Announcer: 0:00

The following programming is sponsored by Marc J. Bernstein. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its management, or Beasly Media Group. Entrepreneur, founder, author, and financial advisor Marc Bernstein helps high-performing business owners turn their visions into reality. Through his innovative work and the forward-focused forum, Marc connects entrepreneurs to resources that fuel their success. Founders Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, revealing the lessons they've learned and the stories behind their success. Join Marc and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a little fun. Now, let's dive in.

Marc Bernstein: 0:40

Good morning, America. How are you? It's a not a sunny day in Philadelphia. You know, it's always sunny, but not today. Anyway, it's not bad, but I will tell you I look outside and I'm looking forward to moving the show south as we did last winter to Southwest Florida.

Joshua Funk: 0:58

I'd rather be there, I think, right now.

Marc Bernstein: 1:00

Counting the days. This is Josh you're hearing from. I'll I'll uh I'll introduce him in a minute. And our topic of the day is community. And I'm thinking about it really for two reasons. One is what happened to me this morning, I was telling Josh I was a little late to the studio because we had a dog emergency. We have a fox in the neighborhood, and we always have foxes in the neighborhood, but we have one that was that was very aggressive chasing a teenage boy and their dog he was walking, who happens to be a buddy of my my dog Arlo, and he was out for blood, the fox. So either rabid or maybe protecting babies if it's a female, or uh who knows, but uh or or very hungry, maybe, you know, hungry. So whatever it was, um, it's dangerous. And there were a number of sightings and a number of people ran into them, and hopefully they're getting animal control to help the animal out and do something. But so I but I saw all these texts like all night they were going. It was a community coming together. And we have a we have a nice neighborhood we live in, and but I'm sure there's people of all different political beliefs and different our neighborhoods like the United Nations, but everybody was united when someone's in danger. And that reminds me, Josh, of what's going on in the news today, because yesterday, I don't know when you'll be listening to this podcast, but we're a live radio show today, and yesterday the Congress voted, or House of Representatives voted almost unanimously, all but one vote to release the Epstein Epstein files that have been in the news lately. And I think the reason was, and it overcame politics and overcame everything. It was about community because women, young women, when when they were young were sexually abused, and it's a tragedy, and I think everyone kind of coalesced around that in the most polarized and divided of times. So community gives me hope, is you know. So, Josh, you might want to comment on the yeah.

Joshua Funk: 2:59

Yeah, I I I agree. I think uh and and being from Lancaster, community is so important uh to us. I always joke. Uh Lancaster is one and a half degrees separation, so you you know uh just about everybody, whether you grew up there or uh moved to the area. Um it's just a great place to do business and uh you know it's it's interesting. Uh people really do.

Marc Bernstein: 3:21

Oh, absolutely.

Joshua Funk: 3:22

Yeah, no. I I mean it it it definitely is. And actually it's special this week uh is uh uh extra give for the Lancaster County Community Foundation, which is just an incredible uh day for the county. Uh all the nonprofits in Lancaster uh raise money, and the Lancaster Community Foundation uh matches those efforts. And uh we raised $13.4 million, I think, last year. And it's just an incredible community, uh regardless of political beliefs, because you know, everyone has their own, but uh it's it's a great day where uh as you mentioned, everyone can come together uh for incredible causes and uh and be proud of where they're from in Lancaster.

Marc Bernstein: 3:56

Aaron Ross Powell Well that makes me even happier about Lancaster. So Josh knows this, and it we we getting together had nothing to do with Lancaster. Josh was actually referred by another guest on the show, Nick Mondo. Good guy. Who also I found out later is from Lancaster.

Joshua Funk: 4:10

Yeah, he's just north of Lancaster Lebanon, yeah.

Marc Bernstein: 4:12

But we all met really ultimately through the Union League in Philadelphia. Yep. But and I've mentioned this on the show, and I I should say this because we're gonna have a number of shows coming up, including a couple were recording later this week. I went to Deb Brandt, um who runs Fig, the the City Magazine, which is the nicest city magazine I've ever seen. She's amazing. Yeah. It's really unfortunate. And she's been on the show, and last time that she was on the sh well, not when she was on the show, but um we uh Ray Lowe is another guy who moved to Lancaster from South Jersey, who um is an old friend and sort of a podcast mentor of mine. And we were going to do a podcast last June, and Deb happened to be having their summer launch party for FIG, and I went and I couldn't believe all the all the entrepreneurs and all the exciting things going on culturally, and great restaurants and great uh you know, art galleries and all kinds of things going on in Lancaster. I have so much excitement that I decided to do a series on Lancaster entrepreneurs. So I guess this is part of the series.

Joshua Funk: 5:15

By the way, I want to say uh for all you uh Lancasterians out there, you actually pronounce Lancaster correctly. So from where we're from, that that means a lot. It's not Lancaster. Right, not Lancaster. It's Lancaster. You always put a kiss in the middle middle there.

Marc Bernstein: 5:26

So I think most most Philadelphians, I think, know that. Okay. I went there a lot as a kid, but it was totally different then, you know. Yeah, I grew up there, so I agree. I mean it's a post farm and the Amish country, you know, at that time. Right. Right, right. And trains. Yeah, trains and farms. Right, so exactly. So anyway, so let me introduce to you to Joshua Funk, who is president and CEO of TFB Hospitality. Um, he is a graduate of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University, I should say, hotel, restaurant, and institutional management program. Joshua brings experience, vision, and cutting edge strategy to TFB Hospitality's growing portfolio of properties. Previously, he spent nine years at the prestigious National Press Club. I was pretty wowed by that in Washington, D.C., overseeing operations with total revenues of ten million dollars in food, beverage, audio, visual, and broadcast, along with a staff of ten managers and more than forty full-time and part-time union staff. This experience helped Joshua to foster a forward-thinking hospitality company that can thrive in location and concept. That's a lot. That's a lot of good stuff there.

Joshua Funk: 6:36

Yeah, no, yeah, it's uh it's a mouthful.

Marc Bernstein: 6:38

By the way, I just want to mention to you real quick, we had Gary Brandeis on the show. Okay. And um, Scholar Hotels is the name of it. He has most of the hotels in in State College now. Oh, yeah, okay. So I don't know if you're familiar with that. No, no, I haven't met Gary before, but his name just came up uh a couple days ago, too. So tell me about your story. So you grew up in Lancaster.

Joshua Funk: 6:59

Yeah, I grew up in Lancaster, uh, blue-collar family. Um, you know, uh actually uh my mom was a um a nurse, my dad wa uh laid pavement, and you know, I I liked science and math. Actually, I went to school to be a doctor. I I uh was uh I took calculus, chemistry, biology, and fourteen hundred of my SATs, and my mom was a nurse, so I said, no, I'll be a bit doctor. Went to Penn State uh 1400 SATs, very impressive. Yeah. Uh I hated it. I hated I hated uh I just didn't uh I didn't love it. I was good at school, but I didn't love it. Um and my stepmother at the time owned a uh a small Irish pub, uh neighborhood pub, and uh it's actually a pagan bar. But uh I would I would bartend there on the weekends and uh I kind of loved it. I grew up in a household of my my family were always entertained, it had people over, and um and then I took a class at Penn State called Intro to Hospitality Management, and uh the uh professor was a Wharton grad uh and uh his name's James Poffley, great guy. Uh but it showed me that uh you know restaurants, in addition to the hospitality side, it's all just math, right? Uh it's probabilities and percentages and well, like a lot of businesses are, and and uh but it's like chaos math, right? Um you know, you have to figure out uh there's like six different bullseyes, uh, and you have to figure out which bullseye and you know uh throw the dart where it's gonna be.

Marc Bernstein: 8:18

We also had Matt Wampler on the show, and I think I mentioned too much. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. It's what he does, data analytics.

Joshua Funk: 8:24

It's crazy. So I'm I'm a math nerd that runs restaurants, right? I'm an introvert uh that uh plays an extrovert on TV, if that makes any sense.

Marc Bernstein: 8:33

I've already learned that. I've already figured that out about you, by the way.

Joshua Funk: 8:36

Yeah, no, it's uh it's it's it's fun though. I and I and I enjoyed it. It keeps my mind active. And I love the people. We have uh an amazing group of uh individuals that work with us every day. But um yeah, I I graduated, went to the National Press Club, um, met my mentor there, um, you know, Bill McCarran, who really kind of helped teach me a lot about the nuts and bolts uh of business. He um he ran uh U.S. Newswire for a long time in Washington, D.C. and sold it with his brother at family business. And um I just learned a tremendous amount about how to be an entrepreneur and um really uh thankful for his friendship and his mentorship, which was great. And you know, uh was actually with some friends out on a boat uh July 4th uh in down in DC in the Georgetown Harbor, and uh they all have these elaborate plans to go to uh uh back to Lancaster, and I was like, why would you want to go back to Lancaster uh at that time. Uh it was a long time ago. But uh I didn't really know all the things that were going on back in my hometown and uh researched uh buying a restaurant in Lancaster, and that's how I found Andy Bailey's for sale and uh pursued it in 2012 uh and uh actually um uh um uh bought the business right after I got married. Uh so I was going through the process of buying a business and getting married all at the same time, which is interesting and fun.

Marc Bernstein: 9:55

And how how was your wife feeling about that?

Joshua Funk: 9:57

Uh so it's funny. Uh I told her that I was buying a bar in Lancaster, and she's like, I'm sorry, I thought you said Lancaster. And I said, You're right. And then she's like, Well, I'm not moving back to Lancaster for any restaurant other than Andy Bailey's. I was like, well, you're in luck. That's wild. Yeah. So uh so that's how it started. Um and really kind of uh went into hyperdrive after that, uh, you know, bought Andy Bailey's in August of 2013, went into the studio at Rock Lidditz uh in uh October of 2014. Sean Claire, who is a third generation Claire from Claire Brothers, was a fraternity brother of mine, also grew up in Lidditz. Uh and uh you know, I helped in I introduced him to his wife uh, you know, at school, and he told me after I moved back to Lancaster, um, hey, by the way, we bought 96 acres in the north of Lidditz, and uh there's going to be a restaurant and other things, and I think we want we should talk. And you know, that's kind of how it started, uh, which I never even dreamed what Rock Lidditz would be and is today, which is incredible. Uh, but it just goes to show there's interesting opportunities.

Marc Bernstein: 10:59

I know what that is. I'm not sure if our our all our listeners know. So explain Robin.

Joshua Funk: 11:03

So Rock Lidditz is one of the preeminent um you know uh live event industry campuses in the world.

Marc Bernstein: 11:09

Um I think I as far as I've heard, it is the Yeah, yeah.

Joshua Funk: 11:12

Yeah. Uh and I just I I'm a modest person, but yeah, uh you know, uh it's really spear-headed by Troy Clare and Adam Davis. Uh Troy is the CEO of of uh uh Claire Global and Adam Davis, uh CEO of uh TEATE. Uh and uh they're wonderful visionaries and incredible human beings uh that I'm really blessed to know and have learned from. Um but it's a uh location where the the biggest companies in the live and industry come together um and support um the biggest tours in the world. Uh and it's where a lot of those tours rehearse.

Marc Bernstein: 11:47

Uh whenever I hear about it, you made a list of some of those when we talked before, but Lady Gaga always seems to be the first one mentioned.

Joshua Funk: 11:53

Well, I can't I can neither confirm or deny anything that is that goes on there. Um but oh is that right?

Marc Bernstein: 12:00

That's not public information.

Joshua Funk: 12:01

Aaron Powell Yeah, no, I just uh there's a lot of um a lot of tours that come through there. But uh we we just make a habit not to make uh yeah but uh but yeah so you know in 2014 we opened the studio, uh then soon after they built the first um office building. So we had a small kind of lunch counteret in there in 2017. Uh 2018 we built another uh lunch counteret for um an another local business. Uh and then 2018 we started our TFB catering, which is catering in the hotel. Hotel Rock Lidditz was built, and per diem was our our our next restaurant that was built uh in that time frame, about a hundred seat restaurant in the Hotel Rock Liddits.

Marc Bernstein: 12:38

I have to just interrupt for one second again. So again, I'm doing some podcasts in Lancaster on Friday. Today's Wednesday. Tomorrow is the FIG 20th anniversary. Yep. And you're catering that event. Yes, yeah, yeah.

Joshua Funk: 12:51

Yep, yeah, yeah. So and that catering just kind of was like an offshoot of the the restaurant at that time. I really didn't have a catering company other than the studio at Rocklet. It's um but and then 2019 we opened Conway, which is an offshoot of Annie's, it's a small little um speakeasy that sits above uh Annie Bailey's in downtown Lancaster. Uh and then in 20 um 21, we really kind of launched our off-site catering business that has really grown to doing corporate wedding social and really large events. We have a 1400-person conference coming in December. Uh, you know, and we do uh we did uh the inaugural ball of uh Governorship Hero um back in 20, I guess it would have been 2021 now. Um and then in 2022 uh we had our first opportunity to go uh basically what we call out on tour. Uh and we did a um a concert at Hershey Stadium for Lady Gaga uh and now we are uh kind of the Catero record for Life Nation in the Philadelphia area. So we do uh Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial, um all the Hershey Stadiums. We've done AC uh Boardwall Call. Boardwall call. Uh and we're gonna get our first opportunity to do uh a New York show uh in December 23rd uh at the Barclay Center. So we're really excited about that growth.

Marc Bernstein: 14:04

Um we are I've got a number of questions to ask you about this, but we're just about a break time. So I'm thinking we might take a quick commercial break and then we'll come right back. I want to ask you about because I know entrepreneurship is is always a smooth ride, right, Josh? So I want to ask you about some of the challenges you've had and um and how you've met those challenges and lessons learned. So we'll be right we'll be back right after the break. Great.

Announcer: 14:30

The Satell Institute is the leading CEO member organization dedicated to Corporate Social Responsibility. Under the vision and leadership of its founder—entrepreneur and philanthropist Ed Satell—the Institute brings together CEOs in Philadelphia and other cities to support the Nonprofit organizations that do heroic work in our communities. The Satell Institute believes that “community is every leader’s business.” SI’s members-only meetings and private CEO conferences give members the opportunity to hear from world-class thought leaders on crucial topics like AI, education, corporate philanthropy and more. In addition, CEO members get the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with their peers— like-minded CEOs who believe in the importance of giving back to the community and who understand the benefits companies get from embracing Corporate Social Responsibility. The Satell Institute charges no dues or fees — in order to join, member companies simply make a long-term commitment to the nonprofit of their choice. To find out more about membership, —and why so many leading companies are now part of the Satell Institute — visit the organization’s web site at satellinstitute.org. As Ed Satell says, “Think WE, not just me.”

Marc Bernstein: 15:48

We're back on Founders Forum with our my guest today, Joshua Funk of TFB Hospitality. And Josh, um, so we're talking about you know entrepreneurship not necessarily being a smooth ride. Tell us about some of the challenges that you had as you're growing these various areas of your business.

Joshua Funk: 16:07

Yeah, no, uh obviously uh my first business I purchased and it was a successful business. I I just you know focused on growing it. Then we went to the studio. Really, the first road bump or or kind of like roadblock I had was gravy. You know, um the lunch counter business is not a very profitable business. The uh corporate uh corporate um um you know lunch business is more uh what I would call um subsidized than it is a for-profit entity. Uh and you know, I didn't know that and I I kind of built two at the same time and really um was looking to build our my uh second restaurant as well. Uh and you know I learned a lesson of of growing too fast. Uh and cash needed to do that, especially in restaurants, is uh um you know at a premium. And so I really learned that cash is king and uh and uh ensuring that uh I I take the opportunities that are afforded to me uh and really weigh them as to what um what is uh right for the future growth of the company rather than just be you know grabbing at every opportunity that comes along.

Marc Bernstein: 17:13

So so when cash gets tough, I mean that puts a lot of people out of business, obviously. Right. So right. So how did you how did you manage through that?

Joshua Funk: 17:21

Aaron Ross Powell So it's interesting. I uh I got a a kind of a lifeline from a friend uh that that lended me some money. Um but then I also started that's kind of where we started the TFP catering a little bit. So I started out because that was my background in in uh in DC. So we started doing more events in Pod two, which is where gravy was to help drive um revenue. Uh and then actually we had uh a you know a client that came into the studio that was un that at that time was uh not planned, that really kind of helped us from a cash perspective. And then that kind of I learned my lesson pretty early uh in my career, which was great. Uh and uh from there I kind of knew that I was always gonna keep an eye on on cash and and things that we were uh doing. And I paid that person back, thank goodness. And um but yeah, it's always good to have friends and uh uh you always need an out, so to speak.

Marc Bernstein: 18:10

Aaron Ross Powell So that was one lesson. An another obstacle I know you had was COVID and the pandemic, right? Yeah. So that was a different type of obstacle.

Joshua Funk: 18:17

Uh very different type of obstacle. I mean, we were humming along at that time. I had just opened uh like seven restaurants in six years, um, and had just opened Conway four months before the shutdown. And you know, it was hard. We it was we shut down the day before St. Patty's Day. Um that's a $100,000 day for us uh almost. So um but really I mean, uh my brothers uh my business one of my business partners, uh uh we kind of researched what was going on in China actually because they were ahead of us by a few months and kind of uh started to take some protocols and really was just staying on top of where the money was flowing and um you know we did pretty well with that kind of stuff. The one area where we really made a big mistake was um the restaurant revitalization fund. I was on top of it, um did the application and uh made one error in my application and uh heard that story a few times. Yeah, it was a $1.9 million error. So Yeah. So uh that one stings, but you know, hey, a lot of restaurants got what they needed and you know we're we're fine. Uh but it would have been nice.

Marc Bernstein: 19:22

Aaron Powell How did you navigate though? Because people weren't coming into the restaurant at that point.

Joshua Funk: 19:26

Yeah, so uh a lot of people uh was were thinking about staying open, and uh we kind of decided uh that was we were never a to-go place uh for any of our locations. It didn't make sense. We weren't really set up for that. Um so we decided to just shut it down. Uh we let our team go a little earlier the day before. We decided for the health and safety of everyone we were going to close uh before St. Paddy's Day and before it was mandated. Um and uh and then uh from that perspective we kept uh eight key staff members and we met uh you know on a Bi-weekly basis and you know, you know, just talked about, hey, what is everybody hearing? What are we researching, you know, things like that, and trying to stay ahead of things. And we kind of timed it right whether it was a grant or PPP, and we closed kind of before we knew everything was going, talking to our senators, talking to our local um representatives, and trying to stay really stay ahead of what was happening. And uh we did that, and I think we did that very well, and we came out of COVID just incredibly almost stronger than we did when we went in.

Marc Bernstein: 20:31

Nice. So through that and through obviously you've built several other business divisions since then. Um what kind of lessons have you learned besides Cash as King and how to pivot, which is what you do with the Trevor Burrus.

Joshua Funk: 20:44

Yeah, I mean I think for me the big thing is you know, uh coming out of COVID, uh we were still kind of a mom and pop place, right? Yeah, we had five or six locations, but I was able to run everything myself and decisions were running through me. And uh, you know, in 2022 when touring started happening and the studio really kind of took off as a mature business, per diem took off as a mature business. Because really in 2022, Annie's was 60-some percent of our business. Uh last year, even even this year, it's about 21 percent. Uh we went from 5.6 million in 2022 to just over 12 last year. Aaron Powell That's amazing. Aaron Powell Yeah. So I I've kind of learned that uh you can't do it all. Right, right. Um and finding the right people uh and putting them in the right places and uh creating systems that aren't necessarily good for me, but good for the organization, uh helps the long-term uh viability of the organization. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Marc Bernstein: 21:34

When we first talked, you talked about taking yourself out of the equation, which I think is great. Many business owners never learn that because as long as you're you're not building value in a company if you're if you're integral to it, um you're bu you're building it, but you're putting basically a cap on its value. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Joshua Funk: 21:51

Yeah, actually my mentor uh after I bought Andy Rayleigh's, and I I went back and had a quick meeting with him. Uh the first thing he asked me was, what is your exit plan? And I thought he had like seven heads. Right. But it didn't really dawn on me until you know recently when we scaled beyond my abilities uh to run the business that I knew exactly what he was talking about now.

Marc Bernstein: 22:10

Aaron Powell Well, we're you know, I'm a financial planner for uh entrepreneurs. That's what we do. Yeah. And I get that I get that look a lot. So what's your exit strategy? What are you talking about? Right. But it's never too early to start thinking about that because it dictates, as you've seen, how you how you're gonna build the business. 100%. And uh I also know you're focused on putting the right people in the right roles. I call that unique ability, finding people's unique ability in unique. Absolutely. Yeah. So uh so tell me about your future vision. I know you're I know you're not gonna stop growing. Yeah. And let's say this is so we're in November now of twenty twenty-five, and if this was November of of twenty thirty-five and you are and I are talking, as I hope we will be, yeah. And you're talking about what ha what what would have had to happen over that 10 years for you to tell me, hey, you know what, Marc, this was a very successful 10 years for me, and here's why.

Joshua Funk: 23:01

So we uh recently um engaged with EOS as the entrepreneurial operating system, and we had to go through that process and really great process. But uh I was trying to figure out what that vision looks like. And for us, we know that each cover or each person that we um provide food and beverage to or service to is it's a memory, right? Like they're creating memory. They're they're coming to celebrate a memory, they're c they're creating memory, and we have the opportunity to create an experience for them uh which will impact uh their memory, right? Hopefully, and uh and and the hopes is that that that that that does. So for success for us and for our organization going forward, we want to create five million memories in 10 years. So if we've created five million memories in 10 years, we know that we've done something right. Um and whether that's you know, in the restaurant space, in the catering space, um uh touring space, uh you know, I I would have never predicted uh, you know, in August of 2013 uh where I am today, right? So it's I think it's hard for me to predict out where I'm gonna be in 10 years, but I know I'm a serial entrepreneur and I've got a few things that I'm thinking about now, whether, you know, it might be real estate. And as I get older, I know that uh restaurants is not a young man's game. Um so thinking about um really kind of probably expanding on the on the catering side. Uh next year uh is uh the World Cup, so it might be a down touring year a little bit, but our goal is to put a team on the road with a tour in 2027. Uh and in 2026, we're hoping to expand down into with a music tour year.

Marc Bernstein: 24:38

Yep.

Joshua Funk: 24:38

Yes, yeah, with a music tour. We had our first opportunity last year. I'm glad we didn't take it. We were not ready. Um but yeah.

Marc Bernstein: 24:45

So you know, I I love your vision because I asked we ask everybody their future vision, and you get to pick. You most people pick one year or three year, and the reason is ten years is like the way things are changing so rapidly, it's almost impossible. Right. But therefore you just have a big vision.

Joshua Funk: 25:02

Yeah.

Marc Bernstein: 25:03

And you're not sure how you're gonna fulfill on that. Five million memories is a is is a great vision.

Joshua Funk: 25:07

Yes, we track it every week. You know, every week we track how many covers and how many memories we made, and uh that's you know something we're actively trying to get to.

Marc Bernstein: 25:14

Can you say where you are now?

Joshua Funk: 25:16

Uh so right now, uh I have to look at the total. We just track the actual, but I think we're since we started two and a half years ago, I think we're right in the one million mark.

Marc Bernstein: 25:27

Um one million. So you're well, you're on your on your way. That should be easy. Uh yeah, we'll see. We'll see. So anyway, I thought that's uh that is one of the best visions I've ever heard anyone give because it's because all the details get filled in because you have all the right people in place. Right. And you're the visionary. It's true.

Joshua Funk: 25:45

And it's something that that our entire organization can latch on to. It doesn't, it's not a dollar or you know, like it's it's memories. We create memories. Every person in our organization create memories every day.

Marc Bernstein: 25:53

Aaron Ross Powell Josh, I know you're a reader. What what are your favorite books to read?

Joshua Funk: 25:57

Uh so you know, I I like actually business nonfiction. One of my um uh favorite books is How to Become CEO of any organization. It's like a light reader. Um and uh I think it was Stanley Drunkenmeyer uh Drunkmeyer is the author. Um but it's like a hundred and or two hundred some pages, and uh as a young person trying to figure out how to navigate uh what a CEO is and um uh and how to be in charge of people, right? It's a great, it's a great I have given out to a couple different people. Uh and uh you know, I just I think that um it's it's just a simple book to absorb, whether you know you are a Fortune 100 CEO or you know, just starting your own business. Uh because that uh it's important to understand what that means.

Marc Bernstein: 26:41

Aaron Powell That's great. Any other books that come to mind?

Joshua Funk: 26:44

Uh I mean Traction with EOS. You know, I I I think that's just a that was an eye-opening book for me. Um and I think for uh any anybody who is uh uh growing their business, uh understanding those principles is just incredibly important.

Marc Bernstein: 26:59

Aaron Powell That's by Geno Wickman for our listeners. Yeah. Um last, real quick, we only have about a half a minute. Um if you were speaking to your younger self, what advice would you give you?

Joshua Funk: 27:09

Don't keep working hard. Um hard there's no substitute for hard work. Uh and uh take care of your people. Uh we're a huge people organization, and and people are the most important thing uh in any organization.

Marc Bernstein: 27:21

So the trifecta right there. So on that note, I think we're just about finished, and we thank you all for listening. Thank you for being here, Josh. Thank you so much, Marc. Thank you to our listeners, and uh we'll talk to you next week on Founders Forum.

Announcer: 27:46

We hope you enjoyed your time with Founders Forum and that you found value to take with you throughout your day. Join us again next week for another episode of Founders Forum on WXKB 103982.