Sometimes the stars align, but still things get heavy

Sometimes the stars align, like they did this month at work. We got a lot of great business, and my folks stepped up to the plate and swung hard. Three huge projects and some marketing efforts, all well done–such a good feeling. But now it’s back to the same old grind.

It’s not bad, it never really gets bad. But being in a service business feels precarious at times. Got to come up with a new plan for selling. Got to make the processes faster and more reliable. Got to keep everyone happy. Got to figure out how to grow, and ask yourself why at the same time.

I guess the goal as a businessowner is to try to get things to exist without you–so that the business becomes a thing unto itself and you’re not required for every decision and every action. But the scary thing with that, at least for me, isn’t the giving up control. With trust, I can let go of things. The scary thing is that each time you hand away one more responsibility you have a little more commitment and dependence. They trust you for there to be work and you trust them to complete it. And both of those areas can get hairy…they just haven’t yet for me. Well, maybe they have, but their names aren’t going to mentioned in this piece…

My luck has gone well for a long time. Keith and David and Kevin and Kate and Shauna are people I’m so comfortable with. I wonder who will be with me a year from now, two years from now, five years from now.

I had a conversation with Moe the other day about my skills and what I’d do if I weren’t with SET. He felt that design and interface were some of my strengths. But that’s not the whole truth. If I were working for another company I think I’d have to try to find a way to take Keith with me because of how fantastic his eye is for things. It’s amazing how having some people around make you seem that much stronger…

Anyhow, all this is just to say that having a good month is a good thing, but getting further into business is a heavy one. There’s weight to my actions and sometimes it’s amazing just how real things are. I’m very happy to be with the people I am, but I’ve also been lucky for a long time. I guess I’ll just have to follow their lead and keep on swinging…