The Perfect 100

Hello and welcome back to the perfect 100.

I'm your host Tammy Zurak.

My guest today not only stepped in as president of his chapter in the middle of the term,
but he also has recently become a chapter success coach.

I want to welcome Nick Sammons to the podcast.

Hey Nick.

Hey Tammy, how are you?

I am doing great today.

It's Monday morning.

Whoever's listening, don't know what day it is, but it's Monday morning here and we're
going to go.

So we're going to jump right in, tell us how long have you been a BNI member and a chapter
success coach and what chapter and seat do you currently hold?

So I have been a B &I member for four and a half years now.

Chapter success coach just recently over about the last six months and I hold the general
contracting builder seat in the B &I Bartlett chapter.

Awesome.

General contractor is well, what's the word I'm looking for?

It's highly sought after, I think, in most of the chapters.

So I'm really interested to talk to you a little bit about that and your presence in our
region is more than just you.

So I want to talk to you about that as well.

But we're going to start with giving us your best 45 seconds.

So I'm going to hold up the timer for you.

When it stops, you stop.

Alright, let's do it.

Good morning B &I Bartlett.

My name is Nick Sammons.

I own Truevine Renovations and we build kitchens, bathrooms and home additions.

But what we specialize in is a peaceful renovation experience.

Now what I am looking for today are clients who have had poor experiences with contractors
in the past who need someone to help them, guide them through the process and is very

thorough and communicates well.

Those would be a good fit for me.

And I know I left a little bit of time there, we got, we do 25 seconds in my chapter.

So.

guys, you guys, so I'm the chapter success coach for Nick's uh next chapter.

So I have heard his stuff before and know him somewhat from being a visitor at the
chapter.

And we've definitely done a one-to-one and so forth.

So I think it's going to be interesting.

And yeah, and you guys do.

So you guys have an interesting chapter in terms of.

time-wise is you went from, I think you were doing 60 seconds at the beginning when you
first took over and you cut it to 25.

You went full bore extreme trying to make up some time because you guys were running over,
is that right?

Yeah, we were constantly just skipping through a lot of referrals and testimonials and a
lot of the important parts of the meeting towards the end.

And we just had to shave time somewhere.

And as our chapter grew up to 40, even though now we're back down to 36, that's really the
best place for us to save time.

Yeah, and you know, and they say, I know when you shave time off of the commercial, so to
speak, that people sometimes can get unhappy about that.

But at the end of the day, I think we always all say is if you're counting on your
commercial in the chapter meeting to get you business, then you're probably not going to

do as well because you really should be focusing on the one to ones is where you share all
the information.

It's just kind of a nice weekly recap, right?

Yeah, exactly.

And we put a slide in before that tells you how to do your 25 seconds in a very concise
but clear manner.

So that way you're getting the most important information to your chapter instead of maybe
rambling or telling a story or something like that so people can remember you.

Yes, yes, that's awesome.

All right, let's look at your power of one.

Leslie's going to put that on the screen for us.

So pretty good stuff.

You are in the green with a score of 80.

You are 20 points for attendance, 20 points for referrals, 20 points for one-to-ones, 20
points for CEUs, and a perfect score would be 100.

So you're missing 20 points somewhere.

Looks like visitors.

Do you want to talk a little bit about

what visitors, if there are a challenge, what that looks like for you.

Yeah, visitors can be a challenge for me.

mean, we have we.

meet with lot of subcontractors and vendors and we have lot of relationships with those
guys but a lot of times they can be one or two man crews, their owner operators, uh and

I've invited plenty of them before, I've even gotten people to commit but just not show up
and so uh it's hard to and it can especially be in the contracting industry where somebody

comes into a chapter and they get so much business from it that they just can't continue
to keep coming to the meetings.

So making the commitment

it can be very difficult, especially for these owner operators that I'm typically in
contact with who uh are the ones that are moving their business forward on a daily basis.

Yeah, and I think a lot of people have that problem, right?

And especially in your world because you're primarily...

probably not working with people that are in the trades.

So looking for that right person that has that perfect blend of enough support to be able
to be in a chapter or isn't gonna, we're not gonna bring them in, blow them up, and then

they head out, which is, we don't want either of those things.

We want the right person.

And I think in your own experience, and maybe we can talk a little bit about that, is you
tell us a little bit about

how your business runs because you're in a chapter and you have other people in other
chapters, is that right?

Yeah, so I handle all the sales and marketing for my business and then I have a full-time
project manager Cameron who's in the uh

Greater Memphis chapter and then I have a part-time office administrator Stacey who works
remote.

So Cameron is in a chapter although he is extremely busy handling the day-to-day
operations of everything.

It's just important to us that we get more visibility especially as a new business because
we're only four years four years in right now so.

Right, yeah well, so I'll turn the spotlight back on you.

So if you were, because you are a chapter success coach, if you were counseling someone
like you in another chapter who was in your situation, maybe they want to grow their

business uh and they even maybe have somebody in another chapter, what would be, but
visitors are a challenge, what advice might you give them, Nick?

You know, I would say keep trying.

There are a lot of people who think they don't need to network, especially in contracting,
because they think everything is word of mouth.

They go, I've been doing this for so many years, and it's all word of mouth.

But they're frustrated that their business isn't growing.

And so...

One of the main theories that I've had is my business isn't growing because not enough
people know who I am yet.

And so coming to BNI gets you around that 20, 30, 40 group of people who can know who you
are on a more intimate level and can spread that out a lot faster.

so, and we have seen that over the past four years, being able to grow that we have.

So that's what I would recommend to someone is that you need more eyeballs on your
business in BNI.

is a great, really inexpensive, most of it is just a time commitment way to do that.

Make it a priority like you would anything else in your business.

If you're gonna do something, if you're gonna be a part of the chamber, part of BNI, then
you need to be all in on it.

Somebody who comes in who's gonna, you know, not put all of their effort into it, you're
not gonna get what you're hoping out of it.

Sure.

Have you found an advantage having people in other chapters to grow in your business?

Is that, I know you said that's a struggle because obviously your person in a different
chapter is busy also running the day to day.

how have you, we have, I know I can think of at least two or three other people in this
region that have people in multiple chapters and they have to kind of make that time,

right?

So how has that been a benefit to you?

Yeah, I mean, we've gotten uh not only referrals from the chapters that we're in, but
we've seen that expand outside of that in different things like Memphis most.

we're one of the, since I'm a chapter success coach and I go to other chapters where my
seat is typically open, ah you know, I'll help them and I'll also give my spiel of what I

do.

And it creates that VCP that B &I talks about that visibility, credibility, and then
profitability.

So not only do I get referrals from the two chapters we're in, but other chapters in the
region as well.

Yeah, I love that.

think that there's, it's definitely challenging to create the space to let people do this.

But, you know, that gets the biggest thing from a business perspective is you have to make
the time to grow.

You know, I coach sales and if you're not constantly putting new opportunities sort of in
the top of the funnel.

you're not gonna have stuff coming out the bottom if all you're doing is working on the
job site all day or whatever it is you do all day in your business.

You've gotta have more opportunities.

So having something, whether it's B &I, the Chamber, whatever, you've gotta have some
other outlet and the wider you can spread that net, the more opportunities you're gonna

get to make that work.

So that's awesome.

Let's look at the Palms Report.

I've...

hold, it's always defaults to six months, but I've added the extra couple of weeks that
are in this month.

So present, have been present or had a sub the entire time.

Referrals given inside 23, referrals given outside 18.

And this is, I forgot how many weeks this is, it's probably 20, I think we're about 23, 24
weeks.

just for perspective.

So a referral given almost every week or every week and referrals given inside and if you
add in the outside then it's more than that.

Referrals received inside for referrals received outside 15.

So it looks like you're given a lot and you're getting some back from your chapter but
looks like you also have some partners outside the chapter.

that a true story?

Yeah, absolutely.

know, before I became the president and moved over to B &I Bartlett, I was over at the
trusted advisors chapter.

So I have a lot of contacts over there.

uh People in there who uh I trust and have business with uh that.

you know, I still work with, however, I do still send a lot of referrals inside our own
chapter when those seats are available.

and as far as receiving the referrals back, you know, my return on investment in B &I is
absolutely massive because our average job size is about $44,000.

So the way I look at it is I really only need one of those jobs in order to make it worth
it for us.

And, you know, it's really helpful too when you have these quality business professionals
in these chapters.

especially things like HVAC, plumbing, electric, because there's accountability with your
subcontractors.

And other general contractors, they may agree with me that sometimes the sub pool can kind
of be scary to navigate through.

So I love having the accountability of coming to my weekly meeting and seeing my subs, uh
because that's just a little extra bug in their ear that says, you need to get that thing

done for me.

Nice.

We do in my chapter, and I know we don't, all the chapters don't do this, but the referral
reality check.

So we pull, we take the, if you're not doing this, we take the, all of the referrals that
were given this week and then put them into, you know, an opportunity to grab them next

week.

So when the referral reality check slide comes up, we pull that out and say, okay, Nick, I
see you gave a referral to Tammy.

And Tammy, how is that going?

It's such and such person.

And I have to say, I, whatever has happened and often, not often, sometimes we catch
people where they haven't done what they're supposed to do and reach out to that person.

And that's a little embarrassing, right?

And it's not meant to be embarrassing, but it makes from a visitor perspective.

If you have somebody visiting your chapter, it provides the, it shows that we do
accountability, right?

Is we care and.

Whether or not you do that in your chapter, I think it's a good thing because it shows
that we do, you know, in my chapter we do track all the things and we want people to

recognize that if we're here to work together, you know, and this is sort of like a
business, we want to make sure we're following up with all of the opportunities.

You're kind of saying that in a different way as if they're in your chapter, then they're
gonna see ya Then they have to you know, they're gonna feel accountable to you You know

versus some that never see you and they don't necessarily have to feel that way, right?

Yeah, we do the referral reality check.

We have the featured speaker do it and what they do is we tell them talk about a referral
that you recently received that went well or maybe one that wasn't such a great fit for

you.

That way the chapter can kind of gather around because sometimes it's really hard in a 40
member chapter to sit down one-to-one with everybody and know them extremely well and so

you may go look at them and go well I don't really know how to refer this person you know
maybe you've sent them something to pass and it didn't work out but then they tell you

during

that referral reality check, why that referral wasn't a good fit for them.

And so you learn a little bit of something along the way as well.

Yeah, I like that.

That's actually an interesting twist on that is having people tell you, because I think
we've all, I've been in for 10 years, I've definitely received referrals that were not a

great fit ah and being able to speak to, although that might be embarrassing for the
person that gave it to you if it was recent, but being able to say, this is why, you know,

this is not a great referral and here's why to prevent, I would rather say that than, you
know, get more of the wrong thing.

So that's a good thing.

All right.

And so then we've got visitor zero, which we talked about one to

Thank you for closed business given 154,904 and then CEU's 121.

So tell me about that.

You must have learner somewhere in your strengths profile that didn't show up on the top
five, but tell me more.

that's the researcher analysis part.

uh So I do a lot of, I'm in business coaching myself, so I do a lot of sales training and
uh obviously for my general contractor's license, I have to have a certain number of CEUs

per year.

But I'm just an avid learner.

I like to absorb information.

I read a lot uh because...

You know, I wasn't born a business owner.

I had no idea how to do any of this when I first started.

I was just a good tradesman.

And then you find out when you go out on your own that there's a lot more to business than
being just a good tradesman.

constantly doing coaching, absorbing information.

You know, I really like taking the CliftonStrengths test.

I've taken disc profile test.

you know, I've taken, there's another one with numbers, yeah, one of those.

So just seeing different uh ways to view people, to increase my leadership, to better my
sales, how to build systems and operations, I'm constantly doing that, and so that's where

all those CEUs come from.

Yeah, and we're going to talk about your strengths in a minute, but I'm guessing learner
is probably pretty high for you based on that information.

And you have your top two talent, which we'll talk about in a minute, probably falls into
that as well.

But I would guess we've only done your top five for this.

But if you unlock and do the full 34, learner is probably pretty high for you.

I'm just going to say it.

And I also wanted to make a point you said earlier based on how many referrals you've
received.

oh

It's an important point because you said you don't need that many, right?

If your average sale is fairly high, uh you're not selling lipstick where one is not going
to pay your bills if you sell one.

So, you you have to sell a lot of lipstick to pay your bills if you were selling lipstick,
which you're not.

But it's an important point because we look at, we need to ask the person in general, how
is what they're getting enough?

Because if you're only getting

a small amount, but it's a high dollar amount, that might be different.

But if we never ask the question, we don't know.

for the chapters that are doing the seven month check-in, that's what that's for, is to
look at these numbers and say, hey, are you receiving what you need for this to be useful?

And if not, can we help?

um So all good information.

All right.

in the...

B &I, you need a plan.

So it's a marketing tool.

So for me, my plan is if I make a marketing expense, I need to see at minimum a 10 %
return on investment.

And with the expense of B &I being relatively low, but a high time commitment, you have to
kind of factor in what your time is worth for that.

And so if you have a plan and you know what your goals are, you're much more likely to
reach that goal than if you just come in and go, well, I hope people send me business.

uh

especially if you have a low ticket item you know where your average job might be a
thousand dollars you know you got to figure out what that number is for you in order for

it to be worth it.

Yeah, for sure.

What about BNI in general has been most challenging for you?

Oh, let's see, as a member or a chapter success coach?

Well, certainly as a chapter success coach, there are some chapters that are gung-ho about
growing their chapter and working together and moving forward and growing their

businesses.

And then there are some chapters that are happy where they're at.

You know, they're not really looking to grow.

or have really any input, and that hurts them to an extent.

uh While you might have good relationships, while you might have a solid power team or
core group of eight to 10 people, if you don't put yourself out there and continue to

grow, you're gonna slowly dwindle away.

It's the same thing in business.

If you're not growing, you're dying.

uh

I wish some of the chapters would see the value in what they're doing and that they would
put in a little more effort into the accountability side of things.

And they might see their chapter expand from 18 people to 30 or 40 people.

As a member, I think the hardest thing is when you first come into a chapter, there's a
lot of stuff you're told you're supposed to do.

You come in the chapter, people are welcoming, you're in, you know you're supposed

to do some sort of training and then you're kind of like what what do I do and I think a
lot of people are nervous with that first one-to-one they're not really sure how it's

gonna go they kind of expect business right off the bat too and just coming to the
meetings is not going to get you business it's really the one-to-ones uh that matter

because people want to trust you before they refer you because they're putting their name
on that referral when that happens you're wanting a warm introduction hey this really

influential

realtor is gonna recommend me to this buyer who's gonna remodel their house.

If they don't know you and the experience goes bad, that looks bad on the realtor.

And so you really want to build those relationships as quickly as possible uh to make your
life a lot easier when you first join.

Yeah, it's, think, and since you're relatively new to the chapter success coach, I was
kind of curious to hear what your observations were because I've been one for a very long

time and I've also been a managing director and it's the most challenging piece for me is
seeing the potential unresolved, unrealized, untapped into, on all the things.

Some of the chapters that I work with,

You know, you go into a meeting and you hear people say, I'm struggling and I need more.

And the framework of BNI, that's all it is, is a framework.

It's an opportunity to build your business through a proven system, you know, that if you,
and it's not just you, it can just be you executing on that framework.

But if the rest of the chapter isn't doing all the things that you're supposed to do, then
it becomes the culture not to.

Or you just don't even know because nobody's taught you.

And that's where I think we have a lot of turnover.

And I think that a lot of members look at turnover like, well, it's bad for BNI because
our chapter is whatever, but it's not bad for BNI, it's bad for you.

It's your network.

Whatever is happening in the room that you meet is yours.

That is your meeting, that is your network.

For me, that is everything.

If I don't have a good team around me, whether it's in BNI or...

in my business, then I can't do as well as I could if I did.

So, you know, for somebody, I have Maximizer in my top five and Maximizer likes to take
good things and make them great.

It kills me when I see a good opportunity to grow help, and I love helping people grow
their business.

You know, when I see that opportunity unrealized because people don't, they want to, I
struggle with the, we're not going to do it because that's what they said to do.

Okay.

But it's not because they said to do it.

They just want you to be successful in your business.

And you know, that's kind of the whole thing is it's a, it's a rising tide lifts all
ships.

If we do the right, if we do the things, if anybody else told you, it's kind of like when
your parents tell you when you're growing up, don't do the thing.

But then, you know, somebody else that's an adult, maybe your teacher that you love comes
and tells you the same thing.

You're like, that's a great idea.

You know, it's like, it's crazy.

Have you felt that experience having stepped into the shoes of the chapter success coach?

without a doubt.

And you know, there's only so much a chapter success coach can do.

You know, we're there to support and we don't really have any authority over anything
really.

So.

ah

you know, with I think that's kind of part of it too is without uh some extra level of
authority or being able to hold people accountable from our role.

They take all the accountability onto themselves and when you're trying to come in and
help it, nobody likes to be told what to do, right?

So, you you got to be creative.

You got to find a way to inspire them, you know, take an educational moment here, talk
about what's possible and feel out the

groups.

you know having one-to-ones with people in the group you hear a lot of things and people
like you build trust because you have credibility as a chapter success coach within those

chapters.

And so you hear a lot of things from people in the chapter that you may not necessarily
hear uh if you're part of the leadership of that chapter.

Things that people are frustrated about and so you know what the chapter is frustrated
about.

The core leadership team is kind of wondering what's going on, why things aren't going the
way they hope they are, and then you have to be the one who comes in and

tried to bridge the gap and so it is it can be a lot of effort to run a chapter if you do
it the way that BNI recommends it can be super streamlined super easy that's what we've

tried to do it in Bartlett because there's this big hazy unknown of uh effort that is
talked about when it comes time to select new leadership positions and so if you just make

that very clear uh

You know, your chapter can run really smooth and really well.

And it's the same thing in your business.

You know, I asked the question to our chapter the other day, who here has not only grown
their business, but grown professionally and as a leader as well.

And everybody raised their hand because you're basically, the small network is a business
and you have to work together.

You have to work with all those different kinds of personalities.

You have to have a core leadership team that's strong, that communicates well.

We have core values, right?

every business should.

So I just like I love our chapters.

I wish sometimes people would just follow the plan.

But and you know that shows I think that showed up in my test results as well.

It's like I like structure routines.

yes.

Well, and it's funny, I forget what you said, um but it's something to the effect of we
have no control.

Like we really don't as a success coach.

And I said, I had a meeting with one of the incoming um presidents for next term recently.

And I said, you know, I have zero control over what happens.

I have zero control.

It isn't up to me what happens in your chapter.

It's up to you what happens in your chapter.

And it isn't even up to you what happens as president.

It's up to everyone.

So having the best plan is having a strong leadership team because people who all see the
same vision, right, is if it could be, we could all be better if, and you know, that

sometimes means we have to leave some people behind because they don't want to.

um And, you know, but that's the culture we created over time is, you know, we don't do
that here.

Well, you know, that's okay for you and your, and is it okay for you in your business is
we don't follow up with people in our business.

You know, it's, go ahead.

sorry, but it's like I, I, way I think about it in chapters is sometimes B &I really
pushes the visitor grow your chapter.

And yes, that's extremely important.

ah

but I was always taught don't scale a turd.

So you don't want to scale your business that isn't ready for that because you're just
gonna have more problems as a bigger business.

Same thing in your chapter.

You don't want to scale a chapter that's got a lot of problems.

Let's get in, let's fix some of these things, let's build a strong chapter.

Maybe we have to cut some of the fat out, but build a strong chapter and then you can grow
and it'll be 10 times better.

Yeah, it's kind of a parallel to your business, right?

As a general contractor, you can't, you know, put the lipstick on the pig.

You can't put the siding on a bad framework.

You you have to have all of the foundation pieces working well and built well and strong
and all the things before you can dress up and, you know, attract more to opportunities to

your business.

So, very cool.

What's one mistake that you've made in your business or in networking that taught you the
most and that

gave you a new approach.

as far as networking, know, I'm not naturally an extroverted person.

You know, I'm very introverted.

I like to stay at home a lot.

uh You know.

events with a lot of people and energy wear me out.

So it was was very difficult for me and obviously being a part like of sales and marketing
in my business that's not a great trait uh to have.

It's a valuable trait in other areas of the business.

uh So I had to teach myself to

be more extroverted, to not be so monotone, to change the tone of my voice.

A lot of that sales training was really helpful for me to initiate conversations.

And so I can kind of turn it on, turn it off.

Now, does it wear me out?

Absolutely.

Being the president of the chapter, standing up there for an hour and a half every day,
having to bring the energy first thing in the morning, that's not my cup of tea.

But learning how to do that and getting more involved too.

I love being a part

the leadership of the chapter.

For the first couple years, I was just kind of back on the sidelines, just kind of doing
the bare minimum, trying to figure things out.

But once I was able to step in front of the chapter and lead, that was a point where I was
able to really build that visibility, credibility, and profitability.

Because instead of just looking at me for that 45 seconds that we have every week, you're
looking at me for an hour and a half.

uh people know what it takes to run a chapter.

They know there's a lot of effort.

They may not know exactly what it takes, but uh you,

really build that credibility in the tractor and that trust that comes with it.

So those are probably the two things that help me the most.

Yeah, and it kind of gives you new perspective, As if you've never been in the leadership
roles, the top three ELT, uh it's hard to, it looks effortless to some degree when

somebody's doing it well.

It doesn't look effortless when somebody's doing it poorly.

But it also, to your point, the visibility, credibility, profitability factor that we call
in BNI-BCP, uh it certainly helps when things go well, right?

As they can,

see when the members can see a measurable difference with what's happening or the thing I
love the most is at the end when the visitors we asked our visitors to stand up and say

what you liked about the meeting and they talk about the things that you're executing
right as their US president are the one that is sort of the ringmaster you know you're

orchestrating all the things to happen you mentioned changing the time because it needed
to be changed so that everything is done the way it's supposed to be and that is almost

always what

visitors say they like the feel of it, but they like, a lot of them like that it happens
on time and that there's a structure.

We talk about accountability in my chapter.

When we put the power of one up, we talk about this is what this means, is this is
accountability.

We measure those things.

So that matters.

It's not like, the chamber's great.

I'm an ambassador in the chamber, it isn't the same.

Going to a chamber event isn't the same as being in VNI, because there's no
accountability.

You just show up at a chamber and hope for the best.

um Now if know how to work it, that's a different thing.

we have that piece that is what makes it work, right?

So that's cool stuff.

All right, let's take a turn and talk.

We've hinted to the CliftonStrengths quite a bit.

So let's go ahead and show your CliftonStrengths.

All right, so your number one thing is a new one for us here is significance.

You want to make a big impact.

You are independent and prioritize projects based on how much influence they will have on
your organization or the people around you.

Number two is analytical.

You search for reasons and causes.

You have the ability to think about all of the that affect a situation.

Number three is focus.

You can take a direction, follow through and make the connections necessary to stay on
track.

You prioritize then act.

Number four is responsibility.

You take psychological ownership of what you say you will do.

You are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

And number five is competition.

You measure your progress against the performance of others.

You strive to win first place and revel in contests.

So what stood out to you the most when you got your results?

ah You know, I've taken so many of these tests before they all kind of they they all make
sense and in different points of my life they changed just a little bit but I had never

seen significance before as part of it.

You know, I've seen the analytical, the focus, responsibility, competitiveness, those kind
of things and that's uh

That's the biggest thing that stood out to me.

I personally think that I'm here to build something extremely great that can give back to
the community, can uh continue to employ people, to build into other businesses.

And so that's really important to me.

ah And as much as I...

prefer to not be in the spotlight.

It always feels good to me to be recognized for something that we're doing.

So I don't ever actively seek, like I've gotta be in the spotlight right here.

But if I did something that people feel is truly worthy, not something that I feel was
worthy, and that wants to be recognized, I love that because that's what I wanna do.

I'm not here to exalt myself.

uh

But just I wanna make a difference and we're doing that, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a dish
and add a dime right now,

Yeah, and so I have significance also.

My significance is number five.

And it sounds like a word when you hear significance.

sounds like, well, I want to be a significant.

You know, it sounds sort of like, that's not cool.

But significance isn't that.

It is more so what you said is, you know, I want to make a difference in how it...

And then when you roll those five things together...

You said several of them is you want to give back to the community.

That's a responsibility.

You you want to do good things.

And I was reading your top five for me as a general contractor.

I think that's amazing because it's what sets you apart.

You know, I teach branding and

Wow, if you had somebody who, I think the biggest challenge that most people have with a
general contractor when they go to hire somebody to make whatever changes to their home,

that their biggest concern is that they're not gonna fall through, that it isn't gonna be
what they said, that they're not gonna be there for you when you need them, and pretty

much all the things you have.

Our counter to that, right, is you're gonna be significant because you're gonna, you wanna
make a difference, you wanna be a different type of contractor, you want to be somebody

who is responsible.

uh Analytical, I'm imagining, plays quite a lot into what you're doing uh in terms of
managing all of the pieces and parts and finding the best.

you know, things to work for people.

I'm guessing even prior to taking a job, you've already spent a lot of time sussing out
all of the right next things for the next jobs.

Focus is also one that we haven't had on the podcast before.

And I have focus, but my focus is number nine.

um Do you feel like you are, when you're doing things, you lose time?

There are certain things you're.

absolutely.

You know, I think my best focus period is...

m

is at night.

It's like from 9 to 11 o'clock and that's where I can really if I want to get something
done, I zone in, I'll be working, I'll look at the time and be like, my gosh, two hours

has gone by already.

So, you know, that and that goes with the analytical side.

I'm always thinking what data can I track?

You know, what's what are we forecasting?

uh What is something a change that we can make in our business that could be positive?

And, you know, I'll play out 10 different scenarios on paper.

look at them all, know, check the data and figure out which one is the right path to take.

Yeah, it's focus is it's a blessing and a curse to some degree.

uh Focus for you want someone focuses on something everybody has.

um In fact, a lot of people don't have focus.

And when you're working together on projects, which you are, you have, know, you're
managing a lot of different things all at once as a as a general contractor, you have all

the different pieces and parts that need to get done.

Focus whether whether you're a general contractor or you're somebody like me, I'm a
solopreneur, but

When you get in the mode, you...

I ask Nick if he loses time because you...

Time passes and you don't even realize it because you're really enjoying whatever it is
that you do.

When I was in photography, I used to edit for hours and I wouldn't even think twice about
it.

Four hours would go by and I was like, oh, I need to come up for air because, you know,
I'm just in the zone.

And that's what focus is, is, you know, you want someone that can...

put aside the clutter and do the thing, you know, and I struggle sometimes because there's
so, think we all do, there's so many different things that you can be doing, but focus can

zero in on the one thing and you need that person on your team that can do the one thing
that gets things accomplished, right?

As some people have zero focus and without it, life can be more challenging.

Yeah, I am definitely by no means a multitasker.

I don't even think you can multitask.

I think you can only be distracted.

So, you know, I like, I really like to work in the dark.

I don't need, you know, all the lights are off.

My wife will come into my office and be like, what are you, what are you doing in here?

And it's like, I am zoned in focused on what it is I'm working on.

So, and it was cool to me to see that how closely these top five ranked with our business
core values.

And so our business core values are purity,

Respect, integrity, commitment, and excellence.

so, you know, purity, that goes into significance of what we're doing.

Respect, uh could be responsibility, analytical.

uh Integrity, that's that responsibility.

Commitment, that's the focus.

And then excellence is our competitive side.

So, you know, that was pretty cool how that lined up to me.

Yeah, I love that.

um Has competition, have you felt that in any, how does that play out for you in your
world?

yeah, I'm hyper competitive.

know, I I grew up playing sports, uh doing all sorts of different things and being
competitive that way.

I love I have a big network of contractors all over the US that I'm able to connect with
and talk to about businesses.

I know who my local competition is here and the markets that we're trying to get into.

I know where they're at.

You know, I'm not I'm not satisfied until.

you know, until we're able to say that we're the best.

Granted, I'm content with where we are and I'm really proud of how far we've gone, but
that's part of our core value of excellence is we're always trying to get better.

So we want to elevate ourselves on a daily basis, both personally and professionally.

You know, we've seen that in the business.

You know, myself last year decided to lose some weight, lost 30 pounds last year.

So continuing to get better personally, our PM, Cameron, I know he won't mind me saying
this.

he quit smoking uh when he uh started working for us.

everybody on the team is working to better themselves and be better for their families.

And then in turn that flows into the business, right?

So uh it's exciting to see.

Yeah, well, and you said earlier, I wrote down, you said you need a plan.

Everybody needs a plan for B &I, right?

And you said that, and I'm sure based on your strengths, planning as part of your
day-to-day, would you say that's true?

Absolutely, you know, it's got to be, if it's not on my calendar, it doesn't happen.

And so for a lot of people, they've got this big list of things and they're like, well, I
didn't get anything done today.

You know, someone who takes really good care of their calendar is going to get a lot of
things done.

And so I even schedule things in there like going to the gym or even family time, because
sometimes I can have a problem turning off work.

And so I schedule that in there to know like, hey, I need to be done with my day by this
time, this time I'm going to spend

with my family.

So you know I would recommend any especially in B &I just put it on your calendar.

I know you're busy but if you put it on your calendar you won't miss it.

You'll schedule around it.

Yeah, and that again is focus.

em That's playing out is, you know, have a plan, work the plan, be the plan.

um And focus doesn't have to just be business.

Focus, like you said, schedule family time.

You schedule whatever it is you want to focus on.

That's what you schedule.

And that is how it works for you.

So I love that.

for those of you that feel like I could never, you know, work the calendar, plan the day,
all the things, uh find a friend who has focus, who can help you.

um How is, how can you see how the strengths have played out in your business as a whole?

Yeah, without a doubt, you know.

Early on, I was just like every other contractor.

I'd wake up at five in the morning so I could go pick up material and then I'd work from
uh eight to five.

And then after five, I'd go out and do some sales calls till seven.

And then I'd come back from seven to 11 and write up proposals.

And it was just this constant cycle of things.

And one, was my focus.

I had to have a really planned out day.

And then I realized on my competitive side,

I'm like there's no way I quit my normal job to work longer harder for less money.

That's the analysis analytical side coming in and so I had to learn.

figuring out what other businesses were doing.

I got into coaching, I started to do sales training, we were put on a belt tracker that
was competitive.

so, as this is going along over the last four years, I've seen all of those come into play
and grow our business 10X.

Awesome.

So if you could imagine a business owner who's never discovered their strengths, what
would you say to them that why would matter to them?

You know, there's so much that you really don't know about yourself.

There's a lot of tests and different things out there like the Clifton Strengths, like a
disc profile test.

ah

that can give you insight to what your strengths and weaknesses are.

And in business, you really can't be everything as an owner operator.

You've got some really good strengths, which is where you need to put your focus, and
you've got some weaknesses where other people can help you grow your business.

And so I would definitely recommend taking one of those tests and figuring out what you're
good at.

uh And don't go online

and find a free test because yeah it might give you a little bit of information but you
really don't know how to integrate that or how that integrates with your business your

life who you are how you like to operate and so what one of those tests could be a couple
hundred bucks ah but could give you some really valuable insight and we are big fans of

the disc profile test we we take it every two years the whole team does it helps me as a
leader figure out how they like to be

led, how they like to be communicated to.

It helps me as an introvert know how to speak to clients who are different than what I am.

Now I always love a client who already knows everything they want, where they all wanted
to go.

They've got it all picked out, they want to do it, they've researched us because that's
who I am.

But you know there are other clients who want to tell me about how their grandmother made
them feel in their kitchen and how they want to recreate that experience and if I didn't

have that training, if I didn't understand the way I

operate and how those types of people can operate, then it would be really hard for me to
uh sympathize with her and give her what she's looking for.

Yeah, and I started my career early on taking disc.

I've taken disc in Myers-Briggs several times and in Gallup we say that it's kind of like
disc in Myers-Briggs put you in the city.

Clifton strikes put you at the front door.

So it is a more zoned in specific set of things to you and to the people on your team.

And Gallup also says that 70 % of team engagement comes down to the manager.

So if you're leading people, m

You need to know your things, but you also need to know their things in order to keep them
happy and productive.

You know, the best feeling is when, I think you said earlier about significances, you
don't necessarily seek those things out, but when you get them and you do well, want

someone, significance wants somebody to recognize that they did a good job.

You know, if I make a big change for the better, and significance for me plays out in, as
a coach,

in my business that I seek to help other business people grow.

And that's why I got certified for CliftonStrengths because it helps you understand your
unique, it's your fingerprint, you your unique set of things and how you interact with the

world and how everybody interacts with you.

So if you can say, you know, to your potential client, this is why I'd be the best
contractor for you because I have...

you know, analytical and I have focus and I have, I've eliminated all the problems that
you have with other contractors because this is, I don't have that.

I pride myself on being these things and my team also, you know, not just me, but this is
what they do well.

uh So developing yourself without having that understanding of yourself, it can be a lot
more challenging in how you present yourself to your potential clients and grow your

business.

So, so I love that.

um So what's one piece of advice you'd give somebody to build a stronger network, whether
it's in BNI or not?

you gotta, I mean, this might seem simple, but you just gotta do it.

I mean, you have to make the connections.

And as I was saying earlier, so many people, they come in, they like to kind of sit in the
corner, they are slow about having their one-to-ones, uh they buddy up with maybe a tight.

sphere and they don't explore outside of that.

They stay within their own chapter.

They don't explore other chapters.

They're not a substitute or go and visit in a place where their seat might be open.

So I would just recommend don't don't take the slow way.

uh Take the fast train.

know jump in.

Be involved.

uh

People will recognize you more when you do that.

Come up with like a catchy uh slogan or catchphrase that your chapter can repeat during
your 45 seconds.

I know when I go through my 45 seconds, when it comes to the We Build Kitchens, Baths Home
Editions, but what we specialize in is, and I have the whole chapter say a peaceful

renovation experience because that's what I want them to remember when they're talking
with people or when they hear, hey, I'm thinking about getting my bathroom remodeled.

you know in the next two or three weeks.

peaceful renovation experience that's Nick that's what I want them to think of so do
something memorable.

I know Cameron in Greater Memphis he's the construction cowboy so he comes up with like a
western themed 45 seconds uh to talk about and people remember it and they love it and so

if you get up there and you're monotone and you have low energy and you say well I hold
this seat and I do this and I do this yeah.

If anybody needs those things, call me.

You're not gonna be very memorable.

People aren't gonna be encouraged to send them to you because they're gonna go, this guy's
such a bore.

I don't know if I wanna send this client over to him.

ah That's what I would recommend.

That's awesome.

Well, and that's a theme everybody I've asked that question of has said similar things is
you just gotta, you just gotta do it, right?

You have to force yourself.

I went to a chamber event, they call it Perk Before Work here.

uh We went to one the other day and there were two people standing in the corner and...

I knew one of them and I went over to say hello to that person and that person said to me,
here we are standing in the corner.

I know you're going to say something about it.

And I said, well, and that person had to leave and I already, you know, I didn't know her,
but the other one now is by herself left with me.

So I said, okay, who do you need to meet?

And I took her and I made her go with me and she, and that stood out to her.

She actually, that meant something to her that I sort of took her, I don't want to say
under my wing, but.

I took the effort to introduce her around, but you have to be responsible for yourself
sometimes, Half the battle for her was getting in the room.

And the other half of the battle is make a friend.

Make just one person be your buddy and then each week try that, If you can't bite the
elephant all at once, um take a nibble.

um The other thing that sprang up in my head when you said that was in my chapter, one of
the initiatives we did for the second quarter,

was having everybody sit by their team.

So the trades sit together, the B2Bs sit together, the insurance sits together, et cetera.

And I move them around the room.

um So each week they come in and it's in a different spot and it's not next to the same
person.

will rearrange that because we have table tents with their names on them.

And I'll put visitors in the middle between each of them for several reasons.

the repositioning is people get too comfortable in their seat, right?

Is everybody sits in the same seat every week and that feels very comfortable.

We sit at this table at this seat and we don't ever, you know, get out of that sort of
shell.

And I just heard something the other day about time goes faster as you get older because
we do the same thing every day, every week.

And so it seems faster because there's no

derivation in what you're doing.

So even if you drive to work a different way or come home a different way or try something
different like sit in a different seat, sit on the other side of the room, uh that will

slow down your time on this earth because it's something different.

But when we sit you, we like to sit people, we decided to sit people by power team because

What if a visitor, and we put the visitors where they're supposed to, on their team.

So if a visitor comes in, everybody sitting right next to them is now part of their team
and they see that, they're just like, oh, there's 10 people on my team.

Wow, this is pretty cool that I could do business with.

So it creates the opportunity for them to want to become part of your chapter.

All right, so what's left for you?

What's not left for you, but what's next for you?

What's the new, exciting growth that you're looking forward to in the future?

Yeah, so in my business particularly, we've been trying to break the two million mark for.

couple years now.

So we grew very quickly within the first three years and now we're kind of at this
plateau.

So we're trying to figure out what the next thing is that's going to plateau us up to that
point.

This year our focus is on customer service reviews, really uh making our experience
fantastic for our clients.

And I think that'll bring its way that way.

B &I is going to be a big part of that.

ah The business we've got from B &I each year.

continues to increase and so you know even as much as 25 percent of our yearly revenue.

So it's uh you know we're going to continue to do BNI.

That's one of the reasons why I became a chapter success coach is just to have more
visibility and credibility uh throughout the region and it gives me the opportunity to to

sit in meetings even if you know I'm in a meeting where my seat is held.

People know I'm there they know what I'm doing I might not be talking about it.

uh

But they know there's somebody else there if they ever need it.

Right, yeah, that definitely, that scenario comes up and as a coach or you can be an
ambassador or you can be, know, whatever role gets you the opportunity to, you don't have

to be in a role.

You can just go visit other chapters where the seat is open.

It expands your opportunities.

We have 500 and I think it was 511 people in our general area was said this morning.

So if there's 500 people that know who I am, chances are.

better that I'm going to get an opportunity because we actively try to help each other.

that's all good stuff.

Love that.

And hope you hope you break that next plateau.

All right.

Well, thanks for being a guest here today, Nick.

And thanks, everybody, for listening.

And we'll see you next time on The Perfect 100.