Patrick McCarthy - Azione Unlimited | From Isolation to Insight: Why Community is the Ultimate Advantage

Why do so many integrators feel stuck, even when demand is strong?

Not because the work is complex — that’s expected — but because most operators are solving the same problems in isolation, convinced their challenges are unique.

In this episode of 1NSIGHTS, Jason Griffing is joined by Patrick McCarthy, Executive Director of Azione Unlimited, to unpack what’s really happening inside the industry; from the pressure operators feel as accidental business owners to the lack of clear playbooks for scaling.

Listen and you'll learn:

• Why integrators often feel isolated, even when surrounded by peers
• What the best operators do differently when it comes to growth and decision-making
• How sales, process, and recurring revenue actually connect (and where most overcomplicate)
• Why community and shared insight are becoming a competitive advantage

Watch the video recording here:

https://youtu.be/t1KR7nBC79A?si=kbL3_0vr8iZqn5TT 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

What does it take to build a business that doesn't fall apart the moment you step away? For most integrators, the answer isn't more stales, more hustle, or a better product lineup. It's something a lot harder to quantify and easier to overlook. On this episode of Insights, I'm joined by Patrick McCarthy, Executive Director of Oziona Limited, one of the CI channel's most active peer community definitely. Patrick shares a unique perspective shaped by having a front row seed to help hundreds of integrators actually run their businesses. We dig into what the most successful operators do differently when it comes to building systems, delegating, and stepping out of the day-to-day. We also explore the real value of peer community, not just for the networking and relationships, but the vulnerability, shared problem solving, and candid conversations that are impossible to replicate anywhere else. As always, this conversation was originally recorded live with audience participation. For a link to the full video recording, check out the episode description. If you've ever felt isolated in your business or wondered whether the challenges you're facing are ones you have to figure out alone, this conversation is a good reminder that you don't. Let's dive in. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the May edition of Insights, hosted by OneVision. I am your host, Jason Griffin, Director of Product at OneVision Resources, and I am joined today by Patrick McCarthy, the executive director at Aussie Own. Patrick is fresh off of the perspicacious Phoenix meeting in Arizona. In case you're wondering, perspicacious is having a keen mental perception, discernment, or understanding. I had to search that. So thought I'd share that little tidbit with everyone else. In his work as an executive director, Patrick has a front row seat to working with hundreds of integrators. And he is here to share his perspectives on the importance of building and embracing community in order to build healthier businesses and quite frankly, healthier, better lives. So I know as a former integrator that the business is uniquely demanding. And as an industry, we do unfortunately have a unique ability to produce a high level of burnt out and stressed out operators. And so Patrick is a firm believer that community and connection are one of the most effective antidotes to that outcome. And we're here to unpack the reasons why and what we can do about it on this episode. So Patrick, thanks so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah, thanks for having me. And I'm noticing two things. One, I think I'm wearing that shirt that's in that picture, um, which is from one of our conferences. But two, uh, you're the only person that nailed perspicacious on the first try. And that was probably the easiest we like to do alliterations. And yes, I love the alliterations.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Yeah. Well, I won't, yeah. I I I won't lie that I again I had to search that up. I wasn't sure. And incidentally, I almost wore the shirt that I'm wearing in that headshot today, but it was just a little too hot here in Denver today. Yeah, it's a nice shirt. So, anyways, all right. Well, we're gonna jump in again, a high-level agenda, some of the big uh points that we're gonna cover, you know, why integrators often feel isolated, even uh even when surrounded by peers, what the best operators do differently when it comes to growth and decision making, how sales, process, and recurring revenue uh all actually connect, and what community and shared insight, um, how those are becoming really a uh a big competitive advantage to those um that really lean in and embrace them. So, Patrick, uh, was thinking about a good place to start this conversation, and I think this idea of kind of the dream versus the reality, you know, uh you and I have talked about how a lot of integrators um and operators in the channel get into the business out of a love for technology, you know, building solutions, working with customers, and what they end up experiencing on a day-to-day basis can be, you know, something quite different, right? So I'd love for you to share your perspectives that you've seen on that. How does this sort of play out and what gets lost uh in that process?

SPEAKER_00 3:42

Yeah, so I think this is this is a great question, but it's kind of interesting because I'm gonna I feel like I might uh weave into the psyche of some people that are listening because they're gonna go, ah, you know, that makes sense. I hear that. But that was sort of a um a common thread within um my last keynote in Phoenix was you woke up one day, the integrator who was the best salesman who thought you know they could sell their way out of any problem. Um they were the best technician, they love programming, and then uh they woke up one day and they were a businessman, right? They were all of a sudden responsible because they hired one person and then two person and then five, and then now they're a six million dollar business with 20 people and you know, payrolls that don't pause, and uh QuickBooks that need to be reconciled, and they didn't know they signed up for all of that. So I, you know, I called it the trophy and the grind, right? We get into this industry because we love to create custom solutions, things that are one of a kind. And uh you get so many stories of people with their favorite clients who literally say, This is a blank canvas, right? Do what you do best, tell me where to go. And they do all this work and they're thinking about how cool this is going to be. They hop in their car, they're driving back, they get a phone call because another client's Apple TV is frozen, right? And they're like, My God, like how is this the same day that I just had where I am the artist with the paintbrush and I'm also, you know, the technician troubleshooting, you know, turn it on and turn it off again. So I think that's the dream and the reality of this um entire industry, uh, especially in a project-based business where you kind of become the heartbeat. Sometimes you need to step out of the way and let other people run the business and not think that you can do all of it at the same time. I think that's where they get lost. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Yeah, I'm I'm a uh a former integrator, as I mentioned before. And I know I I lived that reality. You know, the nature of this business is you're you're often in a small business, you know, maybe five, 10, 15 people. Obviously, some of them get bigger, but a lot of the companies in our industry are pretty small. And so by definition, you're you're wearing a lot of hats, and then the hats that you're wearing as a leader or a business owner are often evolving as the needs of the business change, right? So maybe your sales and marketing hat, and then you finally get to a point where you can justify bringing on some help in in sales and marketing, but then the constraint just move somewhere else, and now you got to go put on your service manager hat or your project manager hat. Um, and that and that can lead to you know a lot of burnout. I think I I'd love to hear your perspectives on um how the integrators like like again, you interface with a lot of integrators, so the the best ones out there that you see kind of navigating these challenges of the evolving business needs and not spreading them themselves too thin, like how are they thinking about this challenge maybe differently than than others?

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Yeah, so I hate to use the word best, but I can tell you what a successful integrator looks like because what I consider the benchmark of a success is the ability just to join an association and show up to it and know that their business is not on fire, right? If you're the best salesperson and you leave for three days, what happens to your sales if no one else is doing it? Um, you know, you need to recognize your seat on the bus and you need to build people around that. So I think the most successful ones are the ones that can step out of their business. Um, you know, I talk to a lot of integrators, not only in the group, but outside the group, and they say, well, isn't my time better spent talking to a builder or working with an architect or doing something else? Um and then I will point to our conference where I can bring 150 companies together and say, I know 150 at minimum people who know how to step away from a business, who know how to leave for sometimes up to a week at a time, because everything they have put together, the business can continue to run. They know where they're supposed to sit on the bus, they know what happens when they leave, and there's operations and process around that. And that's the boring stuff, and I'm gonna keep going back to like that's the grind of these businesses is that there has to be systems in place that you don't just become a project-based business. And if the heartbeat leaves, then there's no there's no progress forward. So I think that's what people achieve is they're able to step out of the business, and they do that through um these different mechanics and different levers.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah, and I know you guys at Aussie Own, you know, you're you're a buying group and you provide many different benefits to your dealers. I've been to several of your events and I've I've heard you guys, you know, beating the drum on the importance of attending these events and obviously not just signing up for Aussie Own so that you can get the buying group discounts, but actually leaning in and really looking at it as a community and the value of you know what you can learn by attending these events and connecting with people. Talk a little bit about maybe some of the challenges that you've seen and the way that you guys have overcome those challenges in terms of drawing people into these events, because I'm sure that from your perspective, you're a firm believer in they're gonna get so much value out of being here, but sometimes there's this activation energy hurdle that people have to get over to push things aside and make room for a few days to step out of the business. So, what are what are some of the things that you guys have seen success with in terms of motivating people to prioritize attending these events and prioritizing community?

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Yeah, and it's it's a great question. It's kind of something that we have planted our flag on, is that we can be a community that helps each other. Um, so my my answer typically beyond just I know a bunch of people that show up to our conferences, is that there are ideas that you can pick up every day when you come to a conference like this that will change fundamentally how you think about your business. You know, this is so much different than um one of our dealers says the elixir to all problems is just more sales. I get that. Pile on the sales and you'll have no more issues.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

That's a fair point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yeah, it's a great point. And you can you can get out of a lot of tight situations if you just sell, you know, if you oversell yourself. But then, you know, there's over everything to that, right? There's there's burnout and tension and everything like that. So what we did for this conference and what we've kind of planted our flag around is this idea of community. And I stood on stage. Actually, I'm gonna back up when I was thinking about what I wanted to say on stage. I started throwing these ideas together, and Persepicacious really jumped out at me as the idea that you should be able to see what's going on around you and know how to navigate it, or at least have a sense of it. And then I got this email from another dealer who said um it can be very isolating at times, right? You're uh even in a room full of your peers, because as owners, you're carrying this unique kind of pressure, and I want to provoke a space where there's more freedom for owners so they can work to live, not live to work. I think I put that on the stage like five times, right? Work to live, not live to work. That is super vulnerable. And I thought that was really cool that that wasn't like a confession that was someone saying, Hey, there are spaces that we can generate together that um work towards this idea of like, how do we work to live, not live to work? So the conference and and kind of how we're carrying ourselves forward is a lot of like the knowledge in the room is the curriculum. And if I can stand on stage and say, it's okay to be vulnerable, it's okay to look around the room and say, that I think that person's got all the answers, and I don't know how they got there because I'm feeling my way around in the dark. And then you put them in a room together where someone at the front is a dealer and someone in the audience is a dealer, and those are 90% of your sessions, right? Is vulnerability from somebody who says, This is how I do it, and now you guys can poke holes in it, and somebody who sits in the audience and raises their hand and says, Here's my issue. You know, how do you guys see it? I think that's a departure from always bringing in thought leaders from different industries who um you get two responses from that. One, the the person in the room goes, This person has no idea what we do in our industry, which is fair. We're a small industry, and they take a hard right mentally and they're on their phone for the next hour. Um or two, uh, they come out of that session going, that was like you know, close enough, but I didn't get to ask my questions, or you know, I don't think that um the knowledge I'm taking home from that conversation because I had to teach them about my industry is gonna move me forward. So people that are already getting in the front of the room, and now you have a um organization that teaches each other and is vulnerable and can have a positive flywheel instead of a negative flywheel.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Yeah, yeah, that that that makes a ton of sense. I'm gonna I'm gonna launch a poll here really quickly. So if you're live attending with us today, I'd love if you could take just a second to respond to this question. So it's what what's your current relationship with professional community? So peer groups, buying groups, industry events, etc. Um, we would love to get a pulse from you know folks in the room about how involved you are in community. Are you making it a priority? Is it always taking a back seat, et cetera? And while we wait for those responses to come in, Patrick, you mentioned this idea of vulnerability a few times. I'm that that resonates with me. So I'm a I'm a member of like a local uh men's group as an example. So not a professional group, but more of like a personal, you know, dads kind of getting together, right? And sharing things. And then I've experienced this professionally as well, where it feels like there's this dynamic where um you know we're all like fixated on our own challenges because every day that's what we're living and that's what we're faced with. But we kind of assume maybe that you know others are we go to these events and then there's this tendency that we all have to kind of put our best foot forward and share what's going well and share our successes. And I think that's that isolation factor that you're talking about, where there's this sort of asymmetry or almost like a mirage that happens where you can easily be fooled into thinking that you're the only one experiencing these challenges. So zoom into that concept of vulnerability for me and talk about your perspectives on the importance of being willing to open up and share those challenges that you're going through in the business. Because in my experience, as soon as you do that, you give everyone else permission to do the same. And all of a sudden the floodgates open and you realize, oh, I'm not alone. Like everybody is struggling with some version of this.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Yeah. I think it's I think you kind of set up the answer perfectly in saying that you're part of a local group that has nothing to do with uh business, but it is of your interest, right? And I think you go into that thinking, I I think people need to change why they're being vulnerable and for what, right? When I think you people say, I'm being vulnerable about my business, they take it as a reflection of them. But when they say I'm being vulnerable about my understanding of being a father, or I'm being vulnerable about my um understanding of our community. You know, I show up to local community groups just because I want to talk to people about that, or pickleball, right? Like name anything. And you don't have that same wall-up. Why? Why is that? You want to learn, you want to meet other people who have good ideas, and you want to take their ideas, mix it with yours, and make it your own thing. But as soon as we start talking about our business, we clam up. And it and it maybe is partly because it's a small industry. Um, you might be fighting for the same dollars, whether that's client or uh trade associate partners, your builders and architects. Um, there's a number of different reasons, but the the real gold in the hills only comes if you bring your shovel of vulnerability and you can show up and say, here are the issues I'm running into. 90% of the time, someone has already figured it out, or they're on the same journey. And to to go back to my um keynote, why we called it the phoenix, which I kind of weaved in here, was the phoenix is the only creature that needs a community to witness it, right? You need to know what it was before, you need to know what it was during the fire, and you need to you can see what it was after that. And in our business, we have different levels of phoenix. You're either about to go into a fire, rebirth, and become something new, or you already have, or you're in the middle of it. So I think going in with that mentality of things that I'm doing are at different stages, and for me and for the person across the table from me, um, really helps you have that rebirth or have that fire that burns everything down and builds it back up. Because we've all thought that one day, like, wouldn't it be so nice to just light this whole thing on fire and start from scratch and just see where it lands? And um, sometimes it can be that extreme and it works, and sometimes you just need the the right sentence to enter your head from somebody who's sitting across the table from you and already figured it out. I think that's that's where we get that from.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Agreed. I'm gonna end this poll here and we'll share the results very quickly. So it looks like about 75% of respondents are actively involved in getting real value from communities, so that's fantastic. And then we had about 13% involved, not sure it's doing much for me, and then uh a 13% largely on my own right now. So um again, it looks great, like most people are leaning in. I know for me personally, I'm I'm introverted. I tend to um it does take like a little bit of a push for me sometimes to like prioritize community. But every time I go, every time I go to one of these groups, whether it's a personal thing or a professional thing, I leave feeling motivated and recharged. Talk about your own personal experiences, like when you go to these events, what are what are some of the big things that you take away, you know, at a at a high level? Like every the details are going to be different at every event, but like what motivates you to you put a lot of time and energy into building these events and being there yourself. What what do you get out of it?

SPEAKER_00 17:49

I mean, we solve all the world's problems, right? We come back and we're that's great.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

See, and if you don't go, that's what you're missing.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

That's right. You're missing all that. No, it's um it's very energizing. It's it's really, really cool to sit in a room. Um, and it's I'm curious the 26% of people that are in something or don't want to be in something, if they're kind of feeling like um they're not worthy of bringing their problems forward or they are not connecting with the people around them. And I think all that is okay. I think you can go into that. I think you can go into a conference or a CDA expo or something and sit in a room and not, you don't actually have to talk. But I think you should go in with the mindset that you want to change something. Like your business isn't perfect because if it was, you probably wouldn't be in a community. So go in there being honest with yourself, like reflect on what's happening. So I think what's really cool is that we all get to slow down, we all get to reflect on what we do, and we all get to become, you know, and and hold hold that level of um vulnerability. So looking ahead and around the corner is something that I get asked a lot of like where, you know, what do you see when you go to a conference and what are the topics you want to dial in on? Uh it's not typically anything brand new you've never heard about. Sometimes we get a new category like shading or lighting that starts popping up and becomes more popular. I think energy is gonna be that next um big plateau that we all want to clamber onto. Um, I think it's a little bit of a different animal. I think people who say that we'll never get there didn't have the foresight to think about shading the same way and to have a separate shading company. Um, I think energy and electricians are all gonna become a natural evolution of what we do. Um, just like enterprise grade networking, cloud networking, you know, who would have thought we'd be managing that uh to this degree? Um AI is a huge part of this. I think the same deal with being vulnerable and doing something with the community. You should absolutely pick any AI tool and don't treat it as like a Google on steroids, treat it as a project manager or consultant or something like that. Don't maybe do everything it tells you, but treat it that way, talk to it that way, plan with it, archetype that way. Um, and then I think service as a service, right? I think it's it's it's very curious that um, and maybe it makes sense, all the kind of thumb prints and fingerprints are there. The integrators that, you know, the best integrator and there's a really good businessman, the really good businessman, the one thing they're doing is tracking all their clients and tracking all their sales, and they know who these people are. If you're a service as a service and you're able to go back to your clients and you're able to upgrade or check in or show them your value, that is RMR that you can continue to reap the benefits of. And that is how you can afford another truck or you can afford another two-man team to continue on new businesses. So the energy you get from throwing those ideas out there, you get people vulnerable, you get them ready to talk, then you throw some new ideas out there, and it's just electric, you know, it's electric. And these ideas they start popping and jumping around. Um, that is like where mentally um the headspace that I think we come out of there, we come really energized, and it's a lot of fun. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Yeah, and there is something about you know these in-person engagements too. We all went through COVID years ago, and that really shifted a lot of the a lot of things onto Zoom. And to some extent, that some of that stuck around. Obviously, in-person events have have largely gained their traction back. But I I think for me at least, like the whole COVID experience and spending so much more time on Zoom and isolated from people, it it almost like that muscle atrophied a little bit, and I felt like I had to sort of gear back up and get back into the in-person thing. And but there is, there's just fundamentally something different about being able to connect with people. I joke in three dimensions, you know. I can actually see how tall you are and uh things like that. Like, but just the energy, like being in the same room with people. I I I find that it's just fundamentally different. Than anything we can try to replicate on Zoom. I'm curious if if you share that perspective.

SPEAKER_00 22:04

Well, I I do share, and the sometimes people are way taller than I thought. Like, oh man, you know, you do have to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Hey you build these images of people for some reason.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Yeah, I had no idea. Um, you know, I I definitely it's definitely more important to make friends and be uh part of this community. Um, we have done a lot of community work as well. Um, you know, I've shared with you some of the I don't know if you want to start jumping into that, but there's like a really cool aspect of what we do around charity that has really Yeah, let's let's go there.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

I'd love for you to share that story. So this was at your recent event. Um feel free to dive into that.

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Yeah, so so and I'm I'm I wanted to preempt it because it's just so exciting and it's something that we like we've become really passionate about, not only as the Auseon team, but as the entire Aussieon Association. Um Auseon Unlimited was purchased by Nationwide Marketing Group uh a couple of years ago, four or five years ago. And the one thing they said, they said, we're gonna leave you alone, continue what you're doing, you guys are doing great. But the one thing you have to do is charity or community, you know, building the charity work and leave spaces better than you found them, is what they do. And they do a lot for um children's hospitals and brain cancers and um uh they do meals, they pack meals every time they get together. They bring 3,000 uh retailers together across the country and they pack food that can all be measured in tons, which is really cool. So we started scratching our heads and thinking, how can we do this? We have an airtight schedule as it is of of everything we want them to learn. Um, and we started talking about it internally, and then we happened to um have some misfortune where one of our dealers passed away in a plane accident, and we thought this is kind of the perfect moment for us to embrace something really tough that has affected one of our businesses, bring it forward, be vulnerable, and walk towards something really tough instead of you know shying away or pretending it isn't real. Um, and it just clicked immediately that this is a community that cares about the people next to them. Um, I'm gonna do my best without getting too choked up. So we we continued this and we we kind of kept going with it. We did a um fundraiser for someone who lost their wife to colorectal cancer. Um, when the wildfires hit uh LA children's choir, um, we raised money for them so that those kids could get back to what they were doing and have uninterrupted um paths into their future as musicians in in Los Angeles. Um then we did went to Chicago and had one for a member who lost his daughter to domestic violence. And we uh packed teddy bears and we wrote nice notes, and we the idea was that your teddy bear was a person, so write a story about it. So we packed it all together and we donated it to a woman's shelter. So women and children who are um trying to escape domestic violence have a home and they have comfort there when they show up. They have teddy bears and they have stories and something to put a smile on when it's really in their darkest spot. Um, so we're open the doors to this whole kind of idea of charity, and then in Phoenix, uh we we were working with um Mike Cleary at Sonance, and um he had lost his youngest son. He had three boys, he lost his youngest son to leukemia. Um, at the same time, his college friend Jen Wheeler, uh they were growing up together, they had the same amount of kids. Jack uh Jack was was with Mike and Brynn was with Jen. And um the two of them were you know the inseparable two kids that were runoff and they came back smiling. Like, why are you guys smiling? You know, they had their first kiss together when they went camping, you know, just being little kids. And um, they told their story about that. And and Bryn actually ended up passing away from um cancer as well. So we went on stage and we actually we bought a whole bunch of um uh basketball, the uh Golden State Warriors, had everybody in Golden State Warriors gear because that was Jack's favorite team, and we held an auction. And the auction was like we had a Barbie dream house, and you were auctioning it, but it was like the dream house and the money were also going towards uh the children's hospital Orange County because they were gonna build a new hospital room for children. So the idea was again, we could put toys in this thing, everything we had that was being auctioned was going straight to the room. Um, people were building um wellness kits, so like when the parents were there for far too long, they had they could shave or shower, or um, you know, they had socks and stuff like that in there. Um in 45 minutes, the group raised $150,000. It's incredible. And it was it was super cool. It was just all this stuff about uh um education and building businesses and being friends with people is is cool. This is greatness. This is how you come together as a community and be vulnerable and stand by you know, stand by someone and say, you know, we're here for you. And this is more than just a buying group or you know, a bunch of friends you get together. So that's like the coolest thing we do at Aussie on 100% is this charity portion.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

That's so powerful just hearing you tell that story. I did drop a link into the chat for those who if if you're interested, to the Brynn Wheeler Foundation. This was the most recent one. I I I've mentioned before I've been to a couple of your events, and I always find these, the, the charity portion of it really motivating. It's a very strong connecting force, I feel like, in the room. And the other thing I feel like it really does is it puts everything else into stark perspective, right? So you spend a lot of time like you're thinking about these all these business challenges, and you know, maybe your your phone is ringing with uh issues in the business while you're there, and you're maybe stressed out and about travel and stuff, and then something like this comes up, and again, it just kind of like puts everything else in into perspective, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:11

So true. And and the other cool part is that um people are affected by this all across different levels of it, and they get to come forward and say, I'm in a room full of people who've also been affected by this, and now I can do that. And then they the other side of it is they share their story of their community give backs. Um, Michael Johnson at Mosaic in Alabama, he does blues, booze, and brews or something like that. So around October, he has a big open house and they they barbecue and they and they um bring out some beer and they bring the dogs and they have a good time inside the community, and all the money goes towards um a local charity. And you know, he raises a couple thousand dollars and that's a win. You know, even a couple thousand dollars is more than they had before. So it doesn't need to be $150,000 every time you get together. A couple thousand dollars can help your local charity. So I think that's in an industry full of very passionate people and very, you know, artistically passionate. Like I think this all goes hand in hand, and I I encourage you all to think about how you can give back to a part of your community. You I think you'll be really grateful and surprised about what it unlocks not only inside of yourself and um as a as you grow as a character, but I think it'll unlock a lot for how you treat your business and how you look at the world and how you connect with the people around you. I think it's just yeah a cool thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Yeah, it can be a great way to, you know, if you're if you're looking to just build your network and build a sense of community and connection, getting involved in any of these sort of volunteer efforts to lift up your community. And there are always, you know, hundreds of ways you can do this just within your local geography. So I think it's it's great that you do that. And you know, speaking of that, it's it's always hard to sort of segue back to business stuff after something that impactful. But like, you know, it it it there is a good segue here to like if you're for somebody listening to this who is maybe not in involved in community as much as they would like to be, maybe they're part of Aussie own, maybe they're not. What what would you recommend? Like what are some good first steps for somebody who's looking to build a stronger sense of of connection in community?

SPEAKER_00 30:21

I think there's a couple of ways, and I and I'm I'm gonna be in the mindset of likely this is people who are running a multi-stage business, and I think, or like with multi with people in it, I think you should talk to them and introduce this idea and allow them to come forward and say, you know, this is something that uh is close to me or I'm like if you're really struggling and you don't know and you just want to be helpful, look at the people around you, look at your first degree of your community. Those are the people you work with. Ask them what's going on in their lives. Um, you know, if you feel very passionate about animals, go talk to the local shelters. I mean, it's kind of what's affected you, right? I think is a great way to be introspective about that. And if you can't find anything right away, talk to your local community or talk to the people around you, talk to your neighbors. Um I think that's kind of the easiest way. And I think don't be afraid to feel like $200 isn't enough. Like you just you just gotta do it. You just have to do anything, you have to get started, you have to start somewhere. Um and they are always so grateful. Always, always, always, always. If you give time um or your your dedication, your authentic self to something like this, that's how you can get started and be successful with it.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

Yeah, absolutely. I'd love to shift gears here as we kind of come down the home stretch and and get maybe a little bit more tactical. You have, like we've talked about, uh unique perspective in terms of your interfacing with hundreds of integrators, you know, across the country on a regular basis. You alluded to some of this stuff at a high level before, but I'd love to go a little bit deeper on based on your experiences at these events and interfacing with integrators otherwise, like what are what are some of the big themes and topics, like industry-specific stuff that you would encourage integrators who are listening to this to be focused on, whether it's around sales, operations, product lineups and expansion, what what are the things that come to mind to you as kind of the most essential areas for for an integrator to be focused on right now?

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Um it's a great question because it's it's kind of you got to look back at yourself and say, what's what's the harder, what's the most friction in my business? And I think there's two things that I want to touch on, which is I've done a little bit of that, like you said, but the one is is that if you're a project-based business and you're looking down the home stretch of what you want to do, whether that's sell or give it to somebody else or um retire with it, you have to understand that if you're the person driving everything forward and you leave, there's nothing left to sell. So I think you have to understand your goals. And if your short-term or long-term goals are just make more money, that's great. You can add a lot of sales and just pile it on and keep going forward. If your long-term vision is I'm going to build this thing up so one day I can step out of it, you should understand that you need a succession plan that is more than just I'm gonna hand over the keys, because if you are the main uh sales and tech and programmer, you're not gonna get as much money for that business as you think you will. So I think there's part of your business of just understanding what are your long-term goals. I think every integrator should have goals for how you interact with the world, you know, a mission statement. And I think you should have a goal of who you want to be 10 years down the road. And it sounds so silly, but it can be really powerful to just write those two sentences down. It's just two sentences. Um, to go a little bit more current and maybe um macro, it's tough out there. It is a very tough economy. Um, there is a multitude of issues going on inside and outside of this country that make it very difficult to continue that the same pace you were maybe two or three years ago. And that's all sort of coming to a head right now, both for dealers and vendors. I mean, I have vendors telling me they can't build the products they want because by the time they source the materials, they can't sell it at a price you could sell it at. Um so there's a pause on that. So understanding that you're in tough times, maybe the toughest you've seen in a while, um, going back and kind of getting everything in order uh starts with really good operations. It starts with a great partner like OneVision who can open the door for service. I'm sure you go through a lot of the same conversations with people about service as a service and how you're able to go back to your clients and the importance of that. Um I think there's a number of different things. I think, but it all starts with your goals. Like, what do you want to do with this business? If you're a two-man operation or a one-person operation and you just want to do this so that you can cruise into retirement, great. If you're a 15-person, 30-person operation, what are you gearing up for? What does the next step look like? Have you positioned yourself in a way that you can step away from the business and go somewhere for a week to become a smarter person and everything continues forward? I think those are kind of the moments that you need to look back at and recognize like you need the tools to handle that. It doesn't come overnight and it's not easy.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Yeah, that's a good point. I think you know, company profitability and enterprise value uh sometimes go hand in hand, but they're not the same thing. And, you know, sometimes you may have to sacrifice short-term profitability in order to invest in, say, additional people to build enterprise value so that the whole business isn't basically you. And if you step away, all the value goes with you. So I think, you know, interestingly, like attending these events and stepping away from the business for a few days and seeing what happens with the business when you're not there is almost a good litmus test, right? For like absolutely where where am I at, you know, on this journey.

SPEAKER_00 36:09

Yeah. We talk about, you know, we're at a conference, we talk about that. We talk about, man, I'm so scared. I, you know, I'm I'm answering emails all day, and you know, then you're not learning, you're just working harder. You know, you're just in a different place working harder. It's it's truly unplug and taken all around you. And we treat our vendors like members too, and we put you at the same round tables. And when we do advice sessions on um all this stuff, we have vendors who are telling, like, this is what I see about my business. Some of our vendors are also um owner operators, right? So they have the exact same problems and they want to uh fix all their problems with more sales, and they don't understand where it's coming from. So there's all this great feedback that's not even just dealer to dealer, but it's the other side, and you can understand how a vendor works and how their operations are are holding up. I think all that stuff is very insightful. Um, that's how you get a lot of access to people, not only in a pinch, but also for their knowledge. I mean, these people are talking to huge networks and huge swarms of people. It's it's it's really cool to be a part of anything that gets you more access to more people.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Yeah, exactly. That's a good point. And every person that you meet and every connection that you make at one of these events also gets you kind of interconnected with their whole network, and it just has this really you know compounding effect. So I think your point also about uh it's a dicey looking kind of macro environment out there. There's a lot of geopolitical uncertainty with a whole number of things going on. And so I think you know that does really bring us full circle to now is the you know, as good a time as any to lean in, get involved in community, make sure you're uh leveraging and embracing those relationships that you have with your peers and and business groups out there to help you navigate this um, you know, this difficult time. So, Patrick, this has been a really uh it's been a fun conversation. I I think you've shared some really valuable uh insights here with folks that are looking to um you know build better businesses, get work-life balance back, and really get themselves on a better path. So for anybody who is listening to this who may want to um connect with you, learn more about what you're up to, maybe learn more about the Auseone group, what what would be the best way for them to reach out?

SPEAKER_00 38:21

Yeah, AuseonUnlimited.com is our website that's really easy. But um the best thing that you can do is ask somebody you know about Aussione, ask your rep, ask your vendor, ask you know your buddy in the market if they know anything about an association like Auseon. I'm a firm believer that everybody should be a part of something. So if you're not and you're sitting out there, um, you should be a part of something, whether it's Auseon, HTSA, Pro Source, Oasis, CEDIA, join some your local group, join something, you know, and and figure out what your goals are and head towards that goal. And I'm telling you, it sounds ridiculous. Writing a goal down feels so foreign, but write that goal down and how do you get there? What are the steps? Joining the association is the best step I think you'll ever make for your business.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Excellent. All right. Well, Patrick, I think that's a great place to close things out. So thank you again for taking some time to join us and uh you know sharing your ideas here. And uh we really appreciate it for everybody who joined us live. Thank you as well for taking some time out of your day. We hope you enjoyed it, and we will see you on the next one. So thanks again, Patrick, and take care, everyone. Have a great rest of your day.