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What are you going to do about it?
In 1988, Ian was 9 and Wendy's had their old school logo. Ian loved relaxing in Wendy's eating a hamburger with pickles until one day Ian bit into his usual but had no pickle taste. His mom saw this unfold and smiled simply asking "what are you going to do about it?"
Ian heard this before but never had to confront another person outside his family. He was terrified. His desire for pickles was slightly stronger than the terror, so he walked slowly to the cashier as if he was walking the plank. To his surprise, the cashier was apologetic and gave him double the pickles.
It was this moment he realized fear could be overcome by taking action.
How much weight can this bridge hold?
In 1991, Ian was 12 and his mom was getting her associates degree in construction management. Later Ian realized that very few moms wanted to wear hard hats in the field.
His mom had a school assignment to build a bridge with McDonalds straws and Ian wanted to help. They both constructed prototypes to see which ones were stronger.
This process of trying, failing, and learning gave Ian a blueprint for success. From that moment, Ian was never afraid to fail because he knew that failure meant learning something new on the way to success.
Second place finish
When Ian was in his 20's he read that Men's Health was accepting nominations for an All-Star Dad. This is an excerpt from his nomination:
"I paid for my vehicle, insurance, and gas, envying the free rides other kids had. My father insisted that earning and spending my own money was key to success. With no other choice, I took up manual labor jobs throughout high school and college, gaining deep respect for blue-collar workers. During this period of time, my father never missed a single sporting event, even in college when I played in six different states."
Men's Health called and said that the submission came in second place. This news validated what Ian had thought: his dad did unconventional things which were necessary to produce an empathetic, hard-working man.
Why do we have to do this dad?
Now that Ian is a dad, he is paying it forward. Over the years, Ian's sons have performed various manual labor tasks. Most of the groaning came in the early years. Over time, his boys realized there were no negotiations. They must learn new skills, period. And furthermore, they must accept that that learning a new skill means being bad until it's repeated enough to master. They must learn to persevere.
Today both boys take pride in learning new manual labor skills. The groaning hasn't fully gone away but they take pride in learning plumbing at our local home store, starting a pool cleaning business (where they take before and after pics), or running a trash can retrieval business.
Small business owners are the cornerstone of America
We've been asked so many times how we keep our prices so low when we offer unlimited changes and a growth guarantee.
The following Shark Tank video is a perfect representation of how we do business. We keep our prices low because of you, the small business owner.
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