Most agency owners build a business around their skills—then hit a ceiling when those same skills become their greatest limitation. In this episode, I sit down with Drew Larison, founder of Five Door Media, to unpack the real shift that unlocked scale in his agency: moving from overwhelmed operator to visionary CEO. For leaders navigating growth, structure, and team development, this conversation cuts to the heart of what it truly means to lead at scale.
Drew shares how implementing EOS wasn’t just a process upgrade—it was a complete redefinition of leadership inside his agency. We explore the emotional friction of letting go, the identity shift that comes with the visionary seat, and the difference between running campaigns and building a company that multiplies impact through people. You’ll hear how his Five Door Method clarified client results, why his agency now audits client sales calls to improve performance, and what it looks like to create a framework that empowers scale without sacrificing culture.
This is a must-listen for agency founders who feel the weight of growth and know they need to shift from operator to architect. And near the end, Drew shares a powerful leadership story from his family that reframes everything we think we know about legacy, loyalty, and what truly defines a great leader.
Connect with Drew Larison
Follow Drew at @MrDrewLarison on Instagram or LinkedIn, and learn more at fivedoormedia.com. Be sure to check out The Five Door Media Podcast for deep-dive agency growth strategies.
Books Mentioned
- Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
- 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Benjamin Hardy
🌟 Check out our podcast sponsor, Competitive Edge Business Consulting, and book your free discovery call with them today at www.CompEdgeConsulting.com 🌟
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. William Attaway (00:00):
I'm excited today to have Drew Larison on
the podcast.
Drew's the founder and CEO ofFive Door Media.
Drew founded the LarisonCompany in 2015 and merged the
company into Larison Media inearly 2017.
Drew's a husband, a father anda true believer that hard work
and kindness is the true key tosuccess.
(00:22):
Drew, I'm so glad you're here.
Thanks for being on the show.
Drew Larison (00:26):
I am very happy to be here as well.
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Intro / Outro (00:32):
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 (00:49):
Andrew, I'd love to start with you sharing
a little bit of your story withour listeners, particularly
around your journey and yourdevelopment as a leader.
How did you get started?
Drew Larison (01:01):
My journey as a leader probably started in
childhood.
To be honest, I grew up in anentrepreneurial home.
My father and grandfather owneda business that is in the
manufacturing world.
I won't go into specificsbecause it's still kind of over
my head exactly what they do and, as you can tell, as I own an
agency, I kind of went acomplete opposite route.
(01:23):
Can tell, as I own an agency, Ikind of went a complete
opposite route.
But you know, I always tellpeople like some of the best
lessons in leadership I haveexperienced happened at my
kitchen table growing up youknow, and my dad worked with my
grandfather on a daily basis,and so a lot of dinner
conversations started with mymom asking my dad, what did your
(01:44):
dad have to say today, you know?
And then I would hear thestories of the shop you know,
and I would hear the struggles,and they were specifically in a
portion of manufacturing thatworked in the automotive world a
lot.
So when 2008 happened, I saw mydad navigate that and we I am
based out of Kokomo, indiana.
(02:05):
We are about 45 miles, 40 mileslike straight north of
Indianapolis, and at that time,well, kokomo is still very much
a factory town.
There's a giant Chryslerfactory, or Stellantis now as
it's called, as well as someother large scale automotive
factories, and Kokomo was onlike the top three list of
(02:25):
Forbes fastest dying cities in2008.
And my dad was a supplier forthose automotive companies.
So I definitely saw the stressof that and I will forever tell
the tale.
My dad survived that withouthaving to lay off a single
employee.
He definitely led with that.
Leaders eat last mentalityduring those, you know, years of
(02:48):
struggle, through thatdepression that our country went
through, especially in thatautomotive world, and but it
really is like it's.
It's one of those things Ithink is partly maybe not
biologically genetic, but justdue to the house I grew up in
and the conversations I heardand the experiences that I saw
(03:10):
that entrepreneurial gene ofmine was strong, you know,
growing up.
And I also didn't finishcollege, so like my dad didn't
either, so like even that kindof like kept going.
But I really, I really think myleadership lessons began in my
childhood and just hearingconversations from my dad at the
(03:34):
dinner table with my mom.
Dr. William Attaway (03:35):
You know, that's so fascinating and it
makes me think about my story.
I mean, I'm a third generationentrepreneur too.
You know I watched mygrandfather, you know, start and
run a business.
My dad started and ran actuallya traditional advertising
agency starting back in the 70s.
He ran it for 45 years.
Drew Larison (03:51):
As a madman.
Exactly, that's exactly it.
Dr. William Attaway (03:53):
You know, I mean well long before digital,
yeah, but the lessons that youlearn at the kitchen table, the
lessons that you learn simply byalmost osmosis of being in the
room, living in the house andwatching and listening and table
, the lessons that you learnedsimply by almost osmosis of
being in the room, living in thehouse and watching and
listening and learning.
You know a lot of what to do,but also sometimes what not to
do.
You know, as you were, as youwere observing and watching,
(04:18):
what are some things that youtook away and you're like I'm
absolutely going to be just likethat, I'm doing that.
Drew Larison (04:24):
Yeah, and it's funny you say that like, uh,
this got brought up.
So my wife works full-time inthe business too and I was
having a conversation with herearlier and she referenced in
our conversation of what wassomething that was going on
situation was going on in ourbusiness.
She literally said I feel likethis is something Gilbert would
do and Gilbert was my grandpaand so it's very timely that
(04:48):
we're talking about this.
But basically it was at mygrandpa's funeral and, like I
said, so the grandpa, he startedthe business, shout out,
hoosier Spine Broach in Kokua,indiana, and then at some point
my dad took it.
As much as a son can take overa business from a very confident
father.
You know, grandpa definitelystill came into the shop every
(05:11):
day, but dad was running, youknow, the day to day.
And so at grandpa Gilbert'sfuneral, somebody came up to us
who had worked in the shop forforever and they were you just
kind of started telling storiesabout what it was like to know
Gilbert, or, in his name, hecalled him Gil, and it was a
different.
I mean, I loved my grandfather.
(05:31):
I have like nothing negative tosay, but like hearing stories
from the personal side from yourgrandfather when you knew him
as a grandfather.
It's a whole different thing,right.
And one of the stories,specifically, was my grandfather
put down the down payment forone of his employees' first
homes and let him slowly pay offthe home through his paycheck
(05:52):
over years.
And I had no idea.
I had no idea this was areality.
And he said, literally, Iwouldn't be where I'm at today
if it wasn't for Gil or yourgrandpa.
And I'm like man.
Talk about just a few things.
One just generational impactthat, like Grandpa Gilbert was
(06:14):
able to help create, right, Imean it's, at that time the
American dream was owning a home, you know.
So, like Grandpa helped thatguy achieve the American dream,
or at least start that Americandream of owning a home.
And then the second thing waslike dear God, that's some
familial pressure.
Did I live up to that too?
But at the same time I meanhonestly, like that story gets
(06:37):
brought up a lot and, like Isaid, we were able to do not at
that magnitude yet, but maybeone day like help an employee
with like a purchase that theyneeded recently that they just
weren't able to do, and likethat's, my wife was like, hey,
we need to do this because thisis something Grandpa Gilbert
would do.
So like just the pressure ofthat, but like to live that on.
And I also say, too, thebiggest lesson in leadership
(07:00):
I'll ever have.
So, unfortunately, nearly 10years ago, which is actually the
same year we started thebusiness, my father actually
passed away and the biggestlesson I'll ever need in
leadership was for his funeral.
Right, and it was obviously.
He passed away young, so it waskind of like a chaotic planning
of this funeral.
(07:20):
It wasn't fully really expectedin any way.
And you're doing all theplanning, you're trying're doing
all the planning.
You're trying to figure outflowers, you're trying to figure
out the funeral home, like allright, all like all the details
that go into um burying someone,and we get a call from the shop
and it is his employees whohave been there a long time and
they're like, hey, we want to bethe pallbearers and like the
(07:43):
people that have worked for mydad were the ones that carried
his casket at his funeral andI'm like why do I ever need to
go to another leadershipconference?
Why do I ever need?
To.
You know what I mean.
Like what's going to top that,like personally in my life.
So there's just been so manycool stories that I have heard,
you know, post their passing,that have impacted me and just
(08:07):
this massive way Like that.
I said that have been reallyawesome to hear stories of my
family members, that the side ofmy family members that I didn't
get to see because that waslike the relationship I had with
them as if their son or theirgrandson.
But it was so cool to not justhear stories of leadership like
(08:29):
that and like love for youremployees and like giving back
to your employees, but like toknow, like, oh, that's, I've got
that in me right.
Like those, those stories havemy genes in them.
Um, what a cool thing, anopportunity that I have to like
keep that going for the Larisonname, you know.
So there there's, there's a lotof stories and a lot of lessons
(08:50):
I've learned, um, but those twoare like the first thing that
will pop in my head that likereally have taught me what type
of leadership is not justexpected but like attainable.
You know, like because they'rethey weren't just stories I read
in a book, they're stories I'mhearing at my family members'
funerals from real people thatexperienced it, and it's just
(09:12):
the impact that had andcontinues to have.
Like I said, my wife literallybrought it up the other day and
a real story in our company.
Dr. William Attaway (09:20):
So it's really cool to see that impact,
to see that it's attainable andreal and then be able to do that
now in the position we're in,is something I'll never take
advantage of.
That type of legacy is such agift and it's not one that
everybody gets, and I love that.
You shared that and are livinginto that legacy now you and
(09:41):
your wife in the company legacy.
Now you and your wife in thecompany.
So how did you get?
Drew Larison (09:51):
from growing up in that environment to digital
marketing.
Great question, yeah.
So I guess following that pathof like an entrepreneurial kid
school was never something Iloved.
I was never someone that wasable to like sit in a classroom
and obtain information and learn.
That way I was always likelet's get my hands dirty, I want
to experience something, I wantto learn.
(10:11):
While doing so, like somehowgraduated high school, somehow
got into a college it wasactually the college that my
brother got into so I think Itotally got the sympathy
acceptance into that collegeinto.
So I think I totally got thethe sympathy acceptance into
that college.
And now college is aninteresting thing where if you
don't like pass your classes,they have this thing where they
(10:33):
don't let you come back toschool.
It's like flunking out.
So the first year in college Idid that exact same thing.
I was in no way likeemotionally mature enough to
like have that responsibility.
But it's what you do, right,you go to college after high
school.
And so I came home after thatkind of with my tail between my
(10:55):
legs like embarrassed andshameful that I was going
through that.
But then I went to a localschool it's actually Indiana
University, kokomo.
It's like a sister campus of IU, and my first semester at IU I
got an internship doing.
Uh well, actually let me goback, sorry Before I went to IU.
Iu actually makes you sit out asemester.
(11:16):
If you flunked out of a schoolbefore you just dive in, die you
.
So like I had like this loser ofa semester where I was just
down on myself feeling reallycrappy.
But there was this guy that Ihad a random connection with
through church and his name wasOven and he to me my visual, he
was successful, right, and I'mlike that's a guy I need to have
(11:38):
coffee with or that's the guy Ineed to like sit down with.
So I met up with him and I kindof told him what I was into.
So, like I don't know, I thinkI'm into business.
I grew up in a home wherebusiness was definitely talked
about.
I'm creative.
At that time I was like prettyactive in music.
Um, I like people and I think Ilike technology.
Technology is fun.
Like that was around the timelike iPhones were coming out, so
(11:59):
it was like this really bigboom of like new technology
waves.
And he gave me a book, uh, toread and it was called crush it
by gary vaynerchuk, and likethis book was like new right,
like this is when it just cameout and gary was in no way the
gary b that the world knows nowand I read the book and it kind
of blew my mind.
(12:19):
Um, and then, in classic gary vfashion, I got like this giant
false self confidence going onand like I said like oh my gosh,
I am in Kokomo, indiana.
I'm about to blow this townaway.
There's this thing calledsocial media marketing and like
you can do what you love, youcan crush it and like it's just
the cheesiest book title of alltime, but it's really.
(12:40):
It was powerful for me.
So I would like arrogantly wentto this car dealership that I
worked at in high school and Isaid, like you guys need help
with this thing called digitalmarketing, and they're like no,
we don't.
And they didn't give me aninternship.
And then, like six months later, I got a random call back when
I was at iuk, when I were caughtup when I was in that semester
at iuk, and they called back andthey're like, okay, maybe
actually we are interested.
(13:00):
So I got an internship and likemade some videos for them.
Like I said, I had no clue whatI was doing, like, but I had
like all that Gary V, self falseconfidence right.
It doesn't matter, I'm going tocrush it, like that's just,
that's what the book title is,that's what I'm going to do.
But like, I helped them, youknow to this day, like I created
their Facebook page for themand like they're up and still
running.
And like created YouTubeaccounts for them and Instagram
(13:22):
accounts and things like that.
But then at the end of thatinternship, basically I said you
guys want to hire me BecauseI'm great.
Look at all the things I'vedone for you.
And then they said no, no, wedon't.
And then another local cardealership saw what I had done
at that dealership and theyoffered me a job.
And that's where I made themoment, the decision of like, do
(13:43):
I finish school or do I take ajob that I would want after
school?
You know, like after graduating, I was like it was an internet
marketing director, which wasway too big of a job title for
what I actually was doing, butthat's what they called me.
So I took the job at thedealership, worked there for a
few years and then Avin whoremember gave me crush it.
(14:05):
He contacted me and said hey,I'm looking for a social media
marketing director.
If you know anybody, let meknow.
Back to that Gary V confidence.
I said why not me?
And like, a few weeks later Iwas hired.
So I worked there at Web SuccessAgency, which was the name of
that agency.
It was like my first agencyexperience, worked there for
three years.
It was like my first agencyexperience, worked there for
(14:25):
three years, kind of learned howthe sausage was made inside of
an agency, so to speak, andgreat experience.
They went one way.
I kind of wanted to go theother way.
We separated ways.
I took a few clients with mewith their blessing, because
they were not going the way ofthose clients, yeah.
And then 10 years in June, herewe are.
So we've been.
I've been running the agencyfor 10 years, uh, as the Larison
(14:48):
company, when it was just meworking out of my house, and
then it went to Larison mediawhen I started to get some staff
.
Um, also, just a straight copyof VaynerMedia is why we went
with Larison media, cause I wasstill obsessed with Gary
Vaynerchuk at the time.
And then around three years agois when we really started
getting comfortable and creatinga really big impact for people
(15:09):
in that home service niche.
So that's when we decided tomake that subsidiary agency,
five Door Media just for homeservice companies.
So there's the 10-year history.
Dr. William Attaway (15:19):
It's remarkable, and you know there's
no such thing as a wastedexperience.
And had any of those things notbeen a part of the journey, I
think it would have radicallyaltered your trajectory.
You're 100 right and thedestination.
Drew Larison (15:31):
So much so, too, I met my wife because when I was
doing that internship I was alsoworking at subway.
I was working at mcallister's,like I was like hustling and I
was at the movies one time withsome friends and a friend of my
brothers came in.
I was talking to her and thenmy wife was with her.
I had no idea who she was atthe movies one time with some
friends and a friend of mybrother's came in.
I was talking to her and thenmy wife was with her.
I had no idea who she was atthe time and started talking to
(15:53):
her and she got me my firstactual job in marketing, which
at that time was for a local gym, and I was allowed to do the
Facebook page while I was makingprotein shakes behind the front
desk, like.
So that was like my first job inmarketing and those were like
the crazy days of Facebook, wewould do these wild giveaways,
(16:20):
like I would post something likethe first person to come in and
run a mile on the treadmillgets a free membership for a
year, and like the place wouldjust be flooded because organic
reach was crazy at that time,right.
Like you could just postanything and thousands of people
would see it.
So we just did some buck wildthings at that gym, um, but yeah
, like aaron, who now we've beenmarried for over 10 years, um,
almost 13 years, so he got me myfirst job in marketing that I
(16:41):
never would have met her andlike.
So I mean, you're right, likeevery, every experience, like
adds up to who you are and whereyou're at now, um, personal and
professional.
So, yeah, it's, it's wild Herand I talk about every now and
then, like if one thread in thestory would not have happened,
what would it look like?
You know, and it's wild tothink about.
Dr. William Attaway (17:00):
That's so true.
So tell me about five-doormedia.
What are you guys about?
Drew Larison (17:06):
Yeah.
So Five Door Media, it's reallyfun.
We really look at our jobs asmarketers, not just as we run ad
campaigns or we create socialmedia posts or we really create
great videos.
We kind of take it a stepfurther and we really want to be
(17:26):
what we call just impact makers.
We really exist to partner withhome service businesses so that
together we can increase theirimpact internally, locally and
beyond, because we truly thinkthat home service companies are
changing the world and we wantto play a role in their stories
by helping with those creativetasks that a lot of times are
(17:48):
things that get pushed to theside, things that are not the
strong suit of the owners.
But it's been a really coolthing to partner with those
companies.
In the other home servicesworld we work with a lot of,
like, lawn and landscapecompanies.
We work a lot with the cleaningworld, so, like the residential
and commercial cleaning world,hvac, plumbing, all those and if
you service a home, we're agreat agency for you.
(18:11):
And five-door media comes fromsomething we've created called
the five-door method, which isreally our way of diagnosing
marketing campaigns and adcampaigns.
We truly believe that customershave to go through five doors
before they're a paying customer.
And the first one is platform.
The second one is creative.
(18:31):
The third one is targeting.
The fourth one is post adengagement, so your websites,
your landing pages, your forms.
And then that fifth door issales.
So when we're working with aclient, we're working with an ad
campaign for them.
We like look at the metrics andwe're able to see what door
customers are getting stuck atand then we tweak that door
until they make their waythrough and onto the last one.
(18:51):
So it's been a really cooljourney so far with 5 Door Media
.
When we launched 5 Door Media,a good chunk of our Larison
Media clients were home service,so they probably just like
transitioned over.
But it's been cool.
You know, this five door methodis, I think, providing a way
for business owners that are notsuper fluent in marketing to
(19:16):
kind of understand how it works.
And I'm not saying like thefive door method is this
revolutionary idea of how todiagnose an ad campaign, but
like just the way that we'rewording it.
I think it's been refreshingfor a lot of people.
It's easier to understand andattain in their brain, for, oh
yeah, they're getting stuck atthe creative and showing them
the metrics.
Your ads are being shown to abunch of people but there's zero
(19:40):
engagement.
That means your creative forthat ad is not stopping the
scroll.
People are just going to keepgoing past.
We're getting to, we're gettingmore and more involved in the
sales process of our clients,which is really fascinating, and
because to us you know themetrics we're looking at things
should be gangbusters, right,but then we're.
Now we're starting to like diveinto the sales calls of some of
(20:01):
our clients and we're realizinglike I kind of take it prideful
, but we've had a lot of CSRsfired through our clients
because we are able to show themcall recordings and they're
like, oh my gosh, that lead wasready to hand over money and
they just didn't close it.
So that's always an interestingline to walk.
(20:22):
I think a lot of agency ownerslisten to this.
So the last thing I want to sayas an agency owner is like oh,
it's your sales problem, it'snot the marketing.
So what we're able to do is saythat when we believe that to be
the problem, but say it withproof, show them metrics, show
them like no man, they have gotto door four, they've gotten to
(20:44):
door five and they're fallingoff.
Let's listen to this call orlet's read this email that was
sent and that's stuff we getaccess to up top, because I
really believe we could do thebest marketing job in the world.
But if that fifth door isn'tthis big, beautiful door that's
welcoming to people and thatsales process is really on point
(21:07):
, we are worthless as the agencybecause dollars are not going
to be made from these leads andthey won't be very open to keep
paying us if they're not, so ifthey don't have the money from
the leads to pay us.
So that fifth door is reallyimportant and actually on our
podcast we're doing it by seasonand the first season is all
(21:28):
about sales.
So it's been really interestingto talk to home service
professionals about sales andlearn more from them, which that
has helped us really diagnosethose fifth door issues that
some of our clients are havingand then give them insights that
we've learned from those homeservice professionals that are
just crushing it in the salesworld.
And then that's when thosedoors start opening up and
(21:50):
really working with them to getexact ROI numbers.
So they know hey, you spentthis much on ads.
A lot of home service world isrecurring revenue, so it's great
for paid ads.
So it's been fun.
It's been fun to dive into homeservice before 5Door, but now
that we're all in on homeservice, it's just increased the
impact tenfold.
(22:10):
It's been really great.
Dr. William Attaway (22:12):
You know, as you describe what you do, it
sounds very much like you arepositioning yourself, presenting
yourself as a growth partner,that you're helping them think,
not just through the tactics ofrun this ad, run this creative,
but thinking strategicallyacross their business.
I would imagine your clientstend to stick around.
Drew Larison (22:34):
Yeah, yeah, and I think I think you're spot on too
and, like I said from the jump,like we don't look at ourselves
as just digital marketers,we're impact makers, you know,
and impact can be defined indifferent ways Financial is one
of them, but, like we say, welove the idea of internally,
locally and beyond, likecreating impact.
The internal impact is maybethrough helping you get sales or
(22:57):
helping you grow your audience.
Someone on staff got a raiseand they're able to buy a car
for the first time, or maybethey have a Gilbert Larson in
their lives and they're able tobuy a house for the first time,
you know, like those internalstories that maybe we'll never
hear about, um, and but we knowthey're happening if we're doing
what we're supposed to be doing, all those like internal impact
stories that could be happening.
(23:17):
And then locally, I trulybelieve that the best way for a
local community to grow isthrough strong small businesses
really supporting it, and I knowwe don't like to talk about
taxes, but the better a businessdoes, the more you're going to
pay in taxes and those taxdollars.
You're going to have betterroads, you're going to have
better schools, you're going tohave better local government
(23:40):
making better decisions,investing back in the community,
and we really think what we do,the impact we're helping our
clients make, goes into that.
You know so, like we're notjust making Facebook graphics,
we're literally maybe fillingpotholes in a way through the
work we're doing right.
Or like a school is getting anew gymnasium because of the
work we're helping with.
So that local impact is a bigdeal for us too.
(24:00):
And then that beyond impact isjust due to the internet.
Any business we work with is nolonger confined to just their
walls.
You know really, the storiesand the impact that they can be
creating due to the internet andits reach could be beyond what
we could possibly dream.
You know so we're not marketers.
We are impact makers thatreally are focused on creating
(24:21):
impact internally for yourbusiness, locally for your
community and beyond, for theworld.
Dr. William Attaway (24:26):
A podcast is just another way that you're
adding value even beyond yourown clients.
Now you're adding value topeople around the world.
Drew Larison (24:36):
I'll tell you what , too, the biggest value from
the podcast is, selfishly, forme, like I said, we are able to
interview the industry's best,the home industry's best and the
things I have learned, and then, in return, what my team has
learned by listening to thesepodcast episodes, does nothing
(24:57):
but just make us so much betterinternally.
The sales tips we're learningin that sales season, season two
, is going to be all about AI.
Like, how are the top AI homeservice business owners using
these new futuristic tools tohelp, you know, grow the impact
in their home service businesses?
So we're like, I'll be learningfrom that, you know, and so
will the listeners.
(25:17):
But, like, selfishly, we learna lot as the agency by talk,
being able to have theopportunity to talk to these
business owners and then usewhat they're doing and their big
businesses in the home serviceworld to help our clients out.
So, like man, selfishly, I getout a lot of it.
I love doing the podcast.
It's so fun for me.
Dr. William Attaway (25:37):
So let me take a little turn there from
that, because five-door medianeeds you to lead at a higher
level today than it did fiveyears ago, and that same thing
is going to be true five yearsfrom now.
You've had phenomenal exampleswith your grandfather and your
dad, but you've got to be on acontinual growth curve.
(25:58):
You can't just ever settle forwhere you are, because your
clients, your team, yourbusiness is going to need you to
lead at a higher level.
How do you stay on top of yourgame?
How do you level up with thosenew leadership skills that your
team and your business will needyou to have?
Drew Larison (26:16):
You know you are so spot on and it's something
we're going through right now.
So we just launched EOS insideof our agency Awesome, and it's
been a really cool experience.
We're about a month in likefive weeks in.
We've had five L10s.
Those L10s keep getting betterand better.
We're about to startdepartmental L10s as well.
(26:37):
But that's been a really coolprocess for us for so many ways
and if anybody's listening andthey've launched EOS, you know
what I'm talking about.
It's been fascinating.
We're full on for the EOS Onesoftware and you know like we're
bought in, but obviously maybenot obviously I'm sitting in
that like visionary CEO seat andI mean, I'll be honest, it has
(27:02):
been a struggle to find and I'mstill not there.
I had a conversation earliertoday.
I am struggling to getcomfortable knowing that my job
now is so much of my job isthinking and planning and
there's not a lot at the end ofthe day that I can check off the
(27:24):
box.
I'm also an Enneagram three,which is like the achiever.
Right.
So I find so much value inmyself when I'm achieving things
and a lot of times thatvisionary seat, what you're
achieving is not as tactile asmaybe as what it was before.
Like there's been and my wifeactually, she is the integrator
(27:46):
for our company, so so that'sbeen awesome.
She is, she is the integratorfor our company, so like, so
that's been awesome.
She is thriving, she is killingit and like that is just
something we're blessed with.
That we've learned is like heryang is my yang and vice versa.
But at the same time, like I'vegone to her a few times and I'm
just like Erin, you're what doI do?
Right?
And because EOS, like the wholepoint of it, is like
(28:09):
accountability and details andclarity.
Everybody has like to do listsright.
Everybody has accountabilitycharts and they know what
they're supposed to be doing.
And if they were going to talkabout it in a week and if you
didn't do it, there's questionslike everybody's very clear.
And a lot of times, me in thatvisionary seat, I'm like well,
well, what do I do this week,you know, and it's it's been
(28:29):
weird and it's been hard.
I'll be honest, like the fiveweeks there's been like
definitely moments of like am Igood at this?
Is this actually where I'msupposed to be?
Um, you know, they talk a lotabout having the right seat or
being the right people on thebus, but having the right people
in the right seats about it'slike I've had a lot of
self-doubt.
I've had a lot of um, what's itcalled?
(28:51):
Where, like, you're pretendingimposter 100, um, and I think
I'm finally getting to a rhythmand this is I.
I need therapy is reallyprobably what it is.
But, like, getting to the point, understanding what I
accomplish is not who I am,that's right, and that's been a
really hard thing to like, graspand um, so I guess, to answer
(29:14):
your question, that was to startit, but I'm still learning that
you know, and I I love havingconversations like this.
I love going to masterminds, I'mdigging into more, really, just
education, uh, constant,constant education and constant,
like, trying to level up.
I'm in a lot of groups whereI'm having conversations with
people, um, but the biggestthing to me is acknowledging
(29:37):
that education is what I'msupposed to be doing.
Like, there's not a lot of liketo-do list, check it off items
anymore.
It is high level.
It is a lot of big picturethinking, which to me comes
natural.
I love it, so that doesn't help.
Actually, you would think likesomeone that is a natural big
picture thinker.
This would be perfect.
(29:59):
But when you mix in, I'm anEnneagram three who bases 100%
of my value on achievement.
A lot of days I'm not going toachieve much, at least on like
paper, right, right, um, I'mgonna like be working on things
that might be big in the future,but a lot of times I'm just
sitting around like is this whatI'm supposed to be doing?
You know and like even when welaunched eos, I had like to-do
(30:21):
list items.
I had scorecards and then Ilike dug into more eos stuff and
they're like you're notsupposed to have that stuff.
I I'm like then what am Isupposed to do if I don't have
any like to-do list items?
You know and that's luckily mywife is so amazing and like
encouraging and like she'shelping me through it, but like
that's honestly something I'vereally struggled with, like
(30:41):
finding my identity in this newstructure, and it's tough too,
because everybody else is lovingit so much like, everybody is
like really leaned in to the eosmodel and they're loving the
accountability, the clarity ofroles and things like that.
I mean, we're 10 years old.
We barely had an like anorganizational chart, you know.
Now we have like a fullaccountability chart and like
(31:02):
everybody's loving it and I'mjust sitting back like that's
cool, I'm glad you guys aregreat.
So I'm gonna go read a book Iguess you know what I mean.
Like that's, that's a part ofit, you know, and it's it's.
It's been interesting.
So maybe if we talk in sixmonths I'll have a different
answer, but like that's.
That's been something I'mstruggled with, you know, and I
(31:25):
think I'm a little bit ADD, sothat doesn't help.
In the cluster of whatever thesituation is either, I will say
we have a plan.
So my wife and I share anexecutive assistant and I think
we're going to really talk toher.
Shout out, shine.
She's amazing To where she canhelp me keep accountable on
things I should be doing orneedles that should be moving.
(31:46):
But it's been hard.
It's been hard, but I thinkwe're on the right path.
Dr. William Attaway (31:53):
Well, I think you are too.
You know the turn that you'remaking right now is one that
most leaders do not make, andthe reason for that is that they
draw so much of theirself-worth and their identity,
like you were saying, from whatthey get done, and that's
understandable.
And if you want to build alifestyle business where
(32:13):
everything centers around you,great, go for it.
But if you want to buildsomething that scales, and if
you want to build something thatone day becomes a sellable
asset, you have to removeyourself from the center of the
spider web, and that takesexactly what you're describing.
You have to make the turn frombeing an individual contributor
(32:36):
to being a CEO.
You have to move from gettingthings done to getting things
done through other people whichmeans your list isn't checking
anymore.
You're not checking boxes.
It's a whole different ballgamenow.
Drew Larison (32:50):
It's tough.
It's tough and, like I said,with that other cluster of my
Enneagram 3-ness, it's been achallenge.
Yeah, it's been a cluster.
Dr. William Attaway (32:59):
That adds a layer of complexity.
Drew Larison (33:00):
It does.
Dr. William Attaway (33:01):
It does so as you continue to learn and as
you grow.
Is there a book that has made abig difference in your journey
that you'd recommend to theleaders who are listening?
Drew Larison (33:11):
Well, of course, crush it right.
That's the one that started itall the one that started
everything.
That's right.
No, I think the most recentbook that was and I don't think
I'm speaking in hyperbole, butthe change in my life was that
is, 10 X is easier than two X.
That book was so good, sofreaking good.
(33:32):
I remember my daughter is on aswim team and I was listening to
the audio book while at a swimmeet, which, if there's any swim
parents out there, you knowwhat I'm talking about.
It is a four hour event thatyour, your kid, participates
maybe in 45 seconds of, uh, soit's, it's a lot of sit around
and wait, um, but I waslistening to that book and I
remember just like being I wasin this giant natatorium of like
(33:56):
600 people, but like I was sofocused which is rare for me, um
, because that book changed mylife, you know, and like it
really talked to me about youcan't do everything, and the
people that have become thegreatest are the ones that get
super hyper-focused and are ableto answer that question who,
(34:17):
not how and they're the onesthat are able to delegate and
really focus on just what theyare the best at.
I have a friend, her name'sAngela Chinowski and she owns a
virtual assistant agency, butit's called Unique Genius and
like they're really bigbelievers on that too helping
(34:38):
entrepreneurs find their uniquegenius and then finding out,
finding other people to takecare of the rest.
So, like her and I, we talk alot about that.
But that book 10X is easierthan 2X the line that will stick
with anybody who reads it whatgot you to where you are now is
not what's going to get you towhere you're going, and that
rocked my world when I read thatand that's probably when we
(34:59):
started going down thatfive-door path and started
talking about EOS and all thatkind of stuff.
It's just that leveling upmoment and it's a scary moment I
often describe growing.
Running a business that'sgrowing is you have a backpack
and you're walking on a sidewalkand simultaneously the sidewalk
gets more narrow and yourbackpack gets more heavy, and
(35:21):
then all of a sudden you get toa point and it starts widening
again and the backpack getslighter.
But then it's just constant ofthat Like it is a constant path
of walking down that sidewalkwith, when it gets narrow, the
weight of it carries getsheavier, and then you get to
this comfortable point whereyou're, like you're at a part of
growth where, like you havegood people, you have the right
people, and all of a sudden itgets really hard again and that
(35:41):
no sidewall gets narrow againand that backpack backpack gets
heavier, um, like that is.
But that breaking point is thatpoint where the book talks
about what got you to where youare at.
This breaking point is notwhat's going to get you where
you're going next, which is thatmore comfortable sidewalk again
, and it's a scary moment.
But it's such an encouragingthing to hear and understand
(36:05):
that every business that's evergrown goes through this.
This is not a Larissa Mediathing, this is not a five-door
media thing.
This is just a business thing.
Right, and to hear that wasreally encouraging.
Dr. William Attaway (36:16):
Drew, this has been such a phenomenal
conversation.
I feel like I could talk to youfor another hour and continue
to gain these golden nuggets ofinsight that you've picked up
along the way.
Thank you for being so generoustoday and sharing from your
journey so far.
I know our listeners are goingto want to stay connected to you
and continue to learn more fromyou and about what you and Five
(36:39):
Door and Larison Media aredoing.
What's the best way for them todo that?
Drew Larison (36:43):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
You can connect to me onFacebook at Drew Larison, with
one R, often commonly misspelled.
A lot of people just put twoR's in there or just anywhere.
Really, it's at Mr Drew Larisonis my handle in a lot of places
, so follow me on Instagram orconnect with me on LinkedIn.
I'm pretty easy to findFiveDoorMediacom LarisonMediacom
(37:03):
.
Dr. William Attaway (37:12):
Should be pretty easy to find me.
Drew Larison (37:13):
Not a lot of Drew Larison's out there.
It's a pretty unique name.
Yeah, we will have all thoselinks in the show notes and what
is the name of the podcast.
Dr. William Attaway (37:16):
It's just the Five Door Media Podcast.
Drew Larison (37:17):
So we are.
Like I said, the unique thingabout what we're doing so far is
we're doing it by season andevery season is the same topic.
So we have like 10 episodes onsales coming and then the next
10 will be all on AI.
So we're doing it in that way.
Dr. William Attaway (37:30):
Well, I want to encourage our listeners
to go check that out, because Iknow there's a lot of value
there.
Oh yeah, Drew, thank you somuch for today.
Thank you.
I'm excited today to have Drew Larison on
the podcast.
Drew's the founder and CEO ofFive Door Media.
Drew founded the LarisonCompany in 2015 and merged the
company into Larison Media inearly 2017.
Drew's a husband, a father anda true believer that hard work
and kindness is the true key tosuccess.
(00:22):
Drew, I'm so glad you're here.
Thanks for being on the show.
Drew Larison (00:26):
I am very happy to be here as well.
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Intro / Outro (00:32):
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 (00:49):
Andrew, I'd love to start with you sharing
a little bit of your story withour listeners, particularly
around your journey and yourdevelopment as a leader.
How did you get started?
Drew Larison (01:01):
My journey as a leader probably started in
childhood.
To be honest, I grew up in anentrepreneurial home.
My father and grandfather owneda business that is in the
manufacturing world.
I won't go into specificsbecause it's still kind of over
my head exactly what they do and, as you can tell, as I own an
agency, I kind of went acomplete opposite route.
(01:23):
Can tell, as I own an agency, Ikind of went a complete
opposite route.
But you know, I always tellpeople like some of the best
lessons in leadership I haveexperienced happened at my
kitchen table growing up youknow, and my dad worked with my
grandfather on a daily basis,and so a lot of dinner
conversations started with mymom asking my dad, what did your
(01:44):
dad have to say today, you know?
And then I would hear thestories of the shop you know,
and I would hear the struggles,and they were specifically in a
portion of manufacturing thatworked in the automotive world a
lot.
So when 2008 happened, I saw mydad navigate that and we I am
based out of Kokomo, indiana.
(02:05):
We are about 45 miles, 40 mileslike straight north of
Indianapolis, and at that time,well, kokomo is still very much
a factory town.
There's a giant Chryslerfactory, or Stellantis now as
it's called, as well as someother large scale automotive
factories, and Kokomo was onlike the top three list of
(02:25):
Forbes fastest dying cities in2008.
And my dad was a supplier forthose automotive companies.
So I definitely saw the stressof that and I will forever tell
the tale.
My dad survived that withouthaving to lay off a single
employee.
He definitely led with that.
Leaders eat last mentalityduring those, you know, years of
(02:48):
struggle, through thatdepression that our country went
through, especially in thatautomotive world, and but it
really is like it's.
It's one of those things Ithink is partly maybe not
biologically genetic, but justdue to the house I grew up in
and the conversations I heardand the experiences that I saw
(03:10):
that entrepreneurial gene ofmine was strong, you know,
growing up.
And I also didn't finishcollege, so like my dad didn't
either, so like even that kindof like kept going.
But I really, I really think myleadership lessons began in my
childhood and just hearingconversations from my dad at the
(03:34):
dinner table with my mom.
Dr. William Attaway (03:35):
You know, that's so fascinating and it
makes me think about my story.
I mean, I'm a third generationentrepreneur too.
You know I watched mygrandfather, you know, start and
run a business.
My dad started and ran actuallya traditional advertising
agency starting back in the 70s.
He ran it for 45 years.
Drew Larison (03:51):
As a madman.
Exactly, that's exactly it.
Dr. William Attaway (03:53):
You know, I mean well long before digital,
yeah, but the lessons that youlearn at the kitchen table, the
lessons that you learn simply byalmost osmosis of being in the
room, living in the house andwatching and listening and table
, the lessons that you learnedsimply by almost osmosis of
being in the room, living in thehouse and watching and
listening and learning.
You know a lot of what to do,but also sometimes what not to
do.
You know, as you were, as youwere observing and watching,
(04:18):
what are some things that youtook away and you're like I'm
absolutely going to be just likethat, I'm doing that.
Drew Larison (04:24):
Yeah, and it's funny you say that like, uh,
this got brought up.
So my wife works full-time inthe business too and I was
having a conversation with herearlier and she referenced in
our conversation of what wassomething that was going on
situation was going on in ourbusiness.
She literally said I feel likethis is something Gilbert would
do and Gilbert was my grandpaand so it's very timely that
(04:48):
we're talking about this.
But basically it was at mygrandpa's funeral and, like I
said, so the grandpa, he startedthe business, shout out,
hoosier Spine Broach in Kokua,indiana, and then at some point
my dad took it.
As much as a son can take overa business from a very confident
father.
You know, grandpa definitelystill came into the shop every
(05:11):
day, but dad was running, youknow, the day to day.
And so at grandpa Gilbert'sfuneral, somebody came up to us
who had worked in the shop forforever and they were you just
kind of started telling storiesabout what it was like to know
Gilbert, or, in his name, hecalled him Gil, and it was a
different.
I mean, I loved my grandfather.
(05:31):
I have like nothing negative tosay, but like hearing stories
from the personal side from yourgrandfather when you knew him
as a grandfather.
It's a whole different thing,right.
And one of the stories,specifically, was my grandfather
put down the down payment forone of his employees' first
homes and let him slowly pay offthe home through his paycheck
(05:52):
over years.
And I had no idea.
I had no idea this was areality.
And he said, literally, Iwouldn't be where I'm at today
if it wasn't for Gil or yourgrandpa.
And I'm like man.
Talk about just a few things.
One just generational impactthat, like Grandpa Gilbert was
(06:14):
able to help create, right, Imean it's, at that time the
American dream was owning a home, you know.
So, like Grandpa helped thatguy achieve the American dream,
or at least start that Americandream of owning a home.
And then the second thing waslike dear God, that's some
familial pressure.
Did I live up to that too?
But at the same time I meanhonestly, like that story gets
(06:37):
brought up a lot and, like Isaid, we were able to do not at
that magnitude yet, but maybeone day like help an employee
with like a purchase that theyneeded recently that they just
weren't able to do, and likethat's, my wife was like, hey,
we need to do this because thisis something Grandpa Gilbert
would do.
So like just the pressure ofthat, but like to live that on.
And I also say, too, thebiggest lesson in leadership
(07:00):
I'll ever have.
So, unfortunately, nearly 10years ago, which is actually the
same year we started thebusiness, my father actually
passed away and the biggestlesson I'll ever need in
leadership was for his funeral.
Right, and it was obviously.
He passed away young, so it waskind of like a chaotic planning
of this funeral.
(07:20):
It wasn't fully really expectedin any way.
And you're doing all theplanning, you're trying're doing
all the planning.
You're trying to figure outflowers, you're trying to figure
out the funeral home, like allright, all like all the details
that go into um burying someone,and we get a call from the shop
and it is his employees whohave been there a long time and
they're like, hey, we want to bethe pallbearers and like the
(07:43):
people that have worked for mydad were the ones that carried
his casket at his funeral andI'm like why do I ever need to
go to another leadershipconference?
Why do I ever need?
To.
You know what I mean.
Like what's going to top that,like personally in my life.
So there's just been so manycool stories that I have heard,
you know, post their passing,that have impacted me and just
(08:07):
this massive way Like that.
I said that have been reallyawesome to hear stories of my
family members, that the side ofmy family members that I didn't
get to see because that waslike the relationship I had with
them as if their son or theirgrandson.
But it was so cool to not justhear stories of leadership like
(08:29):
that and like love for youremployees and like giving back
to your employees, but like toknow, like, oh, that's, I've got
that in me right.
Like those, those stories havemy genes in them.
Um, what a cool thing, anopportunity that I have to like
keep that going for the Larisonname, you know.
So there there's, there's a lotof stories and a lot of lessons
(08:50):
I've learned, um, but those twoare like the first thing that
will pop in my head that likereally have taught me what type
of leadership is not justexpected but like attainable.
You know, like because they'rethey weren't just stories I read
in a book, they're stories I'mhearing at my family members'
funerals from real people thatexperienced it, and it's just
(09:12):
the impact that had andcontinues to have.
Like I said, my wife literallybrought it up the other day and
a real story in our company.
Dr. William Attaway (09:20):
So it's really cool to see that impact,
to see that it's attainable andreal and then be able to do that
now in the position we're in,is something I'll never take
advantage of.
That type of legacy is such agift and it's not one that
everybody gets, and I love that.
You shared that and are livinginto that legacy now you and
(09:41):
your wife in the company legacy.
Now you and your wife in thecompany.
So how did you get?
Drew Larison (09:51):
from growing up in that environment to digital
marketing.
Great question, yeah.
So I guess following that pathof like an entrepreneurial kid
school was never something Iloved.
I was never someone that wasable to like sit in a classroom
and obtain information and learn.
That way I was always likelet's get my hands dirty, I want
to experience something, I wantto learn.
(10:11):
While doing so, like somehowgraduated high school, somehow
got into a college it wasactually the college that my
brother got into so I think Itotally got the sympathy
acceptance into that collegeinto.
So I think I totally got thethe sympathy acceptance into
that college.
And now college is aninteresting thing where if you
don't like pass your classes,they have this thing where they
(10:33):
don't let you come back toschool.
It's like flunking out.
So the first year in college Idid that exact same thing.
I was in no way likeemotionally mature enough to
like have that responsibility.
But it's what you do, right,you go to college after high
school.
And so I came home after thatkind of with my tail between my
(10:55):
legs like embarrassed andshameful that I was going
through that.
But then I went to a localschool it's actually Indiana
University, kokomo.
It's like a sister campus of IU, and my first semester at IU I
got an internship doing.
Uh well, actually let me goback, sorry Before I went to IU.
Iu actually makes you sit out asemester.
(11:16):
If you flunked out of a schoolbefore you just dive in, die you
.
So like I had like this loser ofa semester where I was just
down on myself feeling reallycrappy.
But there was this guy that Ihad a random connection with
through church and his name wasOven and he to me my visual, he
was successful, right, and I'mlike that's a guy I need to have
(11:38):
coffee with or that's the guy Ineed to like sit down with.
So I met up with him and I kindof told him what I was into.
So, like I don't know, I thinkI'm into business.
I grew up in a home wherebusiness was definitely talked
about.
I'm creative.
At that time I was like prettyactive in music.
Um, I like people and I think Ilike technology.
Technology is fun.
Like that was around the timelike iPhones were coming out, so
(11:59):
it was like this really bigboom of like new technology
waves.
And he gave me a book, uh, toread and it was called crush it
by gary vaynerchuk, and likethis book was like new right,
like this is when it just cameout and gary was in no way the
gary b that the world knows nowand I read the book and it kind
of blew my mind.
(12:19):
Um, and then, in classic gary vfashion, I got like this giant
false self confidence going onand like I said like oh my gosh,
I am in Kokomo, indiana.
I'm about to blow this townaway.
There's this thing calledsocial media marketing and like
you can do what you love, youcan crush it and like it's just
the cheesiest book title of alltime, but it's really.
(12:40):
It was powerful for me.
So I would like arrogantly wentto this car dealership that I
worked at in high school and Isaid, like you guys need help
with this thing called digitalmarketing, and they're like no,
we don't.
And they didn't give me aninternship.
And then, like six months later, I got a random call back when
I was at iuk, when I were caughtup when I was in that semester
at iuk, and they called back andthey're like, okay, maybe
actually we are interested.
(13:00):
So I got an internship and likemade some videos for them.
Like I said, I had no clue whatI was doing, like, but I had
like all that Gary V, self falseconfidence right.
It doesn't matter, I'm going tocrush it, like that's just,
that's what the book title is,that's what I'm going to do.
But like, I helped them, youknow to this day, like I created
their Facebook page for themand like they're up and still
running.
And like created YouTubeaccounts for them and Instagram
(13:22):
accounts and things like that.
But then at the end of thatinternship, basically I said you
guys want to hire me BecauseI'm great.
Look at all the things I'vedone for you.
And then they said no, no, wedon't.
And then another local cardealership saw what I had done
at that dealership and theyoffered me a job.
And that's where I made themoment, the decision of like, do
(13:43):
I finish school or do I take ajob that I would want after
school?
You know, like after graduating, I was like it was an internet
marketing director, which wasway too big of a job title for
what I actually was doing, butthat's what they called me.
So I took the job at thedealership, worked there for a
few years and then Avin whoremember gave me crush it.
(14:05):
He contacted me and said hey,I'm looking for a social media
marketing director.
If you know anybody, let meknow.
Back to that Gary V confidence.
I said why not me?
And like, a few weeks later Iwas hired.
So I worked there at Web SuccessAgency, which was the name of
that agency.
It was like my first agencyexperience, worked there for
three years.
It was like my first agencyexperience, worked there for
(14:25):
three years, kind of learned howthe sausage was made inside of
an agency, so to speak, andgreat experience.
They went one way.
I kind of wanted to go theother way.
We separated ways.
I took a few clients with mewith their blessing, because
they were not going the way ofthose clients, yeah.
And then 10 years in June, herewe are.
So we've been.
I've been running the agencyfor 10 years, uh, as the Larison
(14:48):
company, when it was just meworking out of my house, and
then it went to Larison mediawhen I started to get some staff
.
Um, also, just a straight copyof VaynerMedia is why we went
with Larison media, cause I wasstill obsessed with Gary
Vaynerchuk at the time.
And then around three years agois when we really started
getting comfortable and creatinga really big impact for people
(15:09):
in that home service niche.
So that's when we decided tomake that subsidiary agency,
five Door Media just for homeservice companies.
So there's the 10-year history.
Dr. William Attaway (15:19):
It's remarkable, and you know there's
no such thing as a wastedexperience.
And had any of those things notbeen a part of the journey, I
think it would have radicallyaltered your trajectory.
You're 100 right and thedestination.
Drew Larison (15:31):
So much so, too, I met my wife because when I was
doing that internship I was alsoworking at subway.
I was working at mcallister's,like I was like hustling and I
was at the movies one time withsome friends and a friend of my
brothers came in.
I was talking to her and thenmy wife was with her.
I had no idea who she was atthe movies one time with some
friends and a friend of mybrother's came in.
I was talking to her and thenmy wife was with her.
I had no idea who she was atthe time and started talking to
(15:53):
her and she got me my firstactual job in marketing, which
at that time was for a local gym, and I was allowed to do the
Facebook page while I was makingprotein shakes behind the front
desk, like.
So that was like my first job inmarketing and those were like
the crazy days of Facebook, wewould do these wild giveaways,
(16:20):
like I would post something likethe first person to come in and
run a mile on the treadmillgets a free membership for a
year, and like the place wouldjust be flooded because organic
reach was crazy at that time,right.
Like you could just postanything and thousands of people
would see it.
So we just did some buck wildthings at that gym, um, but yeah
, like aaron, who now we've beenmarried for over 10 years, um,
almost 13 years, so he got me myfirst job in marketing that I
(16:41):
never would have met her andlike.
So I mean, you're right, likeevery, every experience, like
adds up to who you are and whereyou're at now, um, personal and
professional.
So, yeah, it's, it's wild Herand I talk about every now and
then, like if one thread in thestory would not have happened,
what would it look like?
You know, and it's wild tothink about.
Dr. William Attaway (17:00):
That's so true.
So tell me about five-doormedia.
What are you guys about?
Drew Larison (17:06):
Yeah.
So Five Door Media, it's reallyfun.
We really look at our jobs asmarketers, not just as we run ad
campaigns or we create socialmedia posts or we really create
great videos.
We kind of take it a stepfurther and we really want to be
(17:26):
what we call just impact makers.
We really exist to partner withhome service businesses so that
together we can increase theirimpact internally, locally and
beyond, because we truly thinkthat home service companies are
changing the world and we wantto play a role in their stories
by helping with those creativetasks that a lot of times are
(17:48):
things that get pushed to theside, things that are not the
strong suit of the owners.
But it's been a really coolthing to partner with those
companies.
In the other home servicesworld we work with a lot of,
like, lawn and landscapecompanies.
We work a lot with the cleaningworld, so, like the residential
and commercial cleaning world,hvac, plumbing, all those and if
you service a home, we're agreat agency for you.
(18:11):
And five-door media comes fromsomething we've created called
the five-door method, which isreally our way of diagnosing
marketing campaigns and adcampaigns.
We truly believe that customershave to go through five doors
before they're a paying customer.
And the first one is platform.
The second one is creative.
(18:31):
The third one is targeting.
The fourth one is post adengagement, so your websites,
your landing pages, your forms.
And then that fifth door issales.
So when we're working with aclient, we're working with an ad
campaign for them.
We like look at the metrics andwe're able to see what door
customers are getting stuck atand then we tweak that door
until they make their waythrough and onto the last one.
(18:51):
So it's been a really cooljourney so far with 5 Door Media
.
When we launched 5 Door Media,a good chunk of our Larison
Media clients were home service,so they probably just like
transitioned over.
But it's been cool.
You know, this five door methodis, I think, providing a way
for business owners that are notsuper fluent in marketing to
(19:16):
kind of understand how it works.
And I'm not saying like thefive door method is this
revolutionary idea of how todiagnose an ad campaign, but
like just the way that we'rewording it.
I think it's been refreshingfor a lot of people.
It's easier to understand andattain in their brain, for, oh
yeah, they're getting stuck atthe creative and showing them
the metrics.
Your ads are being shown to abunch of people but there's zero
(19:40):
engagement.
That means your creative forthat ad is not stopping the
scroll.
People are just going to keepgoing past.
We're getting to, we're gettingmore and more involved in the
sales process of our clients,which is really fascinating, and
because to us you know themetrics we're looking at things
should be gangbusters, right,but then we're.
Now we're starting to like diveinto the sales calls of some of
(20:01):
our clients and we're realizinglike I kind of take it prideful
, but we've had a lot of CSRsfired through our clients
because we are able to show themcall recordings and they're
like, oh my gosh, that lead wasready to hand over money and
they just didn't close it.
So that's always an interestingline to walk.
(20:22):
I think a lot of agency ownerslisten to this.
So the last thing I want to sayas an agency owner is like oh,
it's your sales problem, it'snot the marketing.
So what we're able to do is saythat when we believe that to be
the problem, but say it withproof, show them metrics, show
them like no man, they have gotto door four, they've gotten to
(20:44):
door five and they're fallingoff.
Let's listen to this call orlet's read this email that was
sent and that's stuff we getaccess to up top, because I
really believe we could do thebest marketing job in the world.
But if that fifth door isn'tthis big, beautiful door that's
welcoming to people and thatsales process is really on point
(21:07):
, we are worthless as the agencybecause dollars are not going
to be made from these leads andthey won't be very open to keep
paying us if they're not, so ifthey don't have the money from
the leads to pay us.
So that fifth door is reallyimportant and actually on our
podcast we're doing it by seasonand the first season is all
(21:28):
about sales.
So it's been really interestingto talk to home service
professionals about sales andlearn more from them, which that
has helped us really diagnosethose fifth door issues that
some of our clients are havingand then give them insights that
we've learned from those homeservice professionals that are
just crushing it in the salesworld.
And then that's when thosedoors start opening up and
(21:50):
really working with them to getexact ROI numbers.
So they know hey, you spentthis much on ads.
A lot of home service world isrecurring revenue, so it's great
for paid ads.
So it's been fun.
It's been fun to dive into homeservice before 5Door, but now
that we're all in on homeservice, it's just increased the
impact tenfold.
(22:10):
It's been really great.
Dr. William Attaway (22:12):
You know, as you describe what you do, it
sounds very much like you arepositioning yourself, presenting
yourself as a growth partner,that you're helping them think,
not just through the tactics ofrun this ad, run this creative,
but thinking strategicallyacross their business.
I would imagine your clientstend to stick around.
Drew Larison (22:34):
Yeah, yeah, and I think I think you're spot on too
and, like I said from the jump,like we don't look at ourselves
as just digital marketers,we're impact makers, you know,
and impact can be defined indifferent ways Financial is one
of them, but, like we say, welove the idea of internally,
locally and beyond, likecreating impact.
The internal impact is maybethrough helping you get sales or
(22:57):
helping you grow your audience.
Someone on staff got a raiseand they're able to buy a car
for the first time, or maybethey have a Gilbert Larson in
their lives and they're able tobuy a house for the first time,
you know, like those internalstories that maybe we'll never
hear about, um, and but we knowthey're happening if we're doing
what we're supposed to be doing, all those like internal impact
stories that could be happening.
(23:17):
And then locally, I trulybelieve that the best way for a
local community to grow isthrough strong small businesses
really supporting it, and I knowwe don't like to talk about
taxes, but the better a businessdoes, the more you're going to
pay in taxes and those taxdollars.
You're going to have betterroads, you're going to have
better schools, you're going tohave better local government
(23:40):
making better decisions,investing back in the community,
and we really think what we do,the impact we're helping our
clients make, goes into that.
You know so, like we're notjust making Facebook graphics,
we're literally maybe fillingpotholes in a way through the
work we're doing right.
Or like a school is getting anew gymnasium because of the
work we're helping with.
So that local impact is a bigdeal for us too.
(24:00):
And then that beyond impact isjust due to the internet.
Any business we work with is nolonger confined to just their
walls.
You know really, the storiesand the impact that they can be
creating due to the internet andits reach could be beyond what
we could possibly dream.
You know so we're not marketers.
We are impact makers thatreally are focused on creating
(24:21):
impact internally for yourbusiness, locally for your
community and beyond, for theworld.
Dr. William Attaway (24:26):
A podcast is just another way that you're
adding value even beyond yourown clients.
Now you're adding value topeople around the world.
Drew Larison (24:36):
I'll tell you what , too, the biggest value from
the podcast is, selfishly, forme, like I said, we are able to
interview the industry's best,the home industry's best and the
things I have learned, and then, in return, what my team has
learned by listening to thesepodcast episodes, does nothing
(24:57):
but just make us so much betterinternally.
The sales tips we're learningin that sales season, season two
, is going to be all about AI.
Like, how are the top AI homeservice business owners using
these new futuristic tools tohelp, you know, grow the impact
in their home service businesses?
So we're like, I'll be learningfrom that, you know, and so
will the listeners.
(25:17):
But, like, selfishly, we learna lot as the agency by talk,
being able to have theopportunity to talk to these
business owners and then usewhat they're doing and their big
businesses in the home serviceworld to help our clients out.
So, like man, selfishly, I getout a lot of it.
I love doing the podcast.
It's so fun for me.
Dr. William Attaway (25:37):
So let me take a little turn there from
that, because five-door medianeeds you to lead at a higher
level today than it did fiveyears ago, and that same thing
is going to be true five yearsfrom now.
You've had phenomenal exampleswith your grandfather and your
dad, but you've got to be on acontinual growth curve.
(25:58):
You can't just ever settle forwhere you are, because your
clients, your team, yourbusiness is going to need you to
lead at a higher level.
How do you stay on top of yourgame?
How do you level up with thosenew leadership skills that your
team and your business will needyou to have?
Drew Larison (26:16):
You know you are so spot on and it's something
we're going through right now.
So we just launched EOS insideof our agency Awesome, and it's
been a really cool experience.
We're about a month in likefive weeks in.
We've had five L10s.
Those L10s keep getting betterand better.
We're about to startdepartmental L10s as well.
(26:37):
But that's been a really coolprocess for us for so many ways
and if anybody's listening andthey've launched EOS, you know
what I'm talking about.
It's been fascinating.
We're full on for the EOS Onesoftware and you know like we're
bought in, but obviously maybenot obviously I'm sitting in
that like visionary CEO seat andI mean, I'll be honest, it has
(27:02):
been a struggle to find and I'mstill not there.
I had a conversation earliertoday.
I am struggling to getcomfortable knowing that my job
now is so much of my job isthinking and planning and
there's not a lot at the end ofthe day that I can check off the
(27:24):
box.
I'm also an Enneagram three,which is like the achiever.
Right.
So I find so much value inmyself when I'm achieving things
and a lot of times thatvisionary seat, what you're
achieving is not as tactile asmaybe as what it was before.
Like there's been and my wifeactually, she is the integrator
(27:46):
for our company, so so that'sbeen awesome.
She is, she is the integratorfor our company, so like, so
that's been awesome.
She is thriving, she is killingit and like that is just
something we're blessed with.
That we've learned is like heryang is my yang and vice versa.
But at the same time, like I'vegone to her a few times and I'm
just like Erin, you're what doI do?
Right?
And because EOS, like the wholepoint of it, is like
(28:09):
accountability and details andclarity.
Everybody has like to do listsright.
Everybody has accountabilitycharts and they know what
they're supposed to be doing.
And if they were going to talkabout it in a week and if you
didn't do it, there's questionslike everybody's very clear.
And a lot of times, me in thatvisionary seat, I'm like well,
well, what do I do this week,you know, and it's it's been
(28:29):
weird and it's been hard.
I'll be honest, like the fiveweeks there's been like
definitely moments of like am Igood at this?
Is this actually where I'msupposed to be?
Um, you know, they talk a lotabout having the right seat or
being the right people on thebus, but having the right people
in the right seats about it'slike I've had a lot of
self-doubt.
I've had a lot of um, what's itcalled?
(28:51):
Where, like, you're pretendingimposter 100, um, and I think
I'm finally getting to a rhythmand this is I.
I need therapy is reallyprobably what it is.
But, like, getting to the point, understanding what I
accomplish is not who I am,that's right, and that's been a
really hard thing to like, graspand um, so I guess, to answer
(29:14):
your question, that was to startit, but I'm still learning that
you know, and I I love havingconversations like this.
I love going to masterminds, I'mdigging into more, really, just
education, uh, constant,constant education and constant,
like, trying to level up.
I'm in a lot of groups whereI'm having conversations with
people, um, but the biggestthing to me is acknowledging
(29:37):
that education is what I'msupposed to be doing.
Like, there's not a lot of liketo-do list, check it off items
anymore.
It is high level.
It is a lot of big picturethinking, which to me comes
natural.
I love it, so that doesn't help.
Actually, you would think likesomeone that is a natural big
picture thinker.
This would be perfect.
(29:59):
But when you mix in, I'm anEnneagram three who bases 100%
of my value on achievement.
A lot of days I'm not going toachieve much, at least on like
paper, right, right, um, I'mgonna like be working on things
that might be big in the future,but a lot of times I'm just
sitting around like is this whatI'm supposed to be doing?
You know and like even when welaunched eos, I had like to-do
(30:21):
list items.
I had scorecards and then Ilike dug into more eos stuff and
they're like you're notsupposed to have that stuff.
I I'm like then what am Isupposed to do if I don't have
any like to-do list items?
You know and that's luckily mywife is so amazing and like
encouraging and like she'shelping me through it, but like
that's honestly something I'vereally struggled with, like
(30:41):
finding my identity in this newstructure, and it's tough too,
because everybody else is lovingit so much like, everybody is
like really leaned in to the eosmodel and they're loving the
accountability, the clarity ofroles and things like that.
I mean, we're 10 years old.
We barely had an like anorganizational chart, you know.
Now we have like a fullaccountability chart and like
(31:02):
everybody's loving it and I'mjust sitting back like that's
cool, I'm glad you guys aregreat.
So I'm gonna go read a book Iguess you know what I mean.
Like that's, that's a part ofit, you know, and it's it's.
It's been interesting.
So maybe if we talk in sixmonths I'll have a different
answer, but like that's.
That's been something I'mstruggled with, you know, and I
(31:25):
think I'm a little bit ADD, sothat doesn't help.
In the cluster of whatever thesituation is either, I will say
we have a plan.
So my wife and I share anexecutive assistant and I think
we're going to really talk toher.
Shout out, shine.
She's amazing To where she canhelp me keep accountable on
things I should be doing orneedles that should be moving.
(31:46):
But it's been hard.
It's been hard, but I thinkwe're on the right path.
Dr. William Attaway (31:53):
Well, I think you are too.
You know the turn that you'remaking right now is one that
most leaders do not make, andthe reason for that is that they
draw so much of theirself-worth and their identity,
like you were saying, from whatthey get done, and that's
understandable.
And if you want to build alifestyle business where
(32:13):
everything centers around you,great, go for it.
But if you want to buildsomething that scales, and if
you want to build something thatone day becomes a sellable
asset, you have to removeyourself from the center of the
spider web, and that takesexactly what you're describing.
You have to make the turn frombeing an individual contributor
(32:36):
to being a CEO.
You have to move from gettingthings done to getting things
done through other people whichmeans your list isn't checking
anymore.
You're not checking boxes.
It's a whole different ballgamenow.
Drew Larison (32:50):
It's tough.
It's tough and, like I said,with that other cluster of my
Enneagram 3-ness, it's been achallenge.
Yeah, it's been a cluster.
Dr. William Attaway (32:59):
That adds a layer of complexity.
Drew Larison (33:00):
It does.
Dr. William Attaway (33:01):
It does so as you continue to learn and as
you grow.
Is there a book that has made abig difference in your journey
that you'd recommend to theleaders who are listening?
Drew Larison (33:11):
Well, of course, crush it right.
That's the one that started itall the one that started
everything.
That's right.
No, I think the most recentbook that was and I don't think
I'm speaking in hyperbole, butthe change in my life was that
is, 10 X is easier than two X.
That book was so good, sofreaking good.
(33:32):
I remember my daughter is on aswim team and I was listening to
the audio book while at a swimmeet, which, if there's any swim
parents out there, you knowwhat I'm talking about.
It is a four hour event thatyour, your kid, participates
maybe in 45 seconds of, uh, soit's, it's a lot of sit around
and wait, um, but I waslistening to that book and I
remember just like being I wasin this giant natatorium of like
(33:56):
600 people, but like I was sofocused which is rare for me, um
, because that book changed mylife, you know, and like it
really talked to me about youcan't do everything, and the
people that have become thegreatest are the ones that get
super hyper-focused and are ableto answer that question who,
(34:17):
not how and they're the onesthat are able to delegate and
really focus on just what theyare the best at.
I have a friend, her name'sAngela Chinowski and she owns a
virtual assistant agency, butit's called Unique Genius and
like they're really bigbelievers on that too helping
(34:38):
entrepreneurs find their uniquegenius and then finding out,
finding other people to takecare of the rest.
So, like her and I, we talk alot about that.
But that book 10X is easierthan 2X the line that will stick
with anybody who reads it whatgot you to where you are now is
not what's going to get you towhere you're going, and that
rocked my world when I read thatand that's probably when we
(34:59):
started going down thatfive-door path and started
talking about EOS and all thatkind of stuff.
It's just that leveling upmoment and it's a scary moment I
often describe growing.
Running a business that'sgrowing is you have a backpack
and you're walking on a sidewalkand simultaneously the sidewalk
gets more narrow and yourbackpack gets more heavy, and
(35:21):
then all of a sudden you get toa point and it starts widening
again and the backpack getslighter.
But then it's just constant ofthat Like it is a constant path
of walking down that sidewalkwith, when it gets narrow, the
weight of it carries getsheavier, and then you get to
this comfortable point whereyou're, like you're at a part of
growth where, like you havegood people, you have the right
people, and all of a sudden itgets really hard again and that
(35:41):
no sidewall gets narrow againand that backpack backpack gets
heavier, um, like that is.
But that breaking point is thatpoint where the book talks
about what got you to where youare at.
This breaking point is notwhat's going to get you where
you're going next, which is thatmore comfortable sidewalk again
, and it's a scary moment.
But it's such an encouragingthing to hear and understand
(36:05):
that every business that's evergrown goes through this.
This is not a Larissa Mediathing, this is not a five-door
media thing.
This is just a business thing.
Right, and to hear that wasreally encouraging.
Dr. William Attaway (36:16):
Drew, this has been such a phenomenal
conversation.
I feel like I could talk to youfor another hour and continue
to gain these golden nuggets ofinsight that you've picked up
along the way.
Thank you for being so generoustoday and sharing from your
journey so far.
I know our listeners are goingto want to stay connected to you
and continue to learn more fromyou and about what you and Five
(36:39):
Door and Larison Media aredoing.
What's the best way for them todo that?
Drew Larison (36:43):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
You can connect to me onFacebook at Drew Larison, with
one R, often commonly misspelled.
A lot of people just put twoR's in there or just anywhere.
Really, it's at Mr Drew Larisonis my handle in a lot of places
, so follow me on Instagram orconnect with me on LinkedIn.
I'm pretty easy to findFiveDoorMediacom LarisonMediacom
(37:03):
.
Dr. William Attaway (37:12):
Should be pretty easy to find me.
Drew Larison (37:13):
Not a lot of Drew Larison's out there.
It's a pretty unique name.
Yeah, we will have all thoselinks in the show notes and what
is the name of the podcast.
Dr. William Attaway (37:16):
It's just the Five Door Media Podcast.
Drew Larison (37:17):
So we are.
Like I said, the unique thingabout what we're doing so far is
we're doing it by season andevery season is the same topic.
So we have like 10 episodes onsales coming and then the next
10 will be all on AI.
So we're doing it in that way.
Dr. William Attaway (37:30):
Well, I want to encourage our listeners
to go check that out, because Iknow there's a lot of value
there.
Oh yeah, Drew, thank you somuch for today.
Thank you.
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