STEPS – in one easy step

Quite a few new starters here at WA ask about how to get started, where to begin and so on. I also see a similar thing in the comments on my YouTube channel. What should I do first. How can I plan. There is so much to do etc. And amongst the apprentices that I taught.

Any business, any work, is a journey that can broken down into steps.

The first thing is … do you know where you are now and do you know where you want to be. Once you know that, you can divide the gap into several steps.

And each of those steps can be further divided into yet more steps.

Don’t worry about planning every single step in infinite detail at the outset.

Going back 20 years, an apprentice electrician wanted to know how he could have his own electrician’s business. He was sensible enough to realise that this was a long-term goal and I was pleased that he had that dream. What we had to do was to lay a path between the reality of now and the dream of tomorrow.

Over several weeks, this 18 year old did all the things we discussed in our meetings. He came up with a broad plan. In a nutshell, this was to complete his apprenticeship, get himself a few years qualified experience and then branch out on his own. Once he was making the “money”, he wanted lots of holidays in the south of Spain.

Fine, now break this down into many step. Jjust how will you complete your apprenticeship, what exams do you need to pass, what about your evidence portfolio. Every step in detail now.

Then look at what you will do when working for someone else as a qualified electrician. List all the steps and what you must become competent at, what equipment you must have experience with and how to get it.

Off he went. A few weeks later he had all the steps worked out. Basically, he was to complete his apprenticeship (another 15 months). Then he would stay with his current employer for 5 years or until he had ticked off all his must do tasks, whichever came last.

Then, surprise-surprise, he was going to move to Spain and start his business there, in the middle of a region that was full of retired ex-pat British residents.

The reason, he said, they are retired so they don’t want to or can’t do DIY jobs. There are thousands of British ex-pats and hundreds of British clubs in the area. They all speak English. They will all talk to each other and tell each other about his business. And … he would be in his beloved Spain, where he always wanted to be.

That was it, a year down the road and I lost touch with him, it always happens.

10 years later (about 2018) I pulled into a motorway service area for a comfort break and food. Stood in the queue to pay for my food, a tanned 30 year old leant over to the checkout girl and said “I will pay for that” It was the apprentice and we sat and chatted for almost an hour.

He had followed every step on his plan, he had planned smaller steps to help complete the big steps and even smaller to steps to complete the small steps. He qualified, he worked for his boss for nearly 6 years and then went to Spain. He now has a thriving business looking after the English community in his part of Spain.

The phone rings 7 days a week for all sorts of problems and most of his customers are now friends.

In fact, the only reason he was in the UK at that time, was to get a break. He is in so much demand that he must leave the Spain in order to get any time off.

He’s loving it. And now he’s working his next plan, to employ at least one English electrician to grow the business.

As we parted, he said that there were two things he always remembered from our meetings.

1/. Know where you are and where you want to be, plan each step to get there and then work single-mindedly at that step until it is completed.

2/. And look at where your feet are. Make sure that your feet are firmly on the step you need to be on. The top step will come soon enough.

This guy was going to the top.

Finally, a saying of mine from many years ago …

A thousand small steps will get you there.

Good luck, see you at the top.

Bux