These Entrepreneurs Did Crazy Things

We’re approaching the holidays, and I am more excited than I have ever been about this season. (The holiday spirit doesn’t usually come over me like this, and I’m not sure why it has this year, but it feels wonderful.) We’re making a delicious organic Thanksgiving meal today, with persimmon and pecorino salad, gluten-free appetizers, homemade cranberry sauce (sweetened with either coconut crystals or pureed orange), fish (turkey for everyone else), and the classic mashed potatoes.

In the United States, the holiday shopping often begins the day right after these beautiful meals. So often, the local businesses are overlooked, and chain stores are given all of the attention. Please help me turn this around, so the local professionals and stores are supported this year. 

I’ve seen entrepreneurs do amazing (sometimes crazy) things out of love for their business and the customers they serve.  

Business owners I know have: 

~ Left their jobs with just enough money for one month of living expenses, all to begin the business of their dreams

~ Worked during the holidays and weekends to be sure that their clients are well cared for

~ Raised thousands of dollars to build schools in countries in need

~ Taken the big leap of leaving their corporate job, to then start their own company using the skills they learned from the job

~ Spent thousands of dollars on the coach of their dreams, so they could

go from 4 figures to nearly half a million in 3 years

~ Flown to the other side of the country or other side of the world to have an appointment with a colleague or coach who changed the course of their company

~ Provided generously-paying jobs to their employees, along with organic lunches and weekly chair massages
~ Made room for great new clients by asking disrespectful clients to leave

~ Gifted their employees with the sweetest goodbye gifts when it was time for an employee to move on to something new

And, the organic farmers who grow fruits and vegetables spend most of their days outside, in harsh weather, and then stand for more than 6 hours at cold farmers market booths, waiting to show you the beautiful food they’ve grown for you.

These examples tell the stories of the service providers you know, the small businesses, the family-run store, and the local companies. They love you, and they are grateful for you.Please support these businesses during your holiday season, and especially during the upcoming after-Thanksgiving weekend, if you are in the United States. They work to serve you in so many ways, and they work to fulfill their dreams of a better world.

Ava Waits

©  Ava Waits 2012