3 Years Leading All Service: Lessons and Thanks

Today marks the 3-year anniversary of our acquisition of All Service A/C & Plumbing . The last 36 months have been a rollercoaster as we've transitioned ownership, digitized operations, and navigated a post-COVID business climate characterized by inflation, supply chain shortages, labor disruptions, changing regulations, and high interest rates. During this period, our small business has served 4,161 customers and provided quality jobs and benefits to 79 people and their 250+ family members.

Projects like this require a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and sleepless nights from everyone involved. I want to sincerely thank my family for their love, advice, support, and patience—I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined almost every family meal in the last 3 years with compulsive discussions about the business. My family has suffered and sacrificed alongside me throughout the entire journey, and I am truly blessed to have them in my corner.

I'd like to thank our team for their hard work, grit, and commitment to our customers. They have been resilient amid constant change and patient as I've learned to be President of the organization.

I'd also like to thank my mentors, who have assisted me at various stages of this journey: ★★★ Klaas B. , Dr. David Panton , Robert Schmidt , Andrew Howard , Brian Moran , Crissy Wolfe , Josh Thomas , Peter Ciaverilla , Luke Light , Barry Schwartz , Robert Barnes , J. Graham Johnson, B.S., B.A., M.B.A. , Davis Webb , Will McCartney , Clayton Castleberry, CMA , Bruce Marks, MBA, CMAA , Tim Stephens , Billy Ching , Matthew Sandretto , and the Searchfunder community.

Learning to be President has been an exhilarating challenge. It has often been painful, and despite my best efforts, I have made numerous mistakes. Nevertheless, it has been the adventure of a lifetime, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to pursue my dream.

For those aspiring to embark on similar projects, I recommend it, but suggest you don't take it lightly. You will struggle, you will suffer, and your success is not guaranteed. The bullets below are a collection of lessons I've learned so far—mostly the hard way. I hope that other entrepreneurs can use these to accelerate their learning and perhaps save themselves some grief.

My Lessons So Far:

• Develop a bias toward action. The speed of decision-making often contributes more to success than the quality of decisions.
• Don't try to be too smart. Success in business is ultimately dictated by execution, not planning. Planning is a tool to support execution. While some planning is important, overplanning does more harm than good. Complexity kills execution.
• Growth is expensive and uncertain. Austerity may not be glamorous or inspirational, but it is far more controllable than the unpredictable factors needed for profitable expansion. Control overhead aggressively.
• Build your forecasts and models based on the assumption that there will be constant adversity. A good business is one that still works in a bad business climate.
• In high-tension conversations, say as little as possible. Stick to objective facts that are immediately relevant to the issue at hand. Don't allow the conversation to become bogged down by subjective arguments or irrelevant details.
• The fate of the business often rests on the strength of your psyche. Develop a toolkit to help keep your head on your shoulders. Meditation and philosophy can help.
• The best treatment for anxiety is action.
• When hiring, prioritize attitude, effort, and cultural fit over natural talent.
• If there's no "honeymoon" phase with a new employee, it's probably best to part ways early. Undesirable behaviors rarely improve once individuals settle in.
• Generally, offering sincere praise for good performance is more effective than imposing harsh penalties for poor performance. However, address acts of blatant disrespect, negligence, or dishonesty promptly.
• A business is nothing without its people. You'll never see it reflected in a financial model, but the strength of relationships between a leader and their team is critical infrastructure that creates the stability necessary for good commerce to take place.
• A leader's job is often to just sit and listen. Patience and respect are critical virtues.
• Loyalty from employees is an incredible asset to be cherished, but never relied upon. Assume anyone could leave the team at any time.
• Don’t burn bridges. Leave every interaction you can on a positive and professional note. It's a small world, and you never know when your paths may cross again.
• Learn to spot and avoid bad customers. You don't need to chase every dollar. Bow out of these opportunities gracefully.
• Maintain ethical consistency at all times. Business is stressful enough—no need to lose any extra sleep. Follow rules and regulations every opportunity you get. Always be honest.