Inner Growth Equals Outer Growth
Recognition and validation of a job well done are among the little things that keep people motivated in whatever craft they do; the same thing applies when you are in business.
As a small businessman in the landscaping industry, the pressure is always on to deliver top-notch service that will make our customers happy. When we finish a job and leave yet another satisfied customer who recognizes the great work we've done, it means the world to me.
Join me in this episode as I share with you a story about a conversation I had with a customer that really restored my faith in my business. Money is good, but the satisfaction people get from what you do is much greater.
“I don't care about the money. And I don't care about how much money I made. All I care about is that the guys are doing their job, and they're happy, and the customers are happy.”
– Keith Kalfas
Why do you have to listen to today's episode.
00:11 – “I want to talk about this amazing phone call I just got from a customer, Mrs. Jones…”
Today, I’ll share with you this little yet transformational conversation I had with Mrs. Jones after my crew did a phenomenal job in her garden.
01:10 – “I got this gut feeling that I need to leave, and I got to go to the job site. I just got to make sure they're doing the job right.”
It's been a while since I've been on a construction site, but this particular project was a bit tricky. Checking on them just to make sure they were properly performing their duties was what I wanted to do.
03:38 – “My guys know what to do. If I'm going to be running on the job sites and checking up on them, they're going to feel like I don't trust them.”
As a means of keeping your own peace of mind and boosting your employees' confidence, I discuss the importance of trusting them.
05:27 – “But you know, how do people learn? How do they get better? By doing it through repetition.”
Things don’t always go smoothly, the way you want them to be – especially when you’re in business. But remember that in every misstep comes an opportunity to get better.
07:12 – “The lady said, ‘I'm so incredibly happy with the work. Your guys were like artists out there. They were all over it.’”
This is the pinnacle of this story. This is where Mrs. Jones expressed how the performance of my crew restored her faith in contractors.
08:34 – “And I'm sitting at my kitchen table trying to hold back the tears because to have a customer say something like that to me, that's everything I've ever wanted to hear to restore my faith in my business.”
Being in a small business, it is extremely rare that I get validation for the good work that I do. Hearing such compliments from a customer means the world to me, and it is really what I hustled hard for in 19 years of being in this business.
Key Takeaways
“You got to trust people. It just comes with time and energy, experience.”
“My guys know what to do. If I'm going to be running on the job sites and checking up on them, they're going to feel like I don't trust them.”
“When something's attached to your survival and all the emotions that you create around it and the stories you tell yourself, it's so real to you that you can't imagine not being in the field.”
“Being a small business owner, man, it's really hard and you don't ever get a pat on the back. All you hear is once in a blue moon, you did something wrong, and you need to fix that s*** .”
Connect with Keith
Resources/People Mentioned:
My Website: Official Site Keith Kalfas
My Podcast Page: The UNTRAPPED Podcast
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