You are Not Alone

It’s been a rough month for me. Many sleepless nights, changing of a lot of diapers, and getting pooped on more often than I’d care to say. Dealing with a crying baby is no fun either. I’m constantly trying to figure out the source of his cries. Is he hungry, tired, or does he need to be burped? It’s been a while since I’ve had to deal with a newborn child and I’m definitely feeling out of practice. I’m grateful for my wife, Kathy, and our families who are a great support during this challenging time.

I can’t help but see parallels between my current situation and when I started my company six years ago. I had no idea what to do, which direction to go, what suppliers to use, etc. When something went wrong in the business, I had to figure out the cause. Asking lots of questions along the way. Fortunately, I learned early on that I didn’t have to do it alone.

Connecting with CLCA early in the startup of my business was the key to its immediate success. I can’t put a value on the networking and mentorship that I received as a member. I’ve made lots of friends, built strong relationships with fellow green industry business owners and suppliers who want to help me succeed. CLCA, like my family, supports me daily.

While I have the support I need, the continued success of my business still falls on me. Success doesn’t just come and that’s it. It takes work to remain successful. There will be constant change and you must be able to adapt and modify accordingly. I’m often evaluating my business and looking for ways to improve. One tool that I found super helpful is a SWOT analysis. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a method for identifying and analyzing internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats that shape current and future operations and help develop strategic goals. If you’ve never done this analysis on your business, I strongly encourage it.

Bottom line: The support you need is out there! CLCA offers resources to help you succeed.

~Sincerely, Sal, 2022 CLCA OC Chapter President