Embracing Change & Failure as an Owner Operator

Jared Flinn: Rodney, thanks for joining. Rodney Gardner: Hey, Jared. My pleasure. Jared Flinn: Well, I had the pleasure of meeting your brother last fall. I think you were busy at the time, but, made my first trip to Lancaster County and absolutely loved it. We have yet to release the video we did Earl Martin, last month, and then I think your brother's pod or excuse me, video will come out, within the next couple weeks or month. So but, yeah, just, love meeting your actually, two brothers, Ryan, and then your younger brother too. Right? The youngest? Rodney Gardner: Yes, Scott. And, actually, typically, when my brother asks something, I just drop what I'm doing and come. And he asked me if I could stop over and see you and, shake hands with you, but it just didn't work out that day. So Jared Flinn: Next time. Rodney Gardner: For sure. Jared Flinn: For sure. But, yeah, he was explaining a little about what you did. We've had a a a couple communications and conversations and wanted to just to introduce you to our audience, on bulk loads. But, yeah, high level, Rodney, before we talk about what you do, talk about just a little bit about the Garber history. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. It's a it's a rich history in the sense of just incredible legacy. My both sides of my family actually, but the Garber side, taught me everything I know about entrepreneurship and and leading businesses from a people perspective. And, you know, grew up on a farm, and my brother, Ryan, who you were talking about, actually, was the one who really gravitated towards the farming and sort of that hard work. I think he was operating a combine by the time he was six or seven or something like that. But, yeah. So beautiful heritage of hard work, farming, agriculture, transportation, trucking, and really from an entrepreneurial band. And, so it's it really has been a privilege. Rodney Gardner: And I think the greatest thing that comes to mind is just, you know, leadership that put God first and honored God in everything that they did. And I think part of, a large part of any of the success that we have is is really due to that. And so that's kind of the garburs if we can get it wrong a lot, but it's one of the things we really try and do is keep a biblical worldview and, treat people like people. You know, it's it's it's really what it's all about. Jared Flinn: You did you work in the family business growing up? Did you do a little were you did you help with the trucking and farming? Or Rodney Gardner: Yeah. So, I mean, as a growing up on a farm, I had all the great odd jobs. And, of course, we fed heifers at 5AM before school every morning and all you know, did all that stuff. But as I got older, I was really more into sports, and, my brother had really taken, the bull by the horns when it came to to stepping into the family business and is more gravitated towards that. And I think it took me a little while till I got a little older to really realize the heritage of of farming and transportation. But I will tell you that my family got some really good counsel. There was you know, my dad was in partnership with his dad and his brother, and they got some really good counsel coming along. And one of the things early on, I remember about 15 years old, we sat with these consultants. Rodney Gardner: And at the time, I didn't really have a clue what we were, you know, engaging in. But there was some really clear definitions of what it meant to actually work at at Garber Farms and and be a part of that, from an employment perspective. And at the time, it was it wasn't just that you didn't you didn't earn it just because of your last name. Right? You had to had to work away from the business for a period of time, and then step into when an opportunity presented itself. So it was a really neat way of doing a a family business. We called it a business family rather than a family business, and so we got some good counsel on that. So to answer your question, there wasn't an opportunity directly, as I was heading off after high school and into college. And so I went and did the college thing, which got a great education, went to Shippensburg University, got my bachelor's degree. Rodney Gardner: And when I came home, there was a lot of other opportunities outside the business, which I pursued. And while I have a deep passion for Garber business and and GFI and our farms, the stars just never aligned in that way. And all of that story is unfolding now is the the amazing work that I get to do and the clients I get to serve. If I'd be a part of the family business, directly, I wouldn't have this opportunity to serve clients the way that we do. So, kind of a roundabout journey. And interestingly enough, I thought there was gonna be a path to driving truck. And, it turned out by the time that I was 18, I had too many points on my driver's license and ended up losing it. And my dad told me how impossible it would be to get me insured, so that was a hard no and, kinda closed that door for me. Rodney Gardner: So Jared Flinn: Yeah. Your wife you and your wife had a business too, right, before the actual coaching too, right, that you in ended up building and selling? Can you talk about that a little bit? Rodney Gardner: Yeah. So, again, entrepreneur family, and, my dad came to me back in, would have been right around 2010 and approached me with an opportunity, a friend of his that was selling a farm market. And, at the time, I was working in property management, had a great job, but had always been looking for that next opportunity. So my wife and I together, we bought a market stand at the Central Market here in Lancaster. Actually, one of the most famous, continuously operating farmers markets in the country. And so we bought a brand of jarred goods called Amish Family Recipes. Interestingly enough, on my mom's side, we have an incredible Amish heritage as well. And so that tied right into kind of our family deal and, bought the brand. Rodney Gardner: And we sold jarred goods, and we ended up with, two market stands. And, a bunch of wholesale accounts we sold online and and distributed to, family owned markets, gift shops, that type of thing. So we did that for about, little under ten years. And as our kids were getting older, we wanted to get our weekend back. And, so we, talked and prayed through that and felt led to offer that for sale. And, so we sold that in 2018. Jared Flinn: Okay. Nice. And then from there, talk about the process. Well, I I guess I wanna back up a little bit because this is when you're talking about these businesses and your your, your dad, you know, the the business family instead of family business. But I think some of us can get confused or almost I I shouldn't say confused, but worried about business in the sense of failing. But it's it just seems like you all, like it was just second nature of starting businesses and running businesses. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. I mean, it would be naive to say that there was never the thought of failing a risk. I mean, I think that that thought comes with anything. You know, Jared, that's a really interesting concept. I never really thought too much through. I think when you when you set out to do something and you have a good plan and a good strategy and you ask the right questions and have a good team of people, something that's well thought out, I think the thought of failure just doesn't even cross your mind until perhaps you're approaching the edge of it. Right? But, yeah, I think there's a lot of that is just a mindset of failure isn't really an option. And even when you do come up against it, I think that's what true entrepreneurs do. Rodney Gardner: They get creative. And at the same time, in failing is really at the definition of whoever creates the creates the definition, you know, from Yeah. From from one entrepreneur to to another, failure could look very, very different. And I've seen a lot of doors closed that other people might call failure. I actually would would say maybe that's why I kinda smirked at your comment because I look at those as opportunities to try something new or to learn from it. So Yeah. Jared Flinn: I guess I say in the sense if you talk about your your history and your family, mine was quite the opposite of my grandpa starting a farming business and, not running it properly and having to sell the farm and, you know, the banks coming in, and then my dad and uncles try starting a business that ended up failing as well. And for me being the third generation, being like, there's no way I'm ever gonna be able to run a business because it's destined to fail. Like, every other family member has failed. How can this work for me? Well, I just think in the opposite. Like, you saw your grandpa's hard work in succeeding in in business, even your your dad's hard work. So you almost it's second nature. Like, hey. It's gonna be hard work, but I'm not gonna fail because my family members haven't failed. Rodney Gardner: Yeah, Jared. That's a really good perspective and why I love interacting in stories like this because you come from it from a whole different perspective. Yeah. And I would say one of the things that attributes to that and I I don't wanna lay this on so thick, like, that when you, you know, have a biblical worldview or faith, everything's just gonna work out for you. Because that we know that's not true. That's not even reality. But I truly do attribute any success from the outside looking in or even that we hold really to that that faith filled way of doing business. And I know plenty of people who have that same world view who have have failed in business. Rodney Gardner: Right? And so it, you know, so I don't know there's a magic thing there, but I do know that one of the things that was instilled in me early on is that people matter. And if it's not truly a win win where the organization can grow and, you know, if people can't grow along with you, and that includes not only just your team members, but vendors and clients and community members. So I consider it a great blessing. I don't know that we have the magic wand of what created success, and, I'd love to learn more some time about, you know, your family's history and whatnot too. But it can happen to anybody. And I think it's what we do with it and the perspective that we gain and learn from others is really what makes it, you know, for us to take a next step. Jared Flinn: So you and your wife, you you you end up selling the business in 02/2018. Talk about what what's going through your mind, or what's the thought process of what's next? Because it's not like you instantly had this idea of what you're doing today. Right? Rodney Gardner: Yeah. No. We felt we felt the timing, to to sell that and transition. We knew that it was time. And, what I did have in my back pocket was, alongside of that, I was in our family real estate business, and we had some self storage on our farm property, that we had some buildings that, were empty. And years ago, my dad and uncle were were wise enough to transition that over. And so I immediately stepped into operating that full time, rather than on a part time basis. And so I did have that in my back pocket, but I read a book, called The Last Arrow by Erwin McManus. Rodney Gardner: And I will say this book really changed my life. I was at a season where I was, as you mentioned, kinda seeking, like, hey. What what would be next? And the whole premise of this book that really opened my eyes, and I'm naturally wired this way for action and forward momentum, but this book really put the brevity of life right in front of me. And the whole idea of the concept is is save nothing for the the next life because we don't get a second one. And so we look at life as, you know, as men, so resonate with you and I, but, you know, as as kind of a warrior and we're we're in this this battle. Right? And so how awful would it be that if we have tools such as, like, a a bow and arrow, and we have a quiver on our back, that we would die on the battlefield with a quiver full of arrows. And so the whole premise is, like, shoot the arrows. Like, empty your quiver in life. Rodney Gardner: And at the same time, a close family friend of ours had had built this incredible marketing company. His name was Scott Sheffey. And he was just about to transition his business and head into retirement, and he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and six months later, he was he was dead. And so yeah. And so the combination of of this life of impact that I had watched and this book led me to really start asking the questions. What is next? Right? Like, each of us has a has a gift of of passion or something we're good at or that, you know, been given a gift of some leadership, and some it's making money, some it's driving trucks. Like, e each of us have have our own unique gifts and passions. And it was really stirred in me that why would I go on for one more second not doing vocationally, professionally those very things that I feel called and gifted to? And so it was in that season after we sold the business, that I began an asking those questions and answering them. Rodney Gardner: And that's what really led me to this idea of coming alongside others and seeing unrealized potential. And the thing that really, really frustrated me was when I saw people that would talk about things and then not actually step in and do them. Right? And so that's where this idea of activate your influence stemmed from was, hey. Life is short, and we've got to to move and be active and step into the to our giftings and callings. And I just so happen to be able to do that and help inspire and equip others to go do that as well. So, yeah, that's where it was all came from. Jared Flinn: I think people are understanding what you do, but high level, just for our audience, activate your influence. I don't wanna put the words in your mouth, but who are you and what do you do? Rodney Gardner: Yeah. So, I mean, activate your influence truly is the initiative. That that's not a play on words for something more cryptic. It really is like, hey. You have influence. Like, let's discover what it is and go activate it. And it really has become a mindset. It's it it's an initiative of it's a way of life. Rodney Gardner: But how we serve clients in that is through, leadership coaching and consulting. We do, business consulting for small to medium sized companies. So strategic planning, team development, do a lot with process, but everything that's resolved resolved around, organizational health within the consulting world. And then tied to that, we also do peer advisory groups, which is probably I am a if I have favorites, I guess that would be one of my most favorite things that we do. And And it's probably one of the only things that I can look at any business leader and say you need to be involved in. I can't necessarily say that about our business or leadership coaching even though that's a good thing or even our business consulting. But any leader that's actually wanting to activate their influence and impart and actually have a true legacy impact should be in a peer group. So kinda tangibly, those are the three things that we do. Rodney Gardner: Leadership and business coaching, business consulting, focus on organizational health, building healthy teams, and then also peer advisory groups. Jared Flinn: I wanna play a little devil's advocate because, you know, it seems like this has gotten what you're doing is got you gained a lot of popularity over the last several years. You hear more of executive coaches. I had one for, several years, and, I'll I'll talk more about that later. But for those people out there that are kinda just like don't like, this is another thing. A guy want money for it to come alongside me. But, like, talk about the real impact because I've seen it personally and professionally with our organization. When we hired an executive coach, we went from you know, there was 12 employees to now 70, and that was just over five years ago. But talk about, I guess, that mindset of a lot of business owners today, and we're talking directly to them to listen to this podcast, these, you know, different stages, you know, whether it's a one truck operator, five truck operator, you know, you know, brokerage, a shipping company, trading company, all of them listen to this podcast. Jared Flinn: Yeah. But talk about that, I guess, that rut or that place that they get stuck as a business owner, as an entrepreneur because I've been there. I've witnessed it. But but talk about the the purpose of why you all do what you do. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. So, I mean, the the purpose behind it is truly to to leave through marketplace. We believe that business is an incredible conduit to make a difference in families, in communities. I mean, just think about a business and what it is. Right? There's there's so many people that you can have impact with from team members, clients. I talked about vendors early, communities. And, like, the the story that I always tell is we actually have a executive coaching client through one of our organizations that we serve. They invest in in one of their directors this way. Rodney Gardner: And the we're literally getting, like, thank you notes from wives because there's tangible change happening within just the mindsets of of husbands. Right? And so we use this idea of marketplace leadership and marketplace driven, you know, driving growth and and better profits. But at the end of the day, it comes back. It's a hard thing. Right? So we're not only just developing in business, but true tangible change. And the other my other favorite story, we'll call him little Johnny. Right? You know, dad goes home, and because of the leadership development he's getting, he's now investing more time and energy into his family and treating little Johnny better. And little Johnny goes to kindergarten, and therefore then treats the kids in his class better, and the teachers emailing mom and dad going, hey. Rodney Gardner: What's different with Johnny? You know? And so you ask the question, what's the purpose? That's the purpose, Jared. But for the skeptics out there, look, everybody has a specialty. Right? And so we see this all the time, and there was lots of books that have been written on this. But so much of business are actually being led by people who are not entrepreneurs. Alright? And so I know that's gonna frustrate some of your listeners because most business owners think that they're entrepreneurs, and the reality is many of them are not. And I don't wanna, like, rub anyone the wrong way, but it's it's really it's true. Many of them are are actually operators, or they have a gifted skill in something, or they're a technician at something. And we see this all the time. Rodney Gardner: Most of our clients are in that sort of, third to seventh year of business. They're hitting their, like, seventh to tenth employee. They're doing anywhere from, like, a quarter million to 10,000,000 in revenue. And they started the business for kinda two reasons. One, they wanna earn earn an income and they wanna make money. Right? They wanna like, don't let any business owner tell you that they're not in business to make money because they're lying to you. They are. Right? And that's not an ugly thing. Rodney Gardner: It's okay. It's okay to do that. And I Jared Flinn: was made to think that it's an ugly thing. Rodney Gardner: Right. Right. The other reason is that they had a skill that they wanted to do on their own or try out on their own. Right? And in this case, you know, in the transportation industry, perhaps it's been a driver, right, who had had worked for someone else for for fifteen years or twenty years or five years or whatever it is. They got trained up, and they said, no. I wanna go do this thing on my own. You know, where the classic example is, like, the HVAC tech. Right? They get tired of making money for the man, and so they they buy the truck, And they give incredible service at a fair price, and they love the work that they do. Rodney Gardner: And all of a sudden, their business starts growing organically because they're doing all those things well. And all of a sudden, they've got four trucks and three techs, and they've got the you know? And the very thing that they love now owns them and is destroying their life because they're not a true entrepreneur or operator. They're a gifted technician. Right? Jared Flinn: Yeah. Rodney Gardner: And so I think so often, we look at it and we wanna be all these things that we weren't designed or wired to be. And the reality is we need help. And so inadvertently now let me directly answer your question. The hype yeah. Some of the hype does exist because everybody and their brother can be a business coach these days. But the reality is the work that we do is we help people get unstuck from the very thing that often they don't even know that they're stuck in. And so rather than it's a little bit like for me, I'm terrible at math. You know, if you ask me even a simple, like, math equation, I'm gonna, like, be, like, real stumped here. Rodney Gardner: So an area that I just use, I I I pick up a tool. I get some help. I use a calculator. Right? And so I think there's this stigma that we're like, if we're in business, we don't wanna ask for help. We'll figure it out on our own or, you know, we don't wanna pay someone to do something that we can do. And so for us as business consultants or business coaches, we like when we can find the business at a young stage and get them set up properly. But so often, we find them when they're in that mode of stuck. You know? And so I would say there's so many incredible business coaches and consultants out there, and there's some not so great either. Rodney Gardner: But you gotta find a partner who can come alongside of you and get in the trenches with you and understand your business. And so often, it simply is asking the right questions and figuring out why we're stuck and having the accountability to go get unstuck. You guys for for our clients who wanna focus on the thing that they're really gifted at like, for you, you talked about that area you were stuck. Like, you know transportation. You know ball globes. We wanna be able to equip you to go do the thing that you're an expert in, and let us come alongside you and help build the teams and do the thing that you're not so great at, which is, at the time, I'm probably building the business the right way so that you can have that exponential growth. And, eventually, if I'm doing my job well enough, Jared, I've equipped you and given you the tools and the systems and the frameworks to go build your business, and you don't need me anymore. Jared Flinn: Yeah. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. Jared Flinn: It was, it was someone last year, another business owner in our space, a client, and he made a comment one time. And, man, it it was a text he sent to me, but he was like, Jared, being on top is one of the loneliest places. And, like, I looked at text, and, like, I almost started getting teary because he's there is a sense, like you said, when, like, there is a stigma that you can't ask for help, that if it it's a sign of weakness or you shouldn't be where you are if you're asking for help. Like, you shouldn't be a leader. You shouldn't be a CEO. You shouldn't be a business owner. If you're out there seeking help in these areas, you should know all of that. And I think that's where people get they get in that in that mindset of being stuck. Jared Flinn: It's like, I don't know what to do. I can't figure this out. I don't know where to go. If I ask for help, then it's looking like I'm not where I you know, I'm I'm, I guess, a phony is what I'm saying. You're, you know, an imposter. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's something that that any successful you know, and again, this whole idea of success, like, that could be defined 32 different ways, you know, depending on who you're talking to. But, you know, in in our culture, we celebrate success by people who, you know, have climbed the ladder or grew the business or 10 x or have the most followers or whatever it is. So I would say too that we need to put some distance between what, you know, our culture says it's success and world is success because, really, it's whatever you define it as. And that's one of the first questions that I ask any leader is that's define success for you because if we're comparing our success to someone else, guess what? We'll fail every time. Mhmm. You know? Yeah. Rodney Gardner: And I think if you name some of the most, quote, successful leaders that you know, I'm guessing that 100% of them have people in their corner cheering them on. They're vulnerable enough to ask for help and admit that they don't have it all figured out, and they're strategic and wise enough to find people in their lives who can help fill those gaps and speak life and speak wisdom into those areas where we don't know it. Look. I do this for a living, but I have a a personal spiritual mentor, and I've got an incredible incredible network of people that I can be very vulnerable with and more than one person who is happy to point out all my blind spots as well. Jared Flinn: There was, you know, the town or a company here in town excuse me. There's a company here in Springfield, arguably probably one of the top 10 probably top five largest trucking companies in The US, And the guy was telling me that, the owner of the company hired this executive coach. It was years ago to say, hey. You know, he had actually went bankrupt before, but then won another shot at trying to build this business. And today, I mean, Prime Inc, I think they run 800 or excuse me, 8,000 trucks. Rodney Gardner: Oh, wow. Jared Flinn: But he was just talking about, like, he hired this coach to come in and really, see his blind spots where he was missing and focus on, hey. If you wanna get to this number of trucks or this amount of revenue or whatever that success would be, here's how you gotta get beat. So, like, it was interesting here that, like, it's like, most of these executives in all different sizes, they they've they've all had coaches that have got them where they are. I wanna go back and probably camp out here and kinda and and end it on this one. But talk about that because you you said something like kind of a lot of these small business owners there, you know, the HVAC guy, then they've got this truck. It's just like I'm picturing my head a lot of our clients. I mean, there's a lot of people out there stuck that they they were a company driver. They got their own authority. Jared Flinn: They got a couple trucks now. In the, you know, the economy's turned on them. Line haul rates have gone down. Cost and everything's back up. Right now, I mean, they're they're seeing razor thin breakeven margins. How would you come alongside someone like that from your view to give them basically to help, to get them in a path of like, hey. We can get through this. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. I mean, Jared, this is a really good question because when when things are thin, there's so often, we wanna start asking why and, like, well, how do how do we get out of this thing? You know? We wanna start blaming other things and, Jared Flinn: you know, you're Blaming everybody else. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. I I wish there was, like, a one a one size fits all or one solution. Well, hey. Just read this book or here. Here's my little tidbit of advice. But I think your question is layered. And so I think the first thing I would say is it really does come back to mindset and perspective. In a season like now that you just described where things are thinning out, it's not like it once was. Rodney Gardner: And let's face it. In the trucking industry, like, we've had years of really, really good it's been really good. And, you know, I don't wanna go into all the lessons of, like, oh, we should learn this or that. But I think in the season right now, I think what people need to very much remember is that this industry is still very strong. It is not going away. And it's hard, I think, because a lot of people got into the trucking business when it was good, and they they came for that reason. Right? Yeah. And and there's nothing wrong with entering a market that's good, but I think what we can't forget is that everything is cyclical in in any industry. Rodney Gardner: And it is very easy when we start to see things trending down to go into to panic mode or, you know, all this this thing's falling out, and we need to exit, or we need to make this, you know, strategic move. And and listen, I don't wanna ignore the fact that, like, that things are things are tight. And when things are tight, you you you have sometimes we do have to make drastic decisions as business owners. Mhmm. But I think my biggest encouragement would be that's had the right perspective and not make drastic moves. And who can you strategically align with and partner with for long term relationships? That way, the next time in seven years or ten years or the fifteen whatever the next cycle is, that you've built healthy relationships with people who are gonna remember that when things are thin. And for some of for some of us right now, that sounds like, oh, yeah. Well, that's a a long a longer term answer. Rodney Gardner: That doesn't solve my, you know, putting food on the table today. But I just would encourage all of us to remember that this is an incredible industry, and it's cyclical. And you may have to experience, I don't wanna call it a famine, but a season of the grind. And I think for many of your listeners, we don't really know what that is. I mean, maybe you can answer that better, Jared, but, like, how many of your people did enter the market in the last five to seven years when it was Jared Flinn: so good? Yeah. Quite a few. Well, and back to the example of and, again, the the company that I mentioned that now has 8,000 trucks. I mean, he faced that famine, and he had to go walk through that. But look where the company is today, and I would almost say he probably attributes a lot to the failures that he had. Same thing you pointed out in the very beginning talking about the failures that people don't I mean, the definition of failure could really be learning an opportunity later. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. Let me let me tell you let me just share this example with a quick story that I just it just hit me like a ton of bricks last week. So on our farm, we have a conservation reserve enhancement program. We have 19 acres in, which gives a buffer between our streams and our farmland. And in Pennsylvania, it's it's a big thing in around our streams. And when we planted that, we had to make a decision that we were gonna stop farming that acreage to invest in this in this program. And so we did that, and there's some uncertainty about the ending of these programs. Right? It's government funded and you know? But about year three of of this where all of our trees we planted, I don't know, some 50,000 trees. Rodney Gardner: It was a a incredible feat. About year three, we're just starting to see these trees come out of the tubes. They're just starting to gain some strength, and we're starting to see some leaves. And I'm getting really excited about the progress. And in that year, we had to mow it and and maintain it, and it was it was beautiful. But we got a flood, And that flood ended up decimating about 50 to 60% of the trees that we had just planted and nurtured and sprayed and mowed and literally, like, knocked them all over. And the tubes that were meant to protect them actually all filled with mud and with dirt and and literally they couldn't grow. So we hired a crew to come in, and we spent countless hours out there straightening these trees back up, putting the stakes back in the ground that we got probably back to about 95%. Rodney Gardner: And mind you, we have to maintain 70% to stay eligible with the program. K? Jared Flinn: K. Rodney Gardner: So we spent countless hours out there cleaning this thing up. We take great pride in it. And about three weeks later, another flood comes that that was even worse than the previous flood, knocked down all of the trees that we had just replanted and fixed, and even more so to the point where we were like, what are we gonna do? Right? And so I'm sharing this story because I wanna attribute it. Like, some some of some of us were in the flood right now. Right? Like, we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Like, rates are thinning. You know, things aren't looking good. Right? But what happened during that flood, what what I thought was this terrible thing and I was ready to give up, what actually happened was is this flood came in and it deposited native Pennsylvania seeds from dozens of miles upstream, and I didn't even know this was happening. Rodney Gardner: So all these seeds were being deposited in this fertile, wet soil that this flood had prepared. K? The previous flood. The second flood comes in and deposits all these seeds, and we never see we never saw it. Like, in the moment of the flood, all we could see was, disaster. Like, this this stinks. Like, how are we gonna recover? What are we gonna do? And it was in that that we we didn't know that it happened, but it was about two years later that we started seeing the fruit of all of this. And all of a sudden, what seemed like disaster ended up becoming some incredible fruit because behind the scenes was all of these seeds that have been planted in the in in the the disaster. Jared Flinn: Mhmm. Rodney Gardner: Now our CREP stand is being told about as as all these other farms wanna come and look at what we're doing right. And the reality is all we did was go through the grind, pick all the trees back up, and see the season of of drought through. And it was in that behind the scenes stuff that we couldn't even see that was building out this beautiful crap stand because all of these trees now came up, and we have some five to 600% of all of the trees that were even planted because of this beautiful thing that happened. And so the metaphor here is look. This is all cyclical. It's a tough season. We don't know how long it's gonna last, but it will come back. And it's what you do in the drought, in the season. Rodney Gardner: The seeds that you plant now will be the fruit that you get in two years, three years, four years, five years. And I know it's really hard for some of us to see that far out when we're trying to put food on the table, but it's the relationships that you develop now, and it's the loyalty of of people in your circle that you develop now that will allow you to reach the the fruit on the other side of it. And so I know that some of us are in the thick of it and trying to navigate this, but maintain right perspective and get people in your corner who can cheer you on. And look, misery loves company too. Right? Like, there's there's a reason why you have have an opportunity to get people in your corner because it's okay to talk about the things that aren't going well and the struggles and, like but that's how we get better. And so I share that story. Like, what seeds can you be planting now when everything looks really tough? Jared Flinn: Mhmm. Rodney Gardner: Because there is another side in a couple of years or a couple of months. Like, we don't know. And so stay the course. And it's in the refining of these difficult times is when the fruit really, really gets developed. Jared Flinn: Yeah. So, so good. Rodney, I think we could continue to talk about this, but, we're we're about out of time. I'm gonna put your link in the show notes so people are listening, they'll be able to see just so they can go to your website. But if you don't mind, just kinda talk through and I know you guys may not have openings for new clients, but if someone wanted to just to reach out, they had us a a question or just want to see how you your process works. Walk through that process of kind of how you work with clients. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. So, I mean, this is gonna sound cliche, but it it really is the truth. Like, it starts with a conversation. And so, typically, the message that we have will resonate with a certain demographic of people. And I will say this, it is not for everybody. The work that we do, even, like, being a client of ours is not for everybody because we will hold you accountable. We will discover and unpack the giftings and where you wanna take your organization or your business because all of those things are so important. But, like, not everybody can deal with a coach. Rodney Gardner: You talk about blind spots. Listen. I've had more than one client look at me and be like, I'm not sure we're a good fit. Well, yeah, we're not a good fit because you don't wanna you don't wanna have true accountability in your life. So I would say number one, Jared, it's not for everybody. It's not for your your people who, you know, we talked about this earlier who think they know it all or think they can do it all themselves. But, yeah, it starts with a conversation. And, yeah, we'd be delighted. Rodney Gardner: So often, we we'll get introduced to people and just even even in an initial conversation, we can add value. It doesn't have to be an engagement. For some, it will become that, but my heartbeat is I wanna add value in every conversation that we have. So, yeah, I mean, it could be as simple as an email or give us a call at the office, and that's engaging conversation. We can learn a little bit more about, you know, their organization and kinda what they're facing and where they're feeling stuck. And then and only then if we see that there's a mutual fit that we can actually provide value tangibly, would we entertain the idea of, you know, jumping in, to a more formal engagement? But, yeah, it starts with the conversation. Jared Flinn: Perfect. Well, again, if you're listening right now, all the information will be down below in the show notes. So you just you can click down there, and it'll get you to Rodney's page, activate your influence. Rodney, I can't thank you enough for coming on. I didn't know where this conversation was gonna lead. You know, I kinda put you on the spot when I asked you last week, but this was so refreshing more than anything. And I think people needed to hear that that message, specifically in this time. I think everything that's going on, we still know that this is cyclical, that we will rebound from it. Jared Flinn: We're gonna learn from this. And I think so many times, we can get so I can't say just tunnel visioned and clamped down. And, man, it was just a a breath of fresh air to hear you. So thank you so much for coming on the vocalist podcast. I look forward to meeting you face to face one day. But, man, your family is so awesome. So glad that, I got acquainted with you all. Thank you very much. Jared Flinn: God bless you. Rodney Gardner: Yeah. Jared, truly my pleasure, and honor to be here. Thanks thanks again. Jared Flinn: Let's stop here real quick. And stop recording.