A Typical Sunday . . . .Well maybe not so typical, but worth reflecting upon. Yesterday in Houston was a lovely day...low humidity, temps in the mid 60's, clear skies, light winds. Perfect outdoor weather. A great day for golf, except it was Sunday and the courses are crowded.
Football season. My wife loves spectator sports and has season tickets to the Astros who are not in the world series this year, and season tickets to the Texans, The Texans were in town for a game and off she went early in the morning with friends to participate in the tail gating and the game.
My SBH [Senior Bright Horse - Texan Top Dog?] for had requested a meeting to discuss our business's current status and plans for the future.
So he arrived early in the morning, we made pot of coffee, sat on the patio and began discussing the various issues and opportunities. Six hours of that. Several trips upstairs to the Executive HQ office to view accounting records, P&L's, etc. Meeting concluded with each of us having a number of assignments to complete to develop and to implement our plans.
SBH left to spend the rest of the day doing whatever he and his BW had planned. I returned to my weekend project of rejuvenating our teak patio furniture.
While sanding, applying stain, and generally enjoying the wonderful weather, I reflected on what has happened to my business in the last five years. Forty to fifty percent annual growth. NOI growing steadily. Customer base well diversified and reasonably stable. Grown from a one man shop to nine employees currently with a tenth projected to be hired at the beginning of the year. Everyone committed to delivering quality reports on time.
SBH and Admin Manager have progressed steadily in learning to manage a complex business. SBH has passed all but one of the comprehensive exam sections, and will take the remaining one in January. I can see a clear path of future growth and success as long as the team stays committed to quality and honesty throughout their careers. No question in my mind that they will.
While that's not a typical Sunday, it is a day of quiet reflection of past efforts and future plans, the out come of which are wholly dependent upon the skills and luck of the participants.
Too bad folks working in large corporations can't have that same Sunday in their lives.
Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, but the appraisal profession, and small business ownership give us an opportunity to mold our own destiny; work under our standards and ethics as opposed to someone else's; and at the end of the day to know that we gave our best and be content with the results.
Not bad at all......
www.acornappraisal.net is a 20 year old firm offering a wide range of quality appraisal services to the Financial and Business Communities. Our market includes the greater Houston SMSA, including Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and
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