Achieving landscape lighting greatness by way of repetition

18 Jan Achieving landscape lighting greatness by way of repetition

By Mike Gambino

Show me any great athlete, business person etc. who is at the top of their game and industry and I will show you a dedicated individual who got that way from the same repetitive practices on a consistent and daily basis.

I’d like to start this article of by telling you a story which illustrates exactly why repetition is the best way to build a name for yourself.

I know of a neighbor of one of my clients. He comes outside first thing in the morning – every morning – and sweeps the garbage, debris and leaves from the curb in front of every ones house on both sides of the street. When you park your car in front of his or his neighbor’s homes you’d better not let him see you scrape your tires on the curb.

He doesn’t have to do this, it’s not a requirement for living there, but he does it anyway.

In the years he’s lived here he has built a reputation for himself as the guy who sweeps the street.

One occasion I asked him why he does it and he said that it keeps him busy and out of the house. He mentioned that he served in the United State Marine Corps and that he had some surgeries after his time in Vietnam so he doesn’t get to do much.

Sweeping up every day kept him active and gave him a sense of accomplishment. “Plus” he said, “sitting inside all day doing nothing seems like such a waste of a good life”.

I smiled and thanked him for sweeping and keeping his area of the street so clean. It’s a good feeling, knowing he is still out there continuing his daily routine.

So what does this have to do with landscape lighting?

There is magical power in repetition

Most things in life require you to put in some effort on a consistent basis in order to see results and my landscape lighting business is no different. Just like professional and Olympic athletes train for years to become great (think Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, etc) you need to build up your repetitions in business to grow your skill set and more importantly your reputation.

How much better are you right now at your craft compared to a few years ago? That’s due to practice and repetition. Do you want to speed up the process of getting great? It’s all done through constant repetition – every day for an entire year put in as many hours as possible to improve your skills and see how much growth you experience.

Building a name for yourself

My clients neighbor is forever going to be known as the guy who sweeps outside every day.

I’m known as the High Performance landscape lighting guy with an enviable work ethic who is on the job all of the time. It is one of the great ways I stand out because my competition generally follows a 9-5 schedule, leave employees on the job most of the time unsupervised and are not hands on lighting people. I’ve burned an everlasting image of in my clients minds that I am there and I care.

Doing great work consistently pays off

Are you surprised that people who work the hardest tend to get the luckiest? It’s hard to believe but a lot of people overlook this simple technique because they’ve been overwhelmed by the self employment dream of living without a traditional boss and don’t punch a time clock; follow the 4 hour work week, check emails or return phone messages only when they feel like it, etc.

Besides the obvious benefit of building a name for yourself, you can also benefit from repetition in different ways. So what other benefits are there from doing great work consistently?

• Your skills increase and when your work becomes well known you are able to market yourself as an expert in your field.
• Your rates increase because your skills are being sharpened and by being considered an expert, you are able to charge expert rates.
• Clients love the work you’ve done for them and will become Word Of Mouth marketers for your business. The better you work, the better your clients feel and the more they want to talk about you.
• Being on the project all of the time hard at work is positive exposure. People see that and want to work with someone who takes personal interest in the outcome of their project.

What are you doing right now?

I know of a saying that goes – The harder I work the luckier I get. I am a true believer.

This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 29 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.Gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .

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