Learning to Grow: Weaving Continuous Education into Your Business

I started my hardscaping business, Decra-Scape, back in 1990. I had no industry experience. In fact, I didn’t even know what a brick paver was at the time. So in the first year of business, I was learning a LOT:

• How to install pavers
• How to sell hardscaping
• How to work with a partner (which didn’t work out)
• How to lead people
• How to apply what I was learning in my college studies to managing a real business (primarily handled at night, after everything else on the to-do list was completed)

At the same time, I was renovating the home I had just purchased—a total burnout—and taking evening classes at Macomb Community College and Walsh to earn my degree. 

Basically, I had bought myself a job, and I was completely submerged in it. 

Catalyzed to Change

It wasn’t until 1998 that 2 key shifts took place:

A Growing Need

Eight years in, I found myself struggling to gain the momentum needed to push my business to the next level. I wouldn’t quite admit it, but I needed help. And so did my team. We needed to enhance our:

• Installation skills
• Sales techniques
• Operational procedures
• Administrative skills
• Financial practices
• Etc.

I knew how to focus on revenue and equipment, but I didn’t know how to tackle long-term growth. 

Why couldn’t I fully admit these needs at the time? Let alone take action? Perhaps it was a matter of a young man’s ego. I didn’t want to show signs of weakness. Nor did I have a willingness to change. 

Nobody could tell me how to do this, because what we were doing was working! 

Or, was it?

A Growing Willingness

Around this same time, I got involved with what is now the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association (CMHA) and began their concrete paver certification program. I walked in wondering what the heck they could teach me. I had been doing this for 8 years now. What else could I need to know? 

What an eye-opening experience that was.

Beginning to learn revealed how much I had to learn—about concrete pavers and much more. In fact, opening myself up to the process of learning helped to change the trajectory of my business for the long-term.

The ICPI program, and the many other programs I have been involved in since, have truly helped to pave the way (pun intended) to a strong belief in the value of continuous learning. In fact, this belief is part of the reason I more recently accepted an invitation to serve on the CMHA Hardscapes Construction Subcommittee, remaining actively involved in the pursuit of continuous learning for both myself and others in our industry.

Implementing Continuous Learning

Continuous learning is just as essential for leaders as it is for your employees. I encourage you to pursue both with equal commitment!

Industry associations are great options, because they primarily serve the small contractor—many of whom are inundated in their businesses and can’t find a minute to come up for air. 

Make time for this!

Until I was willing to let my guard down and open my eyes to opportunities for growth, I was actually holding myself (and my business) back. My unwillingness to broaden my horizons was keeping me at a standstill.

Real-World Example: Continuous Learning at Decra-Scape

Since those standstill days back in 1998, a lot has changed:

First off, my attitude shifted. If leadership doesn’t value the importance of ongoing growth and education, the company will be stuck until that shift takes place. 

Secondly, we have instituted core values into our business since those long-ago days, and one of our non-negotiable values is Committed to Excellence. As a company that is truly Committed to Excellence, we are growth oriented—organizationally, professionally, and personally.  

We keep the Right People in the Right Seats (RPRS), and everyone operates with the mindset that accountability creates excellence. This means that if we say we’re Committed to Excellence, we know we will be held accountable on following through on the growth orientation it requires. 

I will be honest: it is very difficult to find time to educate and train. But since we’re committed to it and accountable for it, we build it into the calendar. (That’s how you make it happen!)

Here’s what that looks like:

• Every Wednesday, we have team training from 7 – 7:30 a.m.
• One day each week, our Integrator has a 30-minute, one-on-one meeting with direct reports.
• We participate in the Michigan Green Industry Association (MGIA) trade show and educational offerings, certification programs, and much more.  

What have the results looked like?

Honestly, our weekly company training started off slow. The team was reluctant. There wasn’t much buy-in, and nobody was participating. But we stayed the course, and it is pretty impressive what dedication and discipline can do.

Today, every meeting starts with someone reciting our company purpose statement. The team then goes through some stretching exercises, and then we dig into some form of training. We primarily review the fundamentals of what we do regularly, day in and day out. But we also infuse additional education.

You can bring in experts to present to your team. And you don’t need to limit yourself to only business-related training! You can educate your team on how to manage personal finances, how to stay safe doing the grueling work we do day in and day out, and much more.

Recently, the Decra-Scape Education Coordinator organized our training to include a tour of one of our local manufacturing facilities, to see how what we work with every day is produced. It was a big hit with the team!  

Overcoming Barriers to Continuous Education

Is it time constraints that hold the inundated business owner back from committing to continuous education? Or the fear of feeling inadequate compared to their peers? Every case is likely different.

As I’ve shared, I was once (and in many ways still am!) working to figure it all out. And in the process, being involved in industry associations and committed to ongoing growth and education has opened my eyes.

Here’s a bonus: this commitment has actually given me more of the one thing I didn’t think I could find any more of: TIME! Delegation and efficiency are learned practices, after all.

The more time I invested in myself and the company, the more I learned, and the more I gained. 

And you will too.