Recently, we took a minute to talk with a member about the impact HTG has had on their professional and personal life.
Since your involvement with HTG, what has changed in your business?
“Our biggest change has been that we now write down our goals and are able to execute them. We’d talked about ways to plan before but never wrote them down, so we didn’t know when we were getting somewhere, once we were there. I now have the internal motivation to plan the business because I see firsthand how well it works. Also, the structure of our company has changed. The leadership team has blossomed in a way that I couldn’t imagine a couple years ago. Everyone is taking accountability for things. We read books together, discuss the teachings, and meet every week religiously.”
Have there been changes to your personal side as well?
“I did a LifePlan in June 2015. Growing up in a small beach town, I liked to party and didn’t take things too seriously. I never went to college. But I learned a lot about my past and how it plays to where I am today. I identified my core talents and my passions... Since the LifePlan, I have improved relationships with my company, employees, family, girlfriend and am now building a close relationship with my niece and nephew, with the goal of getting full custody of them.”
Where do you see yourself and business in the next 3 years?
“I want to be closer to a point to exit off the org chart within the next three to five years. In three years, our leadership team should be as strong or stronger than it is today.
What are you proudest of in your life or business?
“Making the transition from the everyday doer into running the business. I tell my guys sometimes, ‘I will never stop trying to become qualified for the job I have today,’ because I didn’t go to business school.”
What motivates you?
“Years ago it was making a bazillion dollars and retiring early. But now I want to do a lot in my community because I am very aware of the addiction problems in our small resort town. I am also motivated about using the business to educate people on how technology can accelerate their business.
Above all, it’s the pride I have with my high school buddies who have been with me since the beginning. It’s nice seeing how they have grown and are fostering growth within our team.”
What’s the toughest decision you had to make as a business owner?
“Getting out of the way! I kind of got fired from my own job in 2015. Three of my employees insisted we weren’t going to grow unless I stop working with computers and let them handle the day to day and come up with solutions.
That’s really how you feel as a business owner, you don’t trust anyone else to run your company but you aren’t going to grow any farther if you don’t let them.“
Anything else you want others to know?
“My advice is: The quarterly meetings are a fun place to go and exchange ideas, but you are failing yourself if you are not doing the plans and the things that HTG teaches you to do. Initially, I didn’t think I was joining to be working on my plans!
You have to go to the meetings for the purpose of developing your business, yourself, and working on your leadership skills. Leadership is very much a craft and a skill that’s not something you are born with. It requires practice and dedication. I think the more you work on that, yourself, and your organization, the better off you will be.
The biggest thing that HTG teaches in the LifePlan are the risks along the way. Keep those in view because there are lots of things that can cause problems and get you off track. But it’s how you pick yourself up from those that matters.“