Hayden Lee
Welcome, everyone, to the Success Elevated podcast. As always, I’m your host, Hayden Lee, and I am joined this week by an old vet of the podcast. Alex has been on. This is, I think, your third time now on the podcast
Alex Duta
I think so.
Hayden Lee
Alex Duta, founder of Albiware, Alex, thanks for coming on the podcast.
Alex Duta
Hayden. Thanks for having me, man. I’m glad we were able to intersect here in, beautiful Austin, Texas.
Hayden Lee
This is a great place to be. It’s my first time in Texas period
Alex Duta
Really? ..
Hayden Lee
And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. it’s been a lot. A lot of fun. obviously, we’re here at the collective. It’s been a great event. Met awesome people here, and you’re no different. This is this is going to be a great conversation. we’ve talked a lot about Albiware and we’ll and we’ll talk about. Albiware as we get in here a little bit. But the big thing that I wanted to talk to you about is you’ve been super active recently on social media, talking all things like personal development, and developing yourself. And I feel like a lot of that has helped develop and elevate your team. but I’d love to kind of maybe just start with give me your, your theory or your thoughts on making yourself a better person and how that’s helped Albiware over the last few years.
Alex Duta
Absolutely. .. I think the theory that got me into it the most was the concept that everything in life comes and goes, right. Like, businesses can come into your life, they can go. People can come into your life. They can go. But the one thing that stays with you for your entire life is your self. Right. And the best investment you can make is to make sure that you yourself like your home.
Your center is actually in really, really good shape because your whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with yourself for the longest time ever. so the best investment I think you can always make is investing in yourself. The best way to invest into yourself is always just to be committed to personal development, I think. .. And just be curious of the different things that exist out there.
Try on different things and build the best version of yourself. And then phase number two is share that best version of yourself with the rest of the world. And that’s how you truly inspire other people and how you make an impact on them. .. So.
Hayden Lee
You know, the big thing that I think I well, I don’t want to distill it down to one thing, but I feel like you’ve really done a good job. Like you’re you’re great about sharing it too, which is, which is great because I think I don’t want to say it’s lost, but the world has gotten much better, much, much better talking about it. But you’re really open about how your personal development has helped you, I think it’s helped. Probably, I would assume and correct me if I’m wrong, like helped your mental health and everything, right? And I think that’s something that that stigma is going away. But it still is a little bit of a stigma that like hustle, grind, you don’t like, don’t don’t worry about taking care of yourself or getting sleep or working out or, you know, like you just need to work harder. And I think that is something that a lot of people like yourself are kind of trying to break that stigma a little bit. do you feel like there’s a lot of other business owners like yourself that are also trying to kind of do that? Or if you have you connected with some other people that are that way too.
Alex Duta
100%. I think we live in a in a world where it’s like we’re all trying to build this identity. That’s not ourselves. We’re all trying to fit within the box of the world. And ., we could even look at the concept of like education, how everybody goes and pursues, to go college, to make mom and dad happy and stuff like that. And obviously we know that, like, logically speaking, there’s too many doctors, lawyers and so on and so forth. Not enough tradesmen, but, well, not we’re not going to dive down that path. But, I was sitting at like a remarkable moment that kind of outlined this. I was sitting at, a conference and it was a Y Combinator conference. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Y Combinator, Y Combinator is like, startup incubator for tech companies. They invest in companies like Coinbase, Airbnb, DoorDash. They basically are unicorn hunters. So they, have this really tight process where there’s like, 0.5 percent rate of actually getting into this, incubator. And they invest a small money amount of money into you, and they teach you how to build a unicorn. And they, you know, there’s a lot of investors that basically follow y c and they invest in y c companies because the chance at like 14% of their companies have become unicorns, meaning multi-billion dollar companies.
Hayden Lee
That’s crazy.
Alex Duta
And it’s literally like the Harvard of business and the tech space. So like super hard to get in. Anyway, long story short, we got in. We’re sitting on this talk and they’re like, founders, take care of yourselves. Right. Take time off. Take care of your health. Take care of your body. Take care of your families because you’re in this marathon. You’re not in it for the short run. And I felt like kind of weird. I’m like, you guys just invested half $1 million into us for, like, whatever, 7% of our company. You want us to build a unicorn, and you’re telling us to take care of ourselves. And it’s felt kind of selfish, but their theory is, you know, you’re not going to be able to run and take care of the world and change the world.
If you can’t take care of yourself and, time and time again like this has shown to be true. Now, the sharing part of it my entire life has changed. I went on the personal development path because other people like them have shared it. Like my mentor Dan Martel shared 75 heart. That was a huge craze. I don’t know if you remember like four years ago when Andy Frizzell, built the program, shared it with the world, and then the world, shared it and inspired other people. And I feel like a lot of times we don’t want to share things because there’s this negative stigma of all, you’re cocky or, oh, you know, you’re going to show off and stuff like that. But I think it’s and people think it’s selfish to share things. I think it’s selfish to hold things. Right? Right. I think if you unlock something and you don’t share it with the world because of X, y, z reasons, you’re the selfish one. And that’s why I just believe sharing it is, you know, you’re paying it back. Somebody taught you the idea that you succeeded, that you took it and you implemented that will pay it back to the world and share that implementation and that specific idea. .. And it’s so easy to do now. Right. Via social media takes two clicks. A quick video like it’s not the end of the world.
Hayden Lee
I love that you mentioned something there that I think is crucial to the personal development path. And that’s like having a mentor. Yep. And you know, we had some great training this morning that talked a little bit about leadership and mentors. And, mentors are something I think are lost. I don’t feel like a lot of people have good mentors And and you do and identify them and and I’ve heard you name him before, like you’re very open about like, ., he’s my mentor and he’s like changed my life. how can you then. And I’m sure you’re you’ve already done this in a lot of ways, but are you looking forward to the time when you can be a mentor to somebody else?
Alex Duta
Thousand percent.
Hayden Lee
Like, oh, is that is that something that you’re actively thinking about? Like, how do I mentor others or how do I help others? is that something that you’re always kind of mindful of.
Alex Duta
I mean there’s there’s two facets of it. But, I mean, I mentor a lot of people and I’ve got a lot of mentors. Right. It’s not I don’t think defining one. .. .. And finding one mentor isn’t enough. You look at people and you admire them for certain parts of life. The mentor has taught me a lot.
A bit about business isn’t necessarily the one I look up to when it comes to fatherly decisions, right? The mentor that’s the best that the father I decision may not be the most excellent at something else, right? .. now, as far as mentoring other people, 100% like, I think that, you know, just from a financial standpoint, you your net worth is always a direct percentage of the value you create in the world. So you always want to make sure you create value in the world. Because if you ever get lopsided where you’re taking more out of the world than you’re putting in. ., right. The unit economics don’t work. And that’s when things crash and burn like The Wolf of Wall Street. And why that wasn’t sustainable, right? .. So under that philosophy, it’s like if you could just always focus on pouring more value into the world and you don’t necessarily have to transact for it, but somehow it’ll just come back So, I mean, I mentor people all the time and I actively always look for mentors, every, every day.
Hayden Lee
So what do you look for in a mentor? What? Something is there, like, for, you know, people out there that are listening, they’re like, I don’t have somebody that I can, like, go to and ask questions. And you know what what what should people look for when they’re looking for a mentor?
Alex Duta
Well, I think if you’re saying that you don’t have somebody you can go to to ask questions, you’re not curious enough. I think curiosity like one thing like some people take me as abrasive but I’ll ask people questions about anything like including down to like how much money did you make out of this. Which is like an uncommon like voodoo question or like don’t do this to certain people. I get super close and we’ll talk about intimacy or whatever, but I’m just a genuinely curious person. So I think if you don’t have a person to talk to about something or you can’t identify a target when you’re not curious enough and you should start being more curious and listen to podcasts, read books, write. Just ask yourself, well, why? ., right. And there’s like a lot of things we do like, you know, started a media company in like trying to figure out how that all works. I picked up the YouTube formula, which seemed to be a very highly recommended book. Darrell Eaves kind of spoke with me, Mr. Beast, and a few others and such. And then it’s like step two. What? How do you ask the person the question? Right. And it’s like, you go to Google Darryl Eaves email. .. And I emailed him and he responded back and he’s like, ., dude.
It’s like whatever. It was like 900 bucks for an hour long consultation. I’m like, okay, click done. Let’s do it. I’ll meet with him now. I, I told my assistant book in two weeks out, so I have time to prepare. I’m going to finish his book, come with it and then make the most out of it. But like nine times out of ten, you’re like, Darryl won’t talk to me because who the heck am I? Or so-and-so won’t talk to me. But paid or unpaid, there’s so many people willing out there to to work out. So I guess step by step process of finding a mentor and bettering yourself as one, be curious to go, you know, listen to all the different thought leaders. ., right. find the ones that you click with and then just go. And ask like, simple question, hey, how much is an hour of your time worth? .. And I bet you if you’re in restoration, you could probably get an hour of Sheldon Yellen’s time for free. Right. And he’s like a mogul within Belfor Now the next part is key. Everybody feels like when they go to a mentor, they need to apply everything. They need to take everything. I just directed this person. Exactly. .. Oh, well, you know, Mark Cuban told me this, and I got to go do it because Mark Cuban is x y z. .. Now, the way I look at feedback is it’s kind of like you’re going to the closet and you’re taking different clothes and you’re trying them on. So the goal is go listen to Andy Frisella. You like a 75 hard challenge. You throw it on. Don’t whine and complain about it. Like actually try it. ., but then figure out what bits and pieces from his 75 hard lifestyle you actually like after you’ve tried it out. ., right. So be open enough to be able to try it and put it on. Don’t say, oh no, it’s not for me. And let me do 75 hard, soft or whatever, right. But at the same token, right. Don’t feel like that’s the life you have to live, because maybe it’s not for you. Maybe you try for 75 days or like, hey man, I love the result and stuff like that, but this isn’t my thing. And that’s where I think just kind of thinking of that analogy leaves the pressure and you feeling like, oh, I got to seek out help. And then I got to take these directives.
Hayden Lee
Take it exactly
Alex Duta
What works for them may not work for you.
Hayden Lee
I think, the core piece to this, at least from what you’re describing to me, sounds like you are. And I feel like the people that get the most out of a mentor are this way. You’re very humble and, like, you’re very willing to be like, I don’t know everything, so let me go find somebody that can help me. Right. And and take pieces. Right? Like take everything. But like, I’m going to go learn this piece from this person and this piece from this person. And, and I think that requires a certain level of humility. I feel like, again, I don’t think this happens to a lot of people. I mean, there’s well over 500 people here that are here to learn. So there’s a lot of people out there in the world that are good about this, but like, there are a lot of people and business owners that are like, ., I know how to do this best. ., I don’t need to go out and ask questions or I know how to take care of myself. I don’t need to go learn about 75 heart or whatever, right? Like I know what’s best for me and I, I think there, in order to really grow and elevate your team and your business, you’ve got to kind of look inward and be like, maybe I don’t percent everything. Maybe, maybe I need to have an exercise of a little bit more humility.
Alex Duta
You know, 1,000%.
Hayden Lee
And I feel like the world would probably be a probably a better place in a lot of ways, if everyone was that way.
Alex Duta
So now the minute you think you have it figured out, it’s not figured out and nobody has a figure it out. ., like a lot of people come to me too and like, oh, Alex, you got this figure out what was actually, Mark Watley came and we hung out the other day, and he’s like, you know, Alex, you know, it looks also easy and blah, blah, blah. You make fundraising so easy and so on and so forth. And I literally shared with them like a story that we were two weeks away from, like some super harsh decisions at Albiware He’s was like, whoa. Like, .. I mean, you don’t see those things necessarily on social and stuff like that. I need to do a better job becoming more vulnerable and sharing those things. But it’s like everybody, like even my mentors, like everybody, like nobody’s got it all figured out, right? And if you got to the point where you feel like you’ve got it all figured out, you’re really just limiting yourself because someone else had less and did more than you in some sort of environment, whether it’s they were a better father or maybe they were a better business person, or maybe they built the same exact company you did with half the money that you did or whatever. Right. Or, you know. So ., I don’t think, you know, chasing perfection or chasing knowing it all is possible in the reverse, though, you can’t also just plateau and say, well, I’m never going to know it all anyway, so why even try? ., I think you just iterate and it’s the journey. It’s not the outcome.
Hayden Lee
So how has that affected your leadership like style? I would assume that, like you developing yourself and this humility that you have that like asking questions and being curious probably has a pretty big impact on how you lead and how you develop your team. .. How how has that affected your day to day being leader?
Alex Duta
Oh, man, in a million different ways. ., I’ve changed as a person. I mean, we’ve known each other. I mean, we work together. Obviously Katie’s known me for the past 6 or 7 years. If you were to meet me today and then you were to meet six years ago, Alex again, I would have to, like, reintroduce myself, right? Like completely different person. similar drive, similar passion, more empathetic, more understanding. Right. Less judgmental, way more loving. Like, you know, a lot of times as entrepreneurs, the skill sets that help you become a successful entrepreneur are the same skill sets that make you a complete abrasive prick, right? Right. So, you know, the personal development journey helped, like basically hone in the strengths and then soften the negative parts of that personality. and then also like, I think I believe in this quote, that we don’t see the world as it is. We see the world as we see ourselves. So a lot of times when you live, you walk through the world and you’re just so angry and you’re so emotional and like, imagine, like you wake up in the morning on the wrong side of the bed, right? And then you’re walking down to the airport and you’re in a rush. What are you like? you know, f this, f that, that person looked at me funny, blah blah blah blah, blah. .. Is the world actually doing that to you, or are you like that because of the state that you’re in, right. Versus the mornings when you had the zen perfect morning, you woke up joyful, right? You walked through the world and you’re like, gosh, this is so beautiful. ., .. So that’s kind of like the analogy I like to use for personal development. Like if you’re able to work on yourself and clean up that trauma and so on and so forth, you’re going to see the world from a completely different perspective. You’re going to show up as a more joyful leader. You’re going to be able to inspire and uplift people. and ., and then the last thing that I learned was that you can’t change other people and like, no one needs to change for you to win. And also, the only way to heal the people around you is for you to heal yourself. So whatever you think, like so many times, like I was at this couple’s retreat and the entrepreneurs brought their wives there to make the wives understand how hard it is to be an entrepreneur. Right. And they walked out of there being like, I need to fix these things in my life. So like when you go through the process of becoming better without forcing anybody to, you inevitably help lift other people up, right? And if you can heal yourself, you’ll you’ll start healing the other people around you, right? That’s cool. You fix yourself in a relationship, you’ll see your relationships get better. And it’s just it’s awesome. It’s beautiful.
Hayden Lee
Well, .. And I mean, that exact scenario applies to like, business as well. Like, you take care of yourself, your team is going to take care of themselves. Exactly. You heal yourself. Your team is going to hit like there’s just a lot of reflective, like reflective, action there. That kind of just takes place. And that’s just super, super cool.
Alex Duta
Yeah, man
Hayden Lee
I want to close I want to I want to give people an opportunity because I feel like, again, you’re really, really good at this is something that you’ve been super passionate about and vocal about. there are people out there, I’m sure that, okay, maybe they’ve got a mentor. You know, you’ve talked a little bit about how maybe they can develop that and how they can be curious what are maybe some simple things that people could start today? We’re here at the collective. But some simple things people could start today to better take care of themselves, especially a business owner. What are some maybe a couple of little things that you feel like would be good that they could start today to take better care of themselves?
Alex Duta
Oh, okay. Simple. and a mentor of mine taught me this. .. So I think step number one, if you were to talk about any problem, it’s awareness. So step number one, just being aware and knowing what’s going on. And start being aware of the moments when you show up in life that you have a negative emotional response. you’re frustrated. You’re, you know, because, again, under this theory that the world will show you where you’re not free, start noticing, like maybe it’s waiting in line at Starbucks and you’re just impatient and super angry. Or maybe it’s a person said something that triggered you in a specific way, and then the second time, the second question ask yourself is where does this come from? Or what do I believe? Or why is this triggering me? Right? What belief is down there deep inside that’s triggering me to have this thing? So like, I’m sitting, you know, a common one that entrepreneurs may have is like, oh, people are lazy, right? Like, I can’t believe that this one worker here at Hertz rental Car is taking five hours to process my thing. I’m an entrepreneur. I would do it x, y, z. ., people are lazy and then ask yourself, well, is this truly true? And where is this coming from? Right, right. And then think of like the past or like what lesson maybe as a childhood trauma or something like that, that kind of caused you to think that way. .. And then ask yourself the next question of what would need to be true for me not to react or not be bothered by. And like if you could just repeat that and start with the simple things like try to get quick wins, like, okay, why am I irritated and frustrated? And maybe you realize that, man, I just didn’t get enough sleep this night. Okay, cool. I’m frustrated by this thing and I’m showing up in this world. Or maybe it’s caffeine. Or maybe it’s the hangover, or maybe it’s whatever it is, and start unpacking it and just get into the habit of just, like iteratively changing and start with like, super small, simple wins that you think you can win. Like, why do I always, I don’t know, pull my hair out when this happens or you know, why do I always raise my voice like some some stuff easier and some stuff smarter basically. Right. But that framework, I think like any time you have an emotional response to something, it’s almost like, again, it’s it’s intended to show you that, hey, something’s here.
Hayden Lee
I love that because I building that framework and getting some of those small wins first solves the big problems. Lay down and solves those those bigger issues that could come up later 100% love that man, man. Alex. Seriously awesome conversation man. Love and appreciate all of your insights.I want to obviously give you an opportunity. Not that you guys need it. Just about everybody knows who you guys are, but I want to give you the opportunity. Plug away. Talk a little bit about. Albiware where can people, if they want to learn more about what you guys offer with your CRM, where can they find out a little bit more about you guys?
Alex Duta
Absolutely. Yes. So Albiware is an all in one platform for restoration contractors. Basically, we bundled together. Think of all the tech solutions you need to run a restoration business all in one location. find out more about Albiware on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. You can also go to Albiwares website. And then as far as me, I’m just a passionate restorer looking to give it back to the community. You can find me on all social media platforms. It’s Alex Duta I T S Alex Duta so
Hayden Lee
We’re going to have all that linked in the description below. And, Alex, seriously appreciate you coming back on. I always say that I want you to come back on and you’ve been, back on twice now. And I’m sure we’ll have you on again in the future.
Alex Duta
I’d love to be back, man. This is great. Thanks so much, man.
