Special Guest Expert - Brian Winch: Video automatically transcribed by Sonix

Special Guest Expert - Brian Winch: this mp4 video file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Brian Kelly:
Hello, everyone, and welcome, welcome, welcome to The MIND BODY BUSINESS Show. I am so, so glad you could make it. We have an amazing guest expert tonight. I cannot wait for you to meet him. He's got one of the most incredible business models I've ever seen that has crushed it, as far as success. And that's - well, those are the kind of people I love to have on my show, are those who have achieved a high level of success. And, Mr. Brian Winch - I love his first name - is no exception. So The MIND BODY BUSINESS Show, what is that all about? Real quickly. What I found by focusing and following...Focusing on and following successful people... is that patterns started to develop that I noticed of these people that were crushing it like Mr. Winch and three of them were mind. Mindset is really what that means. And most successful people that I've run into have crushed it when it comes to developing a rock solid, powerful, and positive mindset. And most often from the subconscious level. And then body, what is that? Well, it's exactly what it says. It's. It's those that take care of themselves, that get outside and move, that feed themselves with nurturing food and liquid and nourishment because the mind and body are a team. And I like to say, even more importantly, the mind and body are your team. So imagine if any one member of a team is not operating at peak level, then the team as a whole suffers. So it's important to have both mind and body operating at a top end or peak level, like to call it a performance. Hence the name of the company. And then there's business, another third pattern of successful people. And business is multifaceted (inaudible). It entails many skill sets like sales, team building, marketing, systematizing, leadership. It goes on and on. And what I found is successful people have mastered all three of these areas. Doesn't mean they've mastered every absolute single item in there themselves. It does not because we are human beings and only have so much bandwidth to go around. Those that are successful will delegate out those things that the skill sets just aren't in their repertoire, if that makes sense. Learn them if you can. But if it's just not for you, then delegate them out. And that's what I found that most successful people do. They follow or have those three patterns. I call them the three pillars to success. And that's what the show is about. And I bring on incredible guest experts like Brian Winch, who's coming on very soon, I promise. And we discuss and get deep into what makes these individuals so successful. And so I'm excited for you, the listener, the viewer, to you get to be able to take notes and all you have to do is model. That's it. All you have to do is model successful people like Brian, which all you do is take notes and then do what he does. And we're gonna find out exactly what that is and how he has achieved his stellar success in just a moment. Speaking of success, one of the other traits of highly successful people is they are avid readers and they love to read books and really books that are on business and pertinent to advancing themselves either in business or in personal lives. And on that end, we're going to segway into a little section I appropriately call Bookmarks.

Announcer:
(Informational screen) Bookmarks. Born to read. Bookmarks. Ready, steady, read. Bookmarks. Brought to you by ReachYourPeakLibrary.com.

Brian Kelly:
Yes, ReachYourPeakLibrary.com. And by the way, quick reminder for those of you watching and listening. Whether you're live or recorded, resist the temptation to actually go and look into websites or any of the resources that either I or the other brand give you during the show. Instead, take out a notepad and a piece of paper and a pen or whatever your favorite method for taking notes is and take notes. Write it down. So then you can stay with us throughout the entire show and just visit those resources after the show is over. Because here's the thing. The magic happens in the room. That's an old saying and it truly is. It's truth. As long as you're, you know, you maybe think you're still paying attention while you're looking at another site, but you're not really fully engaged. And I would really I would really not like for you to miss one nugget of of information that Brian Winch is going to bring tonight. So please stay with us throughout. ReachYourPeakLibrary.com. That is a website I literally assembled and put together for you. The entrepreneur or the business person or the person that's wanting to be a successful entrepreneur. And these are books that I personally have read, every single one of them. And I vetted them, meaning they have actually had positive impact on me in one way or another, some more than others, some less than others. But all of these have had a positive impact on me in my growth and my entrepreneur journey. And if it didn't have it, it doesn't show up on this list. I've read quite a few more that are in this list that didn't make the grade. And so these are here for you if you haven't started reading. Here's a great list to start with. So you won't have to guess and say, well, at least I know one successful person who has read all these books just picked the first one, the first one that jumps out at you, whatever. It looks great. You don't need to scroll through the whole list and then go back and forth and try to figure out paralysis by analysis. Grab one. Read it and get moving. And then read the next one and then move to the next one. So it's a phenomenal resource. And I've found that many, many successful people. That is one of the ways they got started. Number one and number two is a huge way that they continue to grow and build and scale their business by reading very pertinent books on the topic. Speaking of very successful people, it's that time. I am not going to mess around anymore. It's time to bring on the man, the myth, the legend himself. And let's do that right now, shall we? Yes, I say let's shop. Here we go.

Announcer:
(Informational screen) It's time for the Guest Expert Spotlight. Savvy. Skillful. Professional. Adept. Trained. Big league. Qualified.

Brian Kelly:
And there he is, ladies and gentlemen. The man, the myth, the legend. Mr. Brian Winch. How are you doing, my friend? So great to have you on the show.

Brian Winch:
Not bad, Brian. It's great to be here. I like the way you spell your name. It's the right way.

Brian Kelly:
Yeah. We were having a nice discussion about that right before we went live. And, you know, we get asked a lot. Both Brian and I each get asked, how do you spell your name? And he has an answer and I have an answer. And mine's a little bit more coy. I just say, I just spell it correctly with an I. Anyway, let's let's get into this. Oh, actually, before we get going and before I formally introduce you, Brian, I want to remind the viewers that are watching live that they if you hang on to the very end of this show, you will get an opportunity to win a five-night stay at a luxury resort in Mexico. And, it's a five-star luxury resort, compliments of PowerTexting.com. Write that one down as well on your notes. Don't go to a website. Write it down. PowerTexting.com. Phenomenal resource. And we give one of these trips away every single show. So don't go anywhere. Stay on till the very end. Now let's bring on this gentleman to my left, to your right on the screen. Brian Winch is the author of Clean Lots: America's Simplest Business. Brian has been involved in all aspects of the parking lot litter removal business since 1981. Goodness. That's a year before I graduated high school. That is awesome. He can show you how to start and operate a green-based business from home and make money from a simple service that's almost as easy to do as going for a walk. Oh, that is so true. And we're going to get deeper into this business model. It truly is really simple and it's very successful. And there's a there's a great theme with this is to keep your business as simple as you possibly can throughout each stage of your business. That is what Brian has done. And so, Brian, again, thank you for coming on. I love that you are spending your time with us, with our listeners. And it's a great little back story to say, you know, you've got this business called Clean Lots that you literally do it through litter removal in parking lots. And that's true. And what I like to do is dive a little deeper with each person that comes on the show, Brian, and that is to find out really what makes you what what makes it work up here in the mind to begin with. And so, you know, it takes a lot to keep a positive mindset to keep going and sustain it on a regular basis. So for you, like when you you know, when you start your day and you know, the day is coming, you're waking up and the sun's up and you're coming to and you're realizing, "OK, another day" and you have that drive. You have that desire. You have that push. For you,how do you how do you create a positive mindset? But more importantly, how do you maintain it throughout every single day since 1981?

Brian Winch:
Well, I plan my day. I think it's important that people plan their week, plan their days, have a business plan, if you will. And you always want to be moving forward. And if you break it down into little chunks and you have a focus on what you want to get done any specific day or that week, then when you accomplish those little small goals, then you have the feeling of accomplishment and then that leaves you with that positive experience and feeling and you're able to continue moving forward.

Brian Kelly:
Perfect. Yeah. I mean, we as humans, we love to complete things. There's nothing that gives us more gratification than finishing, Right? And so that's that's great advice already right off the bat. I hope you're writing notes that are watching, listening. I literally am myself. I've already started writing notes. I do this every show. So you have no excuse if you're watching or listening, you're not writing notes. Get get busy, start writing. Because what you just said is it is already a golden nugget. And that is, you know, break down your tasks into small chunks and then with each one that you get to cross off. That's like a miniature victory. And it keeps you propelling you know, you're you're trying to get the work. Your momentum is going forward for the rest of the day as you knock out each smaller chunk. And of course, each small chunk adds up to the bigger chunk of which is the main goal of the day to get knocked out. So great advice, right off the bat. And I know that may sound simple to a lot of people. Guess what? That's the ke. We started it that way, didn't we? The whole show. It's Brian, which is simple business. Go ahead, Brian. I see you have something to say there.

Brian Winch:
Well, you know, I don't want to take credit for it. It's a saying that probably come from somebody else. But there's a saying if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And you know, and so I get a lot of people that contact me for support and they ask me, "well, I don't know where to start."But you have to have that plan. That's the reason for a plan. And so you kind of have everything mapped out. This is what I want to do today. This is what I want to accomplish by the end of the day or by the end of the week. So you have that feeling and you..that's more than a feeling, you know, that you're you're moving forward in your goals and you're able to achieve.

Brian Kelly:
Absolutely.Yeah. Love it. Love it. You know, you have a very interesting and unique business model. The business itself is very unique. And I'm curious, you know, that something had to have taken you down a path to lead you to say, "I think I'm going to do this." So what was that spark that was ignited in you to start this new business of doing what you're doing, which is basically picking up litter in parking lots outside of business complexes?

Brian Winch:
Well, I was 21 years old in 1981. I was working a full time job. And, you know, I didn't mind it. I mean, I worked at a large sporting goods sporting goods company. And but after a while, I thought, "you know what? I really couldn't see myself doing this for the rest of my life," punching a time clock, going in in the morning and punching out at night and basically working for somebody else, making them money as opposed to really meeting my needs. And I was always one that wanted to work outside. I was kind of more of a physical type of guy as opposed to working within four walls every day. And I thought, you know what? I'm going to start looking at different opportunities where I could work for myself. At the time. I didn't have a lot going for me. I didn't have a lot of money, many skills, and barely graduated high school. I didn't have a college degree, obviously. So I was kind of limited. But I looked at a number of different opportunities and I thought the easiest might be starting some sort of service business or maybe even a cleaning business. I mean, fortunes have been made cleaning up, doing cleaning for for other people that are simply for the reason that a lot of people don't want to clean up after others. And I had recalled that my father had a side gig back in those days or was called moon moon lighting or a or a part time job. But he was cleaning up litter outside a nearby shopping plaza. And he had taken me along with him a couple of times and I thought, "wow, this is easy work." So it's almost like getting paid for going for a walk. And I thought,"you know what, maybe there's something to this." And I started to test the market for that. And lo and behold, after a little bit of marketing, I found there was a need for it. And that's how I got involved in into the business. And I've been doing it ever since.

Brian Kelly:
That's remarkable just how simple it is and I don't want to make it sound like there's no work involved and it's that simple. I mean, there are other things that go on besides having to take a stroll in the parking lot. And as an entrepreneur, I get that, you know, the marketing you mentioned that we'll get we'll touch on that in a little while. There are other facets to businesses. It's simple. Doesn't necessarily mean it's always easy. But the thing is, the simpler you can make it, the better. Those of you that are either in a business now are thinking of starting one, the more you can simplify it, the easier it will be to achieve that level of success you desire. Like Mr. Winch has done. And, you know, we talked about mindset. He talked about body. You're obviously taking care of the body by walking every single day in your business if you are still doing that yourself or if that's all been scaled out. But the beautiful thing is your entire crew is going to have that going for them. They're going to get the exercise, the fresh air, et cetera. And that's a great thing. But then there's the business, right? There's so many. Like I said earlier, so many facets to it. There's so many skill sets that one needs to learn to, you know, take their business to continue to improve it, improve it and grow it. And if you were to be able to nail down just three, Brian, three tops skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, what would those three be? Now, knowing what you know today?

Brian Winch:
Well, when I started, I think I mentioned before, I didn't have really many skills. So what I brought to the table were really I called traits. And I think if whatever business, whatever side hustle you're starting, you need to have passion, persistence and patience. And I think that those are the main reasons for my success, is that's what I was able to bring. You could learn skills, you're always learning new skills and you find different ways, whether it's reading books or taking courses and back then before the Internet. And you know what I mean? It was a different time and a different day and I would get more books. But nowadays it's much easier. People can take online courses. Information is far more readily available. And, you know, you can. You can learn so many things and you can also (inaudible) out the work. You know, you can't do everything. But it's good to have a basic understanding of different to different subjects in order to run your business.

Brian Kelly:
And I love that the three Ps there and they seem to go very well together. You know, passion. I mean, if you know a passion for what you do, it's going to make your days very long. And it will not be something you'll be looking forward to every morning, getting up with that positive mindset, and the drive. It will really be difficult to do that. So very important. I agree with that wholeheartedly. And I love the second one. I think that's one of the biggest is persistence. And that's one of the areas where so many people I know personally who give up too soon. It takes persistence and it takes a thick skin. I think the third was patience. is that what you said?

Brian Winch:
Yeah, patience, persistence.

Brian Kelly:
Yeah. And those go hand-in-hand. I mean, you've got to be patient in order to have persistence. And you need that persistence and that builds patience as well. And there's so absolutely necessary. And, you know, we live in a immediate gratification society where, you know, everything is instant now, right? You got instant coffee. You know, you can almost instant, you know, get your phone out and you got a car coming to pick you up, right? I mean, everything's instant. And we get used to that and we lose sight of the importance of persistence and hard work and time to make something that's really worth it to to work. Would you agree with that?

Brian Winch:
Exactly. 100 percent. And people need to understand things don't always happen when you want them to. You know, I mean, if you're prospecting and you submit estimates, it takes a while for people to get back to you. I mean, you have to understand they have issues to deal with. I mean, they have to get permission. Maybe your approval, they have to check their budgets, whether this money for the service, when they can bring you in, if they need to give a serve notice to another customer in order to bring you in. This takes some weeks and it doesn't necessarily happen in the first week or two weeks where Bang! You're going to pick up a contract. And and in some cases, you know, like, you know, I've been doing this for so many years, it can take months, you know, from your initial contact and somebody out of the blue contacts you and says, "Look at him, Brian, I'm ready to initiate service at this property now." And that's what that's where the patience comes in. You need to be persistent, but you have to understand when to back off. You don't want to be a pain in the butt, but you need to make sure your prospects are aware that you're still interested in what you can do, what value you can bring to them. And at some point you'll be rewarded for that.

Brian Kelly:
That is so spot on, Brian. I mean, I'm literally going through those phases at this very moment with two consulting gigs I'm working on. And it does it takes everything you just said. Patience, persistence. It also, like you said, without being a pain in the rear. There is that art. I call that an art is knowing when to let off the gas pedal. Right. And not bug them to the point where they get so tired of hearing about things like, you know what, I don't want to do this anymore. Go away. And it just happened. You know, I'm in the process of doing one of those things. And yet it can you know, patience goes both ways. Both sides require the patience. So that requires sometimes a skill set on our end to better communicate and give them what I like to call the expectations, you know? What are the expectations going in? And I'd like to know what their expectations are both ways. And that kind of cleans the slate and you can go smoother. And still, I. There are times where I sense in patients on the other end, I'm like, I totally appreciate it. I know we want to get moving quickly. Here's the thing. I really need X, Y and Z. I need that nailed down before I can properly address and do the best job I can for you, because it would be a disservice if I didn't do that first kind of thing. You know, one of those kind of conversations. So I love that you say you just brought up all this thoughts in my mind of what I'm going through at this very moment, through this phase of these two these two companies I'm working with. So I appreciate that very much. And I'm curious. I'm really curious, Brian. I remember I've done some research I've read and I think it was on videos that you seem to target like, what did I say earlier? It's like business parks, I guess, as one of your customer bases. But who do you target as a customer base for what you do like? Could you serve?

Brian Winch:
Well, we service commercial properties that are managed by real estate or property management companies. So it could be strip plazas, shopping plazas, small office buildings, industrial properties. Any of those actually are great markets, even some standalone businesses like dollar stores or, you know, Costco's, etc. Wal-Mart's, any commercial property with a parking lot is a good candidate for our service.

Brian Kelly:
I love that. And if it's like an entire like strip mall or something like that, you can probably get a a bigger contract for one parking lot. That's just around in all of these respective businesses. It seems like that would be an easier way to scale and going onesie, twosie, but you can still serve those as well. That sounds great.

Brian Winch:
Yeah, well, we don't serve be the single businesses, if you will, in a shopping center. They're the they're all tenants of a property and they all pay into a common area maintenance, whether it be landscaping, snow removal. And that includes litter pick as well. And that goes in their their monthly rent (inaudible) pays for property management company. So. So it's just easier. I mean, it's really easy. This business, you know who your customers are, property management companies and you contact them and and explain how you can/Your service will benefit them. And it's as simple as that, really.

Brian Kelly:
I love that. And that does simplify it even more. Now, you are dealing with one point of contact versus 10, 15, 20. How many are in that complex? That's the beauty of it. An additional simplicity of it. So the business itself is very simple, which I love. You go and you clean up litter. You pick it up. You don't have to touch it. I've seen the videos. You've got all the great tools for it. And then you don't have to deal with one customer per property. I would imagine most most often that makes it even simpler. So here's one thing that always, always arouses my curiosity, Brian. And that's what everyone of the people I've interviewed, including yourself, successful entrepreneurs. There are so many different ways to market a business. I mean, it's just another multifaceted area within and under the business umbrella. And I'm always curious and I asked a similar question of each who come on for you, particularly what have you found over the years to be like go to your number one, maybe two or three forms of marketing that have really helped you to grow your business and expand it the way you've wanted to?

Brian Winch:
Well, one thing that really hasn't changed over the decades is the cold calling. And so I just contact the real estate management companies and ask who the contact person is who deals with litter control or litter pick. And once I find that that person, I contact them and ask them, you know, I'd like to send them some information about how my service can benefit them. They can save money and get cleaner properties. And it all starts from there. And then does the whole conversation starts from there. They might want to get a quote right there or they might just want further information. But you need to build that little bit of the relationship there and some trust. And at some point, you know, you are rewarded with getting a contract and it just evolves from there. You provide good customer service. You provide more than what you say you will do. Again, it's providing value and it helps cement that business relationship. And they're more likely to want to continue to do business with you as opposed to looking for a cheaper bid or you're doing business with somebody else just because they get a better price or whatever. But it's all about building relationships. Well, we've had a lot of customers for 20 or 30 years.

Brian Kelly:
And I'm curious, you know, when you first started out and you just started making your first 10 phone calls. I'm sure you had it dialed in and you knew exactly what to say. And you were successful on every call, right?

Brian Winch:
I wish. I wish. So like I said, when I when I started, it was all trial, trial and error. I mean, I was learning from the school of hard knocks, you know what to say, what I shouldn't say. And, you know, but it was maybe my fourth or fifth phone call. I mean, I I don't recall spending an eternity on the phone and always striking out. But at some point, you know, it's like anything. It's a percentage percentages. You're playing the percentages, but maybe after three or four five phone calls, you know, maybe it's luck. But I you know, what happens is you make your luck, you know. Yes. And at one point of person said, "you know what? It's just funny. You contacted me because I was just thinking, I'm having a tough time finding somebody reliable, dependable, who will show up and clean up the litter outside my three strip plazas. And it's just fortunate that you happen to phone me. And hey, you know what? Here are three addresses. Go take a look at them. Get back to me with some prices." And that's how I got my start. I mean, I got my first three properties with that one prospect. And it all it all built from there. And I continued, the business continued to evolve from there. I mean, I had to learn, you know, what tools work best, the best time of day to service these properties. And that's what that's how I got my start.

Brian Kelly:
And of course, I said that. And Joe, can I see you got the joke? That was good cause yeah...a lot of people and I did that on purpose because many think that, you know, we keep seeing how simple the business model is. But it took time to perfect your systems, to perfect, you know, what you would say. And it's still probably to this day it's never perfect because we're dealing with other people. It's human beings.

Brian Winch:
Yeah. And you what? You learn how to develop an elevator pitch. That's what it's called these days. And, you know, it's briefly, you know, who you are and what you could do, what value, what you know, how you're your product or service is going to benefit your prospect. And, you know, that's that's what you do. But yeah, it's you all you learn these things from doing.

Brian Kelly:
Oh, there it is. That was it. That was right between the eyes. That was the most powerful thing you just said is you learn these things by doing it. That's it. Learn by doing. And that boy, does that cover so many emotions with people. Oh, well, but, Brian, if I do that, I might fail. Yeah. In fact, you want to fail if, don't you? You want to fail multiple times and a lot upfront so that you get to the one that works quicker. And so, yeah, you got to get over that, right?

Brian Winch:
Yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, I mean, I don't know if you've heard this quote from Richard Branson, but he says, "if you don't know how to do something, don't say no to an opportunity. Say yes. Then learn how to do it."

Brian Kelly:
Yes. Perfect. And that's that's kind of like the credo of an entrepreneur, isn't it? It's like just say yes. Continually say yes. Of course, you're not always gonna have the answers. There's gonna be trepidation. You're going to be afraid of failure. Every one of us is human. We all go through this. No matter how successful we are, we just know how to be flexible, react to it. And the thing is, when you start feeling that way. Brian, you know, it's like when you start feeling that little trepidation, but you know that if you do it, you're going to move forward. That's when it's the most powerful decision of. Yes. That you could possibly come up with. Would you agree with that?

Brian Winch:
Oh, yeah, completely. And like what you were saying to I mean, as an entrepreneur, you're going to run into these brick walls, stone walls. And I guess what differentiates an entrepreneur from a normal person, if you will, is a lot of times the normal person will say, well, you know what? It's a dead end street. That's it. I quit. It doesn't work. But as an entrepreneur, you need to learn. OK. Well, that didn't work. But you know what? That's not the end of the deal. That's not the end of the story. I need to find a different way to make things work. And it's like a fork in the road. I mean, you have to find solutions to problems rather than just give up and say it doesn't work.

Brian Kelly:
Thank you for that. That is extremely good advice to everyone listening. And that's where the persistence comes in. You know, of the three Ps. Must be persistent. And I don't know I've gotten to be I almost feed off of it now when something doesn't work right away. It's like, OK, good. Now I get to try something new. Let's see how else is going to work. Good. I'm curious what is going to actually work? This is awesome. I love the process more than I ever had. In the beginning. I was like, "this sucks, I can't get it right." But when you take a different tact and a different mindset toward it, you're like "this is actually fine." I love that. I love the struggle. And the only reason the only way you can know that you love the struggle is if you've ever had victory, because, you know, it feels like when you finally reach the promised land and that makes the struggle that much more enjoyable if that makes sense.

Brian Winch:
Yeah, exactly. And then you just look at it. And after a while, you've been in business for a while. But that was the lesson learned. OK, that didn't work. It's not the end of the day. So you just go back and you and you find a way to make things work.

Brian Kelly:
And I really also especially loved how you said one of the most important parts your successful form of marketing is by way of building a relationship, which seems to be something that is not too often executed anymore, I hear it talked about a lot and it's doing it with integrity and character. You know, like I was just looking right before we got on this show and Brian knows this because I said, is it? I've got I've got a message from somebody on Facebook. And I didn't even know who that person was. And it was already asking me to get on the phone with them. I'm like,"I don't even know who you are." That's not the right way to to introduce yourself. There's there's better ways. And that's building the really skills around building relationships. So it takes time and it takes trial and error. In that case, that was an error. And I'm not going to spend much more time looking at that. I won't look at it again. And if that person is persistent and continues to message me, but with a relationship motive more than just let's talk on the phone. I just want us. I just want to suck you of your time and talk about something that don't you know what it's about? You know, pre-frame it. Let us know what you why you want to reach out. Give us a reason to say yes versus just say, "hey, I get oh, how many those do I get?" I don't know if you're on social media much, Brian, but I get these that just come out of nowhere and say, how are you doing? Like, I don't know who you are. How did you even find me? And why would I even respond to that? Because this is going to go down a rabbit hole real quick. So it's interesting. So there's a skill toward all that to say, building relationships. And another part I love that you said, Brian, which also I see it I see it in other entrepreneurs and business owners is, you know, they want to over deliver, over deliver. Because, you know, if you promise something and you give even more than you promised. Like you said, you've had businesses for over 20 years. Clients. That's why. Because you over deliver. You give him what they needed, plus some.

Brian Winch:
Well, when you communicate with them, you build that relationship up. It's not just a business relationship after all. It's more of a personal relationship. And they know that you care about their property because you're informing them. Go back up a bit. Anybody can clean. Anybody can clean up litter from a parking lot. But if you go one step further and observe certain things when you're at the property, or maybe somebody has tagged the wall with graffiti or dump the sofa at the back of the building or run over a stop sign or some lights are burnt out, it doesn't take much effort to contact your customer and let them know about this stuff. They appreciate hearing that from you. You're an extra set of eyes for them. And like I said, it helped cement that relationship with the client. And after all, I mean, your best source of additional business is more likely to come from your existing clients than it is from a new one. That's not to say that she shouldn't, you know, develop as many clients as you as you can, but it just makes more sense to keep your existing customers happy, because you'll know at the end of the day, over a number of years, they're going to send more and more business your way. And it really doesn't take that much more effort from you other than staying in contact with them.

Brian Kelly:
Wow, that rung true big time. I used to be involved in network marketing a long time ago, actually used to co-own a network marketing company myself. And I recall those that were like the big mega recruiters, the ones making the big bucks within the organization. All too often they were they reached that status because they did not take care of those who they recruited. They just went to the next new client, i.e. another recruit. And I saw it time and again that their foundation, their organization would crumble over time because they kept going to that person for assistance to help them to crush it like like he was or she. And then there's like, why, I don't have time. I need to go recruit more people. Like wait...Spend the time with the people that are your customers now, that's where you're like you're seen Brian (inaudible). Concentrate on those you currently have versus. And it doesn't mean neglect looking for new business like you already said as well, Brian. But it's the concentration of your time, your prioritization should be on your existing customer base. And we're talking to a gentleman who knows from experience who's teaching us after 20 some years of several clients who have stuck with him because of that very reason. And I'm sure those 20 year clients are referring people left and right during that 20 year time span as well, because he has exceeded their expectations.

Brian Winch:
That's right. I mean, we'll get phone calls from somebody who was asking for a quote and either they will tell us or will ask him or, you know, who referred you. And that's exactly what it is. Referral. And so that's key to any business is getting referrals and it all comes from customer service. And it's a no brainer for a fixer. It doesn't take a lot of effort to do that. But it's amazing to me how many businesses don't do it. And maybe, maybe it's their employees, their workers. They have the attitude that, you know what, I'm just here to clean. That's it's not my job. I'm not going to do it. But, you know, it's like I say, it's something that's very simple to me to understand. And that's a key to anyone's success. Whatever business spirit.

Brian Kelly:
You just hit another phenomenal point. Brian, it's so funny seeing my name all the time, you know. But it's a great point was the importance of referrals. Thank you. That's like one of the biggest marketing miss. I should say miss. It's misunderstood. It's an underutilized, let me put it that way of most people I met. In fact, I've actually spoken with business owners and ask them, like, if if you have an affiliate program. That's a referral type of a machine that you can use for specifically if you're online or it doesn't have to be online, a referral business affiliate referral, same thing. And oftentimes I'll say, well, Brian, I'm working on getting new customers, things like. Exactly. So I can I have a resource for you can help you set up an affiliate program. No, I don't have time for that. I'm working on. Can we talk about this again? These are existing customers. They have it's a company. There's more. So here's the thing. We're talking...I'm talking to you, Brian, right now. If you were to come out here on this show and you are by yourself a talking head and saying, my name is Brian Winch, I have clean lots. This is my business. And I help clean parking lots. And this is what I do. And you should hire me. Is it more powerful for people to hear from that? Or is it more powerful from someone else, i.e. an interview or someone asking questions saying you should hire this guy? And let me tell you why. What you want is more powerful. It's obviously second hand. It's it's one degree removed and that's why it's so powerful. So, my gosh, people want to just like not going to have it. Come on, wake up, get get going with an affiliate program, get some kind of referral based program working because you already have a client base. Use that to your benefit. Give them a little reward maybe for referring people and your company will explode. Go ahead.

Brian Winch:
Well, exactly. And especially nowadays with social media and a lot of people before they even bother checking out a new restaurant, we'll go see the restaurant reviews. You know, are they good as opposed to going there for themselves and being maybe the guinea pig and then, you know, just trying it out. A lot of people will check those online reviews, though. And that applies to a lot of businesses. But, you know, I guess maybe especially restaurants and everything. So that's why it's important to provide that customer service and and do the best job you can with whatever product or service you that you're advertising, because you need those people to provide the referrals and be and be satisfied customers.

Brian Kelly:
Another perfect example right there. I mean, have good social proof out there. Make sure you're over delivering so that you're getting those five star ratings regardless of what kind of business you have. Get listed on Yelp, Get listed on all of the online avenues where people go to look for you because that's spot on. Restaurants is one of the greatest examples, because every time I travel, I'll look up restaurants near me. And as I'm scrolling, I'm looking at the ratings, you know. Well, I don't want that. That's only two out of five. Or if they have those dollar signs and it's like 10 of them across the screen instead of one or two not wanting to get a quick lunch instead of a beautiful, luxurious meal. But those help and how you show up in your business and how you treat your customers and how you go about it, like, you know, I can imagine right. How many times you were in a parking lot and you felt that no one was watching and you could take a shortcut if you wanted. Because no one's seeing it. That's like uh, that piece of paper, if I left it there, they wouldn't even know, right? They would know. Then I'm tracking every piece of paper.

Brian Winch:
Believe me, they'll know. It's amazing how many properties have video surveillance of the building. Operators are out checking the properties. You've been you've got the store keepers that are paying paying for these services. The big feel that the same coffee cup has been sitting in front of their parking stall for two or three days. You'll hear about it.

Brian Kelly:
Well, yeah,.

Brian Winch:
But going back to social media, it's amazing to me how many businesses will will go to the expense and time developing a Web site. They can't be bothered to do what some of the free things are. And that's claiming your free Google My Business listing. And I mentioned Google because it's the biggest search engine. But any of the other search engines have very similar deals or listings. But, you know, it doesn't matter what business you're providing. If you claim your free Google My Business Listing. If you're gonna show up in in the search engine, if your prospects are looking for a service or product that you're selling, you're gonna show up and it doesn't cost you anything. But like I said, it's it's amazing to me how many businesses don't claim it for whatever reason.

Brian Kelly:
That's a valuable free tip right there for many people. And literally go to Google and type in Google, my business listing and you'll be able to do what he just said and actually enter your information. And that's fantastic because like you said, it costs nothing. Same with like Yelp. It doesn't cost a thing. Go enter your information. Yelp is highly used. I see colleagues of mine using it and then I started using it because I like. What's that? Oh, yeah, that's a good way to find out if a restaurant's good or a business is good. That's fantastic. So we all know that it's you know, being an entrepreneur is like probably the easiest thing on earth. Right? So, yes, I'm saying that again, tongue in cheek. And your reaction is perfect. And but knowing that and now where you are today with the level of success you've had, let's take it on a positive spin. Say, what would you say has been your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?

Brian Winch:
I think the freedom you know, I wouldn't say freedom from bosses, because if you're an entrepreneur, you're you're your boss are your customers, your clients. But it's just the freedom of being able to work your own hours as much as you can. And, you know, not necessarily working the nine to five routine. You've got more flexibility. And I just enjoy the freedom of working for myself.

Brian Kelly:
Yeah, when the rubber meets the road, you're answering to yourself. And I love that you're the second one I've heard say this on my show about, you know, you're you're not actually removing a boss. You're gaining many. For those that are looking to separate from having a boss. Maybe entrepreneurship isn't quite the road you wanted to take. But all that being said, though, when it comes down to making a decision about your business, moving forward, you're not you're not going to the client say, "hey, what do you think? Should I invest in this?" or "Hey, do you think I should use this marketing platform?" You get to make the decisions. You call the shots. You get to get up when you think you should get up, you get to go to bed. It's all it's all about choice. And you said the word freedom. I use the word liberation. Very same. Very similar.

Brian Winch:
And it's easier to get rid of one bad boss than it is the only one if you're working for somebody.

Brian Kelly:
There you go. Yeah, exactly right? You know, in our lives, I mean, I've had lots of people that I've, you know, that have stuck stuck out to me, that have given me bits of inspiration that help me to motivate myself, moving forward, some that I've met and worked with personally. I have a mentor who I was telling you about before the show, Brian, that I learned a lot from. And I, still to this day, model a lot of what I learned from him. Some have get inspiration from authors that may not be longer, you know, may no longer be with us. I'm just curious. And so he can go all over. It could be family. It could be genealogical, up and up, parent, grandparents and above. For you if you were to choose one person when it comes to your business and how you've gone about it and your success, you've achieved as a result. Is there one person that comes to mind that you would call or claim to be your greatest inspiration?

Brian Winch:
Well, it would have to be more than one. It would be my parents because, you know, I grew up in a family of working poor, blue collar. Neither of my parents graduated high school. They had blue collar jobs. My dad was a janitor. And he always had to do these jobs on the side. You know, part time employment, whether it was cleaning up litter from a parking lot or shoveling snow outside of church or whatever the case is. And you know what? You know, neither of my parents, I never, ever heard them complain. They just did what they had to do. And it instilled a great work ethic in with me. And I think, you know, that that would be where my greatest source of inspiration and provided the best examples to me as to, you know, what what you needed to do to get things done.

Brian Kelly:
And it's interesting. That's a second reference. Now, you've made to someone not going to college at least. You know, it was yourself and in your parents house as well. And here's an interesting pattern I've also seen Brian, and that is most who have not gone through that the full typical four year college path or didn't complete it. The mentor I speak of. He dropped out after or during his freshman year and never went back. And what I found is the people that haven't gone through colleges tend to be way more resourceful and get the job done and don't let all of the things that they have been indoctrinated with hold them back. You know, we get these. I went through college and I struggled a long time before I decided it's time to let go of all these preconceived rules that I should be following because the rules weren't serving me. And I if I broke the rules. I'm not hurting anyone. We're not talking about laws or anything like that. It's just things you're told and the ways you're told to go about it. It's all it's all preparing you for corporate life. That's what college typically does. And so it's all rule and regiment based. And then I got out. I'm like, you know, it really stunted my growth as an entrepreneur. And I noticed those that didn't go to school were kicking butt right out of the chute. And like, what is up with that? And I noticed that over time I observed the resourcefulness and just the freedom about which they would go about, you know, their day. And figuring out solutions to problems like you were talking about just amazed me. And I literally, Brian, I became jealous of those who did not go to college. Can you believe that? That's pretty awesome, right? I mean, I was like, I wish I had gone to school now. Oh, my God. I mean, I learned too much.

Brian Winch:
Well, it is now, especially these days, where, you know, that discussion, you know, with the cost of getting an education and do you want to go to school for four years and then graduate with that much student debt? And so if you're a member of a number of different communities, your side hustle nation or whatever. You know, people looking at self employment opportunities, you know, they they have to say, well, what am I better off investing in myself? And, you know, a business or or an education which guarantees nothing.

Brian Kelly:
It guarantees debt. And it guarantees. Right. And in my case, holding me back from really crushing it right away. Absolutely. And the interesting thing on that note, I don't want to beat it to death, but it's a it's a great point is that, you know, so I bring on and hire apprentices for my business. I have four now on bringing on a fifth very soon. And it's a it's a long story behind it. But what I found is most of the apprentices I'm bringing on are looking for experience in the marketing realm, in the marketing area, which is, you know, that's the lifeblood of any business. I think this is awesome. I want marketers that want to learn. And the interesting thing is most of them are graduates of college. Some recent, some not so recent. And I always ask them, what are you looking to get out of this and why? Why are you coming on as an apprentice? And they say, well, I need to learn. I need to get experience. So how come? Well, I got my degree and then I went out looking for a job. And I keep getting turned down. I said, why is that? They said, they all want you to have experiences. Wait, what? Why did we go to school? What? What did they buy us? In that case, almost zero. At that moment. And now they have to take that extra step. I didn't have to do that back in the day. I got straight (inaudible). My degree was my meal ticket. I just. I did interviews the first interview I took. I got accepted. I got a high paying job right out of school. I was in. It's not that way anymore. And schools aren't preparing our kids as well as they're getting better. I will give them kudos. My son is literally going through his last year right now and they are mandating he actually go through an intern program for a semester. I was like, thank you. That's where he will get the experience he needs if he wants to work for someone else. But it is a missing component in many schools still to this day. And there are always a little bit behind. I've noticed I've had that she's my second child that's just gone through. And first one. Same kind of thing. You come get a degree. You never end up working in any degree or feel that you've studied. That's just why go through that pain and suffering and money when if you just come out, be resourceful and crush it with the proper training on the job training like from someone like you, Brian, then yeah. Schooling. I have a whole different view of school that I used to when I came through it for sure.

Brian Winch:
Yeah, well, you know, they're getting better, especially when you see the work intern internship. The problem with technology and marketing is it changes so fast. You just wonder what you're studying in school, how out of date the material is. You go out into the real world to begin your learning.

Brian Kelly:
So true. And I love that that whole concept of internship because there's no better training than on the job training. And you know, I get it. There are certain fields that take high high tech, take high smarts, you know, like where if you're going to go into engineering field and you're going to put rockets out into space, well, you probably need to be pretty good at math, right? And you need that. And schools are great for that. I'm not trying to bash them 100 percent. I'm just saying, when it comes to those who are looking to start their own business, it's a tough road to hoe if that's what you're looking to do is to go through college to make that happen for you. It's like I don't know if I'd choose that vehicle if that's what your goal is. So, yeah, you're right.

Brian Winch:
I mean, we need our doctors, lawyers, engineers. Right. You're not going to learn that. But yeah, when it comes to entrepreneurship, I think the best way or the best school is the school of hard knocks. It's from doing and it's always good to have a background. I mean, don't get me wrong. In theory. But you're you're really going to learn the most. You're you're going to get educated most from actually doing things.

Brian Kelly:
Absolutely. And working with mentors, you know, coaches that have been there, done that, that are successful like you, that someone says, hey, I want Brian Winch to be my mentor. So, yes, it's probably a good one. I would do that if he's open to doing that and helping you out for sure. I mean, that's where I've learned the most in my entrepreneur walk is with mentors and coaches. I paid for coaches. I hired them. You know, I hire people or I I get mentors who I see have to have the results that I desire. You know, I'm not just going after, you know, you could be around the water cooler at work and someone's telling you about the hot stock. And then I look at him going, well, but you're still working. Why is that such a hot stock, Right? Like, how would that help you? You're still here. I'm not going to follow your advice. You want to follow the advice of those who have the results that you wish to achieve. And so when you get a mentor, learn it be, you know, achieve the results. They have now raised the bar and get yet another one, continually get coaches and mentors to climb the ladder in the way that you wanted to go. And I learned all this through primarily through this one mentor. I keep talking about he's been an amazing he's younger than me by a lot, but wise beyond his years. Just amazing guy. And I love him like a brother. All right. So I think. Yeah, it's a good time. My God. Brian, we're already five minutes out from the end of the show. That is unbelievable. I do want to give you the opportunity, though, to ask yourself a question. In other words, if you were conducting this interview, what question might you ask yourself? I mean, this is dangerous for a host to give up control of their show. I hope you know that. But I'm just having fun. But if you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask yourself? Number one. And number two, what? How would you answer that question?

Brian Winch:
Ok. Well, what type of personality are you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? And the reason I ask the question, I think a lot of people think that if you're going to be in business or a successful businessman, that you're an extrovert. And I can tell you, I'm an introvert. I've always been an introverted person. But having said that, I don't find it difficult to deal with people or to do the cold calling, to do the sales, because I believe in my service. And I think anybody, those salesmen are not born. I think they're they're made. If you believe in your product or service and the benefit it provides, it's easy to me to just spread the message. But yeah, I think I think that some people are surprised when they the they learn that, I would consider myself an introvert.

Brian Kelly:
I love that. Because what you just did right there, Brian, you gave a lot of people hope that you know, that consider themselves also be introverts. Like I'm an introvert. How can I be good at sales? Well, you're looking at one on the screen next to me that just said himself that he's an introvert yet. That was the key right there, that you believed in what you were doing. You believed in the end product. You believed in your service. You believe in yourself, in what you were providing them. You knew it was high integrity, high value. You were gonna over deliver. And, you know, it would be it. It comes down to the point where you take the mindset and I don't know if this is true of you, Brian probably is, but it would actually be a disservice if you did not reach out and talk to them, because the service they're getting now is probably subpar. And so if (inaudible). Yeah, if you take it and work it that way and realize that you are that important. I mean, you have that kind of value, not that you're like this ego important person, but you're important to them based on what you bring. Then it could change how you approach your introvertedness toward sales.

Brian Winch:
That's right. I mean, if you believe in your product or service, you know, you're going to share how it will benefit. It will make people's lives better. And it's not about your ego. You know, I mean, everyone has the the idea of the image of the greasy car salesman or whatever. And, you know, I think most folks don't exist anymore or, you know, they're out of business. But for people, people don't want that experience. People want to deal with somebody on a on a personal one to one basis. They don't want the crowd. They just want to know. Okay, you know, "how is how is this going to work for me? How can this make my life easier? Better? How can it?" Whatever the case is. And and that's that's all you have to do, I think.

Brian Kelly:
Excellent. Oh, such words of wisdom from a very successful individual. There's one more question, Brian, before we close the show. And also, don't don't don't worry. I'm going to I haven't forgotten what I promised earlier in the show as well. And in addition, I want to give folks a way to reach out and touch you. Brian, getting in contact with you because you have some great things to offer. We'll get to that in just a moment, I promise. But there's one more question I do want to ask you, and that is something that I ask every single guest expert that's been on the show. It's it's a deep question. It's a really cool question. And I'm really intrigued by the depth and breadth of answers I've gotten as a result. But before we jump into that, this is where I want to then, you know, let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, and let everyone know how they can win that five star, five night stay at the five star luxury resort in Mexico. And I'm going to bring that up on the screen right now and to do so. Now you have our permission to look away from the screen for just a moment. If you need to grab your phone and you want to type in this phone number into your phone. You can go ahead and look at the screen as you're doing that. And that is (661) 535-1624. And then down in the message area, type in the word PEAK - P-E-A-K - as if you were going to text somebody that and then press on a little send icon and you will instantly be entered to win that wonderful five-night vacation stay. And, just so you know, I guarantee you this is not a hook or lure to get you to sit for a two hour timeshare pitch. It is not that way at all. And I know that because my good buddy at PowerTexting.com, the sponsor of this very trip. He tested it by taking his daughter and he said it was the most amazing trip he's been on. Rocky Point, Mexico. He went to so again, (661) 535-1624 and enter the word PEAK - as you're going to text it P-E-A-K - hit the send icon and you will be entered and you will be announced if you're the winner. We will shout from the rooftops on Facebook and everywhere who won that wonderful vacation. So go ahead and do that now. And now we're gonna get back to the man of the hour, Mr. Brian Winch. And so getting back to that question real quick and then we'll get into how people can get in touch with you. I want to. I definitely want you to be able to talk about your book. I'm really intrigued by that. But before we do that, I just want to say, you know, I've kind of built up this question and there's no real any need to be nervous. You don't look nervous at all. So that's already there. But the cool thing about this question is, Brian, there is no such thing as a wrong answer. It's impossible to answer it incorrectly because the very converse is the truth is the only correct answer is yours, because it's unique to every individual. It truly is. And so when asked the question in just a moment, if it takes a moment for you to think about the answer. That's cool. Don't worry about it. Relax. Dead air time is OK. If you get it right away, you'll get it right away. I've seen it run. You know the spectrum of beginning to end. And so I just want to throw it out there so you can just kind of relax. Know that, OK, whatever answer is the right answer. It's just unique to you. That sound cool? Yeah. All right. You ready?

Brian Winch:
I'm ready.

Brian Kelly:
All right. Brian Winch. How do you define success?

Brian Winch:
I guess the freedom to live my life the way I choose. That's a simple answer right off the top of my head.

Brian Kelly:
Awesome, and I pause on purpose because sometimes others would expand on it and that I could tell you were there. You're done. Freedom to live the life he chooses. And that's. It's similar, but never the same. No two people have asked and answered this exactly the same. And it's been interesting getting this wide variety of answers to this. And here's the other really interesting thing I found, Brian, is not a single one of the answers I've gotten so far. There's been fifty five fifty six of them so far. Not a single one of them was money-centric.

Brian Winch:
Yeah. And you know what? That's what I was going to add. The reason I got into business wasn't monetary. It wasn't to make a million dollars. It was to live the life I wanted to. You know what. The beginning of a show. I didn't want to work within four walls. I wanted to work outside. I wanted to see the results of my work, etc., etc. None of that was monetary. And I think, you know, if you're good at what you do, the money will follow. So that's why I answered the way I did is. It was just the freedom to live beyond belief by I. I wanted to live.

Brian Kelly:
That's perfect. Perfect. And so to close out the show right before we say so long, buddy, I want to give you an opportunity to talk about how people can get a hold of you. Number one, and also, if you wouldn't mind, because you have a book that you've written that I would like for you to be able to share. And if there's anything else you like to share as well, this would be a great time to do it. And I'll pull it up on the website so you can talk to it and let people know that, you know, even though the book comes at a price, what they're getting in return. And as a result of getting that book. So go ahead and take that away.

Brian Winch:
Okay. Well, Clean Lots is a book written from my 35+ years experience in how to start and operate a simple parking lot litter removal business. It comes with my free support. Anyone who buys my book, I provide free support. And I can do that because it is such a simple business to start and operate. I understand some people might need some clarification. They have a few questions, but typically they get on pretty quickly. And you know, I'm always glad to share my experience with other people. People can't compete with me in my city, but there's no reason why I can't share this opportunity with other people throughout the country and in every other city, if you will.

Brian Kelly:
And that's important. What he just said, free support. And the reason that's so powerful is because oftentimes with businesses, not with Brian's, well, as many businesses, support can be one of the biggest things you need to finance of anything you do in your business. That means you have to. You have to put support personnel in place and pay them specifically to handle support calls. And so the value here is extreme, even though it's simple. And Brian can handle it. It's still take take away a lot of value as a result, because, look, you get the book, he's going gonna tell you step by step how you can do the same thing. And he will also answer your questions because you will have questions. There's no doubt. And that's just extremely valuable. So I appreciate you bringing that up. And just as a reminder to everyone that is that the URL is CleanLots.com - like parking lots. CleanLots.com. Go to that website. Buy his book. I'm sure you're going to learn more than just how to develop and start a litter removal business. You could probably tell by listening to him tonight that he is full of value and wisdom that can help you also in any kind of related business. That's very close to it. But be sure to, you know, approach it with integrity. And when you do and you ask for support, make sure it is in alignment with what's in the book and a litter removal business, but establish that relationship with him, as you know. He just said earlier how important that is. And that's that's your way to start and practice. He's offered it. It's open. It'll cost you the price of a book. That's it. And then you can be on your way. Who knows? Maybe Brian will be your next mentor if he's open for that. And that would be valuable because of everything he's achieved and how he's done it. So with that, Brian, I wanted to thank you once again very, very much for spending this time with us. I forgot to mention top of the show. He's coming to us all the way from Canada, way up north. And I'm in southern California. So we're a we're quite a distance apart. I love being able to get to do what I do. For that reason, you meet phenomenal people as yourself. And I also want to thank everyone who's been watching and listening. Those who are watching, listening live and those who also watch the live show or the recorded videos show. And who listened to the podcast afterward. Because it will also be on podcasts. But for now, Brian, if you have any parting words for our audience.

Brian Winch:
Well, I guess if you work the business, the business will work for you, something that's simple.

Brian Kelly:
Beautiful. How how appropriate ends with a simple statement for a simple business. Very successful business. Brian Winch, thank you once again so very much. I appreciate you. And for everyone watching, listening, appreciate you as well. That's it for now. We'll see you at the next edition of The MIND BODY BUSINESS Show. So long and be blessed.

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