Just ONE Thing
6 Habits That Separate Growing Shop Owners from Stuck Ones
Episode 230
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Hey, good morning. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ, and this is my Just ONE Thing.
So what are we talking about today? We're talking about GROWING. It's one of those words that every one of you—how many of you want your team to grow?
Think about that. Everybody talks about it. You hear it everywhere. But here's the truth: most people don't actually grow. And why? It's because it's so hard to put legs to that word. It's vague. It sounds good, but it doesn't actually tell you what to do, okay?
The reality is that growth is not an accident. It doesn't just happen. It's got to be done with specific daily actions. What I've been really working on is taking a word and breaking it down into the actions that actually embody and encompass the word that I'm looking at—and this week, it's GROWING.
So here's the really cool thing about this. I sat down, I started thinking, what actions does somebody have to take in order for them to be considered growing? And I came up with six, so I want to go through these with you, and then I'm going to challenge you at the end.
The first action to grow is to stay curious. Curiosity is what keeps you moving forward. Curiosity opens the door to growth. If you're not curious, you're not going to grow. How do you stay curious? By asking questions, connecting dots, and not being afraid to be wrong.
If you think you already know, you've stopped growing. You're not curious. When you assume or think you know, then there's nothing there—you know, instead of having an open cup, you've got a steel trap. And that doesn't work. So you've got to stay curious.
When I was 20 years old, I thought I knew everything. And here I am at a little over 60 years old, and I am amazed at how much I don't know. Please learn that lesson sooner.
The second thing you need to do is stay humble. You’ve got to be humble. It doesn’t mean putting yourself down—it means being open to new thoughts, new perspectives. It’s being able to say, “I might not be right.” I want to value being better over being right.
Please write that down. I want to value being better than being right.
So stay curious, stay humble—those are the first two.
Third, embrace change. The reality is change is going to happen. The difference is whether you're reacting to it or creating it.
And the reason why so many people resist change is because you feel like you're losing something. When you think you're losing something, it's hard to let it go. But I need you to understand that every piece of change you go through is really an opportunity for growth in disguise.
What I want you to start doing is thinking about change as a classroom. Because the reality is, you're either going to see change as a threat or you're going to see it as a chance to learn something new—and I think that's amazing.
Stay curious, stay humble, embrace change. And then the fourth is seek feedback. The reality is we see the world this way, but there’s a whole bunch going on this way that we're not aware of.
It's called blind spots, right? And those blind spots—if you are not aware of them—they hold you back. You need feedback. Feedback’s like a mirror. You're not going to see yourself accurately without the feedback of others.
The way I like to say it—it's one of my favorite quotes—is: You can't read the label when you're inside the jar.
Feedback is going to show you where you need to grow. You've got to be open to it. See, that's part of being humble, being willing to change. It's like a circle—I'm going to be curious, humble, and embrace change. Then I'm going to seek feedback, and it's going to create this circle that's just so cool.
Number five: invest in yourself. This is a great question to ask in an interview: “Tell me about how you invest in yourself.”
That is a great question. It's going to help you weed out people that either, number one, don't think they need training—which is scary—or they don't want to do anything on their own. “If you want me to be better, it should be on your time.” And yes, if we want them to grow—if we want them to go through specific training—then we pay them to do that.
But I want to hire people that are not only curious, not only humble—I want to hire people that are hungry. I want to hire people that want to be their best, that are driven to grow, and be that on their own. That's amazing.
So ask: how do you invest in yourself? What books have you read? What courses have you gone to? What events have you seen? What podcasts do you listen to?
These are all things that are super, super important because here's the thing I'm going to tell you straight up: the best investment you're ever going to make is in yourself. And I wish I was the first one to say that—I'm not. John Maxwell has said it. Ron Dyer has said it. Jim Rohn has said it.
I need you to understand that the best investment you can ever make is in yourself, because when you do—your shop, your team, and your family—they all benefit from that growth. Not only that, you become the example for growth.
I want that one to sink in just for a sec. You want your team to grow? How many of these actions are you taking? This is important.
And number six—this is where the rubber meets the road—is use what you learn. There's a difference between learning something and knowing something, and the bridge between the two is doing.
I've learned this, or I understand it—but you don't know it until you do it. So it's learn, understand, do, know, master. That is the rule. That is the way. That is the timeline for becoming great at anything.
Learn, understand, do, know, and then master. Super, super important because knowledge isn't enough. Knowledge gives you a false sense of progress because as you learn new things, you feel like you're growing and getting better—but it is not until you apply that knowledge that you actually make a difference.
Application matters. It's not "knowledge is power"—it's applied knowledge that’s power.
So let's go through the six again:
1. Stay curious.
2. Stay humble.
3. Embrace change.
4. Seek feedback.
5. Invest in yourself.
6. Use what you learn.
If you love this stuff, please share it. Number one, we need to get this message out—everybody needs to hear it.
Second, Shop Owners Round Table, November 13th, 7:00 PM Eastern. If you would like to get more information like this, we have a great webinar series called Pocket Business Genius. It's very reasonable.
And if you've been looking for a coach and you'd like to talk, please reach out to [email protected] and we will set some time to sit down and talk and see what's going on in your world.
So again—stay curious, stay humble, embrace change, seek feedback, invest in yourself, and then use what you learn. There you go, everybody. Take care. God bless. Have a great week, and go make some money.
I'll see y'all next week. Bye-bye.
