Mike Agugliaro - Ep. 17 - Change Your Mindset, Grow Your Bus...

This is the Wealthy Contractor Podcast brought to you by G4 Marketing. Interviews with today's top home improvement entrepreneurs about marketing, sales, money, mindset, and lifestyle. Now here's your host, Brian Kaskavalciyan.

Hello and welcome to the Wealthy Contractor Podcast. This is Brian Kaskavalciyan with G4 Marketing Group. And in this episode, my guest is Mike Agugliaro. Now, Mike is the owner, the co-owner and co-founder of Gold Medal Service Plumbing and Plumbing Heating Air Conditioning Company out of New Jersey. And he's also the co-founder and co-owner of CEO Warrior. Now, Mike is a very interesting guy. In fact, This podcast was actually supposed to be about a different topic, but when we started to talk, we got into a better subject. That better subject being mindset. And you'll hear him and I go back and forth on this because this is an area where we were both in 100% agreement. And it's an area where not a lot is talked about in home services, home improvement. Mindset, your attitude, what you're thinking, what you believe, is not talked about a lot. And so, so this is a guy that's all about mindset. I mean, just, I think it was 10 years ago, him and his partner were about ready to quit. They weren't even doing a million dollars in sales and killing themselves, just working, you know, working themselves to death. And now not only do they have an extremely successful business, but now they're going and they're teaching other company owners what they did. And a lot of what they do, again, it's not so much about the mechanics of marketing. It's not about the mechanics always about sales. It's about what's going on inside of our heads. And so we have a very interesting conversation. I think you're really going to enjoy this episode of the podcast. So let's get to it.

All right, everybody. Welcome, Mike. Great to have you on this episode of the podcast. I know we've got a lot of great stuff that we're going to be talking about. I think though, Mike, before we get into it, I would love for you to kind of give the 1 or 2 minute version of your story. How did you go from, from service contractor to building a monster business to now becoming CEO Warrior?

Yeah, awesome. Be glad to share it and, and honored to be on the show today. You know, if you go back 23 years ago, like a lot of business owners listening to this, I'm a guy who thinks I could do it better than the boss that I'm working for. Right. I was working for a boss. He, I was pretty sure he was an idiot and I thought, well, he can do it. I can do it too. So if you go back 23 years ago, it's me and my business partner saying, well, what the heck? You know, let's give this thing a run at being a business owner. Little did I know that for about a good 12 years, it was a pretty painful road. I mean, we struggled to find employees. We struggled to, you know, it was always, you'd get one job and struggle for the next job. And I mean, it was a mess. I mean, we worked 7 days a week. We felt like, you know, we would tell people we were winning. Like if we bumped into them, they're like, oh, how's business? I always tell people, like, I became a professional liar. I was like, oh yeah, everything's Everything's great. The reality was it wasn't great. I mean, I was, I wasn't seeing my wife. Me and my partner were working a million hours. We were getting completely burned out. And it's really, I think it's important to share real quick and then I'll take you fast forward to today. I mean, it's the turning point, right? What's the turning point is what most people want to know. And it's my partner coming in and saying, he came in one morning and said, I'm done. I thought, I mean, I was pretty naive. I thought he had the craps or something. I thought he was just. Taking the day off. He didn't feel good. I didn't know he meant he was done. He was giving up. He was toast. He couldn't take it no more. I'm sure maybe some of you that are listening to us right now, you're shaking your head and like, yeah, you could relate to it. And then it was about the next day we had a call and I said, well, look, if you're done, I'm done. I'm not going to do it without you. But what if, what if we figured this all out? And that's some of the things I'm going to share with you today. So now fast forward In the last about 11 years, we went from under $1 million. We did $30 million last year, over 200 employees, over 145 of our trucks running all over the state of New Jersey. Yeah, we do plumbing, heating, cooling, electric, drain cleaning. We do a one-day bathroom solution. We do basement waterproofing. We pretty much do anything the homeowner needs. And now I'd like to say, Brian, we really figured it out because In this month, we're doing a $3 million month. We're actually going to cross $3 million.

Wow, that's awesome.

About where we were and where we are today.

That's awesome. So what happened? You know, one of the things that I always want to know is what happened? What was the decision that you made that started you off? And what is the decision that other business owners make? Because it all starts with the decision, doesn't it? It's like, I'm sick and tired of this. I've decided now I'm going to do it. A different way. I'm going to get a different result, a better outcome. What was the decision that you made, and, and what was the next step after that?

Yeah, I'll tell you what the first decision was. We had to put down our egos, and we had to say to ourselves, we don't know how to do this. I mean, we just don't know how to do it. If we knew how to do it, we would have figured it out in the last 11, 12 years. And the reality was, you know, once we made a decision to find the right coaches and mentors, I mean, pay money for someone who would tell us, look, I've done it. This is the roadmap. This is what I thought about. Things started to change. So I think the real question here is, well, Mike, what did change? I mean, and here's the thing I'm going to tell you, and I know it sounds like a poof poof word. And it's like a buzzword, mindset, but I want to go a little deeper real quick on it. Yes, it's mindset, but it's deeper than that. I mean, we've been programmed. I was programmed as a kid with all these belief systems. Money doesn't grow on trees. You have to work really hard to make a living. I mean, my dad is still alive. He's amazing. Hardest worker I've ever known. He was a mason. So he grew up only knowing what he taught me. You know, so I grew up thinking, well, making money was a struggle. Making money was killing yourself. Making money was just working a million hours. I had all this framing and programming in my mind. It was really all about working harder, not working smarter and figuring it out. So once I started to get around people who really understood it and people who looked at me and said, did you realize what just came out of your mouth? What you said? And I'll tell you something that I used to say all the time, Brian, like, try, hope, maybe. Like, I'm like, yeah, maybe that will work. Or I hope it gets better. Like, I hope we can sell this job. Or yeah, let's try to do that. I didn't realize all the words until I had a strong mentor point out to me, like, do you even hear what's coming out of your mouth? You're programmed that everything's going to fail and everything has to be difficult. Does that make sense, Brian?

Absolutely. Of course.

Yeah. And then I think the thing is, for some of you that are listening, and this doesn't matter what industry you're in, because I mean, I work with people that are training dogs. I work with somebody who's a top at Chase Manhattan Bank. I've worked with doctors, chiropractors, trade people, and construction people. The same concept I've learned is really a concept of success. I mean, it's— and I don't want to get too technical on it, but I mean, you have your conscious thinking, right? Like what we're talking now, you're listening to us now, we're making decisions. Should we listen to the end? Should you— and you probably should have a pen and notepad and be writing stuff down right now. But then there's our subconscious. It's like all this stuff that we've learned throughout the years. I mean, look at the economy, right? A lot of people that got punched in the face in, in this last economy, they're wounded by it. So they're making They're not making any decisions. It's almost like paralysis versus me, Brian. We never had a down year. We never had a flat year. And we've always made at least an extra million the last 11 years. Because I go back to saying this, what if what I'm telling myself is not true? What if what I'm telling myself, there's a better, different way to do it? And then I always do an ego check. I look in the mirror and say, look, Is that you ready to learn, or is that your ego shutting everything down? Does that make sense?

Yeah. Well, because the subconscious mind— I mean, if we want to get into this, the subconscious mind, really what it wants to do is just keep you safe. So all of everything it's doing behind the scenes is just to keep you safe, to keep you comfortable where you're at right now, even if it sucks, even if it's in a crappy place. Because it's what— that's what it knows.

Yeah, yeah.

And that's where language is so important. I like that you brought that up because, man, the words that you hear— you're so right— coming out of people's mouths, they're talking about the economy and they're talking about, oh, this and all that. You're so right about that. But the thing is, is how do you change that? How do you change that, the pattern that's been ingrained for decades.

How do you—

how do you change that pattern?

I gotta tell you something, Brian. I've done so much stuff to change the patterns and to become what I call comfortable with the uncomfortable. And I'll give the listeners some examples, and some of them might sound crazy, like you wouldn't even do it. And that's okay if you wouldn't do it. There's lots of ways to change it. But I mean, I've done everything from fire walking to walking on glass to breaking arrows on my neck. And I mean, I'm a martial artist of 31 years. You would think with my discipline and focus, I could have changed it along the way. I'm going to tell you what, when someone sticks a mirror in your face and says, why don't you have a real conversation with yourself? And why don't you ask yourself? Because I mean, Brian, like how many, how many business owners today, you know what they say to one person, person to person, not what they're saying, the story they tell themselves in their mind. I mean, I beat myself up. For 11, 12 years telling myself how painful it was, how I wasn't going to figure out. I mean, how many of you listeners right now, like, shake your head, talk out loud? Like, I mean, I used to say to myself, I'm done, I'm ready to quit, I'm ready to give up. And then, and then, you know, my mentors would tell me to say, well, who are you? What are you really giving up on? Because you're not giving up on the business. Because let's face it, if you can't figure it out here What do you think? You're going to figure it out in a different business, working for someone? No, it doesn't work that way. You have to change and be willing. So I'll tell you one thing I did find that was real helpful. I mean, I looked at my identity. Who was I? How was I? What language did I use? How did I behave? How did I dress? How did I— how did I communicate with people? And then I said to myself, you know what? Let me write down exactly who I want to be, who I need to become. This is not one of these old dogs don't learn new tricks. I think old dogs have to learn new tricks, otherwise they're going to die today.

All right, so let's talk about— let's talk specifically a little bit about mechanics. What are some of the things— because like what you said when you were talking about, uh, just a second ago about the things that you say to yourself, I mean, the first place that my head went to was— and I, I've worked on this too for years and years and years. With mentors, with some— you and I have some of the same mentors and some of the same coaches. And the stuff that I would say to myself, I wouldn't say to somebody walking in the street. I wouldn't say to another human being. And so you've got to recognize that that's happening inside of you, and you've got to work on how do you change it. I mean, what are some of the things that you see people doing that, that the listeners can do starting right now, starting today? What can they do to start to change that pattern of negative talk in their heads, to change that?

Yeah, I think some of the simple things that you can do is just start to be really present with yourself. Really ask yourself, it's self-coaching. Just say to yourself, you know, what I'm telling myself, is that the best thing to tell myself? Is that what I'm telling myself, is that going to move me forward or is it going to move me away from where I want to go? And listen, I mean, it's easier said than done because your surroundings, right? I mean, if you're around people, I mean, I'm one of the most successful in my family, so you could imagine I'm, I'm happy, I'm excited. But then, you know, and maybe some of you listeners can relate to this, I would dim my light when I was around my family. I mean, when I was around my brothers and sisters, I would pull myself back and act like things weren't great. But you know what? They were really going great. They're going great now. And what I would tell you to do is to pay attention to, you know, be aware of what you say. Is it moving you forward? Be aware of who you're saying it to and really be brave and bold. Okay, there's a difference between having an ego and going out there and just acting like you're the number one thing versus I go out in the world, Brian, and I'm there to serve. The only reason I even share what I've accomplished— well, two. One, I'm proud of it. And two, you'll listen to me now because, you know, I've walked the path. And if I did it and I'm just a vocational graduate, I graduated a vocational school, then guess what? Anybody can do it. I got no college degree or nothing like that. Not that I don't think people shouldn't go to college. I'm just saying that You know what, the minute you make a decision and a choice that you're going to change— and, and you know what, Brian, everyone wants to point the fingers. Well, my employees got to change, the economy got to change, my car has got to change, my wife's got to change. No, I mean, you're the first person to change, and when you change, everything else becomes possible. And it's fast. And I know you hear— look, there's a difference between hearing people say it and actually taking action on that. Let's make today— let's agree, all of us today, me, you, Brian, everybody that's listening, let's agree that we're going to take action on one thing we hear from this, and we're going to write it, we're going to stick it on our car, stick it on our mirror, put it on our cell phone. I mean, everywhere we turn, we're going to see that change. And the minute you know you've accomplished it, then guess what? Then you can come back and listen to this again and pick change number 2. Does that make sense, Brian?

Absolutely, Mike. How much— so you also a few years ago started CEO Warrior, amazing organization. I've been to your events, fantastic.

Your—

that organization really is about helping business owners, primarily in the service business, but it's helping business owners really grow their business and really grow their lives. That's what I got out of it. And correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, yeah, this is the missing piece, Brian. This is what I think. I don't know why others haven't figured out, and it's probably because they don't— they haven't— they don't have the skill set, or maybe they haven't had the training. You see, I went on a quest, Brian, and, and I started studying things, studying myself, my behaviors, my patterns, my habits, my brain. Like, what made me do all the stupid stuff I did? Like, what made me stay stuck for so many years? You know, what kept me in that, that place? And if you kind of look at what I wanted to do with CEO Warrior, for any business owners really, is I wanted to— I want to keep people from going through the same pain I did. And I learned something: consumption of information does not change things. It doesn't. I mean, there's books, there's YouTube, I mean, TED Talks. I mean, there's no lack of material and information to consume. So if we all have access to the same information, why are we all not winning? The number one thing I've learned, Brian, is before you can teach somebody, you need to shift their mindset. You need to change their decisions. You need to change the way they see and what they're ready to learn. And until you do that, you're just giving them another book and hoping for the best. And that's what I've proven now, just going into our fourth year of CEO Warrior, is that I've proven that once we align the mindset difference— and it's, it's, look, it is different for every person, has to have a slightly different breakthrough— then you give them skill sets. And that's why we're doubling more businesses than, as far as I'm concerned, anyone on the planet. Because of the process we run people through. And we know that consumption without expansion is a waste of time. So just follow the sequence. Find the thing that has to change your mindset. It might be this episode, it might be another episode Brian has done. Then take the skill set in to reinforce that. And then all you need to do is take action, massive, massive action. And let me tell you something, if you can't take action or you're known for procrastination or perfection or something that holds you back, then you need to get someone who's gonna be tough on you and give you the hurtful truth and not the comforting lies. So many people today, they want to give comforting lies. Oh yeah, Brian, everything will be fine. I'm like, no, Brian, you know what? If you want to be the number one in the world, well then you gotta play like you're the number one in your mindset. This changes the game. And this is why you see what I've built with the $30 million service company and what we've already built. We're in the top 5 organizations or places to go on the planet to change your business for a reason. I made a conscious decision, Brian. Does that make sense?

Absolutely. Well, and so much of it, like you said earlier, the missing piece. So many— that's part of what I'm trying to do here with the Wealthy Contractors, because I discovered when I got out, you know, there was a period there where I sold out of one of my companies and I started doing consulting work, and I wanted to just go to mechanics. It was like, okay, look, here, we need a great sales letter, we need a great ad, we need systems, we need— but what always got in the way was the owner's mindset. The owner's mindset. And one of the things, you know, where I found you was at Bath Planet. I told you this story. Yeah, there was a pile of books there, and I saw, you know, there's this guy on the COVID of the book. It's called The Secrets the Business Masters Like, well, you know, what is this? It's another business book. And I read it on the plane home, and it started exactly like my book started. It started with mindset, because I discovered I could give somebody all of the best ideas in the world, I could give you the best sales letter in the world, but if your head isn't right, nothing's going to happen. And so when focused on mindset, I mean, how much of it do you think is mindset over skill set?

Yes, it's, it's, it's 90% mindset, it's 10% skill set.

So I want that to sink in with everybody because Mike is a guy that's done it and he works with hundreds of people like intimately. And when I say intimately, if you have not been to one of his events, you got to go to one of his events and you'll know what I mean by that. But He just said it's 90% mindset. It's so much about what we're thinking, what we believe, what we expect, right? And so many people have really messed up ideas in their head about getting forward, getting ahead, and what's stopping them, and what— everything outside of them that's going to hold them back. From getting what they want.

Yeah, Brian, let me give you something that, that I feel, and let me deliver it to the listeners as a gift to everybody, something that has really helped me. And it's something that you can do today, and you could do it by yourself. You know, I ask myself this question all the time. I say to myself, based on what I'm doing now, the type of work you know, the, the type of building the business, the type of serving either my employees, my community, whatever you serve today. I ask myself, if I keep going at this pattern, 5 years from now, will I be where I want to be? Will I be closer to it? What about 10 years from now? And I'll tell you what, when you rewind time and you go back 13 years from today and you asked me that question, I would say 10 years from now, I'll be, I'll be burnt out. I'll probably be divorced. I'll miss my children growing up. I would tell you it's a miserable, miserable future. And when you can get the grip to know that maybe the actions you're taking today are going to be very painful 10 years from now, maybe 20 years from now. I mean, all of you listening right now, if you're in your car at home or running on the treadmill, I mean, ask yourself. In business, in your relationship, in your wealth, or in the belief— what you believe in yourself. If you keep going at the same pace you're going at, the same pattern, telling yourself the same stories, beating yourself up, will 10 years from now, what will it be like? When you see, Brian, that it sucks, miserable, it's painful, you'll then come to grips. And your— our human DNA is built to run away from pain and go to pleasure. Now all I need to do is put the pain— that's road number 1, that's the path to the left. Well, the path to the right, now I get to choose. Do you understand? Like, people forget life can be by design or by default. Your culture and your business could be by design or by default. Everything could be by design or default. I build my life by design. I make conscious decisions to make sure What I'm going to grow another business, which I'm working on another one now that will be out soon, is I make sure— well, wait a minute, before I design this business, is it going to serve my family? Will it give me more time? Will it create greater relationships with people? Will it serve people to change their lives? And if any of them are no, then guess what? That design is broken. And that's what you have to ask yourself. And that's one of the things I would tell everybody, Brian, is you have to have a plan. That would be number 2. Number 1, mindset. Number 2 is you need to build a plan by design. And guess what? Course correct if needed. Sometimes the train falls off the track. If it's only one part of the train, push it back on. If you wait for the whole train to fall off, well, yeah, sometimes you got to build a new train. Big deal. Grab a hammer, start building. And the last thing, Brian, to tie this up, and then I'll hand it back over to you, is Make sure you have accountability and leverage. I mean, anybody today, social media is a great leverage. I mean, go out there and tell everybody, when you see me doing stuff that doesn't look like I'm serving my purpose or moving forward, call me out on social media, text me on the phone, be like, like, I have tons of mentors. Like, if you see me doing something and it's not great, text me, and I give them permission to be tough on me. So that's how I like the message delivered. Not everybody loves that.

It's cool.

I don't text and say, are you paying attention? Is this going to get you and your family where you need to be 10 years from now? If not, stop. And that's what I need to hear sometimes, Brian. So you want to have accountability from someone to know and give them permission to tell you the hurtful truth. They have an opportunity to change. Now I know that was a big mouthful. Thank you, Frank, for letting me share it. I'm gonna hand it back over to you.

Well, and you got to be open to listening to it and taking it in and being strong to be able to move forward, because sometimes that's not easy to hear, is it?

Yeah, I hate it. I hate taking the medicine. I tell people, you know, when I used to get the medicine as a kid, I hated— I still hate if I had to take NyQuil or something like that. I don't like to take any medicine, but guess what? Sometimes you got to eat the medicine because it heals you, right?

And you got it. And, and what you said earlier, you've gotten comfortable with being uncomfortable. Is that how you said it?

Yeah, very. And even today, I mean, let's face it, I mean, I have a son that just turned 18, I have a 15-year-old beautiful daughter, I'm with my wife over 31 years. You can bet your ass I've become very comfortable with a lot of uncomfortable things. I mean, having babies is uncomfortable. I didn't know how to be a dad. And growing a big business is uncomfortable. You have to learn to embrace that. When you embrace it, then you could change it. Let me give you another one that serves me, Brian, that I think is really good. I've learned to tell myself things are not being done to me, they're being done for me. Now, that's painful sometimes. I get it, brother. Like, I've had lawsuits. I've had all kinds of real— I've been on my own since I'm 15 years old. I mean, I've experienced some damn things. And it's hard for me sometimes to say, well, why was that? Was that being done to me or for me? Now I look at it and I said, man, I would— and I'm sure like you guys, everybody listening now, I'm sure you had bad experiences. Think about what did that experience teach you? How much stronger did it make you? Now, some of it, some of you might have let it break you. But guess what? Maybe now today you'll change it. For me, I felt like I was a broken bird for years when I was very young on my own. Today I say to myself, that's what made me the strong warrior I am today. So you have to make sure— don't look at the world against you. And remember this, everybody: as much as you might fight against it, you're in control. You're in charge. And that's a lot of just people, Brian, today just realizing, telling themselves in their mind, I am in control, I am in charge. Then you make a good decision that will help you move forward.

Well, I can't say anything to top that because that's fantastic advice. Everybody listening, you're in control. Fantastic advice. So Mike, thank you so much. I hope that I can have you back again because we didn't even go on to the topic we were going to discuss because you've just got so much great information. I think this is— I think this was such an important thing to discuss, and you're one of the few people I know that's not afraid to dive deep into it. So many people out there that really— that, you know, they mean well, they're teaching how to sell, they're teaching how to grow business, they're teaching how to create systems, but without the underlying work, the important work of mindset, man, it's, it's, it's a really tough road. So, so thank you. Thank you for being being here, and, and thank you for sharing with us.

Yeah, thank you, Brian. You're doing a great justice for all business owners to listen to this and being such a great person to serve others. Everyone out there, stay Warrior Strong, stay Warrior Unstoppable, and stay the path.

Thank you, Mike.

All right, so that's it for today's episode of the Wealthy Contractor Podcast. Let me ask you, Did it help you look at your business in a new way? Did it spark an idea or ideas you hadn't thought of before? Do you have a list of action items that you can take and implement into your business or your life today? I really hope so. Now, before you go, make sure you subscribe to the Wealthy Contractor Podcast so you get access to the latest episodes as soon as they're available. We're always striving to provide you with great content, so you don't want to miss what's coming up. And a favor, I'd really appreciate it if you'd go to iTunes and post a review of this podcast. Let us know how we're doing. And finally, we started The Wealthy Contractor as a resource to help you, the home improvement entrepreneur, regardless of where you are on the wealthy scale, get where you want to go. We want to provide you with the motivation, the confidence, the resources, and the tools so you too can live the life of the wealthy contractor. Now, the wealthy contractor is a place where it's okay for you to want it all. In fact, it's not only okay, it's encouraged. So until next time, this is Brian Kaskavalciyan with G4 Marketing Group.