Transcript
Speaker: Welcome back. This is another installment of Mustard Hub Voices Behind the Build. In each episode... I sit down with the people building, backing, and running better workplaces. I'm your host, Curtis Forbes. My guest today. is Cody.
Speaker: Buyer. Cody's head of franchise business development and strategic partnerships in Vendasta. software company that acts as an operating system for local growth. Modesta helps franchise and multi -location brands manage their marketing.
Speaker: attract and engage customers, and put AI to work across every location so they never miss. a local lead. known for building strong relationships, connecting to the right people, and creating partnerships that solve real business challenges.
Speaker: Cody spends his days in the trenches of the franchise world where trust is the currency and reputation is everything. And outside of work, you'll find him traveling on a golf course or at a ball game, hunting down a great cup of cot coffee or catching a set. at a dark comedy club.
Speaker: Welcome to Behind the Build. Thanks so much for joining me, Cody. Amazing, Curtis. Thanks for having me. It was a great intro. Isn't it? It's nice to like hear back all the things that you've done and all the things that you do, right? Yeah. Yeah. um i've been I've been really looking forward to... today you know i feel like i've gotten to know you uh over the while and and It's always interesting me to talk to folks.
Speaker: in franchise because everybody has a different That's awesome. to getting in that. world Like, you you know, you don't see folks going to college and managing or in majoring in franchising. So I'm kind of curious. I mean, you've built this career around.
Speaker: franchise business development and partnerships and connecting people and and making deals happen in ah in a very... specific corner of the business world.
Speaker: So I, How did you get into... The franchise space. What's the origin story? Yeah, that's a great question. so ah True, true origin would have came from working in the restaurant industry. So. Working in it through high school, working in it out of high school, lucky enough to be.
Speaker: I'm working with a brand where i I always joke around. I was slinging drinks and sending winks, bartending, but also working with also working with corporate a little bit where um you get to look at scheduling, you get to look at labor, you get to look at operations, you get to look at the little things like...
Speaker: why toothpicks cost so much money at the front of your restaurant and how we can make it easier for people to just have a better experience. so i was ah I was going through a few... potential career changes and I was lucky enough.
Speaker: At the time, a gentleman named George Leith asked me if I would want to explore an opportunity in tech. so I didn't. ah I didn't know anything about tech. I still consider myself a non -techie guy. But I took the chance and I always loved people in the multi -location and in the franchise space.
Speaker: um I just felt like they were my type of people always. So I worked with a lot of agencies selling into those brands and selling into local. small to medium businesses. And then I was lucky enough to be able to ah to start a division along. Inside a few team members. ah and truly run with it from there. So yeah it's been ah it's been a great path. It's been an interesting one.
Speaker: And like you said at the start, trenches. I guess you could say trenches, but it's all fun. those are the folks you always have to be careful about the ones that you know have that humility to to tell you you know i I still feel like a beginner, right? Because it's it's those who are really sort of mastering that craft that all that that recognize there's so much more to learn.
Speaker: and ah and and And they're the ones, you know. they're the they're the quiet ones absorbing everything learning everything you know that uh that that really, I think, know. know their business. but so So for anyone who isn't... familiar.
Speaker: Right. Tell us a little bit about. anddata I mean, you described it as... or you've described it to me as this operating system.
Speaker: for local growth. What does that yeah does that mean for a franchise or multi -location brand? day -to -day yeah so essentially like to say we're your ai customer acquisition and engagement platform so um that's like saying what does nike do just do it is their slang or their uh their tagline but realistically we can help you automate the customer journey yeah using our AI and using our foundational digital marketing products, which we owned and operated over the past 17 years. um The joy of what we do is I really want to take...
Speaker: People are... Take care. away from worrying about all the systems in their business and just let their franchisees, let their operators. Let your local dealers worry about working with their customers and in their business. So nobody...
Speaker: starts a Mr. Rooter to become a marketer, right? So letting platforms and groups like us and the people behind the scenes who know how to connect that work. set that up for them so they can run a profitable and successful business.
Speaker: So. So your seat. specifically is in business development, strategic partnerships. um Yeah. so So when you... when you I mean, if we stripped away that title, like what what are we what are you doing all day, right? Who who are who are you in the room with? I love this. What are you trying to build? I love this because even when I tell my my old uncles that who are our farmers, they go, to what do you fix cell phones? Like, what do you do? um yeah I tell people.
Speaker: Yeah, it's it's great. But i I like to connect people realistically. with systems, um software groups, and franchise brands and multi -location brands. And realistically, I like to just have... ah I'm really good at small talk, you could say. I like to just connect to people to to be able to make that work. So we have people in -house that...
Speaker: are the best at what they do with... demoing and setting up the platform and I like to find the people to do it. So I've probably... been in your your DMs or I've probably cold called you, but I come from a little bit of an outbound specialty where I like to be a chameleon of conversation. and Just a little bit of other work I do helps me with that. So I'm i'm comfortable with getting a no, but...
Speaker: um Also comfortable with providing value to see a yes. I love that, a chameleon in conversation. I'm i'm stealing that from you. Do it, please, please do. It's on the record now, so I will give you credit. but You and I have talked a lot about...
Speaker: Um, how the franchise space runs. On, on. trust, I guess more than anything else. um You had...
Speaker: You had this line I loved um that. that That trying to break into franchising. is like... fishing in a fish farm.
Speaker: Yeah. ah Yes. Tell me a little bit about what you meant. So. It's hard to break in because I've had people through the years. um um Never name names, but... You see people at events. you see people at Um,
Speaker: Network gatherings on webinars, demonstrations you watch, podcasts like yours. um And truly till you get to know them, you don't know where the trust is at. um personally so For me, it's been super fun because...
Speaker: um It's a very intertwined world. franchise and anyone who's in that knows that. yeah So whether you're a brand or a vendor, um I always like to make the joke one day competitor, next day colleague. So you always got to really watch what you say in a proper way.
Speaker: Um, But also you just got to build trust with people and show them who you are. There's a lot of people trying to be something they're not. um And that's not just the franchise space. That's everywhere. But there's a lot of people that are just true to this. so They're just phenomenal at what they do. And they really. they give a damn about helping the people that they work around. It's really quite amazing, you know, and the more we dipped our toe in there, the more we saw it also or or I did. And I felt like it was.
Speaker: you know Kind of like the eighth wonder of the world. We've talked about this thing specifically is that you see a lot of companies walk in. thinking they're gonna like land a big whale and clean up right and then and then they they don't make it they fizzle out they don't What do...
Speaker: What do you think people get wrong when they show up? expecting this home run and then not. you know and not meeting those expectations support and execution.
Speaker: A hundred percent. I think... I think there's a lot of brilliant people out there And I think there's a lot of really good sellers and a lot of really good. relationship people, and a lot of really good product.
Speaker: But when you have five people supporting some of the largest brands in the world and When you sit back and think that if you don't deliver and if you don't support and execute this for them, it affects not only the corporate brand.
Speaker: but the franchisees. but their families, but their local communities, but everything involved with it. It's a little bit. um Gives you goosebumps, I could say. ah So if you can't support one of those groups, or I've... i've been on calls with people where they're like we'll just hire 20 people to do that well it's like You can't. it's It's unrealistic to do that. You can't just rely on the big whales. You also can't rely on the little minnows in the sea. You got to have a mix of both, but you got to be realistic and set that realistic expectation with who you're working with. because
Speaker: um If you don't, you're just going to... that trust we talked about. in the intro of Trust Being Currency, you're going to burn that. Completely. And and reputation is everything to people. so for me, truly support and execution.
Speaker: And it takes it takes years. I mean, to to build those kind of relationships, to build that kind of trust and then to actually understand. intimately.
Speaker: how those franchise systems really work so that you can provide the support. That they need, right? So that you can execute it the right way, because you can't just walk into franchising thinking you're going to, I mean, there's legal hurdles that, you know, as a vendor, you might not be aware of or familiar with.
Speaker: Right? there There's yeah certain certain ways that everything works you know for better or worse it it it is the way it is um you know until until that changes right and and For trust to be that currency, that takes a long time to build. But then also the ins and outs of, you know, that.
Speaker: Um, You know that business model. Yeah. It is. And I um i got my CFE last year and taking the time.
Speaker: And. and and reading about so much of everything through the FTD. And then when you think you got it cased, it just changes. Um, And there's so many things that the knowledge only comes when you actually have worked in the space.
Speaker: And. um Been in those trenches, I guess I'll use trenches now, been in the trenches with your team. So not just delegating work and telling people what to do, but actually doing the work, seeing it and experiencing it firsthand.
Speaker: So I think it's... ah It's a cool space, but it's it's truly... It's built on that. side of trust. So I had someone come up to me actually. um after Vendasta had been at around three years of conferences. And she's like, you know what? I've i've seen a few emails from you. I've seen this.
Speaker: She's like, it's hard for me to give a lot of time in my day to people because in a year we may never see them again. So she's like, it's been three years. Who the hell are you and what do you do? Tell me your pitch. It was like, perfect. I've been waiting. Thank you. No, it's ah it's one of those things where it's like, nice. It's great it's great to see that. so Yeah, it's a bit of a game changer where you can put some time in.
Speaker: What is that story? alone teach you about how trust really gets built in the world in that world. Yeah. Be patient. Don't don't ah don't let imposter syndrome.
Speaker: eat you alive when you're trying to sleep at night and uh and focus on what you can control i think you hear that all the time like all the time focus on what you can control but people if they actually sit back and and focus on what they can control. that's That's that's the big thing There's, you know.
Speaker: There's an old school side, I think, to franchising that you... It feels like you genuinely love, you know, the the the shaking hands in person. You know, the supplier forum, being being and a member, right, who's like paid into the space. You mentioned you got your CFE. Congratulations, by the way.
Speaker: um but you know In a world that's racing towards... Digital everything. I mean, even Vendesta is a... digital platform, right?
Speaker: why Why does the in -person, that skin in the in the game trust matter so much? here. Is it solely for? for building trust and being able to know the person you're talking to is a real human. hey it's It's hard for me to ask AI how to trust my gut feeling, right? So you meet someone, you actually get that relationship.
Speaker: And yeah I say it all the time, shaking hands and kissing babies. I'm like, that's. That's the the... It is considered an old school way, but it's also just. a way to learn how to meet people. You could have 10 meetings with someone. And then you actually go for a cup of coffee or a beer with them.
Speaker: And then you really learn who they are. Um, Yeah, giving a demo of a computer is one thing, but sitting with someone in person and and actually showing some empathy and truly having to listen to what they're saying and and learn about that person across from you. and it it It can't be beat. so Ah!
Speaker: I like that. And and you you just said... you know, that That how. especially in franchising, I guess, today's competitor, would you say can easily become tomorrow's colleague?
Speaker: right one day One day competitor, or next day colleague. Next day colleague or customer or partner. Where did that? conviction come from? Have you have you had you had that experience where you had a competitor turn into your partner or teammate?
Speaker: Yeah, oh, yeah i Absolutely, 100%. More than once I've seen it at other brands. Um, I... 100%. Yeah. So it's interesting when people get very loyal to.
Speaker: ah the brand vendor whoever they work with and it's like this is the only company ever I represent and then And then life changes. but whether it be good or bad. And they're like, oh no, nevermind. Now it's this side of things. So this um it also just comes.
Speaker: it it comes out it's ah It's a pure respect thing. Sorry to interrupt you. It's a pure respect thing, I think, for me, where it's just like, you're you're doing something, too. You're trying to... to put to to put food on your table for your family or whatever. Take that next trip to Japan.
Speaker: Or just sit there and buy a really nice house. Whatever you want to do with how you're trying to build your life. it's ah Yeah, everyone has a different journey. I... But also it it' its it is a different way to operate, I think, than most sales cultures, right, which are wired to sort of beat.
Speaker: the competition, right? So I mean, practically speaking, what does that look like to to treat your competitor like a future? partner even when you're going head to head for the same deal.
Speaker: Oh, that's a that's really good question. Um... You remove I think it kind of goes back to that execution. Products can do one thing. Price can be one thing. People can be one thing.
Speaker: Mm hmm. I mean, if it's not going to alter your life completely. it will come back or it'll go around again. Um, Somebody asked me this. I didn't know a good way to say.
Speaker: I'm still a very competitive guy. I miss the competition. of Playing baseball, I miss that. But. When your other team has a good game, you're not like, oh, angry. I i almost said something on your action. But you're not you're not livid. You're just like.
Speaker: They outplayed us. They lost. It's kind of like being ah a sore winner versus a sore loser. So being a good winner sometimes in this space is good because if you let one thing eat away at you. I don't care if you're selling cars, tech.
Speaker: Burgers. whatever it's it's You got to be able to move on from it. and and learn from it so where did i not provide enough value or if it's simple pricing and you just simply can't beat another company in price, well...
Speaker: There's not much you can do about that. so Um, i think it's also it's It's fun to be able to be friends with competitors. yeah I don't think that's a... That's a...
Speaker: it's a It's not a bad thing by any means. so there's a there's a lot of chatter always between competitors whether it be good or bad and that's It's a good thing to have, I think. yeah and yeah I think at the end of the day, right, or or
Speaker: if If the industry, if the space or the niche even does well, then that means good things for the organization that you work with, right? A rising tide really, I think, floats well all boat. And if if if if part of that niche or industry or whatever it is gets brought down, you know that certainly doesn't.
Speaker: that doesn't That doesn't help you. you and i think that it's tempting to take shots at competitors or to point out where somebody else falls short, but I think unnecessary criticism.
Speaker: can actually cost you more than it. you know and it gains in a space that's small and very interconnected It's... well It just shows your character. It shows.
Speaker: It's kind of see -through with a lot of people where it shows character instantly. Or people lie and then those lies come out and you're like... That. There you go. It's a real show of character. so I also spoke, I don't know if I'm allowed to name drop on here.
Speaker: um Not as a customer, completely met the guy at random. He worked for Walmart. And we had this conversation and he said, well, you know what? They're going to buy some stuff from us. But they're also going to buy some stuff from Target. And if they don't like what they got from Target, well, they're going to come back to us. And when you mix millions or hundreds of thousands of people into the mix.
Speaker: He's like, you're going to get. You're going to get yours. You're going to get your customers coming back. so He's like, or you're going to build on something that Target keeps taking from us. and learn how to sell it better and learn how to make it better. so Yeah.
Speaker: Has there ever been? A moment where... where're you know Playing the long game on reputation, either being generous or making an intro that.
Speaker: maybe didn't obviously help you, like at least came back around in a way that you didn't expect? 100%. That's actually truly... Um, That's essentially what I... try to build my career on.
Speaker: If it's not the right time, it just might not be the right time right now. So. Yeah. um Yeah, i had ah I had a really close um friend in the space.
Speaker: who had lost someone in their family. and I essentially said like, what? don't don't even Don't even talk to me. Don't worry about me. If you need anything from the friend side of the thing or you want to vent or just need someone to chat with, let me know.
Speaker: but um Work -wise. Just shelf it for now. so yeah in that time i didn't help their company but had multiple text messages between two people, hey, talk to this this guy about this, blah, blah, blah. So yeah, for sure. and I guess I can.
Speaker: take it back to good character if you're just a good person. And and genuinely, meanwhile, it's going to come back. and and always work out for you. so patience is a virtue, they say, right? Yeah. yeah i want to I want to shift to talk about some like culture and leadership stuff. um you know You had mentioned to me that You feel like a lot of organizations kind of misdiagnose system failures as as people problems.
Speaker: Um, Which is a big one. I want you to. you know dive into that a little bit tell me why you think that leaders you know reach for...
Speaker: It being a people problem so quickly. Yeah. Um, How do I word this properly? High -performing businesses. I think are built by investing in people.
Speaker: um Creating that psychological safety.
Speaker: fostering emotional intelligence. Um, And cultivating where... where employees are supported rather than blamed for small things, right? So when someone is struggling, leaders shouldn't ask first, like, well, what it wasn't in the system or it wasn't this, it wasn't that. They should be truly being... they should be like what are the barriers preventing success instead of immediately turning to discipline, which...
Speaker: Sometimes you see... Um, And then you also have to take a step back and say, is the system can it complete 100 of what the person's trying to do so I think the learning... how each of your employees work.
Speaker: yeah And then tailoring that to work with the systems or just simply on on conversations like this on a one -on -one or in a... private chat where you actually get to know the person again goes back to that shaking hands type of thing for me So.
Speaker: I... I... I like that. i want to I want to go a level deeper. When or if somebody's struggling, right? you know, I think that.
Speaker: You're. You're kind of making this case, right, that leaders, I think. ask what's getting in the person's way before they... you know. reach for some kind of discipline, right? and and I'm curious what this looks like in practice.
Speaker: And. um How do you tell the difference between ah a broken system and a person who's just in the wrong seat? This is, by the way, a question for everybody that may not ever get answered. I was going to say, if I knew the answer to that, I think I'd all that up and sell i'd be on ah i'd be on yeah i'd be on a beach somewhere.
Speaker: um I think. A big part of that is... Um, understanding. Hmm. understanding where your people are going to excel most.
Speaker: and how they're going to be able to to break those barriers. So instead of saying the, what have you done for me lately? I think it's understanding. That. Oh, this is a tough one because you can answer this in so many different ways, right? Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. I think understanding people ah and learning, is it is it a personal thing? Is it a work thing? Is it something that's bothering them? um and then kind of building on that so we we could go real deep with this where I used to... um We called it lappers, actually. A guy gentleman I used to work with, it was great. He did it with his team. I i took over it. I loved it.
Speaker: He said... I want you to be comfortable and I want you to trust me and I want you to feel at ease in the space together as a manager, which some managers, of course, don't believe in because they're like, I'm here to dictate and delegate. and Tell you what.
Speaker: to do and sometimes that is needed i do love tough love But I also love the fact of... when they would go for these around the block laps, just go for a walk. If you want to vent to me, you want to scream, you want to shout. do it. If you want to just stand there in silence and know that someone has your back.
Speaker: Then we'll walk for 10 minutes in silence and know that I got you and when you're ready to talk about it. so In a lot of the... the sales forward worlds where it's...
Speaker: Essentially saying. All right, we got one day left. Where are we at now? I think that the taking the step back is looking and saying like, all right, we have. That's done. That month is done. Like you might be able to bring something in there that quarters done, but let's, let's focus on the future. Let's focus on what we can build. Let's focus on.
Speaker: where we can turn. the maybes or the not so good days into positive days. And. And systems sometimes can help that. Systems sometimes can hurt that. It matters what you have to input. So as a manager, you've got to really understand.
Speaker: Um, each one of your your people's whys. Yeah. And learn how to to to motivate them on that. so Steve Harvey has this great thing. about this. I wish I could just share my screen and play the video and not even answer. but it's talking about the people around him and what got him motivated, where his whys came from.
Speaker: and ah And understanding that with the people around you, not just being like, yeah, I want to go on a trip or this or that. but but going that one step deeper so that was a very long -winded ah ADHD riddled answer of mine to say, know your people, know your people. yeah It gives me like it. Well.
Speaker: yeah there's ah There's a couple of things that I want to um ask you about that. I mean, you've talked about psychological safety. You've talked about emotional intelligence as things that high -performing teams are built on, right?
Speaker: Maybe not just. soft extras you know and and in this competitive world that you operate in and in sales right i'm I'm wondering if you can articulate like why you think supporting people beats blaming them when when pressure is on. Because you don't always, because because they're nice words, but you don't always see people doing that because there's an instinct, right? There's an instinct some people have sometimes to. to
Speaker: If they feel like they've diagnosed a problem, right, to to put blame where they feel like the blame lies. right or or discipline the problem and you approach it differently.
Speaker: Right. And I'm kind of curious, like. Why? Why is that? what Why does it be? you know the, the the other way when when when there's a lot of pressure on.
Speaker: It's easy to install fear in people. It is, yeah. as as a As a guy who... who uh i'm an I'm an analogy guy. you'll you'll learn I think you already know this, but for anyone watching, I'm a pure analogy guy. So why is it easier to support? I'll answer that part first. if you're at the gym. And you're bench pressing.
Speaker: and ah you don't have someone spot checking you or or spotting you versus You do? It's going to be completely different results. Sometimes you just need that little bit of like, I got it, but you need someone in your face being like, hell yeah, you do. Let's go. Let's get it.
Speaker: And if you miss by just a little bit, I still got you and you're still going to get it. So. Um, Yeah, that's another side. And as a guy, like I think you know a little bit of the comedy work I do and and interviewing people with it too.
Speaker: Fear is very easy to install in people. If people are fearful, they get scattered, they get fidgety. There's just people that are calm, cool, relaxed, and can take a sensible breath and say.
Speaker: all right and i can figure this out i got this i'm gonna do abc xyz so ah Think about it like this. Run up to someone on the street and try to tell them a joke. They might think you're crazy. They might get the hell away from me. But. Also, they they have instant fear and salt when you're trying to make them laugh. um Versus any way to install fear on running up to someone on the street could be anything. You could go up and... yeah pretend to be, a but it's very easy to install fear. Um,
Speaker: fear and and vulnerability, it's very hard to. ah show support and and like happiness calmness so Even like... Your analogy about... about even at at the gym. like Knowing.
Speaker: that there is a safety net there supporting you. sometimes gives you the strength you need to. to perform and do what you need to do, right? Knowing that.
Speaker: There's something there to catch you. Right. you know it almost It almost it almost gives you more strength sometimes. Not that you need it. Right. Not that it's it's helping you in any way, but just knowing that it's there.
Speaker: I like that analogy. Would trapeze artists ever have existed without nets? I don't know. It's like... Uh... I wouldn't have been the first guy being like, nah, it's a triple backflip and I got to grab a...
Speaker: eight inch circle and or um a bar and then keep going and maybe i'll i'll make some money in the circus one day that is um terrible cool Yeah, that's that's where one way to look at it. So another analogy again. Yeah, let's do this all day. so you um You, you,
Speaker: You feel strongly, you know, that that of avoiding conflict to keep the peace you've talked about, you know, also usually. backfires. Which is counterintuitive, I think, for a lot of folks, right? We're taught to...
Speaker: smooth things over you know especially in this you know in a professional environment You know? ah Why do you think dodging hard conversations creates that bigger problem?
Speaker: Down the road. Uh, Yeah, I love talking about this. um Respect. and honesty and timely conversations build trust and strengthen relationships.
Speaker: and help teams solve issues before they grow. What's that saying in the... ah let's not turn a mountain into a molehill. I think that's it. or now yeah Yeah, that saying. Great leadership isn't about avoiding conflict. and and sweeping it under the rug or letting it get to a point where it's so ball neck where it's just like ah the kind of hand in the chest area.
Speaker: um I think it's built around having difficult conversations, but having... ah finding a way to have empathy and have clarity with. what you're trying to speak about. So. and there's a lot of small problems. Like even think about the last time you texted someone or sent an email and you're like, did I read that wrong? Or maybe did I send that wrong?
Speaker: Or you had someone look over it or... You received an email, you're like, are they mad at me? So sometimes just having those small conversations. um it It builds peace, I guess you could say. And it's also nice. It's it's really good to...
Speaker: Um, not avoid those conversations. Some people in life have to... Some people in life shut down and that's maybe the... They're, uh... I don't know what the word I'm looking for is there. I don't want to say their trigger.
Speaker: Uh, Their behavior is shutting down and waiting until they can kind of... cool it out or the other person's cool to have that conversation but if you have a timely and a well thought out conversation with a little bit of agenda, especially in the in the in the workplace.
Speaker: And with a potential outcome, you're going to have a lot stronger of a relationship. So when something actually is hard or when something's personal and hard to talk about. you can you can speak to it with your leaders. So.
Speaker: I agree. um Yeah. You've also said something to me that. I thought this was interesting and and and and maybe you can talk a little bit about. It's another one of these hard ones, right? that that You need to bottle up the answer. Got me sweating, Got me sweating. No, I'm just curious. you know you you You mentioned that there's a real difference between being influential.
Speaker: and being manipulative. when it Yes. And and yes. Weird. But where is that line? Well, where first of all, where is that line for you? Like, how do you stay on the right side of it?
Speaker: I can't tell you, man. Then it's ah then and you know all my secrets. I'll have all the secrets. yeah No, I think... um With anything, yeah. the There's a point in a time when you know someone's being manipulative.
Speaker: ah versus influential. And I think... A lot of it for me was an outbound work was. Um, Nobody likes a cold call, but give them a time of day. I'm just giving people a shout out here that do it on the day to day.
Speaker: But if you can... kind of provide that value. and not be like, yeah, it's going to do everything for this and this and that and that. and you don't want to You don't want to manipulate people too because then that's just also a character trait. But if you can...
Speaker: Train yourself to be to be influential and train yourself to bring some intelligence behind it. it's It's going to change. changed everything so um I really think it's a big thing too in supporting people around you. It doesn't matter what you're selling.
Speaker: um doesn't matter if you're with your friends your wife your husband your your partner or your colleagues If you can learn to be someone who's influential and not manipulative. it's going to change your day. So. And also, the outcome isn't just for you. It's for... Everyone.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. and it's and And i will say I will say this directly. It's okay to be selfish sometimes. Sometimes you need that outcome for you. And sometimes it's for them, but most of the times if you can do it in an influential way, it's going to be a ah beneficial outcome. So.
Speaker: And not just... for customers i mean for leadership in your teams too all right right i mean no nobody wants to feel misled. yeah Nobody wants to feel like...
Speaker: They... We're operating from a different. set of assumptions or expectations you know when you walk into a job or a project Right. um And I think that it's just as important, right, for when you're talking to customers or when you're selling something.
Speaker: as much as Well, because at the end of the day, right leaders, you know companies, they're selling opportunities to work at their organization, to add right to to add value in a particular way. and i think that Um,
Speaker: Those things can be... manipulated right go go read all the job ads out there you know and and you know, then. the poor, you know, pour ah so some cold water right over half of these right that are going to be promising you the world right because you have to realize that like they're trying to put their best foot forward and so there might be some some misaligned expectations there when somebody is moving forward in that you know application ah process.
Speaker: Yeah. 100%. There was a... That's it. There was a ah job application. and One of my friends showed me and we had a laugh about it. because it said... First off, they were incorrect. It said there's 5 billion people in the world. Everyone can buy this product.
Speaker: and we were So the on -target earnings was based on that $5 billion number. I was like, what what? What are you talking about? So first off, we laughed at like the the very incorrect data.
Speaker: um But second off, we laughed at the fact that... Everyone will buy this product. And. ah Third off, what ah what a wild way to... to base your OTE. um for a sales rep. so Yeah. You um Coming back to to to franchise, you know, and and even talking about some some future ah work stuff, I mean...
Speaker: You said in just a few years that your team has been doing this, right? You've watched, you know, a cutthroat number of companies come and go. And when you when you look at the ones that actually last in franchising versus the ones that flame out, I'm curious.
Speaker: Aside from... Trust. What is it that's separating them? Good products, good people. And I'm going to go back and actually say support and execution like I did before. So, um if you're truly happy if your If your product has a need, that's going to solve a crazy problem for a widespread amount of people.
Speaker: um And it's not. insanely confusing to understand. you're you're going to do well. Like you're going to do well. But then there's everything in your own system that needs to be able to support that. So with the people understanding and executing.
Speaker: um There's always a little bit of luck involved. No one starts a tech company and just... It's a... It's a goldmine. day one, but, uh, damn. Yeah. Yeah. Again, we, we wouldn't, we wouldn't be here. We know it's, uh, it's very hard and persistence. I think a lot of people are persistent.
Speaker: And. um Like I said before, comfortable saying no and and not. trying to to capture stuff that they know they can't take care of. so You know, AI is is is also now everywhere in this space. A big part of when... Vendusta does now helps brands roll out. across you know, across all their locations. Right. So, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: From where, and you'll have to correct me if I get any of that stuff wrong. Yeah. Like. What? What are franchise and multi -location leaders getting Um,
Speaker: excited about like what are they what are they excited about what are they nervous about when it comes to these AI tools. Yeah, everything, what could happen, what could take over. um I think a lot of brands internally are worried about I hear on every call, like we love our people.
Speaker: We don't want our people to go anywhere. And that's where I say, perfect. Then let's orchestrate a way for your people to have 10 versions of them. with AI or keep your people to focus on your customers in front of you.
Speaker: so that you can let AI do some of the systemized work behind. um I know a lot of franchises are... worried about customization. I'm a big preacher of... um brand follow brand standard but have local flexibility You're still an entrepreneur. You're still someone in your local city owning a...
Speaker: X franchise. Yeah. I know ah a a yeah a restaurant I used to work for, the owner put a lot of time and money into the community. And then you get some people that are like, oh, it's a franchise. It's this brand. It's that. It's not like a local store. A lot of these owners are local. A lot of them care about it. Yes, don't get me wrong. There's a lot of people who have some money to invest and they're business people. but there are a ton of people.
Speaker: that care so much about their employees and so much about the people walking through the door or ordering the product online. um that they still have that they need that humility and they need that human side of it So i so i'm I'm a huge preacher of saying, yes, it's...
Speaker: get Get humans to orchestrate this AI and understand it. And also... As much as we love or hate it, it is not going anywhere. It is completely changing it is completely changing the way that we are going to live. so Well, as more gets automated, what do you think is going to become more human and not less about about the business? Like what what can't be handed to the software?
Speaker: And you can't say the handshaking in person. and no na oh you could You could probably get AI to shake a hand somehow. um I think it's just the knowledge of the being on the front lines.
Speaker: So I think it's being in those trenches and seeing those problems, hearing those problems. Um, i don't i don't you're not going to put some problem always into ai and hit enter and it gives you some ah Hey, Cody, i hope your day I hope this finds you well with a ton of em dashes.
Speaker: ah It's going to be... It's going to be a genuine, you're going to have to educate these systems. whether it be AI powered or not. to to handle these problems and with your people, you're going to have to do that. so So if you're if you're a franchise leader or you're an SMB owner, an operator wait or or whatever, wearing tin hats like they all do.
Speaker: what is What is the one thing you need to get better at over the next few years to still be standing, to still be trusted? you know down the road. Ooh, that's another.
Speaker: That's another thinker. um To blurt out a few questions is avoid avoid the noise. Avoid all the noise from the outside. We're going back to worrying about what you can control. um Customization.
Speaker: and customizations that actually affects your brand. Um. Some people want things done in a certain way and a brand doesn't agree with it, but that's okay. Because that actually might. change the way a whole brand does it. yeah Or it goes back to...
Speaker: you can try something and fail and still learn and document that and and move forward with that. so Um, i would say a lot of yeah don't worry about the outside noise have people that are are trustworthy and and products that are strong and do it for other brands.
Speaker: um and and worry Strongly vote. the customizations you can do. with those people that need it. so That's a hard thing to do, man, cutting out that noise. Oh, it is. Especially when...
Speaker: you know For a lot of folks, i mean it's easy to get wrapped up in when you're so close to it, you know stepping back and taking, especially if you're the the owner or the operator, or it's it's even very early in your your journey as a franchisee where you are doing everything and you're listening to everyone and you're consumed with all of the minutia.
Speaker: it's ah It's hard to do that. but um But it is it is good advice. you know i am i ah you know i didn't own a franchise but but i ran a small business and we scaled it you know to Um,
Speaker: you know across the country. Over. you know, two decades and you know, went early in the journey. it's It's almost impossible to avoid the noise, right? Because you're consumed by every little.
Speaker: by every little bit right especially if you if you have that kind of um you know uh what's the word like You know, you you want to be.
Speaker: To some degree, you know... uh I don't know the word I'm looking for. it's Just super hypervigilant about... all the little things right that are happening in the business because you want to optimize, because you want to you know perfect whatever kind of marketing things that you're doing. right You're obsessed with data. you know you're You're obsessed with how you... uh your your brand and your business is performing within the community right
Speaker: And um so it's hard to it's hard to. to try and step away from some of those things. And I noticed as you start to bring people into your organization, to hire people to do different things, and you could take a...
Speaker: Um, higher level view on everything, it became easier to step back because it was. their responsibility. to be paying attention to that minutiae right some for some people The noise was their job.
Speaker: Yeah. And some people love that. Give a good type A personality, someone a good list and a good bit of noise and and they are there. um Right, right, right. If you had to distill everything, the trust, the reputation, the way you treat people into like one belief that guides how you show up in this space.
Speaker: I mean, can you even distill that? What would that be? I don't think he can. That's tough. um You said obsession before, but you become obsessed with it. I think that's good, though, because it shows passion. so Um,
Speaker: Do you have a passion and give a damn about what you're doing when you wake up? You always hear that from all these like, oh, what do you do for a career and all these blah, blah, blah. but you actually have to care.
Speaker: And. I bet. that young entrepreneur who is worried about every little thing 15 years down the road will be like, I can't even believe I worried about that. Right. So it's like, it's hilarious to laugh back and know that, or people are, Oh, if I would have known what I would have known when I was 20 years old, it's like, yeah, that also might've been weird. So.
Speaker: Um... yeah and i think i said it before like some of the managers delegate and dictate But. the ah The power of good delegation. Cool. that That to me is a beautiful thing. yeah like i don't A lot of people disagree with this. um Or it's just a but topic for better conversation. But it's like, take the time to surround yourself with people that are superpowers at what they do. so I don't know. that day
Speaker: There's so many ways I can answer that. I'll say make that obsession your passion. And it's okay to have sleepless nights because if you give... If you give a shit about something. yeah and then you'll you'll wake up feeling good about it. so So i want I want you to wrap me up with this. if and I always like to kind of um you know close out with a question like this. I mean, if a business leader, if a franchise owner, an operator, maybe an HR of one, I'd like to refer to them. If they came to you tomorrow.
Speaker: and wanted a a a single piece of advice on building something that lasts but you know, not not just not just when it you know, win. but real durable relationships, reputation people trust.
Speaker: Right. What is that one thing that you tell them? You're on an elevator to the top floor and before the doors open and they walk right out of there. What is it that you tell them in that moment? All right. um Well, first off, we're wrapping up. Why? ah No, I'm going to go.
Speaker: I'm gonna go one step deeper on you this time. Okay. Telling about owning a business or about people or about... What? Or about anything. You know... I guess I would have to say for the purposes of this question, yeah, let's say it's an operator who is building.
Speaker: Their business in the franchise. space, right? But um You know, you know, right. And we've, we've even just talked about it, you know, building that trust last. Sometimes it takes years to build that relationship. Sometimes it takes years.
Speaker: to be able to see the fruits of whatever labor it is kind of come back around, you know, like that story, you know, that that you talked about, you know, after several years later, right? somebody Finally knocked on your door. I was like, yeah, you know, i get I guess you are legit. So let's have a conversation. so But they want you want to build these relationships and the reputation that you trust. you know how do you How do you inspire them to do it you know in ah in a durable way?
Speaker: Um, From someone who's still... young in the career. Be empathetic. You got to be empathetic to the people around you and yourself. um And yourself.
Speaker: That's a crucial thing. Exclamation point on that right there. Yeah, yeah that's ah that's a big one. i think And I've said it a million times in this call, but empathy. And.
Speaker: And know your stuff. When you go in, don't be like, yeah, this. might be it. Know your stuff. Yeah. um And if not, go back to what I said, hire someone and delegate it to someone who will know what they're doing.
Speaker: yeah Because that investment of a strong salary and ah and a good employee. We'll pay you. 10X in the long run. but It'll be way, way better and your but your business will run better. um So I would say be empathetic with people around you and yourself and and know your shit. um And if you can't make sure someone around you does, that can take care of that business. so Um,
Speaker: Cody. thank you thank you for for joining me today i appreciate you taking the time to be here that was awesome Yeah, it was great man. We took forever to do it and most of it was my fault. I apologize. I truly do.
Speaker: But let's do it again. I'm excited to see how it turns out. so I think that'd be fun. Thanks to all you watching and listening to Mustard Hub Voices Behind the Build. Appreciate you tuning in. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode.
Speaker: ah Feel free to visit MustardHub .com to learn more about Mustard Hub and discover how we help companies become destinations for workplace happiness, turn culture into a competitive edge. Until next time.
