Entrepreneur Intel

Wes: I am super excited to introduce our guest today, a skilled owner who has a holistic approach to entrepreneurship, strong background in real estate investing, investing in startups. He is the owner of Chester Street Residence, assisted living and memory care in Royal Oak community. Welcome Scott

Scott: What's happening Wes, how you doing?

Wes: Oh man, I'm excited to have you. I'm excited to dive in, which I'm going to do right now, which is Chester Street Residence has about 35 employees. You've been an entrepreneur for 20 years in different capacities. What's the, what's the one most important lesson you've learned thus far?

Scott: To me, it's real simple. It's, uh, care about people, right? So, with my, with my employees, the one thing they know without a doubt, is I care about them. So, and I'll get, I'll give you a story. It happened yesterday. I'm on my way out, a lady who works for us is like, hey, can I talk to you? Absolutely, come on in.

And, you know, I tell people, I'm like, listen, I'm here because I care, like, yeah, I, I, Yeah, I was leaving, but I'm going out the door, but you need to talk to me. That's more important than, than where I'm going right now. What's, what's on your mind. And then when, when we get done and, and like all the stuff that came out of that, you know, 15 minute conversation, I felt great about for her.

Right. I'm like, I really hope you feel good about it. I like, we talk about, I repeat, Hey, here's what we talked about. Here's what I, I, this is what I'm going to do. Right. And I will follow up on all this stuff and I want you to focus on these things and we're going to, you know, and we'll do this, we'll work together on your growth.

When you hear that, how does it, how would I, you know, to me, if somebody said that to me, Hey, we're going to work together and do this stuff on your growth, right? I'm like fired up. You know, sometimes I get more fired up than them about working with them and them growing, you know, it gets me jazzed up. So that's something I'm super focused on is really being in tune with helping people grow.

Wes: So to me, like that, that is like massive growth as a leader. Like, were you always out of the gate like that? Or did it take many years to get that? Cause number one, I mean, my assumption is, you know, owner of Chester street residence, assisted living and memory care. That tells me what you just said, like totally matches, like super, very compassionate, very patient.

You know, but were you, were you always like that? Or like when, you know, when did you figure out like you had that, you know, true leadership ability

Scott: No, not on that level. Not on that level. So, like, before senior living, I was in apartments. When you're in apartment ownership and management, and you, you know, you're, I was caring about my staff, but when you know the, the residents of the apartments, it's usually because something bad is going, like, you know, you know them for something going on, right?

Where here, it's the opposite. Right? You know all your residents. We, I know all my residents and you know their families. You know your staff and you really, it's, it's a community, right? It's not a, it's not a place. And so you sort of grow into it. And then it was actually back in, I think around 17 or 18, I was on social media.

I got to get on Instagram. I got to get on Snapchat because my kids are going to be on and I need to understand what it is, right? So you're on a more and more. And then all of a sudden I started following like different people before you're following the goofy stuff, right? The funny videos, this and that, that, that really add no value to your day.

It's just that does time suck. And then I started following some people and. You know, I started, I was like, wow, that's really like making me think, you know, and then the next thing, you know, this is what you're consuming. And then I'm following, who are they following? Right. What, what podcasts are they on?

Let me find out and listen to them. And then I discover more people. And so literally I, I, I. Got rid of my old Instagram, started a brand new Instagram where I'm following like people I want to follow that are inspiring, that motivate me. And it's like a daily consumption. It's the consistency of it. And then what I realized is there's a couple things for me that really helped me grow to where I am today.

And one is I heard everybody talk about gratitude, right? And how important that is and the different and all the benefits of gratitude and different ways to, to express gratitude, like mainly within yourself. Right. And then what I realized is I was in like, the way I describe it, I was in the shallow end of the pool, right?

I'm there, I'm in the pool, right? But the shallow end, it's comfortable. It's easy. You can sit down. You don't, it's nice. And I realized the magic's in the deep end of the pool, right? And when you dive into the deep end of the pool, what do you got to do? You got to constantly be, you know, working or else what happens?

You go under and then you go backwards to where you're comfortable, but all the growth happens in the deep end, right? So for me, it was being focused on being in the deep end of trying to grow really with like a foundation of gratitude. And then from there, you, you like level yourself up in different areas of life and then it just becomes part of who you are.

Wes: going back, back, like whether it's elementary, middle, high school, college, like, did, did you always in the back of your mind know that you'd be an entrepreneur or did you originally start in the corporate or like where, when did you determine you're like, I'm an entrepreneur?

Scott: It was at, no, it was after I graduated, I had no, like, no clue what I wanted to do, right, at all. Um, so I got a, you know, I got my first job, it lasted like a week cause I just was not prepared to like be in like the working world after college. Especially when I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I got a job at a, uh, at a men's clothing store.

Cause my girlfriend at the time was still in, she had a, she graduated a semester after me, she's now my wife. And then when she graduated, we, we moved to Atlanta for a year. I worked at like a corporate job that was. Just easy. It's again, nothing, didn't know what I wanted to do. And when we moved back, that's when I got into real estate and I became an analyst, I did commercial financing, but it was, it was then in my early twenties that I was like, I don't just want to do this.

I want to be, I want to own and operate real estate. Right. And understanding, okay, that's, that's entrepreneurship. What that was. Um, and my dad had done it as kind of like a solopreneur. So after a couple of years, we linked up, uh, in 03 and formed our own company. And then. in apartments. Uh, and we did, and we grew a portfolio and managed the portfolio and the management is where you get to really connect with people on a different level.

Um, and you're, you're trying, you know, and that's where you sort of try and become a leader, but leadership evolves, right? So I'm a way better leader now, probably than I was then just from life experience, but no, it was sort of like evolved over time that it was like the entrepreneurial leadership, uh, journey.

began.

Wes: Now, let me ask you, do you think you can shortcut that experience or you just have to go through? You know, cause a lot of people want shortcuts, right? Or entrepreneurs. It's, I don't want to tread for an hour. I just, I just want to cut right to the chase, but you bring up a really good concept around, you know, I was a different, you know, you, you grew into who you are today, just curious.

You think you can shortcut that, or you got to go through what you got to go through to get there.

Scott: You can't shortcut it. I mean, it's possible people could do it sooner, but part of it is like knowing what you want to do, right? And there's, there, and listen, you know, this, anything you do, even if you're successful out the gate or, or somebody took them seven years and another person took them two years, the work you've got to put in up front and then the work you've got to continue to do, it doesn't, There is no shortcut for that.

If you don't put in the work, you're, you're, it's not going to happen, right? Like the famous, uh, Rinaldo comment, where it's like talent without work is nothing, right? So if you don't put in the work, there is no shortcut to put in the work. You've got to do, you, you, you got to do it. And to me, it's about waking up every day and being like grateful for the opportunities that are going to come your way. And then what happens is, is when. When the hard stuff comes, right, the stuff you may not want to do or the problems that come um, your way, it's the mindset that you already have. It helps me deal with them. Like, okay, no big deal. What do we got to do? Right? Because to me, leadership is just about solving problems and helping people get better. Those are, that to me is great leadership, right? It's not about shine the light on me. Look how great I am. Like, if I can solve problems every day and I can help people get better, I'm good. It's the consistency of doing that that's going to really elevate people and their leadership and their journey and their business.

Wes: So going back to the real estate venture, I wasn't sure, is that, are you still active in that venture with your

father?

Scott: so yeah, we're still active in real estate, not like we were, that was our main business. And then, uh, once we opened up Chester street, that became our main business. And then I, we, but we still do some real estate deals. Uh, I have some partners that I do deals with and then other times where I just, I'm like a passive investor.

Wes: So I gotta ask, you know, I have four boys, one's about to turn 15 and there's this talk right about I want to come work with you dad, or do something at some capacity, like, I really haven't spent a lot of time with people who have been in like a family business, or brought in a sibling or parent. How is that dynamic as an entrepreneur bringing in family or, close siblings?

Is that, cause you said you have multiple partners, so you have the experience around other partners and then you have your, your dad. How is that

Scott: Yeah. So like my, in, in, um, And the things that we do, it's just me and my dad as partners. And then like, um, but here's the thing that I've seen, and I've seen friends of mine who go into a family business and they start doing all the stuff that like at the bottom, right? You're going, you're, you're a delivery driver, you're in the warehouse, you're doing all.

You're in accounting for a little bit. You're doing all of the jobs and everyone knows at the end of the day, you're going to end up, you know, running the company, right? If you want to, if you're actually good, but they respect you more when you come in and you do all the jobs and they've seen you work that summer as the delivery person, right?

They've seen you work six months in accounting. They've seen you do stuff. And so, you know, like for, for me, um, you I view, I think it's great. Some people are like, I could never work with my dad. And listen, I get it, right? But it's, awesome because I get to see him every day. We get to talk about, a ton of stuff, right?

Try and, you know, and I think it creates a different dynamic where, yeah, he's your dad and you're the son and you've got to understand that role, but you almost get to, you're talking like you're like this. Right. Um, and they get to stay more involved in your life. You get to stay more involved in their life and what's going on.

So I love it. I just think if you're going to be in a family business, you've got to do all the roles.

Wes: Got it. No, that's great advice. So how did you then, you know, from the real estate 2013 go into assisted living and memory care? Like it's, uh, you know, it's, uh, you know, kind of parallel ish, but. You know, you come off to me, you're a very calm guy. I talked about your example in leadership. To me, like that would take a great level of care details.

You're dealing with the residents, you're dealing with their family, which could probably often, you know, you're talking memory care. So, I mean, you can get into specifics around what that means, but my assumption is there's a lot going on at many different levels, managing employees, patients, family, all that.

You talk, talk a little bit about that. I find it

Scott: Yeah. So the, the, the transition came. So in like, oh five, oh six, oh seven, there was a lot of talk in the apartment world about senior living, the boom that's coming, the need for it. And so there was a lot I was digesting about what that was like. And then you realize senior living, There's a lot of components to it.

There's independent living, which is the most similar to apartment management, right? Except you're providing meals. After that, it's not really similar at all. Right. And so it was actually in, oh, so in 2008, when the credit, you know, great recession happened. Fortunately, we had, uh, sold the majority of our, we had sold all of our Michigan apartments and we had 300 units in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Right. And we, and so for a couple of years, there was like a transition where not much was going on. So my golf game got pretty good. Right. But transactions weren't really

Wes: So you, you, you, you do this, you did this before, before it all happened.

Scott: And, and, and then, um, this property in Royal Oak, uh, became available. A friend of mine was listing it and it was, it was an interesting time because. And so we felt like, listen, we liked the location. It was actually a former assisted living that was, went back to the bank, had been vacant for two years, was uninhabitable.

So it fit what we did, buy existing building, invest into the building, right, and then, you know, create value. So, it in, oh, in 2010, and, uh, did, did a re renovation on it opened up January, 2012. And, and at that point in time, my, my, you know, my dad was, you know, him being my partner provides a lot of wisdom, right.

Uh, in terms of, uh, that type of space, right. Being, uh, you know, understanding how to really like the relationships that we have to be building. And then, um, and so, and then, and then you realize again, it was that, Hey, we're creating a commute. We're not creating a place. That's the thing I think people don't understand about assisted living.

They think like, oh, they got to go to a. An institution, right? That was like how it was before, you know, Oh, you gotta go to what is it? You gotta, you gotta go to this home. You're going to a community like nowadays it's, you know, we have plenty of challenges in the senior living, uh, space, but you're going to a community.

You're creating a community. What happened? What's a community, right? You have people who try and make your day better. People who are trying to make each other's life better as much as they can. And so that's what, you know, so families who need, who go into this space who, listen, if you don't need assisted living, you're not looking into it, right?

You only try and gather the information when your loved one needs, can't live by themselves and needs to go to an assisted living memory care community. And I love helping people because you get, you know, you got a team now, you're not alone. We're all, we're all in this together to help your loved one, you know, live their best life now.

And that's the beauty about, uh, about senior living. And then as a, listen, as a person, you can't be in this industry every day, unless you just have, unless you just love it, right? You love the people. And people can be on the same token. People are super challenging. Tell people all the time, like we're not making hammers.

Hammers don't care how you feel. Right. You can come in bad mood, good mood. They don't care. You make the hammer, it's done. I said, when I show up every day, I am positive on purpose, right? It's not an accident. Right. So when I'm, and I said, do you want, you know, when I talk to people like my staff, I'm like, you don't want me at 70 percent because at 70 percent I walk in, I might not even say hi to you, I'm like, Hey, no, no, I've come in, I'm on this level.

Right. So I'm, I'm getting, I'm bringing this energy to our community. Right. To show people like this is if you want it, you can do this. This is just a choice of how you show up.

Wes: in my understanding, you kind of fell out, like you saw a piece of real estate that, and it just happened to be assisted living and like, you're like, Hey, now I'm going to get into this business. I mean, was this ever in your, you know, viewpoint, you know, vantage point of, Hey, I'm going to, you know, Just kind of

Scott: It just kind of happened. It was like, it was like a by product of, of that time period, because apartments were really tough to, to, the transactions were low. This was in Royal Oak. It's right by me. We had talked about getting into senior living. Like, I think this is a, I mean, you know, it's right in front of you.

I think this is the right, the right play or the right opportunity. So yeah, it was just sort of diving in. And the beauty of that too, is you could do things a little differently if you wanted to, cause there was, you know, I It's just us, like, what do we think is the best setup that's gonna make, that's gonna provide the best care and make the most sense for people, right?

So like something we did right from the gate is, like, we're a flat rate community. What that means is whatever rate you move in at, that's your rate for life. It never goes up. Okay, and what that does is, now when we're talking about Uh, care for your loved one has nothing to do with whether it costs more or not.

It's just like, what's the best plan of care right now? Short term, long term, what's going on? And it has nothing to do with how much it costs. That part's already set. So that was kind of the entrepreneurial thing that we added to our community is the things that we thought made sense that could benefit people that we could do.

Um, Because, you know, again, we're, we're, we're sort of new to the industry. And so we, we could do some of those things.

Wes: How many residents at your location at

Scott: Yeah. So we have 54, um, and every room's private, right? So there's no shared rooms. Every room's private. You know, you have your own, your own room, your own bathroom. Um, you have your own phone line, cable TV. Uh, you can call out anywhere. Anybody can call you directly. Uh, so it's your own private space.

Wes: So yeah, I guess I never thought about that. I mean, it's like a, it is its own like ecosystem. I mean, 54 residents, you have families coming and going. Their lives are still going like shipping and food. So talk a little bit about that. I mean, and the entrepreneurial journey, right? I think everybody's journey is filled with turns and surprises.

And you know, the thing that sticks out, I got to ask you about it. It's. It's like the families and how, you know, managing those relationships, keeping calm, you know, how important is it for you? And I know, I think I know how you're gonna answer this, but like the right people in the right seat, right? Cause a lot of people set out to do this entrepreneurial journey.

But for me, it's, it sounds like you, you need a village and the right team to help you number one, buy into the passion and help you fulfill and really do the work that you guys need to do. Take special people, I would imagine.

Scott: people. So you, I love that you use that word special people. So I tell the caregivers all the time. I'm like, what you, you, you are talented, right? You, this is a special talent. Not everybody can do what you do. Right. And, and the, and you have to be, you have to love it to be in the industry. You just have to love to take care of people.

And the people that work at these communities love taking care of seniors. Like that's a passion for them. And the, you know, you're right. Like, listen, me and you could watch the same movie. And I can be like, wow, I loved it. That was awesome. And you can be like, man, it was okay. Right. So you also have to deal with that.

Like there could be family members, same things going on. And they, and you could be like, I love it. And they could be like, you lost a pair of socks. What's going on? I'm like, there's a lot going on. I apologize about the socks. Right. But some, but maybe, so everyone has their own, there's a family dynamics.

Every, some people are very optimistic people. They're like glass half full people. They're good to communicate with. Other people are, are a little bit more, you know, pessimistic in general about, about things. And, and sometimes I think they're, you know, they want to focus on A and we're trying to focus on B here because it's more important. The thing I've learned is I got, there's no right or wrong and I have no judgment. And what I mean by that is, some family members are very active, they come a lot, uh, they communicate great, and I love it, right? They bring energy to our community. Some family members don't come a lot at all, you know, and they don't, and when they come, they're like, hey, it's great, everybody's, and then they, there's not a lot of communication there.

That's okay, that's their dynamics. I'm not here to judge that, I'm not here to It's not my, my, my role. My role is how can we make the residents life great and how can we support the family and support our staff and support everybody who services, if I went down all the people that provide, they don't work for you, but they provide the services for your, for your building to help, you know, do all the things that you need to do, it's incredible.

So there's so, like you said, it's like a village that helps create your community.

Wes: So how did you, and this is probably, we could probably spend a lot of time talking here, but COVID, you know, COVID impacted everybody definitely. But I'm, I'm really interested to hear like, you know, what transpired for you? I mean, you hear a lot in the media. And you know, I'm just kind of curious. So to me, it's, you've got 54 now, are you at full capacity?

Is 54 is that full capacity at

Scott: full capacity. Yeah.

Wes: okay. So what happens in 2020 when this thing called COVID happens? Is it just like, as an entrepreneur, like that's a good, you know, what do you do?

Scott: So it was, uh, like every emotion that you can think of, good, bad, and was felt, it was a huge rollercoaster. And so again, what do you do as the leader of the community, right? Because back then people were scared. Everybody was scared. If I get covid. I'm probably gonna die. That was the myth right now.

Now it's a lot different. If I get COVID, it sucks. It's like a, you know, but I'll get better and I'll, and back then it was. And everything was changing, like all the time. Protocols, people, it was hard to keep up with what are, what's everybody doing, but the whole system sort of stopped, right? You weren't allowed, so we, we didn't, you weren't allowed to let people come in really, right?

Um, and yet people, yet I knew I did not want to isolate our residents, okay? And yet, so, and then what can we do for the staff to help protect them? So everybody had to wear masks, obviously, and then for the residents, I never Uh, I made a conscious decision. I'm not going to seclude residents and keep them in their room because everything was a symptom of COVID, right?

And somebody's stomach was upset. It was, you can't, you don't quarantine the whole floor. You know, maybe they had hot dogs and beans for lunch and it upset their stomach. I mean, that's just life. And so I was like, I had to use a lot of common sense, but I remember, uh, uh, one of our girls came up to me and was like, are you scared?

And I said, every emotion that you're feeling, I'm feeling okay. COVID doesn't care who you are. It doesn't care what your title is or anything. Okay. I said, here's my approach. I said, I'm grateful. But I get to wake up every day, come to our community and we all get to go through this together. Okay. I don't want to stay home and, and, and watch Netflix all day.

But it was weird because you're doing things like, if I told you what, like I'm, I wasn't wearing, I was wearing like gym clothes to work, right? Cause that's what they recommended. And then you come home and you take your clothes off and you put them in the garage and then you go take a shower. Right. And now you look back and you're like, but listen, you don't know, you don't know what you don't know.

And, uh, and I used to tell people, I was like, listen, the world, nobody living today, and if they are, they're, they're, you know, they're up, they don't probably remember nobody's gone through a global pandemic, so people will try to get real political about it. Even some of our resident family members. And I was like, listen, I don't what, I'm not on a side, right.

I just do what's best for the community. So what we did was, like a lot of other communities, it's like you're always constantly thinking how can we still keep people connected? So on the first floor, we have two floors. On the first floor, you could do window visits, right? They can come up, you can open up the windows, and the families can stay connected.

And then we have a door on the side of the building, and right when you come in, there's a room to the left. So we called that the Family room and we created like we put a couch in there and a table and some chairs and we did like a sign up genius where people came and signed up for different times, right?

Spaced out. And I bought one of those, like I bought so many things that you don't use anymore. Like the, uh, uh, the, the, the thing where you put the pellet in it and you spray the room and you disinfect it all, right? All that stuff. The temperature checks when you walk in. All that stuff. But in my mindset was I'm going to provide the community, I'm going to provide everybody with everything they need to feel as safe and comfortable as possible, because like the work that we're all doing now, everybody's a little, like, like a little nervous about it.

And so, and some people left, right. And that was challenging because the hiring process really stopped for most people. You know, because then you had all the unemployment craziness that happened. So it really stretched the labor force really thin. And so you just did whatever you had to do to just reset every, it was like, so one day at a time of just saying, what do we got to do today?

And then you become a supply chain expert because you're like, you need, you know, supplies are hard to get. So you're really like, I'm just every day. How can I stay ahead of the curve on that? You know, you can't just be like, Oh, you know, we have no more of this. Sorry. I don't, I don't know where it's, you know, when we're going to get it.

Like,

Wes: Yeah. Like, like, like toilet, like toilet paper and

Scott: right. Not an option for us not to have that type of stuff. And so, uh, it was very weird. And it's funny, I think, uh, I probably wore a mask for, you know, two years in the building. I was, I was literally the only one who wore like the true N95 mask. And then I just got comfortable with it. Right. Like now I put it on and I'm like, damn, this thing's, this thing's tight, but you just got comfortable with it.

That was your thing. And, um, but it was just, again, it was the same mindset of like, let's tackle today, what do we got to do to make everybody feel good about today? Right. Here's what we're doing with, I mean, you're communicating all the time with families, here's what we're doing. Here's the latest update.

Um, you know, just so they felt informed you're doing, you know, you're having staff do FaceTime calls. Like we brought an iPad, let's do FaceTime calls with people. So they got to see their family, but it was like, uh, I'll put, I'll wrap it up this way, if you were in a hurricane and you told me what the hurricane was like afterwards.

I might be like, oh wow, that's crazy. But I don't really know. But in the middle of that hurricane, all that stuff, you can't describe it to people, right? You just, at the end of the day, you just know what it's like. And that's sort of what it was like. If you were in it, you had to go to work, right? It was like being in that, and it's just like, you can describe it however I just described it, and like, it doesn't even do it justice.

Wes: Well, I can only imagine, right? Like, number one, you get families that are like banging at the door, probably trying to break in, getting grandma or grandpa out of there, or their mom or dad. But then I kind of have this visual of like what my family Thanksgiving's like. I mean, when somebody is going into assisted living, to me, like, that's probably a, that's a really big deal and a very big life moment where then you have a lot of people to manage and their emotions and they want to be heard.

And they're all the variety of people, like, how do you as a human entrepreneur, like personal family business, like. What do you do to like, you talked about gratitude a little bit, but like, how do you get ready for game day every day and bring a hundred percent in that environment? Because it's, it's a hell of a lot harder than what I look at my day, you know, cause you gotta be ready and that's probably an emotional suck.

Scott: Yeah, so that's a great question. So it's, it's, it's just, I'm excited to go in, I don't know what the day is going to be. The most days are pretty common. Like you have your flow of the day, right? But then you have moments where it gets, you know, lots of things are happening at once and whatnot, but it's just, I walk in and I'm positive on purpose.

Like I said, right? That's just, that's just bam. And I'm doing it at a high level. So people know, like I can, I can look at my staff and be like, Hey, what's wrong? What's going on? So maybe something small bothered them, but they're letting it like eat them up for the day and I'm able to like, know, use that energy to refocus them and be like, okay, listen, you know, we talked through it and then bam, I like see him a couple hours later and they're, and they're totally over it.

You know, and I kind of, you know, look, I don't like it. Yeah. So it's like, you know, and I love doing that. I love helping people, uh, you know, and our staff grow and get better. So to me, it's just like, I walk in there and I'm just dialed in. I'm saying hello to everybody. How's your day? What do you need help with?

Right. I'm like active. It's not like I sit at the desk, you know, and, and, and I do, but like, I'm always, I'm moving around the community. And when I'm moving around, it's like, how can I help it? Let's say I'm upstairs and they were going to, they were going to take some, some trays downstairs at the kitchen.

I'm like, I'll, I'll take it. I'm going down. No problem. Right. So it's like, they see what I'm doing. How I'm talking and then like again, I'm just like teaching them all the time like Communication. I'm like when I need and I always use myself as an example, right? So I Say like listen when I asked you for help, what do I say?

I say hey, can you do me a favor? And they're like, yeah, what's up? It's like now we're connected as teammates, right? But I say though well you went over to them and you're like, hey, I need boom. Oh, you just go right in at home I'm like, they get a little like defensive. Like, Hey, I'm doing stuff too. Like, what's the, like, hold on.

So I show them like how to engage with other, you know, other teammates to create a really good relationship and to say like, Hey, they want to help you go about it, like in a more, like, don't, don't go right in at them. Ask a question. Like when you want something, instead of saying, Hey, I need you to do boom, boom, boom, ask, Hey, could you do me a huge favor?

Hey, could you help me out? I really need whatever it is. I'm like, just that little, little step there. It's going to like be super impactful when you're there. So for me, it's just, I love doing that type of stuff. That type of stuff comes up all the time. And so I'm just like, As the leader, how I show up is, is super important, right?

I don't, I can't show up at 50%, 80%. So when I walk in, it's like a choice I'm dialed in. And now I don't even, it's like, I don't even think about it. Like that's just who I am. Right. And I tell people like, this is, it's a choice that you can make. And when you should want to show up that way, like shit gets good. And when problems come your way, like when a problem comes my way, Like, I don't get so overwhelmed by it, you know, I like sort of digest it and I'm able to in a calm manner be like, okay, I'll, I, I'm going to handle this, you go get back to what you were doing. I got this, right? And you just, now you're calm, they calm down, and then you handle whatever issues you got to handle.

That to me, it's all a choice. It's like your mindset that you're going to walk in and how you're going to, and how you're going to be. It's all a choice.

Wes: So it sounds like to a little bit of like knowing what you really really want and having that pure passion of what you're pursuing to be able to gear up every day and do that, right? Because Because I would just think you know from from a personal or family like like what do you do for you to like Relax, do you meditate?

Do you have to work out or there's certain things with you that You know, what, what, what allows you to go a hundred percent outside of a choice? Because I, I think that's great. You have to make the choice, but how do you get prepared to gear up for that? Because that's a, that's a, that's a big, that's a big ass.

That's a big thing

Scott: Yeah. So a couple of things. So, um, one is I wake up and I literally, I'm like, think about all the stuff, all the good stuff going on. Like before I'm even like out of bed, you know, I'm like, Oh man, I get to go make coffee. I get to go like, You know, uh, you know, my, my kids are so awesome. Like, oh, I got my dog.

I just love my dog. And I just think about all the good things that are happening. Like, oh, man, all the opportunities that are going to be out there today that I don't even know about. Right. So it's like, that's just how I kind of like the thoughts that are going through my mind and like before. And then, you know, I have my own thing where I kind of like In the morning where I take some time and I kind of do, it's, it's like, I could say it's like meditating, but it's not the true meditation.

And I kind of sit there and I go through just sort of breathe, calm myself down and then just think about all the good, all the good things going on in life. And they can be small, right? It could be like, wow, I'm really thankful. I like for my toothbrush and toothpaste this morning, you know, Like it doesn't have to always be these big magical things going on in life.

And yet working out totally helps. Like when I work out, it's like therapy, like therapy for me, like in my mind, thinking about a ton of stuff, but it's like, it's like helping me flow through it when I'm working out. And then, um, so then like when I, now, when I go out and I want to be that person, like I'm already sort of like gone through this, thing in the morning of like putting myself in that mindset that I want, that we're and I, and how I want to operate and how I want to be.

And then it's like, you do things throughout the day. So like, you know, your boys call you different things, you know? So like the big, Oh, Scotty gratitude. And like we were up in Montreal and on a guy's trip and we're driving. And the taxi, and it's like bumper to bumper traffic. And I, and like the, the things all red, right.

And my friend said something. And, but then I look in the corner and I saw, Oh, eight minutes. Like, I only got to be, I only got to be in here for eight more minutes. That's no big deal. So I'm like, Oh, we only, we only have eight more minutes. I'm like, Oh, always looking on the bright side of stuff. I didn't even think about it.

Right. It's just like, that's what like you focus on. Right. So it's like, what are you focused on? Are you focused on the. Good stuff, or are you focused on all the problems? Like, I'm not focused on When problems come to me, I'm like focused on the solution. What do we got to do? How do we got to solve it? And then let's move on to whatever we got to do.

So it's just like, you know, So that's how I sort of get started my day, and then at the end of the day, again, I kind of do like, you know, kind of replay my day, and sometimes You might be like, you mentioned family, right? Got teenagers, you know, they can always, they can be a little, a little challenging. So sometimes, you know, you have a, like a disagreement with one of your kids or you're, you know, they're, they're, they're pushing the boundaries on something. And sometimes I'll be grateful for that. Disagreement that we had because I'm like, it's showing me I need to get in a moment. I need to have more patience with them, right? It's just a reminder. I need to like, understand them at their level a little bit better. So sometimes I'm grateful for the challenges that are going on because it's making me better.

Cause of how I'm thinking about it. Right. It's not always like, Oh, I'm grateful for all the good stuff. And that's like, we're in the deep end. That's all the stuff that you're finding to just become a better, better person for yourself. And you wouldn't come a better person for yourself. other people appreciate

Wes: Yeah, I would imagine that you're gaining a lot of perspectives with your residents and the relationships you build there. I mean, if you're that active and you have 54 residents and there's probably just like a wealth of knowledge and just, I mean, it's, it's kind of cool. Like you probably have so many relationships within your community now, which has probably done so much to your perspective to be able to look at an argument and see the bright side of, Hey, this is great that we get the opportunity to even do this.

Scott: all share a story with you. So Hugo was, I was in the dining room and Hugo was like, Hey, you know, and he was a great guy, he was in a wheelchair that we couldn't come walk anymore. Right. And he's like, you know, I wish I could move like you again. And I was like, yeah, you know, uh, and then it's like, when you hear that and you're like, wow, like I can, I'm grateful for my mobility, right?

So sometimes, you know, like you might be at Target and you're like, well, we just want to get three things. Let's get, let's get out of here. And then you're like, well, hold on, wait a minute. Like I'm in Target with my wife. I can move around. I'm healthy. I don't know. Should I be that? uptight that I'm in Target, right?

So it's like perspective, right? All like, like just, just changing the, like changing the narrative a little bit versus like, I do not want to be here. Let's get out. You're grumpy. You leave. Now everybody's grumpy, right? So just little things like that. But yeah, the residents totally, um, it makes you appreciate that because I love looking at pictures of when they were young, right?

And then I'll show it to them and they'll, they'll talk about it. And it's like, they were young and vibrant at one, at one point. And we don't know when that's going to end for us, right? So it's like, there's always going to be challenges in life. Just embrace it, solve it the best you can, and move on. Don't let it bog you down.

Wes: Well, I'm getting a, I think the nugget I'm seeing the most from you is, and what I've heard a lot lately over the past couple months, is choice. Like, everything's a choice.

Scott: Thousand percent.

Wes: I think as entrepreneurs, yeah, you tend to forget, like you said, like you get up and you're thankful for your toothbrush and toothpaste.

And I think oftentimes you get in this like cycle, everything's got to be big, big, big, or, you know, a lot of people compare or, you know, just take a lot of things for granted. So I think it's really fascinating that choice is that, that main driver. So. With the business, like, are you looking to expand at all?

Like, are you good with Chester street and what's going on there? Are you guys looking to replicate that?

Scott: Um, it's possible, um, you know, again, a lifestyle choice. Like, there's certain communities I've looked at, and I'm like, it's an hour and a half away. I'm an active owner. Do I want to be an hour? Do I want to, you know, drive an hour and a half all the time to the community? So, you know, those are like some of the lifestyle choices that you want factor into that.

Um, I don't have to expand. It's not like, Oh, I have to get bigger and bigger and bigger. The right opportunity comes along and I'm looking, then great. And if it lines up with, uh, you know, with the seller, great. Like there's, there's deals I've looked at where I'm like, there's I would pay that somebody else does.

And I'm like, good, good for them. Like it doesn't bother me that, that they did it and I didn't. Um, and then there's all, there's always like opportunities I'm seeking even outside of Chester street, whether it's like real estate opportunities, whether it's a business investment opportunities, whether it's just, uh, you know, short term, uh, lending opportunities.

So I'm always looking at those opportunities as well. And then you never know where, you know, where that's going to lead to.

Wes: So anybody listening, um, yes. I mean, it sounds like you'd be a great guy to reach out to for a business deal. Like you're very calm, cool, collective, really smart guy. How can people, if they want to reach out to you, what's the easiest way for somebody to, uh, to get in contact with you if they have, A short term thing or a real estate deal or something of that.

Scott: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty simple. It's email. It's my cell phone, right? Like people reach out to me on email. Obviously, I'm on like LinkedIn and, and, and all that. And I'm pretty responsive to people because you never know. never know where it's going to lead, right? And sometimes it's a real quick, like, yeah, you know what?

That's not my thing. I don't, it sounds great. It's just not what I do. Right. Great. But you get to learn about cool things that people are doing. So there's, there's like, um, there's three thing, you know, and you hit, so, so that's how you can reach out to me, but going back to what you were saying before, when you're like, uh, talking about comparing and everything.

So there's three things that I sort of tell young people. So my neighbors have three boys, they graduated high school, and so I went to their grad parties and like, you know, you give a gift, right? You give money or you, you know, and so I did it differently. So I had them come over and I was like, okay, here's your gift, right?

That'll, in a year from now, you won't, you won't be able to tell me what you spent that money on, right? But this is your real gift. And I sit down with them and I'd like, Kind of go through things that I thought could benefit their life. And then I realized it was probably overkill. Right? So by the time the last one graduated, I was like, I got three things for you. And I promise you, if you do one, just one of these three things, well, life will get really good for you. You don't have to do all three, just one. So the first one is comparison is the thief of joy. Be happy, be happy for others. Okay. When you stop comparing your life to other people, what people have, what you don't have, and you're truly happy for other people. It changes so much, right? And life gets really good. The second one was, uh, and I got this in that there's a clip where, uh, from Ted Lasso, where it's like, be curious, not judgmental, right? Be curious about people. Don't judge people. You don't know, right? Why somebody believed that? Why did what, like, like, find out, tell me more.

Right. The whole line, tell me more. Right. Oh yeah. I'm not, I don't understand that. Tell me more. And then the last one, which we talked about, or which is the first thing we talked about was daily gratitude. Right. It's not, you don't have to be more grateful than the next person. Right. But it's just every day you figure out how to like take five minutes and just think about all the things you might be grateful for that day.

Right. Or that's in your life, but be specific. Don't be like, Oh, I'm grateful for my mom. Be like, Oh, I'm grateful. I talked to my mom today. That felt really good to like, have a good conversation. I'm grateful we had lunch today. Right. Be a little bit more specific with it. Um, with your, with your gratitude and that'll like, And if you do one of those three things well, it doesn't matter what you do in life, entrepreneur, employee, anything, I just think life gets really good.

Wes: no, that's really great perspective too. And that's the one thing that's resonating with me is all of that, but just the little things, right. Or like, don't sweat the small stuff. I mean, there was an incident when I was on an airplane recently. And in my mind, I mean, it's taken me a long time to get to this point and I, and I still have to work hard, but I'm like, I'm traveling 600 miles per hour in an aluminum tube, 30, 000 feet above earth.

Like it's not that big of a deal. Right. I mean,

Scott: Not that big of a

Wes: but it's, it's hard. Right. I think it's a mindset, but anyway, I think, uh, Scott, thanks so much. I appreciate your share. Uh, you do amazing work. You're a great guy. I really thank you for

Scott: You know, thanks for having me. This was a lot of fun.

Wes: Awesome. Well, if you learn something today, uh, tell us something about the podcast, Scott.

Thanks so much. This has been another exciting episode of Entrepreneur Intel. Uh, we'll see you next time. Thank you.