August 13, 2025 • 28 mins
What does it take to be a successful young entrepreneur? In this episode, I chat with Dallin Huso of Flamingo Pools and Elevate Home Services Coaching, about making bold decisions and achieving business freedom. Don't miss out on his incredible tips and story! #Inspiration #BusinessTips
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Episode Transcript
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Ed Drozda (00:10):
Welcome to the Water Trough where we can't make you
drink, but we will make youthink.
My name is Ed Draws to the SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
(00:46):
Welcome back to The Water Troughfolks.
This is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, today I am
joined by Dallin Huso ofFlamingo Pools and Elevate Home
Service Coaching.
Dallin Huso (00:57):
How's it going?
Ed Drozda (00:58):
Going very well sir, thank you very much.
Dallin started this companyabout seven years ago from
scratch.
Uh, as most of us do in smallbusiness he started with an idea
and then went on from there.
And he grew it with systems andpeople that allowed him after
seven years to step back fromday-to-day operations while the
(01:18):
business continues to run and togrow.
I think that his story is reallyfascinating and what's more now
as he has gotten to this point,he's started coaching others in
small business and consultingwith other business owners,
which where he has found histrue passion.
So Dalin, let's talk about yourstory.
(01:40):
This is really exciting for me.
Yeah, so I guess we can start atthe beginning.
I was going to school andbouncing around a couple jobs,
just trying to figure out what Iwas gonna do with my life.
I was going to community collegeand the classroom setting was
just not for me, I was notenjoying that.
I had grown up all my life justthinking that I had to go to
school, get a degree, work a jobfor 40, 50, 60 years and then
(02:03):
retire.
So, uh was feeling just kindalost'cause it just wasn't
feeling like the right thing todo and I couldn't find a job
either that made sense for me.
Yeah, I was just not happy withthe situation I was in, and then
I read the book, Rich Dad, PoorDad, and that kind of opened up
my eyes to oh, hey, this isn'tthe only possibility.
There's more that I can do withmy life than just the standard
go to college, get a 9 to five,build up a little retirement,
(02:26):
and live off that for the restof your life.
So that got me really excitedabout the possibilities of what
I could do, and that's when Idecided that I wanted to start a
business.
I'm born and raised in Arizona,and if anyone's familiar with
the weather out here, it is veryhot, so it's almost necessary to
have a pool in your backyard.
So I knew that there was plentyof demand when it came to
(02:46):
swimming pools.
I thought, hey that seems like agood industry to get into.
So I decided to work for a poolcompany.
I did have some prior experiencethere as well, growing up, but I
decided to go work for a companyjust to get a little bit more
knowledge and experience undermy belt.
And after about six months offeeling confident in that, like
you said, I didn't have anymoney, so I started from
scratch.
I was able to buy a pole, a net,and a brush, and I just started
(03:08):
knocking doors, try to pick upclients.
So that's things first gotstarted.
Let's step back a second there.
Thank you very much for that.
I think this is really critical.
You're right.
You and how many other peoplehave said the same thing?
I have to go to college when Iget out of high school, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah.
I also happen to be a universityprofessor.
Now, I'm not promoting highereducation as the only way to
(03:31):
live.
Yeah.
So don't get me wrong here.
But I understand what you'resaying.
That's what is drilled into ourheads from a young age.
You're gonna be better than momand dad.
You're gonna get that educationthat perhaps they didn't have,
and so on and so forth.
And so here you sit going, okay,fine, I'm gonna do what you say.
And then someday you wake up andgo, well, well hold on.
What about me?
(03:51):
So I love the fact that you wokeup and said, what about me,
'cause that really is the coreof the entrepreneurial spirit.
Being able to look around andtake stock of who you are and
what you've got versus whatyou've been told and what you
think you're supposed to do.
Yeah, and like you said, it'snot for everyone, for sure, but
I do laugh when people are likeso anti college because like, if
(04:12):
you wanna be a doctor, obviouslyyou need to go to college and
there can be good socialexperiences.
But if your plan is to be anentrepreneur, there's a lot of
valuable things you can learnfrom working for someone else
and getting that knowledge thatway, and then going out and
starting on your own.
At least in my experience, wasthe best thing that I could've
done.
I love the fact that you startedout with what, a brush, a pole
and a what, and a net?
Yeah.
(04:32):
So you got a brush, a pole, anda net.
Okay.
Dallin Huso (04:34):
Yep.
So you buy this pole and thenyou have a brush and a net
attachment that you can get onto brush the pool and then net
all the leaves out of it.
So that was the bare minimum Ineeded to get started.
Ed Drozda (04:44):
Then knocking on doors.
Dallin Huso (04:45):
Yep, I started knocking doors, which is not
always the number one in termsof most effective sales method,
but I love it.
There's never an excuse not tohave anything to do,'cause you
can always go out and hit somedoors.
And, as a business owner, Ifound that people do have some
respect for you when you're outthere just trying to hustle, and
build a business and a name foryourself.
That's how things got started.
It was funny, I also sent out anemail to a couple of contacts
(05:07):
and a couple of family contacts,just letting'em know that I had
gotten started.
Between people that I knew,people that my parents knew,
probably 200 people that I sentthe email out to, and in my head
I thought I would get all of'emor 90% of'em to sign up.
I was young and naive.
I ended up getting, obviously myparents, my grandma, and my
soon-to-be in-laws, so that wasmy starting route.
(05:28):
I literally had three pools, butthat's all I needed.
That was my start.
I was able to get some morepractice on them and then
anytime I wasn't, startedknocking doors, and then started
looking into like, okay, there'sgotta be a better, smarter,
faster way to grow this thing.
That's when I started diggingand diving into the marketing
and sales aspect of growing abusiness and how to do that
successfully without having aton of money to pour into paid
(05:50):
ads or into purchasing andacquiring routes.
And so that's what kind of ledme down a rabbit hole to really
understanding how marketingworks for a small business.
Ed Drozda (06:00):
What about this rabbit hole?
Are you saying that you gotconsumed in the process or did
you find a dead end?
Dallin Huso (06:06):
I think I just got consumed in the process and I
found that I enjoyed the idea ofmarketing and growing a business
from that aspect.
It's kind of like the oppositeof what I find when I talk to a
lot of small business owners;like marketing is the first
thing that they procrastinate orpush off when stuff comes up,
when they're busy, when there'semergencies, whatever it is.
That's the first thing thatgoes, but for me it just made
sense, this has to be my numberone priority no matter what.
(06:27):
'Cause if I cut off marketing,that's the lifeblood of my
business, and then I'll cut offany sort of growth and momentum
that we have right now, so I'vealways been very intentional
about making marketing a superimportant part of my every day
as a business owner.
Or if not me, at least our team,that it's part of our every day
and so that we can continue tobrand ourselves and grow that
way.
Ed Drozda (06:48):
I totally understand you.
I think we both can agreemarketing precedes sales or
precedes effective sales.
Right.
I would say that marketing ismore valuable than sales.
It might sound like a twistedthing, but getting yourself out
there, being identified as abrand, as somebody that has some
service or product to offer isvastly more important than
selling.
(07:08):
We can often sell by virtue ofour presence, which apparently
you did.
You started out with three poolsand gee man, hello.
Dallin Huso (07:18):
I agree.
Think about the food industrywhere the actual product isn't
that great, but they're so goodat marketing and they've got
such a big brand that that's allthat matters.
Not that that's the model youshould follow, but it just shows
the power of marketing that ifyou are really good at
marketing, you can have a lot ofsuccess.
Ed Drozda (07:32):
That's a really good distinction there.
Yes, you could have a poorproduct or service, but the
bells and the whistles, theflash, the sizzle, whatever you
want to call it, can convinceyou to buy it.
But then once you do buy it, ofcourse you'll say, eh, it's not
what I had in mind.
Right.
Dollin has dished me a bill ofgoods here, but he is not giving
me anything for it.
(07:54):
I don't need that.
Behind that fantastic marketingwe've gotta have something of
value.
So you started out with threepools, within the family, why
not take advantage of whatyou've got?
That's the first and smartestthing you can do, right?
How did you make the leap fromthere to your next level?
(08:14):
I presume you went inincrements, not overnight.
So, how'd you make the firstleap?
Dallin Huso (08:19):
A couple things.
The first leap for me I wouldsay was being able to hire a
part-time person to help me outin the field,'cause that's
something that I've seen wherepeople get to a point where
they're too busy.
They're like, oh, I'll hire whenI'm too busy to do it, and then
too busy to actually go throughthat interview process and pick
the right person.
They get desperate and they'reso slammed out in the field that
they can't find someone to doit.
(08:39):
So I tried to get ahead of thatbefore I get too busy.
I wanna start looking around andbring on a part-time person.
That was my mindset going intothat first leap, and also it
kind of helped as well that Idid not enjoy being out there
cleaning pools in the summer.
It was summer when I got startedso that was also a motivator for
me.
I know for some people that'snot always the case, like they
love hanging out in the field,at least at first.
(09:00):
But for me I was like I wannaget out of this as soon as
possible and get to that nextphase of business.
That was a motivator, so I hadthe motivation, the mindset, and
then it was like how do I putthis into action?
I was looking into all thesedifferent marketing strategies,
and then also just trying to usemy common sense.
Who knows my customers?
How can I find my customers?
Who's already talking to them?
Who's already working with them?
(09:21):
That was my initial thoughtprocess, which helped me stumble
upon this idea that I now referto as power partners.
Connecting with other people whoare already working with your
target market and your targetaudience.
And I think every business hasquite a few different power
partners, but for me one of thefirst people that I thought of
was landscapers.
So backing up a little bit, Ihad dialed in on a target
(09:42):
audience.
The company is Flamingo Pools,so we tried to develop a fun,
flashy, family friendly brand.
With that we were trying totarget families that were well
off, had some disposable income,and were busy, but also valued
that time they had with theirfamily.
So they're out running around,going to sports, going to
school, going to events afterschool, and they value their
time together, so they wouldrather put the money into
(10:03):
someone else who can take careof that pool for them, so that
they can spend their timeactually enjoying their family,
enjoying their pool, andbuilding memories with it,
rather than saving a couplebucks trying to do it
themselves.
That was my target audience thatI had defined, and with that who
else has that same demographic?
And it just made a lot of sensethat if they feel this way about
their pool, they most likelyfeel the same way about other
aspects their home.
(10:24):
Landscape was one of the easiestideas; if they have a pool guy
they probably have a yard guy aswell and vice versa.
So I just started reaching outto landscapers and you know, I
was this 21-year-old kid, so Iwas a little nervous at first,
but just picked up the phone andstarted calling people, and
telling'em my story, and what Iwas looking to do, and I wanted
to connect.
Had a lot of people blow me off,but had a few people that I was
(10:45):
able to go out to lunch with andslowly built some relationships
there and was able to offer myservices to them so they were
comfortable with who I was andwhat I did, and that became a
snowball effect, and was one ofthe first huge parts of me
getting a lot of referrals and alot of organic growth that
allowed me to then go and hire atechnician to help me out in the
field.
Ed Drozda (11:05):
You keep firing on all cylinders with all these
little nuggets that areincredibly valuable.
I just met you the other dayvery briefly, an introductory
call, but I wanna tell yousomething.
I'm really impressed, because Ihave been around a lot of
business owners of all ages.
I've been around a lot ofstudents in the university, and
I gotta tell you, you reallycomport yourself in such a way
(11:29):
that really impresses me.
You're hitting on all theseelements that are so valuable
that I gotta be honest with you,some people who have been in
business for a long time stilldon't get.
I can see why your passion wouldtake you down the path of
coaching and consulting.
If I were a younger man, I'dreach out to you.
I'm further down the road, it'sdifferent now, but a couple
(11:50):
things I want to point out ofthe things that you said.
I really love how you were ableto recognize that before you got
too busy to find the right kindof help, you went out and did
it.
You made a distinction there,you said before I get
overwhelmed I wanna make sureI'm able to find the right
people.
Did I get that right?
(12:12):
Okay.
So I know it's just a littlething, but expand upon that.
To me, it's a fundamentalrequirement.
Dallin Huso (12:19):
I think when you get too busy and get
overwhelmed, you don't alwaysmake the best decisions, you
just make the most convenientone.
You can get a little desperateand hire someone just because
you're busy.
It doesn't necessarily mean thatit's the right person for the
business.
So my mindset was before I getinto that wrong or negative
mindset, whatever you wanna callit, I wanna be able to have an
(12:39):
open mind and really see thisfor what it is and what it could
be, and even though I might takea little bit of a hit up front
'cause I'm hiring before Itotally need to, I know it's
going to work out for me betterin the long run.
It's always having that bigpicture mindset, which for all
of my hires and all of my growthhas been the driving factor
there.
That helped me to not bedesperate when I had to hire
someone and be able to take mytime through that hiring process
(13:01):
and pick what I felt was gonnabe the best person for the job.
Ed Drozda (13:06):
Vision is something that we all need in business,
but is something that a lot ofus lose, because of the day to
day.
The level of intensity becomessuch that we lose sight.
We may say that we're planningahead, but we lose sight of it
because vision is something wehave to keep tabs on.
Setting a goal out in thedistance is great, but you've
gotta monitor your progress ingetting there, and I think what
(13:27):
you're saying is that the morepreparation you put in, in
advance to secure your path isreally critical.
I really appreciate that.
Another thing that you said thatI thought was quite interesting
is no matter what age you are,no matter what your persuasion
might be, to go out there andjust take a chance.
Knocking on the doors, talkingto people, reaching out, you
(13:50):
said I'm this 21-year-old kid atthat time, and I'm gonna go out
there and talk to theselandscapers who are in
established businesses and like,who the heck am I anyway, but
I'm gonna go to'em, because Ihave this vision that that's
what's gonna make me moreeffective and more prominent out
in the field.
What about that?
What is it that it takes to getup in the morning and say, I'm
(14:12):
gonna go out there and I'm gonnado these things.
Were you comfortable,uncomfortable?
Where was your head at?
Dallin Huso (14:18):
I'll share this story from time to time.
People are like, oh, I couldnever do that.
That's too scary or too much forme, and I think people get the
misunderstanding that I had nofear in going to do these
things.
But I was definitelyuncomfortable.
And, there's still times whereI'm uncomfortable talking to
certain business owners,depending on where they're at in
business, but I think there's abig distinction between
motivation and discipline.
I was motivated, but I thinkmotivation can go up and down
(14:41):
and can be a rollercoaster, butdiscipline is all about, hey I'm
doing this no matter what.
Like no matter how I feel when Iget up in the morning, no matter
how tired I am, or no matter howscary this seems, this is my
goal, and these are the thingsthat I've written out in order
to achieve those goals andwhether I wanna do those things
or not, I understand that that'swhat needs to be done to hit
that goal.
And so I think it just came downto being disciplined and having
(15:01):
a very clear vision in mind forwhat I wanted for myself and my
business, and just doingwhatever it takes to get that.
Ed Drozda (15:09):
You definitely have to be committed.
You definitely have to have thedevotion to the task.
The more clear the goal is andthe more clarity in your vision,
the more apt you are to getthere.
But as you say, just because youhave a vision doesn't mean
you're gonna get there.
You have to put the feet to thefire and say, okay, I gotta get
up tomorrow morning and do itagain.
And, oh I don't like this, it'snot all that great.
(15:30):
And that's a good distinction tomake too.
I do think a lot of people lookat successful people and success
is how you define it, theindividual, but they look at
someone that they perceive asbeing successful and they say,
well I couldn't do all thosethings because, and they don't
recognize that that person whothey think is successful has
been through the same thing.
(15:52):
They looked at somebody else andsaid, I couldn't do that.
But they did.
In their own way.
Right?
Dallin Huso (16:00):
Yeah, it's just about taking that first step.
I do a lot of working out andtraining too, and sometimes it's
such a pain to go to the gym anddo stuff.
The hardest step they say islike just taking that step out
the front door, and once you dothat you're already there,
you're already 90% of the waythere.
I think it's the same thing.
It's like setting your alarm orjust making that phone call to
set the appointment.
Then, once you've done that,it's a lot easier to actually
show up and do that.
Ed Drozda (16:20):
Excellent.
So you have moved from the threepools you have gone out there,
you've identified powerpartners, you said?
Dallin Huso (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's what we call'em.
Ed Drozda (16:29):
Power partners.
Okay.
You identified power partners towork with, and so what happened
after that?
What was your next step?
Dallin Huso (16:37):
We had a lot of snowball growth with that.
We had a couple landscapers thatfed us customer after customer.
We were able, kinda going backto what we said earlier,
marketing is important, but youwanna make sure that you can
fulfill a great service too.
And because we're able to dothat and these customers were
giving raving reviews to thelandscape about that, it's
making this landscaper look likea hero for connecting them with
a great pool guy,'cause they'vebeen searching so long for
(16:58):
someone.
They wanted to continue to havethat experience and it makes
their customers trust them more,so we had a lot of growth from
that, which helped me hire thatfirst technician out in the
field.
And my whole goal was like I'llkeep helping out a little bit in
the field, but I wanna focusmore on marketing and sales,
which led me to my next phaseof, hey I'm out in the field
doing sales all the time, butbecause of that I'm missing
(17:19):
calls here and there.
A customer will call or apotential lead will call, and
I'll get back to them after this30 to 45 minute sales
appointment that I'm having, andnow customer service is being
threatened a little bit or I'mlosing out on new leads.
So that kind of made me realizemy next thing is I need an
assistant.
I need someone to help out, noone was answering the phones.
Also doing low value tasks likelooking at invoices, posting
(17:39):
content on social media, thatsort of stuff.
That helped me hit my nextrealization of I need some
office help so that I can bemore focused on the high value
tasks of marketing and sales,and eventually the hiring and,
and management and leadership togrow the business.
Those were the aspects that ledme to think that I needed a
receptionist to make sure thatour customer experience was
(17:59):
where it needed to be, and alsofree my time up for those higher
value tasks.
Again it was a decision that wasalways based on my future vision
of hey, this is my salary or myprofit that I'm now giving up to
hire someone, even though Idon't technically need it yet,
like I could still manage andmake it work.
But number one, I wanted toprovide the best experience
possible for our customers.
(18:20):
I wanted someone to be able toanswer the phone at all times
and not only be able to answer,but be able to answer sitting
down at a computer, being ableto check the schedule or check
their invoice rather thansomeone out in the field, all
this background noise sayingI'll get back to you later.
I was very big on making surethat our brand not only showed a
premium product, but that weactually put our money where our
mouth is.
So it was for that, and thenalso just for like I'm going to
(18:42):
lose some money up front, but Iknow in the long run this is
going to help us grow and it'llmake me more money down the road
as we continue to get success,and get reviews, referrals,
testimonials from our process.
Ed Drozda (18:55):
It sounds like from day one you have always been
looking ahead and willing totake some not so timid steps to
ensure that you could keepgoing.
Dallin Huso (19:05):
Yeah.
Yeah, and I think that goingback to I read this book, Rich
Dad, Poor Dad, and my goalwasn't oh, I just wanna be a
pool guy my whole life, I waslike no, I want to grow this
business.
Whether that means growing it torun on autopilot or growing it
to sell, I always wanted to growand scale a business.
I was going to take those stepswhenever they were possible to
continue to hit that next level,because I had a very clear
(19:27):
vision in mind for myself fromday one.
Ed Drozda (19:30):
So at some point along the way, you found
yourself in a position where youcan step away from the day to
day and you realize you havethis passion to share your
experience with others in smallbusiness.
Is that correct?
Dallin Huso (19:42):
Yeah, yeah, you want me to touch on that?
Ed Drozda (19:45):
I'd like that, yes.
Dallin Huso (19:46):
That's the next phase of business.
I hired a service manager tohandle the technicians,
escalated customer issues,handle all the higher scheduling
and repairs on a day-to-daybasis.
And that was really my firstexperience of stepping back.
I still had some involvementwith the day-to-day, but I
didn't have to be fully involvedinto that.
Shortly after that my wife and Imoved to Hawaii for a little
bit.
This was back during COVID, sowe were stuck at home; we're
(20:09):
like, well if we're gonna bestuck somewhere, let's be stuck
on the beach.
We did that just to have thatcool experience before we had
kids or anything, and by doingthat, that's I think the first
time I really started having alot of people reach out to me,
whether it was past friends,people that I knew, or people
that had seen me grow throughsocial media.
People just started reaching outlike, hey, what did you do to
grow?
How have you been able to dothis in such a quick period of
(20:30):
time?
I was more than happy to sharesome of those things that I've
done, some of the things that Ilearned.
That's when I started torealize, what seemed like very
simple steps didn't cross theirminds, for a lot of people.
I also realized how much Ienjoyed talking about that
process with people.
I slowly started building acommunity doing that, and the
more that we continue to growover the next couple years, the
(20:50):
more I was able to step backfrom the day to day.
I spent more time networking,talking to other business
owners, and it got to the pointwhere I was like I'm spending
more time doing this for freethan I am actually running my
business.
So, let's do something aboutthat.
I'd had a coach of my own for aperiod of time, and I attribute
a lot of my success to theaccountability that he was able
to provide for me.
Some of the stuff you can findeasily, some you can't, but the
(21:11):
accountability itself as abusiness owner is huge.
Having someone that you'retalking to on a regular basis,
and help with that disciplinebecause everyone else as an
employee, you have that fromyour manager or your boss, but
as an entrepreneur, you don'talways have that.
So it was nice to have that.
I saw the value in having that,and so I was like, hey, this is
something I love doing,something that I'm already
doing, and something that Ibelieve in and have a passion
(21:32):
for.
That's what really turned mymind to the idea of why don't I
take this and really startpushing it and get some clients
in the door, and so thatorganically happened, I'd say a
year and a half, two years ago,and it's grown from there.
Ed Drozda (21:45):
What do you see or imagine for the future here?
What's that process like foryou?
Dallin Huso (21:52):
Yeah, I think for the future, I love being able to
work when I want, where I want,and with who I want.
I can pick whether I wanna takeon a client or not.
I can be home in Arizona or Ican be on a trip in California,
and just pull out my laptop andtalk to a client.
Then I can also work a regularnine to five, or I can take a
day off or a week off if I needto and move things around or get
(22:14):
some stuff done at night afterthe kids go to bed.
So it gives me a lot offlexibility and control and time
is the most important thing tome, and having the time to spend
with family, with friends,hobbies, the other aspects of
life that are so important aswell.
And so it's really just given methe opportunity to do that.
So yeah, my goal is to continueto grow this and the more I grow
it, the more of that flexibilityand freedom that I'll have.
(22:35):
But It's also been such arewarding experience, and not
that the pool company hasn'tbeen rewarding.
It has been to an extent, but tobe like so involved in someone's
growth and for them toexperience some of that freedom
that I've been able to see formyself has been more rewarding
than I would've imagined itbeing.
I have a goal to work with asmany blue collar, small business
owners as possible, and helpthem to any point I can, any
(22:57):
extent I can just experiencesome of the freedom that it's
provided me.
I have such a passion for homeservices, and the blue collar
space and what it can be forpeople.
Unfortunately, for so manypeople it becomes a prison
almost and takes over theirlife.
I just love showing them this isactually possible.
You can actually do this.
Not saying it's easy, but it issimple if you follow these
steps.
Giving'em that blueprint that'shelped me to grow.
Ed Drozda (23:19):
That's excellent.
Given all these things, back inthe beginning did you envision
you'd be where you are today?
I know you talked about being,uh, out of the day to day from
early on, but did you envisionyourself having so much to share
with people like you do now?
Did you see that coming?
Dallin Huso (23:38):
To be honest, no, I didn't.
Like I said, it was always theplan to grow.
I think I already had theflexibility and the freedom of
my time.
That was always the plan, but Ididn't necessarily know what
that was gonna look likeexactly.
It was more hey, I'm gonna growthis business and hopefully it
provides that to a certainextent and I think it was to a
big extent, but what I wasmissing was some of that passion
that I didn't always get fromthat, which I am getting now.
(24:00):
That's I think what made mepivot because I still was
achieving some of that freedombeforehand, but was missing some
of the passion that I have now.
Ed Drozda (24:08):
So this process has opened up your eyes to potential
you didn't realize you had.
Dallin Huso (24:13):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Ed Drozda (24:15):
Isn't that a fascinating thing when you think
about it?
You know?
I know where I'm going, I knowwhat I'm doing, or planning to
do, and whoa you wake up in themorning and go, gee, I'm going
down this path.
How cool is that?
I know it's fun, also it can bescary at times.
It's cool to look back and belike if you asked me seven years
ago where I was today, itdefinitely would be in a
different spot than I actuallyam, but totally happy with where
(24:36):
I am right now.
You wouldn't see this.
This would not be Dallin Huso.
That's fantastic.
Well Dallin, our time is comingto an end so I'd like to ask you
if there's any particular thingor things that you'd like to
leave us with before we go?
That's a great question.
I know we've covered a lot and Iknow you talked about success
and you mentioned how it'sdifferent for everybody, and I
(24:57):
think that's so true.
I think people can kind of feeldown on themselves or down on
their business, especially ifthey have a goal and they hit
it, but then all of a suddenthey look at this other guy and
they have no idea what theirexperiences are.
Especially with social medianow, it's hard to feel good
about yourself sometimes whenyou're seeing what other people
are doing, without any context,right?
So for me, I've found adefinition of success that I
feel works really well.
(25:18):
For me, success is having a goaland then deciding and figuring
out what I need to do to hitthat goal, and then taking
action and doing all thosesteps.
I know that I have full controlover taking those steps.
I don't always have full controlover the outcome because there
are external sources that canaffect things both negatively
and positively.
But I know if I set this goaland I did everything in my power
(25:40):
to achieve that, for me that'ssuccess, and I think anyone can
take that and apply that totheir lives, wherever they are
in business.
I agree with you a hundredpercent.
Dallin, again it was fantasticchatting with you.
I'm really excited about all thethings you have ahead of you and
also for the people you'll beworking with, because as I had
said previously, you have agreat way of delivering on these
(26:02):
things, and I believe thatthat's an absolute great recipe
for success in an engagement inthe coaching arena.
Cheers to you and all the bestwishes for those things.
Dallin Huso (26:15):
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Eddie, it wasa pleasure being on and
appreciate getting to share mystory with you and your
listeners.
Ed Drozda (26:20):
I and they appreciate it as well.
Folks this is Ed Drozda, TheSmall Business Doctor, and here
at The Water Trough I want towish you a healthy business.
I would also like to say, inview of the conversation I had
today with Dallin, consider theopportunity that's available to
you.
I think this is a showcase forthe potential that we may think
(26:44):
we have, but we're not certainabout.
I hope this story will be asinspiring to you as it was to
me.
Dallin Huso of Flamingo Pools,and Elevate Home Service
Coaching, once again I want tothank you for being here with me
today.
Dallin Huso (26:58):
Thanks, Ed.
Ed Drozda (26:59):
Cheers, folks.
Welcome to the Water Trough where we can't make you
drink, but we will make youthink.
My name is Ed Draws to the SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
(00:46):
Welcome back to The Water Troughfolks.
This is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, today I am
joined by Dallin Huso ofFlamingo Pools and Elevate Home
Service Coaching.
Dallin Huso (00:57):
How's it going?
Ed Drozda (00:58):
Going very well sir, thank you very much.
Dallin started this companyabout seven years ago from
scratch.
Uh, as most of us do in smallbusiness he started with an idea
and then went on from there.
And he grew it with systems andpeople that allowed him after
seven years to step back fromday-to-day operations while the
(01:18):
business continues to run and togrow.
I think that his story is reallyfascinating and what's more now
as he has gotten to this point,he's started coaching others in
small business and consultingwith other business owners,
which where he has found histrue passion.
So Dalin, let's talk about yourstory.
(01:40):
This is really exciting for me.
Yeah, so I guess we can start atthe beginning.
I was going to school andbouncing around a couple jobs,
just trying to figure out what Iwas gonna do with my life.
I was going to community collegeand the classroom setting was
just not for me, I was notenjoying that.
I had grown up all my life justthinking that I had to go to
school, get a degree, work a jobfor 40, 50, 60 years and then
(02:03):
retire.
So, uh was feeling just kindalost'cause it just wasn't
feeling like the right thing todo and I couldn't find a job
either that made sense for me.
Yeah, I was just not happy withthe situation I was in, and then
I read the book, Rich Dad, PoorDad, and that kind of opened up
my eyes to oh, hey, this isn'tthe only possibility.
There's more that I can do withmy life than just the standard
go to college, get a 9 to five,build up a little retirement,
(02:26):
and live off that for the restof your life.
So that got me really excitedabout the possibilities of what
I could do, and that's when Idecided that I wanted to start a
business.
I'm born and raised in Arizona,and if anyone's familiar with
the weather out here, it is veryhot, so it's almost necessary to
have a pool in your backyard.
So I knew that there was plentyof demand when it came to
(02:46):
swimming pools.
I thought, hey that seems like agood industry to get into.
So I decided to work for a poolcompany.
I did have some prior experiencethere as well, growing up, but I
decided to go work for a companyjust to get a little bit more
knowledge and experience undermy belt.
And after about six months offeeling confident in that, like
you said, I didn't have anymoney, so I started from
scratch.
I was able to buy a pole, a net,and a brush, and I just started
(03:08):
knocking doors, try to pick upclients.
So that's things first gotstarted.
Let's step back a second there.
Thank you very much for that.
I think this is really critical.
You're right.
You and how many other peoplehave said the same thing?
I have to go to college when Iget out of high school, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah.
I also happen to be a universityprofessor.
Now, I'm not promoting highereducation as the only way to
(03:31):
live.
Yeah.
So don't get me wrong here.
But I understand what you'resaying.
That's what is drilled into ourheads from a young age.
You're gonna be better than momand dad.
You're gonna get that educationthat perhaps they didn't have,
and so on and so forth.
And so here you sit going, okay,fine, I'm gonna do what you say.
And then someday you wake up andgo, well, well hold on.
What about me?
(03:51):
So I love the fact that you wokeup and said, what about me,
'cause that really is the coreof the entrepreneurial spirit.
Being able to look around andtake stock of who you are and
what you've got versus whatyou've been told and what you
think you're supposed to do.
Yeah, and like you said, it'snot for everyone, for sure, but
I do laugh when people are likeso anti college because like, if
(04:12):
you wanna be a doctor, obviouslyyou need to go to college and
there can be good socialexperiences.
But if your plan is to be anentrepreneur, there's a lot of
valuable things you can learnfrom working for someone else
and getting that knowledge thatway, and then going out and
starting on your own.
At least in my experience, wasthe best thing that I could've
done.
I love the fact that you startedout with what, a brush, a pole
and a what, and a net?
Yeah.
(04:32):
So you got a brush, a pole, anda net.
Okay.
Dallin Huso (04:34):
Yep.
So you buy this pole and thenyou have a brush and a net
attachment that you can get onto brush the pool and then net
all the leaves out of it.
So that was the bare minimum Ineeded to get started.
Ed Drozda (04:44):
Then knocking on doors.
Dallin Huso (04:45):
Yep, I started knocking doors, which is not
always the number one in termsof most effective sales method,
but I love it.
There's never an excuse not tohave anything to do,'cause you
can always go out and hit somedoors.
And, as a business owner, Ifound that people do have some
respect for you when you're outthere just trying to hustle, and
build a business and a name foryourself.
That's how things got started.
It was funny, I also sent out anemail to a couple of contacts
(05:07):
and a couple of family contacts,just letting'em know that I had
gotten started.
Between people that I knew,people that my parents knew,
probably 200 people that I sentthe email out to, and in my head
I thought I would get all of'emor 90% of'em to sign up.
I was young and naive.
I ended up getting, obviously myparents, my grandma, and my
soon-to-be in-laws, so that wasmy starting route.
(05:28):
I literally had three pools, butthat's all I needed.
That was my start.
I was able to get some morepractice on them and then
anytime I wasn't, startedknocking doors, and then started
looking into like, okay, there'sgotta be a better, smarter,
faster way to grow this thing.
That's when I started diggingand diving into the marketing
and sales aspect of growing abusiness and how to do that
successfully without having aton of money to pour into paid
(05:50):
ads or into purchasing andacquiring routes.
And so that's what kind of ledme down a rabbit hole to really
understanding how marketingworks for a small business.
Ed Drozda (06:00):
What about this rabbit hole?
Are you saying that you gotconsumed in the process or did
you find a dead end?
Dallin Huso (06:06):
I think I just got consumed in the process and I
found that I enjoyed the idea ofmarketing and growing a business
from that aspect.
It's kind of like the oppositeof what I find when I talk to a
lot of small business owners;like marketing is the first
thing that they procrastinate orpush off when stuff comes up,
when they're busy, when there'semergencies, whatever it is.
That's the first thing thatgoes, but for me it just made
sense, this has to be my numberone priority no matter what.
(06:27):
'Cause if I cut off marketing,that's the lifeblood of my
business, and then I'll cut offany sort of growth and momentum
that we have right now, so I'vealways been very intentional
about making marketing a superimportant part of my every day
as a business owner.
Or if not me, at least our team,that it's part of our every day
and so that we can continue tobrand ourselves and grow that
way.
Ed Drozda (06:48):
I totally understand you.
I think we both can agreemarketing precedes sales or
precedes effective sales.
Right.
I would say that marketing ismore valuable than sales.
It might sound like a twistedthing, but getting yourself out
there, being identified as abrand, as somebody that has some
service or product to offer isvastly more important than
selling.
(07:08):
We can often sell by virtue ofour presence, which apparently
you did.
You started out with three poolsand gee man, hello.
Dallin Huso (07:18):
I agree.
Think about the food industrywhere the actual product isn't
that great, but they're so goodat marketing and they've got
such a big brand that that's allthat matters.
Not that that's the model youshould follow, but it just shows
the power of marketing that ifyou are really good at
marketing, you can have a lot ofsuccess.
Ed Drozda (07:32):
That's a really good distinction there.
Yes, you could have a poorproduct or service, but the
bells and the whistles, theflash, the sizzle, whatever you
want to call it, can convinceyou to buy it.
But then once you do buy it, ofcourse you'll say, eh, it's not
what I had in mind.
Right.
Dollin has dished me a bill ofgoods here, but he is not giving
me anything for it.
(07:54):
I don't need that.
Behind that fantastic marketingwe've gotta have something of
value.
So you started out with threepools, within the family, why
not take advantage of whatyou've got?
That's the first and smartestthing you can do, right?
How did you make the leap fromthere to your next level?
(08:14):
I presume you went inincrements, not overnight.
So, how'd you make the firstleap?
Dallin Huso (08:19):
A couple things.
The first leap for me I wouldsay was being able to hire a
part-time person to help me outin the field,'cause that's
something that I've seen wherepeople get to a point where
they're too busy.
They're like, oh, I'll hire whenI'm too busy to do it, and then
too busy to actually go throughthat interview process and pick
the right person.
They get desperate and they'reso slammed out in the field that
they can't find someone to doit.
(08:39):
So I tried to get ahead of thatbefore I get too busy.
I wanna start looking around andbring on a part-time person.
That was my mindset going intothat first leap, and also it
kind of helped as well that Idid not enjoy being out there
cleaning pools in the summer.
It was summer when I got startedso that was also a motivator for
me.
I know for some people that'snot always the case, like they
love hanging out in the field,at least at first.
(09:00):
But for me I was like I wannaget out of this as soon as
possible and get to that nextphase of business.
That was a motivator, so I hadthe motivation, the mindset, and
then it was like how do I putthis into action?
I was looking into all thesedifferent marketing strategies,
and then also just trying to usemy common sense.
Who knows my customers?
How can I find my customers?
Who's already talking to them?
Who's already working with them?
(09:21):
That was my initial thoughtprocess, which helped me stumble
upon this idea that I now referto as power partners.
Connecting with other people whoare already working with your
target market and your targetaudience.
And I think every business hasquite a few different power
partners, but for me one of thefirst people that I thought of
was landscapers.
So backing up a little bit, Ihad dialed in on a target
(09:42):
audience.
The company is Flamingo Pools,so we tried to develop a fun,
flashy, family friendly brand.
With that we were trying totarget families that were well
off, had some disposable income,and were busy, but also valued
that time they had with theirfamily.
So they're out running around,going to sports, going to
school, going to events afterschool, and they value their
time together, so they wouldrather put the money into
(10:03):
someone else who can take careof that pool for them, so that
they can spend their timeactually enjoying their family,
enjoying their pool, andbuilding memories with it,
rather than saving a couplebucks trying to do it
themselves.
That was my target audience thatI had defined, and with that who
else has that same demographic?
And it just made a lot of sensethat if they feel this way about
their pool, they most likelyfeel the same way about other
aspects their home.
(10:24):
Landscape was one of the easiestideas; if they have a pool guy
they probably have a yard guy aswell and vice versa.
So I just started reaching outto landscapers and you know, I
was this 21-year-old kid, so Iwas a little nervous at first,
but just picked up the phone andstarted calling people, and
telling'em my story, and what Iwas looking to do, and I wanted
to connect.
Had a lot of people blow me off,but had a few people that I was
(10:45):
able to go out to lunch with andslowly built some relationships
there and was able to offer myservices to them so they were
comfortable with who I was andwhat I did, and that became a
snowball effect, and was one ofthe first huge parts of me
getting a lot of referrals and alot of organic growth that
allowed me to then go and hire atechnician to help me out in the
field.
Ed Drozda (11:05):
You keep firing on all cylinders with all these
little nuggets that areincredibly valuable.
I just met you the other dayvery briefly, an introductory
call, but I wanna tell yousomething.
I'm really impressed, because Ihave been around a lot of
business owners of all ages.
I've been around a lot ofstudents in the university, and
I gotta tell you, you reallycomport yourself in such a way
(11:29):
that really impresses me.
You're hitting on all theseelements that are so valuable
that I gotta be honest with you,some people who have been in
business for a long time stilldon't get.
I can see why your passion wouldtake you down the path of
coaching and consulting.
If I were a younger man, I'dreach out to you.
I'm further down the road, it'sdifferent now, but a couple
(11:50):
things I want to point out ofthe things that you said.
I really love how you were ableto recognize that before you got
too busy to find the right kindof help, you went out and did
it.
You made a distinction there,you said before I get
overwhelmed I wanna make sureI'm able to find the right
people.
Did I get that right?
(12:12):
Okay.
So I know it's just a littlething, but expand upon that.
To me, it's a fundamentalrequirement.
Dallin Huso (12:19):
I think when you get too busy and get
overwhelmed, you don't alwaysmake the best decisions, you
just make the most convenientone.
You can get a little desperateand hire someone just because
you're busy.
It doesn't necessarily mean thatit's the right person for the
business.
So my mindset was before I getinto that wrong or negative
mindset, whatever you wanna callit, I wanna be able to have an
(12:39):
open mind and really see thisfor what it is and what it could
be, and even though I might takea little bit of a hit up front
'cause I'm hiring before Itotally need to, I know it's
going to work out for me betterin the long run.
It's always having that bigpicture mindset, which for all
of my hires and all of my growthhas been the driving factor
there.
That helped me to not bedesperate when I had to hire
someone and be able to take mytime through that hiring process
(13:01):
and pick what I felt was gonnabe the best person for the job.
Ed Drozda (13:06):
Vision is something that we all need in business,
but is something that a lot ofus lose, because of the day to
day.
The level of intensity becomessuch that we lose sight.
We may say that we're planningahead, but we lose sight of it
because vision is something wehave to keep tabs on.
Setting a goal out in thedistance is great, but you've
gotta monitor your progress ingetting there, and I think what
(13:27):
you're saying is that the morepreparation you put in, in
advance to secure your path isreally critical.
I really appreciate that.
Another thing that you said thatI thought was quite interesting
is no matter what age you are,no matter what your persuasion
might be, to go out there andjust take a chance.
Knocking on the doors, talkingto people, reaching out, you
(13:50):
said I'm this 21-year-old kid atthat time, and I'm gonna go out
there and talk to theselandscapers who are in
established businesses and like,who the heck am I anyway, but
I'm gonna go to'em, because Ihave this vision that that's
what's gonna make me moreeffective and more prominent out
in the field.
What about that?
What is it that it takes to getup in the morning and say, I'm
(14:12):
gonna go out there and I'm gonnado these things.
Were you comfortable,uncomfortable?
Where was your head at?
Dallin Huso (14:18):
I'll share this story from time to time.
People are like, oh, I couldnever do that.
That's too scary or too much forme, and I think people get the
misunderstanding that I had nofear in going to do these
things.
But I was definitelyuncomfortable.
And, there's still times whereI'm uncomfortable talking to
certain business owners,depending on where they're at in
business, but I think there's abig distinction between
motivation and discipline.
I was motivated, but I thinkmotivation can go up and down
(14:41):
and can be a rollercoaster, butdiscipline is all about, hey I'm
doing this no matter what.
Like no matter how I feel when Iget up in the morning, no matter
how tired I am, or no matter howscary this seems, this is my
goal, and these are the thingsthat I've written out in order
to achieve those goals andwhether I wanna do those things
or not, I understand that that'swhat needs to be done to hit
that goal.
And so I think it just came downto being disciplined and having
(15:01):
a very clear vision in mind forwhat I wanted for myself and my
business, and just doingwhatever it takes to get that.
Ed Drozda (15:09):
You definitely have to be committed.
You definitely have to have thedevotion to the task.
The more clear the goal is andthe more clarity in your vision,
the more apt you are to getthere.
But as you say, just because youhave a vision doesn't mean
you're gonna get there.
You have to put the feet to thefire and say, okay, I gotta get
up tomorrow morning and do itagain.
And, oh I don't like this, it'snot all that great.
(15:30):
And that's a good distinction tomake too.
I do think a lot of people lookat successful people and success
is how you define it, theindividual, but they look at
someone that they perceive asbeing successful and they say,
well I couldn't do all thosethings because, and they don't
recognize that that person whothey think is successful has
been through the same thing.
(15:52):
They looked at somebody else andsaid, I couldn't do that.
But they did.
In their own way.
Right?
Dallin Huso (16:00):
Yeah, it's just about taking that first step.
I do a lot of working out andtraining too, and sometimes it's
such a pain to go to the gym anddo stuff.
The hardest step they say islike just taking that step out
the front door, and once you dothat you're already there,
you're already 90% of the waythere.
I think it's the same thing.
It's like setting your alarm orjust making that phone call to
set the appointment.
Then, once you've done that,it's a lot easier to actually
show up and do that.
Ed Drozda (16:20):
Excellent.
So you have moved from the threepools you have gone out there,
you've identified powerpartners, you said?
Dallin Huso (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, that's what we call'em.
Ed Drozda (16:29):
Power partners.
Okay.
You identified power partners towork with, and so what happened
after that?
What was your next step?
Dallin Huso (16:37):
We had a lot of snowball growth with that.
We had a couple landscapers thatfed us customer after customer.
We were able, kinda going backto what we said earlier,
marketing is important, but youwanna make sure that you can
fulfill a great service too.
And because we're able to dothat and these customers were
giving raving reviews to thelandscape about that, it's
making this landscaper look likea hero for connecting them with
a great pool guy,'cause they'vebeen searching so long for
(16:58):
someone.
They wanted to continue to havethat experience and it makes
their customers trust them more,so we had a lot of growth from
that, which helped me hire thatfirst technician out in the
field.
And my whole goal was like I'llkeep helping out a little bit in
the field, but I wanna focusmore on marketing and sales,
which led me to my next phaseof, hey I'm out in the field
doing sales all the time, butbecause of that I'm missing
(17:19):
calls here and there.
A customer will call or apotential lead will call, and
I'll get back to them after this30 to 45 minute sales
appointment that I'm having, andnow customer service is being
threatened a little bit or I'mlosing out on new leads.
So that kind of made me realizemy next thing is I need an
assistant.
I need someone to help out, noone was answering the phones.
Also doing low value tasks likelooking at invoices, posting
(17:39):
content on social media, thatsort of stuff.
That helped me hit my nextrealization of I need some
office help so that I can bemore focused on the high value
tasks of marketing and sales,and eventually the hiring and,
and management and leadership togrow the business.
Those were the aspects that ledme to think that I needed a
receptionist to make sure thatour customer experience was
(17:59):
where it needed to be, and alsofree my time up for those higher
value tasks.
Again it was a decision that wasalways based on my future vision
of hey, this is my salary or myprofit that I'm now giving up to
hire someone, even though Idon't technically need it yet,
like I could still manage andmake it work.
But number one, I wanted toprovide the best experience
possible for our customers.
(18:20):
I wanted someone to be able toanswer the phone at all times
and not only be able to answer,but be able to answer sitting
down at a computer, being ableto check the schedule or check
their invoice rather thansomeone out in the field, all
this background noise sayingI'll get back to you later.
I was very big on making surethat our brand not only showed a
premium product, but that weactually put our money where our
mouth is.
So it was for that, and thenalso just for like I'm going to
(18:42):
lose some money up front, but Iknow in the long run this is
going to help us grow and it'llmake me more money down the road
as we continue to get success,and get reviews, referrals,
testimonials from our process.
Ed Drozda (18:55):
It sounds like from day one you have always been
looking ahead and willing totake some not so timid steps to
ensure that you could keepgoing.
Dallin Huso (19:05):
Yeah.
Yeah, and I think that goingback to I read this book, Rich
Dad, Poor Dad, and my goalwasn't oh, I just wanna be a
pool guy my whole life, I waslike no, I want to grow this
business.
Whether that means growing it torun on autopilot or growing it
to sell, I always wanted to growand scale a business.
I was going to take those stepswhenever they were possible to
continue to hit that next level,because I had a very clear
(19:27):
vision in mind for myself fromday one.
Ed Drozda (19:30):
So at some point along the way, you found
yourself in a position where youcan step away from the day to
day and you realize you havethis passion to share your
experience with others in smallbusiness.
Is that correct?
Dallin Huso (19:42):
Yeah, yeah, you want me to touch on that?
Ed Drozda (19:45):
I'd like that, yes.
Dallin Huso (19:46):
That's the next phase of business.
I hired a service manager tohandle the technicians,
escalated customer issues,handle all the higher scheduling
and repairs on a day-to-daybasis.
And that was really my firstexperience of stepping back.
I still had some involvementwith the day-to-day, but I
didn't have to be fully involvedinto that.
Shortly after that my wife and Imoved to Hawaii for a little
bit.
This was back during COVID, sowe were stuck at home; we're
(20:09):
like, well if we're gonna bestuck somewhere, let's be stuck
on the beach.
We did that just to have thatcool experience before we had
kids or anything, and by doingthat, that's I think the first
time I really started having alot of people reach out to me,
whether it was past friends,people that I knew, or people
that had seen me grow throughsocial media.
People just started reaching outlike, hey, what did you do to
grow?
How have you been able to dothis in such a quick period of
(20:30):
time?
I was more than happy to sharesome of those things that I've
done, some of the things that Ilearned.
That's when I started torealize, what seemed like very
simple steps didn't cross theirminds, for a lot of people.
I also realized how much Ienjoyed talking about that
process with people.
I slowly started building acommunity doing that, and the
more that we continue to growover the next couple years, the
(20:50):
more I was able to step backfrom the day to day.
I spent more time networking,talking to other business
owners, and it got to the pointwhere I was like I'm spending
more time doing this for freethan I am actually running my
business.
So, let's do something aboutthat.
I'd had a coach of my own for aperiod of time, and I attribute
a lot of my success to theaccountability that he was able
to provide for me.
Some of the stuff you can findeasily, some you can't, but the
(21:11):
accountability itself as abusiness owner is huge.
Having someone that you'retalking to on a regular basis,
and help with that disciplinebecause everyone else as an
employee, you have that fromyour manager or your boss, but
as an entrepreneur, you don'talways have that.
So it was nice to have that.
I saw the value in having that,and so I was like, hey, this is
something I love doing,something that I'm already
doing, and something that Ibelieve in and have a passion
(21:32):
for.
That's what really turned mymind to the idea of why don't I
take this and really startpushing it and get some clients
in the door, and so thatorganically happened, I'd say a
year and a half, two years ago,and it's grown from there.
Ed Drozda (21:45):
What do you see or imagine for the future here?
What's that process like foryou?
Dallin Huso (21:52):
Yeah, I think for the future, I love being able to
work when I want, where I want,and with who I want.
I can pick whether I wanna takeon a client or not.
I can be home in Arizona or Ican be on a trip in California,
and just pull out my laptop andtalk to a client.
Then I can also work a regularnine to five, or I can take a
day off or a week off if I needto and move things around or get
(22:14):
some stuff done at night afterthe kids go to bed.
So it gives me a lot offlexibility and control and time
is the most important thing tome, and having the time to spend
with family, with friends,hobbies, the other aspects of
life that are so important aswell.
And so it's really just given methe opportunity to do that.
So yeah, my goal is to continueto grow this and the more I grow
it, the more of that flexibilityand freedom that I'll have.
(22:35):
But It's also been such arewarding experience, and not
that the pool company hasn'tbeen rewarding.
It has been to an extent, but tobe like so involved in someone's
growth and for them toexperience some of that freedom
that I've been able to see formyself has been more rewarding
than I would've imagined itbeing.
I have a goal to work with asmany blue collar, small business
owners as possible, and helpthem to any point I can, any
(22:57):
extent I can just experiencesome of the freedom that it's
provided me.
I have such a passion for homeservices, and the blue collar
space and what it can be forpeople.
Unfortunately, for so manypeople it becomes a prison
almost and takes over theirlife.
I just love showing them this isactually possible.
You can actually do this.
Not saying it's easy, but it issimple if you follow these
steps.
Giving'em that blueprint that'shelped me to grow.
Ed Drozda (23:19):
That's excellent.
Given all these things, back inthe beginning did you envision
you'd be where you are today?
I know you talked about being,uh, out of the day to day from
early on, but did you envisionyourself having so much to share
with people like you do now?
Did you see that coming?
Dallin Huso (23:38):
To be honest, no, I didn't.
Like I said, it was always theplan to grow.
I think I already had theflexibility and the freedom of
my time.
That was always the plan, but Ididn't necessarily know what
that was gonna look likeexactly.
It was more hey, I'm gonna growthis business and hopefully it
provides that to a certainextent and I think it was to a
big extent, but what I wasmissing was some of that passion
that I didn't always get fromthat, which I am getting now.
(24:00):
That's I think what made mepivot because I still was
achieving some of that freedombeforehand, but was missing some
of the passion that I have now.
Ed Drozda (24:08):
So this process has opened up your eyes to potential
you didn't realize you had.
Dallin Huso (24:13):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Ed Drozda (24:15):
Isn't that a fascinating thing when you think
about it?
You know?
I know where I'm going, I knowwhat I'm doing, or planning to
do, and whoa you wake up in themorning and go, gee, I'm going
down this path.
How cool is that?
I know it's fun, also it can bescary at times.
It's cool to look back and belike if you asked me seven years
ago where I was today, itdefinitely would be in a
different spot than I actuallyam, but totally happy with where
(24:36):
I am right now.
You wouldn't see this.
This would not be Dallin Huso.
That's fantastic.
Well Dallin, our time is comingto an end so I'd like to ask you
if there's any particular thingor things that you'd like to
leave us with before we go?
That's a great question.
I know we've covered a lot and Iknow you talked about success
and you mentioned how it'sdifferent for everybody, and I
(24:57):
think that's so true.
I think people can kind of feeldown on themselves or down on
their business, especially ifthey have a goal and they hit
it, but then all of a suddenthey look at this other guy and
they have no idea what theirexperiences are.
Especially with social medianow, it's hard to feel good
about yourself sometimes whenyou're seeing what other people
are doing, without any context,right?
So for me, I've found adefinition of success that I
feel works really well.
(25:18):
For me, success is having a goaland then deciding and figuring
out what I need to do to hitthat goal, and then taking
action and doing all thosesteps.
I know that I have full controlover taking those steps.
I don't always have full controlover the outcome because there
are external sources that canaffect things both negatively
and positively.
But I know if I set this goaland I did everything in my power
(25:40):
to achieve that, for me that'ssuccess, and I think anyone can
take that and apply that totheir lives, wherever they are
in business.
I agree with you a hundredpercent.
Dallin, again it was fantasticchatting with you.
I'm really excited about all thethings you have ahead of you and
also for the people you'll beworking with, because as I had
said previously, you have agreat way of delivering on these
(26:02):
things, and I believe thatthat's an absolute great recipe
for success in an engagement inthe coaching arena.
Cheers to you and all the bestwishes for those things.
Dallin Huso (26:15):
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Eddie, it wasa pleasure being on and
appreciate getting to share mystory with you and your
listeners.
Ed Drozda (26:20):
I and they appreciate it as well.
Folks this is Ed Drozda, TheSmall Business Doctor, and here
at The Water Trough I want towish you a healthy business.
I would also like to say, inview of the conversation I had
today with Dallin, consider theopportunity that's available to
you.
I think this is a showcase forthe potential that we may think
(26:44):
we have, but we're not certainabout.
I hope this story will be asinspiring to you as it was to
me.
Dallin Huso of Flamingo Pools,and Elevate Home Service
Coaching, once again I want tothank you for being here with me
today.
Dallin Huso (26:58):
Thanks, Ed.
Ed Drozda (26:59):
Cheers, folks.
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