5 Reasons Businesses DIE // Andy Elliott EP #146

Summary

Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training
Episode: 5 Reasons Businesses DIE (#146)
Release Date: November 21, 2024
Host: Andy Elliott
Guests: Eric and Shila Klein

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Introduction

In episode #146 of Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training, Andy Elliott delves into a critical topic for entrepreneurs and business leaders: the five primary reasons businesses fail. Joined by his esteemed colleagues, Eric and Shila Klein, Andy explores the common pitfalls that can lead to a company's downfall and provides actionable insights to help businesses thrive. The conversation is both engaging and enlightening, drawing from the Knlens' extensive experience in building multi-million dollar enterprises.

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1. Partnering with a Spouse Without Clear Boundaries

One of the foremost reasons businesses fail, as discussed by Eric Klein, is the challenge of working alongside a spouse without establishing clear roles and respecting each other's strengths.

Eric Klein shares, “I used to treat her like an employee, and it will literally get your ass in trouble real fast,” highlighting the pitfalls of not recognizing a spouse's role as an equal partner rather than a subordinate (07:42).

Shila Klein emphasizes the importance of mutual respect and understanding roles: “Know your role. Being supportive in that way and just being each other's cheerleaders is crucial” (10:05). This dynamic ensures that both partners can leverage their strengths effectively, fostering a harmonious and productive business environment.

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2. Inadequate Leadership and Team Trust

Leadership plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of a business. Andy and the Kleins discuss how poor leadership can erode team trust and lead to high turnover rates.

Andy Elliott states, “The quality of your life always comes down to the level of your leadership” (19:00), underscoring that effective leadership is not just about managing tasks but also about inspiring and retaining a dedicated team.

Eric Klein adds, “When the leader's absent, people will only work for a paycheck,” pointing out that without strong leadership, employees lose motivation and commitment, jeopardizing the business’s stability (16:05).

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3. Toxic Company Culture

A negative or toxic company culture is another critical factor that can lead to a business’s demise. The Kleins illustrate how the absence of a positive culture can result in employee dissatisfaction and attrition.

Andy Elliott describes a healthy culture as a “hero making machine” where employees feel empowered and valued, leading to low turnover and high engagement (24:39). In contrast, a toxic culture fosters competition over collaboration, as Eric explains, “People just increase competition to be number one, and it's the only way to get any love in the company” (18:26).

Eric Klein warns, “A death to every company is a shitty culture,” emphasizing that without a supportive and inclusive culture, businesses cannot sustain growth or retain talent (25:54).

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4. Neglecting Financial Metrics and Overspending

Ignoring key financial metrics and allowing overspending are significant reasons why businesses fail. The Kleins discuss the importance of monitoring numbers to maintain financial health.

Eric Klein states, “If you ain't paying attention to those numbers, they will quickly get out of hand and get out of control” (28:03). This includes tracking cash flow, revenue, and expenses diligently to identify and address financial leaks promptly.

Andy Elliott adds a cautionary tale: “Look at the numbers. If your gross is going up, but your cash is going down, there's a leak” (28:46). By maintaining strict financial oversight, businesses can prevent costly mistakes and ensure sustainable growth.

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5. Misprioritizing Customers and Employees

The final reason businesses die is the failure to prioritize either customers or employees effectively. The conversation highlights the delicate balance required to ensure both groups are adequately valued.

Shila Klein advocates for putting the customer first: “When the customer is the most important thing, it just comes naturally” (30:00). This customer-centric approach leads to better service and, ultimately, increased revenue.

However, Andy Elliott emphasizes that prioritizing employees is equally vital: “My first responsibility is to take care of you guys. Oh, wow. Wait a minute” (35:40). By ensuring that employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to deliver exceptional customer service, creating a positive feedback loop that benefits the entire business.

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Conclusion and Insights

Andy Elliott, alongside Eric and Shila Klein, effectively outlines the five critical reasons businesses fail: partnering without clear boundaries, inadequate leadership, toxic company culture, neglecting financial metrics, and misprioritizing customers and employees. Through their in-depth discussion, they provide valuable lessons on how to avoid these pitfalls by fostering strong leadership, maintaining a positive and supportive culture, diligently monitoring financial health, and balancing the needs of both employees and customers.

Notable Takeaways:

• Clear Roles in Partnerships: Especially when working with a spouse, defining roles and respecting each other's strengths is essential for business harmony (07:42, 10:05).
• Active and Supportive Leadership: Strong leadership builds trust and engagement, preventing high turnover and ensuring team dedication (16:05, 19:00).
• Positive Company Culture: Creating a culture where employees feel empowered and valued leads to sustained business success (24:39, 25:54).
• Financial Vigilance: Regularly monitoring financial metrics helps identify and rectify potential issues before they escalate (28:03, 28:46).
• Balanced Prioritization: Valuing both customers and employees ensures a holistic approach to business growth and sustainability (30:00, 35:40).

By implementing these strategies, business leaders can steer their companies away from common failures and toward long-term success. For those seeking further guidance, Eric and Shila Klein offer leadership training events designed to cultivate these essential skills and mindsets.

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Notable Quotes:

• Eric Klein: “I used to treat her like an employee, and it will literally get your ass in trouble real fast” (07:42).
• Andy Elliott: “The quality of your life always comes down to the level of your leadership” (19:00).
• Eric Klein: “When the leader's absent, people will only work for a paycheck” (16:05).
• Eric Klein: “A death to every company is a shitty culture” (25:54).
• Shila Klein: “When the customer is the most important thing, it just comes naturally” (30:00).

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This episode serves as a comprehensive guide for business owners aiming to avoid common pitfalls and build resilient, thriving enterprises. By integrating the insights shared by Andy Elliott, Eric, and Shila Klein, listeners can gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to sustain and grow a successful business.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, guys, what's going on? Andy, Elliott, Listen, this is going to be a cool, kick ass. I'm gonna call it a training video, even though we're called a podcast because, you know, it's like we're in a podcast setting, but it's really training, okay? This is gonna be the five reasons why businesses die, why they fail, why they die. What are the bullets that take out a business, okay? And by the way, I'm here today with some friends of mine. They're like family, Eric and Shila Klein. Now, Shila is an animal, and she's a little bit shy and nervous to be on the podcast, but she runs the company, okay? Eric's the face. He kills it, he crushes it. But we know, well, besides, every great man is a badass woman. But she actually works with them and everything they built is because she is there building it. So she knows all the culture killers. She's seen why people leave when the business grows, when it doesn't. I would say, Shila, you watch the money, okay?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so when I say, what are the things that kill a business? You know, a lot of people can look like they got a business, but how much cash is it making, how much? How is it growing financially? Right? So this is going to be. And by the way, like, we're talking about, like the five things that can kill a business, and then we'll talk about some things that can really grow a business. Yeah. You know, I'm saying, Shiloh, I want you to kind of tell everybody a little bit, because I'm going to make you talk first. What you and Eric are doing right now and what you guys have done before, just because I want to give some clarity to, like, who you guys are, what space you're in and stuff like that.

[B]

Yeah. I'm Shila Klein, and Eric and I have been in business together for over 15 years now. We built a business that grew to generating over $34 million a year in revenue with almost 150 employees. Timeshare exit business. We had a wholesaling company which we sold a few months ago. And we are now in the coaching, coaching space, teaching wholesaling, real estate and just helping businesses grow.

[A]

So wholesale real estate, can you really make that much money?

[B]

Yes, absolutely.

[A]

It's pretty cool, right?

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

Okay, now, is Eric really good at sales or does he just tell people that?

[B]

No, he is really good at sales.

[A]

Okay. I love it. Now, Eric, guys, just so you understand, um, Eric is kind of like the front face. Um, they were in the timeshare gig, right?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And you guys crushed that and you, you killed it. And then you started a whole new, entirely new, different avenue. And I think you said you did like $2.4 million in and sales, you know, kind of figured it out pretty quickly and you didn't really know anything about it, but then you started studying it, geeking out, and you started to figure out that, dude, anybody can do this. Yeah, right. And then you guys are really good about building call centers, you know, because said you had all these people. So you guys, it was like the perfect niche to roll over because you figured this out.

[C]

It was, it was the same model, different lead.

[A]

Yeah, same model, differently.

[C]

Same model, different lead. From the sales process to like our SMS drip campaigns, the cr. Everything literally was the same. We tweaked wording in the pitch and.

[A]

You pivoted from here to there, literally overnight.

[C]

Overnight.

[A]

Yeah. Guys, this is super important. And I'll just, I'll say this plug up front. I know you guys seen him before, but if you guys are like, hey, you know, I'm, I'm in sales or I want to be in sales or I don't like what I'm doing. He teaches people because he did it himself. Okay. And which is super important because I, I don't, I don't respect people who are theory teachers.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Like in theory, if you were to do this, this would work. Okay. Like in theory, if you were to go to the gym, you should get in safe shape. I'm like, dude, do you go to the gym? And are you in really good shape? Because I want applicant teachers. Applicant teachers are people who have actually done it themselves. Those are people I want to learn from. That's what Eric did. And so like, and that's what he's still doing. And now you can make so much money. He's got guys making seven figures in their first 12 months working from a phone, from their house. Because he teaches them how to, you know, be the middleman for wholesale real estate.

[C]

Virtual wholesale real estate.

[A]

Yes. The average deal that these people are getting paid per deals like 22,000 bucks or something like that.

[C]

Yes. And a lot of nuts.

[A]

Yeah, it's nuts. And a lot of his, I mean, think about this. He's got part time people, which are part time real estate. Okay. On wholesale real estate, they have a full time job making five, eight grand a month, let's, let's say. And then they learn from Eric and then they go part time and do this wholesale real estate. And then they get a $22,000 check. They're quitting that job. They're done.

[C]

Dude. There's a. We have a guy right now that is a Diamond. What's the MLB baseball team here? Diamondbacks baseball coach. He's a coach for him and he's been in the major leagues. He came up, was never a starter. Awesome dude. He's a coach for the Diamondbacks right Now and wife, two kids, makes $75,000 a year. And his no sales experience at all. He was so nervous and skeptical whether or not this was real. His first 30 days with us, he made $38,000.

[A]

Life changing. Sorry to interrupt the podcast as you're hearing us talk about the five reasons why businesses die and then what you should do. And you're listening to Eric and Shila Klein, which are amazing. They're a badass power couple who have built, man. I mean, so many eight, nine figure businesses. This is super important. Okay? They're doing a killer. And I love this. This is going to change your life. They're doing a killer leadership training event that's going to be coming up in January. Okay. So if you're watching this in January's past, well, they always do events all the time. But if you're catching this now, you need to text the number below. You see it on the screen. Text the number below, say, I saw you on Andy Elliott's podcast. Give me information on the leadership event. Remember this, the leadership, the quality of your life always come down to the level of your leadership. You want to blow up a business, you got to become a great leader. So I love you guys. Text the number below. They'll send you information. Let's get back to the podcast.

[C]

His wife finally became a believer. Yeah, because, well, when you bring home.

[A]

That check, Mama's like, all right, let's see.

[C]

And so he's a raging. Yeah, what's that? Yeah.

[A]

More of these.

[C]

Yeah. So it's. No, it's real. It's real.

[A]

It's real, it's legal, and you can do it from anywhere in the world. So you don't have to relocate your family. You don't have to move. You just got to study. So if. Anyways, if anybody wants to learn that, let's. Let's get into five things that I believe kill businesses. If anybody wants to get into that. You guys, there's a number on the screen. You just text it. Just simple question. Say, hey, where do I start? Yeah, that's it. And I'm saying, so I saw you in Andy's Podcast. Where do I start? And he'll take it from there. He'll reach out to you guys. Let's. Let's start with the five things. Okay, Eric, why don't you drop bomb number one. Five things that kill, that make businesses die.

[C]

So I will, because my wife is sitting here with me, and I'm sure there's a lot of people that listen to this where they're in business with their spouse. Their spouse is their business partner. And something that I did early on in our career, and I am still guilty of it. Pry on from time to time. Right now, having my wife as my business partner is. I used to treat her like an employee, and I.

[A]

That'll get your ass in trouble real fast.

[C]

Real fast. But it will. It will. Literally, it's a bullseye for a business. Right in the middle to a business.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Because I know today, like, you know, we say, oh, I'm the face. I just have a. I have a louder mouth than her. Like, I was shocked.

[A]

The face. I mean, your wife is the brains, but a lot of the times we're the one in the front barking.

[C]

Yeah. 100.

[A]

And they're behind. Making the real play.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

There's the integrators.

[C]

Her intro, like, of who Shila Klein is was so downplayed, like in. In who she is. Dude, she. She's a monster. Without. Without Shila, this dude is lost for one. She works harder than anybody that I know. When her feet hit the ground at right now, 4:30 in the morning, like, they. She doesn't stop until 9:30, 10:30 at night. She does not stop. She is.

[A]

She started hanging out with Shiloh.

[C]

Yeah. But she is. She was. She's the backbone to every company that we own currently today. She is. She is the one that helps navigate me to make sure I'm not making wrong decisions because I. I do go 100 miles an hour a lot of times. I don't think before I act. Yeah. And she has a really good picker of, you know, making sure I don't get around the wrong people. She has been like, on our last business that. That we started from a bedroom, dude, she was such a. A. A savage on the phone. I always said she. She is the best appointment setter qualifier that I've ever seen.

[A]

I do the shit that no one else wants to do.

[C]

Do. She will pound from a cordless phone, get a lead, toss it, do another one paper like a day. It's crazy. And like, when. When I'm, you know, coaching our team on sales or like she's, she's one of the best I've ever seen.

[A]

She's your greatest student.

[C]

Literally.

[A]

Yeah. I tell my wife all that. Or not. My bad. I reverse that. My wife tells me all the time.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

She says if you spend as much time. Okay. Training me as you did everyone else.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

We would be five times bigger.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And I'm like, son of a. You know, they're the greatest students.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I think the rule is, is that if you're going to do business with your partner.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Don't make them do the. That you don't want to do. Right. Make sure that they're just as equal as you. Yeah. You guys need to do everything together and you need to make sure that, you know, if the business is going to grow, you guys are going to have to fill and fuel each other with love and.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

You're going to have to stay. You know, you can't let it kill you.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Because it, because it will.

[C]

Right.

[A]

That's why a lot of people can't work together.

[C]

It'll die.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

We've been doing this for 15 years together.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And we've been through, you know, we've been through some storms.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Some. Some massive storms together. Hell. Like when we were going through our. And then I'll end it and we can get on to the other bullets that will kill a business. But it's like giving her the respect that you know, she deserves because a lot of times I like, I like taking all the accolades. Is that the word?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And the attaboys when really a lot of it should have been going to her when we, when we went through. Lost our, our last exit because we were getting ready to cash out pretty good and we ended up going through a two and a half year lawsuit. And she sheltered me so much from this lawsuit to where I really didn't know what was going on. She took, she took 95% of that stress and put it all on her shoulders and she sheltered me from it so I could go and try to find the next thing for us. She allowed me to go out and hunt and I, I didn't know how serious the lawsuit was until literally it was all over with and like we were signing and settling and then I like saw the. How serious this shit really was. Well, she dealt with all of it. Lawyers and everything. I mean, a two and a half year lawsuit being sued by two multibillion dollar companies. She was the one that fought him, not me.

[A]

It's crazy.

[C]

So she, you Know, I like her. Yeah. She's a savage, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

She's a silent killer. But just treating her with respect and, you know, and it's. For me, it's been me maturing.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

As a husband, a business partner to my wife, always. You say, behind every great man is a great woman. Well, she's really beside me. A lot of times. She's in front of me.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know what I mean?

[A]

Yeah. But she doesn't. She doesn't want to take the credit. She wants to get the job done.

[C]

She wants to get the job, and.

[A]

Then we're over here figuring out who's going to get the credit. Yeah, we. We ain't doing that.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, except telling everybody when she finished her job what was done.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I think to that. I don't know if it's another bullet, but to speak to that, like, just knowing your roles and being supportive of each other. Right. We're very different when it comes to business. Eric is a driver, you know, and I am. I don't know if it's the caboose or what, but I'm just keeping things on the track and making sure.

[A]

So you're cleaning up his mess.

[B]

Yeah. Making sure the right decisions. I'm like, you know, I'm more analytical, so I want to step back and observe everything, you know, before I make a decision. But Eric's, you know, definitely a little bit different, but we balance each other out because sometimes you do have to step back and look at everything and think about it. And sometimes you just have to, like, be willing to just go forward, you.

[A]

Know, And I think guys like the headlines.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And women like the details.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's. Skip all the details. Hey, what's the headline? Oh, yeah, let's go. And she's like, what about the details?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Does anybody know how this is going to get done? And you're like, what do you mean?

[B]

Yeah, that's.

[A]

I go through the same thing every day.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Being supportive in that way and just being. Being each other's like cheerleaders. And, you know, you talk about, like, how much Jackie pours into. Makes you, like, believe, you know, in yourself. I think that's, like, equally important for.

[A]

You know, each other.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Very stressful.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Very stressful.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And once the other person doesn't feel like that you love them or care about them and, you know, appreciate them anymore, be appreciating somebody is a big deal. Yeah. Like, the stuff you said about her right now. She feels appreciated yeah. And, you know, it just took it just like 15 years. Yeah. You know, like the buster ball. You know, I get my balls busted every day. Yeah. So anytime that I can get a chance to crack another guy, I'm.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Let's torture him. Okay. Super important bullet point number two. You said it, but I want to see. Did you change it? What are you thinking?

[B]

Oh, well, I know I said a few things, but one thing I was just thinking, too. I mean, the leadership. Right. But the. Whether your husband and wife or. Or a team, business partners or anything, but, like, that trust in the leadership, where the team is, like, bought in. We were talking about it a little.

[A]

Bit before, but leadership. So I think number two is when the leadership is gone, the team is gone.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Everyone's gone.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. They step out. Like, I'm sure you see it. You see a lot more businesses than we see.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Where they just step out too fast.

[A]

Well, right.

[C]

Whether it's the owner or whatever, they. They want to be a CEO.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And lead from afar where really they should be on the front line.

[A]

Because there's so much business training that says, hey, your job is to work on the business, not in it.

[C]

Not in it.

[A]

And then they want to step out of it. And then what they were once in. And all the people that came to work for that company, for that person, when that guy steps out, a leader puts, like, a circle of safety around his people. And when they feel safe and there's trust, people will work with blood, sweat, and tears.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

But whenever the leader's gone and the lead, when the leader's absent, people will only work for a paycheck.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And that's when companies get in jeopardy really fast.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

That's one thing that I. And I even told child about this, because very few guys will do what you do. Very few. Where you're like, you're in the trenches with these guys, dude. And that's the one thing that I saw, like, when I came and saw you guys or you on your stage for the first time down in the den, that was awesome. But, like, it was seeing how the. The team talked about you. I'm like, dude, I need my team to talk to me. Just like, they talk about this, dude.

[A]

Yeah, you're.

[C]

I. I knew you were in the trenches with these guys just by the way they were talking about you. And I've always been that way, but I don't know if my team ever talked about me the way your team talks about you. Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That. Dude, that's special.

[A]

Yeah, well, honestly, I, and I'm going to say this, I, I never talked about a boss or anybody I've ever worked for. Like we talk about each other in this company because I've never worked anywhere where there was leadership. Yeah, there was. What are the numbers?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

How much are we putting up?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Are we on track? And if we weren't on track, like no one's going home. Like, there was never. No one knew my wife's name, no one knew my kid's name. I mean, I worked for 21 years in retail and no one ever knew my children's name.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

No one ever knew what my family goals were. I mean, no, no one. Nor did they care. You know what I'm saying? I mean, honestly, it was just like, you know, like having a good home, personal life was never talked about. No one said, you know, hey, I want to make sure that you guys are, you know, taking care of your families.

[B]

Did they want you to have a, like they wanted you to be all about work.

[A]

They wanted you to be all about work because they want to hit their numbers, they hit their money. And at the end of the day, you trade your time for money and that's why you're here.

[C]

You're an employee, you were a CPI to them.

[A]

You were, you're just a number. Yeah. And at the end of the day, you know, that's where, you know, you get into that, that cold hearted, you know that where there's no culture, there's no love.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

There's, there really, there's no growth because honestly everybody is just competing to be number one because it's the only way to get any love in the company is to be the best.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

You know what I mean? And if it means killing one of your employees along the way, I mean you just, dude, that's the culture.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, it's actually praised to take another one out, you know, instead of building each other up, being powerful, you know, cheering each other on, you know, and, and, and not being a consumer in the company, being a contributor, wanting to give to your company. They'll only give. People will give more when a leader's present. But yeah, when, when the leader's absent. And I said the quality of your life will always come down to the level of your leadership.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And leadership isn't a position, it's a skill of influence.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And so a good leader will be influencing people constantly to give their best, to, you know, take good care of the customers, to be good to each other, to cheer each other on to do the right thing, you know.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It's not all about money. Matter of fact, you know, we're in the sales industry, you know, me and you. A lot of people get in trouble because the numbers are so crucial to be shown any love that a lot of the time sales guys end up doing the wrong thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Because they just fear. It's like empowering people is one way to lead. I lead by empowering people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I was raised by fear.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was in 21 years of fear. If you don't do this, you're out.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So I never thought that somebody wanted me to live a better life or change more lives or create impact. It was no, like, dude, you're going to be number one. And the minute you're not number one, we're going to bring in someone who is number one. So stay number one. You like your job, you like your position, you like these things. You like this? Yeah. Okay. Hit the numbers. That's it. And when you don't want to hit the numbers, someone else has lined up ready to hit the numbers.

[C]

And this is so crucial. Like, I know this isn't the sexiest for some people out there. They're like, ah, where's like this. This is the. That really matters.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Like this is what matters. What we're like what we're building right now. We have an office right down the road from you. We, we literally moved all the way out here to be closer to you guys and beautiful office. Replicate what you guys are doing in another industry.

[A]

Right.

[C]

But like every business that we've ever built, it was our, like we had W2 employees and we call them employees. We have now team members. Right. We are treating, we are getting closer to them than we ever did. I used to live by, I don't associate with them outside of the office.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And they weren't a lot. Like. No. Weren't allowed at our house. Weren't allowed at like we kept that 100 foot distance at all times because.

[A]

You never know when you had to let one of them go. Right. You know, it's. Again, it's. I mean it's. But it's. It's a production based deal. So the family.

[B]

Yeah. We didn't feel that trust both ways.

[C]

Well, we didn't. But I again, I never met anybody that did different.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Never. Yeah. Well, I was taught the same way. Look, you got to keep your distance because you know, you don't want to get emotional. Right. Like businesses need to Be black and white. Decisions need to be black and white.

[C]

You don't need to get emotional.

[A]

And when you get close to someone, it makes it harder to lead. When you get close to someone, it makes it harder for you to tell them, you know, what they're doing wrong, when they're doing something wrong and stuff. Because you've gotten too close, you get into the friend zone. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But the cool thing around here is that there is the direct zone, which we live in, which is. It's, it's, it's, it's. It's frowned upon not to call someone out.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

On their.

[B]

And be honest.

[A]

Yeah. Like, so here it's like we positively peer press pressure people every day to be greater.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

And that's the code that we live by. And so around here, if you're lucky enough to have somebody in your life and there's a whole group of them that constantly just call each other out all day long for areas and holes of weaknesses and people appreciate. Hey, thank you for calling me out on that, man. I didn't catch that one.

[C]

They don't get offended, dude.

[A]

There's no. Yeah, like, there's no. You can't get offended.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But the leader, though, sets the, the culture and builds the environment for what will be tolerated and what won't be tolerated.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, so you're becoming, you guys together are becoming different leaders that are building a different culture for a different kind of relationship with your employees. And you're making a decision now that it's not that we're not going to get close to people, but we're not going to hire people. We don't want to get close.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You're hiring someone because they're good at sales. You're hiring somebody because you can see them being in the inner circle. Right, guys? And they could also be good at sales.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's like, now there's that other piece because you don't want to walk into the office now. I mean, you got your son homeschooling over here. You got this going on. You don't want to walk in the office on eggshells, walking around and you know, oh, that guy puts up a lot of money. But I can't stand his, his eye rolling, his arrogance, his. The way he, he treats people in the office. I can't stand it. No. Like, we're not going to hire people based off that anymore. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's a little bit of a longer journey to build a better team that way. But, but you don't have the churn. So you're not hiring people to replace people every freaking six months because you're hiring rock stars who don't care.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You know, absolutely.

[A]

It's a different game. It's all the same effort. Okay, number three. Okay. Bullet point. I want to drop it, please. You said a leader. Right. And then we talked about your first one was what if you work with your spouse, they're working with your spouse.

[C]

Like an employee or like you, they're a partner.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Respect them.

[A]

Yep. Respect your partner.

[B]

Know your role.

[A]

Uh huh. Yep. And see, notice, see, she's like, respect your partner. She's like, know your role. She's basically saying that to you. You're saying. I'm just kidding. It's a good time on a podcast to get telling if we're doing a podcast next. All right. And funny thing is that she'll say things to me. She's saying it to the camera, but I can tell she's saying. And I'm like, David, why don't you just look at.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like we're getting corner eye. Yeah. Number three. I think the biggest bullet to me is the culture.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Now, the leader is the person, but the culture, it's either going to be a hero making machine. And people feel powerful and feel strong and feel enabled and they feel like they can do anything in that culture or they don't.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

And it feels, it feels again, the leaders gone, the trust goes, but it feels like there's no trust. And at the end of the day, like, the reason why people have so much turnover is because people don't love where they work anymore. People just, they don't care. Like, I say this, like, okay, if you can build this culture, you can build anything. So I call it a hero making machine.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

I call it heaven on earth. Okay. What that means is this, is that we have fulfillment, we have purpose, we get to serve people, we get to build each other up to be greater and we recreate, we become better every day and here together. And at the end of the day, our goal is we all want to be rich, you know, financially at some, at some level where we have a financial fence around our family, but we all want to be rich in life.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And this culture that we're building and so that we can all have a good life. Because I've learned if you love where you work, if you love where your career is, you'll go home and you'll be really good to your family.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And people that have a really Good career with a good culture tend to go home and have better home lives.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because we work more than we do anything else.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

So I think that a death to every company is a shitty culture.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And eventually you'll look up and no one will want to be there, and no one will be around. And plus.

[B]

Including yourself.

[A]

Yeah. I was gonna say, when you wanna be there, your. The passion dies and kills off.

[C]

And that starts with the leader from the top down.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

The top down man. Right. Don't ask people to do what you aren't willing to do yourself. Don't step out too early. You know, all of that, like, it all plays such a crucial role. I see businesses often where the one. The culture seems good, but as soon as the guy steps out, it's like everything goes to hell in a handbasket. The team leaves immediately. One by one, they start walking off.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And then the. The. The CEO is wondering what the hell happened. Right. And there can be bad culture within a company. There can be good culture like what you guys have created here. Absolutely awesome. We're literally trying to replicate what you've done.

[A]

I know you are.

[C]

And I've also seen, like, where they think they had culture, but it was so loose. They're drinking in the office and, like, hookahs, and everyone's overweight or, like, drunk by noon on Friday. Like, that's a bad culture.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You may think that's cool.

[A]

And I've been there. And by the way, listen, I mean, I'm gonna be honest. Like, it is fun. Yeah. But your home life turns to trash.

[B]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

And so, like, you don't understand. And when I say it is fun, I mean, like, I remember, you know, like, you know, when I was. I just remember just partying at work and, you know, thinking, how cool. I can't believe we get to do this. We were all becoming pieces of trash. Of course, one day, you know, we didn't realize it, but eventually we looked up and all of us were just trash.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

You know, and so there was nothing about, you know, getting better, becoming better. People weren't getting better at our jobs. We were just getting more loose. And, you know, you don't realize that everything's getting out of control until it does.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right. Number four is you. A bullet. Something that kills a business. Okay.

[C]

Something that kills a business because you.

[A]

Coach people every day.

[C]

Yeah. So you don't pay attention to the. To the numbers. You don't pay attention to the numbers which most sales orgs are ran by numbers. Right. You have certain leads, certain leads coming in, certain deals being closed, certain, you know, your gross revenue, your net, your bottom line. And if you ain't paying attention to those numbers, they will quickly get out of hand and get out of control. Yeah, yeah. Numbers. KPIs.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

It's super. It's simple.

[A]

A lot of. A lot of people use their gut. Like, my intuition. I feel like everything's okay. Yeah, look at the numbers. Yeah, look, if you're. If your gross is going up, but your cash is going down. Yeah, There's. There's. There's a leak.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

And, you know, anyways. But somebody could be stealing. Yeah, we could be, you know.

[B]

Overspending.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to say overspending. Like, you know, you look around and everybody's got a freaking $50,000 credit card and they're maxed and you keep paying them off, and you're wondering what the hell is going on.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then all of a sudden, you start checking the bills and people are buying groceries on it, and. And you're like, wait a minute. Sorry to interrupt the podcast as you're hearing us talk about the five reasons why businesses die and then what you should do. And you're listening to Eric and Shila Klein, which are amazing. They're a badass power couple who have built, man. I mean, so many eight, nine figure businesses. This is super important. Okay? They're doing a killer, and I love this. This is going to change your life. They're doing a kill leadership training event that's going to be coming up in January. Okay. So if you're watching this in January's past. Well, they always do events all the time. But if you're catching this now, you need to text the number below. You see it on the screen? Text the number below. Say, I saw you on Andy Elliot's podcast. Give me information on the leadership event. Remember this, the leadership. The quality of your life always come down to the level of your leadership. You want to blow up a business, you got to become a great leader. So I love you guys. Text the number below. They'll send you information. Let's get back to the podcast. Okay.

[B]

I think, I believe putting the customer first, being service before money. Right. Obviously money is important. It drives the business, and knowing your numbers and everything. But I believe when the customer is the most important thing, it just naturally comes. Right?

[C]

Yeah. And again, I know I keep referring back to you a lot, Right. And your team, but I have been like, me personally or Shila and I. Together we have paid for help. Right. We're smart enough to. Where we know that as a hack where we don't even really look at the dollar amount because we're like, man, we know we're going to get there much faster.

[B]

The return.

[C]

The return. And when we, when we refer to like what you guys do it. I. I said I. And I say this often and I like to even put it on my social media. I'm like, you guys have literally it up for every other coach because once they find this, there's nowhere else out there they can go to.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And that's coming from somebody or a couple that have been involved with a lot of other groups and high level, high level ones. And. And I'm not here to put people on blast. But I can say this. The. When it's the over delivering is crazy. Like Shila and I moved out here. We. We bought a house out here and I was living in the house by myself on a blow up. Matt, like me and Brendan are. He's. He's close with us.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And a lot of other people on your team. But it was the Kirby's. I was. Shiloh loves flowers. Loves them. And I had only interacted with the Kirby's maybe once or twice and there was a thing of flowers at the front door and I'm like, who the hell sent flowers? And it was someone from your team. My what Brendan does. Like we come out here wondering if we wanted to move to Arizona and Kai, he got Brendan gets six courtside seats to the Phoenix Suns. Kai was sold after that night. Like we didn't even have to sell him on it. Brendan did it for us when we come here. Like, dude, you guys legit feel like family when we come here.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Or real, really, really, really close friends. You guys just go above and beyond and it goes to what Shila says.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, customer service is what you said.

[B]

Well, service putting the customer first. Right. Because it's like you just care so much. When you care so much, it's just that's going to pour out and then again the money is going to come natural. And I've heard multiple other people say that and share that. I think I even Brad Lee say that. You know where he said when he finally started to put people first in business, that's when he grew the most.

[A]

And his business, it's the cra. It's the craziest thing because we, when we try to take care of ourselves, we always screw it up.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But when we just try to serve other people and take care of them. It's like we get taken care of.

[B]

Absolutely. It fills you up too.

[A]

Yeah. It's such a free.

[C]

But when you're not used to that, like, that takes like, you gotta un. It's not.

[A]

Well, no, you have to untrain. You gotta.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You almost have to devalue money and increase the value of people. Yes. And it's. It's very hard because we've been trained, our intentions are to make money.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And so, like, you almost have to change your intentions, Right? My intentions are to just take really good care of people. And if I do a good job, I know I'll be taken care of.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's just, it's just, you know, again, you have to have the right coach, you have to have the right leader. Because the leaders that I grew up with were like, intentions are. We're here to make money.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Iron fist.

[A]

Yeah. We're not a nonprofit. We are here to make money.

[C]

Yep. Look at the numbers.

[A]

And dude, honestly, like, dude, they were like, you don't want to be number one. You want to be so far gone past everyone else number one, that like the number two guy is in his own bracket. Like, it's like he's like number one over on the other board. And you're on your own board.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's how big you need to be number one. And so like, when you do that, like, you're so cutthroat with everyone around you and you're just, you almost. You just become a cold hearted killer.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, literally. And, and by the way, we are definitely not putting the customers first. We are putting the sell first. We are making people. And you're almost manipulating people to love what you have so that you can get paid.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Instead of, you know, taking care of people, loving people and making sure that they get a good experience, good customer service and get taken care of.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

There's. It's not a big difference between the two, you think? It's just a slight difference. One, it's just an intention change. You got to devalue money and you got to increase the value of your clients. And you know, I asked a guy the other day, I said, hey, what are the. What in what order should things come first in a business? Making money? The employees or the customers? And if you ask people to put them in order, what's more important? Customers money or employees?

[C]

Customer. The. The people money. Yeah.

[A]

What would be the order?

[C]

No, I just. The customer. Well, I don't know.

[A]

Well, okay, so I'm going to tell you what I think.

[C]

I think the people, the.

[A]

Look, if you put your team first.

[C]

Ye.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

They're going to treat the.

[A]

They're going to treat the people really good, and then we're going to make a lot of money. And if you put the customers first, and the customers, you always just talk about how they have to be first, then your people that you do life with, I mean, well, they're never going to give you their best.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because they know that they're there to just serve people. When really you say, listen, guys, ultimately, at the end of the day, I want to take care of all of our customers. Yep. But my first responsibility is to take care of you guys. Oh, wow. Okay, wait a minute. All right, now I want to take care of you and I want you guys to take really good care of these people because they trust us. Just like you trust me. They trust you. And then we'll get paid really well if we do a good job, you know, and let's be professionals. And it's like, oh, I like that. You know what I mean? And so a company that's behind that, to me, does really good. I was taught, okay, when I was in sales, make money money. Then there's the customers and then there's you shitheads.

[C]

Yep. Literally.

[A]

I know that sounds crazy. And people say, how could you work in a parameter like that? Well, anybody that's ever got really good was normally at some point in a boiler environment.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Where they, they, they had to be refined by the fire.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

And then, you know, we learned to love, you know, we became reborn. Christian. Yes. You know what I mean? And then, you know, we untrained, untrained. We devalued money. It means that it wasn't everything, you know, that it was all cracked up to be. We made a lot of money. And that didn't really make me, you know, happy. You know, becoming a better person made me happier. You know, having a fulfilled heart, being good to people made me happier. And do. Listen, I think that you said you matured. I think some people watching this, if they're younger, you know, they're going to be like, no, dude, I just want to make money. I know, I know, dude. It's hard to tell a 19 year old that you need love in your heart.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

I get that. You know, I mean, it's. It's a very special 19 year old that can get that. But you see, you have to go make the big money. Burn. People do things wrong to Realize that. Oh, man, I don't want to do that.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and anyway, so that's the reason why we got to be the best leaders we can, so we can build these. These other people. So super important, guys, if you made it to this end of this video, you're the 1 percenter. Like, that's it. I always say, like, you know, a lot of people start something and they never finish it. And the goal in life is to win, is you gotta outlast everybody. And so if you made it to the end, I'm super grateful for you. We love you, Eric. How do people find you on social media?

[C]

At the Eric Klein.

[A]

So at the Erick Klein on Instagram.

[B]

And Shila, how do they find you at Shilaclein?

[A]

At Shila Klein.

[C]

She's a savage.

[A]

Yes, she is. And if you guys want to reach out, if. Whether it's you want to learn wholesale real estate, whether you would like to just connect with them, very simple. There's a number below. Just shoot them a text. We love you guys. We'll reach out to you in the next 24 hours. I appreciate you guys. Shila, you're amazing.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Thank you awesome, guys. Have a blessed day, and we'll see you in the next video.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Hey, guys. Looks like you made it to the end of the video. You're the true.0001 percenters. Look, I know 1 percenters that can make it halfway through the video, but making it all the way through, you guys are the best. Now here's what I'd like to do. Number one, I want to get closer to you. The fact that you made it all the way through the video, you're like, man, dude, I want to roll with this guy. Okay? So I need to connect with you. Down below, there's a description box on this YouTube video. There's a link. It says, coach with me one on one. Okay? If you'll go and you'll enter your information, I'll reach out to you in the next 24 hours. You can tell me what you need, help with, what your goals are, and we will crush it together. I would love to help you guys go to the next level in life. You can tell I'm changing my life really fast, and I know that you guys want the same thing. I'd love to go with you on that journey. So right now, if you'd like to partner with me, team with me, if you want me to help coach you and push you, Everybody needs a coach, a higher level of accountability to go to the next level. Go to the description box below. Click on the link, fill out your information. I'll talk to you in the next 24 hours.

[C]

Let's kill it.