I believe that sharing your time, talents & experience is the fastest way to impact others.

I grew up in Michigan, so summertime was prized and, without question, the best time of the year. School was out, weather was warm, and we were blessed to have a pool in our backyard. My best friend and I lived in that pool every day, all day. However, enjoying the pool each summer required preparation and hard work.  Every year to open the pool after winter, my dad Bob, would make my sister and me scrub these blue plastic tubes that were filled with water to hold the pool cover in place during the winter. Those tubes would get dirty and stained from the leaves and dirt over the winter and we had to clean them for summer storage. I despised doing it but, by requiring us to do it every season, my dad taught me that you must be willing to put in hard work to reap rewards in life.

One of the companies my dad started was a packaging company.  When I was a teenager, I used to work for my dad building hand-held stretch wrappers.  One day, I arrived late to work, and I was summoned to my dad’s office.  He wanted an explanation for my tardiness, and, being a teenager and assuming I was the “owner’s son”, I had an overconfident and spicy response followed by “what are you going to do, fire me?”. He responded quickly, “yes, you’re fired, go home.”  Immediately, as I felt the panic and rush of emotion, I backpedaled and apologized repeatedly.  While he accepted my apology and allowed me to continue working at his company, he made it very clear to me to stay humble and hungry and never feel entitled.

Prior to being a salesman, entrepreneur, and ultimately a business owner, my dad had experience as an electrician. It was a skill and trade that he constantly shared with others later in life. Neighbors, friends, and acquaintances would frequently ask him to come help with wiring in a house or repair an electrical issue. Oftentimes, he would take me with him and I witnessed his impact on others and how appreciative they were to have his help and expertise.  These projects were almost always on weekends or late nights after work. However, my dad never said no and he never asked for anything in return. Watching him share his skill taught me the valuable lesson of sharing your time and talents to help others.

My dad taught me the value of hard work and the importance of staying humble and hungry and those will always be essential values to me but helping others is why I do what I do and why I joined Braintrust. Good communication is the magic and glue in any relationship and Braintrust is a company focused on helping others with communication mastery.

I would love to learn more about why you do what you do.  Feel free to reach out to me at chad.brines@braintrustgrowth.com.

In addition to my work at Braintrust, my family and I are also passionate about helping those that are less fortunate.  Two of our favorite organizations are Compassion International, https://www.compassion.com, and Hands Against Hunger, https://thechildrenarewaiting.org/hands-against-hunger/.