CountrySense. So I Opened a Country Hardware Store. It Never Gets Any Easier, You Just Get STRONGER!

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1 It Never Gets Any Easier, You Just Get STRONGER! CountrySense Solutions for Country Living So I Opened a Country Hardware Store The surprising truths no one tells you about starting and running your own business.

2 CountrySense Background I wanted to put my energy into building my own company, not someone else s, to be my own boss Located in Fergus, in an industrial area 6400 sq ft of retail space, plus offices, warehouse & yard Partnership with my sister (also parents, husband) Opened on October 20, 2012 Full time Store Manager Occasional students We wanted something that would benefit our farm Trust because you are willing to accept the risk, not because it is safe or certain.

3 First: the Ugly Truths 1. There is a sense of isolation that is really profound No one Really cares about your business except YOU No one cares how hard you work everyone thinks they work hard No one in your realm really wants you to become more successful than they are When you are at your lowest, people will say I told you it was a bad idea Never go into business with people who have never been in business If it was easy, Everyone would be doing it!

4 You will Never Know Your Limits Unless You Push Yourself Through Them First: the Ugly Truths 2. You are going to be Scared You will be your biggest obstacle We have been conditioned to fear certain things that you ll fail, that others will think you don't have what it takes or that you are a fool for thinking you could do this Nothing goes according to plan Most days you will think you are crazy

5 The Dark Does Not Destroy the Light, It Defines It. -Brene Brown Next: the Bad 3. You Will Run Out of Money This is a common part of the journey We are all optimists Farming offers really good training for this Provides the most stress, but it teaches you to be frugal and truly understand where your money is going Most businesses provide a lifestyle and a job, but they don t provide wealth

6 Next: the Bad 4. You'll only spend 15% of your time doing what you love 85% of your time will be spent on administration, finance, answering obvious questions, putting off sales people and consultants, etc. You need to be the Business Owner 1 st Difficult to maintain the passion when you are doing the jobs you dislike I am Enough learn to live with Imperfection Behind Every Success is Effort Behind Every Effort is Passion Behind Every Passion is Someone with the Courage to Try.

7 Next: the Bad 5. You have to manage people You will always out sell your best employee When you re running a business, you re constantly managing, not just employees but vendors and customers as well. You re always the bad guy, you re making difficult decisions, and, in many ways, you re alone with your decisions. There is a fine balance between how much information you provide to employees. To lead others, you must manage yourself People will doubt what you say, but will always believe what you do

8 Next: the Bad 6. There is very little product manufactured in Canada Quality is decreasing at an alarming rate One of my biggest struggles is selling product I know is Crap ; however, there is a certain degree of realization that things don t last like they used to We are fortunate to live in an area with small scale manufacturing People don t seem to want your business You need to find people who are passionate about their product and business Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.

9 Finally: The Good 7. You'll be surprised by your own success You ll Learn To Define Success In Your Own Terms You will become proficient at many things Celebrate the successes no matter how small Customer complements are very rewarding Build on your successes You have a choice, you can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat from your face

10 Finally: The Good 8. You don t have to be an expert in everything It was shocking to realize the lack of competence in the industry, there are very few companies who are getting everything right Know what you don t know you need to get good at finding the right answers quickly If you focused on learning, listening and getting the right advice - then you can take on any challenge It s quite liberating once you realize that To live a creative life, you must lose the fear of being wrong

11 Finally: The Good 9. Blue Ocean Strategy The premise is to go where no one else is Know your customer We can never compete with Walmart on price, our customer is not the Walmart customer Needs business versus a Wants business Find the right balance this is seasonal At first they will ask you why you are doing it, then they will ask you how you did it.

12 Finally: The Good 10. People really do want to help you succeed When someone asks you about your business, tell the truth. you never know who or what that person might know It makes you more real and accessible People want to buy and support small businesses that are doing good things. Tell the truth and trust that people will help Treat everyone like they are your best customer Accept that not everyone will love your store Don t try and win over the haters; you are not a Jackass Whisperer - Brene Brown

13 Finally: The Good 11. I have fun and the business is rewarding I have met great people and made great new friends I can give away the store if I want I can support causes, community and people I have fun with advertising and marketing My sons are learning about business My husband is my greatest supporter I can never give enough to pay for the blessing I receive

14 Thank You! If We Own the Story, We Can Write the Ending Brene Brown I am always happy to share and learn, please feel free contact me if you have any questions: cattleco@zing-net.ca You will never know your limits until you push yourself to them!