Business
How One Company Learned to Pivot Their Business During COVID-19, Egoscue of Atlanta
Published
4 years agoon
Calvin Murray talks about positioning his business to work in a COVID-19 environment, and how technology and rethinking his approach helped his company Egoscue of Atlanta continue on their mission to eliminate chronic pain and assist those that come to them to enjoy active living. With your hosts, Karl Barham and Rico Figlioliini recorded socially safe in Peachtree Corners.
Resources:
Website: www.egoscue.com/find-therapy/egoscue-atlanta/
Phone Number: (678) 528-2393
Social Media: @EgoscueofAtlanta
Timestamp (where in the show to find the topic):
[00:00:30] – Intro
[00:03:11] – About Calvin and the Egoscue Method
[00:05:38] – First Years of Business and COVID
[00:07:47] – Pivoting the Business
[00:09:59] – Balancing Life
[00:11:33] – Technology in Business
[00:17:39] – Helping People in Pain
[00:20:46] – Government Aids
[00:22:19] – Connecting with Your Community
[00:25:03] – Keeping Your Head Right
[00:27:23] – Plans for the Upcoming Months
[00:28:40] – Closing
“Our slogan is connect and correct. If we can’t connect with you, then how in the world are we going to be able to help you? It’s not about us at all. It’s all about the person in front of us. Once we do that, we’re able to help correct whatever issues that they do have going on with their bodies.”
calvin murray
Podcast transcript:
Karl: [00:00:30] Welcome to the Capitalist Sage Podcast. We’re here to bring you advice and tips from seasoned pros and experts to help you improve your business. I’m Karl Barham with Transworld Business Advisors. My cohost is Rico Figliolini with Mighty Rockets Digital Marketing, and the publisher of the Peachtree Corners Magazine. Hey Rico.
Rico: [00:00:49] Hey Karl. Good to be here.
Karl: [00:00:51] Well, I know a lot of people are reading the magazine this month. I’ve seen it all over doing a great job of bringing stories to the community. Why don’t we talk about our sponsors today.
Rico: [00:01:02] Sure. Our lead sponsor is Hargray Fiber. They’re a fiber optic company that provides services in the Southeast, especially here in Peachtree Corners and Lawrenceville these markets, but certainly Macon, Tallahassee, a whole bunch of places throughout the Southeast. They’re dealing with small companies as well as larger companies that provide smart office, smart office technology, to be able to get people teleworking and corporates, corporations, to be able to do the things they need to do to be able to work smarter and fast in this environment. So they’re not like that the cable guy, these guys are out there, they’re in the community, helping out. Working with every place that they’re in, and they’re reachable and they’re always there for you. So check them out. HargrayFiber.com/business, and you’ll see what they have. They also are doing a promotion that, let me share that with you. It’s a thousand dollar gift card. So if you’d be, if you ended up doing a, put that out in front. If you end up calling them up or checking them out there’ll be able to, you might be able to qualify for that thousand dollar gift card as well. So thank you for Hargray to be our lead sponsor.
Karl: [00:02:12] Yes. It’s more important than ever that folks get their internet right and Hargray Fiber is here to help business owners in the community and residents alike, so thank you for them again. Today’s guest is a good friend, Calvin Murray. Who’s here to talk to us about how small business owners are managing COVID-19. Calvin is a co-owner of Egoscue of Atlanta based in Sandy Springs, Georgia. And he’s here to tell us a little bit about his journey to entrepreneurship. How he’s dealing with COVID-19 and some of the plans for the future. Hey Calvin, how you doing?
Calvin: [00:02:51] Karl, Rico, I’m doing great. Thanks for having me guys.
Karl: [00:02:54] Oh, no problem. Now I know for a lot of people, Egoscue’s going to be new to some people. So I’m going to ask you to introduce yourself, help them with the pronunciation and the spelling of it. And tell us a little bit about what you guys do.
Calvin: [00:03:11] Sure thing, so the Egoscue Method, is a different way of looking at the body. You look at the body as a whole, a lot of practitioners do. But for you in particular, Karl, if you said, Hey Calvin, my right knee has been hurting for five years. I haven’t been able to find the relief that I need. To me or to the Egoscue Method, we know that that right knee is a symptom.
There’s something else in your body that’s dysfunctional and that’s causing that right knee to hurt. And it’s our job to find that dysfunction in your body. You may be a dentist, or you may sit for a living, but that’s not the reason why that right knee is hurting. Something else in your body is the reason why your right knee is hurting. So we figure out what it is and we start to treat from that area and help you create balance and alignment in your body. What do you know that right knee pain just goes away. Egoscue of Atlanta is the name of our company. We’re a franchise and we are originally from out of San Diego. Pete Egoscue, that’s where the last that’s where the name comes from, his last name is how it began. He was injured in Vietnam and could not find the relief and figured that he had to do it on his own. He created the method and lo and behold, he’s doing great today. Pain-free and we helped so many other people live a pain free and active lifestyle as well.
Karl: [00:04:28] So tell me a little bit about how you and your wife came to this or chose this as an entrepreneurial venture for you and tell us how it’s been so far.
Calvin: [00:04:38] Yeah, funny enough. I moved here in 2004. I’m a Georgia native and I’m from Augusta, Georgia. Haven’t been back since all right, outside to see our parents. But I started in the security business, a great mentor in that business who is actually president of a large security company now, and still in my life as a mentor. And then I transitioned into the securities business while worked for a major broker dealer and really got a taste of what running your own business looks like. In 2011, my wife and I had an opportunity to franchise. And, a few years ago we decided, Hey, let’s serve in a different manner and let’s run this practice as a family practice versus us doing two different things. So we planned for it and early last year, we made the leap. And we both work together now. You know, one run’s therapy. And I run the operations and the marketing, as well as therapy.
Karl: [00:05:38] Oh, that’s fabulous. Well, as you started the business, over the last couple of years, what were some of the things that you learned about yourself and about business in your first few years?
Calvin: [00:05:51] I’ll tell you every, almost any question that you asked me about learning about myself comes back to it not even being about me. It’s about the people that work with you. And it’s about our clients. So what am I doing on daily basis to put them first, my clients and to put my employees first, and quite frankly, put my wife first as well. Once I started to figure that out, things really changed for the better for our company.
Karl: [00:06:22] Wow. So this year, 2020, I don’t think anyone could have predicted what 2020 would look like? I’m curious, when you first heard about COVID-19 and the pandemic, what were you thinking about it and how are you thinking about the impact on your business?
Calvin: [00:06:44] Well, when I first heard about COVID-19, it was still football season in 2019. So, I was more focused on that and we wondered, Hey, is it real? Is it a media deal? You know, what is it? You know, we just didn’t know, it wasn’t here yet back in December and November.
And by the time the new year came around, it started to get closer to home. Even in February, in March, it was closer to home but it was still a question of, you know, are we gonna, is it going to affect us here in the States? That went from about five miles an hour to a hundred miles an hour in about three days. We couldn’t believe how fast we were converting from having all our clients come into the clinic to saying, Hey, our doors, we have to close our doors so we can’t be in here. We can’t be around each other. We can’t be in groups. You know, we have to pull our children out of school. And just continue to fill in the blank. It happened so fast.
Karl: [00:07:47] Yeah. If you think about it, your business as a location where people would come in and you would, you know, hands on approach to helping people dealing with their pain and so on. When you closed your doors or knew you had to close your doors, what were some of the ways you were thinking that you could or have been able to pivot your business?
Calvin: [00:08:12] Karl, I have to tell you that we were super confident in pivoting our business. The unique thing about the Egoscue method, in our method for helping people get out of pain and stay out of pain is, we don’t touch you. We don’t have to touch you. So for us, changing from clients coming into our clinic to operating over zoom, operating over Skype teams, whatever it may be. We were able to do that quick, fast, and in a hurry. Now here’s the deal, we had already started to do that years before. We were doing therapy over Skype years ago. And about 20% to 25% of our business was due to Skype even before the pandemic. It was all about converting everyone from, you know, being in person to Skype or zoom. Going forward, that was a bit of a challenge, but we made it happen. Even to the point where some people say, look, we’ll never come back until your clinic again, I don’t have to sit in traffic. I just want to continue to do it from home.
Rico: [00:09:17] Did you get a lot of support from the corporate parent of the company?
Calvin: [00:09:22] Oh my goodness. Being in the Egoscue family is like being in no other family that I can think of franchise wise. Pete Egoscue every single Friday, we’re on a call with all of us from all the owners. But not only all the owners, all the therapists around the company as well. I mean, the guy’s a visionary and everyone’s found so much motivation in him calming the masses, throughout the entire country and the world because we have clinics in Japan. I just, I couldn’t be a part of a better family, a better franchise.
Karl: [00:09:59] Well, so a pandemic hits and leadership matters. Bringing people together and coming up with a plan to help support the whole network was a key bit of how you were successful. I’m curious, you’ve got young children, I know. How do you manage balancing the new constraints that so many people are facing? You own your own business and both you and your wife work in the business you’re kids, that you’re currently, you know, that have to, they can’t go to camps and different outlets. How do you find managing that? And how’s that impacted how you work?
Calvin: [00:10:40] I can’t say that I’m managing it well or balancing it well. It’s a, everyday is a new adventure. But it’s so much fun to figure it out every single day. With my wife and I, you know, we’ve created a pretty good system on teaching our children in the morning with digital learning. Or, and then, you know, getting work done in between time or we’re getting work done at the end of the day. So much communication has to happen within our household. Not only communication with her and I, but communication with our children and communication with our staff, as well as communication with our clients. It all has to be on par and it also, it all has to be up to date. And you have to be clear because time is of the essence with everything that we do. If it’s not clear, then we have issues.
Karl: [00:11:33] There’s an interesting thing that’s happened as we’re all leveraging technology to do work. And I understand a lot of knowledge workers make sense that they work, they can have access to their computer. In your type of work how are you able to service your clients through these different technologies and help them with their pain and posture. What does that look like?
Calvin: [00:12:00] I mentioned earlier that we operate over zoom, but we also operates under any of the different other ones that they feel comfortable with. A good amount of our clients are, 70 and older and not everyone 70 and older necessarily wants to deal with a computer or deal with zoom. But we’re able to help them navigate through that or help them just navigate through what they already have. So take for instance, a new client that calls in, Oh, hey, this is Sue. Sue, I see that you’re on an iPhone. Let me take a look at that. I can immediately hit FaceTime. And make it easy for her. All she has to do is answer the phone. If she’s on, if she has an Android, I’m able to help her download Skype or help her download zoom. Whatever it may be, we’re able to help them and walk them through the technology in order for them to use it. And in order for them to make it easy, not sit in traffic and not get out into the public where some people just prefer not to be right now.
Rico: [00:13:03] Has the technology helped you in other ways, like, analytics, maybe? I mean, what aspects that surprisingly has helped maybe in what you’re doing?
Calvin: [00:13:14] Yeah. We use quite a few different softwares in order to create data points so we can set metrics for ourselves. Quite frankly, all social media is one of them. Our social media, it gives us new data points in order to continue to push out content to people that is interesting to them in order for them to want to be, interested in what it is that we do. But internally, there are so many data points. We use MindBody for scheduling and revenue and things of that nature. We also use Constant Contact. There’s so many different data points that come from that, that allow me to create different metrics for our therapists, for follow up and also for projections going forward.
Karl: [00:13:58] You mentioned a couple of things there. How did you learn to use some of those tools yourself? Did you get help on constant contact, mind and body, some of the tools that you’re using in your business. How did you learn to come to master that.
Calvin: [00:14:17] It’s trial and error. If I say that I’m an expert in that, then I would not be telling the truth. And that wouldn’t be clear either. I’ve leveraged other business owners, and within our franchise. I’ve leveraged other therapists within our franchise as well, to help me walk through some of this different stuff, some of the software that we have. But the other thing about software is, you know, once you start play around with it, you generally are able to figure it out within the next 30 minutes to an hour or so.
Rico: [00:14:46] Is the, is the mind and body, is that part of the franchise setup or is it like a whole separate software outside?
Calvin: [00:14:53] It is. It is part of the franchise set up. So we all, you know, from San Diego to New York, to Atlanta, to Jupiter, Florida, we all, we all use.
Rico: [00:15:02] So let me ask this as far as business works, that makes it great for appointments for bookkeeping, for tracking hours of not only the members, but also the therapist that you have, I guess. Does it wrap all that together for you?
Calvin: [00:15:18] Wraps all of it together for us.
Karl: [00:15:20] Yeah, MindBody is one of the more popular systems that’s used in a lot of fitness, health, businesses, or for a lot of reports and data. Can you describe, how do you use data from something like that and other data points? What type of data do you use to help you make business decisions?
Calvin: [00:15:40] Well, before COVID we’d use it to project, what next year looked like, what the next month would look like. You know, and even what the next week should look like for better terms. These days, we’re trying to figure out what revenue looks like weekly you know, quite frankly. Now the good news is since March, I mean things have just progressively gotten better. And it’s all because of things that we decided to do, once COVID hit. One thing was, we felt super confident in our ability to pivot. So our ability to pivot did not take up so much time. With that I was able to start to build other referral alliances. I said, well, we have good referral alliances. This is a great time to build more. What can I give away to people in order to start building good referral alliances? During this time we start to coach our girls, coach our therapists a whole lot more. Because we started, we’re already showing our humanity with them. Because when you’re in a small company like us, you know, people want to know that you understand them. They come to work everyday and they loved the Egoscue method and they love to practice it with our clients that come in. But at the end of the day, I mean, I have a family at home. I mean they come in and they work, but they want to get paid. In the end they want to interact with people who get them. People who feel where they’re coming from. And during COVID, they want to interact with people who feel like they’re in the same boat. You know, just because I’m the manager doesn’t mean that I can’t show my humanity to them. So, coaching the
girls has become like the catalyst to the growth that we’ve seen. I owe that all to my wife. She’s a much better coach than me.
Karl: [00:17:39] You know, you’re hitting on a couple of things that I think I saw a lot of the more successful business owners doing. That shift you made with using data to start projecting and forecasting weekly was one of the things that people started doing to understand their cash flows and on the demand was coming in there and using information and data. But you spent time in the years before to prepare yourself, to be able to have that. You weren’t creating that all of a sudden, figuring out how to pivot. It would have been much harder, probably, for you to be able to go to online if that wasn’t being built years ago. The capability to turn that technology on and the systems to support that would have taken some people months, possibly, to do that and planning for that there. But one of the things that I’m really interested in with all the people, COVID-19 created a major behavior shift where people aren’t going into offices anymore. They’re working from home that may not have been optimized for working from a desk and so on, which may lead to new stresses on the body that’s happening there. What are areas where you think this could, the market may have changed and how are you reacting to meet as customer preferences might be changing or the demand might be changing?
Calvin: [00:19:10] Sure thing. In our clinic we’re starting, we were already seeing a lot of back pain. And a lot of neck and shoulder pain and hip pain. Now we’re seeing an increase in headaches an increase in neck pain and an increase in carpal tunnel and in elbow tendonitis. And we attribute a lot of that to people sitting at home, they’re working, they’re on their video games. They’re sitting, they’re sitting, and they’re sitting. And the whole common denominator I can put any numerator up there, but the common denominator more than likely will be that they’re sitting. And anytime you sit a lot, that’s going to change the position of your body. Positions create conditions. So if you sit for five years straight and then you start to develop carpal tunnel or hip pain, then the position that you put your body in for five years started to create a dysfunction that made that hip or that, or those hands to start to hurt. Not only that we’re seeing the mental shift not only in adults, but also in children as well. We are not therapists in our clinic. We’re not therapists at all and not qualified for that. I’ll tell you what, there’s a lot of people that come into our clinic and we offer such a safe and quiet and soothing place that they just come in and talk. Just wanna talk about things. And we’re there to listen. Our slogan is connect and correct. If we can’t connect with you, then how in the world are we going to be able to help you? It’s not about us at all. It’s all about the person in front of us. Once we do that, we’re able to help correct whatever issues that they do have going on with their bodies.
Karl: [00:20:46] Have you been able to leverage any of the government programs through this care act, PPP loan, EIDL loans, family first act. How have you interacted with those programs and has it helped you navigate through this past summer?
Calvin: [00:21:06] Yeah, part of being a leader is that was not my expertise. Going out and figuring out what the SBA looks like what a loan looks like. However, I did reach out to people who were experts. Quite frankly, Karl, you were one of those people that I reached out to. He
just volunteered so much information. It was so super helpful for me in our business and our family. So we were able to take advantage of the PPP loan. We were not able to take advantage of the EIDL loan or any other ones. But we were kind of late, not in getting to the party. We were early filling it out, but late receiving the funds. But soon after we received the funds maybe a month later or so, the policy changed. And so we didn’t have to use it in eight weeks. And that was great because we really didn’t want to use it in eight weeks that helps. That was great.
Rico: [00:22:01] That was a great change in that, right? Eight weeks versus what was it? 24 or 30 weeks later. I mean, if you had no customers those first two months, it’s kind of odd to like, figure that, right. I mean, not at your business, but certainly in other businesses it was like that.
Karl: [00:22:19] That’s one of the things that I saw really fabulous happening here in the United States, people were reaching out and helping. No one knew what the answers were. Hell, Congress didn’t know what the answers were. But quickly, business owners and neighbors started talking, communicating, helping people figure out what to do, because I remember that week in March, the president went on air on a Wednesday and said, we’re going to start needing, shutting down. And the state started shutting down all of a sudden. And I think it started was, you know, three to four weeks and we’ll be back to normal. And meanwhile, business owners have to make plans. Do I order more inventory? Am I going to be able to open? What do I do with my employees? And it was a really, really nerve wracking time. But I think the support everyone provided to each other really helped in those initial weeks and months. And now, you know, as we go into their future, what are some of your thoughts on how the areas you need to focus on over the next, you know, 6 to 12 months. Now we know this is going to be with us for awhile. There might be some vaccines coming in from various places, but we don’t know when and how fast. Are there things that you learned during this that you think could help you not just survive through the next 12 months, but maybe even really thrive and excel?
Calvin: [00:23:45] Sure. You know, the first part of your statement, it really hits home because, you know, with some friends, I would say, look raise your hand if you’ve ever led a business or your family or a government agency through a pandemic, civil and racial unrest, inside of an election year. Nope. No one in any room is gonna raise their hand. So I generally just hold, are there any other individuals who are in leadership roles harmless? Because those guys have never navigated through anything like this, and we’re all just learning as we go. That’s why it’s so important to ask advice. That’s why it’s so important to reach out to people in positions where you aren’t necessarily an expert in it. For us, I’ve learned that I need other income streams. There is an opportunity for us in B2B. We operate in a BTC format. And just talking with other business owners within Egoscue method, you know, we’ve come up with a different way to start a revenue stream outside of just the consumer, but with other businesses as well. And that will be just with other practitioners who decide to get on board with that.
Karl: [00:25:03] Oh, that’s fabulous. I think that’s the way to look at the future as where are your opportunities and putting together a plan and making a decision to prepare yourself, to be able to capitalize on it. And that’s where I see a lot of small business owners are figuring that out. And that’s probably the advantage of being smaller. You don’t have to go to a lot of people to get buy in. You can make those changes quickly and try to implement them within your business and in your organization. So I’m curious, you and I have known each other for a little while. And it would be hard for me not to mention that we are basketball players that play at a local game at the Y during the week. And I’m curious, you know, as this goes forward there, you know, how are you going to navigate, you know, outside of the work environment, keeping yourself fit? What are some of the other things you’re doing to keep your head right? Because if your head isn’t right, it’ll be hard to be a good business leader. It’ll be hard to be a good father, husband, et cetera.
Calvin: [00:26:11] You know, you just hit, you struck a chord with me, Karl. I miss playing basketball so much. I haven’t played basketball since March. And that was, that was my deal. There was a lot of our deals. I mean, we had like 40 guys that we played with off and on. Coming in and out of the gym. So I missed playing gaps with, I missed playing basketball with all those guys, except for Jesse. But other than that I totally miss it. But it’s funny enough with my son’s school. We, you know, they have PE inside the curriculum here at home. So we just all do it as a family. He’s six years old and he’s just a jock. If you asked the kid, you know, the other day he told me, Texas A&M beat Arkansas. This is this. I was like, no, I looked it up. I said, you gotta be kidding. How’s this getting know this, he’s six years old. So we play a lot of ball. He rides skateboards, he rides you know bikes, and guess who has to do it with him, this guy. So, we live in a neighborhood with a basketball court, tennis courts and a swimming pool and things of that nature. So, I’m able to you know, stay in a little bit of shape with that, but I can’t wait to get back out there on the basketball court.
Karl: [00:27:23] I know. So many people, whatever their passion or sport or activity was not only was it the physical exercise piece, but the community that that’s built around here in greater Atlanta, Peachtree Corners, all over, that people miss. So it’d be great to get back to that. So why don’t you tell us, what do you have going on in the upcoming months? Anything you have planned?
Calvin: [00:27:46] Yeah. We just started a second location. We are down in a neighborhood called Serenbe. It’s actually a community on the edge of Atlanta. If you head down, 85 South. Right there in Chattahoochee Hills is where you will find Serenbe. And this is a nice little unique community, and you can find us there on Wednesdays in the motto area of Serenbe. So just started that here recently. I was so grateful to be able to find the opportunity in the face of crisis. And not only that, we’re going to hold it an event where we’re offering a free posture assessment for people who are going through different chronic pain issues, doing that virtually. And we’re also doing it in the clinic and they can find the information on social media @EgoscueofAtlanta, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Karl: [00:28:40] Why don’t you tell us the other ways if folks want to reach out and learn more about you, what’s the best way to reach you?
Calvin: [00:28:46] You can reach us directly at our phone number (678) 528-2393 and AtlantaAtEgoscue.com. And the way you spell Egoscue is, let’s see if I can do it phonetically. Echo, Golf, Oscar, Sam, Charlie, Uniform, and Echo.
Karl: [00:29:15] Oh, that’s great. That’s fabulous. Well, again, thank you Calvin Murray, co-owner of Egoscue of Atlanta. Just sharing, being willing to share your experience. It’s a scary time for a lot of business owners. And I know you’re very busy and you’re trying to navigate a lot of stuff, but I think you willing share that. Just know that other people are going through same thing you’re going through and they’re trying to figure it out and they’re going to be successful if they continue to do the things that have been proven to work, innovate, listen to your customers, adapt, do those types of things and also take care of yourself. Spend time with your family and do those things to make you the best business leader that you can be so I really appreciate that. I’m Karl Barham with Transworld Business Advisors this is another episode of the Capitalist Sage. Rico and I have been ecstatic to continue to share stories of local business owners here in the community that are doing just fabulous things in the community. Figuring out how to be successful and sharing those tips and advice with other people. At transworld, we’re continuing to grow and expand, helping business owners navigate the path to exiting their business or growing through acquisitions. A business brokerage is here to help people that are trying to figure out what’s the right path forward for them and their business. And you could reach us online at www.TWorld.com/Atlanta-Peachtree. Rico, why don’t you tell us a little bit about what you’ve got coming up?
Rico: [00:30:53] Sure. And before I even get to that I just want to. It’s always the same thing it seems. You know, the biggest thing that every entrepreneur and business owner shares with us is that they’re listening to the client right? Lori Denton did that on the last show, shared that with us as well. I mean, that’s where successes is, right? If you listen to the client, you’ll be able to, you’ll be able to do marvelous and miraculous things, both for your business and then for the client, it seems.
Karl: [00:31:22] Client and employees, the connection. I noticed that theme too. Connection with their employees staying through the crisis and beyond are going to help you be successful in the long run.
Rico: [00:31:33] Absolutely. And that’s, that’s where it’s at right? Cause otherwise, why are we here? Otherwise, we’re just working, right? You’re not building relationships. It’s not worth it. Mighty Rockets is my company. I also publish Peachtree Corners Magazine six times a year. the last issue just came out a week ago. It was a diversity issue on the cover story. In fact, Karl was one of our profiles and one of the seven profiles we did. It was a good issue. I think it’s been well received next issue is the October, November issue. So we’re working on that now. So that’s a pets and their people, talking a little bit about, you know, Halloween, Thanksgiving,
and probably the things we’re thankful for. I think that may end up being one of the major features in there, talking to different people and asking them what they’re thankful for this time of year. So we’re working on that. As far as Mighty Rockets, Social media marketing is what we do. Product videos, podcasts, a variety of things, managing social brands for companies. So reach MightyRockets.com. And as far as our lead sponsor, again, Hargray Fiber. I just want to say thank you to those guys for being a sponsor of the family podcasts that we do, and you can find out more about them at HargrayFiber.com/business. Let’s bring back in Calvin. Thank you. You’re just terrific. I appreciate you being on the show with us.
Calvin: [00:32:59] Thank you so much guys. I mean, this was awesome. Thank you for the invitation. I’m truly grateful that you invited me to be on.
Karl: [00:33:07] Thank you very much. You’re going to help a lot of people, especially after dealing with all those kids home learning. You know, a lot of people that’s going to have more than pains in their backs.
Calvin: [00:33:19] Yes, for sure. The other place. So I’m sorry, Rico?
Rico: [00:33:23] I was going to say, we’re at the end of our time together. So give us the last word there Calvin.
Calvin: [00:33:29] Guys, keep moving your body. Whenever you stop moving that that’s when you become sedentary, that’s when things set in. Even if you just get out and walk a half a mile, walk a quarter of a mile, do it once, do it twice, do it three times a week, whatever you do keep moving. So you don’t have to come see me.
Karl: [00:33:50] Thank you very much. Take care, everyone.
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Local small business owner has found a way to keep mosquitos at bay with natural remedies
Geoff Krstovic, a former firefighter, transitioned into the mosquito control business after a divorce, driven by the desire for flexible work.
“Nobody ever thinks they’re going to be into bugs and chemistry when they grow up,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘I want to be a firefighter. I want to be an astronaut.’ Nobody thinks that they want to go out there whacking bugs or says, ‘I want to be in pest control.’”
But as he progressed in his new career, Krstovic took an interest in how to get rid of pests without using harsh, man-made chemicals.
“The more certifications, the more promotions and everything that I got, [and] the more entomology classes I started taking, … I really started to realize what we were putting out into the environment,” he said.
“I spend 90% of my time outside, and I see so much wildlife. So, when I would see a deer eating a leaf or a rabbit run out of bushes that I just treated, it really made me start to think about the effects of what we were doing to them.”
Not to mention pollinators like bees and butterflies.
“When I [would finish a treatment], I’d look back at the yard and everything that I’d seen flying around was just gone,” he said.
As a parent and a pet owner, he knew there had to be a better way to get rid of pests but still safeguard ourselves and the animals around us.
With a growing concern for the environmental impact, he developed a natural mosquito treatment system. The company he was working for wasn’t interested in his new product, so he started his own business.
Road to pest control
Krstovic graduated from Georgia State with a major in English. He joked that many of his contemporaries in the field have similar backgrounds.
“There’s an ongoing joke in the pest community where it’s like … what do you go to college [for] to be a pest [control] owner? Well, you major in liberal arts, English or writers’ composition,” he said.
“A lot of the other owners I met had the same degrees. A big part of it is that creativity aspect, and in pest control, you’re allowed to think outside the box, and you’re allowed to adjust and adapt to what you’re seeing and use different methods.”
That desire to do things differently led him to find a way to help keep people safe from West Nile, Zika virus and Eastern equine encephalitis while they enjoyed time outdoors.
With a lot of research and a little help from relatives with backgrounds in chemistry and engineering, he came up with a formulation based on using essential oils.
The dangers of mosquitos
“After you meet your first client that tells you about their experience just walking to a mailbox and they get West Nile, it changes your perspective 100%,” Krstovic said, “because you’re not just out there killing bugs, you’re out there protecting people and their families.”
Mosquitos are often called the most dangerous animal on earth, with the diseases they spread killing over a million people annually according to statistics from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control.
While the more serious mosquito diseases don’t pose the greatest risk to most communities, there are common ailments that can show up in people and pets, including bites that get infected and heartworm in dogs.
Reaching out to the community
Though people were a little skeptical about Krstovic’s natural pest control methods at first, Erin Rhatigan decided to give it a try.
“Geoff cold-called our house in 2021 and revealed that he actually grew up in the house next door,” she said. “He really wanted to return to his roots and offer his services.”
Rhatigan has three young children, and with her home being situated on the Chattahoochee River, the outdoor areas are beautiful, but also plagued by a lot of mosquitos.
“We’re very focused on spending time outside, and our kids are very, very active, so they’re outside a lot,” she said.
But Rhatigan and her kids are also very sensitive to mosquito bites, and the spraying services she tried year after year weren’t satisfactory.
“I had gone through every franchise. I had used the large companies every season. I was switching because it seemed like it would be effective at the beginning, and then it would lose effectiveness,” she said.
She was also concerned about the toxicity of the chemicals being used.
“I felt like using toxic chemicals on our property was not only bad for our family, but because we are on the river, we’re kind of a steward to the environment as well, … so when he mentioned that the product that he uses to control the mosquitoes was eco-friendly, I was happy to try it,” she shared.
Local solution gets a local investor
The treatment was so effective that Rhatigan isn’t just a customer, she and her husband decided to invest in the business.
“It was better than anything I had used for the previous 10 years,” she said. “The amazing thing is that when he sprays the property, you have this effervescence of the essential oils in the air.”
She recommended Geo Mosquito to everyone who’d listen to her, and eventually Krstovic took over maintaining the facilities at Rhatigan’s community pool.
“[What he was doing] kind of piqued my husband’s and my interest because we were looking for a small business to invest in locally,” she said. “I’m now home with the kids, but I have a long career in sales, and my husband is in sales as well.”
Within a year, the couple became active investors.
“We love the origin story of this relationship because it’s reflective of how friendly and supportive the local business community is in Peachtree Corners,” she said.
Caring about the work
Krstovic attributes his success to caring about the work, attention to detail and understanding client needs. He doesn’t just spray the yard and leave; he has a system of mapping out problem areas and educating clients about prevention.
“We’re looking at anything that could hold a water source and eliminating that, asking our clients what time of the day they’re getting eaten up, what part of their body and what part of their yard,” he said.
“That helps us figure out the species of mosquito that’s attacking them, so we know where to target, because different species have different nesting sites.”
Growing the business
Geo Mosquito has begun working with Vox-pop-uli to upgrade their logo, website and promotional materials.
“Geoff is a typical entrepreneur — protective of what he’s doing,” Rhatigan said. “So going through the steps of changing the logo, coming up with a new tagline, starting to do some marketing, is both exciting and a little scary.”
But the team at Vox-pop-uli has been a tremendous resource — helping them go at their own pace.
“This first year of investment was about seeing what the market interest is and expanding brand awareness,” said Rhatigan. “Vox-pop-uli offers so many services, it’s daunting for an emerging company to manage so many different contractors: creative, graphic design, printing, mailing. But they have a great, responsive organization that has been very helpful.”
Next steps
With a proprietary formulation for the mosquito abatement, Geo Mosquito wants to bottle the solution and sell it nationally.
Additionally, in 2025, the company plans to expand into ecofriendly pest control services for inside the home. They are also interested in working with local municipalities, churches and schools to expand their mosquito control services.
The Local Thread: This business profile series is proudly supported by Vox-pop-uli, championing local stories and the communities we serve.
This article is also available in the print and digital edition of the Jan/Feb issue of Southwest Gwinnett magazine.
Photos courtesy of Geo Mosquito.
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Business
From the Mayor’s Desk: Looking Back at Business in 2024
Published
3 weeks agoon
December 28, 2024As we look back at 2024, there were a number of acquisitions, new businesses opening, major renovations and milestones celebrated. I’ll attempt to highlight some of them, knowing that I can’t possibly cover them all. There were some new events this year too.
This past year was a big one for Guardian Sports, a Peachtree Corners company that designs and manufactures helmet covers. The NFL now requires Guardian Caps be worn during NFL during practice, and players may choose to wear them during games. The caps disperse energy during hits with the goal of reducing head injuries.
Insight Sourcing of Peachtree Corners was acquired by Accenture, a leading global professional services company. Insight Sourcing helps clients optimize costs when sourcing and negotiating contracts for materials, services related to capital expenditures and energy procurement management. Accenture is a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 743,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.
Axon, the global leader in connected public safety technologies, acquired Fusus, a leader in real-time crime center technology located in Peachtree Corners. Fusus excels in aggregating live video, data and sensor feeds from virtually any source, enhancing situational awareness and investigative capabilities for public safety, education and commercial customers.
Milestone celebrations
Authentic Hardwood Flooring on Amwiler Road celebrated 25 years in business in 2024. Michael Keroack has been steadily growing the operation for roughly eight years in Peachtree Corners with the help of Buddy Wofford, general sales manager, and Michael Blocker, director of operations.
Also celebrating a milestone in 2024 was Diversified Resource Group (DRG). For nearly 25 years, Darrell Creedon has been running DRG in Peachtree Corners, outfitting workspaces for companies and governments, and more recently, hotels and convention centers. Mr. Creedon, who resides in Peachtree Corners, started the furniture business with a college friend in 1999 in a home basement.
City events
The City of Peachtree Corners organized the 2nd Annual Curiosity Lab Criterium in April. This year’s event featured a running race, kids races, food trucks, vendors and other activities for the family. There was also a fun run in Technology Park. Werfen, a global diagnostics company, and the City of Peachtree Corners, partnered on a 5K Walk/Run in Technology Park in November. The event benefitted the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In May, the city organized a food truck event at Curiosity Lab, which drew about 210 people working in and around Technology Park.
The PCBA organized the first Taste of Peachtree Corners in June. It was a great time of networking and community fellowship among business owners and other involved citizens. Approximately 100 people experienced an evening of delicious bites and drinks, sampling foods from local businesses.
New to the city
Blue River Development moved its corporate office from Forsyth County to Peachtree Corners to expand its operations. The company is a leader in real estate development and investment.
A new pediatric dentistry, Agape Pediatric Dentistry, opened at 5185 Peachtree Parkway #325 at The Forum. Two law firms opened on Wetherburn Way: Brooks Injury Law Offices and Tadeo & Silva immigration law firm.
A former steel pipe fabrication site at 6420 Corley Road that was converted to a logistics center is now fully leased. The 27-acre property, which sold for $10.5 million in 2018 was sold for $77.4 million three years later, after it was cleaned up and redeveloped into the Peachtree Corners Logistics Center.
The Central Business District
Also in May, the city adopted a 6-month moratorium on projects in the Central Business District. Due to the increasing number of applications and evolving market trends, the moratorium came into effect on May 3 and ended on November 3. The moratorium gave the city six months to pause rezoning applications, special use permits and variances applications for residential or mixed-use development.
In August, members of the Peachtree Corners City Council took part in a ribbon cutting at The Forum. We celebrated the opening of the new plaza and activity areas. Jamestown is modernizing the 20-year-old Forum shopping center and transforming it into a true mixed-use destination through the addition of a 125-room boutique hotel, approximately 381 multifamily units, new experiential retail and dining offerings, structured parking and an expanded public area.
Construction began in May 2023, and the first of two new greenspace additions were constructed. Phases II and III will see the multifamily and boutique hotel constructed, both slated to start in 2025. Also this year, it was announced that Jamestown, a global real estate investment and management firm, acquired the Cincinnati-based North American Properties, which owned The Forum.
Members of the Peachtree Corners Redevelopment Authority and Downtown Development Authority engaged in a focus group discussion in August at City Hall. The discussion was led by representatives from Kimley-Horn, engineering, planning and design consultants. There was discussion about under-utilized spaces, needed amenities and potential uses for vacant properties. City officials also met with members of the commercial real estate community in September to specifically discuss Technology Park.
International visitors, co-working and new townhome project
An 18-member delegation of Finnish business people visited Curiosity Lab in Peachtree Corners in September. The visit marks the second time a Finnish delegation has visited Peachtree Corners. Seven innovative Finnish companies traveled to the Atlanta area in search of U.S. partners to promote transatlantic trade between Finland and the United States. Japanese delegates involved in sectors such as automotive, technology, energy and corporate development also visited Peachtree Corners in December as part of a regional tour.
Construction of a co-working space, Roam, is well underway at the Town Center and will open in summer 2025. The 35,000-square-foot building is located at 3847 Medlock Bridge Road and will feature a rooftop event space, coffeeshop and cafe, in addition to workspaces.
An office building at 3585 Engineering Drive was demolished earlier this month to make way for a townhome community. The new 75-unit townhome project is under construction by D.R. Horton, which received rezoning approval from the city last February. The 102,000 SF office building sat vacant for many years.
Collaboration, renovation and more
Curiosity Lab announced a collaboration with Gama Sonic, a global leader in upscale, bright and durable solar lighting for homes, businesses and outdoor spaces. The company’s deployment of solar lighting in the City of Peachtree Corners marks its first deployment implementing customized, intelligent lighting programming timers that enhance safety for residents and visitors.
Brady Anderson Bennett recently opened a State Farm office at 3000 Northwoods Parkway. The 27-year-old has been working with State Farm since he was 18 years old.
Renovation is underway at 7050 Jimmy Carter Blvd. for the creation of a Planet Fitness. The gym is under development by Alder Partners/the Flynn Group. This location marks the 32nd location in metro Atlanta. It is expected to open in January.
There is also a relatively new Southern-inspired eatery you may want to try. Dahlia’s Restaurant & Porch, located inside the Hilton Atlanta Northeast hotel, opened this year. Dahlia’s offers Southern-style plates that leverage regionally sourced, farm-fresh ingredients.
Happy Holidays!
Mayor Mike Mason
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Business
Luxury Firewood Company Founder Shares Story of Entrepreneurial Pursuits
Published
4 weeks agoon
December 27, 2024Leroy Hite, founder of Cutting Edge Firewood — a luxury brand specializing in wood for fireplaces, grills, pizza ovens and firepits — shared his journey from starting a company to gaining national recognition during the PCBA Business After Hours Speaker Series in December.
Hite highlighted the industry’s disorganization and his innovative approach to firewood, including using ovens to dry the wood and improving on delivery methods. And he emphasized the importance of customer experience, branding and counter-cultural thinking.
Despite initial challenges and financial constraints at the beginning, his company grew significantly (even during the early days of COVID-19), achieving a 400% increase in sales.
Entrepreneurial spirit
The disorganization and lack of focus within the firewood industry is what initially prompted Hite to question its methods.
He thought he’d found the answer when he started a firewood company with friends while in college, winning a Kroger account for the entire Southeast. But the limited experience of Hite and his co-owners became evident quickly.
“We discovered how backwards the industry was for three college students to get that account with a username and password,” he said. “On the day of the bid, whoever put in the lowest number won the account.”
With the contract in hand, the guys were able to get loans and bought hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment that they didn’t know how to use.
“It would break every single day, so I had to teach myself how to fix it,” he said. “We hired 30 to 35 people off of Craigslist; I don’t advise you to do that.”
In the end, the guys realized they were in way over their heads. They couldn’t keep up with Kroger’s demand. But the experience gave Hite insight into a better way to deliver firewood.
“At the time, industry-wide, you would put the firewood in the back of a pickup truck, get a wheelbarrow, put it where they wanted it,” he said. “… to do a second delivery, you have to drive back and get more wood. So maybe you can do two deliveries a day.”
Hite devised a plan to have the wood palletized and use a mini skid steer, which allows you to get it closer to where it should be. What had taken 16 to 18 hours for two deliveries would now allow seven or eight deliveries in the same time frame.
After the first firewood business shut down, Hite worked with Chick-fil-A and then Enterprise Rent-A-Car for several years.
“It was great experience,” he said, though he couldn’t get firewood out of his mind.
Taking another chance
Hite considered getting back into the firewood business as a side gig, but eventually decided to leave his corporate job and pursue the business full time.
“A fire is like a beautiful sunset,” he said. “No one on earth dislikes it. A fire can be the center of a wedding party and can also add great taste to food — whether it’s steak, pizza or barbecue.”
When he started Cutting Edge, Hite wanted to fix the poor quality of wood and lack of branding and customer service.
He had an opportunity to purchase an existing business, but lacked the funding. So, he took a leap of faith.
“I had an outdated website. I had a truck, and I had a customer list. I realized I was going to be a supplier and that I needed to reinvent how to deliver firewood,” he said. “I [tried] to get a second loan on my house, [but] no banks would talk to me at the time.”
Hite convinced his wife, pregnant with their third daughter, to sell the house.
“We moved into a rental home, and I completely redid the branding. I reinvented how to do deliveries. I invented a rack that could be moved with a hand truck. And I found a hand truck that will go up and down stairs and one that will go across rough terrain,” he said. “So, the delivery went from two hours to about 15 minutes per delivery. And it was also a lot safer.”
Though COVID caused many businesses to go under, his thrived. It seemed that people stuck at home got a taste for food cooked over “fancy wood,” as he put it.
Goals and standards
Cutting Edge Firewood has two goals, Hite said: To provide unparalleled customer service and deliveries. And to provide the best firewood available. Period.
According to company literature, the Cutting Edge team “works with the best suppliers to ensure they consistently meet our high standards. All of our firewood undergoes the most rigorous drying process in the industry: each piece is conditioned for 48 hours in 250-degree heat. And our trained specialists hand-select each piece of firewood … ensuring that you only receive the very best — photoshoot-ready firewood that lights easily and burns brightly.”
Future plans
Although Hite didn’t go into detail, he sold Cutting Edge Firewood in August 2024, having built a strong brand and customer base in Atlanta and throughout the country.
“[Entrepreneurship] definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s both demanding, disheartening and rewarding all at the same time,” he said. “I love it. I went in with a not-too-thin skin, but I definitely exited with very thick skin.”
Now that he’s been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Hite indicated that he wants to venture out again. He reflected on the challenges and rewards of running the business, including the importance of customer experience and branding.
“The brand is very, very well-known in Atlanta. We were named a couple of times in Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the fastest growing companies,” he said. “It’s rewarding. I’ve had Coca-Cola executives say that [they] know the branding and the customer service … [and] I’m pretty sure that Cutting Edge Firewood is being used in the White House.”
Hinting of a desire to move on to new ventures, possibly focusing on disrupting existing markets rather than creating new ones, Hite again emphasized the importance of counter-cultural thinking, pushing through discomfort and being driven by a passion for customer experience and innovation.
For more information about Cutting Edge Firewood, visit cuttingedgefirewood.com.
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