Cowboys, Code & a Little Halloween Chaos 🎃 | E29 – Hard Refresh – An ISSA Podcast

Sa.

Yeehaw.

Welcome to Hard Refresh. Welcome, everyone. Man, this is our Halloween episode. But before I give clarity into that, it is not Halloween for our guest today, Brian Lee. This is his look day in and day out, so don't want to sell that short. He is the Software Cowboy. Brian, you've got to brand yourself as the Software Cowboy moving forward like an Issa. Like, I want, I want to see a sign. Have you ever heard of the Iron Cowboy?

I have not heard of the Iron Cowboy. I've heard of the Naked Cowboy up in New York City with the guitar. I'm not doing that.

But the Iron Cowboy, yeah, he's. He did like 50 iron mans and 50 states in 50 days. Holy crazy athlete.

Yeah.

Anyways, but you know, in the cleaning industry, we're going to get to know Brian on this episode. So, Brian, take it away on an introduction. Who you are, where you've been, where you're coming from.

So you want me to kind of start on who I am or you want me to do the two truths and a lie about me?

We'll get to two truths and a lie in a second. So.

So I am Brian Lee. I am the owner of Express Time Solutions. I'm second generation. My father, David Lee, he is the founder of it and, and he is still around and I still pick his brain constantly on this because he is a wealth of knowledge still and want to get every bit of that I can. But I, I'm married. I got a beautiful wife of 20 years. She's put up with me for 20 years. Pretty, pretty impressive. And we got two Beau, beautiful kids, Caroline and Carrington. 18 and 16 now. And they think they rule this house, which sometimes they think they do too. But Trudy and I, we, we're, we're super proud of our kids too. Very, very good daughters. We do, we do. The Rodeo Life software company is our passion too, because we can use that to launch and be able to serve people and serve, serve our customers across the country, even across the big pond. We got customers in the UK and all. We serve people through that, but it also allows us to enjoy life. And our thing is to serve others, but also be able to enjoy our family, our friends. And rodeo is one way we do that. And that's, that's why you do. See, yes, I do have a cowboy hat on. I do every day. People at the office, I walk in, I think they've seen me one time without it and they about wondered what was going on. So. But we, we do, we love that. We, we have a passion about that and, and, and that's what we do. We put God first in our life and, and want to serve others. So it's kind of who we are.

So before we dive into two truths and a lie, I got to ask. Do you still rodeo today? Like you're, you're riding?

I ride with the girls, but I do not bull ride or anything anymore. They're. Some of my friends want me to get back in the team roping some Scots want me to rope with him some, and I just haven't. Never. I've had two back surgeries now. And so with two back surgeries, it's a little harder to want to take to do anything like that or do something stupid. I would never get on a bull again or anything like that. My dad allowed us to do that out here when I was growing up and you saw where it's gotten me now in life. And so I'm not gonna, not gonna. We, we just had practice barrels and stuff out here that we would get slammed on and, and, and everything too. And it just, it's a rough life over there. But my girls, they do, they compete. We compete every single week with them. I get to haul, I get to haul them everywhere they want to go. So that means it's really cool because I got a 16 and 18 year old saying, hey, dad, where are we going this week? Where are we going this week? Where are we going this week? So we go as a family.

That's amazing.

Absolutely. And we got a rodeo family. There's, there's a large group of us that we all meet up at every rodeo together. We get to do our life together too. Kids their age, older, it doesn't matter the age. They all compete against each other and they love each other too. It's really, really a unique family.

That is so cool, man. I love attending rodeos. We go and watch them. It's why my wife and I have cowboy attires. We like to go participate and one day we have a homesteading dream to accomplish. But man, what a cool family dynamic. I can only just wish and hope that my family follows suit on just loving being together. And I hope I build that lifestyle. So kudos to you for doing that. It's rare.

Yeah.

And people should follow suit on that. So if you're listening and that didn't inspire you, I don't know what will.

And that's what I was telling Brian earlier. Right. Like the episode with your dad, Brian, it was one of, if not my favorite episode there's just such this beautiful familial. Obviously you guys are family, but you, you ooze this like love and family relationship. And that episode to me really struck a chord. So I'm super excited to have you. And you're telling the story about your girls is awesome. I would love to see pictures and see them do it. Getting in action. But that to have a 16 and 18 year old want to hang out with dad and mom is a big deal. So kudos.

Yeah, for sure. Don't take it for granted.

That's right.

That's for sure. Well, let's dive in. Now that I feel like I kind of have a glimpse, maybe we'll actually be better today. Karina, on this two truths and a lie moment. Maybe not. Yeah, maybe we're just as bad as we've always been, but let's dive in. Two truths and a lie.

Okay. All right.

So I'm kind of give you, I'm going to give you a life. Kind of part of my life.

Oh.

When I was 17 years old, I was actually in a golf tournament. Well, actually not in the golf tournament. I went to a golf tournament and I was at a golf tournament and walking around in the golf tournament and I noticed that I was hurting a little bit and I passed out at this golf tournament and I kind of tripped and said I tripped. And my brother thought that it was asking me, how are you doing? And I was like, I'm hurting a little bit. So I went up and I laid down in this, this area up on above the 18th hole. And I woke up and I went home. And when I got home, I told my parents that I was hurting real bad in my chest. And I ended up going to the hospital that night and had a heart attack. And at 17 years old, I had a heart attack. And they did. They had a machine and they kept putting a machine on me and they kept getting different machines and they just kept saying, hey, there's something wrong with these machines. But in all reality, seven machines were not broke. It was my heart wasn't pumping blood. I was having a heart attack. So lo and behold, miraculously, God healed me. That was one story. Another story. A few months, you know, go on. Played golf in high school, one state championships with amazing golf teams throughout high school. Got to go on and play some golf in college and had a great golf career. Love golf. Golf is great. Golf is good. Had the opportunity to be able to hit not one, but two amazing hole in ones. Another story. Another story is when I was 26 years old. My wife and I had just been married. I was at a church serving as a student pastor. And I needed to get my license to drive a big bus. And this big bus had 26 seats in it. And in these 26 seats, you have to have a chauffeur license. So I went to get my chauffeur license and I failed the test. So I went back to get it again. I failed the test. I failed it like six times in a row. So finally I passed it. But then after I passed it, you have to go do the driving test. And I went up and did the driving test. But during the driving test, the state trooper asked me one question during the driving test and asked me, hey, how high was that bridge sign? And being the youth pastor, the good youth pastor, I was like, I didn't look. So I guessed and acted like, I acted like I kind of lied. I guess I was like 14.2ft. And he said, wrong, it was 13 6. But it was just one question I missed. So I still passed the overall deal. Got to go back to get my license. When I was going to get my license, I had to go to get cash instead of a check. And I did not realize that. So I was going through the bank, drive through, and there's those bars going across the top. And I was looking out the fan to make sure I had the right height. The only thing that I did not pass on the driving thing, and I did have a perfect height and I was like, good. So I went to drive up under it and I got about halfway through and I heard the biggest clang. And I stopped. And then I heard a few seconds later, something else clang. And it was the emergency hatch, hit the top and ejected off and flew out in the parking lot. And there was many church members in that bank itself, including the president of the bank who was the deacon in the church. They all came outside and I was stuck up under the awning at the church or at the bank. So I got to go ahead and pull back out, walk up to the atm, get my money. I went, got my license and I went in and told the pastor, hey, good news and bad news. Got my license, but I've already wrecked the van. So that's my three stories. A heart attack. It's a 172 hole in ones in golf. Wrecked a church van the day I got mature at my license.

Okay, so the third story definitely is true. There's way too much information for it to be a lie. That's. And it's a Great story. I feel like it was perfectly articulated, the series of events that unfolded. And I think that one's true. But again, I'm always wrong. So you tell me, Kayden.

I was gonna say, you know, some, some people get on here and the master storyteller, the one that's like this elaborate story ended up being false, but that one just felt too authentic. So I, I'll side with you that the third one is true. So the false one I'm thinking is between 1 and 2 then. And the heart attack's kind of crazy, but I think it's. Here's. Here's a statistic. It's more common probably to get a heart attack than two hole in ones.

Yeah.

So I'm going to go with maybe it's not actually two hole in ones. Maybe you've only ever had one, which is still an amazing feat. That, that. I'll take that take.

Okay. I agree.

So what are y' all saying is the fault.

Second one is false.

Dang. You're good.

Dang.

We got one.

That was the first one we've ever gotten. Yes.

Hey, I love it. Tested your tr. Hey, you're not on the losing streak anymore. You're on the winning streak.

We're on the upswing. I love it. That's amazing.

At the age of 17, I was at a golf tournament when it happened. Fell out and my aorta valve swole shut from a virus. Wouldn't pump blood through my body.

That's insane.

Did you have to do like open heart surgery or anything?

No. They ended up another doctor from Brazil. They were going to send me to Mexico. Mom and dad was like, getting this doctor from Mexico and they was like, no, there's no, don't send him here. There was like the number one heart doctor and they said, they can't do nothing. It's a virus. And they were like, something's got to do. And they were like, no, do something. And my dad was like, God, take my life and give him. Give him his. You can do it. I know you can. And he had faith that it would happen. And God said, no, I got bigger plans for both of you. And I've still got letters from people from Maine, Oregon, all these places. I don't even know who they are. I don't even know how they knew my story. And they were writing letters month after month to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I'm praying for you. I got this for you. Hey, no GoFundMe stuff. It was just prayer letters. Prayer letters. Prayer letters. And God Healed it. And to this day, I'm on no medication. They, the heart doctor, after it was all over, two years later, said, you can go have open heart surgery anywhere you want in the world. And they'd call you a liar if you said you've had a heart attack. Unless they look at his previous history on his records. God just said, and I mean, I got bigger plans, and I'm gonna use this. And I've had to, you know, I've had the opportunity to minister and witness and help people that have gone, are going through those things in my ministry and say, you know, amazing. I don't ever tell somebody I understand your pain unless I do understand it. Like, I'm very blessed that my family can go back. Literally, my great great grandparents, all the way through to me and my wife. Never have been through a split family. Never.

That's amazing.

Not my parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents, my wife and I. None of us have ever been through a split family. Our parents have still been married. And so whenever I have students that I'm meeting with and they're going through that and they're talking about, I don't say, I understand your pain. I do not. I always tell them, I don't understand that pain, but I know it's got to be hurt and real. So I never lie to him, but whenever it comes to, like, physical ailments or a heart attack, I can go to him, say, I understand that, and here's. Here's what I want to do with you. And so I. God uses those things.

Absolutely.

For sure.

What an incredible story.

Yeah. And then the church band was real. I was so embarrassed. We had to.

That's such a good story, though.

Yeah, it was bad. The only thing I failed on the whole test that day, I felt it again.

I love that correlation is like the one mistake.

Yeah.

Was the one that turned out to be true.

Unbelievable.

So good. I thought I had it. I had it and I used it. And when I did that emergency hatch sticks up about 6 inches more. And it just hit that. And. And when it did, it springs because it's emergency hatch. So when you, you know. And when it did, it shot it up. Unfortunately, it didn't hit a car in the parking lot or something, but it made the God office racket. And then I was stuck under it, and everybody came out, and I opened the doors up and walked out. Yep, it's me. Sorry, guys.

My apologies, man.

That's the new youth pastor in the area. He'd been here for two weeks, three weeks. He's failed the test every time trying to get it.

Oh, my gosh, I bet it was so endearing. Everybody probably loved you from that. You're like, oh, he's human.

But I did play golf. I did play in high school. We did win state championship. Did play in college, just didn't. I've never hit a hole in one. That's the part I never have done.

It's. It's a hard thing. I've never played golf in that level and I've gotten close once and it was, I think, pure luck.

Oh, yeah.

I hit the post and then it bounced off. Anyways, awesome.

Well, good deal.

We are going to dive into Clearing the Cash moment. But Karina, do you have some quick control events you want to go over or.

I have some exciting news that. Kaden, you don't know I'm going to say this, but we are looking for a new technology innovation chair for the technology committee because I am joining the Issa team as the chief Engagement Officer of the building service segment.

Congratulations.

Thank you. I'm super excited. I have a soft spot and a great relationship with that association. I've worked with them forever and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve and work with members. So, so exciting. So we're looking for a new tech chair to help Kaden and all things for technology as a lot is happening as Brian is going to give some insight there. But yeah, we're excited and of course at the show we are going to do some hard refresh episodes, but I will write out my last couple of days as the chair after the show. Are you sad? So sad.

Are you kidding? We. That doesn't change anything about. We're going to have. We're going to have the best of fun without Chinook.

Yeah, it only gets better.

It gets better.

Golly.

But yes, the Issa show by the time this episode launches is just, you know, like two weeks out, three weeks out. So enjoy, enjoy a Halloween holiday and then boom, we're going to see each other at the show. So, yeah, exciting stuff coming up. Well, our Clearing the Cash moment, David, we. Or Brian, we're going to go back into. I'm still thinking we're talking to your dad.

Yeah, we're.

We're going to go back into. And you mentioned this after we had stopped recording with your dad about. He told us about you being in the ministry and stuff. So I want to start there because going from like the ministry to now managing a technology company for, for building service contractors and whatnot. Is quite the crazy lane jump. So I want to understand a little bit about it. What, what drove you to the ministry? And I, you know, and then what brought you in to say like, hey, I want to do, I want to do software.

Cool.

Yeah. So I grew up in, in the building services industry world. I mean, with my dad, with growing up and owning a franchise and, and the service master franchise and all, I grew up knowing that, you know, the cleaning industry, that's what we did as a little kid. I was dragging hoses around, doing carpet jobs, doing floor work, doing cleaning buildings. And I honestly thought that's what I was going to do the rest of my life is just have a work in the cleaning business. And then I thought, okay, I'm going to do, you know, a little bit of something different is going to be play golf or do something like that. I kind of like I'm going to get away from this service industry stuff. But then during that times when express time was birthed because if he needed this to manage his business and that's where the software came involved with his janitorial business in the service industry. And so I started watching and kind of being a part of that. And as I was working in the business service industry in that part of his company, I was doing the software side of it and I was entering in the stuff and I was, I was kind of, you know, enjoying that side of it more because. Mainly because I hated going out and doing the cleaning side of it or doing the floor work side of it more.

Yeah.

And I like being in and in the shop area and managing that and I needed the software to help manage that. Well, during that time I knew God was calling me to serve in the church. And for the longest time I just thought, okay, I'm going to keep doing this because financially this is better. You know, this was. And that's where my mind was at. 18 years old and 20 years old and 19 years old and, and, and to be honest with you, that's where I was chasing. And I was miserable because I was chasing the things that were monetary, the world that was chasing those things. And it just led me into a place that was miserable in life. Even though you would have looked at the outside and looked at our family and looked at the community and looked at what we had in the community, you'd have thought, man, he's got it going on. And I was miserable on the inside. I was just torn. And it was because I was chasing the wrong things and, and I was literally the way this Happened. I got a call and this is part of my story and I share this with my customers. And the reason that I serve my customers in the software world now the way we do, they, they always say, you, you do things different, you serve us differently. This is why God changed my heart in that moment. I got a call at 3 in the morning from Ray, one of our guys at workforce the 30 years, and he said, I need you to go help me clean the theaters. They didn't show up for work and you got to get it done by 8 o' clock in the morning. I hated the theaters. Those things are nasty. People don't care. They throw all kinds of stuff on the ground. So I had to go and me and my brother were going to help him clean the theaters. And God had been working on my heart and my youth pastor that I had when I was in as a teenager, he had been kind of working on me some prior to that. He had already invited me back to church and, and I told him I had some things that I needed to work out before I come back to church, really, you know. And he was like, how's that working for you? You know, I'll never, you know, you, you, you need to let God work those things out. You can't do them and surround yourself around people that are going to help and lift you up, not just you try to do it. You can't climb out of a hole without help. And so I started listening to him and I started going back and surrounding myself around the people that I wanted to be like instead of the people that I was surrounding myself around that I really didn't want to be like. But they were just thought I thought was fun. And so I started surrounding myself around the right people. And then. So when Ray called me that night to go clean, I got up and I was so mad that I. And I was, I got dressed and I was angry and I literally got undressed, got back in bed and I pray and I said, God, you got to change my attitude because this is not going to be good when I get there. And I sat silence. And then I got back up and I got dressed and I went and I cleaned and I cleaned and I cleaned and I cleaned and I was getting so thirsty and I didn't even take my wallet. My brother was there and Ray and I said, do y' all have any money? And they didn't have any money. So I kept, kept going. And the drinks back then, $2.25 for a Coke. And the little machines out in the foyer and you could, you know, they took only money. They didn't take credit cards back then. We're, you know, we're sitting here talking in the early 2000s and they didn't take, they took cash and so, and we didn't have any other card anyway back then. And, and so I kept cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and I said, okay. Finally I said, God, I know you've been dealing with me and want me to go in the ministry and I've been maybe running and I'm just scared to death. I'm gon play Gideon here and throw a fleece out. If you want me to go to full time ministry, show me, provide for me a drink that I am so thirsty. And I know this sounds crazy to a lot of people, but this is. You can't tell me otherwise. This is the true story of Brian Lee. And we kept cleaning, kept cleaning, kept cleaning. I kept finding money on the floor. And then I got through with the night and I went and I counted up the money and I had $2 and I thought, okay, God, you don't want me to do ministry because I only got $2. And at that moment I felt something in my shoe and I took my shoe off and it wasn't in my shoe, it was in my sock, so it must have fell off in my dresser. It was in my dresser. It probably been in there the whole time. But God did not reveal to me to feel that until that very moment. And it was a quarter. And God spoke to me in my heart right then and says, it is exactly enough to get your drink. Not too much, not just not enough. It is the perfect amount to get what you need. And I am your perfect amount. Never ever doubt me. I will be enough. Wherever you are, whatever you need, I'm enough. And I surrendered to the ministry, sitting in the theaters right there in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. And then I came home and told my dad I was nervous, very nervous to go tell him, I'm sitting here, I'm running some of the company with him, you know, trying to work my way up to do that, my brother. And I'm thinking, I'm fixing to go in here and tell him I have nothing to not. I'm not going to be part of this anymore, dad. And when I did, he was like, son, you know what that means? You're going to go to seminary and I'm going to pay for it, whatever it takes. I'm, I'm all in. I'm like, whoa. You know, I had the support from People around me that I wanted to be like, even though it wasn't the plan that we had been planning together or a legacy that I thought he'd want me to have. But people that are on the same page that people that want to make you better, they don't care that it might not be their agenda. They care that it's a better agenda. And so that's what is so cool about this whole story. And so I went into the ministry and here I am. My wife and I, we move off and we're in, we're, we're serving at churches in Louisiana and in Texas. And then during that time, God's called me to serve and I've been serving in full time churches. I graduated from seminary in New Orleans. I'm serving full time in churches. And while I'm at this church in Texas, not only am I youth pastor, but then I moved to executive pastor. And as executive pastor, they also put me over all the technology. And one of my best friends still is to this day. He was over the networking at Halliburton, which is the large oil company, and they had their servers and data centers in like Colorado and all this. And he would help me do networking and do website writing and stuff like that at the church. So I was really starting to get to know this. And then I would call my dad's guys at the software company Express Time and say, hey, I'm having some trouble here. What would I do? What do you, what would you do here if you needed me to do this? And I was doing that at the church using free labor off of my dad, you know, his guys. And then God said, okay, I want you to go serve at a church without being paid. And I'm thinking, that's not, I mean, how. I'm the only income. My wife's a stay at home mom. How do, how do I go serve at a church without being paid if that's my income? And God reminded me, I will provide. Do you not remember 20 years ago when I told you, I'm enough, just trust me? And I, I wrestled with that. My wife and I both wrestled with that for probably eight months. And we literally did separate Bible studies and said, let's, let's just come back together a week later. And we came back a week later and God has spoke to her, spoke to me through scripture, and we read the same scriptures, not going through a book together. We literally were driven to the same things to study the same things, to come through the same exact scenario, the same exact writings that we wrote down of what we should be doing. You would have thought that we both read each other and wrote each other's things down, but we were on the same page. And God said, this is how you're going to do it. And it was to call my dad and say, hey, can I be a part of express time? And whenever I called and asked him after nine months and me talking to him about it, but he tried to avoid me like the plague because he didn't want to offer it to me, because he didn't want to be like a hanging a carrot over my head to bring me home if God wasn't calling me home. He didn't want to be playing that card if I was really supposed to still be out there, even though he wanted me here. So he was trying to be very. Let me and Trudy make that decision. And so when I called him, it. I think it was probably about 2 in the morning. I caught, called him and woke him up and said, hey, dad, this is what God's told me in Trudy. We, we have the opportunity to do something, and this is where I want to see if I can be a part of it. And he said, when you coming home? The company's yours. And I was like, oh, I was just asking for a job. I wasn't asking for the company, but I'll take it. And so literally, our house was on the market. Nobody was looking at it. And the, the day after I called him at 2 in the morning, I went to. The next day we went to Kevin's house. My friend I was telling you about in. At the church that was helping me. All that was at his house. Our house had been on the market probably six months, seven months. Nobody's looked at it. That next day we was at his house eating lunch. I get a phone call from a realtor. Guy came to our house, wants to look at it, wants to buy it. If we can be out in two weeks, he'll give us 20 grand more. I'm like, holy smokes. All we had to do is say, yes, God, and surrender again. And he would take care of the rest. And our house was sold. Extra money on top of it. I mean, it was just like we was able to talk to the church. The church was like, I don't like that idea. But I'm not going to argue with you. You know, you laid out what this a very. And we still, to this day, we've been gone for 10 years, still talk to both of our churches in Louisiana and Texas weekly you know, it's just doesn't stop because you're gone. We still do ministry over there, over here we still were able to serve our clients. If you look at our company and the things that I send out, you see that our slogan is work with us. In Philip, I mean Ephesians, it's chapter six, verse seven. I'm gonna read this real quick. It says serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not man. That's what I teach our team. We do that every week. Every phone call you take, every person you walk down the hall and meet, every time you go in there, hey, work is you're working for God, not man. Because I'm going to fail you sometimes. I'm going to make you upset, people are going to call in mad. But if you're doing this to really please God, you're going to please people. And so that's what we keep in front of them. And it works as it.

What an inspiring story, Brian. Yeah, and, and to like go now into to technology and have that like, obviously ministry is still very much a part of your lives. Like where, where does that take you now? And how, how you're thinking about technology, growth, innovation, you know, you're blending both of those worlds. But how is that directing you in the sense of making technology operations more efficient and that being like being a builder of that.

Now one of the things that I think it helps a ton with is being humble. And one thing that ministry has taught me and the things that it teaches is being humble is, is not being afraid to listen to your clients, but also not, not chasing like we've talked about before, to chasing every shiny object. But you've got to be able to hear the corrective criticism. That's what we don't want to hear many days or many things many times nowadays. And a lot of times my team, I have to re, I have to remind them of that, that when people talk about our software and they don't talk nice about it, it's not because they're talking direct. There's not that they're trying to dog you, but we got to listen to it. Because if that's what's being said, that's what the reality of it is, is. That's what they're saying. That's the truth. We gotta, gotta be able to think around that. And we hear it a lot in technology from my programmers, enough time, money and resources. I can do anything.

Right.

Well, if that's the case, don't get your feelings hurt, then let's just get it done.

Yeah.

So I want to listen to my clients. I want to be humble enough to hear them out, but I also have to have enough discernment to know is this good for the big picture or not. So the hardest thing is for me trying to. To bridge those together, trying to. Trying to make that what is or what's not and want to go innovative with that. How much of the AI to integrate what is the AI that. That's like one of the big ones. How do we know what and how. I hear that a lot. That's a big word being thrown around still right now. AI, AI, AI. But when I ask, what do you want AI to do? There's not a real clear definition of what they want it to do. They just want AI in it. Well, AI is. You want it to just. I mean, it asks questions and answer questions. So you just want it to be a dictionary lookup for you, because it's not going to be a go get your machine for you and do the job. You know, you still have to have people for that. You still have to have. So I think there's a distinct difference between technology nowad too, of Robot vs Software.

I think you're highlighting a really important part of this in terms of, like, we talk about faith first. And one of the things that stood out to me is the ability to be humble enough to listen to the message. Right. And to having an open heart for that. And so correlating it back to tech and understanding, to listen, to be humble enough to listen to your clients, to those that you serve, so that you can properly guide them. And also as it pertains to your own relationship with technology, to your point, you. If you don't know what you're using technology for, then it doesn't. It's never going to serve the purpose. There is no purpose. You don't. You ha. You have not outlined that. And the other thing is, like, as you say, how do you guide the industry? How do you guide your members? Through humility, all the things. But like, it's a personal relationship with technology that I think is often overlooked and so kind of like memorialize it. It's a personal relationship with your faith to be humble, but it's also that same principle of a personal relationship, technology. How are you using it? Because my journey to technology is very different than your journey, Brian, and your journey, Keaton, and we can, as leaders, advocate for that. That's going to be super critical to the success and empowerment of our industry.

Yeah, one of the things that I've found that it helps is when I, when I share my story of how, how I've come into this technology side of things, of being in the industry, understanding and speaking their language and knowing what it's like to be in the field and knowing what it's like to be a cleaner, a manager, you know, operator, that helps. But the problem is I've seen and I've come across a bunch, one of the biggest problems is they, a lot of people have a misconception of technology. They don't want to put in the data that it takes to get the results for the data. They just want the data to appear for them to be able to use. They don't, they don't want to put in the front end stuff that's going to give them that data. They want the statistics to be there, but they don't want to put in the budgets to make that statistics work. So they want to be able, they want to be able to clock in and out geofenced range, but they don't want to put in the correct addresses to the locations. Well, how are you going to get the geofenced area? You know, there's so many things that.

It just so much that's contingent on it.

Yeah. So we have to figure out ways of making it easy for them, but also coaching them. And I found that walking hand to hand with them is our best way of doing it. Seriously, onboarding is becoming the key factor in making this happen. Not just support after but onboarding. Figuring the onboarding process and process out is key. And if we can simplify onboarding, that's going to, that's going to go a long way in our software world.

Yeah, well, and that's like the, the, the jump of, We've said this so many times on Hard Refresh where the key is understanding the process. You're going to go solve all the moving parts. Right. How are you going to bring that in? Because technology at the end of the day isn't this magical tool that moves without guidance. AI isn't even there. Right. And so it needs, it needs the guidance. And all AI is, is programmed guidance by a human being, right?

Yeah, exactly.

It is, you know, it's not functioning completely autonomously on its own. And so when you, when you start in business and you go after solving these problems, especially on a tech side, again, we've, we've said this so many times, Karina and I, on, on the podcast, which is just, it's not going to solve all the Problems just to say, yep, I bought it. So now it magically appears and implementation and onboarding is so key to that that I mean and we've, we've dealt with that as well in bringing clients on board. You could have the best of intentions when it comes to wanting to launch a software regardless of its feature set and functionality or the how tos. It's how dedicated are people to the process of what it takes to get to the outcome. And like one of our core values as a company is outcome driven as we are outcome driven as employees, we are outcome driven with our clients because if it's not going towards a certain outcome, then why are we doing it? Amazing, amazing insight. Really appreciate that. All right, so to kind of take this where we'll, we'll close maybe towards this mindset, but I love the balance and you kind of already touched on Brighton, but the idea of the word stewardship, right on, on gospel relations, on life lessons, as a, a patriarch and matriarch in a home for a software company, as leaders all revolves around this word as a, a steward of both people and business. I'd love to end today on like how you view technology as a tool for stewardship for cleaning businesses, but maybe just in life in general, the responsibilities of stewardship as technology changes in the landscape of today's world.

So I mean technology is, it's ever evolving and it's growing faster than most of us can keep up by the time you get something programmed because programming takes a little time. I wish that's one thing our customers did understand, that it doesn't happen like that. You've been through a full rewrite, we're going through, we've done that. It doesn't have, but it does change very fast. Honestly, to know that to stay on top of technology is pretty key, but being a good steward of it is as a family, as a dad, teaching my kids the value of it and what they can. It's also a double edged sword that it needs to be something they utilize, that they do, but it also needs to be something they break from. As we've talked about before in our family, we want to put the phones away, they need to get out. They need to understand there's other things in life, there's other things that depend on them other than the technology. Now on the other hand, they need to understand what the dinging lights are on their vehicles when they're going down the road. That technology is teaching them a lot of things as well. They need to tell dad about those in the brush force. Yes. The brakes, the oil, those type things.

The blinker fluid.

Yeah, yeah. The workforce. There are many things we're growing constantly. The workforce in our software, in the timekeeping world of express time, it is constantly growing. And understanding that this software can help you drive your business. It literally can tell you live. You're driving forward, you need to be looking forward. You don't look and drive in the rear. And that's what we do in technology. It gives you what you're doing currently, and that's what we're trying to do. You're giving your statistics, you're giving it live in the middle of the month. You're not waiting till the end of the month after payroll to see how you're doing on your labor, because labor in the service industry is our biggest expense. So we are doing it live. You can see currently how you're doing on budgeted hours, actual hours, those type things, you want to be able to utilize those. So merging these things and saying, okay, I have to have this, but you also can't totally, 100% depend on that to just ding and it fixes itself. So you have to merge the two and say, okay, I got to put the right management in place to where, when this goes off, we have to do. Now so many times they think just because it goes off, it should be fixing itself. It don't fix itself unless you go out and do something about it. So you have to have a balance in there of work has to be done. You can't ever get away from, like you said, people. You have to. You're going to have to use management. And so we have to merge the two of those. Just. Just like my kids have to verbally tell me when something goes on in technology in their vehicles or in them. Balancing the two of those to teach them why it's doing that and what they need to do when it happens. We got to do the same thing at work. When these factors go off in your software, because you have it set up correctly, it's going to go off. When you get the notification someone didn't show up, you miraculously can't just ignore it and somebody show up. No, you've got to call them, find out where they go get it or go do it. Yeah, you've got to do something. So you got to have. You got to react to it. So that's. That's one of the things that's. Yeah, that's. That's one of the things that, that I see happening is technology is good. But a lot of people think technology should take over some of their management people. And right now it's just you've got to have the people still in management that receives these to know what to do with it. So making sure that's in place still is key.

For sure.

I love it.

Karina, any final thoughts from you?

I mean, I think one of the things that I, I love having the conversation about onboarding, because onboarding, we've said this multiple times. A successful tech company thinks of onboarding as an upgrade strategy, not an onboarding strategy. Right. And I think that's one of the principles that you should really, as a consumer and even as a tech company. Right. Always try to articulate and communicate that if you are going to go through an onboarding process, not only are you investing in time, financial resources, it has to feel like you are going to create a partnership that going to increase or elevate scale your business. You're going to upgrade in that relationship. And it is true in a lot of cases, but especially when you talk about timekeeping and because of the front line's impact. I love that we were talking about that. I have always said the front line to me is my North Star. The amount of empowerment that happens at that level when they have a better understanding of technology and the investments that companies are doing or are pouring into that frontline adaptation training is going to be incredibly powerful. So love, there's a lot of really great nuggets here. I'm super excited to have the conversation. And Brian, are you going to be at the show?

Yeah. Yep.

Okay, good, good.

I'm actually bringing my dad. Okay. So you got me into it.

I love it.

Booked him a flight with us and got him a room.

Okay, so you have a booth. I'm assuming you have a booth. Yes. No. Yeah, I want to stop. I want to make some time to see you guys and I also want to come by the booth and bring some peers. So I'd love to schedule some time and do that.

Sounds great. 3459.

Okay.

Booth number 3459.

Love it. Well, for all of you listeners, if you want to go have some amazing, like Brian, you could be a TED Talk with, you know, all of your amazing stories that you shared on today's episode. And so to our listeners, if you want to go connect with Brian, he's going to be there at the show. Go meet him in person. Definitely wouldn't want to miss out on meeting the software cowboy in person.

There you go.

I Want to see you in a hat, man.

I'll have it. I had it last year. I had mine on last year.

There you go. There you go.

Nice.

Yeah. Love it.

So I'll have. I'll have black, and I'll have natural, and I'm probably room and silver. I'll have three different colors.

Karina, before you dropped on today, he said he had 22. 22 cowboy hats. And I was like, respect.

That is impressive. That is impressive. I love it.

I have three. I have a long way to go. All right, well, wait.

Can I ask question really quickly, Kaden, before we sign up?

Let's do it.

Brian, do we have a carrier for the hats that you travel with? Like, how are you traveling with these hats? It's not like you're putting in the luggage, right? Or in the suitcase.

No, they. They all have their own cases.

Okay.

They have. They have hard cases.

Yep.

I think they come with them when you buy them.

Okay. Mad respect. I figured. But.

And you're wearing one while traveling, right?

Unbelievable. True cowboy guys.

That is awesome.

But when you go out to Vegas a couple times, and then for the nfr, which, you know, other times when we travel, we carry them. It's easy because they're in the horse trailer and it's got the living quarters and they're all on their own racks. They're easy to go.

The whole wall.

No, but the kids have theirs, and obviously they gotta. You have to ride in them. In the. In the.

Yeah, for sure. Well, Brian, what an awesome episode. Loved the stories. Super inspiring. Hopefully our listeners caught that inspiration as well. And that'll be a wrap on today's episode. Thanks for watching, everyone.