Lessons from my Badass Business-Owning Parents
I have learned A LOT since that day I dropped out of the traditional workforce and started working on my own stuff full time. At the same time, the further I go, the more I realize how many times I’ve been saved from having to learn something the hard way because some part of me already understood how to deal with it…and I think I know who I have to thank for that.
I was raised by my mother. She didn’t become a business owner until later in life, after I’d already left the house, and moved away. In retrospect, however, she and I would argue, all good parents have a little entrepreneurial/leadership quality to them. Are they not managing a team (family)? Not too long after getting together with my stepfather, my Mom left the workforce and soon purchased an auto glass shop. My stepfather, on the other hand, has been running an accounting practice for decades. Both of them had very different perspectives on what it means to be successful in business, and in a way, the things they taught me came together to form the kind of business person I am today.
My Mother, The Restless
My mother was never someone who waited for opportunities to come to her. She could not afford to – literally. When she was a single mother, she worked up to three jobs at once to make sure her children had the support they needed. When she started her own business, that drive only got stronger. Through her actions, she taught me how to see and grab at every advantage available.
Want to know what I mean? She’ll walk through parking lots and slip business cards on cars that have cracked windows (recall, she owns an auto glass repair shop). She drives business by bringing treats to the local car insurance offices, making her name the first one on their lips when their clients come in with claims of window damage. She sends pizza to the local auto shops that don’t handle window glass and, what do you know? They send back customers. And it’s not just food! Sometimes she will simply stop by on her way into work, say hi and ask them how they are doing.
She’s also known for being among the first people to welcome new businesses to the neighbourhood. She’s worked out an entire cross-promotional network of small businesses around her that recommend her services and vice versa. Things like; while you wait, grab a coffee on us as the diner next door.
She has this incredible aptitude for business, and while by all accounts she very successful, she refuses to slow down. It’s a game now! She abhors complacency, and takes every dip and loss seriously, even when it has little impact on her bottom line. This might sound like anxious behaviour, but she’s also one of the most positive and humble people I know.
My Father, The Faithful
My step pops has created every bit as much success in business, but he defines it in a different way. He’s one of those rare businessmen who is solely driven by the affection for their clients and community. Giving back to his clients is a matter of principle to him. Most of his accounting clients are business owners too, and he always makes such a conscious and consistent effort to buy their wares over anyone else’s. Even if they are inferior, it doesn’t matter to him. In fact, sometimes he buys things from them he has NO use for…just to show support.
He could drive business like my mother but did it in a risky way that drove her instincts crazy. When he had to, his relationship with his long-running clients meant supporting them even when they couldn’t afford him. However, his bet that they would either recover or drive new business by singing his praises to others paid off shockingly often. He places his bets on the people.
While not as capitalist as my mother, I can appreciate his vision of a business owner because of how satisfied and loved that I can see that it has made him. His clients are as loyal as close friends, and for him, that makes him sleep like a baby.
The Things They Shared
They love work. That’s probably what stuck with me more than anything. They may have almost opposite views on how a business owner is supposed to get it done, but what brought them together is that neither one would ever hesitate to go out and do it. They are true operators! Even to this day, the work they do excites them because the struggle is their home.
Another thing I’ve picked up on is how much they care for their team – sometimes to a fault. They want so badly for the people around them to succeed in their work, and in their personal lives. Their support extends beyond the walls of the office, as they do their best to always further each of their team’s position in life. Even after someone leaves the team, I’ve seen my parents give away a vehicle of theirs, knowing that it would help that leaving team member in their transition to other gainful employment.
What It Made Me
One thing was clear, whatever I did, it had to bring me a similar joy. I’ve never been short on hard work ethic. This is in my bones. But if I was going to pour my heart and soul into something, it needed to bring me the same satisfaction that it brings my parents. So it made me want for that feeling, which brought me outside the walls of a job and created an entrepreneurial spirit that is a real force.
Their capacity to care has been a real blessing and a hurdle for me. A blessing because I want the world for my team and the people around me. I want to see their position in the world advance. This may be why I hired freelancers, instead of employees. I wanted to surround myself with people who wanted differently would be courageous enough to fight for it.
On the flip side, there will be people that I bring on that don’t work out. I will bang my head against the wall, granting opportunity after opportunity, trying to will them to care like I do. I lose a lot of time doing this, and it is not productive for either party.
Most of all, it created an unquenchable thirst to achieve. The motivation to above all else, reach for more. My Mom fought tooth and nail to see that her kids had what they needed, and were given all the tools required to succeed. I intend to return that favour and pass her energy and spirit on to as many people who will have it.
