brian Pruett: [00:05:29] Yeah, Do the the the participants, the athletes, do they have to be an act with resident?

Lauren Ham: [00:05:33] They actually do not. Now, we don’t have any we ask them to pay a minimum donation of $15 just to cover a little bit of cost. So we don’t have any. On resident fees and we accept athletes from all over. We had one child come from Dyersville the other year, and Fulton County has a couple athletes that come down and participate.

Brian Pruett: [00:05:58] Awesome. Same thing for volunteers. You don’t have to be from Acworth, right?

Lauren Ham: [00:06:01] Right. Yeah. Just. Yeah. Come and we’ll get you scheduled.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:04] All shows up.

Lauren Ham: [00:06:05] Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:06] Awesome.

Lauren Ham: [00:06:06] Well, put you to work.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:07] There you go. What I think is really cool is share a little bit how the field. Because the field is a special field, right?

Lauren Ham: [00:06:13] Yes, it is Mondo turf. So it’s the cushion rubberized surface. So, you know, it’s easy for the anybody who utilizes a walker or a wheelchair, any kind of device. You know, we have the larger dugouts that you can get through. You don’t have to kind of kind of maneuver around. It’s easy to get in and get out the flat surface barrier free. We do have rain outs because we have our bases are painted on. So we do have that. But honestly, it’s a nice enclosed surface that is a safe environment for everybody.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:51] That’s awesome. So I know you guys do a big gala every year. Is that the only fundraiser? That’s really kind of what you do for the for the horizon we do.

Lauren Ham: [00:07:01] That is our number. That is our only fundraiser. And that helps us provide all our operating budget for the year. So that fundraiser, we rely heavily on silent auction donations and live auction donation. And it’s a chance for us not even just to raise funds for our operating budget, but just to celebrate our athletes. I mean, we’ve been doing this. We were incorporated in 2006 and the field was finally completed in 2009. So we’ve like I said, we have 18 teams and we like to celebrate them. And this is a chance to do that at the gala with the community and with the Horizon families.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:40] When is the.

Lauren Ham: [00:07:40] Gala? It is Friday, March 3rd coming up.

Brian Pruett: [00:07:44] Awesome. If somebody wants to get involved with that, be a part of that. And if somebody wants to be involved with the Horizon League itself, you already shared the website, but how can they get ahold of you if they have the questions or anything like that?

Lauren Ham: [00:07:54] The easiest way is. Elam Like the food jam at Acworth dot org or just giving me a phone call at the Acworth Parks and Recreation Department. I can get you involved in any aspect volunteering if you’re interested in attending the silent or attending the gala or donating the silent auction, any help is greatly appreciated.

Brian Pruett: [00:08:16] We’ll talk about this in a little bit, but Bob and I are going to kind of help you with that. We’re doing something into this month that’s going to help you guys as well. So we’ll talk about that in a little bit. But I wanted to ask you one more question. You shared a little bit why this is your passion, but why is it important for you to give back?

Lauren Ham: [00:08:31] Wow. Honestly, I am so fortunate. And can I tell you a story?

Brian Pruett: [00:08:39] Sure.

Lauren Ham: [00:08:40] I actually was a very, very bad driver. I don’t know if I’m any better, but I was actually ran over by a semi truck and put in an induced coma. And this was my final year in college. And I got out and just really reevaluated my life and I was given a second chance. And I think that really puts things in perspective. So that’s why I want to give back and provide things just to help everybody.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:17] Well, for those of you who don’t believe, but I’m a believer and so God has a purpose for you and I think you’re doing it. So that’s that’s awesome. I appreciate you being here. You mind sticking around a few minutes while we talk to these other two gentlemen?

Lauren Ham: [00:09:27] Sure.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:27] Thank you. All right. We’re going to move now over to Casey Weatherford. Casey, you are a volunteer coach for the Horizon League and but you also are a cancer survivor. And you’ve been around Acworth for a while. You’ve also owned a couple of businesses you do mentoring. So give us your story.

Casey Weatherford: [00:09:47] So my main story, you know, everybody thinks that they’re invincible, right? When they’re young, we all think that nothing can touch us. That was me. I was. I was that guy. I. I felt like nothing could touch me. I felt like I was on my path, and. And I was made to do that path at a very young age. You know, I was diagnosed with cancer, multiple myeloma. And I was I was a successful business guy that I loved what I did, you know, And and I was on that path. But cancer came in and and kind of smacked me in the face, brought me back to reality a little bit, and that I didn’t know where to turn. I honestly didn’t know where to turn. I felt like I was invincible insurance. I didn’t need you know, that was that was my main thing was, you know, I didn’t put things in place because I wasn’t thinking ahead, you know, And it was I think it was God’s way of telling me to slow things down and and look at what I had. So that was my big thing with life, you know, That was that was my big break. And then at 26, I kind of started over. I reset, you know, and I met a guy that was in the same hospital, Kingston Hospital, and he was in the room with me. He he heard them tell me the news that I was going to die in two weeks.

Casey Weatherford: [00:11:09] They they told me to go home, get comfortable. So we we put on that path that I was going to go home and get comfortable. My wife called around, found a doctor that did he specialized in in bone repair, and I had a tumor in the bone. That’s what multiple myeloma kind of does. It’s a blood cancer. So it it attacks bones, eventually turns in. Eric can turn into leukemia later on down the road. But I had that in my femur and no insurance. So I was kind of lost. He heard my story and says, you know, how can you take it so well? And I said, Well, what am I going to do? Is crying, going to help? Crying won’t help me, you know. So, you know, I just that was my thing. I was going to go home, get comfortable, you know, and that was going to be the end of my life. And, you know, he came out after my wife had found a specialist. He came out, he bought all my hospital stuff and everything. And and to this date, I don’t know if it was him or not, but my hospital bills were paid and I was two and a half million dollars in debt through Emory. So that was I don’t know who paid that, but I got paid forward and I begged, I begged for life.

Casey Weatherford: [00:12:22] I begged for a second chance at life. And I made a promise to God. I said, you know, I’m going to help everybody I can along my path that, you know, as long as you give me that second chance, I can do it, you know? So I begged for that. And and, you know, you don’t hear an answer right away. It wasn’t an answer right away. I didn’t even know if my prayers were going to get answered. It’s the first time I’ve ever turned to God for anything, you know? So you know that I didn’t know if I was going to get granted that, you know, it was and it was a shock. Everything happens, I guess, for a reason. And and so that was my purpose, you know, I was like, all right, now I got to start helping people, you know, I got to get back on my feet. And one thing was I was kind of feeling sorry for myself. I had to learn how to walk again and all that stuff. And one of my buddies had came to me and told me, you know, we coached together at a at a baseball field in Kennesaw. And he told me about a program. He’s like, Man, you should get involved in this program. It’s a Horizon League. And I said, Man, you know, I know I can go over there and buddy.

Casey Weatherford: [00:13:24] And so I went over there just a buddy. And when I went over there to Buddy, I fell in love with it. It was like I was meant to do that. It was like, that’s what that was my plan. So I went to Lauren Hamm. I asked her, I was like, What do I have? Do to coach. Like, what do I have to do to get involved in this? And. And she was like, Oh, we’ll sign you up. You know, you do the background check and we’ll get you out here and we’ll get you coaching. So I started doing that and it was a passion. It was love at first sight, man. I was I was hooked, you know, And and it’s amazing. It’s like I don’t ever pay attention to anything that happens off the field. So it’s it’s kind of like my space. So when I’m out there, I’m on I’m on the Oprah cloud, man, just looking down, you know, it’s awesome. And I was I was kind of put to him as angels because I think that they’re they’re angels. You know, they’re sitting here to teach us lessons. And I’m thankful for for giving that blessing. You know, that it was a it was an eye opener for me that this is where I belong. So I. Really love it. It’s an awesome program.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:28] Well, I don’t know about you guys, but that’s. That’s awesome. So you shared before we went on the air that you also help local business owners with their businesses and and give back that way. Share how you do that.

Casey Weatherford: [00:14:42] So you know different businesses there through even COVID. You know, it is hard for businesses to be involved in making money because we had dining rooms that were closed and some businesses, you know, that was their first thing was like, you know, we have to get on GrubHub and all this stuff, you know, just to to get food out. And so I tried to help out as many people as I can. Of course, that’s that’s my goal. That was what I was answered for. So I started helping out local businesses along the way. And and, you know, just to just to name a few. There’s generations Pizza, Bernie’s and all them, all these local businesses, they needed help. You know, they needed that. And, you know, running to businesses and stuff. That was kind of my thing, you know, like I was I had to to get in there to help them and kind of show them the way. And all these businesses, they you know, they appreciate it, you know, but it was it was a work in progress. So. But anything in the community, these businesses support our community. You know, that’s that’s who gives back to our community. So we have to look out for everybody that’s in in the same aspect that we are. You know, they deal with it just like we deal with it at home.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:55] Are you still currently helping businesses now?

Casey Weatherford: [00:15:58] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anybody that. Yeah, I’m currently doing big house I’m doing their marketing and and director over there for, for all their events but you know this is just like I said they give back to our community. They they are the ones who donate to our baseball teams and donate to our community and put that money back into the community. And that’s what that’s why we do that. You know, it’s a complete turnaround, you know, So that’s kind of you build a platform for it. You know, you always want people to give and and you have to give to get, you know, so.

Brian Pruett: [00:16:33] If there are businesses out there that need the help and wanting to reach out to you, first of all, can they do that second? Well, how can they do that?

Casey Weatherford: [00:16:42] Yeah, so you can you can definitely do that. I would love to hear all businesses. And we do you know, one of my buddies, Bob, he he’s great at what he does. He does a networking. I tried to get businesses to go to that because that’s what that’s kind of what builds a relationship with everybody is that networking. People don’t realize how powerful networking is. Yes, it is. You know, you take those names, you take those businesses, you put them in your arsenal and and they come up, you know, somebody comes up to you, hey, you know, do you know anybody that does this? Well, yeah, You know that I met this guy. He goes to a meeting that we do and and that helps it out. So that’s that’s networking I feel like is a very important part of the role. You know.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:28] There are other ways that. Can anybody contact you for help?

Casey Weatherford: [00:17:30] Yes, you can get a hold of me. So I still have I still hang on to my old business, to the tire shop, but tire underscore, sole outlet at yahoo.com. Casey Jo W at gmail you send me an email and I’ll gladly answer it. You know, I love I love sitting down and I pay for conversations with with people. So I’ll have a lunch with you and and gladly pay for it because I want to hear everybody’s story and and how they have changed their world. I love those stories.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:01] Well, I don’t know. Many people turn down free lunches, so if you want some help and want a free lunch, reach out to Casey. That’s right. Casey, I appreciate you being here this morning and sharing your story. You mind sticking around for for this gentleman here?

Casey Weatherford: [00:18:11] Yes, sir.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:12] All right, Bob, I don’t know. How are you going to follow these two stories?

Bob Brooks: [00:18:15] I got nothing, Brian.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:18] Bob Brooks, American Eagle Mortgage, powered by Cross Country Mortgage. It’s a mouthful. Yeah, but, uh, you’ve had a pretty interesting background as well. You spent 25 years as an electrical engineer, correct?

Bob Brooks: [00:18:28] Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:29] Also a worship leader. And now you’re in mortgages and you help coach the youth. So give us a little bit of your story.

Bob Brooks: [00:18:35] Like I said, I have nothing compared to what’s going on. No. Well, I actually got involved. You know, like you were saying, networking. He was talking about networking. It kind of made goes hand in hand with whatever you do. And with Freedom Church, I was the worship leader over there and volunteered with the youth and everything else. And and what my co coaches, Christina, actually said, Hey, can you get some of the youth to come be a special buddy over here at Horizon Field? I went with it. We we had a great time. They still volunteer every now and then a lot for the dodgeball, right? Not dodgeball kickball. Sorry. That would be awful, I think dodgeball class. But anyway, now I got I went the first time with them and was being a special buddy and I looked at Lauren said, Can I come back next week? Nobody came with me. It’s just me. And like Casey said, you get into it one time and it’s it’s an endorphin that you don’t really think you’re going to get. And it’s amazing. And those kids became my kids. And I think this is my fifth year, eight, fifth year with it.

Bob Brooks: [00:19:40] And it’s been amazing. These kids I’ve watched these kids go from wheelchairs to walkers to braces on their legs to now running through the field by themselves. And it’s absolutely amazing. And I have a special heart for it. One of my neighbors whose son just turned five and she was so excited about getting involved. There’s two there’s four kids in the state of Georgia who have this syndrome. It’s called I’m going to say it wrong Pallister Kilian Syndrome or. Don’t ask me what it is, just look it up. But it’s the poor thing is is wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. But it he finally got to play baseball this year and to see all of our friends come out for that game, they were all crying because the mom looked at me and said, I never thought I would get to see my son play baseball, which was the coolest thing I’ve had the whole time on one of my teams, and I had two of the kids of the four playing on my team this year and they were really cool, really cool.

Brian Pruett: [00:20:41] We’re going to circle back around to the Horizon League and while you’re doing this and all that stuff, But tell me how you went from being an electrical engineer into mortgages and can you give any tips? Right now, people listen to you. I like to help people while they’re listening and give tips for that.

Bob Brooks: [00:20:58] Yeah, going from so electrical engineering, the last thing I built was a I was an engineering. I don’t know how to say it, really, but I built the machines a lot, and the last thing I built was a laser machine that put holes in suture needles. I didn’t realize how many suture needles they go through, but they do three a second. And there was something wrong with the machine. I got underneath the machine. I got up and there was needles all in my back. And I went, It’s not fun anymore. And plus, I was getting old. I couldn’t. I couldn’t get under the machine much, much anymore and saved my life. However, I got out of that business and jumped into mortgage reverse mortgages years ago and then said, I don’t like sitting at a desk because I get in trouble for talking too much to people in my office.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:50] Which not.

Bob Brooks: [00:21:51] You, not me know. I tell everybody I can talk to a brick wall as long as it squeaks back every now and then. However. So mortgages became a hard I started helping seniors with reverse mortgages. Learned that I don’t like it cramming it down people’s throats. I still sell reverse mortgage. However, I’m having a ball here in Acworth. I wasn’t really doing anything in the community that I grew up in, and part of helping with the horizon became my passion because I was helping people get new houses for the first time, you know, newlywed couples just to see their sheer joy who thought they could never own a house buying a house. And then I was like, Ooh, I like that endorphin. So now I started networking and growing in the community. I wasn’t doing anything in Acworth. And I said, I got to get back involved in Acworth. I mean, I’ve been there since 1972, so.

Brian Pruett: [00:22:42] And somebody in Acworth is related to you?

Bob Brooks: [00:22:43] Somebody in Acworth is related to me. You’re right. I actually sat next to a guy at a restaurant last night who said a guy’s name. I said, Well, that’s my cousin. And he went, What? He was blown away. But it was pretty neat seeing that. However, given back. And once I got back with Horizon, I started coaching and been there ever since.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:05] So you mentioned that you like giving back and helping businesses as well. So you started a group called the Acworth Connections.

Bob Brooks: [00:23:11] Five years ago.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:12] Actually share a little bit about that and how people can get involved with that.

Bob Brooks: [00:23:14] Yeah, Aqua Connections on Facebook, you can look this up at Acworth, connections on Facebook. There’s not really a dot com or anything like that. However you can contact me at Bob Brooks loans dot com and I’ll tell you all about it because like I said I don’t shut up Acworth connections. We started at Justin’s in Acworth five years ago. After the pandemic we moved it to Center Street and right now we’re having a really large surge. So I’m hoping we don’t have to switch, but we may have to switch soon. We we have anybody from other mortgage people like myself, real estate agents, builders. Got a comedian in there, which I think you had Rich on your show last week. And it just helps so many people. It’s collaboration over competition. We don’t I don’t fight with other mortgage people because I always say, why can’t we all get a loan? So it’s one of those things where I want people to come and be knowledgeable of what what happens with mortgages and houses and building. And because I’m not a builder and there’s a tree guy in there, I’m not cutting down another tree because one almost fell in my leg one time. And he always says, You know, I’d rather you call me and said a911, which is great. So accurate Connections is great. Accurate business association is great. A lot of good community stuff comes out of that with the years.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:32] So I really think it’s cool that you do the collaboration over competition and you and you really do preach that. I do. You know, not only is there a lot of enough business for everybody, but there are things there may be other mortgage people in the building that you can do something that you can’t do and vice versa, correct?

Bob Brooks: [00:24:48] Correct. Yeah. I mean, there’s 50,000 people in the city of Acworth alone. I can’t do 50. I’d like to do 50,000 loans. However, I can’t. So I would rather see my friends what I call my family, get a loan as well. So that’s why I say, why can’t we all get a loan?

Brian Pruett: [00:25:04] And you’re the you’re also there is a loan, Dad.

Bob Brooks: [00:25:06] Loan, Dad, Not your loan, daddy, right? Yeah, right.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:09] Well, okay, so you’ve already shared a little bit, but why is it important for you to give back?

Bob Brooks: [00:25:14] So this community basically raised me. I mean, you hear the stories about when you’re growing up. Usually if I get in trouble in Acworth, I had passed my grandparents house. I was getting a whoopin there, and then I got a whipping when I got home because my grandmother, I called my mom or my dad, either one. So this is a community for me that I’m passionate about. My dad was a local teacher, my mom was local banker, my grandfather was local mechanic, my grandmother was a local bus driver. My all my aunts worked at the post office, so his basically raised me. So I need I wanted to conserve, you know, I wanted to give back to Acworth in some way. But, you know, Horizon, like I said, is a special heart of mine, man. I just I just love them. I’ve seen what good they can do. I mean, one of the parents actually told me one time said, Man, I wish I could be in his brain or be like him. And I was like. He’s your child. And he was like, Yeah, but he has no cares in the world. He doesn’t know anger. He doesn’t really I mean, he’s he gets angry if he gets, you know, he’s hungry. He’s got to, you know, go to the bathroom, whatever. However, they don’t know, hate, they don’t know, you know, there’s wars going on. They don’t know anything like that. They don’t know real sadness like we’ve all encouraged. And, you know, I mean, with with Casey and Lauren here, you know, they’ve experienced tragedy like that. Thank God I’ve not you know, but it’s amazing to hear stories like theirs and make people happy again, you know?

Brian Pruett: [00:26:44] Well, speaking of making people happy, I know one thing that you do that you also have a passion about. I don’t know that you’re currently doing it, but you’ve had a band. People know you as Beeb’s, right?

Bob Brooks: [00:26:52] Beeb’s Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:53] So do you still are you still playing?

Bob Brooks: [00:26:56] Not right now. You know, getting older. I got a back problem, so I got to heal that first. And then coming back this year though, I’ll be back this year.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:03] Where can people see you when you do come back?

Bob Brooks: [00:27:07] Bars around here, restaurants around here. We got a I got my second band ever. We’re going to do like a reunion show here soon called The Mother Truckers. It’s we’re not going to be moving and jumping around on stage like we used to 20 years ago, but it should be funny and just look for the name Beeb’s, you know?

Brian Pruett: [00:27:27] Well, I’m excited. You and I met last year when I had another business doing direct mail and and promotional items, and you were one of my biggest clients. So first of all, thank you for that. But you are you and I are partnering and doing a business expo slash job fair on the 26th of this month where a portion of the proceeds are going to help the Horizon League. Talk about that. How can people get involved and when is it?

Bob Brooks: [00:27:51] Yeah, so that’s part of the networking stuff. It’s January 26, it’s from 2 to 5 at the Aqua Community Center located downtown Acworth. We’re pre-selling booths still. It’s $150 per table and we’ll supply the tables and two chairs. You just got to bring your your swag and your tablecloth and make it look nice. It’s the networking exploded, I guess I want to call it, because, number one, I get to help give back to the horizon as well, because there are things coming up March 3rd on a Friday night, like Lauren said. So we want to be able to help kick start that off, in other words, but also given back to the community to back forth again. I mean, there’s a lot of people that you wouldn’t see on a normal basis, like they don’t have a storefront, they don’t have a they’re not a Kroger or Wal Mart kind of thing, but they want to get their information out there or there’s jobs hurting out there, restaurants and all kinds of. I just saw the sheriff’s office is hiring at Parks and Rec is hiring. There’s a lot of people hiring right now. So we’re just asking for for those type of guys. We’re just asking for the donation of 100, $250 from them. And and they can set up a table and start hiring away. So we’re going to try to drive as much traffic as we can in there and really try to focus on the community again, getting kick starting off the horizon and getting people a job or getting people seen.

Brian Pruett: [00:29:21] Another advantage if you come to this is there is a good possibility at some point in time during the expo you might get on the air because Stone is coming and setting up and going to have a show live. Be very gracious. Yeah, very. So we appreciate Stone and Business RadioX doing that if one more time, if people want to get ahold of you for mortgages or act with connections or the Expo, how can they do that?

Bob Brooks: [00:29:41] Yeah. Aqua connections on Facebook and w w w w w dot dot brooks loans dot com are your loan dad dot com.

Brian Pruett: [00:29:51] Awesome. So I have one more question for the three of you. So we just started a new year 2023 by the way. Happy New Year to everybody. Lauren, I would like for you to start with this. Can you give one thing for everybody listening to maybe start off the new year or whether it’s I mean, your story is inspiration in itself, but something advice or your quote or word for the year or just something that just can be a good start for the year.

Lauren Ham: [00:30:15] I think quote or advice maybe, I guess be present, you know, make your life count and be present and intentional, you know, going forward and, you know, throughout the year. I think that would be my advice, right?

Casey Weatherford: [00:30:33] Kc So my thing would be, I mean, you heard you heard everybody here today use that one word that that I think is valuable to us as community. You know, get involved in your community. I was always taught when I was a kid, you give 100%, you get 100%. And so I really think that my biggest thing would be get involved in the community. You know, that’s that’s the thing that takes care of us.

Bob Brooks: [00:30:59] So big time. Yeah, mine is. You know, they always say success and failing is the same thing, however. If you you don’t fail until you quit. So that’s a big thing for me this year.

Brian Pruett: [00:31:14] Sharon, I want you to give us one.

Lauren Ham: [00:31:16] Oh, goodness.

Intro: [00:31:17] Um, I would say I like.

Lauren Ham: [00:31:19] The notion of mindfulness, of being really present in what you’re doing, because if your intention is is kind of an alignment with who you really are, then.

Intro: [00:31:27] The result is for the greater good.

Lauren Ham: [00:31:30] Think generally speaking, That’s awesome. Awesome about you. What is yours?

Brian Pruett: [00:31:34] Well, it’s the same thing I end with every year. Every every show. So I’ll do that in just a second. But it’s just it’s I’m having a blast with the show. I hope people listening are getting something out of the the four shows that we’ve done, including today. I don’t know how you can’t go out and be inspired by listening to everybody’s stories and everybody’s got a different story, you know, and we’re all called for a different purpose. I also think about the young man that was with the Buffalo Bills this past Monday night, and had that happened on the football field, which is just crazy in itself. But right now it looks like he’s on the right path to recovery. And that’s another way of God showing his his power. And again, let’s let’s think about the positive. There’s too much negative out there in the mainstream media. And let’s put the positive back out there, sir, by listening. Let’s be positive and be charitable.