https://www.listennotes.com/e/cfe25ce54b5d4a80bebab48296a6d309

Guiding conversations with community leaders.

In this podcast, we'll explore the human journey of leaders, their stories of humility, triumph, roadblocks and lessons learned. Come join us as we journey together and uncover the questions you've always wanted to know. This podcast is brought to you by the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, providing resources, connections and belonging for business professionals and.

Modern an event and meeting venue in the heart of Gilbert and Gilbert Independent YourValley.net dedicated to serving readers with good community journalism, the Gilbert Independent is a non partisan newspaper an online site that covers our towns institutions, development and events. Subscribe and follow YourValley.net daily to stay up to date with latest local news. All right, so today we've got a new guest with us. And who might that be?

We do have a special guest with us today. This guest grew up in upstate New York, but has called Gilbert home for over a decade. After years of corporate roles and sales and a challenging but rewarding journey into entrepreneurship, he took a leap of faith to create neighborhood focused publications that foster community and connection. Today he's the proud owner and operator of three Stroll neighborhood newsletters in Gilbert, connecting local businesses with the Val Vista Lakes and Agritopia and Seville communities. His life's journey, including overcoming a significant health challenge, has led him to live by the mantra gratitude overcomes despair. Above all, he treasures his faith, family and the opportunity to serve his community. He's a longtime chamber member and friend. Please welcome Matt Dallas.

Matt Dallas is in the house. Hey, Matt.

Hey. How are you?

Good to see you. Glad you're here.

We have your favorite part.

We do? Oh, that must be Rapid fire.

Oh boy, here we go.

Would you rather sing in public or dance in public?

Sing in public.

What song?

Paradise by a Dashboard Light with my wife. Okay, that's our gem.

All right.

What is one of your nicknames?

When I was a little kid, my dad called me Maddo.

Maddo?

Maddo.

That could be your Vegas name.

Maybe.

Would your 12 year old self think you are cool?

I hope so. Yeah. I think so.

Have you ever won a contest?

Yes, I win everything.

Would you ever skydive?

Yes, I would. I have not, but I would.

Okay.

What is your favorite breakfast?

So my favorite. This is recent but my favorite breakfast is my two raw eggs and protein shake and little meal replacement. I call it my Rocky shake.

Okay.

Okay. What would be your favorite cheap breakfast?

Favorite cheap breakfast?

Cheat.

Oh, cheap cheater. Oh, I don't know. I like eggs and bacon and sausage and pancakes. Yes, those would be cooked.

Okay.

The drink is the raw Eggs. Okay, got it.

Okay, I'm going to switch this one up. I'm going to say email or text message.

Oh, my gosh. Text message. I don't check my email.

Are you more of an introvert or extrovert?

I am more of an introvert.

Okay.

Do you have a favorite book?

Favorite personal development professional development is Straight Line Leadership.

Okay, and last question. Glass half full or half empty?

I would say probably half empty.

Half empty?

Yeah, I try to be half full, but I would say my wife would probably tell you half empty.

Well, there's honesty in that. I appreciate that.

Yep.

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All right, let's start with upstate New York. Tell us what childhood looked like for you.

Oh, man. So I grew up when I was a little kid in Little Falls, New York, which is probably, I don't know, it's a little bit east of Utica. It's between Utica and Albany. And when I was in, I think, fifth grade, we moved to Central Square, which is north of Syracuse. And I don't know, I. I played baseball in high school and did sports and kind of grew up out some. Somewhat out in the country. Central Squares, they, you know, we were kind of the hicks, you know, compared to, like, the city of Syracuse.

Both teeny, tiny towns.

Super small. Yeah. So Little Falls probably had, I think, around four. There's, like 4,000 people living in Little Falls, and Central Square is like 1800 people, you know, which you didn't realize how small that was until you moved to a place like this. And, like, the neighborhood has more people than that.

Are you an only child?

I have a brother and a. I had a brother and sister at that time. Now I have a brother, sister and two other sisters.

Yep.

Yeah.

All right. So baseball was your thing back then, huh?

Yeah, it was.

Okay. You had a great coach or mentor in that. Maybe not.

Not, you know, not anybody that necessarily, like, stands out. I mean, I had, you know, I was Little League in high school and all that stuff, but. But now, like, I was kind of, like, did my own thing and, you know, I don't know, I didn't have, like, one consistent coach, I guess, the whole time. That really Made a big impact in college. Like I like my college coach. Who you played in college in Philly? Yeah, in Philadelphia.

Where did you go to college?

So I went three different colleges I went to school at. Well, when I went there was called Textile, so it's Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. And that was when I was a freshman and played, played baseball there. We had, we had some really great players and we were D2. But we had some really great guys that went pro and everything. So that was kind of cool. It was a cool experience. But great coach. And then went to school in Tucson for a year at Pima Community College. And then I finished up. I went, ended up going back to New York for two years. Finished up at SUNY Albany.

Okay, so how did you end up moving to Tucson?

That's a little distance.

Tucson was. This is a lot of. This is like pre Internet. So there's things I probably wouldn't have done now because I could look things up on the Internet that I didn't necessarily do before. But I had this idea. My idea was I was going to go to Pima and play baseball and then jump to a higher level school. So my dad lived in Tucson and I thought, you know, from where I was in Philly I might be able to make the Pima team. And that totally didn't work out the way I thought it would. They recruited out of, you know, a certain place and like there was. They had tryouts, but it was more just for show. And I didn't realize all that at the time. So I didn't make the team. I think I probably should have, could have. But yeah, that didn't work out. But it was okay. Spent a year in Tucson and then I'm like, okay, what am I going to do to finish up school and, and end up going back to New York?

And what were you studying?

I was a psychology and business major.

Okay. So I'm curious because I still see that in you today in terms of like just chasing something. Like I've got an idea and I'm going to take the risk and I'm going to do it. Where does that come from?

Oh man, that's a good question. I think so. When I started playing baseball, I was terrible. Okay. Like, like not very good at all.

But you just wanted to play.

I enjoyed playing baseball. Yeah. And when I was a fresh. So somehow I made the freshman team and well, it was a small town. Yeah. So well, oh man, I feel like that was kind of just roll it.

Okay.

So. So I made the Freshman team. Okay. And. And I play. I didn't play very much. I wasn't the best player on team, and I didn't get a hit all season. Okay. So it wasn't a lot of at bats, but, like, all the at bats were not hits, which is bad, right? Going 0 for, like, it was probably 0 for 10 or 12 or something like, that was bad. But by my senior year, I led our team in hitting and, like, was all league and all these. All these things.

Right.

So I think, you know, I think over going through that process kind of forged this. You can overcome things and make a different out, create a different outcome. And I think that kind of played into the entrepreneurship, the Cutco stuff. And it was always, like, up against the odds, trying to make something in. In a challenging scenario, challenging situation.

So is that a space you thrive in?

I think so, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think. I think I do my best when things are the hardest.

Yeah.

Okay, so college, what happens after that? Or do we skip anything in between there?

So when I finished high school, I started selling Cutco cutlery, Cutco knives. And when I was a junior in college, I ran a Cutco. I opened my first Cutco office, and they have a summer program where you go open an office. Right. And I was in Plattsburgh, New York, which is not that far from Montreal, but it's like the farthest northeast part of New York State. And that went pretty well. And then went back for my senior year of college and then opened up another Cutco office in Utica, New York, at the time, and ran that for a while.

What got you into that?

Need a summer job? You know, it's like one of those. Like, that's how a lot. A lot of people start Cutco is they need a summer job. They see an ad, they go in for an interview, and they end up selling knives, you know, and you just.

Kept growing with it.

Yeah, yeah. It was challenging.

You still have Cutco knives in your home?

Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah.

When you think of that time, what are some lessons that you think you learned during that, during those experiences?

I think it's the idea that you can do hard things and that. And I felt, because, I mean, I was very competitive, so I had the whole baseball thing, and I ran cross country and did track and stuff like that. But overcoming the odds, I think was something that attracted me to it. Because what I found out about Cutco is that most people don't make it. So having some success was like, okay, I'm kind of outlasting that person, doing better than that person. And I think that competitiveness kind of drove me.

Yeah.

And then in Cutco at the time, it was the progression, the career progression was to move into a management role. It's kind of changed these days, but yeah, so I moved into this management role and then just continued on with that.

Yeah. Are your siblings that way?

No, they're not. No. I'm a first child, so oldest child or whatever you call it. So I think that probably plays into it a lot.

For sure. Absolutely. So is this. I know there's a health challenge that comes into play. Is this the time in life that that occurs for you as well?

Yeah. So I graduated college in 2001, ran my office and so it was the summertime, so I would go from college. I left college early, didn't. Well, I graduated, but I didn't like go do the graduation ceremony or anything. I was like, I'm starting a business, you know, so. So I started and we over the summer worked really hard. And then in the fall of 2001, I was, I mean I was young and kind of dumb and not probably overconfident. So I found myself in a situation where I was working way too much. And it was cold and rainy in upstate New York in the fall. It's not very nice. And I got sick, but I'm like, I got work to do. I was working like 80, 100 hour weeks. I mean it was crazy. So I'm like, I'm going to self medicate. So I started taking all kinds of pills and potions, over the counter stuff and trying to like get myself well. And I just kept getting worse and worse and. And I ended up going into the hospital cause I'm like, there's something wrong with me. So I go to ER and they, they kind of misdiagnosed what was wrong and they kind of treated something and sent me home like within I don't know, like 15, 20 minutes. And then I think that was like nighttime. And by like six, five, six hours later, morning time, I was really sick and I had to go back in and I had I double pneumonia. So they admit me for the pneumonia. And then like within a day or two, I started having a really bad reaction and I developed this thing called Stevens Johnson syndrome. And within a few days I couldn't see, couldn't talk. I was in the icu. Everybody's like praying for me because they thought I was gonna die. I didn't realize this until afterwards, but you know, like. And when I was a Kid, like the church we went to, like, they prayed for, like all the people are dying, you know, and like afterwards I found out. Oh yeah. That we were all praying for you. Like, for. Yeah. But yeah, I was. I was in ICU for several days and eventually there was a moment where it started to turn and eventually like started to recover. And after about three weeks or so I was out of the hospital, but I was still pretty sick for. I don't know, took like probably two, three months to recover. That was wild.

Do you remember during that time? Like, what, what, what was your headspace? Like, what were you thinking? Truly?

Yeah. So that was probably one of the best things, I think, that happened to me. I was so focused on the business and we had all these goals and my team and everything and that all crumbled. Like I lost all that being in the hospital, but. But wanting to get back to work and wanting to get back to the goals we were working on and all that, I think that really drove me. And I though the thing that I remember the most from that time period was needing to build momentum because there were some things. So you have the nurses and doctors trying to take care of you and. And I had this, and I still have it. I have this notepad where I was right. Writing things down. Like they would ask me questions, couldn't see, couldn't talk, so I would like write answers. And there were some things I had to do to kind of take care of myself and help myself progress. And I needed to do those consistently, like all hours of the night. But if I did them well, then I would start to have some momentum to get better. And I saw this and I was like, okay, you know, I'm building momentum, getting better. And eventually I got myself better enough to where I could go home. Yeah, that's crazy.

Yeah, that's quite the ride.

Yeah, it's a pretty gnarly thing. Like, I don't recommend people look it up. Like the pictures can be real, real bad.

Wow.

Yeah.

Is it a viral thing that you.

Can track autoimmune like reaction. And a lot of people, most commonly it's a reaction to ibuprofen plus some sort of prescription drug. And when I was self medicating and trying to get myself better, I was taking all these different things, including ibuprofen. And ibuprofen tends to have bad reactions to certain things. So like if you look at, especially antibiotics, if you look at antibiotics, most of them have a ibuprofen antibiotic and Stevens Johnson warning on them. Yeah.

Wow.

Yeah.

Amazing. I also think in that you found an important lesson of the difference of building a business dependent on you and building a team that can operate a business.

Yeah, that was a huge lesson. That was really, I think, important lesson for my life because I had an assemblance of a team. But everything relied on me. And it was such a intense business, and it was still very new business. I'd just started it in May, and it was. This is September, or no, I'm sorry, this is November. So from May to November of 2021. And everything relied on me. So me being out for three weeks and then in order to recover, they wanted me out of the cold and the wet and the rain and all that stuff. So I ended up coming to Arizona for a couple months. So, like, being out here, like, everything went away and I had to restart everything from scratch when I went back. Yeah.

Okay. So that's why you. That's why you ended up here then?

No, so I went back to New York.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. My dad was out, was living in Arizona at the time, so it was kind of like a respite from all the upstate New Yorkness. But I still. But I had these. All these unmet goals. Things are undone, unfinished, I guess. And in the Cutco world, there's a big push that happens in January. So you work really hard and you start things in January. But I missed that whole thing, so I had to restart in February, which is not impossible, but it's really difficult. But I went back to New York, restarted everything in February, and we did really well. We set all these records over the summer for that area. But at the end of the day, I just. I realized I shouldn't be there. Like, I needed to leave and find warmer, drier areas. Wasn't good for my health. So that's when I came out here again.

Yeah. And what did it look like then when you get out here? And so you. Because you're walking away from a state and.

Yes.

What you thought might be your career.

Yeah, I. I became. I don't want to say probably transient. Is my. Maybe the best. Like, so I worked at a couple different jobs. I worked here for a while, ended up going back to Cutco, Kind of bounce around. I bounce around different parts of the country for a little while. Like doing a job here, working there, working a family business, kind of doing things. Went from Arizona for a while to New Jersey to Florida, and eventually ended up back in Arizona.

But finding yourself along the way?

I think so, yeah. Yeah.

Do you have during that time in your life, any specific lessons that stand out or people that stand out?

That's a good question. I. I had some interesting family experiences with business and where business and family intersect, and I learned some good lessons and some difficult lessons going through that.

Yeah.

But, yeah, I mean, I think with all this life stuff, I don't. I think it all adds to, you know, who you are and, you know, what you do going forward.

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so then you're here, you're back to Arizona.

Yeah.

Any. What does family look like for you at this time? Have you met your wife yet?

Yeah, so I had met my life. My. My life. I met my wife along the way.

Who is also your life. Yeah, yeah, that's okay.

But, yeah, we had met when I was here and then before I left and. And I was in Florida for a time and we decided that, you know, we were going to really commit to the relationship and she moved to Florida with me and we lived there for about a year or so. Yeah, actually about eight months. We lived in Florida for about eight months and then we decided we were going to move back to Arizona together. So that was interesting. The day. Here's how I remember when that was the day we left. We were driving from Orlando west and when we got into Louisiana, we got off at a rest stop to get gas. And by the time we got gas, they closed the highway because Katrina was coming through and we got caught in evacuation traffic. So it was like that day when Katrina was coming through and we ended up way in northern Louisiana, like trying to find a hotel to stay at. We're on the road for like 22 hours that day or something. So that's how I remember, like when we left.

Yeah, that doesn't float your memory. It's like scarred in there.

Yeah. But, yeah, so that's when we headed back here and then we've been back here ever since.

And when it. When you arrive here, how do you. I mean, eventually you build this amazing career.

Yeah. So, you know, I still kind of bounce around job wise for a little bit, but I ended up in corporate America. I did corporate America stuff for like 10 years. And I decided working for somebody else is not for me because I had done the Cutco thing, worked for myself and then working for somebody else. It just didn't. I. I'm not a very good employee, so I just realized I have to go do my own thing.

That's very insightful.

I was gonna say. I feel I wish we had known each other back then. I could have just told you that.

But that's number two. She's going for a goal here.

No, I'm saying, like, he's so. He pushes the envelope. I mean, you're always beating to the sound of your own drum, and I think that that's what makes great entrepreneurs.

I think so. Yeah. I think certain people need to feel like they can invest in themselves and do their own thing and they feel confident enough to take risks.

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so you shared something with us that I'd love to dig into a little bit. So you said that you used to be consumed with fear of failing in business. You've overcome that. So I'm curious how you've overcome that. But then you also said, I'm still concerned about letting people down.

Yeah.

So I'm curious what all of that looks like for you and what that means to you.

Yeah. So when I started this 10, I started a little over 10 years ago, and it was really, like you said, a leap of faith. It was. I don't know if I can do this, but I know some other people have done it, and I think I can do it. And I went into. I actually went into it pretty overconfident, and I was very quickly humbled. But. But then I realized, like, this is a real thing. Like, I have to make this work. And I had this constant, like, fear of failing and the business not working. And, I mean, most businesses don't work at, you know, after some number of years. Right. So I had this constant fear of that for years and years. But the more I overcame these, like, smaller challenges, the more I felt, you know, I kind of moved away from that. And even up till last year, about a year ago, we had a pretty big challenge in the business. And I just came to a place last year where finally, I think all kind of went away. But. But I think over time, as my faith increased, my fear decreased. And last year, specifically around, like, December time, so it was around this time last year, I just had this point where I feel like my faith pushed out any remaining fear of failing in the business.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I also think it's interesting when we talk to leaders who've overcome challenges, I think sometimes it is the fear that actually drives them.

Yeah.

With their success.

Yeah. I think. Yeah, I think to a degree, like, it can be very useful, but then you got to find something else to drive you, because once that fear is gone, you got to find something else. And. And, you know, for me, I've tried to find some other things, but. Yeah. But I mean, I still don't want to let people down. Right. Like, I have a lot of people that I think rely on me, and, you know, I like that. I like that pressure.

And maybe that's where the motivation is now.

Yeah, it is. Yeah. It's about doing the best we can for the people who we're connected to.

Yeah. I think to some extent that comes from life experience and maturity where you shift that motivation. Right.

Maybe. Yeah. I mean, it sounds good.

Yeah, it sounds good. Yes, it does.

Ben hasn't gotten it yet.

I'm still trying to figure out.

He's working on it.

Yeah. Have you ever been a coach or a teacher of any sort of.

Yeah, Well, I mean, with Cutco, I had, you know, big sales teams and a lot. I mean, that was really coaching, you know, it was. And I've coached, like, sports, my daughter's sports teams. But, you know, from creating results perspective, you take these kids just like, I was. Like, I was 17 when I started. Take these young kids who are 17, 18, 19, 20 years old, and teach them how to. How to sell, how to communicate in a way that produces results, you know, and. Yeah, that was. I enjoy that. Like, I really enjoyed, you know, coaching those teams and, you know, you know, having successful sales teams along the way. Yeah.

If you could go back to talk to the mat who was in those college years or in those Cutco years, what would you say to him?

That's a good question. I can. I want to put a plug in for somebody. Okay, so. So a few years. I can't remember when. It was probably a year or two after college, I had a friend who wrote a book, and the whole book was this exact question.

Okay.

Okay. So. So what he did is he. He asked a bunch of us, you know, that question. And I can't remember the name of the book now, but it was John Voman is who wrote it. Okay, but. But my. My answer. That is, I think, still the answer now that you're capable of more than you think you are.

Because.

Because I. I don't know. Like, I just didn't realize what I was capable of until later. And I would look back at certain times and be like, man, I didn't think we could do that, but we did it, and we probably could have done more. So trying to constantly, you know, remind myself, encourage myself that, yeah, you're probably capable of more than you think you are.

Yeah, I love that.

Yeah, that's great. I like that, too. So when does the newsletter business really start then? Is that.

Yeah, that was 2014. So I, I was between jobs. I left for your previous job, had interviewed and have a start date, ready to start this new corporate job. And I was like, I cannot do this anymore. So I took this big leap of faith. It was like April of 2014, and I called my new employer and told her I can't do it. And she said, well, what are you going to do? And I said, I'm going to start a neighborhood newsletter. And there's like silence. This is a big, like corporate job. Like salary, the whole benefits, the whole thing, big company. She's like, okay, good luck.

All the best.

Yeah. And it was at that point the, the, the boats were burned, the ships were burned, and it was, you know, I think that was Cortez that did that. But, but yeah, it was time to move forward and that was like May of 2014 and just start hustling. And you know, there's a guy who actually has an office in this, like, in this plaza right over here, just a little bit west of here, like, parking lot over. And I'll never forget, he was the first person I met with. And he, before I, before I met with them, I told him what I was going to be doing. He's like, oh yeah, I love it. I'm going to sign up. You'll. I'll be your first advertiser. So I go meet with him and he's like, that's never going to work. He's like, I'm not going to advertise with you. This is a terrible idea. He's like, people have tried this before, it never works. And, but I took that like, that was the first one. I was like, heartbroken. Um, but that was great because it was great motivation to make it work. So every time I drive by his office, I kind of smile a little bit.

Did he ever advertise with you or.

No, No, I never went back to him back. I always want to send him like a bouquet of flowers. You know, like we're on our 10 year anniversary, so I was thinking about like, maybe I send him flowers.

He probably doesn't know that he motivated you.

No, I, I'm thankful though for that. Like, that was, that was great. But yeah, so that's May of 14 and, and the way the business works, you have to meet people in the neighborhood and find people to advertise. And by, by the fall we found enough of both those and we started. January was Our first issue, January 15th. So that makes December the issue. We're actually, we're working on this morning, finishing it, our 120th issue for Velvet Lakes. And now we're moving into year 11.

How do you continue to stay inspired in what you're doing now?

That's a good question. I think it's all the people, like, all the people that, you know, whether it's the advertisers who rely on me or people in the neighborhood who love what we do. You know, we're trying to find more people who love what we do, you know, like, trying to do well for them, I think, is what drives us now. Yeah, yeah. It's not just me, it's my team too, you know, But I think we have. We're aligned in our mission, I think.

And then you move into different neighborhoods, so it evolves, right?

So, yeah, so I started Valves the Lakes, and then in. People started asking me about agritopia. I kind of became aware of agritopia, figured out who lives there and that kind of stuff. And I met some people in the neighborhood and in January of 2017 decided to give it a shot. And by August, we had that one up and running. So then I was doing Velvet Lakes and agritopia. And then about two years ago, there was an opportunity to acquire the Seville publication, and our team acquired that one. So for the last two years, we've been running Seville as well. So we have all three of them. Yeah.

Do you think you'll expand beyond that?

I don't want to say never, but not. Not in the.

You found your sweet spot. For now.

Yeah, for now. We'll say for now, so you never know. I mean, I'm definitely open to it. Given the right team structure, we definitely could. My team. So Holly's like, we should do more, you know, So I don't know, maybe we'll do more, maybe, maybe not. But I'm open to it. It just has to be right. The right opportunity and have the right team in place to do it.

Yeah. Good. That's great.

So what's on the horizon then? What's coming up with this next?

With the publication?

Well, publication, but just you in general, what do you see in the next three, five years or so?

Well, you know, my wife and I, we have some personal goals that we're working on and some things that we're really aligned right now, I think on. On those. Which I think is important. But just do. Just do well for the. For the communities. Just grow what we're doing and. And just continue to evolve. Like there's little things. I mean, business is constantly changing. Right. Especially marketing. You know, like marketing, constantly changing and just staying in front of it and continuing to do a job, continue to innovate, continue to, you know, iterate and test things out and, you know, just continue to get better and grow the business. We, we had a little bit of a milestone last, or I guess this month with Seville is our first 50 page publication, which compared to where I took it over, like, that's a, that's a good milestone to have. But then just continue to push that and grow it. And for me to grow, I think, I think the business only grows as much as I grow. So I have to, I have to outpace the business, my personal, professional growth, if the business is going to keep growing. And you know, that can be hard, balancing everything in life and business and you know, 10 years is a long time. But, but I've, you know, I have like a five year plan for the next five years and, you know, work on that and see where it goes.

I appreciate that. I actually think forecasting too far out is not realistic anymore, I think.

Yeah.

And balancing is actually what life is all about, trying to figure that out and the constant ebb and flow of it.

So, yeah, there's definitely a constant. There's this book called Peaks and Valleys and it's one of my favorite books. It's small. It's like, I think Spencer Johnson, it's one of those like, who moved my cheese Kind of books. And yeah, I mean, it's the peaks and the valleys and navigating those. And yeah, it's, it's quite the journey.

You know, I love it.

Yeah. And it's interesting when you say the business will only grow as much as I'll allow it or as long as I'm not blocking it.

Right.

And that's so true because so many businesses, that's usually how it is. It's the leader that's kind of holding it back often.

Yeah, I mean, I learned a number of years ago, I'm the, I'm the bottleneck and I got to get out of my business's way, out of my team's way and let them thrive, which is hard. Like sometimes I, I loosen the reins too much, sometimes I'm too controlling. And that's a hard balance to find, I think. But I've definitely learned that my business can only grow as much as I grow. And if I'm not growing, the business isn't growing.

There's so much truth to that because I also think watching so many business owners, I don't think anyone will ever care as much as that business owner, even if they have the most fantastic team. But also you have to trust and get out of the way. And finding how to make that work is not easy. No, not easy.

Everybody at the Chamber right now is going, oh my God, she finally gets it.

I'm out of the way. I'm here today for free.

That's awesome. Okay. You got anything else for them?

Well, you've. You've shared a few different book titles with us, so any other books that you come to mind now that you want to share that you can remember?

Yeah, sometimes I forget.

You should write your list with. Right.

I know I have a good. I haven't updated my Goodreads account in the longest time. I think I. What is the book I just listened to? I think it was built to sell. It was kind of an obscure book but I found on audit on Audible and it just talks about, you know, I think, I think, I think this is super important with business. I think you need to have the end in mind. You need to build it as if you're going to sell it, even if you never sell it. But build as if you will. Because to what you mentioned before, the issue that I had in Utica when I was sick is I didn't have a team to run the business. And as I built this business and expanded, the most important thing for me was to build systems and processes. And you kind of alluded to long of a forecaster plan and you know, we both do the EOS like Traction book. That's a great book. The EOS model and talks about, you know, a three year plan and I think looking out into the future, super important. But. But back to, I guess back to the book like Traction is. Is a great book. I'm a huge fan. We did the whole book club at the Chamber of a Straight Line leadership that it's. That's a hard book to find. It's super expensive. If you can find it, there's a PDF of it online. But that is amazing book. I think for anybody in business. I don't know, I'll probably think of other books. Peaks and Valleys is a good one. There's probably a hundred others. The E Myth Revisited is like foundational. I think for any business thing. They should all read that. Yeah.

Well, I say that I don't like to plan too far out. What I mean is you should have a vision for 10 years, but you should be willing to tweak that vision and let it morph as you morph. And I also Think having it in mind is important not just in business, but in life, too. Think about who is it you want to be and who do you want to be surrounded by?

Yeah, I totally agree. I think there's the book who, not how, which I think is really important to realize who you know needs to be not just in your life, but, like, part of your business and that kind of thing. And for me, you know, going back to the whole mission, getting people aligned, it was really a few years ago I came to that point of, do I want to keep doing this? I was five years in, and I'm like, man, do I want to keep doing this? How do I do it, and why am I doing this? And it was all part of that traction EOS process. Yeah. And I came to. My mission, or kind of the vision was to make a positive difference in Gilbert through these neighborhoods that we serve, which sounds great. Everybody wants to make a positive difference. Right. But it's like, how do you actually do that? And the way we do that, I realized. And this is what we've really leaned into, and this was in the fall of 19, so right before 2020. And we leaned into these three things, and it made all the difference in the world, but it was connecting neighbors in the community, introducing local businesses and. And then giving through partnerships with nonprofits, and when we focus on those three things, our business thrives. And. And that all supports the mission of making a positive difference. So that's, you know, at the end of the day, what we're trying to do with this business.

Yeah.

Fantastic.

Yeah, I love it. It's absolutely what you do. Thank you for the way you serve Gilbert, and I appreciate your time today and being able to connect with you.

This is great. I really appreciate it, guys.

Yeah. Thanks for joining us today, and I know everybody out there enjoyed this one as well. So if you would like these in your inbox, Join our tribe and subscribe, and we'll gladly send them your way. And the next one comes out. Thanks for listening. Guiding growth conversations with community leaders.

Ben, let me ask you a question. How do you see other community members being involved in this podcast?

This is going to be a great opportunity for so many people in the community to have a chance to be heard if they want to tell their story or if they just want to be part of this journey with us and help sponsor in a way that helps bring more people to the table with us. So I think there's many opportunities at hand, whether you want to again, be on the show or reach out to us. Let us know what your story is and how you think you could be part of it. We'd love to hear from you. Reach out. Let us know and we'll see if we can make that connection.