Ben Dodge: Premier Talent Partners

Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Ben Dodge with us. He's the payroll account director at Premier Talent Partners. It helps clients nationwide onboard their contingent workforce. In the rapidly growing gig economy, he is on the forefront of a fascinating new business territory. Welcome to the show, man.

Thanks for having me, Tyler. I'm really, really excited to be here.

Of course, we're excited to have you. Ben, we go deep pretty quick, so the first question we got for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

Oh man, you sent this over to me, this question. It's like, man, where do you start, right? Got their own stories in life. But no, I could start with the ability to listen, I think, is something that a lot of people don't value or don't value enough. And so yeah, I was in high school and I've had the privilege of having my best friend in my life ever since we were in 3rd grade. So I'm very, very lucky for that. But you know, he always speaks his mind, kinda like I do, that's for sure, which is a nice positive. But one day, you know, I don't even know what the context was that we were talking about, but he brought up, you know, he said, Ben, you know what, you're not a very good listener. I was shook. Me? Not a good listener? You know, of course initially very upset, but then he started going into more detail and talking a little more about it and, you know, how specific examples of how I have not been a good listener, not actively listening. And it's really been something that I've tried to apply ever since. And I think whether it's been, you know, like I said, living the rest of my life in Hawaii, college, managing hotels and restaurants that I used to do before transitioning here to Premier, something I've always tried to apply. And I think is so, so essential to any form of business or any form of life, right? I mean, obviously, if you're not actually listening, you're not gonna be able to get to the root of the problem. Especially what I do now in helping a lot of companies that are growing and scaling quickly, it's so, so relatable to be able to really find out what the actual issues are and get to the real, like I said, root of the problem.

Hmm. And then what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

Yeah, so I mean, in terms of this payroll services, obviously, it's a foreign language to a lot of people in terms of what it is we exactly do and how we exactly help people. But the one big, I should say valuable piece of information that I really, really hone in on is that this gig economy that's exploded over the past few years, contractors and tech roles and tech companies and tech projects, it's definitely not going anywhere, right? The tech, I should say the gig economy is gonna be around for a while. So being able to obviously differentiate who's the right partner or who you wanna align yourself with is something a lot of companies need to start evaluating and assessing. So a great story that I like to, bear with me here in terms of the transition with this story, but I like to call it the value jeans story. So I was born and raised, lucky to be born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but I've always been a board shorts guy, right? I've always been shorts, sunny weather, tank top out, enjoy the sun. And then fast forward now several years, I'm in San Francisco and now I have to be a jeans guy. I don't know the first thing about jeans. I don't know the first thing about shopping for them. I don't know what to do. So obviously, you know, my mom taught me that, you know, the value of a dollar, first things first. So, you know, I was always a value shopper, right? I was always, you know, hey, coupon, cutting, 2 for $20 jeans, you know, whatever it is. You know, obviously I want to make sure I get the best deal on these jeans. I don't know the first thing about them. But then, you know, one fateful day I walk into a Banana Republic, right? Oh my gosh. You know, I get greeted friendly at the front. You have someone, oh, this won't look good on you. This is a great fabric. Try this on. Of course, once you try on that pair of jeans, you're like, wow, this is it. This is a life-changing moment for me. This is the perfect choice. So obviously now, jeans and payroll services, two very, very different things, but obviously they're very, very, I should say, transferable as well. I think, you know, when it comes to picking the right service and align yourself with the right people. Obviously, if you want to value shop, that's totally fine, but obviously, if you want to align yourself with a great partner, someone's going to help you, someone's going to make you make the correct decision and obviously lead to a long-term success at the end of the day, hey, you know, maybe choose a service that values things like that. So also, big plug there for Banana Republic, that's for sure.

Yeah, no, that was— I was just gonna say that. I was like, we gotta get them to pay for this one.

I know, I need a little sponsorship. Free cheese, I'll take them whenever I can.

Then what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.

Yeah, no, totally. I think, you know, I've had, like I said before, I'll talk a little bit about my background. I used to manage hotels and restaurants and I really transitioned to obviously account management and making sure people are being taken care of. And honestly, my company itself, you know, there's an aspect of sales in everything we do, no matter what your role is. If you're with a great company, you're always trying to pitch your company, but Something I've kind of recently honed in on, and our C-levels at Premier do such a great job of really preaching this home to us, is being a partner and, you know, always looking out for someone's best interest. I think especially in sales-type roles, you know, everyone always talks about ABC, right? Always be closing, you know, always get that signature on the dotted line. But we've really been driven home with the, I like to call it the ABH policy, always be helping, right? You know, there's not necessarily, I should say, you don't have to be the perfect, you know, the perfect, I should say, salesman or perfect strategic alliance, but definitely you want to make sure you're always helping whoever your potential client is or potential partner. You might not be the best fit today, but definitely make sure that they're being pointed in the right direction and being taken care of will go so, so far in terms of how you manage your success.

And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

So this, I sent this question to my boss and she said, then you have to tell the peppermint mocha story. So I said, okay, I'll share this one. So in college, obviously, you know, you're growing up a lot, you're figuring out life and whatnot. And, you know, I'm a big coffee guy. I love Starbucks, huge fan. Another plug for another big, big organization. But I used to go to the counter, used to order, you know, 2 coffees back in the day. I used to order, you know, I'll get a large coffee, then can I also get a you know, a peppermint mocha frappuccino, you know, and say that for us all, you know, it's for the lady kind of thing. I never wanted to own the fact that I was ordering a peppermint mocha frappuccino, right? A little embarrassed about it, but you know, but at the end of the day, you know, you gotta realize that, hey, look, this is what you like, this is who you are, this is what you want to order. So no matter what it is in life, be your authentic self, 'cause that's really what people want, and that's the only way to really make like true strategic partnerships is being your true authentic self, and that is, Hopefully people embrace it and accept you for that.

Then kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?

I really, really love this question. For me, I think especially growing up you learn so much, especially with business and personal life, obviously. I like to say surround yourself with those that value you. Also, don't forget to reciprocate that. That's so, so important. Time and energy are the two things in this world that you'll never get back. So making sure you're not wasting those with those that don't value that for yourself, I think, is so, so essential. Whether that, like I said before, whether it's personal or business, I think, yeah, there are two items that you can never have enough of, so definitely don't waste them on the wrong people.

And then excited for your answer on this one too. What's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?

Oh my goodness. So actually last year I read an amazing book to go back to talking about how We talked about sales a little bit, but it's called Same Side Selling by Ian Altman, and it really hones in on the fact of being a partner, right? You know, you don't want to be that car salesman saying, oh, you know, this, this is a can't miss opportunity, it's a great deal, you don't want to miss out on it. No, you want to be able to say, hey, look, what are the issues with your company? What are you experiencing that's a problem and how can we fix those? And I think, hey, you know, we might not be the best resource for you, but let's at least point you in the right direction. Let's figure out how you're going to solve this problem, I think is was a huge message for me that I really, really took away a lot from. Definitely a great read too. Like I said, I'm pitching all these great people, Banana, Starbucks, Ian Altman, but no, definitely a great read. If you have the time, definitely give it a look.

Then what is your favorite quote and why?

Yeah, so I think any person born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii gets taught this as a small keiki growing up, but the Hawaiian golden rule is treat others the way you want to be treated. I think that speaks for every walk of life, whether you're trying to take care of people like we do on a regular basis from a benefit, payroll, servicing, HR standpoint, make sure people are being taken care of and fairly compensated, being given that personal level of care that they deserve. Obviously in your personal life as well, whether you see someone on the street, if someone's in need, definitely make sure you help where you can.

Dude, this was an awesome one. Thank you so much for coming on. Shout out to Banana Republic.

Big shout out to Banana. Huge plug for them.

And the last one I got for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?

Yeah, totally. Feel free to add me on LinkedIn. Give Ben Dodge Premier Talent Partners a search. The old Google machine works well too. Definitely, you know, don't be a stranger. Feel free to add me, shoot me a message. Obviously our services might be able to help you down the road, or if you honestly just want to give me a shout out and talk more about, you know, Starbucks holiday specials or anything else, just feel free to reach out.

Perfect, man. Thank you again for coming on.

Oh, it was my pleasure. Thank you.

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