2 Regular Guys Talking Decoration and Personalization podcast

November 01, 2024 Cultivating an Uncommon Mindset

Join us this week as we sit down with Matthew Woodhouse to explore the fascinating journey of dye sublimation over the past two decades. From the early days of the Express Green Machine and Epson 3000 to today’s advanced technology, we’ll dive into how the industry has evolved and what changes have shaped the way we approach sublimation. Plus, we’ll take a look into the future to discuss where sublimation may be headed and what decorators can expect in the coming years.

Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys are all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants, lectures, or selling. 2 Regular Guys was not created for our employers but rather for our industry. Since February 2013, The 2 Regular Guys have been the first and the most listened-to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will improve your business and our industry. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list, and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews, and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!

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News

If you have anything newsworthy you would like us to share, please email details to [email protected]. Use the subject line “Weekly News.”

https://youtu.be/s5o2RVf9fOQ

Dad Joke

Terry: What do vegetarian zombies eat?

Graaaaains!

Uncommon Mindset

Terry: {Any banter to open up the show} Why is this concept of the Uncommon Mindset so important to you?

The success I have seen in my career has evolved from thinking differently. Finding solutions is a superpower of mine. We see a lot of creativity in this industry, and mine shows up as problem-solving.

Being a successful business requires thinking differently. Our society is set up to build someone else’s dream.

Having an uncommon mindset leads to success.

Terry: Why does that lead to success?

Common statistics – Can look at lots of places for stats on small business success. None of them paint a pretty picture. Data from the US Government’s Small Business Administration says that almost 50% / half of small businesses don’t last past 5 years.

Their data said there are 33.3 million small businesses in the United States, which means over 16 million business owners will become victims of the common mindset. This is made even worse as the number of new small businesses has doubled since 1982.

The longer they push through that common mindset, SBA says that 70% fail/quit before year 10, and most due to cash flow. They are making sales but can’t maintain due to the common mindset.

If we want uncommon results and if we want to beat these stats we need an uncommon business. Therefore an uncommon mindset leads to uncommon success, uncommon fulfillment, and an uncommon business.

I have made it my mission to share the FUNdamentals and support business owners past the common challenges, like finding new customers, pricing their products, managing their time, and overcoming overwhelm so they end up with Uncommon Outcomes

Terry: How does this work for a business owner to adopt this different way of thinking about their challenges?

Good question. Yes, the rubber needs to meet the road otherwise I just have a good theory right?

I have polled people that I have been able to share the FUNdamentals with and a majority of business owners tell me their main struggle is overwhelm which tells them they have a time management problem.

The common mindset is to grind harder. We have this whole 10X culture out there screaming at us to work harder, do more, and outwork everyone else. But these guys are loud so if everyone is trying to 10X the next guy how will that work?

Plus the next thing I hear is all about how many responsibilities business owners have, and the challenges they face. Lack of resources etc. I get that! So my question is how the heck am I going to grind it out even harder when I’m already at my limit?

So the uncommon mindset based on the book’s 8th FUNdamental is to slow down to speed up. (Pit Crew)

By working on your business, improving, or setting up processes. Finding ways to automate, bring in help, and be intentional with the time and resources we have is my suggestion.

Terry: You also mentioned earlier a struggle that I also see people I work with having, finding new customers. What uncommon mindset do you suggest to overcome that?

While the workshop is over, if people want help with this just send me a message. I’m working with people one on one as finding customers is hard and I’m proud to make that easier for business owners who reach out.

This is something I learned the hard way. Even back in our U.S. Screen days, we were always grinding it out to make numbers, and increase transactions. But think back, without going and digging up some old spreadsheet, we don’t remember any of the transactions.

We remember the relationships – Hawkeye for example.

The uncommon mindset comes from both FUNdamental #5 and #6. It’s all about the relationships. My Dad used to say to me something that made no sense to me until I got out of the common mindset – It is not what you know, but who you know.

We try to focus our marketing on casting the widest net. But in today’s attention-stealing world that is the fast way to just become part of the noise.

I know business owners have that one customer they love doing business with, or at least a picture of them in their mind. Then the next thought is if I just have a hundred more of those customers life would be good. The truth is there are 100 or more of those customers out there, your message just isn’t clear enough to reach them.

I just completed a Marketing Workshop for people yesterday and 6 action-takers have a full roadmap to reach their ideal customers.

Terry: What are some other common mindsets or habits that business owners might need to unlearn?

There are several ‘default’ mindsets that we often see holding business owners back

“I need to do it all myself.” Love working with entrepreneurs – industrious, go-getters, and action takers

The successful ones are different – They are action-takers willing to ask for help. Action-takers who believe like me that success is a team sport and that teamwork gets rewarded.

I always reward those with at least some bit of advice or help when they reach out, comment on social media, or get involved in the conversation. Those who are willing to invest in themselves, literally have a partner who doesn’t give up easily.

Another one – “Success is about massive actions.” – We only see the tip of the iceberg.

It is that vision from different perspectives that trips us up. Terry’s screen print class. It is sold out each time, but you didn’t just hang your shingle.

It derived from countless hours on screen printing shop production floors from your own to massive places you ran, thinking – There has got to be a better way. You tested tired and put in the daily work

But that same lack of perspective also works the other way. Think about where you are at today and then go back 3 to 6 months ago. The step you took if you would look ahead from that point 3 to 6 months ago would have seemed massive.

The daily actions are what builds up, but we are so close to it that we don’t see the growth – Kids growing / parents versus grandparents

Jon Handiman – 6 months ago / Now hiring – Took me pointing out how far they came. Love those one on one sessions.

“Feedback is criticism.” It hurts when someone tells us we didn’t meet their expectations. Our businesses are our babies and no one likes to hear their baby might have an ugly blemish.

FUNdamentals 12 talks about the need to not only get feedback but to actively crave it.

All feedback is just data for us to make improvements and better more efficient decisions.

Feedback takes all sorts of forms – Verbal, Nonverbal, Positive, Negative and the big one, internal

Internal Positive – Joy, Fun, Fulfilled = Do More of that. Negative – Stress, anxiety, fear, worry = Figure out how you are out of alignment.

When you crave it you are better in tune with all the feedback, external and internal

Terry: Can you share some examples of how this mindset has positively impacted people you work with?

First I see it working in me every day. Business ownership is not easy, but whenever I’m stuck, I just have to remind myself there is an uncommon mindset to fix it.

All of our OSG Partners who embrace the FUNdamentals are embracing an uncommon mindset.

One example is a business owner in the Master of Success Mastermind Program. Before we worked together she was trying to be all things to everyone.

I got to work with her on her Reason / Why and aligning her business to her uniqueness. She realized it was her misalignment that was causing her challenges and she adjusted the structure of her business, focused on what was right for her, and is thriving.

She is on pace to meet and exceed her goals this year and has all sorts of opportunities heading her way. She is maximizing her fulfillment, getting more time with her kids and I know the sky is the limit.

Interesting juxtaposition – Another person in a similar space and challenge was also trying to be all things to everyone. Did the same things, but they were not ready to let go of the story and the scarcity mindset.

My prayer is they figure it out but from the outside looking in, seems like they are in a similar place.

The challenge with all of this is there is no magic bullet, no guru step by step one size fits all process, just a willingness to think differently.

So the “formula” so to speak is so simple you could miss it because it is blocked by the common way of thinking. It is not easy as it takes persistence, positivity, some “woo-woo” stuff, and working ON your business from time to time, not just always being a slave to it or the flip side of working for the weekend.

It’s about partnering with your business and then your extended success team. It is about falling back in love with what you get to do.

Terry: What steps can our listeners take to start developing an uncommon mindset in their businesses?

Lastly, reach out to me. As you can tell this is something I am extremely passionate about, so let’s find solutions together. In fact, I created an easy structured way to do this. It is called the SVP Business Alignment Assessment. It is completely free of charge, all I ask is for a little bit of your time. I know people don’t have time, but this assessment will get your time back because it will help you see the uncommon mindset you can embrace to restructure your business. https://osg.link/svp

First, it does require you to be an action-taker. That means asking for help, getting involved in the conversations, and learning how to work ON your business. Even the dirty words – Make a business plan.

I also find the best way to embrace the uncommon mindset is to spend a little more time shifting your focus to the big picture. When you are stuck, ask your mind a lot of why questions. Why did you start the business, to begin with? From that space, decision-making is so much easier.

Another tip is to be very aware of who you are surrounding yourself with. You need growth-minded people, podcasts, Facebook Groups, etc. to overcome the common mindset.

It can be difficult to remove yourself from those scarcity people and groups

I have had to do that and while you hate leaving people behind, if they are not ready to leave the commiserating, blaming, complaining, and excuse-making all you can do is leave the door open and remind them all they have to do is walk in when they are ready for the uncommon mindset too.

A great way to do that is just to fill up your top 5 people with the right people and then there is no room for the others anyway. Join a mastermind for example. We are accepting applications now and you can join and lock in the price before it goes up in 2025. https://oursuccessgroup.com/mos/

If you haven’t read the book I think that is a great tool you can use as your uncommon mindset manual – OSG.link/bizbook

The Secret Sauce

We serve up bite-sized tips for our #regulators to instantly spice up their decorated apparel business. Just like the perfect wing sauce, these quick tips can transform your business experience, adding flavor and depth to your operations. Each video in this playlist is a nugget of wisdom, carefully selected for its potential to bring immediate value to your work. So, whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting started in the decorated apparel industry, dip into our ‘Secret Sauce’ for insights that can help you soar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjfKe3xW4Gw

OTHER EVENTS

Small Business Saturdays – Saturdays at Noon Central Time and then available to watch any time.

Rising Tide Talks! – Wednesdays at 5 PM Central Time and then available to watch any time.

Master of Success Inner Circle – Bi-Weekly Mastermind Groups on top of the industry-leading business training.

Complete Screen Printing Business Course with Atlas Screen Supply in Chicago October 12-13.

Complete Screen Printing Business Course with Workhorse Products in Phoenix, AZ, November 16-17

The Take-up with Erich Campbell – Fridays at 2:30 Mountain Time

Demystifying Next Level Digitizing Online Training from Erich Campbell

Understanding Emblems Learn from Erich Campbell about digitizing for patches.

Trade Shows

Graphics Pro Expo Charlotte, NC – November 7-9, 2024