Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Joshua Kornitsky: Good morning. Welcome to another exciting episode of Cherokee Business Radio. I’m your host, professional EOS implementer Joshua Kornitsky. And the guests I have with me in the studio today are really interesting. I’ve got Colin Devaney, Matt Koop, and Gretchen Kornutik that’ll be here, uh, to go through and share with us some interesting and exciting things about their business. So good morning, everybody. Colin, let’s start with you. So Colin Devaney, owner of It’ll Buff Detailing. Tell me, Colin, what do you do?

Colin Devaney: Hey, Josh, uh, my name is Colin. I own It’ll Buff Detailing here in Woodstock, Georgia. So we have a shop here. We do detailing full in and out detailing. We do paint correction, we do ceramic coating, we do a lot of restoration work and we offer detailing products and stuff for sale.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. So how did you get into this? Because obviously anybody can just wash a car, right. What makes it different when you’re touching it?

Colin Devaney: Absolutely. So I’ve always had a passion for cars and keeping them looking their best. So I started out in high school. I just really enjoyed, you know, washing cars, keeping them clean and everything like that. Um, so I started, you know, taking care of my neighbor’s cars, taking care of my friends cars. I started getting equipment and products so I could do a better job for them. And then when I graduated high school, it’s just what I really wanted to do. And I started pursuing it. So I got a van and went out and started doing it mobile. And it’s just kind of grown from there.

Joshua Kornitsky: So it’ll buff is a mobile service?

Colin Devaney: Uh, so when I started out, I had started with a van and I was going out to people’s driveways with a water tank and generator and things like that. But no, now we have a shop here in Woodstock. Um, but would eventually like to bring back the mobile maintenance cleanings and things like that as well, because.

Joshua Kornitsky: And where’s the shop located?

Colin Devaney: Right behind the Stars and Stripes bowling alley on highway 92.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. So fantastic. So let’s talk a little bit about what you do. So you, you and you had shared with me, and I think it’s important to note for everybody, the reason Colin mentioned, uh, when he was in high school is, is he’s a very young entrepreneur, but he’s already been at this for four years. And, uh, that’s something that I want to share because it’s important you guys understand that before you call somebody, you want to make sure they know what they’re doing. And in Colin’s case, he’s he’s a bit of an expert at this point because of what he’s been doing about it. So we were talking earlier about paint correction and about ceramic coating. Let’s let’s take each one of those. Can you tell me what is paint correction.

Colin Devaney: Absolutely. So paint correction would be taking your old ugly faded swirled scratched whatever’s wrong with your paint. Uh, we can buff, polish and restore that paint to, you know, looking like, brand new for you. And then we offer ceramic coatings, paint protection, films, things like that, which will help protect your finishes on your vehicle and keep them looking new for a long time so you don’t have to go through with these restoration services.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so what is ceramic coating?

Colin Devaney: So ceramic coating is going to be a more durable. Yep. So we offer. Exactly. So it actually did come from appliances uh aircrafts things like that. But ceramic coating is going to be a more durable. Think of it like a sealant or a wax that’s going to really protect your paint. Like on steroids. Uh, so the coatings we offer lasts 5 to 7 years. They offer very minimal maintenance and things like that. So it’ll provide your car with a very high shine. Ease of cleaning. A lot of protection from the elements. You know, UV rays, things of that nature, uh, while just keeping it very simple and easy.

Joshua Kornitsky: All right, so let me ask you a question. If I’ve got a newer car, let’s say sake argument, let’s say I just went and bought my new car. Yes, sir. Do I wait till the paint looks old and crappy before I bring it to you? So what’s the best time to to show up?

Colin Devaney: So the best time to do it is when it’s brand new. Um, of course, that’s going to be easiest for, you know, doing the work. So it’ll save you money when it’s brand new to get it done then. Um, but it’s not that we can’t restore an older vehicle as well and then still protect that. Also, if you have one that needs a little bit more love.

Joshua Kornitsky: So you can work the magic both old and new, but is it easier if we bring it to you sooner?

Colin Devaney: It’s much easier and it saves you some money as well.

Joshua Kornitsky: All right.

Joshua Kornitsky: Good to know. Good to know. And you said that new vehicles or an older vehicle. So now let’s talk a little bit about your business itself. Every entrepreneurial journey is different right. So tell me what are some of the challenges you’re having growing your business.

Colin Devaney: So I guess right now, uh, I was just talking to Matt here about, um, it’s just hard, you know, growing from a small business to trying to start to move towards a bigger operation and bring on employees and offering more services and things like that can be hard when you’re doing it all yourself. So right now, that’s the journey I’m making is trying to expand, uh, having, you know, my part time guys become more full time guys and then expanding from there. I’ve just moved into product sales, so we’ll be offering detailing products and supplies up in the front of the shop. So trying to get a person in there to take care of that and marketing and everything like that is definitely hard when it’s all on your shoulders.

Joshua Kornitsky: But it’s all about having the people that that share your core values and understand what matters to you matters to them.

Colin Devaney: So growing a good team has definitely been one of the biggest struggles so far that I’ve had.

Joshua Kornitsky: So as it happens, you’re in the room with a bunch of folks that can help. One thing you might want to look for, if you have not already, is, is seek out either a mentor or a coach that can work with you, but we’ll talk more about that later. That’s just a suggestion for you, because they’re the good news is, is most of the challenges that you’re encountering others have encountered before. Um, but let’s go back to talking about it’ll buff. So one of the questions that occurs to me, and I had mentioned to you earlier that I sort of grew up in, in the automotive business is, is as you’re trying to grow, where do you really want to take the company? What do you think? As, as as you begin to find the right people and you’ve got the right products, what’s next?

Colin Devaney: So I guess the whole goal for my company is to make it very easy for my customers to take care of their vehicle and love their vehicles. So my idea is to provide my customers with, you know, the base point. We provide them a beautiful vehicle. It’s very easy for them to maintain and then provide the education and the products for them to keep their vehicle looking their best. And, you know, keep loving it for years to come.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, so let’s talk about that. The importance of proper vehicle care. So let’s say I came to you and you performed detailing service at whatever level I was prepared to engage you at. Sure. What do I do after that? Just drop it by once a week and throw you the keys? Or are there things I can do.

Colin Devaney: So we can do that? We can, of course. Take care of your vehicle for you too. If you don’t have the time to do that yourself. Um, or if you don’t want to take care of it yourself. Of course we can do it too. Um, but it’s also, you know, we can set you up so that it’s very easy for you with, you know, minimal products to take care of your vehicle and keep it looking its best. Um, really, the biggest thing is just maintenance. Uh, you know, you wouldn’t think it’s too much, but just keeping your vehicle clean, you know, regularly keeping up with protecting things in your vehicle, like your plastic trims and things like that.

Joshua Kornitsky: I mean, are we talking about three hours a week? Are you talking about ten minutes?

Colin Devaney: If you do it every week, it’s super easy. It could be an hour, uh, to take care of your vehicle if you want to do it every six months or so, it might turn into a whole day. Two day job.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, I mean, if I guess I made the investment in a new car, it does seem sort of silly to ignore it. Although, in your experience, how often does that happen?

Colin Devaney: Most of the time. Unfortunately. You’d be very surprised. Yeah. Um, we try to get people to do their very best with taking care of their cars, and a lot of people do, especially once they get it protected and looking its best. Um, but then a lot of people neglect their cars and they want the best out of it, but they don’t take care of it enough. Um, so then you got to bring it to somebody like us, and we got to do a little bit more intensive service.

Joshua Kornitsky: That just seems counterintuitive. Absolutely.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, well, so what are you doing with regards to it above detailing? How are you promoting your business? How are you letting people know you’re you’re existing and that you’re there?

Colin Devaney: Yeah. So I do a lot of, um, social media marketing, Instagram and Facebook is huge for me. That’s where we do a lot of content and reels and educational content and things like that. Um, we’re on Google. We do Google advertising as well. Um, as well as just trying to get out, get in the car shows things like that, meet with the community.

Joshua Kornitsky: So are you just posting pictures of people’s pretty cars?

Colin Devaney: Oh, so we do a lot of reels with, you know, the process. We do education on coatings and you know how these products can help protect your vehicle and things like that. Uh, before and after is, of course, things like that.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. People must love that.

Colin Devaney: Absolutely. Yeah. Those are always one of the most popular.

Joshua Kornitsky: As I mentioned, I sort of grew up in the car business, and one of the things that always stuck out to me is the the worst thing you can do is hand somebody a power buffer that doesn’t know how to use a power buffer. So do you train your folks on on the on the appropriate ways to use things, because you can take paint right off a brand new car. I’m sorry to say I’ve seen it.

Colin Devaney: Oh, and I’ve seen a lot of it. And I’ve fixed a lot of it. Um, yeah. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you got to be careful. Um, but we definitely try to take the time and slowly educate the guys that are doing work for me. I’m always there watching over them. That’s one of the hard parts about growing that I was touching on earlier was just kind of taking my hands off and letting somebody else do the things that I love to do can be very difficult. Um, but.

Joshua Kornitsky: I’ve heard that can be a challenge. It’s it’s having to be everywhere all at once. And that’s, uh, that’s always interesting and exciting to keep you from being bored. So how, uh, what are your hours of operation? If somebody wants to come by the location.

Colin Devaney: Generally, they’re Tuesday to Saturday, so we keep that weekend day open for people, which helps out a lot with people scheduling. Uh, and generally their 9 to 5 on Tuesday through Saturday. Um, but like I said, we’re a small business and we’ll always be there if you need us.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. Do you accept bookings, reservations, or is it just first come, first served.

Colin Devaney: So we are appointment only. If you go over to the website you can find all of our contact information there as well as we have an online portal where you can go through, you know, our services, our packages, our pricing, everything like that. And you can also schedule an appointment yourself from the website.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. So that’s great. And we will put up on the Cherokee Business Radio website, all of your your socials and your website. But what is the best way for people to get in touch with you?

Colin Devaney: Uh, best is to contact me, uh, all of our phone numbers, emails, everything right there is right on the website. So we can really talk to you and find out what’s best for you and your vehicle and go from there.

Joshua Kornitsky: And what is your website?

Colin Devaney: It’ll buff detailing. Com.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so one of the things that I like to always ask is a little bit of a thinking question as we start to wrap things up. And my question to you is whether it’s in the detailing side of things or in the business side of things, what’s what’s a mistake that you’ve made that you learned from?

Colin Devaney: Ooh, made a lot of mistakes.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s the only way we learned. So that’s a good thing.

Colin Devaney: Um, I guess, yeah, I guess I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Um, I’ve had mistakes on the detailing side of things. I mean, we’ve, we’ve I’ve messed up vehicles before. Of course. I think everybody has when they’ve worked on cars. Um, but, you know, going back and making that right with the customer and making sure you take care of your customer. 100%. I think that speaks volume. Um, and then, you know, just problems with employees, like I said, you know, um, just making sure employees do their job properly and staying on top of that and just making sure you provide the best service you can for your customers. Um, I always think, you know, we’ll never be perfect, but as close as you can get to that, you’re doing pretty good.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, and and as long as you’re taking care of the, the customer, and if the customer is identifying an issue and you’re making sure that that they’re satisfied before they roll out, I guess that’s for sure.

Colin Devaney: Everybody makes mistakes, but it’s just how you take care of those mistakes and move forward with them. I’ve earned lifelong customers by fixing things and making them right for the customer.

Joshua Kornitsky: Uh, as as my dad used to say, there, there. There’s no right. There’s no wrong time to do the right thing. No, sir. So that’s good to know. Well thank you. Colin Devaney of It’ll Buff Detailing. We appreciate you sharing your story with us, and I hope you’ll be able to hang out, because I think there’s some real interesting, uh, things that we can all learn from the folks we’ll be talking with. So please stay with me. Thank you very much.

Colin Devaney: Yes, sir.

Joshua Kornitsky: Thank you.

Matt Koop: Well, can I ask him a question?

Joshua Kornitsky: By all means. Matt.

Matt Koop: So, hey, this is Matt. Uh, Colin. So just a question. You know, I bought, uh, my my daughter a new car last year, and she was pulling into the garage because, you know, she’s the lady, and I let her use the garage, keep her safe, and my son can control the garage door from his cell phone. So he decided to start closing the garage door at the same time he was pulling in, and it just scratched the shit out of the top of her car. And, um, so I’m just wondering, would that ceramic coating you’re talking about have protected that?

Colin Devaney: So ceramic coating wouldn’t have helped you there? Um, unfortunately. Probably not. Closing the garage door on the car would have helped. Um, no. So it wouldn’t have helped you there. Uh, we do offer paint protection film, which is a film that would protect from scratches and rock chips of that nature. Uh, but, you know, within reason, if you hit a wall or something like that, it really just depends on how bad the damage is, I guess.

Matt Koop: So I might just have to bring it to you to see if you can.

Colin Devaney: You might need to bring it to me or send me some pictures, and I could give you a little better answer there.

Joshua Kornitsky: But the good news is, Matt, we’ve got a guy here that can fix the ceramic coating.

Colin Devaney: Might not have protected it, but we might be able to fix it for you.

Matt Koop: We’ll have to talk later.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, that’s a good question. Thank you for asking. All right, well, our next guest is, uh, Gretchen Kornutik, CEO and founder of All Things Short Term Rental. Welcome to Cherokee Business Radio, Gretchen.

Gretchen Kornutik: Thanks. How are you?

Joshua Kornitsky: Doing very well. Thank you so much for being here with us today. So I know, uh, all things short term rentals sounds pretty self-explanatory, but I know that that doesn’t really even begin to cover it. So tell us a little bit about what you do and how you help the folks that you help.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah, of course I am a serial entrepreneur. Um, I’ve had multiple businesses and continue to. I’ve got my my hand in, in many buckets. But my passion, uh, about the time that Airbnb started to become a company, they weren’t a company at the time. Uh, I got into short term rentals, and it was the wild, wild West, and, uh, and I built that property management company. Uh, it’s it’s now located in five states. Um, I’m here based in Woodstock. Okay. Um, and I’ve, I’ve grown it into multiple different platforms, but consequently finding the ideal client through all things short term rentals, uh, led me to just a passion project of teaching young entrepreneurs the right way to scale, grow, and then exit a business successfully. Um, and setting those steps up. So that’s that’s kind of the the 50,000 foot view of of my world.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. Well, let’s let’s drill down into that just a little bit if we may. So I know so Gretchen and I had chatted a little bit beforehand and, and one thing she hadn’t said, which is just a wonderful piece of information, is that in 2024, she was the Jacksonville, excuse me, Jacksonville Small Business Leader of the year. And that’s really quite an accomplishment. And you had said that you’re now in Woodstock. Were you previously located in Florida?

Gretchen Kornutik: I was yeah. So, uh, so, uh, the, the much larger company that I was a part of that I built, scaled and exited, uh, in 2021, um, the home office was in Jacksonville, and actually my, my current main office, if you will. The people who are working boots on the ground is based out of Jacksonville, Florida, even though I’m in Woodstock. Okay. Um, yeah. I do not need to be where it is because I’ve set up systems and processes that work.

Joshua Kornitsky: So you’ve got your feet in multiple states.

Joshua Kornitsky: As you do, and just you’re on the state line. Well, so let’s talk a little bit about the the coaching. It’s not really like traditional coaching though is it. The what you what you offer to the folks that you try to help.

Gretchen Kornutik: It’s not, you know, listen. So, uh, when I got into business right over, over 25 years ago. So, uh, I when.

Joshua Kornitsky: You were four.

Gretchen Kornutik: Years old. When I was four. That’s awesome. Lemonade stand. Um, yeah. I’m much older than you think I am. And, um, anyway, I, you know, I always looked for a mentor. You always have a mentor, and you always are a mentor. That is the most successful way to go through this. You should always be changing. You should always be growing. You should always be pivoting. And, um. And so I did that without somebody telling me right at that point there weren’t really coaches. And, um, and I have done a ton of networking in 30 years. And one of the things that I’ve noticed recently is that business coaches are everywhere, right? There’s business coaches and networking, etc. all different strategies. But most of them, I say that loosely, right? These are broad strokes statements. Most of them have not actually built, scaled and exited an $85 million company. Um, they haven’t lived through those actual steps. Uh, and so they’re going off maybe a booklet that tells them what they might could do or, or a checklist rather than, hey guys, there’s some KPI strategies here that you should be aware of. Um, and so that’s what happens with, um, with, uh, with actual experience. And so it happened kind of by accident. I, my ideal client has has been realtors and brokers. And so I became certified through the states. Uh, I’m the only short term rental certified expert in the state of Georgia.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, and didn’t you tell me you also helped teach and certify?

Gretchen Kornutik: Yes, 100%. Um, and so because of that. Right, that was my ticket to my referral source, and I fell in love with it. It was a passion project of sitting down and saying, hey, guys, listen, you are looking at this completely wrong. Um, and and just giving them the knowledge, uh, and the vision. If if you are a business owner successfully, you understand that the vision is based on that business owner, not your vision as the coach. And so, um, it was just something that I, I fell in love with doing. And so it kind of happened by accident.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, it seems like, uh, I’ve shared this before. My favorite quote is, I may not have gotten where I was going, but I ended up where I needed to be from the great Douglas Adams. So what are the ways that you work with some of the folks that you coach that that help them understand the that it’s not just a by the book follow, you know, follow the the dots to get to the end prize.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah. It’s it’s dialing in on their specific thing. Right. The most affordable way to do it is through my mastermind group. So I have an online mastermind group.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, really?

Gretchen Kornutik: Okay. And I also have a, uh, an in-person mastermind group that both both of which meet twice a month. Um. And we dial in they they are private, uh, closed groups where people can come in and it is it is honest. I’ve had people crying on my couch before. Um, because you’re not going to get to the crux of the matter if you can’t get transparent and honest and real. Um, and so those those are two of the ways. And then just 1 to 1 consulting, mentoring, uh, working with people online classes.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, so for the, for the mastermind is, is that a you had said that it’s both one on one but also a group environment is.

Gretchen Kornutik: It’s two different options. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, there’s two different options.

Joshua Kornitsky: So there’s a peer aspect or, or 1 to 1 where you’re offering direct coaching 100%.

Gretchen Kornutik: The person who’s wearing that hat and thinks that they have to wear all the hats, or thinks that they have to do all the things right. That’s what a that’s what an introductory entrepreneur does. But for them to be successful, they move from that to the island of Misfit Toys, and then they move from the island.

Joshua Kornitsky: So hang on, let me stop you. Explain what I know what you mean by the Island of Misfit Toys. Yeah. And I recently had a young entrepreneur on who said he’s trying to do everything in every chair. So maybe we can we can accomplish two things. When you say moving to the island of Misfit Toys.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so so they think that they have to marry, you know, get in bed and marry their cousin. Who who is the the social media marketer? Or they have to use this person because it’s, uh, it’s cheap. Advertisement. Or I’m going to use this salesperson because I only have to pay them a little bit or a commission, and I don’t have to pay them. I don’t have to get into payroll. Right. You start to build this island of misfit toys, of people who may specialize or may not specialize because you think they’re helping you.

Joshua Kornitsky: Are you saying that the path of least resistance is often not the right path?

Gretchen Kornutik: That is 100% true. Uh.

Joshua Kornitsky: So the easiest solution may not be the right one.

Gretchen Kornutik: 100%. Woo! That is a hard lesson.

Joshua Kornitsky: Um, and typically an expensive one.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah, very expensive one. And a more expensive one is the entrepreneur who literally thinks that what they do can’t be replaced without them. Um, if you are a true business owner, then you should not be working in your business. You should be directing and putting those people in place so that you can scale and then have passive income in multiple other areas. And uh, and that is a misstep from people who go from that single entrepreneur, uh, to the island of Misfit Toys. And then the big wall right in the glass ceiling of moving into professional kind of standing, having an actual air, having actual CEO, CFO, things of that nature. Um, and having an exit plan. Right. So people don’t go into business with an exit plan? Sure. It’s one of the worst things you could do.

Joshua Kornitsky: So it sounds to me like, based on your own experience, these are sort of steps you’ve already experienced, in many cases, more than once.

Gretchen Kornutik: Correct? Yes, that is correct.

Joshua Kornitsky: So as as you share their journey with them, they’re they’re able to seek the guidance from you in, in, uh, I guess we’d say proven strategies.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yes. 100%. Right. And they’re not mine. We we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to have somebody who handholds us through the steps in the correct order. And, uh, and recognize the pivoting steps and markers as to when you should shift and change.

Joshua Kornitsky: And, and is that the same for everybody?

Gretchen Kornutik: You know what? Listen, it it is okay. Um. It is, but the timing isn’t the same. What that looks like isn’t the same, but the steps are the same. Yeah.

Joshua Kornitsky: So, okay, so what you’re saying is, is, is that if you follow sort of a proven process when it’s appropriate for you, you, you can still reach the right destination.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah. Those are broad strokes, right? Is that when people have these businesses and they grow from one step to the next, um, there are certain vital missing pieces that are are just not there. And it’s not. Hey, do I, uh, do I do my accounting practices this way or do I handle my CFO this way? Um, do I have X amount of employees? It’s not that. It’s. How am I tracking it? What are my what are my attainable goals on my numbers? And am I reaching those goals? Are things happening in the successful line? And why aren’t they right? There are steps that entrepreneurs just simply aren’t doing. They’re kind of throwing everything they can at a wall and hoping it’ll stick. And not understanding what did stick and why.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so so if I understand sort of the organic growth path of the average entrepreneur may have some blind spots in it, and that’s where you’re shining the light.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yes, 100%. Yeah. For their vision.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, and that I think leads to the the logical question is if somebody is considering a coach or a mentor, how do they go about finding the right person.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah. I mean, that’s that’s a pivotal thing. I think you sit down and talk to somebody. If you look at the most successful people in the world, you look at the Jeff Bezos and the, you know, high functioning people. Um, they don’t sit down with one person and hire them. That never happens. Uh, people who are developing software technologies sit down and talk to technology experts at a number of 120 to 200 people and ask each of those people who their best person is to get to that answer. We are lazy as entrepreneurs to not get to the right seat. And um, and and Josh because of what you do. Right. Ios which I’ve, which I’ve implemented in my previous company and was forever grateful um, is is understanding putting those the correct people in the correct seat and in the correct location. And um, and we don’t want to go through that because we’re afraid we’ll upset the apple cart or ego gets in the way, or we’re just lazy and, we don’t realize if we make those steps and we do it correctly and efficiently, that we are opening ourselves up to unlimited possibilities.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. And one of the things that I often encounter, and I know you’ve shared this with, uh, with me as well, is that that that quest to be the perfect solution gets in the way of any solution, right? Progress is is impeded by the quest for perfection.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah. I mean, not every coach is the right person for everybody. Not every realtor is the right realtor for everyone. Um, not every car person is going to be the right car person. I mean, we have got to get out of the thought process of just working with a friend and figuring out what we actually need and finding that person, uh, within our circuits. And as soon as we do that, then we’re in alignment. And, yeah, it’s amazing.

Joshua Kornitsky: Kind of a game changer.

Gretchen Kornutik: It is a game changer.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, so as I had asked Colin, I’ll ask you. There’s I always like to ask at least one question that makes you think a little bit. So in, in the case here first, uh, before I close, I’ll make sure that we know how to get in touch with you and anyone that’s interested in exploring either the mastermind or the short term rental advice. Uh, and management knows which is which and how to engage you. Right. But if you were going to offer a piece of advice to an entrepreneur, not necessarily a young entrepreneur, because you can be 60 years old and be a brand new entrepreneur, or you can be 21 years old and added for five years, right? So if you were to speak to someone who was a newer entrepreneur, regardless of of their age, more in their experience side, what’s a what’s a solid piece of advice you could offer them that would make a difference for them as they begin to grow? Because obviously not everybody can, can afford or understand the need for a coach or mentor right out of the gate.

Gretchen Kornutik: 100%. Yeah. I mean, I think they need to have conversations with people who are smarter than them. Um, uh, I did that. Um, it doesn’t cost you money to sit down and have one to ones with people who are in different areas of industry and ask them questions, but have a plan. Write it down. It doesn’t need to be a full business plan. People get so nervous, oh, I don’t know how to write a business plan. I don’t know how to have the financials or I don’t math well. Well, great. Thank you for letting us know what you’re not great at. Um, by the way, not everybody is great at everything, and they’re not supposed to be. So, um, so recognize what your passion is as an entrepreneur. Recognize what you’re good at, and then talk to people who are smarter than you.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. When I was a young entrepreneur, there was no one smarter than me.

Gretchen Kornutik: I bet that’s.

Joshua Kornitsky: True. As I got older, I realized there were almost all of them. Everyone but that. That’s the curve, right? That, as they say. Well, thank you, Gretchen. So let me ask the the differentiation. It’s it’s the salt air kisses consulting is is am I getting that correct?

Gretchen Kornutik: So yeah. Right. There’s multiple companies that are under me. I touch a lot of things. Okay. I have, uh, I have a couple of, of real estate brokerages as well as the short term rental property management. Um, not to be confused with long term property management. I have some great referrals for that, but that’s not what I do. Okay. Um, I also on the side have a distributor for tiny homes that are modular and a window company and a flooring company, etc..

Joshua Kornitsky: So it sounds like you know who you’re the right person to call to find out whatever we need to find.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah, but but I mean, right, I don’t I don’t touch those things because it’s set up correctly. Um, but to find me and to get to the crux of all of it is just all things short term rentals. Com, perfect. Um, there’s a contact card there. There’s a scheduler, there’s a list of classes. There’s things that I attend, events, conferences that I’m at, things of that nature. So that’s just a great central location. And it feeds to my other sources.

Joshua Kornitsky: So it’s a single point.

Gretchen Kornutik: It is a single point.

Joshua Kornitsky: I’m sorry I was.

Gretchen Kornutik: In short term rentals.com.

Joshua Kornitsky: All things short term rentals.com. And obviously as as I mentioned to Colin earlier, we’ll have that on our website so that people can find you through Cherokee Business Radio. Um, amazing. I can’t thank you enough for sharing your your wisdom and your experience with us. Uh, do you have any events or anything coming up in the immediate future that you want to share?

Gretchen Kornutik: Uh, yeah. I mean, so I’m doing my my, uh, Georgia Real Estate C class this Friday online. And, um, on May 1st, we’re going to launch a new group, uh, cohort. Mastermind group.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, great.

Gretchen Kornutik: Um, yeah. So, so that’ll be on the website for, uh, for logging in to. And, you know, I’m I’m available. I’m transparent. Uh, people can call me and ask me questions. I’m not that untouchable or such.

Joshua Kornitsky: You don’t have seven layers of blockers.

Gretchen Kornutik: I really just don’t. Uh, if I am available, I answer the phone.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s fantastic. Yeah, well, thank you again, Gretchen. Critic of all things short term rental. And if you’d be kind enough to hang out, we’re going to talk next with Matt Koop. So Matt, thank you so much for making the drive down here because Matt came from Matt wins the award for the for the furthest trip. But we sure appreciate it. Matt is the vice president and founder of both the new Flat Rate and Freedom Builders University. Um, you know, Matt, uh, you and I have known each other for a little while, but let me ask you, what is the new flat rate?

Matt Koop: Well, I can tell you, Josh. And first of all, thanks for having me. And I’m happy to make the drive. Um, the new flat rate, uh, just to to be transparent there. We specialize in home service, help with, uh, contracting companies, but really small businesses in general. We’re a process development company. But outside of that, it’s really more about what what our mission and focus is. Because the new flat rate, uh, we keep families together.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a pretty bold statement. What do you mean by that?

Matt Koop: Well, you see, when it comes to spousal and partner arguments. Uh, you know, Josh, what do you think the number one thing is that starts most arguments?

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, let’s see, I’ve been married almost 23 years.

Matt Koop: Other than that.

Joshua Kornitsky: No, it’s money.

Matt Koop: It is money, isn’t it? You know, it’s it’s pretty much always money. And so, uh, we do that by helping businesses become more profitable. Uh, and our specific niche is, uh, increasing revenue and profits in the contracting space. So, like heating and air conditioning, electric and plumbing companies.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

Matt Koop: Uh, and we do that through process development to help them, uh, kind of automate their communication and discussions between their office and the consumer at the end, as well as, uh, their service technicians and the customers and even the management team to the staff that works with them, because that’s not always flow in the way that it should.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. So you’re you’re making it easier for the company to deal with the customer or the the front line individual to deal with the customer, or both.

Matt Koop: Ultimately both. Really?

Joshua Kornitsky: How do you do that?

Matt Koop: Well, that’s a good question. So first of all, um, we have an automated system in our app. So we developed an app that kind of bridges the communication gaps for the sales process. Uh, because ultimately I think anybody that’s ever had a plumber or an HVAC tech or anything in, uh, anybody that’s had a plumber or an HVAC technician in their home, uh, generally they would agree that they’re not always the best communicators. And so it’s like, hey, what’s wrong with my system? And then they’ll give you this roundabout, uh, message. And so what our app does is it allows the technician just to tell the app what they found, and then the app automatically kind of transcribes everything into consumer language and gives the customers their options and says, hey, here’s all your options for your sink sync, and it automatically brings in the things that most of the service technicians would have missed as well. Uh, because in the home service trades, we’ve kind of been trained that things are either broke or they’re good.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay. And there’s like it’s binary. Either it works or it doesn’t work. And there there’s no half working faucet.

Matt Koop: Right. But but if you really think about it in the world of mechanics, that’s not true. Uh, if I have one part that failed in one spot and everything in that area is the same age, it’s pretty common to know that the part right next to it is probably on the way out the door, too.

Joshua Kornitsky: So the sink on the left dies. The sink on the right is probably not far behind it in in a plumbing.

Matt Koop: And the thing is, is we we, uh, are in all 50 states all across Canada and Australia now, too. Oh, wow. And so our systems used over 30,000 times a week. And so the data that we receive. Um, just proves that, like, I had somebody that says, well, Matt, you don’t know, you know, when that other thing’s going to fail. I’m like, that’s true, but I do know how long it’s been there and the condition of it. Sure. And so what our app does is it automatically tells the homeowner, hey, here’s what’s going on. But by the way, with all these other options, if you want us to while we’re here, we can just rebuild this whole area. And the cool thing is, is when customers take the top option, um, it triples the amount of time between breakdowns for the end customer.

Joshua Kornitsky: So that’s interesting. You’re also keeping the families of your customers together by not getting angry about the fact that something that just got fixed didn’t break, or the one next to it didn’t break.

Matt Koop: That’s exactly right.

Joshua Kornitsky: That’s a that’s an interesting perspective.

Matt Koop: So it saves the end customer money. Ultimately the average customer saves, uh, you know, usually over $500 worth of repairs in one area when they take a better option. Right. Which is really cool because we can do the work for less because we’re already there, but yet it increases the profitability for the home service company by over 300%.

Joshua Kornitsky: So, I mean, it sounds like a lot of thoughts gone into this. Are you a software developer from long back? How did you how did you come up with the the concept here that you put in place?

Matt Koop: It’s funny. You know, I like to I like to go out, you know, and uh, have fun sometimes on the weekends or whatever, like anybody and anytime I’m, I’m out with friends, somebody is inevitably Josh having a problem with the phone or something. And they’re all like, hey, give it to Matt. He’s this software guy. And, uh, just for the record, I really don’t know shit about, uh, fixing, uh, I mean, about about programing or any of that. I build the process and this is what I want it to do. And then we have lots of programmers that make that dream come to life.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay, so. So how did you learn about the different trades then?

Matt Koop: A great question. So the reason why we kind of fell into all of this goes back in about 2001, 2001. My father came to me and and was talking about some issues he was having in his home contracting business. It was heating, air, electric and plumbing company.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, so it’s a it was part of your family already? It is. I see.

Matt Koop: We’re from the trades and and, um, he was talking to me and I said, well, if you can tell me what you’re trying to do, I maybe can help. And he was telling me. And so ultimately he asked me to go to trade school. And so I actually started as a home repair service technician, uh, back in 2001.

Joshua Kornitsky: Gotcha.

Matt Koop: And, um, learned very quickly that there was some major problems in the space. Uh, started having customers get upset when I did things the way the industry taught me to do them. And so I just developed a curiosity to ask the question. And the question, Josh, was Why, uh.

Joshua Kornitsky: How dare you? How dare you, sir?

Matt Koop: I pissed off a lot of people with that, too. But, uh. Why does the industries that we serve do things the way that they do?

Joshua Kornitsky: Did you get an answer?

Matt Koop: Uh, you know, the funny thing is, is I’m also a a, uh, a follower of self-made billionaires. Okay. You know, Gretchen, you were talking about, uh, how everybody has a mentor and is a mentor. And so when I look at at these self-made billionaires, most of them will agree that the leading cause of that kind of the number one business killer is that line. That’s the way we’ve always done it. Mhm.

Gretchen Kornutik: Such a true statement.

Matt Koop: And that’s what I kept hearing.

Joshua Kornitsky: Hey the way we’ve always done it isn’t good enough.

Matt Koop: Well I mean grandpa and I love grandpa but you know grandpa that started the company or Great Grandpa back in 1928. Uh, I’m not saying that he was doing anything wrong. But what we learned is that most business processes were actually supposed to be one offs, like a customer was upset about something and somebody called the boss and said, oh my gosh, we have a problem. You know, Josh, how do we fix it? And you said, oh, just do this. Just make them happy this one time. But that one thing out of your mouth as the business owner just became God in your company.

Joshua Kornitsky: And that’s it. From that day forward, it’s the marching orders.

Matt Koop: From that day forward.

Joshua Kornitsky: You had shared with me previously a story about the twice a year visits to people’s homes.

Matt Koop: Oh my goodness.

Joshua Kornitsky: Yes. And so that’s a great example to sort of, if you don’t mind sharing to illuminate. Why do why does my HVAC guy want to come twice a year?

Matt Koop: You know, it’s so funny that you say that and you’re gonna I hope people don’t hang up because of this, especially those HVAC guys. But, um, so the home service space, they always talk about annual maintenance and getting your heating and cooling system inspected twice a year. But the funny thing is, is that methodology actually came from the 60s and 70s. How so? Because back then furnaces had what’s called a standing pilot. They had a fire that had to burn all the time. And but it cost you about 12, 11 to $12 a month worth of gas to burn it. And so what you would do is you would blow it out in the summertime, so you didn’t have to pay that money when you didn’t need your heat. Sure. But then the air conditioning units outside it was customary back then also to cover those up in the wintertime. And so what was happening is these home service contractors, come summertime, they were getting hundreds and hundreds of phone calls every day from all these customers that heating and cooling systems didn’t work or the cooling systems didn’t work. And they would go out there, and it was because there was a darn tarp over.

Joshua Kornitsky: It.

Matt Koop: You know. And so it couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t run. And so it was keeping them from being able to, uh, actually, you know, get to customers that really needed them because they were going out and just uncovering units all the time. And so what they ended up doing is, is a gentleman named Ron Smith developed a process of a maintenance agreement where they would he would tell the customers, hey, sign up for this program. Let us come out when it’s convenient for us in the spring. In the fall, we’ll uncover your air conditioner to get it ready for summer. We’ll blow out your pilot to save you money in the. In the fall, we’ll do the same. We’ll cover your air conditioner. We’ll light your pilot. And that allowed them to get to the other customers in the summer. But over the years, that methodology was lost. Uh, because today they don’t make furnaces that have standing pilots anymore. And with powder coating technology and things, you don’t have to cover your air conditioners.

Joshua Kornitsky: But that’s the way we’ve always done it.

Matt Koop: But it’s just how we’ve always done it.

Joshua Kornitsky: So that’s a perfect segue and a great story. Thank you for sharing. So. So is is it that type of insight that led to Freedom Builders University?

Matt Koop: You know, it actually is. I like how you tie that together. Thank you for that. So, uh, in 2018, uh, we had a whole bunch of, uh, of our members, uh, that were using the new flat rate that started coming to me, and they were saying, Matt, we love how you solved this problem for our profitability with the options and everything that you guys do with the new flat rate. What about these other areas of business? And so they said they just wanted our thoughts on it. And so we founded a program called Freedom Builders University for small business entrepreneurs to help tie these other sides of the business together and bring some some better ideas and some good resources and kind of a let’s just call it a central point of truth. Uh, you know, I find truth all over the place. But, sure, a lot of these guys, you know, Gretchen like what you were talking about. They just, um. They just don’t know.

Gretchen Kornutik: They’re missing a step.

Matt Koop: Oh, a lot of steps. But, you know, it really comes down to the fact that they’re usually just good at fixing things. And so they started a business, but they don’t know about payroll. They don’t know about taxes. They don’t know about, uh, about any of this stuff. So we founded Freedom Builders University, uh, with the premise of helping them get their life together and experience the freedom that they wanted from business in the first place. And really, it comes down to Josh that, um, there’s this thing that as business owners, many of us fall into, uh, which is called the, um, what is it, the the life, uh, it’s the work life exchange. It’s like work life balance. Kind of. We exchange our, you know, we go to work hoping for a, you know, it’s like an exchange of life for work. But at the end of the day, Freedom Builders is about helping them experience the life worth living exchange.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

Matt Koop: Um, in other words, I want them to go to work and when they leave to actually feel good. Uh, not stressed because, you know, Gretchen, with everybody you’re talking about, I know you run into it. They go home at night and they can’t turn off their brain.

Gretchen Kornutik: Well, not only that, they just, um, they’ve given themselves a job rather than a business.

Matt Koop: Well, and some of them, I think. And I was going to ask you about that. I think some of them, they wanted a job, right. You know, because that’s what they’re good at.

Gretchen Kornutik: That’s their vision. Yeah. So you have to tie into that. I love I love what you’re doing.

Joshua Kornitsky: So. So how do you help them?

Matt Koop: So we focus. We were looking at the world of freedom. And we said, well, what does it mean to feel successful, to feel free with your business. And we were looking for kind of a formula and it was difficult to find. And so we built one. And so the formula that we follow is money plus time plus impact equals freedom. And so money is the fact that as a business entrepreneur and a business owner, if you don’t have profitability and cash flow, you’re making decisions from a position of desperation. And most of those decisions will be wrong because they’re just like, just hire that person because they’re breathing. They can wipe down cars for us.

Joshua Kornitsky: Oh, wait, we talked about the path of least resistance.

Matt Koop: It is. But so so we help them get profitable. And so right away we help them get profitable. And on that note, our average Freedom builder member today is running over 17% in net profit. Wow. Which is in our in the spaces that we serve is triple the average.

Joshua Kornitsky: And and in that regard, does that impact customer satisfaction?

Matt Koop: Ironically, you know, people think like well Matt, how can you charge so much money? We find that the more money that we are able to acquire from the end user. Even though this sounds weird. The happier they are because we’re able to do more for them.

Joshua Kornitsky: Well, sure, because they feel like they’re getting value for the. The exchange. Right. Right. That that if I. Most people don’t complain if the service that they’ve engaged. Works the way that they expected it to work and that the. That the individuals performing the work have done so in, in an effective and efficient manner without walking in flipping a switch, saying that’s $1,000 and walking out the door.

Matt Koop: Well, exactly. And for all the business owners, especially that are listening, if you go and you look at your reviews and your complaints, your any any of your lower star reviews on Google or any of your complaints you’ve had over the years, uh, you can tie usually well over 90% of them to the people that paid the least.

Joshua Kornitsky: Uh, really.

Matt Koop: Just it’s just always, gosh.

Gretchen Kornutik: That’s that’s uniform for all business. Yeah.

Matt Koop: 100%.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yeah. Let’s. Yeah, that’s that’s where tracking methods I love this. I mean, you and I could probably have hours conversation on this. Well, we need to. Yeah.

Joshua Kornitsky: My dad, who’s the original source of wisdom for me, always said that if you make one customer happy, they might tell another. If you make one customer unhappy, they’re going to tell everybody.

Gretchen Kornutik: Yes. True statement.

Matt Koop: Yeah, absolutely. So that’s the first thing we do is we help them become more profitable, get their pricing in line in our space. We’re kind of considered the pricing experts, which is one of our core values as as a company as well. So we we help them do that. And side note, even away from me, I like to give plugs with great products and books. If you like reading a book, there’s a great book out there by a lady called Casey Brown, which is Fearless Pricing. And I love that book because in it she talks about how to be more profitable. And she says that if you’re already a 10% profit company, if you raise your prices only 1%, 1%, that is a 10% increase in profitability. Wow.

Joshua Kornitsky: Simple but really effective.

Matt Koop: Simple. And then also, you know, people might charge $100 for something, but they’re like, well, change it to $99. Well, that $1 drop was a 10% decrease in profitability. Sure. And so it would be better to go to 100 and $100.99 than it would be to drop back to $99.

Joshua Kornitsky: Do you find that even with the clients you’re working with, that are established businesses that they’re challenged to ask for money?

Matt Koop: Oh my goodness. You know, I don’t know what all I should say on the radio. Uh.

Joshua Kornitsky: Yes. Yes you do.

Matt Koop: I heard I heard somebody say something though. It’s it’s terrible, but it’s it’s down south. And it was talking about. Hey, he said down south here. Josh. Um, there’s two things that we don’t talk about from the time we’re really, really young. It’s sex and money.

Joshua Kornitsky: Okay.

Matt Koop: And he’s like, we have a lot of all of it. We just don’t talk about it. It was funny. But when you think about it.

Gretchen Kornutik: It’s a great statement.

Matt Koop: Oh, it’s so important, though, because we were ingrained by the time we were little kids to not talk about money. We would be like, oh my gosh, look at that car, mom, how much does that person make? And she would be like, shh, that’s rude. Don’t talk about that. And so we were brought up with this fear of asking for money because it was wrong. And but I have a different belief that I’ve, I’ve learned and cultivated, which we teach our members in freedom builders and the new flat rate, which is, um, we believe that 100% of our customers called us with the intention to buy. And once you understand that, that they wouldn’t have taken time out of their day, Colin, to bring you their car if they didn’t want it to be awesome. And so if you knew that somebody booked an appointment with you and that they 100% were going to buy from you and pay you money, would it take the pressure off of asking for the money?

Colin Devaney: Absolutely, I think so.

Matt Koop: Yeah. It would, wouldn’t it for sure. So just believe it because that’s true. Yeah. Because they didn’t take time out of their work schedule. Get a ride to your place to drop off their car if they wanted to say no. Right. And so we’ve just kind of paired that into other things that we, we, we train on that says just take the yes before you even get there and go in and show them the options and they’ll and they’ll buy and they always do well.

Gretchen Kornutik: And it sounds like you’ve also mastered the, the other piece of the equation, which is time. Right. If somebody can afford what it is they’re shopping for, um, and, and they are your client, uh, time will matter. Uh, somebody who has the money in their pocket. Um, they don’t care if it’s $300 or $100. If it’s going to save them time. They don’t have to think about it. They can check the box and they know it’s going to be done, right. I mean, I just I love that, um, you, you you go after the ideal client and, uh, and not everybody is that that check box? Yeah.

Matt Koop: We don’t always think we do, Gretchen, but we we all believe. We believe what you just said to an extent that it understands. Um. I can’t make more time. Right? You know, we have 86,400 seconds a day. Nobody has any more than that. And. But I can make more money. So, you know, I only have so many seconds in my in my life. So if I can trade a little bit of the money, which I can’t take with me to get more seconds with my children, with my family, with other things that are important to me. The answer is always yes if I can make the connections work 100%. And so I like that other statement. There’s no such thing as a lack of resources. Just resourcefulness.

Joshua Kornitsky: I like that.

Matt Koop: And it goes a long ways. So to kind of wrap that up, Josh, I know you’re you’re probably saying, hey man, this guy talks a lot. No, no.

Joshua Kornitsky: It’s all good information. So money plus time plus impact equals freedom.

Matt Koop: So the time part of it in Freedom Builders is the starts with the work life balance is we have to help them. If they’re going to experience freedom we have to help them develop a work life balance. Now sometimes according to what piece of their entrepreneurial journey journey they’re on, they might have to work more today to save time in the future. Sure. So eventually you got to get shit done whether you’re busy or not. Right. And so, um, when it comes to the work life balance, we help them do that through scalable processes. And so the big issue here is, is most of the companies we work with their owner operators. And so the owners are still working daily in the company. And they don’t know they’re always looking for that unicorn employee being like, hey, I just gotta have somebody that can do everything that I can do. Sure. And I’m like, oh, there’s lots of those. They just own their own company already, you know? And so, uh, stop looking for the unicorn and instead appreciate the people you have and build a unicorn out of multiple people. And so you do that with processes that say, hey, here’s this one thing that consumes a certain piece of my time. Just one thing like payroll we were talking about, you know. And so let’s train and write a simple process. One page. Here’s ten steps how we do payroll here in our company so that you can slide it over to somebody. And we teach how to make it so incredibly simple that it would save you time to do it, and you wouldn’t even mind keeping it, but at that point, give it away.

Joshua Kornitsky: That makes perfect sense. Delegate and elevate.

Matt Koop: That’s it. And so we get their work life balance going. Help them, uh, start setting alarms to just leave work. Because there comes a point when your productivity just absolutely goes to zero. And then we focus on impact. And impact is their legacy in life. It’s not always global. Sometimes it has to do with just their people that are in their life and their business, the other employees. I’ve got a one owner I work with who is just an incredible person. He doesn’t have he doesn’t have anything to leave his legacy to anyone. And so and he’s built not I don’t think 85 million but he he exited some 50 plus million dollar companies. And so he’s currently building this plumbing company out in California with the entire intention of just turning it over to the employees. That’s awesome. He says he’s like, I don’t want anything. I says, I just these are my people. I just want to help all of them. He says. I don’t have anybody else. And so he’s building this, this big company and his mission is just incredible. But that’s an impact. But what we have to understand about impact is impact is always something that will cost you time and or money. And so if you’re struggling financially, really hard to donate to that charity you like, if you’re struggling, if you’re struggling with not being able to leave the office, it’s really hard to go, you know, volunteer somewhere. And so at Freedom Builders, we just we just help them get their life together.

Joshua Kornitsky: That sounds like a noble cause, and one that really does help keep the families together. Well, so so let me ask you this as as sort of a closing question on that front. Right. What’s a piece of advice that you would give to someone regardless of business? Kind of like something that they should remember. I think that that the impact costs you either money or time is a great point. But what’s one single piece we could leave people with that, that that you think will be universally valuable?

Matt Koop: Can I give to you?

Joshua Kornitsky: Of course.

Matt Koop: Uh, so the first one, uh, goes with, uh, what Gretchen was talking about. Uh, step out and join some masterminds. Uh, we put on a big retreat style mastermind once a year. Uh, you’re welcome to come to that. Uh, but then all we also do a different version. We call them quarterly workshops, where we go and visit, uh, our other member locations, and we bring contractors with us, and so find a way to do that. So if you’re in our space and you want to join with one of us, then, then come on. Uh, but find a way to go visit other contractors, other other business owners in your, in your arena because you can learn so much from just seeing how they do things. And I always tell people some of the best things I’ve learned from doing that, Josh, is the things that I feel like they’re doing wrong is, is when I go and look at it and I’m like, yeah, I don’t want to do that. But that saves me millions of dollars by not making that mistake. And so you can get good ideas and things that you don’t want from from visiting those. And then the second thing that I would always say is, is really probably the most important in any business is when you’re going to deliver or ask the customer to buy your products and services.

Matt Koop: Always start with your best first. And so think about forget about even what they quote unquote need and think of, hey, what is the absolute best that I could do for this, for this situation, this job, this customer, what they have. And I always I train it this way. I say if you were going to work on something, an air conditioner or a plumbing thing, an electrical, a car, a house, and you were going to do a certain amount of work on it, but you I told you. Okay, so here’s the thing, Colin. I want you to go ahead and do a great work on this, but I’m going to mount a plaque on it when you’re done. And it’s going to say, Colin, did this work, right? All right. But now, not only that, then I’m going to take everybody else in your industry and workspace. And when you’re done, I’m going to march them past it in single file with a clipboard and let them pick what you did apart. If you knew that was going to happen, what would you what what level of work would you want to do?

Colin Devaney: Well, you’d want to sell them your absolute best.

Matt Koop: You would want to be your best.

Joshua Kornitsky: Do your.

Matt Koop: Best, and you would want everybody that looked at it to say, that is the best work I’ve ever seen. It looks incredible. And so then think about how much you would have to charge to deliver that level of service. And, uh, my dad always says and then add $800.

Gretchen Kornutik: So at least 20%.

Matt Koop: At least 20%, you can add more. And the thing is, is because this is my best. And I learned over the years that my best kept costing more and more money because I didn’t want to have to watch the clock. I learned to.

Joshua Kornitsky: Do it the right way.

Matt Koop: That was one of the worst things is if I felt like I was in a hurry and trying to do my best at the same time. And so I ended up getting to the point as a trade technician to where my best was, my day. And so I’ll just sell my whole day. And so hey, my my best option. Boom, you get me for the day. I’m your tech for the day. So that’s what I would say. Because if you offer them your best first, they can always take less. And the less will always give them a financial relief if they need it.

Joshua Kornitsky: Sure. That’s great advice, Matt. Thank you for sharing, uh, all of that with us. I think that’s universally useful. Um, do you have any events coming up, anything people should know about?

Matt Koop: Man, I have so many events. Um, first of all, we always do different things in Freedom Builders. We have a twice a month, uh, group coaching call. It’s a zoom call you can jump on. It’s the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Uh, no. Thursday. Sorry. Second and fourth Thursday of the month. Uh, where you can just kind of interact with other other contractors and business owners and get a lot of good ideas. Plus we have different topics and stuff we go through. Okay, so that’s a great group going on, but some big events which you’re actually going to be at one Josh I’m excited about is at the end of April, it’s April 28th through May 2nd, uh, and it’s our annual retreat mastermind this year located in Nashville, Tennessee. And, uh, the cool thing about that mastermind event is it gets you away from everything. It gets you away from your business, uh, in with other entrepreneurial peers. And we’re doing something really cool. It sounds weird as a business people, but we are going to a archery range where we are going to shoot each other.

Joshua Kornitsky: Wow.

Matt Koop: Yeah. Sounds fun.

Joshua Kornitsky: I’m going to be sick that night.

Matt Koop: Yeah, I thought you would. Uh, no, we actually are. So they actually have special darts that aren’t going to hurt you. Oh, okay. But we’re going to play archery tag with all of the owners that come and all the managers that come. And the reason we do that is to let everybody’s guards down so that everybody realizes that we’re all real people. And so that they stop putting on their suits and ties and pretending that they’re successful. Sure. Because even though they have successes in their life, they wouldn’t be there if they didn’t have.

Joshua Kornitsky: And who doesn’t want to shoot? Their favorite customer.

Matt Koop: Doesn’t want to shoot them. So we’re going to go shoot each other, and then we’re going to mastermind and work with our leaders like yourself. We’ve got life coaches, business coaches, financial consultants and mentors and trainers that will be there to work with them one on one and in group settings to really help them get to that next level. And so that’s coming up. Uh, and.

Joshua Kornitsky: And so how will people if they want to learn more about that, where would they go? And yes, we’ll have all of this on the website, but I want to give you the chance to.

Matt Koop: Everything I do with both these companies is all tied under the umbrella company, which is the new flat rate. So if you just go to the new flat rate comm, you can see more information about that. But if you click on resources there you’ll see a tab that says attend to Mastermind. And so you can click on that. And whether you want to attend the mastermind or even some of the group calls. Just fill out that information and we’ll reach out and we’ll get you in whatever you want.

Joshua Kornitsky: Awesome. Well, I can’t thank you enough for sharing. And again, this is, uh, Cherokee Business Radio. I want to thank my guests, uh, Colin Devaney of It’ll buff detailing. Gretchen Korneitsik, CEO and founder of all Things Short term Rental, and Matt Coupe, vice president and founder of the new Flat Rate and Freedom Builders University.

Matt Koop: It’s cope.

Joshua Kornitsky: Josh cope.

Matt Koop: Cope.

Joshua Kornitsky: Cope. That’s embarrassing. Matt Cope. This is Joshua Konicki, professional US implementer and slightly embarrassed guy saying thank you. And please join us again next week. We’ll see you then.