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September 23, 2024 17 mins

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Failure isn’t the end—it’s the beginning of something better.

Jessica and Alex open up about real business struggles they’ve faced and how those hurdles became powerful lessons in resilience, innovation, and growth. From hiring issues post-pandemic to leveraging new tools like AI and Clean Smarts in their janitorial business, they unpack the emotional and practical journey of bouncing back stronger together.

Whether you’re navigating your own setback or supporting your partner through one, this honest conversation will remind you that every obstacle can become your greatest advantage when approached with intention and faith. Stay connected and grow with us at https://Jessrosario.com/fbgroup.

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Alex & Jessica Fortis

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alex (00:09):
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love,
faith and business come together.

Jessica (00:14):
I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and
business, alex.
Together, we're diving into thewild world of entrepreneurial
couples.

Alex (00:22):
Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments
and valuable insights fromcouples who are building
businesses and rocking theirrelationships.
Talk about living the dream.

Jessica (00:33):
Or surviving the nightmare.

Alex (00:35):
So buckle up and get ready for a fun ride with Married to
the Hustle.
Welcome back, guys, to theMarried to the Hustle podcast.
I'm Alex, your co-host, and Iam joined by my beautiful wife,
Jessica.

Jessica (00:55):
Hey guys, how you?

Alex (00:55):
doing and on today's episode, we're going to be
speaking about bouncing backfrom business setbacks right.
Bouncing back from businesssetbacks right Things that hold
you from growing, pulling you inother directions that you
thought you were not going to goin and we're going to talk a
little bit about our experiencesand then some examples as well

(01:16):
and how you can overcome some ofthose obstacles as an
entrepreneur couple.
So we're going to be talking alittle bit about that and the
role of failure in success.
That one touches me so hard,jessica, because in order to
have success, you have to havefailure.

Jessica (01:33):
Absolutely, and I don't think a lot of people see it
that way.

Alex (01:35):
Correct.
Everyone just thinks that youknow, yeah, you start up and you
go and there's no bumps in theroad.
And unfortunately, there'squite a bit of bumps and
obstacles and hurdles that youhave to overcome, and we've
learned that.
I mean both in our business andyour business as well right,
with your coaching business.

(01:56):
What are some experiences thatyou have experienced and then we
can share some?
You know what we've experiencedhere exclusive too.

Jessica (02:04):
Yeah, I mean, there's been many times that we hit
roadblocks, and whether thatroadblock was in hiring, I don't
know.
If you remember those daysright after the pandemic we were
trying to hire like crazy andit just got so intense because
it didn't seem like anybodywanted to work, and so taking a
moment to sit back and reallyunderstand what our need was,

(02:28):
and in having a leadershipconversation, a temp agency came
up and we never even thoughtthat we were ready for a temp
agency at the time, and so wepartnered with a temp agency and
they started to get people onthe clock for us within 48 hours
.
And so part of hittingroadblocks is not just staying

(02:48):
there, because many times whenyou experience a challenge, it's
not okay how you got there andnow you're stuck.
It's okay.
What's the lesson learned andhow do you bounce back from that
, and that's what causesresilience.
And so that leads us into keynumber one on building
resilience, which is learningopportunities.
There are so many learningopportunities when we fail, so

(03:12):
many, and even in preparing forthis podcast, you guys, I was
thinking of that song if atfirst you don't succeed, right,
dust yourself off and try again.
And so that's part of learninghow to bounce back.
You start to thinkstrategically or how can I do
something different?

(03:32):
And you pull in resources andyou start talking to other
mentors or coaches or people inyour network.
You know that might beexperiencing some of the same
issues that you have and what'sworked for them and what hasn't,
and so we tend to take that asa learning opportunity to see

(03:53):
what we can do different,because we cannot continue to do
the same thing, expectingdifferent results, and so that
was the first one.
It's learning opportunities andwhat failures bring your way.

Alex (04:07):
And just wanted to touch on that too that we all expect
everything to go perfect all thetime and unfortunately it
doesn't work out that way.
But failures it's what helpsyou get to that next level in
success analyzing what wentwrong, what can we do different,
gaining insights that lead tobetter decision-making and

(04:28):
strategies.
And it's not handed to us likewe have to learn these things
right, and I'm appreciative ofthat.
I mean, we've hit many bumpsand we continue to hit bumps,
but it's overcoming those andlearning from it and just
continue growth.

Jessica (04:45):
Yeah, absolutely I agree.
And so and so that leads usalso to that that resilience
building of not stopping right.
That's the number two.
It's like I don't stop.
Once I hit a roadblock, once Ihit a challenge right and I
experienced a setback, I don'tstop there.

(05:06):
It's all about what my pastorwas talking about a couple of
weeks ago.
He talked about protecting ourprogress right and so when we
get to a certain place in ourlives or in our business, this
can't be it right.
I know, when I got to corporatemany of you guys know that I
spent 25 years climbing thecorporate ladder, pursuing

(05:26):
position, pursuing title,pursuing financial freedom and I
was pursuing a title and notnecessarily pursuing purpose.
So as I started to get there, Istarted to feel like, okay,
this is not what it was allmeant to be.
It didn't feel like there's noway.
I worked this hard to get here,and so I'm not ready to stop

(05:51):
now.
And so that's when my mindstarted to go into a more
challenging way.
You were already experiencingthe entrepreneurial life and I
was just kind of like I had mytoes dipped in it.
You were all in into theentrepreneurial journey before I
was, and so I started to dip mytoe because, yeah, no, I'll
just coach from the sidelines,I'll help you from the sidelines
, but not seeing myself anddoing this full time.

(06:14):
And the reality is thatentrepreneurship is a continual
learning experience.
It's a journey.
We're in, the journey ofbecoming, of becoming who we've
been called to to be, and partof that is that resilience
building.

Alex (06:31):
Right, I think, being entrepreneurial couple as well,
I've spoken to plenty of peopleand they think it's easy.
It's not easy, I mean, like ona scale from one to 10, 10 being
the hardest.
I'm at a 10 plus for sure,right.

Jessica (06:47):
Yeah, I'm at an 11.

Alex (06:50):
Right.
Right, because there's alwayssomething to learn, especially
at the industry that you're in.
Right, we're in the janitorialspace and the competition is
just fierce.
How do you overcome that?
How do you stand out from that?
And learning, and continuouslearning, and taking in the

(07:10):
proper knowledge and gettingthings in place.
And, believe it or not,probably about 75% of that comes
from failure.
So, yeah, the resilience isit's a big key part to that.
And also there's I believethere's another part is like the
innovation right, what comesout of failure?
It can force us, asentrepreneurs, to think

(07:34):
creativity and find newsolutions.
Right, that's what we're doingin our space.
Right, because we have to setyourself apart from the
competition.

Jessica (07:44):
Absolutely, and technology is a big, it's a big
deal.
I mean, there are so many toolsout there.
Even when you look at AI, right, let's say, even when you look
at Chad GPT, you know anyonethat tells me now that they
can't, that they don't havecontent to put out on their
social media or their blog orwhatever.
I'm like.

(08:04):
Are you serious?
There's so many tools out thereavailable to help us put
content out.
It's not about the content.
It goes back to time management, it goes back to other areas.
There's so many tools out thereavailable to help us put
content out.
It's not about the content.
It goes back to time management.
It goes back to other areas,and so there are so many ways to
do things better and thetechnology behind it that, I'll
be honest with you.
Cleansmarts comes to mind.

(08:25):
Cleansmarts, I mean, these arefolks that you know.
They're familiar with thejanitorial industry and they
realize that there wasn't an appout there that did all of the
things that they needed for itto do Right, and so they came up
with this tool, and the toolhas been an incredible
experience for us.
Have there been hiccups?
Totally Absolutely.
Did the team resist it?

(08:45):
Absolutely Absolutely.
But it really helped driveinnovation in our business.
No-transcript experiencingchallenges, and it automatically

(09:18):
leads you to that, and so thatwas our point number three.
Absolutely, innovation isdefinitely a key part.

Alex (09:24):
I'll be honest with you.
There's points where we come toand you've heard me say this
several times like that's it,I'm done, but I do believe that
there's a bigger meaning behindwhat we're doing and God would
tell, right, god would tell, andI keep hearing and don't quit,
don't give up, continue goingthrough the hurdles.
This is what you're doing.
You're learning, you're gettingbetter at it, and we have to

(09:47):
hear that in a voice, becausethe easy thing to do is just
quit, walk away from it.
That's the easy way out.
So, yeah, it is pivotal tocontinue your growth, to
continue learning, continuemaking mistakes.
It's okay to make mistakes.
You get down because you'rebuilding your baby right and
you're thinking everything is inplace and nothing can fail.

(10:09):
Unfortunately, things do happen.
We just have to be strong andovercome those hurdles and just
continue.
I was reading something right?
I'm always looking to see whatare other businesses and how did
they come to be and how didthey become so successful, right
?
And one of the stories thatcaught my eyes and this is just
touching on it briefly it's avery famous ice cream brand, ben

(10:32):
and Jerry's, the founders, benCohen and Jerry Greenfield.
They faced plenty of challenges.
Not only it's a product thatyou're trying to sell, but it's
in the food service business.
They're selling ice creams,right, and Ben and Jerry.
Everybody knows Ben and Jerry'sright.
One of my favorite flavors theymake is the Americone Dream.
I love that.
Ice creams.
Right and Ben and Jerry.
Everybody knows Ben and Jerry'sright.
One of my favorite flavors theymake is the Americone Dream.
I love that ice cream.

(10:53):
But they face multiplechallenges, you know.
Number one and it's a reallybig one is financial struggles.
Going through financialstruggles in a business it's
tough.
They were able to overcome that, overcome product recalls
because they have a food productright, something that they did.
It didn't go well with thepublic, but they were able to

(11:15):
overcome that and theypersevered by staying true to
their value and focusing on thequality of the product.
Right.
And look at where they're atnow they're multi-million dollar
business, right?
Yeah.

Jessica (11:29):
And I actually had the pleasure of going there in
person many years ago and it'sthey have such an amazing
process.
I mean I was really impressedwith their factory up in.
I believe it was in NewHampshire or Maine up there.

Alex (11:46):
But I mean you can hear the story.
It took them trials andtribulations to get there where
they're at, but they just stuckit through and they were focused
on the product that they weretrying to put out there for the
customers right and help themstand out.
And Ben and Jerry's who doesn'tknow Ben and Jerry's right?
But that's just a littleexample that I wanted to share

(12:06):
because you know, it's not justus right, they're the big brands
.
You know, if you read aboutSteve Jobs with Apple, all the
obstacles that he's went through, all these big corporations,
everybody goes to these hurdlesand what's going to set you
apart is being able to overcomethat.

Jessica (12:25):
Absolutely.
I love that story actually, andyou know, another one that
comes to mind for me is one thatI researched when I was in
college.
It was the Burt's Bees company,and so, basically, how that
company came about, I don't Imean, I don't have all the
details like you did.
You're so good, you researchedit ahead of time, I didn't.
When it came to burt bees, Idid some research.

(12:46):
I had to do a paper years agoand it turned out it was
beekeeper who was tossing thewax from the bees after he did
whatever he did, and somebodyelse came across the the wax and
thought you know, there's gotto be something that you could
do with this.
And you know, she came to him acouple of times and he was like
oh please, you know, take it, Idon't care, it's garbage.

(13:09):
And she was like no, no, no, no, no, this is not garbage, we've
got to do something.
And a woman turned that into amultimillion dollar business.
Talk about innovation, right,I'm sure they went through their
own struggles.
I'm sure they went throughtheir own hurdles.
What can we do differently?
And I don't think eveninitially it was an opportunity
to capitalize on it.
It's just that they knew it wasa waste, and so I think it's

(13:33):
really important to identifythose areas in our lives where
you know, are we being wastefulright?
Do we have other resources thatwe're not tapping into, and
what are some ways that we canutilize those resources or those
tools or even those peoplearound us to collaborate and
connect and be able to help usjust build a stronger

(13:58):
entrepreneurial journey so thatwe can bounce back easier,
because you know what thefailure?
It hurts, right.
It hurts right, and and thebounce back is not always easy.
It's, it's rewarding, but it'snot always easy, and so these
are the things that many peopledon't talk about.
It's about overcoming thechallenges and setbacks that

(14:18):
come our way, whether you havefull control of it or not.
You know, many times they'reself-inflicted wounds.
You and I speak about that allthe time.
Many times they'reself-inflicted wounds.
You and I speak about that allthe time right, about our own
self-inflicted wounds.
But being able to find wayswhere we can bounce back and
where we can build resilienceand build strength and identify

(14:39):
those learning opportunities andcontinue to drive innovation to
be able to help us succeed, iswhat's going to be a
differentiator for us, and youknow what.
These will be stories thatwe'll tell in the future.
These will be stories thatwe'll share with our children
and our grandchildren as wecontinue to grow the business.
And so, yeah, this was awesome.
This was an awesome discussion.

Alex (15:00):
Yeah, that was really good to touch on because it goes
through everyone's mind,especially when you're trying to
build something on your own oryour spouse, and we've learned
that every failure is just astepping stone to success.

Jessica (15:16):
Absolutely.

Alex (15:17):
Each time something doesn't go as planned, we gain
new insights and it helps usmake better decisions in the
future, and you just have to gowith that and continue going
with that.

Jessica (15:28):
Absolutely Well.
There you have it, guys.
So today, I hope you guysenjoyed the conversation.
If you have some experienceswhere you yourself have bounced
back and you've been resilientor perhaps you're going through
it right now, you know feel freeto reach out to us.
We love having theseconversations with you guys and
to hear what's happening outthere in the world and in the

(15:49):
field, and I think it's reallyimportant, as entrepreneurs,
that you know what we sticktogether.
We stick together, we growtogether because
entrepreneurship is a hustle, asyou all know, and I can't wait
to continue to share with you.
Alex and I are putting togethersome new podcast episodes and
I'm so excited to be able tocontinue to serve you guys in

(16:10):
this capacity, and so until nexttime keep hustling.

Alex (16:16):
Three, two, one.
That wraps up another episodeof Married to the Hustle.
We hope you enjoyed today'sshow and found some inspiration
and practical tips to apply toyour own business journey.

Jessica (16:34):
We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners.
If you have any stories,questions or tips to share,
connect with us on social mediaor send us an email.
Your input makes this podcasteven better.

Alex (16:45):
And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the
Hustle on your favorite podcastplatform so you never miss an
episode.
And if you enjoyed today'sepisode, please leave us a
review.
It really helps us grow andreach more entrepreneurial
couples like you.

Jessica (16:59):
Join us next week for more exciting stories,
insightful interviews andvaluable advice.
Until then, keep hustling, keepthriving and keep loving what
you do.
Thanks for tuning in.
Join us next week for moreexciting stories, insightful
interviews and valuable advice.

Alex (17:08):
Until then, keep hustling, keep thriving and keep loving
what you do.
Thanks for tuning in and happyhustling.
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