Ep 310. Was a Guest on "Profits with Pajak"… Here's Why Live Events Changed My Business

Summary

Side Hustle Squad Podcast Ep 310 Summary

Episode Title: Was a Guest on "Profits with Pajak"… Here's Why Live Events Changed My Business
Host: Mike Garvey
Date: February 19, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Mike Garvey recaps his experience as a guest on the "Profits with Pajak" podcast while attending the Synced Live event in New Orleans. The discussion centers on the transformative power of live industry events for small business owners—especially those in the lawn care and landscape industries. Mike and fellow industry veterans discuss networking, learning opportunities, the unique energy of live gatherings, and the ripple effects these events have had on their businesses and personal growth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Value of Live Events

• Camaraderie & Community

  • Both Mike and Larry (the recurring co-host in this episode) emphasize the sense of family and community at events like Synced Live.
  • “Every time we get back together, it feels really good. It’s like you’re seeing your family again.” (Mike, 01:56)

• Beyond Equipment Shows: Depth Over Breadth

  • Synced Live is described as a think tank for service business owners, not just a trade show focused on products.
  • "This is the backbone of business, right? ... This is more of a think tank as opposed to coming to see, you know, a trade show with new mowers." (Larry, 06:25)

• Learning in Small Groups

  • Smaller events promote meaningful connections over surface-level exchanges.
  • “…it’s the small connections that you make with people as opposed to these huge events where you go to the event and then everyone disappears.” (Mike, 08:29)

Memorable Event Moments & People

• Venue & Atmosphere

  • The historic ambiance of New Orleans and the Synced Live venue adds inspiration and excitement, enhancing the event experience.
  • “This place has so much history... this is a hallway, but it doesn’t feel like it. It literally feels like this is part of a banquet room when it’s not.” (Larry, 05:14)

• Networking Success Stories

  • Mike shares reconnecting with Joe Langton, a key player in robotics for the lawn industry, and how those casual conversations can lead to new opportunities.
  • "I run into Joe Langton again—man, I had him on the show because I reached out through LinkedIn last year… became a Crest dealer in New Jersey because of that connection." (Mike, 07:45)

Actionable Takeaways from Live Events

• Decade of Insight in a Day

  • Major events can help compress years of learning into hours through focused sessions and networking.
  • “…you could give yourself such a huge step up and like a decade worth of information that someone gives you in an hour.” (Larry, 12:48)

• Keep Your Notes and Implement Over Time

  • Attendees are urged to keep notebooks from events and revisit them, gradually adding new tactics into their own businesses.
  • "I still have that notebook … I couldn’t implement everything from that … every now and again, I’ll grab it and look through it again, see the things that I’ve actually implemented." (Larry, 11:46)

• It’s Not All About the Sessions

  • Off-the-cuff hallway conversations, receptions, and casual meetups (like bowling nights) often yield the biggest business breakthroughs.
  • "Just take one thing away from these events. It’s gold.” (Mike, 10:11)

Inclusivity & Accessibility

• Anyone Can Join and Benefit

  • You don’t need an invitation or credentials to benefit from events—just a willingness to talk and connect.
  • "You don’t have to, like, get an invitation or anything. You could just talk to these people and they're willing..." (Larry, 10:05)

• Diversity of Attendees

  • Events provide a cross-section of the industry: from beginners, seasoned pros, massive company owners, and even local hosts.
  • “…you never know who you're gonna get here. I mean, you have people with multimillion-dollar businesses, people with 40 years of experience, small business owners, people just starting out…” (Mike, 17:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Finding Community:
  “It’s not only the camaraderie for me … it’s the backbone of business, right?” (Larry, 06:17)

• On the Impact of Live Learning:
  “You could give yourself such a huge step up and like a decade worth of information that someone gives you in an hour.” (Larry, 12:48)

• On Keeping the Learning Alive:
  “I still have that notebook … every now and again, I’ll grab it and look through it again … there’s still pages in there where I’m like, I never … I should do that this year.” (Larry, 11:46)

• On Event Atmosphere:
  “There’s nothing like being live with people. And they’re the best episodes. And some of the best episodes are just—you never know who you’re gonna get here.” (Mike, 17:05)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:56] — “Feels like you’re seeing your family again”: on event camaraderie
• [06:25] — What makes Synced Live unique as a think tank
• [07:45] — Networking with Joe Langton and tangible business outcomes
• [08:29] — Value of small group interactions versus huge trade shows
• [11:46] — The importance of keeping and revisiting notes from events
• [12:48] — “A decade worth of information in an hour:” on the value of condensed learning
• [17:05] — The variety and richness of event attendees and live episodes

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Final Thoughts

This episode underscores how live events are more than just industry networking—they are catalysts for personal and professional transformation. Whether you're a lawn care veteran or just starting your business, stepping outside your comfort zone to attend such events can compress years of learning, spark powerful collaborations, and recharge your entrepreneurial spirit.

Action Step:
Consider seeking out a live event, local or national, in your industry. Focus on meaningful connections and bring a notebook—you never know which insight will be the game-changer for your business.

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Summary prepared for those seeking in-depth, actionable insights from Ep 310 of the Side Hustle Squad Podcast, skipping sponsor ads and focusing squarely on the content-rich discussion.

Transcript

[Mike Garvey]

Are you ready to kick back and get inspired? Grab your favorite drink, pop the top and join the side Hustle Squad with Mike Garvey. This podcast is the perfect resource for anyone who's already started their side hustle or is just considering taking the lead. With in depth interviews featuring guests from the green industry and beyond, you'll gain valuable insights and learn what it takes to succeed in running a business while juggling a full time career. From personal stories to practical tips, the Soc side Hustle Squad podcast has everything you need to turn your passion into a thriving business. Now, here's your side Hustle Squad host, Mike Garvey.

[Larry]

Today we're here, we're at Saint Live, which is in New Orleans this year. Really cool stuff. And sitting beside me in the flesh, we've got Mike Garvey, side Hustle Squad Podcast, near and dear friend to the show and to me. Mike, how's it going?

[Unidentified Guest]

Thank you for having me. I feel like I'm a reoccurring guest at this point.

[Larry]

At this point, I'm like ready to tell you to just come on over. We should partner up and turn it into the paycheck side Hustle Squad.

[Unidentified Guest]

Exactly. Now we got to rework the name.

[Larry]

Well, we'll just shorten it. Be like the profitable side Hustle. The Profitable side Hustle. How's that?

[Unidentified Guest]

That sounds great now. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you know, I talking with you. We talk every week. Obviously, you're my financial coach, steering the ship for me and it's great always being at live events with you.

[Larry]

Absolutely.

[Unidentified Guest]

Our last live event was Lao.

[Larry]

Yes, right. I have to think about that.

[Unidentified Guest]

Which seems like it was a while ago and it's not, it's. No, it's only two months ago.

[Larry]

Yeah.

[Unidentified Guest]

But it's nice. Every time we get back together, it feels really good. It's like, it's, you know, it's like you're, you're seeing your family again.

[Larry]

Exactly. And you know, events like this, it's not only a lot of it is the camaraderie for me, you know, but like this event in particular, synced live, you know, the past three or four years, I think it's been in Atlanta exclusively. Today we're here in New Orleans, which is a very cool town.

[Unidentified Guest]

Very cool.

[Larry]

I love, I love New Orleans. It's fantastic. The food's great here. As you can tell. If you ever check out the, you know, any of my, my live streams or anything like that, you know, I'm

[Unidentified Guest]

a hefty boy, big bounded.

[Larry]

I'm Big bounded. But I know where all the great spots are. It's not like, you know, if you came to where I live and you, you know, I'm hosting you. I. I'm not going to take you to Chipotle. I'm not going to take you.

[Unidentified Guest]

I know this great place.

[Larry]

Yeah, I know this great place. It's kind of like, you know, off the beaten path, but it's called Chipotle. Oh, wow. That's so unique to your town, isn't it?

[Unidentified Guest]

Huh?

[Larry]

Wow. Well, how about some local fair? I've got like some amazing places that I'll take you to. But, you know, that's why towns like Orleans, man, I know all the hidden spots. When I. When there's a time period, I'll just get off the beaten path real quick like you usually do. In the early 2000s, I was traveling a lot and, you know, playing paintball, doing tournament paintball across the country and stuff. And I would always find, you know, one. I was broke, I didn't have money, so I had to find cheap places. But good stuff, right. And that's how I developed this passion for finding like. Oh, yeah.

[Unidentified Guest]

Off the beaten path.

[Larry]

This is a great restaurant, right? Nationally known.

[Unidentified Guest]

But then, too, there was no Google. My business. There was no. There was like no Yelp. No, there was nothing. There was like. You had to ask.

[Larry]

Right? And that's the thing that people on the street, because we're talking about, you know, camaraderie and communication. That's why I have no problem just talking to a perfect stranger. I. Because that's what I would do. I pull off.

[Unidentified Guest]

You're perfect. I just witnessed it. You speak the woman that's setting everything up. Hi, I'm John. Yeah, it's great. Yeah.

[Larry]

I just wanted to thank him for the beautiful spread.

[Unidentified Guest]

The beautiful spread and the hospitality.

[Larry]

Hospitality, the way they have everything. I mean, this is a hallway.

[Unidentified Guest]

This is beautiful.

[Larry]

This is a hallway, people.

[Unidentified Guest]

But it doesn't feel like it at all.

[Larry]

It doesn't feel like it. It literally feels like this is part of a banquet room when it's not. It is in between. It's actually the hallway in between.

[Unidentified Guest]

It's actually like it's a time capsule.

[Larry]

It is like these rooms that. The. The breakaway room and the main room here. These were not designed for that. These were. No, forever ago.

[Unidentified Guest]

And then our rooms. Our rooms are like wild. Yeah. Like. Like, I don't know what time, what. What time period is this? 50s.

[Larry]

Oh, no, no, no. This. Earlier. Yeah. This has got to be Turn of the century.

[Unidentified Guest]

Turn of the century, Yeah. I mean, it's.

[Larry]

This place has so much history. I mean, you look at the brickwork over there, those bricks, easily, like pre. Your pre Civil War, your Pre World War I, you know. Yeah, you're. Yeah, definitely around Civil War time. I'm looking at the architecture here.

[Unidentified Guest]

I mean, and then you could see, like, it's been renovated, but it's been renovated in a beautiful way every time. It's probably been renovated the same. It's kept the same.

[Larry]

It kept the craftsmanship.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah.

[Larry]

Like those sconces and things that are throughout the hotel. Yeah, they don't do this stuff anymore.

[Unidentified Guest]

No.

[Larry]

But anyway. Anyway, the thing is, this place is a beautiful place, and you can only experience that when you start to travel and, you know, get outside your comfort zone. And that's why I like coming to events like this, because, you know, this isn't specifically for landscapers. It's about small service businesses.

[Unidentified Guest]

Right.

[Larry]

That's what Synclive is. Is built for. And they've welcomed us with open arms.

[Unidentified Guest]

Oh, yeah.

[Larry]

And I feel like there's a lot of. There's a lot of guys out there that instead of just going to all these equipment shows, this is more of a think tank, as opposed to coming to see, you know, a trade show where you see new mowers and things like that. This is the backbone of business, right?

[Unidentified Guest]

Yes.

[Larry]

You've got, you know, just. It's for familiarity. We've got Naylor Telly O Farrow, who is going to be one of the breakout speakers. He's going to have his own session going. Justin White, you may know him, recall that name. He's, you know, he's got his disruptor group and he's been making waves for the past year.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah, big time.

[Larry]

And he's speaking right now with the kickoff speech. He's like the keynote. Keynote.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah.

[Larry]

That's awesome. It's amazing. But, you know, it's. This isn't like, well, let's just go out and feel good type stuff. When you come to an event like this and you put into it a little bit, what I mean by that is, pay attention, show up. But then the networking, just talking to people. This event's actually really cool for that because.

[Unidentified Guest]

And I was on. We were here last year the first time, and I was at the reception last night. I run into Joe Langton again. Yes. Oh, my God. Man. I had it on the show because I reached out to him through LinkedIn last year and he's like, how you Been.

[Larry]

How's everything?

[Unidentified Guest]

What's new? And I'm like, hey, you know, by the way, I became a crest dealer in New Jersey. Oh, my God. If you need anything. And he's the.

[Larry]

He's the robotic, like, master we have.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah, we had him going on some things. He's very passionate, you know, he's like, really? But. But again, it's the small groups, the

[Larry]

small

[Unidentified Guest]

connections that you make with people opposed to these huge events where you. You go to the event and then everyone disappears. This is, like, I think, like you said, a think tank of multiple people. He has 200, 300 employees.

[Larry]

Yeah, he's got 300. Joe's got 300 employees.

[Unidentified Guest]

Right.

[Larry]

And operates. He actually lost count of how many robots. Robots, yeah. He operates.

[Unidentified Guest]

Right.

[Larry]

He just knows that his portfolio is like, I think, like one. Was it $4.7 million worth of robots in his hair under his. Under his management, put it that way.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah. Right, Right.

[Larry]

It's an amazing thing.

[Unidentified Guest]

Hey, what's going on, guys? With Jobber, you can easily manage jobs, track your team, get paid faster, all from one simple app. Join thousands of satisfied lawn care professionals who trust Jobber to keep their business growing strong. Visit the link in the bio today and start your free trial. Hey, guys.

[Larry]

Adam Fullerton here with Branded Bull as a proud sponsor of the side Hustle Squad podcast. We're all about helping lawn care and landscaping businesses make their mark and stand out from the competition. Visit us@branded bull.com to learn more about our professional branding website and graphic design services and how we can help your business look awesome and grow. You don't have to, like, get an invitation or anything. You could just talk to these people and they're willing to sign up and

[Unidentified Guest]

get a ticket and go to all of this. The welcome reception, the disruptors with the.

[Larry]

The.

[Unidentified Guest]

The day. And just take one thing away from these events. It's gold.

[Larry]

Just, you know, the. I went to a service, autopilot. I can't remember which number it was. It was years and years ago. It was probably like 2016. It was probably 2017, I think. Went down to Dallas. Right. Took notes. They had breakaway sessions and things like that as well. So it was kind of like there was times when I wanted to be in both that were happening at the same time. It was like, oh, man, that's a great topic, and this is a great topic, and I want to see both these speakers. And I had to make a decision. So a friend of mine, throwback to my friend Mr. Parks, he's a I still love you, man. I know you're out there, but I just want. We got to get you back on the show. Anyway, the thing is, he went. He went to. We split the difference. He went to one, I went to the other and suddenly reported back. Exactly. So we both took really great notes.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah, that's awesome.

[Larry]

And we were able to do it, you know, like, share notes. And that way we both experiences like, oh, man, you should have been there. This is great. I'm like, no, you should have been in mine, because it was amazing. And the thing is, the point I'm trying to make is I still have that notebook because I couldn't implement everything from that. And we're talking, you know, let's say eight, nine years ago, that's when that, that event happened. I still have it on my bookshelf.

[Unidentified Guest]

Right.

[Larry]

And every now and again, I'll grab it and I'll look through it again, see the things that I've actually implemented in my business and seen how it's affected it, improved it. But then there might. There's still pages in there where I'm like, I never.

[Unidentified Guest]

Oh, my God, I never went back to that.

[Larry]

I should do that this year. Should we do that this year? Is that still. Yeah. You know. Right. So you think about it. It's not just like, you show up and you're here and, okay, I'm going home.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah. I'm never going to think about any of this again.

[Larry]

Yeah.

[Unidentified Guest]

You know what I mean?

[Larry]

Because, I mean, let's be honest, sometimes when we come to these things,

[Unidentified Guest]

when

[Larry]

we come, we're working, we're doing the

[Unidentified Guest]

podcasts, we don't get a lot of the.

[Larry]

We don't. We don't get to see a lot of it. Yeah. But at the same time, you know, like, in our, in our tickets are, you know, taken care of for the most part. Right. And I know some of these events, people are like, man, that's kind of a high price. But again, I've been on the receiving end of these things, and you could give yourself such a huge step up and like a decade worth of information

[Unidentified Guest]

that someone gives you in an hour, in an hour. Speech, or you talk to them about something at the opening, you know, little cocktail hour. Oh, yeah, like, that was huge.

[Larry]

You know that those are the interactions that I love.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah.

[Larry]

Because it's not just structured.

[Unidentified Guest]

Right.

[Larry]

They're coming. You hear that in the background, you get some applause. They must have just, you know, wrapped up. Wrapped up. But anyway. Oh, yeah, we're at, like, still out time is it? Nine o'. Clock. Okay. It's only nine.

[Unidentified Guest]

Is it. My watch might be off.

[Larry]

No, we're in central.

[Unidentified Guest]

No, we came down in seven. Yeah, yeah, it's only nine. Okay, cool.

[Larry]

Well, here's the thing. We. We. We got a long day ahead of us, and we're gonna. There's gonna be some episodes where we're gonna be talking. We're gonna be here at SYNC Live. We're gonna be interviewing a lot of great people. If you haven't done this already, you got to go to side Hustle Squad podcast. You got to make sure that you're listening to Mike Garvey. Really cool stuff. Okay? So make sure you do that. Like, right now, you're listening to me, and you know where to find me. Mike's available on the same platforms that I am, and go over there, follow him, subscribe, do the. Do the nice thing. Give him a nice review and everything, but let's share the love.

[Unidentified Guest]

Thank you.

[Larry]

We're both going to be presenting a series of episodes based on the experiences we're having here at Sync Live. We're going to have some amazing people that are going to be interviewed here. And because it's a long day. You saw when I got so excited about the honey over there.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah, I know. It looks like good honey.

[Larry]

This is. It's your best friend. As a. As.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yes.

[Larry]

Lemon hot water and honey just s. Phenomenal. It's going to help soothe and keep your throat from going crazy. So, you know, that way

[Unidentified Guest]

you're not

[Larry]

going to sound like this.

[Unidentified Guest]

By the end of the day, I'm going to. I want to yell my partner to get him on. Oh, he's gonna talk to him. Hey, Larry, why don't you get him on? See, I don't know what I'm paying him for. You want to. Come on, come on. Come sit down. Throw a headset on.

[Larry]

See? All right, so here's the deal. Everybody go flip over real quick. Who we're. Mike and Larry are going to be just jumping over onto another podcast right now.

[Unidentified Guest]

No, I'm not. He's doing it. I'm with you, but divide and conquer.

[Larry]

Yeah, we're divide and conquer, but at this point, this is more just okay, you know, like, hey, I'm. We really haven't even kicked this off yet. No, we did the. The intro. It was like a little meet and greet last night. And then we went to the Justin.

[Unidentified Guest]

Justin.

[Larry]

Justin White's Disruptor event, which was such a great event.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah. And a very cool Venue bowling alley. We love bowling.

[Larry]

Yeah. Make sure our good friend Cornell Mack on. On the attack with Mack. Is going to have his win at life meetup in Louisville.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yes.

[Larry]

Swip Expo. He has not put out the signup for it yet, but it is held at a. The most historic bowling alley in the country. Yeah.

[Unidentified Guest]

Right.

[Larry]

It's. At least in Louisville.

[Unidentified Guest]

At least in. In Louisville.

[Larry]

It's. It's just an amazing place.

[Unidentified Guest]

Four lanes.

[Larry]

It's a. Yeah, it's a small. No, it's got. I think it's six lanes.

[Unidentified Guest]

It's in a house.

[Larry]

Yeah, it's. It's. It's crazy. It's like a really cool place.

[Unidentified Guest]

Like a speakeasy.

[Larry]

But the thing is, it's like, hey, I don't know what it is about lawn care guys and bowling alleys and having events there, but it's having a couple drinks. It's a great time. So make sure you're on the lookout for that. But Mike, thank you for taking a quote.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yeah, no, thank you.

[Larry]

Time and jumping out with us.

[Unidentified Guest]

Thank you for. I'm gonna go down. I'm gonna try to, you know, get. Get on a couple of them and then also produce some good episodes myself. Just because there's nothing like being live with people. And they're the best episodes and some of the best episodes of just. And you never know who you're gonna get here. I mean, you have people with multimillion dollar businesses, people with 40 years of experience in tree care, landscape architects. It's. It's. It's. We're small business owners, People just starting out, people thinking about it, people from the area. It's such a mixture of people in the industry, and that's why I love this event.

[Larry]

Yeah, it's. It's wonderful. So I really want to also thank Angelique.

[Unidentified Guest]

Yes.

[Larry]

She is the brainchild and the. The driving force behind Sync Live. We were always appreciative that she invites us every year. And it's a. She puts on a great event. It's. The food here has been, you know, obviously I'm showing my fatness.

[Unidentified Guest]

No, I told you. You're looking. You're. You're. You should be very proud of yourself.

[Larry]

Thank you.

[Unidentified Guest]

You're looking. Looking good.

[Larry]

I think I. I think I went nuts last night with that charcuterie thing.

[Unidentified Guest]

Thing.

[Larry]

Cuz I.

[Unidentified Guest]

It's okay.

[Larry]

Oh, my God. They've got the, like. It was like real fancy food that I'm not used to, but I'm like, nice cheeses, meats and cheeses.

[Unidentified Guest]

And yeah, yeah, that Brie, that.

[Larry]

Oh, I was like, can I eat the whole wheel please? Like sir, like sir, can you please put down that eight pound? Like we call security. I really like it. I just, I'm sorry. I just haven't had this in two years and I just. So happy.

[Unidentified Guest]

I'm so happy right now.

[Larry]

So happy right now.

[Unidentified Guest]

But.

[Larry]

All right everyone, thank you for listening. We are going to have more content coming to you shortly. We're even going to do some live streams from Synced Live here in New Orleans. So with that being said, God bless. Keep pushing through and we'll catch you on the next one.

[Mike Garvey]

Thanks for tuning in to the side Hustle Squad Podcast with Mike Garvey. We hope you enjoyed this episode and gained valuable insights to help you succeed in your side Hustle journey. Connect with Mike using the links in the podcast description. If you love the show, please leave us a well worded five star review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback and support help us grow and continue to provide you with the best content. And don't forget to follow the show to be notified when the next edition of the side Hustle Squad Podcast is available. We have many exciting guests and topics lined up so you won't want to miss a single episode. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you next time on the side Hustle Squad Podcast.