March 27, 2025 • 33 mins
Michael Gulledge joins Trent and Patrick on “At Home with Roby”. Michael reflects on his deep ties to Gaston County, his role as President / Owner of Dilling Heating & Cooling and the growth the company experienced thanks to his strong leadership and exceptional team.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to that home with Roby. I'm Patrick mc isaac
from Roby Commercial in Services along with Trent Hayston from
the Roby Family of Companies. We are your host. What's
up Trent in the house? In the house, man, I'm
going to get right into it today. Oh won't let
you sing As long as I will sing, I would
errupt you. That was Kid and Play. Do you remember
(00:21):
kidd and Play?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I do?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, they were pretty good back then. I do middle
school days. Thank you for the segue. We were talking
about Columbia House and BMG Music subscription just a minute ago.
Exactly did you ever have one of those? No?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I did. I had a Sears catalog.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
A Sears I'll tell you what, man, that service merchandise catalog,
which that thing. It would come out during Christmas time
about in September October. It's pretty good stuff.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
There, did I do?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Honestly think I jump started my CD collection with BMG.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I did two and we you know, my my mom
was so mad at me for doing that, which I
did it like A didn't tell her and like eight
CD showed up for a penny. It's like, mommy, see's
only one eighth of a cent each. She was like,
I'm glad you can do simple mathematics, Bud, you dummy,
you're getting ready to get sixteen ninety eight slapped up
side of your head for the next eighteen years. Did
(01:15):
you cancel it in time? I thought you had to
send them back if you canceled it.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
No, I think you just had to cancel it by
a certain date.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
There was some obligation behind that thing. I'm about one
hundred percent certain, and I've learned about this. That's what
zero percent financing does. You go, hey, why would they
want to sell a car and do zero percent financing
for five years?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
You know? But if you if you.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Pay that one of those payments on day thirty one
when it's due on day thirty, then they got you.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Ooh that's uh. Then they get you for all the
back interest.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
So it's a Ponzi scheme.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
You better pay that bill on time.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
It's like all the paid pay to pay tomorrow stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
We know somebody I know somebody in that business.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah you do? Uh, we do?
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Crows?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Uh didn't. They used to call that lay away back
in the day. Was that and that was the opposite?
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Well, lay away you put your money down and you
didn't get the opposite.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Can put the the shwim bicycle over in the corner
and say, I'm gonna get that thing one day.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I think they call that prepaid. You know, my mom
did a lot of layaway.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Now.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
I remember service service, uh ice merchandise over on South South,
tryon down the road here.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You know what catalog I'm talking about, right? They put
it out in you know, I don't know August September.
I used to circle the circle of stuff, I remark,
and you know, just slide it under Santa Claus's lap.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
That was what you did.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
What type of toys were you circling back then, Patrick
oh Man, I don't know, probably but a shwim bicycle.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I was going for a toy.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
That was big bucks. I mean, I remember when my
brother and I bought our bought our very first Nintendo,
the ne e s at the mall and Eden, North
Carolina paid sixty bucks for it. We pulled our money
together and my parents finally let us get one. You
remember that when you bought.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Your first like v concept, But no, I never had
a Nintendo.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
My daddy wouldn't let me.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
He told me to get go dig he gave you
a hammer instead?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, no, I had. I was never a humongous video
game person, you know I did. I did have a
Nintendo and then I got a Sega Genesis and that
was about where I capped out.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, we we happed out. I think we might have
gone one or two more, but never really used him. Uh,
let me ask you a question. How was your jumper
and double dribble back on the old Endea? Pretty good?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I like double dribble in RBI baseball. That was during
the Mark maguire hey day.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The key was to get up in that corner and
drop the three behind from up there.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
You remember that?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Goodness gracious, ma'am, I got one other one for you.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I'll tell you what.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Let's let's find a hoop this afternoon with with our
guest Michael Gullich, and we go maybe put a couple
of nickels on guage.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Looks like he might have balled in his day. I
know we can't talk right now.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
He's pretty athletic that we start talking about people when
they can't talk.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
He putn't even on video.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
He he's rapping a lot of Gastoniaston Gastonia Gaston country
club swag too.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
I like that he's a pretty good golfer. Yeah, has
hurt my feelings on the golf course of time or two.
You've hurt my feelings on the top golf course of
time or two. We'll give a shout out to Gas
and they're they're a good client of Roby.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
They are the small projects and Roby commercials so much appreciated.
But a bunch of good West Side folks. Really west Side, Yeah,
you know, the West west Side. So you grew up, man,
I want nothing to talk about this. You caddied as
a young man. I call a little bit about that. So, yeah,
I was a caddy in high school. I worked at
(04:37):
Cherokeetown Country Club, uh outside of Atlanta, and they had
a caddy program. It was awesome. I mean, do you
really look back on it now. I mean some of
these people that we were caddying for were the movers
and shakers in Atlanta, So it kind of it's a
wonderful thing for a kid to do. Hey, it's it's
not easy work. You're carrying two bags in the middle
of the summer in Georgia and two you know, these
(04:58):
people take to you. You know, It's like when we
have caddies. Whenever we had the opportunity or fortune to
play golf with one and just some incredible advice, you
kind of learned how to talk to those type of people.
So you were technically they call that a two bag caddy. Yeah, right,
and carry two bags? Pretty simple, simple, simple explanation there.
How much money was the standard that you would earn
(05:21):
in around a golf carrying two bags? So I think
I would make ninety bucks and then a lot of
them would tip on top of that. So the ninety
was paid by the club. Yes, so they would bill
them the amount for the caddy. No, actually, I think
they paid us directly if I remember suggested tip amount.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
How many wouldn't give you anything?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That never happened?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Really, no, not that I can remember.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I think most people would at least give you the
ninety and then I'll never forget. When I was a
junior in high school, I wanted to be a stockbroker
because I saw these guys that they were in the stockbroker,
the stockbroker business, that's what they said they did, and
they were gambling like thousands and thousands of dollars and finals.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Like what do y'all do for work? We gamble.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
They gave me like two hundred dollars cash each. I
mean it was crazy. As a seventeen year old kid,
I think I bought like a new twelve inch subwoof
for off that deal. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
We had a client in over near the Quell Holla
neighborhood and my dad always talked very fondly of him,
thought he was a nice man.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And we moved some furniture. He asked us.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
We were working during Christmas break dry. I was driving
the dump truck by me and two of my buddies,
and he said, hey, guys, can y'all come help me
move this table? And I think he just did it
to get us to help him do something. And he
gave us all fifty dollars bill on top of what,
you know what which you were making. Man, I was
seventeen years old. I thought I had hung the moon.
I thought I was going to be an investor. Yeah,
(06:47):
but the.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
First time I ever had a caddy. I'm not that
good of a golfer.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And my father in law is retired now, Tom Settlemeyer,
but he has been on the show. Check him out. Yeah,
wonderful wonderful and wonderful guy. But uh he was a
salesman in his career and he was a member of
a club It's called Succession down down in Lower South Carolina,
and uh it had a it had a caddy program.
(07:13):
I think they were there are two bad caddies down there,
and I was so nervous. It's like fifteen years ago.
He took me golf, and number one, I'm tight as
tight as a tick, so uh, I really didn't think
it was worth paying a caddy. And then number two
it was a two bad caddies. So he had two men,
me being one, this young kid. He was a third
(07:33):
generation and uh, I was like, oh my gosh, I
already I'm already so terrible. Another person's going to see
how bad I am. Well when he's playing, when he's
got a pretty good player, and then he's got me
as a as a young dumb kid. He's all over
my ball because I'm hitting the left, hitting the right,
hitting it everywhere, so he's all over my ball. In
about the third hole, he said, hey, man, you just
(07:54):
need to take it easy. He's like, go over there,
walk it out and take it easy. And I was like, man,
this guy is pretty cool. I know that I've heard
that story before.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
I was so impressed with this young man and then
during he was so so good, this young young guy
that during this course of this round of golf, I'm
still terrible, and I was still terrible, but I was like, man,
I gotta go earn more money so I can have
(08:26):
a caddy more often, because this is a movie and
it adds so much, so much personality, personality to the game,
and it enhances the game in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
So go ahead.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
No, So that's why you're so good at golf, Caddy.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So I'm gonna tell you something about your golf game
that you I'm going to clarify. Trend is a fourteen
point five handicap on holds one through fourteen and holds fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen and eighteen year a plus four.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
I don't know how it happens. That's just the legend
that I put in your head. That's because I'm telling
you the whole time. I'm like, I'm really gonna be
good on coming for you.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I'm coming for you.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Well, Trent t Up our guest.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yeah, so we're talking about GoF he's got reper his
Gasting country Club stuff, who is a great client of
the Roby family and great too many wonderful people over there.
Anything with West on its side I'm a fan of.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
But Michael Gulliche is on here. He is our guest.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
He's an entrepreneur, a great guy. We've become dear friends.
We hit it off in so many ways. I can't
wait to hear his story and dive in deep when
we return. You're listening to at Home with Roby, and
don't forget Ruby Services is your one stop source for
all your electrical heating, cooling, plumbing and handyman needs. Keep
it easy and get it all done by one. Roby
(09:43):
servicesnow dot com. That's robyservicesnow dot com. Welcome back that
Home with Roby. I'm Patrick mcasac from Ruby Commercial and Services,
along with Trent Hatson from the Roby Family of Companies.
We are your hosts. Trent, I know you've been talking
about having Michael on the show for quite some time.
I'm excited to hear years have I'm so excited that
I just said I just said during our break, because
(10:04):
Michael got up in the in the picture of what
we're doing now to put y'all together. I've spoken about
both of y'all to each other. Got a lot in common.
Michael's businessman, entrepreneur, and we just hit it off really well.
How you doing, dude, I'm great, bud, glad to be here.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Good. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
So, uh so everybody knows I talk a lot about
Chris Maynard. Chris Maynard met in the ninth grade and
went to high school together, best the best life friends.
Been with the Roby family with Andrew Roby in particular,
for twenty one plus years. And Chris got over there
(10:45):
at Gaston a couple of years ago and met Michael
and those some other mutual friends, and he's like, man,
you got to hang out with this guy.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Now.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
He's a lot good or a bad thing.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
It's a good thing now now. When I talked to Chris,
I'm like, yeah, me and Michael did this and we
did that.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
And he's like, oh, I didn't get what's going on? No,
uh no, but it's wonderful. It's it's been awesome getting
to know to know you. And you're from Belmont, you
said that earlier, So why don't you start us off
there and talk about growing up and and what you
did and where are you from?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah? Man, So funny thing about Maynard. And it's such
a small world. And I'm sure Patrick and I probably
know a lot of the same people. But Maynard lives
on a street that my grandma and grandpa lived on
when I was a child, as the house my dad
grew up in, so we knew the prior owners of
(11:47):
Chris's house. And uh, anyway, it's just a small world. Yeah,
right there, Yeah, yellow meal box. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
So a story about Chris.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Chris, like I said, we rekindled our friendship after after
I got out of college. We were best friends in
high school and then he came to work Force. And
this might have even been a little before he came
to work at Roby. I mean we were kids and
I was all trying to be a real estate mogul.
And he lived over in a neighborhood in Northwest Charlotte
(12:21):
and he was starting to have kids, had I think
they had one child. They had dealing at the time,
and he said, where where should I Where should I.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Look if I wanted to move?
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And I was like, dude, you got to move to Belmont.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah. Yeah, it's a good spot. It's changed I grew
up there. It's changed in a good way. Grew up
in Belmont, went to South Point, went off to college
for four years, and fell my way back and in
the home service industry, which is what I'm still in today.
I met my wife, had a child. Since then, he's
(12:55):
almost seven, and we now live in Cramerton. So kind
of like, uh, I think you think of West Charlotte,
we kind of think the same thing about that side
of Gaston County.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
About the opposite side of Belmont.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You're saying you're you're you're proud of West Yeah, we're
proud of Gaston County, Belmont, Cramerton area.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
I always clarify for people. I'm like, no, that's East
Gaston County.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Yeah, real, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
But uh but yeah, I think West Charlotte and East
Gaston County are pretty pretty similar.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So where'd you go to school? You said you went
off to the to school then came back.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
So I graduated South Point High School. Then I went
to UNC Greensboro.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Oh cool.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Really to play baseball was kind of, you know, nothing
against higher education, but baseball does what you think at
that time. My point is I had no clue. I mean, yeah,
I get it to what I was actually gonna make
a living doing.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
So, Yeah, you played college baseball?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I did.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
I've never known that.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
What position did you play?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So I pitched?
Speaker 3 (14:01):
You did?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah? I played my first three years of school. And
then at that point, you know, I had figured out
nobody was gonna pay me to play baseball, and uh
I was ready to graduate, get out of school, get
into the workforce, figure out what it was I was
gonna do, and uh so I just skipped out on
that year and went to work.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah what did you do when you get out of school?
You know you're ultimately home services? But like where we get?
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah, so I started my career actually in the HVACT business,
working for a guy out of Belmont, and he bought
from a local supply house. You handle Witherspoon supply, which
I'm sure you are familiar with. So my first job
out of school was actually at the original Yandle Witherspoon
over there off of was it Brevard, Bvard or North
(14:50):
Davidson Odall? Yeah, yeah, that place has changed it.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
So I'll tell you something about that. I started my
career at Ferguson's, the wholesale distribution as well. And I
lived in Nodah in two thousand and six. I bought
a condover there from two thousand and six to twenty ten.
And it was not anything like it is now. My
car broke down one time at night in between the
city and notas right about six o'clock on the way
home from work, and it was it was not a
(15:17):
fun experience. Definitely a little scary. Yeah, I can imagine,
you know, twenty three years old, we're in a you know,
ferguson Back then, I don't know if you'll remember, we
had to wear ties to work. We wore like white
Oxford shirt ties and like starch khakis and you know
buckle shoes as Trent calls them.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
No, we didn't have to do. Mister Witherspoon, Bud was
recently passed away. He was he would wear a white
shirt and a tie every single day. Really, yeah, George
leaving the summertime long sleeving the winter time.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I wonder if he had any ties to the old
ferguson days, like if he started there or work there.
That was I mean, that was like a like a trademark.
We all wore them. Yeah, you know, he didn't have
any money back then, so the shirts were like eight bucks,
you know, the terrible shirts. But yeah, so we had
to wear so breaking down at night wearing that. It
wasn't a good good thing when we When were you
at Ferguson what years ford at twenty ten? Okay fours
(16:08):
when I started in the distribution. Yeah, yeah, so anyway,
the heyday it was things were pretty good in distribution. Uh,
and then they got really bad about.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Eight o nine.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Well, new construction, everybody on new construction. It was really
just starting to hit our market, and you know, then
things happened and it was terrible. It was a bad time.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
No. I remember when I first started, I was like,
we break the sales record every month.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
This is so crazy.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
And then it stopped, like literally, you take a record stopped.
We've talked about that on the show.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Record has Stopping eight nine. It was rough.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
I used to lay in the tub three o'clock in
the morning and moaning grown oh man.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I can't imagine. I was not an entrepreneur at that time,
but so it wasn't quite as stressful it was. I
was single, so you know, but yeah, it wasn't good.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
My first child was born in O seven and and
I said this on the radio before Reagan, my second child.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
She was praying it with my second child, No.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Nine, rowing and we were going to a company softball
game at Renaissance Park, and we went over to speed
Hump and she said something about wanting to paint her nursery.
I mean my house was sixteen hundred square feet, so
there wasn't much painting to be done.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
In a nursery.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
And h and I stopped the car on the speed
hump and uh and wigged out on her because I was.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Scared and broke and going on.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
I get it, and uh, and kudos to my wonderful wife.
She said, look, we'll go living. We'll go live into
the smallest shene and we got to live in. We'll
do whatever you got to tell me if you're stressed out,
you know, and you as a man and as an
entrepreneur and a business owner, you try not to put
that burden on your family. But sometimes if you don't communicate.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah, yeah, you want to hold it in. You don't
want them to go through the pain that you know,
whatever's on your mind, but it is important to communicate
so they know. And we've been through scenarios just like that,
what position did you play in softball?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
By the way, shortstop? I mean, listen.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
So they these these fools tried to get a game
up last year, like hey, I mean and I have
five kids, I do all this business stuff. It's not
as easy for me to play anymore. I'm like, look, guys,
I can't commit. Y'all go do it. Y'all want to
do it, and we're and we were always terrible, so bad.
So they're like, well, come out, please come out, and
they stuck me at shortstop. I was like, man, if
(18:32):
I get in the head because I'm so dumb, I'll
stay in front of the ball like an idiot. And
I'm grown forty six year old man that had been
hitting the head ten times.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
And then I had to take over shortstop and then
those footballs are moving. I'm like, you know, but this
is rule. I don't know if I need to be
doing this.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
We've put a softball team done actually that we were
talking about earlier. He put a softball team together a
cool yeah for the company, and you know, they went
like halfway through the year, and I was kind of
the same at that time. You know, my child was
young and spent a lot of time at home. But anyway,
I don't know if I've ever been as nervous on
(19:10):
a ball field as the first time I actually did
go to play, because they all had this expectation of me,
which I'm like, you collegiate, I was. Yeah, that was
twenty years ago, you know what I mean, And I'm
not been on a softball field. To your point, Yes,
those balls come hard.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
You're a pitcher too. It sounds like, I mean you
focus on pitching at that level. I mean I would
expect you're not hitting bombs over the fence every single time.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
No, in college you don't hit it all. You have
a fun go back and you get very efficient at
hitting ground balls.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
That was your job.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Yeah, yeah, are you listening, L Trent.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Yeah, we got a guy at worked at Hunter. Martin
was a pitcher in college too, and so he was.
He was a good softball player, but he never hit.
He's like, I never hit. I just pitched.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
So I remember hitting in college. One time we our
pitching staff combined for a shutout and our treat was
to get to take bat and practice with the rest
of man. That's the only time we ever hit.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Coach, really pay attention.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I want to get in now.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Can you really watch me get I can do it?
Speaker 4 (20:09):
So uh so, So you worked it in on Weatherspoon
Spoon you were selling selling supplies in the HVAC industry.
How'd you get into the entrepreneur side of the business.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
We just took a leap of faith and in my
time at Yander, I covered twenty six counties in western
North Carolina, went all the way to Murphy, which borders Tennessee,
and uh, you know, got to meet a lot of
great people, see a lot of cool things, a lot
of good things, a lot of bad things. You know,
everybody does things different, so you can't help but observe
(20:43):
when you're in those situations. And had an opportunity with
the company that I ended up buying in twenty fifteen,
dealing out of King's Mountain. The owners were wanting out
and a friend had introduced us, and I think I
had to sell them on me as much as they
(21:04):
were selling me on them. That that that that's their
last name. His father started that company and it was
very important to him. So anyway, we engaged with one
another and uh, you know, I just uh luckily it
worked out and we were able to, you know, strike
a deal. But yeah, that's kind of how I got
(21:25):
in the business. So it was prompt of me to
do that. I don't know. I think I was just
kind of rut doing what I was doing. Yeah again,
and I just wanted to do something different. I thought
why not?
Speaker 4 (21:35):
And it was the second generation you started it. Yes,
they didn't make you change the name.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The name was the big thing to them. And actually
when we ended up selling, I called mister Dillon and
I wanted to tell him personally what had happened. And
you know, I think they'll continue to take care of
the name, and I think your name will grow even
stronger in the local market.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
So well, that's.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Cool in that cool what a perspective And and we
talk about that as we grow businesses that are offshoot
of the Andrew Roby name. Is is if we ever
exited one segment of our business or sold it, you
know what happens with the name. We don't know because
we still have the the Roaby name. So U but
(22:18):
that perspective, in that care that you got to take,
Like you said, they were interviewing you as much as
you were interviewing them.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Probably more so.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Honestly, I would think, so, yeah, now that's cool. So
you had you were a business development outside sales with
you brothers Moon.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Or eventually Yeah, not not. Originally I started working in
the warehouse that I moved to the counter. Then they
recated me to the Hickory branch and that's how I
ended up outside in the Western Territory. Yeah, but it
was good. I enjoyed that territory.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Yeah, it's a cool here. We had a branch in
Hickory and I always enjoyed going up there and seeing
those guys that it just it's just so different from
being in Charlotte. Oh, completely need to get it out
of the you're in the wild wild West a little bit,
and uh, you know, just the war laid back atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
It was cool.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
It's some really good guys.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Start talking about this. He's like over here and reminiscently.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Well, it's the exact same thing we did at Ferguson.
It's so funny, like we had to start, you know,
they would hire back then they would hire I think
there were eleven of us and they they knew it,
and we don't. We didn't know it. Maybe five would
make it and three would make it, you know, on
to be in a career. Uh, because they'd make you
start in the warehouse fifty five hours a week mandatory,
you had to be there at six am and you
didn't leave till five or you didn't get your whole paycheck.
(23:29):
And it was you know, it was it was you.
You were busting it man like. It wasn't easy work.
And so kids would be like, I've got a degree
from Chapel Hill, not doing this and quit. You know,
That's how I said, Chapel.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Hill, Yeah, thank you. You try to throw down. We are
the smart, smart folks in the state.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
We were like what are you doing here?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
So what'd you study at Greensboro?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, I've walked away with the business administration degree again,
had a marketing concentration. Still didn't really know what I
wanted to do, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
So how big was dealing when you when you purchased it?
Speaker 2 (24:07):
The largest year they'd ever had was seven hundred and
fifty thousand in revenue in total revenue. Wow, yeah it was.
They really just serviced King's Mountain. It worked very well
for them. They had a couple of employees, uh, you know,
and and they were taken care of and you know
that they were getting what they wanted out of it. Yeah,
(24:29):
so it was you know, it was great for them.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Yes, a lifestyle business. I mean you work in the business,
your family works there. Uh, that's your what you do
every day and uh and you get your paycheck out
of the business.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
That's what it is.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Had it. They had one child. She's a female that's
a physician up in Manhattan with a very big role.
She actually went to high school with my wife. I
think she was a valedictorian. So she had no interest
in uh, you know, she had bigger dreams to do
other things. So I think it all, you know, as
far as I go. It worked out in my favor
(25:04):
that you know.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
So you grew the business grew under your watch.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
It did by a lot. Yeah, we grew it really
from the end. We closed in the middle of fifteen
and really just spent the rest of that year learning
a new way of life as an entrepreneur, which is
very different than going to work for someone else and
then going home and doing whatever it is you want
(25:29):
to do. You know, there's long sleepless nights, you up
to nine ten midnight whatever. Email and phone calls problems
I have and praying whatever it may be. So just
spent the rest of that year getting acclimated. You know,
(25:49):
I had a business plan. I had to provide a
business plan to get the money to buy the business.
I went through the SBA, which was a wonderful program
that worked out well for me. So started to grow
it in sixteen, had a nice year, still learning. It's
just you can't educate yourself enough. You've got to get
(26:11):
that experience in the home service. So by twenty twenty
we had grown it to about three million, and really
nineteen and twenty were fairly flat. COVID came along. We'd
just moved the entire new building in twenty and it
was just a crazy time. But we stayed flat that year,
(26:31):
and a lot of home service companies nationally were having
record years. People started staying at home and they started
paying a little more attention or maintaining their things better,
whatever it may be. So we kind of went back
to the drawing board, reevaluated things, put a plan in place,
and we were able to execute it with the help
(26:53):
of a lot of people. So we went in twenty
twenty roughly three million to fourteen million by the end
of twenty two.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Goodness gracious.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah, it was a fun ride. It was a crazy ride.
It was almost like you know Will Ferrell and old
School when he debates and blacks out. Yeah, it just
happened so fast, and you're like, damn, what just happened?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Wow, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So, uh, kudos to marketing.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, kudos to all the folks that worked for us.
We had an all star team. I'd still talk to
and think about almost all of them all the time,
but still talk to a lot of them. I mean, yeah,
we did marketing. We had a lot of great marketing
partners through the years, but our people were what made
(27:42):
us that. That was the secret sauce.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It's the team.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I mean, it's not all about the team.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
It's one hundred percent. I agree with you men. It's
just finding the right and best people for the best seats.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
And that took us a while too, so part of
that us sixteen seventeen, eighteen years we're figuring out what
is it that we're even looking for? Right, But then
once we started finding we really started to assemble a
killer team.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
It's amazing how I mean, you're right, I think we
we deal with the same thing. I mean, I'm sure
any any entrepreneur that we have everything that comes on
this show would say the same thing. But there's we
finally learned there's some tools out there that can help
you to find the right people with behavioral tests and
things like that, trying to find certain personality traits that
work for certain roles. But it's at home services is
(28:27):
a it's always something, so many moving parts that it is.
It's a it's a tricky one.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
It's a tricky one, and you're serving a lot of people, yeah,
you know, in their own domains, and sometimes you know
you're going to make mistakes. Nobody's perfect, right, So it's
just tough on many levels.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Sure, yeah, So what do you You got the itch?
What's going on with you?
Speaker 2 (28:52):
I do have the itch. So I've spent the majority
of the last two years really hanging out with my son.
He's in kindergarten this year. He gets out cool at
noon every day and it's been a blessing to spend
most afternoons with him, you know, doing whatever it is
he wants to do. Most times. My wife as well.
So with that said, he's close to graduation. He's going
(29:15):
to the first grade, big boys school all day long,
and that he's ready to get back to work.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
I hear you, maybe we do something together.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Wouldn't that be something that would be something in the
home services sector. I love home services, Trent. I think
you can impact a lot of different people in home services,
including our end user.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I think that you can put again a team together
that can serve homeowners better, and I think everybody deserves that.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
I agree.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
We have mechanical electrical plumbing. I've told our team that
I think you can help us with some insight. Patrick
leaders businesses. I think your knowledge is so impressive because
me no one of the name dealing.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Uh. I mean obviously when they were a small family
business in King's Mountain.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I did not know it.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
But I did know it, uh and have known it
over the last couple of years. Of congratulations.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
Uh, your son goes to preschool with the same school
my son goes to at Gaston Christian.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Uh. Kudos to doctor Mark Stout who leads the school.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Yes, it's gonna be bittersweet when he leaves, really for him,
but uh, you know, he's a he's a strong leader.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
I think he's ready to ready to not have the
responsibility of growing a growing a Christian school in a campus. Sure,
I get that, but we both had we're in Bible
study with him. We had that this morning.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
So, uh, it's pretty cool that that now that your
son and my children go to the same school. Yeah,
and then uh Gaston Country Club in the west side
of town.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Uh, dude, I think it's cool how our relationship it
started on a golf course and as we've progressed not
quite a year, you know, the different commonalities that we have.
It's really gassing Christian. Our kids go to school together.
Now we're at a Bible study together. We think a lot,
you know what I mean, Like, Yeah, we're having great
(31:17):
conversations with one another. So it's just crazy where life,
yeah takes you and a lot of that we've been
going over in Bible study. And my mind's about to
say a million miles an hour or how you end
up in these places.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
I don't think it's by mistake. No, yeah, no it is.
So I'm gonna put you on the spot. What a
great story, and it's not that hard. We've been doing
this for eight and a half nine years now. I
think this is coming up on our ninth year. But
the insight from business leaders and entrepreneurs, you always get
a different angle, and you're talking about how that family
(31:53):
was interviewing you the doing family is so cool to see.
And then the risk and the scaredness that you had
in your first year so insightful. So what is one
thing that you live by as you operate now spending
time with your son but getting back into the home
services industry. I think you're I think you're that entrepreneur.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Bugs'tion. What is one thing that you hang you had
on in both endeavors.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Being a good human? I mean, never a wrong time
to do the right thing. I've got a guy that's
mentored me through the years, and that's one thing he's
always told me and I truly believe that. So I
just want to be a good person man, a good father,
a good husband, a good son. I think if we
(32:41):
as people check those boxes, things will work out in
our favor.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Well said, never the wrong time to do the right thing?
Speaker 3 (32:50):
Yeah, I like that. That's well.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Well, I know you listen to the show all the time,
and at the end of every show, I say, do
the golden rule. Treat others the way you want to
be treated.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
This is Podcast Studio might have you a little flustered,
and you seem to be almost.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
Forgotten at our work and with my kids, I say,
I add, you do the Golden rule and treat others
the way you want to be treated, even when they
punch you in the nose, because that's when it's hard
to treat people the way you because sometimes we mess
up and we cross the line and we hope that
folks will give us grace. Uh So go do that
(33:28):
and carry a smile around on your face because you
don't know how it to unpack somebody.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Michael, it's wonderful having you on here. Congratulations on your success,
and we're gonna have you back in about six months
because we are gonna we are gonna do a home
services endeavor together and we'll talk about it.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Super excited for that and the opportunity to come back
as well and talk more about it.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
We get to tease. All right, here we go. Thanks
for listening to At Home with Ruby.
Welcome to that home with Roby. I'm Patrick mc isaac
from Roby Commercial in Services along with Trent Hayston from
the Roby Family of Companies. We are your host. What's
up Trent in the house? In the house, man, I'm
going to get right into it today. Oh won't let
you sing As long as I will sing, I would
errupt you. That was Kid and Play. Do you remember
(00:21):
kidd and Play?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I do?
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, they were pretty good back then. I do middle
school days. Thank you for the segue. We were talking
about Columbia House and BMG Music subscription just a minute ago.
Exactly did you ever have one of those? No?
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I did. I had a Sears catalog.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
A Sears I'll tell you what, man, that service merchandise catalog,
which that thing. It would come out during Christmas time
about in September October. It's pretty good stuff.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
There, did I do?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Honestly think I jump started my CD collection with BMG.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I did two and we you know, my my mom
was so mad at me for doing that, which I
did it like A didn't tell her and like eight
CD showed up for a penny. It's like, mommy, see's
only one eighth of a cent each. She was like,
I'm glad you can do simple mathematics, Bud, you dummy,
you're getting ready to get sixteen ninety eight slapped up
side of your head for the next eighteen years. Did
(01:15):
you cancel it in time? I thought you had to
send them back if you canceled it.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
No, I think you just had to cancel it by
a certain date.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
There was some obligation behind that thing. I'm about one
hundred percent certain, and I've learned about this. That's what
zero percent financing does. You go, hey, why would they
want to sell a car and do zero percent financing
for five years?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
You know? But if you if you.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Pay that one of those payments on day thirty one
when it's due on day thirty, then they got you.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Ooh that's uh. Then they get you for all the
back interest.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
So it's a Ponzi scheme.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
You better pay that bill on time.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
It's like all the paid pay to pay tomorrow stuff.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
We know somebody I know somebody in that business.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah you do? Uh, we do?
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Crows?
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Uh didn't. They used to call that lay away back
in the day. Was that and that was the opposite?
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Well, lay away you put your money down and you
didn't get the opposite.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Can put the the shwim bicycle over in the corner
and say, I'm gonna get that thing one day.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I think they call that prepaid. You know, my mom
did a lot of layaway.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Now.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
I remember service service, uh ice merchandise over on South South,
tryon down the road here.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You know what catalog I'm talking about, right? They put
it out in you know, I don't know August September.
I used to circle the circle of stuff, I remark,
and you know, just slide it under Santa Claus's lap.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
That was what you did.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
What type of toys were you circling back then, Patrick
oh Man, I don't know, probably but a shwim bicycle.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I was going for a toy.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
That was big bucks. I mean, I remember when my
brother and I bought our bought our very first Nintendo,
the ne e s at the mall and Eden, North
Carolina paid sixty bucks for it. We pulled our money
together and my parents finally let us get one. You
remember that when you bought.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Your first like v concept, But no, I never had
a Nintendo.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
My daddy wouldn't let me.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
He told me to get go dig he gave you
a hammer instead?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
Yeah, no, I had. I was never a humongous video
game person, you know I did. I did have a
Nintendo and then I got a Sega Genesis and that
was about where I capped out.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, we we happed out. I think we might have
gone one or two more, but never really used him. Uh,
let me ask you a question. How was your jumper
and double dribble back on the old Endea? Pretty good?
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I like double dribble in RBI baseball. That was during
the Mark maguire hey day.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
The key was to get up in that corner and
drop the three behind from up there.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
You remember that?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Goodness gracious, ma'am, I got one other one for you.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I'll tell you what.
Speaker 4 (03:41):
Let's let's find a hoop this afternoon with with our
guest Michael Gullich, and we go maybe put a couple
of nickels on guage.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Looks like he might have balled in his day. I
know we can't talk right now.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
He's pretty athletic that we start talking about people when
they can't talk.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
He putn't even on video.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
He he's rapping a lot of Gastoniaston Gastonia Gaston country
club swag too.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
I like that he's a pretty good golfer. Yeah, has
hurt my feelings on the golf course of time or two.
You've hurt my feelings on the top golf course of
time or two. We'll give a shout out to Gas
and they're they're a good client of Roby.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
They are the small projects and Roby commercials so much appreciated.
But a bunch of good West Side folks. Really west Side, Yeah,
you know, the West west Side. So you grew up, man,
I want nothing to talk about this. You caddied as
a young man. I call a little bit about that. So, yeah,
I was a caddy in high school. I worked at
(04:37):
Cherokeetown Country Club, uh outside of Atlanta, and they had
a caddy program. It was awesome. I mean, do you
really look back on it now. I mean some of
these people that we were caddying for were the movers
and shakers in Atlanta, So it kind of it's a
wonderful thing for a kid to do. Hey, it's it's
not easy work. You're carrying two bags in the middle
of the summer in Georgia and two you know, these
(04:58):
people take to you. You know, It's like when we
have caddies. Whenever we had the opportunity or fortune to
play golf with one and just some incredible advice, you
kind of learned how to talk to those type of people.
So you were technically they call that a two bag caddy. Yeah, right,
and carry two bags? Pretty simple, simple, simple explanation there.
How much money was the standard that you would earn
(05:21):
in around a golf carrying two bags? So I think
I would make ninety bucks and then a lot of
them would tip on top of that. So the ninety
was paid by the club. Yes, so they would bill
them the amount for the caddy. No, actually, I think
they paid us directly if I remember suggested tip amount.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
How many wouldn't give you anything?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That never happened?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Really, no, not that I can remember.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I think most people would at least give you the
ninety and then I'll never forget. When I was a
junior in high school, I wanted to be a stockbroker
because I saw these guys that they were in the stockbroker,
the stockbroker business, that's what they said they did, and
they were gambling like thousands and thousands of dollars and finals.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Like what do y'all do for work? We gamble.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
They gave me like two hundred dollars cash each. I
mean it was crazy. As a seventeen year old kid,
I think I bought like a new twelve inch subwoof
for off that deal. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:12):
We had a client in over near the Quell Holla
neighborhood and my dad always talked very fondly of him,
thought he was a nice man.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And we moved some furniture. He asked us.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
We were working during Christmas break dry. I was driving
the dump truck by me and two of my buddies,
and he said, hey, guys, can y'all come help me
move this table? And I think he just did it
to get us to help him do something. And he
gave us all fifty dollars bill on top of what,
you know what which you were making. Man, I was
seventeen years old. I thought I had hung the moon.
I thought I was going to be an investor. Yeah,
(06:47):
but the.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
First time I ever had a caddy. I'm not that
good of a golfer.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
And my father in law is retired now, Tom Settlemeyer,
but he has been on the show. Check him out. Yeah,
wonderful wonderful and wonderful guy. But uh he was a
salesman in his career and he was a member of
a club It's called Succession down down in Lower South Carolina,
and uh it had a it had a caddy program.
(07:13):
I think they were there are two bad caddies down there,
and I was so nervous. It's like fifteen years ago.
He took me golf, and number one, I'm tight as
tight as a tick, so uh, I really didn't think
it was worth paying a caddy. And then number two
it was a two bad caddies. So he had two men,
me being one, this young kid. He was a third
(07:33):
generation and uh, I was like, oh my gosh, I
already I'm already so terrible. Another person's going to see
how bad I am. Well when he's playing, when he's
got a pretty good player, and then he's got me
as a as a young dumb kid. He's all over
my ball because I'm hitting the left, hitting the right,
hitting it everywhere, so he's all over my ball. In
about the third hole, he said, hey, man, you just
(07:54):
need to take it easy. He's like, go over there,
walk it out and take it easy. And I was like, man,
this guy is pretty cool. I know that I've heard
that story before.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
I was so impressed with this young man and then
during he was so so good, this young young guy
that during this course of this round of golf, I'm
still terrible, and I was still terrible, but I was like, man,
I gotta go earn more money so I can have
(08:26):
a caddy more often, because this is a movie and
it adds so much, so much personality, personality to the game,
and it enhances the game in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
So go ahead.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
No, So that's why you're so good at golf, Caddy.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
So I'm gonna tell you something about your golf game
that you I'm going to clarify. Trend is a fourteen
point five handicap on holds one through fourteen and holds fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen and eighteen year a plus four.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
I don't know how it happens. That's just the legend
that I put in your head. That's because I'm telling
you the whole time. I'm like, I'm really gonna be
good on coming for you.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I'm coming for you.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Well, Trent t Up our guest.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
Yeah, so we're talking about GoF he's got reper his
Gasting country Club stuff, who is a great client of
the Roby family and great too many wonderful people over there.
Anything with West on its side I'm a fan of.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
But Michael Gulliche is on here. He is our guest.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
He's an entrepreneur, a great guy. We've become dear friends.
We hit it off in so many ways. I can't
wait to hear his story and dive in deep when
we return. You're listening to at Home with Roby, and
don't forget Ruby Services is your one stop source for
all your electrical heating, cooling, plumbing and handyman needs. Keep
it easy and get it all done by one. Roby
(09:43):
servicesnow dot com. That's robyservicesnow dot com. Welcome back that
Home with Roby. I'm Patrick mcasac from Ruby Commercial and Services,
along with Trent Hatson from the Roby Family of Companies.
We are your hosts. Trent, I know you've been talking
about having Michael on the show for quite some time.
I'm excited to hear years have I'm so excited that
I just said I just said during our break, because
(10:04):
Michael got up in the in the picture of what
we're doing now to put y'all together. I've spoken about
both of y'all to each other. Got a lot in common.
Michael's businessman, entrepreneur, and we just hit it off really well.
How you doing, dude, I'm great, bud, glad to be here.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Good. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
So, uh so everybody knows I talk a lot about
Chris Maynard. Chris Maynard met in the ninth grade and
went to high school together, best the best life friends.
Been with the Roby family with Andrew Roby in particular,
for twenty one plus years. And Chris got over there
(10:45):
at Gaston a couple of years ago and met Michael
and those some other mutual friends, and he's like, man,
you got to hang out with this guy.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Now.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
He's a lot good or a bad thing.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
It's a good thing now now. When I talked to Chris,
I'm like, yeah, me and Michael did this and we
did that.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
And he's like, oh, I didn't get what's going on? No,
uh no, but it's wonderful. It's it's been awesome getting
to know to know you. And you're from Belmont, you
said that earlier, So why don't you start us off
there and talk about growing up and and what you
did and where are you from?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah? Man, So funny thing about Maynard. And it's such
a small world. And I'm sure Patrick and I probably
know a lot of the same people. But Maynard lives
on a street that my grandma and grandpa lived on
when I was a child, as the house my dad
grew up in, so we knew the prior owners of
(11:47):
Chris's house. And uh, anyway, it's just a small world. Yeah,
right there, Yeah, yellow meal box. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
So a story about Chris.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
Chris, like I said, we rekindled our friendship after after
I got out of college. We were best friends in
high school and then he came to work Force. And
this might have even been a little before he came
to work at Roby. I mean we were kids and
I was all trying to be a real estate mogul.
And he lived over in a neighborhood in Northwest Charlotte
(12:21):
and he was starting to have kids, had I think
they had one child. They had dealing at the time,
and he said, where where should I Where should I.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Look if I wanted to move?
Speaker 3 (12:31):
And I was like, dude, you got to move to Belmont.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Yeah. Yeah, it's a good spot. It's changed I grew
up there. It's changed in a good way. Grew up
in Belmont, went to South Point, went off to college
for four years, and fell my way back and in
the home service industry, which is what I'm still in today.
I met my wife, had a child. Since then, he's
(12:55):
almost seven, and we now live in Cramerton. So kind
of like, uh, I think you think of West Charlotte,
we kind of think the same thing about that side
of Gaston County.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
About the opposite side of Belmont.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You're saying you're you're you're proud of West Yeah, we're
proud of Gaston County, Belmont, Cramerton area.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
I always clarify for people. I'm like, no, that's East
Gaston County.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Yeah, real, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
But uh but yeah, I think West Charlotte and East
Gaston County are pretty pretty similar.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So where'd you go to school? You said you went
off to the to school then came back.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
So I graduated South Point High School. Then I went
to UNC Greensboro.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Oh cool.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Really to play baseball was kind of, you know, nothing
against higher education, but baseball does what you think at
that time. My point is I had no clue. I mean, yeah,
I get it to what I was actually gonna make
a living doing.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
So, Yeah, you played college baseball?
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I did.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
I've never known that.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
What position did you play?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So I pitched?
Speaker 3 (14:01):
You did?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah? I played my first three years of school. And
then at that point, you know, I had figured out
nobody was gonna pay me to play baseball, and uh
I was ready to graduate, get out of school, get
into the workforce, figure out what it was I was
gonna do, and uh so I just skipped out on
that year and went to work.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah what did you do when you get out of school?
You know you're ultimately home services? But like where we get?
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Yeah, so I started my career actually in the HVACT business,
working for a guy out of Belmont, and he bought
from a local supply house. You handle Witherspoon supply, which
I'm sure you are familiar with. So my first job
out of school was actually at the original Yandle Witherspoon
over there off of was it Brevard, Bvard or North
(14:50):
Davidson Odall? Yeah, yeah, that place has changed it.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
So I'll tell you something about that. I started my
career at Ferguson's, the wholesale distribution as well. And I
lived in Nodah in two thousand and six. I bought
a condover there from two thousand and six to twenty ten.
And it was not anything like it is now. My
car broke down one time at night in between the
city and notas right about six o'clock on the way
home from work, and it was it was not a
(15:17):
fun experience. Definitely a little scary. Yeah, I can imagine,
you know, twenty three years old, we're in a you know,
ferguson Back then, I don't know if you'll remember, we
had to wear ties to work. We wore like white
Oxford shirt ties and like starch khakis and you know
buckle shoes as Trent calls them.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
No, we didn't have to do. Mister Witherspoon, Bud was
recently passed away. He was he would wear a white
shirt and a tie every single day. Really, yeah, George
leaving the summertime long sleeving the winter time.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I wonder if he had any ties to the old
ferguson days, like if he started there or work there.
That was I mean, that was like a like a trademark.
We all wore them. Yeah, you know, he didn't have
any money back then, so the shirts were like eight bucks,
you know, the terrible shirts. But yeah, so we had
to wear so breaking down at night wearing that. It
wasn't a good good thing when we When were you
at Ferguson what years ford at twenty ten? Okay fours
(16:08):
when I started in the distribution. Yeah, yeah, so anyway,
the heyday it was things were pretty good in distribution. Uh,
and then they got really bad about.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Eight o nine.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Well, new construction, everybody on new construction. It was really
just starting to hit our market, and you know, then
things happened and it was terrible. It was a bad time.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
No. I remember when I first started, I was like,
we break the sales record every month.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
This is so crazy.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
And then it stopped, like literally, you take a record stopped.
We've talked about that on the show.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Record has Stopping eight nine. It was rough.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
I used to lay in the tub three o'clock in
the morning and moaning grown oh man.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I can't imagine. I was not an entrepreneur at that time,
but so it wasn't quite as stressful it was. I
was single, so you know, but yeah, it wasn't good.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
My first child was born in O seven and and
I said this on the radio before Reagan, my second child.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
She was praying it with my second child, No.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Nine, rowing and we were going to a company softball
game at Renaissance Park, and we went over to speed
Hump and she said something about wanting to paint her nursery.
I mean my house was sixteen hundred square feet, so
there wasn't much painting to be done.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
In a nursery.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
And h and I stopped the car on the speed
hump and uh and wigged out on her because I was.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Scared and broke and going on.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
I get it, and uh, and kudos to my wonderful wife.
She said, look, we'll go living. We'll go live into
the smallest shene and we got to live in. We'll
do whatever you got to tell me if you're stressed out,
you know, and you as a man and as an
entrepreneur and a business owner, you try not to put
that burden on your family. But sometimes if you don't communicate.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Yeah, yeah, you want to hold it in. You don't
want them to go through the pain that you know,
whatever's on your mind, but it is important to communicate
so they know. And we've been through scenarios just like that,
what position did you play in softball?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
By the way, shortstop? I mean, listen.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
So they these these fools tried to get a game
up last year, like hey, I mean and I have
five kids, I do all this business stuff. It's not
as easy for me to play anymore. I'm like, look, guys,
I can't commit. Y'all go do it. Y'all want to
do it, and we're and we were always terrible, so bad.
So they're like, well, come out, please come out, and
they stuck me at shortstop. I was like, man, if
(18:32):
I get in the head because I'm so dumb, I'll
stay in front of the ball like an idiot. And
I'm grown forty six year old man that had been
hitting the head ten times.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
And then I had to take over shortstop and then
those footballs are moving. I'm like, you know, but this
is rule. I don't know if I need to be
doing this.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
We've put a softball team done actually that we were
talking about earlier. He put a softball team together a
cool yeah for the company, and you know, they went
like halfway through the year, and I was kind of
the same at that time. You know, my child was
young and spent a lot of time at home. But anyway,
I don't know if I've ever been as nervous on
(19:10):
a ball field as the first time I actually did
go to play, because they all had this expectation of me,
which I'm like, you collegiate, I was. Yeah, that was
twenty years ago, you know what I mean, And I'm
not been on a softball field. To your point, Yes,
those balls come hard.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
You're a pitcher too. It sounds like, I mean you
focus on pitching at that level. I mean I would
expect you're not hitting bombs over the fence every single time.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
No, in college you don't hit it all. You have
a fun go back and you get very efficient at
hitting ground balls.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
That was your job.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Yeah, yeah, are you listening, L Trent.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Yeah, we got a guy at worked at Hunter. Martin
was a pitcher in college too, and so he was.
He was a good softball player, but he never hit.
He's like, I never hit. I just pitched.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
So I remember hitting in college. One time we our
pitching staff combined for a shutout and our treat was
to get to take bat and practice with the rest
of man. That's the only time we ever hit.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Coach, really pay attention.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I want to get in now.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Can you really watch me get I can do it?
Speaker 4 (20:09):
So uh so, So you worked it in on Weatherspoon
Spoon you were selling selling supplies in the HVAC industry.
How'd you get into the entrepreneur side of the business.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
We just took a leap of faith and in my
time at Yander, I covered twenty six counties in western
North Carolina, went all the way to Murphy, which borders Tennessee,
and uh, you know, got to meet a lot of
great people, see a lot of cool things, a lot
of good things, a lot of bad things. You know,
everybody does things different, so you can't help but observe
(20:43):
when you're in those situations. And had an opportunity with
the company that I ended up buying in twenty fifteen,
dealing out of King's Mountain. The owners were wanting out
and a friend had introduced us, and I think I
had to sell them on me as much as they
(21:04):
were selling me on them. That that that that's their
last name. His father started that company and it was
very important to him. So anyway, we engaged with one
another and uh, you know, I just uh luckily it
worked out and we were able to, you know, strike
a deal. But yeah, that's kind of how I got
(21:25):
in the business. So it was prompt of me to
do that. I don't know. I think I was just
kind of rut doing what I was doing. Yeah again,
and I just wanted to do something different. I thought
why not?
Speaker 4 (21:35):
And it was the second generation you started it. Yes,
they didn't make you change the name.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The name was the big thing to them. And actually
when we ended up selling, I called mister Dillon and
I wanted to tell him personally what had happened. And
you know, I think they'll continue to take care of
the name, and I think your name will grow even
stronger in the local market.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
So well, that's.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Cool in that cool what a perspective And and we
talk about that as we grow businesses that are offshoot
of the Andrew Roby name. Is is if we ever
exited one segment of our business or sold it, you
know what happens with the name. We don't know because
we still have the the Roaby name. So U but
(22:18):
that perspective, in that care that you got to take,
Like you said, they were interviewing you as much as
you were interviewing them.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Probably more so.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Honestly, I would think, so, yeah, now that's cool. So
you had you were a business development outside sales with
you brothers Moon.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Or eventually Yeah, not not. Originally I started working in
the warehouse that I moved to the counter. Then they
recated me to the Hickory branch and that's how I
ended up outside in the Western Territory. Yeah, but it
was good. I enjoyed that territory.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Yeah, it's a cool here. We had a branch in
Hickory and I always enjoyed going up there and seeing
those guys that it just it's just so different from
being in Charlotte. Oh, completely need to get it out
of the you're in the wild wild West a little bit,
and uh, you know, just the war laid back atmosphere.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
It was cool.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
It's some really good guys.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
Start talking about this. He's like over here and reminiscently.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Well, it's the exact same thing we did at Ferguson.
It's so funny, like we had to start, you know,
they would hire back then they would hire I think
there were eleven of us and they they knew it,
and we don't. We didn't know it. Maybe five would
make it and three would make it, you know, on
to be in a career. Uh, because they'd make you
start in the warehouse fifty five hours a week mandatory,
you had to be there at six am and you
didn't leave till five or you didn't get your whole paycheck.
(23:29):
And it was you know, it was it was you.
You were busting it man like. It wasn't easy work.
And so kids would be like, I've got a degree
from Chapel Hill, not doing this and quit. You know,
That's how I said, Chapel.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Hill, Yeah, thank you. You try to throw down. We are
the smart, smart folks in the state.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
We were like what are you doing here?
Speaker 3 (23:49):
So what'd you study at Greensboro?
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah, I've walked away with the business administration degree again,
had a marketing concentration. Still didn't really know what I
wanted to do, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
So how big was dealing when you when you purchased it?
Speaker 2 (24:07):
The largest year they'd ever had was seven hundred and
fifty thousand in revenue in total revenue. Wow, yeah it was.
They really just serviced King's Mountain. It worked very well
for them. They had a couple of employees, uh, you know,
and and they were taken care of and you know
that they were getting what they wanted out of it. Yeah,
(24:29):
so it was you know, it was great for them.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Yes, a lifestyle business. I mean you work in the business,
your family works there. Uh, that's your what you do
every day and uh and you get your paycheck out
of the business.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
That's what it is.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Had it. They had one child. She's a female that's
a physician up in Manhattan with a very big role.
She actually went to high school with my wife. I
think she was a valedictorian. So she had no interest
in uh, you know, she had bigger dreams to do
other things. So I think it all, you know, as
far as I go. It worked out in my favor
(25:04):
that you know.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
So you grew the business grew under your watch.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
It did by a lot. Yeah, we grew it really
from the end. We closed in the middle of fifteen
and really just spent the rest of that year learning
a new way of life as an entrepreneur, which is
very different than going to work for someone else and
then going home and doing whatever it is you want
(25:29):
to do. You know, there's long sleepless nights, you up
to nine ten midnight whatever. Email and phone calls problems
I have and praying whatever it may be. So just
spent the rest of that year getting acclimated. You know,
(25:49):
I had a business plan. I had to provide a
business plan to get the money to buy the business.
I went through the SBA, which was a wonderful program
that worked out well for me. So started to grow
it in sixteen, had a nice year, still learning. It's
just you can't educate yourself enough. You've got to get
(26:11):
that experience in the home service. So by twenty twenty
we had grown it to about three million, and really
nineteen and twenty were fairly flat. COVID came along. We'd
just moved the entire new building in twenty and it
was just a crazy time. But we stayed flat that year,
(26:31):
and a lot of home service companies nationally were having
record years. People started staying at home and they started
paying a little more attention or maintaining their things better,
whatever it may be. So we kind of went back
to the drawing board, reevaluated things, put a plan in place,
and we were able to execute it with the help
(26:53):
of a lot of people. So we went in twenty
twenty roughly three million to fourteen million by the end
of twenty two.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Goodness gracious.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
Yeah, it was a fun ride. It was a crazy ride.
It was almost like you know Will Ferrell and old
School when he debates and blacks out. Yeah, it just
happened so fast, and you're like, damn, what just happened?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Wow, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So, uh, kudos to marketing.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, kudos to all the folks that worked for us.
We had an all star team. I'd still talk to
and think about almost all of them all the time,
but still talk to a lot of them. I mean, yeah,
we did marketing. We had a lot of great marketing
partners through the years, but our people were what made
(27:42):
us that. That was the secret sauce.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It's the team.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I mean, it's not all about the team.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
It's one hundred percent. I agree with you men. It's
just finding the right and best people for the best seats.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
And that took us a while too, so part of
that us sixteen seventeen, eighteen years we're figuring out what
is it that we're even looking for? Right, But then
once we started finding we really started to assemble a
killer team.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
It's amazing how I mean, you're right, I think we
we deal with the same thing. I mean, I'm sure
any any entrepreneur that we have everything that comes on
this show would say the same thing. But there's we
finally learned there's some tools out there that can help
you to find the right people with behavioral tests and
things like that, trying to find certain personality traits that
work for certain roles. But it's at home services is
(28:27):
a it's always something, so many moving parts that it is.
It's a it's a tricky one.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
It's a tricky one, and you're serving a lot of people, yeah,
you know, in their own domains, and sometimes you know
you're going to make mistakes. Nobody's perfect, right, So it's
just tough on many levels.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Sure, yeah, So what do you You got the itch?
What's going on with you?
Speaker 2 (28:52):
I do have the itch. So I've spent the majority
of the last two years really hanging out with my son.
He's in kindergarten this year. He gets out cool at
noon every day and it's been a blessing to spend
most afternoons with him, you know, doing whatever it is
he wants to do. Most times. My wife as well.
So with that said, he's close to graduation. He's going
(29:15):
to the first grade, big boys school all day long,
and that he's ready to get back to work.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
I hear you, maybe we do something together.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Wouldn't that be something that would be something in the
home services sector. I love home services, Trent. I think
you can impact a lot of different people in home services,
including our end user.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I think that you can put again a team together
that can serve homeowners better, and I think everybody deserves that.
Speaker 3 (29:45):
I agree.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
We have mechanical electrical plumbing. I've told our team that
I think you can help us with some insight. Patrick
leaders businesses. I think your knowledge is so impressive because
me no one of the name dealing.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Uh. I mean obviously when they were a small family
business in King's Mountain.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
I did not know it.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
But I did know it, uh and have known it
over the last couple of years. Of congratulations.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
Uh, your son goes to preschool with the same school
my son goes to at Gaston Christian.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
Uh. Kudos to doctor Mark Stout who leads the school.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Yes, it's gonna be bittersweet when he leaves, really for him,
but uh, you know, he's a he's a strong leader.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
I think he's ready to ready to not have the
responsibility of growing a growing a Christian school in a campus. Sure,
I get that, but we both had we're in Bible
study with him. We had that this morning.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
So, uh, it's pretty cool that that now that your
son and my children go to the same school. Yeah,
and then uh Gaston Country Club in the west side
of town.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Uh, dude, I think it's cool how our relationship it
started on a golf course and as we've progressed not
quite a year, you know, the different commonalities that we have.
It's really gassing Christian. Our kids go to school together.
Now we're at a Bible study together. We think a lot,
you know what I mean, Like, Yeah, we're having great
(31:17):
conversations with one another. So it's just crazy where life,
yeah takes you and a lot of that we've been
going over in Bible study. And my mind's about to
say a million miles an hour or how you end
up in these places.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
I don't think it's by mistake. No, yeah, no it is.
So I'm gonna put you on the spot. What a
great story, and it's not that hard. We've been doing
this for eight and a half nine years now. I
think this is coming up on our ninth year. But
the insight from business leaders and entrepreneurs, you always get
a different angle, and you're talking about how that family
(31:53):
was interviewing you the doing family is so cool to see.
And then the risk and the scaredness that you had
in your first year so insightful. So what is one
thing that you live by as you operate now spending
time with your son but getting back into the home
services industry. I think you're I think you're that entrepreneur.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Bugs'tion. What is one thing that you hang you had
on in both endeavors.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Being a good human? I mean, never a wrong time
to do the right thing. I've got a guy that's
mentored me through the years, and that's one thing he's
always told me and I truly believe that. So I
just want to be a good person man, a good father,
a good husband, a good son. I think if we
(32:41):
as people check those boxes, things will work out in
our favor.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Well said, never the wrong time to do the right thing?
Speaker 3 (32:50):
Yeah, I like that. That's well.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Well, I know you listen to the show all the time,
and at the end of every show, I say, do
the golden rule. Treat others the way you want to
be treated.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
This is Podcast Studio might have you a little flustered,
and you seem to be almost.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
Forgotten at our work and with my kids, I say,
I add, you do the Golden rule and treat others
the way you want to be treated, even when they
punch you in the nose, because that's when it's hard
to treat people the way you because sometimes we mess
up and we cross the line and we hope that
folks will give us grace. Uh So go do that
(33:28):
and carry a smile around on your face because you
don't know how it to unpack somebody.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Michael, it's wonderful having you on here. Congratulations on your success,
and we're gonna have you back in about six months
because we are gonna we are gonna do a home
services endeavor together and we'll talk about it.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Super excited for that and the opportunity to come back
as well and talk more about it.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
We get to tease. All right, here we go. Thanks
for listening to At Home with Ruby.
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