How to Build an Irresistible Brand that Markets Itself ft. Brad Glenn

Jesus is the first thing, and it's kind of like, you know, what's the greatest way to grow a business? Jesus. Okay, we're done with the podcast. If you can't have God on your head, then how in the heck can you have him in your pocket? I was a drunk and a drug addict, and I mean, you know, praise God, in 3 days I got 11 years sober. If you don't have self-control, you don't need to be a business owner. When God shuts that door, he's got 5 more better ones fixing to open. We make it a personal experience. All of our employees are like family. We've got wholesale accounts pretty much everywhere except for New York to Maine.

What's up guys, welcome to the Brand Builders Podcast. Today we're so grateful to have Brad Glenn driving in from Lubbock, Texas. Brad Glenn's with Cactus Alley Caps and a lot of other things. Today we dive into his testimony, his story, and how God's called him to do some pretty incredible things. The highs and lows. We hope you enjoy the episode.

All right.

Welcome back to the Brand Builders Podcast. Today we have Brad Glenn from Lubbock, Texas. How you doing, Brad?

Man, I'm good. How are y'all doing? Great, man.

Thanks for coming on.

Thanks for coming on. You've got a cool story.

I know there's lots we've got to go through and unpack. And so, yeah, I thought you'd be a perfect guest because you've had the experiences you've with all kinds of stuff. Specifically including business, which if you're watching this, you're probably a business owner. So for those of you who don't know you, kind of give us like a brief summary of Cactus Alley or maybe even some of the other brands that you've built. And what would be like an elevator pitch that you would give for these?

Man, I started building boots 14 years ago. On September 21st, I was tired of being broke, tired of being a ranch manager, and, and I'd done some leatherwork and was, was decent at it. And then found a boot shop for sale, and an old man taught me to build boots. And so I built boots for years. And then right before COVID started, I bought some some print machines, bought a UV printer, uh, did a bunch of UV printing, did some screen printing, bought some embroidery machines and got off in the print world, did a bunch of back numbers for the PRCA rodeos and stuff like that. And then had, uh, my mom and dad owned Cactus Alley Courtyards there in Lubbock, which they have recently sold that. And, uh, right before COVID 2 weeks before COVID hit, we bought an embroidery machine and and thought, you know what, we're going to start this. And then COVID hit and the world shut down. And great time. They said, hey, man, we're not going to be able to deliver it. And I said, then I'll just take my money back. And in the process of this, I thought, you know what, I'm going to start a hat company and I'm going to call it Cactus Sally. And man, I threw some stuff together, probably had more cease and desist than most 90-year-old folks. But, you know, it is what it is. And, and it was, it was kind of a joke, but kind of we were just having fun and seeing where it went and made a, made 100 patches and it went real well. And then next thing you know, it, it, it, it grew. And I had— we've, we've got several sales reps and I had a guy call me and say, said, hey man, I was at Dallas Market, you was kind of— people was wondering who you was. We'd like to, to come, to come visit about carrying your hats. And so we started in, uh, this November will be, uh, 5 years, and, uh, we, we've got wholesale accounts, uh, pretty much everywhere except for New York to Maine.

Wow.

We've got accounts in Canada, we've got accounts in Australia, counts in Mexico and got sales reps all over the United States and just got 2 new sales reps in Canada. So it's, uh, so Cactus Alley was just kind of really, I tell people it was a joke and it just kind of blew up, you know. And, uh, it, it, I, I was talking to somebody the other day and I, I guess you don't realize how how big it really is until somebody else says it. And I mean, it's just— but so that's— we started that November, will be— will be 5 years for us.

That's awesome. So what did you say you did before? You're ranch hand?

I was a cowboy for, for years, worked on ranches.

Cool.

And just kind of got tired of being broke and And so that's, that's where that's—

So you've built all this in 5 years?

I built the, I built the Cactus Alley Hat Company in 5 years.

It's pretty much nationwide.

Okay, so, so cool. So how did you go from Lubbock to nationwide?

Uh, it was— we, we did it. So there was a couple of things. Um, the first year we went to market, or A bud, my first sales rep was Tim Blair, and Tim was at market and he reached out to me on a Sunday or Saturday or Sunday and was like, hey, I'd love to become a sales rep. I, you know, I can, I can be there Monday morning to talk to you. And I was like, did some phone calling, kind of did some creeping and I know who he is, find out who he was because I mean, I didn't, I had no clue. And I was like, I emailed him back. I said, sure, come on. Well, I mean, let's— and he got to the shop and I was like, dude, I don't— I don't have no clue about nothing. And I was like, we just selling some hats. And he's like, man, I think this will do really well. And so he was my first sales rep. And then I— then there was another guy that does a bunch of media buying and stuff, and, and he come by the shop and he was like, man, it's going to cost this much and we're going to spend this much. And I'm like, Golly, that's— I mean, I don't know if I can make, make this work. This is like— it's media buying.

Like, so whenever you say media buying, like commercial slots and stuff?

Like Facebook, like advertising on Facebook, Google, and Instagram, and, uh, and all, and all that. And so it was— he told me, and I was like, well, You know what, I'm already in it. Let's, let's like, if I break even the first month, I'm— let's, let's do it. Well, the first month I made $500 and I was like, okay, that's pretty good, you know. And, and then the next month we made a little bit more, and then the next month we made a little bit more. And, um, Tim was like, all right, it's time that we, that we need to go to market.

So, so what does that mean, go to market?

So there's a Western English Market they call WESA in Dallas 2 times a year. Okay. Big deal. It's very big. August is not the— August is a smaller one, but January is pretty much anybody. And if you have a business, people like, I mean, people from Canada, like all over. We have people come in from Australia. Our accounts come in from Australia, Mexico, Canada.

So they're meeting you at those markets.

They're meeting us at the markets. They're seeing what we have to drop, what we're dropping, all the new releases for the following year. So they will, they will place orders right there.

Oh, okay.

And so the first year we went, it was It was very interesting because I didn't really know what I was getting into. I, I'd went in January and walked around to just kind of figure out what was going on. And then, and then so, so I could kind of plan for what, what August looked like. And thank God August was smaller because we had had our butts handed to us if we'd have showed up to January. I mean, it just— God was just kind of watching over us, you know, it's, it's So we showed up, I went in January and I'm like, like, it was overwhelming.

Yeah.

I was like, okay, we're just, you know, and, and Tim and, and I've got some other sales reps that has helped me through some, through some of these growing pains. But it was when I showed up there, I was like, these, all these customers would Man, we've seen you, we've seen your stuff on social media, you know. And so that, that whole deal of spending that, like, Facebook advertising is, is expensive. I mean, it's, it's, it's not cheap. And then you got to play with— well, we'll just not talk about Mark. We'll just keep on going because that probably get off on a whole different story. But a person, what is it? Oh, Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg. Yeah, you know, and, and it's It's like they do an update and then you have to go back to buy. You have to buy back into it. And there's just so much.

It's getting more expensive.

It's when I first started doing, when I first started doing Facebook advertising, you, you didn't have to spend a whole lot to get, to get it, you know, and your conversion rates was good. You know what I'm saying? Now today it seems like where there's every Tom, Dick and Harry. I mean, you look up and there's a new hat company or there's a new apparel company and it's and when I first started, I'd be like, oh, and I'd kind of like, you know, anymore people will be like, hey, there's this, have you seen them? And I'm like, oh yeah, I mean, you gotta stay focused on you, you know. They come and they go. Yeah, they're, they're here today and they're gone tomorrow. They ain't got the, they ain't got the skin in the game. And, and when you, when you're just ordering a, a few hundred hats here and there, and, and, you know, we, I have, I have several, I have a hat supplier that we, we get a bunch of hats out of India and Vietnam and Bangladesh and, and And so it's— we're not just ordering off of Richardson's website and, and are off of Yopong's website and are off of Otto's website and, and bringing them in-house and having them stitched out. Now we're, we're, we're, we're, we're buying semi-loads at a time, you know what I'm saying? And it's, and it's so, but, but that first, that first August that we went to is me and my wife and we were, we were handwriting orders and I'm like, and I looked up at one point in time and we have a a line going out there and I'm like, oh Lord, what are we doing? This is, this is not good. And I mean, people are just patiently waiting, sitting there for waiting on Cactus Alley Hats. And I'm like, man, this is, this is cool. But like, this is a lot, you know?

So would you say you were not prepared for that at all? Or were you kind of like expecting?

I was. I didn't know. I didn't have— I just kind of went in headfirst. And that's just kind of how I've done a lot of things in life. I mean, you know, it's— I hate to say it, But I'm like a bull in a china closet. They give me a nickname when I was a kid and they named me Bull. And that's where it kind of come from because I was a bull in a china closet. When I put my mind to something, I'm going to do it. And, you know, I'm not going to do it half-heartedly. I'm going to do it like we're either all in or we're, you know, it's kind of like that movie Fireproof. Are you all in or are you not? And I think about that black dude that firefighter. And I mean, that's, that's where I'm at. I'm all in, you know. I went all in on, on, on my addictions in life. I mean, uh, before I got— before I got sober, I mean, I was, I was the— I was the— I was a drunk and a drug addict. And I mean, you know, praise God, uh, in 3 days I got 11 years sober. So I mean, yeah, but it's, it's one of them deals where I never did I never did anything half-heartedly. Yeah. And so I show up to market and we start writing orders and, and it's, it's, it's going real good. And it's, I mean, like, people are— and I just start asking people, hey, how did you, how did you hear about us? How did you find us? And there's like, your Facebook advertising, like, your ads are on point. And so it's, it's one of them deals. If you're, if you're if you've got the opportunity and you can afford it and you can— that, that's— that was the number one growth to my business was putting money behind the ads and, and not putting like putting good money behind the ad. I mean, you know, you can go and you can spend $25 to $50 a day. Yeah. And you're going to get $100 in sales. Maybe. You know what I'm saying? You may get $25 in sales now. Now these days, you know what I'm saying? But then we started, we started putting some money behind it and started spending. We started spending about $200 a day and then seen lots of growth. And then we started spending about $500 a day.

Yeah.

And I was like, it was real scary because it was one of them deals where, you know, you're over there rolling dice in the corner and you're hoping that this is all going to work out and saying your prayers every morning and night and and living on faith. And, and, and so we, we went to market and we had a, we had a great success.

Very successful. So you said we, so you're a family guy, you got a family. So what, Hope is your wife?

Hope's my wife. Yeah, there's, there's Hope and Brad nowadays is, is where that's at. We're, we're fixing to celebrate, uh, 10 years of marriage. Uh, I've got a Wyatt, is my oldest, he's 16, and I've got a 15-year-old, uh, Rider. And then my little mini me, Blaze, he acts like Hope.

He's a bull too.

Yes, he is. He is. You know, it's— he's a spitting image. And I just— and, and you know that, that saying you're paying for your raising? I, I've just been begging and pleading, God, I don't— like, I've had enough already. Let's not. So, I mean, and be careful what you name your kids. Too, because I mean, he's like a— I mean, he's— yeah, he's Blaze. He knows one speed and it's, and it's Brad Glyn speed. But I mean, literally. And so, so the first, the first year me and Hope went and we had no clue what we were getting into. We just went. We had some, some order. We, we made us some order riders and stuff. And we had no electronics, nothing. So you was going to— the girls back at the shop got Brad Glenn's chicken scratch, you know what I'm saying?

Like, what company was this?

And there was a lot of— there was a lot of— but that was the last time that ever happened. Yeah, that was the greatest learning.

Yes.

And the— and the world's worst trying to decipher what was what at the end of the day. Yeah, but it was a, it was a great success because we learned a lot, you know what I'm saying? There's been a lot of, there's been a lot of— I tell some guy asked me the other day, he said, I would learn, he said, I want to learn the Hat Company, I want to learn how to grow a brand like you have. And I said, uh, it, it don't, it I said, I said, just one thing. And he said, what's that? And I said, Jesus is the first thing. And it's kind of, kind of like, you know, what's the greatest way to grow a business? Jesus. Okay, we're done with the podcast. Yes. That was the, that was a 2.5-hour trip up here for one great answer. And, and that's where that's at. But, you know, it's so, so me and Hope went to market Uh, and we had great success.

I mean, how was that working with your spouse at the beginning? So Darren and I walked through that. We got married and you started Howdy— well, at the time it was Bites and Sights— at the very beginning of our marriage. And that whole trusting in each other and working together, like, y'all probably went to market. How was that, like, working as a couple and just, like, navigating, like, this is what you feel like you're called to do? Was she right on there with you, or was it kind of took some time.

It was, it was crazy because I started this business and I was in, I was in Cactus Alley Courtyards there on, on Marsha Sharp where my parents owned it up in the top. And it's my boot shop, my print shop, and my hat company was all in one deal. So when I went to build boots, we moved the hat company out of the way and we built boots. And then when, when we needed to place orders or put together orders, we'd bring the hat company out. So it was kind of like we, we I would like to say, oh, we had the— we had all this money and we had this big building, and we started in 2,200 square foot and with 3 businesses.

Yeah.

And leather dust flying everywhere and smelt like a print shop. And it was, uh, it was a cluster. Let's just get real with one another. It was— we, we, we worked double hard. We were put in twice as much work as we should have, but we could— we— it was one of them deals. I didn't want to get in big in debt trying to get a building big enough because I didn't really know where this hat company was headed to.

Yeah.

And my boot shop was, was just, uh, thriving. I mean, it's, uh, I, I try to— you won't find anywhere on my building, and I will not say my address that I'm at because I I don't like my, my boots are like, you got to know how to get to me to get. And it's kind of like I, I don't, I don't have a whole lot of time to build boots anymore.

Yeah, yeah, that's, it's very tedious.

So we, we went to market, we got all these orders and we come back and did it. But prior to that, going back to being in Cactus Alley, I'd outgrown it and I knew it was coming and I, and I, and my mom and dad, I was, uh, probably their world's worst renter at the time. And I just told them, I said, hey, I said, I've got to do something different if y'all don't. I mean, I'd had 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and the roof. I had— no, I had 4 spots in, in the big upper balcony at Cactus Alley. So I pretty much had the whole thing rented out. And, uh, that's, that's kind of where that That's out. And I was like, man, I've outgrown this. I got to do something. And so I found a building downtown, ended up getting the building bought. And it was, it was really weird because my wife wasn't working for me at the time. She was working for Ashton Walden Turf Services and selling, selling, selling yard or they spray yards and do overseeding and do a bunch of other stuff. And she and And she was his sales— I mean, she had been there and my little brother was. They both worked for him. So they pretty much kind of helped start— helped Ashton build that to where it was. And I just went to pray and God, if Hope's supposed to come to work for me, come to work for us, you know, just—

you don't have to provide.

Just, just make like—

yeah.

And I was like, she, she's really not hearing it. She didn't really know. And it was, it was really kind of cool how all this kind of come about. And so it was, um, I was like, God, if, if, if she's— make it miserable, her job, uh, to where— and like, if she come like, like, I'm, I'm one of them ones that like This will be used against me because there will be one guy that has some smart comment and he says, I told you he's hard-headed. But I have to— like, God has to really, really show me sometimes. Like, yeah, I kind of, I kind of run through stuff and then it's like, hey, I'm, I'm right back over here. I need you to get back over here. And I'm like, and, and it's, it's, it's, um, and I was like, okay, God, like, I need you to really speak to me if my wife's supposed to be there. And, and, and man, Ashton was a great boss, and he's still a great friend, and good, good, good, great guy. But it was, um, she come home crying one day and she's like, I just don't think I'm supposed to be there no more.

You were like, yes!

I'm like, oh Lord, like, all right, now we're doing this. I'm fixing to have all Like, she had a great paying job.

Yeah.

You know, and like, this is all fixing to fall on my back. And this is like, hey, we, we used her, her salary there for a little bit to help get everything up and running. And, and so here we are today, like, and so I bought the building. She had never seen it. Ashton's wife was my realtor, and I made a little smart comment. I hope it's going to go to work for me. And she's like, That will never happen. And I'm like, probably not. You know, you never know. And so, uh, Hope had never seen the building. I just bought it. And, uh, it's, it's like 9,700 square feet.

So like, y'all got a warehouse?

We got a warehouse. And it's, uh, we got the boot shop in there, we got the showroom in there, we got Cactus Alley in there, uh, we have the embroidery shop in there. And I mean, this, this, the, the, this place is just phenomenal. Like it was, it was a God thing. You know what I'm saying? Like the, the, the, the woodwork's beautiful in there. And, um, the day I signed the papers, I took her over there and she was like, all right, I need to talk to you. And I was like, well, I need to talk to you too. And she was like—

So you didn't tell her you were buying it?

No, no, we— she knew I was buying it.

Okay.

But she hadn't seen it.

She hadn't seen it. Okay. And she had felt like she was— it was— it felt like she was— she was— she knew that she was supposed to go to work for us. And she— and I—

and, and you—

and I knew 2 weeks before I'd bought the building. And, and she's like, I need to talk to you. And I was like, all right. I said, God finally pretty much pulled your head out of your rear and showed you that you're supposed to. And she was like, how did you know? And I was like, well, this, this and this. And she was like, oh. And so, uh, she finished up there with Ashton and, and, you know, it's like we never took a— and like, I mean, she made good money and, um We, um, I was like, okay, Lord. And, and literally, we've, we've never, we've never missed a beat. It's just, I mean, it's awesome. It's been good. But, but we've been, we've been very faithful. And, uh, I would like to say that we've— I've never had to eat no humble pie. But, uh, so Uh, you know, she, she went, she went to work for us. So then that was our first market together, and that, that for that, like, she had just, just started. Like, she started, like, I'm gonna say right at the, right around August, right, right before we went to market.

She was probably like, we need some systems in place. She was a sales chick.

We was just writing orders. Like, I mean, there was I'm going to tell you, this was the biggest cluster. Like, I mean, Brad was— had papers. Like, I didn't have— I didn't have a digital order writer. I didn't. I— we just did it the old-fashioned way.

Okay, so the next market, did you have—

oh, we did. We had scanners. Okay, we, we— so we could scan. We had scanners, we had UPCs, we had— we had things going on that was— that, like, I wasn't I knew when I left August market, they said, they said, how was it? And I said, it was crazy. And they said, we just want to forewarn you, if it was crazy in August, it's going to be crazy in January. And I'm like, uh-oh, Lord, get the scanners out.

Okay, so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm just kind of— you said something earlier and I just made me think about it. So on the Brand Builders Podcast, we talk a lot about the importance of what you look like to other people, like your brand, your face, everything. So you were talking about it at market, you were asking people, how'd you find us? You know, whatever. And they were saying your Facebook, your branding looks so good. So what would you say makes Cactus Alley stand out versus like everybody else? Like what is so cool and different about— I mean, we know, but tell them what is so cool and what makes you so set apart in the way that you do things.

Well, we're a lifestyle brand. I wouldn't say that You was buying, buying our, our name, you know what I'm saying? There's, there's some hat companies out there these days that, that have catchy names, you know what I'm saying? I feel like you're, you're, you're buying more of a lifestyle. I like to live more on the, on the edge. I like some of the wilder stuff, you know, and, and, and we, and, and I feel like that's kind of where we have where we have grown this to where we're known for our Aztec patterns, we're known for our patches, we're known for our cool little catchy sayings where we, we, we, we live on that. I just like living on the edge. It's kind of where that's at. And thank God my wife ain't here today because I, you know, it's— it is what it is.

She likes living on the edge to an extent.

I don't even think— no, she's, she's more It's— she used to wear a hat that said, 'Sorry about my husband, I pray a lot.' And, and that's kind of where that's at, you know. It's— I'm just—

you need that for me. Yeah, probably.

Sorry about my wife, I pray a lot. You, you, uh, you see what you get, and it is what it is. There's, there's no— I'm— hang around me and you're probably gonna hear your— it's, it just— yeah, it is, it's, uh there's no— the filter's out here and it's like, oh crap, I shouldn't have said that shit. And, and it's like, it is what it is, man. It is what it is. That's all right.

So, so y'all went to market, saw massive success, and that was— was that before or after COVID, y'all's first market?

That was after COVID.

After COVID. Okay, so from that point up until now has it continued to just grow month over month, or has there been any like rough patches of like, or like big hurdles that have come along that you were like, oh, my, um, wholesale has just grown like every—

like we're just breaking, we're breaking, breaking records every— like, I mean It's kind of like I went, I went to, to Phoenix to market and we didn't just hit a home run, we hit a grand slam, you know, and, and we had record market, we had record, record sales at Dallas this year. And it's always— we're in that weird stage right now. It's where it's, it's— there's a— you hear of a lot of people struggling right now. And we have been very, very, very blessed. And it's just— I just thank God every day because we have our numbers keep climbing. You know, our, our online store has, has been down just a little bit, but our wholesale is just— I mean, we went to market and we set records first day. Yeah.

Okay. So what do you think causes that? Like, what do you think that one thing is? It's like, because I know not all hat companies probably do this well. So like, what is that thing that is that one factor that makes these markets such a success? Is it the advertising, you think? Hey, really quick, I wanted to let you guys know about a 5-day challenge. It's called 5-Day Build Loop Video Challenge that we put put together exactly for you because if you're watching this, you're probably an entrepreneur, a business person, or a creator who's looking to monetize. And so if that's you, there's going to be a link in the description. We're going to be going over all of the things that I've learned and took away over the last 4 or 5 years to figure out how to make content work for your business and not against your business. And so for us, this is how we get about 90% of our clients within our business. and it's 10x, sometimes 100x our engagement and views and even leads. Same exact thing goes for all of our clients. And so if you're interested in this, click the link below and apply today. There's only a limited number of spots because it is one-on-one. And so hope to see you in the challenge. Let's get back to the episode.

Uh, the first thing I think it is is just where we have our faith at. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm saying? Like, like we, we, we, All our hats have In God We Trust in the top. We, we, we, we built this business on God.

I mean, it's, uh, and, uh, so you think that that's one of the separating factors? Like, because whenever the buyers come up, it's like, do you think they see that? Like, that's one of the small things.

It's like, I don't know if that's one of the small things, but that's something that we, we, we let everybody— yeah, we, we, we— I mean, it's kind of like I had somebody say one day, well, I can't wear that hat because it says, In God We Trust. And I said, do you carry any? And I had a wholesale account. She's like, wait, this is unacceptable. And I said, well, I said, do y'all, do you have money in your drawer? And she's like, well, yeah. And I was like, well, then I guess you need to get out of business because that— and she shut up real quick. I mean, and but, but it's, it's that, it's that whole, it's that whole deal. If you can't have God on your head, then, then how in the heck can you have him in your pocket? You know what I'm saying? And it's just I guess a lot of people get offended, and if you, um, and I'm probably the— don't hang out with me because I will offend you. I mean, you know, I think that's just— it is what it is. But, but I feel like there was, there was some great success. And, and one, it's our faith, you know, it's, it's putting God first. And, uh, we, we do morning devotionals, we do like— we, we have Friday morning Bible studies, we We do, we read Jesus Calling, we pray every morning. You don't have to. I mean, we've hired some people that don't come back there.

You're talking about with staff?

With the staff, yes.

Okay.

And so, but we built this company on Jesus, and we're going to stand on Jesus till Jesus takes us home. But then the next thing is, is I feel like our Facebook advertising is, has been really, really good because be having an online presence and going to these markets. I've, I've— there's, there's been a couple of hat companies that are like, how, you know, how have you done it? And I, and I'm like, they're like, man, we showed up to market the very first market and it sucked. And I'm like, man, I told you that you need to have an online presence before you show up, because if these people are expecting to see you there, these people don't know who you are. Yeah, there, there's a lot of them that won't take chances on you. And, you know, it's, it's kind of like I just, I left a new— we got invited to a new market that was out in Reno, and it was, you know, that you— there's, there's been 3 weeks of pretty much will let you in. You know, you pay the fees, you pay the dues, and you, you show up and you can get in. You know, I don't, I don't think they really do, do a an intensive look on you. You know, it's, it's you pay the fees, you do the deal, and they let you in. But some of these other markets that we've, that we've got into, they, they have— I mean, I had to fly to Washington State for one of them for a 30-minute meeting. And I'm like, could we not just do this over the dadgum telephone, over Zoom, to make sure you're a good fit for their market? And they made, they made me come up there, and I was literally, I was in there 27 minutes And I'm like, all the way across the country.

And so successful business.

So, and then I, and then that one in Phoenix, we, uh, we, I had to send stuff, I had to send product to them, and, and they kind of give me the runaround. And then they, they took it, they, they took a chance. And, and then, then we was, uh, one of the top, uh, we got invited to, to do an invitation deal to go to Salt Lake this year. We was in the top 10% or the top, one of the top 10, um, foot and apparel companies in their market.

And that's awesome.

And it's so, it's, it's, but it's kind of like that market that I went to in Reno. The, I heard a lot of the customers say, well, how long you been in, you know, or a lot of the accounts that they had never heard of us, and they, they said, how long have you been in business? And I sent them the stuff and there we were in a couple of the stores already there and there's like, so who are you in? And I told them and some of them took a chance, some of them didn't take a chance. And, and, and a lot of them, there are a couple of the accounts that did. They said, hey, you need to keep— just come back 3 times. Come get— if at the 3rd time it's not a success, then draw. Don't ever come back. But there's a lot of these people that want to— they don't want to be fly-by-nights, you know what I'm saying? Like, they want to see that you're going to come to their show and keep coming because there's a lot of these— I have seen over some of these, there's a lot of these boutiques, there's a lot of these stores that if they're not the bigger box stores, they're not going to do a bunch of replenished stuff. They're gonna, they're going to do, they're going to come and they're going to buy for 6 months. They're going to buy from, from, from January to July, and then they'll be back in August, and then they'll buy from August to January. And you'll see them, you'll see them twice a year. Now, if they sell out, sometimes they'll put in a fill-in order, but most of the time they're just, they buy what they buy, and that's, and that's, that's where that's at. But it's, it's some of these big box stores that put us on an EDI and send us a fill-in once a week. And it's those, but it's so that you— it's kind of— I tell people it's a lot like the cartel, you know. It's, yeah, it's one of them deals where they won't— I mean, it's— they're a tight-knit group and they're going to— they want to see you, they want to see if you're going to be around. And, uh, and, and then we offer some show specials to where they'll buy for, they'll buy for, for 6 months, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

And they'll, they'll take the, they'll take the chance. But it's, it's the, the more we, the more I've started growing and the more I've started seeing these getting into some of these bigger box stores and, um, has become a— there, there's been some new hurdles and there's been some, some bigger net 30s and there's some net 60s 60s, and there, there's some net 90s. And, and, and somebody talked to me the other day about, uh, a net 120, and I'm like— and, and my wife, I got back from market and she said— I'm sitting over there at my desk and I'm just scratching my head, and she said, are you all right? I said, yep. I said, I'm just sitting over here thanking God because there was a time where, uh, I had a $10,000 net 30 out and I didn't— I was like pinching pennies, and I was like, we can't— you know, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make payroll. And like I had one person on payroll, and, and now we're, now we're at, uh, net 90s, and, and they're six figures out, and you're thinking, yeah, what in the—

okay, so explain to the audience, like, the net situation. You're talking about invoicing, right?

Yes. So, so we have a lot of, uh, so these bigger box stores will, will ask you to give them net terms to where they can have you, you send them the product and and they'll have it. Some of these will do a net 30, some of them will do net 60s, and I've got a couple of net 90s, but I've got one store that's coming up that, that's wanting to talk to me about a net 120, and it's like—

So does that mean the prices for probably is gonna be way higher, or what's the reason for the 120?

They just, they've got— so the net 120, they'll probably put in a PO that is about a 6-figure PO. Okay, is where that's at. At one time, they, okay, they have 52 stores and they, they, uh, they, they want fixtures and they won't— like, you, you get off into these bigger box stores and you have to give them a reason, you have to give them a little bit more incentive because there's— they're gonna, they're gonna be, they're, they're, they're gonna be purchasing more from you as well. Okay, so, so like, it's like from the day it ships. So if it takes me— if I, if I get that order and I've got a 4-week ship time, from the day that it ships is, is when the countdown starts.

Got it.

Is where that's at. And, you know, I've never— praise God, I've never had anybody say, hey, we can't, we can't afford or we can't pay this bill. You know, it's, it's, it's been very good, which, which I have. Uh, I got— I think I got 11. I don't know how many sales reps— 7, 9. I got 9 sales reps now. And, uh, I give, I give the, the sales reps the authority, you know. If, if you— you— most of them know their customer base, you know. Most of them know that they've, they've been— they— most of these guys have been been being a sales rep for years, you know what I'm saying? So they, they know their, they know their stores, they know if they're going to pay on time, they, they know if they're, if they're not going to pay. And so that, you know, uh, I give them the, I give them the authority to set that up as, hey man, this is a good account, they're gonna, they're gonna order quite a bit, they're gonna be this, this, and this, and, and they'll, you know, uh But it's like this. If I don't get paid, you don't get paid. You know what I'm saying? So, so they're not going to go open an account that knows it ain't going to pay because they're going to sell them product. They're, they're, they're using their own gas. They're, they're on a commission-based sales. So if, if they're— if I'm not getting paid, they're not getting paid. You know what I'm saying? So it's— they're, they're, they're— I got a good group of guys and girls that, that are, that are very well, diverse and been in the industry for, for several years. And they travel, they travel the road by theirself and they usually carry 2 or 3 lines with them. And, and they, and they do that. I, I have a very good group of sales reps is where that's at.

It's awesome.

So your team matters and it sounds like from the top down you spend a lot of time pouring into them in your community. Like it seems very relational. And before we started the podcast, you, we were just chatting and you were talking about the importance of putting your face out there as the owner. And I feel like the more and more like newer companies and stuff, you see that less like people aren't going out there. You were talking about going on a— you just got home from being on the road for what, 5 weeks? 5 weeks. And you're— what were you doing on the 5 weeks? Kind of explain that.

I went to market. And I was— it was, it was Mark. I would, I would usually leave on us some, some days I'd leave on a Saturday and, and like I left, I left August 11th and went to, to Dallas and come home for— no, I've actually— I flew, flew to Houston for my boy's, uh, 15th birthday and somebody drove my pickup home for me so I could be there. And I was I literally landed in Lubbock, walked or Ubered to the house, and— or no, I guess my mom and dad picked me up and they was like, what's your plans? I was like, I'm going home, I'm going to do a 15-minute wash, I'm— it's 12:30, I plan on being out of here by 1 o'clock.

Dang.

And 12:55, I was walking out of the house and I, I did, I did a wash to get— and I I put more clothes in the pickup for— because I knew I was going to be gone for the next 4 weeks, you know. And so I loaded the truck up and, and, and we was on the road. And it's, it's, uh, it's not for the weak-hearted because I left late at night and— or I drove all the way, uh, to Flagstaff that night. And I got, I got to Flagstaff late that night, and then I got up the next morning and cruised on down into Phoenix and Yeah, and I was there, I was there for a week, and as soon as Phoenix ended, I, I left there and, and drove 12 hours. I got out of there about— or no, I drove 6 hours to, uh, Las Vegas, spent the night in Las Vegas, and then got up the next morning and drove the rest of the way.

So this whole time that you're road tripping though, you are putting your face in front of people and saying, hey, this is who we are. I feel like that holds so much um, just value and importance to your future buyers because they're like, they're not just— I mean, and you have an awesome sales team, you said, but they're getting to see your face. You're the person who started the whole thing and you're taking your time to drive all the way out there.

And, and what's cool about that is because like August market— Hope, don't— August— Hope got to go to the first August market because it didn't fall in with school. The second— every August market ever since then It's been school starts the first day that market starts. So everybody's like in August market, hey, if Hope don't show up, everybody's like, where's Hope? And I'm like, she, she's home. And then it's like, man, we get it. We ran over here for a day and it's, you know, it's kind of one of them deals to where— but I feel like we make it a personal experience. We want to like, like our All of our employees are like family. I mean, they're— it's, it's— we are a tight family. We, we joke around, we, we have fun. We're, uh, you know, it— they said that they missed me, but be real honest with you, I don't— I think they just said that to make me feel good. But then when I come back, it's like, oh, it's like, oh Lord, Brad's back now, and now it's back to the grind. But But it's, so you know, it's, and I've told my wife, I will always be the face of the company because I feel like I want to make it, I want them to feel like they know who I am. Not only do I want them to know who I am, but I feel like it's more personable because I know that I've heard from a bunch of our accounts that they, they said when they walked in our booth, they just felt like it. They, they, they were welcomed and it wasn't— we weren't just there selling hats, you know what I'm saying? We, we wasn't— we, we are— we're big on— we're big on, hey, how, how, how, how are our hats doing? You know what I'm saying? How— like, I want, I want them to know who me and Hope are, you know what I'm saying? And, and it's kind of like I asked my boys, I said, would y'all ever, would y'all ever want to be a part of it? And they was like, yeah, you know, we, we, I think that it'll eventually, they'll eventually go to market with us. I mean, Blaze, Blaze has been to market a couple of markets with us, but it's, it's one of them deals to where I, I'm a more personable person, even though I don't really like a lot of people. I love going to markets. I love getting to hear how my, I love to get to hear my numbers. I love to get to hear how things are really going. I, I want to know, I want to hear it from, from my customers, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And I, and I've had, you know, I've, I've not— I had one customer, one wholesale account, and they got— they, they're no longer a customer, but they, they wasn't happy because 5 or 7 o'clock at night I wasn't answering their email and I wasn't answering the shop phone. And, and, you know, it it'll be there. It'll be there in the morning. You know what I'm saying? But when I first started this company, I was— if, if my Facebook went off, I hope— hold on for a second. Let me, let me answer this. Let me answer this, this, this comment. And my— and it— my family kind of got put on the back burner. To where I was running social media, I was doing this, I was doing that. And I felt like if I didn't answer within the first couple of minutes, I was, I was not doing the best business.

Yeah.

And I feel like that's a lie that so many of us fall into a trap too, because, I mean, it's so easy to chase that and chase like, well, I'm going to lose a customer, I'm going to lose a You know, you just feel like you have to answer at that moment.

We've had people, and this is something that I feel like I've gotten better at this last year. Like if somebody texts me like at 9 p.m., they're asking for edits or they're asking about this, this and this. I used to do the same thing. I would answer them and I'd help them right then. And so now, now that we've cycled through some clients and every time we get a new one, I kind of set the expectation of like, hey, like, like You train them, don't let them train you. Exactly. So like, I'm, I'm like, hey, if you text me after 5, like, you may not hear back till tomorrow or whatever it is. And there's exceptions, obviously. But that's— yeah, that's a great point.

Or you send a Facebook message and wait. I forget to respond. Yeah, 2 weeks to you is how it is. And like, I got a personal cell phone. and not everybody has that number, but some people do. And if you do, or if I slip and I call you from it and don't mean to, and you, and, and you, and you send me a text after 9 o'clock, you're probably going to get a phone call because I, I usually, sometimes I get up about 3 o'clock to go use the restroom. And if, if it really, if I, you and then I usually— I'm up by 4:30. And if I get one of them, one of them late night texts, you're going to get a— you're going to get a phone call. A guy, a guy not too long ago got— he, he, he sent me a text message and just felt— he said, I feel like I'm on the back burner. I said, well, I— and so at 4:00 in the morning, I started calling him, bro. Is everything all right? Yeah. You just sent me a long text message at 10:00. I just wanted to make sure we was all good and You know, and he's like, bro, you didn't have to call me at 4:00. Well, by God, you didn't have to call me. You didn't have to call me at 10:00. So you can break some of these people of doing stuff like that. And I'm not afraid to do that, you know what I'm saying? But at the same time, like, and, and my family has, has kind of been put on the back burner because it's not everybody is made to be a business owner.

Repeat that again for the whole world to hear.

Not everybody is made to be a business owner.

Yeah.

Uh, one, if you're lazy, if you, if you got to sleep in till 8 o'clock— the early bird gets the worm. Yeah. And I've been told that my whole life. Uh, I don't sleep a whole lot. I'm, I'm up and down and all around and, and You know, it's, it's, it's kind of like that 5-week trip. I mean, I was— I put a ton of miles. I mean, I went from Dallas to Phoenix to Reno. We flew to Cincinnati or Cleveland, Ohio. And then from, from Reno, we drove home, which was 22 hours. And, and, and I, and I did that in a day and a half. And Well, and that makes—

that's what makes you set apart. One of our previous people we had on the podcast, they were talking about they moved here, knew nobody, whatever, and they are far from lazy. We look up to them in many ways with owning a business, but they went to neighborhoods and they would just start knocking. Hey, this is who we are. We just moved here. We'd love to have you as a client. We'd love to help you out. And I mean, every day they'd go to a new neighborhood for hours and just go meet people because they just moved here out of nowhere. But that sets you apart from somebody that just like like, you know, it's just chilling and hoping it goes well. You're being proactive, you're out there. Um, that's awesome.

I love it.

So I think— so would you say, because there's a statement, it's like work-home, like work-life and home-life balance. What is your take on that?

Well, do you believe it's a thing? My wife's not here right now because it's, uh, there— I used to go to work 3, 4 o'clock in the morning, and there were some nights that I wouldn't get home till 11 o'clock. I mean, it, it was, uh, I've gotten better. Uh, when Blaise said something one time, he says, well, he says, will I see you in the morning or will you pick me up from school? And I picked him up from school every day at 3 o'clock, and that, and then we, he went to the boot shop, and it was like Okay. And then Hope would come pick him up and I'd still work, you know, and it's at, at some point in time you have like as a young dad, I strongly figure that balance out. Yeah, you have to figure that balance out because I, Blaze, Blaze just knew that Dad worked. And, and it was not— there was never, hey, let— there wasn't very many family vacations. There wasn't this, you know. And I've gotten better about, you know what, it's going to be there when I get back. And everybody else can go home and relax and have family time. Why can't I? You know what I'm saying? So I feel like— but, but at the same time You also, as an entrepreneur, as a, as a new business owner, as a, as a person that is starting from the ground up, and this is— and we're, we're trying to get our roots, we're trying to get planted there. There is going to be days that it's, it's been good because my wife can go home and take care of things, and I can come when, when I, when I get home, I get home, you know what I'm saying? And I take care— she, she can take care of some of the house things, and I can take care of the shop things, you know what I'm saying? So it's, it's been a very well good balance that it's, um, it's, it's back and forth, you know what I'm saying?

And there'll be sometimes where there are like demanding things at work where you like have to be there and you have to pour into it, and then there'll be other times where take making that choice, you know, just kind of prioritizing.

Yeah, I have a very, very good group of employees, but I'm going to tell you this and nothing against my employees at all because they're there. I wouldn't have what I had. Like, if I had to answer the telephone, we wouldn't have no— we wouldn't have no, no customers. Like, I just— I'm like, and if the phone call gets— if I have to get to the phone and I have— and it gets to it gets to Brad, something's, something's wrong. Crap's fixing to hit the fan because you probably talk bad to one of the employees or, you know, and it's like, I just— one, they, they, you know, be nice. Yeah, that's just, that's just where that's at. But it's— nobody's ever going to treat it as good as you do. You know what I'm saying? And, and I, and I, and like, I've got, I've got some great employees. I do. So I don't, I don't because I know that they'll go listen to this podcast, but, and they like I have. But I know that there's other employers out there that trust their business with a lot of people. And I feel like you need to be, you need to be in there.

Yeah.

Because there's a lot of— nobody's going to treat it as good as you.

Yeah.

Yeah. But I, but I also have some girls that do treat it as good, probably better than I do sometimes, you know what I'm saying? Yeah.

And that's a gift to find people that are right there following how passionate you are with your business.

It really is. It's, it's— we had some— we've, we had a little turnover. Yeah. And it happens and it happens. But it's, it's like this. You know, I had a— I had my embroidery lady. She walked out on me one time and I was like, oh, you know, what am I fixing to do? And I freaked out there for a little bit. And, and ever since that day, it's like when, when God shuts that door, he's got 5 more better ones pitching.

A bigger plan.

And it, and it, and it's— and then it's like, you know, it's, it's one of them deals to where You know, it's, it's, there's seasons and growing seasons, and God just— it seems like God puts the right person in that spot every time I need it. And it's, and it's like, you don't have because you don't ask, you know. And we was running a bunch of college kids there for a while, and, and it was good because it was— I mean, the schedules worked out. But then it's like, okay God, we need full-time employees. And then we put put a deal out and I was like, how's this really going to— like, you know, payrolls, payrolls expensive.

The most expensive thing.

It's like, dang, we're having a good month.

And then, and then I look at like, I wish I got paid what y'all get paid, you know what I'm saying? When I was y'all's age, I was making like minimum wage and stuff like that. So, but I mean, it's— I, I feel like if you, if you're not the hands and feet of your company and you're not in it, it don't get took care of like you need, need it to get took care of. And when there's, when there's an issue, if the girls can't solve it, they bring it to me. But there's a lot of this that don't ever get brought to me. And if it does get brought to me, then, then, then let's get it to, you know, let's get it took care of. But there's, there's, there's If you don't have self-control, you don't need to be a business owner. If you got to go play golf or if you, if you, if you can't be there, if you can't be there before everybody else gets there. And there's days that I— there's days that I don't get there, but I can count. I can count on probably a handful of times that I've not been there. You know what I'm saying? It's, uh, but, but I feel like, uh, it's kind of like these girls we've, we've been training some new people and they're like, and I'm like, you train them the way you want them to work because if you don't, it's kind of like, kind of like my, my head, the girl that's been with me the longest, Erin, uh, she's a hard worker. She's, I mean, a go-getter and I said, I set the standards. Yeah, she's, she's, she's good at what she does and she is great on quality control. And there's been some times she's like, ah, Brad, look at this. And I'm like, what am I looking at? And she's like, oh, you don't see it? And I'm like, I see this. Then I said, oh, that, it's going to be, that's going to be all right. That, that, yeah, maybe we took that one a little too far. You know, it's like don't get the ruler out on a 1/16 of an inch when, when you look at it and you're like, you can look at it like that compared to, you know, now if that's somebody, if it's— if you're delivering—

we got a problem.

But I mean, it's, it's so I feel like when When you're, when you're building a business, your team behind you is, is the strongest part. But then have, like, having self-control. There's a lot of people that have lots of great ideals and, and, and could be, and, and there's, there's a lot of people that have a lot of money that can go behind this. And, and, you know, I didn't, I didn't, for the longest time I didn't have an operating loan, and I got so big that I, you know, it was, it was the part that I, I had to be like I was hurting myself not having an operating loan, you know what I mean?

Okay. Describe that. What is that?

So my operating loan is, is like I will buy shipping containers full of hats.

Okay.

And, and have like have hoodies on hand and have inventory. So yes, have an inventory and being able to, being able because used to I would just kind of buy what I needed and, and that and that be that, you know. I'd buy 100 hats. Uh, I started this deal on Alibaba, or Alibaba, or however you say it, you know. And, and, and hell, about every— I'd buy 100 hats and there would be about, um, 95 of them good, you know what I'm saying. And there was always those, those ones that was damaged, you know. And, and so it was, uh, but I was ha— it was like, it was just kind of a revolving deal of trying to keep, trying to keep everything, you know. And so it was, um, it was right about the time that Hope went to work for us, and I was like, this is starting to get a little, a little much, you know what I'm saying? Like, this is, this is our capital. We needed, we needed to, like, I got money in the account, but I need, I need to get paid on this before I can order this.

And yeah.

And I, and I had, and that operating loan was just there for my cushion, you know what I'm saying? It was there to help me to just keep a little bit more inventory to go a little bit further. Yeah. And so that, that's, that's kind of where that was. That's, that's kind of where that's at, you know. It just, I wanted to make sure that I was good enough to be able to, to, to, to go from there, you know what I'm saying? And so it's, it's been, it's been very good. It's been But it's, it's, it's, there's been some headaches along the way.

So you mentioned you had a good team and that brings up like delegation. So did it take you a while to be okay with delegation? Like, because for me, I like to, like, I like to have full control. And it was like that for about 2 years until I started having help. And it drove me nuts. Like, I mean, you want it done this way, you wanted to edit it because in my mind it's like nobody else can do it as good as I can, right? But that's like such a limiting belief. And so did you have like a moment of like, okay, I can't do this all on my own?

Yeah, I've had several of them moments and I've had to let go of a lot of things.

Yeah.

And they probably gotten done better than what I was doing them. But I've got a, I've got a girl that Erin, Erin was my first. She's my wholesale manager and she takes care of pretty much everything except for all the big box stores is what she does. Anything that has to do with wholesales or orders or anything, she, she, she— there she is. And then I hired, uh, God sent me another girl, excuse me, Tristan Dunn. And, and Tristan's just been a godsend too. I mean, she's, she's been there for to help this, like working on EDI and working on this and that and these bigger box stores. And so it's— and, and now she is literally on every Zoom call with me because I have to have a set of other ears. Yeah, because it's like I either need to record this or— but it's— she's working I used to make sure that all my inventory was right. And now she's— now she— I've got to step back from that. And, and we've had some rough— we've had some rough bumps in the road, but it's just— it's called growing pains. I mean, you— if you ain't— if you ain't having growing pains, you probably need to shut it down and go figure something else out. Yeah, is where that's at. And we've had some major growing pains where— I mean, we've been in some growing pains for the last 3 years. And I mean, it's—

it's—

this company has grown so fast and so tremendous. And, and it's, it's kind of like, I, I don't even remember, uh, some big concert not too long ago, and my phone was blowing up, Facebook page was blowing up, people was sending us pictures of Cactus Alley hats everywhere. And it was, it was really cool because, I mean, like, and I, and I'm, I'm one of them ones like, hey man, I like your hat, you know what I'm saying? And And Blaze is like, that's my dad's hat company. And I'm like, Blaze, we don't have to tell everybody that, you know what I'm saying? But, but it's, it's very— we— it's, it is, it's very cool how I used to be— have my hand on everything and I used to could tell, I still can tell you pretty much a lot of all of our wholesale accounts. Now there's some that will, that will, that'll sneak in on me that I don't know about, but, but for the most part I know, I know, I know about every, every account just because I won't let something big, but it's, but there's a lot of these new, new acquiries that I've got a Facebook girl that, that sends, hey, if you're people, I'll see it because I look at, I've got it connected to my phone. But she's like, hey, email us at this email, you know what I'm saying? So I'm not the one answering that, that Facebook message no more.

Yeah.

And so I don't, I don't, I can't go say, hey, Aaron, did this person contact you?

Yeah.

But it's so, it's, it's been very hard letting go of the control, like having control of everything. But to watch this business grow, I would have been, uh, I would have been holding it back if I wouldn't have let go of, let go of a lot of things. Because there's the— you can't, you can't handle it all. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? So I have, I have a, I have a wholesale manager, I have an office manager, I have a, um, I have a girl that just does online sales. I mean, that's, that's the— and she, and she answers email. I have, I have an embroidery lady. I, I, my nephew works for me and he runs my DTF machine in my, in my laser. And, and then it's just me over in the boot shop building boots and sneakers. And, and then my wife is, uh, she takes care of all the custom orders. Uh, so like if anybody— if, if you wanted Howdy Media— excuse me— if you wanted Howdy Media hats, she would be the one that takes care of that. And she takes care of the, the deposits and the— and, and making sure everything's ordered on, on the custom side. Of things, you know what I'm saying? Like the special hats and the hoodies and all that. And then trying to keep me in line, trying to keep all the artwork, because I mean, there's people that need artwork and I'm the only one that can do the artwork, you know. And so it's— I'm being pulled in lots of— I wear lots of hats.

Yeah.

But at the same time, there's God has put people in my life that when I need something, when I need somebody to fill a hole, he's always, he's always there. And probably my wife, because she's like, I've been asking for this, I've been asking for that. And I'm like, well, praise God, because I've, I've just been doing it, you know what I'm saying? And it's, it's one of— but I mean, it's, it's one of them deals to where it— I was one of them ones that had to have my hands on everything. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? And I felt like it wasn't going to get done. Nobody could ever do it as good as I could. Yeah.

And I think that is something that probably 99% of entrepreneurs run into.

Yes.

Especially in the beginning.

Yes.

And like even right now, like obviously there's levels to all— like the first year it's going to look different than the second year and the second year is going to look different than the third. And so now we are going into our Fourth year, I have all these new issues and new ways of like, okay, I am still the bottleneck of the business. Like, I am still the limiting factor here. And so it's constantly. And then next year, like this time next year, it's going to happen again. Like, it's just never going to stop. And so if you're listening to this, like delegation, don't be afraid to delegate. That's awesome. Okay, so You've mentioned a lot about your faith, and I wanted to ask you this: what does that look like within, like, your business and your family? How does faith— how has it impacted your life? Big question.

That's a huge question because you sound like you have a cool testimony.

This is, uh, man, I'll just be real honest with you. Um, in 3 days I'll have 11 years sober. Wow. Um, and it's been I was homeless before that. I had a great boot shop. I had a pickup, I had a dog, and I had a boot shop, and I was— I had a teepee, and I was staying in Canyon. I was living in Canyon at the time, and a good friend of mine was trying to help me. Joe and Joanna Hughes was helping me. And then I got kicked out of the house because I did some dumb stuff, and it was hard on everybody there. And then I was just kind of in and out, in and out of drugs, in and out of jail. Uh, got 103, uh, pages of a rap sheet. Not proud of any of it, but I'm not convicted of any of it neither. And it's, it's kind of like I tell people, you know, it's all Jesus. And, and so it's, uh, 11 years or 12 years— 11 years ago I was homeless, and then I got caught up on some charges and, uh, got the chance to go to Teen Challenge and got sober at Teen Challenge, then come back to back to Lubbock, and that, that's where I met Hope. And, uh, it was, it was pretty cool because I met Hope when I was, when I was screwed up. My little brother, uh, worked with Hope, and I told him, I said, I'm gonna marry her. And he says, well, you better get your shit together. That was his exact words. Excuse me, sorry. It is what it is. Like, we're just at this point in time, we're fixing to get real about some stuff. And, uh, because I feel like You— it's, it's, it's, it's time that this world just is brutal, gets brutally honest. Yeah. And I feel like if you get offended, don't be coming around me because I ain't got time for your offense, for you to be offended. You need to pull your, pull your boots on or put your big girl panties on and let's, let's go. Because this is America and it's 2025 and we're fixing— it's— they need to hear the truth. And all this sugar-coating candy crap ain't gonna do no good. And so it's, um, I told him, I said, I'm gonna marry her in here. And so I ended up getting caught up on some stuff, got the chance to go to Teen Challenge. September 1st, I put a pistol in my mouth, pulled the trigger 8 times, and the gun went off the 9th time in one of my best friend's hands. 26 days later, I ended up in a federal holding cell and And, and, uh, the judge said, God's got this. And I pretty much just looked at him and I said, how the hell does God got this? Like, $75,000 cash bond. Hell, I ain't even got 7 cents to my name. How am I going to bond out of here? I called Dad, and Dad, Dad said, son, I love you, but good luck. He said, I'm done.

Yeah.

And I mean, it was tough love, and I know it broke his heart. And I walked back in that jail cell, and it was pretty much like, you ask, you receive. I was I was done doing dope. I was— I wanted help, but I didn't— I couldn't— I couldn't figure out how the hell to get out of where I was at, you know what I'm saying? And so it was one of them deals where, uh, man, uh, I went and got a court-appointed lawyer. My dad told me, he, you know, figured out— so I went to figuring it out. And, um, and, and then it— so I got a court-appointed lawyer, got the chance to go to Teen Challenge. Got out of Teen Challenge, they dropped my charges, dropped my arrest record. So God really did have it, you know, and from that first time, and it was, um, so, so that, that was kind of the, the, the whole deal. And, uh, it, it was, um, so I built my boot— when, when I was in Teen Challenge, God gave me a vision of my boot shop. There's a, there's a cross and a scripture in the back of every boot. I've had people walk in and say, hey man, We don't, we don't want, we don't want the cross. We don't want the scripture. Well, guess what? You ain't getting a pair of Brad Glenn boots. You mean you're going to turn down $2,000 or what? My price now is $2,000 right now, you know. And people are like, you're going to turn that down? And I said, sure am.

I said, this is the foundation.

This is God. God saved my life and I will give him all the glory. I say I'll give him all the glory. There was a time where I'll talk about that here in a little bit, but, but that was my, that was my deal. I was going to give him all the glory, and it didn't matter what it looked like. And so I had people come in, and I've had— I've been on podcasts, and I've been on some television shows, and I just tell people, if I can't share my story and I can't share Jesus, then there ain't no reason for us to even be talking from now on.

Yeah.

And, and that— and, and I've stood on that. I've stood on that. Jesus built Jesus saved me. And it's kind of like this. When God designed my destiny, he also figured in all my stupidity. And I've done a lot of stupid stuff in life, and I've been saved from every one of it. And God watches over idiots. I'm a firm believer in that. I mean, there's a lot of— I mean, there's a lot of, a lot of things that I've done that I'm like, how in the heck did I walk out of that? You know what I'm saying? But so I built that boot shop on, on that. And then I built, I built this hat company on that. And so God has always been the major thing in my life. And, you know, it's, it's— and as I grew this business, there, there was, there was a, there was a time and, and all hell broke loose. June 23rd, like just, just this June, like 25, couple, couple, couple of months ago, just, just I mean, 2025. And, uh, man, I was, I was chasing a dollar. I, I, I got— I mean, money's the, the downfall to everything. And, and it become money, and then it become Cactus Alley, then it become the boot shop. And then it become my kids and my wife, my— I don't know. I got— and then I got angry in there, and then I got bitter, and then I got, uh, the— and, and then somewhere I never stopped going to church and never, uh, but, but, but I quit picking up the Word of God and reading my Bible every morning. I mean, there was a point, and my wife was like, hey, I think you need to go read God's word, and it pissed me off. Yeah, she'd be like, I think you need to go get God's word. Which, I mean, you know, the greatest thing to, uh, I can say this and don't delete this out, the greatest thing, uh, I is, is, is podcasting sermons. But when Cody Cochran says something that I don't like, I can just turn that sermon off and go to the next one, or, or anybody else. I mean, they're like, you can like you can pick and choose what you want to listen to. Yeah, some of them feel-good sermons is— was, was what I kind of need riding on. Yeah. And but, but I really needed one of them swift kicks, you know. And, uh, and man, I, I got— I, I'll tell you what, my pyramid sucked at one point in time. Like, I had everything out of whack. I was all about— excuse me, very good— I was all about the, the money. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? It, it, uh, it turned into, uh, I, I got, uh, I got, I got, I was chasing the dollar, you know, and then I had my wife, or I had my business, and then I had my other business, and then I had my other business, and then, and, and dude, I, and I got out of God's word and got out of God's, uh, will. And, and, and you know, you want to know what's so cool about it is when I when I finally did realize he was right back where I left him. He never went anywhere. I'd went somewhere. But, but with that being said, I got kicked. I got my butt kicked out of the house June 23rd. And it was the hardest thing because we was in the middle of All-Star Baseball. My son's angry at— my son's angry at Hope for kicking me out of the house.

Yeah.

And I finally had to sit down and I had to say, hey, Blaze, let me tell you what. It's not Mom. Mom did this to try to get me right. Yeah, but that was the greatest thing ever is when I got my butt kicked out of the house because I was, I was angry for about 2 or 3 days because I was, I wasn't, I wasn't there for him. I'd let her down, you know? And, and finally, and, and finally we was, I, after I got over being angry, Well, I think Luke Sprayberry called me one night and he's like, what? Are you all right? And then I just kind of spilled the beans with him. And yeah, and then, and then I— and, you know, it's— he's like, dude, you're on my mind. What's going on? And, you know, I've got a— I've got a group of guys that the Holy Spirit just knows when to say, hey, you need to call and check on this somebody, you know what I mean? Like, I can— like, I can get to go. And but it was— so I, I got all my— I got everything out of line, you know what I'm saying? I got everything out of line. I got God out of line. I got— God wasn't up here on, on the totem pole or at the top no more. And money— I was chasing that money. I was trying to make that money to, to where my kids didn't suffer, where I didn't suffer, where, where we had everything. And Hope was like, go get life, go figure life out. Yeah, like, and, and I spent 7 days like, like, and about 3 of them days I was madder than heck. And, and I just— and finally I hit my knees and I was like, God, I can't do this no more. Like, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm broke. Like, I am here. I am. What do I got to do? And, and he's like, I want you to pick up the word every morning. Like, I didn't call you to just listen to sermons.

Yeah, they're great, but that's— it's different.

There, there is a whole different meaning when you pick up that word of God. And, and I went to picking up that word, and we got into some counseling. And, and I wasn't going to go to counseling. I didn't need counseling. She's the one needed counseling. She's great. She's— and I mean, I was, I was just over here building a business. And, and, and, and she probably could tell it if she was here today. I, I I wanted her to be here, but she, she had some other stuff she couldn't get around. And, and so it was— but it was one of them deals when, when, when my, when my faith got out, when, when I, when I took Jesus— when I, when I grew— I put it this way: when I got in the driver's seat and told him to get in the passenger seat, all hell broke loose. It just, it just was just a master for disaster. And the business was, was, was struggling. I was having some, some, some employee problems. I was having— it was— there was not— no, I mean, you can walk into my place now and then and then and all my employees will say, this is a safe place. This is, this is peaceful. This is, this is. And that's what— and customers will come in and they're like, this is so peaceful in here. But it wasn't. It, it, it, and it hadn't been for a long time because, uh, that Bible was sitting over there and there was dust on it. And when I picked it up and I started, I started in the book of James, which probably not the best book to start in.

Uh, it is when you need a butt kick. It, it, it, I just studied that.

And, and so, so yeah, that getting, getting my priorities out of line and And literally, we— and Hope didn't really know what— didn't know really how this was going to work out. And, uh, when she kicked you out? Yeah, when she— when she kicked me out. And— and she was just, you know, she was okay with just being okay. And— but God got a hold to me, and God wrecked me. And— and— and there was some phone calls that I had to have, and there was some There was, uh, uh, I had, you know, and, and I just— a buddy of mine called and he said, you need to go to The Quest, and it's in Georgia on a mountaintop. And I went and spent— I drove 18 hours to this, to this deal, and, and, and literally spent 5 and a half days on a mountaintop, and God wrecked my world one more time. And then I went and spent my, uh, I got out I went to Houston and was down there for Blaze's birthday, but it was literally a— God just wrecked my world. And dude, I picked up that word, went picking back up my word and just getting lost in it every morning and just start back to serving my wife and trying to make— like, so it was that, that was one of the biggest turning points, that it was either this deal is going to either go this way or it's fixing to go this way, you know what I'm saying? And, and I knew, and, and, and God's not easy. God's not— God doesn't need— the Holy Spirit does not— like, I need somebody that'll rear back and, and punch me, punch me in the throat or kick me between the legs. I'm not like I'm not like, okay, you know, let's give you a sweet little tap and you're going to like, I need, I need this. Here's your sign right here. You know, hey, hey, dumbass, pull your head out of your ass is one of them moments, you know what I'm saying? And let's just get real with one another. It's all right to say that because that's where I was at. And, and when I finally got that back It was like the peace in the shop, the peace in our family. You know, it's my wife. I'm back to being her safe place. I'm back to, you know, and a lot of people would have never known it because we covered it up pretty good. But at the same time, Brad was building a business and got everything out of line. And before I knew it, it was, it was fixing to take a turn for the worse.

But then crazy what, whenever you're pursuing God's word or you're like going into God's word, how every other area of your life is affected by that. You talk about it and starting reading in the mornings or getting that word in your mind and your heart first thing you think, well, you talk to your employees different, you treat your wife different. You, you, you know, in my life, I'm staying home with Libby this year, this first year that I'm home. And I'm like, you steward your house different, you take care of your house different, you have a heart of gratitude. You know, everything changes whenever you spend time in the word first thing. And it's so cool. I love that. I mean, I hate that happened, but also like, how cool is on the other side now?

It's very cool because I got very angry. I mean, there I might have— 44 years old, might have got into some boxing matches. That's here in the North, we're not, you know, but hey, it's normal and loving and fun. Yeah, it's, and my wife is like, it's, it's just my boys are good. My shop's good. The workplace is peaceful. Yeah, I'm not, I'm not. Yeah, I still cuss a little here and there, but it The F-word become my best friend, you know what I'm saying? And, and it's, it's like somebody said it the other day and it's like, oh gosh dang, that's like hurts my ears, you know what I'm saying? But it's, it's, it's one of them deals where my, my, my mouth got out of control and my mom would— my mom even said something to me, hey, Brad, it's time, like, it's ready to end, bud. It's time, it's time you clean up your mouth. Yeah. You know, and it's like there was, there was some brutal conversations that we had to have, but it all boiled down to I took Jesus out of being number one and let him, let him get down there. And yeah, and then when I picked, when I picked up the Word of God and went, went to making time for it morning and night, it's like the Red Sea parted. And my wife, my wife would— she'd, if she's here, she'd say, I didn't know God could, could amend this as fast as he did, like within weeks. And God told me every morning, you pray for your wife before she ever hits the ground, before her feet hit the ground. And every morning that, that goes off at 4:30.

Yeah, you start your day early.

I send her to the gym with her, with her, with her work. I give her workout, y'all. I mean, she's— I, I'm her trainer. Okay, I'm not either, I promise you. I'm not. I joke around and tell everybody, there's like, golly, she's freaking buff. She looks at weights and she gets stout, you know what I'm saying? Like me, I'm over here trying just to, you know, but, but she goes to the gym. I get up and get my word. It's like yesterday morning she didn't go to the gym and she had to go to the bathroom and getting God's word, and I was at kitchen table, and she's— and it was like, we can't sit, we can't sit across from one another and be in God's word together. It don't work. Yeah, it's just like she has her time, I have my time, and it's, it's— and then we come together and we— and there's, there's, uh, we've been reading a deal, Jimmy Evans, and most time it kicks me between the legs. Sometimes it— she's like, oh yeah, I could work on that a little a little bit. And I'm like, yeah, I'm over here freaking just— my toes hurt, my throat hurts, my freaking between my legs hurt. I mean, like, this thing's brutal. But, but, you know, it's, it's, it's like that onion. It's just peeling it back. And, and, man, it's, it's, uh, it's, it's— I'm, I'm a big old teddy bear now instead of a big old grizzly bear. And, and and run up on me and you ain't gonna get punched. You're probably gonna get a hug, you know. But it's— it was— there was a lot of, uh, we didn't— we didn't know where we was headed with this, you know what I'm saying. And it's— so it's— it's been one of them. So never get your priorities out of line. Yep. I mean, this— this will be here tomorrow morning when you get back. And you know, it's— yeah, that you may need to do some editing, but do some editing after she goes to bed and after the baby goes to bed, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like, mate, it's, it's 44 years old, fixing to be 45, and, and I, I can tell you, walk through a lot of seasons. I can— I could write a good book on what not to do, let me tell you. Uh, and I can tell you a lot. I mean, I've had a lot of struggles in life and a lot of a lot of, uh, a lot of things that, you know, and it's— but, but I feel like that's who that— would I, would I change anything? No, I wouldn't, because God took me through that for somebody else. And, and the drug addicts, the alcoholics, the people that— I mean, some of the stuff that's happened in my shop is like I used to. I tell people, hang out with me for 5 seconds and I'll prove to you there's a God. You know, it's, it's just like there's more. Like, it's, it's, it's just like I got kicked out of the house and I went straight down to the shop and started working. Luke Sprayberry called me that or texted me that night. Well, are you okay? And I wanted to send him a text message back.

Doing great, bud.

Did you talk to my wife? You know, and, and I just picked up the phone and he was like, bro, another, another buddy calls me. And then it's just like, and, and then, and I knew, and, and then, and it's just, you know, the favor of God's on you when, when, when these people start calling and And then it just— it's crazy.

It's pretty hard to put into words sometimes, isn't it?

Man, it's hard. And it's hard to kind of keep it all together because, you know, you think you're doing so much for your family and all you're really doing is— I was killing my wife. And it was— and that's nothing that I mean, nothing that I'd ever wanted to do, you know what I'm saying? And, and it was, it was the hardest thing. But once Brad got back and Brad got his priorities back and Brad picked up that and picked up that old dusty Bible and dusted it off and, and got in, got in God's word every morning. My son, my boys are like, they're— I mean, I had to have a talk. Like, I was, I was a straight-running, iron pants, hard-ass. Like, by God, you did it. If you didn't do it one way, like, I was going to jump in the middle of— middle of you, and it was going to be— I mean, it was firebrand. Like, it was this way and this way only. And, and man, we have a relationship, and we have a— I mean, blended families ain't easy. Yeah. But I feel like today they have a little bit more respect for me, and I have a little bit more respect for them, and And, you know, we've got some cool things coming in the next couple of months as a family. And there's some cool things that's going to take place. But it all boils down to when Brad finally got back right. God can take a wreck and make it a message and take beauty out of ashes. And, and I was fit and I had some ashes and I was fixing to have a big, even bigger, bigger set of ashes. And, and but I, I, I finally just got back to where I surrendered, you know, and we, and we went to church all the time, you know what I'm saying? We kept going.

Just because you go to church doesn't mean hard things can't happen, you know.

But, but, you know, it's like I would go in there and, and it just, it is, it is what it is. But when I finally said, you know what, Here I am, God. I know this ain't gonna be— this ain't gonna be fun and this ain't gonna be easy, but let me tell you what, it's been a hell of a ride and it's been fun. And to see what God can take and do, uh, has been one of the greatest, greatest things ever. Because me and my wife, we're back to laughing with one another. We're back to She's wanting to go places with me, and it's— I'm pretty sure she was excited, was getting ready to be excited when Market was coming along, and then so I'd get the hell out of the house, you know what I'm saying? It'd be a whole lot easier for her and Blaze, and it's been one of them deals. But now that I got God back where God's supposed to be, it's It's good.

Yeah, that's awesome.

So, so let me ask you this. This is one of our last questions. Um, obviously like the Bible is like number one book you should be reading. There's lots of other books. Do you read much other than that?

I listen to a lot of podcasts. Okay. I'm, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a—

you're on the go a lot.

I am.

Do you do audiobooks?

I do audiobooks. I, I listen to a lot of Craig Crowe. Okay, uh, leadership, leadership stuff. I like a bunch of Craig Crowe. There's, there's a, there's a book that a buddy of mine, uh, told me to read several years ago, and it's, uh, Rich Dad, Rich Dad Poor Dad. And, and it's— and I've— and I read it, uh, I started it back a couple— about a month ago, and then I've— and but I, I like listening to a bunch of leadership podcast a bunch of, uh, I'll, I'll listen to, um, gosh dang, I done went blank. Um, the money dude.

There's a lot of them.

The guy who wrote Rich Dad?

No, no, the one that— the envelope dude. I done went blank.

Dave Ramsey.

Dave Ramsey. I was like, you know, everybody knows the envelope dude. I've listened to a bunch of of his podcast. And you know, there's a bunch of, I am big on like, can you lead following? You know what I'm saying? Can you be a leader at the back? You know what I'm saying? Can you, and here's the other thing. Is the day that you walk out of that shop, can it keep going?

Yeah.

When you walk out.

Yeah.

And that's been one of the hardest things because I thought that it would never do it, and it's, and it's doing it. But it's— there's— I'm constantly listening, like, I'm not, I'm not the— I got, I got to have the I can't have the feel-good sermons. Like, Brad don't need the feel-good sermons, you know what I'm saying? Brad needs the hard, like— and I like the— there's like, I listen to a lot of T.D. Jakes, and there's some black preachers that I really enjoy getting to listen to. And there's some of them that's read or wrote some books that I love. But I listen, I listen to a lot of podcasts that, yeah, that I feel like podcasts. I have an attention span like a rat on crack. It's not, it's not a rat. That's worse than an elephant. Yeah, it's not, it's not very, it's not very big, you know. And there's a, there's a lot of squirrels in my life, you know what I'm saying? It's, it's, I'm here and then I'm here and then I'm here and then I'm here. And, and it's so, so me sitting down The, the only book that I have, uh, read is There's a Hole in My Gospel, and that was a— that I enjoyed that one too. That was a very good book that I— in the Bible. And everything else has been Audible, you know. Yeah, I just, uh, I, which I'm not the best reader, you know what I'm saying? Hooked on Phonics didn't work for me, and, and my mom will tell you that, like, we had knock-down drag-out fights because I— it's I mean, I— it's— it is what it is. Yeah, but I'm, I'm big on that. I— if I can listen to it, I'm good. I'm good with it, you know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

But there's, there's— I listen to a lot of Dave Ramsey. I've got to where I'm listening to a lot of Dave Ramsey and, and just different podcasters around. There's, there's— but I'm, I'm big I'm big at whatever goes into your ear goes into your heart and then comes out of your mouth.

Yeah, be careful.

And, and that's true. And it's, it, it, it, that's, that's where it went all wrong at is because I got to where I was taking in a lot of other stuff that I shouldn't have been taking in. Yeah. And so it's, uh, but that Rich Dad Poor Dad is, was a good book to read. And yeah. Absolutely.

So if you were to give— are we on like last question? Okay. So if you were to give a piece of advice to somebody just starting out like you were, you had a bunch of different businesses you were juggling, you had all these ideas, you felt God calling you to do things. If you had to give somebody a piece of advice that was just starting, what would you tell them?

There's a lot there. The first thing is, is don't ever, don't ever stop. Keep going. It's kind of like you get to a door and it's closed. There's another door open.

Yeah.

And sometimes trying, it's, it's like this when you do the footwork yourself and you don't have somebody else do it, you're going to be more appreciative of it. It's like I have a lot of people that will reach out to me and be like, hey, what's your hat factory? I'm not, I'm not giving out all my information, you know what I'm saying? But there's, there's a lot of sleepless nights and there's a lot of your research. Researching is a lot, you know what I'm saying? Like constantly and never settle on what you've got right now. Always be looking for better.

Yeah, that's awesome.

The quality, it's, it's, uh, I'm big of not, not quantity. I'm, I'm quality over quantity, you know what I'm saying? And just, and, and how can you grow your business to be better? But it, but it's like this: show me your friends and I'll show you your future. So if you're hanging out with small-minded people, you're never going to be a big-minded business person. And so I'm constantly— if I ever get in the room with big business people, I shut up and listen.

Yeah, that's a good piece of advice.

I've got to where I've got— because it's— I tell people I'm not going to settle for the second-best hat company. Company. I'm not going to settle for a second-best boot company. I'm going to be the best. And I don't mean that out of arrogance or— but I want to— I want all that God has for me. But I don't have quit, you know what I'm saying? So I feel like if I ever had any good piece of advice. If you hit a roadblock, look to the left or the right, or maybe just back, put it in reverse and go at it a little bit harder. You know what I'm saying? And that probably ain't the best advice, but don't stop, don't settle. I, I— there was a lot of times that I hit a roadblock, and I'm going to tell you, I've got into a bunch of stores on being consistent. There's a lot of these big box stores that I, I mean, there's one that I, I looked up and I'd sent her 103 emails, and finally she gave me, she gave me the opportunity and put me in 80 of her stores, and it took almost 2 years to the day.

Yep.

But being persistent, being persistent, being consistent, and making sure your quality is good at all times And customer service goes a long way. And if you can't do it, find somebody that can. Yeah, because I'm not the best. I'm blunt and to the point, and, and it's— I've got a, I've got a good group of people that answer the phone. Yeah, but that's good.

So you mentioned like a little bit about vision being the the one of the top people, the top person. What is y'all's vision for the next 5 years of Cactus Alley? Like, where are y'all trying to take this thing from here? Because you've, you've reached this point, but it's like, okay, at least that's how I am. I'm like, okay, we hit this point, cool, what's the next one? So, so what does that look like?

There's a lot of cool things coming in 2026. We're bringing a lot more on to Cactus Alley. We're, we're not only going to bring a lot more on, but we're going to go into a lot more places, uh, with a lot, with a lot more than just hats. Um, and it's, uh, we're going to grow more into an apparel side too, to where now that our hat company is very well established and people know, know us as a hat company, now we're going to start dropping some, some other cool items to go along with that. And, you know, the next 5 years is— and I'm thinking like big picture, like there's some storefronts that might come in some different locations that will just be Cactus Alley. And there is some— there's I, it just, I've got a lot in my head that I don't want to, that I don't want to ever let out because there's a lot of people that follow me.

I get it.

And there's a lot of people that, uh, I mean, I, I say that I've got, I got a lot of people that cop— that copy.

Yeah. Hey, that means you're doing something right.

And yes sir, that's exactly right. And it's, it's one of them deals to where there's, there's a lot of great things coming in. And, and there's, and there's some, there's a, there's a cool side, another cool faith-based side coming to another deal coming out of Lubbock, Texas that will soon come to light and be birthed. And it's— and it's— wait, it's, it's going to be cool. It's, it's exciting. My boys are really getting to be a big part of this and it's, it's It's, it's— I think it's something that's really drawn our family close here, here lately. But it's, you know, it's you, you always— you're always having— it's kind of like an old man told me, he says, once you, once you get to the top of that wave, you better be catching the next one because if not, you're going down. And I feel like a lot of people, a lot of one-hit wonders and a lot of people catch that wave and then it just and then it just, it's done, you know what I'm saying? And so it's, there's, there's a lot of, uh, you're, you'll probably start seeing us a lot more running around the countryside, uh, there, there's, there's, there's pickup and trailers that's probably going to, you're going to see a lot more music fest and you're going to see a lot more, uh, rodeos and, and, uh, FFA conventions and, and you're going to start, you're going to start seeing more of the Cactus Alley, uh, people rolling around is where that's at in, in coming in 2026. Yeah.

So, okay, sweet. Oh, it's, um, okay, cool. Yeah, if you're listening, go make sure to follow. Um, where can they find you out on socials?

Uh, Cactus Alley Hat Company, BG Leather Shop and Custom Boots. Not posted there in a long time because I get I don't got time to answer every question, you know what I'm saying? And it's, it's, and the best thing to do is just to reach out there and, or you can, if you got questions, you can always email it, email me at brad@cactusallyhatco.com. I mean, that's, that's, I'm decent at checking.

At 4 a.m. you will get a phone call.

No, I try to, I try to be, and, and, you know, it's, it's people ask me, hey, how, how can I do this? And, you know, I, I'm not, I'm not going to give you the answers, but I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to help. I feel like, yeah, I feel like helping somebody does a, does somebody a lot of good instead of just being like, hey, it's this, this, and this, you know what I'm saying? It's, uh, I've had a lot of people take me under my wing, uh, and, and, and help me along this along this route, you know what I'm saying?

So, but okay, so last question, very, very last one.

Are you sure?

I promise this is the real last one. If you had to guess, how many hats do you think you've sold so far? Ballpark. I'm just genuinely curious.

In 5 years?

Yeah. Dadgum.

That's your answer.

I don't know.

A lot.

A lot.

A lot of hats.

Last year was several, I think 6 semi-loads.

A lot of hats.

And that's, I think at one time I thought that, I think a semi-load was 28,880 hats.

You do the math, folks. That's a lot of hats.

That's a lot of hats. And that ain't even the custom side of it neither. I mean, we— glory to God. That's all I got to say because he's wrecked me, he's saved me, and he's pulled me out of a hole. And it's— and I don't ever want to take that for granted again.

Absolutely. Well, I appreciate you coming all the way to Abilene. Being on the podcast. Um, thanks for sharing. Hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. Make sure to go follow Brad on socials, go follow Cactus Alley, and we'll see you guys in the next one.