Grow With The Bros

Episode 18: Gaining Traction

How Can Your Business Gain Traction?

For us, reading the book Traction : Get A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman, played a large role in our business gaining traction. Focusing on key problem areas business owners struggle with and offering implementable solutions. Traction allowed us to gain some really useful nuggets on management, level 10 meetings, how to handle issues, data and so much more. 

On this episode, we have Brian Altmann the owner of DBS Remodel, and our mentor as a guest! The Traction book played a big part in his business as well, especially in creating leadership teams and successful, efficient meetings. While his business has generally always been profitable, these key takeaways helped take Brian's business to the next level. This episode features a TON of amazing B2B advice and golden nuggets for business owners. 

Episode Breakdown –

00:30 Introduction Of Brian Altmann & DBS Remodel

11:30 First Time Reading Traction

12:38 Five Common Problems Business Owners Face

13:00 Problem 1 – Lack Of Control

15:27 Problem 2 – People Problems

23:15 Problem 3 – Money Problems

30:15 Problem 4 – Hitting The Ceiling

34:05 Problem 5 – Nothing Works

35:20 What Were You Hoping To Get Out Of The Book?

37:31 6 Key Areas Of Business That Need Optimizing

37:56 Key Area 1 – Vision

42:45 Core Values

44:20 Key Area 2 – People

46:32 Key Area 3 – Data

51:20 Key Area 4 – Issues

59:18 Key Area 5 – Processes

01:06:00 Key Area 6 – Traction

01:10:25 Shortening The Gap From Starting To Now?

01:16:30 Biggest Takeaways From Traction

01:20:42 At What Business Level Should You Read This?

01:22:40 Relationship With Brian

01:26:20 Appreciation Language/Customer Service

01:31:55 Clients As Our Coaches

01:34:30 Importance Of Traction To Our Growth

Episode 17: The Wives Behind The Gutter

Women In Business 

Women in business are rocking our nation, and our gutter ladies are no different. In this episode you will hear from 3 amazing "wives behind the gutter" - Jessi, Cara, and Rebecca from their perspective on being a Brothers Gutters Franchise owner. They are discussing some really important things like mother/boss lady balance, flexibility in the business, their kids within the business, their decision making process and so much more. 

These women in business all have varying role within their company, and they all have hopes and dreams for their kids. But, the best part is being able to show their kids that traditional schooling is not their only option. In fact, most of their kids already envision having their own business when they get older or being a part of the gutter business.  

Episode Breakdown –

02:30 The Decision-Making Process

08:35 What Did You Expect Your Role To Be?

11:45 Statistics For Franchise Success

17:52 Jessi’s Teaching Background Applied

20:00 Seeing Transformation In Team Members

22:37 Naysayers For The Olang’s

25:14 Cara’s Role In The Business

29:10 Transition From Hiebert Gutters To Brothers Gutters

30:31 Naysayers For The Hiebert’s

31:50 More Brains The Better

34:08 Roadmap For Desired Level Of Achievement

35:14 16 Months In – Where’s Your Business?

36:20 Closer To Life You Hoped For?

39:06 Rebecca’s Role In The Business

43:47 What Has Changed Between Then & Now?

46:12 The Support Offered

47:40 Rebecca Learns Sales

49:15 Family Life & Flexibility

55:19 Vision For Your Children?

01:02:43 Women Navigating Work/Family Balance

01:04:55 Kids Get To See A Different Path

Episode 16: The OG Veteran

From Athlete To Gutter Guy 

When Jeremiah met Rebecca (Ken and Ryan's sister), he knew that she was the lady for him. This relationship lead him down a whole different path than he would have expected. Jeremiah was an athlete, a baseball player and coach, but found himself wanting to stay in Lynchburg and create a family life for him and Rebecca. He was introduced to this gutter opportunity Rebecca's brothers had been building and took a chance on the system, before it was even a system. 

Listen to this week's episode to hear all about Jeremiah Boles' experience and story! He is the OG - Original Gutter Guy.

Episode Breakdown –

00:40 Reminiscing With Jeremiah

07:02 Jeremiah’s Life Before Brothers

10:50 Early Training

13:20 Baseball Coaching Transition

14:30 The Early “Systems”

17:00 Jeremiah’s First Job

20:42 Discouragement From Other Construction Friends

22:30 Operating With Limited Systems

27:35 10 Years Later – What’s Next

30:00 Easier To Run a 5 Truck Company That 2 Truck

31:20 Grown The Most Personally In Last 3 Years

32:50 Learning From Other Franchisees

33:56 Jeremiah Refers The Franchise Opportunity

36:54 Roofing Vs. Gutters

38:38 What Is It That Makes Them Take Next Step?

39:53 The “Looking Too Big” Myth

41:40 Qualities That Are A Good Fit For The Opportunity

49:23 Transferable Skills From Baseball

54:17 Next 5 Years?

58:00 Jeremiah Helping To Shape The System

Episode 15: Shift In The Job Landscape

Unemployment, Oversaturated Job Market, Uncertain Future - What's Next?

Unprecedented times leads to a lot of uncertainty. You are questioning the job security you once thought you had. Maybe you are on unemployment for the first time. Are you rethinking the traditional job landscape? Do you have this sense of insecurity where you could be one decision/crisis away from losing your job? A job you once thought you had security in? During this time, have you been considering new options? So many questions, so few concrete answers. But the biggest question you should be asking is, what opportunity is next?

Small Business Impact

One of the areas many may be considering during this time is business ownership. But, at the same time, small businesses are suffering greatly right now. So, are there other options? Have you considered franchising? The benefits of franchising is having a team, resources, support, and a franchisor way past the start-up phase to help you weather storms - even pandemic sized storms, while also building the security and freedom of owning your own business. Additionally, when researching franchise opportunities consider the industry. Is the business a need or a want? Is it an essential business? Previously we may not have thought much about what essential businesses are, but today we certainly are. 

In this episode we are spending some time on opportunities available to you during this time and how you can be "essential-proofing" yourself, should this happen again (or something like it like a recession)! Being prepared and proactive is key.

Episode Breakdown –

01:05 Oversaturated Job Market

04:00 What’s The Next Opportunity

06:20 Shift To Skilled Labor

08:30 Acquiring Essential Skills

09:14 Best Advice I Ever Got

10:50 Shift In Business Landscape

14:05 Small Business Impact

17:10 It’s Not Just Hard Work

19:55 Future Of Uncertainty

22:24 Freedom Illusion

24:00 A Team Makes Business Enjoyable

25:30 Lost Sense Of “Job Security”

29:00 Look At Who Wasn’t Laid Off

31:36 Systems In The World Are For Us

32:40 You Provide For You

33:40 Franchising Opportunities

35:05 A Business That’s A Need

37:20 Spend 100k+ On College Or A Franchise?

38:13 Recession Proofing

40:20 Value-Based Business

43:10 Building A Business You Can Sell

46:00 Craving Freedom

48:00 Helping Our Franchisees Survive Pandemic

50:00 Building A Reserve

51:20 Freedom Is When You Exit Startup

Episode 14: Habits Of Successful People

7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

Ever wonder if successful people have actions, hobbies, or behaviors in common? Most likely the answer is yes. So what are habits of successful people? In Stephen Covey's book, 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, he reviews this in detail. In this episode, we are not only discussing the 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People summary, but we are also digging deep into some of these habits. The first half third of Covey's book deals with the self, and how changes start within. From there he discusses habits that are more interpersonal, and relational. 

Habit Of Successful People

What are some of your daily habits or rituals? If there is a behavior that you are looking to change or maybe develop, what steps are you taking to get there? We highly recommend this read and feel it has played a big role in our personal and professional development. Take a listen to this episode as we provide a review of what these 7 habits of highly effective people are according to Covey. 

Episode Breakdown –

00:45 Deep Changes Start Within Yourself

08:00 Good Leaders Stretch Their People

08:45 What Are The 7 Habits?

09:15 First 3 Habits Focus On You

12:23 Life Priorities First & Other Priorities Line Up

12:59 Focus On what You Can Control

13:40 The Time Quadrant

17:28 Reactive Vs. Proactive – Work Goals Backwards

19:27 Becoming A Better Version Of Yourself

21:00 Invest In Yourself & It Spills Over To Team

24:54 Next 3 Habits Focus On People/Relationships

28:08 How Do You Have A Win-Win?

31:42 Emotional Bank Account

35:37 Seek First To Understand

38:20 Four Levels Of Listening

39:40 Empathetic Listening; Be In Their Shoes

42:01 Synergize

46:28 If You Can Achieve Goals By Yourself, They Aren’t Big Enough

46:57 Sharpening The Saw

52:38 Difference Between A Manager & Leader

01:07:23 Biggest Takeaways

Episode 13: Reduce Your Business To A System

What Is A System?

Business systems are designed to connect all of an organizations operational parts into steps and procedures that work together to create effective business strategy. Any business has a business process, but how effective is it? How operational is it? How much management does it take? When answering the question what is a system, consider what area of your business need to be systematized first.

Systems Thinking

Systems thinking is the idea of structuring your thinking around creating systems. What is your current business process and what parts are not working? What areas of day-to-day business need to undergo business process improvement? Or are there parts of your business that lack structure and system completely? Are development of systems within our business took time and many years, but it started with minor improvement to client complaints and daily inefficiencies that were holding our business back.

Can your business pass the “what if I wasn’t here test”? On this episode we are diving deep into business systems; how we got started, what we’ve implemented, what doesn’t work, the importance of systematization.  

Episode Breakdown -

00:40 What Are Business Systems?

01:20 All Businesses Have Systems

02:24 What Areas Of Business Need To Be Systematized?

03:30 Systems Reduce Stress

04:43 Systems Help Replace You

06:48 Organized Truck Triggers Need For Systems

10:05 The Beginning Journey Of Our Systematization

15:50 Step 1 – Put It On Paper

16:20 The E Myth Book

17:05 We Lose Money Without Processes

18:35 “What If I Wasn’t Here?” Test

22:42 What Do I Do To Make Something Better?

23:56 Systems Create Predictable Experience For Customers

24:34 Inefficiencies In Businesses Exposed

27:23 “Your Business Will Expose Where You Need Next System”

29:42 Not Fun To Be Always Be In Startup

30:30 “I Am The Only One Who Can Do It”

31:48 Job Time Studies In Field Formula

34:02 Anything Can Be Reduced To Systems

35:20 Systems Born Out Of Complaints Or Inefficiencies

36:24 Systems Need Awesome Training

38:00 Implementation – Systems Don’t Replace Management   

39:30 Measure Everything (In Marketing)!

41:38 Franchising Eliminates Pain Of Systemizing

45:12 Franchise Day 1 Looks Like 15 Years Business

49:06 Franchise % Is Less Than Sales Tax

50:06 Elimination Of Hiring Several Roles

52:00 How Long Does Creating Systems Take?

54:40 No Growth = No Opportunity

55:23 Growth Without Systems Is Very Fragile

57:18 Systems Make The World Go Round

Episode 12: The Lifecycle Of A Business

What Are Business Cycle Phases?

When it comes to any business, there are business cycle phases. The 5 business stages are launch, growth, shake-out, maturity, and decline. While some businesses may sidestep one or more of these business cycle phases, this is the general pattern they all follow. The nature of the franchising model and the resources available within it, however, allows for continued relevance of this franchise brand and business model. This typically allows for franchise owners to avoid the decline phase of business cycles. 

The Launch Phase Of A Business Cycle –

In a franchise system, the launch phase of your business life cycle is generally much quicker than if you were to invest in/launch a start-up. In this episode, we are talking to three of our Brothers Gutters Franchise Owners, Jimmy (PA), Nathan (SATX), and Luke (GA). All three of these owners are at different phases of their business cycle. Jimmy is a veteran, while Nathan is a year and change in, and Luke is one of our newest franchisees. During this episode you will get a unique perspective on business cycle phases from individuals who are all in different phases themselves within the same franchise model, all having different backgrounds.

We focus on all the business cycle phases in this discussion, but our predominate focus is on launch, growth, and avoiding decline.

Episode Breakdown –

00:50 Introduction Of Featured Franchisees

03:48 Five Stages In Lifecycle Of Business

04:42 Our Franchise Launch Phase

06:50 Review Of Each Franchisee’s Launch Phase

15:27 How Does Timetable Differ From A Startup?

19:03 How Has The Brand Played A Part?

23:18 Moving To Growth Phase

31:40 Benefit Of Corporate Location

37:44 Highlighting Featured Franchisees

42:10 Pool Of Franchisees As Mentors/Peers

47:23 Maturity & Decline Phase

48:45 How We’ve Adapted/Grown As Franchise

49:20 How Are You Avoiding Decline?

50:24 PA’s Growth Path This Year

52:42 Growth Is Not Always Revenue

54:03 Complacency Fosters Decline

55:30 Growth = Creating Jobs For Others

56:30 Taking The Mentor Seat

Episode 11: Technology Takeover

Business Technology In Today’s World

For many years we’ve been boasting that ‘robots will take our jobs’ and the technology takeover is coming. But, this hasn’t quite come to fruition… until now. With 2020’s pandemic, and stay at home conditions, we are forced to make extra use of technology. Technology today is changing every day and looks a bit different even now than it did a month or two ago. While we’ve always had all this technology at our fingertips, as a society, we haven’t always used it to its maximum capacity. Does your business strategy center around technology and adaptation? If not, you may be realizing it's time to make some quick changes.

Benefits Of Technology

At The Brothers that just do Gutters, technology has always been the center of our business systems and we make sure to stay ahead of the curve, franchise-wide, as much as possible. We are very aware of the benefits of technology, and these business technology benefits are apparent now more than ever.

How has your business been forced to change during this time? Remote workers? Digital estimates? Digital meetings? Are all of these practices new to you? Or was adaptation quite easy for your business model? Now is the time to evaluate your business strategy and begin prepping it for the technology changes to come.

In today’s episode we are diving deep into technology; the technology our system already utilizes, changes we’ve made during this time, changes we think are here for good, how we’ve learned to adapt over the years, and how being a part of a franchise system can help during unfortunate times like these. Danny Horboychuk, one of our NY salesman is our featured guest in this episode, speaking specific to sales. There are many benefits of technology and we are seeing that now in full force.

Episode Breakdown -

01:32 Technology Changes We’ve Seen Now

04:10 There’s Always Been People Who “Don’t Want To Meet”

06:07 Going Forward – Will We See More Of This?

06:52 Challenges As A Salesperson

09:09 So, Does It Become A Price Competition?

13:30 Is Zoom The New Normal?

15:05 Virtual Estimate Permeant Option Moving Forward?

16:44 Plan For Both

18:06 Our Franchise System Technology

21:30 Ken’s Remote Work In TX

24:00 Planning For “What If Moments”

26:25 Using A Drone For Estimates

32:36 How We Used To Run Our Business

36:00 Our Process Now

37:10 Technology Makes Install Questions Easier

38:05 Technology’s Only Useful If You Know How To Use It

39:17 Biggest Change During Pandemic

40:47 Response Time Even More Important Now

44:26 We All Have Access To The Same Technology

45:45 Future Proofing Your Business

47:54 Technology Updates In Franchise System

50:24 Selling As An Owner

54:40 Million Dollar Gutter Salesman

57:20 Business Owner’s Job To Stay Ahead Of Curve

01:01:47 Hard To Survive This Without A Team

01:05:10 Our Team Can Be Your Team

01:07:33 Franchising Fixes Your Frustrations

Episode 10: The Mindset Of Success

The Science If Getting Rich By Wallace Wattles

The Science Of Getting Rich By Wallace Wattles focuses heavily on a philosophy that you must give more in value than you are receiving in cash. In The Science Of Getting Rich, Wattles describes how to present this worth and ultimately “get rich” in a series of 10 steps. However, the word rich as it is used here may not be what you’d typically envision. It is important to remember that his breakdown is based on building your value with a focus on growth mindset. This is not a “get rich quick” scheme, but more of a lifestyle. One that will pay off long term.

Wallace Wattles Quotes

In this episode, Ken and Ryan review each of these steps and provide a number of extremely valuable Wallace Wattles Quotes. The Science Of Getting Rich is very in line with the mentality that Ken and Ryan were raised on. Always give more than asked of you, and never do it for monetary gain. While they both recommend this book to everyone (especially business owners), it is not for the fixed mindset, but for someone with a growth and abundance mindset.

 

Episode Breakdown –

01:56 “Givers Gain” BNI Philosophy

03:20 Give More Than You Are Receiving

05:00 With This Mentality, Ryan Got Where He Is

06:25 Be Creative Not Competitive

09:00 Attracting People With Similar Beliefs

09:53 Step One – Have A Definite Vision

11:30 The Power Of Visualization  

14:05 “1-Year From Now” Visualization Activity

15:24 Step Two – Be Creative Not Just Competitive

18:15 Step Three – Exercise Your Imagination

18:41 Step Four – Maintaining Gratitude

20:50 Inventory Of What You Have vs. What You Don’t Have

23:00 Step Five – 100% Belief

23:15 Doubt Breeds Inaction

25:26 Step Six – Make Every Day A Success

27:28 Step Seven – Getting To A Business That’s Right For you

27:40 Step Eight – Do More Than Fill Your Present Place

29:30 You Have To Become Overqualified To Advance

30:24 Examples Of This Growth With Employees in Our Company

35:16 Step Nine – Make Money Now

38:12 Knowing How To Charge For Your Value

39:24 Step Ten – Give People The Impression Of Increase

40:53 Embracing An Abundant Mentality

42:43 Not A Get Rich Scheme

46:49 We Are All A Result Of Previous Work

49:31 How Do You Determine If You Are Being Appreciated?

51:20 “I Don’t Believe You Ever Give Less”

55:40 Who Should Read This Book?

Episode 9: Handling COVID-19 As A Small Business

Small Business Survival During Coronavirus COVID-19

As much as you can plan for the growth of your business, there will always be unexpected and unplanned things that come up. A pandemic, like COVID-19, is definitely one of those “unexpected” items. But, just because it was not planned for, does not mean that you can’t spring into action and put together plans now. COVID 19 has been hard on everyone, but particularly for small business owners.

Planning During COVID 19

While, we too are navigating the situation as it arises and changes, we have implemented several things already. Making sure that the company can survive COVID-19 and all of the government shutdowns is the most important thing for us. We want to be sure that our employees have a company to come back to. But, how do we do that?

In this COVID episode, we are doing a deep dive on the questions on all small business owner’s minds right now –

• How do you survive this as a small business?
• Am I essential?
• What have we done so far?
• What can we apply for?
• How do we handle staff and overhead?
• What's the plan?

We discuss resources as well as what we have done and plan to do as we continue to monitor this pandemic situation. How you react/act during times of uncertainty can make all the difference in how your business looks coming out of the crisis.

Episode Breakdown –

00:51 How’s Franchise Development Going?

01:46 Your Company Is The #1 Thing You Need To Protect

02:40 Employees Need A Company To Come Back To

04:00 Don’t NOT Make A Decision At All

05:10 Plan Quickly & Get Counsel

06:29 Transparency With Team

07:16 Winter Shifted To April

09:23 Getting Over The Disappointment Quick

10:40 First Thing We Did As A Business

11:15 Phase 2 – Layoff Team

15:30 Sharing The Burden Of Information

16:34 Importance Of Communication With Management

17:40 In Times Of Crisis, You See What People Are Made Of

22:00 Teamwork Is Essential During This Time

26:10 Enjoy Time With Your Family

27:00 Video Updates Once A Week

27:45 Apply For & Negotiate Everything

28:39 Don’t Plan For Bailout

30:24 Time To Invest In Yourself

33:20 Parable Of The Talents

36:20 Givers Gain

Episode 8: Getting Off The Truck

Scaling A Business By Getting Off The Truck

When it comes to the service industry it can be especially hard to scale a business. A lot of contractors who own their own service business are still doing the actual work, which leaves little time for business owner tasks. When scaling a business, the first step is removing some of the hats you are wearing. If you are wearing all the hats in your service business, the first real step towards scaling a business and freedom, is getting off the truck!

How To Scale Up

Nathan Hiebert, our San Antonio, TX franchisee owned his own gutter business in Uvalde Texas for many years and was having this exact issue. He was hitting a plateau year-over-year within his business and was struggling to grow past a certain point. After much research on scaling a business, he even considered franchising his own gutter business. That was when he found The Brothers that just do Gutters and realized we had already done exactly what he was looking to do.

In this episode we talk to Nathan about the process of converting from an independent gutter business owner to a franchise gutter business owner - and his growth since doing so.

Episode Breakdown -

00:50 The History Of Hiebert Gutters

03:18 Nathan’s Trucking History

05:27 Injury Triggers The Need For Change

06:57 Should I Franchise My Business?

07:20 Nathan Finds Brothers Gutters

09:04 Why Give a % To A Franchise?

10:50 The First Meeting

14:05 Getting Off The Truck

15:17 Having Time And Money At The Same Time

17:00 How Nathan Got Off The Truck

19:00 Avoiding “Reasons Not To Grow”

20:28 Initial Struggle

21:52 From Family Name To Franchise Brand

23:25 “I Can’t Stay The Way I am & Expect Different Results.”

24:53 Nathan’s “Name Change” Process

24:40 The “You’re Not A Local Company” Misconception

28:40 What’s Different 1 Year In?

31:21 Nathan’s Future Goals

35:10 Conversions Are Quicker Franchise Startup?

37:40 If You Are ______, Then You Should Consider Converting To Franchise

38:37 Who Is Ideal For Franchising?

41:22 What Does Reinventing Contractor Service Mean?

42:30 Contact Center And Support Allowing Excellent Service

Episode 7: Action Smothers Fear

What Is Fear? 

Has fear hindered you from accomplishing goals? Has it defined you? What is the definition of fear to you? Fear is something that hinders a lot of people and stunts a lot of growth. It may stop you from accomplishing goals, and it may stop you from even entertaining the thought of going after a goal. We can either let fear hinder us and hold us back, or we can smother it with action.

What Causes Fear?

This can be different for everyone, but for most people amazing things are on the other end of fear. 

On this episode of Franchise Friday, we are tackling fear and what it means to us, as well some franchising myths, and addressing the fears around being a business owner. If you feel fear is holding you back from accomplishing our dreams, what are you doing about it? Will you let fear win and backdown, or will you step up to fear, take action and conquer it? 

Episode 6: Raving Fans

Raving Fans By Ken Blanchard

At The Brothers that just do Gutters, education is one of our core values. With that comes reading books. We've made it a part of our company culture to not only encourage the reading of books, but also require it. Our Gutter Installers are required to read books AND give book reports to their peers prior to moving up, getting a raise, or getting a promotion. Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard is just one of the required books within our field skills ladder program.

Raving Fans Book Reports

You may be reading this and thinking book reports as a requirement in this industry - how? Well, in this episode you will hear from NY's Field Operations Manager, Job Olang, on this in depth, specifically related to the Raving Fans book. He discusses when it is required reading, what a book report looks like, the difference between a satisfied customer and a raving fan, and just how important he feels reading is to the development of his guys. 

Episode Breakdown -

00:40 Introduction Of Education As Core Value

01:16 When Ken First Read Raving Fans

02:28 Why Is Education A Core Value?

04:26 On Average A CEO Of A Company Reads 1 Book A Month

05:28 How Do You Get Others To Read?

07:30 Reading Books Became A Requirement

07:43 Introduction Of Production Manager, Job Olang

09:31 Job Reads Raving Fans

10:15 Realization That His Customer Service Could Be Better

10:50 “Nobody Runs A Truck Until They’ve Read This”

12:00 How We Became Successful At Implementing Books Reading

13:10 Biggest Take Away From Raving Fans

14:50 Satisfied Clients vs. Raving Fans

17:27 The Best Reviews To Get

18:20 When The Crew First Started Reading

19:36 From Suggested Reading To Job Requirement

21:20 Books Rated More Important Than Gutter Skills

22:15 Getting New Hires On Board

23:44 Book Reports By Gutter Installers

28:10 “You Have To Dress Up” Prank…

29:20 At What Level Is Raving Fans Required & Why?

31:40 How We Go Above & Beyond For Clients

34:40 The Installation Impacts Satisfaction The Most

37:00 Creating a Language Through Education

Episode 5: Meetings Shouldn't Suck!

Having Effective Meetings Can Change Your Business

It's not uncommon for your employees or team members to dread meetings or joke about their necessity. But, have you ever stopped to think that maybe you are not running the most effective meetings? Meetings do suck is they are are not run properly. If you are wondering how to run an effective meeting, this episode is for you. Organization or having some sort of meeting planner is also ideal. In this episode we will discuss the structure of a good meeting and how we run all of ours.

Meeting Agenda

Having a meeting agenda is absolutely key. Nothing starts a meeting off worse than coming in unorganized and without a meeting planner. An agenda also helps your participants to see the overall structure and points to be hit, and follow along. 

Meeting Of Minds

When you are hosting a meeting having an effective meeting is dependent on its structure. Meeting of the minds is a key component to that meeting agenda. Meaning, allowing others to participate, discuss and maybe even present. This format is especially effective during higher level meetings, like with management teams. 

If you are not having meetings, and/or do not believe in their effectiveness, then we highly encourage that you listen to this episode entirely. By the end of it, we hope you change your mind about meetings, as we've seen them have a huge impact on our business. 

Episode Breakdown -

00:28 First Time Ryan & Ken Ever Had Meetings

01:05 Types Of Meeting We Have Regularly

01: 40 “You Guys Run Your Gutter Business Like It’s A Fortune 500”

02:30 Every Meeting Needs A PAL

04:00 Making Sure People Don’t Dread Meetings

05:30 Meetings When You Are Wearing All The Hats

06:47 Structure Of A Good Meeting

08:33 Why You Should Show Numbers In Meetings

10:37 Need To Know What Winning Looks Like

14:05 Reading Satisfaction Surveys In Meetings

15:35 Relevant Topics

16:52 Meeting Structure Recap

17:30 Field Installer “Shout Outs”

18:58 Sales Meeting Structure

22:45 Preset Goals As Basis Of Meetings

23:57 What Does A Bad Meeting Look Like

25:52 Using Restraint As An Owner In Meetings

27:56 The Culture Starts With You

28:15 Win Of The Week

29:20 Best Thing You Can Do In A Meeting

30:25 Meetings Stimulate An Environment Of Learning

31:28 When Should Owners Be Included In A Meeting?

32:30 Create Leaders By Removing Yourself

34:10 Top Level Meetings With Management Team

40:50 “Our Role As Leaders Is To Remove Obstacles For Our Team”

42:28 Meetings Make You Money (When Run Properly)

Episode 4: My American Dream

Is The American Dream Still Alive?

The American Dream is a term we are all familiar with, but what does it mean? In some circles it could have a negative connotation and the American Dream definition has certainly changed over the years. However, as Jimmy so eloquently puts it in this episode, The American Dream is different for everyone. For Jimmy, who grew up a young boy in a poor village in Kenya, where some nights he didn't have food - "a 2 bedroom apartment would be an American Dream accomplished." 

American Dream Definition 

In this episode of Out Of The Gutter, Jimmy and Jessica Olang, Lehigh Valley PA Franchisees, not only tell Jimmy's story but they also depict their entire journey from when they first met, to their now successful semi-passive business. Jimmy defines the standard "cliche" American Dream, but also explains what his is, and why he believes they've surpassed it "a million times over."

If you are lacking inspiration or are fearful to start that business you've always been dreaming of, you do not want to miss this episode. It may just be the inspiration you need to get started! 

Episode Breakdown -

00:40 When Ken Met Jimmy

03:54 They Meet Again In NY

05:15 Jimmy’s Background Prior To Ken

07:27 Poverty In American vs. Kenya

08:28 Headed To America

09:21 Jess & Jimmy Meet

10:50 Jimmy’s First Day

14:19 What Did You Like About Gutter Business?

15:40 When Did This Job Become An Opportunity?

17:52 When Jimmy Was Forced Into Leadership

19:34 Skills Ladder Rollout Changes Jimmy’s Mindset

21:28 Second Man Syndrome

23:37 The Road To Becoming Franchisees

27:48 “We will never convince you to do this”

28:30 Everyone In Their Lives Advised Against This Decision

32:03 Why Not Just Do It On Your Own?

34:50 “We knew nothing about business”

35:22 What Does The American Dream Mean To You?

37:25 Following The System To A Tee

41:28 Best Recruiters In The System – How?

50:14 How’d You Create Such A Great Culture?

52:12 Emulating Ken & Ryan’s Leadership Style

53:25 70 Hours A Week To Semi-Passive In 5 Years

57:48 One Last Push To Be Free Of Being In The Business

58:52 Jessi & Jimmy’s Growth Arc

01:02:43 What Does Life Look Like In Your 60’s?

01:06:00 Not An Overnight Success

01:09:02 New Franchisee Opportunity vs. Jimmy’s Launch

01:11:42 You Have To Start Somewhere