Hire Passion and Teach Skill

One of the newest things to me is having a team. We have a walk in love. team and a Brooke Courtney team. I am going to focus on the walk in love. team and how we ended up with these eight awesome people. When we decided to open the store we weren't really worried about whether people had computer skills, could work the register or knew how to fold a shirt correctly. Those are all things that we could teach. We wanted passion, energy and excitement! We wanted people who loved the brand and wanted to see it grow. Here is how we got those people.

We needed around 8 people to staff the store.

First we asked 3 of the people who worked at the kiosk the year before - Mike (my brother), Matt (the first walk in love. intern) and Maddie (who I've known since she was 6 years old).

Then my best friend, Jeff, asked if he could have one of the jobs. He was tired of working at his other job and was ready for a change. So we said, Yes!

Then we posted an application online for the 5 positions we had left and were greeted with over 100 applications.

So Mike, Brooke and I looked through them and narrowed it down to about 30 based off whether they fit our brand. We were looking for excited, young and happy people to join our team.

Then we thought about sitting down with 30 different people and having them all regurgitate the same answers on why they were perfect for the job and blah blah blah. Not my idea of an exciting Saturday.

So instead Brooke and I decided to have a party at our house and invite the current team of 4, some other friends and all 30 potential team members. We wanted to see how they interacted with each other and with other people.

I won't go into the details of the party, but after it was over the team came to almost unanimous decisions on who would be a good fit and who wouldn't. We were all in on 3 people so I offered them all a job and they accepted. Two of them - Drew and Gina still work at the store.

Then there was one other person at the party that I was on the fence about. I heard peoples opinions on her but it came down to me to make the decision and I had to trust my gut so I asked our last team member Kristen to be on the team and I couldn't be happier with that desicion.

I love our team. I love their energy and passion. I love that I can trust them and I love that I didn't just look for people who gave me the right answers. Yes, sometimes I am so frustrated with our team members, but in the end I know that each one of them is passionate about walk in love. I know that they will do their very best to represent the brand and to live out our message in public.

I think whenever you are hiring or building a team look for passion first and skill second. When we asked Maddie to be the intern for the Brooke Courtney team she didn't know much about photography but we knew she had a passion for it. Skills and technique will come with coaching and practice, but passion will not.

Refresh

Brooke and I had the privilege of shooting a wedding in Jamaica this past week.  When we booked the wedding I thought it would be good to add on a few days after shooting for some vacation time.  We have only been on one short vacation since our honeymoon and I thought it would be really good for us to get away and unplug, but I had no idea how good it would end up being.

I only used my phone as a camera, didn't sign up for wifi and beside shooting the wedding set no agenda for the week.  It only took me about 3o minutes of laying in the hot tub on the first night we arrived to realize that I needed this.  While 2011 had been an amazing year of growth and excitement, it had also been non-stop.  Always moving, always working, always answering some question about the store, a wedding or what I needed to do today.  If you have spent any amount of time going to church I am sure you've heard the sermon about "being still and knowing God is God."  Normally those sermons end with 5 minutes of awkward silent time when all I can think about is what I want for lunch (usually pizza) or what football game is on later (Go Niners!).  It's hard to force still moments.  Our brains are crazy, they never stop and I feel like mine has been on overload for the past year with all the newness of 2011, but stillness is so good and while laying in that hot tub I was reminded of that goodness.

I spent the week reading EntreLeader by Dave Ramsey.  I am only on the second chapter because after about every paragraph I have to put the book down and really think about what he is saying and how I can apply it to the walk in love. team, the Brooke Courtney Photography team, my family, relationships, my house and so on.  So far the book has been a lot about goals and vision.  I am not much of a reader and even less of a writer but during this vacation I really fell in love with the idea of writing my goals down.  Writing them down made them feel so real and permanent, like I had to push to make them happen, like if I didn't try everything in my power to reach them I would be failing.  So I wrote personal goals, business goals, relationship goals, house goals and even refreshing goals.    I initially thought that writing them down would be somewhat stressful, like a long and impossible to-do list that would only end up making me stressed but as I inked the goals in my moleskine I felt a feeling that I haven't felt in a while.  I felt refreshed.

In business I feel like it's go, go, go and make small changes along the way, but never stop.  You must never stop or you will lose a client, a step or not reach the next mark.  With that attitude there isn't a lot of time for feeling refreshed and refocused, but as I marked my journal with goals that's exactly how I felt.  I felt that while I have been successful I have lost my way  a bit.  Now I don't mean anything illegal or immoral, but just unfocused on why I do what I do.  It was mostly little things, like how I can better incorporate our team in things and build better, fuller relationships with our clients and customers.  Things that can't be fixed by a meeting or a brainstorming session, but only by a shift in thinking, a refocusing.

The tricky part about feeling refocused is about making it actually happen in real life.  I am not in Jamaica anymore and I came home to hundreds of e-mails, questions and to-dos.  I still have the daily to-do list, but when you write your goals down and look through that lens as you check things off, change will happen.  Today, as I answered my first 50 e-mails, I kept thinking about establishing a better, closer, more genuine relationship with our clients or potential clients (one of my goals).  I tried to explain myself better or read their inquiry with more attention so I wouldn't miss anything.

As I think about what needs to happen at the store I am asking myself if there is one specific team member that could help.  Is there a team member with a certain skill set or passion that can help with this task because one of my goals is to create an even closer team.

I was really excited to get home after this week.  I was excited to feel refreshed about what is going on in my life.  If you are anything like me you probably think that a couple hours, a day or a week off to refocus will just cause you more stress about what you are falling behind on.  That is what I thought.  I even told Brooke before we left I should have just booked the trip to shoot the wedding and come home, but I am so thankful that I added on those extra days.  I am so thankful because I was able to spend some time being still, writing goals and refocusing why I am here and why I have been blessed with what is in front of me.  It feels good to be refreshed and I encourage you to schedule or force yourself to take some time to do the same.

Enjoying the little things

People are always saying they are busy. It's something that I didn't understand a couple of years ago when I didn't really have anything going on, but I thought maybe I will understand when I have a house and a wife and so on. But now I have a house, a wife, two businesses and I still don't understand. I know some people will say, "Just wait 'til you have kids." but those are the same people that said, "Wait 'til you are married and have a house." So if you are saying that, just be quiet. Currently in my life I have two very different businesses - walk in love, a retail store, is open every day. Everyday I have 3-4 out of 8 employees working at some point in the day. I do have an awesome manager, my brother, who handles the day to day, which is incredible.  You can never underestimate the power of great employees, but I am still responsible for quite a bit.  I have to make sure that it's running smoothly and that product is coming in at the right time in the right amounts. So while walk in love. is daily, it's also a couple of months in advance. We are currently planning Christmas- so it's today, but also the next couple of months.

Brooke Courtney Photography is very different. It's today, this week and next year. Today we need to make sure that our clients questions answered, photos are being edited and things are running smoothly. This week we need to make sure that we have all our wedding and portrait details finalized, our camera gear ready and travel directions. Next year we need to make sure that we are booking enough dates so we don't have to get jobs at Starbucks (although we love Starbucks).

So, if you asked me if I feel like I am busy I would say, "Yes...but no." Yes, because the next free date on our calendar is September 25th. Yes, because we have Smilebooth events for the next 6 weekends before a break. Yes, because we have 4 weddings in the next 6 weeks. Yes, because our shirts coming out at Christmas need to be designed.....but still no. I am not busy because I enjoy the little things. I enjoy the house that I live in, I enjoy the cats we have, I enjoy the beautiful wife I have from her head all the way down to her toes (see photos above). I don't allow myself to choose busyness over enjoying life or use "being busy" as an excuse.   I choose daily to be productive, to be energetic and to be excited about what I have to do. I also choose to make time for the things that matter to me. I try to see my mom once a week even if it's for 5 minutes because that matters to me. I make time to exercise because I don't like feeling fat. I make time for video games because it relaxes me.  The list goes on and on.

I know a few people who say, "I am really busy" a lot and most of the time I just want to say, "bulls**t." I feel like most people who say that are using it as an excuse because they don't want to admit to themselves that they could be living a better life, a more full life.

I love the way the message says Ephesians 5:11

"Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!"

Don't use the excuse of busyness or the useless things that are making you busy to waste your life. There is so much more to live for. It doesn't mean you have to climb a mountain, it just means do something that matters to you and matters to God. For me it's enjoying the little things.

10% // 5%

Money is a funny topic.  As soon as you bring up money with most people they start to freak out and get nervous.  Something I usually say to someone when they try to pay me back for the coffee is, "Don't worry about it, I am really rich."  Brooke doesn't like when I say it because she thinks people think I am serious.  Brooke and I are not really rich.  We are very well off compared to most people our age but we aren't upper class by any means.  I am talking about my personal financial situation, is it making you nervous? About a year ago I was re-reading Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz.  It's easily one of my favorite books of all time.  It's probably one of the only books I've read twice.  Donald has this really great chapter in that book about money and how about he wasn't giving money to God and his friend really convicted him to do so.  As I was reading about Donald not giving I really felt convicted that I had not been doing much with my money in terms of giving.  I would throw a check into the offering every now and then and I have a Compassion kid but I still felt like that wasn't enough.  I wasn't consistent in my giving at all.  I was giving out of guilt and as I was reading that chapter I knew that something had to change.

So a little over a year ago I told Brooke that we needed to get better at giving, but it was mostly on me since I handle the bills and finances.  Brooke and I don't get regular paychecks every two weeks like most people.  We get paid as we work for wedding, portraits, t-shirts and so on so I decided that I would handle all our giving in cash.  So every time I received a check I would take it to the bank, deposit it and take 10% out in cash.  I would put the cash in a bucket in our office and take it with us when we went to church.  The amount of freedom that comes with trusting God with your money is so rewarding.  Yes, giving away 10% of your money is hard and sometimes nerve racking, but it is also such a bold act of faith.  Since we've started trusting God with our finances in a real way we've been able to see miracles take place within our financial situation.  It's awesome.

So after about 7 months of giving 10% of all that way made away to our church I felt like I could do more.  That's the cool thing about giving, it inspires more giving within yourself and hopefully to others who notice.  So at 7 months into tithing I decided that I wanted to start to give 5% of our money away to people we know.  This is the type of giving that really excites me.  Now I love giving money to the church and we have continued to do that but we've also started taking an additional 5% out of what we make and putting it in another jar.  We call it the "5% Jar."

The only rule for the 5% Jar is that we have to use the money to bless someone in a way that they wouldn't expect it.  Our favorite way to do this is by leaving big tips for people.  We've tipped our hairdresser with it, we've bought pizza for the employees, we've just given it away.  It's so cool to randomly bless people.  We truly believe that God guides the 5% Jar and are constantly trying to use it on people who could use a little life bonus.  It's not charity, it's not something we give to people while thinking "We think you could use this."  We give it to them with the mindset of "Enjoy this, go out to eat, enjoy something you normally don't enjoy."

A 5% Jar recipient e-mailed us after she received her gift with this

I have been meaning to send you this for weeks now!  I cannot begin to thank you for your card & money! It seriously could not have come at a better time! It really means so much to us! Life has been so crazy!  What an awesome idea that you guys have blessing people like that!!  You guys are awesome, I look up to you both so much and am so thankful to know you both!

I read that e-mail when I am struggling with taking out that cash and trusting God with our financial situation.  His love is enough and He will see us through.

Now why I am sharing all this?  I am not trying to brag about how I give I am just trying to make it real for the people who struggle to give like I once did.  I think sometimes we can hold on to our money and things so tightly that they start to suffocate us.  We need to loosen the grip and start to give it away.  Giving takes practice, self-control and discipline.  It also takes a plan.  Don't be like I was and give when you feel guilty.  Set a number in your head.  For me it is 10% // 5% but maybe that is too much for you to start.  Maybe you can start with 1%.  Whatever you do, the most important thing to do is to start because if you don't start somewhere you never will.  If you don't give when bills are tight you won't give when they aren't.  Also, there are so many great churches and non-profits out there that need your money way more than you do.

Something I think about a lot is this.  Can I live with 15% less?  If 15% of all my stuff was wiped out right away, would I survive?  The answer is always yes.  I hear stories about people who give away 80-90% of all they own and while I am not there I hope to be someday.

Education, Execution and Dedication (with some crying mixed in)

I was writing a post called with this same title and just recently added "with some crying mixed in" after certain events that have happened in the past 2 1/2 weeks.  This is my advice to all the aspiring small business owners out there. Education : When I look back on the history of walk in love. and Brooke Courtney Photography (the two buisnesses my wife and I own) this is the step that I really wish I would have used more.  If you are out there thinking that "all you need is a website or a camera" and then I will make tons of money you couldn't be more wrong.  Those two things will help you make money but they are not the answer to the question "How do I get started?"

The answer to that questions is education.  I don't mean go and get a business degree or anyhing like that.  I don't have a business degree. It just means that before you take the plunge into the small business world make sure you are educated on your field of interest.  When I started selling shirts I started with these terrible Gildan shirts that were so ugly and uncomfortable.  I just wanted to sell shirts so it's the first one I picked out.  Looking back I wish I would have educated myself on the styles, builds and brands of blank shirts out there.  Instead I jumped in thinking "it's just a t-shirt."  So often I see friends and other aspiring small business owners skip this education step thinking, "if they can do it so can I."  If you educate yourself on what you want to do, whether it's photography, design, clothing or selling sports memorabilia you are instantly giving yourself a leg up on all the people who are just starting with no thought at all.  I wish I could go back sometimes and start walk in love. with more education.

Also, ask for help!  There is so much knowledge at our fingertips with the internet and there are so many good business men and women out there that are willing to share their story with you.  Brooke and I decided very early on that we weren't going to hoard our secrets.  We love helping aspiring business owners grow and mature with what we've learned over the years (mostly from mistakes.)  Also if you are really serious about going into business for yourself read the book "Crush it" by Gary Vaynerkchuk

Execution: After you are done educating your pants off you better bring it.  Owning, running and growing a small business takes execution.  Don't expect to open the web store or launch your website and watch your bank account rise without doing anything.  Get ready to work and work hard.  I get so tired of people expecting everything without doing anything.  As I grow in business I am finding that the most important place to execute is in giving your clients the best experience out there.  When people come into the store I want them to feel welcomed and appreciated.  I want our employees to smile, joke with and make every customer feel welcomed.  I also tell them in the same breathe not to be creepers and to just let the customers shop.  With photography I want our clients to feel comfortable and happy during our sessions.  I want to be able to bring the stress down of a wedding day and not add to it.  I am so often sickened by poor customer service to the point where I will not shop in certain places.  Give your customers the greatest experience and you will create brand loyalty and word of mouth advertising, both of which cannot be bought.  I am just highlighting customer services, but execution is crucial in every part of your business, but they all have their roots in giving your customers the best experience out there!

Dedication: For the first time in my life I had the thought "I wish I didn't own walk in love."  For the context of this I will backtrack about 5 months.

When Brooke and I were looking into an inline store at the mall we spoke to the women that we've dealt with in the past concerning the kiosk.  We knew the space we wanted and we started working out the details.  Now when you are a small independent store in a mall with larger chains you don't get the same deals that they do, mostly because malls want the big brands over the little guys, which is understandable because they do so much more revenue.   Anyway, our store space was leased to us a temporary tenant, which means that we have a year lease but if a permanent tenant (5 year lease/big brand name) wants the space we will be relocated.  So there was  risk when taking the space we did but we felt pretty secure because the mall assured us that no one was interested and the space had basically been vacant for 2 years.  We felt safe taking the risk and investing money into the space.  It was either take the risk or not open a store at all because we didn't have enough sales history to become a permanent tenant right off the bat.

About 2 weeks ago I received a call from the mall manager telling me that there was a permanent tenant interested in the space and it looked like we were going to have to be relocated.

It felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach as hard as they could.  I felt sick.  I felt like my legs had been kicked out from under me and I was falling.  It was one of the worst conversations I have ever been a part of.  I thought about all the time and energy we had invested in the spot we had.  I thought about the fact that we would have to do that again at our new location.  I thought about the investment that I would lose.  Brooke and I thought we would go under before we were moved.  It didn't even feel like a possibility while we were working out the details of the lease.  I knew it was in there but it just felt like it wasn't possible.  Like I know people get hit by lightning but I don't go around worrying about getting hit while I am outside.  I felt like I was losing so much.  I felt betrayed by the mall.  I was mad, I was angry.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I was at the last day of my sisters school with the smilebooth in a room that was about to be full of screaming, excited 5th graders so I tried to put it out of my mind and enjoy the event.

The event ended and I checked my e-mail.  I had an e-mail from my contractor for the store saying that he couldn't do a payment plan and I needed to pay him the remaining balance of my bill as soon as possible.  All those feelings I tried to fight off during the event came crashing down.

I felt horrible so I went to my parents house.  If my mom and dad weren't the people they are I can't even imagine where I would have ended up in life.  Having the two people who raise you tell you that they believe in you is the ultimate pick me up.  So the past two weeks have been a roller-coaster of emotions.  The deal wasn't done and the move wasn't official so we were hoping and praying that we could stay in our spot and finish out our lease, so I tried to just continue on with business as usual.  We put up new window displays and photos (that are totally awesome).  I told the employees and some close friends about the situation and that we might have to move so they weren't caught as off guard as I was.  One of the mall employees showed us the vacant spaces in the mall that we could potentially move to.  It felt like I was in the waiting room, with the store sitting on lap.

I hate waiting for things.  I am very impatient and the past two weeks have been so painful for me not knowing whether we are moving or staying or where we are moving to.  So many questions that I didn't have answer to.  I just wanted to control something and I couldn't.

Fast forward to today and a meeting I had with some of the park city staff.

"The deal is about to go through."-mall manager

"When will I have to move"-me

"As soon as they sign their lease we will give you a 30 day notice."-mall manager

And my thought "I wish I didn't own walk in love." slipped into my mind for the first time in the past 6 years.  It felt wrong.  It came and went and my mind immediately went to this post that I had been working on in my head called "Education, Execution and Dedication"  Something I had been thinking about before I even found out that we had to move.  Dedication is sometimes the hardest part of anything.  It's the hardest part of my faith, my excercise routine, my diet, my relationships and my business.

When it is raining crap from the sky on your business life, will you be dedicated to it?  Will you see it through?  I am at that cross-roads today.  Dedication can be summarized as the giving of oneself to some purpose.  So for you future or potential small business owners out there make sure you are dedicated because at some point you are going to be pushed to the breaking point.  I could throw in the towel, retreat from the store, sell everything online but I am dedicated to being in that mall, to growing walk in love. and to spreading the love of God through our shirts.

Even if you don't own a business or never plan to ask yourself if you are dedicated to your purpose?  Even when it's raining crap.

Some Life Rules by Bill Gates

So my Dad is an e-mail forwarder.  He is always sending me things that I usually browse through and delete but he sent me this one and I thought it was awesome. Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about eleven (11) things they did not and will not learn in school.  He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.  The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it opportunity. Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were.  So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF.

*Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.