Behind Every Business Is a Story
I’m a sucker for a good origin story.
Over the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve had some incredibly inspiring and meaningful conversations with other small business owners and entrepreneurs. I feel privileged that I get to call these amazing people my peers.
I named this blog Entrepreneurship In Real Life because too often, we’re bombarded with the headline success stories that hide the full truth behind what starting and running a business is really like. I believe it’s important to share honest and authentic stories about the people behind businesses.
These stories that people shared with me affirmed how passionate I am about helping small businesses and startups fulfill their visions. They’ve also taught me some important lessons that altered the way I think about my own career and my business.
But there’s another story I haven’t yet told. My story.
When I was a sophomore in high school, a group of my friends would play Ultimate Frisbee behind the auditorium after school. We used two sets of trees to mark the end zones, and some parking cones served as the sidelines. We made up our own set of rules.
The frisbee “field” behind the auditorium, 2003
Some of us were in band together. Others joined from choir, drama, or math club. We were a group of high school misfits, but everyone was welcome. That feeling of inclusivity was what made me fall in love with the game of Ultimate.
As summer break approached, my friends and I were eager to keep playing. We wondered how we could carry on our pickup group when there would no longer be a bell signalling the end of the school day and the beginning of another ragtag game of Ultimate.
I asked my friends if anybody knew of other kids in the area who played frisbee as regularly as we did. Nobody did.
I searched online to see if any pickup groups or leagues existed in the area. Again, nothing.
I knew we weren’t the only ones. I had seen discs flying through the air as I would visit other schools for a track meet or band competition. If only we could get the word out, other people would surely come and play.
So I decided to embark upon what would become my very first venture. I threw a frisbee tournament.
I recruited a couple of my friends to help. We posted flyers, rented field space, and drafted waivers. We made t-shirts, sold sponsorships, and solicited food vendors. We ordered new frisbees and made custom trophies. We went all out.
When the tournament day finally arrived, our hard work paid off. About a dozen teams from my high school and others around the county showed up, and we had a blast.
We probably raised about a thousand dollars that day. It was enough to cover our expenses and break even (not bad compared to many first year startups!) More importantly though, we achieved what we initially set out to do. We met new friends who we could play Ultimate with throughout the summer.
I continued to run the tournament each spring over the next two years until I graduated. It became a regular fundraiser for my high school band for over a decade, and the pickup group that formed that first summer laid the foundation for a county sanctioned summer league and competitive high school Ultimate league in Howard County, Maryland.
My first Howard County Parks & Recs Ultimate Frisbee summer league team, 2006
The tournament also laid the foundation for my career in entrepreneurship.
At the time, I recall parents and teachers telling me that I’d become an entrepreneur one day. I scoffed at the idea. I was set on becoming a roller coaster designer at the time.
But they were right.
I didn’t know it at the time, but that frisbee tournament taught me my very first lessons in business.
1. Always deliver value
People just don’t hand out money, even for a good cause like a school fundraiser. In every exchange, whether selling registration tickets or soliciting a sponsorship, I had to provide value in return.
2. Profit matters
We raised about a thousand dollars the first year I ran the tourney, but we also spent about the same amount. The next year, I was bargaining with the t-shirt printer to get prices down, decided to sell our own food to earn more margin, and tiered out our sponsorship structure to yield higher contributions. It worked. The proceeds gave us validation and a reason to continue.
3. The vehicle of business can change the world
Even if it was just the world of a high school band kid, that tournament created something out of nothing that lasted for over a decade. The reciprocal value the tournament gave to its participants, organizers, and the school sustained it. At its core, that is the very definition of business.
Today, almost 17 years after that first frisbee tournament, I’m privileged to have founded, joined, grown, and folded a few businesses. And through all of those experiences, the lessons I learned from that very first venture have held true time after time.
I’m beyond grateful that those parents and teachers who saw in me what I didn’t see in myself were right. For entrepreneurship has given me the agency to live the life that I want. And now, I’m driven to help others do the same.
Behind every business is a story.
What’s yours?