Keep It Simple: Show Up, Execute, Repeat | The Rule That Built My Business
I sat down with Houston from Shield by Design and he walked me through how he went from wrapping cars as an installer to running a real shop, and why honesty and ownership are what built his reputation. He explained why he chose to work with GSW: they listened, acted fast on feedback, put product in his shop so his team could test it, and didn’t force exclusivity.
That mattered. They let him carry other films and coatings, let him stay transparent, and moved quickly to fix product issues he flagged. He talked about the real value of manufacturers who iterate fast, stand behind their products, and let dealers run the business the way they need to. He also got candid about the pitfalls he hit when he accepted handcuffs from larger programs: lost opportunities, political gatekeeping, and the risk of getting left behind when corporate strategy pivots.
He shared operational lessons he learned the hard way too. Always call the customer when something unexpected shows up. Document everything with 4K cameras. Keep insurance that actually matches the value of the cars you handle. His parting advice was straightforward: treat this work as a blessing, not a curse, and put processes in place so mistakes become teachable moments instead of disasters.
Chapters:
- 00:00 - Show Up and Execute
- 06:30 - Choosing GSWF: product, support, and transparency
- 10:35 - Is the all-inclusive / all-exclusive model dead? Market outlook for 2026–2027
- 15:56 - Pivot to Yellow and Black — XPEL, Alignment, and Dealer Impact
- 23:41 - Core Lessons: Admit Mistakes, Build Processes, Protect Your Business
- 29:26 - Parting Advice for Shop Operators: Treat It Like a Blessing
- 37:11 - Episode Wrap-Up — Guest Sign‑Off & Listener Call‑to‑Action
Transcript
Whatever you choose to do, show up and fucking do it.
Speaker A:And execute that shit.
Speaker A:Yeah, and fucking just keep executing because that's all that matters.
Speaker A:How much you show up for it and how hard you're going to fucking keep trying.
Speaker A:Continue to show up for it.
Speaker A:And if that's all you focus on, then you can't help but to be successful in the end, no matter what you do, man.
Speaker A: here we're at now moving into: Speaker B:Dead.
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Speaker A:Thanks for listening to another episode of the Talking Paint podcast.
Speaker A:I'm here today with the Houston of Shield by Design.
Speaker A:He's from Houston, Texas.
Speaker A:That's the guy you see that's always got like four or five words to say something to you and then the whole video is about something completely different.
Speaker A:You be hitting them hooks, dude.
Speaker B:You can blame that on my media guy.
Speaker B:I've met, I've met your media guy.
Speaker B:He seems a way more chill than my media guy.
Speaker B:But my media guy is about conflict, conflict, conflict.
Speaker B:He wants to push the media, our, our content toward the conflict.
Speaker B:But I naturally am not that way.
Speaker B:So I kind of want to go the other way.
Speaker B:But what he hits on with me is the transparency.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:He knows that he could hit me with a topic, a clickbait topic, and then I pretty much just be transparent about everything else.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, and I think that you have to have a strategy when you approach content in general because if you don't have one and it's not saying the right things to the people who you want to be listening, you're not going to get any outcomes.
Speaker A:Yes, true.
Speaker A:So like it's okay to have a clickbait title as long as the value comes through on the other end.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Hopefully this will hit every person in our industry.
Speaker B:I'm sorry about the clickbait titles.
Speaker B:My media guy's definitely watching this and he's like, stop saying that.
Speaker B:But, but really we're just trying to get everybody's attention, you know, and it's.
Speaker B:And if it's from you Know, certain companies doing certain things to certain distributors or manufacturers doing certain things.
Speaker B:That's pretty much where we're at in the industry.
Speaker B:You know, I've been at this for 24 years now, owning a business, and, dude, this is nuts the way things have changed.
Speaker B:Did I ever think I would be sitting here at a show doing a podcast with you, you know, in my stage of my life?
Speaker B:No, I didn't.
Speaker B:It was always focus was wrapping cars.
Speaker B:Make the most money you can with the cars, make the customers the most happiest.
Speaker B:I never saw outside the box, never.
Speaker B:And as a PPF shop owner, I could tell these guys with my whole heart that if all you're doing is wrapping cars and you don't focus on anything else, you're not going to be successful.
Speaker B:No, really not.
Speaker A:You might be successful in how you feel about the work being done and like, that might feel great, but that's.
Speaker A:That's the part of the business that stops at the installer's vision.
Speaker A:And so many of them, they got the blinders on.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:They have that about anything related to working on customer cars and growing in their business and doing more or doing less.
Speaker A:And it's been the hardest part for me to try and influence those bigger pictures.
Speaker A:Unless I make it through a drastic, drastic statement to them.
Speaker A:Yeah, Almost borderline, might be offensive.
Speaker B:Slap in the face.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It takes that gut shot to get them to pay attention.
Speaker A:And I work with all types of different sectors.
Speaker A:We work with tint, we work with detail coatings and everything in between.
Speaker A:We work with auto glass, we work with flat glass, we work with wrap shops and everything in between.
Speaker A:And it just seems the guys who are focused on PPF first, which, don't get me wrong, isn't a bad model.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker A:These guys seem to be the hardest people to convince otherwise, take the chance and to just show them that there are other ways to create leverage in your business.
Speaker A:Buy your time back, make better choices.
Speaker A:And, you know, I've been the guy to pick a company and like, represent on them.
Speaker A:You know, my shop was an elite dealer, so, like, I was all in on the elite dealer program.
Speaker A:I believed in it and it worked really well.
Speaker A:I happened to exit my shop, really, and had a great opportunity to do that.
Speaker A:And I think that if I were to go at it again and maybe give some of these guys that have that installer mindset to not to knock those opportunities, but also think about what does the future of your business look like?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And what decisions are you making today that are Going to affect your business later.
Speaker A:Because I made the choice to go elite because I knew how to leverage the amazing SEO that came with the program.
Speaker A:And now it's less effective and it's not a leveraging point as much as it was anymore.
Speaker A:And if I had to make that choice again, I probably wouldn't.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's just been an evolution of technology, and it was something I wasn't foreseeing happening.
Speaker A:So I think back, if I had stayed independent, would I have been successful?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I would like to think I would, but I think a lot of guys get caught up on that.
Speaker A:What if.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And, like, am I making the right choice and am I making the right call?
Speaker B:Well, let's face it, if you're comfortable, then you're not doing it.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:That's not the move.
Speaker B:If you're just, like, happy with being able to show up and.
Speaker B:And, you know, manage your shop for seven, eight hours a day, go home and then, you know, take off on weekends, it's just like this market doesn't allow that anymore.
Speaker B:There's too many guys working Monday through Friday, where Saturdays is our only day to go out and mess with their Ferrari or their Porsche or drop it off and come to your shop and do a visit.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So you kind of got to open yourself up to new ways of thinking, and a lot of it is through the socials.
Speaker B:I mean, you, you know, you know, everybody sees your content.
Speaker B:If you're not in front of that camera, then you're not doing yourself any justice.
Speaker B:So get in front of the camera, be the face of your company, push your brand.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm pushing gswf.
Speaker B:But more importantly, everyone knows Shield by Design.
Speaker A:I think a lot of people are concerned that you're only for gswf.
Speaker A:Yeah, just the influencer game is right now and how that works with companies and who people represent and who's benefiting and who can be trusted.
Speaker A:Can you talk a little bit about why you're choosing to represent GSWF now?
Speaker A:Like, outside of being a distributor and selling film, like, are there other reasons why you've decided to go that way?
Speaker B:I think for me, Gabe, it was the point of them being able to make changes.
Speaker B:And immediately, like, literally, you know, I made that.
Speaker B:I don't know if you saw that video I made about their carbon fiber and how it wasn't the greatest looking, the print wasn't right and this and that.
Speaker B:They immediately called meetings, took the film off the website, started Going into production changes, you know, already getting revisions for the carving, like, immediately.
Speaker B:Not only do they freak out because I said something bad about a company that I push, but they just don't see the.
Speaker B:The gains of that.
Speaker B:Like, you have to be transparent.
Speaker B:If I was always like, gswf, the best material, everybody else material sucks, you know, then everybody's gonna be like, what's wrong with this guy?
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:He doesn't.
Speaker B:Obviously.
Speaker B:He's a paid actor.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Paid fan, paid.
Speaker B:When that's not the case, you know, with gswf, they were smart.
Speaker B:They put the film in my shop.
Speaker B:I didn't pay for it in the beginning.
Speaker B:They put 10 rolls in my shop and it was just like my guys were just constantly using it.
Speaker B:And it finally was like, why are they keep asking me to pick this film for their cars?
Speaker B:We tried it, putting it on some dealership cars first, you know, use some blow and go cars.
Speaker B:And dude, we just fell in love with the material.
Speaker B:And once that happened, I was like, now what's the deal with GSWF as far as their support system?
Speaker B:And it was really fun because they were so early staged that we had a big influence on it.
Speaker B:When I say we, I mean me and Stephen from King Tut, him and I've kind of got together.
Speaker B:DJ from Illmatic Raps turned us on to gswf.
Speaker B:He brought us in and promised us the world.
Speaker B:Came to find out he couldn't really deliver those promises, but GSWF stood up and backed those things that brought us in.
Speaker B:So it's great to get an awesome price on film.
Speaker B:But more importantly, I can with my whole heart say that I am really pushing this product.
Speaker B:And we fall in love with.
Speaker B:We use it every single day.
Speaker B:And until somebody comes and knocks them off their throne with me, then that's where we're going to be is with gswm.
Speaker A:Do you think there's something to learn from GSWF that other film manufacturers genuinely need to hear or should hear or pay attention to?
Speaker A:I think that you're in a unique position where you have knowledge and, like, firsthand of what it looks like behind the curtain, behind the curtain, and, like, see what's been successful and what hasn't been.
Speaker A:And I think that there's some tactical information and, like, maybe some conceptual information that you can share for sure.
Speaker A:A lot of the other people genuinely should hear and consider for sure.
Speaker B:So the biggest thing that I, before I even ever considered getting in bed, let's say Technically not getting in bed with them, but theoretically, before I got bed with gswf, I made two things certain with them, was that the number one thing was that they were never going to be in the retail space.
Speaker B:They're never going to open up shops to try to take business from us.
Speaker B:They're never going to try to target dealerships.
Speaker B:You know, if anything they're going to do is they're going to help me target dealerships, they're going to help me target retail business.
Speaker B:I made sure of that.
Speaker B:And then I also made sure that they would put me on handcuffs as far as like my content, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:I think for me that's a big thing because these guys listen to me because they know I'm not lying.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:I'll say what.
Speaker B:Sometimes I'm brutally honest.
Speaker B:I'll say that I really shouldn't say, sorry about that.
Speaker A:That's okay.
Speaker B:But obviously.
Speaker B:But that's what happens with me, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm just like, I've been doing this so long that I feel like it's just better to just be honest, you know?
Speaker B:And if you're not here when it comes time for me to make my rent payment for my shop, then if you're not here helping me with that, then I'm not going to listen to you.
Speaker B:I'm not going to let you tell me what films I can carry, what ceramic coatings I can carry and I cannot carry.
Speaker B:And GSWF just won't do that.
Speaker B:They will not.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:If you carry their films, they'll let you carry other films.
Speaker B:Yeah, they'll let you carry other coatings.
Speaker B:They don't.
Speaker B:I mean, all stuff that we sell, but they will still let you do your thing to make your shop successful.
Speaker B:Now, to me, that's so important, considering.
Speaker A:Where we're at now.
Speaker A: , Moving into: Speaker A:Do you think that the all inclusive, all exclusive model is dead?
Speaker B:Dead?
Speaker B:Very much so.
Speaker B:And I think the territory model is going to be dead too.
Speaker A:You think the territory model is dead?
Speaker B:Unfortunately.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker B:I feel like that it's just too much pain points that way.
Speaker B:Like, I feel like when you give a territory to a guy and if he doesn't use that territory to its utmost fullest, then why give that to that person?
Speaker B:You know, just like Stek, they'll sell film to anybody and their model has taken off tremendously.
Speaker B:Like they are one of the top leaders and they came from nothing.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, 10 years ago, who was that?
Speaker A:Stack was just starting to make a name for themselves when I got into the sector.
Speaker A:And, you know, I've only been in it for five years and I don't ever claim to be the all ever expert about everything.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:What I do know is that I have some of those certain skills that let you see patterns in places that other people don't.
Speaker A:I noticed that Stek was really particular when they came on the market and they were very particular about bringing the colored film in.
Speaker A:And like that's what they built their name on.
Speaker A:Remember that dude?
Speaker A:Like the first time we saw Damascus film that was lifechanging for people.
Speaker A:Even though it ended up being a massive pain in the ass.
Speaker B:The most expensive film ever.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And like absolutely nuts.
Speaker A:And then they did like the.
Speaker A:The satin chrome thing, which was.
Speaker A:Might be one of my most favorite colored, like colorways ever released.
Speaker A:And even that had a problem and ended up getting pulled back.
Speaker A:So like SEC came in and they built a name for themselves on being something very, very different.
Speaker A:Revolutionary.
Speaker A:Yeah, revolutionary at the time.
Speaker A:And I think that's another problem that the manufacturers have is like you mentioned, M WF is like the speed to iteration and the speed to execute on problems was like 10x.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:They immediately made those changes.
Speaker A:And if you're a manufacturer in this game, you have to be willing to hear the uncomfortable things and you have to be willing to show up and execute and like make changes immediately.
Speaker A:You need to have something unique to offer, not just differentiation in the value stack.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:I think that a lot of the.
Speaker A:The manufacturers now having a really hard time.
Speaker A:They're having a hard time with being differentiated and being different.
Speaker B:Like stag did.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:And that's really the biggest part of it is bringing this stuff to market.
Speaker B:You know.
Speaker B:And it's a give and take.
Speaker B:It really is.
Speaker B:Because maybe they brought some stuff to market too quick.
Speaker B:You know, their windshield protection.
Speaker A:Everybody loved that.
Speaker A:Dude.
Speaker B:And then when they pulled it down, I was heartbroken.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:But they had to.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:You know, because like you almost.
Speaker B:You brought it in too quick.
Speaker B:You know, we weren't ready for either the mass production of it or to keep it consistent or we just straight up had manufacturing issues with it.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So being able to be like you said, business enough to know when you have to fold them and pull the product off and then, you know, when it's ready, put it back on.
Speaker A:That's a struggle for me in.
Speaker A:In watching companies sell a product they know is damaged because they're not willing to take the loss.
Speaker A:It was a big struggle for me to see that happening during my upcoming time here.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And it happened repeatedly.
Speaker A:There were a lot of people involved in Pink and Black during the elite program scaling that.
Speaker A:Like, there were massive issues with some of the Kvacha films.
Speaker A:And granted, you know, Ceramic Pro us owned that.
Speaker A:They truly tried to work with everybody, but a lot of it was just like, you got.
Speaker A:We got to grin and bear it until we get through this.
Speaker A:And it just, it left a sour taste in a lot of people's mouths.
Speaker A:And don't get me wrong, that doesn't make Ceramic Pro bad, but it leaves a sour taste in a lot of people's mouths.
Speaker A:And it's hard to come back from that and trust that as a manufacture and like, get trust back as a manufacturer.
Speaker A:When you push that narrative and.
Speaker A:And you.
Speaker A:You go that way, that's a lesson for a lot of people and a lot of up and comings in this sector to learn is like, stand behind what you make, be ready to correct it and fix it and have a B plan if isn't right.
Speaker A:And like, have.
Speaker A:Have an emergency injection protocol.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So that you can make changes quickly.
Speaker A:And like, your business model has to support that now because of how quickly things move.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, people are as consumers and shop owners are completely different now.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, we're educated with social medias and the Internet.
Speaker B:It's like everyone knows everybody's business when it comes to film this delaminating or film that's failing.
Speaker B:You know, everyone knows it's.
Speaker A:None of that's hidden.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's all out there now.
Speaker B:So to be a manufacturer that has this, oh, well, everything I make is perfect.
Speaker A:And no.
Speaker B:And if you say something else about it, then you're an idiot.
Speaker B:Like, that makes no sense to me.
Speaker B:Nothing's perfect, you know, especially when you're dealing with adhesives.
Speaker B:You know, there's.
Speaker B:There's a gimmick to all of it.
Speaker B:Is some of us luck, you know, getting it right?
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:You know, but my thing is these distributors trying to put you in handcuffs and tell you you can only use this and can't use anybody else's is like, dude, that is such a flawed tactic.
Speaker B:You know, and the guys that believe that and then they go along with that.
Speaker B:I'm just like, what is wrong with you?
Speaker B:Like, why would you let some company tell you how to run your business?
Speaker B:Like, there is no way.
Speaker A:I was gate kept from a lot of opportunities when I was pushing Pink and black, man.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:Because you're locked in.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was locked in.
Speaker A:And like, not only because of that and it was collaborations outside of the business I was blocked from and like, you know, that was politics and I'm not upset about any of that, but it was just like the facts of life.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And if I had to go back and do it again, I don't know.
Speaker B:If I would spend more time on your brand.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Like knowing what I know now, I don't know if I would do that again.
Speaker A:But like hindsight, Right.
Speaker A:Is always great.
Speaker A:I think that I want to pivot into the big topic at hand, which is yellow and black.
Speaker A:Dealing with.
Speaker A:I want to talk a little bit about Expo.
Speaker A:I know you've had experience with Expo.
Speaker A:I think you worked for them at one point.
Speaker A:I don't inherently have a beef with Expo.
Speaker A:I think I just want people to understand who they align with.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And like what the values of that business is and that you should make sure that you're aligned with that as well.
Speaker A:And if you're not, you find somebody who does have and share that alignment.
Speaker A:So like, I think maybe tell me a little bit about like what you've dealt with and what you've experienced and what you'd share with the, with the rest of the industry about that time.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker B:So whenever I was involved with those guys, it was completely different.
Speaker B:It was more of the good old boy system.
Speaker B:They weren't a publicly traded company at that time.
Speaker B:Things got done really quick.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Whenever I left them, if they were already a pretty privately traded company, I did my three years with the agreement.
Speaker B:So they buy my business.
Speaker B:The term is a non compete, as in you have to work for us these three years, blah blah, blah.
Speaker B:And then once that's up, you're on your own.
Speaker B:So that's basically the way we went.
Speaker B:Three years was up.
Speaker B:Saw the writing on the walls, like, I'm out, make real money on my own, have my own business.
Speaker B:What I wasn't really in line with was just the handcuffs.
Speaker B:Even if I was to tell you GSWF makes the best film in the world, you know, I'd be lying because there's another better film out there.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:Everyone knows that there's better films than Expel Lumar Suntec.
Speaker B:There's way better films that we've never even heard of.
Speaker B:Let's be simple.
Speaker B:It's all about marketing.
Speaker B:And these are marketing companies.
Speaker B:This is your realm, you know, with the marketing aspect, you know, that you dissected It.
Speaker B:I've seen your content, you know, the analytics when it comes to, as far as like, you know, closure rates and all these things.
Speaker B:My thing with that was like, I don't need a company telling me what to do.
Speaker B:I know how to run my business.
Speaker B:I ran my business way successful before I even dealt with them.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So to be one of these guys that has to have that cookie cutter system where I put in an order off of your list and this is what I have to choose from, you know, and this is what my business offers to people.
Speaker B:That's stale to me.
Speaker A:Information is too accessible now for that.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And I think I want to hear your take on the research video that I put out there where, yeah, I discovered that Induction Cut.
Speaker A:And what I think is, is that Induction Cut is Expel's next leverage point to continue to grow value for shareholders.
Speaker A:And they're doing it at arm's length through their relationship through epd.
Speaker A:Granted, EPD is a fantastic company, bro.
Speaker A:They serve the industry.
Speaker A:They show up, they have a lot of great offers.
Speaker A:They are.
Speaker A:And like, mom over there is like, God bless her soul, she does so much for people.
Speaker A:I absolutely love those.
Speaker A:Those guys and like, totally understand where they're at and making the business decisions for that.
Speaker A:I think the biggest problem that I have with it is like, one, be transparent about it.
Speaker A:And like, listen, I didn't go looking for that.
Speaker A:ChatGPT deep research found.
Speaker A:Found that EULA problem on the Induction Cut software page.
Speaker A:Do you remember I mentioned that?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:One section mentions San Antonio, Texas and like, that's all it takes to be able to understand, like, okay, this is very clearly Expo's product and like, that is the official connection.
Speaker A:Granted, I still may be wrong, but I think it paints a really clear and visible picture for like, what they're doing, where they're going and how.
Speaker A:Now what is going to happen is this new brand is going to come right next door to the Expo.
Speaker A:Exclusive dealers.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:And offer either the same or a lesser product and the same software.
Speaker A:And the software is the biggest leverage point for that shop.
Speaker A:Granted, Core is out there now and a lot of other ones coming out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But like, DAP is still industry standard and it's fucking good.
Speaker A:DAP's fucking good.
Speaker A:That's like 15 years worth of input from the entire sector.
Speaker A:Yeah, like, that went into that and like, that's a lot of lift for a business to have a tool like that.
Speaker A:And now all the people that work their balls off that have dealt with the Lock in and have stayed faithful to yellow and black are now getting the fucking shaft.
Speaker A:And I'm fucking pissed off about it because people don't fucking deserve it.
Speaker B:That part.
Speaker B:That's the part.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker B:That's the part.
Speaker B:You know what's crazy, Gabe, is that like me and you could say this to were blue in the face and they still won't see it, man.
Speaker B:They still won't see it.
Speaker B:And it's sad, but it is what it is.
Speaker B:You know, like I said, they're off that menu.
Speaker B:That menu is in front of them and that's all that's available in their eyes.
Speaker B:But to be able to buy into that system and actually love that company, I can see that because they built that camaraderie.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:But what, what's happening is they're not seeing it.
Speaker B:That's not the company they fell in love with.
Speaker B:This is something else.
Speaker B:This is a corporate animal that has shareholders to answer to.
Speaker A:It's a different animal when you are publicly traded company and like you have a lawful duty to execute on strategy that grows shareholder value.
Speaker A:I'm not upset about Expel doing that.
Speaker A:They have to do that and they have to figure out a way to execute that because that's who they serve first.
Speaker A:Every service below that is second.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's to me, it's the guys that have their shops that have taken off that year and I mean that week in November every single year for the past 10 years to go support them, you know, at SEMA and then take off that week, you know, whenever they do their dealer conference and go support them and they're branding their shops and they're doing all the things that they're have to do and supposed to do.
Speaker B:They're doing it the right way.
Speaker A:And then like showing up being a team player.
Speaker B:And then like you said now everything that you think that you've been putting up with this mess for is offered to whoever can just buy it.
Speaker B:Like I could go buy that film and buy their software right now if I wanted to.
Speaker B:I wouldn't because there's better stuff out there.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:But let's just say I was an expo loyal guy to know that, you know, I've been given up all these opportunities with other companies for no reason at all like I should have done, just taking those chances because Expel didn't have any loyalty to me.
Speaker B:They just went and sold it to someone else.
Speaker B:And now, and I'm sure they've figured out legally that this is what we can do to not, you know, it's not us selling it.
Speaker B:We sold it to X company.
Speaker A:Look, you got to play by the rules in that fashion.
Speaker A:And like, that's just how the cookie crumble is for publicly traded companies and does that.
Speaker B:It actually helps guys like me and you out more.
Speaker B:But it does piss us off when it sees what it's doing to their own people.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because if they're willing to do that to their own dealers, then imagine what they'll do to us.
Speaker A:Hopefully I don't get a cease and desist or anything like that because I don't want to see expo fail.
Speaker A:I don't want to see yellow and black burn to the ground.
Speaker A:I don't want to see pink and black fail or go burned to the ground.
Speaker A:I want to see those guys grow and I want to see them do well and I want to see them deliver valuable, tangible value to the businesses that decide to work with them and aren't just given a.
Speaker A:Well, that's all we offer.
Speaker A:So you.
Speaker A:Yeah, I personally can't accept that and I refuse to accept it because there are better ways to do business.
Speaker A:And I think that with you, when you lead with transparency first.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:You always come out right.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:Always.
Speaker A:Even if it's not the money.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:It's what's right for in here to.
Speaker B:Help you sleep at night.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And that, I think not enough people put that first.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And just like any scenario that pops up, it's how you handle it, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:And just like that last scenario that just popped up with Oldboy, it's like how you handle it is just key.
Speaker B:It's just clutch, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:And those things handle themselves and just like it did, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:And it's going to continue to be that way.
Speaker B:This is an infancy, you know, industry.
Speaker B:There's never been a PPF industry.
Speaker B:This is the first, first generation of it.
Speaker B:So, you know, we're all fingering this out together, you know, trying to.
Speaker A:I think what I want to close on is like, can you pull something out of your repertoire like that?
Speaker A:Something that you've learned that maybe you haven't mentioned to anybody before, Something that's like been a massive point in your success or something you've done.
Speaker A:It could be small, it could be big, it could be a big concept.
Speaker A:But like, what is one of those fundamental things that you think that everybody needs to hear that they don't quite understand?
Speaker B:Man, I wish I had it, dude.
Speaker B:I wish I did.
Speaker B:Just like this Whole like influencer thing.
Speaker B:It just doesn't seem real to me still.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:People are like, I watch you, I follow you, I know you.
Speaker B:It just to me, it's all still just new.
Speaker B:I still make the same mistakes that business owners make.
Speaker B:And I think what sets me apart is that I'm willing to admit that, you know, when we mess up, when we up and we have and we do, and then you learn from it, whether it be, you know, a customer dropped off and you forgot to put 10 on his windshield to a customer dropped off and you know, he's kind of setting you up for failure by like trying to blame you for some damage on his bar when you should have did a pre inspection and noted the damage.
Speaker B:You know, these are all things that like, oh, you caught me slipping this time, but you're not catching me again.
Speaker A:Not again.
Speaker B:So now I've got processes for every single bad situation that's happened.
Speaker A:I help shops build it every single day.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:I don't think people realize how intentional you need to be with the process.
Speaker A:Yep, I think you said it right.
Speaker A:There is like the check in process needs to be the most ambiguity eliminated level of a process and also the one where you are most present with your customer.
Speaker B:Like most stern too.
Speaker A:Most.
Speaker A:Most stern.
Speaker A:And communicating with clarity.
Speaker A:Like clarity is the word you must lead with during that process and time.
Speaker A:And if you don't, you will get.
Speaker B:Burnt every single time, even along the process too.
Speaker B:So as things arise, you know what I mean, the guys are doing a full front end on this car.
Speaker B:The car's on the lift, and you're just kind of, you know, walking around the car, looking at it and you see like the suspension hanging or a nail in his back tire.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:These are things where you got to stop, call your customer.
Speaker B:It might seem redundant and, you know, it might seem like it's not necessary, but it is.
Speaker B:Because that little scenario, especially with the cars we're dealing with, can turn into something huge.
Speaker A:What's the most expensive car you've had in your shop?
Speaker B:Oh, like three million, four million.
Speaker B:You know, it's just one car.
Speaker A:And like, like, have you ever had to call in for an extra policy to get a job?
Speaker B:The garage keeper policy?
Speaker A:All the time you've had to call in and increase your coverage?
Speaker B:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:What does that cost you when that happens?
Speaker B:It just depends on how often you do it.
Speaker B:Our insurance, we keep a $3 million garage keeper's policy at all times because we're moving cars too.
Speaker B:And that adds a whole nother level of.
Speaker B:Of scaredness too.
Speaker B:You know, moving cars back and forth.
Speaker B:Some.
Speaker B:Somebody could run a red light and hit you, you know, might not even do anything you do.
Speaker B:But with the technology we have now, the meta glasses, the GoPros, the cameras, it's like there's so much you can do to protect yourself.
Speaker A:You have 4K cameras in the shop.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Have to.
Speaker A:Every single angle.
Speaker B:Have to.
Speaker B:The doors, especially coming in and out.
Speaker B:You know, the dealerships now, how they have the big camera set up and they're scanning cars as they're coming through.
Speaker B:I can see why there's a market for that.
Speaker B:Especially when you deal with the public and you're dealing with clients that aren't really clients or just customers.
Speaker B:Those are the ones that can set you up to fail.
Speaker A:Tell me about that.
Speaker A:I know what you're talking about, but I know people are going to hear clients versus customer and they're not going to get it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So customer is just somebody that's searching.
Speaker B:They want the cheapest price.
Speaker B:They don't care about quality or value.
Speaker B:They don't care about you or your team.
Speaker B:Those are customers.
Speaker B:Clients are people that are complete opposite.
Speaker B:They continue to bring you cars over and over.
Speaker B:If there's a scenario, if there's a situation where the wrap's not perfect, they give you the opportunity to fix that.
Speaker A:They make that call.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:A customer is not that way.
Speaker B:There's somebody that's either going to bash you online, try to get a refund, do a chargeback.
Speaker A:That's my favorite.
Speaker B:All the favorite things.
Speaker A:What's the biggest chargeback you've ever gotten?
Speaker B:I've had one charge back in 22 years.
Speaker A:One.
Speaker B:One.
Speaker B:And this dude, where to God, you.
Speaker A:Still want to deck him in the face?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Swear to God, this dude is going to get every single thing that's coming to him because he's just a straight up lying.
Speaker B:Just a pos.
Speaker B:And you know, for me, I'm not super religious guy game, but I believe that God would deal with it.
Speaker B:And sure enough, sure as hell did.
Speaker A:The bill always comes due.
Speaker B:I do.
Speaker B:And to come at me like that and then to bash my company and to make up lies, do the charge back, threaten to sue me and do all this, I'm just like, bro, whatever you're trying to do, it can't hurt me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like I've got other things that protect.
Speaker A:Me, that we got other things going on.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's not even that it's just, you know, I give it all back to God.
Speaker B:I feel like we do everything we do because of him.
Speaker B:I know you're not religious like that, or I don't know if you're religious like that, but I feel like as long as we're doing that, then whatever these men try to come at me, like, they'll never be able to hurt me, bro.
Speaker A:I am, you know, I'm not a really heavily religious person, but I am the type of person that tries to do the right thing first.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And tries to lean on doing the right thing.
Speaker A:Tries to lean on.
Speaker A:On putting people first and like, also showing up to not let people skip out on responsibility for themselves.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, ask anybody about me, and, like, eventually you're going to find somebody that says, fuck that guy.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And that's.
Speaker A:And that's because I don't let people skate on being shit operators, bro.
Speaker B:I thought that was just me.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker A:Exactly.
Speaker A:I don't let people skate on me and shit operators.
Speaker A:And I've earned it, and it's earned me a certain name and reputation, and I'm okay with it because I know that I'm still leading and making choices based on how I would want somebody to look out to help other people, and that I think that's an important piece that a lot of people miss.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:If you have one piece of parting advice for any shop operator that's listening to this or.
Speaker A:Or anybody who's an installer working at a shop, whatever it may be, like.
Speaker A:Like, what's the one piece of advice you leave with, you want to leave them with today if they never hear from you again?
Speaker B:Okay, here it is.
Speaker B:I got it.
Speaker B:So we're putting clear stickers on for a living.
Speaker B:We're putting colored stickers on for a living.
Speaker B:Our satin stickers for a living, or we're tinting windows for a living.
Speaker B:We're basically doing things that people want.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So when guys come to my shop, they're always in a great mood.
Speaker B:I tell people online all the time every day is like a Saturday for me, because people are coming, they just bought a McLaren.
Speaker B:They just bought a Ferrari.
Speaker B:They're happy.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I have stresses of an emblem broke or a wheel needs to be sent out, or this guy's car is not ready, and I told him it was going to be ready.
Speaker B:That's my thing.
Speaker B:That's what I stress over, is that part.
Speaker B:But really, guys, what we're doing is a blessing.
Speaker B:It really is.
Speaker B:I mean, it's almost like being an athlete.
Speaker B:You know, we're customizing cars and, you know, we're building liveries and, you know, if you're doing wheels, if you're doing exhaust at your shop, you know, this is what we get to do.
Speaker B:We get to play all day.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, and I know that there's professional athletes.
Speaker B:I got quite a few of them as clients, and they treat it like a job and they're serious.
Speaker B:But let's.
Speaker B:In the end of the day, we're playing all day, guys, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:And to show hate at somebody, like, I'll get the hate whenever I make an expo video or you're a piece of shit.
Speaker B:Because you don't like.
Speaker B:That was like.
Speaker B:No, I don't like what they're doing to y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker B:That's what I don't like.
Speaker B:This has nothing personal to do with you.
Speaker B:As an expel shop owner, I'm here to try to tell you, look, this is what's going to happen.
Speaker B:This is how they're doing it.
Speaker B:This has nothing to do against you personally.
Speaker B:I'm just trying to make sure that you're navigating this thing that we call life as best as possible or, you know, see the holes that I fell in because I fell in several.
Speaker B:And what it all comes down to is don't put that stress, that stress on you guys.
Speaker B:This business, what we do, is a blessing.
Speaker B:It's not a curse.
Speaker B:And look at it that way in your life.
Speaker B:You know, do right by people, like you said.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Do right by your customers.
Speaker B:Never lie to your customers or your clients.
Speaker B:Never false lead them into getting a product they don't need.
Speaker B:If they got a G wagon and you're trying to talk them out of a full wrap, then there's a reason why, you know what I mean?
Speaker A:That car.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's just like, you know, my biggest thing is like, treat everybody great.
Speaker B:And dude, the guys that we're dealing with are so happy and it's all on us to get the car out at a deadline.
Speaker B:And if, if our biggest stress is making deadlines, then, you know, I can live with that.
Speaker B:So just don't put that pressure on you guys.
Speaker B:I've seen too many guys that sit in our seats that think that their business failing or being slow is a direct representation of them as a person.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And sometimes it may be, but a 99% of the time it's not.
Speaker B:So if bad things are happening with your business, don't Take that upon you.
Speaker B:Don't put that stress on you.
Speaker A:Ask somebody for help.
Speaker B:Do that.
Speaker B:Or just go talk to your boy, you know, Send me a message.
Speaker B:Send you a message.
Speaker B:I know you're the kind of guy that will answer all your messages.
Speaker A:Yes, sir.
Speaker B:And call me, you know, if you're talking about doing stupid to yourself because your business is failing or you feel like that, you know, XYZ or Parker Heights is crushing it, you know, And.
Speaker A:Matt is a good.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:If you feel like that he's crushing it, that is no direct reflectation on you.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's just.
Speaker B:He's just crushing, you know what I mean?
Speaker B:It's because he's done.
Speaker A:He's.
Speaker A:He's worked hard.
Speaker B:Every day he's making videos.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:Matt, Matt.
Speaker A:I knew Matt from a long time ago from like another sector of people inside.
Speaker A:Listen, Matt.
Speaker A:Matt is.
Speaker A:Matt is a veteran.
Speaker A:He works his ass off.
Speaker A:I remember when Matt started ppf, he wanted to quit it too.
Speaker A:And like, I couldn't fucking blame him for it.
Speaker A:You know, I'd message Matt whenever he had a question, and I saw men struggle through that.
Speaker A:But ultimately, if you know anybody else, it's military.
Speaker A:There's no quit.
Speaker A:There's no quit, dude.
Speaker A:Failure is not enough.
Speaker B:Just readjust.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:And like, Matt and his success is a direct result of how hard he works.
Speaker A:And he is a workhorse.
Speaker A:And Matt and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of different things, and that's fine.
Speaker A:But Matt is still one of the best outcome driven people that I've ever seen work their balls off.
Speaker B:Same thing like with me and Austin Cook.
Speaker B:Everybody thought that we hated each other.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:So, I mean, Austin's a pretty unique guy.
Speaker A:Yeah, he's very unique.
Speaker A:He's a unique individual.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:He's just like us, you know, he's out there trying to make his business.
Speaker B:You know, he's moving into more of the business coaching.
Speaker B:Kind of like what you're doing, you know, going away from installing all together.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's so wild to see guys that are not afraid to take that chance.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And he's one of them.
Speaker B:You know, you can hate him for being Mr. Commercial, but you know, he's.
Speaker A:Doing it, you know, and at the end of the day, man, like, what anybody else has to say.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And like, whatever you choose to do, show up and do it and execute that Shit.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And just keep executing because that's all that matters is how.
Speaker A:How much you show up for it and how hard you're gonna fucking keep trying to continue to show up for it.
Speaker A:And if that's all you focus on, then you can't help but could be successful in the end.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:No matter what you do, man.
Speaker A:Bro, listen, thank you so much for sitting down and talking.
Speaker A:Hell yeah, dude.
Speaker A:I like we've been harassing each other over a text message.
Speaker B:It finally worked out.
Speaker A:Yeah, man.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And like I like you blew up.
Speaker B:Way better than on the phone, by the way.
Speaker B:I think in person's way better.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:You know, it always will be.
Speaker A:It always will be.
Speaker A:Listen, man, I just.
Speaker A:I appreciate you stopping by.
Speaker B:I'll be here till Sunday.
Speaker A:Hell yeah.
Speaker A:I hope you out here getting.
Speaker A:I hope some of your guys are they anybody compete?
Speaker A:Yeah, we got shield by designs.
Speaker B:No, we got.
Speaker B:Well, our tenors are.
Speaker B:But we're pushing GSWF guys.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Supporting our independence.
Speaker A:Hell yeah.
Speaker A:That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker A:I think Chris Reese is going to take a picture of us and tell.
Speaker B:Me real quick before you jump off.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:My thing to use.
Speaker B:Out of all these companies out of here, who do you think's the hottest?
Speaker B:Newest or what do you think's showing the most prospect out of these building distributors?
Speaker B:Manufacturers besides Stack Lumar.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Besides big names.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I think pro layers popping up was.
Speaker B:Dude, I was wild telling them.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:What the heard of them and then.
Speaker B:All of a sudden out of nowhere.
Speaker A:I think if I had to pick another one that's like kind of a name, you know, but is evolving their program and somebody you want to get close with is Geoshield and Global.
Speaker B:Dude.
Speaker B:Geoshire 2.
Speaker B:That was another one.
Speaker B:Yeah, I met another guy.
Speaker B:I guess that's a company that was based out of Louisiana.
Speaker A:I think so.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So they've got a crazy story, bro.
Speaker B:I don't know if you've heard this like the founder of GeoShield.
Speaker B:It's a crazy story.
Speaker B:He went to LSU College and I guess they have a program.
Speaker B:When you go through their business program, you graduate from there, then they give you like a little 600 square foot building on their campus and that's where Geoshield started from.
Speaker A:That's crazy.
Speaker B:Wild, right?
Speaker B:That's so sick to me.
Speaker B:And I had no idea.
Speaker B:But there's so many cool things that are going on.
Speaker B:I. I think those two too.
Speaker B:I've seen those two being here and a lot of People.
Speaker B:Prolayers is one of them.
Speaker B:Like, I never even heard of those, bro.
Speaker A:There's.
Speaker A:They popped up out of nowhere and they've got goated people on their roster already.
Speaker A:Like what, the term X too?
Speaker A:Yeah, dude.
Speaker A:Like heavy, heavy hitters.
Speaker A:So, like, I think between pro layers, I think between geoshield, I think between global kind of adjusting their initiatives and seeing where they're coming from, I think Austin Cook's new thing that he's got going on, I think he's working with.
Speaker A:Was it ghost films?
Speaker A:I think that's interesting.
Speaker A:You know, and then the merch brand,.
Speaker B:I guess he's doing that.
Speaker A:The film slayers thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, dude.
Speaker A:The branding on that is Chef's Kiss.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker B:Smart.
Speaker A:And he might be one of the first people that I buy apparel from that wasn't my own.
Speaker B:Yeah, I've never bought any, so.
Speaker A:So, dude, listen, thank you so much for being on the show here and stopping by.
Speaker A:This is Houston from Shield by Design down in Dallas, Texas.
Speaker A:Dallas.
Speaker A:Dallas, Texas.
Speaker B:It's confusing as hell.
Speaker B:Houston and Dallas, bro.
Speaker A:Listen, you look like a Houston.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:I can walking around like a goddamn freight train.
Speaker A:And listen.
Speaker A:Thanks, y' all for listening.
Speaker A:We appreciate you.
Speaker A:Make sure you subscribe.
Speaker A:Like, comment down below.
Speaker A:Share this with your friends.
Speaker A:Share it with a business owner.
Speaker B:The events.
Speaker B:Quit sending a home.
Speaker B:Get out here.
Speaker B:Network.
Speaker A:Get out here.
Speaker B:You're not doing yourself any favors, bro.
Speaker A:At detailing growth, we don't just build websites.
Speaker A:We create conversion engines.
Speaker A:And we've done it hundreds of times for some of the biggest, baddest shops in the entire country.
Speaker A:Choose and go with detailing growth.
Speaker A:I highly recommend detailing growth.
Speaker A:If you want to grow, if you really want to excel in your area, and if you want to dominate your competition, you guys are the most professional looking shop, top to bottom.
Speaker B:They are amazing.
Speaker B:They know what they're talking about.
Speaker B:They know how everything works.
Speaker A:So if you're looking for marketing for any type of detailing company, vinyl wrap, PPS.
Speaker A:I recommend them 100%.
Speaker A:5 Stars all the way around.
Speaker A:They turn to detailing growth to get them and their websites dialed in, and we can do the same for you.
Speaker A:Hit the link below and let's get started.
