Behind the Toolbelt
Behind the ToolBelt is a live, raw, and uncut podcast that brings real, unfiltered conversations about business, leadership, and the entrepreneurial mindset. Hosted by Ty Cobb Backer, CEO of TC Backer Construction, this live show features industry leaders, innovators, and experts sharing their experiences, strategies, and insights. From building successful companies to overcoming challenges, each episode offers valuable perspectives for entrepreneurs and business owners and leaders looking to grow, and make an impact.
Behind the Toolbelt
Building Bridges Through Trust and Teamwork
Chris Markey, a cherished friend and supporter, graces us once again with his presence for a quarterly chat that promises to inspire. Discover how our podcast has transitioned from evening to midday slots, reaching an even wider audience, and hear Chris's reflections on being a business owner for over 16 years. We reminisce about the books and past discussions that have kept us motivated and talk about how our professional journeys have intertwined, creating a bond that encourages resilience and growth.
We delve into the art of personal growth and leadership transformation, tackling the challenges of maintaining composure during tough times and learning from moments of vulnerability. We'll share insights on aligning company goals with values like generosity and leadership, ultimately creating a workplace where everyone thrives. The importance of self-education, learning from successful financial leaders, and adapting strategies from influential business models forms a core part of our discussion.
Finally, we turn our attention to the human side of business—building trust and accountability within teams. Through our experiences, we highlight the value of nurturing a culture where team members feel supported and empowered. We'll recount the success of our inaugural golf outing, which raised over $20,500 and strengthened community ties, showcasing the ripple effect of generosity. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of the power of community, leadership, and the enduring connections that help us all grow.
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Welcome back everybody to episode 254. Thank you for joining us for this Wednesday edition. Today we have another special guest. Stay tuned. We will be back after our short intro from our sponsors. Welcome back everybody. Hi Todd, hi Nicholas, hi Chris. Today we have Chris Markey, who comes on about every quarter. Chris was one of our very, very first guests and early adopters who had tuned in there for religiously for for years. And then, of course, life life you know takes its ups and downs, and then, of course, we change. I think the time probably threw you off, because we used to do 7. Pm. About a year ago or so we switched it to 12. Pm.
Chris Markey:So it's kind of during the day. I try to catch it in the middle of the day. Yeah, it's during the day.
Ty Cobb Backer:I try to catch it in the middle of the day, yeah, and then stuff happens at the shop or yeah, whatever. Which is cool, though, because we were just talking about, you know, subscribers and viewers and stuff like that, I think one. First and foremost, they gave Vic and I our Wednesday evenings back Right. So, like it held us hostage literally for four years, you know, behind the tool about 7. Pm. No matter where I was in the world, right, 7. Pm could be Eastern standard time, could be mountain standard time, could be wherever we were Right. So 7. Pm could be 10 o'clock, someplace could be five o'clock, you know, someplace wherever. Wherever we were Uganda. That one time you went there.
Ty Cobb Backer:I think it was like one o'clock in the morning here and whatever the time difference was there. So, um it, it's allowed us a little more flexibility, but it also gained some more different, different viewership as well, cause some people are like seven 7.00 PM at night, like they're bathing their children, you know, wrapping up dinner, you know things like that. So we've been, we've held on to our viewership and then gained different people because of it being, you know, broadcasted during the middle of the day. But getting back to you, you being one of our biggest fans and supporters, through holidays, I think you came out when you're dressed up like Santa Claus, or brought, or brought me a santa claus, yeah, a couple years ago, brought you something suit, yeah, you had your birthday suit on and uh and uh, a 12 pack.
Ty Cobb Backer:Uh, it was a short story yeah, the birthday suit, it just yeah, but we we've had our ups and downs and ebbs and flows of trying to figure this thing out, and we were talking about the Ty. How long you been in business? Uh, 16 plus years now.
Chris Markey:Yeah, so we're working, we were, we were 2006.
Ty Cobb Backer:Okay.
Chris Markey:So you know we're working on I guess it'll be 18. We're in year 18.
Ty Cobb Backer:Okay.
Chris Markey:Right and uh, you know, it's just. You know I come back here and talk with you because the parallel my circle has become a parallel of people that are in businesses that are very not similar businesses but similar timeframes, going through the same stuff. I think you and I have always had this conversation Connection.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, you know, I remember your building down there. What street was that? Monroe Street.
Chris Markey:Well, we were on man I can't even think of the name now Right off West Market. Yeah, we were there, but before that we were on Sumner Street. Yeah, sumner Street, that was the little one over there.
Chris Markey:Yeah, yeah, that was what I was talking about, yeah that was our first one, and then we moved over to the building on the back on indian rock. Yeah, and then um, but it's just. Uh, it's funny how those those of us who grind very similarly, um, tend to stay in touch, though Sometimes you miss staying in touch. I think our record got broke. Yeah, it was every, it was every morning, hey man, good morning, whatever. And it got broke. But, um, you always know you can come back. So you know, when you gave me a shout, say, come back on. I like coming on here. Somehow, some way we up talking about a concept, an idea, something that we don't plan for, and next thing, you know we're talking about it.
Ty Cobb Backer:So, no, our conversations are always good. You know, I think I think, like you, like you just mentioned, you know, people who have the same mindset at a high performing level, like, tend to gravitate towards each other. And and our, our relationship is very and I don't mean this, this might sound negative, but I don't, I don't take it as negative is very reciprocal. We feed off of each other. Yeah, very much.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, If you're down, you lift me up right, Right, Vice versa. And we, I think we inspire each other. I know you've inspired me several times. There was a book that you turned me on to. I think we inspire each other. I know you've inspired me several times. There was a book that you turned me on to. I must've been just bitching one day and you said I can't remember what book it was. I think it was Gordon John John Gordon book to stop complaining rule, or some something.
Chris Markey:Yeah, but there was a bunch of them. We've always talked about a bunch of books. It always used to be that's how our conversation started, gently gently you.
Ty Cobb Backer:You were like hey, you know what you should do. You should probably read the stop complaining rule or or something. Whatever book that was you know what?
Chris Markey:you know why I said that? Because somebody said it to me, because I was complaining yeah, you know what I mean, yeah, so and it happens now.
Chris Markey:Yeah, you know, um, so yeah, you know, they passed it along. I think a lot of our conversations start. I think our biggest, first biggest conversation was at my doc over on off of Indian rock and we started talking and I think that was when the light clicked. It was like, ooh, man, we both have. And then we started. From then on, every time you would stop over to pick stuff up and we would talk for an hour yeah, you're like I got to go and then we would be there for an hour.
Ty Cobb Backer:No, I enjoyed that, I really did. I look forward to our conversations. I always have enjoyed our conversations because you, you were always so insightful about stuff and I tell everybody, like Chris Markey's, one of my mentors, you know I have a lot of, and vice versa, and vice versa.
Chris Markey:to be honest.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, mentors, you know I have a lot, and vice versa and vice versa, to be honest. Yeah, I have a lot of mentors, but from a distance, you know, but like you are real, true and blue, you know, uh, not that far away local mentor that I know at any given time, no matter what time of day. Um, even if you don't answer, if it's two o'clock in the morning, you would get back to me as soon as you saw my missed call. Um, but the chances of you answering it is is is likely.
Chris Markey:You know what? Let's talk about this parallel. Okay, so we're, and I was just this just popped in my head. So I was over here when you were renovating this building. You were a mess. For how many months I had moved into my building. I was a mess. I was talking to you. Now we're both in our building and we're like okay, what's?
Chris Markey:what's the next corner?
Chris Markey:I got to clean out. You know what I mean. I feel not clean out, but I'm in that phase right now. We're in that phase at our office where, um, just like you, I'm I'm more than blessed to have those that work at our facility. Just great people, I mean. They, they put up with me. That's just say enough. You know what I mean. And they're really good, they care.
Chris Markey:But the next phase what are we looking at? What do we want to do? They're asking for it Like, hey, let's clean this up, let's be better at this. How do we get better when? How can we do more, you know? So here I'm trying to go down this road, probably like you, where you're like, hey, what you start to think, like when there's an exit strategy. What is my exit strategy? What does that look like? You start looking at stuff and then you find out like, oh man, there's a lot of other things I could probably get into that I don't need to run the day to day of this, but I could pull up a couple little things that will help us. You know what I mean. So I think in in a lot of ways, like we parallel the buildings that you know what.
Ty Cobb Backer:I mean, you're into that.
Ty Cobb Backer:We've modeled a lot of our business style off off of each other and the influences that we both have had, I think, and we bounce those ideas and things that we've tried that didn't work, or our successes with each other and it modeled I really believe you know, because the same fears that you were facing like man, do I get this building? Don't I get this building? Are we going to be able to fill this building? And today it's probably looking at yeah, you're probably looking at like man, I need more space, right, as ridiculous as that sounds. And same with us, no, sooner we moved over here, I'm like dude, we don't have enough room, there's not enough office spaces. Now, fortunately, we still have the two other warehouses over there, but you know that's through that and I like, I like what you were saying, like trying to find, like your new role, right, like it's not about necessarily the exit strategy, because there's still more of you to pour into your team. Now you're going to start working on the company, right, instead of in the day-to-day every day.
Chris Markey:So you can just listen to that. I was just listening to that.
Ty Cobb Backer:It's amazing how much that is, and it's cool to watch people grow Like I, I whether I've had projects, people have become my projects and you know I don't. I don't want to get into the weeds too far on this, but right now so like Tam and Amanda, tam recently has become my executive assistant I finally have a an executive assistant, but it's not that he wasn't.
Chris Markey:No no, he gave it up no.
Ty Cobb Backer:Vic is still definitely one of my projects to watch him grow.
Ty Cobb Backer:I mean and I didn't want to say that in front of him but you know, and it's cool because I don't I don't have to take the credit for that, which is totally fine, but I've moved on, and there's a handful of a couple other people that you know I could have gotten out of this. We had a conversation earlier. I, we, I could have sold this, I could have been out, but where I've come, what I've come to realize is that I'm not done pouring into my team. There's still so much work that doesn't need done but can be done. Right, we can still leave the dust bunnies, you know, here and there, but I choose not to ignore the dust bunnies in the corners, right, the little things, the people, um, so, like I was saying Pam, not that she wasn't, but by me just telling her you are now that that I empowered her, right, gave her that authority feeling of like shit, I'm Ty's executive, even just with the title executive assistant. Well, we, we, we're coming to realize that she needs an assistant now, right, or I need to, a personal and executive assistant, okay.
Ty Cobb Backer:So I've been throwing tasks at both of them, okay, and one of them has an issue with being decisive and second guessing themselves. I was like, yes, yes, there's something there that I, that I can work on with them. So I threw something out there to them and I hear what about this? What about? Every day they're asking me the same question that we've already resolved it We've already resolved. I've already answered this question for you. Okay, so I've identified there's indecisive and second guessing. I've identified there's indecisiveness and second guessing, right. So I said simply to them we need to work on you, second guessers, stop second guessing yourself. You're, you're amazing person. Go with it, run with it. Okay, I need to be okay with them making mistakes. Have to, I'm over it.
Ty Cobb Backer:I'm over it Like I used to be upset and get frustrated when people make a mistake I'm right, I'm right there right now, you know, and but I right, so by me, by leading by example as a father, okay, in front of my son, right? Okay, it's a great place to practice this. Okay, shit happens. How do I handle it? Do I freak out? Yeah, then they're done that. Do I still have bad days? Of course I do, few and further in between. The last time I probably had a meltdown was when we were in this building and it wasn't done. Okay, yep, I remember, and there was a lot. I think I actually had two meltdowns on you, one in the building, here in that front conference room, and one I was sitting in Bricker's parking lot, yeah, and like really lost my shit and said some really bad shit to you, and I again apologize for that I don't forget Listen when you talk about stuff like this, like this is resonating right now, todd, because those in our office may not feel that way, or 100% of the time.
Chris Markey:One of my goals is we've moved people around to get better at what we do. Yeah, um, but how?
Ty Cobb Backer:how have you? But I want to be how have you identified that for me, it's by me seeing myself and other people and their behaviors. Well, you know this. We've always tied.
Chris Markey:We've always hit right, but we've always been able to. Okay, we are doers, yeah, so we've always been able to take a situation yeah, plow through it, yeah, and usually you come out being pretty okay, always right may not be the way I thought it was.
Ty Cobb Backer:They may not like you.
Chris Markey:You might go somewhere, but listen, this is central pa. Where pennsylvania dutch nobody likes anybody, right? So it's just yeah, uh, I'm just saying that I have. There's a lot going on right now with some things that we're doing in our office to change up. We've all, we've always been an innovator, like you are. Now you're being an innovator to say I'm going to help these people, help me, right, I'm getting to that point where I the same thing, but I'm not there yet Cause I got to train myself a little bit.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, like I'm, I've learned more from teaching, right, because I got to educate myself, I got to study, I got to be aware of my actions and behaviors and thoughts and things that I say. So I've learned more by holding myself accountable.
Chris Markey:One of the big things is my wife for years would say stuff to me. You know, nah, but I ain't listening to you.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, and we you know, and one ear, not the, ain't listening to you.
Chris Markey:Yeah, and we you know, and when you're not the other right, and now, now, now I'll be riding in the car with her. I'd be like you remember when you used to say to me, and you're like, and she'll be looking at you, you know, and give you that look over and you're like, I know what you were saying. Yeah, and that's what I would like you. I'm trying to train myself to be better, Not only because in our, in our, in our, in our purpose, or in our mission, uh, in our company, one of those things is to be, um, the, the generosity you know what I mean To provide jobs, to be better people, to be better leaders that's part of our mission statement. Oh, yeah, Right. And better people to be better leaders that's part of our mission statement, Right. And if I'm upset, what does that do? It doesn't, that doesn't accomplish any of those things. It's in that purpose, now, Right. So, yeah, do I get upset? Yeah, I, you know, my other son came on board, garrison, Listen, we're all going to be a little bit more challenging. It's very challenging for me. He comes from a different world, you know. He and and, uh, but that is my challenge.
Chris Markey:Every time I come in here, Ty, we always start talking about something that we're on the same page, but you're down that road a little bit further. For me, I've had to take a step back and go. Okay, we're changing our company a little bit. What does that look like? You know I've started with the you probably know the EOS system Like I've gone back and you know I started. I went back to the beginning. Yeah, Like we already had a why we already have mission. You know, in a perk like we. Yeah, Like I went back and I'm rewriting that because that's going to define to me how I can be a better person, not only for my, my son and and and Kelsey, his girlfriend, and and Garrison, who works for me, and those that work in the business. I want to be a better person for them because I really feel like we have more that we can do. Like there's.
Chris Markey:There's so much more that we can do now that I started this little transition where you help want to start helping other people on this journey.
Ty Cobb Backer:Journey Great word yeah.
Chris Markey:So I'm, that matters to me, um, uh, whereas you know, you start thinking like, oh, I just want to get out and I can sell it. Now I'm thinking like, well, what would I do if I got out? Yeah, I'll be bored, I'll be over sitting with time picked all the time. You know what I mean. Yeah, you know I want to be on camera all the time, but I just think that that what you just said about that resonated with me, because it is true, I'm we're finding that in our, I'm finding that in me which I could have cared less about in the past, and what this does, what what this has done for me.
Ty Cobb Backer:So, with with that step, because it starts with self. Okay, If you, if you want a good quality business relationship, family, whatever, it starts with me, right. What am I doing right to? To educate myself. Am I taking care of myself? Am I dieting right? Am I educating myself?
Ty Cobb Backer:So, if I want to become, or we're moving in this direction, on this journey, to to be an eight figure CEO, seven figure CEO, a six-figure, whatever that is, what have I done to prepare myself to be right, if we're at seven figures and we want to become eight figures, have I armed myself with the right tools? Right? Have I read the right books? Have I surrounded myself around people who have already made it to eight figures? Right, because I don't know what I don't know. Right?
Ty Cobb Backer:So if I'm not reaching out and asking the right people, the right questions, even if I don't know what those questions are yet, because that's half my problem I don't even know what the right questions are to ask. I just know I need to reach out to someone who's been there, right? Or pick up a book, listen to podcasts, whatever the case might be, what do you read? Some of the first questions that I asked somebody is what are you reading? What do you have? When's the last time you asked somebody? Kevin Kelly, as soon as I saw him, guy from certainty that golf with. So what are you reading? Nowadays? He's going down a list of stuff Some I read, some I haven't read, some I haven't heard of it. I was like no shit.
Chris Markey:You know my son Garrison said to me the other day he goes. I go back and read books that I've read over and over?
Ty Cobb Backer:You totally have to. You have to study them. They're basic text for me.
Chris Markey:I never, ever. So like now, I'm going like traction. Yeah, I mean I'm going back to definitely you know what I mean Like I'm going back through the stuff that you and I, years ago, had read.
Ty Cobb Backer:Another good one you should read. It's called buy back your time by dan martell. Buy back your time, everything you're talking about, and also gino wickman's great, but also patrick lincione lincione's just yeah, that's the five things of a dysfunction. Five yeah, five dysfunctions of a great team or something yeah yeah, and there's a cut. There's a couple of our meeting structures now are based upon his his theories, yeah, and he's also got a really good podcast. He actually has two of them.
Chris Markey:Yeah, yeah that those are what I'm starting to delve into, because a lot of times, like, like, when I'm I've been in this EOS and you know the from Traction, they, they, they refer to others in there. So Gino refers to others in his, in his book and his teachings, but Lencioni is one of them they go back to and what I like about it is you can take a little of that and make your own right.
Ty Cobb Backer:Totally, I never. I always look at things differently, anyhow and it opens up this other door for me. When I read something not that I don't follow it, but I always throw my own spin on it Like it opens up another door of of thinking a little more deeper into it. Maybe that's what they meant, maybe that's not what they meant, but it's opened my eyes to something nice, awesome that we've built out. Because if you look at like, okay, so I had a meeting with Ryan Holmes yesterday, right, and we've done work either directly or indirectly for Ryan Holmes, whether I've worked for my brother-in-law, I was on their job sites and then, when I went out on my own, we started to do their work a couple of years after that. So if you look at how they have their structure, okay, I'd like to think that I was a genius and I came up with all these things on my own. I'd like to think that I was a genius and I came up with all these things on my own. I do sprinkle my and that door does open and we do put our own spin on things.
Ty Cobb Backer:But Ryan Holmes, kind of going back to what I was saying earlier, asking the right questions. How have they done it? Why are they the most profitable builder in the country? How have they become that? I don't know until I start asking questions right. And how do they negotiate so well, like all these things, from land acquisition to purchase orders, to their ranks of general managers, job site supervisors, costing managers, procurement, all these things?
Ty Cobb Backer:If you look at our organizational chart, which right now it's out of control and needs bad attention, but if you look at the chain of command, that's probably a better analogy. If you look at our chain command and how things are structured here, it's almost identical. We had a meeting with them yesterday and the amount of people that they had standing there. I had the same amount of people standing next to me with all the same roles, but just one's a home builder, another one's a roofing company. So we've modeled our business, their style. We've modeled their style of business on how they conduct business at a high level, with communication right, and that's why they have the amount of people that they have, because how the communication is relayed down and these people, what they do, their jobs, actually overlap. Does that make sense?
Ty Cobb Backer:that what they do there has to be communication there. And then the next person there's. There's overlap on what they do. There's communication there because they're with each other every day. Somehow some way they're communicating on some level. So, like ch. Chris Baker, tyler, brandon. Chris Baker visit Tyler schedules it, brandon schedules it, chuck schedules it.
Chris Markey:So it's like three circles and in the middle they kind of all have to talk to each other. That's the communication leg of it.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yes, yeah, yes. And then there's Glenn above them.
Chris Markey:It's, it's amazing when you ask questions and you say to yourself why?
Ty Cobb Backer:didn't I think of that and really listen to what they're saying and stop acting like you know everything? Yeah, unfortunately, that took me a long time. That took me to a long time to actually listen to what somebody was saying I was and then ask them to repeat themselves. Do you mind repeating yourself again? I don't think I quite caught that.
Chris Markey:You know, it was funny Cause I I used to have a used to have a manager in sales when I was in sales and his main thing was for all of his sales reps. The third question is going to get you more information than you can possibly fathom. So every time you start talking to somebody and you've been around me, I'll start asking, like you, what books you read. Oh, why are you reading that? What did that? Bring up.
Chris Markey:Right, you know what I mean. Once you get past three, then all of a sudden you're going to start garnering all this information. So you know, like when you went to Ryan's and you were very parallel, the questions became easier because you're very parallel. Yeah, right, then you start asking questions and the information is going to come out yeah, pretty quickly when the information that we're seeking.
Ty Cobb Backer:Sometimes we don't know we're seeking it, but it's very relevant to where we're at, like the like, the questions that we're asking like. So they were talking about slow, like things are going to stay flat next year because of not being able to acquire land, but what I did hear was is that they're going to actually open up eight new communities. So the Baltimore region there's many divisions within the Baltimore region there's South, there's North, there's Howard and there's West. West is one of our bigger ones. And I did hear him say that there's eight new communities popping off and I was like so okay, so let me, let me ask you this question. I hear you're saying that you're going to be flat overall for the Baltimore region, but what does that mean from from where we're standing right now, where we predominantly do work for you guys? And he was like oh well, yeah, we do have a new community, so you guys are sitting in a good place. Because I needed my, my team to hear that. I've heard them and I had a meeting a month ago with them and I knew eight were popping off.
Ty Cobb Backer:So we need to prepare ourselves again, asking the right questions months ago and we started working on 2025, three, four months ago. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So I'm calling all the home builders what are you thinking? And the census is basically stating like he who can build the most homes first wins, because there's just not enough housing. So what a good, a good position. So anyhow, I wanted him to reiterate what he said, but in a different way of like oh yeah, so Maryland the north and south are going to slow down, but Baltimore West, you guys are in a really good position. So to get their minds like okay, what do we need? But it was the third question.
Chris Markey:One of the things I've casted the things it was, a couple questions it was a couple questions right.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yes, to be able to get to what you wanted them to hear, yes, right, totally, and there was a couple other questions that that I had asked to lead to that because, of course, anytime I'm with those guys, any, any chance I get to be with a national builder who are the most wealthiest people in the world, with the biggest shareholders in in in the world right, those are the people that you need to be asking questions and don't be intimidated. Right, because, like you said, by the time you ask that third question, they have already warmed up and are willing to become a fountain of information for you. They enjoy sharing that information with you, right, and that's when you just need to turn on your, your, your, channel your yeah, your ears and listen and take in your charm everything you've yeah you know, they might say, hey, do you want to take over these other two areas?
Ty Cobb Backer:right, yeah, of course, yes, yeah absolutely, and I did let them know, like I, because they asked. They're like do we have the right contact? That's how this first example came up was is that they, you know, I guess they met with somebody else, a different, different, uh, like HVAC company or something, and they were having hiccups. So this wasn't a bad meeting for us. This was a meeting for them to tell us how great we're doing. And that's when I, that's when I massaged the conversation a little more and be like hey, listen, we, we don't have that contact. Like, you guys know who to contact here and we know who to contact on your side. And the reason why that is because we model you.
Ty Cobb Backer:For the past 20 years I've done business with you right Cause we're partners with Ryan Hems. We've modeled our business style off of what, how ryan holmes is designed. Their ecosystem is the same as our ecosystem. Right, when they have purchase orders, we create purchase orders, we receive purchase. How they negotiate with us is how I negotiate with other people. I've learned from the best of the best the most. They're not the largest builder. Their stocks are like four hundred and four thousand five hundred dollars a piece for one share. Yeah, lenar is probably 12. Yeah, they are the most profitable builder in the country, the number three, five, somewhere, three, four, fifth builder in in the country, but the most profitable. Yeah, it's somebody you want to partner with totally. Yeah, totally, totally. Want to partner with Totally? Yeah, totally, totally. Want to partner and model what they do. They've been so successful for over, I think, 50 years I think it's close to 75 years. They've been in business. They've gone through all of it and are still here to stand and have an impact and have it impacted us.
Chris Markey:So that was somebody close to you that did that. Yeah, I mean, that's easy to do because you work with them on a regular basis. Like on our side, we just have to ask a lot of questions because there's a lot of people that different people that we work with and, to be honest with you, there's not a lot of people that. There's people that do what we do but don't want to take that I don't think want to take that to that level. I found out being around this and knowing people in the industry, their competitors or friends or whatever you want to call them. They don't want to take it to that level. So it's new and some of the only lookouts are look at big corporate and I'm not a big corporate fan because I don't think you get the flatter you know what I mean where we can answer stuff quickly.
Chris Markey:We can become, you can pivot too quicker you get the ship's not so big that it takes about 20 turns of the wheel to get the thing to just move yeah, but what you said there was main thing, the main thing that you said there was is we're emulating a large company. Okay, and we can emulate, and what I'm trying to get across in our building is we're going to emulate a large company, but we're still going to be family. Yeah, right, we can do this. Yeah, there's nothing that says that you can't do it. You know what?
Ty Cobb Backer:I mean the one thing that's going to alleviate that. You know, because what we're talking about is is and when people talk about corporations, you think about stupid rules. Now, we got stupid rules you got to put in place and I heard this long- time. Hey, I'm going to stop you right there. The second you have to start putting stupid rules in place. You have stupid people that work for you.
Chris Markey:I'm going to stop you. Let me stop you right there, real quick.
Ty Cobb Backer:So the definition of rule, yeah, probably has to come from like and I'm talking about putting a sign on the refrigerator it says don't eat my food or don't leave your food in the refrigerator for a week. That's what I mean you're feeling there has to be policies yeah there has to be accountability procedures.
Ty Cobb Backer:Accountability, yes, there has to be, and that's the thing that what's made ryan holmes is their process, their processes and following the process. Right, that's easily duplicatable across all 52 states. Yeah, how did you do that? Not because they use post-it notes and smoke signals. Yeah, right, like there is a process, there are forms that need to be filled out. There is a procedure that you must follow Steps one, two and three. You know A, b, c, d. You have to follow these processes and if you surround yourself and if you're attracting those that want to perform at a high level which you know, whether it's friends or those that we work with right Now, we're creating these policies together.
Ty Cobb Backer:Right Now, we're entrusting our teams, empowering them to sit down down. I'm not coming out of my office and saying, look, new policy, right, put it on the refrigerator, right, but that's what I meant by like stupid rules. If we flush the toilet when you're done, yeah, you know, if you, if we're burning calories, thinking of those types of things, then we shouldn't probably be in the seat that we're sitting in right now. If we have that type of person that doesn't know how to flush the toilet or wash their hands when they leave bath. I'm just saying, if you've got to put, employees must wash their hands at the sink, like when you go to a restaurant and then you go in there. There's no soap, we're in trouble, okay.
Chris Markey:We're in Utah, we're in Utah, we're in trouble. Yeah, we're in utah, we're in utah, we're in trouble yeah, we're in trouble.
Chris Markey:We're in freaking trouble, but that you know the process is, um is the toughest part. Uh, yeah, been that, that's the big thing. You want to start, you want to document. I remember man, it might have been either right when you were moving in here uh, you had john and everybody over in the room and and I was like, hey, what's going on? I'm stopping to see you. Hey, what's going on? And you'd be like, well, we're more here. We're in here for four days. We're we're writing processes or procedures, we're writing our and I was listening to a guy the other day and it's really, it was really good they he was a CEO of a company that when they bought a company, he would go in and be the CEO of that company to look at it and everything.
Chris Markey:And he said the first thing we always did is we'd go in and put all their processes on the wall. He said it'd be like wrapped around the room and our goal was to get it down to one single wall, right, and make it easy. That's the type of stuff when you talk about hey, uh, I don't want to put a thing on the board, but we want to make it easy. Like you, two companies now have it down to where your processes are. That's the process I'm in right now. You know what I mean and you get grumblings. Oh my gosh.
Ty Cobb Backer:You get grumblings.
Chris Markey:Like you know, I just walked out of the office today and you know why can't we do this? And this group wants this, and that group wants that, and at some point it's like anything. You just got to make a rule, or a process and say this is what it is. Yeah, you know, we just have to live with it. And most of the time they do yeah, they get through it. They get through it, but they don't want their world changed.
Ty Cobb Backer:No, I mean, don't, don't change their get up time and go to bed, because wants to let go and they would rather much stay in a situation that's not conducive work related, health related because of the comfortability of not changing. They know what they're going to get. Yep, they know what they're going to get, even though it is better for them, they can't see it, but you got to allow them to go through it's loss, right? They're experiencing, they're experiencing loss and they need to go through that grieving process. And this is the other thing, too, that I thought of when you were talking and is like how many times have we made long-term decisions based upon short-term emotions, not just our own, but other people around us?
Ty Cobb Backer:Sometimes wrong decisions, yep, they think they're right, I know, and that's the thing that you have to grind through. It's like, if you know, know it's for the greater of the whole right, whatever it is right, we're closed on Fridays or whatever the case might be right, that may be conducive just for the company. If you still want to work here, I need to close on Fridays or whatever. I just brought that up because I know you guys sometimes are closed on Fridays, but we still.
Ty Cobb Backer:We offer flexible schedules yes, exactly, it's not like we're always closed on Friday so there's things you, things you have to put in place for the greater whole that not everyone's going to like, but what they are going to like is that ACH is still there every Friday without a hiccup, right? So there's got to be certain things that are put in place that people won't understand and a lot of times we feel like we have to explain the whole thing to them, right, the dark and the dirty reasons why it's just. Sometimes it's just like look, we have to do this. Trust me, I need you to trust me, we need to do this.
Chris Markey:So do you know one of the things that you want to say? I don't say but you trust me enough that every two weeks your paycheck is going to be in your bank account. But you don't trust me enough that if I come to you and ask you to do something, you don't trust me enough that if I come to you and ask you to do something, you don't trust you get mad at me because of some reason, but yet you trust me with your livelihood, like you trust the fact that I'm. You trust me to think that you're going to have that paycheck on that on that Thursday, yeah Right. But I come over to you and say, hey, we're going to do 20 instead of 24.
Chris Markey:And you want to blow a gasket. Like seriously, like I don't come, like I don't put my head on the pillow at night thinking of a process or procedure that's going to make your life hell. That's not my goal in life. Like I, I have to go back and find my time for myself. So myself is not doing that. I'm not going to beat you up. Like I don't go home and go, honey, you know I really pissed me off.
Chris Markey:So let me think about 18 things right now that I can make his life hell. Yeah, I mean I don't, like I don't think they they give me too much credit, like you. Like I mean you guys think I'm really smart, right? Yeah, you think I've thought about this. Like I want to walk in and go um ty, he doesn't like right corner of the cops, we're gonna have corner of the cop for lunch. No, I don't, and you know we don't think like that. I don't do this for that reason. You know, I mean, like you said you just sometimes they have to get out of their element a little bit. I come in, I do this I do that, I do this.
Ty Cobb Backer:You know what I mean, so, but that's when you know you have a good team. I mean people. There's always going to be a little bit of resistance and I usually know who it's going to come from, right, so. But then I need to know too how to approach that right. And that's part of our job is knowing our people right and how they tick and how they think have they started changing?
Chris Markey:for you have, like, I have some right now that I'm seeing working on it.
Ty Cobb Backer:I haven't said a word, but you can see them working on it, yeah, or when you're learning just as much from them as they have from you. That's when you know you have an authentic culture.
Chris Markey:Yeah, listen, you know when and it's, it's. We have gone. We're going to what's called a pod system. So you have maybe like one major sales rep. You have more inside reps. So if Ty has needs, john needs something, there's multiple more people to get ahold of if you can't get an answer, so we're going to that. Okay, years ago my dad did it in a system that when he was at his other business and the I mean customer service wise. Let's go back to my missions and values and everything we write on the wall right there. It says we want to be the best customer service company in the world. Well, we need to start somewhere. We probably haven't done that. People yell at us. We want to yell it back you know what I mean, cause they just don't understand how hard this is to get done.
Chris Markey:So we went to a pod system. Hey, if Todd's Ty's going to call and he can't get ahold of Chris, there's four other people he can call in the office. Let's make sure they have it and they know exactly what to do and they're going to do it. We can support a sales rep. The sales rep's not there putting stores in. We have our own department. We're doing pods where they're actually a team.
Chris Markey:They're going to look at that number which I got from you. Put that scoreboard up there. Let them see that stuff. You know what I mean. Every day they walk in, look at that scoreboard. You know what I mean. That's what matters, right there, Right? So we're starting to do that internally for our customers, but it's also going to benefit us sales.
Chris Markey:Wise, Right, this is now they're sticking to like, yeah, we can't do that price, that's a pretty good price. They'll sell to somebody. Hey, you might. If you can get it better, that's great. Go do that. You know what I mean. They're starting to have trust in what we do and I just I want to. I need them to understand it's going to work, but it's been better, Ty.
Chris Markey:A lot of them don't know and it's still hesitant. But numbers and other things, the numbers have been good and they see that. Then, all of a sudden, once they, you know, they step up and ladder all the ladder's not going to break, yeah, you know. Next thing, you know, they go walking way up the ladder. You know so and that's what's happened in our office, which which I'm totally blessed to have that, Because I've been through some people, probably like you, and they were more worried about getting off work and meeting their boyfriend at the bar. Or you go up to them and say, hey, how's your son? He was with his dad this week. You know what I mean. I want people that are part of the family and they know that stuff. And then they they have, they want to be driven.
Ty Cobb Backer:It's a lot to ask. Yeah, you know, uh, from people and you know I'm I'm kind of going through this thing too, like where I'm. I'm kind of in this season of my life where it's like our season of entrepreneurship, where it's like I'm kind of done with those people that have like one foot in and one foot out.
Chris Markey:Even customers? How about that? Yeah, you know, even customers, even the ones that beat you up and I didn't mean to cut you off time, but that that that that whole thing is like um, uh, it's the same concept with customers. When you talk to a customer and you say what makes you think I sat at home thinking like how we could screw this or the vendor couldn't get it to them, do you think we didn't do like? You think like we just aren't capable? Yeah, I've been doing it for 18 years.
Speaker 3:We're pretty capable, you know what I mean, and at some point you got to cut the ties.
Chris Markey:You know, somebody wanted to talk to me because of one of our reps. I said have you talked to the rep? Nope, I don't have time for you. Go talk to the rep. And if you guys can't, you're adults, he's an adult. You know what I mean. Then come back to me, then we could talk about it. We'll talk together as a group. I don't want him in the room. Well, maybe we're maybe got that from you. Sometimes you have to stand behind somebody because you know yeah.
Ty Cobb Backer:Even if they're wrong. That's when you take them behind closed doors to say, hey, that was wrong. Or I stood up for you and let me tell you why I was wrong.
Chris Markey:And this won't happen again, right, yeah, right, no doubt I stood up for you, but there was a lot of things that that person has done for me, yeah, right, yeah, a lot of things that that person has done for me to get me to this point, and I think I owe you one. Hey, this is this is I owe you one, right?
Ty Cobb Backer:Right. And that's going back to. You have to be calloused enough to allow your team to make mistakes, just like they should be. When this pod, let's say this pod system doesn't work, right, okay, it may or may may not. Sometimes we make decisions and we run with it for a few months and it doesn't work. And we got it, we got to, we got to pivot again. Right, but they have to. They have to learn to adapt like think life. Life is like playing golf. You know, every shot is just damn near an accident especially when I'm golfing.
Ty Cobb Backer:I'm just saying but yet you keep driving, you keep chipping away at it, one putter at a time, yeah, and you just keep going for the hole.
Chris Markey:Yeah right, I just 18 times, 18 times later, I just bladed one out in the woods.
Ty Cobb Backer:Sometimes you can't find it and sometimes you got to throw another ball down and take a stroke, right. Sometimes the guy that you're golfing with will allow you to take a mulligan, sometimes you get a do-over, right, and your team has to know. But I think that's where the trust bank comes from, right. Like you've made enough deposits into this trust bank, right, and if they don't trust you by now, even if they've been there only six months, then they probably have issues with themselves or something else, right, which you may or may not be able to help them with. But that's for us to try to figure them out. Like, maybe they have trust issues, but over time you've made so many deposits where you can just take a withdrawal, not deplete it. But I'm saying that, like, okay, the pod system, we all tried it. Thank you guys so much, but I think we're going to go back to a semi-pod, slash, semi, the old way. We're still going to keep the scoreboard up here they're going to give you a mulligan.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, they'll give you a mulligan Right, they're going to give you a mulligan. Yep, they're going to give you a mulligan.
Chris Markey:But what's crazy about them right now? Like I'm golfing and I'm terrible, yeah, and they're standing at the court going hey, you can do this, keep your knees bent, keep your head down. Like they're bought in, like they believe this. You know, you have these people that can sell, these people that dot eyes one of the biggest things in any business, dotting eyes crossing. T's making sure the right form gets out, making sure the right communication gets done. Well, you have good people that way and that's how I started seeing this right. So you have these people that can do these things. But let's use it that way. Right, let's use it that way, and I think for us it's going to take off. But yet, I fully agree with what you just said, when you said that they are starting to do like they're bought in, like the trust factor they trust me, all right, the trust factor, they trust me, all right, we're gonna go do this, yeah, right, and I can pull it back. Hey, guys, I messed up. Yeah, you know, all right.
Ty Cobb Backer:hey, this is not gonna work and you might have someone grumble under their breath and say, well, I told you so, but that's, that's okay. You know what I mean?
Chris Markey:that we can't not change and pivot, because I'm afraid they're gonna say I told you so we had some people leave us ty because they were concerned that they were going to have to do more.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, and I'm thinking well, dude, and that's the thing you're trying to level up, and when, during that course of leveling up, they either level up with you or you push them out, yeah, and that's okay that they go. You know that people and the society's changed a little bit. Maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago you could honestly say people don't quit jobs, they quit people. Okay, things are a little bit different today. You know what I'm saying. I'm not saying people still don't quit people. Okay, it'll happen, but I think the work ethic in the integrity has changed a little bit. I think. I think if you, if you can find enough people and we've been very fortunate to find enough old school people, right, that has rubbed off enough on the younger generation of people, or they just had a better upbringing, or whatever the case might be. We've been very fortunate that. I'm not saying a shithead still doesn't slip through the cracks every now and then, but they're not here long, not like it used to be, right.
Chris Markey:Okay, but you believe in those that came in that are being, for lack of a better term, trained by the old heads that work a certain way and if they're good people.
Ty Cobb Backer:The chances of them leaving is for a better opportunity.
Chris Markey:Yeah.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, or more money. Not because they're quitting.
Chris Markey:We can say it's a better opportunity, but it could be more money whatever, but I don't think it's always about the money.
Chris Markey:I don't know, I think, and also too, sometimes, todd, you have to be able to tell those people just had this conversation. I had to be able to sit down with somebody and be like you've been here a year and a half. This is where you moved to. When you came here, you said you wanted this and now you're making twice that, and yet you want to question me on certain things. I think I've done my fair share. I haven't asked you to give back in full yet. I haven't asked for my cup out of the cooler yet, yeah Right, but I've given to you, you know. So I think that's the fact that they trust you. You know what I mean. Then it was like no word, like you know what he was right, how you present it, how you're there.
Chris Markey:And there's some people I don't I wouldn't care to present it to them Like I don't have time for you. Yeah, there's others. You bring them in, sit them down, yes, and tell them that.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, for sure, they never did that.
Chris Markey:Yeah, well, a hundred times. I mean, we've had conversation. I know how hard it is on you, right, and it is hard, but I think when you have that hard conversation, they become supporters of you inside that office or inside that family, absolutely Right, you know, yeah, one of the things I found out about my top sales rep is and I just found this out, he's been with me five years is how important loyalty is to him, and what I mean by it is everybody wants loyalty. Be loyal to me. I'm a sales rep. I want you to be loyal to me as a customer. He wants them to be loyal to him.
Chris Markey:If he messes up, you know, just, he's going to be there. He's going to be there for us. You know, if you never do anything uh bad against me, I'm going to be loyal to you. Uh, but he, um, it really really, really affects, affects him more than I thought, and when I had a conversation about it, I was like, you know, I never really knew this and he would bring up stuff in the past and when we went to this pod system, it has become part of his. If you're going to be on my team, this is one of the things that you're going to. You're going to have loyalty, like we're here, we're all together. You know what I mean? And he stayed so, which is like they're creating their own entity. Yeah, inside an entity. Yeah, and this is one of their guidance guides that they want to have.
Ty Cobb Backer:Hey, we're loyal, yeah, we can fight, but tomorrow we're coming back you know, and that's what you just empowered him like he empowered me ty, yeah, I mean he, I, you know I think it was.
Chris Markey:I felt bad because I didn't really know. I mean I knew because he stayed, but I I didn't really know how important it was to him. You know what I mean. And he'll talk to me about customers. You know she wants to complain about and complain that I missed an email. But the day I drove those 17 shirts to her on a Saturday morning, you know what I mean I was the best guy in the world. But now she wants to complain because I missed an email. You know that loyalty means a ton to him, which is great for me. It's him as a leader in a sales rep. He's going to go out and get it. He's always. You know he's the guy. He is the guy. It led it right to us. He is the guy and that team is going to them like finding out, like having conversation. You know people leaving like we were getting into this pod system and we had people leave, somebody's leaving because they didn't want to have to do the work.
Ty Cobb Backer:That was essentially they didn't want to be a leader.
Chris Markey:That's what it comes down to they didn't want to be a leader. And next thing, you know things step up, you know, and I for me, I got a chance to, you know, uh, my son Garrison. It gave me a chance to get a lot closer and bring him a lot closer into the business and he brought a lot to us from where he was yeah, cause you know where he came from. So he came from a family. This was like was like they a lot of the reading and they you know the eos, and like oh, yeah, you know, uh kpis, and like they measure everything so yeah, and now that's a whole nother subject there too.
Ty Cobb Backer:But you know, some people have to go through what they go through to realize either the grass isn't greener or get educated. It can bring back and and not necessarily take off the table, but actually bring in and put something on the table and that that's kind of that, I think. You think you both have grown through that.
Chris Markey:You know, when you talk about stories, I felt at that golf outing yesterday or the one in baltimore. I guess it's this week or whatever you should do with that, with people that are part of that community, that you go support. Yeah, that would be a pretty cool show. Sit down with people and be like where did this industry help me, how did it help me and how am I here now? And because the support that you do for the people in your industry is huge, so it's pretty, pretty cool to see. Yeah, thank you.
Ty Cobb Backer:And I.
Chris Markey:I want to emulate that in mind. Like you know, the screen printing t-shirts most of the time was Johnny in the garage or whatever. Yeah, you know, I don't want it to be like that. I want to. You know, I want it to be more on this level. Yeah, like we go support each other and, of course, you know, try to be better.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, yeah, better. Yeah, yeah, no, and you've done an excellent job over there, like you've taken the your industry like what would you? Call your industry, I don't even uh embellishment, custom embroidery, screen printing you make us look good. Well, you know what I mean like you're because I don't want to call you a t-shirt company, because you, you are a brand ambassador.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, for companies, great, great term brand ambassador like you, have helped mold who we are today with our yard signs, the ideas, uh, our t-shirts, our hats, our towels, everything our apparel. You're an apparel company and a brand ambassador you know I might start using that time.
Chris Markey:Do I have to pay you any royalties you?
Ty Cobb Backer:might. You're shaking your head. I'll give that to you for free, for now. For now.
Chris Markey:Yeah, and then the royalty, the bills will start.
Ty Cobb Backer:It'll kick in in about 90 days. Yeah, okay, yeah.
Chris Markey:You want to see how it goes before you send a percentage over.
Ty Cobb Backer:Brand ambassador. I mean you really, truly have, and that's why I always try to plug you. You know not? I mean we have listeners all over the country, not that you wouldn't provide. We do yeah.
Ty Cobb Backer:Right, you've shipped us shit to Orlando, all right, but that's what I'm saying. Like you know what it's about. For customer service, it doesn't matter what industry you're in, right, okay, I know for a fact that you do and you actually give a shit. You give a shit about your customers, you give a shit about your people. And it's like you you were more like I was in the beginning. It was like let's get to work, let's figure out how to get to work, and then let's worry about getting paid later. Yeah, right, and, and when. You can kind of go into it if you're going into it about it with it. The other way, how, when, how much are we going to get paid? How, when? Because what?
Ty Cobb Backer:When I do an interview, sometimes we, we, we have to interview subcontractors and if the first thing out of their mouth is how much, how much, how much, they're not going to be a good fit. Yeah, not that I don't take care of them, okay, but that shouldn't be right, correct, that shouldn't be the first question out of somebody's mouth. Okay, you, you're like I am your cut from the same cloth. You care about everybody in yourself. Last, it's not always a good thing, but it's definitely not a bad thing? Yeah, okay, we're. We take care of those that are around us, our customers, our family, those that work with us. We don't have employees. They're our teammates, they're the people that we've entrusted. They're our trusted servants to serve our clients. And everybody in this building is a trusted servant, not to me, but to our local community, our clients, our customers, our industry as a whole, manufacturing across the board, and they know that that's been instilled in them since day one. Watch any of these videos, any of the community outreach, things that we've done Right, and it's genuine, it's not some fake bullshit. This is, this is how we we live, eat, breathe.
Ty Cobb Backer:I am so worn out with the. I'm tired, not from work, work, but from putting into the. Taking the team down to Orlando, right, letting them experience some of the things what to do is, what not to do, right, they saw that. The the golf outing Right. And putting all that together. Whether I physically work these events or not, right, right, the mental turmoil, stress, pressure, whatever you want to call it right. That goes into the thinking, the thought, the vision, and then being humble enough to cast it to everyone else and let them take the credit for it. Yeah, right.
Ty Cobb Backer:And then, not to get worn out from inspiring everybody, do you know what I'm saying? Like that's the hard part. Like here it is, I'm going to take it back. I'm like, do you know what I'm saying? Like that's the hard part. Like here it is, I'm gonna take it back. I'm like, do you know how many times I want to do that or say that, or and that, how tiring I have made myself by, by this, mentally masturbating. Should I, shouldn't I? What's right, what's wrong? Because when you get to a certain spot, it's kind of like who do you talk to about that? Because I don't necessarily like how they would conduct their business, because they have a lot of people that leave them. But on social media it's something totally different. But when you go and pop the hood in their business, kind of like what the fuck think everyone's left right do you know what I'm saying?
Ty Cobb Backer:But to actually live this is tiring. It's, yeah, and I and somewhere along the way, a few months ago, I lost myself of like why am I doing this? What is my job anymore? Right, you know, between everyone's doing what I used to do, right, and then getting not necessarily complacent, but almost like insecure, to a point where it's like, what weight do I hold? What is my role? Right, like don't you know who I am? Right, you know? Kind of thing. Like I've teed this up. Like don't forget, you know.
Ty Cobb Backer:But but to keep your mouth shut and have a sounding board that you can actually someone to write this shit down before you go outside your office and start talking this crazy stuff, right, you know what I mean. Like that restraint in itself, that's what made me a stronger person, not by me going out there screaming, right, but the restraint that I've had over the years of the mental abuse, not anything that anyone's ever done to me, but more so the ass kicking I get myself. That. Did I handle it right? Didn't I handle it? Should I step up? Shouldn't I step up, you know? But I do know this, not to beat myself up, because what I've learned over the years and most recently I've heard this saying is that it takes a stern hand to grab a hold of the wheel during rough tides. Yep Right. So sometimes I got to grab a hold of the stern with a stern hand and be like no, this is the direction we got to go. What did your parents?
Chris Markey:used to say when you first started driving.
Ty Cobb Backer:Unfortunately they didn't get to. I didn't experience that with my parents.
Chris Markey:Oh, I'm sorry.
Ty Cobb Backer:I was already out on my own when I first got my license. Oh really, yeah. So bad analogy, bad example. I'm sorry, I apologize.
Chris Markey:My parents would ride with me and they would put two hands on the wheel, yeah, you know what I mean. Put two hands on the wheel, yeah.
Ty Cobb Backer:The girl I was dating at the time actually took me for my license. Damn, she liked you. I don't think she did Not at the time. Did you follow her around, chase her around? No, it was weird. Yeah, that was a long, long time ago, but anyhow, yeah. But Rocket, speaking of 16 and driving Rocket's turning 16 on Friday, my daughter does in January.
Chris Markey:Yep, here we are again parallel today's mackenzie's birthday.
Ty Cobb Backer:So happy birthday, mackenzie.
Ty Cobb Backer:If you guys are watching this and I told rocket I gotta run to greenville tomorrow morning. But I told rocket I'd be back in time for sunday to take him out and and play nine holes for birthday. Oh so, good for you back. I'm gonna leave down there saturday afternoon. Get my ass back here saturday evening. We got a re-grand opening and and a ribbon cutting at our greenville location down there, so I will. I'm gonna miss his day. The day is his sweet 16, but, uh, we're gonna go out to dinner tonight. We're gonna do something on sunday. Um, both kids, uh, their birthdays this week. So happy birthday, guys. Love. This is why you're my. Why, yeah, um, aren't they always the why? Always, always? Yeah, you know what I mean. So so, vic, what time? Where are we at here?
Chris Markey:59 minutes and 40 seconds Cool, so listen, ty, I got to thank you. Thank you for having me. I love coming in and talking. I did bro, love doesn't. Uh, I do what you've done for me and my family as a friendship, so it's always cutting. And, Vic, I don't care what Ty says about you, your hair looks good today.
Ty Cobb Backer:It does look good.
Chris Markey:As always, ty, it's always fun coming in and talking and, uh, I appreciate the fact that you allow me to come on here.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, man. No, thank you for wanting to come on the very first time. Hey, 21 Turkey Salute coming up. 21 Turkey Salute. I think that's on the 26th. I think Thanksgiving's on the 27th. This year it's on the 27th. All right, so November 27th, on the corner of West Market and Penn Street, I think it's 34. I always mess this up. 34 South Penn Street, I think it's 34. I always mess this up. 34 South Penn Street. We will be shutting down the block of Penn Street, the very first block there by Penn Market, not exactly sure. I think we'll start serving food, probably right around noon-ish. The city's allowing us to close down from like 8 am to 5 pm.
Chris Markey:They've been so good to you about that too. They have hey man. You can't ask for better people to help you out. A lot of people get fed. It's just good stuff every time.
Ty Cobb Backer:Well, we're bumping stuff up. Last year we bought 70 turkeys and 18 were donated. So we did about 88 turkeys, which served just shy of 900 people. This year we just purchased 80 turkeys in hopes that, you know, a dozen or two more turkeys will be donated. So we're shooting for about a thousand. I told Janet to order, you know, a thousand pies. Last year she ordered 700 pies.
Chris Markey:So we're getting pies oil donated. We'll put to the T down there for 20 turkeys I'll pay you. Oh, really, yes, sir, okay.
Ty Cobb Backer:You don't have to do that, but thank you so much.
Chris Markey:Okay, asking you, if I have to do it, we're going to do it.
Ty Cobb Backer:So that's amazing. I have to ask him permission. I mean, she no, you don't. But thank you.
Chris Markey:Yeah, well, you know, listen we. You know, I, I feel like stuff like this sometimes instead of but you allow me to buy it, I think it's pretty cool, like, hey, man, just tell me the 20 turkeys or whatever, 200 bucks, okay, you know, I can tell you this right now it's uh like with the diapers I just sent them to you.
Chris Markey:That was what's that 274 pound what, whatever yeah you know. Just let me know what the bill is. I'll get tammy to. Okay, get them all paid up for if you want me to go pick them up, I can go pick them up and they're fresh.
Ty Cobb Backer:How, however, whatever you want to do, that's good.
Chris Markey:Yeah, so, yeah, and um, just so you know, uh, saint matthew lutheran church does a christmas dinner, christmas day, same type of thing that you do, except it's inside. Okay, I think every year it's 14 to 1500. Where's that? At uh, market street, down, um, right on the corner of market and richland. Okay, not that the stone church right, the bigger church right beside it, I don't know the exact, but they do one there too.
Ty Cobb Backer:So those people that come up to yours that are, yeah, if they're watching, yeah, um, down at christmas they go down and do that uh no dinner I don't know if John said anything to you, but we're going to need yard signs sooner than later for that I walked in and saw them over there.
Chris Markey:We'll get that taken care of. I'm just going to put your face on it, dartboard.
Ty Cobb Backer:Is that what it is? Dartboard, dartboard, like a bullseye. Sure, why not? Thanks again, ty. Yes, thanks again, yes. Thank you. It's always a pleasure to have you on the show and everybody thank you for for tuning in, supporting us, for for our causes and everything that we do um roofers and recovery. Uh, monday, our golf outing we raised I think the final tally was like 20 500 bucks.
Chris Markey:Wow, yep in one day yeah, that's a, that's a good, that's a good golf tournament.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, it was good. Yeah, it was good and that was net. Wow. So that was after all expensive golf carts, green fees, everything, beverages, all that stuff. So there was-.
Chris Markey:All that golf stuff that you did to put in the bag. They were pretty sweet. Yeah Turned out really good. That was awesome.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, that was good. Stuff was good stuff. I think that's the quality stuff I'm talking about. They'll provide us that stuff that people will actually hang on their bag and keep it on their bag. Yeah, right to remember that regents clan swing for recovery roofers and recovery stuff, um. So thank you for making us look good, because I know we looked, we, we cleaned up well because of you, with the hoodies and stuff that you printed for us and stuff like that. So, anyhow, I I want to.
Chris Markey:I want to ask you one question what's that, Mulligans? How many did you?
Ty Cobb Backer:use. We use none. Now we did provide Mulligans. No, but I'm saying how many did you use? None, no, we were probably the most honest foursome and then we did come in last place. So second to last we did humbly Awesome. Yeah was fun. That's like you said. That's what it was. You know, it wasn't about us getting out there and with everything going on, you know, in our group and stuff like that, it golf was only half of it. Yeah, man right, everything it's the camaraderie it really is yeah, it really is exactly so.
Ty Cobb Backer:It was a lot of fun and, uh, we're looking forward to it. I know everybody else is looking forward to it because they couldn't believe that was our first annual Like how did you pull this? Like I don't know. Dozens of people are like when are you doing this again next year? Our neighbors my neighbor I didn't know she golfed. I didn't even know my neighbor, but she participated. She's like oh, I didn't know you lived. I knew somebody from TC back or live there. I'm your neighbor, I live right around the corner. I was like awesome. She's like we'll be here, my whole family will be here next year. So that was cool, man. So we made some good connections and that was the cool. Like we teed up, pun intended.
Ty Cobb Backer:Uh, a quality event at a quality golf course with quality people for to, to be able to partner with. And what's crazy and this is God's honest truth every single individual that attended, whether they know it or not, their lives have touched each other in one way, shape or form, either personally or professionally. Right that, wherever, how far down you go down the line, whether it was through an insurance company, a real estate investor, just everybody there somehow, mostly professionally had some influence on everybody there. And how cool is that? Yep, like everybody. So that was a good opportunity for for those to either, you know, forge a new relationship or galvanize old ones, right? So that's what we plan on doing again. Another good quality people course food, beverage, swag, the whole nine yards. That way, maybe someday it'll become the charitable event of the year that the who's, who Maybe you'll have to have a couple golf courses.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, right, and it's a shame that Briarwood still doesn't have East and West, because I thought that Well, they have five holes in the back. How ideal would that be.
Chris Markey:That's 23 holes because we sold it out, and then some yeah, 23 holes so you could get two foursomes on each hole. So you have 10 more foursomes. So you could do there but even having like two different golf courses. Like you know, honey runs not far from brockwood and then everybody come back to a certain spot. Right, you listen back? In the day you used to have the budweiser open and you went to it and there was an like you would go play golf during the day and then you would go to an event in the evening. Yeah, like dressed up, put a tie on yeah, that's what I have in mind yeah, it was an event you know.
Ty Cobb Backer:You went there and you danced with your wife and yeah you know, had a good time, yeah, food and it cost a little bit more than just right, and that's kind of what I was thinking too. Like the golf event would be something, but like the dinner, like those those dinners that are hosted I don't know who doesn't but it's like people are paying like 100 G's for a table, and I'm not saying we would charge. I wouldn't be there, Todd. But I'm just saying I might work.
Chris Markey:You know something like a thousand bucks for a table or whatever, and knowing that you know you're going to get the the best quality of food yeah, we go to the penmar event and if you ever have a chance to go to the penmar event, they do a big fundraiser down in baltimore. Um, they work with this disability kids and stuff and uh, they run an event. I think it's like it's like ten thousand dollars for the table, okay, but when you go down, the food's rocking, they have a auction, like it's it's top notch and it's. I love that. People pull it out. You know what I mean. People start and there's all kinds of people there. You're rubbing elbows with multi-millionaires and people that just are there because, yeah, it helped their son right.
Ty Cobb Backer:So no, and it was very receptive. You know we started working on this probably at this point in time eight, no, no, more than 10, 10 weeks ago. So what does that say? One about our community right To pull together that quick. And and the other thing is that that occurred, that hit me like we must be doing something right If people were like, yeah, we're going to support this for them. You know what I mean. So in that short amount of time, with the quality of people like dude, I thought at first, like we're going to, like we're going to shut down. Half of the foursomes will be people that work for TC Backer. That wasn't the case. We did have people volunteers on the side that work here. None of them got to play because we actually sold the golf course out to the point where they had to actually lease from another course for more golf carts to accommodate what happened.
Chris Markey:That's a. That's an. That's, that's a testament to you, dude.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah. Seriously, I mean that's what hit me like and again, I'm not tooting my own horn, but it's like well, you must be doing something, you can be real right.
Chris Markey:Some of it hey, we do business with him. Why wouldn't we do this for him, right? Some of it is he's a friend of mine. I'm just going to go support. Some of it is this has affected somebody in my life, so I'm going to come support Right, so and it all goes around.
Ty Cobb Backer:I mean, your circle is big. Yeah, bigger than I thought it was, I guess.
Chris Markey:Well, I think, for all of us, it is we just don't know that. Keep your circle small, but yet you're affected by the larger circle Absolutely, and those people there don't know how much that meant to you. I don't know if they probably yeah.
Ty Cobb Backer:I don't think they knew the gravity of because I started to have a speech, but we had already been on the course for five hours, right, and I've been there since 6.30 in the morning, right? So at this point in time it's 4.30 in the afternoon and already played. So Rocket and I played 18 holes on Saturday, nine on Sunday, and just played another 18 holes, dude, I was whipped, tired.
Chris Markey:Yeah, whipped, that's because you're old.
Ty Cobb Backer:I am.
Chris Markey:Did I say that?
Ty Cobb Backer:But it was, it was good and I had this. Not I never speeches down, but but I kind of rehearsed something. I wanted to show my appreciation, gratitude and where I'm at because of this whole thing, right, and I just I didn't get into it. Maybe maybe some other time, maybe next year. I'll do it first thing in the morning and like get them jacked up like you know, let them know like the impact they're having, and what I'll probably do too is show them like where your money went and have that individual at the golf course next year like, hey, he's been 12 months sober because of you. Right, because the money we generated. Right because you, because it costs about 15, 15 grand to send somebody, so we got a little extra there for somebody else to throw into some. You know their, their pot Cause they're, they're a 501c nonprofit roofers and recovery. They got to rehab themselves.
Ty Cobb Backer:Now, um, in Denver, colorado, where somebody from our industry if you know somebody that's a roofer or or somehow touches the roofing industry, like Chris Markey or whatever, right Cause you have such you're, you're involved with our industry. If you know anybody that's struggling, there's rehab. We got rehab. We got some. We already got you paid. We got you covered, yeah, so. That's awesome, I'm proud of you dude.
Ty Cobb Backer:Yeah, yeah, thank you. Thank you. Couldn't do it without you. I'm more proud. You didn't, we didn't, I'm just messing, yeah, we really didn't. Thank you, ty. Thank you guys Then, like, love, subscribe, share. Put in the comments if there's anything that you guys want us to discuss Next week. Till then, take care of each other, stay good, be great.
Speaker 3:Join us next week for another episode of Behind the Tool Belt. Thanks to our sponsors, TC Backer Construction, Lead Scout hook roofing, marketing and roofal, and thank you for watching, Like, follow and hit the subscribe button on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, as well as Spotify and Apple podcasts.
