April 2, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode Vicki Rose of SPC Specialty Products the second generation of the Rose family talks about how she got into selling chemicals and how she developed a passion for her business. For our second guest Brian Beltz of Beltz Home Service Co speaks about how he started his career into Plumbing, HVAC & Electrical.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lefever and
along with Lane Months, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:27):
Better Business Bureau has a heart for business. Now here's
Lamee Months.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome ladies, gentlemen, children of all ages, to a Heart
for Business. This is episode number eight. I'm here in
the WSPD Penitentiary where Fred Leafever is serving forty years
of his life sentence forty five for crimes against Radio.
Crimes against Radio. We are happy to have two guests today.
In the first part of this episode will be featuring
(00:55):
Vicky Rose. I call her Queen Victoria from SPC Products
Products SPC. She's already giving me the finger, the index finger.
It's on video. Remember you have to get it right right,
PC Specialty Product.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
SPC Specialty Products.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well CSPC stand.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
For it's the acronym for the company that was previously Okay, yep.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Alright, like KFC, all right, something like that.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
We can get into that later.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Okay, Welcome Vicky thank you, Lane. How long has it
been since you've been in a radio studio? You told
me a little bit about your past.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Since nineteen eighty four.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
It's how long I've been in the studio since nineteen eighty.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
There you go. So we're almost the same.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Now. You did a little bit of college radio.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I did. What did you take in college broadcasting?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
You did community. I have my BA and communications with
the minor.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
And we're headed that way.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I was what you did broad put the broad in.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
That's good, Lane. What detoured you? I? I I basically
gave up on my dream because I did film production
as well and advertising in New York City. And then
(02:24):
just I decided to take the easy way out, and
I asked my father for a job, who owned his
own company based right here in Toledo, Ohio, and and
he said, okay, Vicky, if you want to work for me,
you have to leave New York City. And you have
two choices of where to go. You could either go
(02:46):
to Philadelphia or Baltimore. And he said, you know what,
you'd really like Philadelphia. And I'm like, great, I'll move
to Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Even W. C. Fields didn't like Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
You know what, he probably he was probably right. I
would have probably liked Philly. But I moved to Baltimore,
and uh, and there you have it.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
That doesn't sound like the easy Usually it took the
that doesn't sound like the easy way out, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And then after I so, you know, the the New
Yorker poster, you know where it's, you know, New York,
and then LA and then nothing yet. So when I
moved to Baltimore, I definitely felt like, you know, art
imitating life, and I was definitely living the New Yorker
poster and hated Baltimore at the at first, but then
(03:36):
I loved it. I grew to love it.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Did you like what you were doing?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's another story. So I went from advertising in film
production really cool, sexy, and then I started selling chemicals
to middle aged men in steel mills and fire power plants,
right exactly. So that's that was a big change. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Vicky also has a secret. She doesn't, I don't think,
want to share or she's yeah. She when she was
in TV production, she was a stand in for a
certain famous actress on a daytime soap. Would you like
to would you like?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yes? I was Susan Lucci that's who I was gonna guess. Yeah,
same coloring, same yeah, yep, exactly, yep.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Oh how cool?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah twice.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
So, Susan, how did you get into selling chemicals? You mean,
Vicki whatever, same difference, the same.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Difference except for the lighting. So how I got into
selling chemicals? Basically it was the family business. My father
started his company, which was called Syntech Products Corporation, which
is where the ACRONYMSPC comes from. He started it out
of the basement of our house in the mid seventies.
(04:54):
I don't want to date myself. And then he grew it,
bought a building downtown and hired bunches of people and equipment.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And about I've met Vicki's dad, Jimmy Rose, and so
he probably some people listening from this area will know him.
Where's your place located.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
On Woodruff and Canton, one block west of Cherry Street.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Okay, And Vicky's a lot like yeah, Jimmy's a lot
like Josh Luckin as far as energy level, her dad
has a tremendous energy level.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, he's eighty eight years old. So, and when my
parents are they are snowbirds now. So when my parents
come up to Toledo for the summer. They my father
works with me, so it's a father daughter team. He's
eighty eight years old. Eighty eight years young and very
(05:51):
proud of him.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
And yeah, he's so he still has a passion for
the business that he started in his basement.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yes, he he loves talking to people. He's a people person.
He's very charming. He's got still a glint and a
glimmer in his eye and people love him.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Have you how much of that have you inherited from him?
A lot? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, I have a passion.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Do you have? Because the whole show is about the
heart for business and the passion. Did you develop a
passion for the business because it didn't sound like you
really were thinking about doing that.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I never I never thought in my wildest imagination, number one,
that I would ever move back to Toledo, and number
two would ever. I'm like, I'm not, I don't I'm
not a business person. I don't own I'm not a
person that owns a business. And now, but surprise, I
am so. And my superpower is an ability to create
(06:52):
friendships with people and relationships with people, and so my
customers from the steel mill when I worked and I
lived and worked in Baltimore. I still am friends with
them over twenty five years later.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Now, have you ever seen the movie Tommy Boy.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I'm sorry I haven't.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Okay, but it's about It's about a dad who started
a business and he wants his son to be in
the business. But his son is just a it's.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Chris Farley, right, he's in there, do well.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, but he has an ability all right, which you
just said something that struck me. He has an ability
to make that contact with people because he's very likable
and he wants to please them and give them what
they want when it comes to the service. Have you
developed that over these years?
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Yes, people, I'm not the cheapest. I'm not the only
distributor of the problem repair. However, people really like doing
business with me. I have customers I deal with m
dot up in Michigan, and I have an m dot
(07:59):
guy that literally you said to me, oh, I want
to buy more stuff from you so that you can
keep coming around. Now, why is that because I'm likable?
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Okay, but I mean that's a reasonable reason.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
That's a reason it likable because I'm likable.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
That's a gift if you have that gift.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Yeah, people, I do. I have a superpower. People kind
of like like me the first minute they meet me.
So so there's.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
An honesty to your answers and everything to you. So
you must carry that through your relationships with your clients.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yes, Fred, you can see why I liked Vicky's business.
It's like we love generational businesses and the BBB. I
know you you like that too, Oh, Gusha, you know,
I love to see when a business that starts in
Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan stays in Northwest Ohio or
Southeast Michigan through the generations. You know, that's one of
(08:51):
the biggest threats we face, is that outside money will
buy companies and take them over in this area. So
I love it when the family sticks with it. You know, Yes,
that's important.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
And so I'm a second generation family business or my businesses,
and I'm it's also a woman owned business, not that
that should mean anything anymore, but you know.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well, we hope we get to the point where that's
not Oh you know, Vicky is the first woman to
own this business. Where we get to the point where
that's not important.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
But isn't that a lovely It's it's.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Important in that you are an example. And do you
mentor other young ladies? I mean, do they understand that
they could get into this business then, because it's not
necessarily an option for a lot of women.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Correct. I to tell you the truth, I feel like
I'm kind of like flying under the radar. R. Yeah.
So I've not had the opportunity to mentor other young
women in business. However, I would really love the opportunity
to do that. I think that I bring a lot
of experience, different types of experiences. I also I did
(10:02):
I also sold tankless water heaters HVAC. Really, yeah, yes,
I've done I've I have done a few.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
You're going against type a little bit vicky. So a
lot a lot of women owned businesses would not necessarily
be in the pro We're going to talk about those
here in just a second. We're going to get to
what We're going to get to what you sell, provide whatever.
But the listener's going to hear that, and they're not
going to immediately think that wouldn't be a woman owned business.
I do want to talk about that, sure.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So tell us, Okay, what do you want to know?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
What is SPC Specialty Products All about.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
What is the specialty product exactly?
Speaker 3 (10:40):
So what I inherited from So my father's company, Sintech
Products Corporation, we did dust control on unpaved roads, so
we were in heavy industry, so steel mills, coal fired
power plants, nuclear power plants, trucking operations, railroad odes. And
(11:01):
seven years ago my father and his business partners sold
ninety five percent of the business to our largest competitor,
and I was able to retain just like the small
like the nugget, the nugget which was the chemicals, the
cleaners that they didn't know that we had. But so
though I inherited a line of cleaners and products to
(11:27):
service the nuclear power industry.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Wow, cleaners.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
So what was so so for decontamination of low levels
of nuclear radiation? And so so I did. So I'm
a manufacturer of cleaners. I have full capability of toll blending.
We've got mixed tanks, We've got a whole kind of
(11:52):
plant at five twenty East Woodroff Avenue, toled Ohio for three.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Six so Ford.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
So this is something I would use at home. These
are home cleaners. Are industrial cleaners?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Correct? Yes, yep, yep. So, so that's what that's initially
what I inherited from Sintech. The problem, well, the issue
when I first got into business, like my nut or
my my sales were one hundred thousand dollars let's say
a year, but my nut was one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
So I was a kind of a good business model.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
No so again, so I uh so, thank goodness. Like
a year after I founded the company, I ran into
this product called Aquafault, which is this water activated permanent
pothole repair, and we started distributing it in October of
twenty eighteen, and six years later I am known as
(12:55):
the lady that sells a lot of aquafores.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
So where did this come from?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Is it American base or did it come from Europe?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
So it was originally developed in Germany, and uh it
was brought over to the United States and it's manufactured
here in Charlottesville, Virginia, Okay, and I have a great
working relationship with Aquafal. They're real old school there. They
provide tremendous support and it's a wonderful product. It literally
(13:24):
it's the easiest product I've ever sold because it literally
does what it what I say it does, So it
makes me look really.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
I'm curious. You know, you sell vacuum cleaners. You throw
dirt on somebody's rug and you show them how well
the you know, vacuum cleaner works. How do you prove
to people selling it to like municipalities, that it works.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
We do demos, we do free demos. We'll go anywhere
for a demo area.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Like if I'm driving on the road, was I don't
know down Ice seventy five.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Or yet District two in the in the Lucas count
and this air Williams County, Lucas County, Wood County. They
all use it.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
So you've so far you only described it as aquafalt,
But what is it? Cold patch?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Or it is a water activated permanent pothole repair which
contains permanent Yes, yes it has a lot of people
tell me that, yes, and but this really is and
it's proven to be. So the difference between traditional cold
patch and aquaphalt is that aquaphalt contains no asphalt or petroleum,
(14:36):
so it's so it's unaffected by freeze thaw cycles. There's
also a so it's a water activated binding agent and
tac coat, so it sticks to anything. It sticks to
asphalt concrete metals.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Really, so it sounds like you're making this up as
you go along.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Anyway. Sounds very official, yes, but it is so so again,
traditional asphaltic materials they tend to pick up on tires
even in extreme heat. They get it gets meldy and
it gets flexible, and then if it gets flexible, then
(15:18):
it blows out the aqua fault because it contains. Again,
no asphalt or petroleum is unaffected by extreme temperatures, so
there's no freeze thought cycle that it is that it's
affected by, so it just stays there.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So Lucas County is using it. Other counties in northwest Ohio.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Yes, Cuyahoga County, Lake County engineers.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Are there any cities around here that we'd recognize A
City of Mommy?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yep, they were one of They were actually one of
my first customers, Bob Simon, City of Mommy.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Does the city of use it yet?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
No? They do not. Well they've tried it, but you know,
they just choose not to use it.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
All right, Well, I'm going to have you on my
show to talk about that. I don't know that I
want to get into that, but sure, so is it
a is it a chemical compound that you're using then,
because you said there's no asphalt in it.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
No, the only so there's a binding agent that is
water activated or moisture activated. So the binding agent is
made of rape seed oil, which is a cousin to
canola oil. And and that's basic. That's the secret sauce
seriously cereal.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
And they've been using this in Europe for how.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Long twenty five years on the autobot.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Is it more environmentally friendly because it's not petroleum?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Absolutely, there's absolutely no runoff. There's there's no petroleum runoff.
Even asphalt roads have runoff because there's there are oils
and hydrocarbons. But the aqua fault it is eco friendly.
Isn't that amazing? You think that, oh eco friendly, that
(17:06):
means it doesn't work. No, this is really it is
a very effective product. So effective that so when I
first started selling it in Michigan, and we all know
the state of the roads in Michigan, right at first,
they're like no, no, no, no, they are. I sell
a lot of aqua fault to school districts in Michigan,
(17:29):
the Detroit Public Schools Utica Public Schools, which is the
second largest school district in the state of Michigan. I
just received a request for quotation. They're going to order
more material, and.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
How do they use it in their parking lots?
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Parking lot? It's correct, yes, correct.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So if I'm a small business in Toledo, like a
shopping center, yes, and well I'm the one I'm thinking
of is Great Eastern Shopping Center. They've been told that
they have to fix everything out there. And part of
their problem out there, because I drive through it every day,
is their giant parking lot, which is a huge, huge mess.
That's the kind of job you could undertake.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Yes, I can supply the product. I don't. I don't
do any of the repair. However I can. I do
have clients that are like you know, seal coating companies, okay,
and they buy it and I can always partner with them. Also,
the city of Oregon has been using the product for
(18:32):
and they.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Just redid KOI not that long ago. And when they
used it on KOI because now drive up.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And don't they do not do it is not cost
effective to actually pave Okay. So when you know, so
the thing about you know, asphalt plants, they go they
shut down for the winter so the only product available,
only product available has always traditionally been cold patch, which
(19:02):
is a temporary fix, right, so very temporary, very temporary,
like very template.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
So so that's kind of like the niche of aqua
fault because even though it is technically a cold patch,
but it's a permanent cold patch, all right.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
So as an example, I drive down East Broadway every day.
They cold patched it all last year, it's a wreck.
This year you're it's like playing Frogger on the way home.
So you go in or you sell them the product,
and the company comes in, uh and cold patches everything
with the aqua fault, and then they decide at some
(19:41):
point to go ahead and repave the whole road. They
pull up everything, right, the aqua fhalt and all that
other stuff. But until they do that, the aqua FLT,
as you say, is permanent.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yes, so sometimes, and I've talked with ODOT guys about this,
so you know, if they know that they're going to
be repaid a stretch of road, they don't want to
use something so expensive, right like aquafault, so they would
then you know, then there is definitely a use for
cold patch. There's an application for cold patch. But it's
(20:14):
just not every application and vice versa. There's an application
for aquafault, but it's not design to completely get rid
of the cold patch right.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Well, and I can see where a municipality that knows
they're going to say redo each broadway, yes, next year,
it would be ridiculous for them to go ahead and
put the aqua fault down because they're going to redo
the whole road anyhow. But if they know they don't
have the budget and it's not as bad as it looks,
they could aqua fault any hole that they see correct
(20:48):
or pothole that they see, and it would be a
good fix to last for well quite a few years,
I would imagine.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Yes, So there's actually for the aqua fault. There's a
three year manufacturer's warranty on the product and aqua fault. Fully,
if there's ever a failure, and most likely if there
is a failure, it's the application, it's the installation. It's
not the product, Okay.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Spoken like every product supplier I've ever encountered in construction, Yes,
it's always it's always the labor.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yes, so that's so cruel but true.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Actually, guess what the labor says Vicky. Guess what the
labor says about that.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
It's the crappy product.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
So, Vicky, I'm probably going to run short on time
here pretty soon. Yeah, there's another product I want you
to talk about. I know we don't have a lot
of time, but I want you to talk about the
non salt messes that really intrigued me.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
So so part of syntech what we also did. We
also had anti icings. So my father was able, so
we were a forerunner of like brine. So we so
we kind of like instituted and introduced, you know, wedding agents.
(22:02):
So liquid de icer, okay, to the turnpike, the Ohio Turnpike,
Indianatol Road, Da da da da da. So but again
that business was sold. However, I have a granular de
icer that I sell to nuclear power plants that contains
absolutely no chlorides. Oh So, chlorides, as people may or
(22:25):
may not know, you know, create corrosion. So for nuclear
power plants, they can't have any chlorides because they it
runs the risk of corrosion on critical stains.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Like it leaches into the ground and gets to the
underground piping or just spray up on outside metal.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
And yeah, yeah, okay, yep. So so, so I do
have a product that is non chloride, that that is
an effective product like from like twenty degrees and above.
And it does not it doesn't rust, it doesn't spall concrete,
it doesn't eat concrete, it doesn't eat asphalt.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
How is it on the surrounding landscaping, the grass and
the shrubs and things like that?
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I believe it to be fine?
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Well, yes, So who's your client base? Municipalities, villages, township,
towship districts. Nobody can just walk in and say hey,
I want that incorrect?
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Okay, so we thank you. So we sell to homeowners,
we sell to landscapers absolutely, and we're more competitive. We're
priced very competitively and we always have product on hand.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
How do they get a hold of you? You give
me the website again and any contact info.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
It's SPC. That's Sampaul Charlie Specialty Products dot com s
p C Specialty Products dot Com. Phone number local is
four one nine two one nine nine one three nine.
My email address sure Vicky v I c k I
at s ISN sam PS and Paul cs in Charlie
(24:19):
s is in sam psnpaul dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Down to his science.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Not the first, No, So Vicky, I'm super glad to
have you on. You're a little bit of a non
traditional business for the Better Business Bureau, we've had a
couple of those, actually, Gift of Life Circus he was
another non traditional business. Only by that only, but what
I mean by that is most people assume, as Better
Business Bureau businesses are only retail or consumer oriented, and
(24:47):
you're a B to B business. Yes, there are a
lot of businesses in our area that you use the
term fly below the radar, fly under the radar. There
are a lot of good, important businesses in our area
that are just like that. They're not front and center
in the consumer's mind or in the public eye. They
perform a very important function to our area's economy. So
I just want to thank you for being on.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Yeah, thank you so much for the invitation.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I enjoyed, sir, I enjoyed our conversation and.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
A little song and dance, a little seltzer down your pants.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
That's right, right, And Vicky is going to be a
guest on my show in the very near future. I
can tell you that right now.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
You know, our area has over forty thousand businesses. Some
are old, some are new, but they all have a
story to tell about why they sell, how someone took
a chance once upon a time, someone with a heart
for business. Hi, this is Lane Monts, the host of
the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We know
a thing or two about our area's companies, after all,
we've been keeping tabs on them since nineteen nineteen. Join
(25:45):
me in Toledo radio legend Fred lea Fever every week
as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and share
a few industry secrets along the way. Welcome back to
the program. Laying here with Fred Lafeever second part of
the program, Episode eight. Guests for the second episode Brian
Belts of the Findley Beltzes of Late Right. Brian, Welcome
(26:06):
to the program. Thank you, Thank you so Brian. Fred
does not know you. Fred is from Toledo, Michigan, Wall
Bridge area now, but I'm from Finley. As I keep
pointing out to the audience, no one cares, really, but
I care.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
I care so and the people in Finley care and
the people in.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Finley care, and that's very important to me.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Finley Boy done well for himself. That's how we're looking.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
At so I knew I wanted to do something with
a podcast. Back in the fall. By the way, the
staff took me to Dietz's ice Cream in Finley for
my birthday, which is October thirtieth, I'll see you there again.
And whilst whilst the staff and I were there, I
ran into none other than Brian Belts and I began
to lay the foundations. I wanted to do something with
Belts because it's a long standing name in Finley. It's
(26:48):
kind of a famous family. True Brian Well, I don't
know if we could say famous infamous maybe maybe, So Brian,
tell us about you got you're wearing. The shirt says
Belts Home Service Company, not the Belt's business. I knew
growing up. Tell tell the audience what's different and what
Belt's Home Service is all about.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
So we just do electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling service
and repair for customers in their homes and their residential homes.
And it's a far cry from the family business that
started back in the forties. My grandfather started a clothing
company and so he sold suits and ties to business
(27:29):
people and now we do plumbing and electrical and heating
and cooling.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Okay, I got a lot of questions right off the
bat here.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Brian, hold on to I want to add something. Get
your questions lined up for Brian for rapid shot fire
at Brian. But if you know anything about Finley, you
know that the South Main Street in Finley has a
whole bevy of beautiful Victorian homes built during some of
them were built during the gas era, and the Belt's Home,
(27:58):
the Belt's Home is one of the most famous, most
iconic homes just off of the downtown, just south of
the downtown.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Now, this is not my home.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yeah, I know. I know because because clothing double wide,
clothing paid better than mechanical does now, right, clothing in
the forties must have paid better. It's a beautiful it's
a beautiful, iconic home. And so when I saw Brian
at deetzis my favorite place in Findlaydetza's, I knew that
I wanted to get you on. And also the reason is, Brian,
(28:25):
as I've been going back to Findley and in Hancock County,
I noticed these billboards and these other advertisements popping up
with Belts Home Services, home service company, and I thought,
that's not familiar to me. But you're all over the place.
Tell what's going on.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
We have been growing like crazy for the last six
seven years and that is a big part due to
my wife, co owner of the business. She has a
marketing background and graphic design background, and she took what
little we were doing and marketing and really just blew
(29:01):
it up.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
It's on billboards. I see trucks right, I go into
I go into Older's Mexican restaurant. Your cards are all
over the corkboard there. I mean, it seems like it's relentless.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Somebody knows what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yes, not you, Brian, Well he knows a little bit
because you mentioned that you're an electrical plumbing in HVAC.
I don't want to keep being a dead horse, but
I was in construction for some period of time, and
I can tell you sometimes you find plumbing in HVAC
licenses together. And if you don't know in the listening audience,
(29:34):
Ohio does require state licenses for all those specialty mechanical trades,
and the state licenses are hard to get and the
background is rigorous and the testing is rigorous. So sometimes
you see plumbing in HVAC together. You almost never see
all three trades in the same company. So that's something
I find very intriguing and I want to hear more
(29:55):
about that. Sure.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
So as soon as I left high school from Finley,
I went into the Navy, and I was electrician. In
the Navy, I worked on a small destroyer ship and
we had a small engineering department and we worked on
all of the equipment, all of the engines and the
plumbing systems as well as the electrical and that's just
the way we did things. This was a small group.
(30:19):
When I got out of the Navy, I started working
for a residential service company doing the same thing i'm
doing now, and they did all of the trades. And
so my boss at the time said, we do you know,
you need to learn all of these systems because they
all work together within a house and you need to
know all of them. And so I was just young
enough dumb enough to think, okay, right, that's just what
(30:45):
we do. But that really benefited the customers because if
they liked me and trusted me in the home, they
didn't have to call somebody else to fix all of
other things in the house.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
So I'll give you an example. I'm going to put
a gas powered heater in my garage. My water main
comes into my garage instead of my basement. I don't
know why they did that. It's a problem when the
temperature gets down to like zero degrees, absolutely right, So
I'm going to have to put a thermostadded gas blower
in the garage. So the plumber is going to hard
(31:15):
pipe it in. They might install the unit, but when
it comes time to energize it, they're going to say,
you need to get electrician in here to hook it up.
And that is a pain in the patuity to have
to locate a second professional. Do you actually have all
three of those licenses? I do?
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I do? Wow, you're smart.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Well, that's debatable. That is unusual. So how often do
you find that you're on projects where more than one
of those trades is going to be present in the projects.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
It's pretty rare within Ohio to have the multiple licenses.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
No, no, no, no. When you go into a project in
a home or a business, how often does that project
require more than just one of the three licenses? In
other words, like you're doing electrical plus h VAC or
you're doing electrical plus plumbing or whatever. How often does
that happen? Oh? All the time? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
I mean because they're all mechanical systems and like I said,
they all work together.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Yeah, they all tie in at some point. So is
this cause because the name services in here? It's just
something I would uh like, I've just bought a house
from Walbridge, Uh just moved in before the beginning of
the year. So if I wanted electrical work done, I
call you. But do you also work in like new construction.
(32:35):
Are you like a subcontractor.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
We don't know.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
We okay, we only do service, repair and replacement. It's
it's pretty well emergency service. And that's why you see
us all around all the time, because we're not on
large construction projects or new construction or remodels or things
like that.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Okay, that's that's what I was curious about. Why it
was called home service. So you go out when I
need a plumbing problem or like, well, I just bought
a water heater not that long ago, so you'd be
the guys that would come out. And as Lane said,
you're in my garage, you're putting in the water heater
and maybe you saw something, you know, with the electrical
or with the air conditioning. You could point it out.
(33:14):
But you could also take care of it for me
right away. Absolutely, Okay, got it. Now, I know what
you do, and it really is pretty rare.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
If you find a subcontractor a plumber, electricity, electrician, HVAC
and they do new construction, they frequently do not do
the service and vice versa. There are different skill sets,
they're different margins that have to be covered because you're
doing emergency services, so that is more just like getting
a tetanus shot at the emergency room is more costly
(33:41):
than going to your family doctor, right right. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
All of the things break at inopportune times, and it's
nothing that you wake up and think.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
I'm going to.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Purchase a new water heater today or have an electrician out.
It's just things that don't work or cause problems and
then they call us.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Is it conscious on your part when you decided to
get into this business, that that's what you would focus
on as opposed to going into new construction.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
No.
Speaker 4 (34:09):
No, Just when when I got out of the Navy
and started working for the service company, I loved the
daily challenge. My dad would disagree because they used to
complain to him. You know when I started that that
I hated it every day.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
But that's a theme that we're hearing a lot every day.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
I did because it was there was always something new
every day, and I thought, my gosh, am I ever
going to learn?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
And am I ever going to.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
Have something repeat? Because in people's homes, the problems are
always unique to that home. Yes, yeah, But ultimately I
liked I liked helping people, and I liked the challenge
of solving somebody's, uh, somebody's problem.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
And then it's new every day it is, so it's
like going on a new job every single day.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
It's still new every day.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
And and that was a mindset as soon as I
shifted my mind to whatever the problem is, it's going
to be new. I probably haven't seen it before, but
I'll solve it, okay, and things what's me?
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Yeah? See that makes that makes that makes a lot
more sense. Now as owner of the company, how many
employees do you have because emergencies, you got to be
ready twenty four to seven. You never know when somebody's
heat is going to go out or a pipe is
going to break or something like that.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
That's right, We don't, I mean, we can we can
predict pretty close to when when things will break.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Really, yes, but most of.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Them are are weather related.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
Okay, but we have twenty some trucks out on the
road and we've got I think forty four employees all together.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Yeah. I wasn't joking Fred when I said they're all
over They're all over the place. I mean, that's pretty
big for a mechanical subcontractor and service.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
So you must do more than just Findly. Then what's
your area of coverage.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
We we just.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
Acquired a company out of Genoa. Oh looking at your shirt?
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Oh yeah, Noah Banks shirt.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Yeah, don't you know him?
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Marty Sutter gave me this personally forty fifth anniversary.
Speaker 4 (36:07):
So we had so we've expanded up into that area.
We've got a fifty mile radius right now from from
the nucleus of Finley.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Is there enough I'd never think of Findley as a
big place, but I know it's a pretty good size city.
Is there enough business in Finley for all the trucks
you have?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Yes? Yeah, Finley takes care of one of the One
of the things about Findley is it's not a suburb. Obviously,
it stands alone, but Finley generally takes care of its properties.
That's always been something about Finley. It's a decently well
off community overall, and it just takes care of its property.
So some some communities don't want to spend the money
(36:48):
on service and upkeep. But Finley's I think pretty good
for that.
Speaker 4 (36:51):
Yeah, Finley and the surrounding areas hancott County, Wood County, Ottawa. Yeah,
so a lot of those areas, I mean, but things
break every day.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Well, yeah about it. I just bought a house.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
The furnace goes out when it's like either the air
conditioner goes out when it's one hundred degrees and the
furnace goes out when it's zero. That is the way
it is for sure.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So other than the service, do you also carry? So
obviously you have parts if you need a new air conditioner,
if you need a new water heater, what are the
hookups that you guys have so that you can handle
all that.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
So we have a great warehouse and a consignment system
with some vendors, So we have a lot of furnaces,
air conditioners, water heaters, bigger, bigger items in the warehouse
so we can do same day or next day replacements.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
See that's good to know because the.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Work the trucks roll out with enough parts and materials
onto there to take care of probably eighty percent of
the jobs on the spot.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Okay, yeah, that's pretty helpful. Yeah, Brian, what's something that
you would want you know, we've got consumers and businesses
listening in people in businesses. What's something that you would
want them to know about your industry that you wish
that they knew or you'd always try to tell them
and convince them, but you can tell they don't always
listen or want to hear it. But what's something that
some good advice you would want to give.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
The good advice I would say is get your kids
into the trades.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Yes, that's going to be happening more and more, I
think it is. It's it's it's coming back faster now.
But the rate at which people in the trades are
retiring versus the people that are coming into the trades,
it's five to one right now. So forever five people
that are retiring, only one is coming into the trades.
And we have an apprenticeship program, and a lot of
(38:42):
other companies you know around have apprenticeship programs as well,
where you can bring somebody into the trades and they
can learn on the job, get paid and and have
a career with no debt.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
So really that's the best way to do it.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Are there is there? There are classroom requirements as well,
are there not? Those for those licenses and those trades,
all of them? I think? Yes?
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Do you work with the places like and I forget
what the other one is called, like Penter Career Center
and the five County whatever it's called, the other one
Try County Try is it? Try?
Speaker 4 (39:14):
And Counting Sentinel over in Tiffin and no Stream that
we work with and down in Finlay.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Yes we do.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
So what's the drawback? What is keeping these kids away?
Because I've talked about this on there a lot that
you know they need to look at this as a route.
Would you have taken this route if you weren't the Navy?
I don't.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
So would you suggest that maybe kids get into the
armed forces and you know, find a like a career niche.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
By the way, every time I ask a former military
person about that question, and would you would you recommend
they make the same face that you just made. You
weren't facing the camera when you made it, Brian, But
it's the same face. Is ambivalence?
Speaker 4 (39:58):
Typically it is uh, I was a typical high schooler. Okay,
and uh, and I needed some I needed some structure
in my life, let's just say that, right. And the
military provided that okay for sure when I needed it.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
So, but you probably wouldn't have been this unless you
had been in the service and done what you did
in the service.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
No.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
In fact, my so my mechanical ability. My dad tells
me a lot that my grandfather, who started the clothing business,
he would he would pay somebody to change a light bulb.
That's how much mechanical ability I had. And uh and
and really nobody in our family had mechanical abilities.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Well once again, Fred, once again, Fred Beltz was located
right downtown near Marathon. There were a lot of Marathon
and Cooper executives that needed very nice clothing, and that
was the go to place. Am I correct? That is correct?
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Yeah, it's hard to shop in the dark though.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
So so how did you come by this then? Did
you just after you got out of the navy. Did
you just gravitate towards this and then build the passion
force so that you said, Okay, you know, one day
I'm going to start my own company.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
H No, I just I when I was working for
the service company out of the Navy. I I was young,
I had a younger family, broke just in that phase
of life, and I wanted to make more money. And
I remember the boss telling me that I made as much, right,
you know, he couldn't pay me anymore and I wouldn't
make any more working for somebody else. And so that
(41:29):
was when I had an entrepreneurial seizure and decided I
would start my own business.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
And now you're living a life of self inflicted wounds.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Yes, do you like what you do? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (41:39):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I love it. What is it? What is it that
you like? I mean, you said you got used to
the fact that it's a new job every day, But
is there more to it than that.
Speaker 4 (41:48):
Well, and in my role now within the company, I'm
not out hands on.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
Every day, so I get, you know.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
A lot of fulfillment on seeing the light bulbs go
off in our employees and the and so I enjoy
growing those people and also interacting with, you know, within
the community.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
I'm glad you said that, because I was going to ask,
do you mentor all all of your new employees and
explain to them, Look, here's the opportunities. Here's how you
can reach that goal.
Speaker 4 (42:14):
Yeah, we give them, give them all the tools and
and so when I was capped at the job before
I started the business, it's it's one of the lines
that we talked about with every employee that you'll never
be capped. You can if money is your motivator, you
can make as much money as you want working.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Sure. Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
So I want to circle back to Fred's question about
what stopping people from going into the trades, and I
do think it's the worm is turning, so to speak,
high schools, Fred, high schools where it became more fashionable
for the suburbs to produce college bound high school graduates.
And it's in college app I mean, I'm a college guy.
(42:55):
It's absolutely the right course for some people. It's absolutely
the wrong course for others, especially a four year college
is very expensive. It's very expensive, and it can you
can have a great career in the trades. And man,
does society ever need them.
Speaker 4 (43:10):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (43:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:12):
I feel that we've met with a lot of schools
and a lot of teachers and and some of the
trade trade schools as well, and really it's the parents
that's where we need to focus. Because the kids are
are impressionable either way, and really in high school, they
don't know what they want to do. You know, we're
asking with your life and they don't know. But if
(43:34):
the parents can be influencers of the kids, you know,
to to look at the trades and do ride alongs
and and try different things out, that's well.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
And I think I think part of that too is
because we've again we've talked about this on my show,
is they need to give it a try. I think
it was one of the home improvement shows on PBS.
I think it was in Maine, someplace out east where
they get all of the construction people and all of
the service people together and like for a week, all
(44:04):
the schools come out and they have things set up
so that you get to try out what drilling a
hole in cement would be like. You get to try
out using a nail gun is like, you get to
try out what wiring would be like. And once they
get their hands in there, like you and the Navy,
once they get their hands in there and they realize,
(44:25):
oh man, this is a blast. I could do this.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Yeah, and they have confidence as well, they go, oh
I can do this exactly.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Yeah, I can do this.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Yeah, I'll give a shout out to the Kendri Buchanan
at the home Builders Association. They put on If I
think this was their second year, they're going to come
up on their third. It's called Build My Future in
its event. It's an event that's held at the Wood
County Fairgrounds in the pavilion, the New Pavilion, and it's
exactly that they brings exactly. They bring in cranes, they
(44:53):
bring in equipments, concrete drills, drywall, masonry, and high school
students are busted in from all around the area and
they get to try that stuff out. I don't know, Brian,
have you done that by chance?
Speaker 4 (45:03):
We've done that locally and not at Wood County, but
within Finlay and Hancott County.
Speaker 2 (45:08):
Do they have a Build My Future event.
Speaker 4 (45:09):
It's not an actual Build My Future event, but we
have worked with the Raised the Bar Association. We've been
out at fairgrounds and different events where we'll take displays
where people can can get hands on with our candidates,
our candidates, finding work candidates that you're one of your
big challenges, finding people to come into the company and
(45:30):
learn the trade.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
No, I don't feel like we're.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Having that big of a chance. I mean, we always
need more technicians, yeah, to come in. But the we're
getting we're getting a lot of flow of people from
from our existing yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah. Because the best example of it is somebody who's successful.
So you take one of his guys who's making a
good wage. Yeah, you know, got his own car, buying
a house, got a family and everything. You send him
to career day at high school and he gets up
and forget about how hard it work. Here's what my
paycheck looks like.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
And they're not waiting four to six years to get
into it either. They're making money right away.
Speaker 4 (46:10):
We're getting them from from some of the trade schools, okay,
like Satin Know, we have a couple guys that came
from there. And we're also getting people that are just
changing careers and they may be working in a factory
or or doing some other job and and and so
we'll train them up. So we're not getting the people
that are that have thirty years of experience right within
(46:31):
the trades.
Speaker 2 (46:32):
But yeah, you're bringing them up. That's good. That's a
good way to do it. So, Brian, we're gonna close
the program here. We like to keep it relatively short
and punch you so we don't drone on. But is
there anything else you want to leave us with regarding
Belts Home Service, or your origin story, or your superpower,
however you want to put it.
Speaker 4 (46:50):
We are We're just we're one of you know, there's
lots of great options out there, lots of great companies
to get service done at your house. We're we're just
one of them, and our goal is to give people
options and educate them and take care of them the
best we can.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
How do they get a hold of you?
Speaker 4 (47:09):
They can go to our website Belts Home Service dot com.
That would be the best place.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
To b e ltz. That's Belts Home Service dot com.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Brian, thanks so much for making the drive up from
Finlany great to see you. Thank you, thanks for your story,
absolutely take care.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
Thanks for joining us for this edition of a Heart
for Business sponsored by the BBB. You can listen and
subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from, and we hope
that you'll do it At iHeartRadio. You can actually download
the free app and set a Heart for Business as
one of your presets, just like you would on your
(47:49):
car radio. That way, you'll never miss an episode for
lane months. I'm Fred Lafever. Thanks for joining us again
this week. A new episode will drop on Wednesday, the
st
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lefever and
along with Lane Months, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:27):
Better Business Bureau has a heart for business. Now here's
Lamee Months.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Welcome ladies, gentlemen, children of all ages, to a Heart
for Business. This is episode number eight. I'm here in
the WSPD Penitentiary where Fred Leafever is serving forty years
of his life sentence forty five for crimes against Radio.
Crimes against Radio. We are happy to have two guests today.
In the first part of this episode will be featuring
(00:55):
Vicky Rose. I call her Queen Victoria from SPC Products
Products SPC. She's already giving me the finger, the index finger.
It's on video. Remember you have to get it right right,
PC Specialty Product.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
SPC Specialty Products.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Well CSPC stand.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
For it's the acronym for the company that was previously Okay, yep.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Alright, like KFC, all right, something like that.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
We can get into that later.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Okay, Welcome Vicky thank you, Lane. How long has it
been since you've been in a radio studio? You told
me a little bit about your past.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Since nineteen eighty four.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
It's how long I've been in the studio since nineteen eighty.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
There you go. So we're almost the same.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Now. You did a little bit of college radio.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I did. What did you take in college broadcasting?
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
You did community. I have my BA and communications with
the minor.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
And we're headed that way.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I was what you did broad put the broad in.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
That's good, Lane. What detoured you? I? I I basically
gave up on my dream because I did film production
as well and advertising in New York City. And then
(02:24):
just I decided to take the easy way out, and
I asked my father for a job, who owned his
own company based right here in Toledo, Ohio, and and
he said, okay, Vicky, if you want to work for me,
you have to leave New York City. And you have
two choices of where to go. You could either go
(02:46):
to Philadelphia or Baltimore. And he said, you know what,
you'd really like Philadelphia. And I'm like, great, I'll move
to Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Even W. C. Fields didn't like Philadelphia.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
You know what, he probably he was probably right. I
would have probably liked Philly. But I moved to Baltimore,
and uh, and there you have it.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
That doesn't sound like the easy Usually it took the
that doesn't sound like the easy way out, you know.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
And then after I so, you know, the the New
Yorker poster, you know where it's, you know, New York,
and then LA and then nothing yet. So when I
moved to Baltimore, I definitely felt like, you know, art
imitating life, and I was definitely living the New Yorker
poster and hated Baltimore at the at first, but then
(03:36):
I loved it. I grew to love it.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Did you like what you were doing?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's another story. So I went from advertising in film
production really cool, sexy, and then I started selling chemicals
to middle aged men in steel mills and fire power plants,
right exactly. So that's that was a big change. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Vicky also has a secret. She doesn't, I don't think,
want to share or she's yeah. She when she was
in TV production, she was a stand in for a
certain famous actress on a daytime soap. Would you like
to would you like?
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yes? I was Susan Lucci that's who I was gonna guess. Yeah,
same coloring, same yeah, yep, exactly, yep.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Oh how cool?
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah twice.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
So, Susan, how did you get into selling chemicals? You mean,
Vicki whatever, same difference, the same.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Difference except for the lighting. So how I got into
selling chemicals? Basically it was the family business. My father
started his company, which was called Syntech Products Corporation, which
is where the ACRONYMSPC comes from. He started it out
of the basement of our house in the mid seventies.
(04:54):
I don't want to date myself. And then he grew it,
bought a building downtown and hired bunches of people and equipment.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And about I've met Vicki's dad, Jimmy Rose, and so
he probably some people listening from this area will know him.
Where's your place located.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
On Woodruff and Canton, one block west of Cherry Street.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Okay, And Vicky's a lot like yeah, Jimmy's a lot
like Josh Luckin as far as energy level, her dad
has a tremendous energy level.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Yeah, he's eighty eight years old. So, and when my
parents are they are snowbirds now. So when my parents
come up to Toledo for the summer. They my father
works with me, so it's a father daughter team. He's
eighty eight years old. Eighty eight years young and very
(05:51):
proud of him.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
And yeah, he's so he still has a passion for
the business that he started in his basement.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yes, he he loves talking to people. He's a people person.
He's very charming. He's got still a glint and a
glimmer in his eye and people love him.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Have you how much of that have you inherited from him?
A lot? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, I have a passion.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Do you have? Because the whole show is about the
heart for business and the passion. Did you develop a
passion for the business because it didn't sound like you
really were thinking about doing that.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I never I never thought in my wildest imagination, number one,
that I would ever move back to Toledo, and number
two would ever. I'm like, I'm not, I don't I'm
not a business person. I don't own I'm not a
person that owns a business. And now, but surprise, I
am so. And my superpower is an ability to create
(06:52):
friendships with people and relationships with people, and so my
customers from the steel mill when I worked and I
lived and worked in Baltimore. I still am friends with
them over twenty five years later.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Now, have you ever seen the movie Tommy Boy.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I'm sorry I haven't.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Okay, but it's about It's about a dad who started
a business and he wants his son to be in
the business. But his son is just a it's.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Chris Farley, right, he's in there, do well.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, but he has an ability all right, which you
just said something that struck me. He has an ability
to make that contact with people because he's very likable
and he wants to please them and give them what
they want when it comes to the service. Have you
developed that over these years?
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Yes, people, I'm not the cheapest. I'm not the only
distributor of the problem repair. However, people really like doing
business with me. I have customers I deal with m
dot up in Michigan, and I have an m dot
(07:59):
guy that literally you said to me, oh, I want
to buy more stuff from you so that you can
keep coming around. Now, why is that because I'm likable?
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Okay, but I mean that's a reasonable reason.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
That's a reason it likable because I'm likable.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
That's a gift if you have that gift.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Yeah, people, I do. I have a superpower. People kind
of like like me the first minute they meet me.
So so there's.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
An honesty to your answers and everything to you. So
you must carry that through your relationships with your clients.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yes, Fred, you can see why I liked Vicky's business.
It's like we love generational businesses and the BBB. I
know you you like that too, Oh, Gusha, you know,
I love to see when a business that starts in
Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan stays in Northwest Ohio or
Southeast Michigan through the generations. You know, that's one of
(08:51):
the biggest threats we face, is that outside money will
buy companies and take them over in this area. So
I love it when the family sticks with it. You know, Yes,
that's important.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
And so I'm a second generation family business or my businesses,
and I'm it's also a woman owned business, not that
that should mean anything anymore, but you know.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well, we hope we get to the point where that's
not Oh you know, Vicky is the first woman to
own this business. Where we get to the point where
that's not important.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
But isn't that a lovely It's it's.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
Important in that you are an example. And do you
mentor other young ladies? I mean, do they understand that
they could get into this business then, because it's not
necessarily an option for a lot of women.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Correct. I to tell you the truth, I feel like
I'm kind of like flying under the radar. R. Yeah.
So I've not had the opportunity to mentor other young
women in business. However, I would really love the opportunity
to do that. I think that I bring a lot
of experience, different types of experiences. I also I did
(10:02):
I also sold tankless water heaters HVAC. Really, yeah, yes,
I've done I've I have done a few.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
You're going against type a little bit vicky. So a
lot a lot of women owned businesses would not necessarily
be in the pro We're going to talk about those
here in just a second. We're going to get to
what We're going to get to what you sell, provide whatever.
But the listener's going to hear that, and they're not
going to immediately think that wouldn't be a woman owned business.
I do want to talk about that, sure.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
So tell us, Okay, what do you want to know?
Speaker 2 (10:35):
What is SPC Specialty Products All about.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
What is the specialty product exactly?
Speaker 3 (10:40):
So what I inherited from So my father's company, Sintech
Products Corporation, we did dust control on unpaved roads, so
we were in heavy industry, so steel mills, coal fired
power plants, nuclear power plants, trucking operations, railroad odes. And
(11:01):
seven years ago my father and his business partners sold
ninety five percent of the business to our largest competitor,
and I was able to retain just like the small
like the nugget, the nugget which was the chemicals, the
cleaners that they didn't know that we had. But so
though I inherited a line of cleaners and products to
(11:27):
service the nuclear power industry.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Wow, cleaners.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
So what was so so for decontamination of low levels
of nuclear radiation? And so so I did. So I'm
a manufacturer of cleaners. I have full capability of toll blending.
We've got mixed tanks, We've got a whole kind of
(11:52):
plant at five twenty East Woodroff Avenue, toled Ohio for three.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Six so Ford.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
So this is something I would use at home. These
are home cleaners. Are industrial cleaners?
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Correct? Yes, yep, yep. So, so that's what that's initially
what I inherited from Sintech. The problem, well, the issue
when I first got into business, like my nut or
my my sales were one hundred thousand dollars let's say
a year, but my nut was one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
So I was a kind of a good business model.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
No so again, so I uh so, thank goodness. Like
a year after I founded the company, I ran into
this product called Aquafault, which is this water activated permanent
pothole repair, and we started distributing it in October of
twenty eighteen, and six years later I am known as
(12:55):
the lady that sells a lot of aquafores.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
So where did this come from?
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Is it American base or did it come from Europe?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
So it was originally developed in Germany, and uh it
was brought over to the United States and it's manufactured
here in Charlottesville, Virginia, Okay, and I have a great
working relationship with Aquafal. They're real old school there. They
provide tremendous support and it's a wonderful product. It literally
(13:24):
it's the easiest product I've ever sold because it literally
does what it what I say it does, So it
makes me look really.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
I'm curious. You know, you sell vacuum cleaners. You throw
dirt on somebody's rug and you show them how well
the you know, vacuum cleaner works. How do you prove
to people selling it to like municipalities, that it works.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
We do demos, we do free demos. We'll go anywhere
for a demo area.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Like if I'm driving on the road, was I don't
know down Ice seventy five.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Or yet District two in the in the Lucas count
and this air Williams County, Lucas County, Wood County. They
all use it.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
So you've so far you only described it as aquafalt,
But what is it? Cold patch?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Or it is a water activated permanent pothole repair which
contains permanent Yes, yes it has a lot of people
tell me that, yes, and but this really is and
it's proven to be. So the difference between traditional cold
patch and aquaphalt is that aquaphalt contains no asphalt or petroleum,
(14:36):
so it's so it's unaffected by freeze thaw cycles. There's
also a so it's a water activated binding agent and
tac coat, so it sticks to anything. It sticks to
asphalt concrete metals.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Really, so it sounds like you're making this up as
you go along.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Anyway. Sounds very official, yes, but it is so so again,
traditional asphaltic materials they tend to pick up on tires
even in extreme heat. They get it gets meldy and
it gets flexible, and then if it gets flexible, then
(15:18):
it blows out the aqua fault because it contains. Again,
no asphalt or petroleum is unaffected by extreme temperatures, so
there's no freeze thought cycle that it is that it's
affected by, so it just stays there.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
So Lucas County is using it. Other counties in northwest Ohio.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Yes, Cuyahoga County, Lake County engineers.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Are there any cities around here that we'd recognize A
City of Mommy?
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yep, they were one of They were actually one of
my first customers, Bob Simon, City of Mommy.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Does the city of use it yet?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
No? They do not. Well they've tried it, but you know,
they just choose not to use it.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
All right, Well, I'm going to have you on my
show to talk about that. I don't know that I
want to get into that, but sure, so is it
a is it a chemical compound that you're using then,
because you said there's no asphalt in it.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
No, the only so there's a binding agent that is
water activated or moisture activated. So the binding agent is
made of rape seed oil, which is a cousin to
canola oil. And and that's basic. That's the secret sauce
seriously cereal.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
And they've been using this in Europe for how.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Long twenty five years on the autobot.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Is it more environmentally friendly because it's not petroleum?
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Absolutely, there's absolutely no runoff. There's there's no petroleum runoff.
Even asphalt roads have runoff because there's there are oils
and hydrocarbons. But the aqua fault it is eco friendly.
Isn't that amazing? You think that, oh eco friendly, that
(17:06):
means it doesn't work. No, this is really it is
a very effective product. So effective that so when I
first started selling it in Michigan, and we all know
the state of the roads in Michigan, right at first,
they're like no, no, no, no, they are. I sell
a lot of aqua fault to school districts in Michigan,
(17:29):
the Detroit Public Schools Utica Public Schools, which is the
second largest school district in the state of Michigan. I
just received a request for quotation. They're going to order
more material, and.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
How do they use it in their parking lots?
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Parking lot? It's correct, yes, correct.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
So if I'm a small business in Toledo, like a
shopping center, yes, and well I'm the one I'm thinking
of is Great Eastern Shopping Center. They've been told that
they have to fix everything out there. And part of
their problem out there, because I drive through it every day,
is their giant parking lot, which is a huge, huge mess.
That's the kind of job you could undertake.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
Yes, I can supply the product. I don't. I don't
do any of the repair. However I can. I do
have clients that are like you know, seal coating companies, okay,
and they buy it and I can always partner with them. Also,
the city of Oregon has been using the product for
(18:32):
and they.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Just redid KOI not that long ago. And when they
used it on KOI because now drive up.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And don't they do not do it is not cost
effective to actually pave Okay. So when you know, so
the thing about you know, asphalt plants, they go they
shut down for the winter so the only product available,
only product available has always traditionally been cold patch, which
(19:02):
is a temporary fix, right, so very temporary, very temporary,
like very template.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
So so that's kind of like the niche of aqua
fault because even though it is technically a cold patch,
but it's a permanent cold patch, all right.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
So as an example, I drive down East Broadway every day.
They cold patched it all last year, it's a wreck.
This year you're it's like playing Frogger on the way home.
So you go in or you sell them the product,
and the company comes in, uh and cold patches everything
with the aqua fault, and then they decide at some
(19:41):
point to go ahead and repave the whole road. They
pull up everything, right, the aqua fhalt and all that
other stuff. But until they do that, the aqua FLT,
as you say, is permanent.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yes, so sometimes, and I've talked with ODOT guys about this,
so you know, if they know that they're going to
be repaid a stretch of road, they don't want to
use something so expensive, right like aquafault, so they would
then you know, then there is definitely a use for
cold patch. There's an application for cold patch. But it's
(20:14):
just not every application and vice versa. There's an application
for aquafault, but it's not design to completely get rid
of the cold patch right.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Well, and I can see where a municipality that knows
they're going to say redo each broadway, yes, next year,
it would be ridiculous for them to go ahead and
put the aqua fault down because they're going to redo
the whole road anyhow. But if they know they don't
have the budget and it's not as bad as it looks,
they could aqua fault any hole that they see correct
(20:48):
or pothole that they see, and it would be a
good fix to last for well quite a few years,
I would imagine.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Yes, So there's actually for the aqua fault. There's a
three year manufacturer's warranty on the product and aqua fault. Fully,
if there's ever a failure, and most likely if there
is a failure, it's the application, it's the installation. It's
not the product, Okay.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Spoken like every product supplier I've ever encountered in construction, Yes,
it's always it's always the labor.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yes, so that's so cruel but true.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Actually, guess what the labor says Vicky. Guess what the
labor says about that.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
It's the crappy product.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
So, Vicky, I'm probably going to run short on time
here pretty soon. Yeah, there's another product I want you
to talk about. I know we don't have a lot
of time, but I want you to talk about the
non salt messes that really intrigued me.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
So so part of syntech what we also did. We
also had anti icings. So my father was able, so
we were a forerunner of like brine. So we so
we kind of like instituted and introduced, you know, wedding agents.
(22:02):
So liquid de icer, okay, to the turnpike, the Ohio Turnpike,
Indianatol Road, Da da da da da. So but again
that business was sold. However, I have a granular de
icer that I sell to nuclear power plants that contains
absolutely no chlorides. Oh So, chlorides, as people may or
(22:25):
may not know, you know, create corrosion. So for nuclear
power plants, they can't have any chlorides because they it
runs the risk of corrosion on critical stains.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Like it leaches into the ground and gets to the
underground piping or just spray up on outside metal.
Speaker 3 (22:47):
And yeah, yeah, okay, yep. So so, so I do
have a product that is non chloride, that that is
an effective product like from like twenty degrees and above.
And it does not it doesn't rust, it doesn't spall concrete,
it doesn't eat concrete, it doesn't eat asphalt.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
How is it on the surrounding landscaping, the grass and
the shrubs and things like that?
Speaker 3 (23:15):
I believe it to be fine?
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Well, yes, So who's your client base? Municipalities, villages, township,
towship districts. Nobody can just walk in and say hey,
I want that incorrect?
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Okay, so we thank you. So we sell to homeowners,
we sell to landscapers absolutely, and we're more competitive. We're
priced very competitively and we always have product on hand.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
How do they get a hold of you? You give
me the website again and any contact info.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
It's SPC. That's Sampaul Charlie Specialty Products dot com s
p C Specialty Products dot Com. Phone number local is
four one nine two one nine nine one three nine.
My email address sure Vicky v I c k I
at s ISN sam PS and Paul cs in Charlie
(24:19):
s is in sam psnpaul dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Down to his science.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Not the first, No, So Vicky, I'm super glad to
have you on. You're a little bit of a non
traditional business for the Better Business Bureau, we've had a
couple of those, actually, Gift of Life Circus he was
another non traditional business. Only by that only, but what
I mean by that is most people assume, as Better
Business Bureau businesses are only retail or consumer oriented, and
(24:47):
you're a B to B business. Yes, there are a
lot of businesses in our area that you use the
term fly below the radar, fly under the radar. There
are a lot of good, important businesses in our area
that are just like that. They're not front and center
in the consumer's mind or in the public eye. They
perform a very important function to our area's economy. So
I just want to thank you for being on.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Yeah, thank you so much for the invitation.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I enjoyed, sir, I enjoyed our conversation and.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
A little song and dance, a little seltzer down your pants.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
That's right, right, And Vicky is going to be a
guest on my show in the very near future. I
can tell you that right now.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
You know, our area has over forty thousand businesses. Some
are old, some are new, but they all have a
story to tell about why they sell, how someone took
a chance once upon a time, someone with a heart
for business. Hi, this is Lane Monts, the host of
the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We know
a thing or two about our area's companies, after all,
we've been keeping tabs on them since nineteen nineteen. Join
(25:45):
me in Toledo radio legend Fred lea Fever every week
as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and share
a few industry secrets along the way. Welcome back to
the program. Laying here with Fred Lafeever second part of
the program, Episode eight. Guests for the second episode Brian
Belts of the Findley Beltzes of Late Right. Brian, Welcome
(26:06):
to the program. Thank you, Thank you so Brian. Fred
does not know you. Fred is from Toledo, Michigan, Wall
Bridge area now, but I'm from Finley. As I keep
pointing out to the audience, no one cares, really, but
I care.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
I care so and the people in Finley care and
the people in.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Finley care, and that's very important to me.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Finley Boy done well for himself. That's how we're looking.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
At so I knew I wanted to do something with
a podcast. Back in the fall. By the way, the
staff took me to Dietz's ice Cream in Finley for
my birthday, which is October thirtieth, I'll see you there again.
And whilst whilst the staff and I were there, I
ran into none other than Brian Belts and I began
to lay the foundations. I wanted to do something with
Belts because it's a long standing name in Finley. It's
(26:48):
kind of a famous family. True Brian Well, I don't
know if we could say famous infamous maybe maybe, So Brian,
tell us about you got you're wearing. The shirt says
Belts Home Service Company, not the Belt's business. I knew
growing up. Tell tell the audience what's different and what
Belt's Home Service is all about.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
So we just do electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling service
and repair for customers in their homes and their residential homes.
And it's a far cry from the family business that
started back in the forties. My grandfather started a clothing
company and so he sold suits and ties to business
(27:29):
people and now we do plumbing and electrical and heating
and cooling.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Okay, I got a lot of questions right off the
bat here.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Brian, hold on to I want to add something. Get
your questions lined up for Brian for rapid shot fire
at Brian. But if you know anything about Finley, you
know that the South Main Street in Finley has a
whole bevy of beautiful Victorian homes built during some of
them were built during the gas era, and the Belt's Home,
(27:58):
the Belt's Home is one of the most famous, most
iconic homes just off of the downtown, just south of
the downtown.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Now, this is not my home.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yeah, I know. I know because because clothing double wide,
clothing paid better than mechanical does now, right, clothing in
the forties must have paid better. It's a beautiful it's
a beautiful, iconic home. And so when I saw Brian
at deetzis my favorite place in Findlaydetza's, I knew that
I wanted to get you on. And also the reason is, Brian,
(28:25):
as I've been going back to Findley and in Hancock County,
I noticed these billboards and these other advertisements popping up
with Belts Home Services, home service company, and I thought,
that's not familiar to me. But you're all over the place.
Tell what's going on.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
We have been growing like crazy for the last six
seven years and that is a big part due to
my wife, co owner of the business. She has a
marketing background and graphic design background, and she took what
little we were doing and marketing and really just blew
(29:01):
it up.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
It's on billboards. I see trucks right, I go into
I go into Older's Mexican restaurant. Your cards are all
over the corkboard there. I mean, it seems like it's relentless.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Somebody knows what they're doing.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Yes, not you, Brian, Well he knows a little bit
because you mentioned that you're an electrical plumbing in HVAC.
I don't want to keep being a dead horse, but
I was in construction for some period of time, and
I can tell you sometimes you find plumbing in HVAC
licenses together. And if you don't know in the listening audience,
(29:34):
Ohio does require state licenses for all those specialty mechanical trades,
and the state licenses are hard to get and the
background is rigorous and the testing is rigorous. So sometimes
you see plumbing in HVAC together. You almost never see
all three trades in the same company. So that's something
I find very intriguing and I want to hear more
(29:55):
about that. Sure.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
So as soon as I left high school from Finley,
I went into the Navy, and I was electrician. In
the Navy, I worked on a small destroyer ship and
we had a small engineering department and we worked on
all of the equipment, all of the engines and the
plumbing systems as well as the electrical and that's just
the way we did things. This was a small group.
(30:19):
When I got out of the Navy, I started working
for a residential service company doing the same thing i'm
doing now, and they did all of the trades. And
so my boss at the time said, we do you know,
you need to learn all of these systems because they
all work together within a house and you need to
know all of them. And so I was just young
enough dumb enough to think, okay, right, that's just what
(30:45):
we do. But that really benefited the customers because if
they liked me and trusted me in the home, they
didn't have to call somebody else to fix all of
other things in the house.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
So I'll give you an example. I'm going to put
a gas powered heater in my garage. My water main
comes into my garage instead of my basement. I don't
know why they did that. It's a problem when the
temperature gets down to like zero degrees, absolutely right, So
I'm going to have to put a thermostadded gas blower
in the garage. So the plumber is going to hard
(31:15):
pipe it in. They might install the unit, but when
it comes time to energize it, they're going to say,
you need to get electrician in here to hook it up.
And that is a pain in the patuity to have
to locate a second professional. Do you actually have all
three of those licenses? I do?
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I do? Wow, you're smart.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Well, that's debatable. That is unusual. So how often do
you find that you're on projects where more than one
of those trades is going to be present in the projects.
Speaker 4 (31:46):
It's pretty rare within Ohio to have the multiple licenses.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
No, no, no, no. When you go into a project in
a home or a business, how often does that project
require more than just one of the three licenses? In
other words, like you're doing electrical plus h VAC or
you're doing electrical plus plumbing or whatever. How often does
that happen? Oh? All the time? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
I mean because they're all mechanical systems and like I said,
they all work together.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Yeah, they all tie in at some point. So is
this cause because the name services in here? It's just
something I would uh like, I've just bought a house
from Walbridge, Uh just moved in before the beginning of
the year. So if I wanted electrical work done, I
call you. But do you also work in like new construction.
(32:35):
Are you like a subcontractor.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
We don't know.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
We okay, we only do service, repair and replacement. It's
it's pretty well emergency service. And that's why you see
us all around all the time, because we're not on
large construction projects or new construction or remodels or things
like that.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Okay, that's that's what I was curious about. Why it
was called home service. So you go out when I
need a plumbing problem or like, well, I just bought
a water heater not that long ago, so you'd be
the guys that would come out. And as Lane said,
you're in my garage, you're putting in the water heater
and maybe you saw something, you know, with the electrical
or with the air conditioning. You could point it out.
(33:14):
But you could also take care of it for me
right away. Absolutely, Okay, got it. Now, I know what
you do, and it really is pretty rare.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
If you find a subcontractor a plumber, electricity, electrician, HVAC
and they do new construction, they frequently do not do
the service and vice versa. There are different skill sets,
they're different margins that have to be covered because you're
doing emergency services, so that is more just like getting
a tetanus shot at the emergency room is more costly
(33:41):
than going to your family doctor, right right. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:44):
All of the things break at inopportune times, and it's
nothing that you wake up and think.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
I'm going to.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Purchase a new water heater today or have an electrician out.
It's just things that don't work or cause problems and
then they call us.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Is it conscious on your part when you decided to
get into this business, that that's what you would focus
on as opposed to going into new construction.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
No.
Speaker 4 (34:09):
No, Just when when I got out of the Navy
and started working for the service company, I loved the
daily challenge. My dad would disagree because they used to
complain to him. You know when I started that that
I hated it every day.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
But that's a theme that we're hearing a lot every day.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
I did because it was there was always something new
every day, and I thought, my gosh, am I ever
going to learn?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
And am I ever going to.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
Have something repeat? Because in people's homes, the problems are
always unique to that home. Yes, yeah, But ultimately I
liked I liked helping people, and I liked the challenge
of solving somebody's, uh, somebody's problem.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
And then it's new every day it is, so it's
like going on a new job every single day.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
It's still new every day.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
And and that was a mindset as soon as I
shifted my mind to whatever the problem is, it's going
to be new. I probably haven't seen it before, but
I'll solve it, okay, and things what's me?
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Yeah? See that makes that makes that makes a lot
more sense. Now as owner of the company, how many
employees do you have because emergencies, you got to be
ready twenty four to seven. You never know when somebody's
heat is going to go out or a pipe is
going to break or something like that.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
That's right, We don't, I mean, we can we can
predict pretty close to when when things will break.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Really, yes, but most of.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Them are are weather related.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
Okay, but we have twenty some trucks out on the
road and we've got I think forty four employees all together.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Yeah. I wasn't joking Fred when I said they're all
over They're all over the place. I mean, that's pretty
big for a mechanical subcontractor and service.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
So you must do more than just Findly. Then what's
your area of coverage.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
We we just.
Speaker 4 (35:54):
Acquired a company out of Genoa. Oh looking at your shirt?
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Oh yeah, Noah Banks shirt.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Yeah, don't you know him?
Speaker 1 (36:02):
Marty Sutter gave me this personally forty fifth anniversary.
Speaker 4 (36:07):
So we had so we've expanded up into that area.
We've got a fifty mile radius right now from from
the nucleus of Finley.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Is there enough I'd never think of Findley as a
big place, but I know it's a pretty good size city.
Is there enough business in Finley for all the trucks
you have?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Yes? Yeah, Finley takes care of one of the One
of the things about Findley is it's not a suburb. Obviously,
it stands alone, but Finley generally takes care of its properties.
That's always been something about Finley. It's a decently well
off community overall, and it just takes care of its property.
So some some communities don't want to spend the money
(36:48):
on service and upkeep. But Finley's I think pretty good
for that.
Speaker 4 (36:51):
Yeah, Finley and the surrounding areas hancott County, Wood County, Ottawa. Yeah,
so a lot of those areas, I mean, but things
break every day.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Well, yeah about it. I just bought a house.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
The furnace goes out when it's like either the air
conditioner goes out when it's one hundred degrees and the
furnace goes out when it's zero. That is the way
it is for sure.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
So other than the service, do you also carry? So
obviously you have parts if you need a new air conditioner,
if you need a new water heater, what are the
hookups that you guys have so that you can handle
all that.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
So we have a great warehouse and a consignment system
with some vendors, So we have a lot of furnaces,
air conditioners, water heaters, bigger, bigger items in the warehouse
so we can do same day or next day replacements.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
See that's good to know because the.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
Work the trucks roll out with enough parts and materials
onto there to take care of probably eighty percent of
the jobs on the spot.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Okay, yeah, that's pretty helpful. Yeah, Brian, what's something that
you would want you know, we've got consumers and businesses
listening in people in businesses. What's something that you would
want them to know about your industry that you wish
that they knew or you'd always try to tell them
and convince them, but you can tell they don't always
listen or want to hear it. But what's something that
some good advice you would want to give.
Speaker 4 (38:15):
The good advice I would say is get your kids
into the trades.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Yes, that's going to be happening more and more, I
think it is. It's it's it's coming back faster now.
But the rate at which people in the trades are
retiring versus the people that are coming into the trades,
it's five to one right now. So forever five people
that are retiring, only one is coming into the trades.
And we have an apprenticeship program, and a lot of
(38:42):
other companies you know around have apprenticeship programs as well,
where you can bring somebody into the trades and they
can learn on the job, get paid and and have
a career with no debt.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
So really that's the best way to do it.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
Are there is there? There are classroom requirements as well,
are there not? Those for those licenses and those trades,
all of them? I think? Yes?
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Do you work with the places like and I forget
what the other one is called, like Penter Career Center
and the five County whatever it's called, the other one
Try County Try is it? Try?
Speaker 4 (39:14):
And Counting Sentinel over in Tiffin and no Stream that
we work with and down in Finlay.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Yes we do.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
So what's the drawback? What is keeping these kids away?
Because I've talked about this on there a lot that
you know they need to look at this as a route.
Would you have taken this route if you weren't the Navy?
I don't.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I don't think so.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
So would you suggest that maybe kids get into the
armed forces and you know, find a like a career niche.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
By the way, every time I ask a former military
person about that question, and would you would you recommend
they make the same face that you just made. You
weren't facing the camera when you made it, Brian, But
it's the same face. Is ambivalence?
Speaker 4 (39:58):
Typically it is uh, I was a typical high schooler. Okay,
and uh, and I needed some I needed some structure
in my life, let's just say that, right. And the
military provided that okay for sure when I needed it.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
So, but you probably wouldn't have been this unless you
had been in the service and done what you did
in the service.
Speaker 3 (40:19):
No.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
In fact, my so my mechanical ability. My dad tells
me a lot that my grandfather, who started the clothing business,
he would he would pay somebody to change a light bulb.
That's how much mechanical ability I had. And uh and
and really nobody in our family had mechanical abilities.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Well once again, Fred, once again, Fred Beltz was located
right downtown near Marathon. There were a lot of Marathon
and Cooper executives that needed very nice clothing, and that
was the go to place. Am I correct? That is correct?
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Yeah, it's hard to shop in the dark though.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
So so how did you come by this then? Did
you just after you got out of the navy. Did
you just gravitate towards this and then build the passion
force so that you said, Okay, you know, one day
I'm going to start my own company.
Speaker 4 (41:06):
H No, I just I when I was working for
the service company out of the Navy. I I was young,
I had a younger family, broke just in that phase
of life, and I wanted to make more money. And
I remember the boss telling me that I made as much, right,
you know, he couldn't pay me anymore and I wouldn't
make any more working for somebody else. And so that
(41:29):
was when I had an entrepreneurial seizure and decided I
would start my own business.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
And now you're living a life of self inflicted wounds.
Speaker 1 (41:37):
Yes, do you like what you do? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (41:39):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I love it. What is it? What is it that
you like? I mean, you said you got used to
the fact that it's a new job every day, But
is there more to it than that.
Speaker 4 (41:48):
Well, and in my role now within the company, I'm
not out hands on.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
Every day, so I get, you know.
Speaker 4 (41:55):
A lot of fulfillment on seeing the light bulbs go
off in our employees and the and so I enjoy
growing those people and also interacting with, you know, within
the community.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
I'm glad you said that, because I was going to ask,
do you mentor all all of your new employees and
explain to them, Look, here's the opportunities. Here's how you
can reach that goal.
Speaker 4 (42:14):
Yeah, we give them, give them all the tools and
and so when I was capped at the job before
I started the business, it's it's one of the lines
that we talked about with every employee that you'll never
be capped. You can if money is your motivator, you
can make as much money as you want working.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Sure. Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
So I want to circle back to Fred's question about
what stopping people from going into the trades, and I
do think it's the worm is turning, so to speak,
high schools, Fred, high schools where it became more fashionable
for the suburbs to produce college bound high school graduates.
And it's in college app I mean, I'm a college guy.
(42:55):
It's absolutely the right course for some people. It's absolutely
the wrong course for others, especially a four year college
is very expensive. It's very expensive, and it can you
can have a great career in the trades. And man,
does society ever need them.
Speaker 4 (43:10):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (43:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:12):
I feel that we've met with a lot of schools
and a lot of teachers and and some of the
trade trade schools as well, and really it's the parents
that's where we need to focus. Because the kids are
are impressionable either way, and really in high school, they
don't know what they want to do. You know, we're
asking with your life and they don't know. But if
(43:34):
the parents can be influencers of the kids, you know,
to to look at the trades and do ride alongs
and and try different things out, that's well.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
And I think I think part of that too is
because we've again we've talked about this on my show,
is they need to give it a try. I think
it was one of the home improvement shows on PBS.
I think it was in Maine, someplace out east where
they get all of the construction people and all of
the service people together and like for a week, all
(44:04):
the schools come out and they have things set up
so that you get to try out what drilling a
hole in cement would be like. You get to try
out using a nail gun is like, you get to
try out what wiring would be like. And once they
get their hands in there, like you and the Navy,
once they get their hands in there and they realize,
(44:25):
oh man, this is a blast. I could do this.
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Yeah, and they have confidence as well, they go, oh
I can do this exactly.
Speaker 1 (44:31):
Yeah, I can do this.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Yeah, I'll give a shout out to the Kendri Buchanan
at the home Builders Association. They put on If I
think this was their second year, they're going to come
up on their third. It's called Build My Future in
its event. It's an event that's held at the Wood
County Fairgrounds in the pavilion, the New Pavilion, and it's
exactly that they brings exactly. They bring in cranes, they
(44:53):
bring in equipments, concrete drills, drywall, masonry, and high school
students are busted in from all around the area and
they get to try that stuff out. I don't know, Brian,
have you done that by chance?
Speaker 4 (45:03):
We've done that locally and not at Wood County, but
within Finlay and Hancott County.
Speaker 2 (45:08):
Do they have a Build My Future event.
Speaker 4 (45:09):
It's not an actual Build My Future event, but we
have worked with the Raised the Bar Association. We've been
out at fairgrounds and different events where we'll take displays
where people can can get hands on with our candidates,
our candidates, finding work candidates that you're one of your
big challenges, finding people to come into the company and
(45:30):
learn the trade.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
No, I don't feel like we're.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Having that big of a chance. I mean, we always
need more technicians, yeah, to come in. But the we're
getting we're getting a lot of flow of people from
from our existing yeah.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah. Because the best example of it is somebody who's successful.
So you take one of his guys who's making a
good wage. Yeah, you know, got his own car, buying
a house, got a family and everything. You send him
to career day at high school and he gets up
and forget about how hard it work. Here's what my
paycheck looks like.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
And they're not waiting four to six years to get
into it either. They're making money right away.
Speaker 4 (46:10):
We're getting them from from some of the trade schools, okay,
like Satin Know, we have a couple guys that came
from there. And we're also getting people that are just
changing careers and they may be working in a factory
or or doing some other job and and and so
we'll train them up. So we're not getting the people
that are that have thirty years of experience right within
(46:31):
the trades.
Speaker 2 (46:32):
But yeah, you're bringing them up. That's good. That's a
good way to do it. So, Brian, we're gonna close
the program here. We like to keep it relatively short
and punch you so we don't drone on. But is
there anything else you want to leave us with regarding
Belts Home Service, or your origin story, or your superpower,
however you want to put it.
Speaker 4 (46:50):
We are We're just we're one of you know, there's
lots of great options out there, lots of great companies
to get service done at your house. We're we're just
one of them, and our goal is to give people
options and educate them and take care of them the
best we can.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
How do they get a hold of you?
Speaker 4 (47:09):
They can go to our website Belts Home Service dot com.
That would be the best place.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
To b e ltz. That's Belts Home Service dot com.
Speaker 2 (47:21):
Brian, thanks so much for making the drive up from
Finlany great to see you. Thank you, thanks for your story,
absolutely take care.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
Thanks for joining us for this edition of a Heart
for Business sponsored by the BBB. You can listen and
subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from, and we hope
that you'll do it At iHeartRadio. You can actually download
the free app and set a Heart for Business as
one of your presets, just like you would on your
(47:49):
car radio. That way, you'll never miss an episode for
lane months. I'm Fred Lafever. Thanks for joining us again
this week. A new episode will drop on Wednesday, the
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