Seven Years Of Showing Up

Ty Cobb Backer 0:00

Episode 353. What does your business owe the community that built it? We have a kind of a belief system that either we're gonna push you up, we're gonna push you out. I don't want to be around five other people that aren't pushing themselves to succeed.

Speaker 1 0:15

Success isn't about taking, but giving value first. Compensation follows contribution always. This is true authenticity. It's the truth. Every week, this is our story. We share with you our journey, we share with you our scars. Please welcome your host, Ty Cobb Backer.

Ty Cobb Backer 0:32

Hey, welcome back, everybody, to another amazing episode of Behind the Tool Belt, episode 353. Woo! We're 12 weeks away from hitting our seven-year mark. I'm pretty sure, pretty sure it's 12. December 23rd. December 23rd. It's gonna be two days before Christmas. If anybody's out there, I didn't tell Janet that we were going live. I lost my phone temporarily for a second. I was actually in front of my face, but I don't wear glasses, and I should, so I can't see shit. So, anyhow, today is episode three fifty-three. For those of you who may have recently started to follow us, just so you know, we've done this 353 weeks, non-stop, continuously for 353 mother trucking weeks in a row. Not one. Not one week now. Not one week have we missed. Man, but there has been weeks. Believe me. Whether it was through turmoil or health, mental health, physical health, obligations, we didn't we didn't miss a week. And there's been some conversations like, nope, can't do it. Whether I don't have time or why are we even doing this? We did it. And I'm glad we've done it. And it's not even an ego stroke, it's just it has become a part of the repertoire. It has become a part of who we are, it has become a part of our our our daily schedule, our weekly schedule, that this is what we do, this is what we do, this is who we are. And I'm not saying there won't be a week, eventually, someday. I mean, we don't plan on it anytime soon. And this this podcast has meant so much to me, and so much to a lot of our viewers and our listeners and our followers in our company. A lot of our core values, our culture strictly solely stemmed from this podcast. I I truly believe, I believe who we are, who we've become today, this this podcast has been an instrumental component to who who we are today. So that's that's why we do this. And and most importantly, the reactions and the responses that we receive from our from our guests, from our viewers, from our followers, like please, what episode can I go back to listen to how to handle a situation? Is there a time that you've ever gone through? And and and like our intro states, you know, we're we're sharing only our experience, strength and hope, you know, our scars and our wins, our losses, and straight from the heart and soul of myself and this company and everybody within this building, we're sharing our their experiences.

The Question Of Community Debt

Ty Cobb Backer 4:10

So today's today's topic is is something we tapped into a long time ago, and and really, I think, have maybe set the standard for a lot of other local businesses who who have seen what we have done here and how we've created a non-stoppable, indestructible culture and business and and relationships and friendships and camaraderie and fellowship and and our network. And I want to talk about that today, you know, our community and the things that we've tapped into because of our community. And I was gonna get a little little sappy, you know, with this, but maybe I probably will. This I might even get choked up a little bit on this one today because this is this is it, you know, this is the frickin' episode, you know, for me personally, and I know, I know for a fact that that you guys and gals will will definitely get something out of it. But the the number one question, I guess, for today's topic would be what does your business owe the community that has built it? And I've asked that question, you know, and and we're firm believers here, and we have to give away what has been so freely given to us. You know, when I've I've been interviewed at R21 Turkey, and you know, people have asked me, well, why do you guys do this? And there's there's multiple answers to it. One, it would how and when the time we started it was a big influence on why we started it. I don't want to go down into that rabbit hole, but that was that was one of the main reasons. But we're also firm believers that we have to give away what has been so freely given to us. And that would that would be that that will be a good topic for for another discussion on on a podcast. You know, I'll I'll talk more about what that actually means, you know, for somebody that may not understand, because it doesn't mean like giving the farm away, but you know, but I'd like to unpack that topic at some other time. But because I I'm a firm believer, you know, no business becomes successful on its own. I don't care how hard you work, I don't care how great your product is, I don't care how talented your team is. And and I don't I don't necessarily care how good you know your marketing is, somebody had to believe in you. Okay. Somebody had to hire you, somebody had to to buy from you, somebody had to refer you, someone had to work for you, somebody had to give you another chance when you made a mistake. And somewhere along the way, a community helped make your success possible. Okay, so so when a company becomes successful, does that success create some kind of responsibility to give something back? And that's a question, okay. When you become successful, does that success create some kind of responsibility to give something back? That's what I want to talk about today. Not from a place of guilt, not because I believe business should be forced into doing certain things, and definitely not because I think giving back should become some kind of competition where where we all try to prove who's the most generous. Okay. I'm talking about I'm talking about something deeper. I'm talking about stewardship. If if we've been fortunate enough to to build something successful, what are we going to do with what has been placed in our hands? Okay. And I guess the first question would be: does success create an obligation to give back? I've thought a lot about this over the years. And I mean a lot. Okay. And I believe success creates an opportunity for responsibility. When you don't have much, your ability to make an impact may be limited. Okay. Been in that position. Okay. So I know, I know where we're coming from on that. Okay. But as your business grows, something else grows with it. Your influence grows, your resources grow, your relationships grow, your team's ability grows. Shit, our reach has grown. Okay. And at some point, we start realizing that the company we've built can do things that that you personally could never accomplish alone. Okay. And that, within that, that is so freaking powerful. Okay. A business isn't just a way to make money. A business can can become a platform. And we've talked about this. A vehicle. Okay. It becomes it becomes a vehicle for change. It can provide jobs, support families, help someone get back on their feet. It can feed families. It can help another organization get its message in front of thousands of people. Okay. It's a vehicle. There are so many ways a company can influence a community. Okay. But

Why Waiting Kills Generosity

Ty Cobb Backer 9:40

here's where I think sometimes sometimes we can get it backwards. We think like when we get successful enough, then then we'll give back. When we hit this revenue number, we'll start helping. When the company gets bigger, we'll have more resources. When when business slows down a little bit, we'll we'll make time. I've said all these things. I I every single one of them. Okay. And I know that I know that goes through other business owners or or or leaders of a of a manufacturing company that that has you know been in a position where they've had the opportunity to give back, but but you get so caught up in the daily grind. You get so caught up in how busy we are. But then then you think to yourself, okay, well, when we slow down, we'll we'll we'll figure out what we can do for the community. Well, then unfortunately, if you slow down, so does revenue. So then you start thinking, well, we we're not in a position right now to be able to do that. We're actually making cuts. So like I've been through all this stuff. But if generosity isn't part of who you are when when you have a little, there's a pretty good chance it won't suddenly become part of who you are when you have a lot. If that makes any sense, because there's always another goal. Okay, there's always another problem, there's always another expense, there's always going to be another reason to wait. Community involvement involvement has to become part of the identity of the organization, not something you bolt on to the side of it when when things are going well, okay. And and so that would lead me to another question, okay? Let me get a sip here. It must feel like it must feel like it's so quiet in here. I don't even hear anybody outside the walls today. It almost feels like there needs to be back music or something.

Giving More Than Money

Ty Cobb Backer 11:45

Anyhow, so that lead that leads me to another question. What's up, Pete? Good to see you, buddy. Share this out. Okay, it's gonna be a good one. It's a banger. All right. So does giving always have to involve money? Okay, because I think I think a lot of people that might be listening to this or the thought of charity, I think the first thing we think of right away is that we gotta break our checkbook out. Absolutely not. Okay, and I think this is where I think this is where some of us get stuck. We think giving back means writing a huge check. Sure, that helps. Okay. So if they can't afford to write a huge check, okay, we think we don't have anything to contribute. That's not true. But money money is a resource, okay? But think of it in in terms of like time. We have time, we have people, we have knowledge, we have equipment, vehicles, relationships, the space, social media platforms, an audience. We have our expertise. Okay. Sometimes our greatest contribution isn't our money, it's the ability to mobilize people. Think about the resources sitting inside an average company. Imagine a contractor deciding to use the skills of their team to help repair a home for somebody who couldn't afford it. Okay. Imagine a marketing company helping a local nonprofit improve its message. Okay. Imagine a restaurant donating meals. How about how about an accounting company helping a charitable organization get their books straight? Okay, and the list goes on and on and on. You know, our company allowing our team members to volunteer together for for a day, right? How about mentoring a young person who's trying to figure out what they want to do with their life? I mean, there's so many ways, right? All of them, all of that, okay, is value. There's value everywhere within your organization. So the question isn't always how much money can we give? I think sometimes the better question would be, what do we really already, what do we already have that somebody else desperately needs? That's a different, that's a different way of like

When Giving Turns Into Marketing

Ty Cobb Backer 14:25

looking at community involvement. Okay. Now, let's talk about an uncomfortable one. Okay. At least this has been for me. What's the difference between community involvement and marketing? Because businesses, I think, struggle with this. Okay. I see it all the time. All right. And I don't think I think I think uh our biggest fear was is we don't want to use this as a marketing tool. Okay, this isn't why we're doing this. So it's your intentions that matter most. Okay. If you do something good and post about it, there's nothing wrong with that. Okay. Are you helping because you care? Or are you helping because you want somebody to know that you helped? Okay, there's a difference there. I think I think intention matters because I also I also don't believe businesses have to hide every good thing they do either. Because if we're hiding it, then our team doesn't get to celebrate. I ran into that several years ago. All the awards and all of the the plaques and and and all of these things, the the recognition that the community has identified us as doing good things, I they would collect in my office and they would collect dust. And one day it hit me. Nobody ever said, Why aren't we posting this? Nobody said anything. But like this, I had this light bulb moment that went off one day, and I thought, man, how selfish. How selfish of me to hoard all of these achievements that the team has done, won, achieved, worked their asses off for these things to collect dust in my office. I still have them. I still have I still we still kind of do it because we don't, like I said, there's a fine line here. Okay? There can actually be value, like it but but you you I think you do have to share it, okay? For for for your team's sake, okay. There can be there can actually be value in telling the story, okay, of why. Okay. And I guess the question would be why? Because stories, stories inspire other people to participate. Stories show team members what the organization values, stories help nonprofits get exposed. Stories can bring more resources into the cause. So what matters is who the hero of the story is, I guess, for lack of better terms. If if every community post was or is, I guess, look how amazing our company is. That's probably worth explaining, okay? But if the story is, look at this. Let me think about this for a minute. Look at this, look at this need in our community. Look at these people coming together. Look at what this organization is doing. Here's how you can help. Okay, because I think that's what Vic is supposed to be for. Here's how you can help. Okay, now we've changed the focus. Okay, there's nothing wrong with people knowing that your company is involved in the community. In fact, I believe your team members should be proud of that. Your customers should know what you stand for. But the community can't become a prop for your aver advertising campaign. You don't help someone because you need another piece of content. Okay, you help someone simply because helping them matters. If content comes from that, fine. That's fine. But that's not the reason we showed up. There's a big difference, okay. At TC Backer, some some of the experiences that have meant the most to me haven't happened because we installed another roof. Okay, they've actually happened because we were able to take the people, the energy, the relationships and resources inside of our organization

Community Projects That Changed Us

Ty Cobb Backer 19:20

and point them towards something bigger than ourselves. Okay. One example would be our 21 Turkey Salute. What began as an effort to help provide meals has turned into something that brings people together. Okay. And that's what I love about it. That is what we all love about this. Yes, people get fed, but something else happens too. And this is this is my favorite part. Okay. Our team is working beside each other, okay, differently. Okay. People, people from the community are participating, and that's where relationships get formed. People see what's possible when a bunch of individuals stop asking what's in it for me, and start asking, how can I help? The same thing happens with Swing for Recovery. Supporting people and families affected by addiction and recovery matters. And when businesses put their resources, their relationships, and platforms behind causes like that, we help amplify work that's already happening. And that is freaking so important. And here's something else. Something else that I've learned. Okay. Sometimes I think I stirred a bunch of dust up. We were pulling some shit out of the back room over here. And I feel like I got like dust follicles like stuck to my nose hairs and in the back of my throat. Okay. And so I've also learned sometimes we think we're going into the community to help someone else. Okay. Because that's what that's what we're doing, right? And then and then we walk away realizing that experience actually changed us. It changes our perspective. It changes what we used to complain about. It changes how we view our blessings. It reminds you that this thing we call business is made up of human beings. And human beings need each other. Okay. So so how can people and resources actually make

Take Inventory And Create Opportunity

Ty Cobb Backer 21:50

an impact? Okay. I would say start by looking around your organization. Okay. Anyone that's that's listening out there, and I don't care if it's our Team, if we think we're you feel like we're not doing enough, look around and see see what resources we have within our organization. Okay. What are we good at? What resources do we already have? Okay. If you work for another company and you guys aren't necessarily involved with the community, okay, and and you know, sometimes corporations don't like to spend money, sometimes they do like to spend money. I would say find out when that is. When do they like to spend money? But it's not always about the money, like I mentioned earlier, okay? Find out what resources you guys have. Like what are you good at? What resources do you already have? Who do you know? Maybe you can't give $100,000 to the cause. That's fine. That's okay. But could 20 team members give four hours? Could our trucks help transport something? Could our building become a collection point? Could our team organize an event? Could could our company purchase supplies at a discount? Could our marketing department help promote a cause? Could our leadership team mentor young people? I mean, the list goes on and on and on. Creating uh uh career opportunities for people who've who've never had someone that took a chance on them, right? Because community impact doesn't always have to happen through charity. Sometimes the greatest thing a company can do for a community is create opportunity. Okay. A career changes families, training changes a career, mentorship changes confidence. Someone believing in a person can change the the the entire trajectory of their entire life. Okay, that's community involvement too. We need to stop thinking so narrowly about what giving back actually means. Sometimes it means helping somebody today, sometimes it means giving somebody the tools to help them tomorrow. Okay, so so here's another piece that that I think I think we overlook. Why

Community Work Makes Values Real

Ty Cobb Backer 24:10

should team members understand the company's community involvement? Okay. Why? Well, because your people need to know that they're a part of something bigger than transactions. Okay, we talk a lot about a lot in business about mission statements, our core values. We hang words on the walls, we put them in handbooks, we talk about purpose, but your team members don't understand the values because they read them on the website. They understand your values by watching what the company actually does. If we say people matter, where does that show up? If we say community matters, where does that show up? If we say we care about people reaching their fullest potential, what evidence would somebody see? Well, community involvement, they make our values tangible, and it also gives people another reason to be proud of where they work. People want to win, people want the company to grow, people want opportunities, they want to earn a good living, all of that matters, but I think most people also want to know that the hours that they're putting in their job are connected to something meaningful. Think about the difference between telling a team we had another record year and telling them we had a record year, and because of that, this team accomplished, okay, accomplished so much, and look at what we're able to do with it. Those are two different conversations, okay. Revenue is important, profit is important, growth is important, believe me, okay. I'd give it all away if it was up to me. I've done that and got us in trouble. Okay, believe me. Waiting for it to come back tenfold, damn it. Still waiting. No, I'm just kidding. No, I've been very careless about giving. I've gotten burnt. I believe companies need to be profitable because an unhealthy company doesn't have much ability to help anyone. Okay, but profit should give you possibilities, it gives you the ability to ask. Now, what can we do? And this is the other thing. I got caught up in this. We don't have to save the whole world, okay.

Pick Causes And Stay Consistent

Ty Cobb Backer 27:06

We don't have to solve every problem. I know it's hard, and we tried when we first started getting into this, we were all over the frickin' place. We were putting a roof on for this person, we were across the river over in Lancaster. I mean, we were just all over the place. And I think sometimes we get so overwhelmed because there are so many needs. Okay. There's homelessness, there's addiction, food insecurity, veterans, children, education, trades, recovery, families dealing with illnesses, local nonprofits, community organizations. We can't do everything. And we shouldn't try. Okay. We need to find the things that connect with the heart of our organization. Find places where your resources can actually make a difference. And that's what we did. We we we narrowed down a few, and I mean just a few organizations where we feel like we really make a big impact. The food well pantry, the homeless shelter downtown, roofers in recovery. I know we make an impact there. I can't even tell you, and I won't even tell you how I feel we've we've we've done good for those guys, for those those few organizations that I just mentioned. I honestly believe between the diaper drives and food drives, and I think I know, I know we fed a lot of families and we've made a difference. We actually put a dent in it, even if it was only for a short period of time, like three months, whatever. But find the things that connect with the heart of the organization. Find the places where your resources can actually make a difference. And then, and this is the key part, okay, and I touched on it a little bit. Be consistent. I would I'd rather see a company deeply committed to to two or three things year after year than jump from cause to cause because something happened to be popular for the month. Consistency, okay, and this is why this is important. Consistency builds trust. When the community knows you're going to keep showing up, that's different. That's a relationship, and that's what really matters. That's really what a community is. It's relationships. Okay. So be consistent. Say you're gonna do something, do it and stay consistent. Find what it is that you're good at and who you can impact. So

Poll Question And Hard Follow-Up

Ty Cobb Backer 29:55

before I forget, let's let's let's let's do the audience poll. Okay. So here here's a poll. This is a tough one, I think. What's the best way for business to support its community? Is it donate money? Is it volunteer time? Is it share resources or create create opportunity? What's up, Kim? Thanks for joining us today and Peter. I'd love to know your answers. And and I'm gonna cheat. I think I'm gonna cheat a little bit here because I don't think there's one answer that fits every organization. Okay. Different businesses have different resources, but I would love, I would like to challenge you to ask another question after you answer the poll. Okay. Which one, which one? Which one aren't we doing? All the above, Pete. Absolutely right. That's why it was hard. I think it was hard because I think, yeah, right? Which one aren't we doing? Is another question. All the above. Amen. Amen. Hopefully we can steward other companies. Impact, inspire other companies. And I'd like to think of it too sometimes maybe as a competition, you know, but it doesn't have to be. It's kind of cool. I think Steven Spence and I have a little silent competition, you know, but think about how many more lives we impact because of our little competition on who raises more money at Swing for Recovery. It's not brutal or violent competition. It's friendly competition amongst two good friends who really want to make a huge impact on our industry. And we are our entire family, our entire team, everybody watching this who I can tell who's watching this right now has played a big, huge part and a role in what we do for our community. So uh thank you. So, anyhow, so which one aren't we? Which one aren't we doing right now? Maybe maybe your company writes checks, but but nobody personally gets involved. Okay. Maybe everybody volunteers, but you haven't considered how your business itself could create opportunities. Maybe maybe we have resources sitting around that could completely change things for another organization, right? I think take inventory, not just for what your company owns, but take take inventory of what your company is capable of. Because you don't even know until you actually open that question up. I like the golf too, Pete. Golf is fun. All good stuff.

If Your Business Vanished Tomorrow

Ty Cobb Backer 33:15

And I want I want to bring I want to bring that question home here. Okay. Imagine imagine your company disappeared tomorrow. And I think about this a lot. Think about that. Imagine your company disappeared tomorrow. Not because something bad happened. Just imagine that it no no longer existed. Yeah, competition-wise. That's right. Trying to imagine that. Would our community notice anything besides the loss of a company? Obviously, I think, obviously, our customers would notice, our team members would notice, our suppliers would notice, but would there be a hole in the community? Would a would an organization say, man, they always showed up for us? Would families miss something you help provide for them? Would young people lose an opportunity? Would a nonprofit lose volunteers? Would a cause lose supporters? Would people say they made this community better because they were here? That's a challenging question. Hopefully, it's not overwhelming somebody if they're not taking advantage or not taking advantage, but getting involved with the community. It starts with baby steps, believe me. But if you've been in business long enough, that is definitely a challenging question. Okay. And I think it's supposed to be. Okay, I'm challenging you because ultimately I don't want the companies I'm involved with to only be remembered for what we built. I want us to be remembered for what we helped build in other people. I want the businesses. I want to build businesses that matter. I want to create jobs that matter. I want to build leaders who matter. I want to help causes that matter. Swing for recovery, roofers in recovery. That stuff matters. Okay. The 21 Turkey, that matters. Okay. I want to use the platform that we've been given responsibly. We've been given this platform, and that's some of what I was talking about earlier. That we have to give this thing away to keep it. Okay. So I want to use the platform we've been given responsibly because none of us got here alone. None of us. A community believed in us, customers trusted us, team members worked beside us. Shit, family sacrificed alongside of us. Okay. People gave us opportunities. And when you've been blessed with something, I think one of the greatest questions you can ask is how can I use this to bless somebody else? Yeah, man. So here's a closing question for episode three, Mother Truckin' 53. Y'all woo. If your business disappeared tomorrow, would the community notice anything besides the loss of another company? Sit with that one for a minute. Okay. And maybe an even better question is what can we start doing today? So the answer becomes yes. Guys, thank you again for joining us for another episode of

Share The Question Build Legacy

Ty Cobb Backer 37:25

Behind a Tool Belt. If this episode got you thinking, share it with another business owner, team member, leader, and maybe, just maybe, don't just share this episode. Share the question. Ask your leadership team, what does our business owe the community that helped build it? And then ask, what do we have in our hands right now that we could use to make a difference? It might be money, it could be time. How about our people? What equipment do we have? What knowledge do we have? It might simply be an opportunity. Whatever it is, don't underestimate what can happen when a business decides that success isn't only about how much it can accumulate, it's also about how much good it can create. Build a successful business, take care of your people, make a profit, grow, win. But while you're doing it, make sure you're leaving the place around you a little bit better because your company existed. Because that's a legacy worth building. This has been episode 353 of Behind a Tool. Keep building people, keep building your community, and I will see you next week.

Speaker 38:54

Thanks to our sponsors, TC Backer Construction, Hook Roofing Marketing, Roofal, and Project Map It. And thank you for watching. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Facebook. We are streaming on all major platforms. See you next week for another episode of Behind the Tool Belt.