When it comes to contracting, Rob is one of the best in the business. His journey started when he was just twenty-one (or fifteen if you ask his customers!) and his father started giving him extra jobs to do. Rob dove right into the work and quickly picked up difficult skills like wallpapering. Throughout his career, he never stopped learning, and has added carpentry, electrical, plumbing, small business management and more to his impressive list of skills. Here are some things that I took away from my conversation with Rob (feel free to add more in the comments below!):
Don't be afraid of the deep end: Rob's dad threw him off the deep end when he was a young man, and it was "sink or swim". Often putting ourselves in these challenging situations shows us what we're truly capable of.
Appearances are deceiving: When he started out, Rob was just twenty-one years old, and he looked even younger. As he says, "they thought I was fifteen!" This motivated him to work even harder to prove himself.
Visualize it: Rob is able to visualize a job and engineer it in his head before starting. As he says, "in order for me to do a job well, I have to be able to see the entire job from start to finish." It is an important lesson for all of us: Planning is key. Visualizing a project's completion helps get us there.
Hard work pays off: For a while Rob would work without eating or talking. People that worked for him called him a 'workaholic'. Before getting married, he worked 7 days a week until 9pm every day. Putting in all these hours helped get him to the point where the work "just flows".
Appearances matter: Rob remembers a time when he was younger and some workers came to his house. His mom praised them not for the quality of their work, but for how neat and tidy they were. As he says, "people notice" how organized he is. He makes sure to look presentable, arrives on time, and puts everything back in order when he leaves.
'Everything is correctable': In any job we do, we are bound to make some mistakes (I put my foot through a drywall ceiling once while working for Rob!). No matter how big the mistake is, we can always make up for it, but first we have to own up to it.
Don't be afraid to take risks: As Rob explains, his work often involves taking calculated risks, such as climbing a forty foot ladder. Sometimes it's the difference between getting paid and not.
Take care of your body: This is Rob's biggest regret after contracting for most of his life. Even less physically demanding jobs (such as sitting at a desk for eight hours straight) can be devastating to our bodies. Investing time and care into our bodies goes a long way towards alleviating the effects of aging and work.
Observe and ask questions: This is how Rob learned carpentry, plumbing, and other skills that have helped him develop a successful contracting business. Find someone to show you how it's done, observe others, ask questions, read books, and if all else fails, just think about it (nobody showed Rob how to tape drywall). Don't be afraid to try something you haven't done before!
Some before and after pics of the living room paint job!