Pest Management Professional, August 2011

growing pains Pete Schopen Contributor Stop and Smell the Roses Coaching Children is its Own Reward S unday July 17th 2011 will go down as a very good day in the Schopen House My 13 yearold son Trey won four gold medals at his conference swim championships in Rockford Ill Ninety minutes away in McHenry Ill the little league All Star team I coach won our tournament with my seven year old son Caleb hitting a two run double in the last inning winning the game This special day might not have happened if I hadnt listened to sage advice from my mom and my chiropractor Throughout my life my mom Jeanne Ray has been telling me to stop and smell the roses In high school while I was playing football running track and participating in speech competitions I was still cutting grass and splitting wood for old ladies on the weekends and putting in 15 hours a week at the local butcher shop Stop and smell the roses In college I was going to classes working 20 hours a week at a radio station 20 plus hours a week for my dad at Mid Central Pest Control and 20 hours at the local country club as a waiter Stop and smell the roses Since starting my business its not uncommon for me to be at the office by 5 a m and not come home until at six or seven in the evening Stop and smell the roses In 2006 when I started my business my chiropractor Dan and I went out for lunch and he gave me my second piece of solid advice He saw how stressed out I had become as I grew my business and told me that with two little boys at home it was very important for me to grow my company slowly He reminded me that once they are grown I will never be able to reclaim the years they needed me most Stop and smell the roses Every year I coach a little league baseball team during April May and June After the last out is made I jump right back into my busy work schedule This year however I was asked to coach a little league all star team At first I said no too many bugs too many customers and too much money to be lost But then I thought back to what my friend Dan the chiropractor said and agreed to coach during June and July It was awesome Being able to spend more time with my seven yearold was great Not only that but winning the championship created an incredible bond between Caleb and I that we will always share At the end of the season I hosted a party for all of the players One of the parents put together a book of our little league season I almost cried as I flipped through the pages looking at all of the little faces I coached But it was a picture of Caleb and I together celebrating a win which sealed the deal I knew I had made the right decision Brian a successful pest management professional PMP in the New Jersey area echoed those sentiments recently when he and I were swapping stories His favorite time of year is when hes coaching his sons little league teams He does it every year despite that spring and summer are the busiest seasons for most North American PMPs Stop and smell the roses We all want to be successful We all want to provide for our families Thats why we got into pest control and for most of us thats why we started our own businesses But if we allow our companies to take us away from our family and friends what was the point in starting the business Go on a date with your wife Take your kids fishing Live for yourself and not just for your company Stop and smell the roses Thanks Mom pmp Schopen can be reached at pete@ schopenpest com 74 August 2011 Pest Management Professional mypmp net