I just had Michael Keith on the show, and he runs Cal Coast Pest Management in San Diego. We had never met before this. But I had been watching his stuff for a while, and he had been watching mine, so I finally reached out.
His path into pest control is not normal, and the lessons he shared really stuck with me. Here are the ones I keep thinking about.
Michael did not grow up wanting to own a business, and his road was rough. He ran with gangs in South San Diego as a kid, got kicked out of five high schools, and never got a diploma. For years he just worked random odd jobs.
Then one night he was doing chemistry homework with the TV on in the background. He had King of the Hill playing, and one character does pest control. As Michael put it, "There's this character named Dale Gribble. He does pest control. So I was like, damn, that's kind of cool."
After that, he started seeing pest control trucks everywhere, so he looked up the pay and got a job at a big company. The very first stop hooked him, and he knew right away this was for him. You never know what will light the spark. For him it was a cartoon.
Stop selling. Start educating.
Early on, Michael hated sales because he pictured a salesperson as a sleazy, pushy guy. He did not want to be that, so he was fighting it the whole time.
Then he changed the words in his own head. As Michael put it, "Instead of sales I put in educator and I started putting in relationship builder."
That one switch changed everything. He stopped trying to sell, and he started teaching people and building trust instead. The work took off from there. It also helped that he believed in the products, the company, and himself. When you believe like that, people feel it and they buy.
Trade "have to" for "get to"
This was my favorite part of the whole talk. Michael does not say he has to do things, he says he gets to. "I like to use the word I get to," he told me, "because it's a privilege for me to get up." Then he ran the list. He gets to lose, he gets to win, and he gets to figure it out.
It is a small change, but it makes a big difference. "Have to" feels like a weight, while "get to" feels like a gift. Same task, much better mindset.
You can't grow until you let go
For a long time, Michael did it all himself, from sales to training to answering the phones. He is stubborn, and he wanted to keep control of everything.
Then he took a three-month leadership course in Vegas called Choice Center, and he said it was the hardest thing he had ever been through. But it broke something open in him. After that, he learned to hire and trust. As Michael put it, "My growth was literally allowing myself to trust other people and allowing myself to let go."
He started hiring people who were better than him at their jobs, and that is when things blew up. Most of us hit this wall, and I did too. You cannot grow a company you refuse to let go of.
Make the truck their corner office
This one I am stealing. Michael upgraded his team to nicer trucks with custom shells, slide-out drawers, and leather seats in one of them. Then he framed it for his techs in a way I had never heard before.
Most people picture success as a corner office with big windows and a nice desk. Michael tells his guys the truck is that office. "Think of it as this is your office and I want you to have a nice office," he said. He calls it their luxury office.
And it worked. He said their productivity jumped after the upgrade. When people feel they earned something nice, they show up different.
Thumbtack still works for him
A lot of owners trash Thumbtack, but Michael does not, because for him it prints money. "We'll spend 1,500 bucks and we'll make between 10 and 20 grand," he told me. The trick is that he built it up over time with lots of stars, good photos, and strong reviews.
Because of that, he can be the most expensive option, and he is fine with that. He wants the customer who picks the strong company, not the one asking for a 25 dollar deal. That is the right way to play it.
Why he runs bimonthly, not quarterly
A lot of companies go quarterly, but Michael runs most homes every two months. His reason is simple. More visits means more time in front of the customer.
I run things the same way, so we agreed hard on this one. Bimonthly gives you two extra touches a year, which is two more chances to build the relationship. Quarterly leaves three months where they never see you.
Get visible
Michael used to hide because he is quiet by nature. A guy in his networking group kept pushing him to start a podcast, but Michael did not think anyone wanted to hear him talk.
He finally did it anyway. He also did a ribbon cutting for his shop, and the mayor showed up. He talks a lot about reputation, and he is big on the book 48 Laws of Power. Here is the thing he learned. It is not about whether you feel ready, it is about what you give people. He stopped worrying about who was watching and just started delivering.
The big takeaway
Michael's story shows you can start from anywhere. Gangs, no diploma, odd jobs, a cartoon in the background. None of it stopped him.
What changed his life was not luck, it was mindset. He swapped selling for teaching, and he swapped "have to" for "get to." He learned to trust people and let go, and then he got visible. If you take one thing from him, take that. Change the words you use on yourself, and the business follows.
