July 3, 2025 • 30 mins
When the vision is clear but your team still isn’t executing, that disconnect isn’t just frustrating—it’s expensive. If you’ve ever felt like you’re repeating yourself across teams or struggling to keep quality consistent as you grow, this episode will speak directly to you.
I’m joined by David Sauers, co-founder and CEO of Royal Restrooms—the nationally recognized luxury restroom brand with over 50 franchise locations. What started with a personal pain point became a movement that redefined an industry. We dig into the franchise growth strategy that helped him scale from a local service to a national brand, without losing the mission or momentum.
If you’re thinking about multi-location growth, licensing, or expanding your business without bottlenecks, you’ll walk away from this episode with clarity on how to build systems that protect your vision and scale your values.
We don’t talk theory here. This is real-world strategy—grounded in leadership, driven by legacy.
Books Mentioned:
Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks
Connect with David Sauers
To learn more about David’s work or bring Royal Restrooms to your event, visit royalrestrooms.com or connect with him on LinkedIn under David Sauers. He’s also building Kruger Bush Campers, and you can follow his journey there as well.
Join Dr. William Attaway on the Catalytic Leadership podcast as he shares transformative insights to help high-performance entrepreneurs and agency owners achieve Clear-Minded Focus, Calm Control, and Confidence.
- Free 30-Minute Discovery Call:
Ready to elevate your business? Book a free 30-minute discovery call with Dr. William Attaway and start your journey to success.
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Connect with Dr. William Attaway:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. William Attaway (00:00):
I'm so excited today to have David
Sowers on the podcast.
David is the co-founder and CEOof Royal Restrooms, the gold
standard in luxury portablerestroom rentals for events,
weddings and commercialapplications.
Founded in 2004, royalRestrooms has grown into a
nationally recognized brand withover 50 office locations across
(00:24):
the country.
Beyond his success in the eventindustry, david is also a
featured entrepreneur andthought leader in the business
world.
He appeared on season 21 of theBlock's TV series and will soon
be featured on Legacy Makerswith Rudy Maurer highlighting
his journey as an innovator andbusiness builder.
Hour, highlighting his journeyas an innovator and business
(00:47):
builder, passionate about brandbuilding, leadership and outdoor
adventure.
David also leads Kruger BuschCampers, an overland lifestyle
brand inspired by his travelsthrough South Africa and beyond.
David, I'm so glad you're here.
Thanks for being on the showtoday.
David Sauers (01:01):
William, that's quite an introduction.
I mean you get my blood pumpingand it's like wait a second.
That's quite an introduction.
I mean you just, you know, youget my blood pumping and it's
like wait a second.
That's me.
Intro / Outro (01:10):
Welcome to Catalytic Leadership, the
podcast designed to help leadersintentionally grow and thrive.
Here is your host author andleadership and executive coach,
dr William Attaway.
Dr. William Attaway (01:28):
Well, I would love to start with you
sharing a little bit of yourstory with our listeners,
particularly around your journeyand your development as a
leader.
David Sauers (01:39):
How did all this get started?
I think my journey reallystarted out when I was younger.
It wasn't anything that Ilooked for or I strive to.
I felt kind of just a callingto always just make a change,
not necessarily break the rules,but I just wanted to do
(01:59):
something a little better, seeif I could maybe make it a
little more interesting or maybemake it just a little more fun
for myself, even growing up froma young age just tweaking
things, and that, I believe, isreally what inspired me to
become an entrepreneur, to breakout on my own.
Dr. William Attaway (02:19):
I just wanted to do something a little
bit different, so tell us alittle bit about Royal Restrooms
.
Wanted to do something a littlebit different, so tell us a
little bit about Royal Restrooms.
Some of our listeners may notbe familiar with your company,
but you're now 21 years in.
David Sauers (02:39):
Yes, absolutely so .
Royal Restrooms started likeyou said.
We started in 2004.
It kind of became a brainchildin 2003 out of like what most
businesses start out in.
You know an experience and youwant to fill a need.
You want to fill some kind ofvoid that you think is out there
, and that's exactly whathappened with me.
Our origin stories started witha horrible experience going to a
(03:02):
Port-A-John.
I had both of my daughters withme.
We were at a Shakespeare in thePark festival and she was potty
training.
We walk over, we're enjoyingour time, we're having an
absolute blast.
Get over there and it's like,wait a second, it's dark, how do
I fit in this Port-A-Potty?
(03:23):
And next thing I know, I lookdown and Stella has got her
hands on the toilet and her headalmost in the hole.
Oh, my goodness, I just youknow you go into this like don't
touch anything.
And I start looking around.
It's like, okay, you know what?
There's still no lights in here.
I don't have anywhere to washmy hands.
(03:43):
I'm trying not to hit my leg onthe porta potty Like I'm just
in pure bone panic mode.
I hand Cece off to a guestoutside that I don't know.
So I'm nervous about that DropStella down, take her, and I'm
holding her over the potty and Iturn around to kick to make
(04:04):
sure that my other daughter'sall right.
About that time I feel this warmsensation on my leg.
At that point I know that I'mgetting peed on and I go from
you know kind of panic to justvery upset, like we finished our
business.
I walk, we walk outside, youknow there's nowhere to just
(04:25):
very upset, like we finished ourbusiness.
I won't.
We walk outside.
It's.
You know.
There's nowhere to wash yourhands, there's nowhere to.
You know I don't have anythingbut toilet paper to try to dry
myself off with.
I left and as I, as I'm lookingaround and as I'm walking and
I'm, you know, mumbling andtrying to keep my composure,
(04:46):
it's like we've got all theselights in the trees.
It's beautiful, everybody'shaving a wonderful time, there's
tents, there's chandeliersthere, there's people dressed.
It's like why in the world iseverything so nice?
And yet we just have a freakingporta potty, like we're going
to the bathroom but we'recamping, like what?
(05:07):
And nobody seems to have aproblem with it.
It was just the accepted norm.
And it's like why?
Why is this the accepted norm?
And I think it has to do withjust because porta potties in
general or bathroom in general.
It's a private experience, it'snot something that you are
(05:27):
excited about and certainly it'ssomething from a festival
standpoint.
That is just you know.
It's one of the necessary evils, you just have to deal with it.
Dr. William Attaway (05:38):
Wow.
So how did you start and howdid you grow into what you are
now?
So many entrepreneurs start abusiness, but it doesn't take
off, or they struggle for yearafter year after year, just to
sustain.
David Sauers (05:54):
Right.
Well, I think I have to finishanswering your first question
from before.
But I have to say, watchingyour podcast, I love your nod
and your right.
When you get into it it's likethis perfect feel-good emotion.
Like man, I am soaking all thisin and it's listening to your
(06:16):
podcast.
You know.
Like I said, I've been veryexcited to come on.
That that was.
It's enjoying to see thatenthusiasm.
But Royal Restrooms is afull-service restroom, just on a
trailer.
It's a fully functioningrestroom, just like what would
be at your house or in a hotelrestaurant.
(06:38):
It is.
You walk into the restroom.
It has a vanity, you've gotplenty of space to move around.
You have a real flushing toilet.
It's climate-controlled, it'slighted.
You've got plenty of space tomove around.
You have a real flushing toilet.
It's climate controlled, it'slighted.
You have real toilet paper, youhave hand soap, you have paper
towels.
You don't know that you are atan outdoor event.
And that is the premise ofRoyal Restrooms creating that
(07:00):
experience anywhere you want togo.
But to answer your next question, starting out, how did we go
about it?
How did we do it?
We got really excited justabout creating this idea.
My business partner, robertGlister, and I he was.
He was just, he's just such ajovial fella and was so excited
(07:23):
about doing this in Savannah,because Savannah is a large, you
know, event community.
We do a lot of things outside.
It's just so beautiful here.
We looked at it as you knowwhat.
We're going to take it slow,we're going to launch this out
there, see what people think andif it doesn't work we'll write
(07:45):
it off.
If not, we'll have a good timegoing to these events and taking
care of this.
Or there's a lot of communityevents.
Robert and I are bothprofessional.
We're going to partner withnonprofits and we're going to
elevate their event.
You know we're going to make itpart of the community.
So we had a lot of littlebackups that we thought and we
(08:06):
had a lot of ideas floatingaround and, as many people told
us that we were absolutely crazythat we were doing this, the
minute they sat down on thetoilet, the minute they used one
of our restrooms, that was it.
They weren't going back.
We're sold.
This is brilliant.
I can't believe the same personfive minutes ago that told me
(08:28):
we were crazy.
This is brilliant.
I can't believe I didn't thinkof this.
I love that man.
Dr. William Attaway (08:34):
You know, entrepreneurs see what is not
and they see what could be.
And it sounds like that's whathappened.
You had a terrible experienceand then you said hey, you know
I could do something about this.
I'm not just going to complainabout what is, I'm going to move
on to the solution side and seeif we can create what could be.
(08:56):
So tell us about RoyalRestrooms today as a business.
Where are you today and whatare your goals for the next few?
David Sauers (09:05):
years.
Our goals are to remain inbusiness and continue to Good
goal.
You know, hey, even thoughwe're on top, I mean so many
businesses just getlackadaisical or they get
comfortable, they forget whythey started a business.
You know Royal Restrooms, yes,we've been the industry leader,
we've been the gold standard anda lot of I mean well, the
(09:28):
entire industry kind of mimicswhat we do.
They look to see what we do andtransform their side.
We're the leaders in theindustry from a rental
standpoint.
We're the leaders in theindustry from a rental
standpoint, and that doesn'tcome without its burdens and
troubles and certainlymaintaining that image.
(09:52):
Right now we're in theinnovation mode.
We want to kind of recreatewhat we're doing.
Our restroom trailers havecontinued to get exponentially
more luxurious inside.
I mean, there are some thathave fireplaces in them.
(10:16):
Seriously, they have becomereally outstandingly just
beautiful.
A lot of people they walk innow and it's like this is better
than my own home, this isbetter than this.
And they are.
You would never believe.
You know the quality inside onhow these things look.
They're just amazing.
But from the outside they stilllook like a big white cargo box
(10:39):
.
You know, it's still a big boxytrailer and from the event
standpoint and the weddings, theVIPs that is something that
we've constantly heard over andover through the years.
We love the restrooms.
We still have to.
You know, we got over the factthat, okay, they don't smell.
We were delegating them overthere to the far corner because
(11:00):
we think they smell, becausethey're associating them with a
port-a potty.
They don't, so we're like youneed to bring them closer, you
know it's part of your eventWell but they're not necessarily
picturesque.
You know they don't.
They were fine 10 years ago.
15 years ago it was like, okay,I can do this, but now people
(11:22):
want something that is morephotogenic, and so we're
changing that we built a coupleof years ago.
We've been test marketing whatwe call our vintage restroom
series.
The outside is a mirroredstainless steel structure that's
rounded.
On the top it kind of resemblesan Airstream.
(11:45):
We can't really say that, butthat's kind on the top.
It kind of resembles anairstream.
We can't really say that, butthat's kind of that model.
But it reflects the surroundingstructure area.
So if it's in a backyard orit's got flowers around it, it's
like it picks up the flowersand you're looking at flowers.
Not only that when you'rewalking back you don't recognize
that as the restroom or even atrailer.
(12:07):
You think that this is somepart of the event, like some
kind of attraction.
Point.
It doesn't at all look like arestroom now.
Point it doesn't at all looklike a restroom now.
And so when you're takingpictures, nobody even sees that
in the corner.
And it's really brought a lotof things out.
Dr. William Attaway (12:25):
I love that You're spot on, nobody thinks,
oh, let's put this toward themiddle of the event, let's bring
this into the whole scheme.
When you're talking about aporta potty, you keep that as
far away as humanly possible.
What you have created, though,is an entirely different
experience.
I often say that leaders createexperiences.
(12:46):
We create the experiences forour team, for our clients, for
the businesses that we lead.
We create the experience.
What you have done is recreatedan experience that most people
are not thinking a whole lotabout until they have to go and
use it, particularly with one oftheir kids, as potty training.
That's what a what a greatmotivator.
David Sauers (13:06):
I love that.
Everybody can put that.
Everybody can take a memoryback and think about this.
You know, whatever eventthey've been to, whatever thing,
they've had a bad experience.
I've never met somebody thathas not had a bad experience
with a port-a-body.
This changes that.
I'm not saying that you can'thave a bad experience without,
(13:27):
because, I mean, something couldobviously go wrong.
But for the most part whenpeople go to the event they're
excited about it and then all ofa sudden it's like, oh man, I
got to go to the bathroom andit's that sinking feeling like
oh gosh, because it is.
It's a very private moment thatwe have between ourselves.
(13:47):
It's something that now cancreate anxiety.
You're worried about it, but itcan also dictate the rest of
your event.
It can spoil your event or itcan say the rest of your event.
You know it can.
It can spoil your event or itcan say you know what?
I want to go get some more foodnow, because I don't, I'm not
worried about the bathroom, I'mgoing to drink another couple of
glasses of wine or we're goingto stay.
You know what?
I don't have to take my kids tothe McDonald's because I may
(14:10):
not come back to the event.
We, everybody at your event isgoing to go to the bathroom.
So the details of making thisgrand entrance and picture
moment, that's great, but everysingle person is going to have
to go to the bathroom and youdon't want that piece to be the
(14:31):
deterrent or what they talkabout.
Dr. William Attaway (14:36):
A distraction from the main
feeling and environment thatyou're trying to create.
Yeah, that's really good.
So at Royal Restrooms, now youhave started franchising.
David Sauers (14:48):
Yes, yes, we did so what does that look?
like we started franchising oractually we started selling
licenses at an early on period.
Robert and I never had anygrand visions for the business.
You know it wasn't like we setout.
We're going to do this andwe're going to conquer the world
.
But people, when people startedusing our restroom, they were
(15:09):
just like I want to do this.
My city needs this.
You know, we don't haveanything like this in Florida.
We don't have anything likethis in Florida.
We don't have anything likethis in California.
We don't have anything likethis in Atlanta.
Like we want, we want to bringyour product there.
Okay, well, here's what we did.
No, no, no, no.
We want to do.
We want to copy exactly whatyou've done.
We like everything you've done.
We don't want to start over, wewant to learn from that.
(15:32):
And that's really how we gotinto franchising and moving
across the country is.
People liked what they saw thatwe were doing.
They wanted to copy thatwithout necessarily having to go
through all the trials andtribulations.
And because we were first tomarket, we had a good, solid
name.
A lot of times, even in RFQs orbusiness entities that put out
(15:58):
stuff.
It's like we're the Q-tip ofRoyal Restrooms.
They say we need a RoyalRestroom, not a restroom trailer
or a bathroom trailer or atoilet trailer.
It's like we want a RoyalRestroom trailer.
Yeah, just because that's howthey've grown to know what we
(16:19):
are.
So it's a huge compliment.
And franchising is a difficultprocess.
It's a complete other businessthan what owning a restroom
company is.
It's a whole separate model andit's taken us a long time to
separate the two.
But we look for people who arecommunity oriented, who want to
(16:43):
leave a legacy, who want to be areal entrepreneur, not just
somebody who's looking to buy abusiness to make some money.
Dr. William Attaway (16:50):
That's really good.
Did you have a background inbusiness before you started
franchising?
Because, like you said, that'sa whole different thing than
running a business.
Now you're expanding in a veryspecific way that some people
have found to be dangerous,because the franchisees don't
always follow your vision.
David Sauers (17:09):
No, they don't.
And that's the good and the badabout franchising and about
learning people andentrepreneurs Just because
you're doing something rightdoesn't mean that they can't do
something a little better.
So you learn from each other.
But a lot of people tend to getoff course because they feel
like they know their market alittle bit better and they
(17:30):
forget the fundamentals thatwere taught to them, which that
is not a bad thing in my book,just because we disagree about
one thing, we still have thecommon goal at the end we want
to do right by the customer, wewant to do right by the
community, we want to leave anamesake, we want to provide a
(17:55):
good service say we want toprovide a good service.
But yeah, franchising is a bigstruggle, and especially for me.
I had a political science degreeand an international relations
degree Absolutely took zerobusiness classes and then I end
(18:17):
up becoming a commercial bankerat a local bank and I see what a
lot of local businesses and alot of entrepreneurs do and, you
know, even though they hadstruggles, they had daily
(18:38):
struggles, they had, you know,hurdles that they overcame it
was always a sense of pridebecause of what they were doing.
So they always had that to fall, to fall back on, and it was
just inspirational seeing youknow and being a part of their
journey, that when it came timefor my journey, you know, I had
all of these people that I couldreflect back on and I could
think on and that just said youknow, thank you.
(19:03):
25 years ago, when I was at thebank, I didn't understand
everything that you were doing.
(19:23):
I didn't understand thehardships or the vision that you
had in constantly trying toimpress it upon others.
Trying to impress it uponothers, how lonely that was
sometimes and how difficult itwas to make something that
should be a simple solution or asimple vision that other people
(19:48):
just they don't, they don't,they want to stay in their lane.
And so I wrote him up, I wrotehim a letter and I hadn't talked
to him probably in 10, 15 years.
I just said you know, I stillremember that and I look back on
that from watching you and Ididn't understand it then but I
understand it now and it wasreally nice the other day for
(20:08):
him to call me and he was justlike you have no idea how much
that letter meant to me.
To me it was just like it was ashort letter that just said hey
, thank you.
I remember that he was justlike that.
That brought back greatmemories.
You know, I'm glad that I wasable to pass something along.
I was like absolute.
Dr. William Attaway (20:29):
You know, I often teach that real gratitude
is never silent and it's neverinvisible, and I love that you
took the opportunity tocommunicate that with a letter.
That's powerful and he won'tforget that.
And I would encourage theleaders who are listening if
there's somebody, as you lookback on your journey, who has
(20:50):
made that type of an investmentand impact in you, who has
helped you to become the leaderthat you are, take the time to
do what David did Write a note,Just say, hey look, you made a
big difference in my journey.
I might not be where I amwithout you and what you did,
what you taught me.
So thank you.
David Sauers (21:10):
Absolutely.
Dr. William Attaway (21:10):
What a difference.
David Sauers (21:14):
A lot of people think they do everything on
their own.
They don't.
Everything that we have learned, we have read, we have
witnessed, we have listened, wehave believed there's a higher
power watching over it.
Even when you're talking withinyourself, somebody else is
giving you those thoughts andthat gratitude.
(21:37):
We have a huge commitment tocommunity.
We make all of our franchisesdo a minimum $25,000 of in-kind
donations the impact that you'regiving back, but just the.
You know what I'm doing, so I'mmaking a difference.
I am part of this, but also thelearning.
It it's like wow, I had no ideathat this was.
(22:00):
You know, there are just somany things out there that so
many people you know, there arejust so many needs that we don't
even recognize because we're soblessed.
Dr. William Attaway (22:12):
Yeah, that's so good, so good.
So let's talk about you for aminute.
You know you have to lead yourcompanies at a higher level
today than you did five yearsago, and that same thing is
going to be true five years fromnow.
How do you stay on top of yourgame, david?
How do you level up with thenew leadership skills that your
(22:36):
team and your businesses andyour clients are going to need
you to have in the years to come?
David Sauers (22:42):
Oh, that is a very difficult question and, you
know, being a leader, I don'tfeel like I've ever thought of
myself as a true leader.
I've just done it.
It's almost like I don't wantto give myself that the power of
(23:06):
being a leader, even though Iknow that I am in it and it's
and it's necessary for me tocommunicate all of those things.
One of the one of the thingsthat I'm trying to do a little
bit better is that's why I'm onpodcasts, that's why I'm doing
these podcasts.
People don't read newsletters,they don't read the emails.
They're they're they're toobusy in their in their lives to
(23:31):
to listen to something fromsomebody else, especially
telling them how to do somethinga little bit better in a
business that they already know.
I think podcasting is a greatway to talk about that, because
it gets your emotions out there.
It gets the real thought in you, not so much where we're just
this information.
You know, information,information, information,
(23:52):
strategy.
We want the memories and thecreativeness to come out and the
true thought, because I thinkthat's how you really connect
with other people and that's howI'm able to.
I think better lead is by havingthat one-on-one connection, by
making them feel important, andI'm not just so dictating that
(24:15):
this is what's going to happen,making them feel a part of
what's going on and that there'sa choice, because everybody's
voice it does matter.
The big problem with that iswhen you do hear but nothing
ever seems to move forward.
So you do have to pick a laneand you have to have some kind
(24:37):
of goal and a strategy for whenyou do reach out and speak to
these people and get theiropinions and their voices,
because they you know a lot ofthem just don't understand the
changes that are going on, andit's important to educate as
(24:59):
well as continuously communicateto them what's going on.
That's really good.
Dr. William Attaway (25:05):
You know, it's so easy for us to lose
sight of the importance ofcontinual growth, and I know
just from our conversations thatyou are always looking to grow.
You are always looking to learnhow to do what you're doing
better, how to become better inthe leadership role that you
have, as you have been on thatgrowth journey.
(25:26):
Is there a book that has made abig difference in your journey
that you'd recommend to theleaders who are listening?
Hey, this really made adifference for me and it might
for you as well.
David Sauers (25:36):
You know well, I tell you, right now I'm in the
middle of one book called Ithink it's Storyworthy by
Matthew Dix.
I often read a lot of books atonce with my ADHD and I tend to
get some of them mixed up andsometimes I don't ever actually
(25:59):
finish them because I've jumpedaround so many times.
But this Storyworthy, it'sreally interesting.
It's about the moth, where Ithink there's the moth podcast,
but there's the moth I thinkit's in New York, where I guess
it's probably mostly authors orsomebody, but they get up on
(26:19):
stage and they have.
It's not a scripted story, butthey tell a story and it's
filled with emotion and it'sfilled with purpose and drive,
but it's all off the cuff and Ihave found that that has really
helped open me up from acreative standpoint and from
(26:42):
using my memory and how toelaborate more on my memories to
create a better, I guess, storyor a better presentation of
what I'm trying to articulate,because as leaders, we don't
always tell everybody ourcomplete vision.
What you have in your head andwhat you've said out to
(27:06):
everybody is is likely two verydifferent things and and that
has happened to me all of mylife so this, this story worthy
in some of these uh techniquesand practices and how I am able
to, I guess, visualize what Iwant to say and then put it out
(27:27):
there in words that are morereflective of what I'm thinking.
Dr. William Attaway (27:31):
See, there's that.
Nod, I have not read this.
There's that nod.
Yeah, I haven't read this, butit sounds absolutely fascinating
.
I've got to dive into this book.
Thank you for sharing that.
David Sauers (27:40):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Dr. William Attaway (27:43):
David, I could talk to you for another
hour.
There's just so much insight,so many gold nuggets today that
you have shared from yourjourney.
I know our listeners are goingto want to stay connected to you
and continue to learn from youand more about Royal Restrooms.
What's thecom?
David Sauers (28:01):
We're on all the social platforms that you can
name under Royal Restrooms, andwe would love to be at your
event.
We would love to serve you.
We want to be a part of some ofyour most memorable events and,
if we can help, we're there.
(28:21):
Linkedin under David Sowers Ijust started an Instagram and a
Facebook under David Sowers aswell.
If they want to get in contactwith me, you can reach me
through Royal Restrooms, krugerBush, or LinkedIn at David
Sowers.
Dr. William Attaway (28:36):
We'll have all those links in the show
notes.
I appreciate it.
One more question, david Sure?
Yeah, one more question that Iwould love to know.
You are leading at a differentlevel than a whole lot of the
people who are listening to know.
You know you are leading at adifferent level than a whole lot
of the people who are listening, you know?
I mean we said earlier that Imean offices in 50 locations 50
office locations around thecountry.
(28:57):
That's a different level than awhole lot of the people who are
listening.
I'm curious.
I imagine that the challengesand obstacles that you have in
your business are many on adaily basis.
If I had the ability to justsnap my fingers and solve one
problem in your business, whatwould you want that one problem
(29:21):
to be?
David Sauers (29:22):
Exactly what we talked about earlier
Communication.
Exactly what we talked aboutearlier Communication.
(29:48):
I am telling you what we needto do, but I still don't do a
very good job of doing that.
I may talk to one office, but Idon't get around to talking to
the other office, and then amonth goes by.
I very much, which is why Ilike to do this podcast, because
right now I am still old schoolin it.
You know sending an email orcalling somebody, sending a text
, and then we get back with you.
You know I'm reacting ratherthan being proactive.
Dr. William Attaway (30:08):
Yes, I get that and I think that's a
challenge for most leaders andentrepreneurs.
You know, a friend of mine saysconsistency is the mother of
momentum.
Everybody wants momentum, butconsistency is how you get there
, whether it's the gym orwhether it's running your
business, and communication isno exception to that.
Running your business andcommunication is no exception to
(30:30):
that.
David, thank you for yourgenerosity and your kindness in
sharing so much today with ourlisteners and with me.
I'll walk away better for it,thank you.
Thank you, william.
David Sauers (30:38):
I really appreciate that.
I'm so excited today to have David
Sowers on the podcast.
David is the co-founder and CEOof Royal Restrooms, the gold
standard in luxury portablerestroom rentals for events,
weddings and commercialapplications.
Founded in 2004, royalRestrooms has grown into a
nationally recognized brand withover 50 office locations across
(00:24):
the country.
Beyond his success in the eventindustry, david is also a
featured entrepreneur andthought leader in the business
world.
He appeared on season 21 of theBlock's TV series and will soon
be featured on Legacy Makerswith Rudy Maurer highlighting
his journey as an innovator andbusiness builder.
Hour, highlighting his journeyas an innovator and business
(00:47):
builder, passionate about brandbuilding, leadership and outdoor
adventure.
David also leads Kruger BuschCampers, an overland lifestyle
brand inspired by his travelsthrough South Africa and beyond.
David, I'm so glad you're here.
Thanks for being on the showtoday.
David Sauers (01:01):
William, that's quite an introduction.
I mean you get my blood pumpingand it's like wait a second.
That's quite an introduction.
I mean you just, you know, youget my blood pumping and it's
like wait a second.
That's me.
Intro / Outro (01:10):
Welcome to Catalytic Leadership, the
podcast designed to help leadersintentionally grow and thrive.
Here is your host author andleadership and executive coach,
dr William Attaway.
Dr. William Attaway (01:28):
Well, I would love to start with you
sharing a little bit of yourstory with our listeners,
particularly around your journeyand your development as a
leader.
David Sauers (01:39):
How did all this get started?
I think my journey reallystarted out when I was younger.
It wasn't anything that Ilooked for or I strive to.
I felt kind of just a callingto always just make a change,
not necessarily break the rules,but I just wanted to do
(01:59):
something a little better, seeif I could maybe make it a
little more interesting or maybemake it just a little more fun
for myself, even growing up froma young age just tweaking
things, and that, I believe, isreally what inspired me to
become an entrepreneur, to breakout on my own.
Dr. William Attaway (02:19):
I just wanted to do something a little
bit different, so tell us alittle bit about Royal Restrooms
.
Wanted to do something a littlebit different, so tell us a
little bit about Royal Restrooms.
Some of our listeners may notbe familiar with your company,
but you're now 21 years in.
David Sauers (02:39):
Yes, absolutely so .
Royal Restrooms started likeyou said.
We started in 2004.
It kind of became a brainchildin 2003 out of like what most
businesses start out in.
You know an experience and youwant to fill a need.
You want to fill some kind ofvoid that you think is out there
, and that's exactly whathappened with me.
Our origin stories started witha horrible experience going to a
(03:02):
Port-A-John.
I had both of my daughters withme.
We were at a Shakespeare in thePark festival and she was potty
training.
We walk over, we're enjoyingour time, we're having an
absolute blast.
Get over there and it's like,wait a second, it's dark, how do
I fit in this Port-A-Potty?
(03:23):
And next thing I know, I lookdown and Stella has got her
hands on the toilet and her headalmost in the hole.
Oh, my goodness, I just youknow you go into this like don't
touch anything.
And I start looking around.
It's like, okay, you know what?
There's still no lights in here.
I don't have anywhere to washmy hands.
(03:43):
I'm trying not to hit my leg onthe porta potty Like I'm just
in pure bone panic mode.
I hand Cece off to a guestoutside that I don't know.
So I'm nervous about that DropStella down, take her, and I'm
holding her over the potty and Iturn around to kick to make
(04:04):
sure that my other daughter'sall right.
About that time I feel this warmsensation on my leg.
At that point I know that I'mgetting peed on and I go from
you know kind of panic to justvery upset, like we finished our
business.
I walk, we walk outside, youknow there's nowhere to just
(04:25):
very upset, like we finished ourbusiness.
I won't.
We walk outside.
It's.
You know.
There's nowhere to wash yourhands, there's nowhere to.
You know I don't have anythingbut toilet paper to try to dry
myself off with.
I left and as I, as I'm lookingaround and as I'm walking and
I'm, you know, mumbling andtrying to keep my composure,
(04:46):
it's like we've got all theselights in the trees.
It's beautiful, everybody'shaving a wonderful time, there's
tents, there's chandeliersthere, there's people dressed.
It's like why in the world iseverything so nice?
And yet we just have a freakingporta potty, like we're going
to the bathroom but we'recamping, like what?
(05:07):
And nobody seems to have aproblem with it.
It was just the accepted norm.
And it's like why?
Why is this the accepted norm?
And I think it has to do withjust because porta potties in
general or bathroom in general.
It's a private experience, it'snot something that you are
(05:27):
excited about and certainly it'ssomething from a festival
standpoint.
That is just you know.
It's one of the necessary evils, you just have to deal with it.
Dr. William Attaway (05:38):
Wow.
So how did you start and howdid you grow into what you are
now?
So many entrepreneurs start abusiness, but it doesn't take
off, or they struggle for yearafter year after year, just to
sustain.
David Sauers (05:54):
Right.
Well, I think I have to finishanswering your first question
from before.
But I have to say, watchingyour podcast, I love your nod
and your right.
When you get into it it's likethis perfect feel-good emotion.
Like man, I am soaking all thisin and it's listening to your
(06:16):
podcast.
You know.
Like I said, I've been veryexcited to come on.
That that was.
It's enjoying to see thatenthusiasm.
But Royal Restrooms is afull-service restroom, just on a
trailer.
It's a fully functioningrestroom, just like what would
be at your house or in a hotelrestaurant.
(06:38):
It is.
You walk into the restroom.
It has a vanity, you've gotplenty of space to move around.
You have a real flushing toilet.
It's climate-controlled, it'slighted.
You've got plenty of space tomove around.
You have a real flushing toilet.
It's climate controlled, it'slighted.
You have real toilet paper, youhave hand soap, you have paper
towels.
You don't know that you are atan outdoor event.
And that is the premise ofRoyal Restrooms creating that
(07:00):
experience anywhere you want togo.
But to answer your next question, starting out, how did we go
about it?
How did we do it?
We got really excited justabout creating this idea.
My business partner, robertGlister, and I he was.
He was just, he's just such ajovial fella and was so excited
(07:23):
about doing this in Savannah,because Savannah is a large, you
know, event community.
We do a lot of things outside.
It's just so beautiful here.
We looked at it as you knowwhat.
We're going to take it slow,we're going to launch this out
there, see what people think andif it doesn't work we'll write
(07:45):
it off.
If not, we'll have a good timegoing to these events and taking
care of this.
Or there's a lot of communityevents.
Robert and I are bothprofessional.
We're going to partner withnonprofits and we're going to
elevate their event.
You know we're going to make itpart of the community.
So we had a lot of littlebackups that we thought and we
(08:06):
had a lot of ideas floatingaround and, as many people told
us that we were absolutely crazythat we were doing this, the
minute they sat down on thetoilet, the minute they used one
of our restrooms, that was it.
They weren't going back.
We're sold.
This is brilliant.
I can't believe the same personfive minutes ago that told me
(08:28):
we were crazy.
This is brilliant.
I can't believe I didn't thinkof this.
I love that man.
Dr. William Attaway (08:34):
You know, entrepreneurs see what is not
and they see what could be.
And it sounds like that's whathappened.
You had a terrible experienceand then you said hey, you know
I could do something about this.
I'm not just going to complainabout what is, I'm going to move
on to the solution side and seeif we can create what could be.
(08:56):
So tell us about RoyalRestrooms today as a business.
Where are you today and whatare your goals for the next few?
David Sauers (09:05):
years.
Our goals are to remain inbusiness and continue to Good
goal.
You know, hey, even thoughwe're on top, I mean so many
businesses just getlackadaisical or they get
comfortable, they forget whythey started a business.
You know Royal Restrooms, yes,we've been the industry leader,
we've been the gold standard anda lot of I mean well, the
(09:28):
entire industry kind of mimicswhat we do.
They look to see what we do andtransform their side.
We're the leaders in theindustry from a rental
standpoint.
We're the leaders in theindustry from a rental
standpoint, and that doesn'tcome without its burdens and
troubles and certainlymaintaining that image.
(09:52):
Right now we're in theinnovation mode.
We want to kind of recreatewhat we're doing.
Our restroom trailers havecontinued to get exponentially
more luxurious inside.
I mean, there are some thathave fireplaces in them.
(10:16):
Seriously, they have becomereally outstandingly just
beautiful.
A lot of people they walk innow and it's like this is better
than my own home, this isbetter than this.
And they are.
You would never believe.
You know the quality inside onhow these things look.
They're just amazing.
But from the outside they stilllook like a big white cargo box
(10:39):
.
You know, it's still a big boxytrailer and from the event
standpoint and the weddings, theVIPs that is something that
we've constantly heard over andover through the years.
We love the restrooms.
We still have to.
You know, we got over the factthat, okay, they don't smell.
We were delegating them overthere to the far corner because
(11:00):
we think they smell, becausethey're associating them with a
port-a potty.
They don't, so we're like youneed to bring them closer, you
know it's part of your eventWell but they're not necessarily
picturesque.
You know they don't.
They were fine 10 years ago.
15 years ago it was like, okay,I can do this, but now people
(11:22):
want something that is morephotogenic, and so we're
changing that we built a coupleof years ago.
We've been test marketing whatwe call our vintage restroom
series.
The outside is a mirroredstainless steel structure that's
rounded.
On the top it kind of resemblesan Airstream.
(11:45):
We can't really say that, butthat's kind on the top.
It kind of resembles anairstream.
We can't really say that, butthat's kind of that model.
But it reflects the surroundingstructure area.
So if it's in a backyard orit's got flowers around it, it's
like it picks up the flowersand you're looking at flowers.
Not only that when you'rewalking back you don't recognize
that as the restroom or even atrailer.
(12:07):
You think that this is somepart of the event, like some
kind of attraction.
Point.
It doesn't at all look like arestroom now.
Point it doesn't at all looklike a restroom now.
And so when you're takingpictures, nobody even sees that
in the corner.
And it's really brought a lotof things out.
Dr. William Attaway (12:25):
I love that You're spot on, nobody thinks,
oh, let's put this toward themiddle of the event, let's bring
this into the whole scheme.
When you're talking about aporta potty, you keep that as
far away as humanly possible.
What you have created, though,is an entirely different
experience.
I often say that leaders createexperiences.
(12:46):
We create the experiences forour team, for our clients, for
the businesses that we lead.
We create the experience.
What you have done is recreatedan experience that most people
are not thinking a whole lotabout until they have to go and
use it, particularly with one oftheir kids, as potty training.
That's what a what a greatmotivator.
David Sauers (13:06):
I love that.
Everybody can put that.
Everybody can take a memoryback and think about this.
You know, whatever eventthey've been to, whatever thing,
they've had a bad experience.
I've never met somebody thathas not had a bad experience
with a port-a-body.
This changes that.
I'm not saying that you can'thave a bad experience without,
(13:27):
because, I mean, something couldobviously go wrong.
But for the most part whenpeople go to the event they're
excited about it and then all ofa sudden it's like, oh man, I
got to go to the bathroom andit's that sinking feeling like
oh gosh, because it is.
It's a very private moment thatwe have between ourselves.
(13:47):
It's something that now cancreate anxiety.
You're worried about it, but itcan also dictate the rest of
your event.
It can spoil your event or itcan say the rest of your event.
You know it can.
It can spoil your event or itcan say you know what?
I want to go get some more foodnow, because I don't, I'm not
worried about the bathroom, I'mgoing to drink another couple of
glasses of wine or we're goingto stay.
You know what?
I don't have to take my kids tothe McDonald's because I may
(14:10):
not come back to the event.
We, everybody at your event isgoing to go to the bathroom.
So the details of making thisgrand entrance and picture
moment, that's great, but everysingle person is going to have
to go to the bathroom and youdon't want that piece to be the
(14:31):
deterrent or what they talkabout.
Dr. William Attaway (14:36):
A distraction from the main
feeling and environment thatyou're trying to create.
Yeah, that's really good.
So at Royal Restrooms, now youhave started franchising.
David Sauers (14:48):
Yes, yes, we did so what does that look?
like we started franchising oractually we started selling
licenses at an early on period.
Robert and I never had anygrand visions for the business.
You know it wasn't like we setout.
We're going to do this andwe're going to conquer the world
.
But people, when people startedusing our restroom, they were
(15:09):
just like I want to do this.
My city needs this.
You know, we don't haveanything like this in Florida.
We don't have anything likethis in Florida.
We don't have anything likethis in California.
We don't have anything likethis in Atlanta.
Like we want, we want to bringyour product there.
Okay, well, here's what we did.
No, no, no, no.
We want to do.
We want to copy exactly whatyou've done.
We like everything you've done.
We don't want to start over, wewant to learn from that.
(15:32):
And that's really how we gotinto franchising and moving
across the country is.
People liked what they saw thatwe were doing.
They wanted to copy thatwithout necessarily having to go
through all the trials andtribulations.
And because we were first tomarket, we had a good, solid
name.
A lot of times, even in RFQs orbusiness entities that put out
(15:58):
stuff.
It's like we're the Q-tip ofRoyal Restrooms.
They say we need a RoyalRestroom, not a restroom trailer
or a bathroom trailer or atoilet trailer.
It's like we want a RoyalRestroom trailer.
Yeah, just because that's howthey've grown to know what we
(16:19):
are.
So it's a huge compliment.
And franchising is a difficultprocess.
It's a complete other businessthan what owning a restroom
company is.
It's a whole separate model andit's taken us a long time to
separate the two.
But we look for people who arecommunity oriented, who want to
(16:43):
leave a legacy, who want to be areal entrepreneur, not just
somebody who's looking to buy abusiness to make some money.
Dr. William Attaway (16:50):
That's really good.
Did you have a background inbusiness before you started
franchising?
Because, like you said, that'sa whole different thing than
running a business.
Now you're expanding in a veryspecific way that some people
have found to be dangerous,because the franchisees don't
always follow your vision.
David Sauers (17:09):
No, they don't.
And that's the good and the badabout franchising and about
learning people andentrepreneurs Just because
you're doing something rightdoesn't mean that they can't do
something a little better.
So you learn from each other.
But a lot of people tend to getoff course because they feel
like they know their market alittle bit better and they
(17:30):
forget the fundamentals thatwere taught to them, which that
is not a bad thing in my book,just because we disagree about
one thing, we still have thecommon goal at the end we want
to do right by the customer, wewant to do right by the
community, we want to leave anamesake, we want to provide a
(17:55):
good service say we want toprovide a good service.
But yeah, franchising is a bigstruggle, and especially for me.
I had a political science degreeand an international relations
degree Absolutely took zerobusiness classes and then I end
(18:17):
up becoming a commercial bankerat a local bank and I see what a
lot of local businesses and alot of entrepreneurs do and, you
know, even though they hadstruggles, they had daily
(18:38):
struggles, they had, you know,hurdles that they overcame it
was always a sense of pridebecause of what they were doing.
So they always had that to fall, to fall back on, and it was
just inspirational seeing youknow and being a part of their
journey, that when it came timefor my journey, you know, I had
all of these people that I couldreflect back on and I could
think on and that just said youknow, thank you.
(19:03):
25 years ago, when I was at thebank, I didn't understand
everything that you were doing.
(19:23):
I didn't understand thehardships or the vision that you
had in constantly trying toimpress it upon others.
Trying to impress it uponothers, how lonely that was
sometimes and how difficult itwas to make something that
should be a simple solution or asimple vision that other people
(19:48):
just they don't, they don't,they want to stay in their lane.
And so I wrote him up, I wrotehim a letter and I hadn't talked
to him probably in 10, 15 years.
I just said you know, I stillremember that and I look back on
that from watching you and Ididn't understand it then but I
understand it now and it wasreally nice the other day for
(20:08):
him to call me and he was justlike you have no idea how much
that letter meant to me.
To me it was just like it was ashort letter that just said hey
, thank you.
I remember that he was justlike that.
That brought back greatmemories.
You know, I'm glad that I wasable to pass something along.
I was like absolute.
Dr. William Attaway (20:29):
You know, I often teach that real gratitude
is never silent and it's neverinvisible, and I love that you
took the opportunity tocommunicate that with a letter.
That's powerful and he won'tforget that.
And I would encourage theleaders who are listening if
there's somebody, as you lookback on your journey, who has
(20:50):
made that type of an investmentand impact in you, who has
helped you to become the leaderthat you are, take the time to
do what David did Write a note,Just say, hey look, you made a
big difference in my journey.
I might not be where I amwithout you and what you did,
what you taught me.
So thank you.
David Sauers (21:10):
Absolutely.
Dr. William Attaway (21:10):
What a difference.
David Sauers (21:14):
A lot of people think they do everything on
their own.
They don't.
Everything that we have learned, we have read, we have
witnessed, we have listened, wehave believed there's a higher
power watching over it.
Even when you're talking withinyourself, somebody else is
giving you those thoughts andthat gratitude.
(21:37):
We have a huge commitment tocommunity.
We make all of our franchisesdo a minimum $25,000 of in-kind
donations the impact that you'regiving back, but just the.
You know what I'm doing, so I'mmaking a difference.
I am part of this, but also thelearning.
It it's like wow, I had no ideathat this was.
(22:00):
You know, there are just somany things out there that so
many people you know, there arejust so many needs that we don't
even recognize because we're soblessed.
Dr. William Attaway (22:12):
Yeah, that's so good, so good.
So let's talk about you for aminute.
You know you have to lead yourcompanies at a higher level
today than you did five yearsago, and that same thing is
going to be true five years fromnow.
How do you stay on top of yourgame, david?
How do you level up with thenew leadership skills that your
(22:36):
team and your businesses andyour clients are going to need
you to have in the years to come?
David Sauers (22:42):
Oh, that is a very difficult question and, you
know, being a leader, I don'tfeel like I've ever thought of
myself as a true leader.
I've just done it.
It's almost like I don't wantto give myself that the power of
(23:06):
being a leader, even though Iknow that I am in it and it's
and it's necessary for me tocommunicate all of those things.
One of the one of the thingsthat I'm trying to do a little
bit better is that's why I'm onpodcasts, that's why I'm doing
these podcasts.
People don't read newsletters,they don't read the emails.
They're they're they're toobusy in their in their lives to
(23:31):
to listen to something fromsomebody else, especially
telling them how to do somethinga little bit better in a
business that they already know.
I think podcasting is a greatway to talk about that, because
it gets your emotions out there.
It gets the real thought in you, not so much where we're just
this information.
You know, information,information, information,
(23:52):
strategy.
We want the memories and thecreativeness to come out and the
true thought, because I thinkthat's how you really connect
with other people and that's howI'm able to.
I think better lead is by havingthat one-on-one connection, by
making them feel important, andI'm not just so dictating that
(24:15):
this is what's going to happen,making them feel a part of
what's going on and that there'sa choice, because everybody's
voice it does matter.
The big problem with that iswhen you do hear but nothing
ever seems to move forward.
So you do have to pick a laneand you have to have some kind
(24:37):
of goal and a strategy for whenyou do reach out and speak to
these people and get theiropinions and their voices,
because they you know a lot ofthem just don't understand the
changes that are going on, andit's important to educate as
(24:59):
well as continuously communicateto them what's going on.
That's really good.
Dr. William Attaway (25:05):
You know, it's so easy for us to lose
sight of the importance ofcontinual growth, and I know
just from our conversations thatyou are always looking to grow.
You are always looking to learnhow to do what you're doing
better, how to become better inthe leadership role that you
have, as you have been on thatgrowth journey.
(25:26):
Is there a book that has made abig difference in your journey
that you'd recommend to theleaders who are listening?
Hey, this really made adifference for me and it might
for you as well.
David Sauers (25:36):
You know well, I tell you, right now I'm in the
middle of one book called Ithink it's Storyworthy by
Matthew Dix.
I often read a lot of books atonce with my ADHD and I tend to
get some of them mixed up andsometimes I don't ever actually
(25:59):
finish them because I've jumpedaround so many times.
But this Storyworthy, it'sreally interesting.
It's about the moth, where Ithink there's the moth podcast,
but there's the moth I thinkit's in New York, where I guess
it's probably mostly authors orsomebody, but they get up on
(26:19):
stage and they have.
It's not a scripted story, butthey tell a story and it's
filled with emotion and it'sfilled with purpose and drive,
but it's all off the cuff and Ihave found that that has really
helped open me up from acreative standpoint and from
(26:42):
using my memory and how toelaborate more on my memories to
create a better, I guess, storyor a better presentation of
what I'm trying to articulate,because as leaders, we don't
always tell everybody ourcomplete vision.
What you have in your head andwhat you've said out to
(27:06):
everybody is is likely two verydifferent things and and that
has happened to me all of mylife so this, this story worthy
in some of these uh techniquesand practices and how I am able
to, I guess, visualize what Iwant to say and then put it out
(27:27):
there in words that are morereflective of what I'm thinking.
Dr. William Attaway (27:31):
See, there's that.
Nod, I have not read this.
There's that nod.
Yeah, I haven't read this, butit sounds absolutely fascinating
.
I've got to dive into this book.
Thank you for sharing that.
David Sauers (27:40):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Dr. William Attaway (27:43):
David, I could talk to you for another
hour.
There's just so much insight,so many gold nuggets today that
you have shared from yourjourney.
I know our listeners are goingto want to stay connected to you
and continue to learn from youand more about Royal Restrooms.
What's thecom?
David Sauers (28:01):
We're on all the social platforms that you can
name under Royal Restrooms, andwe would love to be at your
event.
We would love to serve you.
We want to be a part of some ofyour most memorable events and,
if we can help, we're there.
(28:21):
Linkedin under David Sowers Ijust started an Instagram and a
Facebook under David Sowers aswell.
If they want to get in contactwith me, you can reach me
through Royal Restrooms, krugerBush, or LinkedIn at David
Sowers.
Dr. William Attaway (28:36):
We'll have all those links in the show
notes.
I appreciate it.
One more question, david Sure?
Yeah, one more question that Iwould love to know.
You are leading at a differentlevel than a whole lot of the
people who are listening to know.
You know you are leading at adifferent level than a whole lot
of the people who are listening, you know?
I mean we said earlier that Imean offices in 50 locations 50
office locations around thecountry.
(28:57):
That's a different level than awhole lot of the people who are
listening.
I'm curious.
I imagine that the challengesand obstacles that you have in
your business are many on adaily basis.
If I had the ability to justsnap my fingers and solve one
problem in your business, whatwould you want that one problem
(29:21):
to be?
David Sauers (29:22):
Exactly what we talked about earlier
Communication.
Exactly what we talked aboutearlier Communication.
(29:48):
I am telling you what we needto do, but I still don't do a
very good job of doing that.
I may talk to one office, but Idon't get around to talking to
the other office, and then amonth goes by.
I very much, which is why Ilike to do this podcast, because
right now I am still old schoolin it.
You know sending an email orcalling somebody, sending a text
, and then we get back with you.
You know I'm reacting ratherthan being proactive.
Dr. William Attaway (30:08):
Yes, I get that and I think that's a
challenge for most leaders andentrepreneurs.
You know, a friend of mine saysconsistency is the mother of
momentum.
Everybody wants momentum, butconsistency is how you get there
, whether it's the gym orwhether it's running your
business, and communication isno exception to that.
Running your business andcommunication is no exception to
(30:30):
that.
David, thank you for yourgenerosity and your kindness in
sharing so much today with ourlisteners and with me.
I'll walk away better for it,thank you.
Thank you, william.
David Sauers (30:38):
I really appreciate that.
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