Bucket Talk Recap

Jeremy Perkins  0:00  

This is bucket talk, a weekly podcast where people who work in the trades and construction that aren't just trying to survive, but have the ambition and desire to thrive. The opportunity to trades and construction is absolutely ridiculous right now. So if you're hungry, it's time to eat. We discuss what it takes to rise from the bottom to the top with people who are well on their way and roll up their sleeves every single day.

Welcome back. This is Jeremy, your host with Eric your other hosts. bucket talk. And now we're powered by Brunt. A lot has happened over the past year. Got some new listeners and you know, thanks to our old listeners, our old loyal dogs for staying with us. Before we jump into how we became powered by Baron and new kickoff. I wanted to dive into the past weekend that me and Eric had pretty awesome time and I'll let Eric start it off for us here. Yeah,

Eric Girouard  0:57  

yeah. So to kind of have a little bit of team summer fun and kick off the new version of bucket talk. I had a bunch of folks. A lot of have been involved in bucket talk since day one. Yeah, over a year ago. We all trail it up. We loaded up our ATVs are side by sides, and we headed out of Boston and headed up to a glorious place called Pittsburgh, New Hampshire. Which depending on you know what level of redneck you are, it's either heaven on earth or hell on earth.

Unknown Speaker  1:25  

Yeah, it's great. I mean, it's like almost on the Canadian border. It's ATVs in the street. I mean, gunshots in the distance. It's just, it's awesome. miles and miles of trail. Eric introduced me to Pittsburgh. I don't know that was years ago. My bachelor party. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that was I mean, wow, we're up in the middle of the night. The friggin remember the mounted deer that was there. It was messing around with Yeah, yeah, no, it's Pittsburgh's got a special placement I can, I can only go visit it once every five years though.

Eric Girouard  1:59  

It's a rough we can you get there, you unload your ATVs and you basically go to dinner on your ATVs you go to the grocery store on your ATVs you don't even get back in your car unless you really need to do a big load of groceries. We had a sweet log cabin with a pool table darts in the middle of the woods completely secluded fire pits and we went out and ripped it up. And luckily everyone came home safe only one flipped ATV accident in that was it right? Yeah. So

Unknown Speaker  2:27  

yeah, that's par for course for buddy. So we sent Skylar back to go go look at body and but he's like, No, I'm fine. That's that wasn't the worst one. This kid's got medivac out. He's had a helicopter ride before. But yeah, no, it was good to have everybody back. Like I said we've had some people with us from the beginning that have helped us get us to where they are, you know from bronze to bucket talk they've they've definitely given us hands and and so it's nice to be able to, to get back at it and and now I'm that strong. Yeah.

Eric Girouard  3:02  

Yes. So all right, Jeremy. So let's jump into what's happened over the past year and how bucket talk has become powered by BRUNT.

Hey guys, so Eric and Jeremy here with bucket talk, which is now powered by Brunt. Today is a reset episode allow us to reintroduce ourselves for old listeners for new listeners. A lot changed in the goal of this episode is to get everyone kind of up to speed on what the heck happened and how everything's come about Jeremy was wrenching now. He's a farmer, you know, not even sure exactly what he's doing now. We got a business called Brian off the ground. That's up and live and a lot last transition. So today we're going to talk about resetting season three, and all the stuff that's going on in between the scenes in what's transpired in Jeremy's life and in my life. We'll start out by talking about why almost two years ago now coming up just shy two years right Jeremy so in the late fall of two years ago, we started bucket talk out of your garage at your house down to Massachusetts, yeah. With a couple of our buddies that are in the trades. And the whole thesis was all my best friends from growing up who were still my best friends today. All went into the trades. I went off into the college thing racked up a ton of debt, and all my buddies were you know, before I was even out of college or buying homes, buying trucks, starting families, and it was kind of crazy to me to see like, you know, a lot of people are pushing, especially you know, over the past decade or so, go to college, go to college, go to college when it's like well why do you need to go to college unless there's a reason to and you know, some trades like doctors and whatever, you need some of that stuff but but if you got no idea we're going trades you can make a ton of money you can get paid to get trained, and really wanted to shine the light on it. And for me personally it was you know, when I was 15 I was working My dad's friends roofing company, and why we call it bucket talk every day at lunch and sit on the upside down bucket, have lunch. And those guys basically, you know, complained all day long trials and tribulations, and probably weren't some of the top performing guys in the trades and basically scare me away from it. And so part of it for me was, I wish that didn't happen. Not to say I'm not happy with the path My life has taken. But I probably would have looked more seriously into, you know, running my landscaping business after high school and turning it into my own company or whatever. Jeremy, share a little bit about why you were excited when we launched bucket talk almost two years ago, and where you were at then.

Unknown Speaker  5:33  

So I mean, bucket talk was my come up, I really thought that my career was a little bit stagnant. I was doing the same thing over and over again, I'm a mechanic by trade. And I felt like I needed more and through bucket talk, I was able to connect with more people, make my job, make content, make how tos more interesting. And it gave me an avenue to help empower and bring light to the trades. But set back a few years. For those that don't know me, thank you to our listeners who have been along with us this entire time. But also thanks to the new people that are listening, I really appreciate it. But young Jeremy was not a good student and went through college prep High School, came out of high school barely, and joined the military. I was in the United States Coast Guard. And through the Coast Guard, I learned to trade. I wasn't a mechanic. Prior to that I didn't work on anything. I was just a kid who played sports. And then I learned to work with my hands. It was an outlet for my learning disability, if you will. And I really took off from there. I really love what I did. So then fast forward seven years, I got out of the active duty and got out of the reserves, and started wrenching. I went to a couple of trade schools in the interim. But probably about 15 years as a mechanic. Things started to get dull again, I was working on the same car, same problems, same thing. So I was looking for more I wanted to do more when people talk about education and going this way. And that way, I think that there's a spot for everybody. There's a spot for education and higher learning everywhere. And so I decided I was gonna go back to college, friggin kids, you know, we've got a wife and a career and I decided to go get my bachelor's degree in my early 30s Yeah, like I needed more stuff to do. But, you know, the struggle is real. It really is. I wanted more. I wanted to get more management. So I decided I was gonna go do online college. And actually, I was better prepared for it than I ever was coming out of high school. So you know, like I said, there's a time and a place for everything Fast Forward till now. I mean, so same thing I transitioned again, during what a COVID I've me and my wife took a deep dive in where life was going or legacy for our children. Hell, if you listen to our early podcast episodes, I might actually drank the Kool Aid myself. Yeah, I decided to, I hung up the wrenches kind of and we packed up the kids and moved up to Maine and purchased the farm, we decided that the blue collar lifestyle, the hands on approach, the working lifestyle, work ethic, and all that stuff was really important to us. So we wanted to bring our kids up in that environment. I didn't want to give them chores. I just wanted everything to be a family experience. And so now I'm up in Maine and working with horses and fixing tractors and shoveling shit and doing all this stuff. And well, that's where I've been for a little while just trying to get this farm off the ground. And

Eric Girouard  8:38  

it's been quite the interesting experience. And it's twofold, right? Because it's one it's now where you guys live. But also it's a business. Right, right. And you and your wife weren't running businesses before the farm on your own. Now you guys are Yes, still in the blue collar. But you're also now entrepreneurs running the company.

Jeremy Perkins  8:57  

100%. I mean, we got to the point where we were really good at what we did, my wife worked for a hardwood flooring company, and I was a foreman at an auto repair shop and our employers were amazing. But at the same time, we felt like the next jump was ownership. So instead of making money for other people, we decided to make money for ourselves. And I feel like that's the Crossroads A lot of people have, whether it's starting a landscaping, business roofing company, you know, whether it's becoming a handyman or a builder, there's always that what's next. And she has the background and business and I have the background and just getting getting shit done. So we decided we were going to do it and it was awesome, because, you know, now I'm learning more about business because she's got me in spreadsheets and all this stuff and I'm just completely out of my element and vice versa. I'm out there teaching her how to repair things and fix things and how a system works. It's a more whole family experience. I mean, my kids are out there working with me or raising goats chickens. garden everything you name it. And like I said, I drank the Kool Aid here I am empowering the trades, and I ended up empowering myself. So yep,

Eric Girouard  10:09  

yep. Yeah. And so that's kind of been the hiatus for recording, we took almost a year off from recording from beginning and COVID. We've been releasing some old episodes. But over the past year, Germany is focused on that. And then simultaneously, I had launched brand work where which launched last September, correct. Yeah. And in that business, you know what it was the middle of COVID. So a lot of challenges and tribulations, but that business really took off. And it was all hands on deck made a small team, when we launched it, we didn't expect it to probably take off as big as in as fast as we thought. And while Jeremy was moving up to Maine, I was trying to keep this train on the track and go through the early stages of an e commerce driven brand. Once Jeremy got situated, once we started to hire up the team here, Brian, get the business stabilized, get more inventory and stock, more boots and stock that have sold out. And so that's kind of where we've been over the past six to 12 months is getting our lives basically, in order, first and foremost, and getting the podcast relaunched and we always knew is going to come we just didn't know when now bucket talks fully powered by Brian Yeah, so a lot of integrations, their new fancy website that Ian who's sitting here with us got off the ground, helps get all the podcast together. So just enabled us to take it from what was the nice side hobby and take a real run at creating something really big and really meaningful. Well, I mean, sharing some stories,

I mean, let's be honest, the to align, and it's a really good fit. And one of the challenges with COVID, the first 10 episodes were really special for us, because they were just us getting used to the microphone, kind of doing it, wondering if we even had a message of voice, whatever. And I mean, we plenty of beers had a lot of laughs a lot of making fun of the fact that I can't but long story short was, it was we had that in person effect, then come COVID we're doing everything via zoom remotely. And it just didn't have that same feel. And I know, we're not going to be in person for everything. But it was just difficult not being able to be in tune with the whole idea of what we wanted to do. And that's interview our podcasters maybe even go to where they're at and live a day in the life or really experience what they are and who they are and where they come from. So that's our big focus with season three is to really try to make those connections more special, try to get really into it and learn what they do on a day to day basis. And I think that that's really important. And we have a ton of new people. And we have great content, and it's gonna be awesome, man. I'm really, really happy that we're here. Season Three. I mean, that's amazing.

Jeremy Perkins  12:46  

Yep, yep, yep, the goal is really the same, whether it's to get some young folks excited about different trades or different opportunities in the trades or get folks that are thinking about switching into it later on in life, a lot of people are like, bored sitting behind the desk, especially with COVID. They're like, Listen, I want to go out and use my hands and do things, or a lot of folks that are in the trade, just want to hear from some of these people that they either know or heard of, or want to hear about a different trade, it's more of peeling back the curtain, dive in deep into everything from welding, to trucking to framing to roofing to, to pooling to painting. And what's that really like? Because you know, anyone can do it on the weekend. I'm a weekend warrior myself, you know, I do a lot of that stuff. But it's a different when you're providing for your family. It's a career, and you can take it as seriously as you want and create an incredible life or it can just be something that you show up, punch the time clock on as well.

Eric Girouard  13:40  

Well, I mean, we grew up in a time where it was college, college, college, and I'm not going to get up here and preach because I'm in college myself now. But air can probably do the statistics on this because I am terrible with math. But there's a huge labor shortage. And there's a lot of opportunity in the workforce. And it doesn't require a lot of capital to start. And you know, you can start as early as 17 and be in a career. I mean, you could be an expert 10 years later. So you're looking at 27 years old, and you're running a crew or you're running a business or whatever. A lot of people that were coming out of college, were having that struggle because there's an oversaturation in the market, there was too many people with college degrees, and they're fighting over all these positions. Now we're trying to just create a healthy balance of Hey, you know what, there's always going to be those doctors or lawyers and what have you, and it doesn't even stop there accountants, you know, it doesn't matter. But on the flip side is when operations managers looking to get a truck, there's got to be a truck driver, right. So there's a huge trucking shortage. There's a huge labor shortage. And I think a healthy balance across the United States would be nice. So here we are trying to explain what and where you could potentially focus on for a career.

Jeremy Perkins  14:57  

You know, we know it all. We've seen it all. It's not Money driven. It's lifestyle driven. Do you want to control your own destiny, we've got a 19 year old friend, 20 year old friend that's running a multimillion dollar excavation business, which is not everyone's goal. You also get a lot of problems and challenges and you got to deal with crews, and you know all that stuff. But if you really want it, you can get it. And you can imagine if he wanted to, he could probably retire by the time he's 30. And then you have other guys and girls in the trade that just absolutely love what they do to wake up every single day. And they don't want to do it until the day they die, which is I always say, you don't work a day in your life if you do what you love. And so there's a bunch of different ways to skin the cat. And we just want to kind of open up the kimono, I mean, some of that,

look at your longtime high school friend, Heck, even before that, he's out traveling the world disaster, the disaster, back, he's been on helicopters, jumping on high lines and

living in the Caribbean, right? making a fortune.

Eric Girouard  15:51  

Absolutely. And if you can sit down with him for about an hour, you'll realize that you're like, hey, maybe I should look into being alignment. But I mean, outside of that, there's so many unspoken opportunities. And I want to be able to bring light to that. So that nobody says Well, I never knew that. And I can't believe that. There's this much opportunity out there. And I really believe that we can definitely, definitely shed light on that. So stay

tuned. This is kind of the first episode of season three to do a reset to get you caught up to speed on what Jeremy has been up to what I've been up to who the hell we are kind of refresh restart for all listeners, new introduction for some new listeners. And now that we're powered by Brian, we're bringing a lot more horsepower to this show into this opportunity. And from the folks we're talking to, from our ability to now travel to some of these destinations and meet some of these folks see what they do firsthand. We'll try to get more content, more video behind the scenes now that we can meet in person and see each other which we couldn't do for the past year. So why don't just make it as immersive as possible. And as you guys who are listening, come up with ideas or would like to see more, hear more. Don't be shy shoot us a DM we respond to every single dm and are always open ideas, suggestions, recommendations, people, we should talk to tag different folks. You know, Jeremy wants to talk to Jesse James. So you know, probably get them on the show at some things of that nature.

Unknown Speaker  17:17  

But we're not experts by any means. Both of our businesses are in their infancy. And we're trying and well, there's a lot of people out there that they get on YouTube and Instagram and they see these guys and they're like, how do I get that? Well, we're in the thick of it. We're making mistakes too. But it's just one of those things. We're speaking as you not to you. And I think that that's really the message here is that we want to share our experience. We want to share other people's experience and let you know that you don't have to be the best and you don't have to be the greatest but that we're going to strive for that together. Mm hmm.

Eric Girouard  17:53  

awesome guys. Looking forward to kicking off season three and hearing what you all think and we'll talk soon