Jerry's back after a two-month break — one spent on two vacations with his grandchildren, the first real time off since he was 25. That break turned into this episode.

After decades of Covey systems, Hyatt planners, and every productivity app that promised to fix his calendar, Jerry landed on a different conclusion: you can't control time. You can only control what you trade it for. The average life runs about 4,000 weeks — roughly 80 years — and most of us spend that trying to optimize the minutes instead of questioning the trades.

The shift is one question. Not "how do I manage my time better?" but "what am I trading my time for, and was that trade worth it?"

Jerry walks through a 24-hour trade audit you can run today, then puts himself on the hook with a story from last week: a full day spent rescuing a customer who'd run out of chemicals, and the phone call the next morning telling him they were leaving anyway. He still isn't sure what to make of it.

If you sell, manage accounts, or run a territory, this one's about the calls you say yes to and what they actually cost you.

Want to be a guest? Email jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com, or visit the newly remodeled HospitalityCleaning101.com — now home to Bauer Consulting and a new Resource page — to join the newsletter.

Want to level up your operation?

Visit HospitalityCleaning101.com — 120+ practical, no-nonsense articles on cleaning, sanitation, and chemical management, built for hospitality and food service pros. Grab the free tools on the Resource page and join the newsletter while you're there.

Manufacturer or distributor trying to break into the hospitality market? Bauer Consulting helps you build traction and revenue in a segment that doesn't buy the way the rest of your book does. See how it works: HospitalityCleaning101.com/consulting

Jerry Bauer
Hospitality Cleaning 101 | Bauer Consulting
Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com

Jay Skinner came to Cleaning Processes with Jerry through a referral from Brad Anderson at Royce Rolls — if you haven't heard Brad's episode yet, go back two and check it out.

Jay is the Marketing & Sales Manager at Integrity Commercial Products, the proprietary product arm of Integrity Rotational Molding. Owner Terry Stemple — 25 years in custom rotational molding — brought Jay in last June to launch a line of heavy-duty waste receptacles, tilt trucks, and dunnage racks built to NSF, USDA, and FDA standards. Jay spent 30 years in plastic pallets before this, including a startup called Stratus Plastic Pallets that owned the URL pallets.com back in 1993, before most people knew what a URL was.

What we covered:

• Why Jay scrapped the direct-sales playbook and went all-in on manufacturer's reps
• The 85 booth swipes at ISSA Vegas that completely rewired his go-to-market plan
• The structure: manufacturer → rep → distributor → end user, and who pays who
• How he built the rep network region by region — Buzzeo and Associates in the Midwest, Lifespace Innovation Group on the East Coast, Genesis Supply in Florida and the Caribbean, Durable Safety Products in the Southwest, RPM Co. across Texas and the Plains, and Clint Close in Iowa
• Why regional relationships and "the language" of a territory matter more than most manufacturers think
• Building a website where reps and customers can grab brochures without playing "go fish" with their suppliers
• Terry Stemple's working definition of integrity: "What you do when nobody's watching."

Quick note from Jerry: I had to wrap this one a little faster than I wanted — I was in a rented studio, and the next session was knocking at the door. Jay was a good sport about it, and he'll be back on the show down the road for the longer version of this conversation.

Connect with Jay: Jay Skinner, Marketing & Sales Manager Integrity Commercial Products, Plainfield, IN Cell: 317.922.7526 | Work: 317.837.1960 ext. 210 JSkinner@ICP-Sales.com IntegrityCommercialProducts.com

Got a story worth telling in cleaning? I'd love to have you on. Drop me a line — the door is always open.

Head over to HospitalityCleaning101.com and check out the new resources page while you're there.

Want to level up your operation?

Visit HospitalityCleaning101.com — 120+ practical, no-nonsense articles on cleaning, sanitation, and chemical management, built for hospitality and food service pros. Grab the free tools on the Resource page and join the newsletter while you're there.

Manufacturer or distributor trying to break into the hospitality market? Bauer Consulting helps you build traction and revenue in a segment that doesn't buy the way the rest of your book does. See how it works: HospitalityCleaning101.com/consulting

Jerry Bauer
Hospitality Cleaning 101 | Bauer Consulting
Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com

Episode Title

Who Squeezed My Lemons? Turning Grit, Risk, and Real-Life Lessons Into a Book with Eric Montes

📄 Episode Description

In this episode of Cleaning Processes with Jerry, Jerry reconnects with longtime industry colleague Eric Montes—chemical‑industry veteran and now author of Who Squeezed My Lemons: 100 Unfiltered Truths About Grit, Risk, and Turning Sour Into Sweet in Business and Life.

Eric shares the story behind writing his first book, why he kept the project secret until the final days, and how a single viral LinkedIn post sparked the idea to turn years of personal notes into a published work. He talks openly about vulnerability, authenticity, and why short‑form, straight‑to‑the‑point content resonates in 2026.

Jerry and Eric also dig into:

• How Who Moved My Cheese inspired the structure of the book
• The power of capturing ideas in your phone’s Notes app
• Why perfection is the enemy of shipping meaningful work
• The emotional side of creating public content
• How Eric’s company, Magnus, built a razor–blade recurring‑revenue model in a commoditized chemical market
• The importance of trust, storytelling, and staying connected with good people

Follow Eric on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmmontes/

🍋 Special Listener Giveaway

Want a chance to win a free copy of Who Squeezed My Lemons?

Email Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com with the subject line LEMON and you’ll be entered into a drawing to have a copy of the book sent directly to you.

Want to level up your operation?

Visit HospitalityCleaning101.com — 120+ practical, no-nonsense articles on cleaning, sanitation, and chemical management, built for hospitality and food service pros. Grab the free tools on the Resource page and join the newsletter while you're there.

Manufacturer or distributor trying to break into the hospitality market? Bauer Consulting helps you build traction and revenue in a segment that doesn't buy the way the rest of your book does. See how it works: HospitalityCleaning101.com/consulting

Jerry Bauer
Hospitality Cleaning 101 | Bauer Consulting
Jerry@hospitalitycleaning101.com