REAL AF with Andy Frisella - 196. Q&AF: Firing Employees, Merging Businesses & Making Big Purchases

Episode Date: December 15, 2021

In today's episode, Andy answers your questions on the uncomfortable reality of having to fire an employee, what you should keep in mind when acquiring or merging with another business, and how to know when you're ready to make your first big purchase.

What is up guys, it's Andy Priscilla and this is the show for the realest, say goodbye to the lies, the fakeness, and delusions of modern society and welcome to motherfucking reality guys today we have q and af this is where dj what's up dude what's going on ask me questions and i give you the answers all right a lot of them have to do with business 75 hard what the fuck is going on in the world? You know, all the good shit. Here's the deal though. We do have a fee on the show. We've been able to build one of the biggest entrepreneur shows, success shows, comedy shows. Thank you very much in the world. And we do it through word of mouth. We don't run ads. I don't buy my fucking fake magazine covers or fake fucking Forbes lists or fake fucking awards or any of this shit. I don't do none of that shit. Okay. It's real simple value

exchange. If we do good, you talk about the show. It's real simple. That's all we ask. All right. So do that for us. If you like the show, if you don't like the show, tell us to fuck off. That's cool too. All right. Now to the main meat of the show. Well, you think that's funny? Are you the main meat? No,

I was, I just had a hot disease. I just popped up in my fucking man. That's yeah. You know, that's a little weird. That's a little weird. All right.

What we got today, bro. You got three questions, man. And guys, as always, you can email your questions into askandyatandyfussella.com. Keep them coming. Yeah. And ask good questions because I don't answer the stupid ones. I won't even see the stupid ones.

Yeah. So when you message in and you ask stupid shit, we won't answer. We need to do an episode of that where we just answer. Answer stupid shit. Yeah. Just so people can fucking hear themselves. That's it is bro bro that'd be a good show q and q and a f stupid shit edition mark that shit down in your calendar it's coming out all right so let's get into this man we got

three questions for you first one andy how do you fire people? Okay. And has it changed from, you know, the 23 years ago to what it is now? How do you go about firing people? Well, look, man, that's probably one of the hardest things about being in business. No, nobody likes fire. Yeah. It's not a fun thing.

Yeah. I cried the first time I had a fire. No shit. Yeah. I fucking felt horrible. Yeah. Like, cause he was a good dude, like a really good dude. He just couldn't do the job.

Um, and then, you know, he went out and found a way and he became super successful in his own, in his own little world, you know? And that made me feel better. But like, bro, a fire on people sucks. Like, it's not fun. Like people who think that's what, that's fun. That's not fun. Um, you know, first off,

I try to give people multiple chances. You know, I, I, I look at their mistakes and sometimes their inability to perform as an opportunity to get better. And it really, uh, takes a lot for me to fire people. Usually for me to fire people, they have to do something unethical. Uh, otherwise I really try hard to find them a role inside of our company because we have all different kinds of roles that fit. And I think that as business owners and CEOs and managers, people who have to hire and fire, I think the best way to look at your company is to figure out, and people don't do this, like just because a guy is not good at sales doesn't mean he won't be great at servicing a customer or he won't be great at helping logistically with things.

Different people have different skill sets and your job as a CEO is not to crank out people who are a cookie cutter person. Your job is actually to cultivate someone's natural skills and help them figure out a place where they can perform. All right. For the betterment of the organization. So, you know, you have to have, there's some nuance there is what I'm saying. Right. And, and so, you know, you have to be patient. You have to realize that when people make mistakes, there's two ways to look at it. One, you could look at it and say, Hey, this person cost me $12,000. But the real CEOs are going to look at it and say, okay, that person cost me 12 grand, but okay, will they do that again? And if the answer's no, then you have to eat that and invest that into a cost of education, right?

So the best way to do that is take the mistake, show everybody the mistake, and then so everybody learns not to do that. Right. Right. And that's how you make it work financially. But mainly, you know, when you have to actually go fire someone after you try to do all those things in good faith, and let's just say it's just not working. Right.

Or they did something unethical, like they got caught stealing. Right. Or they got caught, you know, doing something that was totally against company culture right right um and that happens too man and and you know the way to fire someone in my opinion uh under scenarios where they didn't do something unethical because that's that's really easy to fire people like you you fucking come bring in you show them the proof and you say what the fuck right and and then they say blah blah blah blah and you say well you can't work here anymore and then they fucking leave you know and that's how it goes um in a nutshell yeah uh but let's just say they're a good person right because that's where the really hard firings come

in look dude uh usually those people know they're going to get fired. That's what I found. They know that they're not performing. They know that. And usually, bro, what you find out is that they're not happy. They're not happy for whatever reason. And so usually the conversation goes something like this, like, hey, bro, like, you know, we've worked through all these things. We've had these talks many times. What, what do you think? And so I like to toss it to them and get what they think. Right. And they'll say, well, this and this and this. And I'll say, well, don't you think like, it might be a good idea for you to find a place where you're going to be happy and be, because it seems like you're not. And usually what you find out is they don't want to fucking

be there anyway. So once you make it okay for them to leave and it's kind of almost like a mutual thing. And that usually happens, uh, you know, and, and, and they go their own way and you support them and,

and, and whatever they do, you know, as long, that's how I operate. You know, like I have a lot of people that have not worked out here that I'm still really good friends with.

And it just so happened to be that they wanted to do something else. and that's okay. That's cool. And that's why their performance was suffering here. Some people are incompetent. Some people just can't do the fucking job. And so, you know, you have to like work with those people, but some people just aren't going to get it. But having a mutual conversation about the reality of the scenario shouldn't be something that someone who is in charge of a business uh should be afraid of because here's the thing and this is what got me okay with firing people if you don't fire people first of all understand this you're the entire rest of your team knows who should be fired who shouldn't they all fucking know yeah and if you don't fire people

guess what they think about you they think you're weak they trust you less they they invest less than the company not monetarily emotionally and mentally because they don't trust you to make the hard calls when the hard calls come so when you if you like don't fire the people that you know should be fired just understand that every day you don't you're losing respect to your company so that that's where i got when i understood that yeah that's when i started getting real fucking comfortable like hey look bro you gotta go you're fucking up the team that's it no and you're holding the team back yeah so i have a responsibility as a ceo to make it the best fucking most powerful machine move forward as possible if i have someone that's holding the company back

it's not just affecting me it's affecting all of these other people right and that's where you have to like really understand that this is a responsibility for you to do because you're also responsible these other people when you start thinking about it like that it becomes a much easier decision to make yeah so it's a sucky situation it's easily the worst part about being a business if you if you're not a dick right um and then after they leave you know i as long as they're a good dude or a good good girl like you know and they're a good person um i'll do everything i can to fucking help them along and find a place where they fit i just think that's the ethical thing to do yeah you know but if they if they if they cheer they lie or they try to start a mutiny or

they try to fucking fuck with you um that fucking hammer swings both ways yeah you know what i'm saying yeah so it's uh mcdonald's won't hire you bro you won't be able to go nowhere well you know people you know i mean it's reality of life yeah and it's it's just part of being in business yeah i just put a post up today man you know if you're going to do something that's out of uh normal if you're going to build something great if you're going to try to be great if you're going to try to be more than what everybody else is and where everybody else is just waiting to die and rotten uh you're going gonna be the bad character in someone's fucking story yeah and that's not your responsibility to carry it's just what it is yeah you know so you have to understand like sometimes and dude i've had plenty of people too

that uh you know we had disagreements and then later on we we became friends you know what i mean and and look to be an effective leader and not fucking truly hate people you've got to have a big heart and be able to forgive people you know what i'm saying yeah like i don't hold any animosity towards any of the people that ever came here i actually value them for the time that they that they came and served and helped and at that time they were valuable i value that and i choose to think about those things whether they're like more than like if shit went bad yeah you know what i mean yeah well the fact that you're on that fucking resume you know the next business the next company's gonna see that oh fuck you worked that first one yeah it's a big deal yeah yeah it's getting that way you know 100 yeah but you know listen to everybody out there that has

to go through that scenario you know you see that shit on donald trump show where he's like you're fired that ain't real man wall street yeah that ain't real shit dude like that might be you know some of you guys out there running companies you think oh that's the way it should be and you're a badass ceo no you're a fucking asshole you know what i mean yeah like bro people deserve respect and not everybody can get in line with the exact same thing that you're trying to do. And I believe in karma. I believe in good intention. And if you truly believe in that, you shouldn't be trying to fucking fuck with people. You should be trying to help find their way. That's my opinion. That's real. All right. Question number two, can you talk about mergers and buyouts and what's the pros and cons of those things? Well, I actually don't know a whole lot about that because I've never really done it. You know

what I mean? I took over a failing business one time, but it wasn't this big corporate deal. It was a small business. So I don't really know a whole lot about that. A lot of guys know more than me. And I don't really look into it because I'm not interested in selling or merging, you know, now I could see strategic partnerships with companies. I mean, we do have some strategic relationships, obviously you have to have those, but, uh, you know, I'm probably the wrong guy to get to, to answer that question, to be completely honest. Um, I don't have any interest in selling.

I don't have any interest in merging. Um, but strategic partnerships is something I can talk about. You know, I think it's super important that you, that you create good, positive relationships with people in your own industry. Because do you never know when you're going to need their help and you never know when you're going to need to work together. You never know. And be honest dude like most of the people that i'm in competition with in business like i talk a lot of shit about wanting to crush everybody and fucking kill them and this and that and you know that's true but i also don't want them to fucking fail because these are my guys i care about these guys yeah you know so it's this weird internal dynamic where it's competitive, but it's also like, all right, I'll help you.

We'll work together. We respect each other. We can be friendly and even good friends. Would you say that's a mature level? That's a mature thing that happens once that company is a lot older. Well, remember, I think there's that 20, like we talked about with Ed Milet when he was on the show. There's that five-year business owner or 10-year business owner you know i think when you're in the five-year club you're

still in the in the kill mode where you think you got to ruin everybody you know and that doesn't really work you can't do that there's too many there's enough business for everybody out there to survive so you can't really do that uh nor is it good karma to do that i learned because every year that i operated that way where i felt that way we never grew you know what i mean and i think that has to do with intent yeah i think what and now my my my viewpoint because i'm such a competitive fucking dude i think my viewpoint now um has evolved to where like when i see people do really good shit uh i still get a twinge of like fuck you you know what i'm saying yeah but but that stops within like 10 seconds and then i correct myself

and i'm like you know what that's fucking great yeah because here's why it's great it's great because this this this this and guess what if they did that i can do that or i could do it better and i believe in myself that way and i believe in our team that way. And I believe in every single company that I'm a part of in that way. So I don't really don't think like, and this is not cockiness. This is just truth. I really don't think anybody out there can beat me. Okay. I could beat myself by not coming to work and not staying aggressive and starting to kick my feet up. And a lot of people think that what's funny is a lot of our competitors think that they think, Oh,

Andy's just fucking balled out. Like he doesn't do it. Fuck. You guys have no idea, bro. Like you wish that's what it was. Um, I haven't even fucking started yet by the way,

but, uh, you know, those, those relationships are good because here's the thing, dude. Um, you're going to go through phases in your company. You're going to go through phases where you're the underdog. You're probably going to go through phases where you're in the growth period.

And you're going to go through phases where, you know, if you pay attention and keep working, where you're going to be near the top, as long as you stick it out, like you guys out there who are in year one, year two, year three, you could be at the top if you just stick with it. That's the thing no one really gets. Because eventually, all these other people you're competing with, shit happens to them. Their priorities change, or they go through some sort of midlife change, somebody buys them, or something happens, or this or that. and so if you're competing let's say with a hundred people in the first three years by the time you get to level the 20th year uh you know there's only fucking five left right you know what i'm saying so really it is a game of survival and perseverance

and fortitude and grit and toughness which by the way i talk an awful lot about all right and there's a reason for that um so you know i think having a uh you know good strategic partnerships i think it's good to root for people um i think it's okay to be competitive with people and still i think you can still root for them those two things can coexist in my brain at least for me yeah you know what i mean like i can look at someone i'm gonna fucking beat you but i'd still love them if that makes sense yeah like and uh i want you to i'm still gonna celebrate when they win right you know i'm saying like that's the thing and so i think it's bro i think it is a maturity thing you know um i'm definitely not a mature human like i'm still 12 years, but when it comes to those things in business,

you know, that's just becoming more confident in your own abilities and your team's abilities and what you know, because dude, fuck man. Like Chris and I talk about this all the time. You know, I see people in business, not just nutrition or apparel or anything like that, just in business and, you know, or making mistakes that are honestly just rookie mistakes and him and i always say man we forget how much we know and like dude i do forget how much i know you know what i mean but like i'm so thankful that it's been so fucking hard and so competitive because when you're gifted like funds or a business you don't get to learn all these lessons. You don't get to like fight in the mud and in the dirt and claw and rip and learn all these like little gritty techniques

to win in business. And so, you know, that's why someone like me, I'm always going to beat someone who's a second generation or someone who, um, you know, comes in the game with some financing or someone who hit a home run on their first day, first at bat. And now they're, they're trying to ride that success where I'm going to eat those motherfuckers for lunch because I never got anything easy. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yep. And so if things aren't going easy for you right now, and things seem like a constant struggle and it's like, you're always fucking fighting and you're always clawing. Um, that's a really good thing because those skills that you develop from that process

make you unbeatable as long as you stay in the game so the longer you get the belt more skills you have you know and what's cool is too once you get to that level where you're like let's say at that 20 you know all the other 20 year guys and they got all skills too and i'll call them up and say hey what do you think about this and they'll say well what do you think and i'll say well i think this and i'll say well we did this one time and now all of a sudden i got the tools of the five other guys who were also not quitters who are also great tell you know we're all collaborating against the fucking everybody else yeah and so like your goal is to get good enough to get into that level you know what i mean yeah uh but yeah it's it's definitely different it definitely evolves um i definitely want to stomp fucking faces everywhere i go but i also want to lift people up as weird as

that fucking sounds so bro you can you can run the ways but you're just gonna have second place yeah that's it that's it and you know what if you have podium if you happen to get first place you can fucking bet the next time we race you ain't't fucking winning. No shit. And so it's kind of like having a brother that's pretty good as shit. You want him to be good, but you also want to beat his ass. You know what I'm saying? So that's how it is. But when you're small. It's healthy competition.

Yes. But when you're small and there's a thousand competitors, it's fucking ruthless. People don't give a fuck. People treat like shit. They play by a different code. And what you have to understand is that different code is going to put them out of business at some point in time that's real dope all right uh our third and final question for you andy so i'm gonna read i'm gonna read this so i'm looking to get my first big purchase vehicle okay i've been working my ass

off my people are good but how do i know if it's the right thing like i still don't know if it's the right thing to do is this do you think this is just an emotional purchase like how do i how do i handle this when i got my first lamborghini bro i was fucking i was uh i didn't drive it for the first year in public like nobody knew i had it the only person knew I had it was my brother and my dad. No one else knew. No one. And,

uh, you know, uh, eventually, um, someone saw a guy that works for us, saw, saw me driving it and was like,

damn bro, when'd you get that? And I'm like a year ago, it was a year ago. Why didn't you fucking tell anybody? Yeah. And this is a guy who worked for me and I, I was scared like you know

it would piss everybody off or whatever but really what i found out was two things one uh it inspired the fuck out of people because it showed them that we were winning um and doing cool shit and secondly uh it weeded out a lot of the fucking haters. Like, when that phase of my life started where I started making some money and I started living a little bit bigger and I started accomplishing some of my personal goals, some people didn't want that in my company. And guess what? They weeded themselves out. And those people went a different direction.

And those people were filled back in with people who appreciate that kind of shit and who want it. And so, you know, I don't want to be surrounded by people who don't want fucking nice shit. I don't want people in my company who don't want have big dreams. Now, you may not want a fucking Lamborghini or Ferrari or some shit, but maybe a nicer house or more money or fucking whatever. More money because you want to give it away. I don't care. If you don't have fucking big ambitions, I don't motherfucking want you here. Right. And that's it. So once I understood that, which I learned

that lesson from one of my friends who was an entrepreneur. And I said to him, I said, he had a, he drove a McLaren. I said, Hey bro, like do your fucking employees like hate that you do that? And he's like, well well let me ask you this do you want anybody working for you that hates that i that you drive a nice car and that was really all i needed to hear yeah you know what i'm saying and after that you know story is a story like if you don't if you don't want to do that for your life then fucking go do something else we're trying to win over here motherfucker you know what i mean so that's how I look at it. So like for that person, I would say, you know, if you're taking care of your people, if you have a big seat where it really gets people in trouble is when they're stale in

their company growth. Okay. Like if you're one of these, these business owners who is not aggressively trying to grow and create careers and create pathways for people to succeed and you're out you know you're basically not growing the company you're out of the office all the time you're buying nice shit blah blah basically if you're a shitty fucking owner with no responsibility or care for your people are fucking hate you for it yeah okay but if you're actually out there committed showing up every day growing the company and you're showing people like,

Hey, I'm trying to create something fucking huge here so you can have a huge life here with us. That's a totally different thing. So, uh, I think it's important, you know, you, if you're going to drive nice shit and be live that big life, you better be sure that you're creating the opportunity for that big life with people who are in your organization you know what i'm saying so that that's that's my take on that you know as far as like affording it and shit like how do you know when the time is um it should be an irrelevant conversation for you like you you should be able to pay the money and not give a fuck like if you

could pay for a fucking your whatever car you want your first cool car and not give a shit then there you go green light yeah but when it but the problem is when you're trying to get all these tricky ways to cover a fucking eighteen hundred dollar a month payment or some shit you know that's where that's where that you know it's no no good you're not there yet yeah keep working awesome man well fuck man that's three questions man that's three so go pay the fee guys yep it's no good. You're not there yet. Yeah. Keep working. Awesome, man. Well, fuck, man. That's three questions, man. That's three, so go pay the fee, guys. Yep. Pay the fee. Thanks, guys.

Appreciate it. Case closed.