On today's episode of Gathering the Kings. You know, I I think if you're an entrepreneur, you you've you've made lots of mistakes. We had an opportunity to over The another company, and in it was, you know, it all seemed so good. We didn't really vet that company quite honestly, and it came back to bite us later. We win a contract. Everything is great. It's a year in. I'm getting ghosted by the owner of this other company. Who is the prime contractor? We're a subcontractor. So I'm calling.
I'm emailing. I'm texting 0 response. That The was, like, half of our company, working on this contract. And so they took our positions and booted us off the contracts, and we had like 0 recourse. And so I Chaz to lay out five people right before the holidays. Wow. And that was devastating. I mean, I I remember it. It was like 15 years ago, and I remember it to this day. What's up, everybody? I'm Chaz Wolfe, Gathering the Kings podcast. I'm your host. Back at you here today. King stage.
But I've got a an incredible queen here on the Kings stage. What a background this one Chaz. Carla, James. Welcome. I cannot wait. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Chaz. It's great to be here. Yeah. You know, real quick here before I let you tell us all of your awesome history here, but, Carla, for the The the listeners, Carla asked me a few minutes ago.
So, I know this is called Gathering the Kings, but, like, And so, in true queen fashion, making it a point to be different, although, you know, Kings is mindset and Queens have the the mindset that, that Kings do as well. But, Carla, you have an incredible background and some immense success. I want the listeners to buckle in because there's no Kings or queen talk here. This is just straight boss. You you are incredible. So Carla, what kind of business do you have?
Thanks, Jess. So I am the CEO of The Technical Solutions. We are an engineering services firm. Operating in the, government, contracting space. So Govcon, as we as we say the biz Yep. I'll turn it off to use too many acronyms today because we love acronyms in in the government. Oh, yeah. Well, you gotta keep things simple. Right?
And, that's smart people do, you know, I don't know what The listeners feel like, but when you said, you know, aerospace, engineering, like, it just sounds really smart. And for guys like me, I'm just honored to be here in the conversation here at the table. So Yeah. Charlotte, tell us inside of all of those words that you just used. What is it that you guys do? So in a nutshell, what we're doing is providing government organizations with technical expertise.
And we are strictly in the engineering space. So, I you know, my product is people. So I provide highly skilled engineers, whether it's a mechanical engineer or a software engineer network engineer, on and on, to government agencies to help them meet their mission. Wow. Yeah. You're you're looking for the best of the best. You have the best, the best. Let's say it like that, actually. Yeah. Okay. Well, so there's a yeah.
Well, and and and not just even in, talented individuals, but you've built large teams, very large businesses. And so let's, let's jump into it here. Before we get into your business history though, I wanna know for Carla. Individually The queen. What's burning on the inside? Why are you doing this? What's what's in it for you? Well, one of the reasons, I just mentioned that now we help organizations meet their mission. And our biggest client really is DOD Department of Defense.
And so at the end of the day, we're, you know, we're helping to secure national security. So when you step back and think about that, like, that's pretty impactful. Yeah. And I previously was, serving the air force. So I have that sort of, you know, sense of mission and and purpose kind of instilled at me at a fairly young age.
So I'm driven to mission oriented organizations, such as the one that I'm working for now, and notice what really hits me about every day is, you know, is having that mission you know, securing national security doesn't get more real than that. Yeah. Yeah. There's no there's no fluffing, the mission there. It it's like, you know, protecting us, like, literally.
Okay. Yes. When when you say you're mission driven, you know, from from a person listening here today, maybe they're a big business owner, maybe they're CEO, maybe they're just getting started and and in their entrepreneur journey. What does that mean? Chaz hasn't always meant the same thing to you to be mission driven.
You know, I think it's something, like I said, that I kind of learned through the Air Force, you know, obviously we're a for profit company, so we have to worry about the bottom line as well.
But, you know, helping these organizations to deliver you know, whether it's a new weapon system or software or, you know, whatever that that solution is, the idea that, you know, we're part of that mission, that I can instill a purpose into, you know, my team that Chaz value to that organization is really, you know, what drives us. And I, you know, and I do think it's something that I've always had within me, from a pretty early age is, you know, like mission of purpose kind of a line for The.
And, I think it's just it's, you know, it helps not only the organization as a whole, but, you know, I think individuals want a purpose, right? So it just makes us better as an organization and then, you know, we're making our client better because we're actually delivering what they want. Yeah. Obviously, there there's a a probably a large, depth of that for you to the the air force. First off, thank you for your service. Secondly, what do you think inside of that?
Like, I mean, obviously, there was, there was ritual and there was a lot of just, like, probably discipline that you learned through that process, but as far Chaz, like, being mission or purpose The than, like, going on a mission, right, outside of that tactical piece. But, like, more internal. What did the The Force give you or or maybe was it before that Chaz the Air Force pulled out of you? You know what I mean? Like Chaz that was the internal mission piece.
Yeah. I I mean, honestly, I can say the, I think the air force sort of saved me. Wow. It gave me discipline and direction that I, you know, severely Kings. You you make, friends there, you know, peers that become lifelong, you know, friends. But really The the discipline and the direct were things that I really needed and crave, and I got it The. You know, and then, you know, sort of that sense of purpose as Wolfe.
There's, you know, service before self is one of the sayings, and those are all things that just have stuck with me, you know, Yeah. I I served 8 years. So it wasn't, you know, a whole career, but it was long enough to be very impactful, obviously, to my 4 journey where I am today. Yeah. You you spoke to just that you had a craving for it. I think that all humans do. Right?
And then that was how you were able to kinda, you know, scratch that itch if you will, but but it ended for you even though even though 8 years isn't a quick period. That specific piece in for you, how did you carry what you learned in that as far as being mission oriented through. Like because a lot of times when things in like that, it's like, what do I do now? And I and I it's hard to carry it forward, especially for you into business. Being so successful.
Well, I, you know, I I think it's just part of my intrinsic core now. It's kinda who I am. You know, there there's always the next mission. You know, it might not be serving in the air force, but there's always a mission behind you know, everything you do. Yes. It's not like we're gonna go out and, you know, patrol Kings of mission play.
There's there is something you could do whether it's, you know, in a volunteer organization or, you know, a a company like mine where, you know, we are for profit. You know, I think it's just finding that purpose wherever you go to the next stage. And and I just always have been fortunate not to find purpose in meeting and and most of the dollarization I've been part of. And if and if I haven't, I honestly just moved on. Yeah. Yeah. I think I think you said it best at the beginning there.
He said it's just in me now. And so they they ingrained it into you, or you you allowed it to be ingrained. You you accepted it into your subconscious so deep that It just has it's how you operate. Let's let's let's fast forward here a little bit. So you you come out of the the air force. Tell us How does that connect with what you do today? What what's the gap here? What'd you do? Well, initially, I was, working for the government I was a government employee for a few years.
And then I that I was in the DC Metro area, so there's tons of organizations The, obviously supporting government agencies. After a few years of working for the government, I sort of had, like, this epiphany Chaz, like, oh, you know, Kings what am I doing in my life sort of mentality? Yeah. Sure. I don't really see myself sitting in this cube for a little bit of loss of measure. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. A 100%. And so I went out searching for, you know, my next mission.
And I found that And then that leapfrog me to start a business with somebody else, back in around 2007 ish and you know, all those things, kinda led me where I am today. Yeah. Okay. So, you did some leapfrogging there even in your story, which was which is fine. You started a business. You you've since had a whole track record. Your husband was actually on the show here as well. He's you know, a successful, entrepreneur as well.
And and so this house, this this James house is just a winning couple and winning family. Tell me about the process of you building that business with that person. Obviously, you're, you know, in the next thing now, but all the Wolfe. Give me give me like what that was maybe like at the beginning, but I also want, like, just keep in mind, like, you having another high performer in the house and maybe what that was like at the same time. Being being new in business. You know what I mean?
Sure. Sure. Well, the, the business that I started back in 2007, unfortunately, my husband was not my life quite yet, but, the, The know, a coworker and I, started that company basically because we were working for a small business that was wonderful. It was like term people, you know, the owner knew our names. He would like sometimes get down on the weeds and, you know, work on spreadsheets with us. And, you know, at some point, he decided it was time to sell.
And he did to a very large company. So we went from 200 to 12000 overnight. Yeah. As you imagine, the culture changed significantly. So The about a year or so after that, after that acquisition. And so a coworker came to me and said, you know, hey, I'm this idea. I'm a starting company. I was kinda like, good for you. And she's like, well, I was thinking maybe, do you wanna be my business partner? And I was like, yeah. Like, what do I have to lose?
You know, like, worst case scenario, I go back to work for The man, you know. And so we, the 2 of us, started in 2008 officially. And, when I left in 2016, we were approaching a hundred people. Wow. So it was a Tell us about the moment of her of her saying, Hey, I wanna start this company and you're like, yeah, you go. But it was like an invitation. Like, were you dumbfounded? Was that like, wait, wait a second? I mean, you kinda just were like, what what what do I have to lose?
But I mean, that's a big switch. You weren't thinking how do I get in on that? You know? No. No. You know, when it was, like, when, like, we were, like, I think we went to half the arm. Like, we literally were at like, with a napkin, you know. So I you know, it was sort of The the right time, right place, sort of situation because, you know, Chaz I said, The acquisition had been about a year. And, you know, the new company was okay, but I wasn't really thrilled with it.
You know, I went from being carla to, like, P 252. And the contract I the the contract I was on wasn't really super rewarding. I'd I was working the Pentagon, which seems very cool, but after a year, you know, it it was a little dull. So Yeah. Yeah. You know, and I it was just a matter I think of, you know, like, yeah, we can do The. Like, let's give it a try. And and as I said, you know, if if I had to go back to work, I Chaz find a job. Yeah. Absolutely. What do you think in that moment?
Cause I that gosh. That what's the worst case scenario? You know, let's just jump, see what happens. We've all been through that. Everybody listening here today has been through some form of that. And it's actually what unites almost every single entrepreneur is just that at some point, you said, You know, like, and you and you jump and you see what happens. For you, what do you think gave you the logic? Cause, I mean, you're just saying it so logically.
You're just like, well, you know, worst case scenario, I go back to work and blah blah blah. No big deal. And where maybe others would have, like, over analyzed and, like, you know, run spreadsheets because, again, that's probably what you're pretty good at. And so you could have, like, you know, really torn into the numbers and projected out the next 50 years. And is this gonna work? And what's all the risk analysis? But it didn't sound like you did that. Tell us. No. I did not.
You know, and I think I mean, I'm not risk averse by nature, so I think that's part of it. You know, I I don't wanna say I'm fearless because as I get older, I have I do have fears, but, you know, I think it might I've I've been pretty fearless in life and and not afraid to change kinda getting outside of my comfort zone.
You know, when I, I think I may have skipped over this, but, you know, when I was working for the government and I decided to leave the government, everyone was like, you're crazy. The government's so stable. Why would and it takes and it takes a while to get into the government. So Yeah. You know, was like, oh, I can't believe you're leaving the government.
Wolfe, that end up being one of the best decisions of my life, because the company that I went to go work for, that small company told you about, was amazing. I met, you know, great people. It was super rewarding work. And, you know, oh, by the way, when that owner sold the company, he gave all of his employees a little windfall. So and then I met my, you know, my soon to be business partners.
So, you know, when you think back, like, yeah, some things seem scary or risky, but it's paid off for me. So maybe it wasn't as scary. And like I said, I I kind of think of myself as a risk averse person by nature. Yeah. And so for the person listening right now who maybe isn't, right, and they're a little bit more of the calculated. I don't know.
What would you say to them that that they could lean into to to be because you you Kings of do it naturally, which I think a lot of entrepreneurs do, but for the ones that are a little bit more not, what what would you suggest for them? Be courageous. You know, I you know, The you have to try new Kings. And like I just said, being on your comfort zone is really The only way you're gonna grow. And I would just I would just, you know, challenge yourself. Challenge yourself.
Be courageous and just try it. Yeah. I wanna I wanna suggest. I'm gonna and I'm curious to hear what your thoughts are. I wanna suggest that you're yes. You you were courageous in that moment, and you were just willing to take the The. But it seems as if maybe you just had a certain level of confidence in you, not necessarily in the situation or in the business, but that you were just like, you know what? I'll figure it out.
And worst case scenario, you even gave yourself, well, me figuring it out in the worst case scenario is that I have skills and I'm confident in those I would just go work for somebody else and, you know, it is what it is. For me, that here I'm hearing your, like, kind of rational or logical decision making being tied to your confidence, either a in your skill set or in you. Would you agree with that? Yes. Yeah. I I would say I always land on my feet. So Yeah. Yes. I Wolfe say you are correct.
I Well, it makes it makes it, like, when you're deciding, like, how risky is this, but you're like, well, if if I know I'm gonna land on my feet, it's not that you don't look at it close enough, but you just you know, I'm gonna land on my feet. Let's just figure it out. Right? Correct. Yes. Is your biz was your business partner like this also, or or was it a little bit of Kings and yin? No. No. She I would say she's even she was even more confident than I was.
I was the introvert of the partnership she was The extrovert. So, she, yeah, she got she just exuded confidence. Yeah. Wolfe, and so, I'm sure I'm sure some of that played into as Wolfe. Your confidence towards her and her com confidence towards you. It's funny too because and and I don't know. Maybe maybe share here, but sometimes the extroverted, you know, show host. I mean, not me. Sorry. Your your partner. That's what I mean.
Sometimes The of us who appear to be really confident and extroverted really are just needing a little bit of validation from somebody who we believe to be really smart or, you know, good at what they do. And so I don't know. Would you think, like, in that moment, her asking you, like, you being interested was, like, her saying, okay, like, this is a good idea. She wants to be with me. I feel stronger with her being with me. Do you think that? I think that's part of it.
Yeah. I mean, you know, like, she definitely like that energy from other people. And, you know, I think that validation was part of it. Yeah. Of course. Okay. Well, give me something super practical inside of that business, or inside of the business that you're running now. Either The, I wanna know if it's a really good decision that you've made that's led to a lot of your success. That you can share?
Well, I think, I Kings touched on a a little while ago about, you know, my decision to leave kind of a cushy government job you know, that I I could still be there, you know, 20 years. I I I could have stayed there my entire career and been perfect fine, safe, you know, kind of recession proof you're working for the US government. And I probably would have, you know, moved up The ladder a little bit here and The, Yeah.
But, you know, I I think it's important for, you know, if an opportunity presents self or you're not feeling a purpose anymore to, you know, look for look for something where you're gonna have impact. And and if I hadn't left that job and gotten the job that I did, I probably would not have been an entrepreneur in running a business. I, you know, I probably would have never have taken that leap quite honestly.
So, you know, making that change, like, you know, being courageous and Kings of stepping outside of my comfort zone, leaving something safe and and stable, has really propelled me to where I am today, you know, to now running another company as a CEO.
You know, getting to, you know, start my own business, having a successful run at that, you know, kind of leaving on my own, like, when the time is right, to where I am now, you know, all The things occurred because I, you know, got on my comfort zone, left a Kings of a stable environment. You know, here I am today. Yeah. And, obviously, there's there's different people listening here, entrepreneurs, you know, maybe even team members.
You know, I have a lot of sales people that listen to the call. I may maybe even some of your team members anything. But the the reality here is that you're saying to find purpose. Like, get out of your comfort zone to find what's fulfilling For some, it'll be entrepreneurship. For some, it's a different department. For some, it's a different company because the one that they're in right now isn't fulfilling them purpose wise. Is that am I am I on the right track with you for the listener here?
Yes. Yep. Yep. I, yeah, I could I should be should be great. I think, you know, purpose and meaning. I mean, we spend so much of our time at work. So you wanna make it purposeful. Yeah. Absolutely. What about a bad decision. Let's flip the coin. I wanna hear of, I mean, you're pretty calculated. Let's talk about something that was not your greatest hour. Oh, I I can give you, many, many examples. You know, I I think if you're an entrepreneur, you you've you've made lots of mistakes.
You know, I I could think of, The very, very early, in in our company that I started, you know, here young in your ear company, you're looking for work. Obviously, government contracting can be, mind boggling and and frustrating. It happens very slowly too. So we had an opportunity to partner with another company, and in it was, you know, it all seemed so good. And, We didn't really vet that company quite honestly, and it came back to bite us later.
So we, you know, we get into a partnership with this company. We win a contract. Everything is great. It's a year in. And the government typically does, you know, 5 year contracts. I a base here and then they exercise option back The that. So government exercise option. Alright. We're in. And I'm I'm getting ghosted by the owner of this other company. Who is the prime contractor? We're a subcontractor. So I'm calling. I'm emailing. I'm texting 0 response. And I have 5 employees.
At that time, it was like half of our company, working on The contract. And so, I mean, The end of it is basically they they took our positions and booted us off the contract, and we Chaz, like, 0 recourse. I mean, I we found out later that this company was very litigious. It actually the owner has sued her own employees on several occasions.
You know, in in our in our locked was like, you know, you really don't have any, you know, any chance of winning and it's gonna, you know, cost you a lot of time and money. And so I had to lay out five people right before the holidays fun. And that was devastating. I mean, I I remember it. It was like 15 years ago, and I remember it to this day. How impactful that was, you know, on on us.
And so, you know, going forward, we were a lot more, you know, trust, but verify approach to, getting to, you know, partnerships with other companies. And, you know, that was just a hard lesson learned, but it was luckily it happened early. So going forward is, you know, a lot more vetted going on. Yep. Hey, Kings and Queens. Jazz Wolf. I wanna talk to you about something that's super important to me. We put a lot of time and effort.
We, meaning myself and my team, into this podcast, into the content that goes out every single day. And if you have been getting any sort of value or insight from this, we want it to be able to reach other business owners too. So we would love if you would like, comment, share, leave a review, post, share again, all of the things on social media, on all the different platforms, or even on the podcast mediums of Apple and Spotify.
We would love to be able to get our content into more hands, more entrepreneurs so they can grow their business as quick possible. Together, we are building a community of like minded entrepreneurs who are committed to growing their businesses to new heights. So let's do this. Let's help each other. Let's hope each other grow. Well, and those a lot of those mistakes do happen early, like you're saying, because we don't know any different. And and so we cross the the path and that happens.
And then we either learn from it, and it doesn't happen again. Or we don't learn from it, and it and it basically just destroys us eventually. But okay. So for you, there's a little bit of a vetting process, probably some legal, some contracts, you know, that that you just do better. What did you learn from a people perspective?
Like, you know, the layoff people You had you were dealing with this person that you obviously thought was trustworthy, but then wasn't like I mean, you've led a lot of people now. What did you learn about people through that whole circumstance? Well, I mean, I like to think that most people are are good, you know, at their core. But again, The trust but verify.
And, you know, one thing that I sort of as I've, you know, gotten older and and been in business for a while, you know, a lot of it is, like, your gut, like, kind of trust your gut. You know, back in that situation, I did have a little bit of hesitation, but, you know, we were eager and, you know, we needed to work. Right? So you just sort of, like, jump in and, and, like, that didn't work out. So, you know, a gut check is always a good Gathering.
But also it's like doing some due diligence you know, I think for the most part, you know, people are, you know, good. And I've had so many amazing, you know, employees and partners, throughout the years but, you know, every now and then you have a bad apple, you just have to begin to look out for them and and, you know, to hopefully recognize it sooner rather The later. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that you're spot on with that.
What are some of those maybe tell tells, you know, those little those little red flags along the way? That spike your interest now before it gets The, that you're like, I don't know about this. What are those things that you're paying attention to? You know, Wolfe, one of the things with usually people like in leadership roles or, excuse me, or, you know, upper management, you know, if they're not humble, that's usually, assigned for me if they have kind of a ego.
Yeah. Big ego, that's a sign for me. You know, those are those are The very big telltale signs for me. How how does that come across in a conversation or in a Zoom meeting? Like, how do you you're like, oh, that person's you know, arrogant or, you know, how do you how does that how do you, like, translate that? You know, obviously Kings very boastful. You know, and and in this industry, it's all about, you know, what your team does. Like, I am not on a client site delivering a software package.
Yeah. I have no idea. I'm I can I can probably describe it to you, but I can never actually do that work? And so when you have, you know, a a someone's running a team or an executive talk about I, I, I, I, all the time, or they don't really know anything about their people. You know, that's that's telling. You know, you can ask me, you know, I have a 100 folks. I can probably tell you something a little something about each one of The.
And I I think that's important, especially when you're a small business. So, you know, it's that whole mentality of it's all about me. And when I talk, I try to talk about my team and and what we've done, and try to be inclusive. Yeah. Yeah. I think that there's just a a maturity at some point. If because we all start there with the with the I, the me. It's it's just natural. But I think for the ones that what you're saying that we're looking out for, It's not that they've not grown out of it.
They're just a they're just, you know, on the other side of the track, a little bit maybe more malicious about it. And and that's a telltale. You're a 100% right. It could also be a telltale for someone who just hasn't matured enough, and they're not necessarily evil perspective, but per se. But I think that those are great things.
What about because you because you raised up so many people in these different organizations, for the person that I'm Kings describing right now who has some of those arrogant, maybe prideful, boastful about me, me, me, stuff, but they're just they just haven't matured. And how how are you how do you how have you helped them mature? How have you walked them through? Have you seen them come through it to the other side? And and become a great leader?
Well, I I think, you know, I'm I'm trying to give somebody that I know that may have, you know, gone through The, but, Sure. I, you know, I I think one of the things I I tell people is, you know, listening is a skill. So, you know, listen more than you talk, being an active listener, I think Kings important, you know, to hear people, to hear what they're saying. I think that's helpful, you know, to Kings of grow and mature, and and think more about the weed and the eye.
Yeah. You know, I I, you know, I am I'm trying to I I can't think of anybody I know off the top of my head that I've I've seen kind of transition that way, but I'm sure there's somebody. Well, let me let me do some active listening here, and ask you, what does active listening look like for you? Because you're right. Someone might be hearing you speak right now, but they're not listening. Or maybe it's the reverse. They're listening, but they're not hearing. I don't know. They're not getting it.
Right. Well, so so first of all, you talk Kings don't talk, right? You're listening. So you're sitting back and so I say, you know, Chaz, tell me how things are going today or, you know, what's going on at work, what's new with you, you tell me, and then I repeat So what I'm hearing you say is X Y And Z to make sure that I actually heard what you were saying.
I think Kings of like, repeating, rephrase rephrasing what you heard to that person to ensure that you actually are getting the message of what they're saying to you. You know, when I meet with my, team, I try to do, like, The on ones and, you know, how are things going? What's going on with you? And, don't, you know, tell me and I'll and so I'll say, oh, do you need help with what, you know, what you're talking about? Do you need help with x? How about y?
And I think like I said, sort of, you know, repeating, rephrasing what you heard to make sure that you're actually hearing what they're saying is really important. Yeah. You gave some really, really, good practicals there. The one thing that I heard you say that you didn't say with your words was that you cared. You know, be because you're sitting in that meeting with a person, you, as a human, saw another human. And, yeah, there's work to be done, and we're talking about the project.
And you know, XYZ, but you also said how are things going? Do you need help? A leader that is paying attention or that isn't all about me me me. Is constantly focused on those that are around The, like you're talking about. And Carl has given you guys as far as listeners some really, really practicals here, but inside that meeting, if Carla didn't care, even if she was asking those questions, it would come across as disingenuous. And we all know what that feels like.
We all know what that feels like. Right? Yes. Yeah. I think that's a really important fact. It's like, I do care, and I do wanna know. And I, you know, I try to start every meeting with, you know, how are these Kings? Tell me about your weekend or, you know because I wanna know. I'm interested. You know, I wanna know the people that I'm spending a good portion of my day with. Yeah. There's a difference.
We've all been in the meeting where you talk about the quote unquote weekend or whatever because it's it's the corporate thing Chaz opposed to, like, I know your family. Right? I I know the name of your husband or your wife or your children. And when you tell me that you guys went to a water park this weekend, I can envision you with know, your husband and your kids, you know, going to the water park. So it's real is what you're saying. Exactly.
How how how does that look different in an organization of a 100 versus when you first got started and it was just you and your partner and maybe 1 or 2 people that you brought on. Wolfe. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's entirely different.
I mean, you know, back in the early days of of that company that that I cofounded, basically every person that worked for us was somebody that we had worked with before or that we personally knew was a friend, and it wasn't until we got to about 20 where they were no longer like our inner circle people. Sure. So, you know, as you expand, you have less and less, you know, personal connection with those with, you know, with the employees that you're bringing on.
And so it's not as personable, but, you know, you try to have a connection with somebody. Like you said, you know, I know that you're a voting guy. So, you know, I'm and I I love boats. So we're gonna chat about boats. Because I I do wanna make a connection, and I want it to feel genuine. I don't want it to be like a force corporate spiel. Right? But it is it is harder obviously as, you know, the the numbers grow. You know, and especially like we are a remote company.
All of, you know, all of our employees are in different places on different client sites. So, you know, trying to bring people together, you know, to do some, you know, some, events, where they can bring their families and, you know, just try to get to know people, but it is It is it is a challenge. Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. A lot a lot a lot of layers The, that maybe an an office would would solve, but you can't because you're in different locations.
I love in fact, I love the remote piece. I think that we're just I mean, technology just allows for that. So Right. I wanna transition here a little bit. I want you to tell me of just a business resource that you've used over the course of years. Maybe it's a book, maybe it's you know, a podcast that you like to listen to or just some sort of a event that you've been to, something you've invested into that's giving you great feedback that we could go download or buy or attend.
Wolfe, I'm an avid reader. That's one of my favorite things to do. I read a ton. I usually have 2 or 3 books going at a time, so using like one for fun and then, you know, a couple of business books. So, Okay. Okay. And I'll listen to webinar too, but I think I think one of the books that really I would recommend is, start with y by Simon Scenic. Yeah. Great book. Chaz, you know, that book to me, you know, we talk a lot about purpose today.
So, I mean, I think that book Kings lays out, like, you know, what is your why? Why are you here? You know, why are you showing up every day and get out of bed? So I think that's sort of like a foundational book that I've read that really, I think, you know, across any industry, would be useful for for folks. And he also Chaz a great podcast too, but, you know, that one, and I go back to, way, way back in the day, one of the first it's books I ever read.
It was, good to great by Jim Collins and and I think that's, you know, I think that's a classic. I think it's with stay at the test of time. So, I I I'm a big fan of reading, so I encourage, you know, all my folks to read, just be curious and and read. Yeah. That last little, be curious. I mean, that's that's the ticket. Right? It doesn't I mean, I like to read also, but I like to listen and and, of course, we we produce podcast highly successful people like you.
So and I've been to many of events. And we host events. And so I was like, you just have to be hungry, really. I think is what we can both agree on. Yeah. What about, you know, I I wanna go back to the family dynamic here because, like I said, your husband was on the show a couple months ago and and, great coffee business. And, the the dynamic between not just an one entrepreneur in the home, but 2, is is heavy.
And so my question to you is specifically around what might be considered work life balance in this regular Wolfe. I don't like the word balance at all. In fact, I don't even agree with it. I think obsession is a better word. And so if we were to say work life obsession, we obsess over our business, we obsess over our people, we obsess over our family, our marriage, you know, fill in the blank. And Right.
I find when when I'm not obsessing of whatever that area is, it's not that I'm I need to take away from the other thing and balance it. I just need to obsess about the thing that I say that's important to me. So for you, especially having a super high performing husband as well, what does that look like? What does life obsession look like for you guys? How do you do it? Well, I I would say work life integration. There you go. I love that.
Yeah. Yeah. I I mean, obviously, you know, we're both running businesses or both busy. But, you know, the the fun thing is having someone at home that I can, you know, bounce ideas off of or talk to about, like, having, you know, because, I mean, The a CEO can be lonely. So actually having You get to go home to your own mastermind. Right. Exactly. Exactly.
And, you know, been helpful for both of us, you know, to bounce ideas off or, you know, password in bed to you because you can't really bed to your employees. Right? So, it's been, you know, it it's it's wonderful. And like I said, there's an integration aspect. So, you know, we do events. You know, he's in the in the coffee industry. So, you know, there's food and beverage events. I'm lucky I get to attend.
And, you know, and, you know, they're for work, but they're also, you know, you're having fun too, right, because you're Yeah. Drinking some great coffee and you're meeting interesting people. Get to go to Costa Rica to a coffee farm with him. So it's, you know, it's I think it's about, you know, understanding that, you know, they are gonna be intertwined. There is no such thing as, you know, work life balance. I agree with you.
And, you know, and and I think we're both really good about knowing, like, okay. I'm getting burned out. I need to take a break. Like, let's go for a hike. You know, we're we're a big hiker, so that's kind of our you know, our little escape and and Kings break. But, you know, I'm I feel very fortunate. Like I said, that I have you know, tried to talk to because, it's great having your own mastermind now.
And Yeah. You know, and and, and when he was making the jump, and I'm I'm sure he talked about, like, going from a very large corporation, like ExxonMobil to a family owned business, I like to think I was pretty helpful. To him because, you know, he had never been in small business before. And I was like, it is another it is another world. You have no idea. Yeah. Especially from such a large company like Exxon. Yeah. Yeah. But, like, you know, he's he's been great and vice versa.
Like, you know, he knows a lot about process and procedures, which, you know, is is helpful along the way because sometimes when you're a you're in a business and you're just kinda doing things while I see to your pants, you're like, you should think about doing this, this, and I'm like, oh, yeah. That's a good idea. Going back to that risk, averse Gathering, like, you know, maybe I should have some steps here. That's really, really good.
I appreciate the perspective there of you guys and the dynamic. What what do you think from like a, like, marriage specifically? Like, you guys, you talked about integration of life, but just the marriage and the honoring of 2 people. Obviously, you're different people, but you're both entrepreneur, you know, both Chaz, you're both, you know, high performers, high achievers.
The one Kings, and I'll say this and I'll let you answer, but when he was on the show, he just had so much admiration and honor for you He the way that he talked about you was, like, that you were on top of the world and that he ran this company and that you were actually really the stud that needed to be on the show. And, I just I I remember that. Like, it was like, I was just on the phone with him.
So talk about Chaz, talk about maybe what being high performers inside of the marriage has looked like. Wolfe, first of all, he's my biggest fan. So I I'm so honored to Chaz, you know, to be with him. And, you know, and and I haven't talked about humbleness. Like, that's why he's at a great leader because he is very humble because he is an amazing leader. And as you probably know from the show, but he he talks about everybody else except for himself.
He is, you know, the fact that he just jumped in the coffee, didn't know the industry. And, you know, 5 years later, he's he's a Kings, talking, copy expert. People that meet him are like, think that he's been in the business for 20 plus years, you know. And so he we need he needs to do his own horn, but I'll do it for him. So, That's right. That's right. But, you know, we're we're we're newlyweds.
I was we've been married for a little over 7 years now, so I, you know, we're we're Kings of newlyweds and, you know, I don't know, I don't I don't think he shows with it, you know, in the show, but one of the reasons The are several reasons. But one of the reasons for me, asking my business partner back in 2016 to, you know, buy my shares of the company was to rough and get married. You know, it was sort of like the next stage of my life.
I, you know, I met Craig and he was a guy that I never thought existed. And, you know, I was like, here's a here's a person I wanna grow old with. Like, I didn't think that person existed. And, you know, and I have this very successful company, but you know, maybe it's time for the next step next stage in my life. And so, you know, that's that's how that all went down is, you know, I I, I left my company, and Craig and I ran off and got married.
And so it's it was, the best decision I made in my life. I can tell you that right now. And, you know, I think I think both of us are very driven and determined people, but we're, you know, but I think, thankfully, we both have a lot of good, you know, a lot of same hobbies. Like, I just mentioned, we love hiking. Sure. We love to bike. We look at the outdoors.
So you know, even though we're high performers, we are able to Kings of step back and, you know, like, life, you know, we're not gonna be our deathbed and said I should have worked The more day. You know, you have enjoy, you know, every day. And that's what we do. So, Yeah. And it sounds like you enjoy each other. Is that is that part of the equation? Yes. For sure.
Yeah. I I think, you know, like, there's, I mean, especially with, you know, COVID Chaz has been super stressful, Gathering businesses, especially you know, in in the coffee and food business. So, yeah, if we didn't if we didn't enjoy each other, they're, you know, I don't know if we'd still be here. Yeah. Exactly. Okay. Well, I I have one last question here for you, Carla. You've given us some amazing insights. Thank you for that little, personal peel back there with Craig.
I think that Again, that you guys are just really honoring with each other and, wanted to point that out to the listeners. My last question here for you is if you had the opportunity to go back in The, and whisper to the younger Carla. What would you tell her? Oh, there's so many things. You know, one thing I would I would I would whisper in my ear is join the Air Force at high school.
So I was one of those sort of rebellious teenagers who, you know, thought I knew everything and, I didn't go to college and I didn't go into service. I goofed around for many years. And then, you know, I luckily one day woke up and said, what am I doing? And I went to the Air Force recruiter and said sign me up. But if I could go back in time, I woulda I shoulda went right after high school. That would have been the best thing for me.
You know, luckily it all worked out, but there was probably a few years there of, you know, I didn't need to go through. Would like to go back and tell my younger There's bad decisions in there. Yeah. Don't be so stubborn. I'm just gonna, you know, yeah. I think that that's that message is clear. Gathering starting earlier, don't be so stubborn. I think that you've you've dropped several really powerful things that that even, you know, we can take away.
Because we have these same moments, even now, like, whether it's the next business or you taking, you know, an opportunity to be CEO or Craig Kings the opportunity to be, you know, in in a brand new industry. Like, we have these moments where we're we we can look back and to your point go, I should do this or I shouldn't wait or I shouldn't, you know, fill in the play. So I appreciate that. How can the listener, how can listener find you as an individual?
The wanna reach out to you as an entrepreneur, just pick your brain, get to know you. Or, your company. Give us clear directions on, if we if if we listening today have some sort of a contract, that needs your help or some sort of connection in the government, how can we get them to you? Sure. So you can find me on linkedin, Carla James. That's the best way to contact me And then the company is, Solidist Technical Solutions, so you can email me at Carla with a seat.
Atsolidisdashts.com, or you can visit our website, which is solidusdashts.com. And I would be happy to connect with anybody, whether it's, you know, on a just a networking level or, you know, you have some, engineering needs. Yeah. Love that. You've been incredible. You you have a track record that speaks for itself, but I'm so glad I got to hear the story behind it all. And, and for the listener, you know, you guys got plenty. So I hope that, you were taking some notes.
And, Carla, thank you for being here. Blessings to you, your family, your team, amazing people that are doing amazing things. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much. 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 Kings it all on your own, carrying the weight all by yourself. What I have realized, not only in my own journey from multiple businesses in multiple different industries and now interviewing 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 exists to bring together successful entrepreneurs.
In fact, we are putting together 1 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, 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 The very successful business owners. I want you to go to Gathering. Kings 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.