The title of ‘tile guy’ seems like just a job to many; boots, safety glasses, that ‘glue stuff that sticks the tile down’, but it’s much more than that to me. A couple weeks after National Tile day, here I am reflecting. I’ve had many ups and downs in my life, like many millennials, my prime working years coincided with the great recession. During that time, I was questioning my very existence and thinking to myself, “Is this my destiny?” Like the Okies of the past I didn’t stay put and phoned in a favor with my sister living in Atlanta. “A yankee in Dixie,” I thought, “how will this all work out?”
I had a lot of prove to myself, I had limited welcome in my sister’s home, until a timely Craigslist ad changed everything. Answering that ad would transform my life from a rudderless boy, to a driven man. That ad is how I hooked up with Jason, a 20-year tile man, an encyclopedia of the trade, and an unlikely partner. I was trained in coachability in my youth, due to my background in theatre, boxing, football, etc. and I knew how to mimic every move of this seasoned installer. The more important factor: I was ready, ready and willing to form a career from every morsel of knowledge I could scoop up. I didn’t have a chance to learn bad habits, he was a stickler for the book, and his influence was a steadying factor in my often-hectic life. I had always worked in construction, but this was one of the first guys that had ever treated me with dignity, and he was one of the few that accepted the fact that if I were successful, he would also be successful. I had come from a place where work was scarce, trade knowledge was closely guarded, and this relationship was different. Jason also gave me an extremely long leash. Where many men would allow their egos to overcome them (like the day he was calm when I just showed up with a new company logo) Jason went with the flow, my vision became his vision, his vision mine.
Part of the transformation for me was an over all journey of self-discovery. I remember spending a lot of time alone, whether it was in my room as an uber bachelor, or on multi day hikes with a back pack and sore feet, I would think and think and think. How could I make myself better? Podcasts would inspire my love of reading, I’d watch and talk to other business owners, what were they doing that worked? What could I do that would make me better? One of those things was becoming one of those Crossfit savages you hear about, I said to myself, “If I’m going to be the best I need to be fit!” So where do you go to get fit? You know where I’m going with this! That was a game changer for me, when most construction workers eat horrible food, drink countless beers at night, and take every opportunity to smoke a cigarette, I respected my body like a sanctuary, making exercise a priority, all with the thought of many trips up and down stairs to make the perfect cut on the wet saw and extending my career, being able to work in comfort and confidence.
Above all else, podcasts, You Tube, and reading motivated me to embrace capitalism like never before. Many choose to live in a world that does not exist. I choose to live in the world that is, rather than in the world that I thought I wanted. With our modern education we’re taught ideologies that are antithetical to survival. We’re taught to change classes at a bell, to train us to work in a factory job that does not exist. We’re taught to reject God, who gave my ancestors the will to push through all types of adversity. Bands like System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine engineered me to think we lived in an unjust world and that “dropping out of the system” was the only answer. As I aged, I learned to reject these messages. When I accepted that the United States is a business and that I must be better than someone else to eat and thrive, things completely changed for me. I embraced many of the traditional values that I was raised with, that I had rejected through my twenties. Leading a clean life, shaving daily, a tucked in shirt, proper etiquette, all these characteristics are important when you’re trying to build relationships with people you don’t know. Success in business is rated on a bell curve, of course the guy with the tattoos that swears like a sailor can be extremely successful in business, but the vast majority follow the tried and true method of trust development practiced by our ancestors.
At that point I embraced the reality that I was competing against millions of other people that wanted my job. Yes, even having a profession was a daily struggle to be better than the next. I thought to myself, what can I do to provide the best service to my customers. How do I separate myself from the pack? At this time I started thinking about my time as value. That hour I waste on social media every day, I’m going to spend it on building a website that will help people learn and aid them in finding us. My rudimentary skills, in writing, in marketing, in sales, I’m going to leverage these things to showcase Jason’s unique talent and help us move forward in this cut throat business. If I could put one thing out there for people hoping to advance in the positive, that thought would be, think about how much time you waste on stupidity, and use that time for something better. Mindfully set aside one hour a day for things that won’t show immediate returns, do something that will help you in the future.
That’s one of my strengths. I’ve become an extremely persistent person, a little bit every day on my marketing strategy, a little bit every day to enhance my skills, a little bit every day to become a better sales person. I like to use Scott Adams’ idea of the ‘talent stack’. My main skill is in being a tile installer, but I have many secondary skills that aren’t as refined, in marketing, sales, video editing, phone sales, etc. Another term I like is, being a “renaissance man” Self-development, self-discovery, self-advancement, Don’t Pidgeon hole yourself. Modernity has it’s visible downfalls, but technology can also help you become a better person, as it did me.
From humble beginnings as “Jason’s helper” to where I am now, I just keep developing. There’s a lot for me to learn, I’m not anywhere near where I hope to be. Occasionally though, I look back and comment on how far I’ve come. So, what does being a tile guy mean to me? Ultimately, it has given me a chance to have an identity. American men are desperately grasping for an identity. We see degradation and demoralization all around us. Record male suicide, depression and anxiety. Unbelievable amounts of addiction and anti-social, destructive behaviors. I don’t worry about any of that, my identity is strong. I get to build something with my hands, solve problems, help people and build a business. All while nourishing a *family* from the profits of honest work in the tile industry. This identity has led me to places and led me to become a person I never dreamed possible, it’s more than just a job, it’s who I am. Pride gives people a reason to live, that pride must be on a solid foundation though. What you do for a living is as solid as it gets.
If you’re a potential customer reading this post, realize that this is more than just sticking tile to a wall or floor for us. We’ve dedicated our lives, to the betterment of your life, by improving your home. When you patronize us with your business, you are supporting two families, two men who were never meant for the traditional 9 to 5. Servicing you and your house is a task we take very seriously and that takes up most of our thought. Yes, waking up with night sweats after a dream of a shower failure, that happens to us! I also want to thank you for being part of my journey. Every project we do, every client we work for, has a place in our hearts. All of them take a piece of us we will never get back. Many have a job, we have a mission!