Tag: motivation

“Time is like a fuse, Short and burning fast” – Metallica

I feel the end is near yet so far away. I am sure someone wrote that in a song as well. It does ring a bell. That is where I am right now, just stuck in ending limbo. There is no abrupt ending to a twenty year old business. I can’t just shut the door and open another, no matter how hard I slam it.

I should not be surprised. This business has been a roller coaster from day one, why should the final chapter be any different? This section I will reflect on that roller coaster while I sit in limbo with anticipation mixed with a little fear.

To set the stage a bit, this business was founded like most others; an idea that solved an immediate problem. The idea sprung when two families were experiencing the problem at the same time. The reality is it probably wasn’t an original idea. Ideas are cheap, they are a dime a dozen. The difference is what people decide to do with them. We decided to do something. That is the major difference between entrepreneurs and the average folk.

Is there any right timing for anything? The reality is, if you are waiting for the stars to align, the lights to turn green, and all the ducks to be in a row, you will spend your life waiting while opportunities continue to pass you by. No more waiting here. As a matter of fact, we made the no more waiting decision when launched our first business in the garage of the house we just purchased, just before our wedding, just after Kerry was pregnant with our first child. Perfect timing, right? Did I mention that we both had full time jobs?

Here we are a year into our first start up and Kerry is ready to start a second. By this time our first child was born and was six months old. I just can’t think of a better time to launch start up number two, can you?

Fast forward a bit and Kerry had to leave number one to focus on number two. Good choice because five years in to number one it was done and we were buried in debt. Number two however was looking good. Remember I said it was a roller coaster and where do they go? Up.

We rode it up and it got to a point where I could hop on board. I always helped a bit but we were afraid to put everything in one basket so I never went all in. Now that I was all in we were looking good moving up having a good old time and enjoying a little success. At some point, however, we realized that we were making the same mistake with the business they we were trying to avoid with our family; we put all the eggs in one basket.

We relied on one product to provide 90% of our business. We rode that for a while but we decided it was time to diversify if we wanted to survive for the long term. We began planning for growth and as we were still climbing higher not one but two competing products hit the market; both by bigger companies with deeper packets. You know the saying, “what goes up, must come down.” Come down we did. That wasn’t the first drop on the ride but it was definitely the first big and fast one.

That was a while ago so obviously we survived. There were a lot of ups and downs during our recovery phase but we never quite got back to where we were. There are so many things beyond our control that caused obstacles for us, many which would knock down a few rungs. The good news is that each one provided some great lessons that made us better and stronger. I will dig into to some of those in another part when I actually close the door. 

So, stay tuned, the ending truly is near, the door is swinging shut, it’s just a slow burn as we finalize everything and wait. And wait. For me, the waiting is often the hardest part.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach. – Aldous Huxley

I still do not know the ending. I am somewhere in the middle of this section of the story. I do know it is the end of this business as I know it; that is for certain. It is the how and what that are the two biggest mysteries at this point in time. As much as I would like to just have it be over, there is always a process, the timing of which I have no control over. That is one of the many lessons I have learned while operating this business.

While I wait and jump through all the necessary hoops with three interested parties I feel it is time to start looking at the lessons and identifying the skills, traits, principles, etc that I can carry forward in my other current ventures and those of the future. Because one other thing I do know, is there will definitely be other doors, even if I have to knock them down. I am a serial entrepreneur and I am pretty sure that cannot be taken away. It would be like taking an arm or a leg.

What can I learn from the history of myself and other business owners like myself? Too much to list here, but let me focus on the process and timing of things. There have been many occasions in my life , personal and professional, that I have failed to learn from my mistakes in a timely manner. Further, there have been times where I have refused or denied the fact that I could even learn from any such mistake at all.

Why? Because the hardest lesson for me was to take my ego out of the equation. I didn’t want to look ignorant, stupid, inexperienced, etc. I thought admitting to my mistakes, bad decisions, and poor management was a sign of weakness and weakness that doesn’t fly in business, right? Not until years into my entrepreneurial career did I realize that all those “mistakes” and “failures” were really the key to becoming better and better. They were the treasure trove of knowledge that would build a better business. All I had to do was accept responsibility, opening me up to learn from them.

That did happen once I learned that the most “successful” people all failed just like I did. Most of them on a much grander scale too. This opened me up to do a deep dive to rediscover the mistakes and learn from them so I could move forward better and stronger.

Jumping back, one very important lesson is that everything and everyone has a process. And further, I do not control it. The processes involve timing. One of the hardest and most frustrating lessons to learn is that I do not control anyone’s timing. Life and business does not happen on Kevin’s time as much as I want it to. That leads to utter disappointment or acceptance; Accepting that I have no control over anything but my own attitude and perception. And, I cannot create or control time. It is the most valuable resource and all I can do is work to manage my own time to be of maximum effectiveness.

That is one of the most important lessons because in my experience it has been the root of so many other less than ideal situations and experiences that could have been prevented had I just practiced a little patience and acceptance. The more expectations I placed on employees, vendors, competitors, etc the more frustration, anger, resentment, and fear I experienced, In turn, the more poor decisions I made that led to most of the “mistakes”.

Now, I try to stay present and focus on what I can do to push my life and business forward regardless of the decisions, processes, and timing of others. When I satyr mindful and aware of my thoughts, my actions usually follow in a way that is better for all those around.

The hardest part is the application but that is ok, there are more doors to open and more lessons to learn.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

“So here I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years—Twenty years largely wasted…” – T.S. Eliot

TWENTY YEARS! Twenty years I have wasted my time, energy, and money. Twenty years I have donated my blood, sweat, and tears. For what? Was it all for not? Is this really the end? Where to from here, Virgil?

My emotions race from one extreme to the other. Thoughts pacing back and forth from excitement to fear. Is this really happening? Is this really the end for the longest running business in my entrepreneurial career?

It appears so.

It has been nearly two decades of the wildest roller coaster ride I have ever been on. Slowly climbing to the top, looking out across the vast view and looking down. No, don’t look down. Never look down. Fear and anxiety with butterflies going crazy inside. Just look up, not down. Just focus on what’s happening right here and now and don’t look too far ahead. Then, before you know it…hold on for the free fall. We had a few of those, some we saw coming, and others took us down by surprise, like a ninja’s silent attack.

That’s business. It’s just like life; there are ups and there are downs. There are beginnings and there are endings. How we deal with them is what makes all the difference. I can be sad, I can angry, I can be happy or anything else in between. I can point the finger and blame every one and everything but myself. Or, I can take a look in the mirror assume the responsibility and move on.

Was it really wasted? Is it really the end? Sometimes the end is just the beginning.

Talk Soon,

Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

“Don’t look at me!” – Kevin Williams

Yes, I just quoted myself for this short piece. I do not remember saying this, but apparently, this was one of my phrases growing up. If I was upset I am told that I would say it to the people around me at the time. The phrase doesn’t really have much to do with what I want to discuss but it came to me when I started writing, and I’m the author so I get to decide.

Integrity is what I want to discuss. This piece is short because I don’t want to dilute the message, I have and will go into more depth in other articles but enjoy something short and sweet for now.

Do the right thing whether it serves your interests or not. Simply do the right thing because it’s the right thing, even when no one is looking. That is what integrity means to me. I guess that is why that quote came to me. Different context, but hey, I can’t really control the way the squirrels act up there.

Integrity is a principle I strive to incorporate into every aspect of my life. The most important word in the previous sentence is “strive.”  I try my best to practice this in all my affairs but it is a process and I am not perfect. I have learned, however, that when I do practice it, good things happen. When I do the right thing, good things happen to me.  I like good things to happen!

How do you act when no one is watching?

Talk Soon,

Kevin W. @Leap272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live.

If you are an entrepreneur you understand it takes a lot of work. Not to mention time, sacrifice, dedication, determination, patience, perseverance, and so much more. What drives me as an entrepreneur is that belief in what I am doing. I believe in my mission; the “why” in the “what” I do. That keeps going.

Unfortunately, there are so many messages out there that make it look so easy. It’s simple, but it is not easy. And most importantly, it doesn’t happen overnight. These messages are being created and delivered by the wantrepreneurs. They want it so bad they are willing to do whatever it takes make you and anybody else believe them, follow them, and buy their secret formula. The secret is there is no secret. It takes everything I mentioned in the opener.

The sad part is that so many people fall for the ones playing with smoke and mirrors. I’ll give them credit, right or wrong, they are good at what they do. I get it. If thought I could get the real thing faster I would go for it. I have fallen for few tricks in my time. For me, it became part of the learning process and ultimately, reinforced the reality that it takes time and hard work.

Of course there are many out there that are real and legitimate but it seems for every one real one there are ten snake oil salesmen. It often seems that these true entrepreneurs came out of nowhere but if you ask any of them they will say that their overnight success took ten years to accomplish.

If you have that drive, desire, and passion in you, don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged when things are not happening fast enough. Anything worth having is worth working for. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t fall for the scams. Just put your head down and do the work. If you can’t say that you did everything in your power to make it happen, then keep going, don’t walk away. Regret is a horrible thing to live with.

Don’t walk away before the miracle. You will never know what might have been if you stop short.

Talk Soon,

Kevin W. @Leap272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live.

The Three Kings are simply three things, assets, skills, characteristics, principles, and so forth that I find important on some level. The series or feature is meant to be a short read of easily digestible information that can provide some value and actionable concepts that you can apply to some aspect of your life or business.

The content is inspired and influenced by my own personal experience in life and my career as a business owner. They are three things that have helped or hindered me through my life and career. I have written many of these but I am posting this one first, out of order because of the unprecedented times we are in right now. These pieces are not necessarily meant to be sequential by any means anyway.

Without further ado, here is the first, non-sequential installment of The Three Kings.

Here are the three things that have been coming up for me during the Covid-19 crisis. They have been consistent and relevant from the onset and continue right into the New Year as I thoughtfully reflect on the previous year and the one that lies ahead.

OPEN-MINDED:

When this crisis first hit and Idaho was advised to stay at home I was immediately consumed by fear. Optimism, trust, faith, and other things needed to make it through tough times cannot co-exist with fear. When fear takes over the others are absent, or at least undetectable. I have experienced this over and over in my life and thought that I had learned my lesson, but apparently I have more to learn. I’ll give myself a break as this is an unprecedented situation for me.

Regardless, I have found that I have to be open to new ideas and different ways to run my life and businesses. If I choose to stay in fear and let it dictate my thoughts and actions I will be very unproductive and negative. There is no room for a solution without an open mind. For example, at the pie shop, we had to be open to a new way of doing business because the old way was no longer an option. We lost all of our dine-in lunch service which is a significant part of our revenue. We quickly began offering takeout and delivery of course, but we also began focusing on dinner by creating meal packages centering on our savory pies. That shift saved us and kept us in business during the shutdown and we were able to keep all our employees working.

PRESENT:

Problems only exist in the present and solutions only work in the present. Of course problems can last for a long time and solutions can and should be created and implemented to address the future, but that is always unknown. Solutions can only be created and implemented today so that is where I must focus the majority of my efforts. Future tripping only perpetuates a state of fear so I try to practice being in the present moment as much as possible.

PATIENT:

If you know me or have read any of my content I am sure you know I am a naturally impatient person. I love instant gratification. Fortunately, I have learned that instant gratification is often short-lived. Real progress and sustainable growth takes time as does working through any crisis. The strategy to navigate through the current crisis does not instantly cure all the negative effects, it takes time.

Our dinner strategy we created for the pie shop took time to create and execute and it took time to start yielding results. Once we were able to reopen our dining room we decided to continue with our daily dinner program to grow our business. It is currently helping to keep our doors open and for that I am grateful, but I do not know what the future holds. We have had multiple spikes in Covid cases resulting in new, stricter health orders instituted so who really knows what things will look like in a month or two. If we have another extreme spike we might have to close our dining room again.

Whatever the future looks like, I am sure that a crisis like this will have long term effects so we will have to practice all three of today’s thoughts in the present to prepare for the unknown that lies ahead.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live