IAM2426 – Founder Helps Homeowners and Businesses Recover from Disasters

Idan Shpizear

00:00 - 00:29

So we have different clients, right? At the end of the day, they're all going through their own emergency, right? Something that they need to take care of immediately. That opportunity will be dispatched to our franchisee, right? So we have a call center that is open 24-7. We want to make sure that we are available for our clients to give some level of certainty to the homeowner. Like, we got you. We understand what you're going through. We are the right company for you. And let us connect you with the best person that can serve you in your area.

Intro

00:31 - 00:57

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the I Am CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless

00:59 - 01:06

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast, and I have an awesome guest on the show today. I have Eden Spicer. Eden, excited to have you on the show.

Idan Shpizear

01:07 - 01:09

Yeah, thank you for having me. Excited to see where this

Gresham Harkless

01:10 - 01:42

conversation is going to take us. Yes, absolutely. And there's a lot of places we can definitely go because Eden's doing so many awesome things. So I'm super excited, of course, to dive into that conversation. But of course, before we do that, I want to read a little bit more about Eden so you can hear about some of those awesome things. And Eden is a visionary entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of 911 Restoration. a top-ranked disaster restoration franchise in the United States. His journey from humble beginnings as an immigrant with an $800 Volvo and a carpet cleaning business to build a nationally recognized franchise epitomizes resilience and determination.

Gresham Harkless

01:42 - 02:28

And under his leadership, 911 Restoration has become a trusted name across America helping homeowners and businesses recover from disasters while developing a unique, fresh-start philosophy to every project. Beyond his business success, Eden is passionate about innovation and mentorship. He has founded other ventures such as Milestone SEO and Gazingle, a CRM platform that enhances operational efficiency for service-based companies. His dedication to customer service and problem-solving is reflected in every aspect of his business, making him a sought-after expert. And Eden's mission goes beyond business. He is deeply committed to personal and professional goals. His Get Out of the Truck initiative is aimed at helping small business owners break free from day-to-day operations to focus on scaling and success.

Gresham Harkless

02:28 - 02:57

And this project emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering guidance to entrepreneurs stuck in the grind of running their business and enabling them. to transition into strategic leadership roles. And Eden's doing so many awesome things. As I mentioned, he's been featured on our CEO blog in the past as well, too. But one of the things that I think really resonated with me from his book is he has this really, really, really, really powerful quote where he says, if you want to grow a thriving business, you must strive for progress, not perfection. There is no such thing as perfection in business.

Gresham Harkless

02:58 - 03:20

There is no perfect product. No perfect company, no clear-cut finish line. Every day, the culture evolves, your customers' needs change, the competition progresses, and the technology advances. Today's perfect product will not be the same as tomorrow's perfect product. So stop obsessing over an elusive end goal. There is no end in business. So Eden, you're doing phenomenal things. I almost want to drop the mic now. Are you ready to speak to the IAMCEO community?

Idan Shpizear

03:21 - 03:32

Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's funny. Only this morning we had a meeting with the marketing guys and it was the same thing. It's like, listen, it's not going to be perfect. Let's just go, go, go. We'll figure it out.

Gresham Harkless

03:33 - 03:43

Yeah, absolutely. Isn't that one of the great words of wisdom for business, but I imagine for life as well, too. And just like understanding that the biggest thing you can do is continue to kind of put one foot in front of the other.

Idan Shpizear

03:44 - 03:48

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. It's really that simple.

Gresham Harkless

03:49 - 03:55

Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's rewind the clock here a little bit more on how you were putting one foot in front of the other. Could you take us through what I like to call your CEO story?

Idan Shpizear

03:57 - 04:38

Yeah. So it's really, that was a story, right? The only thing that I really had in my mind is once I went through a certain kind of process my own process of really looking into what I do and how things work and why I'm getting stuck and why things are not really working well, right? I kind of was like a moment is like, okay, let me just focus on adding value. Let me try to put all these big questions, let me try to put everything aside for a second and just, can I just add value on a constant basis, see big problems ahead of me, see really the people in front of me and just try to add value, right?

Idan Shpizear

04:38 - 05:11

What led me into the franchise was a simple thing is, can we do one plus one equal five? Can I really collaborate with that person in front of me that want to do something great, that have the right intention, And I know that I'm being truthful to what is it that I want to do. And can we work together and create something great? That's really kind of the base of my journey. Yeah, and that's what we do every day, right? I'm doing it for myself, doing it with my team. I have an amazing team in place.

Idan Shpizear

05:11 - 05:14

And it's all about, can we add more value today?

Gresham Harkless

05:15 - 05:32

Yeah. And I love that just because I feel like so many times in entrepreneurship, we lose sight of like why we're doing what we're doing, what we're actually doing, and problem solving, adding value, being able to kind of do that on a regular basis sounds so minimal, but I feel like it ends up being everything, especially I imagine in the type of work that you all do.

Idan Shpizear

05:32 - 05:35

Yeah, yeah. We deal with people that are going through

Gresham Harkless

05:35 - 05:47

disaster. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more and hear a little bit more on how your franchisees are working with your clients. Can you take us through a little bit more on what that process looks like and how you are ultimately making that impact for the clients you work with?

Idan Shpizear

05:48 - 06:23

Yeah, so clients will call us. I mean, our clients can be a homeowner, right? A mom with three kids wakes up early in the morning, go downstairs, house is flooded. She will go online, search for a water damage company. She'll look for help, right? She will get to us. We'll dispatch it to our franchisee. We work with people that own businesses. We work with insurance companies. So we have different clients. At the end of the day, they're all going through their own emergency, right? Something that they need to take care of immediately. That opportunity will be dispatched to our franchisee, right?

Idan Shpizear

06:23 - 06:57

So we have a call center that is open 24-7. We want to make sure that we are available for our clients 24-7. Collect the information. Really, that's the first opportunity for us to give some level of certainty to the homeowner. Like, we've got you. We understand what you're going through. We are the right company for you and let us connect you with the best person that can serve you in your area. So that's really where the journey starts. Our franchises are trained to work with your insurance company, to work with the business, to work with anything that they need.

Idan Shpizear

06:59 - 07:44

The fresh start culture, you know, it's something that we're thriving to hopefully we'll never going to get there, right? That's the beauty when you are really obsessed on the customer itself, right? They're always going to want more and is pushing the company to keep evolving. And yeah, and then a franchisee get out there and take care of the customers. And that's working with the insurance company. There's a certain billing that we use. We're developing our own CRM system. We have a lot of our own tools, marketing tools. You know, there is also a big part of the communication between us to the customer, the communication between us to the insurance company, us to other people that provide services.

Idan Shpizear

07:44 - 08:16

So we're trying to bring everything into one platform. So it's really easier for us to make the communication part much, much easier. There is something in the home service industry in general, right? You can get somebody to drive an hour to do amazing work. but they will not pick up the phone call to tell you how things are going. They will not send you pictures. They will not send you the file, right? So a big part of it is the communication. So we develop a lot of technologies and a lot of processes and training around how do we communicate?

Idan Shpizear

08:16 - 08:30

How do we let somebody know and feel comfortable that basically we got you? We are there, we're working on your project, we're taking care, we're making sure that everything moves smoothly.

Gresham Harkless

08:32 - 08:56

Yeah, that makes so much sense. And so I'm almost wondering, is that part of like what you would consider to be like your secret sauce? It could be for yourself personally, the business or a combination of both, but is it that ability to kind of understand? I would say understand the journey that people are on, whether it be people that are going through the challenges or even like you mentioned, that business journey and being able to kind of meet people where they are and provide them with that peace that they can ultimately have. Do you think that's part of your secret sauce?

Idan Shpizear

08:57 - 09:40

Yeah, absolutely. At the end of the day, we all use the same blowers, dehumidifiers, we all drive vans, it's the same thing, we use the same program, we work with the insurance company. So what really makes the biggest difference is the way we work with our clients. Do we really embody the fresh start culture? Not just saying it, it's part of our processes, it's the way we make decisions, it's the way we communicate, it's the way we're staying open and present when we work with our team, with our franchisee. open door mentality, right? Everybody have a voice type of things.

Idan Shpizear

09:40 - 10:23

We're not looking to be a system with thousands of franchisees and everybody have a license and we put so many franchisees in one area. That's not who we are, right? We have exclusive territories. We want our franchisees to have enough space to build a good business. We're probably going to have, you know, four to 450 franchisees that pretty much will cover the US and give each one the opportunity to build a good business. And the reason we're doing it because it's aligned with the fresh start culture, right? And I'm saying it because it's important to embody it, not just to say it, to make sure that the processes are aligned with the culture, with what is it that we're really trying to put out there.

Gresham Harkless

10:24 - 10:42

Yeah, I love that. And so I almost wonder if that is the CEO hack and being able to kind of understand, hey, I'm really great at this. Really great. How do I get world class? Because this comes so natural, so easy. I can get even better at it and have that align where you're going and where you're trying to be and what you're trying to accomplish. Do you feel like that is a CEO hack? That's

Idan Shpizear

10:42 - 11:27

absolutely, I think it's working. You know, we all saying strength and weaknesses, and I've been saying strength and weaknesses, and it's every book, you know, CEOs and how to build a business, SWOT analysis, strength and weaknesses, but I don't think we're going deep enough. I don't think people are comfortable spending enough time with themselves, really understand, not what society is telling them who they are and who they supposed to be. them with themselves. Take a few days, be with yourself, write down things that excites you, what's come easily for you. You know, because many times we're just blind to what come easy for us because we take it for granted.

Idan Shpizear

11:27 - 11:43

But yeah, I think it's absolutely, it's a way for, I think everybody, CEO or not CEO, right? There's some gift that each one of us, look, There are some things that are so natural to you, you were just born with them.

Gresham Harkless

11:44 - 12:14

Yeah, absolutely. It's a phenomenal place to be. And I think so many times we forget that the gifts, the skills, the things that we have that are innate within us are not something that we hoard or we actually put on the back burner. It's actually something we have so that we can give to others. So I love that you said that because I think so many times we can just say, oh, I'm really good at this. And it's just literally you're doing it for yourself. But I think it goes to an entirely different level when you're able to impact other people's lives and you know societies and communities and so on and so forth it really becomes a phenomenal place to be

Idan Shpizear

12:14 - 12:58

yeah you know a few months ago when i was over six months ago so i said i asked a lot of people tell me one moment in your life that you remember that was very meaningful for you 95 of the people talked about a moment where they helped somebody else so here you go yeah It's human nature, right? Yeah, just part. That's where we kind of really finding our fulfillment. It's some level of awareness, right? So when we work with our team, right? One of the things that we keep going back into is awareness. Be aware.

Idan Shpizear

12:59 - 13:39

Get out of your own monkey mind for a second, right? Step out of it for a quick second. Pay attention to other people's perspective. See what makes you feel good or bad or what really works for you and just be aware and you're going to see that everything that you need to know is right here in front of you. Because sometimes we're so protective of our own perspective without even being aware, where did we get our own perspective? We don't even know where we got our own perspective, but we're so protective of it because our identity is built on it.

Idan Shpizear

13:39 - 14:15

The way usually people respond when you put their unconscious thinking in front of them, because they're not really aware of it, they usually hold their heads and like, holy shit, what I'm doing all these years. And the change is usually in a moment after that. Once they get enough insight, a week after, where are you? Oh, you're done. I'm done. I'm out. I'm meeting people. I'm building my business. Right? The shift is very, very fast. We just need to get insight because there's so many things that we're not even aware, right? And I brought it in because so many times we are protective of our own perspective.

Idan Shpizear

14:16 - 14:21

We're not even understanding where did we get this perspective? It's stuck.

Gresham Harkless

14:21 - 14:39

Yeah. Yeah. That's such a powerful thing. And even that nugget is just in terms of like being able to kind of understand like how powerful it is to let go. So I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. Our goal is to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. So Eden, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Idan Shpizear

14:40 - 15:10

I have a team of people that my responsibility is to help them be successful. That's really how I see it. Like I'm here to serve, yeah. You tell me what you need, what's missing, how can I help you? What is the thing that I see that you don't see and I can bring in and help? And of course there's the vision part of it, right? There is something as a leader that you can see, you know, a few steps or 20 steps ahead and you're very passionate and it's very clear to you why you want to get there.

Idan Shpizear

15:10 - 15:42

But my hope is the vision is being shared by everybody on the team. Right. So it's not just my vision. I, my goal is I want everybody to feel that they're the CEO. They are, they are owning the vision the same way that I own the vision. Right. So, and, and my goal is really to help them at the end of the day is really serve. And I think once you help other people to really discover the leader within them. Ah, that's such a blessing.

Gresham Harkless

15:42 - 15:56

Well, Eden, truly appreciate that. Of course, I appreciate your time even more. So what I wanted to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get ahold of you, get a copy of your book, find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

Idan Shpizear

15:57 - 16:12

Yeah, so my name is unique enough, Idan Spicer, right? Type it in and a lot of things will come up. I'm more active on LinkedIn. And if anybody's interested in learning more about the franchise, it's 911restorationfranchise.com.

Gresham Harkless

16:13 - 16:21

Absolutely. Yeah, I definitely appreciate that. Of course, we're going to have the links and information in the show notes as well, too, so that everybody can follow up with you. And I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the

Idan Shpizear

16:21 - 16:22

day. Absolutely.

Intro

16:22 - 16:53

Thank you for having me. This was great. Thank you for listening to the I Am CEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at imceo.co. I Am CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Don't forget to schedule your complimentary digital marketing consultation at Blue16media.com. This has been the I Am CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.