Episode Overview
Kristian Protic started up and closed down several businesses before finding success and becoming president and co-owner of 365 Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing in southwestern Ontario, Canada.
His career started in home services sales. Over the course of two subsequent startups, Protic could have wavered and lost confidence in his abilities. Instead, he trusted his instincts, gained confidence, and learned not to over-rely on partners while putting the right team in place.
He learned the mechanics of running a business through trial and error.
“In hindsight, not having systems and processes in place was detrimental to the business in a lot of ways,” Protic says.
Not only did he learn from his own mistakes, Protic discovered it was possible to engage in trade industry groups and learn from others’ mistakes.
“I was always raised to keep your secrets to yourself,” he says. “Don't share what you're doing with others. But, why not? If we can all elevate the industry together we can all become better…If I can share knowledge with a contractor down the street and they can better their business by 1%, it helps everybody.”
One key practice Protic would share with others is the approach he’s adopted in hiring strategies.
“A lot of people talk about how you should hire slow and fire fast,” he says. “I would even take it one step further, and I would hire really slow and fire really fast.”
Now that he’s on solid footing in the business world, Protic finds he can maintain a positive mental outlook and take a metaphysical look at managerial best practices.
“I love seeing what each day is going to bring, what challenges I've got to face and what the team has to go through,” he says. “They're in good hands, I think. I do my best to take care of them as best as I can.”
Kristian Protic recently joined ServiceTitan’s Jackie Aubel on the “Toolbox for the Trades” podcast, which included Protic’s thoughts on:
[02:14] Takeaways from Protic’s past two businesses
[15:44] How to hire the right people
[24:05] The importance of asking others for help
[27:10] How to stay strong mentally
[32:13] Meeting goals by building the right team
To hear more stories from the trades, subscribe to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or anywhere you get podcasts.
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