Dillon Adams with The Adams Collective

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Kid Biz Radio. Kid Biz Radio creates conversations about the power of entrepreneurship and the positive impact that journey can have on kids. For more information, go to Kid Biz Expo. Now, here’s your host.

Layla Dierdorff : [00:00:28] Hi, I’m Layla Dierdorff .

Austyn Guest: [00:00:30] And I’m Austyn Guest.

Layla Dierdorff : [00:00:31] And we have a special guest here today, Dylan Adams with the Adams Collective.

Dillon Adams: [00:00:36] Good morning, guys. How are you guys this morning?

Layla Dierdorff : [00:00:38] Good. How are you?

Dillon Adams: [00:00:39] Doing good.

Layla Dierdorff : [00:00:40] So, mind telling us a little bit about what you do and stuff?

Dillon Adams: [00:00:43] Of course. Yeah. So I run a full scale moving company and pest control company or a multi divisional service. We try to be a one stop shop for the just the community.

Speaker1: [00:00:54] How did you get into that? What kind of motivated you to go into that field?

Dillon Adams: [00:00:59] So I traveled for about 12 years doing a bunch of different trades, and I kind of wanted to bring that to my community in town and build something here that I was able to actually support the place that helped raise me instead of just traveling all over the country and doing it elsewhere.

Speaker1: [00:01:17] How do you believe your work is impacting the community?

Dillon Adams: [00:01:22] I think that. When I come in, I really come in and try to help people solve their problems, regardless of what it is. I think that through that and through helping people just overcome whatever. Whatever life throws at you, because life’s going to throw tons of different things at you, right? Whether it’s you wake up, you wake up late or you’re having a bad hair day or your friend didn’t text you, whatever it might be, I try to help you, obviously, with those things and other things, job related that can help you. That just enables you to get through life easier and then you can show up for someone else better.

Speaker1: [00:01:58] So do you think that kind of motivates you to keep going whenever you’re having those bad days, just like for sure?

Dillon Adams: [00:02:04] I think back to the people that I have helped and just the how the community has helped me and that that’s what really pushes me through, is seeing other people pour into me and that helps me pour into other people.

Speaker1: [00:02:15] You said that the community helps you. Is there anybody in particular that’s really helped you and like you kind of look up to them?

Dillon Adams: [00:02:21] Yeah, you guys know, it’s been since I started coming in Canton Business Club has been a big one for me. All the business clubs and everyone in there, Renee and Amy have taken me under their wing. I feel like a kind of like their kid as well. So but it’s it’s literally the community and everyone that’s in here. And I think that we live in a very, very special place that’s different from like I traveled I traveled the entire country for 12 years. So seeing the way that this place operates and having the ability to grow up here and just seeing how it’s expanded and how we all pour into each other is it’s incredibly motivating and it keeps me going.

Speaker1: [00:03:01] Tell me a time when a project or goal didn’t really go as planned, and how did you react to that or learn from that experience?

Dillon Adams: [00:03:07] So this just happened to me. Actually last weekend I had a call from an old colleague and he had an emergency job. He needed to get a pipe changed out. And so I drove up to South Carolina to help him real quick. We got it changed, finished about two in the morning, and then I got a call at about eight in the morning saying, hey, the pipe you guys put up fell because someone else knocked it over and I need you to come back and redo the work you just did. So we run an on 5 hours of sleep, ended up going back to work getting there, and we got it done that day. They were super appreciative, didn’t go as planned and obviously like was less than favorable conditions. But we got through it and we solved the problem.

Speaker1: [00:03:52] Does that kind of like help you learn in other situations how to possibly prevent those types of things from happening? Yes.

Dillon Adams: [00:03:58] And stuff. Yes. So every situation, even if you it’s it’s to me, it’s only a failure when you quit. But as you keep going and no matter what it is, even if it didn’t go as you planned or you didn’t like the way that maybe the outcome turned out, it still provides a learning situation there. It provides a lesson that you can build upon. And if you absolutely didn’t like the way something went, then you can just make sure and take every precaution for that to never happen again.

Speaker1: [00:04:29] Yes. How did you learn how to do your craft? Like did you like just kind of figure it out as you went? Did you have someone that you went to or.

Dillon Adams: [00:04:39] So when I was a when I was 16 about, I always had a truck no matter what. So I was one of my only only kids in the friend group that had a truck. So obviously I had called to help move couches and stuff like that. And then from there it kind of expanded. And when I was 18 and 19, I was fortunate enough that my father had a big old box truck, 26 footer. And he said, if you want to if you can use this to make money, then you can use it. And so I was 18, driving a 26 foot box truck probably had no business doing that. But I learned I didn’t hit anyone’s car.

Speaker1: [00:05:15] That’s good.

Dillon Adams: [00:05:16] Oh, good. So just kind of a learning experience.

Speaker1: [00:05:20] What are some current goals you are pursuing right now within your business?

Dillon Adams: [00:05:24] Currently, I am trying to grow and expand my company and create something that is able to really benefit the community in multiple different ways, but then also help myself and the guys that are helping me to build this. So it’s really about stability and creating that constant inflow of of revenue.

Speaker1: [00:05:49] Speaking of goals, are there any goals that you had once you started that you’ve like absolutely dominated and like you’ve passed completely completed?

Dillon Adams: [00:05:58] No, no, I have had we actually the counter thing is I did start a little more bright eyed and bushy tailed, you could say. I started with three different divisions when I came out of the gate, and that was a little bit more than I should have started with. And so in that it just took a little learning. I had to step back from one of those divisions and actually take it down for a while. So it was like I had to slow down to speed up.

Speaker1: [00:06:24] Are you glad that you did that?

Dillon Adams: [00:06:26] Like I am, It saved me a lot of stress. And what we say, we talk when we talk about it, we say we were we were tripping over fifties to get $1 bills, so.

Speaker1: [00:06:38] What do you believe was your biggest mistake through your entrepreneurial journey?

Dillon Adams: [00:06:42] I would say there are no mistakes because they’re all lessons, right? So like back like when you guys ask the question about the lessons or about the hardships, it is all. Just it’s all it’s all just a learning opportunity. And it is what you what you get from it.

Speaker1: [00:07:00] So with that, what is the biggest advice you would give for all the entrepreneurs just starting a business now?

Dillon Adams: [00:07:07] I would say follow your gut and to stay curious. If something is interesting to you, I would say follow that. And then if you see a problem and you can come up with a solution, then expanding on that is what will ultimately could grow you to your business.

Speaker1: [00:07:26] What is your favorite part of the job versus your least favorite part of the job?

Dillon Adams: [00:07:30] Oh, the favorite. My favorite part of the job is getting to help people, seeing their faces. After I’m able to help them move their entire lives over and fit it all into a 26 foot box truck and then move it over to their new house. And then seeing the relief that they that they have when they’re like, Wow, this was such a great experience. I have never had one like this before. I can now just have to worry about moving in and unpacking. I think one of my least favorite things would honestly just have to be the paperwork. The paperwork.

Speaker1: [00:08:00] Paperwork is not fun.

Dillon Adams: [00:08:02] I’ve always been a man. I’ve always been out there hands on in the field, doing work with my hands. I’ve never been one to sit behind a computer desk, but in this position, doing what I do as the company owner, you have to do things sometimes that you don’t want to do. And so for me, I have to do the paperwork now, so hopefully later I don’t have to. Yeah.

Speaker1: [00:08:23] Is there any advice that you’ve received from other people that have really helped you?

Dillon Adams: [00:08:28] Hmm. Advice that I’ve received, Yes. It’s only a failure if you quit trying. And that’s not true. I stick by that.

Speaker1: [00:08:38] What any misconception can misconceptions about what you do like?

Dillon Adams: [00:08:44] I guess as far as the moving goes, maybe that they think that we’re just there to move them and get their stuff and then move it over. But that’s not how we approach the move at all. We really we know that moving can be one of the most stressful things that you do in your life. And so we really the approach we take is that you’re like our neighbor or like, like my mom. I treat every customer like that so that they know that they can just so it feels more of like a friendship and hangout session rather than this big ordeal of moving their life.

Speaker1: [00:09:20] Where do you think you would see yourself in the next five years?

Dillon Adams: [00:09:24] Five years? Yeah. I hope I work for you. I want to work for you guys in the next five years. I would like to have a couple of divisions up and running. I would like to be able to continue to pour into the community and help anyone that needs help. Just grow, including you guys and. Honestly. Anything else anyone needs?

Speaker1: [00:09:51] What is your role within Kid Expo organization and what led you to be part of it?

Dillon Adams: [00:09:56] So I run and help with the blue collar side of kid’s biz and enlightening kids on how they can use their hands and solve problems physically in order to open that mindset to see what blue collar things later that they could possibly be interested in. I got involved because I bugged Renee and Amy enough to let them help me at an expo, to let me help them at an expo. And then I built them a really nice lemonade stand, and I think that’s what got me in there.

Speaker1: [00:10:28] Whenever you first started, did you ever see yourself helping other businesses and like doing what you do?

Dillon Adams: [00:10:36] I had no idea how much I would pour into the community and how involved I would be with the other businesses, because for me, I deal directly with people moving their houses or people that need pest control or mosquito control. So the fact that I deal with and have relationships with what I feel like is 90% of the small businesses in Canton or Cherokee County, it just really I was not expecting that at all. And it was definitely. But I’m so glad I did.

Speaker1: [00:11:07] Do you think networking was a big part of that, like getting more 100%?

Dillon Adams: [00:11:13] Networking was a big one for me and that really is what I saw that helped me grow is because I was able to just help a couple people and then other people heard from that and it got me more referrals. And it’s just networking is 100%. It’s the best way to reach out and get your name out there and actually just learn who’s in your community and what what it is that they need and how you can assist them.

Speaker1: [00:11:36] Are there any other ways besides networking that can really help you grow your business?

Dillon Adams: [00:11:40] Cherokee Connect Facebook Marketplace Social media as it’s a double edged sword, but for business owners, it definitely is something that to utilize. We’ve done almost zero marketing, paid marketing, advertising and between Canton Business Club and Cherokee Connect and everything online, it’s kept us afloat.

Speaker1: [00:12:01] So what values do you think are important to you when you think about the kind of business you want to build?

Dillon Adams: [00:12:07] That’s a good one. I think really for me, something that an old maintenance man said to me once was that. It doesn’t matter the skill or the trade doesn’t matter what you’re doing. Anyone can be taught a skill or trade. What you can’t teach is character and and how to be as a person. So when I’m growing my guys, or if I’m looking to add guys or what kind of environment I want to bring to my job and my workplace, it is one of just grace and understanding and empathy for whatever anyone’s going through. And I think doing that and focusing on the culture of it is what really has made us so successful.

Speaker1: [00:12:54] How do you feel about personal growth and how does that affect your business?

Dillon Adams: [00:12:58] I am really big on personal growth. Ask Amy or Rene. That’s probably one of the hardest challenges that I’ve gone through. Through life is just constantly growing as as a person, because you always feel like when you’re yourself, you think you got it, you think you understand, and then you look back at yourself five years, you look back at yourself five years ago and you say, Wow, that person didn’t know a thing. And so I think it’s constantly doing that, and it’s hard in the present to stay present and then but also to remain open to growth and trying to continue.

Speaker1: [00:13:33] Are there any books that you would suggest to help with that?

Dillon Adams: [00:13:36] Atomic Habits, The Way of the Superior Man. No more Mr. Nice Guy was a good one for me.

Speaker1: [00:13:43] Hmm. What is your favorite quote?

Dillon Adams: [00:13:47] Embrace the suck. If you can embrace the suck, then life is a whole lot easier.

Speaker1: [00:13:57] Does that mean? Just like, kind of like rolling with, like, whatever life throws at you?

Dillon Adams: [00:14:01] Exactly. Rolling with the punches, You know, it’s like even there, people say silver linings, glass half full type deal. So but if you think about it, like no matter what, you can always find good in any situation, even the darkest of situations. And so I had I was once on a job and I had one of my employees when I was doing the industrial work. He landed on top of a $22,000 machine and he broke it. It a pretty dark, dark day. But because of how we handled the situation and got it handled, paid for, covered and replaced, we actually ended up doing more work for the company we busted the machine for.

Speaker1: [00:14:44] Do you think how you view the world like Very positive has impacted your customers and your employees.

Dillon Adams: [00:14:53] I would like to think so. I sure hope so. I think that you that’s one of the things that you wouldn’t maybe really know. Because they’ll go. If you’re really acting in selflessness, I think that they will go in and spread that to someone else. And it’s kind of like pay it forward type deal.

Speaker1: [00:15:17] How do you what do you think about the phrase you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with?

Dillon Adams: [00:15:23] I agree. And another fact is you make actually within 2 to 3000 within your five friend group.

Speaker1: [00:15:32] But. Really.

Dillon Adams: [00:15:35] It’s an interesting, interesting statistic. So like. If you’re a millionaire, right? Typically, you’re probably going to hang out with other millionaires, most likely because you guys are all in the same mindset growth wise, trying to grow. I’m not saying millionaires can’t hang out with people that aren’t millionaires, but typically they tend to surround themselves with that. And so if you look at the people you surround yourself with and you ask might be a little harder for you guys right now, you guys are probably in the top percent of your your age group bracket for me.

Speaker1: [00:16:11] I hope so.

Dillon Adams: [00:16:12] Yeah. But as you get older and you look around and you see that and you’ll see that the people that are making more money are usually more focused on self-growth and being a better person.

Speaker1: [00:16:23] Whenever you’re hiring people or choosing who to hang out with, do you look at what they value and how they act around others to help you make those decisions?

Dillon Adams: [00:16:31] Of course, yes. I always look around who I associate myself with and I feel like I’m a pretty good judge of character. I also do believe in grace, though, and I feel like some people like you’re not. I might like someone that you don’t like, but I think that’s all comes down to opinion and basically how that other person shows up in their life. So I think everyone deserves deserves a fair shot until they show you otherwise.

Speaker1: [00:16:59] How do you go about goals like if you set a goal for yourself, how do you like to go about achieving stuff?

Dillon Adams: [00:17:07] So the old way what I used to do, this is something I’m actually currently working on. So what I used to do was I would just set a pretty broad goal and I would just aimlessly try to get there with no real direction or roadmap. What I’m working on now and constantly auditing myself on is I set a goal and then I reverse engineer it. So I’ll set a year goal and then from there I break it down. How do how am I going to get there in a year and I break it down into six months? Okay. If I’m going to be there in a year, where do I need to be in six months? And then I break it down more where I need to be every quarter? Where do I need to be every month? And you set those things. And the more it seems tedious and like probably a little extra, but the more granular you get with it. The easier it’s going to be to obtain. Because now instead of just I want to I want to own my own company, you now have Och, I want to own my own company and you have that broken down into steps all the way down to the day. You’re going to know what to do every single day instead of just aimlessly waking up and saying, Oh, well, I’ve got to start a company, but I don’t really I don’t really know what to do.

Speaker1: [00:18:16] What is one thing that you are deeply grateful for right now?

Dillon Adams: [00:18:21] I probably sound like a broken record, but I’m really grateful for our community here. I’m really grateful for what the ability and the opportunity that has grown in Cherokee County and what it provides to people that want to start a business, even like yourselves. You guys have been to Camden Business Club and see how many people are there and how many people just really want you to win. And it’s genuine. Everyone really does want you to win.

Speaker1: [00:18:47] Yes, it is a very supportive community. You mentioned opportunity. So would you agree that like one of the biggest things with starting a business is just getting more opportunity for sure.

Dillon Adams: [00:18:59] And I think that’s really just life is the opportunity and it’s what you make of it. There’s there can be a million opportunities in front of you, but you the only opportunities that you’ll get are the ones that you go out and actually execute on. So you can have these things in front of you. But if you don’t do anything to make it a reality, then nothing’s going to happen. And I think in entrepreneurship that’s kind of the mindset you have to adopt naturally. You have to figure it out. You have to figure out how you’re going to do it, how you’re going to sell it. And so you apply that and it ends up you end up applying it not only to your business, but it ends up applying to your entire life and how you just operate.

Speaker1: [00:19:34] What are some goals that you have for your business right now?

Dillon Adams: [00:19:37] I would like to make at least half a million dollars this year. Revenue.

Speaker1: [00:19:43] It’s a pretty good goal.

Dillon Adams: [00:19:44] That is a pretty good goal. It’s pretty high. I think we can do it. It’s definitely something that’s going to be hard to do. But if it’s hard, that means you’re it means you’re doing the right thing. And I think that’s something that with like heart, if something is hard for you, if you find something in life that is hard or if it makes you nervous, as long as it’s not dangerous, then I would I would challenge you to do that. Because if you’re scared or if you’re nervous, that means that there’s an opportunity for growth, because that’s where the most growth happens. You don’t you don’t grow a whole lot when everything’s great, but you do grow a whole lot when you overcome challenges. Like for you ladies, like I’m sure you guys know a whole lot more now about starting businesses and at first.

Speaker1: [00:20:32] A lot of new nothing. We have definitely grown a lot with Kid Biz. It’s been very.

Dillon Adams: [00:20:37] Helpful. Think about where you guys were a year ago, you know, like compare that to now.

Speaker1: [00:20:42] Definitely different. Right. A lot happens. Yeah. What steps are you taking to achieve your this current goal of yours?

Dillon Adams: [00:20:52] So we are setting we have to make at least. 45,000 revenue every month. That’s a big goal. And so but it’s getting out there and focusing and just really staying open to the community. I’m on Facebook all the time. Tag me and tag me in posts. I’m following up with people. I’m about to leave here and go go look at another move. And so it’s just it’s just staying on it and staying hungry. And even when you’re tired, you just got to push through and do the things you don’t want to do.

Speaker1: [00:21:25] Would you say you agree with the quote, The best things in life are on the other side of fear?

Dillon Adams: [00:21:30] Yes, I do. That’s a very deep quote.

Speaker1: [00:21:32] This is a very difficult.

Dillon Adams: [00:21:35] I think like I think and that’s like kind of what I said about the on the other side of fear. That’s that’s growth because you learn from that. And it allows you to, when you come to that problem the next time, you won’t nearly be as scared. Like if you guys have to start another company, it’s going to be way easier this time than it is than it was a year ago or whenever you guys started.

Speaker1: [00:21:59] How do you use networking as like, marketing?

Dillon Adams: [00:22:01] I think. Networking. Makes you able to grow a personal relationship and really allows instead of them to know your business, to know who you are as a person. And I feel like if people know who like you are as a person, it makes them more able. It breeds a bigger connection between you and them, and they’re more likely to refer you because you’re not just a company that they don’t just think of your product. They think of you. Mm hmm.

Speaker1: [00:22:30] If you had the attention of the world for 5 minutes, what would you say?

Dillon Adams: [00:22:34] Okay.

Speaker1: [00:22:35] You had the whole world listening to you.

Dillon Adams: [00:22:37] For 5 minutes or.

Speaker1: [00:22:38] 5 minutes. What would you say?

Dillon Adams: [00:22:41] All right, This deep, deep quote.

Speaker1: [00:22:43] Very deep question.

Dillon Adams: [00:22:45] If I had the world’s attention for 5 minutes, I would challenge everyone to try and do a nice thing for someone else today. Reach out to an old friend or stranger and be present and intentional with them. I would implore everyone to actually listen. And when I say listen, that means actually listen. Most people don’t fully listen. They just hear and just try to grow that connection with them and just try to be intentional and see where the universe and the world needs you. Where Cherokee County needs you. We all need help.

Speaker1: [00:23:22] Yeah. You don’t have to change the whole world. And one day you can start small.

Dillon Adams: [00:23:26] Yeah. And I think if it. If everyone does one little thing. Then the world would be a whole lot of a better place.

Speaker1: [00:23:33] Agreed. Agreed? Yes. Where can people find you with your contact info.

Dillon Adams: [00:23:39] So you guys can find us on Facebook? We get tagged in Cherokee Connect a lot. Where are the Adams Collective? You can schedule a free moving quote at atoms CO moving dot com or a free pest control quote at Adams Co pest control dot com.

Speaker1: [00:24:00] So we’re going to play a little this or that just to. Okay, just wrap it up for fun. Cats or dogs?

Dillon Adams: [00:24:06] Dogs.

Speaker1: [00:24:08] Pool or the beach.

Dillon Adams: [00:24:09] Uh. I guess the beach or neither.

Speaker1: [00:24:13] Not a breakfast or dinner.

Dillon Adams: [00:24:17] It used to be dinner, but now breakfast.

Speaker1: [00:24:20] Pie or cake?

Dillon Adams: [00:24:21] Cake.

Speaker1: [00:24:22] Superman or Batman.

Dillon Adams: [00:24:28] Batman. Because he’s a normal. He’s a normal human like me.

Speaker1: [00:24:31] All right, This one, Marvel or DC. Oh, this is gonna.

Dillon Adams: [00:24:38] Uh, I guess Marvel.

Speaker1: [00:24:40] Yes. Yes. We would like to thank you for coming on to the Kid Biz Radio podcast. Yes. Thank you very.

Dillon Adams: [00:24:53] Much. Thank you, ladies, and I appreciate it. This was fun, you guys. This was my first interview.

Speaker1: [00:25:01] And you did great. Yes, you did. Amazing.

Dillon Adams: [00:25:03] Thank you. Yeah. You guys ask really good questions. So anyone else that if you guys come on this show, be ready.

Speaker1: [00:25:11] Be ready to ask deep questions. You have to think.