← In The Mix with Marvin Joles
Loading summary
Transcript76 lines
- [00:00]
A
Today's episode of in the Mix is powered by Jobber.
- [00:07]
B
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.
- [00:54]
A
Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode. Thanks for being in the mix with us today. If you caught a theme after some of these episodes, you realize that kind of asking the same questions but getting very different answers, you know, when we get to specifics, but most the answers are along somewhat of the same lines. I hope you're finding them insightful. We still have a bunch to go and today I have one of my best friends I would consider probably in the whole world, my family, Leonard Pickett with Pickett's Paving today. Lenny, where are you sitting at? Where are you right now?
- [01:29]
B
Right now I'm at my house in Bradenton, Florida. Sit by the pool, watching this sunshine.
- [01:33]
A
Wow, must be nice. He was asking me beforehand, he's like, how, what's the weather like? I said, oh, it's 10 degrees. It says on the truck dash in the sunlight. But I don't think it is. It's brutal. We're, we're in the shop here in the podcast room and the furnace is off right now. I had to turn it down to 60 to get it to shut off because it's been running 24,7 non stop trying to get itself up to 70. So I mean it is what it is. You know, Lenny's up here with me most of the time. He lives in Wisconsin Dells about 45 minutes. We were fortunate enough to get to spe some time together, work together once in a while. But Lenny, tell us about your business and, and whatnot right now. As far as Picket's paving and, and I already told people you all are located up there in the Dell's area.
- [02:17]
B
But as far as our business, my, my dad and grandfather started the business in early 70s when dad got in Vietnam. My dad done patching and seal coating on Phoenix 50 years ago and then they moved, they was back to Wisconsin Dells and they started patching and still coating there and basically I was raised around it my whole life and when I was 18 but when I'm on 18 years old, dad took me to the bank and I got a little loan for some junk equipment and basically been on my own since 18 years old.
- [02:45]
A
You were in front of me away as far as that goes. I don't want to tell people how old you are, but you're in front of me. I'm catching up to you though as we get going through life and I know that's been a been valuable resource for me because there's sometimes I call you with questions. Obviously not about work on it or just, just be like, man, what does this sound like to you? And you're able to give me some solid advice on it. But I can remember when I first had my 300 gallon tank coming down and you had a place in Soc City maybe. I think we're close. Yeah. And I started getting sealer there. And then you moved up to a bigger facility. Euro son's got bigger. Y' all started doing a lot more paving and we still know that you do paving and do you know, I think I got sealer from you there at the end of the year, this year because I didn't want to put it in my bulk tank. I figured if somebody was going to get caught with some, some sealer, it might as well be you, not me.
- [03:36]
B
Fortunately we got rid of all of it, so.
- [03:38]
A
Yeah, yeah, it went good. Well, I kind of want to ask you and you know, we're just going to have a conversation like you and I always have, but I was going to ask you a question here when we got going of like, you know what your average day looks like but you know, similar to mine. They're different because each week we're doing different stuff, we're in different locations. It's hard telling what we're doing but in the summer I know, you know, our days, the, the middle of it looks a lot similar because we're out quoting work or you know, we're back working on equipment or ordering this, ordering that, whatever we're trying to do. But tell me for the most part what normal day looks like for you.
- [04:17]
B
Typically I try to be, keep the same routine, keep, keep disciplined with my day. I get up usually 5, 5:30 every morning, first thing I do is drink a little pre workout, sit there for a little bit and I read a daily devotional and just get myself woke up and then from there go to the basement and work out. I'll get a good hour's workout in and then from there come up, shower and head to the shop. And that's when all chaos starts. Once I get to the shop.
- [04:40]
A
When you work out, are you listening to podcasts, you listening to music, you listening to scripture? You listen to audiobooks? You doing any of that? Are you just keeping, keeping yourself?
- [04:51]
B
No, typically music. Okay. It's like, just depends on the mode. Yeah, sometimes Christian music, sometimes classical, country, old country music, just a lot of 80s music.
- [05:02]
A
All right, that's fair enough. So once you get to the chaos, you know, for most normal human beings, you know, at some point they're like, well, I'm done for the. At this time today that has, that doesn't work for us, obviously. So once you get into the chaos, which means everyday work life for us, we're catching up to all the calls that came in. We get handed a pile of quotes that we need to go do and then we disperse those. I'm sure you disperse some between the boys and take bunch yourself. What happens when we get into the chaos for the day and we try to wind down and get jobs done? And what does that look like when we get near the latter part of your daily day?
- [05:39]
B
Towards the end of the day is, you know, I try to run most bids up until up until noon or so whenever I can get scheduled in, I guess. But after that, you know, I always try to every day, two to three o' clock is my coffee time or espresso time and cigar time. So hopefully I'm around a cigar bar somewhere. Just, you know, it just helps me relax me a little bit. As long as it's not, not, not headaches on a job that I got to deal with and stuff. But for the most part, I've got a good foreman. He's going to be 25 years. He takes a lot of the pressure and headaches off me. So unless he's calling me typically I should understand the day. It's going fairly well.
- [06:09]
A
Do you get calls about that time of like emergency stuff or are you trying to field calls and divert them to other places for the next day to wind your day down, or are you. Because I know back in the day we used to just stack whatever we could into the day as much as we could, but we don't do that so much anymore.
- [06:28]
B
I try to have my office manager field them for me, you know, unless it's absolute emergency. And she, she and she can kind of distinguish the important, important calls that have to be dealt with right immediately. Otherwise she'll put them off until, till the next day and she'll tell people we'll call them back within 24 hours.
- [06:42]
A
Gotcha. Yeah. So, you know when it's easy for us to have conversations, real simplistic about the business stuff, most of the time if I call you and I'm like, hey, what was that guy's name that had the. The roller over here? Or whatever, and you're like, oh, it's this one here. I'll send you the info. Yeah, okay. And that's how our phone call goes. Or you're like, hey, I was thinking about getting into this and I know you might know somebody who has a connection on this. Can you send me that? And most of our phone calls, when it comes to that regard, about two minutes. But then there's other times where we call each other and it might be an hour, hour and a half, two hours if one. If we're both on the road, moving down the road, it goes a long time sometimes. So I want to get more into that because that's what these podcasts are about for the most part, is you know, that there's tons of the business content out there on what people can do and how. How to do it and what it looks like. But point of these podcast episodes are so that people understand that they're. Although our businesses look alike, our lives look alike a lot more too. So it's. We just wrapped up 2024. We're into a new year. LA is on fire, it looks like. So that's interesting that's going on right now, you know, there. So there's. That's a challenge for them when we. I, I kind of feel guilty and unguilty about that stuff because, you know, it's something you see and you're like, man, that's awful. I'm glad it's not me. And then my brain goes on to just thinking about what's going on in my life. I know that's just characteristic of normal human thinking and their. And their patterns or whatnot. When I think about question two, it's, what is your biggest challenge this past year? Like, what was your biggest challenge this past year and how do we overcome it? I mean, it can be business or it could be Lenny in general, but what do you think was your biggest challenge this last year? And if you didn't overcome it, that's fine, but, you know, what are we working to do? How do we do it?
- [08:31]
B
I don't feel we had no major challenges, you know, just other than everyday, everyday routine for the most part, I guess. Deal employees find employees. Deal employees, of course, scheduling and stuff. It don't ruin your day. We just. We just go on about our business and deal the best we can, you know. But as far as saying life changing or life breaking or real life altering. No, really was. With no major challenges last year that. Thank God for that.
- [08:54]
A
Yeah. What about you? I don't. How old are you, Lenny?
- [08:58]
B
I'll be 52 in June.
- [09:00]
A
All right. So when you think about Lenny, you and I talk a lot. We have conversations more about deeper level stuff. What about Lenny at 52? When you think about this past year, were there things like, you know, you had a grandbaby. We've seen some videos online of your grandbaby driving the truck. You sit in the seat, you know, when you're shop area and stuff like that, you know, I want everybody to get out of hand with it. But what was your biggest challenge? Was there stuff that was on your mind as you get older and the boys transition to business? Stuff like that, that were challenges in that aspect?
- [09:34]
B
No, honestly, we didn't have a lot of challenges. Of course, trying to teach my sons what I know and try and connect them with people that I know so that we, you know, they can have the same connections I have. But I try not to let stuff stress me out no more. I just. It's just not worth the headache and stress and, you know, it's just not worth it. And the old. I gotta realize that I'm living for that baby boy that my grandson. I got two more grandsons on the way now, so I have three grandsons. The headaches and stress of the other life are just not worth it. And I, you know, you know me, I used to let stuff really bother me a lot and tear me up, and I was really stressed out over it. I probably told you a story, you know, I'm a Shriner, and after making several trips to the Shriner Hospital, seeing sick babies down there, crippled kids, deformed kids, kids missing limbs, my problems don't mean nothing. You know, it's not. Not a big deal. It's something that a couple days can't handle it. A little extra money might f a problem or just, just pray about it or just, just don't get stressed out over it. You know, we're gonna have our daily stress and get mad and I heard a few minutes. But at the end of the day, I have no problems. You know, I've seen these crippled kids and stuff. I have, you know, my family's all healthy. I got healthy grandkids. I'm able to make a living. I Don't have no problems.
- [10:41]
A
Yeah, yeah. If we would have been doing this 10 years ago, man, I would have been. You would have been like, I ain't got time. You know, it'd be like, man, I ain't got time for that. We're doing this and this and this is going on, that's going on. And you know, this is on fire over here. This is broke down. I got loads on the trucks and the pavers broke down or this is that. And I can just remember like some of those jobs when we'd be on them or I'd be calling you and I'd be like, man, man, we can't do that. We can't be like that. If you've been in asphalt long enough, you've probably said, there's got to be a better way to measure this. That's where Moser comes in. It's a simple app and motion based tool that lets you measure areas, distances, elevations and volumes just by walking the site. From patches and overlays to stockpiles and takeoffs, Moser helps contractors get the numbers they can trust fast. This show is about real stories and the real tools that move our industry forward, and Moser is one of them. To learn more about what Moser can do, head to the link in the description. It's funny to hear you say that though, Lenny, that you got perspective going down and visiting the hospital and whatnot with the children's hospital, because I, you know, the second part of that question is how did you overcome it? It sounds like to me that you, you gain perspective in that time in your life, the few times you've been down there. And the more you do that, the calmer you get, the easier you take it.
- [12:03]
B
I've gained perspective realizing that my problems aren't that bad. You know, I'm, I'm fairly blessed, you know, I don't have a lot of money, but I'm able to work, make money. My family has their health and that, that means more than to me anything, you know, all the money in the world, you can't buy your health. So my family has our health, we have healthy babies and stuff. And the everyday burdens, they're not deal breakers, they're not life changers for the most part and just go on a bunch of business.
- [12:27]
A
Yeah, yeah. I think that in today's world people don't so often have that because we're focused on social media, you know, and who's doing what, who's got what, what, and then one them focusing on that in turn, makes them look at themselves and what they don't have.
- [12:45]
B
Right. It's like, why everybody's in competition with each other, it seems like. Or they're following social media people. They're. They're flexing their Lambos or flexing the Ferraris and stuff. And at the end of the day, who cares? And most of. Most of the flex isn't even real anyway. They're fake flex, you know.
- [13:00]
A
Yeah.
- [13:00]
B
So it's just. Don't compare yourself to somebody else, you know, Live your life for you and for your family and what's best for you. And don't. Don't get stressed out. I say that, you know, I do get stressed out on occasion, but, you know, after a couple health scares and stuff, and my dad passed away 57, a heart attack. My grandfather passed away 63 of a heart aneurysm. So it runs in my family. So I'll be 52 in June. I try not to like stuff get me like it used to. I mean, I was bad for years, you know, that I'd just fight to the drop of a hat and, you know, I'd want to kill you. But it's. The older I get, I guess I'm getting calmer, which, you know, I. I trained Brazilian jiu jitsu. That helps me. That helps me mentally. If I'm having a bad day, a rough day, I go to class at night, I train, and they're trying to choke me, and I'm trying to choke them back. Guess what? At the end of the night, I feel good. I'm relaxed. It's a mental stress reliever is what it is.
- [13:45]
A
Yeah. Well, you made a good point, right. About Lambos and Ferraris and whatnot. I will. I think if people would look at how many Lambos or Ferraris are sold each year and then times that by 10 years and figure out how many actual Lamborghinis and Ferraris are out there. It's a lot. So it's not that big of a feat because people are buying them left and right every year. So it's not like it's a. A major thing, you know, but at the same time, you know, you talk about, you know, you got your place there in Florida and you have a place here. We don't have piles and piles and done a lot, but, man, we get to do a lot of what we wanted to do now and have some freedom, and we have more than most. And I think that's from grinding. Right. But I. I tell people it's because I Was ignorant for a good 20 years. And I just thought the more money I made, the happier I'd be. Well, by the time I found out that that's not the case, I had all right amount of money. So now I get some stuff where I get to be free and. And hang out and do those types of things. But I think. I think it's the best time to gain perspective, and it's important because otherwise you. I don't know that people would enjoy as much in their life if they don't. I want to. Go ahead.
- [14:50]
B
Go ahead. Good. It's good. Okay. Okay.
- [14:53]
A
I want to move on to the next part of it, because this one you're not going to get away with you only being able to focus on a year. You know, you're 52. You've lived plenty of life, seen a lot of things. No, of course you had a lot of people, got a lot of people close to you and done a lot in business and whatnot. I'd love to figure out what is the single hardest thing that you've ever went through and can we dissect it a little bit? And before I give you that, I want to remember a moment that was hard for me. For you. Because you and I, as a lot of people know, we're pretty personal with each other. I remember getting a call or getting a text one day from you, and your oldest son had got hurt on a skid steer or under skid steer. I just remember being at the hospital and. And seeing you there as I seen Leonard in his hospital bed. And I just. For me, I had just had my son. Right. So it was already me thinking about that type of stuff. For me, for you, that was the hardest thing that I had ever personally seen you go through. Now, we spoke about stuff, and I'm not going to scale what was harder and what isn't, but for me, that was one of them. I'd love to hear for you over your time frame, because before you and I got close, I don't know all those things, but it's important, I think, for us to figure out, like, what the single hardest thing you ever went through.
- [16:16]
B
Probably two. The two hardest things I ever went through and. And time. Time gets. Get you over them is the. The death of my dad, the death of my grandmother. My grandmother's my best friend. She looked like my mother. She practically raised me. Losing her was the worst. Probably one of the worst times of my life. My dad was second. You know, my mom's still alive. Between my grandmother and My father was two worst days that I can't change. You can't bring back. Whatever. I'll never see him again. You know, maybe in heaven one day. But like you said. Like you said, with the accident with my son, it probably. That's most. Most recently, that's probably the most traumatic thing I've had to deal with. And it still bothers me to this day. You know, that's. That's been back in 2017. But when I walked up, I got back to the job site, I told you the story. My foreman called me crying on the phone. And you know, my foreman, he's big, burly man, 50 years old, and he's. He's not safe. Got to cry. He called me crying. I said, what's wrong? I said. He said, I ran over your son. Well, all I could think of, my son was dead. And I said, all I could say is, how is he? I think his legs broke. He said, that's fine. We could fix the leg. As long as my son's still alive, you know, all the time. I got back to the job site, they had an ambulance there, and I ran up the ambulance, and they put him in the ambulance, and I pulled a blanket off his leg. His bones hang out of his leg about 4 inches, you know, and it's. You know, it still bothers me to this day. You know, you, like, say, wish it could have been me. And I really do. You know, it was an accident. Accidents happened. And I'll tell you how it happened. Cell phones. Cell phones on the job. And since that day, I do not allow phones on my job sites. My foreman gets a phone, and the truck drivers get a phone, but. And nobody else has phones in the job.
- [17:48]
A
Yeah, that's true. As I know I've worked with you, and we've seen it where they don't have any when we're out there working. When I think about that, you know, and you're like, man, I wish it would have been me. I remember you saying that it should be me in the bed, not him. He's just a boy. And like I said, my boy was there. I don't know if it was the pain meds or what, but one very long. Leonard was back in good spirits. Like, whatever was going on with them, they had him back in good spirits and whatnot. And I think that that helps out quite a bit, but it's one of those things like we were talking about earlier. There's certain things in life that give you perspective, and I feel like that that's another thing that gave us perspective. It put into a basket really quick for you what's really important, right?
- [18:29]
B
Exactly. Exactly. Because, you know, we are hustling, grind, hustle and grind. Got to make more. Got to make more. But when you see your son laying there, the bone hanging out of his leg, and he could have. He. He was just probably inches away from being killed. That. That work money means nothing, you know, because you can't. I'd never had my son back. Yeah.
- [18:44]
A
Let me ask you about the first two parts of it, right? With your grandmother and your father. What happens, like, what happens to a person? Because I don't know. I'm. I'm not going to have that. I don't think. When I think about that, I'm not going to have that. I just. I'm not that close with anybody older than me. Even people in my family that are older than me. That's just not part of the cards that were dealt to me. I kind of want to. I kind of want to know that because I'm. I understand because of my relationship with Eli, what exactly I am to him. Right. I am what I would have hoped to have had when it comes to being a father. Right. To him. So. And I know when I'm gone, the things he tells me lets me know I'm a huge part of his life. And he'll call me and ask me about certain things or text me certain things a day that are questions. So I know there's a lot of guidance and there's just a lot of comfort. Right. There's got to be some type of safety there, knowing that you could mess up and you still got your dad to get your back and. And whatnot. What happens on that side of it with your father, because the way that you say that, I feel like that might have affected you two different ways with those two different people. So let's start with your dad. Like, what happens when your father passes away?
- [19:59]
B
With. With my dad, I think I was more. More angry than anything, especially at him, because he didn't take care of his health the best. You know, he's just kind of, well, I'm here today, maybe we'll get tomorrow. And that's kind of his attitude. But dad had his first heart attack at 39, when he had his first heart attack, which some of his problems was onset from Agent Orange in Vietnam. So dad had health concerns or health. Health issues because of his time in the service. But I love my father like any, you know, any son should. I love what's left rolling. My dad, were we best buddies? We weren't best buddies. You know, when I was kids growing up, he taught me to hunt, taught me to fish. We'd done stuff, taught me to work, you know, taught me how to sell a job, help me put a job in. But to say we were best buddies and hung out, we weren't, you know, but just, I still lost my father, you know, and it was, it was a tough time, you know, and I guess I was pretty upset with him at first, just thinking, well, he, why didn't you take better care of yourself? Why didn't you eat healthier? My dad never drank or smoked, but he liked to eat. He looked, he loved his food, you know, and I think I was just more upset with him than, than, you know, I lost him, yet I never seen him ever again. But just, it was, I guess on one aspect I was upset, but the other hand, he died fast. He had a heart attack and basically he was gone with a few minutes. So my dad never suffered. He wasn't sick, you know, in a nursing home or anything like that. So it was, it was easier on him. But it's hard on us. You weren't expecting it.
- [21:20]
A
If you've ever tried to freehand letters in a parking lot, you already know how that goes. Crooked lines, inconsistent spacing, it takes way longer than it should. That's why guys are switching to 1-800-stencil. They specialize in professional grade pavement marking stencils. Everything from ADA handicap symbols, arrows and no parkings to full Alphabet kits and even custom logos. So instead of guessing, you're laying down clean, consistent, compliant markings every single time. Now here's the part I like. These aren't cheap throwaways. They're made from heavy duty materials like LDPE and uhmw, Built to last through thousands of uses. So whether you're striping parking lots, doing municipal work, or running a full seal coating crew, this is one of those tools that just makes you faster and more professional. And if you got something custom branding, logos, whatever, they'll build it exactly how you need it. Check them out at 1-800stencil.com or call 1-800-stencil because at the end of the day, clean markings equals better work and better work equals more opportunities. I tell you either sometimes, right? Because he'll get upset with me sometimes. And I'm like, my job isn't to be your friend. Like, that's not why I'm here, right? Like if we, if we end up friends, if we Be friends. That's fantastic. Part way through it. But that's not my role. First and foremost, my role is your father. And as your father teach you how to be a man, right? And what we need to survive. So I think there's that aspect of it too, because I'm 39 and I still call you asking questions. I call my dad asking questions, right? So it's not like you, you have it all figured out, right? So there's still this part of you that's like, I still don't know everything I need to know and hear you, and you're gone, right? So now I feel like I'm kind of naked a little bit right here because I'm like, well, man, I don't know how I survive beyond here or what am I going to do when these certain things come at me.
- [23:10]
B
Exactly. You know, thankfully, like anybody, I had uncles that kind of filled in. You know, uncles, older cousins and uncles I count on too. Hey, you know, what about this? What about that? But still, you can't replace your dad, you know, you can't, you can't replace that conversation.
- [23:23]
A
What about your grandma?
- [23:25]
B
What about my grandmother? She was my best friend, you know, that was like, you know, my dad is my dad. I lost him. But when I lost my grandmother, losing my best friend, I. I lived with her quite a few times over the years, looked her off and on quite a bit of time. She taught me about the Lord, she taught me about the Bible. I went to church when I was a little boy. I was basically her chauffeur. When I got my license as her chauffeur, when I did have my license, I was her shot. I rode shotgun with her. We went to Indiana together, went to Texas together. You know, I just, just her best buddy. And from the time I was 16, she wanted to go somewhere. I drove her. She went to Texas, Come on, let's go. I drove, I drove her. And that's just, that was. I felt that was my job. And she actually got killed in a car accident. She was going to Eau Claire for her 50th class reunion or something. Maybe it'll been 60th or 70th class. 60th class reunion, I think it was. Anyway, I said, let me take, I'll drive you up there. She said, no, I'll drive myself. She said, I'm going. A couple friends from church, she said, that's okay, that's fine. Anyway, I got the phone call that she's making a left, a left hand turn at a stoplight. Some kid blowed through the stoplight and she had the arrow and hit her and basically killed her. And to me, that more devastating because I felt in my mind I should have been there because anytime she wanted to go anywhere else, I drove her. I was her chauffeur and she's my best friend.
- [24:42]
A
That's what I was. I was going to ask you that question. We'll move on after I ask you one more thing from this one, though. But what do you, what do you miss most? You think about your grandma being here with you?
- [24:53]
B
Her stories? Her stories? No, not, not just talking about the family. And she'd tell you this, tell you that, or, you know, she'd tell you what hard times they had growing up, traveling. You know, they traveled a lot when they travel all the time until. Until they settled in Wisconsin Dells back in the. Back in the middle late 60s. But they travel out west, California, New Mexico, all over out, Kansas, Nebraska, where they travel hearing, hearing how tough they really had it. You know, they had tough times and stuff. Makes you appreciate what you have now. And I guess of course, like any. Anybody missed the cooking and stuff and little meals she'd make and everything, but, you know, but I miss the conversations and what really bothers me when any of it, even with my father too, they didn't get to see my kids. You know, they, you know, she got, she got. See the letter. My oldest boy, she got to see him, but she, he was only two or three months when she passed away. But, you know, just. I love for her or my dad to see my kids now. They're. They're grown.
- [25:43]
A
Yeah, I think it comes from the stories, you know, because the stories are like, well, this was so and so's grandpa and this so and so, so and so. So there's all these stories of family lineage and who got to see who and who came from this person. It reminds me of Exodus in the Bible where so and so begot so and so, who begot so and so, who begot so and so. And there's 20 or 30 years. Those are like the stories that we have was like, well, man, this. Honestly, these are the stories of how I got here, really. Right. So it's like, why should I not be interested in it? These are the stories of how I got to come into existence. At this point, I think, I think there's an aspect to that as well. But I don't want to dive into it too much because it might come up into this next question. So, you know, this kind of this next question kind of goes over into a lot of them, but I don't need you to get really specific. But just kind of an overall blanket statement will be fine. 52 years. What are some of the lessons life's taught you? Like, what has life taught you? You know, we talked about how you gained a perspective and. And used them. You know, use that perspective. What's life taught you up to this point?
- [26:55]
B
Like, I say, hard work. You know, everybody. Everybody can say hard work and stuff, but discipline, like, more than anything, you know, be disciplined with your daily routine. Do it with your life. Be disciplined. One thing I've learned is it's a pretty simple concept. It's. The answer is always gonna be known once you ask, you know, if you don't. You don't ask for help, or you ask for that job or you ask something, you know, I've had more doors open for me by walking up, meeting people. Hey, I'm Leonard Pickett. I'm so and so shaking their hand. You know, if. If I wouldn't. I'm a little shy, you know that. I'm not. I'm not real going at times, but puts me out of my. Out of my element, I guess, by. By doing stuff like that. And I've really met. I've met a lot of people that way just by making myself uncomfortable and going, shaking hands. Hey, I'm so and so and so and so, and I've made connections, and, you know, it's been great for my family, for my business. And it. It's. One thing I've learned is get out there and meet people.
- [27:49]
A
Yeah, well, I think you. You know, we talk about Blacktop Banner and everything. It's done. You see me at all the shows and doing all the things and whatnot. People don't. People don't really know that. Lenny took me to my first asphalt conference. Really. So, you know that really, he's the one to blame for all that getting to this point. But we did the same thing at that first one. We shook hands, and we went with just a couple people to talk with and that we thought we might want to talk to. But I end up shaking a lot of hands. And you know me, I'm not really outgoing either, But I know that the more hands we shake, the more doors open for us. And beware.
- [28:26]
B
For example, in 2019, I joined the RTE Syndicate. I had no idea what I was getting into. Didn't have a clue. Didn't you? Had no idea. But I went to my first conference in October 2019 and we, I met a mutual friend there, Brian Hess, you know and, and the only reason I went talk to Brian was because I seen he had a shirt on. Whatever asphalt painting or whatever. I can't think of pavement group, Pavement group whatever, sit on the shirt. I can't remember now but I, I stood there for a minute. I wasn't, wasn't gonna say anything. Nope, you got to do it. I went up, shook Brian's hand and talked to him for a minute and you know, we don't talk as much as we used to but Brian's still my friend and you know, but even, even with that I joined top contractor school through Brian and I've made so many more acquaintances by that. So just, just that one step forward, going to meet Brian Hess is open so many more doors for me that I've made more friends, more acquaintances, more, more, more contacts just through that even you doing that.
- [29:22]
A
The for people don't know what Arte Syndicate is. It's a group of contractors that are in, in membership and it was put together by Ed Mylett and Andy Frisella. And Andy Frisella owns First Form. I wouldn't have known who Andy Frisella was, right. If Lenny wouldn't have been like, hey, I'm doing this thing. It's artist indicate. I'm sure I might have found out Ed Milette was and I'm sure I might have known who Andy Frisella was. But last year I was able to go to first form and meet Andy and hang out and have conversations and do these things. And that's all within being in proximity and getting out of your comfort zone about, you know, that's something life teaches you. You can't just stay in your bubble and you stay in your bubble if you, if you stay doing the same things, you're going to get the same things right.
- [30:02]
B
100, 100. And you know something else to go back kind of reiterate what I was saying about meeting people and stuff. You are who you surround yourself with. You know, who you, who you're with. You, you're you hanging around five druggies, you'd be the sixth druggie. You start with six millionaires, you'll be the seventh. You know, it's just surround yourself with people who you want to be like.
- [30:21]
A
So I was driving down the interstate on my way to Tennessee and went through Indiana and I seen some night paving and I seen these big balloon lights on the back of the paver that were illuminating the whole area where everybody was working. Guess where those came from. Portable Lighting Solutions. They're the only balloon light manufacturer offering the consumer a replaceable screw in LED bulb that is field serviceable in minutes. They have a patented slide in assembly and they have a push to rapidly deploy mechanism. So, you know, you push down on the top, it pops up, it lights the whole area up. You push down, it shuts off. They're manufactured right here in the usa. There's no patch kits, there's no blower motors, there's no set screws, and they're UL certified. So whether you're seal coating at night, I'm gonna get one and put it on the sealcoat rig so I can sealcoat at night and see everything, see the area or whether you're paving at night, you can put it right on your paver. We got a paver now, so I'll probably build a mount and just swap that thing back and forth or buy two. You might need this device. So hop over to portablelightingsolutions.net and put an order in and find yours today. They are ARA members, APWA members, and Women of Asphalt members as well. Once again, that's portablelightingsolutions.net let's use that to get into the last segment here of the questions. You know, I know all your children and you know, so it's, this makes it a interesting question for me and I know, and I know you more personally than I know a lot of podcast guests, which makes it interesting for me as well. But I, I feel like I've been fortunate enough for us to have conversations that whatever you're going to answer, I've probably heard it before and now, you know, my boy's been with us enough and our boys hang out and talk to each other, so I'm sure they've heard some of it too. But if you could teach your kids something because there was something you wanted your boys to know. I know you have a daughter and I have a daughter. We treat them differently than we treat our boys. You know, our boys bear the responsibility because it's our job to teach them to be men. If you could teach them something, just one thing that you really want to sink in for them that you know, they would take and not have to find out on their own. Right? Like they're not going to hear you and go out and try to do the opposite of that, just to figure it out in the first place. Something that you could tell them that they would take into their heart and it would really sink in for them. What would that be.
- [32:49]
B
I guess first thing popped my mind is always be truthful. Always tell the truth. You know, you'll get further in life by always telling truth to people. And, you know, if you don't know something, you don't know. But don't make, don't make up a story, don't make up a lie, don't fabricate things, just tell people the truth.
- [33:04]
A
Yeah.
- [33:05]
B
How did you. How do you learn? A man's only as good as his word. If his word's no good, he's no good. You know, if you're, if you're a liar, hypocrite, whatever, basically liar. You'll lose people's trust. And once, once you lose your trust to somebody, it's hard to get it back.
- [33:23]
A
Yeah. It's easier to admit you're wrong.
- [33:25]
B
Exactly. Admit you're wrong. If you are wrong and. But don't be a lie. Don't be a liar and just always tell the truth.
- [33:31]
A
Yeah. I feel like people get mixed up thinking that if they can tell a lie for a minute and somehow make it into the truth by just buying themselves some time, that, that's impressive. And really it's not. I'd much rather you just, if you can admit fault and be like, yeah, I'm wrong about this, or, hey, I can't do this, or I can't do that. For me, I give more respect when people do that because then I know like, they're, they're show they're letting their guard down a little bit and being a little vulnerable, but yet it also shows that they're asking for some grace and they want to learn or they want to be able to solve this problem.
- [34:02]
B
Right. Well, and that goes for business life and personal life. You know, it's just you, you gotta be truthful, whatever you're dealing with.
- [34:09]
A
Yeah. What's. So Lenny's 52. We were talking about your dad's health and like how you're like, well, I didn't take care of himself. You've taken care of yourself. You know, your body change different. What it was you, you relax a little bit. A little bit too much espresso and enjoy your cigar from time to time. But like you said, you doing jiu jitsu? I think every time I call you and be like, hey, something's up with me, you're like, well, I'm taking. You know, you should try to take this supplement. This is good for you for sleep.
- [34:36]
B
What?
- [34:36]
A
Magnesium? Last time you were like, you need some magnesium, boy. So I went and grabbed a Magnesium stack that you sent over. And it's helped me a lot with sleep. But it makes me think that Lenny's got a lot of time left, which makes me happy because I have more time left. What, what's, what is in your future? What's it look like? You got two grandbabies on the way. Like, what did Lenny's future look like for the next.
- [34:58]
B
I guess, I guess. You know, I do take care of my health. I try to. And I got scared after my dad died. You know, I haven't touched alcohol in 14 years. I quit drinking. You see, I'm smoking a cigar here. That's my biggest thing is cigar and espresso. I have not had an energy drink in over a year now. Quit energy drinks. I try to eat healthy when I can or try to eat healthy every day. I lift weights five to six days a week. I train jiu jitsu in the summertime two to three days a week, take my supplements, eat healthy. You know, people always said, well, you ain't gonna live forever, you're gonna live forever. I realize that. But I want my time to. Well, I'm here to be substantial. I want to be healthy and hopefully somebody else pass away quick, you know, as far as my future, I'll continue with the paving, you know, this year here, two weeks ago, I bought a new working mill machine. So I'm gonna try to expand the business into milling, set up a crew for that. As far as myself personally, I, I don't see Pickets paving growing a whole lot far as the paving. The paving end of it. But at some point, once my two older sons get a little older and handle a little more of the business, I like to step back a little bit, go play with my grandsons. Go, go deal with that, you know, that's all right. I've got 25 acres of commercial land where my shop is. I'd like to develop that. That's kind of in the works for next year or two. I'm either considering doing multi family housing or an RV park. I'm just, it's up to the banker. Generous these feelings. How generous? I'm gonna be building something, so. But that's kind of my next step, I think is as far as the paving business, I feel comfortable. We're at the milk. The mill machine is a big purchase for us other than what we need for, you know, pavers and stuff like that. I don't see us growing a whole lot more other than, you know, just handle what we got. But I think next Step for me is to deal with. To deal with my development and then hopefully here, maybe 7, 8, 10 years by time I'm 60. If I'm here that long, step back, have my sons put me on a salary. You know, here, daddy, you get so much a week salary and step back and enjoy myself a little more. But that, that'd be ideal. And if there's problems, stuff I need to deal with. Yeah, that's what I'm here for. Come deal the issues and stuff. Need to go sell some jobs, be an estimator still. I don't have a problem with that. But, you know, I don't want to have to kill myself till the day. Till the day I pass away, you know.
- [37:12]
A
You've seen a lot of that in Orange in our family, right?
- [37:16]
B
Oh, yeah. Yep.
- [37:17]
A
Common thing. Is that hard? Has it been hard for you? Is it hard for you when you gotta let go of a little bit of that stuff?
- [37:27]
B
100 hard let go of them reins and it's just to even let loose of the reins, it's just so hard. But I've learned the last two or three years to do it, you know, not. And I haven't 100 yet. And I don't have a little 100. You know, I've worked, you know, like I've told my sons, I've literally put my blood, sweat and tears in this business and just to let go of the reins in one shot, I can't do it. You know, I've worked hard to get where we are. And it's just. I'm not going to let go completely. Not right now, but I'll loosen the reins a little bit. And I. I've seen some. Some guys are competition, some family and stuff. The fathers get older and will not let go of the reins. They think they got to control every aspect of the business. And being an outsider, there's an old saying, you can't see the. You can't see the whole picture stand inside the frame, you know, but standing outside that frame, you can see that they're actually holding their business back. They're holding growth back, but not let go of the range a little bit.
- [38:20]
A
Yeah, yeah. It's a good. That's a good perspective to have. That makes me excited when you talk about that, about spending your days with the grandchildren, getting them all riled up and then sending them back to the boys and their mom and just let them be all riled up and whatnot. That makes me happy because I feel like, you know, when we started the conversation off we were talking about people who are always chasing something else to show somebody something else or to show the world that they're successful or that they made it, quote unquote or whatever. And they, by the time that they realize that that was chasing the wind, then they want to do what you're talking about doing here soon and spending time with the family and the boys and really making their heart full.
- [38:59]
B
I, I tell you, we have another mutual friend and I watch his videos and I've talked to him on the phone personally and stuff. And I, I like what I see from him is Jeff from California. You know, he's, he's doing more, he seemed doing stuff with his family. Got us, you know, take him a fishing and stuff. You know, I, I, and I, I see with Jeff he's put, he's put the right people in the right place to run help from his business. You know, he's not hands on everything. And I, I kind of look up to Jeff Nelson. I said I'd like to be him someday. You know, step, step back and go play with my grandkids, take him out to a job site and you know, take him fishing, take a boat out, something, you know, that's, I'd like to see myself there someday.
- [39:35]
A
Yeah, I was fortunate enough to get out there to Gold Star and visit him and you'll see him for four hours of the day. Be hyped up about the business, be in the business, show you what's all going on, what's here. Tell so and so. Hey, let's get this route up. That route come after lunchtime, he wants to know where we're going. Are we gonna go lunch? Are we going to Anaheim Ducks game? Hey, we should go out on the boat. We should do this. Like that's, he's got it, you know, he had a health issue and I think he's got to prioritize, right? Like that's how I would like to spend the rest of my time. Pretend like I'm still in my mind, pretend like I'm still in it and going and do some business stuff for the first half of the day and then the second half start winding down telling everybody, take it easy, don't be so caught up in the business. Enjoy your life after, after I was caught up in the business in the
- [40:17]
B
morning and you know, that's kind of where I've been trying to lead myself. Even just last year, even take care of everything needs to be handled up until noon, 1 o' clock and then after that, if I Can step back a little bit at night. You can't do it every day. I can't do every day, you know, but come two or three o', clock, like I told you, like, I try to find a cigar bar, espresso bar, and for me, it relaxes me and just go hang out and just relax a little bit.
- [40:41]
A
If 2026 is the year you want to make more money in your business, it starts with two things. Staying busy and getting paid faster. That's why I use Jobber. Jobber is software built for blue collar businesses, and it's designed to help you book, work ahead of the busy season and keep your cash flow strong all year long. The marketing tools help you get found, look professional, and stay booked. Not just when the phone's ringing, but before the rush even hits. And once the work's booked, Jobber Payments helps you collect deposits up front and get paid faster so you're not chasing checks or waiting weeks for the money that you've already earned. Bottom line, Jobber helps you stay busy and stay paid. If you want to make more money in 2026 with software built for blue collar, try Jobber for free today. The link's in the description, and it seems like you're pretty relaxed down there right now, and I'm glad you ain't up here freezing. I know you just left to go back down there, but I'm leaving. I'm heading down tomorrow to Nashville and I. They told me it's gonna be 55 this weekend, so that might as well be downright tropical for me.
- [41:44]
B
Heat wave.
- [41:45]
A
Yeah. I said I'm wearing shorts and T shirt, I guess when I go. So, you know, it is what it is. We don't got too much longer. You know, I don't know when this one's gonna air, when this podcast will come out or. Or if or how, whatever. But it's going to be, you know, it'll be hot and it'll be a summer and we'll be in it and we'll be thinking about the off season, probably already trying to get close to it. But, you know, I'm. I'm fortunate to be the way I am. And I wasn't always that case. I'm always been the black sheep and the outsider and I do things that sometimes people are like, why is he doing this? Or that? A lot of it's just me being misunderstood, but I've never had that feeling when. When you and I conversate. And I really appreciate it. So I'm hoping we get a lot more years. I'm hoping a lot of the stuff that you hope for that you said in this podcast come true. And, you know, I think that some of the stuff that we hope happens doesn't happen until after we're gone. Right. But you kind of want that reassurance that you're going to see it and that it's going to happen while you're here so that you know that it took root. But I don't think that's how it works. I think sometimes you, you plant these seeds and they don't blossom until after we're gone. And that's okay too. I think we just kind of gotta be happy with what we've done. And I think, I think you've done plenty of that, in my opinion.
- [42:59]
B
Anyways, I try to. We try to. Yeah.
- [43:03]
A
All right, y', all, that's it for this one. We gotta thank Lenny for coming and spending some time and opening up his, his mind and his heart to us a little bit for these questions. Talking a little bit of blacktop with us. Talking a whole lot of life. Yeah, it's. It's nice to be able to get these experiences and get them. Them pinned down and get these thoughts pinned down and then us be able to put them up somewhere where people that we care about and people that follow us along can see them at a later time. So, Lenny, thanks a lot, man. I appreciate it once again, my friend.
- [43:30]
B
Thanks for having me on here. Appreciate it.
- [43:32]
A
Yep, no worries. All right, so we're myself here in freezing Wisconsin and Lenny in beautiful sunny Florida. You've got another episode under your belt and as always, stay in the mix.
- [43:46]
B
Thanks for hanging out with us on in the Mix. For more on the world of blacktop, head over to marvinjols.com and don't forget 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'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.