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TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS
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[00:00] SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Countless Podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_01: All right ladies and gentlemen my name is Rivers Corbett and I want to invite you welcome you embrace you into a pretty cool conversation that we're gonna have with my esteemed friend colleague and fellow
[00:20] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneur all the cut stuff Lewis Vanderbalk he was just a rock star conversation we're gonna have I've had at least five of them with podcasts and so on and I want to make sure we continue to bring great value at a
[00:34] SPEAKER_01: conversations to to the Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurship ecosystem and this one is a promise one for sure so before you get into Lewis's bio which is over here by the way I had to
[00:49] SPEAKER_01: get out of the shade so Lewis welcome to Canada's podcast great to see again man as always like was my friend appreciate the opportunity excited to dive in for another
[01:00] SPEAKER_01: conversation like you said we always have some good conversations here yeah we really do brother we really do there lots of fun and one of the
[01:06] SPEAKER_01: ones by the way ladies and gentlemen Lewis is on his way to his third child so congratulations on that we're adding to the
[01:15] SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurial pool for future generations it's very cool so Lewis is the owner of blue crocus solutions and what they do is they serve
[01:26] SPEAKER_01: North American contractors and service businesses with web design SEO PPC and a CRM solution to tie it all together and that's
[01:35] SPEAKER_01: kind of just you know that's just that's just technical jargon the mirror oh my god what is that but Lewis has a great way to
[01:42] SPEAKER_01: explain a little bit brother so it's ultimately a full service digital marketing agency partners with its clients to drive better business
[01:51] SPEAKER_01: strategies that result in business growth and I love that piece it's not just about putting numbers of eyeballs and that stuff it's all about
[02:00] SPEAKER_01: really in that bottom line focus he chose the crocus as the face of the brand you can it is it is a herald of new life
[02:11] SPEAKER_01: strength and resilience and obviously his desires to provide that to his clients so so Lewis I want to tie into that when we
[02:22] SPEAKER_01: start off because because because you're your your your brand expert because you really dive into identity and so on
[02:29] SPEAKER_01: talk about the process that you went through to brand blue crocus and you know what those words new life strength and resilience mean and
[02:41] SPEAKER_01: wrap it as a three question thing why it's so important maybe you can start with that first why do you think it's so important for people just not to
[02:48] SPEAKER_01: make up a name that's getting nice colors and abbreviations to it you talk about that to get started
[02:54] SPEAKER_00: yeah absolutely so I'm going to you you laid it out very well there and and made it sound pretty fantastic I'm going to be
[03:01] SPEAKER_00: honest with you for ever so I did not have a ton of branding background into it when I made okay
[03:07] SPEAKER_00: um you know you you you you light off to that and that was great
[03:11] SPEAKER_01: well I'm gonna talk to you Lewis and Joey and I'll take a look at this gentleman that's it for today's episode
[03:20] SPEAKER_00: exactly but basically it came from you know I knew where I wanted to go and I just sat down and I
[03:27] SPEAKER_00: and I just picked a name I was actually going to call it blue jug solutions you know because that was
[03:32] SPEAKER_00: kind of a what you know when I when I worked at J.O.B. that was you know I was kind of known for the
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: massive water bottle that I always kept in my desk right so I was like I like to call it blue you
[03:45] SPEAKER_00: know there's lots of branding stuff behind blue and I just literally was sitting down and I said
[03:50] SPEAKER_00: blue jug solution it's got a nice ring to it turns out there was a company that already had you know
[03:55] SPEAKER_00: it was a water supply company in Texas that had a pretty good web presence for blue jug solutions
[04:00] SPEAKER_00: that I knew I was going to be working with contractors in the States you know I was like you know
[04:04] SPEAKER_00: what else can I do and I wanted to keep blue and and ran through you know a bunch of different
[04:09] SPEAKER_00: options and settled on the crocus because it lined up with what I knew I was going to do so there
[04:13] SPEAKER_00: were some thought behind it but it kind of right-to-game together as you know I knew where I wanted to
[04:18] SPEAKER_00: go I knew I wanted to be that solution for people and and something that you know a lot of contractors
[04:23] SPEAKER_00: they struggle getting good marketing services they pay a ton of money or they pay a little bit of
[04:28] SPEAKER_00: money and get promised the world and get nothing in return and then they're burnt forever because
[04:31] SPEAKER_00: they've been spending a hundred dollars a month for five years and they're like it's not working
[04:36] SPEAKER_00: right you know so so bringing that reality to them first of all saying hey you can't spend a
[04:40] SPEAKER_00: hundred dollars a month and expect you know fantastic results but secondly when they are paying us
[04:46] SPEAKER_00: you know bringing them the results that they're looking for so I knew that going in and the crocus
[04:51] SPEAKER_00: you know it's one of my favorite spring flowers it always comes up it pokes through the
[04:55] SPEAKER_00: slum it and so it all kind of combined things so that that's kind of the story that that mesh
[04:59] SPEAKER_01: together with wherever we're going I love that so a couple of things that I've taken
[05:02] SPEAKER_01: out from that one is the crocus and you know you got to have that passion that you live every day
[05:07] SPEAKER_01: with your business and obviously that's a reminder that puts a smile on your face that's very
[05:11] SPEAKER_01: personal to you and you know I'm sure if you study the crocus flower there's elements of that
[05:16] SPEAKER_01: two as to what makes it special but the other thing is is that is that I love that you can't
[05:22] SPEAKER_01: I can't get somebody hit you across the head with the blue jug and see you can't do it that way
[05:28] SPEAKER_01: and you listen that's the other thing where a lot of people would say well screw it it's in the
[05:33] SPEAKER_01: United States no big deal I'll never actually have to run into those guys or gals and but you listen
[05:40] SPEAKER_01: to that and you move forward so I want to talk about contractors because that's a pretty broad
[05:48] SPEAKER_01: broad then I'll call it reference point when you say contractors Lewis who are you serving as
[05:56] SPEAKER_01: contractors and I know a little bit behind the scene paving scene but tell me about
[06:00] SPEAKER_01: telly audience about contractors and why you chose that niche yeah yeah so I grew up you know
[06:07] SPEAKER_00: read out a high school I worked in the space of you know doing concrete work and framing so I'm
[06:11] SPEAKER_00: very familiar with the with the niche and then you know came into it from the marketing perspective
[06:18] SPEAKER_00: and it's a wide open playing field there's a lot of people who are not optimizing their
[06:22] SPEAKER_00: businesses online so there's a lot we can do for people a lot of market share there
[06:27] SPEAKER_00: to be taken you know for for a business like us and a lot of people to help so the niches that we
[06:33] SPEAKER_00: help you mentioned paving there we've gone pretty hard into paving we also just started a junk
[06:38] SPEAKER_00: removal business last May and that is doing really well and so that we've you know kind of
[06:44] SPEAKER_00: teed off of that and made quite a lot of videos off of that and that's really picking up as a
[06:51] SPEAKER_00: biggest niche as well so brilliant yeah so it kind of comes together we were you know really
[06:58] SPEAKER_00: focusing on asphalt and then trying to do everything for asphalt you know everything from
[07:01] SPEAKER_00: Facebook ads to social media marketing to this and that and it just came down to the fact that
[07:06] SPEAKER_00: we're really good at Google stuff we're good at websites we're good at SEO and we're good at
[07:10] SPEAKER_00: Google ads and so we said hey we'll pull back and just do those services for people and then we
[07:15] SPEAKER_00: can branch out into a few other niches so that's those are kind of the main niches that we serve
[07:20] SPEAKER_00: tree service and masonry you know that are thrown in there too but really anybody that you know is
[07:24] SPEAKER_00: looking to go out and serve a customer we can help but those are the main ones that we serve right
[07:29] SPEAKER_01: now a couple of things that come from this is one of the things I mean I'm a big fan of you and
[07:35] SPEAKER_01: what you're doing I remember you were having conversations and you were just getting started and
[07:40] SPEAKER_01: I love that you reached out and I love that we've become friends but one thing ladies and gentlemen
[07:44] SPEAKER_01: that Lewis does very well is he also becomes an ambassador for the industry for his clients and if
[07:52] SPEAKER_01: you study and follow what it is that he does yes he serves his clients very well but he also helps
[07:59] SPEAKER_01: them market their services he's always talking about what one about what it is they're doing but
[08:04] SPEAKER_01: this is the other cool thing he immerses himself into what is going on with his clients and I think
[08:12] SPEAKER_01: there was a paving client or something like that where you you went up you put the the this
[08:17] SPEAKER_01: or is best on and you went down there and you played in the game can you talk about
[08:23] SPEAKER_01: that strategy and how it has benefited lucrocus and how and and what what you would convey or
[08:32] SPEAKER_01: recommend to other entrepreneurs who are trying to be better and maybe saying that's an interesting
[08:40] SPEAKER_01: strategy you live with your customers can you talk about that yeah yeah it's it comes down to
[08:47] SPEAKER_00: the the group of it is a strategy that you are a philosophy that you hold really dear to your heart is
[08:52] SPEAKER_00: you know zag when others are zigging right yeah sure yes and so you know the the paving industry as
[08:57] SPEAKER_00: I got into it you know interact with a lot of groups on Facebook there's a lot of people serving
[09:01] SPEAKER_00: the industry and so I said how can I stand out how can I really bring something to the industry that
[09:07] SPEAKER_00: others are not and so I said you know I've got to go on you know one just get in there and get
[09:13] SPEAKER_00: dirty and and you know make it happen learn some of the ins and outs of it learn I use it as an
[09:19] SPEAKER_00: opportunity to start teaching some of my clients to say hey these are the pictures I got from one day
[09:23] SPEAKER_00: on the job these are the pictures right but secondly it endeared me to the to the industry because
[09:30] SPEAKER_00: they said oh he's you know he's willing to get out and get dirty I did a bunch of live videos
[09:34] SPEAKER_00: while I was doing it and I did use it as a marketing thing but I also used it as something that
[09:38] SPEAKER_00: I now understood it even more fully and so I understood the you know the ins and outs and things
[09:44] SPEAKER_00: that a lot of our clients didn't think was worth telling the the customers telling their customers
[09:50] SPEAKER_00: was you know really important to get across like they do a really good job like the one I went to
[09:54] SPEAKER_00: was in Sussex and I actually working is it okay yeah yeah it was actually brain sick for those of
[09:59] SPEAKER_01: you that are listening across the country because it does go across the country and people of course
[10:04] SPEAKER_01: are leaning into stories from Atlanta Canada which I just read today I know I'm all over the places
[10:09] SPEAKER_01: that the Atlanta Canada has had the has had that one the highest population immigration immigration
[10:17] SPEAKER_01: immigration of any other region in the country so people are looking to us so sorry interrupt Sussex
[10:22] SPEAKER_01: and New Brunswick which is the Derry Capital the New Brunswick too so anyway that's where you
[10:27] SPEAKER_00: wait yeah yeah so I so I went down there and just you know popped in the trucks at seven in the
[10:34] SPEAKER_00: more I left here like five in the morning drove down to Sussex popped in the trucks at seven rode
[10:38] SPEAKER_00: out to the job they actually let me run the the paving machine like that I they really were very
[10:44] SPEAKER_00: open to letting me jump in I just said hey you know can I come work for a day for free
[10:49] SPEAKER_00: and and just get some pictures and learn a little bit more about it so they got some free
[10:54] SPEAKER_00: labor for a day I made myself useful and I was familiar with the concrete world and so it was
[10:59] SPEAKER_00: you know a huge leap for me to jump in it's quite a different world the asphalt
[11:02] SPEAKER_00: uh world and the way it all goes together because it hardens up a lot faster but but just getting
[11:07] SPEAKER_00: in there and getting dirty and getting comfortable with um you know being different was something that
[11:13] SPEAKER_00: that really helped it helped us grow tremendously um and then and then you know in some of the
[11:18] SPEAKER_00: mentorship programs that I mean they started implementing it and they called it the Lewis method
[11:22] SPEAKER_01: and I was like all right that's so brilliant I love it I love it I love it for so many reasons
[11:28] SPEAKER_01: one of the best things that I thought you worked there for at least a month with those guys so
[11:34] SPEAKER_01: you made me think that you're working there every day so yeah it's so really dove into that which
[11:41] SPEAKER_01: I think it's really cool but also the point that you've just made is that they loved it and we talk
[11:48] SPEAKER_01: about word-of-month referral and you know you play in a digital world a digital world a digital world
[11:53] SPEAKER_01: but I I got a thank from what you just said it helped us grow so how did that help you grow I know
[12:02] SPEAKER_01: you're doing other things with your obviously your practicing what you preach with what you do with
[12:06] SPEAKER_01: blue crocus but how did that zagging help you grow it's a great lean-in moment yeah so it came
[12:14] SPEAKER_00: down to you know I had a bunch of content that I could use you know and I did you know what you
[12:19] SPEAKER_00: thought I was working there for a month that's hilarious I thought you actually had the job
[12:26] SPEAKER_01: there and you were doing blue crocus on the side for a minute I said okay well you know he's
[12:31] SPEAKER_00: got to look after family feed so I love it I love it yeah no it was a day long thing and then I
[12:37] SPEAKER_00: did another one a couple months later up here locally and Frederick and your bazaik and then I
[12:41] SPEAKER_00: and then I used the content so I used it to show hey you know I'm not afraid to get out there and
[12:46] SPEAKER_00: do the work and I love the business I love the industry and that meant a lot to the people who
[12:51] SPEAKER_00: are watching me and who were who were thinking hey you know we'd like to have someone build our site
[12:55] SPEAKER_00: but a lot of digital markers they don't make the connection between you know the industry and what
[13:01] SPEAKER_00: they hold dear and then you know what needs to be told to Google to bring in leads so having that
[13:06] SPEAKER_00: connection it really was a you know the no-like and trust factor the like and trust factor side of
[13:12] SPEAKER_00: things went way up in the triangle for me and then they would get to know me you know more as they
[13:16] SPEAKER_01: went along of course it's the he knows two people who knows two people who knows two people so
[13:23] SPEAKER_01: Lewis I want to I want to talk a bit about lead generation and I'm going to be all over the
[13:30] SPEAKER_01: place there is no rhyme or strategy this is to serve entrepreneurs obviously ladies and gentlemen
[13:35] SPEAKER_01: Luke Krocus has got all kinds of the value in many areas that they can serve you and I want you
[13:44] SPEAKER_01: to lean in and connect with Lewis and we're going to talk more about the company here in a second but
[13:48] SPEAKER_01: lead generation I want to I want to touch into into that how do you nurture the lead generation now
[13:57] SPEAKER_01: online with your strategies in helping your clients because as you said earlier a hundred bucks a
[14:06] SPEAKER_01: month now you're just doing it all well you don't want to say wrong but it's wrong and so lead
[14:11] SPEAKER_01: gen lead gen lead gen so you can you talk about how your approach works not not talking about what
[14:19] SPEAKER_01: others know but why does your approach work to helping the clients grow your businesses we talk
[14:24] SPEAKER_00: about in the intro yeah yeah so there's there's um you know what we can talk about the 99 dollar
[14:31] SPEAKER_00: guys all day but basically what we're doing is we start with a foundation of you know basically
[14:35] SPEAKER_00: your website is a foundation um especially for for contracting businesses to have some are for
[14:41] SPEAKER_00: people to come see their reviews see their work see what they do or Google to see what they do
[14:45] SPEAKER_00: and and for us to tell them in a million different ways is important and then Google business
[14:50] SPEAKER_00: listings are very important and then working on both of those so once they're up and running
[14:55] SPEAKER_00: there's a lot of things you can do to build authority for your website for your Google business
[15:00] SPEAKER_00: listing to then say hey you know raise your hand and say hey Google we're over here we do you know
[15:06] SPEAKER_00: such and such a service in this area if people are looking for this you know we're the ones with
[15:11] SPEAKER_00: the authority to answer the questions so we do that and I mean some of my favorite examples are
[15:16] SPEAKER_00: people who have done word of mouth their whole life we throw out a website you know just
[15:20] SPEAKER_00: basically optimize it um and he's getting like 50 I believe he got 50 leads in the first two
[15:26] SPEAKER_00: months that it was up wow wow and that and that you know it blew his mind he's like these are like
[15:31] SPEAKER_01: free leads and I was like yeah it's crazy right so um what do you say to businesses who say uh
[15:41] SPEAKER_01: you know what um I don't think I don't I don't think that works I you know they say no I don't
[15:47] SPEAKER_01: think people really go and do searching anymore I don't think they go online I think they go to
[15:54] SPEAKER_01: quote them code the yellow pages now younger audiences is not going to connect with this question
[15:59] SPEAKER_01: I'm talking to the older entrepreneurs who are trying to get out of their way and open up their
[16:04] SPEAKER_01: mind how much is that lead they're not lead the search happening online by an average consumer
[16:12] SPEAKER_01: who says I want to I want to I want to find a plumber I want to talk about that journey of a
[16:19] SPEAKER_01: customer using Google now to find what it is that they're looking for I think that the the stats
[16:28] SPEAKER_00: I'm a little fuzzy on the stats of the number of people but really anybody now if you're going on
[16:32] SPEAKER_00: and you've got an issue you're going to go search um immediately and try and try and find a plumber
[16:38] SPEAKER_00: that's near you that provides a service because you've got to get your problem solved you don't have
[16:41] SPEAKER_00: time to go out and hang by the water cooler and say hey you know we got an issue what's you know
[16:45] SPEAKER_00: who's the plumber it's you know you need someone you're going to call them and you're going to get
[16:49] SPEAKER_00: it done yeah and you know on the flip side as a contracting business if you're not showing up
[16:55] SPEAKER_00: they're when they're in their hour of need they're going to pass you over and call someone else
[16:59] SPEAKER_01: yeah I love it I love it so how does um it's let's go back to the beginning days of blue
[17:06] SPEAKER_01: croppers when we first started to connect with each other and I think you were getting going and we
[17:11] SPEAKER_01: were trying to figure out how to do businesses together all they kind of jazz talk about talk about
[17:16] SPEAKER_01: the first six months because back then you had no traction and I was a love telling the
[17:21] SPEAKER_01: startup story because to me that's the the funnest time in a business because your energy in your
[17:28] SPEAKER_01: excitement is high but also it's swampy stop can you talk about your first six months
[17:34] SPEAKER_01: year in building blue crocus and what was your strategy yeah yes so my strategy was you know
[17:40] SPEAKER_00: dump out of the plane and build your parachute on the way down imperfect action beats perfect
[17:46] SPEAKER_00: inaction every day of the week that was sir that one of my mentors told me and I know you subscribed
[17:51] SPEAKER_00: to that as well um but you know I was working a full-time job as an engineering um design like
[17:58] SPEAKER_00: a mechanical engineering designer um and so you know basically it was jump in you know I learned
[18:04] SPEAKER_00: the process I really need nothing about the the process of this you know in early 2019 so I don't
[18:10] SPEAKER_00: mean I invested heavily into courses and and mentorships um around the topics I had conversations
[18:17] SPEAKER_00: with you about some business structure stuff you know we I just reached out to everybody I knew
[18:21] SPEAKER_00: that knew something you did a ton of questions a lesson where a lesson there ladies and gentlemen
[18:25] SPEAKER_01: reached out and Lewis when you reached out mean I'd include it how many what percentage of people
[18:31] SPEAKER_00: said yeah I'd love to help you 100% 100% of the people lesson thank you sir it's uh people that
[18:39] SPEAKER_00: have gone somewhere they've done they've done that I mean you've you've had your bumps and bruises
[18:42] SPEAKER_00: along the way and you want to help people not have those bumps and bruises along the way and I'm
[18:47] SPEAKER_00: on the same way I haven't I'm not to the point where you are yet and and haven't had as many bumps
[18:51] SPEAKER_00: and bruises yet you know they're they're coming down the line um that's that's just the nature
[18:57] SPEAKER_00: of it and I'm ready to embrace them but you know I'm willing to share what I have learned with
[19:02] SPEAKER_00: people because I have grown tremendously in the last you know what what is it three four years
[19:06] SPEAKER_00: yeah and so you know my strategy at the beginning to go back to that question was you know jump in
[19:12] SPEAKER_00: start calling people start you know reaching out for help but reaching out to people who might
[19:16] SPEAKER_00: need my services yeah I remember I structured my schedule at my job so I could come in at 530
[19:22] SPEAKER_00: I work 530 to 5 four days a week and then I take Wednesday off and I just go around Frederickton
[19:27] SPEAKER_00: popping into businesses that was that was the grassroots start of it yeah and you know I do
[19:32] SPEAKER_01: remember you didn't you you're doing that and the other thing is you stuck to that routine that
[19:37] SPEAKER_01: was really cool too it really was about structure for you unfortunately you had that engineering
[19:42] SPEAKER_01: background so you understand the importance of structure and and so that allowed you to consistently
[19:50] SPEAKER_01: build what it is to where you're there I was I mean I lived by many sayings and your right
[19:54] SPEAKER_01: zag is my favorite it is my philosophy I'm not only work but also play I think that's where you
[20:00] SPEAKER_01: really get to get to enjoy things but um but I you know I've always subscribed to the basis that
[20:08] SPEAKER_01: when you ask people along the way and the turtle won the race we always have to remember that the
[20:14] SPEAKER_01: turtle won the race it's very very cute so I want to I want to I want to talk about globally because
[20:23] SPEAKER_01: scaling is part of your strategy we talk in your in your intro with regards to on length in your
[20:30] SPEAKER_01: profile and so on how are you reaching clients outside of the marathons this is important
[20:37] SPEAKER_01: less than two people who are building businesses in the marathons you have to think scale
[20:43] SPEAKER_01: if you want to grow beyond the borders of it so how's what is your approach to that to build more
[20:49] SPEAKER_00: client opportunities to blue crocus yeah so I have I have really become um big on Facebook
[20:58] SPEAKER_00: I've invested a lot of time I wouldn't say I'm big on Facebook but I invest most of my time into
[21:02] SPEAKER_00: Facebook I jump into the groups there's a lot of groups around the different industries that we
[21:07] SPEAKER_00: service LinkedIn has the same sort of thing I have to focus more on on Facebook then LinkedIn
[21:12] SPEAKER_00: interesting but but jumped into those groups provided value first and I find the more I provide
[21:18] SPEAKER_00: value the more the bottom line in our business grows um so I'm gonna talk about that dig deep on
[21:24] SPEAKER_01: that so I'm in a group and payment group and providing value do I provide value proactively do I
[21:31] SPEAKER_01: provide actively and in that conversation of having in groups where do I say when you if you want
[21:39] SPEAKER_01: more information let's chat how I can help you because that's can be a potential turnoff in a
[21:44] SPEAKER_00: conversation yeah so a lot of these people in the groups um paving and and junk from rule is is
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: a industry that I've really really been pushing the last three months um you know the t-off of the
[21:55] SPEAKER_00: success we've had with our business um jump in there and add value people are asking there's a lot
[22:00] SPEAKER_00: of new businesses okay people are asking you know should I go with this lead provider you know
[22:05] SPEAKER_00: should I go with home advisor or thumbtap or those are kind of the us versions of the aggregators
[22:10] SPEAKER_00: for leads right or or what do I what do I do with my website you know can someone help me here
[22:16] SPEAKER_00: and someone help me with my Google business listing so I jump in and I'll leave you know comments and
[22:20] SPEAKER_00: say hey here's here's some videos that I've made on the subject take a look here you know happy to
[22:26] SPEAKER_00: take an audit I offer offer a lot of audits um so if someone wants me to run through what they have
[22:31] SPEAKER_00: I'll do it'll take me about 30 minutes and I'll give them like a 10 15 minute video on what they're
[22:36] SPEAKER_00: doing now that's working and what they can do to improve and in that I say hey you know I'm going
[22:41] SPEAKER_00: to put you on our services um and tell you what we do at the end here but I want you to come
[22:46] SPEAKER_00: away with a ton of nuggets regardless of whether we work together and I'm saying that kind of for
[22:51] SPEAKER_00: me too like I preface the whole thing in my mind as well as for them to to frame up that I am
[22:56] SPEAKER_00: going to tell them of our services yeah but for me going in it really helps me to think the more
[23:01] SPEAKER_00: people I help the more people will help me yeah so it keeps that forefront in my mind so that is
[23:07] SPEAKER_00: a strategy that we've used almost exclusively to build this is I can look back and 90% of the
[23:13] SPEAKER_00: customers that have jumped on with us I've helped in one way or another over the last four years
[23:19] SPEAKER_01: and so why Facebook groups over LinkedIn groups in your in your opinion um Facebook is is kind of
[23:26] SPEAKER_00: you know where my original training was around you know so I'll optimize my profile from a business
[23:31] SPEAKER_00: perspective um LinkedIn is powerful I just haven't go into it with the same consistency
[23:36] SPEAKER_00: and I think anywhere you go Instagram can be really powerful I don't have some some clients
[23:41] SPEAKER_00: off of Instagram so anywhere you go be consistent um you know I don't think there's one holy grill I
[23:47] SPEAKER_00: think any one of them can be a holy grill if you do it consistently and there's people that do
[23:51] SPEAKER_00: multiple consistently I just you know have have a um bandwidth that I have to watch right so Facebook
[23:58] SPEAKER_00: is where I started and where I went hard found success and just kept building off of that yeah it
[24:02] SPEAKER_01: makes sense it makes sense to be able to do that so let's talk about bandwidth um Blue Crocus is growing
[24:10] SPEAKER_01: uh you're growing with it talk about your team uh I want I want to I want to talk about your family
[24:18] SPEAKER_01: as part of this because it's talk about bandwidth a lot of entrepreneurs young families older
[24:22] SPEAKER_01: families whatever how do I balance this whole thing out I think in for years it's a fascinating
[24:27] SPEAKER_01: conversation but talk about your team how are you building up because your bandwidth as low as
[24:34] SPEAKER_01: is 24-7 minus the time that you need to of course spend with your with your two case and also
[24:39] SPEAKER_00: to be three in your way yeah yeah no so that's coming to focus really really hard in the last
[24:45] SPEAKER_00: uh like I've been focusing on that really hard in the last four months I'd say I hired a agency
[24:51] SPEAKER_00: slash mentor out of Australia actually so they're they're mentoring us on some of the
[24:56] SPEAKER_00: you know leveling us up on SEO and and paid ads on Google as well as bringing in structure and
[25:01] SPEAKER_00: product management meant to really help us so um that that is something that is very in the forefront
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: of what we're doing right now building out processes building out a team just hired another full-time
[25:11] SPEAKER_00: web designer uh last week um and you know getting all those systems in place so that I can do the
[25:17] SPEAKER_00: management I'm not doing much of the work anymore I'm still as needed and inspecting what I expect
[25:22] SPEAKER_00: from the team quality control but building out processes because what we do is not rocket surgery
[25:27] SPEAKER_00: there are systems and processes to this once you train someone getting that set up because you know
[25:33] SPEAKER_00: in a month and a half I'm gonna have to step away in in some capacity you know I'm never gonna be
[25:38] SPEAKER_00: completely turned off you sure yeah um you know there's points where I'm gonna have to pull in
[25:43] SPEAKER_00: and it's starting already like I spent um you know my my wife went down for an app today because she's
[25:47] SPEAKER_00: you know she's getting pretty pregnant um so I take the kids while she's now we went out and built a
[25:52] SPEAKER_00: snowman right and so so having that ability to step away you know and and attend to my biggest
[25:59] SPEAKER_00: investment which is the family and the whole reason I started this is so it's something that I've
[26:04] SPEAKER_00: realized as I build this I'm not building this you know I got big goals for the business but none of
[26:09] SPEAKER_00: that matters if I'm not supporting the original reason that I got into this talk about what you
[26:13] SPEAKER_01: wife's name Alyssa Alyssa I didn't ask you that before and I apologize for forgetting it but
[26:19] SPEAKER_01: Alyssa how how do you in the list uh team however you as a team building a business because every
[26:28] SPEAKER_01: business has various roles associated with it to make it successful talk about her role in helping
[26:35] SPEAKER_00: you to build blue crocus her role has been I would say if I could if I could say in a word it's
[26:42] SPEAKER_00: grounding rather than be back to to the family she you know her role is the domestic engineer she's
[26:48] SPEAKER_00: got you know two or three full-time jobs managing everything on the home front you know and enabling
[26:54] SPEAKER_00: me to do this but but grounding me as well to say hey you know you're distracted around the kids what
[26:59] SPEAKER_00: what do we need to do to get some clarity on that you're you're not fully present with me um quality
[27:04] SPEAKER_00: time is is one of our most coveted things as a as a couple right so if we're not able to have those
[27:11] SPEAKER_00: deep conversations um chat about the day chat about the kids where we want to go what we're doing
[27:16] SPEAKER_00: then we drift apart so having that you know in the schedule we have that scheduled now where it's
[27:20] SPEAKER_00: you know every night we get at least an hour um to just just talk right or you know it's
[27:26] SPEAKER_00: sometimes it's a movie but having that grounding to come back to earth and say hey you know
[27:29] SPEAKER_00: five years down the road you know that's great to be chasing the million dollar check but if you
[27:33] SPEAKER_00: miss five years of your kids life it's gone you can't get that so what do you say to people that say
[27:39] SPEAKER_01: well that's not very romantic that's not very intimate to schedule at a time with your significant
[27:44] SPEAKER_01: other that sounds like it's more like I'm an appointment it and by the way when I ask this question
[27:49] SPEAKER_01: this could be male female this is not about male dominated and a woman in in the home now this
[27:56] SPEAKER_01: there's a lot of dominant there's not dominant male females um who are in the same position that you
[28:04] SPEAKER_01: are supported by uh by uh by us folks in their life so so talk about what you would say to those
[28:09] SPEAKER_01: people say I asked and you know that's not a that's not a marriage I think I would have said that
[28:14] SPEAKER_00: you know that five years ago I would have said that you know oh it's not spontaneous there's still
[28:20] SPEAKER_00: spontaneous moments in in our life um but scheduling in you know we're really if you're not
[28:26] SPEAKER_00: blocking out your time as a business owner then you're just all over the place and you're not as
[28:29] SPEAKER_00: affected as you can be if you're not blocking out your time spouse then for me my default is oh
[28:35] SPEAKER_00: I've got to call it this time you know I've booked a sales call or whatever um and then it just
[28:39] SPEAKER_00: gets pushed to the side and never happens so having that structure there's there's a lot of
[28:43] SPEAKER_00: freedom in having that structure because we know interesting we know that we're going to be able to
[28:48] SPEAKER_00: connect um you know obviously not every night is perfectly rigid sometimes there's stuff that
[28:53] SPEAKER_00: happens and shifts around but having that baseline of you know this is this is where we know we have
[28:59] SPEAKER_01: that time to connect I love it yeah I love that structure gives you freedom and also
[29:04] SPEAKER_01: what it gives is security to the relationship too because you know that you have covered that
[29:09] SPEAKER_01: and it it isn't being taken for granted and uh you know I love that we're able to have that
[29:14] SPEAKER_01: conversation right when I can have any topic conversation with you I've come to learn what you
[29:19] SPEAKER_01: said that is but you know that that's that I think is so critically important is that it is a
[29:24] SPEAKER_01: journey with everybody it's not silozed and and uh you forget the other part of the relationship so
[29:31] SPEAKER_01: thank you for letting us to let me take that journey you mentioned you hired an agency in Australia
[29:37] SPEAKER_01: like come on to us this is North America the epicenter of businesses there everywhere
[29:45] SPEAKER_01: Australia dude what's what happened with that one and by the way you know I'm just
[29:50] SPEAKER_01: with you but I just I love the story that you went into Australia to find the value you wanted
[29:56] SPEAKER_01: and what what was the reason you ultimately chose these amazing people from Australia
[30:03] SPEAKER_00: yeah so we I joined a mastermind called Apex uh run by Ryan Stuman um it was been September of this year
[30:10] SPEAKER_00: okay and and basically he's got you know a whole system for building out your business you know
[30:15] SPEAKER_00: that the stuff we were talking about off air before you know my my passion and my core
[30:19] SPEAKER_00: doing of genius is building the branding and the the prospecting and sales so he's got a very good
[30:24] SPEAKER_00: system for that so I joined that that program um there's about 1500 people in there right now
[30:29] SPEAKER_00: all focused on the same thing growing business you know growing personally um growing your relationships
[30:34] SPEAKER_00: with your spouse etc um and I met these guys through there so it's uh two two guys on opposite ends
[30:39] SPEAKER_00: of Australia they one of them runs more of a systems oriented business and one of them runs you
[30:44] SPEAKER_00: know the an agency really similar to ours yes and I met them we had a call at 2 30 in the morning
[30:50] SPEAKER_00: our time um because I talked to one of the members um who was being mentored by them uh at the time
[30:58] SPEAKER_00: and he was like dude everything that you're talking about that you're struggling with right now
[31:01] SPEAKER_00: they've helped me overcome like he he basically took a fitness business from um zero to I believe
[31:06] SPEAKER_00: he's doing a million uh in six months with there wow right so yeah yeah because assistants they put
[31:13] SPEAKER_01: in place yeah yeah dude send me a link after this is over would you I want to learn about these guys
[31:19] SPEAKER_00: or sir sure um but uh but so I connected with them and and they were like yep we can meet it you
[31:25] SPEAKER_00: know what what was 2 30 our time right and I jumped on you know and I just wanted to find out more
[31:29] SPEAKER_00: about what they did they they gave us the package and it was exorbitant for us at the time you know
[31:34] SPEAKER_00: I I was you know it it was basically a monthly rate and then a percentage of sales uh is what it
[31:40] SPEAKER_00: was okay and so I was like you know all right let's go because I knew I knew we needed it
[31:45] SPEAKER_00: and in that time I mean I went we went from you know kind of kind of a bit of stagnation um near
[31:53] SPEAKER_00: the end of of the summer to in the in December we did a fifth of our revenue uh of wow in one month
[32:00] SPEAKER_00: in one month yeah fabulous all of it most of it new business and and January we talked to again by
[32:06] SPEAKER_00: 15 percent above that um and and February were we're on track so that's that's because of these
[32:11] SPEAKER_00: systems and processes that we've been able to come into place and it was through you know originally
[32:15] SPEAKER_00: through that that mastermind group that I'm a part of that I connected with them yeah you know I
[32:20] SPEAKER_01: um I I I love this story again for all kinds of reasons but one of the missed is that you never know
[32:27] SPEAKER_01: who you're going to meet because you are meeting somebody else and you know love them are
[32:32] SPEAKER_01: love them we're hate them doesn't really matter but in the area to the deal uh which we
[32:36] SPEAKER_01: like Donald Trump many years ago he talks about an event that he went to a New York city and he
[32:40] SPEAKER_01: did one of our some real financial problems and he was invited to this charity event and you know
[32:46] SPEAKER_01: you get you you I'm sure it been in those days I just want to go to bed I don't want to deal with
[32:52] SPEAKER_01: this stuff and he went to the event obviously found somebody there who was at the table that he was
[32:58] SPEAKER_01: at and was able to broker a deal to help him and give him a leg up to start his journey for the
[33:05] SPEAKER_01: through the next point so I love love love love that story um where's your where's the client that's
[33:11] SPEAKER_00: the furthest away from you physically uh probably I've got several on the on the uh Pacific Coast so
[33:18] SPEAKER_01: probably be be one in San Diego love it I love it yeah that's so cool brand building reaching
[33:26] SPEAKER_01: organic conversations see uh SEO and CEO as part of that journey um where's uh where's blue
[33:36] SPEAKER_01: crocus going next give me the next 24 miles because if you do that fifth in one month dude you're
[33:41] SPEAKER_01: not slowing down well except in a cup in a month or two but where's blue crocus heading next
[33:48] SPEAKER_00: well the overarching goal um you know that I've had always always since I started was I would like
[33:53] SPEAKER_00: to write a check for a million dollars I'm gonna write a check for a million dollars from the
[33:57] SPEAKER_00: business by 2027 um and that check is gonna go to uh some sort of it could be a combination of
[34:05] SPEAKER_00: things but something around the homeless community there's a lot of really cool that um uh
[34:09] SPEAKER_00: ventures and things being built to help the community not just in food but in how can we better
[34:13] SPEAKER_00: their their life in general um so that that's the under line underpinning I guess the loss of
[34:20] SPEAKER_00: why I'm doing this obviously to support the family um yes but but you know we're looking at
[34:25] SPEAKER_00: growth of our goal is 10% or more growth per month uh over the next you know 24 months well uh
[34:32] SPEAKER_01: my bet's on you man how how uh you know I I like to have this conversation with all of our guests
[34:38] SPEAKER_01: from Atlanta Canada what do you say you know why in land of Canada uh and I say why at land of
[34:47] SPEAKER_01: Canada yes you're from there again all of that kind of stuff but what are some other golden
[34:51] SPEAKER_01: nuggets that are associated with doing business in Atlanta Canada for really a business that is now
[35:00] SPEAKER_01: on the west coast of uh of the of the United States too so so yeah what's uh what's what's
[35:06] SPEAKER_01: what's what's what's some nuggets you'd like to convey to again this is a global on his but a
[35:11] SPEAKER_01: national audience in particular we're Canada talk about Atlanta Canada and the entrepreneurial space
[35:15] SPEAKER_00: well I caught the bug initially um you know going to university I was around a lot of people who
[35:20] SPEAKER_00: had started businesses um universe you know this University of New Brunswick is incredibly
[35:25] SPEAKER_00: entrepreneurial I came up through the on the engineering side of it um yeah the technology
[35:30] SPEAKER_00: management and entrepreneurship there with uh the Dr. Schukela but you know NBCC has it there's a
[35:38] SPEAKER_00: lot of entrepreneurial spirit here in the city Halifax is the same way I was able to go to a few
[35:43] SPEAKER_00: things in Halifax um but but it's it's around the main epicenter there's a lot of growth and a lot
[35:49] SPEAKER_00: of people starting some really cool stuff so you're surrounding by those people and you see it
[35:53] SPEAKER_00: happening and you see you know you see the possibilities and it's exciting it's really exciting
[35:58] SPEAKER_01: yeah well it's the energy it's the conversation and of course there's great support systems that are
[36:02] SPEAKER_01: in place in in Atlanta Canada I know when when the pandemic came along was the uh the Kakoa as an
[36:10] SPEAKER_01: example was a great supporter of mine to to adjust and build out something that I'm now doing with
[36:17] SPEAKER_01: Chef Toriel that uh it just just was like well thank you and uh those types of supports know
[36:24] SPEAKER_01: whether they're financial or coaching or whatever just solid man so Lewis I think I could keep
[36:31] SPEAKER_01: hanging out for a long time with you but I can't tell you how much I appreciate this continued
[36:37] SPEAKER_01: conversation and how you're contributing to the entrepreneurial spirit how you're contributing to
[36:43] SPEAKER_01: your own learning how you're building something up substance how you're helping people and that little
[36:48] SPEAKER_01: nugget of and I'm gonna keep it in my head you put the orange vest on and you went and hung out
[36:54] SPEAKER_01: with some of your clients which a lot of people don't do they might have a zoom call but they don't
[37:01] SPEAKER_01: let me come to your office for a day and just breathe it in brilliant brilliant strategy and
[37:08] SPEAKER_01: most all the technical piece so so how do people how do people hang out with you man how do they
[37:13] SPEAKER_01: yeah if I know you know the blue crocus but you don't talk to me about one what's the what's the
[37:19] SPEAKER_01: website ad just from blue crocus and the second thing is is that how do they hang out with you
[37:25] SPEAKER_00: yeah absolutely and I thought all echo that you know I always enjoy our conversations always uh
[37:30] SPEAKER_00: and I always learn something you know whatever the the side of the mic that we're on we've
[37:34] SPEAKER_00: chatted a couple times with you on the show and and always enjoy that but yeah if people want to
[37:40] SPEAKER_00: connect it's blue crocus dot c a you'll put it in the notes there and then Lewis van der Valk
[37:46] SPEAKER_00: dot com is also where basically it's my digital business card you can connect with me on you know
[37:50] SPEAKER_00: a bunch of different levels there it's got links to all my my social media so connect
[37:54] SPEAKER_00: out of you happy to help people in it in any way and you know as you as you can tell even if it's
[37:59] SPEAKER_00: 30 minute conversation to see how you know you can find some things to do for your business
[38:03] SPEAKER_01: i'm glad to know Lewis keep being a rock star dude keep being a rock star we'll look forward to
[38:08] SPEAKER_01: the next conversation because this isn't going to be the last one keep on happening man cheers
