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    Spencer Owens: Bell Rock Finance (Mesa, AZ)

    en-usJune 29, 2021
    What was the main topic of the podcast episode?
    Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?
    Were there any notable quotes or insights from the speakers?
    Which popular books were mentioned in this episode?
    Were there any points particularly controversial or thought-provoking discussed in the episode?
    Were any current events or trending topics addressed in the episode?

    About this Episode

    Meet Spencer Owens, co-founder and Principal at Bell Rock Finance,  which provides investment financing—acquisition and renovation—for fix & flip, commercial, construction, and land/lot real estate projects. Bell Rock is located in Mesa, AZ. 

    In this episode:

    • 2007: "Yeah, great time to start a wealth management, financial planning type of an office." (6:04)
    • Changing strategy to fill the "hole in the market." (10:47)
    • "It's okay to not know how to do everything.": "Surround yourself with people who know things and do things that you can't do." (13:01)
    • A "business divorce:" "Our interests weren't aligned to the owner had a different vision for where he wanted to go." (14:53)
    • "Yeah, probably should have hired a trademark attorney when we signed up for our name." (17:54)
    • Competition grows: "When I started lending, there was one big name in town. And now there's dozens. And so and we're all battling..." (21:23)
    • The differentiator: "speed and convenience." (21:53) "When you call Bell Rock Finance, and speak to one of us, you're speaking with an owner, you're speaking with a decision maker." (23:45) "We have a process":  "I can go run our systems and our tools, and I can get you an answer within an hour." (24:19)
    • "This business is work hard strike while the iron's hot. Be wise with your own own income, save as much as possible. And just keep doing it as long as the market will support it." (26:57)
    • "I have friends who are in corporate and they'll they'll take a week off and worry free stress free. That looks nice...But then you look at the the ceiling that you're put on, the income ceiling, the progress ceiling, whatever you have in in those positions.
    • "And I think having a hobby, having an outlet is absolutely paramount and important in everybody's lives." (31:41)
    • "We've had some some crazy experiences where people have really wronged us. And we've had to, you know, get lawyers and trudge through those those sticky situations, but it's just head down, grind through it, and have faith in your in your passion in your vision that you will get through it and that it'll be better on the other side." (32:17)



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    • When Pennywise-wannabes get stabby in real life.
    • When Conan parodies you with a nasty clown.

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    • Taking classes, making friends, talking extensively with people who do what you want to do, going to conventions, entering competitions, becoming a board member in industry groups, and teaching classes will help you grow and put you in contact with people who can offer random opportunities.

    Jumping into business before you really know what you’re doing can sometimes work.

    • In the beginning “I didn’t know what the heck I was doing.” 
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    Today, Ete sits down with entrepreneur Mike Will of A Great Clean, located in Heber City, UT. Mike is a passionate musician (check out Mike Stance and Unfailing), a pug owner, a heat-hating snowboarder, and owner of a successful carpet-cleaning business. Ete and Mike met in a hot tub at the beautiful Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, UT.

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    A “free roaming spirit” can lead to entrepreneurship.
    ​​I kind of was able to connect that idea of that free roaming spirit, of wanting to be out in the world sharing a message, with my idea of also wanting to manage myself without needing someone else to tell me what I need to do every day. And so the idea of music led me straight to entrepreneurship.

    Claim the right name the right way.
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    Sometimes you have to let go and start over.
    …I was contacting attorneys and finding out that I did have a case. What I realized then was that it was going to become a case of the deeper pockets. I needed to have money to go to court. And I realized I needed to take a step back from something that I had been focusing on every day for three years. And it was actually kind of a relief.

    Shift your focus when you need to.
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    Your business needs to work for you, so  only work with the clients who will honor that.
    I've been doing this now, for three years, four years that I haven't been answering my phone, my business has not suffered for it. I have found the clients who are willing to work with me in the way that I'm asking them to. And in that sense, I'm allowing the people who are good for me to come into my life.

    Charge what you’re worth.
    I started off at 25 cents a square foot...then realizing as I got better, that that is the the poor man's carpet cleaning. You know, like, if anybody's charging you 25 cents a square foot, they don't know how to charge what they're worth, or they're beginning,

    You might not need employees.
    But I've also had employees that I've trained and spent time training–time and money–and to have them leave and realize, Oh, now I've built my business up to this point, a now I either need to find somebody that I can train again, or what I took a deeper look at is, if I was to just handle this on my own, which I know I can, would I  make more money.

    Connect with yourself, be yourself, and believe in yourself.

    • …have a meditation practice, a way to quiet the mind a little bit in order to hear what the heart is telling you…that's been one of the ways that I've truly been able to connect with that belief and self.
    • Do what feels right to you. Don't let anybody tell you what the right way to be you is.
    • So when you hear self doubt come up in the mind and you know, in your heart, you want to experience what life has to offer you, in order to receive what it is that you want, you've got to believe in yourself.










    Season 3 Recap

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    A full year and thousands of miles in the making, Season 3 has officially come to a close. Today Ete takes a look back at some of his favorite moments from this season. He's had the chance to speak with entrepreneurs from across the country and across industries, small business owners who are still in elementary school, to those who have their sights on retirement. This episode is dedicated to remembering their stories and the things they taught us. With gratitude to all the great people we've met–who've shared their time and a bit of themselves with us, and to all of our listeners, we present our Season 3 Recap.

    Interviews from Season 3:
    Scott Abbott: Pronexis + Founder of Five Star Painting (Springville, UT)
    Nick Coleman: Ivan Carfax (South Jersey)
    Doug Trace: Trace Photo Studio (South Jersey)
    Jace Kandle: Lake Kandle (Sewell, NJ)
    Steve Castellano: ANS Construction (South Jersey/Philly)
    Steve Poponi and Dave Downham: Gradwell House Recording Studio (Haddon Heights, NJ)
    Dean Johnson: Healthy Homes Pest Control (Palmyra, VA)
    Debbie Wilds: Shear Wildness (Goochland, VA)
    Joey Maxwell: The Studio Creative Group (Deland, FL)
    Britton Frankel: DynoClimb (Deland, FL)
    Chelsea Conrad: Bodhi + Sol Spa (Deland, FL)
    Ryan Begin: KG Showroom (Ormond Beach, FL)
    Liz Robinson: Ted's Shooting Range (Queen Creek, AZ)
    Carter and Keaton Fife: Fife Bros Poop Patrol (Gilbert, AZ)
    Spencer Owens: Bell Rock Finance (Mesa, AZ)
    Gavin HallockKash Financial Services (Gilbert, AZ)



    The Company Next Door
    en-usNovember 10, 2021

    Gavin Hallock: Kash Financial Services (Gilbert, AZ)

    Gavin Hallock: Kash Financial Services (Gilbert, AZ)

    Today Ete sits down with Gavin Hallock, founder of KASH Financial Services located in Gilbert, AZ. Kash provides advisory and consultancy services for business projects and improvements, external CFO services, and cash flow management for businesses.

    Gavin has more than 15 years of experience working with small to mid-size companies. He has a BS in finance from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in accountancy from University of Phoenix. He also has an IRS Enrolled Agent designation.

    Gavin is married and has 3 children. He enjoys running and cycling.

    In this episode:

    On finding his business idea
    “I always analyze things. Because part of being a commercial banker, I was always talking to business owners, asking them the questions. Hey, why did you struggle in this? or Why are your margins down in this? Or why are they up? And what are the reasons? I'd always ask the why. And so in the back of my head, I was always like, hey, these business owners need help, they need some advisory help...that right hand person to be there to help them excel.”

    On clientele
    "So from the beginning, I thought, oh yeah, I could take on all these different clients. And and now I've realized like hey, you can take on clients, but you really need to take on the right clients."

    On networking
    "I've developed relationships with many different local business owners, where they provide the solutions, and then I can use that as a network and help these customers find the right solution at a good price."

    On business ownership
    "And it's kind of funny because, like, it's a different stress when you own a business than when you work for somebody."

    "I always analyze things. And sometimes you get this analysis paralysis, but you can't do that as a business owner. You have got to be like, alright, this isn't working. I got to move forward with this."

    On mindset
    "And you can't beat yourself up as a business owner. You can't. You have to continue to move forward. "

    On unexpected paths and pivots
    "But to me, it's that the pathway that I took to get to where I'm at today, it's allowed me to, to learn so much, and also have this big skill set… "

    "Maybe in six months, I have to pivot and do and do something a little bit different. And that's what I've learned from the beginning. I've only been in business, like really in business, for like, eight, nine months. And then you always have to pivot, until I think you establish yourself. And I hope this is the path. But who knows..."

    "Yeah, I think you always have to take a pulse check and say, hey, what, what's going on? Is this working? If it's not working, then maybe what things might work, and kind of toy with that while you're still doing what you're doing."

    On getting ideas
    "When I'm out there on a hard run. Like say I'm doing intervals or whatnot, the only thing you can do is just say like, Okay, I gotta get through this. But like, as soon as you're done, you're resting...that's when my biggest ideas come out. Or if I'm driving on a road trip with my wife, ideas start coming to me because the kids are back there watching movies and I'm there with my wife and and that's when you're just driving and there's no other distractions."

    Advice for Entrepreneurs
    "First thing, if they want to get into business, I would hope that they have meditated about or prayed about it."

    "Don't think that it's gonna happen overnight."

    "Set those goals out there, even if they're lofty, but celebrate the small milestones."

    "Just do it. Just keep at it because consistency builds results."

    Spencer Owens: Bell Rock Finance (Mesa, AZ)

    Spencer Owens: Bell Rock Finance (Mesa, AZ)

    Meet Spencer Owens, co-founder and Principal at Bell Rock Finance,  which provides investment financing—acquisition and renovation—for fix & flip, commercial, construction, and land/lot real estate projects. Bell Rock is located in Mesa, AZ. 

    In this episode:

    • 2007: "Yeah, great time to start a wealth management, financial planning type of an office." (6:04)
    • Changing strategy to fill the "hole in the market." (10:47)
    • "It's okay to not know how to do everything.": "Surround yourself with people who know things and do things that you can't do." (13:01)
    • A "business divorce:" "Our interests weren't aligned to the owner had a different vision for where he wanted to go." (14:53)
    • "Yeah, probably should have hired a trademark attorney when we signed up for our name." (17:54)
    • Competition grows: "When I started lending, there was one big name in town. And now there's dozens. And so and we're all battling..." (21:23)
    • The differentiator: "speed and convenience." (21:53) "When you call Bell Rock Finance, and speak to one of us, you're speaking with an owner, you're speaking with a decision maker." (23:45) "We have a process":  "I can go run our systems and our tools, and I can get you an answer within an hour." (24:19)
    • "This business is work hard strike while the iron's hot. Be wise with your own own income, save as much as possible. And just keep doing it as long as the market will support it." (26:57)
    • "I have friends who are in corporate and they'll they'll take a week off and worry free stress free. That looks nice...But then you look at the the ceiling that you're put on, the income ceiling, the progress ceiling, whatever you have in in those positions.
    • "And I think having a hobby, having an outlet is absolutely paramount and important in everybody's lives." (31:41)
    • "We've had some some crazy experiences where people have really wronged us. And we've had to, you know, get lawyers and trudge through those those sticky situations, but it's just head down, grind through it, and have faith in your in your passion in your vision that you will get through it and that it'll be better on the other side." (32:17)



    Carter and Keaton Fife: Fife Bros Poop Patrol (Gilbert, AZ)

    Carter and Keaton Fife: Fife Bros Poop Patrol (Gilbert, AZ)

    Meet Carter and Keaton Fife of Fife Bros. Poop Patrol. (You can email Fife Bros. Poop Patrol at jacquie.m.fife@gmail.com). Carter (10) and Keaton (7), sons of Rusty Fife interviewed on Season 2 Episode 1, are by far the youngest guests who have been on the show. The 2 brothers own and operate a dog poo pick-up and removal service in Gilbert, AZ.

    In this week's episode:

    • Serial Entrepreneurs: salsa and poo (and citrus) removal
    • Preventing a Turf War: respecting boundaries and territories 
    • A growing clientele
    • Marketing Secrets: your Mom on Facebook and flyers
    • Know your expenses (about $14)
    • Picking up 4 weeks of poo at the house with 4 bulldogs
    • Ma’am and Sir: showing respect
    • Double Check for Poo: offering great service
    • Time Management: baseball, play, and poo
    • Word of Mouth: Brittany’s beer-drinking party neighbors
    • Saving up means “good kid money.”
    • Dreams: architecture, professional baseball, and shoe sales
    • A Phil Knight fan
    • Great Advice: get help, quality service, be kind to your clients
    • The elevator pitch
    • “Sometimes you’re just gonna have rude people…”
    • Failure doesn’t have to be “sad.”
    • Two kids define success.
    • You can start a fire with a pee bag.
    • Survival essentials? Root beer floats and a bed. Alternatively, water and an AR-15.

    Liz Robinson: Ted's Shooting Range (Queen Creek, AZ)

    Liz Robinson: Ted's Shooting Range (Queen Creek, AZ)

    Meet Liz Robinson, co-owner of Ted’s Shooting Range, located in Queen Creek, AZ. Ted’s Shooting Range offers firearms educational classes, and includes a gun range, a retail firearms store, and a dive shop.

    Some topics of discussion

    • A multi-faceted business: classes, range, and retail (5:27)
    • Shooting as a skill that offers a level playing field (8:19)
    • A sales boom: “Liberal” first time gun buyers (12:17)
    • A perspective on guns: “It's a tool of a sport that I love to use.” (13:44)
    • For traumatized women, guns can help them “feel like they're getting control back of their life.” (15:36)
    • 2020-2021: millions of new gun owners (17:24)
    • A woman-owned company: earning a place in a predominantly male industry (36:18)
    • Women gun owners: “we don't treat them like they're stupid” (37:40)
    • Race and gender politics in business (throughout)
    • Guns and the current political climate (throughout)

    Business lessons and ideas

    • A serious responsibility: when you have to say no to a customer (18:05)
    • A partnership between two very different people is a good thing (20:12)
    • “If you have an employee that just is not working out, don't don't hold on to them for too long.” (22:15)
    • Personnel issues: “I listen to my employees a lot, not just the management, it’s the employees.” (22:13)
    • “I won't tolerate racism.” “Won't tolerate it in my employees. I won't tolerate it in my customers.” (22:36)
    • “Lead by example, how you treat them is hopefully how they're gonna treat the customer.” (28:37)
    • Success is “how I feel inside.” (30:10)
    • Franchising hesitancy (30:48)
    • “Be flexible. Because you never know where a good thing is gonna come from.” (33:24)
    • “If you're so rigid, it's going to just in some cases, I think it just destroys businesses” (34:15)

    Miscellaneous interesting stuff

    • Who the heck is Ted? (:34)
    • “When I was eight, I was a janitor.” (2:48)
    • A toy gun under her pillow (6:40)
    • “My kids starting shooting at 3 and 4.” (7:06)

    John Walters: Mister Bermuda (Austin, TX)

    John Walters: Mister Bermuda (Austin, TX)

    Meet John Walters, co-owner of the newly launched Mister Bermuda in Georgetown, TX, and founder of several landscaping/mowing, lawn fertilizing, tree care, pest control, and snow removal businesses in New Jersey, Utah, Texas, and Alaska. 

    Discussions and Insights

    • Formal education is not for everyone (3:18)
    • Starting businesses when you don’t know the business (4:34)
    • All you need: “Third grade math and I don't know what grade work ethic.” (5:10)
    • Starting businesses is a skill that can be learned through practice. (8:23)
    • The challenges of life as a serial business starter. (8:40)
    • “You can always take a client base and do something with it.” (10:15)
    • The formula: “You show up when you say you’re gonna show up. You do what you said you were gonna do. You charge what you say you’re gonna charge.” (11:06)
    • Manual labor and contemplation (22:59)
    • How and why to build a network of friends in the business. (27:42)
    • There’s a huge difference in clients from different areas. (33:58)
    • Seeing the value where others can’t. (35:58)
    • Just follow your instincts. (37:17)
    • Mentoring: 14 guys in business. “You don't have to know everything to teach it. You just have to know what you know, and teach that.” (42:40), (53:13)
    • Growing older while operating a small service business (47:42)
    • Avoiding burnout: Spend your time where it’s most needed. (50:47)

    Miscellaneous

    • “Not that you're going to be the life of the party, but you go to a party and everybody's gonna have questions about the trees.” (19:13)
    • How Ete got into the business: “You don’t have to pay him. Just take him and work him.” (20:48)
    • “Two things overrated in this country: orthodontics and academia.” (46:11)
    • Career Attention Deficit Disorder (52:17)

    Ryan Begin: KG Showroom (Ormond Beach, FL)

    Ryan Begin: KG Showroom (Ormond Beach, FL)

    Meet Ryan Bégin, co-owner of KG Showroom, located in Ormond Beach, FL. Ryan and his father, Laval, own and operate KG, a brick and mortar showroom and online retail store where "you'll find a large selection of quality brands for the kitchen and bath and dedicated showroom specialists to help coordinate your projects." 

    The Story

    • Growing up around the extended-family businesses. (The Bégins are coming up on 50 years in the kitchen and bath industry.) (4:10, 12:05)
    • Architecture school at UF.  (17:51)
    • From Modern Age to Kitchen Gallery: The late 80s economy and changing from factory to storefront (24:08)
    • Trading architecture for international economics (25:56)
    • Looking towards the expat life in China (27:19)
    • An important epiphany: “And then it dawned on me, I didn't want to do that.” (28:09)
    • Commission sales: “seeing how risk affects your daily life” (30:24)
    • A bookkeeper goes MIA. “She had bled our family financially dry.” (31:59)
    • Finding “the place I felt I could help the most…” (42:47)
    • A “short term” position change (43:44)
    • From business boom to The Great Recession (47:26)
    • Taking it personally: digging out of the business’ debt for 3 years (44:15)
    • Becoming an owner (48:23)

    Ideas and Insights

    • Connect to the community: look back, not just forward (5:40)
    • The trend: people want “real” again (6:20)
    • Is automation a threat? What COVID taught us. (7:45)
    • When technology helps: fax machines for everyone! (10:57)
    • Information and access control: two-way protection (38:50)
    • Not the typical entrepreneur: a methodical style (20:14)
    • “If you’re willing to do something well”: the money will come, the business will come. (21:30)
    • Frank Lloyd Wright: a business owner as conductor (22:34)
    • The employee culture of “you don’t want to get caught” doesn’t work. (41:51)
    • The “undying hope” of the entrepreneur: “There’s never a “no” in my future.” (49:37)
    • One “huge hurdle”: incorporating technology (50:50)
    • Trusting your gut: The ultimate tool for learning and growth (53:59)
    • The review process is critical: “what decisions have we made here? What am I doing? And what am I not doing?” (59:25)
    • Own the consequences. (1:03:10)
    • Success: "knowing that you’re on the right path." (1:06:00)

    Miscellaneous Fun Stuff

    • Ormond Beach: birthplace of speed (not the movie), and playground of Hudson Hornet (1:20)
    • “I thought I was going to be a meteorologist. I laugh about it now but–. I wanted to study meteors.” (15:11)
    • “‘Does anyone know what that's called?’ I said, it's a heat low. And he said, ‘Who said that?’ And that was my that was my claim–that was my day of fame right there.” (18:12)
    • “Sometimes…I want to go off on a homestead and build furniture.” (102:59)
    • “I’m gonna bring her [sourdough] starter with a field of wheat around me.” (1:12:33)




























    Chelsea Conrad: Bodhi + Sol Spa (Deland, FL)

    Chelsea Conrad: Bodhi + Sol Spa (Deland, FL)

    Meet Chelsea Conrad, Holistic Health & Nutrition Counselor and owner of Bodhi + Sol, a holistic wellness center located in Deland, FL.

    In this episode:

    Getting to Business Ownership

    • A musical theater degree, acting, and a cutthroat property maintenance company (4:32)
    • The stress of constant rejection leads to a new passion. (16:56)
    • A Holistic Health and Nutrition Counselor (18:03)
    • Changing the trajectory of a childhood dream: mourning one passion and focusing on another (19:42)
    • “Together, we make a whole brain”: business partnership dynamics (8:45)
    • A right-brainer learns Quickbooks (11:19)
    • When business partners part ways (9:58)

    Bodhi and Sol

    • The Tree of Life and the Sun (:56)
    • A Holistic Wellness Center: not just a spa (1:33)
    • Something different: All-inclusive treatments (47:34)
    • The Blending Bar (48:16)
    • Sales: it’s about helping, no sales quotas, just education and suggestions (27:14)

    COVID

    • Closed for 3 months and heartbreaking decisions (9:34)
    • Irony: being stressed out and forgetting self-care as a wellness spa owner (36:10)
    • Sound healing (36:18)
    • “Reinserting my passion back into being a business owner” (37:16)
    • “Really be rooted in the community." (56:44)
    • “We want you here.” “I still have my job. I want you to have yours too.” (1:02:14)

    Advice for Entrepreneurs

    • You need support: “Surround yourself with other people who can recognize you for who you are and what you really need and listen to them.” (40:10)
    • “Go for it. Follow your heart. Follow your dreams.” (41:56)
    • "There will always be things that hurt but to always be pushing forward toward happiness.” (42:50)

    Defining Success

    • "People walk in here feeling one way and they float out with a smile feeling different and that for me is why I do this." (43:54)
    • Helping clients “feel taken care of just truly, truly taken care of.” (49:33)
    • “Success for me is it's one person at a time, feeling better walking away, saying, Oh, my gosh, I feel so much better now.” (51:29)
    • "I really take pride in the little wins. And those all feel like successes. And so then my overall picture feels very successful.”(52:20)
    • “If we can all work toward finding our own inner peace, through the turmoil, and allowing that light to shine out…It goes back to our own self care so that we can let that light shine so that can ripple out to other people." (45:32)

    Other Fun Stuff

    • “I was kind of a terrible two year old and would scream constantly, which is why I think I can sing now.” (3:30)
    • Playing a 12 year-old boy in a nationally touring musical production (15:22)