← In The Mix with Marvin Joles
In The Mix with Marvin Joles
Paving for a Purpose: Why People Matter More Than Potholes Ep. #21
00:57:50
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Today's episode of in the Mix is powered by Jobber.
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Welcome to in the Mix, paving the way to insight, education and entertainment in the asphalt industry. Your host, Marvin Joelz, a best of Web pavement award winner, knows the blacktop community and what it takes to win in this industry. Each episode you'll hear real stories, expert insights, and road tested strategies from the people who make up the asphalt world and beyond. Whether you're paving parking lots, ceiling driveways, striping lines, or innovating asphalt tech, this is the podcast for pros who keep the industry rolling. Now here's Marvin.
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Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode. We're glad to have you in the mix with us. Like I said last time, you kind of notice a continuous theme in these episodes and what we're doing. The questions are the same that we keep asking the guest and the responses are far different between guests, which is fun for me. Some of them are more in depth, some aren't in depth, some are simple, some are complex. The point of it all is to show the diversity in the responses to the questions and how the topics of the questions affect us as people, as entrepreneurs, as business owners, as people within the asphalt industry and beyond. Today I have a good friend, a longtime good friend. We've done a lot of stuff together. We've tried to do stuff together that didn't pan out. And we've done things together that did pan out. We're multiple experimental ideas, I guess, together. Sometimes we'll talk business or we'll just text business because Daniel's too busy. And then sometimes we'll just call and we'll talk for. For a long time, which I've thoroughly enjoyed. Today's guest is Daniel Wright. Daniel, give us an introduction, quick. Of people you don't know.
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Yeah, absolutely, man. Like you said, we've been friends for quite some time now. Probably about, I guess since about 2017 is when we, we first met, you know, through the, through the old school Facebook groups.
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Y.
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And then, you know, that relationship got to flourish a little bit more in 2018 when I met you at the first trade show up in Cleveland, Ohio, and then just gone from there. So, yeah, I mean, that's. You and I, we've been, we've gone back many years. Probably one of my first friends that I, that I developed in this industry. So there's a huge thank you to that. But yeah, about me, I mean, married, I'll be 10 years this year, 2025 be 10 years for Kelsey and I got four pups that are our, our Children. And yeah, I've got a, I've got a park proline, parking lot maintenance in Charlotte, North Carolina. I've owned it since 2016. So we're going on our ninth year of owning that. And it's, we got a killer team that it's taken a lot of years to get it dialed in, but we've got a great group of individuals that are contributing to what we're doing here in our market, in our industry and making a heck of a difference, not just in our market, but on the industry as a whole. And that's, it's a whole lot of fun right now.
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Yeah. I think before we get into the questions, that's what you. In conversations in previous content we've made together, whatever you're like, I want to, we want to change the industry. We want to change the perception of the industry and the way that the industry has perceived itself. And I think that you're, you're, that's a huge thing to do to begin with, but I think you're finally moving some earth off of that mountain. Right. And it's like, okay, we are, man.
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And when, when we really dialed in our mission of, you know, we exist to change and impact lives in and around the pavement maintenance industry. I mean that's, that's what we want to do. And you know, I, for the longest time I wanted to be the best striping company or the best seal coating company, like all the, the doing the things. Yeah. And then it was, you know, probably a year or two ago, maybe a little longer than that, that I started to really think about, like, why are we doing this? Like, why does this actually matter? Because let's face it, nobody actually gives a crap about the lines you paint on the parking lot unless they're not there and you don't know where to park your car. Yeah, that's the maintenance. Unless you have a pothole. So it's like we got to find a bigger and deeper why to doing, doing what we do. And then I started to realize based off some of the people that we had coming to our company and working with us, I was like, man, we have a platform to take people at various places in life. You know, early on in life, people who are starting a second career in their life, a part time job, whatever it may be, and we get to be that vehicle that, that, that opportunity for them to impact, know, to be able to impact their lives and what that can do for their families or their friends or whatever it may be. And then on the flip side, of it, you know, for our clients, getting to provide them a different experience, you know, of contractors in our space. Same thing with vendors. You know, every. You know, the vendors always feel like they're getting browbeat by their. You know, by contractors like us. And it's like, if we can actually treat our vendors and be appreciative of them and respectful to them, that. That it starts there. You know, it just. It starts there and it trickles all down. So there's a. There's a story about us and one of the vendors that we've worked with for many years, and we can. I'll tell you that story at some point if you want to get into it here, but it's one of the most proud stories of our company. Has to do with a vendor and how they. How they see us and the stories they tell about us to other contractors.
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Well, if we don't get into it in the questions and conversation, tell it before we get off there. That was good the way we got it.
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You want it, you remind me. How about that?
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All right. Yeah, that's not gonna happen. My brain barely functions. You know, some of these conversations you and I've had, most of the time, after a half a glass of bourbon times two, we. We get to them, and some of them have been great ones, because I don't think he. This isn't a detriment to you or anything. I just think it's your personality. You usually don't let people pass the gate off the sidewalk. But you and I have been able to dive into those waters a little bit. Just awesome. Trust built through our friendship. And I get to hear some of the stories about your grandfather, and then I get to hear some stories about your dad and your family. And I know they've had a profound impact on you, those stories, and not even those stories, just those people in general and the way that you treat business, the way you see it and. And what you hope to do with it. I think it's great that you're here with me to. To talk about these things, because as I said, I'm looking for diversity for these questions and these. These topics. And I think you, as much as you probably don't want to know it, you're a unique individual, and your life looks unique compared to some mostly average person's lifestyle. So I would say that about myself, too. I just don't get to interview myself really all that much. I'm sure I will on one of these. I'll ask myself these questions to let you guys Know my answers to them, but that ain't happening today.
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So in general, I think that'd be great.
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Do you? Okay, cool.
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Yeah, you should interview yourself and actually have like, like a, like a two sided conversation going on.
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So pretty much what happens to me every day.
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Yeah, just record it.
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Okay, I'll just record it this time. Okay, cool. Well, the other one of me has a full head of hair, big beard, he's 6 foot 4, ripped body. So we'll see. AI can do anything nowadays.
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That's right. Make it happen. I'll count on you.
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What's an average day look like for Daniel? Right. Yeah. When you wake up right from when your eyes crack open.
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Oh, I put my robe and my slippers on first. Okay.
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Don't sleep first.
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I make sure all of our dogs are alive because we got some old ones.
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So
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typically it depends. Depends on how cold it is in the room. If it's real cold, I'll put the robe on first. If not, then I'll, I'll go check on all the dogs, make sure they're all still breathing. So like an excuse household.
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That sounds like an exact.
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Yeah, but we, Yes, I do that. Wake up, you know, I, I spend the first 45 minutes to hour of my day having, having coffee and I do a devotional every morning. The topics on the devotional vary. I use the Bible app on my phone, so it's got all different topics, you know, whether it's, you know, marriage or leadership or patience, you know, things like that. All the stuff that I feel like I need to work on. So I do do a devotional in the morning, have my time with God in the morning to start the day off. And then I do typically about a half hour or so of reading of some sort of a personal or business development type book. I've been doing that for many years now. And it's just, it's a good way to kind of just get my brain woken up and, and get going for the day without getting into all of the, all the crap that's, you know, inevitably going to come. Right. The news, the social media, the business problems, the questions, the drama, whatever it may be. So that first hour of the day or so it sets to me, it sets my tone for the day. Anybody who knows me, yourself included, knows that if that first hour of the day gets interrupted or does not go to plan, I don't particularly like it. It's. It's something that definitely kind of you know, just gets, doesn't let me get centered, doesn't Let me get my day started right. I've gotten better at it. I've gotten a little bit more understanding and flexible. That life happens. But that's the first hour. From there, you know, fast forward a little bit, get ready for the day and then I typically go get a workout in, try to work out for about an hour or so every day.
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So when do you leave the house? When do you leave the house to go work out?
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Usually I try to leave the house by about 7:15 or so. Okay.
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And then get done working out. What time?
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Usually typically I'm, I'm leaving the gym or if I'm working out at the house, I'll leave the house by typically about 8:45, 9 o'. Clock. Now during that workout time, there's a lot of time where I'm answering emails and questions and things like that, kind of in between sets or whatever.
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Yep.
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But it is, you know, it's people who've been with me long enough know that, like, hey, Daniel's typically readily available starting around 9 o'. Clock, unless it's something that's an emergency or you just need to be involved. But, but yeah, so that's, that's how I kind of work out there, do that about five to six days a week. It used to be seven days a week. And I realized that a little too much rigidity in my life can also have negative consequences and negative side effects.
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What do you mean?
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If I, if I get into a, something that should happen every single day and then there's a day that it doesn't, the way my brain works is that there's something wrong with the day. And so it sends it kind of into a negative spiral. So I started saying, hey, you know what, you know, if I can get, you know, somewhere between five to seven days a week, you know, work out, then I'm doing better than probably 98% of, of people, at least people I know. If not, you know, society.
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Yeah.
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But yeah, just to start learning patience, learning flexibility, learning adaptability is something that I've had to do and I've known I had to do it because the direction the business is going to go is going to require some flexibility and adaptability.
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You mean it's not going to be perfect all the time?
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Apparently not. Apparently not.
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I'm glad, I'm glad you gave yourself 2% grace off of 100% to be 90%.
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Yeah, I'm working on it, Marvin. I'm working on it.
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days a week for about a year and a half, almost two years, I think. And then finally Kelsey asked me one day, she goes, you know, that's great. You can do something every single day, but what happens if you get off of it? Can you get back on? And I'm like, that's a good question. That's a different outlook of discipline or, you know, holding yourself accountable. So that's why, you know, sometimes I give myself grace, you know, travel in this past week or so, you know, I wouldn't. Case in point, my flights got delayed. I didn't end up having time to get a workout in before I had a, you know, event to go to the night we got into town and things like that. And it's like, okay, well, today it just didn't go as planned. But I still have a duty to show up a very good version of myself, the people who are counting on. So it's just a matter of being able to, to adapt to the things that I can't control. Now on most days when I can control it, then I'm going to do it the way I want to do it. Yeah, it's just how that goes.
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So, so once you get to work and you start doing your thing, what time do you usually start to wind down?
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Yeah, I mean, my workday typically goes on average from about 9am to about 6pm Is, is kind of the, the average time. Now there's times where it flows into seven, eight o' clock if I'm on a roll with something. And there's times where maybe it ends a little bit earlier if we've got plans or a meeting or anything like that to go to. So I typically start winding down by about six o' clock for the day. And then, you know, then it's having dinner. It's about a 50, 50 shot whether we go out to dinner, whether we eat at home, because not having any kids, sometimes it's just as cost effective to go out to eat as it is to spend time cooking at home. Yeah, we do that. And Then, yeah, wind down for the evening. I've, I've, I've gotten swindled into watching a little bit of TV shows, sitcom stuff in the evening with Kelsey. That's not something I normally get into.
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Right now you all are doing that.
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Do what right now?
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Y' all are doing that regularly?
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Yeah, right now. We've been on Yellowstone for the last several weeks. Okay. So we were. Yeah, just stuff like that. Just to kind of, you know, you've been spending your brain, you know, give your brain something else to think about, talk about, enjoy even.
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Well, you, Kelsey works with you, so I mean, you guys got. If you wanted to talk about work all the time, you could, but that's not really how you base a relationship. We've come to find that out. I would imagine, like she don't want to talk about it all the time. You guys got the sunroom on the back, which I've been to, which I know is a good place for you to relax once in a while if you all want to do that. How old are you, Daniel?
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I just turned 34 at the end of November.
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And how, how long have you owned Proline?
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It'd be nine years this year.
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Okay. Just to give a basis, we're trying to figure out like how, where you're at in life and, and how much of the time you've had building it to give people some perspective. Let us know, give us a really short synopsis of the journey. Like when you bought it, what was there, what you have, who all was involved and then just numbers of like how many people are there now and what you have and what's involved.
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Yep.
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Yeah.
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When I took it over, it was one, one machine, one line striping machine and a trailer and a good name and a good brand. So I did get that with it, but it was a part time job. I was a full time fireman, had a couple other jobs as well. So it was one of four jobs I had jumped into that. The end of 2016, 2017, sold my lawn care company that I had for actually the same price that I bought the striping company for Proline. And then by the end of 2017, I left another one of my part time jobs. 2018, Kelsey graduated nursing school, got a job offer to have a full time position with benefits and everything. So then I left the fire department as a full time fireman in 2018 and that's when it went. That's when it really took off. It was our biggest like from one year to another growth year. That's Also when we started adding seal coating and crack ceiling, some more pavement maintenance services in it and then honestly 2018 to probably about 2021 or so was a lot of just growing the maintenance side of stuff. Yeah, we would sprinkle in a few subcontracted projects that we couldn't do here and there, but it wasn't a major part of our business. Yeah. And over the last like two to three years or so we've, we've done a lot more working with, with partners doing paving and concrete projects, larger scale and building those relationships with them so that we can serve the clients that have a wider variety of needs as opposed to telling them, you know, sorry, we don't do that. Yeah, but yeah, we, it started out with just myself and a couple of helpers and now we've got 12 of us on board full time and it's about six in operations. We have a full time media marketing person that's Mr. Randy. He, he's killing it. Full time admin Megan and then Kelsey and I are, are running, you know, sales and all the other odd stuff. And then we actually got a new sales estimator starting here in February. So here in a couple of weeks we'll be adding one more to the, to the roster.
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Like it's not that the challenges are more or less, but they're different challenges from when you first started to now obviously.
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Oh, absolutely.
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Right. So this past year we just closed the door on 2024. What was your biggest challenge this past year? And it can be business or it doesn't have to be business. It can be just Daniel Wright too. I know business consumes a lot of your time, but what was your biggest challenge? If you look back on 2024, you
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think, yeah, they're tied together. Marvin business and personal business and Daniel Rider tied together. And that was my biggest challenge. Like a lot of people that we probably know, 2024 was a good year. You know, it's, it's not like it was this catastrophic year in, in the economy or things like that, but it was a very, it was a very hard year. The, the year from, from a revenue standpoint started off much lower than we expected, much slower. In general, we weren't selling the type of projects we thought we were going to be selling. So we had to figure out how to adapt and pivot and move to be able to still compete in our, in our, in our game, in our business with that, you know, obviously, you know, when, when things aren't going the way you plan, there's Constraints that come in, whether it's personnel constraints and the stresses of that, whether it's financial constraints and the stresses of that. And I had a massive problem with the majority of my identity as Daniel Wright is put into, or has been put into pro line.
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Yeah.
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And so that's when you talk about the biggest challenge, and you said, you know, it could be business or it could be Daniel. Well, the challenge came from me not being able to separate the two.
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Okay.
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I did not give myself any grace last year. I. I was extremely hard on myself, extremely critical on myself, and, you know, got to some. Some points of, you know, of just really low points of thinking, you know, why am I even doing this? Like, does this even matter? You know, that, like, it's. It's pointless. You know, I could just go. I could go freaking work at Lowe's and stock shelves and pay the bills and just figure out life or whatever it is. And, you know, I got into question and why. Why I even got into this. And so that was. That was my biggest challenge of figuring out how to be able to recognize and realize that I. I am a good person. I am a good husband. I am a. A good friend. I'm a good son. Like, I am a good. A good person. Because I felt that since the business was not performing in the way that I expected it to perform, it reflected in the fact that, you know, that I was. It was just assumed that it was Daniel's fault and that Daniel messed it up and that Daniel was failing at it.
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Yeah. You assume that. You mean Daniel, right? You. You assumed that?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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And that's where I said, you know, I was harder on myself last year than what I truly needed to be. And so last year, to me, honestly, last year was a reset year. I took more time to do things that I just enjoy. Spent time, you know, golfing with Kelsey. Spent time, you know, spent more time out on the boat, just not being attached to a phone or an iPad or anything like that. Just spent, you know, more time sitting on that sunroom you talked about on the back porch. I just spent more time just enjoying life. And it's a massive dichotomy in my own brain, because when things aren't going as you expect, it's like, why would you spend more time enjoying life? But I also heard something recently that said, if you are. Like, when you are under stress or sleep deprived, your IQ is actually lower than if you are well rested and stress free. And so if you're trying to solve problems while under massive amounts of stress. If you actually take a second reset and de stress, then you're probably going to be better set to solve the problems with a higher iq.
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was always kind of wondering like, why I shouldn't be relaxing right now or I shouldn't be doing these things. I enjoy when the business needs me to push it, but sometimes brute force isn't the answer. And you know, sometimes, sometimes playing smarter, not harder is the answer. So that was the biggest challenge, is being able to separate my identity and my, my worth from the business's performance. On any given day, do you feel
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like you overcame that challenge or that you're working on overcoming it? What do you feel?
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I'd say I'm 80% overcome it. Okay, there. I, I mean this time of year, as you know, with a lot of any, any businesses or service industry, January, February, March is always typically the slowest point. Like the first quarter of the year is always our slowest in work, slowest in revenue, slowest in cash flow. And going into this time this year, you know, I'm, I'm looking down the tunnel and I see, yep, we're gonna, we're gonna hit a pinch point here and we're going to be a little tight here. This isn't going to go super great, but we have this over here. And so when I say 80%, like there's still the one in five days where I might be like, what are we doing here? Like, yeah, you know, you park gets that extra little palpitation or whatever, you're like, sheesh. But generally speaking, Marvin, most days I've said, you know what, this is the game that we've chosen to play and we're going to play it to the best of our ability. And that's, that's gonna, I believe, ultimately result in the outcomes we desire.
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A
So we hyper focused right on 2024 when I asked you that, like, what was the biggest challenge? And you know, if we did the math and when you purchased the business, when you went into it full time and, you know, got married and we, you know, we kind of got a, A bird, a bird's eye view of it. A snapshot, if you would. But there's a lot more from when you were born until then. And, you know, we have challenges, we have hard things. I'd love to know what's the single hardest thing that you've ever went through? Like, the hardest thing, not just proline, but Daniel, what's the hardest thing you ever went through?
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B
If you're trying to say, you know, not relating it to the, the business, you know, that I, that I'm currently in. The hardest thing for me was, was in the year 2000 and 2013. I. Long story short, you know, it was a year and a half after I moved from Indiana to North Carolina. I moved to. Moved in September of 2011. All of 2012, I spent in North Carolina. Here, Here, where I still currently live. I worked for a lawn care landscape company. The majority of the year. I was the way I tell people. I was working six, seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day. And I would go out to the bar every night and go hang out there, eat food and drink probably too much, and then go home and do it all again the next day. And that's what I did for, for about a year. And I, I mean, towards the end of that year is when I got involved in the fire department. So I started kind of learning that there's more to life than just this, than just working all day and going out all night, got involved in the fire department. So 2012 ended on, on a pretty good note for me. I mean, I, I was, I had a job or whatever. But right before Christmas in 2012, the Lawn Care company, they, they were basically starting to do layoffs for the winter time. And my very intelligent self decided to tell them because they said, well, we're going to keep you on. We're going to let this be this guy go. And I said, well, man, this guy's got a wife and kids and everything like that. I said, I'm a single dude. I said, I'll figure out a job. I said, I'll come back in the spring, I'll figure out something for the next couple months, pay the bills and we'll do that. Well, that opened up a can of Worms for 2013 because I could not find or keep a job to save my life when it came to 2013. So I spent a lot of evenings eating, maybe Eating peanut butter and jelly or ramen noodles. I would not go to the fire station because they would always want to split meals and she'd have to chip in money for the meal. And it was sometimes only, you know, food, four or five dollars. And I did not have four or five dollars to chip in for a meal. So I'd wait to go into the station to volunteer that night until after they already ate dinner, so I didn't have to spend money there. Different things like that. And so 2013 was just that. That was the story of it. You know, I'd get a job, it'd last for a month or two, and then something would happen. Either I'd quit. They'd, you know, they would say, hey, that's probably working out, whatever it is. And so then I started. Started working at a yacht club on the. At the marina there. And it was a. It was a great job. I say it was one of the most fun jobs I've ever had in my life. If I say whenever I retire, I'd probably go back and do it again just because it's fun.
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A
What'd you do there?
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B
It was just working on the docks, just filling boats up with gas and taking stuff to people's boats out on the, like, it was a 400 slip marina. So, I mean, there's tons of boats. They were like the big, like, cabin cruisers, sport yachts, all that stuff. So worked at the marina, just, just had a good time, but it definitely didn't. It was not a Earning a very livable wage. Okay, so long story short, fast forward, that's the year that, that I'd met Kelsey, okay. And met her because she was working there. She had just moved to North Carolina from Florida and started working there as a server. And we met. But the whole point of all this, when I say it's the. The hardest thing I've ever gone through, is because that year, Marvin, I just. I had no idea, like, why I was even on the face of this earth. Like, it was. It was the year that a lot of people go through, and sometimes people go through it a couple times, you know, throughout their life. But it was a year where I really just like, I was like, what am I doing here? You know, I feel like I'm a young man that should be able to provide for myself, that should be able to be contributing that, you know, I just. I felt like I had nothing.
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A
Do you think that, do you think that, like, that experience affects how you behave now in some capacity?
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B
Oh, absolutely. Because I never want to go back to that.
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A
Yeah. Because you're really rigid and. And I grew up poor. Like, you know that. And I'm not as rigid as you are. Right. And maybe in. In my mind, anyways. You and I have always been the good yin and yang people say, because I'm all, like, the stuff you're saying that you need to do now. I've been telling you for, like, a better part of a decade, hey, you should do some more of that. Where the stuff that I need to do to tighten up the shift on business side. You're like, hey, man, you can't let all this get unraveled. We got to focus on this right here. I feel like kind of whatever we went through, kind of, especially in the earlier parts, sets us up for the majority of how we are. But then you get to a certain point, which I'm in front of you. Like, my age is in front of you. I mean, we're close, but we're not that close in age enough that we're right on the same timeline. I'm 39, but the last couple years, I've been able to kind of let go of how my 20s made me for. Through most of my 30s.
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B
Right.
- [28:53]
A
So that's why I'm asking you that question. I'm reflecting on going through that same process of looking back and being like, man, the stuff I went through made me how I was. Now I gotta try to unravel that a little bit too, in order to figure out exactly how to make it the rest of the way. Is that the situation you think happened on your end with that? One of the biggest challenges in concrete work is controlled control over quality, control over timing, and control over cost. Symentech designs and delivers volumetric concrete mixers that are some of the most accurate and technologically advanced in the industry. Their equipment gives contractors real control over schedule, budget, and concrete quality, allowing crews to mix exactly what they need when they need it, without the waste and limitations of traditional barrel mixers. I've been in the same industry circles as cement tech for years, and I've interviewed contractors who run their equipment every day. It works, it delivers. If you want to learn more or to find a dealer near you, had a Cementech.com every experience or challenge that
- [29:55]
B
we go through in life has a direct correlation with who we are today, positive or negative.
- [30:02]
A
Right.
- [30:02]
B
And so the good things we experience affect us in a certain way, and the negative things we experience affect us in a certain way.
- [30:08]
A
Yeah.
- [30:09]
B
You know, you talk about how my. How I'm A very rigid individual. Like, I'm very routine istic and things like that. Well, if you look at what happened before that year 2013, when I couldn't find or keep a job, I was just literally going through the motions. Work all day, drink all night, work all like, I had no rigidity. And so it resulted in not being a disciplined individual. It resulted in not having any, you know, format of like, what am I doing with my life? Like, what is the point of this? And so it had that direct result. Now I think I'm at a point where, yes, that it is directly affected me and how I behave and how I think today because I never want to go back to that. Like I said, I, I don't want to go back to a life of, of meaningless. And I think now I, ever since I've been able to figure out how to experience meaning. You know, the fire department instilled that a lot in me because the fire department's very rigid. I mean it's a paramilitary organization. They have like, I worked with very good and high performing departments and individuals who instilled that in me and I saw what can come out of it. And so I think, you know, running away from what was once, you know, meaningless and just kind of wandering through the day and through life and running toward what I know is possible when you act the complete opposite is what I was, what I took out of that, you know, that year of 2013 where when I actually dial my in and do what I need to do, good things will happen.
- [31:40]
A
You kind of spoke a little earlier. Like, even though that is like those experience made you how you are now, now you're like, yeah, I can't do that. I can't always be that. I need to wind that back a little bit. I need to kind of be free. I know you somewhat more. The word balance, you and I have always hated, I feel like we both mutually hate trying to say, hey, we need to find some balance. We need to do this. Because we're like, no, that's go time. Right? And me, I'm like, nah, it's not go time all time. I'm. I'm more like, dude, we're working so that we can have all this free time. When you're like, I can have the free time later on. I need to get a crunch at all right now. I hate trying to find the balance because. Or using that word because I there. You're implying that you're looking for something and everybody should be looking for that all the time. When I Don't think that's the case. I think that the way that 2013 made you was great for the past decade, and now there's a realization that that's not the key. Like, that's also not the way to be. So now we have to unwind that a little bit. Well, so we look back on 2013 and say, hey, it was a negative thing, but it actually is what was needed in order to get to this point. And it also was needed so that you were the way you were for the past decade or more so that you could unwind right now. So I think I say that because you know me, I'm very. Everything works all in motion the way it should, as long as we're not abrasive to it. And as rigid as you want to be, you weren't really abrasive. You were just always like, this is just the way it's got to be right now. So it makes me think about our two paths, which we've went together. I would love to say they're parallel lines, but mine kind of went up and down quite a bit, while yours stayed very horizon, like. And I think that, you know, when you look at ours, they're. They're two different paths, but we walked them together and. And have. Keep going and walking them together. But it makes me think about the lessons of life, things I've learned. I've been able to talk to you and things that you learned, you've been able to speak to me. But I kind of want you to share that with. With me and with anybody who'd be listening or taking this in. What has life taught you? Because I really enjoy hearing your stories when you're like, hey, my grandpa used to say this. And I. And that's when I get dead quiet because I like to hear those stories because I think that they had as big as impact on you as 2013 or mentors that we've been able to see and speak to and experiences we've had together. You and I have done some. I'm not gonna lie. We've had some badass experiences together since you and I have hung out and been on the journey together. But I think that you. What's unique about you and I is we could both look at the same thing or hear the same line, and it mean completely something different to you than it does to me. And thankfully, we're open enough to share that. I was hoping you would share something like that with me now about life. Like, what has your life taught you? And that can Be overarching.
- [34:37]
B
The biggest thing that comes to mind to me, man, that life has taught me, is that people matter. Even though we may only actually be on the face of this earth for a blip in time, you know, in the grand scheme of existence, people. People matter. And getting to know them and listening to their story and figuring out how you can help them achieve their dreams and be a part of their story is a very rewarding, rewarding part of life. And, you know, when you talk about, you know, my grandfather and stuff, it's. It's funny because ironically, right before I got on this. This call with you, I was on the phone with somebody else, and he. Out of nowhere, I mean, I talked to this guy a couple times a year. He brought up like, yeah, man, your grandpa must have taught you something, because apparently I've talked to him about my grandpa, and it's like, so it's like you, You. You know, the world comes together in certain ways. And today, like right now in this moment, when you say, you know, what is life function the most? It's, you know, when I asked my grandfather, because he had a business, he was very good at it, very successful in his business and his industry. And I always asked him, well, why? Why did you do it? Why is it? Why, like, you didn't have to do everything that you did? He said, Daniel said, I never set out to make all the money or get all the things or do all the things. He said, I want to. I set out to touch as many lives as possible through my business. There's. I've told the story before. You know, when him and my grandma, when they bought a piece of land to build a new house several years ago, they literally put a picture of dirt on Facebook and said they were, you know, they were building a new house, and they had hundreds of likes and comments. I mean, you would have think it was a viral post. And I'm like, this guy just put a picture of dirt on Facebook that says, oh, we're building. You know, here's where we're going to build our new house.
- [36:22]
A
Yeah.
- [36:23]
B
And it's like the amount of impact that he's had to have over his life for that many people. And an older guy on Facebook who's not, you know, posting all the time or hip or. Yeah. You know, reposting the trends, you know, to get that many people excited for him to do something like, man, like, he's had to touch a lot of lives. You know, his mission was accomplished and it still is. And so I think you know, what life has taught me, Marvin, is people. Every person has their own story. They have their own reasons for why they do what they do, for what they're trying to get out of it, for what they've gone through. Like you said, the experiences they've gone through make them to who they are today. And to hear about that, I think is interesting. I don't think I can say that I take as much of an interest as you do. You are a much better listener and, you know, ask the questions to get things out of people. But every person, you know, I find myself driving down the road a lot and just kind of looking at the car next to me, just wondering, like, what's that person going through? Like, what's. You know, if they're talking on the phone, like, man, what's. What's happening? You know, what's. Is it good, is it bad? Or whatever.
- [37:29]
A
Yeah. I'm a big proponent of just be kind because you don't know what they're going through.
- [37:34]
B
Like, exactly.
- [37:35]
A
You don't know what anybody's going through. So just be kind.
- [37:37]
B
Dude, I was just in the airport the other day and some guy was asking to try and change his order on his food. Like, he was being super polite. The people behind the counter just start snapping at him.
- [37:46]
A
Yeah.
- [37:47]
B
And I couldn't bite my tongue. I looked at the people, I said, y' all just be nice to him. I said, he was. He was not doing anything wrong. And they started. It actually turned into a whole commotion thing.
- [37:56]
A
But no way, not with you.
- [37:59]
B
But I was like, just. Just be nice. Like, this guy's just asking for help with something and you don't got to be mean to him about it.
- [38:06]
A
What kind of perspective has that gained? What kind of perspective have you gotten from. From understanding that. That people matter? Because I want you to. You're correct. It's not that you're not correct,
- [38:20]
B
but
- [38:20]
A
what do we do with that?
- [38:22]
B
Like, I mean, to answer your question, your first question, what perspective. Yeah.
- [38:26]
A
What perspective does that give you when you find that you're like, oh, people matter. For the rock, sand and gravel producers, listening, efficiency isn't just about your loaders and your crushers. It's about your data. Bulksource is the modern operating system that connects the pit to the pavement. Stop running your business on spreadsheets and paper tickets. Bulksource is an all in one cloud platform that handles everything. Order management, dispatch, scale, ticketing, and invoicing. Give your customers what they actually want. A customer portal where they can view tickets, track orders, and grab invoices in real time, eliminating the game of phone tags. Unlike clunky legacy systems, Bulk Source is cloud, native, and mobile friendly. It works on any device, iPad, phone, or desktop, and integrates seamlessly with accounting tools like QuickBooks and NetSuite. Streamline your operation, speed up cash flow, and ditch the chaos. Visit bulksource.com to book a demo today.
- [39:28]
B
The perspective that people matter, people also includes me.
- [39:33]
A
Dang. Dang. Okay, so the next part of that was like, how do you use that lesson? So what does that mean?
- [39:41]
B
Like what.
- [39:42]
A
What does that mean for you when you say, I'm a person, I matter,
- [39:46]
B
and I can look at other people regardless of where they're at in their life or what's going on in their life and say that, hey, you don't know what this person is going through. Just be nice to them, okay? You know, try to help them hold them accountable. If you got to hold them accountable, like, you know, you're not giving free passes. If I. If I can treat other people like that, why can't I treat myself that way? You know, we always say we're our own worst critics. We're hardest on ourselves, you know, no one else. You know, we're, you know, all. That's all the stuff we always hear, right? And there's nothing wrong with that because at the end of the day, no one else is living our life. If we want something good out of life, we have to be hard on. On ourself. We have to hold ourselves accountable. Yeah, but I've also heard it said, too. If you talk to other people the way you talk to yourself, no one would ever want to be your friend.
- [40:32]
A
Yeah, that's true. That's a. That's a lot. That's a good perspective to have on it.
- [40:37]
B
And if I don't want to be my own friend, and if I don't like myself, if I don't value myself on a regular basis, even in. In the tough times, then why should anyone else? And if I want to live a life and I want to do something, to follow in my grandfather's footsteps and touch as many lives as possible and make an impact through our industry using our business, then I have to. It starts with me. It's like the. It's like the famous Snoop Dogg speech when he's accepting an award. He says, you know, I want to thank me. Yeah,
- [41:09]
A
I want me. Yeah, yeah. He says, oh, yeah.
- [41:11]
B
It's like. And it does. It sounds arrogant, it sounds cocky, but, man, if we're in a role where we're directly impacting the lives of other people, it had. It starts with us, the good and the bad.
- [41:21]
A
Are you doing that now? Like, is that the thing where you're like, yeah, I'm gonna give myself a little grace. I take a little more time doing this. I do that. Is that you thanking you, you think giving yourself that, or is that you just trying to keep yourself at the top of your game, figuring out that you need to relax something to be at the top of your game, too?
- [41:38]
B
I think it's a little bit of both. It's also. It's also for. For Kelsey and I, for our marriage, because a lot of that relaxation and that grace that I've been giving myself.
- [41:47]
A
So that's for you. Yeah. So that's for you. Yeah, you. That's gonna be for you too. Believe me.
- [41:52]
B
It is. It is. But also, you know. You know, Proline could be gone tomorrow.
- [41:58]
A
Yeah.
- [41:58]
B
Something. Something out of my control could happen tomorrow.
- [42:01]
A
Right.
- [42:02]
B
And I could wake up the next day and start a brand new business. You know, fortunately for us, living in the country we live in, that's what. That's what we get to do.
- [42:08]
A
See, this is the yin and yang. Because you say that when I say Daniel Wright could be gone tomorrow. Right?
- [42:17]
B
Yeah. But then none of it. None of it matters.
- [42:19]
A
So we got to make sure that we do what we need to do today. Right? Like, it ain't never going to be. Well, Daniel worked his guts out every day. Okay. Well, it would have been nice if I would have been able to hang out or if he would have came here and did this, or we would have got to do that, or just spent time. Or call me then and there. Like, that's our yin and yang, is me saying, yeah, Proline could be gone tomorrow, but Daniel Reich will be gone tomorrow too. That's like you and I were on a boat one time. You're like, yeah, sometimes I want to post a picture. And I was like, just post the picture. You could get run over by a bus, and we weren't gonna capture this memory, take the picture.
- [42:54]
B
Well, with that. So that's my point is the reason I've given the. The grace to myself to go enjoy those times, enjoy those moments with Kelsey or with my friends or whatever it might be. It's because the business could be gone tomorrow. I could go restart the business if I'm gone tomorrow or if they're gone tomorrow, sure, it won't matter to me. I'll be dead. But if it's to them. Like I always tell Kelsey, I've got a life insurance policy that'll make you a very wealthy widow. However, my goal is to not have the fattest bank accounts, you know, in the world while we're alive. We want to have experience. Because when I'm dead and going, you're going to burn through that cash.
- [43:31]
A
Yeah.
- [43:31]
B
You'll never be able to forget about the memories that we got to make together.
- [43:35]
A
Yeah.
- [43:35]
B
So I want that same thing with my. With my friends, with other family members, with my peers, with people here at Proline.
- [43:41]
A
Yeah.
- [43:41]
B
You know, I want to share those experiences because there's always more money to be made. There's always more things to. To do. But memories, man, once. Once, you can't make them anymore. That's all you got, dude.
- [43:55]
A
You. And I've rode in Ubers and had a great time. We rode in fantastic. Our own trucks and had a great time. We've ate lobster and steak together, and then we vaped burgers and fries together. And I'm. There's not really any. The only thing that I think that measures up is that we were together the rest of it. I can't remember what that food tastes like. I really can't remember the details of the vehicles when we were at shows or what hotel we stayed in. I know it was nice, like. Well, what was nice about it? Well, it was nice, like, that's kind of what I know. So I think we've gained a lot of perspective on, like, what matters, what doesn't matter, and how we want to live our lives. And it makes me. It makes me get down to a couple of the last questions, and this is a bigger one, which is unique. I was really excited that you agreed to do this with me because so far, you're the only person that I think is going to be able to answer the question this way or at least have the basis to answer it. If you could teach something to your kids and even if you don't have any, that you would really want to sink in for them so that they don't have to learn it on their own. Right. It just. You're like, hey, I hope they get this. What would it be? Where you're like, man, I really hope they get this. What would it be?
- [45:11]
B
Honestly, Marvin, it sounds. It's probably going to be a little cliche, but I want. I would want them to know and understand and believe that they are always going to be capable of more than what they think.
- [45:26]
A
All aspects.
- [45:27]
B
Yeah. Everything. Whether it's you know, if you think that you're being the best spouse that you can be when you're older and you're married, like, you can actually be better. There is no such thing as a perfect spouse. You know, if you think that you can only achieve X X type of position in a career or a business, like, no, you, you are capable of more. Like unless you have a physical or a mental, you know, thing that you can't. Yeah. Like something that impairs you to do something. Even then, though, you know, we see people all the time, they're the inspiration.
- [46:03]
A
A lot of examples. Yeah. Man.
- [46:05]
B
That are capable of more than they ever thought they were. You know, they're an amputee that thinks their life is over and next thing you know they're on a circuit traveling the world, inspiring people. You know, hundreds of thousands of millions of people. Yeah. And so it's like, just don't ever sell yourself short.
- [46:21]
A
How'd you learn that? How'd you learn that?
- [46:24]
B
I'm, I mean, I, I believe I'm living proof of it. I, I, I used to think that having a business half my size was going to be impossible and would take my whole life to accomplish. And, and here we are. And then now when I look at it, I feel like we're not even getting started, we're just warming up. You know, it's like I look at you and that's something you have to understand about me is I've, I've been involved in some sort of owning my own business for more or less over half of my life.
- [46:57]
A
Yeah.
- [46:57]
B
And so it's all, it's been a thing with me. Like that's just who I am. And so a lot of my metrics come from business and size and scale and, and, and, and whatever it may be. And so it's like I'm living proof of it. You know, I, I always thought I would be a good husband, but I actually, I'm a pretty damn good one. I actually got complimented twice yesterday.
- [47:18]
A
Yeah. Did Kelsey give you one of them? Kelsey?
- [47:21]
B
Oh, no, I reminded her though. I told her, hey, if you didn't
- [47:24]
A
hear those guys, that's, that's a trait of a good husband. Believe me.
- [47:28]
B
I reminded her.
- [47:29]
A
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- [48:11]
B
JJ tells me that, you know, my greatest. What's he say? My greatest gift is? Is my generosity. You know, I think sometimes I can be stingy or I can be whatever, but anybody who knows me says that, yeah, if it was up to Daniel, you know, you give the baby away with the. Or, you know, give everybody. Give everything away.
- [48:28]
A
Yeah.
- [48:28]
B
And live in a box. That's just. That's just how I am. That's why Kelsey keeps us make sure we keep a roof over our head. But no, it's you always. It goes back to what I was saying. A person's always their own worst critic. They're always the hardest on themselves. But I don't think that should get in the way of knowing and believing that you are more capable than what you believe. And it's a tough dichotomy for anybody who actually has high aspirations because you feel like you're never going to be able to achieve them. But if you stay on the track for long enough, then you're going to look back and be really surprised at what you were able to accomplish.
- [49:03]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I think we've both been able to. We've been both able to see. I don't know if we both have adhered to this, but we've both been able to see that if you develop, there's a path no matter what, there's a path to what you want to do. And sometimes that means sacrificing from one thing to give to the other and really being hard onto it and putting in the work to get there or studying harder or whatever it is. Like, if I want to be more relaxed, I got to be able to find a way to get more relaxed, which means letting go of some other stuff. So it makes me think about Daniel Wright. My friend and I would love to know what. What the future looks like for Daniel Wright. And what are you going to look like in five to 10 years? Like, what if I. If I look at Daniel right? What am I going to see? What are you going to be doing? Like, how are you going to be what's in your future?
- [50:00]
B
I mean, there's a lot of different aspects that could Be, you know, could be dissected or discussed. But I think generally speaking, I mean, you know, five to 10 years down the road is just going to be a bigger version of what we're doing now. That's. That's what I'm aiming for.
- [50:16]
A
You're gonna have more time. More time off. I'm sorry, you have more time off. You're going to be doing more leisurely things. You're going to be taking time, more doing that. Or are you going to be at scale the same?
- [50:28]
B
Yes, that. At scale, the same.
- [50:31]
A
Okay.
- [50:32]
B
Because you said earlier, you know, we don't like the word balance. That's a, That's a word that neither of us really, really care for. And I think when it comes to the whole work life balance, things like that, it's bullshit that people just need to throw that out of their vocabulary instead. They need to replace that with prioritization. What do you prioritize? Because at the end of the day, nobody tells you or like whoever's telling you that you have to only work 40 hours a week or you have to be, you know, here on Saturday mornings, or you have to do this or like, it's. It's my life.
- [51:01]
A
Yeah.
- [51:01]
B
I can prioritize however I want. That's my balance. And so I think, like you said, it's at scale. So if we, you know, if we're growing this company and we have new locations that are added and things like that, and then my. My role requires me to have to travel a little bit more. Well, great. Maybe every time I have to go travel to one of our other locations, I built in an extra day or two for Kelsey and I to go golf for a day and, and enjoy an evening out in a city that we don't get to go to often. That's nice, whatever it might be. So it's just, it's. It's doing what we're doing now at scale. I like to work the fact that Kelsey now works in the business with me, and we, we are running this together. It's, you know, like I said earlier, we don't have human kids. We have dog kids. And so this is our. Our, our thing. This is what we get to build and raise together. And so getting to do more and more of that is going to be what's going to offer that fulfillment, that excitement, that challenge and that accomplishment as we go. And so getting to do that together with her and with the team that we have and getting to grow and expand that, and then, you know, the goal would Be to recruit more of the type of people we have already and, or build in, you know, bring in people we can build to the type of people we have. We've got a great organization now, Marvin. And so going forward, there's no, you know, there's not going to be any crazy, massive changes. Oh, we're going to be doing this. Or it's just, like I said, it's just bigger and more of what we have now.
- [52:24]
A
Yeah.
- [52:24]
B
Everything I intend is, is going to be to grow at scale. And that makes me happy. Yeah, it makes me happy too. It makes me excited. Yeah.
- [52:36]
A
And well, don't, don't hurry up too much.
- [52:40]
B
Well, I think sometimes, you know, our friend, not a friend technically because we haven't met him, but Hormozi, Alex Hormozi always talks about that. You know, he has conversations with his 80 year old self.
- [52:51]
A
Yeah.
- [52:51]
B
And, and there's a side of it where if, if we could talk to the 15 year old version of ourself, that 15 year old version of ourselves would give anything to be where we're at now.
- [53:15]
A
Bingo. Correct.
- [53:18]
B
And so I want to make sure that I'm building a life now that when I'm 80, you know, the 80 year old version of myself that I'd say, yes, that's where I want to be. Okay. Like I'll feel accomplished. I'll feel like it was all worth it.
- [53:35]
A
Yeah.
- [53:36]
B
You know, granted, now when we're 80, we would give anything to be 15.
- [53:40]
A
Well, for sure.
- [53:41]
B
Yeah. If we make it to 80. So it's like we. Yeah. To, to go back and have more time. Yeah. But while we're living through this time and living through this life, we should be wanting to build something that the future version of ourself will be proud of.
- [53:58]
A
Yeah.
- [53:59]
B
Because that's all we're going to have then is to look back on the life that we've lived now.
- [54:03]
A
Well, we hear a lot of, you know, people saying, you know, when they get older, like there's been a lot of like examples of people who talk to people on their deathbeds or people in nursing homes or whatever and none of them are ever saying, I wish I would have worked more or I wish I would have spent more time studying or I wish I would have done this or another most time. It's the stuff that we wish that we had more time to do. Right now is the same stuff then. Right. And it's like, well, now we have the bodies to be able to do it and the means to be able to do it, we should be doing it. And that's always been my big point. It's hard to do that without pushing where we've had to push business wise as well, right through the years. I think the big thing you were saying earlier is who's to say, you know, what I need to do or what you need to do or whatever. When it comes to happiness, that's the same thing too. Like who's to tell me what makes me happy or who's to tell you what makes you happy? Like there's none of that. The only thing is if you can ask somebody or you look in the mirror and be like, am I happy or not happy? If I'm not, I need to make an adjustment somewhere. And for me that means a lot less work than what Daniel Wright does. Right. And for Daniel, maybe that means I just need a little bit of free time that Marvin has and I'm able to do it and be precise with it and that fulfills me and gets me there. And I think us finding that out has been happy, you know, how to be happy has been key because there's just so many examples outside of you and I on social media or in society or in the world where they're telling us to go 20x and go all out all the time, sleep four hours and you know, and do that for 10 years and put in the grind and everything else and it's like, dude, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna collapse, I'm gonna break if I do that. And I know that now there are some people who can do it and pull it off and do it well and kudos. I'm, I'm glad they can, but that's not me. And I found that out and that's okay. But that don't mean that I'm gonna be telling you you can't do that. You know, it's just, I think it's finding that gap there. So I'm excited, man. I'm excited to see the future, Daniel. I'm excited to see what hopefully we can eat solid food when we're 80. Great. Mashed potatoes and applesauce. Wow. Fantastic. Perfect.
- [56:13]
B
Like you said earlier, you don't, you don't remember the food that we ate in all those great places. You just remember having a good time. So yeah, we remember the time we had when we're 82.
- [56:21]
A
Yeah, that would be great. If we could even recall, that would be great. Otherwise, just live in the moment, man. I've seen, I've heard that too. Live for the moment. We'll have to be doing that, too. So, man, I really appreciate you joining me and let me grill you a little bit on these today. Yeah, I'm thankful. And, and also for, for sharing your experiences with us. It's been great.
- [56:38]
B
Yeah, absolutely, man. I appreciate the questions. You know, I always enjoy a good conversation.
- [56:42]
A
Yeah, absolutely. All right, so for myself here in sunny, beautiful, tropical Wisconsin and for Daniel over somewheres on the east side of the country in the Carolinas, we appreciate you joining us and hopefully you found this information insightful as well as what I want to say. Daniel, Insightful as well as inspiring. Oh, inspiring. There we go. There we go. See? Yin and yang. I told you. All right. All right. We'll talk to y' all later. And as always, stay in the mix. Peace.
- [57:14]
B
Thanks for hanging out with us on in the Mix. For more on the world of blacktop,
- [57:19]
A
head over to marvinjols.com and don't forget
- [57:22]
B
to follow Marvin on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for extra content, behind the scenes looks and industry insights. Be sure to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you got value from today, today's show, leave us a well worded five star review. It really helps more asphalt pros find us. Catch you next time on in the Mix.