See that adorable blond baby with in the frilly white dress? That’s me in 1982 on my beautiful mother’s lap. I think this was a church directory photo, because that used to be a thing that churches did.
And do you see that handsome guy with the perfect teeth, who can make a camel blazer look good? That guy is a bad ass. You may not be able to see it behind the tanned skin and the perfect smile, but this man is a force. At the time this picture was taken he had another child (not pictured) who was five years old, who was birthed in my family’s kitchen and had only just started to show promise here.
No, we didn’t have an ogre of a sister that we kept in the basement. My father’s other child was his business, a small but profitable dental laboratory that produced crowns and bridges for dentists across West Texas. I call it his other child because really, his business was a real and tangible part of my family growing up. I can remember being a little older than I was here, waking up super early to kiss daddy goodbye as he left for work before the sun came up and going up to his office to have dinner with him on evenings when he was working late. At that time he would let me and my sister play in the porcelain or plaster while he worked. And he worked so hard.
Of course, I didn’t realize it at the time, but as I grew up I began to understand just how much of his heart he put into the lab. Success came in waves and he didn’t have to work early mornings and late nights forever. He built his lab layer by layer, risk to payoff, hiring a person at a time. His employees became like extended family members who asked us about our sports and bought candy bars from our fundraisers.
The lab, of course, was a means to an end, for my dad. The end being a beautiful life for our family. At the high point of his success he had four kids in private school, we took splendid vacations and drove cars that impressed our friends.
The day after I graduated high school, I started training to work in the porcelain room, where I would continue to work for the entirety of my college career. We had always been privy to the goings on of the company, but actually working there gave me an even better understanding of what it takes to run a small business. I got to sit and discuss his reasonings for hirings and occasional firings. I saw, firsthand how he deftly dealt with unhappy customers (even the ones that were being quite unreasonable). I witnessed the lengths that he went to to ensure his employees’ happiness and the quiet but substantial ways he used his success to help others in need.
At times we would discuss how to increase his reach and market. I had always been interested in marketing, but this was the first time that I had the inside view of the challenges that niche small businesses face. His wasn’t a mass market product. His customers were very busy and had a very unique set of pain points and desires. It was a valuable education in creatively reaching niche markets.
It wasn’t all sunshine and success though. There were intense challenges along the way, both financial and personal. In 2018 he received a cancer diagnosis, during one of these challenging financial times. I watched as he fought personally and professionally to keep showing up. People kept telling him to cut his staff, but as is the case with many small business owners, his employees were like family members to him. Some had been with him for decades and they depended on him.
Though we had numerous conversations about it, I still can’t even imagine the weight he bore during this time. However, he always managed to carry the burden with such grace, even as he endured chemo and radiation treatments. Being a small business owner is not just about profit margins and deliverables. A small business is a tangible, living and breathing thing that affects everything around it.
As you can probably tell, my dad is a HUGE inspiration to me. He built something out of nothing and his success provided me with a magical childhood. And watching him face challenges provided me with priceless lessons that inform my decisions as I build my own business.
I tell this story not to just suck up to my dad. I am sure that if he reads this he will be embarrassed by the lavish praise. There are small business men and women all around me, facing similar challenges and enjoying similar successes. I see you. I see the late nights and the nights you spend laying awake solving problems instead of sleeping. I see you eating dinner with your kids at your office. I see your heart and soul expressed as an offering to your niche customers. Keep it up. Keep fighting, innovating and taking risks. You are affecting so much more than your bottom line!
If you are a small business owner who would like to reach more of your niche market, let’s talk. Give me a call or shoot me an email to see how I can help.
4 Responses
Wow, Your Dad sounds like a really awesome guy!
He really is!
I’m not crying… great tribute to an awesome man. He’s your daddy but he’s out friend❤️
I love this! I worked with you and for your Dad for almost 5 years and college and respected him greatly.