Day 301 – Saturday is a work day.

Wait was today Saturday?

Just like any other workday for me. I was up and over to the warehouse for a couple hours this morning. Lots to do as I am in the middle of  harvest. I am up against a bit of a time crunch because it is fall. Very soon all of the crap illegal product will be coming up from California from the outdoor harvest. While it is an illegal crop the influx of so much product into the system it drives prices way down. I am told it happens every year.

I came home and had lunch with Amy and I took a little couch nap of course. I was in drama at church so I had to be there early. We are doing a fun series on destiny and we are parodying Duck Dynasty. It will be a fun series, especially since I get to play crazy Uncle Si.

After Church I went back to the warehouse for about 5 more hours. Thank goodness it is daylight savings and I get an extra hour. I certainly used it. I am a big fan of this day and I look forward to it almost as much as Christmas. How do you not get excited about an extra hour. I wish I was asleep already and that hour was in the form of sleep. For the entrepreneur it is an extra hour of productivity.

Tomorrow is Sunday and that means bacon and probably a red box movie. It is Amy and my day off and after about noon we will be checking out.

PS – Replace your smoke detector batteries

Day 282 – This is how I do Sundays!

Sitting here at my desk mindlessly going over Facebook and catching up on a few groups that I belong to and I am uninspired to write several hundred words about today.

It was a great Sunday. Besides getting up too early I got to go to Church and do what I love. Be on stage. Even though this series is a musical I just love being up there making people laugh, cry, and think.

I came home to an awesome big breakfast Amy had ready while I made a couple accompanying Bloody Marys. We got back into pajamas and watched some Fringe all afternoon while everyone else in the known world was stressing over the Seahawks.

Fast forward to 6 and we went to participate in the annual Getty Sauerkraut cabbage chopping and smashing. We ate an awesome meal with friends and then armed ourselves with swords, machetes, knives, shredders and a baseball bat.

We got bribed to basically go to someones house with food and homemade ice cream to destroy their kitchen and leave.

My Sunday was pretty awesome. I don’t know what you did but I was probably not as fun, fulfilling and relaxing.

Day 270 – How secure is security?

Security is one of the basic human needs.

I think most of us live in a false sense of it in our daily lives. We were told when we were growing up that if we did well in school and went to college we would get a good job. That good job would take care of us until retirement.

We go to work every day under the impression that the building to the place of our employment will be standing and the doors open. How many stories have we heard in the last decade about people going to their secure job only to find out that it was all an illusion. In the blink of an eye their security blanket of a good job was snatched away from them, often without a notice.

Maybe it was downsizing. Maybe the owner sold the business to retire and the new owners just want to bring in their own people. or maybe the owners just lost their lease and have no money or no where to relocate and start over.

Being an employee you are totally at the will of someone else and have NO control over your future. You may have faith in your future and believe in security but it is really not there. As a business owner or entrepreneur we have a LITTLE control over these thing. We can purchase property, grow smart and even in slow times cut back on staff to support ourselves.  A little is more than none and still not total security. It is more stressful as a business owner but, at the end of the day I know that I have more control over my future and an owner than I would as an employee.

I have people ask me all of the time, “How do you do it? How do you go without having a guarantee of where your next dollar will come from?” I tell them that I am no different than them. They have no more guarantee than me and I am just taking a longer road than most that will take me to a potentially higher peak than most as well. The trail is hard to find and follow but for the brave it is worth it.

I find security in being in control of my own destiny and choices. Security is based on the results of my personal efforts and no one else’s. While it may seem a little less secure, in the long game I think it is the better choice.

 

Day 269 – Made a good start to the week.

I got a good start on my week.

Up early thanks to it being garbage day and I think we are the first street on the route! I did manage to get my desk cleared off and several things started.

I had to go to the warehouse and finish my tasks from last night but I am ahead of that now so I can focus on the things at hand with regards to the barn location and the new licenses for Eve’s.

It will be a race with the printer to get new labels printed so we can bottle that big batch of Apple Pie we made last week. We have to get that big order filled.

I will also be putting together a presentation schedule for restaurants and bars for Apple Pie. I would like to introduce them to their new featured fall drink. Apple Pie was meant for this time of year and it is time to hit it hard. This is the time of year where we can make big progress and get lots of bottle in the hands of new fans and old.

Still working on a tasting event out at the barn in December. Targeting December 12th so stick a note somewhere as a reminder. We will be sponsoring it and there will be several local spirits wineries and hopefully brewers!

Tomorrow is Tuesday and a long day so I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Day 268 – Even lazy days require work!

When we went to bed last night we agreed that today would be a pajama day.

Crepes for breakfast and a day of just sitting around snacking and binging on Netflix.

Mission accomplished! We did not do anything today! We watched about 11 episodes of Fringe and snacked all day long.

That being said I still had work to do. So tonight at about 7 o’clock I went to the ware house to give the plants some much needed attention. They have been growing so fast I have not yet had time to stake them and it would seen that I got to them just in time if not a little late. I was there for a solid 4 1/2 hours and still have a couple hours to put in tomorrow. I know they call it weed and it grows on its own but in the conditions we have to grow for legal consumption is a whole different story. I am learning a lot and making plenty of mistakes but it is going well. We are able to stay afloat for now waiting on the process that has been almost a year in the making.

Tomorrow I have a VERY messy desk to uncover and get to the grind right away. I need to be working on the business plan for Eve’s Moonshine Co to begin to look for capital. I have a conference call with a marketing guy that will help me begin to draft a marketing plan with the new focus of the Moonshine Company and the new locations. I have to contact the county this week and begin to gather the information necessary for the Federal and State licensing. A very busy week indeed. Oh yeah and it is the end of the month, have to figure out how the heck to pay the bills!

Lots to do I better get some rest!

Peace.

Day 267 – Saving costs where we can! **REDACTED**

*** This post has been reacted by Eve to protect her recipe and process. ***

I am such a cheapskate!

So we made our largest batch of Apple Pie on Wednesday and we did it a little different that normal. Usually we xxx xxx xxxxxx xxxx x xxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxx while we are mixing the cider. We also have another xxx xx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx as well. Xxx xxx xxxxxx extracts xxxxx xxxx into the xxxxx as we add xxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxx xxxxxx. This time we decided to xxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx. It is a xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx. We just xxxxxxxxx xxxxx   xxxx xxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxx xxxx x xxx xxxxx. This got us x xxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxx in less time. After we xxxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxx we were left with xx xxxxx xxxxx xxx xxx xxxxxx. Normally no big deal as the waste would just get xxxxxxx xxx xxx xxxxxxx xx.

Our Apple Pie bottles each have a cinnamon stick in the bottom for added flavor and we simply xxx xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xx x xxxx xxxxxxx. When we were cleaning it all out Colin asked me xx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xx xxxx xx put in the bottle xxxxxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxx xxxx xxx xxxxx xxxxxxx.

That is a hundred bucks xx xxxxxxxxx and I did not want to wasted it increasing our cost. An extra $0.04 per bottle. So I xxxx xxx xxxxx home and today I spent about 3 hours xxxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxx to be put into the bottles. I was a pain in the but and I think we will re-institute xxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xx xxx xxx!

We will be mixing on Monday then sending off a batch sample for proofing. Once we have the results and they are acceptable we have to get that information off to the printer and have the labels made for this batch. Only then can we bottle. It is a step that we hope to eliminate in the future but the equipment we need to assure alcohol percentages comes with a $52,000 price tag. For now we keep this small craft batch size but we will soon be out growing this process and have to upgrade. That will also be followed by a new bottling set up as well. This kind of growth cost money but we will go about it smartly and only when the demand requires it. I would be nice to be able to do it and remain debt free but it looks like we may be growing faster than that will allow. Not a bad problem but, still one we will enter with caution and only when it makes sense.

day 266 – Planning our first event at the farm!

What a great day!

I got a few things done administration wise and looked at some photos I took for the recipe page of the website.

We went to have a bonfire business meeting with the farm owners where we will be putting the distillery in Snohomish and talked about the future and a possible event in December.

Even though it will be several months for us to actually take possession of the venue we are trying to get positioned into Snohomish. We want to start putting our footprint on the property and in the community as soon as possible.

I net with the economic development officer of Snohomish and we started brainstorming on an even that we can start working on right away.

We are trying to partner with the local Lions club for a tasting event just before Christmas. We will have local distilleries, wineries and breweries with entertainment and perhaps a food truck or two out at the farm. It will be a great fundraiser and precursor to us actually opening up out there.

We talked about what it would look like and what it will take to pull it off. I am very excited that this will be the first of many event we will have out there!

I am so excited for this chapter and to be a part of a business community. So many good things are coming!

Day 265 – I will have the last laugh

Ugh.

Many times in business you learn lessons and learned lessons usually come from challenges. 2 years ago I learned a lesson on national TV. I learned the lesson of reality TV.

While the experience was fantastic it was bitter sweet. The editors of the show took an hour of material and forged my life and business into entertainment for the masses. Anyone who has seen my episode knows that it did not go that well. At least the version that we saw did not go very well. When I was actually there it was very cool and I got some good advice and I learned a lot. What we saw was an embarrassment.

It is something that I have really tried to put behind me but, thanks to reruns I cannot. I am forced to re live this every time we air. Now you would think this would be easier to move on from than it actually is.

With every airing I get emails and tweets that are nothing less than cruel. I am an entrepreneur and this comes with the territory. Anyone who steps out and takes risks is susceptible to criticism but, it is hardly constructive.

The fact is that I will never give up and I have a lot of great things happening. I should not care but I am just a man. I love how people watch a show from their couch and are experts in business and love to tell me how dumb I am and personally attack me.

I have something to say to them all. Keep watching because I am a winner. I have a dream and a purpose and it is bigger than them or their opinions. Their words are fuel and while they hurt they also motivate me to keep moving forward.

I am doing something that most choose not to do, I am paying the price for my dreams. I do not make excuses and I press on in the face of adversity. I have the balls to walk into a room of millionaires and address them as equals. I I walked down a hallway that only a few hundred people have ever walked down and I put myself out there. I do it every day. I am determined and I will succeed.

So as you sit on your couch and hope for more, I am doing the work and paying the price. I am Roger Sullivan and I am a winner.

Day 264 – Look Ma! No nap!

I survived!

Lets look at some of my accomplishments of the last 44 hours. In the last 44 hours I have slept 3 hours, written 3 blogs, spent 5 hours in the car had a meeting with the economic developer for Snohomish and made over 300 gallons of delicious spiced apple cider from scratch for our largest batch of Eve’s Apple Pie to date!

I know I said I would be tired and my day would be SO long but, the truth is I love days like these. It is days like these that I will be able to look back on and see how the construction blocks of my success were laid.

My hard work and sacrifices made possible by the support of my wife and partners. No one will ever be able to say that I did not work hard for everything I have accomplished. My journey is one of digging in and crawling for every single inch.

My struggle is no different than any other business owner out there. We all work hard and are paying the price demanded for our dreams. The battle field of success is the great equalizer. There are no shortcuts or secret paths, there is no special treatment, and there is no privilege. There is only struggle and pain. The struggle and pain are directly proportional to what you have asked of life.

It is true that the bigger the desire the bigger the price and I hate to break it to any of you but, there are no blue light specials and no sales.

You see life will give of you whatever you ask. Do not try to talk to me about privileges or hardships. If you live in the United States of America that stuff is bullshit and just a crutch. I will not waste my time arguing that truth. I will be happy to share my story of so called “privilege”  any time.

Like I said, life will give you whatever you ask for. Life makes a very fair deal and you can either take it or leave that deal. Whatever you want comes at a price. One simply needs to be willing to pay that price. Most everyone would love to live a lifestyle free from worry of time and money however, there is only a very small percentage of the population that are will to pay the price for that. Those individuals live a life that most cannot because they did something that anyone can but, chooses not to.

The easy thing is to talk about how lucky they are, how nice it would have been to have daddy’s money, or any other number of justifications why we cannot do what they did. The truth is that we can. I can tell you about a man living on the streets in Las Vegas just over a year ago. No job and no home. Today he is a millionaire. I can tell you about a girl who was poor and abused by her step father when her mother died, went to work for the mafia as a kid and was sent to a school for girls. She ran away from there and was homeless until debuting at the Apollo Theater Why did they get so lucky? They asked of life their dreams, looked at the price tag, shook hands and just went to work. No excuses, no hand outs, and no quitting. They. Just. Did. The. Work.

This life is all about decisions. Decisions that only we alone can make. When I am in the quiet of my mind searching for what to do and how to do it I CHOOSE to listen to the voice that says I can. The voice that says I can’t is a faded memory that was often disguised as an excuse. What voice do you listen to?

Day 263 – Who wants a nap tomorrow?

I am in the middle of what could be a rough 48 hrs.

I was up early this morning working on an alternative label for Apple Pie. It is frustrating that we are getting push back from distributors and brokers at a national level. The “liquor” distributors are imagining that customers will have a problem with our label and feel like it is too racy for them. These are the same distributors that carry menage a trois wines and stores that have cosmopolitan magazine and Us at the checkout stands.

Our label is racy yes but, it is liquor. You have to be 21 to buy it and to be honest the people that may complain most likely will not be in the liquor aisle. All of that being said we have gotten overwhelming support for the label as it stands. We are however creating an alternative for those retailers that may be concerned. It is bizarre that America’s biggest retailer had zero issue with it and placed a good sized first order. Maybe that is one of the reasons they are number one?

I was also working on our business and marketing plan that will incorporate the new locations in Leavenworth and Snohomish. We are designing a campaign that will immerse us into the fabric of the community and allow us to be very involved getting our name and brand out there a lot.

After a quick trip to the warehouse to check on the ladies, I made it home to meet Jesse to get the website up and running. I think that web designers make shit hard for normal people just to support their own economy. They create a need for people that know specifically how to use their template or hosting stuff.  I am a smart guy, I have an IQ of 142 and the frustration level I have with webstuff is more than I can handle. Even our intern who knows how to do this stuff gets frustrated. ANYWAY . . .

We got the website live and have steered traffic from other domains we own to evesmoonshine.com. It still needs some work and some photo updates but I feel like it is catching up with where we are. Amy & Jesse have done a great job on the old and new sites.

So back to my long 48. I have my quiz tonight and will not get home and to bed until 12:30 1:00 tonight. Then I have to get up at 5am to head to the distillery in Eastern Washington. I will deliver the spices and help brew our largest batch of apple pie yet!

Then I have to be home in time for a 3:30 meeting at the farm with the Chamber of Commerce lady in Snohomish and then home for a quick kiss from Amy before I go to Church for a drama group meeting and practice.

By the time I get home tomorrow night to sit down and write my blog I will be pretty tired and ready for bed. Thursday is picture day though!

I get to mix drinks and take pictures for the recipe page. That is always fun!