[00:00:00] Kaleb: I was initially terrified of people asking me, how long you been in business?
[00:00:04] Joe: Oh yeah.
[00:00:04] Kaleb: Or like ask for a reference.
[00:00:06] So this job also came outta nowhere. I just got a random phone call from, somebody, it was like, kind the perfect situation. It's four courts. I was like, no way. So like, the next day I went and did a site visit, and, one of the first things they asked me was, how long have you been doing this?
[00:00:19] they actually even said, are you a certified sport master installer? So I just said, Hey guys, look, Awesome guys. Welcome to our latest video. I'm here with my good friend Caleb Ds from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
[00:01:34] What's up Joe?
[00:01:36] Joe: I'm gonna give a quick intro on Caleb and then I'm going to let him finish out his own intro 'cause you are you so, yeah. Caleb. Caleb is, my oldest court. Partner friend.
[00:01:48] we've both been at this for a few years now and, yeah, we've been connected through a couple different channels, but you and I have kind of been parallel on the court journey. tell us a little bit to maybe kick us off what, tell us a little bit about your family this season of life and Yeah.
[00:02:03] I'm gonna start drilling into your story and how the heck you ended up doing courts. But yeah, give us a little intro on Caleb.
[00:02:10] Kaleb: Yeah, man. Well, all right. Let's see. I have, how many kids do I have now? three. We're up to three now.
[00:02:16] Joe: That's not very high to count, but I know you're working on it.
[00:02:20] Kaleb: We had one of our kids, year one of our business, that was a smart idea.
[00:02:24] Joe: Same.
[00:02:25] so we got, a 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and a 1-year-old. So, pretty busy. Yeah. So you got three, you got three kids. You're in, you're in Myrtle Beach. how did you get connected with even thinking about courts? maybe tell us a little bit about what you were doing before you jumped into this world and what was that transition like?
[00:02:45] Kaleb: Yeah. Well, growing up my dad, ran a pest control company. the town I grew up in, he started it, ran it for 40 years, and, eventually sold it and retired When I went to school at the coast of Carolina, I picked business management 'cause it was the most generic sounding major for somebody who didn't know what they wanted to do.
[00:03:04] so I got a business management degree. So it's funny, I'm actually using the degree now. Not many people can say.
[00:03:10] Joe: Yeah, a roundabout way to get there, but you are using it.
[00:03:12] Kaleb: Yeah. went through a lot of like crazy personal stuff in college. there was a church that, started on the college campus and I got connected there and really turned my whole life around. it led to an internship and then like a year after I graduated, I actually came on staff at the church and I worked there for 10 years.
[00:03:29] I really enjoyed working at the church. I've always enjoyed every job I've ever had. I just enjoy learning new things and figuring out and doing it well.
[00:03:36] Joe: Yeah.
[00:03:36] Kaleb: So I just, I'm pretty content generally. it was a good job, great environment.
[00:03:40] I love what I did, but, really started thinking, more long term about, I think it was when I turned 30. and then when we started having kids, I was thinking more about, long term. So the question that was posed to me that really changed the way I thought about career and long-term stuff was, you know, it was an exercise to write down the names of.
[00:03:59] Myself, my wife, my kids 10 years from now and, and our ages 10 years from now. And just made me think, okay, you know, 10 years from now at the time, it's like, okay, I'm gonna be 40. our oldest is gonna be, 12. And, you know, I'm like thinking through like what life is gonna be like in 10 years and you can keep going farther 20, 30 years.
[00:04:17] And I just was like, if my life looked the way it does today, would I be happy, would I be proud? Would I feel like I'm stewarding? Best, my wife in a way, the honors of the Lord. and I really didn't feel like it did, not because there's anything wrong with what I was doing, but just because I felt like I was not pushing myself to, do more for my family and thinking long term.
[00:04:36] So I wanted to build assets for my family. I wanted to build. a business that if my children wanted to help with or take over one day, that they could do that. And, so I just made a bold step to step off staff at the church I was working at. I had no idea like what career path I wanted to take.
[00:04:52] I knew I wanted to start a business. That was it. So I had no idea of any industry. I just kinda enjoy everything, so I didn't like grow up in construction or I grew up around business, but, had no idea what I wanted to do. how did I get connected to this, Joe? I think me and you got connected.
[00:05:08] I met you and then I knew what you were doing and,
[00:05:11] Joe: we were kind of in a similar family business accelerator community, and I'm really just like a year ahead of you, so I think I was a guest on a podcast or a video training and then I think that kind of piqued your interest.
[00:05:26] Kaleb: Yeah. I remember there was a long period where, my wife and I were just like, trying to think of any random business idea, you know? And. You had, we, we were very interested in what you were doing. mainly because I knew you and like I had a resource, like somebody I could like talk to you about it.
[00:05:42] And one day we were just sitting, I'll never forget, we're sitting in our living room and Taylor was just like, Caleb, you just need to go fly to Cincinnati. Go work with Joe for a week, see if you like it. And then if you do, great. If you don't, that's fine too. Just go. So I was like, okay. Like, so I.
[00:05:58] Joe: Okay. Well I gotta, I gotta pause you there, 'cause that that is so, that's been so key for me and so key for anybody that's like, the first thing I heard you say is like you just changed your mindset to, okay, I'm 30. Like when you're in your twenties and certainly younger, you're like, I've got all the time in the world, so I'm living for the here and now.
[00:06:18] And then like you said, there's something that shifts when you have kids. When you get married, you have kids, and so then you start to think about, okay, what trajectory. Am I on? Not, you know, what, what degree? Not a four year trajectory, like what degree am I gonna get or something. But like, yeah, what do my, what does my family look like?
[00:06:35] What does our life look like? yeah, what do our finances look like? What kind of, what am I, how have I grown in all of these different ways, intellectually, financially, spiritually, whatever. And so that's, but then the, the real key as you made the shift with the business thinking, thinking more business building is what you just said.
[00:06:53] Your wife Taylor, like go, like, go for it. And so as a man, I know I need that. I need, I need a wife, I need a partner that says you can do it. And I, if you fail, like I told you to go for it. And so like, as a man, that's like, that's a big deal. So Yeah.
[00:07:11] Kaleb: Yeah. I think one of the things that was paralyzing me in that process was I wanted to find a business idea that was the perfect business idea that I knew was gonna succeed. And, I wanted to just have this light bulb moment where it's like, bam, that's it. That's what we're doing.
[00:07:25] Let's, the mentality was, you know what, let's just go try to start something. And we're gonna learn so much about industry and business that per, you know, maybe we, we do it and we try it, and then we just pivot to something different. that end up being the case. We, how the story goes, you and I do. But, yeah, I went to Cincinnati, spent, I don't know, four or five days with you, and realize, okay, this isn't super intimidating.
[00:07:49] Joe: You kind of came twice. You came, you came, you came like two or three days just to, I remember. It was like, I don't know. I'm just gonna kinda watch and I'll help a little bit, but I don't, yeah. I don't know if this is it.
[00:08:00] Kaleb: Yeah, the first visit was like, let me just see what this is. The second visit was like, all right, let's do this. I need some more training. and that was key. I mean, by the time I came back that second time, which is only like a couple weeks apart,
[00:08:12] Joe: yeah.
[00:08:12] Kaleb: I had decided let's do this.
[00:08:14] and after the second visit, I got to touch pretty much every part of court surfacing with you. Tons of time in the car with you also just to talk through. So that was like the perfect scenario for me. And that's what's so hard to find, like it's hard to find people like that, that you can spend time with and have some in the car to ask questions.
[00:08:31] It's hard to do that. I mean, you gotta find the right people to be able to make that jump. So that was huge. and then from there we
[00:08:37] Joe: is Truck time's a big deal. Yeah. Just asking all the questions, all the reservations. Okay, we're sitting next to each other. Joe, how is this going? Really, like thanks for showing me how to do that back there. But yeah, how is this going really for, for your family and yeah. That was fun.
[00:08:53] Kaleb: I've got a whole, like, I still got the, the Apple notes. I've got like a, a, I mean, it says Super long notes app from our, all of our conversations during those couple weeks. And, that was like my Bible when I first started the business. I like would reread over it. It was just like the only resource I had.
[00:09:10] Joe: Okay, so you get, so you go, you do that training, you've got the mindset, you've got the support from your wife. You come twice to hang out with me and my crew, and then you say, all right, we're doing this. I am calling myself a court surfacer. Like, so a big part of what I want to drill into with you as you, as your story unfolds is, okay, what did having this, 'cause this is a big deal for a lot of guys, whether you're doing a court business, or any business or anything that kind of falls into that category of what you just said.
[00:09:43] Um, which is like, I don't know if this is the thing, but what I do know is I have to do something and so. With that though comes, you know, the big, you know, hairy monster of imposter syndrome. So tell me a little bit about those first few weeks, first six weeks, month, first couple months where you're like, all right, I'm saying this is who I am, but like, how do I actually, become this thing?
[00:10:08] How do we do this?
[00:10:09] Kaleb: It's funny, like whenever, 'cause you know, people identify so much with career. one of the first things we ask somebody in a conversation is, well, what do you do?
[00:10:16] Joe: Right.
[00:10:16] Kaleb: And it was like, I was instantly just deciding, well, I'm a court surfacing guy. Like that's what I do. And I felt like I was lying.
[00:10:24] 'cause I like, I mean, I barely feel like I knew enough. I mean, I, I knew, you know, I knew enough from my trainings, but like, I, I still had so much to learn. I had no idea what I was doing. And I just saying it when people would ask and like, even just like reaching out to a lawyer to get my LLC. Just putting in an email, Hey, I'm starting a company, I'm starting a business and I need this, uh, EIN number or whatever.
[00:10:47] Just little things like that. It was so, but I'll tell you the, I'll never forget. just kind of jumping forward a little bit. I know we
[00:10:53] Joe: That was great.
[00:10:53] Kaleb: the first, phone call I made to a client, it was a lead sent to me by Sport Master. it was just, a name and email address, a phone number.
[00:11:01] They wanna build a court at their house. I remember hyping myself up so much for this phone call. I was so nervous. I, put AirPods in, I wanted to go walk. It just makes me less anxious if I'm walking and not sitting. I was outside and almost like a script. I was playing in my head what every potential question I might be asked and I just didn't wanna look like I didn't know what I was talking about.
[00:11:24] I definitely felt that way.
[00:11:25] What ended up happening was like, on this phone call, I probably gave the client way more information that they cared to about,
[00:11:33] Joe: dumped
[00:11:34] Kaleb: because I just was like trying to like make sure that I looked legit and, I just was yeah, way too much information for, for, and it was crazy.
[00:11:44] It was like, okay, great. That's awesome. Well send me your contract and. And I was like, all right, so I remember talking to you like constantly. I was like, how much should I, you know, putting that first foot together.
[00:11:54] Joe: Yeah,
[00:11:55] Kaleb: And, it was just like a couple of days. it was like almost instantaneously we got the job and got a deposit and it's crazy.
[00:12:02] Joe: and you screwed it up, right? Like it was terrible and you didn't know what you're doing,
[00:12:06] Kaleb: well, that's a different topic for different podcasts,
[00:12:08] Joe: Okay.
[00:12:09] Kaleb: the client was over the moon with us and the
[00:12:11] Joe: No, you killed it.
[00:12:12] Kaleb: Yeah.
[00:12:13] Joe: Yeah. Awesome. That's great man. Okay, so you land that first customer. so that was a sport Master lead. So maybe, talk a little bit about your connection with Sport Master and how that kind of helped you get, through that first barrier of how do I get a lead?
[00:12:26] Kaleb: Yeah. Well, your advice to me when I was with you at Cincinnati was, I think you actually Googled it for me. You found that there was a seal master, near me.
[00:12:34] Joe: Yeah.
[00:12:35] Kaleb: it's only like 15 or 20 minutes from my house, so I just like showed up there. One day I just walked in. semester is a franchise, so they're all over the country and there was one way close to us, so I just showed up one day and walked in the guy came out and I just kind of told him, Hey, I'm thinking I'm gonna start a business.
[00:12:47] And, just trying to get to know a supplier,
[00:12:50] Joe: good man, so
[00:12:50] Kaleb: he, yeah, he, he connected me to a guy with Sport Master. Sport Master is. The sport servicing product of SealMaster, which is like the parent company. They do like seal coating products and stuff. And, he said, yeah, this guy does trainings for contractors to be like a certified installer.
[00:13:07] you have to go through him. And so I contacted him and what Sport Master does they send you leads. So if you become a certified installer, they send you leads that come through because they have really good marketing, so their website's really nice. If you like Google Pickleball, court construction, they're gonna show up on that, Google search result.
[00:13:22] And so they get like, there's like a locate and installer button. And so because he knew I wanted to train, he was like trying to find me the right lead so that he could come and train me on a job. And it happened really quick. I was actually shocked. I mean, it was, it was not long at all after I called him, then he had one for me
[00:13:37] Joe: Was it, was that the, I'm trying to remember, was that a residential job or was that the four? I want to get into the, the country club job too that
[00:13:44] Kaleb: Yeah. No, that was a residential job.
[00:13:46] Joe: So he came and helped train you on that job.
[00:13:48] Kaleb: yeah, well, so what ended up happening is he sent me that lead to do my training with that job. Well, between the time that he sent me that lead and I got it, I got more jobs that he didn't send me. I got two other, this all happened like at the very end of the year, so I only had time to sneak a couple jobs in, and I ended up doing three.
[00:14:04] Well, he ended up training me on the bigger job that came, Because I wanted him to train me on that one rather than the small residential. he ended up kind pretty close to each other, so when he came that week, we actually kind of bounced between the two. and so yeah, that's how it kinda happened.
[00:14:18] Joe: Well, I remember too, like when you, when you got this lead for the, this four, four pickleball courts at a, country club, you're like, we, we were strategizing like, okay, like you've never really done a job before. How are you gonna do four courts? and so there's, yeah, there were different, I. you do have to get creative, but there are a lot of these suppliers will come and train you.
[00:14:38] so, and that's not just unique to Sport Master. So if you, if you, if you do have a job where you know, they're asking you to bid it, there's different things that you can do in terms of, you know, just leveraging, you know, training opportunities. So if you, I know for you that was a big, maybe you could talk about it like you had.
[00:14:58] You ha you use that leverage to really win that job. 'cause you've got these, as soon as you wanna be honest about the fact, that you're new. So as, but you also want to develop some kind of competency. Talk about how that worked out. Strategizing, like convincing the customer that you could do this four court pickleball, surfacing job.
[00:15:19] Kaleb: Yeah. I was initially terrified of people asking me, how long you been in business?
[00:15:23] Joe: Oh yeah.
[00:15:24] Kaleb: Or like ask for a reference. And I think I just kind of came to terms with the fact that I was always gonna be honest, but also have a solution to any concerns they might have. So, 'cause I, that stuff is in my control.
[00:15:34] So yeah, this job also came outta nowhere. In fact, the day it came, this lead came, I remember like I was actually kinda in a low spot. I just felt like, what have I done? Like, I was doing a lot of efforts of trying to find leads and stuff, and. You know how it is and it's, it doesn't always materialize super quickly.
[00:15:50] A lot of times this can be long processes with people before you get a contract.
[00:15:54] Joe: Yeah.
[00:15:54] Kaleb: And, I just got a random phone call from, somebody, you know, Hey, we're, you know, the asphalt's already down, we're ready. It was like, kind the perfect situation. It's four courts. I was like, no way. So like, the next day I went and did a site visit, and, one of the first things they asked me was, how long have you been doing this?
[00:16:11] they actually even said, are you a certified sport master installer? So I just said, Hey guys, look, you know, this is, I'm new. I said I just started this year. but I said, guys, I, I have somebody with Sport Master that's agreed to come and train me. I can make sure that he's here with us for this entire job.
[00:16:28] This guy is been doing this for 10, 15 years. He trains contractors all over the country. You're gonna get the best of the best with him. Also said, not to mention, like, this is my, like, I'm making this for my, the livelihood of my family. Like I care, as much or more than you do that this is done excellently.
[00:16:46] and so that really was the selling point for them that they knew he was gonna be there. and he was, and we did a great job of the courts look amazing. So, yeah, that was, yeah, I was always so terrified of people asking that question, but I, I definitely. think there's a way to be, creative with how you answer it.
[00:17:01] But I think just let yourself off the hook and just say, you know, I'm gonna be honest. And I think a lot of people are also want, the underdog to win. Like, they're gonna kind of cheer for you. they want to support you, you're honest with them and they can sense that you have integrity and you care.
[00:17:17] it's not gonna be a huge issue in the beginning. It will be an obstacle, but it is not gonna eliminate you from being able to get jobs and doing well.
[00:17:24] Joe: That's right. That's really good. I mean that is such a tension of like, how honest should I be? Should I withhold this information that I'm a new contractor. and you know, that, that's a very personal decision. But yeah, like you're saying, if you can have, you know, that's why I remember our conversations.
[00:17:42] It's like, okay, how do we maintain integrity, be honest, and also find, like you said, just find a solution for the customer. So walk us through that job then. how did that flesh out? Because I remember you guys had, it was covered, but there was Water somehow on the court, and the order of operations was all kind of jacked up.
[00:17:59] Kaleb: Yeah. Well, I mean, I was like borrowing a trailer from a friend. I was just like piecing everything together. I was like. I had like, so many different people come help me on that job. 'cause it was just all of my friends that could just come spare a day. It's like every day we had like a new guy that would come work with us.
[00:18:16] the only thing that really was super stressful for me outside of it being, you know, one of my first jobs was, just that the guy who was training me for Sport Master, he was only there for a certain amount of time. And so every time there was a delay, if it rained or whatever, we couldn't work that day.
[00:18:28] I was like, man, he's gotta leave on Friday. Like, we better get the, I better not be. Left alone here. 'cause they're gonna be wondering where he is and I'm gonna be super stressed about throwing lines down for the first time or something. And, everything ended, ended up working out fine. I think. I thought that because the court was covered, um, that that just was a, you know, we were gonna be immune from
[00:18:46] Joe: Yeah, rain was a non-issue.
[00:18:48] Kaleb: it, you know, anytime it rained water, so go in the court. I mean, it's not like it had sidewalls to protect from wind blowing stuff in and drainage of, water and stuff like that.
[00:18:55] Joe: So are you saying that like unexpected things happen when you do these jobs, Caleb? Is that what you're trying to say?
[00:19:00] They almost never go as smooth as you think they will in their head. My
[00:19:05] Kaleb: but I will say like, compared to like other jobs that I've done since then, that job was actually like incredibly smooth and
[00:19:10] Joe: Oh yeah,
[00:19:11] Kaleb: it was also, one color.
[00:19:12] Joe: Well, it's kind of true for just, the fact that you're pushing into something hard. This business, you know, me and my crew leader were just talking about this the other day. We were like, okay, if we're honest, if the last two years of our business. Like what percentage of the problems that you could face in the surfacing world have we faced and solved and overcome?
[00:19:34] We're like, you don't wanna say it out loud, you don't wanna jinx yourself, but it's like, I think probably like 80%. So when you're starting out and you have zero of the problems figured out, or maybe 10%, that feels very daunting. But like you're saying in the moment, it felt like this is.
[00:19:49] Oh my gosh, there's water on the court. How are we gonna deal with this? And now looking back, you're like, ah, man,
[00:19:55] Kaleb: yeah,
[00:19:55] Joe: that's a breeze.
[00:19:56] Kaleb: yeah. We were so concerned with. Getting it dry that way we could continue working that way. I had a trainer the whole time and we were out there with like, I had like three guys with leaf blowers. We were just doing everything we could to get all the, the court dressed the next day we would be able to work.
[00:20:12] I do remember being extremely stressed and looking back, I really shouldn't have been. I really was a pretty simple job and we really didn't have a ton of obstacles, you know, compared to like what
[00:20:23] Joe: But It's the stress. It's like what we're talking about with the imposter syndrome though. it's the weight of feeling like, oh my gosh, like is this gonna work? Like I'm still on my second or third job.
[00:20:33] Kaleb: Oh yeah, for sure. I think, yeah, like I can tell many times, I mean even still, especially then, like I was like, ah, this, I picked the wrong industry. I just want out. This is too hard. I was just so stressed out. 'cause in my head you're always building up the worst case scenario,
[00:20:49] Joe: The owners are gonna tell the whole world how terrible our business is
[00:20:53] Kaleb: and you know, just you're sneaking through like the actual worst case scenarios but it doesn't typically end up like.
[00:21:00] Joe: But you, you survived. You survived that job. Not only that, you killed it. so now because you won a mid-size job at a country club, now all of a sudden you've got a more prestigious, customer who's talking about the fact that you did it.
[00:21:15] So as their members are coming in, they're asking, who did the courts? I've got a private court that I wanna do. was that true of that job for you? Did you get some more leads off of that one?
[00:21:22] Kaleb: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, this is the only job I've ever had a negotiation with. It's the only job I've ever quoted had a counter offer. and you know, really, because, they knew I was new and all that stuff, but I'll tell you, it was very much worth it. they were, it's a very.
[00:21:39] Prominent pickleball community. they were like my reference for like every job that I quoted after that, and they were a glowing reference. So I'm really very, very thankful for that couple, who trusted me and gave me the opportunity. I used them as references and they helped me get a lot of future jobs.
[00:21:55] It ended up being a really, really good deal.
[00:21:57] Joe: so good man. That's great. Okay, so you said you did. Three jobs your first year, you kinda snuck in three jobs real quick. So that was kind of, we'll call that. We can't even really call that year one. Kind of tell us about, yeah, what happened over that winter and then what happened in your first full year.
[00:22:17] Tell us a little bit about how, like how you scaled, how you started bringing guys on. How's it grown since that those first couple jobs?
[00:22:25] Kaleb: yeah. I forgot those three in. You know, December, like end of November, December, January, all I did was sales and it was kind of crazy 'cause for me, I don't know how true this is for everybody, but I was getting phone calls. I didn't even know where they were all coming from.
[00:22:39] I mean, I had, I think the Google business profiles really important. People Google Tennis court or pickleball court construction near me that you show up. even still today, if you do that, I'm still the only business profile that shows up. all of my competitors, They're mostly like silk coating companies and asphalt companies that have it as a service, but they're not really in that niche of just, pickleball and tennis sports.
[00:23:00] And so I was just getting phone calls constantly from HOAs and different places. And so I would go quote them and, again, use the references that I have. We started securing jobs. I mean, I think I got our first job for the following year in Jan, like January one.
[00:23:15] Uh, a lot of times with this HOA it can take a long time, uh, to.
[00:23:18] Joe: 'cause they've got a, usually, a lot of times with HOA, it's, hopefully it's somebody from the board, but a lot of times it's, you know, just. Somebody from the neighborhood is trying to get information so that they can bring it to the board, and then they have to be excited enough about it, and then they have to have a meeting about it, maybe two.
[00:23:34] Then they have to decide if it's gonna be this quarter or next quarter.
[00:23:36] Kaleb: And they got, a lot of times they want at least three bids and all that stuff. So Yeah. But I got that January 1st. I remember I texted you 'cause I was so excited about that. And then. It was a few weeks later, we got our next one and then another one. I was like, oh my gosh. Like we got some pretty decent sized jobs, already on the calendar.
[00:23:53] And I've got all, and I was constantly, like every week I was just getting more and more phone calls and kept going and quoting jobs. I started feeling like, oh man, it's kinda the ideal scenario because we were in the off season, I just had all this time to just do sales, to just fill a schedule, to think through things, to plan.
[00:24:08] and so it made like I'm not risk taker at all and it made. Things that should have felt like risk, not risky at all. Like buying a truck and getting a lift gate and buying a trailer, and like starting to hiring somebody. Like I did all of that, kind of in this November to March timeframe because I knew that I was gonna need it.
[00:24:26] I wasn't really rolling the dice.
[00:24:28] Joe: Yeah. You had, you knew you'd have the cash flow to make it all happened.
[00:24:32] Kaleb: Right. Yeah. And the following year, we, intentionally tried to start slow, so I tried to start the year off with some easy jobs, small jobs. We also had, our third kid right in April. So it was a really slow start to the year. and then we were busy all the way through, November
[00:24:48] Joe: how much revenue did you, were you able to do your first full year?
[00:24:51] Kaleb: Yeah, we did ride at 300 K
[00:24:53] Joe: That's amazing. That's so good. So at what point would you say maybe, you can answer it a couple different ways. How many jobs in, or how many months in, once you started getting rolling in that first full year, at what point were you like, okay, that feeling that I had that imposter syndrome, like that's gone now.
[00:25:11] Like I don't have to pretend like I'm a court surfacer. Like that's like. We're killing it. 'cause you truly have been for, you know, it feels like a year at least. So yeah. talk about that a little bit.
[00:25:22] Kaleb: it was after we did, a couple small jobs, like a couple residentials, I'm trying to remember. I think there was three, but they were all pretty small and not super intimidating. it was our first resurfacing job, where we had right way cracker pair, two tennis courts. It was at the time our biggest job we had done.
[00:25:40] I had Luke, come and train me on right way for that one. I was really nervous about that one, but once I got that one done, I had officially done on my own as a business without, being with you as Cincinnati, more or less all the components of court servicing. And I felt confident, going into all the rest of the jobs I had.
[00:25:58] So that was definitely the point where it's not that you still, I mean, even now I still, you
[00:26:03] Joe: You're always, always learning. And always getting humbled.
[00:26:06] Kaleb: Yeah, but I think at that point, you know, I think you started hearing from me a little bit less, like it was like I would call you or
[00:26:12] Joe: That's when I knew, I was like, man, I miss talking to Caleb. Where's he, I guess he's out. I guess he's doing it.
[00:26:17] Kaleb: I would call you like every 10 minutes. like, hey, what do you think about this? Should I do this? Should I do that? And then, yeah, I just started feeling like I know what to do. I started feeling less intimidated even with just. Using my own intuition to solve problems because you just kind of learn with the stuff that everything's fixable.
[00:26:34] Like if you put a coat down and you did it wrong there's ways to fix it that aren't like super drastic. So I just got less afraid of just doing stuff and
[00:26:42] Joe: Yeah. That's, that's awesome. Yeah. So let me, we'll, end with this. So, you know, you, you made that comment about Taylor saying like, go to Cincinnati, go do this for our family. In the same line of thinking in, in what you just said, like, the more I did it, the more I trust in my gut. So like there, there's something about starting a business that doesn't just affect, how well you surface a court, but there's something bigger that's happening, to you as a man.
[00:27:07] So maybe you could finish with an encouragement to our guys that are listening. Like, this is what happens when you step into something that, you feel like you're an imposter
[00:27:15] Kaleb: Yeah. one of the selling points for me, and again, I don't know how many people listen to this or, believers or have faith, but I definitely, heard some advice. it was from Jeremy, basically about how like, whenever you, have your own business, you're entering into something with the Lord that's a little bit different than you work for an employer and that your level of trust and dependency on him is just gonna go through the roof.
[00:27:35] I would say my relationship with the Lord, got so much better. So much deeper and richer. our marriage, going through a lot of stress, actually drew us together. also, it, really boosted my own self-confidence.
[00:27:46] I've proven to myself that if I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it and be successful. if I ever decided one day I wanted to do a different business, whether it's switching or just adding a different business, that I, I have the knowhow, I have the ability to actually. To, to accomplish that.
[00:28:02] and before I really wasn't sure, I'd never done this before. I had know really what it took to be a business owner. And I think I've just realized like, it isn't, it is difficult, but it's not like this un reaching thing that nobody can accomplish. I've proven to myself that I can. so yeah, that's what I would say.
[00:28:18] Joe: So good man. Well, dude, I have been very, very encouraged by how you've taken off your business is doing so well. I know this is just the beginning. I know so many guys are gonna be. Deeply encouraged. Like whether they start a court business or they're just on the edge of like, man, I need to, you know, wake up a little bit and do something for my family.
[00:28:39] that mindset shift that you talked about, like, I need to be on a trajectory towards something very intentional. super encouraging man. Thanks for, sharing your story.
[00:28:48] Kaleb: Absolutely man. Thanks for having me on
