Building a Business on Faith, People, and Patience

Josh Wilson: Marvin, welcome to the Deal Podcast. Let's start with this. You said, you know, in the green room, before we hit record, you said, man, you love talking about business, family, and God. So why don't you kick us off with, you know, who are you, what do you do, and kind of what do you stand for? 

Marvin Travasos: I'm glad to be here.

Uh, my name's Marvin Travasos. I'm, uh, originally from Lafayette, uh, born in New Orleans. Uh, lived here, uh, since 68, back when this town was small. You know, so, uh, uh, married, uh, 47 years to Phyllis Reassesses. Uh, we have three children, 12 grandchildren. Uh, enjoy, uh, enjoy the grandchildren and, you know, just enjoy life being, you know, here in Lafayette, uh, um, on a business in Broussard.

Coastal, uh, pumping equipment and been at that since 2006 and it's been a journey, uh, shut off really small and grew into four locations and enjoying, uh, the people that working with has, has really been, it's been a fun experience and I really enjoy, uh, what I do and what we stand for and just the company and the progression that we making.

I just enjoy building things and I've pretty much been my life building things, building relationships with, with people, and uh, just watching people grow and the passion for the business and it's has been, uh, been extremely, uh, satisfying on my part for sure. 

Josh Wilson: Marvin. What is a pumping business? 

Marvin Travasos: Uh, the pumping business is basically we move a lot of water, a lot of fluids in, in the oil field and also in disaster.

We do a lot of disaster work. Uh, we do a lot of, uh, starting to really, uh, make some really strong, uh, pushes in. The, uh, municipalities and 

Jude David: mm-hmm. 

Marvin Travasos: And building. Uh, just recently we built a, a pretty good sized wastewater treatment plant for, uh, uh, for a company in, uh, Baton Rouge and starting to build a lot of wastewater treatment plants and, uh.

Furnishing a lot of, you know, wa water facilities and just really, uh, just starting to make some grounds in that. And, and, uh, we, uh, a lot of our larger pumps, uh, we, we did a special project a couple years ago with the salt water intrusion in, uh, new Orleans where we were able to place, uh, four pumps on the Mississippi River and pump 15 miles south to, uh, to the town of Greta.

Where they, they turned off their, their units and just took the water from what we. You know, the fresh water we were getting from the North center and the south. So that was, uh, an experiment that the government wanted to do, and it worked out really well. Uh, so that's one option. We, we basically had 110 miles, a 12 inch lay flat on the ground.

So it was fun. We did, we did all that in three weeks. So that was, that was pretty exciting. It was, uh, it was good for the team, good for the, the group, and good for the. But for the city and New Orleans and the West Bank, so, yeah. Uh, 

Jude David: Marvin's got a huge equipment business, so he, he's a humble guy. He is not gonna tell you all about it, but they've got awesome manufacturing where they make these massive pumps and machines.

They got big generators and lifts and everything else. And it's, it's the kind of business that you go and, and you're like, oh man, I, I wanna go play with all these toys. This, this is exciting stuff. 

Marvin Travasos: It is. 

Jude David: And he is grown that into four locations in multiple states. And an awesome team that, uh, that carries a lot of the water every day.

But, you know, with, with Marvin at the top really, uh, you know, guiding him and giving him the vision, 

Marvin Travasos: we've really enjoyed it. Uh, was able to hire some great people. That's really moved the company forward. Uh, uh, again, we have, you know, the four locations is just, we got it covered. You know, as far as the, uh.

The, uh, the fracking industry, basically, we were the first ones to come out with a large horsepower that could just literally move about 8,000 gallons a minute, uh, through a pump. And, uh, it, uh, definitely, you know, definitely helped out. We kind of innovative in a few ideas that, that we were able to, you know.

Come up with that, that put us out in the front. You know that, you know, as I say, if you, you're not out front, you can be the lead dog out in the front. Everything else is just looking behind, you know? So we earned that, right? 

Jude David: 8,000 gallons a minute. Why would you need to pump that much water? I mean, it sounds awesome, but, uh, I know 

Marvin Travasos: basically, you know, in the fracking industry, they, uh, they, they, you know, millions of barrels of water just, just to perform a frack.

And now they're going with these sister fracks where they have two to three wells at a time. Halliburton Slumber Jay, those guys next tier. So, uh. They, they, um, when they hook onto these, uh, these wells and they, they frack and, uh, they mix in chemicals and frack sands and all the different components that that use to, you know, frack a well.

And it just takes millions and millions of gallons of water. So we are able to, you have to be, to keep up. And sometimes these locations might be seven to 10 miles away, some as much as 15 miles away. So, you know, they put our pumps on, uh, these huge frack. Uh, pits of water pits and they move it from, uh, that location and we'll have some pumps in line to where they can just get 110, 120 barrels a minute, you know?

So it's, uh, it's an interesting field though, you know, got into it in the south Texas, and so it just, it just moved on, you know? Uh, it seems like this is seemed to be the norm in the, in all field as far as, you know. Saudi Arabia and they're starting to frack everybody's, you know, the new technology that's, that's really moved forward.

Jude David: I'll tell you something I really admire is that you did it at one location and then you've managed to expand out and grow your business beyond. You know, we, we see so many business owners that have built, you know. A good business at one location, and they feel like they've, they've topped out or they've, you know, maxed out the growth that they can do.

Tell us about that journey. Why, why'd you go from one location to multi-location? What were the struggles? Why have you guys been successful at it when so many other people struggled? 

Marvin Travasos: Well, when we, when, uh, we got started in South Texas, uh, you know, there was really not much infrastructure there. So the first pump, uh, that.

I built was in a field waiting on the shop to, to get cleaned up and ready to go. So that was, that was a pump I really was gonna rent out. And, uh, one of the off field service companies bought it. So, uh, that journey took a little while off first couple of months to, to even get the equipment to build. And so we ended up in South Texas, in the Pleasanton area where we, we.

Probably built 150 to 200 pumps, some for sale. Most of 'em we wanted to rent. And, uh, at that point, uh, when, after about a year or so, we, uh, decided to. Try the larger horsepower. It seems in the all field, bigger is better. So we went with the 600 horsepower and that took off unbelievable. Most of our competition said it wasn't gonna work, it was too much, and now it seems to be the norm.

And what ended up happening, a lot of our pumps migrated from South Texas to the Midland Permian Basin area. So we were chasing them up there to service 'em and take care of it. And that started that branch just outta necessity of being there. So we had a gentleman here in Iberia that had a shop that he wasn't using.

So we split it in half and after two, three months, we ended up with the whole shop. And then that was a little location of, you know, two to three acres. And, uh, with all our, with all our pumps being out there, we needed a larger location. So we ended up moving to a 10 acre facility. With cranes and stuff.

So it really expanded. So we were one of the first ones in boat basins to have the 600 horsepower pump that that would move, you know, anywhere from seven to 8,000 gallons a minute, depending on what size pump and engine we'd put on it. So we ended becoming fairly like the leader in that, that area, no doubt, but just a smaller fleet, you know, our competition.

It had a lot of the, what I call medium sized horsepower and, uh, so that, that propelled us. And it was, uh, it was a good journey. I mean, it's, it's still still moving on, you know, it just, uh, it's all progressed either, you know, at that time, the, the basin, it was a fairly large basement in more and more New Mexico, you know, it just, that area just expanded.

So, uh. With that, you know, we, we started putting on different, you know, other type pumps as well. Smaller pumps, uh, larger pumps. Uh. So it's been a, it is been an interesting journey in that area. And then, you know, we have a yard and carthridge as well, so taking care of that, that basin as well. And it's, uh, a lot of gas is moving, you know, uh, drilling and a lot of pipelines being installed.

And so we figured that area would. Good area to be in as well. And we were able to, to grab, uh, a couple of people that we, we knew that was gonna do well in that area. So we were able to, uh, get them on board. And it's, it is been a good journey. 

Josh Wilson: 2006, you and Phyllis are sitting around a, uh, dining room table, and you're thinking about, you know, you have kids at this point, and you're thinking about like, what, what should we, you know, do?

And you're like, well, I see an opportunity in pumping, or what did that conversation look like around the dinner? Dinner table. 

Marvin Travasos: She was basically asking, are you crazy? For sure, yes. 

Josh Wilson: The answer was, yeah. Right. 

Marvin Travasos: I mean, do you really need to do this? Uh, it basically in a, in a sort of way. I mean, we started off real small.

I mean, it really wasn't that size pumps at, at that time. And, uh, had the opportunity to, uh, in around that time to, uh, we did a lot of production equipment, rebuilt things. Uh, I'm a welder by trade. You know, so that, um, that helped out, um, able to, um, sell. Used equipment, refurb it and sell it. And, uh, along with the pumps.

So I had a friend of mine in South Texas knew the, we had pumps and, uh, he invited me to get over, you know, to, to visit with him. And we went down that, you know, went, went down to Pleasanton area and, and saw the need for these larger pumps and came back home and said, Phil, I think this is, you know, kinda like the Bell Hill business where we need to be at, you know, right now.

Just let's move there and, you know, get, get some, um, equipment. Not her, not her moving there. Basically me moving there for just a moment and, and setting this thing up. And, uh, it took off. I mean, it was, uh, um, and all feels, you know, as you know, it's boom, the bus, you know, it's one or the other. And it, it literally stayed, stayed busy for a while, you know, a good while.

So she, uh, she was able to come with me from time to time and, uh, I helped set up and set up a little small home there and just. Just move the company, you know, day by day. I mean, it is just one of those things you just do. Um, it was the passion of. Finishing it, you know, making sure that it was, you know, they say basically starting a, a business is, you know, at that level is like, uh, raising a child, a baby, you know, you gotta do everything for it at first, and then over the period of time it, you know, it's able to do some of the things and then slowly, but sure you let it go until it, you know, it's on its own.

You know, so it's tough. And then there are the teenage years with a business where you just kinda wondering is it worth it? Right? But it, it has be, definitely been worth it. It's, it's been a good experience. 

Jude David: There's this, uh, you know, widespread belief out there that, you know, the people who have built big companies or have, you know, created wealth.

Did it at the right time. And it's not possible in today's world anymore. And I don't know where this comes from, 

Marvin Travasos: but yeah, I don't know if that's true or not. Uh, being at the right place at the right time does help. Mm-hmm. You know, there, there are times that, uh, you know, in, even in the oilfield in 2016 was probably one of the worst years.

Uh, my neighbor sat around a board meeting, uh, at the bank and basically told his, told the story that, uh, he has a neighbor, which was me, that all my, all the, my equipment and pumps were in, in, in September of 2016. And by December they were all out. Well, they not. The exact thing. They weren't all in, in, in December.

They weren't all out, but it was a tough year. So if you were to start business in that year, that wouldn't have been a good year to start, at least in the industry I'm in. But there were some companies that were doing well at at that time. So, um, I think there's still opportunity out there. There's still things that people, um.

Looking to do, and, and if you, you learn the business, you know, I've always told, especially a lot of the young guys that I have, the don't learn the, the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade, you know, understanding what's, what's going on. And, and, uh, you really have to get into it. And, uh. What I mean by that is it's, it's kind of a passion you have, uh, to better yourself, better, better the company.

Uh, I've always told the guys that work that, you know, if the owner acts like a, like a worker and the worker acts like a owner, I couldn't think of a better place to work at. So that's, that's some of the things that have, I've told, you know, tell these guys, act like an owner, and that day comes you, you'll be ready.

You know, so start doing it when you young. Just learn everything you can and, and get out there and just, you know, try to make a difference. 

Jude David: I bet you mean a lot more than just thinking like a business owner. When you, when you tell somebody, act like an owner. What are you trying to tell 'em? 

Marvin Travasos: Basically, you know, it, it, uh, just think ahead.

I mean, it's, um, keep, keep these things on your mind, uh, in terms of, you know, what are you gonna do at work and how can I make this place better? Um, the little things. Um, ask for advice, um, give advice, um, you know. Instead of being told what to do, go do it before you've been told to do it. You know, these things, these guys know their trade and after a while, just if you see, you know, help one another, uh, just everything you see trash in the yard, pick it up, bring it back, put it in the can.

I mean, it's, these are the things, uh, I used to tell people, I always knew who the owner was when I visited the yard. 'cause he usually had trash in his hands, you know, from walking the yard, picking it up, putting it there. I mean that, I said he's, he's gotta be the owner. You know, that's, that's your guy right there.

And, uh, we see some of these, you know, I, I see a lot of these young guys that they're starting to really pick up. Um, um, and it's incredible, uh, uh, you know, they say, well, this, this new, this new group of young men, I. Uh, it's not like working, you know, 20, 30 years ago, but I see a group of young men that they, they wanna learn first.

They need to learn how to work and, you know, show up on time. And when they start doing those things, you watch, you know, watch their progression. Uh, I can tell you it's countless stories at Coastal where these guys, uh, would. Five years ago and what they are today. It's just, I mean, it, it amazes me every day.

I mean, if anything amazes me at work is, is the people that we have. It is, they're incredible to watch. 

Jude David: Yeah. It seems like you do a lot to help 'em grow. Beyond just their role. You know, I, I find out in the world you have, uh, you know, consumers and investors, you know, people who are gonna, if, if they get a little bonus at work or a little money in their pocket, some people are gonna go buy a new truck or, you know, find a way to consume.

Other people are gonna figure out a way to, you know, grow themselves or grow a business or, you know, grow an asset that creates value for them. Uh, and I, I know I've heard you speak passionately about this before, you know the ways you're investing in your people. Can you tell us a little about that? 

Marvin Travasos: Uh, yeah.

Basically in, you know, with, with the people at work, I mean, it's, it is always pushing 'em to the next level. Um, uh, we do a lot of things as far as training, uh, you know, with these guys. Um, uh, we, we have some that are training in different. Different areas right now, even from, you know, uh, the mechanical side to, uh, send 'em to, to pump school, send 'em to, uh, we send some to, uh, mechanic schools where there's certified mechanics now in, uh, in the diesel engines.

Uh, there's training right now, even in AI inside of our place where, you know, they're all day trainings. Uh, we're gonna have that throughout the year. Uh, we ask them to do multiple things besides just, you know, from a mechanic. They do different things as well. Uh, we teach 'em, uh, different things on, um, even, even toward the, the computer side of, of, uh, the, the training where they can go in there and reprogram engines and reprogram and troubleshoot.

Uh. Um, equipment. So it's, it's, it's an interesting, uh, when you walk back there and the, the amount of different equipment they're working on there from, from, I guess, you know, from the pumps as well as the generators to light towers to forklifts and tele handlers. And, uh, these guys are really, they're really coming around.

They, it's impressive to watch, watch 'em, learn and watch 'em work and fix these things and know what to, uh. Know it to troubleshoot, you know, nowhere to get started at and where they wanna finish at. And, uh, and just, just watching 'em grow. I mean, it's a, it's an amazing thing. It's 

Jude David: impressive that. They feel safe to do that in your company though?

Uh, you know, so many companies we work with, employees don't want to train anybody else in how to do their job because they wanna own that job and make sure they've got job security in it to grow into somebody who's learning new skills and, you know, investing in new parts of the company, but also helping other people to learn what they do.

That takes a lot of safety in, in your position and, and, you know, knowing that your company's willing to invest in you. How are you building that culture? How are you making those employees understand that it's about, you know, what we can do together, not what you can do for yourself. 

Marvin Travasos: Well, they, you know, they, they pretty much get that from, uh, from you.

From the top down. I mean, they, they understand that they play multiple roles. I, I think they enjoy it. Uh, in terms, you know, one day they, they could be in Lafayette ARD area and the next day in San Antonio, the next day in cartridge, uh, helping out, they train one another. They share information. They, they, they run across certain problems and they share it.

We ask 'em to share their information with one another. Uh, they always know who to call. You know, it's kinda like the law of the lid. You know, you, this is all I know. So they'll go to somebody whose lid might be a little higher and then, you know, that, that understands or. A little bit more familiar with that piece of equipment.

And before, you know, before you know it, these guys are, they're the ones that know it now. And so they, they spread it. Um, it's, it's a learning process. It's, it is working together. Uh, they do share a lot of information. Uh, we, we grow 'em in different ways as well. Um, uh. From sending 'em to, again, to school.

You know, the, the ska school, we had a, we had a thing here a while back where we took, uh, pictures of people that had become master technicians that really, um, five, six years ago. They understood mechanics, but they didn't understand it the way they understand it now, and they really know how to, to perform, you know, on these, uh, engines we're being called, you know?

Right. Right. At this moment, we're being called directly from Sweden. To handle all this work that Scania has in around this area. And, uh, even just recently sent people to Utah. There was no one really knowing how to work on these things in that area. So we, we had to fly one guy there just to troubleshoot about 10 different machines.

So that was, uh, it was a good experience for him. We were proud of him. Uh, he did a great job. Uh, some of the things he didn't quite understand, he was able to call back in and, uh, got with a couple people at work and, uh, kind of him through a few things. But you know, these are the things that, you know, I enjoy watching these guys grow.

I mean, watching, watching the progression that they're making. I mean, you know, basically, uh. If, you know, you, you get this thing, the, where it runs on its own, you know, where these guys are doing their thing, whether I'm there or not there. Uh, I mean this, they, they're taking, they're taking a bull bottle horns and you know, just getting it done so that I don't, I dunno how you could put a, a value on that as much as just, you know, up and training and uh, and, uh, asking these guys to do more, you know, setting the bar high.

Jude David: I can put a value. It's about six times ebitda, uh, in my world. 

Marvin Travasos: Right? 

Jude David: It's so funny. So many business owners never figure out the thing that you're talking about, right? It's, it's that if you are the limiting factor in your business, you're the one wearing all the hats. It'll only grow as big as you, 

Marvin Travasos: right?

Jude David: If you grow a team, it'll grow into something real and substantial. 

Marvin Travasos: Well, I, I basically told our vice president, I, you know, let's, let's. Let's go ahead and start developing, you know, the year or so back, people that would take our places 

Jude David: Mm. 

Marvin Travasos: You know, that would replace us and, uh, and just keep replacing, you know, move these guys up, challenge 'em, uh, do more in in that area, you know, learn more.

Uh, I think one of the biggest things in business, you know, machines are, one thing is people. It is, you know, we could fix a lot of things in our world, but it's fixing people and getting people to do Exactly, you know, what you thought they might be needing to do it. It's a, it's a tough position. It's, uh, it's something that, uh, you have to, you have to learn that as well.

You have to learn how to work with people and motivate people and, uh, you know, try to figure 'em out which way it works and, you know. 

Jude David: It is so funny because in the M and a world, it's the same thing. You hear about all these companies that buy other companies and run 'em into the ground afterwards, and they're the ones that were focused on the profit and loss statement and on the machines and on the business profile, and the ones that are focused on the people.

Are the ones that you never hear that story. It's always, you know, they took what was working and then they grew it from there. And, uh, you know, I, I wish more company owners understood the value of that and, and really invest in their people. I wish more buyers out in the world understood it too. You know, we, we really have a tough time sorting through and, and making sure that people are asking the right questions.

Um, what got you so focused on building your team, you know. Was that always the case for you from, from the beginning, or did that start to click for you somewhere along the way? 

Marvin Travasos: Well, I, I knew, I knew back at that time for, for me personally, I was, I've been in business since I was 28 years old, you know, in the fabrication business.

Didn't always do as well in that. Did, did well for about 12, 13 years. Kind of took my eyes off of it and, you know, slowly you watch it, you know, digress and, uh, to the point where you know, it basically. You know, in 2006 started, uh, coastal Production System, which is now coastal pumping equipment. And I think that I realized that I needed accountability in this thing, that I needed somebody.

So one of the first things I did after, uh, Pleasanton and got started in that I needed somebody to, to be accountable to. Even as a business owner, I needed somebody besides, you know, my wife, my spouse, who you know, is not emotionally tied to it. Come in there and say, look, this bottom line is not looking good.

Or, you know, uh, this is what we need to do. This is what we can do. Uh, this is what you need to do. This is the steps that might need to be taken. And some of it, uh, you know, you look at it as a business owner, you say, well, that's not the way I want it to go, but that's the way you need to go. And sometimes you have to be patient, you know, through these things.

And that's a tough thing because you see opportunities and you just wanna jump up there and go. You know, get after it. But, uh, that's not, that's not the case in, in all things in business is patience. You know, I, I tell the, uh, some of the Youngs with, you know, you gotta be patient. I say, that's the really what, the only thing you really need to hurry up and learn is patience.

And they look at me like, you need to hurry up, huh? So, yeah, hurry up, learn patience. Those things are, those things are good for you in life, uh, and being accountable and, um. And just kind of, you know, develop in that way where, you know, it's just not. Strictly my decision. And I knew that hiring the right people, and I always said, hire people smarter than yourself.

And that worked out very well, which was hard, not hard for me to find. But, uh, these guys came in there and they had their ideas and they had their thoughts. And uh, and I said, look, I, I really don't wanna surround myself with just yes people. I want to, want the people to say what they. You know, they feel and put it out there.

And most of the people that I've hired, you know, at that level, they've been in business before, they've seen the highs and the lows. Some did very well, some didn't do as well. And they, they've also taken that to. You know, to this level where you just, you don't, you don't wanna look at it as failure, but you wanna look at it as growth.

You know, it's kinda like going to school of business, you know, there's the highs and the, the, the lows. And with those things they, they bring that to the table and it's made, it's made it very, uh, you know, good business. A very profitable business where, you know, these guys, uh, they, they take their experiences as well.

Jude David: Well, it takes a lot of humility, um, to understand. You gotta hire people that know more than you hire people that can, 

Josh Wilson: that's not all that hard. 

Jude David: Well, it, it's hard for a lot of people, I'll tell you that. We, we work with a lot of business owners and you can tell they feel threatened by anyone who knows more than them or who has new ideas.

Um, you know, you're, you're a faith-filled guy. I imagine that's had a pretty big impact on your business and the way you approach things. Tell, tell us about. You know, your, your life, your beliefs, and you know, what, what's informed you and gotten you to where you are? 

Marvin Travasos: Well, definitely God's been to the center.

Uh, you know, we, we, we actually, uh, usually in the morning is a good time for me to pray, me to ask God about certain things. And, you know, a lot of times, you know, you get an answer or sometimes you don't. It's, uh, I look at it both ways, is that there's times that, you know. Um, and business wise, gimme another day, you know, of being, you know, that person, that man, that man of faith, you know, at work.

Um, you know, we talked earlier about making this ACT retreat. Came back and we started a Bible study on Thursday, so we were able to get a. People, you know, in, in the company at noon. And uh, I said, well, look, let's cook for everybody. Everybody that shows up eats the ones that don't show up. Well, we'll give 'em a plate lunch and they can eat it wherever they, you know, it wasn't required that you go.

We just asked and encourage and, uh, able to put in an hours, um, of building, building that. But there's times that, you know, I would say, God, you know, use this business. You know, to propel, you know, where you, the, the companies that you'd want me or, or the, the, you know, the, uh,

the people that, that you'd want me to help out? You know, it can be the, um, a Christian Church or, or it can be, um, just about anything that, you know. He would, he'd want us to do. Uh, and that's worked out fairly well, uh, for us. And, you know, trying to be faithful to that, to where if, um, he calls us to, to help along with, with anything, you know, financially or if.

Even really, it's our time, you know, to give our time. It's been seen to be the biggest problem is, you know, money's one thing, but time's the other. And it seems like it's, it's, it's to give our time and for me to give our time. And, and I think that's where, uh, you know, I feel that God's, you know, calling us to do, you know, to give both.

And that's, that's one thing that, you know, we all talking about. We were able to get some of the guys in, uh, in this, uh, acts. A retreat and, uh, it's worked out really well. It's just to watch them transform and, you know, see the, the experiences that they had with it was, was, was great. And, uh, this acts of God pretty much every, every day to bless the company, bless the people that work there, bless their families, um, let 'em grow.

Just keep growing in God and just draw closer. Uh, that's the one thing is draw close to God. God draw close to you. And, uh, so that, that's one of the things that we, you know, we try to every Thursdays pray and then just have an open prayer, you know, before we eat. You know, uh, asking God, what are you praying for?

You know, a lot of 'em pray for the coastal team, the coastal family, their families, loved ones sick, ones. People are struggling, you know, financially, people struggling physically, people that are going to the hospital, people that lost loved ones. For the ones that are left behind and it is, just to watch them speak about all these things is great.

You know, it does well for my heart to watch these guys pray. 

Josh Wilson: So we talked a lot about, you know, from leadership perspective and what you look for in people and maybe seeing potential in someone that they might not see in themselves. First of all, like how many, how many employees or people have, have, uh, been blessed through your organization.

And then when it comes to a person specifically. Sometimes you might see something as a leader that they don't see in themselves. What'd you do in that situation? So how many people? And then help people see their potential 

Marvin Travasos: as far as how many people? I, I mean, basically, um, you know, we, we have about 60 employees and I'd imagine that, you know, the, the ones that I, I put at pretty much top, they have to have the same, pretty much the same principles as.

We all do as I do, you know, basically we, we want 'em to, uh, to be pretty much Christian people, least along those lines, uh, of, you know, going to church, uh, you know, developing leadership. I think that, you know, drawing closer to God and, you know, the wisdom that they might get out of from, you know, fearing God.

That's, uh. That's pretty much what we have at, at each and every store. So with that, I mean, uh, developing these guys is just, you know, uh, different things that are said, I guess, uh, different things that, that are portrayed in our meetings. You know, we pretty much start off with a prayer and, uh, and with a prayer.

Uh, I guess the leadership side of things is, would be, uh, you know. They, they watch us from the top and I guess, you know, they, they see what we do. We, again, you know, we set the bar fairly high that this is where we want to be at. This is what we'll, you know, we'll put up with, this is what we'll tolerate.

This is what we, you know, I mean, I, that's, that's pretty much where I look at is, you know, the leadership side is that, um,

I guess the, the leader, uh, is always the one that's gonna, he wants to. You know, he wants to move the job forward. I mean, he wants to move the team. He, he wants everybody to do well with. And you, and you watch these guys, uh, you can watch these people. They, they wanna finish, you know? Yeah. 

Josh Wilson: It's 

Marvin Travasos: getting started, but they wanna finish.

And so we, we have those type of guys, I mean, and helping 'em along. 

Josh Wilson: So when you, when you're working with someone, uh, maybe a younger person and, and you see the potential, right, as a leader, 'cause you've, you've worked with a lot of people over the years and you know if someone's got it right, but sometimes that person do don't know they got it.

Right. How do you, how do you show someone their true value? How do you, what are some things that you've seen to, to encourage people to rise up to that next level of 

Marvin Travasos: Well, I think with that, you know, uh, there's a lot of times, even as, as a owner, you miss it at times. Whether you really don't, you know, you see it.

You, you give 'em time and then and over, you know they do something right. You compliment it. He said, man, you did a great job here. I mean, that looks wild. And I always call it the wild me factor. Like you wild me. I mean, it's, these guys will, they'll, they'll do things, they'll do it right, they'll do it quick, they do it fast.

They, uh. Uh, they're finished and they're looking on to, to, to do the next job at task. I mean, uh, so basically tell 'em, say, look, you did a great job, man. Or, you know, sometimes I'll come along and say, man, is that thing ever gonna run again? You know, they look at me like, oh, he is gonna run again, Mr. Morris, it's gonna run.

I said, well, it don't look like it. It's all too apart, you know? It's that thing ever gonna Oh yeah. And look, when they get it done, it's just, you know, they're happy. I mean, and that they want to show you that it's running and the man does it ever. And I, I get back there and look at it, so you did great, man.

You know, so, and they, they move on to the next, next thing. And, and look, they, they build a lot of confidence in that area. I mean, some of these guys have, uh, they, they've, they've taken things and, and I mean, I look at it, so this. Far as I'm concerned, it might not run again, but they, they know it's gonna happen.

And, uh, and they'll come up with an idea. I've, I've always kind of picked at 'em a little bit saying, well, they'll come up with an idea about doing something. I said, well, that's, that's a good idea. And it really was a good idea that it came up with to fix something or added something safety on the pump.

And I said, well, you know, it's a great idea, but I should've been a really great idea. Now just a good idea if I'd have thought of it first. Got it. So they always laugh, you know? Yeah. I said, you know, if I'd have thought of it'd been even a better idea. But yeah. So you know, you take these things and these guys are always looking to.

To make things better. And, uh, and the welding world is always to make it easier and better. So, you know, it's just something that's fast, safe to better, you know, less time to do. And so it's, it's, it's interesting working with these guys. You never know what you're gonna get when you get to work. You know how they're gonna do and, and, uh.

I, I, I see the potential to lead those guys where, you know, the, the, there's some that have been with us four, five years. And at first I thought, well, I don't know if this guy's gonna make it. And today he's like, wow, he needs a raise. He's done so well. I mean, he is really, come on strong. And it just, that's the wildly factor.

Jude David: I, uh, I had a mentor described to me early along that if you're gonna be the top boss, you have to understand that every word. That you say to your employees is gonna register. 

Marvin Travasos: Mm-hmm. 

Jude David: And it's almost like you have to have a feather touch with it. If you, uh, right. If you give compliments, people are gonna really internalize those compliments.

If you give criticism, boy, they're gonna really feel the weight of that criticism. How, how have you managed that? How have you managed to 

Marvin Travasos: That's a tough one. You know, just, uh, you know, you get in there and, and you know, you look, you look at these. Some of these things, and, and sometimes I have to, you know, when you go back there, you, you kinda look at it again.

Tell 'em, is that ever gonna run again? Or, you know, is that everything gonna ever steer again or is it ever gonna pick up anything or whatever? Um, I, I, I think for the most part, uh.

Just giving them a compliment from time to time is a, is a great thing, but an an honest compliment. I mean, it's where it really is something that, that they, they know they did and accomplished, uh, at times that, you know, they'll look at, I've actually had had it through the years where people said, look, we can't, we can't do it like that because, uh, Mr.

Tomorrow, he's not gonna like that. Basically like, it don't look good. It's not gonna work. And when I get back there, it's looking and they said, well, we cut this off and we put this and we moved this around. We, we knew you weren't gonna like it. And they were right. I wouldn't have liked it. They, they know, and so they set their own bars again.

You know, it's kinda like that hurdle, you know, it's not a speed bump at, at Coastal, it's, it's a hurdle. I mean, when they get there, but I'm confident any of these guys, if they'll ever go work anywhere else, that they would just be the, the cream of the crop over there. I mean, this, that's, that's what a. We try to instill in these guys that, that we want 'em to do better.

You know, I, at a Christmas party, I addressed 'em and said, you know, proud of everybody there. You know, basically the, the, the guys. I see the growth in these guys and, uh, growing and, and I think if there's anything that, that, uh, that I enjoy more than that, uh, more than anything at work is, is basically watching these guys grow, watching these guys come up that didn't know how to, you know, hook a wire or anything.

Didn't know how to fix a trailer, didn't know how to do anything. And within a matter of a couple months, they're doing things and after a couple years they, they certify mechanics. I mean, really learned to trade and it's, it's fantastic. 

Josh Wilson: In my previous life, um, I was a firefighter medic and we had to operate pumps on the truck.

Right? Right. And, uh, you know, pumping the truck from a hydrant or, uh, a water source, you know, a new guy would get on there and, you know, they're, they're cranking the things and they have the rule of thumbs, formulas for friction of water and, and all this stuff that, you know, other people might not even think of.

But, you know, one of the things, the more experienced guy, he could just put his leg against the hose. And know how much gallons per minute it's pumping and listen to the engine. Right? So you learn some stuff from working around pumps for that long, and you got a guy on the end of the hose who has to manage the, the, the pressure, right?

So being in the industry for so long, you've learned some kind of, like you, you say, first, learn the trade, right? Really learn the trade, but there's also tricks of the trade. 

Marvin Travasos: Absolutely. 

Josh Wilson: Talk to us about maybe some of the tricks of the trade that maybe people listening in would never even know. Like the, that fire engine, so.

Marvin Travasos: Well, the, I, there's a lot of tricks in this trade, but it's, it's actually doing the things that you don't have to do, that you can bypass these things and do certain things. And the pump on the pumping side of things is, is knowing the flow. You talked about friction, friction loss. Uh, you talk about putting these things in line.

We have actually had, where we had pump schools for our customers, where, uh, we basically got off of. Talking about, you know, the, uh, the pump curves and which didn't make a whole lot of sense to these guys. They wanted to know how do these things work from the first pump to the fourth or fifth pump in line where they were, you know, basically.

So we. We kind of coached 'em through how it just started off and how to progress it and uh, what to look for and, and things like that. And after a while that 80% of your problems with a pump is on the suction side. And so they, they put that in their heads. Well, it it, if I'm, that pump's not working, it's probably on the, the suction side where, you know, pulls water out, not so much on the discharge side and.

You know that that's one end of, on the pumping side, on the mechanics side, one of the first things they look at is the seals and they look at the, um, you know, there's, there's a lot of, uh. Seals on it and, and the all and what, what happens with it in terms if it loses all, well then it's power, mechanical seal.

If it might be a lip seal, it might be, you know, the, the actual impeller itself. And, uh, they go through these things and, you know, they, they can tell you right off, you know, right off the street on the welding side. Uh, basically, you know, it's a tough thing going from the, from welding for offshore industry.

To a land-based industry where, you know, offshore side of things, we'd all, always, we'd seal well, everything on the, the land side, you know, we pretty much just tack it and move on, you know, with, uh, just little less welding on it. Is, is, uh, so I, I think the tricks would be knowing, you know, uh, we have a lot of trailers, uh, where, you know, they, they have to learn how to wire these things and so they, uh.

They hook all little boxes that they mm-hmm. They, they bought and built and they can tell it without hooking onto the truck. And they know which, you know, what wire does what and how it should work. And these, you know, you watch these guys, so they, they, they. It basically, um, they know pretty much what's wrong with it.

No time flat. Whereas somebody like, you know, myself personally, we'd go there and look at it and say, uh, look, I don't know. We just have to start from the beginning, which I don't know where the beginning is, you know, on a trailer. How do you, how do you get from that to the back and make it all work, all the lights and, and everything else.

So these guys learn all these things and, uh, they, they know the tricks, you know, so, 

Josh Wilson: yeah. One of the reasons to kind of tie that into this conversation is, you know, you've been in the industry a long time, you've picked up a lot of nuggets along the way and, and wisdom along the way, and passed that down through people, right?

That's how you, you've scaled this thing so well is by teaching and training not only your employees, but the, your clients and the partners that you're working with, right? On how to use things and safety and all of these things that they never even thought they would think that this is important. And you had a early revelation, and this is, comes in with working with advisors, like with Jude's group and, and with other groups.

Right? Early on you recognized that there's things you know about pumps. There's things that you know about welding, but you said, I need, I need to identify. And have some accountability, but also identify where I had some gaps. Like, let's just say you didn't make that decision to go hire someone or bring a coach on, or a consultant or someone who, who's gonna hold you accountable and, and show that, like how do, how do you go about determining, was that a good idea?

Was that an, you know, bringing on that, that person, right, because they have wisdom in the building of the business and selling the business and stuff. So how do you know, you know what I mean? Is that a, is that a good question? 

Marvin Travasos: Well, you know, absolutely. Uh, I see a lot of other business owners that have nobody accountable to, in fact, this one recently that, um, was in South Texas and met with him, and basically that's one of the things that he needs, he needs somebody accountable, somebody from the outside looking in that's not tied to the place that 

Josh Wilson: mm-hmm.

Marvin Travasos: That, um, we give him. We give 'em advice, you know, and not financially as well as, you know, scale it down or, you know, basically get to the size that you can manage, you know, because when you start exploding, uh, in any business, uh, you have to have people, you have to. You, you know, you gotta look at the bottom line.

I mean, there's, there's always that bottom line of business where you gotta say, am I making money? Or, you know, can I pay my bills on time? Uh, you know, am I falling behind? Um, who's collecting this money? We, we go through the, it's a full circle, and the accountability side of it is somebody saying, look, this is what we need to do.

You need help? Or, um, it could be any, anywhere from saying, uh. No, we don't wanna buy this piece of equipment right now. We need to, we need to wait till this end of, you know, the end of the quarter. This could be next year's, you know, endeavor. You know, where we, we, we have enough, let's, let's focus in on this.

Um, we need to hire the right people. Um, you know, we, this guy needs to go or she needs to go, or this one needs to be, you know, picked up and just, they, they bring a lot to the table. It's, it's an outsider looking in, uh. I realized that in business you always need somebody looking at your business, always somebody telling you.

Uh. Which way to go, which some help. You know, just, just looking at another set of eyes on it, you know, that, that, you know, looking at it, I mean, a lot of times, you know, the owners, you know, as far as myself, there's, there's times that, you know, they say, well climb the hill and look, look down, you know, get a good view of it, or you climb it up there, you start looking at it and the next thing, it's all the little small things.

Take care of the little small things, it won't be anything big to take care of. So that's where the guy, that's where accountability comes in. Take care of the little small things. You won't have to deal with the major stuff, you know? Um, you know, sometimes, you know, it's, it's the old adage where, you know, we major in the minor stuff.

Josh Wilson: Mm-hmm. 

Marvin Travasos: You know, take care of the money and stuff. 

Josh Wilson: You, you compared this business to. A baby, 

Marvin Travasos: right? 

Josh Wilson: 2006, you and Phyllis sitting at the table, she goes, are you crazy? To a teenager 2016, there's a little bust and now you're having some rebellion issues. Right?

Marvin Travasos: Right. 

Josh Wilson: And you know, you push through, you know, another decade.

Now, you know, we're in 2026 as the time of this recording, you know, as you're looking at the progression, you know, from babies. Even grandkids. Right. Where do you, how do you see this, you know, your future of the business, right? Because you, you mentioned to your team members and to your employees and to the leaders of your organization to replace yourself.

So how do you view that with you? 

Marvin Travasos: We had this conversation. Not long ago. It was basically, I said, I'm gonna trusting Jesus to fill this spot, you know, to feel which way we want to go with this thing. Uh, I'm enjoying myself. I run into a lot of people say, have you retired yet? So not, not yet. I said, I'm enjoying myself too much and I'm not through.

Josh Wilson: Yeah. 

Marvin Travasos: You know, so I don't know. Whenever we get through with things and, um, in terms of. I beat a lot of people. Said, I, I wish I wouldn't have retired. I wish I'm still working. I wish things would be different. Um, you know, there's a purpose in life. You know, sometimes they say, well, it's your purpose. And I said, well, I think my purpose, you know, looked at it a couple ways and they said is to make it to heaven and take as many people as I can with me.

And we have a great opportunity at Coastal. Working with other people, uh, working with other business owners as well that, you know, run into and look, I want to give 'em the gospel. It's gonna end up with Jesus Christ one way or the other, talking to 'em. It's going to happen. And, uh, whether we start off praying, you know, at, at a meal and talking about things, and a lot of, there's a few of 'em out there that I really, I, I, I need to visit with from time to Thomas.

You know, just talk about God, talk about. Where are they going in life? Because you know we're gonna run out of time before we run out of money that I know I might have a nickel in my pocket, but I'm gonna run out of time and we all do. And I said, let's put this thing forward. These guys, they get caught up in these things and that's all they think about.

You wake up in the morning, worried about your busy, you go to bed at night. Which way can I go with this thing? How's it gonna go? Have I, do I have enough to finish? We, I've been up this road. Back and forth. It's, it's the good side and the bad. I'm enjoying myself now. Uh, most people talk to, you know, I wish they, they need a purpose.

They need something a little more than what they're doing. There's just so much hunting and fishing I can do. And I mean, I love to golf. I love it all, and dude need to spend probably a little more time doing that from time to time. But it's where do you get the time? You know, uh, one of the things that, you know, we talked about is, uh, you know, helping out in, in different missions in different, uh, groups and stuff that are.

You know, the Christian side of things, and I've seen God that's, that's moved different things here, here lately. We had a thing with the abortion, uh, this past weekend, uh, uh, at the La Paon and uh, where they're doing some wonderful things and, uh, you know. For the abortion clinics here in town. It's just amazing.

Uh, my son invited us and we went and it was, you know, good to hear these people talk about, you know, what they're doing here in Louisiana. We had, I think it was Ben Tebow's mother came and spoke. It was, she was incredible. Uh, I don't know if you have ever heard of speak, but she talked about, uh, Tim Tebow being, uh, that she almost aborted.

And listen to that. I, I never knew that, you know, and, uh, he was the tumor, so she said, uh, the siblings would call him Timmy, the tumor. So we laughed at that and said, and here he is, you know, look at 

Jude David: the impact he's making 

Marvin Travasos: on 

Jude David: people flying. Look, the impact 

Marvin Travasos: they made it, I didn't realize they made a commercial after, after, I guess the Heisman Trophy winner win, him winning that on abortion, and he tackled her.

Yeah. And then when they both got up and, you know, she introduced them, you know, Tammy tackle that, she's a tough mom and she made it because she was, she was in trouble with her life basically. She was, it was, it was that bad, I think, somewhere in Indonesia and looking at that and saying, you know, can we support these guys?

Yeah, we'd like to support 'em, you know, uh, understand my son was supported. I didn't realize he was doing all that. And, uh, it's just, just something that I, I feel that God's called us to do. You know, so. 

Jude David: There's so many good stories like that. Uh, even John Paul ii 

Marvin Travasos: Yes.

Jude David: You know, his mom got the recommendation from her doctors to abort him for medical reasons.

Marvin Travasos: I did not 

Jude David: know. She said, no. 

Marvin Travasos: Wow.

Jude David: Just imagine, you know, the impact on the world because she said yes. 

Marvin Travasos: That's, that's crazy. 

Jude David: Yeah. 

Marvin Travasos: There's so many good stories out there. So many things to get involved in, you know? Um. We have some of our guys doing the St. Joseph's diner thing here in town. There's some that we do food with love.

You know, we, there's, there's so many things in town to, to do and to help out that need our support. Uh, I know that you're, you're big in it as well. I mean, I know that. So, uh, it just. Yeah. These are the things that they say, you know, where do you go from that? Mm-hmm. I, I don't know. I don't know what, what retirement would look like for being, you know, basically, uh, my wife doesn't want me to retire.

That's the number one. She's like, you're gonna have to do something. You know, you just one of those guys that need to do something, you know? Yeah. So I, 

Jude David: well, you're so fortunate because you built it the right way. You know, most business owners get to a point where they feel like they have to retire because that's the only way to scale back.

Marvin Travasos: Yeah. 

Jude David: And you built it in a way that your team runs your business and you can step away when you want to, and you can be there when you want to. What a, what a great lesson for every business owner to try to build that way. 

Marvin Travasos: I feel blessed by it. I mean, really, truly. And that goes back to hiring the people, right?

People hiring a guy smarter than yourself, you know, just and asking God to bring these people. I mean, we really. Uh, there's a lot of times, you know, say in the morning time is asking, you know, God, bring the right person, bring the right people. Let's, let's hire the right kinda ones. And sometimes they come along as, they might not be as godly as you think they are.

But you know what? It happens. 

Jude David: Not yet. 

Marvin Travasos: Not yet. 

Jude David: You know, they haven't met you and they haven't, uh, heard your evangelization. 

Marvin Travasos: Oh man, 

Jude David: look, give him a little time. 

Marvin Travasos: We got some of the, and I'm, so, I'm always so impressed by the, some of the younger, younger crowd. I mean, just these guys that are coming along and the fate that they show, you know, I mean, it's, it's, uh, and they're going through life struggles as well, you know, you know, the, you know, it's is different for 20-year-old as a 30-year-old, as a 40 year old's, a 50-year-old.

And you know, I tell some of 'em every now and then, I say, these are not your money making years. Wait till you get in your fifties and sixties. That's your money making years. These are the years you grow and learn and do. And, uh, just, just good, good at your trade, whatever it is. It makes no difference.

Jude David: Well, Josh and Chris and I all have our fingers crossed. Those are the money making. Yeah. We'll 

Marvin Travasos: take it man. Well, it, it could be, you know, some, some do. Well, you know, I tell people that, uh, you know, some started off with more than I had and have less, and some start off with less than I had when I started and have more.

So, you know, it's really, you know, God gives you what you need and I, I, I do believe in that. I believe that there's, there's a reason for it. I, I believe that there's, uh, uh, a spot that, you know, it, it'd been rough for me to have that, that type of, uh. Financial at, at a young age. I don't know how well I would've done, you know, honestly, until I came to Christ, 

Josh Wilson: you know, 

Marvin Travasos: be my life.

Josh Wilson: So as we. Wrap up. Uh, we will include your information in the, the show notes so people listening in or, or watching this, uh, they'll be able to follow your journey, follow your story, learn more about your organization. But one of the traditions that we have here on the Deal podcast is to get questions from the audience and share it with the guests.

Sometimes we don't even know what the question is, right? And then, uh, questions from the previous guests. So, Ted Anthony sat in that. Seat right before you and he has a question for you. I haven't read this yet, so uh, this will be the final question if I could read it. Alright, cool. Oh, how much would you have bet on Indiana winning the national championship before the season started?

They had a perfect season. 

Marvin Travasos: A lot. See, these guys were incredible. Uh, I hadn't really followed a lot in college football, uh, up until, you know, they. Pretty much the playoffs, but when my brother-in-law said they're gonna beat whoever they play, it's incredible. 

Josh Wilson: Yeah. 

Marvin Travasos: And then last night I watched the game, uh, and, you know, the quarter I watched him before, but basically last night watching that game.

And they were saying something that, uh, university of Miami lived in that town. 

Josh Wilson: Yeah. 

Marvin Travasos: And wouldn't even take him in as a walk-on. Now that was a, that was a story, you know. They didn't really want him as a walk on. The quarterback was his name, man. 

Jude David: Mendoza. 

Marvin Travasos: Mendoza, 

Josh Wilson: yeah. 

Marvin Travasos: He was, uh, this guy's, I mean, he's a quarterback.

What 

Josh Wilson: a story. Yeah, 

Marvin Travasos: yeah. He's got a great story. So yeah, I would've, I've probably whatever I could, but it was a good game. It 

Josh Wilson: was 

Marvin Travasos: good game. It really was. It was a good game. Miami did a, so I, that's the first time they ever won a. 

Josh Wilson: First, first time in history. 

Marvin Travasos: First time 

Josh Wilson: and a perfect season. 

Marvin Travasos: Perfect season 

Josh Wilson: isn't crazy.

Yeah. Google that coach. He said that after Chris was telling me our, our director, he was saying Google The, Google the coach. Well, Marvin, uh, thanks for coming on man and sharing about God, family and Sure. And, uh, business. We're grateful for you. Uh, we're gonna leave you with some gifts. You get sign the deal wall and you get to write down your question for the next guest.

Uh, but we're grateful for your time. Thank you John and everybody listening in. We'll see you all on the next episode. Cheers guys. 

Marvin Travasos: Alright.