Robin Wilson definitely knows the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. At one time, she only had $1.23 (read the full story below) in her bank account, but those days are long behind her. Her business has gone on to do more than $35 million in retail sales.
She started her design firm, Robin Wilson Home, in 2000, and even through the recession it has grown year-after-year. Robin has worked with a variety of clients ranging from A-listers, such as, Bill Clinton and Robert Kennedy Jr., to regular everyday people on a budget.
In addition to her design firm, she also has a hypoallergenic product line at Bed, Bath & Beyond and her own furniture line.
If you read one thing online today, I recommend that you read Robin’s “3 Things” because they will inspire you! I don’t know about you, but I definitely need a little inspiration (+coffee) on this Monday morning:
You are not promised tomorrow. Sometimes you want to wait until the ‘right time’ or for the ‘perfect circumstances’ to take a risk to chase your dream. Other times it is about ‘fitting in,’ so you hold back on writing that book or business plan to maintain your current group of friends. After losing my brother in a motorcycle accident when he was 22 and I was 23, I realized in an instant that life is about living now, taking the risk, chasing the dream, and expressing your feelings to those you care about/love right now. The best thing about youth is that we dream big and have time to achieve our dreams. The worst thing about youth is thinking that you have forever to figure it out and trying to fit in with the crowd, almost like an extension of school. My advice is to do it now, start to move the goals forward by taking action and make sure to appreciate those around you while they are able to receive the hug/card/encouragement.
People in your life will be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime. After graduating from college, you think that you have to stay in touch with everyone, plus your new friends that you are making in your life. Often this group is different, with unique directions, focus and goals. And you cannot be friends with everyone. In my 30s, I was fortunate enough to read a book called The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson which explains that to chase a dream, you sometimes have to leave a comfort zone of friends and family. Without giving away the secrets of the book, which has propelled me to have a clear vision, it is critically important to develop an inner circle that will champion and assist you in achieving your goals. Outside of that inner circle become acquaintances and relatives, and some of these people will try to hold you back from your dream. Their insecurity can result because your success may show that they are standing still. But trying to please everyone will simply create a waste of energy that can drain you when dealing with new challenges. Focus and make sure that you know that true champions in your life will remain in your life no matter how much success/failure you achieve, where you live and the many transitions that will occur in your life.
Do not focus on making money, as the money will come. How many times have we heard that saying, and then we step back and look at our bank account or investments and say “show me the money”! Well, the reality is that there will be some cashless moments, especially from those who really have overcome obstacles. If you focus on chasing a dream, create a group of advisors around you who champion your goal, you will reach your goals. That does not mean guaranteed success. It means a lot of hard work, and sacrifice. During the last fifteen years of building my business, there have been moments when we had a lot of profitability. But one moment stands out in my memory during the holiday season and reminds me of this cliché: When chasing your dream, there will be moments when you are underwater…and all it takes is a breath of oxygen to survive a bit longer. It was Christmas 2008 and we had paid the vendors and staff, but there was no money left to pay me. At that time, there was only $1.23 in my bank account. In New York City, that is a moment of crisis – not even enough to buy a subway token, a slice of pizza or a hot dog. I cried inside while walking home. Yet a few hours later, my parents called to say that they didn’t know what present to buy me for the holidays, so they had just deposited $500 into my bank account. That money held me for the next week, and with the new year, our first licensing deal went into effect, which changed the financial horizon for the company in an exponential way. When I reflect on that moment of deep fear and sadness, and today we see our product line at Bed Bath & Beyond stores, and cabinetry sold by over 400 dealers, it reminds me that we were always focused on the big picture of partnering with companies, and building a respected eco-friendly brand. Chasing a dream requires hard work, facing fear and sacrifice, but our motto has always been: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail.”
Great advice Robin!