How I Triumphed Over Multiple Traumas. Ernest Nullmeyer

two days I had a call from a lady who operated a hair salon in downtown Barrie. She had for years coiffed Carolyn’s hair, as well as her mom’s and two sisters’. She said she would like her big old house completely redecorated. Wow! Sounded like an amazing first contract. As Carolyn had not yet gotten back into teaching, she volunteered to help me. If she had known what stage one was, she may not have volunteered; but on the other hand, being a farm girl she was no stranger to hard and not-so-pleasant jobs.

      OFF AND RUNNING

      We loaded up my little Mazda and were off to our first contract. When we arrived, Hyacinth was a little shocked to see Carolyn Cameron (as she had known her) at her door and even more shocked that the man she had talked to on the phone was really the Reverend Ernest Nullmeyer, whom she had heard preach every Sunday evening and Wednesday morning on the local radio station.

      After she got over her shock, she walked us through the century-old house to show us what she wanted done. She didn’t even ask for a quote, as she had decided that she wanted my company (my wife and me at that time) to do the job. It was a big contract and would even require me to hire my first employees. Yes, things were taking off fast, even faster than I could have envisioned—even being the visionary I am!

      The wallpaper looked like it came from the first batch ever printed. Seniors will remember those old embossed wallpapers. So we started in, removing wallpaper, and at bedtime could feel every muscle in our bodies. It was arduous physical work, and I understood why Carolyn was only able to take a few days of it, but I will say that, just like a girl brought up on the farm who knew how to do chores, she gave it her very best.

      CAROLYN’S NEW POSITION

      I still had an important position in my company for Carolyn, and that was answering the phone. Often when I was out doing estimates the client would ask, “Who is that lady who answers your phone with that warm, friendly voice?” I was always proud to respond, “That’s my wife.”

      I have always been amazed that some businesses, organizations and professional offices hire people to answer their phones who do not have a warm, friendly voice. They answer as if you are interrupting them from doing something important. That’s not the tone of voice they heard when they phoned Nullmeyer Decorating.

      NEWSPAPER AD PAY-OFF

      Soon—as a result of my little ad in the local paper—the phone calls for estimates began to pour in. The timing for the launch of my new business was perfect, as people were beginning to think of spring cleaning and, of course, along with that, spring decorating. Yes, the old saying is true: “Timing is everything!” Plus, home owners would also be thinking about exterior painting. That would give me the opportunity to hire students for the summer and a manager to oversee my offspring company I named Keen and Kleen Student Painters. My son Kevin—who was now a university student—managed that part of the business and even hired his younger brother Brad to work for him. Brad always said (jokingly) that if there was painting to be done in a difficult spot Kevin would assign that to him. That was Kevin—the prankster.

      The student painting company did very well, with one of the spin-offs being that the students, who became very efficient painters, would then be moved along to work with me. Two of these were lovely young female high school students that Kevin had hired. Trust Kevin to hire lovely ladies. Eventually—with my training—they developed excellent skills in wallpapering as well as in painting. Michelle and Aleke had emigrated from Holland with their parents and four siblings. They—and eventually three of their sisters, who also worked with me—were all amazing workers. They never needed to be prodded to work harder and didn’t require repeated instructions about the jobs they were assigned.

      One summer I signed a very large contract for painting the entire offices and factory of a big company in Barrie. The problem was, I had lined up a week-long preaching engagement at a family camp in Muskoka. What should I do? I made the decision to leave the Dutch sisters in charge. When I returned, the president told me that they had the crews working harder than I had them working when I was in charge. Wow! What a blessing to have staff of that calibre.