“I just want to build roofs,” Mark told me. “I’m good at it. I love it. But now I spend all day dealing with employees who don’t seem to care as much as I do.”
Mark’s roofing company had grown from just him and a helper to 25 employees. Great problem to have, right?
Except Mark was miserable.
The Technician’s Trap
Here’s what happens to most successful tradespeople:
- You’re really good at your craft
- Customers love your work
- You get more business than you can handle alone
- You hire people to help
- You discover that managing people is completely different from doing the work
- You spend your days frustrated instead of fulfilled
This isn’t a character flaw – it’s a skill gap.
What Nobody Tells You About Growing a Business
When you’re working by yourself, quality control is easy. You do the work, you know it’s done right.
When you have employees, quality control becomes about:
- Clear expectations
- Consistent training
- Regular feedback
- Systems and processes
- Communication skills
None of which they teach you in trade school.
My Own Version of This Story
In my mortgage business, I was great at processing loans. I understood the regulations, I knew how to structure deals, I could solve problems on the fly.
But when I hired loan officers and processors, I made the classic mistake: I assumed they’d care as much as I did and figure it out like I did.
They didn’t. Because caring isn’t enough without clarity.
The Shift That Changes Everything
The breakthrough came when I stopped trying to make my employees think like me and started building systems that made the right choice the obvious choice.
Instead of hoping they’d “get it,” I created:
- Checklists for every process
- Clear standards for quality
- Regular training on why things mattered
- Feedback systems that caught problems early
Result: My team started performing at a level that met my standards without me having to constantly manage them.
What Mark Discovered
Mark and I worked on shifting his mindset from “How do I make them care?” to “How do I make caring unnecessary?”
We built systems that ensured quality work regardless of individual motivation:
- Photo documentation of every job phase
- Customer sign-off at key milestones
- Quality checklists for every crew
- Clear consequences for shortcuts
Six months later, Mark told me: “I’m back on the roof three days a week, and the business is running better than ever.”
The Real Question
It’s not “How do I find employees who care as much as I do?”
It’s “How do I build a business that produces consistent results regardless of who’s doing the work?”
That’s the difference between being a technician with employees and being a business owner with systems.
Struggling with the transition from doer to manager? You’re not alone. Most successful business owners hit this wall – and most don’t realize there’s a systematic way through it.