Share This With Your Employees! (GUARANTEED Way to Get Promoted)

Hey everyone, My name is Mike Andes and I'm the founder of Augusta Lawn Care. We have almost 100 locations around North America. And usually I make videos for landscaping companies, lawn care, business owners, and home service improvement companies around the world. And today, a little bit different video because it's actually for the employees of those business owners. So whether you're a business owner watching this or you're actually an employee, I think you're going to get a lot of value. Because what I'm going to do today is give you a surefire way to, to work your way up the ranks of a home improvement business and become very, very indispensable to your current company. But ultimately, I want you to build your own wealth. I want you to be able to not only make more money, but also gain more skills and eventually one day become the boss of your own business. So I use lawn care and landscaping as an example, but this works in any business. If you're starting at the beginning, you're starting at the bottom. These are the steps I would follow to make sure that you become successful, make more money, are able to own your own business, and become the boss to make the rules. So for some people, the chip on their shoulder is they want to make the rules and they don't like their boss. Well, if that is your only inspiration and motivation, that's fine. But just realize you're going to have to play within the confines of the current rules before you become the boss. And for other people, it's just a matter of they want to be more successful, they want to make more money, they want to provide for their family, their future, and that's awesome too. And usually that's a little bit more sustainable than just the chip on the shoulder over your current boss. So let me walk you through the steps though, that I would recommend. Someone just getting started. Maybe you're making 10, 15, $20 an hour to get started, but what do you do to move up the ranks.

Really get to the next level of your career inside of the business? Now the first step is going to be literally entry level. And at this level, literally the thing that you're going to be trying to prove is work ethic. And for some of you that are just watching this video, you just got started in the industry, you don't have a lot of experience. This is probably where you're at now. If you're in a slow moving company that doesn't recognize talent very well, it might take years at stage one. So really, even before stage one is you need to make sure you're in the right organization, you need to look for a company that is wanting to move people up the chain of command. They have positions that they can move you into. Now either one of two things is gonna happen. Either one, sorry, let's do a. You're looking for a small, fast growing company, alright? So some people are like, well if I'm looking for a company that I can grow into, I need to look for a big company because then I can move up and do ranks of management. That's true. But you could also a company that's small maybe has no employees or one or two employees, but they have the ambition and the desire to scale quickly and you know that they're going to try to get become a million dollar business in the next few years. It's actually really, really beneficial for you to see that. And I would actually ideally like you to be in a company that's small, 1, 2, 3 employees, and you get to see it grow to 10, 15 employees over the next few years if you're able to get inside that company, massive amounts of value. Because your goal is to basically do that one day. Now the second more traditional route is gonna be a big company with lots of hierarchy. I'm probably gonna spell this wrong, but that's fine. You get what I'm talking about. And that is there's plenty of different levels of management. There is crew leads, there is general managers, there's foremen, there's ways to move up inside the organization and typically this company's gonna be much larger. Now I like this because usually you move faster through the ranks in a big company if you're really, really good at ST level position, they probably can quickly move you into management, quickly move you into an estimator role or a crew leader or a foreman or whatever it might be. However, the problem with this second stage is the fact that you're probably not going to be there in the next five to 10 years. If you're in a company that has 50, 100, 200 employees, it's less likely that you're going to actually use the skills that's in your day to day work down the road for your own business that you're going to start one day, you don't get to see that starting phase. Now this is though going to be the fastest route. So what I'm doing here is fast. This is the fastest route and that's go join a larger company that already has 10 plus employees that you can already move up into management within the first year or so. So let's go at this stage number two, this is entry level. You're just proving your work ethic. The next stage is gonna be some form of management or leadership. Okay? Now for some people, they think, I gotta be the general manager. I gotta, like, run the whole place. And you don't. You just need to exemplify leadership. So beyond just your work ethic, now you're moving into a stage where, hey, I can actually lead other people. This again, does not need to be the top dog or the general manager of a location, whatever the title is, that is the top of the food chain in your company. What it means is you gotta exemplify leadership. You gotta show that you're willing to lead your crew, be able to lead other employees, be able to give critical feedback well, to other employees, be able to take critical feedback and improve your skills and improve your work ethic and improve what you're doing. And you're really good at learning. Learning is extremely important. If you're going to move up the food chain, if you're going to try to move up inside your company, you got to be willing to learn. And in order to be able to manage other people and able to lead people, you gotta first be willing to learn. Most people, 95% of people, will not get from number one to number two because their inability to learn. They're not a sponge when it comes to listening to audio programs and reading books and asking their managers how they can improve. Like, the number one thing you want to be doing is asking other people, whether it be below or above you, the organization, how can I improve? Or what can I do better? How could I make sure that the work that I'm doing is the most efficient? I'm actually watching YouTube videos and I'm trying to improve my skills and I'm trying to become better. And I'm listening to audio books about leadership and about how to manage a company. And I'm coming up with ideas and solutions for the business. And even if they're not great, I still give them. And I'm willing to take critical feedback about my performance and improve. And any good company, any good company is going to see that now. Most people will. The next 95% of people that weeded out here, they don't get to stage number three simply because they are not patient enough. They want this done now. And a lot of people, if you're entry level right now, you might have great work ethic. You're actually really good at leadership. And so you expect Oh, I should just be jumping to stage number three. But the fact of the matter is it could be years before you actually have an opportunity to. To actually start to move up opportune. I can't spell when I'm talking opportunity. And this is where ownership starts to become involved. Now, ownership kind of come in two different forms. One is profit sharing because you might not actually own the business, or two is you actually do become owner in the business or start your own company. Now, again, 95% of people will not go from stage number two, where they're a manager or a leader inside the business and they're leading. And you don't have to. Again, you don't have to manage from the top. You can lead from the middle of the organization, Help each crew member that you're worth. All of a sudden they realize that people that work with you are more efficient because you really get at training or you're really good at taking care of the equipment. You start to take ownership of parts of the business. And that's really what this one's all about, that second stage. But again, most people, they're like, man, I do all those things. I have a great work ethic. I'm starting to be a leader in the company. I help other employees and I'm becoming a leader. That's all fantastic. And I don't get the opportunity to become an owner or really get to the next stage of my career. And they get disillusioned and they'll usually leave companies. And that's why most people will not stick around long enough to take opportunity when it comes by their way. Because opportunity, this is the thing about business. As an employee, it's very easy to be like, I want it now, I want the promotion now. But realize the opportunity comes at times when you're not expecting it. All of a sudden there'll be an opportunity. Like, for example, a general manager might need to move away, or the owner all of a sudden has a life event and they need a partner. They need someone to just take the business over for them. And so what I would recommend you do is be very patient at stage number two, improve your skills, become a leader. Continually learning about managing people and business and all these different skills. And if you're in a good company that has opportunities that come around maybe once a year, maybe once every five years, whatever it might be, you'll be the person that is chosen when the opportunity presents itself. This recently happened at one of our locations at Augusta Lawn Care. We've had someone that worked with us for a year and a half, two years, almost three years actually. Sorry, between two and three years. And they just were really, really good work ethic for first year. Over the past several months though, we've seen them move into more of ability to lead. They contribute during team meetings. They really took ownership of the managing of all the equipment and really started to protect it. It was their thing and they made sure everyone knew how to do it. And myself, I didn't say anything. They didn't get a promotion, didn't get any more money, but I just stepped back and realized that there was something there. And all of a sudden, all of a sudden, there came an opportunity for a general management position and we needed someone immediately. Now, this individual had never done estimates, never hired, never conducted a team meeting as the leader, never been in management, nothing like that. But the opportunity came and because they had been readied themselves for a couple years, they were the ones that took the opportunity and were able to get ahead in their career. So that third stage, again, you're waiting for the opportunity and then you can start to get ownership. At this stage, the goal is to get as close to owning a business as possible before you go and start your own business. So if actually ownership is your ultimate goal and you want to go start your own business, you have to realize that your goal here is getting as close to the sun as possible. What I mean by that is you want to get as close to running your own business without having the risk of equity. When you own your own business, there is potential to go bankrupt, there is potential to lose money. And if you could be an employee but get all the skills that an owner would have, that's extremely valuable. I don't care how much you get paid, I don't care if you didn't get a single pay raise. In all of these steps, the skills you're getting are the most important thing. And unfortunately, again, people will get weeded out in these steps because they're like, oh, I need a big pay raise. It's like, let's just assume that you do, you do deserve that pay raise. But taking that next step in your career and taking the opportunity and actually starting to get develop the skills like an owner and be able to see how to hire, how to fire, how to lead teammates, how to give critical feedback to an employee that has low performance, how to make buying decisions and deciding what's most efficient for the business and finance structures, and understanding the legal side, all of these things you're able to do with a Paycheck that's consistent every single week before you have to go and actually start your own business. This is extremely valuable. So again, don't get locked into the mindset of dollars per hour. And I got to make sure I make so much and if I get a promotion, I've got to make those $2 extra per hour. I believe you probably should. And most good business owners hopefully are going to give you a raise. But don't get locked up on that because the skills you're getting, if you're able to get this third stage, are invaluable because you'll go take these skills and either A, get a really, really good position as a general manager of some other business or a competitor or whatever, or two, you'll actually have the skills to go open your own shop and have all the the skills required in order to be an owner. Because you know how to hire people, you know how to fire, you know how to do marketing, you understand the website, you've done everything under the safety of a W2 employee without having the risk of potentially the business going under. That's all very valuable. So in my opinion, what I would be doing right now, if you're at the very beginning here, is find a company, either a small one that's fast growing, or second, a company that's large. It has plenty of room to grow in terms of moving up inside the organization. And ideally, find a company that is paying by performance because it's gonna allow you to very easily be able to be distinguished when you have great work ethic. And when I say pay by performance, you wanna find an employer that's gonna pay you a percentage of the labor revenue you earn for the business. If you're listening right now, feel free to share this book with your employer. It's called P4P. Why hourly is a failing formula. Ideally, you're able to find an employer that uses that method instead of hourly. Because if they're using P4P, it's very easy for them to identify who the strongest performers are at stage number one. And that will get you past this first step a lot faster if your employer can easily identify who their highest performers are. And if you are their highest performers and you have the best work ethic and you are the most efficient, it'll be very clear if they're using P4P. So ideally, find a company that is doing that and whether they're small or big. Then second, start to try to find ways inside the company to manage or lead or train other people or Take care of the equipment or come early and fuel up the trucks. Do something inside the business that the business owner begins to rely on you, you start to get closer to them, you start to see them a little bit more often, they start to touch base with you more often, they're leaning on you more. You want them relying on you and you want to have more connection with the owner because that is the source of the knowledge you need to get to stage three where one day an opportunity arise and you become the person that is able to seize the opportunity because you have the skills that were necessary for that opportunity. In stage number two, where you were listening to audio books, you were reading books, you were just a sponge of information from people inside the organization and different materials and YouTube. This is the goal, is to be able to be a sponge during this stage so that you can be ready for the opportunity. And when it comes, don't worry about the money, realize the skills required and it probably will come with more money and that's awesome. But if it doesn't, get those skills because you're going to either A go get a great job from another company one day down the road or B, you're going to actually have the skills required to become an owner. The goal is always to get as close to the ownership as possible. Even if you're never going to become an owner, the skills and the experience that can come from being close to that is absolutely invaluable and will set your career up for success massively. If you want more information about P4P or you want to share this book with your employer, please do so. Also check this video out here. It might be helpful for them to understand what pay for performance performance is because for most people watching this, they'll never get past stage one and they'll just keep going from job to job to job to job, change to the next 25 or 50 cent or $1 per hour raise. And that is not the thing you want to be doing. Have a long term focus as an employee and figure out which company you're going to move up in. And I promise you, you will not regret it. I'm Mike Andes and we'll see you tomorrow.