Why the smartest entrepreneurs stop trying to figure everything out themselves.
What if the biggest thing holding you back from owning a successful business isn’t money, experience, or opportunity? What if it’s the belief that you have to figure everything out yourself?
I’ve been reading Tribe of Mentors by Tim Ferriss, and it’s got me thinking about my own journey building Window Ninjas. One thing that keeps jumping off the pages is how successful people learn from other successful people. They ask questions, seek advice, make mistakes, and most importantly, they keep learning.
Now, I could sit here and tell you nothing but success stories about Window Ninjas. How we’ve grown into multiple cities and states, built systems that allow us to scale, and created opportunities for others to become business owners. But if that’s all I told you, you’d probably call BS and tell me I’m full of shit through email, Twitter, and Instagram! And you know what? You’d have every right to question it.
Because behind every success story I’ve got, there’s probably a failure that taught me something. And buddy, I’ve collected plenty of those!
The Eight-Legged Mule School of Business
Ever been kicked in the gut by a mule? How about a mule with EIGHT legs? That’s what entrepreneurship feels like sometimes. You’re standing there, minding your own business, thinking you’ve got everything figured out, and WHAM! Another lesson delivered straight to your backside.
Some people call them setbacks. I call them failures. And I’ve had enough of them to earn a black belt in getting my ass kicked. Maybe I’m some sort of psychopath, but every time I get knocked down, I get back up and figure out how to keep it from happening again.
Here’s what I’ve learned. Failure is a great teacher, but it’s one expensive SOB! And here’s an even better lesson. You don’t have to personally experience every failure to learn from it. That’s what mentors are for. That’s what coaches are for. And that’s one of the greatest benefits of joining the right franchise system. You get to learn from somebody else’s bruises.
Let me explain.
My Ego Was Huge. My Systems Were Nonexistent.
When I started Window Ninjas, I had two things going for me: a massive amount of confidence and an ego that could barely fit through the front door. You know what neither of those things will do? PAY YOUR BILLS! Remember that.
I’d been cleaning windows since I was 17 years old. I knew the industry, I knew how to get customers, and I could teach somebody who had never touched a squeegee how to clean glass in a few days. Give that same guy a year of experience, and the difference was night and day.
I knew how to do the work, but here’s what I didn’t know. I didn’t know how to build a business that could grow without depending on me for everything. I didn’t understand the power of standard operating procedures, or SOPs. I didn’t understand how to build repeatable systems. And I certainly didn’t understand that the skills required to clean windows were completely different from the skills required to run a multimillion-dollar company.
For the first few years, I kept doing what I knew. Working hard, teaching people, getting jobs done, and wondering why growing the company seemed to create more problems instead of fewer. Sound familiar?
Then Somebody Told Me About a Guy in Oklahoma
One day, one of my team members suggested I check out a businessman from Oklahoma named Clay Clark. He told me Clay was a genius when it came to building businesses and scaling them. So I picked up his book and started listening to his podcast.
Within the first week, I felt like I’d learned more about building a scalable business than I had in 20 years with the franchise system I’d previously been part of. TWENTY YEARS! And here comes some guy from Oklahoma who starts opening my eyes to an entirely different way of thinking!
Eventually, I hired Clay as my business coach, and buddy, things started changing. Not because Clay waved a magic wand over Window Ninjas. Not because I suddenly became the smartest guy in the room. But because I finally realized something. Being the smartest guy in the room isn’t nearly as valuable as being surrounded by people who make you smarter.
And here’s where the story gets even better. I still work with Clay today. We do a weekly podcast together, I still use his coaching services, and after all these years, I still learn something new every single week.
Think about that. I’ve been cleaning windows for 33 years. I’ve built a business operating in multiple cities and states. And I STILL have a coach! Why? Because the day you believe you’ve learned everything is probably the day you start falling behind.
Gabe Is Going Corporate!
When I started implementing what I was learning, you would have thought I’d announced we were replacing the squeegees with toothbrushes! Some of my employees were furious. “Gabe is going corporate!” “Gabe is wasting his time!” “He just needs to get us more work!” “Why do we have to fill out all these checklists?”
The complaints were coming faster than mosquitoes at a summer barbecue. And here I was thinking I was doing something fantastic for everybody. I wanted to build a company that could grow, where employees could advance, that could operate in multiple markets, and that wasn’t completely dependent on me.
But some of the guys just wanted to keep riding the merry-go-round. And I was thinking ROCKET SHIPS!
Here’s what I learned. Not everybody who helps you build a business will want to help you change that business. That’s a tough lesson for an entrepreneur because growth requires change, and change makes people uncomfortable.
But you have to ask yourself something. Are you building a company around what makes everybody comfortable today? Or are you building something that will create opportunities for years to come? Those are two very different things.
We pushed forward. We built the systems, documented the procedures, and established standards. Over time, Window Ninjas became a business capable of operating across multiple cities and states. Are we perfect? Hell no! We still make mistakes, have challenges, and learn something new every day. But today our growth is far more methodical and scalable. And I can’t imagine the chaos we’d be dealing with if we hadn’t made those changes.
Are You Building a Business or Buying Yourself a Job?
Let’s talk about the guy with one van and a squeegee. He’s a good guy. Works hard, does great work, has loyal customers, and makes a decent living. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, there’s something pretty satisfying about being your own boss and deciding what you want to do every day.
But there’s a catch. What happens when he stops working?
Let’s say he and his wife decide to take a weeklong vacation. Beautiful weather, nice hotel, maybe a few margaritas. Life is good! Until the furnace goes out back home. Two thousand dollars to fix it.
Now we’ve got a problem. Because while our buddy is on vacation, nobody is cleaning windows. Nobody is producing revenue. And when he gets home, he’s got to start working again before the money starts coming back in.
So now he’s looking at a $2,000 furnace repair, a week of lost income, and a wife who’s wondering why she married a guy who can’t figure out how to keep the hot water running! Sweetie wanted a vacation. She didn’t sign up for two weeks of cold showers!
Now, I’m having a little fun here, but there’s a serious lesson. If your business stops producing when you stop working, you’ve built yourself a job. Maybe a great job. Maybe a job you love. But it’s still a job.
And that brings me to one of the most important questions any aspiring entrepreneur should ask. Do you want to own a business? Or do you want to own a business that can eventually operate without you?
The Difference Between a Merry-Go-Round and a Rocket Ship
Now let’s imagine that same guy had built a different kind of company. Instead of being the only person who could clean windows, he’d trained a team. Instead of answering every phone call himself, he had a professional call center handling customer inquiries and booking appointments. Instead of employees constantly calling to ask how things should be done, he had documented procedures and checklists. And instead of personally managing every job, he had people trained to run their trucks like small businesses.
Now he and his wife go on vacation. And while they’re enjoying themselves, something wonderful is happening back home. The phones are being answered, customers are booking appointments, his team is completing jobs, and the calendar is filling up for the next two weeks.
He comes home to a business that’s been moving forward without him. His employees are earning money, his customers are happy, and his company is producing revenue. And his wife? She’s enjoying a HOT SHOWER!
Now THAT is a business worth building.
Of course, systems don’t eliminate every problem, and owners still have responsibilities. But the more effectively you build your team and processes, the less your company has to depend on your personal labor every single day. That’s what I call building time freedom, and it’s a heck of a lot more valuable than simply buying yourself another job.
There’s No I in Team. But There’s Definitely an I in Idiot!
You know that old saying, “There’s no I in team”? Well, there’s definitely an I in idiot! And you’d have to be one to believe you can build a great business entirely by yourself!
You might OWN the company. Your name might be on the paperwork. You might even have the fanciest title in the building. But great businesses aren’t built by titles. They’re built by great teams.
And that’s one of the biggest lessons I learned from Clay. It’s also why I still get coached today and why mentorship is such an important part of what we do at Window Ninjas.
When somebody invests in a Window Ninjas franchise, I don’t want to hand them a playbook, pat them on the back, and say, “Good luck, buddy!” I know what that feels like, and I know how expensive learning everything the hard way can become.
We teach our franchise owners how to build scalable home service businesses. We provide operating procedures, training systems, a centralized call center, and ongoing support. But we’re teaching something much bigger than cleaning windows. We’re teaching people how to build teams, develop leaders, understand their numbers, and think like business owners instead of employees.
And here’s the funny thing. As I help our franchise owners grow, I keep learning too. Their questions challenge me, their experiences teach me, and the problems we solve together help make the entire Window Ninjas system stronger.
Clay continues to help me become a better CEO. I work to help our franchise owners become better business leaders. And those owners help their employees become better at what they do.
Everybody learns. Everybody grows. And when the team wins, the business has a much better chance of winning. That’s not just franchising. That’s building something bigger than yourself.
Five Questions That Could Save You Years of Frustration
Before you start a business or invest in a franchise, I want you to ask yourself five questions.
1. Am I buying an opportunity or buying myself another job? Understand what your role will look like after the first year, the third year, and the fifth year. What must you personally do, and what can eventually be delegated?
2. Who is going to teach me what I don’t know? You don’t know what you don’t know. Find out what training, mentorship, and ongoing support you’ll actually receive.
3. What happens when I make a mistake? Because you will. Ask how the company helps owners solve problems and whether its systems have been improved by lessons learned in the field.
4. Can this business grow without requiring more and more of my personal time? Look at the staffing model, management structure, operating procedures, and economics. Growth should create opportunities, not just more headaches.
5. What does success actually look like for me? Is it money? Freedom? Building something for your family? Creating jobs? There’s no universal answer. But you better know yours before you invest your hard-earned money.
And whatever franchise you’re considering, speak with existing owners. Study the financial disclosures. Understand the investment and the risks. A good mentor should help you ask harder questions, not simply tell you what you want to hear.
No College Degree. Just a Master’s in Cleaning Glass and a Doctorate in Business.
I didn’t go to college to become a window cleaner, and I certainly didn’t go to college to become a CEO. Truth is, I didn’t finish college. But here I am, 33 years after I started cleaning windows, building businesses, leading teams, helping people become business owners, and learning something new every single day.
I’ve got a master’s degree in cleaning glass, washing houses, and clearing gutters. And a doctorate from the School of Getting My Ass Kicked in Business! Tuition was expensive, the exams were brutal, and that eight-legged mule was one mean professor!
But here’s the beautiful part. You don’t have to attend the same school I did.
You can learn from my mistakes. You can learn from people who’ve already walked the road you’re thinking about traveling. You can find mentors, follow proven systems, and start asking questions that completely change the way you think about entrepreneurship.
That’s one of the biggest lessons I’m taking away from reading Tribe of Mentors. Sometimes the breakthrough isn’t finding a better answer. It’s asking a better question.
So let me leave you with one.
What would your life look like five years from now if you stopped trying to figure everything out yourself and started building something bigger than yourself?
Think about that. Because the goal isn’t just to become your own boss. The goal is to build something that creates opportunity, produces value, and gives you more control over your time.
I’ve made the mistakes, taken the punches, and been kicked by that damn eight-legged mule more times than I care to admit. If I can help you avoid even a few of those kicks, then all those lessons were worth it.
And who knows? Maybe five years from now, you’ll be on vacation with your sweetie, enjoying a margarita, knowing your business is running just fine back home.
With hot water waiting when you return.
Keep Shining.
Gabe Salinas
Founder, Window Ninjas
Mentor to Millions
