Latest / Big Talk About Small Business / Ep. 26 - The Art of Business Partnerships: Trust, Synergy, and the Human Connection

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Ep. 26 - The Art of Business Partnerships: Trust, Synergy, and the Human Connection · Big Talk About Small Business

0:04
Mark Zweig: All right, everybody welcome back.
0:06
Mark Zweig: It's another episode of big talk about small business.
0:11
Mark Zweig: I'm here with my partner and friend, Eric Howerton.
0:16
Mark Zweig: Good morning, mark Zwaag.
0:18
Mark Zweig: Good morning.
0:19
Eric Howerton: How are you doing today?
0:20
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I was running a little late for our podcast, shamefully.
0:23
Eric Howerton: That's okay.
0:24
Eric Howerton: It's like I've had to apologize to you, for I mean, I still feel bad Even during the middle of this podcast.
0:30
Eric Howerton: Don't feel bad, I love you.
0:32
Mark Zweig: All is no.
0:33
Mark Zweig: Sin will not be forgiven.
0:35
Mark Zweig: It's unconditional love.
0:37
Eric Howerton: Thank you I appreciate that, speaking of unconditional love.
0:41
Speaker 3: Yes.
0:42
Eric Howerton: I think we're going to talk about partnerships today.
0:44
Eric Howerton: Business partnerships yeah, I think that's a good one to talk about.
0:47
Eric Howerton: Yeah, because I think that there is some unconditionalness that goes on when you're in business partnership and it's just like being married man.
0:54
Eric Howerton: I think it's actually almost more.
0:57
Eric Howerton: Yeah, it really is, Cause you're so entwined and tied, Except that you don't have that way to make up that you have when you're married.
1:05
Eric Howerton: What are you talking about?
1:08
Eric Howerton: I'm confused.
1:10
Eric Howerton: Mark, can you elaborate please?
1:12
Eric Howerton: No, I'm sure our audience of love to hear elaboration.
1:15
Mark Zweig: I will not elaborate on that.
1:17
Mark Zweig: But no, it's true though you do spend, as many of us spend more time with those business partners than we do with our, our life partners Totally.
1:27
Eric Howerton: And the other thing is is that I've noticed, is that, uh, or experienced, is that you have to like a lot of times in marriage, right Partnership.
1:36
Eric Howerton: You don't have to necessarily hit problems head on as they happen, like, and of course that doesn't ever lead to anything good but you really don't have to face a lot of the things you know, like if there's some shit between you you can kind of float it out for a few years.
1:52
Mark Zweig: It's devastating Not getting that kind of advice is a good thing.
1:55
Mark Zweig: It is devastating.
1:56
Mark Zweig: I've always subscribed to that theory.
1:58
Mark Zweig: We got to make up before we go to sleep.
2:01
Eric Howerton: That's a good one, you know that's a good one.
2:04
Eric Howerton: Yeah, but in business, like you got to kind of make up before the next meeting, yeah, that's going to happen in an hour, because if you walk in, especially with your team, or even with vendors and customers, it doesn't matter.
2:16
Eric Howerton: Like you got to be unified because people will say that crap Like I can sniff that from a mile away.
2:23
Mark Zweig: No, no question about it.
2:24
Mark Zweig: But yeah, good partners are invaluable and bad partners are like toxic Terribly toxic.
2:30
Eric Howerton: Yes, so I've been lucky in my career.
2:32
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I really have.
2:34
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I really have.
2:35
Eric Howerton: You've had a few good ones, for sure, yeah, so what do you think is like a makeup of a good part?
2:41
Eric Howerton: Like, ok, so our audience thinking about starting a business or own a business or a business, yeah, right.
2:49
Eric Howerton: And I often get that question of like, hey, I want to start a business, you know, should I get a partner?
2:56
Eric Howerton: I've heard horror stories about having partners and my response is always like it's so much better with a great partner.
3:03
Eric Howerton: That is, I agree.
3:05
Eric Howerton: Why is that?
3:05
Eric Howerton: Why do you feel that it is?
3:07
Mark Zweig: Well, I'm sure and I think, knowing the kinds of part at least a couple of the partners that you had, I think you would agree with this You've got to find people who are different from yourself and have different skills than you have the more, but the same sort of value system and same plans for what you want to do with the business.
3:27
Mark Zweig: Yeah, the same idea of what you want to do for the business, but different skills, because the more the same they are, then the more likely you are to have conflict.
3:38
Mark Zweig: Yeah, very true, you know you're treading in each other's territory.
3:42
Eric Howerton: And I think that you make a good point like the values, but also the values but also the same vision, right, yeah, absolutely, like you know, but that difference that you have is so strong because to have someone else involved in the business that is absolutely, relentlessly committed, yes, you know, and they're not going to bounce.
4:02
Eric Howerton: And if they want to bounce, that's not going to be an easy thing Like you're kind of stuck in it.
4:06
Eric Howerton: Right, and to know that you have that loyalty and that commitment that helps solidify, like that you do actually have somebody with you along the ride and if they're different than you and they can think about, they can have that vision, and then they can apply that strength.
4:21
Eric Howerton: Yes, you know, and make sure that it's Check this out, done.
4:26
Eric Howerton: Right, I'm telling you, dude, like, if you can't, it's so valuable you can't pay somebody to run your books.
4:34
Eric Howerton: No, well, you can.
4:36
Eric Howerton: Well, you, okay, and do it right, like, legitimately right for the business.
4:40
Eric Howerton: Like I mean, there's people that are smart and they know how to move things around and you know that I've yet to experience somebody, especially in the financial side, that genuinely cares.
4:50
Eric Howerton: Right, it can see red flags in the books.
4:53
Eric Howerton: Right, like, if you're overpaying for something.
4:55
Eric Howerton: You're a county.
4:56
Eric Howerton: Your bookkeepers are going to say, hey, you know what?
4:59
Eric Howerton: You should really watch out for this, because if you keep this behavior, you're going to be out of business or it's going to be hurting.
5:03
Eric Howerton: You're going to be borrowing more money the whole partner that would.
5:07
Mark Zweig: Yeah, I mean a good partner is committed like you are.
5:10
Mark Zweig: I mean it's so valuable they don't want to go broke anymore than you do, absolutely.
5:15
Mark Zweig: But I mean we could talk about the numbers all day, because I can't tell you how many companies I've been involved with that have bad numbers, and I'm dealing with it right now with one of them that you're aware of and it's just just trying to get the handle on.
5:30
Mark Zweig: That is so important because nobody knew anything about the numbers in the firm yeah, nobody.
5:35
Eric Howerton: Yeah, you know, and in time point you can't, well, but you can't pay someone like a vendor or an employee.
5:42
Mark Zweig: No, you can't.
5:43
Eric Howerton: No, that's going to look at those numbers the way that you're looking at right numbers, because you actually care about the outcome of that business.
5:50
Eric Howerton: So many vendors and so many people are gonna go along for the ride.
5:57
Eric Howerton: Everybody wants to get paid.
5:58
Mark Zweig: Yeah, you're kidding.
5:59
Mark Zweig: And if they don't wanna ruffle the feathers, the boss, they don't get paid.
6:05
Eric Howerton: Boom, right, Dude that's a huge point.
6:07
Eric Howerton: Ruffling feathers Like what person is.
6:11
Eric Howerton: If I'm getting paid a salary and that salary's important for me and my family and my future, I am not gonna jeopardize that salary.
6:20
Eric Howerton: There's not many people that will.
6:22
Mark Zweig: Well you might, because you have confidence that you can go do something on your own.
6:26
Mark Zweig: Well, that's true, that's true.
6:27
Mark Zweig: But you're different, right?
6:29
Eric Howerton: You're wired differently than most, that's true, but most folks they won't approach a red flag situation Right or like we can't do this Right, Like literally putting your foot down and saying, man, it's gotta stop, and then facing that conflict head on.
6:45
Eric Howerton: I mean you just can't.
6:46
Eric Howerton: But a partner, Partner can, Partner can and will.
6:49
Mark Zweig: Yeah, if they have the right skills and should not follow in the same path that you're on personally.
6:56
Mark Zweig: Yes, right, or the same orientation you have.
6:59
Eric Howerton: And, speaking of that, there's times in business when things like just from a mental standpoint like you can get too much on your plate, or there's other things in life that are going on and to have a partner and you know what's going to Right, they can take up the slack Boom.
7:14
Mark Zweig: Yeah, it's super.
7:15
Mark Zweig: I mean several times in my life that's been the case and I'm very grateful for that.
7:20
Mark Zweig: But yeah, I mean, the right partner is invaluable.
7:25
Mark Zweig: But I think a lot of times people get the wrong partner because they go oh, bob's my friend.
7:31
Mark Zweig: We went to college together, we were in the same fraternity together, or he was in my dorm with me and Bob and I have been good friends all this time and Bob wants to do something with me, right, not necessarily the right person, and especially when you're really tight friends, that a lot of times it's not documented.
7:51
Mark Zweig: Well, very true, okay, I got another one of those situations I'm dealing with right now.
7:56
Mark Zweig: The guy died who was partners with somebody else I know and nothing's documented.
8:04
Mark Zweig: Oh no, so you can imagine the nightmare trying to Like you're talking about.
8:08
Mark Zweig: as far as the organization and the structure yes, the LLC, operating agreement, lending documents, things like that no way.
8:16
Mark Zweig: Capital contributions not documented it's just as horrible.
8:21
Mark Zweig: But there was too much trust in a way because of the personal relationship feeling we can work anything out.
8:29
Eric Howerton: That's a big point because it's we might like if you and I went into business together.
8:32
Eric Howerton: I might trust you.
8:33
Eric Howerton: But we know now well enough that setting up a true LLC with the right formalities and the legal documents is so critical.
8:41
Eric Howerton: Or corporation, or corporation, yeah Right.
8:44
Eric Howerton: And the point of those documents is not necessarily that.
8:48
Eric Howerton: So you and I can agree.
8:49
Eric Howerton: It's more that when, if you pass, or I pass away, exactly what happens I know what's that exit, because you don't want to be stuck with a family member that has no idea nor care.
8:59
Mark Zweig: I'm telling you that's exactly the scenario that this friend of mine's involved with now, when the spouse the spouse is the one and the spouse knows nothing about the business.
9:12
Mark Zweig: Yeah right, the spouse never contributed anything to the business.
9:15
Mark Zweig: The whole arrangement was based on each having their own role in making certain contributions.
9:21
Mark Zweig: Yeah, and now it's purely financial?
9:24
Mark Zweig: Yeah, Okay, but nothing's documented.
9:26
Mark Zweig: I mean, it's just a bad situation.
9:28
Mark Zweig: So what?
9:29
Mark Zweig: And that brings me up to another point about partners.
9:33
Mark Zweig: If it's purely financial, I'm going to be scared.
9:36
Mark Zweig: There's got to be more to it than that.
9:40
Mark Zweig: Somebody brings other than just the money Gotcha To your business.
9:45
Mark Zweig: They got to be able to help in some way Management expertise, worldliness, experience.
9:51
Mark Zweig: So that kind of reminds me of some of our relationships.
9:54
Eric Howerton: Yeah, it reminds me of some of the discussions that we've had about if you're an entrepreneur and you're just going out looking for investor partners Exactly and you're just looking for somebody to throw money in it because you got this plan but if these people are removed from the business and there's being counted against what you're doing, there are people out there like that who have money and who do invest in these businesses.
10:15
Mark Zweig: But if it's purely financially driven, there's no real relationship between the people and they don't have anything else to offer the business.
10:24
Mark Zweig: They're likely to want to do something different than you are with it, and that's not a good partner.
10:30
Mark Zweig: You got to have that.
10:31
Mark Zweig: You said at the vision.
10:33
Mark Zweig: It's got to be the same.
10:34
Mark Zweig: The mission's got to be the same, like.
10:38
Mark Zweig: This is why we're in business.
10:40
Mark Zweig: This is where we're trying to go with this business and if it's purely financial, there's only one thing they want out of it and that's money, and they probably want it as fast as they can get it, absolutely.
10:51
Eric Howerton: And then they're gonna know what detail reporting about where all the money's going, because they want more of that money.
10:55
Eric Howerton: Yeah, exactly.
10:57
Mark Zweig: Versus all they got, yeah, they'll.
10:59
Eric Howerton: Versus like, hey, man, a better partnership would be like I get it, we got some.
11:04
Eric Howerton: Okay, we got some cash in the business, but we need to reinvest into the company.
11:09
Mark Zweig: Yeah, we've got some problems that we need to deal with.
11:11
Mark Zweig: We got some opportunities.
11:12
Mark Zweig: We need to capitalize on them.
11:14
Eric Howerton: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, and we need some people.
11:16
Eric Howerton: We need qualified, good candidates.
11:17
Mark Zweig: And it ain't gonna be overnight.
11:19
Mark Zweig: We got to be thinking longer term than just like next month here, because that's not where the opportunity is.
11:25
Eric Howerton: That's a good discussion because that's really the nail on the head, like of what we've talked about about this capital raising phenomenon that's going on, that you're like you can't approach it that way because I mean, heck, an investor like.
11:38
Eric Howerton: A big value I'd see from an investor, like as a partner, would be connections that they have Exactly, yeah, like connect me with the freaking people.
11:45
Eric Howerton: That's gonna take me five years to get connected to my own methods, but if you can connect me in a week and I can develop that out in three months, man, that is substantial.
11:56
Mark Zweig: I was out of town recently for a couple nights and, of course, I just had Shark Tank on continuously at night.
12:02
Mark Zweig: That's good for the rain to help you sleep.
12:04
Mark Zweig: I mean, yeah, it's better than my watching the news all night, like my wife does, which puts me in a horrible mood.
12:09
Mark Zweig: But anyway, I was just watching episode after episode of Shark Tank for two nights in a row.
12:15
Mark Zweig: Yeah, and the people who are there making a pitch you don't understand what the right Shark could do for them, true, and then they pass on their opportunity to associate with those people.
12:30
Mark Zweig: It's really something else.
12:32
Mark Zweig: I mean, they're so short-sighted, you know.
12:34
Mark Zweig: Like if you got a product you're gonna sell online and you got somebody via television, and you got somebody there who's been doing that for like 30 years and became a freaking multi-zillionaire off of it, I'd say, shit, this is a great opportunity.
12:52
Eric Howerton: Oh, dude, yeah, you know I've watched that so many times.
12:54
Eric Howerton: When I'm like see these Go ahead.
12:57
Mark Zweig: I'm sorry, yeah, I'm just gonna say they want 35% of your company for the price that somebody else is willing to give you or that somebody else is willing to do it for 20%, and then take the 20% person who has no idea of how to really help that business, protecting their equity.
13:19
Speaker 3: Yeah.
13:20
Eric Howerton: Because they go in there with a little bit overconfidence and idea.
13:23
Eric Howerton: You know and you get advice from folks like you got a protector.
13:26
Eric Howerton: What you do have in protector equity right it's very expensive capital, the most expensive cash.
13:32
Mark Zweig: Especially if you're not on a long term plan.
13:34
Mark Zweig: There's no short term.
13:35
Mark Zweig: You're sacrificing along the way I mean it lasts than you should bearing all that stress.
13:41
Mark Zweig: Whatever, you want to have a payoff at the end.
13:44
Eric Howerton: Yeah, but if I'm walking into Shark Tank and I got a clothing line and Damien is like I'll be happy to get in but I'm gonna take a little bit higher equity position, right, if you're Damien, but I can connect you and you see these entrepreneurs like no, I'm out man.
13:57
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I know it's worth more than that.
13:59
Speaker 3: No, bro, it's not.
14:00
Eric Howerton: Yeah, take it, bro.
14:01
Eric Howerton: I mean great quote that I heard a long time ago is you don't get wealthy off one transaction.
14:07
Eric Howerton: Exactly, it's multiple transactions, so just being connected into that group.
14:12
Mark Zweig: Yeah, maybe they can make your business 10 times larger than it is.
14:16
Mark Zweig: So your stake, even if you had 20% instead of 35, is worth far more.
14:22
Mark Zweig: Yeah, because it's 10 times larger.
14:24
Mark Zweig: There's that.
14:26
Eric Howerton: And then there's also the fact that, like, if you have a real mindset to it, it's like you got a lifelong entrepreneurial career.
14:33
Mark Zweig: Right.
14:34
Eric Howerton: Of which you can actually be involved in 10, 20 businesses throughout your life.
14:39
Eric Howerton: And if you're really an entrepreneur, you're enjoying that ride Like you love the ride, man.
14:43
Eric Howerton: Exactly, you like seeing going.
14:44
Eric Howerton: I like seeing things going from nothing to something and you do the same thing, like how you paint canvases, man, with businesses and all the stuff that you've done, and it's like years over years of just developing.
14:56
Eric Howerton: The next thing you know you turn around and like you have, you're sitting in a land of opportunities, yeah.
15:01
Mark Zweig: You got something that's worth, something that has all kinds of possibilities for the future Exactly.
15:06
Eric Howerton: And then you got people that know about you, bring you involved in opportunities all the way, and you know that, the mindset that you can do greater things with a group of people than you can all by yourself.
15:16
Mark Zweig: Yeah, wouldn't you like to be in business with Mark Cuban?
15:18
Mark Zweig: I mean, the guy's smart, I'm all good, yeah, he just that just turns to gold.
15:23
Eric Howerton: Exactly Like give me 30 minutes with him each week and just hanging out, I mean like I'll fly down there with my own dime Exactly I mean, yeah, oh, I get 1%, great.
15:33
Mark Zweig: Yeah, the right, the right partner is so critical.
15:36
Mark Zweig: I, you know my primary business partner.
15:39
Mark Zweig: It's why white was Fred White, yeah, and he was.
15:45
Mark Zweig: You know I'm not and Fred and I are.
15:48
Mark Zweig: We still talk occasionally we don't talk all that often, but we do talk occasionally and Fred was a difficult person to work with at times.
15:55
Mark Zweig: There's no denying it.
15:57
Mark Zweig: However, we never would have been as successful without the guy.
16:01
Mark Zweig: True, he was a genius and his skillset was almost like the exact opposite of mine, yeah, so together we made a really good team.
16:12
Mark Zweig: He was the guy that figured out the longterm stuff how to create the systems that made us more efficient, how to create the databases.
16:23
Mark Zweig: You know how to make books faster and better than anybody else, how to market all our stuff consistently.
16:32
Mark Zweig: So we got a consistent result.
16:34
Mark Zweig: That's super valuable, yeah.
16:38
Eric Howerton: And so he was more inside.
16:40
Eric Howerton: Yes, so I think that, like there is a common simple to simplify this Inside versus out, then even we didn't even plan that, but that's so true it is.
16:51
Eric Howerton: And you were the outside guy.
16:53
Eric Howerton: Yes, talk and smack, drink and coffee yapping, drinking, campaigning.
16:58
Mark Zweig: Makes me sound so insubstantive Wow, I mean I mean, hey, you know what.
17:05
Eric Howerton: I'm sorry for you, but that's been my real tooth.
17:07
Mark Zweig: I know it is, I know it is and I love it, you know, yeah, somebody's got to do that.
17:13
Eric Howerton: Somebody's got to do it.
17:14
Eric Howerton: I think I tell people at the time I'm like I'm a professional coffee drinker, it's all I am.
17:17
Eric Howerton: Man, like you know, I know how to go out there and I'm not afraid to make strength.
17:21
Mark Zweig: I'm the promoter and the connector and all that.
17:23
Mark Zweig: And I was picking on LinkedIn recently.
17:29
Mark Zweig: I know you don't spend a lot of time on LinkedIn and you're smart for not, but these people who put in their profile visionary I mean I'm a visionary, jesus, maybe somebody could call you that.
17:45
Mark Zweig: But to claim that is ridiculous.
17:47
Mark Zweig: However, that set.
17:49
Mark Zweig: And then I was corrected by somebody that said well now, if you're an EOS company, that is a formal job title to be an a visionary.
18:00
Mark Zweig: I'm like, okay, cut the bullshit with the EOS too.
18:04
Mark Zweig: Okay, and not to say EOS is bad, it's not, but it's not a panacea for everything.
18:10
Mark Zweig: And I said and not everybody knows you're an EOS.
18:14
Mark Zweig: So when they see self-proclaimed visionary, they think this guy's oh, dude soul.
18:21
Mark Zweig: I mean, I ain't to say it, but Dude, I would, I would be, ashamed to put visionary on my LinkedIn it is.
18:28
Mark Zweig: but all that aside, somebody's gotta be the visionary.
18:34
Eric Howerton: No, it's very true.
18:35
Eric Howerton: You know, and honestly, if you are a visionary, I wouldn't really wanna claim it because most of the times people think you're crazy.
18:42
Eric Howerton: Right, if you're bringing out vision to stuff.
18:44
Eric Howerton: Like it's not a fun.
18:45
Eric Howerton: It's not a fun spot to be in.
18:46
Eric Howerton: No, it's not.
18:47
Eric Howerton: It's superbly frustrating as hell.
18:49
Mark Zweig: I have been Because everybody else doesn't see it.
18:52
Mark Zweig: I can't think, I know.
18:54
Eric Howerton: I've been with my life in a frustrating bubble, Like my wife can't see it, my partners can't see it, my staff definitely can't see it, no one can see it and I drive Right Absolutely insane.
19:05
Eric Howerton: And then you have to go to my little spaces and understand that it's okay and that I'm you know I'm right.
19:12
Mark Zweig: And you gotta chip away at trying to convince them and sell them.
19:14
Mark Zweig: Yes On your vision.
19:16
Eric Howerton: And then they make decisions and you're like what the hell are you doing?
19:18
Eric Howerton: That is not a lie.
19:19
Eric Howerton: That's not gonna work out.
19:21
Eric Howerton: Well, the numbers work, but the vision is terrible.
19:25
Mark Zweig: But in a partnership somebody's gotta have that role.
19:29
Mark Zweig: But yeah, the inside versus outside, yeah, I think the visionary versus the doer, yep, you know not to say that the visionary never does Right.
19:40
Mark Zweig: The doer never has any kind of inspiration or sense of a greater possibility.
19:47
Mark Zweig: Because they have to.
19:49
Eric Howerton: And you both have to be good with that.
19:50
Eric Howerton: Yeah, and respect that.
19:52
Eric Howerton: Like, what I've been blessed with with my partners is that they greatly respected what I did, even though it's very soft, like you can't put your hands on, like I'm not cranking out freaking spreadsheets, right, I understand.
20:04
Eric Howerton: You know what I'm saying, yeah, but they appreciated and were grateful and allowed me to just be me, Right, you know.
20:12
Eric Howerton: But I was also on the flip side.
20:13
Eric Howerton: You were allowing them to be totally yeah and I let them like, I mean, if we brought both my partners in, that I've had they would.
20:23
Eric Howerton: You know, I'm actually had JS in here and I mean like, but I mean the ability for me to get the hell out of that way, out of their way, you know, was probably the greatest, allowed them to be who they are, Right.
20:35
Mark Zweig: I agree with you 100%.
20:37
Mark Zweig: I call that abdication.
20:39
Mark Zweig: Okay, you know you're just abdicate to them.
20:43
Mark Zweig: You just this is your domain, go for it.
20:45
Mark Zweig: You know it's not delegation at all, it's abdication.
20:50
Eric Howerton: And then there's been many times, too, where I've been like I probably didn't really agree yeah, didn't, it was the the what are the cut the juice wasn't worth the squeeze, right a pigment battles.
21:01
Mark Zweig: Yeah, you want to win the war, not the battle.
21:04
Eric Howerton: Yeah, man, sometimes like it may not be the best thing, might not be the best thing for a lot of reasons, but right you know, allow it to happen and then support them and back them up right with the team, like I never.
21:15
Eric Howerton: I never countered my partner, not one single time you can't.
21:20
Mark Zweig: It's just like parenting.
21:21
Mark Zweig: It's the same thing.
21:22
Mark Zweig: If you go against your partner, they're gonna be friggin furious with you and be.
21:27
Mark Zweig: Your kids are gonna be confused as hell, confused, okay, so you can't, yeah, you can't do it, and if you do it right you can actually use that a lot like man.
21:37
Eric Howerton: I'll be like man.
21:37
Eric Howerton: I mean Alex.
21:38
Eric Howerton: Alex said no, I'm sorry, I don't.
21:40
Mark Zweig: yeah, you claim against each other.
21:42
Mark Zweig: Yeah, right now you use them as the bad guy.
21:45
Mark Zweig: That's the other thing.
21:46
Mark Zweig: Do you ever notice that the outside guy is usually not the bad guy?
21:51
Speaker 3: I like that.
21:54
Mark Zweig: The outside guy is the nice guy.
21:56
Mark Zweig: Yeah, man, everybody loves the outside guy.
21:59
Eric Howerton: The inside guy that coddies up, sob, dude up, you know, or she is all the horrible you know, and folks will come to you trying to convince you, cuz you're the good guy, you're probably gonna say, yes, right, but I always be like man.
22:12
Eric Howerton: I don't know, I I would probably take another look at that for you.
22:14
Eric Howerton: Go talk to J S, man Like man, I'll talk with them as well, but you know, I don't think it's gonna work and then I'll let J S just be the bad guy.
22:23
Eric Howerton: I think I was gonna be the bad guy.
22:25
Mark Zweig: Exactly, I hear you.
22:27
Mark Zweig: I think that that you know.
22:29
Mark Zweig: So another characteristic of good partners is they have to be Putting in the same amount of effort that you are in intensity.
22:38
Mark Zweig: Yes, you know, and if they're not doing that, then there's gonna be a problem.
22:43
Mark Zweig: Totally that course.
22:45
Mark Zweig: That's the problem that people like you and I have, because we get involved in so many things that then we're not giving the full attention to the one thing that the partner may be involved in, and then that can make them Resent you.
22:58
Mark Zweig: Yeah, but you got to be careful up, you got to make sure you're still earning your Hell.
23:03
Eric Howerton: Yeah, you know that's when you just say, hey, like it's not worth it to sleep, mm-hmm, it's a.
23:08
Eric Howerton: And then you.
23:11
Eric Howerton: Then you get twisted up with your spouse partner at the crib.
23:14
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I mean, then you got to make good on that like it's just a whirlwind man, it's a great life.
23:19
Mark Zweig: It is so much fun it is, and the real light, yeah.
23:23
Mark Zweig: The relationships, all that, yeah.
23:25
Mark Zweig: I will say this, though, and I think you would agree it gets easier the older you get.
23:30
Mark Zweig: Yeah, when you're young, it's like Things upset you more than maybe they should.
23:36
Mark Zweig: I don't know what that is.
23:38
Mark Zweig: It's like.
23:39
Mark Zweig: With age comes a certain amount of perspective that allows you to carry on in spite of Disagreements or problems or, yeah, add, feelings you know that might have really derailed you when you're younger.
23:56
Eric Howerton: I think that's probably I would call that just emotional intelligence.
24:00
Eric Howerton: Like you go, if you grow up and you start recognizing, like you know, you have experiences is and Experiences in your, and you're like that.
24:08
Eric Howerton: You know why was I so bent out of shape about that?
24:11
Eric Howerton: Cuz it didn't make any difference.
24:12
Eric Howerton: And then the next time you have certain things like that happened, like you, you just stay calmer, like you just.
24:17
Speaker 3: Yeah, it doesn't.
24:18
Eric Howerton: It doesn't blow your lid.
24:19
Eric Howerton: It's not the end of the freaking world anymore.
24:21
Eric Howerton: Yep and I think that goes into is like I think I'm a better partner today, that I was way back.
24:26
Eric Howerton: Oh, I definitely think so.
24:28
Mark Zweig: I agree.
24:28
Mark Zweig: I mean, I remember fighting.
24:30
Mark Zweig: You are a lot better partner now than you were.
24:32
Eric Howerton: Oh, big time.
24:33
Eric Howerton: No, well, we could call Alex now, like he saw me grow up quite a bit, you know, in those early days.
24:40
Eric Howerton: I say for him too, though I mean like it took five Took some time.
24:45
Mark Zweig: Yeah, we're, I mean, we're still learning.
24:47
Mark Zweig: Okay, oh, we're, that's the great thing.
24:49
Mark Zweig: I was saying this to somebody the other day.
24:52
Mark Zweig: It's like they're like I don't want to change, I'm gonna be just the way I am.
24:58
Mark Zweig: I'm like You're in your 20s.
25:00
Mark Zweig: I'm not the same person I was five years ago than I am now.
25:04
Mark Zweig: Oh, at all, hopefully.
25:06
Mark Zweig: Yeah, I'm.
25:07
Mark Zweig: No, I'm not.
25:07
Mark Zweig: I hope I've learned something over that time.
25:10
Mark Zweig: Oh, you have, bro, I've watched you now, so much Back at you.
25:15
Eric Howerton: that comment yeah, like you've grown up.
25:17
Mark Zweig: No, it's true, though you do, hopefully you're still learning, which is another good characteristic of a partner is somebody who can say I'm still learning, I'm not done, I'm not set, I'm not rigid, I've, I have the capacity to change.
25:34
Mark Zweig: Yeah, you know, yeah, I learned new stuff, absolutely so.
25:39
Eric Howerton: And you know, I think that too is like there's also a level of caring and genuine concern about your partner's well-being, like there's been many times that I've been able to spot in my partner that man, you're not Like, you're not, you're not a hundred percent, not a hundred percent.
25:53
Eric Howerton: Man, things are going on with you Right, like, and you have to be somebody that they can lean on.
25:58
Eric Howerton: I mean, dude, it's.
25:58
Eric Howerton: It's like friendship, marriage, business, everything wrapped up into it.
26:03
Eric Howerton: And I think that that's why a lot of people you know might have a pretty significant horror story, you know, about partnership.
26:10
Eric Howerton: It's they.
26:11
Eric Howerton: They could very well have picked the right partner, but because they weren't being a good partner, yeah you know, undermined it and sure, and it becomes more problematic for you, like you literally have to be able to let things go.
26:23
Eric Howerton: You have to be able to trust the person, you know, you have to be able to communicate, you know, and you can't duck and hide, you know.
26:31
Eric Howerton: I mean, it's just, there's just so much to it and I'm a big believer in partnerships.
26:35
Eric Howerton: I mean, I tolerate the idiosyncrasies, totally.
26:39
Mark Zweig: I mean, I, I, fred, and, and I love him.
26:42
Mark Zweig: But we used to sit in meetings and we were young yeah, okay, we, you know, it was just me and Fred and maybe some other people but he always put his leg up against the table and then would move the table like this the whole time.
26:56
Mark Zweig: It would just absolutely, I got the word.
27:00
Mark Zweig: I can't even pay any attention to what he's saying or thinking or anything.
27:03
Mark Zweig: The moving of the table is driving me insane today.
27:08
Mark Zweig: I can totally tolerate that, can you?
27:11
Mark Zweig: Yeah, it's all good now right.
27:15
Mark Zweig: But those idiosyncrasies that we all have, yeah, you have to be able to go past them.
27:21
Eric Howerton: You know that is so true.
27:22
Eric Howerton: And I mean, you know I've raised my hand saying I probably got a lot that would piss somebody off.
27:27
Eric Howerton: You know you never pissed me off.
27:31
Eric Howerton: Well, I know, because you and I hurt we're on the outside I mean there's not much that I think that you and I could do.
27:39
Eric Howerton: I'd be like, oh dude, that was hilarious, that's great.
27:42
Mark Zweig: Yeah, we're too much alike.
27:43
Mark Zweig: That's the problem.
27:45
Eric Howerton: We are for sure.
27:46
Eric Howerton: But you know, I mean, like you know, I've always been a big believer in escaping.
27:51
Eric Howerton: When you need to escape in business, like sometimes you got to take 30 minutes, take a couple hours to get back in it.
27:56
Eric Howerton: You know, and yes, and you know, my brain is regroup, retreating Totally.
28:01
Eric Howerton: My partners were different man they're, they're able to focus and stay, you know, stay in line and keep that, just that consistency.
28:08
Eric Howerton: I'm the most inconsistent person that I think that I've ever met, maybe other than you.
28:12
Eric Howerton: You're pretty inconsistent to you, like you're freaking.
28:15
Mark Zweig: I never, I never.
28:16
Mark Zweig: Consistency wasn't my goal.
28:19
Mark Zweig: Okay, I mean obviously that's what I'm saying.
28:22
Mark Zweig: Like you're the most inconsistent person I think I've ever met, I'm consistent in some ways though, like I always pay my bills on time and I always do certain things that you know I.
28:32
Mark Zweig: I comply with laws and regulations and forms and bills and deadlines you do.
28:39
Mark Zweig: You think, things I comply with.
28:41
Mark Zweig: That taught me that, but consistency in all other ways, no, it's never been a goal.
28:46
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I remember back in the day like when we were paying bills of our AP was pretty high.
28:50
Eric Howerton: Yeah, we got back in the day that was a yeah, but you were relentless on.
28:55
Eric Howerton: As soon as we got some payment in, it's like, okay, who are you gonna pay off today?
28:59
Eric Howerton: Get it done, relentless like you.
29:02
Eric Howerton: There was nothing else that you were focused on that day other than how many wires were sitting and you, the other room slamming your head look table screen.
29:13
Eric Howerton: We did.
29:13
Eric Howerton: We sit that out, yet we gotta get that out.
29:16
Eric Howerton: I mean it's just like.
29:16
Eric Howerton: And then in the next thing you know, they were back at.
29:19
Eric Howerton: We're screaming where we were the morning broke again and I've been my brain.
29:25
Eric Howerton: I was like, don't you want to keep this for a few days?
29:28
Eric Howerton: and we have no, you didn't, man.
29:29
Eric Howerton: I mean that.
29:30
Eric Howerton: That was a good lesson.
29:31
Mark Zweig: Well, no only because you know people.
29:34
Mark Zweig: If you're doing business with people, they want to do bit.
29:36
Mark Zweig: Yeah they like you and will do favors for you.
29:40
Mark Zweig: If you're a fast payer, yes.
29:42
Mark Zweig: If you're a slow payer, then you're gonna get De-prioritized.
29:46
Mark Zweig: They'll work, they'll do stuff for you if they got nothing better to do.
29:50
Mark Zweig: I don't want to be that kind of a client or, you know, a buyer of whatever they're selling.
29:57
Eric Howerton: I just don't.
29:58
Eric Howerton: I think another term in relation to everything we're talking about is that there is 100% such thing as business karma man.
30:05
Eric Howerton: Yes, there is, bro, like I have.
30:08
Mark Zweig: You know, put out good and good.
30:10
Mark Zweig: Yeah, you put out bad and bad.
30:12
Mark Zweig: Bad stuff happens.
30:14
Eric Howerton: That's an episode on its own man and like what are all the details and what is good and bad karma?
30:19
Eric Howerton: Because I mean like it will?
30:20
Eric Howerton: I have seen it happen myself and I've seen.
30:24
Eric Howerton: You know from a couple of things that I did.
30:25
Eric Howerton: I actually told you that I texted you like the way I left is like why I'm not very proud of you.
30:31
Mark Zweig: I know, I know I never know didn't get it.
30:33
Mark Zweig: I know you didn't man.
30:34
Eric Howerton: It was awesome.
30:35
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I didn't feel good about it, yeah, and I felt like that.
30:37
Eric Howerton: That that returned to me in In a in a way that that was not the most pleasant thing, you know, and and so.
30:45
Eric Howerton: But that's the lesson learned, and you know that's not that big of a deal, because I don't do anything really bad, just, yeah, you just move it on, but I was a kid man, yeah.
30:53
Mark Zweig: I was just a kid, it's okay.
30:55
Mark Zweig: Okay, I Never had any ill feelings towards you, ever at all.
31:00
Mark Zweig: Well, I appreciate that you were always a good person to work with and you always tried to do you could do to make things successful and, yeah, keep everybody happy.
31:08
Eric Howerton: Well, I appreciate that man, but I didn't feel good about but you know.
31:12
Eric Howerton: But then I've seen other people in throughout the business that did not do good things and it's detrimental.
31:22
Eric Howerton: I'm not even like it when it was going on the things that weren't doing good and I was like it, obviously didn't feel good when it happened to me, but I certainly didn't even like to know that down the road it's going to multiply on them.
31:35
Eric Howerton: I'd like karma thing, like man that is.
31:37
Eric Howerton: I hate that for them.
31:38
Mark Zweig: We only have one reputation, so that's obviously super, super critical.
31:44
Mark Zweig: You've got to protect that with everything you got.
31:46
Mark Zweig: But back on partners okay, when I do see unethical behavior of a partner, that's a problem.
31:56
Mark Zweig: And or super selfish behavior, all right, the selfishness is bad.
32:03
Mark Zweig: It's really hard to once I make that determination that I think somebody's being selfish or unethical.
32:11
Mark Zweig: I'm going to be pretty harsh in my judgment of them and it's going to be really difficult for us to be partners.
32:17
Mark Zweig: What would you do in a situation like going forward.
32:20
Eric Howerton: I mean like how would you hate, I mean, how would you?
32:22
Mark Zweig: You know, the first time we had Swig or Swig White, we had like 23 or 24 partners.
32:30
Mark Zweig: Now, fred and I combined, I think we still had like 75 to 78% of the company.
32:36
Mark Zweig: So, put on that order, okay.
32:38
Mark Zweig: At the time we sold it.
32:39
Mark Zweig: However, you know, we had all these other partners in there and the way.
32:46
Mark Zweig: Honestly, a few times I just had to let people go, partners or not, we're going to part ways, gotcha, it's not working out, so we're just going to just bomb out and yes, okay, and we had very well-documented buyback provisions and time, you know, to pay back their ownership and valuation methodology.
33:07
Mark Zweig: Baked it in the ownership agreements.
33:10
Eric Howerton: Where do you see?
33:11
Eric Howerton: Where do you?
33:12
Mark Zweig: see S Corp.
33:12
Mark Zweig: S Corp.
33:12
Mark Zweig: Yeah, never had any question or problem with any of that, never got challenged.
33:19
Mark Zweig: Everybody signed the agreements.
33:20
Mark Zweig: Everybody lived and died by the same agreement.
33:23
Eric Howerton: Got it and that's what's important about corporate structures.
33:26
Eric Howerton: Yes, that's why you have to get your.
33:29
Eric Howerton: I mean, like you can't go to legal zoom and just download and then sign documents, man, it will freaking, it will hurt.
33:37
Mark Zweig: It's going to hurt.
33:37
Mark Zweig: I mean, I just seen case after case of it Case.
33:42
Mark Zweig: I mean, even people I work with at the U of A, who teach entrepreneurship, who actually are entrepreneurs, have made some of the classic mistakes in that regard Of undocumented relationships or poorly documented relationships with business partners.
34:00
Mark Zweig: Yeah, and then they end up in the newspaper, yeah, with lawsuits.
34:06
Eric Howerton: Yeah, and that's not good.
34:07
Eric Howerton: That goes back to the reputation thing, whether it's true, valid or not.
34:10
Mark Zweig: Exactly, it's toxic.
34:13
Mark Zweig: It casts a shadow over you.
34:15
Mark Zweig: Yeah, that's going to be really hard to escape.
34:18
Mark Zweig: Well, make sure that people doubt, right?
34:20
Mark Zweig: Yeah, and people talk about it forever.
34:22
Mark Zweig: I mean, we live in an area it's got like 600,000 people now and people around here are still talking about stuff that people did wrong 20 years ago.
34:31
Mark Zweig: Have you noticed that?
34:32
Mark Zweig: True, very true, it's true.
34:34
Eric Howerton: Yeah, it's a big deal it is.
34:36
Eric Howerton: It's so like when you're getting in, if you are going to get in a partnership, you both have to be on the same page in the beginning, like how those legalities are set up, and you have to believe in that document, right, that corporate set up, yes, and all the things you mentioned, yes, and you have to be aligned and that's your guiding principle.
34:53
Eric Howerton: It is, it's got to be there.
34:55
Eric Howerton: And another thing that you said at earlier values.
34:58
Eric Howerton: So I did a values exercise a long time ago that it was after I was in partnership and, man, it was ruthless, trying to identify those with my partner, you know, because they aren't the same person I am.
35:13
Eric Howerton: I believed in it.
35:14
Eric Howerton: Sure, they were kind of going along that that was such a big deal to establish values, the characteristics and the beliefs that I have, along with my partner allotting to that to set the values of the company.
35:31
Mark Zweig: It's super important.
35:32
Mark Zweig: I think most of the exercises I've seen to define values in companies are absolute crap, but it's super important.
35:40
Mark Zweig: I mean, don't you agree though?
35:42
Mark Zweig: Yeah, I mean the values.
35:44
Mark Zweig: They've got these sort of empty statements of platitudes that they don't actually live by, and then that's just what they want to be, not play on Aspirational values.
35:56
Mark Zweig: I mean, values are values.
35:57
Mark Zweig: They're not aspirational in my mind.
35:59
Mark Zweig: Yeah, true Goals can be aspirational, or a vision can be aspirational, but values you gotta live those you do you know you do.
36:09
Eric Howerton: It has to be within your being and it's basically an exercise of trying to get out between you and your partner but you deeply already believe in and who you identify as you are right and then you bring those together and that actually defines the company Right, you know, if you're those two part it should, yeah, it should, and then that's the expectation.
36:30
Eric Howerton: And what I loved about that exercise is it helped us identify who we actually hire.
36:37
Mark Zweig: Yes.
36:38
Eric Howerton: That is super critical.
36:39
Eric Howerton: Super critical because if the folks you're hiring, or even vendors or customers you deal with Right and when you don't want to lie to that, it's going to be devastating.
36:48
Eric Howerton: It is, it absolutely is.
36:50
Eric Howerton: That's what wreaks havoc all over the place.
36:52
Mark Zweig: Yeah, most companies, though.
36:54
Mark Zweig: I mean, they don't act like that's really within their control to hire people that have the right values.
36:59
Mark Zweig: They don't act like they can shed any clients who don't really have the right values.
37:05
Mark Zweig: They, you know, isn't that true, though?
37:08
Mark Zweig: It's like, well, you know it's hard to hire people, so we're gonna hire, you know so and so over there, yeah, it's kind of doesn't really have half of what we want in a person.
37:19
Mark Zweig: Yeah, you know.
37:22
Eric Howerton: JS taught me that so well.
37:23
Eric Howerton: I like just watching him about how he brought people in the company.
37:27
Eric Howerton: He was just he's genius man.
37:29
Eric Howerton: He was just so diligent about it and was patient, thoughtful, studied.
37:33
Mark Zweig: It's an essential skill if you want to build a business beyond some small business that goes nowhere.
37:40
Eric Howerton: So true, being able to identify those people that are the ones that have what you need in the right orientation, and then get them on your team Yep, and the reality is that you know, and the partnership thing is not only was you know we strong and weak in other areas and able to do that with the values, but then it's just a matter of time to dedicate to those things.
38:03
Mark Zweig: Yes.
38:03
Eric Howerton: You know JS would spend so much time Like he even to you know the end at White Spider.
38:09
Eric Howerton: He would interview everybody that was coming to that company.
38:13
Mark Zweig: Yeah, I think that's smart Dude, so smart.
38:16
Mark Zweig: If you're running a business, why wouldn't you care about everybody on the team?
38:20
Mark Zweig: Yeah, I mean, if you were a football coach, would you let somebody else recruit a player and sign them.
38:26
Mark Zweig: That's a good point.
38:27
Mark Zweig: Without meeting them, yeah, what the.
38:29
Mark Zweig: That'd be pretty stupid, and making some kind of determination yourself about whether they were gonna be right or not.
38:35
Eric Howerton: That's right, that's crazy.
38:37
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I mean it's.
38:39
Eric Howerton: You know, it's a.
38:40
Mark Zweig: We're building a winning team here, man.
38:42
Mark Zweig: That's it, man.
38:43
Eric Howerton: Champions, yes, champions, yes.
38:45
Eric Howerton: Look man, I just wanna be around like five to 10 people that are freaking champions.
38:50
Eric Howerton: I agree, bro, like I feel like I can do anything under the sun with a small amount of freaking Class A champions.
38:59
Mark Zweig: It's true, and it's not like we don't encounter bad things or setbacks, right, I mean, I gotta say it's like there's tons of setbacks, there's tons of negative information out there and damn near everything I get involved with.
39:13
Mark Zweig: Ooh.
39:13
Mark Zweig: But we've got the vision.
39:17
Mark Zweig: I know you've got the value system and that you're working hard over here, just like me.
39:23
Mark Zweig: Okay, that's it.
39:24
Mark Zweig: We will overcome whatever the obstacles are.
39:27
Mark Zweig: We will overcome Hell.
39:30
Mark Zweig: Yeah, all right, it's not delusional if we're gonna do what we need to do.
39:33
Mark Zweig: It is delusional if we just say we're gonna overcome.
39:37
Mark Zweig: By the way, we're not gonna do anything we need to do to fix the situation or get past this obstacle.
39:44
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I mean, my thing is on a resume and even in an interview.
39:48
Eric Howerton: How do you measure the get a shit that somebody has?
39:51
Mark Zweig: Yeah, I know.
39:52
Mark Zweig: Well, it's hard.
39:53
Mark Zweig: It is hard.
39:54
Mark Zweig: You can ask them for stories.
39:56
Mark Zweig: That's what you look for.
39:58
Eric Howerton: Yeah, you can sense that when somebody is self-determined and wants to be part of a team that are all rising up Doing stuff man.
40:08
Mark Zweig: Well, yeah, and have standards of excellence.
40:12
Mark Zweig: We used to always go look at the cars in the parking lot to see what they look like.
40:16
Mark Zweig: If they were driving like a really trashy car filled up with junk in the interior, yeah, nah, it didn't have to be anything fantastic, but are they maintaining what they've got?
40:27
Mark Zweig: There you go.
40:28
Eric Howerton: Taking care.
40:28
Eric Howerton: Yeah, are they happy Are?
40:30
Mark Zweig: they proud of what they have.
40:32
Mark Zweig: It's there a standard that they have to keep in every way?
40:36
Eric Howerton: Yeah, Remember, you looked at my car.
40:38
Eric Howerton: Actually I can't remember.
40:40
Mark Zweig: You had like a Lexus, yeah, an old Lexus.
40:44
Eric Howerton: Yeah, I remember.
40:45
Eric Howerton: Yeah, it was like a.
40:47
Eric Howerton: I bought it for my dad, I think, and he drove it for like 30 years.
40:50
Eric Howerton: Oh, it wasn't that old, for God's sakes, but I remember you judging me about it.
40:56
Mark Zweig: No, I judged me, I didn't judge you from that.
41:00
Mark Zweig: Your car was fine.
41:01
Mark Zweig: I do remember, though, that remember Katen, who worked for us, and we harassed him endlessly when he bought a Toyota.
41:08
Mark Zweig: What is that?
41:10
Mark Zweig: The luxury, big Toyota that he bought?
41:16
Mark Zweig: Not a Camry, but the next level of Cressida.
41:19
Mark Zweig: No, it wasn't a Cressida, it was gosh.
41:23
Mark Zweig: Whatever, it was just a big sedan.
41:26
Mark Zweig: Yeah, it was a big sedan, and we looked at the average age of the buyer.
41:30
Mark Zweig: It was like 72 years old or something.
41:33
Mark Zweig: We had a little too much fun.
41:34
Eric Howerton: That guy man busted him man, I just talked to him the other day.
41:38
Mark Zweig: He lives in India, he's got his MBA and he works for a private equity firm he started getting good.
41:44
Eric Howerton: He started talking towards the end.
41:45
Eric Howerton: He was returning to smack talk man.
41:47
Eric Howerton: And I remember there was a couple of them and they were like he shut me up, that's his terrible.
41:51
Speaker 3: You know he's getting so good at it.
41:55
Eric Howerton: So partnerships would you advise as a beginning, new or even a returning entrepreneur?
42:03
Eric Howerton: Partnerships, are they good or are they bad?
42:08
Mark Zweig: I think they're good if you get the right person.
42:11
Mark Zweig: What do you think?
42:12
Eric Howerton: I would say yes to that, and then if you understand how to be a good partner Like you can't.
42:20
Mark Zweig: No, you're right, you have to be, because you can't operate with impunity.
42:24
Mark Zweig: You can't be selfish.
42:26
Mark Zweig: You got to know that you're part of the team.
42:28
Mark Zweig: You got to carry your weight.
42:30
Mark Zweig: It's definitely a reciprocal deal, for sure.
42:34
Eric Howerton: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I think that there's also just like I didn't.
42:39
Eric Howerton: I know what I had my partnership for.
42:41
Eric Howerton: There was no like deep analysis about it, but there was a good sense and, to your point, I knew that they were really good at something that I was, that I wasn't really good at, and also I had no interest to be good at.
42:54
Eric Howerton: Yeah, Like I think that's where a lot of the magic happened for me is like I did not.
42:58
Eric Howerton: Not only was I not good at that, but I'd not have zero desire to compete with you in the goodness of whatever you're good at.
43:07
Eric Howerton: Yes, and let you roll with that.
43:09
Eric Howerton: Yes, you know, and then respect that and appreciate it, being grateful and thankful and yeah, exactly.
43:16
Mark Zweig: Well, you've always been so nice, you know how to treat people.
43:19
Mark Zweig: Yeah, yeah, somebody taught you Toyota Avalon.
43:22
Mark Zweig: That's what he had, and my mother-in-law had one too.
43:27
Eric Howerton: That's an Avalon.
43:28
Mark Zweig: I'm telling you, and especially if you get it in that like champagne color oh yeah, that's what his was right, yeah it screams old man.
43:36
Mark Zweig: Okay, this guy was like 22, 23.
43:40
Eric Howerton: What are you doing?
43:41
Mark Zweig: We're giving.
43:41
Mark Zweig: Yeah, it's like Like you don't even go to car lots by yourself anymore.
43:43
Mark Zweig: Do you want to get any dates?
43:46
Mark Zweig: I mean what?
43:50
Mark Zweig: Do you have your AARP card?
43:54
Eric Howerton: Right, he's just trying to get discounts, man, that's what he was trying to do.
43:57
Mark Zweig: I get him now In Zanya and I went to see.
44:00
Mark Zweig: Do you?
44:00
Mark Zweig: Yes, we get all the senior discounts.
44:02
Mark Zweig: I was left to see that Ferrari movie Christmas Day Eve was awesome.
44:08
Mark Zweig: Have you seen it yet?
44:09
Mark Zweig: No, no, enzo Ferrari man, he was a gutsy guy.
44:13
Mark Zweig: I'll tell you.
44:14
Eric Howerton: I love it.
44:14
Eric Howerton: It's a good business.
44:15
Eric Howerton: So you got a discount to go see.
44:16
Eric Howerton: Yeah, we get the senior.
44:17
Mark Zweig: Fantastic, mark, congratulations.
44:19
Mark Zweig: It's like 10 something versus like 14 or whatever.
44:23
Eric Howerton: You know, Well done bro.
44:25
Speaker 3: Yeah.
44:25
Eric Howerton: Do you get that when you go to your fast food joints too, because you're always you know I hadn't thought about that.
44:30
Mark Zweig: I should ask, bro, you have seen like Burger King?
44:33
Eric Howerton: Yes, I get discounts too, man.
44:34
Eric Howerton: I think they started the senior discount thing, bro.
44:38
Eric Howerton: You need to take advantage of that I do.
44:39
Eric Howerton: What did you eat today?
44:42
Mark Zweig: Olive and I, my 17-year-old, we went to Arsigas toast oh wow.
44:47
Eric Howerton: OK, well, that's because you had Olive with you.
44:49
Mark Zweig: That you did that Exactly.
44:50
Mark Zweig: It was her request, otherwise I'd have had like a nice sausage, biscuit and hash browns.
44:56
Eric Howerton: Do you go to hard McDonald's?
44:57
Eric Howerton: Do you ever go hard?
44:58
Eric Howerton: We don't have any.
44:58
Eric Howerton: Do we have a hearties and fail?
45:01
Mark Zweig: hardies is gone and oh man, that's terrible went out of business.
45:04
Eric Howerton: Nobody went there, yeah yeah, it was kind of say they didn't revive, now revitalize themselves.
45:10
Eric Howerton: They, my grandparents, but they camped out at hardies back.
45:12
Eric Howerton: Did they like hardies?
45:13
Eric Howerton: They loved hardies, the hash browns, like it was what they did.
45:17
Mark Zweig: Did they go to stock car races?
45:18
Mark Zweig: Hardies was always a big sponsor of that.
45:20
Mark Zweig: I don't know that one thing.
45:22
Mark Zweig: Yeah, your dad was a professor.
45:24
Eric Howerton: Yeah, so is he still?
45:25
Eric Howerton: Yeah, no, no, he's been retired for about 10 years now.
45:29
Eric Howerton: Okay, he's the Psychologist.
45:32
Eric Howerton: He was the chair of the psychology department.
45:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's a thinker.
45:35
Eric Howerton: Yeah, he's still things.
45:36
Eric Howerton: That's awesome.
45:37
Eric Howerton: I thought of myself as I get older just sitting there thinking like what am I thinking about?
45:42
Mark Zweig: But I just went to, so I went somewhere.
45:46
Mark Zweig: You know that famous quote from Mark Twain.
45:48
Mark Zweig: It was like when he was 18 he couldn't believe how dumb his dad was, and when he was 20, it's something to this effect yeah, but when he was 25 he couldn't believe how much his father had learned over the next last seven years.
46:00
Mark Zweig: That's a good point.
46:04
Mark Zweig: A little appreciation for overtime, right, big time man.
46:07
Mark Zweig: Well, listen, eric, I think our conversation is done for today.
46:12
Mark Zweig: Time is crap.
46:15
Mark Zweig: That's great.
46:16
Mark Zweig: We.
46:17
Mark Zweig: We encourage our listeners to write us with whatever questions you'd like for us to deal with you, and it's something that we're gonna start reading some of those and talking about them.
46:32
Mark Zweig: The new year, they shout.
46:33
Mark Zweig: The new year coming up in in the new year.
46:36
Mark Zweig: We're, as we record this, the year is almost over, mm-hmm, and thank God, christmas is over.
46:42
Mark Zweig: Bahum bug is what I'd like to say to that.
46:45
Mark Zweig: Ah.
46:47
Eric Howerton: Humbug?
46:47
Eric Howerton: Why do you say bottom of the Christmas?
46:49
Mark Zweig: if you looked at my MX bill for the month, you would know why I'm saying bahum bug.
46:56
Mark Zweig: Okay, it's staggering.
46:58
Mark Zweig: It's your great with the economy, man, it's stressful this time of year, yeah you know yeah it really is.
47:04
Mark Zweig: I mean just trying to get everything done and make everybody happy and go all the places that you're supposed to go, and you Know what I do love the whole.
47:12
Eric Howerton: You know what I love the holidays most about?
47:14
Eric Howerton: Yeah, okay, yeah, you see what I mean.
47:17
Eric Howerton: Yeah, you did some stuff there, didn't buddy?
47:19
Eric Howerton: He went out.
47:21
Mark Zweig: Didn't do anything.
47:22
Mark Zweig: It's an boss yeah for people.
47:24
Speaker 3: Yeah.
47:27
Eric Howerton: What I've always loved about holidays is that people ghost out, and it gives me that one to two weeks time, relentless focus, to plan the attack of the shit.
47:40
Eric Howerton: I hear you I'm doing, I can bring the shank out.
47:44
Eric Howerton: Yeah, january 2nd at 7 am.
47:47
Eric Howerton: Baby, I love it, I do too.
47:49
Eric Howerton: And then everybody's like, oh, whoa, yeah, you're back.
47:52
Eric Howerton: Here we go.
47:53
Eric Howerton: Yeah, this is how we roll.
47:55
Mark Zweig: That's it, the the new year.
47:56
Mark Zweig: It starts a hole.
47:57
Mark Zweig: We got a whole new blank sheet ahead of us.
48:00
Eric Howerton: It's what's possible, but I got it all figured out the last two weeks.
48:03
Eric Howerton: Yeah, you're welcome.
48:04
Eric Howerton: Yeah, that's good.
48:05
Eric Howerton: It's been a good thing.
48:06
Eric Howerton: All right, man.
48:07
Mark Zweig: All right.
48:07
Mark Zweig: Well, hey, everybody the other.
48:10
Mark Zweig: I guess the other thing I want to say is make sure you log into our website.
48:15
Mark Zweig: We don't have to log in.
48:16
Mark Zweig: Well, our we're gonna have a website and and and sign up for our email list www.
48:22
Mark Zweig: Big talk about small business, calm, and If you're interested in becoming a sponsor of our program, we have somebody here who would love to talk with you.
48:33
Speaker 3: Yeah.
48:35
Mark Zweig: And yeah, who can, who can help you out with that?
48:37
Mark Zweig: Yeah, again, I mean, we're not gonna take just anybody as sponsors, that's right.
48:42
Mark Zweig: We better believe in what they're doing you better line to our values.
48:46
Eric Howerton: That's right.
48:46
Eric Howerton: Damn it, yep.
48:48
Eric Howerton: But if you are a Sausage, egg and biscuit company, we'd love to Especially.
48:56
Mark Zweig: You can supply some of those to us here in the studio.
48:58
Eric Howerton: Yeah, if you're McDonald's and you want to sponsor with just unlimited supply of Fast food for Mark's why you can, you can get it big Mac.
49:10
Mark Zweig: She like big Mac, I love big.
49:11
Mark Zweig: My daughter Olive, who's sitting in our lobby right now, she told me she had a dream last night.
49:17
Mark Zweig: We're, a big Mac meal cost 75 bucks.
49:23
Eric Howerton: What?
49:23
Eric Howerton: Yeah, oh, she had a dream about a dream about it.
49:25
Eric Howerton: Yeah, dude, that could be where we're at one day.
49:28
Mark Zweig: I let me tell you every time I drive through Starbucks with my kids in the morning and pay 20 bucks, I'm like this is ridiculous.
49:36
Eric Howerton: You can't get a.
49:36
Eric Howerton: I mean I, my daughter gets like she bought like a seven dollar and fifty cent drink the other day might get that.
49:42
Mark Zweig: a tall Frappuccino, which is tall in their nomenclature, means small, yeah yeah, just another one of my pet peeves.
49:50
Mark Zweig: Okay, and it's friggin Dollars for a like a 12 ounce drink.
49:55
Eric Howerton: It's insane man but then they want to tip.
49:57
Eric Howerton: Why is it?
49:59
Eric Howerton: Can we have an episode about why everybody wants a tip?
50:03
Mark Zweig: Do we want tips, but we don't get them, for God's sake, that's dude, it drives me nuts.
50:09
Eric Howerton: I'm like man you like, why do I have it?
50:12
Eric Howerton: It's so embarrassing.
50:13
Eric Howerton: Now, you like, you pull out your debit card, yeah, and you're just trying to buy something and it says tip 20%, 25%, I know, or no tip, and I have to sit there and push that no tip button and then they're like you, so be.
50:29
Mark Zweig: If I could spit in your food right now, I would, but it's already out here.
50:32
Mark Zweig: I just feel like it's so rude man it grew up in the server in the right, I know you worked at holiday and I recall, yeah, bro, I've worked for the tip man, right, like I talked for the tip.
50:44
Eric Howerton: Now, if somebody's nice to me and broadens my day, I'll tip them.
50:48
Eric Howerton: Sure, actually, I'll tip them.
50:49
Eric Howerton: Well, right.
50:49
Eric Howerton: But I mean, you got work for that tip man.
50:51
Eric Howerton: I worked for the tip.
50:53
Eric Howerton: I hadn't expecting you to give me a tip.
50:56
Mark Zweig: I bought two smoked turkeys from a local restaurant for Thanksgiving.
51:00
Mark Zweig: I ordered them and advanced and I go to pick them up and it's like 150 bucks.
51:03
Mark Zweig: But what's the tip?
51:05
Mark Zweig: Like a tip, I just picked up these damn turkeys, like you should, just to give you like 30 bucks.
51:11
Mark Zweig: They handle me, you should have payroll.
51:14
Eric Howerton: Okay, I'm worked into the props of my turkey man.
51:18
Mark Zweig: Anyway, well, that's a subject for another day, but, um, in any case, this has been another episode of big talk about small business, and we'll see you next time, thank you, thank you, thanks for tuning into this episode of big talk about small business.
51:36
Speaker 3: If you have any questions or ideas for upcoming shows, be sure to head over to our website, wwwbigtalkaboutsmallbusinesscom and click on the ask the host button for the chance to have your questions answered on the show.
51:53
Speaker 3: Stay connected with us on LinkedIn at big talk about small business and be sure to head over to our website To read articles, browse episodes and ask questions about upcoming shows.