Failure: Lacking confidence to lead

Accidental entrepreneurs Jeremy and Stefanie Overturf have had lots of reasons to bust out the champagne lately.

The couple counts dozens of happy customers at their company, Bradenton-based Overturf's Floor & Fabric Care. Several new hires, after some early failures, have been A-Team players. And annual sales at the 10-employee firm are up double digits in each of the past few years, with $700,000 projected for 2017 and the $1 million milestone a reasonable 2018 goal.

The Overturfs founded the business in 2008. They were in near desperation mode back then, after Stefanie Overturf was laid off from her marketing position at the Bradenton Herald, a Manatee County daily newspaper. They started cleaning houses.

Like any self-aware business owner, Jeremy Overturf says he and his wife “have had lots of failures.” That goes from hiring underwhelming employees to mishandling clients to not properly allocating resources. The company moved into carpet cleaning in 2012.

But the biggest recurring failure, says Stefanie Overturf, is a lack of confidence. “We self-sabotage ourselves a lot because we feel like we are never ready for each level,” Overturf says. “I've struggled with not having the confidence to feel I deserve the success.”

The feeling of being found out runs deep in the Overturfs, married since 2003. Jeremy Overturf, 38, grew up poor in a rural town in southern Illinois, in a devout Jehovah's Witness family he says was cult-like and prevented him from pursuing his dreams. “At a young age I had developed very low self-esteem, depression and a short fuse,” writes Overturf in “Phenomenal Success Stories,” a 2017 book from consultant and business coach Howard Partridge.

Stefanie Overturf, 33, likewise had a rough upbringing. A Bradenton native, Overturf says her parents struggled with alcohol and addiction. She, too, grew up in what she calls “the same high control religion” as her husband, Overturf says in the Partridge book.
The couple left their religion in January 2015 — a big move they say has resulted in many relatives disavowing them.

In their business, meanwhile, the Overturfs work regularly to overcome failures. For example, Jeremy Overturf says when they first started the company, “we were not great leaders, and we didn't hire great people.” He's addressed that by taking leadership seminars, reading self-help books and listening to CDs in the car. He's also refined his interviewing questions, so he can better spot red flags.

Another failure related to hiring, says Stefanie Overturf, is in the early days they didn't have a consistent training program, or a set of standards. “We didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings who showed up late,” or had other issues, she says. That lack of structure led to lax customer service. The company has since spent considerable time and resources on training, particularly the past three years.

One key lesson the Overturfs have learned to help overcome failure is to concentrate on the mission and vision. For the couple, that means working for delighted — and repeat — customers. The Overturfs go for a walk every day after work to talk about the mission. Also, Jeremy Overturf writes down goals and what he's thankful for daily.

For Stefanie Overturf, it's more of a daily mantra to focus on a purpose. That's also something she preaches to her colleagues and fellow entrepreneurs at various networking meetings. “We keep our vision close by,” she says. “You have to know your why and what it represents. If you don't know your why, you can never overcome failure.”