Business

I’m A Member Of A Hate Group

by Tim Smith on May 9, 2011 · 1 comment

I’m a member of a hate group. Not any longer, but I was for a few hours. Someone added me to one on Facebook. I wasn’t aware that someone else could add you to a group without your consent, but one day I received 14 email updates from this group which alerted me that I had been added by someone. I quit the group right away. A few hours later someone added me to the group again, and I again quit. Not my favorite Facebook feature by a long shot. This was a few months ago, so maybe they’ve fixed that by now. My trust, however, has not been fixed.

My point? It takes time to build trust, but only a moment to lose it.  It’s an important point for people, and businesses, to remember.

Post image for Profits And The Bushcraft Business

Profits And The Bushcraft Business

by Tim Smith on April 18, 2011

It’s tax day today.  I’ve spent a considerable amount of time over the past few weeks working on ours. I always find it a little odd to have a year’s worth of work represented by numbers on a piece of paper or in a computer program. Obviously they tell a very small part of the story, but ultimately businesses need to make money to stay in business.

Which brings me for my thought for the day in honor of tax day, a quote I read a while back from Dean Kamen. He’s the inventor of the Segway and numerous other things. I’ve had the good fortune to work with some people from his company on multiple occasions and it was a lot of fun juxtaposing the old-time ways of the woods with modern engineering. Anyway, years ago I read an article where he was quoted as saying:

Making a profit is a result of running a good business, not the purpose.

It’s stuck with me since reading it. I think the purpose of the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School is to provide educational opportunities and experiences unavailable anywhere else. When we do it well, we make a profit. But profit is the result, not the purpose.

Tim with an Alaskan king salmon

Real Names And Authenticity

by Tim Smith on April 12, 2011

I’m not a fan of online handles or usernames if there’s no way to find out who the real person behind them is. The anonymity of the internet allows people to be rude and take cheap shots without any accountability. It also provides people with little experience the opportunity to masquerade as full-time professionals, doling out advice on topics they have no experience with other than having seen a youtube video on it.

I either use my real name or the same username (jmbushcraft) wherever I go, and always link it back to our site. I’m accountable for the comments I make. In a world where many base their value on who has the most “likes” or “followers”, for me it’s still about authenticity and trust.

Being A Competitor Includes Others

by Tim Smith on December 3, 2009 · 3 comments

There’s an idea about competing that winning is everything. It isn’t. I like to compete because it pushes me. Physically, it teaches me how much more is in the tank when the needle is hovering on “E”. As a business owner, it keeps me thinking about how to do it better and to create something new that’s useful.

Few things in business are winner-takes-all. In the ten years since founding Jack Mountain Bushcraft, I’ve seen a lot of outdoor businesses come and go. Often the realities of outdoor entrepreneurship don’t match up with the daydreams of how great it would be to do what you like for a job. Regardless of how it looks, it isn’t an easy way to make a living. But even though it’s often challenging, I routinely send business to my competitors when I have scheduling conflicts, when our courses are full, or when I think they would be a better fit for a student.

I was discussing this recently and someone asked if it didn’t hurt my business to help my competitors. I didn’t answer right away, because I had to think about it. While I don’t remember the exact words, what I said was something along the lines of others don’t have to fail for my company to succeed.

Bushcraft and traditional outdoor skills is a growing field in North America. Ten years ago when I explained our semester programs to people they looked at me like I had three heads. It’s because they had never heard of the concept. When I help out another business I know I’m also helping my own. The more visible bushcraft becomes, the more interest there will be. It’s pretty simple. These days awareness of bushcraft and traditional outdoor skills is much greater, making it easier for me to explain what we do at Jack Mountain.

I read a great piece in the September, 2009 edition of Competitor Magazine. It’s one of the free, exercise-oriented magazines that are regionally focused and given away at gyms. It was an interview with Chris Phelan of Garland, Texas, about his 45-year love affair with running and competing. The last question he was asked was, “What makes you a competitor?”

His answer:

“I’m a competitor because I have a unique perspective toward the people in front of me and behind me during a race. I can’t win without someone losing, and I can’t lose without someone winning. The way I see it, the people in front of me are urging me to catch up and the people behind me are cheering me forward. Being a competitor includes others.”

Being a business owner, I’m a competitor. And like Mr. Phelan said, being a competitor, whether in sport or business, includes others.