I enjoy reading entry level job advertisements for the restoration industry. They remind me of a simpler way of living. Pack a lunch every night, wake up earlier than you want to, perform physical labor before 7 a.m., break for 15 minutes at lunch, and come home tired.

Managing a small business is a risky proposition. A gamble, in some aspects.

We all know how hard it is to find good employees. We’ve all heard it: “People don’t want to work.”; “Don’t hire anyone younger than 30.”; “Everyone has an entitlement mentality.” Blah, blah, blah. 

Should you physically beat up your customers? Of course not. If your employees are beating up customers in order to enforce company policy, clearly they haven't been taught the skills of effective decision making. 

Too many business leaders have been misled by the “accounting mentality” and think paying their people too much (whatever that means) results in uncompetitively high costs. Seriously? 

What is company culture? The best definition I’ve seen so far is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterize an institution or organization. It’s that feeling you get when you walk through the company’s doors or interact with their staff. It’s the collection of priorities, values and beliefs driving the decisions that are made daily.