The Entrepreneurial Brain At Work
Hi gang,
Life is funny. I mean, it’s just a laugh out loud riot, isn’t it?
As an entrepreneur, I share the same DNA as you have. Recite with me: 1) luck is the residue of persistence 2) make the best of any situation 3) keep both eyes on your goals.
I’ve been repeating those three things to myself all year, because, like many of you, it’s been a rough one. For 8 years I’ve been the CEO of Inflatable Madness, an online seller of dvd’s, books, video games, and cd’s. My company grew very quickly to be one of the largest sellers on eBay, and later Amazon. Alas, this year saw the triple-witching of tightening credit, shrinking product offerings, and lower used resale prices in the media category, which just crushed us. Inflatable Madness is shutting off the lights at the end of the year.
But, like I said, life is funny. I have been very fortunate to have met a lot of great people and companies in the past 8 years, and I was immediately offered a position with one of my friendly competitors when they found out I was in trouble. So, I am now the VP of Business Development at Noram International. They are a huge Amazon and eBay seller, and the company behind Amazons trade-in program. You’ll be hearing a lot more about them, believe me.
Can entrepreneurs work for the man again? Yes, under the right conditions. What’s great for me is that the guy I work for knows exactly who I am and what I do, and so he lets me own my responsibilities for them as if it were my own business, which is just awesome. The moral here for me is that 1) luck is the residue of persistence - if I had not spent years meeting the competition, going to trade shows to introduce myself to everybody, learning about the industry, even blogging for Startupnation, I would never have known Noram and would never had been given this great opportunity. Am I lucky? nope.
Life is funny.
The other big change this year for me is that I finally took Rich Sloan’s (aka Mr. Startupnation) advice and started down the road of becoming more healthy. Ironically, the stress of what was happening to my business is what pushed me to try to distract myself from it. In other words, 2) make the best of any situation.
I’m a big fella, and have been fighting a losing battle with my weight since high school, which was many moons ago. This year, I got serious. I hired a personal trainer to hold me accountable. I began to work out 5 days a week. I designed a diet based on the successful parts of the many diets I have tried in the last 10 years. Turns out, losing weight really ISN’T rocket science! I just take it a day at a time, because thats all I can handle anyway.
In the past 9 months I have lost 75 pounds. It would probably surprise you to know that I actually get annoyed when people congratulate me on my weight loss. For me, that is only halfway to my goal, and I am 3) keeping both eyes on my goal. Can you imagine someone climbing Mt. Everest and being told halfway up how great he/she was doing? Or running a marathon and being clapped on the back at mile 13? Oh, hell no. The goal is to climb this mountain once and for all, and then turn around and pull others up.
I am very excited to be back blogging at Startupnation.com. I will certainly still blog about important E-Commerce developments, and I will also focus on Lifeplanning. I feel it’s important to have a balanced, healthy life, and my goal is to prove to you why that is so.
-Kevin Harmon
December 15th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Great story and it’s wonderful to know the Entrepreneurs can work for “the man” as well!
Also, you should be very proud of losing 75lbs! Yes, it’s only half way to your goal, but that’s still quite a feat!
December 15th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Hey Demetrius, thanks for writing. Yep, I am proud of what I’ve done, but honestly I’m so focused on the end goal that what I’ve done so far doesn’t really matter, because it’s in the past.
I know, I know - that’s a strange way of looking at things, but it’s working!
-Kevin
December 15th, 2009 at 11:47 am
love the double entendre of your title for this blog post, Kevin.
Now that you’re physically healthy, I just wish you had … more … “personality”… (!)
Glad to read your mind and that you’re sharing your life with us. Don’t ever lose your inner entrepreneur! And maybe you can share some of the “special sauce” that helps you become healthier and how that can fuel other folks’ ambitions to lead a healthy life, even as busy-busy entrepreneurs.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Great story Kevin! I can’t wait to hear more about your road to success (in your eyes).
December 15th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Kevin,
Great blog. I’ve been meaning to get in touch. Sorry to hear that things got rough, but glad to hear that you are turning it into a positive. Let’s connect soon - I’ll shoot you a message on Linkedin. Thanks for sharing with all of us. Happy holidays!
Corey
December 15th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Love this quote: “Can you imagine someone climbing Mt. Everest and being told halfway up how great he/she was doing? Or running a marathon and being clapped on the back at mile 13? Oh, hell no. The goal is to climb this mountain once and for all, and then turn around and pull others up.”
December 18th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Kevin,
Love your frank optimism and ‘move on’ spirit!
“…lower used resale prices in the media category, which just crushed us.”
Many small consignment and resale businesses across America do not do enough volume to even begin to offset the lower sales prices.
Some eBay consignment sellers and resale stores are really hurting and hoping for better times.
Others are tweaking their resale business models and thriving with the increased number of bargain shoppers!
December 21st, 2009 at 8:03 am
Thanks! It’s interesting how we are willing to work hard in our professional lives but we often “neglect” the person within. If the same work ethic that we apply to our businesses are applied to our personal lives, it’s possible to make big changes.