 Hey, good afternoon everybody Tom Stewart here. I'm with Liz Trotter and our guests today are Sarah Mitchell and Trisha Lake And this is smart business moes Hey everybody. Yeah, we are gonna have some fun today I'm you know, you always got to be a little bit nervous if you got Trisha never know She's a wild card Am I right Sarah? Oh, yeah I Anytime we are anywhere and Trisha's not there. Everybody's like you just don't know what she's gonna get up to she's got No, when you're not there actually when you're there too There was a time Trisha that you would say something and we'd all be looking at each other and You know chuckling to herself. It's like I can't and we don't We just we don't you know, it's not even a surprise anymore You have a gift Sarah and I were actually talking about that recently about Some stunts that we pulled and people looked at us and they were totally unsurprised by us And we laughed we laughed more about the unsurprised part than the actual anything Like those were unfazed by but I Feel like every time you are around and any kind of an environment We can count on some kind of a like huge belly laugh of Some type of a joke or something, but I know I'm gonna end up being the butt of some joke Will be Tom will be more than me Well, actually, you know, we were gonna talk about you know success and the residential cleaning industry and yeah, we could just tell stories of No, Trisha, I mean We didn't ask permission, but then again, we did say what do you want to talk about? Nobody nobody ruled anything out. No We could we could fill this whole hour up with yeah of just We could literally fill this whole hour with pranks. No problem when you guys Kidnapped Derek, right? And most of these all happened at foundations. This is the fun part of foundations That's true. Yeah, the part nobody really talks about about although I'll never forget I don't know if it was foundations or scale. I'm not sure where it was when you all Put on your gangsta wrap and your clothes. I'll never forget that coming down the stairs Oh, that was Ben Ferris was our cameraman. Oh, yeah, that was amazing. I I need that video I don't have her hike man Sarah, how do you how did you know? I need to go get my I need to go turn it to turn it around. Oh god. Okay. Well, here's another story Okay, Sarah how many times when we are somewhere do we say oh, there's another Tom Stewart Hey Don, yeah, no, you didn't kidnap anyone at Oh, but Don's gonna be at foundations Matt Ricketts is in the house. Wow. He was fast. All right. That he was gonna be later her later later maybe I'll be driving for a bit. So I'll just be listening All right. Well, we'll let you listen. Uh, so what exactly we're talking about business success and mastering sort of the the fundamentals of business Actually were but we're supposed to Yeah, so Um, the reason why I kept harassing you guys like to tell me what you want to talk about is Not because I wanted you to feed me lines, but because I feel like both of you have done Such amazing things since we first since we first met Um Like in so many different ways, I mean you're both seen as like top leaders and I I can remember both of you kind of being like Not Trisha not as much of course as Sarah, obviously, but both being like less confident and less feeling the Feeling the success there, but what would you guys say that you both are like, okay? Feeling better. I mean, I don't know that anybody ever feels like holy successful, right? But I don't know. Maybe maybe Matt does Yeah, I think that people do look at me and see it successful. Yeah, I don't see myself that way Yeah, um, I Know you don't see myself as growing and learning and striving But I can tell you that I'm definitely a massively different place right now than I was Prior to going to foundations for sure So you wrote a Testimonial and somebody actually reached out to me because of your testimonial Because the thing that yeah, the thing that you wrote in there that really was like, oh my gosh This is me is when you said you thought you had it together You thought you know what you were doing you went to foundations and you were like What the heck and you really didn't think that it was gonna be that useful or that necessary And she was like, this is me. I feel like I have it and she's like, but I'm not at official like status So I want to be Trisha Lake. I'm like, yeah I've ever seen the biggest thing that foundations helped me with was two different directions It was learning my numbers, you know, so by the time I went to foundations I had already hit, you know, we already sailed our company to be a million dollar company And that's always been like the the goal of a maid service, right? Is to get to that that's shiny million dollar mark And we already had hit that um, and then you know, I came to you guys and Knew into the you know into everyone and I I was in a weird spot because I was in this weird depression and um I had hit my million dollar mark and um, so what we would deem as a successful maid service And yet I didn't know where to go from there. I thought well now what? You know, like I already hit the goal that most maid services never hit and Now what does my life look like And I know that you guys definitely helped reset my goals and aspirations and just refocus and create just much larger goals And you kind of got my head right And then on the other side of things when I went to foundations, I didn't know any KCI's I didn't know any numbers. I led my company with my heart and my soul And I mean Matt and me still talk about it And he's like I have no idea how you got your company that big trisha without or how you got your company that big Without knowing this stuff And I'm just like with rainbows and butterflies No, I always I always say you've done it through sheer force of personality. I know how you did it It was through it was through brute force but You work you worked really hard I remember foundations. I remember a one-on-one that we had and You worked your I mean you you worked your ass off Yeah, it's not it's not by accident. I just I know I know that there's easier paths sometimes and like but you do you do a lot through There's there's things that some that people are so much better than we are at like and the culture at your business is Really amazing where you've put a lot of energy into and I think it's paid dividends Like I'm jealous of like like the loyalty and the like just like how long your people stay Like that speaks a lot about like the place you're creating But that is what she means by sunshine and rainbows, right? Yeah, like drives hard But she also really Build your people up and yeah, I really care about my people. Yeah That's just like the center of center of our company, you know, and so but so like when I went to foundations and I started learning You know, I've always known my people side, right? You have like take care of my people and That's been ultimately the probably big reason of why we've been successful But the part I didn't know was our kpis, you know our core metrics are our numbers I didn't know that stuff and it was very frustrating for me to go into Into you know foundations and and have to like search up and learn all this stuff And it honestly took me a couple years even after foundations to fully grasp those numbers well But that was a massive turning point because was when you know your numbers You can see what's coming and what's what's not going to work out in your favor So while, you know happiness and sunshine and personality maybe got me where I where I was It probably wouldn't have got me where I am today Yeah, oh, yeah. Yeah. No. No. Yeah, I absolutely couldn't have but it's kind of funny because You didn't know the numbers at all, right? You were like and you really struggle and sarah's the opposite Like sarah's like man all over those numbers spread Yes, right spreadsheet she's gonna make spreadsheet after spreadsheet Oh my gosh, like sarah's like stressed out. Oh good. We're gonna see like five more spreadsheets How many more pages about something And I when you first came to foundation sarah, you remember you were like Oh, hell trisha lake Oh, yeah I'm pretty sure the reason I went was to finally talk to trisha lake. Yeah, you did and get in with her which I succeeded Now we're like best friends You might still praise me though, sarah. Don't get keep doing that though I'm actually true best friends not like you just talk about like, oh, yeah, we're really we're best friends now We're good friends. You guys are like Best friends. Yeah You vacation together you bring your families together for stuff. I mean really we like each other A little bit Ah I had something I wanted to say about sarah when you first came. Oh Remember, I'm not sure which year this was sarah that you came Where I'm pretty sure it was derrick. He pulled up. He was pulling up different companies 2018 Exactly was that which one was it like second my first foundations experience Oh your first one. Okay. And so derrick was pulling up different companies just to see where They ranked. Do you remember this town? Ranked from uh from an seo standpoint google He was just googling like different cities and you know made service and such and such city made service Now phoenix most people would consider to be pretty large pretty large market right and we've got sarah here and at foundation so Nobody that derrick is searching is coming up like even on that first page really and he puts up made service phoenix Nobody is expecting to see You know eco mama job spot We're all like what in phoenix, right? Do you guys remember that? That was i remember well The worst part was I was I just needed a breather So I walked upstairs in my room and I heard everyone cheering and I came down and I missed the whole thing Oh, I forgot you weren't there I just I was like I just need like five minutes. I need to breathe. We're in class all day And I missed the whole ordeal You're down at the beach, weren't you? I know that's Just thing I that I might have been at the beach not my room. Yeah That that was the thing that I was like, uh, I'm not buying that the sarah was up in a room when she could have been at the beach Yeah, no not buying that So matt when you came to foundations, you were a presenter, right? Sure. Yeah, so your perspective was a lot different I still learned a ton. So I came in to do some marketing presentations, but I will say we were not as sophisticated as we are financially today before Before foundations like we always had a good sense of Of what we were making But not to the level that like you all taught where you were breaking it down like per job Like, you know, it's like the old out of job. We win some we lose some right But you know, we make it all up in the wash, right? But it's worse than that and cleaning because it's like We lose a little bit on every job, but we make it up in volume kind of thing, you know, like We were making money But like we just didn't know which jobs were profitable and so the perspective was yeah, I came in to to teach some things but The financial modeling I mean, I took that spreadsheet the the foundations growth model and just Started chipping away and figured out some things Um Pretty quickly that our you know our cogs Direct labor costs were probably like 45% and you know, that was It was manageable, but it wasn't It wasn't where it could be and still You know offer people a good a good job So the first thing I did afterwards was I raised our prices like seven or eight percent. I was like Well, if we're selling this easy We need to be charging more because like we need to make more and anyway, so we had a lot of big takeaways from that event. I mean Yeah, you wound up making more money after that event. Yeah and being able to pay people more and attract better talent and You know, I'll I'll tell you something. This is the truth. I have this conversation with with a lot of people in the industry is This is gonna sound like a scary number But a lot of you guys are probably getting there our average technician is making close to 24 an hour now and There was a and that's with tips too That's that's another two dollars of tips kind of pushing that up a little bit But that's in made central. That's the number that shows up, you know before vacation and all that stuff $24 an hour is the average if you would have told me that When I went to foundations, I would have Would have said well, I'll be out of business. I don't know how I'm gonna I'm gonna I don't know how I'm gonna make those kind of numbers work right but um that That wage I feel like is starting to be where we can compete for talent and People will stay for the job. You start getting into that $50,000 a year Job that becomes a career at that point. So Um, we we're getting to that point and I tell people at times like I would have never believed that like 10 years ago, like I would you know, I don't know what we were probably averaging 13 or 14 I don't know. Do you guys remember where you're at? I know that like three years ago four years. It was like three or four years ago we were paying starting at like 13 or 14 an hour and same thing with you matt like my wages are have skyrocketed and um It and I wouldn't have been able to raise my wages Like I have if I didn't know my numbers because I always was um very hesitant On a lot of my financials just because I didn't know certain things and so I kept very Um, what is that word? Um, you kept tight reins on things I kept very tight on everything because I didn't know my numbers well enough and so I I was had fear You know, and so the more I know my numbers the more I can understand these can work out And I can do this and that and this will happen and um Just all very beneficial for everybody, you know I love that you said that trisha that you had fear because I would I would bet That a ton of people out there Like 95 of the people that are going to hear this see this Would not ever think that trisha like feels fear. I do I feel fear Yeah, I don't yet. You guys just almost think I'm as hard-ass, but I feel fear and I feel scared at times and Trisha both could be true What both of those things can be true What things you think you're gonna have fear and still be hard-ass. Yeah, I I guess I am I know and I go back to A decision I was trying to make here. Um, I think at foundations and Tom I still remember today because I still use it today and I still use it with my management And I probably told you this multiple times, but it was a conversation of Okay Before you say it. I think I already know what it is. You've said it so much. Yeah, right. Yeah, you've heard of me Yeah, yeah, go It's a reverse. Is it a reversible decision? Yeah, I said all the time. I used that too What? I used that too. It's just I was just thinking it today about something and that came in my head Not must be where it's from Yeah, so I do I say all the time because and I got it from tom And I was in and I was in a spot and I said I'm scared to move forward I don't know which way to go and tom said he goes trish. Is it a is it a irreversible decision? If it is reversible Then move forward If it's not reversible then those are the decisions you need to be more careful on and think through A lot more carefully and when I've gotten in really stuck positions and I've been scared to move forward I think I still hear tom's words telling me that of is this reversible. Yes or no I just told one of my managers my general manager like Two or three weeks ago the same thing. Is it a reversible decision? I think the majority of things in our industry are reversible I think that there is a few things that are not reversible And those few things You have to be very careful on for me. It's pay structures pay type things Matt knows me and Matt have been talked like for like months about a new pay structure that I have done But for the most part most decisions are reversible and you can try things and if they don't work you pivot and you You move forward Matt looks like he just ran somebody over Big bump I'm I'm almost to my office So I just got done with I just got done with forum Which is like EO like EO an entrepreneur group that I'm in And that you know that vulnerability of like of of like Feeling the way that you just described though of like not knowing the answer that was a big part of like today's discussion and these are all Almost everyone in my forum has a five million to ten million dollar business and it's still like You know you still come across stuff like you don't know the answer to So having these peer groups is is incredibly valuable That was another thing that came out of came out of foundations was just you know friendships and You know just the the peer groups over time that you build and Being able to ask people These questions is very valuable. So absolutely Yeah, the majority of the majority of us too like It's not To be able to you know talk with different entrepreneurs and especially your same industry that knows your same struggles You know like I love talking to all entrepreneurs and business owners But every business is different and you have different problems for every business So it is really nice to be able to have Um a group from the same industry going through the same things that can help Yeah, we talk constantly we travel constantly together We formed really like true friendships And I know matt talked on that before on one of these calls about me ben and trisha We've really formed like a real friendship and we go to events together and hold each other accountable And a lot of that blossomed from foundation. I saw you and ben last month or in january Yeah, I saw you and ben in uh phoenix. I guess I was yeah now a little little more than a month ago But not too long ago Yeah, and sarah ben and I just got back from a trip a couple days ago The um artsy event, right? Yeah So I rarely see One of you without at least one of the other of you Right the of the threesome. There's rarely like one of you so I know that people make really strong connections Uh, it it's it's a just a different kind of an environment and you can find your peaks there All three of you and our phoenix event in january as well. I mean you guys are hanging out all the time Yeah, yeah foundations is where I finally got trisha to be my friend and she's been ever since so that was that was 2018 And I got her reminds me of all the time You know, do you know sarah? Gosh, sarah will pull up and she will remind me that she's like, you know You used to ignore me all the time She'll pull up this like facebook message from like, I don't even know years ago Of her just like trying to talk to me on social media. I just ignored her the whole time I have like tunnel vision like you won't see me on like random groups like Getting into the weeds on stuff. Like I just don't believe in a lot of time wasting stuff and so Everyone that used to inbox me back in the day. I was like, I don't got time for it That's what I was telling tom about you coming on smart business knows I'm like, she's got to find value because she doesn't just waste time. You know, she's gonna She's gonna do the thing. So and you are always like that. That's that's another thing I love about y'all friendship You're all three very different people very different entrepreneurs But you have all found Just really strong Respect and admiration for each other, but it really shines through The only thing that aggravates the crap out of me is neither Ben or Sarah will listen to me They don't listen to me And I like they just want to admit it I told you 15 times to do this and then it turns bad and you could have listened to me I saw this coming Trisha, I I might be able to say the same thing to you I Yeah, but you know, you've got a lot of commonality. I mean you've Watched each other grow as as as leaders and you know grow your businesses and You know, there's bonds that that form through that. So there's a lot of differences But there's you know a lot of commonality in some some of the areas that's important The cool thing else about foundations and scale and just like getting to see everyone's different businesses Is we all do things differently Like there's really not not one right way to run a maid service. I mean, there's a lot of wrong ways what I mean Like what I do in my company, I mean Liz you did you did that class with me here this summer, right? And I do a lot of touchy-feely emotional like stuff that Ben is not into right and and everyone just runs their companies so different Where I didn't I'm not the numbers person, right? But I'll come and give you a hug, you know and and we're just different and it's kind of cool that So I'm not a hugger, but I do think I think you're on to the right track though I think What businesses need more of is that connection? I so I'm trying To bring that into art. It's not traditionally been really important to me But I do think it's incredibly important to our staff and I think it's I think it would be a mistake not to encourage people to find How to make their staff love the job and not like love us or Like find find love in the work at least right and I think that's what you're doing And you're making the job have a lot have a lot of I've heard Liz say this And I'm so I like talk about like not listening well Talk to me for years about creating meeting matter measure and how important it is just like I'm gonna do it military style. That's how I that's how I grew up like, you know, that's not gonna work in this day and age you know, it's There is something to finding love in the work and to creating these environments that And so I'm learning that from like I'm when I'm like seeing other people's businesses I'm looking at their culture As much as I'm like, I'll tell you what you come and visit our office and we've got a good culture But there's still things we could be better on I'd give us a B I'd give a lot of you guys a pluses at the the cultures that you're creating and most businesses I'd say their culture is a D. So like us being a That's okay, but it's not where I think it could be and Anyway, there's so much to learn Like operationally, I think we have like really great like, you know business systems and And the way that we run our meetings and the way that we, you know, have our leadership team is Probably, you know, in our industry like leading but man, there's so much to learn from other people in terms of culture and That's so valuable in this industry. It's so If we talk about it a lot, but it's so easy to overlook So to Trisha's point though, there's more than one way to to make that work and that's kind of what foundations is all about You're right, you know, you got to know the numbers and we get into the numbers a lot But there's a lot of different ways to use those numbers to build your business the same with culture the same You know with team saw I mean you go across the board because we've got examples of various companies You guys are all examples of very successful You know residential cleaning entrepreneurs, you know CEOs of your businesses, but you all do things differently But there's things you've gotten common to core You know foundational principles if you will you guys all Check those boxes yeah That yeah, I loved Everybody is gonna say you guys all visited us. Sorry Yeah Yeah What I was gonna say is we all um, I loved seeing the ways everybody did things and I still do we have a core group of people We see on a regular basis through traveling for cleaning business events and you take pieces Of what fits here and there so we're not copying someone's exact process unless Unless we are with permission, but typically I'm taking like Trisha. I learned from Trisha last year My hiring process was probably the worst in the cleaning industry. I went to Trisha's I took hers I tweaked it to add my flair to it and now I have this beautiful process So that's that was the beauty of foundations when I was just getting my business started Is learning all the different ways and then taking the pieces that worked and forming something that just fit for me and my culture So that's the piece that I think is gets lost sometimes That yes, there are a ton of ways of running a business But you can't just take what somebody else does and just do that in your business You have to do exactly what you just said sarah You have to take it and you have to mold it modify it and shape it for your business So that you get the best from your business I feel like that Is a fairly new concept in this industry There was you know for the longest time people were like no you have to do it this way You have to only you know run solos or run teams or you have to pay this way or but It's been proven time and time again that yes, not true Who who was it tom that we? I think it was usif memetoglu that said And his company's fairly large. I don't know how big it is now, but it was large company at the time and didn't he say tom that he Does at least the last Interview of every single hire in his company including his cleaning professionals every single hire And I think that most people would say no when you get to a certain Certain size you can't do that anymore. That's not a very large business and he does that and their primary mode of selling is In-home free in-home no obligation consultation Yeah, they still are in-home estimates. Yeah And I I think when we had him on it's quite a while ago Do you remember how many how many cleaning professionals he had at that time? It's probably pushing a hundred. I know his revenue number. I mean he shared it was like seven million. Yeah, it was it was a lot and I I thought at that time I was like a lot. I mean, I always believe that there are a lot of Different ways to run a company and I believe that at my heart and at my core But that one was like, okay. That's a new one. I like that But he interviews he does the final interview for everybody they hire He still does that or at least he did when we talked to him a year or so ago Yeah And it might have been longer than a year We're getting to the point lives where it all just kind of blurs doesn't that it's true Yeah, you know what we're coming up on our fourth year anniversary started doing this in march of 2020 Hey, are you guys seeing the comments and stuff coming in? Yeah, we're putting them on the screen Can you see them when we put them up tisha? I can yeah just we're not responding to them So just wanted to make sure we usually put them up on the screen and respond in real real time Okay, and so I wanted matt was talking when mark cat and then he left So I saw that's why I left that one from mark up for so long But because he I know matt couldn't see it because he was driving. Yeah. Yeah ah So something I wanted to say is about foundations is a little bit different than tisha's experience She was at a very high level of success when she went I was like a lost puppy. So I had um Built my business after high school. I jumped straight into the workforce I didn't have any college degree or any business experience So I believe the reason I have a level of success in my business today Is because of foundations. It was like getting a business degree in a week So, um, it was very powerful the the amount of information we learned in one week I equivalented to getting a degree and from there is when I could start scaling my business and learning how to To run it the right way after running it through years of chaos Just being lost. Um, I remember the first year I wanted to go I I didn't I didn't know if I had the money too. I didn't want to make payments on it and I regretted it So next year came by and I was like, this is my chance and I saw tricia was going So I was like, this is my chance to make a friend and grow my business Um, and it was it was so worth it because I can't even imagine how long it would have taken me to learn the things I learned there in a week and the accountability that came after it We've had quite a few people say that. Um, I remember joe waltz Saying that it was like an mba experience. Remember that tom? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah I actually tried to get my um, I'm in this part of my life now where I'm really trying to find balance With my kids and my work and you know, like I worked my But off starting this company and I sacrifice so much time with my family And I'm to the point now where I just really want to um, just be with my family and my kids as much as I can now And so I'm bringing them on trips, right? And I was just talking to my 17 year old the other day because she's got to decide You know, is she going to go to college right after high school? Is she going to not I personally think she's very burnt out. She did a lot of ap courses and just a lot of college college level stuff in high school and And so we're talking about having her, you know, take some time off And I suggested I'm like, why don't you just start going to with me to all of my business classes? And I'm like, you can literally get, you know, basically a business degree just from following your mom around to these to all my stuff, you know, and She's like, okay, I don't know. I still got to get around board with it But it's true though, you you could just learn so much from just experience and seeing different operations and just everything My my daughter is actually here at the office. Uh, she was as soon as I got in here. She had something for me to sign Yeah, your daughter was at the convention. Also, wasn't she matt? Is that the same daughter? Probably about the same age as Trisha's daughter. She's a junior in high school. So I only get her at home one more year. So yeah, take her to as much stuff as we can Yeah, she tells me she doesn't want to like to travel and I'm like kid Your mother is giving you like free trips like around the United States. Just get in the damn plane, you know Like come on So I think that was a really good example Trisha of you could have a really soft heart and still be a heart Really good job, thank you for that. Yeah, I love you, but I hate you. Give me hug Uh, we're gonna fight through this but we're gonna win. Yeah, I think uh, sarah, you Oh, I think this was you that said this about trisha that She was charging you to stay and she was sharing your room But and she should have paid you but instead she charged you because you kept the heat up too high Oh, I did she just counted for yeah, she she found ways to itemize some deductions I did not eat But I did get a discount because I slept on the pullout mattress Yeah, and I was willing to take I was willing to discount that if I had the bed of myself I's bed all to herself and I slept on the couch. So you damn right. I paid less I mean, that's what happens when you know your numbers You know To negotiate good there is boogie and she'll do she's like I'll just have my own room to myself and I'm like, I'll sleep on a cot on anyone's floor. I'm not too prideful It's true. You're not I told Ben Ferris the other day. I'm like we could just like get air mattresses and sleep under houses Like with probably a pretty good deal No, because the houses are like above What you're gonna sleep with like the animals and the pet test. No, we'll bring like a tent, you know And all the animals are going to be in Sarah's hair. Yes. No, no Meanwhile, I have I have to have the best room. So meanwhile, we have me over here is like, oh I know the value of money and I want the ocean view. I want the I was gonna say I just went to phoenix and Sarah got a room at this really nice hotel So she'd have to drive 40 minutes because it was kind of far from her house And it was not a cheap hotel like it was like a It was a four-star hotel. It was pretty nice. So What are the benefits of having successful business? Okay, that's nothing y'all. Sarah asked me literally this week Are you doing foundation scale again next year at lis? We haven't even done it yet. It's not till april She wants to know if we're doing it next year because she wants to get the best room. She's already planning I'm already done planning this year. I have to start planning next year. We're already in march Because when we go places, I had the message been sarah and I'm like, why am I going here? Like I don't not not foundations But like as an example like we went somewhere last week And I didn't even know why I was getting on a plane. I'm like, where are we staying? Do we have a car we usually get a message a couple weeks before like, why are we going to austin again? Did you guys we book we help her book her flights We make sure everything's booked for trisha because we're the planners Yeah, and I'm like, I don't care. Just put me wherever, you know Yeah Do the planning How many people are coming to foundations to share? How many guests you have so far? Well, we have 12 rooms at foundations. So We have a room open right now. We could bring somebody into foundations. We love it Plus we always have some of these rooms that have Beds that people can share Right multiple beds And that's trisha kind of a person. I was like, yeah, throw me three I'm gonna save some money Four beds And even when we're out of room You guys Oh, sorry, i'm finished with that. No, that's fine. Even when we're out of rooms people will get like Airbnb somewhere nearby and come over for the training sessions and Basically live there for the week anyway, but you know, they have a bed off site If I know the best part one of the best parts of foundations I think is undervalued a bit is after you're learning all day You think you would be burnt out because it is all day and you can go out on the beach and take a quick Breather to catch up on lunch break But at the end of the day when everyone talks for hours on that that back porch and it is the best mastermind Ever because you're going through the ideas and you're going to talk to everyone hearing the different businesses and I found that to be like Almost as powerful as the classes themselves like the conversations that happen every night when everybody doesn't have to scatter And go back to a hotel when everyone's just there. That's powerful. That's worth going just itself Yeah, well mark um Dude, i'm going to this one here Matt won't be at foundations. He was presenting, but he'll be at foundation scale this year Yeah, three of these guys will be at foundation scale. Tom is on the fence here Deciding if he's going somebody told me tom was going Yeah, I he's on the fence I didn't hear that trisha wanting me to go so i'm sure she wants you to go Tom i heard that trisha wanted matt and that's what i heard i heard trisha wanted matt. It's like oh, okay Well, i'll guess i'll stay home. Well, that's because tom. I see you about every block or so and so you know I hope the selfish side of you guys tell it out I think it's the more people in the industry that are like successful The more people that are pushing on their businesses to grow and create better wages And create better jobs. It's so good for all of us So like every company you get up above a million just makes this like Like makes this journey a little easier for all the rest of us to have like a peer group that's expanding So yeah selfishly. I hope you get 10 extra people get an airbnb next door and you got them coming in for the day um, it's the education is Talked about an MBA. I you know, I don't have an MBA You know, but There's things that I learned there that I didn't learn in like some high level courses and aviation and like You know, there's some tough math there that like, you know You guys broke down that made a lot of sense by the time we were done And I took a lot of upper level math classes in college So, um it's It's not that it's hard. It's just that it's It's not accessible unless you have You know, somebody to teach it to you So but not to scare anybody we've done this a bunch of times before and we've figured out if you need We start you out where you need to be and we've got classes that Kind of start off with basic numbers and build you up to that point Or if you already got the numbers then you kind of do a one-on-one and There's a lot of different ways to get you to where we want you to be by the end of the week. So If you don't if you don't Already, you know, have a strong background in math. Don't let that scare you we or any You don't you don't really have to with the systems and stuff You don't have to be good at math because you're going to plug in numbers You have to go find numbers and let the system do it. It's just learning. Liz, you know You know how I how much I am into math and spreadsheets. Yes, I wasn't that way before foundations I became that way because of that foundation Spreadsheet that sheet. What's that called that that foundations thing with all the tabs and I became obsessed with the numbers and What strategy and that's my analytical brain Like I don't think I was as high of a sea before that and that's where it all happened I did not know that I wasn't either to be honest. I took that spreadsheet and I've fed All of our marketing data into that now I feed all all of our like all of our reporting and it kind of like we updated in real time as part of A multi tab spreadsheet that we use but it's the foundation of of our Of our management system in our business now like basically everything feeds that spreadsheet Um, we've tweaked it a little bit to make it ours, right? But it's Um Yeah, that the data the foundational model Um, is what is the model that I've built my business or at least the financial model, right? Um On how we run, you know the business financially I remember a one-on-one We had at the mansion matt and we were talking about some of the vanity numbers and the ones that really matter and Some of the opportunities and you took that and you were in with that I did I mean, I probably there was a time where I thought just cusp like customer account like all that stuff really matters And it does right like I'm happy that we have the But let me tell you a funny story is We have the same number of technicians that I had this time last year Doing around 33 percent more revenue Because we've we've increased the amount of revenue per day that our techs can do through all of this Yeah, so we have so I know companies that are that are our size in revenue like, you know, like That might have 70 or 75 tax. We've got 42 But they're benefits. They're all making the kind of wages I talked about before And that's how you that's how you pay them $25 an hour Right because they're producing closer to $400 a day I mean, I took all the data that that I saw there. I was like This is what matters like selling all the cleaning jobs in the world if our turnover is 300 Isn't going to do it Right, like that's that's like the industry norm at the time was like everyone was Like hush hush like what's your turnover and 290 kind of been like I was kind of benchmarking and 290 was the number that I was coming up with um I think The the data though like people can plug their numbers in and find some really unique Levers in their business that they should be that they should be pushing on and for us it was It was generating more per per technician per day so that they could make more money So we had to get really good at efficiency Really good at job costing God, I don't even think I cared back before before foundations like if we made a little we lost a lot joke I made that joke earlier, but it's like Every every job we're evaluating now every job We need to be making enough money that our people are making good money Um, you're like dollar tree before matt. You're like a really fancy dollar tree We had really we had really fancy marketing and it was like all all show and no go like Yeah, we were two million dollars, but you know The profit margins on that were probably 10% and that's that's you know, that's a little lean for You know for what it really takes to The effort and the risk that you're putting into have a business that size I feel like I feel like we have a whole bunch. I I had a whole bunch to say right there You know one thing that we haven't talked about at all is marketing Um, so there is a lot of market. I think that's actually we talked about it the other day when we had olu on here We talked about marketing how the quote how did the quote have an argo today tom like the that's kind of a marketing related thing more sales, I guess the it was it was What were we doing our core kpi the month and made central is uh, you know conversion white rate, you know recurring Jobs per per quote and we kind of did a deep dive on that You know azio took the lead on that and it went well. It was well attended and There's a ton of ways that you can drive that number up. Oh Thank you patricia Um, yeah, it was well attended. We do one of those a month first Wednesday of every month um So I just want to go out real quick real quick tom I just want to point out to what you're saying though So you can get back to that Is it wasn't out that long ago that people didn't even know what a kpi was in this industry right that's uh I didn't know before 2018 and foundations. I went upstairs and cried when They started presenting kpi. It's because I had no idea what they were talking about And I went upstairs and got overwhelmed and cried and then I came down and was like, all right Give me some spreadsheets. I want to learn this and I was years into my business and I didn't never heard of a kpi That's just crazy. All right. So all of y'all that are like, oh my gosh, I want to be like sarah michael when I grow up There you go. She didn't even know what a kpi was when she first went to To foundation so you don't have to worry that You're not ready. You we hear that a lot. We I don't know the stuff. I I can't even do the pre-work I can't figure fill out any other stuff, you know, do start where you are you don't what what's the saying when's the best time to um Plan a tree 20 years ago when second best time today Right, we just said that before and I've heard that come up like at least 20 times in the last week still true Sorry, Tom. I pulled you off track with kpi that you're doing each month If anybody wants to know about the recording from today, we'll be posting that in In our facebook groups when when the video is ready. So it'll be out there in another day or so um thing we haven't talked about is You know, we've have a little bit of fun at foundations as well I mean, I know that we work hard and we talk a lot about that but You know, we we eat well, um We are on the beach um Sometimes everybody takes their clothes off and runs in the water. I mean all kinds of stories that we Does that people aren't admitting to Not supposed to call out the stuff You know, it's awesome What's awesome though is it's so much information? But it's right on a beach and if you walk out and turn left it's half a mile to the pier So you have time to walk there and back between classes and it refreshes your brain It it gives you the um to keep going and retain more information and that That's where it's at is the beach is right there It's beautiful It really does work for so many people how many people get up early in the morning even though they're up all night Right doing their all their master mining forever or playing games or whatever in the hot tub and get up early To go check out the sunset. I mean the sunrise, right? Always the number one out there. She's the first one. It's a really good time of year I think the timing should work out perfect where it's rising In time to go walk and then get ready for class so Oh, yeah, I don't we got I don't I don't think that is completely accurate. I think always said that I remember that. Yeah I I'm pretty sure that we're providing cpb speedos this year for the two of you. I'm so so excited We're gonna need a lot of sunscreen for tom Plus I love Yeah, uh, I think we we do talk a lot about how fun it is but there is You know, it's both sides. It's very well rounded It's a really good balance. Yeah. I feel like it is a good balance It's a little bit hard for people I mean, let's call out the hard stuff too It's a little bit hard for Some people who are coming and things are rocky in their businesses and they're like, how do I get away for a week? um Who was it chris will it lost? If you lose every single one of his employees, I think he's that on that couch next to me With like all of his staff quitting and he had the biggest smile on his face and I'm like Chris, how are you so good right now? He's like I'm not But he like he handled it right and he rebuilt and he's he's Right, how much bigger is he now? Yeah, he's like, I know he's he's over a couple million now Well, he made ink five thousand regionals this year, which means he's probably in Good company. I mean that's 80 growth over three years to qualify. Wow So and at least two million. So yeah, he's That's that's the the minimum qualifiers for the regionals. So he's doing pretty good Proud of him I know so that is uh sort of Don't forget that if you're one of the people that's thinking I can't you know, I I just I can't do it I can't get away He just had a child, right or his wife. I mean last week He's not spending all his time working What's that a book? I feel like I might have it But it's like let your business burn or what is that called? That's it scott bb. Do you remember but it's like It's basically we got that last year at scale. We got that at scale. Did we okay? That is just allowing. Um, no wonder I have it then. Um Is just to allow like so like yeah, if you're a small business and you're struggling and you don't think you can't get away You're the perfect person that needs to go to go to foundations at scale, you know is that Um, you need to learn how to be able to make its best enough. That's not a situation What I'm really proud about now is that I have a general manager I have operations manager all three of us can get on a plane and go somewhere at the same time together And the business runs fine To me that's something that makes me very proud because you know, I remember years ago when I couldn't You know, I worked 18 hours a day Legit, you know for years and so did your people So did my people. I worked my freaking people like bad and You know, I couldn't go anywhere and then the next you know when I hired, you know When I when iris worked her way up the rinks. Well, she couldn't go anywhere And now we've got it to where now we have a general manager as well and all three of us went on on somewhere went somewhere a couple months ago and It was so cool to be at the table and see my management team enjoying dinner and enjoying like learning everything else And while everyone like a lot of other people were frantic and stressed and checking in with their office My people were just enjoying life and that was that was like to me when I I felt successful at that moment. I thought okay Not only can I get away, but my people can and my company still operates that made me proud Nice I love that We are running up on top of the hour here and I guess don't want to miss an opportunity liz to share a little bit if anybody wants to know more about what we're going to be doing and One week two days five hours Three minutes and yada yada yada. What's the action plan? um What is that? I can't see the what is it found? What is it foundations dot com or cleaning foundations dot com Cleaning foundations dot com. Yeah, I'll drop that url in the chat. How about all right? Yeah, so if you are On the fence if you're the person like trisha was Or no, maybe it was maybe it was sarah. Yeah that said, okay, I can't I can't do it this year I'm gonna I'm gonna have to wait If that's you What did you say sarah? Yeah, I I didn't think I I didn't think I could pull it off financially or get away from my business And I regretted it for a whole year and I could have been a year ahead and everything had done that and probably not even one year ahead because everything compounds right you you Then you would have gone two years in a row because you had still gone the next year because trisha was going Yeah, we actually have been a couple of times. That's how much value got out of foundations We went again when our businesses got bigger to relearn the things at that level And got just as much out of it the second round. That's not unusual a lot of people do that I feel like I couldn't even retain. There was so much knowledge thrown my way That um, I went back and I did a lot of the work, right? But I thought there's still so much more to learn Yeah It's funny. No matter no matter what You are learning there's Hey, aja. I'm so excited that aja's gonna be there this year Don't rub it in. We're jealous. I know. I'm so sorry. I don't it's super exciting Well, then Liz didn't we push you for scale because we're like we want to keep doing these things And we've already been through foundations a couple times teach us more and more and then I think we're the one to like Forced you lovingly to do scale. Um sarah you specifically remember you said At foundations. I said, okay. Well, uh, and you were like here's $10,000 list I was like, all right. I guess scales happen. You lit. She literally gave me $10,000 Well, there, you know, I'll tell the story. There was a time when we really weren't going to do foundations anymore and Trisha and sarah and uh, I guess Heather As well and Nina maybe too Nina. Yeah, there were several that that really wanted us to do it And it's like well, I'll tell you what if you guys sell it for us, we'll do it and you guys sold it out in a heartbeat And I I even tell people like as I was selling it like I'm like I am being 100 selfish here By selling you this because I want to go again because I want to soak in more and more knowledge that I need this to happen And um, so you're gonna learn because I want to learn And all those people ended up with like I said, damn your master's degree in business from leaving it so And now scale is such an amazing opportunity for the next level businesses So I'm super excited about this year and the speakers and I think there's a couple rooms left if anyone wants to be with the cool kids To there's two rooms left. That's a bigger mansion. We have 16 or the chateau. We have 16 rooms there But it's crazy. We only have two there two left Uh, all right. I think we are coming up on it. Anybody have final last words This was fun. I'm so excited for scale now after this conversation Sarah, are you sure did you pick your bedroom yet so everybody else can pick their rooms? It took some hours You wouldn't even believe we sat in the damn room with ben and sarah arguing and looking at rooms And I just said you guys just choose a room That's because you were gonna sleep under the house. I know and then they were arguing about who was gonna get me Well, this room goes with trisha So whoever takes this room has to get trisha and I'm like, I feel like they're not fighting for me I feel like they're trying to get rid of me We all know that's not true Well, we we are at the top of the hour. So again, uh cleaning foundations dot com if uh, you want to know more Um hit us up Uh Matt Trisha sarah, thank you all. This was fun. We uh, we need to do this again sometime Yeah, absolutely Scale will be doing it. Um, will you be doing it? Yeah, tom you have to come to scale Okay, I don't know trisha. I haven't I'm just kidding If you don't come tom, I might have to bring my own tom. You you'll just find some doppleguy Yeah, I don't know. There's like a half a dozen of them in phoenix from what I recall. I'm gonna bring the hillbilly tom He's my favorite Okay, hey, uh, we'll be back next wednesday five o'clock eastern. Bye. Bye