What I’ve Learned In Six Years of Building My Activewear Company
It’s been a wild ride. When you build something from nothing, there are a lot of things people that build things from nothing don’t tell you. And if you’ve built something from nothing, you know this to be true. But transparently things experienced are better then things told - knowing without truly learning doesn’t have the same impact.
Six years ago, I sold my first shirt, six years ago I had no clue how to sell a product, I had no clue how to create a product, I had no clue how to manage money, I had no clue how to build a business, I had no clue how to lead a team, I had no clue how to literally do anything. The only thing that has gotten me from "Day 1" to "Day Now" was faith and hard work. Without these two words, I wouldn’t be here today - those two words created my level of belief in myself and created a business that still exists today.
In my six years I’ve watched some businesses come and some go. I’ve watched friends that own businesses close their doors, I’ve watched LRX grow larger than companies I used to look up to, I’ve seen companies larger than LRX file bankruptcy, I’ve seen companies who started around the same time as I did, grow to be some of the largest companies in our space. It’s been a trip to say the least. To know why LRX exists is to know hard work and faith.
LRX stood strong through a global pandemic, LRX stood strong when numerous manufacturing companies stole thousands of dollars, LRX stood strong when I moved to the middle of the ocean, LRX is still standing when it’s faced large amounts of financial turmoil as most small, bootstrapped companies have. I often look at the reality of LRX and its still existence as an act of God which emphasizes and strengthens my faith and the evidence of God’s desire for this business to still exist.
Year 6 will be defined in my book so far as the hardest year of building LRX - it was the year I wanted to quit more than any other year, but also the year I learned the most.
My Six Takeaways After Six Years:
- Be the Hardest Worker in the Room
- Success is Completely Perspective
- Believe in Something You Cannot See
- If You Have a Passion You Should Pursue It
- Serve and Impact People as a Priority in Your Life
- Solve a Problem