I Got Fired for Doing a Good Job

I always wanted to have my own business. Since I was a kid. But the fear of trading security for “maybe” always spoke louder.

Then, one day, life decided for me…

I was working full time as a truck driver. Good pay. Health insurance. Three weeks vacation. Stable. Safe. The kind of job you don’t walk away from without a very good reason.

But I’d just finished remodeling my house, and I’d learned something about myself — I loved working with my hands. Building things. Solving problems.

That feeling of stepping back and looking at something you just made better.

I didn’t want to start a construction company from scratch, though. I was comfortable behind the wheel.

Then, at a cookout, I started watching my cousin. His phone was ringing off the hook. One call after another after another.

I came closer and asked, “Are you selling drugs or something?”

He laughed. “No, cousin. I hang shades.”

And I stood there thinking…

“How hard can it be?”

Two screws to hold a bracket. Rinse and repeat. Done. What could go wrong? (FYI, don’t ask if you don’t really want to know… lol)

I asked my cousin to introduce me to his boss. Part-time only. The truck was my safety net.

My first install was a vertical blind over a sliding door.

For someone with experience, that’s a 30-to-40-minute job, tops. It took me three and a half hours. A full Saturday afternoon in July. Sun cooking the glass.

Me sweating through my shirt, drilling holes into someone’s wall for the first time in my life, trying to look like I knew exactly what I was doing. But I did not.

And it was clear to everyone in the room, despite my best efforts to pretend otherwise. But the client was kind. Somehow I finished. Somehow I got paid.

So I kept going. Job after job.

And because caring about people is just how I’m wired, I went above and beyond on every single one. I followed up. I made sure people were actually happy.

It worked. Testimonials started coming in. Then referrals. Then customers asking for me by name.

Which, apparently, was a problem.

Fired for Doing Too Well

The other installers weren’t getting those calls. Weren’t getting the commissions. And after six weeks, my phone went quiet. No calls. Nothing.

I stopped by the store and noticed my cards were gone from the counter.

I asked the manager what happened. She told me the other installers had threatened to walk if she didn’t let me go. And with almost zero experience against their years, I was the easy one to cut.

I drove home and told my wife: “I got fired for doing a good job.”

She listened to the whole thing. Then she said, “Go to another store.”

I said no. I’m going back to the truck. Nice experiment but I’m done.

She wouldn’t let it go. “Roger. You looked really happy doing this.”

I don’t know why that landed the way it did. But it did. So I went to another store.

The manager looked at me and asked, “Do you have any certifications?”

I think I actually laughed. Certifications? To hang shades?

She suggested I at least take a Hunter Douglas class to get started.

The Turning Point

I went home that night and started researching — and that’s when a bomb went off in my head.

There was an entire industry behind window coverings. Training programs. Manufacturer certifications. Trade shows. Professional communities. Techniques that took years to master.

The thing I almost walked away from had more depth than the career I was trying to protect.

I almost stayed on that truck. I almost drove right past the one thing I actually wanted to do. And the rest — as they say — is still being written.

That moment of almost quitting is just the beginning.

In my book, “Nobody Told Me That” (launching September 9th), I share the raw truths and lessons nobody prepares you for—in business, in life, and in the moments that quietly change everything.

Pre-Order the Book on Amazon

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Warmly,

P.S. — Three weeks vacation and health insurance are great. But is that what’s holding you back from your bigger dreams?