Why I Still Carry a 35-Year-Old Business Card

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I’m speaking to the next generation of student painters today.

I’m bringing this with me.

It’s my business card from when I ran a paint franchise on the South Shore of Montreal. My first company. I was 17.

A comb, shaped like a brush, made to stick on a fridge. My Instagram, my landing page and my CRM, all on one piece of cardboard. It worked because it was impossible to throw away.

That card is one of seven things I credit for everything that came after. A can-do attitude. A memorable offer. Fast response. Real logistics. A strong brand. A manager who had my back. A systems binder I thought I did not need.

Thirty-five years later I built Solpak on the exact same seven. The tools changed. The must-haves did not.

That is what I want the students to hear today. The summer job is not small. You are learning the whole game.

Thanks to Student Works Management Program for the invite!