Married to the Hustle
Married to the Hustle
4 Things we wish we knew when we got started
Ever wondered what it takes to leave the grind of a 9-5 job and create a successful business with your significant other? Join us on "Married to the Hustle," where we, Jessica and Alex, share our personal journey from the concrete industry to launching our own janitorial business in March 2018. Hear Alex's story of working 80-hour weeks and facing burnout, which led us to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Despite the lack of preparation and the uncertainties we faced, we managed to secure our first client, who remains loyal to this day.
Discover how we balance vision and execution as a couple to grow our business. We shine a light on why having actionable strategies and measurable goals are pivotal, and how robust systems can be the backbone of your success. Inspired by James Clear's "Atomic Habits," learn how even unexpected areas like employee offboarding can benefit from strong systems. This candid conversation is packed with insightful anecdotes and practical advice on teamwork, systems, and making your entrepreneurial dreams a reality. Tune in for an honest look at what it takes to build a business with love and hustle.
Now that you've listened to the Married to the Hustle Podcast, it's time to join the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marriedtothehustle
Another way to support the podcast is to leave a review. Your feedback helps us to continue creating valuable content and reach a wider audience.
Thank you for your support!
Alex & Jessica Fortis
1, 2, 3, 4. Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love, faith and business come together.
Jessica:I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and business, alex. Together, we're diving into the wild world of entrepreneurial couples.
Alex:Each week, we'll bring you real stories hilarious moments and valuable insights from couples.
Jessica:Welcome to the show. We are so excited to be here and, you know, being this is our very first episode, I thought that it would be great to be able to share a little bit of our story and share a little bit on things that we wish we knew when we first got started. How does that sound, Alex?
Alex:That sounds perfect. I think some of us are afraid to start right, Because us as human beings, we want everything to be perfect and kind of laid out for us before you start. But the entrepreneurial life is totally different and we've learned for sure.
Jessica:Yeah, for sure. And just so you guys know the reason why all of this got started is you know anyone that asked Alex so what made you go for business? You know, go in business for yourself. And he always says, Jessica as Jessica.
Alex:You were my coach. You know patting me on the back. You can do it, you can do it.
Jessica:Yeah. So you know for those of you that don't that, don't know us I I'm an executive coach and a business strategist and when we started our business, it was kind of like getting tired of the hustle and bustle of working for someone else and having our hours being dictated and working very long hours. Specifically for Alex, I remember there were a week that he was like well, I can't exceed 80 hours. What in two weeks? No, in one. And I was like are you serious? So it was just a matter of time before he especially experienced some really severe burnout and we knew that we needed to do something different. Why don't you tell the story on how we got started in the janitorial industry?
Alex:Yeah, it's funny that you said total burnout right, because, as business owners is still, you know a lot of stuff falls on your shoulders, right? So you have to answer to everything that's going on. You have to make sure your team is aligned right with your vision and your goals. So it's still really hard work. You know running a business.
Jessica:And.
Alex:I remember I was working in the concrete business. I started out in New York. I was born and raised in Far Rockaway, New York, and I was working out there for a ready mix concrete and everything, mostly everything, especially when it has to do with construction.
Alex:there's all union jobs out there and I was part of the union and got a little spoiled by that, I must say, but it was a good experience. And then I came here to Florida in 04, originally moved to Kissimmee, worked for another concrete plant and my last job was a family-owned ReadyMix concrete, which has taught me a lot.
Alex:Number one hard work does pay off. Even though they were long hours, they gave me the opportunity to continue growth within the company, so I was always very, very grateful for them. Jessica I don't know if she was that grateful for that because all the long hours that I was putting in, but one day I was already close to about 80 hours a week, and this time I was running a one of the newer plants here in orlando, florida and I was always one that when we had something important going on in the company, or in that plant I I wanted to make sure that I was there right
Alex:just to kind of make sure everything was going smooth and stuff like that. But one day came home and jessica tells me we need to make a change. I mean, you're just putting in way too many hours right for someone else. And I remember back in the day I don't remember who told me, but it was definitely someone that was close to me back in New York and he tells me as long as you're working for somebody, you're living somebody else's dream.
Jessica:Sure.
Alex:Right, you're living somebody else's dream, sure, right? So I said, you know it, always there's a lot of things that, as as we're growing and going through life, that there's people or mentors that put things into your, into your head, and it makes you think about things differently. Right, and what was it? March 2018. Yeah, decided to get the LLC going and got the cleaning business going. We didn't have any customers yet, but we sure, you know, had everything going. And then in probably June, right, we landed our first customer and Jessica was away.
Jessica:May November.
Alex:The call, the call that you got for me. What was it like?
Jessica:So I was in New York for my best friend's graduation and I actually got this call and we remember that we didn't even have a proposal. We didn't know anything about pricing Right, we didn't know anything about pricing. We just didn't know what a scope of work was. I mean, there were so many as such, we needed to be prepared. So when Alex called me, he was like, oh my gosh, what am I going to do? And I was like, don't you worry, we will figure something out.
Jessica:So we put together a proposal, which we still have a copy of it and it looks terrible. But we put together a proposal and we sent it out on its way. We did that through Microsoft Word. It wasn't anything fancy or anything like that. We already had some of our branding, but we just didn't have like an official letterhead and like there were a couple of things that we just still didn't have. And we send it on its way.
Jessica:And I want to say, within the same day she closed, she sent it back, signed, sealed, delivered, and wanted us to get started the following week. And so we did it, and we did it scared, and we were so excited and we celebrated that first win like you wouldn't believe. And, by the way, that client is still a client today, six years, and so that's been very, very exciting. But I would say for our listeners, one of the things that we started chatting about when we were putting together our podcast suggestions, like episode suggestions on content and what to share we wanted to put together for this first one and share the four things that we wish we knew when we started our business, and so you know we each have two because you know we had to split right through the middle, because otherwise I'll take everything.
Alex:I remember, pastor, the other day when the sermon, remember we were talking about relationships right and marriages, and it's not 50-50.
Jessica:Right, we both have to be all in all in all or nothing, all or nothing. That's right. And so, Alex, why don't you go ahead and share the number one thing that you wish you knew?
Alex:The one thing that I wish I knew before we started this is that it's not as easy as everyone thinks. But, with that being said, it doesn't mean that you can't accomplish your goals, right? These bigger companies, let's just say like coca-cola, right, you think when they first started, did they know everything? Probably not right. So they, they worked at it, they made mistakes, but they continued to be consistent, right and what? What the ultimate goal was, what the vision was? And to this day, we're in it's six years now and there's still things that we learn every day.
Alex:Every day, I wish that people would be authentic with you and tell you hey, no, this is what's going to happen, because I feel almost all the time we're on a rollercoaster ride, right? So there's there's times where you know things are just flowing nicely, you know your team is on board and then, all of a sudden, you get a drop. Right? So things start to change and you learning to adapt to different situations, and I'm always one. Okay, there's a problem, what's the solution? It should always be the solution, right, instead of the problem. So back to your point. It's not as easy, but it is doable. Just staying consistent, not giving up. And what the goal, the ultimate goal behind entrepreneurship.
Jessica:So good and so rewarding too at the same time.
Alex:Right, and then going off of that right because I know we're still learning. Going off of that right because I know we're still learning. Do you think we have to be experts in all things that we do, or is it something that you know? You go with the flow, and I tell you this because you're more of the implementer right?
Jessica:The integrator.
Alex:Integrator, integrator. I always say implementer, but it's the integrator, integrator, integrator I always say implementer, but it's the integrator. So I'm more the visionary and for anyone who's read traction, it bases on visionary and integrator. And I'm definitely the visionary and I come to jessica with my big vision goals. Right, and jessica, if you want to share, do you think we have to be expert in all the things that we do in our business?
Jessica:No, no, not at all, not at all. And that's funny because that was our number two we don't have to be the expert in all the things and that, for me, that was a big aha moment, because when I initially left corporate, when I left corporate, we had already been in business for a little over a year and we were thriving, we were growing and you know, we we met our first goal about six months after we started the business in 2018. And so Alex quit his job, first because it made the most sense. He was working, you know, 70 plus hours a week and and when he did that, then he started to cheer me on, jessica, yes, we could do it. Come on, let's go.
Jessica:And I struggled with. I don't know anything about the janitorial industry, I don't know anything about chemicals and equipment and pricing, and like there was just so many things that I just felt like I was not an expert in. And it wasn't until that book that Alex mentioned Traction, where it started to break down things like, you know, the visionary what does this person do? And the integrator what does that person do? And it wasn't until then, then, when we started to really work within our strengths, within our role that things really started to move forward in the business, because prior to that we were all doing all the things. If I was doing invoicing, alex was doing invoicing too. If I was calling customers, he was calling customers too. If I was responding to an email, he would respond to the emails too, and we were both kind of doing both things at the same time. But what I wasn't doing I wasn't doing walkthroughs, I wasn't doing proposals, I wasn't doing pricing, but Alex was always kind of like tapping into my side of the role, and it's because we discovered that he can be both.
Jessica:I had the opportunity to ask Gino Wickman a question in the old clubhouse. They remember those and I said to Gino Wickman what happens when you work with someone who's a visionary and an integrator Because both his scores were pretty even at that time and Gino said that if I was integrating he could not integrate. He needed to take off the hat and sit in the visionary seat, and that was hard. I remember a couple of times I would say to Alex take your lane. He would get so uptight about it.
Jessica:But it is one of the things that really helped us propel the business forward because, yes, although I did not know a lot of things about the janitorial industry and I'm just going to be real, I still don't, I still don't. But what I was good at was operations and systems and strategy and workflows. And as long as we worked within our strengths, then the business started to feel like it was moving somewhere, like we were growing, like we were thriving. And so, to answer that question, no, we don't have to be the expert in all the things, but definitely surrounding ourselves with the right people so that we can push through that vision. It's just as important than being an expert in all the things. So that leads us to our number three Alex, tell our audience about what it means when you say vision without execution is just a dream.
Alex:Starting out. This is the first time I've been in business by myself.
Alex:Well, not by myself, with you. But starting a company from scratch with no help, you know, just you and I and our team, you know going day by day and I've always, since we started, I've, since we landed that first customer, and I was like, wait, this just seems so easy. Right, we landed our first customer, and it's not as easy, by the way. It's not as easy, but it gives you it automatically gave me a vision for bigger and better things. Right, how can we scale the business? Right? Because until this day, I still I enjoy going out there with our team. I enjoy helping out, lending a hand, motivating someone, listening to someone I enjoy all of that. The vision is one thing. Someone listening to someone I enjoy all of that. Division is one thing. But we have to execute.
Alex:And that's where kind of Jessica comes in a little bit as well on that question, because she helps me execute this right. So she's the one like I tell her sometimes. We just had an industry conference for the janitorial and I've never attended one and I told her man, I would love to go there, and she's the one motivating me. And then all of a sudden I find out, here I am, I have a ticket now, because Jessica went and purchased a ticket for the conference, which was a great experience, right. So I think Jessica and I we make a great team together. She helps me execute my vision.
Alex:I'm the peanut butter and she's the jelly, so yeah, the vision is definitely important, but I think execution is definitely more important than the vision.
Jessica:Yeah, yeah, because you know, and that's why I had coaching clients where where we talk about the vision boards, right, I love vision boards, I think they're so cool. I think, especially in the beginning of the year, it's just a great opportunity to get together, whether it's with your friends or with family, just to be able to kind of craft a vision. But what I don't believe in teaching an entrepreneur about vision boards because it's not the vision, it's the strategy to execute on that vision. And and and you know I love project boards I love, you know, creating a vision board that has an actionable, clear strategy that can be executed, with measurements, with goals, because what doesn't get measured doesn't get done. And so for me, that's why the execution is so important. And you know that leads us also to number four, which is we are as good as our systems. And you know I will tell you that many times, when we sit around the table and we're tossing ideas, and we're tossing and sharing our vision with others, there's no plan behind it. That's just talk. It's just talk, and that's where systems come in.
Jessica:There's this book called Atomic Habits that James Clear talks about, and he says in the book you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. You fall to the level of your systems, and that is so true whether we're building a business, whether we are growing our relationship, whether we're growing our faith because even with that there's a system. Right? Are you crafting time aside to sit in the quiet, to read, to meditate, to pray, to listen, to worship? What does that look like as you grow? But it's in all avenues of our lives, whether it's business, whether it's personal, whether it's professional development, whether it's faith. There's so many areas in our lives that are impacted by the level of our systems, and so the only reason why we have been able to execute at the level that we have is because we've surrounded ourselves with really great people, and our people are the ones that help us really execute on the vision. And, number two, it's been our systems.
Alex:Do you still remember that question, when I came home to you and I said we need systems.
Jessica:And I said which ones.
Alex:Right and I said all.
Jessica:And I was like here we were right, we were talking about we don't have to be an expert in all the things. Here I was already feeling and he probably didn't realize this because we didn't talk about this until now I don't think he realized that every question that he asked me, I felt like I was not the expert and like I felt like he was expecting an answer. And when he asked me that question about systems, I mean I know all about systems. I just didn't know anything about systems in the janitorial industry and, as such, I had so much fear in my heart to fail. And so so we knew we needed systems. But what did that look like? And you know, and if we were to to, as we develop things now, if we were to look back and realize, you know, reflect on the things that we did have in the past or that we didn't have it, I mean we laugh about it all the time.
Jessica:I remember one of our employees said why do we need a process for offboarding? You remember that? Why don't we need a process for offboarding? Well, because we need to effectively offboard an employee. And I think that that same week he wound up offboarding two employees, do you remember, and we were like yeah, now you're the master offboarding expert, but the reality is that they're all systems. These are all the systems that we're developing in our business, and it was pivotal for our business not just the people, but also our systems.
Alex:And people don't realize that anything you do out there when you're working in your business is a system right. It might not be documented yet, but it is a system right. How do you approach the customer? How do you handle? You know situations, different situations, problems, solutions. Everything is a system. It's just documented.
Jessica:So when it happens, again, right, again, right okay, let's go back to what just happened.
Alex:So you're learning and you're building a system pretty much in your everyday life, absolutely so jessica, if you had any advice for couples in business, what would it be?
Jessica:that's such a good question. I will say it's find a mentor, find a, a coach and I know that's biased because I'm a coach, but I also know the spark that working with mentors at SCORE did for me understanding how to create a business plan and some of like those fundamentals that when you don't know anything about business aside from you know you know what you know. I thought that was really pivotal for me and I will forever be grateful to score because that was one of the first places that I sought after when we decided to go into entrepreneurship.
Alex:So finding a mentor or hiring a coach Right right and a lot of small business owners don't realize that there is a lot of help for us out there. It's just finding out where to go, absolutely.
Alex:There's people that are coached, that are mentoring you, that are helping you in your business. For advice for couples is find fellowship right. Find other couples that are in business together and you know it doesn't have to be an everyday thing, but someone that's been where you're trying to go to right and and have open conversation right, shoot ideas at each other. So I think that's really, really important for anyone starting in business or if you're already in business, right because you'll, you're running, you know you and I we run into people that that's been doing this for a lot longer than we have right to be able to.
Alex:When you have a doubt or question about something that we don't know, reach out to someone right or question about something that we don't know. Reach out to someone, right?
Jessica:So that would be my advice for couples or anyone in business for that matter. Right, I love that, I love that, and that's so true. Someone at my church said to me recently I was in a small group and she said who is your Moses and who is your Joshua? So who is this person that you're looking up to, this person that that's holding you accountable, that's teaching you, that has you under their wing, but then who is that person that you're mentoring, who is that person that you're giving back what you're learning? And and I thought that was just so powerful. So I loved, love, love, love, having this conversation with you today, being our first podcast episode, and some experts to share strategies on how to effectively communicate with your spouse, how to make sure that you keep that spark alive, and all of those things that sometimes you know can get lost when we're building a business and when we're living in the hustle, and so so, alex, did you have any other closing remarks?
Alex:Just a little bit more advice. If you guys are just starting out in business, I would recommend just stay consistent, right, stay consistent. Find someone else you can talk to. Don't give up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we have to crawl before we walk right. So, yeah, that's my advice. You know I'm not an expert, but you know, keep on going. You're going to, you're going to learn as you grow.
Jessica:Yeah.
Alex:I've always liked that saying learn as you grow, as you grow and you're going to learn new things and, and you know, just be consistent, be consistent.
Jessica:Love that, love that. So there you have it, guys. I will see you guys next week with Alex.
Alex:Of course I keep saying I. It's a we thing, Bessie.
Jessica:Yes, we'll see you guys next week as we venture into this life, this crazy life with building a business. So I hope you enjoyed this amazing episode on Married to the Hustle. See you guys next week.
Alex:See you guys next time. That wraps up another episode of Married to the Hustle. We hope you enjoyed today's show and found some inspiration and practical tips to apply to your own business journey.
Jessica:We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners. If you have any stories, questions or tips to share, connect with us on social media or send us an email. Your input makes this podcast even better.
Alex:And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the Hustle on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review. It really helps us grow and reach more entrepreneurial couples like you.
Jessica:Join us next week for more exciting stories, insightful interviews and valuable advice. Until then, keep hustling, keep thriving and keep loving what you do.
Alex:Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.