Entrepreneurial success: Lessons from my father-in-law.

Having just celebrated his 93rd birthday, my father-in-law, Don Wither, is still the best salesman I know. And, while he has grudgingly accepted that complete retirement is knocking (okay, perhaps pounding) on his door, he still brokers relationships and closes deals. He’s been his own boss for 27 years, deciding later in life to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit. For the record, he’s been very successful.

So what’s his secret?

For starters, he’s got the best attitude I’ve ever encountered. If optimism came with a headshot, it would be his. No matter what’s happening in his personal life (read: health), if you’re wrapping up a conversation and your parting words to him are “have a good day”, his response will be “they all are.” And he means it.

In addition, he genuinely loves his customers and they know it. He cares about them—their lives, their joys and heartbreaks, their dreams and successes—and when they talk, he listens. Really listens. I like to think I do that as well for my clients, and even more deeply since observing him with his.

He relishes getting up each day and making phone calls and contemplating potential deals. He enjoys the bookkeeping and what some might consider the more mundane aspects of business ownership, as well as the lunches and the real friendships that have developed.

Most of his new business comes from his existing customers (as does mine), and many of his original business associates, upon retirement, passed their company’s torch to their children who continue to work with him. Why? According to one of his second-generation customers (in his mid-40s), it’s because his service style is unmatched. “I know he always has my best interests at heart,” his customer told me, “and he makes me—and everyone at my company—feel special. And he always does what he says he’s going to do.”

He always does what he says he’s going to do. Could there be a more important behavior to emulate?

I feel incredibly fortunate to have this man in my life, as a father-in-law, role model, and business mentor. Optimism, trust, humor, skill, attention-to-detail, client service, results—it sounds like a wish list for the perfect business partner, but not if you find someone who loves what they do. Like my father-in-law. And like me.

About the author: Jim Samenuk

Jim is James Marketing’s president and creative director, overseeing strategy, design and client services. Jim spent 20 years in the ad business before his entrepreneurial spirit ignited and, in 2006, opened his doors and welcomed his first client. Ownership enables Jim to do what he loves and, when his inner adventurer beckons, he escapes to the Great Lakes or the northern wilderness for some nature-based R&R that includes lots of fishing and golf with his brothers and best buddies.