17 Wealthy People Revealed How They Actually Got Rich

7.

“If you start your own business, the best thing you can do is be a great boss. Not an okay boss, not a good boss — be a great boss. My family has a small business; we work on pools. We do everything except build them. My dad is my boss, and he’s the best boss I’ve ever had. He actually listens to his employees and takes their recommendations on how to finish jobs as gospel. The average starting wage for a basic pool cleaner in our area is $12. My dad starts off at $19 with no prior experience.”

“He gives out raises twice a year by the dollar or dollars, not pennies and quarters. He gives paid days off, gives $3k–5k bonuses around Christmas, and tries to work around their schedule since most of his employees have families. The employee turnover rate in the pool business is extremely high; I think every two to three years in my area the last I checked. He has two employees who have been with us since before I was born, and I’m 24. He listens to them and drops customers we don’t like without question.

Last year, he hired a new guy with some experience and sent him out to clean up a few pools after a storm. Later that day, a customer who my dad has had since he started the business, over 30 years ago, called and said they don’t want a Black man in their yard. My dad immediately said ‘f*** you’ in the most professional way you can and hung up. (I know this situation is more about being a decent person and not a great boss, but I still love this story.)

He’s training me to take over in a few years and constantly tells me to not only be worried about feeding one family (ours), but I have to be worried about feeding nine families (we have eight employees). To me, being a great boss is one of the best ways to run a successful business and become wealthy.“

—u/jasnmartin