Lighting for Profits - Episode 207

JC Chanowsky — The Freedom Maker — helps entrepreneurs reclaim their time, energy, and purpose. From military discipline to 7-figure strategy, JC brings you no-fluff insights to fuel your freedom.

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Ryan Lee: If you're looking to start or grow a landscape lighting business

Welcome to Lighting for Profits.

All, Light, All Light, All Light.

Powered by Emery Allen. Here is your host, Ryan Lee. A, lot. A lot of light.

I meant to get a drink before I hit the Go Live button. Here I go. What's up, everybody? I'm Ryan Lee, your host of Lighting for Profits, powered by Emory Allen. It's going to be a great show. Did you know that we are trending? We're the number one landscape lighting show in Wilmington, North Carolina. This is going to be a lot of fun, guys. If you're looking to start or grow a landscape lighting business, you're definitely in the right place. hey, listen, we've got J.C. chinowski. Some people call him Jared. I don't know what. We might have to get into that and figure out what happened with his identity change. Maybe it's his 2.0. Maybe he's stepping into someone else. I don't know. But I know him as J.C. so I'm gonna go with J.C. today. and, this guy is really cool, owns several businesses, has a cool story, cool background, and we're going to get into all the things we're going to get into, obviously some of the wins, but we're going to talk about some of the struggles along the way. Because in reality, that's what business is.

the.

The language of learning is pain. I think I just read or heard that the other day. I was like, that's cool. The language of learning is pain. And, unfortunately, it's, it's actually true. So, here to educate, here to motivate, here to help you dominate. And I, want to remind you guys, we got Secret Summit. So if you're in Landscape Lighting Secrets, want to remind you, Secret summit coming up September 25th through 27th in West Palm Beach, Florida. It's not going to suck, I can promise you that. And, a lot of people have been asking me, well, how do I come? And if I'm. If I'm not in landscape Lighting Secrets. Well, there's two ways. Number one, we're actually, this year, we're opening up the invitation to everyone who's in Lighting Academy, so. So if you don't know what Lighting Academy is, you can go check it out. Lightingacademy. net or you can just shoot me a message. We can hop on a call, whatever it is. But, you can join Lighting Academy. it's actually a dollar for the trial, and then it's 97 bucks a month. So you can join that right now and you get the invitation to Secret Summit. Or if you want to just join Landscape Lighting Secrets, which is what you probably should do anyway. You've probably been on the fence for two years and you're like, okay, what the heck? Might as well. That will also get you the invitation to Secret Summit. so that's going to be September 25th through 27th. And as a reminder too, if you are cheap and you're like, well, I don't make investments in myself and I'm not going to join any of those programs, but I still want to be there for some of it, you can, you can come September 27th to Greg, Greg Matthews, his, 10 year anniversary for luxury illumination. We're throwing on a huge party for the lighting industry. So, that one, you can come. You do just need to register for. It doesn't, it doesn't cost you any money. But we just need to get a headcount because we got a live band, we got food, we got stuff, we got drinks. It's gonna be sick. So, if you want to come to Secret Summit, that's what you need to do. If you have questions, just reach out. Also, thank you guys so much for the reviews. They are stacking up. We're up to 83. And, surely I know 17 people out there that are listening to this that have not given me a review. I just want to get to 100 at that point. I probably will relax a little. So hook me up. And again, we got Mr. J.C. chinowski coming on. We're going to be talking about several of his businesses. we got, Cape Fear. Is that right? Sheesh. I should have, should have pulled this up. Cape Fear Pro Wash. also probably one of my favorite brands out there, Patriot Illumination. Like, I'm, I'm like pissed that I didn't go that I'm not military, because I love that name. I wanted to do like Patriot Illumination, but people would be like, but what's, what's the background? I'm like, my grandpa, my grandpa was in the army, by the way, my grandpa got his finger shot off in World War II. Which is kind of cool. I mean, it's not cool, but I guess. Yeah, that's weird.

There's faster ways to success, there's easier ways to win

all right, so before I have J.C. on, I want to talk about a couple things. I was crunching some numbers recently, and so many people are struggling, so many people are hurting. And it hurts me because I'm here to help you guys, okay? there's, there's easier ways to win and doesn't mean, it's the only way. Like, I did it the hard way for like 12 years, but there's faster ways to success. There's. It's like you go to Disneyland, you can pay extra, get the fast pass. Well, I'm going to give you. Without paying extra, I'm going to give you guys the fast pass right now to turbocharge your revenue, or if you want to just turbocharge your profits, which might be the cooler thing to do. I'll give you guys both of those and I. And then we'll have JC join us. So, I was thinking, okay, the goal, if someone's like at 3, 4, 500 grand, even 700 grand, the goal is to get to that million. I don't know what it is, but it's just cool. When you get your business to a million dollars, that's like the first benchmark, right? And then once you get to a million, then it's like, okay, now what? it's actually not as cool as you thought it was going to be, but, it's cool the first time.

I want to share my million dollar formula. If you want to get to a million dollars as fast as possible

And so I want to share my million dollar formula. If you want to get to a million dollars as fast as possible, or maybe you're already doing a million, two, three, whatever it is, if you want to just make an extra seven figures in the next 12 months, this is it. And it's going to seem so simple that some of you are not going to do it. And you're like, that's stupid. And that's kind of the point. Like the pros, the people who like, go to the majors, the people that are the best at what they do, they focus on the fundamentals. And the key word is focus. actually it's fundamentals too, but they focus. They actually have intention. They're not just wandering around in the wilderness and living this chaotic life, okay? And most of us, our businesses are freaking chaos. So I want to help you guys focus and get intentional.

The 2050 is what if in your area. And there's a lot of ways to a million dollars

And so I want to share with you my 2050 called my 2050 principle. And there's a lot of ways to a million dollars. You could get 200 people to give you $5,000. And it just so happens that 200 times 5,000 is actually a million dollars. And listen, I did that when I was first starting my lighting business. That was our average ticket. It was $5,000. We got 200 people to give us. We did a million dollars. It was cool. I was excited, but I didn't know there was an easier way. And so that's what the 2050 is what if in your area. And I, know some of you are gonna be like, you can't get that in my area. Well, you probably can, because in your area, I'm just asking you to go find the 20 people. The 20 people that would give you $50,000 in exchange for a badass lighting system. It's the 2050. 20 people give you 50k in the next 12 months. Do you think if you, if that was your focus? I mean, if you're like, well, I might think about it, I might try something, might make some cold calls, I might knock on a pool builder's door, then that's not going to work. But if you focused and this was like, okay, every week I'm going to spend 10 hours a week on the 2050. Do you think you could get 20 people to give you $50,000 in exchange for a badass lighting system? In fact, you could do a social media post that says what you're doing, I'm looking for 20 people to give me 50k in exchange for a badass lighting system. Like, get annoying with it. Okay? And this is the fastest way. It's 20 people. It's only 20 people, right? And maybe you're in an area that's not Dallas, that's not West Palm beach, that's not la. Okay, I get that. But we're not trying to get just in these areas, we're trying to pinpoint the 20 homes in those nice 20 neighborhoods that are going to be like 50K. That's it. Right? So it's going to get super intentional. And you do this by, by focusing on referral partners.

Your dream client is someone who has a lot of money

So I want you to write down a list of all the people who already have relationships with your dream client. And who is your dream client? If you don't know, spend some time doing that. But in landscape lighting, your dream client is someone who has a lot of money, okay? They go on vacations to Vail and Europe and all this other stuff, right? So that's your dream client. And who already knows them? Well, it's interior. They hire interior designers and give them tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to help them design things. Custom home builders, pool builders, artificial, turf people, interior designers. Did I mention them? what about, AV companies? Home automation? Poor people do not hire home automation companies. So if you get in with these companies and tell them, hey, we want to help you grow your business, we get asked from time to time if we know a good home automation company, if we know a good Pool builder. If you do this relentlessly, it's, you're not going to fail. You might fail at first, the first five people might hang up on you, right? You're going to get better and better and better and eventually you're going to get 20 people to give you 50k. And that's a million dollar business. That's so much easier than getting 200 people to give you 5K. And these clients, they're less picky, they don't care as much. They're like, okay, they're not going to get 14 quotes. They don't want 14 different people at their house. They just want to hire you because you are trusted from the person that referred you. So 2050, remember this principle. Apply it, check it out. This is going to grow your revenue. Now if you're not don't know your numbers and you're not doing this other stuff, you go make a million dollars and not only not make money, but you might lose money.

The Triple 10 is the fastest way to boost your revenue and profits

So the second thing and the last thing I want to share before we have JC on is the fastest way not to just turbocharge your revenue, but fastest way to turbocharge your profits. Because this is what it's all about. Like, who cares about a million dollars in revenue? Like I want to make million dollars in profit. Okay, so here it is. This one's called the Triple 10. Now the Triple 10 is pretty simple. It's 10-10-10, okay? And all you're gonna do this is the magic formula. Guys, I'm telling you, everyone wants the shiny object. This is the shiny object. 10, 10, 10, 10. Increase your price by 10%. Okay, that's the first 10. Increase your price by 10%, increase your closing rate by 10% and increase the number of quality leads that you're getting now by 10%. So you focus on these three things. Increase your price by 10%, your closing rate by 10, and your number of leads by 10%. Which honestly, most of you already have a gold mine. You're sitting on this existing customer base and you're not asking enough for repeat business. You're not asking enough for referrals. And you're like, no, I did, I asked him when we did the install a year ago. That's not enough, right? so let me give you an example. Here's how the math shakes out. Let's say you have a $300,000 business right now and you're closing at 50%. Now, most people don't know their numbers. And when they actually look at their numbers, like people will Tell me. Oh, I close it like 60, 70%. But when we open up the spreadsheet or the CRM, the numbers don't lie. Sometimes it's like 25, 35%. Right. But I'm just going to believe you there. You're at 50%. Let's say your average ticket is 7,000, which means that you got 43 clients, which means that you got 86 leads. Just based on math. Okay, you got 86 leads, you close 50% of them. So you got 43 clients, average ticket, seven grand, works out to about 300 grand. Okay, if you apply the triple 10 to this formula, this is what's going to happen. Your average ticket goes up from 7 to 7700. Now you have 95 leads instead of 86. Now you close at 60% instead of 50%. So you end up with 57 clients instead of 43, at an average ticket of 7700. Which means you. Now, instead of a, $300,000 company, just in the quick triple 10 that we did, that, you're going to make $438,900. That's a 46% increase. Just with a triple 10. Just these small 10% moves in little areas of your business are going to jack up Your increase by 46%. That's top line. That's revenue.

You can double your business with just these small moves

So let me talk about profit for a second. And let me, Let me, I know we have some a players out there. I know we have some advanced students. You're like, dude, 10%. I could do 10%. Well, let's do the triple 20. The triple 20. You know what it is? It's the 20, 20, 20. That's what we're gonna do. And it's the same example. So now our average ticket goes up to 8,400. Now we have 103 leads, and now we close at 70%. And yes, it's possible if you guys follow my price marinade strategy, my triple option, I have a whole sales formula that will help you close at 70%, you raise your price and close more deals. Yes, it's possible. I know there's the. The doubters that are like, well, if I raise my price, I'm going to close less. No, you'll actually close more because you're creating a blue ocean strategy instead of a red ocean. Just ask any of the landscape bottom secret members. How. So that gives us 72 clients. 72 clients times 8,400. Now we are talking 600 $4,000 company. You've doubled your revenue in your business by just applying the triple 20. The 20, 20, 20. Isn't this crazy? You can double a business with just these small moves. This is what private equity does, guys. This is what investors do. They'll buy almost any business because they know they can apply leverage. And I want you guys to be like, no, I'll be my own private equity. I'll apply. I don't need an investor. I'll do my own leverage. So double your business. And what's even cooler is look what happens to the profits. You have an extra $1400 per job. That's straight profit. Times that by 72 jobs, it's an extra $100,800 in extra profit. We literally just did these small moves and made an extra hundred like on top of the other extra profit you're going to get. This is just pure gravy sitting out there just on doing these small moves. So I want to encourage you guys to look at different angles of your business. And a lot of times people are like, well, how do. I don't know how to do that. Well, this is what working on your business is like, okay? You have to have fine time to figure out, okay, this is the strategy I'm going to do. How am I going to, how am I going to implement it? When am I going to implement it? Who is going to help me implement it? Right? So those are my tips for the day. We got our 2050. Don't forget to increase your top line revenue and don't forget about our Triple 10. And for you overachievers out there, try the Triple 20. You might be surprised.

Quality matters in every aspect of your lighting projects

All right, guys. oh yeah. Let's see. We got to play this music. Hey, let's face it. Quality matters in every aspect of your lighting projects. That's why Emory Allen's Pro series fixtures are a game changer. The Ranger Pro offers adjustable lumen output and swappable lenses for optimum beam spread, allowing you to customize the lighting to your exact needs. Its solid forged brass construction ensures durability. And the IP68 rating means it's ready for any environment. The Scout Pro offers a big punch in a small package. This small fixture is perfect for an accent fixture where you want subtle lighting with a discrete footprint. Don't settle for less. Upgrade your installations today. Reach out to tom gmarylen.c om to learn more and take advantage or advantager. Take advantage of the contractor pricing. That's what you got to do. If you're not taking advantage of thing guys, then you need to do it now, again, email Tom G. Mary Allen .com and did I say mention lighting for profits, and he'll hook you up with that discounted contractor pricing advantager. All right, that's. That's what's fun about the live show. Like, this is not AI. I really do mess up all. right, guys, it's time. I know the reason you came here. You saw the promo. You're like, hey, you know what? JC's coming on the show. I want to hang out with jc, and that's why I showed up. So let's get him coming. You guys ready? Let's.

J.C. welcomes Ryan Chanowski to the podcast

Welcome to the show, Mr. J.C. chanowski.

I'm still trying to do all that math you were talking about there. The 25th. I'm like, in my head, like, the Matrix is going on. I don't know what the heck's going on right now. I just learned a bunch of stuff. Just sit in the back room. So, thank you, Ryan. I just got schooled and educated while waiting, to come on the show.

Maybe I need a whiteboard. Maybe it shouldn't be a podcast. Maybe it should be a webinar with a whiteboard so we can, like, prove the. The Pythagorean theorem and stuff like that.

Yeah, I didn't know how to math, to come on this podcast. But, hey, we'll figure it out together.

Yeah, maybe I should do that. You fill out the applications. Like, are you a pro at, theorems or algebraic equations?

At least you didn't put letters with numbers there. So we're good on that. What's going on, Ryan? How are you, buddy?

Dude, thanks for coming on, man. I, I didn't realize until last week that you were scheduled, and I was like, sweet. That's. That's, like, we get to hang out.

Like, that's the power of having great executive assistants and strategic partners. Like, they make the magic happen, and we just show up and that. That's kind of literally, I've got you today and one tomorrow, and I'm like, oh, I've got podcasts to do.

It's so nice. It is so nice. Well, I'm excited to get caught up. we've known each other for several years. I've gotten a little bit of insight into your life, but, you know, I think we're gonna have, we're gonna walk through your journey a little bit, and if you want to just do a quick intro of yourself so that people who don't know who you are can get to know you a little Bit.

Sure, sure.

J.C. janowski joined the Navy in 2004 as a nuclear engineer

All right. So, J.C. janowski, like you, alluded to earlier, or Jared on Facebook. Depends on, who are you? Yeah, where are you finding me at? You know, and that's how I could tell. It's funny because when Angela gets, discovery calls, we can quickly tell who knows me, like, personally and who just knows me on Facebook, because they'll either mention J.C. oh, you've known me for a while, or Jared, and then, like, oh, you just know him. Facebook. So it's a quick, quick way to decipher who's who. But, anyway, I, live in Wilmington, North Carolina, on the east coast of North Carolina. from New York, originally. I joined the Navy in 2004. I was broke, bored, and going nowhere fast in life. And I needed to do something. So I was 23, signed up for the military. I had no clue what I was doing, actually. Went to the army office when I was hungover one day. I think it was like a Thursday, like, 9:30, and I was ready to go. And I just kept hearing this army guy going, go, Army. Go Army. And I was like, I can't take this. So I. I left there and went to the Navy office. They did what every recruiter does best and lied to me and told me that, like, I'm gonna get the world. took my ASVAB test. I did really good. And he's like, holy, you did really good. I need you. I need you to be a nuke in the Navy. so I went to the Navy as a nuclear engineer. And when I got the boot camp, they're like, hey, if you lie to us, we're going to kick you out of the military. You're going to get dishonorable discharge, and you'll never be able to do anything in, like, life again. I'm like, oh, my recruiter told me to lie. Hands up. Like, let me. Let me tell you everything. So I told him the truth. And, after telling him everything, they're like, well, you're not gonna be a nuke because we don't trust you, so we're gonna make you a cop. I'm like, well, that math doesn't add up. Let me watch Riley Lee's podcast again. And so, they made me a cop in the. In the Navy. And it was the best, like, decision career path I've ever made. you know, I did a lot of cool things in the Navy. I was deployed in Guam. Lived in, Or, yeah, lived in Guam. Went, to Singapore, Dubai, Iraq, Kuwait. A, Bunch of other places, had a bunch of fun. But then I was like, well, five years up, I'm like, yeah, this is kind of not really what I want to do the rest of my life. So I thought. So I got out and started Cape your Pro Wash in 2009. realized real quick that trying to start a business after the recession of 2008 was a horrible idea. So I jumped right back into the Navy, deployed again, went to New York, did recruiting duty, which end up turning out to be a really cool experience because if you've ever had your door slammed while trying to recruit somebody's sons in the military, it, makes it real easy when you try and sell pressure washing the Christmas lights. so it's a huge blessing for that. Started Christmas light business in 2016, Patriot Elimination, and grew that to seven figures. And, very fortunate to meet the love of my life at a Christmas lighting event in Vegas, which is a cool story about that itself, where I met Angela. And, we've been married for about seven, eight months now. And, co owner of Unique genius.

So great job, man. Great intro.

We need to do an Instagram reel about our travels

that's going to lead to a lot of Discuss the stuff that we're going to talk about. I'm just waiting for you guys to start your. Like, I just want to follow you on Instagram about your travels and give me the travel hacks and show me the cool spots you're going. I'm like, why are you guys even messing around with this other stuff? Just. Just be the. The travel couple.

We say it every time we leave. We're like, we need to do an Instagram reel. And I'm. I'm really. I say I'm into the dumb because I just cannot figure out Instagram and I should just give it to a strategic partner, have them figure it out. But, yeah, we've done a lot of stuff and made a lot of mistakes and saved a lot of money. So we definitely have a lot of cool tips, hacks, tricks for people to have fun traveling. So we need to get on that.

I always love when I meet people who have done some type of service

Well, I want to ask you about the Navy. For some reason, I, people think I look like a cop. Or they. They. They're like, oh, you military? I'm like, no, I'm. I'm a wimp. Like, I don't know. Why would you think that? Just because I have a beard. But I'm. Oh, I always love when I meet people who have done some type of service and any military capacity, whatever. just because, like, you know, at the Time. I'm sure you weren't like, I'm gonna go, I'm doing this for like the 350 million Americans. You know, you're like, I don't know what to do with my life, whatever. But still, like, we got to be grateful to our veterans. So I, I appreciate, you doing your thing and going back into it and, and all that.

Leadership is a big thing in, in, the Navy

it seems like, you know, leadership is a big thing in, in, in the Navy. how. What are some lessons you learned from the Navy experience that you were able to take to Cape Fear and turn that into a seven figure business? Because not everyone gets the seven figures. I don't know what the stats are, but most people start a business and fail, you've somehow figured out how to do it. And I think it had something to do with your, with your background.

Yeah, no, absolutely. when I joined the Navy, I mean, I had nothing going for me. I'm not gonna lie. I was, really bad at college. I think I dropped out of school, a local community. Well, I went to one school, spent a lot of money, got kicked out for academic probation because I didn't party growing up. And I joined a fraternity. And when you join a fraternity, you tend to do a lot of stupid things. So I did, left that. That was in New York, 2000. What is that, 2000? I went to community college, kept going, dropping out. Going, dropping out. So really I had no discipline, I had no leadership. I wasn't really big in sports. I was really good at working. I mean, at one point I was working four jobs, sometimes three jobs in one day, starting at 4:00 in the morning where I'd bake bagels, then I go to construction, then I work at a bar night and repeat that every day. But, leadership was a big thing. And when I joined, I was 23. I went to boot camp, March 2004. And again, I had no knowledge of the military other than whatever posters they showed on the walls, like, be an army of one or whatever. And I get to boot camp. It's freezing cold. I think there's like, I don't know, 54ft of snow in, Great Lakes. And I just. Everybody's yelling, they're all yelling. And there's a bunch of kids. I was like one of the older guys there, not the oldest because she could be like 35, I think, but one of the elders. And at that point I had a choice. I can be a follower or I could be a leader. And I didn't Want to get yelled at. So, like, instantly, I stepped up, and I just started, like, kind of taking charge, and it really surprised a lot of the people there. And about two days later, once I got, like, into my class, they're like, all right, you're going to be the leader of the class. I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. They're like, don't worry. We'll figure it out. And that was kind of like my step into the leadership of the Navy. And I knew at that point, it's like, I can either just be a shadow and just be nobody or make a name for myself. So I did. I stepped up, and when I got kicked out of the nuke program, I went in the Navy as an E3. They dropped me back down to E2 because it was like, you're so good at what you're about to do. We're going to promote you. Well, then they dropped me down to an E2, and I told my, instructor. They're like, oh, well, don't worry about it. You're freaking kicking ass, and we're gonna promote you back to E3. So in boot camp, I went from E3 to E2, back to an E3, which I don't think anybody's ever done before. so, you know, I just kind of carry that with me and every step along the way. When I was in Guam, I would just follow great leaders, people who, like, really inspired me to do better, and I would always take, like, little pieces of them that, like, I felt was a great leadership quality, and I would just try and instill that to me so that I could lead the same way. Because you have micromanagers, you have people who can't communicate well, you know, all these different good leaders and bad leaders. So I was just trying to, like, you know, just pick a piece here. And if I didn't like that, I would just throw that away and say, like, I don't want to lead like that. I don't want to micromanage somebody. I don't want to yell. I don't want to be the guy that nobody respects. And then in 2000, I think it was 12, 13, 14. Hold on. 15. No, 2016, I got promoted to chief, which is a pretty big accomplishment in the military, in the Navy. But that gave you eight weeks of leadership development. So it was, like, really intense leadership on a different level. Like, everything you thought you knew, you had to throw out and really reshape your whole mindset and thought process. And that alone, like, I. I take everything I learned from that seven, eight years ago, nine years ago now, and I still apply that to how I lead my team and communicate. and, like, without that, I. I don't think I would be here, actually. I know I wouldn't be here right now. So it's been fun to be able to, like, adapt everything that I learned in the Navy. And sometimes I'm doing things that maybe I didn't realize made sense at the time, but now I'm doing it. I look back, I'm like, oh, crap, that's why they led me this way. Or that's why they kept telling me this thing. And now it all makes.

That's pretty sweet, actually. Yeah. You're like, wait, I'm in that position now. This is. This is why it's working or not working. What. What were some of the. The qualities or the. The behaviors or the, like. Yeah, what. What. What were the. What was a good leader to you, where you're like, yeah, I want to be like that when I grow up type?

Yeah. I'll never forget. I had, I can't remember his name. and funny enough, he's from the Philippines, which, is one reason why I really love the Philippines. But he was a chief, and he was always, like, out there working with his sailors. Like, he would never be, like, go do this and make it happen. He would be the first one out there and showing you how to do it and work with you.

Ryan says Navy has many business lessons that come from studying the military

It didn't matter if it was 100 degrees outside. He was, like, in the. In the engines changing, the oil getting greasy. Like, he was just always there leading the way. and that really, like, made a difference and an impact. I mean, like, you don't have to just lead and just tell people to do and then just have them fail. Like, he was always there showing. Making sure that you were getting the work done, doing the work the way it's supposed to be done so you didn't fail. and, you know, things went wrong, whatever, but he always, like, was just right there in. In the weeds of it with us, and I really did love that. and then I had another guy who, sadly passed away two or three years ago.

Crump.

was his name. Forget his last name. Ma. One Crump at the time, but same thing. Just a real. Like, you wanted to follow him. You wanted to listen to him when he spoke. It wasn't like, oh, God talking. It's like, all right, what's he gonna say? Brian Crump. That's his name, he was just like, very, I don't know, just that tone of voice where, like, I mean, kind of like you, Ryan, like when you speak, I listen. I, like, listen to you talk and, and hearing the things you say. But he just had that trait about him where, you know, it wasn't like just being talked down to, it was being talked to and talked with, another person. So just little things here and there's. And then you had the ones that just were horrible communication. And no matter what you did, it was wrong. They always wanted to yell at you. They didn't know how to, like, separate, the praise and, and the, the, the yelling from private and public. And then they always made just the scene in front of everybody was embarrassing. So that's another piece too. Like, you know, you know when to yell at somebody you don't want to do in front of everybody because then they look bad and then they don't want. It's hard for them to recover from that. So just little pieces of that I got to see over, I guess, 19 and a half, 20 years of the Navy.

That's really cool. I. It's so fascinating to me because there's so many business lessons that come when, when you study any. I mean, we're talking about the Navy, but I just. We'll call it military. there's so many things. Or I guess maybe let's just do Navy because you, you hate all the other branches or how does that work?

Yeah, we have a love hate relationship with each other.

Okay, we'll just talk about Navy today.

There are three leadership deficiencies that 99% of business owners suffer from

but like, so this, this one thing of leadership, like, what you just described at the end of, like, the people who, like, they don't know when to like, yell in private versus public and like, when to give praise and when to give, correction. And all this stuff that actually describes 99% of business owners.

Yep.

Like, it describes me 15 years ago, maybe even two years ago, you know, maybe even two days ago. Like, that's kind of like the natural man in us. Like, it's, it's, it's just like if you don't know, you don't know. You expect everyone to be like you. And when they don't, it's like, what the hell? Like, were you not paying attention? And then we have this overreaction and stuff like that. So I think it's, it's fascinating because the military, the Navy will teach you that, like, there's, there's clear leadership. They, they train. You know, you took the training Class and stuff like that, too. And there's those people that you just naturally want to follow. And I think when you study that and figure out what, what is it, how they speak, Is it their tone? Is it because they're coming at you with love? Like, what is it? That's huge. I think that's a huge takeaway for business. The other thing that I think, is a big takeaway is, decision making. So, anyway, let me, Let me, Let me go back. Let me go back a step. There's three things I think that most business owners really, really suffer from that. I don't know that I have the answer other than, like, go ready. You know, extreme ownership or something like that. But it's truly leadership. It's the inability to make decisions because it's risky, it might be wrong. What if? People think what if? You know, the what if? And then it's, systems and processes. And when you look at it, the freaking Navy has them all nailed down. Yeah, that's like the perfect role model to run a business.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, you talk about that. Yeah, SOPs, we call them standard operating procedures in the military. you know, there's a freaking check sheet for everything. I mean, even changing the toilet paper. There's a check sheet for everything. There's always a process for something. and, you know, you go back, like, I. I was not always this good of a leader. Even if you go back. I mean, sure, I'm probably not great right now, and I can do things better. And if you go back to 2017, when I really started hiring people, like, I was probably a horrible leader back then, because it was just new to me in a business sense. You know, military and business are. Civilian life are completely different. but you can still carry over those qualities. But, you know, people need to understand that one. We can change. You don't have to always be a bad leader if you're a bad leader today. but also on the flip side, you can also become a bad leader after being a good leader. you know, just things. And that's happened to me. I remember, like, three or four years ago, I was just traveling. I wasn't really focused on the business, and my communication started to fail, and people weren't, you know, looking up to me. And I realized real quick, like, hey, J.C. you gotta, like, go back to the. The basics and, and do what you're doing and why people want to work for you. so don't. Don't be afraid that, like, if you think you're a bad leader now, okay, that's fine. That's great. You could recognize it. but figure out how you can adjust and, and change those things. If you're bad micromanaging, let's figure out how you can let go and empower people to do things. If they make mistakes, that's fine. As long as nobody got hurt. We'll fix it, train to it, and try and prevent it again. because we're all human, we make mistakes, but, being able to identify, you know, our deficiencies as leaders, as humans is. Is the key part. And, you know, when I talk to other business owners, I say, like, you know, have somebody go talk to you, like, and just kind of listen to you, watch you see how you interact and engage with your. Your clients and your. Your, your team and just be open to criticism.

Don't.

Don't take it as like, you suck. But if I can't openly tell you, hey, Ryan, like, you're horrible communicating, like, you try telling everybody everything, and they don't listen that way. Some people take communication great visually. They take it verbally. They need the books, they need your showy things. But if you don't understand that and you're communicating the way that you like to communicate and they don't receive it and then they mess up, you're like, what the f. Like, I told you how to do it. Well, maybe you didn't tell them how they needed to hear it. So.

Love that. that is so good. Well, and, and to your point, like, there are people that are. Are naturally gifted in certain areas. Like, we all have our talents, we all have our strengths, weaknesses. So maybe there is someone that's just naturally. Like, they're. They're just a way better leader than you naturally. But even if you have that natural talent, you're good at sales, you're good at leadership, you're good at whatever. It still takes that the fundamentals, the pros always go back to the fundamentals. They're always practicing those things. And it's not like I was born a good leader. So I don't. Like, I'm always going to say the right thing. No, you're still going to F up. You're still going to screw up.

You can identify deficiencies in business leaders by observing or asking questions

You have to recognize that, be open to that. Surround yourself with people that are. Are comfortable enough in their own skin and around you to call you out and say, I don't. I don't think you handled that situation well. You're a better leader than that. Yeah, that's when you can fully improve.

Yeah. And you can, you know, if you got a business that's failing that, that just has a very high turnover and can't keep employees, and they just, you know, keep blaming everybody. It's real quick to identify, like, some of their deficiencies as leaders. you know, constantly blaming everybody. Society, economy, like, it's not, it's not always that. The reason. Maybe we're doing something wrong. Maybe we don't have systems in place to follow up the lead and ask for the sale. All these different things. Maybe they keep, quitting, because you just can't lead, communicate, and they don't want to work for you. So there's bunch of things that we can just quickly identify, just by observing or asking questions, with a business owner. But again, a lot of times business owners don't want to hear the truth, and they're in denial and they can't accept change. So it's hard for them to change and correct those things and become better leaders and say, you know, again, every day, every week, every month, every year, constantly putting myself out there, listening to books, listen to podcasts like yourselves, going to events like, how can I always sharpen the tool? Being a better leader, in. In every aspect. Not just one, one form.

That's so good. I have so many random thoughts flying around in my head because I'm like, this episode's for me. I need, I need to step up here. But also, like, if people are having a hard time recruiting and they constantly are losing staff, like, just look in the mirror. It's not the economy, it's not the people. Yes, there are crappy employees out there, but there's a lot of freaking good ones.

Yes, absolutely.

There's so many good people out there. And just consider there's a 1% chance that you suck as a leader.

Maybe you could change, you know, been there, done it. Yep.

I love it.

When did you decide pressure washing? Actually, it was landscape mowing

all right, so I want to transition a little bit to the, When you started your business, why did you start. Why did you decide pressure washing?

Actually, it was, landscape, mowing lawns. I always had a thing for mowing lawns when I was, younger. And it was a side hustle in the Navy when I was in New York. And so I came down here, did a bunch of research back in 2008, now 2009, and there wasn't ChatGPT or Facebook or anything like that. So you had forms. And I just remember being on forums and then looked at the yellow Pages. that's how old this was. And saw landscaping. Landscaping, landscaping, landscaping. There's tons of landscaping coming. I'm like, well, maybe this is not the best idea. And there was very few pressure washing and only one like quote unquote roof cleaning company. So from the lawn care to the pressure washing world, I just did more research. There wasn't a lot and I ran with that one. So, I mean I started it in 2009, Cape Beer Pro Wash. And quickly stepped away because I went back into the Navy and deployed to, Dubai in 2010. Then I moved to New York in 2011 and recruited for the Navy for a few years. But fortunately my dad still lived here and he was running the business. He wasn't growing it, but he was just running it. And, thankful for that because it helped build the brand over the years. And it wasn't until 2000. I keep forgetting the year. I think it's 2000. No, 2019, 2016. I started Patriot, but I was still part time, full time Navy working in North Carolina now at this point. And 2019 was where I left the Navy, went full time in the business, got a coach, joined Conquer, which was Conquer back then. Pat Clark was my coach. And like, that's where everything started to like, finally fall into place and realizing that I had a business, not a hobby, not a side hustle. And did the hiring, did the scaling, did the systems. And if it wasn't for me saying yes to a coach and, and joining this group, Mastermind, and doing these all, all these other things that I wish that was dumb and nobody needed.

Right?

You know, I still, again, I won't be sitting here talking to you because I never would have seen you at that Mastermind event where I met you. So, you know, getting myself out of my own head of, it's me, me, me, and I can do it all was the biggest change for me. To help grow Kate Fear and then Patriot elimination.

Pat Clark joined coaching program because he knew he couldn't do it alone

What, what inspired you to join that? I mean, a lot of people are just fine just, you know, doing their own thing and solo entrepreneur, maybe a couple helpers here and there. What even motivated you to say, well, maybe I, maybe I should look into this?

I don't like mediocre. I really don't. And I, I know that I am horrible at a lot of things. I, don't like talking to people. I don't want to answer the phone. I don't want to do follow ups. you know, and I just knew that I, in order to successfully grow the company and be the best, that I couldn't do it alone. and there's just so many barriers that I kept trying to get through that I couldn't do it. And, you know, I was making a lot of expensive mistakes, and it was a lot cheaper to hire somebody that did the mistakes already, to help avoid those mistakes and just grow at a faster rate than 1 x 1, 1 1/2 x whatever it was at the time.

That's so cool. you and I are a lot alike. Like, I used to. I. I never was, like, anti and like, anyone can do whatever they want. I'm fine with it. But I guarantee if you would have come and come out with me with a microphone and said, what's your stance? What's your opinion? You have to draw a line in the sand today. Like, what's your opinion on coaches? I'd be like, wasted time. Like, if they're so good, why don't they just do it or whatever? So that. That was just how I felt. And again, no, like, hatred out there. But I just would not have joined a coaching program if someone told me that they had landscape lighting secrets. I'd be like, you know who I am. I'm fine on my own. You know, like, it just seems so wrong. And even now, like, I'm telling you, I don't want to go to a mastermind. It's not my natural habitat. I want to be a lone wolf. I don't want to go network. I don't want to go tell you my problems. I don't want to ask for help. Like, it goes against my natural, like, man in me. It's still very uncomfortable, but I know the power of it. I've seen it. I feel it. Like, my whole. My. All my success is because of these masterminds, because of coaches that I've hired. Like, it's. It's all because of that. So it's like, I don't want to sign up for this. I'm going to because I know I need to. I don't want to go and freaking tell people my problems and ask them what they would do. And because I want to be egotistical. I want to be like, do you know who I am? I can do this. I don't need your help. And besides, I don't care. I. I don't. I. I just want to be in my own lane. So now.

Now do your research. I mean, there's plenty of overnight coaches out there that can't grow a business so they become A coach, and they're an expert in everything, which is nothing, but for the ones that are doing the good things and, and out there to help people, you know, that money that you invest, not expense, like, it's absolutely incredible what it can do for the growth of your company. And you know, I've seen a lot of people join the same masterminds that I have and say they suck, they fail. And I think that goes back to a personal leadership, identity, identity crisis, and failing to implement and accept change. But you know, again, I've always bragged about conquer 2019 when I joined. Like, I know for a fact there's no chance I would ever become a seven figure business when, I did as fast as I did, without Conquer, without Pat Clark, without Michael Gregory, you know, all those things. So the, the money might sound steep, it might sound like crazy, but if you do the things and you're actually with a quality coach, like, you're going to get to that point of growth a lot faster with fewer mistakes and you'll thank yourself later.

Totally agree. And I mean, honestly, what you did with Cape Fear is impressive because what. What's an average ticket of your. Of pressure washing?

at. Well, before getting to coach, it was like 300. After we, you know, started building out tickets and bundles, it was a little over 900. and then same thing for the, the Patriot, you know, I think we're like 500 for an average ticket. Now we're at 2200 for residential.

But still, from a washing standpoint, you need a thousand people to give you a thousand bucks to make a million. With landscape lighting, it's like, dude, you just need 20 people to give you 50K, you know, M. And even if it's not that high, it's like 10,000. So you get a hundred people to give you 10,000, but it's all that more impressive because that's a lot of work. You know, that's pretty dang impressive. And I'll say this too. Like, I don't really want to stick too much on like the mastermind thing, but actually I just hired a company to help us grow our company. Another one. I mean, I hire like literally two to three coaches a year now. Or, you know, sometimes it's a coach, sometimes it's a mastermind, whatever. But this company is. They're the best of the best. And they're telling, they're like, dude, your offer is incredible. Like, you need to. They're telling me, this is so funny. You need to raise your price. Because raise your price. They're like, you need to raise your price. You could double, triple it. You have a real roi. And what that means is like, someone gives us a dollar, we're. We're gonna give them 4, 5, 10, 20 back.

Yeah.

If you hire like a fitness coach, which I'm not saying is bad, it's just, there's no, like, you can't get your money back.

Right?

Like, you should invest in yourself. It's totally worth it

Like, you can, you can feel better. It's totally worth it. Like, you should invest in yourself. But like, if you spend $10,000, $20,000, 100, that the money's not coming back. Like, it's out. Maybe you have more time and you feel better so you can work more. But like, with our strategies, like, there's an actual roi. So you're. If you're investigating business coaches, masterminds, if it has to do with business, there should for sure be a direct roi. You obviously got a thousand percent or whatever. I mean, and what's cool is your roi. You're not in conquer anymore, but that's still paying off dividends for the rest of your life.

Yeah, absolutely.

You went from Patriot Christmas Lighting to Patriot Illumination

So cool. And then, so then you tr. Then you went into Patriot Illumination. When did you. Your brand is amazing for, for both companies. Like, when did you, when did you. Did you start with that cool brand or did you rebrand or when did that come about?

No, so I started in 16 and, you know, just at a pressure washing trade show. And I remember seeing we hang Christmas lights, and I was just a geek when it came to Christmas lights. Like Clark Griswold. I was always buying every single Christmas light at Lowe's Home Depot on December 26, like dirt cheap, so I can put them up next year. and I was there with my dad and my business partner, best friend. and you know, I was like, dad, this is freaking awesome. And I thought it was crazy. Like, who would pay you to hang Christmas lights? Like, everybody loves doing it. They should do it for free. But no, people pay a lot of money. So I said, let's try it. This is like September, I think we didn't really advertise our market. we put it on Facebook. We had four clients the first year and it went well. I mean, I won't say we killed it because we had four clients, but again, I was full time Navy, so I was like out in the middle of the night hanging Christmas lights like a freaking thief. And like the Grinch prime steel lights, like, it was crazy, but I did it. so it worked. So the next year, we did still underkeep your Pro Wash brand because, again, I want to make sure it works. Didn't want to invest all this money in a brand and then just fail. So we did one more year 17. I think we did 25 house at that point. So finally I was like, all right, I gotta do something different. I don't want to be the expert pressure, washing company who also hangs lights. I want to be the expert lighting company who is like the. The known brand in the area. And at that point, there's only one, maybe two other companies. and it took a lot of research. Like, I didn't want to be Patriot Christmas Lighting because I didn't want to be a Christmas lighting expert again, I want to be the lighting expert. so I just kept going back on the names. I didn't want to be Kate Fear Christmas Lighting or keep your lightings. I didn't want to retain that in case we grow and scaled it. And I just. I think I was driving to a concert one day, and all of a sudden I'm like, freak. I got it. I just yelled out, patriot Elimination. I quickly went on Google, made sure nobody had it. There's Patriot Eliminations, which closed down, but not a Patriot Elimination. So I freaking. I snatched that name up as quick as I could. I used Sweet Ryan Kettering, I think is who we used for, our branding, in 2017, maybe 18. I guess it was 18 now. and yeah, I mean, I think it's been great. It was funny. I was just at a client's house or a prospect's house two weeks ago. I was like, how'd you hear about Patriot Elimination? And she just laughs. She's like, everybody know who you are or knows who you are? I'm like, yeah, I guess so. But it's just cool. Like, you know, the name has just been, a, staple for our community for years now because not only, like, all the lights we do, but all the community service and lights we donate to the community and give back. So it's just been. Yeah, it worked out really well.

Oh, man, that's cool. I love hearing these stories because, this is all. This is a selfish podcast, you guys. I'm doing this because I've never learned this about jc, but the brand is. Is on point. So many people now are coming to Landscape Lighting Secrets because they want to bolt on landscape lighting, but they have a name like JC's Holiday Lighting or, you know, Patriot Holiday Lighting. And I'm like, like, what should I do? I'm like, well, do you want the truth or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear? you need to be an illumination company. You need to be a lighting company that can do all these different things because, you put yourself as a holiday lighting company that, that also does landscape lighting. Like, I'm Gonna beat you nine times out of 10, you know, like, with branding. So it's so cool. And it's, it's awesome that you had the, the foresight to be able to do that, in advance. And the brand is so cool. I want to go, I want to join the Navy so that I can, like, get a tattoo and then I can, like, be partners with Patriot Illumination.

Your grandfather could have been four finger illumination, you know.

Oh, that's awesome. I know. I, he, he really. I, I think, I mean, he died when I was 13, so he could have made up stories, he could have lied and like, dropped it off in like, the, the mower or something like that. But, my dad said it's true. Like, everyone says it's true.

So that's a good story, though.

Yeah. okay.

How are things going with the lighting company? How much Christmas you doing

How is, how are things going with the lighting company? How much Christmas you doing? How much permanent, how much landscape lighting? Like, what do you like the most?

Yeah, so, you know, we did the lighting start in 16, and then I was hesitant. You're probably not gonna like this story, but I gotta say it anyway, because you asked. I was hesitant about landscape lighting. And I, I waited three years and I finally went to your class, down in Florida, and I finally fell in love with it. I was excited and I think I really enjoyed it more because I had a sales guy and had an install team and I really didn't have to do it. and then I found out quickly, I don't really like landscape lighting as much as I thought I would. so it kind of dialed that back a little bit. And then we added same thing. We waited three years to add permanent lighting. So we added permanent lighting last year with Omni. And I really do enjoy that. I was real hesitant for many reasons prior to doing it. but we have a lot of customers that really like it and want it.

So I'm just beeping out. When you said you didn't like landscape.

Lighting.

This is gonna be the one episode, we edit now.

I'm not saying don't get a landscape lighting and don't join landscape lighting secrets, because you should.

No, this is actually really good I do want to get your insight on it. So I was just trying to.

Yeah. But, So, yeah, you know, I just, again, I don't do things just to do things. A lot of companies go out there and they see the shiny object, they want to do everything. They want to be like just doing painting, garage, floor coatings, you name it, and they're adding it now they have a laundry list. Like, oh, you need this. We got this too. We'll even take your trash out and we'll do your nails for you afterwards. I want to be the expert in what we're really good at. So we really niche down to the things that we're really good at. Same thing with pressure washing. and we're incredible at hanging Christmas lights. Like, we are the brand. and we're really doing an amazing job at the permanent lighting. I just wasn't like. And maybe I should go more training, maybe I would hire more people. I just. The landscape lighting didn't seem sexy to me to want to keep pushing that one. So kind of dial that one back and just really focusing on the Christmas lights and you know, 2025, I want to say, like, it's looking really good. we didn't know. Yeah, yeah. And I mean even, even permanent too. Like, we're getting quite a few leads with that. Not as much because we don't push as much. but you know, washing really took a hit this year and partly because of the economy, partly because there's 9,000 pressure washing companies out there now, but Christmas lights, I mean, we're calling every single day to press past clients and prospects. I mean, I literally just read an email, that said, hey, we tried working last year, didn't work, but we have a budget of 8 to $10,000 and we want to work with this year. yeah, and I'm like, like we're not slowing down. We're not, you know, taking our foot out the gas. We're going full throttle on lights this year. And I see no reason why we can't beat last year's numbers and be way more profitable because we're doing things a lot different than we have in the past.

So that's pretty cool to hear because I know a lot of people were worried when they, when they first heard about permanent lighting is like, what, I'm gonna give up one business to build another and you know, self sabotage or cannibalism, whatever. But, you're still seeing growth in the temporary.

Oh, 100. Yeah. And you Know, again, mindset, we, we think we know what we know. If I do sell permanent lights, well, I lost the customer for life. okay, great. Average, ticket for lighting is 2200 bucks. most of the jobs that we sold right now are about between 6 to $7,000 for permanent lighting. Sold one for 25, 000 last year, and guess what? They still wanted freaking Christmas lights. So we went back out and still hung Christmas lights for them. so we got three years of their freaking revenue for Christmas lights in one year for permanent lighting, and then we still added $5,000 more of lights for, minis and everything else in the yard that wasn't on the house. So, yeah, you know, I'd rather get it all up front now and then try and get them, you know, for the next three years and hope they don't move or go with another company and all these different things. it's just guaranteed to get now and then I'll try and upsell them or add on the things that we were doing from before with the greenery, Reese, and, all the other stuff.

I love it. I love it. And I, I, I think there's still growth. I don't know how, for how many years, but temporary is not just going to go away. Like, there's still someone out. There's still someone who's just moving into their first house who wants Christmas lights, doesn't want to do it themselves or, you know, it's not ready for permanent. There's always, it's not like we're all progressing together in this world and we're all on the same stage. Yeah, we feel like that because we go to the masterminds, we're around each other. What's that like? Well, who's going to buy from us? Like the, the next person that's ready, they just arrived to that level. They weren't ready for you before. So, yeah, it's, it's, that's exciting.

On the landscape lighting side, my goal still is to convert you

And then on the landscape lighting side, I do want to say this because, my goal still is to convert you. Okay. and this will be, this will be great. It's going to be part of the book. Yeah, it's going to be, it's gonna be part of the success story. You're gonna get on a video one day and say, I know I told Ryan, because here's, here's what I've seen. And a lot of people get excited about landscape lighting because they hear me talk about the numbers. Right. But it's not easy. It's not the easiest business. Like, the easiest probably is, you know, temporary. Probably is permanent. There's some stuff you got to do with design. There's some stuff like. Like holiday lighting. You could just walk down the street with a Santa hat on, and people are gonna be like, do you do Christmas lights? You can't do that with landscape lighting. Like, lead generation, There is some tricks that need to be done. So it's. I'm not surprised. Right. But I will say you're gonna fall in love with it one day. I'm just manifesting. and you're going to be like, dude, this is epic. I can't believe it took me an extra five years, but here we are.

I tell you who you could blame. You could really blame Angela for this one. because I've been so focused on Unique Genius and having fun with that that it really took the light away from the landscape lighting.

So that's actually true. In a couple weeks, I'm. I'm gonna. I'm gonna have a stern talk with.

That woman so you could blame Angela.

We're gonna play quick hit controversials or lightning round

Hey, I do want to ask you about Unique Genius, but we started a new segment. Do you have some extra time today?

I, I've got nothing but time for you, buddy.

Okay, we're gonna play quick hit controversials or lightning round. Are you down?

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay, so these are just kind of fast. Quick hit controversials. leadership born or made?

Oh, made.

Better investment marketing or training your team? M. Oh, so you don't like Michael Gregory in marketing. Interesting. You're just trying to get controversial.

We can go in this later, but, yeah, if you could have the best leads in the world, but if you can't sell them, it don't matter.

Better boss, military commander or entrepreneur first? Profit first or growth first

All right, Profit, first or growth first?

Oh, I was with growth first, so I have to go with that.

Better boss, military commander or entrepreneur.

I'm not a fan of commanders, but I tell you, they led me the way, so I'm going military. I think they. They have a better backbone.

Yeah, you're just like, I can't believe I'm giving credit to the ones I don't like. We'll exclude them. work life, balance the work life, balance the key to happiness or doesn't exist.

key to happiness. I grinded so hard in the beginning, and I was miserable. My kids hated me. So, yeah, I know there's a. There's a shift that has to happen depending on the growth of your company, but I think some people get stuck in it for Too long. And, I promise your kids don't care about it. They care about you more.

There's your kids. They're. They. They don't stop growing. My oldest is moving out in five days.

That's crazy.

Like, I. I still have regret from when she was freaking seven, you know what I mean? Like, why. Why didn't I do this? Why didn't do that? You can't get that back.

Should employees be friends with their boss or should small businesses embrace being small

All right, residential or commercial?

Commercial.

Heck, yeah. because I would have said residential, but should employees be friends with their boss?

God, I hate this question. I think there needs to be a fine balance, but no, not drinking buddies and, social media, texting and all that stuff. Now there needs to be a balance.

Should small businesses try to look big or embrace being small?

I think embrace being small goes a long way with, homeowners. Residential stuff.

Yeah. Would you rather have 10 jobs at 5k or 5 jobs at 10k?

Oh, give me that. 10k all day.

10K. Oh. Choose one to live off forever. We might have already answered it. Landscape lighting, holiday lighting, or permanent lighting?

We're, going those holidays, baby.

That's good. This has been about a week since I've reviewed, this, so.

Some of the questions were controversial. Some of them weren't that controversial

All right. Oh, DIY customers. Help them or ghost them?

I. I tend to err on the helping them, because it. It comes back to. To help you out in the end. So would you rather give them everything? But. Yes, help them.

Yeah, help them. Would you rather train someone from scratch or steal someone with experience?

Scratch.

oh, slow growth with control or fast growth with chaos?

I love chaos. I do, too live for it.

It's like, if things are going good, like, what can I do to just screw things up? I've got some things coming out in the next few months, guys. You might find out. See, Oh, should contractors ever discount to win a job?

Oh, God. I mean, that's. That's a very convoluted question. I guess it's circumstantial. Can I go with that?

Yeah. So they. They should. At some point, maybe. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Do you ever. Or do you sell the client what they want or what they need?

What they need.

All right, and then which wins more jobs? Polished branding or personal referrals?

Think referrals will.

Okay. Love it. Well, I don't know. I mean, some of those were controversial. Some of them weren't that controversial. I need to, up.

They're good questions. I like that.

But I want. I was hoping that some people after that would love you more. And some people would hate you more. We'll find out if we did.

You never know.

Trying to, you know, trying to just go controversial and spice it up so. Well, that's good. some of the answers, I think I knew that, what you'd say. And then other ones you said, different. So that was good. all right. That was another episode of quick hit Controversials.

That's fun. That's pretty cool.

Yeah. Mix it up a little bit.

Unique Genius Virtual Assistants recently changed its name to Unique Genius

okay, so I do want to ask you about Unique Genius. you and Angela met a few years ago. Married now, you said seven, eight, nine months. And, are you. It seems like you're more involved. I mean, I just saw you guys got back from your trip. we've got a couple of strategic partners. I want to talk about the name change and kind of the new branding and stuff like that. What is Unique Genius?

Yeah, absolutely. Great question. What is Unique Genius? You know, originally, when Angela started, the company was Unique Genius Virtual Assistants. a lot of people love, virtual assistants, and a lot of people don't like virtual assistants. They've had really good experiences, depending how they found them, and they've had horrible experiences. And, one thing that Angela did really good, prior to me meeting her was really build the foundation of the company first rather than try and grow. You talked about earlier, you know, fast growth or slow growth. and I was like, why are you not growing this company? Like, we can just, you know, keep adding people and people and people. She's like, that's not what I want. I want to make sure that we have the foundation ready for the growth.

Just, like, we could get chaotic. We could totally.

Yeah, I know we're gonna let this thing on fire right now. I'm really good at that, I promise you. but she's like, no, I don't want to do that. So last year, 2024, we went out to the. To Philippines and got to meet the entire team, which was pretty cool. we brought In, I think, 75, at that time, virtual assistants to the Philippines and talked about the growth of the company and, where we wanted to go with it. But then we realized, like, you know, we're not growing a virtual assistant company. We're doing more. We're growing partners in success with our clients. and the VA word was just ugly to us, so we really wanted to just change it. Not to make the word sound sexy or anything like that. And I'll tell you a story about that in a second. But really, like, what you're getting, when you work with unique genius, a partner in your success, Partnering, growth, partnering, giving you buying, back time for yourself. so we did this name change. What was it now? Like four or five months ago? Maybe Might have been longer than that. I can't even keep track of the months right now. So we, we ditched virtual assistants VAs and you know, adopted strategic partners, executive partners. And while we were out there in the Philippines, just the last month in July, we were going around and talking with the strategic partners there and we, we asked them, like, what does strategic partner mean to you? And our video editor, who does all our video editing is absolutely incredible. Like, he should be working for, freaking Sony and Fox and all that stuff. He's that good. But he's like, you know, when people used to ask me what I did and I would say virtual assistant, it was just a name and it didn't sound like I wasn't proud of it. And he's like, now when I say strategic partner, he's like, it's a badge of honor. And I'm really proud to tell people what I'm doing and who I'm working for. So it was really like a whole mindset shift for our team to realize, like, you're not just a number, you're not just a task doer. You're bigger than that. Like, we know that AI is coming in here to replace everything that's coming out there. But as we continue to grow and we talk about something else in a second, like, AI is not going away. We need to embrace it. We need to be better, better at it, adapt to it.

Landscape lighting secrets shifted from virtual assistant system to strategic partner

so that's kind of fits in the line of like, why we shifted the name away from the VA virtual system. Because they're a diamond dozen. You get them everywhere. But getting a strategic partner that will help you grow, and do all the things that you need to do without babysitting them is really the main reason why we shifted that name.

Dude, I love it. Thanks for sharing that story. And so when I launched Landscape lighting secrets in 2020 is when I first learned about VAs and I hired a VA and no one in the home services was saying VA or anything like that. Maybe a couple people, but it wasn't in the Facebook groups. It just wasn't a thing. And I, I didn't know enough to like, say, oh, you guys, what do you guys, you know, you know you can hire someone in the Philippines for $5 an hour, whatever. Like, I was just kind of doing My own thing. And, a great, great girl actually went through a program to help me recruit a VA and, what website to use and all this stuff. Right? got her onboarded and everything was fine. But I found out what was really hard was, like, how do you build culture with someone who's on the other side of the world? You don't really get to see him that often. When you do, it's on zoom. It's a little awkward and stuff like that. And, this is kind of embarrassing, but she ghosted me, like, just didn't show up one day, and I was like, what the heck? Like, I took that, like, pretty personal because I'm like, man, I mean, it made sense. I. I should have known it was coming because, like, she couldn't get a hold of me at certain times and was asking me, what about this? And I just, you know, it was like, well, it's only four bucks an hour or some. Five bucks an hour, maybe. Like, I don't even care if she does, like, 10 hours of work. Whatever. I just had that mentality. Like, it's this, this. This va, this virtual assistant. It doesn't really matter with what Angela's done. I'm not going to give you any credit because I started working with Angela before you guys were married. What Angela's done, I'm telling you, we have. We have two strategic partners. And again, I don't know what magic happens in the background, but it's so nice knowing that you guys are putting in all this. You're. You're not just like, okay, we hired someone for five bucks an hour, and we're gonna upcharge to ten bucks an hour. Whatever. The math shakes down. Like, you're actually doing stuff. You're. You're. You just put on that huge convention where you're, like, training these people and building culture and doing all this stuff, because it's hard for us over here to. At least for me, I'm. I'm not a natural leader. I'm not a natural. Like, hey, let me just do a quick check in every, you know, a couple days and whatever. Like, I just. That's just not who I am. So what's cool is you are doing things different than other companies who are just sourcing VAs and like, oh, yeah, look, here's a person, here's an intro. We're gonna. We're gonna scrape some money off the top and hope it works out for you. It's not that at all. It's really, really cool.

A lot of entrepreneurs shy away from entrepreneurship because it's hard

Yeah, I mean, you know, you said it best. Like, you know, they're virtually across the country, 7,000 miles away. And how can you lead them when you know one not saying you, you're a bad leader. Home, like in your own office, like, you can't lead them. you know, you don't know what they're doing half the time and you don't have systems built out. And that's another reason why a lot of people shy away from it too. Like, I don't have everything ready, blah, blah, blah. but all the things we do on the back end, we have in person meetings every quarter. They all meet up regionally. we think we have 10 or 12 regions where they all meet. We pay for them to go out there and have some meals and just have fun, get to know each other, build relationships so they're not stuck alone. We do weekly meetings every single Tuesday with them. So we get on the call with them, so we get to see them face to face, ask them how they're doing, talk about their wins, help build the culture. We go out there once a year, so we're doing all these little things on the back end to help build that culture so they're not feeling stuck. So that if you say, hey, I need my sp to go do this, and you know, they don't know how to do it. It's not like, Ryan, I don't know. It's no Ryan, I got it, Let me figure this out. They come back to us in the back end, say, hey, my client wants us to work on this. He needs to do go high level. He wants to build a web page, he wants to do Instagram reels. Like, who can help me? They've got all the other security partners. They go to say, you know, who's the expert in this? And they help each other so they're not stuck trying to figure out it takes them two weeks to do a two day project, whatever it is, and now they're producing results. and not just being a task to. Or they're, you know, constantly just out there buying back your time so you can go focus on growing landscape light and secrets the way you want to and not figuring out how to do a frigging Instagram reel, which I still can't do.

It's so cool because we just had this happen. We had. I had a client and I'm like, dude, you are buried. I mean, this guy. I feel so bad for entrepreneurs because, like, they're torturing themselves, working crazy hours, sacrificing their own Time, their family time. And he's just in it and like make, you know, he's making it work and he's keeping the thing afloat, but like, just really, really hard. I'm like, dude, you need someone to answer your phones. You need someone that can do the invoicing, that can do like this basic admin stuff. And so he hired a strategic partner, with, with Unique. And I was actually on the phone, I was, I wanted to be involved on the process, you know. And so I was on the phone with her or Zoom and it was like, I think it came up like, okay, so do you know a jobber? Well? No, I don't. But she said exact. She's not like, no, it's like, no, but I already talked to so and so and we're gonna do a three day training so that I can get up to speed on it and everything. I'm like, that's amazing. Like, that is so cool because again, if it's up to me to be like, okay, go, go, to the jobber training and like, tell me, tell me like what you learned. That's my training, right? I'm going to train a VA on jobber. So that was cool to see firsthand kind of how that worked. And now she's in the business, answering the phone, doing all the things.

Make the most of hiring a strategic partner to help grow your business

who, who's an ideal client for you guys? Like, who, who's gonna really make the mo m Make the most of hiring a strategic partner?

Yeah, I mean right now it's, you know, especially this time of year for the Christmas lighting guys. You know, just the, the owner operator that feels trapped, stuck in the business. And they're doing 60, 70, 80 hour work weeks. They'll go outside and grind. in the field they're answering their phones while on a roof in the ground digging the trenches. have no systems in place, letting leads go about, you know, every freaking missed phone call, you know, that's just money just wasted. Might as well just burn the dollars that you know when that phone rings, well, there goes another $50 because you didn't answer the phone. That's probably a Google Ad lead. Cost you some money. They're going to call the next person and the next person's going to answer the phone. You can call them back. I can't tell you how many times in the past like I get a phone call, I'm pressure washing, didn't hear whatever it is. I call back five minutes later, oh, we're good. We already got somebody. What like it was five minutes ago. Like, there's no, you know, so there's so many missed opportunities.

it's not just a $50 in ad spend or lead cost. It's the 5,000, the 10 job.

Yeah, yeah, yep. And that's why, that's how I tell people. Like I, I, I dumb it down for Christmas lights. I'm like, if you're ever six, $2,000, your closing cost is, or your closing percentage is 50. For every four phone calls you missed, you missed $4,000. you know, you can try and call them back, but they're probably busy already got somebody else, whatever it is, or you probably forgot to follow up with them. All the little things that we need to be doing better or not doing it all, asking for views, asking for referrals. you know, there's, there's a home for a strategic partner in your business and like, don't look it as an expense. Yeah, there's a fixed cost to it. Absolutely. But like you said earlier, there's an ROI to that because what are they doing for you? They're doing the things that you aren't doing or need to be doing better so you can focus on doing the things that you're really good at. I'm not good at answering phones. I am horrible at following up with customers. I'm not going to go ask for a referral. But my strategic partner is and you know Ronnie, who's been with me for, it'll be three years in October. Like again, forward thinking. They're not task doers. They're not just sitting here saying, give me, give me, give me. Like, I don't know what to do today. You didn't give me anything today. She sent me a freaking message about six weeks ago. Hey, J.C. I reviewed the website and I think these are some changes we need to update. They're a little outdated and was like going through and being proactive instead of waiting for me to say, hey, Ronnie, this is what I need to do today. Like, yes, she has her tasks or KPI she has to do. But they're not just task doers. Like, they are forward thinking strategic partners to help you grow your business. and it's just, it's really cool to see what they can do. And one more story about Ronnie. Like, I didn't think this was possible. Last April, she was the only person working my office and she was working the Philippines. We did a hundred thousand, one hundred, six thousand, like two hundred that month. Month, in April. And I never Thought that was even possible in April, let alone with a strategic partner answering every single phone call, booking every single job, communicating with every single customer, invoicing. Like, I did none of that. I didn't even communicate with the team because I was actually on the field with them at that time. and she did it all remotely, and it was absolutely incredible to see.

That is so sweet. Across the world, getting stuff done. I know a lot of people are worried about, you know, accents and how good the English and all that stuff, but you guys have case study after case study of people answering phones and handling stuff. And a lot of times, we think as business owners, no one's going to be able to be trained to say, most of the time, these people are doing a better job. They can have a script in front of them. They can make sure they're going through the checklist. We can't remember. We just. We're in our truck. It's like, oh, what's. Okay, let me call you later and get your number.

Like, we're not. That you wrote it down on your napkin that you threw out. Like, no, shoot. I don't even know how to talk to you. Now you're calling back on the phone. Like, hey, did you call me Luago?

What?

No. Yeah, all the things. So many different things. yeah, it's just. It's just. It's just cool to see what they're doing. the possibilities, the capabilities, you know, all the things. And you talked about the voice. Like, they're very good at speaking English. Like, they speak English at a very young age. English. Like, when we're out there. Everybody knows English out there. And sometimes when I talk to them, like, I really think I'm talking to somebody in the States. Like, there's no difference in the language barrier or the accents. And I always say that somebody in Boston has a worse accent than most of the. The strategic partners we hire to, work with us.

Ryan: A lot of people expect freelancers to be superheroes

All right, so don't hire people from Boston.

Yeah.

Hire people from the Philippines. how does someone know? I think, like, a lot of everyone can use an admin, and if they already have an admin, I feel like they could use another, you know, because you do get so, busy that you forget to do, like, just. What if you just called your clients every three months and said, just checking in, Want to make sure everything's good? No offer. I'm not. No agenda. I legitimately just care about. And most of us are like, well, why would I ever. I don't have enough Time to do that. Well, that's because you don't have a strategic partner. Right, but are there other. I think some people are like, oh, I want to get a strategic partner. And then they're not going to be, I'm not, the phone's not that busy, so I'll have them do all the things. And now they're going to be a social media expert and they're going to be video editor and graphic designer. When do we draw the line? Like, yeah, they're not, they're not superheroes.

Yeah. And I, I say that they're not like in the Matrix where you just download how to fly an Apache helicopter. Like, oh, I know kung fu. you know, so they're human. So just like you and I just like you'd hire somebody in the United States to go work in your office. Like you're not going to find the expert in everything. now they can learn tasks, but also like again, they're not going to work 90 hours a week, and, and get everything done. So we just need to, to know their limits. And they would tell you too, like, hey, I can't do everything for you today, Ryan. especially on Sunday, it's my day off. But yeah, just, you know, treat them like somebody else. Like, just like you would hire somebody in the, in the office in the States. Like, all right, what is their KPIs, what are they hired to do? Like what, what am I, what are their controls? You know, is it doing the outbound calls, is it doing the follow ups, is it asking for the reviews, you know, all those different things. And then as there's time we can say, all right, that's done. Now you can add this to your plate or you can do this too as well, but we can't overload them because then just like anybody else, they're gonna break, things gonna start falling off. And I'd rather be doing, you know, one task at 100 than 10 tasks at 10 and not get the results. So, just gotta control that and manage that to realistic expectations.

It sounds so normal when you say it, but a lot of people expect them to be these superheroes, like download flying Apache or whatever.

It's insane. Like they really do. Like, what do you mean you don't know Linux and can't cool code for me? I just came to answer phones for you.

But you're right, like just, this is just a real person, by the way. It really is, It's a real person. Just like you're going to hire someone from the US and of course you wouldn't expect them to do all that. So hire for different positions.

What are the KPIs, what does success look like

and then another thing that I think is really important is what you said is like, what are the KPIs, what does success look like? And actually in this, this last hiring process, his strategic partner asked that. It was a great question. She goes, how am I going to know that I'm, that I'm doing a good job? Like, what, what are the measurables? And I'm like, dude, I haven't gotten anyone in the US to ever ask that question.

You know, that that's, I mean, you know, again, part of what separates us from other companies out there, like when we're at, in the Philippines and, and when we preach every single day and week, we talk to them is their end of days. Like, they need to know what their measurable KPIs are so they can show that they're being productive and, and producing results. Not just. I answered the phone. Okay, well, what, what happened with that phone call? Like, you know, no, I made, you know, 17 outbound calls, schedule seven jobs. Whatever it is, whatever the business owner wants for their KPIs, they can adjust that. But you know, those KPIs or end of day reports not only helps the business owner, our clients know what was being done, but we also can, you know, see those too. And like, all right, well you didn't do what you're supposed to do today. Like, what was wrong? Like, so we can help coach them on the back end too. We're the mastermind for our strategic partners so that if there is a lapse, things are going wrong. Because let's face it, we're all human. We can't be on, on our game every single day, 365 days a year. I mean, I'm human too and make mistakes and don't have a games every day. But we're there for them for that support, which is really makes a huge difference for the strategic partners, but really the clients too. So we're forward, you know, trying to eliminate or avoid any of these, mishaps or results.

Love it. Well, I'll just tell you guys by experience, I highly, highly recommend Unique Genius. I highly recommend we actually have it. Ah, you guys came and did a training for us and a deal. So like inside landscape lighting secrets, you get like a little bonus, a little kicker or using, Unique Genius, which is cool. We're building it. We're almost there. We still want, we want to get a lot more partners on our end. But where people would join Landscape Lighting Secrets just to get our discounts, even if they hate me or hate my content. Like, why would you not join this? Like a buyer's group, you know? so we appreciate you guys, being a partner of ours and offering that discount to our clients and stuff.

Can I make a huge announcement? I haven't told anybody about this yet.

All right, well don't tell anyone. All right.

Like two minutes to tell anybody.

I want to hear.

Unique AI coming out next week for The Unique genius clients

All right. So we talked about AI a lot and like the future of AI and you know, we really. I don't like being a follower, in anything. And we understand that AI is constantly changing and adapting to the way business work. and we want to be the forefront of this. So we are launching next week. Don't tell anybody. Right? Just, just keep this.

Yeah. No one's listening.

Yeah.

seven people are like my wife, my mom.

Your strategic partners.

Yeah.

Unique AI, which is going live next week. And what it is, it'll be for Unique genius clients or if you're not a client, but it's going to be really in incredible for clients because we've got it all built on the back end. And your strategic partner can help make you go live streamously without any issues. But we're introducing Unique AI which will be call answering chat features on your, website, and just the whole caboodle to be able to bolt on to your your business so that there's never a miss phone call even on the weekends for the Christmas light. Guys, I can't even tell you like the time that it will save, not only with like any issues, go backs, callbacks, but how many missed leads and missed opportunities that we have on the weekends. when somebody calls, says I want lights and then you try calling them and you chase them down all week and they never call you back because they're too busy. Unique AI will eliminate that. it'll be built out for your business to your tone. we've been testing it for patriot elimination already on the back end and it's freaking amazing. So we will have more about that soon. But you are the first to know about Unique AI and now we're.

Like a publishing company, you know, like, you get your news here first, folks. That's awesome man. Congrats. That's cool.

Yeah, yeah, I'm excited. and it just, you know, being a business owner in the lighting world and pressure washing world, which a lot of our clients are, really helps, for The Unique genius, back in. Because I know the pains and struggles and, and the things that, you know, suck. So I can help our strategic partners with that and especially with the lighting guys. Like, having Unique AI for your season is going to be absolutely incredible for growth to not lose leads and, help keep clients happy. So I'm excited for that.

Dude, that's awesome, man. I can't wait to learn more. That's amazing. Unique AI coming out. You heard it here first. Lighting for profits.

The sound effect. I'm sure you got that.

Hold on now.

He broke it.

I know. there it is. Dance party.

If people want to reach out to you, what's the best way

All right, so I've got about 14 million more questions for you, but I think we're going to call it for the day. if people want to reach out to you, what's the best way to get in touch with you? I know you've got lots of different channels and stuff like that, but where do we want to send them?

Ah, Facebook. Jared JC Chinowski will be easiest. I mean, friend request. Send me a message, open book. You got questions about lighting. Thinking, about starting it, growing it. Issues, pains, whatever it is, just shoot me a message. I'm not going to charge you. I'm not that kind of guy. I want to see everybody succeed in life and business, so. And yeah, CJ just dropped a comment. Will I beat the huge? Yes. Angela and I will be at the huge, we'll be hosting an event the day before the Bright Industry Secrets. That's free if you want to go to that. It's gonna be a, one day lighting event for people in the lighting industry. And then we're speaking on Thursday afternoon. Angela will be on stage talking about working as a couple and how to survive that relationship.

So nice. I'm sad I'm gonna miss it. I always love seeing you guys, love seeing your passion when you're speaking and all that. So guys, give Jared JC Chinowski a follow and yeah, don't waste it. Will not be a waste of your time. Thanks, J.C. i appreciate you coming on here, man.

Thank you, buddy.

Always a good combo. Love it. This industry is amazing, especially the landscape. Body one. All right, see you, dude.

Bye.