Saying Thanks. « Branding is in the Details

I read a great editor’s note in Entrepreneur yesterday called “Invest in Growth Now.” Thank you Amy Cosper.

Amy touched on elements of the sign of hard times. From Larry Flynt applying for a bailout to Trump running into trouble. But what really hit home was the a point she made about people talking about the job market.

In a time of economic uncertainty, with the unemployment rate now at 7.6%, and every time you turn on the news all it is is bad news, it’s easy to passively agree with people when they say things like, “you’re lucky to be doing well,” or “your people are lucky to have a job.” The reality on the other hand is, as Amy points out, we are lucky to have such great people. Last night, while reading this I felt compelled to make a list of the things we’re lucky to have when it comes to our business:

Understanding, patient and reasonable investors who trust us to do the right thing. A special note to my brother Rob, and my old roommate and close friend Mike, who were the first two investors and put large portions of their savings into this business before we event had a real business plan. Thank you for your faith in us.
Great, hardworking and positive employees who follow us and trust us. Mel, our first employee, who has been a part of such fun change over the last year and a half. Seth, who came in and fixed everything. Michelle, who helped provide the candy coating to the “M&M”. Andrew, who we’re always happy to have come in and take over
Conference Room D (we work out of an apartment, so all the multi-use spaces are named for their real rooms, D=dining room). Our new sales team, Eric, Nate, Carlee, and Mike; it’s going to be very exciting to see what you will do, and what we give back to the organizations you’re calling to help.
A best friend, and fantastic business partner. The naysayers are wrong. Go into business with a friend, the right friend. Business is tough in any environment. Weighing the daily decisions against their short term benefits and long term implications is a constant struggle. Managing debt, creating change, forming a culture, investing in new directions are no walk in the park either. I’m the luckiest person in business that I know.
Fantastic Mentors. There are so many to name, and I’m sure Jimmy would add people to this list. People like Philip Rowcliff, Jimmy’s old boss and a Director at The Active Network, who we may never be able to really measure the impact of to the both of us and our organization. My dad, Ingrid Sanders, Steven Cox, Dmitry Shapiro, and many former bosses and collegues like Dave Durand, PJ Potter, and Earl Seals and Mike Muriel.
The Springboard Program. Jimmy wrote about this before here, so I’ll spare re-writing what he covered perfectly the first time.

A last note on our team. It’s called many things from Karma to divine justice, to simply cause and effect, but the reality is luck does go both ways. Jimmmy and I are very lucky have found such a great team, and it’s turned out to be our best investment yet.