WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.280 Well, I grew up in New England. I'm a Northerner by birth in 2 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:11.039 Connecticut and schooled my way a few places. Schooled at the University of Virginia 3 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:15.960 in Charlesfield, Virginia, back back in the day. Then went to work 4 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:21.679 at the DuPont Company in chemicals and I was there for four or five years 5 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:26.039 and went back to graduate school and Chicago area in northwestern and I got my 6 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:31.079 MBA there and settled and got married and settled in the Chicago area. I 7 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:36.399 had our first child. We were there about seven or eight years and done 8 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.920 in consulting at that point and went with one of our clients at the time 9 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:45.359 and wanted to get into small business, running, growing, owning small businesses, 10 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:47.759 and that was kind of where the start of it for me was. 11 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:52.799 This was in the mid nineties, and moved to the South, Deep South 12 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:58.119 in Birmingham, Alabama. That's where the entrepreneurial moment took me. And so 13 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:04.239 I spent twelve years in the sporting good space in golf bags and accessories. 14 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.519 That company was then acquired by a pe firm as part of the rollo, 15 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:12.400 and then I stayed on with that firm for a couple more years and then 16 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:18.599 relocated down here too during that time to Dustin Florida, which is where our 17 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:23.680 headquarters is, Panhandle, Florida, beautiful Emerald Coast and on the Gulf of 18 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:27.480 Mexico. And we've been down here since nineteen ninety eight and I've been with 19 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:34.439 this company, am Code Industrial since twenty ten as their CEO. All right, 20 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:36.799 well, we're going to talk a lot about Amcode Industrial. But you 21 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:40.359 and I have a little bit in common, sir. I'm from Chicago, 22 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:45.760 so I'm a Rogers Park boy, and also growing up, I was also 23 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:49.840 here in Northern Virginia during the Ralph Sampson years, so that we have a 24 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:53.599 cavinar miss. I know that basketball was pretty damn good back then. Well 25 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:59.040 we've rediscovered our basketball route. Yes you have, Yes you have. I 26 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:05.519 was at UVA during all four years of Ralph Sampson's time there, very cool, 27 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:10.879 which that's that's a fun trivia for me anyway, And that's when folks 28 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:14.639 like that stayed three or four years, and he was there all four years, 29 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:19.319 and that was kind of the beginning of Uba basketball. We've had dallying 30 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:23.120 in us in football, mostly with modest success, but we're getting back to 31 00:02:23.159 --> 00:02:28.280 our basketball routes. And I'm a Cubs fan, so I like Chicago. 32 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:30.319 All right, Yeah, that's great. Well I'm a big sports fan too, 33 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:34.680 so I appreciate you sharing all that. So I want to talk a 34 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:37.560 lot about your company. We're going to talk about mission statement and what you 35 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:40.639 do, and about differentiating yourself from competition if there is any, and some 36 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:46.039 other cool things. But I want to it's kind of neat to talk about 37 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.560 the context about how you join a company because you've had an interesting path here. 38 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.960 You've done a lot of different things out there, and that's not unique 39 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.199 to some of the other CEOs and leaders that we talked about. But how 40 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:58.680 were you introduced to the company? And as I take a look at your 41 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:01.639 resume, it's impressive and so I know why they were interested in you, 42 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:05.960 But why were you interested in joining them? Well, I've you know, 43 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:10.240 most of my career post consulting has my personal mission statement, if you will, 44 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:16.840 and running and owning businesses has been to take existing businesses and grow them 45 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:22.560 and realized their full potential, maximizing enterprise value. And that's kind of what 46 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:24.919 I've done in my career over the last thirty years. So this one was 47 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.680 kind of my last chapter. I was a friend of mine, you know, 48 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:34.159 a golfing buddy, and you had a great little business, this primary 49 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:38.680 business called Rhino Shield and you know, it's just he and a friend who 50 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:40.120 started it. And he said, man, I think we can do a 51 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:45.000 lot more with this. I know your background I happened to be I was 52 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:49.240 doing working for an accounting firm, heading up there consulting, and he said, 53 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:51.879 man, do you want to get back into the entrepreneurial space. And 54 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:53.639 I said, you know, I'm I'm kind of ready. I'm kind of 55 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:57.879 ready after we'd sold the prior business. And so timing is you known, 56 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:00.879 business is everything, and he said, hey, I'd like to become my 57 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:05.159 partner and help me make this thing happen. And so we grew it almost 58 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:10.520 four times from where it was when we got started. And uh, that's 59 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:14.439 that's a lot of fun. I enjoy growing growing businesses. Uh, you 60 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:18.800 know, growth is growth is fun, right, and so that's that's business. 61 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:23.079 Mature is sustainability and then the growth. And that's a common theme too, 62 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:25.680 by making sure that you're stable on your feet and then growing the company. 63 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:28.639 So I didn't want to ask you when it comes to am CODE Industrial, 64 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:32.399 just overall, what is your mission statement? So our mission statement really 65 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:40.120 is very simple, is to offer the consumer steady the art, high performance 66 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:46.160 coding products, particularly in the rhino shieldcase exterior wall and roof coatings. And 67 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:51.639 so we're a product company h we offer, but we offer steady the art, 68 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:58.879 you know, unmatched in their category in terms of performance and durability is 69 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.839 probably our biggest differentiating factor. All part of our mission is that we offer 70 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:10.680 codings that are really unavailable and unmatched by even the large painting companies, and 71 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:14.839 we kind of have our niche in this ultra high performance, ultra highly durable 72 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:16.399 category. Well, if we could do this and just get into the weeds 73 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:19.360 a little bit terry and kind of back up a little bit about what you 74 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:23.879 exactly do. You mentioned rhino shield. But if somebody were to be introduced 75 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:27.800 to MCODE Industrial for the first time and you talk about rhino shield, what 76 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.360 would you tell people that you do and who you serve. So we manufacture 77 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:40.959 and distribute rhinoshield wall coating products. We distribute via a dealer network that's basically 78 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:46.439 a group of painting contractors. They're dedicated to us, and we're dedicated to 79 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.199 them. We call it exclusivity. It has characteristics of a franchise, but 80 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:56.399 it's much simpler than that. Very common in the building supply home improvement industry 81 00:05:56.439 --> 00:06:00.879 space. So we supply those products to those deals painting contractors and they market, 82 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:04.759 sell, and install the product in their specific geographies. They're trained by 83 00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:09.160 us, they're authorized by us, they're certified by us, so we can 84 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:14.240 have a say, if you will, in terms of the installation quality that 85 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.959 takes place in the marketplace as well. It's one thing to have a great 86 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:23.040 product, it's another thing in home improvement to have that great product installed in 87 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:26.319 a high quality fashion. So we installed to those folks and then they work 88 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:32.199 with end consumers all over the country to make sure that our product is installed 89 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:39.399 to our specification and that the homeowner or building owner realizes the full potential and 90 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:42.079 benefit of our product line. Well, let's talk a little bit about what 91 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:44.920 you're talking about right now, because I know that when you're running a company, 92 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.879 the team is everything, especially your managerial staff and people that are high 93 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.720 up that you have to work with regularly, and then getting the message down 94 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:56.399 to the rest of the staff. And you know I'm speaking specifically of Gerald 95 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:59.759 Hall. I know he's there with you, working with you in tandement. 96 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:01.720 Also there are other people. Can you talk a little bit about how you 97 00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.839 guys work together and the rest of the team to get the message across about 98 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:10.360 your product and then how you market it and how you educate the consumer out 99 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.800 there. Sure. So we're a small company. As I said before, 100 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:17.800 I like working in smaller businesses. You can be nimble. The no bureaucracy. 101 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:21.519 The only bureaucracy you create is the ill biocracy you have is what you 102 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:28.600 create. And I think we try and keep it very flat and very discipline 103 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:33.480 but flexible. So you know, my team I think reflects that they are 104 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:40.639 self starters. We do have our you know, guiding principles and core competencies 105 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.759 and pillars, if you will, the guide us all the way through in 106 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.279 terms of how we deal with our products, how we deal with our dealers, 107 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.639 the success of our dealers, how we attract and retain you know, 108 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:57.079 new dealers, so that that guides our overall management, if you will, 109 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.360 of philosophy in the business. Uh. But we also have some fundamental structure 110 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:05.319 to it. You know, Gerald heads up our sales and a lot of 111 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:09.759 our marketing work. You know, we're interesting in that we're not only supporting 112 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:13.439 marketing efforts for our dealers. They look to us to help them with how 113 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:18.720 they market in their in their geographies. We're also doing our own marketing to 114 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:22.120 the end consumer. So we're marketing the Runa Shield name and the Rhona Shield 115 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:28.120 brand to the consumer marketplace, if you will. And so we're kind of 116 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:30.360 doing a little bit of both, which I think is kind of unique. 117 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.080 You know, many companies are doing one or the other. We're marketing. 118 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:39.840 We're providing marketing assets and tools to our dealer partners so that they can be 119 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:46.039 successful when they talk to consumers, maybe at the sales point of the purchase, 120 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:50.879 but we're also trying to provide them some you know, overall brand awareness 121 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:54.639 and umbrella marketing so that when they do talk to consumers there's some recognition ahead 122 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:56.759 of time. That makes a lot of sense in terry. I think there's 123 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:00.279 another common thread that i'd like to ask you about. When I talk to 124 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:05.759 small, medium, large businesses, it's always about that communication and accessibility and 125 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:07.320 I and I don't want to assume this, but with a smaller team, 126 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:13.360 I imagine that your consumers your clients have really great access to you and the 127 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:18.080 team, and that makes communication easier, a little bit more streamlined, and 128 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.840 I imagine business works a little bit quicker because of the size of the team. 129 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:24.720 Would I would I be correcting that absolutely, And again those are those 130 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:30.360 that are I think are uh you know profiles of small companies ours ours is 131 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.720 for sure. You know many of our dealers and even some of the consumers. 132 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.440 You know, they they know us by name that they're almost family. 133 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:43.600 We know particularly our dealer customers, they partners, They they know our family 134 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:48.480 history, we know theirs. We're in weddings. I mean, it's a 135 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.080 it's a it's a fun relationship when you can get to that level. And 136 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.279 so you bet they call us when they have issues. They call us at 137 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:58.000 home, they call us on the weekends, they call us whenever they need 138 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:01.799 to uh, they reach us and and us them. And same thing with 139 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:05.759 consumers when they're asking questions before they're you know, kind of committed to a 140 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:09.360 purchase, they want to feel comfortable. Right. You know, a home 141 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:16.480 is you know a person typically you know, someone's largest investment ever, right 142 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:20.720 is their home is their dwelling. And you know, we talk a lot 143 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:24.639 about protection and durability and so anything that's done to their home, boy, 144 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.519 they sure want to feel comfortable about that, and they want to communicate with 145 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.120 the the many times the end products supplier and say, hey, I know 146 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:35.759 what I've heard, but you know, tell me a little bit more. 147 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:37.879 Can I do this application in this area of my house? You know, 148 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:43.200 I have this kind of sighting as it makes sense and will I be protected? 149 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:46.039 And is there are there any risks for me? And we're very transparent 150 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:50.600 both when we have those one on ones, but also you know, in 151 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:56.120 our online conversations, in our online communication with people, we feel that transparency 152 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:03.240 is really important these days. Consumers you know, almost require it, but 153 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:07.360 we're way ahead of that. You know, we don't do it because it's 154 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.120 required. We do it because it's the right thing to do. And quite 155 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:13.120 frankly, Dennis, a home improvement does not have the best reputation sometimes in 156 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:16.240 terms of everybody who's generally got a story, who's owned a home. They 157 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:22.480 can tell you a war story about how something's gone sideways with either a service 158 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:26.000 project or a fix it project or remodel project. We don't want to be 159 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:31.440 that war story that consumers have so we do everything we can to make sure 160 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:35.559 that doesn't happen, and then still comforter comfort and confidence in working with our 161 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:37.600 product. Well, Terry, I'm glad you shared all of that, and 162 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.320 you know what really sticks with me is I've talked to leaders and CEOs and 163 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:46.960 entrepreneurs in this series. The transparency, to your point, has become at 164 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.200 the top of the list for a lot of people that are working with businesses. 165 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:54.240 It doesn't matter what you're doing, but to be honest, upfront and 166 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:58.399 open with the clients or the consumers wherever you're working with. I think it's 167 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.919 so far in few between nows you kind of alluded to. I think people 168 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:05.720 really appreciate that, and it sounds like with your business ethics, it's just 169 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:09.039 ultra important that you roll that way. Well, it is, and we're 170 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:13.679 doing even more in that direction. You know. Many times, particularly in 171 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:18.960 home improvement and remodel, the number one question that someone wants to know about 172 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:22.840 any product or service is how much does it cost? That's what they want 173 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:26.320 to know. They're going to do a lot of research, and they know 174 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.960 they need to do some of it before that that questions answered. But I 175 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.440 tell you, when they go online. That's the number one question is how 176 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.600 much does it cost? And in many vendors in our space, they'll answer 177 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:41.440 that with, well, it depends. Well, we have to come measure 178 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:43.519 your house, we have to look at your house, we have to inspect 179 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:46.320 your house, all of which is true. But the end of the day, 180 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:50.679 they want to know, at least in a ballpark fashion, how much 181 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.440 does it cost? And if your product and your service is what you say 182 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:58.759 it is, you shouldn't be afraid to say how much it costs. Right, 183 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:03.960 And some people will say that's not for me, that's fair, and 184 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:07.639 that maybe can be a very short conversation for both of us. Right at 185 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:11.960 the end of the day, that's okay. Not every product is for everybody. 186 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:16.120 But we are really moving our company and in terms, as you said, 187 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:20.799 in terms of our mission and our values is to be transparent using a 188 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:26.120 program called They Ask You Answer. It's a content marketing system and philosophy, 189 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:31.240 and we're really paving the way in service based installs to give people a sense 190 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:35.200 for how much it is per square foot on a range basis, but really 191 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:39.120 making sure that oh, well it is more than regular pain. Frankly, 192 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.919 it should be because it's better, and maybe that is or maybe that isn't 193 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.639 in my budget, and if it's not, okay, but if it is, 194 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:50.159 well we think it is, then we're now off and we're going to 195 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:52.279 have a deeper conversation about the rest of your question. Does that make sense? 196 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:56.519 I mean, that's really the philosophy we've taken, and many in our 197 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.120 industry just they don't want to answer that question. They're afraid to answer that 198 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:03.440 question. Yeah. Yeah, we have to come visit you, We have 199 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:05.759 to spend time with you. We have to sit around your kitchen table. 200 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:11.559 And not everybody wants to sit around the table right, certainly post COVID, 201 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:13.399 So you know it's a different role now. Well, and I'm old enough 202 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.480 to know that old age if you get what you pay for, I kind 203 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.399 of really believe in that. And I think that that's kind of your point 204 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:22.000 too, and without even talking about price point right now, that if you 205 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:24.159 want a great product and superior product, sometimes you have to pay a little 206 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:28.159 bit more. And I'm all for that too. So I'm glad you went 207 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:31.960 into detail about that. I did want to ask you about a competition, 208 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:37.360 and I know with the Rhino Shield being proprietory and itself and its own product, 209 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:41.600 and without any assumptions on my part, if there's other companies that maybe 210 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:48.279 do what you do specifically to Rhino Shield, how do you differentiate yourself if 211 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.200 there is any competition out there? Terry, Well, we're in what I 212 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:56.039 would call kind of a micro category within the paint business. I mean, 213 00:14:56.080 --> 00:15:00.440 paint, of course, is a multi billion dollar business, multi billion dollar 214 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.879 global enterprise, right with huge players that people know about, whether it's a 215 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:09.320 Sherwin Williams or a Bear or a Benjamin Moore or PPG. You go on 216 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:13.200 and on and not huge. And then internationally there's domestic suppliers of paint everywhere, 217 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:20.000 right, and that's that's what we would call traditional paint. In our 218 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.960 category, this microcategory is what we call a high build category. Basically, 219 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:26.840 it's a thicker paint. It's an elast America is that's the category of paint 220 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:30.440 that it is. And Last Americ's been around a long time. But what 221 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.720 we perfected is the ability to take an elast Americ which started as roof coatings 222 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:39.080 on a horizontal surface, and we figured out how can you put that on 223 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:43.200 in a vertical surface with gravity not working in your favorite right, so a 224 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:48.399 rhino shield product installation will be you know, nine to ten what they call 225 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:52.639 mills thick, which is basically a very very thin unit of measure to measure 226 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:58.399 thickness and paint and traditional latex paint will probably be one and a half to 227 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.960 maybe two mills thick. So we're going to be five to eight times thicker 228 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:07.000 on the wall and that's what we call a high build coding and elastomeric falls 229 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:11.720 into that category. We had a bunch of other ingredients to that, core 230 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:15.279 of which is a ceramic microsphere, so we call a ceramic elastomeric. But 231 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:19.720 our primary competition our pain companies, I mean our dealer partners. You know, 232 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:23.559 they're competing with all those paint companies I mentioned before. Day in and 233 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:27.080 day out, we would argue it's a different it's a different kind of pain. 234 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.080 But at the end of the day is it is a wall covering, 235 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:34.120 if you will, a wall coating. And so we compete against those folks 236 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:38.200 and we're comfortable doing it. And again we have a longevity story. Our 237 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:44.200 competition is into what I call planned obsolescence, right, you know, they 238 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:47.879 know that depending on where you are and the climate and the substrate, which 239 00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:51.320 is you know, the wall surface. They might be in a five to 240 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.960 six year repainting cycle, and as long as it lasts that long, many 241 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:57.840 consumers are happy with that and then they hope that they'll buy that brand again. 242 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:03.160 We're look, we want to break that painting cycle and say you don't 243 00:17:03.160 --> 00:17:07.799 have to do that anymore. You can have it for twenty five years. 244 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:11.799 And yes it will be more upfront, but it'll be uh you just do 245 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:17.160 some quick calculations, you can see there. So there's advantages economic advantages to 246 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:21.880 our products. So it is a Our competition is the major paint companies, 247 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:26.400 UH and within and they offer some malastomerics within these categories, but not at 248 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:30.880 the level that we've We've perfected it with all the additives to to help with 249 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:36.319 salt, their corrosion and you be reflectivity and mildew, bio growth, et 250 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:38.440 cetera. I mean, Last Americs, it's high build is what we do. 251 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:45.880 And so again kind of that classic niche smaller business working its way around. 252 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:48.880 We're not we're not trying to pope poke the big bears, you know, 253 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.640 but we we know where we can we can compete, and we compete 254 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.160 successfully in those areas well. And to your point, you're staying in your 255 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:57.799 lane and you're doing it really well. So I kind of got the message 256 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:00.599 on that one. I did want to quickly get into the weeds on something 257 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:06.319 else because I'm a curious guy, and I think for our listeners as they 258 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:08.799 hear you talk about rhino shield, I always warn you about technology, and 259 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:12.119 I'll give you an analogy, whether it's an iPhone when it came out and 260 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:15.559 I said this is fantastic, how can they make this better? And they 261 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:18.200 do? Or this new pen I'm using. It's a great pin, but 262 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:22.039 next year it's even better. For some reason, they've come out with something 263 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.640 new technology that you can write better. When it comes to your industry and 264 00:18:25.720 --> 00:18:30.960 specifically rhino shield, are you at the level where that's it for or is 265 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.640 there always improvements or is there something environmental that you're working on or something just 266 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:38.240 to make the product that much better? How does it all work? Because 267 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:42.119 I'm so curious about that. So you know, a coding obviously is a 268 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:48.279 chemical formula. Right has got an ingredients list and you put these ingredients literally 269 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:51.920 in a mixing bowl and it mixes it up just like a mixing boom with 270 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:55.599 a big paddle, and it mixes all the ingredients that you specify in the 271 00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:00.119 right quantities from the right vendors, and within that ingredient lets there are core 272 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.359 elements of that, and one of the core elements is what we call a 273 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:08.200 resin, which is kind of the backbone raw material of the entire coding. 274 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:15.400 And we're always looking at what are the new technology from the vendor communities that 275 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:19.599 just specialize in providing resins. They're not providing end products, they're providing the 276 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:26.359 raw materis, and they're constantly reworking and upgrading and updating. How long does 277 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:30.279 it take to dry? How does it handle cold weather? How does it 278 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:34.240 handle moisture that comes through the house. There's natural evaporation that has to happen. 279 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:37.839 As you from your Chicago days, right, it was warm on the 280 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:41.559 inside and cold on the outside. Well, that creates a moisture event, 281 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:47.240 and that moisture has to eventually evaporate otherwise you trap moisture in the house and 282 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.440 that's a problem. So coatings have to be able to allow for moisture to 283 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:56.319 escape, and there's constant evolutions in that technology to ensure that that happens. 284 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:00.400 You know, properly within all climates, et cetera. So, uh, 285 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:03.599 there's R and D you know, constantly going on. We go to all 286 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:07.920 the you know, the major shows, the coding shows that you and I 287 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:11.440 might be a tad board with, but folks that are in that space and 288 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:14.720 the chemical engineering, they get pretty jazz and excited about it. That's why 289 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.400 I have an R and D group to get excited about that. And they 290 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:18.480 come back and say, man, Terry, we got all this stuff. 291 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:22.240 We could do this, and we can make it work on cedar and redwood 292 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.839 and not just pine. And so we're constantly tweaking, you know, our 293 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:30.839 core resident and then even the the additives I talked about, you know, 294 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.559 how do we make sure if you're in the southeast where we are here was 295 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:38.599 very humid, uh, and there's tree overhangs and shade, you get biogrowth 296 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:42.079 and all of a sudden, a nice you know off white house looks gray 297 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:47.119 and black and you know it's and it's difficult to get off. Well, 298 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:51.200 we make sure that the additives we put in that are you know, they're 299 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:56.400 constantly evolving as well to deal with the microbes and the biogrowth that happens. 300 00:20:56.440 --> 00:21:00.359 So I could go on, but it's it's constantly looking at our RN to 301 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.119 make sure that when you're a products fire, that is your business at the 302 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:06.079 end of the day. Yeah, I'm glad you shared all that, and 303 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.319 that's something I didn't take any consideration about what region you might live in. 304 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:11.000 It's a little bit different because of the weather. And by the way, 305 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.960 I can confirm about the weather not only living in Chicago, but my mom 306 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.599 told me stories back in the sixties when I was born that she had to 307 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.920 walk backwards next to Lake Michigan because it was so windy and cold. So 308 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:26.880 Terry tells the truth about the weather when it comes to Chicago. Yeah, 309 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:30.519 no, I'd love Chicago. I love the Midwest. I love the people 310 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:34.160 in the Midwest. Boy, they are down to earth folks, and that 311 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:40.759 weather is a myrtle level. It is brutal out there. Well, Terry, 312 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:41.960 I wanted to do this and I can't tell you how much I appreciate 313 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:45.359 your valuable time, and I wanted to give the floor to you for the 314 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.440 last couple of minutes. Just some final takeaways not only about Rhino Shield, 315 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.200 but the company overall and the message you'd like to leave with our listeners and 316 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.839 the CEOs, the entrepreneurs and the future leaders out there a little bit more 317 00:21:56.839 --> 00:21:59.480 about the companies you wrap up your thoughts. Yeah, I think from an 318 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:03.200 entrepreneur or leadership standpoint, I get asked, you know, as as you 319 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:07.240 and I also you certainly speak for me, are kind of, you know, 320 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.359 more towards the finish line than the starting line in terms of where we 321 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:14.599 are with our careers. And it's it's it's fun to talk to the younger 322 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:18.720 generation, you know about kind of they ask and when they're inquisitive, I'm 323 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:22.039 willing to give them that counsel and advice. Many many young folks are interested 324 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:27.880 in getting into small businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors, and I think that's that's wonderful. 325 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:33.359 So what drives our country, it's the spirit of our capitalism is tied 326 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:37.559 into a small business and small business growth. And but I tell them there's 327 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:40.799 different elements of that. You can be a true entrepreneur, have an idea 328 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:45.039 and a thought and try and nurture that and and fund that and take that 329 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:48.160 and scale it, or you can be many other elements. But you know, 330 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:52.039 I kind of chose my path which is taking existing companies and helping them 331 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:57.279 realize their full potential and and everything in between. And you know, CEOs 332 00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:02.640 are always looking for folks that you know't want to help in that growth journey, 333 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:07.160 in that realizing potential journey. And we're looking for problem solvers, not 334 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:11.160 always problem identifiers. To be kind of blunt about it, right, in 335 00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:14.880 life, we have a lot of folks who are problem identifiers, right, 336 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:18.519 you know, we've got them all over. My wife identifies my problems all 337 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:26.480 the time, I hear you. But problem solving is what really differentiates I 338 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:30.240 think employees and associates in terms of when someone says how can I move up 339 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:33.759 or how can I advance? I say, become a better problem solver? 340 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:36.519 And I will help you do that, okay. And it's a learned trade. 341 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:40.279 It's a skill that you can develop over time and then you will become 342 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:47.240 amazingly valuable to that business and the CEOs will become amazingly successful with teams that 343 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:52.480 are filled with problem solvers. And it comes with experience, but it's also 344 00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:56.640 something that's the skill trait that you can work with on your own. As 345 00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:59.880 far as the runa shield stories, you can tell we're pretty passionate about it. 346 00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:03.599 We're continuing to grow quite rapidly. We're trying to make sure we can 347 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:08.119 harness that growth. We know there's a number of consumers out there this time 348 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:11.440 of year. We're getting hundreds of leads a day from customers that want to 349 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:15.680 hear our story. We talk to them, or most of a lot of 350 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:19.240 times our dealers talk to them to try in a new way, basically a 351 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:23.559 new technology for how do you protect your home? You have to put something 352 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:29.960 on the outside of your home in most cases, even stucco and block a 353 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:33.480 wall left to its own, on its own, to mother nature with sun 354 00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:38.000 and UV which is even more degrading than it used to be with climate change 355 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:42.440 and all the storms that we have now these days we live in Florida, 356 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:48.359 we're always looking at tropical disturbances and whatnot. Well, you sure need a 357 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:52.640 protective coding on your home and one that's going to last last a long time. 358 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:57.279 And we think we're really doing a service to our customers in many ways, 359 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:02.240 and our consumers not just offering a product. We really do believe in 360 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:06.160 our mission that we're providing a service to people. With those that want to 361 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:07.759 take a look at us, it's it's a it's a different way to think 362 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:11.720 about it, but like like a lot of uh, you know, companies 363 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:17.480 and products out there that bust some paradigms, category killers. That's that's what 364 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:19.400 we're looking to do, and it's a it's an exciting journey. Want that's 365 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.759 standing. I can tell your passion. That's always a common thread in this 366 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:26.200 series too, Terry about the leaders I talk to their passion for what they 367 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:27.720 do. They might bring a lot of gifts and skills to the table and 368 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:32.839 leadership, but I always got that compliment in my industry. I hired you 369 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:34.119 for your passion, and I can tell that you have that too, and 370 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:37.559 I think that's pretty exciting and we really appreciate this. As we wrap up, 371 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:41.759 if people want to find out more about Rhino Shield and about your company, 372 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:45.640 what's the website for everybody that they can check everything out at? Absolutely 373 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:52.480 Dennis, the the website is uh is rhinoshield dot com through simple, straightforward 374 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:56.119 and uh. It's a it's a very formative website. It's got videos and 375 00:25:56.200 --> 00:26:00.480 content and you know, lots of lots of ways to learn about our business 376 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:07.640 and those that are interested even further can ask for some more and request quote 377 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:11.519 in an estimate and talk to some of our local dealers who are knowledgeable about 378 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:14.880 the product as well. And I've been on it and the smart people that 379 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:17.640 put it together actually did a nice job with your website. It's easy to 380 00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:19.880 navigate on there and everything's either read. It's very cool. So give them 381 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:23.559 my best for putting that together. Hey, Terry, well you're suggesting I 382 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:29.920 didn't do that right, I don't know, did you? No, Hey 383 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.200 Terry, that was a profound guest. That was Yeah. Well, let'sen 384 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:37.599 give my best to your entire team and thank you so much for joining us 385 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:40.599 on CEOs as you know and continue success. Thank you, Dennis, I 386 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:41.599 appreciate the same to you.