In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews David English, Vice President of Adtrend, Kansas City's largest locally owned outdoor advertising firm. David shares a personal story about moving from a tiny hometown to Kansas City, emphasizing a mindset of learning from mistakes and persisting despite uncertainty. He explains that in billboard advertising, the message and brand portrayal matter more than the physical location of the ad, urging businesses to focus on how they present themselves. He offers broader business advice centered on time efficiency—identifying and eliminating low‑value activities to maximize productivity. When asked about advice for his younger self, David stresses "trust the process," staying focused, and pushing through discouragement. He defines happiness as maintaining balance among work, family, friends, and personal values. The conversation touches on his favorite reading, the novel‑style business book The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt, highlighting its lessons on continuous improvement. David also cites Teddy Roosevelt’s "Man in the Arena" quote as a reminder to ignore critics and keep acting. Finally, he provides a low‑profile online presence, directing listeners to find Adtrend at AD‑Trend and on Twitter @TrendKansasCity.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by WagsMedia. WagsMedia provides you with everything you need to generate more customers and grow your brand. Head on over to wagsmedia.com, W-A-G-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com, to enter a contest where you can win a free, done-for-you custom website valued at $2,500 for a limited time only. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have David English with us. He is the Vice President for Adtrend, the largest locally owned outdoor advertising company in Kansas City. With over 300 billboards in the KC metro. He is also involved with many local charity organizations supporting Kansas City in a variety of ways. So welcome to the show, man.
Hey, thanks. Glad to be here.
Grateful to have you here. We'll dive right into the first one. The first question I have for you, David, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, when I moved to Kansas City, I didn't know a soul. I'm from a town of about 1,500 people. We have one stoplight, and I don't know that there's a McDonald's there any longer. And I got lost going to the grocery store sometimes. And you look back, it's kind of funny. I'm a billboard salesperson at that point in my life, 23 years old, and I don't know that I had ever driven on a major highway before. So I just kind of over time, I adopted this mindset of just, figure it out and then take a look back and figure out what you just did and just learn from your mistakes, learn from things you did right and wrong and just keep going with it and keep pushing through, through the mistakes and learn from them when you can. I think the message is there. It's, you know, just keep going for it. I did not want to be that kid, that person who left small-town Kansas and had to come home and admit defeat or admit failure to my peers who had stayed home and told me that moving to the big city was, was a waste of time. I didn't want to be that guy, and I just kind of kept pushing, and I used that as motivation to, to figure out a way to stay here and make myself successful.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, you know, In the billboard industry, we have so many customers that focus entirely on the location of the billboard and where is it at, what highway is it on, how many cars pass the board. And if you're in a situation and as a business owner and you're buying media, I don't care if it's radio or TV or outdoor advertising, billboards, digital, you have to remember the message. How are you portraying yourself to the customer? What are you saying about yourself, your company? How do you want people to look at you? Because it's not all about the, the best TV spot or the best billboard location or the best media placement. It's, it's about who you are and how you portray yourself to the people you want to buy your product.
And it could tie in, but what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
Yeah, I mean, overall, I got it from a buddy of mine I went to grad school with, actually. We were talking one day about all we're involved in, what we do, and how we are spread so thin. And he, uh, you know, he's a few years older than me, and he just really suggested that I work very hard at being more diligent and efficient with my time, looking at what do I do that brings value to me, my life, my family, And what do I do that's just a waste? What am I doing that's just not productive? And eliminating that from your life. I mean, if it's checking your email too often or looking at social media or just attending sporting events that aren't necessary, eliminate that that's not needed and be very, very efficient with all that you do.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Yeah, you know, it kind of goes back to earlier, but it's just, it's that common phrase you hear right now of trusting the process, of just keep pushing, keep going. I would get discouraged a lot when I was younger, or when I didn't know people up here in KC, or when I was lost looking for help. And I would just tell myself, don't get discouraged, you're gonna be fine, you just gotta push harder and keep pushing through those difficult times because You're gonna make it, you just gotta work harder than other people. The main thing there is not to get distracted. Make sure that you're focused on that process every day, doing it diligently despite what the naysayers are saying and despite advice you're getting to the contrary.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
You know, for me, I mean, it's finding that balance and maintaining the balance that you find. You know, in life, now we've gotta juggle so much right now. I mean, work, life, family, friends, your religion, and that list can go on, on, and on. And it's really maintaining that balance, juggling the activities that are important to you in your life at that point. Sometimes it's work, sometimes it's family, but making sure that balance is there so that you can provide all you can to those around you. But it is, it's just maintaining and finding balance in your life.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Yeah, you know, I've read a lot of those traditional, you know, Good to Great, Rich Dad Poor Dad. I've read the Better Business book that you've done, Tyler.
Oh, nice.
Yeah, and the first book that came to mind was a book we read in school called The Goal. And I'm gonna butcher the author's name, Goldratt's his last name. It's just got a lot of good books, a lot of good ideas and thoughts about constantly seeking improvement and making things better and finding change in areas that will help improve your life. It's unique. It reads more like a novel and it's a very easy read, but there are a lot of lessons you can get out of it. I don't know that it's a book that is just flying off the shelves all the time.
What is your favorite quote and why?
It's long and I'll spare you getting into all of it. It's Teddy Roosevelt's "The critic who counts" quote, talking about giving credit to the man who is in the arena opposed to the critic that stands outside pointing out the faults and the failure. It's a very famous quote. It goes on for longer than this podcast will. So, but it is, it just speaks a lot to naysayers and not listening to them and then keeping busy and keeping, you know, your path of success and not listening to those people that are around you, even though you're failing. And if you fail at full speed, that's better than a lot of other possible outcomes.
Mm-hmm, and I'm very familiar with that quote, so anybody listening, I definitely recommend you find the full quote. It is very good. And thanks again for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, I mean, I keep a very low social media profile personally. I keep it really between friends and family, but I really encourage any of you to get online and find Adtrend. There's a hyphen between the D and the T. It's AD-Trend. You know, we, we try to promote our business and do everything we can to promote our products to those. I mean, it's ATIKC or @TrendKansasCity on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you. We try to do a lot of good things around here and promote a lot of different organizations that we partner with. So yeah, we'd love to hear from you that way.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for hopping on.
Great, man. Great talking to you.
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