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From Hospitality to Elevators: The Impact of Elevator Interiors | Nathan Hall · The Elevator Careers Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think one thing that's stuck out to me, and I'm going to circle this completely back to your podcast is that the first one that I listened to was Don Jelastino.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: But I remember when he closed his interview with you, he talked about knowing your numbers.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: If you're running a team or running a company, if you're an entrepreneur and uh, you know, he was talking about getting a job and you know, he'd figure out the costs and throw 30% on top of it, 35%, win the job, and he's winning jobs, winning jobs, and then didn't realize he was digging himself into a hole until a CPA pointed it out.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he talked about the importance of truly knowing your numbers.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: I remember that hit home with me.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I would I would reiterate what Don said.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: That is probably the most uh ironclad advice for any entrepreneur that that we can give.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred Group.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host, Matt Allred.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: 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.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Today our guest is Nathan Hall, the chief elevator enthusiast at Vacilly Elevator, a designer, manufacturer, and installer of premium commercial elevator interiors, cap cells, entrances, and doors.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Nathan joined Vacilly 13 years ago, and with his background in the hospitality industry, he has brought passion, enthusiasm, and an ever-present desire to learn and improve.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Nathan, welcome to the show.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm thrilled to finally be here.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a been a lot of time.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's about the journey, they say, and it's been a journey for you and I, but I'm excited.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's it's uh it's a lot of fun.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So uh obviously we've seen each other at some of these conferences.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think it was in Louisville, what was that, a year and a half ago or something, and we talked about doing this, and and I think we'd even try, yeah, we tried before, and it's like life gets busy.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot going on.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: It is, it is, and it seems like uh you know, we're always juggling, and for some reason it feels like if something's further out on the horizon, you know it's it it seems more plausible, right?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then the day approaches and it gets there, and all the realities that you felt every time you tried to schedule something just hit you again.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, but no, we're we're here now and it's it's good to talk.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: I enjoy your show so much.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so many great interviews.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's incredible how many you've done already since I first learned about your show and since we first talked about uh this uh episode.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, thanks for that.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of fun.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was I was thinking as I was you know waiting for this to start, I was like, I just like doing this.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is a lot of fun.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I get to know a lot of people, and uh it's it's something I've always just loved to do.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe it's just an excuse to do what I love, which is get to know people.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Listen, if you can find excuses to do what you love and put yourself in that place where you're doing it more frequently, you're doing something right.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think enough of us uh know that as we get further in our careers that that's important and we hope that we're so yeah, absolutely.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: So let's let's talk for a minute about 25 years.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I I saw that a few weeks ago, maybe it was a month or so ago.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Vasily elevator, 25 years.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, tell me about that that 25 year mark.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's big.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it really is, and uh it's kind of surreal for us.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: I uh I came to this industry and this business about 13 years ago, joined the company.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And uh at that time we were 12 years in business.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we we looked at other companies who had been in business for 20, 30 years as uh kind of giants to us, right?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: They've been so long in business.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: So for us to be at that quarter century mark is is really uh incredible.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we think about you know how long ago that was when Vasili started this business with just a dream and truly a seed back in '99.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it's really neat to see how far we've come as a team and how large our operation has grown.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: But as you always notice, even though you're growing, how much more there is that that you can do or that you want to achieve, that you you never feel fully satisfied.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: But to us, it's it's pretty exciting.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: It really is.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um we feel like we're certainly much more mature as a team and as an operation.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: We also just uh last week had Employee Appreciation Day, that's a national holiday.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: And as a fun thing, we decided to take all of our team members and put them on a chart and then put a blank space next to each person.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: You could fill in how many years they've been there and come up with what's the total years of experience that the Vasily Elevator team has at Vasily Elevator, not in our careers, just here at this company.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so with uh about 35 people on that chart, I was pleasantly surprised to see we had 201 years collectively as a team.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we've got uh a number of people who are new on the team who've just been here, you know, they're just in sort of inside their first year here.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: So to see that we were still uh that many years aggregate, um, the average is pretty high.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh it's a mature feeling.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm getting at.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: We feel a lot more mature than than than we uh than we ever did before in this industry, which is nice.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's nice.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of uh what do they call tribal knowledge, right?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Just just knowledge of things that that happen here, you know, between each other, between you know the business and customers and and everything that's going on.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: So that's awesome.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you start to feel like you know, every industry, if it's a new industry, can feel a little uh overwhelming and uh you feel a little lost in the beginning.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: I had joined this company in this industry, so it was something completely new.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I had been in hospitality for 10 years just prior to coming into this industry with a two-year break to do my global MBA.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so I didn't like a lot of stories that I hear, people didn't plan to be in this industry.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: They kind of found themselves in this industry.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and so uh I had to learn it all from zero and from scratch.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: And after having been in my previous industry and career for a decade, I felt very knowledgeable where I was at.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it wasn't much you could ask me that I didn't have an answer for and know right away where to find it.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so to start over from zero was uh a little bit daunting.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, you know, now down the road and and having the team around me, because most of the people here at the company, this is also their first place in the elevator industry was also here.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so to see that that we have the answers so often and that we we know where to look, and and you know, you you kind of feel a little bit like a a mini consultant in what you do, because even if it's not related to our segment of the industry with elevator cabs, um, we still know so much and we have the good fortune to interact with so many people, customers, vendors, uh, through the different organizations and the many projects we're on that uh you you really you you know the industry tapestry so well that it feels actually it's more exciting, you know.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: It was exciting in the beginning uh when we, you know, when we started, like so many companies, and you're on that roller coaster, that early roller coaster, and and that's where we came up with the coin term elevator enthusiasts.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um so the segue there.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: So uh yeah, so when I came into this business um and started working with Basili and his daughter, Iona, my partner, I really was trying to understand exactly what this company does and why do we exist in the elevator market?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Why doesn't Otis and and at the time TISS and Krupp Not TKE and these other OEMs, why don't they just do the elevator cabs themselves?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and and so little by little I started to see and and understand that the elevator cab interiors, like the one behind me that I'm sitting in right now.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh thank you.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're they're kind of their own animal.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's not, you know, it it's it's something that the elevator industry uh has, but it's really more much more interior design, especially if you're gonna work in the condo market down here in South Florida.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: The condo market, a lot of high-end condos, a lot of high expectations.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: People want to design things that are bespoke and really fit their building and their standards and their aspirations.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's not the sweet spot for an elevator contractor uh who's focusing on new equipment installations and modernizations and service and repair.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I start to understand why they depend on really knowledgeable, capable vendors to do this work.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: And um, but we also support the things that they need uh for elevator cab shell replacements, entrances, doors, uh, things that are mostly sheet metal fabricated items.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: And when I was trying to just get my head wrapped around the scope of everything we do at the beginning, uh when I would ask Iona, I would ask Vasily, you know, they would say, Oh, everything, everything.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: We do everything, you know.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, wow, that's that sounds a lot, like a lot.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's a bit overwhelming.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: But I could tell that whenever somebody came to them with something new that they hadn't done or or that they hadn't done in a long time, they were always very excited about it.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they they loved the challenge, they were really enthusiastic uh about this uh market and anything that a customer could bring to them because they just they they understood innately that if you solve your customers' needs, you'll always be in demand and in favor with them.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so I thought, wow, you guys are just really enthusiastic about this this elevator industry, uh, even if you can't articulate to me everything that we do.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so it just seemed to make sense in the beginning that uh that that as I spoke to other people, other vendors, sometimes, you know, like certain markets that are mechanically oriented, you you feel like people are just kind of sometimes they're just kind of there and um they don't they don't have the same passion for what they do.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that you know, they're they're just uh, you know, things are things are technical for them.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: In this case, uh the the passion was clear.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought that that suits us, it suits my personality.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: It would be a good trademark for us to have.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there were no other elevator enthusiasts that I could find or who at least were using that term in my quick exploration uh 13 years ago.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so it is certainly stuck for us and and and now it's uh it's a core uh value for the people here on the team, and it's part of who we are and our branding.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: So clarify that a little bit, because I I have seen your your title as chief elevator enthusiast, but it but kind of like kind of like Subway has sandwich artists, your whole team is enthusiasts.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's correct.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the whole team.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we don't, you know, we don't wear it on our sleeves, so to speak.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's not in our signatures beyond myself.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's you know, I do use that, I guess, as a bit of personal branding uh as well.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: But when I can tell you right now that when we when we interview uh and screen and we hire, um, we do talk about that.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: And when we welcome people to the team, we welcome them as a as a fellow elevator enthusiast uh to the team.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's in the welcome emails, that's in the language.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, beyond that, once they're on board, we don't we don't beat people over the head with it.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: We're not trying to be uh you know too too corny about it or or or or you know too too you know catchy, like we have to have a catch line all the time.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: But but it is it is a relatively sincere thing that we want to make sure people understand when they come here is that uh we're we're passionate about what we do, and as cliche as that sounds, still very important because if you truly can find that passion and and you can give it to other people on the team the the days that they don't have it, uh it it makes a difference.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it really does.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: If it's customers see it and feel it, they can really tell.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: So sure, sure.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and and you you you're obviously in a in a a niche of the industry that the customers do see, they they do interact, they don't they don't see the machine room, they don't see you know they don't like like me, I I don't know MRL other than somebody explaining it to me because I don't I never go to the machine room and and I wouldn't I wouldn't even know where to look for it.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: And yet the the feeling of of stepping into that elevator is obviously very different than than some of the others that I've I've been in.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so you've kind of found that place where customers do get excited, and then you can kind of share that with them, is is what I'm hearing.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Correct, yeah, especially related to this work, this interior work, exactly.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: We we hope that you know, even when we connect with an elevator contractor who's somewhere else in the US, they might not be a local contractor, and they're just reaching out about some doors they need and uh or a sill that they need that the you know the profile wasn't the most standard thing, and and our guys jump on it right away and they ask the right questions and they can see, oh, okay, these guys are on top of it, they really seem to care, they're really into it.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're not just shoving a bunch of forms at me and saying, fill this out, and then you know, we'll have engineering look at it when you send it in, and then we'll get back to you.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're engaged in in the Q ⁇ A because they we we kind of I think what we really share that passion for is that problem-solving passion.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's we understand that if anybody comes to us, it's because they have a need.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: And um and again, that can sound cliche and it's true for so many businesses, but it's it's a it can be a scary thing when your team doesn't understand that or doesn't lead with that desire to make my customers' needs be met in the most um simple and direct way possible, or or even anticipate their needs.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's something we did a lot in hospitality before I got to here, and my hospitality background certainly served me well uh in this industry is trying to anticipate, you know, we would say anticipate your guests' needs.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, people are checking in at your resort, and um, you know, what is it they need?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: What is it that they're not saying that that you can be ahead of them and and know that they already need that or try to present that?
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's the same thing here.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: And and of course, again, you know, as we grow, as we mature, we have more resources and we're better organized for that.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: But we've we've thought that way for a long time and it does seep into what we do.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, I think that the term is is really accurate for us.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we found a number of customers who they kind of get excited about it because if you work with a a board and they've been tasked with the you know, remodeling the elevators, it hasn't happened in 20, 30 years, and now we're finally doing it.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: The money's set aside, it's approved, and you've got either a committee or a few people on the board, and this is their job.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: And now they're gonna spend the next usually three months working with you on this.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's about you know common for the higher-end projects with the with the larger budgets that are our design bill projects.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: They become elevator enthusiasts because all of a sudden they start looking at every elevator everywhere they go.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: And the customers that I still have a few projects that I'll handle personally, uh, you know, from the beginning and into and through the design phase.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: And and I they all have my cell phone number.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody in this industry has my cell phone number.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: They'll get excited and they'll text me a photo at 8 30 at night and they'll say, Hey, I just saw these elevators at this building.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Did you guys do those, or do you know these?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Or what do you think about this floor?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Or love it.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: I still love it to this day.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Sending pictures, right?
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: What what about this color?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Does it go well with our carpet?
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, right.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, they, you know, whenever the, you know, it's it's it's it's it's good to have boundaries.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I definitely preach and live a life work balance.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't say work life anymore because I realize life has to come first.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so yeah, we we that is definitely another core value here at this company.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's and and it's interesting because I think at some businesses, people get scared that if you if you have this, if you tell your employees and you tell your team that you know a work-life balance is important, or as we say it, a life work balance is important, um, they get worried that people might get too comfortable.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: They think work's not it work is not important.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: And it's quite the contrary because if you respect uh the life work balance and you understand that we want to be flexible, everybody has a life outside of work, and we spend more hours at work, but you know, what we do outside of work, you know, the people who are near and dear to us are more important in the bigger picture.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what we find is that we want to spend time with our families and be present outside of work.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So the time we spend at work has to be more productive.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: We have to put more value on the time that we're here and be smarter and do things better and get to the root of problems faster and create solutions more efficiently and eloquently, you know, year after year, and as we go.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: And if we can do that, then we can have the life work balance and we can still meet the needs of our customers and the people who come to us and be there for our families.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's you know, that's that's really key.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: But when I give my phone number out and people text me at night, I tell them, don't worry about it, right?
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: Because if I'm with my family and I'm with my kids, I'm with my kids, my phone's somewhere else.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: But as soon as I see it, I'm gonna respond, I'm gonna be excited with you about that photo that you sent of somewhere.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and if I don't see it, we get through the morning, that's fine too.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: But we we we draw people in and they become elevator enthusiasts with us on these projects because it is, you know, if you're doing it once every 20, 30 years, which is kind of what the rhythm is like, then it is a big deal.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: We've we've had customers, and it's a little bit morbid, but we've been sitting in meetings, they say, these are the last elevators I'm ever gonna see.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I retired here, I'm gonna die here.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: I want them to be good because their elevator interior probably uh, you know, in this lifetime.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: And when they put that on you, you're like, oh geez, you know, like this is this is kind of a a big deal, right?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's for you, it might just feel a little bit like another project, but to somebody else, it's their home, it's what they step in and out of every day.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be their legacy on that on that committee.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's that's also true, right?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: These you're you're uh you're helping these committee members and these board members be successful.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: And understanding that early was important, right?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm I'm not just trying to deliver a beautiful elevator interior that meets the building's needs.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to help these people that I'm working with who are representing a larger population in their building be as successful as they can be.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: And almost always it's their first time doing a project like this.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's rare that we work with somebody who already went through a previous elevator.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, a property manager, yes, but you know, they're not the ones making the hard decisions, they're just coordinating.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um the board members are the ones, you know, I talk a lot about condos.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: When it comes to working directly with owners, office buildings, office properties, we get a lot of repeat business.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh that's different and that's fun because they do one project, maybe two, they know how you operate, they just put everything in our hands after that, and we just get to print and repeat on their properties.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's exciting too, because when you have that, you know, business at the speed of trust kind of feeling, uh, it really works well for everybody.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's why people like to work with the vendors they like, uh, as long as the performance stays there, because you're in a relationship where you you know what to expect from one another.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's a I think that's a good thing that has a lot of merit.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and and the way I kind of view it, I I don't I've never thought of myself as a as a designer or very artistic.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's there's some anxiety that comes up for me just thinking of, oh my gosh, what would I do if I were in that position?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so just having someone like you in your firm to I could call and say, uh, yeah, it needs to look good, and I'm not even sure what that means.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it you better not clash with the carpet because and I don't I wouldn't be a good judge of that.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: So just kind of hand that off.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's and that's the uh that is definitely the maybe the one of the biggest value ads and distinguishing factors of our company specifically, not just in the market segment that we're in, but in the way we operate and and um and how we bring resources to the customer.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Our you know, our our first position, even though we're an elevator contractor, is really more like interior designer.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, Iona went over interior design in Chicago for four years, became her passion.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: She came home in 2006 to uh to be back, you know, where her family was, and kind of fell into this business as people often do in this industry, and then fell in love with it right away.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Thought, wow, I can take my passion for interior design, I can apply, apply it to elevators.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And as she started interfacing with job, you know, project opportunities, especially in Miami, Miami Beach, um, especially around hospitality, hotels, condos, uh, people had ideas of what they wanted and they would speak to her and they're oh wow, she gets it.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like seeing the movie, like, oh, she speaks Prada, you know, like she spoke interior design and elevator design right away.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: And and that that is very helpful for people because again, the larger constituency of clients don't have that experience, they don't have that ability.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's not like trying to pick out a nice throw pillow for your sofa, right?
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: There's a bit more to it than this.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it has to really check a lot of boxes, it has to work inside of the elevator equipment in the building, uh, which may be which may be changing because a lot of the work we do is in the modernization segment.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: So the equipment that's there uh is going to be different.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so you can't hang your hat on what's already been in the building for 30 years.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: You have to know what's going in and understand what the new equipment uh is like and what limitations are there, and have some collaboration and coordination with the elevator contractor if you're not coming in through them.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: So when we bring a new person into our team and they're working in sales or estimating or design, there's a lot to understand because from the outside it might seem like, man, what's the big deal?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's like this little box.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's not much space here.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how much design savvy could a person need to be successful at this?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I can see why it could easily be underestimated and oversimplified because I felt that way when I started here.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, having been in the business for a long time, and I'm sure if there are any other um people who work at the elevator cab companies watching this, they're nodding their heads right now and going, Oh, yeah, as soon as you start seeing what can go wrong, you'll understand what the challenges are around designing and installing elevator interiors.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh absolutely.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Most of the companies I know won't even do flooring.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like any elevator contractor who subcontracts won't touch flooring, won't let their subs do flooring because that thing alone right there is so fraught with challenges and the success rate feels so low for most companies.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's it's interesting, right?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: If you again, it's easy on paper to see it and say, why?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's so such a small little box.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: Why can't you put a floor easily and successfully in an elevator and Have it perform well, but there's a lot of reasons why.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's let's talk a minute about uh obviously 25 years.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, tell me about year one.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: How did how did Vasily Elevator get off the ground?
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: What was that like?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's uh it's a pretty neat story because it is one of these uh American success stories.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: European immigrant uh decides he wants a business.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Vasily uh Burka is my father-in-law, so our company name comes from his first name.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so he's a Romanian immigrant.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: He came to the United States in the late 80s, actually on October 31st, Halloween, 1988 in Europe.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: That was a bad time in in Romania, if I'm not mistaken.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: He he the reason he came is because, like so many people who come from different places around the world, you know, it was a communist country at the time.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, opportunities for uh the outlook was really, you know, really uh bleak and for what your family could expect.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they've been under communism at that time for a very long time.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so he escaped uh from Romania and wanted a better life, made it to the US, left his wife and his two kids behind until he could send for them.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: And in the year and a half before he got them here is when the uh Berlin Wall fell, the eastern block of the USSR crumbled, Romania had their revolution, they executed their president and his wife on national television on Christmas Day in 1989.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh he was a tough, tough dude, as I understand.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just just not a lot of friendly leaders, as I recall.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, he right.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: He uh he he he wasn't uh you know revered by his people at least.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, there's still some sentiment towards communism among people in Eastern Europe because uh what they look back on is you know they things at least were predictable and everybody had a job, and and there's been a lot of um inflation and other challenges in certain parts of Eastern Europe since then.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: But he got here to the States, uh, got established, and um, in the beginning, he had nothing when he came here.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: He stayed with a friend, he worked around construction.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: He had been a crane operator in Romania and hoped to do that here.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Wasn't possible, didn't have a license to operate a crane here.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, English language skills were uh okay, but not great, heavy accent.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: So he just hung around construction, realized I need a new career.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, he was 38 when he arrived here in the US.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it's you know, you're kind of that midway point in life where you got to pick something else now and stick with it.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: And he went to work for an elevator company here in South Florida in their shop, very much like this the company that did build cabs and installed interiors.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: And he worked in the shop in the beginning.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually, they had nobody in the field and they they desperately needed to install an interior.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: So a manager grabbed him one day and, you know, you work with tools in the shop, you must be able to do this.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go install this elevator interior.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what do we need?
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, Right.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: We need tools, you know.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: We need to bring tools, we need a way to get the tools in the job.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go do it, you know.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, so they did it and he was he was great.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: And they oh, you can do this.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so he started installing the interiors.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: And over 10 years, he worked for two different companies down here, um, uh Bryce Southern and um uh what's the other one he worked for?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Interlift.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: And then he realized they struggled to find anybody who can who can uh install interiors the way I can.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: He had a lot of talent, he was really fast, uh, really good problem solver.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't have experience doing it, but when you grew up in a communist country where resources were really limited and you had to improvise all the time, he was a master of that.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Resourceful.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's right, that's right, very resourceful.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so he determined that he could do this himself, but he wanted to do it himself.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: It was his American dream to have his own business, to work for himself.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so after 10 years, he struck out on his own and he registered his company.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, I mean, he he really, to be honest, he really had no idea how to get the business.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: He knew how to do the work.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: He he wasn't sure, I mean, he had an idea where the work comes from.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he understood elevator contractors will subcontract for this.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh actually Iona was in her senior year of high school, and uh he made the leap of faith to go out on his own, and all of a sudden he you know kind of did it without a true plan of having a customer base.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: And he realized after like six weeks he hadn't had a job, hadn't had a lead, a strong he's the breadwinner for his family, his wife's at home taking care of the kids.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so he he gave the yellow pages to Iona, he put the phone book in front of her and he said, Call to every elevator company and make me an introduction, you know.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: Ask for the manager, make me an introduction.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, Dad, I don't want to do this, you know.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, No, I need you.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he had she has the best English, you know, it's hard to say no to her.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: She's very pleasant, and uh, and so uh she didn't want to do it.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: And she's like, This is your problem, this isn't my problem, you know, there's a lot of kids we feel that way about.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: But she did.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: She she called around, and uh, you know, I can't imagine calling up TKE in Miami, a big operation, and just asking for the 17, 18-year-old, right?
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, you know, want to sell you a cab.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: What department you want new equipment, you want modernization, you you want to prepare, what manager, you know.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: But but she did, and uh, and somehow uh facility got an opportunity.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's neat to to even be aware of some of the early people are who who worked with him that are still in the industry today, who who gave him a chance and who worked with him, and then who quickly uh found favor with him because you know his style was very refreshing for anybody who was in responsible for contracting work and getting work done because he he made it very easy.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: It was like really no risk.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you didn't have to give him a deposit, he would buy everything, he would install it.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: His you know, he would tell you almost like the motto, he would say, Look, if you if there's one thing you don't like, I'll rip it all out, do it over.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like he wanted to make it low risk for his customers to try him in the beginning.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and then as soon as you know they got hooked on that incredible response time that he had, I mean, he would when I started there in 2011, we were still getting a couple customers faxing us their orders, if you can imagine that things were coming in by fax.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember we had one local customer here, and he would fax over to Vasilly.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: It was a one-page document, it was all handwritten, and there'd be a sketch, just a plan view of a cab with some generic dimensions and a generic scope of work.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, I want a ceiling with six lights, I want this laminate, you know, seven panels and uh, you know, rubber floor and one handrail on the rear wall, you know, round.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and then it would say, like, you know, can you do it for$4,000 at the time?
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: Something like that, right?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: And silly would get the fax and he would look at it, and he would read through it, and then he would cross out the price and write, no,$4,100, and he would fax it back, and then he would go right into the shop and just start working on it.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_01: Like that was it.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Order acknowledged, materials already moving, you know, and uh we're rolling, right?
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and and if and if you didn't have that job ready for him to install within a week, he he he was kind of upset and perturbed.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, hey, I that was him.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: He would jump, he was ready to go.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: So it was a it was a bad thing if you contracted him for a job that was three, four months out, uh, because he would get antsy, he's he's ready to do it.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: You know, he's a man of action, always not a man of words.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome, uh not a man of paperwork, he just likes to jump in and do it.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me, tell us about you.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: You had mentioned uh his first invoice.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh tell us a little bit about how that went.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: So uh so when he so when he did this first job for somebody uh and uh and he installed the elevator interior, and then a couple days later they gave him a call.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Vasili, great job.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: Everything looks fantastic.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've got another one for you right away.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Send me over an invoice.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna close this one out and get you paid, and then I've got another one for you.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh maybe next week I want to get get the information over to you.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so Vasily hung up the phone and you know, he he didn't know what an invoice was.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: And instead of asking, he just uh didn't do anything.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then a day or two later, the customer calls him back and he says, Hey, Vasily, you know, please, you know, send me over an invoice.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: I got another job.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: I want to close this one out.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, he he had to say, Hey, I'm sorry, you know, what what is an invoice, what is invoice, you know?
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, uh, a bill, you know, and they're like, you know what, I'm gonna send you over something, you just sign it, and uh, and so we can pay you, and then we want to have you do this other job.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it's incredible to think of somebody starting a business in the 2000s, you know, here in the United States, and you know, not really knowing what an invoice was, and right uh really what that means about the type of determination that he had and the just fearlessness to just absolute confidence that this is gonna work out, right?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: We're just gonna do a great job, we're gonna do the work, and and things will happen.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: And he's told me when when we've when we've spoken about anytime we spoke about growth, or you know, especially in the early days when I worked with him, he told me, he's like, Look, I've I've never had to wait for work or look for work.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, I've always had once he started, you know, once he started, he's always had work because you know his he believed if you do good work for people, they're always gonna come back to you, right?
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: Even if you know you didn't have all the polish of some other companies, they're gonna come back to you because the work is solid.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: You did what you said, you delivered it every time.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: And he's right.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: And but of course, as you grow, uh you want to add resources to what you do, presentation to what you do.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that was a challenge between he and I early on.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: He did not like most marketing-related things that were happening when I started because um at the time the business didn't have a website, they didn't have logos on their vehicles.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, there was there were a lot of just the normal trappings of marketing and uh not even advertising, but just uh, you know, validating who you are as a company when people interface with you and you pull up at their building.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: And he wasn't a big fan of that for whatever reason.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I had to explain to him, I said, You have this great reputation.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: People in the elevator industry already know who you are, and you do great work.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I could start a company tomorrow, go to a print shop, get somebody who makes a nice logo and makes me nice brochures, sets up a website for me, go talk to a few property managers, and they'd look at my stuff and then they'd look at you.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have anything to to show them.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: You have a you know a bell south email address and you know, no website, and you're pulling these white unmarked vans.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: I said, you know, what's uh you know, what's a property manager gonna think, you know, down here?
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: I said, you know, it's it's gonna be tough.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's not fair, right?
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because the other person might not know anything and you're way more knowledgeable.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: But we live in an age where people evaluate things based on what they're used to, what they can see online.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so you can't, you know, you don't have to fall all over yourself about it, but you can't ignore it.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: You can't discredit that that we're you know, and we're shallow, right?
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna only just scroll for a second and we're just gonna look for two or three things that tell our brain, like, okay, this is legitimate, uh, and and then we're gonna right.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: But if they don't find if we don't find those two or three things, right?
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: When you pull a new restaurant, anymore, yeah.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: Websites kind of the one of those things that that do they exist?
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's no websites, like they don't they don't exist.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: They they I mean, wasn't that way 30, 40 years ago, right?
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: But as time has changed, it's like no, you that's how you show that you are in business, pretty much.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's kind of like yeah, it's like having a storefront, right?
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's sort of so to speak.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I don't think people are spending in our industry lots of time on on on websites, on other uh vendors' websites, suppliers' websites.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_01: I could be wrong.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's more of just a validation thing.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, or if you can find quickly what you're looking for, you'll go back more often.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, again, we're we're we're used to doing everything fast and getting answers fast today.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks to AI, now things are getting even easier and and faster for the people who are already using this tool.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, you don't have again, I don't think you have to get carried away with it, but it's there's certain things that that need to be there for a customer to just feel secure about you and to feel safe when they when they interact with you.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: So so you say you've been there, what did you say, 13 years, you kind of came halfway through.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: What what is one of the biggest things that you've learned over this time?
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's obviously it was a career shift for you.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um there have been a lot of things that I learned.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think one of the neat things that I've that I've learned, it's not something job specific, how much people love this industry who are in this industry.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I came from a completely different industry, hospitality, and hospitality is kind of like a party industry.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, whether you're on the restaurant side or hotel side, it's kind of that vibe.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: People get burned out really uh a lot, and then but they they people do stay in it quite a bit.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but in this industry, there's so many owner operators, so many family companies.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh people who work for the OEMs and larger companies rarely leave.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: They they just they they they shift around, they build their career in this industry, and there's so much respect that people give one another when you're in this industry.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I early on I kind of expected, oh, if you work for Otis, you don't like the mechanic from Tissin or vice versa, right?
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: Not true at all.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Really, I've seen almost none of that.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's people are so supportive.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's a brotherhood and sisterhood.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, once you're in this industry and you start to meet other people, you know, even even competitors, like so many people that we have that on paper are competitors of ours.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: I have great relationships with, and I think the world of, and I would go out of my way to help them out.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: And it's neat to see that that that's truly what the industry is.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's not superficial, it's something very real.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and I hope it doesn't change because there's a lot of uh MA activity over the last few years.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's a hot topic, right?
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much private equity coming into the elevator industry.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I get all sorts of solicitations to talk to people on a regular basis, and it's just what it is today.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but that was one of the neat things that I learned is that you could pick up the phone and talk to somebody else.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: And if they're an elevator person, if they're in this industry, um, you don't have to be in the same room breathing the same air because you're already, you know, you're dealing with a lot of the same challenges and you have a mutual respect uh once you're once you're in this industry.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: So that was that was really cool to find out.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't realize that on day one, right?
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: That came after being here for a few years.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: And and honestly, that's one of the things that really drew me to this industry, having worked in other industries, having recruited in other industries, and then to when I started working with elevator people, it's about 12 years ago.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um just realizing that uh that there was something very different in the in the culture and the respect, the camaraderie, because the companies I had worked for before it was kind of like, oh, that's the competitor, and we just hate them.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody, you know, they're just the bad guy, and we're of course the good guy.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was kind of the you know, the culture that was bred.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like I I don't see that either.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's to your point a healthy respect that hey, we we're in this together in a sense, even though we competed against each other.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, right.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, of course, there's still competition, and and that's a good thing, and that's a healthy thing.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's uh you're right, it's not like some other industries.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's not, doesn't ever feel cutthroat or or or there's animosity.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: We have really good industry associations um uh at state level, at the national level, and there's uh there's such a right good, genuine camaraderie among people in this industry.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: And and I get to see it firsthand.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a I'm a golfer and I play a lot of golf, and I get to play golf with a lot of people in Florida and around the US, and I'd love to see how the groups mix up.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, you get people who are elevator contractors who are maybe you know even competitors in a sense, and they they don't care.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: They love to get out and hang out together and talk shop.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we we like to talk about what we do, and you get somebody else who understands and and you can talk to them and and commiserate a little bit, then I think our our human nature kicks in and we just we want that.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, yeah.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I I do think that's that's part of just the the deep connection that's created is is almost like comrades in arms.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, we've you know we've we've been there, we've been in the pit, we've been, you know, we've we've done these things and and not that many other people can even comprehend what that's like.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's true, right?
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's true, right?
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't put it quite as high up as if you work in like um, you know, if you're in the armed forces or or if you're a police officer or something, because then you know, lives are on the line and and and you get that you can't share.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: But if you just come down a notch or two from that, I think you're right.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you've been on top of an elevator, if you've been in a pit, uh, you know, I know sometimes you know there can be a little bit of uh, you know, like, oh, if you haven't turned a wrench, you know, it's we can't relate to one another, right?
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's people in this industry who, you know, they've been on the management side or you know, on the sales side, and but they've been in and around it enough.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, most people they have some kind of sales internship, they had a little bit of field training, they still have to know about it.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I think that there's you know, there's definitely a brotherhood out there.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: So as we um as we get close to our our time here, um, I wanted to just ask, you know, what what kind of advice would you give to somebody who's maybe just coming, you know, new to this industry?
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe like you, they've been in another industry for for 10 years and they're just like, oh my gosh, here's here's this opportunity.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh or or maybe they're coming right out of college or or starting with the union, or what would you say to them?
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, if it uh for a young person who's looking to get into this industry or who's looking at opportunities, um, I think similar to many industries that you could go into, this is a it's a very strong industry, but you need to look at the company if you can.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, do your diligence, try to find out what type of reputation the company has.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe, you know, if you can determine what type of trajectory they have, uh, don't be afraid to ask questions if you get an interview opportunity.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh, how do you invest in your operation, right?
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you are you a growing company just because you have a couple more customers every year, or you know, are you increasing your capacity and your capabilities?
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like try to understand, you know, if you're career-minded, if you're growth-minded, then you want to be on a team that's that way.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so that you understand that opportunities will, you know, pave the way out in front of you because the company's doing that.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: That was important to me throughout my career and it has been here.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I would certainly say, don't be shy to try to ascertain that for anybody that you might be interviewing with.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this industry is strong.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's a great industry.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we we have to keep building up, you know, here like anywhere else.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's just going to uh be the nature of things.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so I don't think you know the industry will have some fluctuations and ebbs and flows like uh many industries do.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: But overall, this is uh I didn't consider it actually when I was in college.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you try to find what were the bulletproof industries, and you thought about healthcare and others, and I had no interest in those.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and and I didn't even consider this.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was neat to find out how strong it is.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_01: But I think the due diligence is is the the main thing I would tell a young person who's looking at it.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like, try to make sure you're on a great team.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then once you get on a team, um, you know, don't forget about your personal branding, right?
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like your personal branding, it's it's you, it's your career.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: LinkedIn, you mentioned such a strong tool, right?
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_01: Such a strong tool.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: Your LinkedIn page is your page.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're on a team, and when you're on that team, you advocate for that team, you beat the drum of that team, uh, you know, you you make sure you're a strong player, wherever your role is on that team.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_01: But don't forget this is also your career.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_01: And hopefully, if things work out well, you'll be on that team for a long time.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_01: But if not, you want to make sure that you know people understand who you are and they see what your strengths are, and and and you don't have to prove it all over again to somebody else if you start over.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: Because the people who stand out, people are looking around the industry all the time and people are knocking on their door and maybe they stay where they are, but they're not gonna have a hard time.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you're in this industry and you're good at what you do, you don't ever worry about uh your job, right?
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_01: You just try to be the best where you are because if you're not making it on this team because it's not right for you, the next team's waiting to pick you up if you're that standout person.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: Anything else you want to share with our viewers before we end?
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think uh, you know, the the one thing that's stuck out to me, and I'm gonna circle this completely back to your podcast, is that you know, the first one that I listened to was Don Jelestino.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh what a great guy to to listen to.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, of course, that New York accent draws us all in, and uh, feel like you're you're watching some Hollywood actor be interviewed when he's speaking.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: But I remember when he closed his interview with you, he talked about knowing your numbers as far as advice that he would give to uh to somebody who might be up and coming in business.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: So so maybe not that person just coming out of college who's getting on a team, but somebody who's running a team.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you're running a team or running a company, if you're an entrepreneur and uh you know he was talking about getting a job and you know, he'd figure out the costs and throw 30% on top of it, 35%, win the job, and he's winning jobs, winning jobs, and then didn't realize he was digging himself into a hole until a CPA pointed it out because the overhead wasn't being factored in, and you know, maybe some miscellaneous things weren't being accounted for.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: And and he talked about the importance of truly knowing your numbers.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: I remember that hit home with me.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: That was hard to believe, it's probably almost two years ago now, but uh that hit home with me.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, you know, you're right, because when I came into this business, it was a family-run company.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like a lot of family run companies, the the numbers are is there cash in the bank?
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, are we making payroll?
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: And reporting wasn't really a thing.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, and and you know, when you have owner operators, the owners are contributing so much.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they have other income sometimes, facility rented out bays in the building that had income coming in.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: So the the business overhead felt much lower.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then he worked 80 hours a week, and uh, you know, Iona was there out.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you didn't realize like it it felt easier in that time, right?
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh to be really profitable.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: And what can happen is you can get a little you can get comfortable.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then when you expand, add resources, you know, insurance goes up and overhead goes up.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: And if you didn't know how to calculate those in, and then year to year look at them, all of a sudden you're looking around going, Man, I don't feel a profit.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it seemed like it was better when we were smaller, and you're trying to figure out why.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of times it's because you don't know your numbers.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you're not really sure or diligent about how you sell your work.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so I would I would reiterate what Don said.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: That is probably the most uh ironclad advice for any entrepreneur that that we can give is if you don't know them, and I mean know them, like you should be able to rattle them off.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and and I'll be honest, I there's still things today in our numbers that I don't know, and I realize that gosh, you know, I'd have to go look that up, I'd have to go put more attention on that.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I've I've I've become more concerned when I feel that way to try to do something about it because it's easy to get comfortable and complacent, and that's where things sneak in and and it gets uh it sneaks up on you, really, is what happens.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: So that's my advice.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: Beautiful.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Nathan.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: I I appreciate you being here.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like I say, it uh took a little bit of doing, but but we're here and I I thank you.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's been great.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: Enjoy very much.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: Hope to keep watching this for uh years to come.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: All right, thanks.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: Have a great day.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: You too.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: Bye.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the All Red Group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can check us out online at elevatorcareers.net.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: Please subscribe, and until next time, stay safe.