IAM1480 – Creative Director and Founder Helps Fitness Designers Put Their Ideas Into Products
Special Throwback Episode - Podcast Interview with Shadi Adada
Architect – Creative Director and Founder of FittDesign.
- CEO Story: As an architect, Shadi was looking for ways to apply his skill set to his passion for being in the gym. So he combined design and fitness, developed it, got better at it, and turned it into a business. He was filling the gap in the industry.
- Business Service: Design development production. From the client’s vision/idea for their brands, turn it into a physically manifested product.
- Secret Sauce: Complete and sincere understanding of the client – empathy. Productise design services – getting detailed on the price design elements.
- CEO Hack: Appreciate sincere understanding of what you have and where you are to effect any change.
- CEO Nugget: Be patient and respect the process.
- CEO Defined: Most vulnerable person in a business.
Website: https://fittdesign.com/
Instagram: @fittdesign
Facebook: Fittdesign
Pinterest: Fittdesign
Episode Link: https://iamceo.co/2018/11/13/iam106-creative-director-and-founder-helps-fitness-designers-put-their-ideas-into-products/
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Transcription
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00:24 – Intro
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.
00:50 – Gresham Harkless
Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresham Harkless from the I AM CEO podcast. And I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Shadi Adada of FitDesign.com. Shadi, it is awesome to have you on the show.
00:59 – Shadi Adada
Hey, Thanks for having me.
01:00 – Gresham Harkless
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And Shadi, if you didn't know, is the architect creative director, and founder of Fit Design. And what I wanted to do, Shadi was just kind of get things started to ask you about what I call your CEO story, what led you to start your business, and what led you to kind of get started.
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01:15 – Shadi Adada
Yeah, of course. So I think like most people, it comes from a place of wanting to do a little bit more with your time, becoming, kind of getting to this point was truly by mistake. I was in school actually, at the University of Southern California studying architecture And kind of quickly finding that you know, spending 20 hours a day on, you know, the core subject matter wasn't really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I think I quickly caught onto that, but I realized that there was a core skill set that I was learning that I could definitely apply to another area of my life. And at the same time, you know, like any other 21-year-old, going to the gym, seeing positive changes in my body, I definitely fell in love with the whole fitness aspect.
And I just definitely got involved in the whole community and I was looking for a way to combine my skill set and into something that I was really, really passionate about. Of course, doing something for 20 hours a day like architecture and design, it's like, it just consumes you. So it was definitely something that I saw as an opportunity. And little by little, trying to find a way to apply that skill set to my kind of passion for fitness. It was initially, it was kind of how can I design products and kind of items that relate to fitness. And that was obviously apparel, gym clothes, workout clothes. And I just looked at some of the players in that space.
And in 2014, there wasn't that much going on. And I just wanted to see what I could do with them, just ultimately have fun with it. So little by little, it took off from there. It was, it was definitely something that happened completely by mistake. And as you do something, you iterate on it, you get better and better. And eventually, it turns into a business and that's sort of how it was. It was completely by mistake and not by design at all. It was, there was never an intention for it. And I think that's what most entrepreneurs kind of stumble upon. They stumble upon it as opposed to having it happen by sheer willpower in terms of how you go about it. So that's sort of my story in terms of how I got into it.
03:10 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And it's kind of like a good awesome reminder because a lot of times some of the best products or best things have come about just because like you said is by mistake where you know you see kind of like a gap in the market so to speak and then you start to fulfill that market starts to create those things and then it's like that perfect sweet spot where your passion what it is that you've been working on and what you love doing and solving a problem kind of all intersect at the same time.
03:34 – Shadi Adada
100%.
03:36 – Gresham Harkless
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper in here, I guess a little bit more about like what you're doing with FitDesign, what exactly do you do to kind of help serve the clients that you work with?
03:44 – Shadi Adada
Yeah, of course. So FitDesign is in short, it's like a complete production-to-design, development, and production solution. It's we take clients' visions for their brands and their ideas, and we take it from just an idea and we make it happen. Most of the clients that we operate with are in the fitness space. And most of that is apparel, of course, we've done stuff outside of that, but to put a long story short, if you come in with the idea to create something, it could be a nice hoodie or a pair of joggers, and if you really want to customize that, we have the ability to take that from just an idea in your head to physical, you know, a physically manifested product that you can sell to your customers.
And that's really where a lot of these kinds of small businesses are going. They're sick and tired of just having a shirt that you just print a logo on. That's not the way you differentiate yourself, especially in a market that is so competitive. And there's just that need to kind of have your own voice in this industry. So we facilitate that and we've done. That's sort of what I stumbled into essentially.
04:39 – Gresham Harkless
Awesome. Awesome. So these are people that might have an idea of something that they want to create but they don't necessarily have like I guess the steps after that on how to actually create it, how to bring it to fruition. Is that what you're saying?
04:50 – Shadi Adada
Exactly, that's exactly what it is.
04:53 – Gresham Harkless
Okay, no, that's awesome. Cause I know that a lot of people probably want to, you know, test out different ideas and have different, like you said, ideas that they want to maybe A-B test against or create and see how the market likes it. But it's great that you've kind of created something that can help facilitate that for people.
05:07 – Shadi Adada
Yeah, of course.
05:08 – Gresham Harkles
And now I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And this is kind of like what you feel kind of differentiates you or your organization and kind of sets you apart and makes you a little bit different.
05:17 – Shadi Adada
So two things. The first thing is a complete and sincere understanding of the client and empathy. It's an empathy for the client. I like you, Risham, I'm a customer. I deal with businesses on a day-to-day basis. And I find myself frustrated sometimes with the way that we're treated and the way that kind of these businesses take advantage of us or interact with us. It's a true understanding of how would I feel if I were in this person's shoes. How would I want to be treated as a customer? And that's first and foremost, that is like the central mantra, the Tufit design, to the way we interact with our clients.
And that's sort of the guiding light. The second thing that would make us unique is we've productized design services. So where most companies might go about it like, send us a brief and we'll send you back a quotation. We've sort of distilled design down to its core elements and we've listed that on our website and we have set prices for everything that people can go in and see what matches their needs and they're able to have a clear understanding of what they're getting themselves into before they actually get themselves into that. So a lot of people find that super unintimidating. It's really clear and it's just a much more streamlined process.
It's the productization or the commercialization of something that has never been commercialized before, which is design services, which are these kinds of intangible assets, right? They're, it's basically hiring someone to do a project for you. But we've kind of taken that and we streamlined it into just a product essentially.
06:41 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, I love that. It kind of sounds like those two things kind of go hand in hand, meaning that, you know, you understand and you put yourself in, you empathize with the client and ask, what would they like as far as the process? It seems like you have been able to kind of put that in a place where now the client can find everything. They don't have to worry about the emails coming back and everything that sometimes happens in the design process. You kind of have everything out front, open, so that everybody knows exactly how much it costs and everything like that. So that's- 100%.
07:06 – Shadi Adada
And that allows you to make a more educated decision as a customer, basically going into it. You know what you're getting yourself into and you just have a lot more confidence dealing with the service provider.
07:17 – Gresham Harkless
Exactly, exactly. You don't have that fear of knowing that you have this idea and you start getting the ball rolling then you don't know how much it costs or what it takes to do that. All of that's kind of laid out. So that's pretty awesome that you put that in place. So now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. This could be an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient as a CEO.
07:38 – Shadi Adada
It's, I think most people probably go about it, say it's a podcast and in a book or blog or whatever. And maybe, of course, those things are good. They're a great way of expanding your mindset. For me, it's a little more of a personal thing. It's kind of appreciating the sincere understanding of what you have and what you, what the position that you're in to kind of affect that change. And when I say that, I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but it literally is taking a step back and looking at everything that is in front of you, being like, wow, like I am in a position that truly, truly, truly I'm blessed to be in that position. I need to maximize that. I need to push myself to, you know, to make the most of that out of that situation or that opportunity. I think that is a great self-motivator and just that keeps the wheels turning.
Essentially, it's a great way for you just to stay involved and to really appreciate everything you have through thick and thin. And there's a lot of there's a lot of fake areas, especially in this quote-unquote CEO lifestyle.
08:35 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, I mean, I don't think that's easy at all because sometimes the simple things are what kind of motivates you and gets you going and to be able to have kind of like that gratitude where you appreciate every little thing and every opportunity that you have that's in front of you to kind of create the life that you want or build the life that you want. I think that's a phenomenal reminder and of course a great example of a CEO hack. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget and this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice or if you could hop in a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?
09:00 – Shadi Adada
What would I tell my younger business self? I would probably tell my younger business self, to be patient. Again, it sounds so overplayed, but that's because it works. It's patience is the key. Sometimes I have to tell my older business self to be patient because you're just in it. You're living it, right? You're in yourself every day, 24 hours a day. And it's tough sometimes to not be impatient, not tell yourself, I would like more, I want it now. Like, why isn't it happening? And that ultimately leads to you being deterred from that path that you're on. It's definitely patience. It's understanding that there is no target. There's no set date that you're going to get there.
And it might happen tomorrow, it might happen after tomorrow, it might happen in 10 years, it might never happen. And that's a scary concept, especially when you're doing it the right way. And when I say do it the right way, there's a lot of, I guess, pretend when it comes to that, the entrepreneurial lifestyle. But people who are doing it know it's not glamorous, it's not Instagram worthy, It's not anything. It is literally just a grind. And the patience is just going to help you see through that grind. And that's the biggest thing I would say. It's just patience. Be patient.
10:14 – Gresham Harkless
Yeah, I would definitely agree with that. I'm not on a yacht or anything like that. I'm working hard just like I imagine that you are as well too. So understanding that as part of the process and to be patient so that you can continue to kind of go down that path to get your goal, whether it happened like you said today, tomorrow, next year, or 10 years down the line, you just kind of have to respect the process and go through it. So I think that's a phenomenal reminder.
10:35 – Shadi Adada
Yeah, of course.
10:36 – Gresham Harkless
And now I wanted to ask you what is my favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So I wanted to ask you, Shadi, what does being a CEO mean to you?
10:47 – Shadi Adada
Being CEO means you're the most vulnerable person in your business. What does that mean? Being the most vulnerable person in that business? It means that every single thing, every aspect, every element that your business goes through is on you. And you're responsible for your team, you're responsible for making it happen. You are responsible for every aspect of it. And that's what vulnerability means. And being comfortable with vulnerability, that's what it is. It's when you're comfortable in an unvulnerable position and you kind of thrive off that and you understand that that is in and of itself a true opportunity because when you're vulnerable like that, A, you have to operate to the maximum of your ability.
You have to understand that any weakness, any opening, any sort of way that you can fail can happen, you have to be able to cover that. You have to know that it's important to just cover all your bases, to be in that zone where you have people to take care of, you have obligations to meet, you have deadlines to meet, and that is just an amalgamation of everything, and it sounds all over the place and it is but it is a true vulnerability and being comfortable with that vulnerability that's what I would say.
11:54 – Gresham Harkless
I love that definition and the idea that a lot of times you know when people are founders or startup founders and have a vision they put themselves out there in order to do that. They put themselves out in front of the world, so to speak so that they can try to reach that vision, try to empower their team, and do all those things. So I think that's an awesome definition of what it means to be a CEO.
12:13 – Shadi Adada
Well, you agree.
12:14 – Gresham Harkless
Yes, definitely. Definitely. Definitely. So Shadi, I appreciate you so much for taking some time out of your schedule. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just so that you can let us know any additional words of wisdom or piece of advice that you might have for our readers and listeners, and then also how best we can get in touch with you and find out about Fit Design.
12:30 – Shadi Adada
Yeah, of course. I would say in terms of additional comments, it's realized that like, I can't, it sounds so cheesy because it is, but it's the truth. It's every single day that you get up and you have the ability to walk on your own 2 feet and to breathe through your lungs is an amazing kind of, and of itself, it's a feat of miracle, basically. And it's 100%, a, I don't know how you put it, but it is a true, true gift to be able to do something with your life every day and to have that capability and to be able to put yourself in a position to make more, to provide value, to bring yourself value. And don't take that for granted, no matter how tough circumstances may seem.
And of course, people have things to do and they have obligations to meet and they have to pay off this or they have to do that. But at the end of the day, you always have that opportunity to a lesser or a greater degree to make more, to achieve more, to get more out of what you want or those hours in the day, and do not squander that.
And I promise you the process itself, like the actual doing of it, not getting there. It's amazing when you learn to just kind of get down and just still down to the core emotions, it's amazing, like watching something grow together and build that foundation. There's no words to really describe it. And when it starts to manifest and come together, it's an otherworldly experience. So it's definitely worth it. And it's definitely worth that grind and that setup time.
13:53 – Gresham Harkless
Exactly. I would definitely agree with that. And for anybody that wants to follow up with you, Shadi, what is the best way for them to do that?
14:01 – Shadi Adada
So we live on Instagram. Fit Design is the main Instagram. We live all over the internet. So super active on social. It's one of the core kind of the core centers of our business is how to engage with people on social. How do we create a community in a way that most design companies or design teams might not do? So it's Instagram at the design, Facebook at the design, that's double T Pinterest, fit design, double T B hands.net, the design double T. So we can be found in all those places or just email me personally shadi at fitdesign.com double T. And I would love to hear from anyone that would love to speak, I'm always available.
14:41 – Gresham Harkless
Awesome, I appreciate that Shadi. And what we'll do is we'll have all those links in the show notes just so that anybody can follow up. But again, I appreciate you for the great reminder you gave us all today and all of the awesome things that you're doing to kind of innovate within that design industry. I appreciate you for taking time out again and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.
14:58 – Shadi Adada
Thank you, Gresham.
15:00 – Outro
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.
00:25 - Intro
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO podcast.
00:53 - Gresham Harkless
Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Joe Camberazzo of National Business Capital. Joe, super excited to have you on the show.
01:03 - Joe Camberato
Thanks for having me on the grass. I appreciate being here.
01:05 - Gresham Harkless
Yes, it should definitely be an awesome conversation. That's for sure and so before I jumped into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Joe so you can hear about some of the awesome things that he's working on Joe is the CEO and founder of National Business Capital, the leading FinTech marketplace helping entrepreneurs across competitive financing fast through an easy to use online platform and experience team. Joe knows entrepreneurs CEO and founder of Nation the leading fintech market across competitive financial and easy-to-use online PL team. Joe knows enterprise entrepreneurs. He started after realizing how business owners to access to grow. With a strong vision, determination, and passionate leadership, Joe grew his firm from a small operation in his spare bedroom to a number 1 top workplace in Long Island all without $1 of private equity. Joe, excited to have you on the show again, my friend. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?
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01:54 - Joe Camberato
Yes, I am looking forward to it.
01:56 - Gresham Harkless
Awesome. Well, let's get it started then. So to kind of kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit, hear a little bit more about how you got started, and what I like to call your CEO story.
02:05 - Joe Camberato
Yeah, you know, I was in the consumer mortgage business. And a lot of my customers that were self-employed, they're business owners. And I watched them all use their home equity credit lines or refinance their house to use that money for their businesses. And a lot of them kept asking me for a business loan. I just didn't understand it. And I'd say, hey, it's not really what I do. Why don't you go to your bank? And they would all tell me how frustrating it was to deal with their bank. And, you know, I had a real interest in moving to the commercial side of the business and really wanted to work with business owners. 1 of those owners was like, Hey, you know, you got all these relationships, you know, can't you go to 1 of your banks and maybe point me in the right direction?
So there was a, it was a local restaurant owner. They had a catering facility. They wanted to open up another 1. Great business. So I brought it to a bank that had a commercial division. And I got this great deal, local customer restaurant, catering facility, I want to open up another 1. And they laughed at me. They said we'll never fund a restaurant. So I was like, oh, okay, well, can you point me in the right direction? So they pointed me to this private lender, another private lender. Ultimately, I wound up finding a lender that would finance them. I got them the money that they needed and I watched them grow their business.
And it truly fascinated me, right there in that moment, I said, wow, this is what I wanna do. I wanna work with business owners. I wanna help them access capital. And I found this whole world of private lending that really no 1 knew really existed. This was back in 05-06. I founded it in 2007, so it'll be 15 years this December. But in 05-06, a lot of these lenders didn't even have websites. And it was just still a fax machine then, which is just funny to even say now. And you know, no 1 really it was very hard to find a lender outside of like your local or national bank. And there were all these different lenders out there. Some of them were large institutions. Some of them were publicly traded.
And unless your advisor is like an attorney or accountant who had these types of relationships, then you have websites at the time. So you couldn't find them. And I said, you know what? I'm going to bring all these people together and I'm going to learn what their processes are. I'm going to learn what industries they love and I'm going to be the business consultant that helped you get money for your biz. So I did that in my spare bedroom, which was just literally 1 customer at a time. And then I really realized that I was onto something here and I just saw that every owner had the same challenge. You go to your bank, it 2 things happen. They do something with you. Then you outgrow them if you're growing fast.
And if you don't have enough collateral like real estate or really, really quality B2B receivables, the banks just don't want to work with you or they can't grow fast enough. And even today, banks want to work with big, big institutions and private equity has gone further upstream. So When I really understood this, I just started bringing them everything together in 1 place. And then last forward, I got out of my spare bedroom. I got, you know, it was initially a small office, shared some space, hired 1 person, then another person, and then moved to where we are today. We've utilized technology. We've become a full Fintech platform. Think rocket mortgage for small business lending.
And we've got over 75 lenders on the platform now. We've streamlined all the processes, digitalized the application process, secured a bank connection. We do all these great things. And by following these great processes, systems, technology, and more importantly, really great people here at the company, we've helped secure $2 billion now in financing for all types of industries, all entrepreneurs, all across the country, which is really amazing.
05:49 - Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I definitely appreciate you, obviously, for, you know, working out of the bedroom and continuing to kind of grow that business. But I truly what kind of resonated with me, you know, very much so, like the story you told him being able to kind of grow was that restaurant that you kind of talked about. And when you rattle out that $2 billion, if you just think about that, just think about the impact to how many restaurants, how many other small businesses, it starts to really become something that you're creating, not just opportunity for resources, the capital that people need, but also for impacting lives and impacting the lives of the families and so on and so forth. So I appreciate you for being able to do that. And of course, being able to tell that story.
06:29 - Joe Camberato
Yeah, you hit the nail on the head, Gresh. And I appreciate you saying that and realizing that. That makes me feel good. And it's something that we've been talking about with just in general, really, especially in the last recent 2, or 3 years.
06:43 - Gresham Harkless
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I know we touched on it a little bit, but I want to drill down a little bit more and hear how you're serving clients, and how it all works. Could you take us through a little bit more about that?
06:52 - Joe Camberato
Yeah. So, you know, there's no 1 size-fits all lender out there for your business. You can take 2 different businesses in the same industry, even a franchise, like let's say you own a Subway franchise or McDonald's or whatever. Those 2 owners may have different things that they want to do. 1 may want to buy another location, 1 may just need a credit line because they want to spruce up their current location, or 1 may need to buy equipment. So all of those things, 1 would be maybe an SBA loan, 1 maybe be a line of credit, 1 would be an equipment loan. So All the needs of every owner are really different.
So it's very hard if you go to 1 lender, they may approve you, but it may not be the best approval that's out there. So we bring all these great business-focused lenders together. We do everything from SBA loans to term loans to lines of credit to equipment financing to inventory loans to term loans. So you know, all those are in 1 simple place. So basically, if you were looking for financing, you can apply on the website, and we can call and reach out to the team. Whether you apply or call us, you know, we have a quick conversation with you. And you know, when people need money, they need it to get an opportunity in the challenge.
Sometimes the challenge is because there's happening. Like you're gr flows not keeping up and of filling those gaps. So we quick discovery call with a challenge. Sometimes the temporary challenge because of opportunity happening. La fast, your cash flows not got to kind of fill those a very simple quick disco understand what's going o you looking to use money there will very simply te on his very easy convert know about your own business an SBA loan may make sense, or this makes sense for a revolving line of credit, or hey, if you're buying equipment, we can finance it over 5 years, low rates, and you can still utilize the appreciation. So we have these really cool conversations. Then based on the need, we explain what you'll probably match for. And then we'll tell you, you're going to need these financial docs, everything that you'll need.
09:05 - Gresham Harkless
Yeah, that's so huge. And I almost wonder if the thing that is your secret sauce is like that technology and also that awareness of all the different products and different options and the different ways that people can learn and understand and manage their money and the finances so that they can at the end of the day succeed. Do you feel like that kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?
09:24 - Joe Camberato
That really is a big secret sauce of ours is people and knowledge. We have an amazing group of people. We have over 70 people internally, internally, and then we have a number of people externally. Training is, you know, we've created what's called the National Business Academy and we teach all the lender guidelines and products, but more importantly, we teach understanding business.
09:53 - Gresham Harkless
Yeah, absolutely. It makes so much sense and you almost think about it as business being a language, so to speak. And once you start to understand the language, not only does it help you, like you said, to make sure that you're able to kind of get those, you know, raise the best options and best products, but also helps you on an even deeper level, have that conversation with the people that are actually looking for that expertise and that knowledge. So I absolutely appreciate that. And so I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?
10:26 - Joe Camberat
It's a good 1. I mean, there are a few different things that I do. A few hacks, I mean, I can give you 1. I think the mindset is really everything. You gotta get yourself into the right mindset. So always moving, working out, exercising, meditation, and then more importantly some thinking time to think about what I've got going on. Also, think about what I've accomplished because we beat ourselves up constantly to keep getting to the next thing. So measuring backwards has really helped me especially lately as we moved through COVID, There are so many things that you're constantly accomplishing and you never, you know, you're always on to the next, on to the next, but if you don't appreciate what you've accomplished, you can kind of get deflated and burn yourself out. And then just, you know, my relationships and network is really everything. Like, you know, having amazing relationships has really helped me a lot in business and all types of relationships. A part of a group called YPO, it's Young Presidents Organization. I think it's really powerful having great, getting yourself around other business owners and leaders. That's been a big, big part of my success. Folks that are much bigger and better than me. And then next thing you know, you grow into that. So that's been a really great hack for me as well too.
11:43 - Gresham Harkless
Yeah, that makes so much sense. So Now you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for a CEO nugget. So it's a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I like to say you might tell your favorite client or if you were to hop into a time machine, you might tell your younger business.
11:57 - Joe Camberato
You know, culture has been everything in my business. We've built an amazing culture. We've been the number 1 top workplace on Long Island because of it for 3 years in a row. The last 3 years, we're gunning for the fourth year right now. I think what I would tell my younger self is all good things just take time. Patience is key. When I got started, I thought so many things were going to come together so much faster. And like the reality is I've been at this, it'll be 15 years this December. Things really didn't come together for me until about year 7. And things just constantly changing. So there's, you know, you think when you get to this certain, you know, point that it's all going to like work out or whatever. And it's just, it's a constant change. And, you know, just continue to keep changing, you know, and growing. But I really measure things now in five-year clips. What can I do in the next 5 years? Because you can only do so much in a year, just reality.
12:58 - Gresham Harkless
Yeah, I love that. And I always try to remind myself, and as we talked about the driven people, is that the secret to overnight success is absolutely appreciate that. So now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. Rob and I have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So Joe, what does being a CEO mean to you?
13:15 - Joe Camberato
You know, being a CEO, to me, means being a good leader. And just, I'm like committed to learning and growing. And more importantly, now, helping others learn and grow. I really, you know, and I mean, I started this whole grow by Joe thing, which is, you know, a big initiative of mine. And it's really helping, you know, our customers grow, but it's also helping, you know, my staff and my team grow. And I need to be constantly learning and growing as well. So I think it's a big responsibility to be a CEO. And more importantly, it's not just about me. It's about the customers we're serving. It's about the team that's here helping serve those customers. And, and that's why I think we have, you know, the great culture and amazing, you know, place that we do. Cause I, I don't just say these things. I actually do them.
14:13 - Gresham Harkless
Yeah. That makes so much sense. And I love how you kind of talked about leadership and how that manifests itself in so many different ways. Joe truly appreciates you for taking time out, appreciating all the awesome things you're doing. What I want to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get hold of you to find out about all the awesome things you and your team are working on.
14:33 - Joe Camberato
The most important thing that I think I do is being prepared and anticipating where things are going. Anticipation is probably 1 of the biggest keys to success in business. So you gotta make sure that you got your capital right because the guy with the most money in a downturn in a recession will be the business that wins. You can go right to nationalbusinesscapital.com. And if you wanna follow me, you can check me out at Grow by Joe. Check out my YouTube, I've got hundreds of videos on there. Follow me on LinkedIn, on Instagram. I put a lot of content out all about the different financing options, but also about just things that I'm actually doing here in my own business that have helped me be successful. So if I can help you be successful and grow better and smarter, you know, that's that's my goal.
15:20 - Gresham Harkless
Awesome, awesome, awesome. And to make it even easier, Joe, we'll have the links and information in the show notes as well too so that everybody can get a, you know, hold of all the awesome things you're doing and of course be able to kind of contact your team. So truly appreciate you for doing that, my friend. And of course, appreciate your time. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.
15:35 - Joe Camberato
Thank you, Gresh. Thanks for having me. And listen, thanks for everything that you're doing, you know, pulling all these great people together, you know, on your podcast and, and helping drop in all these clues around, you know, for everyone. You know, it's really great. I appreciate it.
15:48 - Outro
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.
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