Teeco Solutions - October/November 2018

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HARD WORK VS. SOFT WORK

ARE YOU READY TO MAKE THE SHIFT?

My father was a bricklayer for most of his life. I remember being on the job site as a kid watching him mix mortar in the hot sun as he built walls, and I could tell it was grueling work. As I grew older, my dad moved on to general contracting, and I started working for him. My brother and I started on job sites doing manual labor like ditch digging or other strenuous jobs. It was during this time that my dad started to move away from hard work and started gravitating toward soft work — managerial duties and less hands-on tasks. He certainly had the expertise and the ability to continue construction, but the shift he made was very intentional. While his career was profitable, it became clear to my father that hard work wouldn’t take him where he wanted to go later in life. Rather than continue backbreaking labor, he started investing in real estate. His experience in hard work helped him develop the characteristics necessary to be successful in soft work. The more he moved the pendulum, the more income he generated. I watched him make more money in retirement than he ever did laying bricks. Everyone loves the idea of waking up to just soft work, but that doesn’t spontaneously occur. You can’t jump to soft work without going through the rigors of hard work. The adjustment to soft work is difficult for many entrepreneurs, but an even greater obstacle lies in the decision to make the jump in the first place. I see many of my customers trapped in the hard work stage, unable to transition to the future they want for their business. In most cases, it’s not because they don’t want a more detached role or a focus on leadership; rather, they struggle to negotiate the required shift in mindset. I’m familiar with this mentality because it used to feature prominently in my life. I used to make fun of people who worked in an office when I was younger. I wrote off the notion

of desk jobs because I could never see life beyond hard work. I loved labor and found fulfillment in it, but the more I looked at my dad’s path, the greater understanding I obtained about the necessity for making this adjustment. While I’d like to say I’ve shifted entirely to embracing the concept of soft work, it can still be a challenge for me to this day. Most business owners struggle with the mindset shift to leadership because their self-reliance is what took their business to its initial stages of success. They pour their hearts into building something great for their lives, and when there’s something intertwined with every part of your life, it’s nearly impossible to let go of control. In the last cover, we mentioned the two types of people who start a business, using a house as a visual aid. There are front-of- the-house people — customer-facing positions — and back-of- the-house people — process-oriented jobs. You eventually need to hire someone to complement your weaknesses so that the company runs efficiently. Both types of people are necessary, but leaving the house to be managed by someone else entirely is a thought that many entrepreneurs don’t even consider. The idea that no one is going to be as invested in the success of the business as the owner permeates decision-making and puts a cap on individual accomplishments. Most leaders believe they are saving their company by staying actively involved in all aspects when all they are actually doing is limiting their opportunity to move to soft work. Do you have a plan for developing passive income through retirement? Some of us are bricklayers for life, and others are more successful in retirement. Making the shift requires the proper mindset and the ability to relinquish control. Are you open to transitioning your life to soft work?

–Steve Arendt

Contact Us • info@teecosolutions.com • 877-712-9172 • 1

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.TheNewsletterPro.com

COUNTY MEATH, IRELAND, WHERE HALLOWEEN BEGAN

Fans of Halloween don’t need to look far to find somewhere to celebrate their favorite holiday. There are festive parties all over the world, from New Orleans to London, but if you really want to embrace the spirit of Halloween, there’s no better destination than the birthplace of the holiday: County Meath, Ireland. Every year in Boyne Valley, the residents of County Meath throw a month-long Halloween celebration. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival attracts thousands of guests from all over the world, and while this festival has only been celebrated since 2009, many of the traditions observed here date back to ancient times. The ancient Irish weren’t trick-or-treating or visiting haunted houses on Oct. 31, but they were celebrating the pagan holiday Samhain. Over 3,000 years ago, this Celtic festival was born in Meath and marked the end of the harvest. Samhain was celebrated with bonfires, offerings to fairies, and other rituals meant to keep evil spirits away. Many of these customs carried through the centuries and inspired Halloween traditions that are still practiced today.

Today, Meath celebrates Oct. 31 with a blend of spooky thrills and traditional Samhain practices. The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival starts with the lighting of the first torch fire of Samhain in Athboy, which kicks off a month of fun activities. If you like your Halloween extra spooky, the scream park, Farmaphobia, is waiting for you. And if you’re not a fan of screaming your head off, you can check out the Halloween-themed Spookling Afternoon Tea for fresh-baked treats and spirited conversation. The motto of this all- ages festival is “Fun by Day; Frights by Night,” meaning all the really scary ghosts wait until after sunset to come out. There are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween, from carving jack-o’-lanterns and eating chocolate to running for your life through a haunted corn maze. And in County Meath, you can celebrate Halloween in every possible way. For more info, visit www.Discoverboynevalley.ie/whats-on/spirits-meath-halloween- festival-2018.

A CHILD PRODIGY RETHINKS SUCCESS

This is a book about a journey. It chronicles a life of international chess tournaments, high-stakes martial arts competitions, a boy who found too much success, and the man who had to relearn everything because of it. Yes,

national chess title at age 9, which quickly made him an international sensation. His father, Fred Waitzkin, wrote the renowned book “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” chronicling his young son’s journey into the world of chess. This then inspired the movie of the same name. Now, one does not normally think of child prodigies as being great sources of insight into finding success. By definition, prodigies are exceptional — exceptions who operate on a different playing field than most. But Waitzkin firmly positions his journey through the chess world as the antithesis of what he calls “the art of learning.” As the author states, “The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.” Waitzkin was very

gifted at chess, and he didn’t have to push himself early on, but by the time he did find challenging opponents, he found loss and adaptation impossible to handle. It wasn’t until he stepped out of the rigid grids of chess and into the flowing movements of tai chi that Waitzkin was able to formulate a guide to success. Appropriately subtitled “An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance,” Waitzkin’s story of grappling with childhood stardom and climbing the brackets of the tai chi chuan circuit is full of wisdom applicable to anyone looking to achieve mastery in their field. With compelling personal anecdotes and a unique perspective on what success really looks like, “The Art of Learning” is a fresh, vibrant addition to the personal development genre.

“The Art of Learning” reads like a gripping, emotional memoir, but make no mistake — Josh Waitzkin’s work doubles as an effective guide for business owners striving to attain perfection in their fields. Josh Waitzkin’s name will be familiar to longtime chess fans and movie buffs alike. As a child prodigy, Waitzkin won his first

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The Solution to All Your Rental Needs

Hosting events can be a logistical nightmare. There’s an almost infinite number of variables, which makes pulling off the perfect gathering a statistical improbability. The only way to ensure success is to trust the vendors you work with to uphold your standards for quality. Luckily, there are companies like PRE Sales, Inc., that provide unparalleled service, giving you one less thing to worry about. Catering, invitations, and a venue are all requirements for a successful event, but without the right tables, chairs, heaters, linens, and other hosting necessities, your party won’t exist. PRE Sales, Inc., is one of the largest distributors of rental equipment in the country and has the solution to all your hospitality needs. Their warehouses are lined wall-to-wall with just about every item under the sun, and they offer an easy-to- use web interface in order to deliver a smooth user experience. We spoke with Jeff Wechsler of PRE Sales, Inc., to find out what makes their business unique, and he showed us why they are the go-to rental equipment company of choice. “Every single product we have goes through rigorous testing. Our process isn’t standard in the industry. We go above and beyond with stringent testing to make sure our clients get the best-quality product. Our Rhino™ series tables are considered the best in the industry. All of our products are designed to hold up through transport, storage, and the stressors of the events,” says Jeff. When you’ve been in the business for 35 years like PRE Sales, Inc., credibility is almost a given, but when you add in dependability, it’s easy to see why they are an industry leader. Head on over to PRESalesInc.com to find out more on the variety of products available to everyone. And after all their equipment is packed up for the next event, give us a call to make sure your tents are cleaned.

TEECO’S TIPS Are you busy, busy, busy?

Do you have a pretty good crew running your jobs? If so, you’re lucky; we all know that good help is hard to find, and even the best and most committed workers can get distracted. If you study the workflow on a job site, it won’t take long to figure out that it’s hard to keep the whole crew busy the whole time. You’ll also discover that you’re paying these folks for “windshield time” — nonproductive travel time to and from the job sites that cuts into your bottom line. To convert this unproductive time to productive time, consider examining and changing traditional methods you’re using to set up and strike tents — methods that require intense manual labor. If you offer employees the right tools or equipment to do the heavy lifting and strenuous jobs, you now have a win- win situation. Your employees are less fatigued and it takes fewer to do the job. And reducing the number of workers required will also allow you to be more selective and find the best people available. In turn, using the best people available means less management, greater consistency, and more profit. Take the incentive and research the latest technical innovations — you might be surprised by how cost-effective they can make your operation.

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PAGE 1 There’s Working Hard and Working Smart PAGE 2 The Birthplace of Halloween Discover ‘The Art of Learning’ PAGE 3 Our Teeco Tip of the Month Learn About PRE Sales, Inc. PAGE 4 The Surprising Origins of Trick-or-Treating

WHY THERE ARE KIDS ON YOUR PORCH ASKING FOR CANDY

As Halloween looms and you load up your grocery cart with candy, you may ask yourself, “Why do I provide these spooky gremlins with a sugar high every Oct. 31, anyway?” Well, when your doorbell starts ringing around 6 p.m. this All Hallows’ Eve, you can thank the Celts for this tradition of candy and costumes. Halloween itself is a kind of mishmash of four different cultural festivals of old: two Roman fêtes, which commemorated the dead and the goddess of fruit and trees (not at the same time); the Celtic Samuin or Samhain, a new year’s party thrown at the end of our summer; and the Catholic All Saint’s Day, designed to replace Samuin and divorce it from its pagan origins.

pillowcases in hand, the Celts believed that Samuin marked an overlapping of the realms of the living and the dead. To trick the spirits leaking into our world, young men donned flowing white costumes and black masks — a great disguise when ghosts were about. The Catholic Church was never a big fan of these pagan traditions, so they renamed it “All Saints’ Day” and gussied it up in religious garb. By the 11th century, people were dressing up as saints, angels, and the occasional demon instead of spirits. Eventually, costumed children started tearing through town begging for food and money and singing a song or prayer in return — a practice called “souling.”

souling turned to “guising,” which gave way to trick-or-treating in mid-20th- century America, and the costumes diversified. So put on some clown makeup and a big smile, scoop up a handful of sweets, and scare the living daylights out of ‘em — ‘tis the season!

Long before there were young’uns on your porch dressed as Thanos with candy-filled

But when did they start dressing up as Minions? Starting in the 19th century,

4 • Cleaner Tents For Maximum Profit • Teeco Solutions

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.TheNewsletterPro.com

info@teecosolutions.com (314) 254-0548 teecosolutions.com

We’ve refreshed our machine lineup to offer more washers that fit your needs. After listening to customer feedback, we’ve developed four models that vary in price, load capacity, drum size, and more.

Our Classic machine washes small-scale loads while taking up minimal warehouse space. Our 5-year trade-up policy gives you the ability to upgrade to a larger machine as your business grows.

Our Signature machine makes life easier for rental companies searching for a simple but effective machine. This powerhouse is efficiently controlled by touchscreen navigation to return tents to their wedding-white condition in as little as 10 minutes.

The Turbo is suitable for businesses looking to invest in a high- quality machine. Its stronger framework and larger drum safely wash more tents per day. The machine's additional features allow you to safely reclaimwater without sacrificing speed. 

The Premium is our leading tent washer designed to handle high volumes of tents, making it ideal for businesses washing tents non-stop during their busy season. The Premium has proven to last over 20 years in even the most demanding environments.

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Every Teeco machine is powered by our unique line of cleaning chemicals. We’ve developed a formula that removes dirt, dust, buildup from pollution, and every stain that comes your way. Do you have enough soap in your warehouse to take on the autumn busy season? Visit teecosolutions.com/tent-cleaning-chemicals/ to view our lineup and restock your inventory.

Every Teeco machine is powered by our unique line of cleaning chemicals. If you’ve recently visited teecosolutions.com, you may have noticed our new look. We refreshed our site to make it easier to find the information you need, purchase tent cleaning soaps, and learn about the benefits of owning a Teeco washing machine. To view our latest resources, including how long it takes to wash tents with each model and the financial benefits of owning a Teeco machine, visit teecosolutions.com.

As you prepare for the autumn busy season, know that our service team is on hand to answer questions and assist with the upkeep of your machine. Should you have any inquiries or wish to schedule a diagnostic visit, give us a call at (314) 254-0548. Shawn, our Director of Maintenance, is here to assist you.

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