The Path Less Traveled - Small Business Marketing
Over coffee this morning I watched a CBS morning news
show that interviewed the CEO of Chobani yogurt, Hamdi Ulukaya, where they discussed the company he built from the ground up in an abandoned Kraft plant. Launched in 2007 with 5 of the former Kraft employees, the company is now the 3rd best selling brand of yogurt in the US, with almost 2000 employees and nearing $1B in sales. That is simply astounding. What struck me most was his statement that there is too much focus on what’s going wrong in our economy and not the good things that are happening. Hard work and good ideas can lead to success if you stick it out. “The small-business attitude is you always find a way to make it work.” said Ulukaya. Here is an immigrant from Turkey, who took an SBA loan to buy that plant and now 5 years later is a true American success story. Job creation at it’s finest, is what the interviewer called it. I have to agree. Simply put, he said this could only happen in America. The spirit of the entrepreneur will always prevail.
As small business owners and entrepreneurs, we are constantly faced with many challenges. Most days it is easier to give up, or compromise our values in an effort to survive. It’s easy to talk ourselves out of taking risk, or going down the road less traveled. What takes guts is standing up to those challenges and being innovative. That is the harder path. Realize that you’ve already chosen the harder path by owning a business or trying to launch that new idea. There is no choice but to work harder, or make better stuff or just do good work. It’s part of the deal, what we signed up for. I have to remind myself of this all the time. We all need that reminder.
Today, the Chobani story was my reminder that there are great rewards for those of us who choose the path less traveled. As I stand at the foot of that path, I’m excited about where it will take me.
Where will your path take you?
Tommy Spero is an interactive design executive with over 14 years experience developing brand and identity strategies for clients across multiple platforms. Located in Long Island, just outside of New York City, Soul NYC helps businesses use branding, social media and inbound marketing to generate leads.