If you’re not growing you’re dying. Anthony Robbins
The minute you’re satisfied with where you are, you aren’t there anymore
Risk is essential. There is not growth of inspiration in staying within what is safe and comfortable. Once you find out what you do best, why not try something else?” – Alex Noble
Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. – Benjamin Franklin
Strong words and I’m a pretty big believer in learning from others, especially those who have achieved such great heights as those I’ve quoted. However I often wonder, is it ever ok to just sit still? Would it be acceptable to not have a plan to grow. I mean, where do you stop? Is one million dollars that magic plateau? But once you hit that isn’t the next most logical step 2 million, 3 then 10, why not 100 million or even 1 Billion dollars? If you were to live by these axioms in the literal sense then the answer is most definitely yes. On the other hand- could your life be fulfilled if you stopped somewhere along the way and just said, “There, I’m where I want to be, I think I’ll stay here awhile.”
What do you think?….. are you fat and happy?
Pest control routes can sometimes take years to build. You add a client here sell a job there and even though a few disappointments come along from time to time, over the years you can have something pretty rock solid. For some, the process is faster or things really get heated up or an opportunity presents itself and that owner can have 2 maybe 3 routes or more. In either scenario a route is a precious thing. It’s a steady income and can afford the owner of the route (s) a pretty nice lifestyle with very a predictable flow. Cash is not really a problem, bills are under control, hobbies are first class all the way and (most importantly) your family is well taken care of. This is a most enviable place to end up, a great and desirable place to be. Is there anything wrong with that?
The Mindset Of Fat And Happy
We all know the mindset of those companies on the move. Growth by all means is the goal and each year is a huge competition to out do the last. I’m not here to say there’s anything wrong with that & you’ll hardly find a business guru to tell you any different….. On the flip side however, I believe it can be just as healthy to hit and maintain a comfortable level of business and never concern yourself with the trappings of constant expansion.
Where I see this most prominently is in the 1 to 3 route firms. Perhaps the owner still gets his or her hands dirty but maybe not so much. They’re not so big that taxes are so overwhelming, advertising is next to nil and insurance costs don’t eat them up. Their well established route(s) just keep churning the same mundane predictable numbers month after month and year after. With this level of comfort they seek to maintain those numbers but don’t add gray hairs trying to best last years swarm season or pay for another zip code for their $5000.00 mail campaign hoping for a 2% better return. Nope, the mindset of this owner of the route likes it just where it is and about his/her only fear is to not ‘upset the apple cart’ and interrupt this uneventful flow.
Just Some Thoughts
I know a lot of successful bug people. Those who have small fleets of trucks buzzing around town and an office filled with people to make it all hum. I’ve seen their bills and the budgets they have to have to keep it all running. For most I know, continued growth is a no brainer. They have a hunger for new sales, new areas to conquer and a burning desire to best whatever their best day was. They carry this mindset to work everyday. I applaud them. I hope they reach their goals– which, by what we’ve explored already we know it isn’t really possible…. but we’ll leave that where it sits.
So, is it that those who are just ‘floating’ along no longer have this kind of energy or did they give up not being
able to reach the ultimate goal? Are they not cut out for a million dollar payday and all the work it takes to achieve such a number? Are they looked down upon by those who live and breathe the growth at all costs mantra? Are they a failure because they hit “coast” in the middle of the drive? And how and when do we get off this merry go round? Do we build and build and grab the brass ring with a huge reward by selling to a mammoth company? What then? Are the great growth insights from those successful men now suddenly null and void? In other words won’t you start “dying because you’re not growing?”
I guess you’ll just have to answer that yourself and determine what your goals are. Figure out where it is you want to be. But I will leave you with one more quote on how I view the subject and just about where I’m at now in my pest control business. Also, I’d love to hear one way or another just how you view this topic. Please, by all means leave your comment below.
My crown is called content, a crown that seldom kings enjoy.
William Shakespeare
