Getting Locked in a Walk-in Fridge on Opening Night = Success
What does a story about a world-class chef taking over a sandwich shop in downtown Chicago have to do with solopreneurs? Not much, I would have thought... until the most recent episode of The Bear on Hulu.
Chef Carmen Berzatto has (spoiler alert) converted the sandwich shop into an upscale restaurant. It's opening night, and the pressure is on. Then at peak stress time, Carmen gets locked in the walk-in refrigerator!
Disastrous right?
Actually no. His team pulls together and executes as they had been trained and, after some stressful moments, makes it all happen as it was supposed to. I'm unsure what the writer's point is in this plot device. Perhaps they want Carmen to feel unnecessary.
But I hope it's this.
Carmen trained these people to perfection. In a sense, he was redundant, which should be the goal of any great manager.
Hire people more intelligent than you and then train and guide them. Before long, they won't need you to get their job done.
"But Joe, this is a newsletter for solopreneurs. We don't have employees."
True, but if you're smart, you have contractors, consultants, and so on helping you run your business so you can focus on what you're good at and what you love doing.
Engage with the most intelligent, most dedicated people you can find, train them in your business, and hopefully, they'll be able to do the job without you needing to be in the loop all the time.
I'm not saying to ignore them.
But not having to look over everyone's shoulder all the time and knowing that the result will be even better than if you did it yourself is a fantastic feeling.
I hope you find yourself in this position, and I hope you don't have to get locked into a walk-in fridge to realize you've succeeded.
Solo Together,
Joe Rando
