Meet Dusty Travis

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dusty Travis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dusty, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

Honestly, I’m not sure I’m over it yet! This was something completely unknown to me until I started a business. But once all these feelings of inadequacy and fear regarding operating a business swirled about, I knew something was going on. The best strategy for getting through these moments is disassociating yourself from your situation and looking at all you have accomplished with your business. Even if it is one minor win, it counts! Then, as those wins start to pile up, the difficult situations become less and less difficult.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am co-owner of an HVAC business in the West Valley, Modern Degree LLC. To separate ourselves from the giant companies here in the Valley, we are building our company in this service market as low-pressure and honest (to a fault). We hire servicemen (instead of salesmen) who are not incentivized to tack stuff onto your ticket or pressure you into repairs that are not needed. We invite you to consider joining our Mod Squad, our premier maintenance plan that gives you two seasonal maintenance calls per year and discounts on repairs and installations.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Patience- it takes time to build a business
Trust- You have to trust your process, your plan, and your confidants
Organization- it is extremely difficult to function efficiently in a stressful environment without knowing where everything is and where everything should go, both physically and digitally.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

Around 15 years ago, I was very blessed to get hired into a small company started by Andy Unkefer. Andy’s mantra was to hire good people and then train them in the Unkefer way because he knew that as long as you had good people working together towards the company’s goals, the customers would have a good experience, and morale would be strong. Every day was a joy to come to work, and it was the first job I have ever had that didn’t feel like my soul was being sucked out when I walked through the doors. I learned that when working with people who all believe in a common goal, every task, even the most mundane ones, feels critical to the final outcome. Andy gave all of us breathing room to do our jobs, making us feel like we were trusted pieces of the company.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moderndegreeservices.com
• Instagram: @moderndegreeservices
• Facebook: @moderndegreeservices