January 23, 2009
Lunch with an old friend
I’ve had several goodbyes lately. I can’t fool myself into believing that it’s likely I’ll ever return to Hawaii once I move, so I know that it’s unlikely I’ll be seeing any of my local friends again. I had a call last week from someone who is very dear to me. We met when I was working for the employer who first moved me to Hawaii and have been friends ever since. Jamie helped me start my business. He gave me my first computer (one he had recently retired for an updated model) and taught me how to use it. He gave me his client address book and told me to feel free to solicit any of the realtors and escrow officers who had made his own business successful. The real estate industry was thriving in 1999 and Jamie knew that there was more than enough business to support a new provider of termite inspections for home sales. He knew the quality of my work and the caliber of service I would provide to his valued clients if they chose to start using my service instead of his. Some of them did and my business was launched because of Jamie’s generosity. There aren’t many people in business who would have done what he did. We’ve worked together on a number of jobs over the years, but the fact is that we are competitors. The term “friendly competitors” exactly describes our relationship. I was a little perplexed when I found out that he had married and hadn’t sent wedding invitations to myself and another business associate with whom we both share ties, but it turns out that he and his bride had tied the knot on a cruise ship somewhere near China. He made up for the faux pas by inviting me into his home and introducing me to the love of his life, so I had to forgive him, of course. She’s the prefect mate for him and they’re still deleriously in love five years or so later, so I’m thrilled for them both that they found each other, even though they didn’t include me in their plans.
Jamie met me for lunch yesterday. We discussed current business trends. A number of other pest control operators and quite a few realtors in Hawaii are casting about for new ways to support themselves and their families. We talked about the state of our own industry and the financial crisis and our hopes that the new administration in Washington will bring about some positive changes. Nothing earth-shaking - just two friends catching up with each other and commisserating over the dismal business climate that has spurred me into leaving our beautiful paradise. I’m going to miss talks like that when I get where I’m going. I hope I’ll be fortunate enough to find new friends, competitors and associates in Texas with whom I’ll share such a comfortable working relationship. Maybe not. I think Jamie is unique.
Aloha Jamie. Gonna miss you, guy!
[tags]business, business associates, Hawaii, Hawaii business, Hawaii real estate industry, termite inspectors[/tags]
RSS feed for comments on this post.
TrackBack URI
