How I learned to Sell and not Do

By Drew Sauveur

I know, the title sounds weird right? Well, let me explain.

I’ve been self-employed for the better part of 20 years. In that time there has been ups and downs of course, but for the most part, I’ve had contracts, and not a regular job.

I ran a construction company for quite a while, swinging a hammer for 9-10 hours a day, then selling, and collecting at night and on weekends. I was happy, the satisfaction of seeing a project progress was fantastic, and thankfully, I have a very understanding Wife who didn’t mind that I worked 60+ hours a week.

After doing my taxes for a few years in a row, I decided that I wanted to earn more money, however, no matter how many extra jobs I took on, I just wasn’t making the money I wanted.

So one year, I decided I wouldn’t pick up a tool. I would just sell and manage, and hire sub-contractors to complete the work that I sold. I finally realized that I can sell much more work than I can actually do, and that trading hours for money alone, was not the way forward to the next level of my career.

So how can you do this in your own company? Depends, it takes a lot of trust, of releasing the reigns a little, and finding the right people to complete tasks that you are selling.

The first step I found was to network and find capable sub-trades that I could work with, learn their strengths and capabilities, and start getting them some work, and then move on from there.

Whatever your line of work, this can be adapted to work for you. It just takes a little trust, and some luck.