Jason was about to join the business his father, Wesley, owned. For twenty five years – since before Jason was born – the company had offered interior painting services to homes and offices around the Topeka area. For the first few years, Wesley worked on all the jobs himself. But in the last two decades, he had carefully added new employees both in the field performing paint work and also in the office to make sure that everything ran smoothly. The plan was for Jason to spend time with each department, learning the ins-and-outs of the business so that one day, when Wesley retired, Jason could take over the family business.
The first job Wesley wanted Jason exposed to was the paint work itself. “Son,” he said, “the business end of things might be more interesting to you, but the core of what we do revolves around painting walls and making people happy. Get used to it, because you’re not going to do anything else around here until you prove to me that you know the paint work inside and out. Our team follows my lead and they all know that I can grab a brush and get to work if I have to.”
