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Finding Growth and Success in Artisanal Firewood, through Mistakes, Testing, and Creating their Core Values [podcast]

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Firewood may not be the first thing you think of when talking about new and exciting business ventures. But Leroy Hite, founder, and CEO of Cutting Edge Firewood saw this industry as an interesting and challenging way to provide quality service and products to customers. Join Karl and Rico as they talk with Leroy about his experience growing and maintaining a high level of service quality in the business of artisanal firewood.

Resources:
Cutting Edge Firewood Website: https://www.cuttingedgefirewood.com

Timestamp:

[00:00:30] – Intro
[00:01:36] – About Leroy and Cutting Edge Firewood
[00:05:32] – Why Leroy Chose The Firewood Industry
[00:08:41] – Implementing Ideas and Working Through Challenges
[00:11:42] – How Success is Measured
[00:14:01] – Scaling the Business
[00:16:16] – Areas of Growth and New Strategies
[00:17:36] – Maintaining High Quality Service
[00:21:56] – Holiday Seasons in the Firewood Business
[00:23:32] – Using the Cooking Wood
[00:26:11] – Closing

“We have a set of core values that we really drive home. And we say the most important one is the customer experience. Every single person in the company strongly affects the customer experience. If a customer calls in and they have a bad experience, it’ll ruin the whole thing. If a delivery artisan goes out, who’s the face of the company and is rude, that messes up everything. And so that is one of our unifying core values is that everybody is driving the customer experience.”

Leroy Hite

Podcast transcript

[00:00:30] Karl: 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, and my cohost is Rico Figliolini with Mighty Rockets, Digital Marketing, and the publisher of the Peachtree Corners Magazine. Hey Rico, how are you doing today?

[00:00:48] Rico: Good, Karl. Good to be here. I can’t wait to talk to our latest guest.

[00:00:53] Karl: Absolutely. Yeah, it’s going to be exciting to talk with another brilliant young entrepreneur that’s here, local. But why don’t you tell us a little bit about the sponsors for today Rico?

[00:01:02] Rico: Sure. So Peachtree Corners Magazine is a sponsor of this episode, as well as the family of podcasts that we do. And you can find out more information about the latest issue at LivingInPeachtreeCorners.com.

[00:01:15] Karl: Excellent. Today our guest is Leroy Hite. He’s the founder and CEO of Cutting Edge Firewood and a local small business owner who provides premium firewood to their customers. Hey Leroy, how’re you doing today?

[00:01:31] Leroy: I am doing fantastic. Thank you very much, gentlemen, for having me on the podcast.

[00:01:36] Karl: Oh, absolutely. We’ve got so many great things happening here in Georgia and locally here in Metro Atlanta and Peachtree Corners. Not only do we have technology companies growing, we have large corporations moving into Peachtree Corners and the surrounding areas. We have entrepreneurs like yourself that are just innovating on industries and doing some really fun things. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and about your company? What do you guys do?

[00:02:04] Leroy: Yeah, absolutely. So first I’ll give kind of like the vision for the business and that’ll play in with the products. So back in 2013 started the business. Long story, but with the vision of both cooking wood and firewood. A fire is like a beautiful sunset. It’s universal. It’s primal. And it’s unifying. There’s literally no one on planet earth that doesn’t enjoy a wonderful fire. Whether you have a 95 year old man from Ethiopia or a three-year-old girl from Georgia, they will sit in front of a fire and enjoy it. After a stressful day, I can take a glass of just a shot of whiskey and sip it for a couple hours in front of a fire, and it’s amazing how much less stress I have afterwards than when I started. My wife can come out and it’s romantic. We can have our three daughters out for smores and they love it. And they create memories that they remember for the rest of their lives. Teenagers will put their phones down and talk to their parents. I can have a few of my buddies over and we talk about deep things that guys don’t usually talk about. And it can be at the center of a wedding party and I can cook amazing food over wood to the point that I don’t even really like going out to fancy restaurants because I can cook it better at home. And so you have that on one side and then on the other side, before we got in the industry, the industry standard was wood would set outside on the ground for 12 months, rot and literally have mushrooms growing out of it. And the business strategy, the branding, and the customer service matched the product quality. And so that’s what really drew me into it. That, and the fact that it’s an experience. And I love offering others wonderful experiences. That’s what drives me. And so what we offer is the firewood, of course. We have boxes that we, in Metro Atlanta, and Metro Nashville, Dallas, and Seattle currently. We offer same day delivery for the boxes of firewood. The boxes come with enough for two to four fantastic fireside experiences. And they come with kindling, fire starters, and a box of matches. We also ship those around the country. And then we have our patented airbrush metal racks that we offer in our delivery artisan areas. And those areas are Metro Atlanta, Chattanooga, Greenville, South Carolina, Charlotte, and Nashville. With those, our delivery artisans bring the rack to your home. And all of our firewood goes through a special process that makes it bug free, burn hotter, longer, start easier. And so we will put that rack essentially anywhere that you want it. And then when you reorder, we take the empty rack and replace it with the full one. And then we do cooking wood that we ship around the country for all different ways of cooking over wood. Whether it’s a pizza oven or a big green egg, you can use our chunks or splits in a bunch of other different smokers and grills. So that’s the quick, yes sir.

[00:05:11] Rico: I just got a delivery of that by the way. And I’ve got to say, I haven’t burned the wood yet, but just the smell of it. Just the scent of that wood. I forget which two that I got, but they’re two different flavors, if you will. Just unbelievable to be able to just be in the room, just smelling that wood before it even gets burned.

[00:05:30] Leroy: I appreciate it.

[00:05:32] Karl: Yeah. So I’m curious, you went into an industry and I love that you picked firewood because if you were to think of a commodity that anything could be, nobody gives a lot of thought if they walk into whether it’s a Home Depot or somewhere else, to buy firewood what brand it is, who it is, and so on. What made you pick this industry and firewood in particular to focus on and what are some of the key elements of your strategy to differentiate it?

[00:06:02] Leroy: It’s a great question. So, I love the experience aspect of it, and I love that it’s something that nobody else has really treated it like a business. Much less a modern business with a lot of opportunity. And that’s what drew me into it is the experience aspect. And that, in business, if you see everyone going in the same direction, a lot of times the opportunity is going the opposite direction. So that really got me initially interested, I knew that there was something here. And what’s really differentiated us is that, the devil’s in the details is a great saying. And that there’s a lot of truth in it. From the beginning to the end, we pay attention to every detail. I wanted to shock people that a firewood company would have branding as good as ours. When they order on our website, we want that to go smoothly and be a great experience. When you call in and talk to somebody, you talk to somebody that’s very professional, very knowledgeable. All of our employees are wonderful and go through a lot of training and love taking care of customers. And then when the package arrives, whether it’s a delivery artisan delivering it, you’re blown away with how we do it. And then you actually use the product and that sets us apart because you don’t have wood that’s just sizzling or that’s bug infested. Or if you’re cooking over it, you’re not cooking over something that has mold and mildew. Every single product that we put out, kind of an internal saying is we have a lot of famous people. For example, Terry Bradshaw is a really good customer, to name one that’s publicly endorsed us. And so we treat every single customer like they’re Terry Bradshaw. So when Terry Bradshaw orders, we don’t pick out specially wood just for Terry Bradshaw, I don’t go and make sure that everything’s perfect. He’s treated like every other customer, which is like Terry Bradshaw, if that makes sense. And then we actually write a handwritten note to every customer thanking them for their purchase. Which of course is something that sets us apart from almost anybody in any industry. And that’s another thing is really when people order from us initially their standards are really low, but our goal is to just blow their standards out of the water and set ourselves a high bar to follow through the second time that they order. So we don’t want to rest on our laurels and be happy with the low standards. So really we want to be innovative and offer a phenomenal experience and have phenomenal customer service, not just for firewood but for any industry.

[00:08:41] Karl: Oh, I love it. Some of the things you’re doing seems pretty obvious that people should do in their business. And people could, may have a different perception of what great looks like or what good looks like in there. What are some of the things that you were trying to implement to get to where you are today or things you didn’t expect to happen? What were more challenging to do then than you might’ve first thought?

[00:09:04] Leroy: Oh, everything. So that’s the other side of traveling the path less traveled. Making your own trail. Whatever you want to, however you want to put it is, everything that we do because we’re innovative we kind of have to learn things the hard way. So we’ll try something out and I’ll think it’s ingenious and we’ll fall flat on our face. And there’s been times where we’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on trying something out because I thought it was going great and it wasn’t. So we’ve, yeah, we’ve gone into like trying to sell the different B2B markets. And I thought they were really great, innovative ideas and we pushed it really hard. And it just doesn’t work at all. And so we’ve really found that direct to consumer, B to C is our sweet spot.

[00:09:54] Rico: Yeah, what were you specifically trying to do? Was it white labeling B2B? What specifically was the point?

[00:10:01] Leroy: Yeah, we actually did try to white label. And this is back in, I think 2015. Probably don’t have time for this podcast, but it’s pretty interesting long story with lots of risks, but one time back in 2015, we actually tried to sell some bundled firewood to stores and bought some equipment and it ended up actually being the warmest winter record. And so they couldn’t get rid of their one. But the more, the more recent example that’s from like 2019 is we did a big push to sell to restaurants. And in restaurants, the pricing is very competitive because restaurants’ margins, they don’t have a whole lot of margin. And so the idea was we would offer them the racks at competitive pricing, but in exchange for us offering them a higher quality wood for competitive pricing, they would put the racks in their dining room. And so we wanted high-end restaurants to have the customers to see our racks and then help improve brand awareness. And basically as prices started going up, it started eating into our profits. And so it started costing us a lot of money and a lot of the restaurants wanted us to bend over backwards for them when we were losing money. And so we had to pull out of that, pull out of that, but it’s interesting. Cause at the same time we started putting out yard signs that year. And that’s when everybody started to know who we were because of the yard signs.

[00:11:34] Rico: You, weren’t afraid to innovate. You weren’t afraid to try things and pull back from it.

[00:11:40] Leroy: Yes, sir. Absolutely.

[00:11:42] Karl: There’s an interesting thing that you said in that story, as you were sharing that example that I think is a key point. You try stuff. And if you’re going to blaze a new path and innovate, you’ve got to try things and take risks. You were somehow able to know that it wasn’t getting the desired outcome and profitability. Tell me a little bit about how did you know, how do you measure success? You mentioned that you saw the profitability, what does it look like when you’re managing the bottom line of your business? So you know when to end a certain path so you can move in a different.

[00:12:20] Leroy: Measuring is super important. It’s funny because I most definitely learn more about that every year. I’m more of a, if you’ve ever read the book Rocket Fuel. It talks about integrators and visionaries. Definitely more of the visionary style. So I’m definitely less risk adverse and than some others. So I like pushing the envelope even when it comes back to bite me sometimes. But it’s extremely important to measure everything that’s important. So how we knew what was, and wasn’t working that year, it was just simply every time a customer would call in, we would ask them, how did they hear about us? And we would keep up with that in our CRM. And so generally, we just knew a percentage of where all of our new customers came from. We knew that we weren’t getting anywhere near as many new customers from the restaurants as we wanted. Whereas the yard signs were working phenomenally. Same thing. We tried putting up some billboards that same year and we weren’t getting the return. Now after the growth in 2020 and this year we’re going, our systems are becoming a lot more complex. And I brought on a really high level team that’s going to help us grow the business into the next area. And they are really good about measuring everything and sending me the information.

[00:13:40] Rico: I also noticed that you guys expanded just recently. I think it was in September. You went from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet in Peachtree Corners?

[00:13:49] Leroy: That’s correct. Yep, that’s correct. So our warehouse is looking pretty impressive. It’s a lot of fun actually, just to walk around there and I’m like, wow, this is crazy.

[00:14:01] Karl: Yeah. If you think about it though, you’re hitting on another key insight in learning along this journey is there’s a point of when, in order to scale, you’ve got to surround yourself and build a team. Where different people have different areas of expertise and specialty and let them do that very well. You are like many of the classic entrepreneurs who have vision and willing to take risks. And then there’s those often, they’ll find people to support them that are good in the details of the execution and the numbers. And that balance, it is sometime found in one person sometimes it’s found in many. The key thing for your business is that you figured out how to bring that together to help you continue to be successful and scale the business.

[00:14:45] Leroy: Yeah, it’s crazy. Cause looking back on it just, there’s so much trial and error and there’s many different ways that you can look at it as far as setting yourself apart. One of those though is just, as much as possible, the painful side is learning how to make that pain less painful each time you try out something new. So like an example in marketing is we tried out a company where we did an influencer campaign and we spent $40,000 on it in the spring. And I thought it was a really good idea. And we just got a fraction back in revenue that we spent on it. And so the answer is like, okay, we’re not doing that again. And so we learned our lesson and it hurt, but we learned our lesson. We now will go on to budget and we’ll go on to trying out the next thing within our budget. And hopefully the next thing works.

[00:15:37] Rico: Was it because the influencer campaign didn’t extend far enough that you didn’t get enough influences on it? Sometimes these things happen too.

[00:15:45] Leroy: I think it was the particular audience. So I guess to get more detailed, it was influencers that cooked over one, which you would think would be exactly who we need to get. But we have a very particular demographic within the cooking wood industry or world that we’re targeting. And so I think the people that we, the cooks, the chefs that we got, I don’t think they targeted enough of our particular audience.

[00:16:16] Karl: Got it. As you think into the future and growth, what white space areas out there or growth strategies do you think you’d like to explore next that you haven’t started to?

[00:16:30] Leroy: As the chief visionary, I spent a lot of time on that. Maybe too much time. So our delivery artisan service is, it’s very slow moving. It’s very capital intensive. Because we hire very high level employees to take care of our customers and we have to buy trucks and equipment and the metal racks up front. And of course the firewood. But it’s very, there’s not anything else out there in any industry that’s quite like it. So I think that’s something that’s going to continue to grow at a healthy level. But I do see our boxes of firewood, same day rapidly growing around the country and other cities along with us shipping our cooking wood. Whether it’s for the pizza ovens, or for Big Green Egg, or Kamado Joe ceramic grills, or other kinds of smokers. I think that kind of stuff is going to grow really quickly. And we’ll use that to continue to grow the delivery artisan service. And the great thing is they all work together really well. Because then we can move the delivery artisan service into the markets as quickly as we want to.

[00:17:36] Karl: I love that approach. I know I work with a lot of business folks that are looking to grow. And one of the options that they look is a franchise approach to doing it. Very successful. It’s exploded all over the world. Franchise growth and so on has its pros and has its cons. Of course, as an approach. One of the areas is around this service experience. When you grow organically yourself, you have better control over the service expectations, how you hire, how you recruit people in that. If you go through franchise, you hope that those owners, local owners will follow it, put things in place, the tools in place, but that can vary from group to group. What are some of the things that you’ve been successful at implementing, to drive this service-based culture that you’ve been able to create and drive as part of your brand?

[00:18:28] Leroy: Yeah, first and foremost is hiring the right people. And we have a set of core values that we really drive home. And it’s not just something we write up on the wall and point to once a year or twice a year. It’s something that essentially every meeting we drive home. It’s how we grade our people is against these core values. And we say the most important one is the customer experiences. Every single person in the company strongly affects the customer experience. If a customer calls in and they have a bad experience, it’ll ruin the whole thing. If a delivery artisan goes out, who’s the face of the company and is rude, that messes up everything. If somebody that is processing the firewood and going through it and sifting through it, making sure and quality control and they let wood that’s not up to par. That’ll definitely ruin the entire experience. And so everybody plays a part. And so that is one of our unifying core values is that everybody is driving the customer experience. And then the next is putting the procedures and processes in place. Which honestly is definitely one of my weaknesses, but why it’s very important to surround yourself with others that have strengths, where you have weaknesses. To put all these processes in place that protect against mistakes getting made.

[00:19:49] Karl: It’s very interesting around that service thing. It’s something that we strive to reinforce in our team and our business. We’re a service-based business as well. And you articulated, I think exactly, our three pillars. One is in the people. And we think of it in training and attitude. You could train people on skills, but attitude sometimes is kind of who the person is. So when we look to select team members, we’re looking for the right values and attitude that aligns with a drive toward the customer. Arming them with the skills to deliver good service value. How to respond to people, how to listen. The second one was around systems. You know, we put in systems, make a CRM, different tools to make people be able to deliver good service. We learn about our customers so when they call in, we know what they came in for. We can help each other across. But that third element that you started with, is the values piece. And when you think about values, we set goals to it and we measure it. We measure service, we measure individually how people performing the service and others. And I think that’s one of the things that a lot of small business owners don’t get around to focusing on as much. But you could start at any level getting the right people, putting in the right systems, and measuring the behaviors and outcomes that you want. That’s a good start, but you’ve got experts out there that can help you with exactly what to do in each one of those pieces. But you’ve landed in the same place.

[00:21:29] Leroy: Yes, sir. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, one of our other core values is team. Which is everybody working together as a team, having the right people, having the right team. And it’s funny cause having the right people is what makes, for me. A place to be is fun and fulfilling is having the right people. And everybody together going after the same goals. And it, yeah, no, that gets me excited.

[00:21:56] Karl: No, absolutely. I’m curious, we’re coming into the holiday seasons now. What is it like in your world during the holiday season? What type of stuff do you have coming up and do you especially focus on in this part of the year?

[00:22:10] Leroy: Yes. So this time of the year is definitely our busy season. This is our make it or break it part of the season. Of course we sell the cooking wood and we sell the firewood year round. And the cooking wood is less seasonal, and a lot of people cook outside in the spring. But everybody buys, both cooking wood, definitely the firewood peaks in October, November, and December. But people like the buy to cooking wood for gifts for the holidays. And so it all comes together right now. So we’re driving and pushing hard. I guess really the newest thing is just, we’re really pushing on the cooking wood, because it’s a newer thing for us. And just like the firewood, it’s just as big of a difference. And for me another thing is, I only like to do things that kind of really set us apart from anybody else. And that’s why we got into the cooking wood. It’s also something that we’re able to do better than anybody else.

[00:23:05] Rico: It’s probably also less seasonal too, I would imagine. I mean, if I’m out there cooking, even during the summer doing a Green Egg barbecue. Or there’s those new, there’s a Georgia company that manufactures them too, where it’s a metal grill, if you will. And the inside is where you burn the wood. This is kind of a great party type thing. Because you could put that meat all around and everyone stands there and cook their own.

[00:23:29] Leroy: Yeah. You’re probably talking about gather grills or the kudu girl. Yeah.

[00:23:32] Karl: For those of us that may not have the expertise in grilling and cooking with wood. Can you share with us just some of the examples of, I’m assuming any of this can’t be used in cooking in your kitchen? Or are there ways that you could utilize this wood? If you’re cooking indoors, first of all, And then second, outdoor cooking. If you’re really, if you have a gas grill versus other types. Do you have ways for people to bridge some of those gaps when they’re cooking?

[00:24:01] Leroy: Yeah, great question. Inside is a bit more difficult. You have to have a lot of specialized equipment to cook with it inside because you have to have something that draws out the smoke. We do have customers that have indoor equipment and ovens. Usually it’s like a pizza oven that they put even in their residence. But outside, so you can buy things. It’s just really just a little metal thing that will hold a chunk, or a couple of chunks, or a single split, in your gas grill to get that wood flavor. It really is pretty simple. It’s not that complicated. It’s funny, in March, I’ll have been married for 14 years. My wife and I first got married, I got a charcoal grill. Burned really bad, a couple of burgers and threw the grill away. And then, when we started getting into the cooking what I thought, you know, what? I probably should know what I’m talking about. So I brought a grill home and started experimenting with it. And people were giving me compliments within the first couple of weeks of cooking over wood. Because most people, it’s quickly growing in popularity, but it’s still at its infancy. And it’s amazing, good quality wood, how much flavor that adds to the food. And it’s not an exact science, it’s a little bit more of an art. And of course it takes practice. And then when you get down to the science after a couple of years, you do fine tune it. It takes a little bit of practice. And you can use charcoal in your grill and use that as a heat source. And then just right before you put the food on don’t soak the chunks or the splits, just put on a couple right before you put the food on, and then you cook it as usual. And it’ll add a lot of the wood flavor. Or you can get to where you master it and you cook with all wood. But it’s really not that complicated. And if you just play around with it you’ll have within a few cooks, you’ll be making food that’s enjoyable and you can taste. And it’s, really you look at it as just a different ingredient. Because it’s just a different flavor you can put into the food.

[00:25:59] Rico: That’s a Gather Grill, by the way, that we were talking about before.An example from your Facebook page, actually.

[00:26:05] Leroy: Yeah. So perfect. Yeah, with the Big Green Egg in the back.

[00:26:09] Rico: Yeah, there you go.

[00:26:11] Karl: One of the exciting things as we’re getting into the holiday season after this past 18 months, people have morphed outdoors. I remember last Thanksgiving many people hosting Thanksgiving feast outside in various forms. And of course your firewood would be a perfect addition for people to bring in not only for comfort, but also adding into how they cook. If someone wanted to reach you and find out more about your business and place an order for a gift or anything else, what’s the best way to reach you?

[00:26:41] Leroy: The best way is our website at CuttingEdgeFirewood.com. And if you want to reach out to me personally, LinkedIn is the best place to get connected.

[00:26:52] Karl: Okay, excellent. Do you do gift certificates or anything?

[00:26:56] Leroy: We do get certificates and then obviously a box of firewood is a phenomenal gift. And we do gift notes, whether it’s for a rack or for a box. And then if you’re wanting to give a gift to somebody for cooking wood. Of course if it’s for a pizza oven then get our pizza cut. But if they have a Big Green Egg, we have variety packs for the splits and the chunks. So there’s a lot of different options.

[00:27:20] Karl: Oh, excellent. I want to thank you, Leroy and re-introduce you to everybody that might be joining in later on. Leroy Hite is the founder and CEO of Cutting Edge Firewood, a local business. Where’s your, your warehouse location at?

[00:27:34] Leroy: Warehouse location is off of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard between Jimmy Carter and Winter’s Chapel. Real close to Jimmy Carter and it’s on Google maps. So you can just look up Cutting Edge Firewood.

[00:27:49] Karl: A local business here in Gwinnett county that is doing great things. Great example of blazing new trails. So I want to thank you for sharing some of your experience growing and developing this business to brand. And driving this really service element into what others might’ve seen as a commodity thing. And really building a real premium brand around that. So we will continue to wish you success in doing that. Thank you so much.

[00:28:16] Leroy: Thank you very much, gentlemen. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[00:28:19] Karl: You’re welcome. I wanted to also introduce myself, Karl Barham with Transworld Business Advisors of Atlanta Peachtree. Our business advisors are available to consult with your business. Whether you’re looking to improve and grow it, whether you’re looking to exit one day, your business, you can contact and schedule a consultation. We do valuation, exit planning, and when people are ready, we help them find buyers for their business. You can also reach us at www.TWorld.com/AtlantaPeachtree. Rico, why don’t you tell us a little bit about the many things you do. And I know we’ve got another edition of Peachtree Corner Magazine coming up soon.

[00:28:58] Rico: Yes, that’ll be the December, January issue. We’re working with some really great stories on that where, I think one of the main features is how people celebrate the holiday season. So that’s one. The other one is about home-based businesses that are growing up in Peachtree Corners. People that are homemakers, if you will. Where they’re making products out of their basement or their home, and selling it on Etsy and online and festivals. So a couple of different good main features coming out and that’ll be the December, January issue. They can find the current issue though online at LivinginPeachtreeCorners.com. Beyond that I do content marketing, video production, photography. So if you’re looking for any of those services, you feel free to reach out to MightyRockets.com or check me out on LinkedIn. Rico Figliolini, F-I-G-L-I-O-L-I-N-I, you can’t miss me on LinkedIn. So check that out too.

[00:29:50] Karl: Absolutely. Well, thank you for everyone joining us and listening to the Capitalist Sage Podcast. And we’ll continue to bring you new episodes and just want to appreciate all the guests that have joined us. And today, Leroy for sharing some of his experience around growing business right here locally in the Peachtree Corners area. Thanks. Take care, everyone.

[00:30:12] Leroy: Thank you.

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The City and PCBA Welcome Ride Lounge with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

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A group of people at an indoor ribbon cutting ceremony for Ride Lounge

The Peachtree Corners Business Association and the City of Peachtree Corners officially welcomed Ride Lounge, one of the city’s newest businesses, with a morning ribbon cutting ceremony on May 29.

From 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., members of the city and PCBA, along with members of the community, enjoyed mingling, getting to know the Ride Lounge staff and learning more about the unique company.

A group of men at an indoor ribbon cutting ceremony for Ride Lounge

Guests also enjoyed a light breakfast spread of bagels, fresh fruit, coffee and juice and brief speeches from featured guests.

Welcoming the business

Lisa Procter from the PCBA spoke first and thanked Ride Lounge for being part of the PCBA and the Peachtree Corners community. She also recognized the collaboration between the organization and Ride Lounge in hosting the ribbon cutting.

“The PCBA was proud to coordinate with Ride Lounge and the community to make this event a success,” Procter shared.

Mayor Mike Mason followed Procter in addressing the crowd and talked about the state of business in Peachtree Corners and how companies like Ride Lounge help make the city a great place to live and work.

Dave Codrea and Josh Friedensohn, founders of Ride Lounge, then thanked everyone for coming and shared a little about the company and their vision.

The cutting of the ribbon and photos followed the brief speeches. Afterwards, the crowd was invited to tour the space and spend more time chatting and networking.

About Ride Lounge

The Ride Lounge is more than a car storage facility, it’s a place that celebrates car culture; where car enthusiasts can meet to discuss their passion and show off their vehicles.

Founders Dave and Josh wanted to create a welcoming community that people would trust to store their vehicles, but that would also offer a club-like atmosphere and host fun, car-centered events that the whole family could enjoy.

Ride Lounge’s 20,300-square-foot facility is comprised of 58 parking spaces with the potential to include car lifts in certain areas. There are cozy seating areas, a meeting space and kitchen area so members can hang out, relax and talk cars.

Interior seating area at Ride Lounge.

Designed for cars that are driven and enjoyed by families, Ride Lounge has room to hold up to 400 people for special events and activities.

To learn more about Ride Lounge, visit ride-lounge.com.

For more about the PCBA, visit peachtreecornersba.com.

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Music Matters Productions Expands Peachtree Corners Headquarters

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Interior of a spacious, clean and well-organized music production warehouse. There are tall ceilings with rows of lights, metal shelves full of audio/visual equipment and larger pieces of equipment grouped on the floor throughout the space.

Company adds 20,000 square feet to meet growing demand

Music Matters Productions (MMP), a premier provider of audio, lighting, video, staging and rigging solutions, has expanded its metro Atlanta headquarters, increasing the total warehouse footprint from 40,000 to 60,000 square feet.

In addition, MMP has opened a second 10,000-square-foot building directly across the street to house its growing corporate production division.

The expansion comes in response to increased demand across touring, festival and corporate markets, as well as the continued growth of MMP’s high-end gear inventory. With a fully dedicated shop for each department, including audio, lighting, video, rigging and staging, the new layout provides more space for show prep, pre-rigging and crew coordination, allowing for even more efficient load-ins and streamlined execution.

New features

The rigging department now features a new mobile motor hoist test stand, allowing for in-house motor certification, a service that’s now available to external clients in the production community.

Large warehouse space full of audio/visual equipment
Photo courtesy of Music Matters Productions

Five new truck bays were added in the process, as well, bringing the total number of bays to 17 — an important upgrade for MMP’s fleet and the increasing number of shows moving through the warehouse each week.

“This growth is a direct reflection of the work our team puts in and the trust our clients place in us,” said Aaron Soriero, owner of Music Matters Productions. “We didn’t expand for the sake of being bigger, we expanded because we needed the space to do the job right. More room means tighter prep, faster turns and better support for our clients.”

Expanding operations

The expanded warehouse and building across the street include additional offices, mixed-use areas and a dedicated repairs department, giving the team more capacity to prep, collaborate, QC and scale for increasingly complex events — both corporate and entertainment.

With a reputation built on reliable gear, experienced crews and an enhanced client experience, MMP continues to solidify its role as a go-to production partner for events of every size and setting — whether it’s a beachside festival, a stadium tour, brand activation or a high-stakes corporate show.

About Music Matters Productions

Music Matters Productions is a full-service live event production company based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, providing industry-leading audio, lighting, video, rigging and staging solutions for tours, festivals, brand activations and corporate events across the country.

Known for its high-end inventory, seasoned crew and deep dedication to doing the job right, MMP supports hundreds of productions each year and is trusted by clients nationwide.

For more information, visit mmp-atl.com.

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From Boardrooms to the Himalayas: Vandana’s Journey to Purpose and Growing with Intention [Podcast]

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How one family blends operational clarity, conscious leadership, and community-driven values to grow their business — together.

In this episode of UrbanEbb, host Rico Figliolini chats with Vandana Aggarwal, VP of Operations at Aggarwal Real Estate, about the winding road from global consulting to family-run commercial real estate in Norcross, Georgia. With honesty, warmth and insight, V shares how she went from working 80-hour weeks in corporate strategy to rediscovering clarity in the mountains of India — ultimately helping transform her family’s business into a community-driven real estate firm managing over 50 shopping centers.

The conversation weaves together themes of leadership, legacy, operational excellence and the transformative power of both AI and yoga. It’s a story about clarity, courage and conscious growth — both in business and in life. This is another episode you won’t want to miss.

Episode Highlights

  • Why Vandana left a high-powered consulting career to join her family business
  • How hiking Kilimanjaro and studying yoga in the Himalayas changed her leadership mindset
  • The operational overhaul she brought to Aggarwal Real Estate to support growth
  • What it’s like working side-by-side with your dad, siblings, and 700+ tenants
  • How the company rebranded with intention and built a mission around “building communities as a community”
  • Where AI is reshaping real estate—from lease drafting to property management—and where it still can’t compete with people
  • Leadership succession planning with siblings at the helm
  • The importance of clarity, calm, and conscious growth in both business and life

About Vandana Aggarwal

Vandana Aggarwal is the Vice President of Operations at Aggarwal Real Estate, her family’s commercial real estate investment and management firm. She brings a unique blend of strategic insight and operational excellence, shaped by her early career as a consultant at A.T. Kearney, where she advised Fortune 100 to 500 companies. A graduate of Georgia Tech, she also took a transformative detour from the corporate world to spend a year in India teaching yoga—an experience that continues to influence her leadership style today. At the core of her work is a deep commitment to family and a passion for building strong, connected communities.

Timestamp:

00:00:00 – Introduction and sponsors: Vox Pop Uli & EV Remodeling
00:03:12 – From Georgia Tech to global consulting
00:04:23 – Leading strategy for Fortune 500 companies
00:06:11 – The role of vision alignment at the C-suite
00:08:01 – Sabbatical becomes family business overhaul
00:09:35 – Bringing operational excellence to a growing real estate firm
00:12:02 – A year of yoga, nature, and healing in India
00:17:03 – Hiking Kilimanjaro, testing limits, and expanding self-trust
00:18:52 – Navigating family dynamics inside a business
00:21:56 – Planning for leadership transition: siblings, strategy, succession
00:24:06 – Rebranding the business: from American Management to Aggarwal Real Estate
00:26:33 – Where AI fits (and doesn’t) in real estate operations
00:30:04 – Legal, leasing, HR, and marketing efficiency with tech
00:31:01 – Community-focused retail and experiential shopping centers
00:32:00 – Reflections on AI, journalism, and digital trust
00:32:57 – Closing thoughts

Podcast Transcript

00:00:00 – Rico Figliolini

Hi, everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of UrbanEbb. This podcast comes out of the city of Peachtree Corners, and we have a special guest today. And if I don’t mess up the name, it’s Vandana Aggarwal.

00:00:15 – Vandana Aggarwal

Absolutely. You can call me V, Rico.

00:00:15 – Rico Figliolini

I’m going to call you V, trust me. And I’m Rico Figliolini, so a bit of a long name there. But V is VP of Operations of Aggarwal Real Estate here, based in Peachtree Corners? No, Norcross.

00:00:30 – Vandana Aggarwal

In Norcross, yeah. Norcross, Georgia.

00:00:32 – Rico Figliolini

Yeah, yeah. Just off 85, and?

00:00:34 – Vandana Aggarwal

Jimmy Carter.

00:00:35 – Rico Figliolini

And Jimmy Carter.

00:00:36 – Vandana Aggarwal

We’re completing each other’s sentences already.

00:00:39 – Rico Figliolini

But where are we doing this? We’re doing this from one of our great sponsors, one of our two great sponsors, Vox Pop Uli. Was this tastefully obnoxious? Let me tell you, I asked them to do a corner cut for us, and this is perfect. So they have the Moxie logo and stuff. So they’re branding, right? Same way they can brand your stuff. They’ll put your logo on anything. They’ve done, I think, 6,000 vehicle wraps. They’ve done garments, obviously. They could do one-offs or they could do 1,000. They do trade show booths, wraps, everything. So anything you need a logo on, think of what object you want it on. They’ll figure it out for you. And if you’re doing, let’s say, 5,000 mailers and you want that database customized for each postcard, they could do that also. It’s called data. I forget what it’s called, but they can do that. They can work the data into the printing as well. So all customizable. Check them out, voxpopuli.com. Now, getting to something we were talking about, hands-on stuff, which is this also. This can’t just be done by machines, right? Although machines, you still need people. But EV Remodeling Inc., they are a remodeling company. They can do design to build. They can do whole house renovation. They can create your deck, your backyard gazebo. They can put a bathroom, kitchen, anything you want. EV Remodeling Inc. is owned by Eli and his family. Lives in Peachtree Corners. It’s based out of our city. They’ve done, I think, over 250 homes recently. So check them out, evremodelinginc.com. And I want to thank both of them for being great sponsors of ours. So, it’s always a long stretch doing that, but I’m glad to have you, V.

00:02:22 – Vandana Aggarwal

I’m happy to be here. Thank you for inviting me onto your podcast. Excited to chat with you.

00:02:25 – Rico Figliolini

Yeah, no, this is cool. Well, you know, I met you, where did I meet you at? I think it was the chamber.

00:02:30 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber event.

00:02:32 – Rico Figliolini

Yeah, and we were talking a bit, and I was like, damn, you know, I had my father owned a business, and he wanted his kids to be in it. None of us, none of us could go into that business. It’s a little difficult, different industry. It was a hard industry, plus my father was very patriarchal, very over-demanding. God bless him. He mellowed in age. But when you were telling me about your family, I mean, your father, your mother, your sister, your brother, and you, I mean, all in it. It’s amazing.

00:02:55 – Vandana Aggarwal

We’re all together. We’re the modern-day Brady Bunch.

00:03:03 – Rico Figliolini

I love it. Yes, that’s exactly it. But, let’s start a little bit. I mean, you were telling me, I mean, you came from a consulting world. You came where you were actually being paid a lot more than you’re being paid right now, actually.

00:03:12 – Vandana Aggarwal

I told my father he couldn’t afford me when he recruited me out. So I graduated from Georgia Tech in 2007. I actually did join his company right out of college for two years, learned a lot about the company. He actually had me go through a rotation in every department of the company to learn more about what we did, how we operated. And I think very quickly, it was also 2008-9 with a recession. But I was also very interested to learn how big companies operate. How can you take a small company at that time? We were much smaller than we are today and really understand how do you go from this, which is where everyone starts, right? As a new company to get to be one of the largest in the nation, in the world and see how they operate, how they grew it from, you know, a mom and pop business to this global enterprise. Consulting was a natural transition to learn about multiple companies, multiple industries. So transitioned into AT Kearney, which has now been rebranded as Kearney, and out of their Chicago office. So I was there for seven to eight years, almost eight years.

00:04:23 – Rico Figliolini

Entry-level position you got in?

00:04:24 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, I went in as an analyst. The good thing with that experience was by the time I left, I was a senior manager with Kearney. I worked across 17 different companies in those eight years. So I got to experience how CPG companies, retail companies, transportation, IT, you name it, I’ve done it. In terms of the different types of industries I got to work with, worked with a lot of Fortune 100 to 500 companies at the C-suite level. So we were coming up with all kinds of strategy projects such as new market entries, mergers and acquisitions. A lot of what I ended up specializing in in those seven years was operational efficiency and growth strategy. So it was an amazing, I’m grateful for that learning experience, the you know the caliber of minds that you work with. You also get to experience what the C-suite looks like. How does the very top operate and then it goes from the top down right? So it is very much led at this very top leadership and you see how companies change in their culture the way they operate based on how the top is designed.

00:05:38 – Rico Figliolini

So did you see good and bad at the top?

00:05:41 – Vandana Aggarwal

Absolutely. And I’m not going to name names. But you learn a lot when you see how your CEO and your C-suite right below them, the culture they’re bringing into a company and their vision and their goals if they’re aligned, unaligned. Anyone that at the very top have different viewpoints of where the company has had it is where companies start to break apart, lose revenue, lose their you know people, which is very important.

00:06:11 – Rico Figliolini

Where did you see the pain point then? What was the common denominator I guess of those?

00:06:18 – Vandana Aggarwal

There’s no one common denominator, but if I had to kind of narrow in, it comes down to what is our five-year, ten-year trajectory? Where are we headed? As large companies grow, you’re not just in one industry. You’re not just doing retail shopping centers. You’re investing in all kinds of properties just to bring it back to our company. Similarly, a CPG company can make all kinds of products, so they have to decide what it is because you have to be concentrated on the right places. If you have a leadership team that is in alignment of what that ultimate goal is, right, then you have clear strategies and, you know, metrics you’re measuring your success against. So that was a big thing that I learned. Also just, you know, seeing how great leaders operate, right? Some of the best in the nation today, I got to be in the room with them and just to see how they lead is very important.

00:07:14 – Rico Figliolini

Did you see any family dynamics in any of those businesses?

00:07:20 – Vandana Aggarwal

No. You know, there may have been like a father-son duo, but when you’re looking at the very top, I won’t say it was like all in the family, right? You know, and it also becomes the size of a company, right? You know, when you get to an international scale, you’re not always blessed that every person in your family has the right skill set and experience to fill each role on that C-suite.

00:07:46 – Rico Figliolini

I’m just thinking Trump for some reason. Every kid has a job.

00:07:51 – Vandana Aggarwal

Every kid has a job.

00:07:52 – Vandana Aggarwal

You had the accent, right?

00:07:54 – Rico Figliolini

Pretty much, I guess. So after the C-suite or expansion, you traveled a lot too, I think, right?

00:08:01 – Vandana Aggarwal

I did, yeah. So after my seven, eight years in consulting, I was reaching 30. And Shiv, my father, came to me and he said, you know, you’re doing this for a lot of outside companies. Why don’t you help us grow and bring your expertise home? And I said, look, I’ll take a sabbatical. Let me assess the company. And after that period where I took a short sabbatical to come look at how we were operating, I said, I can give you three years. I said, you can’t afford me, but I’ll give you three years of my time. And I said, I think it’ll be the right, it was the right time in the company. We were investing very heavily. We were bringing in a lot of new square footage into the company, and we weren’t designed to manage it. So we as a company, as you know, we are the investors. We have an in-house management company, an in-house leasing company. So as we acquire new properties, our team does the management for those properties in-house. We don’t provide third-party services today. And we do the leasing in-house. But at that time, when he, you know Shiv started we had one or two and now we’re at 50 shopping centers plus and other investments that we have. And there’s a very different way you operate you know and how do you how does the CEO go from being an operator to where he’s overseeing it, but he’s not into the weeds right? So he has create a system for that to happen right? You have to have standard operating processes for your property managers, your accounting team, your marketing team.

00:09:35 – Rico Figliolini

And you quite didn’t have that before.

00:09:37 – Vandana Aggarwal

We didn’t, no. And, you know, and I think that’s why he wanted to bring me in is because my strength is operations and I love it. I love going into messy places and cleaning them up.

00:09:49 – Rico Figliolini

Is that what you did when you were a consultant?

00:09:51 – Vandana Aggarwal

A lot of what I was concentrating on at the end of my consulting career, yes. So I did a lot of operational efficiency work. So we’d go in, assess the way companies were designed. And we’d interview hundreds of team members to understand what their role is. You know, what are they responsible for? How are they delivering? What are they measuring for success? And then we’d redesign the way they did that based on, again, bottom line, what are your ultimate goals for the company?

00:10:21 – Rico Figliolini

So you had to understand that before you got to that point. And you’re not making the decisions, the C-level.

00:10:29 – Vandana Aggarwal

Present, right? And similarly even with Shiv, when I first joined, I said, look, this is how I think we need to redesign the company from a bottoms-up perspective based on ultimately our goal of growth, doubling, tripling in size over the next ten years. And I think this is where the father dynamic came in. I guess he trusted me. And he said, do it. He just said, do it. And it was beautiful because right when you’re with large companies, it’s a lot of time before you get. Those decisions made and that trust, right? And so it was great. And he said, yeah, just put it into place.

00:11:07 – Rico Figliolini

See, that’s a great dad, actually. Some dads would be like, I don’t know about that daughter or son or whatever.

00:11:16 – Vandana Aggarwal

It did take time, though, like to ultimately, he was in the operation so heavily. And, you know, until today, I’m still like, step up, step up. Like, I need you to not get into the weeds. Like I think at that time we had tenants calling him, maintenance guys calling him. Like every little and big problem would go through his cell phone. I said, you’re too smart and you’re such a good investor. This is not your skill set. You shouldn’t be managing this. You need to bring people on who are expertise in this area. And I said, you need to be focused on like the larger plan.

00:11:51 – Rico Figliolini

This way you can grow it better.

00:11:51 – Vandana Aggarwal

Which I think has been very successful over the last eight years I’ve been with him now.

00:11:57 – Rico Figliolini

So before you got to him, though, you were traveling a bit internationally as well?

00:12:02 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, yeah. So this is an amazing year. I was very burnt out. By the time I left consulting, I was working 70 to 80-hour weeks, traveling Monday through Thursday, if not more than that, of the week. So I told Shiv, I was like, I’m going to take a month. I’m going to go to India, get my yoga certification. No intention to teach at the time. I just said it’d be a great one-month retreat. And I was up in the mountains like Himalayas and India in a city called Dharamshala. Beautiful place. One of my favorites in the world. And I just, I think I needed it for myself emotionally, mentally to take that break. So I turned one month into one year. I didn’t know it was going to be a year.

00:12:49 – Rico Figliolini

In that same city? In that same town?

00:12:50 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, so I ended up the school that I had gotten my certification with. I asked them, I was like, do you mind if I hang around for a little while? Like very casually, I’m like, you know, I’ll pay for my room and board, but I just want to be around this group and this energy. And they said, well, if you’re going to be here, why don’t you intern? And they’re like, room and board is free if you intern. I was like, sure. You know, not thinking what it was leading to. This is like that beauty of the universe coming into play. Yeah, so I started teaching, ended up loving teaching. So then I ended up teaching the 200-hour yoga training course. And I was in Dharamshala for four months. And then I moved down to Goa, their Goa campus for another six.

00:13:30 – Rico Figliolini

Where is that? Goa?

00:13:32 – Vandana Aggarwal

Goa? It’s in southern India on their west coast. It’s a beach town. Yeah. So I had the mountains and the beach. But I’m a mountain girl. I’m a hiker. But no, it was a beautiful experience. Very different from anything I’ve done with my career, right? But I became a yoga teacher for a year.

00:13:52 – Rico Figliolini

Did that clear your head? Yoga, they say, can do that, right?

00:13:53 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, it’s all the tools of yoga, right? The meditation, the breath work, really getting internal, going in, right? Just going inwards, being quiet, which we don’t have. We have a lot of noise in our life today, you know? And naturally, right? Between family life, work life, social, and then just all of the noise from everything else right? Like we’re sitting here and I can hear the cars right? So you know that difference was when I was sitting there, I could hear the ocean waves and so there’s something very healing in nature naturally. So it was the tools mixed with nature and I still think nature has a very strong healing power on us. So whenever I can, I try to get out on a mountain and by the ocean. But yeah no it was it was a beautiful experience but it did bring a level of calmness into the way I approach things. It changes your perspective of you know at the end everything’s okay. No matter what you’re going through it’s temporary you’re, and everything that’s happening to us is happening to us for the good. We don’t know it, sometimes it seems like a bad situation in the moment, but ultimately you know, universe, God, whatever you believe in is at play to bring you something better in your life. And you just have to step back to understand what is it delivering us.

00:15:19 – Rico Figliolini

I like the way you think. My wife every once in a while would say, aren’t you upset about that? I’m like, I think come tomorrow, it won’t mean anything. There’s no point in, just relax. Not everything, two days later, it’s not as important as it seemed at that moment.

00:15:37 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah. And it’s not just that it’s not as important. It’s also like…

00:15:41 – Rico Figliolini

In perspective?

00:15:42 – Vandana Aggarwal

It’s, what am I gaining from this? Like, what can I gain from this? Oftentimes when, you know, a lot of things happen, yeah, like you get hurt or, you know, it’s like in relationships, right? Or if you have a bad business deal, right? It’s like, hey, how am I growing, right? And I think that’s what makes life very exciting, right? Otherwise, if you’re always living on a high, is it a high?

00:16:06 – Rico Figliolini

Yes. So I’m thinking you were a consultant for seven or eight years. 80 hours a week. And all of a sudden you’re doing yoga on the mountains of India. It’s just like, it’s almost like a movie. It’s almost like…

00:16:18 – Vandana Aggarwal

Eat, pray, love?

00:16:19 – Rico Figliolini

Yes.

00:16:20 – Vandana Aggarwal

It was my eat, pray, love moment for a year.

00:16:23 – Rico Figliolini

That’s amazing.

00:16:24 – Vandana Aggarwal

No, you meet amazing people, but I think we were meant to meet everyone that we come in interaction with on a daily basis. You naturally have a connection. There’s a universe at play, and we were meant to cross paths and learn something from each other, gain something from one another, give to the other person. And I think you just have to look at life that way.

00:16:48 – Rico Figliolini

I definitely think along that way. I mean, I definitely think each of us nudges each other in a crowd a little bit. That one nudge can set you off going in a different direction. So I totally believe in that. So you joined your dad. Yes. And you’re, so actually, even before we get there, so yoga, but what other interests have you been?

00:17:03 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah. So, I mean, I’m an avid hiker. I’ve done recently in the last few years, I’ve climbed Kilimanjaro. I did the Machu Picchu trail. I’ve done a few 14ers out in Colorado, but I like to test myself physically. You know, just, again, it comes down to how do we find that push within us past our comfort zone? So is this a physical inability or is it a mental constraint? So to get past that mental constraint of discomfort and then really push yourself to the next level and say, I can achieve something. It’s not going to be easy. So to me, if I’m on a hike and it’s not hard, I’m like, well, was it a hike? Like it didn’t test me, but no I think, you know.

00:17:55 – Rico Figliolini

You should do the Appalachian Trail. That’s like 2000 plus miles.

00:18:03 – Vandana Aggarwal

I know. And it is, you know, it’s not just like the hiking part. It is like living out in nature and, you know, sleeping in uncomfortable conditions. Yeah. Walking in the rain. It’s cold. I think the last day of our Kilimanjaro hike, it was negative 20 degrees up in the mountain and my eyelashes were frozen and I couldn’t feel any part of my body. And, you know, and it tested my breathing. And there is that element of push yourself to the point that it’s not your ego anymore. Like if your body’s saying stop, you have to stop as well and respect your body. But yeah, to really test yourself.

00:18:38 – Rico Figliolini

To circle all that back now, you’re back home. You’re working with your father and your family. A lot of businesses grow or die because of family. If it’s a family business, right?

00:18:52 – Vandana Aggarwal

Absolutely, yeah.

00:18:53 – Rico Figliolini

So you have your highs, your lows, your, sometimes you don’t get along. Sometimes decisions are split. People get upset with each other. So you’ve been at your highs and lows physically and mentally doing other things. Has that helped you in some ways? Not that you’re having a bad time with family. Because it sounds like you all fit just fine, like the Brady Bunch.

00:19:15 – Vandana Aggarwal

Let’s keep it that way. No, I mean, there’s multiple dynamics at play. It is a family business. My father is also my boss. My siblings are also my friends and my coworkers. And it’s about no matter how hard you try, you cannot separate those relationships. There is an interplay of all of it when you spend eight to nine hours a day together. But we all have, again, a common goal for the company. And then a common goal for our personal relationship. So when we sit down, we keep in mind that we like each other and we want to keep it that way. Like very simply put, that’s first and foremost for me especially. Even when Shiv had brought me in, he said, oh, can you manage everyone? And I said, I’ll manage everyone but my brother and sister. I said, you know, like I won’t jeopardize the relationship I have with them as a sibling by being their manager. Especially because I said that’s your job like good luck. But not just that it’s you know we all have different skill sets so I said how do I manage my brother who is a genius he’s a CPA by trade you know like I can’t tell him how to run the financials of this company like he’s supposed to teach me that right? And same way I teach him that. My sister has a master’s in marketing right? She is by far the most social, likable person you’re going to meet, and she knows how to work with people. I said, she needs to teach us that. So I think we’re lucky that each of us, and this is, I think, rare, where you have three kids and each one of them has their own skill set. That, I think, helps us stay in business and we see ourselves foreseeably into the long-term future being in business together is because we each bring something very unique to the table. Ultimately we value the relationships that we have on a personal level as a family above all else right? And then you know the element of like, how does the yoga experience a hiking experience teach us. That’s, it’s not specific to anyone’s situation, I think it’s a baseline of who you become right? The foundation. Like it teaches you patience, it teaches you again, everything is temporary so let’s not get overly attached emotionally or get upset or too joyful, even like, let’s just stay neutralized on any situation because it will end. And then the next one will come up and kind of flow with the ebbs and flows of the ocean. You, you flow with everything that comes with you, comes your way at work, at home. But yeah, I mean, we do sit down as a leadership team. I, my father and my siblings and I, and we talk about, hey, we separately do the exercise. Where are we going to be in five years? What role do we play in that journey? And thankfully, all of ours are very similar in what our goals are. And then we have different skill sets that we bring. So even as we design the future of the company in a moment where my father is not at the head of the table, we’re working on that redesign work. But it’s very conscious. It’s very intentional. Again, we all step back and say, hey, look, how do we maintain, how do we solve problems? Because like, you know, we were talking about how tomorrow we may not agree on something, a big decision. What are we investing in? Come back to, you know, right now Shiv gets to make an ultimate decision because he’s the one leader at the top. Tomorrow it’s going to be three people at the top. How do you deal?

00:23:04 – Rico Figliolini

So is there an exit plan for your dad? Well, not an exit plan.

00:23:09 – Vandana Aggarwal

Not an exit plan. He already has. I think he, you know, he’s gone from, he’s the hardest working person I know. I get that from him. We’re addicted to work.

00:23:18 – Rico Figliolini

80 hours a week.

00:23:21 – Vandana Aggarwal

We love working. You know, this company is his baby. I think I’ve adopted it at this point and we all have. But, to stay mentally sharp, to stay alive, you have to keep working. You have to keep doing something. You have to be working towards something that brings you joy and purpose. And I think, you know, he stepped back to take time towards a lot of his nonprofit work, community work that he’s very much engaged with. But he’s still at the top. He’s still running, you know, his, you know, he’s, you know, not slowing down. You know, we’re constantly growing. We’re growing this year in a large scale, which is amazing, and he’s leading that charge.

00:23:59 – Rico Figliolini

How many properties do you own?

00:24:02 – Vandana Aggarwall

Today we have 50 shopping centers and then a few other assets. 

00:24:06 – Rico Figliolini

Is that like 3 million square feet or something? 4 million?

00:24:10 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, over 700 tenants. But, you know, when we sat down a few years ago, we rebranded. Aggarwal Real Estate didn’t exist until two years ago. It was American Management Services. And we had a rebranding effort because we said we want the company’s name and the brand to represent who we are.

00:24:33 – Rico Figliolini

I like that, by the way.

00:24:35 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, it needs to mean something. And we were also proud of what our father has achieved, right? He’s given us this beautiful life that we get to help grow upon. So we said it needs to pay homage to him. So we said, let’s make it Aggarwal Real Estate, ARE. And then as we were deciding what that vision is, we’re a family. In the company, we are a family, not just the four of us, but all of our staff, our team. We don’t, you know, we don’t look at them separate from who we are. And so we said our mission as a company is building communities as a community. And it talks about, hey, in all of the real estate work we’re doing, we try to make sure all of our properties are beautiful. Our tenants are happy. They have direct access to each of us in the company. And on top of that, as a company, we are a community within ourselves because we can’t create them until we are one. So it was very intentional to who we already were, but putting it into brand terms.

00:25:37 – Rico Figliolini

It’s amazing. All that property, tenants. Can’t imagine father tech can send text messages on all their problems, if they have any.

00:25:45 – Vandana Aggarwal

He’s a brilliant man.

00:25:45 – Rico Figliolini

You could be too possessed on that stuff. We want to be cognizant of our time together.

00:25:55 – Vandana Aggarwal

Absolutely.

00:25:57 – Rico Figliolini

So the next subject really was going to be about also AI, because everyone’s talking about AI. We were talking about that before the show started, before we started recording, which was kind of funny because V was asking me if we edit anything. And I was like, no, straight through.

00:26:11 – Vandana Aggarwal

I wanted to see if I could say a few things and then have it taken out of this conversation.

00:26:13 – Rico Figliolini

Nope. Nope. Doesn’t work that way. So, but ChatGPT, AI, that’s all. I mean, you know, could I create a bot to edit this? Probably. But there’s so many things we use in our lives. And you’ve been talking about how it would affect your business. Nevermind the consulting work you did.

00:26:33 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah. I mean, the consulting world is, I mean, it depends on the industry, the type of work you’re doing. In real estate, I’ve put a lot of thought behind this. There’s a lot of conversations happening across every industry, every sector, whether it’s education, automotives, real estate, et cetera. Everything’s being discussed. How is that changing the future? How do we incorporate it to be more efficient, right? Be the best in the industry that we can be or operate better. And so for me it’s again comes down to that operations element that I think about like, how do I incorporate it for a company that’s a medium-sized real estate firm today as we become a large company, a bigger player in the market. And people are very important in real estate right?

00:27:17 – Rico Figliolini

Talk about editing?

00:27:20 – Vandana Aggarwal

I was telling you, we should bring them into the podcast.

00:27:27 – Rico Figliolini

We’re going to run a little longer on this.

00:27:36 – Vandana Aggarwal

But let’s take retail shopping centers. This is brick and mortar. I did a paper actually for a large mall retailer back in my consulting days on how the title of the paper was, is brick and mortar dead? And, you know, full circle, I am fully dedicated to brick and mortar, retail, office, multifamily now. But you still need people to clean up your properties, fix your maintenance issues. We were talking about roofing, plumbing, electrical. That is hands-on work. You know, today there is, it’s going to be a long time before there’s a robot that comes in to do that. There will be. I don’t know. I do not see that in 10 years to say we’ve got roofers that are robotic drones that are going to come fix my roof problems.

00:28:24 – Rico Figliolini

Zumbas, they’re going to run around the roof or something.

00:28:26 – Vandana Aggarwal

That’s actually genius. A Zumba for my roof.

00:28:31 – Rico Figliolini

Why not? Attach it to the right thing.

00:28:33 – Vandana Aggarwal

But so those are very people-oriented roles today. Technology will advance how quickly it’s done or how well it’s done. But you’ll still need someone to operate the machinery of it and everything.

00:28:49 – Rico Figliolini

Just not as many.

00:28:50 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah. Construction, similarly, right?

00:28:54 – Rico Figliolini

Unless you 3D print a house. I’m sorry.

00:28:56 – Vandana Aggarwal

No, it’s true. It’s true. There’s so many options. I’m thinking 10 years now. I’m not going to have a 3D printer making the metal framing for my new construction project. You know, or installing the sheetrock, it does probably speed up the process, right? There will be machinery to help with that, a lot of AI development in that way. It’s a lot at an office administrative level, right? The speed in which you’re processing invoices, the speed in which you are, you know, getting payments taken in. Today, I would say as far back as right before COVID, we were still accepting checks for money. Now it’s all online. Like we do not accept money coming into the office, or it’s very limited to what we do, right? So that’s AI, if you think about it, right? The ability to pay online.

00:29:42 – Rico Figliolini

QuickBooks Online uses AI now, you can enable it.

00:29:47 – Vandana Aggarwal

So we’ve been using it for many years. The advancement of it has been a little bit slower, and now it’s sped up. Marketing, we were just talking about how you created a flyer on ChatGPT, was it? 

00:30:00 – Rico Figliolini

I won’t talk about the student that’s helping us out here and how they use AI.

00:30:04 – Vandana Aggarwal

No, AI in school, right? But yeah, it’s an AI processor for my HR roles, right? Instead of reading 100 resumes, it’s going through the system to filter them out. Whether it’s writing contracts, I won’t lie. Legal jargon is coming out of ChatGPT today. And so it’s speeding up the way we’re doing work. But my legal team probably, and they won’t say it, should be using AI if they’re not. To help create some of this work right? So it’s like these companies are still going to be needed, but the way that they’re able to respond to us at a quicker, everything would just happen faster right? From typewriters to computers, everything.

00:30:49 – Rico Figliolini

Especially if they know that they just did a lease from you for this property in Texas, that we need three more leases done for three other places, it’s not going to be that much different, right? It’s a template.

00:31:01 – Vandana Aggarwal

It’s coming out a lot faster. Yeah, I mean the negotiations, that’s a people-to-people thing right? So I think thankfully in the real estate world we’re still going to need people. We’re still going to need buildings right? The way built, we were just talking about how a retail shopping center is no longer just for shopping. It has to be for entertainment. It has to be for bringing families in and giving them more than just, hey, go into a TJ Maxx and buy something, right? It’s like, what else are you getting when you’re at that center? Whether it’s a play space or events, we’re starting to do more events at our shopping centers. So it’s, again, serving the community.

00:31:39 – Rico Figliolini

We’re seeing that more. More of that happening. We could go on and on here.

00:31:46 – Vandana Aggarwal

Chatting with you.

00:31:46 – Rico Figliolini

Yeah, and we should probably do one on either AI in the marketplace. Or maybe a panel discussion on something similar. 

00:31:51 – Vandana Aggarwal

Yeah, overall, yeah. That would be exciting.

00:31:55 – Rico Figliolini

Yeah, I think that would be cool.

00:31:56 – Vandana Aggarwal

I think it’s interesting to learn about kind of where every industry is heading. It impacts all of us.

00:32:00 – Rico Figliolini

For sure. I mean, the magazine business, I mean, it’s all like we have certain, we have AI rules. But, you know, AI is still being used to degree to research things. And to do certain things like that. You know, hopefully journalism isn’t just handed over. They do say 40% of the internet is AI written. So, which is kind of incestuous almost because it’ll just feed on itself at some point.

00:32:27 – Vandana Aggarwal

There’s a whole discussion about the validity and the trust behind digital content. In the next few years. I think it’s going to diminish.

00:32:35 – Rico Figliolini

Oh, yeah. I mean, I’m seeing videos now and it’s just like, it just looks so real. And you could not tell the difference, even voice-wise.

00:32:42 –  Vandana Aggarwal

And that’s scary to think. It’s like, how do you trust what you see?

00:32:47 – Rico Figliolini

So on that note, and since this is not edited, so this is right from the beginning. So this is all true. But I want to thank everyone. I want to thank you, V, for being with me.

00:32:57 – Vandana Aggarwal

Thank you so much for having me. This was a great conversation.

00:33:01 – Rico Figliolini

It went by way faster than some of these go. So this is a great discussion. Thank you, everyone. I appreciate you for joining us. Thank you for Vox Pop Uli for the studio look and for letting us do it here, for being a sponsor and for EV Remodeling. Also, I want to thank Jeremy Pruitt behind the camera who has taken care. He’s a Paul Duke student. And it wasn’t him that I was talking about before, by the way. But all the work he’s done on the back end on this. So thank you, Jeremy. So thank you all. Thanks for being with us.

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