Adapt or Die!

It's a long standing catchphrase in the entrepreneurial world. And it's never been truer. Right now our industry is facing a major downturn thanks to the volatile housing market which in turn is hurting the economy. Not to mention the whole "old world" look is starting to wind down also. The worst of it seems to be that the look and style so many of us are executing is going to be a constant reminder of an ugly time in the marketplace. Maybe not so much to the average homeowner but to the builders and designers it's always going to remind them of when things were great and when things went ugly. It's tough being associated with something like that. Couple this with the green movement which is also taking on a whole new look and style and things don't look so good.

That's the bad end of things. The good end is that it's forcing us as an industry to become more creative than ever. To come up with new color schemes, textures, and green looks and effects. It's forcing us to look at who our clientèle was and who it's becoming. It's forcing us to look at our pricing structure and the products we use. In short it's forcing us to re examine our business' and what it is we're trying to accomplish.

Why is all of this good. Because for those of us who are in this for the long haul, it's going to weed out the weak, the pretenders, the under cutters, and the quick buck people. It's good because we get to become a little closer to our business and learn something new at the same time. It's good because we get a chance to add a whole new facet to what we offer. We are getting back to basics and starting over in some ways by networking to new people, marketing in a different way. This can only make our business' stronger in the long run.

It's a lot of work that most of us thought was behind us when we started out. I for one am exhausted lately from getting adjusted to the new world of faux but in order to survive we really do have to adapt or die. It's that simple. So instead of seeing the negative and all of the hard work, just look at it as a chance to get better and make more money. It's just not easy money!

Drumroll Please!!!

At long last! I can finally post some great pics of a tough job that I thought might never end and close another chapter of my faux called "life"!!! Sorry about the delay guys. Even the pictures were a slow process! I know I'm going to look back on this and laugh, I just hope it's sooner than later! I hope you enjoy them!

Some Days are Harder than others!

Man I'm wiped out! The School II is almost done and it's about drained my will to live in a lot of ways! This job is tough sometimes because of the deeply personal nature of what I do it gets easy to get drug into the drama and politics of a bad work site. Everybody blames everybody for things gone wrong. Deadlines come and go. Promises made are often promises broken. The worst part is that it sometimes forces me into working in uncomfortable situations in ways I'd rather not. Safety issues, time lines, and quality are too often put to the test.

With that said the good news is that the end is near and I am free to move on! The one thing I do enjoy about this job is that if something is bad it will come to an end once the project is over. Most people are just stuck with a toxic work environment until they find a new job which isn't always easy.

The best news is that it turned out to be a beautiful project in the end. In a couple of days I will have a lot of pics posted of the completed project for everyone to see.

Marketing! Marketing! Marketing!

I feel like this is all I think about! I learned a long time ago that the marketing you do today determines if you'll be busy six months from now. I don't know if that's ever been truer than right now.

I am so sick of hearing about how bad things are in the economy! I try to make this blog a place of positivity so I won't get hung up on this for too long but when this election season is over and the world can try and return to some sort of normalcy I'll be thrilled. I honestly think that election years tend to show a slowdown in my work because all people hear about during this time are the negatives of the world. That's the one nice thing about not being rich, I don't have nearly as much to lose!

At any rate I have been marketing like a madman for the last couple of months and I hope it pays off. Most of my efforts have been done digitally because it's a little friendlier to my budget to do things online like this blog and my e-newsletter. Speaking of which I have to get cracking on this months newsletter before I fall behind. We'll be talking about the holiday season and the need to plan ahead.

It's been awhile!

I'm trying to keep up with this but I also want to make sure I'm keeping it new and fresh and not just rehashing the same ole' same ole'.

Today I wanted to discuss the need to connect with peers in your industry. I hate nothing more than petty competition. For me it's important to try and get to know who others are in my industry. You never know when you may need an extra hand or good advice. It's also nice to know you're not alone out there!

I am really starting to know the value of networking and not just in obvious ways. The more people you can connect with on a daily business the better off we can all be.

I once read that if you want to meet certain types of people and have a certain type of social circle you need to be the person you want to meet. In other words, do the things you would admire in others and you'll attract the same kind of people.

That's why I try to give of my time and knowledge. That's why I'm nice to my dogs. That's why I coach my son's little league team. Everyone says it's the little things that make all the difference. I hope they're right!

Work in Progress!

Here are a couple of pics showing the progress so far of our latest project. It's a coffee and wine bar located in Chanhassen Mn. It should be open mid October and I'll follow up with completed pics.

Not much to look at so far but it'll be great when it's done!

Coming Together!

I haven't posted for awhile because I've been extremely busy. I feel like everything is starting to finally come together. All of the long hours and hard work are starting to pay off, even if only in small ways. I've been trying to reach out to others in the form of friendly networking and expand our name and brand to the business community as a whole.

I've met with the local small business group in Excelsior and they are very friendly which is encouraging. I will be helping to set up a street festival this weekend and meet a few more of the members. I'm trying to subscribe to the philosophy of giving first asking second. It's a bit karmic but I think that's the way of the universe. You can't always expect to get when you haven't given of yourself.

I'll be posting some work in progress pics soon of The School II in Chanhassen. It's a sister restaurant to The School of the Wise in Victoria that we did last year. While it will be similar to the first restaurant in style, it will definitely be unique unto itself.