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The Adviser
Keeping you informed on the latest in the fast paced Restoration Industry
In This Issue
Business Mentors
Recommended reading
Lessons from my father
ELC Training
Business Development Summit
In their own words
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Restoration Excellence Training - 48 hours online restoration training 

ELC Training is a Training system designed to improve internal training and orientation and is available for most positions in your restoration company.  We have over 48 hours training - on Demand from some of the best instructors in the industry.  

 

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Dan Murray has been a member of the Mentors team for several years.  He has a lifetime of experience in restoration.  He has been very successful in helping companies define and achieve their vision. 

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Tuesday Morning Coaching
David Cottrell


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Greetings!

Greetings.  I apologize for the long delay in posting any articles of interest.  It has been a very busy spring but I finally have some time.  There were a number of events and shows this year starting with the DKI meeting in January and ending several weeks with a trip to Australia to the Network Restorers annual meeting. 

 

This weekend is father's day and I wanted to use the feature article to talk about lessons learned from my father and my Business Partner.  My father retired the first time in his early 30's so he could spend time with my brother's, sister and me while we were growing up.  That was a great investment in our family and I am grateful for that decision.  He purchased a restoration company my last year of high school and we have worked together ever since except for the eight months that I spent working in Colorado with Rocky Mountain Catastrophe.  We have been business partners in Business Mentors since 1998. 

 

The following article is a tribute to my father and also a great resource for your business.

 

Best regards and Happy Father's Day.


 

Phillip Rosebrook JR, CR  


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Lessons From My Father

Phil Rosebrook Sr has been an entrepreneur for his entire life.  He grew up in Wisconsin and taught school for several years after college.  While teaching he also ran several businesses in the swimming pool industry in Chicago.  As the businesses became more successful they required more time.  He realized that these businesses had great potential and were more rewarding than the teaching position so he quit teaching and dedicated his time to running the businesses.  After several years he had achieved great success.  In 1970 he had two young children and one on the way.  He was working early morning until late at night.  A life altering decision was at hand.  He could either upgrade the family lifestyle or uproot the entire family and move to Oregon.  His wife grew up in a small town East of Eugene where they had built a summer home on a pristine river.  Phil liked who he was better when living in Oregon and also realized that the success path in Chicago came with a lot of stress and pressure that would eventually affect his health.  Phil decided to become a person worth being rather than getting things worth having.  He sold his businesses and moved the entire family to a small town in Oregon consisting of two churches, a gas station and a general store.  During his semi-retired years he drove a backhoe, built a ranch out of a forest, sold real estate, consulted several small businesses in Oregon and in the Midwest and most importantly was a father and raised a family. 

 

In 1988 I was starting college and my brother was in attending a college in Southern Oregon.  My father did not contribute to our education fund but taught us how to work and save and also gave us a job.  He was looking for a place where the family could work together and that is how we entered the restoration field over 23 years ago.  During that time I believe that I was not given special privilege but was given opportunity where I had to prove my worth.  I was also given responsibility.  Working closely with my father over this time has been a gift both personally and professionally.  I have learned that family businesses can be difficult but when you separate the business and personal aspects it can be a wonderful experience.  Below are the top lessons that I have learned from my father, mentor, partner and friend. 

 

The first and perhaps most important lesson that I have learned is that God has a place in your business.  Often people try to compartmentalize their lives.  In many ways this is not possible, especially in a small business.  The lessons from church and the bible have great relevance in your workplace.  Religion is a resource for good decisions in good times and bad.  A quote from Mother Theresa used to hang on my father's office wall, "The Lord has not called me to be successful, he has called me to be faithful."   The interesting thing is that if you have a non-financial definition of success, you will see that these items are deeply related.  If you are religious then work is a great place to live you faith.  Living your faith does not mean preaching; rather it requires that you live an example of your beliefs.  Gandhi once said, "I am my message."  This is very true in your life as a leader in your business. 

 

Next I learned that if you do what you love then you are not working.  I am not sure if my father loved all of his time as a restoration operator.  I do believe that he is now doing what he loves and his decade in restoration was conditioning for his current role in helping restorers become successful.  He currently is in a position where he does not need to work.  He continues to work because he loves being creative, helping people and being able to serve God through the work that he does.

 

Surround yourself with good people and give them the opportunity to be successful.  There are too many people that are concerned about who receives credit or about the process that is involved in achieving results.  A good leader finds the best people and then puts them in a position to be successful.  When success is achieved then that person deserves the credit.  Humility allows you to take a back seat to others.  It also requires that you allow others to be credited with their success.  When you work with good people, give them opportunity and reward them for success you will achieve synergy that will take you far. 

 

As the leader of your organization it is your job to uncover and champion good ideas.  I recall my father hearing Steve Toburen speak in the early 1990's.  He understood that creating a culture of legendary service could become a competitive advantage.  His job was not to implement the program rather it was to maintain a focus on this program, champion the efforts and drive the vision.  We were able to transform our company through this program.  It would not have gotten off the ground without the inspiration and reinforcement from the top.  One great lesson in this point is that he was not in charge of implementation just in identifying the opportunity and keeping others focused on developing and implementing the program.

 

My father is the quintessential networker (just made up a word).  His networking is not about what he can gain from a relationship but rather how the other person can benefit from the relationship.  The first step in this process is to learn about the other person.  My father is then scanning his memory to find out what this person needs and who can meet these needs.  This falls in line with Zig Ziglar's statement that you can get anything you want if you only help enough others get what they want.  The key to strong networking is to be altruistic in your pursuits.  If your goal is to help others then you will indeed be rewarded in more ways than one. 

 

Perhaps I could fill a book with the lessons that I have learned from my father.  I am the businessperson, father, husband and consultant that am today because of the influence of my father and equally due to my mother's contribution.  This does not mean that they taught me everything, only that they taught me how to think and analyze situations and opportunities.  I am grateful for their contribution to my development into the person that I am today.  I am also grateful to have been able to spend most of my professional life working with my family.

 

Happy Father's Day to my father and to all of the father's that are reading this message.  Thank you and God Bless.

 

 

 ELC Training
In their own words...

The ELC training courses have been an invaluable resource to our company by providing a user friendly and extremely effective outlet for our continuing education classes. It also serves as a wonderful new-hire tool that allows in house training which can be used out in the field. Thank you ELC for making my job easier!
 
Heather Roach
Human Resource Manager
LDR Construction Services, Inc.
LDR Cleaning & Restoration

 

Leadership and Business Development Summit - Complete


Our 2011 Summit is done.  We are working on ideas for next year's event.  We will select dates and a theme in several months.  Keep an eye out for the dates.  The bar has been set high after our best event yet.  

 

We filmed the sessions this year and are in the process of creating a player to be able to play them online.  The presentations will likely be available for purchase at the end of the summer.  


In Their Own Words...

 

...Not all of the process was fun but it was valuable. I would tell any prospects of yours if you are just looking for magic go somewhere else but if you are looking for a solid plan and direction Business Mentors is the place. Thank your for your friendship and discipline.

More... 

 

Your friend, Mark W. Broersma

Disaster Response Team

Panama City, Florida




On the Road With Mentors
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I am very happy to announce that we will not be participating in any events for the remainder of 2011. 


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