48: Compounding Your Small Wins for Exponential Success with Bryan Clayton

Behind Their Success: Ep 48

Bryan: [00:00:00] if you don't actually have those habitual things that you're doing every day, Then, then five years goes by like, damn, where did the time go?

Bryan: And I'm still doing the same thing today that I was five years ago. That's a tragedy

Paden: Welcome to Behind Their Success. This podcast is for people who are feeling stuck on their entrepreneur journey or in their careers. It's for people who want to scale and grow their businesses, learn about the power of mindset, or they just know there's more out there and they want to start making changes.

Paden: I'm Paden Squires, the host of the podcast. I was never cut out to be an employee, and when I was an employee, I was bored out of my mind. So I made a plan. I studied and passed the CPA exam in eight months while working, all with the end goal in mind of quitting my job and starting my own business. I did that in 2014, and it has been an amazing wild ride since.

Paden: So now let's hear from other entrepreneurs, and what mindsets, and probably more important, what actions they have taken that have created and led to their success.

Paden: Hello, [00:01:00] everybody. Welcome back to Behind Their Success podcast. I'm Paden Squires, the host, and today we have Bryan Clayton. Brian is a successful entrepreneur and co founder of Green Pal, which is an online platform that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Brian developed an early interest in entrepreneurship and started his first business at the age of 13 mowing yard.

Paden: He continued to grow his landscaping business, founding the company Peachtree, which he sold. Uh, later to a national company after he grew it to over 10 million in annual revenue since then he's founded a green pal, which is, uh, been described as the Uber of lawn care companies, um, and now serves over 200, 000 active users, completing thousands of transactions a day.

Paden: Bryan. Good morning. Welcome on behind their success. tell us a little bit about, uh, you know, your kind of first business and how that all developed. 

Bryan: Yeah, I was the kid that mowed yards in high school and I kind of never [00:02:00] quit.

Bryan: And so a lot of times, you know, you talk to founders and entrepreneurs, they, they get started mowing grass as one of their first businesses or maybe a lemonade stand. And, uh, you actually can keep mowing grass apparently, because I never quit. Uh, I just kept mowing lawns and, And then after college, I had to make another decision.

Bryan: Okay, well, now I have this business degree. But now I've got, you know, two helpers, two employees, um, and, and I'm making a little bit of money. Uh, I don't really like the lawn mowing business. I didn't like, I don't like mowing grass and I'm not passionate about landscaping or anything like that, but, but maybe.

Bryan: This business ownership could be my lane in life. and so I'm just going to make a little five year business plan and see how far I can take this, this landscaping company. And I thought to myself at the time, if I could just have me a couple more helpers and then another crew, maybe I could, maybe I could build this into a real business with what little I learned in business [00:03:00] school and, uh, got done.

Bryan: What I thought I thought would take him five years, got done in about a year. And then I thought, okay, yeah, no, this, this could work. And, then I began to make it a serious business and, and over a 15 year period of time, uh, built that into a company with about 150 employees. Uh, eventually it was, it was doing around 10 million a year in sales.

Bryan: And then, and then it was acquired by a national organization that operates these types of businesses all over the country. and then after that, uh, I took some time off about a year off and, uh, I thought I was going to, after I sold that company, I thought that I was going to like live the life of a, of like a capitalist making investment, like, you know, being in deals and stuff, uh, I read the book, the, the cashflow quadrant by Roger and in that book, he talks about this mythical figure, the, the capitalists.

Bryan: And I thought, man, that would be cool. That was on for about six months [00:04:00] It got existential real quick. And then I thought, well, I need to start another business. And so, uh, this idea that, that I could build an app like Uber, but for lawn mowing, and so that's where the idea for GreenPow was born. And now, now Green Pal is, is the largest network of lawn care services.

Bryan: in the United States, um, where you can, you can order a lawn mowing service with an app and, uh, around 300, 000 people using it every week to get lawn mowing. So 23 years started with just me and a push mower, built that up and sold it to a company. And then, and then, and then, uh, and it started an app that makes that business run smoother.

Bryan: That's cool. 

Paden: That's an impressive story, man. Um, You know, I kind of press into, I like when you were talking about that year you had off, how, how long did it take you to just, you know, I hear this story of people that have sold companies and like. You know, you think that ideal, like, Oh, I'm going to go sit on the beach and be happy the rest of my life or whatever.

Paden: Right. And then [00:05:00] what, you know, a couple of months later, you're like, Oh man, I'm worthless. I have no purpose, you know, that kind of stuff. Right. Did, did you have those types of feelings or. 

Bryan: I did. And, and it's like, you don't, you can tell somebody that a hundred times, a million times, and they'll never believe you until the, until you experience it on your own.

Bryan: It's kind of like you ask anybody what their dreams are. And I said, I'm going to give you all of that tomorrow. and then, you realize three months later that, that, okay, now I need the next goal. That's what life's all about. It's about the next level of the game. It's about the next set of challenges.

Bryan: It's about growing through that. And without that, life is, is not really meaningful. And, and so that was what was missing. And that's what, that was what I didn't really understand. There was no answer to the question. If it's not for me, then what? And, and for me, my business has always been the answer to that question.

Bryan: You know, if, if I don't really just get out of bed this morning and bust it, there's, you know, then what happens and, you know, and, [00:06:00] and with my first company, it was, well, then, uh, that, you know, you're not going to be able to make payroll on Monday. And there's, you know, 150 people that rely on that. And, and, uh, so, so there was a lot of meaning just in that piece of the business of making it a place that my people could come and.

Bryan: And grow and earn a living. And then, and then now fast forward today, you know, uh, running this, this, uh, humble tech company. The answer to that question is if it's not for me, then, you know, there's a team of 40 or 50 people that, that work with me. That are building tools that thousands of people use. And so I take that seriously.

Bryan: There's a lot of small businesses that depend on our technology to run well. And with, without me, then that may not work correctly and, or may not grow and prosper. And so, so they, they don't need the tools they need and they don't have the tools they need. And so, uh, It's always been the answer to the question of, of why is it important to keep pushing forward and growing life and yeah, that's a big thing for 

Paden: sure.

Paden: Yeah. And you [00:07:00] know, I think the typical journey, a lot of those, you know, that, that entrepreneur journey, right where it starts out, like, you know, you started out a lawn mowing business because you wanted to make money. Right. And it was just about, huh, let's hustle. Let's make some money. Very similar. Yeah.

Paden: You know, when I started my accounting firm, right? But then soon it's like, okay, you have some level of success. You grow a little bit. Um, maybe you have some financial success and then you're like, You're right. You kind of lose your purpose a little bit. Right. And then, and then, you know, if you have employees, the, you know, generally the next step on that process is like, well, I'm doing it for my employees.

Paden: Right. Like I'm doing it for them to grow and all that stuff. Um, and it's, yeah, it, that can be, but you always, you're, you're right. You always got to find that next kind of fulfilling purpose or, you know, it certainly can't be about you for very long, or you're, it's not going to motivate you for very long.

Bryan: It's very true. Um, I think it's okay. Uh, to maybe for like maybe one level one, two or three of the, of the, of the game, so to speak for it to [00:08:00] be kind of this, maybe an egotistical thing, maybe you got chip on your shoulder, you know, maybe you want to prove to yourself and to your family and your friends that you can build something successful, or maybe, you know, you, you want to make a bunch of cash, that's okay.

Bryan: There's nothing wrong with that. Like having that profit motive. Is, is fine. In fact, maybe, maybe it's helpful, um, to get through the first level or two of the game. Uh, but then as time goes on, you're gonna have to tap into something else to get through the next levels of the game because, because that kind of self centered mentality won't be enough.

Bryan: You won't, it won't be enough to, for you to evolve as a leader, as a person, as a founder. Uh, it won't be enough, uh, for you to overcome the challenges that are required at that stage of the game. And for me, yeah, I experienced it the same way. It, I was able to look internally into the company and say, okay, this is important that I go to conferences, that I read books, that I try to become a better leader, that I try to try to become a [00:09:00] better, uh, Strategic thinker about where we're taking this business because my people depend on it.

Bryan: I'm not going to be able to grow the business for them to be able to grow their careers. I'm not going to be able to hire their friends and family. I'm, I'm not going to be able to give them pay raises. You know, if they put in three or four years with the business, they're going to want to want to want to grow with the business.

Bryan: And if you can't grow the business, you don't have the opportunity for them. And so I took that seriously. I take it seriously now. And I think the reward with that for that is like, okay, okay. You know, you see your people put a down payment on a bigger house or buy a new car or put their kid into a really good school or, or, you know, pay off student loan debt, medical debt, you know, I've seen all of these things and, and you're like, wow, you know, this thing that we're all working hard on, created that prosperity for them.

Bryan: And so that, 

Paden: that's kind of the reward in that stage. Yeah, Even, you know, you know, I've certainly haven't grown businesses to the size that you have, but even with the small, teams, I'm a part of in my businesses. maybe 15 people in total, [00:10:00] but, yes, I find myself focusing on more of like, how do I be a better leader?

Paden: How do I create more opportunities for everybody around me? And like, I say this a lot, it's like the, the owner, the leader of the business is the bottleneck for, for everything, right? Like, the, you're the, you're the responsible for all the growth and it's like, it's only going to grow as in direct proportion to your growth.

Paden: Personally, 

Bryan: most businesses. Yeah. The, owner, the proprietor, the founder is the bottleneck, uh, for everything in terms of, their evolution, their growth has stalled. And if you, most times you look, the business stalls with it and nobody teaches us how to be a good boss.

Bryan: Nobody teaches us how to be a good leader. We're not taught these things in high school or college or certain, there's no business school that any of us go to that teaches us how to run a small business. And so then, as you know, as an entrepreneur, you're kind of left on your own to find this stuff.

Bryan: And maybe you find it online, maybe you, maybe you go to [00:11:00] an actual course and, but it might take you five years of doing it wrong. to finally do that and then you might take the wrong course or follow the wrong stuff for another year or two, it's just, it's really, really hard. And I came to this realization running my first business that, I was, I was driving into the office one day and I had this knot in my stomach, uh, that I didn't want to go there.

Bryan: I didn't want to go to the place, uh, that I built and, A lot of the people that work for me didn't like me. And there's a lot of people that worked for the company that I didn't like them. And, and, uh, it was a bad culture. And I thought I felt like a victim and I felt like, man, this sucks. Well, why is this happening to me?

Bryan: And then I realized this is literally like piece by piece. You built this thing. This is a reflection of you. And so a lot of these people that you may not like that don't like you, that they're reflecting your level of enthusiasm for the mission, for the company, for them. and that was a hard like pill to swallow.

Bryan: And that was a [00:12:00] moment of personal growth for me that I realized, okay, this is all starting with me. I need to fix myself first. And, uh, that's one of the beautiful things about trying to start a business. So, you know, even if you have just one employee, you're going to learn that lesson. And, you're not going to get that lesson hardly anywhere else in life.

Bryan: Uh, you know, it's out there hustling, trying to get your own thing going and trying to get other people to join that cause. And that's one of the best things about starting your own and running your own business that, that it can do for you as a person is to cause you to learn. Yeah. And 

Paden: I, yeah, I've said a bunch of times or I heard it from somewhere or whatever, but.

Paden: entrepreneurship's the best self development tool there is. Right. 

Bryan: the marketplace of customers, of stakeholders, investors, and employees is really, it's just varnished and doesn't care about your feelings. It doesn't care who you are. Doesn't care what you, where your background is.

Bryan: it is a level playing field for unvarnished feedback. And that's great because you won't get that. Yeah. 

Paden: Oh yeah, for sure. For sure. 

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Paden: So Bryan, you've had, you know, you've obviously had some level of success, uh, you know, working [00:14:00] through different levels of business. what would you say is your best skill that's kind of, you've developed that's led to, you know, a lot of your success, 

Bryan: I think my superpower is, is, uh, just relentless consistency in terms of just.

Bryan: Of, of taking a lot of stuff that we've got to do and get done and distilling it down to one or two things. and then at the expense of everything else. Just getting those one or two things done. yeah, eating the elephant one piece at a time, uh, is another way I would describe it.

Bryan: And, and I was able to do that in my first business. I don't know why I kind of learned that early on that. Yeah, there's a million things wrong with the business right now. but let's, just distill it down to one or two things that are happening the most. that have the highest impact.

Bryan: And then if let's just focus everything we have and in our days, everything you have is just you, you know, it's like, okay, I need to focus all my time on solving this one problem. But then as time goes on, you build a team. You can, you as the founder and as a leader are [00:15:00] organizing everybody's efforts around solving this, this one or two problems, uh, at a time.

Bryan: And it's being consistently relentless about that and keeping that the main focus. And then moving on to the next thing. And then rinse and repeat. And that's, that's how I was able to build my first company and then develop systems and processes to, to make that thing run smoothly. And then now my, my second business.

Bryan: platform. it's in ways it's, it's harder to build a tech company, but a lot of ways it's easier. And, this world, it's like, okay, we, we have thousands of transactions that happen every hour and there's always things going wrong with those outcomes of, transactions.

Bryan: And so we're always kind of triaging around what are the two or three things that are upsetting the most people. that we can change and fix and improve. And what's the right call there. And then let's focus everything we have on fixing those things and then rinse and repeat. And it's like in business, you want to believe this fallacy of, if I can just solve these two or three problems and, and making these one or two [00:16:00] hires, I'll be good, I'll be done for maybe a little while I'm done.

Bryan: And, and the reality is no, like just because you solve five problems, it gets to me, it means you get to solve 10 more. And I think embracing that and just met and understanding that's just part of the game can, it can help make you, you know, good at it. And so I think a lot of times. Genius and a superpower can really just be consistency.

Bryan: I mean, there are no overnight successes. Something that seemingly came out of nowhere and took a year or two to become successful, really. Yeah. There's 10, 

Paden: but there's 10 years there somewhere. 

Paden: That's definitely a trait I see people on this show constantly is Consistency. Yeah. Um. You can do about like nothing wants to stand in front of a, like a relentless force, right? If you just keep going after something, you know, you keep beating, like you have that ax, you just keep beating on the tree and you're making this almost like no, like no visible you know, progress.

Paden: But surely [00:17:00] enough, if you keep the faith, keep beating on that tree and beating on that tree. It will fall, right? And people just quit before they cut down the tree, you know, and that's where most people, people just stop. 

Bryan: Yeah. You don't really, uh, in the first few years of a business, there's a, there's not a whole lot to celebrate.

Bryan: So you gotta, you gotta really celebrate the small things. And, and for me, I always celebrated the small. Milestones like they were big ones when building green pal, the first five years were really hard because we were inventing this new product that connected buyers and sellers. And, and there wasn't an app where you could just push a button and a lawn mowing service would show up as we had to figure that out.

Bryan: and not only that, but we had two sets of customers. We had, we had customers that needed lawn mowing and then the lawn mowing services. Fulfilling that, that need, or we're also our customer. And so we had to solve both the problems at the same time at a local level. and that was, that was really challenging.

Bryan: And so our first goal was like, Oh, we just want, I just need a hundred people. [00:18:00] To use this in a week and that took two years, but when we got that a hundred people, we celebrated it like it was a million because I knew that eventually it will, double it to 200 that I can, I know I can get to five.

Bryan: I know I can get to a thousand and then, and after I get to a thousand, I know it's over with, I'll get it to 10 eventually. And now it's 300, 000. So that's our next goal is, is, is a million. And so that started with a hundred. so celebrate these little small milestones, like they're really big victories 

Paden: that's the problem with compounding is that we don't understand it well, right?

Paden: Like, and, and I don't know, Ed, my lad, if you ever listened to him podcast coming. But he, uh, he talks about like hitting a pinata, right. And the first, you know, 20 times or whatever you hit it, there's like no visible. change, right? but it's doing all this micro damage that, you know, and eventually, you know, one of those wax is going to bust it open.

Paden: But like the compounding of fact, right. Like you said that people don't, you know, and this is huge compounding in tech companies is Getting from zero to a hundred users is like half the battle to [00:19:00] getting to, you know, a hundred thousand. it's just those first hundred users. There's so hard to get the compounding of it.

Paden: It's so slow, but eventually it's like you said, it, it hits 300, 000 million and that growth can be much faster. 

Bryan: Absolutely. The first, the first hundred, the first thousand, however you want to measure it, maybe the first million in revenue or the first hundred thousand in revenue is hard. It's the hardest, I think, because.

Bryan: There's no playbook for what it is you're doing. and a lot of the stuff you have to do is, is not glamorous. it's like, it's hand to hand combat. it's passing out flyers. It's, schlepping down to a trade show and setting up a booth, yeah, hopefully. Um, it's, it's pounding out, you know, a hundred emails a day.

Bryan: It is, uh, and even that, you know, it's probably more glamorous than some of the stuff it's, it's cold calling. It's, calling the five people that did try it and figure out, okay, why aren't you using it anymore? Can I come meet with [00:20:00] you? Uh, it's not glamorous and it's very much hand to hand combat, but that's what, that's what it is.

Bryan: that level of the game requires. And I didn't want to do it, but it's kind of what's needed at that level of the game to get to level two. A lot of people try to skip that. I don't believe 

Paden: it's no idea. I'm right there with you. So what, would you credit as the best decision you've made on your entrepreneur journey?

Bryan: I think the, best decision I made was, This is going to sound trite and cliche, but it was understanding that investing in my, shortcomings and fixing those and trying to figure out, like we mentioned earlier, where I was the bottleneck and helping level that up always was a force magnifier.

Bryan: And, and so a lot of founders and a lot of entrepreneurs will try to outsource that stuff. So it's like, okay, the bottleneck is. I am not good at the financial analysis. And, uh, I'm not good at the bookkeeping [00:21:00] or, or I'm not good at the financial forecasting.

Bryan: I'm not good at understanding where we're making and losing money. I hate that. So, so I'm going to outsource that and, and, and just wave a magic wand and fix that by, by delegating. I'm going to delegate. I heard on an Instagram reel somewhere I should delegate. And I don't understand the first, I don't understand the first aspect of how any of that works, but I'm just going to delegate, delegate, delegate.

Bryan: And then, that doesn't solve the problem. It's like, uh, you should invest in yourself first And spend six months and, learn everything that a really good, not everything, but you could probably learn 70 to 80 percent of what a really good CPA knows.

Bryan: By dedicating six months of your life to it, pouring over everything you find on YouTube, online, classic blogs, and podcasts, and then become like a poor man CPA. And then you could, you could do a lot of these [00:22:00] things yourself and get them to first base. And now you are in a position where you can work with somebody who is elite.

Bryan: and then that's a fourth multiplier. if you only invest in that, you don't know what good is. You don't know what you're looking for. You don't know what you're trying to take, where you're trying to try and take the business. And that's just one example. You got to do this everywhere.

Bryan: You got to do it for design, copywriting, leadership, marketing, in a R and D legal HR. And, and so, so you got to like be like eight, 20 good at 30 different and anywhere you're not. Self then, that's a force magnifier. It's like invest in yourself first, learn the 80, 20, then. Yeah. And 

Paden: I've, you know, I've, uh, I've heard this said or said myself as well.

Paden: It's like, you only need to know a few things or be good at a few basic things in each area to be like, like you said, like 80 percent of the way there, right? Like, to be healthy. there's only like three or four things. You've got to kind of halfway to, you know, eat okay.

Paden: And move a little bit and like you're 80 percent of, and that's, that's what, yeah, [00:23:00] that's what founders and decision makers that are making decisions on top of businesses that are affecting all these different areas, like they don't have to be the Absolute expert, but they need to understand like the big moving parts, like of how they work and how they affect other areas.

Paden: Cause you're going to make some terrible decisions. If you know nothing about forecasting your revenue and business, you can't, like you said, you can't just a hundred percent outsource that, because you've got to have some knowledge to be able to make those decisions without blowing up your company.

Bryan: Exactly. takeaway is, is, You can learn pretty much anything. And just because you don't have the title titles, don't you don't need the title. That's like the, that's the soundbite is you don't need permission or a title to go be just good enough at. Software development at software design, at copywriting, at legal, at, the CPA aspect of it, um, of financial forecasting, all these things you, you can become dangerously good at these things, if you're willing to invest the time.

Bryan: And so that's [00:24:00] always been where I've had my highest ROI was okay. there was one time in my first business that I was facing a lawsuit. And so I, was suing somebody and they were counter suing me and like, I had never been in a lawsuit. And so I had to, I had to like read every book I could get my hands on about what does an attorney do?

Bryan: Well, okay. What makes a good attorney from a bad attorney? Okay. All right. Well, how does the law work? And, and all of these things that, and that, that I never knew. And that put me in a position where I could then hire the best legal team. I've not done that. I lost that lawsuit. So, if you're wondering where your best ROI is, it's usually, you know, working on, on yourself and getting 

Paden: good at things, you know, that's, um, you know, I would credit, so I, you know, I started my business just over a decade ago and, um, I would say after I had my second child in like 2017 is when I.

Paden: fully jumped into the self development world. and, you know, read every book under the sun and listen to podcasts and all that kind of stuff. And that's a hundred percent what I credit with. All my growth and trajectory and success I've had ever [00:25:00] since. Um, it's really started to compound, right?

Paden: I've dived in this self development seven plus years ago or whatever, and you're really starting to see the compound effect of it. And it's, it's, 

Bryan: Some kid, you know, who is just starting their first career or their first business, and they're listening to this and they're You know, if you can start the compounding, the meter running on comp, the compounding thing on a lot of different things on your, financial wealth, your personal wealth, you know, you start, the engine running on that on running on getting your business, but also on your personal development.

Bryan: reading a book a month, figuring out the block and tackling for whatever it is, wherever you're coming up short, investing in that and becoming the, mediocre version of that. And, you know, it could be anything. it could be copywriting. It's like, okay. One thing I learned early on building green pal was that words on.

Bryan: A screen matter words in an email matter words, and on interface matter. So it's like, man, just like getting those words, right. Can have huge implications. So [00:26:00] I, took like three months and read every book I could read on copywriting and became a decent copywriter. So, so a lot of times it's block and tackling for whatever stage of the game you're at.

Bryan: You're finding yourself like paranoid and not good about it and good at whatever it is, and you're wanting to, to delegate and outsource your way through it. Well, we'll take some time and become decent at it. Invest in yourself or whatever that is. And then move on. 

Paden: That's great. Yeah, that's great advice.

Paden: So, you know, looking back. What would you say, Brian, is a big mistake you made? What's, what's one of the biggest mistakes you've made on, your journey or something you've learned from, um, getting smacked in the head, uh, building two businesses, 

Bryan: So, um, a mistake I made was delegating too soon, but then delegating too late.

Bryan: And so, we just talked about delegating too soon, where you. You realize that you have a, a deficiency somewhere in, in the business and, personally as the leader of it. you have a deficiency in some aspect of the business and so you wanna, you wanna delegate your way through it. You don't know what the hell you're doing.

Bryan: You try to delegate. That doesn't [00:27:00] work. And so then, so then maybe you end up doing yourself and so you delegated too soon. But then the mistake, the other mistake is you delegate too late. Well, then you start doing it yourself and you start doing the, all the financial forecasting yourself.

Bryan: And, the thing is, is like, you haven't put in the 10, 000 hours to become a good CPA. So like you, you've put in the hundred hours but you don't want to like spend the money on a good CPA and you don't want to go through the motions of hiring a good one and you don't want to, uh, you know, that takes time.

Bryan: That's actually difficult work. And so you just, you make the, the weirdly enough, it's the lazy decision. Just doing it yourself. Mm-Hmm. Or working harder. 

Paden: Yeah. 

Bryan: It's a weird thing to make a lazy choice 

Paden: to work hard. Yeah. That's a great way to put it. Yeah. 

Bryan: to work more. I'll say you make the lazy choice to do to to do work.

Bryan: The difficult work is going out, setting up a process to delegate it to somebody who can do it better than you. So delegating too soon. Then delegating too late is the other side of that. And that's the mistake I made a lot. [00:28:00] It's like I made the lazy decision to just do it myself.

Bryan: Cause that's what the easy thing to do was. And I didn't go out and find somebody who could. Yeah, you, 

Paden: yeah, you're right. It's the, lazy decision. You're not taking the time and effort to invest in the future. Right. A future compounding. You're just like, I'm just going to get this done.

Paden: You're not, helping you. Yeah. You're not investing in your future self more or less. And sometimes 

Bryan: there's a time and place for just getting it done. but other times. getting it done is, the lazy decision. For example, in my first business, I had a business partner for a while.

Bryan: And, I remember one time I'll never forget this. literally the place was, was not in good shape. and many business owners will have this feeling where everything's going wrong. You, you have a stack of bills that can't be paid. You're wondering how you're going to make payroll and there's like the business is not, working.

Bryan: And. I remember, we were doing this, landscaping job and he decided that the best thing he could do that day was get in the truck and go drive four hours away to go pick up a load of, of materials and drive them back. Like that was his highest and best use of his [00:29:00] time.

Bryan: And it's like, man, no, we need to come in and figure out like what, where we're losing money. And we need to figure out how we're going to solve this problem. And you're, you know, you think it's a badge of honor that you're going to go do this task that we should probably get somebody else to do.

Bryan: So me and you can sit here and work on the business. And so, he thought it was hard work and he was like doing the right thing. And, so that's a simple example the difference between working in the business and working on the business. it's a more difficult type of work to work on the business that we are resident to.

Bryan: We don't want to do that. And we wanted this jump in the truck and, drive somewhere for four hours and back and, that fake work makes us feel better and like holding yourself accountable to, to understand, you know, am I working in the business or am I working on the business is something that we should always be looping in our heads 

Paden: every day.

Paden: I got one, one last question for you, man. So looking back, on that kid with a push lawnmower, right? if you could give him one piece of advice from your perspective today, what would it be?

Bryan: So begin with the end in [00:30:00] mind, uh, is, is a quote from a book that I once read, uh, seven habits of highly effective people. Great, small, little like a nugget. like begin with the end in mind. Um, and as simple as that sounds, it's kind of like, duh, but most of us aren't doing it. And I still 23 years later after starting to mow yards with a push mower and struggling with that is What does five years from today look like?

Bryan: What is the, what is the goal? What are we driving towards? What is the outcome that we're trying to get to? and then let's work backwards from that. And then, you know, what would have to be true today to, to make that happen? And, so working backwards and, really it boils down to making a plan that is executable, that you, the bite size chunks.

Bryan: Year by year, month by month, week by week is, is, it's harder to do that. It sounds and, and I would beat that into my head, 23 years ago, because there was many years where I was just kind of sideways. I didn't know what I was trying to do. I didn't know where I was trying to go. I was just kind of [00:31:00] putting in the reps and, you know, going through the motions.

Bryan: And that cost me a lot of time. You know, what took me 15 years to build that first business. If I had a real solid plan that I was executing against, I could have done it in seven, that's seven years of my life that I could have put towards something else. And so, so begin with the end in mind, where am I trying to go?

Bryan: What is, what does this business look like in five years? And let's write that down. And then let's boil it down into actionable chunks that we can work toward. And that's where compounding gets unlocked. 

Paden: Fantastic advice beginning with the end in mind. And you know, you're saying you lost seven years or, you know, whatever of your life. I'm the same way, man. I bet I, At least five or six years of my business, I feel like I didn't, I had no idea what I was doing.

Paden: I mean, yeah, I'd help people with taxes and did that stuff, but like I had no plan whatsoever. And today, I know exactly what I've accomplished. Like down to the number of [00:32:00] clients, the revenue, the everything I know exactly. And I have it written down and I read it to myself every single morning.

Paden: So, like you said, being able to execute against something that you can stay focused on. you know, measurable, executable steps and hold yourself accountable and keep reminding yourself of that. That's just a matter of time. 

Bryan: exactly. And if you don't actually have those habitual things that you're doing every day, Then, then five years goes by like, damn, where did the time go?

Bryan: And I'm still doing the same thing today that I was five years ago. That's a tragedy. So, let that make you paranoid to stay on track today and to, to develop those habits, to keep the momentum, not just like on, on activity. Don't, don't confuse activity with progress, is how I would describe it, where it's just like, you're busy, but you're not getting anywhere.

Bryan: And so. that's something to be scared about because it's, cause it'll, it'll, it'll go by quick. Because the days are long and the years are short. Uh, five years can go up in smoke real quick. Uh, trying to build. 

Paden: Brian, well, this man, this has been a great conversation.

Paden: Appreciate you coming [00:33:00] on. What's uh, what's the best way the listeners can connect with you. 

Bryan: Yeah. You know, anybody that has grass outside that, that they don't want to mow themselves, go to green pow. com. Life's too short to, to mow your own yard. Uh, and then anyway, you want to hit me up, find me on LinkedIn, Google my, my name, Brian Clayton.

Bryan: and then you'll find me on LinkedIn and then, uh, or, or Instagram as also, I post a lot of content there. Brian M. Clayton, 

Paden: Well, thank you guys, listeners. Uh, we'll catch you the next time.

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. If you found it valuable, please rate, review, and share it. That is the best way to help us build this and reach more people as we're trying to accomplish our goal of help creating more healthy, wealthy, and wise entrepreneurs. You can follow us on social media by searching for me, Payton Squires, or going to www.padensquires.com. on the website and social media, we're always sharing tips of personal growth, and there we can actually interact. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks guys.