During my college years I worked construction during the summers and one year I found myself working for a mason in Maine.
We had a small project at the Hancock Creamery (the local dairy in Ellsworth) and my boss, the mason, handed me (age 17) the keys to his truck and told me to go… 
pick up a load of sand from the local sandpit, just out of town.
I carefully drove to the sandpit, checking in at the office and let them know I was there to pick up some sand and what account to bill it to. Then they directed me to fill up the pickup truck myself, by hand.
I backed up the truck and went to work shoveling sand into the back. And then I shoveled some more. Finally, I had the back so full and mounded so high, I couldn’t fit another shovel of sand in it and jumped in the cab to head back to the dairy where we were working.
I was sure that the mason was going to be proud of what a great job I’d done, filling the truck to the max.
My first hint that something was amiss was when I shifted into gear and took the first corner, only to find that the front wheels were barely touching the ground and I had limited steerage. I’d turn the wheels right or left, but the truck mostly just wanted to go straight.
I did make it the few miles back to the job and big surprise…
The mason didn’t think I was a genius. In fact he thought I was nuts. He only needed half of what I’d brought back, not the mountain I’d returned with.
Now some people would have looked at the back of the pickup and the shovel in their hand and thought what’s the minimum amount I can load it there. Instead I thought, ‘how much can I fit in there’.
It was a silly mistake in this case, but it’s been a good strategy for life and for running my business.
Which would you have done?
And which do you do with your small business?
Are you continually asking yourself how many clients you can attract, how big you can grow it and how profitable you can make it?
If you are, you’ve got the same mindset that has helped me prosper and will help you too.
And to help you I’ve written Attracting More and Better Clients, packed with small business success tips to give you the ultimate solution to filling your bank account to overflowing.
To your success,
Charlie
MarketingForSuccess
P.S. What’s the funniest story from your career? Add it to this post on the blog.
Questions? Comments?
Let me know!
