By Eric Sprague
I remember as a kid watching cartoons every Saturday morning, there was a frequent advertisement that had the taglines “The more you know, the farther you will go,” and “Leaders are readers.” At the time I didn’t think much about it, but as I started my cleaning and restoration company, those taglines would have a profound impact on both myself and my business partner, Larry.
You see, when we started our business we had no real skills. Like many new business owners, we were just concerned about getting the phone to ring and getting paid. That mentality was great while it was only Larry and I, but not so much as we gained a building full of employees. We had no clue how to properly lead or manage them. We expected them to just do what we did, which was not a fair ask because we were just making it all up as we went along. Not a great way to run a team or a business. We needed to figure some things out fast so we could grow the type of business we dreamed of owning. That’s when the Saturday morning television taglines were rekindled in my mind that I need to read.
Leaders are readers. The more you know the farther you will go.
Larry and I are of the same age, so we both remembered the old commercials. With that in mind, we went to work educating ourselves on what we needed to do to build the business we dreamed of and a business which our team would be happy and proud to be a part of. Armed with our library cards and a strong desire to improve, we went to work. We read many books. Some were great and some not so much. Often we would read the same book at the same time to make sure we were on the same path. Even though both Larry and I tended to work ungodly hours, we made the time to keep reading and keep improving. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.
After all was said and done, our newfound knowledge helped us transform our business. Along our journey, there were a handful of books that changed our business and changed our lives. Here are the highlights of each and how we used the gained information in our service business.
There are many books that we used to help us build our business, but these four are the ones that impacted us the most. Regardless of what books you choose for yourself, my call to action for everyone reading this article is to commit to reading to improve your skills.
Reading changed our lives, and if you make it a priority in your life, I am sure it will change yours, too.
Eric Sprague is a longtime cleaning and restoration veteran. Upon selling his restoration business, Sprague developed, and is director of education for, MorningTechMeeting.com, a daily video training membership site teaching technicians the life skills required to excel in the field. In addition to his training business, Sprague is the co-host of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast.