At the End of the Day

By Scott L. Templin

Businessman and family man Scott L. Templin reveals his experiences through a
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in this candid and unprecedented book of business wisdom
and advice.
With his natural characteristic wisdom Templin offers insights on how to
Stay positive during extreme adversity
Show up to the battles
Survive through a bankruptcy
Live happily at the end of the day
Balance business and family
Templin reveals the businessman that refuses to give up. Youll learn how Templin transforms
himself from a young ideological businessman to a stronger, more-experienced businessman.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481720076

Scott L. Templin

Scott L. Templin is the very defi nition of the American survival story, continually setting standards of excellence while attempting to prevail through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Templin served eight years in the Armed Forces and is an ardent philanthropist. Templin is also a true family man. His marriage of fourteen years has strengthened rather than weakened during the trials of bankruptcy. He has always been devoted to his wife and three daughters. Since writing At the End of the Day, Templin has gone on to open several new businesses including a multimillion-dollar numismatic company.

Book preview

IN THE BEGINNING

As a child, I always dreamed of becoming a successful businessman. I had no idea how or when this would happen; I just knew that it would. But it would also be a long, bumpy ride to the other side.

Throughout my childhood, my mother moved us around quite a bit. We eventually ended up in my grandparents’ house—my brother, David, my mother, Sheri, and I. Often, my grandmother, Jane, and my grandfather, Louie, would be around to guide my brother and me on our journey through childhood.

My father and mother divorced when I was three years old. It was a bitter divorce that kept my brother and me away from our father. I don’t have any memories of my father while growing up. Since I never saw him, however, I never missed him. Having an older brother and a very loving mother kept me from even thinking about not having a father. Don’t get me wrong, there were many times when my friends were outside playing with their dads and I would wonder what it would be like to have a dad.

Our lives started to change for the better when I was about eight years old. My mother started carpooling to work with a gentleman that worked in the same building as she did. Soon my brother and I started seeing him around all the time. His name was Jeff. Jeff was a hard worker, was active in church, loved music, and truly enjoyed the outdoors.

But Jeff was a little unusual. He always seemed a little depressed and acted as though something was missing from his life. After getting to know him, I realized that since he was an adopted child, he was going through life not really understanding who he was. He had been controlled by his adoptive parents and was never allowed to be himself. He didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, and his parents made sure he had plenty to eat, if you know what I mean. However, life wasn’t all bad for him. He had every material thing one could possibly want. He had new cars and all the toys. His childhood typifies the adage that money can’t buy happiness.

The courtship between my mother and Jeff progressed. Over the next several years he eventually became the father that I never had. We did everything together as if we were already a family. Jeff took us on family vacations throughout the United States. He made our lives complete. I prayed at night that someday my mom and Jeff would get married.

I was so excited when I finally found out that my mother and Jeff were going to become husband and wife. My brother wasn’t quite as excited as I was, but it was understandable, considering that David was eleven years old and had been the man of the family since day one. David loved Jeff, but they rarely connected on an emotional level. Nearly ready to graduate from college, Jeff already had a good job; best of all, he had his own home. I was actually going to have my own bedroom in our new home.

The day after Mom and Jeff were married we all moved into our new home. Life was a whole lot easier having someone working together with our mother to provide for us. From that point on David and I never wanted for anything. We ended up having more than we could have ever dreamed of. We went to good schools and had all the material things that kids wanted. Life was good! We weren’t the type of family to say, Give me a hug, I’m proud of you, but we were a family. Basically, our family became a reflection of Jeff’s earlier life, but with more laughter and fun. We had found stability for the first time in my life and probably the first time in my mom’s adult life.

WE’RE IN THE ARMY NOW

After high school, I went straight into college to study electrical engineering. One of my teammates on my high school basketball team suggested that we attend together a small university in our state. The university was about five hours from my hometown. I took twenty-one credit hours my first semester. My classes were from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. five days a week.

After a year, I stopped attending that school and returned home to work and to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. I had enjoyed my freshman year, but I was ready to change my major to business. Since a major university was in my hometown, I figured I could just go there. A bit of advice to those who are searching: if you take time off from school to find yourself, find yourself fast. I quickly found myself in debt and struggling to make ends meet. Everyone knows when you’re a freshman in college, the credit card companies hand out cards like candy. I met some small-business owners and started to dabble in some business ventures. I was working just to pay credit card debts and loans.

One saving grace during this time was that my good friends were on a mission to become successful, so we all had common goals. My friends and family encouraged me to never give up on my dreams, but I did notice my dreams becoming more and more unattainable. For the next three years, I worked two and three jobs at a time and occasionally attended college part time.

As I reached age twenty-two, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel fading away. It was time to make a life changing decision: I left a week after my birthday for the United States Army Reserves basic training. I was sent to South Carolina for sixteen weeks. Fortunately, this decision turned the light back on. When you find yourself in a rut, sometimes you have to shock the system. You have to make hard choices and make sacrifices; you have to make radical changes. I learned more about myself, and about life’s values and morals, than I had ever imagined.

With the help of my Grandmother Jane, I paid off all my debts while I was away at training. My grandmother agreed to become the administrator of my finances. I had all of my military pay sent to her. She in turn made payments to my creditors. My goal was to come home with a clean slate, and that is what I did. I’ve learned the hard way that financial worries prevent people from staying focused on their projects, let alone their dreams. I had become committed to preventing that from ever happening again.

When I joined the Army Reserves, I tried to be a military policeman. But because the wait was too long, I chose the highest cash-bonus position I could get. It was a 75D position, short for Personal Records Specialist. As is the case with all prospective reservists, I was required to take an aptitude test upon joining. My score was so high that I was selected to be one of the first military personnel ever to take on more than one Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) at the same time. My other one was a 75E Personnel Action Specialist.

I graduated Advanced Individual Training (AIT) with the two specialties and was in the top of my class. I really liked the specialties I chose. My army job was in an office with the top brass. All of the officers worked around me. It gave me a great sense of the military, and it taught me to respect my leaders and elders. I was very proud of the work I did.

When I arrived home from Basic Training and AIT, I went right back to work on my dreams. I was working two jobs and attending college part time when my break came. My brother and my Uncle Steve were both working at a division of General Motors. A position for a contract engineer had just become available. They both put in a good word to the owner of the employment service who handled the position. The owner asked me to come in for an interview. I was excited to have a shot at a real job that offered good pay and benefits. I went through several interviews, competing for the position against actual college engineer graduates. After all was said and done, they offered me the job.

I had worked as a contract engineer for about a year when I decided that it was time to take a shot at my own business. Working in an engineering department was boring to me. I felt as though I was more of a people person than a laboratory engineer. I had many ideas about what I would like to do, but it was a difficult decision. I wanted to start a business that would bring me a lot of satisfaction. I knew I was personable and that no matter what kind of business I started, it needed to involve interaction with people.

Starting a successful company was a big part of my dream. It just had to take off! I understood that having a dream was only the first step. I also knew that a dream alone would not pay the bills. I had ventured into small businesses off and on since I was about sixteen years old. I started a lawn mowing business, sold knick knacks door to door, started an advertisement and coupon magazine, and became a distributor for a knife company. I set up a booth in my hometown college to sell plastic crates for dorm rooms. I set up firework stands around the Fourth of July, and similar enterprises. I was always trying to figure out ways to make money and I always seemed to make a little. As I got older, I would work two or three jobs at a time, as mentioned earlier. I wanted to have money and I knew the only way to get it was to work hard.

The idea of starting an employment service began to intrigue me. Being a contract engineer at General Motors meant that I worked for an employment service that had a contract with General Motors for providing them employees. My job was a long-term position with benefits. Working for a company that was making money off me while I was working seemed to be a great concept. Over time I became friends with the owner of the employment service. He gave me a lot of information about the employment business that I’m still very thankful for.

Another key person in my decision to start an employment service was my Aunt Tamara in Colorado. Tamara had been running an employment service for the past fifteen years in Colorado Springs. This fact not only helped me develop my company, but also helped nurture our relationship. We talked often by phone to discuss the employment industry; those conversations were invaluable in providing me with a foundation for a thriving business.

STARTING THE BUSINESS

By spring, the idea of starting my own employment service was taking root. I started doing research at a local library and collected over one hundred newspaper articles on microfilm. The amount of information I found was endless! I started forming a business plan. I’ve always been big on writing things down and stashing them, so I eventually had a box full of articles, ideas, and concepts.

After studying a great deal about the employment business, I decided it was time to look for a partner. I knew my best bet for success was to get a partner involved who had some money, desire, and hopefully, some accounting experience. I knew that owning an employment service would require having an accountant in house for payroll and other related paperwork. Since I was starting with very little money, I needed a partner with diverse abilities.

After exhausting my brain trying to figure out who my partner should be, it dawned on me. My stepdad, Jeff, was a perfect match! The only problem I had now was to convince him that this idea would work. Although I could be quite persuasive, I knew this would be difficult since my prior business ideas had never materialized into anything with longevity. Plus, Jeff always looked at me as just a dreamer. Nonetheless, I knew he had some confidence in me. Jeff always admired my dedication and commitment to the challenges I took on. He knew I was truly a sales person. He was the perfect candidate for my partner, so I had to get him on board.

PARTNERSHIP

The time came to approach Jeff, and I didn’t even know it. It was the summer of 1991. Jeff and my mother asked me to go on a camping trip with them to Indiana Beach. I quite honestly wasn’t going to go until I spoke to a good friend about it. He told me that if I didn’t go camping with my parents I might regret it.

My friend’s prescience changed my life. It was on that camping trip that I spoke to Jeff about my business plan, and he was intrigued by the business model I proposed. I hadn’t take any paperwork on the camping trip. I had planned on getting him to buy in to my dream from my enthusiasm. I knew an awful lot about the employment business at that point and I already had a company name and logo. I went prepared to discuss how we could get this business rolling for little to no money down.

Jeff seemed convinced. We decided that when we returned from our camping trip we would talk with my Uncle Bill, who was an attorney who could incorporate our new company. Jeff and I signed the corporate papers in late December.

Coming up with the company name and logo was not an easy task. Before this, I had spent over a hundred hours trying to figure out a company name that wouldn’t limit the success of my employment service. I decided to call my new company Reliable Technical Services, Inc. (Reliable). It was a rather unusual name for a temporary employment service, but that’s what I was after. I wanted to develop a company through hard work, persistence, and integrity. I wanted a company name that could represent any product or service. I was using the same philosophy as McDonald’s and hamburgers, Kodak and film, Pepsi and soda, and so on.

As I reflect on this decision now, however, I can safely say that if you are going to start a new company with little to no money down, then you need your company name to specifically reflect what your company does. Unless you plan on spending a tremendous amount of money on marketing and advertising, this is a must. For example, if you are starting an employment service, use a keyword for that industry in your name; Employment Solutions would be an appropriate choice. If you are starting a lawn care company, a name as simple as Jeff’s Lawn Care would work. This strategy will help you develop your company much faster.

Finding a company logo for a name like Reliable was also difficult. My Cousin Les is a graphic designer so I turned to him for ideas. He came up with a few designs, but I just didn’t have a gut feeling about any of them. I was working on several ideas when I came up with it. I took a picture of a globe and had the letters R, T, and S coming out of North America in a three-dimensional fashion. I felt really good about this one. It made Reliable look global.

If your goal is to grow your company from state to state, then it is good to keep that in mind when you come up with your company name, slogan, and logo. For example, don’t use your city or state name in your company name. That might limit you in other markets. For example, Florida Florists probably wouldn’t work very well in Ohio.

When we started our company, Jeff and I were really excited, as most new business owners are. Right away, we hired a couple of sales representatives on a commission-only pay basis. These part-time sales representatives were usually friends of mine that I sold on my dream.

I would paint a perfect picture of where they could be in six months or a year if they would just step in and work hard for little to no pay. Imagine this for a moment. If you were in a position in your life where you could afford to take a chance on a career change that could double or even triple your current income within one year, wouldn’t you consider it? Just as I had, these potential employees began to also dream of where they could be within a couple of years. I showed them how they could go from $8 an hour to over $50 an hour in no time. And the truth is I took several employees to that level—but not right away.

Throughout the first year of