May 29, 2025 • 35 mins
Russell Nash, CEO of Legacy Lighting, joins Trent and Patrick on “At Home with Roby”. Russell talks about how he moved from the banking to the lighting industry and the founding of Legacy Lighting in 2013. He also shares details about the company’s growth over the years which he attributes to its exceptional team and their core values of honesty, integrity, and mutual respect.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to at Home with Ruby. I'm Patrick mc isaac
from Ruby Commercial and Services, long with Trent Hayston from
the Roby Family of Companies. We are your host. Trent,
what is happening? It is a rainy day here in
the QC.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, we're recording this h the second week of maybe
maybe starting the third week of May, getting into the season.
I guess it's the second full week. But man talked
to my mom this morning. She said winter, winter has
come back. Trent, winter is I I don't know, Billy,
I don't know if it's winter. It's a little muggy.
(00:33):
It's a little bit muggy, but but we're definitely getting
rain hurt.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
I've got my fancy new Ruby Family of Companies teams
fresh eye of the Team store from our fabulous marketing ladies.
It's rain jackets keeping me dry.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I don't know how to get something like that, But
maybe I need to start talking to somebody different. Don't
don't talk to thee I tell them understand. Team store. Yeah,
we didn't have a team store back in the day. Now.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I think when I started you it was like, hey,
just go buy three or four shirts that you like
and what they will go on there for you.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, we kind of did ourselves member well in the
early two thousands the way our branding started. Uh, I
tell this story a lot I wanted to. Uh. My
dream was was to have a bunch of old Roby
T shirts. And all we had when I was a
kid was some pencil fight a box of pencil fighting pencils.
Uh that my dad got really mad if we pencil
(01:32):
fought with the ones. No, they were regular size, they
weren't any special big. They must have been weak, weak
pine because they broke easily. But they were round and
and Carolina blue as our was our old color before red. Uh.
But we didn't have any shirts and any hats. My
(01:53):
all my ruby hats were little League hats. Today I
am wearing a fresh new Little League hat because now
the little League hats are so cool. We got a
bunch of other ruby hats. But now when we go
to Little League games or what have you, we make
a fresh batch of Little League order hats. So what
Dilworth little League hats? I think the way it went.
(02:15):
Someone was wearing the Dilworth Little League hat from about
eight or ten years ago, a new era ball cap
which is official baseball, if you know. And they saw
someone that had the one that I have on a
young kid like twelve years old, and said that's a
ruby hat. Ruby hat, and said this is the little
(02:37):
League hat. Now. So that's how we did it.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Man. We were representing in here today. So you got
the old school little Lee hat and I've got the
new school nineteen fifty with the.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Logo on this side. We are, we are representing. We
do have it going on. You must have got that
at the team store. I got it today actually. But anyway,
so we didn't have any of this, so we would buy.
I was always about co branding. So I like to
wear Polo and Lacosse shirts, the alligator and the horse,
(03:09):
and I would I would buy a couple of shirts
and and get Andrew Robie put on the sleeve. Yeah.
And when people and I always talk about this, Ralph Lauren,
you know, he's spent thirty years, forty years and and
billions and bosions of dollars creating the feeling you get
(03:30):
when you see a Polo horse on a shirt. So
why not parlay that and kind of plagiarize. So that
was the that was the thing, and people liked it,
and people would always say, where'd you get these cool shirts?
And at Marshall's actually on the cell rack, and then
I take them to take them to a print shop.
(03:50):
But but that was that. And I had a dream
back then when I was wanting to grow the company
as a young uh never sleeping whipoper Snapper in my twenties,
I had a dream that our shirts, I thought, got
so much fanfare that I had a dream that we
could sell our brand. We could end up having a
(04:13):
clothing brand because our brand was so cool and well liked,
synonymous with how we made people feel in our business
and the construction site.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well and hear this, I mean I think that that's
starting to happen some of these kind of newer style
hats and kind of like you talk about the one
that you have on now, we have another one that
we just came out with that's white. It's got an
old red pickup truck on it, and it's got the
logo that's small on the pickup truck. And I was
at an event at Dorney on Thursday and Friday through
(04:42):
Carolina built such a great event, so well put together.
I probably had ten different people come up to me
and say I want that hat. Well, that's great, but
I don't think it's a profit center. I think, but
it's just like this show.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It's all great, no, and we do a lot of
good yeah, but but I don't think it's a profit center.
I've kind of gotten off that train. But what I'm
telling you is so I thought I was like when
I would say this to my dad when I was
gnawing on his ear in a truck and he's like,
oh gosh, please hush. I kind of like it, but hush.
I was like, our our higher end Andrew Roby Triangle
(05:19):
can be more the executive wear like Officewar Triangle, and
then our handyman could be more like that every day
you know type stuff, and our services at the time
Ruby Electric could be more like the rugged wear. And
that was kind of my kind of go go with
the brands. But anyway, when I was at I think
(05:39):
I said this on our last show. I went to
the Berkshire shareholder meeting in Omaha a couple of weeks ago,
and you go downstairs below the arena in Omaha and
all the Berkshire brands are selling stuff. They have a
net jets displayed because Berkshire owns net jets. They have
a Brooks shoes they're selling. I bought me a pair
(06:01):
of again of brook limited edition. They got Warren Buffett
say Bert Sharer on them running shoes. They have Justin
boots for sale. They have their bookstore set up. They have.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So smart.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
I mean Clayton Holmes has a home in there. Anyway,
and I bought a couple of Buffet Warren Buffett T
shirts for my family. I bought four of the same
T shirt, all different sizes for my kids. That's cool
trying to teach them through osmosis. One day they'll be like,
what is this Warren Buffett guy. Maybe they'll read about him.
But anyway, it made me harken back to those early
(06:38):
days when and Buffett has done that, Bert Sharer has
done that. But I'll tell you what's really cool is
the Brooks tennis shoes are really nice and they don't
They're not overly expensive. The T shirts I bought or
cooled or fourteen dollars and fifty cent a T shirt
so that they're not taking advantage of people. But they
(07:00):
I have this brand and it's kind of I would
say the flywheel is what it made me think of
is spinning. And you got people wanting to wear a
jacket that says bert Shire Hathaway, right, and pay for
the jacket and then they go out there and wear
all over the United States, all over the world, and
they're branding for mister Buffett and his conglomerate.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well, I mean trick, that's I mean, really, I got
a couple of things to.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Add to that.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
I mean, it's it's part of the experience. I mean
a lot of the things that you do and I
wear it where that I wear now might be a
hat where I went on vacation, or a shirt where
I played, you know, golf with you or something, and
it reminds me of something instead of their shirts whenever
you wear them or you see them, were obviously remind
you of that experience you had there. Now, to go
back a little bit, you I really really messed up
(07:48):
my first day. I'm coming to Ruby if the if
the electric was supposed to be rugged and I showed
up with a pair of slacks, a white Oxford shirt
and a pair of buckle shoes. So thanks. I won't
blame Dave MacGuire on that for not giving me the memo.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
As sure you will always be known in our company
as the soft spoken buckle shoe boy.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I don't know what I was doing there.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
What are you doing? Man? Go buy a pair of
boots and you're like, You're like, I don't no, I
never where where do I? Where do I buy boots at?
I'm pretty sure where do you buy boots at? You
ever heard of Libo's son?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
I'm pretty sure I did have socks on either, which
makes it even worse.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
But it's on my word. I mean, you're going to
church where.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You go where I came from.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I didn't know you need to listen to and I
think I might have said you need to listen download
some Eric Church songs, or I might have gave you
a CD. Listen to this crap and then uh put
a put a can of skull in your lip.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Throw up, then throw it. Just got to get that
ring on the back pocket, right, that's what you're going for.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, I mean he sings about it. But anyway, talking
about branding today, I didn't know it was going to
go off in this direction. But uh, I got on
my it's raining, so I got on my waterproof kiting
jacket for real the school we go to and I'm
co branding there. I took off to put my ruby
(09:07):
hat on this morning. I took off my MASONA hat,
which is Jared Cheney, who's been on the show Masna Construction.
They build bridges and stuff down in Georgia's great friend
common friend with Russell Nash, who was our guest today.
I want to hear what he's got to say about branding.
I think he's branded me low rent. I don't know
(09:28):
what that means, but we'll ask him about that. But
I get no better kick out of I'm a baseball
hat guy, and I get no better kick out of
wearing my friends' businesses hats and getting questions about it
and representing them. And once again, it's the flywheelis the
(09:50):
momentum of the crew. And if I can help my buddy,
my buddy can help me, and we talk good about
each other. I think you've seen my hat rack in
my garage. Reagan. Reagan got me. I think it macks
us out at fifty and I discarded a probably twenty recently,
and now I'm overflowing again. Nice. I don't know if
(10:10):
that is nice, because you have to make decisions. You know,
you never want to get rid of that old T shirt.
But it's like choosing a kid.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I hear you're choosing a kid.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
WHOA. I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I only have one so soon.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
I have five children and I do not choose between
the five. Go ahead and clear to this up. All right.
We have my good friend hailing from Buford, Georgia today
on the show, Russell Nash. He doesn't know what he's
getting himself into. We've been hanging out a lot lately.
From Legacy Lighting is the business. I can't wait to
hear and learn about it and educate our audience on
(10:48):
the at Home with Ruby show when we return.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
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. Ruby
is now dot com. That's Roby Services now dot com.
Welcome back that Home with Roby. I'm Patrickcaac from Roby
Commercial and Services on Trent Hayson from the Roby family
of companies. We are your hosts. If you miss the
(11:12):
last segment, go check us out. You can check out
all of our podcasts anywhere podcasts are found. But we
had a little branding conversation. We're joined by Russell Nash.
I believe hailing from Georgia? Am I right on that trend?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah? Are you hailing from Beford, Georgia or Swanee, Georgia.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
For Georgia? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
You for Georgia. Holy smokes, you're up by. Are you
a lake lanier guy?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Huh that's right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
I hear you. When I was a kid growing up,
I grew up in Marietta, Georgia, we had an old boat,
called it the Yellow Submarine because it's yellow and it
was old, and we kept it there at Beauford Habersham Arena.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Okay, yeah, Yeah, that's not too far from us, so
we're uh we're probably fifteen ten fifteen minutes from the lake,
so it's uh, it's that's pretty convenient.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Hey, Russell, what shoes are on your feet? Currently?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Boy?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Oh man, I'm going with the boots today, Trent. Let's
go with the boots. Man. It's it's rainy down here
in Georgia, so I had to uh had to get
back with the boots.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Listen to him, Patrick, Maybe we can auction off your
old buckle shoes on on where people can find the podcast.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
I'm checking out his LinkedIn page. He probably has a
pair of buckle shoes. He's looking pretty dapper.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I mean, I mean, I pull it up on your
h Russell is a fellow y p O or Southern
seven Young President's Organization, a big following on the on
with with our network of y p O or I
pull your I pull your page up. Man, you look
pretty formal, Russell. You might need to you might need
to throw some dirt on that picture.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Oh, no doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
So so tell us, tell us are you from Georgia
And tell us about growing up in Georgia if that's
the case.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Yeah, So I I grew up in a town not
far from Beauford. It's called Lawrenceville, so it's not you know,
maybe ten minutes from Bewford, but uh, I grew up there.
Great parents, Uh you know, they were pretty rooted in
the community. And uh dad was a home builder, which
(13:29):
you can relate to, right, Trent and none of that
and that's right, yep. And my mom, uh, she was
in management at the hospital system. So it was just
a great way to grow up, grow up, and uh
and I had a brother and sister that were nine
(13:49):
years older than me. They're they're twins, So I was,
I was. I was the little one of the group.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Dang, you have two a twin siblings that are nine
years older. Goodness gracious, how was that?
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Yes, sir, I got beat up on a lot, you know,
when I was younger, so it made me tough, you know,
Trent and.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
I can really well.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I have a seventeen year My oldest, Tatum, is seventeen,
and my youngest is Knox, he's five, so that's twelve
years and there's a couple in between there. But goodness gracious.
I so, uh so you grew up, did you? I mean,
what did you work as a teenager? You go to college?
What'd you do?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Yeah? So, I mean a lot of sports growing up.
That's that was a big part of my life, just uh,
playing a lot of football and and uh and and
baseball and some basketball along the way. But uh, but
you know, spent a lot of time there and we
would go we would go to the lake pretty good
(14:54):
bit between Hartwell and Lake o'coney. So spent a good
good bit of time at those those two lakes, and
uh that's about it. Man. You know, sports, Uh it's
not quite what it is today, which is a good thing,
I guess. But uh, we did uh spend most of
(15:14):
our weekends on a ball field.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
You baseball more, football more.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
It was a little bit of both. I mean, you know,
back in back in uh, back in the day, you
you really didn't. There wasn't a huge emphasis to uh
single you know, focused on a single sport. Yeah, stay
with one, so we we Uh, I spend most of
my time bouncing between the two.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
So you went to West Georgia. It says here on
your LinkedIn page you a brave West Georgia brave?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Yes, sir?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Did you?
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Did you play any sports there?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Man?
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I tried. I tried to play baseball, but that didn't
didn't quite work out. But just met a met a
great goop group of guys and friends there and ended
up staying there. I've always been a Dogs fan, so
big Georgia fans, so still into the day to this day.
(16:12):
But yeah, I knew, I knew going to Athens. Didn't
really have much of a chance on the ball field
in Athens. So that was originally what took me to
West Georgia.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
I went to Walton, which we're about the same age.
I graduated high school in two thousand. It looks like
you graduated in nineteen ninety nine. Our our quarterback my
senior year, he went to West Georgia tried to try
to play football there for a little while about I
don't know if you ever did. Have We sort of
lost touch after high school. But they've got a great,
great sports program. One of our coaches also came from
(16:48):
the from the West Georgia football team. So it's a
pretty sports intensive school, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yeah. I mean they've done a good job over the
past ten years. You know. They they built a new
football stadium uh there uh on campus, and so their
baseball program has always always been, you know, pretty good,
and so they they've they've grown it substantially in the
(17:15):
last you know, let's call it ten years for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So what'd you study in school?
Speaker 3 (17:22):
So we Uh, I focused on finance and uh, and
then after I graduated West Georgia, I went and spent
some time to wait Forest in a in a banking program,
and UH, when I got out of school, went went
into commercial banking at at that time it was BBNT.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Now truest, I knew you were a Dagon banker. I
had you pegged.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Uh uh, my friends will laugh ask you guys. Uh
a guy in my forum always giving me a hard time.
But uh, but now I definitely got got a pair
of loafers, for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
You got some pennies. You got some shiny pennies in
them shoes. Where you've got the buckle, you can probably
got a combo pack. Got the penny and the buckler.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
I stay away, I stay away from the pennies. Trent,
stay away from the pennies.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
That's set aside for low rent. Uh. So you so
you came out did banking, went to wait for est.
I didn't realize you demon deacon. Got got a little
demon deacon roots coming from the coming from the triad.
So how did you get to where you are today
at uh being the chief executive officer and partner at
Legacy Lighting.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Yeah, long story, So I'll give you the the cliff
notes version. So you know, kind of always envisioned myself,
you know when I was younger. Uh, kind of my
my goal, uh professional goal in life was was to
run a uh community bank, you know, and and so we,
(19:07):
uh we were kind of plotting along that path and
and the g f C uh you know, hit hit
in eight and you know obviously changed course, uh to
to a large degree of a lot of financial institutions
and just the way things operate, uh in today's banking industry.
(19:30):
So you know, I grew up really old fashioned, you know,
when you you know, shake somebody's hand, uh, you know,
your words, your bond and and uh, you know, back
before the financial crisis, you know, you could do to
a certain degree, you could do you know, a back
(19:51):
of the napkin deal at you know, breakfast or lunch
with a customer and and make it happen, you know,
pretty quil quickly. And you know with the GFC, uh,
you know a lot of things changed in terms of
regulation and just all the moving parts. So I decided
(20:14):
that I wanted to get out of banking at that
time going through that, and uh, I knew I wanted
to stay in the construction business because that's kind of
where I really felt at home growing up with a
dad that was a home builder. You know, I've been
around it my whole life, and so really try to
(20:35):
focus my search on staying in that industry and just
had an opportunity, uh to jump into a lighting supply business,
and and that's that's how we got here.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I hear you. So GFC is the Global Financial Crisis.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, I always, I always uh referred to it as that.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
I refer to it as hades because it was tough.
It was hot, it was hot. I was already in
the construction business, and it was a pain, man, I was.
Sleep was hard to come by during those couple of
years nine, ten and eleven.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Whoa, you know, I couldn't imagine being an entrepreneur doing
that during that It was hard enough being a corporate
business having to lay somebody off. I mean just was
the worst. When some many people got laid off and
they were really good employees and they worked their butts off.
Just happened to be. That's the way it was. It's
(21:34):
just tough.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Well, well, you know, Russell, Uh, I graduated college in
two thousand, so I was I was full time overboard,
uh starting in early summer two thousand, UH in the
construction for Andrew Roby, doing custom residential and during that time, uh, Charlotte,
really I think it had already been a banking mega
(22:01):
for for years during the eighties and nineties, but it
really took a leg up with Hugh McCall, ed Crutchfield,
you know, Bank of America, which was Nation's bank, and
uh okay, Woacovia first union was ed Crutchfield and they
partnered with Woacovia and then and then BB and T
at the time was coming up from the Triads. So
(22:22):
I mean it really we brought a lot of people
into Charlotte from New York and San Francisco and stuff
because of that industry, and they had money and they
bought houses in the nice areas and redent them. So
my dad was like, you should have been a banker
because that was the high majority of our customers during
that during that time frame. But then all my banker
(22:45):
buddies were saying, all my customers who I became really
good friends with, were like, man, wish I was a contractor.
Then then then I think we both didn't wish anything
on anybody for about three or four years from eight
to eleven or twelve. Uh besided you get into lighting business.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Yeah, so it you know again it's uh, you know
a lot of moving parts. But I had a cousin
that he uh he owned a lighting rep agency here
in the Atlanta area, and uh, you know really uh
(23:24):
you know, looked up to him as a mentor and
and he uh he he helped me get into the
lighting business. And uh so that's that's a long story short,
that's kind of how I got into the lighting business.
It was, you know, when I was at the bank.
You know, my my commercial portfolio of clients, uh mostly
(23:47):
consisted of commercial contractors, you know, electricians, gcs, UH, plumbing
plumbing contractors, and so just really an easy transition. And
several of those contractors that I that I did most
(24:09):
of their banking for, uh you know our clients here today, electricians,
things like that, GCS. So it was just an easy transition, right,
didn't didn't know anything about lighting, but from a supply standpoint,
you know, really had a good basic understanding of uh,
(24:30):
you know, a distribution business and how uh it should function,
and you know the financial metrics that that really you know,
were you know a priority. Right, So it was an
easy transition in that regard. The product piece was you know,
obviously took some time.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Now I'm looking I'm I'm sorry, Trent, I'm looking at
your website now Legacy Lighting dot Com. I mean, you
got a great offering on online here and it looks
like you have a night showroom as well, which you'll
get a kick out of this both David guire that
it's our CEO, and I came from Ferguson and Dave
in fact, he actually was one of the ones that
(25:11):
got our Charlotte market into the lighting business back in
got two thousand. I want to see probably two thousand
and three, two thousand and four when they really just
got into the builder game.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah. No, Ferguson's really big and just a mammoth of
a company. But no, they've got some local showrooms here
and they do a really good job, you know with
the lighting piece of it as well.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
So do you have one location? What do y'all do,
Who do y'all service? Who do y'all sell to? You
know Patrick when he was hired from Ferguson in two
thousand and eleven, yeah, ten, Yeah, he was hired to
run Roby Electric right which was in its infamous infamousy stages.
(26:06):
And now Patrick leads UH Commercial Construction and Services, which
is electrical, plumbing and mechanical. So if anybody knows how
to do some electrical its, Patrick mckaising, I don't, I don't,
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
But but we when we first got started, man, we
were calling on folks just like you to try to
get referrals. Just we we just needed the business out
and lighting suppliers were a big part of of of
helping us to start to grow initially because it's pretty
it's pretty slow in twenty ten from a construction standpoint,
as you all alluded to earlier.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
But yeah, no doubt, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
I mean that was that was a really big source
of source of revenue for us.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Yeah. And and and in this area,
you know, Ferguson's so big just from a geographical approach,
I mean they're they're you know, massive, right, but you know,
just in this area they seem to focus from from
a lighting standpoint, just you know, from a show just
having a showroom and kind of retail approach. When we
(27:08):
got started Legacy, uh, Patrick, we we we started with
a focus on on multi family uh and mixed use
projects and you know, really focused in on that niche
and tried to be really the best we could be
in that possible vertical and that vertical before we branched off,
(27:32):
and and uh you know the showroom, you know, is
a recent uh uh that that's a recent growth vertical
for us. You know, it's it's due to a lot
of factors. But I've got a partner, John Walmat that
joined the company. He's been here for ten years now
(27:55):
as well, and so he lives at Lake o'coney and
and so it's just a really high end market. I know, Trent,
you've been there, got a lot of you know, there's
a ton of opportunity there and all most of the
opportunity lies in the single family market. And so we're
actually uh slated to open that showroom in the next
(28:17):
three weeks. But it's a very high end uh visual
comfort Hinckley Capital Lighting showroom that focuses, you know, primarily
on the on the high end, high end homes. But
going back to what we were talking about originally, you know,
we we still to this day focus on primarily on
(28:37):
multi family uh nationwide. I think today we're selling into
twenty three different states. And so we don't we don't install,
we don't install any fixtures. We were just a supply
and distribution so we're able to expand geographically relatively you
(29:00):
know quick and we and we we do that mostly
by relationships.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Relationship, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
And so a lot of the developers you know that
are here in the southeast, you know, they do you
know deals maybe in Texas or you know, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado,
other emerging market you know, other other uh markets that
are that are good for multi family and so but
(29:32):
the sun Belt has been really hot, you know for
you know, it's called the last you know, five to
seven years, and so that's been the majority of of
where we've uh done our deals at got It.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Okay, So he's started the business and has grown the
business on B two B business to business selling through
these commercial uh multi family developers. And and it seems
like now you're you're is this your second showroom, man,
you've been in the throws. You open this place in
three weeks and it's going to be fancy goodness gracious No.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
So I'll give all credit to John on that one. Man.
He's uh, he has been running that the showroom down
at Lego Coney. That's been his baby. So he's spent
a lot of time, effort and uh, you know, in
tears down there that at that showroom for sure. But
he lives there Lego Coney, So it'll be, it'll be,
(30:29):
it will eventually be a really good spot for us.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Well, I'm sure the Cheney's Jared and Lindsay could probably
keep you in business with their own personal lighting habit.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
That's right. That's right, that's that. That's that's the goal.
That's the goal.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
That is Uh, that is really cool. I love how
you're adding adding the B two C business to consumer
and doing doing this higher end showroom model. Uh what
what what does tell me? Russell? Uh? I want you
to plug your business again so everybody can learn about it.
This is really cool how you got into it from
(31:05):
the banking world, how you've grown this thing and how
you're growing. What's one philosophy you live by in business
in life you want to leave with our audience.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, fate there's been a
big component of of of our history here at Legacy
and and it will continue to be moving forward.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
You know, Honesty, integrity, and mutual respect or those are
our three you know, founding principles and so we really
focus on that each and every day. And you know,
in terms of you know, just a couple of couple
of things that we try to you know, practice and
you know each and every day here is we just
(31:50):
you know, you spoke to the B two B aspect
and we don't we definitely want to focus on that
that don't want to lose sight as we open and
grow these other verticals. Patrick mentioned the e commerce, we're
really trying to grow the e commerce piece as well,
but uh really really uh focused on surrounding ourselves with
(32:12):
exceptional people and and here legacy we really uh, we
have been very very fortunate and uh and developing a
good team and everybody here is just phenomenal to work with.
And so we've been very very fortunate in that and
surrounding ourselves with really good people and so uh and
(32:34):
then you know, just pursuing victory and everything that we do, right,
so you know, when we wake up in the morning,
really trying to do things with excellence and and uh
and focus on that, on that, right. So if you
take care, you know, if you take care of the
little things, the big things will take care of the self.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
You know, what do you think about that? Patrick? I
love it, I love faith. I believe in faith. Yeah,
I think you gotta believe in something that's bigger than yourself.
You gotta have hope. We said before we got on
the show, Russell's in a forum. I'm in a forum
through YPO, and you grade yourself at the beginning of
(33:14):
every form, how you are between a one and a
ten ten being the best on family, you and and business.
That's how my forum does it. And I said, I'm
always like the eight or to nine or to ten,
and some guys are their their standard radiance is four
or five, six or something. And I truly think that's
(33:35):
just believing in faith and having a positive outlook and
everything you said there, Russell is a testament to that.
I think it's really cool how you have a pair
of buckle shoes from the banking industry you now. I
really think it's cool, though, how you parlayed your relationships
(33:55):
from being a commercial banker and networking and building this
like you said, hands, handshake, deal it at the lunch table,
which I agree with completely, uh. And you took that
and you figured out how to service these folks and
take away of pain and help them be successful, uh
in other areas. And you've done that with lighting and
(34:17):
now you've grown that, uh from from the commercial apartment
multi family developer, uh, multi family condos and development to
to the consumer and you're and you're doing both really well.
So good luck to you man.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
Well, thank you, Trent. I certainly appreciate it, man, and
uh and thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I can't wait to hang out with you again. You
need to work on your shotgun aim, You need to
work on your golf shot and all the important and
back that mouth down a little bit because low rents
coming after you. Okay, I love it.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
I love it. Those are very those are very important
qualities to have, right Trent.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Yeah, because I'm so good at all of that. That's
that's funny.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Oh man, I love it.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I love it well, Russell Man, thanks for being here.
Legacy Lighting. Go check it out. Listen, go do the
Golden rule, treat others the way you want to be
treated always, and carry a smile around on your face today.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome to at Home with Ruby. I'm Patrick mc isaac
from Ruby Commercial and Services, long with Trent Hayston from
the Roby Family of Companies. We are your host. Trent,
what is happening? It is a rainy day here in
the QC.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, we're recording this h the second week of maybe
maybe starting the third week of May, getting into the season.
I guess it's the second full week. But man talked
to my mom this morning. She said winter, winter has
come back. Trent, winter is I I don't know, Billy,
I don't know if it's winter. It's a little muggy.
(00:33):
It's a little bit muggy, but but we're definitely getting
rain hurt.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
I've got my fancy new Ruby Family of Companies teams
fresh eye of the Team store from our fabulous marketing ladies.
It's rain jackets keeping me dry.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I don't know how to get something like that, But
maybe I need to start talking to somebody different. Don't
don't talk to thee I tell them understand. Team store. Yeah,
we didn't have a team store back in the day. Now.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I think when I started you it was like, hey,
just go buy three or four shirts that you like
and what they will go on there for you.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, we kind of did ourselves member well in the
early two thousands the way our branding started. Uh, I
tell this story a lot I wanted to. Uh. My
dream was was to have a bunch of old Roby
T shirts. And all we had when I was a
kid was some pencil fight a box of pencil fighting pencils.
Uh that my dad got really mad if we pencil
(01:32):
fought with the ones. No, they were regular size, they
weren't any special big. They must have been weak, weak
pine because they broke easily. But they were round and
and Carolina blue as our was our old color before red. Uh.
But we didn't have any shirts and any hats. My
(01:53):
all my ruby hats were little League hats. Today I
am wearing a fresh new Little League hat because now
the little League hats are so cool. We got a
bunch of other ruby hats. But now when we go
to Little League games or what have you, we make
a fresh batch of Little League order hats. So what
Dilworth little League hats? I think the way it went.
(02:15):
Someone was wearing the Dilworth Little League hat from about
eight or ten years ago, a new era ball cap
which is official baseball, if you know. And they saw
someone that had the one that I have on a
young kid like twelve years old, and said that's a
ruby hat. Ruby hat, and said this is the little
(02:37):
League hat. Now. So that's how we did it.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Man. We were representing in here today. So you got
the old school little Lee hat and I've got the
new school nineteen fifty with the.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Logo on this side. We are, we are representing. We
do have it going on. You must have got that
at the team store. I got it today actually. But anyway,
so we didn't have any of this, so we would buy.
I was always about co branding. So I like to
wear Polo and Lacosse shirts, the alligator and the horse,
(03:09):
and I would I would buy a couple of shirts
and and get Andrew Robie put on the sleeve. Yeah.
And when people and I always talk about this, Ralph Lauren,
you know, he's spent thirty years, forty years and and
billions and bosions of dollars creating the feeling you get
(03:30):
when you see a Polo horse on a shirt. So
why not parlay that and kind of plagiarize. So that
was the that was the thing, and people liked it,
and people would always say, where'd you get these cool shirts?
And at Marshall's actually on the cell rack, and then
I take them to take them to a print shop.
(03:50):
But but that was that. And I had a dream
back then when I was wanting to grow the company
as a young uh never sleeping whipoper Snapper in my twenties,
I had a dream that our shirts, I thought, got
so much fanfare that I had a dream that we
could sell our brand. We could end up having a
(04:13):
clothing brand because our brand was so cool and well liked,
synonymous with how we made people feel in our business
and the construction site.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well and hear this, I mean I think that that's
starting to happen some of these kind of newer style
hats and kind of like you talk about the one
that you have on now, we have another one that
we just came out with that's white. It's got an
old red pickup truck on it, and it's got the
logo that's small on the pickup truck. And I was
at an event at Dorney on Thursday and Friday through
(04:42):
Carolina built such a great event, so well put together.
I probably had ten different people come up to me
and say I want that hat. Well, that's great, but
I don't think it's a profit center. I think, but
it's just like this show.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
It's all great, no, and we do a lot of
good yeah, but but I don't think it's a profit center.
I've kind of gotten off that train. But what I'm
telling you is so I thought I was like when
I would say this to my dad when I was
gnawing on his ear in a truck and he's like,
oh gosh, please hush. I kind of like it, but hush.
I was like, our our higher end Andrew Roby Triangle
(05:19):
can be more the executive wear like Officewar Triangle, and
then our handyman could be more like that every day
you know type stuff, and our services at the time
Ruby Electric could be more like the rugged wear. And
that was kind of my kind of go go with
the brands. But anyway, when I was at I think
(05:39):
I said this on our last show. I went to
the Berkshire shareholder meeting in Omaha a couple of weeks ago,
and you go downstairs below the arena in Omaha and
all the Berkshire brands are selling stuff. They have a
net jets displayed because Berkshire owns net jets. They have
a Brooks shoes they're selling. I bought me a pair
(06:01):
of again of brook limited edition. They got Warren Buffett
say Bert Sharer on them running shoes. They have Justin
boots for sale. They have their bookstore set up. They have.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So smart.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
I mean Clayton Holmes has a home in there. Anyway,
and I bought a couple of Buffet Warren Buffett T
shirts for my family. I bought four of the same
T shirt, all different sizes for my kids. That's cool
trying to teach them through osmosis. One day they'll be like,
what is this Warren Buffett guy. Maybe they'll read about him.
But anyway, it made me harken back to those early
(06:38):
days when and Buffett has done that, Bert Sharer has
done that. But I'll tell you what's really cool is
the Brooks tennis shoes are really nice and they don't
They're not overly expensive. The T shirts I bought or
cooled or fourteen dollars and fifty cent a T shirt
so that they're not taking advantage of people. But they
(07:00):
I have this brand and it's kind of I would
say the flywheel is what it made me think of
is spinning. And you got people wanting to wear a
jacket that says bert Shire Hathaway, right, and pay for
the jacket and then they go out there and wear
all over the United States, all over the world, and
they're branding for mister Buffett and his conglomerate.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well, I mean trick, that's I mean, really, I got
a couple of things to.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Add to that.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
I mean, it's it's part of the experience. I mean
a lot of the things that you do and I
wear it where that I wear now might be a
hat where I went on vacation, or a shirt where
I played, you know, golf with you or something, and
it reminds me of something instead of their shirts whenever
you wear them or you see them, were obviously remind
you of that experience you had there. Now, to go
back a little bit, you I really really messed up
(07:48):
my first day. I'm coming to Ruby if the if
the electric was supposed to be rugged and I showed
up with a pair of slacks, a white Oxford shirt
and a pair of buckle shoes. So thanks. I won't
blame Dave MacGuire on that for not giving me the memo.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
As sure you will always be known in our company
as the soft spoken buckle shoe boy.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I don't know what I was doing there.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
What are you doing? Man? Go buy a pair of
boots and you're like, You're like, I don't no, I
never where where do I? Where do I buy boots at?
I'm pretty sure where do you buy boots at? You
ever heard of Libo's son?
Speaker 1 (08:19):
I'm pretty sure I did have socks on either, which
makes it even worse.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
But it's on my word. I mean, you're going to
church where.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You go where I came from.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
I didn't know you need to listen to and I
think I might have said you need to listen download
some Eric Church songs, or I might have gave you
a CD. Listen to this crap and then uh put
a put a can of skull in your lip.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Throw up, then throw it. Just got to get that
ring on the back pocket, right, that's what you're going for.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, I mean he sings about it. But anyway, talking
about branding today, I didn't know it was going to
go off in this direction. But uh, I got on
my it's raining, so I got on my waterproof kiting
jacket for real the school we go to and I'm
co branding there. I took off to put my ruby
(09:07):
hat on this morning. I took off my MASONA hat,
which is Jared Cheney, who's been on the show Masna Construction.
They build bridges and stuff down in Georgia's great friend
common friend with Russell Nash, who was our guest today.
I want to hear what he's got to say about branding.
I think he's branded me low rent. I don't know
(09:28):
what that means, but we'll ask him about that. But
I get no better kick out of I'm a baseball
hat guy, and I get no better kick out of
wearing my friends' businesses hats and getting questions about it
and representing them. And once again, it's the flywheelis the
(09:50):
momentum of the crew. And if I can help my buddy,
my buddy can help me, and we talk good about
each other. I think you've seen my hat rack in
my garage. Reagan. Reagan got me. I think it macks
us out at fifty and I discarded a probably twenty recently,
and now I'm overflowing again. Nice. I don't know if
(10:10):
that is nice, because you have to make decisions. You know,
you never want to get rid of that old T shirt.
But it's like choosing a kid.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I hear you're choosing a kid.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
WHOA. I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I only have one so soon.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
I have five children and I do not choose between
the five. Go ahead and clear to this up. All right.
We have my good friend hailing from Buford, Georgia today
on the show, Russell Nash. He doesn't know what he's
getting himself into. We've been hanging out a lot lately.
From Legacy Lighting is the business. I can't wait to
hear and learn about it and educate our audience on
(10:48):
the at Home with Ruby show when we return.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
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. Ruby
is now dot com. That's Roby Services now dot com.
Welcome back that Home with Roby. I'm Patrickcaac from Roby
Commercial and Services on Trent Hayson from the Roby family
of companies. We are your hosts. If you miss the
(11:12):
last segment, go check us out. You can check out
all of our podcasts anywhere podcasts are found. But we
had a little branding conversation. We're joined by Russell Nash.
I believe hailing from Georgia? Am I right on that trend?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Yeah? Are you hailing from Beford, Georgia or Swanee, Georgia.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
For Georgia? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
You for Georgia. Holy smokes, you're up by. Are you
a lake lanier guy?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Huh that's right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
I hear you. When I was a kid growing up,
I grew up in Marietta, Georgia, we had an old boat,
called it the Yellow Submarine because it's yellow and it
was old, and we kept it there at Beauford Habersham Arena.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Okay, yeah, Yeah, that's not too far from us, so
we're uh we're probably fifteen ten fifteen minutes from the lake,
so it's uh, it's that's pretty convenient.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Hey, Russell, what shoes are on your feet? Currently?
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Boy?
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Oh man, I'm going with the boots today, Trent. Let's
go with the boots. Man. It's it's rainy down here
in Georgia, so I had to uh had to get
back with the boots.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Listen to him, Patrick, Maybe we can auction off your
old buckle shoes on on where people can find the podcast.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
I'm checking out his LinkedIn page. He probably has a
pair of buckle shoes. He's looking pretty dapper.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
I mean, I mean, I pull it up on your
h Russell is a fellow y p O or Southern
seven Young President's Organization, a big following on the on
with with our network of y p O or I
pull your I pull your page up. Man, you look
pretty formal, Russell. You might need to you might need
to throw some dirt on that picture.
Speaker 3 (12:56):
Oh, no doubt, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
So so tell us, tell us are you from Georgia
And tell us about growing up in Georgia if that's
the case.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Yeah, So I I grew up in a town not
far from Beauford. It's called Lawrenceville, so it's not you know,
maybe ten minutes from Bewford, but uh, I grew up there.
Great parents, Uh you know, they were pretty rooted in
the community. And uh dad was a home builder, which
(13:29):
you can relate to, right, Trent and none of that
and that's right, yep. And my mom, uh, she was
in management at the hospital system. So it was just
a great way to grow up, grow up, and uh
and I had a brother and sister that were nine
(13:49):
years older than me. They're they're twins, So I was,
I was. I was the little one of the group.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Dang, you have two a twin siblings that are nine
years older. Goodness gracious, how was that?
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Yes, sir, I got beat up on a lot, you know,
when I was younger, so it made me tough, you know,
Trent and.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
I can really well.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I have a seventeen year My oldest, Tatum, is seventeen,
and my youngest is Knox, he's five, so that's twelve
years and there's a couple in between there. But goodness gracious.
I so, uh so you grew up, did you? I mean,
what did you work as a teenager? You go to college?
What'd you do?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Yeah? So, I mean a lot of sports growing up.
That's that was a big part of my life, just uh,
playing a lot of football and and uh and and
baseball and some basketball along the way. But uh, but
you know, spent a lot of time there and we
would go we would go to the lake pretty good
(14:54):
bit between Hartwell and Lake o'coney. So spent a good
good bit of time at those those two lakes, and
uh that's about it. Man. You know, sports, Uh it's
not quite what it is today, which is a good thing,
I guess. But uh, we did uh spend most of
(15:14):
our weekends on a ball field.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
You baseball more, football more.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
It was a little bit of both. I mean, you know,
back in back in uh, back in the day, you
you really didn't. There wasn't a huge emphasis to uh
single you know, focused on a single sport. Yeah, stay
with one, so we we Uh, I spend most of
my time bouncing between the two.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
So you went to West Georgia. It says here on
your LinkedIn page you a brave West Georgia brave?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Yes, sir?
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Did you?
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Did you play any sports there?
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Man?
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I tried. I tried to play baseball, but that didn't
didn't quite work out. But just met a met a
great goop group of guys and friends there and ended
up staying there. I've always been a Dogs fan, so
big Georgia fans, so still into the day to this day.
(16:12):
But yeah, I knew, I knew going to Athens. Didn't
really have much of a chance on the ball field
in Athens. So that was originally what took me to
West Georgia.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
I went to Walton, which we're about the same age.
I graduated high school in two thousand. It looks like
you graduated in nineteen ninety nine. Our our quarterback my
senior year, he went to West Georgia tried to try
to play football there for a little while about I
don't know if you ever did. Have We sort of
lost touch after high school. But they've got a great,
great sports program. One of our coaches also came from
(16:48):
the from the West Georgia football team. So it's a
pretty sports intensive school, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Yeah. I mean they've done a good job over the
past ten years. You know. They they built a new
football stadium uh there uh on campus, and so their
baseball program has always always been, you know, pretty good,
and so they they've they've grown it substantially in the
(17:15):
last you know, let's call it ten years for sure.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So what'd you study in school?
Speaker 3 (17:22):
So we Uh, I focused on finance and uh, and
then after I graduated West Georgia, I went and spent
some time to wait Forest in a in a banking program,
and UH, when I got out of school, went went
into commercial banking at at that time it was BBNT.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Now truest, I knew you were a Dagon banker. I
had you pegged.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Uh uh, my friends will laugh ask you guys. Uh
a guy in my forum always giving me a hard time.
But uh, but now I definitely got got a pair
of loafers, for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
You got some pennies. You got some shiny pennies in
them shoes. Where you've got the buckle, you can probably
got a combo pack. Got the penny and the buckler.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
I stay away, I stay away from the pennies. Trent,
stay away from the pennies.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
That's set aside for low rent. Uh. So you so
you came out did banking, went to wait for est.
I didn't realize you demon deacon. Got got a little
demon deacon roots coming from the coming from the triad.
So how did you get to where you are today
at uh being the chief executive officer and partner at
Legacy Lighting.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
Yeah, long story, So I'll give you the the cliff
notes version. So you know, kind of always envisioned myself,
you know when I was younger. Uh, kind of my
my goal, uh professional goal in life was was to
run a uh community bank, you know, and and so we,
(19:07):
uh we were kind of plotting along that path and
and the g f C uh you know, hit hit
in eight and you know obviously changed course, uh to
to a large degree of a lot of financial institutions
and just the way things operate, uh in today's banking industry.
(19:30):
So you know, I grew up really old fashioned, you know,
when you you know, shake somebody's hand, uh, you know,
your words, your bond and and uh, you know, back
before the financial crisis, you know, you could do to
a certain degree, you could do you know, a back
(19:51):
of the napkin deal at you know, breakfast or lunch
with a customer and and make it happen, you know,
pretty quil quickly. And you know with the GFC, uh,
you know a lot of things changed in terms of
regulation and just all the moving parts. So I decided
(20:14):
that I wanted to get out of banking at that
time going through that, and uh, I knew I wanted
to stay in the construction business because that's kind of
where I really felt at home growing up with a
dad that was a home builder. You know, I've been
around it my whole life, and so really try to
(20:35):
focus my search on staying in that industry and just
had an opportunity, uh to jump into a lighting supply business,
and and that's that's how we got here.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
I hear you. So GFC is the Global Financial Crisis.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Yeah, I always, I always uh referred to it as that.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
I refer to it as hades because it was tough.
It was hot, it was hot. I was already in
the construction business, and it was a pain, man, I was.
Sleep was hard to come by during those couple of
years nine, ten and eleven.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Whoa, you know, I couldn't imagine being an entrepreneur doing
that during that It was hard enough being a corporate
business having to lay somebody off. I mean just was
the worst. When some many people got laid off and
they were really good employees and they worked their butts off.
Just happened to be. That's the way it was. It's
(21:34):
just tough.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Well, well, you know, Russell, Uh, I graduated college in
two thousand, so I was I was full time overboard,
uh starting in early summer two thousand, UH in the
construction for Andrew Roby, doing custom residential and during that time, uh, Charlotte,
really I think it had already been a banking mega
(22:01):
for for years during the eighties and nineties, but it
really took a leg up with Hugh McCall, ed Crutchfield,
you know, Bank of America, which was Nation's bank, and
uh okay, Woacovia first union was ed Crutchfield and they
partnered with Woacovia and then and then BB and T
at the time was coming up from the Triads. So
(22:22):
I mean it really we brought a lot of people
into Charlotte from New York and San Francisco and stuff
because of that industry, and they had money and they
bought houses in the nice areas and redent them. So
my dad was like, you should have been a banker
because that was the high majority of our customers during
that during that time frame. But then all my banker
(22:45):
buddies were saying, all my customers who I became really
good friends with, were like, man, wish I was a contractor.
Then then then I think we both didn't wish anything
on anybody for about three or four years from eight
to eleven or twelve. Uh besided you get into lighting business.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
Yeah, so it you know again it's uh, you know
a lot of moving parts. But I had a cousin
that he uh he owned a lighting rep agency here
in the Atlanta area, and uh, you know really uh
(23:24):
you know, looked up to him as a mentor and
and he uh he he helped me get into the
lighting business. And uh so that's that's a long story short,
that's kind of how I got into the lighting business.
It was, you know, when I was at the bank.
You know, my my commercial portfolio of clients, uh mostly
(23:47):
consisted of commercial contractors, you know, electricians, gcs, UH, plumbing
plumbing contractors, and so just really an easy transition. And
several of those contractors that I that I did most
(24:09):
of their banking for, uh you know our clients here today, electricians,
things like that, GCS. So it was just an easy transition, right,
didn't didn't know anything about lighting, but from a supply standpoint,
you know, really had a good basic understanding of uh,
(24:30):
you know, a distribution business and how uh it should function,
and you know the financial metrics that that really you know,
were you know a priority. Right, So it was an
easy transition in that regard. The product piece was you know,
obviously took some time.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
Now I'm looking I'm I'm sorry, Trent, I'm looking at
your website now Legacy Lighting dot Com. I mean, you
got a great offering on online here and it looks
like you have a night showroom as well, which you'll
get a kick out of this both David guire that
it's our CEO, and I came from Ferguson and Dave
in fact, he actually was one of the ones that
(25:11):
got our Charlotte market into the lighting business back in
got two thousand. I want to see probably two thousand
and three, two thousand and four when they really just
got into the builder game.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
Yeah. No, Ferguson's really big and just a mammoth of
a company. But no, they've got some local showrooms here
and they do a really good job, you know with
the lighting piece of it as well.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
So do you have one location? What do y'all do,
Who do y'all service? Who do y'all sell to? You
know Patrick when he was hired from Ferguson in two
thousand and eleven, yeah, ten, Yeah, he was hired to
run Roby Electric right which was in its infamous infamousy stages.
(26:06):
And now Patrick leads UH Commercial Construction and Services, which
is electrical, plumbing and mechanical. So if anybody knows how
to do some electrical its, Patrick mckaising, I don't, I don't,
I don't know about that.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
But but we when we first got started, man, we
were calling on folks just like you to try to
get referrals. Just we we just needed the business out
and lighting suppliers were a big part of of of
helping us to start to grow initially because it's pretty
it's pretty slow in twenty ten from a construction standpoint,
as you all alluded to earlier.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
But yeah, no doubt, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
I mean that was that was a really big source
of source of revenue for us.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Yeah. And and and in this area,
you know, Ferguson's so big just from a geographical approach,
I mean they're they're you know, massive, right, but you know,
just in this area they seem to focus from from
a lighting standpoint, just you know, from a show just
having a showroom and kind of retail approach. When we
(27:08):
got started Legacy, uh, Patrick, we we we started with
a focus on on multi family uh and mixed use
projects and you know, really focused in on that niche
and tried to be really the best we could be
in that possible vertical and that vertical before we branched off,
(27:32):
and and uh you know the showroom, you know, is
a recent uh uh that that's a recent growth vertical
for us. You know, it's it's due to a lot
of factors. But I've got a partner, John Walmat that
joined the company. He's been here for ten years now
(27:55):
as well, and so he lives at Lake o'coney and
and so it's just a really high end market. I know, Trent,
you've been there, got a lot of you know, there's
a ton of opportunity there and all most of the
opportunity lies in the single family market. And so we're
actually uh slated to open that showroom in the next
(28:17):
three weeks. But it's a very high end uh visual
comfort Hinckley Capital Lighting showroom that focuses, you know, primarily
on the on the high end, high end homes. But
going back to what we were talking about originally, you know,
we we still to this day focus on primarily on
(28:37):
multi family uh nationwide. I think today we're selling into
twenty three different states. And so we don't we don't install,
we don't install any fixtures. We were just a supply
and distribution so we're able to expand geographically relatively you
(29:00):
know quick and we and we we do that mostly
by relationships.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
Relationship, yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
And so a lot of the developers you know that
are here in the southeast, you know, they do you
know deals maybe in Texas or you know, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado,
other emerging market you know, other other uh markets that
are that are good for multi family and so but
(29:32):
the sun Belt has been really hot, you know for
you know, it's called the last you know, five to
seven years, and so that's been the majority of of
where we've uh done our deals at got It.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Okay, So he's started the business and has grown the
business on B two B business to business selling through
these commercial uh multi family developers. And and it seems
like now you're you're is this your second showroom, man,
you've been in the throws. You open this place in
three weeks and it's going to be fancy goodness gracious No.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
So I'll give all credit to John on that one. Man.
He's uh, he has been running that the showroom down
at Lego Coney. That's been his baby. So he's spent
a lot of time, effort and uh, you know, in
tears down there that at that showroom for sure. But
he lives there Lego Coney, So it'll be, it'll be,
(30:29):
it will eventually be a really good spot for us.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Well, I'm sure the Cheney's Jared and Lindsay could probably
keep you in business with their own personal lighting habit.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
That's right. That's right, that's that. That's that's the goal.
That's the goal.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
That is Uh, that is really cool. I love how
you're adding adding the B two C business to consumer
and doing doing this higher end showroom model. Uh what
what what does tell me? Russell? Uh? I want you
to plug your business again so everybody can learn about it.
This is really cool how you got into it from
(31:05):
the banking world, how you've grown this thing and how
you're growing. What's one philosophy you live by in business
in life you want to leave with our audience.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, fate there's been a
big component of of of our history here at Legacy
and and it will continue to be moving forward.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
You know, Honesty, integrity, and mutual respect or those are
our three you know, founding principles and so we really
focus on that each and every day. And you know,
in terms of you know, just a couple of couple
of things that we try to you know, practice and
you know each and every day here is we just
(31:50):
you know, you spoke to the B two B aspect
and we don't we definitely want to focus on that
that don't want to lose sight as we open and
grow these other verticals. Patrick mentioned the e commerce, we're
really trying to grow the e commerce piece as well,
but uh really really uh focused on surrounding ourselves with
(32:12):
exceptional people and and here legacy we really uh, we
have been very very fortunate and uh and developing a
good team and everybody here is just phenomenal to work with.
And so we've been very very fortunate in that and
surrounding ourselves with really good people and so uh and
(32:34):
then you know, just pursuing victory and everything that we do, right,
so you know, when we wake up in the morning,
really trying to do things with excellence and and uh
and focus on that, on that, right. So if you
take care, you know, if you take care of the
little things, the big things will take care of the self.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
You know, what do you think about that? Patrick? I
love it, I love faith. I believe in faith. Yeah,
I think you gotta believe in something that's bigger than yourself.
You gotta have hope. We said before we got on
the show, Russell's in a forum. I'm in a forum
through YPO, and you grade yourself at the beginning of
(33:14):
every form, how you are between a one and a
ten ten being the best on family, you and and business.
That's how my forum does it. And I said, I'm
always like the eight or to nine or to ten,
and some guys are their their standard radiance is four
or five, six or something. And I truly think that's
(33:35):
just believing in faith and having a positive outlook and
everything you said there, Russell is a testament to that.
I think it's really cool how you have a pair
of buckle shoes from the banking industry you now. I
really think it's cool, though, how you parlayed your relationships
(33:55):
from being a commercial banker and networking and building this
like you said, hands, handshake, deal it at the lunch table,
which I agree with completely, uh. And you took that
and you figured out how to service these folks and
take away of pain and help them be successful, uh
in other areas. And you've done that with lighting and
(34:17):
now you've grown that, uh from from the commercial apartment
multi family developer, uh, multi family condos and development to
to the consumer and you're and you're doing both really well.
So good luck to you man.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
Well, thank you, Trent. I certainly appreciate it, man, and
uh and thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I can't wait to hang out with you again. You
need to work on your shotgun aim, You need to
work on your golf shot and all the important and
back that mouth down a little bit because low rents
coming after you. Okay, I love it.
Speaker 3 (34:51):
I love it. Those are very those are very important
qualities to have, right Trent.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
Yeah, because I'm so good at all of that. That's
that's funny.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Oh man, I love it.
Speaker 2 (35:01):
I love it well, Russell Man, thanks for being here.
Legacy Lighting. Go check it out. Listen, go do the
Golden rule, treat others the way you want to be
treated always, and carry a smile around on your face today.
Thanks for listening.
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