SHORTS 16 | Eric Coet, Getting Real with Business Strategy

Welcome to the Loco Shorts Podcast from Loco Think Tank. In this podcast series, Loco Business Developer Rory Shah will help unfold bite-sized business learnings through the crazy experiences the business owners face along their small business journey. Listen in and listen up because these short business stories may just have the secret ingredient to taking your business to its next level of success. So we are back with another Loco Shorts Podcast. So I'm Rory Shah, your host with Team Loco, and today I'm really excited to bring you our guest, Eric Coet. He is the owner of 44 North and a strategic practice leader at peak solutions, which he's been doing for over four years and a lot more to his professional business journey. So, Eric, I'm so excited to have you here and welcome and tell us a little bit more about you and how you got to be where you are today. Well, thank you, Rory. You know, I would just say, you know, first of all, I'm a Colorado native and I think as you know, I grew up in Erie, Colorado when there was no paved streets and but went to Colorado State University where I met my wife and we're going to celebrate 23 years together this year. And you know, I would say back in college, I got a degree in construction management and math might or went to work for a really awesome company right out of college called Hensel Phelps Construction Company. And that was a very healthy employee-owned culture and company that really is really where I learned, you know, to be a leader and also to focus on developing people. And yeah, it was just a great, a great jumping off point to set me up for where I am today. Awesome. And Eric, tell us the details of what you do and who you serve and why. Well, I, you know, I started out, I started my coaching practice and strategic planning in January 2015 and so I really work with entrepreneurs primarily and business owners across multiple industries to get them clear and their teams bought in on their strategy. So I facilitate strategy, strategic planning as well as serve as an executive coach and a small business coach for, for local small businesses. And what, what made you kind of point towards that as a profession? How did you know you wanted to do that and how do you know you're good at it? Well, never in a million years did I even know what a, what a business coach was throughout my, yeah, throughout my professional career. I didn't, I didn't even know that people, that organizations hired outside facilitators to come in and help them with their strategic planning. And so when I worked with Hensel Phelps, you know, back in the day, we did a lot of our employee development internally training, not only the people that worked for us, but also, you know, corporate training. And so we did a lot of that and in my role there in the last eight years of leading our work procurement and, you know, trying to capture work and feed the machine, but also leading our pre-construction services and design services. I really did a lot of facilitation. There's a lot of facilitation in that role and a lot of just getting the right people at the table and figuring out what the owner needs and wants and then going and delivering that. So setting up projects on the front end in 2015 when I, when I first started my, my business, it was really in reflection because over the prior year, I had helped start up old elk distilleries and, you know, managed a lot of the front end, you know, vision and core values and our supply chain and trying to figure that out, that business out, you know, collaboration with others. And during that process, we had Pete Richardson facilitate our strata in strategic planning and through that process and also having a business coach on my own that, you know, which was an e-meth business coach, I really conceived that the concept of starting my own practice. And so I did so in January 2015. Mm-hmm. And what was it like maybe even November and December and January of opening that business, like, how are you feeling? What were you going through as far as, like, marketing, getting clients, getting started? Did you feel prepared for all of that? Well, no, I would say if, you know, the bottom line is I've always been a risk taker, but also a calculated risk taker. And during that time, you know, I did a lot of reflection. I actually did a life plan through the Patterson Center. Jeff Lucas from the Timberline Church, he actually facilitated my life plan. And at the time, I was considering doing 14 different things. A business from purchasing existing businesses to starting a custom home building business, to just doing a, you know, a small business coaching practice and facilitating strategy. But I decided to go down that road. And I also knew that that would take some time to build up clientele and, you know, to reconnect with a lot of my network. And so I also took on some projects and worked as a consultant back in the construction industry during that time as well. Okay. So you had a plan? Yeah. It was a bridge. And so it was, and my plan was to do that and then build up my clientele and then, and I did that by the end of 2015, early 2016, I was 100% doing strategic planning, working with businesses, large and small and, and also serving as a business coach. Wow. So when you were getting through those first clients, and those first years, how did you look forward and up to see where you wanted to go and where you wanted to grow? Well, yeah, I, you know, initially, again, everything I do is an alignment with value with my values. And so I really had to take a step back and, and also everything I do is rooted in faith. So I have, you know, my faith in God and I just had to really test that, that decision against, you know, does that a good fit for, for not only our family, but is it an alignment with my values? Is this something I feel like I can be the best in the world at and it can actually drive our economic engine and, and is it something that, that I'm deeply passionate about and that really, actually, that's a Jim Collins shout out there of his hedgehog principle, those through, when those three align, that's a good thing and it did. So I'm wondering, because I've heard about the life plan, I've had pieces of it done myself and it, I had, I think, an abbreviated version. But what did you learn from that life plan? I think, to me, it sounds like, hell yeah, someone can tell me what to do with my life and like put it out on paper, like, let's go. But did it, did it have a lot of clarity with really what you wanted to do? Well, yeah, and the, here's the thing, the first thing is is that, um, that nobody tells you what to do. Okay. And that's, that's the key, you know, as a coach, you're really, I mean, the, it's far more powerful to self-discover than it is to have somebody tell you what to go do, right? And so it really was two days, one-on-one, deep reflection, looking at your life story and what is to be learned from that and what's to be carried forward and really building what's called a life perspective filter. Your values, your life story, your thinking, wavelength, how you're wired and your life experiences, all those things come, come into one to really kind of help you get clear in your decision making and, um, and making reflect in the right way on, you know, to, to make good, healthy decisions. Mm-hmm. I love that. I think a lot of people need a variety of tools presented to them because they're going through different things and different personality types and different seasons of life, so like the more tools are the better. So I think that's a really interesting one and be fun to go through that as well. Eric, tell me about some of your favorite stories and impacts that you've had with your clients. I'd say with, with my clients, number one, most of my clients, I'm, I'm very fortunate to say have been with me a long time and so they've been, you know, I, I do on board clients every year, one or two new ones each year, but I do have clients that have been with me for four or five years and really one of the highlights of that is being able to build in a relationship. You know, I care deeply about them and we can talk about anything and it's really providing them an opportunity to have somebody to talk to and run things through, you know, get some outside perspective that is not something that really can impact them and they're in their circles, you know, it's, I don't have a dog in the hunt other than to help make them successful. And so I've, I would say one of my favorite clients is actually in Canada and let's say, you know, they run a, it's a family owned business, it's been around 50 years and he, you know, Joe Debates is, is the owner and he took that over from his dad, that business from owner from over from his dad, like 10 years ago and he has been able to scale past himself. You know, he has been able to step back and implement business, systems in his business and also hire some key hires and get comfortable with delegating so that he can step back and be the CEO that his business desperately needs. As a result, he's been able to grow tremendously and financially as well as grow their impact in the community and everything and so I love coming alongside of leaders like that that are trying to get somewhere and grow their business and grow past themselves. Mm hmm. What do business owners typically feel when they're kind of in that space where they need you like overwhelmed or like lack of clarity? Yeah, all those overwhelmed lack of clarity, scared to scale past themselves, also to make that investment because there's, when you're, when you're going to grow a business past yourself and by the way, there's solo on, solopreneurs out there and that's great. In fact, my business, you know, I love to pour in others, I don't really have a desire to scale past myself at this point because this is my practice, my life's work and if that's you great, but if you want to scale a business past yourself, it takes an, it takes investment, it takes investment of capital as well as your time and and it takes you getting comfortable and being uncomfortable. Wow, so when you're helping people are you in the weeds with them for months and helping them kind of see the light? Yeah, for, I would say, number one, you're, you're really coming alongside them and there's a level of humility that they have in seeking help, first of all, in saying, look, I need help and I want to scale my business and I need somebody to come alongside me and help me get there and hold me accountable. You're, you're developing new mindsets, you're developing new disciplines. And so there's, there's an accountability, there's commitments made and then me following up with them and helping them work through them and then and usually there's a foundation of really clarity that's laid in those in those early months of vision and values and what they really want in their life and what they don't want in their life and and same thing for their business and what is really key in and core in their business and continue to hit the high priorities to to just build one step at a time. You can't, you know, there's the the overnight success is the is the rare story. It's it takes time, takes time, it takes momentum and it takes discipline. Absolutely, we see that countless in our think tank chapters and I think that I mean, that's also why we exist with our think tank groups is to help people see what they can't see, but also like you said, have the accountability, especially in a group setting, like pull people up and uplift them and help them see what other options are out there. It's hard, especially when you you have these big dreams, but you know, maybe you are self limiting and then therefore you're limiting your company. It's kind of daunting. Yes, it is and you know what is really fun and really fun for me and I love this is when you get to the point where either a small business has scaled to a point where they have a senior management team or with the larger companies that I work with, I love getting in the room with those leaders that passionately want to grow that business and helping them have the right conversations, have some even some healthy conflict and dialogue, run their best ideas through process and come out with a strategic plan that they are all bought into and then to get on that strategic cadence, I mean, there's nothing like it to see those those senior leaders bought in and really swimming in the same direction and what comes out of that always are better results. Is that the same outcome potential for a small team as it is a big team? Yeah, absolutely it is. You know, it is a small business owner, you've got a lot more on your plate. So it's but with small teams, you can get the same results. You just have to a lot of organizations and especially small businesses try to do too much too quick and that's and that's the key is to narrow focus to what truly is important right now to move the needle and and when you can do that with discipline, you gain momentum. That makes sense. I think it's like taking a step back and getting really clear and specific on actions. Eric, I want to talk about your business as a your journey as a business owner. Who's around you to help you be excellent at what you do and then what are your next goals with where you want to go? Yeah. Well, first of all, I have a great collaboration with peak solutions. So it's an organizational health firm. We really focus on organizational design and health. I'm the strategy strategy practice leader there. Richard Fagglin, Mitch Majeski, and then John Talbert are three of my closest and Betsy Marales. They're four of my closest friends and we come together and we collaborate on a regular basis to build each other up, to hold each other accountable, and also to to continually strategize on where we're headed as an organization and how can we better serve our clients. That's that's the big focus and we talk about each other's clients and confidence just to to help to help give some ideas and some thoughts and how in some insights to each other on how we can better serve them. So that for first of all, that's that you have to have a strong support system. So even though I typically in my business and helping small business owners, you know, I act alone. I have an outside group of individuals that I can really count on and can talk to you. And then the other thing that's important is to have that kind of circle of trust with a small mentorship group that that you trust that you can bring ideas to that are peers. And I have that outside of peak solutions as well with my friends and then and you know, some close friends that I've had for a long time that are business leaders where we can come together and share ideas and thoughts, et cetera. My where are we where am I headed? The next seven years, my you know, our vision is a family actually is to get to the point. I'm going to continue to serve large and small business owners really focusing on entrepreneurs and and their and building their businesses coming alongside them. I also regularly invest. So there are some small businesses I invest in and come alongside as well. But you know, over the next seven years, I'm going to continue to expand offerings. You know, this this last year actually become a corporate partner with the five behaviors and everything disc, which is really helping teams to become better teams for for better organizational health, to build trust, healthy conflict, etc. And so that that curriculum that that we're using is is based on the five dysfunctions of a team by Patrick Lencioni. So there's a there's another example of adding value to our clients. I like that. Do you see yourself? I guess my question is where do you see yourself like in five to 10 years? Are you still kind of in this world or having you sold your business or like are you doing something new? Sounds like you have a lot of drive and like flexibility and adaptability with what you can do. So what's what's future Eric look like? Yeah, I love I love serving serving my clients. And so I'm going to continue to do that from a consulting standpoint. In the next seven years, our personal goals and our family goals are to split time between the beach and the mountains. So that's that's going to happen one way or the other. And so but I'm going to continue to push forward and build build our business. But the you know, we love we love the beach. We love to go. There is a family. We've always set that as kind of our goal. Our youngest is in fifth grade. So when he graduates, that's going to be seven years from now. And that's kind of our goal. Okay, what beach? Mexico. We love Mexico. I haven't been yet on my to-do list. Yeah, yeah. Now as a business as a business is concerned though. Yeah, I'm going to continue to grow. We're always looking for new facilitators to come underneath so that we can scale, but they have to be aligned. And in mission and in values. And they also have to be really good at what they do. How many do you have now? Facilitators. Between there's four of us. Oh, okay. Yeah. I wasn't sure there was another lady. No, we're always looking. Eric, talk to me about 2020. How was the pandemic year for you? How did you react? Yeah, the pandemic year was well, first of all, I was we were on vacation with our family and spring break when kind of the world fell apart. And we were with another family and it was very surreal, but then I, you know, immediately I started reaching out to my clients and really coming alongside them to help them navigate. And on the small business side of things, helping them navigate the PPP, loan assistance, etc. But then also helping them really adjust to this new world of how do we communicate with with our internally and also with our customers. And because overnight, you know, I have clients that have, you know, 150 employees and overnight they were scattered. You know, a call center with 150 employees all of a sudden operating from their homes. And so helping them, helping them navigate those waters, helping them actually increase cadence of communication with their teams, which was really important. And utilizing Zoom and other techniques, teams, etc. to do so, but also making sure that they were communicating with their clients and keeping perspective. Because what 2020 did for every business was really expose any weakness that you had. Any single points of failure, where you were vulnerable, it was exposed. And so that, there was a lot to be learned there for companies and leaders. And so I really focused on that. What is this time telling you about your business? And I actually had some businesses that pivoted very well. One of them was very dependent on trade shows, like 100% dependent on trade shows for their sales. But they had already had a strategic initiative in place that they'd been working on kind of slowly over the last year and a half to transition to online sales. Well, COVID dictated that. And so within the next three weeks to a month, they had a system in place and they were starting to see gain traction in that. And they emerged stronger. And that's what I really saw with a lot of the clients that I work with is that they emerged stronger. Because in business and basically in life, you're either in a crisis or you're preparing for one. And so we really need to be thinking about that and thinking ahead, even the unpredictable happens. And are we built for that? Are we designed for that? And it's really, you know, it really brings up a good strategic question of, you know, where are we? What kind of what could take us under in three steps? You know, and it's not, it's not, you know, that sounds like a very morbid question to ask. But it's, it's, you got to get real about that. What is it? Where is it that we're really weak and exposed? And what do we need to do to shore that up long term? What's changing the marketplace that we need to adjust to? What's changing in our customer base that we need to adjust to? Because if you're not asking those questions, you can become irrelevant pretty quickly. Mm-hmm, complacent. Yeah, I just kind of keep doing what you're doing. What are some of your favorite questions to ask clients that make them kind of a little, not uncomfortable, but make them really think? Well, are you a good leader or are you just leading good people for one thing? A lot of these questions that I that I like to ask, I used to get asked on a regular basis. And, you know, that's, that's a question. So, you know, if, hey, you know what, that's really, it's really good if you have great people. But also, you know, are you, are you a good leader? And how are you, how are you leading them to lead the next generation? You're really only as good as your next generation of leaders. And so, and the hope is, is that you are developing people to replace you and that every person in your organization is developing their replacement. And, and you're really, you're really handing that down and there's a, there's a downward focus and upward momentum for people providing them opportunity, providing them opportunity to grow. And so, I like, I like to ask that question. I like to ask the question of, you know, where do you, what, you know, if, if the devil we're going to plot your demise, where would he start? Where, where are your weaknesses? And, you know, if, or if you're, your competitor was going to dismantle you in three moves, what moves would they make? You know, and really wrestle with those. And there, there's a lot deeper you can go in that conversation, right? To, to, to help bring out some really good healthy discussion and strategic choices. Yeah, that's powerful. But you've got a handful of those. Yeah. I want to know more about your personal challenges or your personal and professional challenges along this, this path. What sticks out to you when you look back at growing your own business? Like, what, what was, what was hard? What was hardest? What was hardest? I would say, you know, well, first of all, any time you step out from the safety of, of a, of a paycheck in a 401k and, and everything that, that goes along with that and vacate, you know, vacation and, and medical benefits, etc. You know, you're, you're, you're stepping out there and there's, there can be, everybody has fear. So it's overcoming that fear. And I would say that, um, the biggest thing is, is that when you, when you step out and try to do anything extraordinary, um, you're, you, you gotta get used to getting your butt kicked once in a while and be okay with that. Because you're gonna, even the best baseball players in the world at bat, you know, they're failing, you know, 70, 70% of the time at bat, right? And you've gotta be okay with that. Well, you're gonna, you're gonna have those kinds of odds when you're in business. Um, you know, you're gonna hear no lot. And so the, the bottom line is you gotta come back to, um, you know, have you been called to this work? And if you've been called to this work and, and you are, um, you've got value that you're selling and you've got a product that makes sense and that you are able to go help people better than anybody else in a certain way, um, or solve a problem that nobody else solves in this world or solve it better than your competitors. Then you've gotta have that confidence to get yourself back up and go back out there every day and work hard and not let those failures affect you. How have you talked to yourself through any of that? Have you had to? Oh, every day. Every, every day since, you know, when I would say it goes back to, um, for me, you know, as a kid, I really poured myself into sports. And so I learned a lot about failure in sports and, and also success and what hard work can do and changing your mindset. And so, you know, there was a lot of those conversations that I had with myself throughout high school and, and even in college. And I would say also, let's, let's face it, um, you know, I, I got to a place that I call my surrender moment in college where I kind of went, I went off the rails. I was partying. I had broken up with my wife of today. So it's 23 years. We, we've been married. But, you know, we had, we, you know, early on we, we broke up and, and I kind of fell off the rails. And you know, and, and I, I come, I came to kind of the, I would say the end of myself one night and kind of just come, I came home from a college party and I said, you know what, I need to get my life right again, you know, and, and I call that my surrender moment because I need to, it was a surrender moment of, I need to stop trying to control everything that I'm trying to control. And I need to stop, um, you know, just, uh, going out there and looking for comfort, which is what I was doing at the time. And I need to get back to who I am and who God has created me to be. And so that really became a wake up call for me. And I woke up the next morning and I made a massive action plan and I got, I got things back on track and, um, including getting, you know, I was engaged in the next year and a half, uh, to Jen. I was, um, you know, I changed my major and had a offer from Hensel Phelps and, um, and other contractors on the table. And I took the Hensel Phelps offer and we went to work and we, you know, just think that my life trajectory after that surrender moment was off the charts. And so when I, when I get, when I get, uh, down or when I, you know, when I hear no or whatever it is, I go back to that surrender moment of, of, uh, you know, it's, it's time to, it's time to get, pick yourself back up, um, and, uh, and continue to move forward. That's an awesome story. Thank you for sharing that. I think that's pretty powerful. You bet. And everybody's got them. If you examine, if you examine your story, there are times when you showed resilience. There were times when you felt like giving up. There were times when you, um, were down and felt like you were isolated in this world. Um, and you may have been, at the time, but, but you picked yourself back up. And you've got to learn, you've got to learn from those, those moments. Eric, what would you say to business owners, um, who are in need of redefining their values? How would you point them in a quick exercise to get honed in on what, what their true compass should be? What their true compass should be? Well, um, let me think about that one for a second. You're like, I spend hours with people on this days. Okay, well, I would say, first of all, um, if you're not sure where to start, get help. Reach, reach out. There's plenty of help out there. Um, it, to help you, you know, that, that outside, outside voice to help facilitate you through the right conversations can really, um, pay huge dividends in, in short order. Um, you know, when it comes to values and when it comes to vision, there's a lot of companies out there that have a lot of core values on their websites that they really don't live. They're, and in fact, if you went to the, if you went to their, um, to any company, most companies, and you walked around the halls and you asked employees, what are your core values? What's the vision in the company? Where are you guys headed? They wouldn't be able to tell you they'd have to look at the website or they'd have to look at a plaque on the wall. And so, um, I guess what I would tell business owners, no matter what size your business is, whether you're, you got a billion dollars in assets or, or you've got a thousand dollars in your checking account, is that your core values have to be real. They have to be real, and your vision has to be real and specific. If you have an aspirational vision that just says I want to be the best contractor in the world, that's not really a vision. Um, what you need to drill down into is what would make you the best contractor in the world? Where's the void out there in the marketplace? If you're going to be unique in your business, how can you, how can you, um, what, where's the, where's those voids? Where's the gap? And then let's go focus there and then get very specific. And, and the other thing I would say is the year, the days of the 20 year vision are long gone, tighten up the timeframe. Look at where do we want to be in one year? Where do we need to be in three years? Where do we want to be? Where do we see ourselves in five years? And so start to build those, you know, those those specific and measurable checkpoints fast forward the tape, hit pause. And what do you see? What do you see in your business? If you could have it your way without all the chains that you have on you right now, on that date, what would your business look like a year from now? What would it look like three years from now? What would it look like five years from now? And then paint that clear picture, not only from a financial standpoint, but what do your customers look like? Who are they? What are, and how do they, how do they value the services and the products that you provide? What does your people look like? What is, what does your team look like? What key resources do you have in place? What are your systems look like in your business? What key systems do you have in place that you don't have now? So you build a very specific vision for the future rooted in value. And then when you get to, when you're when you're talking about core values, which you should start there, those really are the kind of the the river banks that that you define that will keep the river from flooding. And you're going to and everybody violates their core values, but if they're real core values in your business, they will call you back. And so that is that's what I would tell them is to sit down and and really hammer out the specific nature of your vision. And then and then decide what do you need to do to get there? What kind of help do you need to get there? Who do you need to hire? What kind of financial help do you need, etc? Those are awesome. I think that's that's pretty powerful stuff. So Eric, thank you for being on the local short today. I really appreciate your time. Your expertise is stellar. So thank you for sharing a little bit with us today and our audience as well. Will you share with us where people can get a hold of you if they have more questions or would like to find you? Absolutely. Well, if you want to if you do want to find me cut my cell phone numbers 9703027404. Go to my website at Eric. It's Eric coette.com. So real simple Eric coette.com and you can there's a jumping off point there to set up a set up a meeting with me or see what kind of services I provide, etc. Awesome. Well, thank you for your time Eric. Thank you. Thank you for listening to today's episode of the local experience podcast. This is Kurt Bear, founder of the local think tank and host of the local experience. And I'm here with Rory Schar, local business developer and host of the local shorts episodes. We hope you heard some new ideas and business perspectives in this episode. Our mission and all that we do including this podcast is to share collaborative business ideas and solutions that uplift the business community. Subscribe and follow us where you listen to podcasts to get new episodes as they are released. Curious about local? You can learn more about us at localthinktank.com where you'll find more information about our chapters, business resources and events for business owners and key leaders. If you're looking for perspective, accountability and encouragement along your business journey, why not apply for a chapter near you today? Why not? Why not? Why not? We'll catch you next time on the in-depth local experience podcast with me, Kurt. And with me, Rory, for Bite Size Business Lessons and the local shorts. Bye. Bye.