C. Suite Unfiltered: Mike Lied, 75 Hard, and Bud Light

Welcome back to the Mike Candies podcast where we discuss the ins and outs of owning a small business. If you're new here, the Mike Andy's podcast is all about taking your business to the next level. Welcome back to C Suite Unfiltered with your hosts Lee park and Mike Candies. We have drama for you today. Mike gets caught in a corporate scandal, kind of. Lee talks about how he's been working to live healthy and what's with the backlash against Bud Light. And also today we have special guest Dustin B. Winner of the March Madness bracket challenge. As always, you can find all this and more over on the C suite and filtered YouTube channel. Let's jump right into it. Here's the show with Lee park and Mike Andes.

Welcome back everyone to another episode of C Suite Unfiltered where I'm sitting across the table from the liar himself, Mike Andes. Mike, would you like to make a public statement at this time? Where are the documents? Reveal the documents.

Oh, man. Yeah, so today I sent an email out and a Facebook and put on social, basically retracting what I did with landscape business course. Back in jumping give this whole story.

I mean, yeah, let's just. I can ask questions as needed.

Okay, yeah, you can probe and yeah, so okay, so summer 2016, wanted to start landscape business course as an online course. I'd been making some videos online and doing some stuff. I probably had like all of a thousand subscribers, but it was mostly caused after my accident. I was like, okay, I've started to change the business. I started to really see improvement. Let me go ahead and document all of this in a course and you know, creating systems in the business. Right. So hired a, a videographer, a crew actually a few people. Very expensive actually by the way. Cause I didn't have a media team and at the time I wasn't like, you know, I didn't have all these businesses and things. So yeah, had them come out for three weeks and then several months of of post production, made a bunch of videos, created landscape business course and so then I really didn't add much to it. In 2018, I little bit of training around pay for performance before we had p4psoftware.com and so but really didn't add a lot to it. And so In January of 2022, last year, a little over a year ago, the media team redesigned the site because I had built it on WordPress myself using a plugin called Course Cats. You can look it up, it's still active today, that plugin and so I built it myself. And on there, One of the FAQs, unbeknownst to me, as until last Saturday.

It said it includes access to all the lectures and future lectures that would come. Okay. And so.

And that FAQ video was recorded in.

It wasn't a video, it was like a text question.

And that was put up on the website when you created it in like what, 2016.

2016, yeah. January 2022 comes around, the media team's like, hey, this site looks like garbage. I'm like, yeah, I know. I made it like way back when I didn't know what I was doing. So they redesigned the whole thing.

2022 goes by later in the summer, like July, August. I'm like, hey, you know what, let's turn into a subscription that will allow me to be able to be forced to make new content for the course members. Cause like it's been stale. Like the videos were now 7 years old. Some of them things, I'm like, hey, I would want to re. Say that again. Like it wasn't like now having 125 locations and like years of experience. I think I could do a better job on certain elements of the marketing side and put parts of the lectures. So like I want to redo them all, which is going to take a couple months, plus I want to add to it on an ongoing basis. Let's turn it into a subscription and then let's let everyone that doesn't want to buy the subscription, they will have lifetime access to everything that is in there now. I'll keep all the templates, all the documents, all the videos, they'll have access to that. But then anyone going forward, they'll be part of the subscription and I'll give anyone that was in the past six months free in the subscription to see if they like it and just, you know, give them more value. And they would get all the revised videos in that six months. So did that. I thought it was great. Whatever. It's been really, really good. Been able to do a lot more content, some more exclusive stuff that is 30, 40, 50 minutes long, that doesn't do well on YouTube and has really, you know, burnt my YouTube channel for years and now I haven't done it the past few months. So you've seen the channel take off? Because I'm not putting that type of content out. So anyways, Saturday I find out that someone screenshot it and said, hey, this is from your site like a couple of years back. And so I determined like based upon that it means that in January 2022, when the guys redesigned the site, it looks way better, but the problem is, oh, we move from course cats to teachable. It's an online platform for courses. Anyways.

That was taken out in January. So in August, September, when we switched everything to the subscription, I never saw that. I never saw that, like, include all future. It just said lifetime access. And so that's what I thought I was giving to everybody. And so turns out everyone before January 2022 potentially could have seen that and they could have seen that it was included future lectures. And I do think even if you strip that away, it's still somewhat. It can be cloudy. When I say lifetime access.

Instead of like, you know, yeah, you get lifetime, you get the core, you get the videos forever. That's what I was thinking. But I can see how totally you would think that in perpetuity, anything I add to this, you're going to have part of. Right. So anyways, just to clean the deck. Gave everyone that had ever signed up until we made it very clear it was a subscription in June, June, July, whatever of 2022. Just gave them all free access. Now I think that was just the right thing to do. And yeah, kind of messed up. So I had to ask for forgiveness. Cause I, I did not remember that, did not see that. We did not purposely do that. And the media team knows, like, they know when we were making this whole transition, like why you're doing it and everything. And they would have held me accountable if they would have remembered. But it was again, it was like eight, nine months before that when they redesigned the site.

Now let me play like Business Devil's advocate. Couldn't you just call it like a rebrand? Like, because it's not really even the same product at that point.

But we didn't rebrand it. We. It's still called Landscape Business Course.

Right.

But if you were to say rebrand it right now. Yeah, like, you run. And I'm not saying that's a money grab. Like I said this Business Devil's advocate.

Yeah. No, what we should have, what we should have done if we were trying to maximize the dollars was we would have redone, like, we would have called it like Landscape Business Course Pro. And then we made a separate thing.

Right.

And so.

I just didn't do that. And so if I would have done that, yes, you're right. It would have made way. People would have disassociated, like, oh, I, I get lifetime access to this. And then. But if I want lifetime access, like the new stuff, I gotta get More, but we just didn't do that. And there's definitely no way I'm going back on that now. So I just figured, hey, let's just. Let's put everyone in.

Do you want to say how many people that it is?

How many people are in the course?

How many people now get that access?

800, some 790 something.

It's not an easy decision.

Yeah, well, it.

I just, I feel, I guess I want people to. Listening to like, feel that it's not like a. Oh, Mike just made another business decision. Like, this is pretty weighted decision.

Not really. I made it about five seconds. I saw the screenshot and I was like, I could immediately know that I made that years and years ago. And it looks like garbage. It looks so bad. But as soon as I saw, I was like, oh, like this is very obvious of what we need to do. What, what. What took me a day to figure out was because I. I was like, okay, well then everyone that up until January, they should get a refund or like they should, they should get in for free. And then I was like, okay, but if I do that immediately, everyone that from there till June of 2022, they're gonna feel jilted. So, like just, just clean it. So, yeah, like it probably if you take $600 times that by two. So that's 1200 bucks. Multiply that by. Let's just call it 350. Like half the people. It's like 350. 400 grand.

Yeah, dude, let's go.

I didn't even do that math before.

That's why I did have some weight to it. Yeah, your decision making process, I mean, you're, you're deliberate and you' efficient with your decision making, but it is a heavily weighted amount of money.

Yeah, but this, this was not a business decision. This was a matter of like, this is your brand. And I, I've genuinely made the mistake. So there was no question, Like, I never even ran the math because, like, it was like, obviously anyone prior to that date could have seen that. And you know, maybe they didn't. It was like the bottom of the page in an faq. But it's not worth the long term brand reputation either. If someone like today, they feel jilted by that and they saw that and they're like, what in the world? Well, who's to say that they now don't become a franchisee and then that's 10 years of franchise fees. Like, if you really trim me down the numbers, right? They don't come to conference because they feel guilty. There's a bunch of. They tell five other people. So in talking about like, brand and like where we're at now and what we want to do, it's like whatever I do now compounds whether it be good or bad. So if I do something stupid with my brand. You see plenty of brands that make stupid decisions. Like if you do something wrong, it can compound with time. So I just immediately. So Saturday I got it Sunday, I wrote out what I wanted to say and then first thing Monday morning, meeting. Like, this is what's going on. I need a picture. This is the text, this is the email. This is how it needs to roll out. And we did it right away because I just. It looks so bad. Like, as much as I'm trying to explain it right now, it's just a dumb move. Like it looks. The optics are pathetic. So I don't want that because that, that I couldn't sleep very well Saturday night. So, like, things like that, I just, like, I have to deal with it right away and get it over with and I can move on. Yeah.

I want this to be very clear. I think you did the right thing. But I just want to play business devil's advocate. I don't know, why didn't you just take the McDonald's method? Be like, yeah, the coffee stays fresh if it's at a hotter temperature and a few people are gonna burn themselves every year and we'll just, we'll just, we'll just pay them off. We'll just pay the legal fees. Yeah, like, you could have just. I'm once again just business devil's advocate. You did the right thing.

But, yeah, but let's call it 350. Let's, let's go down a bit, right? Just because there's always people that like went out of business, whatever. So let's call it 300 grand a year. That's basically what I walked away from.

If I really have the ambition of building like a billion dollar business, you know. 300 grand. Yeah, like, it hurts in the short term. That's a Lambo every year in cash, baby. But like, yeah, it's just not worth it. Whatever keeps me up at night has to be dealt with within 24 to 48 hours. And like I would have done within five minutes if it would have been on a weekday and hired the media team. So, yeah, first thing, we just clean it up.

I think you do the right thing. I don't know. I also think too, from a consumer's perspective, it's. I I wouldn't be that upset. Now, obviously, as an employee of yours, I get all your content for free, so thank you for that. But. But I feel like I wouldn't be that upset because even, like, the fact that I get to work with you and all of your free content has taught me so much. I'd be like, I get it.

Like, you.

You have to make money. Like, you've given me so much free content over the years.

And that's how I would say 99.9% of the people in the court, 99% of the people in the course feel that way. And that's what they held their role. But there's always something in the back of your head. Yeah, right. And so the next time when I say lifetime for. And the reason, like, if someone, like, has a doubt, and I'm sure I don't know if this person. I haven't looked at my phone since I posted all this. So like, if someone does blow it up and they're mad about it, it's like, look. Look at MBA for entrepreneurs, everyone. That when we did switch the subscription, they did all get lifetime. And it's because I knew it was on the site and I gave. And there's more money in land in MBA for entrepreneurs. Cause outside of lawn care and landscaping, I gave all of them lifetime access. Cause it said it on the site. I didn't give it to landscape business course. Cause it had been eight or nine months since the site had been redesigned and it wasn't in there. So. Yeah, anyways.

Yeah, no, I like it. Like I said, I think you did the right thing. I was gonna pull up the comments, but we don't have to see.

Oh, yeah. I don't think they're gonna be that bad if someone's really flying off the handle. I already gave the media team instructions on what to do. But also, it does show me a certain level of, like, okay, like, keep an eye on that person too. Because, like, I. It's a genuine mistake. I asked for forgiveness. I'm gonna refund people if I have to. I'm walking away from a significant amount of money. So.

Yeah, yeah, Just some lawn boy money.

I. I appreciate the apology.

Yeah, Yeah, I think.

I think it was fine. I don't know. But I. Yeah, I do. I guess I just appreciate your honesty and that, like, yeah, it kept you up at night and you felt like you had to do the right thing and you made the right call. And ultimately, a moral call for you is a good and moral call for your brand and your long term growth.

Yeah, but like if you look at from business decision too, like there's plenty of things that go against it. Right. So it makes it good. Right. So for example, there is probably 25 to 30% of the audience that of that 800 that haven't not interacted with me for a few years either because they're out of business. So it's a way to reengage them. So I was like, okay, that's not a bad thing. Get them back in the course, hopefully help them if they've kind of fallen off the bandwagon. And then secondly, it does create goodwill for people to know that I am going to follow up on if I do something, if I say something and if I do make a mistake, which I'm going to, I will correct it regardless of the monetary implications. And that's important as I do like whether it be Augusta and that really being the scale or copilot or any of these things, like if I say something I will do it even if it means a bit of like short term loss financially. So I think it's just important. I think like long term, like you know, it's just so important. Like your brand is so important and I'm not trying to like sell anything. So it just like why, why burn the long term for like a short term dollar?

Yeah, that's fair. We'll check it out. MBA for an entrepreneur's landscape business course.

Check them out.

My candies.com yeah.

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Cool. So I wanted to ask you a question.

Please, I would love.

So we had. This is a. I know it's a touchy topic, you know, so you don't have to say everything or anything.

No, we're unfiltered man.

So we had an Executive meeting without with more than just the executive team. So typically we just have the executive team which is is myself, you, Lee and Liz.

No, Chuck.

What did I say?

You said myself, you, Lee and Liz. I was there twice.

Chuck, Liz, Lee, Mike. There you go, the four of us. That's our executive team. And this time we just determined that at least at this one executive meeting we would have representatives that were outside the executive team, inside the meeting, outside.

Of the C suite, if you will.

So it really became filtered then this week.

Filtered ever.

So what were your thoughts on that?

Pro, con, etc.

Pro, it is great to get more team members to see long term vision, discussion, goals and deeper thinking than a team meeting, right? Big pro like you. It is hard for frontline employees to grasp what the vision of a company is, is going to be long term when they work for someone like you. Just speaking from experience as a frontline employee, sometimes you. I did not understand your decisions when I was in the field and didn't have a relationship with you. I was like, why are we doing that? Why is he saying that? Like why are we not doing this anymore? Like why are we cutting that out? It didn't make sense. But then when you have for me at the time, off sites and now because we have more of a corporate structure and you have, you know, 50 employees at your command center, you have, I mean your corporate, you know, individual locations, probably another what, 30, 40 employees there. So you have almost 100 employees, you know, corporately. And then you have a manager team or an executive team of four. It's the biggest pro is getting other representatives at, in, not in a technical definition at a lower level of the company to catch that vision, to see you explain it, to ask questions, to poke holes and to see what the goal is. So that's the biggest pro. I would say con is sometimes. And it felt like this, that we go a little bit backwards. And I wouldn't say that in a negative way, but it's like rehashing things that have already been hashed out. And I think that's where, you know, I didn't want to seem like I was had any disdain towards anyone, but I realized I was fiddling with my water bottle cap for like a good 30 minutes. Like I was just sitting there in silence, just like spinning my cap. And then I was like, man, that probably looked really rude. Like after the meeting I was like, shoot, that probably looked really rude because people were talking but I was listening. I mean you knew I was. But it felt like we Would rehash things that didn't need to be rehashed or had already been gone over. It comes to a point where it's like, you are the CEO. You make a decision and we roll with it. And like, you could not like it. But when a decision has been made, like, we roll with it until it fails. And when it fails, then we get to say, I was right, you were wrong.

I was wrong.

Yeah. Which I have said once or twice and it's a fantastic feeling. But when you make a decision, I say, okay, great. Like, we're rolling with it.

Which ones were wrong? I know there has been. But like, do you remember? I'm sure you.

I can't remember.

I know we've disagreed and stuff before and you were right. I just forget which one.

I don't relish in that stuff, though. It's more like, it's just fun. It's fun to poke the bear.

Like, usually it's collaborative.

Yeah. I can't remember any, but there was one where, like, you And I were 100% in disagreement and I was 110% right.

I don't. I honestly don't even recall what it was. And I'm sure I made like one funny comment to you and then that was. And then we moved on for so polar opposite.

We end up coming somewhere in between there. Like, for example, the management of the local shop.

Yeah.

You oppose that one diametrically. At the beginning, I was probably wrong. And on some angles and like, in between, there was like a happy medium.

Yeah. That's how we do it. So, yeah, I think the executive meeting, like I said, good to get other people's input. Unfortunate when you backtrack or go to issues that don't need to be rehashed. I think it was good. I think, you know, non jokingly, like, I was probably more filtered than I would have been. And I also unintentionally teed you up to really get you on the side of the employees. So that was good. Just, you know, just being honest. I made a comment that most frontline employees would not agree with, and you took their side and looked like their savior. It was fantastic. So I don't know.

Resentment there, bro.

What?

I'm just joke.

I got no resentment.

Oh, man. Do you want to hash that one out anymore? Are you good?

I'm good with that. I mean, I. I don't know. I could go into more detail, but it does, like, that's where it's like for you and your public content. Like, you don't you know, people like, why don't you share revenue goals? Or, like, your P. Ls from your corporate location? You're like, well, I have real people in those positions, and, like, it's their job. And, like, I'm not going to share numbers and what they make and that kind of stuff. And for me, it's like, I could hash it more, but, like, there were real people at that meeting, and, like, you know, if I had. I don't. I want. If any people from that meeting listen to this. Like, I have no issues or resentment or disdain.

Yeah.

Just, you know, if you want to talk to me, we'll talk about it. I thought it was a good meeting overall.

Yeah.

Good meeting overall.

Yeah.

Not a great restaurant pick. I'm just gonna.

Really. No. You didn't like that?

Dude, There was no meat on the menu.

I don't want to be that guy.

Yeah, it was at 12 o'. Clock.

Yeah. And I had avocado toast. Let's go.

You're on 75 hard. Great segment.

Oh, perfect.

Avocad potato toast. How's that been so far?

I'm done. I'm done.

It's been 75 days.

It's been 75 days and a half months. Yes.

Okay, so I already know your. Your takeaway is that you felt selfish in doing so because of the time constraints. So explain yourself.

Yeah, let's. Let's get some stats first. Your numbers, guys.

Let's go.

Dude, what do you. What's my. Because. Because I did.

How much do you lose? I can guess.

Yeah, you can. You go. Yeah, Guess. Just throw out the number. Official first day, weigh into last day, weigh in.

18 pounds. No.

Higher or lower?

Higher.

Good for you, dude. 27.

Really close.

28 official.

Yeah. Good job, man.

Official first day to last day weigh in.

Good for you.

Yeah. So. Yeah. So 20.

Feel better?

Yeah, we'll get into that. Yes and no. But also workouts. So, like, I hand up to all the people. Liz. That said I could not do 70. 75 hard. You're right. So there you go.

You did 75 soft. Yeah, I.

Well, I did. I did more workouts and drank more water and read more books than 99 of Americans in 75 days. But I failed 75 hard. I did 444 out of the 150 workouts. So two workouts a day.

Okay.

Seven days a week. So I did 144 out of 150. So I did miss six. I will own that. I did all the gallons.

Wait a second. 75 hard. You should only do 150 workouts.

That's what I said. And I did 144.

I think I said four.

Four.

Okay, got it.

Sorry. Yeah, so I did 144 out of 150.

Gotcha.

So I did miss six workouts.

Yeah.

You know, and that's. That's fine. You know, I did all the gallons. I don't think I missed a single gallon. I might have, but either way, pages. I did over 950 pages.

What?

So 200 over. 200 over.

That makes up for the six workouts.

Yeah, that makes up for the six workouts.

What else is there?

I wasn't seeking to a strict diet, but I did keep myself in a consistent deficit, obviously based on the weight loss. Like, I was in a very consistent deficit. I tracked every day in an app. Really? Every single day. I can go back and look at all of them. So I did that well. And then I did. I failed on alcohol because my wife's birthday and my birthday also fell in there. My wife and I did a weekend getaway, and they're like, oh, your. Your hotel includes a wine tasting. And I was like, I'm not gonna.

I'm not.

Not gonna not have a, you know, glass of $70 French wine for free. That'd be a bad economic decision.

Yeah, we want that.

So, yeah, I mean, I had, like, see your priorities. I had a couple of drinks during it, but, like, I'm almost not a drinker. Like, I don't drink a lot at all. So it just is what it is. So good job. Those are the stats.

Good for you.

Thank you. But yeah, in terms of, like, the personal side of it, I think that my biggest takeaway is, and this is not a knock on anyone that's done it or the guys that I did it with and shout out the guys that have done it. I think out of the 12 of us, like, stuck it out.

Really?

Pretty sure I know Dave did. I just checked in with Dave in Nick finish. I'm not sure. I don't know who. All the group chat has gotten pretty silent in the last couple weeks. It was. It was a real loud group chat at the beginning, and it's been real quiet.

Also spring rush, so everyone's busy now.

So I started a little bit before the group, but Dave, as of today, Texas group, He's on day 71, and he's still crushing it. So shout out Dave, the guy who originated it. So I do want to thank Dave publicly for just, like, trying to push us to be better I wouldn't have done it without someone prodding me. So stoked that he did that. And all the guys in the group trying to encourage each other. So thank you to all the guys in the group, if you listen to this. But I think for me, you know, I don't know how you could do 75 hard if you have kids.

Yeah.

No, it makes no sense. Like, no logical sense. I think one of my biggest takeaways is I think it's selfish to live a life where you're unhealthy. But I also think it's selfish to live a life of 75 hard, which it's not. You're not supposed to live a life like that. But literally, I would wait, wake up at 5, 5:30. I'd go do my outside workout. Like, I had to go David. David Goggins style. Savage. I did my outside workouts.

Dude. Some of my jogs, I'm. I'm talking, like, it was because I started in February. Some of my jogs were in, like, the snow and ice sucked. And then I'd come to work, and then I'd leave work and I'd come home, and in the middle there, I'd go the bathroom 30 times gallon of water. And then I'd, like, come home. I'd work out, I'd have dinner, I'd hang out with my wife for five minutes, and then I'd read, and then I'd be so exhausted I had to fall asleep. Like, so it's. It's.

It's.

I would say it's selfish a little bit. That's my personal takeaway.

Don't you think, though, you could cut the weight and therefore be more productive? And then, like, say, instead of doing two a day, it's one a day, five days a week or something like that, and maintain at a lower level, but have higher levels of energy and things like that. Yeah.

So that's my plan moving forward. So, like, I think I was living a pretty. Is it. Is it sedentary? Is that.

Yeah.

Like, I mean, I think that's probably an extreme for me, but I was living a pretty sedentary life. I was like, I'd work, I'd come home, I'd sit on the couch, maybe walk the dog, maybe go play tennis with my wife. Like, very minimal activity. So for me, it was like a kickstart. Like, let's go. I need to get back into shape. Like, I was unhealthy. Hand up. I'll admit that. And I'm happy with where I'm at I think I want to maybe lose a little bit more, but I'm very happy with where I'm at. Like, I don't, I don't like, wake up just sore for no reason. You know, like, when you're unhealthy, you're just like, you just wake up and you're like, sore, right? Like, I'm like, oh, like, I feel good. So I think that's one of the things I have noticed. I don't wouldn't say I have more energy, but I think I'm just exhausted from just finishing it. Whereas I think the energy will come. But I feel like I sleep better. I feel like I wake up and I'm like, ready to attack the day. My dieting habits are better. Like, recently, like, my wife and I just did a big dinner. She was like, let's do like a big baked ziti, like a huge baked Italian dish. And I was like, let's do it. And I had a lot. And then the next day, I didn't eat till like four because I was like, listening to my body. Like, oh, I don't need more food just because it's lunchtime. Like, I am stuffed from last night. So a lot of positive changes. I'm excited. So now I'm gonna try to do workouts three, four times a week and have more energy and more time to do things.

Good man. Let's go.

So, yeah, thanks for checking in.

It's good to, I feel, have times, even if it's a month or two, where you prove to yourself that you don't have a dependency on whether it be food, and I know people do with alcohol or working out. Like, oh, I can do that. Like, I can check that off. Like, I am not a lazy, lazy bones. Like, I can go out and work hard. And it's even partly why I'm going in June. Like, it's like, look, I. I have been in the office for a few years, but, like, I can go out and do this.

This.

It's halfway. Half of it is proving it to yourself that, like, you're not washed up or, like, you haven't developed bad habits. So good for you, man.

Thank you. I feel like I. I also got more respect too, for, like, the guys in the field. When I was doing those outside workouts, I was like, yeah, I did forget how miserable it is sometimes. Like, you get the office job and you're like, oh, yeah, it did suck because, like, I do a 45 minute workout outside. I remember when I used to work eight hours in the rain. So it's like out of respect for all the guys out there. So we are going to bring Dustin on right now. We did record this with him, but we're doing a little live pod interview with Dust. Got some topics for you.

The winner of the challenge, he won.

The March Madness bracket challenge. Maybe we'll do more challenges in the future to get people on. But he, his goal is to cancel Mike and I. So we'll listen to that. All right, cool. Right on. Well, I wanted to welcome on Dustin Beerink who won our March Madness bracket challenge. Now we're in April, but, you know, we're halfway through April, but what's up.

Dustin, who do you think was gonna win?

I think I had Alabama winning it, but Yukon and I think I had Alabama UConn playing each other.

Got it.

Got lucky with the points.

Now, do you actually follow basketball or is this like completely luck?

Yeah. So this is the first year I haven't watched like any basketball at all. I'm a huge Michigan fan, so I love Michigan. I, I like Duke when Coach K was there. So I kind of bounced back and forth between those two. But yeah, I, I watched nothing until March Madness, which is very.

So yeah, you're a Michigan fan from Illinois, but did you go to like a major college or.

No, I went to Davenport in Grand Rapids. So like in Michigan, but just always, my dad was always a big Michigan fan and the whole family was so just kind of followed suit and luckily they're kind of back on the right track now in football and basketball. But it's taken them a couple years. It was, it was hard growing up to be a Michigan fan there for a while.

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Okay, so what's this controversial things that you wanted to talk about today on the C suite Unfiltered.

Yeah, so I was gonna.

It never Starts off good when you do this. Yeah, I got a cease and desist today because of what I said on, on the podcast.

No shot.

Yeah, dude.

Crazy. No. So I'm gonna talk about Bud Light and their recent marketing endeavors and kind of where that's gotten them. And I'm more interested, I'm sure, like, everybody kind of understands what's going on with like the transgender being the head of. Not the head of the marketing, but like the focal point in ads. I'm interested in kind of your opinion of like when a business does that, what is the not optimal way to get out of that, but like backtracking because now they've lost. I think it's 5 billion just in that, like, since that's happened. So, like, what, what do you feel is like the correct way for the CEO or the head of advertising to kind of like backtrack? Or do you just keep continuing on with the decision you made and roll with that?

This is actually really good timing because I don't know if you saw the email, but like today I had to apologize for landscape business course. Right. So I would take that approach if I was them and that just like, hey, we were wrong. We thought we were going one direction and we're sorry. What they do by the reason they won't do that is because they would make the 1% of people that thought it was great. They would make them so mad. And they're. They're the very loud minority. And also what's interesting is a lot of their, the equity firms behind that have billions and billions of dollars invested in them. They're the ones that are pushing these agendas and requiring the big brands and the Fortune 500s that they're investing in to have these type of optics. So they're saying, hey, you must use X, Y and Z. Amount of racially and sexually diversification inside of your board, all of these things. So. So, you know, these companies are somewhat hand tied. What I would do in recognizing that they completely alienated their customer base would probably just be to apologize. They will not do that. It will not happen that way. That the, the woman that is in charge of that marketing campaign and said that she wants to like, make it more inclusive. She has a job for life. They will not be able to fire her because if they fire her, people would just be freaking out and like a sales perspective, it'd be good for them. But the reason they won't take action on this is because they've intertwined social injustices with business. And I think that's a bad move.

So, yeah, I think there's two. There's two elements of, like, anecdotal evidence. Right. And this is why I think some people are very cautious about saying, let's ban TikTok, because I can get content from Joe Schmo across the world, and it's, like, real, honest content. And there was a. I have seen multiple TikToks and Instagram posts of, like. Like, Walmart aisles or Kroger Mile aisles in the store, and it's, like, full of Bud Light and Budweiser, and there's no Miller Light and no Coors Light. So I know it's anecdotal, but also perfect timing. I went to a bachelor party over the weekend, and there was not a single Bud Light in sight.

Really?

Not a single Bud Light or. Or a Budweiser. It was all Coors Light.

So we're going through, like, I think, like, with all social things, like, whether it be social reform, it in any way. Like, you have these swings in the pendulum, right? Like. Like, I think 2019, 2020, 2021 was very much, like, very progressive, liberal. Like, you need to push these agendas, right? And I think that works really well in, like, a boom economy. But when everyone starts tightening their belt, it comes down to, like, what pays the bills. And so.

Like, when you look at even, like, Blockbuster movies that have done really well over the past couple years, it's a lot of the ones that haven't been pushing these agendas and haven't been. You know, Disney now has to kind of, like, retrack their steps of everything they've been pushing. And so I think now, like, the. The general population, like, hey, we went way too far over here. And we went, there's something in the middle here that we're trying to go for. And, like, I don't know that that's why. Back to our discussion last week, I think a moderate president that has, like, someone across the aisle would actually do half decent because people are like, we want something in the middle. Not so left or so right. But, yeah, in general, it's like, why businesses just should not deal with anything, like, politically, socially, racially, sexually. Like, it's not our job to do that. And so that's why Lee has me on this podcast to make sure I get canceled businesses. But, yeah, that's. It's kind of a. It's a cool topic, though.

I found one of the guys I listened to, I can't remember which one it was this morning, but they were talking about, like, why is the head of marketing deciding what, like, the approach to the marketing campaign, like, why is that even her decision? And they're saying like. Or his response was like, that's just how it's starting to become. Like, when if the business's vision isn't, like, super brought forth, or like, someone in the marketing campaign, like, feels some type of way that they don't have a spot to go in, they'll just make a decision out of the blue. And, like, now it's affecting the business. So just thought it was pretty interesting, kind of that approach to it. But now I can kind of see too, where you're saying the big donors are like. The people that you don't see behind closed doors are like, hey, we need to push this. For sure. They completely miss their target market. But hey, it's.

Now, if I was the CEO, and let's assume that the marketing department did their thing and I didn't know about it because that is a possibility in that size of an organization.

The CEO came out and said that.

Really? Oh, I haven't seen that.

Yeah, I think. I don't know that he stepped down, but in. His response was like, I did not. I was unaware that that was coming out. Which is.

But it doesn't matter because you still have to apologize and you still take accountability. In my opinion, like, if I was the CEO, I would fire her. Not based upon anything to do with the campaign, but, like, the results of your tenure here has not been good. Right. And of course that's going to be spun really, really negatively. And that's why they won't do that. But that's what I would personally do. Like, if something happened, I didn't know about it, and then it blows up in the face of the business. Like, it's your fiduciary responsibility as a CEO to fire. Cut that out. You know, distance yourself as fast as possible. And I would, if I was trying to be politically correct instead of going way against what was said. I just. Like, we're firing this individual because of performance. And then I would let my customer base read into the fact as much as they want.

Yeah, I. I agree with that. I think it's. It's interesting, too. And I know this is a bit like, this is corporate America, right? But we're starting to see more pushback when these agendas, whether they're left or right, are being put in front of us. So, like, a recent story, too, like hockey, the NHL has done, like, Pride Night jerseys, right? Like, rainbow logos and stuff. And like, some of the designs are honestly really cool. But recently, a couple guys, I think, for, like, the Florida Panthers, one of them was like, no, like, I'm a Russian Orthodox, and, like, one, like, gay marriage is still illegal in Russia, and I'm a Russian national citizen, so I don't want to be, like, ridiculed by my own country or. Or be, like, in trouble in my own country because Russia kind of does what they want. And two, he's like, I'm a Russian Orthodox, and that's my faith, and therefore, I don't support this. I'm not gonna wear the jersey. And then, of course, everyone's like, he's a bigot. He's this, he's that. And it's like, these individual issues are now becoming, like, corporate issues. And it's, like, really showing the divide in America, unfortunately.

But what really moves the needle is the dollars and cents, baby. That's when people start caring. And so that's why, you know, ultimately a lot of stuff always goes by the way. The dodo bird is because, like, whether it be in Disney and movies or in. You try to make this into, like. Like, a thing with food and drinks. Like, look, people do not have anything to do with it. And when they stop making their buying decisions, and it's not like a. We're going to, like. What's the word? We stop to tell everyone not to buy something.

Boycott. It's not like everyone's boycotting necessarily, and it's just a matter of, like, look, I just. It just makes you sick. Like, I don't identify myself with that. And that's what brand is. And that's, like, the power of something. Like, Bud Light is their brand.

Brand.

Budweiser, Coca Cola, Coke, Pepsi. That is what. That is. What their foundation of billions of dollars worth of value is, is their brand, not the. The drink. It's not anything better than the other alternatives. And so when you have everything built on brand, if something damages that, you must, like, get all hands on deck and, like, fix that problem. And so it'll be really interesting to see what they do. But it. You know, at the end of the day, Anheuser Busch is so massive, I think they'll take the L on Bud Light just to be able to save face with the. The loud minority.

Any other thoughts on that, Dustin?

No, that's. I was just interested in how you backtrack out of that because it was a pretty big crash and burn.

So give me the Midwest take. How's it over there? Have you seen any Sales drops. Have you walked through any aisles? Like what have you noticed?

No.

Justin, tell us how frequently you go down the beer aisle and how you're tracking the sales of the different brands.

Sense. Yeah, I'm not personally tracking them. I don't. I'm not a big bud light drinker anyway, so that was kind of not my. I'm a big bush guy though. So that was kind of unfortunate that the same. The parent company took a hit. But yeah, no, it's kind of the butt of the joke now. You know.

It'S. We'll leave it at that. I don't want to get canceled.

So.

Yeah, yeah. But like, honestly, if you go a 1/4 and all of a sudden they see 30, 40 decline in sales and their competition sees the opposite in the other direction, everything changes. And it will be. This one will probably be like, it'll be on the DL. No one. They won't sit, come out and say anything. But yeah, there'll be things happening behind the scenes. Sure.

100. So, all right, what else you got for us? You're gonna.

Yeah.

You want to keep pushing.

So Jewel, which is like the vaping thing, they just had a 462 million dollar settlement. Six states in the District of Columbia are the. The guys that are getting the money. And the reason for that is for aggressively marketing to young people. Is this something you feel like the government should be getting involved in or should they just let it be? And some other stats just kind of to add to it. They're. They've had $1 billion worth of settlements now and it's been across 46 states since the beginning of the company. The company's now valued at 250 million. I don't know that I believe that. That's just what I heard or read today. And that's down from 12.8 billion in 2018. So, yeah, just kind of interested in seeing if the government should be getting involved in how they're marketing to young people. Because the way like I look at the marketing, like we're marketing in my business for, you know, older. Older demographic, like 55, 75, retired. Obviously we're not trying to get older people to vape, but we're like very focused on them. So what's to tell, you know, what's to say the government can't step in on my business and say, hey, you cannot be marketing only to these neighborhoods or pinpoint your marketing to those people?

I know. I'm just glad I don't have this job that actually making the laws because it's so, like, gray. Because I'm in general, like, hands off. Don't touch. Like, let. Let the free market do its thing. Like, you know, if it's going to kill people, then they're all going to die, and then everyone who's not vaping will be fine. Right. So, like, I, I'm a big fan of just like, letting the free market do its thing, but, you know, it also, you know, kids don't know. But then it's like, well, what about the parents? Like, where are the parents involved here? And what about educating them about these decisions instead of just allowing, you know, juul to do their marketing and their education process?

So.

Yeah, but like, where do you draw the line of like, oh, this company's marketing to children. Right? And so, Dustin, while you were talking, I was like, well, and I'll put this up on the screen, but like, I looked up an old cigarette ad, right? Because that was like one of the first things that, like, the federal government was like, we gotta regulate this. It literally says, vicarois filtered the smoke as your dentist would recommend.

Right?

And it's like a dentist telling you what filtered cigarette to smoke. Like, it'll help your gums. It's like, like, okay, well, that, like, that's obviously lying. We know that now. But at what point do we draw a line? Well, it's too targeted towards kids, right? And that's like Joe Cool the Camel, right? And he was like a cartoon camel that, like, appealed to kids. And didn't he get outlawed or banned? I don't know.

Right.

So I, I don't want the government to say, like, nope, you can't do this, you can't do that. I'm with Mike on that. Like, I'd rather him be hands off personally. Like, where do you draw the line and who draws that line?

Yeah, I feel that same way. And I think what was interesting, like, when I was reading through some of the stuff, they're initially, it's like they're. The ads are two pointed to young people. But then like, also embedded in the article is while they were saying that it's healthier than a cigarette. Okay, well, which one is it, though? Like, is it. Is it because you're marketing and saying it's better than cigarette and it isn't, or is it because the people that you're targeting that your marketing is doing a fantastic job with is winning young people, you know, and who.

And who's the government to say what's healthy and what's not? Right? Like, for Example, what's to prevent Mr. Beast, with all his controversies now around what's his name? Chris.

Chris. Chris Tyson.

Gender. And then like, their. Their chocolate bar is called Deez Nuts, and they're making jokes about these nuts.

Like, phenomenal chocolate bar, by the way. I had to get one. They are phenomenal.

It's okay. It's better than her Hershey's.

Yeah.

So, like, who, who determines what is healthy and what's not? Right. And so, you know, if the government is able to now dictate what goes in our mouth, what we see and everything else about our lives, like, well, then where are we at in terms of democracy?

Yeah. Here's one of the things that I thought was the stupidest about Jules and flavored vapes is they were like, oh, it's gonna cause a rise in teen smoking. I'm like, yeah, no, duh. It's called watermelon cotton candy. Like, of course it's gonna increase teen smoking. They're like, well, you know, cigarettes. Like, we're so scared about teens getting cigarettes. And then like, you flavored jewel pods, it's like, of course, a 16 year old.

So I'm like, super uneducated in this department. Some of them have nicotine and some others don't. Right?

Yeah. I mean, you can get some that are just vapor.

Right.

And there's no nicotine.

And so what's the point of that? Just like social, I guess.

I don't know.

I. I feel good.

Make it feel good, I guess, look cool. I don't know. But then they do have some that have nicotine. And then some of the regulation, if you go really down the rabbit hole, is about, like, the way that they infuse the nicotine with the vapor. And I, I don't know how it all works. I don't know. The technology.

The bottom line is, like, it's. It's an addictive substance. Right?

Right.

But, like, so is coffee and like all these other energy drinks and everything else that we. Like. Sugar is addictive. So, like, when are we gonna start regulating that?

Well, New York is.

Well, we won't do it until Coca Cola and Hershey's and all these massive corporations stop bobbing.

Yeah, yeah.

Interesting. I. I fully agree with you that the government should just get out of it.

It's not to even say that I agree with that, that it should be happening, but I just in general think the government to stay out of it. The only thing they should have a say in is the fact that they provide free education. They should be creating a program around educating the kids potentially about the downsides of having a nicotine or an addictive substance that's on them. Like, it's a free education. Do what you want. And if I don't want my kids to be in there, I'll go give them a private education. But I think the fact is, like, it's. Yeah, just let them go.

Yeah. And I think, honestly, like, I have experience with people that have tried to quit smoking. Like, I have. I have friends that used to smoke off and on, and they were like, no, like, vaping helped me quit smoking. And now I only vape occasionally. Like, but they would be, you know, a pack a week type person, you know, a couple cigarettes a day. And now they're like, no, I just vape occasionally when I feel like I need that. And I'm like, well, that has to be healthier, right? Like, that has to be a good, like, life decision. So I don't know.

Yeah, well, a little bit of money, too.

Yeah.

Buy them little cartridge.

I don't know.

I don't do that.

But just like, you just, like you don't know how many Bud Lights are being sold.

You're in your market research, bro.

All right, well, we better let you go. We gotta finish this. This episode of C Suite Unfiltered podcast.

Absolutely. Thanks, guys.

Thanks for.

Watching.

This has been the Mike Andy podcast. Now you have some ideas on how to take your business to the next level. And if you like what you heard, we have tons of lectures, interviews, and more over on the Mike Andy's YouTube channel. That'll be right up your alley. But that's all we have for you today. We'll see you next time.