Day 336 – I swing for the fences every time.

I get asked about my Shark Tank experience all of the time.

I suppose people are curious about TV and it has been one of the popular shows on for a couple years. During the conversation, inevitably they always ask, “Would you do it again?”

Well, they flew me to Southern California, put me in a hotel for 3 days and gave me some spending money. I got to go onto the Sony Studios lot and hang out with several like minded entrepreneurs. So, from that standpoint I would go again in a second. Just being around so many positive and excited people all of the time is amazing. And Southern California in July wasn’t bad either!

I met people with amazing ideas and some seemed a little out there but I could see the market they were going for and I respect that they were taking a swing. It is a good things that people like me don’t listen to the people that say their idea is dumb. For every one of those, I can guarantee there is another who thinks its awesome. Where would we be if the Wright brothers listened to the people who thought man flying was dumb. Where would Babe Ruth be if he listened to the people who focused on how many times he struck out. 

Babe Ruth used to go back to the dugout after striking out with a big grin on his face. When others asked him why he was smiling after striking out he just smiled bigger and told them to wait because that strike out meant that he was closer to his next home run. “It’s coming, just wait, I will knock one of the next ones over the fence. ” he would say.

That is the mindset that separates the winners from everybody else. It is the ability to get up and swing for the fences every time you get up to bat. There have been roughly 400 people on Shark Tank over the last several Seasons. There are too many success stories to name. What a lot of people do not realize is that these people were going to be successful with or without the show.

Those 5 Sharks do not make dreams come true. The entrepreneurs work their butts off to make that happen. the people who have been successful without a deal FAR outweigh the people who have made a deal, and it is not always about the exposure, although 8 million people seeing you does not hurt. A lot of these Entrepreneurs made big deals before ever airing on the show.

Even those that did not do well off of the show, myself included look at the experience as an “at bat”. We walked up to the plate and we swung. We swung for the fences and it felt good. We may have not gotten a deal but, I know these people, some of them closely and we all smiled on our way back to the bench. We are all just that much closer. Just wait because one of the next ones is going over the fences.

 

Day 310 – Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?

Being an Entrepreneur is kind of like the weather in Seattle.

In almost any conversation I have had with people about living in the Seattle area, the subject of the weather comes up. People from all over the country are convinced that it rains constantly here. It is partially thanks to the entertainment industry producing shows like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Frazier”, which portrays Seattle as a dreary place. In fact Seattle actually gets less annual rainfall that a lot of other US cities. Seattle actually ranks 44th in the US for rainfall. We are behind almost every major city on the Eastern Seaboard including New York, Boston, and Miami. The primary root of this misconception lies in the relatively high number of days per year with rain. So, if we have more days of rain than most cities but less rainfall, how does that work?

Welcome to the Seattle drizzle. You see, in most places when you think about rain, it actually rains. Here in Seattle it is like a . . .really thick wet cloud of gray misery. If you have ever wondered why your car needs intermittent wipers, it is in case you come to Seattle. Most of the days of the year here, it is gray, miserable, and kind of depressing. During the winter our days are even shorter because of how dark and cloudy it is. Short, dark days filled with annoying drizzle rain are bad but, when you add in the cold of the winter it really is quite nasty. It seems to never really get cold enough to snow around here it really like to get to about 32.5° and rain. That is how the weather around here likes to treat us.

If you have ever had the pleasure of coming here during the summer however, you may have seen a different side of this fair city. You may have been exposed to a little secret that we try to keep to ourselves. When it is clear, warm and sunny in Seattle, I believe there is not many places on earth that can compare. The green lush trees, the snow capped mountains against a sea of bright blue skies is really something to behold. We have so much to offer around here when the weather is nice it is almost perfect. People feel better, smile more, and there is a real attitude difference. Anyone who lives here knows exactly what I am saying. We tell most people that the days we get like that, even though they are fewer in number than the rainy ones, make up for the miserable days. The nice days are really what keeps people here. They are really that impressive. The good days are really good.

Being an Entrepreneur is the same way. There are going to be dark days. There are in fact a lot of dark days. Days when I question my sanity and want to quit. Days when I wonder if it would have been better to lay down my curiosity and to have gotten a job. Days when the gray darkness and drizzle just weigh me down.

I live for the few days of sunshine though. When business is good, it is really good. Days of victory and triumph are my days of Sunshine and blue skies. Success is a snow capped mountain and sales are the sun on my face. The good days are why I do what I do and there are just enough of them to keep me going through all of the dark days. It takes courage to get started but, I am seeing way more sunny days than I used to.

Day 306 – Can someone actually “become” a morning person?

So as I am getting to the last couple months, my math skills are telling me that I messed up somewhere.

So today is the first day of me writing in the morning instead of at night. To be honest this is partly a ploy to get me in bed earlier. Since I began this blog 306″ish” days ago I have been writing it at night after my day. The problem is that I usually do not start it until about 10pm. By the time I am done its usually midnight. Does it take me that long to really write it? No, I just get distracted very easily.

Even though I am not what anyone would consider a morning person, my brain is functioning very well after I have been awake for about an hour. I can actually focus on things early as the distractions have not yet really began to stack up. Now, I write this blog mostly for myself and I invite you all to take a peak into my mind. This is a journal of sorts where I work out issues and record victories and challenges. When I write my blog, my mind is functioning well and I usually have to take notes of things and tasks that pop into my head while writing. By writing in the morning I can actually do something about that list right away.

I also need to establish a better morning routine. Haha who am I kidding? I need to establish a morning routine period! I secretly long to be a morning person. I hear stories about people springing out of bed in the mornings and it makes me a bit jealous. Going to bed earlier and getting up to a regular routine is my latest attempt to be more of a morning person.

I have always been a night owl. For as long as I can remember I always stayed up latter than I should. I think it goes all the way back to my childhood and staying up in my room listening to everything that was going on because I did not want to miss anything.

I also have to be really honest and look to my business heroes. I am pretty sure the likes of Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Darren Hardy, and Mark Cuban are morning people. I am sure none of them waste time staying up late just because they may miss something. I also know for a fact that they all have a morning routine. A set of tasks that rarely change every morning.

So here I go, getting on the morning train. Thank God for Spark  and good coffee!

Day 300 – Bottling day!

I love days at the distillery!

I wish it was not a two hour drive though. Thus morning Cort and I loaded up the car and picked up Peter a friend from church and headed east to Cashmere. We got there later than I had planned and Colin and Carol were already working bottling Apple Pie!

We also had a surprise helper. A customer who came into the distillery yesterday on a Groupon was somehow wrangled into a day of  stuffing cinnamon sticks in bottles and capping. Colin was on the fill station, Carol was the eagle eye on the measuring station and Cort was a rockstar on the label machine which is normally a pain in the arse but, Cort had the magic touch for almost 1100 bottles.

We stll hand bottle and the hold up is usually on the heat wrapping station. Each bottle gets a shrink wrap seal and has to be done with a heat gun. Today because we had Peter were able to keep two guns going at all times which was amazing. Even with the second degree burn on my hand (yes, blister and all) we cranked out a total 88 cases today in just over 4 hours.

We had to bottle 64  cases for orders that were placed and we bottle another 24 just for on hand inventory and today’s little bottling event was a great success.

We have product in the warehouse, Orders coming in and shipping out and every batch has been bigger than the rest. I would say that is pretty good for a company that is just coming up on it’s 1 year anniversary.

Day 281 – My green thumb.

Most of this blog will cover what I am sure is most of my audiences least favorite subject but it is what my day was about.

I have a few plants that I have been growing out doors this summer to experiment with and try to understand the cycle under natural conditions. It is good to know when I am growing indoors in an artificial environment  just what it is that I am trying to duplicate. It has been a mostly positive experience as we have had a good summer. Since we are into Fall officially and we have had some rain I have experienced some mold. It seems with the cooler days and the rain that the plant is not able to completely dry out during the day and mold is created. This is generally not a problem indoors as the plants are fed directly to the soil and not over the plant like in nature. Since the outdoor plants are not completely done I have built a shelter for them to allow them to get the light necessary but also will protect them from the rain. I will take on more of a indoor feeding regiment and see how it works out. The outdoor crop has really been more of an experiment and I am not into it a whole lot of money. Regardless, it has been a good experience. I have been able to see hoe the plants react to light and temperature swing and I can understand why farmers love what they do.

It is immensely satisfying to see something planted to grow and reach maturity. Plants become like dependents.   Without the care and attention of the farmer they will simply die. Of course some will survive as most plants do but, I have been able to keep them all alive.

Later tonight I had to go to the warehouse and spend about 5 hours with those plants. I needed to cull the dead vegetation, feed and stake several of them as some of them are almost 6 feet tall!

After I was done i could not help but step back and again enjoy the vision of what I have done. I have learned a lot in the last year. Before then I had never taken care of so much as a house plant nor had any concept of what was needed outside of my vague recollection of Junior High science class.

In any case I am going to bed feeling pretty accomplished!

 

Day 279 – One step at a time.

I wrote a while ago that October was going to be very busy.

I knew going into this month that things were going to get crazy but I made that assumption based on what I knew was coming. It would seem that God that that was going to be too easy for me to handle so He decided to put a few more things on my plate.

Time to bear down and get things figured out. I mentioned in the last couple days that I am learning how to separate my emotions from decisions. That is easy in concept but a bit more difficult on practice.

I am also learning a lesson in worry. The thing about worrying is that it is energy spent on things that COULD happen. If fact I have no idea what is going to happen and i have to move forward based on what I know and not what I think may happen.  The fact is that right now things are fine, great even.  We have a lot of product and we are growing. We have picked up North East New York and it is our 2nd state outside of Washington. Looks like we are on the verge of getting a few more. The goal has always been to go National and I never really thought about what that would take. I am learning that it may manifest different than I thought and that is okay.

While I need to focus on the things I know and the present I cannot be totally irresponsible and ignore the future. I need to come up with a plan but the effort has to be focused on what we have going right now. I do not necessarily know how we are going to get there but all I can do right now is put one foot in front of the other and take one step at a time.

Day 278 – Competition is a given.

Competition is a great thing.

Competition is a big part of the American marketplace. It can be healthy and promote growth of individual companies and the economy as a whole. Competition can also breed some negative things.

Sometimes there are companies or individuals who are threatened by competition. In these instances, things can take an ugly turn. I have become witness to people, not just specific to my field but across many others who turn to negativity instead of innovation to compete. I have seen people attack other businesses in order to try and protect what they feel entitled to. I believe that there is room for any quality business or product.

In a free market place we rely on the customers to make the choice on whether a product or service is any good. They vote with their wallet and that should be it. If your product or service is better than others people will buy yours based on quality and value. If your product is losing market share because of another product you simply need to improve your product. That seems simple right?

Then why do companies that loose market share resort to things that harm the competition instead? I have seen legislation passed to affect the competition. I have seen people get involved in local politics to create zoning issues that affect their competition. I have heard of all kinds of corporate espionage designed to take out and hurt the competition all for the sake of someone trying to hold onto market share with a product that just may not be popular anymore. In the end it is the consumer that loses.

Take the Tucker Car Company for instance. Preston Tucker sought to build the car of the future with innovative safety designs such as a padded dashboard, a pop out windshield, disc brakes, and a third headlight that swiveled while making turns. He was head to head with big car companies that simply did not want the car to exist and wouldn’t let Mr Tucker acquire the steel or supplies he needed. Today Tucker’s 475 acre Chicago production plant houses a tootsie roll factory and a shopping center. Many of his ideas were later instituted and we enjoy them as standards in today’s vehicles.

Competition is a good thing for the consumer and for business. A great new product or service in any category brings more consumers to that category as a whole. It forces us as business owners to constantly be improving and proving a better product. If someone makes a better widget than you or has improved on your service than you have to work to improve your product. Anything else is just wrong and eventually even if you succeed in removing your better competition you will still lose customers because there will always be someone else coming along with something better.

Don’t be this guy

Day 274 – Sometimes you just have to pivot.

Well I had a lot to do this week and I was making good headway.I have eluded to a monkey wrench being thrown into the mix but I am not sure if it really is a wrench or not yet.

In either case it has slowed my roll a bit but only operational. Nothing that will affect the big picture so that is good. I will share more when I know I can and we have made more definite decisions. Like I said yesterday, the goal is the same but the path seems to be changing.

This is what I was taking to Mark Cuban about when I was in the Tank. A business owner has to be able to pivot. A Pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision. It may not feel good and it may not be easy. We like to get emotional about plans we make but, if you get too emotional your judgment will get clouded. You have to be able to separate yourself and take a step back to see the big picture and be able to adapt and pivot. To make changes that make business sense.

I may not even know how to make the pivot work sometimes but, when it is the only correct course of action the answer will present itself. It just does. I cannot stress about it too much just be diligent and keep this thing moving.

Day 273 – Buckle up this could get bumpy!

Every business has challenges.

The farther you get in any endeavor the challenges get bigger. That is how we grow and move forward. When we are face to face with the challenge it always seems huge. Sometimes they are so big it seems hopeless but, the true entrepreneur will keep looking for a way around, over, or through the obstacle.

We are in a time of growth and on the verge of some big things. Why would I not expect a big ole monkey wrench right about now. Nothing devastating just time for a big pivot.

It is funny how we have a vision of the future and plan a path but it never works as you plan. The destination does not change but the path sure does.

I am sitting here tonight full of anxiety and uncertainty. I know it will work out and Eve’s will be as big as ever but, I am at one of those places where I am just unsure how to proceed. I am in new territory as I am having to trust someone more than I ever have before.

This is uncharted territory for me as I have little control and it is uncomfortable. In the end My partner is just as vested as me and I know he wants Eve’s to succeed just as much as me.

Not too sure how things are going to unfold but like I said I am confident in the outcome!

I’m strapping in for this ride!

Day 272 – New relationships and Family Dinner

Waking up every day I have no idea what the day will bring or who I will meet.

Today I had several things to do around the office but I was looking forward to a meeting I was trying to set up with a BHO (Butane Hash Oil) processor.

Yes this post will mostly be about my Marijuana operation.

I have sold most of the useful product we have from the first harvest that was of a Medical grade level. All that is left is the trimmings and some plants that, due to my lack of experience have over-flowered and cannot be sold as medicine in their current state. I have been experimenting with several different concentrates such as butter for cooking and Dry Ice Hash and I have been looking for someone to partner with to make BHO.

It should go without saying that most of the people in this business are not like me. I am a business man first and professional. It is difficult to find trustworthy professional people in this business to partner with and it is a real struggle.

I have been interviewing a couple local people for processing and today I met Pete. As soon as I saw him I knew he was not the typical person in this business. Very professional and clean. He drove a car in good repair and was not flashy. He was me. you guy next door just making a living and helping people. We instantly hit it off and I trusted him enough to leave him with 1.25lbs of my product.

That is a lot of trust!

We struck a deal and he is currently working on my stuff. It is important to use as much of the plant as possible minimizing waste and maximizing the usefulness of what we grow. I am looking forward to see what he will be able to produce and I am looking forward to establishing a long term relationship with Pete.

I came home to Thursday family dinner. Thursdays are always a highlight in my week. A chance to hang out and just be with my favorite people on the planet, my family. We laugh constantly and always have a great meal thanks to my most amazing wife and lover Amy.

All in all it was a very good day.