This week I learned about what some successful business people feel are the most important things to becoming an entrepreneur.  I decided since I have had my business for eighteen years that I should come up with my own.

1. Being in the right place at the right time.  I was frustrated with a job I had and felt that I was wasting my time and talents.  I spoke with a friend who was the maintenance manager for a production facility if they could use someone with my skill set for their business.  He thought they could and he would speak to his boss and see if this was something he would go for.  I day or so later the boss called me and before he could offer me a job or negotiate pay I respectfully told him that I had just been having a bad day when I vented to our mutual friend.  He said that was fine but that they were going to be doing a big expansion and wondered if I knew anyone that would be able to take on the project.  I had just finished getting my insurance and licensees so I was ready and able to go for it.  I told him I could do as much of the work on the side as they would allow me.  This has been an on going relationship for the last eight years.  I’m glad I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there. Divine intervention? Maybe?
2. Be willing and able to let go.  I had been working seven days a week at my side job to try and keep up with the demands they had placed on me, all the while working five days a week at my normal job.  I think I was putting in around ninety hours a week.  I did this for about two years. One day I was reaming some copper pipe and felt a sharp and then dull pain in my right elbow.  I thought, “oh this can not be good.”  A year later I was to the point where it hurt to even shake hands because of the injury.  The side work had slowed down to six days a week so I felt that I could probably take a week or so off to have the elbow operated on.  I had the surgery and the next day all bandaged up ready to work went in to see what I could do to help.  Truth be known I could not let go.  I was useless in my injured state, yet I wanted to make sure everything was done to my expectations.  My guys sent me home and I did not go back for three weeks.  They did not miss a beat the whole time I had been gone.  I was forced to let go and it has blessed my life with the ability to take on a management role and see my business grow and develop to allow others to lead the day to day operations.
3. Have people you can trust.  This goes along with the last one.  When I had been out with my surgery one of my mentors was working for me as a laborer.  I turned the day to day over to him.  He knew my expectations and was not shy about making sure the quality and craftsmanship was where it should be.  I trusted him with my business.  It was difficult because I had poured my heart and soul into it to get it to the point it was.  Yet, he took as good or better care of it than I did.  He also made sure that I did not neglect the important people in my life, my family.  He then himself had to quit and I had to turn things over to someone else.  This second guy was different yet trustworthy enough that three years later he is still doing a great job with the company.

Things I have learned

1. Keep going it will get better
2. Fear only holds you back
3. Management involves the art of delegating

Things I have yet to learn

1. How to raise money (salesmanship)
2. How to train the people who don’t learn as fast
3. How to be on the “Hero’s Journey”

I recently had the assignment to create my own personal board of advisers.  I found this to be a poignant experience.  I thought about who had helped me get this far in my life and what it was that made me want their advice in the future.  On my list were two people I miss very much.  They have since passed on but the life lessons they taught me will live in me forever.  The other people on my list are my closest friends and relatives.  Sometimes working with your friends drives a wedge in between you and it’s hard to stay friends.  Fortunately for me I have friends and family that constantly overlook my short comings and help me work through the problems we are having.  Without naming names I would like to thank everyone who has ever helped me become who I am.  Your advice has changed me and made me better.  Thank You.

Lessons I learned

1. True mentors and advisers love you through the challenges.
2. Mentor come in all shapes and sizes.
3. My greatest asset may sleep next to me every night.

Lessons yet to learn

1. Never discount anyone, they may be what you need the most.
2. Listen more speak less.
3. The joy in the journey.

For class this week we needed to create a “personal constitution.”  I didn’t like the idea of creating this document.  I have always been a goal oriented person but writing a document of who I wanted to be scared me a little.  I obviously wrote the document.  I found as I was pondering and thinking what I should do and who I wanted to be I reflected on some things from a bucket list I created a while ago.  The top of that list is to be remembered for all the good I did for those people around me.  This thought helped me to construct a constitution that I am proud to have to help me become a better person.  I have prayed for a long to have the Lord help me to be a better person but I would not think completely through the process.  This document helped me to discover who I am currently and who I want to become.  As hard it can be for me to admit, the Lord works to make us better.

Things I have learned.

1. Always being right makes people lose respect of you.
2. Respect is never free it must be earned.
3. I have the best employees.

Things I have yet to learn.

1. How to not always be right.
2. Earn respect by listening instead of speaking.
3. Ways other than monetary to show my employees that I truly believe they are the best.

I have been reading a book called, “The Ministry of Business.”  In there the author talks about many great things.  One of the things I want to talk about today is “The formula.”  One of the authors served his mission in Scotland as did I, so this caught my attention.  He said as he was reaching the close of his mission and his mission president told him three things he needed to do to succeed in life.  His mission president was Elder David B. Haight of the quorum of twelve apostles.  This made me really sit up and take note.  The author said that Elder Haight’s items are of great importance but he read a book by another person who was a successful oil tycoon who had three of his own secrets to success.  The author then combined the two into a great formula for success they are as follows: 1. Get up early  2. Work hard  3. Get an education 4. Find your oil 5. Make your mark and 6. Get prepared to give service.  I have found some of these in my life already, yet I am still working on some of them.

Things I have learned.

Getting up early has blessed my life and given me opportunities to be better prepared to start my work day or anything else I am trying to accomplish.

Working hard doesn’t always mean physical.  I have had some of the hardest days in my life when I was working on a project that required more brain power than brawn.

Things I have yet to learn.

Getting an education will be a life long process.

Finding my oil too is an ongoing process.

This week in my Entrepreneurial class we watched Randy Pausch’s last lecture.  In the lecture he talked about how he was able to achieve some of his childhood dreams.  I think he was able to do this because he didn’t give up on his dreams.  I think having dreams is an important part of who you want to become.  As a pre-teen I wanted to be just like my dad.  He is a hard worker, well respected and known for his honesty and integrity.   I think I still have a long way to go to measure up to him, but I am on my way.

Lessons Learned

Having a bucket list helps keep you on track.  We had to come up with a bucket list of fifty items for class this week.  A friend of mine said she could only get to ten before she felt like she had nothing left to add.  I was able to make it all the way to fifty, though I included things that weren’t as important as others.

Another thing I learned this week about bucket lists is it is okay if things drop off.  Years ago I had great desires to be an Olympic Wrestling Referee.  I was well on my way and had travel internationally to a few locations.  I was at a turning point.  My bucket list item to referee in the Olympics or be a father and a husband.  It all came to a head when I couldn’t get enough time off to go on a family vacation and go to my wrestling activities.  This decision was way harder than it should have been.  In the end I chose my family.  I gave up that bucket list item for another item I felt was much better.  A family.

Lessons Not yet Learned

How to tactfully tell potential customers no.  I recently had someone ask about helping them finish their basement.  I wanted too help them but don’t know when I’ll fit it in.  I scheduled a time only to realize it was on top of another appointment.  I will have to sacrifice something else to fit it in.  One day I’ll figure this out.

I have never done anything like this before.  I usually have written a journal note here or there about every year or so.  I have noted some events in letters written to my son a mission but have not been very consistent.

Lessons Learned

1. Having a business with employee’s requires a lot of time and more effort than doing things yourself.
   1. This has taught me much.  One of my employee’s recently took a whole month off.  He was not just an employee though he was the foreman for the project.  I had turned most of the day to day over to him and he has done a great job taking care of this customer.  He needed the time off to prepare for his daughter’s wedding and this meant I needed to do and be who he had been for the customer.  This required many pain staking hours that I was not accustomed to.
2. Relying on those whom you can trust.
   1. To continue on with the previous thought.  I realized to complete the project on time that my employee had left me with I needed to get some help.  I called current employee’s to work Saturday’s and they could not.  I then reached out to former employee’s who did help in the end but could not at a critical time.  I resorted to my brother who is a nurse for help.  He did have some basic understanding of how to do things but was none-the-less what I needed.  This pushed me out of my comfort zone to ask for help.

Lessons Not Yet Learned

1. How to balance all things
   1. I want to be a great father, husband, employee, and business owner.  I find that I tend to favor one or another at different times.  I want to do everything but fall way short.