What are you Waiting For?

A recent “Thought of the Day” from the Napoleon Hill Foundation asks this question, and then points out:

Far too many people spend their entire lives waiting for that glorious day when the perfect opportunity presents itself to them. Too late, they realize that each day held opportunity for those who sought it out.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity is a futile endeavor—it will never arrive. As the quote states, every day holds opportunities, and the ones we take advantage of today will create additional opportunities tomorrow. A building—and success—is constructed one brick at a time.

There are countless ways in which contractors bypass opportunities. The most significant is not engaging in continuing education. Knowledge is a powerful tool—the more we know the more we can identify opportunities. And the more successfully we can take advantage of them.

For example, many painting contractors loathe sales. They know that they must sell jobs, but the entire experience leaves them filled with anxiety, dread, or boredom. They just want to paint. But each lead is an opportunity. Improving your sales skills allows you to take advantage of that opportunity and be more successful. Would you prefer to give 10 estimates to get 1 job, or get 4 jobs from the same number of estimates? Would you prefer to sell at the “going rate”, or get premium prices?

What we do today determines what we can or cannot do tomorrow. The bridge we build today can be crossed tomorrow. The bridge we burn today will leave us stranded tomorrow.

Dominated by Fear

Too often, we let our fears dominate our thinking and our actions. It is not uncommon to let the possibility of failure stop us in our tracks. And in the process, the possibility of success is also stopped.

Failure is a part of life. No action is guaranteed to lead to the desired results. But the failure to act will most certainly keep us from achieving the goals we desire.

An effective way to overcome fear is through planning. Planning allows us to envision the end goal and the means to achieve it. Planning allows us to project possible obstacles and the means for overcoming them. Planning builds confidence—it is a kind of test run during which we can “practice” the steps needed to achieve our goals.

To use a simple example, let us say that you want to run a marathon one year from today. You are currently a couch potato and the thought of running 26+ miles seems impossible, and it probably is in this context. But if you develop a training plan the goal seems much less daunting.

With the marathon 12 months away you can plan specific steps to build your endurance. You can research suggested training methods, diet changes, exercise regiments, etc. You can map out milestones, such as being able to run 10 miles in less than 90 minutes within 3 months. Armed with this knowledge, and a plan, you will be more confident that you can actually achieve your goal.

The same is true of business goals (or any goal for that matter). And the bigger the goal, the more important it is to plan.

Accountability

You have probably heard a lot about holding employees accountable for their actions. But how do you hold yourself accountable? After all, you make the rules for your business, and you can break them whenever you want.

One way to hold yourself accountable is to share your plans and goals with others. If you proclaim your intentions to the world, you are more likely to follow up on them. If you keep them “secret”—to yourself—it can be rather easy to let things slip.

It is quite easy to set goals and then promptly forget them. The details of running a business, not to mention life itself, can distract us or send us off course. We can make excuses and procrastinate. There is no shortage of reasons why we can’t actively work on our goals. And this is even easier when those goals reside solely in the inner recesses of our mind.

Many contractors start their business because they want “freedom”—they don’t want the restrictions imposed by a boss or large corporation. They want to be able to do what they want, when they want. But such “freedom” is not a recipe for success. Success is not gained by following one’s whims, but by setting goals and pursuing them.

Ultimately, we can only be responsible for ourselves. We are the only person who can decide what we want out of life and how we will achieve it. And that requires that we hold ourselves accountable.

Fear

It is often said that fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. While this is often the case, there is more to fear than that.

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived, unknown threat. For example, if you hear a loud knock on your door in the middle of the night, you might experience fear—you perceive a threat because you do not know who is at the door. However, if you are expecting someone, the same noise will not evoke a feeling of fear.

The owners of paint contracting companies are often reluctant to make changes in their business because of fear. They perceive some threat—perhaps failure—and the consequences of the change are unknown. This isn’t necessarily irrational, or making false evidence appear real. The chance of failure does exist, and there are unknowns.

Overcoming our fear is necessary if we are to move forward. There are several key steps in this process.

The first is to identify the actual facts. Are there as many unknowns as we think? Have we made similar changes before? Can we learn from others who have made similar changes? Answering these questions can help us realize that the unknowns are not as significant as we think. We may actually know more about the situation than first appears.

The second step is to identify what information we can obtain to reduce the unknowns. This may involve soliciting the input from someone who has made a similar change or doing research. Knowledge is certainly an ally, as it helps eliminate or reduce unknowns.

Armed with this knowledge, we can then develop a plan that will reduce risks and address any remaining unknowns. The plan allows us to think through the change, identify potential obstacles, and have a specific course of action.

The process of overcoming fear is designed to reduce the perception of an unknown threat. As we gather more information, the unknowns decrease. As our knowledge expands, the perceived threat is reduced. In combination, our fear will be greatly diminished and we will be prepared to move forward.

Quick Roundup

Clarify Your Goals
The clarity of your goals will ultimately have a large impact on your ability to achieve those goals. Vague goals only lead to confusion, and often send us in the wrong direction. For example, a goal to spend more time with your family in 2009 is much different from a goal to achieve the financial position to be able to spend more time with your family. On the surface, they may seem the same, but the latter specifies the more fundamental goal. In other words, achieving a certain financial position makes more free time possible.

Brian Tracy addresses this in The Law of Clarity:

People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances.

No matter our goal, we must identify the cause and the effect. And we must focus in on the real effect we want. That will often help us identify and clarify the specific steps we must take to achieve that goal.


What Was That Bump?
In working with other contractors I am often struck by how resistant they are to try a new idea. They seem overwhelmed by the potential for making a mistake or failing, and this fear stops them from attempting something new. For example, many contractors are extremely reluctant to raise their prices.

Certainly, nobody enjoys making a mistake or failing. But it is a part of life and business. As Dan Miller writes in Go Ahead--Make More Mistakes:

Here’s what Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) has to say about “bad luck.” He says, “Making mistakes and becoming smarter is the job of an entrepreneur; not making mistakes is the job of an employee.”

An essential part of entrepreneurism is taking calculated risks. Doing what you've always done will continue to get you the same results. Getting different--better--results means doing something different, and that necessarily involves the risk of making a mistake or failing. Taking calculated risks won't eliminate mistakes, but it often reduces them to minor bumps.


Five Essential Skills
Michael Gerber's new book, The Power Point, lists 5 essential skills that every entrepreneur must possess. Mastering these skills, he says, is necessary to create a great business. The skills are:

1. Concentration--The inner force and energy that allows you to focus your attention.
2. Discrimination--The ability to choose upon what, where and who our attention (or concentration) is directed.
3. Organization--This is the ability to turn chaos into order.
4. Innovation--Innovation is that spark of genius that all entrepreneurs have and should be seen as an asset.
5. Communication--The ability to transmit ideas with clarity, precision, passion and purpose.

These skills are crucial to achieving our goals, no matter what they are. We must identify our goals (discrimination), prioritize those goals and the methods for achieving them (organization), focus our efforts on the goals (concentration), seek creative ways to accomplish the goals (innovation), and share the goals with the relevant people (communication).

Not only do these skills help us achieve our goals, they also help us clarify those goals and develop a plan that will minimize the risks involved.


The Two-Minute Rule
One of the biggest obstacles to achieving our goals is procrastination. While there are many causes of procrastination, they all result in delaying work on some task or project. We may write the task down, or swear that we will remember it, or whatever. But we delay doing it, and suddenly we can have a very long list of tasks. David Allen, of Getting Things Done, developed the Two-Minute Rule--if a task will take less than 2 minutes to complete, do it now. Here is a short video--it is only 2 minutes long--on how to apply the Two-Minute Rule.

Communications Issues

At this point the biggest challenge I will face in Getting out of the Office is maintaining good communications with customers and field personnel. Our office is typically staffed from 8 AM to 4:30 PM by my wife. This allows us to answer the phones live, schedule appointments and jobs, relay information, etc. is an efficient and timely manner.

If we are no longer manning the office all day long, we will face some significant communications challenges. We are considering several options: forwarding all calls to a cell phone; using voice mail and checking messages remotely; hiring a part-time office assistant; or, using Virtual PBX.

Each has some pros and cons. Forwarding phone calls to a cell phone would mean that we are "on call" all of the time, which partially defeats our purpose. We could of course, allow calls to go to voice mail. Checking phone messages remotely would allow us to do so on our schedule, but it can be slow. Hiring a part-time office assistant will impose additional costs, but would likely be the most effective.

Virtual PBX is a service I have used for several years. This service provides us with several phone numbers that are routed to our office. We use this for the other contractors we sell paint jobs for. When our phone rings, Virtual PBX identifies which company the call is for, so we can answer the call appropriately. During off hours voice mail messages are emailed to a designated recipient, so there is no need to periodically check messages.

While this isn't an earth shattering issue, it demonstrates why it is important to identify and evaluate different options when you are planning to get out of the bucket. There is seldom a perfect solution to a problem, and sometimes the best solution may be a combination of several.

Stay tuned as we work on getting out of the office.

Identifying Our Options

Getting out of the Office presents us with numerous options. Some are more obvious than others. And some may take considerable digging to identify. To repeat yesterday's theme, that is why beginning with the end in mind is so important. If I know what I want to do, I can start looking for the best way to do it.

The Internet certainly makes it much easier to discover new processes, services, and ideas. It is such a useful and powerful tool that I sometimes wonder how I ever survived without it. But it is only a tool, and like any tool, its usefulness is ultimately determined by the skills and imagination of the user.

Search engines are a prime example. There are many keywords that one can choose when conducting a search. And, while most search engines are somewhat intuitive, they can only utilize the information entered. For example, if I enter "paint" in Google, the first page is primarily manufacturers. However, if I enter "paint contractor" I get entirely different results. This may seem obvious, but it has big implications.

Let's say I decide that my goal is to work from home. This is a pretty vague goal, and could mean virtually anything. Am I going to operate my own business? If so, what kind? Am I simply going to telecommute? If so, for whom? Am I going to stuff envelopes, or operate some kind of phone service, or what? I could do any of these and work at home. Because my goal is so vague, the options are almost unlimited.

But if I decide my goal is to write 30 hours a week, while operating my paint contracting business remotely, I have really narrowed things down. I now know specifically what I am shooting for, and the options also narrow.

But even with a very specific goal, I still need to discover what options are available for dealing with the myriad issues that will arise. For example, what options are available that will allow me to access customer information remotely? Which leads to another questions-- how do I find out?

While this example is relatively simple, it illustrates a bigger issue. It can be quite easy to limit ourselves to false alternatives, to give ourselves fewer options than really exist. The result may a solution that is inadequate, or worse, abandonment of our goal because the options do not seem realistic.

Begin with the End in Mind

Yesterday I mentioned the importance of identifying the goal of Getting out of the Office, that is, what we want the business to look like in the end. The same applies to Getting out of the Bucket--what do you want your business to look like when you are no longer painting each day.

Identifying the end is important in several respects. Most importantly, it provides direction and and gives us a destination. If we don't know where we are going, how will we know when we get there? Also, it provides us with a certain psychological motivation. If we can envision our goal, that goal becomes more real. In a sense, we get a certain experience of it, which can help move us forward.

For me, Getting out of the Office is the means to another end. I want to spend more time writing magazine articles, and perhaps a book. This requires large segments of uninterrupted time, which is hard to get sitting in an office with a phone ringing every 20 minutes. I would also like to do more traveling, both for pleasure and for researching writing assignments.

These goals necessitate the need to have procedures that allow me to spend minimal time communicating with customers and field personnel, while simultaneously keeping everyone informed. And I need to be able to do this whether I am working in my home office or I am out of town.

Identifying my end goals has allowed me to identify the issues that I must address. For example, how will phone calls be handled? How will appointments be scheduled? How will I access customer files remotely? How will we prepare job folders and schedule jobs if we are out of town? By beginning with the end in mind, I now have a better idea of how I will get there. And I will certainly have a lot fewer surprises along the way.

Getting Out of the Office

Last week I wrote about the Four Hour Workweek and stated my intention to spend less time on my contracting business in 2009. As I work through this process I will share how I address the issues that arise, the tools I use to do so, and some of the procedures and processes I develop. While my goal may be different from yours, the same principles apply to Getting out of the Bucket as to Getting out of the Office.

My wife works with me in the office, so Getting out of the Office applies to both of us. Doing so will require some changes in our business, such as communications with customers, accessing information, scheduling, etc. Addressing these issues, and developing procedures is our primary goal for the next several months.

We have several motivations for Getting out of the Office. The most important is that we would like to spend more time pursuing other interests. It is difficult to do this when tethered to an office.

We have considered selling the business but see no real reason to do so. We make a pretty decent income while working part-time. Maintaining a business that generates semi-passive income simply makes the most financial sense at this point.

As I mentioned, the principles involved in this are essentially the same as Getting out of the Bucket. In both situations there is a need to maintain operations while the owner is not omnipresent. This presents numerous challenges, and while the details of those challenges differ, the same basic approach applies-- develop systems and procedures.

Our first step in this process is identifying our end goal, that is, what we want to accomplish and what we want our business to look like in the end. In other words, we first need to know where we are going before we can decide how to get there.

Opportunity Knocks

When Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast, he did more than wreck homes, knock out the power, and disrupt millions of lives. He also created opportunities .

Ike's winds created mountains of debris throughout the city. For example, I had a pile of limbs about 8' long, 5' deep, and 8' tall. We also filled about 50 plastic bags with twigs and leaves. The massive amount of debris presented the city and property owners with a challenge-- how to remove and dispose of this mess in a timely fashion.

The city responded by hiring hundreds of outside contractors. However, we were warned that it might be months before all of the debris was removed. Some enterprising people filled the void and began offering debris removal directly to home owners. They saw an opportunity and tried to meet it. As painting contractors, there are often other services that we can offer that will add to our bottom line and enhance the job for the customer.

Services such as wood repair, pressure washing, and radiant barriers can create win- win situations for both the customer and the contractor. For the customer, the need to find another contractor is eliminated, and for the contractor these services create additional revenue streams.

I don't mean that we should become a jack-of-all-trades. But there are services that fit well within our skill set that can be offered without compromising quality or pushing us outside of our core competencies.

We don't always know when opportunity will knock. When it does, we must be prepared to answer the door. Sometimes it might be an annoying solicitor. But it might be a friend with a 6-pack of imported beer.

Tough Times

Tough times demand tough talk
Demand tough hearts demand tough songs
Demand...

Rush, "Force Ten"

It is no secret that we are in tough economic times. The stock market goes up and down faster than a roller coaster. Financial institutions are struggling with bad debt. Consumers are understandably uneasy, and that can translate to tough times for painting contractors.

So what is a small business owner to do? I don't think tough songs is the answer, but a tough heart might do the trick.

Weathering tough economic times can test the mettle of anyone. Selling skills can become more crucial. Leads can become more precious. Duct Tape Marketing offers seven suggestions for dealing with tough economic times. While all of these tips don't necessarily apply to the typical painting contractor, they do provide a good starting point.

More importantly, the advice offered applies to all economic conditions. The best time to deal with tough times is before they occur.

Lessons from Ike

Some of the details may bore you, but my experience with Hurricane Ike provided a few valuable lessons. I will likely post on some of my experiences and the lessons learned over the next few days.

We had been aware of Ike for about 2 weeks. Living in a hurricane zone, we get frequent updates on tropical disturbances, storms, etc. that may develop into hurricanes. We have made some level of preparation at least 3 times this year, as hurricanes posed some threat to the Texas coast. This is a drill that is relatively commonplace for residents of the area.

Part of the preparation process is to secure water and food for at least 3 days. The food should be non-perishable, as power may be off. These are the steps that individuals are expected to take to provide for their sustenance while repairs are made and other supplies brought into the area. We are also encouraged to have batteries for radios and flashlights, candles, and other items to help us during the initial days after the storm.

The winds began picking up at my house shortly before midnight on Friday night. Hurricane force winds continued for more than 10 hours. Our lights flickered several times over the next few hours, finally falling into darkness at about 2:30 AM Saturday morning. Our power has not been restored as of Wednesday afternoon.

On Sunday we took a break from cleaning debris to listen to the radio. Less than 1 day after a major hurricane, citizens and "leaders" were complaining about the lack of supplies that were being brought into the area by FEMA. There seemed to be an endless stream of people complaining that they had no water or food. Those complaints have continued.

Within Houston, few homes were damaged beyond habitation. The complainers were not wiped out-- they had simply refused to properly prepare. They had refused to take even the slightest step in the direction of self-responsibility. Instead, they lined up to complain to radio reporters that others were not providing for them.

Such people get absolutely no sympathy from me. They had weeks to prepare. The preparations are not difficult-- a couple of bottles of water and a can of tuna fish would suffice for a day. This is not gourmet dining, but living through the aftermath of a major hurricane is not a fun time.

Those of us who took responsibility for our own well-being have no complaints. We had plenty of water and food. We also had plenty of gasoline (we were told to fill our gas tanks prior to the storm). Life has not been pleasant, but we do not spend our time driving around the city looking for water, gas, food, or ice.

I hasten to add that I am not claiming that every person who ran out of water, food, or gas acted irresponsibly. But those who apparently made no preparations were irresponsible.

The lessons from this apply directly to our paint contracting business. Those who blame the economy or illegals for their lack of work, or complain about the inevitable winter slow down are no different from those who refused to purchase bottled water. Operating a business, like preparing for a hurricane, requires foresight. It requires identifying what actions are required to survive and thrive, and it also requires taking those actions. A business owner, like those who live in a hurricane zone, must prepare for the future.

In the end, those who fail to prepare get exactly what they deserve (unless others protect them from the consequences of their actions). It is no fun stockpiling water and food, filling tubs of water to flush toilets, or devising plans to air out a stuffy and humid house. Nor is it particularly fun making cash flow projections, job costing, or developing marketing plans.

But if you wish to live in reasonable comfort after a hurricane you must take the requisite actions. It is no different when you own a paint contracting business.

Planning for 2009

The third quarter will soon be ending and before we know it a new year will be knocking on the door. I typically spend a large portion of the fouth quarter planning for the coming year. I do this for several reasons:

1. Planning a a very effective process to idneitfy goals and the means for attaining those goals.
2. Spending 3 or so months on the process allows me to carefully think about the various issues without being rushed.
3. I can begin implementing my plan before the new year. For example, if I want leads to increase in January, I cannot wait until January to start placing new ads.

All of this planning might seem like a waste of time. You might take the Nike approach, and "just do it". But plowing ahead without a plan can waste a lot more time than it takes to formulate a direction to travel.

Consider a cross country car trip. I doubt you'd just hop in the car and take off. You'd probably look at a map and determine the best route to take. That process might only take 15 minutes, but it could save you hours on the road. The same is true in our business.

Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Job You Love, has a nice planning tool on his web site. You should check it out.

Toads

We have a pond in our back yard. On occasion the neighborhood toads decide it is party time, and they congregate in and around our pond. Like obnoxious neighbors who think you want to hear their music at 2 AM, these toads seem to think that we are interested in their mating rituals.

I would have no issues with them if they simply went about their business. But their mating apparently includes croaking—males use this to “attract” females— at ear splitting decibels. A singular toad doing this is just a minor distraction. However, when a dozen or so are doing it, it turns into a symphony of irritation.

I’ve tried all kind of things in my quest to keep these little beasts out of my life. I tried throwing them over the fence, which provided only temporary relief. I tried flushing them down the toilet, which gave my wife quite a shock when they managed to crawl back.

Toads really have nothing to do with paint contracting, but they do have something to do with owning a business. They are presenting me with a problem, and I am uncertain as to how to solve it. Brian Tracy recently wrote: “Define your problems clearly in writing. Accurate diagnosis is half the cure.”

I can attest to this advice. Many times I’ve wrestled with a problem, only to discover that I really didn’t know what the problem was. That can certainly make a solution difficult to find. So hopefully the toads won’t return to my yard for a while, and in the meantime I can try to define that problem more accurately.

And if that doesn’t work, maybe I’ll buy a large snake to eat them.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

My Cat Weasley

Last summer, while working in the yard one day, I heard the unmistakable mew of a kitten. After a short search I located the offender stuck on a fence rail. I rescued the tiny beast and showed him to my wife.

We decided that we would take him to a shelter on Monday. Since he was covered in fleas, we bathed him repeatedly. Cats aren’t particularly fond of baths, but he actually seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps he sensed that we were ridding him of the fleas.

On Monday we learned that nobody would take such a young kitten. If we took him to a shelter, he would be immediately euthanized. That thought did not sit well with us, and after some anguish, we decided we would keep him. We named him Weasley, after a character in the Harry Potter series.

Weasley has been a source of fun and frustration ever since. For the first few months he purred constantly. My wife took him to have his photo taken with Santa, and he relished the attention. It also didn’t take him long to discover our house plants, which he apparently decided were his own personal play toys. He proceeded to methodically destroy a large number of the plants, as well as other personal possessions.

He will often jump onto the kitchen counter. We put him down and he jumps back. We will repeat this little game over and over and over. We aren’t sure whether we should hate him for being so stubborn, or celebrate his persistence.

Persistence is a good trait. It is often necessary when building a painting company. It helps us weather difficult times and provides us with the strength to stick to our plan. In short, persistence helps us persist (no surprise there, since persist is the root of persistence).

But persistence must also be tempered with a healthy dose of rationality. To persist in the face of evidence that our efforts are futile is a waste of time and resources. Then persistence becomes stubbornness, and that is neither attractive nor effective. Weasley however, may argue otherwise.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

Jumping off the Roof

In our youth, most of us feel rather invincible. We can do stupid things like drink all night, ride a bike for 20 miles without training, and jump off the roof with few, if any, significant effects. But as we get older, such activities tend to result in greater and longer lasting pain.

The typical painting contractor is not immune to this sense of immortality. Just as jumping off a roof will ultimately have some negative physical effects, climbing ladders and pushing a roller will as well. Years of physical work will eventually wear on the body.

If you don’t believe, go jump off your roof about 50 times in a row. Then you will have some idea what it’s going to feel like doing it when you are 50 years old. You might be thinking that that is a silly idea. And you would be right. But I think it is a silly idea to think that your body can take a daily pounding and keep on ticking. As somebody once said, it ain’t gonna happen that way.

A contractor I work with has had a bad year. He has had several medical problems, the last of which will keep him out of work for several weeks. I know of a carpenter who broke his wrist and is in a similar situation.

If you are in the bucket, that is, you earn your money slinging a paint brush, you could be one accident or illness away from serious financial problems. If you can’t work, how will you pay your bills and feed your family?

This isn’t intended to ruin your day. But if you fall off a ladder and aren’t financially prepared, that will ruin a lot more than your day.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

Mike’s Seafood and Painting

I frequently see contractors advertise that they “do it all”. When I see such ads, all kinds of things go through my head. And most of them aren’t fit to write in a contractor oriented blog such as this.

I think it is great to be multi-talented. I think I’m a good writer, a decent chef, and I can add up some fairly large numbers. I can do basic electrical work, some plumbing, and I can tear down fences. I can do a lot of other things as well, but I’m starting to get tired of boasting and really need to get on to my point.

Despite the widespread and impressive array of talents I possess, I would hardly claim that I “do it all”. The primary reason is that it isn’t true. Another reason is that just because I do something doesn’t mean I do it well. And I really doubt that anyone who claims he can “do it all” does it all well.

The guys who advertise such nonsense usually have an assortment of services plastered on the cardboard sign taped to the side of their station wagon. Often, the heat from the sun makes the crayon lettering melt and run down the side of their car. I find this somewhat amusing, as it clearly shows that there is one thing they can’t do—make a decent sign.

The conglomeration of services these business tycoons offer is sometimes absurd. Most offer the gamut of home services—painting, trash hauling, landscaping, roofing, tile work, etc. But my favorite is Mike, who runs a combination seafood delivery service and interior painting company. (He tried exteriors, but the fish kept getting a little stinky by the end of the day.)

It is much better to do one thing well, than a dozen things decently. Sometimes, even when you do multiple things well, you can send the wrong message to customers. For example, Mike’s customers are curious about that cooler he keeps in the corner everyday. They suspect it’s his beer.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask

I was talking to a contractor a few days ago and he mentioned that he was going to have to take a Friday off. Knowing that he had plenty of work, I asked why. It turned out that he was going to finish his current job a day early, but his next customer was expecting him to start on Monday.

I asked him if he had called his next customer to see if she would be ready. No, he said. I already told her it would be Monday. I finally convinced him to call her, and she was thrilled that he could start earlier than expected.

Sometimes we just need to ask for what we want and not be so concerned about hearing “no”. We just might hear “yes”. It can be easy to “know” what the answer will be, and then refrain from ever asking the question.

I see this occur in regard to all kinds of issues relating to paint contracting—deposits, scheduling, employee pay, vendor relations, etc. Far too often the contractor refuses to ask a question, and then he complains about the “answer”.

I’m not a mind reader, and I seriously doubt that you are either. Why should we assume that we know the answer when we haven’t even posed the question? Making such assumptions does a disservice to everyone involved. We don’t get the real answer, and the other party never gets a chance to answer the question. The worse thing that can happen is that we get an answer we don’t like, but it never hurts to ask.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

When Pigs Fly

My wife has a pig collection. She has a jade pig, wood pigs, fat pigs, and skinny pigs She has pigs that make noises and some with funny faces. But she doesn’t have a flying pig. And there is a reason for that. Actually, there are several reasons.

First, pigs don’t fly. Second, if she had a flying pig it would be bouncing around in the curio cabinet I built and would make a mess. Third, if she had a flying pig I’d steal it from her and sell it to the carnival.

So the chances are very, very strong that we won’t be having a flying pig in our house. I’m pretty adamant about that.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind. Over the course of the years I’ve owned a paint contracting company I’ve changed my mind many times about many different things.

For example, I once thought I’d never be able to charge more than $25 an hour. (I’m glad I changed my mind on that one.) I used to think that if I wanted something done right I had to do it myself. (Another one I’m glad to have changed.) I used to think certain painters were irreplaceable, but after replacing them I learned differently.

It’s good to be solid in our decisions. But we must also remain open to new information. We must be willing to reconsider our position if the facts so warrant. And we must seek out new information whenever it is appropriate. That is how we grow. And it’s also a stance that I won’t change. At least not until pigs fly.

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008

Cucumbers

For many years my wife and I have had a vegetable garden. We’ve had varying degrees of success. It seems that every year we have to fight some new malady—too much rain, not enough rain, white flies, etc. We were never satisfied, and for good reason.

But we have kept at it. We’ve tried different varieties, planted at different times. We’ve modified our watering and fertilizing. In short, we’ve modified our plans as we learn more.

We now have a bounty of cucumbers on the vine. In fact, we now fear that we may have to throw some away.

Cucumbers are like a paint contracting business. (I don’t mean that our business is green and prickly.) Our business needs to be nurtured and fed. It needs planning and pruning. Like cucumbers, business has a particular nature, and that nature determines what type of nutrients and conditions will lead to success.

Spraying a herbicide on a cucumber plant will ultimately lead to its demise. Neglecting to water and fertilize the vine will undermine its vitality. In other words, if we don’t give the plant what it needs it will not grow and produce.

The same with our business. If we do not give it what it needs it will not thrive. It we don’t supply our business with capital we cannot purchase the nutrients it needs. If we don’t create leads we cannot produce the results we seek.

It is possible to grow cucumbers despite neglect. You might get lucky and receive enough rain. It’s one thing to take such a chance with cucumbers—the consequences of failure are pretty minor. But why take a similar chance with your business?

© BEP Enterprises Incorporated 2008