Honor bound

BY ELLEN ROHR
contributing writer

My husband “Hot Rod” and his buddy Richard Yox started a plumbing and solar contracting company. Hot Rod and Yox were good technicians and they got busy ... fast. Within a few years, their business grew from “easy extra money” to “maxed-out-overwhelming.” On a Friday afternoon, Yox complained about a remodeling project. He was fed up with the general contractor and our flaky employees. He said, “If I don’t do it myself, it will never get done.” Yox had worked about 100 hours that week, and he wasn’t feeling well.

By Saturday, Yox was in the hospital. On Sunday afternoon he died. He had health problems and didn’t take great care of himself; there was too much work to do. He was 33 years old. It was devastating for Hot Rod, who had been friends with Yox since they were in third grade. We were stunned. We started to recover, as you just do.

And then I did a really stupid thing.

Yox had been the bookkeeper at Hot Rod and Yox Inc. After he died, I raised my hand to take over those duties. Hot Rod had no interest in the paperwork and was more productive out in the field. I had a degree in business and lots of working experience, so I figured, “Piece of cake. I can handle the accounting for a dinky plumbing and heating company.”

I was wrong. The next few years were humbling. Every month I would ask, “Where did the money go?” I didn’t know why we weren’t making any money. I would try and talk to Hot Rod about it, and all he heard was, “You are not good enough.” It was so stressful on both of us.

Then, at Hot Rod’s urging, I wrote a letter to Frank Blau. Frank is a super successful contractor and — as I was to discover — a brilliant mentor. My letter was a request for help and a pathetic justification for why we were charging $30 per hour. Frank called me a few days later. He introduced himself by telling me that I had my head so far up my #@% that I would never see the light of day. He told me that I didn’t know the first thing about business or accounting and that we would never make a profit. Even worse, he added, I thought I was so smart with my business degree. That degree just meant I was arrogant in my misunderstandings.

Well, I was offended. Then I got angry. Then I got over it.

I called Frank back. This was the beginning of an unlikely mentorship. This mentorship, now a deep friendship, has had a rippling impact on so many others, in powerful, positive ways.

Frank is an amazing man. He’s funny and irreverent and he loves to help people make money. His passion comes from a deep-rooted belief in the importance of unglamorous work: plumbing, drain-cleaning, digging holes and filling them back in. He understands that plumbers keep good water from crappy water. He appreciates electricians as “lightning wranglers.” He loves heating and cooling professionals because they “make weather, damn it!” And he believes that one should make a good living providing essential goods and services. His meat-and-potatoes advice applies to everyone who has hung up the shingle — or plans to — offering the gifts that he or she has to share.

I am so grateful for Frank. He taught me how to make money. Frank mentored me, so I am honor bound to help others. Like Randy, a cleaning professional who teaches inmates business basics at a correctional facility in Oklahoma. Like Charles, a former inmate who was incarcerated for 27 years and is working with Randy to build a successful commercial cleaning company.

I met these fellows because Randy started using my books to teach financial basics and business planning at the facility. What a joy it has been to work with them. Randy and Charles inspire me with how they are overcoming the odds to create viable, profitable businesses. They are honor bound too, and have already started reaching out, sharing what they have learned about business. There’s a lot to do. There are a lot of people who have their heads you know where when it comes to the money, honey.

“So, how much is Randy charging for the essential, dangerous, highly-skilled professional cleaning services he provides for his customers?” Frank recently asked, ready to pounce on my response.

“Have you crunched the numbers with him?”

Frank continues to coach me and to weigh in on how to help Randy. “Focus on creating the proper selling price. You don’t charge enough; you won’t make any money. You don’t make any money; you don’t pay your fair share of taxes. You don’t create profits and there are no profit sharing or retirement contributions for you or your dedicated employees. You don’t make enough money, and you might be tempted to do something stupid, something that could land you in prison.”

Frank just can’t help…but help. Thank you, Frank.

One more thing. Frank inspired the creation of the Nexstar Legacy Foundation. I am proud to be a new board member. Check out the good work we are doing helping people develop life-changing careers in the PHC industry at www.nexstarfoundation.org.

Join me for the 12 Step - Step by Step Success program. The power of one simple, focused action, one step at a time. Check out www.StepByStepBusinessBuilding.com. Reach me at 417/753-1111 or contact@barebonesbiz.com.