Independent Retailers Need Better Data. Do it Best Has The Tools: Nick Talarico, President of Do it Best

What does it look like to lead through massive change without losing the heart of the business? In this episode, I sit down with Do it Best president Nick Talarico to talk about leadership, grit, customer experience, and the real work of helping independents win in a changing market. We get into Retail Pulse, the new data tool built to help stores see what is working, fix what is not, and make smarter decisions faster. We also talk about Nick’s unlikely path from auditor to sales leader to president, why trust still wins, and why the future belongs to leaders who are strong in mind, body, and spirit.

Topics we covered:
• What Retail Pulse is and how it turns POS data into simple green yellow red actions
• Why independent hardware stores still win on trust and relationships
• Small customer experience moves that create repeat business
• Why Do It Best bought True Value during bankruptcy to protect retailers
• What “sound mind body spirit” leadership looks like in practice

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👉 About Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint

I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint. I grew up in a third-generation building supply business. I've worked inside dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. I built Grit Blueprint to solve problems I saw in our industry.

Grit Blueprint is a visibility, media, and growth partner for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, service providers, and leaders in the building industry.
We help you get seen, build trust, and become unmistakable.

Transcript

Why Buy True Value

Nick Talarico 0:00

The primary supplier for all those retailers with True Value was True Value. By taking their primary distributor away, they were all gonna be left scrambling. So we believe the best thing that we could do for the retailer was to come in and buy the organization.

Live From The Spring Market

Stefanie Couch 0:16

I've heard so many people throughout the last two or three markets that I've been at where True Value members have been here talk about how much they appreciate that somebody did think about them in the whole deal. Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast. I'm your host, Stefanie Couch. This is a spot where leaders talk about the stories, strategies, and systems that win in the building industry. We unpack how leaders and brands build their reputations and become unmistakable. Welcome to the Great Blueprint Podcast. I'm your host, Stefanie Couch, and I'm here today on the show floor at the Do it Best Spring Market with the president of Do it Best, Nick Talarico. Welcome to the show, Nick.

Nick Talarico 1:22

Hey Stefanie.

Stefanie Couch 1:23

We are on the last day of the show. We're getting ready to wrap up. It's been a really awesome weekend from my perspective here in the glass box. But what have you seen? Tell me what your experience has been this week.

Nick Talarico 1:32

Yeah, we're we're down to the last couple hours here, and uh it's been an awesome time. Our first time in Denver. At least at Do it Best. I know True Value's done it before, but it's our first time as a collective group here in Denver, and it's been outstanding. We've had a great turnout, great uh positive reaction from all of our members. We had Dirk's Bentley last night. It was awesome. Put on a great show. I've never been a huge country music fan. Yeah. I love music though, so I was able to like really appreciate the musicianship, the guitar playing was awesome.

Stefanie Couch 2:02

You know what I loved about it? It was at six o'clock.

Nick Talarico 2:05

Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Stefanie Couch 2:07

Out and had dinner and was still in bed by like 8 30 or 9. It was amazing. I was like, I wish every concert was like.

Nick Talarico 2:12

I totally agree. What does that mean about us?

Stefanie Couch 2:14

I'm that I'm an old lady for sure. I don't know what it says about you, Nick, but I will tell you. I'm an old guy. Yeah. I mean, I was like, this is if I could do this at every concert, I'd go to concerts all the time. I can't do that. 10 p.m. start with a two-hour warm-up.

Nick Talarico 2:26

Well, it was funny too, because at one point in the very beginning, he said, good evening.

Stefanie Couch 2:29

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 2:30

And he said, or I mean good afternoon. Well, we're somewhere between the evening and afternoon. Yeah. Perfect time for the concert. So anyway, we had a great turnout last night. The place was packed. Someone told me there was a mosh pit. I said, I don't think that's really a mosh pit. No punches were being thrown.

Stefanie Couch 2:43

No.

Innovation Focus And Retail Pulse

Nick Talarico 2:44

So uh yeah, but uh that was great. But uh, you know, to me, we we talked a lot about innovation this market and how we're using innovation to help our members at retail and dealers at retail. We launched Retail Pulse, which was, you know, it was something that we've been working on for several years.

Stefanie Couch 3:00

Tell me a little bit about Retail Pulse. What is it? What's it gonna do for members?

Nick Talarico 3:04

You know, when we look at what we can bring to our membership, one of the unique things that we have is we have 9,000 locations now, and there are thousands of them that share their point of sale data with us, and we have our own wholesaler data, and we have data from our strategic vendor partners. So you take that whole universe of data, and it's like, okay, everyone has data, but now we have data that we can share with you from others in in the right way. But how do you do that? That's easy to use so that you're not sitting there just looking at reports. So, what we did is we created a tool that basically takes the data and helps you visualize it super simple. So, like green, yellow, red. Think of your floor plan, like a bird's eye view of your floor plan, green, yellow, red. The green stuff, hey, you're doing better than your peer set. The yellow stuff, hey, we should probably look into that in red. We definitely need to dive in. And then there's actually solutions baked in that your territory sales manager would talk to you about on how to improve an area that's red or yellow. So that's kind of it in a nutshell, but we're really excited about it because our whole point at Do it Best and True Value is to, you know, serve the independent retailer and to help them be the best versions of themselves. And this with this tool that helps.

Stefanie Couch 4:17

Yeah, growing up in an independent lumberyard and harbor store myself, you know, it can get pretty lonely trying to find solutions to big problems that maybe you don't have time or money to solve by yourself. But I love this co-op model that you guys are doing the work on the front end. Say, hey, we'll do the research, we'll get all this amazing data that you could never have access to, and then give you a path for that really helps you grow your store. And I also like the red, yellow, green. Simple, easy to know what to do and what not to do and move forward.

Nick Talarico 4:43

Sometimes the the best and most powerful tools are the simplest.

Stefanie Couch 4:46

Yeah. There's a lot of data out there, and knowing how to use it and what to do with this, it's a big problem to solve. Exactly. That's awesome.

Nick Talarico 4:52

And it's not a one-time launch. We have like a three-year roadmap, so we're gonna make constant iterations and improvements on this. It's gonna be really exciting.

Stefanie Couch 4:58

That's great. What else you got going on in this market?

Nick Talarico 5:00

That was definitely the big thing. So, you know, now we have six months, so we're gonna have to do it all over again.

From CPA To President

Stefanie Couch 5:07

I will say uh it is amazing to me that it's all already been six months since the last market in Indy, and we're going back to Indy in September. You guys have a huge turnout of all your markets. That one's kind of home base area, and I love that show. It's amazing. So I I like the outdoor show at that one, all the grills, the food. Do it best market is a can't miss advent. I want to talk a little bit about you and your background because you have a really great story. I don't know how many people know your story, but you are now running an amazing organization, almost six billion in annual sales, thousands of members in stores all across, really not just the US, uh other places as well. And your story doesn't start like a lot of people's maybe that have run companies. You actually started as an internal auditor or a CPA, and you came up through the finance side of Do it Best. But then you made a jump into sales leadership, which obviously went into now you being the president of Do it Best. So I want to talk a little bit about your story and maybe help inspire some others. I know I'm inspired by your story of how you got here and some of the things that you went through. So tell me a little bit about when you're walking the floor and thinking about where you are and where you've come from. Is it kind of surreal? How do you feel being being in this this position now, the true value acquisition? Y'all have done so much in the past few years. A lot going on. How does it feel walking the floor?

Nick Talarico 6:22

First of all, I'm humbled. I mean, I get to work with and for amazing people.

Stefanie Couch 6:29

I agree with that. It's a great company.

Nick Talarico 6:30

If you think of the independent hardware, home improvement, lumber yard space. We deal with salt of the earth folks. And there's a great relationship that's built with so many, so many people walking this floor. And I just love seeing them. I love seeing their children, hearing about, you know, Brian Mundy yesterday from Hackman Lumber tells me his son just got engaged yesterday here. It's like, and I saw him again today. Well, they were on a hike, I think. Yeah. Although we have had members that were married at a market, believe it or not. What? Yeah, Jay and Karen Johnson.

Stefanie Couch 7:04

That's the coolest thing ever.

Nick Talarico 7:06

Married at a market.

Stefanie Couch 7:07

All right. If you're listening to this and you're interested in having your wedding, we have dates open in September for a do-it-best wedding. We will allow you to come into the podcast booth and get married right here, right on the floor. Nick, mighty, will you officiate?

Nick Talarico 7:19

I don't think I am allowed to.

Stefanie Couch 7:21

You can get it online. No, we can have that in 24 hours or less, Nick. We can make that happen for you. That's really cool.

Nick Talarico 7:27

I get to deal with amazing people. There's no other industry like this. So, first of all, I'm humbled. It's a it's just such a fantastic organization. No, my career path is not normal, it's not typical. If I go back to that kid back in 2009 and say this is what your career path is going to look like, there's no way I would believe it. It's just you don't hear about this very often. So I've just been so fortunate that people have believed in me and uh given me the opportunity.

Stefanie Couch 7:59

I want to talk about that. You told me a story about someone early in your career that not only believed in you but pushed you to be a version of yourself that he kind of felt like you you could be, I guess. Tell me a little bit about that. Uh, you said no a few times to some of his ask, and it all culminated at a football game. So tell me about that story.

The Notre Dame MBA Turning Point

Nick Talarico 8:18

It's one of my favorite stories because it changed my life. But you you gotta you gotta maybe go back a little bit more in time to know that my first job out of school was uh, you know, I didn't enjoy my job, I didn't enjoy the company, and kind of I was newly married and kind of went through this multi-year deal where I was just just not enjoying what I was doing. So I changed career paths, and that's when I went into public accounting actually first. And do it best was a client of mine. So I had three years of working with do it best. I got to peek behind the curtain, see what the culture was like and what these people were like was so unique and so different. And yeah, it's a big company, but that wasn't the draw to me. The draw to me was the people. And I remember the first day I started, I remember vividly walking to my office from orientation, thinking I'm gonna retire here.

Stefanie Couch 9:05

Wow.

Nick Talarico 9:06

It was just that kind of a moment, but it was a big change going out of public accounting in into do it best, and that was in internal audit. I had the ability to report to a gentleman who was our COO at the time for for about nine months or so. And this guy was really intelligent. Like I really looked up to him. I've had the benefit to work with just great men, and he was one of them. And yeah, you know, he'd announced his retirement. I was kind of crushed because I enjoyed working with him so much. I had so much to learn from him. And at one of our one-on-one meetings at the end of it, I always left a spot in our agenda for is there anything you want to talk about? And it was the answer was always no. For nine months it was no. And then one day he said, Yeah, I have a question. Have you ever thought about getting your MBA? And I said, actually, no. I have my CPA. I just don't know if there's a whole lot of value in that. And he just let it go. In fact, it was such a throwaway kind of moment that I didn't even talk to my wife about it, which is rare for me. Uh, fast forward two weeks, same exact meeting, get down to the end of it. I said, Anything you want to talk about? And he said, Well, yeah, have you ever thought about getting your MBA? And I remember thinking, well, no wonder why you're retiring. We just had this conversation two weeks ago, and you don't even remember having it with me. I said, You know what? Maybe let me give it some thought. So maybe a couple weeks go by, and and he he called me and he said, Hey, I have two extra tickets to Notre Dame Navy. Uh, would you and your wife want to go to the game? And I, you know, I grew up in Catholic education. I grew up, you know, watching the Irish and Lou Holtz, who just unfortunately passed away a couple days ago. Great, great coach, great man. And so I jumped at the opportunity. We we drove up there, we met him and his wife walking around the campus. And if you've ever gone to Notre Dame, you know there's the Golden Dome. And before the football game starts, the band marches and they play the Notre Dame Victory March. And so, anyway, we're out there getting ready to watch the band play. It's a I'm gonna elaborate on this story a little bit, but in my mind, this is exactly how it played out. So we're standing there, it's an overcast fall day, bands marching in, the sky parts, the sun's shining down on the dome, angels are singing, and Dave looks right at me and says, How about that MBA? And I said, Well, if I was gonna do it, there's only one place I want to go. And he said, Where's that? And I said, Right here. He said, Do it. And just telling you that story, I can feel I can feel my heartbeat fast because it was just such a surreal moment. I know Notre Dame won that game, but I don't know if I watched a play because the whole time I was talking about or thinking about that, and uh the whole game. And then my wife and I got in the car and we drove home. I'm like, you know, I can believe what just happened. You know, is as you were watching the game, I was thinking about this, and wouldn't that be just an amazing experience? It was about a two-hour drive home, and I'll never forget I was so excited, and I pulled into our driveway. And as soon as I hit the driveway, I remember saying to her, Who am I kidding? There's no way I can get in there. And so I was like super high to like just uh the reality hit. And I don't know what happened. I I still think he pulled some strings for me, but somehow I got into that program. So that's kind of the story of someone who believed, you know, in me and saw something in me that frankly I didn't even see it my in myself.

Stefanie Couch 12:38

Yeah, you get in, yeah, you go to Notre Dame, your MBA. What happens next? First week happens.

Nick Talarico 12:45

Oh my gosh. Well, so you know, there's an interview process, and I had to apply and all that stuff and and get through that. And in the meantime, this gentleman does retire. Uh, and and then Dan Starr actually picked up the ball and and helped me out the rest of the way. So yeah, but I get I get to campus, drive down Notre Dame Avenue, pull in. We were staying at the Morrison, which is a hotel right there on campus. And I remember I actually video, it wasn't smart, it wasn't safe, but I actually remember videoing on the way in because I just it was such a surreal moment. And my very first day there, I I sat in the parking lot of the Morris Inn. I got there early because I always get to places early, and I sat there for 30 minutes trying to convince myself that I needed to do this because I just felt like a phony.

Stefanie Couch 13:33

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 13:33

And I I remember talking to myself in the car out loud, saying to get one shot at this, you need to make the most of it. And uh, I was just so blessed to my first my first year team, Six Horsemen is what we called ourselves. You remember the four horsemen of Notre Dame, and and we were the six horsemen. We just had such a great team, and all every all of us were just all about just totally getting immersed in the program, getting every aspect of it from the schooling to the athletics to just the team building. It was just such an amazing, such an amazing experience.

Stefanie Couch 14:08

You were really determined to like make the best of this opportunity because I know you told me that you didn't think you you deserved it or that you wouldn't be able to get to it. So, how'd you capitalize on that? And how has it changed your career since going through that opportunity?

Nick Talarico 14:21

Well, one of the things I had to learn about myself is how to study. Uh that actually that was actually a habit that I formed in high school was doing just enough to get my parents off my back. Yeah. And uh when I actually sat for the CPA exam is is actually how I learned how to study for real. Uh so you know, going into the MBA program at Notre Dame was was just great because I was able to go in and continue that. But you know, it's kind of funny. The the best thing that I learned at Notre Dame, great university, great ath academics, had nothing to do with strategy or supply chain or accounting or any of those. It was really belief in myself. That's what I learned because that program, I was with CEOs, I was with COOs, I was with MDs, and I was just this internal audit guy. And to be able to be shoulder to shoulder with with people that were really successful and to be able to hang a bit was was just a great experience.

Winners Game Versus Losers Game

Stefanie Couch 15:28

Yeah. Leveling up when you're around people that challenge you to be better than you ever thought you could be. It's something special that happens when you're around other people that are high performers. Yeah. Well, I want to talk about a story you told me that you actually, I think maybe read this story, and I absolutely love this. You you share this with your shell sales team. Tell me about the winner's game and the losers game. What is that all about?

Nick Talarico 15:49

So yeah, I didn't read about this. I actually heard it in a podcast, one a podcast that I really enjoy listening to. And they talked about the winner's game and the losers game. And when it when they were talking about it, I thought, man, that just makes so much sense in the world. So the winners game and the losers game, they talk about the sport of tennis. How it was described is tennis is a wit winner's game and a losers game. Now I played tennis for a year in high school, so I was kind of interested in where this was going. But basically, the premise is when you're an amateur in tennis, tennis is a loser's game. All your biggest job as an amateur is just get the ball over the net. If you can get it in the box and over the net, let your opponent make the unforced air. But when you get to the higher levels of tennis, it's not a loser's game, it's a winner's game. You have to make magnificent shots in order to win. And the key is knowing when you're getting to the winner's game. Because if you're playing a really good opponent and you're playing a strategy of the loser's game, you're gonna get smoked because they're gonna make magnificent shots. Yeah. So I did tell my sales team that a couple markets ago in our national sales meeting because I was thinking about the changes that were happening in our industry. We had just acquired true value, and I wanted to put a perspective out there. You know, we we went through a time where everyone was going after true value. We could play a bit of the losers game, just showing up, being there, doing the basic stuff. We could gain some traction, and we did. But now they're out of the ring, and there's only a couple opponents left. So, how how do we switch our perspective to the winners' game? And the and the funny thing too is I've used this with my children. My my 16-year-old uh Pierce, he he's had a job for a couple years now. He started when he was 14, works at a local uh Mexican, like quick service, like Chipotle kind of restaurant. And I'm like, dude, you just play the play the loser's game. Like you show up and you smile, get be there on time, keep your phone in your pocket, smile, greet customers. Like you're gonna be so far above everybody else your age. And my oldest Harrison just got a job too, and I told him the same thing. It's like he's working doing valet parking at a hotel in India, actually. And I'm like, what's your job? And he's like, I'm gonna be a valet driver. I'm like, no, you're the first person that a customer sees when they get out of their car at the JW Marriott. You're the first customer experience interaction. That's your job. You're the first person they see and the last person they see. So what are you gonna do to make sure that's the difference? Like, just show up and smile. Yeah, be engaged, listen to people. Like those are the things that I think really, you know, as you're raising boys, I have three boys. Like those are the things that I think can be really powerful. Simple learning lessons that can be powerful in their life.

Stefanie Couch 18:46

So, how do you know when it's time to switch from one game to the next?

Nick Talarico 18:52

Yeah, that's the secret, right? The secret is knowing when you when doing just enough isn't enough anymore. And that's you know, there's probably a bit of art in that and just going with your gut.

Tiny Moments That Build Trust

Stefanie Couch 19:05

Customer experience, you mentioned that talking about your sons, but also I know it's important to do it best and in true value, but uh it's also important to your members that are out here. What do you see people do that's just that little bit of extra experience that makes things uh unreasonably great for them and they they can't help but return? What do you see some of these members doing that just wows you?

Nick Talarico 19:25

All of our members, I think, can do a great do a great job, and they really have a knack for serving their community and doing customer service things is an easy way for them to do that. Personalized service. I had a plumbing is issue at my house one time, a dripping shower head, and I had an associate, a local do a best store spend 20 minutes with me on just a little cartridge or you know, replacement cartridge that I needed to put in the in the shower head. And I thought, wow, I can't believe I mean they made no money on that, is what I was thinking. They spent so much more, and I actually bought other things when I was leaving because I was like, that was amazing service. I don't think it's like super crazy above and beyond things. And I'll give one outside of our industry. I I I travel a lot, as you can imagine. And I was at a hotel uh a few weeks ago, about a month ago, and my wife was telling me this story. She was having brunch, I was in a meeting, she was having breakfast or something, and it was outdoors, and there was uh a lot of wind that day, and she was talking to another lady, and the other lady said, Oh man, I wish I brought a hair tie down from the room. And the waiter overheard this and went and got hair ties and came back and gave her a hair tie. Like, all you have to do is listen, that person, like, what amazing customer service. And do you think that lady is gonna go back? Absolutely. And then he took it a step further because he went to all the ladies outside at every table offering hair ties.

Stefanie Couch 20:55

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 20:55

It's a cool story.

Stefanie Couch 20:56

That is cool. And like you said, it's really is the little things that add up. It's those tiny little micro moments in a store or or with another person that build relationships and build trust. People buy trust. That's what they buy. That's why you keep coming back. And I think that's the most important thing in our industry. Technology is gonna change, AI is gonna change. Even maybe the generations of people working in the stores will change, but won't what will not change is what people buy, which is trust and relationships.

Nick Talarico 21:26

Yeah, people want to know that they're noticed.

Stefanie Couch 21:29

Absolutely.

Nick Talarico 21:30

And you can do little things to make sure that they know that they, you know, you know that they exist.

Stefanie Couch 21:35

This episode of the Grit Blueprint Podcast was sponsored by Do it Best Group. Do it Best Group is the largest co op in the world, and they help independent hardware and lumber yards all over North America win. Do it Best offers services, products, and people that can help you win long term. They are the champion of independence. I wanna go back to the switch from the auditor role to sales.

Nick Talarico 22:05

Yeah. Because to me, Oh, you've heard the story a thousand times.

Auditor To Sales Leader Shift

Stefanie Couch 22:10

Actually, every auditor is doing it. It's the weirdest story I've ever heard. Yeah, I know. Because auditors and salespeople usually are a little bit uh maybe of arch nemesis, don't get along type personality-wise. But you have done both and done both well. So, how the heck did that happen? What does that look like and what was that journey like for you?

Nick Talarico 22:29

Do you remember? I can't remember his name, but the guy that played Al Bundy, he's now on Modern Family. He was on Modern Family for the longest time. No one would hire him, I believe, because he was like typecast in the Al Bundy role from Married with Children was the show. That's how I feel about the auditor role. It's like I was typecast in that I've actually been in sales longer than I was in finance now. But yeah, it's not a common career path. Yeah, right. The story is really as simple as I had someone that saw something in me, and this time it was Dan, Dan Star, our CEO, that uh, like I said before, I didn't see in myself. And I I had raised my hand. I don't know why. I was really naive. I guess I would say I was very naive looking back now, almost 10 years ago, actually. And uh, but I've learned so much from it. And I fell in love with sales.

Stefanie Couch 23:24

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 23:25

Like I love our sales team, I love what they do, I love how they are positioned to service our members. And what what I didn't know at the time, I thought he was just being funny in the interviews. Like, how would you handle significant change in the sales organization? I thought it was hypothetical. I didn't realize that he wanted me to get in there, he wanted me to evaluate it and then have an outsider input on what really needed to happen. Yeah, and that's that was the value that I brought to the sales org was I didn't have preconceived notions of where value lies and how we service our members. I was able to take a fresh look at it. Yeah, and and that's what we did. It happened way faster than I thought, though. I remember telling them, like, hey, it's gonna take me probably a year to evaluate our our current situation and then then we'll make some change. I want to go change too fast. And I remember like 30 days in here and something, I'm like, we gotta change that right away. Yeah. So yeah, that's what it was.

Stefanie Couch 24:22

I think it's funny because the way you just positioned that, he basically wanted you to audit the sales department, which is perfect for you because you were an auditor. So it was really actually a cool perspective to have something different because I know as a salesperson historically, we do have paths, we have pathways that we automatically go down out of habitual things that we do. So I like that other perspective of it.

Nick Talarico 24:45

And it's the strat, you're absolutely right. And it was like the strategy and the design. Like, I'm not gonna be the best salesperson. That's not where my value is gonna come from, especially in the beginning. But having that fresh look and that outsider viewpoint and being able to think strategically on where are we positioned relative to our competition, what are the needs of our customers, that's where I really was able to add some value. And frankly, I've always had this. This is a bit personal about how I see the world, but I've had numerous people in my life that have had faith in me and I'm not gonna let them down.

Stefanie Couch 25:20

Yeah. You don't want to fail as a person who's got people looking at you saying, I gave you a shot. It's hard to think about even letting them down. I I feel that way a lot. Like, hey, you gave me my shot. I'm gonna go out there and do what I can to make sure I don't I don't let you down.

Nick Talarico 25:35

I don't need external pressure on letting people down. I have enough internal pressure.

True Value Acquisition Reality Check

Stefanie Couch 25:40

Yeah, I resonate with that just a just a wee bit. So the last two years has been like a roller coaster wild ride for do it best in 2024. You guys acquired true value before that United Hardware you had acquired. Uh, and true value obviously was in the news a lot. There was a lot that went around. How was that going through that transition? And what has the last two years been like for you?

Nick Talarico 26:03

It's a generational opportunity for our organization. True value has been around as long as we have, for 80 years. And a big difference between do it best and true value is, of course, brand recognition because they had a national brand for a very long time that they invested a lot of money in. The reason why we did it though was the belief in the independent retailer. We didn't have to do this, right? I mean, this was they were going through a bankruptcy, and we could have just sat there and watched it and picked up the pieces. But what that was gonna do, in our opinion, was gonna put the the primary supplier for all those retailers with true value was true value. That was a primary distributor. And by taking their primary distributor away, they were all gonna be left scrambling.

Stefanie Couch 26:51

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 26:52

So we believe the the best thing that we could do for the retailer was to come in and buy the organization. And I'm I'm really glad that we did. It has been a challenge because, as you can imagine, acquiring a billion plus dollar organization is a challenge. Acquiring a billion dollar plus organization that's just gone through a bankruptcy, that's a whole nother thing. So we're working through it. We knew it wasn't going to be an overnight turnaround. And but I've been really proud of the team and really proud of how our our members at Do it Best have supported this, and the retailers at True Value have have also supported it.

Stefanie Couch 27:33

Yeah, I've heard so many people throughout the last two or three markets that I've been at where True Value members have been here talk about how much they appreciate that somebody did think about them in the whole deal. Because I know a lot of times that one store owner that is totally dependent on that, they don't get thought of in the Ivory Tower decision sometimes or in the bankruptcy court decisions. And so I think it's really cool. And I know that a lot of people are super happy about it. So it's been fun to watch and I'm excited to continue to watch where it goes. Well, I wanted to ask you one last question and then we're gonna go to the lightning round.

Nick Talarico 28:06

Oh, okay. All right.

Sound Mind Body Spirit Leadership

Stefanie Couch 28:07

You actually said something that I I thought about a lot since you told me this, uh, really from my perspective of like what does being a person that's leading people mean? What's the executive of the future look like? And you said that you believe the executive of the future will be of sound mind, body, and spirit. So it's not just about business, it's about more than that. And that people do not want to follow someone who's out of balance. What does that mean to you? And why do you say that?

Nick Talarico 28:36

Well, first of all, one thing that I always struggle with is I I don't feel like I'm a very creative person. So I can't take credit for the quote. The quote actually comes from a gentleman, a professor I had named Leo Burke, and it was that very first week, and he said, the executive of the future will be of sound mind, body, and spirit. And you know, 14 years later, whatever it's been, that's just really resonated with me. And I I try hard personally to do that. But, you know, what what he was essentially signaling is the next generation that comes into the workforce, they're gonna want a balanced leader. They're not gonna want somebody, they're not gonna want to follow somebody that's only about one thing.

Stefanie Couch 29:20

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 29:21

And in business, that's typically about business. So it's like, what are you doing in those three components of your life? How are you how are you gonna be of sound mind, be a you know, an intelligent person, body? Are you are you going to be healthy and and spirit?

Stefanie Couch 29:37

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 29:38

And he, you know, and he left it pretty loose for us to kind of fill in the blanks there, but to me, it just really hit home. And it's something that I've I've really tried to work on myself.

Stefanie Couch 29:47

Yeah. I see that in you, and I think it's cool to watch how other people embrace that because it isn't just about the business. You talk about your family, your wife, your sons, all those things. So I really like that you share that.

Nick Talarico 29:59

Yeah, I mean, to me, leadership is the most important thing that I that I'm doing. We have thousands of employees around the country that that I get to interact every day, and I try really hard to get to know them as best as I can and know about their lives and what's going on, and just kind of investing in them because it's a really important task for for me.

Stefanie Couch 30:23

Yeah. I'm excited to see what the next year brings because I know Do it Best Group has got a lot in store, and uh, I'm excited to see where it goes and be a part of it too.

Nick Talarico 30:32

Same here.

Stefanie Couch 30:32

Well, are you fired up?

Nick Talarico 30:36

I'm ready.

Stefanie Couch 30:37

Okay. First question What is the best book or podcast that you have listened or read that has changed the way you think?

Nick Talarico 30:46

Okay, I'm gonna go podcast route.

Stefanie Couch 30:48

Okay.

Lightning Round Favorites And Habits

Nick Talarico 30:50

So there's a podcast called Modern Wisdom by Chris Williamson. That's very good. Very good. Uh he's out of Austin. Yes. But I think he's from the UK. And uh he has different topics with different guests all the time. I think he does like three a week.

Stefanie Couch 31:05

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 31:05

And there's they're completely like it could be an hour, it could be two and a half hours. He has like Malcolm Gladwell on there. Just to me, it's just super interesting. The way that he does his podcasts, he's super engaging, yeah. Great listener. And he makes it really relevant. I've actually listened to a couple of those. That's where I got the winners and losers game from, actually. I sent them to my sons. Yeah. Like, hey, you guys should listen to this. So that's one, and I'm gonna do another one. Okay. So that to me is like that kind of hits the mind and body kind of part of that. Or I'm sorry, the mind and spirit part of that. But there is one that I listen to for body. So there's one called uh RP Strength Podcast, uh, which is done by Nick Shaw and Dr. Mike Isratel. I think these guys are like bodybuilder kind of guys, uh, but just fascinating, fascinating content and how they think about nutrition and working out. And it actually changed how I view health because for the longest time I was really into running. I hate running, but to me it was like that's the best way to burn a lot of calories. But I I I trained for a marathon a few years ago, and in my mind, as I was going through training, I was like, you know, I'm gonna be running a lot of miles a week. I'm gonna eat whatever I want.

Stefanie Couch 32:26

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 32:27

Because if I'm running on a random Saturday, 14, 15, 16, 18 miles in this training program, I'm gonna have five guys. I'm not gonna feel guilty about it. And the weirdest thing is I would have thought I was gonna lose like 20, 30 pounds in that. And I lost like two pounds net net.

Stefanie Couch 32:43

Yeah.

Nick Talarico 32:43

And uh the reason why is because you know, you can't outwork your diet, yeah, is what I learned the hard way there. So then I started listening to these guys, and they were talking about the importance of strength training. So I actually haven't run, but maybe six times in the last two years, and really all I do is strength train anymore. And I feel fantastic. I don't have random lower back pains. You know, when you start thinking about concerts at six o'clock at night, you also have to work worry about throwing out your back when you sneeze. Yeah. Uh sneezing can be very violent.

Stefanie Couch 33:11

It can. Uh, but yeah, scary thing when you start sneezing.

Nick Talarico 33:14

Yeah, strength training and stuff's helped me, and I haven't had back pain in two years. So that's great.

Stefanie Couch 33:18

I think you and Ben would get along. So he we we both listen to modern wisdom and he loves my Israel tell stuff. Do you really? Yeah. So uh, so yeah.

Nick Talarico 33:25

I don't know if I'm supposed to do that, but you can break there is a guy sitting right there named Ben.

Stefanie Couch 33:31

He's here. We only show his hands on this podcast.

Nick Talarico 33:34

But you know what I'm talking about. RP Strength is a great podcast.

Stefanie Couch 33:36

He loves it.

Nick Talarico 33:37

And Dr. Mike has these random analogies and anecdotes that are that are crazy. You're gonna want to make sure your kids are of a certain age to listen, but yeah, not not it's PG 13 plus. Oh, yeah, it's definitely more than okay.

Stefanie Couch 33:51

Well, those are two good ones, so I love that. All right.

Nick Talarico 33:53

That wasn't very lightning round-ish. Sorry.

Stefanie Couch 33:56

Lightning can can be longer. You never know. It was it was in the distance. It was a good answer, though. All right, what's the best advice you've ever received?

Nick Talarico 34:05

This has been recently, actually. Uh a member of ours pulled me aside last July and said, be yourself. You just keep being you. And I try really hard to be me. Yeah just be authentic. I want to be the same person at home to my wife and kids as I am to you, as I am to the team out in the out on the market floor right now.

Stefanie Couch 34:35

Yeah. It's so important because it is sometimes easy to think like, well, if I was just a little more this or that, but you're you for a reason, and you're the only you, yeah. And people are either gonna love it or hate it, but I'm just gonna be true.

Nick Talarico 34:50

Be true to you, yeah.

Stefanie Couch 34:51

That's exactly right. All right, next one is what is something that people might be surprised to know about you.

Nick Talarico 34:58

The friend of mine that really inspired me years ago, he's a doctor. He actually delivered our children, Todd Rumsey. And every time I was around Todd, I was like, this guy's like a renaissance man, he's building cabinets, he plays cello, he's like does all these things outside of being a doctor. Like, and so he's inspired me. And so those those kinds of things I get a lot out of trying stuff new that I don't think I can do because I've surprised myself. So during COVID, I got really into woodworking. Uh, I play guitar.

Stefanie Couch 35:38

What kind of guitar do you have?

Nick Talarico 35:40

Like brands, or like I'm a music nerd. So I mean, I love Taylor guitars.

Stefanie Couch 35:44

That's my favorite too. I was hoping that's what you're gonna say.

Nick Talarico 35:47

I actually saw, I actually went to their uh factory in California 10 years or uh in yeah, it was 10 years ago. Almost yeah, 10 years and two months ago, and got to visit their factory. It was an incredible experience. But yeah, I have acoustics. I I like acoustics, I like electric, I like bass. I just like music.

Stefanie Couch 36:04

Yeah, me too. Um, there's something cool about people who are musical. You said you're not creative, but that's a lot because music is creative.

Nick Talarico 36:11

Yeah.

Stefanie Couch 36:13

Come on. Yeah, I don't write my own stuff. I don't write my own stuff.

Nick Talarico 36:17

Yeah.

Stefanie Couch 36:17

Okay, well, next podcast are we gonna see? Are we gonna do a little duet next time?

Nick Talarico 36:22

Uh yeah. Not if this music's playing this loud above us.

Stefanie Couch 36:26

Well, I can probably remedy that. All right. Is that all it's gonna take to do the duet?

Nick Talarico 36:30

Yeah, let's do it.

Stefanie Couch 36:31

Okay.

Nick Talarico 36:31

Are you thinking like Lady Gaga, like shallow, like that kind of a duet?

Stefanie Couch 36:36

I'm off the team!

Nick Talarico 36:38

Wow, bravo! This is your part. I'm just gonna sit here and clap. You nailed that.

Stefanie Couch 36:46

Thank you.

Nick Talarico 36:47

With music blaring in the background, that's not that side. That was impressive.

Stefanie Couch 36:51

All right, last question grit is blank.

What Grit Means When Hit

Nick Talarico 36:57

I'm still thinking about what just happened. Uh, grit grit is absolutely necessary. Like the ability to keep moving on. So I grew up on watching the movie Rocky, you know, Rockies. That's what Sylvester's still on. I'd love to get a chance to meet him sometime. But there's a line he has in there. I'm I'm probably gonna butcher it. But life isn't about getting hit, it's about getting hit and keep moving forward. And to me, that's what what's grit's all about. And you know, a lot of people don't see that, probably. Uh maybe in me or or even you, you have you've had a successful career, but how many times have you taken a punch right to the nose? Yeah, and you know, you just keep moving forward.

Stefanie Couch 37:41

Yeah. I feel like that's every day with entrepreneurship. Yeah. Trying to figure it out, you know, there's so much stuff I don't know. And I'm like, man, why am I so bad at everything? Yeah. Well, it's it's hard when you're uh, you know, when you're when you want to do well and uh you don't want to fail, but you have to to get to where you want to go.

Nick Talarico 37:59

But you're not average. The average person is gonna get hit and they're gonna want to quit. And that's why Gret's so critical is just to keep keep moving forward.

Stefanie Couch 38:10

I love that. Well, thank you for joining me.

Nick Talarico 38:12

Thank you.

Stefanie Couch 38:13

And I will see you in Indy with your warm-up already done so we can do this tuet together.

Nick Talarico 38:19

All right, I'll bring a guitar with me.

Stefanie Couch 38:20

Okay.

Nick Talarico 38:21

I'm not gonna do an a cappella.

Stefanie Couch 38:22

Stake on that deal.

Nick Talarico 38:24

Let's do it.

Stefanie Couch 38:25

I love that. All right. Well, thank you for joining us on the grit blueprint. And if you are interested in learning about do it best and true value and growing your business, you can contact us and we will see you on the next episode.

Nick Talarico 38:37

I think she's serious.

Ben Couch 38:39

She is.

Share It And Book A Call

Stefanie Couch 38:40

Oh, I don't make deals on keep my friends. Thank you for listening to the Grit Blueprint podcast. If this episode helped you think a little differently about how to show up, share it with someone in your building world who needs it. If you're ready to turn visibility into growth, then head to gritblueprint.com to learn more and book a call to talk to us about your promotion strategy. Until next time, stay unmistakable.