It has been 3 long weeks since I have posted an article. It is not because I have not had anything to say, but rather it was because my life has been consumed with a charity fundraiser that I have been honored to lead this year.
6 years ago, a few gentlemen wanted to give back to the military veterans in the Brazos Valley area of Texas. So, what do they do? They organize an event where they grilled steaks, drank whiskey and smoked cigars – this is Texas after all. From that humble beginning, Brazos Valley Cares, INC was born; and before this year’s event BVC has provided over $300,000 worth of critical support to veterans and veteran related organizations. The support ranges from emergency fund grants (helping to pay rent, provide food, and emergency utility bill payments), to funeral costs, to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder therapy, to textbook / cap and gown support of student veterans at Texas A&M University, and many other areas.
This year was the biggest event that we have held (over 650 people attending) and we raised more funds than ever before, but it was also one of the most stressful times for me (and I have been to war 3 times). As I reflect on the event, I am humbled to be part of it, and grateful for my team. I got to feel a bit of what entrepreneurs deal with every day. It was great to walk a mile in their shoes. Here are 3 things that I learned, that will make me a better banker and partner to entrepreneurs:
1. Your TEAM is your life
The smartest thing that we did was to hire Ashley Sanders as our event coordinator. Ashley owns Ashley & CO and is a design genius and the best event coordinator I have ever met. Ashley guided us and provided structure to the chaos that was the planning and execution of our event. In addition to hiring Ashley, we divided the team up and had critical committees headed by people that were passionate and knowledgeable about what needed to be accomplished. For example, I don’t know a lick about firearms – so I did not chair the gun procurement committee, and after all, what is an event without a firearm drawing. I was reminded that a good leader has to lay out the vision for the team, set and enforce expectations, provide the tools to accomplish the task – then get the hell out of the way. I also re-learned that as a leader you have to assess what is reasonable for one person to accomplish and you have to allow for support, as we all have our limits.
2. Remain calm and focus on the solution – not the problem
As with every event that has ever taken place, there are problems and challenges that arise during the planning and execution. That is ok, in fact it is normal. The key for leaders (entrepreneurs) is to focus on the solution not the problem. I have to admit, there were some problems that sprang up that I had no idea how to solve. I would like to say that I was cool, calm and collected when dealing with them all – but at times I felt a bit panicked. Enter Ashley, her team, and my committee chairs. We dealt with each problem as it came up, adapted to it, solved the problem, and moved on. The best part is that the problems were dealt with so effectively that the guests didn’t notice and continued to have a great time.
3. Even during the tactical execution – always be thinking of the strategic plan
During the event, we had so much activity going on. Everything from hand rolled cigars, to 10-foot grills, to whiskey samples, to the axe throwing booths, to the live and silent auctions. It was easily overwhelming if allowed it to be. But I realized that is no more chaotic than a day at a fast-growing business. What was critical to me, was as all this was going on, I realized that my role to always be looking up from the tactical (individual activities) to make sure that strategically we were on track. Again, Ashley and her amazing staff did the majority of the heavy lifting on this; but even with help, the leader must always be engaged, while keeping at least one eye on the horizon.
Even as I write this, I feel that I can empathize with entrepreneurs on a deeper level than I could even 4 days ago. In 12 short hours I felt the crushing weight of things not going right and the amazing high of realizing that we have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help veterans in the Brazos Valley. I am going to take these lessons and apply them to my work as The Entrepreneur’s Banker and push myself and my team to provide critical support to those we are privileged to serve.
Being an entrepreneur is one of the most difficult and demanding things you can do. The good news is that entrepreneurship today is a team sport. Hit the connect button on LinkedIn or Facebook NOW and together we will start maximizing your profit, strengthening your leadership skills, controlling your business finances, and using your bank as a strategic advantage. When we connect, tell me about a day that you experienced crushing weight of things going wrong and the amazing high of things going right.
Greg Martin is an entrepreneur’s insider to the banking industry and passionately believes that every person was uniquely designed for a higher purpose and calling. Greg guides entrepreneurs in defining and achieving their purpose and calling. His deepest passion is living life with his wife and their wonderful son.
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