President's Message
My kids set up their first lemonade stand over the weekend and, aside from having a great time and making a shocking amount of money, they took an important first step on their way to financial independence.
Perhaps this comes from watching the Olympics and some of the spectacular upsets of American favorites, but I was reminded of the arduous path of so many successful entrepreneurs and the many failures they experienced on their way to success. So many of them endure taking one step forward and two steps back only so long before they quit and stop trying to walk. Why do some of them end up running at world record speeds?
It is easy to think that these folks stumbled upon a good idea and then everything fell into place. What we know, is that most of these entrepreneurs were able to start taking two steps forward and only one step back. Then maybe they quickened the pace a bit or learned to lengthen their stride. You get the idea.
People who grow successful businesses learn from their mistakes and failures. Peruse any business magazine or textbook and you'll read something similar. So too for Olympians—that's why so many of them become keynote speakers at corporate conventions when they retire. Practice, as they say, makes perfect.
Back to lemonade. My kids just started their first business. They invested money in lemons and sugar and DadCo, LLC contributed ice, water, and a pitcher in exchange for a lifetime supply of love and affection. At the end of the project, they had a wad of cash in their pocket. What will they do with that money? Two of them want to buy fun things. The other wants to hide it so it won't get stolen by his oldest sisters. Notably, not one of them wanted to go to the store to buy more ingredients, a bigger pitcher, or even popsicles to build out the product line. Everyone starts somewhere. Time will tell whether any of my three children will end up as a successful entrepreneur, but they’re off to a good start. Why? Because they are staring headlong at their first of many failed business ventures in their future.
The $64,000 Question is not whether they will succeed in business, but rather whether they will use this experience to do it better next time. To be clear, “doing it better” does not mean making more profit or selling the lemonade faster. Better, as no one says, is in the eye of the beholder. Even famed Olympic gymnast Simone Biles once couldn’t even hit the vault, let alone pull off her amazing feats. And even Simone Biles, arguably the best gymnast in the world and at the top of her game, stumbles on the dismount. After withdrawing from the US Team final, she admitted that her issues were mental and not due to a physical injury.
We set goals for ourselves for two equally important reasons. First, a goal tells us where we want to go. Second, we set goals to help us keep trying to get there when we stumble on the dismount. Imagine the high schooler who frittered away her entire earnings from her first summer job. Or the college freshman who got bamboozled by the “free” credit card offers and drowned himself in debt. Imagine the six-figure earner who always lived paycheck to paycheck but then suffered a major financial setback, defaulted on the mortgage and lost the house. For these people, their chances of achieving financial independence are not determined by the stumble. Instead, look to their next step.
The credit union difference is that we help people take their next step in the right direction. The Next Right Step. When we do that, people become lemonade tycoons, break free from the poverty trap, or simply gain the power to make more financial choices in their lives. When people stumble, we help them get up and climb mountains.
Speaking of climbing mountains, check out this song by Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers:
I used to take the long way round
When the mountain was too tall.
Now my sights are set upon
The highest peak of all.
You taught me how to climb and now
I'm reaching for the top.
Every step is stronger
And I don't ever want to stop.
P.S. As you climb the strategic mountain, meet us at the APEX this October 13-14 at Mohegan Sun. Together we can reach new heights. Register online today.
As always,
Bruce
