Fiction has to make sense! This was written by a writer of television series. Over the past year if I’ve learned anything, and I’ve learned A LOT, fact is often much stranger than fiction. Who would have thought when the Governor told us we’d need to shelter in place for 17 days we’d still be sheltered almost a year later? Certainly the professional painter I met with by the name of Jed didn’t!
Jed and I sat down last week, face to face, to talk about changing the direction of his residential/commercial painting business in 2021 from the direction it took in 2020. When 2020 was all said and done Jed’s revenue in 2020 was down a little over 31% from what he’d done in 2019. This revenue drop took him from being profitable to a slight loss and that included losing one of his more reliable and well paid painters due to cost cutting. Jed was seeking my help to make 2021 a better year. When we got down to specifics and I learned how much better he was expecting I suspected there would be a problem.
Jed’s “line in the sand” goal was to increase 2021 to at least 50% above his result from 2019… not 2020. This was a must have. The goal meant we had to return the business to the 2019 level and then we needed to add an additional 50% to that! Growing 30% would not be easy but is possible. I was all in on this goal. Growing another 50% on top of that and delivering a quality product (which he does!) while having lost his best painter was a fool’s game. When I told him this he wasn’t happy. I love helping an owner deliver what’s realistic and possible. I felt good about a 30% increase.
Since this wasn’t a good fit for either of us we went on our way. I gave Jed some marketing ideas he could use along with promising to stay in touch with him. On the one hand I’d love to be able to help him realistically grow his business and on the other hand I don’t want to be involved in pushing someone to attain what’s likely unattainable in a single year. What advice would you give Jed?
My name is Steven Clauson. I coach people who want help getting where they want to be. The people I coach are typically already taking action, getting results and ask what’s next and what actions to take to make an even greater impact. They aren’t afraid to ask for help. How can I help you? What actions are you taking? Those who have a plan and implement that plan lead the pack. Planning, preparing to win and taking appropriate action means you hear the word “YES” more than ever. Only if you are one of the few willing to take action, do what’s required and play full out are you likely to hear the word yes more often. People hearing the word “YES” are winners on the playing field because they play full out and dominate. For these people results matter. Tired of results less than you know you can produce? Call me at 916-230-0176 or visit www.stevenclauson.com
The Difference Between Writing Fact And Writing Fiction…
