Jim Garland is an entrepreneur, business owner, author, professional speaker and business consultant.  He started his first company Sharp Details, Inc. from the trunk of his car as a boat cleaning service in 1991. Today Sharp Details, Inc provides corporate aircraft cleaning and support services to fortune 100 and 500 companies, has 60 employees and produces $3,500,000 in annual revenue. Jim is the author of The Practical Guide to Exceptional Living. In this interview, learn the tools Jim used to become a success in all areas of his life.

You started Sharp Details, Inc out of the trunk of your car 1991. How did you grow Sharp Details, Inc. into a company that produces $3,500,000 in annual revenue?

Most of the growth came from old fashioned cold calling and referrals; I banged on a lot of doors. As we got into aviation in 1994 people would see us working and like what they saw and would recruit us to do their aircraft. The big growth began in 1998 to the present when we were able to use our reputation in the industry to get government contracts with the FAA and the US Air Force. In 2002 we also began working with some large fractional ownership programs that currently use us at all of our locations from VA-CT. Again this came from referrals, reputation and simply asking for the business.

You began your business providing boat cleaning services. What made you decide to change your company’s direction to providing corporate aircraft cleaning and support services?

After doing the boat cleaning for two seasons we began to look for ways to turn it into more of a full time year round venture. The natural progression was to start detailing cars on site at people’s homes and offices. While detailing a client’s car she noticed what a great job we had done and how professional we were and she mentioned that her dad managed corporate jets. This was in 1994 and we landed the contract after our first meeting. After this first contract we saw the opportunity for growth and fell in love with the industry. We also realized that in the aviation industry we could provide services 24 hours per day

Has your business felt any affects of the economy?

The corporate and private aviation industry was hit very hard by the down turn in the economy. This was coupled with the notion created by Washington over the past 12-18 months that private aviation is excessive and bad. We had one customer whose volume with us was cut by 80% over a 60 day period. We had others who simply parked their aircraft for 90 days and did not fly. We have also seen a slowdown in payments from customers, everyone still pays but some take as long as 90 days now. To combat all of this we are constantly looking for new streams of revenue and additional services we can offer new clients. This has helped us stabilize our revenue. From an operations side we have a very secure line of credit (a solid banking relationship goes a long way) to help with cash flow and we watch our P&L like a hawk. In 2009 we made a lot of adjustments related to the efficiency of our operations and this helped us weather the changes in the economy as well. In 2009, our revenue was even with 2008, but we saw an increase in profit because of our increased efficiencies.

You credit much of your success to reading and studying self development, health and business concepts. What top five books or programs would recommend?

There are so many great books and programs out there but a few clearly stand out. The E-Myth is the only modern era book–the others were written 40-50 years ago, but the lessons they contain are timeless.

Books

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
How to win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Programs

The Strategic Coach by Dan Sullivan www.strategiccoach.com. I was in this program for four years from 1999-2003. The claim is they can double your income and free time in three years and they delivered.

This success led you to develop Garland Communications, LLC along with the release of your first book The Practical Guide to Exceptional Living. Congratulations! Can you tell us a little about your book and why readers might be able to use it as a success tool?

I wanted to provide a simple guide that could help people improve their lives on many levels. The goal of the book is to get people to think differently about their life and their life’s purpose. I have great tips on improving health, which I feel is the base of any successful person. There are chapters on faith, goal setting, attitude and money. The beauty of this book is it can be read in one day and referenced over and over again. I pose many questions and encourage the reader to take action by answering a series of questions. This book can truly transform your thinking which will change your actions and in turn produce better results.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Your thoughts and how you think will have a far greater impact on your business than any outside influence. As an entrepreneur you must constantly find the good in any obstacles you face and start each day as a new adventure no matter what the circumstances. I learned this going through a frivolous law suit that almost bankrupt my company several years ago. What I realized was this. I have control over one thing every day and that one thing is my thoughts. I could not control the attorneys, the company that was suing me, or the opinions that some had formed because of poor information. By focusing on my business and all of the things that were working, I was able to overcome the suit, grow my business and make it stronger than ever, while improving my business reputation by leaps and bounds.

For more information on Jim Garland and his book visit http://www.sharpdetails.com/ or http://www.jim-garland.com/

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Julie Barnes is a Freelance Writer focusing on her passion of entrepreneurship. Julie published “So You Want to Start a Business…Now What?” in December 2009. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com.