The best thing about being an entreprenuer is the freedom to create and solve problems

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[00:00] SPEAKER_02: Welcome to Canada's Podcast.
[00:05] SPEAKER_02: Hi, I'm Phil Bliss, Founder and Senior Canada's Podcast,
[00:09] SPEAKER_02: coming to you today from Toronto.
[00:12] SPEAKER_02: Max Braden is the Founder and President of C-POS
[00:14] SPEAKER_02: from Ottawa, Ontario.
[00:17] SPEAKER_02: C-POS is a technology company that powers small business
[00:21] SPEAKER_02: with tools to compete effectively with big businesses.
[00:26] SPEAKER_02: C-POS empowers small business businesses with technology
[00:30] SPEAKER_02: that removes friction from the process of operating and growing their business.
[00:36] SPEAKER_02: Max is a young entrepreneur who has been running full force with the vision
[00:40] SPEAKER_02: to help small businesses succeed.
[00:43] SPEAKER_02: He has been doing that for over 10 years.
[00:45] SPEAKER_02: His experience and drive are kind of inspiring to the people around him.
[00:51] SPEAKER_02: He has a positive impact on entrepreneurs anywhere
[00:58] SPEAKER_02: who are facing similar challenges.
[01:02] SPEAKER_02: Let's meet Max.
[01:04] SPEAKER_02: So Max, welcome to Canada's Podcast.
[01:06] SPEAKER_02: We're going to meet you.
[01:09] SPEAKER_02: Let's get going by you telling us all a little bit about who Max is,
[01:15] SPEAKER_02: what you do and how you got here.
[01:19] SPEAKER_02: You see, you know, your story, just a quick five minute of that summary
[01:27] SPEAKER_02: of who you are.
[01:28] SPEAKER_00: Sure. Sure, Phil.
[01:31] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I started my entrepreneurial journey, say, back in 2011.
[01:37] SPEAKER_00: So I was going down to the US in second year psychology.
[01:40] SPEAKER_00: I wasn't really lining up with what I was taking.
[01:46] SPEAKER_00: I wasn't really interested in school.
[01:48] SPEAKER_00: I didn't really know what I wanted.
[01:49] SPEAKER_00: I just knew that I wanted some sense of freedom.
[01:52] SPEAKER_00: So I dropped out of school and got into sales.
[01:54] SPEAKER_00: I got into door-to-door sales.
[01:56] SPEAKER_00: I did a couple of different door-to-door sales jobs.
[02:00] SPEAKER_00: I worked for a painting company that I started my own door-to-door painting company.
[02:05] SPEAKER_00: I worked for an emberage gas delivering like environmentally friendly shower heads.
[02:10] SPEAKER_00: And then I found some traction doing door-to-door HFAC sales in 2011.
[02:16] SPEAKER_00: Before there was regulation around it.
[02:18] SPEAKER_00: So it's basically selling ACs, furnaces, hot water tank rentals, following.
[02:23] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, following basically a, it's a privatization a few years prior with between direct energy and emberage.
[02:31] SPEAKER_00: So anyways, yeah, found some success, grew a basically door-to-door sales team in that business.
[02:37] SPEAKER_00: When I was 20 and that industry started to face more regulation.
[02:43] SPEAKER_00: So I saw an opportunity in the payment processing industry.
[02:48] SPEAKER_00: So I left HFAC out of the payment processing.
[02:52] SPEAKER_00: Took my sales team and like, hey guys, we're going to go sell debit and credit machines now.
[02:57] SPEAKER_00: Because that industry had recently been deregulated.
[03:00] SPEAKER_00: The banks had previously controlled it.
[03:02] SPEAKER_00: The way it worked as a, as a small business owner, you'd basically have to go to your major bank to accept credit or debit payments from your, your customers.
[03:12] SPEAKER_00: So we were like a non-bank alternative.
[03:14] SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, go to your bank and pay 3% or go to us, the little guys, the alternative and pay 2%.
[03:20] SPEAKER_00: So took my sales team and we were like, B2B door knocking.
[03:25] SPEAKER_00: That's really what we did.
[03:26] SPEAKER_00: It really had direct sales, relationship-based approach.
[03:31] SPEAKER_00: Building sales teams within local business communities and really building that face-to-face relationship.
[03:38] SPEAKER_00: So built the business from, so yeah, started working for this payment process.
[03:44] SPEAKER_00: Or they got acquired a couple of years ago.
[03:46] SPEAKER_00: So I started at C-POS in 2014 basically just to replace what we were already doing.
[03:52] SPEAKER_00: Which is selling payment processing to small businesses and grew that business over the last 10 years.
[03:58] SPEAKER_00: So we kind of started for six years.
[04:00] SPEAKER_00: We were focused on that payment processing.
[04:02] SPEAKER_00: So helping businesses save money on credit card fees compared to the banks.
[04:06] SPEAKER_00: The last four years we've really evolved into more of a SaaS company.
[04:10] SPEAKER_00: So the problem we're trying to solve now is really helping small businesses that are using anywhere from like three to five different SaaS solutions to run their business.
[04:18] SPEAKER_00: So restaurant salons, contractors to working with us and just using one singular solution.
[04:24] SPEAKER_00: So that's basically been the evolution of my journey.
[04:31] SPEAKER_03: So you dropped out of school because you knew it wasn't what you wanted.
[04:39] SPEAKER_02: But you, entrepreneurs, kind of wire differently than other people.
[04:46] SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, you can do this for a decade now.
[04:49] SPEAKER_02: So obviously, you know, you find your calling.
[04:53] SPEAKER_02: Let's say, right.
[04:56] SPEAKER_02: Are you different than everybody than other people?
[05:02] SPEAKER_03: I would say.
[05:06] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think so.
[05:08] SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's, it's, you know, a lot of peer groups I was part of.
[05:13] SPEAKER_00: I was younger.
[05:15] SPEAKER_00: I have found harder to relate as I've gone deeper down this entrepreneurial path.
[05:21] SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just.
[05:26] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a different.
[05:27] SPEAKER_00: It's really just a different day to day focus or desire and different goals of different priorities.
[05:35] SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, it's been a little bit of a challenge actually just to, you know, one sense being an entrepreneur.
[05:43] SPEAKER_00: And if you're, if you have a team, right, you're always surrounded by people.
[05:48] SPEAKER_00: But it's the same time in a sense very lonely because even though you're working with your team,
[05:53] SPEAKER_00: the real problems that you're facing, you can't really tell anyone about or talk to anyone about.
[05:59] SPEAKER_00: And if you talk to your team about it, you know, think the business is on fire.
[06:02] SPEAKER_00: So you have to, you have to kind of, you have to, it's not like everything's okay, even if it's not.
[06:08] SPEAKER_00: So you have to be the calm one that everyone looks to like the rock of the team.
[06:11] SPEAKER_00: I like the things.
[06:13] Speaker UNKNOWN: 
[06:14] SPEAKER_02: This is a tough question.
[06:16] SPEAKER_02: But, uh, so you built a solid, let's call it a size business over the last decade.
[06:22] SPEAKER_02: What are the top three reasons for your success?
[06:26] SPEAKER_02: Because that, that's a hell of an achievement.
[06:30] SPEAKER_03: You know, so early in your career, you should like.
[06:36] SPEAKER_03: Thanks, well, yeah, I mean, I think that.
[06:44] SPEAKER_03: I could chalk it up to three things.
[06:46] SPEAKER_03: I think.
[06:48] SPEAKER_00: The first thing that comes to mind is focus.
[06:51] SPEAKER_00: I think that.
[06:54] SPEAKER_00: You know, trying to.
[06:57] SPEAKER_00: Be the jack of all trades or the master of none analogy I think about all the time.
[07:04] SPEAKER_00: Trying to please everyone.
[07:06] SPEAKER_00: And then at the end of the day, please know and so just.
[07:09] SPEAKER_00: Figuring out.
[07:10] SPEAKER_00: Probably want to solve that you're passionate about you really believe in.
[07:13] SPEAKER_00: And then just doing that one thing really, really, really good.
[07:17] SPEAKER_00: And not getting distracted because there's always.
[07:20] SPEAKER_00: You know, if the opportunity is aligned with that one thing, sure, but there's so many opportunities that just distract you from your vision.
[07:26] SPEAKER_00: So I think focus.
[07:28] SPEAKER_00: I would say the second thing would be mental stability, emotional, emotional stability or mental stability.
[07:35] SPEAKER_00: As much as I've worked on, you know, my mindset and my personal well being.
[07:41] SPEAKER_00: Every time I put more focus into that, it just leads to more business success or just being able to.
[07:47] SPEAKER_00: Remain calm.
[07:50] SPEAKER_00: In.
[07:51] SPEAKER_00: That example of the fire situation.
[07:53] SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's fires every day and running a business.
[07:57] SPEAKER_00: So especially a business that you're trying to grow.
[07:59] SPEAKER_00: So.
[08:00] SPEAKER_00: Reigning.
[08:02] SPEAKER_00: Calm and finding ways to balance your mind so that you can make rational decisions despite.
[08:09] SPEAKER_00: Very, you know, things that could be quite emotional.
[08:12] SPEAKER_00: And then I think the third thing would just be.
[08:16] SPEAKER_00: Building a solid team.
[08:18] SPEAKER_00: You know, having having a great team and finding people, you know, it's funny because I've kind of over the years changed my perspective a bit about this.
[08:27] SPEAKER_00: I mean, you definitely want smart, capable people.
[08:30] SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of, you know, I've.
[08:32] SPEAKER_00: My earlier in my journey, I was like, I got to be the best in a certain skill set.
[08:39] Speaker UNKNOWN: 
[08:40] SPEAKER_00: That's still a great asset to have, but I look more now for are they a true believer?
[08:45] SPEAKER_00: So they do they believe in our company's core values and do they believe in the mission that we're on.
[08:49] SPEAKER_00: And that's the first thing like that.
[08:51] SPEAKER_00: If they don't check that, like that's the first box and I would take someone that is a true, I call them a true believer.
[08:57] SPEAKER_00: So a true believer in our values and our mission over.
[09:00] SPEAKER_00: You know, but doesn't have quite the skills.
[09:02] SPEAKER_00: Maybe we can just train up their skills over someone that's kind of iffy on their values.
[09:08] SPEAKER_00: And they're alignment and our about with our values, but they're like an A player and they.
[09:12] SPEAKER_00: You know, I've done it before during the skills.
[09:14] SPEAKER_00: That's my shift.
[09:15] SPEAKER_00: I've had especially over the last couple of years.
[09:17] SPEAKER_00: I've just been, you know, been.
[09:19] SPEAKER_00: It's called a burn a couple times or just whatever.
[09:22] SPEAKER_00: I've just learned, you know, learned what what I like to look for.
[09:25] SPEAKER_00: So.
[09:26] SPEAKER_01: Stay ahead of the game with our expert tips and strategies that will help your business thrive in a digital era.
[09:32] SPEAKER_01: Canada's podcast dot com subscribe now.
[09:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that's kind of through the interesting.
[09:38] SPEAKER_02: So.
[09:39] SPEAKER_02: You know, what's best about being on an entrepreneur?
[09:44] SPEAKER_02: You know, you talked about the lowliness aspect to it in some ways.
[09:48] SPEAKER_03: But what's the best part of being an entrepreneur?
[09:55] SPEAKER_03: Stay the freedom to create.
[09:58] SPEAKER_03: Because if you can.
[09:59] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's something that I.
[10:04] SPEAKER_00: Try to focus more and more time on like my highest value time is really just sitting there.
[10:10] SPEAKER_00: With that without any of the day to day mundane tasks and just sitting there and and strategizing and thinking and trying to.
[10:18] SPEAKER_00: You know, create strategies to get us down our path.
[10:21] SPEAKER_00: So I think that the freedom to create and the and just the freedom to solve the problems and.
[10:29] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that's that's definitely the thing that comes in mind.
[10:34] SPEAKER_02: When do you see yourself in the next five years, you know, you've had a good 10 year.
[10:38] SPEAKER_03: And you push what's the next five years for you?
[10:44] SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
[10:45] SPEAKER_00: I think in a lot of entrepreneurs have this they're kind of serial entrepreneurs.
[10:51] SPEAKER_00: They want to solve a problem and then get to the next problem and keep going.
[10:56] SPEAKER_00: I don't see it like that.
[10:58] SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that the problem that that we're trying to solve is a big problem.
[11:04] SPEAKER_00: And it's I'd like to stay in this role and stay and grow this company.
[11:11] SPEAKER_00: You know, we hit our 10 year birthday six months ago.
[11:15] SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hit our 20 year birthday or 30 year birthday and turn this into a long term company.
[11:19] SPEAKER_00: So I'm not looking to do something else.
[11:23] SPEAKER_00: I'm looking to basically grow this and keep doing what I'm doing at scale.
[11:28] SPEAKER_02: That's really I like them.
[11:31] SPEAKER_02: What most greatest challenge you've faced in growing the business today.
[11:36] SPEAKER_02: You know, that you think you talk about it.
[11:39] SPEAKER_02: People can learn from that.
[11:42] SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it, you know, it comes down to people.
[11:46] SPEAKER_00: Like aligning with the right people.
[11:49] SPEAKER_00: I think that.
[11:52] SPEAKER_00: So, you know, back to the hiring, what to look for and finding people that align with the core values and hiring based on that.
[11:59] SPEAKER_00: But also.
[12:01] SPEAKER_00: So hiring the right people.
[12:04] SPEAKER_00: Enthusiastically, but also cutting the wrong people quickly.
[12:09] SPEAKER_00: So I've had people that I knew it wasn't the right fit for mutually.
[12:14] SPEAKER_00: And I just didn't pull the trigger and kept them around for because for whatever reason it was easier.
[12:21] SPEAKER_00: And that's just all it's done is hold the business back.
[12:24] SPEAKER_00: So I think, you know, having the right team and making those decisions.
[12:30] SPEAKER_00: You know, they should be thoughtful decisions, but they should be made quickly as well.
[12:35] SPEAKER_00: That's in the same mode.
[12:37] SPEAKER_02: You know, you've hit a lot of challenges on the way in the last decade.
[12:43] SPEAKER_02: Do you have a process to handle those?
[12:46] SPEAKER_02: How do you how do you get over the wall kind of thing?
[12:50] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[12:50] SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
[12:53] SPEAKER_00: So we run the business on EOS, the entrepreneurial operating system, which is a framework developed by, you know, Wickman.
[13:02] SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of a template to run the business and there's a meeting format meeting cadence.
[13:06] SPEAKER_00: So there's a tool I'd like.
[13:08] SPEAKER_00: It's called the people analyzer, which is basically a, you know, a model that frames.
[13:13] SPEAKER_00: Okay.
[13:13] SPEAKER_00: Are they first the right person and the right person basically means they fit your core values.
[13:18] SPEAKER_00: And it's either a yes, a no or a neutral.
[13:22] SPEAKER_00: And you create your own ranking system and then rank.
[13:25] SPEAKER_00: It can be a candidate through your interviewing.
[13:27] SPEAKER_00: It can be someone that you're concerned about on the team that you might want to let off the team or can be even a promotion.
[13:32] SPEAKER_00: So using really assessing any person in the organization that you want to bring on or promote or let go.
[13:38] SPEAKER_00: So you check the boxes on the values and then you go to the, the next part is, are they in the right seat?
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: And the right seat assessment is called GWC.
[13:47] SPEAKER_00: So do they, do they get the seat?
[13:49] SPEAKER_00: So they do they understand what the job is.
[13:51] SPEAKER_00: And I've had that happen before.
[13:53] SPEAKER_00: It's kind of funny where people just don't actually understand what the job they're supposed to do.
[13:57] SPEAKER_00: Like they, they weren't given clear direction. They don't understand the scope.
[13:59] SPEAKER_00: So they get the job and then do the W is do they want the job and see is are they capable of doing the job.
[14:06] SPEAKER_00: So they have to check all the boxes basically.
[14:08] SPEAKER_00: But there's no perfect formula.
[14:10] SPEAKER_00: I just, I find that, you know, frameworks or playbooks on this type of thing really.
[14:15] SPEAKER_00: It helps to look at things objectively.
[14:18] SPEAKER_02: You know, you've been here for 10 years.
[14:23] SPEAKER_02: Is there something, you know, that you've learned.
[14:27] SPEAKER_02: Over the last 10 years that you wish you know at the beginning that maybe, you know, that you think someone might find interesting.
[14:36] SPEAKER_02: And maybe applicable to their situation.
[14:42] SPEAKER_03: I would say.
[14:49] SPEAKER_03: Think.
[14:52] SPEAKER_03: Delegation faster.
[14:54] SPEAKER_00: So I've, as the teams grown as the.
[14:57] SPEAKER_00: I've moved towards, you know, achieving our goals.
[15:00] SPEAKER_00: I've realized over time what I've had to delegate.
[15:02] SPEAKER_00: I think that if I started from scratch, I would.
[15:08] SPEAKER_00: You know, delegate a lot of responsibility immediately.
[15:11] SPEAKER_00: So soon is, you know, as soon as the business has enough profit to afford.
[15:17] SPEAKER_00: Staff to basically delegate and really just, you know, you're buying back your time essentially.
[15:23] SPEAKER_00: And a lot of entrepreneurs get caught in this kind of hand of surreal of, you know, working in the business instead of on the business.
[15:30] SPEAKER_00: And they become, you know, basically like victims to their business where they're.
[15:37] SPEAKER_00: They're doing these tasks that really should be outsourced.
[15:40] SPEAKER_00: So as a business owner, what's your time worth?
[15:42] SPEAKER_00: Right.
[15:43] SPEAKER_00: And if you're, if you're growing the business, your time could be worth $500 an hour, $1,000 an hour or much, much, much more.
[15:49] SPEAKER_00: And if you're doing admin tasks that could be delegated at $20 an hour, then you're, you're actually hurting the business.
[15:57] SPEAKER_00: So I think delegate, you know, and a lot of entrepreneurs and I think there's even this, you know, more of a cultural thing of, there's this mindset of, well, you just got to work harder, you got to do the boring work, you got to do the gritty work, you got to stay, you know, work late hours and it's.
[16:12] SPEAKER_00: Like you can do all that, but, you know, do do high value tasks.
[16:16] SPEAKER_00: So delegate the lower level tasks to someone that suited to that position and, you know, give someone else some work.
[16:25] SPEAKER_00: So I think delegating faster, a lot of tasks so that I could accelerate the business and focus on my real value add, I would have, you know, it took me many years to delegate different parts of the business.
[16:38] SPEAKER_00: At the beginning, I was doing everything.
[16:39] SPEAKER_00: I was, I was customer service, I was sales, I was accounting, I was, yeah.
[16:44] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[16:47] SPEAKER_02: You know, thinking on the mentors, I mean, you know, obviously, you know, what's the best piece of advice that you've received that stays with you, but an also, you know, how important is mentorship.
[17:09] SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
[17:15] SPEAKER_00: Well, let me enter the second part first. So I think I was very, I was very arrogant on mentorship and personal development up to a, I say up to probably three, four years ago.
[17:29] SPEAKER_00: It was during COVID, that's how I can remember it, but where I opened up to it, but I had this mindset where I was like, you know, I found some success and I, and I never got any mentorship.
[17:44] SPEAKER_00: I found some success and I have no secret sauce that I figured out and I thought I knew better than everyone and I was like, I don't want to be skewed.
[17:53] SPEAKER_00: I don't want to get mentored because I don't want to be thrown off track ends.
[17:58] SPEAKER_00: That was very arrogant and I realized that as I saw, you know, entrepreneurs and companies that were much, much bigger than us and moving to the type that the size of the company that I'd like to do.
[18:14] SPEAKER_00: I guess to become and then, and you know, solving the level of problems that I love us to solve and the similar scale of the mission we're trying to achieve.
[18:23] SPEAKER_00: And I realized a pattern that, you know, all of them had, or a lot of, you know, these similar founders had paired up with someone who'd done it before and then learn from them.
[18:38] SPEAKER_00: So I opened up to mentorship in 2020 started working with the coach and then have been getting coaching for the last four and a half years since then.
[18:48] SPEAKER_00: And I, I very, very much believe in it like really, really simple.
[18:52] SPEAKER_00: And I think it just is that simple of, you know, find someone that has done what you, so figure out what you want to figure out your goal, figure out someone who's achieved that goal and then just learn what they did.
[19:04] SPEAKER_00: And get feedback and get a feedback loop that you where you can be held accountable.
[19:10] SPEAKER_00: The best piece of advice.
[19:13] SPEAKER_03: That's a good one.
[19:21] SPEAKER_00: I think, I mean, one that comes to mind, this is a really simple one.
[19:27] SPEAKER_00: Just just nothing wrong with that.
[19:30] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so this, so this little thing.
[19:32] SPEAKER_00: So mentor a year ago.
[19:34] SPEAKER_00: So I've always struggled with high management trying to cram too many things into a small piece of time.
[19:40] SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, yeah, he recommended just buy, you know, a egg timer.
[19:44] SPEAKER_00: So this is my panda timer.
[19:45] SPEAKER_00: It's 20 bucks per man was on.
[19:49] SPEAKER_00: And I just put the timer on.
[19:50] SPEAKER_00: So if I, if I dedicate an hour to doing a task, I put this on for an hour.
[19:53] SPEAKER_00: I put it right in front of me and this little panda just holds me accountable to the time.
[19:58] SPEAKER_00: I'm not perfect yet, but I think I've made a huge improvement just, just having a little timer.
[20:04] SPEAKER_00: So, because as an entrepreneur, really the only asset you really have is your time and what you do with your time.
[20:12] SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, just getting better at time management.
[20:16] SPEAKER_01: Canada's podcast is your gateway to success in the world of entrepreneurship.
[20:21] SPEAKER_01: Start listening today.
[20:23] SPEAKER_01: Canada's podcast.com subscribe now.
[20:26] SPEAKER_02: Let's have this, let's have really good insights there.
[20:30] SPEAKER_02: I'll have the last 20 minutes or so.
[20:33] SPEAKER_02: Just have a bit more fun now.
[20:38] SPEAKER_03: If you weren't doing what you're doing now, what you think you'd be doing instead.
[20:52] SPEAKER_00: I think in terms of my full time focus, I would be doing some other type of business.
[21:00] SPEAKER_00: And I have no idea what that would be.
[21:02] Speaker UNKNOWN: I like.
[21:06] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that's, and maybe it's a good thing, like part of that, but I was saying about focus.
[21:11] SPEAKER_00: Like I haven't even allowed myself to think about it.
[21:14] SPEAKER_00: And like the prospect of thinking about is kind of exciting.
[21:17] SPEAKER_00: I think about what else can I do, but yeah, I think I have no clue what I would do.
[21:25] SPEAKER_00: I mean, like I have hobby, I have hobbies, but I don't think I'd do any of those.
[21:30] SPEAKER_00: That's my full time gig.
[21:32] Speaker UNKNOWN: 
[21:34] SPEAKER_02: What book are you currently reading, listening to Don't Care Which?
[21:40] SPEAKER_02: Or, and or what book would you recommend to the audience to read?
[21:46] SPEAKER_03: To improve their, their arms are pronounced shit.
[21:54] SPEAKER_00: So, one book from that I read about a year ago from a mentor of mine, Dan Martell.
[22:00] SPEAKER_00: So it's called Buyback Your Time.
[22:02] SPEAKER_00: And it's, he's the, he's the one that gave me the recommendation on the Panda Timer.
[22:09] SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it's basically a book, yeah, about literally buying back your time and delegating and managing your time to focus on your highest value tasks and let your business grow.
[22:22] SPEAKER_00: And it's also about goal setting and, you know, really thinking deep into the future and setting a vision and then reverse engineering backwards to figure out how to achieve it.
[22:30] SPEAKER_00: So that would be it, you know, definitely a number one I'd, I'd recommend.
[22:35] SPEAKER_00: So what I've read recently, so a lot, I try to do at least a book a month and I do all audio books.
[22:42] SPEAKER_00: I did two last month.
[22:46] SPEAKER_00: One that my wife recommended that I read called Siblings Without Rivalry, which is a parenting book.
[22:52] SPEAKER_00: So I have two kids, a four and a three year old.
[22:55] SPEAKER_00: And it's really just about like managing like sibling relationships.
[22:59] SPEAKER_00: So that was good.
[23:01] SPEAKER_00: And that was it.
[23:02] SPEAKER_00: That would be like the one out of the last four years, probably one of the only non business books that I read, but it is great.
[23:14] SPEAKER_00: I also read another, this isn't really like, and it was called, it was more of like a, it's more of a personality test, but it's actually a book that you read.
[23:22] SPEAKER_00: It's called Strengths Finder 2.0.
[23:25] SPEAKER_00: And it's basically an assessment, you know, it's an assessment of your strengths.
[23:30] SPEAKER_00: So it's a book that explains the theory behind it, and then you do a multiple choice test of about 50 questions in it.
[23:37] SPEAKER_00: It's interesting because most personality assessments look at your weaknesses and tell you what to improve on or look at what bucket you fit into a personality type wise.
[23:47] SPEAKER_00: This is one where it focuses, it tells you your top five strengths, and the idea behind it is spending more of your time on your strengths.
[23:55] SPEAKER_00: So capitalizing on your strengths rather than focusing on improving your weaknesses.
[24:00] SPEAKER_00: So that was an interesting one.
[24:01] SPEAKER_00: And this is the coach I'm working with right now is kind of helping me mold that into the business of like, how do I hear myself up with other team members that have kind of my yin to my yang or vice versa of complimentary strengths that are my weaknesses and stuff like that.
[24:18] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[24:19] SPEAKER_02: Okay. Are you a morning or a night person with two young kids I can guess what the answer.
[24:26] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, up until I mean up until a lot of.
[24:31] SPEAKER_00: A couple of years.
[24:33] SPEAKER_00: I guess that you could say I've not truly been a night person like staying up till whatever one I am.
[24:39] SPEAKER_00: About a year ago I got more into fitness and I have become a morning person because that's just the best way that my workout schedule fits into my life.
[24:51] SPEAKER_00: So I go to the gym at about 545 I go to the gym and then get home hang out with the kids and go to the office around 830.
[25:01] SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I'd say I've become a morning person because it makes sense but.
[25:08] SPEAKER_00: And I actually like it. I think that yeah in hindsight, even if I didn't have that schedule I'd be do the morning thing.
[25:16] SPEAKER_03: If you had to pick one word to describe yourself, what would it be and why would you choose it?
[25:50] SPEAKER_00: You know what the thing that comes to mind is actually based on the strength spinder assessment I just did which is to.
[25:59] SPEAKER_00: So one of my top five strengths is achiever which is basically this you know burning desire to achieve every day which is like it's just something that's ingrained in me of like I have to have a sense of achievement every day like I did something or it.
[26:21] SPEAKER_00: It just sticks with me and whether I'm on holidays whether I'm working whether it's the weekend like I have to accomplish something to feel fulfilled.
[26:34] SPEAKER_00: So I think that would be one word that I think it's kind of just sums up my mental state or my my pace is you know I'm in a constant state of it is I think it's just you know it's kind of gamifying or tricking myself like I have to.
[26:51] SPEAKER_00: Do things to appease you know appease my yeah my nature well at the same time balancing your rest my life.
[27:02] SPEAKER_03: So what's keeping you off at night excluding the kids again yeah.
[27:10] SPEAKER_00: Generally I sleep pretty well although last night so last night was like one of the worst nights asleep I had in like probably the last six months I don't know why I just woke up at 4 a.m. couldn't fall back asleep but generally I'm a pretty good sleeper and I and I think that's.
[27:29] SPEAKER_00: I over the last few years especially I think the last like really since co it I put a lot of effort into my calendar into you know balancing my my personal state so I I do a couple a couple of things for that like I meditate twice a week I go to the gym seven times a week I.
[27:48] SPEAKER_00: I spend enough time with friends family doing my hobbies that I feel kind of emotionally fulfilled so balanced and then I the business side tried to you know delegate and make sure one of my main priorities are taking care of and that I'm doing what I need to do to to feel like I'm achieving every day but also then you know the fires are being managed and delegated appropriately so yeah I mean not really much keeps me up at night although if I'm working on a new project and I'm.
[28:18] SPEAKER_00: I haven't really put enough thought to get over the I find when you know I I I do a lot of the strategizing for the business we take on a new project we work on something new I'm the one that's kind of coming up with the game plan and there's like almost two main parts of a new project is like one figuring out the strategy and then to the execution figuring out the execution and just following through the execution which is kind of the easy part so I'm sorry a new.
[28:43] SPEAKER_00: You know project and I haven't spent the time yet to figure out the strategy it always just I know that I need to you know I know that I need to create the strategy and just in the back of my mind like my brain just bubbling up ideas until until I sit down and and sign off on it basically so that's one thing I think that's kind of what happened last night.
[29:06] SPEAKER_02: Max we've reached our time here it's been great meeting is that some really actually really enjoyed the interview it's really been some interesting stuff from there how can people get a whole review online if they listen and you know really really want to follow up on something sure yeah so
[29:26] SPEAKER_00: planning to get more involved online in social media the only there's really only one channel that I'm involved in right now which is linked in so yeah if anyone reach out to me on LinkedIn that's probably the best way to get a hold me right now.
[29:41] SPEAKER_02: Okay well as I said once again great meeting you and and you know great to have you on Canada's podcast awesome thanks for all you appreciate your time been fun.
[29:53] SPEAKER_02: That was great meeting Max and thanks everyone for listening to Canada's podcast where you meet the entrepreneurs in Canada that drive the economy see you soon.