Having a can-do attitude is a must in this industry. You can’t walk into a customer’s home and say, “I can’t repair this” or “I can’t look at it for you.” If you did, you wouldn’t be in business very long.
Linda Hudek and Joe Holtz — both contractors featured in this issue — needed that can-do attitude to do what they do successfully.
There are three simple ways to developing that type of attitude for yourself and your company.
BECOMING SELF-MOTIVATED
Holtz saw a problem that needed to be resolved. As many plumbers do, he was responding to customers who had jobs where cutting pipes in close quarters is required.
He was tired of trying to find a cutting tool small enough, or one that helped him know which way to turn no matter which way he looked at it, so he started looking at his options.
Holtz, owner of Milwaukee Plumbing in Milwaukee, found his solution as you’ll read more about in the On the Road feature this month. He found a cutting tool that seemed like it was built just for him and it’s made his work much easier.
Holtz didn’t sit on his hands and wait for someone to come to him with a solution, he took it upon himself to seek out an easier way to work.
DEVELOP RESILIENCE
Being resilient can help you to bounce back more quickly when something does not go your way. This is important for a can-do attitude because you may sometimes have to deal with setbacks.
Hudek recalls when she first started working for her dad and messed something up with a backhoe. “I tried to grade out an area and made an absolute mess of it,” she says. “I cried in front of him. He said, ‘Why are you crying? That’s not going to fix anything!’ He taught me that without determination and resilience, I wasn’t going to go very far in this business.”
Having the resiliency to bounce back from that error and keep learning allowed her to grow into a well-respected plumber and operate her own company, featured in this issue.
REMEMBER THE BIG PICTURE
In the end, you have to remember the big picture — you and your company. You should be striving to set an example to your own employees and others in the industry.
Having that can-do attitude can put you and your company in a better position to grow and be there for the customers when they need you the most.
How has your can-do attitude helped you with your company? Email me at editor@plumbermag.com and let me know. I enjoy hearing from all of our readers.
Enjoy this issue!
