Excerpt



Max had also heard about a big hardware retail chain that was planning to open up on the outskirts of town offering many products such as filters, fan motors, and electronic air cleaners, just to mention a few. He could sense a change in the retail spending habits of his loyal customers.

But he also has very deep roots in the community, having served two and three generations of families. He knows all of his customers by their first names and he is affectionately nicknamed the furnace man. Max is secure in the knowledge that he would always have a profitable business as long as he delivered on what he promised. Besides, he wasnt about to add an additional service like plumbing when there was an established and capable plumbing contractor in town me.

Yes, me.

I have been enjoying all of the same successes as Max but for a shorter duration. I have been a product of the new generation a businessperson who learned his craft through an accredited apprenticeship program and continued to educate myself with the best training tools available. I havent depended on geographical proximity to better educate myself; I have leaned on the Internet to learn about new products and systems.

My 12 years in the business has seen a good steady growth pattern and a very good customer base. The business I bought from my former employer and mentor enjoys the same reputation as Maxs and I share the same concerns, too.

I have seen the encroachment of the big box stores and the occasional hit-and-run contractors who lure customers into their marketing web with low-cost teaser advertising and low-overhead operations. (Yes, my temporary competition often operates out of temporary locations, sometimes as mobile as an unmarked van or post office box number.) But I have managed to stave off this under the radar competition by delivering unmatched service and quality.

Yet, I am still feeling uneasy.

I am at the crossroads. I want to grow my business, but Ive probably taken it is far as I can in its current form. Its time to make an important decision. Am I content with annual growth that gives me a comfortable profit margin, yet one that could erode from new competitive pressures? Do I want to take the advice of industry experts who suggest that it is time to step out of the box and make decisions that will ensure the future of my company and the future of my family and the families of my employees?

Max knows he has a good business. I know he knows. And I know that with his experienced staff and solid customer list, I could add heating and cooling to my business mix. His people know me and like me I think.

But before I take the plunge into a new business, I have decided to consult with an old high school buddy who started his own heating and cooling business from scratch 22 years ago and has never looked back. Robert, known in high school as the guy most likely to break all of his knuckles (because of his proclivity for tearing down and rebuilding anything mechanical) had gone into business the hard way without knowing a thing about business.

Robert was a wrench-turner from the get-go. He had always been happier taking things apart and figuring out what made them tick. He enjoyed a challenge and was a top-notch troubleshooter and problem solver. And he was also a loner. He enjoyed working on his own, being his own boss. He tried working for someone else and that lasted about six months. Robert has been a square peg in the round holes of the business world.

Yet, he knew he had to have a little structure in his life if he were to succeed. He knew that his talents as a master mechanic would go to waste unless he hung out his own shingle and started up a heating and cooling business.

Robert would be an ideal person to talk to if I could slow him down long enough to discuss the business side of the company. I need to move quickly to make Max an offer, but I dont want to do it blindly. I need to learn from Roberts example what to do and what not do and I need answers now.

It is time to shut it down for a few days and head back east to visit my old high school buddy. Good thing for me Robert loves fishing. He offered to pick up the tab for a weekend fishing trip. Mixing business and pleasure seems like the ideal thing to do.

Roberts wife, Maggie, would be joining us in a little cabin on the water that they rent out every year. Maggie wanted to come so she could spend the weekend shopping the local antique stores. And what a coincidence there was an art fair in the community that weekend, too.

After spending most of the day flying to New York and driving up to the cabin, I was ready to do little but sleep the first night. The fishing and the fish tales would have to wait until the next morning. And that is where the story begins