- On today's show guest host Andy Hemmings talks insurance with April Tolbert and business development with Kyle Scott.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show.
I'm Andy Hemmings with Capitol title guest host for today,
and it is such a pleasure to be here, Dana.
I really appreciate you having me on as your guest hosts.
We always appreciate your support and everything that you do
for the community. So today we're going to talk about
(00:24):
our local community, especially our local business community, and we
have two very special guests with us. First, mister Kyle Scott,
he is the executive director of Entrepreneurship at Lamar University,
and Miss April Tolbert with the April Tobert, the April
Tobert Insurance Agency. Thank you, so thank you both for
being here today. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you bet
(00:46):
you a little bit of background on both of them,
just to let you know the perspective that they're coming from,
because we're going to really dive into the local business community,
kind of some outlooks on the economy here, outlooks on
the business environment, and just really give you a good
overview of what's happening here locally. But I wanted to
first talk about, you know, their backgrounds. So Kyle, as
(01:08):
I mentioned, he's the executive director of Entrepreneurship out at
Lamar University, which is a fantastic organization that he's leading there,
and he focuses on connecting students, faculty, startups, and industry
partners to help drive innovation, development and economic growth in
our area. So it's wonderful what you're doing here for him.
And Miss April, she's been around here many many years
(01:32):
in the insurance agency. She focuses on the all over
Southeast Texas in the insurance industry, and she's also been
really focused on leadership roles here in our community. So
we appreciate everything that you're doing for us. So, Kyle,
let's just start off, tell a little bit more about
your background and what you're doing for Lamar.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, so I joined Lamar here in August. I came over.
I was previously at Sam Houston State University as a
professor of entrepreneurship. But I am well an accidental entrepreneur,
So I started that mean. So I started my career
as a high school teacher. Realized super quick I was
not tough enough for eighth graders, particularly eighth grade girls.
(02:15):
Twenty two tough crowd at twenty two, that was just
too much for mid Handle. So I went back to school,
received my PhD and political science, and pursued the university
to routed. And in two thousand and eight, when we
started to build our family, my wife said, well, let's
get back home, and home is Spring, Texas. Okay, so
two thousand and eight, can you tell me what happened
in two thousand and eighty?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Your timing was impeccable.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
I think the day we put our house on the market,
says Lehman, Brothers crashes.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Wow, so you know.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
You got some hungry mouse feed. You got to figure
out what to do. And I ended up turning my
dissertation into my first business.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
So I had done some research on how judges make
decisions through game theory data analytics, and we were able
to create a trading strategy out of some of the
data that I used as a part of my dissertation,
and from then on out, over the next eighteen years,
I was able to start and successfully exit for businesses.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
That is a fantastic story. That is a fantastic story. Now,
so what was the product that you were selling exactly?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So I was making I could model, I could predict
how a judge would make a decision, and if you
apply that to a patent case, then you can create
a trading strategy based upon what the decision will be
before that decision's made. So if the company's going to lose,
you can short the company. If the company's going to win,
you can go along on the company.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Fantastic. I would love to apply that model to some
of the decision makers out there today, like what are
they going to do next? So that's a wonderful story.
So thank you for sharing that, and you're bringing all
of that skill set to hear locally to Southeast Texas.
It's fantastic. Thank you. Yeah. So, April, how about you
tell us a little bit about your background.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Well, I'm born and raised in Southeast Tech. I'm a
Southeast Texas girl in here my entire life. Love seeing
people like Kyle come into our area and bring their knowledge.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
And their experience.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Absolutely that is why I love Southeast Texas because we
get such an influx of people from all over the
world who come here because of Lamar University, because of
our healthcare system, because of our industry that we support here.
So welcome Kyle. We appreciate you. We appreciate everything you
bring to Southeast Texas. But again, I'm born and raised here.
(04:31):
I've raised my family here, and I decided back about
twenty years ago to start my business here. I actually
started off in radio. I wasn't in this particular building.
It was wrong, I thank you. But at sixteen years old,
I got into the radio business. My dad, whom a
lot of people in this area know, Larry Crumpton. He's
actually celebrating his fifty fourth year in radio. He's retiring.
(04:55):
But I thought I was going to be in radio
the rest of my life. I was doing middays on KYKR,
the Kicker ninety five point one want A station, and
I was doing middays there at you know, by the
time I was eighteen years old and I thought, I'm
in radio. What a cool career? Is this? Right? But
the Good Lord had another plan for me. And Hurricane
(05:18):
Rita comes through in two thousand and five, and I
had a terrible experience with my insurance. Terrible experience. And
I'm not going to call out any companies or any
local agencies or people, but it was a horror, horrific experience.
And I said, you know what if I am having
(05:38):
this kind of experience, how many other people are having
this kind of experience fighting their insurance company. People need
help with this, and it was just a way that
I felt like that I could give back to my
community while also building a business and supporting my family.
And so I have just developed a passion for insure surance,
(06:00):
specifically in such a devastation prone area as we are
here in Southeast Texas. And so I'm one of those
crazy people, and not only one, but I am one
of those crazy people who is passionate about insurance. And
I love talking to people and helping people with insurance
and mentoring people in my industry, training other agents, and
(06:23):
teaching people what the heart of insurance is and how
to help people navigate the challenges that they come through
with insurance. So that's a little bit about who I am.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, yeah, you know, insurance is one of those things
that people hate until they need it, you know, and
then when they need it, they love it. I know
that after that two thousand and five, fortunately I had
good insurance on some of my rental properties because it
saved me. I would have it would have, And what
I had was a writer to the policy that paid
for what do they call it they as rent loss
(06:54):
of rental. That's right, right, Yeah, because they were the
roofs got ripped off, and they were for eight months
until I got them remodeled. And my insurance that little rider,
that one rider paid for that rent for that eight months.
I would it would have been pretty devastating for me
because it was significant rental income on that property. And
my insurance agent is at the time, he added it
(07:17):
because he knew I needed it and it wasn't expensive.
So anyway, I digressed just a little bit. But to
your point, insurance is such a critical, critical component, especially
in this disaster prone area.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
That's exactly right, and thank you. And I hate that
the people here have had such experience that they understand
the importance of insurance. So it's a very unique area.
And I think it gave me an opportunity to build
a business, to become an intentional entrepreneur with a purpose.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
That's why I love to work with Kyle and Lamar
and try to find those next entrepreneur or and those
next leaders, and let's teach them how to go out
there and build something.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, and that's exactly what Kyle is doing over over
there at Lamar and I'm gonna I'm gonna put a
pen in something here. Before we finish this segment, let's
talk about the upcoming ice event. Yes, and I want
to make sure, I want to make sure to touch
on that, but uh uh, But first I want to
dive more into our topic du jour, which is our
which is our local economy here? Uh so, uh, Kyle,
(08:29):
in general, since you've been here, what how what do
you What are some feelings you have about our local
business climate and kind of some projections for the future.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Sure, so, locally we have strong anchor industries and then
we have a lot of businesses that have been very
successful servicing those and then there's spillover effects, whether it's
in real estate or something else, so restaurant. So those
anchor industries are the anchor to the community. Now the
(08:57):
question is can we build something that's tied to those
industries necessarily, so diversification, diversification absolutely, so what is it
that Southeast Texas needs? And to some degree you're always
going to be tied to those. So if we think
about supply chain and logistics, you would be a fool
if you wanted to start a technology startup and not
(09:18):
look at supply chain and logistics if you're in Southeast Texas,
because everything we do here from the port through the
refineries is tied to that. Now, that doesn't mean you
have to be specifically tied to those industries, but that's
a business that you can build an export around the country.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yeah. Yeah, excellent point. And a lot of people don't.
They don't think about that moving things from point A
to point B as a huge part of what we
do here, what we do here locally. Well, listen, we're
gonna dive into that a little bit more. We're already
up on our first break here, So thank you all
for tuning in to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show.
I'm Andy Hemmings with Capital Title and we'll be right back.
(09:57):
Welcome back to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show. My
name is Andy Hemmings and I am with Capital Title.
A quick little tidbit about Capital Title. Here, we have
five local offices to help you with all of your
real estate transactions, whether you're buying, selling, or refinancing. Request
Capital Title to handle your closing. We can handle any
(10:18):
closing from land, residential, commercial, industrial, and we have offices
all over the area in Beaumont, Lumberton, Port Arthur, Crystal Beach,
and Beaumont. So make sure to remember capital title and
we were happy to help you with your real estate transactions. Kyle,
you were just mentioning as the supply chain logistics, right,
(10:42):
So what are some businesses that would be involved in
something like that? Like, what are some of the.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
And I'm thinking specifically just tech because when we talk
about startups, everybody immediately goes tech, right, because that seems
to be the locus of where the startup, at least
the conversation goes. Everybody says Silicon Valley. And I mentioned
that just because if you're thinking about a tech oriented startup,
(11:07):
let's think about supply chain and logistics because you have
to do what you can take care of in your
own backyard where your first customer base is going to be.
So if you need to get something from A to B,
you need to think about the most efficient way to
do that. And with all the tools now, whether it's
through AI or something else, there's going to be much
less data entry. The data analytics component of that is
(11:30):
getting far faster and far more sophisticated. So if you
think about all the possible vendors. Yeah, and being able
to Okay, now what are locations? What are the weather patterns?
This is a perfect opportunity for deep AI to get
involved in this type of industry. And when we think
about I mean think about how arcane some of the
supply chain and logistics is. We have a bill of landing.
(11:52):
I mean this is borrowed from the Vikings terms. I
mean here still using these terms, and there's so much paper.
How can we digitize a lot of those things? So
if you know the industry or have any interest in it,
they are definite on ramps in order to get involved.
But you know I'm going too deep here. There are
lots of opportunities.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
You're passionate about it, yes, yeah, yes, very passionate about it.
Thank you, Bill of Landing? Wow yeah, biking Okay, April,
So what do you see in our local business community?
From your from your perspective? What are your what's your
outlook for the future for us?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
So I serve in a little different capacity and the
way that I feel like I am connected not only
as a local business owner, I also serve as that
I'm honored actually this year to service the chair of
the Better Business Bureau board of Directors, and so I
sit in a room with some key business owners, some
(12:51):
people who are actively involved in the community, some of
them have been in business here locally for a very
very long time. I also serve on the board of
Directors of the Greater Beamonc Chamber of Commerce, and so
those rooms, I feel like help me keep my finger
on the pulse of what is going on here in
business in Southeast Texas. And I think that this is
(13:12):
a great time to be in business in Southeast Texas,
but also to consider launching into business in Southeast Texas because,
as Kyle mentioned, AI is going to be a game changer, obviously,
But we live in such a unique area. Between the
(13:36):
ports and the rail and the Interstate ten and all
our quick distance here to Houston and all the things,
this area is extremely unique and there are the opportunity
for so many different types of businesses to come in here.
(13:59):
And having been I do this in air quotes, and
you'll understand area Andy being from here, right right, yes,
right right, and you're not from here. For those of
us who have been here for a long time, what
I see is such a unique group of people from
all over different cultures, different backgrounds coming into our area,
(14:23):
and we need to number one, support that right, that diversity.
But number two, soak it up and take the nuggets.
And what I like to say is that and I
didn't come up with this obviously over the years, have
learned this from people much smarter than me. But you
don't ever come up with a unique There's not an
(14:46):
idea that is one hundred percent yours. The best way
to do it is to take a nugget from here
and a nugget from there and put put it all
together right to make one unique. And I feel like
that is Southeast Texas. We are a melting pot from
all over and we just need to do a really
good job of tapping into some of the people who
(15:08):
are relocating here. Maybe they're coming here to run planned expansions,
maybe they're coming here to come to Lamar. Maybe they're
coming here for a variety of different reasons. What can
we tap into that they can bring from their background
and where they come from and make Southeast Texas continue
to make it a truly unique melting pot of a
(15:33):
growing area as it is.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, great point, great point.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Ye.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
And when we're thinking about you know, how to develop
a business or what the business is right for You're
absolutely right. Capital is still relatively cheap. The land and
the space is relatively cheap here. But in order to
start a business or say, well, look, well, what do
you think is missing? If you go through the course
of your day, what stinks? Yeah, what don't I like? Well,
(16:00):
then solve that problem unless.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Like Aper was talking about with our enturance ach.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Absolutely yeah, that's how great businesses get started. So if
you're thinking about this, I'm driving around and two things
immediately came to mind within the first month or so
that I was here. One, what's a family of fo
we're going to do for less than one hundred bucks
on a hot day? You're not going to go outside?
Water parks are expensive, 're far away, So what is
sort of a family centric activity center that you could develop.
(16:26):
The other side is I was relocating here long term rentals.
Finding long term rentals is extremely tough here. Okay, something
for a month. And if we're talking about locking into
these anchor industries and building something around that, well, a
lot of workers come here and the executives don't. Well,
you know, maybe if we made a transition spot, so
(16:48):
these long term executive rentals that are built up so
that when companies do relocate here, that open up something here,
there's a place for the executives to come stay for
a month or two and then get the broad idea
of going actually buying a house and make in this place.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I'll have a little landing pad for them to absolutely gortcha, gotcha. Yeah.
I've talked to some agents who have started using that
model and they've been very successful, some real estate agents,
is what I'm what I'm saying. They've taken some of
their rental properties and they have converted it over to
that type of that type of rental and they're really
having some success. So that's a great point, yep. Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
The other thing I'd like to add on top of
that is a collaborative workspace. Right, That's something I've seen
a couple of people have launched into. But I know
that you may have some insight into this, but you know,
now where businesses don't necessarily have to have a storefront,
right or as large of a storefront or house as
(17:44):
many people because of remote work, what are we doing
to create collaborative workspaces, spaces that maybe people can come
into to have meetings. Are there those kind of opportunities
out there.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, well it's almost like we've planned this. We did not,
so thank you for teaeing that up. So my partner,
my partner in crime over at the Venture Center, Ed Sturik. Yes,
he's the founder and owner of the Forge, which is
in downtown, which is exactly what you're talking about. And
then we are also developing out the Venture Center at
Lamar University to be open to businesses to either have
(18:19):
an individual office or to have a coworking space. So
you know, if downtown isn't convenient for you, but somewhere
around Lamar is, come on by to the Venture Center
and we'll be able to have a place for you
to set up shop.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
So describe to someone who's out there listening right now,
who's thinking about starting a business and they're excited, they
want to pursue these ideas, they're ready to go. So
what could they expect with getting involved with the Venture
Center and how do they do so?
Speaker 2 (18:46):
So the Venture Center where really we serve three constituents, right, students,
faculty and staff, and then the general community, and we
offer the same things for everyone. Right, So we have
two pitch competitions around the year. Business idea, Well, let's
go and pitch that idea to a group of investors.
We also offer monthly workshops, so we'll talk on various
(19:07):
business topics.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Andy.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
This last one was your brain Child, which was real
Estate to Enterprise, where we talked about how to take
your you know, your real estate business and scale it
up to go from being self employed to becoming a
business owner. Then we're also offering an incubator, so we
take that earliest phase of your business idea and we
(19:30):
get it to the point where you're able to pitch
to investors, and we walk you through this process me
one of our entrepreneurs in residence so forth. And then
we also have our Entrepreneurship and Residence program, which is
if you own a business and you're ready to retire
but have nowhere to go with it, well, let's help
you get it ready to sell to somebody here locally. Well,
if you're going to sell it here locally, you need
(19:51):
a buyer here locally. So let's meet up with some
of these potential buyers, help them position themselves financially and
strategically so that they can be an acquire of one
these local businesses and keep that local ownership local.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Hold that thought. I want to dive into that more.
We do have to go to a break here, but
that's a great spot for us to start off. In
our next segment, I'm Andy Hemmings with Capital Title, and
you're listening to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show. Welcome
back everyone. This is Andy Hemmings with Capital Title and
you are listening to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show.
(20:25):
And my guests today are mister Kyle Scott, executive director
of the Venture Center at Lamar University, and April Tolbert,
owner of the April Tolbot April Tolbert Insurance Agency. And
we are having some they're giving us some really good
insights in our local business community and we just really
appreciate all of your seasoned input today. And where we
(20:49):
left off in the last segment was talking about I
don't know if you want to call legacy businesses, but
basically transferring an existing business to a new party when
that person is ready to ready to retire and the
importance of keeping it local. So talk to us a
little bit about that and your role in that.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Sure, So I think the best example so One of
the speakers that we had at the Realistic Enterprise event
was Josh Smith, who started while he was at Lamar
and then continued on after he graduated from Lamar at
Bill Clark Pest Control. Yeah, well after you know, he
had been there for quite some time and Bill Clark
was ready to retire, but his kids didn't want the business,
(21:32):
and he wasn't sure if he was going to sell
off to one of these national brands. And they were
able to strike a deal in partnership with the SBA
in order to allow Josh to purchase the business over time. Yeah,
And what's the importance of that. Why is that important
is because one, it maintains economic prosperity, and then the
(21:53):
new owner is going to be a little more ambitious
than that retiring owner, and so now we see expansion
opportunities open up. Then there's also a component of what
happens when local businesses start being purchased by out of
town buyers. Yeah, well, who's given back to the chamber,
who's given back to the museum or the Lamar or
all these other things. You need to keep those local
(22:14):
ties there. So what does the Venture center do in
that regard the Small Business Development Center, which we work
in partnership with. They help people go out and find
traditional modes of funding if you're looking to buy a business.
They also help businesses decide, you know, structure their deals
(22:35):
whether or not. What we do on my side is
we get a little more granular and walk a light
alongside you a little closer because we have fewer restrictions
on what we can and can't help with. So the
first is we're actively going out and recruiting businesses and saying, hey,
is this something you're looking at? Is this something within
the next three to four years?
Speaker 1 (22:55):
And then I'm sorry when you say recruiting businesses, tell
me what you mean by that.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
So we'll go out the legacy business and just say, hey, see,
is this something on your horizon. If so, let's go
ahead and consider these steps now.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
So you're actively looking for businesses that are in that
possibly in that mindset.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
In that transition phase. Absolutely. And then the other side
of that is, well, you can sell all you want,
your business can be in perfect working order, but who
am I going to sell to?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
So now we're actively recruiting and then running through training
programs potential buyers.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
So maybe you're early to mid twenties. This is something
that you're thinking about maybe five to ten years from now.
But you say, hey, listen, I have two grain in
my bank account, I got a kid on the way,
and what am I going to be a business owner for. Well,
there are a lot of opportunities there. But before we
get there, let's go ahead and put some of these
other things in place.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Yeah. So I'm looking, I'm listening to you here, and
you're a market maker. You're making a market for local
businesses to transition. Excellent. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, So if somebody
wants to get in touch with you, let's go ahead
and get that out there. How what's the first step?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So first step, shoot me an email or give me
a call. Okay, those are the two most consistent ways.
My email address is K Scott. That's K S C
O T T seventy four at Lamar dot EEDU. Or
just give me a call myself. Seven one three eight
zero five zero five eight one again that's seven one
three eight zero five zero five.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Eight one perfect excellent. So in the in addition to
their at the Venture Center, you were talking about the
Forge downtown and y'all work hand in hand to an
extent right, and the Forge specifically is a work share
space that people can go and collaborate. Right. So in
(24:42):
April you were talking about that's something that you're very
interested in and something that you've been thinking about lately.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Absolutely, because I've seen working with as many businesses as
I do in my leadership roles, and they there are
businesses who could use that. And now we were so
excited to see the Forge come in as an option,
and I'm learning today that the Venture Center is also
offering that. So that is that is that is fantastic.
(25:09):
It is definitely one of those the way that here's
where I want to go with this. If it's okay,
if y'all don't mind me taking us down.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
A rabbit, lets you do it.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Because because from my standpoint, what I want to say,
as someone who twenty years ago sat and said I
would love to do this, I had this idea, I
had this fire and this passion about something that I
wanted to do. I had no money, I had no resources,
I had no clue as to how I was going
(25:42):
to do it. I just know I had this fire
in my belly of something that I wanted to do.
I am still to this day. I am the big
idea person, right, I'm not necessarily the how to actually
make it happen person. I have to surround myself, Yes,
I have to surround myself with people smarter than me
in that area. But to have a resource like the
venture center at Lamar, oh my goodness, and have a
(26:04):
resource like Kyle, how fantastic would that have been? Just
to pick up the phone and call you on your
cell phone. So if you are like me and you
have that fire and you have that idea, there are resources,
pick up the phone. I mean, I'm one of the
people who I just went to the people around me
and said, how do you think I can make this happen?
(26:24):
And you know, again, there are there are loans, there
are people who would invest in certain ideas. There are
ways to do it. Personally, I built it on a
hope and a prayer and a line of credits, so
it can be done. I improve of that.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yes, definitely. Yeah. And as I'm listening to both of
y'all talks, it occurs to me that the most valuable
capital is human capital. And when you get people together,
you know, one plus one equals three or more, you know,
and that collaborating with different people from different industries and
(27:01):
the right environment can really help to catalyze some amazing things.
And so I think you've experienced that, April, and that's
exactly what y'all. Y'all are doing in your endeavors.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, and you know, one of the obstacles I see
one is just an awareness of the resources that are
out there, and that's one of our biggest challenges. And
one of the reasons I appreciate you having us on
is letting people know that we're here and that we're available,
because so many of those times I hear those stories
I wish I had known. But there's another obstacle that
there's a psychological barrier starting in business or even talking
(27:30):
about starting a business. People feel a little ashamed or
embarrassed that, you know, I don't think of myself as
a business owner, or maybe other people don't see me
as a business owner. So I'm a little embarrassed to
tell people about my goals. But you know what, you
got to shake close to that, because entrepreneurship small business
ownership is a community affair and nobody's going to do
(27:52):
it on their own. Well, you know what I've been
here since August. I don't know you from Adam, so
come home by. There is no judgment, and.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
There are so many opportunities here to collaborate with like
minded people. And I cannot let a moment go by
without capitalizing on this opportunity, which is to talk about
some of the networking opportunities that are here. And the
Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, if you are looking to
just get into business here, they are a wonderful, wonderful resource.
(28:24):
The Better Business Bureau serving Southeast Texas near and dear
to my heart, the first organization that I actually joined
when I started my business. Most people don't realize that
the BBB in Southeast Texas serves eight and a half counties.
So whether you were in Bolivar Peninsula, whether you were
in Jasper County or Newton County or Liberty County or
anywhere in between, the half county is actually Bolivar because
(28:48):
that's Galveston County, so eight and a half county. So
anywhere here, within the sound of my voice, there are
opportunities to grow, and there are more people like me
and the people who I sit in those rooms with
that are here to want to help you build your business,
want to help connect you with the right people, mainly
(29:08):
because we love this community and we want to see
more come to this community.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Yeah, yeah, excellent point. And April tell us how people
can get in touch with you.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Absolutely, So if it's anything insurance, you can reach April
Tolbert Insurance Agency at four nine eight six six one
two three three four O nine eight sixty six one
two three three or find us on social media Google us.
We now we're not only serving you from our Beaumont
office which is on Major Drive, the big blue roof
(29:41):
with the big seventy two foot Farmers Insurance signs still
up there, which we do have Farmers, but we have
a ton of other companies we offer through now. But
we also have now recently in the past year expanded.
I now have an office in Kirbyville and an office
in Jasper most recently, so you can find us at
one of our local offices, find us on social media,
Google us, stop in, or call us and if I
(30:04):
can help you personally, my team will help you with
insurance obviously, but if you have anything that's next level
and you need me, my cell phone number is on
my business card. So I'm happy to give that out
to four nine six five eight three five nine eight,
Reach me anytime if I can help.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Excellent. Thank you, April. We're going to take another short
break and we'll be right back to continue our discussion
with mister Kyle Scott and Miss April Tolbert. This is
Andy Hemmings with Capital Title, and we'll be right back.
Welcome back, everybody. This is Andy Hemmings with Capital Title,
and you're listening to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show,
and thank you for being with us. We're talking to
(30:44):
mister Kyle Scott with the Lamar University Venture Center and
miss April Tolbert with April Tolbert Insurance Agency. And Kyle,
you alluded to this just a moment ago about an
event that we recently had where we partnered your endeavors
at Lamar and local entrepreneurs with real estate agents and
(31:06):
where some local entrepreneurs came and visited with the local
real estate community to talk with them about how they
grow their business. And we had four excellent guests and
this was I love that you came up with this
panel idea to have them talk and we had Robert
Peeve with pump Techs. We had Josh Smith with Bill
Clark Bugspurts, Bill Clark, pest Control excuse me, David Rose
(31:30):
who's a local real estate agent and also an accounting professor,
and then Elton Hollis with Hule tech Man. He's a
bualifier And I thought just thought that was such an
excellent event that they could come and talk about how
they grew their businesses because they're all excellent entrepreneurs in
their own right, and share that with real estate agents
on how they could grow their business. So I thought
(31:51):
that was a wonderful collaborative effort.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
It was, It was great and one of the things
that excited me most about it, well two things. One,
it was emblematic of what we're trying to build at
the Venture Center. We're not just a resource for the campus,
We're a resource for the community.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
We are able to.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Provide tovide value to no matter where you are in
that entrepreneurship journey. And another thing is, you know, when
you're just starting out, how do you transition from becoming
self employed becoming a business owner? Yeah, well, and what
are the tips and tricks? And you know you're so
busy trying to make payroll or just earn that next
customer that you may not take the time to stop
and think about how to actually build out this business.
(32:28):
And so it was great to hear from the people
who have done it and really give actionable steps on
what these real estate agents could do.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Yeah, we had a great turnout and it was so
well received, and we look forward to collaborating with you
in more events like that. It's quite literally it's one
of the best events that I feel that I've ever
put together on behalf of Capital title and just a
great synergy of our objectives. So I appreciate that very much.
(32:58):
And so April, you were there for the event as
well as one of the sponsors, and it was so
nice to have you there. Wonderful to have you there.
And Uh, in thinking about that and thinking about local businesses,
what are some of the local businesses or maybe a
local business that you admire that you think is emblematic
of success in our.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Area, no doubt, who comes to my mind. And I
am not just saying this because she allowed us this
time on this microphone, okay, but it's Dana Simmons. Dana
Simmons is someone that I admire in business so very much.
I have watched her journey from you know, a starting
out as in the real estate world and building this
(33:40):
team and then launching her own brokerage and watching what
her what she has done along with her fantastic husband, Ken,
who I love dearly. He is by far my favorite customer.
If you run into him, tell him. April Tolmert said,
you are my favorite customer. But I admire them so much.
(34:00):
And the key point of that is not just watching
her success and how her business has grown, but I
watch number one, how she gives back to the community,
and I admire that she gives back at every opportunity.
But she also invests in her people, and the people
(34:22):
that are on her team are her family. And I
have tried to model that in my business as well.
And I don't mean, you know, nepotism.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
I mean they.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Become her work family family. That is exactly right. And
I truly am a believer in you invest in people
and they will do the work for you. They will
make it not so much a job as something that
you enjoy in a career that you love, and people
(34:56):
are the key. I also tell young people that a'm
mentor starting out I say, I'm just going to be
really honest with you up front. The hardest part is people. Yeah, Right,
as far as being a leader and trying to build
a business, the most important thing you can do is
find the right people and bring them on and then
try to keep them there and make them happy. But
(35:18):
that is also the hardest part. It's the most important,
but the hardest in Dana Simmons and Dana Simmons real estate,
and they have done a beautiful job of number one,
giving to the community, a number two investing in people.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Yeah, and both of those are spot on point. And
I'm going to add I'm going to add one thing
to it that I've observed from my perspective and working
with Dana. She got into real estate in ninety seven.
I got in in ninety eight, so we both joined
around the same time, and we actually worked together for
some time at Colewell Banker. But one of the things
I noticed that she did she was not afraid, well,
(35:52):
two things I noticed she did. She was not afraid
to try new things. She put together some very unique
ideas for our market that have worked really well for her.
And so I think that's a good point that as
a business owner. You you have to be unafraid to try.
You have to be bold enough to try new things
to differentiate yourself, and she has. She has done that
(36:13):
remarkably well. And uh, the counter the opposite end of that,
but equally is important. She focused on what was successful
and she always always I always admired this for every
time I would do a training at Coohoal Banker, she
was there. She's the number one agent, but she was
always there and she said, Andy, it's real simple. I
just listen to what you're saying and what have what
(36:35):
has been successful for other people, and I just do it.
So she had this unique ability to uh, to not
be afraid to try new things, but to make sure
to focus on the basics and always always always do
what has what has worked before. And I just think
that's been a great combination for her.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Key to success. No matter what business that you're in,
take those nuggets from people smarter than you, from people
who have done it longer than you, people who have
been successful, and make those your.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Own, yeap.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
When people talk about qualities of an entrepreneur, we often
talk about adaptability and grid and those are certainly important.
You know, courage, the willingness to go out there and try.
All those things have to be in order. But what
you just touch on is something that never gets talked about,
which is humility. Yes, the awareness of what you're good at,
what you're bad at. Right, you want to double down
on your strengths, highre for your weaknesses. The other side
(37:25):
is listening. Whether you're not going to tell a customer
what they want, Like, let's listen to the problems that
the customer have. There's a humility involved in that, or
what's this business doing this work? Maybe I should try
some of that. Let's go out and form partnerships. I
can't be afraid to go out and ash for money
or ask for help. That humility is a critical part
of successful entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
At great point, and that's something that is not talked
about very much. That's a good point. All right, we've
got a few minutes left here. We got to talk
about the great eye storm of twenty twenty six coming
out us. It's going to hit us on Saturday. I
would be totally remiss if I didn't have you comment
on that, because it is it's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
There's the buzz right now, right, it's the buzz and
this is airing on Saturday, and Greg Bostwick, as of
earlier in the week predicted that you know, the actual
freezing temperatures would come probably at least here for the
Beaumont area, this far south overnight on Saturday night. So
as the insurance age in the room, the most important
(38:25):
thing that I can say is just number one, pay attention,
be aware, prepare right, make sure if you've got a
backup heating source, make sure that you have, you know,
some some essentials in case you cannot get on the road.
This does not appear that it is going to be
a multi day event like what happened in ninety seven,
so I don't think there's any reason to go raid
(38:47):
all of the water or the toilet paper, at least
according to Greg that.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
It was.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
But as the insurance agent, I think it's important to
remember this may not be the only event that we
have this year, So just be prepared. Number one, pay attention.
What is the forecast, Get on follow Greg Bostwick or
your favorite local meteorologists. Obviously we all love Greg, but
pay attention to what the roads look like, because if
(39:14):
it is not necessary for you to have to get out.
If you can work remotely today or if you can
just take a weather day, please try to stay off
the roads because what I see most every time it
freezes is accidents, black ice, things that are not foreseen.
Someone and it's probably not you. It's someone else on
(39:37):
the road driving too fast, not slowing down in the
rain or the ice. And it just a higher tendency
to have accidents. And that's why we call them accidents.
You don't mean for them to happen, but they do.
Crashes happen. So that and if something does happen within
(39:57):
your home, let's say you do have a frozen pipe,
let's say that the pipes start to fall. The most
common thing that happens is those pipes are thawing is
busted pipes. So when you see or hear water flowing,
immediately find your main shut off Falvin, shut that water
off and call a plumber.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Excellent, good, great points. We always appreciate your your insights
into this, so thank you well. This has been a
great discussion, y'all. Thank you both very very much for
being here. And I want to leave with how to
get in touch with you. Kyle. Remind everybody your email
address and cell phone.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
So email address is K Scott K S C O
T T seventy four at Lamar dot edu and my
cell phone is seven one three eight zero five zero
five eight one excellent and April.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
April Tolbert Insurance Agency. Stick us in the Google, stick
us in the Facebook on social media somewhere and you
will find our agency. You can always call us at
four O nine eight six six one two three three.
We'd love to help you with all things insurance.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Thank you, thanks, thank you. And I'm Andy Hemmings with
Capital Title, and if you have any real estate related questions,
please give me a call. I keep my cell phone
with me all the time, much to my wife's chagrin,
but I do. This is my business and my cell
phone is four oh nine six' five eight three six nine.
Five happy to answer any real estate questions that you might,
(41:21):
have and we just appreciate that very. Much Kyle, april
thank you for a wonderful discussion, today and thank y'all
for everything you do for our local business. Community thanks
for having us.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
On thank, You.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Andy this has been The Dana Simmons Real Estate. Show
I'm Andy hemmings With Capital, title and y'all have a wonderful,
day
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show.
I'm Andy Hemmings with Capitol title guest host for today,
and it is such a pleasure to be here, Dana.
I really appreciate you having me on as your guest hosts.
We always appreciate your support and everything that you do
for the community. So today we're going to talk about
(00:24):
our local community, especially our local business community, and we
have two very special guests with us. First, mister Kyle Scott,
he is the executive director of Entrepreneurship at Lamar University,
and Miss April Tolbert with the April Tobert, the April
Tobert Insurance Agency. Thank you, so thank you both for
being here today. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you bet
(00:46):
you a little bit of background on both of them,
just to let you know the perspective that they're coming from,
because we're going to really dive into the local business community,
kind of some outlooks on the economy here, outlooks on
the business environment, and just really give you a good
overview of what's happening here locally. But I wanted to
first talk about, you know, their backgrounds. So Kyle, as
(01:08):
I mentioned, he's the executive director of Entrepreneurship out at
Lamar University, which is a fantastic organization that he's leading there,
and he focuses on connecting students, faculty, startups, and industry
partners to help drive innovation, development and economic growth in
our area. So it's wonderful what you're doing here for him.
And Miss April, she's been around here many many years
(01:32):
in the insurance agency. She focuses on the all over
Southeast Texas in the insurance industry, and she's also been
really focused on leadership roles here in our community. So
we appreciate everything that you're doing for us. So, Kyle,
let's just start off, tell a little bit more about
your background and what you're doing for Lamar.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, so I joined Lamar here in August. I came over.
I was previously at Sam Houston State University as a
professor of entrepreneurship. But I am well an accidental entrepreneur,
So I started that mean. So I started my career
as a high school teacher. Realized super quick I was
not tough enough for eighth graders, particularly eighth grade girls.
(02:15):
Twenty two tough crowd at twenty two, that was just
too much for mid Handle. So I went back to school,
received my PhD and political science, and pursued the university
to routed. And in two thousand and eight, when we
started to build our family, my wife said, well, let's
get back home, and home is Spring, Texas. Okay, so
two thousand and eight, can you tell me what happened
in two thousand and eighty?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Your timing was impeccable.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
I think the day we put our house on the market,
says Lehman, Brothers crashes.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Wow, so you know.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
You got some hungry mouse feed. You got to figure
out what to do. And I ended up turning my
dissertation into my first business.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
So I had done some research on how judges make
decisions through game theory data analytics, and we were able
to create a trading strategy out of some of the
data that I used as a part of my dissertation,
and from then on out, over the next eighteen years,
I was able to start and successfully exit for businesses.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
That is a fantastic story. That is a fantastic story. Now,
so what was the product that you were selling exactly?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
So I was making I could model, I could predict
how a judge would make a decision, and if you
apply that to a patent case, then you can create
a trading strategy based upon what the decision will be
before that decision's made. So if the company's going to lose,
you can short the company. If the company's going to win,
you can go along on the company.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Fantastic. I would love to apply that model to some
of the decision makers out there today, like what are
they going to do next? So that's a wonderful story.
So thank you for sharing that, and you're bringing all
of that skill set to hear locally to Southeast Texas.
It's fantastic. Thank you. Yeah. So, April, how about you
tell us a little bit about your background.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Well, I'm born and raised in Southeast Tech. I'm a
Southeast Texas girl in here my entire life. Love seeing
people like Kyle come into our area and bring their knowledge.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
And their experience.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Absolutely that is why I love Southeast Texas because we
get such an influx of people from all over the
world who come here because of Lamar University, because of
our healthcare system, because of our industry that we support here.
So welcome Kyle. We appreciate you. We appreciate everything you
bring to Southeast Texas. But again, I'm born and raised here.
(04:31):
I've raised my family here, and I decided back about
twenty years ago to start my business here. I actually
started off in radio. I wasn't in this particular building.
It was wrong, I thank you. But at sixteen years old,
I got into the radio business. My dad, whom a
lot of people in this area know, Larry Crumpton. He's
actually celebrating his fifty fourth year in radio. He's retiring.
(04:55):
But I thought I was going to be in radio
the rest of my life. I was doing middays on KYKR,
the Kicker ninety five point one want A station, and
I was doing middays there at you know, by the
time I was eighteen years old and I thought, I'm
in radio. What a cool career? Is this? Right? But
the Good Lord had another plan for me. And Hurricane
(05:18):
Rita comes through in two thousand and five, and I
had a terrible experience with my insurance. Terrible experience. And
I'm not going to call out any companies or any
local agencies or people, but it was a horror, horrific experience.
And I said, you know what if I am having
(05:38):
this kind of experience, how many other people are having
this kind of experience fighting their insurance company. People need
help with this, and it was just a way that
I felt like that I could give back to my
community while also building a business and supporting my family.
And so I have just developed a passion for insure surance,
(06:00):
specifically in such a devastation prone area as we are
here in Southeast Texas. And so I'm one of those
crazy people, and not only one, but I am one
of those crazy people who is passionate about insurance. And
I love talking to people and helping people with insurance
and mentoring people in my industry, training other agents, and
(06:23):
teaching people what the heart of insurance is and how
to help people navigate the challenges that they come through
with insurance. So that's a little bit about who I am.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah, yeah, you know, insurance is one of those things
that people hate until they need it, you know, and
then when they need it, they love it. I know
that after that two thousand and five, fortunately I had
good insurance on some of my rental properties because it
saved me. I would have it would have, And what
I had was a writer to the policy that paid
for what do they call it they as rent loss
(06:54):
of rental. That's right, right, Yeah, because they were the
roofs got ripped off, and they were for eight months
until I got them remodeled. And my insurance that little rider,
that one rider paid for that rent for that eight months.
I would it would have been pretty devastating for me
because it was significant rental income on that property. And
my insurance agent is at the time, he added it
(07:17):
because he knew I needed it and it wasn't expensive.
So anyway, I digressed just a little bit. But to
your point, insurance is such a critical, critical component, especially
in this disaster prone area.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
That's exactly right, and thank you. And I hate that
the people here have had such experience that they understand
the importance of insurance. So it's a very unique area.
And I think it gave me an opportunity to build
a business, to become an intentional entrepreneur with a purpose.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
That's why I love to work with Kyle and Lamar
and try to find those next entrepreneur or and those
next leaders, and let's teach them how to go out
there and build something.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, and that's exactly what Kyle is doing over over
there at Lamar and I'm gonna I'm gonna put a
pen in something here. Before we finish this segment, let's
talk about the upcoming ice event. Yes, and I want
to make sure, I want to make sure to touch
on that, but uh uh, But first I want to
dive more into our topic du jour, which is our
which is our local economy here? Uh so, uh, Kyle,
(08:29):
in general, since you've been here, what how what do
you What are some feelings you have about our local
business climate and kind of some projections for the future.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Sure, so, locally we have strong anchor industries and then
we have a lot of businesses that have been very
successful servicing those and then there's spillover effects, whether it's
in real estate or something else, so restaurant. So those
anchor industries are the anchor to the community. Now the
(08:57):
question is can we build something that's tied to those
industries necessarily, so diversification, diversification absolutely, so what is it
that Southeast Texas needs? And to some degree you're always
going to be tied to those. So if we think
about supply chain and logistics, you would be a fool
if you wanted to start a technology startup and not
(09:18):
look at supply chain and logistics if you're in Southeast Texas,
because everything we do here from the port through the
refineries is tied to that. Now, that doesn't mean you
have to be specifically tied to those industries, but that's
a business that you can build an export around the country.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Yeah. Yeah, excellent point. And a lot of people don't.
They don't think about that moving things from point A
to point B as a huge part of what we
do here, what we do here locally. Well, listen, we're
gonna dive into that a little bit more. We're already
up on our first break here, So thank you all
for tuning in to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show.
I'm Andy Hemmings with Capital Title and we'll be right back.
(09:57):
Welcome back to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show. My
name is Andy Hemmings and I am with Capital Title.
A quick little tidbit about Capital Title. Here, we have
five local offices to help you with all of your
real estate transactions, whether you're buying, selling, or refinancing. Request
Capital Title to handle your closing. We can handle any
(10:18):
closing from land, residential, commercial, industrial, and we have offices
all over the area in Beaumont, Lumberton, Port Arthur, Crystal Beach,
and Beaumont. So make sure to remember capital title and
we were happy to help you with your real estate transactions. Kyle,
you were just mentioning as the supply chain logistics, right,
(10:42):
So what are some businesses that would be involved in
something like that? Like, what are some of the.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
And I'm thinking specifically just tech because when we talk
about startups, everybody immediately goes tech, right, because that seems
to be the locus of where the startup, at least
the conversation goes. Everybody says Silicon Valley. And I mentioned
that just because if you're thinking about a tech oriented startup,
(11:07):
let's think about supply chain and logistics because you have
to do what you can take care of in your
own backyard where your first customer base is going to be.
So if you need to get something from A to B,
you need to think about the most efficient way to
do that. And with all the tools now, whether it's
through AI or something else, there's going to be much
less data entry. The data analytics component of that is
(11:30):
getting far faster and far more sophisticated. So if you
think about all the possible vendors. Yeah, and being able
to Okay, now what are locations? What are the weather patterns?
This is a perfect opportunity for deep AI to get
involved in this type of industry. And when we think
about I mean think about how arcane some of the
supply chain and logistics is. We have a bill of landing.
(11:52):
I mean this is borrowed from the Vikings terms. I
mean here still using these terms, and there's so much paper.
How can we digitize a lot of those things? So
if you know the industry or have any interest in it,
they are definite on ramps in order to get involved.
But you know I'm going too deep here. There are
lots of opportunities.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
You're passionate about it, yes, yeah, yes, very passionate about it.
Thank you, Bill of Landing? Wow yeah, biking Okay, April,
So what do you see in our local business community?
From your from your perspective? What are your what's your
outlook for the future for us?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
So I serve in a little different capacity and the
way that I feel like I am connected not only
as a local business owner, I also serve as that
I'm honored actually this year to service the chair of
the Better Business Bureau board of Directors, and so I
sit in a room with some key business owners, some
(12:51):
people who are actively involved in the community, some of
them have been in business here locally for a very
very long time. I also serve on the board of
Directors of the Greater Beamonc Chamber of Commerce, and so
those rooms, I feel like help me keep my finger
on the pulse of what is going on here in
business in Southeast Texas. And I think that this is
(13:12):
a great time to be in business in Southeast Texas,
but also to consider launching into business in Southeast Texas because,
as Kyle mentioned, AI is going to be a game changer, obviously,
But we live in such a unique area. Between the
(13:36):
ports and the rail and the Interstate ten and all
our quick distance here to Houston and all the things,
this area is extremely unique and there are the opportunity
for so many different types of businesses to come in here.
(13:59):
And having been I do this in air quotes, and
you'll understand area Andy being from here, right right, yes,
right right, and you're not from here. For those of
us who have been here for a long time, what
I see is such a unique group of people from
all over different cultures, different backgrounds coming into our area,
(14:23):
and we need to number one, support that right, that diversity.
But number two, soak it up and take the nuggets.
And what I like to say is that and I
didn't come up with this obviously over the years, have
learned this from people much smarter than me. But you
don't ever come up with a unique There's not an
(14:46):
idea that is one hundred percent yours. The best way
to do it is to take a nugget from here
and a nugget from there and put put it all
together right to make one unique. And I feel like
that is Southeast Texas. We are a melting pot from
all over and we just need to do a really
good job of tapping into some of the people who
(15:08):
are relocating here. Maybe they're coming here to run planned expansions,
maybe they're coming here to come to Lamar. Maybe they're
coming here for a variety of different reasons. What can
we tap into that they can bring from their background
and where they come from and make Southeast Texas continue
to make it a truly unique melting pot of a
(15:33):
growing area as it is.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah, great point, great point.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Ye.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
And when we're thinking about you know, how to develop
a business or what the business is right for You're
absolutely right. Capital is still relatively cheap. The land and
the space is relatively cheap here. But in order to
start a business or say, well, look, well, what do
you think is missing? If you go through the course
of your day, what stinks? Yeah, what don't I like? Well,
(16:00):
then solve that problem unless.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Like Aper was talking about with our enturance ach.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Absolutely yeah, that's how great businesses get started. So if
you're thinking about this, I'm driving around and two things
immediately came to mind within the first month or so
that I was here. One, what's a family of fo
we're going to do for less than one hundred bucks
on a hot day? You're not going to go outside?
Water parks are expensive, 're far away, So what is
sort of a family centric activity center that you could develop.
(16:26):
The other side is I was relocating here long term rentals.
Finding long term rentals is extremely tough here. Okay, something
for a month. And if we're talking about locking into
these anchor industries and building something around that, well, a
lot of workers come here and the executives don't. Well,
you know, maybe if we made a transition spot, so
(16:48):
these long term executive rentals that are built up so
that when companies do relocate here, that open up something here,
there's a place for the executives to come stay for
a month or two and then get the broad idea
of going actually buying a house and make in this place.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I'll have a little landing pad for them to absolutely gortcha, gotcha. Yeah.
I've talked to some agents who have started using that
model and they've been very successful, some real estate agents,
is what I'm what I'm saying. They've taken some of
their rental properties and they have converted it over to
that type of that type of rental and they're really
having some success. So that's a great point, yep. Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
The other thing I'd like to add on top of
that is a collaborative workspace. Right, That's something I've seen
a couple of people have launched into. But I know
that you may have some insight into this, but you know,
now where businesses don't necessarily have to have a storefront,
right or as large of a storefront or house as
(17:44):
many people because of remote work, what are we doing
to create collaborative workspaces, spaces that maybe people can come
into to have meetings. Are there those kind of opportunities
out there.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, well it's almost like we've planned this. We did not,
so thank you for teaeing that up. So my partner,
my partner in crime over at the Venture Center, Ed Sturik. Yes,
he's the founder and owner of the Forge, which is
in downtown, which is exactly what you're talking about. And
then we are also developing out the Venture Center at
Lamar University to be open to businesses to either have
(18:19):
an individual office or to have a coworking space. So
you know, if downtown isn't convenient for you, but somewhere
around Lamar is, come on by to the Venture Center
and we'll be able to have a place for you
to set up shop.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
So describe to someone who's out there listening right now,
who's thinking about starting a business and they're excited, they
want to pursue these ideas, they're ready to go. So
what could they expect with getting involved with the Venture
Center and how do they do so?
Speaker 2 (18:46):
So the Venture Center where really we serve three constituents, right, students,
faculty and staff, and then the general community, and we
offer the same things for everyone. Right, So we have
two pitch competitions around the year. Business idea, Well, let's
go and pitch that idea to a group of investors.
We also offer monthly workshops, so we'll talk on various
(19:07):
business topics.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Andy.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
This last one was your brain Child, which was real
Estate to Enterprise, where we talked about how to take
your you know, your real estate business and scale it
up to go from being self employed to becoming a
business owner. Then we're also offering an incubator, so we
take that earliest phase of your business idea and we
(19:30):
get it to the point where you're able to pitch
to investors, and we walk you through this process me
one of our entrepreneurs in residence so forth. And then
we also have our Entrepreneurship and Residence program, which is
if you own a business and you're ready to retire
but have nowhere to go with it, well, let's help
you get it ready to sell to somebody here locally. Well,
if you're going to sell it here locally, you need
(19:51):
a buyer here locally. So let's meet up with some
of these potential buyers, help them position themselves financially and
strategically so that they can be an acquire of one
these local businesses and keep that local ownership local.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Hold that thought. I want to dive into that more.
We do have to go to a break here, but
that's a great spot for us to start off. In
our next segment, I'm Andy Hemmings with Capital Title, and
you're listening to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show. Welcome
back everyone. This is Andy Hemmings with Capital Title and
you are listening to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show.
(20:25):
And my guests today are mister Kyle Scott, executive director
of the Venture Center at Lamar University, and April Tolbert,
owner of the April Tolbot April Tolbert Insurance Agency. And
we are having some they're giving us some really good
insights in our local business community and we just really
appreciate all of your seasoned input today. And where we
(20:49):
left off in the last segment was talking about I
don't know if you want to call legacy businesses, but
basically transferring an existing business to a new party when
that person is ready to ready to retire and the
importance of keeping it local. So talk to us a
little bit about that and your role in that.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Sure, So I think the best example so One of
the speakers that we had at the Realistic Enterprise event
was Josh Smith, who started while he was at Lamar
and then continued on after he graduated from Lamar at
Bill Clark Pest Control. Yeah, well after you know, he
had been there for quite some time and Bill Clark
was ready to retire, but his kids didn't want the business,
(21:32):
and he wasn't sure if he was going to sell
off to one of these national brands. And they were
able to strike a deal in partnership with the SBA
in order to allow Josh to purchase the business over time. Yeah,
And what's the importance of that. Why is that important
is because one, it maintains economic prosperity, and then the
(21:53):
new owner is going to be a little more ambitious
than that retiring owner, and so now we see expansion
opportunities open up. Then there's also a component of what
happens when local businesses start being purchased by out of
town buyers. Yeah, well, who's given back to the chamber,
who's given back to the museum or the Lamar or
all these other things. You need to keep those local
(22:14):
ties there. So what does the Venture center do in
that regard the Small Business Development Center, which we work
in partnership with. They help people go out and find
traditional modes of funding if you're looking to buy a business.
They also help businesses decide, you know, structure their deals
(22:35):
whether or not. What we do on my side is
we get a little more granular and walk a light
alongside you a little closer because we have fewer restrictions
on what we can and can't help with. So the
first is we're actively going out and recruiting businesses and saying, hey,
is this something you're looking at? Is this something within
the next three to four years?
Speaker 1 (22:55):
And then I'm sorry when you say recruiting businesses, tell
me what you mean by that.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
So we'll go out the legacy business and just say, hey, see,
is this something on your horizon. If so, let's go
ahead and consider these steps now.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
So you're actively looking for businesses that are in that
possibly in that mindset.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
In that transition phase. Absolutely. And then the other side
of that is, well, you can sell all you want,
your business can be in perfect working order, but who
am I going to sell to?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:21):
So now we're actively recruiting and then running through training
programs potential buyers.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
So maybe you're early to mid twenties. This is something
that you're thinking about maybe five to ten years from now.
But you say, hey, listen, I have two grain in
my bank account, I got a kid on the way,
and what am I going to be a business owner for. Well,
there are a lot of opportunities there. But before we
get there, let's go ahead and put some of these
other things in place.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Yeah. So I'm looking, I'm listening to you here, and
you're a market maker. You're making a market for local
businesses to transition. Excellent. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, So if somebody
wants to get in touch with you, let's go ahead
and get that out there. How what's the first step?
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So first step, shoot me an email or give me
a call. Okay, those are the two most consistent ways.
My email address is K Scott. That's K S C
O T T seventy four at Lamar dot EEDU. Or
just give me a call myself. Seven one three eight
zero five zero five eight one again that's seven one
three eight zero five zero five.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Eight one perfect excellent. So in the in addition to
their at the Venture Center, you were talking about the
Forge downtown and y'all work hand in hand to an
extent right, and the Forge specifically is a work share
space that people can go and collaborate. Right. So in
(24:42):
April you were talking about that's something that you're very
interested in and something that you've been thinking about lately.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Absolutely, because I've seen working with as many businesses as
I do in my leadership roles, and they there are
businesses who could use that. And now we were so
excited to see the Forge come in as an option,
and I'm learning today that the Venture Center is also
offering that. So that is that is that is fantastic.
(25:09):
It is definitely one of those the way that here's
where I want to go with this. If it's okay,
if y'all don't mind me taking us down.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
A rabbit, lets you do it.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
Because because from my standpoint, what I want to say,
as someone who twenty years ago sat and said I
would love to do this, I had this idea, I
had this fire and this passion about something that I
wanted to do. I had no money, I had no resources,
I had no clue as to how I was going
(25:42):
to do it. I just know I had this fire
in my belly of something that I wanted to do.
I am still to this day. I am the big
idea person, right, I'm not necessarily the how to actually
make it happen person. I have to surround myself, Yes,
I have to surround myself with people smarter than me
in that area. But to have a resource like the
venture center at Lamar, oh my goodness, and have a
(26:04):
resource like Kyle, how fantastic would that have been? Just
to pick up the phone and call you on your
cell phone. So if you are like me and you
have that fire and you have that idea, there are resources,
pick up the phone. I mean, I'm one of the
people who I just went to the people around me
and said, how do you think I can make this happen?
(26:24):
And you know, again, there are there are loans, there
are people who would invest in certain ideas. There are
ways to do it. Personally, I built it on a
hope and a prayer and a line of credits, so
it can be done. I improve of that.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Yes, definitely. Yeah. And as I'm listening to both of
y'all talks, it occurs to me that the most valuable
capital is human capital. And when you get people together,
you know, one plus one equals three or more, you know,
and that collaborating with different people from different industries and
(27:01):
the right environment can really help to catalyze some amazing things.
And so I think you've experienced that, April, and that's
exactly what y'all. Y'all are doing in your endeavors.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Yeah, and you know, one of the obstacles I see
one is just an awareness of the resources that are
out there, and that's one of our biggest challenges. And
one of the reasons I appreciate you having us on
is letting people know that we're here and that we're available,
because so many of those times I hear those stories
I wish I had known. But there's another obstacle that
there's a psychological barrier starting in business or even talking
(27:30):
about starting a business. People feel a little ashamed or
embarrassed that, you know, I don't think of myself as
a business owner, or maybe other people don't see me
as a business owner. So I'm a little embarrassed to
tell people about my goals. But you know what, you
got to shake close to that, because entrepreneurship small business
ownership is a community affair and nobody's going to do
(27:52):
it on their own. Well, you know what I've been
here since August. I don't know you from Adam, so
come home by. There is no judgment, and.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
There are so many opportunities here to collaborate with like
minded people. And I cannot let a moment go by
without capitalizing on this opportunity, which is to talk about
some of the networking opportunities that are here. And the
Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, if you are looking to
just get into business here, they are a wonderful, wonderful resource.
(28:24):
The Better Business Bureau serving Southeast Texas near and dear
to my heart, the first organization that I actually joined
when I started my business. Most people don't realize that
the BBB in Southeast Texas serves eight and a half counties.
So whether you were in Bolivar Peninsula, whether you were
in Jasper County or Newton County or Liberty County or
anywhere in between, the half county is actually Bolivar because
(28:48):
that's Galveston County, so eight and a half county. So
anywhere here, within the sound of my voice, there are
opportunities to grow, and there are more people like me
and the people who I sit in those rooms with
that are here to want to help you build your business,
want to help connect you with the right people, mainly
(29:08):
because we love this community and we want to see
more come to this community.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Yeah, yeah, excellent point. And April tell us how people
can get in touch with you.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Absolutely, So if it's anything insurance, you can reach April
Tolbert Insurance Agency at four nine eight six six one
two three three four O nine eight sixty six one
two three three or find us on social media Google us.
We now we're not only serving you from our Beaumont
office which is on Major Drive, the big blue roof
(29:41):
with the big seventy two foot Farmers Insurance signs still
up there, which we do have Farmers, but we have
a ton of other companies we offer through now. But
we also have now recently in the past year expanded.
I now have an office in Kirbyville and an office
in Jasper most recently, so you can find us at
one of our local offices, find us on social media,
Google us, stop in, or call us and if I
(30:04):
can help you personally, my team will help you with
insurance obviously, but if you have anything that's next level
and you need me, my cell phone number is on
my business card. So I'm happy to give that out
to four nine six five eight three five nine eight,
Reach me anytime if I can help.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Excellent. Thank you, April. We're going to take another short
break and we'll be right back to continue our discussion
with mister Kyle Scott and Miss April Tolbert. This is
Andy Hemmings with Capital Title, and we'll be right back.
Welcome back, everybody. This is Andy Hemmings with Capital Title,
and you're listening to the Dana Simmons Real Estate Show,
and thank you for being with us. We're talking to
(30:44):
mister Kyle Scott with the Lamar University Venture Center and
miss April Tolbert with April Tolbert Insurance Agency. And Kyle,
you alluded to this just a moment ago about an
event that we recently had where we partnered your endeavors
at Lamar and local entrepreneurs with real estate agents and
(31:06):
where some local entrepreneurs came and visited with the local
real estate community to talk with them about how they
grow their business. And we had four excellent guests and
this was I love that you came up with this
panel idea to have them talk and we had Robert
Peeve with pump Techs. We had Josh Smith with Bill
Clark Bugspurts, Bill Clark, pest Control excuse me, David Rose
(31:30):
who's a local real estate agent and also an accounting professor,
and then Elton Hollis with Hule tech Man. He's a
bualifier And I thought just thought that was such an
excellent event that they could come and talk about how
they grew their businesses because they're all excellent entrepreneurs in
their own right, and share that with real estate agents
on how they could grow their business. So I thought
(31:51):
that was a wonderful collaborative effort.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
It was, It was great and one of the things
that excited me most about it, well two things. One,
it was emblematic of what we're trying to build at
the Venture Center. We're not just a resource for the campus,
We're a resource for the community.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
We are able to.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
Provide tovide value to no matter where you are in
that entrepreneurship journey. And another thing is, you know, when
you're just starting out, how do you transition from becoming
self employed becoming a business owner? Yeah, well, and what
are the tips and tricks? And you know you're so
busy trying to make payroll or just earn that next
customer that you may not take the time to stop
and think about how to actually build out this business.
(32:28):
And so it was great to hear from the people
who have done it and really give actionable steps on
what these real estate agents could do.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Yeah, we had a great turnout and it was so
well received, and we look forward to collaborating with you
in more events like that. It's quite literally it's one
of the best events that I feel that I've ever
put together on behalf of Capital title and just a
great synergy of our objectives. So I appreciate that very much.
(32:58):
And so April, you were there for the event as
well as one of the sponsors, and it was so
nice to have you there. Wonderful to have you there.
And Uh, in thinking about that and thinking about local businesses,
what are some of the local businesses or maybe a
local business that you admire that you think is emblematic
of success in our.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Area, no doubt, who comes to my mind. And I
am not just saying this because she allowed us this
time on this microphone, okay, but it's Dana Simmons. Dana
Simmons is someone that I admire in business so very much.
I have watched her journey from you know, a starting
out as in the real estate world and building this
(33:40):
team and then launching her own brokerage and watching what
her what she has done along with her fantastic husband, Ken,
who I love dearly. He is by far my favorite customer.
If you run into him, tell him. April Tolmert said,
you are my favorite customer. But I admire them so much.
(34:00):
And the key point of that is not just watching
her success and how her business has grown, but I
watch number one, how she gives back to the community,
and I admire that she gives back at every opportunity.
But she also invests in her people, and the people
(34:22):
that are on her team are her family. And I
have tried to model that in my business as well.
And I don't mean, you know, nepotism.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
I mean they.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Become her work family family. That is exactly right. And
I truly am a believer in you invest in people
and they will do the work for you. They will
make it not so much a job as something that
you enjoy in a career that you love, and people
(34:56):
are the key. I also tell young people that a'm
mentor starting out I say, I'm just going to be
really honest with you up front. The hardest part is people. Yeah, Right,
as far as being a leader and trying to build
a business, the most important thing you can do is
find the right people and bring them on and then
try to keep them there and make them happy. But
(35:18):
that is also the hardest part. It's the most important,
but the hardest in Dana Simmons and Dana Simmons real estate,
and they have done a beautiful job of number one,
giving to the community, a number two investing in people.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
Yeah, and both of those are spot on point. And
I'm going to add I'm going to add one thing
to it that I've observed from my perspective and working
with Dana. She got into real estate in ninety seven.
I got in in ninety eight, so we both joined
around the same time, and we actually worked together for
some time at Colewell Banker. But one of the things
I noticed that she did she was not afraid, well,
(35:52):
two things I noticed she did. She was not afraid
to try new things. She put together some very unique
ideas for our market that have worked really well for her.
And so I think that's a good point that as
a business owner. You you have to be unafraid to try.
You have to be bold enough to try new things
to differentiate yourself, and she has. She has done that
(36:13):
remarkably well. And uh, the counter the opposite end of that,
but equally is important. She focused on what was successful
and she always always I always admired this for every
time I would do a training at Coohoal Banker, she
was there. She's the number one agent, but she was
always there and she said, Andy, it's real simple. I
just listen to what you're saying and what have what
(36:35):
has been successful for other people, and I just do it.
So she had this unique ability to uh, to not
be afraid to try new things, but to make sure
to focus on the basics and always always always do
what has what has worked before. And I just think
that's been a great combination for her.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Key to success. No matter what business that you're in,
take those nuggets from people smarter than you, from people
who have done it longer than you, people who have
been successful, and make those your.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Own, yeap.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
When people talk about qualities of an entrepreneur, we often
talk about adaptability and grid and those are certainly important.
You know, courage, the willingness to go out there and try.
All those things have to be in order. But what
you just touch on is something that never gets talked about,
which is humility. Yes, the awareness of what you're good at,
what you're bad at. Right, you want to double down
on your strengths, highre for your weaknesses. The other side
(37:25):
is listening. Whether you're not going to tell a customer
what they want, Like, let's listen to the problems that
the customer have. There's a humility involved in that, or
what's this business doing this work? Maybe I should try
some of that. Let's go out and form partnerships. I
can't be afraid to go out and ash for money
or ask for help. That humility is a critical part
of successful entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1 (37:44):
At great point, and that's something that is not talked
about very much. That's a good point. All right, we've
got a few minutes left here. We got to talk
about the great eye storm of twenty twenty six coming
out us. It's going to hit us on Saturday. I
would be totally remiss if I didn't have you comment
on that, because it is it's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
There's the buzz right now, right, it's the buzz and
this is airing on Saturday, and Greg Bostwick, as of
earlier in the week predicted that you know, the actual
freezing temperatures would come probably at least here for the
Beaumont area, this far south overnight on Saturday night. So
as the insurance age in the room, the most important
(38:25):
thing that I can say is just number one, pay attention,
be aware, prepare right, make sure if you've got a
backup heating source, make sure that you have, you know,
some some essentials in case you cannot get on the road.
This does not appear that it is going to be
a multi day event like what happened in ninety seven,
so I don't think there's any reason to go raid
(38:47):
all of the water or the toilet paper, at least
according to Greg that.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
It was.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
But as the insurance agent, I think it's important to
remember this may not be the only event that we
have this year, So just be prepared. Number one, pay attention.
What is the forecast, Get on follow Greg Bostwick or
your favorite local meteorologists. Obviously we all love Greg, but
pay attention to what the roads look like, because if
(39:14):
it is not necessary for you to have to get out.
If you can work remotely today or if you can
just take a weather day, please try to stay off
the roads because what I see most every time it
freezes is accidents, black ice, things that are not foreseen.
Someone and it's probably not you. It's someone else on
(39:37):
the road driving too fast, not slowing down in the
rain or the ice. And it just a higher tendency
to have accidents. And that's why we call them accidents.
You don't mean for them to happen, but they do.
Crashes happen. So that and if something does happen within
(39:57):
your home, let's say you do have a frozen pipe,
let's say that the pipes start to fall. The most
common thing that happens is those pipes are thawing is
busted pipes. So when you see or hear water flowing,
immediately find your main shut off Falvin, shut that water
off and call a plumber.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Excellent, good, great points. We always appreciate your your insights
into this, so thank you well. This has been a
great discussion, y'all. Thank you both very very much for
being here. And I want to leave with how to
get in touch with you. Kyle. Remind everybody your email
address and cell phone.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
So email address is K Scott K S C O
T T seventy four at Lamar dot edu and my
cell phone is seven one three eight zero five zero
five eight one excellent and April.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
April Tolbert Insurance Agency. Stick us in the Google, stick
us in the Facebook on social media somewhere and you
will find our agency. You can always call us at
four O nine eight six six one two three three.
We'd love to help you with all things insurance.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Thank you, thanks, thank you. And I'm Andy Hemmings with
Capital Title, and if you have any real estate related questions,
please give me a call. I keep my cell phone
with me all the time, much to my wife's chagrin,
but I do. This is my business and my cell
phone is four oh nine six' five eight three six nine.
Five happy to answer any real estate questions that you might,
(41:21):
have and we just appreciate that very. Much Kyle, april
thank you for a wonderful discussion, today and thank y'all
for everything you do for our local business. Community thanks
for having us.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
On thank, You.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Andy this has been The Dana Simmons Real Estate. Show
I'm Andy hemmings With Capital, title and y'all have a wonderful,
day
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.