Navigating Uncertainty to Embrace Possibility | Frank Stirpe Jr

From Indian Wells during the 6th annual APN Golf weekend, Frank Stirpe Jr. reflects on how Above Par Network began in January 2019 as his personal “Rolodex” for solving inevitable life and business problems, then evolved into a service-first, relationship-driven community of about 400 members with chapters in Phoenix and Myrtle Beach. He contrasts APN’s culture of “builders over bullshitters” with traditional transactional networking, describing programs ranging from happy hours, lunch mobs, Breakfast of Champions, and roundtables to retreats, majors-style golf events, and unconventional outings, all designed to create connection, experiences, and collaboration. Frank discusses growth through COVID, protecting culture through member referrals and selectivity, expanding cross-chapter opportunities, and future possibilities like more chapters and an annual conference, emphasizing legacy, authenticity, and surrounding yourself with the right people.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:23

I mean, here's the deal. I say it all the time, right? Life is nothing but a series of problems. Right now, as we sit here, you've got problems on the horizon. I do. Yep. We don't necessarily know what they are. Hopefully they're small. But your network is what helps you tackle those problems.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Hey there. Welcome back to Above and Beyond where Excellence meets elevation. I'm your host, Jan Simon. And this season we're raising the bar, diving into the passion, purpose, and defining moments of leaders who don't just aim high, they live there. Big ideas, real stories. Let's get into it. Welcome back to Above and Beyond Podcast. Frank, thank you for coming back on. Yeah. Wanted to sit down with you. We are actually in the Renaissance out in uh Indian Wells, right? Home Springs area. Um golf. We've got the uh sixth annual APN golf. Hard to believe, hard to believe. Got got uh what 50 people coming out, give or take?

SPEAKER_00 1:20

I think there's 52 total people coming, uh 35 golfers. And then uh I know a lot of the uh the wives and that are getting together and playing another little executive course while we're we have our tournament, so it's great. It's turned into a real great uh you know family type event now. That is awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

It's and it's growing every year, which is incredible. I mean, you think about the number of people we had at Myrtle and now we're here. I mean, this is incredible what you've built. Um, last time we uh talked about the foundation of Above Part Network. Today we're really kind of zooming out, and I want to take a look at high level, like taking a look at yesterday, where we are today, and where we're going tomorrow. Um when you think about the above par network, what feeling comes to mind?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Sometimes it's hard to comprehend. You know, when I started this back in in January 2019, I say it all the time. I wasn't smart enough to have the blueprint of what it's become today. And uh I don't even know what it will become tomorrow, which is the exciting part. But so many different people come along the way. Yourself, obviously bringing Karen on as a business partner, and you know, all these different people that become a part of the network, everybody in some way, shape, or form has their fingerprint on it and constantly help elevate it to a next level, then a next level, then a next level. And sometimes it's it's crazy sitting there and you know planning events or looking back, you know, six years ago when we did this the first year. There was four of us.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

And we were joking. I remember being on the number one T-Box, we should do this every year, and it'll get bigger someday. You know, we'll have 40 people, and boom, here we are, right? So that's uh it's surreal when I stop and think about it. Just grateful for all the great members. You know, we're at 400 members, um, you know, so many amazing people. And I tell people too selfishly, I've benefited the most from this, right? Because just the people I've met, the relationships I've built, the things that happen. I mean, it's it's so much fun, it doesn't even seem like work, you know.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Yeah, yeah. Rewinding back to when you first kind of conceptualized the Bub Car, talk, take us through that thought process and really what it was that you were looking for when you started the operation.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Yeah, so when I started this in January again, 2019, at that time I was transitioning from being a high school principal into my new role as director of operations, serving 19 schools in four states. And I knew at the time that I was gonna need a Rolodex of people for when things happen. And I said, let me get a little bit organized and you know, create a networking group. I was kind of when I was a principal, I was not a fan of the traditional networking type events. You know, you go in the business cars and people following you around just trying to get that quick deal. Uh so I said, you know, I can do something and have a little bit of a twist on it. I didn't know what the twist was at the time, but that's really kind of why I started the group. And then, you know, it just again keeps evolving into different things. The probably one of the mistakes I did make was naming it above par network because you meet people and right away they think it's a golf group. And yeah, of course, this is a bad example with us being here in Park Springs playing. We've been playing golf for a week, but we're so much more, right? It's personal and business development. It is, you know, networking with the happy hours and lunch mobs. We have a robust Breakfast of Champions program for business owners. You know, we do all kinds of extracurriculars, wine tasting, tequila tastings, you know, suites at sporting events, things of that sort. But then there is the golf component. So there's like so many different arms to it that sometimes it's like when you step back and you know, you'd be that tree outside the woods, it's like, wow, this is so many different things.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Yeah, yeah. What when it first started, so you had just a few people, what did that look like? I mean, were you getting together in person?

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Because you said you called it a Bub Par network, yeah, but yet above average networking is what I wanted it to be, right? So I remember our very first network member, he actually we're I'm gonna miss his going away party. He's moving to Thailand uh this weekend, former NFL athlete, had a vodka business at the time. And I remember calling him and saying, Hey, I'd love to meet with you if you got him. And he goes, Come on over, we'll sit in the backyard. And I said, I'm starting this networking group. And before I can have two network members, I need to have one. And before I, you know, I have a hundred, I need to have ninety-nine. I said, I need you to cut me a check and believe in me. He did, you know, we I'm not gonna lie, we we had a little tequila to sell or uh vodka to celebrate. Yeah, and then uh got in the car and went and got number two, then number three. You know, Eric Kettett, you know, he talks about all the time. I remember being at RTO Sullivan's in Scottsdale for one of our happy hours, and there were six of us around the table, and I said, you know, I know this isn't much right now, but stick with it. We're gonna make this something one day. Eric talks about that story all the time, so it's unreal to watch what it's become. I mean, this month already, we're what, February 19th, and we've already got 20 new members this month.

SPEAKER_04 5:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

So now it's just it's become something again. I was never smart enough to come up with a blueprint for what it is. Yeah. Was there ever a moment where you thought this might not work? Yeah. Here's the crazy part, right? Even let's call it BK before Karen, right? This is just a part-time thing. I have a full-time job. Yeah, right. Couple other little little things I work as well. So there were times where the the lifting got heavy, and I'm like, what am I doing? Yeah, do I really need this in my life? Do I really need to, you know, make sure on a weekly basis I'm communicating or creating. I mean, it's it can be a lot. Now looking back, it's kind of funny because we're all gonna go through that as business owners. Yeah, right. That that next level and scaling up and you know hitting these different uh these different plateaus can be tough sometimes, but you just got to keep grinding, right? One one step at a time, and eventually you'll get there. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah. COVID. Yeah. Because six years, how did that play a factor in where it went? Was there stumbling blocks that that presented that that kind of slowed the growth? Do you think at that point?

SPEAKER_00 6:57

So here's the crazy part. 2019 was a great year. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it really gained some momentum. Like, all right, we got something. Then COVID hit, and I was like, oh, that was short-lived. But it was the opposite. People wanted connection. You know, we did some virtual stuff, virtual happy hours. We still had in-person stuff. That is where the golf came. It was actually George Fontaine that said, Hey, everybody's uh golfing with COVID. You think we can put together a couple golf things? So we did, and I mean, what? Last week we launched the APN Masters, sold out in six minutes. Yeah. Right? So now we got a golf problem. We're a networking group with a golf problem. But uh it grew during COVID. People need that connection, right? Humans need connectivity, and when you really think about it, people want to belong. Yeah, people want to belong to gyms, churches, all kinds of stuff. We need that human interaction. And if you can do it in a way that's fun and and you know, there's the synergy, and people enjoy it, great things will happen. Yeah, yeah. I mean, COVID, COVID was COVID, got through that, and then uh it was going well. You know, I had a couple other things I was I was doing work-wise as well, and then uh I got to the point I'm like, I'm ready to take this to another level now, and that's when when Karen came into the picture.

SPEAKER_04 8:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

So you said when you started, it wasn't about the golf. It was it was more about creating a we'll call it a black book of contacts so that you had people you could call to we'll call it fixed problems. Yep. Has the why of where you're at now with above par network, has that why changed?

SPEAKER_00 8:28

100%. And what it shifts from is at that time I knew I needed that Rolodex of people. And of course, I was gonna, you know, I was I was hopeful that they would use utilize one another as well. Now it's completely shifted where it's about serving our network members, right? Connecting people. That's my favorite thing to do is when somebody needs something or has a problem and and I I get wind of it, I think I have an answer for you. Or at least I know somebody you should have a conversation with. Yeah, maybe it's just a lesson learned, but connecting people now is like really become my passion. I think that's also why EPN continues to grow, right? So selfishly in the beginning, it was about me. And you know, seven years behind us now, it's a totally different thing where it's about you know really supporting our network members. And this, I don't even look at it as a network, I look at it as like a family, yeah, right? Like all the people that are gonna be here tonight for the the kickoff happy hour and all that. I mean, that these are friends and family. Yeah, I think Jeff said it, Car Life Jeff said it once. There's a fine line, and I don't know where the network starts and stops, and these friendships start and stop, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:29

So you can see that. Yeah, totally see that. You know, it's it's crazy because you have a bigger than life personality, you're kind of a bigger-than-life person. Obviously, when you stand in a room of people, you're slightly larger than most of them.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Growing the wrong way now, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Is there a moment at which you step back and you're like, shit, I was kind of hoping it didn't get this big?

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Great question. And I don't think so. I I still have those moments. I think it was last month I was flying back because you know we've got the two chapters now, one here and one in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And when we were all there back in October and we had the IV lady come out and do the IV backs or all the network members while we were watching the uh the football game, I was like, this is crazy. That these are all APN members, and that is a Myrtle Beach member. Yeah. Yeah, we're here together, right? So that was like a surreal moment. And sometimes when I'm taking those red eyes or you know, different late flights and trying to bounce it back and forth while still having my full-time job, too. I do wonder, like, what the hell am I doing sometimes? Yeah, but uh no, I mean, I've I'm so appreciative of what APN has become, all the people involved in it. I've never, you know, I never thought about you know not having it really. Well, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

That's awesome. So let's let's talk a little bit about the transition from building a black book for Frank to hey, we can go play golf because we can't do anything else together, right? To now we've got cigar club, we've got obviously I mean a plethora of golf things that we do. We've done a cornhole tournament, you know, we've talked about bowling tournaments. There's I've heard people talking about, hey, let's put together a uh pickleball league. And I've I mean all the different things that we do, Breakfast of Champions and the Lunch Mobs. Is there one thing that that may be, or two things that may be like your favorite thing to do? Where you're like, this is this makes this fills my cup the most?

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Probably one of my favorite events every year is the APN Friendsgiving that uh the Alexanders host, right? That's just that's what the network's really about. This isn't just business, it is business, but this is a group of people that are more than just you know acquaintances. These are people that come together, they're friends, they're family. I always love that event. The Alexanders go above and beyond for that. That's one of my personal favorites, yeah. And then I also just love like in so many ways, like this weekend is a retreat, right? We're getting people out of the valley up here to Palm Springs. We're gonna play golf. We got a happy hour tonight. All throughout Palm Springs, people will be bar hopping, shopping, hitting up spas. I know uh Bob's wife was talking with somebody about going to the spa on Saturday, right? So to me, that's that's amazing. Like, yeah, I love that. When we did our our trip to uh Myrtle Beach in October, that was another one. Like, wow, this is really happening. Yeah, so you know, those types of events are are great. And then the you know, the majors that we do at APN, like that Ryder Cup in December, that was different. Yeah, right. None of us are that great at golf. There's a small, small handful within the network. That's another misconception too. I'm not that good at golf. None of us are. But uh none of us are gonna play. Except for you for you know, there's a couple sticks. There's a couple sticks. Patrick Ted. Yeah, but for us being amateur golf golfers, weekend warriors, right? Yeah, that is a the closest we're gonna get to a golf experience like that.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

And then have that, and for people to have, you know, the Masters, the Ryder Cup, all these different events on their calendars each and every year, that's something special, right? Just playing golf, having fun together, tunes in the background, maybe you're smoking a cigar, the 19th whole activities afterwards. Yeah, that's something that's just that's the type of stuff that I love.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. So let's talk a little bit about today. If somebody comes into the network today, they they show up, whatever the event is. What do you hope that they experience? What do you hope that they take away from?

SPEAKER_00 13:21

I hope they come to the experience with an open mind because I really think like networking over the years, traditional networking, kind of has gotten a bad name, right? Because there's so much red tape. You're talking about all the things that we do. So many of these groups can't do things because of this or that. There's way too much red tape. But APM, we can do anything. I think a prime example was last year when we did midget wrestling. I had people, you can't do that. That's not right, this, that. Well, I got 367 ticket sales that says they had a great time, right? Watching people pay 20 bucks to the uh the wrestling organization to go into the ring and not know they were gonna get hit in the head with a trash can lid. So just the you know, the autonomy we have to turn this into whatever we want, you know, and things like that. I mean, that that's really what this is.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

What uh what do you think today, what do you think makes it different today than what it was obviously when it started? We've kind of talked about that a little bit, but but boiling it down, the missions kind of changed a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Or the why. Energy-wise. I guess I mean where I would go, and I'm gonna jump in, where I would go would be energy. Yeah, I've been involved in a lot of different things, and I just feel like there is there's an infectious energy amongst people wanting to help other people succeed.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

There's a saying, hard work doesn't guarantee anything, but without it, you don't stand a chance, right? So the fruit of our work, the hard work, is first off, we've got some of the best people. You know, I don't care what event it is you go to, lunch mob, happy hour, breakfast of champions, a golf outing, there are just some amazing good people in this group.

SPEAKER_04 15:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

The second thing is the bigger we've gotten, more opportunities have come to us. I mean, we've got Cam Scataboo, you know, ASU legend, Giants running back. He's up here this weekend golfing with us. It's not official yet. Hopefully, we ink the deal next week, but APN's probably going to be the host of the John Homburg uh morning sickness heat stroke golf tournament moving forward every year. Nice. Uh, you know, those things would never have happened if APN didn't evolve into what it is today. And then, you know, here's the crazy part. Now that we have the mother company, now I know we're getting into a little bit of APN down the road, but there's already, you know, Nicole Beck, Five League Financial. I know she's doing taxes for two of the Myrtle Beach Network members. So we're connecting people from opposite sides of the country now and bringing them together. That's right. Right. So those are the things that really stand out to me.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

That is awesome. What um what kind of people do you hope are attracted to APN?

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Builders. Yeah. What does that mean? So I say it all the time. You meet 10 people, and it doesn't mean they're not good people, right? Does not mean they're not good people. But when you really talk about being a builder, you're willing to grind, you're committed to relationships over transactions, knowing that if you build good relationships, things are gonna happen down the road. Be patient with it. People who want to show up, put in the effort, you know, it's not just show up once and it didn't happen for me, I didn't get an ROI, but you know, continue, it's that compound interest, right? I show up, I show up, I show up. Things are gonna start happening. Next thing you know, hey, you want to play golf, you want to do this, you want to do that. People who have that mindset, people who are hungry, people who want better, not just to get a sale or a deal or a lead or you know, an opportunity to quote something, but people who want to invest in other people, build relationships, yeah, right. And then we're gonna find ways to all we really do at APN is create opportunities of collaboration. Yeah, and when you really look at it, we're like event planners, right? And granted, there's communicating the events, organizing, but this whole weekend is about just people coming together, playing golf, doing whatever you want in your free time. Yeah, right, but they're gonna do it together, and when they come back down to the valley Sunday night, they're gonna be different because this is a timestamp on their life, right? You can't take away you, for example. I know what Saturday you're playing with Scat, right? That happened, yeah. That's that happened in your life, right? And who knows what stories you're gonna hear or what crazy stuff will happen during that round, but that's a part of it, right? And how did you get here? Because you constantly show up, yeah, you're constantly getting involved. I remember when you came to me about this podcast, like, yeah, I want to do a podcast, let's go, right? Type of thing. So people who have that mindset, that that type of that drive, that grind. It's funny. Sometimes you get those old dogs that's like, just go into retirement, man. Call it, call it, be done with it. It is what it is, or people who just want it handed to them, too. Like, there's no entitlement. You're you can come in and get anything out of this network. It's what you're willing to do.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

Yeah, yeah. Um, I had a question, totally left my brain. When uh well, I was gonna I'm gonna say a state, I'm gonna say a statement I but it's it blows my mind when we go to, let's say when we do the the the um member lunch, member guest lunch lunches. Yeah, okay, and you look around the room and you can tell the newbies, because they've got like a stack of cards in their hand, they're ready to deal them out, like they're playing poker. And the people who've been members for a while, it's like we're not handing out those cars. That's not why I'm here. I'm not here to give you a card. I'm here to introduce, let you know who I am, hopefully establish some type of relationship. If there's a reason for me to call you, yeah, you know, but a lot of times it's hey, let me just put your number on my phone really quick, I'll fire a text. We're off and running, right? Yeah. I think it's fascinating to me, and maybe it's because the term that you've coined, which is builders not bullshitters, right? And the people that are the bullshitters, the people that are there just for the transaction, the people that, you know, the old dogs that they do it, they're doing it their old dog way. They kind of weed themselves out and they they fall by the wayside because they don't get what it is that that's happening, which I think is just fascinating to sit back and watch.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

But that's a culture that we've created when I say we, the network, right? And that's a culture that you all as network members defend too.

SPEAKER_04 19:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

Right? Because I've seen it happen where somebody will come in and those kind of like, no, no, don't do that here. Let me help set you up for success. Don't go around doing that, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

That type of thing. And going back to the the previous question, I'm a firm believer. One out of ten people, again, doesn't mean they're bad people, but one out of ten people are your real builders. Yeah. Right. Doesn't mean all nine other ones are complete bullshitters, but a lot of them are, right? I'm gonna go do this. I'm gonna go, okay, sure.

SPEAKER_04 20:11

You are, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

And what makes us so unique and what contributes to that culture, and I get why traditional networking groups can't do it. They've got overhead, they're a business just like everybody else. They got to pay their rent, they got to pay salaries, payroll taxes, you know, state retirement, whatever, you know, whatever it is, is we can part way with those people when their membership's up. I just don't renew them.

SPEAKER_04 20:30

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

And we also don't go out and market, like if we wanted to do some SEO, we could probably double the size of this network in six, 12 months, right? But then I'm gonna go back to being a high school principal, babysitting people. So when you have a culture, you got to protect that culture, right? It's like a standard. And the only way people really come into the network, once in a while, people will hear about us and reach out to us, and Karen and myself will sit down and interview them again to protect that culture is other people in the network bring these folks. Builders know builders, and builders want to be surrounded by other builders. Absolutely. So when we started the member guest lunch ins, which I think we've only done three or four, that was the whole first thing. I was like, well, builders know builders, so let's invite them to a lunch. You know, we can tell them a little bit about APN if they want to move forward to us, great. But what that even involved into is that's some high quality networking. Yeah. Because not only are our current network members able to network with the other members, you've got all these other builders that have been offered a seat at the table, at least for the day, that you can come network and you know, you really want to talk about building relationships, you can build that relationship with them before anybody else can in the network because they're not quite members yet, you know?

SPEAKER_03 21:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

Do you feel looking through six years, APN has changed you as a person? 100%. How so?

SPEAKER_00 21:44

First off, the people I have in this phone is unbelievable, right? Um I need to get a hold of that phone. It's like your little black hook. I mean, here's the deal. I say it all the time, right? Life is nothing but a series of problems. Right now, as we sit here, you've got problems on the horizon. I do. Yep. We don't necessarily know what they are. Hopefully they're small, but your network is what helps you tackle those problems. Yeah. Right. And, you know, there's a lot of things going on right now with the economy and this and that. Having a good network is what it's all about. Yeah. Right. And people who say, well, I didn't get anything from networking. Well, maybe you weren't in the right network, or maybe you didn't approach it the right way, but your network is your net worth. Yeah. Right. And uh it's not what you know, it's who you know. I mean, the the and be able to have somebody call me with a problem and connect them with certain people and then kind of watch, watch it just run away from there is an unbelievable thing. It's it's changed me immensely. I've it's turned me from again, this is about me creating a role decks of folks that I can call on and again supporting them and doing business amongst themselves to now a sense of servant leadership. We're like, if you're in this network and you're a builder, like there's nothing I'm not going to do to help help the success of those people. Personally, professionally, you name it. Family members of them, whatever it is. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

When you look back, uh, or or even look at today, are there pieces that you would say internally have impacted you in ways that you never expected what you started to impact you?

SPEAKER_00 23:12

Oh, I mean, really all of it. All of it. I mean the conversations just on a daily basis. Somebody calls me, we start the depth, the quality of the conversations I have with people. You know, if it's around life, if it's around business, you know, the the opportunities again that have present themselves with with people and just you know, different things that have come up. It's the again, no one's benefited from this network more than me because everybody that comes in, in one way, shape, or form, I'm making con. I mean, it's changing a little bit now because we're getting so big in two different chapters, right? And I'm spending more time on an airplane than probably on the ground. But uh, you know, as as it's grown over the last handful of years, I was able to meet everybody during the onboarding process, and that's changed now with you know, Eric Reber being our network igniter and some of the um automation stuff we have when members sign up and the new CRM and all that. But those systems and those things had to happen because we're just getting so big. But man, you really spend even one year of your life truly networking, amazing things are gonna happen. You're there's no way you don't change for sure. Never mind, you know, the past handful of years.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

Well, I can tell you from my perspective, and and maybe this is a little bit of a of a story to to share, but I think about myself and stepping into this group and whether it's jumping on your coattails or what have you, but having this whole thought process about the at the about the now the podcast, and then going to you and saying, Hey, I think I want to do this, and you're like, What do you need? I'm like, just say yes, you know, and we just take it and run with it. But allowing me that platform and that voice, which you didn't really allow me, it was more the I guess somebody needed to give me permission, but being able to do that and say, Okay, I'm gonna have these conversations with these people that typically I would be too meek, I guess, to go talk to. But now I can say to a Doug Hopkins or a Todd Mather or you name it, some of these people that I've had on the podcast and be able to say, Hey, look, I got this podcast, I want to sit down and have a conversation with you about you and learn about them and be able to drive that out there. But just you allowing me to have that platform through the network has been life-altering in and of itself. So, I mean, I think from my little perspective, what you're allowing others to do through what you've brainchild is incredible.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

You know, and it's such a great podcast because you get down to those origin stories, right? I remember Andrew John was one of the first few, right? And I must have played, I don't know, 50, 100 rounds of golf with Andrew John over the couple of years I've known him now. And I heard things on that podcast, I'm like, wow, I had no idea. And then I went to him afterwards, like, really, you know, this happened, that happened. That never would come up on the golf course. And that's one of the things I really love is like when you look back, like I remember beating you. Jeff invited you and I to lunch at Native New York. We sat down, you joined. Now you do the insurance for both APN chapters. Uh behind the scenes, you've been helping me with this, you know, this heat stroke open insurance policy, stuff like that. Yeah. And that's just what happens, right? You get real builders together, things are going to happen. It's just a matter of when. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

It's incredible. Let's talk about tensions, troubles, turmoil, bumps in the road. Have you had any that have started to derail it and you've had to retract a little bit and then move forward? Or has it all been rainbows and butterflies?

SPEAKER_00 26:39

I think some of it is my mindset. I look at them as opportunities. Even the challenge I see as an opportunity, right? It's like we've got an opportunity right now to call a timeout, monitor, and adjust. And if you're going to be a business owner, you want to talk about the importance of being flexible and adjusting on the go. It's got to happen, right? It's been a lot of learning, a ton of learning. Again, we've got the uh APN Holdings LLC, which is the mother cup uh uh company up and running, getting, you know, the chapter in South Carolina, Corey was was amazing in helping me get that done. But again, as I navigate these challenges and and hurdles that we talk about, I've got people on this phone I can call and say, I don't know what the hell I'm about to do, but I need some help.

SPEAKER_04 27:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

Right. And then it's crazy. When you've got an army of people that are true builders that can come together, the smartest person in the room is the room. How many times have we said that? Right? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Right?

SPEAKER_01 28:08

There's a great support cast. Yeah. For sure. And not to take value away from that, but if we were to sit down three years from now, what would you what if you could craft where this goes, what would that look like?

SPEAKER_00 28:22

I think most importantly is we stay true to who we are. That culture, the mentality that this group has, the there's nothing, you know, two of the things I love seeing is people protecting the APN culture, like you talked about when people bring out the business cards, the new people, like whoa. Or Taylor Job is a rising star in the network, uh, a young realtor, right? And watching some of our, I'll call them senior members, Andy Ott, Jeff, you know, some of those folks that recognize the potential in these people and then kind of mentor them. Like they were never asked to mentor somebody or do this or do that, but they just kind of do it because they understand the importance of giving back, right? So to see stuff like that, I hope we always stay that way. I tell Karen all the time if we ever become like a traditional networking group, put a for sale sign in the front yard, this thing's done. Yeah, I'll go sit on the beach and play golf and do something else. But um Lord knows you got a network of golfers to be that way. If we've got people, right? That's probably the most important thing to me. And you know, as we grow, just stay true to who we are, keep doing it the right way, and uh, you know, have fun while you do it. Yeah. I can't tell you how many times when I was a principal, after a long day, I had to go to a networking event, and I went there and there were six people, or you know, I went there and I'm like, really, this is it? As long as our members see value in it, that's what's important to me. Yeah, yeah. How big do you want it to get? I don't know if that size really matters. I think it depends on who you ask. Yeah, well, as I said that, I knew. I knew. You know, right now we're at 400 members. I don't know if we actually we're gonna get bigger. It's just, you know, they come in every day. But the reality is, do we need to get bigger as long as it's the right 400? Right? Members don't want to stay active, replace them. I don't care what industry you're in, right? You don't want to be a part of it, you don't want to put in the work. Somebody in your industry is willing to.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

They might be new, they might be young and hungry, whatever it is. But as long as you know you've got great people, you know, whatever the number is, the number is. I'm not worried about that, right? We don't have to worry about, we don't have all those overhead bills that some of these other groups have. That's what can make us unique. I'm really excited about the opportunities of other chapters, right? We've got somebody I'm meeting with at the end of the month that does want to start one on the west side. If it happens or doesn't happen, is a whole different thing. We've got the chapter in Myrtle Beach. There's starting to be some synergy between the members. I mean, you guys came out, played golf. Yep. Watching you guys stay in touch and communicate on Facebook is a joy to me. Uh, I've got somebody in Wisconsin, somebody in Boston. So if you know more APN chapters pop up, I think that's super cool, as long as we do it the right way and stay true to ourselves. But the potential there and connecting people across state lines, across the country, that's exciting. Still sometime to still sometimes hard to digest.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:06

But whatever it's gonna be, it's gonna be, right? Like I've I've gotten to that point, and some of this is getting older, and you know, through all the work we've done, is whatever it's gonna be, it's gonna be, right? Don't I'm not trying to control it, want it to happen organically, but there's builders out there who want to do with the work, and as long as as they're there, I think we've got something unique.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Do you ever think legacy? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

What do you what do you want the legacy of APN to be and of Frank Stirpe to be? I want people, when I'm gone, to just say, man, he was a great guy. He was authentic. I'm always going to be Frank, and I'm not gonna apologize for that, right? I am who I am, love it, hate it. I'm not gonna lose a wink of sleep overnight at night. But uh, I just think, you know, somebody who's willing to help people, somebody who was always willing to give, somebody who was always part of the answer, not part of the problem. Somebody who did anything they could for people, if it's giving them an opportunity or you know, connecting them, finding them the right resources, whatever it might be. For APN, man, it'd be a great thing if, you know, when my time's done here on this planet, if APN kept going, how cool would that be? Yeah, right. Probably need to do some more uh reflecting and strategic thinking and planning around that, right? Better write a book, right? Yeah, but uh, you know, another thing too is we were we're starting to explore the idea of like APN annual conference where members from different chapters can come together, Myrtle Beach and you know Phoenix, and if there is one that opens up in you know another city or whatever, and so I don't know, the sky's the limit, which is both amazing and exciting, but then also overwhelming too at the same time, you know. So, a question that probably seems to be a duh question. Do you feel like APN is a success? I do. Yeah, I do. Here's why 52 people would not get in their cars or get on planes to come here this weekend, spend their own hard-earned money, regardless if the business is paying for it or they're paying it out of their personal pockets, and you know, get away from their families, their commitments. You know, everybody's got work on their desk in some capacity. They wouldn't do that if it wasn't valuable to them, right? And people like yourself, who just in October, you were in Myrtle Beach. Yeah, and now you're here doing it, right? So as long as it's valuable to people, we have something. And that's kind of the difference, too, right? This network is about the people. Yeah, you know, there's the behind the scenes, the bookkeeping, and you know, there's things that go with it, but APN gives so much back to its members, too, right? Because again, Karen and I both have full-time jobs, yeah. It's evolved into this passion of people, right? People are always going to be your greatest asset, your greatest challenge. And as long as you got to interact with people, I want to have the biggest, the brightest, and the baddest around me.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

Yeah. When we know that you've reached the goal of what you set out to accomplish with APM.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

We passed that a long time ago, brother. I was I get way too much credit for APM. I tell people this all the time, right? I mean, you you name somebody, and I can tell you the impact they've had on this thing, the fingerprint they left on this, right? There's so many amazing people. It's unbelievable. I this this my expectations were past probably year two or something. I don't know. I'm just gonna keep doing what I think is best for the network, best for the network members, and wherever that takes us, that takes us. Yeah, and I'm gonna make some mistakes along the way. Like it's going to happen. And Karen and I talk about all the time. So many people, and they make mistakes, they don't want to own it.

SPEAKER_04 34:32

Right?

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Anytime, I don't even in business. Somebody owns you know their mistake, great. Now, how do we fix this? How do we get past this? How do we go to what's next? So we'll make some mistakes along the way. There'll be some more, you know, lessons learned, things of that sort, but just you know, take one day at a time and keep growing, keep building, and as long as great people stay with it and keep coming to the table, sky's the limit.

SPEAKER_01 34:53

If somebody's stuck right now in their business and uh they're just not sure if they should continue on, what would you say to motivate them to push forward?

SPEAKER_00 35:02

Surround yourself with the right people. Because some businesses do need to just call it quit sometimes and say, listen, let's stop the bleeding. Doesn't mean you failed, right? It means you got to let it be what it is, go back to the drawing board, maybe come back differently, or you know, whatever it is. But if you're that stuck in the business and not on the business, that's probably a first sign, right? There's a big difference between working in your business and working on your business. But if you don't have the right people around you, again, the value of a network to call them and say, hey, is there late at the end of the tunnel, or am I just putting myself and my family more in debt? Or I can't tell you how many businesses make bad decisions out of the gate because big leases or so many different things. All the overhead or this or that. But if you don't have the right people, and that's like our business roundtables. Yeah. We dive into all that stuff, right? And all we're doing is planting seeds. And then when the when the network members leave that round table, they're following up with one-on-ones or going and playing a round of golf, and hey, let me pick your brain a little bit more on this. We all have so much knowledge, and we don't always look at it as the knowledge we have, but again, lessons learned or resources that we have or whatever it might be, that if we, you know, just have open, transparent conversations or allowing ourselves to have a little humility, things of that sort, we can ease so many of those troubles. Yeah. That, you know, because being being a business owner, especially if you're a solo entrepreneur, can be very, very lonely. Yeah. And if you don't have a network to fall back on of people, and I think that's really kind of the disconnect with traditional networking, is they go to one of these events, and if everybody's looking to hand out business cards and transaction type mindset, they're not getting that value from it. Where it's relationship-based, every people want to help people. Yeah, it's amazing to see how they, you know, will open up and do anything they can, not expecting anything in return, right? So you just you you got to surround yourself with those people.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

You've kind of already touched on this, or we've kind of already touched on this, but what types of programs or things do you think APN could do either more of or better to strengthen the the all-around relationship with regards to every member?

SPEAKER_00 37:50

Yeah, and it's tough because everybody has different needs, different interests, things of that sort, right? And I know there's a lot of people who have a bunch of ideas, right? And there's different kinds of people in this world. There's ideas, people. I knew when I was a principal, I'd have a teacher that would come to me with the best ideas. I'm like, hell yeah, go with that, right? Two weeks later, come to me with another idea. Yeah, I love that, but what happened to the last idea, right? Yeah, then you got people who maybe can't come up with the ideas, but if you say, hey, this is what we're looking to do, right? This is what success looks like when we do it right, they can go and implement that and progress monitor it and do all that, right? And then you get some people that can do the whole thing.

SPEAKER_04 38:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

So, you know, you get a lot of people. Oh, hey, I mean, literally, when you came out with your podcast, we had a network member, she's no longer in the network, but can I have an API? No, we already have one. What's the point of having two? We're just devaluing the first one. And and honestly, you know, I you and I had built a relationship, we're pushing the chips in on this. So they weren't happy about it. Oh, well, I'm sorry, you know, move on. Yeah, everybody has a million ideas of things, but then you got to find those right people who can really take something and run with it. So that's something Karen and I are always cognitive of man, that's a great idea. Who do we have for that, right? Because again, with all these different arms, I mean, if we had somebody who just took care of golf full-time, right? Yeah, that would be amazing. If we had somebody who just, you know, did this or did that. I mean, there's so many different areas. And as we continue to grow, there's gonna be more and more of that. We're getting to a point we're gonna start being able to create some jobs within APN, which is exciting.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Yeah, but yeah, I mean almost seemed like full-time executive assistant to do whatever.

SPEAKER_00 39:25

Yeah, do those things. Yeah. I mean, that's that's some of the stuff I'm learning right now, right? With the travel back and forth. Because, you know, going to Myrtle is not like going to, you know, surprise from you know, from Mesa, right? I mean, it's it's a whole day each way. Uh, obviously, when I'm there, I'm trying to be invested in those members and working on things. So yeah, I mean, we're growing, we're getting to that point. It's it's a tipping point for sure, but it's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 39:46

Yeah. What else have we not covered that you think is important for people who might be listening to this to know with regards to maybe the struggle, where it is today, where it's I mean, because this is not an overnight success. No, it kind of blew up, right? But it's not an overnight success.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

Yeah. So I think a couple things. One is I always want to have, I always want to be a network that has an opportunity for people to get high quality networking at a really affordable price, right? When you look, and we, I mean, we did once or twice raise the prices a little bit, not saying we never will, but I love to keep our price points, you know, for people to get a seat at the table. When you talk about, you know, basic business membership being 175 bucks a year, just the number of new people coming in a month, for you to know who those people are, that in itself is worth 175 bucks. Yeah, right. And if you don't see that value, go home, right? So I always want to kind of stay true to that. I don't want to get to you know, some of these other groups, not that they're not valuable, don't get me wrong, you know,$10,000,$20,000 buy-in, you know, because then it's not what APN is, right? The other thing is this APN pyramid that we've rolled out and continue to educate people and really, I think that's a differential of us versus other group. You know, at the base, which is the biggest part of the pyramid, it's that entry-level networking, happy hour, lunch mobs, things of that sort. Where you come, you're just meeting people. Oh, this is my second time seeing Yan. I'm building on that relationship from last time, meet somebody new. Like, I remember first time I met Ted, I'm like, I love this guy. Yeah. Ted, let's go play golf, right? That gets into now level two, which is again the second part of the pyramid, a little bit smaller, and that's all about relationships, yeah, right? Things that happen, right? Like you and I didn't know each other, but it would not be uncommon for one of us to call each other on a Friday and say, Hey, you want to go to Happy Hour? Yeah. Wouldn't it be weird, right? And as we go through this pyramid, everybody's got a ceiling. You have a ceiling, I have a ceiling, everybody does, right? Then we get to level three, which is really what this weekend is experiences. When we go back to the valley, this happened in our lives. There's gonna be, I don't know what's gonna happen yet. Maybe it's a hole in one, maybe it's you know, scat headbutting somebody. I don't know what it is, right? They come back bleeding, they come back bleeding. Remember that time you get headbutt? But those are experiences, right? If sweet at you know, one of the sporting events or whatever it is, right? Then level four is that personal and professional development, the breakfast of champions, the signature circles, the business roundtables, all that stuff. I want to grow as a person and as a business owner. And when you grow as a person, obviously your business is gonna grow too, right? And then level five, I think a lot of people don't even know about. There's so many things that happen kind of, I call it underground, where people are talking about business mergers, people are talking about starting businesses together, a lot of investment deals, uh, opportunities are happening. And how does that happen? As they work up that pyramid together, they're giving each other seats at tables. Yeah. So that pyramid is you know really something that separates us from you know traditional networking, which I just want to continue to educate people on that and have them understand that. And again, if people hit their ceiling, you know, level two, level three, wherever it is, it's fine. People will grow and you know, things of that sort, but uh that's a big part of who we are, you know, moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

So take the definition out of it, take the money out of it, take the networking out of it.

SPEAKER_00 43:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

What does above par mean to you inside, in your psyche?

SPEAKER_00 43:13

Yeah. It's uh it's everybody that's in my life, right? Like, don't get me wrong, I've got my you know, my family, right? But when I look at who my friends are, I look at people that I do business with, I look at people that I'm you know exploring options with or behind the scenes going into business with people, it's everybody from APN. So it's everybody around me, right? It's everybody around me, and I think that's what makes me who I am. It's the excitement of whatever opportunities there are for me on the horizon and how I'm gonna tackle problems in life as they come up and you know, all of that. So it's just people at the end of the day, it's people, right?

SPEAKER_01 43:53

So I got a statement, okay, and there's not really a question, but that's why it would be a statement. Yes, but I'd like your reaction. Okay. Yesterday's courage, today's commitment, tomorrow's legacy. Say that one more time. Today's yesterday's courage.

SPEAKER_04 44:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

Today's commitment, yeah, tomorrow's legacy. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 44:15

How does that sit with you? What does that mean? It settles really nice. And I think that's applicable to every single person, right? Like you have to take certain risks, certain steps in life. I don't care what it is you're doing, uh, you gotta you gotta have that courage, right? And sometimes the bigger risk, calculated risk, calculated risk, gotta emphasize that. The bigger the risk, the bigger the rewards, right? Like, what is it that you want out of life? Everybody's got a number, everybody's got a quality of life. At some point, you're like, you know what, I'm pretty content here, I'm good. And that's cool, that's your life, right? But APN is kind of people who want a little bit more, right? And I really think that's that's that builder mentality, right? And then obviously, when when our time comes, because we're only here a limited time, right? When we're done here on this planet, the legacy is really what it's about, right? It's not about money. None of this has ever been about money. Money is really about freedom, right? But legacy is so much more because the work we do today is impacting people even outside of our network, it's impacting our communities, it's doing so much. And the people who get it, those who don't, don't, it's okay. But if you're not working towards your legacy, you know, thinking the end game, thinking of, you know, who how you want to remember be remembered, what is it that your business is, you know, brand in the community of other people's eyes, things of that sort, you're really missing, you're missing uh something big there. So no, I I think that I like that statement a lot.

SPEAKER_01 45:41

I'm gonna ask you a question I asked you when we did the first podcast. Oh boy. At least I think I did. Okay. Pretty sure I asked you this question. You walk into a room, you got 30 seconds to inspire a crowd, and I think you did not ask me this shit.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

It was like episode two or three. Oh, I remember I was walking in Myrtle Beach listening to the podcast. I'm like, oh good, I'm glad I didn't get asked that question.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Look at me getting teed up here. So you got you got 30 seconds, you walk into a room, and this time it's not of high schoolers. You got A room full of APN members that are ready to walk out. You need to inspire them to keep going. How do you do that? What do you say? You get ready to walk out of the room? We'll get ready to just quit. Get ready to be done. But you don't want them to. You're not gonna say, hey, I'll refund your money, get the fuck out. Right, right. You're looking at how do you inspire a group of business owners to take it to the next level? Let's take that top tier of your pyramid.

SPEAKER_00 46:33

So I think what I would say is remember your why. I don't care how tough your journey is, personally or professionally, or both, remember your why. Because there's a reason I don't care what it is, why you started it. I remember being a young kid and my dad saying to me, you know, life is all about my grandpa giving him a little bit more than what he had, and him giving me and my brothers a little bit more than what he had, and that keep going on so that way the family continues to evolve generation over generation, right? And everybody's got a reason, everybody's got a why. I mean, my parents worked so hard, both of them working, both of them worked two jobs, three jobs sometimes. And I never went without. You know, I put a lot of basketball, club sports, Jordan Snakers. I never went without. I don't know, I don't know. I know I didn't realize how much they were sacrificing and how hard they were working to provide. And there was a podcast I listened to years ago about in every family, there is the one, right? The one person that's gonna come along and change the trajectory of that family forever. Okay. And a big part of my why is being that person in my family. Two of the most rewarding things out of everything I've done in life, right? And hopefully there's a lot more on the horizon for me. I like to think I'm just hitting my prime, right? Yeah, yeah. Is you know, I've got two young nephews, one and two years old, that every year I can put money. Eric Petit Wealth works with me, that I tuck away money for them. So when they turn 21, I can take them to the bar and give them a nice fat check and say, Hey, Uncle Frank loves you, right? Yeah. They don't know about it, right? My my brother does, just in case anything ever happens to me. This is where you get the money. But every year when I do that, that's a great feeling. And then the other thing is, you know, helping my parents put them in a situation for retirement, right? And you know, my dad always wanted to be by the beach, and you know, they wanted to be closer to their grandkids, and being in a position to help others and do things for others and give back, that's what it's all about for me, right? And you can't do it alone. I don't care how good you are, I don't care. You can ask anybody in our network, some of the most successful people, the Doug Hopkins, you know, this person, that person, nobody can do it alone. You need other people. So remember your why. Know that you need the right people around you all throughout life, no matter where you are. And that should be enough, right? Yeah. Hopefully. One more question. Yeah. What color are the shoes? For Friday's shoe round? For Saturday's shoe route. Or Saturday, that's what I meant. Tomorrow's Friday. I got to bring because I saw two pairs.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

I'm coming out.

SPEAKER_00 49:02

I brought two pairs. I'm gonna wear those black and red. It's like a glossy shoe. It's kind of cool. You gotta see them in person. Jordans. Some will bring those out. I'll probably wear those Saturday, and then Sunday is Victory Red Sunday. Yeah. So I'll wear my black golf pants, probably, those black and red Jordans, the red polo. I got a nice red hat. Tomorrow I'm gonna bring out the gray Jordans, but the black ones will probably be Saturday and Sunday. What about you?

SPEAKER_01 49:28

Oh, I'm not sharing.

SPEAKER_00 49:29

Oh, I can get it. Yeah, you're not gonna be a little bit more. That's a secret. That's the secret. Well, hey, I appreciate you. I appreciate you. I mean, it's been amazing. You know, even Monday night, I flew back from Myrtle and I listened to two episodes on that flight. And, you know, I'll I'll listen to them walking. Sometimes I'll have it in the in the office in the background, just what you're doing with this podcast. You know, I knew you were gonna do great things. Well, thank you. So don't take this the wrong way, but you far exceeded what I thought it was gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 49:53

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 49:54

And I just love hearing some of these origin stories and how valuable. I hope network members understand how valuable it is. If you're gonna go have a one-on-one with somebody and they have a podcast, listen to it first. That one-on-one is gonna be different than walking in. How did you do this weekend? Bullshit.

SPEAKER_01 50:09

Yeah, it's crazy because I feel like, I mean, and and and I truly believe our conversations are next level. Yeah, like when I go, even when I go into a one-on-one, I go meet somebody at Liberty Market or Starbucks or wherever I'm meeting them. It's a totally different conversation than when I sit down and we're having a conversation on the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 50:28

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 50:28

And I feel like stuff that comes out sometimes talking to Sally, and she just released today, Sally Harrison follows. How awesome is she? Yeah, amazing. And to learn that her son committed suicide. I mean, yeah, it's uh tragic, but that's not something that would usually come out. That's a big part of who she is.

SPEAKER_00 50:44

A lot of work she does behind the scenes that people don't know about, and not knowing that about Sally is is is something that that again, knowing that is powerful.

SPEAKER_04 50:54

Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 50:55

And it just helps you get to know her and and you know some of her why in a different way. So I encourage everybody to listen, especially if you're gonna have a one-on-one with a network member, you know, listen to these origin stories. I do have one question for you in Claire. All right, Mike Eupert, does he go for the five peep this weekend?

SPEAKER_01 51:11

No, he's gonna kick his ass.

SPEAKER_00 51:12

You're gonna take it.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

I'm gonna take it. Wow, okay. No, actually, I think Mike drops the third. I think there's two people. Come here.

SPEAKER_00 51:23

Come here real quick. Nobody cares what you're saying. We got a special guest. Come here, it's a podcast. Come here. We're gonna have a special guest here in just one second if he hurries up. Hold on. I think he's still I think he's still working his ankle injury. Alright, it's only gonna be 15 seconds. Just come say hi to the network. Sit right here and say, What's up, kid? Good to see you, bud. It's the APN podcast.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

How are you?

SPEAKER_00 51:50

Go ahead, final question for Scott.

SPEAKER_01 51:52

We got Cam's cataboo. How are you? So tell me, how's the game? Good. Yeah, yeah. I heard she was flipping. Put on grandpa in the back. Did you give grandpa the bird? I'll be good to go. So uh we're we're in Palm Springs. Take it everyone's ass. Are you? Yeah. I was just gonna ask you who's gonna walk. No, uh coming last. What's your handicap for the very first one? He just dropped into the podcast. He just photobombed the podcast. It's all right. I'm like a 40, I'm like a 40.

SPEAKER_00 52:20

Photobomb the podcast. Now he's an 18.

SPEAKER_01 52:23

18. Nice!

SPEAKER_00 52:24

Snyd hasn't been golfing long. That's the thing people don't realize. I will tell you this.

SPEAKER_01 52:27

He swears very well.

SPEAKER_00 52:29

I will tell you this. He's the only golfer in the whole network I golfed with a guy back-to-back birdie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:35

Hey, third birdie was 48.

SPEAKER_02 52:36

Up under the tree, up to the park reef.

SPEAKER_01 52:39

Yeah. Nice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:42

Well, sweet.

SPEAKER_01 52:42

I'll see you guys. We'll see you, buddy.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

Like in the corner? Yep. I like I said, level three experiences. You just never know what's going to happen in APN. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 52:51

There you go. Well, hey, thank you for joining us. We will uh catch in with you later. Frank, appreciate it. Thank you. We got a gaggle of people out there waiting for us. We're gonna go have some drinks. Enjoy the evening. Rock on.

unknown 53:12

Stop and take the next evil stop.

SPEAKER_02 54:02

We truly throw it.