It’s been said that people who have a healthy business life also have a successful career. As towers, all of us strive for a successful business life. Some make it happen, and some don’t. A healthy business life means taking the time to learn what’s needed taking the steps required to have a healthy towing business. A professional tower must commit to the cultivation of strong attitude, foster a growth mindset, and maintain unwavering persistence.
Frankly, anyone within the towing business these days should want a positive mindset and attitude so they can overcome any challenge they face. They should also have a reaction plan for anything that might happen no matter whether simple or intricate. However, just in case you don’t, I would like to cover the traits you will need to master for a healthy business life. An attitude of “stay hungry” approach encourages continuous learning. Besides reading the Tow Professional magazine, here are some traits that you’ll need for a healthy business life.
Customer Focus: Consider customer focus with everyone who calls or enters your yard. Creating a unique value proposition that solves problems for EVERY customer who needs a tow is vital for building loyalty. You’ll have them for life if you show your value. So, be the person they can count on when they need your help.
Problem Solving: Try adding problem solving, operational strength, to your business. Spending some time focusing on building a strong team, adding some effective marketing, and sound financial management should be top priority for every tower. If any of those traits are missing in your business, make sure that you’re always working toward them. You might not have all of them from the very start but always be working on solving any business challenge you face. Since you’ve committed to always working on your business, you’ll be surprised how soon it could REAPPEAR if you lose them at some point.
Exhibit Discipline and Adaptability: Successful businesspeople often exhibit discipline, continuous learning (which you should be doing anyway), and the ability to adapt to new information or feedback. These traits are also important for business health. Consider adding discipline and adaptability to whatever comes your way. If you need new equipment, then try your best to get it. Law Enforcement as well as the locals will appreciate you being on top of your business. So, give yourself a healthy towing business by taking steps right now while you juggle everything.
Maintain Balance: Speaking of juggling…when a juggler works his magic, he takes a consistent amount of energy and balance to make sure he doesn’t let anything fall to the ground. He makes what he does look so easy to do. But it’s not. It takes a balancing act to keep all those balls in the air so none of them drop to the floor. It’s the same in your towing business.
Achieving long-term success requires balancing between hard work, family, and teamwork. It could be that you need to take a short break from business, and too, sometimes you must compromise or do whatever needs to be done later. That’s how you avoid burn-out and stay healthy. Attending tow shows or Hill Days gives you the opportunity to be away from the job while you learn.
In all my years on this earth, I’ve heard some people say that they ran out of energy and quit what they supposedly loved to do. Hearing that made me sad. They quit the very thing that brought them joy and success because they “burned out”. Being towers in today’s market takes energy, passion and hard work, but it’s also okay to take a break from what you love. If taking a break keeps you sane, then take a break. You’ll return to it refreshed and ready for whatever happens.
I want you to join your state association and TRAA, your national association for towers. Protecting your mental and physical health is important because you want to be around for those special moments with your family, friends and team members. Always maintain balance.
Enlarge Your Territory: Enlarging your territory can be done by what you put into the business each day. If you’ve started your towing business from scratch without previous generations helping you, then God bless you. You’re truly an entrepreneur and probably want a healthy business life. Keep striving for it to be better than yesterday. It won’t be long before your towing business is a healthy one.
A state association and TRAA will help you get to where you need to be. Remember, you might know your business, but your state association will help you GROW your business. Personally, first thing I would do is make sure you read Tow Professional magazine. Then pass the magazine around to your team members to read.
In the words of Jelly Roll, a country western singer and song writer, “The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason.” Keep looking ahead and don’t dwell on what’s behind you because you can change and get better.
See you next time or on the next Tow Professional podcast.
