In this revealing episode of Conversations That Grow, serial entrepreneur Jose Berlanga shares 40 years of hard-won business wisdom. From surviving a childhood accident that left him with third-degree burns to building and losing multi-million dollar companies, Jose's candid insights on leadership, growth pains, and finding purpose will change how you think about business success.

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Find Jose's books on Amazon:

• The Business of Home Building
• Dirt Rich
• Look out for "Quantum Entrepreneurship" coming soon

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📱 CONNECT WITH SADAF: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadafbeynon/

They were just acting successfully and I paid attention.

Sadaf Beynon: Welcome to Conversations That Grow, where we explore how the right conversations can shape our business leadership, and even how we see the world. Today I'm speaking to Jose Berlanga, a serial entrepreneur with nearly four decades of experience across multiple industries. From Undercapitalized startups to hard won turnarounds, Jose has lived the highs and lows of business building and he's refreshingly honest about all of it.

Welcome to the show, Jose.

Jose Berlanga: Hi, Sadaf. It's great to be here.

Jose Berlanga: Unfortunately, uh, I, I don't think that one single conversation ever changes anything.

Okay. Uh, as a, as a matter of fact, that, um, most of us stubborn business owners listen very little. We, uh, we may pay attention to, uh, to a lot of signs, to a lot of recommendations. I, I, I'm gonna answer it a little bit different and Okay. And then I'll get to, to your answer. But. I was, uh, as a young guy, uh, I was inundated with recommendations, with, uh, advice, with, uh, moments, uh, where, where people attempted to tell me how to start and how to build and how to grow.

In the ring receiving the punches. It is that you get most of the lessons. So, uh, to, to my demise. Unfortunately, I was one of those rare instances, a young entrepreneur that actually listened. Hmm. To many, uh, recommendations. And I found over time that the best decisions in my career were the ones that came from my heart, my gut feeling.

Now, was there one single moment? Uh, there, there has been moments in which I observed, I'm, I'll wrap it up by saying my biggest lessons from mentors and changes in the way that I op operated businesses didn't come from my ears from listening to what others were telling me. They came from people who you would least expected because they weren't trying to teach me.

The ones who were attempting to teach me were saying a lot and doing very little. Unfortunately, that was my path.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. That's great. Thank you so much for sharing that. There's so many great points in what you've said. I'd love to unpack some of it. One of the things you said was, you had a, you had this gut feeling and had a good, understanding sense of what business is and should look like.

Where did that come from?

Jose Berlanga: A little bit from my nature

Sadaf Beynon: Okay. Of

Uh, the, the, the business world was a little more. Uh, more simple, more cookie cutter. You would start and build a business. Now, anybody, even from home, you can have a computer and, uh, and, and turn just about anything in, into a business. But I had a little bit of that personality since I was very young. Hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: And

Jose Berlanga: I also had the opportunity to surround myself, uh, with, with people who were very much into growth, into building businesses, into making their own destinies, building their own careers. And, and that was one of my, uh, my, my passions from an early age. I did not, I felt that I didn't fit into the corporate world.

Because I felt that that was the best of both worlds, making a lot of money, growing, being successful without the risk. That's, that's the best when you grow and you work, uh, for, for a very big company. That's wonderful. But I didn't feel like I would fit in there, so I had to create things for myself. I had to build my own path, and I started very small.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Sadaf Beynon: Fantastic. And Jose, if you don't mind, um. I'd love to know what your personal circumstances were and how they played into this.

Well,

Jose Berlanga: well, uh, obvious, uh, in, in everyone around me knows, uh, a little bit of what happened in my, in my childhood. I, I went through a pretty dramatic accident that left me a. With, uh, covered in, in burns and, uh, uh, third degree burns and scars. And so, so it was, it was a very difficult childhood, uh, growing up, uh, being looked at different.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

I, I, at one point. When I, when I began to understand, which was very early in life by the way, of I was just a, a, a, a small child of four years of age.

Sadaf Beynon: Oh, wow.

Jose Berlanga: Once I faced my, my new reality, I. Uh, I soon after decided to go in a different direction. I, I, I decided that I was not going to, uh, uh, be looked at by my appearance, but by my actions and by my success, and by my achievements.

This is an interesting part. As a, as a child, I was building all of all of the building blocks that business requires, which is people skills, negotiating, knowing how to sell, knowing how to build relationships, knowing how to get along with others, earning respect from others. I never knew those things would come handy as as, as I grew up in transferred.

A little bit of that experience into the business world. So it started young.

at home or anywhere else that, that goes a long ways.

Jose Berlanga: We, we never know how tragedy, I know it's stalked about, uh, is often talked about, but it's rarely executed when we appreciate some of the bad things, some of the adversity and problems that we face once we look back. In retrospect, those are the biggest lessons and we, if we learn how to utilize them to our advantage, they can be great assets in every aspect.

I. That is when you actually learn about life, when things go wrong, there's very little to learn. When everything goes perfect. Yeah. When everything is easy, simple, and, um, and, and, and back then, I, I really enjoy the process of becoming actually a leader,

Sadaf Beynon: Hmmm

Jose Berlanga: heard, being listened, attracting people for who I was and what I had to say.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Yeah, absolutely. Jose, something you were talking about leadership. And how that's helped you develop, um, leadership. Your circumstances have helped you develop that. And actually something you were saying early on that you learned not from listening, but from watching those who didn't even realize they were teaching you something.

And I, as you were saying that, I was thinking that is what a good leader is, someone who can, , show by their actions and teach by their actions rather than having to say words that they. Um, you know, as you were saying before, like you can give advice but not follow your own advice, but they're actually doing what they say.

Sadaf Beynon: mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: You never know who's observing. Yes. You, you want, uh, you want to be a good influence. You want to convey a, a good message often about how to improve not only your life, but help others improve their life and become better businessmen and women live a healthier life.

And, um, we, we don't realize that the, the brain learns more by following others, by paying attention and by leaders. You know, the famous saying, uh, lead by example and, and, and, and that's, uh, a reality that's been for me, I felt that, uh, written lessons and verbal lessons were not as impacting and people.

Uh, they can be, uh, infectious and, and other people eventually will hopefully try to emulate some of them and help by doing that. You know, by just being, we don't realize how much we can help others by just being a good version of ourselves.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

That's a really good point. I like that. I think just being, being present and as you say, being a good version of ourselves actually speaks volumes to those who are watching.

Jose Berlanga: I, I, I try at least all of us, you know, we can always, always improve.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm. But, um.

That is also something that I've learned because at some point I became quite obsessed with work and responsibilities and business. I think you can go overboard once you start achieving some success or, or, or start enjoying, uh, what it is that you are doing. Or start, uh, reaching some goals that we tend to, uh, raise our, the bar and raise the objectives and never have enough.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: That's something that a lot of entrepreneurs have to pay attention to, to, to have those limitations. And, and, and once you begin to reach some goals, begin, uh, start having some balance.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah,

Jose Berlanga: because

You can fall into that trap, and that's a scary one too.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. Yeah. Um, Jose, you know, you, you started talking a bit about entrepreneurship. I'd love to. Have you go a little bit more into what the realities of being an entrepreneur is like, 'cause you've had quite a few businesses and you've talked, you've talked a bit about, you know, being, um, obsessed with it, overworking, overstressed.

I mean, those are the not so nice things. But I mean, is there other stuff that you'd wanna draw out?

Jose Berlanga: Well, there, there's so much to this, uh, career that I call it, uh, a life choice. Owning a business, starting a business, I is not just a, a job is not a, uh, it's not a profession. It, it's really a way to live that is not for everyone.

Owning a business is often, uh, referred to as, uh, the, the, the ticket to freedom and, uh, to financial independence. And, and first of all, it's not always that way. You have to go through a lot before you get there. And, and also there are a sequence of events that are very, very tough, very complicated before you actually achieve that.

Some can tolerate the unknown, the, uh, the, the ability. To not understand how you are going to solve your financial problems, how you're going to take care of payroll and overhead and rent, and you don't know. You never know. Business changes, circumstances, change markets. Adapt. They're cyclical, they're complicated, and you cannot just, uh, work.

But, uh, supervising and making sure that your team is focused and understanding the direction of your vision and knowing how to execute their own tasks. It's not just about what you do, but it's about every motion that every member of your organization is executing that we're actually. Take your company somewhere.

They can snap out of it, get back on it without the pain, without being sore. The same happens for entrepreneurs. Some people get drained and exhausted by constantly being, uh, in chaos, in, in, in the middle of, uh, problems and issues and setbacks. But. You develop your ability to recover from them, to take a little break and get back to it, and continue to build and continue to move forward.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm. Thank you, Jose. You, you likened, um, entrepreneurship to an athlete and you talked about recovery, but what about, the aspect of pacing yourself?

So if you are first starting out, and especially if you're not, if, if it doesn't come to you naturally, you have to develop it. And I think often people will just give, you know, 110% straight out of the gate for a very long time, and that, as you said, leads to burnout. But how, how could they pace themselves even while they're still discovering it for themselves?

If that makes any sense.

Jose Berlanga: Yes. Uh, it, as a business owner, it is very difficult to pace yourself because your brain never shuts down.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: So

I'll break it into two parts. A as, as a person, as a leader.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Uh, I, I perhaps now have the luxury of being able to, uh, I, I don't need to work to make a living. Now I do it out of passion, out of hunger and desire to do more.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: I

want to live a life that outlives me. Perhaps I'm one of those people that I'm more interested in leaving something interesting.

Behind, not just in this world and in this generation, but I want to leave some form of a legacy. And for that, your brain gets very, very active. For example, something that also is often talked about in business ownership is that headaches and problems. And bad circumstances keep you up at night. But the reality is that as a leader, everything keeps you up at night.

But the more you get incorporated in building things and creating a, a, a new life for yourself, everything wakes you up early in the morning. You begin to adapt to this new. Persona that just wants to live and do and create. Yeah. So I cannot tell you that there's a way you have to manage your own balance.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: But

Uh, mo Most business owners don't realize it as a business grows. Things change completely. You're almost starting restarting a new business. You have new manuals, new positions, new employees, new circumstances, uh, new markets. Uh, you have to redefine the flow of things the way that things work. You have to redefine your finances.

Manage uh, your, your leverage, your debt ratio, manage the pace in which you exercise some of your ideas. You can have all the activities going on in your brain, but you just have to organize them and execute them in an organized manner, because that, that's where I've gotten in trouble.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm.

Jose Berlanga: I don't

get in trouble just always doing something because I, I need it.

I enjoy it. It's part of who I am, but when I get in trouble is when I start executing a little too much too fast. Things can fall apart.

Sadaf Beynon: If you don't mind, I'd love to, to know more about maybe a time where that did happen for you and, how did you lead yourself through that?

Uh, to, to have, uh, been there in growing pains. I call 'em growing tortures. Growing nightmares a, a business in a growing mode. It is, uh, in incredibly challenging because you have to manage the existing business. And normally a small business does not generate the resources. The capital to grow, unless you are a very unique concept, sort of a, a high tech, a very innovative concept where where as you reach certain goals, you can raise more capital.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Lost that business in, in my exporting company. It happened where we began to invest too much money looking for new sources of income instead of focusing on systems and, and structure in the real estate, perhaps was my biggest fault because this was a, a very big structure, a multimillion dollar organization that was doing a hundred million.

So when the economy slowed down, caring, supporting that debt, supporting that overhead was, uh, impossible. So we began to, uh, little by little just loose equity and, and, and lose our business over time. Thankfully, we didn't, uh, completely go out of business, but it, but it cost us millions and it cost us, uh.

Many years of recovery having grown, grown so fast. So unless you really, really already have the infrastructure or, or a a, a, a model that can raise institutional funds and, and, and that can grow exponentially, you have to be very, very cautious how you go about it.

I suppose

Jose Berlanga: a, as I move forward in, in my career, I try to fine tune my mission. Hmm. That is something that I didn't have in my earlier, uh, years. Um, a as, as a young entrepreneur. My mission was very blurry. My objectives were very, um, geared towards finances, financial results, making more. It was very abstract.

What am I trying to accomplish? Where am I trying to get? And the, the, that purpose begins to fine tune some of your activities. Uh, ha having a, that, that famous, why, why am I doing this? It almost fulfills you a little more, it almost gives a meaning to everything that you do other than to just go after another dollar and, um.

When you are, um, when you're starting, you haven't earned anything. You just have to work hard and pay your dues. Mm-hmm. But eventually, once you get to the other side, then now you can start shifting and allocating some of the activities that you don't like. Pass, pass them on. Share them amongst people who like to,

Sadaf Beynon: yeah,

Jose Berlanga: to, to work in those areas that, that are dreadful for you.

Running into activities that are not fun. They lose interest. And, and you just need to understand that that's a portion of the, the process and you just have to do it. And, and eventually you can start pivoting into more, more of a, uh, of a fun side of your career and, and your business.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. And as you say, that comes with time you've described how you've evolved as a businessman, because of your journey. I'd love to know how your leadership has evolved as well in that time.

Hmm. Becoming a good judge of character, which I was not. Uh, the, one of the characteristics of a good salesperson is that they're also very gullible. I. You know, uh, it's so funny, but you, you can be very, very good at selling things, but you can easily be sold. That's, that's a characteristic I walk into, into a how interesting into a store, and I'm easily convinced and I, I may walk out with things that I didn't even, uh, go in looking for, and eventually you have to understand that side of.

You want 'em to work, you want to train them, you want 'em to succeed, and I've learned. To become better at instead of finding just people to fill in the blanks, I try to find leaders who are very, very passionate or very qualified for the specific activity that they're going to be helping me with. Uh, I, I would spend too much time selling my company.

And, and want to execute those activities without, without any effort.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah.

Jose Berlanga: And,

and you become better at that. Uh, rather than just trying to build a team around your business, you begin to talk less and listen more to your team. That is something that I've also tried to do instead of always trying to enforce and impose my ideas.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm.

Jose Berlanga: To, uh, even in, in an interview, I. You know, we make that mistake that we start talking a lot about the job and the company and who you are and how things work instead of really ri asking the right questions and understanding who you are hiring and making sure that that person is going to elevate your company to the next level as opposed to just come in to perform a list of duties.

Jose Berlanga: Correct, correct.

And, and it's very easy. We've made that mistake where we're in, uh, in those famous growing pains.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: You start needing more help in every area in engineering and design and purchasing and accounting and sales. And so you begin to get a little bit relaxed in the process of hiring. Hmm. Without really being cautious in selecting, uh, the, the, the big companies have human resource departments.

But when you're a small entrepreneur, you don't have those resources. You just kind of have to guess make do Yeah. And, and figure it out.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah.

Jose Berlanga: And,

and, and I'll end by this, this topic by saying. We're gonna make mistakes in hiring, in training, in selecting, in building that, that famous team that will, will help your company develop.

But you have to be quick in letting go when you made the wrong selection. I have made this fatal mistake. I've made the wrong selection in team members in, uh, allocating the wrong person. To the wrong job, mm-hmm. Or the right job position, but the wrong person, and I waited too long for that person to become better

Sadaf Beynon: at

Jose Berlanga: that activity.

Sadaf Beynon: mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: For

the sake of your business and let go. And just understand, didn't work. Let's move on. Like in relationships.

Mm-hmm. Speed dating, you have to get more in and, and, and I was, uh, yeah. You know, you, you do it with professionalism, with dignity. Uh, you do it the the proper way. But I used to go in the other extreme where I wanted to save every single person in my companies and make sure that everyone was successful.

If someone is not working, move on.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. Yeah. , you said that you weren't always good at identifying talent or judging character. How did you get better at that? Was that through listening or was there something else?

Jose Berlanga: Yes, by I, I became a, a better leader, uh, a better judge of character by pacing myself.

By not rushing the processes of the selection process of hiring someone. And you're, you're right. By, by, by listening more than talking, which leaders and uh, are, are naturally sales personalities. Mm-hmm. They are hustlers. So we talk a lot, we communicate a lot and, and sometimes we don't listen enough. We don't learn enough about individuals.

How do these, uh, personalities organize a day, taking them through a day from the moment they wake up? How do they do this? How do they do that? What are their systems for executing different activities and solving a number of problems? So you have to be very, very detailed in understanding who you're hiring and the personality that you need for that particular job.

Mm-hmm. And they can come up with the right answers, but they're awful at executing. And vice versa. Some people get very shy, they get very scared. Uh, they, they're not quite as, um, perhaps charming in, in that process, but they're wonderful at getting things done.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm.

Jose Berlanga: So some, sometimes it, it's a. It, it's a little bit of luck in finding the right talent sometimes.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah.

Jose Berlanga: Of mine that came into, uh, entry level, uh, positions and, and eventually partnered with me.

Or, or exceeded my expectations and, and, and eventually went on and, and started their businesses. I've had a lot of people that worked for me that eventually went on and, and, and started their own companies and became very successful and I love to see that,

Sadaf Beynon: that's wonderful. That reminds me when, when we were first talking in our pre-call a few weeks ago, I think you mentioned you're also mentoring people.

Is that right?

Jose Berlanga: Unofficially? Yes. Talking about that transition.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm.

For students, universities. Uh, sales teams and, uh, companies that are going through some of, uh, the, the steps that you and I are talking about, the growing pains, the, the, um, allocation of the different responsibilities. Hmm. I love doing that. I, I, I enjoy it. I think a, a very fun question that I was. Recently asked was, uh, if, if you could do something, if, if money was not an issue, if you didn't need to, uh, make money, which thankfully I'm, I'm, I'm at that stage where I can begin to, to do that.

And, and that is part of it. I really, I think I would've been a teacher or I would've been a trainer, or I would've been a communicator. I. I love helping others. And, and as we talked about, not just, uh, verbally, but by example, and this is one, perhaps one of the reasons why I didn't do it early on. Mm-hmm. I, I wanted to be a, a mentor.

I wanted to be a, uh, a, a life coach, let's call it, uh, a motivational speaker, but I didn't think that I had lived enough. I didn't feel that I had the credentials. I see that. In a lot of life coaches that they haven't lived, they haven't suffered, they haven't owned businesses, they haven't lost businesses, they haven't been multimillionaires, and then gone back to not being able to pay the rent and known how to, how it feels and how to get back on your feet and know how to go through those motions.

I, I continue to run companies and, and to stay very, very busy. But as I, uh, face a little more out of, uh, my day to day, I love doing it. I, I, I'm, I'm always available for, for people who need, uh, some, some advice or ideas or recommendations or, or, or to even, uh, learn a little bit about what this life of entrepreneurship is.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. You're right. I mean, I think experience, good or bad is so valuable.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: I think it's, we underestimate how pain and adversity

Sadaf Beynon: mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: Are necessary in part of this journey of life, of business, and even in friendship, whatever topic. We discuss marriage relationships, everything needs to have those ups and downs, and we tend to, um, not want to go through the bad ones.

We avoid them. Mm-hmm. Rather than embrace them, rather than just realize that, uh, all of those bad experiences will eventually become. Something wonderful.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm.

Jose Berlanga: But, uh, but, but at the moment it, it doesn't appear to be that way. And we all tend to run away from,

Sadaf Beynon: yeah,

Jose Berlanga: from, from the pain. Uh, some, sometimes I, I, I think that we just need to practice it.

Sadaf Beynon: Hmm.

Jose Berlanga: I get into deals that I know, I now, I know better. I know that at some point I'm gonna wanna walk away from them or, uh, question why I started this venture or got into this investment. But it keeps me going.

It keeps my mind agile, it keeps me active and uh, and passionate about life.

Sadaf Beynon: That's great, Jose, it sounds to me like you're building that legacy that you've, that you've been wanting to leave behind.

Jose Berlanga: Well, thank you. That, that's the purpose. We'll, we'll see where this, where this goes. I, um, intend to eventually talk about other subjects.

Sadaf Beynon: that gets longer.

Jose Berlanga: Yeah. Yeah. And we never get around to, uh, ebit to the tip of the iceberg of, of all the things we want to do in one day.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm. But

Jose Berlanga: eventually you, you have to make time for your passion projects. And, and that's where I am. Right now. Mm-hmm. Where I'm beginning to realize that I've done enough in, in, in the business world, and that I need to begin to do some things that I actually enjoy or that I don't wanna get too old and look back and, and with regret.

Yeah. And think back and, and say, why didn't I actually do some of these things that, uh, the, the bucket list, the famous bucket list? What are some of the things that I don't want to end this life without ever having done.

Sadaf Beynon: Mm-hmm.

Jose Berlanga: And writing books was one of them, not a book. I wanna write several books, several subjects that are interesting to me.

Sadaf Beynon: That's wonderful, Jose. Um. This has been really fun. I really enjoyed your honesty and you sharing your experiences with us. Before we wrap up though, tell us a little bit about the books that you've written and the one you're writing, and also how can our listeners, um, you know, find them and also connect with you?

Jose Berlanga: Um, um, absolutely. The, the, the, the first book that I wrote, the Business of Home Building was a tribute to my career to, to Earn. Mm-hmm. Well, not to my journey as an entrepreneur, but to the business that I devoted the majority of, of, of my career, which was home building. Mm-hmm. And it was devoted to explaining the business side of the construction industry, how to start, how to build a company.

So it's, it's very much an entrepreneur book and mo most people eventually are going to be in the real estate business, whether you're a, even a tenant when, when you rent a space. Rent a home, buy a home, build your own house, or, uh, become, or, or you're a realtor, a broker. All of these areas of the world of real estate are, mm-hmm.

Are, are, uh, at some point going to be part of our life. And, and this book is very much geared towards that industry. Then, uh, I, I finished the second book, which is Dirt Rich.

Sadaf Beynon: Okay.

Jose Berlanga: Which

How we have much more control over our activities, over our destiny, over our businesses than what we think.

Sadaf Beynon: Yeah,

Jose Berlanga: how the mind can create outcomes, how focus can give you results, and how most of us find excuses for not doing what we want and for finding the achievements and the success that we, we are searching for.

So I, I talk about the realities, the, the raw truth about entrepreneurship. Yeah. What it means, the identity, the, the personality, the mm-hmm. The, the, the identity, the life choices that one must make in order to get there. And, uh, and, and we move on from there. But hopefully though the, the, the third book will also be out soon.

Quantum Entrepreneurship

But don't have time to handle all the moving parts. We can help you with that at Podjunction. So head on over to podjunction.com to find out more or just reach out to me on LinkedIn and my links will also be in the show description. So from Jose and from me, thanks again for listening and I'll see you next time