CanadianContractor.ca Interview 5 & 6 Commentary

To refresh your memories, here's video 5 of the interview series CanadianContractor.ca conducted with Mike Holmes:



In video 5, Mike talks about his bankruptcy which happened during the early 90's downturn in the economy. Both the host and Mike seem to bond over their similar misfortunes. Both admitted that having their companies go belly up taught them a lesson in how to do better business, and both vowed to never let it happen again. I personally thought it was nice to see the common ground between the two men, who have differing philosophies when it comes to contracting and doing business.

In the sixth video...



...Mike confesses to a little hypocrisy. I am not a contractor, nor am I Canadian, so this is where the language gets a little fuzzy for me. Apparently, to do business in Canada as a contractor, you should have a "ticket," which from the context of the video is a licence in a specific field, such as welding or carpentry. I also surmised that having a ticket is not required, but strongly encouraged. Mike talks about how he wants to get his welding licence, hasn't yet, but probably should to stay consistent with his preaching. He confesses to pushing his son to get his own ticket in carpentry, but hasn't made getting one for himself as high a priority as he should. Mike justifies himself in not having one by leaning on his past reputation as a good contractor, and by stating that he always pulls the correct permits for every job he does. He ends his comments by stating that it's on his bucket list to get his welding licence, because he loves to build, and because he wants his message to be consistent. To that I say, yes Mike, you should have all the proper licences you are suppose to have! Being Mike Holmes may be licence enough for some, but you should be setting the example to follow in deed as well as word, and if that means taking classes and getting a piece of paper in your hands, then so be it. One thing I learned about Mike from watching this video is that he would make a lousy politician. When asked a hard question, he doesn't lie, squirm, or obfuscate. His honesty would get him in trouble every time. Good segment. Looking forward to the next one.