Before I could hand Dad’s house over to the letting agent, I had to install hard-wired smoke detectors. Luckily, one of my clients is a sparky. He sent over a young bloke named Sam to complete the job.
Straight off the bat, I could tell Sam was switched on and eager to learn. I told him I was tidying up my old man’s house. Sam asked how I felt about losing Dad. That’s a powerful question, so I took a moment to think it through before answering.
You see, my relationship with Dad matured and deepened as we grew older. The conversations we had during the last five years would have been impossible twenty years ago. My daughter Madison is powering through her teenage years, so Dad and I shared our experiences of parenthood. You can’t really understand these major life changes until you’ve been through them yourself.
One essential truth I learned from Dad? If a relationship isn’t working, look inside yourself. It’s too easy to blame the other person when things go wrong. This applies in business as much as it does in a marriage. If you won’t look at yourself with searing honesty, you’ll never fix the problem.
Sam took this all in. Then our conversation segued to business. He asked me what I was most proud of as a business owner.
‘That’s easy,’ I said. ‘The organisational development work I’ve done where I’ve coached the leaders into better performance.’
As I riffed on the topic, I saw Sam’s eyes light up. ‘You wouldn’t be able to work for someone else,’ he said. ‘I mean, on salary.’
Then I explained my whole philosophy of business ownership and wealth creation. Sam seemed intrigued.
‘Have you ever thought of going out on your own?’ I asked.
‘Of course. But it’s a big step.’
‘Some people go too early,’ I said. ‘I was in my early twenties, and I still had a lot to learn. Dad waited until his forties and always bemoaned the fact that he went too late.’
I could see the cogs turning in Sam’s mind. ‘You’re in your mid-twenties,’ I said. ‘Don’t leave it too much longer if you want to start your own business.’
I’ve written before about the need to attract top talent to work in your business. Wouldn’t Sam’s boss, my client, be peeved if he knew we were having this conversation?
In a word, no. Not every employee is like Sam.
Some are happy to put in a decent day’s work without the stress of owning a business.
Some are natural leaders, who’ll rise to supervisory or managerial positions.
And others contain a drive that cannot be contained. You know one day you’ll have to let them go. And you’ll want them to leave on good terms.
Why?
Because businesses succeed or fail on the strength of the relationships they build. Adelaide’s a small sand pit. If Sam establishes his own electrical business, one day in the future he may be in a position to help my client out. Or vice versa. If both parties win, it’s all good.
As long as an employee leaves with honour, without lying about their reasons, without poaching any clients or stealing any trade secrets, any decent boss would wish them well for the future.
Will Sam strike out on his own? I can’t answer that. It’s a massive step. It depends on his appetite for risk, his leadership skills, and his ability to work smarter rather than harder. He won’t make $400K a year as a sole trader, he’ll need to employ and manage staff, which brings its own set of challenges.
But if Sam wants to build wealth the way I’ve described previously, he’ll need to run his own business. A salary alone won’t cut it.
Here’s what I know. The fact that Sam’s asking this question of himself tells me he’ll succeed at whatever he does. As a tradie, a supervisor or manager, or as a business owner. I’ll be fascinated to see which path he takes.