A Coffee with Ben Loates from The Good Real Estate Company

Join us for a coffee and chat with Ben Loates from The Good Real Estate Company.
Growing up Ben loved all things sports, however in highschool that changed into his love for skateboarding. His passion for the sport lead him to sponsorships and later to become a Pro-Skateboarder. Amidst his skateboarding career he was also teaching music classes and attending the University of Alberta to become a teacher. After realizing teaching wasn't the path he saw for the future Ben moved into sales. However it wasn't his calling, and after a meeting with Harold from Realty Executives, he decided to pursue Real Estate while keeping it fun. Ben is a hilarious realtor bringing back the fun into selling your house or house hunting. 

Transcript

0:16

Well, hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the ABA Coffee In The Park. My name is Cam Milliken, I am your co-host, and I am here with the extraordinary Jennifer Herrick, the executive director of the Acheson Business Association. Hi Jennifer. Hi Cam, how was your long weekend? Oh, it was a long weekend. It was awesome. You know what, I think we should have four day weeks every week. I agree with you, I think we should have long weekends every weekend. That's just the way it should be. Yeah, I think we should declare this right now that every day should be like a long weekend. I hear you. And it was fun, it was exciting, but we're back to work and that's fun and exciting too. And we are coming to you live from the Wall Coffee Roaster in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson. That's right, here we are. And today is a great day because we have an absolutely amazing guest with us. Jennifer, tell us who our guest is. Well, people, be prepared for a fascinating story. Be prepared to laugh. This is going to be a good one. Our guest today is Ben Loates with The Good Real Estate Company. The one and only Ben Loates. Welcome, Ben Loates. Oh, it's good to have you with us, my friend. Good to be here. Thanks for taking the time, we're excited. And like Jennifer said, you have your own real estate company, but we'll talk about that in just a little bit. And hey, we want to get to know Ben Loates a little bit. So Ben, tell us, where did it all start? Where did Ben Loates come from? Oh, that's a great question. And again, feel free to interrupt me at any point in time, because if there's one thing I love doing, it's telling stories. So I was born in Aldergrove, no, Langley, BC. Langley, which is right next door to Aldergrove. So I can see where you make that mistake. That's right. Born in Langley, and then grew up in Aldergrove till I was about nine years old. And so I'm a BC boy. Okay. And then we made our way out here when I was nine, onto an acreage just south of Spruce Grove. And I remember coming out to the grove, turning right on Campsite Road. There was no Walmart. There was just an old field with a broken down foundation sitting in it. Wow. We turned down there. And that feels like a long time ago. It was a long time ago. Yeah. We won't say how many years, but that was a long time ago. A number. It was a number of years ago. Yes. And yeah, I'd say that's kind of the genesis of the beginning. So you grew up on an acreage? Yeah, I grew up in Spruce Grove on an acreage. Did you have like animals on your acreage or anything like that or? We actually did. Did you? Yeah, we actually did. Oh my gosh. So I come from a family with eight kids. Eight. Eight kids. Wow. Yeah, all from the same mom and dad. I'm just going to say the thoughts that are in my brain. You can edit whatever you want. So I have a theory. I was going to say something. No, no, I'll say it for you. Let's just keep going. No, I'll say it for you. You can edit whatever you want. No, that's great. So I come from a family with eight kids. I was the first. So my parents had kids in two waves. So I was the fourth of the first wave. So there was four kids a year and a half apart. I was the baby. I did ask my mom on my 30th birthday. Mom, did you think I was your last kid? Yeah. And she paused and she went, yeah, I did. There's a four-year gap. And then they had four more children. My shattered nerves, really? So my dad had mental health issues his whole life. So I laugh at that. It's a real thing and I grew up with that. But it makes your life very interesting with eight siblings. And so I remember once, I have a million stories with my dad, but I remember once, my dad saying to me, you know, you're like, people would ask all the time, why do you have so many siblings? And I didn't really know, really don't think about it. I remember my dad saying to me, one day he goes, you know, Benny, one day after we had you, I fell off a scaffolding and a piece of rebar went through my ball sack. And I went to the doctor, and the doctor looked at me and said, Sean, you're never going to have kids again. And my dad leans in to me and he goes, well, I showed him, didn't I, Benny? So he had four more daughters. I didn't need to meet your dad, because I know what an amazing story. He had four more girls. Four more girls. Four more girls. Okay. Now, I don't know if the story is real or not, but that is a moment that I experienced with my father. Oh, good for your dad. I mean, good for, good for, so. Anyway, somehow. Your dad's not going to let no doctor tell him what's going on. That's for sure. So anyway, here you are. Here's Ben Loates, and you grew up. You went to, we went to school. Just watching you steer this one back. Where's our next question? How do we? Benny. Oh, Ben. Anyway, you went to school in Spruce Grove. Yes, I did. Yeah, actually Stony Plain. Stony Plain. Okay. High Park School, Stony Plain. High Park Hurricanes. Let's go, right? Purple and Teal all day. And then went to high school at Memorial, the old Memorial, right? The Asbestos Memorial, most likely. And that was great. So did all of my high school there. So when you were in high school, or when you were a kid, let's just say that when you were a kid, what was, was there a thought to your future? Was there a thought to what Ben wants to be? Was there a thought to where Ben wants to go? Was there, what were the things that intrigued you when you were a kid? What were the things that you were totally into? Like junior high, high school? Yeah, yeah. Well, I found skateboarding at 14. So before 14 was kind of unique, right? Because skateboarding enveloped my whole life. Right. Before I was 14, I mean, I grew up on the acreage. So I loved sports. You know, my older brother, Joel, I was always trying to beat him at hockey, and he was always better than me. But I loved sports. So we had a basketball hoop on the acreage. I'd go out and play basketball. I think I loved stuff like that. I loved anything kind of active. Yeah, I would say kind of finding my way. I was in all the school sports and stuff like that as well. But and I loved snowboarding. Okay. I think around 12 years old or 11 years old, kind of picked up snowboarding, really enjoyed that. But around 14 when skateboarding. So tell us about that. Tell us about the skateboarding journey. Because you were good. It is all in my life. You like traveled all over. You were like the guy. I'm watching the Olympics right now. Yeah, that could be you. Yuto Horigome just won his second gold. Well, four years ago, I'm in a hotel room in Chengdu, China with Aikido Daisuke and Yuto Horigome. And I'm with Vincent Milou, who won third in the Olympics four years ago. So I actually, I'm watching this going, I know all of these guys personally. I was in a bus with them. I competed against these guys four years ago in China. So I actually got to ascend into that realm of excellence and compete there. So it's really fun for me to watch. And I'm watching the guys in the qualifiers and I'm on Instagram with Mickey Papa, who's in the qualifiers for Canada. Just chatting with these guys. So it makes it really real and really close for me. So skateboarding, I found it when I was 14, and it just enveloped my life. Like the moment, I think my older brother had one in his bedroom and my best friend at the time was skateboarding. And I think my first memory where I realized, oh, I think I love this, is my best friend had his four cousins in from Edmonton. And we're in the Spruce Grove in the Heritage Trails, the windy trails. And I just have this memory stuck in my brain and I was probably 13, so I didn't start skateboarding yet, but I'm on my bike. I was like, I'm a biker, right? All these dudes are skating, I'm like, I bike, because you're like, I don't know what my identity is, but right now I have a bike. So I'm a biker. And I just remember them all in front of me. And there's one spot right before Calahoo Road, where the path curves into the trees, that right, right before it opens up the crosswalk. And I just remember all four of them just disappearing into that path on their boards and they all carved into the path and I'm on my bike. And it just looked so cool. And I remember in my brain going, I think I want to do that. And so after that point, I think I tried borrowing my brother's board for a little bit. My best friend was better than me at the time. But I think where I actually got my first board, shout out to Blair McGow, if anybody knows who Blair McGow is, at the Ready Mart in Stony Plain. The Ready Mart in Stony Plain. Yes, have you been to the Ready Mart in Stony Plain? I haven't. But we're going to make them famous now. This is an iconic Stony Plain moment. I'm at the Ready Mart in Stony Plain. This is the old Stony Plain skate park. It used to just be this. It's where the skate park is now, but it was just this wooden skate park with the yellow half pipe right by the train. My friend had a skateboard, so I was trying this board. I go to the Ready Mart and my brother's friend Blair is there. And he's like, you guys skateboarding? I'm like, yeah. He goes, do you want to buy a board? I'm like, yeah. So he brings this crappy board that's all broken and it's like, it looks like it's nothing. And I'm like, he's like, what do you have for money? And I check in my pockets and it's all change.$11.37. He's like, okay. So I bought my first board from Blair at the Ready Mart, went straight to the Stony Plain skate park. So for $11.37, that was your beginning right there. Garbage board, like just so crappy. That's incredible. What a great story. So I went, yeah. No kidding. And so you start there. Yeah. Where did your journeys take you over the years? So coming from a family with eight kids, you don't have any money. Right. Right. So that board that I had, and it was kind of unique too because my best friend at the time, so we started at the same time. And at the time I thought he had money, but really he was just a normal kid. So his mom bought him a board and I had to ride this board. It definitely gave me a passion and desire to get really good because I met this guy who was sponsored and he was super nice. His name was Chris Kendall at the Stony Plain skate park when it was new, the concrete park, which by the way, we did all the fundraising for that at 15 years old. All the bottle drives, everything like that. Oh yeah. All you and your buddies and your friends. His mom was hugely pivotal in us doing the new skate park, so we did all of the fundraising for that. So an $11.37 board, and then all your buddies get together with some moms and stuff and say, we gotta build a skate park. Totally. And you raised the money to do it. Yeah, and the park was built. Unbelievable. Yeah, so we loved skating that park. And so there's a guy that came to do a demo there and he was so kind to me and he was sponsored by a skate shop in Edmonton and a board company. So that means you get free boards. And he was just so cool. And I remember going, man, I would love to do that and pay it back. The way he was kind to me. Yeah. I'd love to be sponsored. So were you figuring at this time that this was going to become your career? That you wanted to make this your life career? I never could see that far as far as career. Yeah. But what I could see is I want to be really good. I want to get sponsored and get everything for free. And I want to be known in the big community. Pre-Tony Hawk or was Tony Hawk? Right around when he did the 900. Yeah. It was right around there. 1999. So I started skateboarding in 98. Okay. And then I saw, and you live in your little bubble. Yeah. But I saw a video in Edmonton of famous in St. Albert was a skate shop. And I'm like, there's a bigger world than just Stony. And that just, that gave me my sights. I want to be good in Edmonton. I want to be sponsored. So just a question. Edmonton, those who live in this part of the world, know that it's warm for two months of the year. Okay, maybe four. And really cold for the rest. What do you do in the winter months? You find an indoor skate park. I mean, there's times, the Jespersen Farm, right? Graham and Nolan Jespersen, Absolute Beauties, had a skate park in the top of their barn. And I remember, God bless those guys, Nolan or Graham, if you're listening, I love you boys. And I remember going, it was so cold. It's like minus two in their barn, but they had a few ramps. You leave sweaty, smelling like cow poop. Like I remember getting in the car and my mom's like, what is that smell? Like, forget it mom, I'm just skateboarding. You know, so just wherever you can. I love it. You know, skate parks, you find something somewhere, you take a trip and... Cool. So then high school and onward? Yeah, so I mean, it's a fast track in high school. I just fell in love with it. You know, I was really good at sports and in junior high captain of the teams. But in grade 10, I remember going to my gym teacher because I missed volleyball practice and because I was skateboarding. And I just realized I can't, I want to skateboard. So I actually just said, hey man, I'm sorry, I'm going to skateboard. So in grade 10, I kind of made that decision. I'm going to just focus on this. And so in that, right around grade 10, I got sponsored by, and I started late, 14 years old is late to start skateboarding. But by 16, I was sponsored by FS Far Side in West Edmonton Mall. They sponsored me. And then by 18, I had done a video part. That's what you do in skateboarding. You create a compilation of your best tricks. You find a filmer who will film you. And I had met a friend that made videos. So we made a video and premiered it at the Garneau Theatre in St. Albert. There was 500 people there. I had the last part and I was 18. I had the last part which is like the anchor part. Everybody is like, Who's this kid from Stony Plain? And just did tricks in Edmonton that had perhaps never been seen before. Unbelievable, Benny. So by 18, became this established name in Edmonton. And then from that point, got sponsored by Circa Footwear, which was a huge brand at the time on the Canadian team. They sent me packages of $800 worth of gear every single month for seven years. Got sponsored by some clothing companies. And at that point, just kept building, doing contests, winning contests, anytime there was a contest. So just growing, growing, growing, building, building. Well, yeah, like around Alberta. But at the same time too, I was still in school with getting an education degree. I got married at 22, so I couldn't just focus on skateboarding. No, I still had this whole other life I was building, which was super weird to be skateboarding and hardcore skateboarding, but then you're married and own a house at 23, and then you're having children at 23, and it's this like weird... Weird dichotomy almost. Totally. Yeah, right? So your wife was all cool, obviously, all cool with that. Yeah, yeah. You know? Yeah, I mean, she... We got some memories, dude, where like... Because I was still a boy. I'm married at 23, but I'm a boy that just wants to go... So she'd like sit in the car while I'd go skate at the park, and like I'd leave her sitting in the car, be like, Jenna, I'll just be there 20 minutes. Like, you know, and she's my wife, and so she endured. Let's say she endured. I know her, and she is a great person. She is. She's the best. Yeah, she's amazing. So, okay, so now you're 22, and you're skateboarding. And what are your thoughts? Where is this all going? What do you? The unique thing with that, for me, it was a really unique thing because I was still always building my other life, right? I wanted to get married young. I wanted to have kids. I owned my first house at 22. Wow. So it was this weird thing because most skaters are like, I just skate. Yeah. I smoke weed. And so I loved skateboarding. All in. Sold up until 34, right? 35, like competing at the highest level. But I was still building this life of, well, I'm a dad and I have a teaching degree and I'm doing business. And so it was this really unique. So were you skating full-time or were you teaching? No, No. N, Yeah, Yeah. Because you can never make money as a Canadian pro skateboarder. Right. Unless you're winning contests. Unless you're a Tony Hawk kind of guy. Totally. Now, I had friends at the time and that's where, like I had friends that were winning the biggest contests in the United States. Yeah. Right? Dudes that were on the... Literally, I remember going into the Max in Spruce and looking at the front cover of Thrasher magazine right there. And it's one of my best buds. 10-page interview. So, you know these people that are living that life and are doing that. But for me, being in Canada and knowing that I actually can't... It killed me for a while. I can't go do that. Right? I can't go travel because I have a kid. Yeah. And I have to pay a mortgage. Right. And me going and traveling and being a bro with my bros... Yeah. is not actually going to pay the bills. And so, it was this unique sort of dichotomy of, well, I love skateboarding and I'm going to grow and keep getting better because I love progressing. That was my favorite thing. I love pushing boundaries and progressing and getting better. And I love all the free stuff that I get. But I had hope for my life always that I would do something other than skateboarding. Worthwhile that produced for my family. You know what, Benny, I really appreciate your transparency in all of that. Because I think a lot of people, myself included, there were points in our life where we loved something. We had the opportunity to pursue that. But we also had, like you say, another life that we loved. And we wanted to be a part of that. And you come to a crossroads in that decision. What do I do? And I love the transparency that you're just willing to talk about that. Because for people who have been there, it's a struggle. It was probably a struggle for you. I know it was a struggle for me. I'll give you a cool moment. So it was even more of a struggle being so close to my friend, Sierra Fellers, who won Tampa Am, which was a level on the Tony Hawk video game. And around 27, 28, I really did feel like I missed the boat. Even though, right, because you're like, I'm so good. Yeah. But now I have three kids. And he came through Edmonton to do a tour, right, with the main circuit team. And we met at the Tim Hortons by the U of A there. You know that Tim Hortons? Yeah. We met there. It's 11 at night. And he's got everything I could ever hope to have. He's got interviews and magazines. He's got video parts. He's known internationally. And I just said, and Jenna's there with me. I just said, you know, Sierra, I just feel like I kind of missed the boat. And this was the coolest moment for me. He just looks at me and he goes, there's no way, man. He goes, I've known you since you were 18, and I've watched you make every decision you've made right now to be exactly where you are right now. I've watched you choose to buy a house. I've watched you choose to have children. What an affirmation. And this is coming from a guy who's quote, in the boat, going, you have everything on purpose that you have, and it's awesome. And for me, it was this like settling of, okay, well then I'm just really content with whatever this looks like and whatever I have. What a great moment. Yeah, that was a gift. That was a gift from God. That's phenomenal. So, you, now you're, so what from there? Yeah. You got an education degree. For sure, and I can, I mean, we're probably already past a half hour and that's, that's, But I can fast track it the best I can, you know. So, in that time, got a teaching degree, was finished a teaching degree by 22, realized at 22, I'd rather die than be a school teacher. God bless school teachers. We love school teachers. Hold on, let me be extremely clear. Ben would rather die. Don't send mail. That's right, that's right. I love school teachers. You were just not meant to be one. Ben was not meant to be a school teacher. I love school teachers with all of my heart. I realized I would rather die. But that's because that's how I was made internally. It's like that stability. I'm not meant for that. I'm not meant to know what I'm doing with my life. Well, you have that entrepreneurial spirit, right? That spark. That's what it was. Once I finished my degree, I just realized actually this path that's set out, the next 25 years being locked in, I can't do that. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I was willing to put it up on the chopping block. So I get married right after that, look like a complete loser to my wife's family. Like, hey, are you going to be a teacher? No, Also Christmas is great. Also, just married your daughter, so jokes on you guys. And we're going to produce children as well for the next eight years. And so it set us on a unique journey financially for sure, because we chose not to have stability. And so I always taught music, right? So I had students that were just helping us scratch by to pay bills. We had a mortgage, Jenna taught dance, and so that was kind of the start of it. About a year into that process, my best friend's dad was a sales rep in the gift industry. Does that make sense? So somebody that travels the province selling, you sell a thousand bucks worth of scarves to Susan's shop, and you get a hundred bucks commission. So I did that for five years, seven years, but I did that for five years. So that's where we began our self-employed lifestyle. So I traveled the province selling giftwares, selling scarves, selling candles, selling. And some of them, you know, to give a shout out, because my friends always bug me and go, oh, how's the Angel Pins, Ben? I said, I sell more than Angel Pins. I sold a lot of brands. I sold some pretty cool brands that people would know, but it was always funny. We never had enough money. It was never paying the bills. I've got these $90 retail samples of candles that are made in Czechoslovakia, and I can't buy a McDouble, you know, for my kids. So it's this ridiculous dichotomy. I did that for five years. I'm fast-tracking pretty good here. Did that for five years, taught music. We were always, always, always struggling. There was never enough, and we kept producing children. And then around the five or six year mark, this realtor, we were selling our house, Harold Vasileff, who's been in the industry for 40 years. Love you, Harold. He was helping us sell our house, and he just said, Hey, yeah, my son's getting, he just mentioned at the table, my son doesn't want to get into this with me. It's not, it's not working for him. And I just felt in that moment. And this is, I just felt in that moment, that's your spot, that sort of whisper in your guts. Which was really weird though, because as a skateboarder, I thought real estate was the lamest thing in the universe. I'd like, here's my dumb face on a white bench with a red stripe. And then here's this guy's dumb face on a white bench with a blue stripe. And that just as a skateboarder, I'm like, this is so not cool. So I felt that in my guts, right? You could say it's an inspiration. I felt like God said it to me. I sat on it for a week because it was just so outlandish. And I had, you know, learned business for six years. So a week later, I'm sitting in the basement with Jenna. And we're just sitting there. Kids are in bed. And I go, Jenna, this is so crazy. But I feel like God's telling me to get into real estate. And I'm thinking she's going to be like, this is whatever, dude. Like, can we just pay our bills? And she starts crying, like zero to 60, just bawling. And she goes, Ben, that is so crazy, because I feel like I've seen your face on a bus bench for the last week. It was in her mind's eye for that whole week that I was sitting on it. So the marketing had already started. The marketing was already started. I have actually considered making something that says, here's my dumb face with a blue stripe, like Ben Loates, call me. So I was never on board for traditional marketing. Because I thought of this. No, we'll talk about that in a minute. Yeah. So that is how I got into real estate. So I told Harold a week later, hey, can I take that spot? And he gave me a really good look and said, you want to get into real estate coming from a weathered veteran? I'm like, yeah, i guess so. So he paid for my schooling up front. He opened the door for me to get into the industry. I'm so thankful and love him forever for that. So you worked for him for a while? Yeah. And then? I think just very organically, very organically, I kind of, by my second or third year, we were always connected. And he was always there for me if I needed help, and if I called him, he was always there. And it's kind of just organically, my business was going the way that it went. And we kind of after our third year was just a pretty like, hey, Harold was like, Benny, you're doing so good, man. Just get out there and go. Right. So Good Real Estate. So Good Real Estate Company, actually. Well, here's the thing, very interesting. Good Real Estate Company is not my company, but often I have people going, so you own the Good Real Estate Company. I thought you owned Good Real Estate. I don't at all. But that's one of those things where for the first three years, I worked for Realty Executives in Spruce, and that's where Harold was. So, I'm wherever Harold is. And in the third year, I actually had a conversation with Rob Corno who owns it, and he was showing one of my million-dollar listings. And usually, I thought at that time people are pretty uptight if you're a million-dollar realtor. He was just so chill. We just had a good little convo and I didn't even know he owned the Good Real Estate Company. And all I can say is, it's again one of those sort of gut-feel things. I just felt like, oh, that just feels like a fit. It's white and it's orange. I'm white and orange. It has the word good written across it. So for those that are listening, to clarify, you have red hair. I'm a ginger. Yeah, you're a ginger. Because people will be going, you're white and orange. Right. If you look at me, I have white eyebrows and an orange beard. I'm as ginger as it gets. So I think the fit is just so fitting. Perfect. And it's so simple, right? Like good. It's like people like, so how's your, what is the Good Real Estate Company? And I love how understated it is. I'm like, well, we're not great. But we're good. But you're doing something right. Yeah. So obviously that's going well for you. Was it a year or so ago you won an award for marketing? Tell us about that. Marketer of the year. for the Spruce Grove Chamber So can I just say if you've never seen one of Ben Loates, you've got to first of all get on Instagram, get on Ben's Facebook, and start watching Ben Loates because that in itself, they're hilarious. They're hilarious. They're great. And I guarantee you'll want to buy the house because everyone I watch, if you have got, I'm going to buy that house. That's so great. You did such a good job. Yeah. You know, I think for me, my marketing really just started with that posture of, okay, if I'm going to be a realtor, and no offense to realtors out there, but 10 years ago, I was like, if I'm going to do this, I'm not going to be lame. I just can't do that. I can't, it just didn't fit, right? And so I think if anything, I remember saying to people when I first started, videos weren't really a thing. There was, it was, and I remember saying, you've got panning shots with crappy acoustic guitar music. And I'm like, I'm not, I'm not doing that, right? I'm saying, if I'm doing it, I'm not going to do it the way it's done, because I personally look at that and go. That doesn't make me want to buy this house. Really, you know, at that time I was 29 years old, I'm like, I think that's probably how the rest of my generation feels. So, you know, and I don't want to dishonor anybody that did it that way. Cause there's lots of people that have built beautiful businesses and they've got referrals. But for me, I'm like, I just can't do it. I can't sleep with myself in my bed if that's what I'm putting out, right? You know, I think the amazing thing about you, Ben, and about that is that you had a target audience. You knew who you were going after and you knew what they were into and you went for it. And I think that's amazing. You stepped out of the box and it's paying off, I think, for you and you do a fabulous job of it. I appreciate that so much. You really do. You're married. Yep. You talked about Jenna. How many kids do you have? We have four kids, 15, 13, 11, and nine. Fun fact, they're all built. In a sense, they're built. They were built by- Let's not get into that. That's fine. I've already said- Yeah, we've had enough. I've already said- Yeah, let's just go another way. I've already mentioned Ball sack. Yeah, that's right. We don't need to say that twice. We won't be doing any of that. I've said it twice. I apologize. We're all a little late with the beep, beep. All of our kids are born in the month of April. No. They're all born two years apart, but it gets even crazier. And we tell people, me and Jenna are not this organized. And you know us, we are not this organized. It's just the way our life goes. Tallulah and Petra are our first two daughters. They're both born on April 26th. Raphy, my third, my son, is born on April 4th. Aaro, our youngest, is born on April 19th, which just so happens to be Jenna's birthday on April 19th. So if you ever see me... So I'm thinking we'll do another podcast down the road, maybe talk about some of them. But this is unbelievable. I know. It's just so Ben. It's just so Ben. If in the month of April, you see me hauling my carcass into the wall. Yeah, that's right. It's a lot of birthdays going on. Yeah, you know. So anyways, there you go. Well, Ben, I mean, amazing. So, I just, I don't even, there's so much to say, but I just, I don't know what to say really. It's good enough. We, we, we, we, we always ask our guests sort of this question, and we want to ask this before we wrap up today. What is, what is the best piece of advice that you've been given, that you've carried with you to this day, both personal and professional? And I know that's putting you on this spot. You got it? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Best piece of advice was, was from the guy, the worship pastor of my church, who mentored me since I was 11. When I was 18, I was going to start teaching music. And so that would be sort of my first self-employed thing. Right. And, and he sat down with me and he said, he said, Ben, I want to tell you something that's really important. Do your job, but never make it about money first. If you make it about money first, you will always be a slave to money. And if you're a slave to money, you're never going to have joy. Money will come, but make it about doing the thing first. Make it about the people that you're working with first. And in that way, you'll never be owned by money, and you'll actually have purpose in what you're doing. And that stuck with me forever. And there's so many times where the heat's on and you're feeling the pressure, where it's so true, and it just rings true forever. So that was a gift for me at 18. For sure. Well Ben, this has been an absolute pleasure. We could have gone on for hours and hours and hours. Sorry folks, this is only a 30 minute podcast. Maybe a little longer. But we really want to thank you again for coming and sharing your story. You've got an amazing story. You're an amazing person. So Ben, thank you. What's your website? I don't have a website. What's your Instagram? I've never had one. What's your Instagram? Instagram. So here's the thing, folks. Just for, just so everybody knows, Ben has been my realtor in the past. And when we moved here, I said, I need a realtor. And the first person somebody said was Ben Loates. I said, how do I get ahold of him. He said, I have no idea. I don't know how to get ahold of him. So I'm Googling a website, no Ben Loates, no Ben Loates website. But anyways, so I could get ahold of him. So go on Instagram, that real estate guy, right? So you're like, hey, who's that guy? Oh, it's that real estate guy. That real estate guy. So go on that real estate guy, or literally just go on Facebook and type in Ben Loates. There you go. And I'm gonna tell you folks from personal experience, I have never had, and I've had a few in my day, I have never had a better realtor than Ben Loates. Thanks. You took care of us, and I know we'll do business in the future, the house on the lake or something like that, I'm not sure. But as Jennifer said, thanks man. You're awesome. This has been my joy 8000%. Really appreciate it. Folks, thanks for joining us. Jennifer, do we have some announcements we want to talk about? We want to thank our gold corporate sponsors, Cam. We would like to thank the Myshak Group of Companies, Genics and of course, Parkland County for their continued support of the Acheson Business Association, helping us do what we do. Yeah, without you, we wouldn't be able to do this. Hey, we've got an event coming up. Tell us a little bit about that. We do. We have the gala coming up again on Saturday, September 28th. Nominations close in two weeks. Tickets are going fast and you won't want to miss out on this fantastic event. Yeah, it's going to be great. So everybody, thank you so much for listening. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell everybody about the podcast and stick with us because I think we got some more great interviews coming up in the days ahead. Again, we're coming to you live from beautiful downtown Acheson, the Wall Coffee Roasters. And thanks everybody. Have a great day. We'll see you again. See you next week.