Lee Mainman

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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Edmonton's Podcast on the Canada's Podcast Network.
[00:18] SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Bonnie LG coming to you today with Edmonton's Podcast,
[00:23] SPEAKER_00: a member of the Canada's Podcast Network, where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen,
[00:28] SPEAKER_00: here in the city of Edmonton, Alberta.
[00:31] SPEAKER_00: With more than 25 years of sales experience,
[00:34] SPEAKER_00: Lee Mainman has been responsible for the management of sales teams and client relationships
[00:39] SPEAKER_00: for major accounts across every industry vertical.
[00:44] SPEAKER_00: Lee gained significant management and consulting experience
[00:47] SPEAKER_00: from working at companies like Telus, Robert Half Technology, and VCIO.
[00:53] SPEAKER_00: So welcome to the show, Lee, and thanks for taking the time
[00:56] SPEAKER_00: to be here today for all our listeners.
[00:59] SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Bonnie. I appreciate you having me on the show.
[01:02] SPEAKER_00: Why don't we jump right into it?
[01:04] SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself
[01:07] SPEAKER_00: and about your current business, bits and glass?
[01:11] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
[01:12] SPEAKER_01: So myself personally, I'm born in Peace River, Alberta,
[01:16] SPEAKER_01: so about six hours north of Edmonton,
[01:19] SPEAKER_01: and spent most of my life though since about 72 in Edmonton.
[01:24] SPEAKER_01: I have a couple of great kids and a couple of great dogs
[01:28] SPEAKER_01: that keep me busy outside of work.
[01:32] SPEAKER_01: On the professional side, bits and glass,
[01:35] SPEAKER_01: one of three partners in this organization.
[01:39] SPEAKER_01: We'd been around since 2002.
[01:41] SPEAKER_01: It actually started with the other partners
[01:44] SPEAKER_01: founding the organization.
[01:46] SPEAKER_01: They were working on some very large complex projects
[01:50] SPEAKER_01: actually at Telus, where I was working,
[01:53] SPEAKER_01: but I didn't know them at the time.
[01:55] SPEAKER_01: And they decided, like, most good entrepreneurs,
[01:58] SPEAKER_01: there's got to be a better way to do things.
[02:00] SPEAKER_01: And they went to create a company to build web applications
[02:04] SPEAKER_01: and back in 2002, that was really coming into the fore.
[02:10] SPEAKER_01: And they looked around and decided,
[02:12] SPEAKER_01: well, we want to do this our way.
[02:16] SPEAKER_01: And they looked and decided on a company
[02:19] SPEAKER_01: of bits and glass, which is a little bit unique
[02:22] SPEAKER_01: in the industry, but he came from really to Telco space
[02:27] SPEAKER_01: where bi-bropics were getting put in the ground
[02:29] SPEAKER_01: all over the place.
[02:31] SPEAKER_01: And he, like I said, well, bi-bropics is made out of glass.
[02:34] SPEAKER_01: Some bits and bytes flowing down the bi-bropic pipe
[02:37] SPEAKER_01: is the internet of the web.
[02:38] SPEAKER_01: And so bits and glass was an appropriate name.
[02:41] SPEAKER_01: And it's been quite good for us ever since.
[02:44] SPEAKER_01: The company from there spent quite a few years
[02:47] SPEAKER_01: just as a very, very small entity doing
[02:51] SPEAKER_01: custom software development.
[02:53] SPEAKER_01: I joined them in 2007.
[02:56] SPEAKER_01: And from there, we started to organically grow the company
[03:01] SPEAKER_01: doing a lot of work with medium and large enterprise
[03:04] SPEAKER_01: Edmonton based companies and public sector
[03:07] SPEAKER_01: like government about bird and work.
[03:09] SPEAKER_01: We made a fundamental shift starting about 2009
[03:13] SPEAKER_01: where we saw a trend coming around
[03:17] SPEAKER_01: in the software development space,
[03:18] SPEAKER_01: what are called platform technologies.
[03:21] SPEAKER_01: Appian was the first one that we picked up as a partner
[03:25] SPEAKER_01: and started to work with, by about 2012,
[03:29] SPEAKER_01: we really seen the power and the benefit of doing it,
[03:32] SPEAKER_01: of doing software development on a platform
[03:35] SPEAKER_01: versus doing custom development.
[03:38] SPEAKER_01: And so we looked around and found a couple of other
[03:42] SPEAKER_01: partners in the space that we wanted to work with,
[03:46] SPEAKER_01: one being sales force, which is probably
[03:49] SPEAKER_01: more well-known to your listeners
[03:50] SPEAKER_01: as a CRM system for sales.
[03:52] SPEAKER_01: And we picked up an integration partner
[03:55] SPEAKER_01: a platform called Newell Soft,
[03:57] SPEAKER_01: which has subsequently been bought by sales force now.
[04:01] SPEAKER_01: And we've added another partner recently
[04:03] SPEAKER_01: called Blue Prism, which is Robotic Process Automation.
[04:08] SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of the foundation.
[04:09] SPEAKER_01: We made this shift really in 2013
[04:11] SPEAKER_01: and we decided we're not doing any more custom development.
[04:15] SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna focus only on the platform space.
[04:19] SPEAKER_01: And that focus was a big part of our success.
[04:22] SPEAKER_01: We were able to really accelerate the company's
[04:26] SPEAKER_01: result of that.
[04:27] SPEAKER_01: And since then, we've had a few kind of stepping stones
[04:32] SPEAKER_01: but the company has grown quite dramatically
[04:34] SPEAKER_01: from probably in 2013,
[04:36] SPEAKER_01: we were 20 some odd employees today were over 110 employees.
[04:43] SPEAKER_00: Well, that's impressive growth.
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
[04:47] SPEAKER_00: You know, one of the things that often challenges entrepreneurs
[04:51] SPEAKER_00: is around that financing piece.
[04:53] SPEAKER_00: So can you share a bit of your story in terms of
[04:57] SPEAKER_00: maybe how the company was financed from the beginning
[05:01] SPEAKER_00: and how you've been able to finance your growth
[05:04] SPEAKER_00: going forward?
[05:06] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and there's been a few phases
[05:09] SPEAKER_01: we've taken advantage of lots of different
[05:11] SPEAKER_01: financing options, I guess.
[05:13] SPEAKER_01: Really starting with self-funded organic growth,
[05:17] SPEAKER_01: putting everything we earned back into the company
[05:19] SPEAKER_01: to continue to get it to grow in the early stages
[05:23] SPEAKER_01: of small incremental growth.
[05:25] SPEAKER_01: When we got to the point where we wanted to really
[05:30] SPEAKER_01: start moving things ahead and the kind of that first
[05:32] SPEAKER_01: and flesh and point was looking at going into the US
[05:35] SPEAKER_01: as a marketplace.
[05:37] SPEAKER_01: We recognized we needed a bigger sales and marketing
[05:40] SPEAKER_01: engine for the company and so we got some
[05:44] SPEAKER_01: mezzanine financing around that which helped us
[05:48] SPEAKER_01: kind of get that off the ground.
[05:49] SPEAKER_01: In our business, a sale cycle is six to 18 months.
[05:55] SPEAKER_01: So investing in sales people really means a year
[05:57] SPEAKER_01: of kind of getting them ramped up and cost
[06:00] SPEAKER_01: before they start showing productivity.
[06:03] SPEAKER_01: So that mezzanine financing helped with that phase.
[06:06] SPEAKER_01: From there, we really we had a lot of success in the US.
[06:10] SPEAKER_01: We've grown the organization.
[06:12] SPEAKER_01: We've got a US subsidiary company now with the head
[06:15] SPEAKER_01: office in Denver.
[06:17] SPEAKER_01: We've opened another office in Dallas.
[06:19] SPEAKER_01: We're opening New York shortly here in in Canada.
[06:23] SPEAKER_01: We have Empty, Caligran, Toronto's location.
[06:25] SPEAKER_01: So as we looked at this next phase,
[06:28] SPEAKER_01: we went out and actually got some equity investment
[06:31] SPEAKER_01: from our good friends at ATV capital locally here,
[06:35] SPEAKER_01: which is being a great partnership for both of us.
[06:38] SPEAKER_01: Really appreciate work with those guys and that allowed us
[06:41] SPEAKER_01: to really step up and move from what was probably
[06:47] SPEAKER_01: around 40 employees to over 100 in a couple of years.
[06:52] SPEAKER_01: So really appreciate the work that they've done for us there.
[06:56] SPEAKER_00: And so what's the long term vision for the company?
[06:59] SPEAKER_00: Do you want to keep expanding into different cities?
[07:03] SPEAKER_00: Or where do you hope to be in five years?
[07:06] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great question.
[07:08] SPEAKER_01: The kind of long term vision and we actually use a business coach
[07:13] SPEAKER_01: from a firm called Gizels and they being really, really good
[07:17] SPEAKER_01: at helping us structure our planning and our long term thinking.
[07:21] SPEAKER_01: So we have our annual and quarterly goals
[07:25] SPEAKER_01: to drive us through.
[07:26] SPEAKER_01: We have a three year rolling plan for the organization.
[07:30] SPEAKER_01: And then we have what they call a D-Hag, a big carry out
[07:33] SPEAKER_01: Asia stole for 10 years out.
[07:37] SPEAKER_01: And we're really looking at continuing, extending
[07:41] SPEAKER_01: and growing the organization.
[07:44] SPEAKER_01: The keys to stay focused within the technologies that we have,
[07:48] SPEAKER_01: we're going to start to drive more industry vertical.
[07:51] SPEAKER_01: Specialization I think is what will be the next engine for us.
[07:55] SPEAKER_01: To really get things jumping beyond North America is probably
[08:00] SPEAKER_01: still a ways open.
[08:01] SPEAKER_01: It's not the question to see expansion even beyond the North
[08:05] SPEAKER_01: America marketplace.
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: I'd like to shift gears a bit here and and talk specifically
[08:11] SPEAKER_00: about some of your experiences, Lee, about being an entrepreneur
[08:15] SPEAKER_00: in Edmonton.
[08:17] SPEAKER_00: So what advice would you give to our listeners who are interested
[08:21] SPEAKER_00: in either starting a business in Edmonton or perhaps growing the
[08:24] SPEAKER_00: business that they already have?
[08:27] SPEAKER_00: You know, in your experience, what are some of the pros and
[08:29] SPEAKER_00: cons of doing business there?
[08:32] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think kind of on the pros side.
[08:36] SPEAKER_01: And for me, I'm kind of a late stage entrepreneur.
[08:39] SPEAKER_01: You could say I came into the world being an entrepreneur
[08:43] SPEAKER_01: later in life.
[08:44] SPEAKER_01: And it's been the best thing I ever did.
[08:48] SPEAKER_01: Kind of the best job I've ever had is working for myself
[08:51] SPEAKER_01: and working with my partners.
[08:53] SPEAKER_01: Edmonton really, what it's allowed us to do is create,
[08:57] SPEAKER_01: it's created that culture of our company.
[09:00] SPEAKER_01: We are really a get it done kind of organization.
[09:04] SPEAKER_01: We're very practical.
[09:06] SPEAKER_01: We're very responsive.
[09:08] SPEAKER_01: We use what we call agile methodologies.
[09:11] SPEAKER_01: So it's something that that we find just Edmonton in general
[09:16] SPEAKER_01: brings us a type of people that make up Edmonton or people
[09:20] SPEAKER_01: like get it done, they're practical, they're hard working.
[09:23] SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of being the foundation of our organization
[09:27] SPEAKER_01: and how we've grown.
[09:28] SPEAKER_01: So I really see there's huge talent here.
[09:31] SPEAKER_01: If you're going to start a company that's one of the
[09:32] SPEAKER_01: best things to do is to start growing your talent locally
[09:35] SPEAKER_01: and get going.
[09:37] SPEAKER_01: It's being a bit of a challenge because it is also from a
[09:40] SPEAKER_01: technology perspective, a highly competitive marketplace.
[09:43] SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of big firms in town that take up a big chunk
[09:48] SPEAKER_01: of the market sharing.
[09:49] SPEAKER_01: And that part of that was the reason that we extend
[09:52] SPEAKER_01: to beyond the local marketplace.
[09:55] SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, I think there's just so many people
[09:57] SPEAKER_01: here that are willing to share their experiences,
[09:59] SPEAKER_01: willing to help.
[10:01] SPEAKER_01: And that's one of the best things you can do is an entrepreneur
[10:03] SPEAKER_01: is to reach out and talk to other entrepreneurs,
[10:07] SPEAKER_01: find lessons and get help because each person brings
[10:11] SPEAKER_01: their own unique skill set and they typically don't cover
[10:13] SPEAKER_01: the gamut.
[10:14] SPEAKER_01: You need to fill in the gaps with the right type of people
[10:17] SPEAKER_01: to make sure that you can be successful.
[10:19] SPEAKER_00: Well, I'd like to ask you a few personal questions,
[10:22] SPEAKER_00: Lee.
[10:23] SPEAKER_00: And the first is, you know, we often do some of our best work
[10:27] SPEAKER_00: outside of the office.
[10:29] SPEAKER_00: So I'm curious, is there a place in Emotain where you
[10:32] SPEAKER_00: like to go just to recharge or maybe get inspired and
[10:36] SPEAKER_00: think about your business?
[10:38] SPEAKER_00: Some place that we can find you hanging out when you need
[10:41] SPEAKER_00: to do that?
[10:43] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, actually, it's kind of my routine to just do lunch
[10:48] SPEAKER_01: by myself.
[10:49] SPEAKER_01: And if I'm just so many great restaurants in Emotain
[10:52] SPEAKER_01: and we're located downtown Emotain.
[10:54] SPEAKER_01: So usually lunch hour, you'll find me at one of the restaurants
[10:56] SPEAKER_01: around here.
[10:57] SPEAKER_01: And it's just my time to just find myself, think about,
[11:01] SPEAKER_01: you know, the day and the week and what's going on and
[11:04] SPEAKER_01: leave a phone and email behind.
[11:07] SPEAKER_01: I just find that that's a focus point for my day that allows
[11:10] SPEAKER_01: me to come back a little bit refreshed and to be productive
[11:14] SPEAKER_01: for the rest of the afternoon.
[11:16] SPEAKER_00: And what does the first hour of your day look like?
[11:19] SPEAKER_00: Do you have any specific morning routines or rituals that
[11:23] SPEAKER_00: help get you into the right mindset for your day?
[11:26] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm honestly not really a morning person per se.
[11:31] SPEAKER_01: So getting you out of bed is the first challenge.
[11:33] SPEAKER_01: Once I'm up, I'm good.
[11:36] SPEAKER_01: As I mentioned at the beginning, I've got a couple of dogs,
[11:39] SPEAKER_01: a couple of German shepherds.
[11:40] SPEAKER_01: So morning routine is to take them out for their daily walk
[11:44] SPEAKER_01: and it's a great way to feel a little bit of fresh air
[11:47] SPEAKER_01: and exercise and get in going.
[11:49] SPEAKER_01: And from there, it's into the office and connecting.
[11:53] SPEAKER_01: We have a communication ritual within the company every morning.
[11:57] SPEAKER_01: My partner's and I have a 15 minute call.
[12:00] SPEAKER_01: We talk about what we did yesterday, what we're doing today.
[12:03] SPEAKER_01: And any blockers we have that need to get resolved.
[12:06] SPEAKER_01: That kind of sets us and grounds us for what we're going to do
[12:09] SPEAKER_01: for the rest of the day.
[12:10] SPEAKER_00: What about books?
[12:11] SPEAKER_00: Do you have any favorite books that you would recommend
[12:15] SPEAKER_00: to our listeners who are aspiring entrepreneurs?
[12:19] SPEAKER_00: Or is there a favorite podcast that you listen to
[12:21] SPEAKER_00: that just helps you to continue with your own personal
[12:25] SPEAKER_00: development and learning?
[12:27] SPEAKER_01: You know, probably some of some of the standards
[12:30] SPEAKER_01: that Jim Collins good to grade and that series.
[12:34] SPEAKER_01: You know, really I found inspired me to look at business
[12:38] SPEAKER_01: a little bit differently.
[12:39] SPEAKER_01: So I enjoyed those.
[12:40] SPEAKER_01: I'm just cracking open one now.
[12:42] SPEAKER_01: I'm kind of excited to have a look at.
[12:45] SPEAKER_01: In part, you know, I have a VA and psychology from the U of A.
[12:49] SPEAKER_01: So that's my education background.
[12:51] SPEAKER_01: I'm always fascinated by behavioral analysis
[12:54] SPEAKER_01: and all those kind of tools.
[12:56] SPEAKER_01: But this book is called the Fearless Organization by Amy Edminton.
[13:01] SPEAKER_01: It's about creating psychological safety in the workplace.
[13:04] SPEAKER_01: A lot of your teams to learn in a vacant grow.
[13:08] SPEAKER_01: And so far, it's been an excellent read.
[13:10] SPEAKER_01: I'm really interested to get all the way through it.
[13:12] SPEAKER_01: But really the concept is and you know,
[13:14] SPEAKER_01: this is important to us because we're really as much as
[13:17] SPEAKER_01: we're an IT company.
[13:18] SPEAKER_01: We're in the people business and it's our people that make
[13:21] SPEAKER_01: us successful.
[13:22] SPEAKER_01: They're the ones that would deliver into the client every day.
[13:25] SPEAKER_01: And this book is talking about how you create an environment
[13:28] SPEAKER_01: not so much about being cozy and friendly
[13:30] SPEAKER_01: which is what you might think psychological safety moves.
[13:33] SPEAKER_01: But it's more about creating an environment
[13:36] SPEAKER_01: where people feel comfortable voicing their opinion.
[13:39] SPEAKER_01: Raising their hand is saying I messed up.
[13:42] SPEAKER_01: Challenging people and creating that ability to innovate
[13:46] SPEAKER_01: as an organization.
[13:47] SPEAKER_01: So I'm really looking forward to getting through the rest of this.
[13:50] SPEAKER_00: Well, and I'm curious as a technology company,
[13:54] SPEAKER_00: what are some of the tools that you use to keep,
[13:58] SPEAKER_00: you know, your organization efficient or communicating,
[14:02] SPEAKER_00: especially with offices in so many different locations.
[14:06] SPEAKER_00: Do you have a couple favorite tools that you could recommend?
[14:10] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we kind of lost because we probably have too many tools
[14:14] SPEAKER_01: at some point, but you know, a few of the key ones were,
[14:18] SPEAKER_01: you know, the standard were Gmail company for email
[14:22] SPEAKER_01: and that kind of communication, which is, you know, a good tool
[14:25] SPEAKER_01: in general, of course, we use Salesforce as our CRM
[14:29] SPEAKER_01: that keeps the sales team focused, allows us to do our forecasting
[14:34] SPEAKER_01: to get the big picture where the company is going
[14:36] SPEAKER_01: and it's being a fantastic tool internally.
[14:40] SPEAKER_01: The one that's quite interesting and we actually use it
[14:43] SPEAKER_01: with our customers as well was called Flack
[14:45] SPEAKER_01: and a lot of listeners might have heard of Slack
[14:47] SPEAKER_01: and it's really a tool to allow people to collaborate
[14:51] SPEAKER_01: and communicate so you can create direct messages to people.
[14:57] SPEAKER_01: You can create chat with it called channels
[14:59] SPEAKER_01: around certain topics and it's just, it actually is quite fast
[15:03] SPEAKER_01: and you sit back and every now and then I'll pick a channel
[15:06] SPEAKER_01: the staffer in and watch that you can just literally watch
[15:10] SPEAKER_01: the conversation go on and see what's happening in your business.
[15:13] SPEAKER_01: It's been a great tool for us from that perspective.
[15:17] SPEAKER_00: It sounds like it would be really effective.
[15:19] SPEAKER_00: So interesting perspective that it offers as well.
[15:23] SPEAKER_00: If you weren't doing what you do now,
[15:25] SPEAKER_00: can you see yourself in a different profession?
[15:28] SPEAKER_00: Is there anything else that you've ever either wanted
[15:31] SPEAKER_00: or wondered about as another career option?
[15:36] SPEAKER_01: It's probably a few pass-up in sales, basically my entire career,
[15:41] SPEAKER_01: which is kind of my passion and something I really enjoy.
[15:46] SPEAKER_01: I could look at other types of industries outside of IT
[15:49] SPEAKER_01: but I'm a technology guy at heart.
[15:52] SPEAKER_01: I kind of look at maybe the next piece that I wanted to do
[15:56] SPEAKER_01: is something more around maybe sitting on some,
[15:59] SPEAKER_01: like an as-a-boarded director on some other companies
[16:02] SPEAKER_01: being able to add some value and some insight from that perspective.
[16:06] SPEAKER_01: So I actually took a course at the U of A around governance
[16:09] SPEAKER_01: which was an excellent and excellent program
[16:11] SPEAKER_01: and kind of twigged my interest in that.
[16:14] SPEAKER_01: And then on a completely different side,
[16:17] SPEAKER_01: I love for animals.
[16:19] SPEAKER_01: I could also see myself doing something either in a volunteer capacity
[16:25] SPEAKER_01: or working with animals in some way
[16:28] SPEAKER_01: that is a real interest for me as well.
[16:31] SPEAKER_00: And on the flip side of that,
[16:32] SPEAKER_00: is there something that you just know you're not cut out for
[16:36] SPEAKER_00: and you would never consider as a career profession?
[16:40] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, my apology to all my accounting friends out there
[16:43] SPEAKER_01: but I am definitely not kind of for the accounting side
[16:49] SPEAKER_01: of the business.
[16:50] SPEAKER_01: It's so important to our business
[16:52] SPEAKER_01: and I love the information that comes out of it
[16:54] SPEAKER_01: but I know I'm absolutely not kind of to do that
[16:57] SPEAKER_01: on a day-to-day basis.
[17:00] SPEAKER_00: So Lee, in business,
[17:01] SPEAKER_00: do you have like a favorite quote or saying
[17:05] SPEAKER_00: or maybe even just a favorite word
[17:08] SPEAKER_00: that is kind of a touch point for you
[17:10] SPEAKER_00: or something that you like to use
[17:13] SPEAKER_00: or repeat to your employees to keep them motivated?
[17:17] SPEAKER_01: As far as, I think with employees,
[17:21] SPEAKER_01: we're really talking about not being afraid to fail
[17:25] SPEAKER_01: and that sense, right?
[17:27] SPEAKER_01: That's part of innovation and we really push that
[17:31] SPEAKER_01: and I also tell people and we say this to ourselves,
[17:34] SPEAKER_01: don't get too high and don't get too low.
[17:37] SPEAKER_01: You know, you never as great as your best moment
[17:40] SPEAKER_01: and you never as bad as your worst
[17:42] SPEAKER_01: and I just find keeping in need and kill
[17:44] SPEAKER_01: and keeping your head is so important
[17:47] SPEAKER_01: because as an entrepreneur,
[17:48] SPEAKER_01: your business is going to go through ups and downs
[17:50] SPEAKER_01: and you need to be patient with it.
[17:53] SPEAKER_00: Is there a least favorite word or a sentence
[17:57] SPEAKER_00: that you don't like to hear
[17:58] SPEAKER_00: or you don't like to hear within your organizational culture?
[18:03] SPEAKER_01: Probably and Spina had people probably with me forever
[18:07] SPEAKER_01: but when people say, well, that's the way we've always done it
[18:10] SPEAKER_01: and I think every entrepreneur is looking at
[18:16] SPEAKER_01: start something when they run their business
[18:17] SPEAKER_01: that they're looking at differentiation, right?
[18:20] SPEAKER_01: What makes your company different?
[18:21] SPEAKER_01: Everyone will ask you that.
[18:23] SPEAKER_01: And the only way you create that is by not doing
[18:25] SPEAKER_01: the way you've always done it.
[18:27] SPEAKER_01: And so I like to tell people, you know,
[18:31] SPEAKER_01: that's great.
[18:32] SPEAKER_01: We've done it that way before
[18:33] SPEAKER_01: but how should we do it and how can we make it better?
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: And how would you describe yourself?
[18:38] SPEAKER_00: Are there a couple words that describe you
[18:41] SPEAKER_00: and how you approach business?
[18:44] SPEAKER_01: For me, I think a big part of my success
[18:46] SPEAKER_01: is being my ability to create trust with people
[18:51] SPEAKER_01: and it comes through listening.
[18:54] SPEAKER_01: I feel I'm a really good listener.
[18:57] SPEAKER_01: I'm very fair.
[18:58] SPEAKER_01: I try and understand all perspectives
[19:00] SPEAKER_01: and then come to a very collaborative solutions.
[19:03] SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of how I see myself.
[19:06] SPEAKER_01: And my partners bring different attributes to the mix
[19:09] SPEAKER_01: and so through this together really make a great team.
[19:13] SPEAKER_01: But that's kind of my contribution
[19:14] SPEAKER_01: that the others really being able to look at things
[19:17] SPEAKER_01: from all sides and to be able to look come up with a fair
[19:22] SPEAKER_01: and a good solution for our customers, our employees,
[19:26] SPEAKER_01: our company.
[19:27] SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of my approach.
[19:29] SPEAKER_00: And you know, we often hear that entrepreneurs
[19:31] SPEAKER_00: have things that keep them up at night.
[19:34] SPEAKER_00: And I'm wondering, is there anything specific
[19:37] SPEAKER_00: that keeps you up at night or that prevents you
[19:39] SPEAKER_00: from having a good night's sleep?
[19:44] SPEAKER_01: In general, I'm a pretty good sleeper.
[19:46] SPEAKER_01: So I wouldn't say that it keeps me up at night.
[19:49] SPEAKER_01: But I think for us, the biggest thing
[19:52] SPEAKER_01: is the industry's moving so fast.
[19:54] SPEAKER_01: So keeping, you know, you get caught up in the day-to-day,
[19:58] SPEAKER_01: you're grinding out your business and making sure
[20:00] SPEAKER_01: that what you're doing is successful,
[20:01] SPEAKER_01: because it's so important.
[20:03] SPEAKER_01: You really got to stop and look down the road
[20:05] SPEAKER_01: and make sure you see what's coming.
[20:08] SPEAKER_01: Because it can come really quickly.
[20:10] SPEAKER_01: So for us, what's the next innovative technology
[20:13] SPEAKER_01: platform that's coming, AI and machine learning
[20:16] SPEAKER_01: are starting to really ramp up?
[20:18] SPEAKER_01: You know, what's the next company that we maybe want
[20:21] SPEAKER_01: to partner with?
[20:21] SPEAKER_01: And of course, where's the economy going?
[20:25] SPEAKER_01: We're doing business in the US, where's that economy going?
[20:28] SPEAKER_01: You know, the political landscape is potentially changing
[20:31] SPEAKER_01: in the next little while.
[20:32] SPEAKER_01: So we're always paying attention to some of that stuff as well.
[20:35] SPEAKER_00: What is on your inspired lifeless?
[20:38] SPEAKER_00: Are there a few dreams or goals that you have
[20:42] SPEAKER_00: over the next few years?
[20:44] SPEAKER_00: And these can be either personal or professional?
[20:47] SPEAKER_01: I think mostly personal for me and it's
[20:52] SPEAKER_01: that I've always had the travel bug.
[20:54] SPEAKER_01: I love to travel.
[20:56] SPEAKER_01: And I do a lot of it actually for my jobs.
[20:59] SPEAKER_01: Business travel is different a little bit than personal travel.
[21:01] SPEAKER_01: I'm really looking forward to being able to get back out there
[21:05] SPEAKER_01: and do more trips to unique places around the world.
[21:09] SPEAKER_01: Actually, sitting in the Denver airport
[21:11] SPEAKER_01: and gentlemen sat down next to me and was telling me
[21:13] SPEAKER_01: he's retired and basically been traveling for a year
[21:16] SPEAKER_01: and he's been doing that for 10 years, just going out
[21:19] SPEAKER_01: and he just came back from Antarctica
[21:21] SPEAKER_01: when you're showing me some pictures.
[21:22] SPEAKER_01: There's just phenomenal.
[21:23] SPEAKER_01: So that's on my bucket list of places I want to get to.
[21:28] SPEAKER_00: Well, Lee, we have a lot of international listeners
[21:31] SPEAKER_00: to the podcast.
[21:32] SPEAKER_00: So I'd like you to answer this next question with them in mind.
[21:36] SPEAKER_00: If you were to start all over again
[21:38] SPEAKER_00: and you just moved to Edmonton,
[21:40] SPEAKER_00: but this time you didn't know anyone
[21:43] SPEAKER_00: or have a network established, what would you do
[21:47] SPEAKER_00: and how would you start all over again
[21:48] SPEAKER_00: as an entrepreneur in that city?
[21:51] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's a number of great organizations in town
[21:55] SPEAKER_01: for entrepreneurs to join.
[21:57] SPEAKER_01: I totally recommend that because it really is a collaborative
[22:01] SPEAKER_01: community.
[22:02] SPEAKER_01: There's so many great entrepreneurs out there
[22:04] SPEAKER_01: and organizations like EO and the like are fantastic places
[22:12] SPEAKER_01: to start because you can build that network quickly.
[22:15] SPEAKER_01: The people have similar issues and really can help.
[22:19] SPEAKER_01: The Chamber of Commerce is a great asset as well
[22:22] SPEAKER_01: to get out and get connected in the community.
[22:26] SPEAKER_01: And then it's an interesting paradigm
[22:28] SPEAKER_01: but just socially getting out and going to different events
[22:32] SPEAKER_01: around town.
[22:33] SPEAKER_01: It really is an event city and it's a great place to meet people
[22:38] SPEAKER_01: and network as well.
[22:40] SPEAKER_01: So I think from that perspective,
[22:41] SPEAKER_01: there's a number of paths that you can go down.
[22:44] SPEAKER_01: And then probably the other piece of advice I'd give them
[22:47] SPEAKER_01: is to really find some good advisors.
[22:52] SPEAKER_01: A lot of times entrepreneurs feel like they have to do
[22:54] SPEAKER_01: everything themselves and I really think that, you know,
[22:58] SPEAKER_01: find yourself the simple things like a great accountant,
[23:01] SPEAKER_01: a great lawyer, a business coach, things like that,
[23:04] SPEAKER_01: can really shorten your path and then amize some of the simple mistakes
[23:09] SPEAKER_01: that you don't need to make.
[23:11] SPEAKER_00: Well, this last question that I have for you Lee
[23:13] SPEAKER_00: is a hypothetical one that we ask all of our guests on the show.
[23:18] SPEAKER_00: I'd like you to imagine that there's a small tropical island
[23:22] SPEAKER_00: off of Fiji.
[23:24] SPEAKER_00: It only has one phone booth there.
[23:26] SPEAKER_00: There's no internet and we're going to drop you off
[23:29] SPEAKER_00: and you can't have a computer, smartphone
[23:32] SPEAKER_00: or any of our digital toys and tools that we have.
[23:37] SPEAKER_00: You can use a phone anytime to call a boat
[23:39] SPEAKER_00: and we'll come pick you up.
[23:41] SPEAKER_00: How long do you think you would last and what would you do
[23:44] SPEAKER_00: while you're there?
[23:46] SPEAKER_01: His an interesting question.
[23:48] SPEAKER_01: I would probably last a long time.
[23:50] SPEAKER_01: I'm amazing counterintuitive as a salesperson and an entrepreneur,
[23:54] SPEAKER_01: but I'm an introvert very comfortable with my quiet time.
[23:58] SPEAKER_01: So that sounds like a fantastic destination for me.
[24:03] SPEAKER_01: At some point the social aspect I'm sure would drive me back
[24:06] SPEAKER_01: to the phone booth, but I think while they're, you know,
[24:10] SPEAKER_01: exploring is probably the first thing I would do
[24:13] SPEAKER_01: and just check out everything.
[24:15] SPEAKER_01: And then I think it's a great opportunity
[24:18] SPEAKER_01: to do something physical or tangible
[24:21] SPEAKER_01: and that's a big part of what I like to do.
[24:25] SPEAKER_01: Every day I'm on the phone, I'm working on a computer.
[24:28] SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of intangible work and to be able to build something.
[24:32] SPEAKER_01: So I think I built myself a nice shack or a place to live there.
[24:38] SPEAKER_01: Maybe go fishing just do a bunch of more manual labor
[24:42] SPEAKER_01: that I find really reintegrates me and grounds me.
[24:46] SPEAKER_01: So you know, you'd probably take a good few months
[24:50] SPEAKER_01: before you get a phone call for me.
[24:51] SPEAKER_01: I would guess.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: Well, I have to tell you I've asked that question
[24:55] SPEAKER_00: to probably about 20 people so far in our podcasts.
[24:59] SPEAKER_00: And you have been the one to stay the longest.
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: That's great.
[25:08] SPEAKER_00: Well, Lee, how can our listeners connect with you if they want
[25:11] SPEAKER_00: to connect on social media or find your website?
[25:15] SPEAKER_00: Can you pass that contact information on?
[25:18] SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
[25:19] SPEAKER_01: And happy to talk to any entrepreneur that's interested
[25:22] SPEAKER_01: in having a conversation.
[25:24] SPEAKER_01: You can find us at bitsinglas.com, the ITS,
[25:28] SPEAKER_01: I-N-G-L-A-S-S.com.
[25:33] SPEAKER_01: And when you reach out to me directly at Lee.mainman.
[25:36] SPEAKER_01: L-E-E-E.M-A-I-N-M-A-N at bitsinglas.com.
[25:44] SPEAKER_00: Great.
[25:44] SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for being a guest today.
[25:47] SPEAKER_00: Lee, I've really enjoyed talking to you.
[25:50] SPEAKER_00: I've learned a lot from you and I'm sure listeners have as well.
[25:53] SPEAKER_00: So thank you for being on the show today.
[25:56] SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Bonnie.
[25:57] SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
[25:58] SPEAKER_00: Hey there, it's Bonnie LG.
[26:00] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for taking the time today to listen
[26:02] SPEAKER_00: to Edmonton's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[26:06] SPEAKER_00: We hope you enjoyed the show.
[26:08] SPEAKER_00: Make sure you sign up for our newsletters.
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[26:19] SPEAKER_00: And make sure you check out what other entrepreneurs are doing
[26:22] SPEAKER_00: across the country.
[26:24] SPEAKER_00: See you next time.