Latest / The Elevator Careers Podcast / Working as an Advisor For Independent Elevator Companies | Dominik Sachsenheimer

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Working as an Advisor For Independent Elevator Companies | Dominik Sachsenheimer · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The first year can be somewhat challenging, so that's certainly something that should be discussed upon, even though you have no idea what you're getting into.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it's helpful to really talk through through this with your partner.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I am your host, Matt Allred.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: In this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry, to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Today, our guest is Dominic Sachsenheimer, the president of Maven Group, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm specializing exclusively in the elevator industry.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Dominic joined Otis Elevator in 2006 and held various finance positions in New York, Chicago, South Carolina, and their U.S.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: headquarters before being promoted to Senior Manager of Mergers and Acquisitions for North America in 2013.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: In 2016, Dominic left Otis to start Maven Group, where Dominic and his team mainly focus on helping independent elevator companies who contemplate selling their business.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Dominic, welcome to the show.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Hey Matt, great to be here.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Really an honor to be part of your program.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to talk with you.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh it's always a pleasure.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I'm excited to learn more about your business and and obviously about you.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm curious, how did you get started in the elevator industry?
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, by sheer coincidence, really.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I grew up in Germany and lived there for 30 years and then uh met my wife who lived in New York.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I relocated uh to be with her and tried to make ends meet, worked for actually AIG, the big insurance company, okay as a financial analyst, uh, because my English was pretty poor.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I focused on numbers and then didn't enjoy that too much.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And Otis was looking for a financial analyst uh after about a year or two.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I joined them and um yeah, really, really liked what I was doing there, like the the culture not just of the company, but also the whole industry.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, started my my career with them and bounced around quite a bit, and that's how it all started.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: So you got to know the elevator industry from the inside out, essentially, kind of yeah.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: I guess New York is kind of a good place to start, right?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, and it's where Mr.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Otis introduced the elevator over 150 years ago.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um worked for them there, uh, moved to Chicago for a while, became their lead finance guy or mini CFO for the Southern Operation, which was about 16 states, I think, in the Caribbean Islands.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then I moved to their headquarters to kind of oversee financial planning and analysis across North America and started to get into acquisitions really during that time and was their director for all merchers and acquisitions across uh across North America and Canada.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, yeah.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So you really got to look at a lot of a lot of different businesses and see how they were running, good, bad, everything in between.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: You you probably saw a lot.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, certainly.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, first actually within Otis, right?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Get to know a lot of different markets because obviously the the industry works a little bit differently in Manhattan compared to, I don't know, Chattanooga, Tennessee or or any other place.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that was very helpful.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then yeah, certainly looking at at smaller companies or larger companies on the independent side was was eye-opening because as you can imagine, there's also a wide range of of approaches um to the industry.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that was very educational and uh never gets boring, quite frankly.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing this for a while now, but uh it's still very exciting actually to learn how certain people set up their business and how they succeed.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I'm just chuckling because I'm sure you looked at some some uh you know financial statements and wondering how they succeed, right?
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: How are these people in business?
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, we see we see all kinds of things where we see people who are very sophisticated and invest a lot of money in IT systems and others just open the drawers and tell you this is this is the last 30 years, right here.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's a pile of paper.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but that's exactly what makes it fun, right?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: You never quite know uh what you're going to get when you first start uh on a journey with with with any customer.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, no, it's it's it's been fun, it's it's been very rewarding.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, I mean, I'm very happy to be in the position that I'm in today.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool, very cool.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: So when did you realize that you had a passion for this industry?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I really never thought I would, right?
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when I was 15, right?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to win a soccer world cup and not certainly not wanted to be in the in the didn't want to be in the elevator industry.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So no, I think it's really the people.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, starting starting to work um for Odays in New York of all places in a huge uh open office with cubicles, I was just exposed to the people who really make things work.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that fascinated me early on because obviously I was more on the finance side and um in a large company that has a certain level of sophistication when it comes to tracking numbers and tracking all that.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, at the end of the day, it's a it's really a blue-collar job, right?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it's real people who give you very straightforward feedback that you might not always enjoy or agree with the first time you hear it.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's that combination that I find fascinating.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: On the one hand, right, it's a very um sophisticated business.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: You you really need to be aware of codes, you need to be aware of your financials and all kinds of other things, but you people put their safety and their lives in your hand, really, right?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you have that side.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, it's it's real people um who work extremely hard, who are used to a call at two in the morning, and then you jump out of bed and you're ready to to jump through hoops for your customers.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So um I think that's really what what what fascinated me, the the combination of those two things and really the people who make it work.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, sure.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so maybe this is redundant, but what what is it that you absolutely love about this industry?
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: No, that that's exactly it.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it's people's drive to to make things happen and and uh um people's attitude that there is no such thing as a problem, right?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: There are always a lot of solutions that you can fight about.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: But um that's that's very good to see, right?
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And coming from more of a financial background where you spend maybe more times, a lot more time talking about the problem and how to frame the problem and how to do this and this and this with the problem.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's just very good to be around people who who always work on solutions.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool, very cool.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, how how long were you at Otis?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: 10 years, actually.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: 10 years to the day.
• 6:37
  unknown: Okay.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: So what was it that motivated you to jump out and say, hey, I'm gonna do this on my own?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, good question.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um so as we looked at deals at Otis, there was always kind of a discrepancy between the expectations um from a large company, right, that would look at an acquisition with a bunch of attorneys and with a bunch of accountants and with a safety committee and all that on the one side, right?
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And on the other side of the table, you typically had a guy and his wife who started a company 25 years ago and who tried to do their best to kind of keep up with all the requests that that were coming.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: But there were always kind of there was always this mismatch between these two worlds.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I figured that there should be a better way to kind of bridge that gap and to be a translator.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because quite often, right, the smaller independent company would really uh misrepresent their company, um, not on purpose, but just by not quite knowing um what certain questions meant.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: And they would say, Oh, I have this many units, and this is roughly my billing amount and all that.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then quite often, during diligence, right, we would find out that it wasn't true.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, clearly not because uh the sellers tried to be uh funny, right, and then and lead us on.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: That was not the intent at all, but it was just so many questions at the same time that people just get kind of lost in the shuffle.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So um I really saw an opportunity to help them um to get, first of all, better deals for them, because once you represent what you have in an appropriate way, then the diligence process just becomes a confirmation of what you've said before.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um clearly, right?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: You um you kind of at the end of the day, you get more money if you have someone like me in the corner, also.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I guess we'll talk about that in a second.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I really felt the need for someone to um to fill that gap.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then secondly, uh in my prior life, right?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I always had uh that kind of urge to kind of be more of an entrepreneur than a uh than an employee.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: And this was a great opportunity.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And um I have to give a shout out here to my business partner, Bill Bierry, who kind of gave me the final nudge to kind of jump out of the comfort of of a nice career with Otis.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: If you can jump together, it's uh it's a little more um absolutely.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, absolutely, exactly.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And and he had a big shoulder to cry on, so it was great.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's a he's a perfect mentor for for this kind of uh venture, uh, still still helps me here and there.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: So um yeah, I guess those were the were the big reasons.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: I think um I'm just better in that environment as an entrepreneur rather than an employee.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: And secondly, I think that there really was a need, and I think um just looking back over the last five years, I think that initial assessment was right.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think there is a need, and uh people seem to seem to call me every once in a while and ask for our services.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's good.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, I I can only imagine how how intimidating that would be.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like you say, a a guy and his wife, and hey, we've been working our our tails off for 25, 30 years, and and here's here's what we think we have, and and this line of, like you say, attorneys and financial analysts, and and just that to me would be really intimidating.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, just that I don't I don't have that kind of arsenal to to go up against this.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that is kind of the the value that we provide, right?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you are an owner and this is your baby, this is the biggest transaction that you will ever embark on, right, in your life.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's a life-changing event, not just because very often you retire after the transaction, but also financially, right?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is a life-altering um watershed event really in your life.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it is very uh very stressful to go through that.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, since that's all I do, right?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's it becomes easier and comes it becomes repetitive.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can anticipate certain things.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think sharing that knowledge and preparing people for what's what's about to happen um and helping them prepare all the documentation that will be required.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's really what we um what we bring to the table, among other things.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for for uh you know addressing that.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um is there anything you would have done differently in in starting your own business, in in jumping out, leaving Otis, if you could do it again?
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: I I mean the standard answer, I guess, is I would have I would have done it sooner, but at the same time that I'm saying this, um, it's not really true because I think part of the reasons why we are are somewhat successful here is because I spent a long time learning the industry first before I tried to kind of uh tell people everything I know.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it was good to have that 10-year learning period.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um so not really.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think it was uh it was uh it's it's it's like like having kids.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it's sometimes it's it's better that you don't know how tough the first year is.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the first year was certainly tough.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I don't think there's anything you can change about that.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's just the first year for any entrepreneur would be rough.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but no, I think overall uh it worked out really well.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and and it sounds like you you definitely did well in in finding your partner, Bill, at the time you did.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think you've told me that uh Otis was actually acquiring his company.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so you kind of got to face off across the table.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Is that correct?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we be we basically became friends and partners while we were negotiating against each other.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I think we really appreciated the honesty, the integrity that we saw in each other, and um we also appreciated that uh you can fight hard about bigger amounts of money while still keeping a sense of humor.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think that goes a long way.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as you can imagine, right, many of these transactions, going back to what I said before, um are very emotional for sellers, right?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: It is a life-changing event, and it so people become tense at times, right?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it's very stressful.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of uh different uh balls in the air that you have to juggle.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So every once in a while you have to kind of find the right moment to add a little levity and maybe uh remind people that it's all good, actually, that that usually you enter a transaction because it's it's a good deal for both sides.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: A win-win, absolutely.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say are some of the biggest challenges you face in the work that you do?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I think that's one of them, right?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's always emotion and it's it's a complex environment.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um and even if we've been through it many times, there's always something new, right?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's always something um where you have to pivot.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody, I think it's a Mike Tyson quote.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, everybody has a plan until you get punched in the face.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: So you kind of have to uh wait for that moment, no matter how much you slip and slide, right?
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: At some point, something unforeseen will happen.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um and again, I think I think there's there's typically um a lot of emotion involved, but that's I think also one of the the key values that we provide is to be kind of the the the neutral source, right?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: So if a if a seller wants to voice frustration, they can come to us and speak to us, right?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then we translate that to the buyer.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So everybody can yell at us, but the relationship between seller and buyer remains intact, right?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because they can go through us.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: And and actually, quite frankly, that also happens between partners who own a business, right?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Every once in a while, you might be in a situation where people want to break up a company because they don't get along anymore.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's very helpful to have a a third party there um who can kind of mitigate between uh between those between those two people or three sometimes.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: So so in all these transactions, all these businesses you've looked at, what what would you say is one of the craziest things you've seen?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that would be a long list.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and we are typically right on every single transaction, we are bound by non-disclosure agreements, but without naming names, I think you can share something.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, for my time at Otis, where we're getting close to closing a transaction, and there's always a long checklist of things that are about to happen.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and one of them is a drug test for the for the owners and for the technicians.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually tried to close a deal where all three owners ended up failing the drug test.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that was certainly unforeseen and um somewhat funny, or it's funny now at the time it wasn't because everything got delayed and we had to work through the IUC to Wow.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they were celebrating a little too early.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I guess, yeah, exactly, exactly.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, I guess that's that's one of many examples.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: No, thanks for sharing that.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um so what would you say is one of the biggest mistakes that company owners make when it comes time to transition?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Because I obviously there are definitely different ways you can go about it.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: You could hand it over to junior, you can you know, sell it, you can, you know.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think a lot of people kind of uh uh rush into it and don't take the time to really think about what they want to do, right?
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um there is no really good answer, right?
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: There, there's no one size fits all answered how to transition a business, right?
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: You might you might want to keep it until you're 75.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing wrong with that at all.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: You might also want to go out earlier.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I think a lot of people just wake up one morning and say, you know, now I'm frustrated, or now I'm tired, or now I'm too old, um, or now I don't like my partner anymore, rather than having a long-term plan.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: So we try to work with companies to kind of uh have a little bit of a longer planning horizon, right?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Try to um really guide them there because as I said, there's no right or wrong answer of how to do that.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um and we do obviously at the same time try to, if we have two, three, four years to prepare them, we do try to help them uh make the company as attractive as we can, whether it's through route optimization or uh through um making their maintenance contracts more robust or whatever it is, right?
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um hiring an outside accountant, or maybe we can help a little bit.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I think one of the mistakes is to yeah, wake up one morning and say, okay, so I'm selling my company now, um, or react to a phone call because somebody calls you and says, Hey, I have a lot of money, I want to buy your company now.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's also not really the best way to go about it, right?
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: One should always um going back to the values that I think Maven Group provides, um, one should always kind of try to see what the market really has to say, right?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't get it's like when you sell a house, right?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: The first guy that comes through the door or the first offer you get is not the best one that you get.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So um it's always best to kind of uh yeah, go out, make sure that you're protected through non-disclosure agreements, and then you talk to more than one person to kind of really see what the what the market has to say about your company, and then that's that's how you get the highest price.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and and maybe you've already answered this.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: What what advice would you give to someone?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, maybe they didn't plan three or four years ahead, but they realize who knows, maybe it was a death or an illness that say, you know what, we really can't continue.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: What what advice would you offer them?
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, obviously that's uh um I'm um I'm trying trying to sell my company here in this answer.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: But no, I think you you you really need help, but you need to sort of surround yourself with people who who actually have done this before, right?
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's important to speak with someone who has done this, certainly get your accountant involved.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: You always need legal advice, but it's important to hire someone again who has experience in this specific field.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: There are great attorneys who specialize on divorces or real estate or all kinds of other things.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: But sure, uh, when you sell your company, you really need to engage someone who um who knows this arena.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then, yeah, again, I mean it sounds kind of silly, but uh just being prepared in terms of just keep your record straight and clean and and uh and have solid financials.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's one of the key aspects, really.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: So let's let's finish up with this last question, and and that is having seen as many businesses as as you have, what advice would you give one, give to someone who you know, maybe you know, he and his buddy want to start their own business?
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because I do hear from a number of people that hey, I want to get out and you know start my own, you know, yeah business.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um a few obvious things, but you really have to be confident about uh your ability to kind of withstand adversity.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because no matter I I always tell people you you should make two plans, two completely different plans.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: One is let's assume everything works out perfectly, right?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: How would you how would you deal with a lot of customers after one year, right?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are you really ready to take on the world?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's the one scenario that I think you should plan for.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then obviously you should also have the worst case scenario um in mind how much, how long can you survive, right?
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh who are the customers that you will definitely come with you or that you think that you really feel strongly about, but who are kind of they are it's a 50%, it's a 40%, it's a 30%, because um, one of the experiences I made, and I think that I've heard from many business owners, is you always have a list of like five people that will definitely choose you as a service provider.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And sure enough, four of the five will will not come over.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I think you have to prepare, you have to be prepared for for those two things.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then I think another thing that people might underestimate has nothing to do with the elevator industry, is I think you have to make sure that your um supporting staff, I guess, in your real life, whether it's your spouse or or or other partners that that you might live with, um, that they're really on board because it is it is kind of a wild ride.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you've experienced this in your own business.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the first year can be somewhat challenging.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: So that's certainly something that should be discussed up front, even though you have no idea what you're getting into.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it's helpful to really talk through through this with your partner.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's great.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, any any parting thoughts?
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: Anything that comes to mind that you maybe haven't had a chance to say that is just begging to get out.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: No, I think again, as I said before, I am really, really proud to be part of this podcast.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're doing a great thing here for the industry.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And um now I can't wait to listen to the next one and uh yeah, keep up the good work.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you so much.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you being on here, Dominic.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's great talking to you again.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: Wish you all the best.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, same to you.
• 20:45
  unknown: Thanks.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the All Red Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.