It’s Always Too Early to Quit!

Credit: Bill Gillespie

Last September I shared an article titled “How Do You Know When It’s Time to Go.” The focus was on timing. When your life and the path of an employer no longer align, it is probably time to go. Certainly, it was for me, and I wrote about it in September.

This piece is on a different part of your career journey. “It’s Always Too Early to Quit.”

My start in the printing industry was as a buyer. I managed an in-house print shop and bought pieces we couldn’t print ourselves. That means anything with a second color or photography was a buyout.

I was a one man band. I made line shots, burned plates, printed the work and finished each job. Most of my time was spent arguing with a duplicator (AB Dick360). I had no training, so I was teaching myself how to print.

One day I threw what my friends call “A Bill Gillespie Fit.” I hit the press with both hands hard enough to move it. I threw my shop coat on the floor and walked to my car. I was headed home and throwing in the towel.

As I started my car a voice in my head said, “If you walk out now, you’ll be walking out for the rest of your life.” I hung my head and resigned myself to the hard road ahead. I went back inside and resumed my fight with the duplicator.

Fast Forward: I mastered the work. I grew the department and added employees. Later, I went to work for one of my suppliers and got into print sales.

Print sales was hard. Nine months in I was convinced that stringing barbed wire would be a better career. I told my wife, “Selling print is like asking for dates. Everybody says no.”

I hated it. I made an appointment with my boss to discuss career options. He agreed to meet me with the head of production to discuss other possibilities.

I was late to the meeting. A client on the bubble called to discuss a bid. She tweaked a few details and placed a nice order. My boss and the head of production spent our meeting time working out new numbers. They asked me about wanting to quit sales. I deflected the question and insisted we would get back to it later. It never happened.

Fast Forward: I sold more than $100 million in print.

If I had quit either of these times, I would have robbed myself of a wonderful career. I didn’t hate sales. I hated rejection. I didn’t hate the duplicator. I hated failure. My anxiety was directed at the wrong thing.

If you’re thinking of hanging things up hit pause. Ask yourself, “do I hate what I’m doing or do I hate my results.” Your answer tells you everything.

If your results are what you hate, consider this. It’s baseball season. Teams are wrapping up their first week of a very long season. Some are doing better than others.

Do we think the first week tells us very much? Is a team that started strong guaranteed to win their division? Is a team that’s starting slow already out of it?

Of course, the answer to both questions is no. The same is true of your results. Any struggle you face is temporary. If you do the stuff, you will ultimately succeed.

Sales is a Process. Do the steps and don’t quit. When you get frustrated brainstorm with a peer. Talk to your boss. Share what’s going on and get back to what you know works.

Unless you hate the process “It’s Always Too Early to Quit.”

Photo: It’s my Benny. It didn’t arrive like I expected but it is mine. I would never have won it if I had quit anywhere along the way. I like that it’s backwards. It fits me.