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Chapter 2

Everything is a Choice

“No matter what circumstances you face, it is always your choice to respond in a way that will lead you forward.”

Although it may not seem like it, and at times can be easy to argue the opposite, everything is a choice. Often it is easier to see the reason for something happening as outside forces causing things to occur in our lives, rather than the result of a choice we have made. There are so many circumstances in this world that are bigger than us and beyond our control, put into place by systems we have no way of regulating or changing. Situations frequently occur that we did not expect or plan for. Being caught by surprise might make an experience more upsetting, but that does not mean we are helpless and unable to choose a positive response. Quite the contrary, first we choose how we react to our circumstances, then we choose to move forward or stay stuck where we are.

Are you choosing optimism or pessimism? Are you geared more toward tenacity or hesitancy? Are you opting for an approach that stresses life-long learning, giving-back, and being community minded or a head-in-the-sand, self-centered perspective?

These all represent choices that are made in big and small ways every day. It is beneficial to choose actions and behaviors that promote positivity. A conscious decision to maintain an optimistic mindset regardless of circumstances is one of those choices I made early in my career. In this chapter you will learn about how everything is a choice and sometimes we choose to let others impact us positively or negatively, but ultimately the choice is ours.

It Started with One Small Choice

In 1995, I began a business journey that has changed my life. Nine months pregnant with my second child, I made the small yet significant choice to become an entrepreneur.

The grind of several years working in management in another field, I wanted a career that offered scheduling flexibility so I could spend time with my young children, and allow me to give back to my community. It was that quest that led me to start a contract cleaning company. Although I knew this choice would present its challenges, I thought owning a small business would be a great side investment while allowing me to be a mom.

And so, Management Services Northwest (MSNW) began in a small office in the upstairs landing of my home and a handful of employees. I remember having my small team over to our home for breakfast and our first staff meeting. I knew little about the janitorial industry at the time and admitted it to them. But I did let them know I was excited to learn, looked forward to their help, and together we were going to take great care of our clients and grow a successful business.

Recognizing that strong relationships were the foundation, I made a commitment to work closely with the team and provide the resources they needed to take excellent care of our accounts. I believed if our customers were happy they would refer us to other businesses and we would grow.

Similar to the startup stories of other emerging businesses, I ran MSNW out of my home and operated it from there for many years while my children were young. I managed all aspects of the business from my home base holding team meetings, taking client calls, and warehousing supplies and equipment. In the beginning I wore a number of hats from sales person to receptionist, chief strategist to accountant. By maintaining our commitment to quality service promised during my very first team meeting, we steadily grew the business.

As our clients’ businesses grew, MSNW grew with them, both geographically and in the scope of services we offered. MSNW evolved from a strictly janitorial service operation serving a small county in Washington state to a full-scale facility management company serving throughout the Pacific Northwest. As clients requested new services, such as landscaping or snow removal, we added those specialists to our team as they made sense financially for the business.

We operate by the slogan “We’ll take care of it,” that drives everything we do, from our company culture to client services and community involvement. Our unique advantage is that we are a one call source for all facility services from janitorial and landscaping, to complete facility management. Because we bundle services such as plumbing, electrical, landscaping, janitorial, etc. we are able to create efficiencies, increase the quality of the services, and free our clients to focus on their important work.

As founder and CEO, I have been privileged and humbled to see MSNW grow from a small start up into a thriving regional enterprise and one of the largest facility service providers in the Pacific Northwest with over 450 employees and multiple service partners. With year over year double digit growth, our company has been named as one of the fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine and Puget Sound Business Journal.

The choice to start my own business was not without challenges. I knew full well the statistics were against me - according to the Small Business Administration, 80% of small businesses fail in the first year. Regardless, I was determined to beat the odds. Thankfully, with the support of passionate, dedicated team members and wonderful client partners we have not only kept our doors open for over two decades, but created a successful, sustainable business that is making a positive impact.

Being an entrepreneur is an exhilarating and challenging adventure, and as mentioned in the last chapter, a rollercoaster of highs and lows. I have made mistakes and learned many valuable lessons along the way. Through it all I learned to think beyond the narrow bounds of a successful career to a significant life. I developed the Leader’s Success Plan provided at the end of the book, which is a proven system you can follow to design a life of purpose and significance. There is no silver bullet, and the path is not always easy, but it is well worth it. Let me help you uncover the truths that have held you back, and transform your life to the one you have always dreamed of, one simple choice at a time.

Choose Your Response

I have often been asked how I have been successful in life and business, especially making it through the deep recession, when many companies failed. I have found that the secret of continued progress is due to two responses used repeatedly through the good and especially the challenging times of my life.

My first response to challenges is a natural tendency toward optimism. This optimism is something I can summon in any given situation and reflects my general perception of life as a “cup half full” versus “half empty.” The second response is one of tenacity; I tend to choose to never give up, no matter what happens. When you fall down, or are even kicked down, you always get back up, put one foot in front of the other and keep going.

My optimism and tenacity were challenged on a number of occasions. I went through my own personal trauma years ago when I suddenly found myself a single mother to my three daughters.

During this time, I could have given up and certainly wanted to at times. I had a choice to make. Was I going to let this troubling situation paralyze me or would I persevere through the struggles? It was difficult, but I made the decision that I was going to be the best parent I could be, the best employer, and have the best business.

I read a very helpful book at the time by Larry Wilson called Play to Win. In it, he describes two kinds of people:

1 “Playing not to lose: Avoiding situations where we might lose, fail, be emotionally hurt, or be rejected.1

2 Playing to win: Consciously choosing to go as far as we can with all that we have and learning from whatever happens.”2

Most people like to face life by playing not to lose, by doing everything they can to play it safe. Those who take the road less traveled are playing to win. With this mindset, I cannot fail. I can only learn and grow!

Listen to Your Own Voice

I was a single mother for many years. My family has always been my primary purpose, with my business pursuits coming second. However, the heavy responsibility of supporting my family completely on my own, as well as the responsibility of leading a growing company was especially daunting during this challenging time.

I decided to meet with an industry consultant whom I respected. I told him of the importance to me of being a good parent first and shared my thoughts of working less than full time, as well as my plans to continue to grow my business successfully to the next level. He told me, “You will not be able to continue the positive upward trend you have experienced working less than full time. You need to commit to working 40 hours plus per week – or more like 50 to 60 hours – to accomplish your goals.”

My best decision was to not listen to that consultant’s advice. Instead, I became even more committed to my part-time work week. In fact, I decided to schedule myself completely out of the office one day of the week. In the next two years, my business grew more than 130 percent. More importantly, because of the decision to work part time, my children grew up with a mom who didn’t miss the important events in their lives, took the time to volunteer for their school activities, and provided an example of what it can mean to be successful at work and at home.

Choose Your Mindset

My optimism and tenacity were not just challenged in my personal life but in business too. One of the most challenging times for our business was when the Great Recession hit. Overnight, our world changed drastically. I observed several clients struggle financially, and one client partner of over 13 years was shut down by the FDIC. There was a spirit of fear around us. Many of my staff had spouses or family members who had lost jobs or businesses, and our own project division dropped 30% overnight. It was a scary time to be a business owner. I have to admit there were some sleepless nights worrying about providing for all of the families who called MSNW home. I remember one moment when it seemed things were crashing down around us, and I too, allowed myself to become paralyzed by fear. One of my managers pulled me aside and said to me, “Janelle, you are always the one that puts the wind in our sails, but you can also take it out.”

That was a wake-up call for me. I made the fundamental decision that day to do whatever it took to thrive in the down economy, to learn whatever lessons we could as a company and use them to prepare for a great future.

This type of mindset is a choice. It’s a choice that takes work and means not looking at problems as insurmountable, but rather as opportunities. Dr. Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, calls this approach a “growth mindset” versus “a fixed mindset.” A fixed mindset is where one identifies themselves as someone who cannot change; one who feels labeled by their failures; and gets quickly discouraged when things become hard. On the other hand, a growth mindset is one, as I have described, where every difficulty provides an opportunity to learn and take yourself forward.3 Dweck says, “You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They’re powerful beliefs, but they’re just something in your mind, and you can change your mind.” 4

It’s a choice that takes work and means not looking at problems as insurmountable, but rather as opportunities.

By choosing this growth mindset, you seek to constantly find a way to move forward towards positive solutions. Sometimes it’s not easy. There were days I felt deflated and wondered how I would go into the office and face our team when I knew the challenges ahead. Again, what I had to do was make the choice to not allow myself to wallow in self-pity and to instead move forward in confidence. Trusting my business, employees and clients was also a choice. All of these small choices, made day after day, slowly brought us through the worst of it.

Once I had stopped listening to outside forces and committed to the positive continued success of my business, I began to act in a way that supported the choices that I had made. This impacted the entire team, encouraging them to make their own choices about attitude and commitment. We even talked about how we put on our company uniform in a different way. Similar to a team member working at Disneyland who puts on the princess costume and becomes a princess, we can leave our situations behind when we come to work as soon as we put on our costume. No matter what challenge was being faced at home; I encouraged them to believe that when they came into work and put on the MSNW logo shirt, they became MSNW. That shirt means you’re positive, you’re passionate, and you’re going to have a really great day. It was actually a very helpful reminder that way – both simple, yet tangible.

Every reaction, interaction and conversation is a choice for the future.

This example is poignant to me as it was a stark reminder that we live life based on our own design. From then on it was clear that every reaction, interaction and conversation was a choice for the future. At the time we were in an office space that we had significantly outgrown. Our human resources manager didn’t even have an office door. While everyone was saying, “hunker down,” “wait for everything to blow over,” “hold on to your money,” I purchased a new office for our company that was twice the size of the one we were in. This bold move helped to position us for further growth. Because of that decision we were able to take on a regional contract the following year which led to our strongest year in company history.

No matter what circumstances you face, it is always your choice to respond in a way that will lead you forward.