On today’s Success Stories podcast we are going to focus on what it takes to change the focus of your business from one type of customer base to another. That’s what Ron Augelli with We Talk Shirty in Scranton Pennsylvania did, and he is going to share his insights with that journey.
So grab some paper and a pencil and come along for the ride as we walk you through that journey of getting from A to B, and what you need to do.
On today’s Success Stories podcast we are going to focus on what it takes to change the focus of your business from one type of customer base to another. That’s what Ron Augelli with We Talk Shirty in Scranton Pennsylvania did, and he is going to share his insights with that journey.
So grab some paper and a pencil and come along for the ride as we walk you through that journey of getting from A to B, and what you need to do.
Marshall Atkinson
On today's Success Stories podcast, we're going to focus on what it takes to change the focus of your business from one type of customer base to another. That's what Ron Augelli with We Talk Shirty in Scranton, Pennsylvania did, and he's going to share his insights with that journey. So grab some paper and a pencil and come along for the ride, as we walk you through that journey of getting from A to B, and what you need to do. So Ron, welcome to the Success Stories podcast.
Ron Augelli
Marshall, thanks for having me. I'm very excited to be here. Hopefully, I'm able to help out some of these amazing shops that tuned into your podcast.
Marshall Atkinson
Well, I can't wait. I can't wait. I think, you know, I watched your videos and you do some just really hilarious things. So I thought you would be such a great podcast guest. So I can't wait to get started and learn all about what your shop does, right. So before we can talk about where we are now, I think we need to discuss where you started. To describe that original business focus, and talk about why and when you decided that you needed to change gears.
Ron Augelli
So I'm not going to start like where I started, like how I started the business, you know, we all have those similar stories. I started like, Hey, I started right after I got to the military in my college dorm room. And that story's been out there, right? So I probably just changed that focus. And we'll go to when I decided to go full time into believing into this business, right? So we come to the realization Hey, I'm a basement printer, and I want to open up my first store. Well, there's a lot of giving and take there. There were a lot of people who were around me that said I couldn't do this. And there's a lot of people that were in my group of friends and family are just like, well, this other guys do this, like how are you going to do this? Like, how are you going to be successful in this, there are so many people doing this. And right from the get-go right there when I decided to open up my first store, and really go into this because I was moving, I just didn't have the room. But we opened up our first store, which was 10 feet by 10 feet room with the front door on retail, and just to have my little manual press in there. But our focus was I had to change who I was hanging out with, you know, I had to really change and get some people around me that were motivated. And really it was my wife to be she said, I believed in you. So we went into the small storefront 10 by 10. And that was our first business focus was to work locally in the community, you know, I'll return to the nonprofits to the dog shelters to the schools, really just a community-based business, you know, and that was great. And it was really, really good. I mean, right from the start, because I was doing it part-time, I already had a strong customer base enough to afford the bills to be paid, and bring a little bit of home quickly, quickly, quickly that I find out who I wanted my customer to be and who I didn't want my customer to be. And that was early on. And that was through the help of listening to the podcasts, there was the help of really digging deep into the business structure that I wanted. Because we all make mistakes. I was taking customers that weren't paying on time, maybe 60 days later, I was taking the guy coming in who wanted one shirt, for example, in the beginning, I was the guy who was doing like six colors on 12 shirts. And it was just because it was more of a craft at that time. And that was fine. I just wasted a lot of time in that beginning focus of that business model because it was more like, hey, let's get the word out there. And this guy is cheap, fast. And if you get it done on time, and what's given the shot. So by doing that, it opened up a lot of doors in the community. I had a lot of schools, whereas we had like one football coach, I had one football coach when I started. He gave me my first big order it was more like a 500-piece t-shirt order for a blackout game. And it clicked like wow, I want to target or put together a package for these coaches that will allow me to get these larger orders. So I'm not doing the smaller orders. So right from then, I heard about that 80-20 rule, and I didn't know what it was. I had no idea what it was but I was kind of doing it it just naturally kicked in because you are trying to figure out that customer base of who you want to go with and who you want to stay with. So for a good solid five years, I did schools I mean you could ask anybody that I would you know talk to in industry what is Ron Do schools and stores and that's what They thought I did. And I really grew that business into more than just schools because I'm like, hey, if I could do uniforms, let me open one of those, you know, larger companies, you know, and let me see if I could get in with Nike or Under Armour or Adidas. And the fact is, is that they wouldn't open me. So I had to be really creative and strategic. And I actually ended up opening with Adidas, which was fantastic. And that gave me the ability to offer uniforms. So that would get my foot in the door. And then I would come up with marketing plans to help the PTA moms of hey, how could they get more money out of their fundraisers versus so many chocolate bars, so I was creating these little, I guess you call them marketing strategies that I would send to different parts of the school that would help them sell, I was a problem solver, as you would say. And that was my model. And we did nothing but just do school. And we did a lot of schools, and we did a lot of local businesses. And then came to the point where I was just so bogged down with work that was treading water, and it wasn't being so profitable, because we were just taking so many schools, I thought, hey, what better time to start changing our focus with our growth. And I never like to put all my eggs in one basket. I know, it's cliche to say that, but we started diving into different channels and different niches to see where we would fit in. And it was okay to change. It was kind of hard to start telling schools like, hey, No, we aren't going to take that order. Well, what do you mean, you did it, and we're not going to do it for that price. And this is where we're at now. And this is what we're doing. And there was a lot of pushback. And it was like, It's okay, though, because the ones that really, truly believe in what you're giving, which is more than just a decorated piece of apparel. It is a customer service experience. It is everything that comes with our business, we're not just an apparel company anymore, we are problem solvers, for our customers to go from point A to Z, be in constant contact through the process, and give them an exceptional experience instead of just a mediocre experience. So that's where we started really diving into how we started. That's where we came from, which was working with a lot of schools and super small business owners in the area because that's what I was a small business in the area at the time. So that's kind of like where we started. That's where we started. That's where we came.
Marshall Atkinson
I love that story. I love the fact that you recognize that you needed to shift gears. And the one thing that you said that I really liked was the fact that you focused on the idea that you are a problem solver. I think a lot of times people who get into this industry, label themselves like if you ask them, hey, what do you do? They say I'm a screen-printer. I don't say that I'm an entrepreneur, or I'm a small business owner, or I'm a problem solver, you know, and so when they say that I'm a screen printer, they view everything through that lens of that I'm a screen-printer. Not that I'm an entrepreneur, where I'm in business to make money, or I'm a problem solver, which is more customer-focused, right, than what I'm actually doing in my process, I really love the fact that you honed in on their problem-solving aspect, and then took that idea and ran with it in other markets. How can I solve problems for a business or whatever right is different than a school? But maybe there's more revenue opportunity there. And that's just fantastic. And talk about just your mindset and how it's evolved over the years. I really liked that idea.
Ron Augelli
So previous to opening up our first store, I was talking, I was surrounded by individuals that just weren't pushing me or said I couldn't do something. And when I opened up the store, it was hard. It was really hard because I had to start getting rid of these people in my life because they were just pulling me down. I couldn't get ahead because you know, they were hanging out in the bars at two o'clock in the morning while I was pressing him through a screen, you know, like, they were going away on vacations. And I'm like, Hey, I'm trying to build something that is going to be hopefully a legacy for my children one day, why, you know, I wasn't pushing nine to five anymore. And it kind of spooked a lot of the guys that I was hanging out with and my friends and they flat all told me like, Hey, you're moving really quickly, and they just stopped calling. And that was fine. It hurt a little bit. But I surrounded myself then with a networking group, not like a BNI or anything like that. I found local people in our community and their acquaintances. They're not best friends are not friends, but they're business owners. They're people that struggle the same. They're entrepreneurs. They're the same people that struggle with the same things that I'm going through growing a business, right so I got in front of people who I could talk to and like, hey, if I hire an employee, what kind of insurance do you think I should need? Or you know, where do I file this number? How do I get this number? How do I get my Sales to use tax, whereas my quarterly like, these were the people that were key in my life at that time to make that switch because I was surrounding myself with like-minded individuals who wanted to get to the next level? But they knew they couldn't do it alone, either. Because we rather sit around and talk business than we would rather talk about a football team.
Marshall Atkinson
That's fantastic. I know, you've heard the phrase, you're the average of the six people you hang around with? It is, there it is. So if you hang around with people who are millionaires, guess what you're more likely to be.
Ron Augelli
I have to say it's very accurate. It's very accurate. And that's kind of what the outcome happened, you know, and we've all grown together. Some were doctors somewhere, attorneys. Some are, you know, pizzeria owners piece. Some are restaurant owners. Some are car dealerships. These are just guys that, you know, I all met up and we have a monthly meeting.
Marshall Atkinson
Was that like, through the chamber? Or how did you find them?
Ron Augelli
People that were my customers, that own business? Oh, I see. And I said, Hey, and then like, we're not friends, we're just acquaintances. You know, we just get together and we talk and we chat, and we hang out, or in a collective group chat or text, and we, you know, Merry Christmas, how are you doing? And then daily? It's like, Hey, I'm dealing with this, how could you help me out? Or do you have a resource for that, and it's just a bunch of small groups, guys and ladies in my area, that we help each other out because we have the resources. Cool. And it's, we have next up, you know, networking, we're not looking to get business from each other, although that does happen. But we're a resource because we know so many people in our community or out there, that when we need an answer, we get it immediately instead of having to go fish, you know, somebody else's recommendation.
Marshall Atkinson
Right. So just looking back, Ron, what do you think the hardest part about changing is? And if you had to start over, what would you do differently? Because there's somebody listening right now that recognizes where they are is where you are in the early part of your career. So maybe they can learn from that. So what would you do if you had to start over?
Ron Augelli
The biggest thing that I would change if I was to go back? Again, I am where I am, because of what I went through, so you're gonna have challenges, there's going to be a lot of mental health that you have to keep, you know, straight away, there's going to be a family, there's going to be a balance between work and family, there's going to be all that in between. I honestly don't regret how I got to where I am now. It made me realize what I don't want to do anymore. And why. And when an opportunity arises, when to say no. And that's the key. It's okay to say no. When you start it's yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. And you're accommodating, and you're worried about this one? If they're going to say something bad about this? And it just says, No, you know, a gut feeling is what I kind of go by 90 90% of the time, and it's proven me right 90% of the time, but if it's telling you not to do it, don't do it, you know, like, why are you trying to trick it to make it work? You know, I'll have a customer calls up. And it's a million questions. And they're not following, you know, how our order processes, and they don't follow our protocols. So the answer is no, this is our process. And this is why we're problem solvers. If you have left XYZ shop, and you're coming here with this many problems, I really don't think it was XYZ shops problem, I think you're the problem. And I don't want to tell them that. But I do it in a very nice way. So if I had to go back, it would be to say no more so that I could get here quicker, you know, I could completely lie and say, Oh, I wish I could go back. And I would do exactly what I'm doing now. Because my model changed because I was in school. But my gut feeling was telling me about a year before, start getting into different niches and seeing where you want to go. Because when 2020 to 2020 came out when COVID hit, guess what closed all of my schools. So if I didn't have those new niches, and I wasn't fishing out to other areas of the business industry, I would have been completely shut down with zero revenue.
Marshall Atkinson
Yeah. And so many shops are out of business today because they only served one market and they didn't take payment upfront. So they had a huge account receivable debt, and they just couldn't make it. So that's the sad truth.
Ron Augelli
And I was trying to help us because there were so many, you know, shops that were out there when this all went down in 2020. And I mean, we are having a record year we are off to one of the largest stars we've ever had because we are doing both schools and these new niches and I remember shops getting calls, like why isn't my phone ringing? And it's like, well, you have a fax machine and you're not. You have to change you have to change with the times a little bit. You know, I'm 37 years old. I know what a fax machine is. I know how to shake your hand. I know how to sit in the boardroom. I know how to type. Oh, I know what SEO is. And I in between that gap. Realize that and there are still a ton of people that are too 50 Plus that don't care for technology, and I know how to reach them. Whereas, you know, guys coming into this, they're all it's all tech, it's all tech, it's all data. And it's like, Hey, you're leaving millions of dollars on the table all gobble that up because I know how to do both. You know, though, when that change happened, it wasn't forced, it was already in motion. But when it went into motion, and I had no other, I guess I wasn't being as bothered, I guess we'll call it when COVID hit out from the schools with the inquiries. And I was easily able to just really pivot and start pumping into those other markets that I wanted to tap because I had time. Okay, so that's when I kind of realized, Okay, well, the schools will come back, everything will return. But in the same time, when that six-month span passed, until you know, the following school year, when everything, they went back, and they had mastered everything. In that six months, I redeveloped a whole new company, a whole new company, it wasn't just what I was doing. We were a brand new company, come that fall. And we are doing that once again, currently, where we're at one year later, but it's the same company just again, we've really rolled the dice shook everything up, changed our models, and we are really pushing out of certain markets. And we are steamrolling into other markets. And that doesn't just happen, though, Mark, you know, I mean, like, virtually it doesn't happen.
Marshall Atkinson
No kidding. Okay.
Ron Augelli
Data that goes into evolution, there's a lot of risks that went into it, a lot of long hours. And it's worth it if you put the time in because we'll go with the saying, you know, people say I'm lucky, but it's not, it's, it's harder I work, the luckier I get, because that's the goddamn truth, you know. So, and that's, you know, if I could talk back to those who are sitting in a position or when they're just starting, it's called work it in, and don't give up, you know, and that's kind of the mentality I have, I'm a vet, I survived. So there's really nothing going to take me down here, Marshall.
Marshall Atkinson
That's right, you're hard to kill.
You know, one of the hardest parts about running a business and especially changing things is actually benchmarking. So, after all, how can you know that what you're doing is actually making a difference if you're not measuring things, so talk about how you built out your KPIs. And what you measure and how you kind of use that to know that you're on the right path.
Ron Augelli
So the KPIs I'm such a data guy, too, and I was getting a little over the top with it. Okay, I had it down to how many steps were being taken between one press to a dryer I had, how long would it take to run a certain shirt, whether it was a fit, you know, 100% Cotton versus, you know, if I had a roll it with 3001 Bella, I'm really gaining the numbers. Still, it was more or less broken down to like data. So I would take a season, and I would collect data on a buying pattern. And then I would get my top 10 items from that. So if I took the first quarter, and I would take all of my data from my vendors, I would find out my top 10 of what I'm buying. And then that's what I would renegotiate with my vendors to get at a lower or reduced cost. And I'm able to push that out to new business because I know that's what's selling. This is what's trending. So again, problem-solving. There's so much that goes into it. It's not just hey, we make t-shirts, I tell all my customers that there's so much we do so much behind the scenes to make sure that they absolutely know that what they're getting is either one cutting edge new or just standard, you know because there's nothing wrong with being standard either. But having the data shown that I was able to give them a number like Hey, I ran 25 School stores. And then those 25 School stores last year, first quarter, these were the top 10 items that sold and this is what they gained in revenue with their markups. And when I go in and I show them that data, I get not only the sale, they're like holy cow. This is cool to be able to gauge this because you have all that.
Marshall Atkinson
Everybody's got dollar signs in their eyes after you do that.
Ron Augelli
They can do an online store but if you know it sounds good Hey, we'll give you the ability to order and we'll drop ship, and we'll do everything, well, we'll host it. And we'll put all the logos together. And we'll bag it, we'll ship it, you just pick it up and hand it out. That sounds nice. But there's so much more to that. Because now you could go into a bigger business or corporate with like, Hey, here's our data, here's our buying patterns. This is what would work for your customer base. These are our recommendations. And we know this is going to sell it did really, really well with these many stores. So that would be the data part of it for that kind of, you know what we're going for. But I want to like even press outputs. So press number one is, you know, 12 color, what am I running on there? How long is it taking? Is that a long-run day? And I would gauge like how long would it take the printed 10 colors, you know, 2000 piece order versus what it would cost to do five setup and breakdowns for five 250 piece orders?
Marshall Atkinson
When you're measuring stuff, especially in production? Are you just using a clock and on a piece of paper? Or do you have some technology that's helping you do that?
Ron Augelli
So I have a system that I use that we developed for certain metrics that we use, but mostly it's a timer, and then it's the average of our printers. So I would never put one of our strongest printers versus one of our, you know, weakest printers that just isn't fair. Usually, I'm doing this, you know, that's how we get the output. And that's how I'm getting the data for that we use, you know, some technology for that. It's pretty accurate. It gives me what I need, didn't always work. You know, there's a lot of trial and error with it, because you can't really gauge everything, you know, like, I didn't know how much time they're wasting on presses scooping ink back in, for example, or the breakdown process. And me collecting data with the consumption of the stuff in their print outputs with the time on press and their time usage, I came to a lot of realizations of where we were actually losing time in our shop. And it was from not only me, but it was from consultants that I have come into our shops like yourself and some others in the industry. And we really dive into my shop. And there's another word of advice, hire a consultant and bring them into your shop. Amen, brother. Great, I owe all this stuff. I'll tell you all this stuff. They don't listen to me. They think, oh, Hocus Pocus, I bring in a guy likes you, you're like you just walked across the water. They're like, Look at this. I'm like, I've been saying this for five years. But I don't even say that I'm like, Yeah, look, you know, here we go. So it's bringing in a different someone from the outside for them to hear it. And the culture of the shop completely changed. So there are a lot of key factors that go into it. But collecting all that data, we then started setting benchmarks like hey, if we have a 10 color job on the press, how could we break that down and get the next job up and registered and ready to rock and roll for that printer in an XYZ amount of time.
Marshall Atkinson
So really, it's about dialing in your process, being proactive in your decision making, looking ahead, and really understanding, you know, where you are with your KPIs. And that really helps you do a better job of organizing and thinking about what's ahead for the shop. And, you know, maybe if there's a new technique, or a new consumable, or a new gizmo, that could get us one or 2% better, you know, on an annual basis, that's a huge payoff. Huge. And I don't think a lot of shops really understand that a lot of their profit is really tied up in their downtime. So as you know, I'm a big geek about that stuff. So that's really great to hear, and you guys are doing so good job with that.
Ron Augelli
Thank you. As I said, you know, you're getting all this data, and you're trying to, you know, save time because we don't really like the downtime either. And we've run to breaks and lunch, you know, and that's their downtime. And I mean, I was tracing our employees, like if they're walking across the building, why were they walking from point A, all the way across to get screens?
Marshall Atkinson
I'm a big proponent of doing that scavenger hunt. Yes, a before. So you get your shirt and your screen and your ink and your samples and mock-ups and documents or whatever. And you stage it for tomorrow, today in the order that you're going to run the jobs and so your crew, all they do is set the job off, run it take the job done, set up the next one. That's all they do. They don't walk anywhere, right and everything comes to the press. In fact, if you've got an artist or a manager that's supposed to approve the job, their printer never goes to the Art Department room. The artist comes to the press because the main way you're making money is in your shop running your press, and you want that to be output as many shirts as possible. So any moment where there not printing shirts, you want to cut that downtime down. And that way you can build your throughput, build your downtime percentage drops, you're making more money, and everybody's happy.
Ron Augelli
Right. And you know, it's a long workday. And this isn't, you know when I was saying the data of how many you can print, like, you have to realize they're humans too. So you can't just be like, Oh, I could print 700 shirts an hour, it's very doable. But you have to also understand the labor intensity that is happening to the press operators, you want to be able to say, hey, switch them up on the press halfway through, why don't you go do that job on that press picked that operator moving around, but that's where it comes the key to having a good, you know, production manager, somebody that's going to back up in all that, to see how people are moving? What are they really good at? What are they good at running? You know, these are all the things that I collect. And I see that my employee, and that my team doesn't see this is everything that I'm processing, like, what's your strength? What's your ability, and that comes to another process. I was on a collective call with people in our industry, it was a random Sunday, and it said, XYZ and XYZ are in that whatever it is where you could talk clubhouse, right, and we're in there. And I heard this great idea of, you know, why not make a reward system for your employees to make more money if they learn more about your shop? Oh, my God, my head exploded. I'm like, really, you know, I never I've never thought of this. So now I have their name on the wall. And we're coming up with all these QR codes and me making videos on how to run this machine so that they could go learn about this. They go through my test, and they make an extra dollar an hour.
Marshall Atkinson
I'm huge and cross-training run. Huge. I
Ron Augelli
know. It was just kind of pushing it together, like how do I come up with this process? How do I make this work? How do I get them on board with this? And you know, money is always a motivator. But to me, it's not always about it's the culture of the shot. It's everything that's going on. But like you said, cross-training is very important. Call-offs are happening more than ever, and finding reliable employees is more than ever is hard to come by. So by cross-training, who I have and doing more retentive and keeping them if XYZ calls off, I know I could call over ABC to fill in for XYZ, building your
Marshall Atkinson
bench strength proactively big time. Yep. All right. Last question. Are you Ready? So let's talk about trajectory. So in business, it's nice to get some momentum behind you. So you can keep pushing forward like it's easier to go downhill than it is uphill, right? So what's in store for you for the future that you're really excited about?
Ron Augelli
Well, we're gonna do that. So we went where we came from, where we where we're going, and we completely as I said, we're a new company, we are really moving into the contract side of the world, with large merchandise companies that are looking for printers to work for them and distribute. And that was something that I had a little dabble in. And I found it very, very rewarding. Because right now, compared to last year's years, and the previous years, we are again above a record pace, because our numbers are Wait, hold there, hold on, there's no cost of goods being so much anymore. It's more or less, that we're being contracted. So we're getting paid for us our labor, our overhead. And to set a goal at a certain number. With retail, you got to consider the cost of goods and everything else deducted after that. Well, now if you do contract, well, there's no cost of goods here. It's all your consumables and your labor and everything below that. So say, for example, you set a $200,000 a month goal, which anybody would like right for a medium-size, business or small. So you did and this is this number 200. And you did that retail, and then you have to take everything else out with the cost of goods? Well, there's a number at the bottom, right, everybody's number would be different. If you want to contact them for $200,000, which one ways out. And that's kind of where my focus is gone. It's okay, this is a solid number nine boring company by gaining this versus this. Because even though the retail has more money, in my opinion, I'm spending six hours right now trying to source blanks or materials to come in. And I'm dealing with a customer who I have to go back and forth with, hey, they don't have any mediums. They don't have this color. But at the same time, I'm dealing with 100 customers. So for me to change the business wasn't to deal with 100 to a couple 100 customers. Now it's to get it down to where I'm dealing with 30 solid merchandise contract customers, where I'm getting a solid figure every month with projections out because we're not even starting their year yet. I mean, we're just starting to year, and we have a long year ahead. And we're sitting here with our press already booked up for five weeks, all of them. And we already know where we're going to be. So that was the big changing moment. And our trajectory is I want to be a powerhouse here in the next five years in the northeast to be one of the premier contract print shops. That's my goal.
Marshall Atkinson
Yeah, well, that's great. And that's it. You're on your way. Hey, especially if you're doing the measuring, that's what you really need. And it's great to focus on top-line sales. But you're absolutely right. You need to really focus on your profit. And I think the goal of any business is how can we work half as hard for twice as much? Right? So what do we need to do for that, right? And so if you can build that out with whatever marketing, whoever you serve, right, then you're going to have a better company and a more sustainable business, right? And just what you were saying, if you had 30 customers that give you $100,000, a year in sales, right? That's some good cash, right? So $3 million a year right there just by focusing on just 30 people instead of hundreds, right?
Ron Augelli
So I mean, and it takes you a while to do this, it's not an easy process. But when you start transitioning, and you could see the light, like opening up and you're like, wow, okay, I got this one. Now, let me get this one. And now if I just get two more here, we're almost right there. And I could start saying no to some of the ones that, you know, there's I'm not saying they're bad accounts, but they're the ones that would take up a lot more time.
Marshall Atkinson
Right? Are you getting into more fulfillment now? Like your warehousing inventory, and picking and shipping? Are you just drop shipping, that big order to 200 locations? What are you doing?
Ron Augelli
So the typical order that is coming in right now is just a very steady flow, large orders that are being split ship, but not to a couple of 100 places, it's all centralized to distribution centers. So it's a more straightforward process for us to follow. Although the game of E-commerce and order fulfillment, and those orders are very large, that's something that we're looking to grow into but isn't requested by our vendors yet. Although it is on the table for discussion. So I approached these customers and retail customers about how could we work together? How can we grow together? And where do I fit in? How can this work? I don't say here's my price list. I don't do that. I don't even give out prices, I get on the call. And I say how can we make this work? Do you have a baseline? What are you paying other printers? What do you have? Send me that information? And if they can't even do that, then I move on to the next one. But when they do send it and we sit there and we talk, usually you might be off 510 cents. So is that a deal-breaker? No, you could work that out. If you get with the right customers, it's a big picture thing, there are going to be some orders that are going to waste your time. But then the big picture of it all is wow. Those like 30 orders that made me mad for the year with the thousands of them that they sent me. I could take that I could take that any day versus 30 Angry soccer moms who are mad because they're, you know, color was supposed to be Navy and they got like a navy, but it was from a different supplier and it didn't match. I'll take the customer complaining like, hey, you know, we got this rush order coming in. And I need it on Thursday. And I tell him Friday, I'll take that. I'll take that over versus 30 Screaming moms who are leaving me back Google reviews over something that is out of my control.
Marshall Atkinson
That's great. And this all goes back to how you live yourself as a problem solver.
Ron Augelli
Right? Right. And that's this is what it comes down to. It's not afraid to change changes, okay? You know, things evolve, you have to know where you want to go. I am not at the race to the bottom, and neither should you be and you shouldn't just give away your hard work. You are a craft, you are your company, you are your representative and you are worth something. You know, you shouldn't be undercutting yourself in any way because the right people will find you when you're doing really good work.
Marshall Atkinson
That's great. Perfect. So thank you so much for sharing your story of success with us today, Ron. So if someone wants to learn more about what you do, or maybe how you can help them, what is the best way to contact you?
Ron Augelli
You can hit me up on Instagram. That's kind of where I have a lot of shops following me. We talk between the lines there. We share our stories, our triumphs, and our losses. They find me at handle @talkshirtytome. You can also find me at my website, wetalkshirty.com. Just click contact us and I'm really really not that hard to find. But I'm also not easy as well if that makes sense.
Marshall Atkinson
All right. That's great. Thank you so much, Ron. Appreciate you, buddy.
Ron Augelli
Thank you, Marshall. Appreciate you as well.