Keeping Eyes Wide Open for New Opportunities w/ Warren Restoration

0:02Hi, and welcome to this week's episode of the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast where we are all about helping business owners just like you achieve success. So we don't do fancy smancy. We don't do flashing lights. We don't do a lot of things that a lot of podcasts will do. These are just real stories about real people and their entrepreneurial and business experiences. We go into their wins, their challenges, and their learnings. So we hope you enjoy it.

0:37Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs powered by Action Coach Growth Partners. You likely went into business to have more freedom and flexibility so that you could spend more time with your family, do more things or travel or enjoy your hobbies or whatever it is that you like to do in your spare time. We're here to help you find better ways to make more money, build better teams and get that time back so that you can have that freedom and flexibility. We'll help you simplify things and make sense of business, investing, and wealth building so that you can be epic and achieve all your dreams and goals.

1:10And now, enjoy the show. Good morning. We're Josh and Tony Warren, owners of Warren Restoration, Warren Disposal, 1-800-BORADUP, and now One Tom Plumbing of Asheville. Plumber. One Tom Plumber of Asheville. Of Asheville and CLC Service Group. so that's five that's five businesses so let's talk about how you got in business in the first place how'd that happen i got into restoration after the last uh recession uh no one was hiring after i got laid off um i fell into it someone gave me a shot as a mitigation technician when we were living down in tampa florida um so i kind of fell in love with it i've always been into the science end of things.

1:59So I like that it's not just as simple as, you know, kind of going clean. The cleaning process is there's a little more science in it than just going and wiping something off the walls or, you know, setting up a fan to dry something out. So that's kind of what attracted me to it. So you started working for somebody else. How did you decide to go into your own business? um i've always been part of uh a family-owned business growing up and you know i like like kind of being my own boss and setting my own destiny um some days i regret that decision but um you know it's it's it's the opportunity to build something and make it great and make it our own and set our own rules and culture and make sure we're providing the service that we expect to be provided to us.

2:47Awesome. So Tony, you got sucked into this or how did that happen? Exactly. I had been in hotel and then property management, didn't love it, didn't really know what I wanted to do. And Josh asked if I wanted to help out with this. And I said, sure. I jumped in both feet. I am not by nature an entrepreneur. I kind of got sucked in, dragged along maybe. But unrealistically, I'd help get it started. And then we'd hire an admin and fill my spot. But when you start something from the ground up with your partner, you know, it's a lot different than just a job like I had only had before. So I kind of caught the bug.

3:30We're certainly proud of what we built and wanted to stay on and help out within the company and the community as most we could. So I've obviously stayed on through growing it to what it was. We started in Josh's hometown in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and then we moved down here in 2015. And I think that's really when we saw growth and it became what it was probably because Hendersonville reflects more of who we are and what we are. So it gave us that opportunity to grow into what it is now. That's awesome. So what, why'd you move? How'd you, how'd you get to Hendersonville? My parents came here.

4:13We knew they were coming. That was part of the reason it made it easy to head down to Virginia. That's not, his hometown isn't too far from here, but visiting them, we, first time we visited, they took us to lunch on main street and we were sitting outside and just you could not only see but feel the sense of community and just the businesses. You know, there weren't chains around. You can just tell there's support for the local Mon Pop and how valuable that is here to people. It just immediately, I don't know, felt like home and somewhere we wanted to be. So it probably took about a year from there, but we started making moves to come this way.

4:54Yeah, it does have a good vibe. There's no doubt about that. So it's cool. All right. So you started in restoration and you built up. So there were obviously been some wins and some learnings in there along the way. So let's talk. I mean, what would you consider like a win or two? Let's talk about the good stuff first.

5:18We've been able to grow. I think that's a huge win for us. even through the pandemic, we were able to retain our key staff and build on top of what we had started prior to the pandemic. I think as of this week, we have 35 people under our service group. So it's amazing that the community has been behind us and supported us and, you know, just being involved with it has helped us grow. Yeah, I think a win was being an essential service through the pandemic. It was one of those eye-opening moments when we realized we were responsible at the time for 20, 22 people's food on their table. So we had to kind of figure out how we were going to pivot and continue on.

6:04And a lot of our employees couldn't lose hours. It just wasn't an option, but we were essential. Our services were still needed. So we were able to keep plowing through. I also think, I don't know if it's a win, but like a tool was we were able to set our pride aside a little from the beginning and say, we got to bring in people to help us do what we're not the best at or what we don't know about. So we've always worked with consultants from out the gate, even if it's just, you know, an outsourced bookkeeper because QuickBooks wasn't my forte. And I think they kind of helped us keep a macro view of things and eyes wide open and help us see where opportunities were, if we wanted to take advantage of them and how we wanted to.

6:55It's kind of how we started as Warren Restoration and acquired and morphed into these other opportunities because it was just a better way to operate. We saw opportunities and can maximize on it. And I think a lot of that is help from objective points of view outside to help us see it and talk through it. Yeah, it's really hard to see what's going on when you're on the field, right? That's why they have that offensive coordinator up in the booth at football games, right? Because they can get a different viewpoint of things. So well done on bringing in outside people to help you with that. I think that's a great lesson.

7:35So let's move on to lessons. So you've had some challenges along the way. What are some of the challenges and what are some of the lessons you've learned from both the wins and the challenges? Off the top, it probably relates back to the same, not bringing in the right consultant at the right time.

7:55Trying to learn from our mistakes a little faster than what we do. Sometimes I tend to be a little stubborn. So I set my ways for certain things, but, you know, You know, it's one of those, you got to tell me something, let me marinate on it and then process it. And then we can move forward. But I think that's probably one of the biggest things is not bringing the right consultant to the right time. And when things do happen, not taking it personally. You know, we very intentionally put our last name on the company. And sometimes, you know, we hold so deep in that it's hard to not take things personally when they do happen.

8:32I think also along with consultants is just staff. Staffing is always tricky. Managing people. We have similar management styles, which isn't always the best. Sometimes it's good when you can compliment each other. So, again, learning. One of our consultants helps with on the HR side, but also leadership development and helping get systems and structures in place. And it wasn't all that natural for Josh and I. So seeing kind of the hard way that we needed those and how to get them in place and then retrain ourselves and create new habits to pass down to through the company and the organizational structure and our staff.

9:16So, of course, staffing itself, I think, is still a headache for everyone. Well, I mean, yeah, obviously we've had to adapt to different situations. It sounds like you guys have adapted fairly quickly and fairly well along the way and made decisions. I think that's a great lesson for everybody out there. So you build up the restoration business. When did it become evident to you that you wanted to do more, like you wanted to have these other businesses or did they just show up? looking at our numbers with a consultant and Josh couldn't believe what I'll be very candid and open here, what we were spending on waste removal.

10:01So he got on the computer and he looked up what a truck and some bins cost. And he said, let's do this. So it kind of started just to feed ourselves and protect our bottom line. But that's how he thinks that serial entrepreneur. And he saw that opportunity. And so Warren disposal happened. Gosh, was that 2020? 2017. Oh, 2017. The repair side of what we do, we realized was such a different beast and a different mindset for our clients. We separated that out. Just the clear division was a lot easier in-house and for clients. so that's how that kind of came about and it's not something we market or put out separately it really just kind of takes foreign restorations jobs and yeah it's well right now for that we saw the opportunity when when josh was working for someone else in rhode island they had a similar service as the 1-800 board up franchise that we bought into so he he just doing what we do and seeing fires and families in the situation that they're in.

11:08He kept thinking about that and reached out to them. We dove into that in 2016, 2017. Late 2016, early 2017.

11:23We probably don't talk about that enough either, but we have an amazing team. Definitely not. Definitely not. yeah it took us a while to find the current staff they started at the beginning of the pandemic right at the shutdown so they the two that we have now i mean the raymond govern have uh had a rough go at it um but they've they've had an amazing start to this year and last year they came on strong their community involvement has been fantastic they were able to sponsor rodeo last weekend for the first responders. Our guys went out and volunteered to help with anything they needed. So it's pretty amazing what they've accomplished with even through the pandemic.

12:05Yeah. And that service allows us to bridge the gap. Well, it allows us to work with the fire department. 1-800-BORADUP can work with them and help secure a home, get it boarded up, but also the victim assistance. And fires typically happen in the middle of the night and you might run out without shoes, your car keys. So they can bring them to Walmart and get the essentials and get them set up in a hotel, tell insurance or Red Cross or whomever else they'd be able to step in. And then, you know, possibly we get a job from that connection. We were able to bridge the gap from the Red Cross during the pandemic for a lot of homeowners.

12:43The Red Cross was having trouble getting volunteers. So we allowed our people to a little bit of leeway to go get these people squared away in hotels. They've made connections to local vendors so that we get special rates for the hotel stays and things. So it's been really great to see the community kind of get behind that program. Yeah. And what our directors have done, they've done a great job. Yeah. So it seems like the businesses have just sort of been natural along the way. I mean, obviously the repair business was part of the other business, the remodeling piece of it. Once the restoration, once you got it dried out or whatever or redone.

13:23That makes sense. The other stuff just seems like just good, smart, taking advantage. So you must – so you just act on these ideas, or you said you kind of like to marinate it for a while. But it sounds like once it's marinated, you're like, boom, I'm on it. Is that kind of how it happens, or what would you say about that? Usually, I come from – my dad is a contractor in Virginia still, and he still has his plumbing and HVAC license, electrical license there. So I know of the trades and I, you know, we work with a lot of them here and it's just the need that we have on our side sometimes outweighs the local supply, if you will.

14:09So we're trying to bring those guys in house when we can, where we can, just to help obviously feed our bottom line, but also provide a service for others. I think we used to joke that Josh was the dreamer and I was the grounder. And I said, I think he's starting to bring me up to a little bit more of the dreamer. He would have an idea and I think I'd kind of swat it down or bring it down to earth a little more quickly. But, you know, I see the possibilities now and the most recent addition to the family, the plumbing company, it was easier. Well, and honestly, we used to think a certain way about franchises, but this is our second one.

14:48And the value they bring is unbelievable. And it's a natural feeder for our existing business, but it's fun to be a part of that other culture. And it just helps our other businesses to see a well-structured system like that. And I think we hash things out well together and really have to play as a team to figure it out. But the idea is usually Josh's. Yeah. Talk a little bit about that. I mean, the husband-wife team thing, there's a dynamic there, right? You got the home situation. You got the business situation. How have you all navigated that? It wasn't easy. It's ever-changing. We have to keep reevaluating and looking at it.

15:34And it's easy to swing from one end to the other. Like I used to try and put my foot down and say, you know, no talking about work at home and then realized I was I it was easy to forget. like there's some gray area there. It's not black and white. A lot of people come home from their job and they get 20 minutes or so to talk about their day and to at least allow that. So we've set ground rules around, um, you know, not, not talking about specifics, not getting in the weeds on a date night cause it's too easy to do. Um, but we can talk grand scheme and those ideas that are marinating and it's going to bleed from one into the other.

16:10Um, and again, like our team is family too. So it's kind of natural, but it's, it's not easy. You have to always look at and set boundaries. I don't recommend it to just anyone, to be honest. Definitely, definitely till for early on when it was just the two of us, like doing all the things as we've grown, it's gotten, gotten easier. And now our, our date night conversations are taken up with the kids activities more than solo work. So. Yeah, this has allowed me to be at least a part-time stay at home mom, which is amazing. So I get to split my time between the two. And again, that was a new shift.

16:48We were able to work out together and, um, that's helped. Well, good on you for actually having date nights. I know couples that are in business that that just doesn't happen. So, uh, yeah, well, well, yeah, I think it's having some ground rules, you know, they're going to, like you said, they're, they're, they're going to be, they're going to be great. So interesting stuff. Let me, you know, EPIC is an acronym and stands for Education, Planning, Inspiration, and Commitment. So let me get you, just sort of a quick fire round. Just give me your thoughts on the importance of education in growing your business.

17:24I can't stress that enough, though, our guys. We're constantly trying to find training things for them to go to and do, especially on the mediation side of things. It's an ever-evolving industry. the standard of care changes about every three to four years so it's important to us to stay on top of that during the pandemic and the shutdown we brought a trainer in twice to train our whole staff on water mitigation and trauma scene cleanup just to kind of keep our skills sharp while we're slow but anytime these guys bring something to me they want to go and they're passionate about it we set a goal for them to do so it's an industry interesting industry I think from the beginning we kind of told ourselves, well, we would honor tradition.

18:06We also want to embrace innovation, bring new things in, never be too proud to say, well, we've always done it this way. You know, as our team learns and discovers something new, we want to implement it. But just educating people about the industry too. You know, Josh said he got into it in 2008. He wasn't the only one. We saw a lot of contractors see that it was recession proof and that they could get into it. And when you're not educated or certified certain ways, you know, it can, it can go awry. I think the industry kind of got a bad reputation. So we've had a little bit of that to battle.

18:43So we're just trying to educate the community and our clients on what really we're doing and why, you know, we have health hazards. We're not just drinking the Kool-Aid. So just try those kind of things as well. And then also within our team, like Josh said, that's just so huge. Perfect. Yeah. No, I like it. You got it both ways, both educating your clients and your team. And I think that's important both ways and educating yourselves, obviously. How about the importance of planning? Well, our industry is a little different. We can't plan for emergencies. So the best planning we can do is be ready when the phone rings to help out the homeowner in whatever situation is that they were presented with, whether it's water or fire or a trauma scene cleanup.

19:30As long as my guys trucks are ready and prep to go, you know, that's the best planning that we can do to help out as quickly as possible. Yeah. You can still be prepared. And what, what do they say? A politer way to say it, but proper planning prevents poor performance. So be as prepared as we can and be ready to go. You got to be ready to go when the call comes. I get it. Yeah, I got it. How about inspiration? Where do you all find inspiration?

20:01We try to dig within ourselves. Sometimes it's tough, like the grind of our guys being in cross paces for the seventh day in a row. I try to bring some Maxwell stuff to them, just little comments and quotes here and there. My favorite thing for us is, like, are we Lions or are we Gazelles? and I'd have to remind them that we're the Lions, you know, so we've got to get out there and we've got to be prideful of our work and continue to do the right thing. Just don't let down your guard because you're tired and just keep pushing forward. Josh has always been an athlete, so I think you get a lot of inspiration from that team.

20:40You know, everyone has their own job that they have to do well, but it's together collaboratively as a team that we get the end result and the win. And I think that's been a lot of your inspiration for me and for us, our own families, other people in the industry. We're part of a national network that connects people who do what we do. And we can see how and what they're doing. Social media and technology can have some perks. You can be tapped in in that way, too. So I like to see what actual people on our level have achieved and let that inspire us. Yeah, it's good to see what other people are up to.

21:20How about commitment? If you're in business, you've got to make a pretty big commitment here. What's the importance of commitment? Look at me. It's everything. He looks at me because, you know, in the shifts with how we work together as a team, you know, our own family and this family, you know, my not necessarily commitment. And the commitment's always been there, but my focus and priorities are growing and shifting and changing. But my commitment is still, both of our commitments has to be to this business and to the people who are now in it, helping us run it. We can grow and slowly start to step back and just be leaders of it if we are committed to investing in our team and bringing them up as well.

22:11commitment to our staff. And I've been telling them lately that I work for them just as much as they work for me, just to ensure that, you know, if they need me, they can call me. If they need help on a job, I'll be right there for them. Just making sure that they understand that, you know, I'm as dedicated as they are on a day-to-day basis, you know, just because I'm an owner and you may not see me as much as you used to. It doesn't mean that I'm not there for you guys. Perfect. One last question. What is something that you wish you had known or had been told before you got into business? Don't do it.

22:47I feel like if because we first started out, we had thought about looking into a restoration franchise before we decided to go on our own. Maybe change that decision because there's a system in place. But I feel like that might have taken away from some of our who we are, our names on the door attitude. So maybe getting systems in place sooner than what we did. It was just the two of us for the first two and a half years, like grinding it out. I think that's exactly it. I wouldn't have done. I'm glad we started independently on our own like Josh did. I think that really made us who we were and let us learn the way we did.

23:29But yeah, to have looked at it more bigger picture and long term, you know, we kind of out the gate were just surviving and taking care of our clients. And we were working in the business more than on it. So probably that starting to work on the business, creating duplicatable systems that we can pass down probably would have made for easier onboarding for our early team members and even the clients. So, yeah, more systemized out the gate, which does require working on your business, not in it. So it was hard to step up to that. It's a hard thing to do in the beginning. Well, this has been great.

24:06We'll have to get you all back on. There's a lot more lessons in here, I'm sure, for people and a lot more learnings. But thanks for being on. It's been a great conversation. You've got a great story. How can people get in touch with you all? Our website's foreignrestoration.com, phone number 828-595-4776. We really are 24-7, so anytime. Call them. Call them when you have the need. It's awesome. All right. Well, thanks, guys. Thanks for being on. Thank you, Bill. And until next time, all the best. Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. Here's four things you can do.

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