Stop Abdicating, Start Delegating: How to Build a Business That Runs Without You with David Hori

Episode Summary

Are you actually delegating, or are you just "abdicating" and dumping tasks into a black hole? In this episode, Johnny Terra sits down with operations expert David Hori to uncover the "Abdication Trap"—the primary reason high-growth entrepreneurs stay stuck as the bottleneck of their own companies.

David shares the harrowing story of a medical emergency that forced him to step away from his business and the surprising lesson he learned: his team actually performed better without him. We dive deep into the specific systems, "Friday Gauges," and the "Abducted by Aliens" test you can use to determine if you own a scalable machine or just a high-stress job.

Key Topics & Timestamps

• [00:00] The Delegation vs. Abdication Trap: Why hiring high performers without a "blueprint" leads to burnout and broken work.
• [03:47] Why Revenue is a Deceptive Metric: Not all growth is good. How to identify fragile revenue and "unprofitable" service lines.
• [06:17] The Friday Gauges: The 3-5 operational metrics every owner must watch to ensure business health without "walking the floor."
• [09:48] The Hospital Bed Epiphany: David’s visceral story of realizing he was the bottleneck restricting his team's throughput.
• [13:33] The "Abducted by Aliens" Test: A simple 48-hour stress test to see where your business systems fail when you aren't there.
• [17:43] The Micro-Delegation Roadmap: How to offload your first administrative task in under four minutes.
• [20:18] Automation with Humanity: Using AI voice agents and technology to elevate human contribution and ensure 100% lead capture.
• [25:35] The CEO Budget: Why investing in yourself (mentors, audiobooks, and peer groups) is the highest ROI move you can make.

Actionable Takeaways: Your Monday Morning Move

1. Define "Good": Stop micromanaging and start defining the standard. Give your team the context and strategy they need to succeed.
2. Audit Your Tasks: List everything only YOU can do. Pick one administrative task and start training a team member today.
3. Run the "Hit by a Bus" Simulation: If you couldn't touch your phone for 48 hours, what would break first? That is your next system to build.
4. Check Your Profitability Juice: If a service line requires a full-time hire but doesn't 3x the revenue, cut it or fix it. There is no gray area.

Keywords for Search

Business Operations, Scaling a Business, Effective Delegation, Operational Efficiency, David Hori, Topline Operators, Entrepreneurship Systems, Profit Margins, AI for Small Business, Building a Sellable Business, CEO Mindset.

Connect with David Hori

• Website: toplineops.com
• Instagram: @TheDavidHori
• LinkedIn: David Hori
• Free Training: Build a Sellable Business Webinar

Connect with Johnny Terra

• Get the 5-part GMAD System Pack — FREE.
• YouTube: @JohnnyTerraCPA
• Instagram: @JohnnyTerraCPA

"Grit gets you started. Systems get you free."

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

If you're an entrepreneur listening to this in your truck or at the gym, I want you to be honest with yourself for a second. How many times today did you have to give permission for a routine task? How many times did your phone buzz with a question that someone on your team should have been able to answer but did it? Most of us think we are delegating. We think because we hire a technician or a VA, we're, you know, free up our time. But the truth is most of us aren't delegating with abdicating. We are dumping tasks into a black hole without the blueprint and wondering why the work comes back to us broken. Today's guests know the abdication trap better than anyone. David Hori spent 25 years in the trenches building business for other people before he decided to start buying them for himself. He lives by the mantra that every reluctant hustler needs to hear. Building public, build with urgency, and build with integrity. But David didn't just learn to build a machine because he wanted a vacation. He learned it because he was forced to. Coming up, David shared the visceral story of a medical emergency that put him in the hospital bed, physically unable to touch his phone and steer the ship. And he thought that he was going to come back to a pile of ashes. But instead, he discovered the most important operational truth of his life. His team actually worked better when he wasn't there to bottleneck them. We're going deep into the operations engine with the specific gauges you need to watch every Friday. And in the abducted by alien test, you can run this weekend to see if you actually own a business or just a high stress job. Let's get into the grit with David Hori. David, welcome.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Thank you, Johnny. I'm so excited to be here. Let's do this.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Absolutely, man. I'm so excited. So you have a same firm belief that I have too, which is, you know, grit got you started, assistance got you free. And you say that most owners are abdicating rather than delegating. Why is it dumping work on a high performer without a blueprint, the most dangerous thing a business owner can do?

SPEAKER_00 2:11

There is no shortage of advice out there on YouTube or Instagram or talking heads that are going to tell you that you need to hire help, right? That that's the key to unlocking leverage. And what they aren't telling you is that's only part of the equation. And if you hire somebody, even a top performer, let's say you truly are punching above your way, and you hire this amazing individual who has done everything you need to do and can just step in and knock it out of the park. And all you do is just dump everything on them. Then you say, Hey, welcome. Here's here's uh here's what needs to be done. Good luck. The reality is the most likely scenario is that they're either going to burn out and become frustrated and leave, or you're gonna end up firing them, even though they're great for your business, because you haven't done the work, you haven't laid the foundation to inform them of the context of what's being done and why. And why is this the goal and the strategy and the vision? And here's how we do things here. And and what does good look like? And that that is the key to ensuring not only are you making the most of each hire, but especially those those key top performers that everybody's telling you to go out and and hire.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Man, that's good. I I love the end there where you said, you know, the definition of good, right? I think a lot of people forget uh what that's like. And when they just handing that task, it's like instead of doing micromanaging, there's like, hey, can we define first what's good? I I love that phrase, man. That's awesome. So if if revenue is still growing, right? And how do you help? How do you work within your team where you distinguish between being the leader and being the bottleneck when that revenue is still growing? Because most people will say, hey, we're good, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yeah. So revenue, I think, is one of the most deceptive metrics to track. And I'm actually one of those people that says not all revenue is good. And and when I'm looking at buying businesses, business owners, you just watch their head explode. I'm like, well, I don't know if that revenue is necessarily positive. How could revenue be bad? Let me tell you, if you're overextending yourself to get more revenue, let's say you add new service lines, or you add an you you expand geographically this the service area that you're delivering your product or service, and it causes you to um it creates fragility, right? Maybe communication starts to break down a little bit. Maybe your guys are being taxed, driving that far, and there's a lot of windshield time that you're not accountable. Those kinds of things are not necessarily going to create the strong, resilient business that you're looking to build. And so it's a great question, you know, like how do when revenue's growing, how do you know if if that's a good thing? One of the things I like to look at is again, what is involved in in generating that revenue? And is that sustainable? Is it repeatable? And I'm always looking at it through the lens of risk. What kind of risk are we exposed to in gain gaining that revenue? What happens if only one person is responsible for generating all that revenue and they leave, right? So I'm constantly looking at de-risking the situation, whatever that scenario is within a business. And there could be several. You're gonna have to pick pick one and then start start creating redundancy in your business. It's usually the owner first, then there's a there's a key hire. You found this unicorn that's been with you for years and does everything for you, and you you wouldn't know what to do without them. Those are some things that again, revenue can be growing, but um, those are some some pretty critical bottlenecks to look at.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

I love this because you know it's most common with my tax client. They they the one thing that they look at is is cash account. If cash is going up, business up, right? So we're good. And and and and you add it to the next level, which is you know, revenue going up, just going up is not enough, right? So let's back bring that to the tactics. So you mentioned uh offline, you know, use gauges, KPIs, metrics to uh to to either look at your business in a different way besides just one thing, which is that revenue, the top line, right? So, like um, what are other metrics or gauges that you use as you're evaluating the new business that you're purchasing or the existing business on your portfolio?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah, there's a few that I would look at, but again, I'm looking at the the profit margin. Um, so one that was sneaky, uh, that I just was talking to um a business owner named Jeff about. He had this product line, right? That is bringing in revenue and it's it's growing. It's growing and it's bringing in revenue. That sounds tremendously positive until you look at what is required to deliver that service. And it turns out it's a full-time employee running that program, and that that program doesn't even pay for that employee. So they're losing money on something that customers love and looks good on the website, and you know, is is another service line that's bringing in revenue. And so, you know, my message to him was look, you either find a way to 3x the revenue that that's generating or cut it next week. There's no there's no middle ground because it has to be profitable and bringing in value that way. And so um a metric that I look again is like what's required to generate that revenue? And if it's is the juice worse than the squeeze, if I have to like distill the the formula down into some simple words. Um, is the juice worth the squeeze? And I am constantly looking at uh projects, service lines, uh products under that microscope.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Uh yep. I I think that that enough, you know, I had a a client a couple of years ago where he owned a security board and revenue was going up consistently month over month. And he called me and it was like, hey, I'm making more money, but there's no money at the end of the month. I was like, all right, cool, let's define your cost, right? And we looked at it and then she, you know, he he realized that he was losing two dollars per board when we put all the costs involved. So I I love that it's like, look, it's either plan A or plan B. There's no middle ground, right? I love that.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Yeah, if you can operate your business where there's no gray area for a year, where it's either like, yes, this is this supports creating a strong foundation, or we cut it, there's no gray area, um, you will have a tremendously resilient business at the end of that those 12 months. Um, you know, something else that can be, you know, sneaky, I think, um, is looking at your your inventory, right? If you are selling products, this is another one that I I encountered just in the last month, where they're continuing to buy things that they haven't even sold one in in months, right? Units in a month. And so I'm looking at the inventory and realizing we're creating this stockpile of things that probably will never sell, sell. And so again, it's good that revenue is going up, but it's masking this thing that will come to light much, much later, if ever, which is where we have a bunch of stuff that we're paying to store that isn't selling and or stopped selling months ago and isn't turning over. And at some point, there is a there's a a fairly significant cost, which is like in the case of a business buyer, right? Where I'm not gonna buy that and you're gonna eat that cost, or you're gonna have to like consign it or something, get creative in order to try to recapture that value.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Yeah. Uh yep, wonderful. So let me backtrack a little bit because you have such a unique story, and and how you got to to to become this guy that understood the process and delegating and so forth wasn't just because you know it fell off the sky, and and and it's just because you were forced, right? You in a hospital bed, you couldn't get a hold of your phone. You could you just like, oh my goodness, how I'm gonna steer the ship without my phone, right? So, what kind of fears went through your head when you're in that hospital bed and you can touch your cannot touch your phone? It's like, I cannot imagine, you know.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

Yeah, well, again, I've worked with some tremendously successful CEOs and founders and executives who also struggle with this. And I helped coach them through that, which is the ironic part. And I was like so close to the problem that I couldn't see it for myself. But there is business owners and founders carry a ton of weight on your shoulders. You feel like everything depends on you and and and the viability of the business, making payroll, all of these things. When in reality, if you've done the things that that people tell you to do, which is like hire and then delegate, not abdicate the responsibilities to them and all those things, then you the likelihood is your team's probably just waiting for you to get out of the way. And so being in that position, you know, where I'm in a hospital and, you know, for like I try I probably tried for three hours trying to like work on a laptop, and then I just realized like this isn't something that I'm gonna be able to do. I I just have to log off, be fully present, um, and and be with my family. I just there, there, I didn't have any other options and I thank God for that because then I could see coming out of the other end of that, how much my team was able to excel and how prepared they were to deliver on those things that I trained them on, but I was getting in the way and constantly, you know, I wasn't micromanaging, but I was definitely the bottleneck that restricted their output with they weren't checking back, you know, double checking things with me. That was that was a sneaky one, right? Like, hey, I know what to do. You train me, I know we have a process, but I just want to double check. Oh, yeah, that makes me feel good and important, right? And and and needed when they were just like, okay, David's not here. Now we're just executing, right? Like the the throughput was incredible.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Um, how was your ego when you came back? And it was like, man, my team performed without me. What's the LL up?

SPEAKER_00 12:23

You know, I realized there was there was a second of like, gosh, am I am I that useful? Before the other things that were more relevant, more important and required my level of sophistication and impact uh that was more appropriate for for my contributions got piled onto my plate. And so there was that second of like, what what am I gonna do now? Like my team doesn't even need a check-in. Like they're they're off and running, and they're actually happier too. Um but rem like remembering and and understanding and looking for those things that are unlocked, and and the opportunity cost of not being that bottleneck um is what moved me past it uh pretty quickly. And and we were growing, you know, very quickly. We're in rapid scale mode. So perfect.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

And then I think there is you know, you had the that physical moment when the hospital was like, look, I can cannot really do it, right? And then I my I just ran out of hours in the day to to to do everything myself. And it was like, I just need to let go, I need to trust my team, you know, I need to delegate those tasks, define what's it what's the definition of you know good and done is. Um, but a lot of business owners out there right now that are listening, watching this this podcast, you know, some of them don't have that exact moment, right? Uh, what would you tell them to not to create these moments, but it's like you have to change, right? You have to go move past this. Um, would you elaborate a little bit about there? Because like it it's so critical for expansion for growth. And even if you don't want to increase more revenue, you just want to do the same thing, but just costing you you know half of the time that you're currently costing you? That'd be great.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Yeah, I agree. You know, I did I was a part of a company where we had an aggressive growth plan, and it literally the the business grew so fast that the owner could no longer hold it in their fist, right? Their hand was literally pried open in a month, right? Where like they were unwilling to make that decision and they just couldn't keep it together any longer. So that that I don't recommend that strategy, but it is one where like when you are taking something to the moon that can't happen, and again, just embrace that. But one thing that I counsel people on is like there's no risk-free decisions. Why don't we take a risk on better? Take a risk on better. And what what does better look like? It could be, you know, more throughput. It could be um growing the business without requiring more owner owner hours, it could be um, you know, not losing your sanity and burning out. Um, and so that is what I counsel people because there is a risk, right? If you continue as is and you do end up in the hospital, or I usually say you get abducted by aliens. Like, what happens if you get abducted by aliens? Do you think that that's kind to your team? Do you think that your team is going to enjoy that experience of scrambling and trying to figure out payroll with you just being at the equation overnight? No, that's a terrible position to put them in. You don't want to do that. You do want a business that can stand up without you, regardless of how scary that feels. And so take a chance on better is what I is the drumbeat that I'm constantly playing. And you can make micro, micro steps towards that. It's not an all or nothing uh move overnight.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Now, right, uh consistency is better than impact. And you heard this phrase saying over and over and over. Um, one phrase that I learned in talking to clients, you know, everybody talks about getting hit by a bus, right? It's like, hey, if you get hit by a bus, you use the the getting abducted by aliens, right? So it's like I I've learned this from another coach, and then he uses the in the past tense. So it's like, hey, if you're hit by a bus yesterday, because you know your clients won't if you do it in the future or in the present, it's like it's like oh it never it it you're putting fear into the situation so that they can't do anything. But if you when you reframe that question and using in the past, it's like, hey, you got hit by a bus yesterday. What do you do? Like, what's the first thing your team is going to do, right, while you're not there? Because the past tense actually allows them to think through, and it's like, okay, it never happened, I'm still here, right? Like it never happened yesterday. So I I love your example of abducted by alien. It adds a little bit of human to the situation and it kind of breaks that little ego, right? And that wall that surfaces, and it's like, hey, no, I'm the only one that can do this, I'm the only one that can do as well as I can, kind of thing. So I love, I love what you share there.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Yeah. And I think you're you're starting to get into you know those those mindset blockers that ensnare many business owners. Like nobody can do it as as good as I can. And um you might be right for a time and a and a short season in your your business's history, but there are absolutely people as you grow, you can't be the best at sales and customer service and marketing and and and and and and somebody doing it even 80% as good as you, uh, that doesn't require you to do it, um, is 100% awesome. That's that's one that I think you and I are both familiar with.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Oh, yeah, I'll I'll love that phrase. And so, you know, we talk we talked about family, we talk about faith, we talk about business growth and all there. So you you mentioned like there's a lot of priority gears, right, that goes around that. So uh for someone that is actually stuck on the first decision, which is which what prayer which gear should I focus on, right? Um, which one would you suggest for them to touch base first, right? Because there's they can go in so many different paths. Look, how can we narrow that path and and have them the priority so there's like, hey, this is the next move I need to take?

SPEAKER_00 18:19

One thing that I advise owners to do is take, you know, four minutes. Like this is can be a very fast exercise. Just off the off the top of your head, write down the things that only you can do in your business currently. What is that list? And just getting that on paper. The next thing then is just pick one of those to start training somebody else to do. And I think when you when you make the the movement too big, we already talked about this, you know, like where you're gonna go and hire somebody. Well, that's easy to get bogged down, discouraged. You're like, uh, posting a job, hiring, interviewing, all that. Delegate as some somebody already on your team, right? Just start removing that dependency on you and and and then like see what happens. Does it all fall apart? Does it does the project completely crash and burn? The likelihood is no. But is it going to be perfect? Also, no. So then you're now you're you're getting these micro learnings again that you can implement into the next task, the next project, where it's like, oh gosh, I just handed it off to them and yeah, they they struggled with the budget part of it. So now I just need to spend some time training them on the budget or giving them, you know, the context on the budget. And then um, you know, that that's for somebody that's like, this is way too big and scary to approach. I don't know, I don't even know where to start. There are others though, they're like, give me the roadmap, I'm ready to execute. And that that's the one where I'm like, okay, we need to find you somebody that can take over the administrative tasks that you're doing day to day. We'll get to um offloading, you know, some other big key tasks. But first we need to get you the brain space to be more thoughtful and strategic.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah. Makes sense because as you're saying, talk about that wild neckling that you were talking, they're already holding so much. And it's like somebody like you and me comes in, it's like, hey, here's one more thing. Or it's like, no, no, no, no. We have to eliminate some things, yes, either by eliminating never doing again, or eliminating by delegating to someone, right? And um, there's a framework out there, and I'll teach you on it is the EAD eliminate, automate, and delegate, right? So we talk about eliminating things and then we talk about the delegating things, and then we're gonna talk about the automation just for a little brief. So, like you have a background in hospitality, right? So, which is one of the the North stars that I have in my business, where you have to you know build and grow like a machine, but sell like a person, right? So, how do you automate things but still bring the continue to bring the humanity back into your business?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Yeah, I think it it's to deploy technology and automation in a way that doesn't remove people from the equation, but again elevates the the the quality of their quant contribution. And so one example that I would share uh with your audience, you know, that is almost automatic to me for any trade-related business that I'm looking to buy um or invest in, it's the AI voice agent implementation should nearly be automatic. If your business relies on people Googling, you know, fill in the blank on your service or product near me and then dialing down that list, you absolutely should invest in that. And it's not because we want you know your customers or prospects talking to a robot, but we really want that phone to be answered a hundred percent of the time. If you just change that metric in your business where you know your computer. Competitors answer most of the time, and you answer 100% of the time, you're going to watch your revenue grow. Beyond that, though, you can ensure consistency in that interaction, which is what customers want. Customers want to know what to expect. Every time they call, they want to be greeted warmly and they want to be told what to do and they want to have confidence in that. And you can, you can design that in that initial interaction, right? Where that person that or that that agent that's answering the phone is is warm, is never having a bad day, is never stressed or rushed or anything like that. And they're they're walking you through the steps. Oh, what seems to be the problem? Okay. Um, let me get your contact information real quick before we just in case we get disconnected. I want to be able to make sure I'm getting back to you. These things are tremendously powerful to your business and ability to follow up with prospects and make the most of every single call. They sometimes just gets gets missed by the person that you're paying to answer the phone. And now you you can have a three-minute conversation where all they're doing is greeting them, asking what the what the problem is, and and getting their contact information. And now you're you're you're you're making sure that the person, their contribution is elevated. So your agent then says, based on what you've shared, I want one of our specialists to talk to you. Um, is is you know today at 3 p.m. a good time for you? And now you're not taking the human out of the loop, but you're making sure that that person is calling with context. They don't have to worry about getting the contact information. And now their expertise is being deployed in a highly specific, targeted manner.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Yeah. Uh Dad, because we we did this actually recently, we were forced to do that about a year ago. Uh one receptionist was uh uh left the firm or CPA firm, and it was like, you know what? The phone was ringing like 10-15 times a day. So we implemented this AI receptionist, what is just a simple list of like, hey, if you want to talk to Johnny, press one. If you want to talk to so-and-so, press two, if you want to talk to you know, so-and-so, press three, and then and it's like it one through eight. So very simple, 15 seconds max. And then if you really need to talk to someone, press nine, right? So very simple. That it eliminated all the spam calls throughout the day in our office. We, you know, our current reception is to only get like three calls a day, and literally is just someone that um was used to calling her per her line directly, not and but if so every time somebody calls, it's looking for a CPA in our firm, right? So it's like, okay, I just want to talk to Johnny, and it routes that call right away. And I was so shocked. And I looked at the team at the that point, I was like, why haven't we implemented this before?

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Yeah, it's a simple one, but that could be that that literally could be a head count for a business, right? Like some people, I I'm I'm working with a partner who literally paid somebody to answer the phone 24-7. If the phone rang, they had to answer it, and and that was their job. So it's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Wow. Yeah. Uh I I love that example. That's do you have a tool name in mind? Um, if not, we can drop in the show notes, no pressure.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

You know, that's not my area of expertise, but I do have people that that is their expertise, and and I'm always happy to connect people uh with a perfect people where where that is their focus.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Perfect. David, what else, man? This has been so good, and I don't want to turn it off, but golly, what else that we have not covered that we should be covering?

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Well, I'm trying to think through the the lens of of accounting and finance, and I think one of those things that that absolutely should be a part of every business owner's um budget is investing in themselves. And that's one that it's so easy to get your you know, nose to the grindstone and focused on executing that you never stop to put your own oxygen mask on first. You never stop to think, oh, there's probably somebody else out there that has done this exact thing, not once, not twice, but dozens of times that could probably just give me the answer that I'm fumbling for. Or a book I could read, right? Like investing in yourself can look a lot of different, like a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It could be, you know, um, a podcast or listening to a book while you're, you know, getting some windshield time between job sites. It could be a coach, it could be just going out to coffee with a mentor, somebody that that bought and sold a similar business or you know, built and sold a business in your industry and now has a lot of time for golf. Like, take them out to coffee and be like, you know, like hey, this is what uh that's going on in my business. In this situation, what would you what would kind of things would you be thinking through? What would you be doing? Who would you be talking to? And those are like shortcuts that can literally save weeks and months of your life in a in a small business that I think are just underrated and um not really highlighted very often.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Uh yes, because I think information right now is fairly accessible and it's digestible if you use AI and so forth, but it's the application of that information, right? Um, I have clients, tax clients now calling all the time that, like, hey, I I I've reached out, you know, to this person, they said that their CPA is doing X, or I saw this video on TikTok and they're doing Y. And I was like, how does that apply to my business? Right. And I think investing in yourself, one, like you said, I I loved what you said there because you have to refill your cup before the one so that you can share that cup with your employees and your vendors and being the leader that you need to be. Yes, right. You have to have something filling you in. But then two is the shortcut, right? Somebody have been there, a book with 25 years of experience, and you can sit down and read it in three hours and learn uh 25 years worth of experience in three hours. My goodness, it's 20 bucks, you know, 15 bucks. Great investment. I I love that you said there. So currently, uh now I'm gonna put you on the spot. Currently, what are you doing to reinvest in yourself?

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Absolutely. So I pay for uh multiple mentors in my life. Um, I also don't listen to music anymore when I'm in my truck. I I live always listening to an audiobook uh on a topic that either supports my spiritual growth or my business. Those are the only two topics. You know, my wife likes to listen to things that um, you know, fantasy and and all these kinds of things. I'm I'm here to learn about my business or to get closer alignment with God. Um beyond that, it's also uh connecting with high-achieving business owners. And again, sharing everything that I've learned along the way with them. And um often that is reciprocated, right? It's it's it's very rare for you to like give away everything that you're doing in your business and and uh how you're building it and the lessons and mistakes that you're making and not receive something back that helps you helps shape your strategy and what you're doing. And that's another one that doesn't cost me anything, but um time connecting with like what other businesses do I admire, even if they're not in the same industry, who who's building the way and taking care of customers the way that I want to take care of my customers, um, and then and then uh initiating a conversation with them. So those are three things.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Uh well, I you know, you know, we met through uh a group coaching, and and for me is the ability for other people to seem as their peers versus being seen as just their CPA, right? Because when you sit down on the time on the conference room or doing a Zoom call with the client, they they put you on this uh pedestal as a CPA that it's like I have to perform, here's the information, all that, right? But the whole like invest in myself for me has been so good to see other people thrive, to see you, David, you know, going from all this life-based experience and now buying other business and building your own freedom model. That um the next level of that is what you share, which is sharing it back, giving it back everything that you have learned. Um, and I think for me, that is that kind of the information cycle of hey, I gotta learn, I gotta do it, and then let me teach you, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:47

Yeah, and that's a great way for to retain it, you know, like implement it and teach it is a great way to make the most of what you're learning.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Perfect. Yeah, um man, this is so good. I I am so excited. So for those who are listening to you, uh, where do they can find you in the social media website, um and and all and everything else?

SPEAKER_00 31:10

Yeah, so uh I am most active on Instagram, and you can find me at v David Hori T-H-E-D-A-V-I-D-H-O-R-I. And um also I have a gift for your listeners, um, because really I don't know how many business owners think in these terms, but there are literally only two outcomes for your business if you're a business owner. You either sell it or you shut it down. And people think that shutting it down is is kind of neutral. Like, oh, I'll just stop taking clients and one day just kind of shut the doors. It is not neutral. And Johnny, you can you can uh vouch for this. It costs a tremendous amount of money to to wind things down and sell off assets or pay to store them. It's hard on your team, right? And it's one of the decisions I see business owners regret the most. So assuming that that's not the path you're going to choose ultimately, um, then uh, and you want to learn about selling your business now, 10 years from now, or even if you're gonna transition it to your kids and it's gonna stay in the family forever. Learning about selling your business and building a sellable business is one of the best things you can do to invest in it. And so I do a weekly webinar that's free for business owners because I got so many questions about like, oh, like what's involved and where do I start and all these things. And so if that's helpful to any of your listeners, um, I'm I'm giving a free webinar every Thursday, and I will send you a link, Johnny, that you can share with them.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Perfect. Yeah, that link will be on the show notes. And I want to make sure that checklist on the webinar is to call your CPA, Vic.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

Yes, it's literally, yeah, absolutely. Your CPA and tax advisor should absolutely be involved. And I I actually assume I'm like, you probably already connected to a CPA or tax advisor. If you're not, you should be.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

Um yes, absolutely front and center. I had a moment with a client last year where he sold part of the business, not all of the business, and he did not tell me for 18 months. I was like, dude, that is a big piece of information to know. Oh, David, this was great. So, yes, if you want to learn more about you know, starting with the indie mind, David, I love the idea of the webinar. The show uh on the show notes, that link will be in there. Um, and of course, all throughout social media as I'm going to publish this episode. David, once again, my goodness, thank you so much for delivering. And I absolutely love our moment here and our time together.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

Likewise, Johnny, thank you for sharing your platform, and I'm excited to see what you continue to build and going forward.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Yes, sir.