When I close my eyes and envision what my life looks like in 10 years, my thoughts are very specific. Maybe it’s from browsing Pinterest for long amounts of time, or from watching movies and reading certain books. It looks like this: an open concept workspace – exposed brick walls – bright, fun light fixtures – natural surface desks (think concrete or live edge wood) – live plants – a bar area with options of coffee, juicer, blender, IPA tap or two, maybe some Vodka and Pendelton, and sparkling water – random music coming from the speakers – a half dozen AMAZING co-workers buzzing around and smiling, hustling and getting shit done – delivery drivers coming in and chit chatting, because obviously, we’re their favorite stop of the day – dogs are welcome to visit and hang out (as long as they are well behaved and don’t shed too much) – lunch is brought in from local restaurants, or pot luck style – employees can come and go as they need that works for their schedule – everyone is happy and communicates and there are brainstorming sessions of making things better and more productive – there are open conversations about how things are going – there’s feedback (both directions) – there’s no bitterness or hard feelings – there’s growth – there’s unity and synergy.
I know I have a rosy picture in my head; but if you don’t dream it, you can’t get there.
I wasn’t 100% sure WHAT specifically I wanted my business to be – product or service or both…. I didn’t know exactly WHAT, but I know HOW I wanted it to look and feel. I brainstormed a lot of different names and acronyms – then I’d check for domain and social availability.
The winner….. teeemwrk [LLC]
I know it’s spelt funny, but it does convey a feeling of unity. Everyone in the building is part of the team. There’s harmony and integrity and solidarity and honesty. It doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in. It doesn’t matter if you’re a business owner or employee. To me, this feeling and teamwork (teeemwrk) mentality is paramount in building good culture and values.
This is my 10 year dream. I know am FAR from there now and that’s okay. I have 10 years of trial and error and emotional and financial growth to make it happen. For now, I am enjoying the ride with a slow and steady wins the race mentality.
Be sure to catch my blog post next week for the announcement of what I call, Phase 1 of teeemwrk!