"Tacky Place, Tacky Owner"

We recently passed the 9-month mark since opening Northern Vessel's brick-and-mortar location. To say it's been a whirlwind would be a gross understatement. We're equally shocked and grateful for what's transpired in this short time. 

One of our greatest honors is the opportunity to serve thousands of people. Some are friends, some are strangers, and some are strangers who become friends. It's an opportunity and responsibility we never take for granted. Our customers are so generous to us. They post about us on social media, share our content with their circles, and bring friends/family into the shop to try it out. They also leave us reviews on various platforms. 

Since opening our doors in November 2022, we've received 104 Google reviews. The breakdown is interesting, to say the least:

• 5-Star: 100

• 4-Star: 2

• 3-Star: 0

• 2-Star: 1

• 1-Star: 1

The sole 1-star review was left by someone before we even opened our doors. We were in the final stages of installing our equipment and furniture, hoping to open our doors soon. They were upset we weren't open for business yet.....and decided to punish us accordingly. Shame on us! 

The sole 2-star review was made a month ago. It was an interesting experience for everyone involved, staff and customers alike. Nothing particularly bad happened, but this customer's behavior made people uncomfortable. A few hours later, the following review popped up on Google. 

At least the coffee was decent, though. And can we please let the record show that TJ shall forever be known as “tacky?” Let’s put that on a t-shirt!

You can't win 'em all. Some people simply won't be happy with you. For this small minority of people in our lives, we have two options: 1) Try, try, and try (likely unsuccessfully) to make them happy, or 2) Do the right thing for the right reasons and let the cards fall how they may. I used to pursue option #1 in most situations. Surprise (!!), it never seemed to work. It took me far too long to realize these people aren't actually desirous to be satisfied, but rather to find reasons to be upset. There's always something to be mad about! As such, my efforts were futile, and I continually beat my head against the wall in an attempt to achieve the impossible feat. 

Now, however, I focus my attention and energy on the second option: do the right thing for the right reasons and let the cards fall how they may. I still don't make everyone happy, but I go to bed most nights knowing I did the right thing. This approach isn't easy, and I doubt it will ever be. 

Whatever the relevant application in your life, I hope you find this idea useful. We can't win 'em all, so let's keep focus on where our attention is most needed and best applied. Don't let the unattainable expectations of the few hinder your ability to serve those who you wish to serve.

Shame On Me

I did it again. I promised myself I wouldn't, but I did. I suppose I haven't had enough punishment yet. When will I learn? Maybe next time I'll know better. These thoughts ran through my head yesterday as I sat in a local restaurant. I'd been in that restaurant countless times, which usually ended with similar laments oozing out of my pores. Each time, I say to myself, "This is the final straw!" Yet, there I was, subjecting myself to a level of torment I clearly deserved.

Some places deserve our business, and some don't. This one doesn't. Bad food, lousy service, poor cleanliness, long waits, and terrible ingress/egress. My miserable experience was capped off by waiting 9 minutes for a car in front of me to get the courage to take a hard left into dangerous and speedy traffic. Just getting in and out is a torturous endeavor.

I'll take 100% of the blame for this one. After all, I knew exactly what I was getting into.....and as a result, I got what I deserved. However, there's something bigger at play. This restaurant doesn't deserve my business, or yours. They don't value their customers, and they certainly don't value their employees. The poor service is, in large part, due to management's unwillingness to adequately staff it. Yet, I'm part of the problem. I'm willingly giving money to this place when countless alternatives deserve my patronage. Every time I visit this place, I'm encouraging, supporting, and perpetuating a clear abuse of people, food, and power. It's exploitive, and I'm to blame. Shame on me.

This is where I draw a line in the sand. I'm apologetic for my role in this, and I hope others feel the same. Instead, I need to be more intentional about giving business to those who value me, their craft, and their people. I want to invest in those businesses. Those are the businesses that have earned the right for me to return again and again.

We need to choose wisely. When we give someone the right to serve us, they must earn the right to do it again. Some do, some don't. I think we need to honor the purity in this approach. It's simple, but difficult. It's easy to say, hard to do. I failed in this example, but it won't happen again. There's someone more deserving to serve me next time.

My Small Business Doesn’t Deserve Your Business

As anticipated, I’ve taken a fair amount of heat for my posts about small businesses (HERE and HERE). Perhaps they missed the preface where I clarified that I, myself, am a small business owner. My family’s survival rests solely on the fate of my small businesses. So when someone calls me a “big box retail shill”, it’s a bit confusing. Oh well, it comes with the territory.

The narrative that keeps getting pushed is this idea that small businesses deserve for you, me, and other people to patronize their companies simply because they are a local small business. Every week, another local small business sadly closes its doors. With it comes a myriad of social media posts, lamenting how nobody supports small businesses. I couldn’t disagree more, as I interact with successful small businesses every day. Businesses that have served the community well for years or even decades. If people don’t support small businesses, why have these businesses found so much success and longevity?

Small businesses, you don’t deserve anyone’s business. My small business doesn’t deserve anyone’s business. Each day, we small businesses must earn the right to serve people well, then re-earn the right to do it again. The formula is fairly simple. We need to offer a good product, at a good value, and do it with a good attitude.

If you don’t sell a good product, there’s no point for people to patronize your business. The product has to be needed or wanted, and have some level of uniqueness compared to other options. It doesn’t have to be a life-changing product, but it has to be quality. If I open a fax machine store in 2023, I don’t think I’d be in business long. The product matters.

If you have a good product, but it’s priced at a level where it costs more than the value it adds, it’s a hard sell. The pricing structure has to make sense. If you’re selling a cup of coffee for $15, not many people will find value for the price. Us business owners must find a way to offer our good products at a price that provides margin between cost and value. In that margin comes the opportunity to make people’s lives better.

If you have a good product and it offers a good value, but you don’t sell it with a good attitude, people will simply choose to shop elsewhere. On many occasions, I’ve purchased a great product at a great price, but was treated with indifference (or even annoyance). Personally, I’d rather buy a lesser product or get a lesser value than be treated like garbage. I could list off a dozen businesses in my town that don’t treat people well (and thus have lost my business). How we sell our products/services matters.

If we do all three of those things, we’ll likely thrive. If we don’t, we’ll possibly be the next story about how a small business closed its doors. It’s a hard endeavor, but worth it.

Don't "Support" Small Businesses

Before I begin, I’d like to remind you I’m deeply invested and exceptionally fond of small businesses. My family’s livelihood is tied to my small business, I’m a part owner of a few other small businesses, and many of my clients are small businesses. So when you read my next sentence, I want you to know I say it with the utmost respect in mind.

I don’t believe we should “support” small businesses. The idea of supporting small businesses is talked about a LOT! “We should support X small business.” “Y small business needs our support.” “Z small business wouldn’t have closed had we supported it.” To me, the idea of “support” smells of pity, condescension, obligation, and guilt. There mere idea that a small business can’t survive unless we “support'“ it really turns me off. It lacks dignity, respect, and the merit of existence.

Small businesses don’t deserve our support. What small businesses deserve is the opportunity to serve us well and provide us with value. We shouldn’t go to a small business just because they are a small business. We should give them a shot because they are a business, and let them earn (and re-earn) the right to serve us again.

Instead of giving money to them out of a sense of obligation because they are the little guy, we should direct our business to companies that demonstrate excellence. And many of them are small businesses! There’s so much dignity in that, as opposed to the idea of “supporting” them.

Here’s my simplified way of thinking about it:

1. Find a business that offers something you may need/want.

2. Allow them the opportunity to serve you.

3. If they crush it, allow them the opportunity to serve you again. Repeat.

4. If they don’t deliver or add value, move on and give a different business the opportunity to serve you. Repeat.

5. Tell others about your experiences.

There are so many different angles to unpack on this topic (which we will), but I wanted to let this idea sit with you today. I hope it lets you think about small businesses through a slightly different lens. Agree? Disagree? I would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Creating Margin for Impact

I talk a lot about the idea of creating margin in our finances. We do this to provide peace, flexibility, and contentment. However, there’s a piece missing from the typical narrative of margin. All these positive consequences of creating margin are about me, me, and me. One of the hidden benefits of creating margin in our own lives is the opportunity to lift others up. When we live with financial margin, we can provide financial assistance to the struggling single mother. When we live with time margin, we can serve in our local church or a local non-profit. When we live with career margin, we allow ourselves the ability to say “yes” to new opportunities to put our talents to use.

Herein lies the problem. We humans don’t do a great job living with margin. Some of the highest earners I know give very little in the form of generosity. It’s not that they are greedy, selfish people. Rather, despite their high incomes, they’ve created a life for themselves with little margin. Some of the most servant-hearted people I know don’t serve. It’s not because they don’t care. Rather, despite their passion to help others, they are simply too busy to make it happen. Some of the most talented people I know don’t use their gifts outside of their primary vocation. It’s not that they don’t want to make a difference. Rather, despite their hyper self-awareness of their gifts, they’ve overcommitted to their jobs and there’s simply no more energy or time in their lives to use the gifts elsewhere.

Put another way, our ability to be generous and impactful is far less tied to our resources and talent than our willingness to create margin in our lives. Margin = service. Margin = impact. Margin = love.

A Story Will Be Told

I once had the privilege of hearing Danny Meyer speak at an event. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, he’s the founder of Shake Shack, as well as many other high-end culinary institutions. I was excited to hear him speak simply because I love food. However, he told a non-food story that captivated me and has made a lasting impact on how I view life and business.

I don’t remember the details, so I’ll paraphrase. There was once a large group dining in a private room at one of his high-end restaurants. All was going well until the waiter accidentally spilled a bottle of red wine on a woman’s $10,000 dress. To call that a simple mistake would be an understatement. They screwed up, big time! This is the part of the story that gripped me:

“The moment a mistake is made, a story WILL be told. But we have the power to influence what story they will tell.”

He goes on to explain the over-the-top reparations his team quickly enacted to make the situation right. They comped a very large dinner bill, they threw in some add-ons, and they even contacted the designer of the woman’s dress to find out how to quickly get her a new one. They went above and beyond. Why? They wanted to do the right thing for the right reasons. Instead of telling a story about incompetence and negligence, the diners tell a story of generosity, service, and humility.

I screw up…..often. Each time I do, I think about Danny Meyer’s talk. Sometimes when I screw up, a story will be told. But I have the power to influence what story will be told. This applies to my business, my ministry, my relationships, and pretty much every area of life. I’m sure people think a lot of different things about me, but if I’m doing my part right, I hope at least generosity, service, and humility get included!