December 12, 2025 • 36 mins
What happens to a mountain home when the owner is a thousand miles away and a sudden freeze cracks a pipe? We sat down with Nick Gomez, founder of Mountain Vantage Properties, to explore how a home watch and property caretaking company protects vacant luxury homes across Asheville, Hendersonville, Weaverville, and Black Mountain—and what it really takes to build trust in a niche that runs on discretion and reliability.
Nick shares why he would invest in marketing first if he could start over, even with a career rooted in operations and engineering. We unpack pricing for a luxury market, the risk of being “the cheapest,” and how to reach a tiny, hard-to-find audience by building relationships with realtors, trades, and clubs where seasonal owners actually spend time. The conversation goes deep on integrity-first hiring—what it means to vet people who can walk into a five-million-dollar home and do the right thing—plus the systems that keep field work calm and decisive when a leak or storm hits.
We also get practical about work-life integration: ruthless calendar blocks, weekly non-negotiables for content and outreach, and the role of a supportive spouse when entrepreneurship stretches the schedule. Mentors show up as force multipliers—pushing clear goals, reframing setbacks, and keeping the long game in focus. Looking ahead, Nick outlines a shift to think like a marketing company that does home watch, along with a growing project management arm that coordinates vetted vendors so owners handle less while outcomes improve.
If you care about building a recurring revenue business on trust, or you own a second home and wonder how to make it worry-free, this conversation delivers concrete tactics and candid lessons. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s scaling a service business, and leave a review to let us know the one takeaway you’ll put into practice this week.
Guest contact info:
Website: mvpwnc.com
Phone: (828) 585-4889
Email: nick@mvpwnc.com
Email: hellomvp.wnc@gmail.com
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/
All the best!
Bill
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cliff (00:34):
All right.
Well, welcome to the firstepisode of Epic Entrepreneurs,
Freedom for Bill Gilliman withyour local business firm and
coaching firm Active CoachBusiness Growth Partners.
I'm excited to have Nick Gomezwith Mountain Vantage Properties
as the focus for our EpicEntrepreneurs podcast episode
today.
So Nick, please introduceyourself and tell us a little
bit about yourself and yourcompany and what primary
(00:55):
products or services you offerthe community.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah.
So like Cliff said, my name isNick Gomez.
I am a resident of SouthAsheville, but we call it Arden.
You know, let's call it theAsheville area.
I am about 31 years old, beenhere about four years.
It's been a good good fouryears.
Our company, Mountain BanageProperties, is a home watch and
property caretaking company.
So what we specialize in istaking care of the vacant second
(01:23):
homes for people that areseasonal residents of the
Asheville, Hendersonville,Weaverville, and Black Mountain
area.
So, you know, there's a lot ofthose types of houses out here.
You know, Asheville is still avacation destination.
And a lot of people, when theyvacation here, decide that they
would rather spend a little moretime here than they originally
thought.
So a lot of them end up buyingsecond homes that they don't use
(01:44):
as a source of income, which uhis a pretty nice way, nice
thing to have if you're able to.
So uh as you guys might know,maintaining a home can be quite
cumbersome.
And we just basically take thatover for them while they're
gone so they don't have to worryabout it.
So we specialize in checkingthe house, we do any do or
coordinate any maintenance onthe house, but really just
(02:05):
provide that peace of mind forthose people while they're
living in you know Florida orTexas or New York, wherever they
may be.
Cliff (02:13):
Okay, great, great.
Yeah, that's awesome.
It sounds like a really goodservice.
All right.
So if yeah, so if you had tostart the, I mean, you know, it
really does.
I mean, you know, obviously ifyou if you're you know, if it's
a second home and you're notthere, you know, you want
somebody to go check on and makesure it's standing, make sure
her unholding didn't comethrough again, you know, all
those things.
So um, yeah, definitely itdefinitely seems like a good
business to have, especiallyfor, you know, like you said,
(02:34):
the vacation area that this is.
Um so if so if you had to startfrom square one in the
business, what would you dodifferently?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Oh man, that's a good question.
I think what I would dodifferently.
I mean, this, you know, it'skind of a funny question because
some of it is like, you know,you have to go through the the
rough patches and the learning,the learning uh that comes with
starting a business, you know,from scratch.
I would probably invest moreinto learning about marketing
(03:04):
out the gate versus being asconcerned with the operations of
the business.
And, you know, so my backgroundis in operations and
management.
Um, you know, I come from anengineering background.
I spent a lot of time workingin factories, you know, learning
how to run factories from atechnical and uh you know
(03:25):
organizational standpoint.
So my strengths really lie inoperations and management, but I
don't have any sort ofbackground in marketing.
You know, I'm a people person,but that only gets you so far.
So kind of learning the youknow, the best ways to market.
I'm still kind of figuring thatout for such a niche clientele.
But the best ways to market andthe ways to be savvy about
(03:48):
capturing people's informationso you know who to talk to that
might be able to help you,right?
And um knowing what you know,vendors or other business owners
adjacent to my industry mighthave been able to help me out
from the start, as opposed tokind of just try and meet
everybody and then you know, Idon't want to say it was wasted
(04:10):
time, but you know, it wasn'tthe most efficient use of my
time because I might have beentalking to business owners that
were A, just as new as I am anddon't have an aim with that
clientele, um, you know, ormaybe don't have anything to do
with that clientele.
So I think I would, I would,you know, if I could wave a
magic wand, I would instill thatknowledge into me immediately,
but it's part of the learningprocess of starting a business,
(04:32):
you know.
Some people it's quite theopposite.
They have a huge marketingbackground and they have no idea
how to run their business, andthen that that can be quite a
growing pain for them too.
Um, I would probably say that Iliked having it my pitfalls be
the way they were, because I'drather know how to run the
business first, but you know, Icould have it all.
Marketing would be definitelythe first step that I would you
(04:54):
know go back and fix.
Cliff (04:55):
Yeah, okay, yeah, good deal.
Good.
Yeah, fun fact about me, Iactually am operations back
around itself myself as well.
So I know what you mean.
You know, you know how to docertain things in the business,
but then uh you know, actuallygetting your stuff out there and
and like you said, marketingyourself in front of leads and
capturing leads is kind of ahard part.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So exactly.
The vision of how I want thingsto run is very clear, but going
out and getting the leads iswhere things get a little murky.
Cliff (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, understood.
All right.
So, what have your biggestlearnings been as an owner or an
employer since you started yourbusiness?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Ah, man, so I think the biggest thing I've learned
is that we well, you got to bepatient.
You know, I'm still working onthat.
My, you know, I uh not withlike people or employees that
work for me, but with myself andthe expectations I set for the
business.
Um one of the bigger learningsis like, hey, nothing is that
(05:51):
big of a deal when it comes tothe running of the business.
Now, obviously, if we have ahome that's got a water leak or
has some sort of emergency,that's a big deal, and you got
to move that up to the top ofyour priority list.
But when it comes to the innerworkings of the business,
nothing is that big of a deal tothe point where I need to lose
sleep or worry about thingsmaybe that I did at the
(06:12):
beginning.
Um, but again, it's all part ofthat like building the momentum
and the understanding as abusiness owner, you know, to
where now it's like, all right,I uh you know have this issue,
it's fine.
You know, I don't need to freakout about it, it'll get
resolved and then we'll be okay.
Whether it's like a bookkeepingquestion or something about you
know the software that I use,or um, you know, a big, a big uh
(06:35):
issue for me in the beginningwas figuring out my pricing.
You know, I realized prettyearly on that the pricing
structure for these types ofcompanies in Asheville versus
out in Cashers, where I learnedthis industry, uh, I can charge
a lot more money out here.
And I came out the gate as oneof the cheaper providers in the
area.
And actually learning that thatis pretty poor when you know,
(06:57):
going back to marketing, whenyou're the cheapest, that
usually signals a bad side topeople, especially a uh a
clientele that's dealing with aluxury service, you know.
So um, you know, learn how toprice point price myself
accurately.
And I also learned that notevery client is worth the the
headache.
There are some there are somepeople that I've had to turn
(07:22):
away because they were screamingand and pounding their fist
that they wanted a certain thingin the contract eliminated, and
you know, because I do aservice contract with all of our
all of our clients, and youknow, just having to trust my my
my people, right?
You know, I I had an attorneydraft up the the service
agreement.
It wasn't just something Idownloaded off the internet, you
(07:43):
know, trusting the people thatI've paid and put my faith into
to help do the right thing forme.
So, you know, just you know,it's just all there's so much
learning that goes on, to behonest with you.
But there's you know, pricing,not every customer is a customer
you want.
It's it's okay to tell acustomer no if you realize it's
not going to be worth it and bea bigger issue down the line.
And just learning to kind oftake a deep breath when things
(08:05):
happen, let things play out, andjust you know, fix it when you
can.
And uh, you know, noteverything needs to be go, go,
go right away to the point whereyou might get burned out a
little bit, you know.
Cliff (08:15):
Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
So, what are some commonmisconceptions about running a
business and how do you addressthem?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I think the common misconception about running a
business is that hey, you you uhyou incorporate, you file an
LLC, and then the money startsflowing in and it's just raining
on it.
You know, I uh I wish it wasthe case, right?
I think that only happens for afew people, uh, especially in
like a software, maybe like atechie kind of industry.
But that's not to say thatthose people don't have tons of
(08:43):
leverage and risk that they haveto you know deal with
themselves.
But um I think sometimesbusiness owners can be seen as
you know dreamers and a littlemore scrappy than you know
someone who just works a regularnine to five.
And it's you know, or orsomeone who can't fit the mold
of a nine to five, and it'sreally not that way at all.
(09:04):
It's just more people that arejust kind of wanting to do their
own thing or are motivated todo things a certain way.
And um, you know, they justwant to live their life the way
they see fit.
And it's not it's not as big ofa risk to start a business as
some people might tell you,depending on the the the you
know field you pick.
Um yeah, I think I think itjust kind of just kind of
(09:28):
depends on the person.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
But yeah, uh yeah, that'd be that'd be that's how I
feel about that.
Cliff (09:36):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
What have you what have you uhattributed to your growth so
far?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I think it's just been me just relentlessly, you
know, networking.
And I think at first I wassitting with everybody and
anybody that would listen to,you know, my spiel about the
company and who I am and aboutme.
Um and like I alluded to in thefirst question, I mean, not all
of those people were going toor were going to be able to help
(10:06):
me, right?
Some of them were just in thesame boat I was, their niche
wasn't, uh their clientelewasn't the same as mine.
Um, you know, so I've had tolearn part of another learning
I've had is I've had to learnwhere to spend my time when it
comes to networking, you know.
Um it's been it's kind ofstrange to say I am not the kind
of client that my businesswould serve, right?
(10:26):
I don't have a luxury, youknow, million plus dollar house
that I just come to once ortwice a year.
Right.
So what I needed to do was kindof get in the mindset of who is
around those people, right?
And how do I get in thosecircles of those those business
owners or you know, groups thatthose people might hang out in?
(10:47):
And I'm still learning my way,but it's a lot more pointed and
a lot more intentional than itwas in the past.
Um so yeah.
Cliff (10:57):
Okay, okay.
So this is always a goodquestion.
How do you balance yourpersonal life with the demands
of running a business?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Yeah, well, I think the first so it's actually
funny.
Uh what before I got on myentrepreneurial journey, I read
a book called Uh The MillionaireNext Door.
And uh great book if you oranybody else listening ever gets
the chance.
And it's kind of funny that thethe premise of that book was
like, you know, basically if youjust save and you know invest
(11:26):
in their wise, you know, you canbecome a millionaire by the
time you're ready to retire andyou can have live a nice life,
blah, blah, blah.
But the one of the things inthat book that the author kept
hammering was the biggestfinancial decision you will ever
come across is who you marry,if you choose to get married.
So, you know, it's hugelyimportant that you marry someone
(11:47):
that is not like crazy withmoney.
And I think the bigger thingtoo is you marry someone that is
supportive of you and yourdreams and your goals and
doesn't try to hold back.
So I'd say the easiest way tobalance life with running a
business is having someone thatunderstands the why and why
you're doing it and supports youin doing that.
(12:08):
Now that that doesn't meanthere's healthy boundaries that
you set or that, you know, likemy wife might have to tell me,
like, okay, enough, like workand come hang out, and that's
totally fine.
And I, you know, I have to bewilling to receive that
feedback, right?
Which I usually am because Ilove hanging out with my wife
and my dog, right?
But um it's just that would bethe hardest part.
(12:28):
But someone else asked me theother day, because I have
another company that I run intown, and I still have a W-2 job
that I, you know, do you editthat part out of the podcast
because I don't want them toknow.
But um it, I and I did thisback in my days as an operations
manager, it's just and I I Ilike this term, it's just
ruthless prioritization andexecution of the calendar.
(12:51):
So, you know, if you looked atmy calendar, it's crazy.
But I block off time where Iknow I'm gonna work on
something.
And if I don't hit it, I haveto move it.
And if I don't hit it, it'sprobably because something else
came up and I had to move stuffaround.
But I don't just let myselfmiss like in a week, I don't let
myself miss my targets.
I still have to write a blog onMonday.
(13:11):
I still have to do at least twoto three social media posts, I
still have to go ahead and runpayroll for my employees on
Wednesdays, right?
And I I have those prioritiesand those metrics that I have to
hit, not metrics, but thosegoals that I need to hit.
I tend to do it on my calendar.
If I need to, I'll write itdown.
Um, but honestly, it's aboutbeing flexible and being easy on
(13:32):
yourself too, because at firstit's gonna be tough.
Like you're gonna have to liketry things, fail at it, then go
back and retry.
And I mean, you can't like behard on yourself and beat
yourself up if you're strugglingat first.
There's not gonna be manybusiness owners or entrepreneurs
that come out the gate likebatten a thousand, like, oh
(13:52):
yeah, I got my business ismaking money and I don't have to
do much to it.
It markets itself, and my homelife is, you know, not seeing
any sort of uh backseat, right?
I mean, there are times when Ido have to go out on a Saturday
or like if my wife gets homelate, I have to run out to
someone's house and dosomething.
But again, it's like it's justpart of you know that
understanding of each other.
(14:14):
But, you know, like I said,also good planning.
My wife knows that I'm good atplanning.
She knows I'm, you know, I'mvery, very tight with my
calendar and I plan my days outahead of time.
Usually on like Friday, I'llstart planning the week ahead.
So if she comes home and I'mstressed about something, or I'm
not home and I'm out atsomeone's house, like it's not
just because I was sittingaround all day and decided to
(14:36):
just you know start the work at2 p.m.
Right?
Like she knows I've been goingall day long.
So I mean it really, it reallyjust depends.
Open the kitchen for sure withyour spouse.
So you go.
Um, but yeah, I would say juststick to your guns, try things
out.
If it doesn't work, some peoplecan't do the calendar thing.
Some people like to do like theeat the frog, start of the
(14:56):
suits, do the hardest thing inthe beginning of the day.
Um, you know, some people likethat.
I like a steady, like do thesame, do this thing at this
time, this day.
And I I that goes back to mydays as an operations manager
too.
I did the same exact thing backthen.
It's what worked for me, iswhat helped me and my team, you
know, through COVID.
Uh so you know, find what worksfor you, try things out, and
(15:18):
then go from there.
And then that's how you balancethings, you know.
It's all, you know, they whatdo they like to say?
It's not a work-life balance,it's a work-life integration,
some people like to say.
Um, that's kind of how I viewit, you know.
Cliff (15:30):
Okay.
Now digging into that a littlebit further, how do you handle
vacations?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, so sadly, we can't really take two-week
vacations anymore.
It'd have to be about a week.
Uh, but that's okay because mywife and I are we are planning
on having our first kid inMarch.
So we're trying to save all thePTO we can.
So it really does.
Cliff (15:51):
Congratulations.
Congratulations, Nate.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
That's awesome.
Thank you.
And she doesn't get as much PTOas I do with her job.
So taking two-week vacationsand stuff is not really in the
realm of possibilities rightnow, but it will be eventually.
But luckily, I have a team ofpeople that I can rely on for
both businesses.
One of them floats between bothbusinesses, and you know, I
trust him with a lot.
Um, and that goes to kind oflike the hiring and figuring out
(16:17):
how to choose the right peopleand making sure there's people
that he trusts.
Um, and I always like to makesure, like if I'm leaving town,
you know, I make sure the housesare good to go before I leave.
And, you know, maybe check theweather, make sure there's no
freeze or any crazy stormcoming.
That being said, we were inGermany when Hurricane Helene
hit, so that was wild, you know.
(16:39):
You know, people are worriedabout their houses and we're not
even in the country.
Um, some things you just can'tplan for, but vacations, you
just kind of, you know, we makeit work.
We my wife and I love totravel.
So we still, you know, we stillget around, you know, different
places.
We were in Columbia earlierthis year.
Um, right now we're saving PTO,but still, right?
(17:01):
We find ways to make it work.
Cliff (17:05):
Awesome, awesome.
unknown (17:06):
Yeah.
Cliff (17:06):
So what qual what qualities do you look for in
employees?
And how do you foster apositive and productive work
environment?
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, so for employees, I mean, the first
thing I'm gonna look for isintegrity and honesty.
I don't really care about, youknow.
I don't really care about, youknow, their work history.
I mean, as long as their workhistory doesn't show that
they're like bouncing around andthey can't hold a job.
Um I I'm a firm believer thatpeople can be taught.
(17:34):
I look more for the work ethicversus the the work task.
Um and yeah, my number one'salways like honesty and
integrity.
So if I, you know, sit down andtalk to somebody and uh, you
know, this has happened to mewhere I think the interview went
well, and then I do abackground check and it lights
up with some pretty gnarlystuff.
You know, that I mean,obviously I'm not gonna hire
(17:55):
them for the legal ram or thepotential legal ramifications,
but also it hurts when uh, youknow, people are trying to pull
wool over your eyes.
But yeah, if I can tell thatsomeone's honest and that they
have good core values and theycare about doing the right thing
and being a good person, uh,then they're we're probably
gonna get along really nicely.
Um and it's easy to work withthem at that point because we're
(18:17):
on the same you know level, youknow, eye to eye.
Um also I'm I'm pretty firmwith explaining to my employees
the way our roles will work.
You know, they will be workingin the business, and I will be
working on the business.
So it's not one of those thingswhere you know they're out
doing work and I'm just kickingback and cashing checks and
(18:39):
kissing babies.
You know, it's I'm I'm outthere and I'm trying to network
and spread our name around town.
You know, I'm trying tofacilitate relationships with,
you know, different realtorfirms or just different real
estate agents or differentvendors that might be able to do
landscaping or plumbing, right?
I'm out trying to forge thoserelationships so that my team
only has to worry about theseare the houses I need to check.
(19:01):
This is how I check them.
And okay, if there's somethingwrong, this is who I call, you
know.
Um, and that's the system thatI want.
I don't want, I don't wantpeople that are checking our
houses to be frantic.
If something's wrong, you know,and this has happened to me too
when I'm out in the field.
If something's wrong, you gotto know how to handle that
problem immediately.
If you're, you know, calling mefreaking out, or you don't know
(19:23):
what to do, then that's afailure on my end, right?
So um I look for someone who'seasy, you know, can communicate
well.
If I'm trying to, I'm a bigtexter, so if I'm texting them
stuff and they're not texting meback, that's a huge red flag.
I need to be able tocommunicate with people.
And some things cannot wait fora phone call at the end of the
day, you know.
Um, just I'm just looking forsomeone that's a good person,
(19:45):
honestly.
Like I'm not someone that'seasy to get along with, someone
you can trust going into emptyhomes that are five million
dollars.
You know what I'm saying?
Like that's a huge thing, and Imean, homeowners will meet me
and trust me because I'm theface of the company, but they
have to trust that I havethoroughly vetted and you know,
scoped out some people that actwith integrity and they can can
(20:08):
be in a five million dollarhouse and not steal something,
right?
So that's the first thing I'mlooking for is just how how they
how when when we sit down andgive you how they interact with
me, are they warm?
Are they open-minded?
Are they are they there for aconversation or is it more
transactional?
Are they a little closed offand guarded?
Um just looking for someone tobe like a normal person that
(20:29):
acts with high integrity andhigh honesty, you know.
Cliff (20:32):
That's a little tough to find sometimes these days, but I
get it.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Sometimes it is.
Sometimes it is, man.
Sometimes I mean it really is,and you and and that's something
that business ownership taughtme too, is you know, I think in
the corporate world, now thecorporate world has its setbacks
with people who are only outfor themselves, and I get that,
but you you you see a lot morepolished candidates for stuff in
the corporate world than youmight in like the service
industry.
Um you know, and polisheddoesn't mean that they have a
(20:57):
tight haircut and they'rethey're well dressed and
everything's print and proud.
I don't care about that, right?
I don't I could not care lesshow they dress, how they look,
now if they're dressinginappropriately, whatever.
But you know, I need to knowthat they can be a normal
person, they're gonna do theright thing when no one's
looking.
And if they mess up or even ifI mess up, they need to be able
to tell me that and say, hey,this it would be a lot better
(21:18):
for me if you did this, if youcommunicated this way, you know,
they need to be able to manageup, as we would say in like
corporate America and tell mewhere I can be a better manager
for them.
Because if they're scared totell me stuff, just kind of
breed that resentment and breedthat like looking for the next
gig.
Whereas if they can be honestwith me and tell me what they
need and give me the opportunityto improve on whatever it is
(21:41):
that whatever that shortcomingis, then that's the type of
relationship I need with myemployees, you know?
Cliff (21:48):
Okay.
Okay, yeah.
So next uh next round's gonnabe the quick fire round.
So I'm just going to basicallythrow out some some words to
you, and you don't have thefirst thing that you think of
when you hear these words.
It's it's in regards to yourbusiness.
Yeah.
Education.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Uh uh, YouTube, ChatGPT.
Okay.
I like that.
I haven't gotten that one yet.
We can expand on anything tooif you want.
So just let me know.
Cliff (22:17):
No, I mean it I mean it's pretty self-expensive, but
yeah, I mean, if you needsomething, you can go to YouTube
to find it.
You can go on ChatGPT and askthem for help or even learning,
even learning on the marketingfront.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Like you can tell that marketing's a big thing for
me right now.
Learning how to write SEOblogs.
And you know, I might not writethe blog, but I tell Chat GPT
all the technical things thatneed to happen.
So I mean, you know, watchingthings on YouTube, like how do I
do this?
Or you know, blah, blah, blah.
I mean, sometimes, you know,you gotta learn on the fly.
Cliff (22:46):
Oh, you you're you're exactly right.
And I don't understand somepeople.
Um, you know, some people theyask me, oh, how do you do this?
Oh, how do you do that?
I'm like, man, we are in thethe technology age.
I mean, these are things thatare all over the internet.
You can Google it, you canYouTube it, you can do this, you
can go on TikTok.
I mean, you can do everythingthese days.
And people are asking a basicquestion.
It's kind of interesting whenyou have a computer in your hand
to call a phone or a smartphoneand you can look it up in two
(23:08):
seconds rather than me talkingto you.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, you know, and it's so it's one of those things
like back in the day, I thinkold school leadership was the
leaders always have to know.
And even if they didn't know,they would act like they did.
But I'm very comfortable ifsomeone says, Hey Nick, how do
we do this?
Like, dude, I don't know.
I don't know.
Let's look it up.
There's a million different uh,you know, models of HVAC units
or refrigerators or waterheaters.
(23:32):
So if you ask me a specificthing on, you know, uh uh one
brand versus the other, I'm notgonna know that.
I'm not an appliance repairman.
However, I know where to gofind the answer, you know?
Like that's the type of stuffyou gotta be able to do.
And uh, you know, you you gottabe willing to, you know, admit
(23:53):
you don't know something and gofigure it out.
Cliff (23:55):
Yeah, no, I get it.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
All right, planning uh and it's just one word.
Speaker (24:02):
Yeah, yeah.
Cliff (24:03):
I don't know.
I mean you could no, it's justit's really just the first thing
that you think of when you hearthat word.
It doesn't have to be one word.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Prioritization would be my word answer to that.
Prioritization.
Learn how to prioritize, learnwhat's important, when it's
important.
Not everything can be afirefight, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Okay.
Inspiration.
Oh man.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
My inspiration is that I want it all.
You know, that's what thatwould be the term.
You know, I it's notachievable, which you know, I
guess we could have a differentconversation about that, but I
don't ever want to feel like,oh, I can't achieve something,
you know, so why not go for it?
Cliff (24:47):
You know, so you're not scared of anything, basically.
You're you're ready to go getit, or at least try.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I mean, I'm scared of not achieving my dreams, right?
I'm not scared of failure, I'mnot scared of being wrong, I'm
not scared of things goingwrong.
I mean, that's inevitable,right?
Um, but I am scared of being onmy deathbed and being like, oh
man, I should have, I wish Ihad, you know, I wish I had done
this, I wish I had tried that.
(25:13):
Like, you know, that's a scaryto me.
That's more scary than okay, Istarted a business and it didn't
really work out.
You know, I didn't loseanything, but I learned a lot,
right?
So it's just it's just uh Iguess an appetite for risk, you
know.
Speaker (25:27):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Commitment.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
To me, yeah, I would say soul.
Like that's just what's in yoursoul, right?
Like commitment to my family,commitment to my wife, to my
incoming son, uh, commitment tomyself, right?
That I'm gonna not be hard onmyself, but keep pushing myself.
So that's part of your soul.
I guess uh, you know, I sayit's how you're wired.
Um, it's how I'm wired atleast.
And I think commitment is hugefor me.
(25:54):
I you you can tell how much Itouched on integrity and
honesty.
Um, and that goes for myselftoo, right?
So uh it's just how I am, it'show I've always been, and that's
how I'll continue to be, right?
The only thing I have to learnis when to be hard on myself and
when not to be hard on myself.
And and sometimes being hard onyourself doesn't mean you're
beating yourself up, but you aretaking a good look in the
(26:15):
mirror and looking at yourshortcomings and how you can
address them.
Cliff (26:19):
Okay.
All right.
So, what words of advice wouldyou offer to other business
owners who are looking to grow?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Man, I'll say, you know, be patient, have a plan,
right?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
And you know, execute your plan if you feel that it
is the right one.
Now, I think there are thingsthat go with that.
I think finding good mentorsare is huge, right?
And I don't mean like you haveto go pay someone to be a
mentor, mentorships can beorganic.
I have, you know, two businessmentors right now, one for sure,
(26:59):
one that I'm kind of working onbeing more of a fluid
relationship.
Um, and like sometimes they'll,you know, they'll push me
indirectly by saying, hey, whydon't you try this for
marketing, or why don't you trythat?
And I've had my mentor who runsyou know a four million dollar
test company tell me, okay, nexttime we meet, I want to see
these things.
I want to see a plan for this,I want to see your outlook,
(27:21):
blah, blah, blah.
Right.
So read this book and thenwe'll talk about it.
Um, finding mentors is huge,not only to keep you
accountable, but just forinspiration.
And again, I kind of touched onletting you know that
everything's gonna be okay.
You know, there have been sometimes I go to my mentor, like,
you know, the pest company guy,and I'm like, dude, this
happened, this happened.
(27:41):
I am just in the pits.
And he's like, Oh, yeah, Iremember when I used to feel
like that.
Like, you're gonna be okay.
You know, it's gonna be fine.
And uh, you know, it's is it'snice to have someone who has
been through it and understandswhat you're going through.
And it's kind of like lookingat your future self.
It can be that in a way, andsaying, you know, that guy is
(28:03):
where I want to be.
Let's let's get after it,right?
Let's get after it.
I think another thing thatbusiness owners need to do when
they're starting out, likemyself, is be careful on who
you're taking advice from,right?
Whether it's friends or familyor even other business owners.
I've had friends, one of mybest friends uh has like made
(28:26):
fun of me for myentrepreneurship journey, right?
I've got family that'squestioned it, other business
owners say, What?
You're just taking care ofvacant houses?
Like, how can that what isthat?
You know, and it's like, yeah,and then you see all the
projects I'm coordinating andvendors, it's more like a
project management role, andthen you got to deal with
employees, right?
(28:47):
And um there's there's quite afew notable business people in
the Asheville area that aregreat people, but when I told
them, you know, my businessideas, they kind of poo-coo it,
and it's like, okay, well, goodto know, right?
I guess they'll never be mycompetition, you know.
But uh, I'm not necessarilygonna run to the hills and go
(29:09):
back on my progress, maybebecause I have a slower company,
and by slower I mean a companythat builds clientele slower,
but this is a recurring revenuebusiness.
So, man, once it gets rollingdownhill, we're gonna be forced
to be reckoned with, right?
So other homewashed businessesare like that.
So it's not, it's not uh it'snot like I'm just doing
(29:30):
something that's never beenheard of here.
Um yeah, so be careful aboutwho you take advice from.
I mean, take advice fromwhoever, but don't let it eat at
you.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, I'm not saying likesomeone gives you advice and you
like write them off.
Like I those business ownersand friends and family that
still questioned it, I don'twrite them off.
They're still my friends andfamily and people that I see,
(29:52):
but don't let it eat at you,right?
And pick good mentors.
And I mean, really pick goodmentors.
You could be sitting down andhaving coffee with somebody once
a week or whatever, and if it'snot working out, it's not
working out.
You don't need to continue it.
But if there are people thatare making you think bigger or
think outside of what you werethinking, and you and you're
sitting there going, Oh man, Ididn't think about that.
(30:13):
That's a great idea.
Let me try that, you know.
Or man, that guy just makes mewant to achieve, like, get after
it.
Like after I talk with thatguy, I'm ready to go.
Like it might be Fridayafternoon and things are winding
down, but the wheels areturning, right?
So you can find people andsurround yourself with with
people that help you becomebetter, then I would say do
that.
And it's sometimes it mightmean that you.
(30:34):
Spend less time with yourfriends who just want to go out
to trivia and go drinking on aThursday night, right?
That might happen.
And you need to get comfortablewith that.
You need to make a decision.
It doesn't mean that you don'tever see your friends again, but
sometimes there are choices tobe made.
What kind of person, what kindof life do you want to lead?
What kind of person do you wantto be?
Going out with your friends isnot a bad thing, but you gotta
(30:54):
make choices, right?
There are sometimes you gottastay home and handwrite letters
to people and mail them out.
You know, like it justsometimes you gotta stay home
and do some accounting.
Like it is what it is, yeah.
Cliff (31:10):
Okay, okay.
So what's the next big thingfor Mountain Vantage properties?
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, I think the next big thing for us is, you
know, I'm trying to have more ofa presence in the community,
not just the business community,you know.
So I think we'll try to partnerup with like, you know, some
places where some of myclientele might be like racket
clubs or golf courses.
Um, and I do have an in-to-doevents and things like that
(31:39):
through the realtors that I'vemet.
So it's nice to have that.
Um, but you know, just justmore of an emphasis.
You know, I've heard somecompanies describe themselves as
like marketing companies thatdo this.
And I kind of want to flip mymindset to that, where you know,
we are not a home watch companythat markets okay.
(32:03):
We are a marketing company thatdoes home watch.
Like home watch is easy, we gotit.
Let's figure out how we canmarket ourselves bigger,
efficiently, um, and to theright people, you know, and and
do things in a smart way thatthat's still authentic.
It still gets who we areacross, who I am across to
people, and still gives them theconfidence that uh we're gonna
(32:25):
do a good job for them.
Um, I think another big thingis that we're getting more into
the project management side ofhome watch, which is, you know,
I I'm what two years into thisnow.
So I have a lot of good vendorsthat I trust.
So I can confidently look at ahomeowner and say, yeah, you
know, you can use this plumber,but I've got one too that I
(32:46):
really like.
And don't get me wrong, I havea big plumber that I like to
use, and I have a small plumberthat I like to use.
But it's nice that I can say,Yeah, I've used this small
outlet.
He's a great guy, he's gonnaget it done fast, it's gonna be
it's gonna be at a good price,and we can knock it out for you
to get it done.
And then still that confidencein people, you know.
So that's a good revenue streamfor us too, is the project
(33:07):
management.
Um, so that's that's gonna besomething we're really focusing
on here in the next couple ofyears, you know.
Cliff (33:13):
Okay, perfect, perfect.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
And it aligns right with my strength.
You're balancing multipleplates, your project management,
you know, you're you got a lotof things going on at different
houses, you know, then that'sthat's that's that's what the
business is.
Cliff (33:25):
Yeah, okay, perfect.
Uh, and lastly, what's the bestway for somebody who's
interested to get in touch withyou?
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I think uh so we're on social media.
I don't really get many leadsfrom social media, and that's
okay.
That's more for awareness ofwhat we do anyway, to other
businesses and people aroundtown.
But uh, you can always get getto us through Instagram and
Facebook.
Uh on our website, you can seeyou can see our uh email, hello
mvp.wnc at gmail.com.
(33:54):
Or my the the business phonenumber, 828-585-4889.
I can text that that goesstraight to me.
So you're not gonna be talkingto some robot, right?
So if an owner has a question,they can call me, text me, and
we'll get it figured out for.
Um you know, for for for rightnow, you're gonna be dealing
with me.
If we grow big enough that Ineed an admin, that that's
great.
But uh for right now, it'salways gonna be me, and then you
(34:16):
know, that's how people canhear and touch if they need
anything.
Cliff (34:19):
Perfect.
And you said text is preferred,right?
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Yeah, text is preferred, but I mean, if it's
someone that is trying to lookfor us bringing them on as a
client, they probably need tocall me.
But if it's someone justwanting to reach out for advice
or, you know, anything likethat, or just to talk business
and like set up a meeting, thenyeah, text is probably easier.
Okay.
Um, you know, I give mypersonal number out to my
(34:45):
employees because I really needthem to be on the ball when it
comes to answering me andmyself, vice versa.
I need to answer them.
So sometimes the voiced servicecan get a little bit in the way
of that.
So I keep them on personal forthose reasons.
But business lines will alwaysremain for clients and you know,
things like that.
Cliff (35:00):
Okay, perfect, perfect.
Yeah, well, thank you so muchfor being a part of the
community, and we we thank youvery much for being on this
episode of Epic EntrepreneursPodcast.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Thanks, man.
I appreciate it.
Cliff (35:09):
All right, well, thank you.
Thanks.
All right.
Well, welcome to the firstepisode of Epic Entrepreneurs,
Freedom for Bill Gilliman withyour local business firm and
coaching firm Active CoachBusiness Growth Partners.
I'm excited to have Nick Gomezwith Mountain Vantage Properties
as the focus for our EpicEntrepreneurs podcast episode
today.
So Nick, please introduceyourself and tell us a little
bit about yourself and yourcompany and what primary
(00:55):
products or services you offerthe community.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah.
So like Cliff said, my name isNick Gomez.
I am a resident of SouthAsheville, but we call it Arden.
You know, let's call it theAsheville area.
I am about 31 years old, beenhere about four years.
It's been a good good fouryears.
Our company, Mountain BanageProperties, is a home watch and
property caretaking company.
So what we specialize in istaking care of the vacant second
(01:23):
homes for people that areseasonal residents of the
Asheville, Hendersonville,Weaverville, and Black Mountain
area.
So, you know, there's a lot ofthose types of houses out here.
You know, Asheville is still avacation destination.
And a lot of people, when theyvacation here, decide that they
would rather spend a little moretime here than they originally
thought.
So a lot of them end up buyingsecond homes that they don't use
(01:44):
as a source of income, which uhis a pretty nice way, nice
thing to have if you're able to.
So uh as you guys might know,maintaining a home can be quite
cumbersome.
And we just basically take thatover for them while they're
gone so they don't have to worryabout it.
So we specialize in checkingthe house, we do any do or
coordinate any maintenance onthe house, but really just
(02:05):
provide that peace of mind forthose people while they're
living in you know Florida orTexas or New York, wherever they
may be.
Cliff (02:13):
Okay, great, great.
Yeah, that's awesome.
It sounds like a really goodservice.
All right.
So if yeah, so if you had tostart the, I mean, you know, it
really does.
I mean, you know, obviously ifyou if you're you know, if it's
a second home and you're notthere, you know, you want
somebody to go check on and makesure it's standing, make sure
her unholding didn't comethrough again, you know, all
those things.
So um, yeah, definitely itdefinitely seems like a good
business to have, especiallyfor, you know, like you said,
(02:34):
the vacation area that this is.
Um so if so if you had to startfrom square one in the
business, what would you dodifferently?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Oh man, that's a good question.
I think what I would dodifferently.
I mean, this, you know, it'skind of a funny question because
some of it is like, you know,you have to go through the the
rough patches and the learning,the learning uh that comes with
starting a business, you know,from scratch.
I would probably invest moreinto learning about marketing
(03:04):
out the gate versus being asconcerned with the operations of
the business.
And, you know, so my backgroundis in operations and
management.
Um, you know, I come from anengineering background.
I spent a lot of time workingin factories, you know, learning
how to run factories from atechnical and uh you know
(03:25):
organizational standpoint.
So my strengths really lie inoperations and management, but I
don't have any sort ofbackground in marketing.
You know, I'm a people person,but that only gets you so far.
So kind of learning the youknow, the best ways to market.
I'm still kind of figuring thatout for such a niche clientele.
But the best ways to market andthe ways to be savvy about
(03:48):
capturing people's informationso you know who to talk to that
might be able to help you,right?
And um knowing what you know,vendors or other business owners
adjacent to my industry mighthave been able to help me out
from the start, as opposed tokind of just try and meet
everybody and then you know, Idon't want to say it was wasted
(04:10):
time, but you know, it wasn'tthe most efficient use of my
time because I might have beentalking to business owners that
were A, just as new as I am anddon't have an aim with that
clientele, um, you know, ormaybe don't have anything to do
with that clientele.
So I think I would, I would,you know, if I could wave a
magic wand, I would instill thatknowledge into me immediately,
but it's part of the learningprocess of starting a business,
(04:32):
you know.
Some people it's quite theopposite.
They have a huge marketingbackground and they have no idea
how to run their business, andthen that that can be quite a
growing pain for them too.
Um, I would probably say that Iliked having it my pitfalls be
the way they were, because I'drather know how to run the
business first, but you know, Icould have it all.
Marketing would be definitelythe first step that I would you
(04:54):
know go back and fix.
Cliff (04:55):
Yeah, okay, yeah, good deal.
Good.
Yeah, fun fact about me, Iactually am operations back
around itself myself as well.
So I know what you mean.
You know, you know how to docertain things in the business,
but then uh you know, actuallygetting your stuff out there and
and like you said, marketingyourself in front of leads and
capturing leads is kind of ahard part.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So exactly.
The vision of how I want thingsto run is very clear, but going
out and getting the leads iswhere things get a little murky.
Cliff (05:20):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, understood.
All right.
So, what have your biggestlearnings been as an owner or an
employer since you started yourbusiness?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Ah, man, so I think the biggest thing I've learned
is that we well, you got to bepatient.
You know, I'm still working onthat.
My, you know, I uh not withlike people or employees that
work for me, but with myself andthe expectations I set for the
business.
Um one of the bigger learningsis like, hey, nothing is that
(05:51):
big of a deal when it comes tothe running of the business.
Now, obviously, if we have ahome that's got a water leak or
has some sort of emergency,that's a big deal, and you got
to move that up to the top ofyour priority list.
But when it comes to the innerworkings of the business,
nothing is that big of a deal tothe point where I need to lose
sleep or worry about thingsmaybe that I did at the
(06:12):
beginning.
Um, but again, it's all part ofthat like building the momentum
and the understanding as abusiness owner, you know, to
where now it's like, all right,I uh you know have this issue,
it's fine.
You know, I don't need to freakout about it, it'll get
resolved and then we'll be okay.
Whether it's like a bookkeepingquestion or something about you
know the software that I use,or um, you know, a big, a big uh
(06:35):
issue for me in the beginningwas figuring out my pricing.
You know, I realized prettyearly on that the pricing
structure for these types ofcompanies in Asheville versus
out in Cashers, where I learnedthis industry, uh, I can charge
a lot more money out here.
And I came out the gate as oneof the cheaper providers in the
area.
And actually learning that thatis pretty poor when you know,
(06:57):
going back to marketing, whenyou're the cheapest, that
usually signals a bad side topeople, especially a uh a
clientele that's dealing with aluxury service, you know.
So um, you know, learn how toprice point price myself
accurately.
And I also learned that notevery client is worth the the
headache.
There are some there are somepeople that I've had to turn
(07:22):
away because they were screamingand and pounding their fist
that they wanted a certain thingin the contract eliminated, and
you know, because I do aservice contract with all of our
all of our clients, and youknow, just having to trust my my
my people, right?
You know, I I had an attorneydraft up the the service
agreement.
It wasn't just something Idownloaded off the internet, you
(07:43):
know, trusting the people thatI've paid and put my faith into
to help do the right thing forme.
So, you know, just you know,it's just all there's so much
learning that goes on, to behonest with you.
But there's you know, pricing,not every customer is a customer
you want.
It's it's okay to tell acustomer no if you realize it's
not going to be worth it and bea bigger issue down the line.
And just learning to kind oftake a deep breath when things
(08:05):
happen, let things play out, andjust you know, fix it when you
can.
And uh, you know, noteverything needs to be go, go,
go right away to the point whereyou might get burned out a
little bit, you know.
Cliff (08:15):
Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
So, what are some commonmisconceptions about running a
business and how do you addressthem?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I think the common misconception about running a
business is that hey, you you uhyou incorporate, you file an
LLC, and then the money startsflowing in and it's just raining
on it.
You know, I uh I wish it wasthe case, right?
I think that only happens for afew people, uh, especially in
like a software, maybe like atechie kind of industry.
But that's not to say thatthose people don't have tons of
(08:43):
leverage and risk that they haveto you know deal with
themselves.
But um I think sometimesbusiness owners can be seen as
you know dreamers and a littlemore scrappy than you know
someone who just works a regularnine to five.
And it's you know, or orsomeone who can't fit the mold
of a nine to five, and it'sreally not that way at all.
(09:04):
It's just more people that arejust kind of wanting to do their
own thing or are motivated todo things a certain way.
And um, you know, they justwant to live their life the way
they see fit.
And it's not it's not as big ofa risk to start a business as
some people might tell you,depending on the the the you
know field you pick.
Um yeah, I think I think itjust kind of just kind of
(09:28):
depends on the person.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
But yeah, uh yeah, that'd be that'd be that's how I
feel about that.
Cliff (09:36):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
What have you what have you uhattributed to your growth so
far?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I think it's just been me just relentlessly, you
know, networking.
And I think at first I wassitting with everybody and
anybody that would listen to,you know, my spiel about the
company and who I am and aboutme.
Um and like I alluded to in thefirst question, I mean, not all
of those people were going toor were going to be able to help
(10:06):
me, right?
Some of them were just in thesame boat I was, their niche
wasn't, uh their clientelewasn't the same as mine.
Um, you know, so I've had tolearn part of another learning
I've had is I've had to learnwhere to spend my time when it
comes to networking, you know.
Um it's been it's kind ofstrange to say I am not the kind
of client that my businesswould serve, right?
(10:26):
I don't have a luxury, youknow, million plus dollar house
that I just come to once ortwice a year.
Right.
So what I needed to do was kindof get in the mindset of who is
around those people, right?
And how do I get in thosecircles of those those business
owners or you know, groups thatthose people might hang out in?
(10:47):
And I'm still learning my way,but it's a lot more pointed and
a lot more intentional than itwas in the past.
Um so yeah.
Cliff (10:57):
Okay, okay.
So this is always a goodquestion.
How do you balance yourpersonal life with the demands
of running a business?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Yeah, well, I think the first so it's actually
funny.
Uh what before I got on myentrepreneurial journey, I read
a book called Uh The MillionaireNext Door.
And uh great book if you oranybody else listening ever gets
the chance.
And it's kind of funny that thethe premise of that book was
like, you know, basically if youjust save and you know invest
(11:26):
in their wise, you know, you canbecome a millionaire by the
time you're ready to retire andyou can have live a nice life,
blah, blah, blah.
But the one of the things inthat book that the author kept
hammering was the biggestfinancial decision you will ever
come across is who you marry,if you choose to get married.
So, you know, it's hugelyimportant that you marry someone
(11:47):
that is not like crazy withmoney.
And I think the bigger thingtoo is you marry someone that is
supportive of you and yourdreams and your goals and
doesn't try to hold back.
So I'd say the easiest way tobalance life with running a
business is having someone thatunderstands the why and why
you're doing it and supports youin doing that.
(12:08):
Now that that doesn't meanthere's healthy boundaries that
you set or that, you know, likemy wife might have to tell me,
like, okay, enough, like workand come hang out, and that's
totally fine.
And I, you know, I have to bewilling to receive that
feedback, right?
Which I usually am because Ilove hanging out with my wife
and my dog, right?
But um it's just that would bethe hardest part.
(12:28):
But someone else asked me theother day, because I have
another company that I run intown, and I still have a W-2 job
that I, you know, do you editthat part out of the podcast
because I don't want them toknow.
But um it, I and I did thisback in my days as an operations
manager, it's just and I I Ilike this term, it's just
ruthless prioritization andexecution of the calendar.
(12:51):
So, you know, if you looked atmy calendar, it's crazy.
But I block off time where Iknow I'm gonna work on
something.
And if I don't hit it, I haveto move it.
And if I don't hit it, it'sprobably because something else
came up and I had to move stuffaround.
But I don't just let myselfmiss like in a week, I don't let
myself miss my targets.
I still have to write a blog onMonday.
(13:11):
I still have to do at least twoto three social media posts, I
still have to go ahead and runpayroll for my employees on
Wednesdays, right?
And I I have those prioritiesand those metrics that I have to
hit, not metrics, but thosegoals that I need to hit.
I tend to do it on my calendar.
If I need to, I'll write itdown.
Um, but honestly, it's aboutbeing flexible and being easy on
(13:32):
yourself too, because at firstit's gonna be tough.
Like you're gonna have to liketry things, fail at it, then go
back and retry.
And I mean, you can't like behard on yourself and beat
yourself up if you're strugglingat first.
There's not gonna be manybusiness owners or entrepreneurs
that come out the gate likebatten a thousand, like, oh
(13:52):
yeah, I got my business ismaking money and I don't have to
do much to it.
It markets itself, and my homelife is, you know, not seeing
any sort of uh backseat, right?
I mean, there are times when Ido have to go out on a Saturday
or like if my wife gets homelate, I have to run out to
someone's house and dosomething.
But again, it's like it's justpart of you know that
understanding of each other.
(14:14):
But, you know, like I said,also good planning.
My wife knows that I'm good atplanning.
She knows I'm, you know, I'mvery, very tight with my
calendar and I plan my days outahead of time.
Usually on like Friday, I'llstart planning the week ahead.
So if she comes home and I'mstressed about something, or I'm
not home and I'm out atsomeone's house, like it's not
just because I was sittingaround all day and decided to
(14:36):
just you know start the work at2 p.m.
Right?
Like she knows I've been goingall day long.
So I mean it really, it reallyjust depends.
Open the kitchen for sure withyour spouse.
So you go.
Um, but yeah, I would say juststick to your guns, try things
out.
If it doesn't work, some peoplecan't do the calendar thing.
Some people like to do like theeat the frog, start of the
(14:56):
suits, do the hardest thing inthe beginning of the day.
Um, you know, some people likethat.
I like a steady, like do thesame, do this thing at this
time, this day.
And I I that goes back to mydays as an operations manager
too.
I did the same exact thing backthen.
It's what worked for me, iswhat helped me and my team, you
know, through COVID.
Uh so you know, find what worksfor you, try things out, and
(15:18):
then go from there.
And then that's how you balancethings, you know.
It's all, you know, they whatdo they like to say?
It's not a work-life balance,it's a work-life integration,
some people like to say.
Um, that's kind of how I viewit, you know.
Cliff (15:30):
Okay.
Now digging into that a littlebit further, how do you handle
vacations?
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, so sadly, we can't really take two-week
vacations anymore.
It'd have to be about a week.
Uh, but that's okay because mywife and I are we are planning
on having our first kid inMarch.
So we're trying to save all thePTO we can.
So it really does.
Cliff (15:51):
Congratulations.
Congratulations, Nate.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
That's awesome.
Thank you.
And she doesn't get as much PTOas I do with her job.
So taking two-week vacationsand stuff is not really in the
realm of possibilities rightnow, but it will be eventually.
But luckily, I have a team ofpeople that I can rely on for
both businesses.
One of them floats between bothbusinesses, and you know, I
trust him with a lot.
Um, and that goes to kind oflike the hiring and figuring out
(16:17):
how to choose the right peopleand making sure there's people
that he trusts.
Um, and I always like to makesure, like if I'm leaving town,
you know, I make sure the housesare good to go before I leave.
And, you know, maybe check theweather, make sure there's no
freeze or any crazy stormcoming.
That being said, we were inGermany when Hurricane Helene
hit, so that was wild, you know.
(16:39):
You know, people are worriedabout their houses and we're not
even in the country.
Um, some things you just can'tplan for, but vacations, you
just kind of, you know, we makeit work.
We my wife and I love totravel.
So we still, you know, we stillget around, you know, different
places.
We were in Columbia earlierthis year.
Um, right now we're saving PTO,but still, right?
(17:01):
We find ways to make it work.
Cliff (17:05):
Awesome, awesome.
unknown (17:06):
Yeah.
Cliff (17:06):
So what qual what qualities do you look for in
employees?
And how do you foster apositive and productive work
environment?
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, so for employees, I mean, the first
thing I'm gonna look for isintegrity and honesty.
I don't really care about, youknow.
I don't really care about, youknow, their work history.
I mean, as long as their workhistory doesn't show that
they're like bouncing around andthey can't hold a job.
Um I I'm a firm believer thatpeople can be taught.
(17:34):
I look more for the work ethicversus the the work task.
Um and yeah, my number one'salways like honesty and
integrity.
So if I, you know, sit down andtalk to somebody and uh, you
know, this has happened to mewhere I think the interview went
well, and then I do abackground check and it lights
up with some pretty gnarlystuff.
You know, that I mean,obviously I'm not gonna hire
(17:55):
them for the legal ram or thepotential legal ramifications,
but also it hurts when uh, youknow, people are trying to pull
wool over your eyes.
But yeah, if I can tell thatsomeone's honest and that they
have good core values and theycare about doing the right thing
and being a good person, uh,then they're we're probably
gonna get along really nicely.
Um and it's easy to work withthem at that point because we're
(18:17):
on the same you know level, youknow, eye to eye.
Um also I'm I'm pretty firmwith explaining to my employees
the way our roles will work.
You know, they will be workingin the business, and I will be
working on the business.
So it's not one of those thingswhere you know they're out
doing work and I'm just kickingback and cashing checks and
(18:39):
kissing babies.
You know, it's I'm I'm outthere and I'm trying to network
and spread our name around town.
You know, I'm trying tofacilitate relationships with,
you know, different realtorfirms or just different real
estate agents or differentvendors that might be able to do
landscaping or plumbing, right?
I'm out trying to forge thoserelationships so that my team
only has to worry about theseare the houses I need to check.
(19:01):
This is how I check them.
And okay, if there's somethingwrong, this is who I call, you
know.
Um, and that's the system thatI want.
I don't want, I don't wantpeople that are checking our
houses to be frantic.
If something's wrong, you know,and this has happened to me too
when I'm out in the field.
If something's wrong, you gotto know how to handle that
problem immediately.
If you're, you know, calling mefreaking out, or you don't know
(19:23):
what to do, then that's afailure on my end, right?
So um I look for someone who'seasy, you know, can communicate
well.
If I'm trying to, I'm a bigtexter, so if I'm texting them
stuff and they're not texting meback, that's a huge red flag.
I need to be able tocommunicate with people.
And some things cannot wait fora phone call at the end of the
day, you know.
Um, just I'm just looking forsomeone that's a good person,
(19:45):
honestly.
Like I'm not someone that'seasy to get along with, someone
you can trust going into emptyhomes that are five million
dollars.
You know what I'm saying?
Like that's a huge thing, and Imean, homeowners will meet me
and trust me because I'm theface of the company, but they
have to trust that I havethoroughly vetted and you know,
scoped out some people that actwith integrity and they can can
(20:08):
be in a five million dollarhouse and not steal something,
right?
So that's the first thing I'mlooking for is just how how they
how when when we sit down andgive you how they interact with
me, are they warm?
Are they open-minded?
Are they are they there for aconversation or is it more
transactional?
Are they a little closed offand guarded?
Um just looking for someone tobe like a normal person that
(20:29):
acts with high integrity andhigh honesty, you know.
Cliff (20:32):
That's a little tough to find sometimes these days, but I
get it.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
Sometimes it is.
Sometimes it is, man.
Sometimes I mean it really is,and you and and that's something
that business ownership taughtme too, is you know, I think in
the corporate world, now thecorporate world has its setbacks
with people who are only outfor themselves, and I get that,
but you you you see a lot morepolished candidates for stuff in
the corporate world than youmight in like the service
industry.
Um you know, and polisheddoesn't mean that they have a
(20:57):
tight haircut and they'rethey're well dressed and
everything's print and proud.
I don't care about that, right?
I don't I could not care lesshow they dress, how they look,
now if they're dressinginappropriately, whatever.
But you know, I need to knowthat they can be a normal
person, they're gonna do theright thing when no one's
looking.
And if they mess up or even ifI mess up, they need to be able
to tell me that and say, hey,this it would be a lot better
(21:18):
for me if you did this, if youcommunicated this way, you know,
they need to be able to manageup, as we would say in like
corporate America and tell mewhere I can be a better manager
for them.
Because if they're scared totell me stuff, just kind of
breed that resentment and breedthat like looking for the next
gig.
Whereas if they can be honestwith me and tell me what they
need and give me the opportunityto improve on whatever it is
(21:41):
that whatever that shortcomingis, then that's the type of
relationship I need with myemployees, you know?
Cliff (21:48):
Okay.
Okay, yeah.
So next uh next round's gonnabe the quick fire round.
So I'm just going to basicallythrow out some some words to
you, and you don't have thefirst thing that you think of
when you hear these words.
It's it's in regards to yourbusiness.
Yeah.
Education.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Uh uh, YouTube, ChatGPT.
Okay.
I like that.
I haven't gotten that one yet.
We can expand on anything tooif you want.
So just let me know.
Cliff (22:17):
No, I mean it I mean it's pretty self-expensive, but
yeah, I mean, if you needsomething, you can go to YouTube
to find it.
You can go on ChatGPT and askthem for help or even learning,
even learning on the marketingfront.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Like you can tell that marketing's a big thing for
me right now.
Learning how to write SEOblogs.
And you know, I might not writethe blog, but I tell Chat GPT
all the technical things thatneed to happen.
So I mean, you know, watchingthings on YouTube, like how do I
do this?
Or you know, blah, blah, blah.
I mean, sometimes, you know,you gotta learn on the fly.
Cliff (22:46):
Oh, you you're you're exactly right.
And I don't understand somepeople.
Um, you know, some people theyask me, oh, how do you do this?
Oh, how do you do that?
I'm like, man, we are in thethe technology age.
I mean, these are things thatare all over the internet.
You can Google it, you canYouTube it, you can do this, you
can go on TikTok.
I mean, you can do everythingthese days.
And people are asking a basicquestion.
It's kind of interesting whenyou have a computer in your hand
to call a phone or a smartphoneand you can look it up in two
(23:08):
seconds rather than me talkingto you.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, you know, and it's so it's one of those things
like back in the day, I thinkold school leadership was the
leaders always have to know.
And even if they didn't know,they would act like they did.
But I'm very comfortable ifsomeone says, Hey Nick, how do
we do this?
Like, dude, I don't know.
I don't know.
Let's look it up.
There's a million different uh,you know, models of HVAC units
or refrigerators or waterheaters.
(23:32):
So if you ask me a specificthing on, you know, uh uh one
brand versus the other, I'm notgonna know that.
I'm not an appliance repairman.
However, I know where to gofind the answer, you know?
Like that's the type of stuffyou gotta be able to do.
And uh, you know, you you gottabe willing to, you know, admit
(23:53):
you don't know something and gofigure it out.
Cliff (23:55):
Yeah, no, I get it.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
All right, planning uh and it's just one word.
Speaker (24:02):
Yeah, yeah.
Cliff (24:03):
I don't know.
I mean you could no, it's justit's really just the first thing
that you think of when you hearthat word.
It doesn't have to be one word.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Prioritization would be my word answer to that.
Prioritization.
Learn how to prioritize, learnwhat's important, when it's
important.
Not everything can be afirefight, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Okay.
Inspiration.
Oh man.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
My inspiration is that I want it all.
You know, that's what thatwould be the term.
You know, I it's notachievable, which you know, I
guess we could have a differentconversation about that, but I
don't ever want to feel like,oh, I can't achieve something,
you know, so why not go for it?
Cliff (24:47):
You know, so you're not scared of anything, basically.
You're you're ready to go getit, or at least try.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
I mean, I'm scared of not achieving my dreams, right?
I'm not scared of failure, I'mnot scared of being wrong, I'm
not scared of things goingwrong.
I mean, that's inevitable,right?
Um, but I am scared of being onmy deathbed and being like, oh
man, I should have, I wish Ihad, you know, I wish I had done
this, I wish I had tried that.
(25:13):
Like, you know, that's a scaryto me.
That's more scary than okay, Istarted a business and it didn't
really work out.
You know, I didn't loseanything, but I learned a lot,
right?
So it's just it's just uh Iguess an appetite for risk, you
know.
Speaker (25:27):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Commitment.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
To me, yeah, I would say soul.
Like that's just what's in yoursoul, right?
Like commitment to my family,commitment to my wife, to my
incoming son, uh, commitment tomyself, right?
That I'm gonna not be hard onmyself, but keep pushing myself.
So that's part of your soul.
I guess uh, you know, I sayit's how you're wired.
Um, it's how I'm wired atleast.
And I think commitment is hugefor me.
(25:54):
I you you can tell how much Itouched on integrity and
honesty.
Um, and that goes for myselftoo, right?
So uh it's just how I am, it'show I've always been, and that's
how I'll continue to be, right?
The only thing I have to learnis when to be hard on myself and
when not to be hard on myself.
And and sometimes being hard onyourself doesn't mean you're
beating yourself up, but you aretaking a good look in the
(26:15):
mirror and looking at yourshortcomings and how you can
address them.
Cliff (26:19):
Okay.
All right.
So, what words of advice wouldyou offer to other business
owners who are looking to grow?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Man, I'll say, you know, be patient, have a plan,
right?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
And you know, execute your plan if you feel that it
is the right one.
Now, I think there are thingsthat go with that.
I think finding good mentorsare is huge, right?
And I don't mean like you haveto go pay someone to be a
mentor, mentorships can beorganic.
I have, you know, two businessmentors right now, one for sure,
(26:59):
one that I'm kind of working onbeing more of a fluid
relationship.
Um, and like sometimes they'll,you know, they'll push me
indirectly by saying, hey, whydon't you try this for
marketing, or why don't you trythat?
And I've had my mentor who runsyou know a four million dollar
test company tell me, okay, nexttime we meet, I want to see
these things.
I want to see a plan for this,I want to see your outlook,
(27:21):
blah, blah, blah.
Right.
So read this book and thenwe'll talk about it.
Um, finding mentors is huge,not only to keep you
accountable, but just forinspiration.
And again, I kind of touched onletting you know that
everything's gonna be okay.
You know, there have been sometimes I go to my mentor, like,
you know, the pest company guy,and I'm like, dude, this
happened, this happened.
(27:41):
I am just in the pits.
And he's like, Oh, yeah, Iremember when I used to feel
like that.
Like, you're gonna be okay.
You know, it's gonna be fine.
And uh, you know, it's is it'snice to have someone who has
been through it and understandswhat you're going through.
And it's kind of like lookingat your future self.
It can be that in a way, andsaying, you know, that guy is
(28:03):
where I want to be.
Let's let's get after it,right?
Let's get after it.
I think another thing thatbusiness owners need to do when
they're starting out, likemyself, is be careful on who
you're taking advice from,right?
Whether it's friends or familyor even other business owners.
I've had friends, one of mybest friends uh has like made
(28:26):
fun of me for myentrepreneurship journey, right?
I've got family that'squestioned it, other business
owners say, What?
You're just taking care ofvacant houses?
Like, how can that what isthat?
You know, and it's like, yeah,and then you see all the
projects I'm coordinating andvendors, it's more like a
project management role, andthen you got to deal with
employees, right?
(28:47):
And um there's there's quite afew notable business people in
the Asheville area that aregreat people, but when I told
them, you know, my businessideas, they kind of poo-coo it,
and it's like, okay, well, goodto know, right?
I guess they'll never be mycompetition, you know.
But uh, I'm not necessarilygonna run to the hills and go
(29:09):
back on my progress, maybebecause I have a slower company,
and by slower I mean a companythat builds clientele slower,
but this is a recurring revenuebusiness.
So, man, once it gets rollingdownhill, we're gonna be forced
to be reckoned with, right?
So other homewashed businessesare like that.
So it's not, it's not uh it'snot like I'm just doing
(29:30):
something that's never beenheard of here.
Um yeah, so be careful aboutwho you take advice from.
I mean, take advice fromwhoever, but don't let it eat at
you.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, I'm not saying likesomeone gives you advice and you
like write them off.
Like I those business ownersand friends and family that
still questioned it, I don'twrite them off.
They're still my friends andfamily and people that I see,
(29:52):
but don't let it eat at you,right?
And pick good mentors.
And I mean, really pick goodmentors.
You could be sitting down andhaving coffee with somebody once
a week or whatever, and if it'snot working out, it's not
working out.
You don't need to continue it.
But if there are people thatare making you think bigger or
think outside of what you werethinking, and you and you're
sitting there going, Oh man, Ididn't think about that.
(30:13):
That's a great idea.
Let me try that, you know.
Or man, that guy just makes mewant to achieve, like, get after
it.
Like after I talk with thatguy, I'm ready to go.
Like it might be Fridayafternoon and things are winding
down, but the wheels areturning, right?
So you can find people andsurround yourself with with
people that help you becomebetter, then I would say do
that.
And it's sometimes it mightmean that you.
(30:34):
Spend less time with yourfriends who just want to go out
to trivia and go drinking on aThursday night, right?
That might happen.
And you need to get comfortablewith that.
You need to make a decision.
It doesn't mean that you don'tever see your friends again, but
sometimes there are choices tobe made.
What kind of person, what kindof life do you want to lead?
What kind of person do you wantto be?
Going out with your friends isnot a bad thing, but you gotta
(30:54):
make choices, right?
There are sometimes you gottastay home and handwrite letters
to people and mail them out.
You know, like it justsometimes you gotta stay home
and do some accounting.
Like it is what it is, yeah.
Cliff (31:10):
Okay, okay.
So what's the next big thingfor Mountain Vantage properties?
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Yeah, I think the next big thing for us is, you
know, I'm trying to have more ofa presence in the community,
not just the business community,you know.
So I think we'll try to partnerup with like, you know, some
places where some of myclientele might be like racket
clubs or golf courses.
Um, and I do have an in-to-doevents and things like that
(31:39):
through the realtors that I'vemet.
So it's nice to have that.
Um, but you know, just justmore of an emphasis.
You know, I've heard somecompanies describe themselves as
like marketing companies thatdo this.
And I kind of want to flip mymindset to that, where you know,
we are not a home watch companythat markets okay.
(32:03):
We are a marketing company thatdoes home watch.
Like home watch is easy, we gotit.
Let's figure out how we canmarket ourselves bigger,
efficiently, um, and to theright people, you know, and and
do things in a smart way thatthat's still authentic.
It still gets who we areacross, who I am across to
people, and still gives them theconfidence that uh we're gonna
(32:25):
do a good job for them.
Um, I think another big thingis that we're getting more into
the project management side ofhome watch, which is, you know,
I I'm what two years into thisnow.
So I have a lot of good vendorsthat I trust.
So I can confidently look at ahomeowner and say, yeah, you
know, you can use this plumber,but I've got one too that I
(32:46):
really like.
And don't get me wrong, I havea big plumber that I like to
use, and I have a small plumberthat I like to use.
But it's nice that I can say,Yeah, I've used this small
outlet.
He's a great guy, he's gonnaget it done fast, it's gonna be
it's gonna be at a good price,and we can knock it out for you
to get it done.
And then still that confidencein people, you know.
So that's a good revenue streamfor us too, is the project
(33:07):
management.
Um, so that's that's gonna besomething we're really focusing
on here in the next couple ofyears, you know.
Cliff (33:13):
Okay, perfect, perfect.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
And it aligns right with my strength.
You're balancing multipleplates, your project management,
you know, you're you got a lotof things going on at different
houses, you know, then that'sthat's that's that's what the
business is.
Cliff (33:25):
Yeah, okay, perfect.
Uh, and lastly, what's the bestway for somebody who's
interested to get in touch withyou?
Speaker 1 (33:32):
Yeah, I think uh so we're on social media.
I don't really get many leadsfrom social media, and that's
okay.
That's more for awareness ofwhat we do anyway, to other
businesses and people aroundtown.
But uh, you can always get getto us through Instagram and
Facebook.
Uh on our website, you can seeyou can see our uh email, hello
mvp.wnc at gmail.com.
(33:54):
Or my the the business phonenumber, 828-585-4889.
I can text that that goesstraight to me.
So you're not gonna be talkingto some robot, right?
So if an owner has a question,they can call me, text me, and
we'll get it figured out for.
Um you know, for for for rightnow, you're gonna be dealing
with me.
If we grow big enough that Ineed an admin, that that's
great.
But uh for right now, it'salways gonna be me, and then you
(34:16):
know, that's how people canhear and touch if they need
anything.
Cliff (34:19):
Perfect.
And you said text is preferred,right?
Speaker 1 (34:22):
Yeah, text is preferred, but I mean, if it's
someone that is trying to lookfor us bringing them on as a
client, they probably need tocall me.
But if it's someone justwanting to reach out for advice
or, you know, anything likethat, or just to talk business
and like set up a meeting, thenyeah, text is probably easier.
Okay.
Um, you know, I give mypersonal number out to my
(34:45):
employees because I really needthem to be on the ball when it
comes to answering me andmyself, vice versa.
I need to answer them.
So sometimes the voiced servicecan get a little bit in the way
of that.
So I keep them on personal forthose reasons.
But business lines will alwaysremain for clients and you know,
things like that.
Cliff (35:00):
Okay, perfect, perfect.
Yeah, well, thank you so muchfor being a part of the
community, and we we thank youvery much for being on this
episode of Epic EntrepreneursPodcast.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Thanks, man.
I appreciate it.
Cliff (35:09):
All right, well, thank you.
Thanks.
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.