Ep 182 - The Right Connection: Power Couple Problems

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Electricpreneur's Secrets, episode 182,. If my count is correct although the odd time these episodes are adding up so quickly is, we're showing up five days a week to help you master sales, simplify pricing and deliver premium level service. So a couple of times I've got that episode number wrong, joseph, how are you doing today, my brother?

Man I wish I could say I want to say good. I want to say I'm good emotionally, spiritually, intellectually. I'm great Physically. Your boy's sick as a dog, but I'm not going to let anything stop me from bringing in the heat today.

I know I saw your message first thing this morning. We've got such a lineup of just like classes today. It's a big Friday for us. Yeah, you started your day 7 am with a big class and you were saying, hey, one of the girls was sick last night. I'm sick, not feeling it, but you got through it. I'm so pumped about that.

Well, thank you, and I just want to say something about that. It's that my why is bigger than my why not? Wow, it means so much to me. Time out.

Good, I just have to interrupt you. Can you just start over, can you?

say that again, my why is bigger than my why not? I personally believe that the reason why I do this is I am physically compelled. I'm compelled by something larger than myself to want to share any knowledge I have with every electrician that wants to be better, and it's my personal mission to make everyone better than me. So if I decide to sit and take a sick day, there are people who are not going to get the support that I could have given them and I don't feel cool walking away from it. It's going to take a lot for me to not show up.

I feel like this is a hot rod moment where I then introduce myself as hi, I'm Clay Newmire. My why is also bigger than my why not? Because that was so big and so much fire that I don't want to be anything else other than what you just said. But I understand what you're saying, man, and I feel that too, I do. It's like you know, partially because you work from home really home office, right. So your excuse has got to be pretty thick to not show up. Right, exactly, miss Hayes, with us saying that's powerful, she loves it too. Thank you, juliet, we agree, I agree. It's a massive, massive difference. So it's partially the work from home thing, yeah, and I've had some fun with that in the past, making jokes on the content, et cetera, but it's also it's passion, isn't it? I would still drive across town for this. I would drive across town for you guys listening in engaging with us in the Facebook group on electricpreneurs secrets. I would do that and I would show up sick as well. And we have many times, guys, because when you and you know what, maybe there's something to dispel here, because people often say, oh, yeah, do what you love and you'll always enjoy your work, doesn't, isn't?

that how it goes. Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. That's what it is.

But you know you've heard people kind of put a disclaimer around that and I agree with that. So, on the on the advocate of you know what, if you take your passion and make it work, I'll show you people that hate their passion in short time. I don't necessarily think that's always correct, but you can take a blend of like what you're good at and what's important to you and for me. Honestly, this passion of mine, joe, is driven from a place of fear. To be honest with you and I've told people this many times from my background, from my interview, where my first company that I started as a teenager, by the time my early twenties came, I was, you know, doing a foundation of a $40 million project with no business experience no one taught us that right and no project experience. Those are two things that we all have to kind of take initiative on, it seems, in the trades. So inevitably I lost my ass. It was brutal. So every time I see a fork in the road I'm like, okay, on the left is that getting my ass handed to me and on the right is the only acceptable path, and that's the path we walk on. So call it passion or call it fear, I don't know man, I'm just sticking to the right.

I agree with you there. You know what we always need to lead with our intentions, and I'm just grateful to serve this mission. I didn't think I was going to make it this far in life existing and I'm so glad that now that I'm here, I get to share something with my time. That's here, you know.

Yeah, yeah. So anyway, we got a big topic today again following up Eric and Mandy's interview. Guys, if you're with us live right now and you caught the interview yesterday, please tell us that was fire, right? I mean, that thing was gold. Joe actually shed a tear after.

Oh, sorry, allegedly Joe allegedly shed a tear after.

Yeah, I totally did I totally did Back in the green room on StreamYard here with the couple and I mean they are a power couple and there was some further discussion that we felt really deserved to be brought up today as well. When you say, we jump into that a bit today, joe.

I do, and I just want to prelude this with I am just abundantly proud of everything they've done and everything they've become, and it's one of those things where it really touched me to my heart knowing that we had some hand in influencing it, because, yeah, we may be the GPS and they're still driving the car, but it just feels really good to know that you can trust your GPS.

You know what? I think you're onto something there that just hit me like a ton of bricks. I think one of the reasons we can feel so proud to be emotional about situations is because we know what it takes to succeed Exactly. Just because you have the map doesn't mean you're not going through the mud.

Correct. A lot of times. It's even scarier because you know where to go and you're looking through the obstacles and it's like I don't know how the fuck I'm going to do that. I know this is what I'm being told to do. I don't think I could do it. And now you're like what do you do with that information? It's almost. Some people wish they didn't know so they wouldn't have to have a reason to say they couldn't.

Nailed it, and this came full circle from our class this morning too. Right, we're talking about that and some of the guys had mentioned hey, this reminds me of the book the One Thing. I actually haven't read that book, but we were talking about, you know, this idea that we might have three things, big things you want to accomplish this month, but ultimately we got to narrow it down to one right now, because doing too many things just means we're not doing really anything great or maybe not getting there at all, right. So if you want to get things done, you kind of have to focus. But, as you just said, if you got the roadmap and you got the focus and the time management plan, then what else is there to blame?

It's nothing fun, because if you have every single piece but you're not willing to put one foot in front of the other, then you're the only one that's holding you back. And I think knowing that you're the one that holds you back Can be heartbreaking to some people. So also acknowledging that like yeah, you can grow and you can thrive and used to conceive, but you have to also be willing to take what you're willing to bite Like didn't Frank Sinatra say you know in when he sang my way it's like there are times I bit off more than I can chew, but through it all, without a doubt, I took a bite and I spit it out like I'm ready.

Definitely that's huge man, that's heavyweight stuff. Back to the power couple thing man. I can say this, and I know we have at times even differing opinions, we won't go too deep on that, but I do want to touch on it and why We'll be wrong about us to offer that information and those perspectives to our listeners.

No, go for it. I think we should not.

I Once was well, and even now I do consider us power couples. I mean, I consider you and your wife a power couple. You guys are powerful team that really take on life together. But of course we're referencing couples that are taking this deep dive in business together, literally working in parallel, and it's not to be understated here, this is a difficult thing to do. There's obvious turmoil with your personal life, the switch of being able to identify what's business, what's life, and shut it off when business is done for the day. And then it's just that people were in constant communication with as this probably already creeps into the household. We tend to get a little more relaxed in our let's what's the word I'm looking for in our intentional communication Versus, kind of like our autopilot communication, which to me is the same as saying short Mm-hmm. Ever been short with your wife, joe.

Oh.

Yeah, the worst question of the week.

Because the thing is is that I pride myself on being what I consider to be a good person, but even good people are not at their best all the time, and I know that. I married someone way out of my league and I try to intentionally bring that energy every day that I am with her. But I know there are times when I drop the ball and it's a shame. But instead of looking at it as something I could beat myself down for, I look at it something saying this is an opportunity to learn. If every day of my life I could spend my entire life with this person, and every day I'm learning something new about how to not make a mistake or how to improve and do something better, how to communicate better. Then eventually, when we are Celebrating our 50th anniversary all wrinkled in whatnot that, I could say that we did a good job, we had a good run.

You know what, in my experience, your relationship is a project, your kids are a project, the house renovations project, new vehicle that you're trying to afford, project. Like all these things we attack, we encounter, we approach in unison with our partner. They're all projects and they all take bandwidth and they all take patience and they all take intention, and I just find that you know what each of those is kind of whittling us away and each of those can have almost conflicting values at points. And so one of the greatest evils that was brought up by Eric and Mandy yesterday after the podcast and they said, hey, we wish this would have been shared on there, wish we would have thought about this, but like really having your values, alignment and your communication intact, to make sure that this one problem doesn't happen, and that is that your partner starts to feel second to the business at hand. What could you say about that? To help me out here, joe, drive that home.

I'm embarrassed to say, but it's true that that was who I was in the past and that I remember, when I was running my business and putting in the 16-hour days, that my wife came second to it because in my mind, I got to put bread on the table. But what's the point? All of us go into business to try to provide better for our families but, in that attempt, end up distancing ourselves from the families. We travel, as we take on night projects, as we put in weekends, as we miss special occasions. And though you know what, you may have money in the bank, your kids may not want for physically anything, but what you can't give them is the thing you can't get back, which is time. If you can say that my kids will get my time and my business will get my money, you'll always find that you'll still be favoring your family.

Really important, really good. I love that insight. We discussed this a bit yesterday as well, not on the podcast, but in the background. Here's what I believe about power couples. Mandy's with us saying so good, thank you, mandy. Happy to recap this and hash it out with you guys. I believe power couples and really just electric pernures in general even a single pernure, a solo pernure have the same challenge, and that is that we're really against time with our ability and our development of that company. So that we can exceed where we are today. With a power couple especially, we need to get away from this parallel working relationship full time as soon as possible. That's really the sentiment If you're just taking on your business alone or if you're with someone. The same failing point occurs if we're not able to get ourselves out of this current position and advance ourselves. I think a power couple can build crazy empires and business. In fact, we've seen evidence of it again and again and again, and so I really wanted to highlight that point. I think they actually share the same failing point, because the statistics are still there 80% of small business fails. If we look at the places that it fails that they fail rather, it's always on that first floor. No one gets their sales, their offer, their marketing and the supporting operations figured out and delegated and then they're like, oh crap, unless there's a major market swing or a lack of innovation. We might be talking about taxi versus Uber, but no one gets to that second level where they're ready to scale and they lose absolute control of this Not in my experience, anyway. What are your thoughts on that?

I would agree as well in that businesses do change as they grow. But if the people don't change with the business, they can find themselves in a bad situation. Because you can be that solopreneur mentality like that I'm starting a startup and I have to grind and I've got to push and I've got to grind even when your business is established. So you find yourself trying to solve problems that aren't necessarily needing to be solved right now and that you would actually solve more of the problem. Going back to why you started in the first place, you started your business to be more present with your kids and more present with your spouse, and yet you're going in the opposite direction, trying to meet that goal. So instead say you're already enough. You are enough. You just have to be able to see it and say what am I prioritizing? If I was left with nothing, if, if the creator took away one thing from me, this or that which would I pick?

I Always had that rule going into it. We got to pick us. Mm-hmm as I say that I'm reminded that I am not the funniest person on this podcast. Your wife is Joe.

What did she say she has?

a comment and said take it from the power couple of all-time clay and Joseph.

You know what, though? It is like a power couple. I love it as an example.

I've used it, mel. I'll work with you here. We'll go with that. Joe, if we stayed in our same positions and work together a hundred hours by weekly for the next five years and Don't have any change, advancement, growth apart, or established positions in the company, we too will not make it.

That's true, and the thing is, you know, I have an immense amount of respect for who you are like. You are what I am not and I am what you are not, and in that Combination we make a better person together.

And.

I love that. I love that about you. But you're right, if we was back to back in the trenches, just digging that mile-long trench like you were talking about the other day, what would? I wouldn't be happy doing that. I'd be like man, you know, fuck this thing, let's put it, let's put, let's put something else down to figure this out. Let's get some change going on.

That's a good reference. That wasn't on the podcast, by the way. That was in private. Oh man, the mile-long trench. You just hung some candy out here that didn't exist on the air.

You know what that's gonna be a funnel. How we spoil that one on our next podcast you got it.

Yeah, let's close this out. You know what? We're about 17 minutes in. It's Friday. Joe's got the afternoon off. I'm gonna give it off. It's got some time. You get some time to go deal with the. What do you? You're up to a passport stuff, right, yep.

Yeah, yeah, passport stuff taken care of. You always can't be too careful.

I don't know what that's like in the States, but in Canada it's a painful process. So I feel for you and I already I'm regretting saying afternoon off, because that's how that is at all and it's like the equivalent of saying hey, I know you got the next six hours of DMV, enjoy the vacation.

It's like no Waiting in line and getting stamps. It's gonna be terrible, but you know what? We take care of our family. We do what we need to do.

Listen if you're with us still guys engaging. Thank you so much for joining us. We've got a couple action items coming up, but the biggest action that I could give you this week is to just play a little bit A catch-up. Go back, listen to the interview yesterday, listen to all the episodes building Eric and Mandy up. They've done a wonderful thing. They're not the only ones doing wonderful things in our group. It's just so timely. It made perfect sense to have them on and it worked in their schedule too, and we're so proud of them, so happy they could make it. And if you aren't able to listen to the podcast or you want the supplemental guide on exactly what they've done to double up their revenue in five weeks Going to this October, which is incredible growth so fast, really operating at the at the ceiling, the all-star level, trying to take it to the top, being fully immersed in everything we have. We're sharing that with you. All you got to do is type Eric and Mandy on here and one of the posts, or on our website. Service loop electrical Dot-com on the contact form will be happy to send you that little guide, so you too. And double your revenue in the coming month. Joe, do you have another action item for our great listeners?

I Feel like if I'm going to take this action item, I almost want to apply it back towards the relationships, because that's where the maker breakpoint really is. Do you mind if I touch on that? please so I Know, no matter which way you want to swing it, you need to pick a choice One thing or the other but you need to understand where it comes from. Why are we making that choice for the all-star action? What I'd suggest today is knowing what you would choose and consciously making that choice in small transactions every day. What that looks like is this I've chosen to spend the rest of my life with my wife. How do I show her, in small ways, every single day, that I've chosen her? If you can do the same thing in your relationship with your children and with your business, you'll find that those small micro transactions of positivity actually compound to much bigger results. I try to do it in my life. I know that you try to do it in yours, but as long as you're leading with intention, pick your choice. Is it them or is it the business? Pick wisely, because you get to choose once.

Wow, and you get to follow that choice up every day. Juliet says gosh, this is so good. Thank you, ladies. This has been a very powerful episode for the ladies today. Great action items. Mandy says Thank you guys for listening. Thanks everyone who joined us in reaching just about 30,000 downloads to date Just 10 and a half months. Joe, everything is going very well here. I'm so proud to be your partner in this, with the Pleasant Peasant and the Sales Bot right here. Live in the flesh to help you guys again five days a week. Master your sales, simplify your pricing, deliver premium level service and maybe even work on your power. Couple relationships from time to time. We'll see you again next week on Electric Printer Secrets, the Electricians podcast. Have a great weekend.