Born on a Bus.
Flight: AR 1870 Buenos Aires - El Calafate January 2023
This year I’ve vowed to write a blog post on every trip.
My work with The EdgE has taken me all over the world for the last fifteen years, so maybe we can squeeze some extra creative use from this travel time.
Mode of travel will not be specific, you may receive blog posts from planes, trains, boats, and hopefully one day a rocket! But most of the time, I'm guessing it will be the old fashioned fossil fuel burning flying machine (come on team science, replace the archaic systems). Travel for me is the best time to capture my creative juices. Even with planes now offering wifi, being trapped in a metal box means there is less chance for distraction (focus is a constant challenge for me).
With these blog posts, I hope to share my real world experience on building brands at The EdgE, the intricacies of high performing teams and the choices I have made to lead my own version of an “extraordinary life”
My choices are certainly not for all, but another path is available if you so choose.
I hope some of these stories will be of help to people feeling overwhelmed, alone or working remotely, but at the very least it will be a cathartic exercise for me.
I think the best place to start is at the beginning, a light bulb moment that happened on a 13hr $9 bus ride from Trondheim - Oslo, Norway in 2008.
Well... it was a kind of a beginning for sure. I started out working for a sports clothing manufacturer in the skydiving industry. There were two rival companies at the time, they used to be one company, but the owners had a disagreement and split.
The company I worked for was by far the coolest company. I started selling out of their concept store at the back of Skydive Empuriabrava, (the largest skydiving center in Europe at the time), and I sold so much gear it was amazing but I was still only making about $4 an hour. For me it was super easy though, I loved skydiving, I thought the products the company made were badass so all I did was speak my truth and bam… sold it ALL.
In between working at the shop I was driving the drop zone truck (this was sent out when skydivers landed off site) and also working at the bar in the evenings and singing at bars around town.
My moonlight jobs were in exchange for three jump tickets a week, so I could work on my skills. I sucked hard core at skydiving, but I didn’t care at all, it was just SO MUCH FUN, plus being good was obviously reserved only for the God like figures at the drop zone, and these guys were clearly from another planet.
So.. I was just enjoying the shit out of the ride, and desperate to snag jump tickets wherever I could.
We sold so much we could not keep up with production of orders, but no % seemed to be flowing my way, I was struggling to maintain rent, food, etc with the $$ coming in.
I asked repeatedly to be able to go out on the road to sell, but was refused. I was told my place was in the office.
I was butting heads with the owner since I was being told to say “your order is in the post” even though we both knew... the suits were not even cut.
With all this in mind I jumped ship to the other company. A company that we proceeded to build from the ground up.
Lessons here:
1) Plan to succeed, preparation meets opportunity. Don’t be caught out by your own success, look ahead in your venture and set your structure so it is able to absorb your success and share this with your team. For me these periods feel like waves (we will come back to this later) but basically If you are not planning to succeed... you are asking to fail.
2) If you're not satisfied with your situation, tell the people you work with exactly what you want. This is key to happiness. Most people are not mind readers. Hopefully, you and your work colleagues all have the same goals. When driving at a common goal it is imperative you share what keeps you in the game. Being open gives your teammates the ability to flex, move and change in order to accommodate you and simultaneously achieve the goal of the group. Sometimes you won't get what you're looking for. In that instance and with wholehearted love you can move on to the next chapter. You've been open about what you need so a change will be no big surprise.
3) Stay honest. You’re not a dumb ass... and neither are your customers. The best way to overcome any issue in your business is to bring your people (staff and customers) into the loop. People respect honesty. Being honest with a person, means in essence you respect them. You respect them enough to know they can handle the reality of the situation and act appropriately.
And if you really are working your tits off to provide what your customer needs, you are being honest about the situation and providing clear steps to a resolution your customer will be with you for the long haul. However, sometimes people can remain unhappy. If the response is not in line with the issue, something else is probably happening for them in their lives… so at this point stay calm, kind, and Norwegian (direct) in your communication and wish them a good day.
My plane is landing, and I didn’t even get to the born on a bus bit so, let’s chat on the next flight.
I wish you all a fabulous day.
Big love
Anna xx