Latest / The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast / Beyond the Cleanup: The Human Side of Restoration Work | Morgan Cole of Voda Cleaning & Restoration

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Beyond the Cleanup: The Human Side of Restoration Work | Morgan Cole of Voda Cleaning & Restoration · The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everyone, and welcome to this episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm Joe Cressera.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm excited to be joined by Morgan Cole from Boda Cleaning and Restoration in Nashville, Tennessee.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: They are dedicated to providing expert solutions for both residential and commercial spaces, ensuring your property is clean, safe, and restored to its best condition.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Morgan, thank you so much for joining us today.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're thrilled to have you on the show.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Hi, Joe.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Excited to be here.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pleasure.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit about how you got started in the service industry and what led to your role as the leadership uh person here at the Voda uh cleaning and restoration company in Nashville.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um so funny enough, it was the business was my husband's idea.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I don't know how I got to be the one to run it, but you know, all good ideas come from somebody.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um he, you know, was like, we neither one of us came from a lot.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so he was like, how do we create more for our family?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: And and so as we talked about businesses and looked at different things, this one really resonated with us.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you got to make smart decisions for a business, regardless of what you're you're looking at.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: But it it really was an opportunity, I think, to go into people's homes, into people's businesses and make a difference, whether that's just cleaning, um, or if that's you know, on their worst day or you know, some tragic event happens where we can help them.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I really fell in love with being able to be the difference and come in and really just help them.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's great.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm I'm glad you, I'm glad you by default uh became one of the leaders of the company.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like it sounds like you have uh this the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast is here so you can share what's in your heart uh for the community and the people you serve.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like uh when people call VOTA, they really do need help.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, but what is the biggest challenge uh as you took on this role to lead this company that you face while growing?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And how are you overcoming it?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit about that.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it's people can get a get an idea.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: What's uh is is it a hard business to run and what are some of the challenges and what are some of the things you guys do?
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um we're I'm so dedicated, obviously, to helping people.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're in emergency service, so I can get a call at 2 a.m.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: I can get a call at 6 a.m.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um sometimes it's it's learning about balance in the business, but also outside of it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like how do I balance my family life and everything else, but then also be dedicated to my business and to the people that I'm helping?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: And how do I remember um to make is I love being involved in the business, but to be able to grow a business, you have to work on the business.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do I meet these people in the community and make a difference too?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: How do I go and talk to um, you know, the people that matter that maybe we're getting brand recognition and um getting our name out there so that we can reach more people?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, our franchise actually calls it being the mayor of the town.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: So remembering sometimes that I don't always need to be in the truck, but I need to be going to talk to people so that we can reach more people and make a bit of difference, you know, when they do have those needs or or wants and some of the cleaning aspects.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of the uh unique strategies that you use at Voda uh and especially the one in Nashville, Tennessee, to uh, you know, to grow a customer focus, to maintain your focus on customers?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: What can the customer expect to get from the experience when they call you at Voda in Nashville?
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I look, I kind of love this question because I feel like it's all the little things that people don't always think about.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's like finite details.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, who's gonna show up at your home to clean your carpets and they're gonna make sure that they have corner guards so we don't damage um like any of your things in the home while we're there.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Who's gonna show up and put on booties?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Who's going to look at your carpets when you know you're getting those clean to say, hey, we noticed this, this, and this.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: And for you to get the best results, this is what we recommend.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, same thing on the restoration side, walking them through exactly what we will be doing, how the process works, because a lot of people haven't been through, you know, tragedies like that.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do we help them navigate those processes and not just come in and just, you know, rip things out and tear things out and then not know, you know, this is already a stressful thing.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: How do I help you walk through this, whether it's cleaning, whether it's restoration?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's just very like customer service focused.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: I can see that.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: I can see it's definitely it's like you're uh you're picking people up when they need you the most.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like that's really uh a very, a very worthy and inspiring occupation.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh was there a key moment where you realized that this was the work you were meant to do?
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like uh was there was there like a a customer or a story you can tell about a customer who uh you know told you that you're on the right track here, that this was something that was truly needed.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And the there's gonna be a tell me a couple of stories there.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's been a couple of times where I feel like that's happened.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um we Nashville had a very large freeze um back in like February.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we got a we got a few calls with that.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one in particular, uh, it was a couple they had just moved to Nashville, were still moving their house boxes, you know, still in their home that they were unpacking.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: The power went out when we had this freeze.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they were in a hotel for a week, and when they got back and their power came on, it unproced their pipes and they they busted.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so they called us and and we came in, and um, you know, obviously these people are devastated.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Their whole kitchen ceiling was just drenched.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we came in, had a conversation after looking at everything and said, you know, this is what needs to happen.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: This is the process of what it is.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're gonna help you get right and get fixed and do what we need to do.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: And she was, you know, by the end of it, was like, I, even though it's terrible, I feel so much better talking to you and knowing what's gonna happen, what I need to do, what you're gonna be doing, and helping me through the process.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: She was like, We've never, you know, we've owned homes for 30 years and never had anything like this happen.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I would have had no idea, you know, what was going on if you had not walked me through it.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there was also another situation um where a customer had a septic tank and it had backflowed into their basement shower in all over.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: It was very bad.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we showed up, it was like midnight.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, we were ready to to get up what we could in the floor um and help them, and and they could not get a hold of because they they thought, you know, maybe we could help with the septic tank itself.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, unfortunately, no, we don't do that.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: But let me stop what I'm doing and help you try and find somebody.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I helped her for an hour.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Call anybody and everybody that could possibly come and help her with a septic tank.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then we got to doing what we were doing after that because she was so stressed.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And even though it's not a specific service I offer, you know, I'm gonna stop what I'm doing to try and help them because it really, like that's just the kind of person that I am.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: I would rather, you know, help them with something that I can, and then we'll get to the other part of the business and and where we need to help them after that.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: So she was super grateful um that we helped her find somebody also, you know, come fix the septic tank so that we could continue to clean up everything as she was moving forward and and left, you know.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I mean, you should write it, you should write a book about the uh stories from the front lines.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because I never even think about that that would be a thing.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh are you ever surprised by some of the things that people uh that that happen to people's homes that that uh absolutely.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, no, it like if you think about emergency restoration service, kind of the first things that come to mind is like a pipe bus or you know, maybe a fire, but like it it's not something I think people think about a lot um about you know, septic tanks backing up into your home or any of your crawl spaces that also need to be cleaned out.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so there's a lot of a lot of things that go into this, and it's definitely not all pretty.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you should you should make like a greatest hits of all the ones that you've seen.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like it sounds like it's an interesting, it would be an interesting read.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, probably it'd be good for homeowners, like a good tips to avoid our service.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's it.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: We we actually talked to um a newscast station after the whole freeze about you know some tips and tricks to um try and avoid some of those service because that first story that I told you with the kitchen ceiling, it was actually um their fire suppression system that busted because they weren't aware that it was two different water tanks.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so they had emptied out one and and emptied out everything from that, but were unaware that they had to also do the fire suppression.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: So there are some things that people aren't always aware of that they could do to avoid some of these disasters.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it sounds like a good uh pilot for a reality TV series, you know.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: You could just follow around.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just follow around home disasters.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: It probably would be pretty interesting.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: It it is, it's very interesting, all the different things that could happen.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So when you hire people to do this kind of work, because this is obviously nobody ever dreams uh of like, you know, someday I want to get into this kind of a business.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh like, you know, people dream about being an astronaut or a baseball player.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think I don't think I've ever seen any uh man or woman uh dream about uh running into this type of a business doing this kind of work, right?
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: So uh tell us how uh a little bit about how you what you look for in the qualities uh when you hire top talent for Voda and um and a little bit about that.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So both the consumers can understand the kind of person they would have in the home and also maybe prospective employees would know if they would be a good fit for uh your company.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit more about that.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think culture is my number one look.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh a lot of this can be taught.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have certifications that they go through, training, everything else.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: So that is um something that is teachable with our standards and everything else and our industry standards.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what I can't teach is how to treat customers the right way.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so culture within our team and then how they treat our clients and the service that they provide with that is is really what I look for.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: Number one.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I do not want to ever question if one of my technicians is gonna go in a home and treat a customer the right way.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um so that is absolutely, you know, a lot of what my questions are geared towards as I'm talking to someone about a potential, you know, job opportunity.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So um when to have that kind of stuff, I mean, how much training does your company provide uh to make sure that the you know that everybody's uh has the same the higher quality that you're promising, uh how much training does it take to uh provide that?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we have industry standard trainings with um the IICRC that uh if they don't have prior experience that they can go through, um that is kind of step one.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: There's a WRT, which means water restoration technician, there's an AMRT, which is applied microbial restoration technician, there's CCT, which is carpet cleaning technician.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's a lot of things that they have to go through on top of our specific um business training, uh, where they are out in the field with a lead or another higher technician that will then make sure that they are applying those industry standards correctly and appropriately and being taught all of those things so that we make sure we're taking care of someone's home completely right from step one to step 100 and nothing's missed.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: So uh we we provide and train them and pay for all of those trainings with the industry.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's great.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when somebody goes there, they're kind of acclimated to the culture uh to make sure that they know, okay, here's here's the standard we have, uh, so that if somebody were to hire you, they'd know they get somebody who has been trained and uh acclimated to this quality solution you provide.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, yep.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they have to go through all the IICRC stuff, um, as well as you know, our specific business training with, you know, how we come to the home with booties on our shoes as we walk in, the corner guards, all of those different types of things, and then all of our documentation with um the restoration portion so that when we get to the insurance side potentially, that all of that is there and the homeowner doesn't have to worry about any of those things.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: So all of that training, whether it's from technical um to cultural with the clients and everything else are is all provided for them.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I'm gonna dig a little deeper into you, Morgan, a little bit more.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh tell us about your, if you could say your leadership strategy.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you're I think you know, we all wake up in the morning and uh whether we're a carpet cleaner or whether we're a plumber, whether we're uh uh you know biological uh growth uh restoration specialist, uh, we all kind of wake up like here's what I gotta do today.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: What is it your leadership strategy when you're leading a team like this?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what do you think of when you're leading a team?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of what are some of the things you what are some of the objectives you have as a leader of the Voda branch in Nashville?
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's a lot about getting to know your team and making sure morale is there so that like they feel good about what they're doing, they want to be there so that they're giving the best products and best service to our client.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so kind of understanding, you know, like you're asking my why on the business, but what's their why?
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like, why are they here?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: What is driving them to be here?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, everybody obviously wants to get paid, that's part of it.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: But like, what else drives you?
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is it promotion?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Is it development?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to grow in the business and really understanding that, but also like kind of rewarding some of those um trends or those actions that you want to see from your team.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: Although it is an expectation, we we want to make sure that they, you know, we see that and we value that from them.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: There's been a few times where, you know, uh restoration isn't always pretty.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, my guys have crawled through poopy crawl spaces, and that's not fun.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, as much as they're going to do it, it, it's, it's not the funnest thing that they, you know, get to do.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so there have been times where we've tried to, like, hey, you did a great job.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: We've paid for a couple of our technicians that have done that and to go, like, for example, um, the next day there were motocross and they had time, I'd heard them talking about it.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: They had been talking to themselves amongst themselves about it that morning.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, you know what?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Y'all did such a great job.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that that was a hard job.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Here's tickets to motocross.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Go enjoy yourself.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, like taking care of them so that they then turn around and take care of my business and my clients is how I like to approach, you know, my leadership with them, and they understand that I value what they're doing.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it sounds like you leading by example of showing care, respect, and support and saying just the right thing at the right time.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's uh it's important.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: How important is it that relationship you create with the employees of your company that uh like getting to know who they are and the the intrinsic motivation of those employees?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: How important is that to a good customer service experience?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I think it's uh it like crucial.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we my lead tech actually, um, he will soon transition into our ops manager, but I I know that that's where he wants to go.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um as you know, I've gotten to know him and we've talked, he growth and development is very important to him.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: So trying to grow him and give him the tools so that he can handle those things appropriately and I can delegate a little bit more to him so that he's ready for that opportunity when it comes and when you know we grow enough for him to get into that position.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so he's not gonna struggle, you know, with the client-facing experience or anything at that point, because you know, we've started to nurture what that will look like and how it will develop.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: And he can, you know, make sure that the client experience doesn't change at all as he kind of takes on more of those responsibilities as far as training the technicians um that may come on as we grow or anything like that in my customer experience and the client experience never changes.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I so I do um I did some research before we talked, and uh you are rated a 4.9 out of five five stars.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Probably because some people don't just don't give ever give a five.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh tell me about um, you know, I I see I see the uh the reviews are peppered with uh the individual people, you know, there uh and the development of those people.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh what is what's that like for you when you read uh you know the customers mentioning your people by name and uh calling out uh some of the great performances of some of the hardest, the tough jobs, some of the toughest jobs in Nashville are being done by your people.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: What's that like for you when you see that?
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit about that.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it's so nice because it just like reiterates why I I do what I do.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you mentioned, you know, I got I get up and I know like what needs to be done for the day, it just like reaffirms what we're doing is the right thing.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that we're making sure that like when we go into these people's homes that we're honest and that we're you know taking care of things, taking care of them, taking care of their property.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: It just feels it feels really nice to know that like what you're doing is working and that like those people are happy.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like I've landed in the right position in the right business to make sure that those people are taken care of completely, whether it you know, on either side of our business.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now there is the uh people part of the business, and then it's time to get down to the work, which again, I know the work in this business, both cleaning and restoration, are are definitely suboptimal.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: They're not it's not easy to do this job.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I don't think anybody would train to place this uh people once they see you do it, I'm like, thank goodness, uh we got we got something like this for sure.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I can I can imagine that uh because I've seen some of the work that you guys are doing, and it's pretty amazing.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh tell us about the balance though between the work part of the job and the people part of the job.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh uh although it seems like you are uh good with people, what do you think about your team and the uh training them how to communicate with the clients as well?
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a balance you tell them, hey, just don't talk to people and get to work?
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Or uh spend spend the because you got to get the work done, but yeah, we got to talk to people too.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: How do you is there just a natural balance you let just take place organically, or is there something that you've told told your people or instructed them, hey, don't More people are more important than cleaning.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us a little bit about that, about the balance of the people and the work you do there.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think any business, you have to uh obviously consider efficiencies.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, like how do you make profit margins, anything else?
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's a consideration.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: However, I think there's um a natural, at least for cleaning, time slot that we, you know, how know how big and can gauge how much time we may need to be able to make sure that we're taking care of the client appropriately, but also getting the cleaning done in a good amount of time as well.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I do think there's kind of a natural balance with that.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I would be really upset with my guys if they just went in and cleaned and didn't talk to anyone and left.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, sometimes that does happen because the clients aren't home if they're getting a cleaning and like move out clean or something like that.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really not a consideration.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: But we do, you know, take before and after pictures and discuss things with them over um, you know, the phone or whatever that that may be if they're not actually there.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think that with any business, especially a customer service-based business, you have to talk to those people.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be good with them, you have to like engage with them so that they're happy and that they feel like they're valued, which they are, but like coming into somewhere and not acknowledging them is not acceptable.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: So we generally with cleaning, uh, you know, show up, talk to them, ask them what is your goal in this?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: What is what is important to you?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, it's gonna be to get the carpets clean, but sometimes there's you know a spot that they're worried about, or there's, you know, a high traffic area that they're concerned about.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so we want to understand exactly what they're wanting out of this to make sure that we are meeting their expectations, or at least setting expectations very well for what they can expect with the service.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's have a little fun now and talk about uh something something that I'm always I find fascinating and hopefully you will too.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh talk about let's talk about the future trends in this type of a business for the cleaning and restoration business.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I mean, cleaning uh a home or cleaning a place is as old as time.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: But you if you had a cave, you want to keep this keep all the stuff clean and organized and stuff like that.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, what do you see um uh now and today looking at uh where we're at now?
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh how technology or um some of the future trends, what do you what do you see this business looking like, say 10, 20 years from now?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: What can a what can a consumer expect to be different uh with some future trends we can help help people dream about, if you don't mind?
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, uh a lot of people talk about you know technology and everything and and you know it taking away some jobs.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't think either one of these positions or these uh businesses will ever change.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, people have to do them.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: You're not there's not gonna be anything much that changes that.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um it trending though outside of technology, we've seen a lot of uh people concerned about home insurance claims.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of people are moving away from or being very cautious about filing a homeowner's insurance claim, um, whether they're concerned about higher premiums or they're concerned about um like being non-renewed.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've noticed that trend as we move forward.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that um a lot of some of this restoration stuff will be more self-pay as we move, move along with some of this, as there's been a lot of tumultuous things happening um with homeowners insurance.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so understanding that and knowing how we can help navigate maybe whether or not the person should, you know, file a homeowner's insurance claim or at least give them information so they can make an informed decision between the two, like, should I, should I not?
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: How do I handle this type of thing?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because I think a lot of restoration companies just kind of throw it at the consumer and say, uh, well, we'll take care of it uh with your insurance company.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: But honestly, uh sometimes it's not the best decision.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: I could see technology in the future weighing it out for people, like, hey, does this seem like uh something that I should just do myself or something I should uh have the insurance company take care of?
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: And and maybe even technology could help with the insurance companies, could be more transparent with how would this affect your insurance to be more transparent as opposed to having a mystery, like uh there's yeah, yeah, you know, you know what I'm saying?
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it should it should be more like how how will this affect the relationship I have with the insurance company should I decide uh to do a claim?
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think sometimes it's obvious uh that you just need to use insurance, you know.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's time I think also the uh the the trends with the weather and things like that, and uh you know, with the both uh I mean who would have thought in some of the locations how fire and uh you know in some there's locations in the country where I never would have thought fire, you know, people people I live in California, so like, oh yeah, all those fires out there in California, but now there's fires all over the country.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I think there was some in Colorado.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, to your point, um, technology could, you know, potentially help um, you know, obviously it notifies you of weather, but like if they're not informed about what they can do to avoid some of those things as the weather's coming around, maybe it says, like, hey, when when this is gonna happen or this type of weather event, this is what you can do to try and help avoid um the the these types of disasters.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, get ready by doing you know, X, Y, and Z or any of those things.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so maybe providing a little bit more information about how to preserve your property.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Morgan, let's go now another subject.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: We we spent time in the future a little bit there.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go, let's go that back in the past now and talk about a young Morgan back when you were uh just out of high school, let's say.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you could go back in time, I'm gonna ask this question kind of slowly so it gives you time to think about this.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, I mean it.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: What advice would you give to a younger, much younger uh Morgan Cole?
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you were to talk to yourself back when you were just out of high school and maybe starting to embark on this uh world on on your own, what uh what advice would you give yourself or or any other young people listening to this program?
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what kind of advice would you give to yourself and other any other young people that are listening?
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's like when you're young, you kind of think you know everything.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um so having an open mind, like listening um to the people around you, whether those are your, you know, your employees or your clients or mentors or other coworkers or other business owners, there's experiences that other people have, um, or they, you know, some things that people talk about that you could um, you know, take advantage of yourself.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you hear something that resonates with you somewhere and makes you grow as a person.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's always great to hear other people's experiences and take those into account, whether that's helping them or it helps you.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think it's just all about building, building relationships and using those to make yourself a better person, make your community better, um, and just really like having an open mind about you know everything.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh I I have another question, Morgan.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is a very personal and deep question.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um and we know that uh there's enough things to challenge you, uh, enough things that make us person in this kind of a cleaning and restoration business say, uh, I gotta find something else to do.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: But let's let's focus on the other on the good part.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so thank goodness you don't listen to that voice that says you should quit.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: You listen to the voice that there's something inside that gives you a motivation.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: So uh what makes you tick and what uh motivates you to get up every day and uh what's the payoff uh for this kind of a job that uh that makes you feel like, man, I got I got the warm and fuzzies just when this happens.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: So so what motivates you and what kind of things make you feel good about this business?
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, I think there's kind of two things here.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um on the very personal side, um, I have two boys, um 15 and eight.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, it's even though, you know, there's not a lot of women probably doing this, uh, running a restoration company and and everything else, um it's I'm doing it for them.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do we, like I said at the beginning, create like a business that maybe we can pass down for them for them and and they can have something that they get to call their own and they get to take care of people and everything else.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: So um part of it is for them and that personal side, but then also like on the the business professional side is making a difference in people's lives, usually at their worst, you know, time like a home is generally the most expensive asset that someone has.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um and like how do I come in and make this hugely stressful time easier for someone?
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, before I got in this industry, I wouldn't have had any idea what to do, you know, to be able to like take care of something if you know my pipe burst or my toilet overflowed and it went everywhere.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do you handle that?
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: So having somebody come in that helps you walk through it, hey, this is what we need to do and this is why we need to do it, and here's the process.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so seeing it be easier for people and you know, getting that feedback from them afterwards that, like, hey, this was, you know, although it was a terrible thing, a good experience to be able to at least understand what was happening and walk through that with you.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that sounds like uh it does sound very rewarding for sure to have that, both for your family and for your clients.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds great.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: And for your team too.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh Morgan, we're getting down.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: There was a good podcast starts on time and a great one ends on time.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're about to do that right now.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, where can listeners connect with you or learn more about working with you or partnering with Voda?
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so our website, um, it's uh myvota.com.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I also have uh LinkedIn and um then it it's uh I guess my email is shove.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: Should I put that on there?
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you want, absolutely, yeah.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead if you want.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think anybody I don't I don't I've never heard anybody say I got too many emails from qualified clients before.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um so my email is Morgan uh dot col at C O L E at myvota.com.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's what we're here for.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're here to make sure people know how to get a hold of you and it because if they I mean all all this wouldn't be worth anything if they didn't know uh how to by the way when you said about how many women don't get, but actually I do see the best people in the restoration industry are women who run this kind of a business.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think there's a lot of more more empathy and more an emotional contribution uh to this job, which oh absolutely.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: My husband, the one that I talked about with the kitchen ceiling, um, had gone with us to that call.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: And and he was like, it was such an amazing thing to see because generally, you know, women are the ones that handled the claims and the home and you know, all of that kind of stuff.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so to be able to empathize or sympathize, if you want to get technical, um with them in that process, he was like, that was such a great thing to see.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: He was like, you know, if it were me coming into this situation, it really would be hard for me to do that with someone.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: So he was like, you just bring such a different emotional aspect to the whole situation that I think makes it a little calmer for them.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a great way to end our conversation.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a great conversation with Morgan Cole from Voda Cleaning and Restoration.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: We really appreciate having you on the show.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um thank you so much.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, all of you who are out there listening, thank you for sticking with us until the end.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you gained value from today's episode, we'd love for you to leave a rating or review uh wherever you listen to podcasts.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know someone in the service industry or you're a friend or family member from Morgan, share this with other people so they can see how amazing she is uh as she serves the Nashville community with cleaning and restoration services.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's anybody looking to scale their business or career, send this episode their way.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: Take one key insight from today and put it into action.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: And this was worth listening.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks everybody again for joining us.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll see everyone here on the next episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbye, everyone.