Hey Guys! I apologize that my posts are becoming more infrequent, I promise that this is a short term issue and will be resolved after the holiday’s. lol Problem is that around this time of year our sales are off the chain and I need to help when and where needed. With that said, onto our Fifth lesson, “Soak it in”! In business you work hard, so when you hit a milestone or take it to a new level, CELEBRATE IT! For example (plug) The Surfboard Warehouse HATS are IN STOCK! While this may seem like a small and meaningless accomplishment to the naked eye, I assure you it’s not. We (The Surfboard Warehouse, Inc.) don’t sell any cloths, so this is branching out there. Also, our hats are the FIRST of many branded products to come! We have spent a lot of time working on our brand, it’s image and our logos. To see all of our hard work come together on the front of a cap… Well there’s no better feeling! With that said we took time to celebrate this accomplishment. When you hit your milestones, take time to pause and celibate them. I assure you if you do the chances that you’ll get burnt out will fade away and you’ll continue to love what you do.
Tag Archives: The Surfboard Warehouse Blog
ASP did WHAT?!? Miscalculated WHAT?!?
Hey Guys! Posting on a Sat. is a new one for me, but this is absolutely INSANE! If anything deserves a Saturday post this is it! Now, I admit my math skills aren’t the best, but how do you NOT confirm that Kelly ACTUALLY has enough points to BE the eleven time world champ before you crown him!?! That’s RIGHT! Kelly, as of right now (11/5/11 and they’re NOT surfing today in San Fran. so this would be until they surf again) IS NOT eleven time world champ! NO I am NOT making this up!
Just earlier this year at the Quiksilver Pro. N.Y. I watched (as many of you did) as the ASP banned Bobby Martinez from future ASP surfing for “Damaging the sports image”. This was due to his R-rated rant about the world ranking system. This makes me think that someone should ban the ASP from the ASP for “Damaging the sports image”. lol I would like some comments on this. Who do you think actually damaged the sports image more, Bobby Martinez (don’t get me wrong personally I don’t care much for Bobby anyway and I love the ASP, but come on guys) or the ASP? Interesting thought… It’s a crazy world we live in. See you in the work week!
Fourth Lesson… Go with your gut.
In business you don’t always have time to do all the research necessary, or the finances for that matter. However, that doesn’t matter, because crunch time still comes and you still have to make decisions. When you find yourself on the fence with an issue or decision, go with your gut. I’m NOT saying don’t do the research, and I’m certainly NOT saying don’t get all the information possible. What I am saying is do all the research you can. Get all the information you can by looking at past decisions and how they panned out. Also, have people (good people) around you to help fill in the blanks. Then, if you’re still a bit in the dark as to what to do, go with your gut. In the beginning, The Surfboard Warehouse was like most small businesses. We didn’t have the budget or the personnel to be making the kinds of decisions we had to make, but that didn’t bring everything to a halt. I did research the best I could, (There weren’t many bench marks to look at. We pioneered a lot of stuff when it came to selling surf gear on the internet.) then on a shoe string budget made decisions. In hindsight I don’t agree with all the decisions I made, (my wife doesn’t agree with a lot of them! lol) however were still here! Proof my gut was just as good as it needed to be! GO WITH YOUR GUT!
Journey of The Surfboard Warehouse (Part Uno)
I figured we would work on our Spanish during this round of posts. lol Anyway, with the addition of Billabong, Quiksilver (Which reminds me! Congrats to Kelly Slater who won his 11th. world title yesterday! One word, FREAK! On a personal note I called it back on Oct. 12th. in my FIRST “Future Fins or FCS Fins?!?” post. So , without further adieu, I told you so and I told you it was coming. lol) and Hurley, I sat back with a smile as we hit this important mile stone and reflected on where we have come from. I figured I would share some of our story with you. Growing The Surfboard Warehouse has been an unbelievable experience and without diving into this right now I would like to say that the fact that The Surfboard Warehouse exists is proof that God exists. The Surfboard Warehouse was a class project of mine my Junior year of college. In the beginning I’ll admit had NO IDEA what I was doing as a business man. However, through the grace of God, things happened that not only kept us going, but had us thriving in no time. I’ll make it simple for you, if you have a business and want it to succeed pray over it. PERIOD. I’ll dive into The Surfboard Warehouse‘s past over the next few posts.
One of those days will lead to one of THOSE days!
Hey Guys. Just wanted to take a minute and recognize one thing we all have in common, “one of those days” and I am having one today. Holiday planning, (for the company, you guys DEMAND good holiday deals and we’re trying to deliver) and email problems (basically don’t send me an email right now because I won’t have it for a few hours) are just two items on a list that seems to be ever growing today. I know you know what I’m talking about, “one of those days” where nothing gets done and it simultaneously feels like everything else is coming undone. I don’t even know how that’s possible. Anyway, when you have “one of those days” I just want to remind you that on the other side is “one of THOSE days!” Meaning, that if you can make it through today you’ll find that all your hard work, problem solving and multitasking will pay off. You’ll have a day where not only does everything go smoothly, but that through all the hard work done today, you’ll have clients handing you money. I like to think everything makes its way back to average. So, if you have an off day today, pretty soon you’ll be on the other side of the fence; where you’re on FIRE and nothing can go wrong. Sorry, I didn’t have any more content than this for you today, it was “one of those days”. lol
Rina… What a disapointment…
Hey guys, just wanted to follow up with my comment about the head high+ shack fest I was planning on having… Yea, well lets just say that’s not exactly what Rina had in mind. She’s a big tease and decided not only would she basically fall apart, but that she would also (as it appears now) not even enter our swell window. I guess that’s the life of a surfer huh?!? We live for the glimmering hope of the perfect day at our home break and then die a very slow painful death as we realize it isn’t going come to fruition. Stupid, STUPID Rina, back to work I guess…
Intro to Guest Bloggers 101
Hey Guys! In the future I will be getting as many guest bloggers as possible for The Surfboard Warehouse Blog, and ideally they will have two things in common. One, they work for/run/own a business that operates within the surf industry. Two, I believe they have a level of business expertise that we could all learn from. With that said, I am EXCITED to kick off The Surfboard Warehouse‘s very first guest blogger! Scott Llamas, who owns Go Surf Mexico, his story will be presented in the upcoming post! Thanks for tuning in here to The Surfboard Warehouse to increase you knowledge of business within the surf industry! I hope that if it is your passion to carve your own wave in the world (and more specifically within the surf industry) my blog will help inspire you to realize that it’s possible! After all, HERE WE ARE! www.TheSurfboardWarehouse.com was a class project my Junior year of College and now 6 years later I believe we set the standard and push the envelope when it comes to online surf shops. I am making my mark! Go make yours!
Third Lesson… “A Monday Morning Perspective.”
To be a successful CEO, you may need to change your frame of mind. (Even if you don’t want to.) Owning/running The Surfboard Warehouse is exhausting, (don’t get me wrong it’s equally as rewarding) because on the weekend when I remove myself from work I’m still thinking about it; worrying about customers that are having issues, thinking about new business relationships, etc. However, when the “dreaded” Monday morning comes around I am EXCITED to think about the potential for progress during the upcoming week! The Surfboard Warehouse has all week to improve, move forward and get better. Therefore, Monday’s are GREAT! (Monday’s are infinite, they begin, they start.) Which is definitely contrary to the “Corporate America” attitude. For me, when looking at a work week from Monday Morning Perspective, the possibilities are limitless. That being said, when I look at a work week from a Friday Afternoon Perspective, when everyone else is excited about the week being over, all I see are the things that we didn’t get accomplished. (Friday’s are finite, they finish, they end.) If you change your mindset to reflect this school of thought you’ll be blown away by your own increased productivity.
Second Lesson… A Yes is a Yes.
Hey Guys! (and Gals) While this may not be the best practice in your personal life, in business it’s never served me wrong. In any situation where you’re trying to get bigger more established company involved with what your doing, a yes is a yes. (Then you prove yourself afterwards.) Along the way The Surfboard Warehouse has had MANY people/companies that didn’t want to give me/us the time of day. So what did I do?!? I didn’t take no for an answer. I came up with answers to their excuses for NOT giving us a chance BEFORE hand, so they couldn’t object. Some companies may have opened us up (let us sell there gear) not because they wanted to say “Yes”, but because they wanted me to stop asking. Again, a yes is a yes, the reason(s) for the yes are irrelevant. Why? Well fast forward 5 years and we’re the largest account for some of those VERY companies! And guess what?!? Now, their SO happy they said “Yes”. Without this philosophy, we wouldn’t have Finatic; SIX months it took me/us to get both FCS and Futures on board, why?!? It’s new, it’s different and people don’t like “different”. Well, trust me they both like “different” now and their both glad they said “Yes”. So, don’t take no for an answer, get the “Yes” and run with it!
First Lesson… If you can’t Sleep; Work.
Hey everyone! I thought I would share a deep thought I had at 4:29am, (if you can have a deep thought at this god awful hour) if you can’t sleep; work. People often wonder what kinds of things make you successful when owning and running your own business, well there you have it. I woke up around 3:15am and couldn’t sleep, so I got up, started up the old the home office computer and began to plug away. Why? (Excellent question, I am searching for the answer, while simultaneously holding my eyes open) Because when your CEO there’s always work to be done. That’s it. PERIOD. You want to be successful? Get it done. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE owning The Surfboard Warehouse, but if you think I surf (or sleep) more than I work you’d be wrong. Just a thought, be successful, get it done, the time on your watch is irrelevant.