On today's episode of Gathering the Kings. At the $5,000,000 mark, that was the hardest thing for me and probably for every entrepreneur was given up that control. You know? And and I had one I had a manager that was strong enough to basically back me down. I was like, Luke, you hired me. Quit going in there and trying to manage my peep I might. Yeah. That's it. Uh-huh. It it tastes a little different when he calls them his people.
Yeah. You are listening to Gathering the Kings with Chaz Wolfe featuring fellow 78 and even 9 figure business owners who have real battle scars from business and life, but have prevailed as the king that they are designed to be. We welcome high performing entrepreneurs to the stage in order to reveal the reel of the reel on what it takes to build a the success and how you too can get there.
Through this dialogue, you will learn the value of growing your network and surrounding yourself with power players and keys like today's guest. Grab your pen and notebook because we're about to dive in. Alright, everybody. I'm Chaz Wolfe. I've got Vince Hauser on the King State. Today, my brother. How are you? Very good. How are you? I'm good, man.
You know, we were just talking off stage a little bit for the listeners you guys can't see, you know, Vince Chaz got some some nice white tail in the background there. We were talking hunting and fishing, all the fun stuff outside of business, but, Vince, tell us what kind of business you got, man. Well, the I've got a couple, but the biggest one that I have is absolute services. And we do the we do HVAC garage doors. Plumbing and electric forward. I love I love the spread.
There was also something that said that I would definitely wanna get into. You basically mentioned that the king move is is in multi trades. In in your pre interview. So I wanna definitely get into that. Before we dive into the journey of how you've gotten into this multiple trade conglomerate that you have, Tell me why are you here today? Like, what not like, why are you pushing even still? Like, you've had you've had so much success. What keeps you moving?
Even with the the success that we've already had, I mean, I have a much bigger vision of where we're gonna go. So I I still believe that we are in our infantile stages of what we're gonna be able to do over the next few years. So I'll let them know, you know, we have got a vision, 5 year plan, and and we're we're staying for the most part on target with it, but, but all of it is far more than what I would have expected if you asked me the same question 5 years.
Yeah. So I guess my my question underneath the question there is okay. So 5 years ago, you wouldn't have necessarily pictured you're here. You've got another 5 year vision in mind, and and now you think your current state is small. Is that a is that something that you've learned over the course of time to continue to you know, express the the vision or the or the bigness of it, or is that something that's gonna come along the way?
Yeah. I mean, we I mean, I started the single trade portion in garage doors in 2008. And for approximately 10 years, 9 years, maybe I don't know the exact number. I mean, we were doing right at a $1,000,000 in revenue. And, I mean, we were successful. We were profitable. I mean, but I was like, man, I am working my ass off. And I could probably go work with somebody else and make as much money as I make right now. And so I decided I'm gonna educate myself and do something different.
Or grow this company beyond what it is now. So I, joined a implementation group is what they call it. So CEO warrior, and that opened my eyes in that first meeting to just things that I never even knew that were even feasible in the home service business. So, you know, I mean, at that point, I, you know, I sat there with my Wolfe, and I going through that meeting up on me.
If we ever made it to $5,000,000 a year, because I was hearing these other people talk about doing 5, $16 in revenue, I'm like, I would have so much money. I wouldn't know what to do. You know? You know? And, you know, and it it only tipped us about a year and a half to surpass that after Yeah. Once I realized a lot of the things to do that we just hadn't done. Yeah. Yeah. A lot.
I mean, it sounds like there was a lot of you know, you were in the one lane, and there was a lot of opportunity outside the lane. You just you just hadn't really pressed into it much. Yeah. Well, I mean, it it go it's all basic business practices. And, I mean, I knew how to fix the garage doors. I felt like I was one of the best at doing that. I could talk to people but without it's all about systems and processes, and that's what I preach all day long every day to everyone in our company.
And and then until I put those processes in place, I mean, the moment I did it, I mean, within 3 months, we literally doubled inside. In terms of revenue, but but probably 50.50 to 60% of that just had to deal with with average ticket. Because I I was in a mindset, I believe, is another huge huge portion of it. Yeah. You know, and I was at the mindset that if I If I save this guy, then I'm in his house, if I save him as much money as possible, he's gonna let me. Right?
And, So And that's not the case. No. Absolutely. It's 100% wrong. I mean, is what I found out was that we were We were losing a lot of customers because I was doing this guy's so called favor. It may have lasted for 6 months to a year and then broke again because I didn't give him an ultimate solution, and that's when that's what he really wanted. And then they call somebody else with the ultimate solution, or they call me back and go, you're an idiot. Were just here.
Why didn't you fix everything? Right. And so when we changed up that whole process and give people multiple options, our average tickets, like, triple overnight. I mean Yeah. And our Google Google ratings, every every Every rate that you could get feedback that you could get was, like, a 180. I mean, it was unbelievable how fast that went. Yeah. So then we just continue to double down at that point. You know, it's interesting.
It's the mindset almost even in in a sales perspective, which are referring to of of being able to genuinely help people all the way. For for the listeners' sake, I'll I'll throw out this example just to to carry the thought of what you're saying. In in some of my early businesses, edible arrangements, franchises, I would do the same exact training. Now it's a completely different scenario of what you're talking about, but this is the same conversation that I would have with employees.
And they thought when, you know, when Lucy Sue called in to get a a a an edible arrangement, that she was trying to spend the the least amount possible. And so they would sell her a 35, $49 basket, and it would have some cut up fruit. New would look pretty, and and then they felt that they did a good job. But really, what Lucy Sue was looking for, it was her grandson's soccer tournament, and they were in the championship game.
And and if and and she wanted to be able to share it with the whole entire team. And if If we had sold her the the biggest basket that we had that fit into a soccer ball container and had her son's grandson or grandson's up a jersey number and pineapple numbers top with a congratulations balloon on the outside and individual treats to hand out for pops afterwards, you know, that she spends a $180 instead, but she's, like, glowing with that experience. Yeah. That's what you're talking about.
Yeah. The expression that we use is quint Click selling with your own wallet because I and that's what I was doing. And we we still have guys that work for us today that do Chaz, and that's the mindset we're trying to pray. You know, it's a it's a pretty simple, you know, once it was laid out to me in terms of how people buy, there's 10% of the market. They'll always buy the top option. They are the best buyers. They're the people. No one needs to drive the Mercedes Benz. You know?
Hey. But they exist. Hugo will hit you back and forth. That's right. And but there's a certain 10% roughly Wolfe always buy at the top. 80% are going by in the middle auctions, 10 Chaz are going by at the bottom, and that's the matter. If you present it every single time, that's the math over the Wolfe world, how it will work. So, you know, we started really tracking those sort of things.
And then and can and you only gotta get a few people to buy in on it inside the company, and then it goes crazy. Like, well, how does he do that? Exactly. And so because they're gonna get the results instantly because this is how people buy, for sure, without a doubt, even we've even just displayed it across not just different industries. Totally retail, franchising, and trades. Like, it's the same. It's the way people buy. It's business. It's business. 100%. I love it.
I love I love the synergy. Okay. So let's let's go back to before 7 figures. So many years ago, before you made some of these adjustments, And and I wanna know if some some decisions that you made, but beef before I go there even, tell us, like, how you got started. Is this the 1st business? Was there a business before this? What was your I started my first business when I was 24. I was I was working for a lumber yard as an inside sales guy. And I was like, man, I am building these guys' houses.
These guys have a clue what they're doing. That's right. So when I came home, and I told my wife, I'm gonna start the home building. So I did it. And and then then I got into pouring basement walls because I couldn't find basement wall contractors, so we had had a partner with that. Long story short, it was the 1st kind of recession time in 9. I think that was 99. K. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I was starving in the winter. I mean, it you don't pour concrete in the winter. How's it that water even?
And I'm like, this sucks. And I had a friend of mine tell me about a job in Florida, foreign concrete Wolfe. So I moved to, anyway, after some negotiation with them, I work for a a huge production home builder down there. And and and then that's where I got my first taste This is how you grow a business. Now I didn't own it, but I was starting a new division of in in Florida most everything as concrete block construction.
And this company wanted to do solid concrete exterior walls just like what a basement fee, and that's what I was good at. So I started that 3 years into it. I mean, I literally took 2 guys with me. 3 years later, we had over 150 guys going well. I mean, It was all the work we could handle because this is, you know, early 2000 when home building was just up you know, and I was like, there's no way this is gonna last. Well, in 2008, we all found out that it was not gonna last. It didn't last.
And, unfortunately, the company that I work for, they they ended up going bankrupt, but it wasn't from building. It was because they bought too much land. And so they got stuck with a bunch of land that they paid too much for, and no one wanted to buy. So no money. I Chaz a friend of mine that was in the garage door business, and for years, he had been telling me about, I need to get indoors on my make, he can't handle money in garage doors. It would make, you know, you know, a lot of concrete.
Yeah. When you don't have a job, it looks pretty appealing. Look more attractive. You know? That's right. That's right. So, anyway, that's what got me into. I started, my garage door company with me and one other guy right out of the gate just didn't. That's survival. I love I love the the beginning of it. I love your in sales. I love your history in in pouring into another company. Literally, I guess, pun intended I'm pouring in.
But, you know, just building building that division, sounds like it gave you practice on someone else's dime Right. To be able to come in and do your own thing. Another huge thing I learned I know you don't deal strictly with home services, but I I I, at that point, I made a decision. I am done with new construction. I'm not gonna play that up and down cyclical market and where it's all dependent on the economy.
And so You know, I I'm, like, I'm going into something that's really more service related, and and that's what we we do. I mean, less than 1% of what we do is need construction. It's Usually, that's only for, like, existing people we have that we work for. So Right. Which is is amazing because you did and maybe you did realize this at the beginning.
It seems like from from a high level now that starting in the service there is what allowed you to eventually then offer service in this other trades because it's it's it's the same thing. It's just a different skill set. It's just a different offering. Well, I mean, I'll give you the story how that would So I was the 1st year. I went to the CU Warrior meeting, and I was that's when they got my eyes open and, Wolfe, and I and I came back the next year.
We literally went from 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 that year. And, man, I thought I am, like, the biggest rock star ever. I was sitting in the room and brought another manager with me. And I'm like, you know what? If these guys if there there was guys in the room that were plumbing, there's a lot of plumbing and HVAC guys show up there that are 2 trade tupp I'm a and I look at some of my these idiots can do this. I know I literally what I said so.
Yeah. So I laid out what I was gonna do, and they tell me don't do 2 trades at one time. You're gonna fail if you do it. And I'm like, well, apparently, you don't know me. Right. So I went back and, you know, Chaz to deal with some acquiring licenses. I'm sure, you know, which of those people do. And so I got all that done, and we about 3 or 4 months later, I was in the HVAC and the bind. So Yeah. And and off and running you in.
So, okay, let's talk about a good decision that you made along the way. You've kind of already given us a slight hint to a few of them, but What I'm hearing so far is that you've just had this tenacity that you've got this experience with other other businesses. You obviously started your own out of survival. I love the mindset of if this guy can do it surely, I can.
Like, that that's a true optimist and I relate to Chaz, but give us a specific example of a decision that you made along the way really turn the corner for you to be able to where you be are where you are today. Joining the best practice group. I mean, if if I were to do that over, From day 1, I would have got into some sort of best practice drink. Yeah. I really am not a believer in hiring a one specific coach. Sure. Think you need to be around a lot of people. Yeah. The board of directors.
Yeah. Well, I mean, just more ideas and they're you know, in those group and all the there's there's several to choose from, but in in every business, it doesn't matter where it's on service or not. But just to be able to see guys Chaz are at all different levels so that you, you know, it's somebody who's experienced what you're experiencing. No one does anything new anymore. It's pretty much of hope.
So, you know, if I would have gotten that group in 2008 when I started, we would be probably in the 10 figure range now. Yeah. Yeah. And so and because of that decision for you, do you think that I guess I'm just trying to relate it to the the the listener? Listen's a six figure person. They haven't scaled yet, but they're hearing you say join a group, whether it's the the the warrior say the name of it again. CEO warrior, CEO warrior, or Gavin the Kings, you know, whatever.
There's trade specific. There's not trade specific. You can you can press into something so that you can unlock things that you weren't thinking of. My question to you is, do you feel like you had to go through a period of time of kinda like banging your head against the wall to be open to it, or would you have been open to it? Well, we have 4 years in a row that we get a million dollars. So we hit the wall. You got it. And and and part of that that journey.
And I I read and I listen to podcasts too. That that started after I got into see your lawyer, but interesting. You know, there there's when you start studying all business, it doesn't matter what you're in, Randlest stairstead of walls that you're gonna get, and it's typically and it's almost verbatim what I I mean, we went 1,003,000,000, 5,000,000, 10,000,000 this year, we're gonna be 20,000,000. So we skip the 50, but those are typically the steps that everybody hits.
And, I mean, I hit them almost. Now And at every level, if you don't continue to level up and have managers and other people level up with you, it will not make it to the next level. And that's some of the stuff that no one ever taught me where I never even heard until I got into those Right. Right? Yeah. It it it seems as if, like, if you and I knew what we knew now, you would just go to that person or go to that group and go, okay. Give me the blueprint.
And then you just there's just no ego at that point, which is kind of my point of some sometimes it's entrepreneurs. We've got a little bit of ego and that it keeps us from finding the group, listening in the group, pressing in to the different people in the groups that are out there. And I think that those are those are holdbacks, but I love the I love the decision there. Well, this is the crazy thing. So, I mean, I don't know my other company.
I surely, when I once I hit that $3,000,000 mark, I opened up another where I host Dale garage. So I'm the biggest garage door host that we're in Kentucky. And we did we've done that in 4 years. Every guy that comes in the door, I try to peek still exactly what we do. And, I mean, I've laid out, and here's my price book. Here's everything we do. I'm Here's the whole blueprint. And take a while gets it. How many of them will help you implement? And and they're like, how do you do this?
How how do you have all this building? How do you have all these trucks? I mean, you got, like, 80 trucks now. Yeah. And and, here it is. I'm lighting up. Not only. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's not the first time I've heard that. That's not that's not the first time that someone has come to me. Asking for things. And months later, still haven't done it. Do so, again, applying this to the listener right now before we fa we've hopped over to your bad decision. Why do you think that that is?
And and why would you encourage them to be, like, not that way, if that makes sense? I'd say it's I think it's all mindset. I mean, it is the all I you I hear the same thing when I'm trying to help these guys. Chaz it didn't it it's exactly what you're talking about. These are guys that are doing 300, $600,000 a year. They're maybe 1 minute a truck. Some of or one man and 2 trucks or, I mean, 2 men and 2 trucks. I'm sorry.
But they're very small operations, and they have that mindset that I you know, Chaz, oh, you're sowing stuff people don't need. You know, I can assure you, other than shelter, food, and water, you don't need anything else that you have. So why are you making a decision on what anybody needs? Almost everybody buys about 1, not my need. That's right. So, I mean, that that's the mindset.
And That was the biggest thing that the group that I joined, really, cameras on is is the personal growth and the mindset. Portion of it Chaz if you don't get past that, I I mean, because, literally, that's all they did was lay the blueprint out, but then they also talk about mindset, and then I, you know, when you read and study more on it, you know, until you change your mindset, I don't care what anybody gives you. You're not no one can implement. And you guys drives.
You know, I mean, I have to drive home and win, right, or what it is. Right. Yeah. That you're right. Mindset is everything. I think that that's most people back. And that's why you're you gotta have a little bit of that hard knock, a little bit because you gotta get frustrated. If you don't get frustrated, you're probably not gonna make a change. But, I mean, I think you're just saying almost any guy that's a 1 or 2 man operation regardless of what this is.
They're frustrated because they didn't join it. I mean, because literally they have nothing but a job. They only did would buy a job. They don't have a business at this point. And, you know, that was one of the things they said in that first time that I went there. And then they kinda smoked me in the place. I'm like, you know what? I really don't have a busy I do have a job because, like, if I don't if I don't go in there and work every day, I probably ain't making no money. That's right.
You know, and and I I just wanna highlight that because you're a 100% true and accurate in in because what you said, though, you were doing a $1,000,000 of revenue. So most people look at the $1,000,000 mark and go, if I can just get there. And and in my experience and several of others that said that I run with, that's that's just the transition point. And so we use this warrior to king language. And for me, the warrior is the 6 figure, even early 7 where you're just very much about you.
You're in the battle. You got the bloody sword. It it's just you. Maybe a couple of guys to your left and right, but the king stage really is about building the business and building the team and even taking care of your community and your family, all these other things. It's a much bigger platform, but you don't really start to even get there until you're at that $1,000,000 mark. And that's that's just like the very beginning of it. Because the mindset shift change.
Resources start to be a little bit more abundant and you start, you know, developing team. Your team, key players, stuff like Chaz. But none of that comes if you if you stay in the, what you're saying, the job. You know? Well, it's you know what I mean? Even when I was laid the blueprint out, I still bought it for several years, or we would have grown even more faster Chaz what we had. Oh, that's not even the right word. Hey. You don't need to know the right language to grow. Do you?
I'm having upfront Kentucky. So forgive me. I love it. I'm a member of this guy too, so we're we're gonna be regular Joe's together. How about that? But We're good. Okay. So tell me tell me about this this bad decision. Vance, like, to give us the give us the nitty gritty of what you did wrong, man. Well, I mean, not implementing everything that was laid made out for me fast enough. You know, it's not the time to action.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I mean, I'm an liter, and I went and I implemented what I thought is all I needed to, and I can handle the rest. Got it. But the steps that I left out is what force us to stop at those next stairs. Interesting. Can you can you give us an example? Because I I you're right on it, but I wanna I'm curious that you're at Play Dumpster. Organizational Chaz is number 1. There you go. I mean, that that's one that I thought that's stupid.
Who needs a chart on the wall showing everybody's job? That's a double sass thing I ever heard in my life. And and so when we hit the $5,000,000 mark, I was like, you know, maybe that is needed because until people know who they report to, until they see what the future is in your company, and that whole Mac laid out in front of them. Yep. The other thing is documenting my vision.
You know, it was in my head of where I wanted to go, but people come to work for you because they like the vision that you have laid out. So until I documented the vision of where, you know, this is where we're gonna go. This is how many people we're gonna have. There's so many trucks we're gonna run. This is the markets we're gonna be in. You know? And that's what that's what it, you know, inspires people to come and work. So we're Right. You know, early on.
I mean, I was just really, really scrambling to find employees. And then most of the trades we have now, now I can pick a chute. I mean, we get multiple applicants a day. Where I hear other ones that are just crying the blues because they can't find nobody.
Not saying we never have employment issues to clear we we do, but but it's a whole different ballgame than what it used to be when I organization chart was a was a big one, not completing all the checklists for every single Oh, I put checklist in for the part I thought was the most important. Right? So the board defined that I got that process daily, Yeah. Other tracking of numbers.
I didn't you know, that was the first thing we did, but tracking and posting you know, because the the posting of the numbers did they call it gaming game in the system, but everybody was to wick. You know, or most people. If they don't win, you don't want them on your team anymore. They're not yeah. They shouldn't be on the bus. You know? So when when all those when here's the data, what everybody's done, And nobody wants to see their name with the bottom of the list.
Even most losers don't wanna be worst loser. So if anything, it levels up you know, you're you're c and b players. And, actually, you need to get rid of them anyway, but these should probably need to get rid of, but Yep. No. So there were there were several of those things I was told to do that I thought was stupid. Why do you need to keep me on the wall as much data on? But but those are there's a whole bunch of those little things like that that really combine.
You know, I mean, we we stress small incremental improvement daily. Then at least the exponential drugs. And that's what we shoot for daily. So, I mean, we're even though I may have a target in mind, I will I don't say if you don't close at 90% you're fired. Okay. If you're closing at 60, I want you to close at 61. You know, and we'll get there. Yep. Yeah. I love I mean, it's all a everything that you just gave is mindset.
And it's the shifting that you made these these shifts along the way of even just thinking that something was stupid and then going, you know what? Let me prove it wrong. You know? I've had I've had other guys say that same thing. I thought the advice was stupid, but I thought, you know what? I'll do it just to prove them wrong. And it ended up working out pretty good for him. Yeah. I mean, in almost every case, I mean, they were right. Beginning, I just I I ignored it.
I thought I knew more than they did, and that was the case that wouldn't have been there to begin with. He wouldn't have been there to begin I think the the biggest thing that I can take away for the listener right now, even just, like, over both good and bad, everything you've kind of been talking about, yes, mindset, but, really, it's the It's humility. It's going, okay.
You are where you are because of the way that you think and where you've been, so if you're trying to go somewhere different, like Vince is talking about, you just gotta listen to different people or you have to you have to hear a different song, even if that song sounds a little silly. You know, in my other office that that I have, we're actually at the office. I've got this huge sign that's right behind right behind my chair that's Nothing changes and nothing changed.
And I put that up right when we started, and that's been, like, one of our biggest mottos. You know, everything is absolutely gonna remain just saying that if you don't do something to make that change. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Love the perspective. Okay. In is there any events, anything that you follow a process or a discipline that you have around decision making nowadays? Yeah. I mean, we have some decision making criteria, but, I mean, all of it goes through through process.
I mean, of course, the person we're gonna you know, what, I mean, court, depending on what type of decision it is, I guess, you sure. You can say there's a lot of different, you know, different types of decision business, but Chaz has to do with what we're doing on the job. I mean, it's all gonna be you know, is this gonna increase sales? Is it is this gonna increase profits? Is it gonna increase customer satisfaction?
So it's gonna go through several of those layers to make sure that all levels, it's gonna be improvement. Right? I I guess it's really probably in all the way through to come. If that's I mean, we actually have it typed. I don't have to try to meet the company a little bit on now. Yeah. That's okay. That's okay. 7 things that these are the decision making criteria, love it, which I got from the Greek Ahmed.
And if if it's somewhat of a major decision, we I sit down with my, you know, 2 or 3 different director level people and and then we'll go through and make a decision on it. Mean, sometimes I override them, but most of the time, we agree. Yeah. No. I think that there's a there's a huge benefit there.
Without even knowing the steps, that that that, you know, it might be a little unique per industry or per per ownership scenario, but I think having I I think what you just said to kinda simplify it is these things make sure that this decision get us what we've already identified that we want. Am I hearing that right? Yeah. Well, I mean, what's the problem that we're solving? And we don't wanna create another problem by trying to solve this problem. I mean, that's the easiest way to put it.
Right? Well, and I love what you said, whether it's sales, profitability, customer experience, those are those are the target. Like, that's where we wanna be. We wanna increase these things. So does this thing, this decision that we're trying to make help us do these things? If it doesn't, then we we give it the boot. Pretty easy. Okay, Vince. I got some speed round questions here for you. Curious to know your thoughts on these, but the first question is this.
If you could dwindle down the entire business, all trades, all locations, all trucks down into one metric, What would that one metric be? Closing rate. Closing rate. Okay. And what? Wolfe that really matter what the dollar amount is if you don't close close the job? I mean, the 2 that we try the most that will move the needle in any business as average ticket and close. Right? But if you don't close a job, average ticket is 0. That's right. That's right. That's right.
But no no. So that's the 2 things that we judge almost everybody in our in the in the company on, including the managers on the people that they meet. Yeah. So yep. Love it. K. And what book would you recommend that a figure business owner read trying to get to your level? E myth. Without question. Great book. What's your one takeaway? Just everything in the in the company needs to have a system in process. Yeah. K. Do you you've already mentioned your your Warrior group.
Do you network or mastermind outside of that, or is that kinda like your one place? And and if I mean, I'm in a couple other group. They're all industry specific. K. But, yeah, I mean, we're in a couple of those of those coaching groups where they Sure. You know, they'll bring in, I mean, even bigger ones than what we are now, and Sure. And, you know, they're Chaz we're involved in. The the value there you've given, obviously, that helps you make some make some directional changes early on.
Is there other value in just running with other entrepreneurs that you found? Oh, absolutely. Well, I mean, you know, I don't even know what book it is that I read it. It's every I know it's in multiple, but you know, most of the time, you can you can pretty much take the top five people that you hang on with. The average journey comes together and yours don't be within 10% of that.
So the only exception of that is is that you read and listen to a lot of podcast, and then part of your core group becomes those books are podcast. Okay. You know, it's You know, and that's that has been difficult to find people, you know, in the range that we deal in now in terms of revenue. There's not many people around locally that you can talk to with that.
So then you have to go, you know, then it makes these groups you best practice type groups even more important in my mind, you know, to be able to because, I mean, even though we're probably in the top 5% I don't know. I really feel like we're at the hip at stages, but I I need to go to see somebody that's got 3 to our employees to see what the next level is. Right? Do you find value? You kinda just said both ends of this the spectrum here, and and so it's a curious question of mine.
It's not normal here for the show, but you are positioned, like you just said, where you're in the top 5% already, probably even a smaller percentage, honestly, but what value is there for you in that group where you have 95% of the people that are behind you? What what's the value there for you? Well, I mean, I'd I do a lot of coach you have new. I mean, there are some I mean, I I just the giving back I guess. There's some side of the action. Hey, dude. I was in your spine just a few years ago.
And Right. I still wore work boots. I wear dress shoes now. You know? If you as long as you stay in that truck, you're gonna be in that truck forever. So you gotta make that move. But then, I mean, to have access, you know, now it's almost like it's a pay to play deal now Chaz I've that I've seen.
So for me to even have access to these guys that do 50,000,000 or a 100,000,000, you have to be in some of these groups to even get access to pay another fee to go be in a in a group of twenty people that were all big time. Right? Yeah. And I never, in my life, would have envisioned. I would have paid to go be in a group life, and we do it multiple of the year. Yeah. I mean, I think that the just the mindset that you're sharing, obviously, is is the differentiator. I can remember personally too.
When I thought this is nuts. Why would somebody ever spend money on a conference or a group or a coach or whatever? And I think that the reality there is that you just don't know what you don't know until you do it. And then you're like, woah, I do this a hundred times over a hundred times over a thousand. Okay. So if you give us some really good perspective there, I got a question for you around the management of the business.
If if you only had 1 hour, per week to operate the business like you do now successfully, what would you do in that 1 hour? To operate the business? Review workforce. K. And what do you like, well, how does that how does Chaz trickle down. Like, give us get, like, you review reports and then and then what happens with it.
So everybody in our company has scorecards, you know, so you know, we haven't mentioned Chaz yet, but, I mean, the scorecards are it's really, you know, that this is what we're gonna judge you on. So even at a interview level, we lay it out. So here's the metrics that we're gonna judge you on. And, you know, you're gonna be in the red, yellow, green territory. And it's pretty obvious you don't wanna be in red.
So, you know, even managers, you know, they have their they're set, the numbers that they're reengaged on. Sure. And, you know, so I mean, we I wanna see margin reports. I wanna see You know, I mean, we really push, like, Google reviews. I wanna see, oh, hey. I'm a what's our Google rating? I made a juror, you know, the Jewer division get this week, last week, whatever. Right? Were there any bad ones? If they're if so, we're gonna have a big problem on drilling down on why that happened.
As we don't want everyone those. I mean, there's gonna be the occasional point 1 or 2%. Chaz you're just not going to, please, and you're gonna get. Okay. Yeah. It's rare, and they're and the key to that is just we do everything we can to try to please. Yep. In the house, we just agree to disagree. But reviewing those metrics at the at the management level, you know, now kind of faking it.
That was the at the $5,000,000 mark, that was the hardest thing for me and probably for every entrepreneur was given up that control. You know? And and I had one I had a manager that was strong enough to basically back me down. I was like, look, you hired me. Quit going in there and trying to manage my peep I'm on. Yeah. That's it. Uh-huh. It it tastes a little different when he calls them his people. They're dry. Gotcha. But that's one of those. Yeah. So that's one of those Wolfe. You will hit.
And 100%. You know, there's some dictator type bosses that will net. Those are the people that are stuck at $5,000,000. Correct? And and probably much smaller, if we're being honest. You're so you're so accurate. I love I love the the storyline and even just the small examples. Last question here for you, Vance, if you lost it all, No more plumbing customers, no more HVAC customers, no more garage door installs or services. What would you do? Start over. Same exact trade, same exact everything?
I mean, I wouldn't go in with 4 trades at one time. I I I would it would be a big toss-up, whether I would go in garage doors or or H. Bye. K. Because, I mean, we do very well in both level. Yeah. But, yeah, I would, I mean, that that I would start over tomorrow. It wouldn't. No question. Do you think that you have that confidence now because of the success that you've seen, the knowledge that you have? Like, what What gives you that place to be able to say so smooth and calm?
I'll just start it over. Well, I mean, I I've unfortunately, through Yes. You know, just what, I mean, with the economy, I mean, I lost the job that I'd there was no reason for me to lose it. Other than that company went bankrupt. Right? So, I mean, I was there once. I mean, we're down there. I was it was great. I mean, times were good. Until they were. And then as we mentioned, you know, I I hate to spend a lot of time fishing.
I'm gonna have several 100,000 of dollars at the bottom of the basically, and I spent fishing that I probably should invest it far more wisely. I didn't. Didn't just update and made it a little more difficult to start over. Yep. Yep. But I've done it once, but I know way more now about what I shouldn't have done in the startup phases and what would do. I mean, what I would do, that would instantly rapidly grow whatever company it was.
Chaz I went in because all all all these business practices that we were that I've learned in the home services 99% of them are applicable to every single business out. And then Chaz put the emets, what, I really opened my eyes to Chaz. You know, I mean, they talked about hotels and restaurants and, oh, hell in the hill with that. They had anything to do with the garage, but Once I realized, okay. Well, everybody doesn't sell like I sell.
But if I make a mall sell like I sell, they'll have the same result that I had. That's right. Well, because I'm at that time. I thought I was a world's greatest sewer. And, so, talk to people how to do it and gave them a checklist and didn't wanna them out do me. That's great. I wish they all are. Yeah. Yeah. So much. I mean, we could go we could go for another 3 hours on on just that couple of sentences that you gave to us. And how can the listener connect with you?
You've obviously, you know, given your free time here today, which I so am appreciative of, but Your mindset is on a next level. You the the what you've done is is amongst the few, but how can someone connect with you? Email is probably the best way. It's vents at Absoluteservices.net. And I don't always get to the same day, but I already checked you all. Yeah. We we just appreciate your time. The the value the the value that you've shared here today, I know that you've spent a lot of money on.
So thank you for for giving that freely. Not only just of your time, but also just of the things that you've already paid for knowledge wise. We just appreciate that. We wish you absolutely nothing but success. This has been an incredible interview. Alright. Well, thanks. Thank you for listening to Gathering the Kings today. Hope that you were able to pull out a few nuggets to go apply into your business right away.
More importantly, though, I hope that you're realizing that it takes more to be successful than just being by yourself doing it all on your own, carrying the weight all by yourself. What I have realized, not only in my own journey, from multiple businesses and multiple different industries and now interviewing literally over 2 or 300 other very successful 7, 8, and 9 figure business owners is that it's tough to do it alone.
And so gathering the Kings literally exists to bring together successful entrepreneurs. In fact, we are putting together 1000 kings, specifically who are grateful, but not done. We're intentionally assembling kings who fight tooth and nail for their business, family, and communities, and here's what we believe. That in the pursuit of excellence in those areas, that it ignites within us the responsibility to govern power and forge a lasting legacy.
So if that relates and and resonates with you and you know that you need people around you, sharp qualified other very successful business owners. I want you to go to gathering the kings dot com. I want you to take a look at what we're doing and see if it makes sense for you to be part of our pursuit to 1000 kings. Talk soon.