John Wooten started in the rental industry as a teenager, working his way up over the years to the CEO of All Star Rents before joining Point of Rental. He's now managing our Elite and Essentials products, leveraging his expertise (along with his conversations with customers) to guide the software. One of the keys to his success? "Embracing the dumb" when you're learning new things and using it to constantly expand your knowledge.
Creators and Guests
What is Reflection Point?
Note: Reflection Point episodes are now found exclusively in the Point of Rental podcast feed.
Every five years, Pointers look back on where they came from and share the knowledge they've gained over the years - whether job-related, career-related, or even software-related.
Alright, John. Well, thank you so much for 5 years at Point Rental.
John:My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Scott:So what did you do before working here?
John:So before Point of Rental, I spent about 30 plus years in the equipment rental industry.
Scott:Okay.
John:And so I started in high school, and I worked in the rental industry for about 10 years, and then I took a little bit of a pause. Mhmm. And I changed my course, and I was a dive instructor and a bartender in Maui.
Scott:Okay. That that is the that's a direction.
John:Yeah. For for a few years. And then I came back, wanted to start a family. So my wife and I came back to, California at that time and continued in the rental industry. And then my last gig was, CEO of All-Star Rents, a Point of Rental customer
Scott:Oh, okay.
John:Where we had 13 locations.
Scott:Okay. Yeah. I was gonna ask how you heard about Point of Rental, but I guess you used the software.
John:Yeah. We used the software, and and, you know, at the time, I was transitioning between Allstar and my next opportunity, and I was, of course, interviewing and putting my resume out to rental companies. And, I was also I was still between jobs, I was still on the ARA board of directors, and we happen to have a meeting, that Wayne and Preston were at, and they were given their their pitch for the the a marketplace product. Mhmm. And at that meeting, Wayne offered to host me to come out and, you know, check out point of rental and consider it as an option for a for a, career.
John:And so I did. And as I evaluated my options, it just really appealed me to me to do something new and different. Mhmm. And, you know, I'd obviously done rental a long time, and I was just ready for a change and and a new challenge.
Scott:Yeah. So what did you do when you first started working here?
John:Well, I technically have the same title I had when I started here, but my job is completely different. So when I started as a product manager
Scott:Okay.
John:We didn't really the product team was myself, Ashley, and David.
Scott:Okay.
Scott:It was 3 people, and we were just kinda learning and doing things, and I was learning the industry and Yeah. Understanding what software development is about. And and now 5 years later, we have a product team of I honestly don't know how many people, but I'm gonna say 30 people.
Scott:A lot more is what you're saying.
John:A lot more structure, and, you know, my focus and my day to day, has completely changed. It's nothing close to what it was Yeah. On my first day.
Scott:No. I mean, it's exciting that your your job role has been able to expand so much.
John:Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's and, you know, that's what I wanted was a new challenge, and it is it is all of that and more.
Scott:Managing, like, 35 people, that's a good enough
John:Well, no. I'm not man no. I'm not managing that.
Scott:Oh, okay.
John:I'm managing the products, but I'm managing more products than I was when I started. But
Scott:yeah. Okay. It's a different story. Alright. Fair enough.
Scott:Fair enough. So what's your favorite thing about working at Point Rental?
John:My favorite thing about working at point of rental is just the is the creative process, the the iterative process in terms of, like, how you plan out things and, just that the strategy underlying strategy behind it.
Scott:Mhmm.
John:And I also like the fact that I still get to, interact with a lot of rental people because one of the roles one of my responsibilities is to get voice of customer and really understand the customer's pain points.
Scott:Mhmm. And,
John:of course, the rental industry evolves. And so I can lean on my experience a fair amount, but it's also changed in the last 5 years. So, reaching out to customers and understanding their pain points and and then trying to figure out how the how we can provide a solution to that in the software is is a big challenge.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you said, like, what, 20 years? I mean, that's still a lot of experience to pull from even if you, you know, rental does change, you know, every single year.
John:Yeah. Yeah. It's constantly evolving, especially with the technology.
Scott:Oh, yeah. No. Yeah. That's that's a whole another can of worms. Yeah.
Scott:So so going outside of work, is there a hobby or interest that you're into right now? Like, you know, even something you could talk about for hours?
John:Boy. So lately, I've been really into, smoking meats. And so, of course, I'm in Texas now.
Scott:Yeah.
John:And so I've gone down the rabbit hole of of smoking different kinds of meats and Real Texas barbecue. Real Texas barbecue. In fact, I just we just had some family in, and, we had I made some ribs and then some, overnight brisket. And, and then we ended up going to, a local, Panther City in Fort Worth, and everybody liked mine better. So that was a good
Scott:I was gonna say
John:you keep talk Boost of confidence there.
Scott:You keep talking about brisket. I'm like, we should have not had this interview before lunch because it's just so nice.
John:Yeah. No. I so I I enjoy that. I also I'm I'm a mountain biker and and I I'm a woodworker, so I do a lot of woodworking.
Scott:A lot of DIY projects or
John:whatever. Building furniture and frames and usually things that you can use around the house. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Is it simpler jobs done? That's it's always convenient.
John:Yeah. No. And it's I yeah. I've got a 2 car garage, and half of it is a wood shop. Oh, that's sweet.
Scott:Yeah. So it's nice. Awesome. So let's pretend there's a new pointer, you know, in your division or otherwise. What would be the number one advice that you would give them?
John:I guess I would say that, you know, to just be engaged, and, don't be afraid to reach out for help. You know, use this use Slack to reach out and engage with people and and participate, you know, and just and just don't be afraid to ask because everyone was there their first day where there's a lot of moving parts here at point of rental.
Scott:Yeah.
John:And there's even more moving parts than there were 5 years ago Mhmm. And even more people to engage with. But, you know, we have ways to do that. We give you the tools. You just have to, you know, execute and get out there and ask questions, and don't be afraid.
John:I I always, you know, say that, you know, I I get into new things. It's like, hey. I'm gonna I'm gonna be dumb for a while, but that's okay. You have to embrace it because we we work with with a lot of complicated technology and processes and procedures and but there's a lot of moving parts, and so it's okay. You know, everybody understands that that, you you know, every new person goes through that learning process.
John:So put yourself out
Scott:there and learn. Yeah. No. I think that's a common thread that I hear a lot when I ask, you know, what people's number one advice is that we have a lot of passionate employees here that if you ask them about, you know, something about what they work on, they're more than willing to go on and, like, oh, well, here, let me show you. Like, yeah, Just this and that and that.
Scott:And at some point, you're gonna be like, okay, actually, I need to get back to, like, this event. You get sucked in for, like, an hour and a half just of them, you know, talking about whatever they're working on. So Yeah. It it's it's easier to learn all the different aspects when you have so many passionate people working on those individual things. So Yeah.
John:And I think I think our epic principles support the helping of others. And so I think just by our culture, you know, it's expected for people to reach out and ask for help, and it's equally as expected for people to step up and offer support.
Scott:So Yeah. Definitely. Alright. We're on our final question. Let's pretend you're standing up there on the Oscars.
Scott:Maybe you've won an award for, like, the best set design for all your all your woodworking projects, congratulations by the way, and you have the opportunity to thank all the people who have gotten you where you are today, who are you thanking?
John:Well, you know, of course, my wife and my family in in supporting me through everything and the big career change and the move to Texas and all of that. Mhmm. You know, that's the support and all of that from them is, you know, made it happen. But I I would also say, you know, I would have to thank Wayne for giving me the opportunity
Scott:Mhmm.
John:And putting me in the position. And then in terms of just, you know, my current career, you know, some people that stand out to me, are, for sure, David Jensen, and Ashley, and, James Morley, would come to mind as people who've really helped me
Scott:Yeah.
John:You know, in the point of rental career.
Scott:Yeah. Definitely. Well, again, John, thank you again for for 5 years.
John:Alright. Thank you. Appreciate it.