Business is Tough
Our spring show season is over. Two shows we set up ourselves, and two shows were sponsored by two of our dealers. Spring shows and spring sales mark the beginning of our very busy season. While a show is in action, I find myself checking our dashboard several times a day, just to check if new sales have been made. Every sale feels like another win, which it is (in a small way). Every sale also means we need to produce and successfully deliver another building. That is our business.
Lately I’ve been reflecting on the emotional ride our small business has taken me on. There have been and continue to be tons of challenges to tackle. I knew this would be the case when we purchased the business almost two years ago, but this is now my lived experience. And it is visceral.
Week follows week where I experience the whole spectrum of emotion. Great sales feel great. A valued employee goes to work elsewhere - feels way less than great. Our mule breaks down 5 hours away, and pulling an all nighter to supply parts and make the delivery possible - doesn’t feel great. Being gone from my little family because of business training - doesn’t feel great. Eating a 12 oz. New York Striploin steak for supper today because I am away from home tasted very good.
There are days when business is more than it was supposed to be. Other days there are real perks that come with the pain. Like having a heartfelt conversation with one of our guys. In about a month from now I get to go to the Entreleadership Summit. If you would have told me I would get to go 10 years ago, I probably would not have believed you. It is about to become a reality!
Last week I properly discovered the Shark Tank on YouTube. While the Sharks act like sharks at times, the reality of business is laid bare. The marketplace is not an easy place to thrive.
One more thing. The bigger the business, the bigger the potential for greater success and more problems. As the business grows, everything is amplified. Both the good and the bad.
At times I think about divorcing my feelings from the experience. But that is no recipe for caring. Each experience must be felt, experienced, and then given not too much or too little space. How much space and time is allotted should be directly proportional to the magnitude of what is happening. The challenge? Keeping level headed and staying the course even when times feel tough and my heart is heavy.
