Brand Voice Samples
Drop examples of Tim's writing here so the agent can refine and sharpen the brand voice over time.
What to add
- tweets / threads
- long-form posts
- emails / newsletters
- captions
- essays / reflections
- anything that feels the most "Tim"
Preferred formats
.md.docx.txt
Suggested file naming
Use snake_case, for example:
x_post_relapse_and_ownership.mdemail_on_truth_over_comfort.docxessay_the_cost_of_growth.md
Suggested metadata to include at the top
- platform
- approximate date
- why it feels on-brand
Note
These samples are for voice calibration, not just inspiration. Stronger samples = stronger brand voice output.
Writing style samples
I’m not an easy guy to work with - my mood swings. The uncertainty it creates. My indecision, and the fear that follows.
-----
Maybe I should have just pocketed the money after selling the business. Played it safe. Invested it. Saved it. Given my family security. Comfort too.
But I chose a different path. Is it greed? Needing more than I already possess. Not being content with what I have? What I am.
I reason with myself; it's not for me.
The risks I take now. It's for others. The people on my team. Their families.
The promises I’ve made. I make good on them.
To have what I’ve tasted.
Security. Comfort.
So, I give up mine for now, believing it will return to me.
Do enough for others, and it comes back tenfold.
This is what I believe.
And Shay Labs is the vehicle that I will use to make it happen.
------
I attended a retirement party for my former teacher. A mentor before I knew I needed one. I came to say goodbye. Thank you. But I left with one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in my 43 years on this earth.
His achievements, staggering -- books, patents, companies, awards. Numerous professional and Olympic athletes coached. 100’s of renowned organizations counseled. Thousands of students.
A museum even bears his name.
All this while volunteering his time to uplift society's most vulnerable.
How can one man accomplish so much? I wonder.
As his friends and colleagues praised his successes, my teacher took the stage.
I expected thanks and tales of triumph. Stories of his hard-earned successes.
But he didn't list his achievements.
Didn't ask for applause or well-wishes.
His only request.
Forgiveness.
For the times he made the wrong call. Conversations he wished he could take back. Times he was difficult to work with, or too hard on students.
Forgiveness - this is how he chose to end his career.
I was breathless.
And It was in that moment that he taught me the most ultimate lesson.
No matter the achievements, true success means remaining aware of your imperfections. Understanding that there’s always more to learn, more to give. More to do.
This the person I want to be, when I grow up.
---
The voice speaks. I ask it to stop. Yet it's there nonetheless. Sometimes it serves me, tells me the most wonderful things. Other times, it disturbs me, tearing me down in ways no human should. Still it's here, living in my mind.
Some name it the monkey mind, others call it A.N.T.s or automatic negative thoughts. Should I ignore it? Can I? Sometimes yes, other times nope.
So I work to change it. The message it's sending. The words it's forming.
I’ll workout. I’ll read. Write, pray.
And see… visualize what it is, I want to be. What it is, I want to achieve.
I’ll repeat these steps. Over and over. Check the voice. What does it say? 'Keep it up Tim'. But not in a good way. So I continue to pray. Push, fight. Don't stop. Not until I get my way.
I woke up this morning. Checked the voice. Still there, but its tone has changed. Says I can do anything, go anywhere now. 'Keep it up Tim', just like before, yet this time feels different. Like it wants me to succeed. Wants me to have more.
We all have this voice, inside our mind. Next time it speaks, may I suggest you try to change it, like I did to mine?
----
I arrive in China, and quickly realize I forgot a key medication. 48 hours later, intense bipolar and antidepressant withdrawals hit me like a bag of bricks.
Mood swings, depression, dark thoughts, brain zaps, and physical pain overwhelm me.
Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.
I was stuck.
But it was in that moment of despair,
I rediscovered the power each of us hold within our own mind.
Deep breathing, affirmations, prayer, reading, journaling, meditation, exercise, healthy food.
I threw everything I had at it.
After hours of fighting back I began to feel better, if only temporarily.
I got through the day, almost the week. Though our trip was cut short, we achieved our primary goal:
Acquiring the mixing tank that would propel our business to new heights.
In the face of adversity, I was reminded once again, that our greatest strength... lies within.
----
My dad learned to breathe again.
After his first transplant. He woke up with tubes everywhere. He couldn't move, couldn’t talk.
Even breathe, without them.
So he focused on one tube at a time - what is it doing? What must I do to remove it? When it worked, he moved onto the next one, then another.
And that’s how it went, until he was free.
Reminds me about the power of incremental progress.
Breaking down every problem into smaller parts.
Setting small, manageable goals as steps forward.
Next time I face a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, I hope I remember that time my father learned to breathe again.
-----
I am done. Done being a victim to my emotions. Done allowing my thoughts to dictate how I feel. How I feel to dictate my actions.
This was the message I gave to the voice in my head while visiting a group of mental health and addiction specialists in Portland, Oregon 6 years ago.
There, I was introduced to the concept of the “monkey mind’.
The inner dialogue that constantly replays negative thoughts, fed by the mental clutter our subconscious mind unknowingly accumulates over time.
You gotta break the cycle they said. Put something different in its place. A new pattern. A new thought. One that you want constantly playing in the background.
And so I tried.
Each time, when the monkey mind yelled at me. Insulted me. Cursed at me. I would consciously move my thinking in a new direction.
Seeing myself how I wanted to be. Saying it. Then feeling it.
It started to work. First some of the time, then most of the time.
Today, the voice still lives in my head. Sometimes I’ll hear it. Sometimes I'll listen to it.
But when it does, I remind myself that this is my mind. That I get to tell it what to do.
And I do.
----
I used to be able to hide the drinking from my children. The bouts of my bipolar depression.
With tears in my eyes. Despair on my face. They started to notice. To see. Every part of me. I can’t hide it anymore. They’re growing up.
It's time to tell, Tim. But how?
How do you tell your children that their father battles addiction and mental health issues?
When they were little, my wife would say, “Daddy's just having one of his moods."
Following a particularly severe bout, I chose transparency over disguise. It was time to tell them.
My ten-year-old son, in response, said, "I'm glad you told me, Dad. I used to think you were mad at me during those 'moods'."
Made me smile. Grateful that I told him. Angry I didn’t sooner.
Onto my daughter, now 12.
Dad has something called Bipolar disorder.
With a look of worry in her eyes, she asks, "Does that mean I might have it too?"
No more smiles. Only fear. The fear of, what if she does?
While the conversations were difficult, I’m certain I chose the right path.
Honesty, Transparency. Over hiding. Lying. Always, no matter how painful the truth.
That's the lesson I hope I conveyed to them on this day.
---
A small village, defenseless against foreign enemies, was invaded by a ruthless enemy.
The invaders destroyed everything, burnt every house to the ground.
Men were killed. Houses destroyed. Women and children, brutally murdered.
Among the ashes, stood the commander of the defeated militia.
We’ve suffered so much loss, the people cried. Our village is destroyed. Our houses burnt to the ground. We’ve lost everything. Now what shall we do? What is their even left that could be done?
The Commander looks among the people. Surrounded by smoke and ashes.
His words are few.
We rebuild, he says. That’s what we do.
ANd so they did.
One brick at a time.
Today, this once tiny village is known as Rome.
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." - Nelson Mandela
---
Two brothers, sharing the same abusive father, are raised in a home full of hate and anger.
Addiction runs rampant. Empathy is non-existent.
As they grow older, the one brother follows in his father’s footsteps. Drugs. Crime. Addiction. Broken marriage, then family.
For the other; it is the opposite.
Successful, happily married. A good father.
A good human being.
As they reflect on their lives, they are asked the same question.
How did you end up this way?
Both give the same answer: Did you not know my father? How could I have ended up any other way?
Same life.
Different perspectives.
Different outcomes.
For me, it serves as a reminder:
It's not what happens to us in life, it's how we perceive what happens, and how we respond.
---
I’ve been in prison more times than I wish to admit.
Not the man made kind.
The one I created.
For myself.
It took me years to build.
There’s no walls to it, but it's stood the test of time.
It's not impenetrable. I've escaped it before.
But it's a prison all the same.
Addiction
Depression
Overwhelm
Stress
These are my crimes.
Grit, Determination and Perseverance are my path to redemption.
Wisdom and perspective are my rewards.
For not giving up.
Refusing to give in.
So here I stand today, busting out of this place, while reminding myself that the toughest prisons are the ones we build inside our minds.
And the key to unlocking them?
It lies within us – in our relentless will to fight, to rise, and to conquer.
Who’s coming with me?
----
I’ll never forget the day I visited my dad in the psychiatric ward of the hospital.
Old enough to know how serious it was.
Too young to realize that one day I’d be there too.
He didn’t make it out like I did.
Free of that place, yes, but in life his time was cut short.
Before he could take back control. Before turning his greatest flaw into his greatest strength.
His body and mind gave up on him. Or did he give in?
Then just like that, he was gone.
Gone before I discovered I had bipolar disorder.
Before I found out he had it too.
As I reflect on my father's journey and my own struggle, I think of the silent battles many of us face. His story, though it ended prematurely, has been a catalyst in my life – pushing me to embrace my challenges.
To learn from them. Grow beyond them.
I share this not for sympathy, but in the hope that it might reach someone out there wrestling with their own #mentalhealth issues.
You are not alone.
The moment you start seeing your weaknesses as unique strengths and your challenges as opportunities, you unlock a level of #personalgrowth and profound change that cannot be attained by any other means.
At least, this is what I believe. And it is my hope you will believe it too.
#personaldevelopment #mentalhealthawareness #mentalillness
---
I believe that my greatest moments didn't come from my greatest moments.
My greatest moments came from my greatest defeats.
Because it's in those losses, I grow the fastest. Learn the most. Grow the most.
I do not seek them out. But I do not shy away from them either.
It's in this way, I believe that our worst failures can become our greatest opportunities.
---
For one of our brands, we slashed the cost of our main SKU from $4.50 to $1.80 per unit.
Instead of buying a turnkey product in our cookies, we sourced every ingredient ourselves.
From the butter and flour, to the chocolate chips. Foil bags to cardboard boxes.
We bought it cheaper than our competitors.
Negotiating better deals, comparing supplier quotes, planning for contingencies.
This was Mary’s job for several years before we sold Mommy Knows Best.
We never went out of stock. Never had to raise prices to account for an increased COGS.
Now at Shay Labs, Mary works quietly behind the scenes securing optimal deals so clients can actualize ambitions.
When we decided to move into contract manufacturing, Mary moved with us, becoming our Lead Buyer at Shay Labs.
She is a daughter. A sister. A mother. A Wife.
And a friend. My friend.
When you work with Shay Labs, Mary becomes the biggest asset on your team you never meet.
Never meet but always want on your side, tirelessly working in the background to ensure you receive the highest quality products at the best prices, quickly and efficiently.
Choosing to work with Shay Labs means gaining a team member like Mary - someone dedicated, resourceful, and committed to your success at every turn.
---
What would you do if your current supplier is not able to fulfill your next order?
Do you have a secondary supplier? A back up to protect your downside.
We’ve had quality control issues. Delays. Last minute price increases.
This happened to us when we were in the cookie business.
They were big. Their facility was larger than a football stadium.
Prices were negotiated. Purchase orders were being sent.
Then we faced a problem. A quality control issue. They were adding the ingredients in the wrong order. Cookies came out like hockey pucks.
We complained. They appeared to listen but it happened again. And then again. We started looking for another supplier but it's such a painstakingly long process.
We wanted to leave but they’re all we had. Took months to find them. Many more to find a suitable replacement.
At Shay Labs, this is why we have alternate suppliers for all of our ingredients and components.
Why I recommend all of our customers to have another vetted supplier in their back pocket.
Always protect your downside, and have a plan for it
No matter how remote the probability.
---
Have you no scars?
What a pity. Have you not found something worth fighting for?
As for me.
I don't want to die without any scars.
So I look for them. I seek them out.
Not the physical kind.
Though those count too.
I’m speaking on the mental type. The spiritual kind. The God like scars that can only be earned through failure and despair.
Pain and heartbreak.
To hunt for them as one does rare diamonds.
It's hard. But it's worth it.
At least, that’s what I believe.
----
When was the last time you had someone review your formula for cost saving opportunities?
We will do it for you. If you like what we come up with, let us produce it.
That's how we make our money. By helping our customers save theirs.
The most recent example was a shampoo.
Our Lead Chemist reverse engineered the formula.
Identified 2 ingredients that literally served no purpose.
Not for claims or function.
Formulated a new sample minus the ‘dead weight’.
Sent to the customer for approval.
They loved it.
Shocked to hear, those two dead weight ingredients were adding close to .10 cents per unit cost.
I, myself, was surprised.
Not anymore though.
Now it's part of our pricing strategy. Another lever to pull.
To give our customers the best product at the lowest price.
----
I took a lot of shortcuts when I first started selling on amazon 10 years ago.
I broke the rules. Manipulated the algorithm. Cheated the system.
I was afraid I’d be found out.
That I’d be exposed.
But I kept going.
For years.
It's not something I’m proud of.
But things have changed a lot since then.
My conscience changed.
The people I surrounded myself with changed.
What I value as most important, changed.
Why did I cut so many corners?
They didn’t get me to where I wanted to go more quickly.
It took longer.
Not shortcuts, but detours.
It wasn’t until years later that I adopted the belief to protect your reputation as if it were your child.
That doing the right thing, always trumps doing what’s best.
Regardless of the outcome.
This is what I’ve come to understand as the path to lasting success.
---
I may not be an MMA Fighter, but I imagine the world's best fighters are very strategic in their moves not unlike the astute entrepreneur when it comes to making decisions
They don't throw aimless punches
They won’t make unnecessary movements
Or let their emotions cloud their judgment
Instead, they conserve energy and wait for the right opportunity to strike, making every move count.
I think this can be applied to achieving life goals as well
To succeed, it's important to invest our time and energy wisely.
When pursuing a significant goal, it's helpful to ask;
Am I avoiding wasting energy on things that won't yield great results?
(i.e. unnecessary movements, wild punches that don't land)?
Am I directing enough energy towards high-value targets?
(i.e focusing on finding the right opportunity and then hitting it with all you've got)?
Energy and time are precious resources, and when used wisely, they can be incredibly powerful.
----
Truth be told, If raw talent was the secret to success, I would not have made it very far.
If pure intelligence decided achievement, I would have come up short.
It's not just the gifted or super-smart who win;
It's simply the ones who keep going. The ones who don't quit.
The one advantage I possess, the only advantage. is persistence. The will to never give up.
It's why I believe that anyone with a genuine desire to succeed can achieve it.
I recently learned of an intriguing concept: a fact is a truth from one perspective - but the full truth is all perspectives.
Think of the colors of a Rubik's Cube - if you look at it from one side, it appears to be one color. However, this is not the whole truth, but rather just one fact.
It's not until you examine all sides that you see the full unadulterated truth.
This made me think of the 1 on 1’s I have with my employees. It's like each is holding a flashlight which they use to shine a light on the current state of things.
It's not until I meet with everyone and synthesize these varied insights that I see the full picture from all angles.
To see the truth in all its vivid colors.
In my role as a leader, this is what I am continually striving for.
------
Do you agree with the idea that every person must go through something that absolutely destroys them so they can find out who they really are?
The worst things to happen to you are your greatest opportunities for growth.
The strongest people have always experienced the most pain.
That is the reason they're strong, is it not?
Yet knowing this, I still want to protect my children from as much pain as possible
I still want to avoid experiencing difficult emotions at all costs.
I guess it's kind of like working out. It's gonna hurt but you’re not doing it because it hurts.
You're doing it because of what's on the other side of the pain.
To me, what matters most is not the hardships we experience. It's how we respond to them when faced with the unthinkable. This is what I believe.
----
It's hard to watch your children when they are in pain. Especially when you've walked in the same shoes. Felt the same pain.
My daughter has officially hit her teenage years, and the look in her eyes tells me it won't be easy for her.
I told her the other day that our minds are like computers, constantly collecting and processing the information around us.
Unfortunately, a lot of what our mind absorbs is negative.
So I share with her that you can decide what you let into your mind.
To stand guard at the gates of your heart and mind, and be intentional about what you allow in.
I tell her that you can literally transform your thinking and feelings into anything you choose.
That it's up to us to choose what we pay attention to.
If we’re careful about what we let into our thoughts and feelings, we can change our outlook and how we feel for the better.
I end with saying, I love you, and then to myself; Don’t stop Tim. Keep going. Continue to teach her. Guide her. Protect her. Love her.
And when she makes it to the other side, she will be stronger and smarter.
Maybe even paying it forward to her kids one day. In the future. The very very far future.
---
A fifth of vodka while at my son's football practice.
Another 20 or so beers when I get home.
I eat before I go to bed. It helps with the hangover. When I wake up, I drink a hangover recovery drink. Not that I get hangovers anymore. You drink enough. Long enough. The body adapts. Get’s use to the poison. Figures out how to work around it. With it.
I’ll usually start drinking in the afternoon. This painful feeling in my chest tells me when it's time. Says it will calm down. Promises it’ll stop the pain.
And it does. It keeps its promise. But fails to tell me what it's taking in return.
My health. Self respect. My relationships. First my wife. Then my kids.
I have to stop.
I force myself. But something doesn't feel right. Life doesn't feel right. The feeling comes back. Harder. Stronger.
So I drink. Even more this time.
I see the look in my wife’s eyes. My children's faces.
No more Tim. You have to stop. For them. For you. How though?
Leverage. I need more leverage. Why the look of fear on their faces isn't enough will forever haunt me.
So I start getting ready. One last night of drinking and I’ll stop.
I’ve said it before. I’ve done it before. But this time will be the last. I wake up the next morning. I test my blood pressure. The more I drink, the more I feel my body shutting down. It's high. Really high.
My wife panics, takes me to the emergency room. I end up in detox, for the third time.
A few points higher, and I would have been in real trouble the doc says. Time to make a choice. Don’t know if I have another round in me. So I stop. Again. But something is different this time.
I make it a month. No boos. Then two. Then more.
When I meet with my psychiatrist, he asks if I remember him from the hospital. I was on high doses of valium to keep my high blood pressure from turning into a heart attack.
I do. He says he’s impressed. Not many make it this long, he says.
Congratulations.
A year passes. I never made it a year before. 8 months was my record when I was in my early 20’s.
2 years pass. I’m still sober. I can’t believe it. Is it possible I’ll never drink again?
Don’t say that Tim. You always go back. You always fall down again.
But soon another voice appears in my head. This one believes in me. Says I can do anything if I want it badly enough. Reminds me what I’ve accomplished with this poison in my life. Imagine life without it. Who you could become. What you could achieve.
I feel motivated. Rejuvenated.
Which takes us to today, now 2 years and 3 months sober.
The story isn’t over. Far from it. I know the voice can come back at any time. To destroy me. Doesn't it know it needs me? Can't exist without my body. My mind. Yet I know I can exist without it.
I now believe there is no failure if you learn from it. Every obstacle can become a gift. Every challenge, a new opportunity. To get better. Smarter. Stronger.
And so a new voice arises.
Don’t give up Tim. Never give up. You can do this. You ARE doing this.
And so the journey continues. The fight goes on.
----
Dedicated Production Lines
At Shay Labs, we now offer entire dedicated production lines for our customers.
A large customer needed capabilities we didn't yet have.
Rather than turn them away, we invested in new machines and automation to fulfill their diverse product range.
The result? An automated production line devoted just to them.
In past businesses, we purchased equipment for suppliers to meet our needs. Now we make that investment for customers.
They are investing in us, so we return the gesture by investing in them.
The message is clear: We are all in with you. Your goals become our goals.
This creates a powerful partnership for the long haul.
Interested in having your own dedicated production line?
Let's talk. We're ready to customize our operation around you.
---
As a parent, it's tough watching your child take on undesirable roles. Like being an offensive lineman in peewee football.
No kid dreams of that position. Truthfully, I didn't want it for my son either.
But I resisted intervening. This is his journey, not mine. His rock to climb.
Rather than push for a more popular role, I teach him to be a team player.
And to prove his worth through hard work.
It's a lesson that serves well beyond the football field.
Do the unglamorous jobs without complaint or expectation.
Earn your place through grit and reliability.
Leaders shine by uplifting others, not craving the spotlight.
They understand success is forged through shared sacrifice.
So while tough for me as a parent, I'm proud of my son's selfless example. And the lessons he's already learning about humility, creating value and earning trust.
Qualities that will serve him well in this world, now and in the future.
----
Our cookie business was booming - top rankings, best-seller badges, and a flood of 5-star reviews.
Not all problems can be anticipated but many can be predicted by role playing all the different potential outcomes that may occur.
So that's what we did.
We imagined future scenarios by asking "What could go wrong?" and “What are we not seeing?”
The answer - potential supply chain disruptions.
Realizing our growth could soon outstrip our supplier's capacity, we initiated a conversation. We learned the supplier was content with the current volume and had no interest in expanding operations to accommodate our growing demand.
This led us to secure an additional supplier with increased capacity and lower costs.
Which enabled us to scale on Amazon, get into retail, and eventually a multimillion dollar exit.
Not all problems can be anticipated before they happen but it sure is nice to get in front of the ones that can be.
#entrepreneur #founders #success #personalgrowth #businessstrategy #supplychain
---
Shay Labs is moving fast. Too fast. Like a runaway train. I'm no stranger to rapid growth. I rode the Amazon wave in the 2010s. Felt that rush in my gut - the thrill of the scale.
But this time it's different. This business is different.
Asset heavy. Capital intensive. Space dependent.
That swirling sensation in my stomach - it’s either excitement or anxiety. Exhilaration or nerves.
It's unclear, but one thing is crystal
This train is picking up speed.
Our plan was straightforward: Take our brand building, product development, and customer service skills we learned from Amazon and apply them to manufacturing.
It worked. Customers are lining up to work with us. Big guys. Household name guys.
Earning their business is not the challenge.
Being operationally efficient with an insane attention to detail is the hill we are climbing.
So now we lay the tracks to keep this train moving. A new machine there. Another key player there.
How fast can we add new machines, automate additional lines, add new people without falling off the rails?
How will we balance the scale with risk?
Time will tell. Experience will teach us.
In the meantime, full speed ahead.
---
It's hard to watch someone you care about lose their way.
Life deals a blow. One here, Another there. Their view of their world is shaken. To be anyone. To do anything.
It changes. Slowly at first. To something more realistic. More reasonable.
Past dreams become painful. Too painful to remember. So you force yourself to forget.
.
.
I know because I’ve been there. I call them my “lost years”. Starting from the day my father died and being diagnosed with bi-polar disorder shortly after,
To 6 long years later when my wife told me she was pregnant with our first child.
That I was gonna be a dad.
A sense of purpose came back into my life. I started caring again— for myself. For others.
My struggles with #addiction and #mentalillness were far from over, but things were different.
Now, I had something to fight for. Now I had a purpose.
And it's with that purpose that I still fight today.
.
.
What about you - Have you found your purpose?
Can't be money. Shouldn't be success. Has to involve other people. For other people. Caring for them. Helping them. Loving them.
That's purpose in my view.
---
🍟 Have you ever noticed how McDonald's never seems to run out of their world-famous French fries?
Their milkshakes, a different story, but those iconic fries are always available.
How do they manage never to run out of stock?
It's the result of one of the most resilient supply chain strategies in the world.
They never depend on just one supplier for any product. From their french fries to the sesame-seed buns, there are always multiple suppliers ready to step in.
If one supplier faces a hiccup, the whole operation doesn't stumble.
Every potential downside is thought of and planned for.
How about your business?
Do you have back-up suppliers for your main products?
If not, perhaps it's time to consider taking a page from Mcdonalds playbook.
----
Growing up, I was drawn to the wrong crowd, making one bad decision after another.
Some of these choices were so bad they nearly ended my life. Others still weigh on my mind, haunting me to this day.
My father tried to teach me the importance of choosing my friends wisely, but I was young and naive.
Blinded by inexperience.
Drunk with the arrogance that I was better than him.
His experience didn’t matter. His pain, not my teacher.
So, I dismissed his warnings, ignoring what he was trying to teach me.
Yet, I never completely forgot his words.
Today, I still hear his voice, filling me with a strong desire to pass this wisdom on to my children.
To help them avoid the same mistakes I had made.
A second chance to follow my father's advice and become the example for my children to follow.
To find people who share the same values, dreams, and hopes as I do.
To surround myself with those that I admire, and aspire to be.
To create real, meaningful relationships with those who believe in:
✅ giving over receiving
✅ people over profit
✅ truth over happiness
If you share similar aspirations, please connect with me.
Engage with me. Message me.
YOU are exactly who I am looking for.
---
Every entrepreneur faces a defining moment in their journey.
A decision:
To scale or not to scale.
To risk it all and reach for the stars.
Or be satisfied with where you are and what you got.
After tasting early success on my journey, I found myself at this crossroad.
As the sole operator and only employee, I grew my Amazon business to $100k/month.
After expenses, I was left with $20,000 in profit each month.
To either invest back in the business or put in my own pocket.
The thought of building a team and expanding felt exhilarating.
but it also meant that I’d need to reinvest the profits back into the business.
Some would decide to stop growing at this point.
Content with maintaining the business at its current level.
And I would not fault them for doing so.
But for me, I chose a different path.
My decision?
To scale.
---
In my role as #ceo, customers aren't my primary concern. My #team is my prime focus.
Their happiness and growth, my ultimate goal 🥅
When you focus on the employee as an individual, supporting them to become a better version of themselves not at work, but at life;
a #culture is created that radiates out to our customers, making them feel as valued as I strive to make our team members feel.
✅ Our employees, as a result, naturally place our customers at the top of their priority list.
A true win/win scenario for everyone involved🤝
---
Sold MKB for millions.
✅ Paid off debt
✅ Spread some around to the team
✅ Put some in my own pocket
Rest back in the business.
We’ll need it.
MKB used to be our bread and butter.
Shay Labs is the new baby. Our new future.
It will replace MKB. Then surpass it.
Not yet though.
Bank accounts are getting low.
Expenses, piling up.
But the plans have been made. Goals set. Action taken 🎯
Everything is in motion 🛤
Now we wait.
Did we play our cards right?
Was selling our flagship brand to stake everything on Shay Labs the right move?
Time will tell but our assumptions say yes.
My gut is saying yes too.
The calls are coming in.
Attracting customers that I didn’t think we’d be able to get this early in the game.
Big guys. Household name guys.
Contracts are being signed 📝
Goods are on the move 🚚
Promises are being kept. Our reputation grows.
The strategy is clear;
1️⃣ Keep our word.
2️⃣ Do what we say we are going to do.
3️⃣ Own up to our mistakes when they happen.
This is our recipe for #success🎯
--
My buddy is on the verge of buying a skin care brand. I told him, "Before you finalize the deal, why not let us check out their products first? We can take them apart and see how they're made. Maybe there's a chance to lower the costs without sacrificing quality by tweaking the recipe.”
Maybe it could help him better understand the real worth of the company he's about to buy.
Sounds like a smart move, right?
I looped in our Senior Chemist, Gen. Her task was clear: Identify cost-cutting possibilities without taking a hit on quality.
You'd be surprised how frequently we can adjust formulas for better pricing while maintaining high standards of quality.
At Shay Labs, we're no strangers to this approach.
We once dissected our own skin care product. Found an expensive ingredient imported all the way from France. Not only was it expensive, but it also added unnecessary complications to our supply chain.
Our solution? We found a local substitute with the same efficacy but at half the price.
It got me thinking - how many businesses could enhance their profitability with a few simple tweaks? Particularly if your product is a hot-seller, even slight reductions in cost can accumulate into substantial savings over time.
So, whether you're considering buying a business and want to dive deeper into their cost structure, or you're curious if your own products could be optimized to enhance profitability, I'd say it's an avenue worth exploring.
--
A Tale of Turning Ten Cents into Millions.
Cosmoprof - a journey we embarked on with the hopes of wooing new customers, but we walked away with a prize much more valuable. 🏆
A chance to sweeten the deal for an existing customer.
Their product was a best seller in the pet care category.
It was our first time working with this item.
All the boxes had been checked.
-The formula was approved
-target price had been met
-ingredients ordered
-components secured.
And then, Cosmoprof happened. 🌟
We crossed paths with a bottle supplier who promised the same quality but with better prices.
Ten cents less per bottle - a much lower price than what we were about to pay to our bottle supplier.
Better for us, even better for our customer.
We could've pocketed that extra cash, and given the size of their order, the savings would've added up quickly.
But that's not the game we're playing.
Not the victory we’re chasing.
We're not after the short term gains.
We're playing for the long haul.
For the next order.
A new referral.
Another customer.
We're running a marathon.
These are the trophies we have our sights set on.🏆
----
When a company channels its collective resources to improve each employee, not just as a worker, but as a person at their core.
Where job-related skill development becomes secondary.
Life skills, the priority.
How to get healthier.
Feel happier. Worry less.
Where energy and time are invested into becoming better human beings.
Better versions of ourselves.
Sales become a by-product.
Business success, an afterthought.
When #founders invest in the self-improvement of their employees, it creates a ripple effect of improved work performance throughout the organization.
A trickle down effect.
To all areas of life.
Work included.
It creates a #teamculture where striving to be the best version of yourself becomes a shared vision among everyone in the company.
This is the type of atmosphere we are trying to create at Shay Labs.
Sound like the kind of place you’d like to work?
----
How a single imperfection on a product label caused a revolution...
We used to get finished products from our supplier that looked like this 👎
It wasn't all of them, but enough that we would miss it before sending them out to Amazon and our customers.
Some creases here. Some bubbles there.
It was frustrating to see our labels like this.
While the imperfections were minor, I know it hurt us 📉
Whether it lost sales, damaged our brand, or just made the unboxing experience unpleasant for the customer, it wasn't good.
As the brand owner, it surely didn’t make me feel good to receive my product in that condition.
When we started making products for others, I held onto this experience.
That feeling of frustration.
It's why we do things differently at Shay Labs 🎯
Each bottle manufactured under our roof is meticulously inspected.
Every.
Single.
One.
If a label isn't absolutely perfect, we ensure it becomes so before leaving our facility.
✅ We do this with every single bottle
Even if it's a small detail, I believe it's these 'small things' that truly make a difference.
In life, in business, and in everything in between.
----
When our warehouse guys treat the truck drivers with such kindness and respect
One stops to find us on Google to write us a positive review.
This is how I know we have something special brewing over at Shay Labs.
When our company values are being lived to such an extent that it shines through in every interaction, every situation.
That's a thriving culture in action.
A culture that not only pulls in the right people,
but also makes them want to stay.
---
Sweaty hands. Pulsating chest. Anxiety fills the throat, making it hard to breathe.
Is this what a panic attack feels like? 🆘
This is how I felt on the 4th of July 😢
Chest on fire, anxiety intensifying with every passing minute.
Afraid to go to the party I was looking forward to just the day before.
Being around others only makes it worse. To where it hurts. Physically hurts. 🤕
Crazy how an emotion can cause such intense physical sensations.
To the point where I find myself avoiding feeling them at all costs.
😞Even if it means not honoring my commitment to join my family at the party.
😞And setting a bad example for my children.
Even if it means, letting the world pass me by.
But not today.
Today, I'm headed to Vegas to attend Cosmoprof North America at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
I'm at booth 1606 in the West Hall with Shahnawaz Sheikh, my business partner and best friend.
You won't find that "other" Tim here. Head buried in his lap, quietly avoiding people at all costs. Hiding from the world, and probably himself.
Nope, this Tim is different. Happy to be here. Excited to work the booth. Chat with people.
Connect with strangers, make them customers, then friends.
This is the dad I want my kids to have 🙂
If only they could see me now 👨👩👧👦 ❤️ 💪
----
We had one of Amazon's best-selling stretch mark creams 💰
Until it all came crashing down 📉
Great branding. Amazing reviews.
Took us years to get there.
Selling it became like clock work 🕘
Then our next shipment arrived at Amazon 📦
Negative reviews started to roll in.
Sales dropped off a cliff 👎
The problem?
Mold 🤮
There’s green mold growing on the cream.
Customer pictures to prove it 🖼
Whaattt!?
I called our supplier in a panic. He assured me it was not THEIR fault 🤷♂️
The negative reviews kept rolling in.
It must be a competitor, he said. They must be targeting you 🎯
There are pictures though. Literal pictures of the mold.
Still not us, he said. Never happens. Its Impossible.
And just like that, our top selling stretch mark cream on Amazon was no more ☠
I know now they didn’t test for the presence of potentially harmful bacteria and fungi such as yeasts, and molds.
If this testing was done properly, we would still have our best seller on Amazon.
💡This was the painful experience that led us to starting Shay Labs💡
First for ourselves, to solve our own problem.
Then for others;
Once we realized the opportunity to stand out as a manufacturer,
by simply taking ownership for everything that happens under our roof.
Even if it's not our fault, we make it our fault. And we go to work to solve it.
That's how we operate at Shay Labs Manufacturing Co • Skin, Hair, Pet, Oral, & Personal Care.
✅ Its why brands are switching suppliers to work with us in droves.
✅ Why these brands are referring their friends, and leaving us 5 star reviews on Google🤩
✅ It's why we sold our flagship brand and went all in on Shay Labs 💪
----
The seals are leaking 💦
Customer complaints. Then returns 📦
They need the leaking to stop.
We go to work at Shay Labs.
First in the lab 🔬
Rachel 👩🔬, our up and coming lab tech, identifies the culprit.
An ingredient in the mouthwash makes their current product seals unusable.
No wonder they leak.
Purchasing team is up 💲
Mary casts a wide net out to our network of suppliers.
Samples arrive.
Production team’s turn👨🏭
The production floor becomes our new laboratory
Junior tests one seal. Then another.
The testing continues.
Eureeka.
Found a seal that holds.
Tell the customer. They will be stoked.
Slack notification on my phone the next day📱
It's our GM, Pam. "Customer is thrilled. Just put in a new order, biggest one yet!"
Jeremy in logistics ships the completed order 🚛
We wait for feedback. Try to be patient.
Feedback is in. No leaks. No complaints. No returns.
We did it. Mission accomplished ✅
---
Should your focus be more on discovering your strengths or uncovering your weaknesses? 🤔
As an entrepreneur, I think it's important to become aware of your strengths and lean into them fully when first starting out. 🏋♂️
📌In time, I have learned that understanding your weaknesses and finding the right people to balance them out is the real game-changer.
One of my weaknesses; I am good at starting, not finishing.
I get bored fast. Then lazy. Soon, I find a new project to focus on, until I lose interest.
And move on to the next big idea that gets my blood pumping.
This is probably why I’ve had 30+ jobs over the years 🤷♂️
Might be why I’ve lived in so many different places.
But just knowing this isn’t enough.
How do I use this knowledge?
I surround myself with finishers.
Without these key people to compliment my weaknesses, I doubt Shay Labs would exist today.
📌Embrace your strengths, become self-aware of your weaknesses, and never underestimate the power of a team that compliments both.
This has been the cornerstone of Shay Labs' success.
#entrepreneur #founders #success #team #personalgrowth
---
One principle that has rang true in almost every facet of my life has been:
Everything is going to take longer than anticipated, and cost more than you think.
Knowing this, we try to plan for the unexpected by allocating more time and resources to a given project or goal than I think will be needed. This way, we are less likely to be taken off guard when delays and extra costs are incurred.
By expecting the unexpected, I find myself less surprised when faced with delays or additional costs.
-----
When our Amazon store was unexpectedly suspended in 2019, it was a massive blow to our business. It was devastating, and it was the best thing that ever happened to us.
Our bank account was so low at one point, one wrong turn and I wouldn’t have been able to meet payroll.
But… It was the best thing that ever happened to us.
Our first deal to sell our flagship brand collapsed at the last minute, but you know what?
It was the best thing that ever happened to us
.
📌 In tough situations, we have a mantra we repeat. A belief we hold.
📌It's a perspective that we’ve crafted over the years and have installed in our minds so when something bad happens this belief becomes an instant reflex to which we see the world through.
📌It stems from one question; How is this the best thing that’s ever happened to us?
Ask the right questions, your mind is bound to find an answer.
Adopt the right perspective, and you’ll never feel like a victim of circumstance again.
-------
Mental Illness can make you question who you are.
Addiction can make you question what you are.
Both of them can break you. Ruin you. Even end you.
Seen different. They can strengthen you. Shape you. Even Inspire you.
Make you, You.
I used to be afraid of them. Run from them. Hate them. Hate me for having them.
Now I use them. I remember them. And I grow not in spite of them, but as a result of them.
--------
I was once a part-time stock boy at an industrial supply company, but my dream, my vision, was always to own my own business.
After work, I worked out at a local gym. On the elliptical each day, I would turn on my favorite music track and stare off into the distance towards these large windows that separated me from the world outside.
People thought I was just looking outside. But I wasn't.
I was working, deep inside my own mind.
Seeing the future as I wanted it to be.
Running a business. Supporting my family. Achieving my dream.
I would imagine myself sitting at my own desk, making my own decisions, and being my own boss. I would imagine myself surrounded by my family, happy and healthy. I would imagine my dream getting bigger and brighter. Closer.
I would craft it daily inside my mind. Making it sharper, clearer. More real.
I did this every day, for years.
I made it so real, I could feel it deep inside my body. As if it was the spark that started the fire that still burns inside of me today.
It began with having a vision.
I believe that this habit of visualization was one of the key factors that led me to starting my own business, and eventually several others. And now today, Shay Labs.
If you have a big dream, I encourage you to do the same.
Visualize your future, and make it so real that you can feel it.
Maybe it can be the spark that starts your fire.
----
The year was 1971. It was the grand opening of the first ever Disney World Park, known as the Magic Kingdom, set to open in a small town near Orlando, Florida 🌅
During the ceremony, a reporter asked the brother of Walt Disney a question 🎤
“Isn't this somewhat of a sad moment for your family? Walt Disney didn't get to live to see his Park open.”
The response, brilliant;
“That’s why you’re a reporter and my brother is Walt Disney.
Walt saw this park a long time ago.
Why do you think we all get to see it today?”
-----
Without #Vision, there are no goals.
Without #goals, there is no future.
Dream Big my friends. Dream often.
-----
Mental Illness and addiction can be a lifelong battle ⚔
It can feel very painful, unbearable at times.
On the person who has it.
On the family that is around it.
This is the reality. You either meet the challenge, or you don’t.
Continue to fight, or not.
It takes strength, resilience, and courage to conquer any major challenge in life.
The battle of the mind is no different.
The sooner you realize that no one is coming to save you
That this one is on you. That it must be you.
The more quickly you will find a way to stand up to your demons,
Face them head-on and say with unbreakable certainty;
“You may beat me. You may scar me.
But, you will not defeat me.” 💪
----
I’m running out of interesting things to say.
Stories to tell.
Lessons to share.
There are an endless number of ways to say the same thing.
To give the same advice in a different way.
For me, it boils down to principles.
Universal truths.
Rules for business
A guide to living
When a person operates from a set of principles, life gets easier.
Decisions become clearer
Perhaps I will write more about these principles I’ve adopted over the years.
That have worked for me, and others close to me.
Perhaps not. My mind changes constantly.
But the principles, they stay the same.
The truth does not change.
----
I hope I will always remember the everlasting impact a small act of kindness can have on a person.
I was confused. Nervous. Scared.
Still wondering if I would make it on my own in the concrete jungle of New York City
Or run home to the small farm town where I grew up.
Back to my parents. To my friends. To comfort.
It was my first day as a personal trainer in a fast paced NYC gym.
As I scrambled to make sense of the payroll systems and client protocols for my new position
I was approached by this big dude known as Ammo.
Arms as big as boulders. Eyes as sharp as swords.
His first words; "Yo, I know these things can get confusing, so if you need help, just let me know."
That was 20 years ago.
When I think of the everlasting impact a small act of kindness can have on a person.
I think of Ammo.
-----
In many ways, I gave up that day in the doctor's office 😞
Up to this point, I believed in the power of the mind 🧠
The belief that the mind is extraordinary.
That it can be used to craft and create the future of our desire.
To achieve anything we direct it to pursue.
But when the psychiatrist told me my mind was infected with a disease that would only get worse with time.
That it wasn't my strongest ally but my worst enemy,
That it was the same mental illness that pushed my dad to the brink of suicide.
I became lost.
For years.
I stopped caring. About myself. About life.
And so the damage ensued. To my relationships. To my health. To my spirit.
It wasn’t until years later that I found a way to straighten my path to get back on track towards my dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Today, when someone asks me how to start a business, I say start with yourself.
For the first ten months, I focused on self-improvement - clearing my mind and body, reading, taking courses, and surrounding myself with positive influences.
Only then did I pick up my first business book and begin my journey as an entrepreneur.
My advice is to start with You.
-----
Having an effective decision making framework in place has helped us immensely in business.
It all started when I opened a letter from California demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes 💵 in 2018.
I can still feel the rock in my chest that sank into my stomach when I first learned about it.
The Supreme Court had yet to determine if online sellers were liable for sales tax in states where they had no physical presence. Like many others, I only paid sales tax in my home state.
Surprisingly, we were advised not to pay by our attorney.
This is unconstitutional, he said. They have no right‼
We had to make a tough decision.
Should we pay the outstanding tax or join the growing number of sellers who were refusing?
📌 To help make this decision, we asked ourselves three key questions:
1️⃣ What is the likelyhood of the worst happening?
2️⃣ What is the cost if it does happen?
3️⃣ Can we live with the cost?
📌 In the end, we decided we were not willing to live with the potential cost of the worse case scenario playing out, no matter how small the chances.
So we paid.
Our attorney negotiated with California to get our total bill down to $100,000. This was still a massive amount to pay out of pocket, but it was better than the cost of not paying and things not going our way.
Today, we try to ask these questions before making any big decisions.
-----
I believe a person can accomplish almost anything if they want it badly enough.
But while you can have anything you want in life, you can’t have everything.
The wisdom is in recognizing what is worth pursuing and what is not.
📌 The better we get at this, the more we will understand what truly matters to us in life.
I still struggle with this on a daily basis.
📌 It's rooted in effective decision making and prioritizing the execution of those decisions.
Two powerful skill sets that I will never stop working on improving.
----
In my opinion, being able to follow your employees is just as important as being able to lead them.
To me, this means not only offering guidance but also knowing when to step back and let them take charge.
There should be checks and balances along the way, and I feel like I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t offer support when it's needed
But when you empower someone with the responsibility to manage a project or department and they are doing it effectively;
It's important to let them do it without getting in their way or trying to control every detail.
I want to always encourage every team member to grow as a leader. This growth helps them in future roles, in their current job, and in their everyday life.
------
After our sales dropped 40% from an overnight change in Amazon’s algorithm years back, I found myself in dangerous territory with the business.
We were one bad decision or unforeseen event away from going out of business.
During a conversation with my mentor, I received brutally honest advice that was more unsettling than comforting.
"Tim, many businesses will face this. You will either overcome it, or go out of business. Simple as that."
The advice was;
📌 Lower operating expenses to increase 💵
📌 Liquidate inventory to increase 💵
📌 Leverage all existing lines of credit to increase 💵
Increasing our cash reserves was the main and only objective at the time.
That guidance saved us.
Today, we aim to keep 7-8 months of operating capital on hand at all times in anticipation of any unforeseen challenges that may come our way
And come they did.
When Covid struck and lockdowns began, almost overnight, our sales plummeted by 80% 📉
It was a scary time, but we were able to navigate our way through it because of the cash reserves we had built up 💰
Thankfully, the adversity we experienced in the past, prepared us for this unpredictable crisis.
Hopefully we will be ready for the next one too.
#businessadvice #founders #entrepreneur #beautybusiness #cosmeticsindustry
-----
I didn't attend college and obtain a degree.
Truth be told, I barely graduated high school.
My tuition is paid through the setbacks I face.
Each failure is a new course.
Each misstep serves as a new class in my ongoing education.
Every obstacle I encounter becomes my next instructor.
At times, these lessons can be costly, but the higher the price, the more valuable the education tends to be.
This makes the cost of not learning from them far greater than the price of admission.
This approach has worked well for me.
Though, I can’t help but feel I might be lacking knowledge in some areas which college could have provided.
------------------
One of my greatest fears as a business owner is creating an environment where employees feel hesitant to speak their minds and voice their opinions.
Especially when they disagree with me.
This can quickly create a culture of hidden resentment, which leads to a passive-aggressive workplace where people say one thing while feeling another.
For some, it's in their nature to keep things to themselves, but as a leader I try to encourage open communication and transparent thinking by practicing it myself.
I am always trying my best to accomplish this, though sometimes I wonder if I can do better. 🤔
---
I had hit a wall with my first real business. So, I went to my dad. He was in his room as he always was these days. He was dying.
He had been for years, and now it was speeding up
I explained where I was stuck. He listened as I spoke.
He was in too much pain to to give me advice, but just talking to him had helped.
That night, I left the house to work without distractions.
The next day arrived 🌅
Now I had a plan, a path forward.
I rushed home to tell my dad, to show him what we had accomplished. He had always been in my corner, encouraging me to pursue my dreams.
This win was not mine; it was ours.
However, when I got home, he wasn't there.
His room, empty. A small whiteboard I had put on the wall for him caught my eye.
I wrote him motivational messages each day to keep him going, to never give up.
But now, my message was gone, replaced by something scribbled in my dad's shaky handwriting.
Hardly legible, it read, "I don’t want to be a burden anymore. Love, Dad."
An empty bottle of pills lay next to his bed.
Not long after, my mom called to tell me that my dad had not died that day, but the fire that had burned inside of him was out.
🔥 The fire he used to light me up was no more.
A year later the diseases that plagued his body had won, and he died.
Soon after, I received my own diagnosis, and the addictions slowly started to take over my life.
And so began the start of my journey. My success story.
📌 When something bad happens we have three choices.
📌 You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.
📌 Or in my case, you can let all three happen, and still make it to the other side by simply refusing to never, ever, ever give up.
---------------------
When in doubt, learn? "The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin ... is to learn something.
That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins,
...you may see the world around you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds.
There is only one thing for it then; to learn.
Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.
Learning is the thing for you."
T.H. White, The Once and Future King
----
At 28 years old, I found myself driving a taxi in the very town I had been desperate to escape since high school.
This was five years after reaching my pinnacle of success in NYC and two years before starting the first of several successful companies.
I had once believed that I had the potential to do great things, to make a real impact in the world.
But life had beaten me down, and I had let it.
As I drove my taxi through the streets, I told myself the same story I had been repeating for years.
Soon it became my identity.
We all cling to stories, whether self-told or from others, that define us and shape how we feel about ourselves. These stories can greatly influence our actions, so we must scrutinize and shape them to serve us rather than hold us back.
And so I crafted a new story, one where I was the hero.
Some people take the fast track to success, while others fall and never get back up.
But I was like Rocky I told myself.
I can take a beating, and keep getting back up no matter the number of times I get knocked down. And if I can get up just one more time than I fall, I will win.
My life did not start to change until my story changed.
Then, everything changed.
-----
In an interview with Barry Diller, a business mogul from the world of media, there was one phrase he kept on saying over and over again.
“Course Correcting”.
“I make a mistake. I fail. Then I course correct and keep going.”
He kept on saying it, throughout the entire interview.
Course Correcting.
Again and again.
“When I mess up, I make the wrong decision. It's ok, because I correct the course and do it again.”
They say, success often leaves clues.
So what clue is Mr Diller hinting at here?
Is the recipe simply this?
📌 Making lots of mistakes
📌 Becoming aware of those mistakes and gaining insight from them
📌 Adjusting your next action based on that insight in order to move closer to your desired outcome
#businessadvice #successtips #beautybusiness #entrepreneurship #founders
---
It happened in history class. The teacher showed us portraits of Adolf Hitler and Mussolini.
He asked what we could tell about each man by looking at just their picture.
I was clueless of the answer. Confused by the question.
No idea the lesson had nothing to do with these men.
And everything about the ability to read and understand a person using logic and intuition.
To this day, I don't have a good answer, though I still think of the question often.
But I much rather place my focus elsewhere today.
Like the man pictured among this crowd. Ask me a question about this guy, and I will find an answer.
Maybe it's because I admire this kind of person and want to be like him. Even though I’d be afraid to be him.
Or maybe it's because I don't want to be like the other two so I won't waste any time thinking about them.
If I'm going to spend my time thinking about someone, let it be men and women like the one circled in this picture.
Let me spend my time studying the courage and audacity it takes to stand up for what you believe in.
And refuse to bow down to what you don't.
If my history teacher asked me that same question today, I think this would be my answer.
#leadership #leaders #mindset #courage #mondaymotivation
-----
It seems like we all hit these “walls” in life.
Some are bigger than others.
Some are made of brick. Some of nothing at all.
Some of us let them break us. Others break through them.
To break through them is painful. To not, is to accept defeat.
When you are up against a wall, and you feel like there is no way around it, remember that often, the only way around it is through it.
-----
Sales are down. A new problem arises. The next crisis appears.
Everything is spinning out of control.
I hate this job, I think to myself. I hate this business.
I’m not even having fun anymore. Why did I even start it to begin with?
When I find myself in the middle of an incredibly intense challenge, there are moments where I just want to give up.
Start over. Do something else.
Anything else, besides owning a business.
During these times, I try to ask this important question;
“If my business were doing well, would I still feel this way? Would I still want to quit?”
The answer, everytime, is no.
So I don’t give up. I keep going. Keep pushing.
Eventually the business gets back on track.
Problems are solved. The crisis is overcome. Lessons are learned.
I begin to have fun again. I remember why I started my own business in the first place.
And how very grateful I am for both the ups, and the downs.
I have found that asking myself reflective questions, such as the ones mentioned above, is an effective way to transform my thinking and gain a new outlook when I'm struggling to find one.
#leadership #leaders #beautybusiness #beautyindustry
----------
Where I grew up, I was raised to believe that showing emotion was a sign of weakness.
To shed a tear was reserved for the weak-minded.
And so I became the “tough guy”, and I never cried.
Pictured below with me is my Mom on my left, Dad on my right.
When he died. I didn’t cry either.
Not a tear. I thought it was a sign of toughness.
Setting an example for my younger brother.
It took me 30 years to figure it out.
To realize that everything I was taught was the complete opposite of the actual truth.
The truth is, being able to show your true feelings and be vulnerable around others is not a weakness at all.
It's a sign of strength.
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When I first began my entrepreneurial journey, I had to be overly optimistic just to get the idea off the ground.
Almost delusional in a way.
It was the only way I could pull it off.
The only way I could quiet that little voice in my head that told me to give up.
With it, I was able to push through the many obstacles that stood in my way of achieving my dream.
And so the business grew.
My optimistic attitude began to change to a more cautious one.
To manage the risk, and anticipate problems before they occurred, I adopted a more pessimistic mindset.
I went from asking; "What can we do to 10x this sucker in the next 10 weeks!?"
To; "What could go wrong if we continue at this fast pace?"
With this change in attitude, I became more realistic about potential setbacks and avoided being blindsided by too many unexpected obstacles.
Today, I have the heart of an optimist, and the eyes of a pessimist.
Does that even make sense?
It might be too early in the morning for me to be posting on Linkedin lol.
Keith Cunningham once said, "You need to be an optimist to start a company, but you need to be a pessimist to run it."
----
I used to take great pride in being called a workaholic.
I wore it as a badge of honor.
I remember one day, years ago, early on in my role as a leader.
I was so sick I could barely stand.
My team saw me in agony, sitting on the floor with my head resting on my knees.
They begged me to go home and rest.
I refused to leave.
Rather I remained at work to prove that I was the hardest worker in the building.
I don’t do that anymore.
Nowadays, when I feel sick, I go home.
Why? Because I care about my team's health and safety.
Being a leader isn't about working yourself to the bone; it's about having compassion for others and genuinely caring about their well-being.
I’m still learning how to be a great leader, but now I believe that's what true leadership is all about.
Leading with compassion, kindness, and empathy. That’s the only badge of honor I strive to wear today.
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It’s 3 years ago. The new year begins.
The team is gathered around the table in the boardroom making plans for the year ahead.
We plan to make this year our best yet.
Our goals are big, the vision even bigger.
We put them on paper, save them in a google doc.
We write them on the large whiteboard that almost takes up an entire wall.
"Just do it" becomes our mantra.
We even get a neon sign created with this statement.
Pam hangs it on the wall for all to see.
A month goes by. The red neon light flashing, “Just do it” shines bright.
Another month passes.
Work gets busy. New projects. New problems. New ideas.
The memory of the January meeting begins to fade.
The “Just do it” sign gets unplugged and moved into the kitchen.
Until it is all but forgotten, right along with our big plans for that year.
And thus, the next crucial lesson on growing a business is learned:
A static plan is useless without continuous updates and discussions.
The true value of planning lies not in ink on paper, but in collective, ongoing action towards a shared vision.
It occurs in the discussions and scenarios explored by the group.
It happens by the shared vision that these discussions help create.
Have you ever experienced a situation where a grand plan fell apart because it was not revisited or updated regularly? How did you respond?
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Our founders were brand owners before we ventured into contract manufacturing. This experience has given us a unique perspective that can only be gained through the eyes of a seasoned entrepreneur.
We understand the wants, needs, and pain points that come with running a brand.
We get it.
We've felt them too.
One thing we know for sure is that nobody is perfect, and problems are bound to arise.
When they do, you can feel certain that Shay Labs will take full responsibility, never pointing fingers elsewhere.
We will own it, solve it, and learn from it.
And if there is a cost to be had, We will pay for it too.
This is not a mere promise or guarantee; it is the unadulterated truth.
When you work with us, you can count on us to get the job done.
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For years, I struggled with taking myself too seriously.
Plagued by an irrational fear of judgment and rejection from others.
I would avoid certain activities or social situations, afraid that one wrong move or misspoken word would make me the laughing stock of the room.
How I thought others saw me, became more important than how I saw myself.
As a parent, an important lesson I want to impart to my children is to learn how to laugh at themselves.
When you can find humor in your own mistakes and imperfections;
Life becomes more fun.
I encourage them to embrace their mistakes and remind them that everyone has flaws.
With this mindset, I hope to equip them with the confidence and resilience needed to take on the challenges of life. And to do so with a smile on their face.
Do you think finding humor in your own imperfections and flaws can lead to a more fun, fulfilling life?
Or am I overthinking it.
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At the age of 21, I left my small Illinois farm town and moved to New York City.
I was driven by a singular ambition.
A single focus.
To become a “success”
As I would eventualy learn, defining what success actually means is an essential first step on the journey towards achieving it.
How can a person ever achieve “success” without first defining what success looks like?
If I didn’t know what it looked like, how would I ever recognize it?
And if I couldn’t recognize it, how would I ever know if I had achieved it?
If I could do it over again, I’d start with this question;
---> How will I know when I am successful?
If I had reflected on what success meant to me, I may have realized sooner that money and wealth are merely by-products of success, rather than the definition of it.
Have you given any thought to your own definition of success?
How would you describe it?
Comment with your thoughts below, if you wish. I’d love to read em.
----——
I was 22 years old when I first dialed the number to the suicide hot line.
Alone in my apartment.
Confused. In pain.
Not sure why.
My dad wouldn’t die for another couple months.
I wouldn’t be diagnosed with mental illness until a few months after.
Addiction had yet to fully take control of my life.
On the surface, things were going well.
I was living in Manhattan.
Well respected. Admired even. At the top of my profession.
Living my dream. Well on my way to becoming the person I desperately wanted to be.
Why then, was I so unhappy? Why couldn’t I know?
I searched for the answer, not discovering the reasons until years later.
In many ways, I’m still searching today.
I still don’t have the answers
As I scrolled LinkedIn the other day, I came across a post written by Alex.
A person I’ve come to know and respect as someone who has walked a similar path.
In it, he stressed the importance of using a balanced holistic approach as the foundation to achieving success.
I responded that to achieve anything truly great, one must live in the extremes to do so.
His response, one sentence.
It brought me right back to my Manhattan apartment.
Phone in my hand. Tears in my eyes.
Asking myself why I was in so much pain. Why couldn’t I see it for what it was.
Alex wrote, “There are definitely times you shift into the extremes, but making sure you have a strong base is essential.”
Of course I thought. I was unbalanced to a fault. Only focused on work and being successful, not even knowing what success meant to me at the time.
Thank you for the reminder Alex. I needed to hear that. I want to hear that.
It's true, I’m not where I want to be. I still have a long way to go.
But thank goodness, I’m not where I used to be.
Here’s to progress. Have an amazing week, my friends.
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The Berenstain Bears - does that name ring a bell?
It's hard to believe it's been almost a decade since I read these stories to my children.
Though they claim to have outgrown them, there's one tale that remains etched in my memory even to this day.
Mama Bear was well aware of the power of habits.
So she made sure to instill this knowledge in her cubs using this really cool metaphor:
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“If you do a certain thing often enough you don't even think about it.
It's sort of like this path.
The wheelbarrow's gone over it so many times that it's now one deep rut, right down the middle.
And it keeps getting deeper every time I use it.
It's the same way with a bad habit.
The more you do something the harder it is to get out of it.”
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No matter the age, we all have habits that shape our daily routines and impact our lives in both positive and negative ways.
I’ve been stuck in many ruts, not even realizing I was in one until it was so deep I didn’t know which way was up.
But by simply becoming aware of them, we can become more intentional in choosing which ones to get stuck in, and which one’s to avoid like the plague.
Mama Bear, a bear with great wisdom and knowledge.
A bear, ahead of her time.
#habits #story #motivation #inspiration #selfawareness
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One of my favorite quotes
"I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening. I never learned anything while I was talking."
-Larry King
That quote reminds me how often I open my big mouth and dominate the conversation at work.
When am I going to learn to let your employees do the talking?
My role as a CEO is to ask questions, listen, ask more questions, listen more; then offer my opinion, maybe.
I've literally written this down on the back of my hand in the past and it didn't work.
Maybe it's time to put this quote in a frame
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I live in a fish bowl
I don’t know I live in one
My team lives in a fish bowl.
They don't know they live in one.
This is why we rely on each other.
To remind us that we all live in our own fish bowls.
Fish bowl = Blind spots
Being aware of your blind spots is helpful.
Surrounding yourself with a group of trusted members to point them out is essential.
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I’ll wake up some mornings with a fire brewing in the pit of my stomach.
A feeling that has yet to be given meaning.
It's too early for my brain to process.
Is it #anxiety warning of the day to come?
Adrenaline preparing me for the excitement on the horizon?
Or is it #fear predicting today will be one of those days which will end with tears?
Too early to tell.
My thoughts are still hazy.
My brain, not fully awake.
For now, it's just a feeling that has yet to be interpreted by my mind.
But, I must be careful.
I know all too well, the #meaning I give this feeling will determine how I'll experience the day.
It is the emotions we feel that drive our actions, and it's our actions that will ultimately shape our lives.
So today, I will choose to see this feeling as a sign.
A sign that something great is going to happen today.
And here's to your day ahead, my friends.
May it be filled with #purpose, #fulfillment, and #progress.
With that, I'll invite you to have with me; a great freakin day!
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If you wake up each morning to do something you are truly passionate about, that you believe in, in a way that goes beyond money (money being just a result) then you will naturally attract others who hold a similar mindset.
You will see, usually not till much later;
that the dots in your life had connected in an important way that you couldn't have predicted ahead of time
and that would not have played out the same way had you not followed your passion.
This is why I believe in following your passion rather than;
-chasing money
-what someone else thinks you should do
-or what seems safer emotionally, etc)
...is so important in life.
Have you found yours yet?
It's ok if the answer is no. It's better if the answer is not yet 💚
#mindset #money #passion #purpose #believe #love #success
---
I’ve told myself in the past that I don’t post on social media because it's “dumb”.
Truth is, I’m afraid.
Afraid of what other people might think. Afraid that my posts would make me look dumb.
Afraid that others would find out that I am kind of dumb lol.
So to those of my friends that do possess this courage I seek, I want to say to you;
Thank you.
I admire your willingness to go outside your comfort zone and share parts of your life with me.
I cannot say I will be able to do the same, but perhaps I can try?
To this end, allow me to invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn.
failingmyway2success
This is where I’ve been getting very uncomfortable by sharing my biggest failures. For me, I learn by failing so I use this space to reflect on my failures and hopefully learn something from each.
And if you’d like to stay in touch and and join us on the journey as we build our next company, you can do so from our company page here;
https://www.facebook.com/ShayLabsMFG
Have a great weekend, my friends!
---
Have you ever read this parable about the cycle of life?
Do you remember when you turned 18?
Young and inexperienced but full of desire to grow.
Your parents ask what you want to do with your life, without hesitation you respond, “I want to change the world!”
A few years pass, and now you’re 21. Remember that age?
You begin to re-evaluate your goals, recognizing that perhaps changing the world may not be possible, but changing your country; now that's something you can get behind.
Asked again, you might say, “I may not be able to change the world, but my country I can make better. I will change my country!
25 comes and goes. Time speeds up.
“Maybe not my country, but surely my state. I will change my state for the better”
In a flash, two more years gone. Life begins to take its toll.
“Maybe not my state, but my city. I can surely change my city!”
30 now approaches.
Your focus shifts inwards, realizing it is you who needs to change.
“Maybe I won't change my city, But myself. I will change myself for the better!”
The memory of your 18 yr old self begins to fade.
For many, Life becomes too difficult, and they resign themselves to their current circumstances.
Trading their ambition for comfort.
Their aspirations for security.
However.
There lies a select few who refuse to succumb to life's challenges. Fueled by a thirst for something more, they become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
They embrace challenges as opportunities for growth.
Their journey; just beginning.
Their focus shifts to their family.
“I will change myself not just for me, but for my family”
As they continue to grow, they turn their attention to their employees, then their industry.
Their vision shines brighter.
“I will change not for myself, but for my employees”
“Not just for my employees, I will inspire change in my industry.”
A fire burns inside of you. You become driven by the desire to make a difference.
Your journey brings you full circle with a new sense of purpose, ready to make a difference in the world once again.
When asked. You answer.
“The world. It's the world I want to change. I am going to change the world.”
Life feels complete.
Your attention turns to your children, as you watch your own child turn 18.
You ask, What do you want to do with your life?
Without hesitation they respond.
“I want to change the world!”
———
It's 2018.
Every morning, I wake up with a heavy weight in my gut. Fear consumes me, wondering if today will be the day that will act as the final blow to my business.
Sales were plummeting, debt was piling up, and I was holding onto truckloads of inventory I couldn't sell.
I was teetering on the brink of losing everything.
The stress became unbearable. It felt as if I had a burning rock cemented in my chest.
My team was depending on me to keep it together, to get us through this.
They needed this to work.
Their families needed it. My family.
I felt the weight of it all, and I was breaking underneath it.
To escape, I drank.
I cried.
I hid.
The future seemed hopeless.
They say some lessons are best learned while in the midst of extreme circumstances. While in pain.
I didn’t realize at the time that this pain I was experiencing, this overwhelming suffocating stress that hung over me, was actually an opportunity blaring at me.
To learn something new.
To become stronger.
To become a little bit wiser.
For if you can carry forward a lesson from each obstacle and every failure; isn’t this the definition of progress?
I’d like to say the clouds opened and the heavens shone down a light upon me. And from this day forward, everything became easier.
But the truth is, there have been many more sleepless nights. Many more tears. So much more pain.
But I’ve continued to fight, refusing to ever give up. For my family, and for theirs.
Today, I’m still standing. Still fighting.
And I'm still falling.
But all I need to do, I keep telling myself, is to get up one more time than I go down.
If I can do this, then it doesn’t matter how many times I fall. In the end, we will win.
Here's to getting up 1 more time my friends.
And when you fall again, let it be on your back.
Because if you can look up, you can get up!
Have an amazing day everyone!!
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I’m just a dude who sells stuff on Amazon.
Everything accomplished thereafter has been done so by a group of outstanding individuals I’ve somehow been able to surround myself with.
A piece of advice I received years ago that has remained with me to this day:
“Empowering exceptional talent is the best path to success.”
When you share the same vision with like minded people, the stars become aligned. The floodgates open, and it feels like you can literally accomplish anything together.
Have you ever experienced something similar?
For me, this is the only path forward to achieve the big goals I’ve set for myself.
--
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Have you ever heard this parable?
A father and son take a walk on a warm summer day.
The father, looking to impart wisdom, asks his son a question:
"Do you think that you have to be successful to be happy?
Or do you think that you have to be happy to be successful?"
The son shrugs his shoulders.
The father continues, “The people who think the former most often get neither, and the people who believe in the latter often get both.”
My take:
Pursue happiness. Not success. Do what you love. Love what you do, and more times than not, success will follow.
----
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Reflecting on my high school years, I feel regret for my choices in friends.
My father tried to teach me to “choose your peers wisely”, but I was young, naive and arrogant.
Blinded by inexperience.
Drunk with the arrogance that I was better than him.
His experience didn’t matter. His pain, not my teacher.
So I ignored his warnings.
I was drawn to the wrong crowd and made poor decisions that set me back more than I’ll probably ever realize.
The memories of my father's advice still echo in my mind.
Today, His voice has only grown stronger within me, filling me with a strong sense of purpose to impart this same lesson to my children, and help them avoid the mistakes I made.
I cannot change the friends I had in high school, but I do see a chance for redemption, here on LinkedIn.
A second chance to heed my father's advice and begin to surround myself with individuals who share similar values, goals, and aspirations. To build meaningful relationships with those that believe in;
-people over profit
-giving over receiving
-truth over happiness
If any of this may resonate with you, please connect with me. Engage with me. Message me. I want to know you.
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I recently faced a tough decision and wasn't sure if I had made the right choice.
I sought the advice of someone I admire. Someone I trust.
He listened passively as I explained to him the predicament I now faced.
After hearing me out, he asked me one simple, yet brilliant question.
The context isn’t important, as the logic behind this question can be applied to most other important life decisions. Not all, but most.
It's rooted in something called “zero-based” thinking,
You pretend like you haven't made the decision yet but have all the hindsight knowledge as if you did.
Then ask yourself, "If I was in this situation again, knowing what I know now, would I make the same decision?"
If the answer is no, then you know you made the wrong choice and should change it.
What if it's too late, I asked? The damage has already been done.
His response; one sentence.
“It's never too late to make the right decision.”
He then ended with, “Just be careful not to get stuck thinking in terms of ‘what I have already done’ instead of thinking from a blank slate perspective as to ‘what I should do’.
As luck would have it. I make plenty of bad decisions so I will look forward to using this zero-based line of thinking in the future.
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As a company, we operate by applying a set of core principles to which we hold ourselves and each other accountable.
It's not only necessary, it's essential.
It is with this agreement, this promise, that we are able to perform at a high level while truly enjoying the journey that comes with being a part of a successful company.
When we hold ourselves and each other to these standards, everyone gets to play an equal role in creating a culture and environment of our choosing.
It all comes back to the principles; which in turn becomes a list of unwavering promises we are committed to keeping to each other. Here are some in no particular order:
I will never hide my observations about you
I will never say something behind your back that I wouldn't say to your face
I will never avoid having a difficult conversation with you, even if it makes me feel uncomfortable
I will always treat you as I would want to be treated
I will act with integrity in all matters
I will always be honest with you
I will always disagree with you when I don't agree
I will own my mistakes and share the lessons with you
I will always allow you to point out my blind spots when I don't see them
Would love to hear from others on this topic.
Which on this list stuck out to you the most? If you were to add one, what would it be?
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There are important rules that control how the world works.
These rules are based on a set of underlying principles.
A principle is a fundamental truth; a universal law.
It doesn’t matter where you were born, where you grew up, or what you believe.
You can choose to ignore them.
You can choose not to follow them.
But you cannot deny their existence.
Rather than enforcing a set of rules, our focus is centered embracing these principles, which empowers us to work together towards our shared vision.
They allow us to make decisions based on a shared understanding of what is important, rather than a set of rules everyone is expected to follow, “or else”.
These principles guide us in everything we do.
--------------------
I think of everyone on my team as co-owners. As I say; Think like one. Act like one. Be rewarded like one.
It starts with the leaders, but in our company, I consider everyone a leader. I consider everyone an owner. Because this is how I want them to look at themselves.
Just as everyone is responsible for the culture of our company, every one of us has input on the principles we use to guide our actions and decisions.
--------------
For the first several years of my entrepreneurial journey, I considered myself a lone wolf. A lonely solopreneur. I would attend events, and keep to myself. I would sign up for a mastermind group and find myself at the hotel bar hiding from the other members.
Everyone else seemed so happy. Excited at the prospect of meeting new people who shared similar interests and goals.
I was terrified. Afraid that I wouldn’t have anything intelligent to say. Or anything at all. Afraid that I’d be found out.
That they would see me as I saw myself. So I hid. For years.
How many friendships I let slip past me? How many opportunities did I miss out on? I’ll never know.
Today, not much has changed. I still get afraid. I still dread that debilitating feeling of anxiety that fills my chest. The only difference today. The ONLY difference.
I’m not afraid of being afraid.
I don’t hide from it. I don’t try to quiet it with alcohol. Or drugs if I’m being completely honest.
I try harder nowadays. As a result many of my most authentic friendships have been forged online.
Now that I’ve finally gotten myself on LinkedIn. I foresee a similar thing happening here.
So please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tim.
I look forward to getting to know you.
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delicious
Good question!
1. Our daily meetings are half work-related / half personal development.
Think mini Tony Robbins seminar!
2. We bring in speakers during work hours that teach on different topics related to improving oneself.
We recently brought in an Expert Breath Coach on how to harness the power of the breath to navigate through difficult emotions, and situations.
And 3.. I am open and transparent about my own challenges and how I use self-education in these areas to work on myself.
Shout out to @jessecoomer, My amazing and talented breath coach who reminds me to stop, and take a deep breath when I’m feeling stressed out or anxious. Or both!
--------------------
When you take your personal development more seriously than your job;
It creates an outstanding team culture.
I encourage my team to prioritize their personal development during work hours.
When individuals invest in self-improvement and are given the opportunity to do so, it creates a ripple effect of improved work performance throughout the organization.
As the famous quote goes, 'If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first 6 sharpening my ax”
Do you know which U.S president said this quote?
Hint: It was not Donald Trump or Joe Biden.
One principle embedded in our work culture is to take your personal development more seriously than your job.
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In a democracy, everyone’s opinion is equally important
In an autocracy, one person makes the decisions
In an idea meritocracy, the best ideas win
In business, democracies don’t work. autocracies don’t last. It's the organizations that see the value in making decisions based on the best idea, that are most successful.
In a democracy, everyone gets a say.
In an autocracy, one person calls the shots.
In an idea meritocracy, the best ideas come out on top.
It's the companies that go with the best idea, not the boss's idea, that do the best.
As Ray Dalio says, it's better to make decisions based on what makes sense, not who's in charge.
If you are a part of or have been in an idea meritocracy, what are the one or two major factors you’ve seen in creating and maintaining such a culture of openness?
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To some this might look likeT a few buckets stacked on top of each other surrounded by a neon colored tape. But as the saying goes, there is usually more than meets the eye.
To the team at Shay Labs, this picture represents progress and our grand vision beginning to unfold before our eyes.
You see, this March, we are attending the Prosper Show in Las Vegas.
This picture is us planning how we are going to build our booth, and represent our company at the show.
It is not our first time exhibiting. It won't be our last.
But what I see in this picture, what I want everyone to see; are a team of people completely aligned, working in perfect unison towards a common goal.
This goal, this grand vision of ours...
-Its not to become the biggest
-Its not to become the best
-Its not to complete orders with the quickest turn around
-Its not even to formulate and produce the best quality products
It's simply this: To do what we say we are going to do, when we say we are going to do it.
It's to build a reputation based on principles, honesty, and transparency.
This is how we are going to become the biggest and the best cosmetics manufacturing company you've ever worked with.
Watch out world, here we come.
-----------------
In every entrepreneur's journey, there comes a time when one must make a decision. A choice...
…to either go all in and shoot for the stars, or to be content with where you are, what you have.
With some early success at the start of my journey, I made the decision to not be content with what I have, and rather go all in and scale the business to the highest level possible.
“Content” might not be the best word, as today I have a level of contentment I wish I would’ve had back then. But I still have big goals today. Still Ambitious. Still striving to reach that next level.
And yet I am so content with what I have, and where we currently are; it gives me a small glimpse into what true happiness might feel like.
What motivates me today are the people who have joined me on this journey along the way. They inspire me to keep pushing. To keep going until we get to that next level.
Has anyone else wrestled with this balancing act of being content in the present moment while still motivated to achieve so much more?
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At Shay Labs, we take great care in choosing what we allow to be hung on our walls. Each piece holds a special meaning, from the awards we've earned and articles chronicling our greatest accomplishments, to the motivational quotes that inspire us to strive for greatness.
But among all these treasures, there is one that stands out above the rest; a priceless piece of art that cannot be ignored as we leave for the day.
It is a simple yet powerful reminder from Ice Cube,
that no matter the challenges we face, "Everyday can be a good day."
Btw, Is Ice Cube not on Linkedin? I can't tag him. What gives? 😎