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Speaker 1: Ruby.

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Speaker 2: The views, information, and opinions expressed during this podcast are

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Speaker 2: solely those of the individuals involved and do not represent

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Speaker 2: those of Into It QuickBooks or any of its cornerstone

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Speaker 2: brands or employees. This podcast does not constitute financial, legal,

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Speaker 2: or other professional advice or services. No assurance is given

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Speaker 2: that the information is comprehensive, accurate, or free of errors,

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Speaker 2: and the information presented is for information purposes only. Into

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Speaker 2: It QuickBooks does not have any responsibility for updating or

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Speaker 2: revising any information presented. Listeners should verify statements before relying

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Speaker 2: on them. Welcome back everyone. This is Mine the Business

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Speaker 2: Small Business Success Stories, a podcast brought to you by

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Speaker 2: Into It QuickBooks and Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. I'm Jennis

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Speaker 2: Torres and.

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Speaker 1: I'm Austin hankwetz Denis. Your business ventures are obviously much

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Speaker 1: bigger today than they were when you started, so you

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Speaker 1: are no stranger to the concept of growing and scaling

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Speaker 1: a business.

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Speaker 2: Definitely not a stranger to that, Austin, But I did

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Speaker 2: have to learn a lot of lessons over the years

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Speaker 2: about the best approach and strategy to growth because it's

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Speaker 2: not always a direct line upwards. So in today's episode,

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Speaker 2: we're going to be talking about strategizing growth in your business.

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Speaker 2: I'd love to know from you, Austin, what are some

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Speaker 2: things that you did to grow your business?

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Speaker 1: Really great question. I think in the beginning I started

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Speaker 1: to get a sort of spidery sense that wait a second,

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Speaker 1: I'm pretty good at marketing my own products as it

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Speaker 1: relates to financial technology, I wonder if the companies that

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Speaker 1: I'm working with could also use a helping hand. And

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Speaker 1: so that was one of the first ways that I

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Speaker 1: was able to begin expanding my business is looking around

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Speaker 1: and saying, hmm, I feel like I do this very well.

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Speaker 1: I wonder if this can also be, you know, have

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Speaker 1: a positive impact on the people I'm working with beyond

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Speaker 1: just you know, given some tips and tricks, and then

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Speaker 1: could this turn into a real business segment that makes

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Speaker 1: substantial money and really add to our bottom line. So

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Speaker 1: that was a recent example of something that I've done.

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Speaker 1: But I'm curious, are there any recent examples for you?

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Speaker 2: Yeah. So when I first started out with my personal

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Speaker 2: finance con creator journey, I was teaching a lot of workshops,

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Speaker 2: and so every single time I was going to teach

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Speaker 2: a workshop, I had to build out that outline, build

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Speaker 2: out the presentation, and that takes a lot of work.

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Speaker 2: So I eventually got to a place where I was

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Speaker 2: thinking about how can I scale this education business, and

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Speaker 2: so I ended up turning to creating courses because when

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Speaker 2: you build an online course, you can build it once

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Speaker 2: and then you sell it a bunch of times. So

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Speaker 2: that's something that has helped me be able to monetize

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Speaker 2: my knowledge without exhausting myself by having to physically teach programs.

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Speaker 2: Because now people can sign up, they watch the videos,

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Speaker 2: and lets me serve many clients versus just a couple

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Speaker 2: at each workshop.

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Speaker 1: I think that's really powerful, right, from going one to

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Speaker 1: one to one to many. Right.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, but enough about us, let's introduce our guests. Takuzo

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Speaker 2: has been a designer since he was a child. He's

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Speaker 2: a believer in the power of architecture and its ability

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Speaker 2: to change people's lives. He also noticed early on that

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Speaker 2: it was a field that could seem inaccessible to some

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Speaker 2: with its jargon and potentially extreme price points. So taku

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Speaker 2: founded TKZ Architecture, which specializes in commercial, healthcare, government, religious,

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Speaker 2: and residential projects, as well as in the clients themselves.

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Speaker 2: TKZ Architecture builds trust in their customers, knowing there are

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Speaker 2: no wrong questions, and makes it a priority to, as

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Speaker 2: cliche as it may sound, treat their clientele like family.

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Speaker 2: They're based in Nashville, but serve areas all over Tennessee

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Speaker 2: and even take on projects around the country and overseas

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Speaker 2: on a case by case basis. We're also joined by

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Speaker 2: Cibusiso Ajai, who is the business development lead for TKZ Architecture.

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Speaker 2: She comes to the role with over twenty years of

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Speaker 2: healthcare and leadership experience. She's a mother, wife, and visionary

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Speaker 2: whose service background brings a compassionate dynamic to the business

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Speaker 2: of designing for clients. Taku and Cibusiso, welcome to the show.

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Speaker 3: Thank you. You can call me Boosey.

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Speaker 4: Thank you for having us.

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Speaker 1: We are so excited to have you. Now, let's take

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Speaker 1: a step back. How did you get here? What's the story?

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Speaker 1: Give me the play by play.

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Speaker 4: So I'm an architect by training, and before we started

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Speaker 4: our company, I had worked in a number of different firms.

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Speaker 4: That's what's required in order to get your architectural license.

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Speaker 4: Once I got my license, I knew that I wanted

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Speaker 4: to start a company to make a difference. The philosophy

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Speaker 4: that I embrace and we embrace as a company is

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Speaker 4: that a place can change how someone feels and their

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Speaker 4: trajectory in life just by being in a great place,

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Speaker 4: and so we wanted to bring that option to the marketplace.

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Speaker 1: How have you changed people's day to day lives because

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Speaker 1: you've been able to change their environments.

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Speaker 4: So with our healthcare projects, one of the big things

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Speaker 4: we look into is not only the patient experience, which

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Speaker 4: is really big, but also the provider experience. And so

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Speaker 4: we have taken it upon ourselves to not only design

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Speaker 4: the client facing aspects, but the provider, the doctor, the nurse,

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Speaker 4: the place is that they frequent to be mentally relaxing

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Speaker 4: and rejuvenating for them.

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Speaker 1: That's amazing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd love to know more about the different industries

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Speaker 2: that you guys have worked in. I wasn't expected to

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Speaker 2: hear healthcare. I thought y'all just building homes.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, Well, we specialize in a number of industries, healthcare

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Speaker 4: being one of them. We do work for the State

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Speaker 4: of Tennessee as well as we do some airport work,

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Speaker 4: and that's as well another place where you can really

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Speaker 4: make a difference. We all know how airports can be stressful,

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Speaker 4: they can be places of high intensity, and so having

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Speaker 4: well planned out and well that out spaces really makes

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Speaker 4: a difference for people who travel. We also do residential,

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Speaker 4: as you mentioned, So those are the big markets that

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Speaker 4: we typically are in.

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Speaker 2: That's really interesting. And yeah, I love me a good airport.

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Speaker 2: I don't one that's well designed.

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Speaker 1: Yes, wait, so I know. Nashville Airport was just sort

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Speaker 1: of redesigned over the last couple of years. Were you

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Speaker 1: all part of that.

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Speaker 4: Yes, we teamed up with some of the companies here

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Speaker 4: to help provide services.

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Speaker 1: That's so cool.

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Speaker 2: So why architecture? What is it about the field that

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Speaker 2: enticed you to want to pursue it as a career.

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Speaker 4: Yes, I always wanted to be a designer since I

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Speaker 4: was a little kid.

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Speaker 2: Did you play with legos?

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Speaker 3: No?

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Speaker 4: No, no legos, but cars? Surprisingly, And what I found

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Speaker 4: is if you draw something, even if you don't physically

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Speaker 4: have it there, it creates it in reality. So I

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Speaker 4: would draw cars or buildings or whatever, and in my

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Speaker 4: mind that thing would be there. And so architecture was

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Speaker 4: a great field, partly because architecture tends to be a

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Speaker 4: field where a majority or a big chunk of architects

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Speaker 4: own their own businesses. The other half work in bigger firms,

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Speaker 4: and so I thought, hey, if I can own my

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Speaker 4: own firm, then it'll be a quicker pipeline from bringing

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Speaker 4: those ideas in my head into reality and really wanting

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Speaker 4: to serve people. Knowing that building's infrastructure environment can change

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Speaker 4: how place looked. It just lined up with my personality

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Speaker 4: and talents.

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Speaker 2: It's such a fascinating career. Personally. I'm just always amazed

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Speaker 2: by how you take something that's in your head and

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Speaker 2: now see it manifested in real life in the world

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Speaker 2: and be able to touch it. It's such an awesome

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Speaker 2: form of I think art.

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Speaker 4: It's crazy. I designed a building years ago when I

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Speaker 4: worked for another firm, and the building was right on

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Speaker 4: the route I took to work. So every day I'll

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Speaker 4: look and it was the building that I had sketched

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Speaker 4: on a notepad. The first time it happened. It's almost

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Speaker 4: surreal because you're like, that was in my mind and

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Speaker 4: now it's right there.

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Speaker 1: So all right.

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Speaker 2: So I'm assuming that the letters TKZ and TKZ architecture

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Speaker 2: are your initials.

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Speaker 4: That's correct.

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Speaker 2: I love that you're putting your stamp on your company

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Speaker 2: like that. What motivated you to make that choice?

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Speaker 4: So, just like you said, putting the TKZ on our

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Speaker 4: projects means that we have to stay there and really

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Speaker 4: believe in what we're doing because my name is on

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Speaker 4: the end product. So there's no hiding from any equality

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Speaker 4: defects because they know who it is. So we really

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Speaker 4: believe that strongly in what we do.

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Speaker 1: That is so cool. Now, I'm curious when did you

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Speaker 1: guys cross the hurdle of WHOA I can live off

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Speaker 1: this money?

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Speaker 4: Now, that's a great question, and it was a eye

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Speaker 4: opening and wonderful experience to see that, very gratifying. I

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Speaker 4: think it took about four to six months to really

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Speaker 4: see that level of income and it, like I said,

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Speaker 4: it's very satisfying to know that we can put food

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Speaker 4: on the table for ourselves and also our employees.

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Speaker 1: Walk me through the process of finding those first one, two, three, four, five,

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Speaker 1: six clients where you were able to say, Okay, this

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Speaker 1: is actually working, we are actually putting money into our

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Speaker 1: bank accounts like this can turn into a thriving business.

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Speaker 4: I'd say the first two or three clients came through partnership,

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Speaker 4: so we partnered with other architecture firms as well as

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Speaker 4: people we previously knew who reached out and said, hey,

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Speaker 4: we see you're starting an architecture firm. We have a

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Speaker 4: house that we want you to do, and so they

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Speaker 4: trusted us with their house and we didn't let them down.

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Speaker 1: That's very cool.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think that it speaks to the

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Speaker 2: importance of just using your network, especially when you're first

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Speaker 2: starting out, because typically your first customers are going to

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Speaker 2: be referrals to people that you've already built trust with.

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Speaker 2: How do you think you've been able to foster that

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Speaker 2: part of your career where you were working for other

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Speaker 2: firms so that you knew like you were going to

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Speaker 2: have a client tele base when you were starting off

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Speaker 2: on your own.

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Speaker 4: Since I knew I was going to start a company

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Speaker 4: for quite some time, pretty much since high school, having

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Speaker 4: that in the back of my mind influenced the way

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Speaker 4: I interacted with coworkers as well as clients. So surprisingly enough,

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Speaker 4: previous co workers will recommend projects, But just having it

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Speaker 4: in the back of the mind that I want to

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Speaker 4: start a company created a way of interacting in those

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Speaker 4: previous environments.

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Speaker 2: Tell me about how you knew it was time to

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Speaker 2: start scaling and bringing this lovely lady on board.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely. So Boosey has been a gem and one of

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Speaker 4: the things we saw is the type of clients that

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Speaker 4: we wanted to bring and focus in. She could have

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Speaker 4: access to those because of her experience, because of her

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Speaker 4: gifts and her talents in terms of business development. So

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Speaker 4: she has hit the road running, setting up appointments, meeting

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Speaker 4: with new clients, healthcare, real estate, all of the above,

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Speaker 4: and really engaging and bringing us in new work. So

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Speaker 4: when we said we wanted to grow in terms of

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Speaker 4: the type of projects and the scale, that's when we

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Speaker 4: knew it was time to bring her in.

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Speaker 3: Bussie.

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Speaker 2: Can you talk about your background and how it has

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Speaker 2: benefited the company.

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Speaker 3: Yes, I have a background as a pharmacy tech. I

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Speaker 3: actually worked as a pharmacy technician while I was in

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Speaker 3: nursing school, So it's uniquely positioned me to feel very

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Speaker 3: comfortable in different settings. When mister Taku told me that

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Speaker 3: he was looking to expand into healthcare, I felt like

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Speaker 3: I could bring that knowledge to the company because everyone

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Speaker 3: knows what it feels like to walk into a building

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Speaker 3: where you're just relaxed, but we don't always know what

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Speaker 3: goes behind those feelings and being in healthcare, I don't

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Speaker 3: always know why a building feels. Guy, it's nice to

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Speaker 3: work with someone who does know why. And then I

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Speaker 3: can also bring in the aspect of, hey, maybe we

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Speaker 3: should put this over here instead of there, because this

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Speaker 3: is how people walk through this building. Those are things

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Speaker 3: that maybe an architect wouldn't just know off the bat.

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Speaker 3: Or maybe we should put the physician's lounge on this

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Speaker 3: side because the nurses will be over here and maybe

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Speaker 3: they should be able to interact, but maybe not at lunchtime.

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Speaker 3: You know, everyone wants a break from the work, even

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Speaker 3: if they're at work, they want a place where they

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Speaker 3: can relax. So I feel like, because of my healthcare background,

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Speaker 3: I'm able to contribute very positively to the company that way.

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Speaker 2: So we all know the saying more money MO problems,

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Speaker 2: And I'm wondering, what has the expansion process for your

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Speaker 2: business looks like and how have you used the information

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Speaker 2: that you get out of into it quick books to

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Speaker 2: make decisions around expansion.

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Speaker 4: One of the key things I'd say to any small

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Speaker 4: business owner, and something that we really realized before we

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Speaker 4: started expanding, is that cash flow is and in our industry,

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Speaker 4: it's not unusual to send out an invoice and maybe

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Speaker 4: get paid one two three months later. But if you're

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Speaker 4: looking to expand you really have to find a way

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Speaker 4: to bridge those downtimes, and so into it quick Books

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Speaker 4: has helped us identify the clients who pay on time.

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Speaker 4: It's identified the clients who tend to take a little longer.

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Speaker 4: And the great thing is there's a lot of automation

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Speaker 4: which has helped us follow up with our clients on

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Speaker 4: an automatic basis, but that the data has also revealed

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Speaker 4: to us what type of clients we need in order

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Speaker 4: to have consistent cash flow. So by evaluating that in

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Speaker 4: our meetings, we've taken that information and strategically positioned ourselves

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Speaker 4: to go after that type of client. Because when we

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Speaker 4: bring on new employees, new team members, the cash flow

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Speaker 4: really makes a huge difference.

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Speaker 1: What specific characteristics or key insights do you include in

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Speaker 1: your sort of process to determine this is something we

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Speaker 1: take on or this is something we pass on.

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Speaker 4: One thing we learned is not all opportunities are great

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Speaker 4: opportunities for us, and so we're fortunate to be in

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Speaker 4: a position now where we can select our projects more

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Speaker 4: selectively and that go no go process looks like evaluating

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Speaker 4: the timeframe and the expectations of the client, if they're

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Speaker 4: realistic or not. We provide different tiers of service to

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Speaker 4: accommodate different levels of engagement and hence the resources financially

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Speaker 4: that are required. But at the end of the day,

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Speaker 4: it's if the client's expectations are reasonable, if the timeframe

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Speaker 4: is reasonable, if the project fits into what we are

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Speaker 4: specialists at. Sometimes we find that there's a great project,

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Speaker 4: all of the other boxes are checked, but it's something

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Speaker 4: that we're not really comfortable with, and when that comes up,

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Speaker 4: we're happy to refer the client to another architect or

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Speaker 4: another firm that can better help them.

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Speaker 3: Because of my healthcare background, I always want to know

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Speaker 3: why someone wants this building. Build that sounds so basic.

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Speaker 3: If someone is saying, ah, I just came into this land,

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Speaker 3: and you know that's different than someone saying this is

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Speaker 3: all I own and everything I have is writing on

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Speaker 3: this being perfect. When you hear those things, then you

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Speaker 3: know how your work ethic is. You know how you're

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Speaker 3: driven to do things, and you need to hear if

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Speaker 3: that's gonna work with the person's timeline and also their expectations.

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Speaker 3: It helps if they've worked with an architect before, but

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Speaker 3: it's not a requirement. It lets us know that they

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Speaker 3: have an idea of the process. We have ways of

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Speaker 3: reassuring the client that we are capable, but at the

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Speaker 3: end of the day, that's not always what they need.

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Speaker 3: A lot of people are capable, but we need to

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Speaker 3: make sure that we're lining up with what they need.

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Speaker 3: So we're very honest with them because maybe of time constraints,

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Speaker 3: we just may not be the fit for them right

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Speaker 3: at this moment.

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Speaker 1: I think it's very noble that you all are so

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Speaker 1: open to referring other architecture firms, you know, if fits. Hey, guys,

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Speaker 1: this isn't a good fit because ABC, but these people

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Speaker 1: might be a better fit for you. I think that's

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Speaker 1: a really great way to operate a business.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's how you run a business us with integrity,

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Speaker 2: and that's how you maintain that client relationship for long term.

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Speaker 2: So I think it's worth it. Coming up on Mine

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Speaker 2: the business small business success stories.

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Speaker 4: They're the saying that success is when opportunity meets preparation.

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Speaker 4: So we've always been geared to grow. That's one of

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Speaker 4: the things we've looked at, but we've grown more than

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Speaker 4: we've expected because of unexpected opportunities.

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Speaker 2: We'll be right back. Welcome back to mind the business.

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Speaker 2: All right. So, the day to day duties of managing

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Speaker 2: a business obviously can take a lot of your time

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Speaker 2: and sometimes can get in the way of you being

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Speaker 2: in that creative space to think about what's next in

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Speaker 2: the business. So how do you all balance that?

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Speaker 4: So one of the things I'm a big proponent on

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Speaker 4: is sitting down and schedule a meeting with yourself to

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Speaker 4: plan out your week, and then we go in and

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Speaker 4: time block. What that does is it offloads the administrative

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Speaker 4: burden off of our minds so that we can be creative,

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Speaker 4: because it's tricky being creative coming up with new designs,

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Speaker 4: new ideas when I'm thinking, oh I have an invoice

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Speaker 4: to send out, or oh I have a meeting with

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Speaker 4: the client, or I have to file this tax paperwork.

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Speaker 4: And so what we found is if we put it

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Speaker 4: in its convenient cubby, maybe for next Thursday, I know

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Speaker 4: it's going to get taken care of responsibly, and so

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Speaker 4: I can now freely exercise creativity so that we're about

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Speaker 4: the day to day duties.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good strategy because sometimes you just have.

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Speaker 2: Especially as an entrepreneur, you have so much going on

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Speaker 2: in your head that unless you can visualize it and

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Speaker 2: see kind of what the priorities are, it can all

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Speaker 2: feel like everything's important.

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Speaker 1: All at once.

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Speaker 4: Exactly.

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Speaker 1: Let's now talk a little bit more about the growth

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Speaker 1: side of the equation here. Do you have any specific

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Speaker 1: action items that you'd like to share with other small

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Speaker 1: businesses who are saying, Okay, we are ready to take

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Speaker 1: it to the next level. We've been doing this now

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Speaker 1: for several months. We have our client base built up,

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Speaker 1: but we're ready to really scale.

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Speaker 3: The first thing that you have to really think about

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Speaker 3: is what are you doing that is unique? What are

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Speaker 3: you doing that makes you special. The best way to

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Speaker 3: do that sometimes is just to ask people around you, Hey,

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Speaker 3: when you think of me, what comes to mind? How

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Speaker 3: do you view us? How do you think of us?

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Speaker 3: It also sheds light on where you're maybe deficient or

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Speaker 3: where you could improve.

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Speaker 1: So as you weigh those pros and cons, walk me

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Speaker 1: through that process that you all would take as it

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Speaker 1: relates to growing this business.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, So it's a decision every business has to come

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Speaker 4: to whether they grow or they don't grow. And really

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Speaker 4: one of the pros of growing the business is just

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Speaker 4: a synergistic effect. The more people that we have, the

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Speaker 4: bigger projects that we can take on. The clients look

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Speaker 4: at it favorably because they know that our capacity expands

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Speaker 4: and we can handle their size of project. One of

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Speaker 4: the cons though, is as a business owner, it typically

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Speaker 4: initially means more world for you. So in my case,

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Speaker 4: I found that I need to work longer in order

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Speaker 4: to onboard our new hires to bring them up to speed.

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Speaker 4: But the payoff with that is when they get up

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Speaker 4: to speed, we really reap the benefits of their added

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Speaker 4: effort and the synergistic effects.

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Speaker 3: Our advice for the small business owners is if you're

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Speaker 3: doing it efficiently and well run on a small scale,

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Speaker 3: then scaling up becomes a lot more feasible. If the

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Speaker 3: thing is already a little bit creaky and squeaky and

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Speaker 3: there's not enough oil in the beginning, then now you

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Speaker 3: just have a bigger squeaky problem.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, it's always easier to scale something that's working

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Speaker 2: versus trying to retrofit and fix all the problems when

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Speaker 2: they're at a massive scale. Yes, what about for all

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Speaker 2: the entrepreneurs listening, the small business owners who maybe aren't

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Speaker 2: sure how to identify that it is time to expand.

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Speaker 2: What would you say are some of those telltale signs

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Speaker 2: that you've realized, Ooh, okay, I think we've reached our capacity.

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Speaker 2: I think we need to build out so that we

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Speaker 2: can take on more work without necessarily burning ourselves out.

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Speaker 4: We want to make our decision before we reach burnout.

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Speaker 4: But some telltale signs are if you're consistently working into

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Speaker 4: the night. As the company grew, I realized, hey, if

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Speaker 4: I'm always working late into the night, we need to

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Speaker 4: bring more help in. Or if you're making your partners

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Speaker 4: or your other employees work late, then you know that

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Speaker 4: there's enough work to be done and you need to

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Speaker 4: start thinking of bringing other people in.

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Speaker 1: So what strategies have you found helpful in tracking the

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Speaker 1: size of your business? If that is the steadiness, the growth,

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Speaker 1: or maybe some unopportune declines here and there. Because we've

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Speaker 1: heard from other business owners that into it, QuickBooks is

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Speaker 1: a great tool for simplifying all the different ways there

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Speaker 1: are to run and grow your business, from tracking money

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Speaker 1: coming in and going out, to staying on top of

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Speaker 1: invoices and overhead costs. QuickBooks allows you to do it

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Speaker 1: all in one place. So how have you guys tracked

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Speaker 1: your business in a very accurate way?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, so into a QuickBooks has been key to helping

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Speaker 4: us run our business efficiently, and so everything from sending

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Speaker 4: out invoices and collecting payments we use into it quick Books.

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Speaker 4: And one of the great things we do is when

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Speaker 4: we meet we talk about our financial goals for the month,

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Speaker 4: So we have a financial goal and then stretch goals,

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Speaker 4: which always you know, can help lining the pockets with profit.

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Speaker 4: But either way, we quickly can look into QuickBooks dashboard

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Speaker 4: and they show us where we are for that month

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Speaker 4: as well as historically around the time of year, what

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Speaker 4: are the finances doing, and so that historical look in

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Speaker 4: the past helps us to be able to project into

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Speaker 4: the future. We know, Okay, maybe there'll be a lull

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Speaker 4: because of the season, or maybe there'll be a high

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Speaker 4: point where we need to start reaching out to our engineers,

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Speaker 4: our other partners to make those connections for more projects.

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Speaker 4: So that dashboard view on into a QuickBooks has been essential.

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Speaker 1: That's amazing. I'm actually curious more about the seasonality of

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Speaker 1: the business. Do you mind double clicking on that.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, So we have times like the holiday season where

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Speaker 4: people are spending time with their families, so maybe architecture

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Speaker 4: is not the first thing on their mind, and so

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Speaker 4: being able to see those trends. Okay, we saw it.

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Speaker 4: Yeah one, we didn't know what was going on. Year

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Speaker 4: two or three. It starts to be a repeating pattern,

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Speaker 4: and so we can ramp up our efforts or ramp

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Speaker 4: them down depending on that data we receive.

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Speaker 1: When you say ramp up your efforts or ramp them down,

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Speaker 1: I'm curious if you guys have any sort of like

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Speaker 1: paid marketing efforts.

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Speaker 4: Yes, you hit the nail on the head when we

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Speaker 4: talk about ramping them up. It's putting more resources into

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Speaker 4: the paid marketing right now. We do quite a bit

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Speaker 4: of Google advertisements. We also do in person business development

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Speaker 4: where we're having lunches or having meetings with different clients,

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Speaker 4: and so by ramping them up, we typically put in

442
00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,440
Speaker 4: a higher intensity for those and when we ramp them down,

443
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,719
Speaker 4: we just simil it down, bring it to the back burner.

444
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:03,360
Speaker 1: And then when you're ramping them up, talk to me

445
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:06,359
Speaker 1: more about how someone goes from I just saw a

446
00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 1: Google ad too. Here's a one hundred thousand dollars contract.

447
00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:14,080
Speaker 4: Yes, and it's an amazing thing. So contracts and architecture

448
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,520
Speaker 4: tend to be a lot bigger than your average purchase.

449
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,200
Speaker 4: But someone who's searching for an architect on Google or

450
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,359
Speaker 4: whatever other service has a pretty high intent to buy.

451
00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,280
Speaker 4: So it's not random advertisement. They've actually themselves searched what's

452
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,879
Speaker 4: the best architect near me? And so we come up

453
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,480
Speaker 4: organically as well for our very local market here in

454
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,439
Speaker 4: Nashville as well as in Georgia. But for the paid ads,

455
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,240
Speaker 4: when someone searches that, now we have to bring them

456
00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,240
Speaker 4: through the process of education to say, hey, you're about

457
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:47,560
Speaker 4: to spend X amount on an investment your home, and

458
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,240
Speaker 4: part of that investment is making sure the design is right.

459
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,720
Speaker 4: So it's a lot of client education to bring them

460
00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,760
Speaker 4: to see that fee is what it requires to get

461
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:57,680
Speaker 4: the project done.

462
00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,920
Speaker 2: So I can imagine that you can have these plans

463
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,640
Speaker 2: for growth in your business, but then there are external

464
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,240
Speaker 2: forces that come into play that you can't even anticipate,

465
00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,480
Speaker 2: something like supply chain issues or labor issues. How do

466
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,520
Speaker 2: you at least try to mitigate those things so that

467
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,080
Speaker 2: it doesn't impact your growth.

468
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,880
Speaker 4: So we diversify the types of work that we do,

469
00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,359
Speaker 4: so governmental work or larger municipal work tends to be

470
00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,200
Speaker 4: a lot more stable than let's say, the residential market.

471
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,880
Speaker 4: In the residential market, we get hit with supply chain issues,

472
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,159
Speaker 4: and usually what we do is we communicate that to

473
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,879
Speaker 4: our clients, and so keeping our ear to the market

474
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,919
Speaker 4: trend allows us to readjust our business, but also to

475
00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:39,920
Speaker 4: be a great resource to advise our clients.

476
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:42,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes sense. It's kind of like you got

477
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:44,680
Speaker 2: to keep your ear to the streets and see what's

478
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 2: going on.

479
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,040
Speaker 1: Over the last couple of years. I'm curious, how has

480
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:50,919
Speaker 1: inflation and the pandemic and all that sort of impacted

481
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: your business if at all.

482
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:56,119
Speaker 4: Surprisingly, business has been quite busy. We were talking about

483
00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,160
Speaker 4: it earlier that maybe people have been at home and

484
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,800
Speaker 4: they've had time in their home space and they've been

485
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,640
Speaker 4: able to dream and say, well, you know, I want

486
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 4: to make an addition here or a renovation there. So

487
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,840
Speaker 4: it's really helped us in that regard. The surprise, though,

488
00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:14,040
Speaker 4: is on the construction side, finding builders has been tricky

489
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,720
Speaker 4: because they're very busy, and because of that, prices have

490
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,959
Speaker 4: tended to be higher than normal. So we inform our

491
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,200
Speaker 4: clients that, hey, this is a great time to design,

492
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,600
Speaker 4: but we may take a little longer to find the

493
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 4: right builder for your project because of the demand.

494
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:29,040
Speaker 1: Gotcha.

495
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 3: And in the healthcare space, we've seen that our healthcare

496
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,399
Speaker 3: clients have started to think about expansion. It used to

497
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:37,720
Speaker 3: be that when you look at certain facilities, they all

498
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:42,879
Speaker 3: have a similar look, and now hospitals, clinicians, office buildings,

499
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,399
Speaker 3: they're trying to put a little personality in their buildings

500
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,640
Speaker 3: without going to one extreme or the other. They want

501
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:51,919
Speaker 3: to stand out. They don't want people to feel like

502
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,399
Speaker 3: they're going to an institution. So we've come in a

503
00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 3: handy with creativity and with all the regulations and stuff.

504
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,639
Speaker 3: We have to be aware of what's required, not just

505
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,440
Speaker 3: what we want to see. So that's been a very

506
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,640
Speaker 3: interesting market, but it's also on the rise because of that.

507
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,800
Speaker 2: That's awesome. Over the lifespan of your business, how much

508
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,880
Speaker 2: of your growth has been intentional versus kind of reactive

509
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 2: to what's going on in the market or what customers

510
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:17,040
Speaker 2: are asking for.

511
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:20,560
Speaker 4: That's a great question. I would say it's been about

512
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 4: fifty to fifty. They're the saying that success is when

513
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:30,119
Speaker 4: opportunity meets preparation. So we've always been geared to grow

514
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:35,119
Speaker 4: but we've grown more than we've expected because of unexpected opportunities,

515
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,679
Speaker 4: and so we're thankful that we had the infrastructure in place,

516
00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:42,520
Speaker 4: but we've been met with opportunities i'd say out of

517
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:46,280
Speaker 4: left field, and they've propelled us. And I never could

518
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,480
Speaker 4: have thought that some of these opportunities would come forward.

519
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,359
Speaker 2: I have to think it's your reputations that attract.

520
00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,080
Speaker 4: Those I think that's a big part in it.

521
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,640
Speaker 3: And word of mouth is very powerful. Like he said,

522
00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,359
Speaker 3: supply chain issues, those are things out of our control.

523
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,240
Speaker 3: But if on the front end we communicate that people

524
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,520
Speaker 3: are put at ease, they can go on that vacation

525
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:07,800
Speaker 3: and when they come back, things will still be rolling.

526
00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,840
Speaker 3: So it's the communication has been key in helping our

527
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,160
Speaker 3: growth because we really value having time with our clients

528
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:16,640
Speaker 3: talking to them. They know they can reach us almost

529
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,119
Speaker 3: any time. They can text us, email us, and I

530
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,119
Speaker 3: think that's helped set their mind at ease.

531
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,879
Speaker 2: Exactly exactly what's next for y'all? What's the next vision?

532
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,080
Speaker 4: The next vision is getting bigger projects. We're looking to

533
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,280
Speaker 4: make impact in our city, both here in Nashville as

534
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 4: well as the Atlanta area. So we really want to

535
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 4: bring our projects to a scale where people can appreciate them,

536
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,679
Speaker 4: the public can enjoy them, and so growth is definitely

537
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:42,760
Speaker 4: something we're looking into.

538
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,720
Speaker 3: We're trying to get our name out there because we

539
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,040
Speaker 3: feel like a lot of times we see a beautiful

540
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,160
Speaker 3: building and how often do we even know who built it.

541
00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,080
Speaker 3: I mean, it's a rare conversation to have. It's just ooh,

542
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,280
Speaker 3: unless it's like a stadium or something of that magnitude.

543
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,640
Speaker 3: But we're trying to bring the appreciation back for if

544
00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,560
Speaker 3: it was ever lost, but the appreciation for nice buildings,

545
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 3: for people to feel like, oh, there's something different going

546
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,520
Speaker 3: on here. You know. We don't want people to just

547
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,440
Speaker 3: feel like because they walked into building on it's just

548
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:12,919
Speaker 3: another building. We want our touch and our seal to

549
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,560
Speaker 3: be on things so when people walk in, they're like, wow, Okay,

550
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,439
Speaker 3: they're not sure what to call it, but they know

551
00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:19,120
Speaker 3: there's something unique going on there.

552
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:20,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's exciting.

553
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,240
Speaker 1: How do you all plan to put your mark on

554
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,399
Speaker 1: some of these buildings? Do you have buildings in the

555
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,520
Speaker 1: past that you've put your mark on it you're more

556
00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:29,600
Speaker 1: recognized for that. I mean, is there a strategy around

557
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,840
Speaker 1: that or is it more like we kind of hope

558
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:32,600
Speaker 1: that this happens.

559
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,120
Speaker 4: So there's a strategy, and some of it is hope

560
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 4: we put out a consistent product, a consistent design language

561
00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 4: where someone can look at our design and our style

562
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,640
Speaker 4: and say, Okay, TKZ has made that, and so we

563
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 4: do find that there's people who really appreciate that language

564
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:54,200
Speaker 4: and finding our tribe, finding people who appreciate that getting

565
00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 4: our name out there will allow us to have those opportunities.

566
00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:01,119
Speaker 1: Very cool. Congratulations on Allyovachiev. I mean, this is so exciting.

567
00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:02,760
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see you all take over not

568
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 1: just Nashville, but the rest of the world.

569
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 4: Thank you, thank you.

570
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: I'll say what Denis the way talker who's running this business,

571
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 1: is just so inspiring. I can't wait to dig deep

572
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,840
Speaker 1: into my biggest takeaways before I do that. What are

573
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:21,359
Speaker 1: some of yours?

574
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,399
Speaker 2: I think for me, the secret that they shared with

575
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:29,080
Speaker 2: us is how impactful those connections, that human connection can

576
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:32,080
Speaker 2: be in your growth strategy for your business. They talked

577
00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:35,000
Speaker 2: about how they just don't lose that personal touch, you know,

578
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,720
Speaker 2: and I think as you expand as a business, it's

579
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 2: probably very easy to kind of forget how important that

580
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 2: process is of just making sure that you remind yourself

581
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,000
Speaker 2: you're still working with human beings, human beings that are

582
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,480
Speaker 2: investing in your goals and your dreams as a business owner,

583
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:49,880
Speaker 2: and so I think that's been a key part of

584
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 2: how they've grown, and I think we can use that

585
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,280
Speaker 2: as a lesson to just make sure you never get

586
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 2: so big that you forget that human touch.

587
00:28:56,760 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 1: Most definitely, I think massive takeaway that I had as

588
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,920
Speaker 1: well is it is okay to not be the right

589
00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,280
Speaker 1: person for the job. At the end of the day,

590
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:07,840
Speaker 1: we want our customers to have the best outcomes possible,

591
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 1: and I've realized this as a small business owner, and

592
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,040
Speaker 1: it seems like they have too, where sometimes we're not

593
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,800
Speaker 1: the solution. Maybe our friends are, maybe our other colleagues,

594
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 1: or maybe another company we worked with, maybe that is

595
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:20,480
Speaker 1: the better solution for the customer. But being customer centric

596
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,040
Speaker 1: in general, I think is just speaks volume to their

597
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,520
Speaker 1: business and that keeps more customers coming in the door

598
00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,960
Speaker 1: later on. So I really really resonated with that. Than Man.

599
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:29,440
Speaker 1: This is a really cool conversation.

600
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,880
Speaker 2: Absolutely a great episode as always, and we'll be back

601
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,920
Speaker 2: in two weeks for our season finale. You can find

602
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,800
Speaker 2: me on social media at jokierro Dinto Podcast.

603
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:40,920
Speaker 1: And you can find me at Austin Hankwitz. You can

604
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,120
Speaker 1: follow Into QuickBooks on all social media at QuickBooks, and

605
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:46,360
Speaker 1: to get the tools you need to start, run and

606
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,040
Speaker 1: grow your business, head to QuickBooks dot com today.

607
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,200
Speaker 2: Don't forget to follow this show wherever you listen to

608
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,920
Speaker 2: podcasts so you can stay up to date on future episodes.

609
00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:55,640
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610
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:57,360
Speaker 1: to leave us a rating and review.

611
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:02,520
Speaker 2: See you next time. Money movement services are provided by

612
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 2: Intuit Payments, Inc. Licensed as a money transmitter by the

613
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 2: New York State Department of Financial Services. This podcast is

614
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:13,000
Speaker 2: a production of iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Into It QuickBooks.

615
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,560
Speaker 2: Our executive producer is Molly Sosha, Our supervising producer is

616
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:19,240
Speaker 2: Nikia Swinton, and our writer is Eric Leja.

617
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,719
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618
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 1: mixing engineer is Paul Vitulen's of Audiography