Join us for a powerful conversation with Rob Hair, the founder and Field Director of Exterior Cleaning Professionals, a high-end luxury detail cleaning service in the greater Oklahoma City metro. Rob shares his incredibly relatable journey from a state of "absolute misery" in a toxic corporate job to taking a "leap of faith" into entrepreneurship. Discover how he navigated the "rollercoaster" of early business ownership, the crucial shift from seeking "freedom from" to embracing "freedom to", and why embracing vulnerability was key to his success. We also explore the power of "delayed gratification" in sales, the art of getting a "no" before a "yes", and why "execution" in communication is paramount for building trust and securing referrals. This episode is packed with insights for anyone looking to make a career change, start a small business, or grow an exterior cleaning company.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:01):
we eat a bunch of silly goslings in an early
morning podcast and we'rerecording hello hello We are
(00:24):
here with the ThinkBiz podcast,and today is going to be a very
fun episode because we have thelegendary...
The mighty...
The Mr.
Rob Hare! What a
SPEAKER_00 (00:40):
great
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
introduction, thank you.
Thank you for being here.
We appreciate the early mornbefore getting to business.
SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
Yes, yeah.
It's always good to get upearly.
SPEAKER_01 (00:50):
It is 7.30 right now at the time that we're recording
and it was a little grossgetting out of bed.
That's fine.
My little one did not approve.
I should still be in bed foranother hour.
No
SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
baby girl, you gotta get to work.
I had to fetch a binky at 5.15this morning.
My alarm was set for 5.30 and itwas just like Why?
I don't even get to enjoy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Why can't I have just 15 minutes?
SPEAKER_00 (01:21):
I did get back into bed, though.
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
That's fair.
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
But then I got up.
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Well, tell us a little bit about who you are and
what you do.
SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
Okay.
Yeah.
So my name is Rob Hare and I amthe founder and field services,
field director, field directorof exterior cleaning
professionals.
And so what we do is we come toyour home or business and we
provide high end luxury detailcleaning to the exterior sides
(01:51):
of whether it be house orbuilding.
We specifically work withinhomes right now with it being
summertime and We use an arrayof cleaning techniques, and we
service the greater OklahomaCity metro.
We have traveled outside, sowe'll go to Enid and the
Euphalos of the world, butpredominantly we work within
(02:14):
Oklahoma City metro.
More
SPEAKER_01 (02:16):
than
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
one Euphalo.
Yeah, the Euphalos.
Take that, Euphalo.
SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
You're on the outside.
Well, no, that's amazing.
And I think it's really...
important that we highlight thedistinction between this is not
just like a pressure washingcompany.
Pressure washing is one specificthing that you all do as a part
(02:44):
of your exterior cleaning.
But you have a variety ofmethods to be able to help
really enhance that curb appealand keep good maintenance and
cleanliness even, you know,talking about mold here with
some houses.
Um, but this is, this issomething that's relatively new
(03:07):
for you all.
Like, I don't, you know, you'vebeen at it for, for a little bit
now, but what's that journeybeen like as, as you've been
creating this successfulcompany?
SPEAKER_00 (03:19):
It's been a ride.
Um, it's been a real ride.
I'm sure any entrepreneur, uh,or small business owner you were
to ask in the beginning stages,um, what's it like?
It's, it's been every bit of a,I would say a rollercoaster.
I mean, peaks and valleys forsure.
Um, we kind of, we're at a spotright now where we were, we were
(03:42):
able to, we're actually havingdinner last night, sitting back
and going, Oh my gosh, we werepretty much already at, uh,
We're exceeding the revenue wemade in the first year, and
we're a couple months into theseason.
But to kind of back up into it,I was thinking this morning,
okay, what am I going to talkabout?
(04:03):
What am I going to say?
And as I'm sitting there makingmy coffee and stuff, I'm like,
okay, for years I always wantedto do something for myself.
Wow.
I just never knew what it was.
And I would say I would haveconversations with friends and
be like, I always work formyself.
I have no idea what I want todo.
No idea what I want to do.
And I would say that for years.
(04:23):
And then it got to a point whereI was at in my career.
I guess we could say of justbeing miserable.
Absolutely miserable.
And this was in the it startedin the summer of 2020.
Uh, 2022, I believe.
(04:43):
I think, yeah, 2022.
And, um, I had a really good joband I, I was, uh, in health
insurance and it was a differentkind of health insurance in
terms of what we were selling.
We were selling, um, uh, to, uh,self-funded plans.
So like businesses are paying itall themselves or not.
(05:05):
They're not subbing it out orwhatever to, uh, to the big
carriers.
Well, anyways, uh, I was about80% working from home.
We just had our first daughter.
And I thought I was in thisspace like, well, I get to work
from home and I have my daughterthat we're raising.
Catherine also worked for thesame company too, just in a
different department.
(05:26):
And Catherine's your wife andbusiness partner.
Same company.
Out of our home office in thesame office.
And we had our...
At that point in time, she wasone, I would say.
Excuse me.
And I thought, I've made it.
(05:48):
I got a good salary.
My wife is right next to meworking same company.
It's a family-owned operation.
Why am I miserable all the time?
You know?
And it just got to a point of...
I was so unhappy...
with what I was doing because Iwould wake up hating, dreading
(06:11):
the day.
And I'm supposed to be excitedbecause I don't have to put my
daughter in daycare.
She's right here next to me andI get to help raise her.
But the team I was on And thecompany I worked for was just
kind of a toxic environment.
And so it took me a while torealize that it was toxic, but I
(06:31):
just hated my life.
I mean, that's a strong word,but I guess I didn't hate my
life.
I hated who I was becoming inthat life.
I was a glorified email flipper.
And it really just exacerbatedme.
Like, I want to do something.
I've got to do something formyself.
And my mom would come over andwatch our two-year-old– Sorry,
(06:54):
I'm saying two because she's twonow.
But she would come over andwatch.
She would come over and watchher at the house.
And I would go out and just likevent to my mom.
Ah, my team is driving me crazy.
And one time I went out thereand I was like, man, if I was– I
have a nephew.
He's 20 now.
At the time, he was 18.
(07:14):
I was like, if I was him, Iwould go to Home Depot and buy a
pressure washer and just go doorknocking.
I made like$200 in a day.
That's what I would just go do.
I just want to go– that's what Iwould do if I was him.
And as I was saying it, I justremember telling her, I was
like, wait a second, you know, Imight do this.
Well, um, you're married.
(07:34):
So you understand howconversations go, Garrett.
Well, my mom leaves and I'm, I'mthe type of person, like when I
am like, I have an idea and itgets me excited.
I am like a fighter jet.
I'm all in, I'm coming full,full steam ahead.
UNKNOWN (07:48):
Um,
SPEAKER_00 (07:49):
So Catherine had, I think she had to go into office
that day and she came home and Ihad already had a plan.
Like I'm going to quit my job.
I'm going to start this pressurewashing business.
SPEAKER_01 (07:59):
She was like, you're what now?
SPEAKER_00 (08:03):
And when I brought it up to her, she was like,
whoa, buddy, pump the brakes.
What are you talking about?
Like, who are you essentially?
And we had this big conversationabout it.
And I was, I mean, I left and Iwas mad.
I was so mad because I was like,I want to do this for myself.
Like, this is what I want to do.
(08:23):
But I didn't put any thoughtbehind it.
It was just like, I'm somiserable here that I have to do
something just to get away fromit.
Well, the dust settled.
The conversation went in adifferent direction and I kind
of had to reground myself.
Like, okay, hold on, wait asecond.
(08:44):
Like what, what am I actuallythinking about here?
Am I just trying to hop aroundfrom point A to point B?
If I'm going to do that, I'lljust go get another job.
So, um, time went on, stillworking for the same companies,
trying to like make myselfhappy, which is a really hard
thing to do to make yourselfhappy in an environment where
(09:05):
you're you can't be happy, ifthat makes sense.
So there was one day I wasoutside and we had a Thai pepper
plant, Thai chili pepper plantthat Catherine had planted.
And I was out there cuttingpeppers.
And I would take like two hourson my day because there were so
many peppers.
I'd just be out there cutting,listening to a podcast.
I was listening to a podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (09:25):
Worth it, though, for
SPEAKER_00 (09:27):
a
SPEAKER_01 (09:27):
good pepper.
SPEAKER_00 (09:28):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:28):
I'm a pepper fan.
SPEAKER_00 (09:29):
You know what's funny?
We didn't even eat the peppers.
UNKNOWN (09:34):
What?
SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
They were sacrificial peppers.
I gave some of them away, but wehave them.
They're actually in our kitchen,and she strung a stream all the
way through them, and they'relike hanging up as a decorum, I
guess.
Nice.
But anyway, so I was listeningto this podcast, and this guy.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
The Think Biz podcast.
podcast, obviously.
SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
We didn't exist then.
You're right.
I was listening to it and thisguy was talking about how during
the pandemic he opened up apressure washing business and it
was highly profitable.
I just had a moment of like,okay, I was hell-bent on this
six months ago.
(10:13):
This is coming back into it.
I think I can do this.
I had...
I already had the conversationwith my wife, Catherine, now
business partner and fellowowner.
Okay, how can I approach thisdifferently?
And so I actually took time andtook notes and journaled about
it, about what would it actuallylook like.
And so I kind of regrouped andcame to her with this idea of
(10:36):
owning my own business and itbeing...
a pressure washing business tostart.
And so that's kind of where itall cooked up together.
And, uh, I packaged it up niceand pretty.
And I said, what do you think?
And she took some time and shesaid, I think you should go for
it.
Now I'm comfortable.
I feel secure.
(10:57):
Go for it.
And so I did and jumped in bothfeet.
I mean, so
SPEAKER_01 (11:03):
that's
SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
amazing.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:04):
Well, and I think that so many, so many people
listening, you know, who have,uh, gone through some kind of
journey that's similar it's it'ssuch a relatable story that you
have because you knowentrepreneurship if you if you
from well lack of a better termstumble onto it as opposed to if
(11:27):
you know some people go to likeget degrees in entrepreneurship
nowadays i'm like what does thateven mean man but it's um It's
something where usually there'sa work environment that was not
conducive to, you know, howsomebody functioned or the team
was toxic or there was a moraldilemma.
(11:50):
You know, whatever the case is,you know, there's so many
stories where somebody can say,I knew I had to take the leap.
And when I finally did, itwasn't easy, but it was worth
it.
And, you know, it's...
It doesn't always work.
But you and Catherine, in takingthat time to be able to find
(12:11):
what does work for you, havebuilt something really, really
cool.
SPEAKER_00 (12:16):
Yeah.
I think I said it when Ipresented.
Freedom from versus freedom to.
And I think so many peopledecide to become entrepreneurs
to have freedom from.
I want freedom from my boss.
I can't stand.
I want freedom from my reallytoxic team.
I want freedom to go take alunch whenever I want to,
(12:37):
whether it be two hours.
I want freedom to go to the parkwith my kids this day.
And I wanted that.
I'm like, I want that freedom.
And I quickly realized that,okay, by having that freedom, I
just have another job becausenow I don't like my new boss,
which is me, because now I havethis business that's not
generating any revenue andnobody's calling me.
(13:00):
You know, we built out thewebsite.
Nobody's calling.
Why isn't anyone calling?
Yeah, I'm running these out.
You know, all these things.
And so I'm like, I have thisfreedom from.
And then I had to kind of zoomout and tweak that to go, okay,
freedom to.
Now I have the freedom to go tothe park.
I have the freedom to take aslong as of a lunch or whatever I
(13:21):
want to go spend time with mydaughter.
Kind of flipping that on itshead.
It changed the course for mebecause, you know, It allowed me
to like, I guess, open up spaceto focus more on being
intentional with the work I'mputting in, you know, the
outflow, I guess, to be able toget.
To reap, to be able to get some,to make the wheel turn.
(13:45):
Arguably, that's
SPEAKER_01 (13:45):
a skill set in and of itself that a lot of people
just don't have.
And I really, really appreciateyou, Rob, sharing the story of
how you got into this and thisprocess you've been going
through the past few years.
But to kind of give some of thelisteners a little bit more
context, what do you actuallyhave to do on that one day where
you're missing the job again tomake sure that you don't jump
(14:09):
out
SPEAKER_00 (14:09):
with both feet?
I would say as hard as it is,pick up the phone and call, go
to the door and knock, um, callyour friends, call your, I would
say, you know, your peers andask for advice, ask for help.
(14:34):
Um, and honestly it's, it soundsreally easy, like, okay, just to
pick up that phone and call, butit's really hard when you're in
that moment, when you're like inthe trenches, you're like, I
don't know what to do.
I want to jump out.
I just go get another job.
Like this is, this is too muchto expel that, say it, and then
kind of set back and let it setand then go, okay, I can pick up
(14:56):
the phone and I can call Nolan.
Hey, I'm dealing with thisproblem.
You might have maybe knowsomebody that needs something
done.
So I would say that is, is beingvulnerable.
um, not necessarily to otherpeople, but to yourself, you
know, put yourself out there.
That's a really hard thing todo.
And we all know as businessowners, it's very hard to put
(15:16):
yourself out there.
I think a lot of business ownersare introverts to the core.
And so I think if you're able tojust, whether you're faking it
or not, just, just make surethat you, your, your stacking
days, um, Even if it's a littlebit, you're just stacking,
SPEAKER_01 (15:36):
stacking,
SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
stacking,
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
but
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
it's
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
also reframes.
I was listening.
I listened to some artists a lotto get different contexts on how
to create, how to produce, butit was framed as the price of
creation is that vulnerability.
And I think that really speaksto part of the entrepreneurial
or just business ownershipprocess is that to have the
(15:59):
freedom to part of thatsacrifice is the vulnerability.
SPEAKER_00 (16:03):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It is.
I
SPEAKER_01 (16:07):
love that.
You know, part of, part of whatjust makes the business a
success for y'all is thatjourney of building
relationships because, you know,you, whether that's, you know,
knocking on a door and meetingsomebody for the first time and
connecting with them enough tobe able to get a yes.
(16:30):
Yeah.
Go out and, and, and, wash,clean the exterior of my home,
or if it's making a newprofessional relationship where
somebody says, Hey, I have theperfect referral to be able to
send your direction.
It's, it's just incredible howmuch relationships tie into, I
(16:53):
would say every business
SPEAKER_00 (16:55):
exists.
It was eyeopening to me.
not only joining the club, butstarting to entrepreneurship,
maybe with all of us being alittle bit newer into this of
how everybody knows everyone.
Like you, you get behind thedoor or the curtain is pulled
back a little bit.
And you're like, wait, okay, soeverybody here actually knows
one another?
And you're exchanging thingsthat way?
(17:19):
I did not know that's howbusiness was done.
I thought in very, I guess,basic terms of I go out, I pitch
this, and this person says yes.
And it's not necessarily thatsimple.
It really is all about who youknow.
And especially in my industry,because referrals are king.
I mean, referrals are reallywhat keeps the wheels turning
(17:42):
because everybody knowssomebody.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
So I guess that's a good question of how do you
build a strong referral pipelineas a business owner.
Yeah.
Also kind of a reframe because Iwould argue that's easier to do
when you are already kind of30s, 40s, and you're starting
your first business.
But what would you tell thatpreviously 18-year-old nephew?
(18:09):
How would he start findinghumans that are his referral
network?
Great question.
That's a really good question.
This is my job.
SPEAKER_00 (18:17):
So I would– Look at it.
You have the device in your handwith your phone.
So you can obviously Googleanything or run it through a
chat type thing to figure out,okay, what's my ideal customer
type profile?
But if I was talking to my18-year-old nephew, I would say,
go to the neighborhoods with thenice new homes.
(18:41):
Go to the neighborhoods wherepeople are paying for lawn care.
You see a sprinkler guy outthere.
You see a gutter guy out there.
You see somebody having theirhome painted.
People that are, I hate to saythe word disposable income, but
there are people out there whoare going to pay to have nice
things.
(19:02):
And we want to be able topartner with those people who
are going to pay to have nicethings.
Cause we are going to bring awhite glove service to ensure
that those nice things are verywell taken care of and upheld.
So I would tell him don't needto go to a business, go to a
neighborhood and just, and justknock.
I mean, it's, it's not fun, butif you can get through the first
(19:28):
like five doors and, Everything,the dust, like I say, the dust
cells, I'm saying that a lot,but the nerves wear down and
you've kind of refined yourpitch by that point.
It's like, just get to the firstfive, first three, and then
you're going to know what tosay.
And you're going to know reallyquick if they're going to want
to buy or not.
And so I would say that.
Go to the neighborhoods wherethere are nice homes, where you
(19:49):
see nice cars driving out andpost up.
SPEAKER_01 (19:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:53):
Offer a free service.
Offer to do their sidewalk forfree.
If you're just using a pressurewasher, you know.
offer to do their driveway forfree or just a test section, or
maybe their mailbox.
I mean, mailboxes, especiallyhere, a lot of people have brick
mailboxes and mold and mildewhere always grows on the side
where the sun is not hitting.
(20:13):
So the North side, Northeast,Northwest target those.
I mean, and you can haveresults, you know, within
minutes by applying the certainchemical and a certain pressure
and make it look brand new.
And so, um, It's just findinglittle things that people don't
necessarily know are dirty untilyou bring it to their attention
(20:35):
and they go, oh my gosh, I hadno idea that this was even a
problem.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
I think that's one thing that makes you unique as
well is that when you– When youstarted into things, one, just a
good marketing principle ingeneral of you have to show up
where your audience is at.
And that's whether it's aphysical context or digital
context, you're going to...
(21:01):
You'll find people all the timewho are just trying to show up
everywhere, and it doesn't makeany sense.
You've got to show up where youraudience is at.
But number two is that you don'tjust keep trying the same thing
over and over again.
You're testing different offers.
You're testing, and then you'relearning as you're going.
And you are not just about yourcraft, but about your business.
(21:25):
And that's another thing I see.
I see businesses do wrong allthe time.
I'm talking businesses that make60 to 100 million dollars a year
that they you just see lazymarketing.
Yeah.
And you are constantly lookingfor ways to be able to say, hey,
I.
(21:46):
I am learning something new.
And so that 18-year-old cousin,if he falls in that same
pathway, if he wants to besuccessful, he's going to do
what you're doing, which isalways learn and grow and know
how to be able to improve yourcraft.
SPEAKER_00 (22:01):
I always tell people to don't be afraid to jump in
with both feet.
I mean, I think a lot...
This is just my own opinion, butI think a lot of people like to
go one foot in, one foot out.
That way, it's easy for me togo, okay, that didn't work out.
Shut the door.
I'm done.
I don't.
I'm all in all the timebecause...
(22:21):
And actually, I heard this fromRobert Norris, a fellow club
member.
There's no plan B.
I don't have a plan B.
This is plan A.
And I'm going to make plan Awork.
And so...
I'm all in and I push all mychips to the table because high
risk, high reward, I guess youcould say, but it's also fun.
(22:42):
Um,
SPEAKER_01 (22:43):
yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (22:43):
there's a, there's like a adrenaline rush.
I kind of get from it.
SPEAKER_01 (22:46):
And you have to reframe the math of the risk as
well, because when so few peopleare actually taking the risk of
working for themselves, there'san upside for the rest of us
that are willing to just say,we're going to take this risk.
But also, yeah, the, burning theboats.
Very important.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
Because if you hard, it is difficult.
It's scary.
I definitely, I mean, I'm, I hadmy moments where I'm, you know,
I have those thoughts like, ah,this is just too difficult.
Why did I decide to do this?
And then you have to go, holdon, pump the brakes, stop and
take a step back and justbreathe, you know, and realize
(23:29):
that, um, There's always goingto be a realm where there is a
W2 world out there that's alwaysgoing to be there.
Mm-hmm.
We all have an expiration date.
So.
Death.
What?
(23:49):
Sweet.
Yes.
I finally get to sleep.
We all have this expirationdate.
And so I look at it as why not?
UNKNOWN (23:59):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
Why not try it?
What's the worst that's going tohappen?
SPEAKER_01 (24:04):
Death.
SPEAKER_00 (24:05):
Well, it reminds me of
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
the juxtaposition of two of my favorite movie quotes.
On one hand, we have a quotefrom The 13th Warrior, starring
Antonio Banderas.
So they're about to lay down forthe night and wait for these
monsters to come with the mist.
And one of the guys in the groupsays to Antonio Banderas'
character, he says...
You know, the Allfather wroteThe Scane of Your Life a long
(24:30):
time ago.
Go hide in a hole if you wish,but you won't live one instant
longer.
Versus a quote from Knight'sTale by Heath Ledger.
I love Knight's Tale.
So good.
So good.
But I love that in Knight'sTale, it's all about, is it
true, father?
Can a man change his stars?
Yes, William.
If a man believes enough, he cando anything.
(24:51):
And I think between those twopoles is where business
ownership kind of rests.
Yeah.
Whatever's going to happen isalso going
SPEAKER_00 (25:00):
to happen.
SPEAKER_01 (25:00):
And if you believe enough, you can shift the stars.
SPEAKER_00 (25:03):
Yeah.
You know, I think a lot of it,too, is...
So much of what we're used to isinstant gratification.
I want it now.
I got to have it now.
I'm a big believer in therapy.
I've been seeing a therapist forlike, I think almost nine years
now.
And he's been hammering it on mefor years.
Delayed gratification, delayedgratification, delayed
(25:24):
gratification, even in, evenwithin the business, having that
delayed gratification.
I've had jobs or excuse me.
I've had cells that have told meno nine months ago.
And it sucks.
They pop that balloon.
You're just like, oh, my gosh.
I spent 45 minutes on my pitch,and I'm going to get this sell,
(25:47):
and it's a no.
But I reframed it.
Well, a no today is just a maybeor a yes down the line.
And then nine months later, I'llget a phone call.
Hey, actually, we saw yourInstagram post.
We saw your Facebook post.
You're right.
This is a problem.
We want you to come back out andtake care of the home.
And that's happened.
That's happened before.
(26:07):
A few times.
That's amazing.
It's just a reminder that youdon't have to have it right now.
You just have to tell yourselfthat I can, I will, I must.
And repeat.
And then just keep pushingforward.
And I think the biggest thing isexecution.
When it comes to referrals, likeyour question, on the referral
side, execution.
Not just in terms of showing upon time, having a clean rig.
(26:33):
But executing my conversationwith the homeowner, the business
owner, that's where I feel likeI'm at 30,000 feet is because
being able to communicate andexecute that communication well,
it goes a long ways becausepeople are going to buy from
people.
And I learned this from a greatpodcaster and he's local,
(26:57):
Michael Morrison.
People buy from people theyknow, like, and trust.
So if I can get you to know me,like me, and trust me, then
we're going to have a greatsymbiotic relationship.
So I really try to focus onexecuting my communication with
each customer.
SPEAKER_01 (27:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I mean, there's a bookcalled never split the
difference.
That's a New York, New Yorktimes bestseller out there.
Um, but one of the things that'stalked about by the author who
was a former FBI, um, uh,hostage negotiator who now does
(27:33):
business, is that it's actuallybetter to get a no before you
get a yes.
Now, it's not the exact samecontext that you were talking
about, but a lot of salespeopleare trained.
Get the yes.
Keep getting them to say yesbecause then at the end, you'll
get another yes.
But we actually function muchbetter if we can get someone to
(27:55):
say no and then yes, because weget a sense of agency over
ourselves.
And so one of the things that hesays on phone calls, you know,
don't ask them something.
I'll make them say yes.
Say, you know, did I catch youat a bad time for this phone
call?
And if they can talk, they'llsay, no, no, now is fine.
(28:20):
And that's your first no, right?
And so it's interesting justthinking about, you know,
there's this persistence that wehave to be willing to go in and
do the work.
But also that no, itpsychologically does something
for the people that we'retalking to, which is kind of
cool.
And that sales process has tomirror the process that sold
(28:43):
ourselves on doing business forourselves as well.
We had to say no to the statethat we were in
SPEAKER_00 (28:49):
before we
SPEAKER_01 (28:50):
could actually
SPEAKER_00 (28:50):
only
SPEAKER_01 (28:51):
have
SPEAKER_00 (28:51):
plan A.
That is a really good way toframe it.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (28:55):
I'll give one more shout out here.
You mentioned social media.
Exterior cleaning pros has anincredible social media
presence.
Very satisfying.
They have...
They have really put the timeand work in.
Rob and Catherine both havespent a lot of time to make some
super cool content, which is aperfect transition.
(29:17):
We, unfortunately, have come tothe end of our time.
Wow, that's so fast.
I know, I know.
And I feel like I could talkforever with you guys.
SPEAKER_00 (29:26):
That's so fast.
Well, I will say, on the socialmedia side, that's all
Catherine.
I just supply the videos.
So I'm going to give her herflowers because...
If we have time, I begged her,please leave, please leave her
job because I need you.
I need you.
I need you because she is a sheshe's good.
(29:46):
She's very, very good.
She's so smart.
And she is training herself onmarketing.
I mean, she's self-taught.
I mean, you know, picking yourbrain, Garrett, and being able
to just go in and do thingsherself is.
So I feel like, I mean, she,she, she, the social media and I
got a phone call yesterday aboutour Instagram.
Somebody saw it, wanted toquote.
(30:07):
So that is all Catherine, allthe marketing goes to Catherine.
I'm trying to learn more aboutit.
And, um, but yeah, she is, shedeserves her flowers on that for
sure.
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
She's an excellent
SPEAKER_00 (30:20):
business woman to be working with too.
So very, very fortunate.
UNKNOWN (30:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:24):
Well, tell us how people can find you if they want
to look you up after thepodcast.
SPEAKER_00 (30:28):
Yeah.
So we're on Facebook.
We are on Instagram.
And then we have our website,which is
exteriorcleaningprosokc.com, Ibelieve.
do that um and then um my iguess can i get my phone number
yeah yeah phone number405-822-0750 that's my personal
cell and business line
SPEAKER_01 (30:48):
that's right do you hear that ladies that's his
personal cell he has beautifulhair rob hair katherine has a
big stick she needs to test
SPEAKER_00 (30:56):
out and um we're not on youtube yet but i think we'll
be getting into that realm soon.
And I've had people tell me thatget a tech talk, get a tech
talk.
So, um, but you know, uh,Google, Facebook, Instagram,
it's the best way to find us, ormaybe on a door hanger on your
home soon.
(31:17):
Yeah.
Do what we can only hope.
Yes.
We only hope.
SPEAKER_01 (31:22):
Well, thank you so much for being here with us.
And as always stay sharp.
Thank biz.
UNKNOWN (31:36):
you
we eat a bunch of silly goslings in an early
morning podcast and we'rerecording hello hello We are
(00:24):
here with the ThinkBiz podcast,and today is going to be a very
fun episode because we have thelegendary...
The mighty...
The Mr.
Rob Hare! What a
SPEAKER_00 (00:40):
great
SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
introduction, thank you.
Thank you for being here.
We appreciate the early mornbefore getting to business.
SPEAKER_00 (00:47):
Yes, yeah.
It's always good to get upearly.
SPEAKER_01 (00:50):
It is 7.30 right now at the time that we're recording
and it was a little grossgetting out of bed.
That's fine.
My little one did not approve.
I should still be in bed foranother hour.
No
SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
baby girl, you gotta get to work.
I had to fetch a binky at 5.15this morning.
My alarm was set for 5.30 and itwas just like Why?
I don't even get to enjoy.
SPEAKER_01 (01:18):
Why can't I have just 15 minutes?
SPEAKER_00 (01:21):
I did get back into bed, though.
SPEAKER_01 (01:22):
That's fair.
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
But then I got up.
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
Well, tell us a little bit about who you are and
what you do.
SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
Okay.
Yeah.
So my name is Rob Hare and I amthe founder and field services,
field director, field directorof exterior cleaning
professionals.
And so what we do is we come toyour home or business and we
provide high end luxury detailcleaning to the exterior sides
(01:51):
of whether it be house orbuilding.
We specifically work withinhomes right now with it being
summertime and We use an arrayof cleaning techniques, and we
service the greater OklahomaCity metro.
We have traveled outside, sowe'll go to Enid and the
Euphalos of the world, butpredominantly we work within
(02:14):
Oklahoma City metro.
More
SPEAKER_01 (02:16):
than
SPEAKER_00 (02:16):
one Euphalo.
Yeah, the Euphalos.
Take that, Euphalo.
SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
You're on the outside.
Well, no, that's amazing.
And I think it's really...
important that we highlight thedistinction between this is not
just like a pressure washingcompany.
Pressure washing is one specificthing that you all do as a part
(02:44):
of your exterior cleaning.
But you have a variety ofmethods to be able to help
really enhance that curb appealand keep good maintenance and
cleanliness even, you know,talking about mold here with
some houses.
Um, but this is, this issomething that's relatively new
(03:07):
for you all.
Like, I don't, you know, you'vebeen at it for, for a little bit
now, but what's that journeybeen like as, as you've been
creating this successfulcompany?
SPEAKER_00 (03:19):
It's been a ride.
Um, it's been a real ride.
I'm sure any entrepreneur, uh,or small business owner you were
to ask in the beginning stages,um, what's it like?
It's, it's been every bit of a,I would say a rollercoaster.
I mean, peaks and valleys forsure.
Um, we kind of, we're at a spotright now where we were, we were
(03:42):
able to, we're actually havingdinner last night, sitting back
and going, Oh my gosh, we werepretty much already at, uh,
We're exceeding the revenue wemade in the first year, and
we're a couple months into theseason.
But to kind of back up into it,I was thinking this morning,
okay, what am I going to talkabout?
(04:03):
What am I going to say?
And as I'm sitting there makingmy coffee and stuff, I'm like,
okay, for years I always wantedto do something for myself.
Wow.
I just never knew what it was.
And I would say I would haveconversations with friends and
be like, I always work formyself.
I have no idea what I want todo.
No idea what I want to do.
And I would say that for years.
(04:23):
And then it got to a point whereI was at in my career.
I guess we could say of justbeing miserable.
Absolutely miserable.
And this was in the it startedin the summer of 2020.
Uh, 2022, I believe.
(04:43):
I think, yeah, 2022.
And, um, I had a really good joband I, I was, uh, in health
insurance and it was a differentkind of health insurance in
terms of what we were selling.
We were selling, um, uh, to, uh,self-funded plans.
So like businesses are paying itall themselves or not.
(05:05):
They're not subbing it out orwhatever to, uh, to the big
carriers.
Well, anyways, uh, I was about80% working from home.
We just had our first daughter.
And I thought I was in thisspace like, well, I get to work
from home and I have my daughterthat we're raising.
Catherine also worked for thesame company too, just in a
different department.
(05:26):
And Catherine's your wife andbusiness partner.
Same company.
Out of our home office in thesame office.
And we had our...
At that point in time, she wasone, I would say.
Excuse me.
And I thought, I've made it.
(05:48):
I got a good salary.
My wife is right next to meworking same company.
It's a family-owned operation.
Why am I miserable all the time?
You know?
And it just got to a point of...
I was so unhappy...
with what I was doing because Iwould wake up hating, dreading
(06:11):
the day.
And I'm supposed to be excitedbecause I don't have to put my
daughter in daycare.
She's right here next to me andI get to help raise her.
But the team I was on And thecompany I worked for was just
kind of a toxic environment.
And so it took me a while torealize that it was toxic, but I
(06:31):
just hated my life.
I mean, that's a strong word,but I guess I didn't hate my
life.
I hated who I was becoming inthat life.
I was a glorified email flipper.
And it really just exacerbatedme.
Like, I want to do something.
I've got to do something formyself.
And my mom would come over andwatch our two-year-old– Sorry,
(06:54):
I'm saying two because she's twonow.
But she would come over andwatch.
She would come over and watchher at the house.
And I would go out and just likevent to my mom.
Ah, my team is driving me crazy.
And one time I went out thereand I was like, man, if I was– I
have a nephew.
He's 20 now.
At the time, he was 18.
(07:14):
I was like, if I was him, Iwould go to Home Depot and buy a
pressure washer and just go doorknocking.
I made like$200 in a day.
That's what I would just go do.
I just want to go– that's what Iwould do if I was him.
And as I was saying it, I justremember telling her, I was
like, wait a second, you know, Imight do this.
Well, um, you're married.
(07:34):
So you understand howconversations go, Garrett.
Well, my mom leaves and I'm, I'mthe type of person, like when I
am like, I have an idea and itgets me excited.
I am like a fighter jet.
I'm all in, I'm coming full,full steam ahead.
UNKNOWN (07:48):
Um,
SPEAKER_00 (07:49):
So Catherine had, I think she had to go into office
that day and she came home and Ihad already had a plan.
Like I'm going to quit my job.
I'm going to start this pressurewashing business.
SPEAKER_01 (07:59):
She was like, you're what now?
SPEAKER_00 (08:03):
And when I brought it up to her, she was like,
whoa, buddy, pump the brakes.
What are you talking about?
Like, who are you essentially?
And we had this big conversationabout it.
And I was, I mean, I left and Iwas mad.
I was so mad because I was like,I want to do this for myself.
Like, this is what I want to do.
(08:23):
But I didn't put any thoughtbehind it.
It was just like, I'm somiserable here that I have to do
something just to get away fromit.
Well, the dust settled.
The conversation went in adifferent direction and I kind
of had to reground myself.
Like, okay, hold on, wait asecond.
(08:44):
Like what, what am I actuallythinking about here?
Am I just trying to hop aroundfrom point A to point B?
If I'm going to do that, I'lljust go get another job.
So, um, time went on, stillworking for the same companies,
trying to like make myselfhappy, which is a really hard
thing to do to make yourselfhappy in an environment where
(09:05):
you're you can't be happy, ifthat makes sense.
So there was one day I wasoutside and we had a Thai pepper
plant, Thai chili pepper plantthat Catherine had planted.
And I was out there cuttingpeppers.
And I would take like two hourson my day because there were so
many peppers.
I'd just be out there cutting,listening to a podcast.
I was listening to a podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (09:25):
Worth it, though, for
SPEAKER_00 (09:27):
a
SPEAKER_01 (09:27):
good pepper.
SPEAKER_00 (09:28):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:28):
I'm a pepper fan.
SPEAKER_00 (09:29):
You know what's funny?
We didn't even eat the peppers.
UNKNOWN (09:34):
What?
SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
They were sacrificial peppers.
I gave some of them away, but wehave them.
They're actually in our kitchen,and she strung a stream all the
way through them, and they'relike hanging up as a decorum, I
guess.
Nice.
But anyway, so I was listeningto this podcast, and this guy.
SPEAKER_01 (09:48):
The Think Biz podcast.
podcast, obviously.
SPEAKER_00 (09:52):
We didn't exist then.
You're right.
I was listening to it and thisguy was talking about how during
the pandemic he opened up apressure washing business and it
was highly profitable.
I just had a moment of like,okay, I was hell-bent on this
six months ago.
(10:13):
This is coming back into it.
I think I can do this.
I had...
I already had the conversationwith my wife, Catherine, now
business partner and fellowowner.
Okay, how can I approach thisdifferently?
And so I actually took time andtook notes and journaled about
it, about what would it actuallylook like.
And so I kind of regrouped andcame to her with this idea of
(10:36):
owning my own business and itbeing...
a pressure washing business tostart.
And so that's kind of where itall cooked up together.
And, uh, I packaged it up niceand pretty.
And I said, what do you think?
And she took some time and shesaid, I think you should go for
it.
Now I'm comfortable.
I feel secure.
(10:57):
Go for it.
And so I did and jumped in bothfeet.
I mean, so
SPEAKER_01 (11:03):
that's
SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
amazing.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (11:04):
Well, and I think that so many, so many people
listening, you know, who have,uh, gone through some kind of
journey that's similar it's it'ssuch a relatable story that you
have because you knowentrepreneurship if you if you
from well lack of a better termstumble onto it as opposed to if
(11:27):
you know some people go to likeget degrees in entrepreneurship
nowadays i'm like what does thateven mean man but it's um It's
something where usually there'sa work environment that was not
conducive to, you know, howsomebody functioned or the team
was toxic or there was a moraldilemma.
(11:50):
You know, whatever the case is,you know, there's so many
stories where somebody can say,I knew I had to take the leap.
And when I finally did, itwasn't easy, but it was worth
it.
And, you know, it's...
It doesn't always work.
But you and Catherine, in takingthat time to be able to find
(12:11):
what does work for you, havebuilt something really, really
cool.
SPEAKER_00 (12:16):
Yeah.
I think I said it when Ipresented.
Freedom from versus freedom to.
And I think so many peopledecide to become entrepreneurs
to have freedom from.
I want freedom from my boss.
I can't stand.
I want freedom from my reallytoxic team.
I want freedom to go take alunch whenever I want to,
(12:37):
whether it be two hours.
I want freedom to go to the parkwith my kids this day.
And I wanted that.
I'm like, I want that freedom.
And I quickly realized that,okay, by having that freedom, I
just have another job becausenow I don't like my new boss,
which is me, because now I havethis business that's not
generating any revenue andnobody's calling me.
(13:00):
You know, we built out thewebsite.
Nobody's calling.
Why isn't anyone calling?
Yeah, I'm running these out.
You know, all these things.
And so I'm like, I have thisfreedom from.
And then I had to kind of zoomout and tweak that to go, okay,
freedom to.
Now I have the freedom to go tothe park.
I have the freedom to take aslong as of a lunch or whatever I
(13:21):
want to go spend time with mydaughter.
Kind of flipping that on itshead.
It changed the course for mebecause, you know, It allowed me
to like, I guess, open up spaceto focus more on being
intentional with the work I'mputting in, you know, the
outflow, I guess, to be able toget.
To reap, to be able to get some,to make the wheel turn.
(13:45):
Arguably, that's
SPEAKER_01 (13:45):
a skill set in and of itself that a lot of people
just don't have.
And I really, really appreciateyou, Rob, sharing the story of
how you got into this and thisprocess you've been going
through the past few years.
But to kind of give some of thelisteners a little bit more
context, what do you actuallyhave to do on that one day where
you're missing the job again tomake sure that you don't jump
(14:09):
out
SPEAKER_00 (14:09):
with both feet?
I would say as hard as it is,pick up the phone and call, go
to the door and knock, um, callyour friends, call your, I would
say, you know, your peers andask for advice, ask for help.
(14:34):
Um, and honestly it's, it soundsreally easy, like, okay, just to
pick up that phone and call, butit's really hard when you're in
that moment, when you're like inthe trenches, you're like, I
don't know what to do.
I want to jump out.
I just go get another job.
Like this is, this is too muchto expel that, say it, and then
kind of set back and let it setand then go, okay, I can pick up
(14:56):
the phone and I can call Nolan.
Hey, I'm dealing with thisproblem.
You might have maybe knowsomebody that needs something
done.
So I would say that is, is beingvulnerable.
um, not necessarily to otherpeople, but to yourself, you
know, put yourself out there.
That's a really hard thing todo.
And we all know as businessowners, it's very hard to put
(15:16):
yourself out there.
I think a lot of business ownersare introverts to the core.
And so I think if you're able tojust, whether you're faking it
or not, just, just make surethat you, your, your stacking
days, um, Even if it's a littlebit, you're just stacking,
SPEAKER_01 (15:36):
stacking,
SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
stacking,
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
but
SPEAKER_00 (15:38):
it's
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
also reframes.
I was listening.
I listened to some artists a lotto get different contexts on how
to create, how to produce, butit was framed as the price of
creation is that vulnerability.
And I think that really speaksto part of the entrepreneurial
or just business ownershipprocess is that to have the
(15:59):
freedom to part of thatsacrifice is the vulnerability.
SPEAKER_00 (16:03):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It is.
I
SPEAKER_01 (16:07):
love that.
You know, part of, part of whatjust makes the business a
success for y'all is thatjourney of building
relationships because, you know,you, whether that's, you know,
knocking on a door and meetingsomebody for the first time and
connecting with them enough tobe able to get a yes.
(16:30):
Yeah.
Go out and, and, and, wash,clean the exterior of my home,
or if it's making a newprofessional relationship where
somebody says, Hey, I have theperfect referral to be able to
send your direction.
It's, it's just incredible howmuch relationships tie into, I
(16:53):
would say every business
SPEAKER_00 (16:55):
exists.
It was eyeopening to me.
not only joining the club, butstarting to entrepreneurship,
maybe with all of us being alittle bit newer into this of
how everybody knows everyone.
Like you, you get behind thedoor or the curtain is pulled
back a little bit.
And you're like, wait, okay, soeverybody here actually knows
one another?
And you're exchanging thingsthat way?
(17:19):
I did not know that's howbusiness was done.
I thought in very, I guess,basic terms of I go out, I pitch
this, and this person says yes.
And it's not necessarily thatsimple.
It really is all about who youknow.
And especially in my industry,because referrals are king.
I mean, referrals are reallywhat keeps the wheels turning
(17:42):
because everybody knowssomebody.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
So I guess that's a good question of how do you
build a strong referral pipelineas a business owner.
Yeah.
Also kind of a reframe because Iwould argue that's easier to do
when you are already kind of30s, 40s, and you're starting
your first business.
But what would you tell thatpreviously 18-year-old nephew?
(18:09):
How would he start findinghumans that are his referral
network?
Great question.
That's a really good question.
This is my job.
SPEAKER_00 (18:17):
So I would– Look at it.
You have the device in your handwith your phone.
So you can obviously Googleanything or run it through a
chat type thing to figure out,okay, what's my ideal customer
type profile?
But if I was talking to my18-year-old nephew, I would say,
go to the neighborhoods with thenice new homes.
(18:41):
Go to the neighborhoods wherepeople are paying for lawn care.
You see a sprinkler guy outthere.
You see a gutter guy out there.
You see somebody having theirhome painted.
People that are, I hate to saythe word disposable income, but
there are people out there whoare going to pay to have nice
things.
(19:02):
And we want to be able topartner with those people who
are going to pay to have nicethings.
Cause we are going to bring awhite glove service to ensure
that those nice things are verywell taken care of and upheld.
So I would tell him don't needto go to a business, go to a
neighborhood and just, and justknock.
I mean, it's, it's not fun, butif you can get through the first
(19:28):
like five doors and, Everything,the dust, like I say, the dust
cells, I'm saying that a lot,but the nerves wear down and
you've kind of refined yourpitch by that point.
It's like, just get to the firstfive, first three, and then
you're going to know what tosay.
And you're going to know reallyquick if they're going to want
to buy or not.
And so I would say that.
Go to the neighborhoods wherethere are nice homes, where you
(19:49):
see nice cars driving out andpost up.
SPEAKER_01 (19:52):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:53):
Offer a free service.
Offer to do their sidewalk forfree.
If you're just using a pressurewasher, you know.
offer to do their driveway forfree or just a test section, or
maybe their mailbox.
I mean, mailboxes, especiallyhere, a lot of people have brick
mailboxes and mold and mildewhere always grows on the side
where the sun is not hitting.
(20:13):
So the North side, Northeast,Northwest target those.
I mean, and you can haveresults, you know, within
minutes by applying the certainchemical and a certain pressure
and make it look brand new.
And so, um, It's just findinglittle things that people don't
necessarily know are dirty untilyou bring it to their attention
(20:35):
and they go, oh my gosh, I hadno idea that this was even a
problem.
SPEAKER_01 (20:39):
I think that's one thing that makes you unique as
well is that when you– When youstarted into things, one, just a
good marketing principle ingeneral of you have to show up
where your audience is at.
And that's whether it's aphysical context or digital
context, you're going to...
(21:01):
You'll find people all the timewho are just trying to show up
everywhere, and it doesn't makeany sense.
You've got to show up where youraudience is at.
But number two is that you don'tjust keep trying the same thing
over and over again.
You're testing different offers.
You're testing, and then you'relearning as you're going.
And you are not just about yourcraft, but about your business.
(21:25):
And that's another thing I see.
I see businesses do wrong allthe time.
I'm talking businesses that make60 to 100 million dollars a year
that they you just see lazymarketing.
Yeah.
And you are constantly lookingfor ways to be able to say, hey,
I.
(21:46):
I am learning something new.
And so that 18-year-old cousin,if he falls in that same
pathway, if he wants to besuccessful, he's going to do
what you're doing, which isalways learn and grow and know
how to be able to improve yourcraft.
SPEAKER_00 (22:01):
I always tell people to don't be afraid to jump in
with both feet.
I mean, I think a lot...
This is just my own opinion, butI think a lot of people like to
go one foot in, one foot out.
That way, it's easy for me togo, okay, that didn't work out.
Shut the door.
I'm done.
I don't.
I'm all in all the timebecause...
(22:21):
And actually, I heard this fromRobert Norris, a fellow club
member.
There's no plan B.
I don't have a plan B.
This is plan A.
And I'm going to make plan Awork.
And so...
I'm all in and I push all mychips to the table because high
risk, high reward, I guess youcould say, but it's also fun.
(22:42):
Um,
SPEAKER_01 (22:43):
yeah,
SPEAKER_00 (22:43):
there's a, there's like a adrenaline rush.
I kind of get from it.
SPEAKER_01 (22:46):
And you have to reframe the math of the risk as
well, because when so few peopleare actually taking the risk of
working for themselves, there'san upside for the rest of us
that are willing to just say,we're going to take this risk.
But also, yeah, the, burning theboats.
Very important.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
Because if you hard, it is difficult.
It's scary.
I definitely, I mean, I'm, I hadmy moments where I'm, you know,
I have those thoughts like, ah,this is just too difficult.
Why did I decide to do this?
And then you have to go, holdon, pump the brakes, stop and
take a step back and justbreathe, you know, and realize
(23:29):
that, um, There's always goingto be a realm where there is a
W2 world out there that's alwaysgoing to be there.
Mm-hmm.
We all have an expiration date.
So.
Death.
What?
(23:49):
Sweet.
Yes.
I finally get to sleep.
We all have this expirationdate.
And so I look at it as why not?
UNKNOWN (23:59):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
Why not try it?
What's the worst that's going tohappen?
SPEAKER_01 (24:04):
Death.
SPEAKER_00 (24:05):
Well, it reminds me of
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
the juxtaposition of two of my favorite movie quotes.
On one hand, we have a quotefrom The 13th Warrior, starring
Antonio Banderas.
So they're about to lay down forthe night and wait for these
monsters to come with the mist.
And one of the guys in the groupsays to Antonio Banderas'
character, he says...
You know, the Allfather wroteThe Scane of Your Life a long
(24:30):
time ago.
Go hide in a hole if you wish,but you won't live one instant
longer.
Versus a quote from Knight'sTale by Heath Ledger.
I love Knight's Tale.
So good.
So good.
But I love that in Knight'sTale, it's all about, is it
true, father?
Can a man change his stars?
Yes, William.
If a man believes enough, he cando anything.
(24:51):
And I think between those twopoles is where business
ownership kind of rests.
Yeah.
Whatever's going to happen isalso going
SPEAKER_00 (25:00):
to happen.
SPEAKER_01 (25:00):
And if you believe enough, you can shift the stars.
SPEAKER_00 (25:03):
Yeah.
You know, I think a lot of it,too, is...
So much of what we're used to isinstant gratification.
I want it now.
I got to have it now.
I'm a big believer in therapy.
I've been seeing a therapist forlike, I think almost nine years
now.
And he's been hammering it on mefor years.
Delayed gratification, delayedgratification, delayed
(25:24):
gratification, even in, evenwithin the business, having that
delayed gratification.
I've had jobs or excuse me.
I've had cells that have told meno nine months ago.
And it sucks.
They pop that balloon.
You're just like, oh, my gosh.
I spent 45 minutes on my pitch,and I'm going to get this sell,
(25:47):
and it's a no.
But I reframed it.
Well, a no today is just a maybeor a yes down the line.
And then nine months later, I'llget a phone call.
Hey, actually, we saw yourInstagram post.
We saw your Facebook post.
You're right.
This is a problem.
We want you to come back out andtake care of the home.
And that's happened.
That's happened before.
(26:07):
A few times.
That's amazing.
It's just a reminder that youdon't have to have it right now.
You just have to tell yourselfthat I can, I will, I must.
And repeat.
And then just keep pushingforward.
And I think the biggest thing isexecution.
When it comes to referrals, likeyour question, on the referral
side, execution.
Not just in terms of showing upon time, having a clean rig.
(26:33):
But executing my conversationwith the homeowner, the business
owner, that's where I feel likeI'm at 30,000 feet is because
being able to communicate andexecute that communication well,
it goes a long ways becausepeople are going to buy from
people.
And I learned this from a greatpodcaster and he's local,
(26:57):
Michael Morrison.
People buy from people theyknow, like, and trust.
So if I can get you to know me,like me, and trust me, then
we're going to have a greatsymbiotic relationship.
So I really try to focus onexecuting my communication with
each customer.
SPEAKER_01 (27:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I mean, there's a bookcalled never split the
difference.
That's a New York, New Yorktimes bestseller out there.
Um, but one of the things that'stalked about by the author who
was a former FBI, um, uh,hostage negotiator who now does
(27:33):
business, is that it's actuallybetter to get a no before you
get a yes.
Now, it's not the exact samecontext that you were talking
about, but a lot of salespeopleare trained.
Get the yes.
Keep getting them to say yesbecause then at the end, you'll
get another yes.
But we actually function muchbetter if we can get someone to
(27:55):
say no and then yes, because weget a sense of agency over
ourselves.
And so one of the things that hesays on phone calls, you know,
don't ask them something.
I'll make them say yes.
Say, you know, did I catch youat a bad time for this phone
call?
And if they can talk, they'llsay, no, no, now is fine.
(28:20):
And that's your first no, right?
And so it's interesting justthinking about, you know,
there's this persistence that wehave to be willing to go in and
do the work.
But also that no, itpsychologically does something
for the people that we'retalking to, which is kind of
cool.
And that sales process has tomirror the process that sold
(28:43):
ourselves on doing business forourselves as well.
We had to say no to the statethat we were in
SPEAKER_00 (28:49):
before we
SPEAKER_01 (28:50):
could actually
SPEAKER_00 (28:50):
only
SPEAKER_01 (28:51):
have
SPEAKER_00 (28:51):
plan A.
That is a really good way toframe it.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (28:55):
I'll give one more shout out here.
You mentioned social media.
Exterior cleaning pros has anincredible social media
presence.
Very satisfying.
They have...
They have really put the timeand work in.
Rob and Catherine both havespent a lot of time to make some
super cool content, which is aperfect transition.
(29:17):
We, unfortunately, have come tothe end of our time.
Wow, that's so fast.
I know, I know.
And I feel like I could talkforever with you guys.
SPEAKER_00 (29:26):
That's so fast.
Well, I will say, on the socialmedia side, that's all
Catherine.
I just supply the videos.
So I'm going to give her herflowers because...
If we have time, I begged her,please leave, please leave her
job because I need you.
I need you.
I need you because she is a sheshe's good.
(29:46):
She's very, very good.
She's so smart.
And she is training herself onmarketing.
I mean, she's self-taught.
I mean, you know, picking yourbrain, Garrett, and being able
to just go in and do thingsherself is.
So I feel like, I mean, she,she, she, the social media and I
got a phone call yesterday aboutour Instagram.
Somebody saw it, wanted toquote.
(30:07):
So that is all Catherine, allthe marketing goes to Catherine.
I'm trying to learn more aboutit.
And, um, but yeah, she is, shedeserves her flowers on that for
sure.
SPEAKER_01 (30:19):
She's an excellent
SPEAKER_00 (30:20):
business woman to be working with too.
So very, very fortunate.
UNKNOWN (30:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:24):
Well, tell us how people can find you if they want
to look you up after thepodcast.
SPEAKER_00 (30:28):
Yeah.
So we're on Facebook.
We are on Instagram.
And then we have our website,which is
exteriorcleaningprosokc.com, Ibelieve.
do that um and then um my iguess can i get my phone number
yeah yeah phone number405-822-0750 that's my personal
cell and business line
SPEAKER_01 (30:48):
that's right do you hear that ladies that's his
personal cell he has beautifulhair rob hair katherine has a
big stick she needs to test
SPEAKER_00 (30:56):
out and um we're not on youtube yet but i think we'll
be getting into that realm soon.
And I've had people tell me thatget a tech talk, get a tech
talk.
So, um, but you know, uh,Google, Facebook, Instagram,
it's the best way to find us, ormaybe on a door hanger on your
home soon.
(31:17):
Yeah.
Do what we can only hope.
Yes.
We only hope.
SPEAKER_01 (31:22):
Well, thank you so much for being here with us.
And as always stay sharp.
Thank biz.
UNKNOWN (31:36):
you
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