Serving Employees First

Ron and Margareth Carrothers were entrepreneurs and driven by profit. Then they discovered the relevance of faith in Jesus Christ both in their personal and professional lives, and that impacted how they operated their business. I am privileged to work with Ron and Margareth (pictured in the photo on the right in Medellin, Columbia) at LeaderImpact Group. We were in Mississauga last week and I interviewed them during the lunch break of our staff training days.

The couple, now married for over 35 years, operated two chains of hair and skin care salons in Ontario for 25 years. When they sold their business in 2000, they had over 120 employees. The first 10 years of running their business, they were driven to make profits. After becoming Christians, their focus changed. Their driving force became serving their staff. Their decisions were based on their people rather than profits.

"Our staff became our highest priority. What impacted our people became our driving force. If our staff were happy, our customers would be happy, and the profits would come. We saw our staff as our #1 customer, and our customers as our #2 customer. We believe staff treat the customers as well as the owners treat the staff."

Ron and Margareth's business philosophy made a difference. When they purchased the business, their staff turnover was 100% per year. When they left, it was down to 15% (The industry average was 30+%). Margareth glowed as she talked about how they still have good relationships with past employees. Their past staff say that working for the Carrothers was the best job they've ever had. If given an opportunity, they would work again for Ron and Margareth in a heartbeat. And it's been 12 years since the business was sold.

Today, Ron and Margareth continue to work together to serve God. They are LeaderImpact Group's International Directors and lead the efforts of the ministry to reach marketplace leaders for Christ in places like Panama, Mexico, and Columbia. Their years in business not only allowed them to serve God through serving their staff, it has also prepared them for their current task.

Ron and Margareth Carrothers, entrepreneurs at heart with 25 years of business experience operated two chains of hair and skin care salons in South Western Ontario before selling their company in 2000. They attended their first LeaderImpact Group International Project in 2007 and one year later agreed to join staff, this time by leading the efforts of LIG international with the focus of “Reaching Marketplace Leaders” for Christ. The Carrothers share a love and passion for God, life and adventure. When not traveling with LIG they split their time between cottage country in southern Ontario and snowboard country in Fernie, British Columbia. To read more about their work, visit http://international.leaderimpactgroup.com.