The Window That Opened the Door

The Window That Opened the Door

“Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today.”

Tim Fargo

While in between quarters at UCLA, I had a sudden interest in learning to make stained glass windows. In reality, it wasn’t all that sudden, as I had been wanting to do it for some time, but the thing that spurred me on was hearing that a girl I liked, who had no interest in me — Do I detect a trend here? — had learned to make windows, and the word in my circle of friends was that she was making “beautiful” windows. That was enough to both motivate and annoy me into taking classes, as I thought, “If she can do it, I can do it!” No, I didn’t throw in the phrase, “So there!” but I thought about it.

I began the classes and was surprised when, by my third project, a friend asked me to make her a window, and even offered to pay me for it! The idea that I could make money on my own schedule was exciting, though I knew, alas, as the poet says, “Way leads onto way,” that I would never return to my previous occupations as a busboy, pizza maker, furniture mover, and parking lot attendant.

Cheryl, the owner and teacher at Dragonfly Stained Glass, had taught me to make windows, so naturally, that’s where I went to buy supplies. One day, while in Dragonfly, selecting glass for my next job, a woman walked in with a window that looked like it had been thrown off the roof. The woman asked Cheryl if she could repair it or knew of someone who could.

Dragonfly, like most stained-glass shops, made new windows, sold supplies, and taught classes, but no restoration or repair, so Cheryl said no to both of the customer’s questions.

I chimed in, “I can do it!” Both Cheryl and the customer turned toward me and asked incredulously, “You can?” Yes, I knew I could, and I got my first job restoring a stained-glass window (pictured above).

Cheryl said she’d send me all her repairs, and Lost Arts Studio was born; my life as an entrepreneur began, and it has never stopped.

That I happened to be in the shop at that moment changed my life forever. And Cheryl and her husband, Rick, became my lifelong friends.

I went to every antique and stained-glass shop in Los Angeles, showing them my growing portfolio of restorations and repairs. Before I knew it, my phone was ringing steadily with new jobs that led to bigger jobs and a growing business. My love of entrepreneurialism quickly exceeded my wish to become a college professor or a lawyer.

Realizing I wanted a job with more social interaction, I made the “natural” transition from stained glass to the insurance business, which unexpectedly continued to spur my entrepreneurialism.

Years into the insurance business, I wrote a book called Referral Upgrade, which really should have been called “How to Get People to Want to Introduce You.” My friend Marc read it and asked me a simple question, “Have you ever thought of doing this with big companies?”

That one question dramatically changed my working life, again, and now, most of our contacts are large companies.

Looking back, it’s easy to see how the pieces fit together, but what really stands out is that everything good that happened to me came through the kindness and generosity of other people.

And I am so grateful that it did.

-Hank

If you’d like to read more about my adventures in stained glass, click here.