Transcript of The Future of Blue-Collar is Tech, AI, Roofing, and Power (Josey Parks) New

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All right guys, welcome back to the Home Service Expert. I got Josie Parks here. We're here at the house, it's going to be a fun time. We've got to know each other over the years but never spent a lot of time together. He is, uh, he's just a smart guy. He's, he's done some miracle stuff in, uh, a lot of different home service, home improvement spaces. The CEO of Outlaw Ventures and co-founder of Think Unlimited. And let's just try reading this now. Josie Parks is an industry-celebrated CEO venture entrepreneur, uh, just greater infrastructure intelligence. He began his career in metal roofing, founding his first company in his early 20s and quickly becoming one of the youngest recipients of the Inc. 5000 Award. Since then, Josie has created a portfolio of category-defining companies across roofing, home services, AI, including RFX, Roofix, Roof— Roofix, Roofix, Roofix, Think Unlimited, Cognitive Contractor, and Outlaw Ventures. A mission-driven founder, Josie is dedicated to leveling the playing field for contractors through technology while preserving the heart of the American blue-collar workforce.

That's right.

He is the owner of Win the Storm Conference. It's a massive conference I've been going to for years. Directs SVG University and a sought-after speaker at top industry and technology events nationwide. Josie believes real progress happens face to face. And that building the future requires both infrastructure and values. Couldn't have said it better. Uh, the thesis is how a trades-born entrepreneur builds platforms that level the playing field for contractors and why the future of AI infrastructure and the American dream depends on who builds it and why.

Amen. I like it.

I like it too, man. Listen, tell us a little bit about your come up. You know, how you got to know what you're doing today and where you're looking forward to.

Yeah, for sure. Well, thanks for having me. Uh, it's exciting to be here. I started in the roofing industry when I was 18 years old, um, selling metal roofs door-to-door. And, you know, it was really awesome because I had a pretty troubled background, you know, got in a lot of trouble in high school and didn't, you know, do the best things. So selling drugs, this, that, and the other. And so I had the entrepreneurial spirit.

The best entrepreneurs are drug dealers.

Yeah. And, uh, so then I got into selling roofing and It was just one of those amazing opportunities where it's like, this is something I feel I can really be good at. So I started in roofing when I was 18, and it just changed my life. You know, by the age of 23, I'd made my first million in roofing, um, and that was like such a significant— right now I'm 37 now.

All right, so 16 years in the game.

Yeah, well, no, I've been in the game— I mean, when I was 18, I got in there.

Yeah, okay, about 20 years in.

Yeah.

That's great, man.

Yeah. And I realized like at an early age, you know, technology advances strategy. And so I started building a canvassing app in like 2010 and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Well, it started with AllTrails actually, which used to be EveryTrail. So I would have reps sign into a route to where we're looking at hail damage and versus just writing it on an address book. Like most people did back then, we would sign into a bike trail app to where we could drop pins on the doors we were knocking. When the hell damage, we would identify all where the vegetation was at on the ground so we could really go to the best targets. And so that's just kind of where I got the, I guess, the itch for technology. And so that really helped advance the strategy. And then, you know, I realized the importance of data. You know, you got to know your numbers.

Oh, yeah.

Like That's critical. And so then I started getting to like, what if I can predict who would be home? What if I could match the right rep to the right homeowner? And so I started to really analyze data, hired a CIO. I used to hire interns from, you know, local colleges and just play with data. And so I did that for years. And it was one of the coolest things because I realized like, dude, there's so much value in the data. That we don't even look at. And so I just started advancing from there. Then I was like, what if I could predict the next home improvement? So it just really started. I started to ask a lot of questions. And through that time, you know, I built a concrete or I bought a concrete company. I bought a limestone company, had insane failures. By the age of 30, I'd lost $4 million cash just on a concrete business because I didn't know what I was doing. But I had this guy who was like, dude, we can make all this money. I'm like, let's do it.

Yeah.

And, uh, didn't turn out so well. But I just stayed true to like figuring out technology and like, what can I do as an architect of technology? How do I solve problems with this? So it kept growing. And then I ended up going and partnering with the company in Florida. They had about 30 reps at the time, and I was bringing my technology, and they're like, dude, we only— we don't know how to like build these systems and processes. And I'm like, well, I can— you know, you can buy the technology and I can also help you build the team. So scaled that from 30 reps, so we had over 300. We're the 9th largest roofing company in the country.

Wow.

And that was a lot of fun. And, um, you know, Think Unlimited is like one of the coolest companies, I believe, in home improvement. We have the most advanced AI. We, uh, I partner with a buddy of mine who actually sold his company to Empire. He used to have Galaxy, uh, well, no, that was his other home improvement. I can't remember the name of his company right now, but there was just, you know, an awesome opportunity to partner with someone that had built some technology for home services way back in the day. And so we built this product in 2019. We launched it in 2020 to predict how much revenue per appointment, and we matched the right rep to the right appointment. Wow. And now we've put, you know, I think we're close, like $17 billion of one revenue through our platform for contractors. And it's some of the most sophisticated AI out there. And so, you know, then I got into power. I started mining Bitcoin and that was really cool. I used— I had a metal fabrication shop, had three-phase power, so I started mining Bitcoin. Then China banned mining in '21 and I had two calls in one week like, hey bro, you know where to find power?

I was like, I can figure it out. So I leveraged data. I went and I took all the same things I did for home property attributes and applied it to a different problem. And, you know, it was— it's been really successful, really grateful for that. So I bought an event, as you know, Win the Storm. I believe in community. I believe there's nothing better than like belly to belly, face to face, and really getting to know someone. I feel like social media— dogging it here— but I just feel like there's just— it's not authentic, it's not real. When you meet someone in person, it really helps to understand who they are. So I've been kind of all over the place in home improvement industry, but, you I believe, you know, we're here to do our very best and to be the best version of ourselves. And technology can really help us and it can support us, but it can also manipulate and control us. And so it's very important as leaders that we understand it's a threat and an opportunity.

So that's a long-winded explanation of that story, man. You know, I've met a lot of roofing companies, a lot of them actually in Home Service Freedom. We coach a lot of them.

Yeah.

And I was telling Brigham this this morning. We did a podcast, Brigham Dickinson with Power Selling Pros.

Okay, cool.

And I said, dude, I'll meet a roofer and I'll be like, tell me, what are your SOPs? What is your mission, vision, core values? They don't have any. I'm like, what's your booking rate? What is that? Yeah, I'm like, but what's your conversion rate? Well, it's up there.

Yeah.

And I'm like, well, how much are you doing? They're like $4 million of EBITDA. I'm like, you wouldn't even be at $50,000 of revenue in the garage door industry. And everybody's like, oh, I'm going to go to the garage door industry. That's where the money's at. I'm like, Dude, I could fart in the roof. And I'm not saying like we're anything special, but I'm like, the ticket averages are so big. But now it's like the hottest. It's like the hot girl at the dance.

Yeah.

Roofing is like, you know, Lance Bachmann. All these different guys are looking at it and I think it's a great industry. It's just getting attacked right now. What are your thoughts on the whole roof? Yeah, because it fits between home improvement and home service.

Like if I got a leaky roof, I need you out here right now.

Yeah. I'll say I forgot to mention I have Roofix, which is my tech-enabled roofing company. And so we've built a lot of technology, our own measuring tool, proposal tools, finance products, CRM. I like to say one throat to choke.

Yeah.

So we give all the technology away for free so companies can sell. And we're licensed in 48 states, so they can sell anywhere in the country with our platform. And so it's— I believe it's the first of its kind tech-enabled roofing. So roofing as a whole, I feel like, is very fragmented. And that's why a lot of private equity has struggled. Most of my best friends, close friends, were one of the ones that sold their company to private equity. And it takes like art and science. I feel like roofing, what's difficult about it is there's a lot of feast or famine in the storm industry because it's very storm-driven, it's event-driven, and it's kind of like the Wild Wild West out there.

It is. That's exactly what I said.

Yeah. And so there's, there's a lot of opportunities and there's a lot of threats that are unknown.

And the level of insurance is like It's hard to get insured in Florida now.

Yeah. Oh, it's ridiculous.

Yeah.

And, and that's because there's been a lot of bad actors.

There's been a ton of bad actors. I know a lot of them.

And so that's, that's where roofing as a whole, if you ask like, hey, what's the opportunity with it? I think bringing a higher level of professionalism in, it's going to—

this is my doorbell.

Oh, it's like, I don't know if it's going to mess the audio up, but Okay, so, Rufy, you're asking like the opportunity. Is that really what you're wanting to know?

Well, you tell me. I don't know.

Yeah, I think it's harder than what it appears to be. That's really how I feel because, you know, there is predictable revenue. Retail is a great opportunity and retail.

Yeah, yeah. Not the storms like you got to— I think you greenfield into a storm and you can launch there. I've never known any— I don't even know how to do the insurance game. I mean, I've been to a lot of conferences and know what's going on out there. I just know how to make the phone ring incoming. I don't even know how to do outbound. I don't know how to do door knocking. Yeah, I don't know how to do events. I don't know how to do the big box stores. Yeah, I know how to make the phone ring 34,000 times a month.

Yeah. Which is awesome. That's predictable. Yeah. My, my skill set is on the doors, so I actually hold the record for residential metal roofing. I've sold more residential metal roofing door to door than anyone else. So my manufacturer actually gave me a gold medallion for it. It's pretty sick. Is, is—

you know what, I got, I got to talk to you about a few things offline because I know one of the biggest metal guys on the planet. So he started buying roofing companies, garage door companies, like, and he's a smart guy because he figured out I could lock in your price for 3 years.

Oh, sick.

Because the way he buys metal, because he's a metal guy.

Yeah, that's awesome.

I'm curious. You're like, you're a lot like me. Like, we're entrepreneurs. One day I had a really good friend tell me, quit putting your eggs in a lot of baskets, put them into one. Yeah, it'll overflow into things. Then you can start hiring people. If you had to tell me where your concentration, your biggest bets are placed, where the biggest monetary gains that you see in the next 5 years for yourself would be. It sounds like, by the way, I can go on and on about my investments and stuff.

Yeah.

You know, I'm not, I'm not calling you out. I'm just asking you. If you had to bet on 2 or 3 things that you're doing right now where you're going to get the biggest payday, what are they?

Well, power. So Outlaw Ventures, we power digital infrastructure. So I sell power to data centers. And so I, you know, my last project raised $150 million to build a substation. And so we recently just sold that. It's a Google-backed partnership. And that was amazing. I've got a lot more of those sites and I'm taking the same playbook, bro, that I did in the home service industry, and I'm building it out in the power industry with a lot of outbound. And so Outlaw Ventures, definitely that. I love Roofix and the technology that we have there and the opportunity that I see because this is a pretty difficult— I feel like roofing, everyone's like, oh, it's so easy. It's like, no, it's not. Whenever you really peel back, there's a lot of variables that come into play. And it's not just like service completion. There's insurance, mortgage, claims, this, that. So there's more variables that come in. But I love the roofing industry. And then Think Unlimited, dude, my AI business and what we're doing with that, I feel like we, we're on the leading edge and I'm excited to be able to serve people because it maximizes every lead.

And that's, as you know, whenever leads— when there's less opportunity with leads, you maximize output. Yeah. And that's what our, our business does.

I want to learn more about all of it.

And I have one thing to add to multiple businesses. I'm the trench guy, so like, I like to get in there, get the process started, get it built, and then delegate with confidence. So I have CEOs in every— like, I'm not even the CEO of Outlaw. I have a CEO. I'm a project guy. Like, bro, let me work on projects. That's what I have fun doing. I don't want to manage people every day. I have my own office. I don't office in any of my companies, which sounds kind of weird, but It's because I have CEOs that that's their job. My job is to serve the business and prepare for the future.

It's very interesting what you, you know, you're never going to find— you're never going to run out of opportunities. I think that's my problem too, is it's so easy to say yes. It's a skill to say no. But it sounds like you've got a great thing in everything. Like you see opportunity where a lot of people don't and you know how to get it done.

Yeah. Yeah.

And that delegate— I say delegate to elevate. I want to learn a lot more about this energy business too.

It is so sick, dude.

There's like— everybody I know is like, like, we've got a race going on right now with AI, dude, and we need energy. And Elon Musk is launching, launching rocket ships with solar. He said all the, all the energy is going to be in space because solar in space works 24/7.

What do you do in a massive solar flare? It's— that's my question, is like, there's aspects. But here's to that point, dude, I feel like it's, it's national security to build energy faster, because if we don't, who's gonna—

well, China. But the deal is AI, uh, doesn't matter who gets first to AI. If we get the SGI, uh, or AGI, like, literally super intelligence means it doesn't matter if you're Chinese, Hungarian, French, or Italian, or American, it's going to think on its own. Unless you have some code, but literally that the code we're talking about is writing itself and adapting over time. It's taking all the information.

Yeah.

And I've heard this argument, whoever gets there first doesn't really matter. It's like, what do you think? Where do you sit with— because people are like, well, trades, you know, the plumbers. I'm like, well, it's not far because the humanoid putting ChatGPT and everything else or X or, you know, what Elon's working on. Like there's no replacements. Like, we're going to live in this utopia for a while, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, there's still opportunities for entrepreneurs, but it's few and far between.

Yeah, I like to be optimistic about it. And I think, you know, the AI in the simplest form augments humans is really what it does. It augments human intelligence, human performance, and humanoids are going to absolutely disrupt a lot of jobs. And a lot of people try to be like, oh no, there's going to be plenty of jobs. Like, no dude, there's no replacement.

It's not the Industrial Revolution. Yeah, there's nothing coming for you.

Yeah, it's, it's gonna gut a lot of America, but it's also going to create incredible opportunities. And so you look at when the farmers and ranchers, everyone was getting worried. Then you look at machines and equipment, when that came in, everyone's getting— so every single revolution, like What happened?

No, but, but the deal is, is like, we won't have to work. In fact, Elon Musk said in 10 years there'll be 10 to 1 humanoids to humans. So you, you really— but then you go, where's A Man's Search for Meaning and purpose, bro?

That's what I always say. You got to read Man's Search for Meaning if you haven't.

Yeah, Viktor Frankl. Yeah.

And, and that's where, like, if you— so we're gonna find as a human what we have. We have God-given abilities. We were uniquely created with gifts. And so I believe that our intelligence will elevate. And the big void is upskilling our workforce and people denying what's coming and not being more proactive and having real conversations. It's like, what are we going to do for humanity? How is AI going to amplify humanity? That's what we need to talk about.

It's like a magnifying glass.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, you compare well with it. We have feelings. We're not very— we have a lot of electricity that it costs to run us.

Yeah. Like when you really think about energy, everything's in it.

And the larger our brain is, you know, 25% of our energy goes to our brain.

Yeah.

And did I love this stuff? I love learning about it. I love reading about it. I love listening to podcasts and I'm cautiously optimistic. I just don't want there to be like a Judgment Day Terminator. Like you got to control the machine. I don't know.

2080, that's coming, bro.

I'll tell you this. Listen, I'm planning on doing a lot of things in the near future, and you're a guy I'd want to partner with on a lot of things because I'm very, very good at getting leads and I'm very good at setting up systems. And God's been good with the money.

Amen.

And I've never burned— like, you could talk to anybody. You could talk to even the people that don't like me. They say he's always took my phone calls. Yeah, he's never talked bad about me. And if he shook my hand, he always came through. Like, that's one thing I don't want, this reputation forever burning.

Yeah.

And I know that over time, like, it's probably gonna happen. But what I've learned is do a prenuptial agreement with every relationship you get into. Now, I'm not talking about marriage here. I'm talking about what I'm responsible for, what you're responsible for. And if this doesn't work, these are the things. Let's make sure we understand this. And I think it's so easy to say yes, but here's what I'm responsible for. And if people know that going in, I could do this, I got a team for this, I got a team for this, but I'm not going to be there running it. Yeah, I've got a company. Yeah, they depend on me. There's 1,300 people there. But I think that if you set those right, I mean, I think you could do amazing things. And the bigger you set up a team of leaders and great people and be a recruiter, man, you could have a lot of great businesses.

Totally. Your last name, that's everything. That's the most valuable thing that you have.

Yeah.

And Proverbs, you know, something my mom always had me do, which I still do pretty, uh, pretty often is whatever day of the month it is, you read that book of Proverbs. So if it's the 17th, you read Proverbs 17. It's the 30th, Proverbs 30.

Wow, that's great.

And, um, it's so incredible because there's so much wisdom in there. And that's really where I built like my last name, my reputation. That's what I want to make sure and protect. And I want to be who I say I am, and I want to treat others as I'd want to be treated. And that's where I feel like that's what you're saying is like, look, like my reputation is— that's me. And I want to do my best to get it out there as much as I can. I'm different than you. Like, I don't even do social media. I hate social media. Yeah. But, you know, more power to people that are doing that. Yeah.

You know, I just think for me is I actually enjoy doing social media. I mean, there's a lot of haters out there, but I enjoy making content. Yeah. I wouldn't say I have an abundance of time to do it. But I think that, you know, if you got a brand that means something, that means trust, that means you can make money, it means you could get in shape.

Yeah.

And people trust you. What'll happen is you can share with a lot more people.

Yeah.

And that's my goal.

Yeah.

And, you know, there's a lot of people out there that live on social media, and I think it's like— I just interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk. You know, he's— he says the F-bomb a lot. But he's a great guy. And, you know, it's like you build this brand and all of a sudden there's lots of deal flow. You're doing a lot of great things. And I don't want to be recognized. I don't want to be Tom Cruise that I got to hide and I get the paparazzi everywhere. I can't go to any country. And you're like, I don't want the fame necessarily. I just want to do great things with great people.

Yeah.

And I don't want to ever do a deal with somebody that's a headache. Like, even if we're making $1 trillion, like, if I hate my life to be around and it's like pulling teeth, it's like, dude, I don't want that.

Yeah.

I see all these people that live this life of only work, like Alex Hormozi. All he does is work. And he's like, these lazy people, he's like, you don't got to have fun. You skip that. And I'm like, dude, then why do you work?

Yeah, that's, that's his fulfillment. I look at it like, you know, we were created to create, not consume. And so I worry about the consumer mentality in society. And so that's where, like, social media, I haven't really been a big fan for, like, when the storm, like, went on to social media to really work on that. But something I've been doing lately is kind of old school, dude. I've been writing— I have a pretty large email list, and so I've just been started writing emails and pretty good, like 54% open rate on average. I've been pretty happy with it, but I'm just starting to share my ideas and thoughts. And I had your social media guy, bro. I had a really great conversation. He gave me some good feedback because now I'm going to have my team start taking it and probably doing some stuff with social media.

Yeah.

Just to get that, because that's the thing is like I have a lot of friends are like, dude, you really need to get your ideas out. You're kind of like a thought leader. Like you need to shape thinking. And that, that's what really hit me is like, I want people to be looking at the future. Look where the puck's going, not where it's at.

I agree, man. It's, it's true. So here's a question that I don't have the answer to, but I will one day is how is becoming a father shaped the way that you think about legacy and impact? Oh man.

Yeah, trying not to cry on that one, dude. Nothing's more— nothing is more fulfilling than that. I've done a lot in business and a lot of struggles, and a lot of people want to wait quite some time before they have kids. You're never ready. No, you're never prepared. I have 4 boys. Wow. You know, I've been married for going on 13 years. I have 4 boys. It's incredible. I can't figure out how to have a girl. Keep trying. But that is my impact. So I've, you know, I'm a fixer, I'm a problem solver. And so when I was, you know, early on in my career, dude, I would get up early in the morning, have adjuster appointments, meetings, and then at night I knock till dark. Like, that's what really set me apart is I always knock till dark. And my wife, you know, my son was probably like 3. She really like hit me hard. She was like, your son doesn't even know you. Like, you're never here, you're always gone. And I made a commitment that weekends, like, I will be home on weekends and I'll set time for them there. Then it moved to where the business grew, people, this, that, and the other, to where then I could be home at dinner.

And so for many years now, I'm home at night for dinner and I'm always there on the weekends. Sometimes I have to travel, like, here, you know, and be gone. But, um, like, you got to invest in your family, and it's amazing to invest in people, and like, that's what you want. But like, nothing's more important than your flesh and blood. And I look at it as like, when I'm an old man, I'm 70 years old, I'm gonna be hounding my kids to bring my freaking grandkids over.

Yeah.

And so that's why I want to have a lot, because that's when you get the beautiful stage of life where you get to enjoy your hard work. And really building my children up to be men of God, to be strong, mentally tough, physically fit, and servants. And so my kids have done their own community service projects, like raising money for schools and all that. And so I teach on the streets they go knock doors, they'll hit up random people in downtown Fort Worth getting money for like a raffle to support some kids. And so I just, you know, having kids is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.

Yeah, probably. What do you want on your casket? The best software roofing guy or like the best dad?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

How long do we got before I mean, all of today I had all these guys with doing AI, and I'm like, man, it is speeding up. Yeah, it is. And you know, if we came out with flying cars, not enough people would even— the infrastructure couldn't handle it yet.

That's why we don't have it. Yeah.

So like, AI is great. The machines will go faster than humans can. I mean, baby boomers aren't ready to even book online yet. Some of them do, no doubt, but like every younger person is like, I'll just book online.

Yeah.

So what's the future look like and how long before— what kind of change do you predict?

I look at, you know, buying habits. Obviously, COVID, everyone knows it changed the habits. So you can look at how fast things can change.

Yeah.

And so you look at it now and it's like, ah, the change isn't going to be that fast. But now you have machines that think for themselves. And so that's what historically we've always coded everything. It's been a human intelligent perfect, like the human intelligence coding artificial intelligence. Now you have AI coding itself. So the creator has now changed. And so the amount of rapid change that I feel like is going to happen in the next 5 years is going to be more than what we've ever seen. We look— society, it has more in common with society 100 years ago than society 10 years. And so That's where I look at as a human, like, how do we protect our mind? And that's the biggest threat that I see is like the amount of manipulation that's going to come at us. And so I feel like, you know, the way we communicate, the way we trust, like everything is going to have to be rebuilt. So our infrastructure is broken for this. So just to your point, flying cars, we don't have the infrastructure. So it's going to require all of us to come together to start asking these questions because no one can tell you.

Yeah, no, because they're not the ones coding it anymore. And so predictions, bro, I feel like are all bullshit that no one has.

I think I saw a guy that was one of the founders of OpenAI and he said anybody that could tell you more than in the next month or two is lying.

Yeah. So like prediction, like, I don't know, but dude, I've made a ton of predictions like just in my journal and writing and like a few of them are right, you know, so I've hit a few, but I like to really think in the future, but you're not ready. I'm not ready. And we're just going to do our very best because what is the constant in life? Change.

Yeah.

You're going to change.

Get comfortable with it.

You have to be so comfortable with that and being comfortable being uncomfortable. And so, yeah, I don't have a great prediction for you, Tommy, other than like, dude, you have some sick humanoid robots hanging out with you around the house and I think it's going to become a lot easier.

I will say this, though. Events, I think, will be worth a lot more, whether it's a sports team. Yeah, uh, Bessemer that originally invested in ServiceTitan just made a massive investment in the 49ers.

Okay.

And I'm watching the guy speak, and he's like, yeah, he's like, the wealthy of the wealthy are going to want to go to events. They're going to want the human connection.

That's right.

But here's what's crazy about young kids that just live on iPads and play games is like, they don't need any human connection. They don't really feel like this need to see. It's almost like it's scary, man. I'll tell you this, I, I can't let my brain go there because it could go, it could go dark super quick.

Yeah, yeah, I'll go there with you, bro. Yeah, I just, look, there's, there's an aspect of it though. Yeah, you say they don't care, but they don't know. That's the thing. And once they have a real human connection and they, they experience that, they're going to want more of that. We're more we're more connected and disconnected than ever before. And so that's the sad part. Like, I'm, I'm a, I'm really hardcore with my kids and screen time and all. They got to really earn it. And at dinner, you know, my 3-year-old, when he's my youngest, when I had him, I realized why a lot of people only have one kid. So going to restaurants, really challenging with him. But I'm not just going to give him an iPad and just say, here, zone out, become a little crackhead over here. So That's where I look at the future society. And I'm building my kids to be resilient, to be personable, because I feel like that's going to be such an opportunity for them that can connect because that's what we all want, human connection.

Oh yeah.

And so I think that it's going to elevate consciousness over time. And, you know, the, the kids and all that that aren't into human connection now in the future will be, I hope. And I hope we cut the head off the robots and these manipulative dictators that are coming in and trying to take as much as they can of the power, because it's all a power play at the end of the day. Yeah.

Sam Altman.

Yeah.

I mean, look at all—

I can—

yeah, a lot of people, but I, I don't know much about them. All I know is that there should be guardrails. First thing is don't do evil to human beings. Yeah.

You know, I'm worried about kids. I mean, really, that's where, like, they're— I think it's geospies or something, but You can take a picture like anywhere and it can pinpoint exactly where you're at. And like with all this technology, it's easier than ever before to reach kids. Like we had our kids using Roblox for a while and then there was somebody that was asking my kid where he lived and then, and what's your address? And so my kid brought it to us luckily. But like so many people are being, you know, targeted through all of that and there's not safeguards for social for our children.

You know, I think a lot about this stuff and it's like, it's kind of scary to bring a kid into this world, but—

But you'll build them, dude. You're going to build them to be strong.

Yeah, no, I just— it's not even about like— AI is going to be a part. You don't want to block them from like the world. You can't put them in a cave and protect them. You got to teach them values and let them make their own conclusions.

Yeah.

And I think that's one of the things I've learned is you're not going to be able to control them. Like, my dad got me a minibike. He got me my first gun when I was 6. Like, he's like, you're going to learn to do this. Like, here, you have your first drink with me. If you love it, great. If you don't love it, fine.

Yeah.

He's like, but let's do this together.

Yeah.

Just know that I'm okay.

Yeah.

Don't hide it from me.

Yeah.

I want to know how you feel. I want to be able to protect you. And that's what was awesome, is he gave me a lot of freedom. But shit, you know, there is some stupid shit I've done. Yeah, I've gotten lucky a lot. Like, I, I've gotten lucky in my life.

Uh, I'll tell you, I allow my kids to use chat. Like, I think it's very important that they understand what's coming and they're aware. And so I'm not against it. So just to be clear there, I think you've got to use— leverage it. I think the school system's a freaking joke. And so I tell my kids, like, guys, you got to think for yourselves. You got to be a critical thinker if nothing else. And creative. So I'm not like completely no tech, no nothing. I want my kids to be ready.

What's the biggest mistake you see roofing companies make?

Not really focusing on their culture. I mean, culture eats strategy for breakfast. And so a lot of times owners just want to grab somebody and throw them in and expect them to figure it out themselves. And so there's not really good training. And as you know, you know, you've got to train to compete. And if, if you don't have a system and a process people are going to follow, they're going to figure it out for themselves. That's why roofing is so fragmented, because owners, a lot of them aren't businessmen. They were sales reps, as a lot of people start out, and they don't actually learn business. I mean, accounting is the backbone of your business, bro. And I made huge mistakes not understanding that. So like understanding the P&L, understanding all that obviously is important, but more than anything is the people. We're in the people business at the end of the day, and you have to prepare them and you have to have the tracks for them to go down. To be successful. So I always say like we have to set up our people for success. And that's, that's where I feel like a lot of roofing owners aren't really building the systems that are going to take them where they want to go.

They're trying to find people that they can just hope they can throw at the problem.

It's every industry. But, you know, HVAC was smart. There's a guy, Ron Smith, that started in the '70s and started sharing and they started to get together and say we could help each other win.

Yeah.

And everything started to change and You know, I try to do that in garage doors. Come look at my shop. You're my competitor in my market. Join my freedom group. Get my truck layout. I'll give you my service time playbook because the multiples were 3 or 4.

Yeah.

Now they're way higher.

Yeah.

I was like, well, this industry is going to have to become something if I'm going to be worth anything and we could all win together. Yeah. Looking out 10 years, what do you want JLC Products to be remembered for? But not 10 years like you're going to die. But like, looking back a little bit, if you go forward in life, I think I'll just take some predictions here. Great dad, great husband, a man of God, did what he said he was going to do. But what else?

It's like a hard question, man. That's like really deep. I would say believing in yourself. At the end of the day. And like, you can do it too. I feel like a lot of people question themselves and they don't have the, the belief. They don't really see themselves in that place. They want to be there, but they don't. But, um, I, I love the trades. I feel like blue collar is the last beating heart of America, and I want to change the view, the perspective, the perception of the blue collar industry. We're not drug addicts and alcoholics. We are great men, and we built the infrastructure of this country. And I want us to believe in ourselves that we're going to do again and better.

That's what I'm after. COVID proved it. Yeah, they needed us. Yeah, we're essential.

Yeah. And we're going to make it sexy again, bro. Like, that's my goal.

My shoulders back, my chest out. I'm like, I'm a garage door guy. Yeah. For like 10 years ago, if you were a garbage man or a landscaper or a roofer or a gutter guy, it was kind of like you got a lawyer, a doctor, dentist, and you're the guy like, I'm an accountant, I'm in DC. Yeah. It's like now I'm like, yeah, like, oh my God, I want to get into that.

Yeah.

All the programmers, all the realtors, everybody knows, like, I'm thinking about getting into the HVAC industry. Yeah, of course you are.

Yeah. It's funny, I like introducing people like, what do you do? I'm a roofer. And my wife like, no, you're not. Like, why do you always say that? I'm like, because, like, it's what I've always been like. Yeah.

Now that's cool, man. 3, 3 final questions. How do people get a hold of you?

Instagram, I guess. Josie Parks, like @JosieParks.

Where you from originally?

Fort Worth. Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

Or like my content— they're about to rebuild my website, or josieparks.com.

Okay, let's get that. Is there any books that like— obviously Proverbs.

Yeah.

Is there any books other than like the Bible that have really impacted you?

Blue Ocean Strategy.

Oh, that's a good book.

Absolutely love that book. And that's it's— it was very revealing to me because I'm more of like a blue ocean thinker. So like a lot of the businesses that I have, they don't really exist. So it's way harder, way more capital intensive to build. But I love that. That's like, I mean, for me, one of my favorite books.

It's great.

Yeah, there's a lot of frameworks and models that go with it. Yeah.

I mean, listen, the coolest thing about ChatGPT is give me the summary and at least you can see if you want to read that book.

Yeah.

And then finally, listen, uh, there's a lot of people waiting for us outside.

Oh yeah.

And I'm glad you came and did this, and this is the best. Like, dude, I love shooting content, just getting to know people, and we're going to catch up on a lot of things. Time.

Yeah.

Uh, you're busy, I'm busy, but I think we could do some cool things together. Um, we talked about a lot of stuff, everything from raising kids to energy to roofing. Uh, normally I could go a lot longer, but We'll go, we'll do this again. What didn't we talk about? Finish, finish us with, with a final thought.

I would say community with Win the Storm that I'm building and the importance of it. And we talked a bit about community, but I bought Win the Storm because I felt like we need a place to meet and together to grow, to thrive, to, as you were saying, in HVAC industry, they all came together, they elevated the industry, saw a big problem in the storm industry. and it was very fragmented and there wasn't really a gathering for us to grow. And I want to help contractors learn retail. I've always done storm and retail. And so I bought Win the Storm because I felt called and everyone feels called for something. And so I just, I would challenge all of you, if you feel called, that there's something where you want to do something and you feel like you're uniquely gifted to do it, take massive action and be the change you want to see because no one's coming to save you. You're the only one that can do it. So Answer the call.

That's it, baby. Look, don't live in this land of procrastination and indecision. You got an idea. I never heard anybody say, man, some people, some people, yes, you're going to get beat up a little bit. Yeah, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And I never heard anybody say, man, I really regret actually taking action.

Yeah.

So I think you nailed it, Jose. I really appreciate you doing this.

Yeah. Thanks for having me, dude.

All right, my man. All right. Appreciate you.

Hey there, thanks for tuning into the podcast today. Before I let you go, I want to let everybody know that Elevate is out and ready to buy. I can share with you how I attracted a winning team of over 700 employees in over 20 states. The insights in this book are powerful and can be applied to any business or organization. It's a real game changer for anyone looking to build and develop a high-performing team like over here at A1 Garage Door Service. So if you want to learn the secrets that helped me transform my team from stealing the toilet paper to a group of 700+ employees rowing in the same direction, head over to elevateandwin.com/podcast and grab a copy of the book.

Thanks again for listening, and we'll catch up with you next time on the podcast.