Eliminate the Drama in Your Family Business

Today on Allie and you'd we're going to talk about family business, the pros and cons, how you become the world's fastest woman. And we're going to talk about rescue dogs. So join us right here on Allie and you'd welcome to Allie and you the business success and lifestyle show. I am Alyson Maslin. My friends call me Ali. And I'm a serial entrepreneur and we help business owners grow their business. And I'm really excited today because one of my favorite people is joining me, Denise Mueller. I have known for, I don't know, like, maybe 10 years. And we'll talk a little bit about that in a second. But Denise is the CEO of Rancho Santa Fe Security Systems and Rancho Santa Fe Protective Services right here in San Diego. And since 1978 has been a family business three generations. And Denise is also a champion bicycle rider. And she. I know I said that wrong, but she is. She's. She's just amazing. And I have had the honor of coaching Denise in my pinnacle global mastermind for business owners for the last four years. So I've personally witnessed her strength and her tenacity. So, Denise, welcome.

Thank you very much.

We finally got you on the show. We have to, like, pin you down.

Long enough, schedule it long enough in advance, and I actually can be there.

Yes. And we also have Ally and you mascot, of course, Bisou. Bisou. And Bisou is a rescue. And Denise, you just adopted him on Saturday. Wow. He seems like. Like he's right at home.

Yep.

Doesn't he? Yeah. Almost like it in front of him. He's been waiting for Denise all this time. So, so cute. So anyway, I wanted to have you on the show for lots of reasons because I just adore you and you're an amazing businesswoman. And we have business owners out here that I, I know for myself. I'm always looking for that inspiration and that wisdom and those nuggets. And, you know, your family's had this business over 30 years. You took over as the CEO in 1995. And you talk about remembering being in the business when you were like five years old.

Yep. My first memories, emptying trash cans in the garage was my first job in the company.

Oh, good.

When they started in the garage.

Well, you've moved up a little bit since then.

Just a little.

Just a little. But there's, you know, there's a lot of pros and cons to family business. Right. And there's so many people out there that run a family business. So can you talk a Little bit about what that's been like for you growing up in the business. You know, the good things, the challenges and all the above.

Oh my gosh. We'd need an entire hour or more to talk about all the. All the challenges, but all the successes.

But a few good ones.

Yeah, a few good ones is some of the challenges that I faced in growing up in the business is we'd had some interesting family dynamics when you have many people within the family involved in the company. We went through a very challenging time where some of the family members left and started their own business, which is competing against our business. And this was back in the late 80s and. And so really tore the family up a lot. And then we went through my parents divorce and many different times along the way. Thought that was the end of the business. That was the end of the business. And every time it literally was able to survive and then thrive beyond that. And so that's been an inspiration for me whenever I have my challenges is to see what my parents actually went through to be able to have the business so that I would be able to be in the position that I'm in today. And I've had my own challenges. I've been through my own divorce and also my own things along the way. And my son is the next generation who's been actually working in the business and plans to be taking over the business.

Well, it's interesting because every family has their dynamics anyway, Right? So all the things you said happen within families, but then when you weave the business into it, it's like a whole other dimension.

Yes. In fact, at certain points in time, we talked about it being the Hatfield and the McCoys, which is an old reference from years and years ago. And you know what's interesting is even the people that were involved in that years ago, the irony is two of the family members are working in the business again with me. And so we're again working together. So it's one of those things come full circle.

And so what do you think has gotten you through? I mean, your family getting apart and back together again. For those that are out there and kind of struggling with the family dynamics within their business, what would you say to them?

You know what? Family is more important. And it's very interesting because you have to take that into perspective, having seen the family dynamics and then have them come back around. Family will always be there. And it's a matter of have the difficult communications if things aren't going well before it gets too difficult, because there are a couple Family members, which we don't talk to. And it's really unfortunate because it got to be such a difficult situation. So I think the biggest thing is communication. Any family, I mean, it's communication with a relationship. It's communication when you're at home, but when you bring that into the business, it's even more so of communication.

And also, too, it's like when you. If I were to tell somebody on my team, you know what, that really didn't work out, like what we were hoping it would do, I think we could do better next time when. If I said that to my sister, like that, that takes on a whole new meaning. Right. We're yelling at each other and, you know, and then five minutes later, we love each other.

Yeah.

But, you know, and then also, I'm sure with that kind of energy, then the other employees you have. Because you have how many employees?

About 55 employees.

55 employees. I mean, that's. And that's like a family dynamic in itself. Right. And managing all of the different personalities and so forth.

Yeah.

So. And so what has. I mean, you. You came into the business, what, really full force in 1995, I actually came.

Straight out of high school because my parents had gone through their divorce in 1990. A partner had came in and bought my mother's half out. So it was a 50, 50 partner with this brand new partner. And it really wasn't working out. And so I had graduated from high school and was planning to, hey, I'm going to do something else with my life. And I had one other job besides what I do now, and it was working as a hostess at a restaurant. And I was there for only about a month when my dad said, hey, would you like to come back and do some of the office work in the office, since you already know this? And I'm like, okay, but no pressure. I can just do it for extra money. And ended up discovering that there was some dynamics that were going on with the business partner and ended up separating the partnership. And I went full force into helping my dad out through that, thinking it was going to be a temporary situation. And I ended up realizing this is what I really know and stuck around. So really, this is all I've ever done.

Right. And, you know, just to clarify with Denise's business, it's alarm systems protective services. I mean, in San Diego, oftentimes you'll see the cars with their RSF logo driving around and, you know, you know, you're safe. Our alarm system here is Rancho Santa Fe Security Systems. And Also in our house, our new house that we're moving into too. So. And you. So what has kept you inspired with your business all those years? Because sometimes in business you get in and you're in for a while and you're excited and all that and then you're like, ah, you know, I'm not sure if this is quite filling me up anymore, so. Because that's a long ride.

Yeah, it is.

Right?

Like going on close to, from, well, basically being full time in the business close to 25 years. And it is a long ride and I've gone through quite a bit of ups and downs of questioning is this what I really want to do? And then realizing I do it well and I can make it whatever I want to make it make out of it. And also what is my best talent and how can I better best utilize that within the company. So I've learned a lot about the delegation of things. I thought I had to do things that were my responsibility and really surrounded myself with a great team and they take care of different elements because, you know, you just don't realize, you think, oh, if I don't like this, nobody wants to do it. Oh my gosh. There's people out there that love to do the elements that I don't like to do.

Like give an example.

Oh, well, let's say I love marketing and advertising side of things, but I don't like a lot of the pre planning and the doing work behind things. So I just thought that was a challenge for everybody. Well then I have a wonderful assistant at my office and she is awesome at taking care of all the details up ahead of time. She's always planned and prepared and it's just great to be able to have her do that. Management of the individual employees, I have a great manager, general manager and different managers that they do well at that. And that's just. I can manage managers very well, but it's hard when I get too many people under me, but yet there's people that can handle that. So it's really finding the people's best tail talent and using that talent in the right place.

And you know something that we've talked about a lot as well in delegating so that that frees you up to be able to work on the business. Right. And so since 1995, I just got from the notes, like, Your business increased 500% and you guys bought a building, you've turned your fleet into hybrid vehicles. There's been a lot of changes. What do you attest the you know, the big growth over the years that you've all have, I mean, that's a long time for a family business, really statistically showing. What do you think that. That the success has been due to?

A lot of it is the teamwork of the people that we have behind and everybody doing their fair share. But not only that, is having been such an integral part of the community for so long. When we went through the difficult period of time that a lot of people talk about, the 2008, 2009 type of period, we actually were doing well. And that was because we changed. Majority of our clientele comes from referral. And because we've been around as long as we have, we develop a following with a lot of our clients. And of course it makes sure that we're taking care of our clients.

And that is a form of marketing. It's like, how can you give back? How can you stay connected? And I think people want to do business with companies that are out there making an impact, don't you think?

Well, absolutely, because then they also know who the real person is behind the business. Because in all reality, the business follows the personality of those that are in charge. And if they have a chance to see what you're really like out in the community and that you are intent on giving back and supporting the community that you're in, they want to help support you too.

That's part of your company culture and it's relationships.

Absolutely.

Yeah. Because you've had many employees that have been with you for how long?

Oh my gosh. 88, 91. I mean, I mean, many of our employees have been there 20 plus years.

Yeah. I mean, that says a lot about your leadership, doesn't it? So what are. And so talking about running a team, some leadership skills that you've had to learn?

Yes.

So can you share some of those? Because I think that's one of the most challenging things, as we know in business is finding those right people and really helping to lead people to tap into their strengths and then of course, give their all to your business. I mean, you hear business owners complaining about that a lot.

Yeah.

So what do you think that is? Oh my gosh. What are some tips that you can share?

I always look at myself and go, gosh, I could do so many things better. And I think that's a typical leader, is you want look at all the things that you can continue to improve. But I think for me, as I treat everybody as an individual, everybody has their strengths, everybody has their weaknesses, and it's being able to understand and communicate with those. But one of the things that I have actually many wonderful sayings in my office but one is the four agreements is be impeccable with your word, always do your best. And now I'm going to mess it up because I'm like trying to think of the four, never make assumptions and don't take things personally. Yes. Which, and so I'm very honest with the fact if I've had situations to where I've had a difficult day and I'm reacting a bit differently and I'll be very honest with my staff and go, you know what, today's one of those days. I'm just very sensitive about this right now. I don't know why, but this is my trigger point and this really is hitting me with this. So I'm, I just completely am open with them and I think that's the important is I'm a real person. I still have to make difficult decisions. I still have to do the direction of the company and, and make some of those decisions that way. But I like input and I feel that I'm very approachable. And in the event that let's say something they don't agree with, they can also tell me that and know that there's nothing that's going to come from that I'll actually genuinely think about it. They may not understand some of the dynamics that they're not privy to or I may not have considered their viewpoint and go, gosh, that's a great idea, let's try this direction. So I think it's a collaboration effort. You're never going to get a complete consensus and I continue to try and improve myself.

And how do you deal with that? Because I think that's an important point is you're not going to always get the consensus for everybody. Not everybody is going to agree with your decision. So how do you internally deal with that?

It's tough because I tend to be a people pleaser so I want to make sure everybody's happy. But sometimes you have to look at the fact of who are you trying to make happy and if it's going to be the clients, if it's going to be our employees, is it going to be the overall team? And you have to put it in perspective of which is going to be the important one because it may not make one particular person happy, but you have to look at what's most important for the hierarchy of what you're trying to improve.

Right, Exactly. Well, I think that's really a good, I mean it really comes down to communication.

Yes.

Right. And that's the difference between being a boss and being a leader, you know, so now you are also, besides being a CEO and somebody that's making a difference in the community, you are also an athlete.

Yes.

And you. Denise is incredible. So here's. Let me give you an example. She rode 50 miles on her bike this morning. Okay. I actually, I'm actually a pretty decent athlete, I think. And I attempted 50 miles on a bike one time and at mile 49 I freaking hit the wall and then I got sick. So like she did it this morning and just jaunted on in and then has an event tonight. So can you just talk a little bit? I just think it's. Denise is amazing. And that's, that's like a business in itself because you're training every day, you've got all these championships, riding championships. So share a little bit about that.

Thank you. Yes. When I was a junior, which means from 14 through 18 years old, I raced bicycles and did really well. And one of my favorite events was the downhill mountain bike race, which I got second in the world for juniors, for championships. And for me that sort of describes my personality. Total adrenaline junkie. I love to push the limits and see what I'm capable of. And so, you know, I raised children because I have a 22 year old, 21 year old and 16 year old and then went, did the business thing. So did the typical of what a lot of people do. They're very active in something when they're in junior high or high school. Then they get out and they get into the business world and they get into certain routines. And I always kept active by going to the gym, but I got back into running and then all of a sudden I got back into bicycle racing and hooked up with my coach again and started working with my coach. And all of a sudden I found, gosh, he had a lot of, he, he had a lot of understanding of what my capabilities are that I really didn't even believe in myself. And so he helped me get back into racing again and in fact introduced me to a huge goal, which is what I'll be doing in September this year, which is setting a land speed record on a bicycle, drafting behind a Range Rover. And the plan is to go 168 miles an hour. It keeps getting bumped up 168 miles.

So say that again because they're probably like, wait a minute, let me rewind that for just a second here. So you are going to be, you Explain it. I can't even explain it. The land speed record.

Yes. And we've already had Guinness World Book Record approved for the attempt. And I'll be the very first woman to ever do this. No other woman has done this. And what it is is you draft behind an SUV or race car. The previous record holders have done it behind motorcycles, cars, race cars. I'll be doing it behind a Range Rover svr, which is a very powerful and fast Range Rover. And it will have a fairing put on the back and all the aerodynamics taken care of so I can sit in the draft behind it. And I'll get pulled up to about 90 miles an hour because it's a single gear bicycle. And then I'll finally be able to turn the gear over at about 90 and then continue. The car will, or the SUV will increase in speed and I'll increase my speed to match that and continue to stay in the draft and get timed for the last mile, which if you think about how fast I'll be going, it'll actually take me less than 20 seconds to go 1 mile between mile marker 4 and 5 of the. The course that I'll be doing.

Oh my God. But it's gonna be like gripping, Right.

Actually, you know what's interesting is my personality is there's so many things constantly going on in my life and I talk about my adhd, so I just. My mind's always going, but yet when things get fast like that, it actually slows down and there's almost like this special zone when you talk about athletes that get into that zone and all of a sudden it's almost like a tunnel vision. And when I do things that are at this extreme level, it's when literally the world quiet, quiets down.

Right.

And so the faster I go, actually.

The slower things, well, that's like homeopathic. That's how Denise and I met because she was one of my homeopathy 2007. I think like attracts like and then it actually balances you out. That's a whole other conversation. So how can people get involved with this? Can they support. Oh, absolutely. Big goal of Denise accomplishing the Guinness World Book Record as the.

What would you.

What would be.

It's the fastest motor paced or it's the. How they officially have the words, but it's basically the fastest motor paced female on a bicycle ever in the world.

So how can people support you with that?

Well, thank you. We have a website called the Project Speed. And the Project Speed is the. Where you can get Links to then our Facebook page and everything else. But there's also a donate page on there because we are asking for donations of any type to help out. Because I didn't realize coming into this I wanted to do this record and then all of a sudden realized it is a business. We had to come up with a website, we had to come up with a partnership agreement with my coach, we had to come up with a logo, we had to. All of a sudden I went, this is what the startup feels like. Because I came into my parents business, right?

You gotta have a Range Rover, you gotta have all of that and then the time off to be able to focus on this because it has been a business in itself. How have you managed running the company and doing this?

I actually reduced my hours to three days a week of coming into the office. So I was feeling too crammed and literally felt like I was spinning plates, which I still do feel like that at times. But I needed to spend Wednesdays and Fridays as my days to be able to do some intensity of training. So my Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are very well planned out so that I'm able to take care of business, have meetings. And then it also forced me to do more delegation because I'm not there five days a week. I have wonderful support with the general manager and the other managers and so a lot more has been relied upon them but they're also very supportive of what I'm doing too. So it's really a collaboration to be able to help me do this.

Right? Well, it's just I think that, you know, a lot of times people feel like they have to give up everything when they're running their business. And you know, you know, in building something, especially in the early years, you're putting in, you know, 18, 20 hour days in the beginning, getting it going. So this, I don't think this necessarily something you could have done when you were starting the business.

No, and I always have to look at the fact, even though there were challenges when I came in to take the business to a different level, there were a lot of challenges. After the partnership separation I also had a business that had already been established. My parents, I mean, I'm an entrepreneur in many ways, but I look at them with the ultimate entrepreneurial spirit because they made the risk to give up everything to start this business. And so it's an honor for me to be able to continue that legacy for them and, and then to also continue to instill that into my son so he understands. Because the third generation A lot of times doesn't see what that first generation went through. I got to witness the ups and the downs, the really scary times during the first generation when my parents started it. And so I appreciate, and I can look at that and understand the gift that I've been entrusted with to continue on. And it's very important for me, my son understands the legacy of the company and, and where it came from and to be able to appreciate what he has been given the opportunity to continue to grow to the next level.

I think that's a good point too, and is that especially now with technology, there are a lot of businesses that are being disrupted, right. Like gone altogether. Look at Blockbuster. And it's because technology is changing and you have to stay on the pulse. And. And I think that when you have a company that's been around so long, sometimes it's really hard to make the changes and to get especially the older guard to let go and go, okay, we will make the changes, you know, and so, you know, how have you all been able to do that? I mean, you really have to kind of look ahead and see what's coming down the path.

And it's been really interesting because with our business, we have a lot of the big boys, as they'd call it out there. And our business is having to technologically change because if you think about a standard alarm system, it generally communicates via a telephone line. How many people are canceling their telephone lines? And so all of a sudden, we're coming in and needing to have a different method of communication. People are wanting to have a camera at their front door. That wasn't part enough of an alarm system. In fact, our alarm systems are becoming an ancillary product of the home life management. They want to be able to turn on their air conditioning units. They want to be able to lock their doors from an app on their phone. They want to see what's going on in their front door from an app. There's so many new things that have gone on, even in our industry. If we don't change with that and start providing that, it'll be like the horse buggy whip. I'm going to be the. We're going to be the best at doing the horse buggy whip, but nobody needs them anymore.

Well, I was thinking about that recently when we did switch to the model, you know, to the automobile from the horses. I bet there was just a slew of, you know, horse salespeople that went out of business. Right.

But it's what happens. And if you don't innovate. You will be left behind. And I think our type of industry, the industry that I'm in with security will always be needed. It's a matter of, are you going to sit there and continue to innovate and be able to give the solutions to the newer generation that's out there expecting everything to be done on their iPhone or their Android or whatever device? And so another beauty is having my son who's coming in, is coming in in his 20s, to be able to also come from the same generation that we're trying to market to. So there's the beauty in the fact of I have done my way and I'm going to my son coming and being involved in the business because he's been working the business. In fact, he works 20 hours a week right now while he's still going to school, Marine reservist. And so he's. But he's always been involved and he always hears what's going on and he has some great ideas and he's just that perfect one to take it to that next technological end. I mean, we're coming along with that, but he's going to bring such wonderful ideas that are going to be the solution of the clients that we're going to need to sell to.

And I think it's key. It's truly key in a lot of businesses, so. Well, what. You know, this has been awesome. I mean, we've talked about family business, we've talked about, you know, communication. And we've got this little guy here and look, he looks. He's just cuddled up so happy. Everyone say hi to Bizu. Can you. Hey, Bizu. Hey, baby. I don't want to wake him up. He's just. Well, this has been awesome. So check out Denise's world record approach as we're approaching. And we know that she's gonna make it happen. And it's the projectspeed.com is that right? All right, this has been wonderful. Thank you for coming on and sharing.

All your wisdom and thank you for letting me have Bisou join.

Join. Yeah, I'm thinking we might need to have him on every episode. All right, thanks for joining us on Allie and you. Until next time. See you later. Bye.