July 29, 2024 • 44 mins
Curious about what it takes to transition from a regular job to owning a thriving business? Join us as we sit down with Shane Blanchard, an entrepreneur who transformed his career from an insurance adjuster to the owner of a successful environmental testing company. Shane’s journey is filled with unexpected opportunities and key moments of motivation that pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap. Tune in to hear about his initial struggles, the drive to overcome obstacles, and the serendipitous connections that propelled his business forward.
Balancing the demands of a growing business and family life is no easy feat, but Shane shares his strategies for achieving this delicate equilibrium. Learn how he maintains a structured schedule to ensure quality time with his family, even as his business evolves. We dive into practical self-care tips, like incorporating workouts into your weekly routine and understanding the cyclic nature of business seasons. Discover the mindset that helps Shane and his team navigate challenges on the fly, ensuring that personal and professional responsibilities are met with harmony.
Navigating government regulations can be daunting, yet Shane offers invaluable insights from his experiences with agencies like Cal OSHA, Federal OSHA, and the EPA. Listen as he explains the importance of networking and building relationships to stay ahead of regulatory changes. Shane also shares his secrets for maintaining work-life balance, emphasizing the need to set boundaries and find ways to decompress. From practical advice on managing after-hours communication to the importance of enjoying the entrepreneurial journey, Shane’s insights are a treasure trove for aspiring business owners.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everyone, what's going on?
It's Jonathan Wagner and thisis the Business Guide podcast.
Today I have a guest on theshow, shane Blanchard.
Really excited to have him hereand really just dive into the
ins and outs of business andwhat he has kind of gone through
.
So, without further ado, thisis Shane.
I'm going to give him anopportunity to you know,
(00:23):
introduce himself.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
All right.
Yeah, Jonathan, thanks forhaving me.
I've been in business now abouteight and a half years.
I run an environmental testingcompany.
We do asbestos, lead and moldtesting.
Started off working for acompany.
Well, actually, let's go back.
(00:45):
I started off as an insuranceadjuster and from there work got
slow.
I met a guy that happened to bedoing this type of job.
We hit it off and he said, if Iever needed a job, to call him.
So a few months went by and Iended up calling him and worked
(01:05):
for them for a few years andthen decided I wanted to go off
on my own.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Nice, nice.
So really starting that?
Let's go back to when youstarted your journey Like what
was the kind of the?
You know you're working for theman and then you've decided
like hey, I'm tired, I want tostart my own business.
Like what?
Like initiated that startingBecause I think on the show,
like we've got a little bit ofmix, we've got some business
owners definitely listening, butwe also have inspiring
(01:33):
entrepreneurs.
So I definitely want them toknow that we all go through this
different like mind shift,change into like hey, I no
longer want to be an employeeand I absolutely want to be a
business owner.
What was that for you?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
What was that journey like?
So for me I guess it could bepretty similar to somebody who's
unsure because, to be honest,when I left the company the
testing company I worked for fora few years I just originally
went back to being an adjusterbecause I had a handle on what I
wanted to do, but I was unsureabout taking that leap.
So I was like, you know what?
I'm just going to go back towhat's comfortable.
I'm going to be an adjuster andsee if down the road, something
(02:14):
pops up to make me want to takethat leap.
So I went back to being anadjuster and then an opportunity
came up where a guy neededtesting.
You know it happened to be fora family member and they called
me and they're like are youstill doing that?
And I said no, but I have mylicense and another family
(02:41):
member, you know.
It all kind of came togetherall at once and I was like, well
, I'm just going to take theleap and see what happens.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So it sounds like some pieces kind of fell into
place and then you were justlike your hand was forced, Like
I got to start my own business,I got to make my thing.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, like originally , when I left the previous
company, like I learnedeverything that you needed to in
order to, like, start, but Ihad never done anything like
that, so I I didn't know what todo.
Like how do you start?
What do you?
How do you even begin?
(03:16):
How?
How do you start a businessLike I?
Speaker 1 (03:20):
like to say there's no like.
I mean there's ample videos Imean this podcast is an example
but I feel like my thing that Iwould always tell people is I
don't have there's no book onlike.
This is how you start abusiness A to Z and this is
everything you're going to dealwith.
Sounds like you kind of wentthrough the same thing.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
That was it.
Like I didn't know where tostart or what to do, first or
second or third.
To do first or second or third?
It just so happened that a jobopportunity came up and I took
it and I kind of just went fromthere.
I'm like, I guess I'll figureit out as we go.
Fitfo, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, obviously running a business is not, you
know, it's not as easy as Ithink some people make it out to
be.
I mean, I think it's funny thatyou know in business how many
times people are like oh youknow, you've got it so easy, or
you've got employees or whateverit is.
You know, I think that asbusiness owners we have to.
We're kind of essentially thecheerleaders when we have
(04:17):
employees and we always have tokeep them motivated and we're
always motivating, you know,kind of everybody, motivating
the customers, motivating ourstaff.
What keeps you motivated?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
And specifically, like you know, sometimes, when
times are tough, like what keepsyou motivated and kind of
what's your thinking, themotivation I mean mainly comes
from, you know, wanting the willto succeed.
I guess I mean you don't wantto let yourself down In my case
I don't want to let my familydown, you don't.
You got all these surroundings.
But it ultimately comes frominside of, like that personal
(04:53):
drive of if things are slow,then what can I do to either be
productive during the time orwhat can I do to expand a little
bit and create something formyself?
You know, it's just themotivation to have the drive to
keep going.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Motivation for the family for sure.
So, guys, obviously this is thefirst episode with a guest,
definitely excited that he'shere.
I have I have some challengesthat that I've put together for
our guests that are going to becoming in.
I kind of give them a list ofthese different challenges and
then have them pick out whatreally speaks to them.
Shane has kind of crafted hisquestions so he doesn't know the
(05:37):
questions that I am going toask, but they are specific to
him and what he goes throughwith his business.
Now, before I get into thechallenges, I want to mention
something about Shane.
Now I spoke about this onanother episode, which I think
it was the art of networking andhow important it is.
And you never know when you aregoing to run into somebody that
(05:59):
is going to kind of make yourbusiness or be a big part of
your business as far as maybereferring jobs or customers or
whatever it is.
And I think with Shane, this isa good example of when other
businesses fail.
There are other businesses thatwill come in and take your spot
, so you always want to be onyour game.
When I first met Shane I'mgoing to go back to the infant
(06:20):
times full disclosure.
My business uses Shane'sbusiness and I think when you
know that initial kind ofmeeting with Shane was so he
does testing, it's veryimportant in my industry.
We need it done all of the time.
I had another business that Iwas dealing with for quite some
(06:42):
time and over the probably abouta year or two I became
increasingly frustrated.
There were issues and I couldtell that the business owner
that I was kind of connectedwith was no longer connecting
with me and my team and goals.
And one night in particularthere was a conversation that I
had with that business owner andit was a heated conversation.
(07:03):
Essentially it was a hugereferral stream into his
business and he wasn't thankfulwhatsoever.
So I was personally kind ofaffected, just kind of hurt like
gosh, I don't know what's goingon here.
And so we actually had anemergency call come in.
This is years ago and I decidedto take that emergency call at
eight or nine o'clock at nightand at this point I knew that I
(07:26):
needed a testing company.
I had had another testingcompany that I could have called
, but somebody did introduce meto Shane on that project.
They had used Shane for theirprojects that they had worked on
not kind of in our industry andme and Shane connected there.
So you never know when you'renetworking, like I mentioned in
that show before, you alwayswant to be networking, you
(07:49):
always want to improve yourcircle.
For Shane's, you know, it justkind of fell into his lap that I
was looking for a testingcompany.
He was willing to take that.
But as we have kind of grownour businesses together, you
know it's key to have somebodythat supports my business and I
(08:10):
support his business.
So definitely key that thesuccess here is making sure that
you know your businesses thrivetogether but always leave the
door open to networking.
Do you have a second version ofthat story you want me to tell,
or?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
do you want to tell?
That's pretty accurate.
I don't think I ever got thedetails of how you got my number
.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
That's, that's the details right there.
You know, I'll share the namelater too.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, it's nice to hear.
Um, yeah, I think the the keything to networking, because
what I remember most about Ithink it was either our first or
second meeting was I could justbe myself.
And I think that's like the keyto networking, because you
don't want to come in like gunsblazing, like this different
person, because then you have tokeep that up, like you be
(08:52):
yourself, and then your, yourclients like you for you, and
you just continue thatrelationship of you know you're
cool with each other, yourfriends or whatever the case
might be, or they just like you.
You know you're cool with eachother, your friends or whatever
the case might be, or they justlike you.
You know, then that's that'sthe big thing, because you put
on this act and then you know,kind of like what you're talking
(09:13):
about earlier, then you justdisappear and you know don't,
don't carry on the relationship.
Then that's when you getreplaced.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
The networking is all about relationships.
We spoke about on that, on thatepisode, by the way.
If you haven't seen it, go backand take a listen to that
episode.
But, yeah, definitely important.
Keep those, you know, keepthose relationships.
But this is your business.
When you create thesebusinesses, so you get to be who
you want to be and as newbusiness owners, we're willing
(09:43):
to do whatever it takes.
But I think as you start toestablish your business, this is
where you know it kind of getsin motion of look, this is who I
am and this is trickling intothe business and you can be
yourself and finding people thatrecognize you for yourself ends
up being more successful.
Now, I do know the part kind ofthe backstory of that too, and
I do know that there was, youknow, somebody that kind of was
(10:04):
referring you work and didn'treally support you.
So, um, yeah, it's important tojust make sure your network is
network of people that you cantrust.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
So, moving on to that , to the to the oh okay, yeah,
go for it, go for it.
Just remembering more and moreof that I, I, I think the first
job was in Camarillo and it wasa flooring job, but the second
one was a clearance over inOxnard.
We, we talked for the wholeclearance.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
I know exactly what you're talking about Two and a
half hours and, knowing you nowI can't.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
It's hard to get two and a half hours with you, but
that was like our first, firsttime hanging out and we just
talked and I gave you the wholebackstory and just tried to be
myself.
And the biggest thing that I'velearned with networking is you
just got to be upfront andhonest.
Like you, can't you learn fromother companies, like you could
say bigger companies, I guess,that they make all these
(10:58):
promises.
Well, you can't.
There are a lot of falsepromises is what I'm trying to
say.
So you just take the approachof I was just upfront, you know,
like this is how long it takes.
I know everybody says they cando it in this amount of time,
but it's just not realistic, youknow.
And then you're more receptiveto that because it's like, well,
(11:18):
that's fine, I can't have myguys here until tomorrow, you
know anyway.
So what's the point of doingthat?
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And it's not going to happen anyway, you know, I
think when you're real withpeople, you get real responses
back, and the people that areasking for unrealistic stuff,
then that ends up in failure.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, cause some people will come to me and ask
for those promises that theother companies would give them,
and when I respond and say no,they kind of like have that
moment of like well, yeah, Iguess the other company couldn't
do it either, so maybe it's nota real thing.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And I just try to keep it upfront and honest and
like this is how long it takesand this is our process and we
get it to the lab at this timeand they take a minimum of this
long to get it done and youshould hear from me at this time
, tomorrow, you know, or thenext day or whatever the case is
.
But I just that two and a halfhour conversation was a lot of
(12:10):
unloading and honestly, I think,a really good talk.
Like you learned basically myorigins all in one conversation.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, and making time for those.
I mean I I I've spoken inanother episode that you know
networking with a particularenergy, a gentleman for me, that
kind of changed my business.
I ended up meeting on mybirthday.
I put the priority of taking abreak from what I was doing to
meeting with you know somebodythat I could network with, and
it was successful for mybusiness and almost immediately.
(12:42):
So, take the time, build yournetwork.
We are here today because weare in the same network and
we've become friends.
Our businesses use each other.
We're able to both thrive, sookay.
So, starting with the, challenge, starting with the challenge
Number one.
So work-life balance, and wehave spoken about work-life
(13:03):
balance a little bit in thepodcast before.
Specifically, how do youbalance?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
the two.
It took a while.
So at first I was by myself andworking alone is what I should
say and there was no balance.
I got up, you know, let's say6.30 in the morning, went
straight to the office, got whatI could done and then usually
by 7.30, 8 o'clock I was on theroad, and come back at 6.30, get
(13:35):
more stuff done, try to gethome and put the kids to bed or,
you know, handle stuff aroundthe house.
There was just I had no plan.
Stuff around the house.
There was just I had no plan.
And then I started to realizewhen, when you look, when you
take a breath and you lookaround and you're like well, why
(13:58):
, why are we not having as muchfun or why are we not?
Well, it was me and I had tofigure out like, okay, so I need
to make like a schedule orsomething, some kind of plan to
implement my family, or tryingto remember back to when I
started, it was me and my wifeand our stepdaughter, and
(14:23):
shortly after I started we hadour first kid together.
So I had to start planning.
Okay, so instead of me goingstraight to the office in the
morning, maybe I can havebreakfast and then take off on
the road and then, when I gethome, have dinner and then go
back to the office after that.
(14:44):
You know, implementing time forthe family within grinding and
getting all my stuff done, thatI needed to get done.
So once I started doing that,then I started to figure out
like, okay, got the family takencare of, at least to the extent
(15:04):
that I could.
It's like I need, you know, gotto take care of myself too.
So I would start working outand I would try to.
I tried to figure out like itwasn't realistic you know some
people work out every day.
It wasn't realistic.
I there was no way I couldpossibly do that.
And you start like we were onthe road a lot.
(15:26):
I started listening to podcastsabout fitness and there was
this guy that was preaching likethree days a week, you work out
three days a week, that's allyou need, you know, an hour.
So I'm like I think I candedicate an hour to working out
three days a week.
You know, when you think aboutseven days in a week, three days
(15:47):
, I can manage that.
Somehow I'll find an hour inthere somewhere.
So then I started implementingworking out into the family life
and the work life and you justyou just kind of have to feel it
out as you go, like where areyou lacking?
Like maybe you're spending toomuch time at home and not enough
(16:08):
time working.
It's like the real balancingact of figuring out.
You got to figure it out as yougo, like maybe work slow and
you're spending too much time athome and you're like, well, I
should be out talking to peopleor making phone calls, and or
I'm making too many phone calls,I'm I'm bugging people, I'm
sitting at my computer for noreason, like I could be spending
(16:30):
time with the family, or sobreak, break break off the two,
cause I think sometimes peopleget, you know, obviously in that
work-life balance people alsoget where they're either giving
too much time to their familyand not enough time to the
business, or vice versa, you'vegot a thriving business but
there's not much of a personallife.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Now in my story, when I started my business, I was
single, didn't have my familyyet, so I mean I was able to
really kind of grind.
So, you know, coming intosomebody that started a business
and had the family and, youknow, grew a family with the
business, I mean that poses aunique kind of challenge, if you
will, that you kind of wentthrough of, just like I took a
(17:12):
piece here and I knew I had somedowntime and then moved it over
here and kind of yeah, it's atrue balancing act.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
I guess that's why it's in the name of it, but you
just figure it out on your own.
You take the pieces that youfeel like you're lacking and
where can I put it into thisother side to make improvements.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Nice, nice, you fit foe.
Now that's the second time I'vesaid that.
Do you know what it?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
means I have no idea.
Okay, okay so.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I use kind of a.
What is it an acronym?
I don't know when it'sabbreviated Acronym.
Yeah acronym when it's short,so we use that around my office.
There's actually signs aroundmy office.
If you've been there, we haveFITFO.
Drop me a line in the commentsif you want to know what FITFO
stands for You're going to makethem comment.
(18:05):
I got to make them commentbecause I have to say these
episodes are not marked explicit, so I don't want to say it, but
hit me up, I'd love to hearfrom you guys.
Alright, shane, challengenumber two.
What a tease man yeah, what atease.
What a tease.
I mean you'll get it when theepisode ends.
But challenge number two isseasonal fluctuations.
(18:30):
I was also struggling with thatbefore when we were talking
about that.
But I mean managing a business.
Obviously when you're superbusy, you've got your peak times
and maybe you're hiring oradapting to that, and then
obviously businesses slow downand have seasons.
How do you handle that?
Businesses slow down and haveseasons.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
How do you handle that?
That was one of the biggestshocks of I won't say like in
the beginning, because in thebeginning you're building and,
like you don't really you'retrying to get the clients to
keep you busy, so you don'treally notice those seasonal
fluctuations in the beginning.
But once you get a good amountof clients that are feeding you
work and then all of a suddenthey're not, you start to freak
(19:10):
out of like well, did they stopusing me?
What's wrong?
And then you learn that ourindustry has seasons and I'm
sure every industry is different, and for us it's like when
November, december hit,everything slows down and you
just learn that that's the wayit is, because you got
(19:31):
Thanksgiving, christmas, all theholidays in between there, that
nobody wants to get stuff doneto their house and they'll just
push it off until January.
And that's typically whyJanuary, february are just crazy
off to you know.
You're like where did all thiscome from?
Well, it's all the people thatwere holding back November,
(19:56):
december, um, but anyway, uh,dealing with the fluctuations, I
, I just started to learn that,like, how does our industry
operate?
It's seasonal in the sense oflike, okay, well, we're in the
construction industrytechnically and you start to
learn when people are gettingstuff done and when they're not
getting stuff done and you justlearn how to deal with it.
And actually one of the guysthat has a testing company
(20:17):
that's been open for I thinklike 25 years gave me one good
line that you know I kind ofstick to, especially when my
employees are like man, we'reslow, what's going on.
He told me that, um, enjoy theslow times because when you're
busy, you're going to wish youdid so.
I'm like, well, that makes alot of sense, because when
(20:38):
you're slow, you forget abouthow busy you were and you don't
enjoy that.
You start freaking out aboutwell, it's slow, what am I going
to do?
What do what am I going to do?
In reality, it's just a seasonalfluctuation of like there's
just not much going on right nowand then it picks back up and
you didn't enjoy any of the timeyou had to either catch up on
things like send out, catch upfor us, catch up on reports or
(21:01):
catch up on whatever we need todo that we maybe we got behind
on when it was busy.
So I just try to keep that inmind.
I'm like when it gets slow, Igo maybe spend some more time
with the family or plan a tripor something you know.
Take a Thursday and a Fridayoff when and when we're busy.
I can't.
There's that work life balanceExactly.
It all kind of goes together.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and for use.
For everyone that doesn't knowour particular industry I mean,
mine is definitely tied intoShane's here, but it is
definitely a feast or faminebusiness.
So you're eating real good oryou're not eating at all, but
yeah, I like that.
I like that.
(21:42):
Take a break when you're busy,make that money, make those
connections.
But you know, when you slowdown, take a minute to digest it
.
Don't freak out.
A lot of us freak out.
I'm sure you freaked out whenyou were first in business.
I freaked out when I was firstin business.
But just build, make sureyou've got that cash flow on
hand.
Make sure that you're building,you know, building kind of that
(22:05):
bankroll so you can survivethrough the slow times but be
able to take a break.
And again, going back tonetworking, make sure that now
you're also catching up on thatnetworking.
So pretty cool how you've kindof you know, been able to deal
with it.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, and the slow times too.
I mean go get lunch with people, people like lunch.
At first I'm like, well, Ican't spend money right now,
like we're slow, like what am Idoing?
But then you're just keepingthose relationships fresh.
Like the people you're havinglunch with are probably slow too
you know, we're all in the sameindustry but you just take
(22:40):
advantage of the slow times andenjoy them.
So, like you go have a nicelunch with somebody and
hopefully your clients you know,you like I know a handful of
them, maybe maybe not, but uh,you take them, take them out to
lunch or go golfing or dosomething, and just enjoy the
slow times.
Because when you're busy it'slike you can make that phone
call, but there's no time forlunch, there's no time for golf.
(23:01):
Like you can't.
You can't do that when you're,when you're slammed, you're
stuck in your office or you'rerunning around or checking on
jobs.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Capitalize, for sure on the slow time and I like what
you mentioned there too about,as you know, that you pull back
maybe spending money when it'sslow and, by the way, I do
recommend that when it is slow.
But one thing that you knowwhen we get slow, I've been able
to capitalize on not pullingback on advertising.
That is crucial and, remember,your network is your advertising
(23:33):
circle.
So, yeah, you are slow, don't,you know, always have money to
go eat with somebody?
It's a couple bucks at lunchthat could literally make your
week, your month, your year.
So, you know, make sure you gotmoney lying around for that.
But for sure, utilize, utilizethe slow times yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
That was one of the one of the things that I had.
I learned kind of the hard way.
I guess, uh, just just startputting money away, like
somewhere you can't see it.
You know, like you log intoyour business account and you're
like, well, we're doing good,but you try to make a point to
put it into a different accountthat when times get slow you've
(24:10):
been putting money away.
So you got that little cushionto the side of Can I pull it
back out?
Yeah, just in case somethinghappens.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I got this over here I am a firm believer in that too
.
I like to have automatictransfers.
I transfer it to an accountthat I don't touch unless it is
a slow time.
That account is still money forthe business to use.
It's not necessarily a savingsaccount I treat my savings
account different but that isdefinitely an operating account
(24:38):
that we tap into when it is slow.
Okay, so moving on to challengenumber three.
Now, guys, this is going to be asuper fun, but yet boring.
But I also think and I sayboring because I think it sounds
boring but if you've been inbusiness, there are some
regulations that you have had tocomply with, and when you're
(24:59):
new in business, or inspiring tobe in business, these are
things that can kind of keep youup at night to make sure, hey,
am I doing everything I can, orwhatever it may be, and I'm just
going to chime in on my side ofit is like in your industry
specifically what you do.
One of the things that I wasreally scared of was actually
calling in a testing company.
(25:20):
I was really nervous to dealwith a testing company, even
though I wanted to make sure.
You know, I checked myregulations, I knew what I
needed to do, but I didn't wantto sound like a rookie and so I
was actually kind of scared, notknowing that this is actually a
strategic relationship.
So you want to make sure thatyou get these you know these
(25:41):
questions answered, but withoutfurther ado.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
This is specifically local government regulations and
how you navigate the differentlocal versus state, maybe
federal and Shane has wanted totalk because his industry
happens to be highly regulated,say like three main regulatory
(26:07):
agencies that we have to knowabout and know how they're.
They have different wants andneeds and requirements and you
basically just they all saydifferent things for the same,
for the same topic.
So you're like which one do Ido?
You say that this percentage isokay.
(26:28):
And when I say percentage, likefor our testing, the
percentages matter.
So if it comes back below acertain percent, you know the
contractor can do it one way andif it comes in over they have
to do it another way, all basedon these regulations.
So one regulation will say youknow, this percentage is fine if
it's below that, but then youswitch over, so that's a federal
(26:50):
regulation.
And then you switch over to thestate regulation and it's a
lower percentage.
And you're like well then,which one is it?
Because I have one that complieswith the federal but not the
state, and then one thatconflicts with OSHA over here,
because we have to follow CalOSHA and federal OSHA and EPA
and they're all different.
So you just pick the strictestregulation out of the, however
(27:14):
many you're having to deal with.
For us it's, I think, three, um, and you take the strictest one
and that's what you follow andit you have something to
reference.
You know, like, this is it's anOSHA regulation, we have to
follow it.
You know there and people isit's an OSHA regulation, we have
to follow it.
You know there and people willtell me all the time like, but
the EPA says it's 1%.
(27:34):
I said yeah, but Cal OSHA saysit's lower.
So we have to follow Cal OSHA,because you can't comply to the
EPA and not comply to Cal OSHA.
So you're.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
You're always, I mean , in your regulatory board, if
you will.
You've picking, you've pickedto just, you know, cancel out
the noise from other agenciesand use the, the agency that
regulates you the most,obviously, making sure that it,
you know, checks the boxes ofthe other ones.
But, um, you know, how was thatfor you when you first got
(28:04):
started, I mean, did you feeloverwhelmed, did you feel like I
hope I'm doing it right?
I mean, where were you able toconsult?
I mean, you know, I'm reallytalking to the people too, I
mean, on this podcast.
I think that you know there'sprobably some hesitation.
Maybe they've started abusiness and they feel like
there might not be, you know,following the laws correctly,
(28:25):
and that can be scary, but youknow, I mean one.
The internet is a massiveresource but, I mean, how were
you able to, kind of you know,figure it?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
out.
You, you gotta have somebody tolean on, somebody with
experience, and I didn't haveanybody specific when I started.
I had one person when I startedand then it kind of grew like,
as you make these relationships,because not only do we have
those those big three that Italked about, then things vary
(28:55):
from county to county.
So then there's an agency belowOSHA and EPA called every
county has like an air qualitymanagement or air pollution
control district that they want.
They have their own set ofwants, they have a checklist and
every city, every county, I'llsay, has a different checklist.
(29:20):
So you make these relationshipswith people and this kind of
goes back to networking.
I guess, when you're talking tosomebody and they just throw a
little tidbit in, like hey, whenyou're in Santa Barbara, they
changed their regulation thatyou have to do this.
Now you know.
Or you send a report to acontractor and they're like, hey
, I just want to let you know.
Like over here you have to doit like this.
(29:42):
And it was very nerve wrackingat first, but then you kind of
learn that as the years go on,like with when a certain client
calls you, that memory comesback in your head of, ok, if
this isn't Santa Barbara, I'mgoing to make sure I do this and
this to make sure we complywith the Santa Barbara
regulations on top of OSHA andEPA and, you know, making sure
(30:04):
everything's in line it all.
They all have the same bones.
They just have differentdetails that they want.
So you just it's nerve wracking, but once you do it, let's just
say five times then.
Then you know you got got thehang of it and you just remember
, because when you're runningthe business you got to keep all
that in your head and it's justlike a want of yours, like I
(30:31):
want to know all of this so thatwhen an employee calls or a
client calls I can give theanswer.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
And I I this, this.
This is again.
I know I keep referencing myother podcast, but this is
reminding me of the Start Small,think Big episode.
Check that out if you guys havenot already checked that out.
But this is where, when youstart smaller and like we talked
about in that episode,different services and things
(30:58):
talked about in that episode.
You know different services andthings, but in this example,
this is really showing when youstart small, you're able to get
these tidbits.
You're able to fill your brainwith the knowledge that you need
to navigate these regulations.
Now, I know most of thelisteners probably aren't highly
regulated.
Shane, I know that you arehighly regulated, so I think
that this was a good one totouch on.
But you know, sorry if it wasboring, I mean.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I mean, I hey, we warned you guys.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I warned him.
No, I think that anytime wetalk about government
regulations, anybody andeverybody will always get bored.
But you know, important lessonhere is you were able to
navigate around around theregulations.
You've been able tosuccessfully run your business.
So don't get caught up in.
And just my takeaway is don'tget caught up around the
(31:44):
regulations you've been able tosuccessfully run your business.
So don't get caught up in andjust my takeaway is don't get
caught up in the red tape.
Figure out how to cut the redtape, move past it.
So moving on.
That was the last of ourchallenge questions, but this is
just going into a personalquestion.
We already spoke aboutwork-life balance, but
specifically I want to know,shane, how do you switch it off,
like I have a problem with it.
(32:05):
How do you just completely getout of work mode and switch it
off and be there for your family?
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It's really hard because we have cell phones.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Don't check your emails in the middle of the
night.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Yeah, I think I try to not bring work home.
So when I leave the office andI get home, I just try not to
talk about work and that kind ofhelps me turn it off.
You know, if the phone rings, Iwalk away and answer it.
I still consider that beingturned off because I'm just
(32:42):
answering the phone and I put itaway and I walk back in and
hang out with the family and nottalk about my phone call or not
talk about an email I just read, you know.
Or if I had a rough day and Ican't shake the frustration, or
I'll just go work out or say Ineed, I need a few minutes, I'm
going to go to the driving rangeor, you know, do something that
(33:05):
helps me turn it off.
So when I go home, I think it'sreally about just giving your
attention to the family.
You know, when you get home,that's turning it off.
It's like do they have yourattention or are you sitting
with your face buried in yourphone?
You know, sending emails ortaking phone calls, making phone
calls.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
It's a little easier once it's after, like I think,
seven o'clock, seven 30, becausemaybe not for you, but for me
that's my prime time.
Yeah, after a certain time,most of the voicemails, I
stopped answering the phone.
Unless it's you or a client,you know.
Unless it's a buddy, you knowit's different, but I won't
(33:48):
answer the phone.
And then the next day, when youlisten to those voicemails and
again, this all depends on thetype of business you're in, but
for me, like when our labsclosed, like I can't really do
anything- anyway, yeah, there'sreally nothing much you can do
until the next day.
So like when I listen to thesevoicemails the next day, most of
them are always hey, I justwant to.
(34:08):
You know I look forward tohearing from you tomorrow.
I know I'm calling late, youknow, this is what I'm hoping to
find out.
So then I started learning likepeople are understanding of
after hours.
So then I started learning likepeople are understanding of
after hours and so, because ofthat, my brain kind of okay, I'm
going to give my attention tothe family because people are
understanding it's after acertain time, like I'll call
(34:29):
them tomorrow or I'll email themback tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
And I think it's important to maybe get your
network to understand I know hementions that I like to call.
Occasionally I call.
I will say, occasionally I call, but for the most part I do
like to.
I think and this is in yournetwork and I've seen this with
some other people that are inour industry that may or may not
be on this podcast later, butit's giving them their space.
(34:54):
Like there there is like a likean approach of like hey, I want
to talk to you as a buddy rightnow, but for work stuff like
let's talk about it in themorning, and most of my work
calls if I can, don't go outuntil 9 o'clock anyway.
So making sure that we all havethat space is important.
So advice for the listenersthat are listening to this is
(35:18):
looking, you know, looking backat you know everything you've
been in through business,everything you've done to get
here to where you're at rightnow.
What is one piece of advicethat you wish you really had
when you started your business?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Oh, I wish you were more specific because there's
like a lot of stuff in differentareas.
Um, it's not a jab at you, Ijust I'm trying to one piece of
advice.
I wanted to throw a wrench inthis.
Yeah, you did.
I mean it's hard, you gotta.
(35:54):
You gotta get yourself to apoint that you can enjoy.
You have to always enjoy whatyou're doing.
That's number one.
Like you can't, and I did, likeI like being in this industry,
like I was raised in thisindustry, so I enjoyed what I
was doing.
So the late nights and you knowearly mornings and you know
(36:19):
lack of sleep, I enjoyed it.
You know early mornings and youknow lack of sleep, I enjoyed
it, you know.
So the biggest piece of advicewould be like, don't get
frustrated with yourself andjust enjoy the process, because
if you put your head down andyou work and you enjoy it and
you make the pro you know youmake networking a priority and
(36:39):
make good relationships andenjoy making those relationships
, then it's going to builditself.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
I guess, enjoy the journey along the way.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Because I mean, I'm thinking of something.
Just as you said that myindustry is a 24-hour industry,
I am since past going out andresponding, I don't respond
anymore.
Industry I have.
I am since past going out andresponding, I don't respond
anymore.
But you know, I think when forus, when we would get a call at
two o'clock in the morning, youknow you're waking up, you're
frustrated, you're tired, you're, you know you're working and
(37:10):
your head is buried into that.
But some of the memories that Iactually have and I talked to
this to my business partnerquite often is I actually miss
those days of that journey, ofbeing there and experiencing
that.
So I guess, enjoy the journeyalong the way, enjoy the journey
(37:31):
.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
And then the second piece would be be open to help,
because I held out for thelongest time thinking I could do
it all by myself, because myuncle, who's in the same
industry, is still, by himself,different mindsets though.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Different mindsets and everybody has their own road
, different mindset.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
but then I also learned he does the same thing
as me, but it's different.
He's doing legal cases and hecan move slower.
Yeah, he doesn't have to turnit around like that, but be open
to help.
Because I held out for I'mgoing to say six and a half
years, maybe seven years, ofworking by myself and finally
(38:17):
someone I can't remember whopushed me into hiring someone.
But I didn't want to do it.
I'm like I can manage by myself.
Um, and turns out I couldn't.
And once I got help, you know Ihired my first employee.
(38:38):
I mean it helps that he's great.
You know he came from abackground of already knowing
what he's doing and he's a gooddude and he was able to kind of
mesh with how I wanted to dothings.
But you got to be open to help.
Like you think you can do it byyourself and you don't want to
spend the money on somebody tocome in because you think, like
(39:02):
I'm just gonna lose money byhaving to pay somebody, but
ultimately, like by having thatperson, it makes you more
productive and you're you'reable to expand or grow the
business beyond what you weredoing by yourself.
You know you're still busybecause now you're managing
somebody but the help is keybecause it's just a thought,
(39:26):
like it's stubbornness, that youcan do it by yourself.
Maybe there's certain fieldsyou know listeners that have
jobs, that it's a solo job andagain different direction too.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
I think that everybody's direction is
different in business and Ithink for you know the people
that inspire to grow, it is okayand it goes back to that
podcast episode of startingsmall but thinking big.
And you know, going out thereand doing the grunt work and
being there and knowing, hey, Iwant to do this and putting it
(40:01):
in your plan.
But I remember, I rememberthose conversations and those
conversations of hiring and thatwas kind of the story.
When you know you are inbusiness and your goal is to
expand the business and I've hadthat conversation with people
before.
But specifically in your case,like that ledge that you're on
of, like I really know I need todo this but I am kind of scared
of the unknown.
(40:22):
But once you're in the unknownnow, and now it's known look how
quickly you hire somebody else.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Right.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
Because now it's like oh look, they actually benefit
my business and this is helpingmy business.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Yeah, it's kind of crazy, once you take the leap
that you're like I guess Ishould have done this sooner of
crazy, once you take the leapthat you're like I guess I
should have done this sooner,you know, and it also it it all
kind of happens when it needs tohappen too, because I wanted to
hire one guy, uh, and it didn'twork out, yeah, and so I'm like
, all right, I'll just keepgoing by myself randomly at a
(40:54):
party and meet this guynetworking, networking, and he's
in the same industry as me,he's working for a different
company, and he straight up toldme he's like you know, I'm not
really looking, you know, butI'll keep you in mind.
And I said that was cool, youknow, like we kept in contact
and one day, you know, he's likeare you ready for me?
(41:18):
Because, like you know, thingschanged and I was like I guess,
so let's do it.
And you know, going strong fortrying to think we're in July,
so just over a year, you know,but it was all organic.
You know, like you try to think,think of like well, I got to
(41:40):
get somebody from someone else,or it just kind of happened.
You know, like I didn't pushhim, he wasn't ready to leave.
Something happened and he wasready to leave and just kind of
all fell in.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
That seems to be your , your, your story of your, of
your business is the pieces fallin.
Yeah, sometimes the piecesdon't always fall in, but pieces
are just kind of falling intoplace here.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Right, that's really cool, you know, and I've heard
your stories too, where you knowcertain people don't work out.
But you tried, you know, andfor me it just so happened that
I found somebody, that the piecefell in and it worked.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Try and don't be afraid to fail.
Do not be afraid to fail.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
You need the help.
Yeah, you know, no matter whatindustry, it's like two minds
are better than one, becausewhen you get stuck on something,
it's like you got somebody tobounce something off and then
all of a sudden your brainclears up and you can figure it
out much faster.
For sure, for sure.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Well, guys, I think Shane, faster, for sure, for
sure.
Well, guys, I think, shane,this has been such a killer
episode.
We got some good insights fromyou and super stoked that you
are here on the first episode ofhaving a guest.
So I really appreciate youbeing here.
I really appreciate you openingup.
Remember, guys, the goal ofthis podcast is you're not alone
(42:58):
in this industry.
We've all been through it.
Business owners all think alike.
If there's a problem you'redealing with, odds are another
business owner in your circlehas dealt with it and it's okay
to talk to each other about theproblems and it's okay to open
it up.
It helps you get a goodunderstanding.
So, thank you, shane.
I appreciate you being here.
Thanks for having me.
All right, guys.
(43:19):
Well, I want to thank you forlistening.
I appreciate you guys taking thetime to listen to the Business
Guide podcast.
Let me know what you think.
I know I mentioned earlier,mentioned some stuff in the
comments FITFO, I don't think,on the podcast.
We do have a YouTube channelwhere this is going, so that's
why I say comments, but I doknow that I set up a little text
me, text me what you think.
(43:40):
I'd love to know what you thinkabout this episode and moving
forward in the comments or thattext message thread, let me know
what you think, let me knowwhat your thoughts are, let me
know what you want to hear onthis show.
If you have questions orsomething you're dealing with,
I'd love to be able to go overthem or get somebody in here and
have them as a guest where wecan go over that for you.
(44:01):
So until next time, appreciateyou guys listening.
Thanks for tuning in.
Hey everyone, what's going on?
It's Jonathan Wagner and thisis the Business Guide podcast.
Today I have a guest on theshow, shane Blanchard.
Really excited to have him hereand really just dive into the
ins and outs of business andwhat he has kind of gone through
.
So, without further ado, thisis Shane.
I'm going to give him anopportunity to you know,
(00:23):
introduce himself.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
All right.
Yeah, Jonathan, thanks forhaving me.
I've been in business now abouteight and a half years.
I run an environmental testingcompany.
We do asbestos, lead and moldtesting.
Started off working for acompany.
Well, actually, let's go back.
(00:45):
I started off as an insuranceadjuster and from there work got
slow.
I met a guy that happened to bedoing this type of job.
We hit it off and he said, if Iever needed a job, to call him.
So a few months went by and Iended up calling him and worked
(01:05):
for them for a few years andthen decided I wanted to go off
on my own.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Nice, nice.
So really starting that?
Let's go back to when youstarted your journey Like what
was the kind of the?
You know you're working for theman and then you've decided
like hey, I'm tired, I want tostart my own business.
Like what?
Like initiated that startingBecause I think on the show,
like we've got a little bit ofmix, we've got some business
owners definitely listening, butwe also have inspiring
(01:33):
entrepreneurs.
So I definitely want them toknow that we all go through this
different like mind shift,change into like hey, I no
longer want to be an employeeand I absolutely want to be a
business owner.
What was that for you?
Speaker 2 (01:51):
What was that journey like?
So for me I guess it could bepretty similar to somebody who's
unsure because, to be honest,when I left the company the
testing company I worked for fora few years I just originally
went back to being an adjusterbecause I had a handle on what I
wanted to do, but I was unsureabout taking that leap.
So I was like, you know what?
I'm just going to go back towhat's comfortable.
I'm going to be an adjuster andsee if down the road, something
(02:14):
pops up to make me want to takethat leap.
So I went back to being anadjuster and then an opportunity
came up where a guy neededtesting.
You know it happened to be fora family member and they called
me and they're like are youstill doing that?
And I said no, but I have mylicense and another family
(02:41):
member, you know.
It all kind of came togetherall at once and I was like, well
, I'm just going to take theleap and see what happens.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So it sounds like some pieces kind of fell into
place and then you were justlike your hand was forced, Like
I got to start my own business,I got to make my thing.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, like originally , when I left the previous
company, like I learnedeverything that you needed to in
order to, like, start, but Ihad never done anything like
that, so I I didn't know what todo.
Like how do you start?
What do you?
How do you even begin?
(03:16):
How?
How do you start a businessLike I?
Speaker 1 (03:20):
like to say there's no like.
I mean there's ample videos Imean this podcast is an example
but I feel like my thing that Iwould always tell people is I
don't have there's no book onlike.
This is how you start abusiness A to Z and this is
everything you're going to dealwith.
Sounds like you kind of wentthrough the same thing.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
That was it.
Like I didn't know where tostart or what to do, first or
second or third.
To do first or second or third?
It just so happened that a jobopportunity came up and I took
it and I kind of just went fromthere.
I'm like, I guess I'll figureit out as we go.
Fitfo, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You know, obviously running a business is not, you
know, it's not as easy as Ithink some people make it out to
be.
I mean, I think it's funny thatyou know in business how many
times people are like oh youknow, you've got it so easy, or
you've got employees or whateverit is.
You know, I think that asbusiness owners we have to.
We're kind of essentially thecheerleaders when we have
(04:17):
employees and we always have tokeep them motivated and we're
always motivating, you know,kind of everybody, motivating
the customers, motivating ourstaff.
What keeps you motivated?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
And specifically, like you know, sometimes, when
times are tough, like what keepsyou motivated and kind of
what's your thinking, themotivation I mean mainly comes
from, you know, wanting the willto succeed.
I guess I mean you don't wantto let yourself down In my case
I don't want to let my familydown, you don't.
You got all these surroundings.
But it ultimately comes frominside of, like that personal
(04:53):
drive of if things are slow,then what can I do to either be
productive during the time orwhat can I do to expand a little
bit and create something formyself?
You know, it's just themotivation to have the drive to
keep going.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Motivation for the family for sure.
So, guys, obviously this is thefirst episode with a guest,
definitely excited that he'shere.
I have I have some challengesthat that I've put together for
our guests that are going to becoming in.
I kind of give them a list ofthese different challenges and
then have them pick out whatreally speaks to them.
Shane has kind of crafted hisquestions so he doesn't know the
(05:37):
questions that I am going toask, but they are specific to
him and what he goes throughwith his business.
Now, before I get into thechallenges, I want to mention
something about Shane.
Now I spoke about this onanother episode, which I think
it was the art of networking andhow important it is.
And you never know when you aregoing to run into somebody that
(05:59):
is going to kind of make yourbusiness or be a big part of
your business as far as maybereferring jobs or customers or
whatever it is.
And I think with Shane, this isa good example of when other
businesses fail.
There are other businesses thatwill come in and take your spot
, so you always want to be onyour game.
When I first met Shane I'mgoing to go back to the infant
(06:20):
times full disclosure.
My business uses Shane'sbusiness and I think when you
know that initial kind ofmeeting with Shane was so he
does testing, it's veryimportant in my industry.
We need it done all of the time.
I had another business that Iwas dealing with for quite some
(06:42):
time and over the probably abouta year or two I became
increasingly frustrated.
There were issues and I couldtell that the business owner
that I was kind of connectedwith was no longer connecting
with me and my team and goals.
And one night in particularthere was a conversation that I
had with that business owner andit was a heated conversation.
(07:03):
Essentially it was a hugereferral stream into his
business and he wasn't thankfulwhatsoever.
So I was personally kind ofaffected, just kind of hurt like
gosh, I don't know what's goingon here.
And so we actually had anemergency call come in.
This is years ago and I decidedto take that emergency call at
eight or nine o'clock at nightand at this point I knew that I
(07:26):
needed a testing company.
I had had another testingcompany that I could have called
, but somebody did introduce meto Shane on that project.
They had used Shane for theirprojects that they had worked on
not kind of in our industry andme and Shane connected there.
So you never know when you'renetworking, like I mentioned in
that show before, you alwayswant to be networking, you
(07:49):
always want to improve yourcircle.
For Shane's, you know, it justkind of fell into his lap that I
was looking for a testingcompany.
He was willing to take that.
But as we have kind of grownour businesses together, you
know it's key to have somebodythat supports my business and I
(08:10):
support his business.
So definitely key that thesuccess here is making sure that
you know your businesses thrivetogether but always leave the
door open to networking.
Do you have a second version ofthat story you want me to tell,
or?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
do you want to tell?
That's pretty accurate.
I don't think I ever got thedetails of how you got my number
.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
That's, that's the details right there.
You know, I'll share the namelater too.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, it's nice to hear.
Um, yeah, I think the the keything to networking, because
what I remember most about Ithink it was either our first or
second meeting was I could justbe myself.
And I think that's like the keyto networking, because you
don't want to come in like gunsblazing, like this different
person, because then you have tokeep that up, like you be
(08:52):
yourself, and then your, yourclients like you for you, and
you just continue thatrelationship of you know you're
cool with each other, yourfriends or whatever the case
might be, or they just like you.
You know you're cool with eachother, your friends or whatever
the case might be, or they justlike you.
You know, then that's that'sthe big thing, because you put
on this act and then you know,kind of like what you're talking
(09:13):
about earlier, then you justdisappear and you know don't,
don't carry on the relationship.
Then that's when you getreplaced.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
The networking is all about relationships.
We spoke about on that, on thatepisode, by the way.
If you haven't seen it, go backand take a listen to that
episode.
But, yeah, definitely important.
Keep those, you know, keepthose relationships.
But this is your business.
When you create thesebusinesses, so you get to be who
you want to be and as newbusiness owners, we're willing
(09:43):
to do whatever it takes.
But I think as you start toestablish your business, this is
where you know it kind of getsin motion of look, this is who I
am and this is trickling intothe business and you can be
yourself and finding people thatrecognize you for yourself ends
up being more successful.
Now, I do know the part kind ofthe backstory of that too, and
I do know that there was, youknow, somebody that kind of was
(10:04):
referring you work and didn'treally support you.
So, um, yeah, it's important tojust make sure your network is
network of people that you cantrust.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
So, moving on to that , to the to the oh okay, yeah,
go for it, go for it.
Just remembering more and moreof that I, I, I think the first
job was in Camarillo and it wasa flooring job, but the second
one was a clearance over inOxnard.
We, we talked for the wholeclearance.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
I know exactly what you're talking about Two and a
half hours and, knowing you nowI can't.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
It's hard to get two and a half hours with you, but
that was like our first, firsttime hanging out and we just
talked and I gave you the wholebackstory and just tried to be
myself.
And the biggest thing that I'velearned with networking is you
just got to be upfront andhonest.
Like you, can't you learn fromother companies, like you could
say bigger companies, I guess,that they make all these
(10:58):
promises.
Well, you can't.
There are a lot of falsepromises is what I'm trying to
say.
So you just take the approachof I was just upfront, you know,
like this is how long it takes.
I know everybody says they cando it in this amount of time,
but it's just not realistic, youknow.
And then you're more receptiveto that because it's like, well,
(11:18):
that's fine, I can't have myguys here until tomorrow, you
know anyway.
So what's the point of doingthat?
Speaker 1 (11:25):
And it's not going to happen anyway, you know, I
think when you're real withpeople, you get real responses
back, and the people that areasking for unrealistic stuff,
then that ends up in failure.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, cause some people will come to me and ask
for those promises that theother companies would give them,
and when I respond and say no,they kind of like have that
moment of like well, yeah, Iguess the other company couldn't
do it either, so maybe it's nota real thing.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And I just try to keep it upfront and honest and
like this is how long it takesand this is our process and we
get it to the lab at this timeand they take a minimum of this
long to get it done and youshould hear from me at this time
, tomorrow, you know, or thenext day or whatever the case is
.
But I just that two and a halfhour conversation was a lot of
(12:10):
unloading and honestly, I think,a really good talk.
Like you learned basically myorigins all in one conversation.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Yeah, and making time for those.
I mean I I I've spoken inanother episode that you know
networking with a particularenergy, a gentleman for me, that
kind of changed my business.
I ended up meeting on mybirthday.
I put the priority of taking abreak from what I was doing to
meeting with you know somebodythat I could network with, and
it was successful for mybusiness and almost immediately.
(12:42):
So, take the time, build yournetwork.
We are here today because weare in the same network and
we've become friends.
Our businesses use each other.
We're able to both thrive, sookay.
So, starting with the, challenge, starting with the challenge
Number one.
So work-life balance, and wehave spoken about work-life
(13:03):
balance a little bit in thepodcast before.
Specifically, how do youbalance?
Speaker 2 (13:08):
the two.
It took a while.
So at first I was by myself andworking alone is what I should
say and there was no balance.
I got up, you know, let's say6.30 in the morning, went
straight to the office, got whatI could done and then usually
by 7.30, 8 o'clock I was on theroad, and come back at 6.30, get
(13:35):
more stuff done, try to gethome and put the kids to bed or,
you know, handle stuff aroundthe house.
There was just I had no plan.
Stuff around the house.
There was just I had no plan.
And then I started to realizewhen, when you look, when you
take a breath and you lookaround and you're like well, why
(13:58):
, why are we not having as muchfun or why are we not?
Well, it was me and I had tofigure out like, okay, so I need
to make like a schedule orsomething, some kind of plan to
implement my family, or tryingto remember back to when I
started, it was me and my wifeand our stepdaughter, and
(14:23):
shortly after I started we hadour first kid together.
So I had to start planning.
Okay, so instead of me goingstraight to the office in the
morning, maybe I can havebreakfast and then take off on
the road and then, when I gethome, have dinner and then go
back to the office after that.
(14:44):
You know, implementing time forthe family within grinding and
getting all my stuff done, thatI needed to get done.
So once I started doing that,then I started to figure out
like, okay, got the family takencare of, at least to the extent
(15:04):
that I could.
It's like I need, you know, gotto take care of myself too.
So I would start working outand I would try to.
I tried to figure out like itwasn't realistic you know some
people work out every day.
It wasn't realistic.
I there was no way I couldpossibly do that.
And you start like we were onthe road a lot.
(15:26):
I started listening to podcastsabout fitness and there was
this guy that was preaching likethree days a week, you work out
three days a week, that's allyou need, you know, an hour.
So I'm like I think I candedicate an hour to working out
three days a week.
You know, when you think aboutseven days in a week, three days
(15:47):
, I can manage that.
Somehow I'll find an hour inthere somewhere.
So then I started implementingworking out into the family life
and the work life and you justyou just kind of have to feel it
out as you go, like where areyou lacking?
Like maybe you're spending toomuch time at home and not enough
(16:08):
time working.
It's like the real balancingact of figuring out.
You got to figure it out as yougo, like maybe work slow and
you're spending too much time athome and you're like, well, I
should be out talking to peopleor making phone calls, and or
I'm making too many phone calls,I'm I'm bugging people, I'm
sitting at my computer for noreason, like I could be spending
(16:30):
time with the family, or sobreak, break break off the two,
cause I think sometimes peopleget, you know, obviously in that
work-life balance people alsoget where they're either giving
too much time to their familyand not enough time to the
business, or vice versa, you'vegot a thriving business but
there's not much of a personallife.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Now in my story, when I started my business, I was
single, didn't have my familyyet, so I mean I was able to
really kind of grind.
So, you know, coming intosomebody that started a business
and had the family and, youknow, grew a family with the
business, I mean that poses aunique kind of challenge, if you
will, that you kind of wentthrough of, just like I took a
(17:12):
piece here and I knew I had somedowntime and then moved it over
here and kind of yeah, it's atrue balancing act.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
I guess that's why it's in the name of it, but you
just figure it out on your own.
You take the pieces that youfeel like you're lacking and
where can I put it into thisother side to make improvements.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Nice, nice, you fit foe.
Now that's the second time I'vesaid that.
Do you know what it?
Speaker 2 (17:42):
means I have no idea.
Okay, okay so.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I use kind of a.
What is it an acronym?
I don't know when it'sabbreviated Acronym.
Yeah acronym when it's short,so we use that around my office.
There's actually signs aroundmy office.
If you've been there, we haveFITFO.
Drop me a line in the commentsif you want to know what FITFO
stands for You're going to makethem comment.
(18:05):
I got to make them commentbecause I have to say these
episodes are not marked explicit, so I don't want to say it, but
hit me up, I'd love to hearfrom you guys.
Alright, shane, challengenumber two.
What a tease man yeah, what atease.
What a tease.
I mean you'll get it when theepisode ends.
But challenge number two isseasonal fluctuations.
(18:30):
I was also struggling with thatbefore when we were talking
about that.
But I mean managing a business.
Obviously when you're superbusy, you've got your peak times
and maybe you're hiring oradapting to that, and then
obviously businesses slow downand have seasons.
How do you handle that?
Businesses slow down and haveseasons.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
How do you handle that?
That was one of the biggestshocks of I won't say like in
the beginning, because in thebeginning you're building and,
like you don't really you'retrying to get the clients to
keep you busy, so you don'treally notice those seasonal
fluctuations in the beginning.
But once you get a good amountof clients that are feeding you
work and then all of a suddenthey're not, you start to freak
(19:10):
out of like well, did they stopusing me?
What's wrong?
And then you learn that ourindustry has seasons and I'm
sure every industry is different, and for us it's like when
November, december hit,everything slows down and you
just learn that that's the wayit is, because you got
(19:31):
Thanksgiving, christmas, all theholidays in between there, that
nobody wants to get stuff doneto their house and they'll just
push it off until January.
And that's typically whyJanuary, february are just crazy
off to you know.
You're like where did all thiscome from?
Well, it's all the people thatwere holding back November,
(19:56):
december, um, but anyway, uh,dealing with the fluctuations, I
, I just started to learn that,like, how does our industry
operate?
It's seasonal in the sense oflike, okay, well, we're in the
construction industrytechnically and you start to
learn when people are gettingstuff done and when they're not
getting stuff done and you justlearn how to deal with it.
And actually one of the guysthat has a testing company
(20:17):
that's been open for I thinklike 25 years gave me one good
line that you know I kind ofstick to, especially when my
employees are like man, we'reslow, what's going on.
He told me that, um, enjoy theslow times because when you're
busy, you're going to wish youdid so.
I'm like, well, that makes alot of sense, because when
(20:38):
you're slow, you forget abouthow busy you were and you don't
enjoy that.
You start freaking out aboutwell, it's slow, what am I going
to do?
What do what am I going to do?
In reality, it's just a seasonalfluctuation of like there's
just not much going on right nowand then it picks back up and
you didn't enjoy any of the timeyou had to either catch up on
things like send out, catch upfor us, catch up on reports or
(21:01):
catch up on whatever we need todo that we maybe we got behind
on when it was busy.
So I just try to keep that inmind.
I'm like when it gets slow, Igo maybe spend some more time
with the family or plan a tripor something you know.
Take a Thursday and a Fridayoff when and when we're busy.
I can't.
There's that work life balanceExactly.
It all kind of goes together.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and for use.
For everyone that doesn't knowour particular industry I mean,
mine is definitely tied intoShane's here, but it is
definitely a feast or faminebusiness.
So you're eating real good oryou're not eating at all, but
yeah, I like that.
I like that.
(21:42):
Take a break when you're busy,make that money, make those
connections.
But you know, when you slowdown, take a minute to digest it
.
Don't freak out.
A lot of us freak out.
I'm sure you freaked out whenyou were first in business.
I freaked out when I was firstin business.
But just build, make sureyou've got that cash flow on
hand.
Make sure that you're building,you know, building kind of that
(22:05):
bankroll so you can survivethrough the slow times but be
able to take a break.
And again, going back tonetworking, make sure that now
you're also catching up on thatnetworking.
So pretty cool how you've kindof you know, been able to deal
with it.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, and the slow times too.
I mean go get lunch with people, people like lunch.
At first I'm like, well, Ican't spend money right now,
like we're slow, like what am Idoing?
But then you're just keepingthose relationships fresh.
Like the people you're havinglunch with are probably slow too
you know, we're all in the sameindustry but you just take
(22:40):
advantage of the slow times andenjoy them.
So, like you go have a nicelunch with somebody and
hopefully your clients you know,you like I know a handful of
them, maybe maybe not, but uh,you take them, take them out to
lunch or go golfing or dosomething, and just enjoy the
slow times.
Because when you're busy it'slike you can make that phone
call, but there's no time forlunch, there's no time for golf.
(23:01):
Like you can't.
You can't do that when you're,when you're slammed, you're
stuck in your office or you'rerunning around or checking on
jobs.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Capitalize, for sure on the slow time and I like what
you mentioned there too about,as you know, that you pull back
maybe spending money when it'sslow and, by the way, I do
recommend that when it is slow.
But one thing that you knowwhen we get slow, I've been able
to capitalize on not pullingback on advertising.
That is crucial and, remember,your network is your advertising
(23:33):
circle.
So, yeah, you are slow, don't,you know, always have money to
go eat with somebody?
It's a couple bucks at lunchthat could literally make your
week, your month, your year.
So, you know, make sure you gotmoney lying around for that.
But for sure, utilize, utilizethe slow times yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
That was one of the one of the things that I had.
I learned kind of the hard way.
I guess, uh, just just startputting money away, like
somewhere you can't see it.
You know, like you log intoyour business account and you're
like, well, we're doing good,but you try to make a point to
put it into a different accountthat when times get slow you've
(24:10):
been putting money away.
So you got that little cushionto the side of Can I pull it
back out?
Yeah, just in case somethinghappens.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I got this over here I am a firm believer in that too
.
I like to have automatictransfers.
I transfer it to an accountthat I don't touch unless it is
a slow time.
That account is still money forthe business to use.
It's not necessarily a savingsaccount I treat my savings
account different but that isdefinitely an operating account
(24:38):
that we tap into when it is slow.
Okay, so moving on to challengenumber three.
Now, guys, this is going to be asuper fun, but yet boring.
But I also think and I sayboring because I think it sounds
boring but if you've been inbusiness, there are some
regulations that you have had tocomply with, and when you're
(24:59):
new in business, or inspiring tobe in business, these are
things that can kind of keep youup at night to make sure, hey,
am I doing everything I can, orwhatever it may be, and I'm just
going to chime in on my side ofit is like in your industry
specifically what you do.
One of the things that I wasreally scared of was actually
calling in a testing company.
(25:20):
I was really nervous to dealwith a testing company, even
though I wanted to make sure.
You know, I checked myregulations, I knew what I
needed to do, but I didn't wantto sound like a rookie and so I
was actually kind of scared, notknowing that this is actually a
strategic relationship.
So you want to make sure thatyou get these you know these
(25:41):
questions answered, but withoutfurther ado.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
This is specifically local government regulations and
how you navigate the differentlocal versus state, maybe
federal and Shane has wanted totalk because his industry
happens to be highly regulated,say like three main regulatory
(26:07):
agencies that we have to knowabout and know how they're.
They have different wants andneeds and requirements and you
basically just they all saydifferent things for the same,
for the same topic.
So you're like which one do Ido?
You say that this percentage isokay.
(26:28):
And when I say percentage, likefor our testing, the
percentages matter.
So if it comes back below acertain percent, you know the
contractor can do it one way andif it comes in over they have
to do it another way, all basedon these regulations.
So one regulation will say youknow, this percentage is fine if
it's below that, but then youswitch over, so that's a federal
(26:50):
regulation.
And then you switch over to thestate regulation and it's a
lower percentage.
And you're like well then,which one is it?
Because I have one that complieswith the federal but not the
state, and then one thatconflicts with OSHA over here,
because we have to follow CalOSHA and federal OSHA and EPA
and they're all different.
So you just pick the strictestregulation out of the, however
(27:14):
many you're having to deal with.
For us it's, I think, three, um, and you take the strictest one
and that's what you follow andit you have something to
reference.
You know, like, this is it's anOSHA regulation, we have to
follow it.
You know there and people isit's an OSHA regulation, we have
to follow it.
You know there and people willtell me all the time like, but
the EPA says it's 1%.
(27:34):
I said yeah, but Cal OSHA saysit's lower.
So we have to follow Cal OSHA,because you can't comply to the
EPA and not comply to Cal OSHA.
So you're.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
You're always, I mean , in your regulatory board, if
you will.
You've picking, you've pickedto just, you know, cancel out
the noise from other agenciesand use the, the agency that
regulates you the most,obviously, making sure that it,
you know, checks the boxes ofthe other ones.
But, um, you know, how was thatfor you when you first got
(28:04):
started, I mean, did you feeloverwhelmed, did you feel like I
hope I'm doing it right?
I mean, where were you able toconsult?
I mean, you know, I'm reallytalking to the people too, I
mean, on this podcast.
I think that you know there'sprobably some hesitation.
Maybe they've started abusiness and they feel like
there might not be, you know,following the laws correctly,
(28:25):
and that can be scary, but youknow, I mean one.
The internet is a massiveresource but, I mean, how were
you able to, kind of you know,figure it?
Speaker 2 (28:32):
out.
You, you gotta have somebody tolean on, somebody with
experience, and I didn't haveanybody specific when I started.
I had one person when I startedand then it kind of grew like,
as you make these relationships,because not only do we have
those those big three that Italked about, then things vary
(28:55):
from county to county.
So then there's an agency belowOSHA and EPA called every
county has like an air qualitymanagement or air pollution
control district that they want.
They have their own set ofwants, they have a checklist and
every city, every county, I'llsay, has a different checklist.
(29:20):
So you make these relationshipswith people and this kind of
goes back to networking.
I guess, when you're talking tosomebody and they just throw a
little tidbit in, like hey, whenyou're in Santa Barbara, they
changed their regulation thatyou have to do this.
Now you know.
Or you send a report to acontractor and they're like, hey
, I just want to let you know.
Like over here you have to doit like this.
(29:42):
And it was very nerve wrackingat first, but then you kind of
learn that as the years go on,like with when a certain client
calls you, that memory comesback in your head of, ok, if
this isn't Santa Barbara, I'mgoing to make sure I do this and
this to make sure we complywith the Santa Barbara
regulations on top of OSHA andEPA and, you know, making sure
(30:04):
everything's in line it all.
They all have the same bones.
They just have differentdetails that they want.
So you just it's nerve wracking, but once you do it, let's just
say five times then.
Then you know you got got thehang of it and you just remember
, because when you're runningthe business you got to keep all
that in your head and it's justlike a want of yours, like I
(30:31):
want to know all of this so thatwhen an employee calls or a
client calls I can give theanswer.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
And I I this, this.
This is again.
I know I keep referencing myother podcast, but this is
reminding me of the Start Small,think Big episode.
Check that out if you guys havenot already checked that out.
But this is where, when youstart smaller and like we talked
about in that episode,different services and things
(30:58):
talked about in that episode.
You know different services andthings, but in this example,
this is really showing when youstart small, you're able to get
these tidbits.
You're able to fill your brainwith the knowledge that you need
to navigate these regulations.
Now, I know most of thelisteners probably aren't highly
regulated.
Shane, I know that you arehighly regulated, so I think
that this was a good one totouch on.
But you know, sorry if it wasboring, I mean.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I mean, I hey, we warned you guys.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I warned him.
No, I think that anytime wetalk about government
regulations, anybody andeverybody will always get bored.
But you know, important lessonhere is you were able to
navigate around around theregulations.
You've been able tosuccessfully run your business.
So don't get caught up in.
And just my takeaway is don'tget caught up around the
(31:44):
regulations you've been able tosuccessfully run your business.
So don't get caught up in andjust my takeaway is don't get
caught up in the red tape.
Figure out how to cut the redtape, move past it.
So moving on.
That was the last of ourchallenge questions, but this is
just going into a personalquestion.
We already spoke aboutwork-life balance, but
specifically I want to know,shane, how do you switch it off,
like I have a problem with it.
(32:05):
How do you just completely getout of work mode and switch it
off and be there for your family?
Speaker 2 (32:10):
It's really hard because we have cell phones.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Don't check your emails in the middle of the
night.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Yeah, I think I try to not bring work home.
So when I leave the office andI get home, I just try not to
talk about work and that kind ofhelps me turn it off.
You know, if the phone rings, Iwalk away and answer it.
I still consider that beingturned off because I'm just
(32:42):
answering the phone and I put itaway and I walk back in and
hang out with the family and nottalk about my phone call or not
talk about an email I just read, you know.
Or if I had a rough day and Ican't shake the frustration, or
I'll just go work out or say Ineed, I need a few minutes, I'm
going to go to the driving rangeor, you know, do something that
(33:05):
helps me turn it off.
So when I go home, I think it'sreally about just giving your
attention to the family.
You know, when you get home,that's turning it off.
It's like do they have yourattention or are you sitting
with your face buried in yourphone?
You know, sending emails ortaking phone calls, making phone
calls.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
It's a little easier once it's after, like I think,
seven o'clock, seven 30, becausemaybe not for you, but for me
that's my prime time.
Yeah, after a certain time,most of the voicemails, I
stopped answering the phone.
Unless it's you or a client,you know.
Unless it's a buddy, you knowit's different, but I won't
(33:48):
answer the phone.
And then the next day, when youlisten to those voicemails and
again, this all depends on thetype of business you're in, but
for me, like when our labsclosed, like I can't really do
anything- anyway, yeah, there'sreally nothing much you can do
until the next day.
So like when I listen to thesevoicemails the next day, most of
them are always hey, I justwant to.
(34:08):
You know I look forward tohearing from you tomorrow.
I know I'm calling late, youknow, this is what I'm hoping to
find out.
So then I started learning likepeople are understanding of
after hours.
So then I started learning likepeople are understanding of
after hours and so, because ofthat, my brain kind of okay, I'm
going to give my attention tothe family because people are
understanding it's after acertain time, like I'll call
(34:29):
them tomorrow or I'll email themback tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
And I think it's important to maybe get your
network to understand I know hementions that I like to call.
Occasionally I call.
I will say, occasionally I call, but for the most part I do
like to.
I think and this is in yournetwork and I've seen this with
some other people that are inour industry that may or may not
be on this podcast later, butit's giving them their space.
(34:54):
Like there there is like a likean approach of like hey, I want
to talk to you as a buddy rightnow, but for work stuff like
let's talk about it in themorning, and most of my work
calls if I can, don't go outuntil 9 o'clock anyway.
So making sure that we all havethat space is important.
So advice for the listenersthat are listening to this is
(35:18):
looking, you know, looking backat you know everything you've
been in through business,everything you've done to get
here to where you're at rightnow.
What is one piece of advicethat you wish you really had
when you started your business?
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Oh, I wish you were more specific because there's
like a lot of stuff in differentareas.
Um, it's not a jab at you, Ijust I'm trying to one piece of
advice.
I wanted to throw a wrench inthis.
Yeah, you did.
I mean it's hard, you gotta.
(35:54):
You gotta get yourself to apoint that you can enjoy.
You have to always enjoy whatyou're doing.
That's number one.
Like you can't, and I did, likeI like being in this industry,
like I was raised in thisindustry, so I enjoyed what I
was doing.
So the late nights and you knowearly mornings and you know
(36:19):
lack of sleep, I enjoyed it.
You know early mornings and youknow lack of sleep, I enjoyed
it, you know.
So the biggest piece of advicewould be like, don't get
frustrated with yourself andjust enjoy the process, because
if you put your head down andyou work and you enjoy it and
you make the pro you know youmake networking a priority and
(36:39):
make good relationships andenjoy making those relationships
, then it's going to builditself.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
I guess, enjoy the journey along the way.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Because I mean, I'm thinking of something.
Just as you said that myindustry is a 24-hour industry,
I am since past going out andresponding, I don't respond
anymore.
Industry I have.
I am since past going out andresponding, I don't respond
anymore.
But you know, I think when forus, when we would get a call at
two o'clock in the morning, youknow you're waking up, you're
frustrated, you're tired, you're, you know you're working and
(37:10):
your head is buried into that.
But some of the memories that Iactually have and I talked to
this to my business partnerquite often is I actually miss
those days of that journey, ofbeing there and experiencing
that.
So I guess, enjoy the journeyalong the way, enjoy the journey
(37:31):
.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
And then the second piece would be be open to help,
because I held out for thelongest time thinking I could do
it all by myself, because myuncle, who's in the same
industry, is still, by himself,different mindsets though.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Different mindsets and everybody has their own road
, different mindset.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
but then I also learned he does the same thing
as me, but it's different.
He's doing legal cases and hecan move slower.
Yeah, he doesn't have to turnit around like that, but be open
to help.
Because I held out for I'mgoing to say six and a half
years, maybe seven years, ofworking by myself and finally
(38:17):
someone I can't remember whopushed me into hiring someone.
But I didn't want to do it.
I'm like I can manage by myself.
Um, and turns out I couldn't.
And once I got help, you know Ihired my first employee.
(38:38):
I mean it helps that he's great.
You know he came from abackground of already knowing
what he's doing and he's a gooddude and he was able to kind of
mesh with how I wanted to dothings.
But you got to be open to help.
Like you think you can do it byyourself and you don't want to
spend the money on somebody tocome in because you think, like
(39:02):
I'm just gonna lose money byhaving to pay somebody, but
ultimately, like by having thatperson, it makes you more
productive and you're you'reable to expand or grow the
business beyond what you weredoing by yourself.
You know you're still busybecause now you're managing
somebody but the help is keybecause it's just a thought,
(39:26):
like it's stubbornness, that youcan do it by yourself.
Maybe there's certain fieldsyou know listeners that have
jobs, that it's a solo job andagain different direction too.
Speaker 1 (39:40):
I think that everybody's direction is
different in business and Ithink for you know the people
that inspire to grow, it is okayand it goes back to that
podcast episode of startingsmall but thinking big.
And you know, going out thereand doing the grunt work and
being there and knowing, hey, Iwant to do this and putting it
(40:01):
in your plan.
But I remember, I rememberthose conversations and those
conversations of hiring and thatwas kind of the story.
When you know you are inbusiness and your goal is to
expand the business and I've hadthat conversation with people
before.
But specifically in your case,like that ledge that you're on
of, like I really know I need todo this but I am kind of scared
of the unknown.
(40:22):
But once you're in the unknownnow, and now it's known look how
quickly you hire somebody else.
Speaker 2 (40:27):
Right.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
Because now it's like oh look, they actually benefit
my business and this is helpingmy business.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Yeah, it's kind of crazy, once you take the leap
that you're like I guess Ishould have done this sooner of
crazy, once you take the leapthat you're like I guess I
should have done this sooner,you know, and it also it it all
kind of happens when it needs tohappen too, because I wanted to
hire one guy, uh, and it didn'twork out, yeah, and so I'm like
, all right, I'll just keepgoing by myself randomly at a
(40:54):
party and meet this guynetworking, networking, and he's
in the same industry as me,he's working for a different
company, and he straight up toldme he's like you know, I'm not
really looking, you know, butI'll keep you in mind.
And I said that was cool, youknow, like we kept in contact
and one day, you know, he's likeare you ready for me?
(41:18):
Because, like you know, thingschanged and I was like I guess,
so let's do it.
And you know, going strong fortrying to think we're in July,
so just over a year, you know,but it was all organic.
You know, like you try to think,think of like well, I got to
(41:40):
get somebody from someone else,or it just kind of happened.
You know, like I didn't pushhim, he wasn't ready to leave.
Something happened and he wasready to leave and just kind of
all fell in.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
That seems to be your , your, your story of your, of
your business is the pieces fallin.
Yeah, sometimes the piecesdon't always fall in, but pieces
are just kind of falling intoplace here.
Speaker 2 (42:03):
Right, that's really cool, you know, and I've heard
your stories too, where you knowcertain people don't work out.
But you tried, you know, andfor me it just so happened that
I found somebody, that the piecefell in and it worked.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Try and don't be afraid to fail.
Do not be afraid to fail.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
You need the help.
Yeah, you know, no matter whatindustry, it's like two minds
are better than one, becausewhen you get stuck on something,
it's like you got somebody tobounce something off and then
all of a sudden your brainclears up and you can figure it
out much faster.
For sure, for sure.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Well, guys, I think Shane, faster, for sure, for
sure.
Well, guys, I think, shane,this has been such a killer
episode.
We got some good insights fromyou and super stoked that you
are here on the first episode ofhaving a guest.
So I really appreciate youbeing here.
I really appreciate you openingup.
Remember, guys, the goal ofthis podcast is you're not alone
(42:58):
in this industry.
We've all been through it.
Business owners all think alike.
If there's a problem you'redealing with, odds are another
business owner in your circlehas dealt with it and it's okay
to talk to each other about theproblems and it's okay to open
it up.
It helps you get a goodunderstanding.
So, thank you, shane.
I appreciate you being here.
Thanks for having me.
All right, guys.
(43:19):
Well, I want to thank you forlistening.
I appreciate you guys taking thetime to listen to the Business
Guide podcast.
Let me know what you think.
I know I mentioned earlier,mentioned some stuff in the
comments FITFO, I don't think,on the podcast.
We do have a YouTube channelwhere this is going, so that's
why I say comments, but I doknow that I set up a little text
me, text me what you think.
(43:40):
I'd love to know what you thinkabout this episode and moving
forward in the comments or thattext message thread, let me know
what you think, let me knowwhat your thoughts are, let me
know what you want to hear onthis show.
If you have questions orsomething you're dealing with,
I'd love to be able to go overthem or get somebody in here and
have them as a guest where wecan go over that for you.
(44:01):
So until next time, appreciateyou guys listening.
Thanks for tuning in.
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