Getting Sued Made Him MILLIONS

Summary

Andy Elliott's Elite Mindset Motivation and Sales Training

Episode: Getting Sued Made Him MILLIONS

Release Date: March 12, 2025

In the compelling episode titled "Getting Sued Made Him MILLIONS", Andy Elliott delves deep into the entrepreneurial journey of his guest, Jeff, the dynamic force behind Cheetah Clean Auto Wash. This episode serves as an inspiring testament to resilience, strategic thinking, and the unyielding spirit required to thrive in the competitive world of business.

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1. Introduction to Jeff and Cheetah Clean Auto Wash

Andy Elliott kicks off the conversation by introducing Jeff, highlighting his remarkable ability to transform both novice and seasoned salespeople into high-performing individuals overnight. Jeff's company, Cheetah Clean Auto Wash, stands as a testament to his entrepreneurial prowess in the car wash industry.

Notable Quote:

Andy Elliott [00:26]: "Jeff is 46 years old. He's my brother. He's an amazing entrepreneur. He's built a really cool life, and I want him to tell a story."

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2. Jeff's Family Background and Early Life

Jeff traces his entrepreneurial roots back to his great-grandfather, a fourth-generation entrepreneur who moved from Adair County to Bowling Green, Kentucky. The family's ventures began with dry cleaning and laundromats in 1947, laying a strong foundation of business acumen and resilience.

Notable Quote:

Jeff [02:14]: "I'm a fourth generation entrepreneur. My great grandfather moved from a Smaller area in Kentucky, Adair County, Columbia, Kentucky, to Bowling Green, and was doing dry cleaning and laundromat."

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3. The Path to Entrepreneurship

Despite growing up around the family business, Jeff initially resisted following in their footsteps, drawn instead to creative pursuits like acting and piano. His innate sales talent, however, was nurtured by his father, who emphasized the importance of selling over fixing, setting Jeff on his entrepreneurial path.

Notable Quote:

Jeff [06:02]: "He said, you don't need to learn how to fix. He can fix anything. He said, you don't need to learn this. You can hire this. You need to learn how to sell."

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4. Building Cheetah Clean Auto Wash

Jeff's dedication led him to invest $5,000 into developing a car wash in Bowling Green. Over the years, his relentless work ethic and strategic vision expanded Cheetah Clean from a single location to seven out of twelve car washes in the area, establishing dominance in the local market.

Notable Quote:

Jeff [19:45]: "We dominate the space. So it's all about the vision. You got to have that vision and then you got to execute."

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5. Overcoming Challenges and Legal Battles

Jeff's journey was not without its hurdles. A significant turning point occurred in 2020 when a lawsuit threatened his burgeoning empire. Despite legal setbacks, including being wrongfully charged and battling through hospital assaults, Jeff's resilience and strategic alliances, such as his partnership with Eric Loman, helped him navigate these turbulent times.

Notable Quote:

Jeff [12:27]: "In 2020, somebody got hurt, and I had to take a charge for that. Which I hope one day I'll get that expunged. But that put me on a different track."

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6. Insights on Sales and Business Growth

Throughout the episode, Jeff emphasizes the critical role of sales in business success. From leveraging technology like auto cashiers to adopting innovative car wash models, Jeff highlights how strategic sales initiatives can streamline operations and boost profitability.

Notable Quote:

Jeff [15:02]: "The auto cashier will sell, it'll upsell. You can put a video and it'll walk you through and pitch them."

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7. Personal Struggles and Overcoming Adversity

Jeff opens up about his personal battles, including a bipolar diagnosis and health issues like ulcerative colitis. These struggles, however, fueled his determination, allowing him to harness his "overdrive" mentality to outperform competitors and build a successful business empire.

Notable Quote:

Jeff [07:38]: "At 19, I was diagnosed with bipolar. I said, what the hell is this? You hadn't talked to me for five minutes. You don't know me."

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8. Key Takeaways and Conclusions

Jeff's story is a powerful illustration of how adversity can be transformed into opportunity. His ability to adapt, maintain an unwavering commitment to his vision, and leverage personal strengths highlights essential traits for aspiring entrepreneurs. Andy Elliott underscores the importance of resilience, strategic execution, and the relentless pursuit of excellence in achieving business success.

Notable Quote:

Andy Elliott [29:43]: "Everything that he said is the reality of owning a business. Now, can you have the best team in the world? Yes. This guy's got an amazing team."

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Final Thoughts

"Getting Sued Made Him MILLIONS" is more than just a business success story; it's a narrative about overcoming personal and professional challenges through determination and strategic thinking. Jeff's journey from a creative individual reluctant to join the family business to a thriving entrepreneur offers invaluable lessons on resilience, the importance of sales, and the power of maintaining a clear vision amidst adversity.

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For those inspired by Jeff's story and looking to delve deeper into elite sales strategies and mindset motivation, subscribing to Andy Elliott's podcast series is a must. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with transformative insights and actionable advice.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, guys, what's going on? Andy Elliott. Guys. I'm here today with the Car Wash Boss. Hey, by the way. Yeah. And you guys on. If you go to YouTube, you guys can check out his stuff.

[B]

Cheetah Car Wash. Cheetah Clean Car Auto.

[A]

Wash. Cheetah Clean Auto Auto Wash. Huh?

[B]

At Car wash boss on YouTube as well.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And. And the, the name of the company that you're with is called what?

[B]

Cheetah Clean Auto Wash.

[A]

Yes. So I want you guys to know something real quick. This is super cool. And by the way, like, say Cheetah Clean Auto Car wash. Auto wash. 10 times fast.

[B]

Tongue twister.

[A]

Yeah. Jeff is 46 years old. He's my brother. He's an amazing entrepreneur. He's built a really cool life, and I want him to tell a story. And by the way, the reason why I love telling you guys all these stories and inviting you to a lot of my. To meet a lot of my friends is car Wash. I mean, who would think a premium premier car wash would kill it and crush it? He's killing it and crushing it. And I want you to know these little niches are in industries everywhere, and I think a lot of people overlook them because they just, they're small minded. Right? Absolutely. I want you to tell your story, how you got into this business, how you blew it up. And I want, you know, there's a lot of. There's a lot of lessons that you probably learned along the way. Things you need to do, things you shouldn't have done that our audience can learn from. When you're going to build a business. I think at the end of everybody's life, either they find someone they want to work for and they build their life in that business, or one day they aspire to open their own business. It's hell opening your own business. It is. And you learn a lot. And today I want you to share with where you started. Right. And then I want us to share some of the things you learned, some of the things you would have done differently, some of the things that you did right. On how you built this massive premium empire car wash machine that's happening now. Is that cool, Jeff?

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

All right, man. I'm gonna. I'm gonna leave it with you. Let's let it rip and let's change some lives.

[B]

Let's go. Appreciate the opportunity. Andy. Come from a small town in Kentucky, Bowling Green, Kentucky, about an hour north of Nashville. I come from. I'm a fourth generation entrepreneur. My great grandfather moved from a Smaller area in Kentucky, Adair County, Columbia, Kentucky, to Bowling Green, and was doing dry cleaning and laundromat. And he had a vision that he could do it for himself and he could do it better than anyone else. And him and his son Glenn, which was my grandfather, started their own fields, dry cleaners, fields, laundromat, back in 1947. So I tell people, you know, we've been clean, making things cool, clean, cool since 1947, cleaning things. Almost 100 years.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But each one of us, our forefathers, did it on their own. There's none of this hand me down business. We didn't wait for dad. We didn't live in that shadow. We all broke out and actually competed with our fathers. Wow. And so it all started back then, though, you know, my mom and dad, they split up. Dad got remarried, had a stepmother that got involved early on, Showed me discipline. My mother was creative, pushed me into creative opportunities. Play piano, got into acting.

[A]

You did?

[B]

I did, yeah. Growing up. And my grandfather, he was kind of a magical dude. He was just like, anything he wanted, he did it, you know, he was just a powerful dude. He just. Whatever he wanted, he could do it. And they called him heavy, and he was about like my build, but he was. He had a heavy Persona. He just did what he wanted to do. And he. He owned both sides of the street. He built car washes. He did a lot of stuff in south central Kentucky.

[A]

I love you. Said that he was a powerful man. You know, I kind of want to be. I want. I want people to say those things about me. Right, right. But like. But when I hear you say that, I'm like, man, dude, that's why you got to go hard in life, man.

[B]

Gotta go hard. Yeah.

[A]

You know, because it isn't about what you say, it's about what others say.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I love that, man. That's cool. So big heavy.

[B]

Yeah, Big, heavy man. He went to Okinawa. It's kind of a. Interesting story. Was Army Ranger back when Army Ranger was the baddest of the bad. They charged the banks. They was on a weak flank. His platoon got wasted. They dug him out of a foxhole, brought him back to life, got well in Europe. First thing he did when he got well is went and challenged his commanding officer about why was on that wing flank. Why did all my teammates die?

[A]

Wow.

[B]

You know, and got an honorable discharge for it. Came back and got into business with. They had my grandmother, grandfather had eight brothers, sisters, you know, big family, Catholic family. And they all grew up in the business we got into full service gas station in 1967 there in bowling Green. And, you know, later in life. I was born in 78, like I said, had a stepmother, taught me some discipline. Make the bed, clean the. Clean the plate, you know, do your chores. My mom was creative. My dad was one of the hardest working men you'll ever meet. Up at sunrise and doesn't stop till the sun sets.

[A]

It's amazing.

[B]

And grew up around the business. Didn't want anything to do with it because like you said earlier, it was. It's a dirty business, the car wash, man. You know, it's like, who wants to be part of this? And I was into acting and was very successful. One lead role as a freshman in high school. Everybody hated me because I was just a natural at it.

[A]

And probably helped you really be good at sales.

[B]

Absolutely. Yeah. I was. I was born on this car wash drive, you know, literally. Dad said, you learn sales. And I said, what about fixing? He said, you don't need to learn how to fit. He was. He can fix anything.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He said, you don't need to learn this. You can hire this. You need to learn how to sell.

[A]

That's so cool.

[B]

And that's where I learned to sell. Is writing with a chalk marker, man. Two Tinder Touch best baby all day.

[A]

That's so cool.

[B]

Yeah, that was the brand touch, but.

[A]

That'S the real hustle.

[B]

That was the real hustle, man. And you know, back in the day.

[A]

Dude, I get excited watching that stuff, man.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, it was fun.

[A]

I can envision you already, you know.

[B]

Back then, the car washes for full serve. Rough business, man. You know.

[A]

Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt the podcast. A lot of you are like, dude, I need to connect with this guy, Jeff. Well, this is an easy opportunity for you. Go to Instagram. He's on every channel. What is your YouTube channel?

[B]

Car wash Boss at Carwash Boss at Car Wash Boss.

[A]

You guys can go see him on YouTube, but if you want to connect with him, you guys will see his Instagram handle. It's on the screen right now. All you got to do is go to that. You guys can DM Jeff directly. He handles all his own dms, all his own messages, and he's awesome, man. This guy's full of fire. He's built something really big, and he's totally created a life in an industry that most people wouldn't think of building something in, which means it's everywhere. You just got to look. And these little cracks and crevices and all These different businesses around the world. You got to be innovative, you got to be creative. And so I hope Jeff's story today inspires you and motivates you. And if you want to connect with him, DM him on Instagram. Let's get back to the podcast.

[B]

A lot of ex cons, a lot of second chance people. I grew up with those people. Those are my people.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

People that like you say you come back, kid.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Been through hell and. And can go.

[A]

Yeah. The underdogs.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So grew up with that, saw that, lived it. Learned a lot about the street life, you know, probably too much, you know, and kind of got deep into that. At 19, I was diagnosed with bipolar. I said, what the hell is this? You hadn't talked to me for five minutes. You don't know me. You know, and they wanted to dope me up and make me drool, and, you know, I think.

[A]

I think we're all bipolar. If you better be.

[B]

Yeah, you better be bipolar. If you want to do some.

[A]

I'm gonna tell you, dude.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If somebody told me they had ADD ADHD and they were bipolar, I'm like, you're blessed.

[B]

Yeah. Amen. Superpower, baby. Kanye.

[A]

I mean, come on, man. I mean, I'm just saying, like, it's like, dude, you.

[B]

You know, it has been a superpower.

[A]

Yeah. You can play multiple different people. Wow.

[B]

Well, I can go on overdrive. People can't. They can't keep up with me. I got a battery. People are like, what? Whoa, whoa. You're not normal. I'm like, no, I don't.

[A]

I'm human.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know how to crank that lever up?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That dark side. Tim Grover talks about it with all the greats.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

They have that dark side.

[A]

70 of the greatest winners. 70 of those people to operate pure, pure darkness.

[B]

Absolutely. You gotta. You gotta go over there and hit it every once in a while. Don't. Don't get succumb in it. Be able to tap it and get out and do what you got to do, but you got to be able to utilize and leverage it.

[A]

For sure. That's amazing.

[B]

For sure. And so growing up in it, you know, my dad, he's a perfectionist. He doesn't do anything halfway. He doesn't do anything not outstanding. His. His company is called awesome Fabricating, because everything he does is awesome, you know?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, you know, when he. He. He taught me, you know, he wasn't very much of a mentor, but he was like, look, you know, here's the deal, you know, And I'm gonna show you one or two, three times, and that's it, because I'm gonna do you like my dad did me. And you got the opportunity. Figure it out, you know, and that was the best thing he ever did for me because it gave me the tool of figuring it out on my own, you know, that was. That was a blessing. You don't want him to babysit you.

[A]

Yeah. You didn't want to feed your ice cream. He gave you the cold, hard truth.

[B]

Yeah. Give them the opportunity and figure it out, you know, And I. You know, I'm trying to do the same thing with my team now. I'm trying to figure, like, figure it out. Guys, don't worry about stuff that, you know the answer to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because you got to look inward sometimes. Most of the time, really? That's where the answers are.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Generally.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

You know the answer. We all know the answer. It's an innate truth.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

You know, and a lot of people live their life fighting it, hiding it, regressing from it. You know, A lot of what you. You speak. I mean, you shock people.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because what. They need it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No one's telling them the truth. Grew up with that and got away from it. Went to college. Got kicked out of college, thankfully. Got into a fight.

[A]

Best thing ever happened.

[B]

Best thing that ever happened. Went and did it again. Same thing happened, you know, and really, what happened to me as an early age, I was the little kid, you know, a little. The small guy on the playground, and I saw the bully pushing people around. I mean, I don't like that. And one day I went up to him and just surprised. Boom. And it all stopped. I love that it all stopped. And I realized that you could. You can fight.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Ill will in the world if you stand up to it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I've never been afraid to get into it, you know, and. And that's been a blessing and a curse for me, you know, and it's kind of like learning to hit that without going.

[A]

Yeah. Most people. Most people will never stand up for anything.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And then sometimes we just, you know, need to understand when, you know, we're taking it too far.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

It's like. It's life lessons.

[B]

It's life lessons. And so grew up the hard way, you know, went to college, got out. Bipolar. I struggled with that, as anybody would, because it's like, you know, they don't draw a deal and say, you got high cholesterol. It's all behavioral based stuff that in my opinion is kind of the unknown still, you know, and never really treated the diagnosis with the respect it probably deserved.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, and went through life and found success because yeah, I kind of had that overdrive aspect and could, could shift into high gear and you know, just out perform everybody. But later on, like, you know, back in 2020, had a pretty serious deal where I'd never gotten hurt, nobody had ever gotten hurt. But in 2020, you know, somebody got hurt and you know, it was a. Somebody could die from this, you know, which I wasn't treated right. The hospital I went to, the security guard attacked me. The protocols were not followed and you know, had to take a, take a charge for that. Which I hope one day I'll get that expunged. But that put me on a different track, you know.

[A]

By the way, this is life. Dude, listen, I always tell people, you know what I love? I love people who are real. You know what I love? I love people that understand that life is a 25 7, 365 mastermind.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I mean? Shouldn't have done that. I should have done that. Shouldn't have been there. Should have been there. You know, you just, you know, like I wish there was some special playbook we all ran and it just guaranteed we would never make a mistake, never do anybody harm. You know, just be guaranteed to succeed. By the way, dude, if somebody told you like what to do and you didn't have to ever make any decisions like, like that would suck.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Like, dude, part of living is making good choices and bad choices.

[B]

Yeah. You know, it's the quest, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's like, man, it's a challenge.

[A]

Yeah. So I love it. So like, look, dude, we've all been, you know, charged with certain things. We've all been, you know, I was just talking to a lady and this is off topic, but there, there's an amazing mentor speaker, incredible woman in great shape. She trains thousands of people all around the country and she, she used to be an alcoholic. She had two DUIs, almost killed someone and she changed her life. And you know, like, you just. When she told me that, I thought I knew you did some. That's why you're so, so cool.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You, you, you just couldn't be this good just not being. Doing something wrong at some point.

[B]

Yeah. Normal.

[A]

Yeah. Like I, I knew there was some dirt on you and I love it. And once I knew that about her, I loved her 20 times more.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because it lets people know we're all human.

[B]

Well, it's an example too, you know.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You can go there and come back. Yeah.

[A]

Which.

[B]

That's what my life is now, being an overcomer. That you can. Because when that happened, everybody said. Because Cheetah Clean was big.

[A]

And they said, you're over.

[B]

Jeff is going to this industry up. And I can. I still will. But when that happened, they said, he's done. And everybody came in my market. People decided to come in my market and try to take it.

[A]

I've heard people say, he's done so many times in my life, I've come back. You know, there's a saying on Dana's white wall. It says, may God. It's his bed against me. It says, may God have mercy on my enemies because I won't.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Tell me it won't happen.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Say it won't happen. I love it. I love every second of it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And anyways, that's that dark side.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

So. So that goes down. Cheetah Clean was open wind.

[B]

So let me. Let me take it back. Let me tell you how I. So. So I went to college. I went to. I had an incident that sent me here to Phoenix. And it was a place that really put me on a real good path. It was called Pathways, and they're based out of here. It was a recovery place. And I have some family out here. I was working for my family. They're in the automotive reconditioning space, too. And I got. Well, and they told me when I got there, I said, man, I'm on all this medication. I'm bipolar. They said, no, you're not. You're coming off all the medication today. And I was like this, you know, anchor had lifted off of me, you know, And I went completely sober and did phenomenal for years. And I got into the hospitality industry. I had an allergic reaction to the resin. My family, they fixed windshields out here. And I had to get into hospitality, which, again, was a blessing. I worked at Ritz Carlton, Arizona Biltmore, learned the hospitality trade and was working. And I called dad one day, and I had lost my job. I had given a co worker a drink at the bar, and she was at the brink, where that one drink took her over the limit. And she acted a fool. And they said, jeff, did you give her a drink? I said, yeah. She came to my bar and asked for a drink. I gave her a drink. And they said, well, you're fired. You know, this was Marriott. And I said, okay. Hey, dad, what's up? You know, he said, what's going on? I told him, he said. He said, you don't have a job. He said, I need you back here. And I said, what? You need me? You know, it was like hairs on the back of the neck. So flew home and, you know, just got obsessed, Got entrenched in the industry and knew, you know, this is what my calling was at that point, and, you know, just went all out, got into the association, networked, went to the shows, just became a geek, man, you know, just learned and really caught on to a trend, which is what you see now, which is express exterior car washing, where you ride through, there's free vacuums, and they're everywhere. And that was in 2002. And so I was like, hey, dad, this is what we need to be doing. And then, like, he's like, all right, we've done that. We did that. And then three months later, he goes, hey, son, this is what we're going to do. I said, I like you still my idea, you know. He was like, yeah, whatever. So we did it, though. We started. We were one of the first to bring express car washing back, which is kind of. Everything's been redone and, you know, like, bell bottoms, you know, the express car wash concept was around in the 60s with the gas stations fill up, express wash, freeback. But it came back. And really what helped it come back was the advent of the auto cashier, which is interesting. We'll get into, like, sales, right? Is that they came out with these computers, and they said, you don't need staff. The computer will sell, it'll upsell. You can put a video and it'll walk you through and pitch them, and you can do all this. And everybody was like, this is pretty cool, because you didn't have to have any labor, you know, in a full service, you had to have, you know, 40 people to run. And then you can put one of these things in and have literally two or three people working. And back then, it was $3 in free vacuum. So it was low wash price and, you know, convenience and wash counts. And we got into it. We loved it. I loved it. And my stepmother and I, we kind of butted heads, you know, and my dad and they all decided. We all decided that it was best that we sell the company that I. Myself and my sister and her husband Stan, that. That we were gonna buy it. And then I had my daughter, which was out of wedlock. You know, it was like. And I was so happy when I found out that I was gonna be a father. You know, and my family was like, you're not married, you know, and I didn't care. I was like, I was so happy, you know, that I was father. And then I knew at that point I was not moving. I wasn't going anywhere. I was in committed to the car wash in Bowling. And I had the vision that I was going to be the car wash leader of that area. And I had. I still have the vision that south Central Kentucky is the place that we will grow out of. And we'll go to Nashville, we'll take Nashville, and we're going to build something out of that area with all these midwestern kids coming from, you know, wherever. Western Kentucky University and looking for opportunity. Yeah. Come learn how to wash cars. The best car wash, without a doubt. And we're going to grow this thing. That was my vision. So. And here we are, you know, 16 years later, 20, almost 20 years later. You know, we've got seven of 12 car washes in that area.

[A]

And that's amazing.

[B]

We dominate the space. So it's all about the vision. You know, you got to have that vision and then you got to execute, you know, and that's what I was. I was. I was a machine. You know, once I became dedicated, you know, it was. It was over with. And rumored, you know, the competitor was in trouble. We were going to buy the business. Last minute, dad jacked the price on me and I lost it. And I walked away from the closing table and I blew the whole deal up. I'm going to do it on my own. And I did. I went. I had like 5,000 bucks, and I'd been washing everybody's car in the town. And they knew that I was a hard worker, I was professional. I was bringing that hospitality edge. They knew that, hey, there's potential in this kid. 25 years old, had a baby, Kaylee. And I was dedicated, and I put $5,000 on five and a half acres for a development, a car wash development. And the property owner, Lewis Berman, and Kenny Neely, the realtor, said he has the will to figure it out. And I did. I put it under option. I had 120 days. And it was a God thing, you know, the city came to me, said, I want to put a road here. I want to put a traffic light. Family Video bought, Rexell bought. I had two lots, free and clear, and I still couldn't close it. And this was before I even had to buy it.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So, yeah, so I was looking like Von Don Superstar, right? And I was going around town I was soliciting this deal and I came in one day, I was on my detail, I had a detail shop, I took my detailing business out on my own, was doing like 20, 30 grand a month in detail. Came in, had my slide deck, threw it on the deal. Nobody's gonna give me equity in the deal. It's, everybody wants to give me a job. And she said I might be interested. And I was like, what? And she was like, yeah. And then I come to find out her husband had passed away, you know, that she had gotten some life insurance money, you know, and you know, she had the moon. She had the financial means to take this deal down.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And so then I was like, how do I close this? And it was again just the will, right? It was like she said, my brother's coming in. I met with her brother. Boom, closed. Okay, next. Barb, let's go. Barb, let's go. And you know, and it was just, it was a hard close. And we did. And, and then my dad comes to me because at this point he had sold his car wash to another company and they had made him sign a non compete or whatever. And so they, they got word that I was going to build. And they were like, you can't let your son build. And, and he was like, I can't, I'm not helping him. He's doing it on his own. And they were like, we don't care, we're going to sue you and if you don't stop him. So dad came to me and said, hey, stop, you know, I'll help you outside of Bowling Green. And so he had this lot in Owensboro, which is about an hour away. He was like, you go over there, you build there, I'll help you there. And then, you know, you have your lot here in Bowling Green, you can come back. And then we're out of the non compete and you know, we'll be out of trouble and we can get back together. Because for one year we didn't talk. It was rumored I was written out of the will. There was no Christmas. It was a tough year. But, you know, luckily Barb came through, you know, and said, I'll do this with you. We went to Owensboro, we built the first express wash in 07 boomed. I mean, it boomed hard, man. And then 08 happened and it was like, you know, everything changed. And then she got a boyfriend, her boyfriend got involved. We didn't get along. I started my legal battle, she kicked me out. And then I went to work for another guy in Nashville, Eric Loman, who's a partner still to this day. And, you know, I was laying up in the bed, you know, crying, feeling sorry for myself. And this is again dad. And he had an opportunity. And so I went to work and rebounded. And Eric helped me through the lawsuit. Ended up getting half a million bucks.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

I bought my first car wash for 600 something thousand bucks.

[A]

Good job.

[B]

In 2000. And that was 13. 2007 was the beginning of Cheetah Clean, 2013 was when it was all mine. 100%, no partners, you know, and I got to do what I've done, you know, and I built that slowly, you know, up to six units. And then that event happened. And then I sold two units. Never had any money, but I sold two units for like 10 plus million. And I was like, whoa, you know, seven, eight figures in a bank account. Never knew what that was like, you know.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I was like, okay. And then I decided again, coming from the full service industry, I wanted to build what I had seen. I've been to Europe and I saw this amazing car wash that was like interior belt cleaning. I mean, it was so sophisticated. I was like, I'm going to do that in Bowling Green. And I convinced my dad to take a trip with me. And he stepped up because nobody would touch me after this event. You know, it said I did whatever, you know, and I was like, radioactive. So he signed with me. Biggest car wash in Kentucky, the highest volume car wash as far as dollars, probably within a two or three hour radius. I mean, it's a monster. It washes, you know, 15 to 20,000 cars a month.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

You know, three, four million bucks a year, you know, and so then we did that. And then, you know, I was sitting there trying to figure out how do I continue to grow this after that event. Again, nobody would touch me. Right. Banks were. I'm surprised they didn't call my notes. And so then I'm sitting there and we're banging around. And Rob Porter, he's an advisor, friend, has helped me tremendously. We got a LinkedIn message from a private equity group in Kentucky. We had talked to all kinds of people all over the world. Ended up having a call get intercepted. And some of my team left me and went and started their own thing. That's how good working for me is. I'm gonna show you how to do this, you know. And they went on. They've built a successful chain.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But this call comes in, says, hey, man, we want to, we want to, we want, want to inject capital. We want to grow this thing. And it was local to Kentucky. We met, and boom, we did it. And Jeff Fields and Cheetah Clean is now at the top again.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Saying you can't be stopped. Unstoppable, you know, well, if everybody listens.

[A]

Is first and foremost, number one. This is the life of how business really works. You just laid out the A to Z being a business owner. Yeah, I mean, I'm just. I'm being for real, like, every open.

[B]

On Thanksgiving just to pay, make payroll.

[A]

Yes, yes. And. And, you know, and people say, well, I wouldn't do it then. I know. That's why a lot of people don't. I mean, it's.

[B]

It's not logical.

[A]

Yeah, it's hard. I mean, honestly, they say opening your business shortens your lifespan by at least five to eight years, you know, just because of all this crap that you go through.

[B]

Hopefully you can afford stem cells, though. Maybe.

[A]

Yeah, but. But good thing I'm on stem cells. I'm gonna live to be 297.

[B]

Dan Pena.

[A]

Y. But I do want to say that, you know, Jeff, just hearing your story. And by the way, Jeff is very raw. Now, I want to tell you guys, this is important because that's not that. It's not me being negative. That's just me being honest. That everything that he said is the reality of owning a business. Now, can you have the best team in the world? Yes. This guy's got an amazing team. Can you have the right people? You notice his father's been by his side every step of the way. You and dad always came back together, right?

[B]

Yeah. Let me add to that how bad it was at one point when I. When I did it, I did my own deal. I was under capitalized, and Eric was my partner. Was a partner or whatever. He said, you're under capitalized. I said I was offended. I was like, under capitalized, man, I can't be stopped. And I literally sat in that car wash 80, 120, 150 hours a week, got sick, was. Had a recliner, would lay there, wait for the conveyor to shut off and get up and go get it going again. When I was inoperable, like, I couldn't function, and then got worked so hard, got ulcerative colitis, you know, I mean, like, yeah, bipolar ulcerative colitis. I mean, that's what you're gonna have to do. I know that doesn't sound great.

[A]

No, I mean, it's.

[B]

It's a reality.

[A]

Listen, here. Here's the deal this. So. So first of all, we got to be clear and make sure everybody knows this video is only for the true 1 percenters. Okay? That's super important. And the reason. So Patrick bet David says, you know, when he built his company, he sold his insurance company for 300 million. He said he worked so hard that he worked himself to being hospitalized. And he said, you know, he said, nobody. Nobody's going to do that. And that's why no one gets that. I want to tell you, man, you know, this is why it's important to take good care of yourself. That's why it's important to be around the right people. That's why it's important to never quit. You wouldn't be where you're at if you didn't quit. And you're always going to have obstacles. You're always going to have tough things come up. You're always going to have, you know, crazy stuff, you know, go on. And so, you know, I just wanted to say super important, number one, Jeff, the picture that you painted today is the most rawest form of entrepreneurship, which, by the way, you lasted and you made it. Now, even till this day, 46 years old, right, bro? You got another 40 years of this. And I know. And you're built for this.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

I know you're built for this. And I think that each time that you did this, you found a way to do it a little better the next time, treat people a little better the next time, make better decisions with partners a little better the next time, you know, everything gets a little better. A little better, a little better, a little better. And by the way, that is the quest of greatness.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

I love it, man. Jeff, if somebody wants to follow you on Instagram, on Instagram, you guys can DM them. You guys can reach out to them. I know his story today resonated with a lot of you. I know there's a lot of you that was like, should I quit? And you're like, after listening to Jeff stuff, I'm never gonna quit. And, like, Jeff's a good reminder of what winning recognizes. Winning recognizes people who don't quit. Winners live where quitters quit.

[B]

Trade it for the world, man.

[A]

Yeah. You are the true comeback kid. Big dog. I love it, man. Hearing his story today was awesome. He's going to be with me a lot. He's my brother. So the next time we're around, we'll tell more Jeff's stories, you know what I'm saying? Because I know Jeff.

[B]

A lot of them.

[A]

Jeff's got some stories. So, Jeff, we love you, man. Appreciate you, brother. And, guys, we'll see you in the next podcast. Let's go. 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 click on the link, Fill out your information. I'll talk to you in the next 24 hours. Let's kill it.