020- From Employee Mindset to Empire Builder: The Psychology of Skipping Steps in Business

Feel Northern Air

Feel Northern Air
020- From Employee Mindset to Empire Builder: The Psychology of Skipping Steps in Business
Jun 29, 2025
Joe & Melissa Bates • Northern Air

Joe transformed his HVAC company from six to twenty employees by confronting a fundamental truth about entrepreneurial psychology: the tension between wanting to skip steps and learning essential lessons the hard way. This conversation explores the mental shift from fearing your first hire to actively seeking team expansion, and why some people are simply unemployable once they've tasted true ownership. The discussion reveals how providential relationships and honest self-awareness about personal limitations can become the foundation for unexpected business partnerships and sustainable growth.


BIG IDEA

I would make a terrible employee because I always think I can do it better, I always think I have the better way, and I'm usually not too shy about sharing that.








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Episode Artwork 020- From Employee Mindset to Empire Builder: The Psychology of Skipping Steps in Business 4:09 Episode Artwork 019 - "How One Partnership Changed Everything: A Plumbing Business Transformation" 4:56 Episode Artwork 018-From Solo to Team: The Surprising Truth About Hiring Your First Employee 7:48 Episode Artwork 017-Letting Go to Grow: A Small Business Owner’s Journey 9:32 Episode Artwork 016-Manuals and Mentors: How Ian’s Struggles Shaped a Family’s Resilience 7:12 Episode Artwork 015-Unschooling the Schoolroom: Joe and Melissa Bates on Tailored Learning 9:18 Episode Artwork 014-Experimenting with Life: Joe and Melissa Bates on Debt-Free Living and Innovation 6:04 Episode Artwork 013-Embracing Differences: Homeschooling and Life Lessons from Joe and Melissa Bates 9:26 Episode Artwork 012-The Bates’ Way: Tailoring Education to Fit Each Child 12:18 Episode Artwork 011-The Ripple Effect: How Mentors Shaped a Plumbing Empire and a Marriage 4:45 Episode Artwork 010-Faith Over Fear: Building a Legacy Against All Odds 10:37 Episode Artwork 009-When God Throws a Curveball: Our Family’s Leap of Faith 9:09 Episode Artwork 008-Hazing, Humor, and Humility: Inside the World of Minnesota Plumbers 10:47 Episode Artwork 007-Integrity Over Conformity: Our Homeschool Way 14:08 Episode Artwork 006-From Little House to Big Lessons: Unforgettable Trips 9:34 Episode Artwork 005-Failure as Fuel: Our Homeschool Experiment 11:26 Episode Artwork 004-Why We Ditched School Rules for Our Kids 9:25 Episode Artwork 003-New Guy, New World: Surviving Aitkin’s Trades and Temps 5:15 Episode Artwork 002-From Chicago’s Edge to Aitkin’s Quiet: A Family’s Bold Reset 9:51 Episode Artwork 001-Why We Left Illinois for a Frozen New Start 11:03