112 Moving from doer to owner.

Speaker A: Mr. Mike Finger, how you doing tonight?

Speaker B: David Barnett, It's a pleasure to talk with you again on your exit squad. I'm really excited about our show tonight.

Speaker A: Well, you know, and, and for anyone who's been following along over the course of the season, you'll know that many of our stories have a three episode arc where we talk with a business owner, discuss their business, talk about some of their challenges, and then we find someone that they can work with to help work on some of those challenges and then we get to meet that expert, whatever they are, an accountant, coach, marketing expert, whatever, we get to meet with them, find out a little bit more about them and then we have the follow up show and that's what we're doing tonight. We're having another one of these follow up shows and we're going back to Tony who bought the auto detailing business and, and we introduced him to Bob who if you've been listening to the shows, you, you've heard the intro with Bob and we're going to find out how the two of them, uh, were able to hit it off.

Speaker B: These are my favorite episodes. I love to see, I love to hear the story of the owner and then start to see how they change their perspective on their business and, and what opportunities, uh, that opens up for them and what challenges they find along the way. So, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm excited to bring Bob and Tony in and I'll

Speaker A: remind everyone that if, if you're an expert or you want to be on the show as a guest, you'll find the links for the signups down in the show notes. And, and please give us a, like share this show wherever you're watching it, share it on other social media platforms and if you're listening to the audio, go to the app that you listen on and please give us a five star rating. And it really helps, especially with a new program to find new people who are willing or who are going to benefit from tuning in and listening to some of these stories.

Speaker B: Absolutely helps us bring you more stories like this.

Speaker A: Yep. And so let's bring back Bob and Tony. Hello gentlemen.

Speaker C: Hi. How are we doing? Hi. Hi.

Speaker D: How's everybody?

Speaker B: Excellent to see you both again.

Speaker C: Nice to see you all again. How's, how's, how's business been?

Speaker B: Business is good and that's what we want to hear from the two of you. Uh, Bob, Tony, um, and, and traditionally when we tell these stories we, we try to do it chronologically. So the, the last time we talked with you, Tony, we We heard your story. We got kind of a walkthrough of, of how you purchase the business and then the process of learning about this business and, and coming to terms with some of what you needed to do and look at with the business and change about it. And so we, we captured that story and then after, after looking at our list of partners and, and some of the, um, details that you shared, we reached out to Bob and we said, Bob, here's. Here's the video of our conversation with Tony. Take a look and tell us what you think. And, And Bob, what was your first take?

Speaker D: Uh, first take one. Um, and proven after many discussions now with Tony is just genuinely a great owner, right. That cares about his business, cares about his customers. That's first and foremost. Um, but also, you know, prototypical. Right. He's bought a business, kind of got himself into something that, you know, not outside his realm of knowledge. Right. He was in the automotive industry before, kind of understood the relationship with dealers and the things that go behind that, which is fantastic. Obviously. Um, but, um, you know, bought a, Bought a business in another country. Um, you know, had all kinds of, uh, fun that probably kind of goes with that as well, just from a family and personal life standpoint. Um, and then has run the business and learned that, uh, uh, it's not always as easy as the people selling. You may, uh, may advertise. Right. Um, and so, yeah, so it was one of those where, you know, typical, um, owner who has jumped in with both feet and he is not afraid to get his hands dirty. Uh, which I love. I love the fact that he's not sitting there at his desk hoping that something happens. Um, but also that also creates the challenge of being sucked into the business, uh, on a daily basis, which creates other challenges which I'm sure he'll. He may talk a little about a little bit. But, um, which is, you know, it's, it's. It can be a trap. Um, and so trying to make sure that over time we begin to, uh, pull him away from those daily involvements in the business. Uh, even, you know, really getting hands dirty every day. Um, and how to, how to get from A to B. So.

Speaker B: Sure.

Speaker D: Very typical.

Speaker B: So that, uh, that in the business piece, was that something you heard in the story he was telling?

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, for sure. And then even first conversation out of just. What's his day like as one example, you know, just typical week, typical month, um, lots of daily involvement. Um, you know, he's. He along with everybody else that's in any trade Type of business, uh, labor and quality. Labor and quality workforce is a, you know, is a big challenge. Um, and so we spent a fair amount of time talking about that for sure.

Speaker C: Definitely.

Speaker A: Go ahead. David and Tony, after you had had that first conversation with Bob, why don't you tell us a little bit about that conversation and what your impressions were of Bob and. And what you thought it might be like to work with him.

Speaker C: Well, obviously when we first spoke, um, we didn't know each other obviously. But um, it was a great fit because Bob's got so much knowledge in the auto industry as well and has helped so many clients in similar positions to me with the same, you know, uh, not the same business but similar businesses. So his knowledge was just fantastic. And uh, we hit it off from, from the start and we've read some similar books as well. So that's uh, another. Another good thing. Um, business books and personal development. So uh, forth. But um, I think the main thing, uh, with Bob, which I think I made pretty, pretty clear in my first, um. When we first started talking, is when you start a business or uh, you buy a business, uh, or you're involved in a business as a business owner, it's pretty, it's pretty lonely. And um, I've spoke to David about that in the past as well. Um, you feel pretty much like, am I doing the right things here? Um, could I be doing better or what should I be doing? And you uh, think you know, everything going into a business. But you know, um. That's become pretty evident that I don't know that much after speaking with, with Bob and yourselves because you know, you've brought so much um, so much experience, um, uh, to me and uh. I think um. I found myself actually working.

Speaker A: Um.

Speaker C: It's just an old cliche, but I think I bought myself a job. Um, and I thought that's how it was supposed to be. But after speaking with Bob and um, going through some of the. The goals that. That I'd like to achieve with the business, it was evident that I need to sort of put some plans into. In. Into action. And I never had any plans really. I was just putting out fires and uh, just working, you know, lots of hours. And uh, like Bob said, you know, every aspect of the business I got involved with, you know, physically, I done everything I. And I still am, but now I've got more um, insights into where I want to go with the business. Um, and Bob guided me. Um, he actually shows you where to look, but he doesn't show you what to look for. Which is really good.

Speaker D: Uh, I'll save that quote. I like that one.

Speaker C: Yeah, it's. No, it was fantastic because he's. He's. He's giving me little tidbits, information, and then when I get the time, because it's been extremely busy at the moment with the. The rust proofing and undercoating that I've not had much time throughout the course of the day. But Bob's, uh, been giving me some little tidbits to look into. And, uh, I find out once I look into them, oh, you know, there's. There's another meaning at the end of it. Wow. Okay. I didn't. I didn't even know that. You know, it's, um.

Speaker A: Can you give us. Can you give us some examples, Tony, of what you're describing?

Speaker C: Yeah, I think one of the biggest eye openers, um, throughout the course of dealing with Bob is, uh. He asked me to fill out a, uh, values exercise. And, um, you know, he.

Speaker A: He did.

Speaker C: He did point out how important it was for me to do this and this. It's a really good exercise. And I said, okay, M. Right, I'll do the exercise. And, um, there's this. It's basically a sheet where there's. There's lots of different values. And it's not just business. It's personal as well. And what's important to me, uh, there were so many. It was probably about 30. Between 30 and 40 different, um, choices I could make. And what were my top 10. And I always thought it'd be business. You know, it would be business. And, um, that would be my number one, um, um, sort of, uh, value in my life. But it ended up being family was number one. And I thought, well, you know what? It is actually true. That's me. You know, my family is more important to me than any business, than anything in the world. But, um, so it wasn't all about business. I think what Bob was trying to do is. Is to basically get to the core of who I am, um, you know, and then build from there. So I thought that was fantastic. And, um, I did mention to Bob, I said I didn't think, you know, the family would be number one out of all them other things. Um, I said, but, yeah, down. If you strip me down to the core, then, yeah, that. That's. That's me. And, um, I think that's what Bob was trying to do. Strip me down to the core. I think it was like joining the army. They're going to strip you down, and then they can rebuild You.

Speaker B: Wow. I just flashed to a couple movies of boot camp,

Speaker D: so we can't mention online.

Speaker B: Tony, you talked about the loneliness of business ownership. Had you ever had an engagement or a relationship around your business like the one you started with Bob? Was this a. Was that a new engagement for you?

Speaker C: I. I would say, uh, yes and no.

Speaker B: Okay.

Speaker C: Um, yes, being I've never worked with somebody as closely as I have with Bob in relation to my, to my business.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker C: But, um, in terms of. In, in the past and just speaking just as a friend, um, as a family friend, I've spoke with David in the past. Ah. But we've never actually sat down and discussed anything in great detail about, about my business because, you know, we just. Just chit chat. Um, but I've often, I've often thought, you know what, I will pay this guy some money just to sit with him and just, just give him, you know, where I'm up to and, and just ask for some guidance. But, uh, it, you know, for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Time issues or whatever on both our parts. Um, but it was, it was fantastic that, you know, uh, Bob was able to fill that role with me and help me out and guide me. So, yeah, I felt as though I had a friend, um, who was, uh, empathetic to what the. What I was going through in terms of trying to build the business, um, and taking on a business. So I thought it was, it was, it was really, really good. So, um, no, I've never had the full experience, but now I'm experiencing it and I like it.

Speaker B: Yeah, sure.

Speaker C: Definitely. It filled the void, definitely. Um, because I don't speak to anybody else about my business. So, uh, you know, I could be open and honest with Bob and say, well, we lost some money on this or we made some money on, you know, and I can be open and honest and look for some sort of guidance down that route. And, uh, he's never let me down, so.

Speaker B: Sure, sure. So, Bob, you, you go into that first meeting, you have some, um, some information from that first video, but tell us what, what the process is for you. Do you bring a curriculum? Do you look and listen and pivot accordingly? What, what's your takeaway from that first meeting and how does it go from there?

Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, obviously part of that first lady, uh, meeting is a lot of listening. Um, and, you know, I want to hear his story. I want to know why, you know, we talked about why is he even in business to begin with. Why, why, why'd he choose this one you know, why did he go to Canada? I mean, just all kinds of things, right? Because without that context, it's. It's really hard to, um, guide someone along a path. Ah. Because that path is so specific to what he wants out of the business. Um, and every owner has a different goal at the end. And we. We kind of. That's where once we kind of talked about his whole situation and just why he was in business. It's really okay. Just put a pin in it five, 10 years out. What do you want it to look like? And I think I even told him, you know, some people I do this with in person, I even have them close their eyes and just talk. Just tell me what it feels like. What is it when you get up in the morning and you go to, you know, your job, whatever that is, what does it feel like? What do you want it to be like? And I think, uh, Tony, if you correct me if I'm wrong, but there was a lot of. I don't necessarily want to be there all the time, and I want to spend time with my, you know, grandkids and family, definitely. And so if. If that is, you know, kind of that vision now, what's it take? And work your way backwards, you know, begin with the end in mind. And that's kind of where we started with Tony. Um, so there is a bit of what I call a curriculum to it. Um, but I never want to force that curriculum because it's different for every owner. And so it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, I call it. Um, to take those pieces and just work with it, um, and whatever kind of flows naturally into his. I think Tony mentioned it is. It's. It's a little bit of drip. Right. I'll. I'll plant a seed, and we'll talk about that next time. But have him start thinking about things ahead of time. And. And that's pretty. Pretty common, uh, across my client base.

Speaker C: That's definitely what was happening. I felt as though it was, uh. It wasn't too overwhelming. Although Bob's experience in business is vast, you know, vastly more than me. But, um, he made it in little steps that I could understand and give me little projects to do. So it was very, very well thought out.

Speaker B: And then, Tony, what started to happen? What. How did you start to. How have you started to view your business differently?

Speaker C: I think one of the. Well, there's quite a few bullet points, Mike, that, um, that I did jot down just recently because I thought things have changed. I think one of the most overwhelming things that have changed with me is a. Ah. I, um, realized that I was working the business and not building the business. You know, I mean, I'm 56 now. If I would have carried on the way, you know, without the intervention of Bob and yourselves and giving me a different view on, on. On, you know, on what I could be doing and what I should be looking at in terms of my goals, uh, I could have been carrying on for the Next, you know, 10 years working in that business and, um, you know, not. Not having any real goals, you know. So like I said earlier, I thought, you know, at times I thought I bought myself a job here, you know, and that I'm working harder now and more longer hours than I did in England. So that wasn't the idea to move here, but, uh, I got it a bit wrong. Um, but I think that's. I, uh, think that's. That was one of the overwhelming factors that I understood that it's important that I do structure the business, um, in accordance with a plan and a strategy. And I didn't have that, but I thought I did. You know, I really did think I had that. But just. Just goes to show how naive I was going into the business, really. Um, I had no plan whatsoever.

Speaker A: Well, the last time when you were speaking with us, we were, we were talking about all these different ways you thought you might take the business. And then you mentioned to us that some of your customers were wanting you to expand into other kinds of coatings and, and different products and how that might mean another location and all that sort of thing. So we were spitballing all these ideas you had about where you might go now that you've been working with Bob. Can you give us an idea of what that future vision of the business looks like?

Speaker C: Yes, it's. It's very different to what we. What I originally planned. Um, you know, I had a vision of once I started speaking to Bob that, you know, maybe in five years time I'll have a couple of outlets going in different towns or not too far from where I am, so maybe two or three different outlets. Um, now that's with working with Bob and going through my goals and what I want to achieve, which basically he focused me on. Um, that's changed now because now I want to have just one branch in the right location in a bigger facility with the services that I'm offering now. And we've looked at two additional services that we could be providing, um, you know, to build the business. So I'm more focused on that now than I ever was. Well, in fact, it wasn't even in my mind at that time.

Speaker B: So.

Speaker C: Yeah, that has changed, Deb. Um, you know, I thought maybe open three or four branches, but you know, at the end of the day there's lots of issues that go with that. Uh, and we've had some issues in terms of staffing that, that's been a real issue this, this last 12 months. Um, and I thought, you know what, opening more branches, you've got more people to manage and um, you know, keep going. So I thought that's, that's maybe not, not, not the way I want to be, you know, in five years time. So now we've looked at one big outlet, if you like, um, and hopefully build that to a sustainable level where as maybe one of our competitors would be interested in buying us out. I, I don't know. That's, uh, that seems to be what's in the forefront of my mind at the moment. But it wasn't when we initially started. So that's changed. Um, yeah.

Speaker B: Interesting.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Speaker B: I mean, obviously our thing is that exit space. Um, has that vision changed, it sounds like, about how what this might look like when you exit?

Speaker C: Yes. Yeah, I have a clear vision of what I want it to look like now. Um, and we've even gone into some depths. Uh, Bob made me. Well, he didn't make me, but he suggested that, you know, if I needed a bigger spot, what size spot have you got now in terms of square feet? And I said, bob, I haven't got the fairest idea. It's just big, it's got two doors. And um. So, um, it was pretty. I didn't want to make it obvious to anybody at work what I was doing. So I was outside the building with a measuring tape. I thought, I'll do the outside instead of the inside. So, um, yeah, that was, it was, it was pretty, pretty good. It was a rainy day as well. But, um, so I got the measurements and we worked out that I have 2,000 square foot. And the next thing, once I spoke with Bob about that was, and I should have known this, uh, but he gave me more work to do in terms of what space do you need then. Holy Mary. Okay. Then I had to figure out what square questions. So from that little conversation and me outside with a wet measuring tip, uh, we worked out that I'm gonna need around about 5,000 square feet, uh, of a building in terms of what I want to achieve and what services I want to offer. So, um, you know, it was all leading on, but I obviously wasn't aware about what, where he was going with this. But you know, in hindsight and even speaking to yourselves, now I know exactly what he was doing. He was trying to focus me on maybe, you know, what's out there, what's available, and if you don't know what you want, how can you go for it? So uh, again he was, he was doing that little bit of uh, stripping me down and then trying to rebuild me, feeding me a little bit.

Speaker B: I, I've started listening to these episodes to try to capture a quote to use as the, the title of the episode. And I think this one is Bob made me.

Speaker C: Yeah, Bob made me do it. It's all on Bobby. This doesn't work.

Speaker D: That's right.

Speaker A: When you describe the space you need, it reminds me of that scene in, in the Founder, the, the Ray Kroc movie where Donald brothers have sketched out the kitchen on the tennis court.

Speaker B: Sure, sure.

Speaker A: They get their employees to pretend to work and they keep. So that they can organize the layout of the kitchen perfectly. And I'm just imagining you early on a Sunday morning at A. M. Shopping center parking lot drawing out the layout and you driving cars through it.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker D: Oh, I love that idea already.

Speaker C: Don't give him any ideas. He'll end up with me getting arrested.

Speaker D: With permission, of course.

Speaker B: Toby, what were, what were some other surprises that came to you from the, from the interaction with Bob? How, I mean when, when we make these connections, when, when we start talking about our business with someone else, we get that different perspective and, and if it works right, we start to see things differently. I'm just curious. Little or big? What, what else have you started to see differently in your business?

Speaker C: Well, I have started looking at it a little bit. Well, a lot differently because as, as you're probably aware, I don't know if any of your viewers have heard the first episode, um, of my introduction regarding the business. There's certain areas of the business that are seasonal and um, you know that, and that's what I was focusing on is this, the seasonality of certain aspects of the business. So in the spring we've got the detailing and you know, I'm talking to Bob. Yeah, we make some good money there and this is great. And, and um, in, in the fall we have the rust check season and this is fantastic and blah blah, blah. And once I sent. Bob asked me for my figures for the uh, for the, for the business, the financial figures and, and everything. So I sent everything to him and he Analyzed everything and sent me back some flowcharts. And this is one area that I've never seen. I thought I was good with, with, with charts myself. Uh, but I'm just ah, a in kindergarten compared to Bob. So um, the areas that, that were doing very well say just like um, at the moment we have, we're in the rust check season which will be finishing towards Christmas. But um, he showed me on, on the floor chart where the rust check was going. And I'm focusing on this, this peak and thinking, yep, look Bob, look, we're doing good, we're doing great. But then Bob said, well, hold on, the detailing is going like this at the bottom. So what? There's a big gap there. You need to be, you know, what happened? Do you have work for detailing? I said, yeah, but one of my detailers is doing the rust check now, so I lose one of them. So that's why the, the detailing's down. And he focused me a little bit more on that. And that was ah, pretty much a big eye opener because I never focused on that. I was just focusing on, you know, the profits coming in and, and the income coming in from the busy part of, of the business, but not necessarily looking at the quiet parts. Um, you know, so he said if you have the work for it, you know, and it just uh, again, he didn't tell me exactly what he wanted, but he, he told me where to go. Basically go that direction and you'll figure

Speaker B: it out, Tony, before you go on. So Bob, help us from your perspective on that. What did you look at, what did you see and what, what were you bringing to Tony?

Speaker A: There was.

Speaker D: Yeah, I mean he obviously does have a piece of the business that is definitely seasonal, seasonable and you know, it is a spike and a drop and you know, not uncommon to a lot of other types of businesses. But um, his. It's a pretty big one in his case. Um, so one of the things we're still working through is okay, you, you have that peak and that's a, from a revenue standpoint to get that and obviously from a load standpoint to his workforce course. But do you make any money? You know, is there any margin? How much margins in that versus margin and other lines of business? Um, and so we still have some work to do and trying to figure out, you know, which ones, you know, does. Are we really making money on things we think we are or do we just think we are? Um, and so, and you know, in starting to plant the seed and probably will tell you this, that Planting the seed of what could we do to offset that, you know, that spike with other lines of business that may, you know, dampen that at least a little bit or a lot, um, to eliminate that hump because it, you know, it's a labor challenge to ramp up that fast. Um, but in doing so, by ramping up that fast, if you're giving up the very profitable base of your business to do that. Now you've got a question. Okay. Is that the right. Really the right decision? So, um, u. We're still working through that and that's okay. But um, it's. It's really just, you know, from a pure outside view, you know, both today, what's happening financially, and then projecting into the future is kind of the next step as well. It's like, okay, if we, you know, do have a 5,000 square foot facility and you have this much type of volume and flow, what's that going to look like? Um, and so we got to get kind of the, the numbers today kind of sorted out so that we can project accurate, at least semi accurately as possible forward. So.

Speaker B: Interesting. And Tony, is that the perspective that you got from that exercise? I mean, again, that. This is the, this is the part I'm fascinated by is the different perspectives. And, and what did you take from that exercise?

Speaker C: Well, exactly what I just mentioned. It focused me, instead of focusing me on, on how can I, how can I put this? I was really focused on the profitability of, of what we were doing at the time. So the rush check, uh, season. I was. Because I'm busy with it. I'm busy, busy, busy with it fully involved. But I was just focusing on that. But Bob, the exercise, Bob, give me. And on the floor charts was. It made me think differently about well, you know what? We, we still have another part of the business that we could still be, you know, um, maximizing or instead of it dropping off, how could we look at that? And that's basically what I got out of that. The flowcharts in particular, because I didn't see the big drop, the big, the drastic change. You know, one of them is peaking up and the other one's really small. You know, uh, it was that bit in between that I've never even seen anything like that. But Bob said that that was pretty important, that bit in between, you know, uh, what can we do? And it just made me start thinking about, well, maybe I could take another detailer on for the, for the three months of rush check season or you know, so we can, we can sort of Instead of letting the detailing drop and, and just focus, you know, more on the rush yet I could still focus on that.

Speaker A: What happens in that season when people call looking for detailing? Are they told, oh, we can't fit you in? Is that something that's happening because of the focus on the rush check?

Speaker C: Yeah, it is. Yeah. Instead of us booking somebody for a detailing, you know, the day after or ah, in, in the same week now we're like two weeks out before I can get anybody in. And um, the business at the minute is, um, we're probably about, I would say about 70 is, is um, ah, corporate business. And then the other 30 is retail. That's, that's. We're roughly around that. And not exact figures, but we're roughly around that. But the retail side of it, we were, of the detailing, we were just letting them down. So you know, they don't gonna, they're not gonna wait three weeks, they'll go somewhere else. Because I still have the corporate detailing that, you know that that's all year round.

Speaker A: And you, and you prioritize this because these are your long term, steady clients that bring the money in every month, right?

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. And I'm just. Yeah. And I think I'm doing that more so now because of, and uh, again, no disrespect to my predecessor, uh, before me. Um.

Speaker D: Oh, oh, oh, you lost Tony.

Speaker C: I just put her off. Yeah. I think, um, listening to some of the clients, but the corporate clients, when I first took over the business, um, you know, they were saying on the detailing, well, you know, we didn't use this place as much because, you know, when the spring comes around, they don't even get around to cleaning our vehicles. They could have them for three weeks and you know, that's not good. We want to sell the vehicles. You know, these are dealers, you know, used car dealers.

Speaker B: Sure.

Speaker C: Um, so I'm saying, okay, well, I'm not going to let that happen. So, you know, I focused my attention on ensuring that didn't happen. So I was basically prioritizing the corporate business because that's the. All year round. It's not season seasonality, it's all year round. So I still have to try and work and get the balance right. Um, but I think that, you know, in retrospect, after Bob outlining where we stand on, on the detailing and the rush check and blah, blah, blah, I, I need to perhaps, you know, take somebody else on so that part of the business doesn't, um, doesn't suffer. Um, you know, next rush check Season.

Speaker D: And just while he's on that topic, you know, we. We did start to talk about the last session to, you know, the mix of his volume right between the commercial and, you know, what happens if, you know, right now he's, you know, he's got several commercial customers. Uh, one. Can we increase that? You know, you've got a good mod. He's got a really good model of serving the clients that he serves. Um, and so how can we leverage that and improve that? And then what would that obviously do to his future projections and load and those kind of things? Um, so we're just kind of starting to touch on that right now too, because I think, I think, you know, personal opinion, I think he's got a bit of a tiger by the tail that he hasn't purely pushed into yet. Ah. And when he does, you know, that growth is going to come. So.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think it's, um, again, it's just focusing on different areas of the business that I didn't have my eye on before. Uh, and. And going forward into next year with the seasons, on the different aspects of the business. How can, you know, we. How can we improve that and not let one area drop off as much as it has done previously? Um, so that would help out financially.

Speaker A: And so are you saying, Tony, that you may be making a sales budget for 2023?

Speaker C: I think that's. Yeah, that's on the cards. Yes. Yeah.

Speaker B: Nodding yes.

Speaker C: That's a very. It's a very.

Speaker A: It's a very big business.

Speaker D: Stole my thunder from the next meeting

Speaker B: Bob made me.

Speaker A: It's a big, uh. It's one of those things that if anyone's ever worked in a big company, you have a budget, there's a forecast, and, and then part way through the year, if you're not meeting it, that's when they start to make other adjustments, like they cut the travel budget or, you know, whatever, because they want to hit the profitability. And I rarely, if ever, meet small business people who actually ever make that plan, that financial plan for the coming year. What do we want to do and how do we expect to do it? And, you know, if you said to yourself, I want a 10 increase in revenue, then you would have to ask yourself, well, how many more retail clients or how many more rush checks or how many more commercial would I have to do? And then that colors and gives you direction on what you actually need to do. I mean, who you need to talk to or do you need to advertise more or whatever, right? And so it sounds like you're going through an amazing metamorphosis there.

Speaker C: I am. Yeah. And just to stop you there, Dave, you just brought something to my mind that's very important, um, and which I've seen happen. I have set businesses up in the past myself, uh, from scratch, and this is the first business I've ever purchased that's established. But when you set the business up, or in my case, from scratch, we do what you call a cash flow forecast and blah, blah, blah. Well, in that cash flow forecast, you know, we do. Well, um, I did. I broke down every aspect of the business. My cost, my expenditure, uh, how much I needed to charge for the service, how many of them I needed to achieve the cash flow forecast. But I never did that in this business. That's a really good point. I just took it on board that that's already done, and I just carry on.

Speaker B: This is how it works, because this is how it has worked.

Speaker C: Yeah, that's exactly what. Yeah, that's. And again, it's just speaking to all three of you now that that's just come to mind. It's just, uh, it's amazing. You know, just through speaking with people about the business is, uh, no, I don't have any plans or I didn't have any plans on how many detailing jobs I needed, how many rush check jobs and. Or how many, you know, vehicles need to go through the body shop. I had no idea. Up until this point, I haven't done it. I'll be honest with you. I've not done that. But it's a fantastic thing I should be doing. But if I started the business from scratch, I'd have to do that.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: You know, so, yeah, I think I took something for granted that it's an established business. So, yeah, I learned something just now,

Speaker B: Bob. Um, how do you. So one of the temptations here, and. And Tony has been very complimentary, obviously. Um, rightfully so. But Tony is obviously going to know the detailing business better now than any of the three of us ever will. How. How do you, as a coach, engage that reality while still trying to help Tony move the business forward?

Speaker D: You bet. No, this comes up a lot, actually. And I call. There are some, you know, um, basic business fundamentals of any business. Right. And I'll call it just the numbers. Right. Numbers tell stories. We're going to tell that story. And that's what I tried to, you know, regurgitate back to Tony after he sent me his first financials. I'm just going to tell you What I see doesn't matter whether you're doing donuts or cars, right? Um, and so it's up to him, because it is his business to do that. Translation. Um, ultimately, you know, as coaches, uh, it's his business, it's not my business. And so there is a line, right, that I can even suggest I could tell him another experience. I can tell him my own experience. But in the end, this is why understanding what he wants out of the business is so important. It's not mine, it's his. And so that decision, you know, I can tell him the potential goods and bads and the risks and the things that go with it and things to think about, but ultimately it's still. The buck, still stops with the owner. Um, and so, you know, that's kind of the way I approach things with every client, no matter who they are, whether they're nonprofits or for profits or automotive or donut shops. So, um, but there, you know, it's one of those. And that's, it's part of the art versus the science, I'll call it, um, of coaching and one, you know, I'll, I'll, I'll revert, uh, and uh, compliment back. Tony is a fantastic sponge. Um, I love sponges. Right. He is literally soaking it up and chewing on it, thinking about it. And the next conversation is always, you know, even the little tidbits, you know, those little tidbits add up, you know, 1% every time. Every time, every time. Um, and I just see him doing that. But ultimately, if he decides that he needs a 6,000 square foot shop or a 2,000 square foot shop, ultimately it's his decision, um, and whatever fits with his goals, um, that hopefully we've now decided what those goals are that are still obviously changeable. But at least he's, he's got a North Star to kind of pull into.

Speaker C: It's been really, like I say, it has been really, really great sharing the experience with Bob. And I think he's given me an overall picture and I know I'm nowhere near done yet in terms of, um, putting my plans and, and things into action for next year. But I do have some sort of clear, um, steps to take and which, which I didn't have. You know, I think it's, um, we're speaking with Bob and um, him putting me, not necessarily putting me on the spot, but, you know, we're, we have a meeting scheduled and this is, this is, you know, he was very upfron with everything he needed from me and what we should be working on. Everything was sent through email and um, understandable. Some of the things I didn't understand and I, you know we did speak and he went through everything in layman's terms so that I could understand it. But um, we had some sort of schedule to work towards and uh, how could you say we had a list of things that you know, I, I should be looking at? Tony Spoon fight.

Speaker A: At the beginning of this call, you, you use the words I bought a job to describe the daily activity that you were going through in the business.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker A: Now that you've started working with Bob and you have some of these different plans and goals, how do you predict your day might be business your day might be different in 12 months. If we were to have this call again next year, how would your days be different do you think?

Speaker C: Well, I think I would have achieved. Well I will have had some short term goals which I will have hopefully had some success with. But they're just small steps towards the end, not the end result. But um, you know the, the goal I want to achieve in five years of owning the business. So I think uh, I will have had some success with them and the business may have changed. I'm hoping it will have changed in terms of um, having the right people on board which I think we have at the moment. Um, but now it's building them but I think I'll be stepping away spending, not stepping away from the business but stepping away from the day to day getting involved in the workshop and basically running around uh, you know, and, and working a job so to speak. I think at my days will be a little bit more time spent on building the business towards achieving them goals that, that with Bob's helped me set out. So I think that's how my day would be changing. Um, you know and, and delegating some more of, of of the jobs that I, that I currently do. Uh, that's one thing I've found very difficult to start off with and I thought I was a good delegator but no, I'm terrible at it.

Speaker A: Can you give us an example Tony?

Speaker C: Well, I, yeah, I said we're having a new lady in, in the office. She's been with me four months and you know, to be quite honest with you, she's the best thing that's ever happened to, to me in that business. She's fantastic. She's an ex nurse. She's a um, for the last 20 years and she wanted to come out of it and she's really took to this and I found that talking with her and I said this to Bob at one point is it's been so easy to train her to do it the way I want it doing. You know, in the office and the administration and the bookkeeping, I want everything, you know, I'm a bit anal like that. It's got to be, it's got to be tidy and clear cut. Um, and, and she's took that on board. But in the back office, you know, in the workshop, there's people who've been there a while and it's hard to change them. Uh, you know, to um, to do the things I want them to do my way. It's difficult. So I think I've learned something there, that maybe taking somebody on without any experience whatsoever in that field would be pretty good. Um, but even, even, even now, if she's doing something, I'll say no, I'll do that bit. I'll do this bit. And I keep jumping in and I'm finding that difficult because I'm usually any business I'm in, it's been on my own. So that bit, I'm, I'm having a little bit of a challenge.

Speaker D: Old habits die hard to Neil.

Speaker A: Mike. I think I heard you say something like that once. Like, you know, you were always the guy too in your business that had to jump in and do things.

Speaker B: Oh yeah. I mean it's so funny. I, I have a, I have a client that Tony is just going through that experience now where he's. We, we've, we've helped him give away that stuff and we're sitting in a meeting after he's given away, so the stuff and everyone's left and he's across the table and he looks at me and he goes, well, what am I going to do now? And I answered him, I said, whatever you want to.

Speaker D: Exactly.

Speaker B: That's that trend. But it's hard, it's hard to let go, man. It, it, uh, Very difficult.

Speaker C: Can I give you another example which please brought. This is, uh. And again, I never knew I was very bad at delegates until I started speaking with Bob and, and he, he's. He's again, he, he told me where to look but not what to look for. So, um, I love that line. I found a few things out about myself that I was totally unaware of. And the delegation side of it is one big thing. But yesterday we had a big snowstorm here in Atlantic Canada. And um, when I got to work, there was. The snow plow had been. But there was areas he couldn't get to. So I was the first one out there with the shovel, and I was moving everything. And after about half an hour, I thought, where is everybody? There's no. There's nobody helping me. They're all sides getting the. The kettle on, I think. Are you kidding me? So I ran it. I was in the. I was in a pretty foul mood because I was sweating, I was tired. This blizzard was getting me, uh. And I said, why is nobody helping me? This is ridiculous. I own this bloody place. They all looked at me and said, well, you doing such a great job patronized me. And then one of the guys who've been there for. For a number of years said, tony. I said, what? And he knew I wasn't happy. He said, we only have one bloody shovel.

Speaker D: Oh, that isn't enough. Oh, that's. I'm. I'm gonna use that one.

Speaker C: So today I went out and bought three more shovels and put the names on them way too.

Speaker A: Oh, there you go.

Speaker B: I love it, Tony.

Speaker D: Oh, uh, take a picture, Tony. Take a picture.

Speaker B: But now I have a competing to title. Why isn't anyone helping me? I own those bloody places.

Speaker C: I own this bloody place.

Speaker D: That reminds me of a commercial here in the. In the States where the. The father's drinking a cup of coffee, looking out the window, watching his child, you know, shovel snow. Oh, it looks cold out there.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker C: But again, I just jumped on and started. Whatever needs doing, I'm doing it. And it's only recently that I'm thinking, hold on a minute. You've got to get other people to do it. They're doing nothing, and you're paying them. So the delegation side of it is still a challenge. It is still. Because it's not in my personality to be. I have to find the right words. Um, but that's one thing that's come to. To light. One of the aspects of myself that has come to light through speaking with Bob.

Speaker D: So.

Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker B: And again, the ups and downs of ownership. We talked a little bit about that in the first session. Has the work with Bob changed that roller coaster at all for you? I mean, I. I'm. You got to still be having highs and lows as you go through it, but, uh, any impact there?

Speaker C: Yeah, I do have. Yeah, we do have some eyes and lows. I think every business is gonna, you know, gonna go through that, um, from start to finish. I think it's just how you deal with them and, you know, the. The level of how you deal with them. It all is based on the knowledge you have uh, of, of being in that situation. So um, and again it's having to do with confidence as well when you come up with issues and some of the laws in the business, you know, I'm not as worried about them, you know, the financial laws at the moment. And I think that's because I seem to be more set on, you know, the end goal as opposed to uh, which I wasn't before, was more interested in what's going on today and how much have we made today? Did we make money? Is everybody working? Can we do any more? But now I seem to be more focused on the end result and I, I accept that there are going to be some times in the business that I'm, you know, it's not going to be the best day. Uh, I'm going to have some challenges. But I think knowing where I want to be in, in five years is probably helping me deal with that a little bit better, if that makes any sense.

Speaker A: It's lifting your eyes towards the horizon.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah. So can I just mention another thing? We haven't touched on this but Bob, um, did mention, ask, uh, me why. Why, why we do what we do. And um, that was, that was a fun. A fan. And it's very appropriate because I um, I'm listening to an audiobook by Simon Sinek called why or something like that. But um, yeah, and he mentioned uh, about the mission statement and why you do. And I, I was racking my brains. Why are we doing what we're doing? I don't know why we're doing. We're keeping the clap. The cards clean, keeping them on the road. Anyway, I'm gonna, I'm gonna get something and show it. Just one second.

Speaker D: Oh good.

Speaker C: It's not finished 100 but okay. This is the.

Speaker B: I love that. I love that. So you, you got that card sitting on your desk now?

Speaker C: Oh yeah, yeah.

Speaker A: And so, so for people who might be listening to the audio, Tony has a card that says.

Speaker B: Oh yeah.

Speaker A: And I'm gonna read it. Uh, mission statement. Slowing down the depreciation aspect of your asset.

Speaker C: I'm not sure which one vehicle.

Speaker A: Okay, so yeah but so basically we all know cars depreciate and by taking proper care of them we can help hold that value longer. That's, that's your mission.

Speaker C: Yeah, but I didn't have that, Dave. I didn't have that mission statement. And it's, it's, you know I've been reading books on personal development and business for the last 30 odd years and uh, you Know, I know what to do. You know, I think I'm doing it. But then when you actually sit down with somebody who knows about business and as a coach, I realize I'm not doing it. I'm just not doing it.

Speaker A: So isn't that amazing? We, you know, the things you should be doing, but it's. It's only when you sit down with that other person that. That you realize you actually aren't doing the things you know you should be doing.

Speaker C: Yeah. And I think one other good point, what you've just mentioned there, Dave, uh, what goes along with that is accountability. I add some accountability to Bob to make sure, you know, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing or what I should know, and I wasn't doing it. So, you know, it, uh, brought things like that to the forefront of my mind. Um, that, you know, again, I thought I had a good grasp on business. I've been in business, you know, before, and I thought, you know, I'm from a family of business owners. But you know what? It's. Knowing it and doing it, two totally separate things until you have that accountability. Um, and I felt a sense of that with Bob because I didn't want to let him down because he put a lot of effort. Um, but again, on, you know, my own side of things, I do need to know that. But I. I wasn't. I didn't have the mission statement or the elevator pitch, as he calls it. You know, but it's. I didn't have that. You know, it's, uh.

Speaker D: Yeah. And I hear Tony, uh. A couple things just pop into my head, which. Saying that, um, when I. I hear him kind of beating himself up a bit. And I want to address that a little bit. Um, business is so complex now.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker D: I would say, even compared 20 years ago. Right. Um, it is just a different animal. And so no owner can know everything. There's just no way. And that's why it's important to surround yourself with people that know other things that you don't. And that's. And, um, you know, it's probably the big conundrum of business owners, you know, And I think Mike and I, you've had, you know, I've had this conversation about ego. It's a hard thing to admit that I don't know everything, you know, um, and just kind of getting over that hump. And what you find out is when you talk to other owners, they don't know everything either. Right. It's kind of the big secret. Um, and it Once you, once you do that and then you do talk about stuff that you normally wouldn't talk about and that's where, that's where the gold is. So.

Speaker B: Absolutely. And, and, and that knowledge piece is important, but sometimes neither one of you know. Right. But it's the process of talking about it and hearing someone else say, you know, what, what you're, what you've said makes sense to me. I can't, uh, you know, that we've covered the bases, we've talked this through, that process of uh, of challenge and back and forth about the business that most of us run independently, all by ourselves in isolation. That is a, that is a game changer.

Speaker D: Yes. Yeah, I would agree it is. I think the secret sauce in some ways is the process itself. It. Yes, you make decisions. Yes. You have more information, those kind of things. But I truly believe it is the process of doing that and continuing to do that and doing it again because, you know, nobody's going to make perfect decisions. You're never, it's never going to work the way you think it will, etc. So it's just the continuance of that process. You know, Tony said something a while back, but it never ends, right. This, this never ends until you're sold. Right. So, um, but it's a matter of, you know, that variation hopefully over time gets a little less chaotic, a little more manageable, etc, in time.

Speaker B: So, and, and it all goes back to that first step in this process, which is Tony as an owner saying, hey, I bet there's a better way I could do this. How can I find out? Who can I talk to? I'm going to ask. It's that, that humility to say, um, and, and that applies to me or any owner that just says, I'm going to be a sponge, I'm going to reject anything I don't want, but I am just going to take it in and learn and take what applies and set aside what doesn't and just keep moving forward.

Speaker D: That's correct.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker C: I think sometimes you think when you, when you own a business that maybe, you know, because you're the boss there at the business and your employees look up to you for, for guidance and, and everything. Sometimes I think you get the misconception that you know, everything, um, and that carries over into other areas of your life, but it's only through speaking with others during the, you know, in a business aspect that you realize, you know what? I didn't even think about that. And again, I think it's, it's humbling to. For somebody to bring that up and talk you through that. Um, not necessarily saying this isn't. This is an aspect of you that you need to work on, but, you know, just. Just talking about it in general and it comes up in your mind, oh, you know, I should have done that. Uh, why am I not doing that?

Speaker D: Yeah, but I mean, just use an example, Tony. I mean, let's just pick on the financials. Okay. That wasn't. You know, there were things in there that we've worked through. But I can tell you, you know, both David and Mike, you know, Tony, from a customer service standpoint. Oh, you know, we're not having to work a lot on that because he understands that concept really well, the customer's experience, um, what. What he values, how he wants to come across as a business owner and a business. We don't. We're not spending a lot of time there. Right. So every owner brings something from their past, and in the case of Tony, he knows what it means to touch customers and keep them happy and those kind of things. And so we're not going to spend a lot of time on that. He's got that.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. I think it's, uh. That's another good thing that, that we.

Speaker B: We.

Speaker C: We did, uh, with. Well, Bob asked me to write down some of the. The, uh. What's important in the customer's eyes when they come to see us. So, you know, I wrote down my top five things there as well, which I didn't. Again, they might have been in the back of my mind, but, uh, they weren't. You know, I wasn't working on any of them or I didn't really know. So, uh, I had to focus and just, you know, just look at the customers and speak with the customers and, you know, just. Just ask them, basically, you know, what it is. What is about the business that you like, Are you happy with the service? And, um, you know, I always say in any business I've run or any company I've managed, I've always said, if you're happy with the service, you know, please tell everybody, but if you're not happy, please tell me. You know, because I'm only human and, um, you know, we can change and adapt. Um, so, uh. But yeah, we're speaking with Bobby made me focus on that and ask the question, what is important to the customer? You know, and looking at or speaking with some of them, I found out that, you know, the most important thing to our customers at the minute is the quality of the work. You know, so, uh, you know, it's. That's number one, you know, and then this number two is a welcoming environment, you know, so I'm trying to work through all these, the top five answers and make sure that. That we're giving that. And another great thing with. Once I mentioned that to Bob at one, I wrote them down is he said, okay, so you've looked at your competitors. Because that's one thing he did ask me to do. He wanted to know who's in the area that does the same business as me, blah, blah, blah, What's. What do they do better and, uh, what. What do they do worse than us? Um, and when I wrote down the top five answers of what I think a customer expects from us or what they're looking for, Bob asked me to then grade our competitors on them five values. Holy mackerel. That's a good idea. You know, how. See if they're fairing up against them, uh, or are we better than them or at certain aspects. So, yeah, that made me look a bit differently. Yeah.

Speaker A: And how did that exercise turn out? What sort of insights did you gain about the competitors by asking those questions?

Speaker C: I found that some of, you know, there are one or two competitors that are, uh, doing exactly the same as us in terms of them five values. Um, but there are some, I would say all of them not as welcoming as us. And that's number two on my most important, um, you know, what I think the customer is looking for with us. Number two is, you know, welcoming environment. And we are very, very welcoming. You know, it's. It's a happy, friendly environment there. It's, um, it's professional as well. Um, but, yeah, we have some great responses. So I think we top all of them in terms of that. And I only looked at three other competitors, but we top them all in the welcome environment, uh, the quality of work. I would say some of them are the same, you know, so. But I didn't know that prior to doing that exercise that Bob had me do.

Speaker B: Bob, Tony, what a wonderful story. Thank you so much for coming and sharing the journey with us. We're, uh, we're. We're excited about what's happening and, uh, love to have you back in, um, you know, 12 months and just catch up and see how things have gone. So thank you so much for coming and talking with us.

Speaker D: You're welcome.

Speaker C: Thanks for spending the time with me. And, uh, thanks, Bob. Thanks, Dave. Thanks, Mike. Thank you very, very much.

Speaker D: Thanks all.

Speaker A: Thanks, gentlemen.

Speaker C: Okay, we'll see you soon then.

Speaker D: Bye.

Speaker A: Bye.

Speaker C: Bye.

Speaker A: All right. But Mike, what a, what an amazing conclusion to this story. I guess it's not really the conclusion conclusion. The story is underway, but some serious progress made over what, just the course of, uh, it's been like two months, I think, since we introduced the two of them.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, just that, that, that, that interaction of a solo business owner, which most of us are, and engaging another brain, a thought partner, to start to say, to ask questions like, well, where do you want to go with this business and what are you trying to create and how are we going to make that happen? And just love the interaction and, and Tony's uh, openness and, and desire to be better for the business for his customers. Um, man, you just gotta love that.

Speaker A: I, I, I'm, I'm eager to hear about what happens over the course of the next year because I think that he's um, going to have a few more of these exercises that are going to, uh, working with Bob that are going to have a real impact on what happens day to day in that business. And, and I, I find it interesting that he's changed his vision of what the business will look like in five years. Yeah. And, and I can totally see how that, that one larger location with more activity is going to be easier to manage for him and allow him to focus on those things that are actually more important, which is his family that he identified through that value exercise.

Speaker B: Right, right. No, again, I'm, um, I just got a big smile on my face. I just love to see that kind of engagement and um, that kind of intention starting to blossom with a business owner.

Speaker A: And if there's any other business owners out there who would like to participate in this kind of exercise with us, um, we do have a way that they can reach out and talk with us, don't we?

Speaker B: That's right. They can go over to your exitsquadguests.com uh, fill out a short application, tell us a little bit about your business, and we'd love to, uh, talk to you and get you on your exit squad and start a journey similar to the one that Tony's been walking.

Speaker A: And if you're a professional who works with small business owners in any capacity or any area of expertise, we need partners from all across the spectrum of business activity. We have another short form over at your exit squad, part partners.com that you can fill in to let us add you to our virtual, uh, Rolodex of people that we can call upon when we meet these guests who have specific needs, uh, in their business.

Speaker B: That's right. Last but not least, your exitsquad.com is going to bring you over to the YouTube page where you can subscribe to the video feed. Um, and we'll have in the show notes where you can go if you want to subscribe to an audio feedback. Uh, give us a like. Um, it helps us in the, uh, the promotion of the. The story of the promotion of the podcast and gets more people the opportunity to hear these stories about how they can change their business for the better.

Speaker A: That's right. And then go on to Facebook and get all of your family and friends to like the show as well, because that helps even more.

Speaker B: That's right. That's right.

Speaker A: All right, Mike, it's been another great episode. It's great to see you again. And, uh, and we'll be back with more of these amazing stories. And so everyone who's watching, please stay tuned.

Speaker C: We'll.

Speaker A: We'll see you shortly.

Speaker B: Talk to you soon, David.

Speaker D: All right, bye. Bye.