Launching Leaders

 I found this week of learning very fascinating.  I was asked to write a book report on Launching Leaders.  The report brought back memories of failures and successes.  It also helped me recognize the source of the success.  I believe that the best thing to do for this blog is to post my book report that includes my personal experiences over the last 12 years.

Launching Leaders

 

It was January 2011 when I was reviewing our company financials.  We were close to a million dollars in debt and finished the year with $500,000 in revenue!  To make matters worse, I was working 12-16 hours a day 6 days a week.  I couldn’t provide for the basic necessities of life for my family. For the first time in my life, my wife insisted that we get government help. I was embarrassed and ashamed.  How did it get to this point?

As a young boy my mother always taught me that I could achieve anything in this life if I worked hard. I applied that principle and found it to be true. At the age of 26, I was the President/co-owner of 5 small companies with combined revenue of 3 Million dollars and a workforce of 30 employees. On the side, I had also been successful in real estate investments bringing my combined annual income to well over $150,000 a year.

My life was easy.  I arranged the companies in a way that allowed me to work from home.  I would spend the morning with my kids, help them get ready for school, and watch them as they drove away on the bus. I spent time with my wife, eventually meandering into my office to check on the companies, and then spent most of the day enjoying life while I checked occasionally on the managers.

On Jan. 3, 2009, I was in my room pondering upon the subject of faith.  My life had become so easy!  My personally spiritual development had slowed.  Had all this success impacted me in a negative way? Did I really believe that this life was a time to prepare to meet God? Did the wealth really matter?  If it was a time to prepare to meet God then nothing else mattered than my personal relationship with Him. Would I be willing to give it all up if he demanded it?  It was this thought process and a moment of humility that brought me to my knees. More than anything, at that moment I wanted my faith to increase.  I prayed that he would increase my faith no matter the cost!

I had just recently signed an agreement to sell our California operations for $1.4 Million and arranged to start up again in Arizona.  My family and I moved to Arizona to ensure the success of the new operation.  That first year we spent 2 Million dollars developing the new company.  Unfortunately, at the end of year 1, we had $600,000 in debt and only $300,000 in revenue.  The other 4 companies that we owned failed as I had turned my focus to Arizona. We sold a company for a small profit and the others closed their doors or were auctioned off to pay the debts that were owed.

Within just 6 months of that prayer for increased faith, I lost everything of value. We balanced our debt day by day while working as many hours as possible, hoping that somehow we could turn the company around. At the same time, the Lord saw fit to call me as a religious leader taking up a majority of my one free day, Sunday. 

For two years I worked as many hours as I could physically handle, hoping it would fix the issue, unfortunately, it got worse. One day, I was asked to take the youth to the temple and afterward take them to Dairy Queen for dessert.  I was to pay for the dessert then get reimbursed.  My wife and I had saved a hundred-dollar bill for weeks to make sure I could pay.  Unfortunately, when I went to pay I learned that they don’t take $100 bills. Humbly I had to ask another adult to pay. This was one of my lowest points. But experience upon experience humbled me even further.

 

My First Core Value

 

Then one day it all made sense. After ordering a $1 junior bacon cheeseburger from Wendy’s I sat waiting to turn on a busy road. Out of nowhere, an elderly lady ran up to my window and pleaded with me to give her money.  She explained she had 3 grandchildren in her home that had not eaten for days. In tears, I had to let her know that I truly had no money and could not help.  I drove away frustrated with myself, and I promised God that if he would once again prosper me I would devote my life to him and give to those in need.

 

Align My Core Value With God

 

Within a day of this experience, I believe the Lord tested my true intentions. While servicing some clients they gave me a tip.  This is very rare in my industry so I was surprised when several clients did it within a day. When I took the money, at first all I could think about was how this would provide some necessities for my neglected children. But remembering my promise to God I held the money in my pocket waiting for him to tell me what to do.  One evening I was driving home from a long day’s work and I saw a family selling watermelons.  The spirit told me to buy a watermelon.  I turned around and asked the kids to pick me out the biggest watermelon they could find.  I took the money God had given me and gave it to the family in exchange for a watermelon.

 I then understood money and how God sees it.  I was given the blessing of money, I took that blessing to another family by purchasing a watermelon, and then my family got to enjoy a delicious watermelon!  My first core value was set: succeed so I can give to those in need.  I knew that it aligned with God.

 

The Mentor

 

When the Lord had called me to be part of church leadership he also assigned another good brother to work with me.  To both of our surprise, we were in the same industry and in the same market.  We would spend hours talking about the struggles we each had and discussed with each other successes.  This helped each of us succeed even though we were direct competitors.  Coincidence? I don’t think so.

 

Charting My Course

 

         I always knew that I wanted to retire at the age of 50 and go on a mission.  At this point, my company was failing so it didn’t look possible.  But my wife shared my vision and she jumped on board to help.  She learned how the internet worked and spent hours upon hours praying, pondering, and pleading with God to help her learn more.

         Then one day it happened!  My wife called me as I was headed to service a home and asked me to get a video for the website.  As I began to record and service, scorpions began coming out of all the cracks and crevices and dying.  I was amazed and rushed the video to my wife. We edited it late into the night and posted it on Facebook the next morning!  The video was an instant hit and went viral.  The sales flooded in from that day forward.

 

Get Your Education

 

With sales booming our company grew too fast for my current knowledge set.  Our revenues were increasing but we still did not show a profit.  I knew the growth was good so I borrowed more and more money hoping that the increased sales would at some point show as profit.  After a couple of years I knew I had to change the company, but how?

I got an Audible account and immersed myself into every business book I could get my hands on. I learned about company organization, profit and loss, management skills, and customer service.  I also watched every business show available on Amazon. While I listened and watched I had a book with me that I wrote down all the changes I had to make in the company.  The Lord inspired me as I learned and pondered upon the changes I had to make.

         The business got exciting and I truly had found my oil! I kept with my core values and gave back to my community and employees.  We not only increased our bottom line, but we also increased the pay for every employee to be well above industry standards.

My second core value was that family comes first. We felt as a company that in order to live that value we needed to close the company on Saturdays.  We reviewed the impact and made the decision to do it.  To our surprise, most customers thought this was an awesome idea. That was not the only blessing that came from that change, the best employees in the industry came to our company because they didn’t want to work on the weekends.

 

Habits of Success

 

The success of the company fed upon success until we become one of the best competitors in the largest market in the world for our industry. Every day as a team we would discuss our weaknesses and find ways to improve upon them. We found a purpose in lifting each other within the company. We were grateful for each other and supported each other in our trials and celebrated when we each succeeded.  Even though we had grown to just 50 full-time employees we knew that there were over 400 spouses and children that relied on the companies success.

 

Financial Fitness

 

In 2019 as I evaluated the course of our company and the respect I had for all of our employees I made the decision to sell the company. I met with all the major buyers in our industry and found one that would treat my employees the way I felt they should be treated. I knew that my abilities to progress beyond a 50 employee company were limited and that the company would be held back by my lack of experience and knowledge.  I sold the company at the beginning of 2020 to a Venture Capitalist firm.  Since they have taken over they have purchased and merged massive amounts of business into my company.  All of my employees have grown in wage and responsibility. They are now running the largest company in the largest market in my industry. I couldn’t be more proud of them and what they have accomplished.

 

Giving Back

 

I sold my company for more than enough to retire for the rest of my life. But my quest for knowledge has not changed.  That is one of the reasons I am pursuing a formal education that  I never had the opportunity to receive.  I currently am serving the Lord as a member of the Stake Presidency and as a temple ordinance worker.  I hope that at some point I will be able to accomplish my goal of serving a mission.  However, with a two-year-old at home, it is going to be a few years before this can happen. My core values are still the same, give to those in need and put family first.