354. The business was dying from Day One so I feel no shame being unable to rescue a dying one

What's truly at stake when you're fighting to keep a business on life support? Join us as I share a Sunday drive to the studio, a time typically spent planning for the week and finding a little joy in the Minnesota Vikings radio broadcasts. Yet, amidst the familiar routines, the weight of running a struggling business looms large. Conversations with my unwaveringly supportive wife offer a poignant reflection on the ethical responsibilities and the emotional turmoil of feeding hope in uncertain times. Together, we navigate the storm of keeping doors open when the odds seem stacked against us, and ponder the unjust blame similar to a failed rescue from an unavoidable shark attack.

In this heartfelt episode, we explore what it truly means to put in the sweat equity, even when success isn't guaranteed. Like athletes who pour their all into a game with no promise of playoffs, the commitment to do right by our team and community remains steadfast. Listen as I reconcile the guilt of unmet expectations with the moral satisfaction of knowing we did our best. And for fellow entrepreneurs, I sprinkle in a practical tip about choosing an efficient printer—a light-hearted close to an episode filled with raw honesty and determination.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:32

Happy Sunday, so driving to the studio. We're going to prep some things before the week starts Printing out the workout sheets, making sure inventory is looking squeaky clean, everything is put away from test out day and we're ready for a solid first week. In between challenges, I like listening to, so I live in Minnesota. I like listening to Vikings games on the radio more than I do on the television, and so I actually like, really enjoy, like listening to the Vikings driving, so I'm having a lot of fun with that.

Speaker 1: 1:02

But I was talking to my wife and I was like you know, there's only so many more of these days prepping and doing work, and I made the comment like yeah, I don't know, like the staff may eventually be mad at me for leading them on when they thought the place would close months ago and I kept it alive. And then like I'm like no guys, we got this, we can keep the place open, we can keep working at this. Or like members being afraid. And then like being fed hope. And my wife married an amazing woman, by the way, like I married the world's best woman, um, she said to me. And so what shame on us for trying to save a business so that people can work out at their favorite place longer, so what their opinions don't matter, it's we're doing the best, we're treating people right, we're going to do things ethically and morally and legally correct. And if people don't like that, well so what? We can't we can't stop people from believing lies. Well, she the last one. I'm putting words in her mouth, but that's basically what she said and that really like resonated, and so I'm feeling really good.

Speaker 1: 2:06

I feel a lot better about that, and as I was leaving, I don't know what the thought crossed my mind, but the mind, the thought was huh, kind of like, if you're at the beach, it's a random thought. But if you're at the beach and all of a sudden you hear this like writhing in pain this person got bit by a shark and they're bleeding out and they're dying and they're going to die and they've got like five minutes to live or whatever, and so you run in, you start doing CPR, you provide blood transfusions, you help them survive, they make it five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and then they still die, and then their family gets mad at you because you gave them hope that you're gonna save this dying thing and it's all your fault that they died. That's ridiculous. They should be mad at this stupid shark that bit the person. They should be mad at the one that caused the, not the accident, the vandalism, the death, the destruction, and not the not the accident, the vandalism, the death, the destruction, and not the person who's running in performing CPR trying to rescue the dead thing. And so that is what's going on.

Speaker 1: 3:05

This place has been unprofitable since day one and so pumping in money, marketing plans, spending time, putting in thousands and thousands of dollars if people are mad at me, okay, sorry, my bad, that I couldn't save a dying business. Yes, you should be appalled at my, the audacity that I failed. You should. You should whip me, you should make me be punished and mop and what's the term flogged publicly for trying to rescue something that was going to crash from day one? Yes, I am the bad guy, so I'm going to go in, I'm going to put in the sweat equity, I'm going to do what I can while I can, and I'm going to feel and know that I did the right thing, day in and day out, even if what is it? Sports teams, where you're not going to the playoffs, but you still put your heart out there and you leave it all on the field. That's how you play the game. You don't throw in the towel because you threw a pity party that you didn't get your victory. You still put in the time, the effort and the engagement that you committed to and signed up for, and you follow through on your commitments. So that's what we're doing today.

Speaker 1: 4:22

We're going to go in Final pro tip, if you're listening, get the most efficient printer out there. We're replacing our ink cartridges every week the yellow, the blue and the red every week and it's about $ 50 a week in ink that we're going through. So get the most ink efficient printer out there. Our printer was dirt cheap. The ink is atrocious expensive. Now get, get a good printer. I'm going to go in, replace the ink cartridges, print out the class plans, organize the kids room, double check inventory, submit restock notices for what we need to and then get ready for tomorrow. And that's what we're going to. Oh, no, I've left pictures at home. Dang it, dang it, dang it, darn it, darn it. I forgot something at home. I got to turn around and go get it. But yeah, that's what we're going to do. So we're going to make it a good day. That's all we're going to plan on for today, making it a good one. That's where we're at, that's where we're going, that's where I can roll.