FAQ – It’s all about the ‘who’

Big questions start with small words

Journalists and documentary makers are taught to ask the ‘who, what, where, when, why, how’ questions. Applying those words to what we do is a great way to reflect on our lives and businesses as the year ends and another starts.

We can ask questions about what we’ve done well in the past year and what we want to do in the next year. We can ask about how we can increase our skills, our profitability, our work-life balance. When we want to take our holidays, or retirement, or reach a particular goal. But one of the hardest small words to ask questions about can be ‘who?’ 

Who do we want to work for?

The longer we do our trade, the more we understand about the kinds of clients we enjoy working for. Is it domestic, or commercial, or industrial? Do we like being our own boss or do we like subbing? Do we like bashing out new build after new build, or do we like working for months or even years on end helping to renovate old buildings?

It even comes down to personality types. Do we like working for very demanding people who are very clear on what they want, or do we prefer working for people who love our creative input and want our help in working out what the best approach is? So, ask, who are your favourite clients and why? 

Who do we want to work with?

We all need to work alongside others from time to time. It could be a business partner, or a boss, or an occasional self-employed decorator or group of decorators who work together on bigger projects. It can also be other trades whom we like to recommend and who recommend us. 

This is where trust comes in. We need to really trust who we work with. Sometimes that comes with tough experience of being let down by someone, and sometimes we just get that gut feeling. Trust in someone’s skills, conscientiousness and ability to turn up and do the job when they say they’re going to do it really is key. 

It’s also where complementary approaches come in. Perhaps you know a decorator who’s a great sprayer, or a meticulous detail person, or is the Usain Bolt of the paint roller.

Who do we want to work for us?

Employing people is one of the most difficult things to do and getting it wrong can really bite us on the arse, but when we find someone who we really get on with, whom we trust, and who can help us to not only build our business but build our future, that is a wonderful place to be. 

There’s an important flip side to that. Employing the right person can help them to reach their own goals, their own dreams. It’s good to be mindful and aware that their dreams might be leaving your employment and starting their own business. Helping someone achieve that goal can be very rewarding, and while they work for you, building their skills and experience, they can end up making you good money as well. 

Who do we want to be? 

I think this is the biggie. It’s a question we might not ask ourselves, at least in depth, but taking an hour or more to put away distractions and really mull over where we want to be and who we want to be in 5 years, 10 years, even 20 years can be a daunting but incredibly rewarding thing to do.

Talking it over with loved ones can mean being achingly vulnerable, whether it’s with parents or siblings or partners or pals, and it takes strength and courage to be that open with people. 

I’ve found that when I’ve done it, I’ve allowed people to give me insights into myself that perhaps I’ve not seen.

It is so important to talk about this kind of stuff in the right way with the right people. With mates down the pub, you might just bounce around ideas. With a loved one it might mean each of you exploring your similar and differing goals in life. 

None of us is an island

Even if we work alone much of the time, or even live alone, none of us is an island. We are all inextricably linked to dozens, hundreds, even thousands of people around us, both in the physical world and the online world now. 

The people we surround ourselves with can either make us a better version of ourselves or a worse version. So, it’s always wise to think who we are hanging out with, in work life and in non-work life. They influence us and we influence them. Sometimes particular people are good to be around, or fun to be around for some of our life, but sometimes we (or they) need to move on. 

So, who brings value to our lives, and who do we bring value to? I don’t just mean monetarily, I mean emotionally, intellectually, even physically. Who we want to show up as, in our work and our non-work lives, makes an impact on the people around us, and the ripples can spread out wider too.