The Power of Prayer in Business: How Seth & Mary Scaled, Sold & Found Peace
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this inspiring episode of The Level Up Podcast, Paul Alex sits down with Seth and Mary Auguste (@growmybiz3), a powerhouse married couple who transformed faith and adversity into entrepreneurial success. Their remarkable journey spans from losing over $200,000 and battling severe depression to building and selling a 7-figure remote cleaning company in just three years. (00:00) Mary opens up about her suicidal thoughts in her twenties and how a divine vision saved her life, while Seth shares how his commitment to servant leadership created such a strong company culture that employees refused competitor job offers. (46:00)
- Main Theme: The intersection of faith, marriage, and entrepreneurship - demonstrating how spiritual alignment, strategic business execution, and strong values can create both financial success and personal fulfillment while building a business that operates without the founders' daily involvement.
Speakers
Mary Auguste
Mary is an experienced entrepreneur with 18 years of business experience who started as a single mother with three children after escaping an abusive marriage. She built her first cleaning company while managing two toddlers and a baby, teaching herself SEO and digital marketing to compete with established competitors. Mary has successfully started and operated multiple cleaning companies, with her most recent venture growing from $25-30K monthly to a 7-figure remote business that she and Seth sold after three years.
Seth Auguste
Seth began his entrepreneurial journey at age 15 by starting a landscaping business, initially push-mowing neighbors' yards before scaling to employ multiple team members. He operated his landscaping company for nine years before selling it, developing expertise in staff management and servant leadership. Seth's natural ability to connect with and value employees created exceptional loyalty, with staff members refusing higher-paying offers from competitors to stay with his companies.
Key Takeaways
Lead by Example with Servant Leadership
Seth emphasizes that if you're in a leadership role, you must be the hardest worker in your company to show employees the standard of excellence. (05:05) He demonstrated this by being well-dressed, polite, and giving his best effort every single time, even in seemingly menial tasks like landscaping. This approach created such strong loyalty that when competitors tried to poach their employees with higher pay, the staff refused and told potential employers to contact Seth and Mary instead. The key is treating people how you want to be treated while maintaining high standards - this combination of respect and excellence creates an unbreakable company culture where employees genuinely care about the business's success.
Master Sales and Marketing to Write Your Own Check
Mary's journey began when she heard Dave Ramsey say "if you want to get ahead and make money, learn sales, learn marketing." (01:43) As a single mother needing to escape an abusive situation, she invested heavily in self-education through business books. She discovered that mastering these skills is more valuable than knowing the actual service - she could hire people who knew how to clean houses while she focused on bringing in customers. This approach allowed her to compete with established companies by learning SEO and website optimization, eventually ranking in the top 3 positions against bigger competitors. The lesson: technical skills can be hired, but sales and marketing mastery gives you control over your business destiny.
Combine SEO with Paid Ads for Explosive Growth
The Auguste's secret weapon was integrating SEO strategy directly into their Facebook ads campaign, starting with just $10 per day. (28:54) This combination approach allowed them to scale from $25-30K monthly to 7 figures because they could control their growth like a faucet - turning ad spend up to bring in more accounts when they had hiring capacity, and dialing it back when they needed to focus on training new staff. Mary emphasizes that knowing how to do this yourself prevents you from being at the mercy of agencies who might not deliver results. This self-reliance means you can quickly fix problems and maintain consistent growth without depending on external vendors.
Identify and Leverage Individual Strengths in Partnership
Mary and Seth's success came from recognizing their complementary strengths rather than trying to do everything themselves. (37:48) Mary excels at sales with a 90% close rate and analytical thinking, while Seth is naturally relational and excellent at staff management. Mary admits her impatience and fast-paced nature aren't ideal for managing employees, while Seth's nurturing, extroverted personality made staff feel valued and important. This honest self-assessment allowed them to divide responsibilities effectively - Mary handled sales and marketing while Seth managed operations and staff relationships. The result was a business that leveraged both partners' strengths while compensating for individual weaknesses.
Pay Above Market Rate Combined with Exceptional Treatment
The couple paid their staff 50-100% above industry standard while implementing comprehensive training and support systems. (44:23) However, Mary emphasizes that just paying more isn't enough - it must be combined with genuine care and professional development. Seth would personally check on new hires, ask for feedback, and show up at job sites during the first two weeks. They conducted thorough interviews rather than just filling positions with warm bodies, and Seth would personally call or text employees to maintain connection. This dual approach of exceptional pay plus exceptional treatment created loyalty so strong that employees wouldn't even consider offers from competitors, with clients remarking that they must be great bosses.
Statistics & Facts
- Mary and Seth paid their cleaning staff 50-100% above industry standard rates, with some positions paying double what competitors offered their workers. (44:23) This was part of their comprehensive approach to staff retention and creating a premium work environment.
- Mary achieved a 90% close rate on sales calls, demonstrating the power of mastering sales skills through self-education and consistent practice. (37:48) This high conversion rate was crucial to their rapid business growth.
- The couple grew their remote cleaning business from $25-30K monthly revenue to a 7-figure operation with 14 employees in just three years before selling it. (28:54) They achieved this growth by combining SEO with paid advertising, starting with just $10 per day in Facebook ads.
