Speaking to business audiences, Trevor will lean on his own business experiences and learnings, as well as anecdotes shared on the Business is F*cking Hard podcast. Using humorous, emotional and serious tones, Trevor will deliver messages of struggle and success, stories of failure and reward, realities of vulnerability and empathy in business.
To bring value to leadership audiences, Trevor will capture aspects of his time in leadership positions to share with audiences while leveraging his understanding of leadership from his learnings through both formal education and his experiences teaching leadership. Attendees will be challenged with exercises during the engagement that they can take away and implement in their everyday leadership endeavors.
Speaking to audiences of any type or demographic, Trevor will bring a motivational presentation that will have attendees inspired to challenge their perspective of the path in front of them and the journey they are on. By demonstrating vulnerability through true stories as a leader in business, sports and c-suite roles, Trevor will create a safe space for audience members’ reflection and self-assessment.
Business is...freaking hard. (I wasn't allowed to swear)
The first time I said this sentence publicly was three years after I started my first business. I was presenting to a banquet room full of business people as a young entrepreneur award nominee. That was almost 20 years ago. Though not scripted, that line received the loudest round of applause from the audience that day.
I hadn’t been in business very long at that point and I was already feeling the overwhelming pressures that come with business ownership. The responsibility that comes with providing employment. The heaviness of that responsibility when you think about your staff’s mortgage and vehicle payments being dependent on you. The illusion that the art of business seems to come so easily to others. The fear that it could all come apart at any moment.
I’ve almost been bankrupt twice. Because, as they say, if you don’t succeed, try, try again. I have taken risks, some worked out, others didn’t. I have had good days in business and bad. Through it all, whether things were going well, or not, I portrayed a brave and confident front to the people around me. It was quite the facade. I realized that other business owners, big and small, did the same when one day over coffee a colleague from the business community shared his story that was eerily similar to mine.
My hardest day in business saw me laying off seven staff, firing another and having another quit. It wasn’t by choice – but it had to be done. I could either keep everyone employed for a little while, until the business itself went under, or I could let some staff go to keep the business viable. It broke my heart to have to let them go. That was my hardest day in business not just because it broke my heart to have to lay off staff and not just because I felt like I breached their trust by failing at my business – but, embarrassingly, the worst part was that it was now obvious to everyone else out there that my business was struggling. It was no longer my secret.
There’s a pride that comes with being a business owner. A sense of accomplishment and success. Success by your own hand. You built this and nobody can take it away from you. Yet, most businesses operate on the brink. Most businesses have razor thin margins. Most businesses hide the fact that business truly is hard.
Prior to the pandemic, business owners hid the reality of their business and consumers didn’t question the viability of a business model. When the small mom and pop shop down the road closed, everyone was quick to identify all the obvious reasons that the closing was inevitable. And then, March 13, 2020, the world changed. Business stopped. One of my businesses had to cease operations completely. No customers, no income, which, as you can imagine, does make it really hard to run a business.
Just over two weeks later, on March 31, businesses collectively became vulnerable with the rest of the world. They openly admitted how close to the line they’d been operating. They asked and, in some cases, begged the government for help. 18 days. It took only 18 days of reduced or no income to destabilize many businesses. Payroll, suppliers, mortgages and rent weren’t going away. Without regular cash flow, closing their doors would be the next step. And, here’s the thing, nobody seemed to be upset with them.
When the pandemic hit, I was a senior executive at two real estate associations, I also owned and operated two businesses – a gym that closed due to government mandates and a strip mall where tenants were walking away from their businesses, unable to pay their rent. I wrote to the boards of directors of the two associations to let them know that I might have to declare bankruptcy. My employment contract required me to disclose anything that might affect my ability to run the organizations. I’m not saying that their reaction to my letter would have been different prior to the pandemic but I am pretty sure it would have been. The boards of directors didn’t even flinch. Why? I believe the pandemic normalized empathy for the business owner. Struggling with business was no longer seen as unusual. Rather, there was a sense of comfort that we were all in this together, we were not alone.
Some businesses didn’t make it through the pandemic. Others have thrived. But one thing has profoundly changed … the way we look at business. It seems business owners have a newfound respect for their fellow business owners and consumers look at business ownership with less judgement.
There was a restaurant near our place not too long ago that had an ‘A’ frame sign on the sidewalk out front…it read, “if you don’t come in and eat, we don’t either”. “If you don’t come in and eat, we don’t either”. I would argue that if that sign was in front of the restaurant before the pandemic, passersby would have scoffed at the audacity of the business owner. How desperate does that sound? Today, you can’t help but read that sign and immediately understand the struggles of the business owner. For the customer it’s a meal. For the restaurant owner it’s about survival.
What changed? Quite simply, perception has changed.
As business owners became more transparent, consumers perceived them with more understanding. The perception business owners had of each other changed because they realized they weren’t alone.
I attribute this new shared perception to three things. Vulnerability by the business owner. Empathy by the consumer. And diminished judgement from both. We have an opportunity in front of us that we must not ignore. We should embrace this changed environment so there is common understanding and appreciation for how hard business can be.
Will this changed environment be the new normal for the business world? I hope so. I hope vulnerability becomes a normalized characteristic of business owners. I hope staff, customers and colleagues can all see the realities that come with the risk of owning a business. I hope customers continue to demonstrate empathy. That they appreciate and support business owners. And I hope that in this world of clashing opinions, misaligned ideologies and right vs wrong mentality, we’re able to remove judgement from one aspect of this world. I hope that we’re able to see and appreciate the challenge of business for what it is.
If you’re a business owner, please know that you are not alone. We are all facing the same challenges and our collective vulnerability builds support for the business community. As a consumer, continue to be empathetic. Be mindful of the courage of the business owner. Support local. And, for all of us, less judgement toward each other because business is REALLY hard.
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