#145: Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash)

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:00:00]:

Every day I wake up, I think, how can I make my life easier for for the consumer? How can I make it life life easier for the team? And I serve them. Certain leadership is important. Without them, they they they run our business. Right? Our our GMs and AGMs at these sites and all of our frontline team members, They run the business and we're so thankful that we have them. So a lot of that focuses on those areas and just constant improvement, Jeff. We everyday I wake up is how can we do better than the next day? And that I think is a level of success too. And a lot of that is the the things I learned in the marines. Having a good mindset and a mentality to get things done and being tenacious.

Jeffrey Stern [00:00:36]:

Let's discover what people are building in the Greater Cleveland community. We are telling the stories of Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurs, builders, And those supporting them. Welcome to the Lay of the Land podcast, where we are exploring what People are building in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio. I am your host, Jeffrey Stern. And today, I had the real pleasure of speaking with Brian Bruce. Brian is the founder at Sergeant Clean Car Wash, a premier express car wash organization proudly serving Northeast Ohio since 2013 with over a dozen locations throughout the region. Under Brian's leadership, sergeant Clean Car Wash has been recognized many times over as a 5 time Inc 5,000, fastest growing private company winner, Weatherhead 100 winner, Smart Culture Award recipient, And personally, having spent 8 years in the United States Marine Corps himself, a multi time Vet 100 winner as a proudly veteran owned and operated business. And, of course, Best Car Wash in Cleveland by Smart Business Magazine.

Jeffrey Stern [00:01:42]:

This was an awesome conversation. Brian and I cover the business of car washes, how Brian got started in the industry in the 1st place, how Sergeant Clean Car Wash Is changing the face of car washes writ large, the influence of Brian's time in the Marine Corps, his unique approach to recruiting, The role of ADHD in his own process, the role and opportunity for car washing to positively impact local communities, Building a lasting culture and so much more. So with that, please enjoy my conversation with Brian Crews after a brief message From our sponsor. Lay of the Land is brought to you by Impact Architects and by 90. As we share the stories of entrepreneurs building incredible organizations in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio, Impact Architects has helped hundreds of those leaders, many of whom we have heard from as guests On this very podcast, realize their own visions and build these great organizations. I believe in Impact Architects and the people behind it so much that I have Actually, join them personally in their mission to help leaders gain focus, align together, and thrive by doing what they love. If you 2 are trying to build great, Impact Architects is offering to sit down with you for a free consultation or provide a free trial through 90, the software platform that helps teams build great companies. If you're interested in learning more about partnering with Impact Architects or by leveraging 90 to power your own business, please go to I a dot lay of the land dot f m.

Jeffrey Stern [00:03:11]:

The link will also be in our show notes. I think we we maybe just have to Start with with car washes. You know, I I would love to understand why and how it was that you came to find yourself building in this space. Know, like, what transpired at some point in in your past that that led you to making the decision to say, I think I wanna go into The car washing industry in

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:03:42]:

business. Yeah. I guess maybe just my life has just been unique. Right? You know, I, in in the Marine Corps, The percentage is that less than 1% of America's population could be a marine. So it's just a weird uniqueness there from that. And then I was a bond builder of all things in the marine corps. So once again, you know, it was always a proud fact that my mom or my dad would repeat what my job was in the marines. Car washing is unique.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:04:05]:

Right? You know? I have a 7 year old, and I remember them going to preschool, 7 and a 10 year old, going to school, and you'd ask the kids where they wanna be when they grow up. I've never heard car washer yet. But how it and how how that story unfolded was back in our 1st location was March of 2013. But prior to that, I was laid off in 2008 from the banking world. I was an executive banking refer recruiter. So, I was laid off, Low man in the totem pole and proceeded to do something different at the time. My friend of mine, best friend, Andrew had some beverage try through stores. And he had said, hey, why don't we team up and and grow? He was growing his business.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:04:45]:

So I, landed a hand and helped that growth from 1 to 4 locations in the beverage store space, like drive thru beverage stores here in Northeast Ohio, in Lorain County. And then I believe in knowledge is power. So we're at NASS convention, bumping elbows with men and women all over the world for the the c store space And bumped into a guy, and he said, man, I got I got car washes and I got sea stores. And I said, car wash. What the heck's a car wash? I I knew nothing about it. Thinking laser Watch or whatever the heck. And long story short, he said, I got, free tickets. I can get you to go to the, Eastern show in Atlantic City.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:05:22]:

So, you know, these places are never horrible. Right? I'm leaving Vegas to come home and then I leave and go to Atlantic City. And when I went there, I just fell in love with the industry. It really, really, really reminded me, just to the Marines, you know, people from all walks of life coming together for a common purpose. I was able to listed some really good answers to questions that I had good discovery work. Even longer story, even shorter, I met a gentleman, Vic, who owned a kinda distribution company there from equipment to soap, he was born and raised in Strongsville. He told me he had just the location for us. It was kind of a The hot mess, it was a piece of crap.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:05:57]:

You can't do any worse than, you know, what the current owner was, which I thought, hey, thanks for the confidence. But, You know, long story short, we had we had looked into that business and it just was a great opportunity, for not only the seller, but also for us to purchase and and kind of, open the door into the world of car washing. I often say, we entered the world of car washing difficult because our first location Had a 176 leans. Oh my god. Yeah. So it took about 18 months to get to the process, But long story short, we it it was nothing but uphill battle from day 1 in the car wash industry. So which was good. Right? It It kept us tenacious and it kept our heads focused on what we needed to do and and doing it the the hard way versus easy.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:06:44]:

Right.

Jeffrey Stern [00:06:44]:

And then not that it ever was gonna be easy, but, you know, If you can surmount that many liens, you know, maybe you come to the next one where there's may maybe less than a dozen liens and you're like, that's pretty good.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:06:55]:

Yeah. Right? Because naturally, you know, I I saw vision our attorney just staring at me. And this was a gentleman who went to school with my mom and my uncles on that side of the family. And he's like, don't really care about a client that turn in privileges. I I have to tell your mom, she's gonna kill me. You know? Long story short, yeah, it was a difficult situation that no one would really touch, but we were able to overcome, and he was helpful, you know, during the process as well.

Jeffrey Stern [00:07:19]:

Well, to to borrow your aphorism of of knowledge is power, You know, one of the perennial pieces of startup advice that is in advance of actually going out and building is that you need to, You know, deeply understand the market and then learn about your customer. You know, what are their pain points? What is the status quo? Why are things done the the way they are today? What do they care about? What are they trying to accomplish? How did you go about, You know, learning about this this industry. I'm so curious to understand, like, what exactly your approach was to to learning about the car wash market and And what the actual learnings were, from from that undertaking?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:07:59]:

You know, it was it really allowed me to cut through a lot of the stigma and the, you know, assumptions that I had. Right? It's easy. You know, it's the first instinct naturally, not from everybody, from the majority. Hey. You You flick the lights on at 7, shut them off at 8, grab the cash, and you're done. Right? It it it's it's, not a glamorous business, maybe, like an oncologist or a lawyer or an attorney, you know, I'm sorry. Lawyer is an attorney. But a, A doctor, a, you know, a CPA, some well profession.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:08:30]:

So I took a step back and said, hey. How can I be best educated? And I said, I'm gonna talk to owners. So I literally, as my wife refers to it, my nerd journal, I opened up a journal and I put pros on one side, cons on the other. And I would get on Google, And I would call every car washer I could outside 3 or 4 hours of the Cleveland area. And I was all over Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Illinois, down in Columbus area, and I just I went to went to town. Just maxed the credit card out, and I was buying flights and traveling and picking everyone's brand. And it was really good that I started finding people, and then they had friends in the industry. And that was the best education, you know, that I ever that I ever got from the car wash industry.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:09:16]:

I heard it firsthand from owners and then I physically saw, oh, you know, men and women in uniform pro. People chain smoking and tattoos on their face in front of customers, con. And I would go down, you know, this list and it really, really, really gave me good perspective and to to hit the, ground running come day 1, because I knew, you know, it was inevitable here. And I've constantly done that over the 10 years of our existence, and I still do it to today.

Jeffrey Stern [00:09:42]:

Before we we turned on the mics here, you mentioned changing the the face of the the car wash industry. And and one of the other things that I mean, there are a lot of things here that I'm I'm curious about. But is there an interesting history to car washes? You know, when I think about, like, industries overall, to me, car washes would be the, like, Classic example of of second order effects. You know, we're thinking through the implications of all the proliferation of cars in the country. You know, obviously, the automotive industry gets huge, but now people have dirty cars. So they they need to clean them. But are are you aware of, like, how the industry Came to be and and how it's evolved over time and how the face of it has has changed in in any interesting ways?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:10:22]:

Yeah. That's a really good question. I could probably go 7 ways to Answer that. But I but I think the most is, without a doubt, it has changed. And over the last 5 years, you know, if you're in Northeast Ohio or frankly anywhere, you know, across The nation, you can you'd see the explosive growth of car washing. I often tell people, Jeff, that it came from the same thing happened in the, seventies and eighties with the oil change industry. It was a thing where, you know, back in the day, you weren't a man, you know, in a sense, unless you did your own oil change. And it was a process.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:10:53]:

Right? You get the pen, you get, You know, you did this whole thing with maybe your dad or your grandfather, and it was this teaching lesson. And then people said, well, hey, I have way less time to do fun things or to do whatever, and Oil changes happened, and private equity got involved, and they just threw gasoline on the fire. So seventies and eighties, there's a huge explosive growth. They could put, you know, this 2 or 3 bay oil change on a 3rd of an acre. You see them out lots of shopping centers, and it just boom. It just exploded. Yep. Similar to that here now.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:11:22]:

Right? Private equities involved in our industry. That's helped fuel the fire, but also the consumers. The consumers are telling us that they wanna clean car. They want fast, easy and convenient. The unlimited program where you get, you know, charged once a month, wash unlimited, we'll have 16 locations here by year end. So There's a lot of, you know, value in that as well. So without a doubt, that's changed. One of the other components of change is technology.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:11:45]:

I mean, we use cameras, we use sonar, The utmost up to date technology in all of our car washes, we I I love when we open a new one and we do city tours and, you know, community is State staff are coming there, the mayor is usually there, chamber members, community members, and they come and they're there for an hour. And they're just staring in awe going, Oh my gosh. I had no clue. You know, this was how this happened and the functionality of the car wash. And that's a lot of the component to change, but a lot of it too was the people. You know, like I mentioned, it was just this especially in Northeast Ohio, it was this long drawn out process Where if you wanted a car wash, you knew, I don't have 15 or 20 minutes to waste. Right? Because you got in your car, you got out of your car, walked down a hallway. The the pay process was was clunky.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:12:33]:

The car wash itself was very clunky. No offense to any, you know, owner operators, you know, of the past is They would often put cash into their pocket versus putting it into the business, and it just suffered. Right? And that just became a stigma of I'm gonna take forever. It's gonna be clunky. It's gonna be crappy building. Just don't look at anybody, pay your thing, get in, get out, you know, enjoy your clean car. And that's completely changed. I'd like to say we are one of the main, you know, leaders in the in the change here in Northeast Ohio as we've been one of the original ones here.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:13:05]:

10 years ago, adapting of the unlimited program and and how we take care of our team members and how those team members take care of our customers.

Jeffrey Stern [00:13:12]:

So how would you lay out What Sergeant Kleen Car Wash is and, you know, the evolution of the business over the the last few years and, you know, where where you're where you're today?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:13:24]:

You know what? The best answer for that is mentorship. I had really good mentors and advisers along the way, and I graduated up from some of the earlier mentors and advisers to the ones I currently have now. But the theme all along was just figure out what your business model is and get laser focused on that. And when we started, I mean, man, if you had $5, I'd clean your steering wheel for you. Right? We we did everything from detailing to interior cleaning, to towel dry. In some of our early locations, we had some of those components. Up until about 7 or 8 years ago, we just became laser focused and said, hey, here's the deal. You we're gonna make it fast, easy, convenient.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:14:01]:

We're gonna give you the best quality possible, and the people working with you are is gonna be strong on customer service. They're gonna smile, they're gonna wave, it's gonna be a pleasant experience, kinda almost like the break away from your day, allow you to, you know, metaphorically cleanse yourself, you know, the car wash, you know, getting clean, And I see a smiling face there too. And that's just been the forefront of what we've done to change, you know, the face of car washing and to focus on what we're gonna do best. And then allow the consumer with free vacuums, we've got towels, air fresheners, you know, dash spray, window spray. Let Then determine the level of clonliness for their inside of their vehicle and give them the the proper tools and resources in order to do that. Some people can spend 5 minutes or someone could be there for 20 minutes, you know, and do an interior cleaning. And that's been a lot of helpful people along the way, that have helped me get where I'm at. And and a good mentor and advisor is helpful where they're a good friend.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:14:52]:

You can grab dinner with them, grab lunch with them, but they're gonna tell you the candid truth. And you gotta be humble when you when you wanna actual receive advice and actually fall into a level of mentorship. Because if not, it's just worthless. Right? You know, you might as well start talking to the wall.

Jeffrey Stern [00:15:09]:

Yeah. I I do wanna circle back on on the the mentorship Thread, and unpack that one a little bit more. But, you know, you had mentioned the the perception that people Have historically had about, you know, car washes and how it's evolved, the present state of the industry. When you think about What is the role that that sergeant Killeen has to play in this larger, you know, macro picture of of car washes? I guess another way to frame this idea that I'm trying to get is, like, obviously, there there are car washes everywhere, and we all have our perceptions about how they're operated and and run. You know, what What are you doing explicitly here that is that is different and, you know, raises the bar and sets sergeant Kleen apart?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:15:53]:

Yeah. I guess, generically, right, people always say, oh, my people. You know? Oh, it's my people. We do that. So I'll leave that secondary because we already know that. Right? We hire really good people. It's an ex you know, very extensive process that we go through. We hire slow, we fire fast, and we actually talk people out of working for us.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:16:11]:

So that's important for us. But 2 is, you know, we wanna give you the best quality car wash and the fastest amount of time possible. Right? So time is important. It's ever more important now. I have a 7 10 year old that I mentioned in a family and other things that I do, you know, besides running the business and Time is important. Time is a valuable resource. So I think for ours, for us, it's a laser focus on that. We listen to our customers.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:16:34]:

You know, they talked about free vacuums, they talked about towels, we're we're constantly listening. Now, we may not be able to do every single thing that's suggested, but we truly, Truly, genuinely listen to our customers, and we've made adaptations. And anyone who's been around Sarfin Clean can see the modifications and changes and constant improvements that we put into our car wash. We recently have added some dish additional soap. We added, a brush at the end. It's not a brush, but, you know, it in our terms, it's a brush. There's nothing brush related to the car wash, but it's a, a buff and shine system because the consumer wanted a good, you know, drier way to wash the you know, to dry the vehicle. So added that.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:17:11]:

We're gonna bring on at some particular point here next year, like, a towel, towels towels that they can use and dry their vehicle. We've got air, we've got mat cleaners, so on and so forth. The list goes on. But these are things that are suggestions, you know, from the consumer that we listen and we and we do. Another thing is our team, you know, we we constantly interview our team whether it's, you know, anonymous feedback or direct feedback and how we can be better. How can we serve you better. And our mentality, as the company is, this is a a a, a top down, not a bottom up. And I work for our team.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:17:45]:

You know, every day I wake up, I think, how can I make my life easier for for the consumer? How can I make it life life easier for the team? And I serve them. Certain leadership is important. Without them, they they they run our business. Right? Our our GMs and AGMs at these sites and all of our frontline team members, They run the business, and we're so thankful that we have them. So a lot of that focuses on those areas and just constant improvement, Jeff. We everyday I wake up is how can we be better than the next day? And that, I think, is a level of success too. And a lot of that is the the things I learned in the marines. Having a good mindset and a mentality to get things done and being tenacious.

Jeffrey Stern [00:18:21]:

Did did I hear you correctly that you you you wanna talk people out of working with you?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:18:27]:

Yes.

Jeffrey Stern [00:18:27]:

Okay. Yeah. Can can you unpack that a little bit?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:18:30]:

Yeah. Yeah. So it's I mean, we're not like I mentioned, you know, we we do great things. Right? We we hire loving, caring people that love our customers, love working with one another. You know? I often say I've not been to work in over 10 years because of the environment that we've created. Now everyone's gonna have bad days and, you know, bad weeks or whatever the case may be, but we try to provide the best impact for them. And when we hire people, these are our direct frontline individuals, the ambassadors of first impressions, and they're in front of these customers. Right? They're they're the first, Sometimes the first or multiple takes of how sergeant clean looks like and feels like.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:19:02]:

And if we're just hiring to hire and fill a slot, ain't gonna work. Right? And part of talking them out is we tell them, I did the same thing when I was I was a recruiter in the marines. But at the car washes, you're gonna, you know, be outside. Right? You're gonna work in 900 degrees in the sun, you're gonna work at 10 degrees below 0, you're gonna be outside, you're gonna be in wash environment, you know, we're not reinventing the wheel. We're not developing the cure for cancer here, but we're gonna love on our customers. We're gonna provide, you know, also, tangible benefits where we have 401 k and, you know, medical, dental, vision, all those career paths and and good, you know, employment opportunities for team members and just We say all that, but we we make it hard. We tell them what we're gonna do. Hey.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:19:42]:

You're gonna work on your feet long hours and so on and so forth. And, but we also, you know. Talk about the work life balance. And, you know, car washing is a great thing, but it's not everything.

Jeffrey Stern [00:19:53]:

So I I I have to ask about your your time in the marines. It's, you know, it's It's something you you brought up a few times. I imagine particularly a formative experience in your own life. How did your time in the Marines inform, You know, how how you do business and and maybe share a little bit about, you know, what what inspired you to to join in in the 1st place. And, you know, obviously, they tried to talk you out of it, so it didn't work.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:20:18]:

Yeah. So I mean, so growing up, my, one of my good friends, his grandfather was in the marines. He fought war, chose on reservoirs. So when you when you envision those old billboards marines, he was at Phillip Pond, sergeant Phillip Pond was was his name. And he was hardcore. And he I never forget this. He told me, you could be 80 and go to college. You can't be 80 and join the marines.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:20:39]:

Can't. Those colleges, those universities, I looked at, like, Miami of Ohio or OU or Kent. I I eventually graduated from Kent State, but he goes, those universities been around for a 100. They ain't going nowhere. Not closing any of them, they're gonna stick around. And I said, yeah, you're right. And then my whole life has been competitive. I played hockey since I was 5 and golf and, know, just kinda lived, I guess, the the boy, you know, the the man, you know, competitive by nature too.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:21:03]:

And I said, I'm gonna if I'm doing, I'm gonna join the marines. So I, I joined the marines, longest, hardest, toughest boot camp and, you know, obviously, I'm partial. I have uncles that were in the navy, great uncles that were in there, my grandfather was in the air force. So don't don't get me wrong. I love all the armed forces. We're all great. We can't do these things individually. We are collectively as awesome group, and we protect our country.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:21:25]:

So it was awesome. But yeah. I mean, a lot of the lessons that I've learned is obviously, you know, just grit, you know, overcoming, you know, getting a lot of that. I mentioned ten tenacity quite often, but, yeah, I think I've developed that from my parents, but also from the Marine Corps. It's giving me a little grit to overcome, you know, things that are difficult in your life. Another portion of the Marine Corps, you know, as I got older and, You know, developed rank and started taking leadership courses in the marine corps, developmental courses. I got it as an e six, as a staff sergeant, but clear objectives, you know, defining what they are, communicating, you know, 100% adaptability. There's a saying in the marines called Semper Gumby, which is always flexible.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:22:06]:

Our motto Semper Fidelis, so always faithful. Resilience that comes out to mind is nothing's easy. Without a doubt, attention to detail. I think I've developed A little OCD from the marines, you know, t's cross eyes dotted. Sometimes too much. My if my team is here, they say a sense of urgency because, I want stuff done yesterday, not tomorrow. So sometimes that could be a blessing and a curse, but, yeah, it's just it's been pivotal in shaping my life and especially, you know, a lot of business principles, and I can continue on that list too, but that's just, something that jump out of me.

Jeffrey Stern [00:22:39]:

But I I have never served, in the army. However, I I I do know a few folks, who have in my life. And if I were to channel some of what I can remember of their stories That I would ask you about is, I think they're they had always expressed a certain tension with, like, navigating bureaucracy and and red tape, Knowing that it serves an important role, but but recognizing that it also slows everything down. And so I'm curious, you know, with that Productive impatience that that you just described. How is it that you you reconcile those things? And and, I mean, do you find that to be true? And has it manifested in in any interesting ways when you think about Sergeant Kleen and and how you are gonna try and and grow and build efficiently?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:23:24]:

You know, when I had served in the marines, so I was, stationed, like, in Japan and some of the Pacific countries that we were in and then, California, and then I was recruiter for the remaining 3 years here in, Medina, Wayne and Holmes County, I don't think any was any was there. Maybe I wasn't looking for it, you know, either. But it seemed to be, you know, fluid on my end and always, you know, constant and we were just getting things done. Maybe it was on my job that, you know, I did, you know, particularly. And then as far as, you know, when we grow as a company, it allowed me to be people are gonna laugh when I say this, but it did actually help. I've developed more patience than I would have had in the past. Because you'd say something and, you know, I'm a staff sergeant or sergeant in the marines. I'm talking to Private or, you know, private 1st class or Lance Corporal, they just did it.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:24:13]:

There was no questions. Right? So now it's more of a collaborative efforts that when we're gonna make a decision, you know, we've got different department heads that we're gonna focus on making this decision, so it's not a 1 man band. The buck doesn't stop here. And it was about 3 years ago when I made the best decision was to publicly announce that the buck does not stop at Brian Cruz. And if we're gonna grow this company, you know, I had a I had a hand, a hand, in hiring a lot of these individuals that are at these leadership positions and Lot of the general managers and and people on these roles saying, hey, listen, if we're gonna I can't be part of every marketing thing. I can't be part of every operational decision. You guys are great people. You just go and do, which is a little bit different.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:24:54]:

And I had to adapt coming out of the marine corps and learning this. And it took a while, you know. And sometimes I I still do struggle, you know, with some of the urgency there, but they all know we're all coming from a a common place. And there's a book that I that I write that I read twice a year. It's called The Four Agreements. And one of those is in there, which kinda comes to mind is don't make assumptions. And that's the thing. So when people know that there's an urgency or vice versa, there's an email that comes through.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:25:21]:

I'm not gonna make assumptions. He's doing it. We all come from the same place and it's same Same team, same fight, same mission, and that's been helpful too to help navigate that.

Jeffrey Stern [00:25:31]:

That's fascinating. I'm curious about this idea of of talking people out of of working with you. Were there any other, You know, parallels or interesting differences between what recruiting looks like at the marines versus executive recruiting versus The recruiting you do for your own business now.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:25:51]:

Yeah. I mean, obviously, the I'll I'll say the severity of, you know, the marines is, you know, they're It could happen. Right? You're, you know, there's there's a war type scenario. You're serving your country. But a lot of that was just giving giving them the whole entire story. So my recruiter was not forthcoming. I was supposed to be a fireman in the Marine Corps. Okay? Now it was under the job field, But under fireman, it was also a bomb builder.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:26:15]:

Okay? Aviation ordinance. So to me is, I wanna provide the good and the bad, and as most Facts, instead of very good expectation. I think really is what that is. Both on the marine corps and on the recruiting for, like, the beverage store, recruiting for, Car wash here is set really good expectations to help both the good and the bad, and let them make that decision. Okay? If you're forcing somebody in, like, I'm gonna force somebody to join the In core, it never works. It never ever works. And I have seen that where I'll maybe a senior, team member says, oh, You know? He he's the most qualified or the most senior for this position. He should be the next general manager.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:26:55]:

Maybe he doesn't want it. Maybe he needs another year or 2 to develop himself, but you're pushing and forcing these people in. It's never worked. I've never seen it work before. Now it doesn't mean get soft on individuals and don't hold them accountable, but I've never seen anybody forced into position where it's worked. And I luckily knew that on through mentorship. Just said, that's not what I'm gonna do. You can join the marine.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:27:15]:

And I would tell people and their families, I don't care if you join the marines. I'm gonna get paid the same on Friday as I did neck as I did last Friday. I don't get any commission if you join or not. It's the same thing here, at the car wash. And you gotta be able to do this. You gotta get up every day and say, I'm gonna be happily I'm gonna happily drive to work and be happy when I'm at work. And if you're not, come in and tell us and then get the heck out of here. You know, it's the same thing in the Marine Corps.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:27:39]:

Make I I tell everybody, volunteer for everything. You're young, you have, you know, maybe no kids, no fan you know, just do your thing, go out and volunteer, experience the world because you may not have that same opportunity again. I just thought to my nephew, he left for Kent. Despite what your parents say, volunteer, Lane, volunteer for everything. Go out there and do what you can, experience the world, meet new people. And it's similar here, you know. I think that's been the most helpful.

Jeffrey Stern [00:28:03]:

I I appreciate that that mentality. I I think it makes a lot of sense. So what what's on the docket? You know, when you think about the the future of car washing, what does that look like, and and what is sergeant Killeen's role in shaping that future?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:28:17]:

World domination. I think of that from Pinky and the Brown. Right? Every every they start. What are we gonna do today? World domination. Take over the world. No. I I I think we just got a a really good a really good thing going on here. And good people, you know, we'll have 16 locations here by the end of the year.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:28:36]:

You know, Our goal is to continue to expand throughout Northeast Ohio and pockets and and cities that we wanna be in, cities want us in, you know, as our valued service that we provide. Plus, you know, our new locations, 9 of our, 16 locations that we'll have have been existing facilities that we've kinda taken over, that we're in some level of distress, some not. And we would fix them up, you know, and then reopen them, which is always great for the cities because there's always that distressed piece of property that's sitting in any city, you know, throughout Northeast Ohio. And we did that, and then, we take them over and and make make them look shiny and clean, and then provide a good service. All of our new facilities that they look wonderful, obviously, I'm partial, but a nice clean modern building, you know, inviting, with the highest technology, equipment. We we spare enough expense when we build our facilities. We want them not only for growth, but, for anything we could do to continue to provide a quality car wash. I think we're just gonna continue to do what we're doing.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:29:34]:

You know, we got 3 that we're building here, like I mentioned. And then next year, we get 3 that are already ready, and we're just ready to plan for those for the additional year and keep her on.

Jeffrey Stern [00:29:44]:

Do do you find that it is more challenging to build from scratch a facility or to Go through this this rehabilitation process and the merging of of cultures in in kind of a inquisitory way.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:30:00]:

Yeah. It's it's much harder to do an existing facility. Mhmm. You know, because a lot of the the remodel that we're doing, we're just under the constraints of whatever Current property is, and the building, and the equipment, and the layout, and the majority of these have been full guts where he ripped everything out, threw it in the trash, and turned over there, kept a certain wall or certain certain footer in the building. Our location in Lakewood was probably 80, 90% rehab where he almost built a brand new facility there. And it it looks fantastic. What we've done to that that facility that was Left a little distress, you know, in the city and that's way more difficult, you know. Same with the culture that's there.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:30:39]:

Different. You know, a lot of the the good ones will always immediately jump on board and be part of this and be very thankful and humbling and, you know, be the best cheerleader or rock star. And you'll know the ones that just were hanging on, maybe doing, you know, not loving life, they they immediately leave because they know that, hey, man, these guys are smart. They're gonna figure me out, and I'm out of here, which is good. Right? We don't waste any time on training them. They don't waste any time themselves being somewhere where they don't wanna be, and that's fine. We do try to hold on to all these people. You know, we just don't, you know, take over our car wash and start getting rid of people.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:31:10]:

Our 1st effort is that put our best foot first and we keep all the individuals when we acquire any site. We give them the tools and resources like we do any new location that we open. It's up for them to make a decision if they wanna continue on their way or, you know? Sometimes we gotta make the decision too. Right? You know? My grandfather used to say people fire themselves. So sometimes that happens. It's not the the fun part of the job, but, yeah, it happens.

Jeffrey Stern [00:31:33]:

Well and I I know part of the the the growth story here has involved, you know, the the Scalarator program we were we were chatting about, Dan Eisenberg, also before we we turned on the mic here. But I I've always found those kinds of communities pretty interesting, you know, when you think about Figuring the best of what other people have already figured out and and how a lot of business problems are not, necessarily unique to your business, you know, regarding the problem you're trying to solve. But At a high level, they're they're roughly the same. So, you know, what what have been some of the the interesting learnings for you about, you know, growth And, you know, going through Scalarator and and how you think about, you know, what what comes next and and what will be ultimately responsible for for your growth?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:32:16]:

Yeah. So one, I think the first thing I think of when I when I think of scaling it in northeast Ohio, and then even previous to that, I was a Goldman Sachs graduate. And back in the deck, I can't remember what cohort I was, but early on in the system. And the first word that comes to mind, and it always does for Scalarator's community. Right? It's just that community of individuals. One of the advisors and mentors that are there, that help that are part of dance operation that just truly care and are genuine about helping, owners, senior leaders inside these companies grow. And then the community, of, you know, peers around you, right, that are going through the same stuff you are. And you may be really good at hiring and they may be bad, but you may be bad at something else.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:33:00]:

And it's just a really good complimentary service, kind of that yin and yang that you get to be kneecap to kneecap of individuals going through the same thing you've done or the or different things that you can help lean on each other and overcome and just the classes and how it's prepared. I unfortunately went with it during COVID. So it was a lot more Zoom and that whole world. And Dan and his team talk about flexibility and adaptability. They Melody, they they they adapted to the crazy situation that we all went through, and it was great. You know, I it was one of those, when's the next Call, when's the next thing? When are we getting together next? And it just really fueled and helped our growth, taking a step back, working on the business first, you know, in it. It was nice to carve away some time, talk to the community, and get me focused.

Jeffrey Stern [00:33:48]:

What what does success look like For for you. You know, what what what is the the impact that that you hope to have looking back in retrospect?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:33:58]:

Yeah. I mean, to me, that's tough. I I think the first thing people think of and you can look at any social media thread. Right? It's all about cash, you know, cars and all that junk. Yeah. All that stuff will come. And, yeah, a cash is important and that's great. You can do different things.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:34:15]:

But to me, success is just being happy. You know, and I and I look around, and I got 2 boys, an awesome wife. I refer to her as mother Teresa because she is, keeps me in line, but I don't think it's never I don't think it's ever a bank account balance. It's memories. Right? It's just, you know, going to work, being happy. I mentioned early on, like, I just I I don't work. I this is just an awesome place to be. I love it.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:34:39]:

And I think of, that success in in my eyes. Just being happy, Getting up, loving what you do every single day, and also to serving the community. My grandfather growing up, he was a fireman. He lived in a Fireman and businessman, he had concession trailers at fairs and festivals. So, Jeff, I work, you know, 10, 12 hour days going for 1 fair to the next, You know, over a 900,000 degree oven and 90 degrees outside, so I learned a lot of resilience, you know, there. And he often told me, And naively, I was young, but he said, you know, when have you paid your community rent? And I think that's important. Right? Businesses open in a community. They wanna, Hey, come for pry it, come visit, come buy my soft drink, come come get a car wash, come do whatever, and they're never reciprocating that back.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:35:27]:

Not that they're just saying never. I mean, some do, but, you know, a lot don't. And that's how a community works, you know, of you reciprocating that, they're they're visiting you, you're going, helping at a fundraiser, a community service. Maybe you're, you know, raking leaves for a veteran Or an elderly neighbor. It doesn't always need to be stroking a check. Right? It's just volunteer and giving back, joining rotary, or, you know, a civil organization in your area. I think that's also the 2nd level of success when you're able to give back, Be thankful and humble and grateful for the things that you have and looking at that, but not really from a, you know, bank account or, How fancy is your car perspective, Jeff?

Jeffrey Stern [00:36:08]:

No. I I think, I I came recently across this this idea that, you know, to the degree you can find Work that feels like play to you, but looks like work to other people, you know, you're you're probably on the the right track.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:36:21]:

Yeah. Bingo. Right? Yeah.

Jeffrey Stern [00:36:22]:

Yeah. But I I think the the the fun piece is is actually you know, it matters. And, you know, when I was thinking about our our conversation today, I mean, I I personally have such fond memories of car washes when I was a kid. Like, real magical moments, you know, where Either in the car or you get out of the car and watch it go through. And and in like a I don't know. Maybe I was weird, but I really, like, love that stuff. And I'm curious, you know, if if you had any of those those childhood magical moments with car washes and, you know, the At at some point, car washing goes from that magical experience to, like, a chore that you need to do. And, I'm curious how you how you thought about, You know, that that change and and what you do to instill fun in in the in the business.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:37:10]:

You know what? And that's and that's where a lot of us listening to The customer is, we wanna make it fast, easy, and convenient, so it's not a chore. And then 2, if you do wanna do a little extra, we've got like a little bug prep area. You can, you know, grab a a a soft brush, clean the front of your car, a little nooks and crannies and things like that. So if you do wanna go a step above, I mentioned the free vacuum area and all the components there, but childhood memories now. And and maybe just because my parents weren't like car people. Right? They weren't like, I I I couldn't tell you. I couldn't do an oil change. I couldn't tell you, if this is a 1957 Ford, whatever, and this is a must, I I can't do it, you know? But it is cool.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:37:48]:

My kids love it. And growing up that I was the cool dad because we had the car washes. It was neat. My dad well, my dad's sergeant clean. That's cool. You know, it was because the kids would love to come there. They see the soap, they see the lights. It's a cool experience.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:38:00]:

And we've actually toured and brought kids through the back room and, you know, safely. Right? OSHA and, you know, hard hats and all the good stuff. We did it safely and gave them kinda behind the scenes tour. One of them was even a birthday party that we had, and we brought to some of the kids too there. They had their mom had made little, like, sergeant clean, like, little helmets, and we got little stickers and stuff for them. So it was pretty neat. But, yeah. Yeah.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:38:25]:

Nothing personally, but, yeah, we've definitely helped a lot of kids be quite happy. And then you hear the intangibles where I've had several customers reach out to Kids are maybe autistic or have some sort of, you know, struggle, and the car wash itself is something that's a calming place for them. They enjoy to come there. They they're seeing it. It's a soothing place, and and that's cool. Right? You know, some of the things you don't think you're doing or Meeting customers that their their their their car is the most expensive investment or 2nd most expensive investment of their life. And here, they get to, you know, effectively protect it, wash unlimited, and just you see some of the the things that you don't hear all the time, and those are the cool things.

Jeffrey Stern [00:39:08]:

Yeah. Those are cool. What do you wish people understood about car washes that they that they don't? You know, general societal level misconceptions about car washes.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:39:20]:

Yeah. And I think it's the old stigma, you know, especially in Northeast Ohio. When we come into cities, we obviously have done our due diligence before we even call a city, you know. A lot of the people aside from cities just in general kinda get this maybe this old Sigma, this little cartoon bubble pops above their head, and they immediately think of the worst, the nastiest car wash. Right? The one that's, Down the street where they're doing drug deals and drinking beer and just the worst of the worst, right? Horrible employees, whatever negative stigma you could put behind any business, They associate it immediately, maybe from a hometown or that's currently in their town, like, oh, we don't want one of those. Right? Because the owners let them be distressed and Let that fold up. So I think that the biggest misperception is that, you know, maybe from the movie, Breaking Bad. Right? That we're laundering money and all those negative options.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:40:11]:

And, you know, it takes you 20 minutes to wash your car. Brushes was a thing. There's a company in the eighties called Raico, and they actually had plastic bristles, and they would clean the car with plastic. So if you're about 40 to 65, you go, oh, is it a friction? Is it just brushes? We use neoglide, which is a foam material, anti porous, and nothing sticks to it. We have a very, strict policy on rust and excessive dirt. So we've gone through a lot of these measures. And I think, you know, before you make some assumptions, and behind me right here is one of my favorites, by, Walt Whitman. And it's, be curious, not judgmental.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:40:51]:

And I think that's the main thing I think of in car wash is be curious, ask good questions, Listen to the facts, first opinions. And after after you talk to us and explore, you're gonna come to find out that, And we we run a good company, and we have a good business, and it's a valued service because the market's telling us that they need this. You know, maybe listen a little bit, you know, before you Cast of judgments. So but but everything has been good. The cities that we're in, the cities we're building in have been fin fantastic. They're great assets. Why? Because they weren't judgmental, and they listened. And that was important.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:41:26]:

Very thankful.

Jeffrey Stern [00:41:27]:

Well, in in addition to the the Walt Whitman behind you, I I noticed There there may also be a meme that speaks to way too many tabs open. And, and and I'm I'm gonna ask a question I don't think I I've ever asked on show before, but but only because you offered enough, you know, many many folks in my life. But but there is an interesting pattern, I think, of of CEOs and founders with with ADHD. How how is it that, you know, that's that's played out in in your own life, and and how have you managed it? And, you know, it's a superpower. It has its drawbacks. You know, how how what what, what is that like for you?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:42:02]:

Maybe I'll pull in and have my wife answer this question. But, yeah. Yeah. I mean, without a doubt, it's been a struggle. I mean, my it's a blessing and a curse. Why? Because I'm constantly thinking Constantly thinking of how we could do things better, you know, visionary, strategizing, what can we do? How can we do this better? Waking up 2, 3 in the morning, you know, typing into my phone, thoughts and notes and things that I could think of, but it is a constant struggle. I've learned to Take some kinda some breaks, some mental breaks throughout the day. If I know I'm gonna get on a phone call, I'm gonna do a walk.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:42:36]:

I love to do list. To do list keep me on point, on track. My calendar has to do list and, sticky notes. I have a whole pad here. And, there's a whole there's about 5 or 6 of them here on my desk. You know, those have been very helpful. Getting organized, time management's been important, and plus accountability. I think that's crucial.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:42:57]:

Talking to my kids, talking to my wife, talking to my coworkers, saying, hey, hold me accountable. Right? If I'm a space cadet when I enter the meeting, Maybe you don't wanna do it publicly, pull me aside and say, hey, Brian, fill in the blank or whatever, because you can only get better if you know. And I thrive on constant improvement. We as a company thrive on constantly constantly approving, Getting better and being held accountable. Some of those are some of the things that have been very helpful for me coping with it.

Jeffrey Stern [00:43:23]:

It's it's very interesting. So you've also mentioned, you know, mentors a few times in in our conversation. I think it can be kind of this elusive concept for a lot of people, like, you know, practically, how is it that you go about cultivating, you know, mentorship relationships and and The reciprocity of those relationships, and it's it's not just a one way thing. What is your philosophy on mentorship and the importance of mentors, and And and how have you approached that in your life?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:43:50]:

Yeah. You know, I I can't remember when. Maybe it was at the Cleveland Museum of Art or we went to Pittsburgh or something a long time ago. There was something Michelangelo had said, which was, in Cora and Paro, on his deathbed. This guy said that's on his deathbed, and he said, you know, I am still learning or I am learning. And that I think just when I saw that and I heard that before, I was like, This is how you gotta live your life, constantly learning. You're never better than anybody else, constant room for improvement. You need to be humble enough to accept these things.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:44:23]:

And what better way than a mentor? You know, people that have been around the block a time or two, who's been in these different situations and it could be outside. I've got some mentors that I currently have now. And like I said, I graduated up to those. I just knew somebody important. And I love my parents, so they hold me accountable with some level of parenting mentorship. Right? And grandparents, you know, but also I needed somebody outside kinda like the friends and family that can really hold me accountable and have to know the struggles that I'm going through. It's it's cool that you just ask somebody and they wanna help, but you need to be respectful. Right? You're not calling them every hour of every day, every week.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:45:00]:

You just kinda set up, hey. Let's meet every other month or quarterly or whatever the case may be. And, you know, I have to say growth up growth lies outside the day to day of what you're doing. It's you're you're not gonna find a lot of that growth doing the same thing you're doing. So get outside your comfort zone, get up with a good mentor and advisor, you will graduate up. Right? They may move out of the area. It it's just good. And a lot of them, the best perspectives I've got are the most, you know, inquisitive ones that are outside the car wash industry.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:45:30]:

Like, you're Jeff, you're asking great questions about the industry. It's the same thing. I'm learning about them and their industry whether it's, you know, robotics for logistics or insurance business. I'm learning from that perspective, I'm learning about the industry. So it's also very helpful. It's a two way street, Maybe more the person being mentored, is more 70, 30, but it's it's a learning and you're providing a good environment. You're being thankful. You're reminding them of the thankfulness.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:45:56]:

And then when you get older, you're gonna reciprocate that back. So I've I've been fortunate enough to, in my community involvement, done Some mentorship with the connections program here in at the high school, other individuals that have came and left sergeant clean, and now I've started a business or working at, You know, some of them go to college or working there, and that's the cool thing. Even the marines that I put in, the marine corps to now, I have got great relationships with these people, and I find it fascinating. Not getting choked up here, but that they that they call and think of me. And I get to be the dude who could help them. And why? Because I believe in reciprocity, and people have helped me. And I'll always have time to help others, you know, and I think that's cool.

Jeffrey Stern [00:46:37]:

What what is the, and this is this is this is almost like a A lame question because but I I do love it. But what is the the unspoken part of the story so far? Like, what what is important that that we haven't talked about that you think People should know.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:46:52]:

You know, a lot of time, you know, people go, what's made you successful? You know? And I and I wish I could just go and go, alright. It was November 15th 2009 and, you know, kinda point a finger on it. But I think I go back to what I told my nephew. It's just volunteer for everything. Just be open, be receiving, be humble. And I think of lot of that what's made me successful is just being putting people first. It sounds cliche. It just sounds generic and cliche, but genuinely care for people.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:47:23]:

Man, you and this is my parents taught me this, grandfather taught me this. Maybe it's old school people from Europe, you know, that just came over here and fought tooth and nail for everything that they've got and and just be humble. And it's just caring about people, developing relationships. And anyone listening who knows me, you know that's true. I just love people and love relationships and wanna help others, and I that's probably the best thing is that's made me successful and made me kinda that maybe that unspoken consistent theme.

Jeffrey Stern [00:47:53]:

As old school as that may be, I think the flip side of the coin is is is timeless. You know, that I think that that stands the test of time.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:48:01]:

Right? Yeah. I mean, behind me, you see a bunch of books and stuff, and I I have a mentor. And he says, why are you reading that crap? You need to read good novels. Right? You know, let's see. Cannery row and, you know, war and peace and, the 3rd right. Or, you know, some of these, You know, big thinking type books, these classics, you know, movie movie dick that could really kinda take you outside and, you know, It speaks to what you just talked about. Right? The classics, they've been around forever. They ain't going nowhere, you know, and it's it's it's if the history is any guide, right, it's lasted this long and it'll continue.

Jeffrey Stern [00:48:35]:

Right. They're they're they continue to be around for a reason. Yeah.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:48:40]:

Yeah. Exactly.

Jeffrey Stern [00:48:41]:

Well, this is awesome. I really I've enjoyed this conversation very much. I'll I'll ask you our, traditional closing question, Which is for you know, and you can you can you can say sergeant clean car wash, but then I'll ask you for another one. Yeah. You know, your favorite hidden gem in the area.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:49:00]:

First thing so obviously, I I love the Cleveland Cavs. You can see a lot of Cavs stuff behind me. I love them, but they're not a hidden gem. But I I have to say without a doubt, Ohio city provisions.

Jeffrey Stern [00:49:11]:

Yeah.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:49:12]:

Adam and Trevor, they are doing some fantastic things over there. You know, when you talk about kinda reinventing their own food chain from, you know, right from the farm, right to the dinner plate. And the things that they can do are just, Man, they're phenomenal. You gotta go see it. If you've not been, you gotta get up with those guys. You gotta see them kind of the old world Butcher, you know, feel when you walk inside the facility. Just once again, the care, love, the passion for what they do, just I don't even know where to begin.

Jeffrey Stern [00:49:42]:

Yeah. I I appreciate that plug, and and then I don't think anyone's called it out before. And I happen to live a block away from them, so I don't want them to get too popular, but they also deserve all the success. So

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:49:52]:

Yeah. It's they're good people and, you know, they raise their own animals and just they're they're behind the entire process. And, You know, I'm sure they could speak more on the, you know, GMO and health and all the things related. Yeah.

Jeffrey Stern [00:50:07]:

Well, we'll we'll have we'll have to get them on the podcast.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:50:09]:

Yeah. Heck, yeah. Get Adam on there and Trevor are just 2 awesome dudes who just genuinely love what they do. This is a good thing to have in the city and Ohio City provisions is where it's at.

Jeffrey Stern [00:50:19]:

Oh, yeah. Brian, I just wanna thank you again. Really appreciate you coming on and and sharing a bit more about about your story.

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:50:26]:

Yeah. You're very welcome. I appreciate you having me, and thanks for carving some time out for me.

Jeffrey Stern [00:50:30]:

Absolutely. If people had anything that they wanted to Follow-up with you about or, you know, participate in in a car wash experience. What what would be the best way for them to do so?

Brian Krusz (Sgt. Clean Car Wash) [00:50:40]:

Yes. You can Find me on LinkedIn. Obviously, it's a it's a good one there. And then, our website, sergeant clean.com, s g t clean.com. My email address is I don't know if you wanna provide that. But, yeah, anybody can send me an email, and I'm happy to to re have them reach out mean, we'll get connected. Perfect.

Jeffrey Stern [00:50:59]:

That's all for this week. Thank you for listening. We'd love to hear your thoughts on today's show. So if you have any feedback, please send over an email to jeffrey@layoftheland.fm or find us on Twitter at @sternjefe . If you or someone you know would make a good guest for our show, please reach out as well and let us know. And if you enjoy the podcast, please Subscribe and leave a review on iTunes or on your preferred podcast player. Your support goes a long way to help us spread the word and continue to bring the Cleveland founders and builders we love having on the show. We'll be back here next week at the same time to map more of the land.