September 16, 2025 • 35 mins
What does it take to build a thriving business in a traditionally blue-collar industry? Jeremy Gunn of JBG Painting reveals the surprising answers in this candid conversation about entrepreneurship, employee retention, and creating real value.
Starting just four and a half years ago with nothing but a desire for independence, Jeremy has built a painting company that stands apart from competitors by focusing exclusively on high-end residential work. Unlike the typical contractor model, his team consists entirely of W2 employees who receive health insurance and 401(k) benefits—perks almost unheard of in small painting businesses. The results speak for themselves: exceptional employee retention and steady growth.
Jeremy pulls back the curtain on the financial realities of small business ownership, challenging the common misconception that business owners are "sitting on piles of money." He shares how his background in restoration gave him crucial customer service skills and why working in occupied homes requires more than just painting expertise—it demands reliability, organization, and people skills.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Jeremy discusses his personal transformation journey, approaching six years of sobriety after drinking daily for many years. This commitment to continuous improvement extends to his business approach, where he credits early investment in business coaching as a game-changer for his company's development.
For entrepreneurs in any industry, Jeremy offers two pieces of actionable advice that have been pivotal to his success: get involved with your local Chamber of Commerce to connect with like-minded business owners, and invest in business coaching to gain perspective you can't find anywhere else. Whether you're considering starting a business or looking to take your existing company to the next level, this episode delivers honest insights from someone who's successfully navigating the entrepreneurial journey.
Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/
All the best!
Bill
Thanks for listening. Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review, and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com or at https://billgilliland.biz/
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Bill
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey there and welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
I'm super pumped.
I've got a friend on the linetoday, which is kind of cool.
We've known each other for alittle while.
We were actually at aconference together.
But before we get to my friend,I want to tell you a little bit
about and remind you we've gotthe Asheville Business Summit
(00:25):
coming up September 23rd.
It's time to get your tickets.
We're past Labor Day.
It's time I know you're lastminute people Get your tickets
now.
It's going to be amazing.
We've got nine amazing speakers.
We're talking about how to takethe events of Hurricane Aline
and make it a catalyst toexplode our business community
here in Western North Carolina.
(00:46):
Now I'm super pumped.
Today I've got my friend JeremyGunn from JBG Painting out
there in Wilmington, northCarolina.
So welcome.
Tell us a little bit about you,your business, how you got here
, all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh, I appreciate it, bill.
It was a nice surprise poppingup and seeing you on the other
side of the screen.
So yeah, the quick snapshot Iguess the Cliff Notes version
how JBG got started.
We've been in business aboutfour and a half years now.
Started off just kind of as anexperiment.
I didn't want to work foranybody anymore, so I started an
(01:25):
LLC and decided to just try togo out and paint.
My background is in therestoration industry.
I started there just cleaningcarpets and hanging drywall and
worked my way throughadministrative duties and
estimating and dealing withadjusters and customers on the
front and forefront, so mycustomer service level has
(01:50):
always been elevated.
I've always found satisfactionin helping others also.
So once we moved here we camefrom Michigan about 10 years ago
I started to help out in acompany that was based out of
Fayetteville.
They were looking for someoneto grow their coastal division
(02:12):
and so I took that position.
It was a great move for usbecause we wanted to get out of
the cold and my wife was aregistered nurse at the time so
she was able to pretty muchrelocate at any time.
So we tried it out for a yearand decided we really want to
just lay down roots inWilmington, love Wilmington and
bought a house and so stayedwith that company for a few
(02:34):
years and found that thesubcontractor-based customer
service in the area was not good.
I was no problem selling thework and handling what I had to
do, but trying to find the workto get done, trying to find
people to come in and do what weneeded very, very difficult.
So the decision was made let'sgive it a try, let's start our
(02:54):
own thing and see where it goes.
Figure, if I just answer thephone and do a good job, maybe
we'll find success.
And so it just kind of startedthere.
Um ended up hiring somebodywithin a few short weeks of
being open so that I couldcontinue and, you know, get the
appointments that were coming inand write estimates and do the
(03:14):
things I need to do.
And I still painted for aboutthe first year and a half of the
business.
But um slowly have grown overthe last four years to where we
now have, uh, three vans, twotrucks and seven people working
full-time, and myself and mywife now my wife is almost
full-time in the business and soall together we got nine people
that function and work here atJBG.
(03:37):
So that's the.
We primarily focus in painting.
That's the high-end painting.
We work in people's homes.
All of our people are W2employees.
We provide Blue Cross, blueShield and 401k benefits.
We match 3%.
Those are things we worked for.
We set goals and made themhappen.
(03:59):
So that's the cliff notes, thestop and start version.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah, that's a great story.
I mean I know, for example,like in health benefits, I mean
very few businesses with lessthan 10 employees are able to do
that and match the 401k.
So well done on setting yourgoals in there.
Let me ask you a couple ofthings.
It's different working foryourself and working for someone
(04:30):
else.
Uh, when you took the leap, sowhat would you do differently if
you had to start over?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Uh, you know, everything I've done has got me
to the to what I'm doing now.
Um, I think that has got me tothe to what I'm doing now.
Um, I think that one good thingI started doing, um, right out
of the gate, is actually workingwith a business coach.
Uh, we, we started off in likea group coaching format.
I had an opportunity to do a uhuh a session.
(04:59):
It was a 30 day called 30 X.
Um kind of opened my eyes alittle bit, made me ask some new
questions.
I think that the timing of thatwas perfect for me.
Um, I've always been somebodywho I'm not really set in my
ways.
I'm always open to somethingnew.
So I I went to this littleconference, little meeting thing
(05:22):
to just find out what this wasabout because everything was
still pretty new at the time andlearned about this and
participated in it.
So it was free.
It was what was so great aboutit?
I was like, well, sure, whatcan I, what can I lose?
And so I stuck with it and thengot involved in the, in some
group coaching, and so it gaveme the ability to listen to
other business owners, roundtable ideas and ask questions
(05:45):
that I didn't even really knowthat I had, so that timing of
that was great.
As far as what I would dodifferent, honestly, everything
I've learned has given me thetools to do what I do every day,
so I'm kind of glad I've donewhat I've done.
I've made the mistakes thatI've made and then learned from
them, so I can't say I'd doanything different.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yeah, no, I love it, by the way, he works with my
friend Reggie, who is it, who ispart of our Action Coach
community, and so, yeah, I lovethat, I love it all.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, this was not planned.
This was not by design.
I didn't realize this was goingto anything with Action Coach.
It was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, like we, we actually were at a
conference, and we'll talk aboutthat a little bit later
together.
I want to, I want to, I want toget your take on the conference
, but yeah, um, yeah, so,speaking of which, now you have
you wouldn't change anything.
It doesn't sound like cause youhave to go through the
learnings, but there have beensome learnings, so what?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
what are maybe one or two of the bigger learnings
that you've gotten along the way?
Uh, one learnings that you'vegotten along the way One of the
biggest things is really qualifyyour customers.
Don't just take anything andeverything that you possibly can
.
When you get started, yeah, Imean it's almost like, oh my
gosh, I got to fill my pipeline,I got to get the work, I got to
find people that are going tohire me, and so you know, in the
beginning, definitely there aresome things that I did and took
(07:03):
and took on that um, probablyunderbid myself, um, but again,
all these things are learningcurve.
You know processes, um, if youdon't learn from what you do and
I still learn I recently justlearned a harsh lesson from a
customer that I was reallyreally tough customer.
I had recently that um lookingfor red flags and and qualifying
(07:25):
those people that you're goingto work with.
Um, putting your people and youknow, setting them, them up for
success.
You know the bigger we'vegotten.
Uh, you know I got to look atthese jobs as okay, who's, what
components are, are going to fitright with the people that I
have?
Who am I going to put on thisjob?
You know it's these things.
As you, as you continue to grow,there's, there's growing pains.
(07:49):
You get comfortable and thenyou got to get yourself
uncomfortable again in businessand they want some advice.
I can't just open the fire hose.
I got to listen to wherethey're at and then I might
(08:11):
suggest some things, but a lotof times I will.
Two things I always suggest isget involved with your local
chamber of commerce to get youaround some other businesses and
business owners andprofessionals, professionals,
and get involved and tap intosome business coaching.
You don't have to go full blastand do one-to-one coaching, but
tap into it a little bit, learnabout it, because that's
(08:33):
something that you have theability to get yourself around
other people who have mademistakes that you don't know
you're going to make yet, yeah,it's good, and it's also good to
have that outside perspectivewhich is out there.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So what are some common misconceptions about
running a business?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Well, everybody thinks that you're just sitting
on a pile of money.
It's so true.
It's the customers, it's theemployees, it's the people you
interact with who are employedother places.
They think, well, you've got abusiness.
You's the employees, it's thepeople you interact with who are
employed other places.
They think, well, you've got abusiness, You're all set, you
make all this money.
And kind of the common joke Imight say to the right people is
(09:13):
well, you know, I get to see alot of money, I just don't get
to have any of it.
I get to see it come and go.
But yeah, I mean, our businessdoes a lot of volume but with
that there's a ton of overhead.
People don't realize what thatcosts, what it takes to insure
your vehicles, to insure yourpeople.
I carry full general liabilityand workers' comp Numbers like
(09:35):
that.
If you tell that to the typicalindividual who's going to work
Monday through Friday, theycan't even wrap their head
around it.
So I don't even have thatconversation with people.
But the misconception is thatyou know if you're billing out
for a job chances, you know, andthat customer is holding up
money or doing something likethat, that the small business
(09:56):
owner really relies on youpaying your bills and you got to
.
They need that because they gotto pay payroll.
They got to do that.
So they don't think that you'rejust people, just think you,
just, you're all set, you gotyour business.
What's the what's the problem?
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, I always say it's kind of like they forget
that they actually have expenseseven on their own house.
Yeah, and you know like in yourdaily living you have utilities
(10:31):
, you have insurance, you havecars, you have I mean, it's all
the same stuff in a business,it's just bigger.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, and sometimes it's yeah,it's, it's, it's interesting.
So what do?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
you attribute your growth to?
Well, definitely just passionfor the, the.
I spent my whole life workingand analyzing where I would work
.
Um, as I grew, I I I reallyliked to dissect the things that
(10:55):
it took to to make it work.
When I was in the restorationindustry, I was so fortunate to
really just start from theground up and be with a company
that grew and then get involvedin full general management and
see numbers and really get myhead around.
Okay, wow, so there's this muchcoming in and this much going
out and this is what it takes.
(11:15):
And so I got an idea until Ireally got on the forefront and
started my own thing.
I really truly didn'tunderstand.
Until it's your own money, youreally don't know.
But I think that the growthitself is just sort of based on
always being ready to pushforward.
(11:41):
When the question was posedduring, I think, one of the 30X
sessions, it was one of the veryfirst ones, I think is when are
you going to be finished withyour business?
I never thought about that.
Um, it was a.
It was an amazing question tolike ask myself, because at the
time I was painting and I'mthinking okay, I'm earning a
paycheck, I'm going to pay formy van, I'm going to do these
different things I'm doing.
(12:01):
I'm going to hire somebody new.
But I never really planned onnot doing it.
I always just planned on okay,I just don't have to work for
somebody else.
When I heard that question, itkind of made me think to myself
okay, well, that's a differentway to look at this.
I'm going to build something tosell.
I'm going to build something tofinish, to walk away from, to
step away from, I think.
(12:21):
Once I heard that, I kind ofchanged my mindset.
So my growth trajectory changed.
I tried to figure out how tohave things happen without me
always having my hands on them,and so starting to build the
systems and starting to do thethings that I needed to do, and
that's, you know, moreinvolvement in coaching, more
(12:43):
involvement in other businesses,looking at other businesses
that are doing huge volume, havelots of employees.
What is it you're doing?
Asking the questions.
So constantly learning,constantly asking questions and
constantly re-systemizing whatyou do.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, no, I love that , I love that.
So talk a little bit aboutbalancing.
I mean businesses.
When you first go into it it'sa kind of all the time thing.
How do you balance the personallife with the business life?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I'm probably an odd duck, coming from the
restoration industry.
I spent almost 20 years in thatindustry where you're always on
call, the money is in the afterhours stuff.
So if you work for the rightcompanies, you can have a very I
had a very successful career,you know, financially it was
(13:34):
phenomenal.
We we live very comfortablywith my wife as an RN and myself
in this business.
But it took having the phone,you know, being ready.
So my wife and I might be outand about getting ready to go
shopping or go to dinner or godo something and my phone's
going to ring and I just U-turnand go to work.
Um, I have a built-in sense ofurgency because of doing that
(13:57):
for so long.
So I'm probably different thansome people.
I'm, I'm, I'm okay to keep morein the work side, so I pushed a
lot more in it.
Um, uh, as far as you know thebalance, I mean honestly, I get
enjoyment out of going tonetworking events and being
(14:19):
around other people and growingmy business.
I'm, I'm excited about it.
So I spend most of my time, youknow, in the, you know working
on the growth of the businessand what I can do for it.
Um, but over time and I reallyjust have kind of dedicated my
schedule to try to make sureI've always got nothing going on
a Saturday, try to always makesure that my Fridays are
(14:41):
tailored to just wrap up andcome home Um.
Sundays I do my payroll, so itis what it is, and Sundays I do
my payroll, so it is what it is.
But I guess it's just.
You know, I don't need it andluckily my wife is supportive of
that.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, yeah, well, no, I get it.
I mean, I've asked a couple ofmy clients like what do you do
for fun?
And a couple of them have justsaid I work and it's okay.
I mean that's just who they are.
They.
I mean they still, they stillenjoy their family and
everything else, but they, butthey really like what they do
and so I think it's great, Ithink, but I tailor my schedule,
(15:19):
though, through the week to dothe things I want to do If I
want to go work out.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I set that time to go work out.
So mean there is balance.
I I set my schedule, I I'm, Ido it appropriately.
Yeah, if, if my wife needssomething, if I need to change
something or mo what.
What I've done at this pointwith our business is that I have
gotten it so that theproduction pretty much goes um.
(15:43):
I'm, I'm on the front end onthe sales piece and setting
things up, but I have a fieldmanager who really that's
awesome and a team lead who Ireally don't have to worry too
much about being on site.
I pop in, make sure it's good.
Right, work on the business.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Yeah, no, I love that , I love that, and that's a
natural progression.
So what qualities do you lookfor in employees like this?
Ops manager.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
So what we do is different than probably most of
the painting companies that areout there.
I don't touch apartments and wedon't do new construction,
really for that matter.
We do some reconstruction,we'll do some renovation type
stuff, but we're primarily inthe higher end market.
So I need people who areabsolutely reliable, can make
(16:35):
sure they are at my facilityprior to our start time, which
is 8 am.
People they'll work in like asubcontracted or a 1099 format
(16:55):
where you're told to show up ata job.
They become pretty complacent.
They kind of show up and comeand go as they need to.
I can't have that because I workfor people.
We work in their homes whilethey're there, um, you know.
So I need people thatunderstand that.
I need people that understandthe front end, that it's
sometimes you don't just go inand blow out all the ceilings
(17:16):
and do all the things you'regoing to do on a typical paint
job that you might have totailor the job around their
schedule.
They might have a home officethat they work in certain days
of the week.
So you know we got to make surethey're able to use their
kitchen at night and sleep intheir beds week.
So you know we got to make surethey're able to use their
kitchen at night and sleep intheir beds.
So I look for people thatunderstand that, that have a
little more organizationalskills, not just painting skills
, not just you know, mud workskills and things like that.
(17:39):
You you have.
You have to have some some goodcoordinating people skills and
team teamwork skills.
Those are those are primarilywhat I look for.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
I love that.
Yeah, and they're out there.
I mean, a lot of times we'llhear it's hard to find good help
, but they're out there.
You got to work, you got tolook for them.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, we got to stack value for those people.
The people that have thosequalities aren't necessarily
just looking for a wage.
They are looking for a placewhere they've got maybe a
retirement option or definitelythe insurance benefits.
You know people that havefamilies and homes and things
that are they're not justworking for their beer money.
You know people that that havesome some real things going on
in their lives.
Those are the people that cometo JBG and they stay Um and we
(18:26):
have employee retention.
I've got I've got employees Igot four right now that um, one
of them has been with me threeyears.
One of them has been with meover two and then two of them
one of them's like a year and ahalf and another one's a year Um
, and we've only been open forfour and a half years.
So this year in fact, 2025, assoon as we started the Blue
Cross, blue Shield, um, I haveonly had two people turn over.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Yeah, no, you're all doing the right thing, Pretty
solid yeah.
Yeah, yeah, you got to haveretention of employees in this
business.
I mean, I like what you'redoing, Since you're high end.
You got to be high end, yeahyou got to be consistent.
Yeah, all the end.
Hey, I've got a little bit of a.
You know my tagline's be epicand it's an acronym and so um it
(19:17):
it.
I'm going to just ask you for acouple of thoughts like quick,
quick, sort of a quick fireround on on the on the five
things.
So the B part of it's bring theenergy, and I know you're an
energetic guy, so tell me whatyour thoughts are on bringing
energy.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I got to lead by example.
You know I get excited aboutthe opportunities and I share
those opportunities with ourpeople.
We get an opportunity.
We got very fortunate to beable to paint an iconic building
here in Wilmington the BellamyMansion, and getting our team
excited about that that.
Hey look, you're going to touchsomething that is historic.
(19:54):
You're going to, you're goingto change the face of something
that people come and see everysingle day in Wilmington.
The right people get excitedabout that too.
Our team members are excitedabout that.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Yeah, yeah, I love that because I mean, yeah, it's,
it's cool, one of the coolthings.
I mean you don't think aboutlike painting as being something
like that, but hey look, Ipainted that building.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I you know, I you know.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
I painted that house.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
I you know, that's a.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah, it's a.
I had an architecture clientthe same way, like I designed
that thing.
You know it was.
You know it's something that'sgoing to last a long time and be
out there for a while.
All right.
The E stands for education.
What are your thoughts oneducation?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Oh, you got to constantly be learning, always
have something in the pipeline,be reading something or
listening to something or be apart of something.
You know, for me, the businesscoaching thing is such an
important piece.
Business coaching thing is suchan important piece, um, the the
ability to.
That's why we, that's why Iramped up into the one-to-one
coaching, because I I got, Ithink, a year under my belt of
(20:57):
group coaching and I needed more.
Um, I wanted more, I felt therewas more.
So, um, you have to constantlytake ownership of everything
you're doing, and so learningand getting educated on those
things.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yeah, well, you got to, and everybody if you, if you
, life's congruent right, so yougot to be.
You got to be educated ifyou're going to want your people
to be learning and gettingbetter too.
So the P stands for planning.
I know you got to plan.
Well, what's your thoughts onplanning?
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Well, yeah, that's great.
That's a good question.
Um, sometimes you can plan andit doesn't all go according to
plan Um, the, the, the, the plan, the general plan, um, overall.
Uh, I have a certain level ofrevenue that I need to be
bringing in each each month inorder to consider hiring another
(21:52):
employee.
I also have a certain number ofjobs in a pipeline.
Um, I kind of set thosestandards, um, so that I can
help you know, gauge a decisionwhen I'm ready to make that next
level of.
You know, okay, we're going tojump, we need more people.
Okay, this is what we need todo.
Um, general planning, it's, it's.
It's good to have yourconsistent meetings with your
(22:15):
team.
Um, I have a always a Fridaymeeting.
We have our daily huddles.
Um, those things are importantbecause it helps the, the
consistency through the, throughthe rest of the organization
with that planning.
My wife and I, on Fridays,after the team meeting, she and
I then go through our whole CRMand update that, because I'm
(22:37):
terrible with that, but she'sgreat, so I sit down and I let
her do it.
That's the important stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I love that.
I stands for inspiration.
So what are your thoughts oneither finding inspiration or
being an inspiration, or just ingeneral?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
I get that from a couple of different areas.
I get it from the umopportunities to be around the
other business professionals andlisten to the people that I,
that I, that I feel inspired bythat, I, I, I listened to, like,
wow, you know they, they'vedone these things and they've
had the same problems, and thatmakes me feel human when it,
(23:14):
when it's in a situation likethat, to hear those things, but
yet maybe they're running a 10or a 20 or a hundred million
dollar business and and andlistening to the things that
they've done, it's like I'mdoing those things Cool, um.
But when it comes to givinginspiration, nothing inspires me
more than a new young person,business owner, whatever, coming
(23:37):
up to me and saying how did youdo what you've done?
Or coming to I'm a heavy hitterin the chamber of commerce.
I run a 60 plus person meetingtwice a month.
Um, I run it really, reallytight and everybody gets their
opportunity.
But like having having peoplecontinue to come to that and
(23:59):
want to be a part of that, um,that's incredibly inspiring to
see those people come in.
Everybody wants to shake yourhand, everyone wants to say hi,
um, that's, it's cool.
It feels great to be a part ofthat community.
I love that.
Other things like that, rotary,those those types of things
yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, no, I love it.
Love it, get involved, beinvolved, show that energy.
It is an inspiration.
So the last one, c is, standsfor commitment.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
So my level of commitment is, first and
foremost, to the any promises,anything that I make um on a
daily basis.
Um, I'm uh, I'm sober, I'm uh,I am coming up on six years of.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Ah, congrats, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Yep, I drank every day of my life.
I was, I drank daily Um, I Icut it out of my life entirely.
So that's the first one Everyday.
I'm committed to that and I'man advocate for it.
If somebody needs it, I'm herefor them.
I don't shove it down theirthroat.
But if somebody wants some help, I'm here for it.
(25:04):
But commitment to you know, if Imake a promise or if I do
something for my employees, Isay I'm going to do something I
try to push for know if I make apromise or if I do something
for my employees, I say I'mgoing to do something, I try to
push for a goal or somethinglike that, I, I stay, I stick
with it.
But I'm also transparent.
If something's you know,something's not right, I mean
I'm committed to making surepeople you know I'm truthful and
and and and people understandif there's something we need to
(25:26):
make a change with Um, ifthere's something we need to
make a change with In general,just committed to doing the
right, making the rightdecisions when it comes time to
it and thinking it through.
No knee-jerk reactions.
You know, really, really do theright thing.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah, no, I love it.
Before I ask you the lastquestion, jeremy and I were
lucky enough to hang out forthree or four days in England.
He made an investment to go toBizX, which there's one in
Houston this year, coming up inOctober.
But yeah, tell us a little bitabout your decision to make that
(26:05):
investment and how was it.
Tell us about it.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Well, just to make the decision to go.
I mean, I have developed a verygood relationship with my coach
, reggie.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yeah, Reggie's awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
He's really someone in my life who I I trust and
lean on.
Um, I consider him a friend.
We joke, we shoot texts backand forth through the week.
It's not just a.
We meet and we talk aboutbusiness.
He's he.
We've gotten, I think, prettyclose and I look at him as a
mentor.
He said I don't ask too manypeople for advice.
(26:44):
Um, I, I generally can't.
I kind of function at a littledifferent level than the
majority of the population.
I hate to say that it may soundarrogant, but he's someone who
I man.
He can beat the crap out of me.
I need it.
So when he said you should go tothis.
I didn't question it.
I said, okay, what do we got todo?
(27:04):
Let's plan for it.
Let me see what it costs, letme go ahead, buy the ticket, let
me start the process.
Um, and then, okay, cool, and uh, it didn't take him convincing
me Um other than just the factthat he just said you, there's
nothing like being there inperson and seeing it.
I, you just have to experienceit.
Okay, that was, that was all ittook, because I trust him that
(27:25):
much.
Um, so when we went, um, justthe general atmosphere, um, I, I
can't, it's like kind of theway he explained it.
You have to be there toexperience it.
You have to see these peoplestand up on stage and and how
(27:46):
they tell their stories and andwhere they've come from and
where they've gone and what's tocome.
Um, the big, a lot of the bigtopic there this year was the ai
technology, and it'sinteresting how much they pushed
that and then how much they arehave already been right um with
you know, because I immediatelytried to get myself more
involved with it after we leftthe conference.
(28:08):
But now, seeing exactly whatthey're saying is exactly what's
happening and it's thetrajectory of these people, what
they know, um, there's justnothing like it.
And then just to be around sucha great, inspiring people of
all levels, people that have oneor two employees or they're
just in business to themselves,and people that have got 500
(28:29):
employees or just something, andthey can be sitting at the same
table with you and you are inthe same sort of category.
You're all there to do the samething.
You're there to get somethingout of this conference and to
try to pull from it.
That's the only way I canreally describe it.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Yeah, it's, it's really, it really is hard.
I mean, all I would tell peopleis what you just said buy the
ticket, buy the ticket.
Yeah, Just buy the ticket.
Start the process.
If you buy the ticket, youspend some money.
It's like taking a vacation.
If you don't buy the ticket orrent a place, you're never going
to go.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, start the, the process, plan for it, put it
into your, put it.
Don't just try to wait till thelast minute, I mean, just do it
like you do, yeah, you won't doit, yeah invest in it.
You know, take the time andfigure it out yeah, it is an
investment in yourself.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I mean, I, we had a, yeah, I learned, I learned a ton
.
We had a great time and it wasfun.
It was fun and we learned a ton.
And you know, we, we put a lotin things.
So, yeah, thanks for hangingout with us for a long time.
I had a great time, Really I gotto hang out with y'all because
it was, I mean, you know, forthose of you, if you're in the
Wilmington area you want to getwith Reggie Shropshire in Action
(29:39):
Coach, and if you're up here inWestern North Carolina or
anywhere else you know, you wantto get with us.
So yeah, it's, yeah, so, butanyway that's awesome stuff.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So hey, last question what advice would you give to
other business owners who arelooking to grow, always the two
things I mean.
I always say get involved in achamber of commerce.
The chamber of commerce hasbeen, for me, pivotal.
It was right out of the gatefor me, because there's
generally you've got to lookinto the location of where you
are and if they've got some sortof a business network meeting
(30:15):
that they do which they shouldthey should have ribbon cutting.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
They all have it, they all have stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
So find those things.
Find those things because it'sgoing to put you around the
like-minded people.
It's going to put you aroundthe like-minded people.
It's going to put you in theplace.
If you own a business or you'restarting a business, you don't
have many.
You can't just talk to yourneighbors, you can't just talk
to your family.
You're in a very, very smallpercentage of people.
So you have to seek out thepeople that are doing the same
(30:40):
thing you're trying toaccomplish.
And then you know, just tapinto some business coaching,
action coaches, amazing startoff programs that'll get you
asking the questions Um, that isfor me, that's, that's, that's.
All it took is is being a partof 30 X and and just changing,
just just kind of retooling,giving me something to think
(31:02):
about, cause when you start abusiness, you kind of you know,
I don't know, everybody'sprobably at different levels.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
but my deal was I just didn't want to work for
anybody else anymore and Iwanted to make more money.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
You know that's, that's it.
You just you think you thinkyou can make, cause that's the
kind of we said in the verybeginning.
The misconception is you get tohave all the money.
Well, that's not really it.
You learned that very quickly.
But there's so many directionsthat you can go.
You just got to have someguidance of what those
directions even are, and and and.
(31:32):
Having a business coach canstart that path for you.
You learn things that you justwouldn't ever even learn unless
you.
You have that, that individualguiding you through a little bit
.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yeah no, I love it.
I love it.
Well.
I do have one more question.
I lied it.
Well, I do have one morequestion.
I lied it's not.
This is the last question.
So if people want to get aholdof you or JBG painting, how did
they get ahold of?
Speaker 2 (31:55):
you.
Oh my gosh, we got a lot ofplaces you can find us.
Of course, we're on Facebookand Instagram.
Jbg Services LLC is ourFacebook name.
I think it's the same forInstagram.
Um, we have a Facebook, or, I'msorry, we have a website, um,
that's wwwjbgpaintingcom, whichis about to be completely
(32:17):
revamped.
It's very exciting.
We're going to have quizzes onthere to take that sweet like be
able to give you some ideas.
Are you ready for this type ofpaint job?
Do you have a historic home?
We're going to have a place youcan play with colors.
It's awesome.
We're really excited.
We have somebody who's alsoinvolved in Action Coach, who
does Story Brand, and ourwebsite's going to be completely
(32:37):
revamped so big things to comethere.
Of course, my phone number, ourbusiness number, is
910-515-0806.
You can call, you can text, youknow any way you can
communicate through the website.
We're very easy to get ahold of.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, that's awesome, that's awesome, hey look.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Jeremy, see our trucks, look for our trucks on
the road.
You see a big black van with ayellow roller, honk and wave.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Hey, thanks.
Hey, listen, I reallyappreciate you being on here and
it's good to catch up and I'mglad that things are going well
for you and you're growing, andI appreciate all the kind words
about uh, Reggie and actioncoach and it's just awesome.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
So thank you, Hi it's all it wasn't well.
Like I said, this wasn't bydesign.
No, I know.
It's 100% true.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
I looked up and I was like I know, Jeremy.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Hey, and until next week, all the best.
Hey there and welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
I'm super pumped.
I've got a friend on the linetoday, which is kind of cool.
We've known each other for alittle while.
We were actually at aconference together.
But before we get to my friend,I want to tell you a little bit
about and remind you we've gotthe Asheville Business Summit
(00:25):
coming up September 23rd.
It's time to get your tickets.
We're past Labor Day.
It's time I know you're lastminute people Get your tickets
now.
It's going to be amazing.
We've got nine amazing speakers.
We're talking about how to takethe events of Hurricane Aline
and make it a catalyst toexplode our business community
here in Western North Carolina.
(00:46):
Now I'm super pumped.
Today I've got my friend JeremyGunn from JBG Painting out
there in Wilmington, northCarolina.
So welcome.
Tell us a little bit about you,your business, how you got here
, all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Oh, I appreciate it, bill.
It was a nice surprise poppingup and seeing you on the other
side of the screen.
So yeah, the quick snapshot Iguess the Cliff Notes version
how JBG got started.
We've been in business aboutfour and a half years now.
Started off just kind of as anexperiment.
I didn't want to work foranybody anymore, so I started an
(01:25):
LLC and decided to just try togo out and paint.
My background is in therestoration industry.
I started there just cleaningcarpets and hanging drywall and
worked my way throughadministrative duties and
estimating and dealing withadjusters and customers on the
front and forefront, so mycustomer service level has
(01:50):
always been elevated.
I've always found satisfactionin helping others also.
So once we moved here we camefrom Michigan about 10 years ago
I started to help out in acompany that was based out of
Fayetteville.
They were looking for someoneto grow their coastal division
(02:12):
and so I took that position.
It was a great move for usbecause we wanted to get out of
the cold and my wife was aregistered nurse at the time so
she was able to pretty muchrelocate at any time.
So we tried it out for a yearand decided we really want to
just lay down roots inWilmington, love Wilmington and
bought a house and so stayedwith that company for a few
(02:34):
years and found that thesubcontractor-based customer
service in the area was not good.
I was no problem selling thework and handling what I had to
do, but trying to find the workto get done, trying to find
people to come in and do what weneeded very, very difficult.
So the decision was made let'sgive it a try, let's start our
(02:54):
own thing and see where it goes.
Figure, if I just answer thephone and do a good job, maybe
we'll find success.
And so it just kind of startedthere.
Um ended up hiring somebodywithin a few short weeks of
being open so that I couldcontinue and, you know, get the
appointments that were coming inand write estimates and do the
(03:14):
things I need to do.
And I still painted for aboutthe first year and a half of the
business.
But um slowly have grown overthe last four years to where we
now have, uh, three vans, twotrucks and seven people working
full-time, and myself and mywife now my wife is almost
full-time in the business and soall together we got nine people
that function and work here atJBG.
(03:37):
So that's the.
We primarily focus in painting.
That's the high-end painting.
We work in people's homes.
All of our people are W2employees.
We provide Blue Cross, blueShield and 401k benefits.
We match 3%.
Those are things we worked for.
We set goals and made themhappen.
(03:59):
So that's the cliff notes, thestop and start version.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah, that's a great story.
I mean I know, for example,like in health benefits, I mean
very few businesses with lessthan 10 employees are able to do
that and match the 401k.
So well done on setting yourgoals in there.
Let me ask you a couple ofthings.
It's different working foryourself and working for someone
(04:30):
else.
Uh, when you took the leap, sowhat would you do differently if
you had to start over?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Uh, you know, everything I've done has got me
to the to what I'm doing now.
Um, I think that has got me tothe to what I'm doing now.
Um, I think that one good thingI started doing, um, right out
of the gate, is actually workingwith a business coach.
Uh, we, we started off in likea group coaching format.
I had an opportunity to do a uhuh a session.
(04:59):
It was a 30 day called 30 X.
Um kind of opened my eyes alittle bit, made me ask some new
questions.
I think that the timing of thatwas perfect for me.
Um, I've always been somebodywho I'm not really set in my
ways.
I'm always open to somethingnew.
So I I went to this littleconference, little meeting thing
(05:22):
to just find out what this wasabout because everything was
still pretty new at the time andlearned about this and
participated in it.
So it was free.
It was what was so great aboutit?
I was like, well, sure, whatcan I, what can I lose?
And so I stuck with it and thengot involved in the, in some
group coaching, and so it gaveme the ability to listen to
other business owners, roundtable ideas and ask questions
(05:45):
that I didn't even really knowthat I had, so that timing of
that was great.
As far as what I would dodifferent, honestly, everything
I've learned has given me thetools to do what I do every day,
so I'm kind of glad I've donewhat I've done.
I've made the mistakes thatI've made and then learned from
them, so I can't say I'd doanything different.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yeah, no, I love it, by the way, he works with my
friend Reggie, who is it, who ispart of our Action Coach
community, and so, yeah, I lovethat, I love it all.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, this was not planned.
This was not by design.
I didn't realize this was goingto anything with Action Coach.
It was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, like we, we actually were at a
conference, and we'll talk aboutthat a little bit later
together.
I want to, I want to, I want toget your take on the conference
, but yeah, um, yeah, so,speaking of which, now you have
you wouldn't change anything.
It doesn't sound like cause youhave to go through the
learnings, but there have beensome learnings, so what?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
what are maybe one or two of the bigger learnings
that you've gotten along the way?
Uh, one learnings that you'vegotten along the way One of the
biggest things is really qualifyyour customers.
Don't just take anything andeverything that you possibly can
.
When you get started, yeah, Imean it's almost like, oh my
gosh, I got to fill my pipeline,I got to get the work, I got to
find people that are going tohire me, and so you know, in the
beginning, definitely there aresome things that I did and took
(07:03):
and took on that um, probablyunderbid myself, um, but again,
all these things are learningcurve.
You know processes, um, if youdon't learn from what you do and
I still learn I recently justlearned a harsh lesson from a
customer that I was reallyreally tough customer.
I had recently that um lookingfor red flags and and qualifying
(07:25):
those people that you're goingto work with.
Um, putting your people and youknow, setting them, them up for
success.
You know the bigger we'vegotten.
Uh, you know I got to look atthese jobs as okay, who's, what
components are, are going to fitright with the people that I
have?
Who am I going to put on thisjob?
You know it's these things.
As you, as you continue to grow,there's, there's growing pains.
(07:49):
You get comfortable and thenyou got to get yourself
uncomfortable again in businessand they want some advice.
I can't just open the fire hose.
I got to listen to wherethey're at and then I might
(08:11):
suggest some things, but a lotof times I will.
Two things I always suggest isget involved with your local
chamber of commerce to get youaround some other businesses and
business owners andprofessionals, professionals,
and get involved and tap intosome business coaching.
You don't have to go full blastand do one-to-one coaching, but
tap into it a little bit, learnabout it, because that's
(08:33):
something that you have theability to get yourself around
other people who have mademistakes that you don't know
you're going to make yet, yeah,it's good, and it's also good to
have that outside perspectivewhich is out there.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
So what are some common misconceptions about
running a business?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Well, everybody thinks that you're just sitting
on a pile of money.
It's so true.
It's the customers, it's theemployees, it's the people you
interact with who are employedother places.
They think, well, you've got abusiness.
You's the employees, it's thepeople you interact with who are
employed other places.
They think, well, you've got abusiness, You're all set, you
make all this money.
And kind of the common joke Imight say to the right people is
(09:13):
well, you know, I get to see alot of money, I just don't get
to have any of it.
I get to see it come and go.
But yeah, I mean, our businessdoes a lot of volume but with
that there's a ton of overhead.
People don't realize what thatcosts, what it takes to insure
your vehicles, to insure yourpeople.
I carry full general liabilityand workers' comp Numbers like
(09:35):
that.
If you tell that to the typicalindividual who's going to work
Monday through Friday, theycan't even wrap their head
around it.
So I don't even have thatconversation with people.
But the misconception is thatyou know if you're billing out
for a job chances, you know, andthat customer is holding up
money or doing something likethat, that the small business
(09:56):
owner really relies on youpaying your bills and you got to
.
They need that because they gotto pay payroll.
They got to do that.
So they don't think that you'rejust people, just think you,
just, you're all set, you gotyour business.
What's the what's the problem?
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, I always say it's kind of like they forget
that they actually have expenseseven on their own house.
Yeah, and you know like in yourdaily living you have utilities
(10:31):
, you have insurance, you havecars, you have I mean, it's all
the same stuff in a business,it's just bigger.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, and sometimes it's yeah,it's, it's, it's interesting.
So what do?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
you attribute your growth to?
Well, definitely just passionfor the, the.
I spent my whole life workingand analyzing where I would work
.
Um, as I grew, I I I reallyliked to dissect the things that
(10:55):
it took to to make it work.
When I was in the restorationindustry, I was so fortunate to
really just start from theground up and be with a company
that grew and then get involvedin full general management and
see numbers and really get myhead around.
Okay, wow, so there's this muchcoming in and this much going
out and this is what it takes.
(11:15):
And so I got an idea until Ireally got on the forefront and
started my own thing.
I really truly didn'tunderstand.
Until it's your own money, youreally don't know.
But I think that the growthitself is just sort of based on
always being ready to pushforward.
(11:41):
When the question was posedduring, I think, one of the 30X
sessions, it was one of the veryfirst ones, I think is when are
you going to be finished withyour business?
I never thought about that.
Um, it was a.
It was an amazing question tolike ask myself, because at the
time I was painting and I'mthinking okay, I'm earning a
paycheck, I'm going to pay formy van, I'm going to do these
different things I'm doing.
(12:01):
I'm going to hire somebody new.
But I never really planned onnot doing it.
I always just planned on okay,I just don't have to work for
somebody else.
When I heard that question, itkind of made me think to myself
okay, well, that's a differentway to look at this.
I'm going to build something tosell.
I'm going to build something tofinish, to walk away from, to
step away from, I think.
(12:21):
Once I heard that, I kind ofchanged my mindset.
So my growth trajectory changed.
I tried to figure out how tohave things happen without me
always having my hands on them,and so starting to build the
systems and starting to do thethings that I needed to do, and
that's, you know, moreinvolvement in coaching, more
(12:43):
involvement in other businesses,looking at other businesses
that are doing huge volume, havelots of employees.
What is it you're doing?
Asking the questions.
So constantly learning,constantly asking questions and
constantly re-systemizing whatyou do.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah, no, I love that , I love that.
So talk a little bit aboutbalancing.
I mean businesses.
When you first go into it it'sa kind of all the time thing.
How do you balance the personallife with the business life?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
I'm probably an odd duck, coming from the
restoration industry.
I spent almost 20 years in thatindustry where you're always on
call, the money is in the afterhours stuff.
So if you work for the rightcompanies, you can have a very I
had a very successful career,you know, financially it was
(13:34):
phenomenal.
We we live very comfortablywith my wife as an RN and myself
in this business.
But it took having the phone,you know, being ready.
So my wife and I might be outand about getting ready to go
shopping or go to dinner or godo something and my phone's
going to ring and I just U-turnand go to work.
Um, I have a built-in sense ofurgency because of doing that
(13:57):
for so long.
So I'm probably different thansome people.
I'm, I'm, I'm okay to keep morein the work side, so I pushed a
lot more in it.
Um, uh, as far as you know thebalance, I mean honestly, I get
enjoyment out of going tonetworking events and being
(14:19):
around other people and growingmy business.
I'm, I'm excited about it.
So I spend most of my time, youknow, in the, you know working
on the growth of the businessand what I can do for it.
Um, but over time and I reallyjust have kind of dedicated my
schedule to try to make sureI've always got nothing going on
a Saturday, try to always makesure that my Fridays are
(14:41):
tailored to just wrap up andcome home Um.
Sundays I do my payroll, so itis what it is, and Sundays I do
my payroll, so it is what it is.
But I guess it's just.
You know, I don't need it andluckily my wife is supportive of
that.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, yeah, well, no, I get it.
I mean, I've asked a couple ofmy clients like what do you do
for fun?
And a couple of them have justsaid I work and it's okay.
I mean that's just who they are.
They.
I mean they still, they stillenjoy their family and
everything else, but they, butthey really like what they do
and so I think it's great, Ithink, but I tailor my schedule,
(15:19):
though, through the week to dothe things I want to do If I
want to go work out.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I set that time to go work out.
So mean there is balance.
I I set my schedule, I I'm, Ido it appropriately.
Yeah, if, if my wife needssomething, if I need to change
something or mo what.
What I've done at this pointwith our business is that I have
gotten it so that theproduction pretty much goes um.
(15:43):
I'm, I'm on the front end onthe sales piece and setting
things up, but I have a fieldmanager who really that's
awesome and a team lead who Ireally don't have to worry too
much about being on site.
I pop in, make sure it's good.
Right, work on the business.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Yeah, no, I love that , I love that, and that's a
natural progression.
So what qualities do you lookfor in employees like this?
Ops manager.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
So what we do is different than probably most of
the painting companies that areout there.
I don't touch apartments and wedon't do new construction,
really for that matter.
We do some reconstruction,we'll do some renovation type
stuff, but we're primarily inthe higher end market.
So I need people who areabsolutely reliable, can make
(16:35):
sure they are at my facilityprior to our start time, which
is 8 am.
People they'll work in like asubcontracted or a 1099 format
(16:55):
where you're told to show up ata job.
They become pretty complacent.
They kind of show up and comeand go as they need to.
I can't have that because I workfor people.
We work in their homes whilethey're there, um, you know.
So I need people thatunderstand that.
I need people that understandthe front end, that it's
sometimes you don't just go inand blow out all the ceilings
(17:16):
and do all the things you'regoing to do on a typical paint
job that you might have totailor the job around their
schedule.
They might have a home officethat they work in certain days
of the week.
So you know we got to make surethey're able to use their
kitchen at night and sleep intheir beds week.
So you know we got to make surethey're able to use their
kitchen at night and sleep intheir beds.
So I look for people thatunderstand that, that have a
little more organizationalskills, not just painting skills
, not just you know, mud workskills and things like that.
(17:39):
You you have.
You have to have some some goodcoordinating people skills and
team teamwork skills.
Those are those are primarilywhat I look for.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
I love that.
Yeah, and they're out there.
I mean, a lot of times we'llhear it's hard to find good help
, but they're out there.
You got to work, you got tolook for them.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, we got to stack value for those people.
The people that have thosequalities aren't necessarily
just looking for a wage.
They are looking for a placewhere they've got maybe a
retirement option or definitelythe insurance benefits.
You know people that havefamilies and homes and things
that are they're not justworking for their beer money.
You know people that that havesome some real things going on
in their lives.
Those are the people that cometo JBG and they stay Um and we
(18:26):
have employee retention.
I've got I've got employees Igot four right now that um, one
of them has been with me threeyears.
One of them has been with meover two and then two of them
one of them's like a year and ahalf and another one's a year Um
, and we've only been open forfour and a half years.
So this year in fact, 2025, assoon as we started the Blue
Cross, blue Shield, um, I haveonly had two people turn over.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Yeah, no, you're all doing the right thing, Pretty
solid yeah.
Yeah, yeah, you got to haveretention of employees in this
business.
I mean, I like what you'redoing, Since you're high end.
You got to be high end, yeahyou got to be consistent.
Yeah, all the end.
Hey, I've got a little bit of a.
You know my tagline's be epicand it's an acronym and so um it
(19:17):
it.
I'm going to just ask you for acouple of thoughts like quick,
quick, sort of a quick fireround on on the on the five
things.
So the B part of it's bring theenergy, and I know you're an
energetic guy, so tell me whatyour thoughts are on bringing
energy.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
I got to lead by example.
You know I get excited aboutthe opportunities and I share
those opportunities with ourpeople.
We get an opportunity.
We got very fortunate to beable to paint an iconic building
here in Wilmington the BellamyMansion, and getting our team
excited about that that.
Hey look, you're going to touchsomething that is historic.
(19:54):
You're going to, you're goingto change the face of something
that people come and see everysingle day in Wilmington.
The right people get excitedabout that too.
Our team members are excitedabout that.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Yeah, yeah, I love that because I mean, yeah, it's,
it's cool, one of the coolthings.
I mean you don't think aboutlike painting as being something
like that, but hey look, Ipainted that building.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I you know, I you know.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
I painted that house.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
I you know, that's a.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah, it's a.
I had an architecture clientthe same way, like I designed
that thing.
You know it was.
You know it's something that'sgoing to last a long time and be
out there for a while.
All right.
The E stands for education.
What are your thoughts oneducation?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
Oh, you got to constantly be learning, always
have something in the pipeline,be reading something or
listening to something or be apart of something.
You know, for me, the businesscoaching thing is such an
important piece.
Business coaching thing is suchan important piece, um, the the
ability to.
That's why we, that's why Iramped up into the one-to-one
coaching, because I I got, Ithink, a year under my belt of
(20:57):
group coaching and I needed more.
Um, I wanted more, I felt therewas more.
So, um, you have to constantlytake ownership of everything
you're doing, and so learningand getting educated on those
things.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yeah, well, you got to, and everybody if you, if you
, life's congruent right, so yougot to be.
You got to be educated ifyou're going to want your people
to be learning and gettingbetter too.
So the P stands for planning.
I know you got to plan.
Well, what's your thoughts onplanning?
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Well, yeah, that's great.
That's a good question.
Um, sometimes you can plan andit doesn't all go according to
plan Um, the, the, the, the plan, the general plan, um, overall.
Uh, I have a certain level ofrevenue that I need to be
bringing in each each month inorder to consider hiring another
(21:52):
employee.
I also have a certain number ofjobs in a pipeline.
Um, I kind of set thosestandards, um, so that I can
help you know, gauge a decisionwhen I'm ready to make that next
level of.
You know, okay, we're going tojump, we need more people.
Okay, this is what we need todo.
Um, general planning, it's, it's.
It's good to have yourconsistent meetings with your
(22:15):
team.
Um, I have a always a Fridaymeeting.
We have our daily huddles.
Um, those things are importantbecause it helps the, the
consistency through the, throughthe rest of the organization
with that planning.
My wife and I, on Fridays,after the team meeting, she and
I then go through our whole CRMand update that, because I'm
(22:37):
terrible with that, but she'sgreat, so I sit down and I let
her do it.
That's the important stuff.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
I love that.
I stands for inspiration.
So what are your thoughts oneither finding inspiration or
being an inspiration, or just ingeneral?
Speaker 2 (22:54):
I get that from a couple of different areas.
I get it from the umopportunities to be around the
other business professionals andlisten to the people that I,
that I, that I feel inspired bythat, I, I, I listened to, like,
wow, you know they, they'vedone these things and they've
had the same problems, and thatmakes me feel human when it,
(23:14):
when it's in a situation likethat, to hear those things, but
yet maybe they're running a 10or a 20 or a hundred million
dollar business and and andlistening to the things that
they've done, it's like I'mdoing those things Cool, um.
But when it comes to givinginspiration, nothing inspires me
more than a new young person,business owner, whatever, coming
(23:37):
up to me and saying how did youdo what you've done?
Or coming to I'm a heavy hitterin the chamber of commerce.
I run a 60 plus person meetingtwice a month.
Um, I run it really, reallytight and everybody gets their
opportunity.
But like having having peoplecontinue to come to that and
(23:59):
want to be a part of that, um,that's incredibly inspiring to
see those people come in.
Everybody wants to shake yourhand, everyone wants to say hi,
um, that's, it's cool.
It feels great to be a part ofthat community.
I love that.
Other things like that, rotary,those those types of things
yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah, no, I love it.
Love it, get involved, beinvolved, show that energy.
It is an inspiration.
So the last one, c is, standsfor commitment.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
So my level of commitment is, first and
foremost, to the any promises,anything that I make um on a
daily basis.
Um, I'm uh, I'm sober, I'm uh,I am coming up on six years of.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Ah, congrats, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Yep, I drank every day of my life.
I was, I drank daily Um, I Icut it out of my life entirely.
So that's the first one Everyday.
I'm committed to that and I'man advocate for it.
If somebody needs it, I'm herefor them.
I don't shove it down theirthroat.
But if somebody wants some help, I'm here for it.
(25:04):
But commitment to you know, if Imake a promise or if I do
something for my employees, Isay I'm going to do something I
try to push for know if I make apromise or if I do something
for my employees, I say I'mgoing to do something, I try to
push for a goal or somethinglike that, I, I stay, I stick
with it.
But I'm also transparent.
If something's you know,something's not right, I mean
I'm committed to making surepeople you know I'm truthful and
and and and people understandif there's something we need to
(25:26):
make a change with Um, ifthere's something we need to
make a change with In general,just committed to doing the
right, making the rightdecisions when it comes time to
it and thinking it through.
No knee-jerk reactions.
You know, really, really do theright thing.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah, no, I love it.
Before I ask you the lastquestion, jeremy and I were
lucky enough to hang out forthree or four days in England.
He made an investment to go toBizX, which there's one in
Houston this year, coming up inOctober.
But yeah, tell us a little bitabout your decision to make that
(26:05):
investment and how was it.
Tell us about it.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Well, just to make the decision to go.
I mean, I have developed a verygood relationship with my coach
, reggie.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yeah, Reggie's awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
He's really someone in my life who I I trust and
lean on.
Um, I consider him a friend.
We joke, we shoot texts backand forth through the week.
It's not just a.
We meet and we talk aboutbusiness.
He's he.
We've gotten, I think, prettyclose and I look at him as a
mentor.
He said I don't ask too manypeople for advice.
(26:44):
Um, I, I generally can't.
I kind of function at a littledifferent level than the
majority of the population.
I hate to say that it may soundarrogant, but he's someone who
I man.
He can beat the crap out of me.
I need it.
So when he said you should go tothis.
I didn't question it.
I said, okay, what do we got todo?
(27:04):
Let's plan for it.
Let me see what it costs, letme go ahead, buy the ticket, let
me start the process.
Um, and then, okay, cool, and uh, it didn't take him convincing
me Um other than just the factthat he just said you, there's
nothing like being there inperson and seeing it.
I, you just have to experienceit.
Okay, that was, that was all ittook, because I trust him that
(27:25):
much.
Um, so when we went, um, justthe general atmosphere, um, I, I
can't, it's like kind of theway he explained it.
You have to be there toexperience it.
You have to see these peoplestand up on stage and and how
(27:46):
they tell their stories and andwhere they've come from and
where they've gone and what's tocome.
Um, the big, a lot of the bigtopic there this year was the ai
technology, and it'sinteresting how much they pushed
that and then how much they arehave already been right um with
you know, because I immediatelytried to get myself more
involved with it after we leftthe conference.
(28:08):
But now, seeing exactly whatthey're saying is exactly what's
happening and it's thetrajectory of these people, what
they know, um, there's justnothing like it.
And then just to be around sucha great, inspiring people of
all levels, people that have oneor two employees or they're
just in business to themselves,and people that have got 500
(28:29):
employees or just something, andthey can be sitting at the same
table with you and you are inthe same sort of category.
You're all there to do the samething.
You're there to get somethingout of this conference and to
try to pull from it.
That's the only way I canreally describe it.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Yeah, it's, it's really, it really is hard.
I mean, all I would tell peopleis what you just said buy the
ticket, buy the ticket.
Yeah, Just buy the ticket.
Start the process.
If you buy the ticket, youspend some money.
It's like taking a vacation.
If you don't buy the ticket orrent a place, you're never going
to go.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, start the, the process, plan for it, put it
into your, put it.
Don't just try to wait till thelast minute, I mean, just do it
like you do, yeah, you won't doit, yeah invest in it.
You know, take the time andfigure it out yeah, it is an
investment in yourself.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I mean, I, we had a, yeah, I learned, I learned a ton
.
We had a great time and it wasfun.
It was fun and we learned a ton.
And you know, we, we put a lotin things.
So, yeah, thanks for hangingout with us for a long time.
I had a great time, Really I gotto hang out with y'all because
it was, I mean, you know, forthose of you, if you're in the
Wilmington area you want to getwith Reggie Shropshire in Action
(29:39):
Coach, and if you're up here inWestern North Carolina or
anywhere else you know, you wantto get with us.
So yeah, it's, yeah, so, butanyway that's awesome stuff.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So hey, last question what advice would you give to
other business owners who arelooking to grow, always the two
things I mean.
I always say get involved in achamber of commerce.
The chamber of commerce hasbeen, for me, pivotal.
It was right out of the gatefor me, because there's
generally you've got to lookinto the location of where you
are and if they've got some sortof a business network meeting
(30:15):
that they do which they shouldthey should have ribbon cutting.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
They all have it, they all have stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
So find those things.
Find those things because it'sgoing to put you around the
like-minded people.
It's going to put you aroundthe like-minded people.
It's going to put you in theplace.
If you own a business or you'restarting a business, you don't
have many.
You can't just talk to yourneighbors, you can't just talk
to your family.
You're in a very, very smallpercentage of people.
So you have to seek out thepeople that are doing the same
(30:40):
thing you're trying toaccomplish.
And then you know, just tapinto some business coaching,
action coaches, amazing startoff programs that'll get you
asking the questions Um, that isfor me, that's, that's, that's.
All it took is is being a partof 30 X and and just changing,
just just kind of retooling,giving me something to think
(31:02):
about, cause when you start abusiness, you kind of you know,
I don't know, everybody'sprobably at different levels.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
but my deal was I just didn't want to work for
anybody else anymore and Iwanted to make more money.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
You know that's, that's it.
You just you think you thinkyou can make, cause that's the
kind of we said in the verybeginning.
The misconception is you get tohave all the money.
Well, that's not really it.
You learned that very quickly.
But there's so many directionsthat you can go.
You just got to have someguidance of what those
directions even are, and and and.
(31:32):
Having a business coach canstart that path for you.
You learn things that you justwouldn't ever even learn unless
you.
You have that, that individualguiding you through a little bit
.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Yeah no, I love it.
I love it.
Well.
I do have one more question.
I lied it.
Well, I do have one morequestion.
I lied it's not.
This is the last question.
So if people want to get aholdof you or JBG painting, how did
they get ahold of?
Speaker 2 (31:55):
you.
Oh my gosh, we got a lot ofplaces you can find us.
Of course, we're on Facebookand Instagram.
Jbg Services LLC is ourFacebook name.
I think it's the same forInstagram.
Um, we have a Facebook, or, I'msorry, we have a website, um,
that's wwwjbgpaintingcom, whichis about to be completely
(32:17):
revamped.
It's very exciting.
We're going to have quizzes onthere to take that sweet like be
able to give you some ideas.
Are you ready for this type ofpaint job?
Do you have a historic home?
We're going to have a place youcan play with colors.
It's awesome.
We're really excited.
We have somebody who's alsoinvolved in Action Coach, who
does Story Brand, and ourwebsite's going to be completely
(32:37):
revamped so big things to comethere.
Of course, my phone number, ourbusiness number, is
910-515-0806.
You can call, you can text, youknow any way you can
communicate through the website.
We're very easy to get ahold of.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, that's awesome, that's awesome, hey look.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Jeremy, see our trucks, look for our trucks on
the road.
You see a big black van with ayellow roller, honk and wave.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Hey, thanks.
Hey, listen, I reallyappreciate you being on here and
it's good to catch up and I'mglad that things are going well
for you and you're growing, andI appreciate all the kind words
about uh, Reggie and actioncoach and it's just awesome.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
So thank you, Hi it's all it wasn't well.
Like I said, this wasn't bydesign.
No, I know.
It's 100% true.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
I looked up and I was like I know, Jeremy.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Hey, and until next week, all the best.
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