Reflecting on Past Mistakes and Journey Ahead - Episode 040

What's up?

Not much, man.

Welcome back. Another episode of C Suite. Unfiltered, sir. Feel like we haven't introduced ourselves in a while.

Yes.

I'm Lee Park.

Oh, you're right. We don't really. Dude, I need to come close to the camera because you're looking way bigger than I am.

Oh, sorry. I'm also substantially bigger than you are, so.

I know. But for the sake of optics, you know. Yeah, fair enough. One thing.

We can.

We. I can look halfway decent on camera because you can adjust these things.

I'm Lee Park.

Yes, you are.

Mike Andes. Thank you. CEO of Augusta Lawn Care. Yeah. And it's your birthday. Happy birthday.

Thank you.

It is also Kevin Fairburn's birthday.

Yep.

Happy birthday, Kevin Fairburn. And probably someone else out there. Yeah. So happy birthday.

I challenge people to find a person born 9-13-13 that is a pretty nice person.

Yeah. Yeah.

Kevin's pretty awesome.

So great guy. Had a coaching call with him yesterday. Awesome guy. Yeah. So happy birthday to you and others. Now egg on my face. 28 or 29?

28. 28.

Okay. See, it always throws me off because I know we're a year. We're like, that year and a half apart, so there's part of the year where we're close together, and then we're two years. So I'm 29, so.

Yeah. Do you have. You know how people say, like, the reason they called Forever 21 is because, like, that's always the age people kind of on from 18, 17, 18, 19. They always want to become older. And then after 21, they say, typically people want to become younger. What was the age for you that you thought you peaked?

Oh, I mean, I still like to think, like, you know, I'm still going.

Up legitimately, like, just thinking that way. What's the number for you?

Yeah, it's really, like, probably, like, 24, 25. Well, maybe 26. I feel like only. It was only a few years ago, I think a couple of years of college, couple of years of adulthood, and then a couple of years at Augusta has really kind of framed who I am as a person. So I'd say, yeah, like 24 to 26. Somewhere in that zone when I was, like, kind of in the field or managing at Augusta, had got a college degree, felt like I was figuring out life as an adult. Those were some good years. Yeah. Yeah.

That's cool, man.

That's when I got married.

So, you know, I. I definitely think, like, my next 10 years are gonna be my best years of my life.

Nice.

Like, I really look cool. I think 28 to 38 is like a super cool time. Like, health wise, I'll be fine still.

You know, because after 40, things happen that somewhat out of your control. Like, you just, like, ache and everything.

Totally.

Which I'll obviously do my best against that, but, like, I'll be super healthy still. And I feel like every year goes by just I'm learning a lot and every year is getting better in my life. Like, it's. It's a very privileged place to be. And I appreciate that and I'm thankful. Um, but like, when I look back, it's always like, man, things are going so slow. And I look the past year, like, okay, like a year ago, we didn't have copilot. I hadn't started working on the AI stuff with Max. I didn't have my boat license. Like, all this stuff. Right. And so I'm really looking forward to the future. And yeah, in the macro, everything looks very good.

Good. I feel like I have never made this connection before. So you won't get the reference. You're not a big TV guy. But for those of us who, you know, have spouses and want to watch sitcoms together, you remind me a lot of a character called Chris Traeger from Parks and Rec. Ultra positive. And he's like, in his 40s. And there's an episode where he goes to the doctor and like, he has, like, some sort of, like, what's a cartilage buildup? What's that called? Like, arthritis. Arthritis, yeah. He's like, getting, like, arthritis. And he's like, my body is killing me. Like, because he's like. He runs like 50 miles a day. Like, he's the stereotypical, like, always nice, like, always healthy character. And then he gets something that he can't control, and he's like, I'm dying.

You can fix.

Well, it's something like that, but he's basically like, I'm dying. So you remind me of Chris Trager. Like, you're just going to keep going up, and then one day you're going to have something in here. You're like, I'm dead. I'm dead. It's all over. Like, no, not really.

So.

Well, I did want to ask. So the 28. Now that. Now that I know the number 28. So you officially launched Augusta when you were 18 years old, so.

So we're going in our 10th year.

We're going into your 10th year. Yeah. That's what I wanted to talk about. This marks entering the 10th year of Augusta. Had a question is what would you have told yourself 10 years ago if you had the chance? 18 year old, you. You go back in time, you get to sit down.

I remember my 18th birthday really, really well. It was one of the only birthdays that like, they, like, they kind of a big thing for me. Yeah. And it was. I was finishing my. My college degree as well, so I was kind of like, quote unquote, graduating with my class. That was in high school. I was finishing my four year degree. And a week after my birthday is when I left to Africa. So at my birthday, they kind of. They just gave money towards my trip. And so I remember really clearly. And like, that's 10 years ago from today is like when we had the birthday. And so 10 years ago, I hadn't even gone to Africa yet. And so, like, it's. What it does for me is like, when I look at that, okay, the past year, 10 years, I switched from, like, purely academics, like, very much business side. And then, like, I didn't have the experience 10 years ago of what I went through with Africa. And, like, that's completely changed. Like, I think about every day, like, it's very much in my head. And so I might actually do something at a conference kind of commemorating the cool and show a couple pictures of, like, some of the kids that I had relationships with over there and stuff. So. Because I, like, that really molded my life.

Yeah.

Yeah. And so. Yeah. And then we just passed. Where was it? Sixteen. So the eight years since I got stuck underneath the dump truck. Yeah. So, yeah. Just interesting times, dude. So I don't know where I was going with that. But, yeah, 10 years ago. Hadn't gone to Africa, hadn't started Augusta yet because I got back from the trip and started Augusta. Right. So.

So the. So just reflecting on all of it, that's where I want to ask, like, you get in a time machine, you go back, you talk to yourself pre or post Africa, you pick. What would you do? What would you tell yourself? Like, what's the conversation you have?

Well, when I got back. When I got back from Africa is when I decide, like, over the next three or four months after that is when I decided I wasn't going to the medical field.

Yeah.

So what would I tell myself in the moment? I'd probably just have to tell myself, like, hey, you're gonna question yourself for the next, like, five years.

Yeah.

And. But it'll be okay.

Yeah.

And so. Cause, like, yeah, like, the first five years of Augusta, we were growing quickly but like, I didn't have anything to really show for it. I was still living at home. Um, and even until like a year ago, I was living in the closet. So like, there wasn't much to show for it. And so you're always looking, even though I'm not super materialistic, you're looking for evidence that you made right decisions in life. And so it's difficult when you're like, okay, so now I would have been graduating from medical school. Okay, now I would be, I would have been graduating from my fellowship. Now I would have been able to do surgery. And you're comparing yourself against what you could have been and that's like unhealthy place to be. Yeah, because I was on that track like so hardcore for, in my life for so long. Like that's all I did was like read textbooks. Like I didn't have an email. I went to college. So like I was not in a tv and like all you guys know I'm not into that stuff. Like it was, it was school and it wasn't pushed on me for my family, but it was like that was what I was doing.

Yeah.

And so like when I got out of that and jumped off that train, I was still comparing myself to that train. Like, okay, I would be finishing med school. Okay, Now I'd be doing this, I'd probably be moving back home now. And like, how much would I be earning then versus now? And, and so as I've always talked about the franchisees, like, success, especially in business, is not linear. And so, you know, it's only been probably in the past couple of years where I could say like confidently that like from a financial perspective and success perspective and life fulfillment perspective, like, that was the right decision. Yeah, I have no questions about that now. But I can't say that five years ago when it was like we really were grinding. I was trying to figure out systems and like stripping down the business and, and just trying to get me out of like working 80 hours a day in the field.

Do you feel like there was a tipping point at the five year mark? Like we've been talking a lot about like 10 year swings, but you said I would go back and tell myself that the next five years you're going to doubt yourself a lot. So was there something that switched at the five year mark or just an interesting line that you drew there?

I think it became clear that like that it was going to become successful.

That's because I joined in year four. Liz joined in year three. I joined in year Four. And then you're like, oh, okay, kidding, kidding, kidding.

I don't know. I think it was just like a part of. It was like I was so deep right now. I had a million dollar business now. I had, I'd started making videos. I had like all of 5,000 subscribers, which at the time was huge to me. And so I felt like there was a clear path to success versus when I got off the medical train. Like I did lawn care because there was nothing else I knew how to do. Right. And it wasn't like this is what my mission in life is going to be. And so I think five years in, it became very clear to me, like where the problems are in the industry, the problems technology I thought I potentially one day could solve. It became clear that I wanted to franchise in order to reach those goals. And so like five years ago is when I shared with the team what my thought was. And I was like, we're going to franchise. This is how we're going to change the industry. And, you know, technology. To me at the time I had done more tech. I was closer to tech five years ago than I am now. In terms of.

Five years ago, I hadn't started any more tech stuff, but I was pretty close to my, what I was doing in college when I was actually developing. And so sharing all that five years ago was very much okay. Now I have a direction and I know kind of where I'm going. And you know, the last five past five years had necessarily been easy trying to get that direction, but at least I had a direction. Whereas the first five years is like, I'm not doing medical school.

The only thing I knew how to.

Do is lawn care. So I'll just do that. Right?

And so, yeah, that makes sense. I actually, it was, it was funny. I had a Snapchat memory. So like sometimes you can say snaps. And I had a Snapchat memory from six years ago, two days ago or three days ago. And it was, it marked my first day at Augusta too. So like my anniversary is right around September 10th. So it was the memory, because the Snapchat picture was of a work party with my previous co workers. Like it was an end of season work party.

Yeah.

And actually this is really funny. I distinctly remember having a conversation with one of my former coworkers. They're like, how's your new job? And I was like, you know, and I was a park ranger at the time, so I was working at the park. I was kind of a maintenance guy fixing things. Sometimes I would mow this, that or the other. And I just think, remember I said if we worked half as hard as I work at this new company, we would have an immaculate park. I distinctly remember that conversation. And, and it's kind of like nostalgia and I guess it's kind of like a grounding statement for me, kind of you talking about, like, your process through the years. And for me it's like, that's kind of a ground state. Like, that's how we do it at Augusta is like if, if anyone worked half as hard as us, like, they could achieve cool things. And that's like a mentality I like to have. And obviously that statement was about how I worked in the field. And the first day I worked in the field was hauling cobble rock all day with a former military member as well who was on the team. So, yeah, I think it's cool to look back at like, the history. And I wanted to ask because. Because obviously, you know, birthdays is kind of like, I feel like time of reflection. Looking back, looking forward. Do you feel like that in the last 10 years there was something like what I just shared that like, kind of grounded you through those 10 years? Like, there was certain books, phrases, like mantras. Was there anything that kind of kept you going through those 10 years?

Not really. Like, the trip to Africa is the thing that anchored me, like, I think the rest of my life. So, like, I don't talk about it a lot because there was some stuff that happened. They were like, pretty hard for me to talk about. So, um, but it was like, it kind of just puts in retrospect everything that happens, like on a daily basis, like stresses and stuff like that. And even though, like, I definitely get, like, react to the stresses and I'm trying to work on that.

It always, I can always go back to like, okay, like, remember what was happening there and compare it to your life. And like, you have, you don't. It doesn't matter what's happening with AI and your, your PHP software and your database in aws. Like, your life is just great, not just good, it's fantastic. And there's nothing to complain about. And so it grounds me in a lot of those things, but it also pushes me to.

Build bigger and better. Like, the reason for getting more for me now is like, it's pretty clear. Even in the past few weeks I've been just clarifying, like, why do I keep growing? And like, what's the point of building a billion dollar business? And it's becoming clear as to why that is. And so I'm looking forward to it.

Dude. Yeah. Yeah. There is a related side to pull up my phone because I was recently talking about this quote with. With my wife, and it's from Anthony Bourdain. I don't know if you know who that is.

He's the FBI dude.

No, he used to be a traveling chef. Like, a famous chef. He had a show called no Reservations.

But didn't the book? Doesn't have a book. Yeah, the yellow one.

Was he, like, an FBI? I don't know. I don't know. I'm not, like, a huge fan of his.

Okay.

But. But I have a couple friends that are, like, really big fans of his, and he has this famous quote, and it's kind of interesting because you're saying, like, Africa put things into perspective. It really shaped how you. The rest of your life. That's what you just said. He's this quote. He said, if I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move as far as you can, as much as you can, across the ocean or simply across the river, walk in someone else's shoes, or at least eat their food. Because he's a chef. Right. And my wife and I were talking about it. We were like, that's just, like, such a cool philosophy to live life by. And we've both traveled a lot. We've both been blessed to have, you know, opportunities to travel. She was a missionary kid for a while. She lived in El Salvador. And it is cool when you have those experience that kind of ground you, right, and give you a new perspective in life. And I feel like more people need to do that. And I'm not saying, like, do some crazy existential trip to Africa, but, like, go travel to a different state. Like, work for someone else for a day. Like, learn from someone else. Go get out of the country if you're in the U.S. like, one of the biggest pieces of advice is, like, get out of the U.S. i think you've said that before, too. So do you feel like that is something like cultural experiences are what ground people or your specific experiences what ground you because of what you saw and dealt with? Cause yours was obviously different, right?

Yeah, like, probably a little bit of both. Because, like, part of it was, like, in the clinics, and then part of it was in the orphanages. So from a cultural perspective, it was probably like, you know, being in the orphanages and then, like, being robbed a couple times also kind of does something to you, too. So I think every high schooler should go overseas, and it's not Just Africa. Like, I. One place I haven't gone is China. I think that's a good framework, too. And I would now be really interested in is, like, the mentality around government and the mentality around economics from their perspective. Right. Like, it's. I just don't. I just don't think you can do it without getting there. And so. Yeah. And it just gives you way better frames in life to work with when you have. Have perspectives outside of an American one outside of your family was one after. Outside of your towns, one outside of your industry's one.

Yeah.

And these are all frames, I think, like, if broken, you can get better perspective on. On life in general.

Yeah. I think one of the benefits, too. It's not drastically different, but we live close to the Canadian border, so, like, there are different cultural norms. There are differences. So, like, I think you and I both kind of. I knew you moved around a lot, but once your family settled up here, like, you kind of got that, like, you had friends and family from across the border, you understood that culture. You traveled up there and. And your mom's from Australia. Australia. Okay. I was. I always forget if it's Australia or New Zealand, so super help.

I think. I just think, like, during your teens, I. I did a lot of it, so it's not like I regret not doing it, but I think everyone should travel a lot to other countries.

Yeah.

And Europe is obviously great from a tourist perspective, but, like, when I went there, like, I learned a lot of, like, okay, these are things that, like, culturally, I. I like, these are things, like, I would never want to live here because X, Y, and Z. Like, I feel like there's always this depression. Like, I don't like certain type of things. And so even when I, like, when Covid came up in 20. 20. 2020, and I started feeling that same way in the U.S. it's like, okay, that's what I felt back in Europe when we were doing these things, and this is what happened. And so I was like, okay, like, that's. That's not the kind of government I'm a huge fan of.

Yeah.

And so. Yeah. And then it just. It just kind of molds even the way, like, I run the businesses and stuff like that. Like, obviously, we talked a lot with the franchisees recently, but, like, my philosophy on leadership kind of stems from a lot of that sort of thing and, like, the way that someone feels as a follower underneath leadership, whether it be government, business, family, et cetera. And, like, there's. There's pros and Cons to every single way of leadership. But like those are somewhat molded by these different scenarios you put yourself in where you are a follower and then you feel, hey, how does this feel? Do I feel like I need to run? Do I feel like I need to hide? Do I feel like I need to lie? Do I feel like I need to do anything outside of what is quote unquote right because of the way I'm being led? And so whether it be governments, like traveling is super helpful, I think.

Yeah, no, I have to agree with that. Jumping back to kind of if you went back to Talk to your 18 year old self is an interesting thought exercise. If you, if you had the choice, you could go back 10 years and tell your 18 year old self everything you've done and accomplished and all the mistakes and all the successes. Or would you rather go forward 10 years, see where you're at in 10 years, learn all of that information and then come back to the present?

Oh dude, the ladder. Not even close.

Yeah, because, because, because of scale.

No, because if you knew that you were going to be successful in life, like if it was 100% guaranteed, the game becomes boring. So if you would have told me 10 years ago when I was, you know, just coming back, say from Africa that like, okay, this is the right decision for you to join, to do lawn care. I know like this you're scared and whatever.

But like don't go under dump trucks.

Tell other, tell other people to get lost. Like you're going to be super successful and like you're going to, you're all these great things are going to happen. It would not have been as awesome. Like the journey would not have been cool. So like, if anyone, everyone's like, well, I want this certain goal. It's like, do you want the goal or do you want.

The struggle of retaining the goal? Because if I could guarantee you that you'd be become a billionaire, like there's no doubt in my mind, in 20 years, or let's say 10 years, this is happening. Well then like I know what's happening. So like I would just sit back, I wouldn't push myself, I wouldn't become better, I wouldn't strive to become the best I possibly can be. The people around me would suffer for that. The team members that I lead would suffer for that. And so the struggle and the strife of obtaining a goal is far greater than the goal itself. And so I've only recently come more and more in love with that and okay with that. And like realizing when I'm like, feeling horrible. Like, this is. This is what. This is what it's all about.

Yeah.

Because if I had guaranteed success, I wouldn't feel this way. I just, like, doesn't matter. In 10 years, I'll be a billionaire, whatever.

Yeah.

Right. So I think it's just a very cool experience to be in the journey, and I think that's robbed as soon as you know the destination.

But you just said, like, you would want to jump forward.

But see, if I jump forward. And I just got everything I knew. So if I could take everything from 10 years and I knew.

Oh, you just want the knowledge.

I just want the knowledge.

You don't want the game plan. You don't want that. Don't make this decision. Don't make that decision.

That's the only thing I lack. Gotcha.

Okay.

Between me and obtaining my goals, whether it be helping other people or making more money or building the businesses or whatever, is simply my knowledge and my ability to change and grow. And so that's just become more and more evident as time has gone on. And. And so if I could just take that and pull it to now, the journey would just get accelerated and make it that much more thrilling.

Yeah, that's fair.

So.

And you could hopefully have more impact. Positive impact.

Yeah. Like. Yeah. The whole reason making more money is, like, it just compounds how much you can do.

Yeah. So I think in 10 years, you're. You're gonna be a Porsche guy.

Porsche.

Yeah. I just. You just look like a Porsche guy to me.

I don't know if I want nice cars, dude. I really don't think I do.

Yeah. That's one thing that hasn't been, like. You've never really talked about it. What. What's.

I do like nice cars. I know you like, I know all the cars.

Yeah. What's your nice thing? Like, 10 years, Mike Andes, you got some money. You've helped a lot of people. You've given a lot back. Do something for yourself. What do you do?

Things. The thing. I would never buy a boat, but if there was a boat club that was above mine, like, I would be considering it because I could date my family for, like, a weekend right now. Like, I can sleep by myself for a weekend. Like, these are smaller boats, right?

Yeah.

So that would look interesting. Obviously, we live around a ton of islands, too.

Yeah.

A lot of people, like, when they think about Bonnie, a lake, or they think about, like, the open ocean of Florida, we have, like, within an hour's drive.

Sale.

Sale. Within an hour. You can dock at like 30 different islands.

Yeah.

And it's awesome. And so I think that. And I've already used the boat a ton for like getting ready for conference, starting to write up my book and.

Like I think you took the co pilot team out.

No, that's coming this Friday. That's this Friday?

I thought you took a picture.

That was on the weekend. Yeah, but yeah. Oh, sorry, sorry. I mean Media team is this Friday.

Media team. Nice.

Media team are going out and we're like, we're doing, we're working. It's going to be on the boat a few hours.

Yeah.

Like, hey, you know what? This is great.

Yeah, that's cool.

You know, I'll get the management team out there eventually and stuff like that. So.

Yeah, you extended the invite. It just didn't work with my plan. So I got another boat to be on that weekend. So apologies. Yeah, a larger boat, different boat club. Cool. Yeah. No, I just kind of wanted to look back at your life and you know, 10 year swings. Like this is, this is a 10 year swing of adulthood, if you will. So. Yeah. Any other final thoughts on that? Any major takeaways at 28 years old?

No, dude, I'm just looking forward to it.

Yeah.

Every year now I'm like, it just like I really wish I had more. Like I always talk about higher lows and lower highs but like I am speaking to myself in the mirror like every single day and week. Like I am the epitome of what I don't want to tell other people not to do. And I was like high highs and like this is awesome. And then like low lows. And so I think I am getting better and better at being introspective. I'm hopefully getting better at taking some of those things out. And the high highs are great and the low lows are pretty gnarly. And so when I get a lot of low lows, like it's definitely hard. And the hardest thing for me is when people question my intentions because. And I understand why people, I think people should especially when it comes to like people talk about stuff online, people that have money, they should be questioned. Like it's a, it's a check of power, I think. But it's very hurtful, honestly. Like when you have intentions that are very cure and then people come out left think about. And so that's been really hard for me recently and I'll figure it out. And I have ways of like justifying like they don't have all the information I have. They haven't done you know, seen everything, all angles that I have. And so that's the part I'm probably the most susceptible to, is when my intentions that are good are taken wrong. And I didn't even think about that, like, as a potential outcome or a potential, like, thought process. So I need to become better at, like, being more confident in, like, my intentions were pure. Whether or not someone sees those as good or bad is on them. It's just like, hopefully the track record of that decision over time wins them back and they trust more that, like, I am looking out for people's best intentions, typically. And so, yeah, it just. I get hurt too much by that. And so it's something I need to work on.

Yeah, that's fair.

All right, so thank you for the birthday wishes. Now I'm going to pivot back on you. New.

New.

New subject. Yeah, we've mentioned it before, and partly why we've had. We've talked about having this podcast, and that is that a lot of people thinking about joining Augusta, they kind of use a way to know, Filter things out, because I don't talk a lot about Augusta on the main channel. And also they have to talk to you before they get anywhere when it comes to joining. So I wanted to go over.

Yeah.

What keeps someone from joining in terms of, like, when you have a call with them and you're like, what are the red flags? Yeah, I know. Obviously, the first, like, 40 or 50 location.

I think 45, 48.

Not that we're counting. Not that I'm counting first locations. I did all the vetting and sales and getting them set up. And now from 48 to 136 or whatever, you've done them all. And so I wanted to go over. I know you've systematized it a lot more from when I did it. For me, it was like, is this a nice person? And, like, I would just talk to them enough to know whether or not to be a good fit. Now it has to have more procedures and systems in place. And then as my public figure kind of, I, you know, people know me more. They come on the call with you. It's gonna be a little bit different as well as it attracts way more different type of people sometimes. So I wanted to go over, what are the red flags? You can see.

Yeah, yeah.

And then a couple other things from there. So take the floor.

Yeah. Red flags. Can I put that aside?

Okay.

Start about how I. How I start the call.

Okay.

Now, I've never asked you this.

You.

You. When. When you started Letting me do franchise sales, onboarding, initial calls, whatever we want to call them. You, you gave me some recordings. You're like, hey, watch these, Learn, let me know if you have any questions. I was like, pretty straightforward. Like, I know most of the information, but it's more the mannerisms, how you talk to them, what you want me to say. And I start the call by making sure it's not a sales pitch. And right away sometimes that either makes people a little bit more nervous because they're like, oh, like this is a conversation, like I'm gonna have to talk. Or it relaxes people. Now that's not, neither of those are a red flag. If you get a little bit more nervous, that's fine. You just were expecting me to do most of the talking. I'm not at the beginning of a call typically. And that's an approach I've chosen to take. And I think it for the latter people, it helps bring down the walls. It makes them feel more comfortable that, okay, this isn't, this guy isn't just going to pitch me. The whole time we're on this call, we're going to talk and have a conversation. So that's how I start the call. And usually based on how people react, like if they just want to get straight to numbers, if they, you know, don't want to get to know me or me get to know them, that's like a yellow flag, not a red flag. I want to see like, hey, can you have a conversation with me? You know, we're both taking time out of our day. I want to treat you with respect, just as a person, also professionally and the people that want to jump straight to business, not a horrible thing. But this is a 10 year relationship that's going to involve our emotions, our families, whatever it may be. And so I need to know, like, you're willing to be open about that stuff before we jump straight into the numbers. So that's kind of how I start the calls. Red flags jump straight into that. What do you, what do you think? My. Well, I will say is the biggest red flag.

The biggest red flag in my opinion would be if they come across as like a hardcore fan instead of a business person.

Yeah, that, that's, I would probably agree. That's probably like 1A and then there's a 1B. Like I would, I would, let me guess, 1B. Okay.

Yeah, I know that one. And I knew I would look out for.

Yeah. People that are, that are fans, they're great. But this is, once again, it's a 10 year commitment. It's a business relationship. You don't just get to hang out with Mike Andy, which would be horrible.

So let me see.

Second thing.

It's not. It's not a trick. Think, like, maybe if they think.

They think they're gonna grow, like, they only talk about growth very quickly. No, no. Okay.

It's a small thing, but I think it matters. I'll give you a hint. Like, management style.

Oh, if you just like, if you think they're gonna be. Oh, and like, no open book stuff. No. What?

It's if they speak negatively about their current employees.

Yeah, I remember that.

If you get on a call with me and you hop in and you're like, and this employee does this and this one doesn't listen to me, and it's like, all right, well, I'm gonna hold up a mirror and let's. You can look at yourself because you. It is your business. Don't blame your employees. So if someone comes on a call. Yeah, those are the first two red flags. 1A, 1B, however you want to categorize them. Are you just a fan of Mike Andy's? You want to hang out with Mike, you want to hang out with Augustine's, like, cool, come to the conference, say hi to us. You know, support the channel. Like, thanks for booking a call. This is a business relationship.

And to clarify, like, to. It's okay to talk about. Talk about negative things that happen with employees. Yes. But it's like, what's the contact position of the owner during that? Like, did they get in a massive, like, argument and push somebody? It was it like an ugly firing? Do they talk ill will of someone who did just leave? For example? Like, I always look for when people leave. Do people talk negatively about them? Like, especially when there was no context why they left? It's like, look, they just moved on. And maybe they did have things against you, but, like, that doesn't mean you should just, like, say negative things about them.

Yeah. So, yeah, it's not necessarily sharing negative experiences. Especially if, let's say you have a struggling business and you want to join Augusta, and you're like, hey, the Systems at Augusta P4P, the software, whatever is going to help change the culture, help my employees, help me be a better manager. That's fine. But it's like you said, it's the disposition. It's name calling. It's blaming the employees for everything. Like, that is not. That's not that mentality. That attitude just isn't going to work in Augusta. I had Someone call their employee a dimwit. And I was like that, like, I'm sorry, but like, what are you going to call me as your coach? What are you going to call Mike if you don't like a decision he makes for the franchise? If you're openly calling someone a dimwit on a call, like, that's a little aggressive there.

Did I ever send you the video? The guy that was smoking pot on.

His call.

You told me about it. I had a guy.

I so wish I would have saved the video. Oh, man, I did two calls, two calls with this guy. And it wasn't because, like the second one I was trying. He was desperately wanting to get in. So he booked another intro call. Because that front intro call is open on the site, so you can just kind of book another one. Whereas, like, we, we send them a link to a different call if we, if there's opportunity and they think we think they're a good fit. But he kept booking the intro call, so eventually had to block him on calendar. This email or this phone number shows up. Do not let him book. But it was two calls and yeah, he was like, literally just blowing smoke into the camera.

I was like, oh, my word, dude.

Like pot?

Yeah, yeah.

Cigarette, either. So I was like, oh, man.

Yeah, yeah. I don't have anything against that particularly, but yeah, it's a business call. Right. Assume that, like, we are having a business discussion. This isn't just a casual hangout. I had a guy, it had to be close to like a world record. Five full cigarettes in a 45 minute call. I was like, this guy is putting up some numbers and like, you know, it doesn't like, hey, if you smoke, that's your thing. Like, whatever. But I was like, five on one call, one 45 minute call. But.

But he has electric mower, so he's making up for it.

So, yeah, like general professionalism kind of getting back to red flags. Like, treat it like a business call. You know, I'm gonna be on time, I'm gonna have my camera on. I understand if, like you're out in the field or you know, you're having a busy day. Like, most of the guys we're talking to are business owners. So yeah, if you're in the truck, totally fine. I get it. Most of my calls are with guys in their truck or out on a job site. But like, you book the call, sit down, put your camera on and like talk to me. I don't. You don't have to look all clean and nice or put on, like, a nice shirt. Like, if you're out in the field, just your work shirts, fine. But the general professionalism of, okay, have a shirt. Yeah. Well, I've had some calls without. Without shirts, and I'm like, okay, I don't know. I'm going to turn off the recording. I feel uncomfortable recording this.

So just general professionalism. Right. And that's one thing you and I talk about and we hold in high regard at Augusta, is, hey, if you're going to take someone's time like that, as a man of respect, like, be on time and utilize that time effectively, don't book a slot on account on someone's call or someone's calendar. Excuse me. And then not show up for 20 minutes or just no show. If someone no shows, that's like an automatic. Like, I always send an email. I always give someone 5 to 10 minutes to show up. I'm like, get it? You're a business owner. I shoot an email that says, hey, not sure if you, you know, but we have our call right now. Haven't seen you. Join the Zoom Room. Let me know if you want to reschedule based on their response to that email. I'll let them reschedule. Or not. If they don't respond and I see their email again, like, they're just not going to get another call. If they respond and they're apologetic or something came up, totally fine. Here's the link. Reschedule. So those are a few of the red flags.

They're the same people that will eventually cancel coaching calls last minute. They won't show up to training on time. They won't come to conference.

Yeah, they'll ghost us in general. Right. If you're ghosting someone on a first impression, like, what's to say over the next 10 years, you're going to show up on time all the time, communicate.

It's like, if the first date goes bad, it's not getting any better. Once you put the ring on the finger, buddy.

Oh, yeah? Yeah. And that's what I tell people, too. I say, hey, this call is just. Just as much you getting to know me and Augusta as I'm getting to know you.

Yeah.

And I ask them, you know, like, their personal life, spouse, kids, what do they like to do with their free time, you know, And I try to break the ice and like, hey, I know it's a video call. I just want to try to get to know you as best as I can. You know, tell me about. You have spouse, you have kids. Like, that's cool. Some people, you know, that are very open want to share their life story. I think that's cool. It just shows vulnerability up front. Not saying I need to hear your life story, but it's like, okay, like you're telling me, like, what brought you here, what your motivations are. Like, you got kids, you want to provide for them. That's awesome. Like, those sort of things or the people that are a little bit more short or a little more rash, it's like, look like it's just a conversation. Like, I'm not. I'm not prying. I'm not with the FBI. Like, I'm not with the atf. Like, chill out.

What's the atf?

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Okay.

I don't know.

Anytime Fitness.

No. Oh, yeah. Nice. ATF's catching a lot of smoke recently. Oh, really? Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think one of the things I would look for when I was doing them was like, really good questions or they had done a ton of homework. Yes. Right.

Yep. Yeah. When people have questions, I mean, you. You send out videos to folks. If I think they're a good fit, you'll send out a personalized video to them and you'll notice typically I'll put in there, like, great questions or was very prepared or would be a good fit. And those are the people that, yeah, critically think, ask good questions. Don't jump straight into the numbers. Questions like, yeah, you need to know what the fees are. But, you know, how is Augusta gonna Support me in five years? Where do you guys see the business in 10 years? Like, what brought Mike to X decision? Right. Those questions are great. They're thought provoking for me, and it gives the person interviewing, like, more information, more behind the scenes.

Yeah. And I think there's been two times I can remember where in the first five minutes they wanted to join and I was okay with it. And it was in part cause like, they had done all their homework, they had come to multiple conferences, they had talked to other franchisees, and it was just a matter of, like, I'm ready to join. Like, I've crossed all these bridges, I don't have any questions, and I'm ready to join.

Yeah.

And then it's just a matter of like, validating, like their homework. But a lot of times, like, that's a reason why we somewhat have conference is for. For people to come and like, get validation, talk to other franchisees and get more comfortable with the idea and learn a lot of things that otherwise have to go in the calls. Like, I feel like, my first, you know, the first 20 or 30 locations, I was answering such basic questions that now, like, we have FAQs on the video. And, like, if they don't watch those, it's also another red flag if you're asking about the monthly fees. It's like, look, it's literally a video, and we have multiple explanations with graphs and charts and expectations and all the rest of it. So if they've done their homework, it's a big, you know, big thing for me. Cause I know that they're gonna do the same thing on a coaching call. They're gonna come with their numbers. When they come to training, they're have good questions. When they come for conference, they're gonna, like, have certain people they wanna talk to and network, and they're gonna create WhatsApp groups with the local people in their area. Like, that's the type of people that we're looking for. So Kevin Cohen and Jason Evangelista are the ones that within the first five are like, I'm joining and what do you need from me? I'm just like, well, like, let's ask a few other questions. But they were. They had done their homework.

Yeah.

Other people that say that and then you do a little digging and they don't know how things work. They haven't talked to other franchisees and things like that.

Yeah, yeah. I'm trying to think if I have any like that, that right away from the. From the get. They wanted to join. Logan Albers did, but he wanted to.

Talk to you right around the.

Cause it was right when we switched, right when I started taking the call.

I think I had talked to him in place first. The first I had talked to him.

Yeah.

Six months before.

He was like, I want to talk to Mike. I was like, all right, fine.

And this is weird. Like, there's this weird. Yeah. I remember, like, right at the beginning, there was a.

There's a balance between someone being decisive because, like, we do value that. But then also someone that has, like, weighed everything out, they understand every single aspect of it. And I think the people that, for example, that take eight months between calls, there's definitely a question mark around it. It's like, hey, look, I've reached out to you. Did you have any questions? And then. Or they say they're going to join, and then it's like, okay, great, here are the steps. You have to assign this, you have to pay this, blah, blah. And then you don't hear from them for eight months.

Yeah.

Are those the type of people that are going to do the same thing. They come for training, they get set up, and then all of a sudden, we don't hear from them for a long time. And those are usually the ones that don't do well, and they struggle to get past 200,000.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think once we get to the point of you saying you want to join, I send over. Command center sends over the invoice. The. That means, like, you want to join us, and we want you to join. Like, if you get to the point where you've been sent an invoice, that means I have vetted you, other franchisees have vetted you. Because if you're listening to this and you want to join Augusta, just know when I tell you to reach out to franchisees, they reach back out to me and let me know if they think you'd be a good fit or not. Right. They will go, hey, how to call with this person? They'd be a solid fit. How to call with this person. Some yellow flags. They had some interesting things that they said about that they're currently doing in their business. Might want to verify. Right. So if we get to the point where you've received an invoice from us, like, we want you to join. We want. You are in. We want you as a part of the team. And if you don't respond to that, then it's like, that's ultimately your choice, and that's fine.

And I know there's at least one I can remember of where we basically, we thought the person was a go, but then the other franchisee did not think so. And so we basically told the person joining, like, hey, you got to talk to this other person, like, the franchisee enough to where they're comfortable. And, like, they think you're a good fit because we think you are, but they see something different, and we. I don't know if they've joined or not. I don't want to.

I don't know. Yeah.

But the. But like, we basically made it look until that franchisee thinks that you're ready, then you're not doing it.

Yeah.

And mostly we do that when they're close to each other.

Yeah. I also kind of, you know, pull back the curtain, if you will, is when a franchisee tells me, like, he'd be great, like, I really want him to join. Then I'm like, great, now I have to sell. Now I have to put my salesman hat on because really, I try to not make it. So, like, yes, I work in franchise sales, like, at the End of the day, that is part of my job. But it's, to me, it's not a sales process. It's making them feel comfortable. It's making sure their business would be a good fit for Augusta. It's making sure that their lifestyle, their family would benefit from joining Augusta. So it's not until a franchisee says, like, this person's great, like, get them in, then I, like, put on the salesman hat and really try to close people.

Yeah. Because, like, as long as the franchisee is staying inside their territory, having other territories around them, assuming that they're not, they're not planning to do their own down the road is super beneficial because you got other people now spending marketing dollars around your market and there's going to be trickle over. There's going to be people that, you know, work in that market, but they live in your market. So we've always seen, like, there's a lot of positive things for other franchises to be around you. Assuming that you're not wanting that territory down the road, and that's where we always be careful. Is like, okay, are they saying they don't really think they should join because, like, they're next door and they want that territory in a couple of years, or is it a legitimate concern that we need to address? Right. Yeah.

The last thing I'll say too, if you want brownie points, if you're trying to join Augusta, you want brownie points, offer free labor to a franchisee near you. All right? And that's what I say on the calls is I say, hey, if there's a franchisee within driving distance of you, I can't guarantee anything, but reach out to them, say, hey, can I come check out your setup? Can I come check out your shop? Whatever. Give them free labor, but give them free labor. That's almost a shoe in if you're willing to show up for a day, work hard for free. Like, in all the franchise owners that have had someone show up, they usually, like, buy that person lunch or, like, sit down with them and, like, have dinner, whatever. Thinking of one in particular who's coming to training in November. Shout out. Bramwell. He went and did free labor at Connor's location for a day. And then I think Connor took him out for lunch or dinner and I was like, what? Brownie points, dude. Like, he just went and worked hard.

It's a lot of times the franchisees, a lot of times will give to potential franchisees just to get them answer questions and all the rest of it. So, like, great. Ask all the questions you want, but please hop in the truck with them and give them something. Because, like, there are definitely ones that are willing to help, and they are very giving. But it's like an hour, two hours on the phone can be a lot of time. So hop in the truck, work with them, and ask all the questions you want. And that gives us a lot of confidence that they're not gonna be a taker all the time. And that's an important value with Augusta. Look, we're in this together. We're helping each other. And the way that we have the franchise fee set up is like, just cause you're big doesn't mean you pay more. So therefore, you. You are expected to help and contribute to other people that are coming up underneath you. And then people that are moving to a market, they're gonna also contribute to you.

Right.

The truck goes down, you're gonna let them have it. Those are the type of people that we wanna work with.

Yeah. The one thing I specifically say is when I'm going through kind of the closing spiel of the call is, I'm gonna send you a list of franchisees, shoot them an email. The reason I want you to do that is we want to see you take a step into the community and show that you are trying to be a part of this team and they. That you're trying to learn from others. You need to reach out to them. I say it's a required process, is reaching out and having a conversation with an existing franchisee so they know that that's. That's the rule. So. Good stuff. Yeah.

Cool. Did you. Anything else you want to talk about? We go into non financial.

Where are we at on top?

18 +22.

Did you want to talk about minutes? Do you want to talk about.

I forget what it was.

$100 million leads.

Oh, yeah, sure.

We keep it brief.

Cool.

All right. We haven't brought up his name in a while, actually. I feel like the first, like 10 podcasts, I was really drinking the Kool Aid. Is Alex Hormozy. So he is. About a month ago, I think at this point, he released his new book, $100 million leads. Hand up. I have not read it. I've been a little off the Mozi train. Still love him. Awesome resource. Watch a lot of the content. Just taking a step back, if you will. So you have read it. What is your initial reaction to $100 million leads?

Yeah, a lot of it. This one, because his first book was. He wasn't known. He had like 15,000 subscribers or whatever. So this book is definitely more polished and refined and there's huge amounts of value. I had dug enough on Alex to actually know most of what he's talking about. Cool. If you had consumed all of his content and gone really, really deep, you got probably 80% of what is in this new book. You'd have to listen to everything. Right. And so I had really done that over the past, prior to this year and so like 2022, and that's when then he started writing the book especially. So yeah, I think it's really, really good. I think that the part that I have a desire to do is like make some of that more applicable for the service based businesses where labor is a bigger component and your gross margins are lower. And so that's the only thing I, I would warn, warn people about is like he deals with info businesses typically. Right. And licensing models which, where your gross margins are higher and then your fixed costs are higher. Whereas in service based businesses our fixed costs are very low. Typically you have rent and insurance. You don't have like big fancy facilities or rent and space, et cetera. But then your variable costs are very high. And so that does change the dynamics of how you do advertising. And so I might talk a little bit about at conference and not really I won't bring up his name, but it's just I want to bring a balance because 90% of people reading that book come from the info space, content space, selling courses, and that's what they invest in. Majority of their stuff into is sales, marketing, advertising, more white collar. And so when you take things to blue collar where the vast majority of your revenue is gained through labor revenue, your, your fixed costs go way down, but your variable costs go through the roof. And that changes the dynamic of like giving things away for free. How you do a referral program, how you do affiliates. There's a slight difference and I would just say that it's all very good. It just needs to be somewhat taken through that filter and. But it's a good book. I like it.

Yeah. Any major takeaways that you're gonna apply to the writing style of your book?

Yeah, 100%.

Not that you're gonna like steal or plagiarize of course. Of course. But like style Alex did that was.

Interesting with the book is he basically took everything in his book and then he did it for his book launch and he just, he, he wanted to prove what was in the book through his book launch.

That's cool.

So again like book launch is just different than doing a webinar and a live launch like he did is just different than selling mowing services. Right. That's the differentiation I want to make for business owners versus influencers. It is different, but when I look at the way he launched a book, that's where I'm taking notes. And so definitely, like, I've already started, like, testing my titles with my audience on my.

I saw that. I saw that sweaty business people did not like sweaty business.

Hey, you got to throw it out there. Still sticks, dude. So. And then, like, even when I do my next book, it'll come out with courses that are free.

Cool.

And then, like, I'll do a live launch and, like, specific things for them. Obviously, I'm nowhere in terms of magnitude to what Alex is doing, but I want to create a piece of content that is a book that is, like, I feel wraps up everything I've learned in the past 10 years. And I feel like I've taken stabs, like, pay for performance book I share a little bit in. What was the other book I wrote? I don't even remember.

Like, a fable. Zero turn.

Oh, zero turn. Yeah.

Of me getting started, like, struggling. Yeah, whatever. But, like, I want to write more of a nonfiction, well edited, really well thought out, and include a lot of my, like, my doodles and my drawings. And so I think it'll be really good. And then I think I can make a really solid course. Give that away for free. And then, you know, I just want to document the past 10 years.

Yeah.

This is what I learned in the first 10 years. And I made. I wrote every word of it, and I did all the work. Whereas in the past, I've used other people, because more technical writing, or it's more creative writing. Whereas this is, like, nonfiction. This is, like, what I've learned. And, like, here's the frameworks that I've always, you know, used.

Yeah. That was one of the funny moments for me was when I was reading P4P. I was like, wait, I wrote this. I was like, wait, I wrote these paragraphs.

Well, I just kind of compile.

Yeah.

A whole bunch of different people. People and their perspectives. And, like, it was more technical in the fact, like, we needed math and we had charts.

Oh, yeah.

Explaining P4P. Whereas now it's like, I want to, like, go into my remarkable. And, like, look at all the doodles I've ever made and, like, really start to bring those to light.

And yours is going to be more on concepts.

Yeah. Much more framework.

Yeah.

Very similar to how Alex thinks, like, that's why I like Alex is cause like him and I think in frameworks and like everything should go through a framework kind of thing. And so I have them that I've drawn up before and I've shared a few of them at conference and things like that. But I want to like, kind of dig deeper into them. I'll make them where like any home industry can kind of use them. Home service industry. And I just, I just think it's good enough for a book and I want to do my own and like something that I'm proud of.

What's the timeline like on this guy?

So I've now got myself the person I'm going to work with for the book. With the book. On the book.

Cool.

And oddly enough, as the same same person Alex uses. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it'll be. It'll be a much longer process than I anticipated, but it'll be well thought out. It'll be polished when it comes out. Like, I'll be excited.

Yeah.

It will not be like. Like, for example, the book that got published on August 4, 2016, was the day I got underneath the dump truck and got hurt. That was Millennial Millionaire. But like, it wasn't a big deal for me. I didn't even know that published that morning because it was just like something I did. I wanted to figure out the process of publishing and just kind of like tell my story. So this one I'll like. I'll be working very hard on it. It'll be a lot of work.

That's cool.

And I think it won't make any sense financially for at least a year or two. I think, though, that it'll bring in an audience that would never have heard about Augusta or watched YouTube or been on social media. That I think would be valuable to Augusta Nation.

Yeah.

Whether it be people that have existing businesses that don't do social media, but they listen to books and they read books. I want to tap into that.

Yeah. It's like compounding on all of your content.

Yeah. And so you have a fan over here, like watches videos in the fan. The exact opposite of someone who reads books and never goes on social media.

Yeah.

I want to hit them because I think there's a really valuable person there.

Yeah.

That could be brought into Augusta.

I agree with that. Cool. I'm excited for the book.

Cool. Not financial.

Not financial advice. Let's jump in. I have some and it is a. It's a quote. So it's just a quote. Is your non financial advice From Lee and you can try to guess who it's from. It's from a book in our Audible account. Can the goal or target does not matter as much as the mindset that is mandatory to accomplish the goal.

Oh, dude, that's good.

It's a good quote. It's a good quote. It's not a new book.

I'm going to say that is either a.

The book that I see. I don't know names, but I know like book covers.

Yeah.

So there's. It's something. Mindset is the title. So not that one.

Oh well, I don't know if it's.

Oh no, no, no, no. Okay. Okay. That's not that one. So then the next one would be.

I'm looking at the sub Grovers book. Nope.

What?

I think this is gonna surprise you.

Oh really?

That's why it's kind of fun.

Interesting. Hey, go.

Who it is the 10x rule.

Difference.

Between success and failure right now. Yeah, well sued and I don't. Do you want to talk about the lawsuit?

We could. Yeah, yeah.

So he's in a class action lawsuit basically for overselling cardone capital and then like pretending that he went bankrupt and telling his investors they did when he really didn't. He did it for publicity during COVID and so he's in some hot water. But I am taking notes on it because I do believe that one day instead of franchising, I'll just take in house and just start taking locations myself and I'll use a capital structure like he's doing capital but I'm looking at all the mistakes. Right. So I'm like, okay, he oversold and he did a lot of drama stuff. He allowed unaccredited investors and the person that's actually leading the class action lawsuit invested $5,000.

Oh dude.

That's like allowing a non accredited investors where they're investing their last dollar because you pitched them on something is very risky compared to like going to accredited investors where you know, 100 grand is the minimum. You have to have certain income thresholds. They. If you thrust that flush that money down the toilet, they would come sue you. But they're not going to sue you for one year of underperforming performance because of something like.

Right, right.

And so yeah, I'm just taking notes because I do believe in the future that like I'll be okay, great. We do, we do get to a thousand locations in 15 years and we keep doing this slowly or do I do it in five years or six years and we go Capital play. I own all of them from a corporate perspective. And we raise funds and then we distribute to investors. And so I don't know what that, what that calls, but I've always said, like, I'm gonna move up software and then we'll play capital Play and then that's probably when robotics will come.

Yeah.

And so. And then we just have more control too, because, like, my locations always follow systems. They have to. People get fired. And so it's just the brand as a whole, I think would be elevated just by having way more control and having more corporate locations. So, like, that's way down the road. It's definitely like something I'm watching though, from his. What he's going through.

That's fair.

So. And don't, don't go on stupid private jets and, and massive yachts and brag about how much money you're making when you're going through a class action lawsuit. Like, don't do that.

That's like my least favorite. Hey, great quote. Bad time to bring up his name. That's my least favorite Cardone ad is the one where he's on the jet. He's like, do you ever see somebody on a private jet? And like, I got a jet. I'm sorry. And I'm like, I don't. You just lost me. Skip ad. Skip ad. But hey, 10x rule. It's good. It's a good mindset. Book. I wanted a little inspiration this, this last weekend. I was like, hey, I'm feeling like I'm. I'm kind of just going through the motions a little bit. I was like, I need to reinspire myself. And I thought that was good. Goal or target doesn't matter as much as the mindset.

Yeah. I think we get scale massively. I think it'd be a great move for us to be able to do that. And the 10x rule put him on the map.

Yeah, totally.

The same way that $100 million offers put Alex on the map. To my hope. Yeah.

Yeah.

My book isn't that just kind of gets outside of our industry and the current impact I'm having and just reaches other people.

Yep. Yeah. You got any non financial advice?

Yeah, non financial advice again, in the vein of books. Elon Musk book biography just came out.

Oh, yes, I heard about it.

Walter Isaacson.

Yes.

Which he's awesome. He did. Steve Jobs.

Yes. Yes.

It's extremely long. So I'll listen to it. I'll chip away at it. It's. I think it's. I want to say it's 18 or 20 hours long, but I'm really looking forward to it because. All new. And it's like. It goes all the way up until, like, through his acquisition of Twitter and what's happening with them and, like, very interesting stuff.

Okay. We'll both listen to it, and then we can do a.

It's gonna take you a while.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's gonna take me a while, I should say, because it's gonna take us both a while.

Yeah.

I listen to 2.1 to 2.2.

Yeah.

But still, like, it's. I still think this morning I had 12 hours left, and that's at 2.1.

Yeah.

I just got started on it. I'm like, so far, so good. That's not a fan of advice.

I like it. I'm like a 1.7, 1.8.

Cool.

Past that. It's just. It's a little too fast.

Yeah. I just feel like I'm getting things done. I'm just, like, chewing through this book.

Yeah.

Oh, man.

Cool.

Cool.

Thanks for listening, like, and subscribe.

That's the pod.

Cool.