Well, Tuesday was my birthday and I had a blast with it! I did some business work, but I’ll keep the focus of this post on the personal adventures.
I went for a, at this point in my training, long run. Yes, it was only 5.5 miles, but I’ll take it! I haven’t been training in several months and it felt really good to get back out there and put some miles on the shoes. There was a gorgeous sunset over Santa Monica, so I was able to snap a good pic of it too!
Nothing like a Super Happy Birthday Run along the beach!!My Super Happy Birthday Card from Papasan!
This was a GREAT run!
Speaking of Papasan…My Dad sent me a Super Happy Birthday Card of one of my favorite Super Heroes–Thor. I’ve been a Thor fan, since before Thor became a popular movie. I’ve had a costume for well over a decade. It will make an appearance I’m sure.
The message of my Birthday Post is this: Be not just Happy, but Super Happy for things in your Life. And never hesitate to take moments to realize this. My Birthday comes close enough to the beginning of the year where I can put in some more in-depth introspection rather than the typical end-of-year “make more money, get healthier, have better relationships, etc.” resolutions. For the next year in my Life I am committed to driving this business to success, and over $1 million in sales. Run my ultramarathon on December 7th in Marin, CA. And, working towards my ultimate goal of “Having a Dog” (This is the topic of an entirely separate posting).
Spend your time wisely, for there are no refunds in Life.
I love the smell of tee times in the morning. It smells like…balata!
Early morning before the start of the Final Round of the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club
This past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at the Northern Trust Open, the LA stop on the PGA Tour. This was the third consecutive year I’ve worked the tournament and it was the best it ever was.
One of the reasons why I like working at the event is being able to meet all sorts of very interesting people. And this year was no exception. My goal, in meting people, was to find a contact for this year’s Masters Golf Tournament, A Tradition Like No Other, and I think I put forth a good effort. We shall see.
The other reason why I enjoy working there is to practice my communication skills. I check credentials for people entering a very exclusive (read: expensive) courtesy tent–The United Fairway Club. Tickets are around $250/day and well worth it. Here’s how you buy, ask for James Jackson and mention me…Although he might charge you extra if you do! 😎
Freddie Couples, University of Houston Golf Team, teeing off at #1
As I was saying, when you have to tell people “no”, it can be a challenge. Especially when you are in a positive environment like a golf tournament. People want in, yet they didn’t pay for a ticket. The food and beverages are part of your ticket, so it’s a great time for all.
However, if I let just anyone in, then it would dilute the value of those who paid for their ticket. Sometimes, this meant a person was delayed in entering while I validated their credentials. Doing this in a positive way, benefits everyone.
The benefit of being at the golf course at 6:30am.
The lesson learned here is this. Being cautious and preventing “mistakes” is worth the “hassle” of being wrong. Especially when you consider that “being wrong” will eventually mean, you won’t be able to volunteer in the future.
I made the wife of the Executive Director of the tournament get a ticket, because her credentials didn’t allow her entry. While inconvenienced, she admitted she was impressed and would give a positive, glowing feedback to her hubbie at how diligent I was.
At the end of the day, literally, all we had was how we handled our patrons. Courteously, and with diligence.
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.” –Chinese Proverb
“You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin it once.”–Sheep Farmers
Howdy Super Happy People!
One of the challenges of creating a business from zero is finding out where to put your money. There are literally thousands and thousands of banks out there who are more than willing to take you money. Yet, surprisingly, there are very few who are willing to let you keep your money. Our goal, as a bootstrapping company, is to find the latter. As a startup, cash is your lifeblood. And if you pay it to banks (via fees), then the bank is making money (by taking yours) while you are losing precious capital. Every dollar invested into building your brand, can come back as a $100 in a few months or a year. If a bank takes $1000 in fees the first year, they are in essence taking $100,000 in revenue from your company Year 1. (These are my PFA estimates, and not to be confused with accurate information. )
Now before the bankers get their Excel sheets and CAPMs all bundled, let it be known I love y’all. I’ve got NO problem with paying for a service, and I plan on having to pay a LOT in fees over the next few years. My Dad, The Good Doctor, had a saying, “You do realize if you pay a LOT in taxes, it meant you made a LLLLLOT of money–and that’s a good thing.” I love my Dad.
We have found that bank.
Grandpoint Bank, to be found here, is a bank specializing in startups. We like that. The Grandpoint office is in the ROC Office in Santa Monica on Arizona. Smack in the middle of the tech scene of Santa Monica. Since I’ve got a bit of a tech background, I liked that vibe. It shows they like being in the action of their investments.
Me and Petra (not my banker)
As an entrepreneur, I am hesitant to give my money to someone if they aren’t impassioned about what I am doing–transactional vendors partially excluded; I bought a printer from Staples, but I still handed out two business cards while I was there–and the person who will be handling our account is flat-out amazing! Her name is Petra Griffith, Awesome Person, and she is the exact person I can trust with our money. She has a great background, with startups as well as larger companies. When she told me, “We don’t charge fees your first year.” I LOVED that. “When you are successful, and we plan on that happening, then we hope, and anticipate, you will use us for the services that you will need.” That was her entire pitch. As a salesguy, that is the BEST sales pitch I’ve heard from a bank–EVER! She earned our business.
The Monastery at Petra in Jordan
Most importantly–She. Loves. Our. Product. On the way out, she said, “So when can I buy this??” That sealed the deal for me.
It is very exciting when elements come together when you are starting something. It gives reassurance that this is exactly what you should be doing. The “buildings” at Petra in Jordan were literally carved into the side of the earth. There was no “changing of plans” or “starting over”. In modern terms, there was no “pivoting”. When you see your Team taking shape, it’s exciting. Much like when I saw this Wonder of the Modern World.
Next post: Super Happy Lawyers (yes, there ARE those!)
Over the weekend, I had some insightful things that I thought I would write about to demonstrate my genius, and mastery of conveying said genius upon my followers.
However, this morning I read a posting from a person much smarter than @ChiefSuperHappy. And that person is Scott Weiss (@W_ScottWeiss) of the firm Andreessen Horowitz, This Guy . He had a brilliant post about the start-up mentality and GSD (although he used a different term) This post. I love all of the points he’s making–they drill down to “Achieve The Unreasonable”. For example, there have been a few times in my career where my foot has been “on the line”. Fortunately, they have all been successful.
His emphasis on “violent passion”: Do you need an alarm clock to get you out of bed to attack your business? I had a conversation with a President/COO whose company Super Happy Juice will be partnering with. And he put it this way, “I set an alarm just in case, but it usually goes off in my pocket on my way to work in the morning.” Your too busy creating your business, to let sleep get in the way.
Read Scott’s post, and use it as a checklist for your business/Life.
I’ve got meetings with bankers and lawyers I’ll be writing about this week. Be Super Happy Everyone!!
