In episode 33 of The Real Talk, Raquel Ramirez interviews Peter Haines, a management consultant and the founder of Horizon Growth LLC. They discuss Peter's journey from working at MIT to consulting for various companies, including a successful engineering company. The conversation also delves into the power of networking through BNI (Business Network International) and the impact it can have on business growth.
Tune in for an engaging discussion filled with wisdom and camaraderie.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:02:43] MIT and Unconventional Career Path.
[00:04:53] Cold Calling and Company Insights.
[00:15:52] Education and Career Choices.
[00:16:15] Teaching Without an MBA.
[00:22:23] Networking and Professional Growth.
[00:24:18] The Power of BNI (Business Network International).
[00:30:06] Realtors in BNI Chapters.
[00:30:38] Real Estate Category Highly Sought After.
In this episode, Raquel Ramirez and Peter Haines emphasize that building relationships and networking in organizations like BNI is a strategic approach to fostering business growth and success. By actively engaging, sharing expertise, and cultivating meaningful connections, professionals can leverage networking groups to expand their reach, generate referrals, and ultimately achieve their business objectives.
Additionally, Peter highlights that commitment, hard work, and dedication are essential factors in achieving success in business and networking endeavors. His experiences and insights serve as a testament to the positive outcomes that can be achieved through unwavering commitment and dedication to one's goals.
QUOTES
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Raquel Ramirez
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/featured_properties_intl/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/featuredre
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-ramirez/
Peter Haines
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeterHaines
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterchaines/
WEBSITES:
The Real Talk: https://www.therealtalkpodcast.net/
Featured Properties International: https://msha.ke/featuredre
Horizon Growth LLC: https://www.horizongrowth.com/
Welcome to The Real Talk. I'm Raquel Ramirez, your host and real estate professional here to bring you insightful conversations, expert advice, and powerful stories about what really goes on in life, love, divorce, and real estate. Are you ready? Let's get real. Hello and welcome to The Real Talk Podcast. Peter, how are you doing today?
I'm well, Raquel. How are you?
I'm doing very well, my friend. I'm so glad to have you on the show. This is a real treat for me because you are a very good friend and we've known each other a number of years now. And I thought it would be a really great idea for us to jump on the show together and just have a great conversation to see what comes of it, because all of our conversations are insightful one way or another. So I figured, why not share this with the world? And so here we are.
Well, I'm proud to call you my friend, but you're also my colleague. You're a professional colleague and you're good at what you do. And I'm thrilled to be part of your network. And I'm very proud to be invited to this podcast.
Thank you. Thank you so much for saying that. Now, for anybody who is listening, this is Peter Haynes. He is, like I said, a good friend and he is indeed a colleague of mine. We met networking a number of years ago. And well, and here we are. I don't even know when that was. Do you remember what year we met, Peter?
It was a long time ago, but it's- Like 2015. I am a management consultant, which means that my world can take a different turn every day. And I have had the pleasure of being a public company CEO. I had the pleasure of working at MIT. And my role right now is helping small companies achieve the success that I have achieved over the years. And being part of Raquel's network is part of that. So I'm happy to be here.
Thank you, Peter. I love the fact that you worked at MIT. I do remember that. That was a while ago, too. What did you do when you were at MIT?
Well, that's an interesting story. I had finished my undergraduate degree and I was saving money for my master's degree. I had been accepted for my MBA. I'd been accepted at Babson, which as a Boston boy, when you go to Babson, that's a big deal. And I got recruited by this group at MIT of professors who had this side gig of consulting. And they said to me, why don't you work for us for three years? when you're done, you'll have a better education than you will in any MBA program, including MIT, and you won't have to pay for it, we'll pay you. And I said, wait a minute, this sounds too good. Yeah, win-win. But I did it. And my job was, these guys were old, smart, really intelligent guys. And they said, Peter, we believe there are attributes of successful companies that are different than attributes of very successful companies. And they said, we want you to prove that for us. So they gave me a list of 500 companies. So it was a 25-year-old kid in the Boston area. I had a business card that said MIT. And when I knocked on the door and introduced myself as I'm Peter from MIT, they opened the door. So I had a chance to, over three years, I visited 500 companies and these professors were exactly right. The attributes of successful companies were very different than the attributes of very successful companies. And we built a consulting program around it. And that's how I started my career.
That's genius. What an opportunity that was.
Oh, it was incredible. Absolutely incredible.
Wow, and I can only assume they came up to you because of your dashing personality, because you are just one of the coolest people that I know. So I'm assuming you made an impression even that early on.
Well, thank you. They're all dead by now. They're all older than me. So I don't know why they chose me, but I think part of it was the MBA students at the Sloan School at MIT, they felt it was below themselves to do cold calling. And I was a hardworking young kid who was willing to cold calling. So they chose me because I was willing to do what the MBA students were not.
Interesting. Well, I'm going to be very honest, cold calling is is grueling and it's the hardest job in the whole world. I feel for people who go into that, whether they like it or not, whether that's something they just find fun and exciting or not. I think it's grueling and it's miserable. And no, not for me.
But but I have to admit, I enjoyed it because I as a young kid, I got to look inside of companies that I would normally never get to look inside. And because my business cards at MIT, they they opened the doors for me. Any cool companies that were absolutely correct. The behavior of successful companies were much different than the behavior of very successful companies. and that's how we build our consulting program, and that's how I launched my career when I left MIT.
That's so cool. That's so cool. Of those 500 companies, any major companies that we would know of, like anything that comes to mind, like a Disney or something like that?
DEC, Digital Equipment Corporation. Of course, you're in New England, so DEC was there. Got it. And frankly, it was so long ago, I can't remember the other names, but what was interesting, Raquel, is What these professors assumed was correct, was absolutely correct. And the most successful companies had precise alignment of vision, mission, and fundamental objective. They had a to-do list, three items long, maybe five, and they completed every one. And the less successful companies had zero alignment with vision, mission, and fundamental objective, and they had to-do lists of pages long and they never finished anything. So what we learned was incredibly valuable.
Sure. Sure. And then you made a life, basically a career, a lifelong career of consulting, because when I met you, you were still consulting.
Now you consulted when I when I left. Well, actually, when I was still with MIT, I begged these guys for for an engagement. I was always a young kid in the corner of the room. Mm hmm. And I begged them. I said, give me my own company, assign me to a company. So they did. And they assigned me to a guy that an engineer that was making exercise equipment in his basement part time. But he was generating five hundred thousand dollars a year. Wow. And I. I got involved, I did a strategic plan for him and we grew it in two years from a half a million to two and a half million. And we were paying him a salary of $60,000 a year and $48,000 a month in bonuses. And he said, I don't know what to do with all this money, let's sell the company. So we sold the company to a public company called the United Medical Corporation. And United Medical said, would you please run the company for six months until we find a qualified professional manager? And I was still a consultant. And I grew that company from $2.5 million to $100 million. We took it public. So that was my home run. And I left that company in 2000, came to Miami to do the same thing. And I've been here. I fell in love with Miami, fell in love with a woman. The woman didn't last. Miami did. And here I am.
Okay, so this was the year 2000. I'm thinking this was the 80s, because you said like 50 years ago. So, okay. So, but yeah, so you did this for a while. And then once you moved to Miami, you continued to consult, right? I remember you consulted for BNI also, because this was where I met you, of course. Absolutely, yeah. And what are you doing now? Where has life taken you now?
Well, I just finished a three-year engagement where one of my clients said, if we fire the CEO, will you run the company? and it was an engineering company in Homestead where you came and we had lunch one day. And the company was, for 47 years, it broke even. Oh my God. So the board engaged me to create some value. So when the 83-year-old owner passed away, the family would have something to deal with. So over a three-year period, first of all, I took the company over the day COVID broke out. And then I got it through COVID. We never missed a shipment, never lost an employee. And we took this breakeven company from breakeven to $1.3 million in EBITDA. So my job, I did my job and my contract was three years. And family came and said, thank you very much. We appreciate it. We're going to take the company back down. So my position is held by a family member, and I wish her well. She's a lawyer, and I hope that she continues to do the work that we did.
Good, good, good. I remember this was the engineering company that had come up with these new face masks, right?
The company was two things. We were weavers of a very unique fabric that has a high performance rate in anything you want to filter, including face masks. But the company's main business was filtering big industrial opportunities, like any manufacturing process that threw dirty air into the environment. But we used one of our products to make face masks, and they were highly effective. In fact, the Israeli government bought 5,000 of them, so the Israeli soldiers could wear these masks when they were out fighting for their independence.
Yeah, I remember the really cool mask.
I know you said the company was very interesting. We were we we were weavers. We weaved this custom fabric into material that we stored. And then we sold we sold filters. People would call and every filter was custom made. And we'd use the stuff that we filtered, which it was anything from a half a mil to twenty five mil. And we made filters. It was a wonderful little company. And now this 50-year-old company is making money for the first time in 50 years.
Wow. Wow.
Yeah.
That's incredible. So it seems to me that You know, talking about business in general, that you don't really need to know too much about any one particular industry because business is a universal language within, obviously, the business industry. So because I'm assuming this was just one of very of many different, let's say, industries that you got involved with in order to help the companies, you know, reach a new level of success. So that's exactly right. Interesting.
But it's all based on what I learned at MIT. When I and the professors began to process the data that we learned from, it became very clear that we had a roadmap for success. And I used that over the years. I built Cybex from half a million to 137 million. And when I left Cybex, I came here and I've helped 50 clients grow and generate $300 million in process. But it's all based on what we learned at MIT, the fundamental objectives of vision, mission, fundamental objectives, critical success factors, and working those. And it works everywhere, and it continues to work. And if somebody called me today out of the blue and said, I had a problem, I have a problem, I would propose we implement the same thing.
That's cool. So I'm assuming you've enjoyed your career. I mean, to see other companies flourish that way, that's that's from your input. That's incredible.
It's kind of fulfilling. It's been tremendously satisfying. Tremendously sad to be.
How cool is that, Peter? You see, that's just one another reason why I find you so interesting, aside from the fact that you were at MIT, which I think is fantastic. And so did you say that you ever made it to Babson? You didn't go to Babson.
I never went to Babson because the professors, you know, they they propose it work for us and get a better, better. So so now I work for them for three years and they were right. I learned more than I probably would have learned at any MBA program, including the Sloan School at MIT. But now when people evaluate me, they say, do you have an MBA? I say, no, I don't. But there's a story behind it.
Right. But look at what my resume says.
I wish I had just gone to Babson just to complete the MBA, but I didn't. So I have to explain the story.
That's okay. That's okay. It's certainly not to the same scale, right? Because I always thought I would get an MBA also. I went to FIU. I really wasn't given a choice in the matter of where I was going to go to school, even though I had the grades to go anywhere I wanted, but my mom wanted me to stay home. So I went to Florida National University, which is a great business school. It has been for a very long time. And so I went to FIU and I always thought I would get an MBA, but I just found the MBA to be so, I don't know, generic and I didn't think I was going to get something that I could really use. And at the time I was already working as a corporate banker and I was getting so much more bang for my buck being in the front lines, because I was working, mind you, at the bank during the Great Recession. I remember you worked at Gibraltar. I worked at Gibraltar. That was the second bank I worked at. And I was working there. I was working from Gibraltar from 2010 to 2013. And before that, I was working at the Bank of Miami from 2006 to 2010. So And as you probably remember, the country went up in flames with the economy in 2006 and 2007. So I was literally in the front lines and dealing with what was a madhouse of a bank when everything collapsed. And I was tasked with opening up the Special Assets Department, which is the department that handled all the special requests, all the loan modifications and everything that was basically just going up in flames. So I had an incredible opportunity, let's say, as did you, to learn what it really was to work with attorneys, in-house counsel, external counsel, to write policies and procedures, to underwrite real estate, you know, to work at that level under that kind of stress and meeting with the shareholders, say, every week, two, three, four, sometimes six hours every Friday. So I felt like I got so much more being there then and there than going to get my MBA. And so then I thought, you know what, maybe I'll just get a master's in something else, something that's more specialized or something that I really want to do, because I was I didn't think I was going to use my MBA for anything in particular. And well, here I am. I'm in my 40s now, and I never did get that MBA, but it's always been on the back of my mind to go back to school to get a degree in something else, because I do love education.
Well, funny you should say that. First of all, your experience is similar to mine. You have practical experience versus technical experience. But when I completed my work, I went back to Babson and I said, I want to get my MBA. And they said, no, you've got too much experience. We won't accept you in the MBA program, but we'd like you to lecture in the MBA program. So I ended up that trip. There you go. I lectured at Babson. I lectured at MIT. I lectured at the University of Miami when I moved here. So although I don't have the credentials of having an MBA, I have the experience that I teach other people how to use their MBA. That's right.
I mean, that's being more of an authority than anything else. I mean, that's definitely a feather in your cap.
It's my path, but it's... Anyway, in the course of all this, I met you, I fell in love with you as a colleague and a friend, and I am thrilled to be part of this.
Yeah, me too, me too. And let's take it back to our B&I days, because I know that's that's where we met. That was a number of years ago. I probably I think I would say it's maybe seven, eight years ago, something like that, that we met. We met under really interesting circumstances. But I remember that when we met, I had that instant connection with you. I think we both did. And I've learned a lot from you since then. And I know that you tried to help the B&I franchise also at the time find a better way to do things because I know we were struggling. And for those who don't know, BNI is an acronym for a large organization. It's actually a global organization, Business Network International. And where we all get together, when I say we, I mean members of the organization who is divided into different local chapters get together for basically to refer each other business and to network and to build strategic alliances. And I remember when when I met you, the chapter that I was president of actually was was struggling, was was going through a difficult time, had just taken the presidency over and it was a failing chapter. And it took a lot from me to rebuild that chapter, not even knowing what I was doing, because I had just joined this organization. I hadn't even gotten my feet wet to really understanding what everything was about and how everything worked. And and so they were like, we think you should be a great president. And I was like, I think I should think about this. And so I did. And I took the challenge. And then I met you not so long after that. And it was a great time. It was grueling also, because I put a lot of myself into that and make sure that we would be successful, that we would do what was expected of us, and that we would follow, say, the recipe for success in that case. And we were, we were very successful. I think, I don't remember what year that was, but we were the only green light chapter in the region at some point. They came and did like this big ceremony, you know, during one of our meetings they gave, I think it was I think it was like 65% of us who were green members in the chapter. Again, for people who are listening, that just basically meant we had like this traffic light report that if you were operating at your optimal level as a member doing all the things that were expected of you, you would be assigned the green color. And if you were not quite reaching, you know, or you were just just missing the mark, you would be assigned like a yellow card. And if you were not performing at all, you would get, you know, red. And then if you were non-existent as a member, then you weren't even assigned a color. But to get the green card, you know, or or the green classification wasn't exactly as easy as as someone, you know, would think you had to put some some effort behind it. And so anyway, most of us were green members and they came to to acknowledge us for that.
And what the story Raquel has just shared is the story that helped me respect her as I do. Oh, and me and I is a very effective referral source for small businesses interested in growing. And I have been a member on and off for many years. And when I finished my assignment with the engineering company in Homestead, I rejoined B&I for a variety of reasons, one of which kept me sharp. And I became a chapter success coach. which meant that I helped chapters grow and succeed. And I have the pleasure of saying, as of December 31st, I was the most successful chapter success coach at BNI.
Of course you were, but that just goes without saying. I mean, I would never, ever have doubted you.
For all of you listening now, I ride my bicycle often and I get hit by a car. So once that happened, I got derailed and I went to BNI and say, OK, guys, I have to get myself back in shape first before I can help the rest of you. So I've taken a hiatus.
You poor thing. I'm so glad you've recovered so well. But I'm sure the minute you get back on this horse, the BNI horse, that it's going to take off again. No doubt.
Well, I hope so. And this is a total pleasure. And I hope those listening and those that will listen recognize that there's a lot of good data and good conversation in these podcasts.
There really is. And I mean, I don't say that lightly and I don't say that to toot my own horn, but I have had the privilege of interviewing a lot of great professionals who have been forthcoming with information that you probably wouldn't get from just Googling or that you wouldn't get from just, you know, having a simple conversation when someone's standing at the Starbucks line or talking to somebody, you know, like your neighbor or anything like that. And that is the whole point of this podcast is for me to be able to bring to others, you know, what I am so fortunate to be exposed to, right? Because as professionals, we're Let's call it we have the responsibility to meet with other professionals, to develop relationships, assuming that's kind of your business model, right? To develop business relationships, to find out where you can plug yourself, who might be a good referral source for you in the future, or to learn a little bit more about someone else's industry in case that helps you in yours. I mean, there's all manner of reasons why you should be networking other than just trying to get business from somebody else. And what happened was that over the years, I realized I was getting a lot of really great information and feedback. I was learning a lot and I was growing a lot just from being in the presence of people, say, like you. And it got me thinking one day, man, you know, I wish that so and so would have been sitting with me here today to hear what this other person had to say. And man, that was a really great conversation. I wish my significant other had had tuned in and and that happened on and off, on and off, on and off for years. And then one day I thought this would be a really great way to bring that to other people and also give someone else the ability to shine, you know, and talk about what it is that they do in a forum that other people might be exposed to.
And for all of you listening that don't know BNI, check it out, bni.com. It is a wonderful source of referrals to build your business. It's a lot of work. You can't be passive. You have to be fully engaged. And when you do, BNI works and works very well.
Yeah, actually, let's talk a little bit about BNI because I've actually never brought that up in another podcast episode. The whole purpose, of course, of BNI is, you know, if we're going to speak frankly, is to join a networking group for the purpose of hopefully growing your business. And as you say, you do have to put some work into it, right? We talk about giver's gain, which is the motto or the belief system for which BNI is built around. And the idea of right behind giver's gain is that the more you give, the more you're bound to receive. So if your mind is set on giving referrals and giving opportunities and giving your time to other people in your chapter, then the likelihood of that coming back to you is high. And so if everybody operates on that, you know, belief system that things should work very well. And, you know, of course, you get the opportunity to build relationships, you sort of plant a seed, and then you kind of get that growing, you nurture it. And so you develop deeper, more meaningful business relationships with the people that you meet with on a weekly basis. But, you know, I'll leave it to you to tell us a little bit more, especially since you're a director consultant.
Well, the The most important thing is it works. If you are an emerging business interested in growing, if you invest in B&I, it's not free. You have to spend about $1,000 to join and you have to commit to time and you have to commit to certain things, but it works. It works and it works well. Now for my profession as a management consultant, B&I is not an effective means of customers. Right. I am involved in BNI for the opportunity to meet young people, to share my story with young people, but also to keep me sharp. You know, part of my work is telling my story in an effective way. And part of BNI is learning how you tell your story so that it is received well. It doesn't matter how you send it, but you got to receive it well. That's right. So I have a tremendous respect for BNI and I'm a believer and I would recommend that anyone in a small business who wants to grow their business through referrals, BNI is the way to do it.
I'm glad you brought that up about staying sharp and about learning to deliver your message because for a while, Obviously, while you're in the growth phase, especially the initial phase, right? You join BNI, it doesn't mean you're going to get business the very next day, the very next week, or even months. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than that. And that, I think, depends on several different things. Number one, what kind of person are you? Are you going to immediately immerse yourself and start developing those relationships? Two, what kind of industry are you in? Because some industries, you know, get business much easier than others. Like, say, a consulting business, obviously, It's a little more difficult than, say, a laundry service, which people come and go and are constantly looking for a laundry service. That could be an easier category. And the time commitment. So there are different reasons why you would or wouldn't get business right away. But in addition to getting business, you can learn and grow as a professional so long as you're willing to pay attention, right? You learn how to network, you learn how to connect, you learn how to communicate what it is that you do in a way that's effective. Because a lot of times we think that we're talking about what we do and others are understanding, and then we sit there and wonder, how come nobody has come to knock on my door to throw themselves at me and all this business that I should be getting? But the truth is that you might not be communicating what it is that you do in a way that other people understand it. And being in this environment of being I and meeting on a weekly basis and getting feedback from your counterparts really helps to to sharpen those skills and sharpen, you know, your your let's say your abilities to communicate and to. Yeah, to to call on people to give you that business that you seek.
But you brought up an interesting example. For those listening to this, or will listen to this, Sudsy's, which is a dry cleaner throughout Miami-Dade County, was built through B&I. That's right. Sudsy started as one store, and the founder, Jason, was a member of the B&I Miami Beach, and he diligently told his story every week, and now he's built a $25 million business with 30 stores throughout. So who wants to be in the dry cleaning business? The answer is there's nothing attractive to it. Right. But it's a money making venture. Yeah. And I made that company successful. So that's a wonderful example of how B&I works.
It is. It is. I remember thinking he was probably or this company is in particular is a great B&I success story. Everybody needs their clothes cleaned.
That's right. That's right. And he he he he built it on the fact that you don't have to come to the store. They will pick up your dry cleaning and deliver it back to you. It's like it's it's like when we go shopping today, we use one of the one of the shopping apps. You know, I want to order groceries. I don't go to the store, order groceries that gets delivered an hour later.
That's it. It's convenience. Yeah. Major convenience. Yeah. And there are other companies that do really, really well in BNI, especially those service driven industries are just money making machines when they hit a BNI chapter or franchise. It's fantastic.
And yeah, there are others as a realtor. The realtors are one of the most successful categories.
We are also the most giving category. And it's funny you should say that because it's a category that is highly sought after, especially in South Florida. I can't speak for other places around the world, but I know in South Florida, it's the hottest seat, if not one of the hottest seats. And by seat, I mean, for those who are listening and don't know the BNI structure, BNI as a chapter is category exclusive, meaning that you can only have one person per category. So you can have a chapter 200 members, but each and every one of those members holds an exclusive position, meaning that there are no two realtors, no two accountants, no two, I don't know, family law. No two closing agents, no two title people. Exactly. I mean, you could, in some cases I've seen where they've divvied up that category, let's say, well, very simply put, if you're in real estate, but you do commercial real estate, well, then you can hold that seat. And if you do residential real estate, you can hold that seat. So you can have two realtors so long as they do two entirely different things. And when it comes to real estate, residential and commercial don't mix. So that's an easy way to split up a category. But again, it's exclusive. And so anyway, when it comes to the real estate category, because we're in front of so many, we're in front of our clients, but those clients typically need all manner of things. And because the relationship tends to be really close, especially when you're buying or selling a property, you come across things and you enter into conversations where those buyers and sellers we're usually in need of all kinds of things. So we typically really, really good referral sources for these chapters, because anything from a landscaper to a plumber, an accountant, a bankruptcy attorney, a family law attorney, and in my case, even mental health practitioners, because I run into a lot of cases, you know, with divorce and estate sales. So yeah, it's a hot seat for many different reasons. But yeah, real estate category is a highly sought after position. both for the real estate person and also for the chapters themselves.
Raquel, I have to ask your forgiveness. When I have an engagement with a client and I currently have two active engagements, my promise to them is I'm available 24-7. My phone is now blowing up from a client saying, I need you to call me now. So may I please just wrap this up and serve my client?
Absolutely, absolutely. This is just one of the reasons why I think you are one of those consummate professionals that we need more and more of. So I do thank you for your time. I know that your time is very precious and I can't thank you enough for dedicating this amount of time to me because I know we had a pregame show. We should probably should have recorded that initial conversation because it was so good. But I do thank you for your time, Peter. If there's anything else you want our listeners to know, then now is the time.
I want the listeners to know that if you want a respectable, effective real estate agent, Raquel is your person.
Oh, you're the best. Thank you for that endorsement. I appreciate it. Now go do what you got to do and save the world.
That's thank you very much. Happy Friday to everyone.
Thanks, Peter. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of The Real Talk. We sure do appreciate it. If you haven't already done so, be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you consume podcasts. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. And if you found value in today's show, we'd appreciate it if you would help others discover this podcast. Until next time.