Net Worth + Real Worth: Inside The Net's Business Powerhouse

This is The Homeowner Show, live with the net here at Sawyer Park. We're excited to be here with you guys tonight. We're gonna have a lot of fun. We got a lot of fun guests. We're gonna have a good time. So whether you're DIY or looking to hire, we're here to bring you the best information and options for you and your home. And tonight, your host Craig Williams gonna be doing the interviews solo 'cause Kevin is off in fancy pants land, California. That's right. Having a good old time. So, but right now I've got a guest. And guys, we're going to have— we're going to be live. I think we're probably going to go like 2 hours tonight. So just buckle in and get ready to have a good time. We're going to sit down with all of the

presidents, the El Jefes, if you will, of the net. All the different teams are going to— well, most of the teams are represented here tonight. The ones that didn't make it, well, they just don't get all the advertising that the rest of them do. So right now I'm going to— I'm going to bring on the screen my good friend, Mr. Rudy. How you doing, bud?

I'm doing fine.

How are you? Doing good, bud. So you're the first, first on deck, man. So you got to, you got to set the tone.

I'm gonna set the standard.

So you, you are actually, you know, captaining one of our newest teams, right? Gold Standard?

That is correct.

Yeah.

Yeah.

How's that going?

It's going great.

Yeah.

We've had 2 meetings already this year. Our first 2 official.

Yeah.

And each one of those has been It's been well. I know our kickoff meetings were strong. I think our first kickoff meeting had about 60 people, and it just grew from there.

Dude, that's incredible.

We started the team off with about almost 20 people.

Dude, that's awesome. So what makes— what do you think that was? I mean, because I don't know that any of the other teams that the N.E.T. has have had that many people at their kickoff. I mean, like, why do you think yours had such good traction from the get-go? I mean, you can take full credit if you want. I mean, like, it's just me. It's just me.

I wish I could say that. I think it's a huge combination of things. It was the right time for that specific location to open.

And which, which is what part of town, by the way?

Spring, Texas, right at Rayford and 99.

Okay.

We're at Community Fieldhouse the first and third Thursday of the month from 11:30 to 1 for our meeting, and then we have a lunch at the same time on the second Thursday of the month.

Okay, so I mean, y'all are getting together 3 times a month, but 2 of them are just like— those are the official meetings?

Correct.

Okay.

But the location and the, the leadership team that we started out with, I know it's changed a little.

Yeah.

Due to some amazing changes with the net.

Yeah.

But we still have such a strong leadership team that involved and just willing to help.

Yeah, I mean, it definitely seemed like that was a part of town that we hadn't like tapped into yet.

Correct.

You know, and so like, I think, I think that was a big part of it for sure. I mean, like, I, I think you live pretty close to there, right?

I do.

Yeah.

I think that was the case for like a lot of people, was like, hey, this is super convenient, this is close to my house, it's close to where I work.

Um, it was an untapped market as well.

Yeah, that's cool.

And we're, we're setting the cornerstone for the other teams. I hope to be able to bring people there that maybe we don't have a home for them there, but we have the other spring teams opening and they're just as amazing. But we're here to talk about us.

That's the new one. Uh, I think I'm talking to them like, I think they're very last tonight that I'm talking to. Um, but they're good. They're meeting here, right?

I'm not 100% sure. I know they're doing a brunch here.

Okay.

The 2nd and 4th Thursday, but you'd have to ask.

Yeah, we'll find out.

Sure.

We'll do some investigating. So, well, what— okay, so talk to me a little bit about being president of a group, because I, you know, it's— I think for a lot of people walking into it, you know, that could seem like an overwhelming kind of thing.

Is it?

I mean, like, do you— is it a lot of pressure? I mean, do you Do you struggle with it?

There's some pressure the night before the meeting.

Are they all going to show up?

No, it's— I mean, what did I miss on the slide? Or waiting on somebody else to enter their information, give us their information. Obviously, you know, we want things on time, the presentation, if they want to present. But we also know that they're human and And we have— everyone has something going on, or kids, businesses to run. So we do understand. But just knowing that everyone is okay.

Yeah, I got you.

Getting what they want out of the team, you know, getting what they need out of the team. Am I doing right as the president sometimes? Yeah, yeah.

Well, and like, you know, when you join a networking group, I mean, obviously one of the big things you're looking for is business. Like, you want to, you want to expand your reach as a business owner, as an operator, all those different kinds of things. But what are the other value things that, you know, specifically the Gold Standard, like, what do you guys bring to the table that is so attractive to new people joining in?

We have such a huge mixture of people that have years of networking experience, months of networking experience, months, weeks. You know, it's, it's very diverse. Some that have been networking for a long time but are new to the NET. I've been a part of the NET thankfully since 2022. It was my first real experience with networking and I had dabbled in other, other 3-letter words.

They who must not be named.

Is that—

I got you.

And it taught me a lot. But what called to me was the net.

Yeah.

And, and if I can share that with people every time they come, or even right now, what it's done for me, my business, my family, my life, that's what I'd love to share. And then I don't want to sit there and tell them every single time. I want to show them. Yeah, I feel that that's what our team allows, right? I've had a one-on-one with everyone in my team already, and it's a new team. I think I try to— I'm missing Dave. He's kind of hard to get, but we'll get to him.

So he's in the crosshairs.

Yeah, and we're about to approve 2 more people. We just had a went on, I mean, an interview with last week. We have another interview coming up, so, so we're growing strong.

Yeah.

And I think people see that when they come, right?

Well, are there, are there any big chairs open right now that you guys are, are looking to fill? Is that, is that it? Is that my phone? Do you guys, do you guys have all your trades?

Remember, you remember you asked What does the president do when he's stressed out? That is not something that I did. That is something that I passed off to one of my amazing leadership teams, and they created an amazing graphic and slides. So I have to make sure that they do well.

I got you. I got you. So, well, I mean, do you— is your team more trade-heavy or is it more service-heavy? Is it You know, because like—

We have a huge mixture.

You do?

Yeah, we, we do have lawyers. We have one lawyer right now, another one just applied, so they're creating their referral team. We are— we have about 5 or 6 service-based construction trades. We have insurance.

team.

It's steadily growing there. So yeah, yeah, we have a huge diverse, and we're still trying to grow. We understand that not everyone's gonna make it though.

What do you mean not everybody's gonna make it?

Not everybody fits the team.

Okay.

There's other teams that might fit them better for, for the time, fit them better for the vibe, the environment.

Yeah, because you guys, you guys are a lunch crowd, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. And for some people that, that doesn't work because they're, I mean, they're working straight through lunch, or, you know, guys like me, like, I'm usually just, you know, I can't, I can't always be on the same side of town during that time of the day. It's really difficult for me. And so like mornings and evenings tend to work out better, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad group. It's just this Like, I can't, I can't commit to being to a group where I can't be consistent, you know, because that's, that's when I bring value to the team, is if I can consistently be there for everybody, you know. And that's, I think that's one of the things that

makes, makes The Net a little bit different, is it's not as rigid as a lot of other networking groups, meaning like we only meet twice a month, right?

Correct.

Whereas Other groups, I mean, like, you've got to be there every week and like, you have to be there. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it, you know? And what I, what I love about y'all is there's flexibility there. There's, there's valuing the time away from the group, you know, for your family, for your business, to actually give those things a chance to breathe, you know, and have time to rest.

Which—

what a novel idea for You know, for a lot of people who are like solopreneur, you know, like they're, they're everything in their business. And so putting requirements on them outside of that, man, it's driving them to the grave even quicker. Yeah.

So no, I think it does attract a lot of people, right? They think, okay, only twice a month, that's only 24 times a year. But what I love about this, man, Look at us now.

Yeah.

Here we are, the 4th time or the 5th time or the 6th time I've been to a net event this month. It's not because I'm sitting here just trying to get business from everyone, although that is the goal. But it's making these connections with these people that I would not have a connection with.

Sorry, somebody was asking me a question. I wouldn't say no to you.

You're good.

Oh, it's not about connections.

No.

No, Rudy.

No connection.

But it's, it's different people that you wouldn't connect with.

Yeah, well, I'm getting, I'm getting the signal to kick you off. Um, real quick, let everybody know your business and, and, and remind everybody what you do.

My name is Rudy with RC Pressure Washing TX. We're based out of Spring, Texas, but we go all over the area.

Awesome.

Commercial pressure washing, soft washing, from bulldozers to buildings. We wash your crime away.

Awesome.

Thanks, bud.

Good to see you.

All right, guys, we are carrying on here. We got our next guest rolling in. We gotta, we gotta move one guy in and get another guy back up to the microphone. Um, but encourage you to hang in there with us as we transition. How you doing, Hans? This one right here. All right, so let everybody know who you are.

Uh, my name is Matt Dawson with Dawson Security Group, and we are a part of the Willis chapter of the N.E.C.

Yeah, either scoot that up a little bit closer or scoot yourself up.

I'm gonna scoot myself up.

There you go.

Just get right up on that thing. All right, so you're from the— is that the Front Porch Crew?

That is the Front Porch Crew, yeah.

All right, and when do you guys meet?

Uh, we meet on the first and third Tuesdays of every single month at 11:30 AM.

And where are you guys meeting now?

Uh, well, we have 2, uh, 2 locations. Primarily we meet at the, uh, the Corral that's in Willis.

Okay.

Uh, it's a very, very nice little homestyle cooking, uh, joint that you can get all your chicken fried steak.

And there you go, that's what I get later in life. Talking my language, chicken fried steak.

Uh, for our larger our larger group meetings, like for this upcoming Visitors Day, we, we meet at the— forget what it's called— the Union Ranch.

What's that?

It is a wedding venue. Oh, one of our members' family owns.

That's cool.

It's very nice, very private. So whenever, whenever we have a large service that we like to hold, that's, that's where we run off to.

Okay.

Now out in the boonies, it's a really nice place.

So is it exclusively a wedding venue or do they do other stuff there?

Uh, it— I'm fairly sure it's just a wedding venue.

Okay, very cool. Well, and so like, I— you're— I mean, you've kind of been around about a year now, right?

Uh, yeah, a little bit longer than a year.

Yeah, okay. So what, what initially attracted you? Because I know you're not the president of the Willis Group. What's your role on the team now?

I'm VP.

VP, okay, awesome. You're handing all the data?

As, as much as possible.

As much as possible. Do you find that to be intuitive? I mean, like, is that— I mean, you're in security, so I imagine there's a certain amount of data you have to deal with, but I mean, is the amount of data that we're putting on you guys, is that manageable? Does it feel overwhelming?

No, to be honest with you, Edwin and Brenda with Brave Fierce have done a phenomenal job with the backend of the system. It is very easy to calculate everything. Like with any growing project, there's always quirks that you gotta iron out, but it's been really, really easy to manage and everything is right there. Putting in your leads and ringing the bell is a very simple process.

Yeah, I mean, is it kind of drag and drop for slides and different things like that?

I mean, yeah, for slides. I mean, we like to do things our own way in Willis a little bit, so The girls have a fun time being a little bit creative with their, with their graphic design. But it's—

yeah, it's—

I mean, as far as our slideshow is concerned, I mean, it's that, that's fairly easy and screenshot something, throw it up on the, on the projector and it's good to go.

Nice. What do you think makes the Willis team different? I mean, like, what makes it unique?

Well, I mean, I've visited and been around for a little bit now and gone to almost every single team and What attracted me to the Willis one is it's very family-oriented. As you know, The Breakfast Club, for example, they, uh, that is very business-oriented.

Yes.

Which is perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But I, I like to gravitate towards people that I want to get to know, not only on a business level to do one-to-ones with and things like that, but I want to be able to outside of work know that, hey, I can call my buddy Jeff and we can go on a motorcycle ride if we wanted to.

There you go.

Jeff's your payments guy, right?

Yeah, yeah, Jeff McKinney with Mac Payments. There's your plug, buddy.

No charge.

That's right.

Well, I mean, like, what do you guys do anything outside of like your regular meetings?

Oh yeah, Cassie and Nicole are always hanging out doing something with the kids, and they recently just went to skating rink. And, uh, you know, like I said, I'm going on motorcycle rides with Jeff on a consistent basis. And, uh, Cassie hangs out with Jeff as well. She's, uh, she's his, uh, cleaning lady.

Okay.

She actually does all the organization and everything. She's our president, but, uh, it's her, uh, her business is fantastic and Jeff uses her. And, you know, it's, it really is a a little bit more tight-knit than whenever you get 20 to almost 30 businesses in a group. We like to keep things a little bit smaller.

Okay.

And not that we don't welcome guests and even new members, but we're a little bit more picky of who we bring into the fold.

Yeah, I mean, Willis is just a different area.

It is.

I mean, it's growing.

It is. It is absolutely growing. It's exploding ever since they put that H-E-B in there. Yeah, everybody knows in Texas, once the H-E-B goes in, the entire demographic changes.

Yeah, well, and they know, they know that stuff's coming if they're bringing the H-E-B there.

That's right.

Is that, I mean, is that kind of what makes y'all's group a little more exciting? I mean, the fact that there's so much growth and potential for everybody?

Yes, that is absolutely one of the things that drew me to that specific location. Uh, it's— The Woodlands is getting overcrowded, in my opinion. I work in it almost every single day. It's not that I can't be a part of The Woodlands group or one of The Woodlands teams, but, uh, Willis has this unique opportunity where everyone is moving out north.

Yeah.

And, uh, if you can get a foothold in right now with any sort of business or relationship outside of work, it is, it is highly beneficial for you to get into that specific market right now, because 5, even 10 years down the line, the people that have grown right now, their, their name is going to be solidified for the next 30 to 40 years.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, we, uh, there, there's a couple businesses that I know that kind of moved to Willis years ago, kind of trying to get away from it, and, and now they're just sort of being enveloped by it. Yep. I mean, it's, it's insane, man. It's, it's really crazy how fast it's growing. I mean, it is like it was in Conroe, you know, 2 or 3 years ago where I think Conroe was like the fastest growing city in the United States like 2 years in a row. And I think that just rolled right on over to Willis.

It really has. I live in Conroe, work in The Woodlands, and I participate in the net within Willis. And so I, I'm back and forth, up, down, up and down that 45 corridor all the time.

Yeah.

And you're absolutely right. Conroe exploded in its still exploding.

Yeah.

And then they're tearing down all the old stuff in the inner city of Conroe, building more stuff. And it's, it's growing. And it's all reaching out towards the Willis area. So all that, all that farmland is eventually going to get developed into big old apartment complexes.

I'm not looking forward to it. Yeah, no, it's not my favorite thing either. But it is what it is. I mean, you're not— there's no stopping it. So, well, are there any big chairs, seats that you guys are looking to fill?

Quite a few, being that we're one of the smaller teams inside the net. It's, it's very difficult. We actually just got our realtor. We do not have a lawyer yet. We're still looking for a health insurance person. There's, there's quite a few chairs that are still open within our chapter. But as far as, as far as getting, uh, getting that right person, that's what we look for.

Gotcha.

Awesome. Well, I mean, are you guys, are you guys pretty full up on trades? Plumber, electrician, roofer?

Yeah, we, we have all of that. Uh, we have Justin as our electrician. Um, we have an HVAC, JoJo. Obviously can't forget JoJo. But yeah, yeah, our trades are almost filled all the way up. Okay.

Awesome, man.

Well, cool.

Well, um, before I let you go, I want to make sure and let— give you the chance to tell everybody what you do. I mean, you're not just, just a member floating around in the net.

Well, again, my name is Matt Dawson. Uh, I am a second-generation locksmith and security professional for Dawson Security Group. Been doing this for, in March, 20 years, believe it or not.

Dude, that's fantastic.

Yep, congrats. And recently went Went back to the family business after taking a little bit over a year off and doing my own side business thing. And during that time, joined the net and kind of flipped roles back and decided, you know what, this is a fantastic group of people and I want to bring my family into this family.

That's awesome, man. Well, we're glad to have you. Appreciate it.

Awesome.

I'm gonna let you go so you can go meet some folks, meet people and make some money, hopefully. Appreciate it, Kurt.

What's up, dude?

Good to see you, bud. All right, guys, we're trucking along here at the Sawyer Ice House. Sawyer Park Ice House. Hey, Marianne. Marianne. Marianne. Marianne. No, no, no, no.

Talk.

No.

Marianne. Hang on. Okay.

Marianne!

Yeah?

Hey, you guys, that's my friend right there that I wanted to—

Almost there.

Guy with the hat backwards? You want your hat to fall backwards? Yeah, if you don't mind, 'cause he's gotta get out.

Thank you for your help, whippersnapper.

Okay. There you go. Is this gonna be weird?

Absolutely.

Preferably.

Visitors Day.

Visitors Day.

Our team, where we meet, when we meet.

Visitors Day is something we're excited for in '26.

Oh, the Visitors Day. We're doing a cook-off, dude.

Awesome.

Can you, can you hear me? A little bit, yeah.

So do I need to put one of these on?

It'll help. It might not be— it'll be about as clear as mud. How's that? It'll help drown out some of the noise.

Not much, but that's fine.

Yeah. Can you hear me though?

Yeah, I can.

Okay.

Actually, I'm gonna sit here and act like I'm— come in, Tokyo. Tokyo, come in. How's my hair look?

Should I just take this and set it here and then do what you want, man? It's it's your time to shine. So well, tell let me let everybody know who you guys are and what group you're part of.

We're the Breakfast Club with the networking net, and that's as much as I know. But we're a networking group. that has a real strong homeowners and home services group. But we meet at Two Tones twice a month. It's the 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 7:30, 0700, the earliest meeting for any of these clubs. And we're, I think, at like 36 or 40.

I can't remember how many people in the group.

We were at 36 before our meeting on Tuesday. We added 3 members and then we just had another Okay, that's awesome.

You guys are— you guys have been trucking since you got started?

Yeah, we started the group in April of last year.

Yeah, it's, it's a fun— like, I, I love coming to y'all's meetings. They're just— I mean, y'all, y'all have a lot of— you have a lot of different energy than most of the other groups, for sure.

I love how you said that. That was cute.

Thank you. I strive for cute.

Very endearing.

We do things different, but it's— we just have a lot of fun with it.

Yeah.

What I mean, what, what do you guys think makes y'all's group so different? I mean, it is—

I think the family. It's not just like business, but it's intentional family. Yeah, we do a bunch of stuff outside of the networking. We all know and love each other, know, love, and trust. And then also—

stop it. Don't be nice to me.

I'll get offended.

He doesn't know what to do with that.

Stop it.

And then another thing is intentional and then selflessness. A lot of the people are already, if they haven't been, it's organic or intuitive giving. Like they're looking out for, I don't need to know anything. I've got these other 40 people who own their own businesses. They're already world-class.

Yeah.

And then the thing is, be different. And the support team that I have as their president, and I blame them until I'm impeached. Is they?

Is that coming? You know he keeps asking to be. She's giggling like he doesn't know. No, actually. Which he can't wait. Can't wait to be fired.

He's almost like he's going to be a permanent sort of president-esque role. He's kind of you know he's the he's the he's the one that barks at people.

Dictator Emeritus.

Is that good?

Okay. Yes.

Oh my!

Here we go. My hegemony.

So.

But like what you mentioned, you mentioned that you guys do a lot of stuff outside of the group, and I've noticed that you guys have like unique things that you do together, which I think is very different from most of the other groups. I mean, you guys have a very community-minded vibe happening. I mean, there's like cook-offs and like just extracurricular stuff going on. I mean, like, is that difficult to manage or does that happen organically? I mean, how does that work for you guys?

We have a little subcommittee called the Phun Committee.

The Phun Committee?

P-H-U-N.

Okay.

And that's something Brian started a long time ago. And we really strive to, you know, we have our 2 meetings that are the Second Report Tuesday. We also have an evening event at Two Tones once a month. It's the 3rd Wednesday of every month.

Okay.

And so this next one coming up is going to be February 18th. It's the Breakfast Club After Hours.

Yeah.

And it's from 5 to 7, and it's just like an open happy hour, open networking.

Okay.

And we also, you know, This last summer we did a murder mystery party on a pirate ship on Lake Conroe, and we all got dressed up. We had a Christmas party at the Colonel's House, our nonprofit, where everybody showed up.

His nonprofit actually won 200 Businesses That Care this year, right?

Victory for Veterans.

Victory for Veterans. Okay, thank you.

And every month we try to do something where we're getting together, whether we do Taco Tuesday, like every couple of weeks where we all just get together, whoever can make it, for lunch. Right. And so we're constantly doing all these little things to create that community within. When the freeze was happening last weekend, Brian and a bunch of people already had plans that, okay, if your pipes freeze, if your power goes out, like, they had things set up and ready to help everyone in our group or anybody that, you know, needed it.

Right.

To assist with that. So it goes so much beyond just our meeting. We did a dove hunting trip in September. We are going to be doing a skydiving trip after the cook-off, Montgomery County Cook-Off. We'll have a booth out there at the fair. You're expected to be there.

Hopefully not for the skydiving. I'll come for the dove, but—

Just bring hunger and we'll make you a judge. But we're also doing a Visitors Day on the 24th of February, and it's a lunch, 11 to 1. And last time we had 107. Oh my God, 107 visitors, which is kind of normal for our group. But yeah, we're serving brisket, ribs.

Are y'all doing that? Is it going to be at Two Tones? Okay, 100%.

Yeah, but it's not a morning meeting. It's a, it's a lunch. And our goal, it'll be a regular meeting, break our record. We want more than 107 people.

Okay.

Okay.

So invite everybody. come for the food.

Awesome. Well, I'm excited. Like, I plan on being there for Visitors Day because I think I missed the last one, and I don't, I don't plan on letting that happen again. So I was told that it was just the food was too good to miss. That was, that was the thing. And like, I know that, I mean, food is a big deal with your group for sure, right? I mean, like, this is, this is something, this is part of the culture that happens every time.

Which I have 2 links of sausage for you in the car, so don't get out of here.

This is why we're friends. It's like that. So, sorry, I'm getting the signal to move on here, but like, I want to, before you guys go, Breakfast Club, 7:30, which Tuesdays?

2nd and 4th.

2nd and 4th Tuesday, and then let everybody know who you guys are and what you do real quick.

I'm Tasha Lowe, and I'm a business development specialist at Better Bookkeepers. We're a locally owned bookkeeping firm. We have over 20 staff and over 250 clients in the area.

Fantastic. Brian?

I am Brian Richardson. I own the Richardson Group, and we— it's a boutique residential and commercial realtor group and top drawer. I just love doing that.

Yeah, you guys are fantastic. Both of you. So thank you guys so much for sitting down. Good luck. Good luck with your visitor day. I know it's going to break all the records and it's going to be delicious. Hopefully many, many cows are going to be consumed.

Yes.

All right.

Thanks for having us. Appreciate it, brother.

All right, y'all.

They have a tap for you?

Yes, they do.

Same thing?

Yes, please. Come on, Kyle!

What's up, bro?

How you doing, bud?

Sorry I was late.

Dude, you're good. Oh, the show, the show went on without you.

Yeah.

All right, here, let me get us both in here. Hang on.

You're good. There we go.

Is it being filmed?

Yes.

Are there cameras?

Yeah, yeah, there's one there. Oh my gosh.

Yeah, yeah, you're legit.

I try. I mean, like, look. I think somebody actually hit that one. I need to fix that one here in just a second.

Yeah, yeah.

Um, what's going on, dude?

Nothing much, man.

Living the dream.

So we've never actually had you on the show before, so this is exciting. I don't have a whole lot of time, but I want to get to as much of it as I can. Tell everybody what you do because I know you got a couple different businesses. Yeah, so fire away.

Yeah, man. Um, our mission number one is marketing, uh, with a mission, and we have an orphanage in Guatemala that is the core of everything that we do, and we have multiple businesses that support, in a sense, that, that mission. Uh, we have a digital marketing firm called Zion Digital with the sole purpose of, if you want to dominate your space, we are going to be the ones to help you to dominate your space. We're not just simply doing SEO or, you know, different, you know, tactics. We're really going above and beyond to film you, post for you, run all your SEO, run all of your, you know, your full digital, and making sure that you are the number one person that people think about. Um, that feeds our orphanage as well.

Yeah.

Um, and then I have, you know, multiple other businesses, but, you know, yeah, we don't have to go there.

What did you get?

Did you say the Snowball Stands?

Okay, I was gonna say, yeah, I have a travel company out of Guatemala.

It's a security bodyguard travel company. Um, a couple other things.

So, I mean, we, we've gotten connected through a couple different people, Sean being one of them.

Yeah.

And then my wife being the other one who's actually been down to your place. So good. I mean, like, and she can't wait to go back. Yeah, it's going to be amazing. She's so excited about it. And like, her words to me when she came back is, Craig, this guy has figured out not just how to run an orphanage, but how to transform a city.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, I don't know if she said that out loud to you.

Yeah, yeah, she said it.

I mean, she says it about you all the time. And she said it's just incredible to walk around with you when you go through the city, because you literally know everybody's name.

Yeah, yeah.

So, and you don't— that doesn't just happen, that takes time. Yeah, I mean, because one, you're a giant white dude.

Yeah, that's scary to a lot of people with tattoos.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, because like, one, you're not short.

Yeah.

And everybody down there pretty much is.

Yeah.

I mean, like, you got to be kind of intimidating, but they love you.

Yeah, no, she, she said that. And, um, I guess it kind of will awaken this mindset of like, oh yeah, like, that is kind of what we do. We aren't just an orphanage. But, um, you know, both of my parents died by the time I was 13. And so I was kind of this child that sat in the back for a little bit and nobody really saw me. And so I think that's really driven me wherever I go to see everybody, no matter what financial stature they're at, no matter what need levels they're at. I work with millionaires that are my clients that are some of the most miserable people. And then I work with, you know,

some of the poorest people ever and feeding them, and they're some of the happiest people.

Yeah.

And I say that it's all across the board. We're so focused on just seeing people, and we can change literally a village, a community, by simply just loving people and being them, you know, being there with them.

Yeah.

And remind me, tell me the name of the orphanage again.

So we call it the Forgotten People Orphanage, but in Guatemala it's legally called God's Place for His Little Children.

Okay.

Yeah. And so one of the— I think when people hear that, they probably hear You run businesses and all of the money goes to these orphanages and things like that. Like, like you're actually running successful businesses that are also supporting your family. Yeah, but supporting these kids over there.

Yeah.

So number one, our orphanage is fully self-sustainable.

Okay.

We have monthly donors and churches that support us monthly. So the orphanage sustains itself. My business of course, supports me and my wife and my family and, and my 21 employees, along with all the other businesses we have. What that funding is able to do is anytime that we're short with the orphanage budget, we can throw in money, which we do often.

Yeah.

Um, anytime, for instance, I built my own house in Guatemala because we wanted to make more room, and I didn't believe in taking money from the orphanage fund to build my wife and I a house for us to to stay in, right? Um, which we could have gotten away with building that, but we're really big on integrity. And so we actually use the extra funding from our snowball stands, from our security company, so on and so forth, to 100%, uh, do what we need to do.

Yeah. And, and my wife was just telling me, like, you built the house before you actually owned the property. Is that— is that true?

Yes.

So, and you just got it?

Um, yes. There's a law where if you're in a property for a long period of time, yeah, that it's kind of yours. And this property has been kind of up in limbo. I built it by faith knowing that if that land was ever taken away from me, yeah, I believe in faith that it won't be and, and it's going to be ours.

That's awesome.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I love it, man. Well, so like, what— how did you guys even get started down there?

Yeah. Man, I was, uh, I got radically saved when I was 19. A year later, I, um, went to Guatemala on a missions trip with my pastor. He wanted me to film a documentary. I was just a camera guy behind the scenes.

Oh yeah.

And, um, I went there and my life was changed because, uh, there's a blind lady who would walk 3 hours each way to church no matter what, following her husband. And my heart broke because here we are in, for instance, Houston, where there's churches of all kinds all around every corner, and we kind of make it the way you like it, like Burger King.

Mm-hmm.

But there's people 2 hours away on a plane in Guatemala that rain or shine, they're walking 3 hours each way to church. And this lady's blind, and it changed my life. And I told myself, I'm going to dedicate my life to these people. And then through the course of us being there in Guatemala, Um, I kept seeing needs. Yeah, there's orphans that are literally suffering that I can tangibly help, right? Why would I not do that? And that's why I started doing that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, just, just today my wife and I— I mean, like, hopefully no, like, Guatemalan officials are listening, but like, we were trying to figure out how to like smuggle mosquito control stuff to get to the orphanage because Brandy was like, these kids are getting eaten up with mosquitoes.

Yeah.

And like, we need to get some stuff in there so like we can get them under control.

Yeah.

And, you know, yeah, but like, that's, that's what happens when you radically step out in faith and then you begin to encounter other people who are operating in faith. You like want to come alongside them and say like, how can I help you?

Yeah, you know, yeah. Oh, absolutely. And it's, it's, um, it's what the Lord— the Lord tells us that when we take care of his orphan and his widow, that he will always reward us. And I believe honestly, and I don't do it for this, I could care less for blessings.

Okay, sure, sure.

Um, But I believe that my life is blessed because we have dedicated our lives towards the orphans and the widows.

It's been amazing.

Yeah, yeah, dude, that's incredible. So, well, and then on your, on your business side, because I'm— I've got like 2 minutes here before they're gonna— yeah, yeah, they're gonna bring out the hook and drag you off. Yeah, yeah. Um, what, what is it that you do? Because I've, I've seen a lot of your stuff. You do really, really good content. Like, what— how— what makes you different from the guys that are just running like digital agencies and like, you know, what is it?

Well, God's really blessed us with this mindset that we are not just this, um, digital marketing agency. I mean, there's thousands of them. And so what I did is I wrote on a whiteboard what, what do I not like about agencies— that they have one or two employees that barely get back to you if you email them, that they all pretty much do the same thing. And I'm not dissing them, I'm just There's no place for them, right? But what we've figured out is those agencies aren't willing to go out and film wherever they are in the United States, not willing to edit properly. And so really what we've done is built this engine where

we come behind business owners and we completely take away everything digital for them, even their email signatures, their email setups. We kind of become their IT department.

Okay.

Where we handle everything digital. You're driving by and you want to put a billboard up, Can you design this billboard? Yes, we've got it. We kind of become this all-in-one, but with the focus of we want to make sure that you are dominating the space. And sure, we could do that with ad spend, but that's a never-ending cycle. If you took a steroid shot in your body, you're going to be buff within a month, okay? That's what ads are. My goal is to make sure that that body of the marketing is actually healthy, posting every single day, posting content that in 1.2 seconds is going to get attention. Being different, being creative, and that's what makes us really

different, why people continue to come to us, because we do that.

Yeah, yeah.

I, I literally drove by you one day and you had a guy out in a parking lot laying on a mattress doing a shoot. I don't, I don't remember who that was, but I was like, but I was like, that's gonna kill, that's gonna kill.

Yeah, that's, uh, Mattress Today.

Mattress Today. Okay.

$1,488. Yeah, I know, whatever that was.

It's $2,978 and you're $1,488.

I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah, but it got us, it got their attention 1.2 seconds.

Yeah.

What's this? A lot of marketers— again, I'm not dissing— a lot of marketers fail to even meet that one aspect of 1.2 seconds to get their attention.

Yeah.

And it's only getting worse.

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, man, I appreciate you coming in and making the trek down. Hopefully you get to meet some folks. We got a lot of good people gathered up here.

Yeah.

But I really appreciate you coming down. I gotta bring the next one on.

Thank you.

Good to see you, brother.

See you, bro. Yes.

Hey, let me know where that's recorded.

Oh yeah.

All right guys, we are carrying on here at the, uh, at Sawyer Park Ice House. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, hang on, let me see here. Yeah, like I think this way. Yes, perfect.

I'm trying to find my flyer. I know what tonight tonight it's tonight.

You talking about yours? Yeah, I think so.

Are you sure?

I'm not sure.

Hey, friend.

I'm not the president.

I mean, I do know I did the flyer, but—

You made the flyer?

All right.

Okay, do I have to put these on?

If you want to hear.

I've never done this before.

Really?

Never ever.

Okay. It's my first time. Gotta break you in. So you want to get up nice and tight on that thing so people can see and hear your lovely self.

Hello.

So if you can hear you, they can hear you. That's kind of the rule.

So don't yell.

Say what?

Don't yell.

I mean, like, if it helps you hear you, you do you.

Okay.

So can you hear me okay?

Yes.

Okay.

Well, since you've never been on, why don't you tell everybody who you are, what you do?

I am Kaylee Ingram. I'm the president of the Net Elite. We— I also own Lucan Digital, which is a digital marketing firm. We're going into our 15th year of business. This year, so we're super excited about that.

I saw you fist bumping my buddy Kyle. Do you know him?

I just met him, but I know—

You just met him?

Okay.

Through like what we do, because we kind of do the same stuff.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you— have you heard any of his story?

No, not yet.

Okay, you're gonna have to go back and listen. Like, it's— there's a reason I brought him on.

Okay, okay, awesome.

He runs an orphanage down in Guatemala.

Oh wow. Oh yes, yes, yes.

Yeah, yeah. So, and he and my wife work together quite a bit.

Okay, so you have mutual friends.

Oh really?

He doesn't know this yet, but we have mutual friends.

Oh, did you like Facebook stalk him?

No, no, no, but I've seen him around.

Oh, you've seen him around?

I know his name.

Oh, okay.

In great ways.

Hopefully, hopefully in good ways. It's not like mugshots or anything like that. So you're president of the original Net Team? Yep. So pretty big deal.

I know, I'm so fortunate to be a part of the group because it's been life-changing for my business, you know, and I've built lifelong friends. So I'm really excited to be the president this year and just kind of bring that on and have a new fresh perspective and grow the team.

Life-changing is a strong adjective. What do you mean by that?

It really is. So I built my business out of necessity. I was pregnant with my daughter McKenna and my husband was getting into IT very early on. You don't make a lot of money in IT.

Sure.

We were— we moved here to Texas with no family, and I knew that I wanted to stay home. I mean, when you're not making a lot of money, how are you gonna pay for daycare?

Sure.

So I used my skills that I had learned. I had a business background, business degree, and all of that, and I just used my skills to do one thing after another. It started with graphic design, then it led to, hey, can you build a website for me? And then it led to Hey, can you run some ads for me? Hey, can you do our social media? And so on and so forth.

Yeah.

But by these steps, by the time my children went to school, I had a full-fledged business under my belt.

Yeah.

So I was able to provide income to our family and find my passion.

Sure.

While raising my kids and not have to sacrifice. I was fortunate enough to not have to sacrifice being away from them. They've been with me on every conference. That I ever have done. Yeah. So McKenna could probably sell you a website. And, but yeah, they, you know, my— it's, you know, God, our family, and then our businesses. And that's really the pillars of our family. And that aligns with the pillars at the net. Yeah.

I'll tell you something that I've never said on this show before. My mom was an entrepreneur when I was a kid, and she did floral interior design.

Oh, wow.

And I went with her everywhere. And let me tell you, I can put together quite the bouquet.

I'm going to ask Brandy about that. But it's pivotal in those moments that you spend with them. You don't know that you're nurturing them and they're watching you. You know, my kids can hold a conversation with an adult.

Right.

And that's really something you don't relish or you don't understand the importance of that until they're older and you see other kids maybe not doing that.

Struggling.

Yeah.

Yeah, because, you know, it's— I don't know, it's been impactful in more ways than one, and I'm seeing that as I'm growing further into my business.

That's awesome. So I got to ask you about your team, and I think it's going to be difficult to answer because like, you know, asking you like what makes your team unique, because this is the team that kind of birthed the 12 other teams that, that are, that are kind of here tonight. But like, what is it, what is it about the Net, I guess, in general, and then the Elite that just makes it special?

I just think we have, we have been blessed with like business owners that are passionate about their business, passionate about their families, and then passionate about the You know, and that all of our, our members, for the most part, all know what's going on in each other's lives, want to genuinely encourage, uh, their members. We want to genuinely know each other, right, and have genuine connection. And just that backing up of like being able to refer somebody and so on and so forth, we don't do it lighthearted.

Mm-hmm.

We do it because we know we put that time in. And I think that, that, you know, when people come into our group too, that's, you know, a big question that we ask, you know. Are you invested in networking? Why is networking going to work for you? And then how can we help you as well?

Yeah.

Like, we don't want to just know how are you going to help us. We want to know how we can help them too. Where are the struggles in their businesses? Is it marketing? Is it word of mouth? Well, this is great for you because that's We are your marketing team. Yeah. You know, and our team really understands that.

Oh yeah.

Well, I mean, they have to. I mean, they're the one that started everything.

Yeah.

Well, last year we were a million-dollar team.

That's fantastic.

In the net.

That's incredible.

We, you know, me and Corey Reeves, we were president. He was president last year. I was vice president. And we set out a goal and we achieved that. We far surpassed that. And we are just so proud of our team. It really, it could It's just great that we all work together. We all, you know, bought in on on supporting each other.

Yeah.

Well, and like this, this may seem strange, but like I've asked everybody, are there any big chairs that you guys are looking to fill right now?

We need an electrician.

Okay.

Healthcare. We have visitors day coming up on February ninth.

Okay.

At Hacienda Mis Padres. in Conroe off of 105. Really convenient if you get off 45 at 3083, turn right at the Walgreens, you're right there. Um, so we'll be— we, we have some other seats that we want to fill too, you know, that, yeah, you know, the net's growing so fast, so some team— some members are moving and things like that. So what may be available today might not, you know, be available, or maybe available.

Sure.

You know, I have other Other things, but definitely we're looking for electrician, healthcare. Oh my goodness, I'm sure I can think, you know.

Did y'all fill the plumber spot?

We did.

You did?

We just brought on J&J Plumbing.

Okay.

Um, so we're so excited to have them. He's a master plumber out of Livingston on Alaska, but he's—

Oh, okay.

He serves all the way up there to South Houston.

Oh, okay.

And he does commercial and residential, so he's great.

Covers a big area then.

Huge area, great people. They're actually some clients of mine that I've known and friends that I've known for years, so it was a great fit. Everybody kind of liked them. But yeah, no, I think I would love to see some, some doctors or holistic care, you know, that's such a need in our area. Yeah, we have a huge— you know, we're right down the road from each other, right?

Yeah.

So yeah, kid care, things like that. I'm ready to meet everybody.

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of other businesses that we traditionally just don't, aren't a part.

Yeah, or don't know that networking—

Can be valuable to them, yeah.

Can be valuable to them. If you don't know, you don't know.

Right, all right, so she's giving me the signal here. So, but again, remind people who you are, what you do, and then Hop on off.

Okay.

Keeley Ingram, Luke In Digital, bringing light to your digital needs. Visitors Day for The Net Elite, February 9th, 5:30 to 7:30. I'm sorry, 5 to 7:30. thenetnetworking.com, you can find all the information.

Awesome.

Thank you so much for sitting. Good to have you on finally.

I know.

Come on up. How you doing, girl? So yeah, I know it's not like hair friendly. It's just it's helpful to be able to hear.

All right, so I have to get close, right?

Yeah, as long as you can hear you, they can hear you. Okay, that's kind of the rule.

Okay.

All right, so you— I want to like— we have a, we have a rule in my house. We have a pillow on my wife and I's bed that says marriage is about winning. So I just need to let you know your husband has brought in some pretty big numbers for the show in the past.

That was years ago.

It's been a while, right? What are you talking about that old relic for?

Yeah.

There's nothing wrong with a little competition. Yeah, no, not at all, not at all. Well, so let everybody know who you are and what you do.

Okay, so I am Laurie Mazikas. I am a personal trainer for women, for— I'm, uh, and also the president of the Connection Crew.

There you go.

Yeah.

The newly installed—

Newly installed president.

How's that going?

So far so good. I've got an amazing group.

Yes, you do.

So they make me look really good. There are days I wake up and I'm like, wow, that went well.

Thank you, guys. Despite my best efforts, it went well.

It went well. I— yes, they are awesome. So I'm very fortunate.

So how long have you been president there now?

January, a whole month, a whole month, 28 days. Okay.

Yeah, yeah. So what do you think is unique about the Connection Crew? I mean, like, one, I mean, like, I'll just say it, I think you guys are like the only one that meet in a classroom.

No, one other group does now.

Oh, do they really?

Yeah, I don't remember the name. Platinum?

Platinum meets in a classroom.

They meet at Sam Houston too.

Are the conversations a little more intellectual? Is that—

do I need Yeah, we are smarter than all the other groups.

Do I need another degree to attend? Yes.

We are the smartest group. We have been there the longest. I think they should graduate us by now.

That's right. You should have gotten some sort of honorary degree.

Honorary degree in networking. Yes, we— in fact, maybe that'll be our Visitors Day theme.

There you go.

All our cap and gown.

Yes, the most educated crew. Absolutely. No, we are one of the oldest crews too.

Yeah, I think Connection was like the second team.

Second one, yeah. So we've been around for a long time. There's a lot of members in there that have been with the NET since the very beginning. That's really nice and really fun. They've got a lot of great experience. So, so yeah, good networkers, great facilitators, a lot of good connections. Can't beat any of that. It's really good stuff.

And you guys have a Visitors Day coming up as well?

We do. Ours is on February 19th.

Okay.

And our theme is Adult Career Day.

Okay.

So everybody's gonna dress as their adult career, and we're gonna give some headshots away and some swag bags and have a good time.

Yeah.

All right.

So like, how do you do that? What's like— what is Adult Career Day? Is it like the thing you wanted to do or the thing you are doing?

The thing you are doing.

The thing you are doing.

Yeah, I liked the twist on the fact that most of us are small business owners. So the adult career is different than what you thought it would be, you know.

Okay.

So it's, um, and then I like the idea of like new people are coming in.

Yeah.

To get introduced to all these different opportunities and different businesses to grow their own career.

Yeah.

So.

Would it be fun or depressing to kind of do a then and now? You know, like when I was 5, I wanted to be a But now I'm—

Giving me ideas. Yeah, that would be really cool for our members to put it like on a wall or something.

You know, that could be like a fun guessing game. Like you could have everybody like write down what they wanted to be when they were a kid and everybody can guess who it was.

Yeah, that's a really cool idea. We may have to put that in. Thanks for that. A little more work for me.

I appreciate it. That's what you have VPs for.

Yeah, she might kill me too, honestly. I've given her a lot.

We put that in the handbook. She can't do it.

Okay.

Okay.

Good.

I appreciate that. That was good protection because I will push my limit.

There's a lot of forethought on our part. Yeah, we had a violent vice president. Oh, gosh.

We have to put boundaries here.

He needed some guardrails. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, like, what is it that makes your group unique, though? I mean, like, is— I mean, is it where you guys meet? Is it the people? Like, what is it, I guess, that drew you to it? But what do you think makes it so unique that people want to be a part of that team?

What drew me to it was it felt so— everybody already there felt really connected and down to earth. It was easy to get to know people in it. So I really think that that's kind of the unique thing. When people come in, they tell us when they apply and we're interviewing them that we made them feel at home and at ease.

Mm-hmm.

So I think that's part of the charm of Connection Crew is that given that you've had members in there for so long, there's just like this flow and easiness to it, and it carries over into all the new members as well. So plus it's a lot of lighthearted fun and we enjoy ourselves. We don't take ourselves too seriously.

Okay, good, very good. Well, and so any— anything else big coming up that you guys are looking forward to other than Visitors Day?

Visitors Day is the big one, big one for sure.

Yeah, you guys have any big seats that are open that you guys are looking for?

Yes, we are looking for— we would love to get a general contractor in there. We need a plumber.

Okay.

We just lost our plumber to another group, so due to the Nets expansion, um, so we do need a plumber. Um, we need title.

Okay.

Um, pest control.

You need pest control?

Okay.

Uh, we, we need a lot of— I wish I could help you there, but yeah, I know you're already stuck somewhere else. That's fine. Um, but yeah, we have a lot of, um, a lot of like the home centered services that are, that are open. We do have an electrician, we do have a roofer, but that's about it. Like everybody else, we need AC, HVAC. That would be amazing.

I do. I know, I know 2 GCs that are available that would be good for you guys. Yeah, so connect with me later on. I think one of them might actually be here tonight. Just looking around earlier to see if he was visiting because he visited, he visited one of my teams the other night, but he's looking for a team.

Okay. Yeah, we would love to have a GC. Yeah, that would be really good.

Those guys are great to have on the team. I mean, like, because they kind of—

I mean, connect everybody with everybody.

They're kind of like the realtor.

Yeah, yeah. And we've got a great realtor, but we need—

Who's your realtor?

Claudia.

Okay.

Or Warner. She's right over there.

Hi, Claudia.

So yeah, she's been there for a while too. I think she's been one of like the OG realtor in the seat too.

Nice.

So, okay. Yeah. And we need like stuff for her, title, some loan, mortgage, that would be good too.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, like, those are all cohesive people that just feed each other.

Yeah, we've been very— ours is interesting. Another unique thing about our group is that we've got a very health-centered kind of group. We've got a gym, we've got a nutrition person, we've got vitamins and supplements, and then mine, personal training. Uh, we've got a therapist, we have a chiropractor, so We've got a lot of the health services, but now we need to integrate some more of the home services.

Okay.

Well, I tell you what, there's a pest control guy right there.

The lights are blinding me.

That's, uh, that's John right there. Yeah, yeah, he's a good guy. Okay, I'm gonna talk to him.

I will.

So, because he's not part of the net.

Awesome.

So, but I know him. Hook him in. Yeah, tell him I said so.

You're mine now.

So anything else?

No, I don't think so. We're excited.

Well, I know they're trying to shuffle people in and out, and I'm actually running out of battery.

Oh, okay.

So, but like, thank you so much for sitting down. Yeah, good to see you. We'll see, we'll see, we'll see if you win.

I know. Hey, I try. I didn't get as long as he did, so that doesn't count.

Look, that—

look, it's not about the time, it's about the quality.

The quality is there.

Okay, I don't know if that's a shot at him or you.

Yeah, right. Me either, honestly.

All right, thank you.

Good to see you, friend.

Hey, I've got—

I've got—

I can do one more and then I'm gonna have to stop and recharge. So, but like, I'll— it'll take me like 10 minutes to recharge and then I can get going again.

How many?

How many after?

Okay.

Hi.

Yeah, that's fine.

Right, there's nothing really a lot to talk about.

Yeah, do you mind using— I know it's not hair-friendly. It just helps you be able to hear. Really, the thing is, is like if you can hear you, then they can hear you.

So. Test it.

There you go.

There you go.

Test, test, test. See if I need to bring it up.

All right.

All right.

All right.

Hi, I'm Greg. Hi, I think we've met over Zoom before.

We did. Yeah, yes, during my interview process.

Yeah.

Yes.

So how's, how's the rodeo committee?

I love it. In fact, I was going to talk to you about that tonight.

Good.

We needed to discuss what you were looking for.

Oh yeah.

So I knew who to get you in contact with.

I just want to be involved.

Okay.

So I grew up rodeoing, so it's like, I love it.

It's in your blood.

Anything in it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, that's awesome.

So my dad, if you're familiar with any of it, my dad was PRCA.

Okay, yes.

Yeah, so he's a Bulldogger.

Okay.

So you're kicking off one of our newer teams, right?

Yes, correct.

So do you guys have a name yet?

We do.

It's called the Hype Exchange.

The Hype Exchange?

Yes.

How'd that come about?

We thought about it and we want to bring the hype to the team and create that momentum as well as exchanging business so that we can help each other grow. I love it. And also exchange into our community to help in different aspects in our community as well.

Okay, and remind me what you do.

Oh, I personally— my husband and I own Gulf Coast Pros, so we are a remodeling company.

Okay.

And also certified water mitigation restoration.

Okay, do you guys do like fire and mold and all that kind of stuff too?

Yes, fire, um, we're, we're getting into.

Really?

Yeah.

Are there like certifications or something?

Okay, different certifications from IRCR. Okay, well, that acronym I always get messed up on. My husband corrects me all the time. So yeah, it's the thing you have to have.

There's vegetable soup involved.

Yes, exactly.

Well, and so you guys have— you guys have been recruiting in the recruiting process. You guys have been doing a business lunch, right?

We are.

It's kind of a small brunch. What we're doing here is— it is Sawyer Park on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month.

I knew I was right. Somebody told me earlier, it's like, no, it's not here. It's like, I know.

We meet here on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at 10 AM to 11:30. And at the moment, we are very fresh. Yeah, we're coming right up. We just did our 2nd meeting.

Okay.

And so how have those gone?

How have those gone?

They've gone great.

Our first meeting, we probably had We had a good handful of people that we knew, and then the second meeting we had around 24, 25 people.

That's great.

So, um, interests— people are already, um, sending in their applications. So, uh, we're bringing the hype.

There you go.

We're gonna, we're gonna build this and rock it.

Yeah. And so you're, you're GC, and then your partner in crime is a real estate agent?

Correct.

I mean, what else, what else are you guys— do you guys have already?

Heather Riche is also with Riche Plumbing, so we have that filled.

Okay. She's great.

Yes, she is.

She's amazing.

So right now, those are our members. So we're looking for all the others.

Okay.

Anything that has to do in the real estate industry, in the medical industry, insurance inspectors. I mean, the sky's the limit. Yeah.

Well, you're in a great spot.

We are. And we can grow. Yeah, we have, we have no problem knowing that we can We'll never outgrow this place.

No.

So, but the people here at Sawyer have been awesome. I, I feel that the energy and the momentum in our group is definitely there, and so we just want to make sure we keep that foundation and build up on it and, yeah, be able to help others.

Well, being so new, I mean, what, what actually attracted you to the organization?

Oh gosh, that came from years ago. From people begging me to come and be a part.

Anyone in particular?

Maybe Robert Greene and David McGruffin and Emily— we won't say her last name.

Artifakovich. I got you. I knew exactly who you were talking about.

Yeah, so, and it also just timing. I've been involved in a lot of other networking groups. I've followed, I've followed the net, uh, since JoJo started this, what, 6 years now?

Yeah, pretty much.

Yeah.

Um, so I've always wanted to have that opportunity to be a part. It just didn't, it didn't come together until now. And I know the reason why is this, this is what needs to be now.

Awesome.

So, um, I'm, I'm excited for this and excited for the opportunity and watching everybody to, uh, build and grow.

Yeah, well, we're excited for you. I mean, like, we're, we're excited to see what happens. Because we know that this is a great space, that you guys are fully capable of taking care of it, and it's just going to go gangbusters.

Yeah, there'll be surprises too. You never know what Kaya and I might be dressed as. Always keeps everybody on their toes. You don't want to miss the meeting.

Awesome, awesome. Well, uh, before you go, I mean, remind everybody what you do, uh, and how to get a hold of you.

Sure, absolutely. Again, I'm Lacey Martinez. My husband and I own Gulf Coast Pros. And you can reach me at 346-382-0099, or you can go to our Facebook page. It has all of our information as well.

Awesome.

Thank you so much. Well, thank you, guys. We're going to take a quick break and be back in just a minute with even more fun interviews. See you in a minute.

All right.

We had a short break and we are back with my friend Peter. Peter, how you doing, bud?

I'm good.

How are you?

It's been a minute since we've had a chance to chat.

It's been a long minute.

Yeah.

So how's that? Old-fashioned again?

It is an old-fashioned.

You did that last time.

Well, look, this is how you podcast.

This is how you podcast, is with old-fashioned?

Absolutely.

I love the way you think.

Is there another way?

I— you know what? I think I need to change industries. This whole financial planning thing just doesn't work. I'm going into your industry.

Well, yeah. I mean, well, look, you do have to do some financial planning if you're going to drink old-fashioneds while you podcast.

I like the way you think. Yeah, this is a whole new field for me.

Yeah, it may not be the plan that my wife was planning on, But there is a plan.

Details.

Yeah, that's right.

It's all right. She'll figure it out.

Yeah, yeah.

Give it time.

So you are your head honcho of our online team.

I am head honcho of the online team.

How's that going?

Being head honcho is really great. I get to tell everybody what to do. They listen to me every time and they execute flawlessly every single time.

It's like the old Mel Brooks line, it's good to be the king. It's good to be the king. That was a great movie, by the way.

One of my favorite movies. Knight?

Never mind.

Piss boy. Anyways, yes, so yes, we have an online team. The net has an online team. All joking aside with Mel Brooks, the net has an online team. We run the online team. We meet Wednesdays, 11:30 to 12:30.

So kind of a lunch crew.

Little lunch crew. We expect you to be, you know, munching on food while you're in the meeting. Okay, it's really cool. We get into that and we basically, you know, refer just like anybody, any other team refers. We're online. We just— half of our team is logging in from their phones. 'Cause around the road, one of our team members had to go out of town for a while. Another one's moved up to the Austin area.

Oh, wow.

So, you know, we stay together and work together.

That was actually gonna be my— do you have to be in Texas in order to be a part of this team?

You know, I think that would be a great net question. As far as my team management, as head honcho—

Well, I mean, that's what I mean.

I meant for your team. For my team head honcho, I don't mind if they're out of Texas. I think the question is the quality of referral.

Yeah.

So we need to look at this. The advantage to localized networking with all the net teams that are great teams out there and great localized networking out there, there's an inherent, hey, I know you, I see you, I go to the bar, I go to the church or whatever. There's that familiarity. When you're online, you don't have quite that same connection, right? Which makes sense, right? You're spread apart. I would need to know if they're from another state or even country Do they have the ability to refer and contribute to the team?

Yeah.

Right now I have a good friend who's down in South Africa, and I would have no trouble with him on the team because most of his business is done in the United States.

Yeah.

So he can refer easily in the United States.

He just doesn't live here.