Any business that has the right quality and service is going to grow, or the owner is going to eventually go crazy trying to wear all of the hats. I went through this problem for the first five years that I had a hardwood flooring company. Eventually, I had to realize that the best role for me in my business is to do the sales and marketing and support my workers in the field. Sometimes letting go of the control factor of quality is hard, because you have to trust people with having the equal passion for quality that you do.
Any business that has the right quality and service is going to grow, or the owner is going to eventually go crazy trying to wear all of the hats. I went through this problem for the first five years that I had a hardwood flooring company. Eventually, I had to realize that the best role for me in my business is to do the sales and marketing and support my workers in the field. Sometimes letting go of the control factor of quality is hard, because you have to trust people with having the equal passion for quality that you do.
I'd say that after four years of having employees in various numbers, I've learned you cannot make anyone care about quality by threatening them or forcing them. It's not my style to be abrasive, but during the first year or two that I had employees I realized I was bad at hiring people who were a good fit for the business. I was worse at realizing that I should let them go once I realized that they weren't a good fit. Now that I have had some really good employees for a while, I have a team that has a real interest in doing quality work.
I have but one secret that I've found to be essential for keeping harmony in quality with employees: a mutual respect between the owner and employees. Everyone who works at Modern Tech Floors has a very good skill set, and they've done lots of installations, sanding, and coating. The trick to having earned their respect is that they know that I also have an equivalent skill set, and I can and will jump in to help them through a job at any time. I call this "street credibility" (as they would say in the world of hip-hop). You think I'm joking, but honestly I've seen people jump into this business, purchase or start a wood floor company, and think that they can wing it. Generally speaking, most business owners who learn to become a perpetual student of the craft will make it after such a purchase. The rest always struggle to earn enough respect to deliver the best quality with employees.
Being complacent with your knowledge, not sharing your knowledge, and not learning from your employees is a big mistake. It leads to stagnation and only companies that are progressing in skills and service are going to make it through the next few years. Learning from your employees is important as well. Whether it is a skill in flooring or things I can do to improve the way I run the business and treat the employees, I keep my ear to the ground.
We made it through our tough job after failing twice, and when we came back to bat the third time, we all had a serious but positive attitude. We hit a home run as a team because we learned how to fix the problem with technique instead of me sitting behind a cell phone at a desk yelling at the guys for being idiots. The mileage of those successes as a group will always outweigh any negative management style.
The single biggest piece advice of I've ever heard and yet the toughest pill to swallow is: "If something in your business isn't working right, it's probably you and not the people around you." Think about it: If I hire people with the right attitude, then it's my job to help them learn to become better, not yell at them for trying and failing because they haven't learned a skill. If they don't have the right attitude, then I made a bad hire. It sounds contradictory, but introspection is the hardest habit for a business owner and it's the best way to earn and maintain respect from your team if you care about your business.
