186. Guest: John Hewitt - Founder of Liberty Tax & Jackson Hewitt

Legendary entrepreneur John Hewitt joins us to share his incredible journey in revolutionizing the tax preparation industry. From managing H&R Block locations to founding Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax Service, John's story is a testament to the power of innovation and perseverance. Discover how he embraced technology early on, using Apple computers to change the tax landscape in the 1980s, and how his strategic decisions helped him navigate industry challenges, like launching Liberty Tax Service in Canada due to a non-compete clause.

Unlock the secrets of exponential business growth as John reveals his strategies for creating two top 100 retail franchise chains. He emphasizes the importance of resilience and setting audacious goals, even in the face of competition. Dive into his unique marketing approaches, such as guerrilla marketing, and learn how he transformed customer service through personal engagement. John’s insights into leadership and mindset shifts offer valuable lessons on transitioning from an entrepreneur to a CEO and creating leaders from followers.

Finally, explore John's latest venture, Loyalty Brands, and his focus on mentorship and delegation. With a diverse portfolio spanning tax, accounting, construction, and the pet industry, John shares how attitude and effective time management are crucial to entrepreneurial success. His reflections on maintaining a positive mindset and prioritizing personal goals are enlightening for anyone aiming to stay focused amidst challenges. Get inspired by John’s wisdom, and don’t miss out on a free copy of his autobiography, "I Compete," for more fascinating stories from his entrepreneurial journey.

https://www.loyaltybrands.com/

Chapters

• 0:00 Entrepreneur John Hewitt on Business Growth
• 12:12 Strategies for Exponential Business Growth
• 18:41 Growth Through Guerrilla Marketing and Leadership
• 26:53 Leadership, Humility, and Growth in Business
• 35:42 Lessons in Leadership and Delegation
• 42:07 Mindset and Hustle for Success

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Yeah, it's Mindset Cafe. We all about that mindset. Gotta stay focused, never settle for less. It's all in your head how you think you manifest. So get ready to rise, cause we about to be the best. Gotta switch it up. Gotta break the old habits. Get your mind right, turn your dreams into habits. Of the Mindset Cafe podcast. It's your boy, devin, and I am thrilled to welcome our guest today. It is John Hewitt. He is the legendary entrepreneur, he is a bestselling author and he is one of the most influential figures in the tax preparation industry, as well as the franchise industry. John is the visionary behind two of the largest retail chains, both Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax Service. He's grew his businesses to over 6,000 offices combined, which is an extraordinary accomplishment. So it is my honor to welcome you onto the show today, john. Thank you so much for taking the time.

Speaker 2: 0:58

It's my pleasure, and actually it's 10,000 offices now.

Speaker 1: 1:03

Oh, that is my mistake. 10,000 offices that is not a small gap, that is huge. That is so amazing. I just have to start off by saying congratulations on that huge accomplishment.

Speaker 2: 1:14

Thank you, I'm very, very blessed.

Speaker 1: 1:17

So let's dive into that a little bit. Right, let's start there. When did you know that you wanted to become an entrepreneur and where did you see that vision kind of forming for you?

Speaker 2: 1:32

You know I give all that credit to my dad. When I was working for H&R Block, I was 11 years old, managing 250 locations, and my dad was a CFO of a public company and he liked the Apple that he bought by mail back in the 70s when there weren't even weren't even 500 000 apples in the country, and he liked it better than the mainframe that was running his public company. And he decided that we should computerize taxes, and so it took him about a year to convince me, but eventually I left H&R Block and we built the first tax software for an Apple computer and that was my. I started being an entrepreneur in 1981.

Speaker 1: 2:18

That is that's awesome. So you're working for H&R Block and you're managing 250 locations. Were you in the tax services yourself or were you just from the managerial standpoint?

Speaker 2: 2:34

When I was in college I started at H&R Block. I took a course. I loved it. It was the most interesting course I'd ever taken. So I started working part-time as a tax preparer and I worked my way up into the management. In my second year my manager went into the hospital. They thought he had a heart attack. He only had anxiety attacks, but they hadn't back in 1980 or 70, rather, they hadn't embedded anxiety attacks yet.

Speaker 2: 3:05

So they put them in the hospital and asked me to leave college and run and become a block manager.

Speaker 1: 3:12

And so I did so I do want to. I want to dive. I want to take a little tangent real quick, because I'm I'm very keen on words and you know how people use words right, and so you, you mentioned they haven. And you know how people use words Right, and so you, you mentioned they haven't invented. You know anxiety attacks. Can you elaborate why you chose to use the word invented?

Speaker 2: 3:34

Because, um, they, they, as, as I've aged, they've they've embedded new names for things. So now, when I was a child in school, they didn't have ADHD or ADD, and so they've added diagnoses, and so they've invented new diagnoses over the years, over the decades. Every year there's new and new terminology that comes up.

Speaker 1: 4:03

So mostly it's.

Speaker 2: 4:06

They didn't have a name for that condition.

Speaker 1: 4:13

Got you. That makes, I mean, it makes a lot of sense. I just thought it was an interesting, you know, word to use. And it does make a lot of sense, though, I feel like, especially now, each year there's, there's, you know, a new strain of something, a new disease for something, a new, you know reason why someone is the way they are, and it's like, you know it, it kind of gets a little bit funny or, you know, laughable to a degree, you know latest is like dei and hb, whatever those letters are, hbq, whatever, I mean.

Speaker 2: 4:47

they're inventing more and more terminology for more and more small things.

Speaker 1: 4:53

You're right. So let's go back to your managing 250 locations. When did you start to create your own company in terms of, you know, Liberty Tax and Jackson Hewitt?

Speaker 2: 5:08

After we developed this tax software. You're not old enough to remember a world without computers. But people didn't understand computers. No one had ever touched one. No one had ever. You never didn't have any company. You couldn't type into a computer back in 19, before there was the desktops back in the late 70s. So no one wanted it. And I got lucky and I found a company in Virginia Beach called Mel Jackson Tax Service. Mel had died. We bought six offices from his widow. We changed the name to Jackson Hewitt and so I started my journey at Jackson Hewitt with six offices in August of 1982. And my goal was to have each in our block had 9,000. Our goal from day one was to have 9,001 and to grow by 8,995 offices. But we didn't make it to 9,001. We did make it to 6,000. And Jackson Hewitt became a billion-dollar company.

Speaker 1: 6:12

That is crazy. So then, where did Liberty Tax Service come into the mix If you were already scaling Jackson Hewitt? What was the reason behind creating an additional company and franchise system.

Speaker 2: 6:25

Along the way. 15 years later I sold. Jackson Hill was a public company and we sold the company and I had a three-year non-compete that covered virtually the entire United States. But having grown up in Buffalo, I knew the Canadian tax system. I had done Canadian returns, so we opened Liberty Tax in Canada while I was waiting for my non-compete to expire in the United States. And then in 2000, we came back to the United States. Now I had to compete against my own name, my own software, my own people. And yet not only did we grow faster than Jackson Hewitt, we grew faster than did we grow faster than Jackson Hewitt? We grew faster than Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block combined.

Speaker 1: 7:14

We opened 4,000 offices in 12 years, my second public company, and this one was worth $500 million. Wow. So I mean that's so awesome. I mean, not only did you have the visionary mindset, but you also were able to think outside the box and realize that you know, well, my non-compete is only for the US. You know I could still go into Canada and you know I knew the Canada Canadian, you know tax system. So I think that's so awesome, because you were getting those initial hurdles overcame, that when your non-complete, you know, ended that, you were basically ready to hit the ground running. Now I do. I am curious, though, you know why did you want to? After selling a company right, and I do want to dive a little bit more into, you know, taking it public and stuff like that but after selling a company in a certain industry, why did you decide to go back into that same industry with an additional company?

Speaker 2: 8:02

Well, actually we looked at. I took my team, I took four of my top people and we looked for other opportunities in other industries. However, we found a we at the same time we decided to open in Canada, so we were still in the tax business and the people that were running Jackson Hewitt were doing a poor job of running Jackson Hewitt. I knew there was an opportunity for a third player. There's always an opportunity for at least two, if not three or four, players in every industry, and there was just the top two. So I saw the opportunity with both of the top companies struggling. After all, I was the most with no block family in the business. I was the most accomplished in the entire industry, and so it seemed almost automatic that we just started competing in the US.

Speaker 1: 9:20

No, I mean that is very interesting. I mean, in a lot of these questions too, is really is really my interest. I actually am running a fitness franchise, you know, and we just launched our franchise, you know that the beginning of last year. So it's really interesting your journey and your growth, you know. And so one of the other questions I do want to ask as well, and your mindset behind it is you're running a company, you're growing a company. Why take it public? Because I've heard good, I've heard bad things about taking it public. I've seen it in my industry with fitness. Someone took a company public and it was pretty much it led to a huge downfall in the company.

Speaker 2: 9:59

So what was the reason for taking it public? You're right, there's a lot of negatives against going public, and especially starting in the 21st century when they they have the Sarbanes Oxley rules. It got very expensive and onerous to to be a public company. Today, the only reason I were the major reason I went public was each time I had stockholders and the stockholders had made a lot of money. If you invested $5,000 with me in 1982 when I started, it was worth $2 million 15 years later. So there was no way to monetize that. They couldn't get their cash. They had a piece of paper worth $2 million and so I was my stockholders kind of demanded that I give them a method for monetizing their investment. So I went public to satisfy my shareholders.

Speaker 1: 11:02

Oh, got you. So it was more of like a way to kind of create a dividend system to a degree, instead of having to kind of pay out, you know outright, you know those dividends.

Speaker 2: 11:14

It was, exactly it was. I mean, we could pay dividends each year and they could get their money over a long time or allow them to have be able to buy and sell the stock at will, and so that that's the most common way to to monetize an investment in our, in our country.

Speaker 1: 11:36

No, I think that's that is. That is smart, but I do see the how you're saying it. You know it can be expensive and there are so many different. You know restrictions and and you know fees and stuff that are coming out I feel like each year. So I can't even imagine taking a company public and what that would lead to. But I do want to ask you know, moving this forward, what are some of the key factors that really allowed you to grow the first company and outdo the first company with the second company in the US? What do you think some of those key factors for you as an individual allowed you to scale those companies?

Speaker 2: 12:12

You know, I did a management series of webinars and in one of the webinars and in one of the webinars the title of it is the top 10 ways to grow exponentially. So that's an hour presentation, so it's actually when I sat down. I love top 10 because of the Bible and the Ten Commandments. So in each of my companies today I have top 10 most important things you need to do to succeed. I have top 10 principles. I publish my top 10 franchisees each week. So I love top 10 lists, but actually I came up with 13. And I still call it the top 10. And I think I'm allowed because in the big 10 football conference in in college, there's 19 teams. They still call the big 10. So there's actually 13 re 13 important things about growing exponentially and and remember, it's very rarefied air I've built two of the top 100 retail franchise chains in this country. No one else has ever done that. No one else has built more than one, and now with my new Zoom and Grooming franchise my mobile dog grooming I'm going to have three of the largest or top 100 retail franchise chains in the country. So no one's else built more than one.

Speaker 2: 13:51

So it's a it's a long, long answer to that question. It's. It's takes me an hour to go through just the basics of what you need to do to grow exponentially, but essentially it comes down to the most important thing, devin, is that perseverance. God doesn't put anyone here to skate. We all face adversity. We all have our, our barriers and our, our anchors, uh, that drag us back and and it's winners just always get up and keep going. So the most important thing in growing and being successful in anything, whether it's business or a relationship, anything is perseverance. But and it's important to have the drive and the and to set big, hairy, audacious goals, the.

Speaker 2: 14:45

You know, when I started, I already said that each of our block had 9000. And I had six, and I said we're going to have 9001. That's a that's. That's ridiculous, that's not logical in any sense, that's totally illogical and it borders on the edge of being crazy. And then, devin, I came back in the United States in 2000, when I not competed. Now I had to compete against 9,000 HR block offices and 6,000 Jackson unit offices. I had to compete against my own name, my own software, my own people, my own system. It's totally illogical that I could do that. And so you have to set big, hairy, audacious goals. You have to have huge drive and huge commitment to and never give up, always persevere, always overcome adversity. You're going to get knocked down. Always get up and keep going.

Speaker 1: 15:49

Well, I love that because I mean that never give up phrase is actually our gym motto and our gym slogan, so I think that's so awesome. You know, it is true, though, and I mean again on plenty of podcasts and interviewed a handful of people I've never met or heard of. Yeah, there you go, um. So I mean, I've been on a handful of podcasts and everything, and I've never met someone that has done something that is that almost not irrational, but like almost unbelievable. You know, we're not once, twice and the second time competing against the first thing you created. Again, that is, my hats off to you.

Speaker 1: 16:38

I've been looking forward to this call for a month. You could ask my business partner, so it is so cool that you've done that. What were some of the biggest challenges when you were scaling your business? The second one, because you mentioned you were facing your first company, not an H&R Block that we already know that they're in the top tier, but your people, your software, your team, you know your systems and all that kind of stuff. What were some of the strategies and mindset you know that you evolved that allowed you to transition and really put everything into full gear?

Speaker 2: 17:14

Well, you mentioned, you're in personal fitness, and in every industry that you're in you have to have your differentiator, right. Why are you? Why should people go to you versus one of your competitors? Right? Why shouldn't they go to kickboxing or Pilates or hot yoga, or I mean there's always competition and you have to differentiate yourself from your competition. And so it was easy the first time because, first of all, there was just one, there was H&R Block. Secondly, we were computerized and they weren't. So our differentiator at Jackson Hewitt versus H&R Block a big, huge differentiator is we were computerized and they were doing things by hand, so it gave us a huge strategic advantage. Well, now we came in 15 years later, came in 15 years later. The whole world is computerized, so the computer is no longer a weapon that can differentiate you from your competitor. So we had to devise a strategy to do things different, and so one of the things we did well, it mostly came down to two things. One is we have the best system in the industry, and that's because of my experience.

Speaker 2: 18:41

I'm the great granddaddy of taxes. I've been this is my 56th tax season. There's never anyone that's ever done close to what I've done. I founded the number two tax service with 6,000 locations. Number three tax service with 4,000 locations. I worked 12 years at H&R Block and they grew from 3,000 to 9,000. But another thing is guerrilla marketing.

Speaker 2: 19:09

We're experts at guerrilla marketing and just to name Liberty Tax lends itself to guerrilla marketing. So we have a costume character dancing on the street. Now there are in this country there are 35 million businesses and they're all trying to gain your attention. Now they're all. All of them are doing the same thing. They're on facebook and digital marketing or tv or radio, newspaper direct mail, signs, billboards they're all doing the same things.

Speaker 2: 19:43

But devon, on the way to work each day in january, how many, how many costume characters do you see out in the street waving at you? And it was just liberty tax at a Liberty tax costume. And so it set us apart and we went into a business to business in Liberty costumes. We had roadside parties out on the street with Liberty costume and we it set us apart and got us much quicker brand name than anyone. So within three to four years our name gets as big as H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt because of the neighborhood Lady Liberty out in the street that's dancing.

Speaker 2: 20:33

So it was guerrilla marketing and part of that is even things like we do something that no one does in any, also something no one does in every industry. We call our customers and ask them how we did for them. No one calls their customers. They send them an email, or they you hand them a card or send them an email or send them a text. How do we do right, all companies do that no one calls them.

Speaker 2: 21:01

So that we learn that our customers love to be asked and we also learn that and I would guess it's true in fitness too, that in tax preparation or dog grooming, for example, fitness too, that in tax preparation or dog grooming, for example, my groomers and my taxpayers aren't good at asking for referrals and possibly your fitness people aren't good at asking for referrals. So we have this very personable person call up, ask how we did, and 95% of people are happy. They asked for a referral and our referrals go up 50%. So, and we do things like that to differentiate ourselves, the objectively differentiate ourselves from our competition- that is so awesome.

Speaker 1: 21:46

And yeah, I mean we have a referral system here, but I mean that that that calling and really connecting with them is it's unbeatable. You know, sending them a letter in the mail, sending them an email Most of the people give you their junk email anyways you know that they're not reading, you know, and so it's like that call and connecting with them. You know, person to person, it is undeniable and it is unbeatable. So I think that is so cool that you do separate yourself and all your. You know guerrilla marketing and stuff that is actually I can picture the, the Liberty tax. You know suit and everything. I've seen it before, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Um, what are some of the, the mindset shifts that you had to have that allowed you to transition from just an entrepreneur to the ceo of such a huge company? And you know someone that's leading thousands of locations?

Speaker 2: 22:38

you. Um, the most important thing is that to win, you have to have the number one system. To have the number one system, it has to be improving number one system. It has to be improving. If you're not improving, your competitors gaining on you. So you have to have a lifetime commitment to improve and and in and to be great. Um, you have to understand you can't be incredibly successful without being uncomfortable. You have to experience discomfort if you want to accomplish anything extraordinary. I mean, if you just think about the discomfort Donald Trump has experienced right.

Speaker 2: 23:26

I mean felonies and being shot, and I mean I haven't experienced quite that level of opposition, but certainly you're going to have to face adversity, extreme adversity, and your biggest enemy is yourself. You know, the most important 10 two-letter words are if it is to be, it is up to me. And so you know. People ask me, devin, what's the biggest thing you worry about? And I say I don't worry about our competition, our industry, our society, our country. I worry about ourselves. We are our own worst possible, worst enemy. So it's not, it's not from the outside that's going to we're going to destroy us, it's from the inside, and so we have to. What I had to learn is a lifetime of improvement.

Speaker 1: 24:27

I think that that is so awesome, that is so true. And you mentioning that you have to experience discomfort in some form or fashion and to some degree, I think it's so true because something's only valuable because of that discomfort. In the business sense, if it was easy to do what you've done, then everyone would do it and there wouldn't. That wouldn't be such a high accomplishment, right? Let's say, in the fitness industry, getting a six pack is hard. So people that see other people with six packs, they know like, oh my goodness, look at them right. And it's because they know they put the work in and they had to go through those uncomfortable moments of missing, you know, basically holiday meals and all those kinds of things. So there is a level of discomfort you have to face, or adversity you have to face to essentially reap the benefit of the rewards of delayed gratification. So I think that is so true.

Speaker 1: 25:21

Now you've been named in the accounting world as one of the top 100 most influential people in the industry for over a decade. One of the top 100 most influential people in the industry for over a decade. What are some of the?

Speaker 2: 25:38

leadership traits that do you think that has led you to contribute to this recognition? I've changed so many lives that I've created over a thousand millionaires and out of my I brought in over 5,400 franchisees and they had hundreds of thousands of employees. So it's, I've made the world a better place by changing tens of thousands of people's lives. So now and we've done, my businesses have done 100 million tax returns. So Jackson, hewitt and Liberty and A-Tax now my latest tax business we've done over 100 million tax returns. So think of we're changing customers' lives by doing great tax work and occasionally we can save people a lot of money. We virtually always save them aggravation. People think of going to the taxpayer like going to a dentist. They're not fond of it, so we can make it easier for them. So I've changed millions of customers, hundreds of thousands of employees and thousands of franchisees. And you know that's what I want to be. People ask me what I want to be remembered for.

Speaker 1: 26:55

That's the number one thing is how many lives I've improved and actually, what was one of the coolest things before we hopped on today, one of my first episodes I actually did with um. Someone in one of the networking groups I'm a part of he's actually one of your franchisees. He has three locations and so when we linked up I was like, oh my goodness, I'd met a franchisee and now I'm getting to meet the franchisor. That's so cool and it was like this whole circle thing that in my head had played out. So I think that is so awesome and from firsthand experience, I can't say you are changing people's lives. I can.

Speaker 2: 27:30

From firsthand experience, I can say you are changing people's lives, you know how do you think that ambition and humility and the balance between the two play a role in leadership? I think that leadership, you know, it's easy to go out in front and lead. Easy to go out in front and lead, but if you're going to be followed, leaders create followers, or the greatest leaders create followers who are leaders. You know the way I think of.

Speaker 2: 28:01

it is think of back in the 1700s, 1800s. There were the Cherokee Indians right and there was a whole bunch of little tribes where there was hundreds of people that lived in one area and they were chief of that, but then there was chief of chiefs. The greatest leaders get to be chief of chiefs.

Speaker 1: 28:24

I mean, that's so true. So how do you think that humility plays a role in that or in being a leader?

Speaker 2: 28:29

that humility plays a role in that, or like in being a leader, it's, it's. You have to understand that you're a servant and I do it through servant leadership. So the people that report to me we sit down every year and we create a budget. I mean, we have our principles and we have to follow our principles, but then we create a budget and we agree on, they submit a budget and I edit it, we discuss it and we come up okay, this is how much you're going to spend and this is what you're going to achieve, the results you're going to achieve Once we set that goal with that budget. From then on, that goal with that budget, from then on, I work for them. I'm here to help you. Right, your job is to accomplish what you told me you're going to accomplish. I'm here to help you in every way to accomplish that. But it's your goal and you have to give them freedom. Let them make mistakes, let them learn, because it's not just one guy got to be committed to improve.

Speaker 2: 29:33

If we're going to improve the organization, everyone has to be committed to improve, and that means change. And so every year, one of the things we do in our franchise system is we go to our franchisees every year and say how can we improve? And at our convention and we, we write down every idea, I mean even if it sounds stupid. And then we get the officers of our corporation and the franchisor and a group of franchisees and we decide which things are we going to change this year, which things are we going to change sometime in the future and what are we never going to change this year, which things are we going to change sometime in the future and what are we never going to change? And I'm happy to say I've been doing that for 30 years and every year we are able to implement more than 50 of the changes that very year. So it's listening. Listening is the most listening and acting on the advice is the most important thing in being a leader Greatly.

Speaker 1: 30:37

No, I think that is so true. So what would you, what would your advice be to entrepreneurs who are just starting their journey? Because I know a lot of entrepreneurs especially when they're new in business, they feel like they have to have all the answers. Especially when they're new in business, they feel like they have to have all the answers. So what would you tell them? To kind of take, as you know, a key takeaway from what you were just saying. I mean, I think that was so huge in that.

Speaker 2: 31:04

I say, anyone that thinks they're a perfectionist or has to have all the answers is an idiot. And you know, I've been doing this for 56 years, long before you were thought of. And um, I find it just hysterically funny if anyone thinks that they, they've reached their, their, uh, pinnacle and they're all knowing there's the. The journey is the joy, the journey, and you have to have a. The journey is the joy, the journey, and you have to have a constant commitment to improvement.

Speaker 1: 31:37

I've never met anyone that was close to knowing it all. I mean that is so true. I mean you don't have to be the smartest one in the group. I mean you have a team and hopefully the people that you're bringing on on your team are smarter than you in certain roles and collectively, you know more brains. You know work better than just one right. Believe me, I mean, I was guilty of it in the beginning too, thinking I had to be the one with all the answers and not using network groups or not reaching out and doing podcasts like this, and thinking that to be an entrepreneur, you had to solve every problem or know all the answers, and sometimes you just got to ask. You know, sometimes you just got to ask the team what do they think Right? So I think that's so cool, that what you're saying and how you guys do that each year.

Speaker 2: 32:17

It's not even sometimes it's. You always need to ask.

Speaker 1: 32:21

Yes, yes, yes, you always do need to ask, and that's something that you know we do need to get better at as well, because I mean, obviously, obviously, you're, you're the proof behind behind it, right there. How do you teach trans, uh entrepreneurs, especially like newer entrepreneurs, right? How do you teach them to stop working in their business and start working on their business?

Speaker 2: 32:44

um, do you know who invented that phrase? By the way, I do not. Yeah, it's. Uh, it's one of my favorite books. It's called the e-myth e-myth by michael gerber. I did read that book, e-myth, and, unfortunately, and I liked the book so much that as soon as I read it about 35 years ago, 30 years ago, in in the early 90s, I bought one for every one of my franchisees and I gave every one a book. Well, a couple years later he wrote a second and he updated it to the E-Myth Revisited.

Speaker 2: 33:25

And he left out some good parts and so E-Myth was better than E-Myth Revisited. And so I've been trying, even recently, a year ago, as recently he's dead now His estate won't let me reprint E-Myth, so all you can get, unless you can find an isolated copy here and there, probably on amazon. But if you go and look, it's called the e-myth revisited, still good, still talks about working on your business versus in your business. But it's, it's a, it is a, a challenge.

Speaker 2: 34:02

You're exactly right that that most, most, most managers or many, if not most, aren't good at delegation and they can't get outside of facing and solving problem solving. They spend their day solving problems instead of looking ahead. It's a real talent to to change, to to looking ahead and foreseeing problems and building systems, to not get caught up in your problems. And so and as you said, michael Gerber, great phrase work on your business and not in your business. But it all comes down to, simplistically, delegation. And if you don't delegate then you can't be extraordinary. I mean, or you can't get to 10,000 offices, you might get to 100 offices or 50 offices, but you can never get to be extraordinary accomplishment without utilizing other people, and to do that you have to let go and trust other people and train them and monitor them and support them and trust them.

Speaker 1: 35:21

No, that is so true. So what role has mentorship played in your success, and are you mentoring others? Now I know you mentioned a dog grooming brand and stuff like that. And are you mentoring others? Now? I know you mentioned a dog grooming brand and stuff like that.

Speaker 2: 35:36

I'm assuming that's, you know, a mentorship, or is that, you know, you, something you created from from the ground? Yeah, the the reason we call my company Loyalty Brands is not all is. I have so many people that have been with me. I have 20 people that have been with me over 20 years, and so we're available to mentor every new franchise that comes on board, every new employee that comes on board. It's not just john hewitt, it's it's all my team I have. You know, my chief marketing officer has been with me since 1988. And I have one guy was with me at H&R Block starting in 1970. So been with me 54 years. This is the 55th year. So I have a lot of great experience to help mentor individuals and Devin.

Speaker 2: 36:27

There is no school in this country on how to be a CEO. You know there's MBA programs, but MBA is totally different than being a CEO right, it's a totally different skill set and knowledge base. So there's no school and I've been a CEO since 1982. So this is my 43rd year and I call it the school of hard knocks. And again, you have to be committed to learn from every experience, from your people, from your competitors, from your customers. You just have to have a constant. You're a constant student.

Speaker 1: 37:13

No, I think that is so true and I mean that is that is awesome. So loyalty brands is the? Is your current venture, you know? Can you dive in the? Can you tell us a little bit more about what that is? I know you said you have, you know, a whole team with you, but is that a mentorship, is it? You know you're helping franchisors, you know grow.

Speaker 2: 37:34

Like what is, what is Loyalty Brands? We have eight different franchise systems, so, and they are in three different industries. One one industry is tax and accounting. Secondly is construction, led by our roofing and siding. And then the fastest growing is pets. I mean pets is just exploding. The humanization of pets is incredible and Entrepreneur Magazine came out today, the January issue, and it said that we're ranked, that we're the top 1% fastest growing in any industry in our franchise areas, and we are number one in pet grooming already and we're just four years old in mobile pet growing. So it's exciting times, but it's growing by leaps and bounds. So we have eight different franchisors under our leadership.

Speaker 1: 38:31

Okay, I mean that's awesome, I mean that is so cool and I mean, like you said, there is no schooling, there's no degree you can get as a CEO, let alone, you know, a franchisor. So I think that mentorship is is really huge in that aspect. And you know, getting to learn from someone like yourself and a team that has been with you for you know, decades. It's, you know it's invaluable, like there's. You can't put a price tag on that. That is so awesome that you're you're choosing to go that route because you've already hit so many accomplishments that you could just keep doing what you're doing and not give back to a degree Right. So I think that's so awesome that you've elaborated and extended your, you know, giving back and making the world a better place by lifting up others and making you know other people Kings or, you know, rulers in their own right. So again, I commend you for that.

Speaker 1: 39:21

Before we wrap up, I do want to you one question, and I didn't want to give you this question ahead of time so that you couldn't think of a cool answer. Ask me the first thing that comes to mind. But on the John Hewitt legacy wall, it's not a tombstone, it's a legacy wall, you get to leave one message, one wisdom that you've gotten to collect over your years as a CEO, your years in entrepreneurship. What would be that one lasting message for the up and coming generations?

Speaker 2: 39:50

He improves tens of thousands of lives.

Speaker 1: 39:54

Okay, and so, with that message you know being, if someone wanted to essentially, let's say like the whole, you know, not work in your business, work on your business, what would be one lesson that you would add to your message?

Speaker 2: 40:12

Learn to delegate. You know there are several things that I've not been able to teach people. I could never change someone's attitude, and attitude is everything. So you, tom Watson, senior founder of IBM, said give me 100 great engineers or 100 great people with great attitudes. I'll take great attitude because you can teach engineering, but I've been able to teach delegation. So there are, and there are, several good books on delegation. But learn to delegate.

Speaker 2: 40:44

Don't do it all yourself. And even if you're a successful entrepreneur like yourself, you're a CEO of your own company. I mean, hire a maid to clean your house and someone to mow your lawn unless you love those activities. Don't do things you don't like. If you can, I mean if you're a great CEO. I built my companies are worth $2 billion of companies. My time's worth thousands of dollars an hour. If I can pay someone 30, 40, $50 an hour to do something, I need to do that and then use my time wisely. And I need when you're. You need to have downtime. You can't just go work and save $20 an hour by filling in for a maid or a chef. So delegate, delegate, delegate.

Speaker 1: 41:35

That is so awesome. That is an awesome legacy wall message and lesson. So where can people connect with you or learn more about what you got going on with Loyalty Brands or any of your other companies?

Speaker 2: 41:45

You can find me at loyaltybrandscom and, for your listeners and viewers, you can get a free copy of my book. There's a link to get a free copy of I Compete, and it's an autobiography on how I built great companies.

Speaker 1: 42:00

Awesome and, guys, that will be in the show notes both the loyalty brands website as well as the link to that free book. So make sure you guys check that out. John, honestly, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day. I know you're a busy man, so it means the world to me that you were able to hop on the mindset cafe and drop some knowledge for the audience.

Speaker 2: 42:17

My pleasure. Have a great day.

Speaker 1: 42:19

You too. No negative vibes, only positive thoughts. Missing the game life mindset causes shives. Got my mind on the prize. I can't be distracted. I stay on my grind. No time to be slacky. No-transcript. Missing the game life mindset causes shits. Got my mind on the prize. I can't be distracted. I stay on my grind. No time to be slackin'. I hustle harder. I go against the current Cause. I know my mind is rich to be collected.