Gabe Wagner was a month from graduating Winona State with a business administration degree and a job waiting at his parents' title insurance company. He texted his brother from the bar instead. They bought a residential pressure washer at Menards, loaded it into a Jeep Patriot, and started cold calling family and friends to clean pool covers. Year one was 6 to 8 hours to wash a single house, chemicals batch mixed in a 55 gallon drum in the customer's driveway, and one family friend's house he failed so badly it still comes up. He went back to his high school pizza job with $42 left in his bank account. Year four his brother walked and Gabe bought him out. Five years in, 7 or 8 property management companies send him work without him marketing for it, he has one full time crew and a flatbed built so a job can run without him, and his answer to the growth question is that he wants to stay small and pack a punch.
Watch: YouTube Listen: Apple Podcasts · Spotify
Find Gabe: aquablastmn.com · Instagram · Facebook
Chapters
- 00:28 - A senior at Winona State, headed for the family title business
- 01:46 - The COVID seed: home service videos on his feed
- 02:16 - A month from graduating, the text to his brother
- 03:25 - A Menards pressure washer and a Jeep Patriot
- 04:35 - Burn the boats: his dad's ultimatum
- 06:52 - Soft washing versus pressure washing, explained
- 08:03 - Failing miserably on a family friend's house
- 09:06 - The $200 setup, and 8 hours to wash one house
- 10:29 - Did I really go to college to struggle to wash a house?
- 11:37 - A family friend sells off their pressure washing division
- 12:51 - Underground parking garages and property managers
- 19:42 - HOAs: 200 units and a hundred bosses
- 22:18 - Mid April to Thanksgiving, then gutters until it freezes
- 23:02 - Machines show up every day, they don't call in sick
- 24:46 - I've done it wrong five or six times
- 26:54 - Year four: buying his brother out
- 27:45 - 10X it, plateau, or go bankrupt
- 30:47 - Triple down: the flatbed that gets him off the truck
- 33:43 - From desperation for leads to turning work away
- 35:46 - Professionalism plus systems turns into trust
- 37:20 - Small, but packing a punch
- 40:27 - Would you go back to college? He would
- 44:35 - Forty-two dollars left in the bank
- 49:04 - Where to find Aqua Blast
Takeaways, in Gabe's words
- "Sometimes you just gotta go for it." (01:17)
- "You got to go through it to figure it out." (09:06)
- "Did I really go to college to struggle to wash a house?" (10:29)
- "They're not gonna call in sick." (23:02, on buying good machines)
- "Take care of it and it'll take care of you." (23:29)
- "When I'm telling you to do something, it's because I've done it wrong probably five, six times." (25:07)
- "Either you can take this company and 10X it, you plateau and you just continue to have a job, or you go bankrupt. And the ball's in my court now." (27:45)
- "The most scariest thing of my life, but also the most freeing at the same time." (28:15)
- "I want to be small, but I want to pack a punch." (37:20)
- "Would you go back to college again? I would. I loved college." (40:27)
- "I remember it was like forty-two dollars left in my bank account." (44:35)
- "Let's make a plan for the day. Let's get through the day and let's stack the good days." (47:34)
Full transcript
Reasonable Tech Dad (00:01)
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Reasonable Contractor Podcast. I'm your host, the Reasonable Tech Den, Ryan Templin. Here with a new friend, Gabe Wagner of Aquablast, out of Stillwater, yes? Woodbury, I'm so sorry. I had saw stillwater stuff.
Gabe Wagner (00:13)
Woodbury, yep. Oh East East side of the cities, that's all right.
Reasonable Tech Dad (00:19)
Got it. And uh an excellent website gave. You guys got Instagram going, you got Facebook. I saw some cool equipment, some cool trucks on the Facebook page, dude, nice videos on there. Um rather than me comment it, uh why don't uh we get pass it right over to you? Tell us your story, how'd you get started?
Gabe Wagner (00:28)
Thank you, I appreciate it. Yeah, no problem. So this is this is year five for us that we're getting ready to wrap up here. So we started back in twenty twenty two. Um I was a senior in college at Winona State, getting ready to graduate. Um, you know, and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Um, you know, I had I was actually getting ready to go into the title insurance industry. So my parents own own a title insurance company. So the last, you know, back half of college I kinda worked, you know, worked for them, whether it be winter break, summer vacation, whatever it may be, kinda you know, um kinda learning the ropes of that industry and so that, you know, was kind of the game plan to graduate and go go work for them and and start my career there. But I just always, you know, kinda wanted uh to do something else or kinda take a chance on myself. And uh I had this I had this sea yeah. You know, it's and it's a lot of thought, a lot of kicking the can around and then it's, you know, sometimes you just gotta go for it. But I had this seed planted in my mind from COVID actually. So during COVID, it was kind of an explosion of home service videos and gurus and stuff that would come across my social media, whether you know whether it be pressure washing, junk removal, window cleaning, anything like that. Um
Reasonable Tech Dad (01:20)
Love that dude. Love that.
Gabe Wagner (01:46)
In it was more or less a lot of people trying to sell their course and stuff like that, but the pressure washing one really stuck with me because, um, you know, my parents have a pool. So every spring we would pressure wash the pool cover, pressure wash, you know, the concrete, stuff like that. And so I had experience doing that. Um, and I was always kinda more of the hands on. So that's why when I was, you know, doing the title insurance thing or working for my parents, I was always kinda stuck at an office, working at a lab uh computer all day and
Reasonable Tech Dad (02:14)
Getting stir crazy. uh Fidgeting a little bit. uh Tapping your foot. Yeah, let me get up for a little bit.
Gabe Wagner (02:16)
Exactly. I was I was looking out the window and you know, if it was Exactly. If it was snowing I'd be like, Ah, I kinda wanna go shovel up the sidewalk. Yeah. So I like doing that, but I you know, you I wanted to to work smart as well. I I like working hard, but I wanted to work smart and so I always had this idea in my mind. It was kind of more of, you know, maybe it would just be a side hustle or something like this. And then I was actually um, you know, about a month away from graduating. I go out to the, you know, the bar with my roommates and we're just having, you know, a couple beers. I get back and I this I couldn't get it out of my mind and so I text my brother who is um year and a half older than me and I I said, what would you think if we started this together? And he was, you know, the seed money and he was kind of helping me on the back end. He's really good when it comes to business as well. And um, you know, we had that entrepreneurship background from my dad. And so it does yeah. No, I I was very fortunate growing up to have that. And um, and so, you know, I I reached out to him and, you know, maybe maybe after the bar had a little bit more confidence, but I said, yeah.
Reasonable Tech Dad (03:10)
Sounds like it, which is cool. Super cool. Good for you guys, dude. Yep, feel fired up.
Gabe Wagner (03:25)
Exactly. I mean maybe we should go do this. That the the clock is counting down and you know, he agreed. He's like, Yeah, let's go and so he helped me with the back end, get everything going. He you know, helped me with that initial investment. So went to Menard's, um, bought a pressure washer, uh, two point three gallon per minute. So those of you that don't know, that's a residential machine. That's something that a homeowner will go buy and so we we bought that, you know, some hoses and some other equipment, loaded up the back of my Jeep Patriot and we were off. And so
Reasonable Tech Dad (03:46)
Ha ha ha.
Gabe Wagner (03:55)
Cold called, you know, all of our family and friends, and I mentioned the the pool cover thing. And so that was really what we thought we could do is just clean pool covers and pool areas. There was not as much thought really in that there should have been to go start this company. We just really thought, hey, you know, we can just do pool covers all year. And it's just now that I think back on it, like I don't know, you know, what was I really thinking? But Exactly.
Reasonable Tech Dad (04:18)
No, but it that's how you gotta do it, man. That's how people gotta do it. You gotta go. That's what gets a lot of people caught up, man. I think that's such a good story, that's such a cool piece that you bring it up that way, that like, yeah, you say that in hindsight, but like continue the story because I bet that's how you got it done by just going, yeah?
Gabe Wagner (04:23)
That's why c that's what got us off the latch. And so it's Oh yeah, just trying. And then some my you know, I I finally told my dad, I said, Hey, I think, you know, I best gotta you know, I gotta I gotta put everything I have into this. My brother does real estate, so he was kinda, you know, helping this on the side. So I'm like, it's up to me just to go all in. Um, you know, I was the one doing the jobs and he kinda told me, He's like, If you're gonna do this, I need to hire somebody else for this position. And so it's kinda I kinda had to make that decision right there. No or that's yeah, bur burn the boats. And so um, you know, if I'm gonna do it, I might as well do it now. And I always had that.
Reasonable Tech Dad (04:58)
Cut the safety net. I love it, dude.
Gabe Wagner (05:05)
you know, the thought in my head of, you know, no matter what you do leaving college, you gotta spend five to ten years kind of establishing yourself in any industry, right? Building up your book of business, doing whatever it may be. And so I just, you if I'm gonna do that, I might as well do it for myself. And, you know, I I'm married now, but we didn't uh you know, no kids or anything like that. So I'm like, you know, it's the time is now it's easier to take a risk before you, you know, you have a family and you have some other bills and responsibilities. So
Reasonable Tech Dad (05:32)
As a man with kids, you could not be giving better advice right now, dude. Ca I'm did I miss a game, not this to sidetrack, but did I miss what you went to school for? Sick. Okay, continue.
Gabe Wagner (05:35)
Yeah. And so that's business administrations. And so kind of the s you know, what I'm doing now, but there was nothing in college that could prepare me for actually running my own business. And so there's that aspect in it. And then there's also no college course for pressure washing. And ext you know, exterior cleaning. There there is no generals for that. And so and that's what I had to get better about. It's
Reasonable Tech Dad (05:52)
Nope. Couldn't agree more. Not even a vocational, though. There's no trade school for that.
Gabe Wagner (06:10)
You know, nobody likes to fail. Nobody likes, you know, everybody wants that job to go perfect. Everybody, you know, wants to look professional. Ne they never want to fail. And so that's what I had to get better at is everything was learning on the fly and just, you know, biting off more than you can chew and and trying to figure it out. And it ne it didn't always work. I mean, there was plenty of times in those first few years where it's, you know, the anxiety is so high, you you know, it literal blood, sweat and tears and emphasis on the tears. Like it's it's it's it's frustrating. It's it's lonely. But I was happy I had my brother, you know, we could kinda lean on each other and and to uh you know figure things out. And so, yeah, year one it was just, you know, family, friends, um
Reasonable Tech Dad (06:37)
Yes. No well said.
Gabe Wagner (06:52)
We did a couple pool areas, pool covers, but we a lot of people started asking us to wash their house, um, clean their gutters, and so now we're getting into other services. They they build on pressure washing, but it's it's a different service. And um the soft washing thing is totally different than pressure washing. I had no idea what that was. And I guess to give a little background, the difference between soft washing and pressure washing is soft washing um It relies relies on you know chemistry to do kind of more of the cleaning. So we spray a chemical up, you know, it's a sodium hyperchlorite, so it's like the active ingredient in any of those outdoor cleaners. So you spray that on your siding or you know, fascia soft, whatever it may be, you leave it on there for 10 minutes, that kills off all those organics. And then you go give it a light rinse, like a 300 psi rinse, and it rinses all that, you know, organic growth off. And so instead of you know, with a pressure washer, you're just relying on brute force to to blast all that layer of of dirt off. Which I knew nothing about that. I knew not I I knew nothing about softwashing. I didn't know what about Yeah. See a lot of people don't
Reasonable Tech Dad (07:53)
Yeah. Neither did I until this moment. So thank you. I'm glad you went into it. Like I'm the the the question was just sitting there and he then you went right to it to it.
Gabe Wagner (08:03)
A lot of people don't, and so that's kind of half the battle now is explaining what the difference is. But that's that's the safest way, you know, you're not gonna damage your siding. But so when people were asking us to wash their house, I'm like, I don't, you know, I don't know what to do. So we just we used our pressure washer and we did two houses. One of them was a family friend and we failed so bad. We failed miserably and we didn't We just, you know We used a pressure washer. I didn't know
Reasonable Tech Dad (08:25)
What happened to it? Come on, you didn't do it. Like what because you just used a pressure washer or what?
Gabe Wagner (08:32)
I was a son educated and that was my fault. I didn't educate myself. Um I had no, you know, you know, some of these high peaks I couldn't hit and I um you know it just didn't go well. And it it it wasn't a good finished product and it was embarrassing to be honest with you, because it, you know, family friend, you reach out to them, they give you a chance. And so that kind of just triggered in my mind is you know, I just went back and and hit the books pretty much of what yeah, how can this go better? And that that's what I was just always, you know, kind of stuck on is you know, how can this go more efficiently? How can we give a better product to the customer?
Reasonable Tech Dad (08:40)
Got it. Yeah. I bet. Gotta know my shit, dude.
Gabe Wagner (09:06)
can we look more professional too and that was really you know kind of bugging me and is year one you know you're you're still trying to figure everything out I just I I love looking professional I love looking you know where you know we know what we're doing we have our systems and we just didn't have that yet and um but you I mean you got to go through it to figure it out and so went back and just learned all I could about this softwashing thing and how to build a budget softwash setup pretty much so what I did is I got a you know 55 gallon drum um went and got a 12 Volt pump from Northern Tool, and then this is all like under you know 200 bucks. And we would did what you call batch mixing. You you dump your chemical in and you mix it with water, and then you just you put that pump in there, and I mean you you would spray that on the side of the house, and then I would literally use the spigot and the customer's hose to rinse it down, and it would take us, it would take me. My brother would come out and help in the field, but I mean he had his other stuff going on, so he was you know, he's answering the phone calls, doing that stuff. So I was out there washing a house by myself and it. would take six six to eight hours just to do one house. And if we had to do maybe two houses in a day, but I mean some of those days, I mean, yeah, you're you're making more money than you would at a you know regular hourly job, but you're also you know, I think to myself like what what am I doing? You know, what am I What did I get myself into? What
Reasonable Tech Dad (10:22)
Yeah, what am I buying here? What am I buying with this price, right? There's there's costs. And costs are not necessarily money all the time, right?
Gabe Wagner (10:29)
Exactly. I'm like, did I really go to college to struggle to wash a house? You know, like all day. So there's just a lot of self doubt and you know, it it stuff that goes into that. And um, you know, it just
Reasonable Tech Dad (10:37)
Preach.
Gabe Wagner (10:41)
just would get through one job and again going back home and just educating. I you know, Facebook is a great tool. So what I pretty much my education was I joined all these different pressure watching Facebook groups. And there's a lot of good education in there, but it's just you gotta go find it. And so it was just scrolling fa you know all these groups and YouTube for hours and hours at night. And we just slowly, you know, you slowly got things down. You you knew what to look for. You knew how to talk to the customer about different issues. And um, you know, I I appreciate all those customers from our first year that just that worked with us and we've had a bunch that have come back now and it's it's really humbling to pull up and you know we have our our new truck and our you know employees and stuff like this and so they can kind of see that growth but it was you know I just I appreciate them so much 'cause they you know, I was a young looking kid too and it's you know what, you know, he doesn't seem like you know pulling up in this cheap patriot. Exactly. There was no brandy
Reasonable Tech Dad (11:30)
You get no credibility from being a puppy, dude. No credibility from being a young pup out there getting it, dude.
Gabe Wagner (11:37)
There was no truck wrap. There was no none of it. And so it's I I really appreciate those people that that took that flyer on us and and um allowed us to grow. And so, you know, we would post our work on Facebook, and I would say about mid to end s end of summer, we had a family friend who um they own a property maintenance company. They do more dump truck hauling, but they still had pressure washing, um, you know, asphalt ceiling, stuff like that. They approached us and said that they wanted to go more in on the dump truck. truck stuff, they were ready to offload and and sell their pressure washing division. And and so they asked family friend that yeah, they're they were already established, kind of doing the same thing we want to do, but they they branched out to different things. And so
Reasonable Tech Dad (12:11)
Interesting dude. And who this was a friend family friend you said? Another business friend?
Gabe Wagner (12:24)
I mean, we just I I had no no idea really what we were getting ourselves into. So here we made this investment. I mean, we were getting jobs here and there, but we have yet to really prove our concept in the residential department or anywhere, still trying to get our hold on really what you know what we're doing. And all of a sudden this opportunity comes along and what they focused on, their thing was parking garages. So underground.
Reasonable Tech Dad (12:42)
Yeah. I was just gonna ask, what was their commer or their customer list like? Okay.
Gabe Wagner (12:51)
So it's really underground parking garages and they would work with property maintenance or management companies. Um and so we're like, yeah, I mean, we'll we'll look into it. Exactly. If it was that easy. In s and a snap of the fingers, oh, can you do the jobs too? But no, they um but so what they did is like, you know, you can kind of come and
Reasonable Tech Dad (13:00)
You wanna give me a bunch of customers and I'm trying to figure out this business? Sure. Hey hey yeah. Thank you. I'll take a list of customers, how much? Sweet.
Gabe Wagner (13:18)
shadow our crew and for a couple jobs to see really what goes into it. And that was the most intimidating thing ever. Is going to that first job, there's this huge parking garage and they had three people, I think it was. At this point it's only me and my brother. I'm the only one in the field. Oh my God. Exactly. I mean and it took them all day with their crew and they
Reasonable Tech Dad (13:25)
I bet, dude. I was gonna ask on the sit six to eight hour timescale. What are we you're looking up like, one house took me six to eight, what's this gonna take? With three guys.
Gabe Wagner (13:46)
Yeah, and they had it down too. So I'm thinking, I'm like, oh my God, like what what are we gonna do? And so we got through the first one. That was one of the longest days of my life, you know, just just helping them. You know, and some things, you know, the drains weren't working, so we had to do some extra squeegeeing. And so that kind of helped too. So it's like, you know, these jobs don't always go according to plan. There's a lot more that can go wrong on this commercial scale. And then when you talk about these parking garages, there is sixty to a hundred cars or however many cars, everybody has to move out.
Reasonable Tech Dad (13:55)
Ha ha ha.
Gabe Wagner (14:16)
They're waiting outside and it's three yep, three, four o'clock when they all come back to work. They need to get back to where they're going. So you're on a time crunch too. And so there's this lot of factors. I'm like this, oh my God, what a yeah. Oh it this mini anxiety attacks, right? And it's like thinking, yeah. And
Reasonable Tech Dad (14:18)
For you to finish. Super intense, I bet, dude. Yes, I do know what you're talking about, dude.
Gabe Wagner (14:37)
And so we we got to that first one and then went went on another one with them. And then it was to the point where it's like, okay, what do you guys want to do? Like we're ready to sell with or without you. We're just we wanted to offer it to you first. And what came with it was their equipment and and their book of business, really. And um And like I said, we haven't even made our money back on our initial equipment investment yet. And so now we gotta make like a a investment. So we invested like five thousand dollars or f my brother did. I shouldn't say I did. My brother did. Um, and then this was like twenty something, whatever it may be. But it was a lot more than that initial investment. And so, you know, he was very skeptical because again, it's his money, but I I knew deep down like this is where we need to go. This might be a year or two early, but this this opportunity we're gonna be kicking ourselves, I feel like, in a year or two, once we're ready for it. And so
Reasonable Tech Dad (15:29)
You're like answering the questions before I can ask 'em, 'cause I was gonna ask what went into that decision, dude. Like how do you pull the trigger? Right? 'Cause you just laid out what the champ like what you're looking at. Like you might be early. You might not be ready for this, dude. So how d like you just said, just as bold as you were at the end of school, dude. You seem like, hey, betting on me.
Gabe Wagner (15:35)
Yeah. Exact. Yeah, and it's and I really, you know, now that it looked yeah, you are betting on yourself, but in in the moment, you're almost this like, you know, things weren't things were going well, but we needed a spark, right? We needed something to differentiate us, we needed something to kind of bring us out of this residential um, you know, place that we were in. And and through all this, you know, I'm fresh out of college, I'm dead broke. I was expecting to come out and start working a full time job. I had none of that. And so, you know, I I it got down, it got pretty bad. So I'm like, I had to go get a job. I had to go back to my high school job making making pizzas. So I d you know, and it was I had to swallow my pride a little bit. Um, you know, going going back, asking if I could get more hours. So I was working there and I saw this as an opportunity. I'm like, this is this is what's gonna bring us to the next level. So convinced my brother, I said, let's let's do it. Let's, you know, I you know, we can handle it. So we take it on, bought them out and
Reasonable Tech Dad (16:21)
Bed there, been there, buddy. Lots of times. Yeah?
Gabe Wagner (16:44)
And the time this all went through, it was like the end of summer. And so the parking garage thing is it's really popular. Spring, June, you know, May, June. Towards the end of summer, if they haven't done it already, they're probably not gonna do it. So we did, you know, we did a handful of garages throughout the year. Enough to, you know, get our toes wet. We were able to call in friends to help and stuff like that. But um, you know, we get to the off season, it's like, okay, like what are we gonna do now? double down again. And so we went out and built out a commercial size trailer. So we got a you know, we went from a 2.3 gallon per minute pressure washer to a yeah, Home Depot one to that I still have just so I can Exactly. That that can humble me a little bit to a ten gallon per minute machine with a burner on it. So now we can do graffiti, gum, you know, more commercial based stuff.
Reasonable Tech Dad (17:18)
The Home Depot. For nostalgia's sake. uh Sick, dude.
Gabe Wagner (17:38)
We bought a soft wash machine, so no more mixing in in a fifty five gallon drum in somebody's driveway. Oh my gosh. Exactly. No more using their holes to rinse and hoping they have good water pressure. Um but we
Reasonable Tech Dad (17:42)
Nome out there fuck churnin' butter But you did it. I'm not laughing. I'm laughing because of the experience, right? Like Yes, you do have to go through it.
Gabe Wagner (17:55)
Oh no, i and you have to go through it. And you have to go through and like it it's the most it's some of the most uncomfortable, you know uncomfortable moments of of the journey is just figure you know it's like oh my god I know I know I know this is it's it's it's a little embarrassing right you show up with this equipment you're start you're you know you're starting off but so I said you know in order to go after these commercial accounts we need commercial equipment so we got this trailer with the big water tank on it every you know the whole nine yards we made that investment without any of the work and so it's like okay well in order to go out and sell to these commercial people we have to have the confidence that we have the machines can do it. And so, you know, convinced my brother, I'm like, yeah, let's make this investment back into the machines. And then it was literally, I mean that When that when we bought those um those people out and they, you know, gave us those property managers. I mean, that was like that opened my eyes. Like, that's where we need to be. That's where the money is with these property managers. Cause there was two of them that we worked with and they they managed like eight properties. Yeah. Eight eight eight each, but their company, like you said, hundreds of their company. And so literally that whole obviously this cold calling property management comp I probably cold called every property management company around here trying to get into lunch and learns, trying to do this. And we
Reasonable Tech Dad (18:57)
Hundreds. Oh god, I say eight, but like just
Gabe Wagner (19:12)
Talk to a handful, but there was really two or three that really trusted us going into that next year of year two. And they, you know, they were they weren't sending us a bunch. It was like a project here, project there, gutter cleaning here, and um just to kind of you know test us a little bit to see if we could handle it. And we had to underbid those to get to get the job, a to get the job, b to show them that you know, to kind of prove ourselves to the exactly, and to and then to prove it to ourselves and to get that experience. It's a it's a it's a
Reasonable Tech Dad (19:34)
Capability. Ha, you framed it out perfect, dude. That's exactly right.
Gabe Wagner (19:42)
Whole different animal going from residential. Now you're dropped into an HOA 15 to 20 townhomes. So it can be up 100 to 200 units, and you got to figure out a how to stay organized where you're not skipping stuff. So that was an issue with us. It's like you just get so turned around, and then people are calling, you know, you missed my unit, unit cis, and it's you know doing the right job.
Reasonable Tech Dad (20:04)
Crazy.
Gabe Wagner (20:07)
getting used to now you go from one boss to you have the property manager, you have the HOA board, and then you have the other hundred people that live there that they all want. I mean there's so many cooks in the kitchen. And so as
Reasonable Tech Dad (20:17)
Communication like the channels of communication probably and the admin work must have skyrocketed. And you're trying to do all the work. Who took over all that admin work, dude? Okay.
Gabe Wagner (20:21)
Oh Oh, exactly. Yeah. So that's what my brother was doing. And so he was on the back end, but he I mean, he's busy doing his stuff too. And um we weren't necessarily profitable and you know, we're we're just trying to make it so that's we we kinda butted heads at the beginning, just, you know, trying to figure this thing out and um, you know, cash you know, cash and sales, that helps everything. When that's dries up a little bit and you go through some slow seasons, that um, you know, that kind of created some friction. And so that's where
Reasonable Tech Dad (20:31)
Yeah, not as full. Right. Yeah. I say sales fix everything, but like that those early phases and those those tight spots, that that's that tension's super real. And it's not like it's not something you just say, Oh, it's gonna be fine and you positive attitude your way through it. Like there's some hard conversations that can happen
Gabe Wagner (21:00)
Oh yeah. Yeah. Like is it gonna be fine? We don't have a single job on the books. How is it you know how is that gonna be fine? Exactly. And so that's God we would
Reasonable Tech Dad (21:10)
It's not not necessarily going to be fine, right? Oh.
Gabe Wagner (21:15)
And we would just we would just butt heads and it's you know, you can't you can get out and do different things. But um and so that whole second year was just trying to it and that opened a whole can of new worms too, 'cause then you're getting these, you know, you go from one person complaining, you know, oh you might have miss a spot here to now the you know, these these HOA people, they'll hey they'll call you. They don't care. If you miss a spot, they're paying for it, they want you back out there. And and so it was just it was trying to navigate that. Now, you know
Reasonable Tech Dad (21:37)
Interesting.
Gabe Wagner (21:43)
while trying to learn everything too, while trying to get our identity, while trying to build our brand. And so we got through year two, um, and then that was good. And then we, you know, we hit the off season two and it's like, what do we do? Let's double down again. So we got a couple bigger machines, um, put that on the trailer. So we had that's the ultimate setup on our trailer that we could do any job now. Um Got went and got a couple better gutter machines so we could do more gutter cleaning stuff and then just continue to sell, continue to sell it. Yeah.
Reasonable Tech Dad (22:12)
double down, he said it twice. So like tell me that sea like how long is the season? It's I uh I've had another window washer. Okay.
Gabe Wagner (22:18)
Middle of April. Yep. So about um second half of April ho and hopefully till Thanksgiving. So you never know and so about Halloween-ish is when we go straight gutter cleaning. You know, and if if jobs come in here there to wash, like we'll we'll make an exception. But it's you know, you we clean gutters until it freezes pretty much. And we're kind of at the mercy of when, you know, when the leaves drop. Because nobody everybody wants to be that last person. So nobody, you know, if you have jobs all lined up the last couple weeks of October, no leaves are falling, everybody's wanting to reschedule and push back. And then now you push everybody back. Well, we get an early freeze, and now what do you do? And so it um it just can it can get a little
Reasonable Tech Dad (22:44)
Yes.
Gabe Wagner (23:02)
hectic at the at the end of the year, but um and so that's why you know and finding good employees is hard too. So that's kind of why my whole my my thought process is I'm gonna invest in the best machines where we 'cause I know they're gonna show up the machines are gonna show up every day. And so, you know, they're not gonna call in sick. As long as you take as long as you change the oil and do all that stuff. Yeah.
Reasonable Tech Dad (23:18)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha As long as you do your maintenance. Oh, thank you. Talk about it all the time. Just take care of it. Don't push your maintenance out. No, it's fine. You can run it a few No, just change it when it says. It preach. My my kind of guy do it.
Gabe Wagner (23:29)
Take care of it and it'll take care of you. Exactly. Or even a little early if you have the time. But um and so that's just kind of what it focused on like we need we need to be able to do two, three days worth of work in one day. And how do we get to that point? And so that's I mean, that's kind of where we hit now where it's I mean our systems are just so locked in where you know we can go and we'll have we'll go wash a community and people say, Oh, this took the last company two weeks. Well we can do it in two, three days. Just because we 'cause we have the right equ and we're not sacrificing quality. I mean, we have the right equipment, we have the right systems. I mean and systems are huge. And we have the you know, we haven't
Reasonable Tech Dad (23:49)
Yeah. Hey, do you Let me double click. I don't want I've been letting you go. Uh are you cool on time? Like I tell I try to tell guys twenty thirty you're good? Chill it. Excellent. Um, we gotta double click on the systems thing. I'm a huge systems geek, dude. So tell me can you can you dig on that? So you talked about upgrading two seasons in a row and then you talked about systems and like my ears start ringing. What did you figure out? Get into the get geeky with me, dude. Get get into the nitty gritty. What did you figure out? Like when you got those machines was and you said what somebody else could do in two weeks, you could do in two or three days, like
Gabe Wagner (24:15)
Oh at the time. I have all my own Yeah.
Reasonable Tech Dad (24:40)
What's how do you build the system for that? What are you looking at? It's a time thing, obviously, at the end, right? Like it's productivity. Is it is it the is it like a sequence of steps? Is it dig in.
Gabe Wagner (24:46)
Yeah. Um, i and I guess that's hard to answer because I I really don't when I say s I don't have anything like written down like, hey, this is this is step to protocol. It was more or less just doing it on my own and and learning for four and a half years, four or five years. What's what's the best way to do stuff? What's most efficient? And what I tell like all these new guys when I'm training somebody in, it's like, hey, I I don't want to be the guy like it's my way or the highway. But when I'm telling you to do something, it's because I've done it wrong probably five, six times. And you know, that's not a big deal. Something, for example, just how to how to lay your hoses out while we get going, how to organize certain things. Cause when you when we have six people going and everybody has a hose, you gotta be very careful.
Reasonable Tech Dad (25:32)
Yeah.
Gabe Wagner (25:37)
Where you go. Otherwise things can get tangled. And I tell these guys, I said it's not a big deal in October or in October or April, but when it's July and it's a hundred degrees out and you've been working all day, that's when it really catches up to you. And that's when you really start to break down and you get the F this mentality because you gotta walk all the way back here and and do stuff. Exactly. And so it's it's literally
Reasonable Tech Dad (25:54)
You get fried, literally.
Gabe Wagner (25:59)
the way you pull the hoses out. It's li it's how you set things up before you even turn on any of the machines. And that just and and you know, I I tell people, but people will always still try to do it their own way. So you gotta kinda let them like, hey, I'm gonna tell you what to do. If you wanna put your own spin on it, I mean and you're gonna you gotta let them, you know, mess up and get frustrated a few times and be like, hey, this is why I told you to do that. Not because I'm not because, you know, I wanna be watching over you because I know that
Reasonable Tech Dad (26:17)
Offer the idea. Ha ha ha. Um it's not an ego thing, it's an experience thing.
Gabe Wagner (26:28)
Yeah. It's because I know I've had that breakdown in the field where you know I'm you know, kicking and you know you know, c cur cursing out exactly on this d this damn thing. But it's it's just it's just certain stuff like that and it's not complicated, but it's it like you have to you know, you just have to do certain things. It it's very important. And I mean, like I said, it's just
Reasonable Tech Dad (26:34)
Yeah. Fuck this and fuck that rits Fritz in yeah. Yeah, absolutely. It's important and it makes a big difference.
Gabe Wagner (26:54)
I, you know, some of those days just working in the field and I've I've gotten I guess to round out my my my story, uh my my journey. So year four, um I actually bought my brother out. And so February hit. He he approached me and he had a very good opportunity to go grow his real estate. Um, you know, what he wanted to do in real estate. So he he approached me. What I thought was, hey, how are we gonna prepare for this next coming year? He sat down, he's like, actually, no, I think, you know, this is what I gotta do. And, you know, obviously, you know, if that's what you need to do, I'm not gonna hold you back. But just instant anxiety attack, like, shit. Like, I'm on my own. There's nobody else.
Reasonable Tech Dad (27:08)
Good for you. Awesome.
Gabe Wagner (27:35)
There's nobody else to lean on. There's nobody I can you know I Exactly. And I Yeah. Exactly. It was like oh no.
Reasonable Tech Dad (27:38)
Next safety net. Yeah, the neck you cut the next next set of boats to burn 'em to the ground, buddy. Burn em
Gabe Wagner (27:45)
Now you're gone. And it's I have a great support system. I I can always call my my parents. I can lean on my dad. I can do that stuff. But when it really comes down to it, like you're you now you're really on your own. Like it's it was either you can take this company and 10X it and bring it to where you where I know it can go. You plateau and you just continue to have a job and that's just what you do, or you go bankrupt. And it was like the balls just in the balls in my court now. And that it was it was the
Reasonable Tech Dad (28:08)
Yes.
Gabe Wagner (28:15)
most scariest thing of my life, but also the most freeing at at the same time. Like I can now, now I don't have to, you know, convince him like, oh, this is what we should do with our money. This is what should invest in next. Or or you know, this is a direction we should go. If I wanted to do that, now now the ball is in my court to go do that. But um I'll be honest, I I had I I didn't sleep my I had so much anxiety like what am I because and now I'm trying I'm worried about the field. I'm worried about getting all these jobs done and now I got all this back end work.
Reasonable Tech Dad (28:33)
Sack to it.
Gabe Wagner (28:45)
Now I got my phone ringing, now I got emails, I got estimates, I got
Reasonable Tech Dad (28:48)
So I asked about that earlier, because it that's when you hit a certain level, man, with just a couple of guys, dude, it it it piles up. And that No, you're fine. I we're I think we're pointing at the same thing. Like the the admin piece, just the tasks are just there. They're not hard. They're not they don't take an extensive amount of time, but they come in in these strange sequences where they have uh in different intensities, right? Like you said, complaints, a homeowner complaint or an HOA complaint, these these things that come in.
Gabe Wagner (28:52)
Exactly. Well, and especially when you're well, I'm sorry, what you
Reasonable Tech Dad (29:17)
It's not something that can be pushed aside for the bit you know what I mean, execution anything else. So continue to
Gabe Wagner (29:21)
Well that and then the aspect too now now we're trying to do commercial stuff where a lot of the stuff a lot of these jobs in order to bid it, you gotta get out and walk with uh the PM or you know, whoever's in charge of the project. And so they'd be calling me and I'm already so stressed out about getting these jobs done that we have on the books, now I'm starting to kind of neglect, you know, the business.
Reasonable Tech Dad (29:42)
The in the top of the funnel.
Gabe Wagner (29:44)
Exactly. And so that that whole fourth year of last year was is literally trying to keep my head above water. It was, you know, trying to do these jobs.
Reasonable Tech Dad (29:50)
I said sick, but like stress will do it, like.
Gabe Wagner (29:52)
Oh my god. I mean it was l I mean literally twelve to fifteen hour day, like just working all day in the field and coming home and then just being up and like non c just working on estimates and hoping, you know, I can send emails out and people will communicate with me. But a lot of the time they're done for the day. So it was that that whole last year was just trying to keep my head above water. And I got very, very fortunate. Um, before my brother left, we found our, you know, a a very good employee who wanted to grow with us and you know, seize the bigger
Reasonable Tech Dad (30:08)
Yes.
Gabe Wagner (30:22)
pitcher and that you know don't got to worry about him calling in and so that was really the turning point I would say is now I got somebody who's not just a laborer that I know is gonna go back to school and do whatever he's he's learning he's growing he wants to be exactly somebody that I can talk shop with and just you know and so that's kind of what gave me the confidence like okay going into year five
Reasonable Tech Dad (30:36)
Got somebody to run with.
Gabe Wagner (30:47)
I mean triple down. Not no no no more double down. That's triple down. That's that's when we went out and um, you know, we got our new truck, our flatbed, so we could put all you know, uh essentially mount all of our equipment onto that flatbed, because we do a lot of stuff in St. Paul and stuff like graffiti removal and that.
Reasonable Tech Dad (30:50)
I love it, dude. Possible, dude. Anybody that has to drive any version of a truck in St. Paul and Minneapolis, dude, it's like the work's there, right? There's good work there, but man, the execution is not simple because of the street structure and how to get to property park get getting set up with any vehicle over you know, like a little electric, whatever. You know what I mean? Like even
Gabe Wagner (31:14)
No, and the parking is tough. Yeah. Then you add on a sixteen foot trailer, it's like, Okay, now where are we gonna go?
Reasonable Tech Dad (31:25)
That's exactly what I'm envisioning. I don't even like going on bids I don't even like going on bids in in those cities, but the work's there. So then that's what you guys that was what that was for, is to kind of give you some compact execution like a work like a a pirate ship a workstation. Yeah, I had to go get it done.
Gabe Wagner (31:29)
Oh. Oh exactly. Exactly. And I'm like, I wanted this truck to be able to do any job. So it it can be out in St. Paul doing graffiti removal. I can send it over to go do a residential job. I can send it to you know go do gutters over here. So I wanted to be like flexibility to do anything. And what that'll
Reasonable Tech Dad (31:55)
Built on that system you were talking about. Everything was in sequence. All right where you wanted it hung. What kind of guy, dude? Yes.
Gabe Wagner (31:58)
Exactly. Yep. Build this, build it, build it, build it. And so I mean that was and but but the other aspect too of what w I wanted to do that is like okay in order to do any job I need to be there because we're using my truck to tow the trailer. Now that we have this other truck with all of our equipment, I no longer have to be on the job. So I and that's that's really where it all kind of started to to roll now. It's not only do I have a a good job, but now I'm really starting to work on the business, build and I I believe that's what I'm talented at is networking, um, you know, talking to people, creating those connections and and educating too. Like you said, you didn't you didn't know what the softwash thing was. And so when I'm speaking to you know HOA presidents, whatever it may be, there's a lot of that education
Reasonable Tech Dad (32:25)
Yeah.
Gabe Wagner (32:46)
that goes into it. And a lot of the time it's, you know, they've had bad experiences in the past. Companies that just got, you know, maybe in over their head, couldn't handle that type of project. So it's part of it's talking them off the ledge. Like, hey, let's let's try this again. This is the process we're going to use. These are some of the issues that you're probably going to come across and that we've seen. This is how we're going to attack those issues before they turn into bigger ones. And so and that's in and honestly that's that's what's big. Yeah.
Reasonable Tech Dad (33:09)
Love that, dude. That's what closes the deal, dude. This is a business podcast. We can talk about it bluntly. Like, and you, you know, all the stuff you get to do, I start I call it shaking hands and kissing babies. Cause you do you you talk ab earlier you were talking about a book of business and how long that takes to build, right? And the book of business never gets built without that that activity from and it and you and it's when you said that you believe that you're that kind of person, I know I'm that kind of person, it's it's a unique, not only personality, but a skill set. You can't take everybody and have them do that.
Gabe Wagner (33:25)
Yeah. You gotta be there.
Reasonable Tech Dad (33:43)
It it's it's it's for sure a di a certain personality. Not to say people can't learn how to do it. I'm not dis like saying it's impossible, but I'm saying it's it's it's a skill. And it's something that needs to be done with intention that really does drive important things for the business. And you can see that when you start seeing how you go from the desperation for lead sources versus having to turn business away kind of you know what I mean?
Gabe Wagner (33:52)
Yeah. Oh, exactly. And I'm I'm so grateful. That's kinda like this year, that's really where we've gotten. We've proved ourselves so much now that management companies, I mean, they trust us. There there's probably seven to eight of 'em that trust us is with everything. And so like we're their number one option. They just They they s they just send us stuff now. So we really don't have to do that much marketing. Um, just because those four years were just spent grinding, um, you know, hustling, underbidding jobs, knowing, yeah, knowing you know we could be making more money, but we need the job. We we want to show face, we want to build that brand. Um, and then what was it, year three? Year four. No, year three is when we got our truck, we wrapped that truck in our decals, we got you know our matching shirts.
Reasonable Tech Dad (34:48)
They're sick decals. I like the blue dude. Does that did I see an American flag on there behind kinda behind any of them? Or was that just 'cause you had a red Mom man. Merka Mom man.
Gabe Wagner (34:51)
Thank you. Yeah, so I got the flag there. And then each each one of our trucks have the flag on it. And that's, you know, oh I'm I'm a very patriotic guy. I'm a very, very fortunate um to be an American. I love I love working here. Um I love, you know, living in this country and I feel like it it just it I feel so fortunate that I could just decide, hey, this is what I want to do, and if I work hard enough and I, you know, bet on myself enough that, you know, you can really do anything that you want.
Reasonable Tech Dad (35:01)
Sick dude. Amen. And you just told the story. Four years. You pretty much laid it out, dude. Thank you for doing that.
Gabe Wagner (35:27)
And there's still so much work to go, but it's yeah, it's those like at this point, you know, the comp you know, we're never I I don't know how to say we're not going anywhere, I should say. Now it it I feel like we're established enough where it's now it's time to really take it to the next level. Now we're, you know, we built our brand and now now we're here to stay.
Reasonable Tech Dad (35:46)
Do it. Now here I just want to point out something quick for anybody w watching or listening. How many times, if you go back and listen, Gabe probably said the word professional when you were describing first year four or five times in that story in a couple minutes, dude. And then to see where you land in four years. And now what does be with when professionality is your focus and systems are your focus? And then four years later, there's another word that comes after that, and it's trust. Customers and big or companies with better budgets for that kind of stuff. The kind of customers a lot of businesses strive for professionalism and systems. When you focus on those two things, that turns into trust. Correct me if I'm wrong. You know what I mean? I just saw that piece for you. I just wanted to put a wrap on that because I had I saw that idea when you said that you had trust from people and I thought to all like what was your focus? And it was important. You know what I mean? Even through the fear, you continue like when you things weren't perfect, you focused on those things and it lands in a good spot always. Always for business things.
Gabe Wagner (36:29)
Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Exactly.
Reasonable Tech Dad (36:49)
Um, how about that goal, dude? You were just about to go there. What's the next goal? What do you what do you see coming? What's the what's the target? What
Gabe Wagner (36:55)
The goal I um and I I go back and forth one full time crew. Um and if you know if I need to I can hop out there and we can get a couple more guys. And so that's why going into next year I'm I'm gonna get a truck to replace mine. So if that second crew has to go out, I don't have to be there now. And so that's that's kind of the next evolution of where we're going. Um
Reasonable Tech Dad (36:59)
How many crews you got right now? Not to cut you off. Sick. Nice. Sick. Sick.
Gabe Wagner (37:20)
But you know, I'm focused on just having an efficient company. I want to be small, but I want to pack a punch. I've I've done, you know, a lot of listening, I guess, and learning from people that have built these multi-million dollar companies. And, you know, it's it's great to say, you know, we do all this revenue, but that comes with a lot more problems too, and a lot more time. And something that I've really have grown to appreciate is, you know, with these past few months being able to step off the truck. Yes, I'm still at the fe um, you know, doing estimates and doing that. But I have so much more time. I have, you know, my wife, she's a nurse, so she kind of has, you know, days off during the week. If I know that she's gonna be home during the week, I can kind of plan my day where, you know, we can spend the day together. And if, you know, we're thinking about starting a family now. And so once we have, you know, kids, I really um, you know, I really value being present. I value my time and I, you know, the money will come. And so that's just what I'm I'm focused on is how to keep growing, but how to say, you know, a And have great margins. You know, it's it revenue's great, but I want to keep it. I want to I want to keep up more of my money. And so it comes down to systems and and equipment. Just keep investing in that. Keep investing in your brand. Um and just yeah. I mean and employees too. The employee thing, I think any any company, any industry, I mean, they can agree it's it's tough to find good employees. And so the last thing I want to do is, you know, grow to 10 crews and then now we're sacrificing quality.
Reasonable Tech Dad (38:27)
Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. No, absolutely. I think that's a it's good to have that clear goal moving forward, dude. Like 'cause it would be easy to and you see this a lot and I've talked to guys that have t done it, you start saying yes to the wrong things. Being clear what kind of projects are gonna bring what kind of scale because as you brought up on the f first start of that point is like scale brings a whole nother set of challenges. And with scale comes margin difficulty versus just revenue, right?
Gabe Wagner (38:55)
It's just not not not really worth it to me. And so Exactly.
Reasonable Tech Dad (39:23)
Like you said, you can you can have ten million in revenue and be taking home not a good chunk of that. And then what headache. And we were talking earlier about the word cost. And when you point out that th that piece um about family and a young family like yourself, dude, I can't can't speak more vividly than telling you how important spending time with your kids are when it's young. That's the reasonable tech that thing. I I've done a number of things that have led to a good amount of time with my kids and I would
Gabe Wagner (39:29)
And then you do and then it's like what am I what am I doing it for?
Reasonable Tech Dad (39:52)
keep that focus in mind. But um without getting too far on that tangent, I think you're a good person to talk about something we talk about a lot on the show is that the next generation. You're young already, man. Like you did it right out of college and like you went to school for business admin and you said on this on this podcast that it didn't matter. Right? The business admin, like yes it it gives you some frameworks, right? Exposes you to ideas. Um But was it necessary? And what can you tell the next generation about trades and why it's a good idea? Especially touching on that family piece that you just said.
Gabe Wagner (40:27)
Well, I'll take you back to the college aspect too. It's and I I tell all my I tell my friends this. I tell, you know, any b really anybody that'll listen, I said, No, when they ask, would you go back to college again? I would. I I loved college. Not only did I meet, you know, my best friends there, It taught me social skills. It taught me those, you know, like how to talk like us, like I we've never met before this, but how to talk to strangers, how to create similarities, how to, you know, connect really. And so that's what um and you know, talking to people you net don't really want to talk to, how to get through a conversation with somebody you don't click with, but you're you're still trying to be respectful. And so that's what I learned all those things at college being off on my own. And um so that's this touching on that aspect, that's what I
Reasonable Tech Dad (41:06)
Yes.
Gabe Wagner (41:14)
I I learned that s you know, all those skills way more than, you know, the accounting I do, than the, you know, whatever the entrepreneurship classes I took. Um, so that's why I really enjoyed college. But I just think, you know, when you go into the trades, there's so much opportunity. And there's really, you know, I don't know how to s say this right. There's there's a lot more people going out, you know, on older companies than newer companies coming in. There's so much, there's so much opportunity. And um and that creates freedom. And so that's what, you know, when I tell people, if you want to start your business, do you want to be, do you want to do your own trade or do you want to have a, you know, do you want to have a good paying job or you want to have a good business? And my whole, you know, my whole focus was always, yeah, it's it's necessary to learn that trade, but then you got to turn it into a business at some point. Otherwise you're just stuck with that, with that job. And so um and I don't know if I really answered your question. there. But then that but then that leads to you know that family time and and and when when just when you take control I guess I'll I'll give you an example. I was talking to my brother in law uh this weekend and he's you know there he's starting to get some more um you know responsibility at work starting to handle these projects and his phone next his phone is just blowing up from customers and he's kinda getting annoyed and I you know I kinda smile I said, you know it's a lot easier to answer those phone calls on the weekend when when you're getting paid a little bit more when it
Reasonable Tech Dad (42:11)
No you did. Your money.
Gabe Wagner (42:42)
when it's for you, right? And it's uh it it it's it's not as annoying dealing with that customer when it's for you. And so I just I think, you know, and it's not for everybody. That business is not, you know, owning a business is not for everybody. A lot of people like to go, clock out, and then they're done. And so and that's what I tell people, like well I'll be out with my friends and we'll it'll be Saturday and I'll have a phone call come in. You gotta go answer the phone. And it's just it's part of it.
Reasonable Tech Dad (42:58)
Yes. It's trade-offs. It's so so many trade-offs. Um, there's freedom, but that freedom isn't what I because I can tell you from my entrepreneurial pursuits, it always, always started with freedom. And what I realized after a number of failures is that that freedom is the freedom you're looking for, but it requires so much work.
Gabe Wagner (43:19)
Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. On the front end too, where it's like you know it's it
Reasonable Tech Dad (43:34)
When you talked about those fifteen hour days and those panic attacks, people, he is not joking. That physical panic attack is cause you feel like you're going to die because you are terrified. Your chest is is is like your your heart's jumping beats and you feel this squeeze. You feel like you're short of breath. You cannot sleep. You wa you fall asleep at like eleven thirty, twelve when you went to bed at nine and you wake up at two. And like, Well, I've been laying here now, it's four o'clock, might well start working.
Gabe Wagner (43:43)
Oh yeah. Dry Eve a little bit. And I gotta I gotta give my wife a lot a lot of credit. I mean we've been together since we've been six we've been together since we've been sixteen. So high school sweethearts went to college together and um you know
Reasonable Tech Dad (44:06)
Please do. in Winona and made it through all of this. You guys are that thing's
Gabe Wagner (44:17)
Yeah. And I w and sh I kinda threw it on her too, like I'm like, I think I'm you I'm gonna go do this with my brother and she
Reasonable Tech Dad (44:22)
I'm gonna go for this. And she's like, uh I love you, but what? Because it wasn't for sure, like you said. People don't it's that's that's a real thing. It's not for sure.
Gabe Wagner (44:25)
Yeah, she goes, you know, she didn't really know at first and and I don't blame her, like she you know and uh exactly. And we had student loans. I mean, there when I had to go get my job at Cartbonies, I mean, I I remember it was like forty-two dollars left in my bank account. And um it's like okay, something I'm broke, like something has to happen. And it's you know, I give I just give her a lot of credit because these years and I'm still, you know, still stressed out and anxiety, but a lot of that anxiety, I wasn't always the easiest to be around. And you know, you try to put on that face around customers, but when you get home and you know, you you're just with your thoughts and maybe you get
Reasonable Tech Dad (44:47)
Yes. Uh always.
Gabe Wagner (45:05)
an email that wasn't, you know, somebody complaining or it says she, you know, I I just like to give her credit 'cause she, you know, she's dealt with that a lot of that and yeah. And so no. No. And so
Reasonable Tech Dad (45:13)
As you should. As you should. Because it's not easy on her either, even if she's not in it. I can tell you that from experience. It's not easy on her. It's not easy on the people around you. Those those panic attacks and those those sleepless nights and and you talk about the stress now. Would you say that the stress has gotten less or you just I think we just fucking get used to it.
Gabe Wagner (45:31)
Yeah. It exactly.
Reasonable Tech Dad (45:36)
I think we just adjust. I don't think it changes or gets any less intense. I think we just get better or we get numb. Like Oh, forget it. That it's fine. It can't be as bad as that one time.
Gabe Wagner (45:38)
Uh I'll take that one to the chin and move on. Okay. I gotta that's that's also what college taught me too. Like, uh you you you kinda learn like, oh I thought I was gonna do really good on that test. I failed it. But now I got three more you just gotta move on. You gotta take that L and move on. Um But
Reasonable Tech Dad (45:57)
Take the L. Gotta do it, man. Well, winning or learning. Winning or I'm learning.
Gabe Wagner (46:01)
To answer that stress to answer that comment about stress though, it's just I've I've tried to focus a lot of identifying what what does stress me out and how to how to put systems in place, how to get ahead of the stress, how to do different things like that. And um a lot
Reasonable Tech Dad (46:16)
Leaders anticipate, that helps.
Gabe Wagner (46:18)
Exactly. A lot of it's gone away too, just we've performed. We've performed on some of these big jobs that I haven't slept thinking about. I mean we just we did a two week job um right after the fourth of July, our biggest job we watched. God it was like over two hundred units. Um did did there
Reasonable Tech Dad (46:21)
Yes. Preach, preach, preach. How long does that take a f a crew? How long does it take two hundred units? Uh y you're talking pressure wise on the siding, right?
Gabe Wagner (46:37)
That took us Yeah. That took us six and a half days with with with three uh two crews and we did all their patios, all their privacy fencing and all their walkways. And so it um and that and that that job
Reasonable Tech Dad (46:51)
It's crazy, dude. Cause there's little there's little crevices at 200 unit. I'm I'm assuming that some of those units, we're talking like ten, twelve, ten by twelve backyards with eight foot wood fences and there's and they've got garden shit back there and statues and breakables and
Gabe Wagner (46:57)
Oh every yeah. Oh yeah. And so it's a lot of a lot of communication, like to get, you know, get their stuff moved off. And then it's this, yeah, there is a lot that went into it. And then it I mean it's that that one job, I mean, that kept me up for a month. Just trying to figure out how we were gonna do it, how we're gonna do it. And it gets to the point where it's like I just let's just go. Let's just go do it. And Yeah. Literally let's get it over. And then you get out there and it's as you you start to break it down. It's like, okay, we've done these jobs.
Reasonable Tech Dad (47:18)
Yeah. Just get the shit over with. Let's go get it done, man. I get this shit over with the can say.
Gabe Wagner (47:34)
So let's just let's just break this down and make it simple. Let's let's make a plan for the day. Let's get through the day and let's stack the good days. Like, you know, that's let's just keep stacking um next thing you know, the job's over. Next thing you know, you know, you're cashing that nice paycheck and That's how we do it. Yeah, that's how we do it. But then it gives you confidence too. You know, you can now now you walk into the next estimate and it's you know, you just you feel like you can do anything.
Reasonable Tech Dad (47:41)
Yeah. What are you focusing on? Hey this was worth it This was worth it That was what I was gonna circle back her own that exact word. Dude, that's the spot. That's the spot to put a bow right on it, dude. Like, what a cool story. Four years, and you were so raw about the actual struggles. Like, people come on and try to put on a good show. It's not pretty, folks. It's not, it's not glamorous. And we just had I just had a guy on, he's it's not published yet, but uh Tony from uh Twin City Premier Plumbing, he was saying the same thing. He's like, People think I'm doing great and fucking stressed out, man.
Gabe Wagner (48:07)
Well thank you. Yeah. They they they see the nice truck and they're go things all must be going well. It's like
Reasonable Tech Dad (48:30)
Yeah. You're you're you get to sleep in one day on a Friday before you go work on your day off and they're like, Yeah, he's doing he's killing it. What a nice life.
Gabe Wagner (48:37)
Yeah. I've dry heaps twice this morning, no? That's it's not it's not always good.
Reasonable Tech Dad (48:46)
Oh Gabe, this was awesome. I'll probably have to have you on again, man. Appreciate you so dude. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Alright. Dude, we that's what happens. You get deep into it. Smart people start talking. This is my favorite thing. Listening to smart people talk. All right, uh, tell the people where to go, man. Tell them where to find you.
Gabe Wagner (48:49)
Oh, I would love to. I would love to. That forty forty eight minutes went by quick. Thank you. Oh, you can find us at aquablastmn.com. It can schedule online there if you want to um you know get an appointment going. We still have opportunities, uh, you know, late in the fall here or go to our Instagram or Facebook page.
Reasonable Tech Dad (49:17)
I've been on there. The pictures and the videos are sick. Go check 'em out.
Gabe Wagner (49:20)
Thank you. I try to do what I can. I'm the social media guy. I wear that hat too, so Exactly. You as well. Thank you, Ryan.
Reasonable Tech Dad (49:24)
Hell yeah, buddy. Gotta wear them all. Which one are we switching to? Alright, Gabe. Pleasure. You take it easy, man. We'll talk soon. Alright. Yep.