WEBVTT - A Fresh Perspective: Fresh Bloom Bins 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:05.480 Ruby. 0:00:07.560 --> 0:00:10.600 Some of the best business ideas come from an unserved need. 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:13.560 You have a problem and you come up with a solution. 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:18.040 For Tia Johnson, that problem was dirty trash cans in 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:20.599 her house and her struggle to get her teenagers to 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.880 clean them. She realized that if she had that problem, 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:25.919 everyone else did too. 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:29.600 And I get outside and the trash can is discussing 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.920 it as all of the flies, the maggots, and the odors. 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:36.040 She knew she could fix the problem, so she contacted 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:40.040 her local representative and pitched a pilot program. The city 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:42.840 liked the idea and offered her a contract to begin 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:45.640 cleaning trash cans and dumpsters all over the city in 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:46.120 the spring. 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:51.080 I would honestly say, after getting that contract, I absolutely 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:54.920 thought the company would be successful. How can you lose? 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:58.760 So winter ended, the weather was warming up, and Tia 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:02.240 was waiting for a from the city and she got it. 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:05.560 But when it came, it wasn't the update she expected. 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:12.319 So we eventually schedule a zoom call and that's when 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:16.840 I received the devastating news. Just thinking about it makes 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:20.160 me relive that moment, and all I could think about 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:23.880 is I can't let them see me cry. And I 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:28.240 said okay, and I got off the zoom and I 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:32.840 boughted my eyes out because I had no idea where 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:37.559 our next dollar would come from. It was the only 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.200 contract that I had at that time, and it was 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:41.000 just taken away. 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:49.560 Welcome to The Unshakables from Chase for Business and Ruby 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:53.600 Studio from iHeart Media. I'm Ben Walter, CEO of Chase 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:57.560 for Business. On the Unshakeables, we're sharing the daring moments 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:00.720 of small business owners facing their crisis points and telling 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:03.559 the stories of how they got through it. This week, 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:08.200 we're in Ohio with two incredible folks. Tia Johnson, founder 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.079 and CEO of Fresh bloom Bins, is joining us today. 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.519 We'll also hear from Desmond Bryant. Des is the vice 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:18.799 president of government Relations at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.040 Dez Hi, Ben, how you doing. 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:22.720 Thank you for being on the show, and thanks for 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:26.440 having this conversation with us today. He's helping small businesses 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:30.400 every day, supporting them as they navigate opportunities within the community, 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.760 and advocating for policy changes that will support them as 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:38.400 they grow. On today's episode, Fresh bloom Bins from Columbus, Ohio, 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:43.800 I just got to say I have a soft spot 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.960 for Ohio. Much of my family is from there, and 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:49.080 we have one of the largest chase offices in the 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.560 country in Ohio because we know how great it is 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:55.600 to do business there. Great people, affordable amenities, and a 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:58.600 pro business government. So I was thrilled to be speaking 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:02.840 with a Columbus based business owner, Tia. It's awesome to 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:04.200 have you. Thank you for being on the show. 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:06.880 Thank you for having me. It's awesome to be here. 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:11.080 The name of Tia's company is Fresh bloom Bins, and 0:03:11.120 --> 0:03:13.320 I'm not ashamed to say I did practice saying it 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:15.680 before we spoke. I'm gonna just see if I can 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:18.520 say it three times fast, Fresh Bloom Bins, Fresh bloom Bins, 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:21.120 Fresh bloom Bins. All Right, it's a little bit of 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.840 a tongue twister. The core of Tia's business is cleaning 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:27.800 dumpsters and trash cans, and we dove into the conversation 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:31.160 how she first got into sanitation, what excites her, But 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:33.280 it was the numbers that caught my attention. 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:39.120 It's the unsexy part about business, right Like it's when 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.880 you know all the cans are cleaned and you're going 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:42.720 through the numbers. 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:44.800 I love this. I mean, this is what's beautiful about 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.560 this podcast. One of our clients just said to a banker, 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:49.800 the un sexy part of business of the business, all 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:52.080 the numbers, The sexy part is cleaning the trash cans. 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:54.600 Now no one's ever said that before. So that's great. 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:57.360 That is the fun and sexy part. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:01.280 It's not every day someone thinks clean trash cans is sexy, 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:05.000 but Tia does. It's also not every day that inspiration 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:07.560 for a business like this just pops into someone's head. 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:10.520 But that's what happened to Tia in twenty nineteen. 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:15.600 It's all started on a hot summer day. I went 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.279 to go take the trash out and it was filled 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.520 with flies, maggots and odors. 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:21.240 M yum. 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:24.600 So I know, right. I told my teenage son that 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:26.600 he had to clean the trash can when he came 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.520 home from school, and of course he gave me all 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.800 of the teenage attitudes. Don't nobody want to clean no 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.360 trash can as he stumped down the hallway. 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:37.320 I mean, he's kind of right. I mean, I know, 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:39.760 I'm like, I don't want to clean a trash can. 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:42.960 Nobody does, but it has to get done every now 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.839 and then, and I'm like, shrug shoulders, my mom card 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:49.080 has been pulled, and you're cleaning this right. Like I 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.760 was sitting on the couch and I'm like, nobody wants 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:55.000 to clean the trash can, but it's one of those 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.039 things that just have to be done. And I'm like, 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.080 I'm gonna I solved this problem. So I stay up 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:04.960 all night researching on the internet how to build a 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:08.360 trash cleaning machine and trash can cleaning. 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:13.080 Not that many people actually clean trash cans, and at 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:16.479 the same time, neither did Tia. Her career up to 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.920 that point had nothing to do with sanitation at all. 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.400 She'd worked it for Riizon Wireless for ten years, then 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.160 taught personal finance to girls and young women in schools. 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:27.960 It was around that time that she had the initial 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.920 spark of inspiration for Fresh bloom Bins. She kept exploring 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:33.240 the concept in her downtime. 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.440 As I was talking to more people, I was like, oh, wait, 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:42.680 this is bigger than what I thought. It was like, 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:44.800 this is a real business and I could do this. 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:48.880 So she started to tell people she knew about the idea. 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:52.359 And it was going into that like telling people about 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:55.120 it right like, Hey, I think I want to do 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:58.880 this trash bin cleaning thing, and they're like, what, You're crazy? 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:01.279 Who cleans trash? 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.200 But Tia had a woman she called her entrepreneur mom, 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.600 who she knew would support her no matter what. And 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:11.120 Tia was right. Her entrepreneur mom loved the idea. 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:14.800 She calls me and she's like, I want to invest 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:18.320 in this. Let's sit down and talk about it, and 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.760 like tears just start blowing from my eyes because I'm like, 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:24.159 I can't believe she believes in me, like this we 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.279 go over, we have this meeting, or like, you know 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:29.360 what I want to do with my plans. She's like, okay, 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:31.000 I want to think about it, and I'm going to 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.280 get back to you, and I'm like okay. She gets 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:36.160 back to me and she says I love the concept, 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.800 but she don't know enough about trash. So I'm out, 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:44.240 Oh I died, I die in so many different ways? 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.159 So does I want to bring you in here? What 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.719 a pivotal moment in TIA's journey, you know, one that 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.880 lots of entrepreneur's face. She believes in an idea, but 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.520 others around her don't talk to me a little bit 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.080 about ment I mean you work for the Chamber of Commerce. 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.479 Is that somewhere small business owners can go for support 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:05.760 and where else can they go? 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:09.880 So when a small business owner has this seed of 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.320 an idea, it's important they seek out as much advice 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.680 and mentorship as they can. But it has to be 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.520 the right advice and the right mentor. You want to 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.200 find your yes people who are going to be realistic 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:26.000 but supportive of your idea. It's unfortunate Tia's Mentor didn't 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:29.040 see the opportunity in her idea, But maybe it comes 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:33.320 down to timing and in a twist, maybe Tia's time 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:36.560 wasn't then, it's now. I've been with the Chamber for 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.840 almost four years now, and I will tell you what 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.400 was embedded in my head when I came here was 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:47.920 what we categorized as the three c's Connecting, communicating, and convening, 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:53.520 where we connect folks to networking opportunities, opportunities with respect 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:57.520 to job growth, mentorship opportunities. When it comes to convening, 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.680 we have about I think this year's sixty seven plus 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:04.920 events where we bring folks together through panel discussions, maybe 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:08.400 on one discussions. We established places for folks to convene 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.160 meet network, so on and so forth. Now, when it 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.040 comes to communication, we push out and disseminate all types 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.880 of information, whether it's about something that will impact your 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:20.920 business directly or indirectly. And so when it comes to 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.560 being a resource for the business community, there's a slew 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:24.960 of things that the Chamber does. 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.840 Okay, So back to Tia's story. With her trash dreams dashed, 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:33.040 she went back to her day job working in schools 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:37.880 and that was that until something unexpected happened and her 0:08:37.920 --> 0:08:38.560 business took a. 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:45.800 Hit twenty twenty hits right, school shut down and I 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:49.720 lose sixty percent of my revenue because it was all 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:50.320 in person. 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:54.600 Now, with nothing left to lose, she jumped headfirst back 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.360 into that brilliant idea. 0:08:57.080 --> 0:09:01.719 And I said, everybody's talking about cleaning and sanitation right now. 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:04.880 I will never let anyone kill my dreams again. 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:09.320 From that point on, in TIA's own words, it was 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:12.880 pedal to the metal. She dredged up all that research 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:15.600 from her all nighter, and in order to literally put 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:17.800 the pedal to the metal, she needed to get her 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:18.800 hands on a truck. 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:23.040 I was talking to the builders on timelines getting the truck, 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.240 and of course there was a lot of unknowns at 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.280 that time, and they were like, oh, we can probably 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.200 get your truck in like six to eight weeks. And 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.720 I'm like, okay, I'm going to start selling for the 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.559 next six to eight weeks. And I had really thought 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:40.240 about doing single family homes, so going to individual homeowners 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:42.320 with like a door to door sales model. 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.760 But again, this was during the big COVID lockdowns. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.160 And I'm like, I don't think that that's the best 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:53.080 market for me right now. So I quickly switched to government. 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.200 I said, wait, I'm going to go after corporate and 0:09:56.200 --> 0:10:00.960 government clients. Like they are getting fun. They're looking for 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:04.360 ways to clean stuff. Trash cans are nasty, everybody's throwing 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:08.760 away all this ppe gear. So I started to pitch 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:12.880 to some of the city council members. I eventually get 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:16.640 in front of the director of trash and he's like, 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.960 I have a problem. We have these trash cans that 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.040 have been out fifteen years, twenty years, No almost ever 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:28.360 cleaned them. They're discussed, they're nasty. People complain about them 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:34.640 all the time. Can you fix this problem? Yes, I'm 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.080 going to fix it right, I'll figure it out later. 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:39.920 We give them a timeline on, like when we can 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:43.520 start and you know it's all laid out. I get 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.560 the po I get the contract. 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:49.160 First of all, just for everybody's benefit. You don't have 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:51.840 a truck, you've never done this before, and you go 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:55.559 out and you get a not so small US municipal 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:57.959 organization to give you a contract. 0:10:58.880 --> 0:11:02.360 How I always tell everyone now that I can look 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:04.640 back on it, the trash Gods was in my favor. 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:09.640 One of the skills that I really tried to lean on, 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.079 to lean into as a small business owner was sales. 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:17.720 And part of that was the relationships. So I had 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:22.000 a lot of healthy relationships in the community that supported me, 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:25.120 put me in the right direction, was able to get 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:27.280 me in front of the right people or give me 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:30.280 feedback so that I could really make this thing come 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:33.240 to life. Outside of that, it was really the trash Gods. 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.559 Well, you know, you take help from anywhere. So you 0:11:36.640 --> 0:11:38.839 land this contract, you place an order for this truck. 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:46.720 Where's the truck in Arizona, which is, as I'm sure 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:51.280 you've realized by now, not Ohio. And now I'd like 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:54.040 to share a short story with you. It's called How 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:57.520 I Got the Truck by Tia Johnson, how I. 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:02.080 Got the truck. I'm telling you, my belief system has 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:06.280 been a whole different place. So I had never been 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.640 in trucking before. Right, each truck is about one hundred 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.880 and twenty thousand dollars. They deny me financing for this 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:16.520 truck and said, based on your background, I don't think. 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:17.080 This is a good bet. 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:23.120 So I get connected to an investor and I tell 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.040 him I have the contract, the truck is being built. 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:28.320 I just need to be able to get the trucks 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:32.199 and he said, well, that's easy. He's been in the 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:37.080 box trucking industry for ten plus years. So he actually 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:40.480 gets my truck finance. I go to Arizona, catch a flight. 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:42.960 I have a CDL driver come out here with me. 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:48.520 But yes, we drive this truck from Phoenix, Arizona to 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:50.600 Ohio in like November. 0:12:57.040 --> 0:12:59.720 Now that the truck was back in Ohio, Tian now 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:01.960 had to use the truck to make her deadline before 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:02.920 her contract was up. 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:07.160 So we were expecting to start around like August or September, 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.160 and that was cool. We started at the end of 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:13.960 the year. So it's November, the temperatures are starting to drop. 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:16.560 We had a three man crew. We have to buy 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.080 all the gear for the staff. We were able to 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:23.320 get the routes. We initially start by following the trash 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:26.320 trucks after the trash is collected, and we just started 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:30.120 rocking and rolling and we killed it like they loved it. 0:13:30.400 --> 0:13:34.120 Admins came out from the Department of Refuge seeing it, 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.600 they were like blown away. We were able to get 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:41.240 a second part of the contract completed indoors, and that 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:45.000 was like the ultimate win. I would honestly say after 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:48.160 getting that contract, I absolutely thought the company would be successful, 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.000 Like just based on my experience in working with like 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:55.520 government contracts, they normally don't have like a swift turnover, 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:58.560 right like you're normally in there for a while. And 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.800 based on that, I felt comfortable of going out and 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:03.120 continuing to build. 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:06.679 In case you didn't know, you can't powerwash when the 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:10.120 temperature is below freezing. So this was November of twenty 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.680 twenty and the clock was ticking. Tia ended her first 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:16.240 year with a huge win, and based on the pilot 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.440 program's success, she also had a new contract in hand 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:21.400 that would resume work with the City of Columbus in 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:22.760 the spring when it was warmer. 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:27.560 Well, the weather starts to break, we're asking about, you know, 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.600 like next steps, and oh, you know, we have a 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.960 lot going on right now. Yes, we're still moving forward. 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.880 We're just looking at how to move forward. So now 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.560 we're right around like April May and haven't heard from 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:42.800 AM in a while. And it's always been a good 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.560 quality conversation, and now it's just starting to get very 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:51.080 very weird. There's this conversation that is scheduled for a meeting, 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.000 how like what next steps look like? So we're all 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:58.880 on zoom and they say we decided due to funding, 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:03.400 we're no longer moving forward with this project. The municipality 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:07.840 actually decided that those containers that we were anticipating cleaning 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.760 on a schedule basis, they were removing them from the 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.720 entire city. So I had this truck that's designed to 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:18.320 clean this container. I had no money coming in and 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:22.680 I had money going out, and I was like, this 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:28.000 is scary. How am I going to overcome this? I 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:33.800 felt very very very very defeated in that moment, like 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:42.600 a failure in one part of it, broken in another part, 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:48.480 and angry and other areas. Very angry because this is 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.280 the area of my life I can control right, Like 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:56.320 in business, I win, I set a course, I set 0:15:56.400 --> 0:16:02.160 a destination. I know what direction this boat is rowing it. 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.480 So I would say during that call, I was just 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:15.760 so broken, and I could feel myself saying, I can't 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:20.760 let them see me cry. There was this dryness in 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:26.600 my throat that I let them speak, and I said okay, 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.760 and I got off the zoom and I bought my 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:36.680 eyes out because I had no idea where our next 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:42.320 dollar would come from. It was the only contract that 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.720 I had at that time. I had no idea how 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:46.720 I was going to survive. 0:16:48.880 --> 0:16:50.480 And my guess is, in your head, you'd spent some 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.120 of the money, right, like you were counting on that revenue. 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.920 I was counting on that revenue. That was like the 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.960 base I was naive to believe, like, oh, I got 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.440 this government contract and we can scale from here. 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:02.760 Right. 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:05.879 I really had thought. I thought it out, but it 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:06.800 didn't work out like that. 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:08.560 Yeah, and then the rug got pulled out. 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:10.200 Yes, the rug up pulled out. 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.879 Does you heard TIA's story? She was participating in a 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.480 pilot program and she counted on that revenue as the 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:22.840 basis for her business, and then that pilot was canceled 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:25.560 and that revenue evaporated. Is there a specific lesson in 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:27.800 that or is that something people should always be aware of. 0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:30.800 Yeah, I'm glad that you asked me that. 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.320 In TIA situation, I'm happy that she was able to 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:39.040 acquire that contract. But I think the lesson that should 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.960 be learned from her particular journey is when it comes 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:47.240 to the government, their budgets fluctuate. Let's be honest, budgets 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.000 from a governmental standpoint are going to be tightening. So 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.640 when it comes to pilot projects, when it comes to spending, 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:56.360 they start scaling those things back and they start reevaluating 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.280 what can we use and what do we need not 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.679 to use With respect to our teas service that she 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:04.480 was providing. What if we just hired someone to do 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.080 the work that she was providing to us, it might 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:09.240 be cheaper, it might not be, but we're going to 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.720 evaluate that. But in TSCSE, it would have been my 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:17.120 hope to ensure that she leveraged that contract for lack 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:19.240 of better term, as an endorsement of her product and 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.880 or service, and she can go into different rooms and say, 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:23.399 the city believed in me. 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:25.920 They believe and they're utilizing my service. 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:28.960 You should too, and a lot of folks will say, well, heck, yeah, 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:32.000 the city said you're good, then yeah, let's talk business. 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:34.359 Because you never know with the government's going to happen 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.359 with their budgets or their spending, or their desire to 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:40.600 continue to do business with you. Or you might have 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:43.040 someone competing with you and they might outbid you. 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:45.760 Yep. So those are all types of things that can happen. 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:49.560 I think a lot of our listeners either do business 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:53.200 with governments or would like to. How should small businesses 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.879 think about working with particularly state and local governments. The 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.720 federal government's a whole different animal, but state and local governments, 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:01.560 where do you even start. 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:06.080 Most of your larger municipalities and even smaller have a 0:19:06.160 --> 0:19:10.760 procurement office that handle the purchasing of various products, supplies, 0:19:10.880 --> 0:19:12.720 whatever it may be, and even services. So when you're 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:15.359 thinking about cleaning services, when you're thinking about supplies like 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.080 office supplies, things as simple as that, there is someone 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:22.560 within those agencies that are purchasing things from companies like TIS. 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.520 That's where you want to start now, prior to engaging 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:29.040 the government. You want to ensure you that you have 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:32.119 your in house things together as well. And what I 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:33.760 mean by that is that you want to ensure that 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:36.920 you have what they call a capability statement. It's very simple, 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:39.440 what is your business, how long has it been founded? 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.479 Are there other clients or other customers that you have, 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:45.040 who are they, how long have you had them? What 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:48.960 products and or services have you provided to them? What 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:51.359 kind of products do you have? What kind of services 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.760 do you offer? I highly encourage it be one page. 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.160 And so when you're getting started again capability statement, business 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:02.120 plan and relationship building with categorize them as targeted staff 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.840 those procurement officers. Now it doesn't hurt to have or 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.240 engage elected officials as well, So when you're talking about 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:13.119 the mayor's office, when you're talking about maybe the small 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:16.040 business chair of city council, just letting them know they're 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:18.879 not going to guarantee you a contract or anything of 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:21.960 that nature, but at least again relationship building. That's what 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:24.359 a lot of these contracts are garnered off of is 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:25.480 do I know this person? 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:26.240 Can I trust them? 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:27.920 And if I can trust them, I can more likely 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:31.280 trust the product or services that they're providing. 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:34.480 So Tea's story in that way was unusual, right because 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:36.320 her first contract was with the government that is not 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:37.680 what most people should expect. 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:40.159 And that's why it was a pilot program, right, because 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:44.000 they wanted to ensure what she was offering was quality. Right, 0:20:44.040 --> 0:20:46.760 And so I look at that pilot program that they 0:20:46.800 --> 0:20:50.200 offered her as just a test. Hey, let's see if 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:53.439 what service you're providing is applicable, is it successful? 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.640 Can it work? And I trust you, I trust your business, and. 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.159 So we're going to give you a temporary placement to 0:20:59.200 --> 0:21:01.080 do some business and we're going to see how well 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:01.320 you do. 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:03.160 And in her case, she did well. 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:05.639 But a pilot is far from a guarantee, is what 0:21:05.680 --> 0:21:06.040 you're saying? 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:08.360 Oh, absolutely absolutely got it. 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:12.600 So does how should people think about the actual process? 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:17.960 Sometimes there's RFPs, sometimes there's open calls for vendors. I'm 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:19.800 guessing that it can be a bit paperwork heavy, a 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:22.959 bit process heavy, but maybe I'm wrong, or does it depend? 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:28.760 It depends, However, it can be a bit of a 0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:35.040 lengthy process. It's accountability more unlikely, this government agency is 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:39.120 going to purchase your products and or services with tax dollars, 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:42.639 so they have to ensure that what you say you 0:21:42.680 --> 0:21:45.480 are and who you say you are, and the product 0:21:45.480 --> 0:21:48.639 and or service that you're providing is what it is. 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:51.320 And so when it comes to landing a contract with 0:21:51.400 --> 0:21:53.959 the government, yeah, they're going to ask you from various questions. 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:56.679 They're going to wonder if you might already own a company, 0:21:56.720 --> 0:21:58.879 or a veteran owned company, or a woman owned company. 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:02.080 They're going to ask you questions to verify that status. 0:22:02.680 --> 0:22:05.320 What I tell folks that are going through that process 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:08.080 is just to be resilient, get it in. There are 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:11.719 resources out there that can help you navigate the complexities 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:14.959