Strategic Thinking For You and Your Business: From Setbacks to Stuff That's Gotta Get Done
Hi, everyone! 👋👋🏿👋🏽 This week’s edition of Generation Si! is about thinking strategically: focusing on what to do now for the future, especially when you have setbacks. In Part One, I introduced you to Gladys Salicrup, the majority owner of Trapline Pest Solutions.
Now, in today’s newsletter, you’ll learn the following:
🌴The areas Gladys Salicrup had to learn about when becoming majority owner of the company
🌴 How she handled a temporary slowdown in business
🌴The kind of certification she got to improve her skills and her business
🌴 This is Part Two of Gladys Salicrup’s evolution into her role as the primary owner of Trapline Pest Solutions…
SETBACKS FORCE YOU TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO DO BETTER
Setbacks have a way of forcing you to figure out what you’re really made of, according to Gladys Salicrup, the majority owner of Trapline Pest Solutions.
She asks, “Are you going to be [the] one that’s going to learn from it and move on and apply what you’ve learned from that setback to do better next time?”
Or, will you let it break you?
“Are you going to allow yourself to just, you know, implode and just let it go after you’ve worked so hard? Blood, sweat and tears?”
Salicrup realized she needed to step up her game and her skills when she decided she’d help her husband on a part-time basis with the pest control and wildlife removal business he had started.
“It’s not just simple paper, pen, file away.”
IT’S A PROCESS TO BECOME PROFICIENT IN MANY ASPECTS OF A BUSINESS; HELP IS AVAILABLE
It struck Salicrup that she had to suddenly learn about the various software programs used in her industry, make sure the company was in compliance with state and federal rules and had to get up to speed with accounting, customer relations and marketing.
She says your local SBDC (Small Business Development Center) is your one-stop shop to get answers on all of these aspects of business ownership – for free.
“If I need to open my treasure box, I just call them. I can learn about anything and everything with them as it relates to my business. It’s really good. That’s my best kept secret right there.”
BE FORTHRIGHT WITH EMPLOYEES ABOUT WHAT THE JOB ENTAILS
Then there’s the part about making sure that employees understand what is really involved with working for a pest control and wildlife removal company.
“A lot of them just think it’s… I don’t know, like a Bambi story.”
No, she’s had to give some former employees a reality check.
“You’re going to have to deal with the ugly – meaning… getting animals out. Cutting walls…. Getting up into hot attics, into hot rooms. You know, there’s repair work to be done, based on the damage that was done by the animals.”
From getting dirty to having to, sometimes, go into homes where the owners are hoarders, can be difficult.
But even she’s been out in the field and has handled tough service calls.
SLOWDOWNS WILL HAPPEN; DO A DEEP-DIVE TO GET THE BUSINESS BACK ON TRACK
What she also had to figure out was how to handle a temporary slowdown in business.
“There was a time when our calls stopped. So, I had to do some research as it related to the digital marketing aspect of the business.”
Salicrup had been investing in a Google Ads campaign and had hired a company to help her with it.
She wondered if she was putting in enough money for advertising.
But when she didn’t get the results the company promised, Salicrup decided to take a closer look to see where she could improve the results.
She resolved to get to the bottom of things by learning about marketing on her own.
“Because that way, when I’m talking to these marketing agencies, the lingo, the terminology, the inner workings of how this works, will make sense to me.”
Her approach?
SEEK OUT CERTIFICATIONS THAT MAY BENEFIT YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
She started a Google certification course in social digital marketing.
Not only does it provide her with the possible path of creating campaigns for other companies in the future as a side hustle, if she wants, but she says it has made a difference in her own business.
“It has improved dramatically since I’ve taken it over.”
ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS WITH PROACTIVE ACTIONS
Early on, she also made sure she got another certification, as a certified pest control operator.
She did it to help her business now and to safeguard against the unthinkable in the future.
“God forbid, if something happened to him [Wayne, her husband and business partner], we needed to resume operations. I needed to be able to take over. Like not have to stress with trying to find someone with that certification and bring them on board. I already took care of that.”
Plus, since every location must have a certified pest control operator, Salicrup wanted to get ahead of the game since the couple had plans to expand the business.
Her husband would be the certified pest control operator at one office, and she would serve in the same capacity at the other.
Salicrup says it’s not surprising that Wayne ended up starting the business, which involves wildlife.
As a youngster, she says he always had a love for animals.
He studied their behavior in the heavily-wooded area behind his family’s home while growing up.
“He would [lie] down and watch the ants… He came across a racer [snake] or a rat snake… He would lose himself in those animals.”
COMMIT TO DOING BETTER
Salicrup never imagined she’d be in the pest control and wildlife removal business.
Of course, she also didn’t plan on becoming a small business owner.
But here she is - a Latina who is the head of a company that she co-owns with her husband.
In the process, she’s learned a lot about herself.
“I am relentless. I’m driven. I am ambitious. I always feel that there’s always something else to do, to do better, to be better. Always.” #theskyisNOTthelimit
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
I would venture to say many people have thought about switching from one career to another. Thinking about it vs. actually doing are two very different things.
And, then, for those who have started a business, facing a struggle or a setback can bring a lot of second-guessing.
Gladys Salicrup’s story shows what can happen when you take chances.
She stepped out from her behind-the-scenes role as a paralegal and ended up trying something new.
First, she worked part-time helping her husband with administrative work with Trapline Pest Solutions.
Then, she stepped onto center stage, taking over as majority owner.
She acknowledged the difficulties.
And then she tackled them.
When you’re the boss, being strategic isn’t just about solving problems now; it’s about anticipating potential problems in the future.
How are you dealing with both?
Sometimes, you’ll get it right.
Sometimes, you won’t.
Setbacks can have you throwing your hands up in the air in frustration.
But, as long as you’re managing the here and now and have an eye for what could trip you up down the road, you’re managing risk.
And, hopefully, the rewards will follow.
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🌴 I really appreciate you reading Generation Si! Wishing you wisdom and joy as you pursue your dream, whatever it is! 😺