Why You're Not Worth Minimum Wage!

Have you ever walked through a shopping mall and thought to yourself; how do the small kiosks make a profit? My wife and I were recently in Dallas for a real estate convention and had the afternoon off, so we took a ride to a local mall. As we strolled through the mall, I couldn’t help noticing that every one of the small kiosk vendors were to busy, with their nose stuck into their cell phone, to address anyone walking past. One of my favorite comments I make to clerks to generate conversation is; “are they working you hard”? I stopped at one of the kiosks and looked over what they had to offer as the clerk paid no attention to my wife and me and I asked them; are they working you hard? To my surprise, they looked up from their phone, rolled their eyes and said; for what they pay me here, I’m not going to work hard and returned to their phone. They obviously knew I wasn’t interested in the product they were peddling and now the question comes to mind; why are they being paid minimum wage? I hear all the crying coming from our elected representatives, minimum wage should be increased to $15.00 per hour.  For our elected officials, it’s an open checkbook to pay their staff but for small business, it’s watching every penny to make a profit. I am all for getting rid of the minimum wage system and bringing out an incentive pay system. If a sales clerk wants a raise, sell something, make a presentation even if nobody is watching. We have all heard the question when at a fast, (convenient), food establishment; would you like fries with that or would you like to up-size? What would happen if there was a meeting before every shift and the manager advised the crew of a minimum goal and once they achieved that goal, everyone would make a percentage of the profit; would that be enough incentive to get them motivated to actually sell something or connect with potential customers? Some will say; you can do that with sales, but you can’t do that with office staff, and I would disagree. You can measure the number of calls, accuracy of paperwork and the overall profitability of the business.

To the surprise of many workers of the future, you will be fired because the current minimum wage you are being paid is far more than your worth as an employee. I foresee a bleak future for many college educated minimum wage people, you might actually have to put your phone down and go to work. Here’s a line taken from one of my favorite professional speakers, Larry Winget, “It’s called work for a reason”.

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Three words you can use for the Perfect Hire

Possibly, one of the biggest challenges business owners face is hiring new personnel. It doesn’t matter what industry, we all face the same challenge. What about that employee from the past, who seemed to be the perfect hire, only to become a huge disappointment and leave your business in worse condition before they were hired. Then there are the hires who show up and then it goes downhill from there, all they do is show up. One of the best lessons I learned for hiring personnel was at a time I was serving as a project superintendent for a large medical clinic. It was from the general contractor who hired me, showed me how to find that person who would show up and be willing to do whatever needed to be done. I was perplexed at what he showed me and put what he taught me into action and it worked immediately. I had hired and fired a lot of people and crews from the project for many different reasons and it all came down to my lack of interviewing skills. My deadline for the building completion was bearing down on me and I had to hire people and crews who would understand the pressure we were under to complete the project on time. We were running advertisements in several surrounding towns and received many phone calls asking about the project with promises to show up for an interview, only to be disappointed with the skill I learned from the general contractor. I needed carpenters, plumbers, roofers, painters, and general laborers and the skill I learned from the general contractor made it possible for me to hire the right people and we finished the project ahead of schedule. You are probably asking what the secret was to hire the right people and it was just three words that made all the difference; push that broom. Many of those who came to interview only offered one skill, the only thing they were willing to do, and they believed that was all they should do. The look on their faces as we walked around the project and walked into and area covered with saw dust or sheet rock debris and I called a laborer over with a broom in hand and offered the broom to whom I was interviewing, handing them the broom; show me how you push a broom. I was told many times; that’s not what I do or I’m not going to do that. It was the people who had primary skills who took the broom from my hand and cleaned the area were the people I hired. What they showed me was, they were willing to do anything to get the job done and they were hired with the understanding that if called upon them to do something different, they were willing to be a team player. Push that broom, three little words that speak volumes of someone’s character.

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What I Learned in Prison

The first thing I noticed before entering prison was the tall chain linked fence with rows of razor wire at the top and along the base of the fence. The first sounds of prison that resonated in my memory was the buzzing for the magnetic release on the steel door, the creaking of the rusty hinges and the clashing sound of steel on steel as the door slams shut behind me. As I lay my carried items on a bench to be x-rayed, I turned and walked through a metal detector, and awaiting me on the other side was a guard who direct me to extend my arms and spread my legs. I felt the guard’s hands run up and down my legs and arms, across my back and sides and down my chest and stomach area. As I processed in, they photographed me, assigned a number and tagged me, scanned my hand for recognition and then directed to another door. Beyond the door was another steel door, another buzzer and squeaking hinges and then another steel door beyond that one, with a buzz the release of the magnetic latch, the door is pushed open and I walked into prison, as the steel door slammed behind me. As I walked through the area, it was as if every convict’s eyes were upon me, some greeted me as others just stared. As I opened the door to the reception area, I was greeted with a smile, a handshake and welcomed. By now, you must understand, I was not convicted of a crime, I was there to teach inmates the art of networking. Of the 1300 plus inmates incarcerated in the prison, I had thirty men who had signed up to attend my eight-secession course. The inmates had been screened by the prison staff and only these select few would be able to participate. What I quickly learned was these men were hungry for knowledge and wanted to learn networking skills they could use in and out of prison. What they quickly learned from me is I held them accountable for their assignments, which many others had not. Several men dropped out of the course after giving them an assignment, they failed to do it and part of that assignment was to write a draft and present it in front of the men. When I called upon them, they said they hadn’t done the homework and I told them; you’re still going to present. They quickly learned accountability was tough and too difficult for them. What I learned in prison was similarities with the inmates. Most of them were from homes with a drug or alcohol addicted parent, had been abused and many had been part of social services and most of them did not have a strong male influence in their life. Without a strong family life, many fled to the streets to find a bond. Many of you reading this will say; they knew the difference between right and wrong, and they would agree with you. But given that most of them were in survival mode, they did what they felt necessary to do to survive.

For some of the men who attended my course, they will be getting released within a few months or a few years and some will be in prison for the rest of their life, and they will have gained networking skills and the ability to determine personalities and know how speak and understand others. As I leave the prison, there is the buzz of the magnetic lock and the squeaking hinges and the slam of steel on steel. As I walk through the last gate into the darkness of the prison parking lot, I think to myself; these men will have better networking skills than most of our population. When they are released from prison, they will be in survival mode with speaking skills.

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