Along for the Ride: Encouragement to Impact

Alana Muller: (00:10)
Welcome to Enterprise.ing, a podcast from Enterprise Bank & Trust that's empowering business leaders one conversation at a time. Each week, we'll hear from top business professionals about lessons on leadership and entrepreneurship that they've learned along the way. I'm your host, Alana Muller, an entrepreneurial executive leader whose primary focus is to connect, inspire and empower community. We, at Enterprise Bank & Trust, thank you for tuning in to another episode.

Alana Muller: (00:42)
Friends, welcome back to Enterprise.ing podcast. Today, Rusty Fulling's in the studio. Rusty serves as Founder and CEO of Fulling Management & Accounting Inc. in Olathe, Kansas. For more than 25 years, Rusty has helped business leaders make sense of their numbers, grow their profits and gain peace of mind. Rusty Fulling, welcome to Enterprise.ing podcast.

Rusty Fulling (01:02):
Hey, thanks for having me. It's great to be with you today.

Alana Muller (01:05):
Great to be with you. To get us started, tell us more about Fulling Management & Accounting and what inspired you to start the company.

Rusty Fulling (01:12):
Yeah, it's funny. Sometimes it's words of affirmation from a friend that can just launch something that, my goodness, 25 years later, we're still cruising along. But it was about 25 years ago when a friend was sitting across the lunch table with me and said, "I can't believe you haven't started your own company." And it was just that little bit of affirmation. I thought, "Somebody believes in me, I think I can do this." And so we launched Fulling Management & Accounting. We provide fractional CFO and accounting work for companies now all over the country.

Alana Muller (01:45):
Wow, that's remarkable. And isn't it funny how sometimes people see things before we do? When you think back, do you know what it was that they saw that you weren't quite seeing when they said, "I can't believe you haven't started your own business"?

Rusty Fulling (02:02):
Yeah, it's funny. I'm still searching for that, maybe 25 years later. But I think it's just that, I think a trusted friend that just sees maybe something again that you don't. I often have told the story… I felt a little bit like Moses in the Bible. I'm not qualified for this. And I think there's a great line that says, "God calls sometimes those that are unqualified and really qualifies the called." And so it's funny, just thinking back all those years, I don't know that I would've done it with just that little push. And so I think that sometimes that's what it takes.

Alana Muller (02:39):
Oh, that's really nice. Well, and I like your Moses story because one of the things that I want to ask you about is that I know that you are a person of deep faith. That comes through in what you write about, what you talk about in terms of your organization and the values that you hold dear. And it seems to me that you are just incredibly focused on making a positive difference in the world. Talk a little bit about why your beliefs matter in your business and how that manifests itself in Fulling Management & Accounting.

Rusty Fulling (03:11):
Yeah. Early on, I remember I was trying to figure out how I could put some type of faith statement out, maybe on a website or so forth. And I remember a business owner saying, "If you do that, I would never do business with you." And I thought, "Oh my goodness." Sometimes those are helpful words sometimes where it's like, "Hey, maybe you need to prove yourself before you go spouting different things." And so for us at Fulling, it's really how do we make that positive difference? And a few years back, we actually solidified our core values and they spell out the word grace, G-R-A-C-E: growth, represent the client, accountability, champion attitude and eternal impact. And I think if I just were to focus on one, that eternal impact is: how do we make a difference beyond the numbers when we're working with a business owner?

Alana Muller (04:09):
Yeah, that's really nice. And I think your friend's guidance was good. It seems to me that you can certainly live your values as you're doing with grace, if you will, that you're living your values without having to necessarily quote scripture or something that is so overt, but you're demonstrating it through the way that you live and the way that you operate your business, so I really admire that. I think that's great. And one of the things that I read about as I was preparing for our conversation today is that I know that you recently traveled with a really cool organization called A Bright Future for Kids. Will you talk a little bit about that, what the initiative is? What made you travel with that particular organization, and maybe some of the people you met on your journey?

Rusty Fulling (04:58):
Yeah. A Bright Future for Kids is an organization actually started right here in Olathe, Kansas. And the organization owner grew up in Ethiopia and grew up with a single mom, and just a lot of the challenges that unfortunately women face in some of those areas. And so, he actually unfortunately saw his younger sister die of malnutrition. And I think that was just one of those areas that sparked him to say, "I don't want to see another child go through this. I don't want to see another family go through this." And one of the things that they do now, this organization does, is they help come along beside single moms who have been just abandoned and really just kind of put to the side and help equip them to become entrepreneurs.

Rusty Fulling (05:44):
So we get to come along beside, I think, 40 women who have gone through a three-year program from just down and out, to now being able to provide for their families and just have a business of their own. Just some sweet, sweet stories. One, the last day we were there, we got to see a young lady named Christine and got to go out to her pig operation. So she was raising pigs. And I think she started with two, she grew it to 12. And her goal is to be raising 100 pigs is her big... And you just get to see the smile on her face and she got to tell her story of redemption, of losing her children at one point because she couldn't take care of them, to now being able to provide and now having an organization that other people are wanting to invest in because she's doing so well.

Alana Muller (06:36):
That's so neat. You must sort of sense the pride that comes through her stories and the stories of some of the other women.

Rusty Fulling (06:42):
Yeah.

Alana Muller (06:45):
That's great. So where did you get to go during your travels?

Rusty Fulling (06:47):
Yeah, so we spent about a week in Ethiopia, in Addis, Ethiopia, and got to see, I think, about 10 to 15 women who, again, they were about a year into their program. And I think one of the things that they were focusing on was sewing and creating products for the market. We got to actually visit some homes of these women and just got to hear some of their stories. And then from there, we got to spend about a week over in Kenya and actually got to go out to some of the different business operations. And some of them, again, were market-type products that they're making. One lady had a hair and nail salon where she's…

Alana Muller (07:27):
Great.

Rusty Fulling (07:29):
Yeah, so she said she could do my hair. I don't know what that was all about. And then we got to see some produce stands and some other things. But just the pride on these faces. And the other cool thing was the pride on the kids' faces and the stories that the kids... And so this organization, literally, these women are making really a generational impact. They're changing the trajectory of their family tree. And so it's just fun to come along beside and just play a small part in the celebration of the ladies.

Alana Muller (08:01):
So special. Well, one of the things that sort of strikes me is… did you see, sort of, similarities or differences when you compare the businesses that those women are starting vis-a-vis the businesses that you help here in the United States? Were there sort of market similarities or market differences that you can think of?

Rusty Fulling (08:24):
Yeah, there are definitely, I would say, some similarities and some differences. One of the things I loved about this program is they came along beside them and really guided them along the way. And so it wasn't just, "Good luck and we'll see you in three years," but there's some accountability built in and some initial funding to help them get their business up and going. And the idea is to help them become self-sufficient and self-sustaining.

Rusty Fulling (08:48):
But I would say one of the things I love about what we get to do in our organization, is coming along beside businesses. And although we may take the title of CFO or fractional CFO in some cases, it's really fun to come along and just provide some best practice ideas. And it could be accountability. It could be, "Hey, here's some ways to do this differently that's going to have a longer-term impact." So I would say there was definitely some similarities, but I love the celebration. When somebody wins, everybody celebrates. And I'd love to see more of that, here, in the States. I know we do a little bit of that, but there wasn't so much of a competition, but, "Let me celebrate my friend who just hit this milestone in their business."

Alana Muller (09:34):
That's fabulous. It would be great if we could do more of that here. I think it would make a positive difference. That's a nice idea. Well, I'm sure that you see this not just in the mission work that you do, but also in your daily business you see people who face obstacles, and we all do in business and otherwise. What are some of the biggest obstacles that you have faced in business and how are you able to overcome those challenges and emerge as a stronger leader?

Rusty Fulling (10:04):
Yeah. I think some of it is just self-doubt that I talked about early on. Just, "Hey, I'm not sure I'm qualified for this." And some of it is just coming along other business leaders. I love the model of roundtable groups and advisory groups. That's something that I think you and I, before we jumped on here, talked about the Kauffman Foundation that year... I think the first couple of years of our business, we got to participate in a roundtable group put on by the Kauffman Foundation out of Kansas City and since then have been able to participate in some others.

Rusty Fulling (10:32):
But I think just having that collaborative group around you that can celebrate with you, that can keep you accountable, that can kick you in the backside when you need to be encouraged in that way. I think it has really been helpful. One of the things that I've talked about [inaudible 00:10:53] previous stories I've told is a client that we brought on board probably about year seven or eight that doubled our business overnight. And we were so excited. We got this growing business and this huge business came in and within six months we lost that client and I thought…

Alana Muller (11:10):
Oh my goodness.

Rusty Fulling (11:11):
"Oh, no, the magic's gone. What just happened?" And part of it was we had not identified our ideal client, and that was not our ideal client. It was way too big for the services we provide. And so it really helped us go back and identify who do we serve well and who do we work with best? And from that, we actually developed some really fun client personas. And so now, it's so much easier to be able to say, "Ah, yes, they fit perfectly within this persona group."

Alana Muller (11:43):
Well, I appreciate how you took a situation that was so disheartening and really turned it around to benefit the company and turn it into really a good news story. So that's terrific. One of the things that I've heard you talk about before is what happens when a leader goes down when there's some, not necessarily catastrophic, but something that takes the leader out of commission. Talk a little bit about that because I think you have a great perspective on that.

Rusty Fulling (12:09):
Yeah, that's kind of a painful story I'd rather not talk about, but since you've set it up so nicely. Yeah, It's interesting. About, my goodness, probably six years ago, we started working on contingency planning. So, this is something that really any business owner of any size needs to be thinking about: contingency, succession planning, all those kinds of things. But for us, there was so much dependent on one person, and that happened to be me as the business owner. And so we started putting things in place. "Hey, if I'm out unexpectedly, what happens?"

Rusty Fulling (12:44):
And yeah, it was just actually just about a month ago from this recording, I ended up in the hospital with a pretty bad knee injury or situation. And so I was out unexpectedly for really a couple weeks for all practical purposes. What was amazing was the work that we'd been doing on that contingency planning, it just clicked into place. Nobody had to say, "Hey, we're going to put this plan in place."

Rusty Fulling (13:11):
And one of those things that I'll just throw out, something for people to think about, is a communication tree. And the idea is my wife and I didn't have to communicate to 20 team members. We had three, kind of, our leadership team, that we just communicated to. They did all the reorganizing of calendars, they communicated to our team, to our clients. Payroll was taken care of, payables were taken care of, client billing was sent out. I wasn't even sure I needed to come back at that point because they had everything taken care of so well. But part of that is practice, practice, practice. Talk about those things before they happen, and it makes so much difference. And so, yeah, what happens when a leader goes down, could have been a totally different story. So, make sure you begin thinking about those kinds of things.

Alana Muller (14:00):
Well, and I'm imagining the peace of mind that you had where you could really focus on your health in a moment where you needed to do that and feel confident that things back at the shop, so to speak, were just exactly as they should be. Things were continuing along, your clients were continuing to be served and served well. And you must've just felt so much pride in your team, so congratulations for that. I think that notion of contingency planning is one that gets a lot of lip service, but I think very few organizations do it well. And it sounds like you were very well-prepared.

Rusty Fulling (14:34):
Yeah, I think if you were to talk to our team, I think that would be probably where you'd measure what the success is. Because what you don't want to do is just say, "Hey, I'm out. Good luck." And I think our team… I was even talking to one of our team members today and they're like, "Boy, it worked really well." There wasn't a surprise. It's just like, "Yep, here's what happens." And so, no one person was bombarded with a bunch of extra work. And so, yeah, definitely that communication tree I think is a great place to start. It takes so much pressure off the spouse, off the leader, just as a starting point.

Alana Muller (15:10):
Oh, so great. That's so great. Is there something that you're working on right now that you're especially excited about?

Rusty Fulling (15:17):
Yeah. One of the things, probably, again, about two years ago now, we went through the Working Genius model with Patrick Lencioni's group. You're probably familiar with that. And I identified Working Geniuses and frustration areas and so forth. And there was one outlier in our Genius areas and our frustration areas. And I happened to be a lot of those outliers where I wasn't quite like everybody else, "Which block doesn't fit?" And what was interesting is some of the frustration areas were areas where I was spending a fair amount of my time.

Rusty Fulling (15:53):
And another tool that we brought in about that same time was EOS. And we talked about Visionary and Integrators. And really those two tools helped us identify the need for a COO in our organization, somebody that could run the day-to-day operations. And so we actually had an incredible person on our team who'd been with us for several years that just fit that model so perfectly from that Integrator standpoint and just complemented what I could bring more in that Visionary role. And so, we are actively really over the last 18 months, been leaning into that model, that Visionary–Integrator model. And so it's been just so much fun to see that really come to life, and it just makes day-to-day operations so much more fulfilling when you get to really spend time in the areas that are energizing for you and not frustrating.

Alana Muller (16:46):
Sure. Well, and I have to applaud you for being open-minded enough and willing to allow another leader into the organization where you didn't feel that somehow something was being stripped from you or that your role was being devalued, but you could see even more value by bringing in a second leader. So, bravo. That's very smart, very smart. Well, and it makes me wonder, do you have a mentor or someone in your life who's had a meaningful impact on you personally or from a career perspective? And is there a piece of advice that sticks out as one of the most important lessons that have been imparted to you?

Rusty Fulling (17:25):
Yeah. I've been lucky enough to have some great mentors really along the journey. And I would say mentors for different areas of life. I think of one mentor I've had for my, goodness, 30 plus years, and that's my father-in-law. He was a CPA, business leader. And it's just so much fun to get to lean into somebody that's more than a few years ahead of me, but somebody like that. But then along the way too, there's been some great mentors. We talked about the Kauffman Foundation, Helzberg Mentoring Program, just so many that have come along beside… It just feels like, just in the right time. And so I do have some of those, yes, that I'd lean into on a regular basis. And I think even flipping the script a little bit, you know there's certain seasons of life, too, where we become the mentor and begin to mentor others. And so I've really enjoyed this season where I've gotten to now mentor younger leaders and come along beside them. And so I would say for whatever stage you're in, make sure you're looking for a mentor and also someone to mentor you as well.

Alana Muller (18:32):
Yeah, I think that's so smart. Is there one piece of advice that you always share with your mentees or something that has really helped to guide you on your path?

Rusty Fulling (18:45):
Yeah. I think, “don't do it alone” would be the biggest thing. I think so many times as a leader, you talk about leaders feeling lonely at the top and those kinds of things. Boy, having just that trusted group, trusted person you can go to. So don't do it alone would be, yeah, probably the biggest piece of advice that I know I've leaned into.

Alana Muller (19:05):
Yeah, clearly you're living that, especially given that you've brought on a COO, somebody from within the company. I think that's a great way to really model this thing that you're talking about. So, that's wonderful. Well, there's one question I ask every guest and I've got to ask you, as well. And that is, if you could grab a cup of coffee with one person living, not living, fictional or non-fictional, who would it be and why?

Rusty Fulling (19:27):
Oh, man. Probably Dan Meers. Those that aren't familiar, Dan Meers is a... He's been the mascot of Kansas City Chiefs for the last 35 years, just retired this year. And I got to hear Dan speak. Oh, it's been a few years back. And just a wonderful, wonderful message about... I think “Mascot On A Mission” was one of his book titles, but I think it'd just be fun to hear some of his story and what he's up to now in retirement and some of that. So Dan, if you're listening, I'll make sure I leave my information here.

Alana Muller (20:02):
Exactly. So you can grab that cup of coffee. I think that's great. Maybe head over to a Chiefs game together or something. That'd be great.

Rusty Fulling (20:08):
There you go. Yes.

Alana Muller (20:10):
Well, Rusty, I just love your energy. You are just sort of a bright light, so I have really enjoyed our conversation. Thank you so much for joining me today. Where can our listeners go to learn more about you and about Fulling Management & Accounting?

Rusty Fulling (20:25):
Yeah, you bet. Fulling Management & Accounting, fullingmgmt.com. And yeah, if you want to just hear more about me or some of the stories we've shared even on this podcast, rustyfulling.com. You can read some of the stories and some of the fun lessons that I'm still learning along the way.

Alana Muller (20:43):
Well, I love that. Rusty, thanks so much for being on Enterprise.ing podcast.

Rusty Fulling (20:46):
Thank you.

Alana Muller (20:50):
Thanks for joining us this week on Enterprise.ing. Be sure to visit our website, enterprisebank.com/podcast to subscribe so you'll never miss an episode. If you found value in today's program, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or telling a friend about us. Enterprise.ing, powering business leaders one conversation at a time.

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