Doug sits down with Julia Machado, Vice President of Internal Operations at Price Modern. Julia shares her journey from designer to operations leader, and why the most impactful sales meetings include the designer. She discusses the beauty of uncovering “I didn’t know that” moments, both in business and in life, and how those moments can spark transformation.
Welcome to The Love What You Do podcast. I'm your host, Doug Shapiro. These are the conversations that open doors to what's possible when you love what you do.
All right. I've got some good warmup questions for you. Uh oh. Before we jump into, I was trying to think. Okay. What my book would be called? I got all like, the prep from yesterday, folks.
Oh, I, you know, I only asked that to one person is 'cause they were talking about books. So
Yeah.
I want, unless you want to ask, answer that question.
No, I feel like I, I am, uh, skewed on reading 'cause I do audible. I don't have time to read. And if IF. Pick up a book. At the end of the day, I'm gonna fall asleep. So I'm, I read through Audible, and so I judge books by, oh, it's a 12 hour book, or it's a eight hour book. I have no idea how many pages it
are. So you, you did the quote Marks reading.
Yeah.
Does that mean, uh, do you count Audible as reading? Yeah, I do too. Yeah. I don't see the difference. I mean, it's like's the same
information.
Words entering your brain. Yeah, yeah,
yeah.
Okay. I'm glad we could agree on that. You're gonna, you're gonna do okay. Now
my library is very big then, if that counts.
All right. Uh, warmup questions. Here we go.
Okay.
Uh, your first ever CD that you bought
cd Um, I didn't buy very many. I stole 'em from my older sister. Does that count? Um, I do remember gonna Sam goodie to, to peruse the CDs. Sam Goodie, uh, it might have been Paula Abdul.
Nice.
If that's a acceptable answer.
Yeah,
totally acceptable. Uh, all right. Most memorable outfit from high school or junior high.
Um, outfit. I don't know. I didn't have really a favorite. I would say it was probably the baggy jeans and the wide legs, which, you know, has all somehow come full circle thanks to our Super Bowl. Uh, uh, last presentation that they had with Kendrick Lamar and his big wide bell bottom legs.
Um, just jeans. I've always been a jeans and a t-shirt. Respect. Yeah, that's where I'm most comfortable.
I respect it. Um, all right, uh, your career theme song.
Ooh. Um, I don't know my career theme song. It's ongoing. I don't think it's, it's, uh, got its full melody yet.
So you're still built, you still,
I'm still, I'm still, uh, composing it.
Should we say,
you know what's funny? That has been the most difficult question.
Yeah.
For every guest.
I guess it depends on the day or the week or, you know, if it's been a struggling week or if it's been, um, you know, riding the high of winning projects and being, you know, on top of your game or. Yeah.
Yeah.
So you need something that has
a very emotional,
maybe like the 1812 Overture. I'm like,
I was thinking more like classical music side of it, so.
Awesome. Well, welcome to the Love What You Do podcast.
Thank you,
Julia. I'm super excited you're here.
Thank you. I'm honored.
VP of Internal Operations at Price Modern.
Yeah, as of last week.
As of last week. Congratulations.
Thank you.
Um, I, I know you've been very loyal and you've had a lot of time there. Multi-location Hayworth dealer across dc
Yep.
Um, so yeah, very, very excited that you're here.
It's,
uh, you know, I, this, this is about loving what you do, right. But it's also about asking questions and opening doors to new perspectives.
When we talked leading up to this, one of the things you had mentioned was, uh, how do we know. When we're getting to the good stuff, when it comes to our clients, our friends, our colleagues, I'm like, all right. That's a really good question. Yeah. There's a lot of directions that can go, so you're gonna have to take me there.
Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I think it's a big part of, you know, my moving into this role. And so, uh, I was talking to our mutual friend Wes, and he had brought up, you know, there's certain things of, you know, how do you, you can't really measure. Successful operations, right? Like how am I supposed to measure my success in this new role?
And I think that's one of the biggest things I have to overcome is with design. Your sense of completion is in this beautiful design, right? And you have a drawing to show for it, and you've got an installation to show for it. But with working in operations and the processes, it's not gonna have this huge satisfaction, um, of, Hey, look what I did.
Right? It's all behind the scenes. And so it's gonna be hard to quantify, um, that success. And I think that part of that's gonna come from people saying, oh, I didn't know that. You know, and it's not just. You know, spatting off random bar facts, like last night's furniture, bottle of tequila, uh, that it was.
Um, but getting them to see things in different perspectives and, and through different lenses. And so it'll be a process. I know that. Um, for sure.
So let's go a little deeper. Uh, 'cause you said getting them to say, wow, I didn't know that.
Yeah.
Like, what do you, like, where are you going with that exactly. Uh,
so more of, um.
I, so part of my, my career path, I've been obviously in design for 17 years. I dabbled in sales and I saw a lot of different perspectives from the sales side, knowing that what I was asking of design and then being that designer, knowing what sales is asking of me. And so to get to, um, to. Getting people to understand what each other is doing.
I think that we're so often siloed in what we do day in and day out, and we're just driven by the results. That getting to see what other people are doing and how we can help each other, um, I think is gonna be really helpful and say, oh, I didn't know it took a designer four hours to create that drawing.
Right. So you have a better appreciation of. What you're asking somebody to do. Um, and then in turn, knowing design, knowing what sales has to do with that quote at the end of the day before it goes to the customer. So, you know, full big picture, overall view of things.
I actually, I kinda like this connection of, um, like, oh, I didn't know that, like, that reaction to knowing that you're getting to the good stuff.
Yeah.
Because. You know, it's, it's beyond just like interdepartmental understanding, which is kind of where we're going here, but like,
yeah,
I feel like it, it goes deeper into, you know, like how many times do you hear that? From a family member. Yeah. Like, are are we digging deep enough? Yeah. Are we being curious enough?
Yeah.
To where, you know, like I'm learning something new about my wife, who I've been married to for like 20 years. Yeah. You know, like,
yeah.
Wouldn't that be cool? Yeah. Like to get to that level.
Yep.
More often. Um, especially with, I mean, the easy thing to do it with is with clients and colleagues, right?
Yeah. Is to get that reaction.
Yeah. They didn't know what we could, what we were capable of. Maybe either, so.
Oh my gosh. Yeah. I mean. Even to react that way to yourself. It's kind of funny, you know, like a, if, if you watch a kid achieve something
Yeah.
Sometimes they'll surprise themselves. They do. And you can genuinely see it on their face.
Yeah. Like, yeah,
look what I did.
Yeah,
it's
true. It's, we get there enough.
Yeah. Yeah.
That's good. I, I like that is when we're getting to the good stuff.
Yeah. And it's, I, you know, doing this for 17 plus years, I don't. Pretend to know everything about it. I fully anticipate learning a lot myself, um, or hosting a lot of these, you know, lessons learned project meetings lately.
And it's, I'm constantly being, um, myself saying, wow, I didn't know that. You know, I didn't know that that's what happens on site or how we can prevent that. From happening earlier on, you know, the good and the bad. And so how can we make it easier for other folks? And, um, I'm looking forward to it. It's been very eye-opening within the one week.
It's been already, but
yeah, I'm sure. Um, let's get into your role a little bit since you know we're on this topic.
Yeah.
It's, you know, you got your hands in a million things you, you did already. It's not like, um, the entirety of the role is new to you, right? No, it's because there's a lot of elements to it that you've already been exposed to or had already been leading.
Yeah.
Um. You know, take me into like a, a typical, you know, week. I mean, how many, how many departments, how many things are your hands in here?
A lot. Um, I think right now I'm more in the discovery phase of everything, which is kind of funny. I had a previous boss call me Sherlock, that was his nickname for me.
'cause I just had to get to the bottom of everything. I had to figure out, you know, either how the parts went together for the furniture or I had to figure out the process and how it worked. Um. And I think that's kind of where I am right now is, you know, understanding where people are, um, what their roles are, what they believe they know, and then where the gaps are that they just don't know.
That they don't know. Um, and so I think before I can move forward with trying to. Put new things into place or, um, to initiate new processes. I gotta figure out where we all stand. And I'm still kind of gathering that research and figuring out where things are. So, um, I'm taking care of, and right now focusing on the sales and design perspective of it, my counterpart is working on more of the accounting and financing and invoicing side.
Um, and then we have a VP of external operations who takes care of the warehouse through installation and, and, um. And things. So between the three of us, you know, we kind of cover from front to back as far as the whole process. And so there'll be a lot of mastermind brainstorming, uh, conversations for sure.
I love, I love the Sherlock nickname. I, I kind of like, it made me be a little reflective on myself. It's like, um. You know, we gotta make sure we actually do that right? Yeah. Is like, take the time to go through discovery. Yeah. To, to, to go a little deeper. Um, it's easier, I think to, I don't know what the counterpart to a detective would be, but to be a doer.
Yeah. You know, and just start engaging. I think being a Sherlock is kind of a cool,
it's
fun, cool. Little challenge, you know?
Yeah. Yeah.
Um, so, all right. You're, you're running all over. With your job.
Yep.
Um, you're also a mom.
Yes. Yes.
Uh, and a wife.
Yep.
Uh, so you've got the family thing going.
Yeah.
Does life ever slow down for you or, or no.
Or do you find moments to stop and, you know, ev see things
every once in a while? Um, yeah. I'm very proud of my 11-year-old daughter. Uh, my husband and I have 17 years, uh, marriage coming up. We've known each other forever. Um, and they're definitely a really strong support system for me. Um, it's important for me that my daughter sees me in that.
Per in that way, you know, um, just as a working mom and that, you know, you still have times to go to every soccer game. And, you know, I will say that price Modern's been very supportive of me and my personal, um, side of things. 'cause it's a balance, right? It's not just the work from home balance, it's, you know, being there for your family so that you can, you know, be more present at work as well.
Um, it, so there was, uh, you know. Couple, couple years ago, someone would say, no, you just gotta stop and smell the roses. Every once in a while it's like, I time to smell roses. You know, I barely have time to, you know, get the laundry done on the weekends before the work starts. And so, um, I took it quite seriously and, uh, I planted one Rose Bush and I was like, all right, I can, I can.
Keep this one plant alive. And it's funny seeing all the beautiful plants around here. Um, all my interior plants are plastic and it's all I can do to keep them alive and, and dust free. Um, succulents, I can still kill those. That's a talent I have. Um, but I really just focused on this one Rose Bush for a while and, um, I.
It was a, it was a sense of satisfaction, you know, it was something peaceful at the end of the day. Just, you know, pick a couple dead leaves off here and there. And I'm not a rose expert. I do not have a green thumb yet, and I'm still working on it. And then you bring in the added factor of, uh, we have deer in our neighborhood, and so they just, they'll just eat all of it.
Right. You know, and then, oh my gosh. Lost it all. So, um, but it's been, it's been, um, a process and it's very gratifying. 'cause when you do get that beautiful bloom, it's like, I, I did that and I, I all these little moments that lead it up to it, um. That led up to it, were, were well worth it. And so, um, I think with our industry you don't get those moments of satisfaction very often.
Um, it's just so long from start to finish from the client initiation and their discovery phase and designing and lead times and then finally that installation. You know, it's just that aha moment. Um, and it's funny 'cause I was talking to a coworker who came to us from the medical field. And I was like, oh, you know, I really want you to go to site and you know, she's new with us.
And I said, I want you to go to site. So you get that sense of satisfaction, you know? 'cause I know it can take a while. She's like, I think this is so fast moving. She goes in the medical field, you have research and you're going through all these experiments and then at the end of three years you find out.
Nope. We gotta start all over again. And so it was, it was put it in perspective right. Of, of the way you're looking at things, so
Wow.
Um, yeah. Yeah.
Ah, that side by side is really interesting. Yeah. You know, it's like there's probably times when they feel like they're flying.
Yeah.
You know?
Yep.
And then they look at what we're doing and they're just like, and then there's other industries that look at us and they're like, yeah.
You can't put up an office in three weeks. Yeah. Like what's going on?
Amazon can get you your, your chair in 48 hours. And I think that's, you know, one of the struggles we have right now is with the industry expectations is it's the Amazon effect. Right? And so if I, why can't I get it in 48 hours? Well, 'cause that custom piece that you picked all the finishes for isn't sitting on a shelf, you know, and so,
well, I, I like this, uh, this change of, well, you instead of stop and smell the roses, you.
Stop and grow the roses. Yeah,
that's true. That's a good way of looking at it. Yeah.
I almost feel like that's a nice replacement, you know? Yeah. You
can't smell 'em until you grow and grow the rose. Right. And so I think that that's, you know, also a good theme for, you know, this new position for me is I have a lot to grow, you know, within the company.
And not just personally, but you know, for the company and how we can improve on processes that we're doing. So. Yeah.
So you're in a position where you're leading leaders in some cases.
Yeah. Yeah.
What are you looking for in a leader? Um, like what, what is it when you're looking, somebody young is listening and they're aspiring to Yeah.
Move into a new role or, um, what is it that would put them in that best position? I
think an open mind for sure. You know, even if you don't have the years of experience, or even if you do have the years of experience, you're not gonna know it all, right? I mean, it's gonna, you're gonna continually grow. Um, being open-minded to, to understanding where people are coming from.
It's not a, I do it this way, you do it this way and this is how it's done. There's lots of ways to get things done. Um. I think that, you know, you can't teach some old dogs new tricks, but old dogs also wanna know new tricks. Um, I think that the more experience we can bring to it and the more awareness, um, that there's, there's, I think that's one of the things within our industry that one size does not fit all.
Um, whether it's one office or whether it's a whole building, you know, it's not the same approach. And so I feel like time-wise, it's always very difficult to predict how long it'll take to get a project to completion. Um. Maybe you've got a decision maker that can just make all the decisions and it's gonna go a lot smoother.
Or it's somebody who you really need to be their trusted advisor for. And so I think just keeping an open mind of listening is a really big deal, um, to hear, hear their thoughts, hear where they're coming from, so that you can best respond to that and provide them with that advice.
That's good advice. Um, we'll, we'll stay on the career thing.
Okay.
You know, do you have any like, embarrassing career moments or like something I
do,
you know, that's like
I do, I dunno if it's appropriate. Um, so I was, uh, giving one of my first presentations as a showroom walkthrough. Um, and I remember it vividly. Uh, and so it was when the one and a half high lateral files were this big trend, right?
Oh, and there's a, you put a little cushion on it and you can sit here for quick meetings. And so I was speeding through this presentation. I was trying to explain to the guy and I said, oh, and these are great for quickies. And the guy just looked at me and I turned around and I just counted to 10. And then I said, quick meetings, and that's where we can have the, so yeah, that was probably my absolutely.
Shades of red, um, moment of embarrassment.
That is hilarious. I'll never look at the one and a half pile, uh, again, never look at same the
same way. Yeah. You're welcome.
It's hilarious.
Yeah.
Um, that's a good one. That's a good one. You know, it's funny, the stories that we build, you know, in our careers. I, I, I feel like.
So many good things happen and, um, when I'm asked for these stories,
yeah.
Um, and I'm put on the spot. I can never remember 'em in the moment. They're so funny. So I'm glad you remembered that.
Oh, mortified. Absolutely mortified. Yep. That one sticks
with
me. You weren't gonna forget that one.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
And you've been on podcast before?
Oh
one. So this isn't a new game for you? Uh,
it's a second game for me, so it's, uh, I'm very honored. It's been a, a whirlwind for sure. You know, just these past 10 days. Um. Turning 40, um, and then getting the promotion and now here with you. So it's, it's, yeah, I still am on that cloud right now for sure.
That's awesome. So this would be your chance to put something out into the universe.
Yeah.
Um, is there something like that, that you've thought about, Hey, this is a chance to, to put something out there. Is there something you wanna share?
Uh, just that I'm open to any and all advice. You know, I, I know that there's so much more out there.
Um, I, I was worried for a while that, you know, my only experience is with a dealer designer. That's all I've ever done since college. Um, so, and I've talked to a lot of other industry professionals, you know, with a and d firms or manufacturers. And, um, I'm just, I'm, my phone number's out there, just call me, you know, I'd love to hear different perspectives and how we can kind of collaborate better and, um, yeah, still in that discovery phase of just learning.
What else is out there and that how we can, you know, collaborate together. For sure.
I love that. Um, gosh, that's not what I was expecting though. It was actually a surprise. It was really cool. Yeah. Um, so let's talk about the, the profession. I know you are an advocate of, of the, the dealer design process and you've known and you've.
Honestly, you've innovated inside of that right? To develop new ways of actually thinking about the role of the dealer designer and how they engage. Um, are there, are there things that you feel like need to be explained better to the industry as a whole, or do you feel like it's generally understood?
I, I think there's a lot of, um.
Maybe misperceptions behind it, you know? And I think that that's something that, um, we had talked about earlier, you know, this morning about, you know, we added a whole bunch of designers to our team and thinking that, you know, it would help to, to spread out the workload and so that people could take a breath here and there, or take a lunch.
And so we added five designers to our group and thinking, you know, I'm gonna throw all the resources at it. Um, and it still didn't have as much pain relief as I thought it was gonna be. And so, you know, trying to find different ways and perspectives to. Um, get designers to be out in front of customers, I think is, is a huge benefit that not a lot of people are utilizing.
Um, you know, yes, sales is supposed to go out in sale, um, but then bringing your designer with you. Um, there was an article I wrote couple, couple years ago about, you know, it's like bringing your mechanic to buy a car, right? And it's, it, um, it's that trusted advisor. It's, they're looking at things differently, right?
You're, you're not gonna get sold a car with problems if you've got your mechanic there. Can't design something or overpromise something that'll fit in the space without having your designer there. And so having them be there with you, um, I think is just so powerful that I wish, you know, was doing done more often.
I love that analogy. Yeah. That is really cool. Do you have any others?
Um, I, it my, back to the article, it was more about, you know, similar to cars is, is designing the office, you know, you're talking the furniture or the finishes within the space, or the materiality and the colors. And, um, there's a car for every budget and there's an office for every budget too, you know, and it's where you wanna spend those, those dollars to make it worth what you're looking for.
So.
I love it.
Yeah.
Um, all right. I, I feel like you have this, uh, you, you understand the love that you do vibe. You almost wore the T-shirt you said. Yeah. Let's, let's talk about loving what you do even on tough days.
Yeah.
Um, do you have a strategy that kind of leans into optimism or how do you use optimism?
Yeah,
as a tool.
Um, I have a little sign on my desk that says, uh, everything is figureoutable. Um, because I think it is right. Um, even when an installation goes south and you gotta figure it out. We'll figure it out. Maybe it's not what we should have done from the start, but we can figure it out. You know, it's not rocket science.
It's furniture might feel like rocket science and heart surgery at certain times, um, with the pace that we move and the importance that we feel. Um, but yeah, it's, it's everything's. We can get through it all and it's just taking a step back. I think that, you know, that's one of the most exciting things I'm looking forward to in this role is having the time to be able to look at things.
Um, you know, when you're in the moment with design and, um, you're striving for that end goal or that delivery or that, you know, install date, you don't have time very much to reflect about, you know, looking back at it or maybe looking at it from a different angle. And so you've been looking at the same design over and over for so long.
You just need that other set of eyes. And so I don't think I'll ever. Fully be able to step away from design. You know, that's something that was very bittersweet for me. And I told the designers, I said, look, just show me a plan every once in a while. Let me, let me get my feet wet and keep my toes in the sand.
And, um, I think that it's, you know, hopefully that'll be helpful to them as well. It's just a different perspective, but of the perspective of somebody who's been in those shoes. So.
I, I love all these little nuggets of wisdom. Everything's figureoutable. Yeah. Stop and grow the roses. Bring your mechanic when you buy a car.
Yep. Right?
Yep.
There's a lot there. Um, I
make t-shirts, now I gotta all the slogans in the back
t-shirts and bumper stickers.
Yep.
Um, this is awesome. So I guess, uh, is there a question maybe that you were hoping I would ask you that I haven't asked yet?
I don't know. I was, I was a little nervous about the questions we were talking last night with the other folks you've, you've already interviewed.
And it's like, it's not just about furniture. We're getting deeper than that. And so I think that's also a, a very valid, important fact of, it's not just always about furniture, right? It's getting to what our clients are looking for. It's getting to what they need out of their space. And, you know, there's, it goes a little bit deeper and I think that's what's, that's what I find, you know, is the fun part of it is getting to the depth of it, of things we didn't know.
Let's do that then. Okay, let's do that. So like, uh, if you were gonna host a podcast
Yeah.
And it wasn't about our industry, what would that podcast be? Um, and who would you talk to? I
don't, I, I, again, I feel very siloed 'cause I've only been doing dealerships for, for so long. Um, but even learning last night, you know, I think we found that everybody's career path wasn't like doctors, right?
They weren't, they didn't go to medical school and then do your residency and become a doctor. There's no straight path to, I think, how a lot of people in our industry got to where we are. Um, so how did we get to it? You know? I would say I was definitely the. The, um, abnormal one through throughout college, who, when I was seven, I was rearranging my bedroom.
I knew I wanted to be a designer. Um, I cut out all the lamps in a magazine and put 'em in a book. I cut all the sofas out, put 'em in a book. And so then I went to school for design and I became a designer. Like, that's not normal. I know that. Yeah,
that's not
much of
a squiggly line there.
Um. But, you know, I also hated my office furniture class in college, and here I am in that industry.
So I think it's just keeping that open mind. And I would just love to understand how people went from one extreme to another. Like, you went to school for teaching, but you became a doctor. Or like, what was that, that pivot point, um, that got you to, to completely change careers? And how did you use what you either went to school for or didn't go to school for?
And maybe that provides, you know, a fresh perspective, um, in that career field. Um. That can, that can benefit, you know, the corporation.
I like that. I feel like we could call it like the squiggly line, you know? Yeah. Or like the, you know, the path less traveled. Yeah. Uh, that's, that's a little hokey. But
I do have a sign in my office for, at my daughter's height and it says, um, color outside the lines.
Love that, because I do think that's important too. Yeah. So it's not, you don't have to stay within the confines of it.
So, you know, you're telling this story about how you, you hated your office furniture class. Yeah. You know, and now you're like, as far deep into that, you
know, can't go
any
further. Yep.
I kind of have this similar situation where I remember as a kid.
My, it was something where my mom had something, she was outta town and my dad had to take me to work on a sa He had to work on a Saturday. Yeah. So he had to take me to work and he worked as like a quality, um, metallurgist at a metal company that made Wow. Metal materials and I had to go into his office and it was kinda one of those like, here, stay in this conference room.
Like lock the door, I'll come get you when it's over.
Here's a whiteboard.
Yeah, yeah.
Start doodling.
And I'm in this conference room, in this office in like 1986 or something. Yeah, right. And, and I'm looking out into this office and I'm like. This looks terrible. Like,
I don't wanna do this.
I hope I never have to do what my dad does.
Yeah. You know, because I'm like, it looks so boring. You know? Like no one's, you know, it just was so distant from Joy as a kid. Yeah. Like from what you imagined Joy to be.
And did you think that you would be making that a better situation for everybody? I don't, you know, how many years later that's what your problem you're solving?
It is. Like, literally like not only am I in an office, I'm in an office. That works on other offices. It's like so funny making
them better. Right. So maybe that was your impactful moment of like, this should not be how people work. I'm gonna make it better. We're gonna have nicer things. And you know, I could be,
maybe that was the moment.
It could be. It could be. But that, that day always stuck in my head because I think it put some weird little fear in me of like, oh my God, this is what adults do. And like this is, this is what I'm gonna have to do when I grow up. And like, I don't want this, you know? Yeah,
it's true.
It's kind of funny. Yeah,
the metal desks of row after row and how much it's changed now and
yeah.
Yeah. That's true. Good memories.
Yeah.
Um, any, anything like that stick out in your head? From, you know, just when you were younger and you thought about what you'd be doing now.
Um, my mom was a, was the amazing stay at home. Martha Stewart, Pinterest mom, before that was a thing. Um, going to work with my dad, uh, was here's a marker, start, walk, you know, draw pictures on, on the whiteboard while, you know, he had meetings and such.
But, um. No, I don't think there was an office impact for me. I think, uh, in college it was, I dunno if it was the systems we were working on, or maybe it was just, you know, the, the word cubicle that just didn't do it for me. Um, but I also don't think that, you know, almost 20 years ago, uh, that, that the, that the workspace, um, had as many exciting things as we do now.
It's not just cubicles and panel systems. It's so much more. And then, you know, going through the pandemic and, um. We were with the talk of everything, and I think we are now as well as far as our industry of, are you going back to work? What are you doing? What is your office doing? And it's like we're the everyday conversation now.
That's true. That's true. And so it's really cool to, to listen to people, you know, even the elevator speech, not just the weather's doing whatever. It's, you know, are you going back to work? What's your work policy? And it's like. That's research every day, and it's totally acceptable. It's not as, you know, out of the blue as it would've been 20 years ago.
Um, so it's been really fun to see the evolution of, of where we've come from and where we're continuing to go.
That's pretty cool. Um, all right, let's do a love what you do wrap up.
Okay.
We'll finish this sentence. Uh, when you love what you do.
You have a smile on your face. Um, I think that it's, it's infectious.
Um, yeah, there's gonna be challenging moments and yeah, there's tough days and, um, but, you know, still giving that, that aura of positivity and look, everything's figureoutable, we'll get it done. Um, when you love what you do, you're willing to, to find the fix, to find what's gonna make it better. Um. When you love what you do, you enjoy it.
I think that was also something that, um, my grandfather had said was, you find something you like to do and find a way to make money around it. Right? So just because you like to ride horses, if you're not gonna be able to make that into a career, that there's a difference between hobbies and careers.
Right? Um, and so the fact that I loved rearranging. Bedrooms at seven and, you know, got into this furniture world. Um, yeah, it was, it was an actual career path too. So it was,
you are lucky in that way. Like seriously?
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
That's awesome. It
was fun.
Hey, you were a great interview.