The plethora of "National_______ Days makes me chuckle. But today's did catch my attention.
NATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR's DAY
In a free market system, the entrepreneur matters.
In our media, we tend to celebrate the "headline" entrepreneurs that start businesses that go onto to become mega-companies...the Facebooks, Amazons & Wal-marts.
But lost in the shuffle are the millions of SMALL businesses that employ half the nation's workforce. The mom and pops. The start-ups. The mid size companies and countless companies that never hit 3 digits worth of employees on the bi-weekly payroll.
PAVERART has been in business for over 17.5 years. None of this would have been possible without the Founding Team: Mick Seroka, Mike Bull, Ken Bull. Mick came up with the original idea for PAVERART back in 2001and enlisted the help in building the business with his partner, Ken Bull and Ken's brother, Mike Bull. Mick unfortunately passed away in March of 2015, but his entrepreneurial spirit and "can-do" attitude lives on to this day at PAVERART.
ALSO part of any business's founding team?
Their families! Anybody that has ever started a business will tell you that it's not just the Entrepreneur that sacrifices, but everyone around them and none more important than the spouses. Pictured below are Bev Bull, Renee Bull and Lourdes Seroka
Also critical to the successful start of any business? CUSTOMERS.
Every time we talk with clients, it's hard not to bring up our first project at the iconic Shore Town of WILDWOOD, NEW JERSEY - 17 plus years and the 4 decorative Paver Intersections withstood the test of time, and "cemented" the design Principle:
"Built To Last"
The Start-Up Ingredients:
A Founding Team, an idea, the guts and skill to make it happen.
A Paying Customer.
A Supplier or 2.
An employee or 2.
Some $'s.
A ton of sweat, tears and commitment.
A little luck never hurts.
Those ingredients give you a CHANCE to make it, but no guarantee.
We are lucky at PAVERART. The founding team made the most of those ingredients and the business has endured.
We've worked with Organizations of all sizes across the USA, and from all walks of life:
* Landscape Architects and Designers
* Contractors
* Pro Sports Teams, Universities & Schools of all sizes
* Municipalities
We learn something new each day and we meet people from all walks of life with different challenges. The challenges never stop.
I think about Amazon often, especially passing their hundreds of trailers on the NJ Turnpike. There's an expression used by Amazon's Founder/CEO Jeff Bezos.
ALWAYS DAY ONEONE
Day one means that Amazon will always act like a startup.
There's something to be learned from the concept of DAY ONE.
Acting, feeling and living like a start-up. Where everyday is a new challenge and your attitude, work ethic, decisions, skills, and team your working with gets tested everyday. The attitude of DAY ONE will always matter.
As will the ENTREPRENEUR.
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