We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacob Nagle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacob below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jacob with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
This is a great question! Given the generation I am apart of (Millennial), typically we get a bad wrap for having a poor work ethic. For the first 13 years of my life, every summer, I would go and stay with my grandparents who have a farm in Asotin Washington. My grandparents, being from the silent generation, did things completely different than anyone I had met before. They woke up at 5:00am and would read the paper to catch up on the news for the day, eat breakfast around 6:00am and then would start their day of chores. As a boy I was told not to speak unless spoken too and that I needed to contribute my fair share if I expected 3 meals a day and a roof over my head. Looking back on it now it seems a little hardcore but I didn’t know any better as a child. We would log wood for the fire in the house, tend to the garden where the food grew, and fix anything that was broken or required maintenance. Now, as a handyman, I look back frequently and see how my early childhood experiences moulded me to be the man I am today. I think of a quote by Larry Bird: “Somewhere, someone is practicing, and when he meets you in head-to-head competition, he will beat you because he’s more prepared.” As a business owner I know what I don’t know but when it comes to work I’m very hard to beat.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Howdy,
I’m Jake. Professionally, I’m a handyman and small business owner. When you think of a handyman I’m not sure what comes to mind because everyone’s experiences are different. As far as it goes, I’m sure it’s along the lines of someone who knows how to build and fix things. To me, though, it’s different. Do I know how to build and fix things? Yes but to me a handyman is someone who helps others – at least that’s why I do it. I spent many summers in a small tight knit community where everyone knew each other and helped each other. If you were an electrician, plumber, mechanic, or teacher everyone needs help from you at some point in their lives. In more densely populated areas, you pay for these services, but in smaller towns it’s common to get the help you need without paying for it. Through reciprocity it always comes back around for those who have been willing to help. That’s why I became a handyman – I love helping people! Every day I wake up excited to see what challenges I’ll be presented with through the people I help. Every day is different and that’s another aspect that I love about what I do. I tell my clients all the time that what I do isn’t special. Anyone who has access to YouTube can learn how to do what I do. What separates me from other handymen is the customer service I provide. I guarantee my work and if your not happy, I don’t leave. It’s your home – it should be done the way you want it. You look at it everyday after all. I think in the line of work I’m in (blue collar) customer service is dying out. All “white collar” professions have leveraged technology to distance their workers from their customer base. Blue collar workers have face to face interactions on a daily basis and it can be difficult to meet on equal ground. To over come these obstacles I use the advice one of my father figures, Pat, taught me as a kid. He would say, “Jacob, if you want to be successful in life follow these three rules. #1. Treat others the way you want to be treated.” On every new job I always greet people with a warm and caring salutation and set their expectations at the door. “#2 Leave things better than the way you found them.” I go into peoples homes with the intention of improving or fixing whatever they are having a problem with. “#3 Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.” I don’t always charge for the services I provide. A fix might take 30 seconds – I haven’t figured out how to charge for a block of time that’s so small so I do the work without expecting anything for it. I’m in business to help people and develop long lasting relationships. So far, Pat’s three rules haven’t failed me.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This is a tricky question to get right. I found my vision of success by doing the opposite of what everyone spent my whole life telling me to do. Allow me to better explain. I spent 10 years in college. Why? I was told to go to college and through the experience I would find/figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. What actually happened was I worked a full time job, sacrificed my social life as a young man and was left stressed in debt and had no idea what I wanted to do. It wasn’t until I stopped listening to other people tell me what to do that I found what made me happy which is helping others and being challenged daily. I found this path by asking the right questions. How have other people found success? So I started reading autobiographies of CEO’s and Entrepreneurs and they all said the same thing: Find what you love and do that but don’t just do it because you love it, do it because you love it and want to be the best! Also, everyone chases money because they think that will make them happy. I agree that money can pay for experiences that can make life long memories and help you be happy in the moment but money isn’t everything. It’s just a means to an end to help us navigate through society more efficiently. I can make $1000 in a day and not feel much happiness but if I fix a leaking toilet or a door that won’t close that’s been bugging someone for months, I’m happy for days because I contributed in an intangible way and that’s a feeling money just can’t buy. Now that I know what my vision of success looks like. I have a habit loop I repeat daily. I listen to podcasts that I learn from and contribute to me as an individual. If I have a question I look to books or other successful people for guidance because they help me to be better. Finally, I live in the moment with my family when I’m home or visiting because I don’t want to waste the time I can’t get back.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number one challenge I currently face as a business owner is making sure myself and the rest of the team always have work. In business there are peaks and valleys. If you have the pleasure of being in business long enough you are able to, for the most part, figure out what these are and plan accordingly. As a newer business owner I struggle when we are slow not panicking and thinking the business is about to fail that month. Constantly leveraging new advertising opportunities is definitely a challenge especially when you have a smaller budget than most other well-established businesses. I have been relentlessly reaching out to experts in the advertising field to make sure I’m doing everything necessary for the business to get the exposure it needs to succeed. I recently switched gears and thought about the problem from a different perspective. I have been doing some cold calls trying to reach businesses that have a product that needs to be installed. If they don’t have installers they use I have been trying to form lasting partnerships to help fill the gaps we have in our schedule.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.allinonefurnitureassembly.com/
- Instagram: allinone_builds
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