The "Bust Arse" business philosophy with Josh Langmade (Part 2). EP #263

Hey, guys, it's Dan here. And this is Sully, and she's helping me with the podcast episode today. She's actually snuck upstairs here into the office. Today's episode is the second part of an interview I did with Josh Langmead, who runs mediacore in a small town in the Midwest of America called Rochester. It's a town of about 100,000 people, and Josh runs one of the biggest video production companies in the town. And in this second part of the interview with him, we're going to talk about some of the challenges you have as an entrepreneur running a business and also learning about his process and how he is sort of trying to kind of do something different in the marketplace by looking at the existing successful businesses in the town and replicating that so in 20 years time, he can be like those guys. So I think you'll find this a really interesting chat.

I feel like our company has grown on relationships in general.

I can go through the list of our clients and tell you all about them just because we take the time to know about them. We grab lunch, we grab coffee. And so relationships have always been big. And this year, as we grow and as we're going to continue to grow into the future, I had an idea of just like, you know, and it was inspired because I look at the old guys in town. These are guys that are selling their companies that are not doing anything anymore, but just having coffee with good old boys. And every single day they're doing this. And I'm like, man, these guys own the entire city. And there's just little groups of them that just have coffee every single morning. I'm like, that's fantastic. They've probably known each other their entire lives and they've done these crazy things together. And I'm like.

That'S gonna happen again, you know, and let's start now creating these groups. And we call it our Breakfast Club. But we're capping at like eight guys. And it's, you know, I went one by one and I handpicked and tried to invite guys that I thought would get along, that knew each other, that didn't know each.

But are the movers and shakers. These are the guys that I think will be doing big things in the city for years to come. And we've probably. We meet every other week for breakfast, and.

We'Ve probably had 10 so far. And it's so much fun. It was a couple days, it was this Wednesday actually, where I was there. And just. It's not about business, like, business stuff. Will come up, we'll talk about land or buildings or what's happening. But it's just. It's the relationship piece. It's the laughing, it's the fun, and.

It'S gonna. I know it's gonna benefit, and it's just so enjoyable, you know, well, you.

Guys are gonna be the guys in 30 years who some young guy like you is gonna be like, oh, those guys that sit in cafes and drink coffee and have fun. And I think that's. That, to me, is the spirit of entrepreneurship. You know, we talked a lot just before Christmas in the group about the idea of wealth creation and what that means. And while money is a factor in that, it's about planning and creating the life you want, and that is what you can do when you run a business now.

It's always very inspiring to hear two guys sitting on a call like this or an interview going, hey, you know, he started three years ago, and now he's got a company that's doing half a million dollars a year, and he's got this great team. And, you know, his plan is to do this and that in the future, but of course it's not. It's. It's. It's easy retrospectively and I think to talk about these things. And I think as entrepreneurs, we have this unusual balance between an absolute self belief that you can't fail, but at the same time, nagging self doubt every day that you're not good enough. And that combination.

Is very unique because you just don't believe you can fail and you will outwork anyone else to make sure you don't. You'll never, ever give up. But talk to me about the actual journey of entrepreneurship for you in a video production company, because, you know, a lot of videographers, filmmakers start behind the tools. They want to hold control of everything. They want to do everything themselves. And they get very caught up in perfecting an edit, for example, and they blow their profit because they spend too much time on the edit. Tell me about your philosophy and your journey in the last three years of how you're managing to still produce very high quality work, but also control the process. And some of those moments on your journey where it's been difficult.

Yeah, I mean.

Even this week, there was a time where I was so stressed, I just got in my truck and I just drove around a little bit because I'm like, I'm going nuts in this. But like you said, there's. There's also the feeling of I can't fail. You know, if if anything happens, we're just gonna. We're just gonna do this. We're just gonna bust ass and. And make it happen. But there's absolutely struggles along the entire way of, you know, especially when you get employees and you have. I take it personally. It's like, these are. These are the guys that the. That I had move here, that I am responsible for their salaries and their livelihood and things like that. So there's the pressure of that now.

But there's so much learning in what you do, and you constantly learn, and the process is huge.

The big thing. And one of the main reasons why I don't even know how I found your podcast one day, and I was just listening. I listened to tons of episodes before I actually joined the VB and. But even at that very beginning, it was like, dan, I want to systemize my company, you know, and we've done different things and, you know, we're still going to continue to do things. But.

One of the biggest struggles for me is just getting overwhelmed because I still have my hands in every part of the business. And one. It keeps me involved, which is a good thing. And I understand because it is my baby. But at the same time, trying to grow, and with the rapid growth that we've seen, I need systems and processes in place to hire and go. This is the roadmap. Follow it, and.

That'S my next big hurdle. And there's always been hurdles when you're smaller, you're trying to get your building reputation, you're trying to get your name out there and raise your prices and stuff like that, and it's just a. It's a grind. But you each. Each level, you're achieving something and you're doing something new. And I feel like now we're at a level where people aren't really giving us crap about our price. They're not, you know, they're not comparing us to, you know, some of the other companies in town. This. Like, we're unique in what we do and the experience that we give our clients. So it's. I don't want to be in a price battle. I won't want them to even call somebody else, you know, but now I just want to continue the growth. So I have to have the big vision, but I need to be able to set the roadmap on how to get there. Yeah, and that's. That's. Sometimes it's really difficult for.

For me personally, but I think just.

I don't know people that have that big. The big ideas, the. Oh, I want to do this and this and this. But sometimes it's hard to run the operational day to day when your mind is there.

Well, it's like a seesaw, isn't it? You've got operations on one side and vision on the other, and in the middle, you're like the pendulum and you're bouncing back and forward all day long. And, you know, I think there's a, there's a degree of chaos that exists as an entrepreneur trying to wrangle all the moving parts in a business. And I think it's important to share with the audience that, you know, there's been an incredible journey to go from zero to half a million. But I mean, we speak weekly on calls and it's like, you know, there's just one problem after another and you set something in motion and it doesn't work. And you've got to correct and correct and correct. So talk to me about some of the other realities of running a business and how has working with us in the VBA supported that journey?

Yeah, I mean, some of the big things in business, and this is why I see a lot of freelancers.

Not succeeding or not moving to the next level, is they don't realize everything that goes into operating a company. They go, hey, I have a camera and a gimbal and mic and some lights, and I'm skilled in what I do. But then they don't know about the legal, they don't know about the insurance, they don't know about the accounting. And there's just all this stuff that goes into operating a company. Then you get employees and then you have workman's comp and you have insurance on them, and next thing you don't need. Money's just flying out the door and in every direction you're going, like, what the hell's going on? So my brother, who actually graduated with an accounting degree, came on at the end of our first year and has been a huge help. And just like he's. We're yin and yang. It's like we both have the same vision, we both have the same work ethic, but we play off each other's strengths so well. And he's been a massive help in just the operational back end of a company that allows me to think big and be with the, you know, the clients and, you know, build the relationships and things like that. And I. It definitely would have been a way slower process if I didn't have that.

But going, moving, moving on now with, with the VBA being on calls and Seeing, seeing your peers that are, you know, some are earlier on and you know, they're not where you are and some are doing twice what you're doing. And each has like, unique issues and things like that. But you can always, you can either, you can always give advice that kind of jogs your memory and goes, oh, I didn't think of that. But then there's the, you know, guys that you're, you're trying to get to, or, you know, larger sizes that have a whole new, you know, bag of issues that they're trying to deal with. And it's like, wow, okay, like one, that's good to think about. Two, I need to prep for that. But, you know, it comes to, it's just fun because sitting down with you, Dan, on the one on Ones has been, I think, just some of my favorite parts, just getting, you know, your thought process because you've, you've done this for a long time, you've worked with a lot of people. But then the other fun side is getting to know some of these other guys in the, in the community, being on them weekly, laughing, joking, you know, you understand more about what they're going through and who they are.

It's like a space, it's like a lunatic asylum. Like all these crazy entrepreneurs who are trying to build businesses, working, working their ass off to kind of make it work and dealing with all this shit get together and like, you can let off a bit of steam, you know.

Absolutely. And we joke around, we have fun. And it's. The longer you're in it, the more you, okay, I know this person's had this issue, so even their goals excite you. So it's a huge asset and a huge research to be able to ask a community of people that are doing the very same thing that you're doing. And it was hard even starting, just going.

Starting a business. I'm trying to figure out a resource for video production, for education. And none of the courses that I found were on video. None of the, there's no books out there really for video. And I think that's where I first stumbled across your podcast was I'm like, this guy is talking to video companies. And this is exactly the information that I want to hear you take that a step further. And I'm like, for the price? I was like, this is a no brainer to me, you know, and sometimes I get really busy and I can't be in all the meetings. But at the end of the year, when you look back on what you spent and the things that you learned and what that, you know, equated to, it's. Yeah, I think it's been great.

Well, it was interesting, and thank you. Andrew just hit seven figures, and he just casually mentioned it on a weekly win. It's like, oh, yeah, we hit seven figures. And in the call last week, I probed him about it, and he said, well, when I joined, our goal was to hit 1.5 in five years, and we hit a million in two. And stuff like that just fills me with such joy, because what I think the VBA has become is a community and an insurance policy where we're very selective about who we let in. So there's a really high caliber, and you and I have spoken about this privately. And when someone isn't quite a right fit, we sort of encourage them to either step up or step to another program, which is more appropriate for them. But we've created this. VBA has evolved. It's a mastermind, but it's also a strong community. And really, I think it's become like an insurance policy where we've had in the last year, three people who left previously have come back because it was cold outside. Right. And I think that's what's cool. And it's great to hear your feedback. But also, I love when we get together one to one because we can really noodle down on some of the quarterly challenges. And I'll push you on your numbers. And I think there's been instances where you thought you've been going great in one direction. And now I think my responsibility as a coach is to, yeah, sure, have fun with you guys, but be the guy to go, hold on. Let's. Let's go into this area here that you're kind of brushing over, because I can see something. And I think that I feel like the most important role as a coach is to call out things and ask you to justify decisions. Because as the CEO, nobody asks you to justify your decisions.

Your team.

Don't talk to me about that. How important is that? And is it important that I call you out on things and ask you to go into details that perhaps are uncomfortable?

Yeah, it's an interesting point because we've looked at numbers last year, every quarter, like you said, and.

Sometimes you go, well, this doesn't add up. That doesn't make sense. And.

You push me to either change it or figure something new out. And there's been plenty of times where you call me out and stuff. And then after the meeting, I'm sitting there like, I'm going to show him.

It's fun because.

Early on, there's certain motivators that. That get you to go, okay, you know, I'm going to show them. It's been years now, and they see it and, you know, no one's batting an eye at what we're doing there. And it's like, well, sometimes you forget, other than your motivation, different factors that can push you. And as a business owner, you know, typically there's a lot of. You have a lot of pride in what you do, and, you know, there's a lot of. You think you're right and you're dogmatic about certain things. And for someone to say otherwise, not that they're not good points and that you're learning from them, but there is an element sometimes where I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna make this work, and I'm gonna show Dan that he was wrong. And those are exciting, you know. Yeah, but absolutely, you have to have someone that goes, this is a gut check. Let's. Let's look at what you're doing and make sure that you're well.

Also, you know, I think where. Where we sometimes, you know, come up against a little bit of, you know, I wouldn't say friction, but where. Where there's a bit of push pull is that your desire to grow rapidly is like you want to go 100 miles an hour and be everywhere now. And I guess what I do is I come back with a slightly different perspective, and I go, I've been there and done that 15 years ago. And there's a number of other business owners who are a bit older in the group who've been there and done that, who, like.

We'Ve got to carefully guide where that energy goes. And what I love about that is that it's a very healthy opposition because you're pulling one direction and you're pushing one direction, I'm pulling in another. And I think what happens is, is that it just keeps the guide rails in a safe zone so that we are ensuring that.

You'Re not going to waste energy going down the wrong track. And I think that I love that as well, because it isn't all about, hey, let's have fun. We're great friends. This is awesome. There is some. I'll use the word tension, but tension in a really healthy way is like. It motivates you to go, well, I'm going to show him. But also you sit and you sleep on it and you go, huh? There's actually some value in that. So Maybe I'll take a bit of that and a bit of this. Because our egos can easily go, well, you know, den's in his 50s. He lives by the beach. He slowed down, which is true. But I think what's cool is that I also get excited by what you're doing, because it keeps me on my toes. I'm like, what am I missing here? Where are my blind spots? Cause I'm learning as much from you because of the way you're approaching your business. And I think it's a really healthy partnership. And I think that great business should be a healthy partnership. There's a mutually valuable exchange of value, and we don't tie anyone in. It's like, it's month to month. And so. And we've got, like, members that have been with us three years. And I. And that's my way of changing the industry. Because typically in these mastermind groups, it's like you got to pay all this money up front and you're locked in for a year. And so I think it's exciting that we're able to. To do business differently. And that, to me, is why I'm an entrepreneur, because we get to set the rules. So, Josh, as we. As we wrap things up here.

Tell me what's one thing that you could share with a video production company? Listening or watching this, who is, you know, not quite at the half million a year or wants to grow? What's one thing you would share with them about how to. How to get there?

Yeah, I would say.

It'S really hard sometimes to slow down, to speed up. And, you know, Dan's right. I'm very go, go, go. I need to push because I'm just not a patient person in general. But when I have taken the time and stepped back and slowed down to build again the foundation that is going to be strong enough for me to build on.

We've gone much faster in those areas, and there's just. There's a lot that we can just constantly learn. But I, you know, I'd also say, like.

I wouldn't be able to do what I do as fast as what we've done without having the right people on the team and making sure. Obviously culture fit is good, so everyone's getting along and has a good work ethic, but play off your strengths.

You know, sometimes it's hard to say, I'm not good at this, but you need to kind of self realize, hey, there's people that are smarter than me, there's people that are better than me. Here and, you know, if they. If we can get them on board and on the same vision and where we want the company to go, and.

We'Re going to be much better for it. And we just care about. We care about our clients, but we care about our people. I'm not at no means do any of my guys think, oh, Josh is just sitting on his golden throne and I'm here picking up the scraps. It's like we're growing as a team and we're in a building phase. And, you know, I want everyone to succeed around me. So just don't be selfish, work hard and take the time to do it right.

So I hope you found that useful. Guys, I'm going to be doing an interview every month on this channel and also doing some solo episodes. But I'd love to hear from you. What kind of things are you interested in learning about on this channel? Please drop some comments below. And please do me a favor and subscribe and put the bell on for the notifications and let me know what you think. I'd love to start a conversation with you. See you next week, guys.