15: The Jared Skinner Episode

In this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sheila welcomes entrepreneur Jared Skinner, whose journey from concrete laborer to investor in multiple successful businesses provides valuable insights for service-based business professionals. Jared's experiences, from door-to-door sales to financial management, underscore essential strategies for sustainable growth and stress the value of surrounding oneself with knowledgeable mentors and industry leaders. This conversation offers actionable advice on how home-service business owners can achieve profitability, leadership effectiveness, and lasting success.

Guest: Jared Skinner

• Owner/Investor in 6+ businesses

• Entrepreneurial experience spanning finance, door-to-door sales, and home services

Key Topics:

• Importance of financial literacy and knowing your numbers

• Leadership strategies for effective employee engagement and autonomy

• The transition from labor-intensive roles to strategic business management

• Benefits of mentorship, masterminds, and industry networking

• Strategies for rapid scaling and sustainable growth in home-service businesses

Resources:

• The Huge Insider Newsletter Signup

• The Huge Insider Podcast Downloadable Action Guide

• The Foundations Platform Trial Offer

• The Huge Mastermind Info Page

• Facebook Group

• PCF Marketing

Transcript:

  Hello, everyone. Welcome to the huge transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graf out of Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer from North Carolina. We're your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in the industry.

Folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses, and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show. Just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders and every episode is 100 experience.

0 percent theory. We're going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guests will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the wild Journey of entrepreneurship.

Let's dive in. 

Hi, this is Sheila Smeltzer with the Huge Transformations Podcast. Today's guest is Jared Skinner.  Jared has a great story that outlines the skills he's learned throughout his entrepreneurial journey and how actually caring about people and about numbers has been a huge key to his success.  Jared is owner and, or investor of more than six.

businesses, and he shares the important lessons. On finance and leadership in today's show. Let's dive in. 

Hi, Jared. How's it going Sheila? How are you today? Doing excellent. Thanks for asking. How about you?  Good. Yeah. No, I'm great. Great here in North Carolina. So Jared Skinner, we have you on the huge transformations podcast and i'm super super excited to interview you today Um, and uh, yeah, I just I want to know more about you.

I've I've been involved with you through the huge for a number of years, and I get to take a deep dive into Jared Skinner's life and see what's going on.  I'm pretty sure it's great after everything that I already know about you. So, um, so Jared, tell, tell our guests who you are and what you're all about. 

Yeah. Uh, so Jared Skinner, obviously, um, currently in Denver, Colorado is where we're based out of right now. Um, So I can give you a little bit of background if that's what we're going for. So I Yeah, please. Grew up in Idaho.  Yeah. I grew up in Idaho, a small town called Rigby. Uh, about 4,500 people. Um, my dad had a concrete construction company, so I grew up doing concrete work my whole life, which was a good start to learning how to work hard.

Right. Yeah.  Labor definitely hard work. Mm-hmm . Wanted me to take over the business. Wasn't interested  in doing that. Mostly 'cause. It's like super labor intensive and I, you know, my dad was on the job site every day and I was like, I don't want to do that because he just wore himself out. Right. Right. So anyway, um, you know, I started to see your mission for my church and then I went to, uh, college at BYU and  got a  degree, a bachelor's degree in business  with an emphasis like in marketing.

So, but marketing, So, you know, marketing back in the day, there was no internet,  so it was a different type of marketing back then than it is today. So anyway, I feel you there, by the way, I feel you there. Our first advertisement was in the Yellow Pages. So  right. Yeah. It was a phone books. And the Internet was just starting to come online when I was graduating college, so not  going on there as far as learning that.

So, um, anyway, married and, uh, met my wife at school in a statistics class. Our punchline is what are the odds right? 

So, um, got married and, uh, my wife, you know, stayed home, um, we actually worked together. So I actually sold pest control  throughout my college years. So did really well with that. Ended up managing multiple offices. I was in a regional sales manager where I traveled the country and trained all the sales rep for work in pest control.

Uh, I did that for about six years, actually.  So, uh, that was a really good experience. Knocking doors is.  Most people hate it, right? To be honest, like it's a hard thing to do. But the skill sets that you learn from that is absolutely off the charts if you can do it. So cold calling on people and selling stuff that way.

So that, that actually ended up being a massive  jumpstart to a lot of the things that I did in the future, right? With learning how to sell door to door, essentially. Door to door. Yeah, so did that for work and we were, you know, we were selling about 30 million worth of pest control in 4 months for them.

Right? So the numbers and the things that you can do is just insane with it. So,  and I did that for a little bit and then, uh, ultimately my, my goal. Back in the day was to work on like wall street for investment banks. So that was kind of the direction I was headed. I did, uh, went out to New York after we got married, took my wife.

We did, uh, interviewed with multiple investment banks. And, uh,  we basically walked away from there saying there's no way we can live in like New York city, right? Like that's just not my jam.  I'm from the farm country, right? We grow potatoes. So, um, we just, good  for you for chasing after a dream though. Love that. 

Yeah. Yeah.  So, um, anyway, so we ended up saying, you know, this isn't the life we want to live.  So ended up going to graduate school and got an MBA with an emphasis in finance. So I did that and, uh, worked in finance for about seven years with investments. So stocks, options, futures, Forex market, all of that fun stuff.

So the Forex market or just the, the investment world is just fascinating. Right. And that was kind of the direction I wanted to go. I just did a pivoted off of wall street, end up working for home from home in that space for a while. Um, which was good. And the problem that I had with that is that I felt like number one, I was going to die just sitting behind a desk all day, right?

So being raised, working hard and doing the thing.  So now I just felt like I was, like, dying. I was like, I can't do it anymore.  I've got to do something else. Um, so, just looking at different things to do, and I, you know, I knew I had the skill set to go style anything I wanted to door to door. So my wife and I decided we would, uh, kick off, you know, pest control we'd done for six or seven years, but let's just try something different.

So window cleaning it was, and, uh, so that's how I started. How did you decide upon window cleaning? How did that go? Where did it come from? Yeah, I had a buddy in, uh, Boise, Idaho, who was cleaning windows and, uh, you know, back then he was doing,  you know, three, 400, 000 a year, which sounded great, right? Yeah.

Yeah. I was like, if he can do that, I can do it. And I can sell this stuff door to door. Like I know I can sell this door to door. Right. That feels really easy.  And it was actually really easy to sell. So it was just really low barrier to entry.  I already had a truck and it's just you don't need much to get started like in the window cleaning space I was like, you know what it's not gonna cost me anything.

We'll just go do it and see what happens  Um, yeah, that was,  I think we started with 600 bucks.  Seriously. Yeah, that's the beauty of it, right? It's like, 600 bucks. And it's a two edged sword. Now it's like, well, that's not the beauty because anybody can do it and you wish you had like a bigger moat around like the space a little bit, but you don't think of that when you're.

Starting out a business, right? So it's like, what can I do? So, um, and the other reason I wanted to start something is, you know, when I was in the financial space, like I was like capped, right? And I just hate feeling like I can't move and I don't have anywhere to go. Right. Yeah. So if I have a ceiling above me,  it kills me.

So it's like, if I either have to start my own financial business, which that costs a fortune in the space I was in millions of dollars. Right. And that's just like, that's not happening. I don't think I want to take that leap. So I took the opposite, which was, doesn't cost me anything. Just a little bit of sweat equity and right.

Just go get, go get grinded on the thing. So  we were living in Minnesota at that time, moved back to  Colorado and  it off. So I would go knock doors in the afternoons, hired my brother. And during the day, we would service the thing and go sell in the evenings. The next day we'd service all the stuff, right?

So, um, that's how we kicked it off. So that's how we launched our first business was knocking some doors, knocking some doors. That's really cool. And I mean, one thing that I really relate to with what you told me so far, Jared is  Um, as I and I can tell just by you going through your story right now is all of the things that we do from literally our very first job.

Yours was in the concrete, working with your dad, doing concrete, the labor and all of the different opportunities that you've had along the way have contributed in some way, shape or form to what you're doing today. You know, it's it's all learning You and you, you get all these different skills that can, you know,  bring you to where you are today.

And so, 'cause I'm hearing a lot of things I'm hearing like, yeah, you had to do the labor. You obviously had to learn into, uh, lean into your door to door, which you learned from Orkin. Um, and I know that this finance bit is gonna come into play here in the next part of your story.  And the NBA,  right? Yeah.

Yeah. Cause I mean, you got to, you know, so in the corporate world, you kind of, to get into like these big banks, right. Investment banks or, you know, in a, in a nice big corporate job, you kind of have to have the NBA. Right. So, and the, in the longterm play for me too, was to be able to, if I wanted to, like when I'm getting close to retirement, cause I wanted to be able to have an option to go like teach at a college.

Right. Um, and so some of my very favorite, Yeah.  Professors or teachers, right? Where people who actually Did the thing  they're actually they're not go to school and then come teach it They're actually like guys from Wall Street right so and they were just like or people who owns like franchises or a Chick fil a or like and like five probably four People that like made a big impact just because they had the experience Right.

So anyway, that's like Yeah, is that still a dream of yours?  Um, so I loved like I like the education stuff, right? And I like  trying to make an impact somewhere, right? By helping people. Um, so I think big picture that would be a possibility for me, but when I'm all said and done with the whole business thing and retired, I don't ever think I'll retire, but that might be just a good thing to,  to do at the end.

But we'll see. Yeah. I love it. Okay. So take me forward because I know you've, you've accomplished a lot more since where we are right now, starting as like the bucket Bob with the brother and the door to door starting the window cleaning company. So tell me what's happened.  So, you know, kicked off the door to door thing.

We started, uh, we had a pretty good little strategy that we had as far as knocking doors. So we, and this might help some people who are kicking off. So we'd knock doors and then whenever we sold the job, right, we'd post a yard sign. Whenever we were servicing a job, we had like an a frame in the middle of the street, like next to the truck on the street set. 

doing stuff. But we knock doors. It's such a tight, you sell so many people on the street that we'd have like 5, 10, 15 yard signs right on the street. Like every 4th house, right? Was just  And so it just really created this nice organic thing and everyone's like, wow, I guess these guys are doing everybody.

Right. And when you're selling door to door, you could be like, yeah, we're doing them. And then we're like, yeah, I know we see your right. And so it just makes it like easier. Right. Yeah. And so that's for us. So we were able to, um, get kicked off pretty well. Um, and then we launched holiday lights as well at the same time.

So we just try to mimic my friends.  Business model who was in Boise, right? Just tried to copy what he was doing because it seemed to be working for him. And I thought 300, 000 was like.  Big. And it was right at the time. And so, um, so yeah, so we started to grow that, started to hire more employees and, uh, you know, in a couple of years, we up to about three years or so to about a half a million dollars, um, in that space. 

So I think, you know, when you ask about the MBA and how that plays in, I think one benefit of that is  obviously, you know, you don't have to have like an education to be successful in business, but there's things that it can help with and maybe things that it doesn't. But, um, The things that I think really benefited me was the finance side. 

So I, I really know numbers and I know how important it is to be cashflow positive and have money in the bank and like all that stuff. Right. So, you know, I've never ran my business like in the red, like ever, right. All our companies are fully debt free, no debt. And it's just that mindset of knowing how to control costs and.

Knowing the numbers and actually caring about the numbers, right? I think the big benefit to me, cause most people ignore the numbers and ignoring the numbers is.  can be death, right? If you really don't know what's going on in your business. So I think that was one big advantage. So if I, you know, had to say something to the guys who aren't  in the numbers or know the numbers or think it's a big deal, like, I think that's something you have to be very careful of that can blindside you.

Um, so I think that was one thing that really helped me out.  Very good. Yeah. That's. That's so important. And I mean, I can tell the opposite story and not really the opposite story, but  I mean, about 15 years ago, I, I just started working with a business coach and I knocked on his door and, uh, well, actually I hadn't worked with him yet.

I knew of him through my local chamber and I knocked on his door and I sat on his couch and I started crying and he's like, what is going on, Sheila? Like, I barely know you and I'm like, I need help. I don't, I have this business. I know we're making money, but I don't know, I don't know where the money's going, nothing's being charted.

Like, we were just doing the thing, and not even thinking of, like, I mean, obviously we were thinking, I was thinking about the money, I knew the money was coming in, but We had no financial reports. We had no chart of accounts set up. We had no budget. You know, it was nothing was organized there and it takes a minute.

It took us about three years to get that really going. And it's been a game changer ever since. I mean, now you can say when you know your numbers, you can say, yeah, I have a business.  Yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of times we're just scared of them if you don't know about them, right? Or how to do it or how to go about it.

And so we just ignore it. We pretend it doesn't matter. Right. And then that's when you get in trouble. So, you know, big piece of advice kicking off is if you don't know, that's okay. Just hire someone who does, right? It's not that complicated if you just hire someone. It's not that expensive just to take that piece.

And do it for you, right? And I think that's a hard thing when we're starting out is we just don't want to let go of stuff or we, you know, we think we have to do it all ourselves or we think I have to figure it out, but I don't have time to do that. We think hiring somebody is way too expensive, right?

And we view it as a cost. And not like as an investment, right? So all we think is like, man, it costs too much to do that. Well, no, this is an investment in your business because it's going to help your business grow, right? When you understand stuff like that. I think that's a hard mindset  that we have when we start out as we think. 

It's all me. I got to do it all. I got to figure it all out. Right? And if you go that route, which most of us do, it takes a lot longer, right? To, to ramp up the business and actually get moving and gain some good momentum when we have that mindset. And that's hard. That was hard. It still is sometimes hard for me to let go of certain things, right? 

Yeah. There's, there's something, there's a few things really important though. You said caring about your numbers, like to care about the finance of the business. And that's true. And also to be able to explain the numbers when you read a P and L and you have some exorbitant costs in an account or whatever for that last month to be able to say, yeah, that happened because You, where, you know, what's going on in your business and you can explain the numbers.

That's when, you know, and at least for me, that's when I knew that I was like really starting to get it and be in control.  But the other thing that you said that I just have to take a moment and comment on is you said, yeah, if, if the, whomever the business owner is, if they don't,  if they don't know how to do that thing, which in this case, we're talking about finance, who does. 

So who, not how, right? Who knows how to do this and how can I outsource this so that this can be under control and something as important as the finance. Like that's, that's step number one. Yeah. Really appreciate you bringing this up. It's so important to talk about  so, but keep going. I want to hear more. 

Yeah. And one of those piece on that, especially in our industry where it's so cyclical, right? Like you kind of need to know, like, we know exactly to the dollar, like how much money we need in the bank to float the winner and to get through those bruling, you know, spring months, right? How much cash do we have to have set aside?

So we're not borrowing anything. We're not stressed out. Right. And even those little things just to make life easier, because the worst is when you're just.  So stressed out about your business, right? But when you kind of know the numbers and you know, you've got the exact amount of money you need to float this, and then this kicks in and all that.

Like, like life just gets easier  and business becomes a little more fun, right? More fun.  Yeah, like, like just killing it. So, um, anyway, so yes, we've traveled down the window cleaning path, uh, for a number of years and then, uh,  you know, started to join some groups, right. Just to educate myself more. So I think that's another big pieces. 

The key to, to really ramp up and to, to, to collapse time is to surround yourself with people who've done it before. Right. And so I started to figure that out and I wish I would have done that sooner. Um, so started to surround myself and come in contact with people who were doing. You know, bigger and better things than me, where this, you know, where they were, where I wanted to go. 

Um, so at that point, you know, we started to push up and ramp up a little bit more, um, and got our business up to a seven figure business. And then, you know, I don't know if this, this is kind of, I don't know. I'm not encouraging anybody to do this, but I'm the guy who, once I've hit something,  I kind of get bored and I'm like, I need something else to like get excited about, um, and our window cleaning business basically is just structured in place and Everybody was running the thing and, you know, I just check in with.

The people who are running it in a couple of times a week and they're just amazing and doing the thing. So now it's like, well, what's next now? Right. Um, so essentially, uh, got into the concrete coding space. So we kicked off, uh, a concrete coding business and  we did seven figures our first year in business.

Amazing.  And so. You know, with that, it's, when you look back on it, you're like, well, you know, how did you do that? Well, it's, it's because you learn so much as you go, hopefully, right? And you, you're able to figure out how a business works, how it functions, how to go to market, right? And how to, again, scale and collapse time. 

So that went really well, really fast. And we still have that seven figure business today. Um, and again,  not, I'm not a hundred percent hands off cause we're trying to do some other things with it, but you know, again, mostly fully functioning. Um, so has opportunities to join and invest in some other.

company. So I've got the opportunity to be part of the huge convention. So part owner in the huge awesome. And then we have a marketing company called PCF marketing as well. And it's kind of a different animal. We don't.  Anyway, that's kind of a tough one to get into. Um, and then one or two other companies that were invested in as well that We are part owners of, so look at your entrepreneurial story.

Okay. So, I mean, okay. So you literally go from concrete labor to sales, door to door, pest control,  investments, going to New York city, trying to do that, you know, thinking that's your dream, right?  I'm doing the investment thing, and then now I'm counting minimum six businesses that you're either own or have invested in. 

And, um, and I mean, that's pretty awesome, Jared. That's really awesome. And I just want to, I just want to ask, like.  You know, I don't know. It's still, you know, really like the demographic of who's listening to our podcast right now. Um, I'm hopeful that we've got a lot of, um,  more startups, new entrepreneur, not entrepreneurs that are listening that, you know, are trying to look for tips, but  like if you could go,  well, I'm going to, I'm going to ask you this question actually, because I think this one is true all the way.

Cause until, you know, when you, when you want to get out of doing the thing yourself, And you want to start hiring people, which is what you need to do to grow.  How would you describe your leadership style?  Because surely between all of these companies, how many people do you employ? Just curious.  Um, do you have any idea? 

Yeah. I mean, we probably have  currently like 15 ish probably. Okay. All right. Yeah. So, um, I mean, that's a lot. And so like, How would you describe your leadership style? Are you, are you pretty engaged with your employees or what does that structure look like for you? Like, what does your org chart look like?

Or, you know, what does it just, I'm curious.  Yeah. Um, so I do like to be.  involved a little bit, like to at least show up, right? Um, so I do show up to the office most days. Um, and just so I can see the people  and just say hi and let them know that I exist and that I care. Right. Um, I'm always trying to send out, you know, if I, if I catch wind that we get a good review.

So I, every time we get a good positive, like Google review or kickback from a client, right. My office people always send me those messages and I'm always.  Messaging my guys directly, just like, Hey man, way to crush it. Like, so I want them to know that I care and that I'm on, and that I'm watching that stuff because I am right.

Um, so I try not to like really micromanage as much as I can. I try to, you know, we have people who do the things, um, but I still.  They still know that I know what's happening, right? Um, because I do check on things and peek on things. Um, so we try to have a good culture. Obviously, we'll do, you know, Christmas parties, we'll do events.

So we've done stuff where we take our people like whitewater rafting, yeah, ATVing. Um, just company events, stuff like that,  just random bowling stuff. Um, but yeah, try to be involved. I'll try to get out on some jobs now and then, um, especially if it's, you know, bigger jobs or something that matters or, you know, just to go help out and support the guys like I like to do that now and then, um, just to be.

There. So, um, I just want my people to know that, like, I have their back, right? If needed,  like, I'll step up and do whatever. Um,  so as far as that goes, I think, uh, you know, one of my biggest struggles, though, which I think held me back and still, I think, holds me back a little bit is I've always had this hard time to let things go.

That was my very first.  Hardest thing is like trust somebody to answer the phones trust somebody to go out and do the job by themselves Trust somebody to go sell the thing right? Yeah, like just the trust factor and being willing to actually push Things off of my plate, um, was probably the very biggest roadblock that I had that kept me from, from moving quicker.

Right. Um, and I still to this day realize I'm like, man, I could be doing this, but I still am like, I just need to let someone right. And so in a way, I still. You know, we have some good things going, but I still know like we could do much more. Right. Um,  I think on the flip side, I think on the flip side too.

And I think I'm guilty of the same thing of we, uh, we want to be, yeah, letting some of these things go in the business, but I think for the employee. Um, maybe it's an office manager, you know, maybe it's an operations manager or whatever it may be for them when they're kind of used to us keeping our thumb on the pulse of everything.

And now we say no. You have the autonomy to go do this. Like, you know what to do. You have the autonomy to go do this on your own. They sit there and go, Whoa, wait, what do I do?  I mean, I have found that somewhat in my own business and, and some people, you know, absolutely love that. And some people, I think are still a little like, wait a minute, what's going on here?

So there was a real transition and to start out when hiring people. Like, what are some things that we can do when we bring a new role into our company? Let's say it's a customer service rep, a CSR, somebody who's going to answer the phones.  What would be your recommendation, Jared, bringing this new person into your business to set them up for that autonomous role that you don't,  that sets them up for success?

What's your, what is, what is your recommendation?  Yeah, good question. So I've, I've done a lot of different things really bad and hopefully better with, with this of, you know, as little as hiring them and saying, okay, listen to me, answer the phone three or four times. And then, all right, go for it. Right. And so that usually doesn't turn out very good. 

Right. And they just don't have enough knowledge and training and, you know, in, in guard and guide rails to keep them, you know, on the right path. Um, so we've kind of evolved over the years. So now we've got. You know, a training. Right? So we do a sales like on the phone, how to answer the phone, how you talk, what words you should use and speak and how to talk to the client.

Right? And so just a whole, you know, framework of just what that looks like. Right? And then Exactly. Then scripts on, you know, we don't want them to be robots, but you know, these are your key things you need to find out about the client, right? And we're not here just to  answer the phone and schedule quotes or schedule jobs, right?

Like we're here to make, cause if they call 10, five companies or three companies, right? Most companies are just trying to schedule them,  but we want to become like the consultant, right? Ask them questions, figure out what's really going on, right? Actually have some care and concern. We want them to like get off the phone and be like, Okay, I'm not even going to cancel my other quotes because these guys obviously know what they're talking about, right?

Right. So we also have for those roles like exact roles and responsibilities, right? Like this is your job, right? Bingo. Because a lot of times when I started, I would, I knew what I wanted to do in my head. And I say, yeah, answer the phone, schedule the thing. Right. And they would do that. But there was so much more to that, that I would just assume they would figure it out or just no.

And so you get frustrated with them and you think they're doing a bad job and maybe they're doing a great job, but the problem is me. I'm not like giving them what they need. to know to fulfill their role and responsibility. Right? So now they have a very specific role responsibility. It's like, you know, this day of the week, these things have to be done this day of the week.

These things have to be done. Right. And it's almost like a daily checklist just to keep them on track and keep them. And some people need that. Right. Um,  We need to know like what needs to be done. And then after a while, they've, it's easier for them to settle into their job and actually be super effective.

But  I think the danger is, is when we just, it's all in our head and we just assume they'll figure it out and they should know what we know and do what we would do. Right. Yeah, but they don't, we're all different. Like everyone's programmed different.  Yeah. And if I may just contribute to that, you know, it's. 

They have a role, they have responsibilities for that role, and then there's the tasks, right? The tasks are the da da da da da da da, like, do this, this, this, that. But when you start to define what the responsibilities are, and I, I come across this a lot in my business, where if I have Jackie, who's a CSR, and she's responsible for the emails, But now Jackie has to go out of town because of an issue in her family or whatnot. 

It's Jackie's responsibility to make sure the emails get handled, even if Jackie's not there to answer the emails. Right. And that's where the responsibility comes in. So it's kind of back to that who, not how thing again, but, but I mean, seriously. That's that's why it's so important. So your responsibilities may be like five things, but it covers a ton  on a task list, right?

Yeah.  Yeah. And to your point, if you're, if you're leaving town or if you're gonna cut out work early and we have leads coming in, it's your job to make sure somebody is going to pick that up. Right. Right. Like notify, you know, either talk to Jake or talk to so and so or talk to Amber, like  if you're not here, these things still have to happen.

Right. And so I love it. Your responsibility then  it becomes  assigning that out or making sure that still happens or checking it at home or whatever, if you can. But, but yeah, cause sometimes you'll just, somebody will leave and nothing's happening. Right. Yeah. So what happens when nothing happens? Like now what do we do as leaders, right?

In the business when the responsibility does not get fulfilled, what happens in your business, Jared?  Yeah. So first of all, a lot of times it's because I didn't, I failed to.  Let them know what should have happened in that case, right? We can just use that example. So yeah, I'm so glad you said that. Yeah. You know, and they might be like, okay, well, I'm, I'm gone this week and they don't say anything or do anything.

Right. And you show up to work and sometimes I don't know that they're out. Right. They just,  or I'll forget, right. It's like on the list of all my things, it's like not even on it. So I feel like, yeah.  They're like, Oh, she's gone. I'm like, Oh, well, who's doing this? Right. Like, I don't know. You know, and it's usually, you know, if I, if I just go after her and say, Hey, like you can't just do that.

Right. But it's, I usually stop and say, well, did I do a good job training that? Right. Did I do a good job setting the expectation that that was supposed to happen? And like, you know, the truth hurts, but most of the time it's because I failed to set the expectation. Right. We're all culprit of that. I mean, yeah, so number one, it's that, um, if I have set the expectation, you know, usually I, I try to, my motto is to just, you know, I feel like if we  show forth love to our people in good times and bad, right, then there's a loyalty that actually develops.

So I never really go off on my people, like I'll be firm and just like.  Hey, Caitlin.  I know you took off and you did this and or whoever it is, right? Um,  but we talked about it. It really puts us in a bind. Nobody's doing this. We spend this much to, to get this lead. We spent 500 bucks to get this name. Like, and if no one's doing anything, we're just like, you know, so it's important that this is done next time.

Right. And I try to do it in a loving. Yeah.  I know if it's my bad, I do try to like say, Hey, this is my fault. I should have told you this in the future, just so I don't forget, like, make sure this and this and this is happening. And I think when you come with some vulnerability as well to your people, so, you know, And they know that  they know we're not perfect.

They see all our flaws. And if you come off as like  the perfect person, right, it's, it's harder for them to respect you, I think, as a, as a leader, as an employer. So I think it's a hard thing to be vulnerable and to. It's okay if we screw up and yeah, people just admit we're human and, you know, and so they don't come after me if I screw up, which I do a lot, right?

So really aggressive way. So I try not to do the same, right? Um, it's kind of the, the approach that I take with my people, you just described though. Um, what I call the frame. Well, it's the framework for having a critical conversation. Um, that I, I originally learned from how to win friends and influence people and that framework.

And I teach this to my people and my company, and that's any confrontational  type of conversation that needs to be have or critical conversation is.  I see your side.  Here's my side. Now let's examine the facts. And usually when you do that, you will come up with a resolution  all parties are good with. And, and I've used that since I learned that 10 years ago or so.

I've used it in, You know, dealing with customers, employees, and it's hard. You have to bring these things because when you're in heat of moment, sometimes or whatnot, or you're dealing with a situation, you tend to forget, you know, but,  but, um, but you just described that and, and it's very important.  It's very important that we remember to treat people the way we want to be treated, right?

Because, because you're right. Then they'll be very loyal to you as employees and things like that.  So, um,  I've heard from you I've heard some really great words come from your mouth today Jared, and I've heard you use the word care  And I think that's awesome.  And, um, and you know, obviously you care about your people a lot and things like that.

But, um, you know, caring about our numbers, caring about our people. Um, we haven't talked too much about clients, but of course we care about our clients. They pay our bills, right?  Um, but  yeah. And, and so I just think, um, you know, it's really great to get to know you. I want to, as we. As we kind of conclude our podcast today.

Um, and what else would you like to share in regards to, you know, the way the direction our conversation has been going or maybe for our listeners? Um, what I'd really like to know as well is where are you going? Um, because  We all have a plan of some sort. Do you feel comfortable sharing your plan?  And then I want to kind of leave you for some final thoughts or anything else you'd like to share to our guests. 

Sure. Um,  that is a great question. Where am I going? So maybe it's my midlife crisis that I'm trying to figure that out,  but I really asked myself this question over the last I'm going to go to the next year or two, right? Like, what is the, what do I want to do? I mean, I've done, you know, it's like, where do I go?

Can I just keep doing this thing? Am I going to like shift gears? And what would that look like?  So, the answer is, I  For now, I'm going to stay on the path and we've got some things we want to continue to do with our businesses. I'm really excited about the direction that huge is going and my involvement with that.

So that gets me excited.  Um,  and so, you know, as far as.  I don't, I don't know the bigger picture, although I feel like there's still more for me. Right. And what does that look like? I'm not, I'm not sure yet. Um, okay. But I, I've been more, more and more involved with the huge, which has been fun for me on the education side of things.

Yeah. So excited about that and the things that are in the pipeline for that. Um, yeah, I don't, yeah, I see, I see you on the social media posts. That's great. I love it.  Yeah. So I guess I do have some of those that  I'm on there for. So yeah,  um,  but yeah, so I don't, I don't know that, you know, I don't really plan on taking like this, any of my existing companies to like a 10 million company or things like that.

Um,  you know, I, I feel like I'm just trying to do things that I love and enjoy and trying to fulfill.  Bring me fulfillment more, right? Versus the money, if that makes sense. So, um, we're in a good spot and I don't need to do more things for that. So now I feel like it's, how do I contribute? How do I help or, you know, make an impact is kind of, I think that the direction my mind's been shifting over the last few years, right?

So we'll see where that goes, but I'm not a hundred percent locked in.  No, I'm really glad you bring up the parallel between like the money and the, um, the feel good and the doing good things and giving back and the kind of altruistic side, because, you know, huge. And, and I love that with your involvement with the huge as well, because, um, since I got involved, I mean, I remember going to huge conventions before.

All of you crew owned it. Right. And then when you guys took it on, and then, you know, being invited to the BBB group and the AMP group, and now, um, the huge mastermind group, there is a very, like, there's no doubt that this is a, that huge is a business. Like, there's no doubt. You know, everybody sees that.

But there is that feeling within Love you too. And, and I'm not going to call it a group because it's open to everybody, but it's, there is a feeling there where it is a, there's a lot of caring. There is a lot of, um, standards. I believe there's a lot of standards that are set and like, we want to do the right thing as business owners.

And I, that's a very good fit for me. I can tell it's honestly a great fit for you. You're, you know, part owner of it, but, um, I just think that that's really important for people to know who are thinking about, you know, being involved with huge is that there's, there is a very altruistic, um, like very giving and caring,  caring, um,  uh, culture.

Within the huge. And I think it's, it's been an awesome experience for me. And, um, I love that you're a part of it. I think it's awesome.  Yeah. And I mean, you know, as you're talking about that, so, I mean, all of the owners of the huge right now, like we all have a very strong mission to help business owners succeed.

Right. And I think we're at that point in our career and in our life and like what we want.  And it's just kind of shifts, right? It kind of changes. And so we're super excited about like the huge mastermind. Um, and we're really trying to help people go to the bigger levels, right? With that. And we've got proven frameworks and strategies and,  um, you know, just building the machine that's going to help people create the freedom in their life that they want.

And so it's all proven and it's, you know,  Amazing business owners in there, the Mike Kaplan, Michael Dahlke, right? Who've done amazing things with their companies to tens of millions of dollars. Um, and we're just really trying to help. So that's fun for me, right? It's to get the P right there. It's so, you know, you get 50 people in the room to, to help and it's, it becomes fun to do that.

So, yeah, we're excited about the direction for sure. You know, and when you ask, you know.  And just kind of playing off this a little bit. So yeah, what piece of advice or what do you, would you tell people, you know, if I look back, I could have gone back, I could go back in time. I would say,  educate myself faster.

Right.  Find people who have proven systems methods, right. To scale faster. Cause it was really, it's, even though, you know, it was, it's painful to start off a business and to figure it out yourself, there's a lot of stress. I mean, I remember sitting at home at midnight. You know, I'm trying to just  respond to everybody and get back all these texts and stuff.

And I'm just like, I just remember stopping and saying, Jared, what are you doing? This is so stupid. Like, all you do is get up at 5 a. m., go to bed at midnight.  This is the dumbest thing. Like, this is not what you envisioned for yourself, right? Like, my family's suffering. I'm suffering. Like my, you know, you do have to put in a grind.

The answer is yes. But, um, if you know things.  Then you don't have to go through that for as long. Right. And there's shortcuts to that. And I wish I would have connected with the right groups and the right people to, to get through those pain and suffering points in my life, right. Quicker and had a better life sooner.

Right. Cause there is a sacrifice that we all put forth as entrepreneurs and it's, you know, how do we. Is there a shortcut to that? And the answer is yes, there is, right? You,  so don't, don't be scared to like make those investments. Put yourself out there. Yeah. And sometimes you do. Connect with people and find the right groups and yeah. 

Yeah. I have some real key mentors within my industry and really just throughout. Yeah. I mean, it's not even just in window cleaning industry or pressure washing industry, but um, Just in business. I have so many mentors that you know, they're on speed dial on my phone I mean, it doesn't matter what's going up going on throughout the day if I need some advice or whatnot you know, I can pick up the phone and call and And so yeah, you it's it's building those connections and you're right when you can go to conventions and in different events Mastermind groups and things like that, where you can, you know, put yourself in a room with other people because you said something that I said to at the beginning of this podcast, you said, wow, I'm in a room.

I'm with people like if they can do it, I can do it. Right.  And that's what it does. It kind of gives you some benchmarking, right? Like, Oh, wow. Okay. Cause that's what we're all doing when we're in a room together as business owners, we're kind of comparing ourselves. Are we not?  We're totally comparing ourselves. 

Do we think we are or not? We are, we are, we are.  I think it's healthy. Cause you know, you're, you're, you're saying like, wow. Okay. And  wow, that seems like totally unattainable to me, but wait, he's sitting next to me here and he's done it. Why can I not do it? And so, um. So, yeah, I think putting yourself in the room with the right people is, is good.

And sometimes you're going to put yourself in the room with the wrong people. And it's knowing the difference. Yeah, be careful with the form, right, and, and opinions online and things like that. Like those can, you know, you want people who can speak from experience, right, is usually the best people. And I  think the problem is a lot of times when we start, we have like these blinders on and we're just going through, but when you start to join some of these higher level groups, like it opens your mind, right, to like bigger possibilities.

And it's like, you know, you would ask me 10 years ago if I would. You know, have,  you know, my fingers in so many different things and companies and that said, no way there's no, it's just window cleaning. Right. And now it's like, what else can we do? Like, it's just, it opens your mind, expands your mind and it.

Breaks limiting beliefs. Right. And you're just like, wow, like there's so much possibility out there. Even at our last mastermind, when we talk about, you know, total addressable market index in, um, revenue expansion and things like that, most people's minds are blown because they're like, I had no idea, like there was this much potential right here.

In my own little town, right? In my own little town. Yeah. And so that was the, being the big fish in a small pond and, um, man, I have thought about that a lot and I've, I have come back and I've got a whole plan around it right now and we are going to work the plan.  You're gonna know it's exciting.  Yeah, it is exciting.

So,  so awesome. So any final thoughts, Jared?  Um, well, it's I would, I would just encourage you, you know, anybody that's listening, that's struggling, right? Is there? It's always a struggle, right? And there's even  you structure with the right people. Everything always comes up. But it's worth it if you just push through and connect with the right people.

Um, you need, you need kind of like a, an AA support group for business really. Right. Yeah. It makes your life a lot easier, um, by surrounding yourself with the right people, but yeah, don't give up. Right. I mean, the great thing about being a business owner is. That nobody  can stop you from becoming what you want to become, except yourself. 

And so that's what I love about it is you have the freedom and the opportunity to do whatever you can dream of, right? By taking the correct application and implementations and things like that. But, uh, the path's worth it, right? I mean, the goal is true freedom and it, it can exist  if you.  Can structure your stuff correctly. 

It's, it can be a real thing, but it can also, you can be, you've probably seen me a slave to your business, right? It can also be a slave to your business and have a really hard life. Uh, but the, the thing about it is it's a choice that we all make.  And your business is treating you exactly the way you designed it to treat you.

So if you don't like it, the great thing is you can change it today. It's just a decision. It's just a choice. It's just a new plan. And you can control all of that, which is, what's just the beauty of being a business owner, in my opinion.  Yeah, no, that's great. I, I think of it as, um, with that freedom, There comes responsibility and so like nothing's totally for free, right?

There's comes responsibility and you know, just owning up to that responsibility. There's so many good things to come.  So many good things to come. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Good point. Yeah. Well, thank you, Jared. I really enjoyed talking to you today. I've definitely got to know you. Got gotten to know you a lot better.

And, um, I'm sure that our listeners have learned a lot from, from your story. And I love the story and tell the storytelling part of it, by the way, cause we all have such a cool story and a lot to learn from each other. Um, I love that you care. And, um, I think that's an important story in itself, especially in talking with, in talking about business.

And I'm really proud to share that here on the huge transformations podcast today. So thank you for contributing.  No, thank you. I appreciate it. That was really fun.  All right. Awesome. Thank you, Jared. We'll see you soon. We'll see you around. 

Hello, my friend. This is Sid. Thank you again, so much for taking your time to listen to today's episode. I hope you got some value from it and listen, anything that was covered, uh, any of the resources, any of the books, any of the tools, anything like that is in the show notes. So it's easy for you to find and check it out.

And also I want to let you know, the, The mission for the huge convention and for this podcast is to help our blue collar business owners like you and I to gain financial and time freedom through running a better business. And we do that in four ways. Number one is our free weekly newsletter. It's called a huge insider.

I hope you subscribe. It is the most valuable newsletter for the home service industry. Period. Paid or otherwise. And this one's free. Next is the Huge Foundations Education Platform. That is, we've got over 120 hours of industry specific education and resources for you. And every month we do a topical webinar and we do question and answer with seven and eight figure business owners.

And it's available to you for a 1 trial for seven days. Next, of course, Is the huge convention or the huge convention. If you haven't been, you got to check it out. It's. Every August this year, it's in Nashville, Tennessee. That's August 20th through 22nd in 2025. And it is the largest and number one rated trade show and convention for home service business builders.

We've got the biggest trade show. So you can check out all the coolest tools and meet the vendors and check out the software to run your business. And it's got, we've got. Um, education, world class education and educators and speakers that will teach you how to run a better business. And it's the best networking opportunity that you can have within the home service business.

And then lastly,  if you want to pour jet fuel in your business, Check out the Hughes mastermind. Now it's not for everyone. You got to be at over 750, 000 of revenue and you're building toward  a million, 5 million, 10 million in the next five years. And it is a network and a mentorship and a mastermind of your peers.

And we help you understand and implement. The freedom operating system. We'd go into more detail, but you can get all the information on all four of these programs and how we'll help you advance your business quickly just by going to the huge convention. com and scroll down and click on the freedom path.

Or of course you can find the links here in the show notes. So sorry, I feel like I'm getting a little bit wordy, but I just want to let you know. of the resources that are available to you to help you accelerate and advance your beautiful small business. So keep on growing, keep on learning, keep advancing.

And if you liked the show, go ahead. I mean, if you would go and take 90 seconds and give us a review on iTunes, then subscribe and share it, man, it would really mean the world to us. It would help other people. And as we continue our mission to help people just like you and me. So thanks again for listening.

We'll see you on the next episode.