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Connections Can Help You BUILD Your Business

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And You Never Know Where Those Connections Will Come From

The first couple of years as a self-employed construction contractor were a lot different than Gene expected. He’s beginning to wonder if owning his own business is worth it. It certainly isn’t what he expected.

All the headaches and problems that he’s encountered are causing him to have second thoughts about his construction job and going into business.

Working long days doing construction and late nights doing paperwork feels like being stuck in a rut. With help not showing up and Gene having to do more work, the rut just gets deeper.

Add to this the truck transmission going out. Having to borrow money to fix it. The disagreement with the customer that cost Gene $1,000 and the bottom of the rut has now turned to mud.

Then, the bottom of the rut falls out when Gene finds out he owes more than $17,000 in income tax and he doesn’t have the money to pay it.

At the end of the day, Gene could make more and work less flipping burgers.

It’s been a rough couple of years for Gene, but this isn’t to say that everything has been bad.

At the end of the day, it’s rewarding to look at what he’s built. There are customers whose lives have been improved by the construction projects he’s done for them. The freedom of having control is nice. Not to mention that Gene did have a profitable year…otherwise he wouldn’t have owed the income tax.

As another week winds down, Gene decided to do something that is nearly unheard of…he’s going to take a day off work.

Some of Gene’s friends have been pestering him to come hang out with them like he used to.

One of these friends, Dave, has a lifted 4×4 truck project that he’s been working on. Some of these guys have been hanging out on Saturdays and helping.

This past week, Gene ran into Dave at the lumber yard. They got started talking about the project and how it was going. Once again, Dave threw out the invitation to join them.

“I know how much you love working on truck projects,” Dave says, “We’re going to be dropping the motor in Saturday and could use some extra hands. You know you’d have fun…not mention how cool it is to hear a new motor fire up that first time with open headers.”

So, after Gene gets done on Friday, he calls Dave, “Hey, are you still planning to put that motor in your truck tomorrow?”

“That’s the plan,” Dave responds.

“Would it still be okay if I came over and helped?” asks Gene.

“Sure, we plan to start at 9:00. Bring the coffee and donuts,” he says with a laugh.

The next morning Gene shows up at Dave’s shop with a dozen fresh donuts and a thermos of hot coffee.

A couple of guys are already there. When Gene comes in with the donuts and coffee, they all act like they’re fainting.

After some jousting and poking fun at Gene for not coming around for so long, they dig into the donuts. As they catch up, a couple of others show up and join in on the ribbing of Gene.

After the tormenting slows down a little, Dave asked Gene, “So, why have you been avoiding us?”

His question catches Gene off guard, and he replies, “I haven’t been avoiding you.

I’ve just been trying to run my business. It’s a lot more work than I expected.”

As they began working on the truck and getting ready to drop the motor in, there was a lot of discussion about the construction industry and what it takes to run a business.

While they were talking, Dave brought up his boss who is the owner and operator of a large, successful construction company. Then Dave stopped what he was doing and looked at Gene, “Maybe I could set up a meeting with you and John. I bet he could help you understand how to BUILD a better business.”

Maybe this is just what Gene needs.

This unexpected opportunity might just be the connection that Gene needs to turn things around in his business.

We never know where connections will come from or where they will lead.

I want to share some real-life examples of some of the connections I’ve experienced in my business.

The first example is my amazing virtual assistant (VA), Emily.

Back in 2010 or so, my wife and I were struggling financially. We were tired of things the way they were.

We found out about Dave Ramsey, and I began listening to his radio program. Dave shared various books and people that he followed. Among them were people like Michael Hyatt. Then, from Michael I learned about Andy Andrews and Donald Miller. Then, I found out about Ray Edwards and began to follow his blog posts and podcasts.

Then in 2020, I had the opportunity to join a mastermind that Ray Edwards was starting.

This led to my meeting Becky Warner. Then through a 90 Day Launch course, I met Vickie Adair who is now in the current mastermind that I’m in.

As I was looking for a virtual assistant, Vickie told me that her daughter Katie was looking for a job as a VA. It worked out that Katie became my VA.

Then Katie had another job opportunity that was more hours. She connected me with Dori. Dori became my next VA.

Then Dori became pregnant with her second child. She felt that two small children and working was going to be too much. She connected me with Emily…my current VA.

I could never have imagined that listening to Dave Ramsey’s radio program would have connected me with Emily…but here we are.

The second example is a construction related connection.

The electrician that I’ve been using for years made a career change, which means I need to find a new electrician for a couple of residential projects.

I reached out to a couple of electricians that I have used in the past or knew. One—Mitch—called me back. He told me he was no longer doing residential projects. He gave me the name of Integrity Electric.

We’re planning to look at these jobs tomorrow.

This connection goes a lot further than it first appears. Mitch used to work for Galen. I knew Galen from high school and later when we were both on the local Trades Board.

Before Galen had his own business, he worked for Finn’s Electric. I also knew the owners of Finn’s Electric because we went to the same church.

Had I not had these connections, I wouldn’t have the wonderful VA that I now have or the opportunity to keep these construction projects moving forward.

My point of all this is that we are connected, and these connections can help us BUILD a better business.

I wonder if Gene will be intentional and take advantage of the connection that Dave is offering him?

Faith Sharing; Stories from the Church Family and the Importance of Connection

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The Need for Relationships with Others Goes All the Way Back to the Beginning

This past Sunday was another faith sharing Sunday. Pastor Lee shared stories from the congregation about the life affecting interactions with the people in the church.

God said that it wasn’t good for us to live alone so…

He made a partner for Adam. Someone to go through life’s struggles with and share in the joys. Genesis 2:18

There is no question how important it is to interact with other people. This is as evident as ever over the past couple of years.  The separation that many people have experienced has been difficult. As people have tried to cope with separation there has been an increase of suicides and drug overdoses.

Spending time with others is vital to our wellbeing. I have a friend who is developing a program for being the best version of ourselves. Part of this course includes CONNECT-ability. This shows how important the connection with other people is to us being our best.

One of the things she shares is Maslow’s Hierarchy which shows the five levels of human needs to be the most completely satisfied. This hierarchy starts at the bottom with the need to have our most basic needs of survival met. The second is security; having a job, stable income, savings, etc.

Third is LOVE AND BELONGING – this addresses the social need of belonging. We are social creatures that crave interaction with others. When deprived of this, individuals experience loneliness and depression.

This connection may not even be a direct one. Sometimes it happens from a distance.

People see how we act and if those actions are consistent with things we say.

It’s also not restricted to adults. Pastor Lee shared a joke that one young man of the church wrote. It is evident that he has a connection because he heard this in church.

The joke –

If Jesus went to the Temple to learn and the Temple is the House of God…does this mean that Jesus was home schooled.

His connection with the church is part of him becoming who he’s meant to be.

Interacting with others makes us better people. Proverbs 27:17 As we join together in love, we will be wonderfully blessed. Colossians 2:2-3 Whenever two or three of us come together in His name, He will be there. Matthew 18:20

Fellowship, relationships and connection to one another are foundational for our wellbeing, growing and becoming who we are designed to be.

Strong Connections Help Us to Accomplish Our Mission

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The Important Thing is to Be Clear on That Mission

There is strength in numbers. We don’t have to look very hard to find evidence of this. Fish gather in schools, bees in swarms, birds in flocks, cattle in herds, wolves in packs. These connections can help avoid being eaten by predators or by joining forces they can take down bigger enemy.

The same is true for the military. Research has shown that groups who collectively experience pain, turmoil, catastrophe, or significant life events tend to form stronger social bonds and become more cohesive.

I’m currently reading the book, “Lone Survivor”, this is the story of Marcus Luttrell. He was the only survivor of the extraordinary firefight on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border which led to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. The strength of the bond between these SEALs was evident before I even finished the prolog.

God knew there was strength in numbers from the very beginning.

At each point in the creation story, God steps back and says that what He has made is good, up until He makes human beings. Having made Adam, our Creator steps back and says that something about the first man and his situation is not good: “It is not good that the man should be alone”. To make things right, God creates Eve…  Genesis 2:7, 22

In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, we’re told that, Two are better than one…

Three strands of rope are harder to break.

The importance of community is as evident now as ever, after this past year. The value of online masterminds and the connections I’ve made through the virtual groups has been amazing. Not to mention the connection of my family and my church.

Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches in John 15:1-8. Whatever vine the branches are connected to will determine what kind of fruit the branches will produce. He also says that if we aren’t bearing fruit, we will be cut of and thrown into the fire.

The clearer we are about what our mission is and the better connection to the vine, the better the fruit will be.

Get connected to the Vine and to other good branches and produce good fruit.

The Importance of a Physical Connection

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It is Foundational to Who We Are

Pastor Lee has asked the congregation to share their testimonies periodically over the last year. These have been titled, “What Tisdale Means to Me”. This was the message this past week.

Garth and Amy shared what Tisdale means to them from different perspectives. Garth has a long-term family connection, while Amy’s connection happened later in her life. Both shared fond memories and the importance of the warm welcoming feelings of a church family.

I certainly can relate to these feelings. Having grown up in this church the connection I have there is a foundational part of who I am. The current situation while we aren’t physically gathering together is depressing. I miss my church family. I’ve never been a big hugger, I am a handshaker…

I’m looking forward to some handshaking and yes, even some hugging.

I hear a lot about how the current state of online social connection is going to replace much of the physical connection, this concerns me.

We are made to be connected physically.

When Jesus was here on Earth people were always reaching out to touch Him and that simple act of touching healed them, Mark 6:56, Luke 6:19 and 18:15-16. Jesus’ act of healing people often involved touching them, Mathew 9:29 and Mark 1:41-42.

For years I’ve heard about the importance of physical touch to babies and children. In a 2010 article by Katherine Harmon, she points out the importance that skin-to-skin contact has on infants and children. She points out that, “babies cry less, sleep better and their brain development is facilitated”, when they are touched.

In another article, “Importance of Human Touch”, written in 2017 by Mary Bauer, it is explained that not only is touch important to child development, but also to the elderly and aged. “Results from a study published in “Current Biology” in 2015 suggest that humans derive pleasure from touching…”.

We were made to share and connect through community. As thankful as I am that we can connect through social media and online formats.

It is no substitute for real live personal connection.

We will not survive science fiction like long distance relationships. That is not how God made us. We were made to be physical.