Now I have a between journey of my own. I find myself between jobs. Not to make light of this, but I think my between journey is to do the same thing...until my new permanent role comes along, I need to focus on things that are important to God, things I may have been neglecting.
My last position was sort of transitional...as I was hired to help get the company either a new investment or sold. I neglected some things that I normally never do at work, since I thought it was temporary. I didn't battle hard enough with the CEO on ethical issues that I normally would have, and let some things slide. For the sake of office peace, I let him do what I would normally not have allowed. Don't worry, it wasn't anything illegal, just "gray", when I am usually black and white. After a while, I was hoping for a quick transition and couldn't wait for the deal to get done so I could be rid of the negative feelings I was having about the company.
However I did they job I was hired to do and we were sold last month. I learned a lot about myself after 18 months of helping to run a small company. I can no longer work in a corporate world. I like the fast-pace and uncertainty of a start-up. I know it sounds weird, but that kind of excitement is really energizing. Especially if you are good at it, and I like to think that maybe I was wired for this type of environment.
So what next? The day I let people know I was done with my old role, I had a bunch of people call me to present opportunities to me. I even got an offer from a vendor that I had withheld payment from for over 5 months. Wow, was that unexpected.
He claimed that even though he was angry at me, I handled the situation respectfully and truthfully with him, and I saved him some money. He had threatened to take us to court,and to hand our account over to a collection agency. Each time we spoke, I assured him we would pay, and that any of those choices would cost him more money than if he waited for our financing to come in. I guess I made sense to him, and when I made good on my statements, he was confounded. I guess he wasn't expecting me to make good. In fact, all our vendors got paid the day after the deal was signed, as promised. It shows that even under the worst conditions, principles and ethics mean a great deal.
Sorry for that sidebar...
It has been a busy August. I returned home to Seattle in mid August to decompress and to reintroduce myself to my family. I began narrowing opportunities down and decided to pursue these two:
Opportunity number 1 is a company I started with a couple of partners. It is called SmartCup. The company is based on an invention a friend of mine has registered with the US Patent Office. It is a disposable French Press lid. It fits on a standard 16 oz paper hot cup, and behaves exactly like a French Press...drop in ground coffee or whole leaf tea, add hot water, soak and then press down to separate the grounds from the beverage. After enjoying your beverage, you can toss the entire cup. We have created a mass producible prototype and are in negotiations with a couple of coffee and tea retailers. Consumer testing has been amazing to date, with everyone loving the taste of the product. We are gearing up to soft-launch at the National CoffeeFest Show in Seattle later in September. Come vote for us at the New Tech competition!
Opportunity number 2 is a job with a company that two of my friends in Hawaii started last year. They finally got me to agree to join them in running it. It is called Indulge Hawaii, and the product is Plantation Iced Tea. Plantation Iced Tea is a beverage that has its roots in the vast sugar cane and Pineapple plantations of Hawaii. The workers used to drink a refreshing mix of iced tea and Pineapple Juice. My friend Byron decided to make a Ready-to-Drink version. I helped him gratis for the past year or so with some marketing strategy, but he and his other partner went out and made it happen. I couldn't believe how quickly he brought it to market and then got a display at Costco on Oahu! They have since grown the business to include Univ of Hawaii, top resorts on the islands, and now Whole Foods in SoCal. It started on a shoe-string budget and continues to be run on one, so until we get financing, we won't be able to get the word out very quickly or broadly on this delicious Hawaiian treat.
The good news, both of these opportunities require me to remember the principles that God has written on my heart.
To keep the lights on, I will be working with a friend in LA 3 days a week. He has generously told me that he will use me as long as I want to work for him. I can't have nicer business friends.
I feel ready to welcome the next opportunity...
Chow!
