What I Learned This Week

I was asked this week to do a presentation to Rotary - an organization I was recently welcomed into here in Bangor. The Rotary club has about 100 folks in it and the membership includes some of our regions most impassioned community leaders.

In preparing the presentation for my classification talk - an overview of who I am am what I do - I was reminded of paths and stories from my past that I don't talk about very often.

There were many memories and stories that I jotted down. But the one that stuck with me the most was my time in college working in a pizza and sub shop called Fairmount Market and for a man named Gabby Price. Gabby is an amazing individual - a football coach, teacher, leader, business owner - the kind of guy that people want to know and are happy to be associated with.

Gabby was more than a boss to me. He was an inspiration. He was someone that provided me with a vision and a presence that I was missing in my life at the time.

Gabby had a knack for pulling his employees aside and dispersing knowledge, advice or - if needed - his own version of parental guidance. There were two places Gabby would engage in these conversations - the soda cooler or down in the basement. Let's just say you didn't want to be pulled in to basement - it hid the sound of yelling better than the soda cooler.

One of our "cooler chats" was about starting a business. I was interested in starting one someday but at 20 years old I had many questions, lots of fears and felt there were so many challenges and not enough answers.

Like most things in life, the big issues become much easier to handle once you've been through it but can be paralyzing without experience or a proper frame of reference.

I remember the conversation that day revolved around my desire to start a movie-theater that served food. I had been to one and thought it would be an excellent addition to our local community. (Just for the record, I still think that.)

Anyway, details of the specific topic aside, Gabby passed on a nugget of advice that helped put things in perspective and helped me understand that the basics is what matters. It's advice that I still share today to business start-ups and college students looking for "real world" advice.

What he told me was this - you can succeed in business if you master two simple things: Kindergarten principles and third-grade math.

If you treat people with respect, have fun with what you do and never forget that sharing and playing nice is an important part of life, you'll master the art of Kindergarten Principles.

If you remember that your allowance is all you have to spend so do it wisely and that you never know when a rainy day may come so be prepared, you'll ensure that your books are in order. That's 3rd grade math.

The advice was powerful, timeless and simple enough for me to understand and digest.

As I enter my ninth year of owning a business, a lot has changed since my first day with one computer in the back bedroom but the basics remain the same. The numbers get larger, the risks get bigger but it still all comes down to basics.

And as I look around at the state of our economy, I can't help but think how powerful those words of advice are even today.

Imagine where we'd be if everyone focused on Kindergarten Principles and Third-Grade Math.

I am truly thankful for the time and energy Gabby put into sharing his nuggets of wisdom with an insecure 20 year old while stocking Mt. Dew and Moxie.

But I'm even more thankful that I only saw the basement once :)

Thanks Gabby.