June 17, 2025 • 40 mins
The difference between a thriving home service business and one where the owner works endless hours isn't marketing or sales tactics—it's solid operational systems. Terry Nicholson, industry veteran and visionary behind Praxis S10, joins Crystal to reveal the hidden power of processes in creating sustainable growth.
Terry pulls back the curtain on what he calls "the hero trap"—that addictive feeling of being needed for every decision that eventually becomes a prison, preventing both business growth and personal freedom. "You're no longer building a company," Terry explains, "You're building a job that you can't replace yourself from." This resonates deeply with contractors caught in the daily grind of firefighting instead of strategic growth.
What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Terry's practical approach to implementation. Rather than overwhelming business owners with complex system overhauls, he advocates starting small: "Pick one thing that's going to have a major impact on your business and focus on that." He shares a powerful case study of a company that went from four consecutive months of losses to earning $183,000 in profit through implementing just two targeted processes.
The discussion takes a fascinating turn when exploring how processes intersect with hiring practices. Terry outlines his three-step framework for leadership success—hire the right people, educate them properly, and hold them accountable—while emphasizing the importance of finding team members whose values align with the company. As he puts it, "If you try to hire a duck and attempt to turn that duck into an eagle, what do you think the probability of success is going to be?"
For contractors looking to escape the daily grind while building more profitable businesses, this episode delivers actionable wisdom from someone who's helped countless home service companies make the transition from chaos to freedom through systems. The real question becomes: are you ready to work ON your business rather than IN it?
If you enjoyed this chat From the Yellow Chair, consider joining our newsletter, "Let's Sip Some Lemonade," where you can receive exclusive interviews, our bank of helpful downloadables, and updates on upcoming content.
Please consider following and drop a review below if you enjoyed this episode. Be sure to check out our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
From the Yellow Chair is powered by Lemon Seed, a marketing strategy and branding company for the trades. Lemon Seed specializes in rebrands, creating unique, comprehensive, organized marketing plans, social media, and graphic design. Learn more at www.LemonSeedMarketing.com
Interested in being a guest on our show? Fill out this form!
We'll see you next time, Lemon Heads!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, lemonheads ?
Welcome to another episode ofFrom the Yellow Chair.
I am Crystal Rodden Solo todayin our virtual lemonade stand.
It is hot and humid here inTexas today, and probably where
my guest lives as well, socannot wait for you guys to get
to listen to today's call.
And if you've ever listened tome, you know I say operations
(00:24):
are what really grows businesses.
Marketing just gets to be a funpart of it.
It's definitely important, butoperations are where it's at.
So we really felt like someonejoining our podcast to talk
about operations and theimportance of those things would
really help you guys know howyou can grow your business.
So grab your lemonade, set yourAirPods, let's sip some
(00:47):
lemonade, all right?
So, terry, this is not yourfirst time on the From the
Yellow Chair podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
That is accurate, and it's always fun to come and
visit with you and see yoursmiling, cheery face.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Well, thank you so much.
We appreciate it.
You know I have really come toknow and respect what you have
really built.
Personally Love listening toyour stories.
This is definitely not yourfirst rodeo in the home service
industry.
With all of the cool thingsthat you have done.
I know you've been a businessbuilder.
You're a great speaker, You'reactually an in-depth into the
(01:30):
home service contracting hall offame and the visionary behind
Praxis S10, which was veryimpactful for Mick Williams,
which a lot of my listeners know.
That's my family's home company, as I say.
But Praxis S10 is really doingsome great things with strategic
mentoring and the trainingplatform that's really dedicated
(01:52):
to home service companies.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, thank you for those kind words and it's an
honor to be in this industry.
The people are just such goodpeople and they work so hard and
they provide such a valuableservice to the industry that
they serve.
It's just, it's a greatindustry and I love it and still
having fun every day.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Well, good, good that it's not really work when we're
having fun.
Huh, that is true.
But I know that you're reallypassionate about helping
contractors build businessesthat don't rely on, like the
constant hustle either, butreally have clear, repeatable
processes, and so today Ithought we would kind of dive
into that.
When I was kind of dreaming uptopics, I was like man, I really
(02:36):
love to lean into operations,because really a lot of what
Lemon Seed does for ourcontractors is we come up with
great offers, but a lot of timesit requires your technicians or
your plumbers to be able toflip leads.
It requires you to understandhow much room you have, how much
margin do you have to be ableto offer this financing offer
(02:56):
and things like that.
So I just thought we couldreally dive into how that
structure really can help createsuccess.
So you know, I just thought I'dstart with you know, why do so
many business owners overlook,really, the importance of solid
processes in their business?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, it's probably the same reason.
You and I overlook theprocesses.
When we first started ourbusiness I mean, crystal,
remember those early days whenyou first launched Lemon Seed
your focus was probably onsurvival instead of scalability
In the initial phases of abusiness.
You're wearing all the hats.
(03:36):
You're doing the sales, you'redoing the marketing, the
operations, the counting, andit's usually faster to just do
the work rather than documentsystems and procedures on.
Here's how it should be done.
But without those processes inplace, you're going to have
chaos.
And now the owner of the companyor leaders how big, depending
(03:58):
on how big the company isobviously now you're a
professional firefighter and, uh, you, you know, as a
firefighter, you know it's kindof flattering actually, because
it's kind of heroic and I meanyou see all these benefits of
being a fireman today and thereshould be, because these people
risk their lives.
But we kind of, as businessowners, take on that and it
(04:20):
feels good to be the problemsolver, and then all of a sudden
it becomes a trap and it's a tobe the problem solver and then
all of a sudden it becomes atrap.
And it's a trap because thebusiness starts growing.
But as the business grows, thefires start getting bigger and
the fires become more frequent,and now you're jumping from fire
to fire and you're no longerbuilding a company.
You're building a job that youcan't really replace yourself
(04:45):
from, and everything revolvesaround you.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Absolutely.
You know my dad told me thiswhen I first went over to work
at McWilliams.
You know he's like, hey, youknow Trey's working in the
business right now so I can workon the business, and then when
Trey takes over, he'll move toworking on the business instead
of in the business.
And even right now, as LemonSeed grows, emily and I my
partner and I we've been tryingto figure out like how do we get
(05:11):
more out of the doing?
And I'm not going to lie, itdoes feel good to be the one
that can solve things.
I have contractors right nowthat they kind of enjoy being
needed, but they also want somefreedom and I'll tell them, like
what is your process?
So what is your turnoverprocess?
What is your process?
When a person gets deniedfinancing or whatever, the
process that relates tomarketing kind of pops up, and a
(05:32):
lot of times it's that well,kind of a woe is me story, like
well, everybody needs me and I'mstill working 15 hours a day
and stuff like that.
So you're right, I thinksometimes you kind of want to be
the hero, but the importantpart here is like literally
working yourself out of a dailyjob.
So the next little step that Ihave here is why do businesses
(05:59):
still like hit great growth?
So I get this about marketingall the time too.
Man, I'm a six million dollarcompany, crystal, and never paid
a penny in Google advertising,so I know I hear that you
probably hear the same thing.
Well, I've hit this far, I'vemade it this far, with not
really documenting my processes.
Why should I really implement aprocesses and procedure plan in
my company?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, I think that as a business grows, you've got to
understand that every businessowner has a different level of
capability, and it doesn't makea right or wrong but one
individual.
They may be able to grow to $3million just purely on their own
initiative and talent.
Another company may be $6million, another company may be
$9 million, but at some point intime every business owner
(06:42):
reaches a ceiling where theycan't go anymore just from their
own pure effort, if you willand so everything is going to
revolve around them.
So when you hit that ceiling,you're stuck, and the only way
out of getting unstuck and outof that rut is by having other
individuals step in, and soyou're actually.
Your whole objective should behow can I work my way out of
(07:06):
being, I guess, dependent uponthis business?
In fact, one of the sayings wehave in this organization is
we're trying to help individualsbecome independent and we're
not necessary.
We're just a.
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
We're there to help, we're there to assist if that's
what they need yes, yes, and I Ilike the the idea of just
coming to terms with the factthat some people now you're
probably not going to agree withthis, this might be a little,
this might be a little cringy toyou.
Some people make everythingoverly processed right so they
(07:43):
overcomplicate the issues.
What I like to see is peoplewhen they you know, out of pain
comes progress right A lot oftimes.
So to me, a lot of times I liketo see when contractors are
experiencing things and thenthey create a solution and then
they start implementing thatsolution.
So, like, this whole idea oflike sitting down and creating
(08:04):
all of these processes at onetime may not be ideal for
everyone, but you know, theother thing that really stuck
out that you said to me was youknow, knowing what your
strengths are as an owner andwhen you need to bring different
people in was also a big thing.
I know, like Trey, when at first, when he really Trey my brother
(08:24):
from McWilliams when he reallystarted you know, making waves
and things I remember thinkingdoes he know how to negotiate
pricing on equipment?
Like he's in there soundinglike he knows what to talk about
, and one day Trey was like Ijust had to start learning it,
Like if I was going to beresponsible for it.
I just had to start learning it, and so you're very right,
(08:45):
responsible for it, I just hadto start learning it, and so
you're very right.
Like some people come to youwith better knowledge and
understanding of differentaspects of the business, that
definitely you know it requiresthem to kind of get assistance
at different levels.
Three million, six million, 20million requires different
support, I assume.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Now, you made that comment that a lot of people go
overboard on processes, and Ithink that's a fair statement,
because it doesn't always take awhole bunch of processes to
change a person's position.
I mean, I'll share with you alittle situation that took place
over the last couple of monthsis we have a client that was,
(09:22):
you know, had very rapid growth,and that had very rapid growth,
and they're very rapid growth.
Sometimes growth does not equalsuccess, and so they had
tremendous growth and they're abigger company than the average
company out here, but they'renot making any money.
And they came seeking someassistance and help and so for
four months in a row they hadlost money.
We started working with themand I identified that there were
(09:46):
two major challenges insidetheir business.
One was in the contact center,one was in the selling service
technician side of theirbusiness.
And you know, sometimes ittakes someone from the outside
to just look at it and go whatare you guys thinking here?
And you know, just help meunderstand what you're thinking
and it's so obvious to someoneon the outside.
(10:07):
But they're caught in theminutiae every day.
And we said you know what?
This isn't a big issue here.
And he said, it's a big issueto me because I've lost, you
know, x thousands of dollars,which was a six figure number X
thousands of dollars, which wasa six figure number.
So when you're losing thatamount of money, it is a big
issue, obviously.
(10:27):
And I said, well, let's putthis one process in place right
here for the contact centermanager, and that's the only
thing I want to focus on.
Just focus on this with yourclient care specialist, put this
in place for the servicemanager and have him do this
with the selling technicians andjust do this and just do this
right now.
And the exciting thing is inmonth number.
(10:50):
Now they started, I said, fourmonths ago.
So in month one they still lostsome money, all right, but in
the next month they at least gotright back to neutral and in
April they made over $92,000.
In May they made over $183million, or not million $183,000
(11:11):
.
I got my own self excited here,all right.
And so back to your point.
That's measurable progress inreasonable time.
And they didn could say.
One advice is and Crystalbasically said it, I'm just
(11:33):
elaborating on it is pick onething that's going to have a
major impact on your businessand focus on that.
You don't have to be working on10 processes at once.
Just work on the ones that willdrive the huge profitability to
your organization, or theimproved customer service, or
whatever the issue is you'restriving to solve.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I you know I use this analogy too all the time.
I'm a big analogy girl.
But, like you know, you eat anelephant and a cookie the same
way, one bite at a time.
And so you know you can makegood moves just by being
intentional about making movesconsistently and strategically,
without overwhelming yourselfwith it.
And that does lead us rightinto, like, topic number two,
which is building with intention, not with reaction.
(12:16):
So like basically talking aboutthe shift from reactive to
proactive building of yourbusiness, and I think that's
where processes really shine.
One way that I've really seenthat grow is with companies that
are opening other locations,like other branches, if you will
.
So you know they have theircore, then they're going to move
up, you know, an hour away, andopen a location, and so,
(12:39):
because they have things kind ofrocking and rolling at their
home location, they're able toreally implement things, at
least on a foundational level,right into that new location.
So what do you think are somesigns that maybe a business
might be operating in reactionmode all the time?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Well, I think, if you look at the owner or the
leadership team, if they'realways tired, if they're always
worn out, if they're alwaysweary, you know, and maybe if
they're even making statementslike I'm getting burned out, or
maybe the service isinconsistent and the management
team feels overwhelmed, orthey're even making statements
like I'm getting burned out, ormaybe the service is
inconsistent and the managementteam feels overwhelmed or
they're missing deadlines, it'salmost a sure, guaranteed, fired
(13:18):
sign that they're not operatingwith systems and procedures.
I mean, it's always an endresult on why the emotions, why
the feelings, why the actionsare where they're at.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think about this
sometimes, of emotionalintelligence, has been something
that we've been discussing inmy group for women at HVACR.
I run some discussion groupssometimes with them and, you
know, trying to decipher ifpeople are just emotional people
in general, where everything ison fire every day all the time,
(13:50):
or is that a true reaction thatyou need to focus on.
But yeah, I think you can lookat contractors sometimes and see
that I had a contractor fromFlorida and he had just
onboarded with a new CRM.
Many of you will know what CRMthat probably was and was.
Literally, I mean having ameltdown, like I can't do it,
it's going to tank my businessand this was the biggest mistake
(14:12):
I've ever made.
It took all my money.
I mean just very much in areactionary emotional state and
I just had to kind of bring himback around and say, listen, we
just need to start one piece ata time, like let's fix the
accounting side with the CRM,then we can fix the you know
back history pieces beingintegrated correctly.
(14:34):
And then, but moving forward,like from today forward, make
your CSRs do it right.
So we know from today forwardthe information is put in
correctly.
But again it was so overwhelmingto them that I'm like every
everything was a problem.
Then you know they couldn't.
They were having troublegetting some equipment on a
truck that day.
So I mean he was just in fullpanic mode.
(14:56):
So I 100% understand whenyou've got some emotional um
things going on in a business,and not just from girls.
Um, a lot of times men can bejust as emotional.
It just might come out more, asyou know, anger, or you know,
toughness, tough love type modes, but you know so.
(15:16):
Do you think processes?
Of course I know you thinkprocesses help make leaders make
faster and better decisions.
Have you seen where?
Well, you gave a good examplealready where you saw people
that just started implementinglittle things and it helped them
make faster decisions?
Do you notice a lot ofindecisiveness with contractors
when they are in this reactionmode or lack processes?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Well, I think where the challenge becomes is when
you lack processes.
It actually reduces yourability to deal with the high
payoff activities inside yourbusiness and you face this
decision fatigue as a businessowner.
I'm sure you know it.
I mean, I know it Probablyevery owner that's tuned in
today.
You know if you're in the homeservice business, you're going
(16:02):
to face dozens, sometimes youknow hundreds, of decisions that
need to be made every singleday and without having these
systems in place, that meansyou've got to make a decision
and you're starting from zero onevery single decision that
needs to take place.
And you know that's why greatleaders you know they've got to
(16:26):
be able to make fast decisions.
I mean one of the things that Ithink all owners of companies
need to understand if you'regoing to be a great leader and
drive a great, successfulbusiness, the number one thing
you got to be able to do isestablish priorities.
What's the number one, mostimportant thing that's going to
have the greatest impact on thesuccess of my business?
(16:47):
The second thing is you'regoing to have to be able to
execute with urgency aroundthose priorities and if you have
these little decisions thatjust keep popping up, where
you've got to go make a decisionfor your team.
You can't focus on working onthe things that are going to
drive the huge success.
You know and I'll give you anexample for this you know you're
(17:09):
in the business, you know yourbrother's in the business, we're
all in the business here.
We know that we're going tofeel hundreds, maybe thousands
of phone calls a day, dependingon the size of your business,
and after we fill those calls wegot to dispatch them to service
technicians, Right, yes?
And we also know there aregoing to be days when we have
more calls than we couldpossibly dispatch.
(17:31):
Know there are going to be dayswhen we have more calls than we
could possibly dispatch.
And so you know as simple as itis.
You know, in our company we'vedeveloped a priority dispatching
.
So when a client carespecialist books a call, it is a
signed one of seven numbers andit's pretty sophisticated One,
two, three, four, five, six,seven and I'm being facetious
when I say sophisticated numbers.
(17:53):
When we book that call, it'seither a priority one, a
priority two or priority three.
Now all the dispatcher needs todo is they need to look at the
call board and if you don'testablish that priority, they're
always going to be running tothe leaders and say how should I
dispatch this?
This client over here isscreaming this.
(18:13):
This client's screaming this.
We got to go here first.
We've got to go there first.
Well, what happens if a clientthat is the squeaking the
loudest is a priority five?
Should we be seeing them over apriority one?
Absolutely not so.
If you set this priority up,just dispatch priority ones
first.
When they're done, dispatchpriority two.
(18:35):
When they're done, dispatchpriority three.
That dispatcher doesn't have tocome and ask us how to dispatch
these 100 calls for the daythat decision's already been
made.
All you got to do follow thesystem system and it takes away
the guesswork too.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So, you know, and it's a simplistic approach to it
, but it takes away theguesswork of them feeling like,
oh, do I prioritize this one orthis one?
Like they're already labeledand it's everybody speaking the
same language, right?
So definitely a great way tolike add in a process to help
accomplish a common goal.
Like, I just think that we canreally complicate things.
(19:13):
Again, another organization thatI'm a part of, like man, it
seems like lately we've reallycomplicated every single step
and I can be guilty of that,even at Lemonsy like
overthinking it to the point ofno return.
And you're like man, thisreally, this really can not even
not empower the team, butalmost cripple the team when it
(19:34):
gets that much deeper, you know,too deep for sure.
So one thing that I love aboutwhat you're saying here is that
processes are really for thewhole team, right.
Not just for the owner, notjust for a manager, but for the
whole entire team.
And so you know, what do youthink are some top tips for
creating buy-in from youremployees on, you know,
(19:57):
implementation of some newprocesses or strategies to
getting things done?
Is there a secret?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Well, I think we could talk about that topic for
probably the next couple of days, but we probably don't have
days there.
So let me start with a simpleanalogy, all right, because you
said you like analogies.
You know, if you hire a duckand attempt to turn that duck
into an eagle, what do you thinkthe probability of success is
going to be?
Crystal?
Oh I'm gonna say probably notvery good.
(20:38):
Okay, that's the right answer.
All right, since you hesitated Ithought I'd jump in and give
you a little trick.
No, it's not a trick.
You know, if you tell a duckfly down there and pick that
rabbit up and eat it, the duck'sgonna go.
I like that little fuzzy rabbit.
You tell an eagle to fly downthere and eat that rabbit, he's
got no problem doing thatwhatsoever.
So what's my point?
My point is at Praxis S10, forexample, we have a core
(20:59):
principle called care, and careis one of our core principles.
So when we're in the interviewprocess, we've actually
identified questions that canfind out whether people meet our
care core principles.
And for us, care means we'reinterviewing people that are
going to be competent, they'regoing to be committed and
(21:20):
they're going to be coachable.
And then we have a descriptionand could go much deeper on what
competent means, on whatcommitted means, what being
coachable means.
But then we design thesequestions to bring that out.
And at any point in the processwhen we're asking an applicant,
if it becomes awareness that wefeel, wait, this individual is
(21:43):
not going to like feedback, thisindividual is not going to like
when we sit down and say, hey,you're doing good, but here's
where you can improve, thenthey're weeded out immediately.
So we actually have a criteriato figure out whether people
meet our core principle on dayone.
So what's the point I'm tryingto get at?
I think so many people try tohire the wrong individual and
(22:06):
convert them after you've hiredthem.
And an individual is not goingto be any better than the first
two weeks that they're yourcompany.
In fact, if you can't standthem in the first two weeks,
then you probably ought to justadmit the fact that you made a
hiring mistake because they'renot going to get any better.
All right, yeah, and so thepoint is, if you want people to
(22:28):
have buy-in, you got to hire theright people in the process,
and I understand that may nothelp you as you go along, but
you've got to start the processof recruiting and building the
type of company you want.
And the best way to do it isbefore they start, because the
reality is, is every owner of acompany or leader and I know
(22:50):
you've got a lot of leaders thatare tuned in today you only
have three responsibilities.
If you want to make yourbusiness really simple as a
leader of your organization,first thing you got to do is
hire the right people, andthat's where our identifying
their core principles right upfront.
Are they going to meet our coreprinciple?
So we've got to make sure wehire the right individual to
(23:12):
meet our core principle.
So we've got to make sure wehire the right individual.
Once you hire that rightindividual, you've got these
performance expectations orstandards or what you want them
to follow, and that's theprocedures in the systems that
you're recommending, meaning youprobably have a uniform.
Don't just criticize people whenthey come in looking bad.
Have a poster right there onthe wall this is the way our
(23:32):
boots look.
This is the way our belt looks,this is the way our pants are,
this is the way our uniformworks.
And that's a process, as simpleas that may be.
And in the interview process,are you willing to wear our
uniform?
Are you willing to wear itevery single day?
And once that individual hasmade that commitment, now you
can hold them accountablebecause you can say remember day
(23:55):
one in the interview process weask you are you willing to do
this?
You said you would.
So there's now hold the peopleaccountable.
And then the third step is theaccountability factor.
All right.
So step one hire the rightpeople.
Step two educate them to dowhat you want them to right?
So, step one hire the rightpeople.
Step two educate them to dowhat you want them to do.
And step three hold themaccountable.
(24:17):
And there's not one singleproblem If you're listening to
this podcast today, or what doyou call it, if you're listening
to the Chief Lemonhead ifyou're tuned in today, listen to
the Chief Lemonhead today, ifyou've got a problem in your
business, there's not oneproblem that's not related to
(24:40):
either.
It's the wrong person.
You didn't educate them to dowhat you wanted to do, or three.
You're not holding themaccountable and I challenge you
to put yourself through thatprocess and find out where the
challenge lies well, I'm tellingyou that is very true.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
We are.
We're on this kick right now ofhiring um off of our core
values.
We've had core values but forsome reason I had never thought
to hire and fire based off ofthose.
And that, just like I mean thatI felt freedom with that
because I was like that isexactly true.
I always try to look inwardlike, did I set this person up
for success or did this personset themselves up for success?
(25:21):
So you know, there's lots ofgood feedback there about.
You know, buy-in comes becausepeople are active and want to be
a part of your organization.
Therefore they tend to adoptwhat's there.
You always have like those oldschool people in my mind that
really can rock the boat.
But Trey told me this when wewent to performance pay and we
(25:43):
bought another company and allthese things were going on and I
was very I fretted my EastTexas word.
I fretted over what peoplethought and how they were going
to respond and he told me hesaid listen, the ones that are
not in our culture, that won'tfit our culture, they're going
to stick out like a sore thumband they will eventually fall
off or they will see that theystick out and shift their
(26:04):
thinking to fall right in line.
And it really did happen, liketwo or three guys that were
negative from the get go, thatwe were looking for a reason
sometimes to help them get outthe door basically, um
self-selected out of um of theorganization because they
realized that their negativityand their inability to adapt and
their inability to um embracesome of the new cool things that
(26:28):
we were doing, um was not justthem being um not not being
excited about it, they werebeing negative about it and it
really um, it kind of took careof itself, right, but you're
exactly right.
Well, here's the next littlestep that I thought about, and
this takes us from processesinto profitability.
So, no one's in, I don't knowanyone I mean, I'm not actually,
(26:51):
if I would think about it realhard but I don't know a lot of
people who are in business justto be busy.
Right, we're here to make money.
Everybody started a heating orconditioning or plumbing company
to make money, to get somefreedom, to be able to make the
big decisions.
But you know, these processesreally can impact their actual
bottom line, and so have youseen some processes and systems
(27:13):
and things that really can causecostly errors, or maybe how do
they even measure the impactthat these things are having?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Well, I haven't seen processes that cost companies
money.
If they're the right processes,I mean processes are all
designed to not only make thelife of the leaders and owners
much freer, but it's alsodesigned to improve the
profitability.
I mean, for example, you knowwe have a checklist that we
(27:45):
endorse.
Then, depending on what type ofequipment, you know, if it's a
package unit, there's achecklist on a complete install.
If it's a split system, there'sa checklist on that.
And what it's designed to do isreally, it's really for the
homeowner.
And you know, if a homeownerbuys a new system and they put
(28:06):
out a lot of money and probablythe majority of your clients are
premium companies that believein, you know, doing all the
things that are above and beyond, which costs more money, and
they probably believe in havinghigh paid employees and nice
trucks, nice uniforms and nicebenefits and all these things
that ultimately you have to passthose costs on to the homeowner
(28:26):
.
Well, when a homeowner pays apremium price and they come home
excited to, you know, see theirbrand new system and they go to
the thermostat and it doesn'twork, well, you know they want
to shoot you.
Yeah, they're mad, yeah,they're really mad.
So we've developed checkliststhat are really put in place to
(28:47):
ensure that the installerdoesn't miss one single detail.
That is going to lead to anupset homeowner.
Now, the advantage to that iswe did it for the homeowner, but
then we saw the residual effectof it, and the residual effect
is we started seeing howinstallers stopped missing
little details.
They started doing more qualityinstalls, because you can't say
(29:11):
I did this and check it off ifyou didn't really do it.
Now what we have is especiallylike in a training situation
where most people probably tunein the day.
If they're in the heating andair conditioning business, they
have helpers as well workingwith the lead.
Is that a fair assessment,crystal?
Yes, okay, so we actually canuse the checklist to actually
(29:34):
help the helper start learningthe business to actually become
a lead as well.
And then what can take place is,before that installer leaves
the home, they could call theinstall manager and, especially
if they're on one of thesesoftware programs where
everybody has access to it, theinstallation manager can say hey
(29:56):
, team, don't leave until Ireview this list, let me see
your readings again.
And they can review thereadings before they even the
install team leaves the home andif something doesn't look right
, they can address the issueright there on the spot.
And now we've headed off acallback, we've headed off an
upset customer, we've improvedthe productivity of that company
(30:19):
as well, and the installationteam, and all that leads to
making more money.
So, checklist, you know it's.
It's not about a.
What's the word?
I'm seeking a gotcha.
Yeah, it's not about that.
It's about a money makingopportunity that makes
everyone's life busy or easier.
(30:41):
So we're not just being busy,we're busy making money.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, yeah, I love that and I try to teach this to
you on, like, even the CSR side,like I'm going to tie in a
little marketing here in truecrystal fashion but even things
that help you make more money,like getting good email
addresses, getting good cellphone numbers, so that when we
need to drum up business ascontractors, we have an actual
(31:05):
treasure chest of valid emails,that we have good data in our
CRM.
So you're right, like theselittle checklists like did you
get a cell phone number?
Did you get an email?
Did you verify the email?
Those are not meant to catch aCSR slipping up one time.
It's really meant to ensurethat we have opportunities on
the marketing side, as when wehit into a slow little rough
(31:27):
patch or, you know, or ashoulder season for sure.
So you know, I want to comeback to one thing that you said
as we kind of start wrapping upa little bit here is you know, I
know one of your things thatyou've shared with me before is
you know you've watched ownersliterally work themselves
through processes and things tonot being so owned by the
(31:51):
business, right, like, take areal vacation, actually enjoy
their weekend.
So I just love your philosophyon that freedom through system,
and so you know, I just thinkit's important, like
implementing processes slowlybut surely that's one thing
that's come out of today's talkSlowly but surely implementing
(32:11):
systems that second point, thirdpoint of that are beneficial to
the whole team, not just to themanagers or not just to the
owners, but that also help youmake more money and reduce
costly errors.
And you know what are you think?
Maybe, how does that level offreedom being able to watch your
(32:32):
business work without you there, how does that change the game
for contractors?
How have you seen that changethe game for them?
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Well, are you talking specifically about the
vacations?
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Are you talking about I mean, because you brought
that up- yes, more likevacations, yes, but I think it's
more about the mental abilityto escape right or to actually
enjoy vacation.
I'm sure you've seen somecontractors actually get to do
that right.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Well, since you brought up mental, then let's go
down the mental road there.
If you go there because I thinkthere's a big transition that
an individual has to take intheir business mentally if they
want to move into this freedomthat we referenced there and see
as a business owner and andlet's face it, the majority of
business owners that are tunedin today they probably got there
(33:21):
because you worked for someother company.
You became the best technicianor the best installer, the best
you know, call taker or whateverit is, and then you had this
entrepreneurial seizure and yousaid I'm going to go out and I'm
going to open my own businessand I'm going apply my great
skills and that's going to leadme to be a great business owner.
And the first thing that,mentally, you're going to have
(33:45):
to get over if you're going tobuild this great business is you
got to forget that you're thebest, because the reality is you
don't want to be the best.
If you want to be the best, thenyou probably need to keep
working for someone else as atechnician or as an installer.
If you want to be the bestbusiness owner, then you're
going to have to stand up andsay I want to be the best
(34:06):
business owner and as a businessowner, you're not going to be
rewarded by your ability to pickup the tools and read the
gauges.
If you're going to build agreat big business, that's going
to give you the freedom of time, so everything has to be now
about helping the other peopleachieve the level of success
that you had as a technician, asa call taker, as an accountant,
(34:28):
as an installer, and now youget to demonstrate.
Are you really good at takingyour skills and imparting those
into someone else who now worksfor you, and can you inspire
them to do what they need to doevery day, not because they have
to, but because they want to?
Oh, I love it and that comesright back to that hiring the
(34:50):
right individual again.
So you've got to get over thatmental mindset that you know I'm
Superman, I'm Wonder Woman, Ican accomplish it all, because
if you don't, you're alwaysgoing to be stuck in that trap.
And so there's the first shiftthat you've got to take place,
because you've got to understandit's not about working harder,
(35:12):
it's about working smarter.
And you know, we've got anothersaying here inside our
organization that a smartcontractor makes mistakes but
they learn from those mistakesand then they don't ever
duplicate them, ever again.
But there's actually a betterway than being a smart
contractor, and it's not bybeing a stupid contractor, but
it's by being a wise contractor.
(35:39):
Wise contractor, and a wisecontractor goes out and finds
someone who's already made allthose mistakes and then they
learn from them and they avoidmaking that mistake altogether.
And effectively, that's whatLemonSeed does.
You say we'll help you avoidthese mistakes, we'll help you
avoid these valleys that you gointo.
Hire us and we're going to helpyou get a greater return
without losing, because you'renot going to make the same
(36:01):
mistakes.
Well, that's effectively whatPraxis S10 does as well, and so
we help individuals become wisecontractors so they don't have
to make all these mistakes and,you know, bang their knuckles up
and get bumps and headachesalong the road there.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Oh yeah, I'm telling you with LemonSea, when I look
at contractors that are wantingto partner with Lemonsy, you
know, basically we'reinterviewing each other.
When I know they're a part of agroup like Praxis S10 that
really has structure and isgiving good advice, those
contractors naturally are milesahead of other unmentored
contractors.
It is evident.
It's written all over theirplans, it's written all over
(36:42):
their pricing.
I mean, I can normally, like Iwill normally, say so you're not
a part of a best practice group.
You have a mentor or a coachbecause you know, I can just
tell by a lot of times it's eventhe confidence in their own
numbers and processes and thingslike that.
So you're definitely right, youreally don't have to figure
this all out alone.
With the right systems, theright mentors, like you
(37:03):
mentioned, you're stilldefinitely ahead of the game
there.
So, speaking of Praxis S10,terry, any new cool stuff coming
up or anything you want ourlisteners to know about Praxis
S10?
Cool stuff coming up oranything you?
Speaker 2 (37:17):
want our listeners to know about Praxis.
Well, there's always cool,exciting things that are coming
up.
I mean, next week we have a newmember launch and so I'm
excited to have a room full ofpeople coming in profit minded,
successful businesses that arelooking to grow and leapfrog
their business forward evengreater.
(37:38):
So that's coming up.
I've got some really coolthings in the works that you
know I'm not ready to disclosetoday because, as you know,
we're industry leaders and youknow it's a very what's the word
I'm looking for.
People are paying really closeattention to what we do, what
Jimmy Hiller does, what PraxisS10 members do, because we have
(38:01):
a way of being on the forefront,of leading the charge on new
inventions and ways to improve abusiness.
So I'm not prepared to talkabout those.
Perhaps in another year or twowe can roll those out after
we've already put them in thefield and evidence that they
work and already gained acompetitive advantage.
Because that's our mission,that's our objective.
(38:23):
It's to raise the level ofsuccess for the members who are
part of our organization.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
I love that.
I love that and you're right,if you're not getting kicked in
the booty, you're not in thefront, so you know if you're
getting all kinds of people, thebest form of flattery kind of
stuff you know.
So definitely appreciate that.
Well, terry, thank you so much.
You've absolutely deliveredsome great content today.
This was just a little blip onall of the history and stuff
(38:50):
that you can talk.
So if you love to talk business, you're looking for a mentor
group.
A Praxis S10 is definitely agreat place to start and engage
with and really help yourbusiness.
In the words of Terry, leapfrogforward, one of our favorite
contractors a lot of times comefrom Praxis S10 models.
So we really appreciate thepartnership and your insights
(39:15):
that you shared today.
Speaker 2 (39:16):
Any last words for our listeners today Well, I
think I should always remindpeople that are especially in
our industry that this is theland of opportunity and this is
America, and there's a lot ofnegative publicity that takes
place, but my personal opinionis this is still the greatest
country in the world.
You've got this greatopportunity.
(39:38):
You're in a wonderful industry.
Focus on the good, look for theopportunity and ignore the
negative, and you, too, canachieve all it is that you want
to achieve in your business.
So stay cool, america.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Well, I can't even add a lot to that.
So, guys, thank you so much forlistening to another episode of
From the Yellow Chair, In thewords of Terry stay cool,
America, and we'll get back withyou next time.
What's up, lemonheads ?
Welcome to another episode ofFrom the Yellow Chair.
I am Crystal Rodden Solo todayin our virtual lemonade stand.
It is hot and humid here inTexas today, and probably where
my guest lives as well, socannot wait for you guys to get
to listen to today's call.
And if you've ever listened tome, you know I say operations
(00:24):
are what really grows businesses.
Marketing just gets to be a funpart of it.
It's definitely important, butoperations are where it's at.
So we really felt like someonejoining our podcast to talk
about operations and theimportance of those things would
really help you guys know howyou can grow your business.
So grab your lemonade, set yourAirPods, let's sip some
(00:47):
lemonade, all right?
So, terry, this is not yourfirst time on the From the
Yellow Chair podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
That is accurate, and it's always fun to come and
visit with you and see yoursmiling, cheery face.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Well, thank you so much.
We appreciate it.
You know I have really come toknow and respect what you have
really built.
Personally Love listening toyour stories.
This is definitely not yourfirst rodeo in the home service
industry.
With all of the cool thingsthat you have done.
I know you've been a businessbuilder.
You're a great speaker, You'reactually an in-depth into the
(01:30):
home service contracting hall offame and the visionary behind
Praxis S10, which was veryimpactful for Mick Williams,
which a lot of my listeners know.
That's my family's home company, as I say.
But Praxis S10 is really doingsome great things with strategic
mentoring and the trainingplatform that's really dedicated
(01:52):
to home service companies.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, thank you for those kind words and it's an
honor to be in this industry.
The people are just such goodpeople and they work so hard and
they provide such a valuableservice to the industry that
they serve.
It's just, it's a greatindustry and I love it and still
having fun every day.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Well, good, good that it's not really work when we're
having fun.
Huh, that is true.
But I know that you're reallypassionate about helping
contractors build businessesthat don't rely on, like the
constant hustle either, butreally have clear, repeatable
processes, and so today Ithought we would kind of dive
into that.
When I was kind of dreaming uptopics, I was like man, I really
(02:36):
love to lean into operations,because really a lot of what
Lemon Seed does for ourcontractors is we come up with
great offers, but a lot of timesit requires your technicians or
your plumbers to be able toflip leads.
It requires you to understandhow much room you have, how much
margin do you have to be ableto offer this financing offer
(02:56):
and things like that.
So I just thought we couldreally dive into how that
structure really can help createsuccess.
So you know, I just thought I'dstart with you know, why do so
many business owners overlook,really, the importance of solid
processes in their business?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, it's probably the same reason.
You and I overlook theprocesses.
When we first started ourbusiness I mean, crystal,
remember those early days whenyou first launched Lemon Seed
your focus was probably onsurvival instead of scalability
In the initial phases of abusiness.
You're wearing all the hats.
(03:36):
You're doing the sales, you'redoing the marketing, the
operations, the counting, andit's usually faster to just do
the work rather than documentsystems and procedures on.
Here's how it should be done.
But without those processes inplace, you're going to have
chaos.
And now the owner of the companyor leaders how big, depending
(03:58):
on how big the company isobviously now you're a
professional firefighter and, uh, you, you know, as a
firefighter, you know it's kindof flattering actually, because
it's kind of heroic and I meanyou see all these benefits of
being a fireman today and thereshould be, because these people
risk their lives.
But we kind of, as businessowners, take on that and it
(04:20):
feels good to be the problemsolver, and then all of a sudden
it becomes a trap and it's a tobe the problem solver and then
all of a sudden it becomes atrap.
And it's a trap because thebusiness starts growing.
But as the business grows, thefires start getting bigger and
the fires become more frequent,and now you're jumping from fire
to fire and you're no longerbuilding a company.
You're building a job that youcan't really replace yourself
(04:45):
from, and everything revolvesaround you.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Absolutely.
You know my dad told me thiswhen I first went over to work
at McWilliams.
You know he's like, hey, youknow Trey's working in the
business right now so I can workon the business, and then when
Trey takes over, he'll move toworking on the business instead
of in the business.
And even right now, as LemonSeed grows, emily and I my
partner and I we've been tryingto figure out like how do we get
(05:11):
more out of the doing?
And I'm not going to lie, itdoes feel good to be the one
that can solve things.
I have contractors right nowthat they kind of enjoy being
needed, but they also want somefreedom and I'll tell them, like
what is your process?
So what is your turnoverprocess?
What is your process?
When a person gets deniedfinancing or whatever, the
process that relates tomarketing kind of pops up, and a
(05:32):
lot of times it's that well,kind of a woe is me story, like
well, everybody needs me and I'mstill working 15 hours a day
and stuff like that.
So you're right, I thinksometimes you kind of want to be
the hero, but the importantpart here is like literally
working yourself out of a dailyjob.
So the next little step that Ihave here is why do businesses
(05:59):
still like hit great growth?
So I get this about marketingall the time too.
Man, I'm a six million dollarcompany, crystal, and never paid
a penny in Google advertising,so I know I hear that you
probably hear the same thing.
Well, I've hit this far, I'vemade it this far, with not
really documenting my processes.
Why should I really implement aprocesses and procedure plan in
my company?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, I think that as a business grows, you've got to
understand that every businessowner has a different level of
capability, and it doesn't makea right or wrong but one
individual.
They may be able to grow to $3million just purely on their own
initiative and talent.
Another company may be $6million, another company may be
$9 million, but at some point intime every business owner
(06:42):
reaches a ceiling where theycan't go anymore just from their
own pure effort, if you willand so everything is going to
revolve around them.
So when you hit that ceiling,you're stuck, and the only way
out of getting unstuck and outof that rut is by having other
individuals step in, and soyou're actually.
Your whole objective should behow can I work my way out of
(07:06):
being, I guess, dependent uponthis business?
In fact, one of the sayings wehave in this organization is
we're trying to help individualsbecome independent and we're
not necessary.
We're just a.
You know.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
We're there to help, we're there to assist if that's
what they need yes, yes, and I Ilike the the idea of just
coming to terms with the factthat some people now you're
probably not going to agree withthis, this might be a little,
this might be a little cringy toyou.
Some people make everythingoverly processed right so they
(07:43):
overcomplicate the issues.
What I like to see is peoplewhen they you know, out of pain
comes progress right A lot oftimes.
So to me, a lot of times I liketo see when contractors are
experiencing things and thenthey create a solution and then
they start implementing thatsolution.
So, like, this whole idea oflike sitting down and creating
(08:04):
all of these processes at onetime may not be ideal for
everyone, but you know, theother thing that really stuck
out that you said to me was youknow, knowing what your
strengths are as an owner andwhen you need to bring different
people in was also a big thing.
I know, like Trey, when at first, when he really Trey my brother
(08:24):
from McWilliams when he reallystarted you know, making waves
and things I remember thinkingdoes he know how to negotiate
pricing on equipment?
Like he's in there soundinglike he knows what to talk about
, and one day Trey was like Ijust had to start learning it,
Like if I was going to beresponsible for it.
I just had to start learning it, and so you're very right,
(08:45):
responsible for it, I just hadto start learning it, and so
you're very right.
Like some people come to youwith better knowledge and
understanding of differentaspects of the business, that
definitely you know it requiresthem to kind of get assistance
at different levels.
Three million, six million, 20million requires different
support, I assume.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Now, you made that comment that a lot of people go
overboard on processes, and Ithink that's a fair statement,
because it doesn't always take awhole bunch of processes to
change a person's position.
I mean, I'll share with you alittle situation that took place
over the last couple of monthsis we have a client that was,
(09:22):
you know, had very rapid growth,and that had very rapid growth,
and they're very rapid growth.
Sometimes growth does not equalsuccess, and so they had
tremendous growth and they're abigger company than the average
company out here, but they'renot making any money.
And they came seeking someassistance and help and so for
four months in a row they hadlost money.
We started working with themand I identified that there were
(09:46):
two major challenges insidetheir business.
One was in the contact center,one was in the selling service
technician side of theirbusiness.
And you know, sometimes ittakes someone from the outside
to just look at it and go whatare you guys thinking here?
And you know, just help meunderstand what you're thinking
and it's so obvious to someoneon the outside.
(10:07):
But they're caught in theminutiae every day.
And we said you know what?
This isn't a big issue here.
And he said, it's a big issueto me because I've lost, you
know, x thousands of dollars,which was a six figure number X
thousands of dollars, which wasa six figure number.
So when you're losing thatamount of money, it is a big
issue, obviously.
(10:27):
And I said, well, let's putthis one process in place right
here for the contact centermanager, and that's the only
thing I want to focus on.
Just focus on this with yourclient care specialist, put this
in place for the servicemanager and have him do this
with the selling technicians andjust do this and just do this
right now.
And the exciting thing is inmonth number.
(10:50):
Now they started, I said, fourmonths ago.
So in month one they still lostsome money, all right, but in
the next month they at least gotright back to neutral and in
April they made over $92,000.
In May they made over $183million, or not million $183,000
(11:11):
.
I got my own self excited here,all right.
And so back to your point.
That's measurable progress inreasonable time.
And they didn could say.
One advice is and Crystalbasically said it, I'm just
(11:33):
elaborating on it is pick onething that's going to have a
major impact on your businessand focus on that.
You don't have to be working on10 processes at once.
Just work on the ones that willdrive the huge profitability to
your organization, or theimproved customer service, or
whatever the issue is you'restriving to solve.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I you know I use this analogy too all the time.
I'm a big analogy girl.
But, like you know, you eat anelephant and a cookie the same
way, one bite at a time.
And so you know you can makegood moves just by being
intentional about making movesconsistently and strategically,
without overwhelming yourselfwith it.
And that does lead us rightinto, like, topic number two,
which is building with intention, not with reaction.
(12:16):
So like basically talking aboutthe shift from reactive to
proactive building of yourbusiness, and I think that's
where processes really shine.
One way that I've really seenthat grow is with companies that
are opening other locations,like other branches, if you will
.
So you know they have theircore, then they're going to move
up, you know, an hour away, andopen a location, and so,
(12:39):
because they have things kind ofrocking and rolling at their
home location, they're able toreally implement things, at
least on a foundational level,right into that new location.
So what do you think are somesigns that maybe a business
might be operating in reactionmode all the time?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Well, I think, if you look at the owner or the
leadership team, if they'realways tired, if they're always
worn out, if they're alwaysweary, you know, and maybe if
they're even making statementslike I'm getting burned out, or
maybe the service isinconsistent and the management
team feels overwhelmed, orthey're even making statements
like I'm getting burned out, ormaybe the service is
inconsistent and the managementteam feels overwhelmed or
they're missing deadlines, it'salmost a sure, guaranteed, fired
(13:18):
sign that they're not operatingwith systems and procedures.
I mean, it's always an endresult on why the emotions, why
the feelings, why the actionsare where they're at.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think about this
sometimes, of emotionalintelligence, has been something
that we've been discussing inmy group for women at HVACR.
I run some discussion groupssometimes with them and, you
know, trying to decipher ifpeople are just emotional people
in general, where everything ison fire every day all the time,
(13:50):
or is that a true reaction thatyou need to focus on.
But yeah, I think you can lookat contractors sometimes and see
that I had a contractor fromFlorida and he had just
onboarded with a new CRM.
Many of you will know what CRMthat probably was and was.
Literally, I mean having ameltdown, like I can't do it,
it's going to tank my businessand this was the biggest mistake
(14:12):
I've ever made.
It took all my money.
I mean just very much in areactionary emotional state and
I just had to kind of bring himback around and say, listen, we
just need to start one piece ata time, like let's fix the
accounting side with the CRM,then we can fix the you know
back history pieces beingintegrated correctly.
(14:34):
And then, but moving forward,like from today forward, make
your CSRs do it right.
So we know from today forwardthe information is put in
correctly.
But again it was so overwhelmingto them that I'm like every
everything was a problem.
Then you know they couldn't.
They were having troublegetting some equipment on a
truck that day.
So I mean he was just in fullpanic mode.
(14:56):
So I 100% understand whenyou've got some emotional um
things going on in a business,and not just from girls.
Um, a lot of times men can bejust as emotional.
It just might come out more, asyou know, anger, or you know,
toughness, tough love type modes, but you know so.
(15:16):
Do you think processes?
Of course I know you thinkprocesses help make leaders make
faster and better decisions.
Have you seen where?
Well, you gave a good examplealready where you saw people
that just started implementinglittle things and it helped them
make faster decisions?
Do you notice a lot ofindecisiveness with contractors
when they are in this reactionmode or lack processes?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Well, I think where the challenge becomes is when
you lack processes.
It actually reduces yourability to deal with the high
payoff activities inside yourbusiness and you face this
decision fatigue as a businessowner.
I'm sure you know it.
I mean, I know it Probablyevery owner that's tuned in
today.
You know if you're in the homeservice business, you're going
(16:02):
to face dozens, sometimes youknow hundreds, of decisions that
need to be made every singleday and without having these
systems in place, that meansyou've got to make a decision
and you're starting from zero onevery single decision that
needs to take place.
And you know that's why greatleaders you know they've got to
(16:26):
be able to make fast decisions.
I mean one of the things that Ithink all owners of companies
need to understand if you'regoing to be a great leader and
drive a great, successfulbusiness, the number one thing
you got to be able to do isestablish priorities.
What's the number one, mostimportant thing that's going to
have the greatest impact on thesuccess of my business?
(16:47):
The second thing is you'regoing to have to be able to
execute with urgency aroundthose priorities and if you have
these little decisions thatjust keep popping up, where
you've got to go make a decisionfor your team.
You can't focus on working onthe things that are going to
drive the huge success.
You know and I'll give you anexample for this you know you're
(17:09):
in the business, you know yourbrother's in the business, we're
all in the business here.
We know that we're going tofeel hundreds, maybe thousands
of phone calls a day, dependingon the size of your business,
and after we fill those calls wegot to dispatch them to service
technicians, Right, yes?
And we also know there aregoing to be days when we have
more calls than we couldpossibly dispatch.
(17:31):
Know there are going to be dayswhen we have more calls than we
could possibly dispatch.
And so you know as simple as itis.
You know, in our company we'vedeveloped a priority dispatching
.
So when a client carespecialist books a call, it is a
signed one of seven numbers andit's pretty sophisticated One,
two, three, four, five, six,seven and I'm being facetious
when I say sophisticated numbers.
(17:53):
When we book that call, it'seither a priority one, a
priority two or priority three.
Now all the dispatcher needs todo is they need to look at the
call board and if you don'testablish that priority, they're
always going to be running tothe leaders and say how should I
dispatch this?
This client over here isscreaming this.
(18:13):
This client's screaming this.
We got to go here first.
We've got to go there first.
Well, what happens if a clientthat is the squeaking the
loudest is a priority five?
Should we be seeing them over apriority one?
Absolutely not so.
If you set this priority up,just dispatch priority ones
first.
When they're done, dispatchpriority two.
(18:35):
When they're done, dispatchpriority three.
That dispatcher doesn't have tocome and ask us how to dispatch
these 100 calls for the daythat decision's already been
made.
All you got to do follow thesystem system and it takes away
the guesswork too.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
So, you know, and it's a simplistic approach to it
, but it takes away theguesswork of them feeling like,
oh, do I prioritize this one orthis one?
Like they're already labeledand it's everybody speaking the
same language, right?
So definitely a great way tolike add in a process to help
accomplish a common goal.
Like, I just think that we canreally complicate things.
(19:13):
Again, another organization thatI'm a part of, like man, it
seems like lately we've reallycomplicated every single step
and I can be guilty of that,even at Lemonsy like
overthinking it to the point ofno return.
And you're like man, thisreally, this really can not even
not empower the team, butalmost cripple the team when it
(19:34):
gets that much deeper, you know,too deep for sure.
So one thing that I love aboutwhat you're saying here is that
processes are really for thewhole team, right.
Not just for the owner, notjust for a manager, but for the
whole entire team.
And so you know, what do youthink are some top tips for
creating buy-in from youremployees on, you know,
(19:57):
implementation of some newprocesses or strategies to
getting things done?
Is there a secret?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Well, I think we could talk about that topic for
probably the next couple of days, but we probably don't have
days there.
So let me start with a simpleanalogy, all right, because you
said you like analogies.
You know, if you hire a duckand attempt to turn that duck
into an eagle, what do you thinkthe probability of success is
going to be?
Crystal?
Oh I'm gonna say probably notvery good.
(20:38):
Okay, that's the right answer.
All right, since you hesitated Ithought I'd jump in and give
you a little trick.
No, it's not a trick.
You know, if you tell a duckfly down there and pick that
rabbit up and eat it, the duck'sgonna go.
I like that little fuzzy rabbit.
You tell an eagle to fly downthere and eat that rabbit, he's
got no problem doing thatwhatsoever.
So what's my point?
My point is at Praxis S10, forexample, we have a core
(20:59):
principle called care, and careis one of our core principles.
So when we're in the interviewprocess, we've actually
identified questions that canfind out whether people meet our
care core principles.
And for us, care means we'reinterviewing people that are
going to be competent, they'regoing to be committed and
(21:20):
they're going to be coachable.
And then we have a descriptionand could go much deeper on what
competent means, on whatcommitted means, what being
coachable means.
But then we design thesequestions to bring that out.
And at any point in the processwhen we're asking an applicant,
if it becomes awareness that wefeel, wait, this individual is
(21:43):
not going to like feedback, thisindividual is not going to like
when we sit down and say, hey,you're doing good, but here's
where you can improve, thenthey're weeded out immediately.
So we actually have a criteriato figure out whether people
meet our core principle on dayone.
So what's the point I'm tryingto get at?
I think so many people try tohire the wrong individual and
(22:06):
convert them after you've hiredthem.
And an individual is not goingto be any better than the first
two weeks that they're yourcompany.
In fact, if you can't standthem in the first two weeks,
then you probably ought to justadmit the fact that you made a
hiring mistake because they'renot going to get any better.
All right, yeah, and so thepoint is, if you want people to
(22:28):
have buy-in, you got to hire theright people in the process,
and I understand that may nothelp you as you go along, but
you've got to start the processof recruiting and building the
type of company you want.
And the best way to do it isbefore they start, because the
reality is, is every owner of acompany or leader and I know
(22:50):
you've got a lot of leaders thatare tuned in today you only
have three responsibilities.
If you want to make yourbusiness really simple as a
leader of your organization,first thing you got to do is
hire the right people, andthat's where our identifying
their core principles right upfront.
Are they going to meet our coreprinciple?
So we've got to make sure wehire the right individual to
(23:12):
meet our core principle.
So we've got to make sure wehire the right individual.
Once you hire that rightindividual, you've got these
performance expectations orstandards or what you want them
to follow, and that's theprocedures in the systems that
you're recommending, meaning youprobably have a uniform.
Don't just criticize people whenthey come in looking bad.
Have a poster right there onthe wall this is the way our
(23:32):
boots look.
This is the way our belt looks,this is the way our pants are,
this is the way our uniformworks.
And that's a process, as simpleas that may be.
And in the interview process,are you willing to wear our
uniform?
Are you willing to wear itevery single day?
And once that individual hasmade that commitment, now you
can hold them accountablebecause you can say remember day
(23:55):
one in the interview process weask you are you willing to do
this?
You said you would.
So there's now hold the peopleaccountable.
And then the third step is theaccountability factor.
All right.
So step one hire the rightpeople.
Step two educate them to dowhat you want them to right?
So, step one hire the rightpeople.
Step two educate them to dowhat you want them to do.
And step three hold themaccountable.
(24:17):
And there's not one singleproblem If you're listening to
this podcast today, or what doyou call it, if you're listening
to the Chief Lemonhead ifyou're tuned in today, listen to
the Chief Lemonhead today, ifyou've got a problem in your
business, there's not oneproblem that's not related to
(24:40):
either.
It's the wrong person.
You didn't educate them to dowhat you wanted to do, or three.
You're not holding themaccountable and I challenge you
to put yourself through thatprocess and find out where the
challenge lies well, I'm tellingyou that is very true.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
We are.
We're on this kick right now ofhiring um off of our core
values.
We've had core values but forsome reason I had never thought
to hire and fire based off ofthose.
And that, just like I mean thatI felt freedom with that
because I was like that isexactly true.
I always try to look inwardlike, did I set this person up
for success or did this personset themselves up for success?
(25:21):
So you know, there's lots ofgood feedback there about.
You know, buy-in comes becausepeople are active and want to be
a part of your organization.
Therefore they tend to adoptwhat's there.
You always have like those oldschool people in my mind that
really can rock the boat.
But Trey told me this when wewent to performance pay and we
(25:43):
bought another company and allthese things were going on and I
was very I fretted my EastTexas word.
I fretted over what peoplethought and how they were going
to respond and he told me hesaid listen, the ones that are
not in our culture, that won'tfit our culture, they're going
to stick out like a sore thumband they will eventually fall
off or they will see that theystick out and shift their
(26:04):
thinking to fall right in line.
And it really did happen, liketwo or three guys that were
negative from the get go, thatwe were looking for a reason
sometimes to help them get outthe door basically, um
self-selected out of um of theorganization because they
realized that their negativityand their inability to adapt and
their inability to um embracesome of the new cool things that
(26:28):
we were doing, um was not justthem being um not not being
excited about it, they werebeing negative about it and it
really um, it kind of took careof itself, right, but you're
exactly right.
Well, here's the next littlestep that I thought about, and
this takes us from processesinto profitability.
So, no one's in, I don't knowanyone I mean, I'm not actually,
(26:51):
if I would think about it realhard but I don't know a lot of
people who are in business justto be busy.
Right, we're here to make money.
Everybody started a heating orconditioning or plumbing company
to make money, to get somefreedom, to be able to make the
big decisions.
But you know, these processesreally can impact their actual
bottom line, and so have youseen some processes and systems
(27:13):
and things that really can causecostly errors, or maybe how do
they even measure the impactthat these things are having?
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Well, I haven't seen processes that cost companies
money.
If they're the right processes,I mean processes are all
designed to not only make thelife of the leaders and owners
much freer, but it's alsodesigned to improve the
profitability.
I mean, for example, you knowwe have a checklist that we
(27:45):
endorse.
Then, depending on what type ofequipment, you know, if it's a
package unit, there's achecklist on a complete install.
If it's a split system, there'sa checklist on that.
And what it's designed to do isreally, it's really for the
homeowner.
And you know, if a homeownerbuys a new system and they put
(28:06):
out a lot of money and probablythe majority of your clients are
premium companies that believein, you know, doing all the
things that are above and beyond, which costs more money, and
they probably believe in havinghigh paid employees and nice
trucks, nice uniforms and nicebenefits and all these things
that ultimately you have to passthose costs on to the homeowner
(28:26):
.
Well, when a homeowner pays apremium price and they come home
excited to, you know, see theirbrand new system and they go to
the thermostat and it doesn'twork, well, you know they want
to shoot you.
Yeah, they're mad, yeah,they're really mad.
So we've developed checkliststhat are really put in place to
(28:47):
ensure that the installerdoesn't miss one single detail.
That is going to lead to anupset homeowner.
Now, the advantage to that iswe did it for the homeowner, but
then we saw the residual effectof it, and the residual effect
is we started seeing howinstallers stopped missing
little details.
They started doing more qualityinstalls, because you can't say
(29:11):
I did this and check it off ifyou didn't really do it.
Now what we have is especiallylike in a training situation
where most people probably tunein the day.
If they're in the heating andair conditioning business, they
have helpers as well workingwith the lead.
Is that a fair assessment,crystal?
Yes, okay, so we actually canuse the checklist to actually
(29:34):
help the helper start learningthe business to actually become
a lead as well.
And then what can take place is,before that installer leaves
the home, they could call theinstall manager and, especially
if they're on one of thesesoftware programs where
everybody has access to it, theinstallation manager can say hey
(29:56):
, team, don't leave until Ireview this list, let me see
your readings again.
And they can review thereadings before they even the
install team leaves the home andif something doesn't look right
, they can address the issueright there on the spot.
And now we've headed off acallback, we've headed off an
upset customer, we've improvedthe productivity of that company
(30:19):
as well, and the installationteam, and all that leads to
making more money.
So, checklist, you know it's.
It's not about a.
What's the word?
I'm seeking a gotcha.
Yeah, it's not about that.
It's about a money makingopportunity that makes
everyone's life busy or easier.
(30:41):
So we're not just being busy,we're busy making money.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
Yeah, yeah, I love that and I try to teach this to
you on, like, even the CSR side,like I'm going to tie in a
little marketing here in truecrystal fashion but even things
that help you make more money,like getting good email
addresses, getting good cellphone numbers, so that when we
need to drum up business ascontractors, we have an actual
(31:05):
treasure chest of valid emails,that we have good data in our
CRM.
So you're right, like theselittle checklists like did you
get a cell phone number?
Did you get an email?
Did you verify the email?
Those are not meant to catch aCSR slipping up one time.
It's really meant to ensurethat we have opportunities on
the marketing side, as when wehit into a slow little rough
(31:27):
patch or, you know, or ashoulder season for sure.
So you know, I want to comeback to one thing that you said
as we kind of start wrapping upa little bit here is you know, I
know one of your things thatyou've shared with me before is
you know you've watched ownersliterally work themselves
through processes and things tonot being so owned by the
(31:51):
business, right, like, take areal vacation, actually enjoy
their weekend.
So I just love your philosophyon that freedom through system,
and so you know, I just thinkit's important, like
implementing processes slowlybut surely that's one thing
that's come out of today's talkSlowly but surely implementing
(32:11):
systems that second point, thirdpoint of that are beneficial to
the whole team, not just to themanagers or not just to the
owners, but that also help youmake more money and reduce
costly errors.
And you know what are you think?
Maybe, how does that level offreedom being able to watch your
(32:32):
business work without you there, how does that change the game
for contractors?
How have you seen that changethe game for them?
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Well, are you talking specifically about the
vacations?
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Are you talking about I mean, because you brought
that up- yes, more likevacations, yes, but I think it's
more about the mental abilityto escape right or to actually
enjoy vacation.
I'm sure you've seen somecontractors actually get to do
that right.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Well, since you brought up mental, then let's go
down the mental road there.
If you go there because I thinkthere's a big transition that
an individual has to take intheir business mentally if they
want to move into this freedomthat we referenced there and see
as a business owner and andlet's face it, the majority of
business owners that are tunedin today they probably got there
(33:21):
because you worked for someother company.
You became the best technicianor the best installer, the best
you know, call taker or whateverit is, and then you had this
entrepreneurial seizure and yousaid I'm going to go out and I'm
going to open my own businessand I'm going apply my great
skills and that's going to leadme to be a great business owner.
And the first thing that,mentally, you're going to have
(33:45):
to get over if you're going tobuild this great business is you
got to forget that you're thebest, because the reality is you
don't want to be the best.
If you want to be the best, thenyou probably need to keep
working for someone else as atechnician or as an installer.
If you want to be the bestbusiness owner, then you're
going to have to stand up andsay I want to be the best
(34:06):
business owner and as a businessowner, you're not going to be
rewarded by your ability to pickup the tools and read the
gauges.
If you're going to build agreat big business, that's going
to give you the freedom of time, so everything has to be now
about helping the other peopleachieve the level of success
that you had as a technician, asa call taker, as an accountant,
(34:28):
as an installer, and now youget to demonstrate.
Are you really good at takingyour skills and imparting those
into someone else who now worksfor you, and can you inspire
them to do what they need to doevery day, not because they have
to, but because they want to?
Oh, I love it and that comesright back to that hiring the
(34:50):
right individual again.
So you've got to get over thatmental mindset that you know I'm
Superman, I'm Wonder Woman, Ican accomplish it all, because
if you don't, you're alwaysgoing to be stuck in that trap.
And so there's the first shiftthat you've got to take place,
because you've got to understandit's not about working harder,
(35:12):
it's about working smarter.
And you know, we've got anothersaying here inside our
organization that a smartcontractor makes mistakes but
they learn from those mistakesand then they don't ever
duplicate them, ever again.
But there's actually a betterway than being a smart
contractor, and it's not bybeing a stupid contractor, but
it's by being a wise contractor.
(35:39):
Wise contractor, and a wisecontractor goes out and finds
someone who's already made allthose mistakes and then they
learn from them and they avoidmaking that mistake altogether.
And effectively, that's whatLemonSeed does.
You say we'll help you avoidthese mistakes, we'll help you
avoid these valleys that you gointo.
Hire us and we're going to helpyou get a greater return
without losing, because you'renot going to make the same
(36:01):
mistakes.
Well, that's effectively whatPraxis S10 does as well, and so
we help individuals become wisecontractors so they don't have
to make all these mistakes and,you know, bang their knuckles up
and get bumps and headachesalong the road there.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Oh yeah, I'm telling you with LemonSea, when I look
at contractors that are wantingto partner with Lemonsy, you
know, basically we'reinterviewing each other.
When I know they're a part of agroup like Praxis S10 that
really has structure and isgiving good advice, those
contractors naturally are milesahead of other unmentored
contractors.
It is evident.
It's written all over theirplans, it's written all over
(36:42):
their pricing.
I mean, I can normally, like Iwill normally, say so you're not
a part of a best practice group.
You have a mentor or a coachbecause you know, I can just
tell by a lot of times it's eventhe confidence in their own
numbers and processes and thingslike that.
So you're definitely right, youreally don't have to figure
this all out alone.
With the right systems, theright mentors, like you
(37:03):
mentioned, you're stilldefinitely ahead of the game
there.
So, speaking of Praxis S10,terry, any new cool stuff coming
up or anything you want ourlisteners to know about Praxis
S10?
Cool stuff coming up oranything you?
Speaker 2 (37:17):
want our listeners to know about Praxis.
Well, there's always cool,exciting things that are coming
up.
I mean, next week we have a newmember launch and so I'm
excited to have a room full ofpeople coming in profit minded,
successful businesses that arelooking to grow and leapfrog
their business forward evengreater.
(37:38):
So that's coming up.
I've got some really coolthings in the works that you
know I'm not ready to disclosetoday because, as you know,
we're industry leaders and youknow it's a very what's the word
I'm looking for.
People are paying really closeattention to what we do, what
Jimmy Hiller does, what PraxisS10 members do, because we have
(38:01):
a way of being on the forefront,of leading the charge on new
inventions and ways to improve abusiness.
So I'm not prepared to talkabout those.
Perhaps in another year or twowe can roll those out after
we've already put them in thefield and evidence that they
work and already gained acompetitive advantage.
Because that's our mission,that's our objective.
(38:23):
It's to raise the level ofsuccess for the members who are
part of our organization.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
I love that.
I love that and you're right,if you're not getting kicked in
the booty, you're not in thefront, so you know if you're
getting all kinds of people, thebest form of flattery kind of
stuff you know.
So definitely appreciate that.
Well, terry, thank you so much.
You've absolutely deliveredsome great content today.
This was just a little blip onall of the history and stuff
(38:50):
that you can talk.
So if you love to talk business, you're looking for a mentor
group.
A Praxis S10 is definitely agreat place to start and engage
with and really help yourbusiness.
In the words of Terry, leapfrogforward, one of our favorite
contractors a lot of times comefrom Praxis S10 models.
So we really appreciate thepartnership and your insights
(39:15):
that you shared today.
Speaker 2 (39:16):
Any last words for our listeners today Well, I
think I should always remindpeople that are especially in
our industry that this is theland of opportunity and this is
America, and there's a lot ofnegative publicity that takes
place, but my personal opinionis this is still the greatest
country in the world.
You've got this greatopportunity.
(39:38):
You're in a wonderful industry.
Focus on the good, look for theopportunity and ignore the
negative, and you, too, canachieve all it is that you want
to achieve in your business.
So stay cool, america.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
Well, I can't even add a lot to that.
So, guys, thank you so much forlistening to another episode of
From the Yellow Chair, In thewords of Terry stay cool,
America, and we'll get back withyou next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.