Ep. 25September 10, 2019· 48:33
25 - Dan Brouillette | Mighty Process Server
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Episode Highlights
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In this episode of Process Server Daily, Mighty Mike Reid chats with Dan Brouillette, the president and CEO of Express Process. Transitioning from a street police instructor to a process server, Dan shares his fascinating journey and some hair-raising experiences, including one of his most terrifying encounters on the job. Despite the challenges, he discusses valuable industry insights and the importance of proper training.
- 00:06 — Mighty Mike Reid introduces the show and its focus on the artistry of process serving.
- 01:28 — Introduction of Dan Brouillette and his transition from the Air Force to process serving.
- 04:12 — Dan shares about his family and adopting his daughter from Russia.
- 06:40 — Dan recalls a harrowing experience serving papers in a hostile environment with his son present.
- 11:11 — Discussing the nuances of serving with children in the car and the protective instincts it triggers.
- 15:23 — Mighty Mike talks about training new servers and the importance of handling confrontational situations.
- 18:45 — Dan explains his self-taught approach and the influence of the Texas Process Servers Association.
- 21:30 — The significance of proper paperwork in process serving and learning from established professionals.
Full Transcript
Dan Brouillette:Three people pointed to this guy and he was like, dallas Cowboy, linebacker, huge, you know, going up there. So I go up there, hey, sir, you know, try to pull him off to the side because I don't want to make a scene and stuff. You know, getting legal documents is not a fun thing to do. So try to keep it low key. I say, sir, I'm sorry to bother you. I have some legal documents for your business. And then right at that point, he snapped, you blankety blanky MF er and all this. You get off my property. Yes, sir, no problem. And you know, so I dropped it right down there on the driveway and started walking off. You know, I turned around and walked off and all of a sudden I started hearing feet mo.
Intro:You're listening to Process Server Daily, the show where hustle meets strategy in the high stakes world of process serving. From elite pros to the new servers taking massive action, these are the voices of a rising industry. Hosted by the founder of 123 Legal Support, Mighty Mike Reed. This is your backstage path to building a profitable process serving empire. Lets get into it.
Mighty Mike:Our guest today is the president and CEO of Express Process. He's the Texas training director and he has been serving papers since 96 when he left the security force for the United States Air Force. I'm so excited to be able to have him come on. He's a training director in Texas and he has been bringing some major value to the industry for a long time and so he deserves to be highlighted a little bit here and he's a really great guy. So Dan Brulette, welcome to the show, man.
Dan Brouillette:Thanks for being here.
Mighty Mike:Yeah, it's definitely exciting to be able to bring people in from Texas. Texas is one of the most lively places when it comes to new servers and everybody. It's crazy that. Why don't we talk a little bit about you? I want to dive into your particular story. So tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the industry.
Dan Brouillette:Well, when I got out of the Air force as a street police instructor, I bopped around a little bit as a courier within San Antonio. And then a buddy of mine, it was a PI, he said, hey Dan, I need help in my process serving. I'm getting slammed in with a bunch investigations. I need to keep that side going and say, okay, what do I do? So he showed me and off we went from there. You know, that was back what, 23, 24 years ago.
Mighty Mike:Wow. And so you've just been, you've just been hard at it ever Since. And so Express Process is that was that used. That used to be like Dan, DBA Express Process.
Dan Brouillette:Yeah, DBA Express Process. Way back when we went to LLC for it.
Mighty Mike:That's cool. Yeah, that's how we all start out, it seems like. So that's great. And then now things are going really well. How about your personal life? You're married, you got kids?
Dan Brouillette:Yes, married 34 years. Two boys. They're grown and out. And then our daughter is now out as well. She's Dasha. We adopted her from Vladivostok, Russia.
Mighty Mike:Oh, wow. That's gotta be hard for you.
Dan Brouillette:It was fun. You know, we're starting to enjoy hopefully the empty nester life here. Coming up. So girl 21 and older.
Mighty Mike:So you're like, yes, finally. Okay. Yeah. I think my baby, you know, when she finally moves out, you know, she's six years old or seven years old now. Man, she's growing up fast and I don't know, I think I'm gonna be crying baby when she finally moves out.
Dan Brouillette:Oh, no doubt. I mean, you have eight, I just have three, so.
Mighty Mike:Yeah, she's the youngest, so. Well, that's cool. So there's a reason, Dan, you're on the show. We're kind of just talking about all the great things you have going on and like the business that you've built over these many years. But let's dive into your worst experience working in the field.
Dan Brouillette:Oh, wow. I would say this was probably pretty early in my career. My son was 10 years old at the time and he was with pops driving around, my oldest, so. And we went to serve this gentleman's business here, but he was in a gated community. And so, you know, you pull up to the gated community, it's closed. Find him on the code pad, open it, you know, hit it. Start speaking to a woman on the phone, you know, hey, I have a delivery for so and so. Oh, we weren't expecting anything. And then just as she finished that sentence, the gate beeped and started opening up. I thought she laughing in to go do it, but no, it's the guy behind me pushing the clicker going, get out the way, you fool. I'm trying to get home. And so, so we're driving down in the, in the minivan and I got the windows down. Cause I'm a cheap stuff at the time. Not running air conditioner, you know, in the middle of summer. That was pretty dumb. So you pull down and then you do a 90 degree turn on the street and then you're Trying to calculate where the house is down there, and you realize there's a lot of cars where I'm going. So I pull up in the yard, right sort of next to their driveway and get out. And just as I'm getting out, this go kart comes zooming around with about 20 kids on it that park in the driveway. They bail another 20 or so, get on and go zooming out. And so there's about eight adults in the driveway. And so I'm just. I tried playing dumb and stupid when I go up. So I just start popping up there saying, hey, I have a delay for so and so. And three people pointed to this guy, and he was like, dallas Cowboy, linebacker, huge, you know, going up there. So I go up there, hey, sir. You know, try to pull them off to the side because I don't want to make a scene and stuff. You know, getting legal documents is not a fun thing to do. So try to keep it low key and say, hey, sir, I'm sorry to bother you. I have some legal documents for your business. And then right at that point, he snapped, you blankety blanky, mfer. And all this. You get off my property. Yes, sir, no problem. And, you know, so I dropped it right down there on the driveway and started walking off. You know, I turned around and walked off, and all of a sudden, I started hearing feet moving. You know, that sound you get. Immediately turned around and see him pick this. Pick these papers up. And they were about an inch thick, right? Real thick. And he just threw them out. And it hit me in the solar plexus. And, yeah, it hurt. It hurt a little bit. But the staple let go, and the wind was doing about 30 knots. So these papers went three yards, scattered down, down the longest thing. And at that point, he's just cursing. I'm already off this property. You blank your blank, come in. And of course, dad, the smart thing, he had the windows down, and the way I parked, my son was at the sidewalk next to his property type thing. So he's just cursing up the storm. And I'm scared because I'm like, man, this guy's gonna hurt me. And I'm not packing or doing anything at that time. And so it's like, oh, and for
Mighty Mike:sure, yeah, that's crazy.
Dan Brouillette:I tried. So, no, sir, you told me to get off the property. I'm not coming back on here. I'll kick your butt in front of your son. And so try to turn to go around the vehicle now. And all of a sudden, this cup comes whizzing by my head, you know, a little solo cup where they're all great. He's drunk now, having a party. And by the time I got in the car, of course my keys are in the back. He's yelling through the window on the passenger side where my 10 year old son is going, hey, I'm going to hurt you. I'm going to kill you. Get up. You know, come back here. No sir. And I'm trying to fumble for the keys and drive off, scared, shaking, because like I said, you know, I'm six foot, but this guy was, you know, about felt like, you know, another foot taller and 100 pounds heavier, you know, six or seven other witnesses there. So got there and drove off.
Mighty Mike:That's crazy. So there's a couple things and like we'll, we'll go, we can go dive into that a little more. But basically there's a few things that really just resonate with me in that is that first of all, I've experienced some similar situations when it comes to having kids in the car. Like, I am a different person. I've noticed when my kids are in the car, like, I'm just different. Like I serve differently. And I didn't know it and I realized it. So your story resonates with me on many levels because I had a situation where I went in to go serve something and the guy followed me to the car. And whereas before when I had been followed to the car, my mind was like, hey, look, no problem. And hey, I'm just a delivery guy. I'm just like, you know, hey, I'm so sorry. But in other times when this guy followed me to a car, this one time, like you're saying this guy did. Like my mind was in a totally different place. Like, I will hurt you. Like that's where my mind went. Like, you know, like, you follow me to my car and now I'm hurting you. That's the situation that we are now in because my kids are in the car. So like, but still you're trying to be this professional and like you can't really do that. So you find yourself in a situation where you don't want to like harm someone else and you don't want to like, you don't want your children to be around that or to be harmed or to experience that kind of trauma. And it's just crazy. So what did you do? So then you just, you've, you got the key in. He didn't, he didn't do anything else. You drove off and I drove Off.
Dan Brouillette:You know, my son was just bald. I said, it's okay, it's okay. Let's go get some ice cream. And then it's like, okay. But he will not be a process server today. He's an investment banker now.
Mighty Mike:Oh, yeah. Well, good for him. Yeah. I always tell my kids, you know, my oldest son now wants to serve, and he's got this, like, calm demeanor about him, but he's not good with conflict. He just, like gets real quiet and walks away. I told him, I said, someday somebody's gonna get in your face. Somebody's gonna give you a little guff, and it's not gonna be a quiet walking away because they're not gonna let you walk to your car. Car or whatever. Like, there's going to be a situation where you're going to have to verbally deal with this.
Dan Brouillette:And so, yeah, windows up and getting out of there, you know, and calling, hey, what do I do? You know, my mentor at the time.
Mighty Mike:That's good. So now, where did you get your training? Where did you learn all of this stuff?
Dan Brouillette:I basically learned a lot of it on my own with it. You know, Andrew showed me how to do it, you know, the PI a little bit. But then I started studying other people that were doing it. I was trying to learn all the rules that I could. I joined the Texas Process Servers association, you know, our state, that's our statewide organization that helps other process servers up, and just became really a student of the business. I think I developed that because of my career. I always patterned my career business after who was making the most money for the career, what were they doing, and how could I pattern myself after them. And so that's what I've always done. And, you know, eventually started training people how to do all that and how to, you know, do the service and do it properly.
Mighty Mike:So I love that because when I first started, you know, they have. The state association here in California has this Cals Pro, and they have a great training program. Not beating up on that at all, but when I went to the program, they didn't have anything that showed me how to complete the proofs. And I was like, I feel like I could learn everything else on YouTube, right? Go to. I mean, almost go knock on the door. Trial and error. You get beat up a couple of times, you end up making some money. Well, the paperwork is where is where you really need the most help when you first get started.
Dan Brouillette:Started.
Mighty Mike:Wouldn't you agree?
Dan Brouillette:Yeah, definitely. I mean, because, you know, doing the. See what's the Word I'm looking for, you know, learning what you can, you know, asking folks, how do you do it? I mean, asking the question is a big thing. Go to somebody that knows and, hey, how do you fill this out? People are willing to help out big time. You know, like I said with CalisPro, with TPSA, with you, with me. You know, we're that type that want to give back to the community and help them out. And so I think that's a big thing is finding that place to go do it so you don't feel so scared. I mean, that first paper I did, I was shaking when I gave it to him. You know, I was worried I was giving them everything and not, you know, not saving a return to file back with the court, you know.
Mighty Mike:Well, that's a valid concern. You know, some places where I've gotten documents, I've gotten originals, and they're like, we actually need this summons back, so serve the other some, you know, or, or they, you know, or, or I'll go and pick up a document. Listen, if you're a newbie, listen to this one, right? You go to the postal station or post office, whatever, you meet somebody, they give you the documents, they pay you, you're like, yes, you go serve it. You're like, what did I just serve?
Dan Brouillette:Yeah, he called attorney up. Hey, Mr. Mrs. Attorney, what documents did I just serve? Because I forgot to write it on my note sheet.
Mighty Mike:Yeah, exactly. And I think maybe we've all done that, especially if we've kind of did our own startup. So. Good deal. Good deal. Okay, so what I've taken from your story is when you go out there, you just never know what's going to happen, so.
Dan Brouillette:That's correct.
Mighty Mike:So be prepared, keep your cool. Right? You definitely, you were, you were upset, you were nervous. It was like a crazy kind of experience, like any of us would be. But you kept your cool and you, you know, you got in the car and you left. So do you. What do you do now after that experience? Do you find yourself still taking your kids serving or no?
Dan Brouillette:Well, not so much. Like I said, they're older now and on their own.
Mighty Mike:That's true.
Dan Brouillette:I normally don't do that. I mean, very rarely have I been put in a situation where it's dangerous. Yes, I've had couple weapons pointed at me, but I didn't feel threatened, even though they were pointed at me because of how the conversation is going. You know, no papers worth getting beat up, shot or killed or whatever. And, and just having your wits about you when you're doing it and being able to talk people off the ledge is very good. I think it's confrontational. If I can be.
Mighty Mike:What's that?
Dan Brouillette:I'm non confrontational. If I can be. I want to be low key and get out of there and, you know, not cause a scene. But sometimes it happens.
Mighty Mike:Yeah. So that is great. So let's move from your worst story. Okay. Your worst experience in the field. That's a pretty bad one. And let's dive into your greatest experience in this industry.
Dan Brouillette:I have several, but I think the best one that I like, I like talking about is we were serving back when the company I was working for had the attorney general contract for child support. You know, you're doing 100 papers a month just in the few zip codes you're doing for this one customer. Right. And so because they have so many child support papers, papers out there that we got one for the attorney general. They said on their note sheet, you will not find this guy. And you have to go to these four addresses. So it's like four addresses, like, oh my gosh. And of course, you know, back then it's only standard price for all four addresses, so you need additional. So, you know, I go to the first one and it's his grandmother. Hey, Ms. So and so, I'm sorry to bother you. I have some legal documents. So. Hey, is this about his child support? Yeah, it's about child support. Then I go to the cousin, then I go to the brother, then I go to another uncle or whatever. So I'm leaving my business card with them and going there and just, you know, like I said, hey, I'm sorry to bother you with this. And then the next day I get a phone call from this guy and he goes, you know, and this is after the attorney general said, you are not going to find him, but you still have to make the effort. And so he calls me up, we schedule appointment, I go over there, meet him, I give him the papers and he says, dan, here's my business card with my real cell phone number. That was a burner. I called you from. I want to have eight more papers coming for eight more children. I said, dude, you've been busy, you know. And he says, the reason why I called you is because you're the first process server that treated my family with respect, did not prejudge me or do anything like that. So. Well, I appreciate it. So anytime. I got a serve now for him. Hey, Billy Ray. Yeah, it's Dan. You got another one Yep. Come on by, you know, one and done, you know, for this guy. Because you treat with respect. You don't prejudge people with that.
Mighty Mike:I like that.
Dan Brouillette:How do you want to be treated?
Mighty Mike:I love that. I love that. And one of the reasons. I like that a lot. Well, there's a few reasons, but one of the reasons is, you know, we all make mistakes and like, we're all at different points in our lives and we all do different things for different reasons. And like we just. You're not them. So you don't know why they're getting evicted or you don't know why they're getting these. Child support. You know, as someone who a divorced father myself, I've been, you know, I've been served divorce papers, I've been served child support papers. Like, and I've paid child support and I, and I have, you know, like. So just because they're getting served doesn't necessarily mean that they're, you know, don't judge them.
Dan Brouillette:Well, exactly. And you know, that's the beauty of our legal system. You know, you're innocent till proven guilty. You have the right to due process in this country to hear your side of the story. What you're serving is only one side of the story. Then there's a person that you're serving story. And then there's a story. The judge is going to go, you know, that side of that coin.
Mighty Mike:I love that. I love the saying also, you know, there are three sides of the story, one being truth. So, you know, and then each of the parties. And so yeah, the judge definitely, he's got to decide, okay, what is the truth? Here's this person's story. Here's this person's story, and what is the truth? So the other thing about that is when you go in with that, I love when you were saying like, you know, you go up to the door kind of bopping around. That's kind of the way you put it. Like, I feel like that's how I am too. When I go to the door and I see and I knock and they come out, as soon as I know they can hear me, I. My whole voice kind of changes to like, hello, how's it going? You know, have you ever seen the Elsa movie? What is it, Frozen, where the guy's like, welcome to Okanzano. Yeah. Because it's non threatening and right away it just sets the tone for kindness, I guess.
Dan Brouillette:Exactly. And you know too, you know, I tell folks that I like playing, I don't mind playing dumb and Stupid. Because people love helping dumb and stupid people. Help me. I don't know if I'm in the right spot. I'm a doofus, you know, I think I got the wrong address. Can you help me? Because it gives them a feeling of self worth for themselves, you know, hey, they're trying to help somebody out.
Mighty Mike:Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Dan Brouillette:You know, I'm not making money, but, you know, you want to empathize.
Mighty Mike:No, that's good. Yeah. You know, things happen and, you know, sometimes I've actually asked myself like, should I feel so good about this? Right. Because you come back to the car and you're like, yes. Personal service. You know, I got five personal services today and you're like all happy and like you just walked away from five people who are like, looking down, sad. It's just the job. Someone's got to do it. And I figure it's better that I do it and I can do it in a kind way instead of having some guy yahoo out there serving them. And definitely. So that's a great experience. What do you want, Server Nation to take from your greatest experience?
Dan Brouillette:Well, you know, one of the big things for that is, you know, treat people with respect. The golden rule. How do you want to be treated? You know, because like you said, every, you know, everybody's a different point in life. Things happen. Every door you go to, that's what I like about this business. Every door you go to, it's a different person who woke up on the wrong side of the bed or the correct side of the bed or is going through troubles. And so, you know, yes, it's part of the legal system we're doing. So I don't get bent out of shape like I used to with it. Especially like divorce cases. I used to hate serving those. But it's like, okay, there's a reason our system set up this way.
Mighty Mike:That's awesome.
Dan Brouillette:So how do you want to be treated is the best thing and treat others with respect? It goes a long way in the long run. I don't like pretending to be someone I'm not when I'm serving. You know, you see all these. You hear a lot of these folks that will do things like that, and that's okay. That's the way they do their business. I don't. I think I have, you know, get more with honey versus vinegar in this business.
Mighty Mike:That's good. That's good. So what are you working on right now, Dan, that has you most excited?
Dan Brouillette:Most excited right now? We're trying to get ready for the convention coming up here, you know, in a couple weeks down in Corpus Christi, all of our time is sort of spent on doing that, making sure all the eight hours of continuing education is ready to go, all the speakers are ready that, you know, we have everything set up for everybody. I think you're going to be down there with us in a few. In a few weekends, too. That's helping us with our Facebook. So that's awesome.
Mighty Mike:That's true. Yeah, I'm really excited about the conference. You know, I haven't been to Corpus Christi before, but from what I understand is it's like, it's right on the beach. I was actually. Dan, I was actually planning on doing. I told my assistant Nancy, like, make it happen. You know, I told her, call around and find out where we can do a bonfire on the beach. And she's. She called everywhere. She says it's illegal to do a bonfire on the beach, I guess.
Dan Brouillette:Well, it is sort of there because you're in the city of limits. The hotel is right across the highway. That's, you know, right along the street. You know, it's like the Pacific coast highway, but for the Gulf. Ain't nothing like the prettiness of that, but, you know, it's right there. So it's within city limits. But if you go down to, say, Mustang island there, you know, they got a state park there. You can do it on Aransas, Pat. You can actually drive on the beach and camp out there. And so folks do things like that.
Mighty Mike:So, okay, that might be something to plan in the future. Yeah, definitely. Go out and do like a big bonfire in the psd. Bonfire on the beach, you know. So this is good stuff. So tell us a little bit about the tpsa. So, like, when I. When I first learned about these associations and like, what they can do for me, I always thought, like, okay, I can create it, have a listing on their website or on the directory, and then links will then link back to my website. Like, I only saw it for the marketing perspective. And recently I learned that. Well, in the last few years, I learned that the associations actually protect the industry and keep them alive for California, California in particular. Just to kind of set that this tone for this topic here is the idea that California, way back in the day created the first one of the first association. I think it was the first association. And then they helped create nabs. The same folks created nabs. And then. But tell us a little bit about Texas. Why should people be interested in tpsa?
Dan Brouillette:Well, the big thing with the association, we started out like that as a network of processors come together to help raise the standards of the industry. And eventually we got in to help do some legislation and lobbying to help guide how process server is being done. You know, yes, Texas is, you know, considered, you know, independent and not regulatory and stuff. But we felt that we needed to have a little bit of regulation so you didn't have felons out there serving papers because, you know, sometimes you go to the door and a little kid will open a door and a mother and father are not home, you know, and it's like, please close the door. You know, it's like, you know, if it was a felon going there, you know, bad things could happen along the lines. So we ended up doing it to try getting a certification program in which we. Which we eventually got going back in 2005 through that, and then still trying to work in the legislative area to allow like, access to gated communities or apartment complex to allow us to give us information so they're not sued for giving supposedly privileged information or confidential information, you know, along the lines of there. So, you know, started out doing that and networking and going that. And now we're getting more into the. We've been more in the education since about 2005 or so when I got on to actually helping process servers get certified and know what they're doing out there versus just some. Some gutter snipe server off the. Off the street that just throws papers at people and, you know, sort of tramples on their due process rights because they didn't properly identify them. And then citizens don't know that, hey, I don't have to respond to this. I wasn't served properly. So that's what the association does. And now we're moving more into, okay, now that the certification program. A couple years ago, the state said, hey, we got to have continuing education for servers. Once you get certified, you continue education. So now we're moving into that. And so we want to do is put high quality continuing education courses together that people can learn how to be safe, how to follow the rules. In Texas, especially when rules change, are constantly changing, every two years our legislature gets together and we have to be on top of that, make sure the rules are still there with us and not, you know, throwing the rules away or getting rid of us with that. And so, you know, we're effective in that. And so the CE now we're trying to move for our members to be free for those that are members. So instead of paying, you know, 20, 40, 50 hours of credit hour out there with other ones. We want to give our members a chance to have continuing educational for free. So we're trying to add value to just, you know, not just the networking portion of it. But why would help you in your business along with lines of that.
Mighty Mike:I love that. So a couple different things from what you said questions I have. So if I'm a process server in Texas and well, let's back it up. So let's say I want to be a process server and I'm in Texas right now currently. Are there any training opportunities that you can get certified online?
Dan Brouillette:There are some online courses but we're finding out from a lot of servers that have taken those courses. They end up coming through my course or you know, the associations course and sitting through because it's a seven hour course. We are gearing up to do ours where we put it online where you can go through. It's interactive, it's still a work in progress because we don't want to put the garbage out there that we see. And so we're eventually going to have that where you can take that seven hour course online and then get set up to do a little mini testing center we're going to have so you can get your certificate.
Mighty Mike:Oh wow. So essentially people can get the actual learning and the education online in the comfort of their own home. And then like what maybe come to the conference and you have like a little testing center where they take a test based on what they learned or.
Dan Brouillette:Right? Well, we're trying. We want to start off by doing maybe a zoom presentation on the weekend. You know, a seven hour course on the weekend and then we could do the testing afterwards. I found an online testing that I'm trying to test right now that we can set up that they can go to and take a test. They'll randomly produce 50 questions of everything we've covered out of like maybe a test bank of 200. So everybody that goes in to click there gets their own individual test and then once they, once they pass it from 70% from the state requirements, we send them their certificate that then they can go to the state now and apply with the state.
Mighty Mike:That's really cool. So just, you know, as technology kind of flows into, into the legal industry that's kind of really not wanting to come along for the ride. That's one thing I've noticed in the legal space. You know, I think I haven't gotten a fax from anyone in about five years. But you know, when I First started, there were still people said, can I send you a fax? You know, I haven't gotten that for quite a while, but I know some people do. Some people still, they're stuck in the fax, you know, for security, actually, I guess is one of the reasons. But let's dive a little bit into the. The conference. So every conference or convention, you know, they call them different things, but at Texas, you guys call it the convention for now, right?
Dan Brouillette:Yeah, we're trying to change it to, like, expo and job fair type thing.
Mighty Mike:Very cool.
Dan Brouillette:I think our bylaw says it's a. It's a conference, you know, but we can change that eventually with the bylaws.
Mighty Mike:Yeah. So when you go. So when. When people go to this, what's the benefit? I mean, like, I've been to some of these conferences, Dan, where, you know, I go to a conference and, like, I just sit there and I feel like I don't learn anything. I can barely hear the speaker up there. And then I sit there just forever. And for Texas, I get it. The CE thing, I get. You just mull through it. You got to get certified or whatever. So the online training program is going to solve that for those people. But the convention has other speakers and things, and different things as well. What is the benefit to a business owner to make that investment, to make the trip?
Dan Brouillette:Well, one of the big things is my business grew once I started getting face to face with other people from around Texas. Because, you know, time is money in this business, and if you can duplicate your efforts in the long run, that's when you get big and you make a lot of money. And then your servers are making money as well, and, you know, you're taking care of others there. And so once I started meeting other servers, they started. I started sending papers to them. They would send papers to me instead of me driving to Houston, which is 200 miles away, you know, from San Antonio here, and charging a client $270 to do the 275, $, 280 to do the surface. Have six, seven hours out of my time. You know, I can get a server over there, do it for 80, 90, 100 bucks. You know, I upcharge my customer maybe, you know, 50, $75, and instead of them paying 275, 280, now they're paying only, say, 175 bucks. So, you know, the server wins, I win, the customer wins, you know, and then the client for the attorney wins, you know, because they're not being gouged. So once I started doing that. People were sending me papers from all over the state with that as well. And so I would send papers out, I would get papers in. And so it'd be time management, you know. Now instead of me making that $300 over seven hour period, I just made it now in a three one hour period because I dropped like eight or nine papers within that three, you know, three seven hour period, you know, so it's like, you know, it can really, really duplicate your efforts and keep you tighter and work smart, not hard.
Mighty Mike:Okay, so this business principle of like creating systems is powerful. So by coming to the conference though, you're saying that you're gonna meet people that will make give you discounts on
Dan Brouillette:services or discounts on services because you're meeting a lot of process servers, but you're also meeting people in the industry like serve manager, process database services, that process server toolbox. This convention, we have a guy coming down, it's going to be teaching body cams, but then there's a company that's also bringing body cameras in, the security company, you know, for sale and stuff like that. And so you get to learn a lot of different techniques. Last year's convention was all about safety, server safety at the door. Now what if they should be attacked? How do they do self defense with a guy that can really show it the easiest way. And then eventually if you can't do that and you have to pull a weapon for deadly force using that. So we had experts in that area talk about the use of deadly force. So every conference is a little different. So you get different nuggets out of there that will help you in your business. Like I said, learning with the, you know, seeing the different vendors and getting with them and learning their software and see what happens you to save time and money and setting up your system.
Mighty Mike:I love that. So one of the things that's big when it comes to these conferences that what you were saying is this is a volunteer organization, right? I mean the people like for you, Dan, like I can't even imagine like the amount of time just even today, right? Like taking this time out of your life and out of your thing. What makes you, what makes you give so much back?
Dan Brouillette:Well, because I love to teach, I love to give back with that. I love imparting knowledge and I, and I even still learn today, you know, techniques from other folks because you know, I'm in my own way of thinking. But now someone gives me a perspective. Oh, I never thought about it that way. Hey, you know that technique may work better. And so I love giving back to do it and it's, it's fun part of my life. You know, it's not just about me, it's about all of us, you know, as a community together, what we do. And so if we can help each other become better that just, you know, as they say, a rising tide raises all ships, you know, so, you know, if everybody gets better, it's better for the industry, better for the citizens of Texas and you know, around the country as well for other organizations.
Mighty Mike:I love it.
Dan Brouillette:I love it.
Mighty Mike:Hey, quick break from the episode to
Dan Brouillette:tell you about something that's changing the game for process servers across the country. Country. It's called Mighty Process Servers. And yeah, you can join absolutely free inside. You'll get full access to every course, every download and the educational tools that we use to help process servers build profitable companies. We meet every Tuesday at 1pm Eastern
Mighty Mike:for our live Mighty Mastermind call.
Dan Brouillette:Come join the conversation. You can connect with other professionals, post on the discussion board, direct message members and become part of one of the most engaged communities for process servers. Don't wait.
Mighty Mike:Go to mightyprocessserver.com and join today. Those who get verified, get listed and
Dan Brouillette:start bidding on jobs same day. Now let's get back to the show.
Mighty Mike:Welcome back to the show, Dan. Are you ready for the rapid fire round?
Dan Brouillette:Let's rock.
Mighty Mike:Awesome. So what is your favorite skip trace tactic?
Dan Brouillette:Well, one thing up front is have the information up front before you even go out there. So one of the things I do in Texas we have appraisal district records so we can look up to see who owns the property, whether that person is homesteaded, if they homesteaded, they're getting a tax exemption for living there. So that helps us out. But we can find out if it's a rental or not. And my, my sort of pseudo favorite one because it's the quickest and the cheapest is when I'm out there is using public data.com to run license plate. Soon as I get on the on site, you know, before I even go to the door, I'm running license plates to see now public data is about six months behind, you know, for Texas and there's only really five states that allow their license plating. But you know, it's cheap and easy and I get 400 basically free, you know, for the monthly fee I'm paying and so you know, I can have my other servers use it as well. And so that helps out knowing up front before I go to the door. So I have that information in my back pocket. Check. Oh, they don't live here. Oh really? They own the house that vehicles parked to them.
Mighty Mike:That's awesome. I love that. I'm not sure how well it would work in Texas, but there's another one called Deal Machine. It's an app called Deal Machine and you guys can check it out. I actually love it. It's about 50 bucks a month. So it's a little bit expensive but you get a free trial so you can see if it even works for you. But one of the cool things is it's made for the real estate market for finding wholesale deals and offering them money and finding out who even owns the house. So you just click on the map. On the map, you just click on the house and it actually shows, I mean within two seconds it shows you who owns the house. And if the person is an owner, an absentee owner or you know, so you know if they live there or not. If it came up with an absence owner like such and such llc, well then it's a rental and you just don't know. Sorry about your luck. But it's a really cool way to quickly know a little skip trace tip. So that's great.
Dan Brouillette:What I like about the appraisal district records is they're free to do. Anybody can go on and look. And then it tells you who owns the house, but that tells you where the mail the property information being mailed to. So you can tell if the person has another property in a different location or like you said it's that LLC or something along the lines of there. So each county has an appraisal district that you can do that. Of course there's 254 counties around Texas.
Mighty Mike:So appraisal district records, is that a website or they just Google.
Dan Brouillette:You got, you know, Bexar county appraisal district that bcad.org, then you got like Wilson County. You know, Wilson County Appraisal District. So you just ask, put the county name in there like the Houston Harris County Appraisal District. You google that and up it'll pop for that county.
Mighty Mike:That's awesome.
Dan Brouillette:I think I've done some stuff for maybe Oklahoma, maybe some other states have similar appraisal district records too. And you know, being free versus $50 a month.
Mighty Mike:That's true. Yeah, that's.
Dan Brouillette:I mean granted yours is for other states. In California it's a little different.
Mighty Mike:Well, anytime you can, you can pick up little tips and tricks like that. It's definitely helpful. That's Why I love the rapid fire round. What do you use to track your cases?
Dan Brouillette:I use serv manager software.
Mighty Mike:Okay.
Dan Brouillette:I'm a Mac guy and so back in the old days when PST process servers toolbox was out there, they were Windows based only. I said, no, I'm not going to do, you know, a Windows, a virtual, you know, Windows machine going to do all that and then serve manager, they build it on a Mac but theirs is web based, you know. So I got with Trent and the guys over there when they came to our conference and just fell in love with how easy that it would work and to do. I mean I haven't, I haven't even gotten to all the different automated features that like you've done that. I've got to learn to help automate a lot of this stuff but man, it helps out. Granted, I feel like it's a little slower on the front end because you're putting all the stuff in ahead of time, but on the back end it helps out a bunch. When it comes time affidavit generation, it can tell whether you're on a smartphone or a computer and if you're on a smartphone it lets you do gps. So when you're in the field as a, you know, trying to get my other contractors that I'm collaborating with to use it in the field like GPS and then speak into it, hey, you know, if it's unsuccessful, hey. There was no response to my knocking or ringing of the doorbell. A dog was barking at the house or you know, inside the house next to the front door vehicle, so and so license plate, you know, such and such registered to whoever there in the parking lot. And you know, so I'm recording as I'm walking away and so then I review it to make sure it's grammatically correct and then send and then all of a sudden the customer has it have it there so they're updated so you don't get the phone calls. Hey, what's the status? What's the status? What's the status? I hate those phone calls.
Mighty Mike:Yeah, I hate status calls as well. So I. So that's really cool. Server manager is what I use as well. As most people know they are the sponsor of the show. So you can go check them out@processserverdaily.com servemanager but listen, one of the things that I love the most about this whole when it comes to your different softwares is the idea that you can choose, right? Like you're talking about slow on the front end. I think with A couple different automation pieces where you put in a form, stack form and then people are able to like fill it out. It'll automatically be put into serve Manager for you or giving people access directly into your server manager. Those are the two. By doing those two things, especially my bolt clients, I just tell them like, look, I don't do this for just anybody, but for you, you know, I want to give you direct access into my server manager. So I'm going to give you a lot. Essentially you're just inviting them to collaborate, collaborating with them.
Dan Brouillette:Right.
Mighty Mike:But you make it a big deal so that they respect it and they actually use it. And then you go in and actually I went into their office and actually showed them how to use it. Like this is, this is how you do it. So now like my biggest collection client, they just go in and out, get new jobs all the time, come in directly into Server manager and it's a cool feeling. It's been a while since we've seen set people up like that. It's just a cool feeling. And the idea I don't have to do any data entry or take phone calls or anything and it just goes directly in. So definitely, yeah, definitely a server manager. So there are different softwares out there, you can check them all out, but which I suggest doing if you're not sure because I've used them all and I've come back to serve man full circle because it's just the best. So all right, onto the next thing that you use. So how do you, what book would you recommend?
Dan Brouillette:What book? I mean I read the Bible a lot so I'd have to go with that as the number one. Of course people, you know, that's good
Mighty Mike:now, Old Testament or new, but it's
Dan Brouillette:a whole thing is what I, is what I do because you know the New Testament based off the Old Testament so you can't throw it out with the bathwater, you know. Yeah.
Mighty Mike:But I got to tell you, I like the New Testament better because it's talking about how I'm forgiven.
Dan Brouillette:And instead of definitely but he goes and I like to get a Jewish perspective of why it's that way. You know, people think I'm a little weird but you know, it's like, hey, that's okay, everybody's entitled to their thing. But I guess, man, the go getter how to win friends, influence people. Guerrilla marketing for folks that are trying to start out, you know, low cost ways to get their business going for new process servers. Those are all good books there, you know. Yeah. The Go Getter and How to Win Friends and influence People. Yeah, they're older books from way back when, but they still apply today. You know, it's, it's taking your eyes off yourself and putting them on others. And how can you serve others is the big thing. Which again goes back to the Bible, you know, serving others.
Mighty Mike:Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I love it. And you know, the. How to win friends and influence people. I don't care if you're an entrepreneur. I don't care if you're like a. You hate people. Like, you know, if you, even if you're just like, you hate being around people, you're an introvert. How to win friends and influence People. It sounds like, you know, you're going to influence people, you're going to sell people. And like, while that's true and they. I think he was targeting like a sales market when he made that title, of course. But actually just as a person, you know, you learn how to build a relationship. This is how to win friends. So I guess. But like building relationship. Try this, just this one thing from the book for those of you guys that are listening, try. When you're talking to somebody, don't think about anything else except for what they're saying. And every time you respond, respond to like what they're saying and ask them questions and be genuinely interested in them for five minutes as a test and then see how they treat you afterward. It's like night and day.
Dan Brouillette:Oh, definitely.
Mighty Mike:Yeah.
Dan Brouillette:Because it's showing you're taking an interest in them. Because people just want, what can you. What can I get from you right now? And then move on. And it's like, no, no, no. You know, it's not a making society. It's a gimmick.
Mighty Mike:That's true. And we also pick up on people's cues when they're listening, when they're not listening and things like that. So. I know, I know we're a little pressed for time. I definitely. This is supposed to be rapid fire round, but there's so much gold. So what is the greatest advice you've ever received?
Dan Brouillette:Wow. The grace advice. Have a positive attitude. Attitude. Have fun with what you're doing. It was a real mental change. When I was working with the British forces in Europe with the ground launch cruise missile program, we'd go out in the field and every time we go out in the field in England, it was raining. So our slogan was, Our slogan was, if it's not raining, we weren't training. We were always in a Field. So I was miserable. And the Brits there, the royal. The British regiment for the Royal Air Force, they said, look, Dan, you know, it's all about your attitude here. You know, you can be happy or you can be mad, but either way you're going to be wet, so choose what you want. So at that point, it just was a snap and like, okay, I'm going to be happy about being out here, you know, and so have a good attitude. What you're doing, you know, you're providing a service for others. It's part of the legal system that everybody's entitled to their due process. And so, you know, have fun with what you're doing, you know, with it. And you meet people every day, it's different. Even though the mechanics are still the same. It's a new person every day with it.
Mighty Mike:That's good. That's great advice. So this last question as we wrap this up here, this great interview, Dan, is take us to a place where you are, Dan, what would you do if you woke up tomorrow with all of the same skills and knowledge? But you do. You didn't know anybody, anybody. And you only had $100, a smartphone and a car. How would you regrow your business to the awesome one that it is today?
Dan Brouillette:All right, is rent coming due? Yes, with that. That's a good one. And I would probably. It would take me out of my comfort zone because I'm a more behind the scenes, nuts and bolts guy. I'm not the kind of guy that goes to offices and market and push myself out there. I'm more of let my word do the talking and grow word of mouth. But I would be out there downtown, near the courthouse, hitting the attorney, the law firms that are around that area, and then working out within the downtown area to just introduce myself, see how I can serve them and meet their needs. And if they're ever looking for a process server, you know, they're not happy with their current one. Here you go. You know, I'll be willing to do it. You know, if they go on vacation, give me a buzz. I'll help you out. You know, I'll give you a free one if you need to. To show that I'm really good at what I do.
Mighty Mike:I love that. One of the things that I've really been fascinated with since I very first started was in the process serving world, is that whenever I go to the courthouse, I get another job. Like wear your shirt with your logo on it, maybe even wear a T shirt if you're the guy that's out serving all day and you got all your gear on or whatever. Like, different places are different. Okay, but, like, have something on your back that says, you know, process server, you know, professional product. You know, something with your phone number on it. Because people will text you, people will, you know, say things to you. Like, I can't tell you how many times I've been there. When I first started, it was five, three, zero process servers, because that was our area code. And, you know, people just would just call and text like crazy every single time, every time I went to the courthouse. So you know how to light fire on that. This is just something, you know, I've been doing a lot of different things here in the last year. Not a whole lot of interviews. And so I just. I think it'd be a good opportunity to say that this. Like, if you're not sure, like, go get a recorder. There's something amazing that happens when you have. When you take on the role of the media guy. You know, go to the courthouse and say with a little camcorder in your hand, like, I have a real nice professional one right here. But you could get one at Walmart for like 20 or $30. And go to the courthouse with your idea.
Dan Brouillette:Like, you.
Mighty Mike:With your idea that you're talking about. Go to the courthouse and tell people, I'm interviewing lawyers in the area and I want to find out what. What thing? Like, what's the buzz, right? Like, maybe it's E filing in California. E filing is a big thing. You know, how is E filing affecting your business? And then after you've had that little mini interview with them, have a card ready and say, thank you so much. I appreciate your time. One of the things I do that I'm really good at is finding people and serving them. So here's my card. And like you said, so now what did I just do? I installed, theory built, gave them value, because in their minds, they're like, okay, he just interviewed me. I'm gonna be. I don't know where this thing is gonna end up, but it's gonna end up online somewhere. I'm gonna get free publicity out of this thing. There's just so much power in that. So I appreciate that. I think that is great. Great. Working your way out, I think is genius too, because you can keep coming back to the. That courthouse every morning. Don't be a sign spinner, necessarily. I mean, if you had to be, you could go out there with a sign and spin it around and go process or. I thought about Doing that. Actually have a paying somebody to do that. There's a guy in Sacramento that does that. Legal document preparer. He's got a sign spinner. He's got an office across the street with it. So the arrows pointing at his office, it's just awesome.
Dan Brouillette:Well, that's a good idea. You know, with the interview. I like that. And like I said, even a shirt with, you know, your number on your back because, you know, when you go to the courthouse, you know, I'm always talking to attorneys or someone's filing, even someone's doing pro se work, you know, I'll hand out my card, you know, with it there so they can know. And it's like, hey, you ever need one, think about it. We'll take care of you for you.
Mighty Mike:Mm, I love that one. One of the things just being different, right? Just be different than other people when you're out there. So that when people. When people interact with you, they're like, oh, he's that guy. That's different. Right? So that's good. That's the other reason I like business cards that are different too. You know, don't just get a rectangle business card. Get like a king or like. Like a. It could be a cardboard key or whatever, but like, get like something different. So when they look at it, they take a moment and their brain goes like, huh, that little hug, you know, you did it right? Yeah.
Dan Brouillette:Be different with it.
Mighty Mike:I did a cry got. I had some made that were like, look like credit cards and they go, you know, the key, you know, the key to your success or whatever was one. And then the credit card was. Was it money? Some. Something really relating to, you know, now you can go forward with your goals or whatever. Reach your goals and your dreams with this success card or something. Have my phone number, you know, as the card number, as the.
Dan Brouillette:Oh, that's cool.
Mighty Mike:Yeah. Yeah. So there's a lot of cool things you can do to be different. But what is your parting piece of advice?
Dan Brouillette:You know, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, you know, it's going to be hard for you. So people says, well, is this process serving a job for you? Says, no, it's more. Yeah, it's a career and stuff that we're doing. But I'm having fun with it. So I don't look at it as a job, you know, because I'm having fun with it. I'm joining what I'm doing. I'm helping others. You know, it's not as much as when I was helping others in the medical field because, you know, you're helping people's lives that way, but you're helping them out legally wise, because, you know, we have that system in place. You know, at least you don't get thrown in jail for, you know, you know, debtors, prisons type thing along that line for not paying your credit cards. You know, you can have your day in court and so have fun with it. I look forward to every day of going out there and just doing it, you know, Are there times that I don't want to get up and do. Yeah, there's times, but as an independent contractor, you can set your own. Your own schedule, but, you know, you got to be out there doing it. So have fun with it. I mean, that's the basic thing. Have fun with what you're doing and enjoy it.
Mighty Mike:That's good. That's good. Yeah. If you find yourself out there serving and you just. It's just not, you know, and you're having a hard time, like, emotionally. You know, I know certain people in my life that if they were to go out serving with me, they would cry after every stop. You know, serving is not for them. It's just not. Like, I feel like we have this, like, grim reaper mentality that we need to have that, hey, it's not me. I'm just here. I'm just doing my job. And while it might feel like I'm the grim reaper, I'm actually just a person who's trying to protect your rights as an American citizen. Like, yeah, so without getting on a soapbox, like, I think that's some great advice. Have some fun, get out there, serve some papers. The other thing, too is, like, what motivates me is just to, while I'm out there having fun, find opportunities to do good. Like, I can't tell you how many times I've been out there serving someone and, like, help someone jump their car, you know, like, oh, definitely.
Dan Brouillette:I got a little mobile. A mobile charger that will start cars. You know, it's like. It's a. I think I got a long time ago from solutions and science or something like that. It just. You have it charged up and you can jump. I've jumped about eight cars in a row before it died. You know, you charge your cell phone and other things off of it as well. So, yeah, that's always a good thing.
Mighty Mike:And you just feel good, too. You know, you're out there, you're doing. You're doing your job, doing a good job, and you're out there doing good in the world too. And it's that positive reciprocity definitely will come back to you. So Dan, what is the best way that we can connect with you and then we'll say goodbye?
Dan Brouillette:Well, our work number at 210-332-8773. That'll ring to my personal cell if you need to contact me. We normally answer the phone. We don't like not answering the phone. Try not to call me at midnight and then express. Process.com is our website.
Mighty Mike:Very cool. Very cool, Dan. Well, I want to personally thank you for coming on the show, man. I've been impressed with your story and I'm excited to share it with the world.
Dan Brouillette:Well, I appreciate it. Appreciate you having me on, you know, looking forward to seeing you down at the conference in a few weeks.
Outro:Definitely. Until next time, that's a wrap on
Dan Brouillette:another episode of Process Server Daily where the legal support industry levels up. Want to grow your process process serving business with the best marketing tools, the most engaged community and the highest ranking directory online. Visit mightyprocess server.com claim your listing join our free community. Surround yourself with process servers who get it and build something real from the
Mighty Mike:field to the courtroom.
Dan Brouillette:This is Process Server Daily.
Outro:Until next time.
Outro:Stay safe out there and live mighty.
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