Chapter 2

Expect God To Give You The Right Words!

Rule #3 – Expect God to Give You the Right Words!

Many years ago, I had been doing warranty work for a manufacturer on some units for a builder.   I repaired many of them, but I still did not do the builder’s construction repairs.  Finally, I got up courage to go talk to the owner of this large company.  When I entered the room, he shook my hand, asked me to have a seat and said, “I wondered how long it was going to be before you came in.  Of course, you can have all our work.” I was amazed at how easy that was.  He was waiting for me.

Many times in running a business or contracting, you run into situations with people that are just uncomfortable or that can cause fear or great apprehension in you.

I have learned over the years how to deal with some of these situations.  I took much of the learning from the Bible and used it in my work.

1. Ask God to “give you mercy before the man.” This comes from a record in Genesis where Joseph’s brothers (loving brothers that they were) sold him off to some traveling merchants which took Joseph down into Egypt and sold him. Eventually, Joseph attained the position of second in command just under Pharaoh. It was in a great period of drought that under Joseph’s direction, Egypt had plenty to eat and some to sell. Joseph’s father, Jacob, already thinking that his one son was dead to him sent all but one of his sons into Egypt to buy food for their family. They did not recognize Joseph, but Joseph did recognize his brothers.  So Joseph gave them the food and sent them on their way, but he kept one of the brothers as a hostage until they would bring back his younger brother.  Sometime later, Jacob now missing two sons (he did not know that Joseph was “the man” in Egypt), needed more food and sent his sons back again to Egypt and said the following to them as they departed.

Genesis 43:13-14 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

I believe that this was Jacob’s prayer to God.  He asked God to show them mercy before the man.  You could ask for this mercy from God in many situations.  Here are a few:

1. Getting a call from an irate customer
2. Going in for an interview
3. Getting stopped by the police

I saw a video the other day talking about how the police treat people.  If the policeman is having a good day and everything is lovely in his life, you may just get a warning.  But if his wife has just called and told him she is getting a divorce, you may get taken to the station for the same offense.  This is where asking God for mercy in front of the man is so important.  People are just people.  Their moods can differ from day to day.  But God should know when you are going to be in the situation where you need some help.  So ask God to give you the right person for the interview or have the only person available to be the one that will give you what you need — jobs/contracts/ referrals etc., so you can slip right in.  Ask God to show you mercy before the man.

2. Expect that God will bring you into favor with the people that can say “yes” to your business.  This idea comes from the record in Daniel.  Some of the children of Israel had been carried off as captives to the land of Babylon (present day Iraq).  Some were to be educated in the ways of the Chaldeans so they could stand before the king as advisors.   The prince of the eunuchs was put in charge of these men.  (A eunuch is a man who has been castrated, especially (in the past) one employed to guard the women’s living areas at an oriental court.) The eunuch really liked Daniel and the three other men as recorded here in Daniel.

Daniel 1:9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

Many times you will find that the people that you contract with or work for really like you.  How God does this I don’t know but just be thankful.  And realize that you can ask God to find favor in the minds of the people you work with.  Or you could ask God to send clients that will be great to work for.

3. Expect God to give you the “Right words (wisdom) at the right time to resolve the situation.”

This Idea comes from:

James 1:5-6 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

When I first started out hanging wallpaper as a young man, I would get calls at times after I was done and was paid for a job that the customer was unhappy about something they saw in my work.  Then I would have to go back to the job and deal with it.

So I would take a “B” Vitamin (supposed to help the brain function better) and ask God to give me the “right words at the right time to resolve the situation.”  Out of all the call backs I had in 25 years, I only had to redo a couple of screw ups.  Many times it was the fault of the paper or the wall or it could have been a multitude of different circumstances.  But they were unhappy, and we needed to resolve the situation.

I never asked God for me to come out on top, just for the situation to be resolved.  I was not trying to stick anyone with a bad job by praying.

I remember one night I got a call from an irate husband after he saw the job his wife had paid for already.  I prayed but was really nervous about going to talk to him.  When I walked in the door, he started in on me and was railing for about five minutes.  Finally, he began to calm down.  Up to that point, I never said a word.  Finally, he said, “I realize you probably could have done nothing about this; I just needed to get it off my chest.  Thanks for listening.” Then I left.  God put the thought in me, “Just be quiet!”

On another job, the builder called and said that the lady was in tears because she could see the seams in the wallpaper.  I told him he needed to get a manufacturer’s representative to look at the job because there was nothing wrong with it.  He said he knew it was a good job but the woman was crying anyway.  So I took a can of colored pencils and chalk I had and went to see her.  Now this was a cream colored paper with some trees on it that crossed at the seams.  But mostly the seams were just cream colored with no pattern.  I had no idea what to do.  So I reached into the can of pencils and pulled out a charcoal pencil.  I thought, “Well, that won’t work on this background.” But then I thought, “Well, it is the first thing you pulled out. Just try it.” So I did, and as I ran the edge of the charcoal pencil up the cream colored seam, the seam just disappeared.  To this day, I don’t know why that worked, but I do know that prayer is very helpful in resolving situations when you expect God to be involved.

Proverbs 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous…

 Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living; 
profits make you a fortune.   Jim Rohn

Braker’s Rules for Contractors is now up for sale on Amazon. 

Over the next few weeks I will print a chapter a week.  The text and the numbers have been completely redone so I am taking down all the previous blogs. 

Never wish life were easier, wish that you were better.  Jim Rohn

 Chapter 1

The Reason for Braker’s Rules for Contractors

The phone rings. “I need you to come look at a unit for a repair so I can take the quote to the loan closing.” Me, “Our charge for looking at a unit is a set fee, and we need to be paid while we are there.”

Rule #1 – We Charge to “Look.”

I realized at that moment that I had a set of rules that I use to guide my business. I had just never thought of these principles as a set of rules, nor had I ever numbered them.

Rules to guide you through life are not uncommon. Everyone needs a code or set of rules to live by or conduct their business with.

An example of a rule of conduct:  John Wayne in the movie, The Shootist, said, “I’ll not be laid a hand on.” Since his passing, his son has published a book called, John Wayne’s Code. The Boy Scout oath is another example.

A very simple partial set of rules for life might include:

1. Going to bed and rising at the same time every day
2. Being kind to everyone I meet
3. Working from a to-do list as much as possible
4. Walking away from arguments whether in person or on-line as much as possible

George Washington had his Rules of Civility that he carried in his pocket as a young man, and we all know how well that turned out for him. Here are a few excerpts from his little book:

• # 6.  Sleep not when others Speak, Sit not when others stand, Speak not when you should hold     your Peace, walk not on when others Stop.
• # 11.  Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails.
• # 19.  Let your Countenance be pleasant but in Serious Matters Somewhat grave.
• # 51.  Wear not your clothes, foul, ripped or dusty but see they be brushed once every day at least and take heed that you approach not to any uncleanness.
• # 56.  Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for tis better to be alone than in bad company.
• # 90.  Being set at meat scratch not, neither spit, cough or blow your nose except when there’s a necessity for it.

On the TV show NCIS, the main character has his own list of rules, too. The ones I like the best are:

• Never say you’re sorry.  It is a sign of weakness.
• Never go anywhere without a knife.
• Never, ever involve a lawyer.
• Sometimes you’re wrong.

The more I thought about rules, I realized I had several that I used in my business.  Others I talked to said they had learned the same lessons.  But there was nowhere I knew of where a young person could find them listed. So I began to record and number them as they came up.

Rule #2 – We Charge for Every Trip. (As much as possible)

Example:  A customer called last week.  His house had been struck by lightning and had knocked out the electronics on his unit.  He wanted me to come look at it and write up an estimate for the repairs.  I tried politely telling him we had a trip charge for that, and he would say, “Just write it up for the insurance, and we will turn it in.” I finally had to explain bluntly that he would need to pay me the day I came.  Then we could write up the rest and turn that in. He agreed. It works much better to tell people up front what you expect.

Now when the parts come, if it takes multiple trips, we expect payment before we leave each time.

The reason is that after you have “looked,” or written up an estimate or given your advice, they may later decide to throw it away and start over, fix it themselves or whatever.  Then you will have a hard time getting paid for anything at a later date.

You see many people look at contractors as low-lifes or fly by night outfits.  They think they are doing you a favor by perhaps paying you some money for their job.

I have been told when I was younger to only enter through the back door, the servant’s entrance.

I see my business as a business and run it that way.  What they think they see is a man hoping to make enough money to pay his rent and buy food for the week.  Now not everyone is like that, but a great many are.  The solution is to conduct yourself according to a set of rules (which hopefully comes off with an air of confidence, instead of an air of hoping to make some money).  Then also remember that the rules may not always apply.  But they do apply 999 times out of 1000!

Accumulating rules that govern life are all part of The Prosperous Life.

Proverbs 14:24 The wise accumulate wisdom; fools get stupider by the day.  (The Message)

Several years ago I was doing a small job in a home not far from here. The man was telling me he had recently retired from a local prison where he had been employed as a shop teacher of sorts.  He taught plumbing, electrical and trim carpentry.

Now that he was retired, he was going to work as a trim carpenter.  Apparently, he was not licensed for electrical or plumbing.  He told me he did not think it was fair that plumbers and electricians charged about $100 -125.00 per hour, but as a trim carpenter all he could get was about $25.00 per hour.

I did not say anything, but it reminded me of what I had been taught a few years earlier by a wise man.  He said the economy of money is like a river flowing through life. In the center of the river it is deep and like a raging torrent but on the edges it is shallow and very slow moving.  Each of us comes to the river with our bucket expecting to fill it with money.

No one tells us where to stand in the river to fill our buckets.  Some stand in the middle where the buckets fill quickly and some struggle to fill their buckets in the shallow edges.

The man could have put in the time to become licensed as a plumber or an electrician, but he chose to be a trim carpenter.

If you don’t like the part of the river you are in, CHANGE PLACES.  Go study what successful people do, and stand where they do.

Think about it.

If you work in homes, here is something to consider:  Many people, especially women, find it disturbing to have strangers working in their homes, some to a greater degree and some lesser.  Even if you know them, it is difficult to have their home torn up for remodeling or even to have a garbage disposal installed.  It is their home.  It disrupts their routine.  Most detest the mess even if you clean up somewhat.  It is just disconcerting to them even if they say nothing.  They can be uncomfortable. What helps is to be dressed well, use tarps, be polite and be on time.  Get the job done and leave.

One of the very successful companies here in the City a few years ago advertised that their guys were well dressed and polite, even though they were PLUMBERS.  Dirty plumbers with grease on them and muddy boots are almost a proverb.  It is accepted as the norm many times.

Well, this company charge $25 -30 extra per hour because of the way they presented their employees at the door and on the job, and people were happy to pay.

Think about it.

#56 Tell them what to expect

I have found that you prevent a lot of trouble during and after a job by telling people what to expect during the job — noise, dust, delays, etc.  I also tell them what to expect the job to look like when it is completed.  Explain everything up front even the objectionable things.

Then when those things come up, they will feel more like you were being honest with them.  If they have to ask about those things when they see them and don’t like them, then any explanation you give will seem like you are schmoozing (bullsh…ing) them or feeding them a line to get away with poor workmanship.

Think about it.

Rule #57 We don’t give discounts. 

Today I found this rule that I had written under a file called Rules for Contractors.  I had written it many years ago.  A friend of mine and I were having an online discussion with another female contractor who was being asked to discount her work.  We were both in agreement that we never discount our work. The reasoning here is the same as some of the other rules.  If you discount your work, you fall into the category of contractors that “need” the work.  I have had new builders who said, “I am building my own home first, then I will have several more for you to work in, so I need a builder’s discount.”  I told them we price our work the same to everyone.  Then you can add whatever statement you want after that. For example:

• It takes us just as long to do one job as another, and our overhead is the same no matter what the price.
• Our pricing is to the bone already, and we just can’t.
• My boss would fire me if I gave you a discount without consulting her first.  Yes, my wife is my boss, and she is mean.  I would like to stay married so I just can’t.
• Whatever it takes. If possible, price their work higher.  You probably don’t want to work for them anyway.

That person that you give the discount to will most likely be one of your hardest clients to work for.  But if you stick to your guns, that same client will most likely leave you to your work if they hire you.

Think about it.

Lastly, to end this series of blogs I wanted to take a minute and talk about money.  When I looked at the number of rules that dealt with money:  how to set up your payments – jobs, how to collect, the attitude you need, that you need to be determined to get paid and you need to have a confident backbone.  It almost seemed as if maybe I had money on the brain – greedy.

But consider what God has to say about dealing with people in His Word.

Jeremiah 22:13  Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

Apparently, contractors not getting paid has been a problem for thousands of years. It is not a new thing.  God says, “Woe to him that does not pay.”

Why do people not want to pay? Not good quality work. They should have investigated the contractor before they hired them.  Notice: God makes no exceptions for not paying. Some people always find something wrong with the job so they feel justified in not paying the full amount. So this is why many of the rules work together to give you a greater percentage of jobs that pay with no question.  Then we have rules for the ones that are left that are difficult.  Many people just don’t like parting with their money.

• Dress well.
• Be on time.
• Explain the pricing upfront and don’t budge from it.
• Get used to confrontation.
• Settle the question of payment upfront.
• Never back up on a bid.

There are many more things I could list, but they all work together to get you paid.  Because the nature of some people is to let you work for free!

Think about it.

I trust you have found these blogs helpful.  Look for Braker’s Rules for Contractors on Amazon.   Or try the book Poverty vs Wealth.  It will amaze you.

Always remember, to ask God for knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  He will not disappoint you.

Collect good rules and put them into practice.

• Proverbs 14:24 The wise accumulate wisdom; fools get stupider by the day.  (The Message)
• Proverbs 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

Accumulating rules that govern life are all part of The Prosperous Life.