EP 124: Jason Phillips $0 to $12 Million
Introduction
In this episode Jason Phillips shares his incredible start up story to $12 million.
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TRANSCRIPTION:
00:00.00
dybsteve
What happened.
00:05.10
Jason Phillips
Well Steve I was laying in a bed a makeshift bed. It was ah 2 2 by 4 frame blow up mattress in a house in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina no sheet rock anywhere black plastic for for walls and I’m laying there in the middle of the night eyes open can’t sleep because I don’t have the cash to pay my paint bill from months earlier I didn’t know what I was going to do.
00:34.60
dybsteve
Oh my my goodness okay well man I can’t wait to hear more about that. But first hello and welcome to the dybpodcast today’s guest is from the greater Dallas area president of Phillips Home improvements Jason Phillips welcome to the show. My friend.
00:58.55
Jason Phillips
Um, thank you Steve it’s great to be here with you guys today.
01:03.20
dybsteve
Well, ah man that was an interesting opening I thought we were going to go into you know some hurricane relief but no, it was ah it was we needed some business relief but take us all the way back to the very beginning. Maybe even before that. Of you know how did you get into this business. How did you get started in the first place.
01:21.26
Jason Phillips
I was working in the industry for ah, another company for some friends of mine. It was it was being sold and the guy who was buying it wasn’t running it well wasn’t paying the wasn’t paying what he agreed and he was basically running it in the ground and my my ah my friends who originally hired me and started the company came to me and just said Jason. Man we think he’s running this business in the ground and we we care about you. You’ve been faithful and we just think you want to give you our blessing if you want to go out and start your own company and at that time I was like six weeks behind on pay I was completely broke I was already looking around for another job and had a job lined up to get in the computer business with ah with a brother. And I just through through honestly Steve with transparently was through some prayer I saw a lot of injustices in the industry and through prayer and counsel I just I realized that I had an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people in my little part of the world. Whether those people were homeowners. Or contractors and or you know or painters at the time or employees like me that were doing you know, sales and marketing and so I so I said okay I’m going to do it and I went out one sunny Saturday in March of Ninety ninety seven knocked on 300 doors in one day made 4 appointments. Ah, came and sold 3 of them that night and Monday sold sold the last one and boom I was in business I knew how to sell I knew how to market didn’t really know much about business but boy was I in business and I had food on the table Friday for my family.
02:48.93
dybsteve
Wow. Ah so 300 doors in one day I’ve knocked on some doors that’s that’s a lot of doors. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:54.61
Jason Phillips
It was a long day. But I mean I had I I had ah had a had to a plan for a good year and it was the ah good year tread on the bottom of my shoes taking me through the neighborhood.
03:07.10
dybsteve
Ah, it’s great now. Ah back when I was knock on doors I knocked on doors my store over in Florida I was us in a zig ziglar. He talked me into going from door to door to door to door. Did you have anybody in your ears that was encouraging you along the way. Yeah, oh yeah.
03:16.46
Jason Phillips
Oh man Zig Zig Ziglar the secret secrets of closing the sale can’t tell you how many times I listened to that book and Brian along with Brian Tracy’s psychology of selling.
03:26.41
dybsteve
Right? Um yes, sir yeah amen a couple of my favorites fact they’re probably behind me here. Um, so you so you get going you sell a couple jobs you launch get going. And then what does it look like from there. How do you continue to generate business. How do you hire? Do you did you bring in some employees did you bring in some subs. What are the next three months look like.
03:45.90
Jason Phillips
Well, all of the real work as I like to say was done by subs I’d lined up a subcontractor crew to do to do the painting and I I became fanatical about a couple things one was being present and known in the neighborhood with yard signs flyers constantly. If I was doing a house on a corner. We had a sign in the front a sign on the side and a sign in the back I’d write that into the agreement for two weeks and I’d be driving by that house every day and if the landscapers took it down or the competitors took it boy I had an extra ones in the back of my truck going in right there and so. Um, that’s basically the way I ran the business. Um, for the first you know for for the first you know eighteen months or so and then it just it began to grow and I started started feeling pressure so I did start hiring some additional some additional people at that point and.
04:33.19
dybsteve
So pardon me here. Let me jump in now at this. This was you said 97 okay we were you married did you have children.
04:39.47
Jason Phillips
Yes, yes, oh yes, at the at the time. Ah my wife and now we had our first child at that point.
04:47.20
dybsteve
Okay, so that’s that’s important. It’s a big deal. You know versus being a you know young single bachelor out there just like going after it. But no you write.
04:54.60
Jason Phillips
I couldn’t fail I had no option but to but to swim it was sink or swim and Jason was going to swim.
05:02.76
dybsteve
Okay I can relate. That’s that’s it so because you often wonder where does the drive come from where you know, ah that burning desire to just get after it and sometimes guys have it too Easy. You know their wives have a cushy job and they’re like ah you know business isn’t really taken off. Well. Are you getting after it. How bad. Do you need it right? but you needed it.
05:24.84
Jason Phillips
Absolutely and I I see what your I see all the time. Ah, you know guys that their wives do have a cuy job and they don’t have that motivation and you know hey hurrah great for the wise for doing that. But the but the guys I just want to kick them in the behind and say man. What’s what’s wrong with you 100 %
05:43.77
dybsteve
Yeah, ah guys we need to man up the ones that should be providing. Yeah, so here we go your wife ah new baby child in then you know a few months out I’m sorry I I interrupted you at that point.
05:58.19
Jason Phillips
No no I’m good. Yeah, just we? Ah, ah, we just continued to market expand our marketing channels and our geography and just it it began to build and build and build and you know before before you know it things were things were doing well making money the business was growing i. Ah I ah, ah knew how we wanted to produce every job and we were doing that. Ah, but but slowly what what happened Steve is my business began to outgrow my leadership and my skillset.
06:32.80
dybsteve
You.
06:34.61
Jason Phillips
And I found myself. Ah I found myself in in a place that I call contractor prison where you know the the wife had it. The wife had a us uv. Okay, and and the kids had nice shoes. All that stuff. But. Jason was ah in a dungeon I was a slave to my business I was the the lynchpin on everything in my business I could not get away from at that time I think it was my beeper my pager and and so.
06:58.71
dybsteve
Um.
07:07.51
dybsteve
Um, yeah, yeah I remember those? yeah.
07:12.10
Jason Phillips
You have? ah if you’re ancient. You might remember those right and and so ah man I’m I’m I’m sitting there working in my home office after midnight one night and at this point we had 2 children and a third one on the way and it’s late at night
07:27.27
dybsteve
Um.
07:30.79
Jason Phillips
And I’m um, I’m working I don’t know I’m doing something on on the computer and I’ve got the radio play and the house is dark by the way the house is dark. Everybody’s asleep and and this song comes on the cat’s in the cradle and if you for those who don’t know the song it tells a story of a of a of a. Ah, son and a father and the son wants to spend all the time with the father and the father’s always too Busy. He’s always got responsibilities and things to do and and then eventually when the when the fathers Retired. He’s wanting to spend time with his son. But unfortunately his son turned out just like him and he doesn’t have time for his father and this song at that moment ripped my heart out and tears started streaming down my face and and I was filled with with for a moment of despair.
08:13.15
dybsteve
Um.
08:27.44
Jason Phillips
But then it quickly turned into righteous indignation I slammed my fist on the desk and I raised my hands I said god I need your help I I can’t do this anymore. I had 3 options Steve one was to one was to quit if I quit who who pays the price. My wife and kids. The other option was to was to just pull back shrink back do less provide less and honestly feel like less of a man and that’s not me that wasn’t my and my third option was to was to build a team and so if it was obvious what the third option was right. And so I I chose I chose to build a team and ah and that’s when when things really started started to change and I began to build my team later you know, put in managers and such and things really really began to take off.
09:15.00
dybsteve
Um.
09:23.98
Jason Phillips
And so then I was you know I was I was getting out of contractor prison as I so as I say and starting to experience more freedom and you’ll curious story. You know twenty years later after that moment I’m walking my oldest daughter down the aisle.
09:30.16
dybsteve
No.
09:43.00
Jason Phillips
To be married and the I don’t know the 20 steps from the back of the chapel to the front whether it take us 30 seconds or maybe less than that I don’t know to walk forward our entire life Steve together flashed in front of my face from from ah from. Time she was born and and I guess I I should probably say this when I was in contract to prison my my business was getting the best of me and my family was getting my cold leftovers kind of like the dinners that I had late at night were my.
10:11.62
dybsteve
Um.
10:21.30
Jason Phillips
From the microwave where my wife had put my plate inside the microwave and put covered it up with a paper towel because I was out working late and she was going to bed so I was getting cold leftovers for dinner. But what’s worse than as my family was getting my cold leftovers and that’s what I asked contractors to. Are you is your family getting your leftovers and you know that was a tremendous motivation for me so twenty years later I’m walking around the aisle and all of these moments about teaching or how to walk how to ride a bike how to swim how to drive a car. All of these moments flash before my eyes and I’m literally walking her down now again tears streaming down my face and and and I I realized a little later had I I not made that decision Twenty years sooner I wouldn’t have been there for those moments with her and I would have missed all of that. The very best things in life I would have missed out had I continued to to operate my life and my business and it wasn’t my business’s fault. It wasn’t the painting industry’s fault Steve it was my fault I was I was letting this happen and.
11:31.86
dybsteve
No.
11:37.89
Jason Phillips
And ah and I’m thankful to God that I had that moment and that he met me there in that moment and answered my prayer and turned everything around and.
11:47.41
dybsteve
Amen Amen who I hope everybody heard that that’s powerful. You shared that you had come to your current leadership skill ceiling in my words I forgot how you put it exactly but you come to the extent of your leadership. Ability skills at the time. What was something you did or learned to help you to grow through that.
12:13.73
Jason Phillips
And okay, there’s um I will forever be a student of leadership business and people and.
12:23.71
dybsteve
Um.
12:25.10
Jason Phillips
You know a lot if you’re ah if you’re a hard driving fast-paced guy like me. It’s easy to it’s easy to have this bravado of I don’t need anybody I can do it I’m smart I can figure this out. Okay, and and we we isolate ourselves and I found myself. You know what I say is ah a victim of the flintstone syndrome where I’m constantly carving a new wheel out of bedrock and I I Realize at some point I’m like that’s so stupid you know I I thought I was smart but I look back on that old self and I said I was.
12:51.91
dybsteve
Um.
13:03.83
Jason Phillips
Was acting stupid and so it really it just it. It starts with I need to grow I’m the lid on my business and and if if I don’t grow my business is not going to grow and my.
13:04.70
dybsteve
M.
13:23.22
Jason Phillips
And my life is not going to get better and so um, you know at at the time I’ve I’ve gone through I’m going to say I’ve hit I’ve been doing this a good moment. Okay, you know like 26 years and I’ve I’ve hit various ceilings in my leadership.
13:33.14
dybsteve
Yeah.
13:38.94
Jason Phillips
In my business skills and and and more than anything even in my mindset and so ah, what I I just I became a voracious reader now all through high school I didn’t read a single book.
13:41.73
dybsteve
M.
13:57.80
dybsteve
We have so much in common. Ah yeah.
13:57.82
Jason Phillips
I read what in those days what was called the cliffs notes and somehow Jason graduated in the top 10% of the largest high school in Texas because I was a good test taker I was smart. Okay, but but here’s the thing my weakness was.
14:08.44
dybsteve
Um.
14:14.00
Jason Phillips
Reading not that I not that I couldn’t read I mean I I was great with I was great with punctuation I was great with spelling and grammar and all that but just reading I would get distracted and I would read a whole page and I’m like what did I just read and and I’ve found that.
14:20.52
dybsteve
Oh.
14:32.63
Jason Phillips
Man I’m not the only one like that tons of people experience that and they don’t read and so I’m going to tell you what changed what changed my life Steve was was I um, ah later and this was this was like 2013 something like that. Ah I had 3 daughters all in competitive cheerleading. On 3 different teams and you go to these cheer events during cheer season and you’re at the convention center. You know you’re not at some little gym. You’re at the convention center where there’s 10000 cheerleaders and you know all these different venues and schedules and and your and your child’s team is is performing for 90 seconds and sorry 2 minutes and 30 seconds and there’s these back-to-back. Loud annoying cheer music all day long and there’s all of these teams and and I’m sitting there with my wife and my wife’s taking notes and all that and I’m bored out of my mind waiting for my kids to go on and and so we had to be there early in the morning and be there late at night because this team’s at six zero a m this team’s at. You know seven p m and award ceremonies at Nine Zero p M or whenever they get done so we’re stuck there all day. So I brought my ipad with with ah a kindle book and I brought my beaus quite comfort headphones and I put on my headphones and I played the audible and I read the Kindle. And now all of a sudden I had both I had my eyes and my ears and that kept my attention and I began to chew through a book every weekend or more and and.
15:59.38
dybsteve
Um.
16:01.69
Jason Phillips
It really? So I mean and I I had actually prayed you know a few months a few months before that I knew that I was lit on my company yet again and I so and I prayed a prayer I said God I’m asking for upgrades will you upgrade my ability and help me become a reader so I can learn things that I need to learn. And it was literally just a few weeks after that that this happened and it changed my life and and I would bet for for your for your listeners here. There’s probably a number of them that are in the same boat I was in and and I bet if you listen try listening and reading at the same time. It It could possibly change your life as it changed Mine. So.
16:42.78
dybsteve
That’s so awesome. We wish so much in common just as a testimony I ah didn’t read in school fact I didn’t finish school but I was at my wit’s end and bankrupt single father and I remember the story of King Solomon and so I just thought what I have to lose I started praying for wisdom and it wasn’t that great of a prayer I was just reaching out praying for wisdom because I was at my wits end while I’m still waiting for that wisdom to come. What did come was an insatiable desire to read I’d never had that before and since then like you said, just. And pounding through bucks. So praise. The lord isn’t that amazing. You know that he.
17:21.37
Jason Phillips
That is amazing. You know and when you when you go when you get a good book least me when I get a great book I’m like okay wait I need to stop at this chapter and I need to go implement what I just learned I can’t read a page more and I’ve got to do something with what I learned and I did that constantly so I might.
17:33.88
dybsteve
Um, yeah.
17:39.67
Jason Phillips
Yeah I would read a you know book on business and I might breed 1 on leadership. So I’d I’d I’d keep reading but I’d read something else because that other topic I had to deal with that.
17:50.69
dybsteve
Yeah, so there’s a good point right? there you don’t just read I think ah guys it’s easy to get trapped to listen into audible while you’re driving around and you’re like ooh that’s a good idea. And then you just keep listening like ooh is another good idea and you get those dopamine hits. But no anytime you get 1 of those you guys stop grab pause write it down and what’s the action that you can take on it immediately massive action right.
18:12.14
Jason Phillips
100% I and I I always highlight okay I don’t read paper bookss and a lot of people love paperbooks and and you know study show retention is better with a with a paper book but me personally I do better with the digital because I can I can.
18:30.57
dybsteve
Yeah.
18:31.27
Jason Phillips
Run my highlights and I have a whole system where those highlights filter into my notetaking and and areing reminded of the things I’ve highlighted so I keep in in a way I keep rereading books because the highlights keep coming back to me automatically.
18:37.49
dybsteve
You.
18:46.30
Jason Phillips
And I really I don’t I don’t want to just read I don’t want to say oh I read 50 bookss this year. It really is am am I going to learn and grow because of this and make changes in my life and in my business.
18:51.81
dybsteve
Um.
18:54.85
dybsteve
Right on. So this is usually difficult question on the spot. What are some books that come to mind that you recommend most often.
19:05.99
Jason Phillips
Okay, so there’s ah, a plethora a plethora of books. Of course my favorite book that I read every single day is the bible I read 1 version then when I’m done with that one I read the next version and I just I just keep going and reading reading reading. But.
19:14.44
dybsteve
Amen.
19:20.51
dybsteve
Um.
19:21.24
Jason Phillips
You know there’s books on leadership like John Maxwell’s 21 irrefutable laws of of leadership. There’s the 5 levels of leadership. There’s um, a book that I love is influence the psychology of persuasion by Robert Chowaldiney it was another book that made a huge difference for me personally that rolled into every air. My life was atomic habits.
19:34.33
dybsteve
Um.
19:39.86
Jason Phillips
Man Atomic habits um crucial conversations and there’s you know So so many business and this really crucial conversations isn’t ah isn’t necessarily about business. But ah, we’re not good at holding conversations when the stakes are high.
19:58.84
Jason Phillips
And and it it gives you tools for talking and so that’s that’s ah, a book that that I actually read I’ve read like 3 or 4 times and I’ve studied it with my leadership team and most of them have have read it twice and it really really helps have what they call crucial conversations.
20:02.96
dybsteve
Um.
20:18.46
Jason Phillips
And you know when when when expectations are violated and there’s ah, there’s ah, a subsequent book in that it’s called crucial accountability and it’s just a wonderful book and if you find yourself if any anybody out listening here finds himself, not knowing how to have these conversations.
20:25.45
dybsteve
M.
20:37.47
Jason Phillips
I would go read that book and it’s going to give you some tools for talking I promise it’ll make a difference in your life and you know another practical book a lot of people have read traction. A lot of people have read traction the eos by Gino Wickman ah but very few people that meet have read 1 of the companion books called how to be a great boss. It actually gives you the practical tools on how to how to be a great boss and conduct meetings with your people. It’s a fantastic book suppose. It’s so simple. It’s not rocket science but you just write. You know the the best things are are simple just start using that plan. You don’t have to invent it yourself. Just do it.
21:08.40
dybsteve
Um, yeah, um.
21:19.23
dybsteve
Now you had started off with the painting company but you have since branched. Do you mind sharing the size of your operation and then what all services you provide today.
21:32.67
Jason Phillips
So um, this year we’re before the end of the year we’re gonna we’re going to close. We’re going to close in probably tipping just over $12000000 and ah, initially you know we started out doing interior nextterior painting and. Ah I got so I kept having exterior paint jobs that I couldn’t close the deal on because the homeowner needed gutter work. So I you know I collected some phone numbers and started referring out Gutter companies. Well well then well the homeowner’s busy.
21:55.50
dybsteve
No.
22:02.50
dybsteve
Um.
22:08.47
Jason Phillips
Now they’ve got and now they’ve got to make a call to another contractor and who knows when that contractor is going to come and then you know then they’ve got to make a decision then they’ve got to get that scheduled and then you know it’s months and I’m like Wow this is nuts I got sick of that. So. I Just I started calling people that sold ah gutter gutter machines and and Aluminum and I finally got a hold of a guy a local supplier and he’s like man I grew up in this industry and he said if you’ll buy your machine from me and make an account I’ll come out and teach you guys how to do gutters the right Way. So Okay so I bought bought a.
22:28.97
dybsteve
Um.
22:41.98
Jason Phillips
Bought a big old box fan bought it bought the gutter machine from him hired ah hired ah a champion a manager for that department and hired two laborers and they came in and we we learned gutters and on the the very first house. The Guinea Pig was my house it needed gutters. So ah, it started right there and. So now all of a sudden we start going I start going out on me and my team going out on painting quotes and at this time there was a lot of galvanized gutters that we’re rusting through and we could solve this problem hey we’re looking up. Oh. There’s some rust oh gosh that looks like the faciia board’s rotten behind there. Don’t worry we can handle this for you. Will make it easy and so it’s the same sales process same customer but we started selling these combo jobs and which was which was pretty awesome because at the time nobody else in town was offering that service they they were all just all. We do is paint we can paint and we can putty.
23:31.11
dybsteve
No.
23:40.33
Jason Phillips
But we don’t do real carpentry repairs and we don’t do gutters and so that just that was ah a great moment for us because we’re able to capitalize on something that was a need in the market and it was it was ah it was an easy add on and it’s in so many ways Gutters is so much simpler than painting. It’s like.
23:42.24
dybsteve
M.
23:59.34
Jason Phillips
You know you get a card with like you know, 18 to 24 colors on it. What color do you want there is no color match. There is no color match. So we actually we actually had ah ah our vendors match their paint colors to every one of those aluminum colors. And so oh would you just pick your gutter color then we’re just going to order the paint color to match. So we’d pull the gutters down replace replace any rotten wood on the faciia and ah paint the house and put up matching gutters and so that’s how we that’s how we got into the ah gutter business and it was great and it helped the painting business. Well not too long after.
24:21.55
dybsteve
Um.
24:34.54
Jason Phillips
We live in a state where there’s there’s a lot of hail and that hail comes and it pounds roofs pounds stained fences and siding as well. And um I’m like man I asked customers customers were saying Jason if you guys.
24:36.70
dybsteve
So.
24:51.40
Jason Phillips
Wish there was a phils plumbing and a phillips roofing. You know we had all these people loved dealing with us at the time. So ah I hired a guy to come sell painting and gutters for me that had experience in the roofing industry and with with the idea that as soon as we saw an opportunity we were going to start providing roofing so on the back.
24:54.35
dybsteve
Me.
25:10.88
Jason Phillips
Ah, he was he was putting the crews together and opening accounts with vendors and such before there was really any hail boom then Hail hits and we’re in the roofing business. So now we’re not just doing their their roof or doing the roof. They’re paint their gutters and so that’s that’s what we do today. Those are our primary. Ah.
25:18.69
dybsteve
Um.
25:25.87
dybsteve
Um.
25:29.97
Jason Phillips
Ah, primary offerings and.
25:32.18
dybsteve
Fantastic. Do you have any plans to expand into ah additional services.
25:35.50
Jason Phillips
No, no, we we do not plan on offering any additional services in the near future. We plan on maximizing we’ve got so much opportunity here in Dallas fort worth and even across Texas we’ve got so much opportunity. We just need to continue to get better and at what we’re currently offering and.
25:46.38
dybsteve
Um.
25:53.27
dybsteve
You? Okay, yeah, because as a hail comes in that’s nice ecosystem right? The hail you know it needs paint needs a roof and the gutters are going to need replaced as well. So that makes sense.
25:54.88
Jason Phillips
And Bigger Market share.
26:07.24
dybsteve
What are ah current hiring strategies for finding I heard you say champions and you know we refer them as All-sars What’s what’s been key for you and your companies.
26:18.27
Jason Phillips
Well, the first thing and I wish I would have learned this a lot sooner in life Steve is is um, that people want people are different and I need different people in different positions that aren’t like me and people. We tend to hire people like ourselves therefore our businesses have the same strengths and weaknesses as we do if we hire people just like us and it’s hard to get along a lot of times with someone that doesn’t work as fast as you or works faster than you or isn’t as detail or they’re risk averse or they.
26:34.47
dybsteve
No.
26:53.47
Jason Phillips
Love risk all of these different things and a well-rounded team. You need every player like on a football field you you don’t want everybody be in the kicker but boy you do need to Kicker Kickers Win games. You need every single position in the same thing as you build your company, you’re going to have to move from.
27:00.80
dybsteve
Um.
27:12.21
Jason Phillips
Ah, being a generalist to developing roles that are specialists and it’s it’s 1 piece at a time when it’s a small company and the bigger your company gets the more specialization you can have and and the more specialization you have the better job the the the higher they can develop their skills. So ah. 1 we we want to um, know exactly what the personality profile that we need for a role learning about behaviors and people here’s the thing people are different but here’s the beauty people are predictably different and that’s where disk personality styles. Ah, come in and I’ve taken every assessment out there and there I’m not saying I’m not here to say other assessments are bad. What I am saying is I adopted disk in my business because one it’s it’s ah it’s not just about me. It’s about my interaction with others as well and understanding others and how we can better relate as a team. And so that’s one of the advantages another advantage is it’s also ah I don’t need to be the only one that understands this I need everybody on my team to have a basic understanding of personality styles and how to communicate properly with one another so that we can all work together better as a team. And honestly it helped my parenting it helped my marriage. It helps every interaction in my life and so that that was transformational so we always consider. Ah what? what personality style we need in a particular in a particular role and when I first learned about this about.
28:48.96
Jason Phillips
Ten years ago I realized that I had um, bad roles designed And for instance, my salespeople were also project managers and all the work was done by subcontractors at this time. But. Someone who is a great salesperson is rarely a great project manager and vice versa and so I mean I had at the time I had 18 sales and project managers and I had ah an assessment had each one of them do a self-assessment. And if you if you’ve looked if you’ve seen disk assessments before you get you get a little bar chart or graph and I just without looking at the names I started putting them in stacks that looked similar and then I said let me grab this stack right here and I started reading the names on it. And like this stack right here is is all the people that have a really high closing rate on their appointments but they have terrible follow up and they’re not good at managing their projects and there’s detail problems and then I picked up this stack over here I’m like. Wow. Well these people all their jobs are in budget. They’re scoped perfectly every time and their customers love them. But they have the lowest closing rate in the company and it was a wake up moment for me Steve at that moment I said we are dividing these roles.
30:08.43
dybsteve
Oh.
30:18.40
Jason Phillips
These people are going to be salespeople. These people are going to be project managers and I did that and in 1 year I implemented a sales methodology split those roles raised prices by 20% and raised closing rates by 20% all in 1 year and it was it was kind of crazy. But um.
30:32.60
dybsteve
Well done.
30:37.83
Jason Phillips
You know there’s this. There’s this ah perception that well if I raise my prices I won’t close any deals and and that’s that is flawed thinking and that right there will keep you in contractor prison and so ah, anyways, so when it comes to finding the right people.
30:52.20
dybsteve
Um.
30:57.26
Jason Phillips
To answer your question is I need to know who do I need in this role. What do they need to be good at and what do they need to be attracted to what do they need to be attracted to my salespeople are attracted to winning. They have a high dominance factor.
30:59.68
dybsteve
Who.
31:14.15
Jason Phillips
And I run into a lot of of lot of company owners that um are running their company and they don’t have a high dominance factor. There’s nothing right or wrong about it. It just means that that you’re going to probably need to hire someone that does to run your sales process so you can raise your prices. Because you’re never going to scale your company and truly get freedom without raising your prices and again you may not want to raise your you may not want to scale your company but my bet is if is if if you’re one of Steve’s fans okay you probably. Want to achieve new levels of of freedom and purpose in your life is my guess and you’ve got to be able to raise your prices and.
31:59.17
dybsteve
Indeed we um, thank you? So ah, back to those profiles and for those with that we because we could spend a whole another hour like explaining this so without going into a deep dive. Ah, there are a lot of free resources out there where you can dive into this and to Jason’s point i. Highly recommend you do and like you said Jason it is my favorite as well of all of them that are out there I think it’s the most concise and we’ll give you the most leverage and least amount of time using those 4 categories. What. Profiles did you find for the sales people and then again for the project managers.
32:36.33
Jason Phillips
So yeah in my organization. Um, someone that is would be considered a d I or an I d or a Dc work well and succeed in my organization and um. d’s have different strengths and weaknesses than Dcs and we know what those are and we know how to coach those and bring those bring those out. Um, and you know we definitely want someone that has a ah d well above what we call the energy line. And this made such a difference in my life Steve I’m working on my sixth certification in personalities right now because it it just has made I want to I want to bring this I want to bring this to to more people and I’m a big fan because I feel like it can. It. It has been such a power tool for me and then when other people start seeing it and realizing it. It’s a power tool for them. We you know we I’ve got 4 other leaders at my company that I’m I’m putting through the certifications as well and I’m not saying that everybody needs good get certified in this but you know this is something we’re wanting. You know we’re.
33:35.37
dybsteve
Um.
33:47.70
Jason Phillips
We’re ah we’re teaching and we just we believe it’s impactful beyond even beyond business. So um, now project managers. Let me tell you for instance, ah let me give you 2 examples for project managers. Um, do you want your project managers to be.
33:47.91
dybsteve
So.
34:06.80
Jason Phillips
Ah, fast-paced or slow paceced. Do you want them to be detail oriented or results oriented and I’ve got I currently have both on my team. And they both have strengths and weaknesses and what we do is we pair them. Ah, we we try to listen to the homeowner and try to pair up the best project manager with them and ah so for instance again, if. If you guys that are listening know your profile. The last thing I want to do is make anybody feel that you are um, insufficient. Okay, every every personality style is amazing, but the truth is every single one of us have have blind sides. Weaknesses and things we just hate to do and if if we hate to do them. We have an aversion to Them. We’re gonna get to those things last if at all and so you know so if if you’ve got a mountain to conquer and you need someone. That’s ah, that’s a hard negotiator maybe with your subcontractors.
35:12.57
dybsteve
Um.
35:21.14
Jason Phillips
Guess what you you may need someone with a high d but if you you know with someone with a high d and a and a a low Cc stands for conscientiousness someone with a low c is not going to get all the details right? They’re not and ah if you want you know you want. Someone to really get the details right Then then you’re going to. You’re going to want someone with a little little c in their ah in their profile. Um, you know s people are are real warm, friendly people. But they’re also slow paced.
35:48.58
dybsteve
Um.
35:54.75
Jason Phillips
And they don’t they don’t like it. They don’t necessarily like to deal with hard conversations. They’re great and are amazing. They’re supportive and they are awesome in customer service departments so you need to think about how do you run your company and would you rather have someone like I’ve got the I’m going to say project manager a over here. Okay, a. Project manager a he has a high d and a high I he’s fast. He gets things done and his jobs always come in budget. But every now and then he rubs a customer the wrong way. Got. Project manager b over here. Um, he’s ah he’s a little little slower paced sometimes struggles to meet budget but all of his customers. Love him and he gets a lot of 5 star reviews.
36:47.30
Jason Phillips
So we want five star reviews but we also want budget so balancing those and so we we actually have have learned to put them in both these guys have been on my team for a very long time and but we’ve learned to navigate and put them on the right project and pair them with the ah.
37:04.79
dybsteve
Fantastic culture. What do you do to cultivate culture in your company. A lot of contractors will focus on the hard skills. But you know we’ve been in this long enough to know that it’s a soft skills.
37:04.96
Jason Phillips
With with the right homeowner.
37:23.39
Jason Phillips
So that’s ah, that’s ah something I’m very passionate about Steve is culture and I wish I would have realized this much earlier in my career but but here’s a truth. We need to face is is that ah culture is the invisible force. That’s either building your company or eroding your company.
37:23.46
dybsteve
That drive profits.
37:31.30
dybsteve
Um.
37:41.12
Jason Phillips
And culture is what’s going to help your people ah help determine what your people do when your policy manual doesn’t say something and when you’re not around and it’s very important now when I say culture I don’t just mean hey we’re. You know we’re having sleeping pods and unlimited meals in the office and you know an unlimited time off. That’s not what it’s about. Okay, you do it. It is you need a a culture of accountability a culture of performance but it really is the unique personality of your of your of your company and it’s. You know it needs to be driven by your by your vision your mission and your values and so you know what? how is it acceptable to behave at the company. So. The first thing that we did um this was part of my leadership growth. Okay, and back in the day I thought.
38:28.28
dybsteve
M.
38:32.24
Jason Phillips
You know I had this terrible vision Steve it was like hey let’s go make a lot of money man. There’s huge opportunity here. Well then guess what again I got a culture of a bunch of selfish people that only cared about money and ah what we need is we need a vision that that attracts the right people right.
38:42.75
dybsteve
Um.
38:52.17
Jason Phillips
And we need to be the right type of leader to attract the right type of people that we need so it starts with it. It really starts with growing as a leader and becoming the type of person that great people want to follow that’s part of it and then when you’re when you’re hiring. You’re trying to uncover the values of the of your people your your candidates and of course you need your you need your you need your core values written down hey this is who we are. This is what we’re about this is what’s non-negotiable. This is what’s gonna get people promoted written up fired hired whatever and. Like at ours. It’s it’s faith ah people teamwork in the pursuit of excellence and and so Jennifer as she’s doing our hiring. She’s she’s got a checklist of things cuuees that she’s listening for to see if they really match um to meet our company. So there’s 3 things. That we need. We need people that can do the job we need that. That’s just their are their ability. We need people that will do the job which is more about motivations things they’re drawn to things they’re repelled by so can they will they and that last critical piece as do they fit the culture and if you have someone. That can do the job and they’ll go after it but they don’t fit your culture at some point it will blow up in your face. It may be sooner. It may be later but it it will probably be at not a good time for you as the business owner and so we we hire using core values. We fire.
40:26.54
Jason Phillips
We constantly reinforce core values. The things that we want to ah the culture that we want to create Steve I went from I went from a completely toxic culture and my company converted it to a touted award winning culture. We last year. Ah, were recognized as one of the best places to work in North Texas for small businesses. So I went from completely toxic all the way over here with this leadership transformation I completely rebuilt my company and I value culture almost more than anything right now look seasons can go up and down.
40:48.55
dybsteve
No.
41:06.24
Jason Phillips
We can make money we can lose money but when when my culture is there. It’s like a finely tuned engine and ah so it’s it’s reinforcing the way that you’re what you’re going to that you’re going to act attracting the right people. And um, of course you know we we we need to have fun at work right? We we need to have a fun factor but there’s this idea that having a great company culture means everybody’s constantly laughing and not getting anything done. You can have a performance culture with accountability and people still love working there.
41:42.59
dybsteve
Indeed. Thank you now we have an open loop the one we opened with at the beginning of this show that we can’t forget we need to circle back to that because I know if I was listening to this book. Oh wait a minute What happened what was going on. Um.
41:59.11
dybsteve
With that what we’re worry you were in. Um, no I forget New Orleans thank you
42:02.64
Jason Phillips
I was in New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina and we had taken the team down from Dallas ah to help rebuild rebuild houses down there and help them and while I’m down there.
42:13.24
dybsteve
M.
42:19.25
Jason Phillips
Get a call during the day from from my in-house bookkeeper back in Dallas and she said ah hey Jason um this you know the paint bills do and we don’t have the money to pay it like how can this be how can this be.
42:34.66
dybsteve
Um.
42:38.38
Jason Phillips
So we we talked through it and uncovered what was going on and so I’m laying there again. The walls are paper thin I got 4 guys down there with me people are snoring in other rooms. There’s no carpet. We there was this house that was flooded out. We’re able to rent it. It still had the electric working this is like november.
42:51.20
dybsteve
Um.
42:57.93
Jason Phillips
Okay, it it was cold but the electric was working the water was running and the hot water heater worked and so we we we went to home depot bought two fours built built ah ah, bed frames to get our blowup mattresses off the floor. Okay so I’m laying there at this night after that call.
43:13.80
dybsteve
Um.
43:17.80
Jason Phillips
And I’m just laying there Stephen I got my eyes are closed and I’m just I’m like god what am I going to do should I file bankruptcy we can’t pay this bill and I mean so many other things were going so well in our company but we were in a cash flow crisis and.
43:20.33
dybsteve
Um.
43:36.41
Jason Phillips
Um I had a dream and god showed me what to do I won’t tell you did all the details of the dream. But here’s the outcome of it. God god told me said Jason you’re going to convert this business from a credit-based business to a cash based business and so i.
43:55.28
Jason Phillips
The next day I woke up I called my I called my reps from my vendors and I said hey we owe you you know x amount of dollars was a lot of money tens of thousands of dollars and I don’t I don’t have the money to pay you but I want to ask you if if this would work I do want to pay you. But I’ve got to stay in business to pay. You. How about we take that money that I owe you and let’s put in on promissory note and I make you payments you keep my account open and I will pay you every single day for our purchases going here forward so he says okay me talk to my bosses I’ll come back. He called me back the next morning he said hey Jason. We can do that and before we hung up he said oh by the way I’ve got great news since you’re going to be buying and paying for those things right away you’re going to get early pay discounts on your new purchases. So I had I had ah a few vendors I had to do that with now how we got into that spot.
44:44.88
dybsteve
Um.
44:53.95
Jason Phillips
Because there were some things hidden from me that I wasn’t seeing um and there’s this odd thing in Quickbooks where when you download transactions from the bank. You don’t see them anywhere except in your online banking until you accept those and accept those into your registers and so there was a ah lot of transactions. Were stuck in there that that she had not been dealing with and so it gave me a false. Ah ah the numbers I were looking was looking at ultimately it was my fault for not inspecting what I expected this was my fault so it took me about.
45:18.10
dybsteve
Um.
45:31.63
Jason Phillips
I don’t remember 6 to nine months I literally went for three months without taking a paycheck and after six to nine months we paid off ah all of we had like 3 major vendors that we owed significant money to we paid them off and so we were still paying for stuff. They they. They got sick of having us pay every day. So now we were just paying once a week they got sick of us paying every day and when we paid those off I was now getting ah paying for my materials as I was using them and I began to get favor from my vendors. Like never before and it was it was it was transformational I had but I got I got preferred pricing I got incredible rebate programs got early pay discounts and so ah, it was it was really it was really amazing and so but what what was one of the darkest times in my business. Turned out one ah to be 1 of the biggest blessings in my business and.
46:28.42
dybsteve
Amen That’s awesome. That is so cool. Oh now. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t ah mention the fact that you’re also a jeeper.
46:42.26
Jason Phillips
Yes, yeah, well you know what? right now. It’s hard to consider myself a jeeper because I haven’t gotten my Jeep dirty in a long time. Well I see you doing out I have having all the fun. All the all their out there and I haven’t done that in a long time. So but I Absolutely Ah, absolutely love Love jeeps.
46:48.52
dybsteve
Here.
46:59.55
Jason Phillips
Yes.
46:59.77
dybsteve
Yes, well um, I’m an adrenaline enthusiast and so I’ve got to get up there and feel like you know, just about flip it over and then and I’m happy. So but any anytime you feel like stretchings legs. Love to have you over and we can go up to wind rock. And hit some ah hiss some hit some fun trails. Do some climbing very done before I really appreciate your time Jason thank you so much. It’s been an incredible story and very inspiring and I’m sure no doubt my mind. We’re going to receive a ton of feedback.
47:16.83
Jason Phillips
You know I might take yep on that that sounds like a whole lot of fun I.
47:33.68
dybsteve
So thank you for that. But before we roll out is there a question I should have asked or any final points that you’d like to make.
47:39.80
Jason Phillips
You know, honestly Steve if if if we would just understand that as as small business owners getting good at people skills those soft skills. They’re really the hard skills. Learning those is going to help us build a better team and when we build teams. We’ve got more people to shoulder the load and bring more excellence to every key component of our business. So I would say become a student of of leadership and of people skills and that will take you a long way.
48:11.76
dybsteve
Um.
48:16.79
dybsteve
Fantastic! Thank you if somebody would like to follow up. What’s the best way they could reach out to you.
48:20.93
Jason Phillips
Um, ah I’m online everywhere but you you can go to Jason Wphilllips Dot Bi Io Bio Jason W Phillips Dot Bio and all my contact info is on there. My pleasure.
48:29.86
dybsteve
Awesome! Fantastic! Thank you again. Jason.