How Lauren Talicska and APRO’s LedgeCon 2026 Are Shaping the Future of Rent to Own

What happens when a first time LedgeCon attendee walks into Capitol Hill and discovers the true power of advocacy in the rent to own industry?

In this episode of The RTO Show Podcast, Lauren Talicska shares her experience attending APRO’s LedgeCon 2026 and explains why legislative advocacy, industry relationships, and storytelling matter more than ever in modern rent to own. 

From changing public perception and educating lawmakers to building stronger customer relationships and growing leadership confidence, this conversation explores how the rent to own industry continues evolving through collaboration, community engagement, and proactive advocacy. 

What You’ll Learn:

• Why APRO’s LedgeCon is one of the most important advocacy events in the rent to own industry
•  How Lauren Talicska transitioned from retail marketing into becoming a leading voice in RTO marketing and communications
•  The biggest misconceptions lawmakers and consumers still have about rent to own
•  How customer stories, Google reviews, and community relationships shape the future of RTO advocacy
•  Why confidence, mentorship, and industry collaboration are critical for the next generation of rent to own leaders

Episode Highlights:

• 01:40 – Lauren Talicska shares her first impressions of APRO’s LedgeCon 2026
•  03:19 – Inside Lauren’s role as Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Arona
•  12:20 – Why improv, communication skills, and confidence matter in leadership and marketing
•  15:42 – The fellowship program that introduced Lauren to legislative advocacy on Capitol Hill
•  22:05 – How the RTO industry united around one shared message during meetings with legislators
•  32:43 – The customer stories and Google reviews that changed Lauren’s perspective on rent to own advocacy
•  38:24 – Why rent to own remains a critical solution for customers with limited buying options
•  51:36 – What Lauren learned during the LedgeCon debrief dinner with industry leaders
•  59:10 – The most underrated part of working in rent to own and why relationships matter

Meet the Guest:

Lauren Talicska is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Arona Home Essentials. She has more than 30 years of experience in retail advertising, marketing, and customer engagement, and she currently serves on the TRIB Group Board while actively supporting APRO advocacy initiatives in the rent to own industry. 

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

• APRO LedgeCon Fellowship Program
•  Rent Direct marketing initiatives
•  Google Reviews and customer feedback strategy
•  Community driven advocacy storytelling
•  Legislative relationship building for the RTO industry
•  Retail marketing and omnichannel communication strategies
•  Mentorship and leadership development within rent to own
•  Industry collaboration through APRO and TRIB Group

Closing Insight:

“People outside the industry often misunderstand rent to own because they do not see the relationships behind it. They do not see the customers, the families, and the communities being helped every single day.”

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Hello and welcome to the RTO show. I'm your host, Pete Chow. Today, today we've got somebody who I've been dying to get on the show. Lots going on. But before we get into that, real quick, before we get into the story and what we're talking about, I want you guys to hit that button. Make sure you subscribe. Make sure you hit that bell so that every time that we have a podcast, you get notified. Another thing is we have some sponsorships available. That means that if you want to support this show, please do by all means go onto the website, theartspecial podcast.com. Make sure that you go in there and you subs you subscribe to the newsletter. There is things on there that we don't talk about here on the show because it is just new for you. So today I've got the amazing Lauren Taliska on. Listen, Arona's been hot on the show lately. We we actually are gonna have something come out very soon. He's actually gonna come out after yours, but uh Mark Connolly was on. Great interview, absolutely wonderful person, way too much going on. Like, wow, he is in everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

And and he is a party of a personality, too. Like he knows that.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

If you ever joined, he knows that.

Welcome And Quick Housekeeping

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Oh, yeah. He is one of my favorite people to work with, and he's really the reason that I joined Arona. It was totally him. He brought me on board, so much thanks to Mark.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Well, listen, Mark, we appreciate that. And one of the reasons that I have Lauren on today is because we just got back from LedgeCon 2026. And honestly, after going and we were literally, I'm trying to paint this picture here. We're at the we're downstairs at the hotel, getting ready to go, and then I find out this is Lauren's first time. I mean, all the things, all the things that you've done. I'm so surprised that this is it.

Why Lauren Is Here Today

SPEAKER_02 1:55

You know, it's almost embarrassing that I hadn't gone before. And really, after going, I kind of think back and I'm like, what why have I never like it? It's shocking that I hadn't gone, that I hadn't got to have the experience. And that's why I want to like talk as much about it as possible, because I think there's probably other people like me who think we'll just leave that for some of the owners, you know, some of the state, you know, groups, you know, they can go. But it's it's really much more than that.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

So well, there is a lot, there is a lot of talk about that. One of the reasons that I love to talk about Ledge Con is because a lot of them go, okay, RTO world is about something I go, I get to buy, I get to learn, I get to understand something about it. When we're talking about meeting of the mind, same thing. I get to understand and learn from some of the people that are in this industry about real day-to-day operations and what's going on in the world. What I don't understand is I like to go to DC to visit, right? But I'm not really sure what I'm doing there. I don't know who I'm gonna talk to. I don't know what's gonna come up. This is not my arena, and so I'm gonna let that be. And it could be it couldn't be any farther from the truth. But I'm gonna let you tell that in your words. But I just want to go back just a minute. You have a background that I was not aware of. Now, I did know all about what you do at Arona, and right now, I, you know, I will let you explain that. But like there's there's a past here. We're gonna get into that too. So, first off, what do you do at Arona? What do you do every single day? And what puts you on this path to be in the rent-to-owned industry for as long as you have?

SPEAKER_02 3:27

So at Arona, I serve as the vice president of marketing and communications. I've been in the role since 2020. Um, so just after the pandemic is when I joined on with them, when they were a part of another group and they were a franchisee. So I was with them through the rebrand, becoming independent, having to kind of start from scratch and kind of build the business up. So it's been a wild ride doing that and managing all parts of their marketing plan, whether it's starting at ideation from what we're gonna do, the planning, the execution, the design, all of that. We do have some partners in place that we use for our website and for some of our print. But as far as the design for those print pieces and stuff, that all comes through me and my department. It's me and Alicia Hendricks. Shout out, Alicia. Uh, so we're a small and mighty team supporting, you know, 50 plus stores in 13 states plus Puerto Rico.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

We're doing things in English, we're doing stuff in Spanish, like everything.

Lauren’s Role At Arona

SPEAKER_01 4:33

I am so happy to hear that you guys are out there. When I found that out, I was very excited about that. But to say that that, you know, this is your introduction, it's not. So as you get it, where did you let's let's go back in time, Pete.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Let's let's go back.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

Let's get that clap.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

So let's go back. Way back in time. So I've been working in advertising and marketing. I always like to give this number because then it people start doing the math. Um, and I'll tell you how old I am. But um, I've been working in advertising and marketing for retailers for 30 years. Um, so I have been in that.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

You don't look like you could do that. I'm just saying, you have you don't look like you're old enough to say that.

Her Marketing Career Origin Story

SPEAKER_02 5:17

You know, well, my my my dad was in marketing and advertising. Um, so he worked when I was growing up, he was with a huge chain. Um, some of our viewers who are here in the Midwest, it was appliances and electronics in the Cleveland area. It was called Home Centers. And then he came down to Columbus, is which is where I live now, and he worked for a company called Sun TV. And uh they were pretty big regionally, they grew. They were eventually bought out by H.H. Greg. And at that point, he started doing advertising for independent appliance, electronics, and furniture stores through a group called Nationwide Marketing Group. So he started working with them. I did, I worked for my dad like all through high school. Like I remember I got my first speeding ticket on my way to work for my dad. Like it, you know, so I worked for him after college. I didn't work for him. So I went out here in Columbus. I worked for our local um newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch, which at the time was the 15th largest publication in the US.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

So I worked there, then I worked at our local television station. Um, I worked on TV shows, I was a TV show producer for a little bit, um, an academic quiz show for high schoolers called The Brain Game.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

Oh, I remember that.

Entering Rent-To-Own Through Rent Direct

SPEAKER_02 6:40

Like, like, so I thought like a weird history. And then eventually my dad was like, hey, you know, I want you to come back and work for me. And I was like, Well, I'm a little expensive now, dad. But I came back to him in 2008. In 2010, as part of Nationwide Marketing Group, Nationwide had recently hired this go get them guy who was starting up this division inside of Nationwide, and it was called Rent Direct, and that was James McAlpine. So James McAlpine knew that we already had this partnership through the agency I was at, and um, he said that he wanted to start offering stuff for rent to own. So this is 2010. In 2010, I knew like zero about rent to own. And uh James took me under his wing and we came out with a sign kit. So we did these POP sign kits, and at prime time, we launched it. It included the vinyl banners, we had hanging ceiling banners, we had table tents, we had eight and a half by 11. We had all the pieces for this POP sign kit. And our whole deal with it was for the stores who were independent who had one or two stores. This was a professionally designed and printed sign kit that was gonna elevate you. So you wouldn't look like a single store operation, you wouldn't look like a mom and pop establishment. And from there, we started to do everydoor direct mail. We started doing circulars, we started doing door hangers and postcards. And I took over and just like lived in the rent of own realm then. So I did have a lot of experience through Rent Direct. I actually was able to lead a couple of their rent direct meetings at prime time over the years. This goes back, you know, a while. And then eventually I found my way over to the digital side. Um, and I had some experience through nationwide Site on Time, their website division, and then through WoW brands, which then led me to Arona.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yes, I was doing that. I was looking at that and I was like, uh, so 2019, 2020, representing WoW brands. And I was like, oh my gosh. I I mean, they're actually uh when I say that, I'm they're a sponsor for the show. I thought I knew everything. I did not. That's amazing that you you have quite this background. So what is this that I read on here that somebody thought they were gonna be an actress? Is that is that right?

Acting Background And Improv Mindset

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Uh yes. So I still still think I'm gonna be an actress, but I'm waiting my time now. So I went to school, I went to college um up in Cleveland, a small liberal arts college called Baldwin Wallace. Um, and I studied acting and costume design. And I had a lot of friends who went on to either a life in the theater, they're living in New York. I have one friend that moved over and is in London. Then I have some friends that went kind of TV movie, um, and they moved out to LA. Um, that wasn't gonna be the path for me. I did do a lot of local theater here until my kids were born just because it takes so much time and I didn't have time for it. But I still love acting. And it's my goal that when my children are older and I there's great parts for older people in local like community theater. And I'm gonna become like that woman. Like I'm gonna be that woman, you know, and especially when you're older, like the older lady parts are the best. Like the crazy, you know, the crazy Karen roles, like those, like that, that calls to me. Like I could, I could be a crazy Karen. I I think I could pull it off. Not in the middle of life.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

I could see like a murder she wrote kind of person. I don't know. I don't know. I could see something.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

You know what?

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Someday I'm gonna re I'm gonna revisit that. But but yeah, this the stage life, the starving artist life was not was not for me.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Yeah, you know, uh so I know a couple people who have done that as well, and you know, they love it, they absolutely love being a part of it, but it is a type of life that you have to be able to get used to because depending on where you are, you have to go from from show to show, depending on what that is. If you get, if you get, you know, you're always doing it hoping that you're gonna end up on Broadway and it's like over and like you just hey, we want this, it's gonna happen. You've got to be here now, you've got to train, it's go, go, go, go, go. A lot of people in that that industry are very close knit. So, you know, you're you really know your cast members and stuff like that, but you're living out of a suitcase most of the time, unless you hit it big. I don't know if anybody knows this. I will give you a fun fact 1% of Hollywood actors actually make it to the big times. So when you see all those people, that's actually 1% of the actors out there, and they all don't get paid like you think they get paid. So, you know, it's just one of those things.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

I will say that that that background though, it really prepares you for a lot in life. So, you know, in what I'm doing in marketing and things that are thrown at me every day, you know, you learn a lot of improvisation, you know, like improv. What, you know, I'm not sure what's gonna pop up each day. And you have to have some of that kind of flexibility to be able to work with and like move off of it. And you can use some of those same things, like even in the like my regular, my regular job role, I try and not say no, because no is a definitive end. And like you learn that in improv. Like you don't say no because then the scene ends. There's nowhere for it to go. So you'll say yes and or yes, or or you know, and I feel like that's kind of how I try and communicate when I'm working through things, you know, whether it's in the job, whether it's working with other vendors, whether it's out there, you know, you don't want to say no and cut something off completely because that's an end. That that's you know, you're not leading to anything where you can grow or you can improve what you're working on.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Well, I can definitely sell you I've I've listened to you speak a couple of times. You do an amazing job. I would imagine this has something to do with it. Also coming up probably somewhere in your future. I hear that you're gonna be a part of the women's forum. Is that right?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

I am, I am. So this will be our third forum that we are doing coming up at RTO World. And each year it has just improved, and we we're really finding a fantastic groove where we're presenting a topic that's not exclusive for women, that's not, you know, it this this isn't a conversation that's just for women, but it's being presented by a group led by women. So it's really empowering to all of us to be able to kind of raise how many women we have visibility to and that we're hearing from on stage at these events in strong leadership positions, talking about things that they have gone through, things that they have done, things that have helped them to grow, help them to be better communicators, and all of those things. And it's just been such a great way to really bring up all of the women in the industry.

Women’s Forum And Visibility

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Yeah, honestly, I love the idea. Some of my favorite people are the women in the industry, Jen Troke, and Riley Maya, two people that I I absolutely love. Uh Cindy Hyduke always uh on the top of my list. You're there. Uh, it's just good, it's good to know that this is something that you guys can do and will do for the industry. Talking about that, circling back around to RTO World with April. So in April, we got a chance to go to LedgeCon 2026, going back to the scene where we're downstairs talking about Lauren not ever going to and first off, how have you never been there? Like, this is to me, this is one of those things you have the that that personality and that that kind of go get attitude. You've never been to Ledge Con. And I and I I find that like I don't know how that how that was.

Why LedgeCon Finally Clicked

SPEAKER_02 15:01

I think that in the past couple of years, they've changed the marketing on it. And I really think we owe a lot of that to the April team and their partners because I feel like last year, maybe the year before, was really the first year that it kind of came on my radar. I knew that Mark went every year. I knew that we sent people, um, I knew that a lot of my industry friends went, but I guess I just didn't feel like there was an important place for my voice. And I could not have been more wrong about that. It is the opposite. And I think that the way that they kind of marketed it just never hit me that I was needed, I was wanted. So a couple of years ago, when they started doing the fellowships, so that's how I went this year. It was the fellowship. So I had one of the fellowships, and I felt like I, you know, they had opened it up because I was like, I'm on the cusp. And I'm like, if you take away the like, you know, month here, month there that I wasn't in rent to own specifically, then like I qualify. But I was I was cutting it really, really close. I was, I was a little nervous on it. And you think you do have to write not an essay, you just have to answer some questions. But the fellowship is an amazing program, and they had more fellows this year than they had ever had previously. And with the fellowship, they have sponsors and some of the individual state groups that sponsor the fellows so that we can have more people who can go. So they have that experience. And it was fun to see other people who had been fellows. Um, you know, I was seeing um Justin from American Reynolds Full of Pep. He was a fellow, I think, last year, and he was back this year just as a regular attendee. And that's how I what I plan to do next year. But this fellowship program opens it up, and I think it really helps to to advertise and to market that it's not just for the people who are maybe the attorneys of their companies or people who are on Capitol Hill, anyways. It's it's really important that we have representation from every level. And hearing store owners that have one store and store owners that have multiple, and being able to go to their actual representatives and just tell the rent-to-own story. Like there's nothing more there's nothing that makes your soul feel better about rent to own than being there in that crowd. And I've had times when I'll be out and someone asks me what I do, and I say marketing, and they said, What do you do marketing for? And I go, Oh, it's called a run-on essentials, you know, it's a chain of rent-to-own stores. And like, have you ever had this where you say you work in rent to own and the person goes, or they do this, just drains out of their face, you know?

SPEAKER_01 18:11

They're like, Okay, yeah, it just changes everything. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Oh. And then they'll say, Oh, you mean like, and they'll say a brand that we're not, and I'll be like, Yeah, just like that. And I say it like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 18:25

And usually you can kind of, you know, talk them through, like in polite conversation, but to be able to be there and have meetings where you're not sure if that's gonna be their reaction. You're not sure if these legislators and their staff, if they're gonna have any idea who we are, but it's so important to change it so that when people hear that you're in rent to own, they don't do the because that's that's not uh the right reaction. That's not, you know, they're doing that from a preconceived notion of what it is, which they don't know, they have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Right, right. Well, so uh help me out, talk to me. You recently got your first reaction. What was that experience like for you as you first come on? What was the first thing that really caught your attention? Like, okay, this is different. This is this is not the usual convention, this is something that I can be a participant in, which I didn't kind of know at first I should have been or could have been. How did that feel like? What did you what went through your mind?

How Hill Meetings Get Organized

SPEAKER_02 19:29

So the first thing is you could tell that there was so much pre-organization that goes into this. So when they're getting all the people who sign up for it, the people who were fellows, when you're providing, you're providing your information about where you live, where your stores are. And in a lot of cases, they're matching you up so that you're seeing your actual legislators because they want to hear from their constituents, people that actually have votes in their community. So you could tell by the amount of background work that Apro put together on this and Lisa scheduling these appointments. Then we had a call before we even went out to go over what some of the conversations were gonna be like, what some of the information was gonna be, the leave behinds, who the team captains were going to be. And Mark Connolly was my team captain. So and I chose, so Lisa had reached out to me. So I live in Columbus, Ohio. We don't we don't have any stores here. And so she gave me the option of going with the Ohio group because there are Ohio rent owns that are in the area and visiting, or going with Iowa. And I did choose to go with Iowa because part of the story that I wanted to tell wasn't just me and my vote, but all of our employees and all of our employees that are in Iowa, and we were in Iowa, Nebraska group. All of our employees, all of our customers, like those are constituents. My, you know, Rona doesn't have customers in Ohio. You know, we don't have that direct effect. In fact, there's only one employee in Ohio and it's me. So it's it was a little harder for me to connect that story this year. But I do think next year I'll probably go with my local group and break away, and then we can spread out the aroma love a little bit. But the organization of this was very different. And the fact that we weren't doing any presentations. Usually when we're going to a show or even to a meeting or to a regional, I feel like I'm either presenting or I'm being presented to. You know, I feel like the vendors, they that's their time to sell to us, and they are kind of pitching and they're and this was such a relaxed environment because we had vendors there, but we had a common goal. And the common goal wasn't to, you know. Talk about our product or talk about, you know, it was to talk about the industry. So it was like all these brains had one goal. And you never have that kind of um, you know, synchronized brain power. And I'm one of these people who one of my favorite sayings is no one is as smart as everyone. None of us is as smart as all of us. And that collaborated big brain, which it was like the most knowledge on rent to own, the most knowledge on the history of rent to own, the most knowledge on the laws of rent to own. Like all of that putting brain power into like one hyper focused message, just there was no way that you could avoid feeling the warm rent to own, you know, not this, this. Because it was just, it's overwhelming.

Why APRO Membership Matters

SPEAKER_01 23:02

So how so going into it, how would you like when somebody said, Hey, you're going to DC this year, um, you know, what do you what are you doing over there versus what how is that Lauren versus the Lauren that came back? Did did you do you sound different? Did you say things different? Were there was there like a confidence when you came back or something? You know what I mean? Like how how is the Lauren that went versus the Lauren that came back? Let me ask you something. Are you getting everything out of your rent-to-owned business? If you're not an APRO member, then the answer is probably no. Look, advocacy is APR's bread and butter. This is why they were creative and what they do best. But here's the thing APRO membership is about way more than advocacy. April connects you to the movers and the shakers of the industry. People who've been there have done that, and they could help you do it even better. Apro's monthly webinars give you expert insights and actionable takeaways. It's like having a masterclass for your business every single month. Got questions about complex regulations or sticky situations? No problem. APRO's legal hotline gives you direct access to experts who have got the answers. That's a peace of mind that you can't put a price on. And let's not forget the resources, news, updates, and tools that keep you ahead of the curve. Scholarships for your team? Check. Disaster relief when you need it most? Double check. APRO is your ultimate support system in the rent-to-own world. So stop settling for less. With APRO, members get more. More support, more connections, more success. Head over to rtohq.org and join the APRO family today. Because in this business, more isn't just better. It's essential. See you at the top with APRO.

Coming Home Fired Up

SPEAKER_02 24:39

The direction that Rent2Own is taking. And uh I feel like there's so many changes that are happening in the world that you know everything comes down to our business then. And everything is an adapt or kind of die kind of place to be in. And the energy that I had was that we are adapting, that we are changing, that we are staying ahead of a lot of things on the legislative side and forming these bonds that are gonna protect us. And it felt really good to see as an industry that we aren't afraid of change. We aren't afraid of talking about how things really are, making connections. And I know that some of our meetings, they were making connections with people who aren't in favor of rent to own. And really, on that, it's a lot of just a lack of knowledge. And for them to be there and continuing to spread that message just gave me this great feeling that we are going down a very good path, that we are making things safer and better for the future rather than waiting until it's too late to try and do something.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Well, it sounds like when you came back, you had a whole bunch more to say. It sounds like you were just like, it was all there. So talking about it.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

You know, and I I liked meeting with the, you know, just kind of seeing how things work in DC. And we were there during a very busy time. Everyone had just come back from their kind of their vacation. You know, they were at recess, they had come back. And when we were meeting with some of the Congress people who were in the House of Representatives, they had multiple votes that were going on. So you'd see them out in the halls going to their elevators to go down to vote. Um, you know, and then seeing them complain about the elevators that the, you know, they're like, these are real people. And you see them on TV and you see that. So seeing them in person and and understanding how this all works and how many people come and see them and how many asks they get. And most of my meetings, you were with their head of staff or you know, with somebody else that was working for them in the department. But those are people who have a lot of sway then. They're the people who are taking those meetings, and they were all so young.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

Oh god, yes. Oh god, yes. They're very young.

SPEAKER_02 27:16

Like, wow, like when you think about all the action in DC and how much of it is controlled by like 24, 25-year-old uh law students, like it's it's amazing. It really is amazing to see how that works, you know, see how things can actually go through. But then when we did talk to some of the actual people in charge, it was just so great to have that FaceTime and know that in the future they know who we are.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Oh, absolutely. So walk me through a day. Walk me through the day. What happened? What did you do, and who was in your group? Like what exactly happened in that day that you know, you started the day, you went through the day, we had an end of the day. What happened in Lauren's day?

Walking Through A Full Hill Day

Customer Stories From Google Reviews

SPEAKER_02 28:06

Well, in my day, okay, so our group was fantastic. So we are Iowa, Nebraska. So from Arona, we had Mark Connolly and Brian Melhouse. Brian Melhouse is our attorney for BCP, which is Arona's leadership group. So we were representing Arona. Then we had Bill French from O'Rourke, and we had Danelle as well. Then we had Chad Fosdick in our group. So we were a great, you know, we had Chad, which represents a one store, but he, you know, is owner, franchisee. Then we had ours that represents a little bit bigger. We had a vendor with us that represents, you know, they have warehouses and have people who are working out there. So it was great to have those actual people with us. So the very first meeting that we had was with the office of Chuck Grassley. Chuck Grassly is like the oldest man in uh the Senate. Uh Bill made multiple jokes that, you know, Chuck is probably the only one that's older than him. And um Bill was that's a little unhinged. Bill was great. He he would say some things, and it was it was funny because I think some of it was very well received by the people we met with, but he wasn't afraid to kind of challenge um you know some of some of the opponents of Rent to Own and kind of call them out. He it was he got really going. And one the one congresswoman that we met with, um, Marionette Miller Meeks, who is um a she's in Iowa, a House of Representatives. She was in the meeting, and this meeting like derailed. She and Bill just played off each other for like 10 minutes. They just talked about things that were wrong in the world and this, and and it was like the funniest thing to watch. And she just encouraged him to like dig in and like pushed him to say like things. It was it was really fun to watch. But our first meeting, Chuck Grassley, I'm like not sure if what I'm gonna do. And Mark had told me, he goes, Lauren, uh, well, when we get in this meeting, like I'll kick it off, I'll go over some of why we're here, some of the economic impact. And this was another great thing that April put together. For each of our meetings, they had an economic impact, like single sheet. So if at any time in the meeting you got like a little caught up on what to talk about, there were facts on there about the industry. One of the facts that I really liked was it called out for our Iowa papers in the state of Iowa how many Walmarts there are and then how many rent-to-own stores there are. And there's more rent-to-own stores in Iowa than there are Walmarts. But it was an interesting figure to kind of show them how many there are of things. But so we had that sheet, and Mark had said he was gonna kick it off, and then Chad could talk, and Bill and Donnell. And he was like, and Lauren, you know, I know you're not gonna be able to stop yourself from talking. And I'm like, thanks, Mark. But he's he knows me well. So he was like, I know, you know, but you don't have to. And I was like, really, I will probably in the first one because I wasn't sure. Like, I've never done this before. I've never met with a legislator ever. Like I have been at a like fundraising event, or I've had someone come up to my house and you know, talk to me and ask for my vote, you know, things like that. But I've never had time to sit down at a desk. So I fully wanted him and Chad and Bill and Danelle to to take the lead on it because I I didn't want to, you know, just distract or um, so we get in the meeting, he kind of goes through it, then he kind of like throws it to me. And I'm like, man, oh man. So what I had prepared to kind of talk about, I had been a little worried about talking about my connection to rent to own because I kind of felt like going into this, and I do have a kind of changed on this. I kind of felt like my marketing background wasn't as moving of a story for a representative to say, oh, well, I do the marketing for this company. You know, I'm not dealing with the customers directly, I'm not in that role in the store. However, I do manage all of our Google reviews, all like 4,000 that we get a year from 4,000 different people who tell us what we're doing well and what we're not doing well. I didn't talk about anything we weren't doing well. But there are so many reviews and things that I was able to call out where we get a review from a customer, and the customer says, you know, I am so excited to have gotten, you know, this living room set. This is the first sofa and love seat I've ever owned in my life that was I was able to get on my own. Everything in my house is either a hand-me-down something I have found off the street or something that I have bought off a marketplace. This is the first sofa and love seat I have ever owned.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Well, and listen, that is a story to be told. I'm glad that you, you know, everybody has their little story to tell, their little piece of that story. That is a huge part. I'm glad that you were able to say that. Uh, because honestly, you know, when we are talking about that, there are other people that kind of handle those things. You know, when you're at the front counter, you don't get the review right there, it goes somewhere else, right? That's an amazing thing.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

But that's but that's not a unique, you know, that one is one that's specific that I pulled from one of our iOS stores. But time and again, we have these customers who, in their reviews, in, you know, that's a written like statement. They talk about how they didn't have another choice, they were denied elsewhere, these real stories about real people that we have helped. So I was able to speak on that from the marketing side and then kind of connect it back to the fact that people who don't know rent to own don't understand that part of it and why we were there, you know, making the connection. So we after we ended that meeting, we go out and Mark's like, hey, Lauren, that was really good what you said about the Google. I didn't even think about that. And I was like, see, I did good.

Prep Tips For Meeting Legislators

SPEAKER_01 34:54

I contributed my some of the tips that I think are good for people to know or to enjoy when they're there. The first thing is that when you finally get an idea of who you're gonna go see, it is a good idea to look up those people in, you know, whatever government seat they're in, whether it be the Senate, the House, whatever it is, and find out why they're there. What did they run on? What committees are they on? Find out something about them. That was something that I got from Paul Mativier in our group, and he had gone forward and done that. I was like, man, that was a great idea. If you do that, you have some talking points to understand what interests them, what's going to spark their ear when you're sitting there, and how does that relate to what we do in the rent-owned industry, the communities we serve, and the people that are with us, right? Another thing, like you said, is saying you you know, you know the differences between one business and another, you can recognize Walmart as a national brand. How about this? This is how we compare on that level. Uh something else that is huge that I think we should do better at when I'm talking to new people, and I need to say this more often is sometimes in the moment, we get in the moment, and you would know this because I mean you're you're a little bit more professional at it now, but like when that camera starts rolling, when you're in front of somebody, sometimes we forget, right? So we we don't remember, and then we leave and we're always go, God, if I would have remembered this, or if I would have remembered that, or God, I didn't think about this. So as you're at home a little bit beforehand, and even before you get this is even before you get schedule, write down some of the things that you know about rent to own, some of the experiences that you've had in those areas, right? So if you were in Iraq, Iowa, and you work for Iowa, listen, the people in this city, the people in this town, I worked over here. Ms. Jones is a story that's going on. Let me tell you what happened with this. Let me write down, and it doesn't have to be like pages and pages and pages, right? It could be like two or three, you know, good stories that you remember that you were a part of, that you were that firsthand person to say, This is how I affected my community, this is what we do every single day. This is the you know, the the kickball team or the softball team or the baseball team that we were able to help out. This is the young lady that I was able to get, you know, some bunk beds for her children, or whatever the case is. This is how we helped out. So having those ahead of time, being able to look into your, you know, your legislator beforehand and kind of say, hey, listen, I know you're involved in this. This is how we help, right? Uh and some of them, you know, some of them are for veteran affairs, whatever the case is. Hey, we have veterans that work for us. You know, John over here or Nancy over there, they do that as well. Let me talk to you about that because they're work hard, they're well known in our community, and this is why it matters, right? So two things that tips that I wish that somebody would have taught me beforehand. So I'm gonna give that to you guys for free. So what what would you say? Because I know you're you're like halfway through your day, but as you're going through this, uh if somebody was on the fence, uh what would you say to them now, knowing what you now versus them? And we're and we'll go through the rest of your day, but like what's something that you would say if you're on the fence, this listen, uh this is what hit me during my day on the hill that I think like you know, you should know this. This this this might change your view on things.

The Real Alternatives For Customers

SPEAKER_02 37:58

You know, I think the just just laying out what a person in your community, and I feel like it was very important to relay it as a real person, a real person in the community, what their choices are if they have bad or no credit and really what their options are and what the consequences are. And I, you know, we towards the end of the day, and it is interesting because in each of your your meetings, the things that come out of each of us did change as we remembered other stories or we kind of were able to pull based on where the conversation was going. But I feel like people who don't understand rent to own truly don't understand the limited options that somebody would have to get something and how those options suck. You know, there's there's things that go wrong with it if they even if they had credit, let's say they open a store credit card to get a washer and dryer, but then they lose their job. Well, they can't take that washer and dryer back and get their money back, then they're gonna have to pay off the credit card. Maybe they can offload the washer and dryer at a loss and make a payment, but probably not to cover what they owe. And it's gonna live on their credit. And if they don't pay it, they're gonna get a ding for like seven years on their credit, or they're gonna continue paying the minimum, the minimum, the minimum. Like that's not a good option. Then, okay, well, they're gonna go to marketplace and they buy a washer and dryer. Okay, I've bought stuff off a marketplace and it's a gamble. It is a gamble. You don't know what you're getting, you don't know whether it's a deal, whether it's not a deal. So you buy something off a marketplace, a month later, that dryer starts making a noise like it's a jet plane about to take off because the ball bearings are completely toasted in it. What are you gonna do? You don't get free service on it, you don't get a loaner that comes and swap it out, and your kid probably has practice where they gotta get a clean uniform. So you gotta put it, you gotta go to the laundromat, you're you still don't have something, you've wasted this money. And it's like the options for people to have suck. They suck, they're not great, and what we provide is more beneficial because of all of the protections that we have in rent to own to protect their purchase. You know, it makes sense for them to do that, and it's something that gives them the ability to shop, to get the things that they want, to get the things that they need. And really hammering home that story of not having another choice, I think it it paints a clear picture to a lot of people how beneficial rent to own really is.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

So would would you say would it is it safe to say that your story now for rent to own is really something that you can go back and say there there was so much of a deeper understanding of the story of rent to own and how we need to really put that forward because there's a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to our industry that needs to be told. Is that safe to say?

SPEAKER_02 41:11

It is. And I feel like I have a better appreciation now when I'm looking at my Google reviews and I'm reading them because I understand that, well, we strive for five. We want to get the good Google reviews because of all the back end stuff it helps with. It really helps me to appreciate what we're doing and to be able to paint an actual clear story with real written ideas of how we are making things better for people. Like, it's not just about making us appear better in the algorithm. It's about those are people who we've made a real difference for. And I can connect with them better. And as we answer each one, like we do it more, more joyously. Like we appreciate so much that they have those kind words and that they've, you know, their life is better because of us, and our life is better because of them.

WoW Brands Sponsor Message

SPEAKER_01 42:10

Hey everyone, it's Pete Chow here from the R2 Show podcast, and I want to tell you about a company that's making a real difference in the rent-owned space. WoW Brands. I've seen firsthand how they approach marketing. Let me tell you, it's not just cut out. Wow brands. Reach out to Wild Brands at Wildbrand.com. I trust him, and I think you will too. You know, I I gotta say, I gotta I'm a little jealous too of the people that you are with because the stories that probably went around that room were were probably number one, I love Bill Fry. He's uh I he's one of my all-time favorites. I I he is gonna be when he retires, it's gonna be one of those days like I'm gonna miss you, sir. Chad Fosic is actually one of the again, he's he's on my he's on the top of my list. I I love Chad. Uh we've had many a conversation too many a times where we're just like, you know, he told me one time when I was really in a in a crazy situation. He's like, you can call me and ask me anything, I will tell you anything. And you know, there's gotta be that one time where I'm gonna find out. We have some great conversations, and he has been very transparent with a lot of things. He is a just a great operator, he's a great entrepreneur, uh, and he's a great advocate for this business. Seeing how that goes around, how is the handoff game? So you start getting a little bit better, you go into the afternoons. I always notice that in the afternoons it's always better for the handoff. Like somebody's telling the story, and the the the handoff is easier, somebody else takes it a little bit easier. There's another story that comes out that you're like, I didn't even know that that one. Was in there. That's an awesome story. And it kind of goes around. Was there more gelling of the uh of this new group as the time went on?

Smaller Groups And Hallway Encounters

SPEAKER_02 44:07

I think so. Now at the end, we did have some appointments that were getting close. So we did break off. So we kind of got a smaller group, but it actually kind of helped us a little bit for those meetings at that point on our schedule. We started over in the Senate and then we moved over to the House. And in a lot of those, you were meeting kind of in a hallway. You were meeting in a small office. You were meeting in a and so having those meetings and the ability to be flexible with a little bit of a smaller group did help. But we kind of knew at that point what each person's role was in the meeting. So we knew that, you know, Mark and Bill were able to really speak to the history of Rent to Own. You know, when they're like talking about Ernie Talley, like as if Ernie Talley is a person, you know, that they they knew, like, you know, that is a you know, a peer, you know, and they're just their their vast history, where to me, Ernie Talley is a guy in a book. You know, I to me, he's not a real person. He's a real, you know, historical person, but not and not a person I can connect with. So they could tell that from their long history in it, um, and really dive into that. Then when it kind of came over to, and I think Donnell had a lot of really great things that she could just pull up that were tied in with some of the legislators we saw were in her local area. So she could really tie into community and tie into um the jobs that were built and all of that stuff. So we all kind of had roles. Then Brian on our team's a legal guy. Being on Capitol Hill was not new to him. So me, I'm walking around like starry eyed, like seeing people. We did see Ted Cruz. Mark blames my bright suit. I wore like the world's brightest suit. Um, if you've seen the pictures of the group, I'm on the end, and uh my suit was amazing. I looked at getting a suit. I'm not normally a suit person, I'm more of a dress person, but I'm like, I'm gonna wear a suit on the hill. Um, but I was like, you know, everyone wears like black or gray or you know, navy. And I was like, I'm gonna get a pink suit. Um so it's kind of like it was a weird, it's I don't even know how you describe it. But I wore the brightest suit. So as we were walking through the halls, Bill and I were a little behind the rest of the group. And as we were walking past some elevators, Ted Cruz and uh one of his team were coming around the corner. And first off, I was like this, you know, because he's a yeah, very recognizable.

SPEAKER_01 47:06

Wait, you didn't get a picture? You didn't you didn't call him for a picture?

SPEAKER_02 47:09

Well, this is I, you know, I'm very respectful. But so we caught his eye. He obviously caught our eye. Mark says it's because I was dressed like a highlighter and Ted, you know, couldn't deny it. I just think he felt like Bill and I's great energy. I think he felt like energy. So Ted looks, kind of looks over at us, and we're like, you know, kind of like smiling, like standing, and he walks to us and puts his hand out to Bill. So we didn't like solicit him. He approached to Bill. Um and Bill introduced himself and told him that he's from Texas, and so that was, you know, oh yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:53

You get two Texas together, that's all you gotta say. I'm from Texas.

SPEAKER_02 47:56

He's like, Are you from Texas too? And I'm like, No, I'm from Ohio. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm from Ohio. And then his elevator had come. If his elevator had not come yet, I would have got a picture with him. I had my like, I was ready to do it, but I'm like, he has somewhere to be. I'm the respectful gal. Like, we had this story. Bill and I shared our experience. But that was that was that was fun for me. And it was also kind of interesting. We saw the TMZ film crew was there. So TMZ for some of you, like um the gossip junkies, not saying I am, but a little bit. TMZ has always been a very LA uh you know establishment and they kind of cover everything. Like I think it actually stands for like 30 mile zone, which was like the zone that they covered with their gossip.

SPEAKER_01 48:53

I actually never do that. I I never knew that.

SPEAKER_02 48:56

You know what? I could have just made that up. I'm not even sure. But, anyways, TMZ had people out there and we saw them a couple times. Like as you're walking around, you saw the TMZ film crew. And that was like a weird, like pseudo-reality show kind of feeling to see them out there. But it was it, it was it was a nice, it was nice seeing somebody that and you did see a lot of faces as you're walking that you recognize. Some of them I didn't know their names, you know, but I'm like, that's that's you know who they said that thing, you know. A lot of that guy is that guy.

SPEAKER_01 49:35

You know, we're looking around and I and I see a lot of people that I know, whether I voted for them or not. And it's just it's awe-inspiring because you know what, it takes a lot to be up there. I don't care who you are. When when you have the entirety of the American nation staring at you for everything that you absolutely do, that is mind-numbing to say the least. So I respect them regardless of what side of the aisle they're on. That is just something that you know you take for granted. Also, they're real people, and I love being able to see them sometimes because you can see that they're actual human beings. Uh you know, when you see somebody on TV, sometimes you kind of almost like distance yourself from them. Like that, like you know that they're human, but you just don't it's not the same. We don't live in the same world. And when you see them directly, it is completely different. One of the things that stood out for me, really, and I actually have a picture where they're wanting me and everything, and I don't know why they wanted me, but I I enjoyed it way too much. So you go in and it's like they didn't ask me why I was there, they didn't ask for papers, they didn't make sure of anything. All I had to do was make sure that I didn't have any legal, you know, illegal weapons on me, something that I can go in and do something bad, and I literally was able to walk into Capitol Hill on both sides and really just participate and be a part of that. And I I think some people are like, Well, what I what I do see, I'm not gonna go very far. You can get in dressed apart, go in, and you can literally wander the halls to the places where they actually work. I mean, you could go to the doors and see the staff. It is something to behold, it's amazing. I love it. You know, talking about our stories, as the as it all winds down, you you come into the debrief dinner. How was that? How was your first debrief dinner?

Debrief Dinner And Industry History

SPEAKER_02 51:10

You know, I I wasn't sure what the debrief dinner was going to have kind of in store. And you get in there off of the kind of high of having these meetings and being able to represent um our industry, then you're kind of thrown back in the room again with all of these like absolute titans of rent to own, you know, all of the people that you know I am so impressed that I get to work among and you know, in some cases, you know, consider myself a peer. So to have them all in the room and to be able to hear their stories of how their meetings went. And I was particularly impressed with a couple of the fellows, I believe, that were participants that work in the store level, that are, I believe there was a couple that were collections managers and some that were sales managers that were there, but to hear their experience and to hear from their group how much their story really resonated with the legislators. And I think that is obviously plugging the fellowship again. If I I have to say to anyone in Rentown who has the opportunity to apply as a fellow or have any of your employees apply as a fellow, you know, it's an experience that I think will is beyond compare for them because of like that dinner and because of hearing those stories. And then, you know, it got kind of into a conversation where it was it was a lot of history of our rent to own. Our history, it cracked me up because um Shannon, the number of years that he has been there, um, what they had indicated on his past and through his things, he does not believe is correct. And every time someone could say how many years then, everybody just we all knew that his was incorrect, and we all totally bow down to how much experience and how much guidance that you know, that number when you get anything above 10, 15, 20, 25 years of going to the Capitol Hill to speak about rent to own is just so amazing. So we got a lot of that history in that dinner, too, of the times that they have gone before and things that they have seen and how things have changed. Um, and then hearing all of these well-seasoned rent to own, uh, just you know, just kind of going, I think mine should really be this. I think mine, you know, I'm not saying it's wrong, but you said I was here 10 years, and at 10 years I got this ring. Or it was funny to hear some of that as well and really appreciate the history of how often we've been going. And in some years, we do have stuff that we need to ask for. Um, and in some areas we are asking, and we're we're in a good place right now, but it's not any less important than to keep the relationships alive.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

Absolutely, absolutely. You know, I love I love the debrief dinner just because you have the ability to say what's on your mind. You get to you get to see literally people talking about these stories from years and years of build-up experience. And I love the idea that in those pairings, they get to put people who have been here for years and years with people who have just gotten there, and this is their first time, and you get to experience what all that knowledge brings you and how they react. And like you said, you know, Bill French, I mean, you know, I've been there a few years, and I don't think I would say how this thing's that Bill could probably get away with, but he has that commanding presence because not only is he sure of the industry he's in, he's done it for so many years, he's created certain relationships, he's done it over and over and over and over again. He feels like he's earned that spot, and I agree with that. You know, I definitely agree with that. I love the fact that we get to do the deep breathing or I love the fact that we get to talk about it and have fun and you know kind of rile everybody up a little bit. I have said that 23, 24 year joke for quite a few quite a few times myself. I love Shannon to death, so I think it's great. You know, coming into the end, I wanted to ask you a couple quick questions if you didn't mind. But I I do want to signify one thing before we go into the questions. Congratulations on your board seat with the trib group. That's amazing. So if you guys didn't know that, Lauren is now on the trib group, not one of many women, one of few, standing out and doing what she can for this industry. Love the idea that you're not only on the board trip, uh trip board, you are not only in DC, you're making some waves in a Rona. Great things. So, real quick, couple of questions for you. What's one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you first entered the RTO world?

Advice On Confidence And Mentors

SPEAKER_02 56:21

One piece of advice I wish. So when I entered RTO, truly rent to own is different from any other any other business category that I'd ever worked in, any other collaboration and the communication is is phenomenal. But the advice I think I wish somebody had given me would be to stand out a little earlier. You know, I've got some time, I've built some time. Um, I would say in the last maybe six years, I've become a lot more vocal. I think a lot of that was the confidence that I got when I joined Arona. And as a woman in business, sometimes that confidence is not built in. Um, sometimes it's a lot of fake it till you make it. And I feel like in my early days, I did a lot of fake it till you make it. But I was a little afraid to use my voice until my confidence had built. And I think that the advice I would get would be to stand out, but it would also be to find somebody that stands out and utilize that. Talk to them, find a mentor, find somebody who can who can bring you along. I say this a lot about okay, so there's introverts and there's extroverts. Recently they've said there's a third category that's not introvert or an extrovert. And I think I might be the third category. But as a person who's seen as more extrovert, I find it very important to find introverts and adopt them because the knowledge that they have and how much they can bring to the table is phenomenal, but they quietly hold it. They quietly hold it. And not because they don't want to share it, but because they don't have that confidence that I also felt like I didn't have. And an extrovert brings it out of them. The extrovert's the one who makes them go to the party, that makes them that goes, hey, I know you said you wouldn't do a session, but can you just cover this for five minutes in my session? Could you talk about this? Could you do this? And kind of adopt that introvert and get that information out of them. But it's all about confidence and having that ability to speak out and not be afraid. And I think that I should have done it a little bit earlier.

SPEAKER_01 58:55

Okay. Good advice. What is the most underrated thing about working in rent-to-own that people outside of the industry don't understand?

SPEAKER_02 59:03

100% the relationships. The relationships are totally underrated by other people because they don't understand them. Our relationship with our customers, you know, there's no other industry, and I see this a lot in the marketing side when a non-rent-to-own marketing company presents to me. So they come to me with this idea of something, and it's like a their like life cycle, and it's all about targeting someone to get like one buy, like one buy. And then they're like, okay, and then, you know, they're not gonna need another refrigerator for eight years. And it's like, yeah, our customer needs something all the time. It's weekly, like weekly, and there's changes, and there's and we build those relationships, and we know that you know, that Brian um just lost his job, but he got a new job, and this is a better job. And we know that his son is, you know, the captain of the baseball team, and he's doing this. And we know that, you know, um Alexa is doing this, and we know all these different things about our customers. So we have our relationship with our customers, our relationship with our team. Like, I've never felt like any other workplace, you know, they use the word team, but are they in rent to own? You truly are a team. Like it is the most team. And then just as the industry as a whole, what we share, like I share marketing stuff with people who have stores that are, you know, 30 miles from me. But I know there's enough business for all of us, and I know there's enough relationships for all of us. And I know that if we share that information, we all like benefit from it. And so I think people don't understand whether they're looking at rent to own as just someone from outside or who's never worked in it, how important those relationships are and how strong they are too.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

Agreed. One final question. What is Lauren's, what's next for Lauren in 2026? What do you see for the rest of this year in 2026?

What’s Next And How To Connect

SPEAKER_02 1:01:04

Well, I was so excited um to be voted into the April board and to have a seat at the table and be able to represent. I really want to take a lot of time to kind of be a sponge to understand what's going on in the industry, what are our needs, what are our wants, what our what our direction is, so that I can help us to get there, whether it's helping to change the perception of rent to own on the legislative and the AI side, whether it's to help my customers, all of that. I really want to be a sponge, just taking as much knowledge from everyone as I can. You know, on the Arona side, I just want to grow, grow, grow. Um, I am any day that we are growing is a happy day for me. I like to grow. I have like more leads. I want more reviews. I want more. I want more, like all the time. So those are kind of my goals for 2026. And then when we get into next year, when I have a little bit more, more time that I've spent, you know, absorbing all of this, really helping to kind of lead to be the extrovert that takes the introverts under my wing to really be a voice for others, and whether it's helping them speak up more, whether it's knowledge or leadership things that we're doing at Trib or at April at the shows, really just sharing everything that I have a hundred percent.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:44

Well, there you go. Where if you know, you have all this knowledge, and you're talking about sharing it. If somebody wanted to reach out to you, how would they reach out to you? What where could they reach at?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:53

Well, they can email me directly. My email address is we can probably type it out in this, but it's ltalisca at aronico.net. They can connect to me through LinkedIn. That's a great tool for getting a hold of me, sending messages. Plus, I like to see what you're doing. So if you post a lot on LinkedIn, I don't post a ton because I like to lurk and read other people's stuff like a creeper. So you'll see me like your stuff a lot. You won't see a lot of updates from me, but I'm lurking, I'm creeping on your pages, seeing what you're doing.

Final Push To Get Involved

SPEAKER_01 1:03:29

Well, thank you so much for being on the show, Lauren. I got I got a sound. I don't think I saw the creeper thing coming, but I would tell you guys, listen, we appreciate you listening to the show today. This is one of the reasons why it's so important to be active in the R2 community. I would say right now, if you have somebody that's working for you and they don't know what to do, if they're just if they just have a job right now, you want to change that to a career, send them to LedgeCon. They will see in one light why this is the this is the industry they want to be in with all the passion, all the experience, all the knowledge that's being passed down, and and we're showing in one voice, it doesn't matter where you're from, it doesn't matter if it's a Rona, it doesn't matter if it's Renaissance, it doesn't matter if it's Aaron's or Great Rooms or Rank King or wherever. We do this in one voice. We advocate for this business because we care about it. And you're gonna see people like Shannon Strong, you're gonna see people like The Roses, you're gonna see people like Bill French, who's been there forever, you're gonna see James McAlpine over there. These guys have been doing it for years, and they don't do it because they have to. They do it because they want to, and that's the kind of industry I want to be a part of. Make sure that you guys take the time, go on the website again. It's www.theartshowpodcast.com. You can buy some swag on there. Make sure that you go on there, put down for the newsletter, subscribe, and we're everywhere you want to be. We're on Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn where Lauren's gonna stalk you, and YouTube where you're gonna see this, so make sure you go on that. Lauren again, thank you so much for being on the show. I hey, I'm glad that you're here, and I'm glad that we got to get your story out. I will tell you guys as always, get your collections low to get your sales high. Have a great one.