Second in Command with Cameron Herold

Ep. 522 – Will Smith: How Trust and Time Created a Profitable 15-Store Brand

Date: October 28, 2025
Guest: Will Smith, COO & Managing Partner, Lone Star Pups LLC (Dogtopia franchise)

Overview:

This episode dives into the remarkable growth of Lone Star Pups/Dogtopia under the operational leadership of Will Smith. Host Savannah Brewer explores Will’s journey from hospitality to pet care, his principles for scaling from 18 to 140 employees, and his unique approach to leadership, team culture, and financial literacy in a high-turnover service business.

The conversation is rich in practical takeaways on team management, servant leadership, boosting retention, and why teaching personal finance is integral to organizational—and individual—success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Will Smith’s Journey & Lone Star Pups’ Origin

• Background: Will came from hospitality (Westin, Hyatt, Hilton) before joining Lone Star Pups as a “passion project” post-COVID. His business partner, Devin, specifically recruited him for his integrity and operational expertise.

• The Partnership:

  • Will was the first person Devin ever recruited for a business, breaking his usual pattern (“You're the very first. So for me, I knew he was serious.” – Will Smith, 06:35).

• Dogtopia’s Scope:

  • 15 franchise licenses across San Antonio and Denver.
  • Grew staff from 18 to 140 in under four years, emphasizing operational excellence and people-first leadership.

2. Leadership Philosophy: Servant Leadership & Culture

• Operational Style:
  • Will emphasizes leading by example, getting involved in any task—from fixing A/C units to cleaning up after pets (“When your team sees that you have zero issues going into a room and deep cleaning it...that to me, is me serving them.” – Will Smith, 12:21).
  • Draws inspiration from his grandfather: “It doesn’t matter how successful the man or woman is. They put their pants on one leg at a time.” (13:19)
• Keystone Framework:
  • “Time plus trust equals influence.” (13:41)
    • The more time spent with the team, the deeper the trust, and the greater one’s ability to influence positive outcomes and culture.
  • “Culture is the operating system.” (13:41)

3. Tactics for Building and Sustaining Culture

• Team Surveys:
  • Instituted anonymous employee surveys, achieving an 80% response rate and 85% satisfaction—but learning that communication needed improvement (16:51).
• Monthly Newsletters:
  • Will personally writes and sends a monthly newsletter with team highlights, process updates, milestones, and shoutouts (“I personally send it out...so they have a better understanding of what we do as a company AND a personal connection to at least me.” – Will Smith, 17:36).
• On-the-Ground Engagement:
  • Will visits stores, shakes every hand, and remembers specific staff details to connect personally and build trust (20:29).
• Key Quote:
  • “If I want people to serve our customers the way that they need to, then I need to model that behavior from the top down.” (13:41)

4. Transparency & Overcommunication

• Vision Plan and Key Drivers:
  • Organizational goals are constructed around five drivers: culture, top line, cost controls, customer satisfaction, and asset maintenance—each tied to KPIs (22:06).
  • Clear communication so front-line staff knows company expectations and metrics.
• Feedback-Driven Action:
  • Solicits and addresses critical feedback; specifically emphasized the need to communicate “what’s important to them, not just what’s important to the company.” (23:02)

Memorable Quote:

• “The biggest myth in communication is that it’s actually happening.” (23:48 – Savannah Brewer quoting a common saying)

5. Rooting Growth: Watering Bamboo

• Book Reference:
  • Watering Bamboo by Greg Bell: Organizational culture and financial discipline are like bamboo—you must invest in the “root system” (culture, process, financial habits) and results will eventually grow rapidly (26:36).
• Application:
  • Building strong foundational processes supports exponential business and personal growth.

6. Financial Literacy as a Retention Tool

• Why It Matters:
  • Many staff, especially the younger generation, lack basic personal finance education. Will offers simplified personal finance lessons, both to team members and as a college adjunct instructor (28:35).
• 80-10-10 Rule:
  • “80% goes to bills, 10% goes to savings, and 10% goes to charities.” (30:29)
• Discipline Is Crucial:
  • “It’s 100% discipline. ...They want it their way right now. I want that new phone. I deserve that new phone even though I can’t afford it. But I’ve been working hard, right? So they put it on credit and they don’t realize that they can have their money work for them instead of them working for their money.” (32:16)

7. Teaching Finance Internally: Canary Metrics

• Canary Metrics:
  • Simple heuristics for managers to understand P&L: each dog = one hour of labor, and managers must write variance reports monthly (33:38).
  • Focus on controllables, like payroll, to influence profitability—skills transferable to personal finances.

Key Quote:

• “If they take that and apply that in their personal finance, then they’ll understand how to manage their own money.” (36:22)

8. Time Management and Awareness

• Tracking Time Like Money:
  • Will supports team time-tracking to uncover distractions and optimize productivity. Parallels budget tracking for personal finance (42:08).
  • “If you don’t know what you’re doing with your time, then you’ll never understand that.” (43:01)

9. Looking Ahead: Growth and Learning

• Will’s Focus for the Next Six Months:
  • Excited about expanding teaching, growing the business, and “leaning into challenges.” Encourages team to take risks and learn from mistakes (43:17).
  • Observes positive economic trends reflected in increasing customer willingness to spend in stores.

Notable Closing Quote:

• “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying. ...I have no problems with the mistakes. What I have a problem with is the knuckleheaded mistakes—the things you didn’t think through.” (43:39)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Trust & Influence:

  “Time plus trust equals influence. The more time I spend with my team, the more they trust me, the more they trust me, the more I can influence them to do the things I do.”
  — Will Smith, 13:41

• Servant Leadership in Practice:

  “If my team realizes that I'm here to do that, like I get on a roof and try to fix an air conditioner...when your team sees that...that is me serving them.”
  — Will Smith, 12:21

• On Communication:

  “The biggest myth in communication is that it’s actually happening.”
  — Savannah Brewer, 23:48

• Personal Finance Wisdom:

  “They don’t realize that they can have their money work for them instead of them working for their money. I don’t trade my time for money anymore. What I trade my time for is the ability to grow my portfolio.”
  — Will Smith, 32:16

• Financial Teaching with Impact:

  “If they take that and apply that in their personal finance, then they’ll understand how to manage their own money.”
  — Will Smith, 36:22

Key Segment Timestamps

• Intro & Episode Framing: 00:00–03:06
• Will’s Background & Lone Star Pups Origin: 04:15–07:22
• Leadership Philosophy & Culture: 11:38–13:19
• Building Trust & Team Relationship: 13:19–16:51
• Conducting Employee Surveys & Communication Learnings: 16:51–20:59
• Monthly Newsletter & Storytelling: 17:36–20:29
• Feedback and Overcommunication: 22:06–24:40
• Watering Bamboo & Foundation Building: 26:31–28:09
• Financial Literacy Principles for Teams: 28:32–33:32
• Canary Metrics—Financial Education in Practice: 33:38–36:27
• Time Management as a Growth Lever: 42:08–43:01
• Looking Ahead—Excitement for Growth: 43:17–45:53

Conclusion

Will Smith’s leadership is anchored in servant leadership, building trust through consistent presence, overcommunication, and practical teaching—including financial literacy. These pillars have not only scaled Lone Star Pups quickly but built a culture where team members feel valued, heard, and empowered for both personal and business growth. For COOs and business leaders, Will’s actionable frameworks for trust, influence, and financial education offer blueprints for thriving in high-growth, high-turnover service environments.