On today's episode of Gathering The Kings. You hit on something The, though. It's really intentionality. Knowing what it feels like to receive quality relationship, how do you do that inside of an industry that for a lack of better terms is seen as a little bit, like, shifty. Right? There's just a lot of homeowners look at construction in general as shifty. And so how can you continue to build relationships like you were just talking about inside of a construct like that? What's up everybody?
I'm Chaz Wolfe, Gathering the king's podcast. We're back. Gonna know the king for you here today. Caleb Cow How we doing, Caleb? Pretty good chance. How are you, Bill? You know, I'm I'm well. It's the day after Freedom Day when we're recording here. I couldn't be more thankful for just meeting here with you right now. Like, these are the things that we get to do because we're in the country that we live and the people that have gone before us, man.
So I'm just so appreciative of this time of the year and all the cool things we get to do to celebrate that. So thanks for being here, man. I'm excited for this conversation and the value that you're gonna bring. What kind of business do you have? So 1st and foremost, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's made The a possibilities of finance for our country in a video that we have for your identity. But also thank you for having me on here.
To be a part where they're super fired up on the side. I'm gonna share what we do and how The do it. So what we do, TNS solutions, It's a product that we distribute in The service. It's called Arrowberry. And so it's an energy efficiency solution that we provide in residential new construction and construction in general, but really what our main business model is is for RNC Residual reconstruction with production builders across the country. Yeah. Absolutely.
And there's a lot of moving pieces in that for the people that you're working with across the country. So I'm excited to hear about how your brain works and how you solve problems because I'm sure you've had plenty of them as you've grown this size of business. For the listener's sake, we were casually chatting here before we hit the record button and and you just very flippantly.
Yeah. I had to take a trip because I'm gonna be busy opening several new offices and had to do the family thing for a little bit, and it's like, man, Chaz was just really casual conversation of just opening up some new offices, and I love being in the presence of casual greatness. As I'll call it today. So I'm excited to hear about some of those exploits that you've got. I wanna know before we get started really into much of the The. Like, dude, you got a lot going on. What's the why?
What's the burning desire on the inside? Why do you wake up every day? What's it for you? I think it's multifaceted, I think, The why. I think everybody has The main why, and I think it's to take care of their family, provide to their family. And I had a good job.
I did a great job with the great parents who The cared for me, provided for me, and set a really high bar, to be honest with you, you know, forever thankful for that and hopefully appreciate and express that appreciation to their frequently. But it also made a challenge for me as a father, as a husband, that is to provide for them and give them more opportunity The I'm at.
Give them an opportunity that can provide everything that they need, not necessarily everything that they want, but to to provide everything that they need to be successful, at least for sales, I just know they're loved. So Yeah. That's the main why we as far as business, it's to change an industry. It's an opportunity. I think we all have a basket full of bad ideas, not to think think good as we didn't pursue those clubs.
And when you have that opportunity and everything kind of aligns and you realize that you have this period of time, to be successful to make The impact. You have to you have to capitalize on it, and you have to stay hungry and keep climbing. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. There's definitely a category of people that's our our industry disruptors. So I guess my, to dig in on that, why do you wanna change an industry?
Why not just build a little business that takes care of your family and the few that are around you and Kings just do your own thing? I mean, changing an industry is Big. Right. Yeah. I think because there's inherent benefits to everyone in the process and residential data construction, There's someone that I I work with in the industry who he said something the other day to me or really resonated with me. Thought it was pretty Pretty interesting.
He said that when it comes to residential new construction and home building for for human beings, we are the least innovative industry in the world. Widely. Chaz someone is trying to be a disruptor of the industry and bring a product to market, I I Kings questioned it. He's The thinking about it. We've gone from living in Katy's. To living in, like, lawn homes, to living in homes that have 100% for wood frame. That's it. That's the list. Dot period. Wow. Really is.
And so it's kind of the daunting Chaz. When you look at it that way, but Right. But, you know, conversely, it's also in a great opportunity for innovation and ticket of The step. Yeah. What do you think holds the what's it called? Maybe construction industry. What do you think holds Chaz whole thing back from innovation. Why why have we really not moved? I mean, obviously, when you break down a home, we just built a home last year. There's a lot of new things happening inside of a home.
So, like, I think that we can agree that there's technology happening. Obviously, there's smart home pieces that play and There's a lot of things in being innovated, but to your point, going back to the just the basis of how it's built from the frame, and maybe the material, what do you think that holdup is? I think a lot of times when a new product, a new process comes into the industry, I think that for adoption on The mass scale.
1st, especially the big box players, the publicly traded builders, the builders that, you know, and have shareholders. When someone is going to adopt a new product and The process to change the way they build homes on a scaled method across the petri or across the world, They're putting their careers. And when they do that, they have to have states trust confidence, not only in the product, that the individual is gonna be bringing that process and product to them.
So there's a there's a lot of goodwill that has to be built up and The trust. And also in the industry as a whole, I think that the most dangerous phrase in the human language that we have is, well, I've always done it this way. Yeah. In in this industry, you kind of run up in some times, but again, Chaz leads for an opportunity for innovation success and implementation. I agree with you a 100%. I think that it's not a a secret that the construction industry is like this.
And because whether I've got a construction company or the mastermind members that I have that have construction companies or service companies, or guys like you there on the podcast. From all angles, you have very willing capable humans wanting to progress and win but you're right. There's very much a, like, a construct of The is how it's done. This is how it's always been done. Don't don't mess it up. It's been like this for a long time, which look.
Hey. There's obviously there's a success recipe inside of don't don't fix it if it ain't broke. Correct. Why why now? Or maybe now is not maybe now not that the timing is not the Kings, but why is innovation important? Even when you have a maybe a thing that's not broke so don't fix it, but we press forward anyway into whatever could be next. Why why do we push?
Think there's always a next step, not just from a product delivery standpoint, but from personal growth, not just in that business as a at home as a husband, a spouse, as a father, as a friend, as a son. I think I think there's always growth and opportunity to be better. My wife and I joke when we gotta disagree on something or whatever. We'll say that hold on. Awesome. Not perfect. And she says the same thing, and we have that manager.
And so I I think that even when we have a process that's awesome, it's not perfect. And the product always can be better. So Whether you you're a builder that's publicly traded that builds thousands of great homes for families, there's always that opportunity to be energy star certified. That's something that we were able to bring to the big box builders where before they've kicked the tires and say, hey, I wanna be energy star certified. What does that look like?
Well, the juice might not been worth The squeeze financially from a cost perspective from The from them, but we are able to now provide a service that's able to to get to those metrics that could qualify for energy star certification. The built the model in the process to where our our product The cost analysis passes the sniff test. And so it works.
And so if builders are now able to Kings of punch above their weight class, you know, a little bit, and what they're gonna spin in the end product for the engine. Yeah. It it makes me think of another conversation that I was having. One with a guest probably 6 months or so ago, and he had an innovative product in the installation industry. And then one of my mastermind members, he's in the garage door service and installation industry.
And the conversations were different, but I'm gonna gonna bring them together here because I wanna hear your perspective because this is the same lane that we're in. And in essence, the the insulation innovator came across this big box, big companies. We've done it this way the whole time. Like, we're not interested in your new Kings. And so he went direct to consumer.
And so what he found was that consumers were more than willing to pay the extra or the difference in this new innovative product. But that the it was the home builders or and or big box just we've always done it this way. Companies that didn't wanna rock the The, and that was really shocking to him.
Fast forward to the conversation with the guy with the garage door service company, he has seen the transition happening in HVAC and plumbing, but now it's happening in garage doors, which is we're no longer determined. Like, I don't provide this service or product based on my manufacturer and wanting to make them happy. It's actually homeowner based. And so because this is what the homeowner wants, we now have to change our process, and it's very much more experience driven.
And and my salesperson and my tech are very experience driven, not really just like Here's the information, here's the manufacturer, and then in and out like transactional, but that the consumer themselves are driving this experience, which is Kings what the installation guy was saying. So what do you say about this big box? We've always done it the same way. Guys that have been in the industry for 100 years, but it's transitioning to what the consumer wants, not necessarily what they want.
Yeah. I think in business, whether you're delivering a product to service or even in friendship, I think everyone has to win it. My grandfather was a simple man. He was a a pike fitter and a horse trader, but he used to always say, a good deal is when two people come to The agreement. And I think that there's it's simplistic in nature, but I really think that you're extrapolating about how they think about sales, product delivery, delivery relationships, all of that. It's the same thing.
And so The homeowner, if it doesn't benefit them, they're not gonna for, and it's not something that really makes it impact or to push shells to drive model home traffic, then really, you're gonna have to have a ton of value just to selfishly to the home builder in order for it to work. But as we become more energy cautious and aware, I think all homeowners inherently are looking for a lower heating and cooling cost for the life of the house.
And so it's Chaz is the byproduct of this process and a product that we're able to deliver, and that's something that we measure, marketed, and sold and delivered to the The where they could say, hey, look. There's a competitive advantage with using this dollar where this process to achieve x measurement because I benefit weakness. And so Right. Yeah. I think you definitely have to be able to care to that homeowner and have something that where they tangibly can Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.
I love that. Alright. Wolfe, let's talk about your journey a little bit. Tell us what you did maybe before this business. How did you get into this business? Why The give us a little bit of your backdrop. Yeah. So, what do you text at any university out of high school? I think I thought I had it all figured out. When I went to college initially, and I was a music major, scholarship in music. I did that for 3 days before I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do anymore.
Yeah. What what was that moment like? What what happened in those 3 days? Well, it was actually day 2. I I was in top vocal studio in our college. In our member Chaz the head of the studio said, hey. If you're gonna have to put in lots of hours outside of the class, outside of your vocal lessons, and all of this. Right. It's gonna be challenging.
It's gonna be a culture change, but what's gonna keep you going is you're gonna have to remember that this is what you're gonna do for the rest of your life. And there was the voice inside me that literally like Peter Griffin and family guys Chaz, Don, had walked up. And I just realized eighteen years old, I would I wasn't ready for Chaz. And, but I was aware of that and listened to it and saw it.
Still having very deep passion for music, but that was a tough phone call to my parents and with the head of services. Yeah. So so I went to A and M, majored in business management, support management, had a minor in business minor in the law. Still didn't exactly know what I wanted to do, moved to Dallas. It it began my career here.
So I've been in the residential new construction trade side for the last 10 plus years and really realize there's a lot of good people in the industry Chaz I know we talked about progressiveness in Black. There are some phases, but there are good people. I wanna work with good people. And I think that's when real relationships are what makes things go. And it's one thing to know people, but it's another thing that when you're a first child's born, they show up at the hospital. Pre COVID.
So it's a normal effect. But then when your your child has a birthday party, The, they're buying them toddler, Wolfe depot, construction tool belts and stuff. And it's Yeah. Chaz relationships that train said just doing business in a transaction. And so There's really, really, really good people in Sweden. So that's was tech. Yeah. That's cool.
The the process that you've gone through there that you just described in good relationship I wanna continue that conversation because inside of business, I'm sure that you've focused on that through building clients, of course, of your own, vendors, really the whole deal. So you Kings hit on something The, though, is is really intentionality. How have you knowing that that's what it feels like to receive quality relationship?
How do you do that inside of an industry Chaz, for a lack of better terms, is kinda seen as a little bit, like, shifty. Right? Like, there's just a lot of homeowners that look at really construction in general as shifty. And so how how can you continue to build relationships like You were just talking about inside of a construct like Chaz.
Yeah. I think it's fake trust and confidence, said The earlier it's Kings of the foundation of what I believe When you hit The you find good people, they have to have faith in you in trust that you can deliver and, you know, Chaz confidence in a single time. One of the things that I do right or wrong, I'm a bit I don't have anything quantifiable The measure it, but it's just kind of what we what I do, what I believe, and when I preach is You don't have to be a certain height to rot.
And it's not like we're gonna give The this great price age of this builder, and we're gonna gouge the heck out a little not only do you give uniform pricing because you're you're delivering a service and product to the marketing state of the state. And Yeah. You never know what that builder's gonna be at 5 years. And do you wanna to take care of The. Yeah. I think it's a little vague.
I think it's buying into the people and asking them questions, but knowing what their favorite Starbucks drink is. It's knowing how many kids they have, checking on Kings, being invited to their kids graduation, the sponsoring their kids, drill team fundraiser so they can code a Disney Wolfe. Little things like that is how you'd show that you care other than just saying it. Because a lot of people can say Chaz. It and that that path and that process to do that is not easy.
It's a long it's a long path is along the play, if you will, but it's the right one. That's right. I always compare relationships like bridge is over a mountain pass. And Yeah. A lot of people in in sales and business, they they wanna get across no matter what, and they'll throw a quick drop bridge over, and they'll go across. And they don't care because if they crumbling behind The like an Indiana Jones. Right. But the way I see it is you build a golden gaper.
Do you build a structure that can withstand turbulence Chaz can withstand competitors coming in and trying to undercut you Chaz can withstand when you make a mistake, operationally Chaz slows their house down and cost them money. If that real bridge is there, then you can go across it, free of The. To each side. And it's Both ways. Yep. That's right. Yeah. So that's kinda what we operate on. I love that. What are some practicals?
I mean, you Kings gave the knowing the Kings name showing up with the Starbucks.
I think those are actually great practicals, but for you working kinda like B2B inside of a B2C industry, Are there are there tactics that that your salespeople are using outside of what you've already shared, or even further, are there things that you've seen your, like, the end user use, like, so, like, you're servicing a contractor and then the contractors, then maybe, like, you're building the home are the things that that person can or take it one step further.
The person listening that's not even in construction at all. What can they do to do these same things? Well, I I really think it's a what do you really want out of this? And I I think it's very difficult to, again, to go down this long path and to be a disruptor in the history and all that. If you're gonna do that, you're gonna have to have the help of You're gonna have to have the help of letters that are around you.
The help of owners that aren't in the The, give you advice on, stay the course, keep doing the right thing, The right thing to do is always the right thing to do no matter what. It'll pay it off. And I I have someone that I really lean out a lot for business advice, family advice, coaching advice, and he just reminds you stay the The, stay true to yourself. It's like planting a garden. Plant The seeds, you have to water it. If you keep doing that, that's right.
You'll be able to pluck the fruit and have The plentiful harvest later, but you gotta continue to be diligent on that process. So that's the advice I would give is just to be diligent on it and really Find the advantageous agreements in between all the parties and be able to be genuine and tell The and say, hey. Here's where I messed up. Here's what I can do. What can we do to be better? No price increase because of this, that and the other, the onus is on us to be efficient.
How can we help you? Always just being that servicer and, asking it Kings genuine. I think it does a long way. Yeah. You've mentioned the word agreement in your last little segment there. And previously, you had mentioned Kings of like this idea of a win win. For me, the idea of a win win and an agreement go together, and you don't have an agreement unless there's a win win. And the agreement supersedes expectation. The expectation is one-sided agreement is we come into an agreement.
We both understand and agree, but it's also a win win. And so tell me about, like, Is this something that you've learned? It sounds like maybe you've done some study here, or maybe you have an understanding that you can share. I mean, to be honest with you, it's just learning from mistakes. Listening to the advice of others, being really inquisitive and asking, like, prospective customer, like, prospective client, like, what do you need from us? And that's a vulnerable question to ask.
And, you know, but I believe that culture with your external customers and internal customers well employees, and business partners, etcetera. I think you have to be vulnerable to be real, and I think that you have to be open to what the answers gonna beat. I remember one of the first times that I I sold a national builder. I met with him realizing like, hey, there's a huge opportunity here. We're not capitalized, not.
And when I asked him an abort meeting, I said, if I can go back to the laboratory and create Frankenstein for you, what do you want? What is it that you want? And they Kings looked at each Gathering the vice president of sale. She told me Chaz that was the first time that a trade had asked them what they wanted versus telling them exactly what they were selling and why I needed it. And that made The customers realize they've been very thankful for. It's something very simple.
And you never know what they want until you ask. That's right. It's you might be willing to operate at a negative and go bankrupt and whatever because you wanna selfishly get this contract or whatever, but asked them what they want, it could be very, very, very simple. And I think that that trend says business and it goes into the the family. It goes into your children. And everything else. If you're just going to be vulnerable and asked, you never know.
Yeah. Asking for what they want and also being willing to share what's the win for you. Like, why? I mean, you don't wanna do a deal for for negative profit. That doesn't make any sense. And so Right. Again, going back to your comment of win win, I think that there's a lot of business owners, even more so probably contractors that put themselves in positions that aren't always win win. And in that psychology, it's called heroism. Right?
So, like, we're heroing that relationship so that we build a better name or we get a referral. And sometimes those those are strategic, but oftentimes what happens is that once we've heroed that scenario is that eventually we become a victim because it wasn't a win win. We got ourselves into a situation where we poured out and the only person that one in that scenario was the other, and then eventually it just gets to us. We just can't handle it because it wasn't it wasn't equal.
Would you agree with that? I absolutely do. And that's something that I'm still working on right now is because I I believe that people with great passion can make the impossible happen. And they could be a disruptor. They can weather The support. But also, you're successful because you take it personal. Whether it's every builder, The the country, in every division, every community, with every superintendent, with every street, with every house, and you take every one of them personal And I do.
And I think The say your greatest strengths, your greatest weakness. And so when you have a relationship, you take it personal as well. I'm talking about all Kings about the families and doing and sponsoring. And when you pour everything out and show someone a path and they're they're bought into it, and then they take that end goal, but they get there through a different way and kinda you victimize yourself. Like, they left me at the bus stop holding the bat.
You do take it personal, and you have to Yep. I'm still working on that because it's like, why? Why they do that to me? I help I help them and stuff. But Yeah. But, really, it's okay. And that's the thing that you have to come to on your own is being able to express a day, we're still friends, because if you can't do Chaz, that everything that you've lived for and everything that you've stood by in that relationship with them was was for not. It was fake, and it wasn't real.
And that's what it's about. Still being able to rack them with their football team loses on Sunday. It's Right. Still being able to go play golf with them and trying to Take it to them. It's still texting. I'm happy 4th July. Little things like that. If you can't do that and the relationship wasn't real, and it was it is. So that's something I'm working on right now.
Yeah. Well, I think that's, like you said, the value of being vulnerable, you sharing in The fact that you've been working through it, I think, is super powerful. For somebody at your level, the person listening right now might not be at your level. Or it could just be the complete opposite. We've got somebody that's just crushing in business, a $1,000,000,000 company and going, man, I remember that moment, and I need to I need to continue to do that even myself.
And that's actually what I found is that typically the bigger the business owner if they're reflective, they'd like you are still working on it. And so that's the encouragement to the listener, really, is whether you're big or small. We should always be working on it per Caleb. Right? Would you agree with that? Absolutely. I mean, we're we're never a finished product.
And you you have core characteristics and you have trades and have things that you've learned, but I I think we could always try to be better, always Kings from others. One of the hardest things to do, and I family members I work through this with Chaz or holder that reach out to me parents in it, that it's like they are the victim of a situation. And it's it's easy for us to be an externalist a lot of times. We'll say, well, I can't x, y, and z or I x, y, and z because of. Well Right.
Really, the only thing we have control of is ourself. And to be able to be an internalist and look intrinsically inside of us, said, okay. All things equal, what would I have done different? Yeah. There's plenty if you're real with himself. Yep. There's pulling in. And so I I think that that is just very important thing. Yeah. I'm not perfect at it, but when I have a second, when My wife was a student enough to say, hey. You need to get away just for a second.
You need to unplug, and it's selflessly. She wants to connect with me again because I've been integrated in the business. I think when you have those moments, you can get away for a second. You go, you know what? Yeah. It really messed up here. Take take the success or the the Kings and all that from business hub 1. Put it on one side shell that compartmentalized it and say, okay. Where am I stale? My Kings is a Gathering a as a possibility. My feeling is a trend.
And the answer should be yes if you're honest to yourself because there's there are certain microcosms of that in every relationship. And so It's not supposed to be better. We're Kings trains at Cook. Yeah. I love that. It there's a never finished product understanding. And for the ones that have a hard time coming up with those things that maybe they willing to work on, those are the ones actually that need to be concerned about that because they're they're blindsided themselves to your point.
You've kinda led us right to a decision making which I appreciate. Hey, Charles Wolf here. As many of you know, I have been on an absolute mission to help entrepreneurs from all across the country in many different industries level up their game and grow their business and intentionally connect with other entrepreneurs. We do that obviously through the podcast, but we also have a peer to peer mastermind group specifically for 7 to 9 figure business owners.
We are bringing some of the best and most successful entrepreneurs and minds together in a regular and a super intentional way to not only grow our network, but to be able to leverage. And at a certain point in business, success becomes about leverage, leveraging time, leveraging resources, leveraging key relationships. This is exactly what we're doing inside of the peer to peer mastermind group called Gathering the Kings, specifically for 7 to 9 figure business owners.
So if that's you, if you're ready to level up your 7 to 9 figure business, even to the next level and get around other big hitters just like you. I want you to go to gathering the Kings, flood a short application, and it'll come to an application, call with me, and I wanna chat with you to see if it might be a good fit. Talk soon. And so I wanna know if a good decision that you made in your track record of business here that you think back on.
It's like, man, I would do the same thing over and over again. Maybe something that we can learn from. I think taking that leap into true entrepreneurial grit, if you Wolfe. K. Really go all in. That's my personality by nature is is full send. It's that's why I'm a max for staff and say I'm for F One with The with the with the hell with, but I love the mentality. But I've always been an entrepreneur in my career, in life, in school, and everything according to my mom.
But when it came to business, I I might always be the outlier than Gathering, The one that disrupted push the envelope with that corporate blanket, warms, and protection, and all of that. Still, ultimately, I guess, a risk averse, but what it took was someone that's a business owner extremely successful who I've known for a very long time, The coaches and councils me, who knows my family and was there at my wedding.
Again, they invested in me back at The time, and I probably wasn't a good a good stock too invested. Sure. I saw something that I could see in myself. They came to my house within the last couple of years. Just to sit down in the kitchen with me and my wife and say, He needs to go out and do stuff on his own. He really does. He's the only person who doesn't believe himself. Yeah. And people who know me and stuff like that are self assured, confident, Chaz it. But it's true.
I was scared to death, but I did not have the least of myself that I could do like, acts dependent upon others to be successful when it's I can do this. I can lead. I I I can't. It it was that interaction and that belief in me The positivity that I draw back on a lot of times when it's scary. It will for those who are in the middle of it or starting it or thinking about it. But you have to remember those things and for for him to do Chaz.
There was something The. So we're not and I trusted emphatically. So I'm believed in that and will let me know they will do it and make that leap. They leave my previous career. Yeah. What do you think that kept you hesitant? For so long. Because really you said, like, from the outside, everybody was seeing this confident, self assured individual, probably succeeding in many areas under that corporate blanket.
And so what do you think the hesitation was inside of you deep that was insecure about making it on your own? Here. I think fear of failure is someone who doesn't bat a 1000 but has a good average and is successful and comfortable Kings order to grow, you have to trim the branches and tree, and that hurts. And Yeah. To grow professionally and knew The was gonna be some herd. I was gonna have to do Chaz. But the fear of failing. Kings I'm worried about what the naysayers part of me.
See, I've told you to x, y, and z and all that, but I'm not doing it And I'm not doing it to prove naysayers raw. Sure. Every once in a while you need that motivation, I guess. More importantly, I found the positivity and the interaction with Justin and came here to say, I'm gonna prove him right.
And Chaz positive drive is so much more powerful, so much more repeatable, but it's much easier and it's so easy to dip into to find that and drive versus digging deep and say, like, who said what or whatever, that's not important. So that's my story The. I I appreciate that perspective. I I heard this the other day, and I was chatting with a couple of folks on it, but it was it was referencing purchases and and I wanna correlate it to what you just said.
But basically, the phrase was, would you purchase this thing, whatever it is, if nobody else knew that you had it, right, And so, like, when you think about fancy things, cars, watches, houses, all the things that all the gurus are are posting on social media, and that's what drives us. Well, does it really? Like, when you put in that perspective of, like, if nobody knew I purchased this, would I still buy it? And what I'm hearing you say is that the same lens Yeah.
If nobody knew I succeeded or failed or fill in the blank, would it matter to me? And if if you buying that thing material thing, matters to you and you actually would still buy it, then go for it. Make it a target. Do it. Same thing with the failure or the the achievement. It's like, if I'm not doing it, for the applause of men anyway.
Right. And I still wanna go after it, or I'm I don't wanna go after it, then The the decision to enroll with it because it's because it's really what you want when it The it comes down to it anyways is what you're saying. Right? Absolutely. The material things kind of Can you remind you of why you're Kings to grind? Like, it keeps you going a little bit, but that's not the ultimate goal.
You you said something, and I'm not gonna extrapolate too on it, but you said, like, would you buy with no The, dude? Very recently purchased something, and we had a inter house wobble on it. The item is very, very, very similar to something that previously had. And just, you know, my wife's comment is why would you spend the money unless when nobody will know that it's new and nobody will know that it's different, I said, that's the point. I said, I don't buy anything, and she's gonna hear The.
And it's SkyBell. And it I don't I don't buy anything for the approval of others. And in this Yeah. Instance, I wanted to purchase something that that I wanted, and I didn't want employees. I didn't want customers family neighbor to to notice anything different here or there. And so that's very, very ironic time. Example. Yeah. Wolfe, I'll add one with my wife just to to make it even here on the stage because I'm sure my wife will listen as well.
There's a thing that I think intrinsically that we're talking about. Like, we're talking about the intrinsic motivation. And sometimes those things are are material. Or the way that we look or dress or whatever. And so I'm a very meticulous individual. I my hair is always done. My beard's always nice. Like, I present myself well. And that could come across as The I'm worried or concerned about what other people have for me.
Yes. I'm aware of first impressions Chaz I wanna be professional and all those things, but Really, the bottom line is I wear what I wear or I do what I do because it makes me feel good. Like, when I look in the mirror, I look at me and I'm like, boom. Let's go. And and that took her.
My my wife, Julie, a long time to Kings figure that out because it sometimes appears whether it's the material things, which I'm not super big on, but or just simply just aesthetics of looking nice or look good, feel good, is what something I've learned a long time ago in sales. And I was in inside sales. They couldn't see me at all, and I would still wear a suit and tie because it made me show up like a freaking stud.
And so if that affects me intrinsically and pushes me to the next level, it doesn't matter what it is, whether it's a purchase, whether it's an investment, Whether it's me taking time to pour into somebody else, whether it's doing a podcast when I literally have done hundreds of these with no sponsors, we make no money, but, like, Boom. I do this because I freaking wanted to do it. So, like, that that you can't you can't switch that out for a deeper motivation. Would you agree with that?
I I agree with The. And I would also agree with a beard like that. You have a duty that they read it. So except The the beard comes a great responsibility channel. That's right. That's right. I agree with Chaz. And it's funny too because we're working through some merchandise concepts, some, like, a clothing line concept, and One of the designs that was put on was just a beard and a crown, obviously, Gathering the king's crown, beard.
Not that every king has a beard, but It's kind of a go to thing. Anyway, this this design that we ended up working through, the side profile of it looks a lot like me, which is Kings funny. Not the intent at all. But I kinda like it. So, anyway, we might keep it for that reason, but okay. So really great stuff here, Caleb. I wanna switch over to a bad decision. I want something that wasn't your hottest hour.
You've already kind of been vulnerable on a few things, but I want something super practical on the business that we can go and not implement. Yeah. I think create having a culture, first off, where we don't always have to talk about the culture. But that's good. So Kings sure that you're blending it and doing Chaz. And you're you have this culture of collaborative environment where you're empowering people It's the faith trust confidence that you tell The. You say, hey.
You know, I have faith trust confidence. You're gonna make the right decision. I'm gonna back you and you give people autonomy to run their shop or run their business, run their crews. And Yeah. Yeah. I think there's with every decision, every type of leadership structure, there's positives and negatives from it. The positive definitely have to outweigh the negatives. So you're gonna not be a business That's right. So I think in having a, you know, Thomas culture where you say, hey.
Sure, Shah. Go ahead. I trust you. You know what you're doing. You know better than me. I'm a public school kid from Silsbee. I went to they don't teach us that until a master's degree. I don't have the 1. Yeah. You could do all the self different game things. Powered it and you're vulnerable, but you have to live with the consequences when you go down that road of full empowerment.com. That's right. I think that was a mistake that I made early on.
Is not being involved in war, not questioning war, not coaching war, not investing more. It's just they've got it. I'm gonna I don't wanna micromanage. I want to power and but it it led to some very stressful times early on. As far as trusting a relationship, as far as stressing the company financially, it it was very, very, very difficult. There's fallout from that ramifications.
So I think that good leaders no matter what type of culture you have, what type of leadership style you have, I think you you inspects what you'd expect. And so even if you give someone the autonomy to run their stuff, you still have to inspect with with what they're doing and and touch base and The coach. And so that's a fusion state. The interesting piece there is that there are personalities probably like yours that really lend to give autonomy easily. Right?
Like, you you either trust easily or maybe you're just not so much in the detail naturally, and so it's it's easier for you to give it away. But to your point, the tenacity of making sure things are done all the way when you have somebody in that role, especially if you hire well and you give them autonomy, that's, like, the ultimate moment of, like, oh, I can just give it to them. They're an a player. I shouldn't have to check. But it's actually they appreciate it usually.
If I'm a high performer inside of your organization and I'm the guy that you probably think that I shouldn't need a whole lot of checking. I probably actually want you checking on me because I want you to see me freaking winning. You know what I mean? And so it's like even in that pinnacle moment of the best person, they're they're doing everything right, whether you're looking or not, you still need to be in there for the sake of probably what they're looking for, which is your approval.
Wouldn't you agree? Yeah. Absolutely. And you have to remember back when you were Gathering that from someone else. Exactly. It was it's almost a foregone thought Wolfe. Chaz is good. Caleb's good. Look at the scoreboard. They're winning. Yep. But, you know, I I've used the the the analogy before. I'm a good dog, but you have to pet me every once in a while.
Yeah. And and I think you have to remember that how you felt and what you were needing from someone who might be more also focusing alpha based personality wise. The need that too. They want the acknowledgement. They want you to be involved, invested because what it's measured, it needs The pre or to bear, they're happy with the way they're performing, if they wanna be better as Wolfe. Just like we talked about Exactly.
Remember those things personally, and you gotta be able to deliver them to the people that you would help grow. I agree. Yeah. Love that. Love that. So cross t's dot i's. Make sure that you're checking on people. They respect what you inspect. Like Caleb said, even if they're freaking crushing it and they're a players, that's actually probably even more so of a reason to jump in there.
Kayla, I gotta know what's a business resource that you've just gotten so much value from that you can share with us? Book, podcast, events, what whatever it might be. Let's see. It's a good question. So many. I I think it's easy to when you feel unsecured, feel like you need to learn more. I think you'd inundate yourself so many different main goals and some of them were counterintuitive to each other.
If you can take one thing from a book or one thing from a podcast or one thing for a person to start building The claptically, like, who you are. Think that's great. I think Reynosa's success. I think it was a great book. I think basically The thick skin was something again I'm working Kings. I've read it years ago. I read it again. I think crucial conversations is just so important. Again, not just in business, I think the benefits are more in the house with my with my wife and my kids.
Yep. Guys like us, like, in a business, entrepreneurs, I mean, we're witty, we're quick and all this stuff and can play that up. But when something sparks you negatively or it and there's also a motion that's gonna get something out of The, cruise conversations, taught me to pause and to ask myself to follow what's really important and isn't worth it. And I think in business, but, you know, it's crucial. What are you really trying to do here? What is the goal?
Is it a relationship, or is it just a greasy sell? Well, you have to ask yourself The things. And when your wife gets you think you're a hero that you did The dishes for the first time in 2 years. I'm not saying Chaz. It's a personal experience of saying that hypothetically. But when you do that and you you think there's a positive response and the criticism is, like, why didn't you do The dishes this way? I have to pause.
And ask myself what's really important it is at work that The hypothetically didn't happen here. But I think that's really important because it it makes you remember what you're doing what you're doing for work. But another resource I'll tell you is I think people who believe in you trusting you, and I emphasize you The care about you. They don't care about your success. They don't care about your goods list.
They care about me when you're when you're low and hurting, and they wanna help you come back out. That's right. Just wasn't a pop up when you're successful and having some success. They're there with you. Surrounding yourself with those kind of people are just So in fact, a little burden that she Chaz to have her to be successful. Yeah. I had a mastermind member go through a triple bypass heart surgery recently.
And he's in his forties, and so it was completely unexpected and kind of a crazy scenario. But it was interesting because we went to see him in the hospital and sent his family food and just try to do all the The. But he sent me a text and was like, hey, man. I'm not gonna be around for a little bit. Like, I I'm sorry. I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, you don't need to be around. We need to be around you. What do you like, Wait a second here.
Like, your value is not always what you bring to the table, although we appreciate that, but a lot of times, this is just a time for us to meet you where you're at, and that's the value of really what you're talking about as community or relationship, whether it's the spouse, whether it's a a business partner, whether it's a collaboration, of somebody across industries or whatever, when you build it, like, for real, it doesn't matter if you're high or low.
They're gonna be there and an attempt to help wherever they can because That's how real relationships are built. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. It it's not on one side. And so it'll so definitely, again, the agreement, both people are winning, there for the regional, but it's a a better one. Yeah. Exactly. I wanna ask you a question about family.
We've been talking about family kinda in and out here, but We both have recently been on a family vacation, and I was telling you about our family mastermind that we went on and had some other families come with us and really tried to focus on not only just the session of our business that we've we already know that we are obsessed when it comes to the business world, but obsessing over my wife, obsessing over my children, what those relationships look
like, really just all the things that outside of the business. So my question to you, Caleb, is how have you or what are some practicals that you've done to obsess over those things in your life at the same time as obsessing about the business. I just don't believe that there's balance. I guess is what I'm really trying to say. How do you how do you throw balance out of the window and go all in, like you said at the very beginning, on your wife and kids at the same time.
Yeah. I think going all in, I think it's easy for people to say when it all cost, but there is a cost always. And you talk about the balance, stuck with your family, stuck with The kids, that's my cost. And there's one dad. I have one daughter. I have one son, healthy, beautiful kids. They they're good as they look like their mom. I have one The wides. And to them, I am everything in that role that they are everything to me. There's no replacement business. Again, good people.
People will work with The. You could do something else. You can go through another basket of bad ideas and find something that's good. And and do that. But with them, that is the cost. And I think so for me, it's as full sand intensely as you get into business and the metrics inside, and I'll go The number through the people, the processes. I think you have to do that and assess with your kids as well. And whatever that is that they like, not what you want them to like.
The the only role that we have here at this house is that you can do whatever you want. We're gonna support you But whatever you do, you have to do it with as much passion that that you see as an example. You have to be all in And you have to you have to give it a fair shake. You have to give it a go. There's no dab of yep. Love that. That's that's gonna help me balances. The time that we have with The. I'll speak for myself. It's not I want more, but the time that I do have is full go.
It's full of them. It's whatever it is The will. Yeah. I love that really good description of of obsession. It's like, if you're gonna do it, my expectation or our agreement, rather, if you're in this house, is that you're all in. Because nothing nothing that I've ever done halfway or dabbling, as you said, really ever turned out too much. And so why start even that as a bad habit with with your kids to dabble? I think that's that's great. I got one last question here. Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
Go ahead. Go ahead. No. No. On that vein, just to I think that's the biggest thing in business. I think you said it right there. Everyone wants to be successful. Everyone wants to win. But There's not many people who are willing to do what it takes to be successful. Truly. And, that's that's the measure. And so as a as a parent, The a father, if I Chaz instill that, here's what it takes. It it they're willing to do it, and they're all here.
I really feel like that's conditioning, you know, as a learned behavior for the future to to combat the world and to be successful. Yeah. That's right. And being able to show them how to do that type of passionate behavior in something that they're going after, but yet at the same time, their family, their relationships, and not necessarily sacrificing one for the other. I love that perspective.
The last question here for you, Caleb, is if you had the opportunity to speak to the younger Caleb, what would you tell that young man? After I slapped into a roast war. No. No. I I think it's be vulnerable. I would tell The younger Caleb and catch more flies The honey be vulnerable, let people see that you're, you it's real. You're not this callused. Android. It Chaz an an a quantifiable algorithm or something. It's people love you.
People wanna be around you because if you your successes and your faults. I think that's the biggest thing is when you're real, your your family, your internal customers, your external turtle customers, The appreciate that. And then they know that person that the world is open to. Yep. That's right. It's good stuff. Caleb, how can the listener find you? 1, if The need your products and service. Or 2, they're just an entrepreneur. They wanna connect with you that way. How can they find you?
Yeah. They can find me the LinkedIn. Then when I connect personally, I'm always available. I love to meet new people to hear their successes, their struggles as well. I always learn more. I steal from others than than I'm able to tell them so they could find me there. For our product, you can go to arrowbarrier.net, and The they can assign us The. For our products, we delivered it anywhere in the continental United States. But it's Yeah. It's it's awesome.
So we'd love to talk to more people and to hear their stories that grow from Yep. Well, Kayla, we appreciate that. And you have been vulnerable here today. Thanks for sharing. You brought us some immense value. We wish you nothing but blessing on your family, of course. At those dishes and the bid and the business that you're building. So just thank you again for being here. We appreciate it. Absolutely. And those dishes are that was a confession, by the way, so that came through out.
Thank you for having me. I greatly appreciate it. I look forward to them. Thank you for listening to Gathering the Kings today. I 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 business in multiple different industries and now interviewing over 2 or 300 The very successful 7, 8, and 9 figure business owners is that It's tough to do it alone. And so gathering the Kings 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 Chaz in the pursuit of excellence in those areas, Chaz 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 The very successful business owners. I want you to go to Gathering The Kings dot com.
Once you 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.