Driven to Business with Eddie Mayfield

When I first started EMA, a friend of mine had a similar business.  Since the business was heavily field service oriented, his advice was, “don’t hire anyone.”   The thought was that employees added cost, complication and headaches.  This gentleman was making a very good living as a one man show, seemed to enjoy it, and there was validity to his viewpoint.

I gave that some consideration.   It was true, especially back then, that I had the skills to simply work on my own, and since overhead would essentially just be me, it wouldn’t take that many customers to provide a very nice income.  I had managed employees before, and was acutely aware of the problems that could accompany them.

I think that’s something that every entrepreneur should think about and consider.  On the one hand, being a one man show, has its drawbacks.  If you have any success at building a customer base, taking time off from the business can be difficult, the number of customers you can have is probably limited, and you can’t grow beyond what you can do yourself.

There’s also the problem of getting older.  What’s attractive to you at 30 might not be acceptable to you at 50.  And trust me, getting older, is the only alternative to dying. So put it into your plans.

The upside, is that it’s simple.  I have a good friend that writes programs for industrial machines.   He told me when he founded his business, he had two  goals:  to make more money, and to simplify his life.

He works from his home, and his business has been very successful.  In fact, he was having to turn down business simply because he didn’t have the time to do it.

I suggested to him that he consider hiring another programmer, and reminded him that he was leaving money on the table by not accepting the other jobs.   He reminded me that while that might help the first goal, it was out of line with the second.

I think, at least from a clarity of purpose standpoint, he has it right.  That’s not how I would do it, but for his purposes, it’s the proper course of action.

This particular friend is comfortable working completely alone;  but you might not be.  Again, it’s just something you should think about.  What’s right for one person is not necessarily right for another.

Once you do decide to hire another person, it changes everything.

I didn’t handle it all that well at first.   I thought I knew how to manage people because I’d been reasonably successful at it before.    But that seemed to change when the pressures of my own business hit.

I’d be gone all week calling on clients, leaving a couple of technicians and a clerk there to get repairs done.  On several occasions I’d return to find the technicians stuck on the same problem they had when I left.  I was well aware that meant no billings out the door while overhead continued to pile up; and,  I was operating very close to the edge financially.  To make matters worse, on several occasions the clerk had made mistakes in our administration system that required hours of my time to correct.

The stress of that, plus my own inexperience caused me to fly off the handle with the employees, rather than attempt to resolve the problems.  In a couple of the cases, I should have terminated an incompetent employee much earlier, and in others, I should have spent more time coaching and helping them to be successful.

Yelling at people is not leadership;  it’s bullying.   It’s also unprofessional and unacceptable and I’m not proud at all of it.  Pragmatically, it makes things worse not better.

Here’s what I’ve discovered..   the hiring process is important..   in fact, if you plan to have employees, nothing you do is more important.

Jim Collins, in his landmark book, Good to Great uses the analogy of a bus.   He says that who is on the bus determines where the bus is going, not necessarily where you wish it were going.  Spend time determining who should be on your bus.

Since we were a technical business primarily,  I spent a lot of time attempting to test for technical prowess.   That was my primary hiring  criteria, and I would ignore almost anything else if they proved to me they could handle the job technically.

Even if I were hiring clerical types, I applied the same criteria.   For instance, if the person had prior experience and could demonstrate competence with our accounting program, I’d hire them despite any other factors.   Those were costly mistakes.

What I learned, the hard way, is that character, intelligence and attitude are the most important criteria. I remember during a presentation by Ross Perot years ago, long before he got into politics, he was asked how one could go about training employees to be more friendly to customers.   Perot, in his classic style, shot back,  “why don’t you just try hiring friendly people to start with?”

He was exactly right.

Collins has another piece of advice regarding employees:  had you known when your hired this employee, what you know about them now, would you have hired them?  If the answer is “no,” then you made a hiring mistake.

But, here’s a caveat; you have no right to terminate anyone to whom you haven’t been giving feedback about their failings.  Everyone deserves a chance to correct their performance once made aware of the shortcomings.

In a strange and convoluted way, many of us do not want to be unkind to an employee.  Hence we will not say anything negative about their work.  Instead, we wait until we are so frustrated by the lack of performance, that we just terminate them with little warning. It goes without saying, that is hardly kind, and in fact, is incredibly unfair.

Terminations should never be a surprise. If it ever is, then you aren’t doing your job.

So, employees or not?  For me, the answer is a resounding “yes!”  I have been blessed with a terrific  team of people at EMA, that have enhanced my life in many ways.  Plus, we would never have enjoyed the success we’ve been privileged to have if the company had been dependent on just me.

Starting a business is a great American dream for many people, and it may be for you.  My advice always..  go into it with your eyes wide open.  And, that includes whether or not to have employees.

Eddie Mayfield

Mike Seigle  is the Director of Research and Database Management for Landmark Communications. Mike manages the firm’s sophisticated statewide database of voters, creating mailing lists, phoning lists, walk lists and other “direct voter contact” projects.

Mike and Landmark were the most accurate pollsters in the  recent statewide elections here in Georgia, and in fact, were the first in the nation to state that David Perdue would win the US Senate seat without a runoff.  Almost every other polling organization in the country thought otherwise.

Managing a political database and making sense of it has parallels to business data, and in these days of “big data” it’s important that even small businesses and their leaders understand the trick of this trade. Mike was a history instructor at Georgia Perimeter for a number of years, so he brings a unique perspective to this.

The business parallels and lessons are obvious…  all of us in business need to understand who our customers are, what motivates them, and why they buy from us and not our competitors.   Just as important, if the prospect is buying from your competitor, knowing WHY can help you win them over.

Mike is an interesting and thoughtful guest.  Tune in Saturday at 11 AM to Driven to Business on Atlanta’s business radio, WAFS, Biz 1190 AM.

Driven to Business, hosted by Eddie Mayfield airs at 11 AM every Saturday on WAFS, Biz 1190 AM.  The program is streamed live on Biz1190.com and podcast on eddiemayfield.com and itunes.  SUBSCRIBE TO US ON ITUNES

Simply the best business radio in Atlanta, Driven to Business.

Michael Bull is a successful real estate investor, hosts a widely quoted radio program, and runs a highly regarded commercial real estate company.  You can visit Bull Realty’s website HERE.   For information about the “Commercial Real Estate Show” that Michael hosts, click HERE.

Listen in as Eddie and Micheal discuss not only the Atlanta area real estate market, but real estate in general.   As a commercial real estate expert, Micheal offers great advice to all business owners and managers whether they are leasing or buying their building.

Fortunes have been made and lost in real estate, and Michael’s expertise in this field can be invaluable.

Michael’s interview will air on Saturday November 15 at 11 AM.

Driven to Business hosted by Eddie Mayfield airs every Saturday at 11 AM on Atlanta’s business radio, Biz 1190 AM.  The program streams live on biz1190.com and is podcast on eddiemayfield.com and itunes.  SUBSCRIBE TO US ON ITUNES.

Simply the best business radio in Atlanta..  Driven to Business.

S

Keith Getty is an Irish born Christian hymnwriter and performer.   Keith, along with his wife Kristyn are sought after performers, playing to sell out crowds all over the world.  A multi-talented instrumentalist and composer, Keith first learned to play guitar, but later began to study flute which included a summer masterclass under renowned Irish flautist Sir James Galway. Ironically, it was Keith’s piano – not flute – arrangements that most intrigued Galway and helped open the world of the music industry to him. Keith has since orchestrated and arranged more than 200 projects for recordings, concerts, theater, television and film, including arrangements for Michael W. Smith’s 2004 Healing Rain album, as well as producing and composing (with Kristyn) various projects for the internationally renowned African Children’s Choir.

Along with their band—an ensemble of some of the top names in Irish and American folk music—Keith & Kristyn have toured extensively in both America and the Celtic Islands this year. Additionally, their annual Joy – An Irish Christmas Tour, which included a sellout performance at Nashville’s prestigious Schermerhorn Symphony Center in 2011, has become a highlight of the holiday season for audiences around the country and is slated to stop in 20 cities, including right here in Atlanta on December 19th. (Click HERE for info) (Ricky Skaggs is also appearing with them)

Hailing from Northern Ireland and now residing in Nashville, the couple welcomed their first child, Eliza Joy, last year.

Keith is also a great guest.  He’s smart, funny, and open in sharing not only his faith, but the inside view of what it takes to pull off a successful performance tour.

Keith appears on Driven to Business on Saturday November 8th on WAFS, Atlanta’s biz 1190 AM.

Driven to Business, hosted by Eddie Mayfield, airs every Saturday at 11 AM on Atlanta’s business radio, Biz 1190 AM.   Driven to Business is streamed live on biz1190.com and podcast on eddiemayfield.com and itunes.  (Subscribe to us on Itunes)

Simply the best business radio in Atlanta..   Driven to Business.

Eric and Robin Gagnon have a very interesting business..  they SELL restaurants, and their company is called We Sell Restaurants.

This dynamic duo and husband and wife team are the country’s leading restaurant brokers.

Restaurant brokers, authors, radio hosts, speakers and experts and franchisors, their book, Appetite for Acquisition was named Best of 2012 by Small Business Book Awards and has a five-star rating on Amazon.

Eric and Robin are on Driven to Business with Eddie Mayfield on Saturday November 1 at 11 AM.  They’re great guests, and their experiences will be valuable to anyone in a leadership position within any business.

There’s also some very intriguing inside baseball for the restaurant business,  including what makes one tick, what doesn’t, why you might want to buy one, and even how you can spot a good to dine with.

They also talk with Eddie a bit about what it’s like to work together as a husband and wife team.

Don’t miss this program with Eric and Robin Gagnon of We Sell Restaurants.   Eric and Robin also host a radio program every Saturday at noon on AM Talk 920 in Atlanta which is the nation’s ONLY national restaurant show.

Driven to Business, hosted by Eddie Mayfield is heard every Saturday at 11 AM on Atlanta’s business radio, Biz 1190 AM.  The program is streamed live on biz1190.com and podcast on eddiemayfield.com and itunes. (SUBSCRIBE to our podcast on Itunes)