As an employee, trusted advisor or vendor, it is your responsibility to think about how you can complement the owner of your small business to help them grow and succeed in the endeavor they started. Here are six traits commonly observed in small business owners, along with how you can specifically support them with each one. 

Even if you don’t believe millennials are ready for the business of restoration, realize that they are already opening businesses and that many restorers are retiring. Consider millennials your peers and help the industry transition well into the future by helping them to succeed in business.

When small business performs poorly at making changes, mistakes are expensive and cost thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands, in lost resources, time and good will.

In the service industry, people attempt to cheat on a regular basis. Homeowners do it by trying to short-pay a bill, tell white lies to tilt events to their favor, or make veiled attempts to obtain free services. 

While small businesses are unable to make mistakes or survive failures on the same scale as Apple, it should not be expected that employee performance will always remain flawless.

Have you surrounded yourself with the best competitors in your industry? Not the people outside of the business you work in, but your teammates and coworkers? If you answered yes, the company you work for has achieved a great amount. Most operations are not as fortunate.

Think of your bookshelf, or for those of you who are digitally minded, think about your e-reader or Audible subscription. You likely have hours of distilled wisdom in your possession, with many more waiting to be added today, tomorrow, and every day after.

Your owner, GM, supervisor, and teammates need your help to lead growth, excellence, and opportunity in the company. There is no magic or simple way to fulfill your role. Quite simply, it’s work. But by following the principles below, your work will improve, the lives of those around you will improve, and you will find more enjoyment in your daily routine. 

Over the past three months, I participated in many conversations with small business owners who were planning their businesses for 2020 and through the next decade. 

I enjoy reading entry level job advertisements for the restoration industry. They remind me of a simpler way of living. Pack a lunch every night, wake up earlier than you want to, perform physical labor before 7 a.m., break for 15 minutes at lunch, and come home tired.