Why Did I Take the Hard Road?

Looking back on the past few years, small business is not getting easier.  In fact, the last 18 months have been some of my hardest, not because of my actual business, its offerings or its customers; but because of staffing, inflation, vendors, deliveries, etc.  This industry was once reliable and easily staffed, but today, we are far from it.  I am not saying we cannot get staff, I am saying the staff we train today, require much more training than they did before. I am not saying we cannot get vendors, I am saying they are not as reliable as they once were. I am not saying we cannot make a profit, I am saying it is not as easy with the constant changes in raw mateirals and overhead costs. I am not saying we cannot get deliveries, I am saying it is not as easy speaking theres a  solid chance it gets delivered to a neighbor, perishables are left outside or it is delivered but damaged from the process. Today, if someone asked me what I would share with someone going into the industry…it would be to get ready for the unexpected.  It would be to get ready to spend hours on issues that are not always aiding your bottom line.  It would be to get ready to be so much more, than simply a small business owner trying to support the community. 

No one could have predicted covid, no one could have predicted the current state the country is in, or would be in, and no one can predict if you will make it or not. There is one thing for sure though...the excitement, the passion, the drive all the good ones have, will help you stay in the game a lot longer. It is an everyday hustle, but the excitement of the possibilities of the unknown is what keeps me going. If there is one trait I would say is imperative to have to succeed today, it would be confrontation.  You must be able to talk face to face, one and one, every single day, with so many different parts of the business.  You must be able to make the decisions and execute plans, as needed, to get to your goal line. You must be able to make your dream known.

Looking back now, could I be working in my original career plan (corporate taxation if you did not know), making the same amount of money or more?  Certainly possible, but for me, small business is so much more than a paycheck.  It has to be, or we would not have any.  For me, it is an adrenaline rush.  It is about being able to pivot multiple times in a day. It is about being able to guess problems and situations, before they hit your front door.  It is about meeting members of the community, and forming bonds of trust and familiarity.  There is a need to be present, there is a need to be on your game, there is a need to be always ready, and that is the real reason this life keeps my interest so easily.  I don’t look at my choice as the hard road, I look at my choice as the only road.  Today, just as in year one, I have no regrets. I chose this road because I wanted to control my fate, for good or for bad, and that is just what I am doing daily.  

As you reflect on this I ask you to remember the work, energy, and countless hours behind every small business.  I ask you to think twice before you let one bad experience, especially after multiple good, drive you out.  I ask you to be kind, because just as we do not know your daily strife, you may not know ours.  Above all I ask you to remember, do you really want a society with no dreamers, no chasers, no pioneers?

“Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”

-Anne Lappe

xoxo,

Kelley

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