by Tyler Brandt, National Recruiting Coordinator
After we moved into our new house, my wife and I knew at some point we would finish our basement as a place for our kids to hang out with their friends and obviously increase the value of our home. It was something we had done in our previous home and it was great for the kids. We had a handyman finish our previous basement as we were moving cross-country and needed it done prior to arriving in Iowa from Arizona.
This time it was different, I was here, I had some framing, drywall and finishing experience so this would be a great DIY project for me and save a ton of money. So, I went out and priced materials and decided to get a plan ready to go. As a kid I had worked on farms, in construction, some mason work, and took wood shop along with welding in school so – “I Got This.”
While I was at my son’s basketball practice I was talking with one of the moms about my upcoming project and she said that her husband was a Industrial Engineer graduate from Iowa State University and owns his own framing & construction company and would be more than happy to take a look at the project for me. I of course said, “That would be great – I would like his suggestions for MY project!” He eventually called and came over and we talked about the job and I thanked him for all of his great ideas and let him know that it was really going to help ME DO MY DIY PROJECT!!
For the next few days I walked around my basement drawing, measuring, computing and imagining how awesome MY project was going to be with the ideas from my buddy – The Construction Professional. And the time finally came to start the project and BE A MAN that can build things! While in Home Depot with a flat bed full of lumber and hardware a clerk came up and said “Looks like a big project” and I said “I am finishing my basement” in my greatest Tim the Toolman Taylor voice stopping just short of the manly grunts. The clerk said “That is a great project but you should probably be using green treated lumber for the base of your wall frames.”
I said thank you and slowly put everything back into the places where I had got them and called my wife and said “What do you think about using Mark for the basement project?” Being the intelligent wife she is she says “Why – I thought you were going to do it?” And the professional coach in me said “I was in the land of EGO RULES EVERYTHING but in the real world where results are accomplished by doing things the right way I would do more damage than good. It would get done but it would be done my way not the way it should be done!”
So, I made the call. I have watched my choice to accept the help from a professional who has a skill set and a knowledge base different from my own transform my basement into something that we will be able to use and be proud of for as long as we own this house. What was the cost to me? Financially we paid a little more than if I would have done the job myself, that’s for sure, but the quality is 100 fold better. Let’s quickly talk about my EGO on this issue – my EGO is SOARING THROUGH THE CLOUDS! As I watch what is happening in my house for my kids I can’t tell you how good I feel about my choice to hire a professional to help me in a place that I needed it!
I am flying high right now because life is imitating art in my own home! I have written on many occasions about how we as coaches and business professionals need to seek out and secure people that can help us accomplish our goals in areas that we are not experts. That is exactly what I did and I couldn’t be happier with the results!