Mastering Business Expansion Challenges with Altaf Kapasi

What if changing your business name opened doors to new opportunities? Join Altaf Kapasi, owner of American Glass Company, as he shares the exhilarating journey of rebranding and venturing into commercial work. Discover the power of consistency and clear communication in navigating uncharted territories and revitalizing a business.

In this episode, delve into the dynamics of a successful marriage turning into a thriving business partnership. Altaf and his wife's creative synergy shapes their decision-making process, highlighting the importance of open communication amidst significant changes. Picture the nerve-wracking experience of standing before a crowd and sharing insights—Altaf thought so too! Yet, he embraced speaking engagements, sharing wisdom on relationships and leadership. Through his journey, learn the art of balancing family, personal growth, and business expansion. Join us for inspiration, enlightenment, and motivation as we ride the rollercoaster of transforming a local business into a thriving commercial venture!

NOTABLE QUOTES

"If you're not consistent with networking or getting a face in front of people, they're not probably not gonna remember who you are." – Altaf
"As long as you communicate with your significant other, you could literally accomplish anything." – Altaf
"I love being an entrepreneur. I'm continuously able to grow and learn." – Altaf
"In that crowd I try to find one or two people that I know and I make direct eye contact with them. It's just I'm having a conversation with me and that one person, then I'll slowly shift over to the next person. So, the entire audience feels like they're getting my attention." – Altaf
"The whole point is to network a little bit too. I try to meet somebody every time I go to one of [networking] things." – Altaf
"Get there early so you can network with people." – Philip
"If you never go back and reflect, it's kind of hard to grow and get better so that your business can continue to grow." – Philip
"Once you put a camera in front of me, I get nervous. So I've been putting myself in more and more situations like that to challenge and grow." – Altaf
“You have to go back and see what you've done, analyze it.” – Altaf
“Just be open and honest.” – Altaf
“When you have your three minutes to speak, bring some value. Teach us something that we didn't know before. So that way, you remember us.” – Altaf
“We're allowed to make mistakes and fix them when the time is right.” – Altaf
“Family is what keeps me together. They keep you there together and they're there for you when no one else is there.” – Altaf
"Don't sit there and try and work on every single thing people told you to work on, because sometimes people are just saying something and it's really not even that important to work on anyways." – Philip
“When you make a mistake and if you don't talk to them, your customer loses that trust in you and it will affect you long term.” – Altaf
“Don't forget about your family, and people that have always been there for you, because, at the end of the day, if the business goes away, they're still going to be there.” – Altaf
"You got to find the harmony within family and business because that's typically our why as business owners." – Philip

RESOURCES
Altaf
Call: 864-721-3082
Email: info@americanglassco.com  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altaf-kapasi-9574592a
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/altaf.kapasi  

Philip
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamphilipsessions/?hl=en
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@philipsessions
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-sessions-b2986563/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealphilipsessions

Transcript

Philip Sessions: 0:15

What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the speaking sessions podcast. I'm your host, philip sessions, your public speaking coach, here today with Altaf Kapasi, owner of American glass company, and we've got a few things we're going to go into today. But before we get into what we're going to talk about which we're going to keep it a mystery here, because this man is on the move right now making some big changes. Altoff, welcome to the show. Tell us a little bit more about yourself, hey man, I appreciate you having me.

Altaf Kapasi: 0:47

My name is Altoff Caposi. I'm the owner of American glass company which we recently changed over from. Most people know me as the upstate shower door and glass company. Main reason for the switch is, you know I we do a lot of shower glass which we still want to specialize in, but we've recently got into doing commercial work and I think you know changing the name would. It was a huge kind of set back for us because our name just says shower glass. When people think of commercial glass and stuff they don't think about us necessarily. So I wanted to change people's mindsets about when they think about me more, so not just show the glass but just glass in general and American as well.

Philip Sessions: 1:26

Right, we talked about that offline. If you're not watching the video out off definitely does not look like a white American. So there's that there. But now it's great to have you on the podcast, man, and so really let's just dive right into it. I know you're having to get used to this new name and everything you're rebranding and that's a that's a hard time to navigate. I can imagine.

Philip Sessions: 1:52

I know I went through it a while back, but I didn't stay within. Like you, you're staying in the same industry. I actually went from fitness coaching, so it's called healthy living sessions, and I switched to public speaking coaching so I still sit in the coaching sector, but then change that to speaking sessions. So it went from like all this health and fitness to all sudden I kind of went on hiatus for myself personally a little bit, and I just was like squirts earth on fitness, like nothing was fitness anymore is. I wanted to distinctively differentiate fitness, healthy living sessions from speaking, coaching, speaking sessions, and so that's kind of what I did. But I want to dive into what your, what you're doing now in your plans are kind of going forward to help you differentiate between the two different company names as you're rebranding.

Altaf Kapasi: 2:44

Yeah, definitely no it. It's a huge change and also I couldn't have done it or got especially got this far without my marketing team that I've hired and you know they're the ones that really you know help me Make a smooth transition, transition process. So it's something I'm able to handle right. And all that back in stuff is honestly not not my expertise. You know, I'm more of a sales marketing, sales management kind of guy. So doing marketing, the back end stuff like that, I wouldn't have known where to begin.

Philip Sessions: 3:13

So having them behind me back and meet up is really, really really getting you running a bee yeah, I was talking with somebody the other day about this and I don't think it's just like profile pictures or what, but it's like when you change one thing, it's like I'm gonna go do Google my business, I gotta do my Gmail accounts, I've gotta do all my social media pages. There's like all these spots that when you make one little change, you gotta change everywhere else. So definitely a challenging thing, and having somebody like ghost is definitely helpful to get you on the right path and just take care of it for you.

Altaf Kapasi: 3:48

Oh yeah, definitely. They give me a whole list of things which I didn't think about. You know how to do, like bank account shirts, I gotta re do my van, right. So All these marketing tips and stuff. And I just I just had spent so much money on marketing stuff from other company that I just can't really use anymore. Right so other name company but I can't use anymore. So it's tough in that aspect, right, just like I'm just too much money way. But I think long term vision and plan that I have, I think it's the right move to make.

Philip Sessions: 4:19

Yeah, it's a little ironic. You're working with the company that also did their own rebranding like that, so they're they're very familiar with that because that was, if I remember correctly, that's what Britain went through is he was like hey, we want to be bigger than what we're doing now. We see this greater vision. We need to change our name, and they had a little bit different situation than you have, which we're not gonna talk about, but still they they decided to go through that rebranding and change their name and everything in order to do that. To do that. So when it comes to the back end, obviously goes is doing that for you. But when it comes to the front ends of social media, some of these other front facing things that you are the face of, what are some of those things that you're doing to help Change everybody from saying one name to another name, to really rebrand yourself?

Altaf Kapasi: 5:06

yes, honestly, it's a lot back to like square one of networking, right? Everybody knows me as Upstate child or in glass and the glass guy, right? So now I just need to get that name away from them and still saying, hey look, I'm still your glass guy, but I'm just under a different name. So I'm gonna keep posting and keep reminding people who I am on them, still specializing in shower enclosures and residential stuff, but I'm doing all glass work. So it's just gonna be consistency. If you're not consistent with networking or getting a face of people in front of people, they're not probably not gonna remember who you are. Right, unfortunately we live in there's a consistent change being made in all that stuff. So if you're not consistent with what you do and how you run your business, it's it can really affect you the long run, for sure.

Philip Sessions: 5:52

Oh yeah, you're exactly right. And so are you planning like at some point separating this and like almost two separate companies are just like two different crews? Like what's that gonna look like as well? I mean, is your time out? You wanted to get not only just in like shower and glass, which would be residential primarily, but you also want to go into commercial with glass work there. So are you planning on like those two residential commercial a separate? Are they gonna be kind of one of the same as far as like within, like a division within your company? Obviously it's all under American glass company. Are you gonna kind of run like two separate crews? Like what does that look like from a customer front perspective? Like if I come to you, how am I gonna know like exactly like what avenue to go down, if you will try to try to bring out like how you're gonna communicate all this stuff?

Altaf Kapasi: 6:36

No, will probably be in the beginning and be in the same umbrella. I'll definitely be having two different crews in my, you know, experience of glass work. You know doing commercial glass versus residential shower glass. It's two different ball games. They're installed differently. Their, their silicone or caulk differently, so it's it's. It's a lot more detail when you're in residential right, more so than a commercial building, so I don't think I'll have a different divisions right now. I think it's definitely something that you know we could just do within the same company, so you should have to do these split of divisions or anything like that.

Philip Sessions: 7:10

Okay, very cool. And so how are you going about like communicating this, especially with your wife? And I got married here Kind of recent issue. I know it's been a little bit now, but still it's not not like you've been married for five or ten years. You got some season in the marriage or anything. So how are you communicating that with your wife? Because I mean, I'm right there where we're almost at four years, but still there's definitely times where talking through some of these things can be very difficult and can get a little strenuous, as there is change in a little bit of instability, if you will, because of that change, of not knowing exactly what direction things are going to go, how things are going to be taken and stuff. So how are you navigating that conversation?

Altaf Kapasi: 7:54

Not a communication man. You know. She's actually helped me a lot in this rebranding phase. I'm not creative at all, so she's definitely been the one making a lot of those helping me make those decisions and she's up for it. She understands why I'm doing it and where when the future lies for us and, honestly, it's just like any other relationship right Keeping business with business and personal personal so long as we're communicating, talking to each other and being upfront and honest why and how we're doing things. It's actually been one of the smoothest things we've done. This is a couple of honestly.

Philip Sessions: 8:30

Why is it cool? That's good to hear.

Altaf Kapasi: 8:32

Yeah, no, it really, because it you know, like we've been married two years, my wife's only been in this country for six months now, so she's slowly getting used to things, because it's a completely different world from being in India to being in the US, right. So as and it also helps us get to know each other better when we do things like this, right, I know now that I can rely on her when it comes to creativity, right, something I lack in and just the way she communicates, the way I communicate Right. So we were able to learn a little bit more about that as we were doing this. So it's good thing about business matters there's so many obstacles and so many things thrown at you at one time and as long as you communicate with your significant other man, you could literally get, you know, accomplish anything, because that's all it takes. It's just not assuming they know what's going on or assuming what's going through your mind, right, and one thing I've learned, you know, six months living together we're kind of do this before we got you know, before she moved here.

Altaf Kapasi: 9:26

But she's an engineer and I'm a business owner Right, we got two completely different mindsets. Right, as a business owner, you can give me 10 to 20% details and I can figure out the rest Right. It's very exciting. You know they need 80, 90% or, as they're going to be asking you, 100 different questions, right, and which isn't always the bad thing, because you know exactly what you're getting at the end of the day, right, and you know, you know. So it's good, it's. I think it's a good combination. It's tough at times, but, no, it's great.

Philip Sessions: 9:55

Yeah, for sure. And for me I kind of have like the weird unicorn thing because I am an engineer but then I'm also business owner. So I kind of have both and I'm not. I can get in the details, but I'm not one that likes the details. And I had another engineer like what? Like you're an engineer and you don't like details, well, you know. And then of course in the nine to five I don't want to talk about it too much, about the outside business or anything, so it's like, well, you know, I just it's just never been me, I guess I've been more of a kind of like a sales type of person or whatever. So it's just funny.

Philip Sessions: 10:29

But I totally understand where you're coming from, with some people needing those details, and that's definitely a huge thing. When it comes to communication, that's so hard and you have to figure out what is it that that person needs in order to feel like you're communicating with them properly and feel like almost in spousal relationships. It's even harder because now you both know each other very well but you may not know what's going on in the business or in different areas that aren't your own relationship, and so sometimes you're just assuming, because they know so much about you that they already know that when they really don't. So that's really cool to see that y'all just really communicate and just like proactively do that. And is there anything like it's from a proactive perspective or like are y'all sitting down for like meetings there, like every week or every day, or what does some of that look like to make sure that you are communicating everything? Or is it just literally, you're just anything that happens. You tell each other.

Altaf Kapasi: 11:29

You know we try to. You know we're not telling her there's a time and place for everything, right? When we talking about personal stuff and I'm here at the office and working and she had a question for me if it's not business related, my mind's not there, right. So I straight up tell her let's talk about this after I get done working, so I'm in a better state of mind and so that we take a week. You know we spend a lot of time together in the evenings. Now we obviously dinner together and then we go for a walk between about 715 and 8 o'clock. That was our summertime, I think wintertime. We're going to change that up a little bit because she doesn't like to cold. That's when we really talk and get deep, right, and it keeps up. It gets set up our comfort zone because we're outside so we can have these deeper conversations and get a lot out whatever's on our mind. So I think that's very crucial to our relationship.

Philip Sessions: 12:15

Yeah, that's good, you know, always setting that time aside and then, just like you said, like hey, right now I just don't have the energy to focus on this, or hey, this is what I'm working on right now. And that's definitely a difficult thing. I know we struggled with that in my marriage as well. We're like, hey, I'm actually kind of get a little bit of separation where I'm in the shed, but I'm just out here like kind of doing this thing out here, and it gets a little frustrating for my wife and I can understand it. So I'm trying to find different times to be able to do things, to be able to work around that, because we do have the little one and that gets to be a handful A lot of times. So just trying to work through that and have those conversations and everything. So, but it's really good that y'all have that time there.

Philip Sessions: 12:55

And I think it's important for people to understand kind of how to navigate those, especially the marriage conversations, because it is difficult being a business owner, your mind doesn't really shut off around that and even when you're in those personal times that you're still thinking about the business is really kind of your baby and everything. So it's hard to get rid of that. So it's really cool that y'all do that. But I do want to take a pivot now and talk about this power panel that you were just on. So there was a local power panel that Justin Rogers actually through and you were on there. It was really talking with business owners through different things, and so I would love to hear kind of just a general overview like what it was about, and then we'll kind of dive in from there.

Altaf Kapasi: 13:38

Yeah, no, it was. It was actually. It was a great experience. I mean a fantastic thing. A lot of people got a lot of good information out of it. It was me and four of the local business entrepreneurs on that panel and we were just talking about what we did and our journey, right. And then we had an open discussion about where the audience would ask us questions and we would answer them Anything from leadership to personal life, to business life, how to manage things, how to navigate through a few different things, which I think it helped a lot of people that were on the edge about what to do next, right, whether it's personal or on the business side of it. So it was a fantastic event, nice.

Philip Sessions: 15:07

And so how did you feel about like before going into it? And then we'll talk about after, in a second.

Altaf Kapasi: 15:14

Yeah, I mean I was a little nervous. That was actually my first panel that I've spoken on to with a group like that, and then had people question me. You know, though, that many questions at us, which was a great experience, I think, on my side as well, so I'm just hoping that I get a lot out to other people, right? So, like one thing I wanted to do after the panel, just sort of better myself, I actually sent out an email or message to five random people that were there and asked them hey look, what did you learn from me? What did you learn from me? What could I have done better? Right, so it's all about growth, and that's one thing I love about being, you know, being an entrepreneur and, you know, having this opportunity. Right, I'm continuously able to grow, continuously able to learn. Right, I'm never going to get comfortable being anywhere or doing anything right, because my every day is different. That's something I really enjoy about being an entrepreneur.

Philip Sessions: 16:05

And so I'm curious because, yeah, I mean I get it the first time being on a panel like that, being nervous and everything. And that's a lot of us. We get nervous when we go and speak in front of a group of people. It's a little bit different when you're on a panel and you probably knew all or most of the people on the panel and you probably knew a good amount of people in the audience as well, even though you still had those nerves. So what did you do to help kind of get past those nerves, besides the fact that you're going to do it no matter what?

Altaf Kapasi: 16:34

Okay, definitely. So you know, I try to when I start looking around the room and I think a lot of people are like this, right, they just look around and they scan the entire room like quickly, and that's when they get nervous, right, so I try to obviously look at the entire crowd, but in that crowd I try to find the one or two people that I know and I make direct eye contact with them. So it's just I'm having a conversation with me and that one person right, then I'll slowly shift over to the next person. So the entire audience feels like they're getting my attention right, but it's with the people that I'm meeting.

Philip Sessions: 17:05

Yeah, yeah, there you go. I mean, that's a pretty smart way to do that, or find that if you don't have anybody, you know, in that audience there always seems to be at least one person that has a nice friendly looking face. So you can do that too look at that friendly look at face every time and then start looking around the room after that. I think that's a great tip right there. I never really thought about it from that perspective, but that would make a lot of sense. Like maybe let me look at a friend or a friendly face and then start looking around the room, so it's not like I'm literally just staring at the one person the whole time, especially if they're not your friend.

Philip Sessions: 17:37

If they're your friend, I think they'll understand. Like, oh man, they must be really nervous or they just want. They think I need to hear this lesson every time.

Altaf Kapasi: 17:47

What if they're not enjoying what you're saying? Right, they're probably making a face and they're just going to throw you out even more, make you even more nervous, right? So sort of like you know. And that's why I try to get to these kind of things a little bit early, right, so I could talk to people, meet people, and that's the whole point is to network a little bit too. So you know, I try to meet somebody every time I go to one of these things.

Philip Sessions: 18:07

That's a great tip right there as well. I think a lot of speakers don't think about that, or just people going to these networking events and our Q&A panel stuff like that. Get there early so you can network with people. But if you're on that panel, if you're going to be on that stage speaking to the audience ahead of time, you can start to get some feedback and understanding of the audience and you can actually use that as part of your answers or your speech is stuff that they actually want to know about because they're going to talk about that.

Philip Sessions: 18:37

Especially if they know that you're a speaker, that's going to make them even more excited because, like, wow, the speaker came and spoke to me beforehand, especially as you get to these larger and larger events. I mean, ours is local, but it's so cool Like hey, if I could talk to the panelist before he goes up there and speaks and everything. So I think it's a great tactic as well right there that you took. So you mentioned on the post side of it how you went and asked for some feedback. Before we get into that feedback portion, I want to know how did you feel after doing the panel?

Altaf Kapasi: 19:10

I felt good. You know, I try to analyze myself and everything that I do every day, every night, to see what I could have done better, how I could have improved. Obviously there's some things I could have said differently and worded differently, which, you know, wasn't that big of a deal at that time, or it still isn't. But you know, I tried to. You know, give myself better every day, right. So there's little things right. There is going to what's going to help me get where I want to be. So just self analyzing really is a huge part of what I do daily.

Philip Sessions: 19:37

Yeah, that's really good that you're doing that. I know there's a lot of speakers out there or a lot of people just in general as I start speaking, those, oh I'm just going to speak and never look at it again, or or I'll just do a job and then, yeah, never worry about it. If it's better, if I get better, they just keep doing the same thing. And then the hope that the business grows. It's kind of kind of strange how people do that and I mean, I get there's times where you are just so busy it's hard to go back and reflect. But if you never go back and reflect, it's kind of hard to grow and get better so that your business can continue to grow or you continue can continue to grow in any area. So that's really cool that you you do that. But what are some of those things that you do to reflect and then actually implement on the things that you need to improve on?

Altaf Kapasi: 20:22

Yeah. So like one thing I've realized, you know, by making you know commercials and stuff like that, you know I can go in a room full of people and be okay, right, once you put a camera in front of me, I get just nervous, right. So I've been putting myself in more and more situations like that to challenge and grow and it's crazy how far I've come just in a year by doing that Right. So it's just little steps that you can do, as you see, and you have to. You have to go back and see what you've done, analyze it. Right, because, like a lot of times when you're in the moment, like when I'm doing an install, I'm just thinking about the install, right, and you know my guys clean up and then we clean up and then leave.

Altaf Kapasi: 20:59

But like it's always good to go back and call that customer and follow up, because how are you going to know what you did wrong? Chances are I've realized quickly that a customer isn't going to tell you that you did something wrong there. Then at that moment, right. So if you get up on the phone later on to the handler because everything okay, house, everything right, they don't realize that a lot of people don't realize like doors glass doors are are it's hardware, right? Just like on a storefront door, it's going to need adjustment after time. There's no way around it, yeah, and people are scared to ask for you to come back and do that warranty stuff. So it's also good to get in front of your customer and let them know hey, look, he's here for me. You know you want to make sure everything's okay, but also put you back in front of their mind, right? Yeah, so talking to you about somebody else, it's a good way to send out referrals and stuff.

Philip Sessions: 21:50

Nice. So I know a lot of us deal with and this is kind of a little off topic, but I know a lot of us deal with service-based industry people. You know the trade stuff like that, where they come in and do jobs and maybe there's something that we expected or maybe something didn't, you know, isn't functioning right, kind of like how the glass it has kind of needs to be tightened up, if you will, something like that or readjusted. What are some ways that we as a customer can go back to the owner, without sounding like we're complaining or being a Karen or something like that, and ask for some assistance on that or just even just to give feedback?

Altaf Kapasi: 22:29

Yeah, just be open and honest. You know, like you've had, and I'm hoping people you know ask the right questions before hiring somebody, right? Ask your contractor some uncomfortable questions, see how they respond to it, if they get defensive, then you know they're probably not the right person for you, right?

Altaf Kapasi: 22:46

You need somebody who's going to be all ears, that's going to want to help you, right? And it just asks them hey look, what's my warranty, what does it cover? And you know, I have a one-year warranty on everything my workmanship and the hardware, right? So you know, I try to make a call two weeks after three and six months later, so that way they know, hey look, I'm still here, that the warranty is still effective, and just remind them, you know like, hey look, I'm human too, make mistakes. Just give us a call and talk to us.

Philip Sessions: 23:13

Yeah, that, yeah, I've seen a theme here in your life is upfront and honest about everything. Yeah, except for that name. Man, I was like coming the door, what no, but I do like the name change and everything. I think it's going to be great and us being a part of Liberty Networking and everything. That's obviously going to be a name that sticks out with Liberty and whatnot, and actually that makes me think about too and I'm kind of jumping subject to subject here but you started a Liberty Networking chapter. So you went from being a guy that was kind of just a solopreneur, kind of doing your own, like going to networking events, kind of doing all the stuff solo. Now you've got a team and everything. But then you have a chapter that you run and so you're leading this chapter and you all are what? About 20 to 30 people within the chapter? Now we have about 14, 15 people.

Philip Sessions: 24:05

Okay, okay, yeah, I thought it had grown up to 20. I know I know you have had at least 20 people in there, so I thought maybe it was all members, so, but anyway, it's like 14, 15, like that's still a good amount of people to be leading when everybody's just kind of there voluntarily, nobody's being forced to be at this event. Now, I know everybody kind of paid to be in the group, but how has that been with you leading this group of people that you know they could be there and not listen to you or whatever it looks like. How's that so?

Altaf Kapasi: 24:34

no, it's been great. Actually, I didn't start this chapter, I just took over a year after we started. The previous president and you know say he had too much up on his plate so I took over when they're. I think there were about six members total including me. So we've doubled and almost tripled and I enjoy it. I, you know it's a good way for me to be able to give back. There are a lot of young entrepreneurs in Liberty in my chapter. So I, you know, I told them the day I stopped bringing them value is the day I'm going to step back and step down. And they and they all, you know, hopefully they had a lot of me, but they all think I bring value to them and they, they come to meetings and, no, I asked them.

Altaf Kapasi: 25:12

I'm like what can I do better? What? How can I? What can it be worthwhile? Yeah, obviously you're paying right, but what I've told them is look, you know we're 14 of us, you know we're basically each other's that's 14 extra people you have on your sales team, right? So when you have your three minutes to speak, you know, bring some value. Let us teach us something that we didn't know before. So that way, you know, you remember us. Right.

Altaf Kapasi: 25:37

If somebody needs insurance, I know I, you know, go to Alex. If somebody needs life insurance, I know what to learn, you know. If somebody needs your artwork, I go to Caleb, right? So, like, it's these people not only that I've built this relationship with, but I've done business, you know business with them, to know what type of people they are, and these are the type of people that I want to do business with, right? So it's, it's this fantastic, like majority, like I've done business with probably 90% of the people in my chapter, which is even, you know, a better way of you know, when I go and recommend it or give them a referral, I know they're going to take care of my customer, right? Yeah, so it's been fantastic and I've learned. Hopefully, you know, hopefully they've learned stuff from me, but I've learned a ton of stuff from them, so I've enjoyed it.

Philip Sessions: 26:21

Yeah, man, it sounds like a servant's heart right there and and I like that you're also using their services. Not that it's obviously required to be in the group or anything, but I think it is a smart thing. But on the flip side to that, I know we see the all these Facebook pages, especially here locally, where people are recommending people that they've not necessarily worked with. And so if you're just you've just heard a name and you're like, oh, I'm just gonna throw them out there because I've heard that I wouldn't recommend that now, like, for instance, we'll go with swamp rabbit moving. I've never used swamp rabbit before, but I know Chris and I know and a lot of people that have used his services, so I'm comfortable with recommending him because of that. So that's kind of a little bit of caveat that I give, but it's because I've met with him.

Philip Sessions: 27:08

And so same thing within our groups. We may not actually work with them or have worked with them. Well, we've experienced other people that work with them. We've talked to it with them enough times and have built up this relationship that at least I feel comfortable recommending people like that. I know some people in these groups want to hate on people like that like, oh, you've never used them, you're just paying to be in a group and you just promote each other and all this stuff and it's just interesting to see people get mad about that. But it's like no, we've been investing time and building a relationship with each other In order to know and know, like and trust this person, which is a huge factor in if you work with somebody or not so, it's just funny how people treat that a little differently.

Altaf Kapasi: 27:50

It's like people understand building these relations if you actually know the person. But the person that I'm referring you to I know is gonna take care of you whether we make a mistake or not, right? Yeah, we're all, we're not robots running running these businesses. We we're allowed to make mistakes. We're allowed to, you know, make mistakes and you know, fix them when the time is right. And I've actually used Chris lately. You know, I know that you don't make me. I mean he's never I would never miss anything.

Altaf Kapasi: 28:15

I'm gonna send him, but you know, I know for a fact he's messed up. You know, we've had discussions before and it's about how you make things right. You own up to it. Take care of whatever mistake that you make, right, that's how you get that reputation. Yeah, and yeah, I see people all the time On social media said, oh, I've heard good things about someone, so but yeah, you've heard good things, but do you know the, the owner? Do you know his people? Do you know his service? Do you know what he can offer? Right, so I agree on that aspect of it. But no, I, anytime I post or recommend somebody, I know this person personally, right, and I've had the other, used them, or I've had several conversations to know that you will be taken care of if I recommend this person to you.

Philip Sessions: 28:56

Yeah, which I think is so important and so Well. Speaking of that, when you mess up, I'm curious to hear a story from you because I'm sure, like you said, we're all humans, so there's times where we mess up. And just to give you that credibility, especially being in that that trades industry, notorious for being late, notorious for not communicating it sounds like that's not you at all, sounds like you want to be against that stigma. But what do you do to communicate, especially in a matter of when things didn't go right? How, how are you going about proactively communicating on those kind of things and maybe give us a situation that happened that you can share?

Altaf Kapasi: 29:36

Yeah. So when I, when I first started doing installs, right, I realized that the 3-8 glassman they break easily. If it hits any type of metal, any type of tile, anything like that is gonna crack our chip, right. So when I, when I first probably use probably my 11th or 12th install, I was installing a door and I Nicked it on one of the tiles and it's at the bottom of it and I could have put a sweep on it and just kept going right.

Altaf Kapasi: 30:04

But Into the day, right, if they could take that sweep off and clean, they could cut themselves. They don't know it's there. It could really, you know, hurt them, right? So I just thought the customer hey look, you know, I've chipped this door glass. Do you want me to leave it in or do you want me to take it with me? There's gonna be a sweep at the bottom of it to protect it. So nothing, you know, it won't hurt you or anything. So I was like I'll get a new one of winter for you, so take me, so and so time I come back and replace it. Obviously no cost to you, right?

Altaf Kapasi: 30:30

So, and then, just and just being open and honest with them, right, and Even that you know one one like thing that people don't realize is after you silicone a shower, you've got to let it sit for 24 hours. Don't touch the silicone, don't try to fix something or, you know, move it right, which, surprising, a lot of people don't know. So just being open and honest with people, man, you know thing, things ain't gonna happen. Just don't you know like. I had a customer. My guy was there, she didn't say anything, but she went touch the silicone. She's like hey, it's messed up. Well, yes, need some time to dry.

Philip Sessions: 31:07

So Me and honest, yeah, yeah, I didn't realize this 24 hours minute, that that makes sense there. I obviously I know at least it was obvious to me that it doesn't just dry up right then and there. But yeah, I could see where a lot of people wouldn't know about the 24 hours, myself included there. So, really communicating that is so important and really, yeah, talking about that sweet. That was one thing that when you said that in my mind, automatically I was like, well, yeah, I probably would have said the same thing.

Philip Sessions: 31:36

And then you told the story about that, like hey, I can install it, I'm about to come back later, or I just take it and you don't have a shower door, and you could have been like, hey, you could have been responsible and be like, hey, I nicked it, I'm just not gonna install it, and say, hey, we got to come back later and now they're probably gonna be upset. But you gave them the option now like, hey, do you want this? There is an issue, we're gonna fix it, or do you want us just like not put it in at all? So I think it's cool that you give them that option to communicate it with them about those options based on the situation that happened, which is so important that a lot of us don't do enough and we can.

Philip Sessions: 32:14

I really feel like there's very seldom times that you Over communicate, so we can always work on over communicating in order to communicate pretty much Effectively at the end of the day. But I didn't forget I know I said I was gonna talk about this, but you mentioned the feedback from the power panel, where you text five people. I'm curious to hear about some of that feedback and what you've done to put some of that into practice. You know, I know you haven't had another panel since then, so technically I haven't put it back into Practice yet. But what was some of that feedback and how are you going about implementing it?

Altaf Kapasi: 32:50

So you know one thing people really love about me that was a family oriented. You know, I think highly of family. Your family is, for me at least, is what keeps me together. Right, and all families family, right. I think they keep you there together and they're there for you when no one else is there. So I talk about a lot about that, because I don't want people in the day to forget about who they are or where they came from or the people that love them the most.

Altaf Kapasi: 33:14

Right, we business owners, we get so sucked in this entrepreneurship, in this business world, we think about our customers more than we think about the people that have been with us today. One right, one little thing mistake that you make that customer's gone probably will never come back, right, but you still have to remember your family. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing and that's probably why you're doing what you're doing. Right, that's that's something that everybody said. That I did well on is talking about family, reminding us that we do need our family not to forget, no neglect them.

Altaf Kapasi: 33:43

Yeah, also, like for some of the, some of the stuff I need to prove on, right is Getting straight to the point I think I was talking about something and that would go on a tangent right and that's probably a little bit of my nervousness of just games being short and sweet and then letting them ask deeper questions. So that's definitely something I one of my biggest things I'm going to be improving on. There's about two or three other points, but I like to take one or two things from each thing to improve on that and then go from there. But yeah, I think, just being sure of sweet being done.

Philip Sessions: 34:16

Yeah, I think, especially with those panels, that's probably a good thing. And I would say to what you just said you were nervous, so that tends to give you some. You're going to ramble or you're just going to not talk at all. So you went to the rambling side, if you will. Obviously I wasn't there, so I can't say for certain on that and then just getting that experience you know, just doing it more and more, you're just going to get better at it. So I think just, yeah, focusing on trying to be more straight to the point, more direct, will be good, but just getting that experience overall is really going to help you out more with that. So it's really, really cool that you're taking that feedback and I like that.

Philip Sessions: 34:49

You you also mentioned that, which is an important thing for a lot of people to remember, that yeah, take one or two things and work on that. Don't sit there and try and work on every single thing people told you to work on, because sometimes people are just saying something and it's really not even that important to work on anyways. But secondly, which probably made it a more important thing, is that, yeah, you just can't work on everything at once. You can't expect to improve in 500 different areas really well. So focus on one or two and continue to improve there. So yeah, but I'll talk. Man, this has been awesome.

Philip Sessions: 35:23

I know we kind of went in different areas and everything, but it's been really cool Like kind of see how you navigate conversations and really taking feedback and being a direct approach, being upfront and honest. If I had to summarize what your communication style would be upfront and honest on every single thing, which we all can do so much more on and be so much better at and it is an uncomfortable thing. So before I get into our last question, actually I want to ask that question that's in my mind right now is how did you get to this point? Because being upfront and honest about everything in every situation with different people can be challenging because it's uncomfortable. Let's face it. When you have to be upfront and honest about every single thing, sometimes they can get uncomfortable. So what did you do to get yourself comfortable with doing that at all times?

Altaf Kapasi: 36:16

So, honestly, I used to put myself I still do, I put myself in a lot of uncomfortable positions. If you would have asked me to be on a panel a year ago, I probably would have told you now. But, as I've been growing as a business owner, I've been putting myself in front of a lot of people, so I'm constantly being comfortable and I'm constantly growing. So I think that's what's helping me get there, right.

Philip Sessions: 36:36

So what have you done to help you be just like upfront and honest about everything? What did you overcome to get there? What made you decide to just be upfront and honest?

Altaf Kapasi: 36:48

Yeah. So I've realized when you make a mistake and if you don't talk to them about your customer, your customer loses that trust in you and it will affect your long term. Especially when you go into a subdivision, you make a mistake and you don't own up to it or fix it, they're going to tell their neighbor. Their neighbor is going to tell us their neighbor. They're going to be like how do you use them? They're not honest with their work and they don't support their warranties or whatever it may be that they did wrong, Right. So the long-term effect of making a mistake and not saying anything about it is a lot more harmful than short term is.

Philip Sessions: 37:26

Yeah, yeah, it makes a lot of sense. So I appreciate you sharing that and everything that you shared. But let's get into our last question, which is if you could only share one message for the rest of your life, what would that message be?

Altaf Kapasi: 37:39

That's a good one, man. That's a real good one. There's a few things but I think I spoke on it earlier about family. Don't forget about your family, don't forget about your loved ones and people that have always been there for you, because, at the end of the day, if the business goes away, I promise you they're still going to be there. So, whatever you do in life, however you take it wherever it takes you, just make sure you don't forget about the people who raised you, been there for you and taken care of you when you need it the most.

Philip Sessions: 38:07

I feel like every business owner needs to hear that, because I've been guilty of that, where I get consumed with the business or consumed with my own personal goals. That hey, but it's for the family, it's for the family. Oh, I forget about the family in the moment because I'm focused on the family. 10 years from now Well, we're not promised tomorrow. So you got to find that harmony. Sam Kaufman's, who I think of when I think of that, said the balance, the thing of the harmony, do you got to find the harmony within family and business and everything. But, yeah, put in that family first, because that's typically our why as business owners. So make sure we put family first. I like that a lot.

Altaf Kapasi: 38:45

Yeah, I was same way two years ago, man. I would just work 16, 18 hours a day and me being away from my wife for a year and a half and then, finally, when she was here, it made me appreciate that time that we do have. So it was a huge lesson learned and just got to be there Right, Because they, much as you may not believe it, but they need you, they need your time as well, yeah.

Philip Sessions: 39:08

You're exactly right. So, altoff, if people want to reach out to you, follow you the amazing message that you have, the great business that you're building and everything. Where's the best place for them to reach out?

Altaf Kapasi: 39:19

Yes, they could reach out to me on Facebook, Altoff Capasi, or they could reach out to my Instagram, Upstate Glass, or even my Facebook at Upstate Glass. Both the names are the American Glass Company. You can also give me a call at 864-721-3082 or even shoot me an em ail at info at AmericanGlassCocom.

Philip Sessions: 39:42

Awesome. Well, Altoff, once again, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

Altaf Kapasi: 39:47

I appreciate you having me man. It was a good one.