Why I celebrate when employees outgrow my company

I’ve won a few awards as an entrepreneur — Leader of the Year, Impressive Profit Margins, Star Business of the Year

But none of them mean as much to me as this one:

⭐The Grower Award

I earned it during my second and third years running a College Pro Franchise — a residential and commercial painting business while completing my computer science degree

❌ Not for revenue

❌ Not for operations

But for mentoring two of my employees into becoming entrepreneurs themselves

They started with me as painters

Over time, they saw how I ran the business

They got curious, then inspired

Eventually, they asked me to mentor them

Both went on to do incredible things

👉🏽 One has been running her art business for years

👉🏽 The other became a medical doctor — crediting his business experience for the resilience and confidence that helped him stand out

That’s what the Grower award is about: building people

And for me, that’s what leadership is about too