I think my job was a miracle. I was a soon to be graduate… who need a short-term position… and will also be at training camp for ten days in the middle of the summer… and have to be finished by early August… and not to mention I would be leaving the country for a whole year. What kind of firms are looking to interview a candidate, let alone hire someone, with those restrictions? Just about no one.
After a whole year of talking about ethical entrepreneurship to everyone I knew as a solution to some of the massive problems that pull our society away from the world God designed, I somehow came across an opportunity to do just that. And most importantly, it would work around my crazy circumstances. After an interview process that became my full-time job for two weeks, I finally became a College Pro Painters Franchisee.
In case you haven’t heard of our company, College Pro Painters is a national brand that has been inspiring young adult entrepreneurs for 45 years. Each franchisee is designated a “turf,” or part of a city, to focus on and is then supplemented with training, support, and business materials as we take on the daunting challenge of owning and running a small business. Our services include exterior residential/light commercial painting, deck stains, and power washing. As a franchisee, I have the opportunity to see the whole business process as I manage the books, provide estimates to customers, market our services, engage in painting, and lead teams of employees.
So how can being a painting contractor possibly relate to the World Race?
Well, there are more connections that you could ever image, but let me highlight a few.
“Mary, you need to have better leadership,” my General Manager told me in a meeting last month. To be quite honest, I had no clue how to react because I couldn’t remember I time where I had been told that before. This is a kind of criticism, I hadn’t received. However, when I reviewed the week, he was absolutely right. There were times where I wasn’t utilizing my team as well as I should have been- times where I needed stronger leadership- times where I could have done things better. I was far from perfect and had to realize that I would be for quite a while, especially in the beginning. When you start your own business, you HAVE to accept that there will be times of failure and imperfections. There has been, and will never be a perfect week for me. It’s impossible to book every job, hit every single goal, and to always say the right thing. Running a business is HARD… Uprooting your life to complete a year-long mission program is also HARD.
The difficulties I have found so far in my World Race and College Pro journeys have launched me out of my comfort zone. I tend to be a very passive person, but my callings have challenged me to crush down those walls, become incredibly direct, face massive amounts of rejections, and somewhere along the way also seek success. At work, I knock on doors, make phone calls, and ask my clients if my team and I can paint their home this summer. These tasks might sound easy, but each of them take a massive amount of courage and discipline, especially for someone who tends to be as passive as I am. In regard to the World Race, I have had to share parts of my story with others, send out fundraising letters, and suggest that supporting the World Race is a worthy investment…and I haven’t even been out in the field for ministry yet! I am forced to tell others what I believe and why I do what I do, even when they don’t agree with me. I am confident that these challenging experiences that I have encountered with my new job so far will increase my boldness on the World Race and beyond as I will I get to know strangers, share my faith, and live with 50 other people I haven’t even met before.
Risk is another aspect of both of these adventures. Entrepreneurs start out with bills that have to be paid back and no guarantee of success. Similarly, I keep staring at a fundraising bar that is far from my final goal on my World Race page. I consider the millions of directions that my life could go in regard to both of these endeavors. However, God doesn’t take you somewhere to leave you. He has a plan. It’s hard to see that in the face of struggle whether that be a rough week of business or any other concern. I think we need a certain amount of challenge and risk in order to become interdependent on others and humble ourselves before the one who is almighty.
It is challenges and risks like the ones described above that highlight our limitations and give us opportunities for humility. It forces us to say, “God I’m not perfect, and I need you,” or “I don’t know where you are taking me, but I know I’m not alone.” I think being in a constant position of strength can actually be the greatest weakness. When you are “doing well” or riding a “plateau of success” it can be easy to think your life is just that. In these situations, it becomes simples to silo yourself away from God and away from others. However, in the face of challenge or uncertainty is when we need to seek strength and reassurance not only from our friends, but from the one who is almighty.
As I mentioned in the beginning, a huge motivational factor behind becoming an entrepreneur over other job offers stems from my passion about creating ethical business practices. We can look around at economic activity and call out the bad. I think the best way to combat this is to be the one to go out and do it right. Every day, I strive to be transparent, take care of my clients, build community, brighten our neighborhoods, create a fun working environment, and pay a fair wage. Lately, I have seen quite a bit of success in my business overall. Yes, I have worked hard, but I know this doesn’t come from me alone. I am thankful that God has blessed me with amazing customers, outstanding General Managers, and hardworking employees. Please pray that God gives me direction to lead a business that serves in his image.
Oh, and if you’re considering painting your home this summer, we can take good care of you 🙂
