October 23, 2023 • 38 mins
In Episode 7 of Fired Up, we sit down with Tracy Curington, the visionary behind 180 Turnarounds. Tracy opens up about his personal struggles with self-doubt and how rediscovering his faith and self-confidence paved the way for incredible business success. Today, he's turning quick-service restaurants into 10X powerhouses by creating raving fans. This episode is an inspiring look at how personal transformations can drive professional turnarounds. Tune in to discover how you too can make a 180-degree shift in your life and business. 🎧🔥
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(00:02):
that was tough for me in the beginning
to put myself out there to be
criticized and so I had to really there
was with the mindset came this
idea who is Tracy I had to figure that
out and then when I really knew who I
was and what I would what I was meant to
and then I figured out those things and
then I said okay what is the one problem
in the world I want to solve it's got to
(00:23):
come back to people if it doesn't serve
people then I'm not
interested
everybody welcome welcome to the fired
up Podcast my name is Brad Reva and I'm
your host fired up is sponsored by
reignite a certified 10x business
coaching program specifically designed
for Tech driven businesses and leaders
(00:45):
to bridge the gap in their relationships
whether it is fostering great customer
experiences that Skyrocket referrals and
sales or fortifying Team Dynamics
reignite is the fuel to 10x every area
of your business and today I am excited
to have a guest on this show that is 10
Xing the quick service restaurant
industry and really leadership teams of
(01:07):
all walks of business life so Tracy
Currington welcome to the fired up
Podcast thank you so much Brad for that
introduction uh you know what the world
needs more podcasts like this thank you
I appreciate that what your purpose is
what what you're what you're aiming for
so I appreciate what you're doing and
it's a pleasure to be here so I'm
(01:28):
honored thank you so much for having me
well I appreciate you being on thank you
so much and I think that it's important
to highlight your experience in business
in general but also in in your business
coach you're part of the 10x Community
like myself um looked to you AB
absolutely and i' I've looked to you as
as a really an example of how to serve
(01:50):
others and that's what 10x is the
business Community the 10x business
coaching program is all about and I
think that you really exemplify that in
the way that you reach out and and think
of service first and so I'm I'm curious
if that was your why or really what was
the why for you in starting 180
turnarounds uh well okay so so it kind
(02:10):
of goes back I think um uh if you've
taken any kind of personality
assessments this Profile assessment and
so forth I'm I'm an S I'm a people side
first so I always think of the people
first and I believe that it doesn't
matter the industry and it doesn't
matter the business that you're in but
the Difference Maker in any industry in
any business is amazing remarkable
(02:33):
customer service the way you take care
of and and in today's world we have a
lot of people just want and done right
if you mistreat somebody they may go
ahead and let you keep their money but
they're not coming back and you're not
going to create a raving fan that way I
I think what Grant um um our Mentor uh
in common what he says is is who's got
(02:53):
your money it's a who right and yeah
there's eight billion people in the
world you can find somebody to give you
money one time but I want to I want to
create a tribe I want to serve and and I
really follow um what what came out kind
of was was kind of proposed in the in
the 70s the servant Leadership Model
sure yeah I identif it's not you manage
(03:14):
things you lead people right and and I
want to be that type of model I want to
demonstrate that and uh you know
basically the Chick-fil-A model when I
was with Chick-fil-A for a little bit
I'll share a little bit about that in my
story but how may I serve you was their
opening line
oh interesting yeah and you always hear
a different response from them uh to
questions that are commonly asked you
(03:36):
know when you're going through the
service experience and even just the the
way they respond to thank you is
different than others and that's by
Design right right exactly yep and so
that's exactly right so yeah maybe maybe
it starts with your why and your story
of of just being in in business and in
that industry and we can learn a little
(03:56):
bit more about how you got into this
along the way let's do that I'm I'm
fired up to share it with you all right
so um so I I I was I'm the first born of
four in our family my Mom and Dad we I
was born in Fort Worth Texas we moved to
Seattle Washington H my father was a uh
was training for the ministry when I was
born and then he um he planted a church
(04:17):
in Seattle Washington and then we he
moved us I was only about four and a
half years old we moved from Seattle to
Cincinnati Ohio I mean we've come across
the entire country nearly sure and uh I
grew up for the next 24 years I grew up
in Cincinnati Ohio and so my my father
was a pastor so I was a PK and uh you
know growing up in in a Minister's home
(04:39):
has its challenges uh you know so some
some some PKS are kind of the worst kid
on the Block because of maybe it's the
rebellious nature of it and everything
and I fell into that kind of category
where I had this curious nature where
you know hey what am I missing out on I
mean the world is just so big and all
these things and so you know I started
probably you know my my direction of of
(05:00):
wanting to do what I wanted to do
probably sophomore in high school went
out did whatever I wanted to do I was in
the Food Service my first was my first
thing was a retail Kmart I don't know if
you remember Brad Kmart oh yeah well
before there ever was a Walmart there
was a Kmart there was Kmart yeah and a
lot of them and my the blue light
specials and so forth and so I got my
first job as a Kmart cashier and then
(05:23):
not long after that I I went to a TJ
Maxx Y and I kind of took care of the
men's clothing section and then uh guy a
guy a friend of mine said hey you can
you can ditch this
$415 job and come over here to this
restaurant I'm I'm busting Suds in the
dish dish room for 550 an hour I was
like oh man that sounds great yeah so uh
(05:44):
I went over there and and and jump Shi
there went over and bust the suds there
in the dish tank first night I was there
at 550 they gave me six the next week
payday came and I had 650 on the check
and then like two weeks later they
wanted to move me for 750 out to another
restaurant and then that led me into
supervisor role so I was 19 years old
(06:04):
running a four-star restaurant in
Kentucky uh just at uh just probably a
little suburb of H Cincinnati sure and a
19y old I was running you know I was
leading those that have been in the in
industry for 20 plus years and here I
was 19 years old making the schedule you
know leading the shift taking care of
parties I was you know cutting the
(06:25):
steaks um I was cooking the steaks uh
leading team of about nine or 10 men
plus about three or four dishwashers in
the kitchen and so you know we were
doing a great volume uh but I just I I
wanted to try something different so I
tried something different but one thing
that I picked up uh in in industry in
construction I was in construction for a
(06:47):
little bit as a brick layer and framer
um one thing I picked up was just some
bad habits so there's a there's so the
the men and the ladies that serve in
those Industries there's some bad habits
that they come along with it with drug
and alcohol and that caught up to me U
that caught up to me in December 1999 on
the the 23rd ended up wreck in my truck
(07:08):
DUI 42 stitches in my face and sentence
to rehab all that I say all that to say
180 turnarounds is a is a pretty
significant term for me because who I am
today is not who I once was and I know
we all have a story and I'm and I'm
afraid sometimes we're not transparent
enough with that story and and we don't
we don't reveal like you know there's
(07:30):
broken spots there's there's cracks
there's there's areas of my life that
like man this this was not good so I had
I had two baby boys at the time I was
married to my wife and here I was just
not giving up you know the addictions I
had
so in the in the hospital bed you know
being a Believer being a person of faith
I just communicated to uh to my Lord and
(07:51):
just said hey this is not the guy that I
know I need to be there's something
greater for me you give me another
opportunity I will be that man and so I
made that commitment there as as the law
enforcement was reading Me My Rights and
and I the blood coming down I was just I
knew I was busted I mean like it was
done I had to make a switch so I made
that switch I've been and so from there
(08:12):
I grew recovered um I've been for the
last um 18 years I started uh a church
in Oklahoma and that's where I Pastor
for the last 18 years we will we planted
another church uh uh we started planning
it two years ago we'll organize that one
officially in November and uh and I'm
looking at exiting I just ordained my
(08:34):
son into the ministry I'm looking to
exit the pastoring for a greater
platform and the greater platform has to
do with uh people in the quick service
industry and others just like you're
talking about in the 10x Community uh
working to help businesses turn them
around for whatever reason they're going
in the wrong direction we're going to
help them to turn around and that's
that's going to require a different
(08:54):
mindset and there's a lot of different
skills that come along with that but I
wanted you I wanted you and your
audience to hear that you know a lot of
times when people are on a podcast oh
man this guy you know it must be nice to
be so you know well informed it must be
nice you know to you're so smart and you
know like you're just so talented and
like no no no no like I mean we we take
the veneer away from Brad or Tracy we
(09:15):
were just a couple of guys and you know
we we had a lot of things to overcome in
order to be in the space that we're in
right there and a lot of it had to do
with our thinking yeah all right and I
think that it's great that you're very
transparent about this and just allowing
yourself to be a little more vulnerable
and
showing that I think in this story I
(09:37):
take away first of all you were the
first 180 turnaround that you had to
make was was your own life and I I've
heard from several others that I know
personally in order to get out of the
addiction cycle you have to hit rock
bottom and it certainly sounds like that
was a moment for you to really turn back
to say this is not the way I want to
(09:57):
live my life yeah and and and you've
you've examplified that yeah it's uh so
um I I've I followed this philosophy I
learned this from uh John Maxwell
leadership expert he he said people
change when they've they've learned
enough that they can they know enough
that they want to but most people change
(10:19):
when they hurt bad enough that they have
to right and and sadly I mean that's I'd
rather I'd rather learn enough that I
can or know enough that I want to I'd
rather not hurt bad enough that I have
to I mean think about you know like the
The Biggest Loser they're you know 500
my 600 pound life I mean like they're
hurting bad enough their life is in
(10:40):
Jeopardy they're gonna die if they keep
this path and now they hurt bad enough
they have to make a major change I wish
it would have taken that way for me but
but that's what it took for me it always
seems like that right it's always that
that lowest moment that actually gets us
to turn around when you're sick and
tired of being sick and tired and just
I'm not gonna live like this anymore and
then as you started to get into the the
(11:01):
ministry and then start into your
business for 180 turnarounds the there
had to be challenges along the way in
building that business different
challenges but what were those things
that really stood in the way that you
had to overcome as you grew your
business so so like I mentioned the very
first one was the mindset The Limited
thinking uh so I I think that I've heard
(11:24):
them defined as limiting beliefs and
competing commitment sure and we all
have them and we say them and I and I
thought myself saying well the early
bird gets the
worm right I mean like what there's no
worms for second shift and third shift
right like and that's that's what it
sets up like if you're not working first
shift everything else is just like a a
(11:45):
dead- end job because you're really not
g to get it because all the worms have
been taken and that's not true um the
the penny saved is a penny earned but
it's still a penny what are we trying to
pick up pennies or dollars I mean like
what are we trying to do here and so
like those kind of mindsets I had to
shift my thinking and you've got the 10x
rule back on there and I would encourage
everybody listening to your show right
now because you're advertising the 10x
(12:07):
rule if your audience has not read that
book and as a 10x uh license coach man
you have an opportunity you've got
grants material to take them through
I've taken um three masterminds um
probably about 30 people through the 10x
rule it is it is lifechanging I mean the
the the the and it's a thinking way it's
(12:29):
it's just thinking 10x and and that has
really transformed the people that I've
coached and as a result they want to
ride along with me because when you
adjust somebody's mindset that's a
GameChanger and now I see opportunities
now the restraint is of course you know
this as an entrepreneur the restraint is
okay what do I not invest in right right
yeah exactly now I've open now you have
(12:51):
to focus now you have P's box has been
open and now I'm like seeing everything
as an opportunity oh man I can do this
and I can do this and I can do this oh
wait a minute what was I born and put on
this Earth to do and and kind of getting
niched down and then give 10x to that
absolutely yeah and and that is that was
one challenge that that mindset first
and and that's like usually the toughest
one to get over to overcome if you can
(13:12):
overcome the mindset issue and and get
back into that abundance thinking then
the other doors might open up but what
what else kind of came into so true yeah
so true and and the next thing for me um
you know being in front of people for
the last uh you know 20 plus years
speaking so I've been uh public speaking
for a long time and so it could be
(13:32):
crowds of uh you know 500 down to you
know 20 people or or 10 people in a
nursing home or something like that that
I'm speaking to or it could be a
one-on-one conversation like this uh you
know keeping people's attention so
there's a lot of knowledge a lot of
growth and development I had to do and
like it wasn't just about having man I
got a great message to deliver to the
world but if you can't deliver it it's
(13:53):
it's crap I mean no one's going to hear
it I mean great message we got to work
on delivery so a lot of that I had to
work on but the minds from the mindset
and then just investing in myself and
then obscurity was the was the third
component you know if if people don't
know you they cannot flow you uh so and
I think you have to build those
relationships they say that your network
is your net worth and so I had to come
(14:15):
out of obscurity I never could have put
myself on social media or you know so
we've got LinkedIn Tik Tok uh you know
Twitter spaces the threads we've got
Facebook I mean uh Instagram so we've
got all of these different things that I
can put myself out there that was tough
for me in the beginning to put myself
out there to be
criticized and so I had to really there
(14:37):
was with the mindset came this
identity who is Tracy I had to figure
that out and then when I really knew who
I was and what I would what I was meant
to do what my you know like I I don't
want to say this is my purpose because
I've got a lot of purposes I got a lot
of things I want to get done right I'm
glad life ain't over I'm 47 years young
and I'm looking forward to the the next
you know 40 plus years that I get to to
(15:00):
go after it but so I there was an
identity I had like okay who is Tracy
what I want to accomplish what was I
meant to do what are my gifts what are
my weaknesses what are the things I suck
at and then I figured out those things
and then I said okay what is the one
problem in the world I want to solve and
I know we'll come to that a little bit
later on but the one problem in the i i
to be short is valuing people I I do not
(15:23):
like it when people are are mistreated
and when they're not valued properly uh
based on uh race B based on U education
status based on financial status I mean
people have a soul people are valuable
I'm a person of value I value people and
I seek to add more value to them so as
we're on this podcast not only do I want
(15:44):
to add value to you I want to add value
to your listeners and I'm hoping that I
can get some value out added to this too
so coming out of obscurity was was it
took mindset and identity for me to get
on there and say okay I know me I know
my message let's go yeah and that took a
lot so if it wasn't for the mindset work
and the identity I don't think that I
would have been you know we we grew
(16:05):
we're like 2700 followers on on Facebook
we have other followers I we're growing
on LinkedIn and stuff like that now but
this is since I've only been on Facebook
I think since 2019 so so like growing in
that and that's organic growth it's not
like like we did all these things and we
got these people that we don't even know
who they are it's all just the organic
growth that I've that I've learned from
(16:26):
sure but I don't think I could have ever
done that without overcoming my mindset
my identity and then obscurity and I
think that's a lot of business owners
right now um they just do not like Grant
says promote promote promote right you
gotta put yourself out there sure and
and I think that's interesting that
those are the two challenges you chose
because the mindset and the obscurity go
(16:47):
really hand inand together and you talk
about the criticism I think the biggest
critic is ourselves it's your own
self-image right of of how you see what
you're doing and nobody's paying more
attention to you than you yeah yeah yeah
I can be my worst critic absolutely
absolutely and you know Brad I don't
know about about what it's like for you
(17:09):
but when somebody can pay me a
compliment I'm so quick to to deflect
yeah down right I'm like like oh that oh
you're you're too kind so like when I do
that so and my mentor had a push on me
for this um when when somebody would pay
me a compliment like Tracy really what
you've done for our business I mean with
you I don't know where we would be oh
(17:30):
you're too kind what did I just do I
just deflected I just took their words
of Praise instead of saying thank you
yep that's all I had to say instead of
receiving it you are too kind I just
threw it right back on them right and so
like that that there's a price there's a
there's a toll that has to be paid on
constantly doing that and so really it
(17:52):
was somebody's trying to give me a gift
of kind words words of affirmation yeah
you know if you know anything about the
five love Lang languages they're
offering me words of affirmation and I'm
rejecting their gift and I'm almost
regifting it I'm putting it back on them
so I really had to work on that and I
and that's kind of still a work in
progress I I have to admit okay okay
well good because that sort of leads me
into the next thought I had was were you
(18:14):
know you would change or would you
change anything about your journey along
the way to where you've
come yeah what would I do differently um
okay so this one has to do with probably
uh my
awareness um and my technology skills
and everything so I mean like so I look
(18:35):
at a guy like you and you're in the
software industry and everything just me
saying the word software makes me a
little
intimidated because like I'm boots on
the ground I'm gonna breathe the same
air I'm in proximity I'm gonna be with
people working with people and
everything somebody else has created the
software and I'm just going to use it as
a tool because like slack somebody else
created slack yeah but that is the great
(18:56):
in my opinion that's the Great greatest
tool for internal communication within a
company especially quick service
restaurant I mean so like man now I know
how to communicate it but inventing it
creating it those kinds of things
somebody had to teach me how to use it
to write so so like for you I I admire a
guy like you and I'm impressed and
inspired by people like you because my
(19:18):
brain doesn't work that way and it just
it's intimidating to me so I think the
one thing that if I could change about
myself is all the Rel relationships that
I built so if I say I have a gift bread
the gift that I have is I can establish
Rapport pretty quick and there in the
three Rs I look at in my business is I
(19:40):
have to establish Rapport so hey Brad I
now know you right and hey Brad I now
like you and it's okay if you like me
too so I know you I like you and now I
can trust you so that's Rapport Rapport
is I know you I like you trust you so um
I know Brad Pit but I don't got any
rapport with him yeah me either I no
(20:02):
because he doesn't know me right so we
don't have we don't have any report
because you have to know each other you
have to like each other and you have to
trust each other right so that's report
and Rapport gives birth to
relationship now we can so we've
established Rapport now we can build
relationship right and I think the best
businesses as far as Revenue the third R
(20:23):
revenue is a byproduct of relationship
relationship is a byproduct of so if
you've got those three in that order I
mean otherwise and that's why this kind
of goes back to my service model that
somebody walks in I was a director at
Chick-fil-A for uh two years somebody
walks in and um hey welcome to
(20:43):
Chick-fil-A right that's the first thing
I say right eye contact smile you know
enthusiastic voice make a connection you
know those kind of things what they
teach you right so so they come in and
like man I love that shirt wait are you
a Sooners fan I mean like that so I'm a
establishing report right you know hey I
like I like the Sooners you like the
Sooners we can like each other I mean
(21:04):
like I'm establishing that the next time
they come in after I got their name hey
Bob will it be a large sweet tea today
now we got this relationship because now
he knows something about me he knows I
like sweet tea and now Revenue comes
Bob's gonna come back when he comes back
he's gonna say Hey where's that Tracy
guy at is he here today right right he's
looking for me because he's coming back
(21:25):
most people if it's true John says
people leave people not companies right
so it's it's about relationship but also
people are attracted to places because
of people that's true it's likely
through your course of of work that
people are coming to uh was it remes
yeah that's right okay like I'm I'm
(21:45):
doing business like I could go anywhere
but I like Brad right and I come there
because of Brad Brad's my rep Brad's you
know Brad's my go-to guy or whatever
people do PE business with people and so
that build builds up a revenue stream
because of those relationships so I
think in answering this is the long
version but I think I had to lay the
groundwork I did not ever until this
(22:07):
year create a retrieval system how do I
remember all the people like oh man I
haven't seen you so long why has it been
that long why did I not connect with
them because Grant's whole thing who's
got your money why am I not keeping
track of all the relationships I've
built over the past 25 years because
(22:27):
people got my money and this is my power
base so so on our training uh you'll
probably you're likely gone through this
where Grant talks about growing that
power base and listing that power base
and selling to that power base and
letting the power base know who you are
and what you are I wish if I could go
back I would start documenting my power
(22:47):
base yeah I don't care if it's on note
cards I would you know because that's
what I have to be back in the 90s but
I'd go with note cards and then I'd go
with you know like a you know some kind
of list or whatever I'd have a better
email list I I'd have all kinds of leads
already that's one thing that I would
have changed okay yeah I think that the
interesting thing is was what you
(23:08):
started off talking about was the
technology and how you wish you had had
the exposure to that but it was not just
for technology sake it's for the some
way to help organize all of the
relationships and I have found too that
technology leaders really struggle on
the relationship side of things it's
called a soft skill so we don't work on
(23:28):
it and yeah it it just seems like this
thing that's not as important to our
career development but it's so vital and
it's it's honestly the thing that has
grown our software business has grown
really any business that I've been a
part of like you said it's it's about
those relationships and so I either go
to that establishment not because of the
the technology or even because of the
(23:49):
product in some cases obviously they
have to have a good product or service
but it is about the people and as you
mentioned I might even not go to that
place because I didn't have a great
experience with the person that was
there and uh I think that's something
that gets overlooked a lot and really
just well thank you for bringing that
out for your audience and between us
(24:10):
because like anything that I whatever
whatever I'm starting at it's a tool
it's a process it's a system it's a it's
a it's a software it's got to come back
to people if it doesn't serve people
then I'm not interested I I was on a
call with a a guy the other day and he
was was trying to get me to invest and I
said there's three
three rules I have for investing first
of all it's got to make money if you
(24:31):
can't make money why would I invest it
right so okay so I'm gonna Pony up money
it's got to make a return so the first
thing is it's got to make money because
Warren Buffett never lose money right I
mean so like you never want to lose
money that's the first three rules but
okay so so it's got to make money but
then also it's got to be flexible for my
schedule so I know like man there's so
(24:53):
many I've had to learn this the hard way
so many things I've invested into and it
was not in a line with what I wanted to
do so so and I know this wasn't really
the topic that we're talking about but
the third one serves us because the
third rule is it has to help people
right so if I'm going to invest so like
you know would I invest in multif family
homes absolutely because it helps with
(25:14):
people we're turning into a renter
Nation so absolutely would I invest in
like you know card owned capital or
something like that absolutely I would
because it helps a lot of people right
so you know when I invest into a
software that you know like the the new
startups who are they helping would I
invest into slack yeah that helps a lot
of people in communication and number
one flaw I see in business today is the
(25:35):
absence of communication keep people are
kept in the dark or whatever so um so
yes that's that's what I that's what I
would do that I hope that that that
answers sufficiently Absol makes total
sense and so I think there's a lot of
things that you could probably look back
on as the business has grown as you've
taken this entrepreneurial journey and
I'm going to ask you to to do the thing
(25:57):
that you always reflect is tell me what
you're proud of okay thank you for the
question that's all trained and script
right there Brett um okay so the most so
I'd probably have to put it into the
personal and professional buckets um
sure personally uh like I mentioned I'm
a person of Faith so I'm I'm most proud
(26:17):
of the relationship that I have with uh
with the Lord that's that I'm a
Christian so I'm most proud of that the
second thing is I'm most proud of the 26
years I've had uh being married to my uh
high school sweetheart uh so so 26 years
we've uh we've been together for 28 been
married for 26 we're boyfriend and
girlfriend for a little bit um I'm also
(26:40):
most proud of the eight children that we
have just me and her and and so we're
always given like dude are you Catholic
or like no I'm not but they'll say then
they'll say something like you know you
know what causes that don't you and I
say yes we stay away from that the no
public drinking fountains we don't drink
from them anymore uh because know that
causes babies but no so we have we have
two boys two girls two boys and two
(27:01):
girls and the four oldest ones um are
are moving out of the house and the four
youngest ones the the oldest of them uh
is is in high school looking to go into
the air force uh he'll graduate in uh in
next year and then the youngest of them
is seven so uh so I'm coming down to the
last I'm very very proud of them I'm
(27:23):
proud of the relationship I have with my
parents uh a lot of people can't say
that they have a great relationship with
their parents I'm proud because they
were entrepreneurs at heart um in
growing up in their household they
always had some other hustle that they
were hungry about and so they laid a
foundation early on in my life for for
the things I think I'm also proud of the
the friends that I've developed um
(27:45):
because it's one of my core values is is
friendship um but then then
professionally I think I I'm proud of
the fact that we started this church
been Pastor for 18 years I'm proud of
putting a plan together for my exit you
know and then uh and then installing my
son as the new pastor you know for the
church's vote I'm also proud of the
(28:05):
business like so for you know basically
when you start a church you're starting
a business and and it's been going now
for um over 18 years and it's we have no
credit cards we the only debt we have
left is
$9,000 and so I'm a goal my goal is to
pay the nine grand off before the end of
(28:26):
the year to establish 75k in a savings
uh fund for my son when he comes in to
where he has you know a deeper amount of
money that he can invest so I'm very
proud of the discipline because that
does take a lot of discipline and not
getting carried away with with things
and I think that's that's part of
business and I know that whether it's a
(28:47):
church or it's a you know it's a a quick
service restaurant you know Mom and Pop
it's a food truck it doesn't matter you
know keeping your keeping knowing your
numbers and keeping that straight that's
something to be proud of if you can do
that for the Long Haul right uh because
it's not easy to do that uh as I found
but I I think also the um the 180
turnarounds where we're going now um
(29:08):
having a direction for what the future
holds those are the kind of the things
that I'm most proud of because they're
part of who I am I mean like I mean who
comes on a on a podcast you know with
with a Thundercats on I mean like who
like I do because I I I asked I asked
those in our 10x Community those coaches
I asked like know who I am and I know I
know when we get on our Elite coaches
(29:30):
calls I know how I have to dress and
stuff like that but I also know who I am
and I don't want to divorce Who I Am the
reality of who I am so I'm most I guess
what I'm most proud is I just know me
and I'm comfortable in my own skin I'm
happy being around me I'm not aiming to
try to be what somebody else wants me to
be and I think that's something to be
(29:51):
proud of for anybody in your audience
who has come to that realization that's
that's a lot of that's a journey that is
absolutely and by the way Thundercats
has a very special place in my heart as
a just uping yeah absolutely uh my
childhood upbringing so many a Saturday
morning spent in front of that I can
tell you for sure oh yeah yeah yeah so
(30:14):
it's great and and being who you are and
really coming as far as you have when we
talk about the story and the the
turnaround the journey that you've taken
I got to ask what's next what's next for
you um okay so I have like the so the
180 turnarounds I grow that business I'm
I'm about I think it was Brandon Dawson
(30:36):
who talked about having an exit strategy
so like you know you're launching I'm
just not launching and you want me to
get out of it I'm like but like knowing
so you and I when we get in a
conversation uh if we're at Lowe's we're
GNA get in a conversation I always want
to have what is my strategy for engaging
that person because they may they may
have my money and I don't know it yet
because I don't know so I engage Eng
(30:57):
them in conversation but I always have
an exit strategy so I enter the
conversation knowing what I what I want
what I want to glean from it and I want
them to add value to I mean people
always they all have an opinion and
asking them to share it with you what's
one thing that you've learned in your
business that you can share with me all
right you just yank their chain but then
(31:17):
knowing I gotta have an exit strategy
because I can't stay here all day I I
got things to do things to build my wife
wants me home or whatever the story is
same thing with business you come into a
business I know what my objective is I
know what I want to do I want to have an
exit strategy the next thing for me is
to grow this 180 turnarounds to three
teams so and in my business the way that
(31:38):
it's structured is if I have um if I
have three teams of three so that's nine
people plus myself so 10 not to mention
assistant marketing stuff like that but
probably no more than 15 but if I can
grow them to three teams that are going
out to these Quick Service restaurants
sure and also convenience stores
convenience stores I mean think about
the last time you went to if it wasn't a
(31:59):
bues the last time you went to a
convenience store how much leadership
development you know team building you
know how much how much work is really
being invested into that person I mean
most of them don't even have a uniform
that they're wearing at you know thing I
mean there just how are they showed up
and stuff like that there's you you
don't look at them and say man there's
there's that's a very sharp person right
(32:20):
they're just they're just putting your
gas on for you ringing up your candy bar
or whatever it is uh so growing them I
know that I can be over a million
dollars in Revenue each year by having
the three teams so what I want to do is
right now I only have one team and I
want to grow that to three teams because
three teams will put me over that
million dollar and then growing that I
(32:41):
after that's the next step now after
that there's there's a fiveyear Target
there's a 10year Target right there's an
exit strategy I'm coming out of that
selling that business out giving it to
my kids whatever that looks like they're
interested but I have one thing that
like is a big thing is big part of me so
uh Brad I don't know what kind of uh how
Avid Reader that you are I know this
(33:02):
that you didn't get as far as you are in
life without having ingested something
for personal development and I see the
power in the printed page in the in the
printed word and so I've grown a
subscription called page Turners
basically the book industry is still
cruising it's still it's I mean with all
the ebooks with all the audio books
(33:22):
people are still want buying hard copy
books right and they're doing it to the
Tuna 22.95 on average something like
that for a brand new book here's the
struggle the struggle is they don't have
any problem buying a book they have
struggle reading the book right they
looked at these 10x rule man how to do
this how to do that right and they're
like man I like that because the cover
(33:43):
sold them on the on the idea that's
right and then it goes on the shelf and
it's shelf help not selfhelp yeah so
what I want to change is I my my
subscription is like 19999 a month but I
want to change I mean think about that
if you do 199 Grant has the thing of
take a million dollars and back into it
how could you do that well it would take
5,000 subscriptions at1 19999 a month to
(34:07):
be at about 1.2 million a year and
there's eight billion people on planet
Earth right so finding those people that
like they know they want to read they
know books contain it's cheaper than
going to a conference cheaper than
that's the the end dream for me is to be
you know 55 57 in in the next 10 years
(34:27):
and be able to twice a month add value
in that subscription and grow that
subscription that would be the big the
big idea it Give Me Freedom so I got
five core values I'm sure you've listed
you you probably have yours but my
family my faith my my freedom I love my
freedom and my friends and fun yeah
(34:48):
great and so that's the business model
that I can work all five values out and
have my freedom and you do that that
that completes it and it's interesting
that you talk about the exit strategy I
think that is something that's so
difficult for a lot of professionals let
alone Founders and entrepreneurs to get
their heads around that your whole goal
(35:08):
is to find the replacement for you
that's how you've succeeded if you can
grow and mentor and build a business
based on a a repeatable process based on
systems which you've learned in the
industries that you've come up in but
it's so hard for people to see
themselves outside of the business they
see them as as one and it's it's even
(35:30):
something that I see with entrepreneurs
and people that are sort of in a
position for a long period of time have
that institutional knowledge and just
feel like that is what sets them apart
and I'm never going to give that up but
then you don't grow as as you've really
well pointed out okay Brad you bring up
a great thing and I didn't think about
it like this until you just said that
(35:50):
listening to you if you identify your if
you don't know your identity we talked
about the first things we had to do
mindset identity and and coming out of
obscurity right to grow this business if
I'm identified as the 180 turnaround guy
yeah and I don't know me I'm never gonna
give up 180 turnarounds because that's
how I'm identified sure but if I'm
(36:13):
identified as I know Trac and I love
being me this is what I do so we're
human beings not human doings and it
didn't occur to me until just now when
you were kind of going through that I'm
like man that's that's so true that's a
great value just added to me I don't
want to be identified by what I do I
want to personally I want to be
identified by who I am so what I do yeah
(36:36):
so I've got two books that are in in
publishing right now supposed to be out
by December I'm not identified by those
books I want to be I want to be me yeah
I'm the ThunderCats hoe guy I'm like I
just know who I am I don't have the
typical you know com to the the
corporate office haircut I don't have
that Ian just because I want to be me
now I don't want to rub people the wrong
way and and I know how to adapt
(36:57):
to what people need from me but I still
don't want to divorce myself from who I
truly am because then I'd have to be
something I'm not and I just don't I
don't think I I would make a very good
app well I appreciate who you are I yeah
I appreciate who you are and I
appreciate you sharing it with us and
I'm really glad we got to learn about
(37:18):
your journey and your story so thanks
for being on today oh Brad this was this
was awesome I know I probably droned on
and oh we're all good all good no I
appreciate the opportunity I said Thank
you And and I'm not going to let you
deflect that I really appreciate you
being on the show today it's my pleasure
it's my pleasure all right we'll leave
it at that my friend thank you very much
(37:40):
and that that does it for us here so
this is the fired up Podcast and I'm
Brad Reba reminding you to stay fired up
and do something
great ride up the sky going to light up
everybody get
(38:05):
oh
that was tough for me in the beginning
to put myself out there to be
criticized and so I had to really there
was with the mindset came this
idea who is Tracy I had to figure that
out and then when I really knew who I
was and what I would what I was meant to
and then I figured out those things and
then I said okay what is the one problem
in the world I want to solve it's got to
(00:23):
come back to people if it doesn't serve
people then I'm not
interested
everybody welcome welcome to the fired
up Podcast my name is Brad Reva and I'm
your host fired up is sponsored by
reignite a certified 10x business
coaching program specifically designed
for Tech driven businesses and leaders
(00:45):
to bridge the gap in their relationships
whether it is fostering great customer
experiences that Skyrocket referrals and
sales or fortifying Team Dynamics
reignite is the fuel to 10x every area
of your business and today I am excited
to have a guest on this show that is 10
Xing the quick service restaurant
industry and really leadership teams of
(01:07):
all walks of business life so Tracy
Currington welcome to the fired up
Podcast thank you so much Brad for that
introduction uh you know what the world
needs more podcasts like this thank you
I appreciate that what your purpose is
what what you're what you're aiming for
so I appreciate what you're doing and
it's a pleasure to be here so I'm
(01:28):
honored thank you so much for having me
well I appreciate you being on thank you
so much and I think that it's important
to highlight your experience in business
in general but also in in your business
coach you're part of the 10x Community
like myself um looked to you AB
absolutely and i' I've looked to you as
as a really an example of how to serve
(01:50):
others and that's what 10x is the
business Community the 10x business
coaching program is all about and I
think that you really exemplify that in
the way that you reach out and and think
of service first and so I'm I'm curious
if that was your why or really what was
the why for you in starting 180
turnarounds uh well okay so so it kind
(02:10):
of goes back I think um uh if you've
taken any kind of personality
assessments this Profile assessment and
so forth I'm I'm an S I'm a people side
first so I always think of the people
first and I believe that it doesn't
matter the industry and it doesn't
matter the business that you're in but
the Difference Maker in any industry in
any business is amazing remarkable
(02:33):
customer service the way you take care
of and and in today's world we have a
lot of people just want and done right
if you mistreat somebody they may go
ahead and let you keep their money but
they're not coming back and you're not
going to create a raving fan that way I
I think what Grant um um our Mentor uh
in common what he says is is who's got
(02:53):
your money it's a who right and yeah
there's eight billion people in the
world you can find somebody to give you
money one time but I want to I want to
create a tribe I want to serve and and I
really follow um what what came out kind
of was was kind of proposed in the in
the 70s the servant Leadership Model
sure yeah I identif it's not you manage
(03:14):
things you lead people right and and I
want to be that type of model I want to
demonstrate that and uh you know
basically the Chick-fil-A model when I
was with Chick-fil-A for a little bit
I'll share a little bit about that in my
story but how may I serve you was their
opening line
oh interesting yeah and you always hear
a different response from them uh to
questions that are commonly asked you
(03:36):
know when you're going through the
service experience and even just the the
way they respond to thank you is
different than others and that's by
Design right right exactly yep and so
that's exactly right so yeah maybe maybe
it starts with your why and your story
of of just being in in business and in
that industry and we can learn a little
(03:56):
bit more about how you got into this
along the way let's do that I'm I'm
fired up to share it with you all right
so um so I I I was I'm the first born of
four in our family my Mom and Dad we I
was born in Fort Worth Texas we moved to
Seattle Washington H my father was a uh
was training for the ministry when I was
born and then he um he planted a church
(04:17):
in Seattle Washington and then we he
moved us I was only about four and a
half years old we moved from Seattle to
Cincinnati Ohio I mean we've come across
the entire country nearly sure and uh I
grew up for the next 24 years I grew up
in Cincinnati Ohio and so my my father
was a pastor so I was a PK and uh you
know growing up in in a Minister's home
(04:39):
has its challenges uh you know so some
some some PKS are kind of the worst kid
on the Block because of maybe it's the
rebellious nature of it and everything
and I fell into that kind of category
where I had this curious nature where
you know hey what am I missing out on I
mean the world is just so big and all
these things and so you know I started
probably you know my my direction of of
(05:00):
wanting to do what I wanted to do
probably sophomore in high school went
out did whatever I wanted to do I was in
the Food Service my first was my first
thing was a retail Kmart I don't know if
you remember Brad Kmart oh yeah well
before there ever was a Walmart there
was a Kmart there was Kmart yeah and a
lot of them and my the blue light
specials and so forth and so I got my
first job as a Kmart cashier and then
(05:23):
not long after that I I went to a TJ
Maxx Y and I kind of took care of the
men's clothing section and then uh guy a
guy a friend of mine said hey you can
you can ditch this
$415 job and come over here to this
restaurant I'm I'm busting Suds in the
dish dish room for 550 an hour I was
like oh man that sounds great yeah so uh
(05:44):
I went over there and and and jump Shi
there went over and bust the suds there
in the dish tank first night I was there
at 550 they gave me six the next week
payday came and I had 650 on the check
and then like two weeks later they
wanted to move me for 750 out to another
restaurant and then that led me into
supervisor role so I was 19 years old
(06:04):
running a four-star restaurant in
Kentucky uh just at uh just probably a
little suburb of H Cincinnati sure and a
19y old I was running you know I was
leading those that have been in the in
industry for 20 plus years and here I
was 19 years old making the schedule you
know leading the shift taking care of
parties I was you know cutting the
(06:25):
steaks um I was cooking the steaks uh
leading team of about nine or 10 men
plus about three or four dishwashers in
the kitchen and so you know we were
doing a great volume uh but I just I I
wanted to try something different so I
tried something different but one thing
that I picked up uh in in industry in
construction I was in construction for a
(06:47):
little bit as a brick layer and framer
um one thing I picked up was just some
bad habits so there's a there's so the
the men and the ladies that serve in
those Industries there's some bad habits
that they come along with it with drug
and alcohol and that caught up to me U
that caught up to me in December 1999 on
the the 23rd ended up wreck in my truck
(07:08):
DUI 42 stitches in my face and sentence
to rehab all that I say all that to say
180 turnarounds is a is a pretty
significant term for me because who I am
today is not who I once was and I know
we all have a story and I'm and I'm
afraid sometimes we're not transparent
enough with that story and and we don't
we don't reveal like you know there's
(07:30):
broken spots there's there's cracks
there's there's areas of my life that
like man this this was not good so I had
I had two baby boys at the time I was
married to my wife and here I was just
not giving up you know the addictions I
had
so in the in the hospital bed you know
being a Believer being a person of faith
I just communicated to uh to my Lord and
(07:51):
just said hey this is not the guy that I
know I need to be there's something
greater for me you give me another
opportunity I will be that man and so I
made that commitment there as as the law
enforcement was reading Me My Rights and
and I the blood coming down I was just I
knew I was busted I mean like it was
done I had to make a switch so I made
that switch I've been and so from there
(08:12):
I grew recovered um I've been for the
last um 18 years I started uh a church
in Oklahoma and that's where I Pastor
for the last 18 years we will we planted
another church uh uh we started planning
it two years ago we'll organize that one
officially in November and uh and I'm
looking at exiting I just ordained my
(08:34):
son into the ministry I'm looking to
exit the pastoring for a greater
platform and the greater platform has to
do with uh people in the quick service
industry and others just like you're
talking about in the 10x Community uh
working to help businesses turn them
around for whatever reason they're going
in the wrong direction we're going to
help them to turn around and that's
that's going to require a different
(08:54):
mindset and there's a lot of different
skills that come along with that but I
wanted you I wanted you and your
audience to hear that you know a lot of
times when people are on a podcast oh
man this guy you know it must be nice to
be so you know well informed it must be
nice you know to you're so smart and you
know like you're just so talented and
like no no no no like I mean we we take
the veneer away from Brad or Tracy we
(09:15):
were just a couple of guys and you know
we we had a lot of things to overcome in
order to be in the space that we're in
right there and a lot of it had to do
with our thinking yeah all right and I
think that it's great that you're very
transparent about this and just allowing
yourself to be a little more vulnerable
and
showing that I think in this story I
(09:37):
take away first of all you were the
first 180 turnaround that you had to
make was was your own life and I I've
heard from several others that I know
personally in order to get out of the
addiction cycle you have to hit rock
bottom and it certainly sounds like that
was a moment for you to really turn back
to say this is not the way I want to
(09:57):
live my life yeah and and and you've
you've examplified that yeah it's uh so
um I I've I followed this philosophy I
learned this from uh John Maxwell
leadership expert he he said people
change when they've they've learned
enough that they can they know enough
that they want to but most people change
(10:19):
when they hurt bad enough that they have
to right and and sadly I mean that's I'd
rather I'd rather learn enough that I
can or know enough that I want to I'd
rather not hurt bad enough that I have
to I mean think about you know like the
The Biggest Loser they're you know 500
my 600 pound life I mean like they're
hurting bad enough their life is in
(10:40):
Jeopardy they're gonna die if they keep
this path and now they hurt bad enough
they have to make a major change I wish
it would have taken that way for me but
but that's what it took for me it always
seems like that right it's always that
that lowest moment that actually gets us
to turn around when you're sick and
tired of being sick and tired and just
I'm not gonna live like this anymore and
then as you started to get into the the
(11:01):
ministry and then start into your
business for 180 turnarounds the there
had to be challenges along the way in
building that business different
challenges but what were those things
that really stood in the way that you
had to overcome as you grew your
business so so like I mentioned the very
first one was the mindset The Limited
thinking uh so I I think that I've heard
(11:24):
them defined as limiting beliefs and
competing commitment sure and we all
have them and we say them and I and I
thought myself saying well the early
bird gets the
worm right I mean like what there's no
worms for second shift and third shift
right like and that's that's what it
sets up like if you're not working first
shift everything else is just like a a
(11:45):
dead- end job because you're really not
g to get it because all the worms have
been taken and that's not true um the
the penny saved is a penny earned but
it's still a penny what are we trying to
pick up pennies or dollars I mean like
what are we trying to do here and so
like those kind of mindsets I had to
shift my thinking and you've got the 10x
rule back on there and I would encourage
everybody listening to your show right
now because you're advertising the 10x
(12:07):
rule if your audience has not read that
book and as a 10x uh license coach man
you have an opportunity you've got
grants material to take them through
I've taken um three masterminds um
probably about 30 people through the 10x
rule it is it is lifechanging I mean the
the the the and it's a thinking way it's
(12:29):
it's just thinking 10x and and that has
really transformed the people that I've
coached and as a result they want to
ride along with me because when you
adjust somebody's mindset that's a
GameChanger and now I see opportunities
now the restraint is of course you know
this as an entrepreneur the restraint is
okay what do I not invest in right right
yeah exactly now I've open now you have
(12:51):
to focus now you have P's box has been
open and now I'm like seeing everything
as an opportunity oh man I can do this
and I can do this and I can do this oh
wait a minute what was I born and put on
this Earth to do and and kind of getting
niched down and then give 10x to that
absolutely yeah and and that is that was
one challenge that that mindset first
and and that's like usually the toughest
one to get over to overcome if you can
(13:12):
overcome the mindset issue and and get
back into that abundance thinking then
the other doors might open up but what
what else kind of came into so true yeah
so true and and the next thing for me um
you know being in front of people for
the last uh you know 20 plus years
speaking so I've been uh public speaking
for a long time and so it could be
(13:32):
crowds of uh you know 500 down to you
know 20 people or or 10 people in a
nursing home or something like that that
I'm speaking to or it could be a
one-on-one conversation like this uh you
know keeping people's attention so
there's a lot of knowledge a lot of
growth and development I had to do and
like it wasn't just about having man I
got a great message to deliver to the
world but if you can't deliver it it's
(13:53):
it's crap I mean no one's going to hear
it I mean great message we got to work
on delivery so a lot of that I had to
work on but the minds from the mindset
and then just investing in myself and
then obscurity was the was the third
component you know if if people don't
know you they cannot flow you uh so and
I think you have to build those
relationships they say that your network
is your net worth and so I had to come
(14:15):
out of obscurity I never could have put
myself on social media or you know so
we've got LinkedIn Tik Tok uh you know
Twitter spaces the threads we've got
Facebook I mean uh Instagram so we've
got all of these different things that I
can put myself out there that was tough
for me in the beginning to put myself
out there to be
criticized and so I had to really there
(14:37):
was with the mindset came this
identity who is Tracy I had to figure
that out and then when I really knew who
I was and what I would what I was meant
to do what my you know like I I don't
want to say this is my purpose because
I've got a lot of purposes I got a lot
of things I want to get done right I'm
glad life ain't over I'm 47 years young
and I'm looking forward to the the next
you know 40 plus years that I get to to
(15:00):
go after it but so I there was an
identity I had like okay who is Tracy
what I want to accomplish what was I
meant to do what are my gifts what are
my weaknesses what are the things I suck
at and then I figured out those things
and then I said okay what is the one
problem in the world I want to solve and
I know we'll come to that a little bit
later on but the one problem in the i i
to be short is valuing people I I do not
(15:23):
like it when people are are mistreated
and when they're not valued properly uh
based on uh race B based on U education
status based on financial status I mean
people have a soul people are valuable
I'm a person of value I value people and
I seek to add more value to them so as
we're on this podcast not only do I want
(15:44):
to add value to you I want to add value
to your listeners and I'm hoping that I
can get some value out added to this too
so coming out of obscurity was was it
took mindset and identity for me to get
on there and say okay I know me I know
my message let's go yeah and that took a
lot so if it wasn't for the mindset work
and the identity I don't think that I
would have been you know we we grew
(16:05):
we're like 2700 followers on on Facebook
we have other followers I we're growing
on LinkedIn and stuff like that now but
this is since I've only been on Facebook
I think since 2019 so so like growing in
that and that's organic growth it's not
like like we did all these things and we
got these people that we don't even know
who they are it's all just the organic
growth that I've that I've learned from
(16:26):
sure but I don't think I could have ever
done that without overcoming my mindset
my identity and then obscurity and I
think that's a lot of business owners
right now um they just do not like Grant
says promote promote promote right you
gotta put yourself out there sure and
and I think that's interesting that
those are the two challenges you chose
because the mindset and the obscurity go
(16:47):
really hand inand together and you talk
about the criticism I think the biggest
critic is ourselves it's your own
self-image right of of how you see what
you're doing and nobody's paying more
attention to you than you yeah yeah yeah
I can be my worst critic absolutely
absolutely and you know Brad I don't
know about about what it's like for you
(17:09):
but when somebody can pay me a
compliment I'm so quick to to deflect
yeah down right I'm like like oh that oh
you're you're too kind so like when I do
that so and my mentor had a push on me
for this um when when somebody would pay
me a compliment like Tracy really what
you've done for our business I mean with
you I don't know where we would be oh
(17:30):
you're too kind what did I just do I
just deflected I just took their words
of Praise instead of saying thank you
yep that's all I had to say instead of
receiving it you are too kind I just
threw it right back on them right and so
like that that there's a price there's a
there's a toll that has to be paid on
constantly doing that and so really it
(17:52):
was somebody's trying to give me a gift
of kind words words of affirmation yeah
you know if you know anything about the
five love Lang languages they're
offering me words of affirmation and I'm
rejecting their gift and I'm almost
regifting it I'm putting it back on them
so I really had to work on that and I
and that's kind of still a work in
progress I I have to admit okay okay
well good because that sort of leads me
into the next thought I had was were you
(18:14):
know you would change or would you
change anything about your journey along
the way to where you've
come yeah what would I do differently um
okay so this one has to do with probably
uh my
awareness um and my technology skills
and everything so I mean like so I look
(18:35):
at a guy like you and you're in the
software industry and everything just me
saying the word software makes me a
little
intimidated because like I'm boots on
the ground I'm gonna breathe the same
air I'm in proximity I'm gonna be with
people working with people and
everything somebody else has created the
software and I'm just going to use it as
a tool because like slack somebody else
created slack yeah but that is the great
(18:56):
in my opinion that's the Great greatest
tool for internal communication within a
company especially quick service
restaurant I mean so like man now I know
how to communicate it but inventing it
creating it those kinds of things
somebody had to teach me how to use it
to write so so like for you I I admire a
guy like you and I'm impressed and
inspired by people like you because my
(19:18):
brain doesn't work that way and it just
it's intimidating to me so I think the
one thing that if I could change about
myself is all the Rel relationships that
I built so if I say I have a gift bread
the gift that I have is I can establish
Rapport pretty quick and there in the
three Rs I look at in my business is I
(19:40):
have to establish Rapport so hey Brad I
now know you right and hey Brad I now
like you and it's okay if you like me
too so I know you I like you and now I
can trust you so that's Rapport Rapport
is I know you I like you trust you so um
I know Brad Pit but I don't got any
rapport with him yeah me either I no
(20:02):
because he doesn't know me right so we
don't have we don't have any report
because you have to know each other you
have to like each other and you have to
trust each other right so that's report
and Rapport gives birth to
relationship now we can so we've
established Rapport now we can build
relationship right and I think the best
businesses as far as Revenue the third R
(20:23):
revenue is a byproduct of relationship
relationship is a byproduct of so if
you've got those three in that order I
mean otherwise and that's why this kind
of goes back to my service model that
somebody walks in I was a director at
Chick-fil-A for uh two years somebody
walks in and um hey welcome to
(20:43):
Chick-fil-A right that's the first thing
I say right eye contact smile you know
enthusiastic voice make a connection you
know those kind of things what they
teach you right so so they come in and
like man I love that shirt wait are you
a Sooners fan I mean like that so I'm a
establishing report right you know hey I
like I like the Sooners you like the
Sooners we can like each other I mean
(21:04):
like I'm establishing that the next time
they come in after I got their name hey
Bob will it be a large sweet tea today
now we got this relationship because now
he knows something about me he knows I
like sweet tea and now Revenue comes
Bob's gonna come back when he comes back
he's gonna say Hey where's that Tracy
guy at is he here today right right he's
looking for me because he's coming back
(21:25):
most people if it's true John says
people leave people not companies right
so it's it's about relationship but also
people are attracted to places because
of people that's true it's likely
through your course of of work that
people are coming to uh was it remes
yeah that's right okay like I'm I'm
(21:45):
doing business like I could go anywhere
but I like Brad right and I come there
because of Brad Brad's my rep Brad's you
know Brad's my go-to guy or whatever
people do PE business with people and so
that build builds up a revenue stream
because of those relationships so I
think in answering this is the long
version but I think I had to lay the
groundwork I did not ever until this
(22:07):
year create a retrieval system how do I
remember all the people like oh man I
haven't seen you so long why has it been
that long why did I not connect with
them because Grant's whole thing who's
got your money why am I not keeping
track of all the relationships I've
built over the past 25 years because
(22:27):
people got my money and this is my power
base so so on our training uh you'll
probably you're likely gone through this
where Grant talks about growing that
power base and listing that power base
and selling to that power base and
letting the power base know who you are
and what you are I wish if I could go
back I would start documenting my power
(22:47):
base yeah I don't care if it's on note
cards I would you know because that's
what I have to be back in the 90s but
I'd go with note cards and then I'd go
with you know like a you know some kind
of list or whatever I'd have a better
email list I I'd have all kinds of leads
already that's one thing that I would
have changed okay yeah I think that the
interesting thing is was what you
(23:08):
started off talking about was the
technology and how you wish you had had
the exposure to that but it was not just
for technology sake it's for the some
way to help organize all of the
relationships and I have found too that
technology leaders really struggle on
the relationship side of things it's
called a soft skill so we don't work on
(23:28):
it and yeah it it just seems like this
thing that's not as important to our
career development but it's so vital and
it's it's honestly the thing that has
grown our software business has grown
really any business that I've been a
part of like you said it's it's about
those relationships and so I either go
to that establishment not because of the
the technology or even because of the
(23:49):
product in some cases obviously they
have to have a good product or service
but it is about the people and as you
mentioned I might even not go to that
place because I didn't have a great
experience with the person that was
there and uh I think that's something
that gets overlooked a lot and really
just well thank you for bringing that
out for your audience and between us
(24:10):
because like anything that I whatever
whatever I'm starting at it's a tool
it's a process it's a system it's a it's
a it's a software it's got to come back
to people if it doesn't serve people
then I'm not interested I I was on a
call with a a guy the other day and he
was was trying to get me to invest and I
said there's three
three rules I have for investing first
of all it's got to make money if you
(24:31):
can't make money why would I invest it
right so okay so I'm gonna Pony up money
it's got to make a return so the first
thing is it's got to make money because
Warren Buffett never lose money right I
mean so like you never want to lose
money that's the first three rules but
okay so so it's got to make money but
then also it's got to be flexible for my
schedule so I know like man there's so
(24:53):
many I've had to learn this the hard way
so many things I've invested into and it
was not in a line with what I wanted to
do so so and I know this wasn't really
the topic that we're talking about but
the third one serves us because the
third rule is it has to help people
right so if I'm going to invest so like
you know would I invest in multif family
homes absolutely because it helps with
(25:14):
people we're turning into a renter
Nation so absolutely would I invest in
like you know card owned capital or
something like that absolutely I would
because it helps a lot of people right
so you know when I invest into a
software that you know like the the new
startups who are they helping would I
invest into slack yeah that helps a lot
of people in communication and number
one flaw I see in business today is the
(25:35):
absence of communication keep people are
kept in the dark or whatever so um so
yes that's that's what I that's what I
would do that I hope that that that
answers sufficiently Absol makes total
sense and so I think there's a lot of
things that you could probably look back
on as the business has grown as you've
taken this entrepreneurial journey and
I'm going to ask you to to do the thing
(25:57):
that you always reflect is tell me what
you're proud of okay thank you for the
question that's all trained and script
right there Brett um okay so the most so
I'd probably have to put it into the
personal and professional buckets um
sure personally uh like I mentioned I'm
a person of Faith so I'm I'm most proud
(26:17):
of the relationship that I have with uh
with the Lord that's that I'm a
Christian so I'm most proud of that the
second thing is I'm most proud of the 26
years I've had uh being married to my uh
high school sweetheart uh so so 26 years
we've uh we've been together for 28 been
married for 26 we're boyfriend and
girlfriend for a little bit um I'm also
(26:40):
most proud of the eight children that we
have just me and her and and so we're
always given like dude are you Catholic
or like no I'm not but they'll say then
they'll say something like you know you
know what causes that don't you and I
say yes we stay away from that the no
public drinking fountains we don't drink
from them anymore uh because know that
causes babies but no so we have we have
two boys two girls two boys and two
(27:01):
girls and the four oldest ones um are
are moving out of the house and the four
youngest ones the the oldest of them uh
is is in high school looking to go into
the air force uh he'll graduate in uh in
next year and then the youngest of them
is seven so uh so I'm coming down to the
last I'm very very proud of them I'm
(27:23):
proud of the relationship I have with my
parents uh a lot of people can't say
that they have a great relationship with
their parents I'm proud because they
were entrepreneurs at heart um in
growing up in their household they
always had some other hustle that they
were hungry about and so they laid a
foundation early on in my life for for
the things I think I'm also proud of the
the friends that I've developed um
(27:45):
because it's one of my core values is is
friendship um but then then
professionally I think I I'm proud of
the fact that we started this church
been Pastor for 18 years I'm proud of
putting a plan together for my exit you
know and then uh and then installing my
son as the new pastor you know for the
church's vote I'm also proud of the
(28:05):
business like so for you know basically
when you start a church you're starting
a business and and it's been going now
for um over 18 years and it's we have no
credit cards we the only debt we have
left is
$9,000 and so I'm a goal my goal is to
pay the nine grand off before the end of
(28:26):
the year to establish 75k in a savings
uh fund for my son when he comes in to
where he has you know a deeper amount of
money that he can invest so I'm very
proud of the discipline because that
does take a lot of discipline and not
getting carried away with with things
and I think that's that's part of
business and I know that whether it's a
(28:47):
church or it's a you know it's a a quick
service restaurant you know Mom and Pop
it's a food truck it doesn't matter you
know keeping your keeping knowing your
numbers and keeping that straight that's
something to be proud of if you can do
that for the Long Haul right uh because
it's not easy to do that uh as I found
but I I think also the um the 180
turnarounds where we're going now um
(29:08):
having a direction for what the future
holds those are the kind of the things
that I'm most proud of because they're
part of who I am I mean like I mean who
comes on a on a podcast you know with
with a Thundercats on I mean like who
like I do because I I I asked I asked
those in our 10x Community those coaches
I asked like know who I am and I know I
know when we get on our Elite coaches
(29:30):
calls I know how I have to dress and
stuff like that but I also know who I am
and I don't want to divorce Who I Am the
reality of who I am so I'm most I guess
what I'm most proud is I just know me
and I'm comfortable in my own skin I'm
happy being around me I'm not aiming to
try to be what somebody else wants me to
be and I think that's something to be
(29:51):
proud of for anybody in your audience
who has come to that realization that's
that's a lot of that's a journey that is
absolutely and by the way Thundercats
has a very special place in my heart as
a just uping yeah absolutely uh my
childhood upbringing so many a Saturday
morning spent in front of that I can
tell you for sure oh yeah yeah yeah so
(30:14):
it's great and and being who you are and
really coming as far as you have when we
talk about the story and the the
turnaround the journey that you've taken
I got to ask what's next what's next for
you um okay so I have like the so the
180 turnarounds I grow that business I'm
I'm about I think it was Brandon Dawson
(30:36):
who talked about having an exit strategy
so like you know you're launching I'm
just not launching and you want me to
get out of it I'm like but like knowing
so you and I when we get in a
conversation uh if we're at Lowe's we're
GNA get in a conversation I always want
to have what is my strategy for engaging
that person because they may they may
have my money and I don't know it yet
because I don't know so I engage Eng
(30:57):
them in conversation but I always have
an exit strategy so I enter the
conversation knowing what I what I want
what I want to glean from it and I want
them to add value to I mean people
always they all have an opinion and
asking them to share it with you what's
one thing that you've learned in your
business that you can share with me all
right you just yank their chain but then
(31:17):
knowing I gotta have an exit strategy
because I can't stay here all day I I
got things to do things to build my wife
wants me home or whatever the story is
same thing with business you come into a
business I know what my objective is I
know what I want to do I want to have an
exit strategy the next thing for me is
to grow this 180 turnarounds to three
teams so and in my business the way that
(31:38):
it's structured is if I have um if I
have three teams of three so that's nine
people plus myself so 10 not to mention
assistant marketing stuff like that but
probably no more than 15 but if I can
grow them to three teams that are going
out to these Quick Service restaurants
sure and also convenience stores
convenience stores I mean think about
the last time you went to if it wasn't a
(31:59):
bues the last time you went to a
convenience store how much leadership
development you know team building you
know how much how much work is really
being invested into that person I mean
most of them don't even have a uniform
that they're wearing at you know thing I
mean there just how are they showed up
and stuff like that there's you you
don't look at them and say man there's
there's that's a very sharp person right
(32:20):
they're just they're just putting your
gas on for you ringing up your candy bar
or whatever it is uh so growing them I
know that I can be over a million
dollars in Revenue each year by having
the three teams so what I want to do is
right now I only have one team and I
want to grow that to three teams because
three teams will put me over that
million dollar and then growing that I
(32:41):
after that's the next step now after
that there's there's a fiveyear Target
there's a 10year Target right there's an
exit strategy I'm coming out of that
selling that business out giving it to
my kids whatever that looks like they're
interested but I have one thing that
like is a big thing is big part of me so
uh Brad I don't know what kind of uh how
Avid Reader that you are I know this
(33:02):
that you didn't get as far as you are in
life without having ingested something
for personal development and I see the
power in the printed page in the in the
printed word and so I've grown a
subscription called page Turners
basically the book industry is still
cruising it's still it's I mean with all
the ebooks with all the audio books
(33:22):
people are still want buying hard copy
books right and they're doing it to the
Tuna 22.95 on average something like
that for a brand new book here's the
struggle the struggle is they don't have
any problem buying a book they have
struggle reading the book right they
looked at these 10x rule man how to do
this how to do that right and they're
like man I like that because the cover
(33:43):
sold them on the on the idea that's
right and then it goes on the shelf and
it's shelf help not selfhelp yeah so
what I want to change is I my my
subscription is like 19999 a month but I
want to change I mean think about that
if you do 199 Grant has the thing of
take a million dollars and back into it
how could you do that well it would take
5,000 subscriptions at1 19999 a month to
(34:07):
be at about 1.2 million a year and
there's eight billion people on planet
Earth right so finding those people that
like they know they want to read they
know books contain it's cheaper than
going to a conference cheaper than
that's the the end dream for me is to be
you know 55 57 in in the next 10 years
(34:27):
and be able to twice a month add value
in that subscription and grow that
subscription that would be the big the
big idea it Give Me Freedom so I got
five core values I'm sure you've listed
you you probably have yours but my
family my faith my my freedom I love my
freedom and my friends and fun yeah
(34:48):
great and so that's the business model
that I can work all five values out and
have my freedom and you do that that
that completes it and it's interesting
that you talk about the exit strategy I
think that is something that's so
difficult for a lot of professionals let
alone Founders and entrepreneurs to get
their heads around that your whole goal
(35:08):
is to find the replacement for you
that's how you've succeeded if you can
grow and mentor and build a business
based on a a repeatable process based on
systems which you've learned in the
industries that you've come up in but
it's so hard for people to see
themselves outside of the business they
see them as as one and it's it's even
(35:30):
something that I see with entrepreneurs
and people that are sort of in a
position for a long period of time have
that institutional knowledge and just
feel like that is what sets them apart
and I'm never going to give that up but
then you don't grow as as you've really
well pointed out okay Brad you bring up
a great thing and I didn't think about
it like this until you just said that
(35:50):
listening to you if you identify your if
you don't know your identity we talked
about the first things we had to do
mindset identity and and coming out of
obscurity right to grow this business if
I'm identified as the 180 turnaround guy
yeah and I don't know me I'm never gonna
give up 180 turnarounds because that's
how I'm identified sure but if I'm
(36:13):
identified as I know Trac and I love
being me this is what I do so we're
human beings not human doings and it
didn't occur to me until just now when
you were kind of going through that I'm
like man that's that's so true that's a
great value just added to me I don't
want to be identified by what I do I
want to personally I want to be
identified by who I am so what I do yeah
(36:36):
so I've got two books that are in in
publishing right now supposed to be out
by December I'm not identified by those
books I want to be I want to be me yeah
I'm the ThunderCats hoe guy I'm like I
just know who I am I don't have the
typical you know com to the the
corporate office haircut I don't have
that Ian just because I want to be me
now I don't want to rub people the wrong
way and and I know how to adapt
(36:57):
to what people need from me but I still
don't want to divorce myself from who I
truly am because then I'd have to be
something I'm not and I just don't I
don't think I I would make a very good
app well I appreciate who you are I yeah
I appreciate who you are and I
appreciate you sharing it with us and
I'm really glad we got to learn about
(37:18):
your journey and your story so thanks
for being on today oh Brad this was this
was awesome I know I probably droned on
and oh we're all good all good no I
appreciate the opportunity I said Thank
you And and I'm not going to let you
deflect that I really appreciate you
being on the show today it's my pleasure
it's my pleasure all right we'll leave
it at that my friend thank you very much
(37:40):
and that that does it for us here so
this is the fired up Podcast and I'm
Brad Reba reminding you to stay fired up
and do something
great ride up the sky going to light up
everybody get
(38:05):
oh
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