Page 47 – Tugboat Institute

My Father Was a Pimp and Drug Dealer

January 29, 2018Article,Evergreen CEOEvergreen company,Perseverance,Book in a Box,family,Evergreen Journal

My father was a drug dealer and a pimp — a real pimp who put women on the street corner. My mother was a young woman from an orphanage who had no family, money or support. There’s no gentle way to describe it: My childhood was a hardscrabble affair marked by dramatic incidents of racism, drug abuse and neglect.

Today I lead an Evergreen company, Book in a Box, which helps people tell their own stories.

by TugboatAdmin

Trident Takeaways

January 22, 2018Video,EvergreenEvergreen CEO,Navy SEAL,Commander Rorke,Evergreen Journal

American hero, Tugboat Fellow and business consultant Commander Rorke Denver is back on our stage giving us an update on his new projects and a few more memorable Trident Takeaways. We are grateful for the support Rorke’s shown to our Evergreen community. Most notably, Rorke shares with us what it means to constantly improve your position and reach for an extra inch.

by TugboatAdmin

Pragmatic Innovation Keeps Us Alive

January 16, 2018Article,Evergreen CEOpragmatic innovation,Evergreen company,Tugboat Institute,Perseverance,Evergreen Journal

Long before I even understood that our family business was Evergreen, my father was instinctively pursuing Pragmatic Innovation to survive challenging times.

Back in the 1980s, the farm crisis hit my home state of Iowa hard. It was devastating. As farmers lost their land or had to pinch pennies to avoid foreclosure, many of their businesses went under. But not our family’s John Deere equipment company, which my dad had bought in 1977. We had to make sacrifices as a family. Instead of cutting costs to the bone while hoping sales would come back, my dad focused on what innovative things we could do to drive new revenues and cash flow.

by TugboatAdmin

Step One: Know Yourself

January 8, 2018Video,Evergreen CEOKeatley Inc.,Seattle,Washington,Evergreen Journal

“We all look to be something great and leave our mark on this world,” says John Keatley, celebrated Seattle-based portrait photographer. Photography was a side hobby for Keatley until a chance conversation awoke his passion to pursue it professionally. But it hasn’t always been easy. In a field where technical and editorial skills are commonplace, it is difficult to create a voice that is unique to the artist.

In his talk, Keatley shares the importance of truly knowing oneself and being authentic in the work that we produce as the key to lasting success — a guiding message that is relevant to us all irrespective of profession.

by TugboatAdmin

New Year Letter From The Tugboat Team

January 5, 2018Article,Tugboat InstituteDave Whorton,Evergreen Journal

Dear Evergreen Journal readers,

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are excited for 2018! Thank you for supporting the Evergreen Movement.

by TugboatAdmin

With A Seasonal Product And Few Repeat Sales, Balsam Brands' Fake Christmas Tree Business Is A 'Stupid Idea' That Works

January 2, 2018Members in the News

mac harman

by TugboatAdmin

Get Out of the Office

December 18, 2017Article,paced growthEvergreen CEO,Evergreen company,Tugboat Institute,Fishbowl,Software,Evergreen Journal

Over the years, I’ve seen a pattern: entrepreneurs who keep pushing to grow even when that growth isn’t healthy for the company. It’s not surprising — like the Geico ad says, “If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s what you do.” This is a behavior I’ve had to guard against myself. One of the things I do is cultivate personal interests outside of my company. Today I chair our city’s economic development board, I mentor a few younger founders and I helped start a nonprofit that recently purchased a tall ship for our city. These activities absorb plenty of energy, allowing me to pursue a more thoughtful growth path for our small restaurant company.

It took me a while to learn that lesson — that fast growth is not always good or healthy. In my 20s and early 30s, I thought you should always grow a company as big as it can get. If not for a more cautious partner, I probably would have grown our first company right into oblivion.

by TugboatAdmin

Purpose on Purpose

December 11, 2017Video,Evergreen CEOTugboat Institute,Warrior Dash,fire fly music festival,Evergreen Journal

If you’ve ever participated in Warrior Dash or a Firefly Music Festival, you have Joe Reynolds and his team to thank. In 2007, Reynolds started Red Frog Events from his apartment with the goal of delivering amazing experiences to people. While Red Frog does this well, the team is about more than just providing entertainment — it’s a vehicle for making a positive impact on the world. In 2013, Red Frog Events committed to raising $25 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and as of 2017 has already achieved over 50 percent of that goal.

In his inspiring and moving talk, Reynolds shares how his commitment to St. Jude has helped drive his business while inspiring in his employees a larger Purpose.

by TugboatAdmin

Quality Reigns With Paced Growth

December 4, 2017Article,paced growthEvergreen CEO,pragmatic innovation,Ingrid & Isabel,Tugboat Institute,CEO,Evergreen Journal

I founded my company, Ingrid & Isabel, 14 years ago with one simple product: the Bellaband. When I was pregnant with my daughter Isabel, I hit a point all pregnant women hit — I could no longer button my jeans. But instead of buying a bunch of maternity pants, I fashioned the first Bellaband, an elastic band that let me keep wearing my pants without having to button or zip them. Because it was such a common problem, my friends started clamoring for Bellabands. Today, we have sold millions of maternity bands, holding pants up worldwide.

But companies can’t exist on one product alone. That’s called a one-hit wonder, and I wanted to build an Evergreen business that would last for generations.

by TugboatAdmin

Fighting Back with Purpose

November 27, 2017Article,Evergreen CEOTugboat Institute,Perseverance,Purpose,Evergreen Journal

It took getting removed as the CEO of my own company for me to truly comprehend what my team and I needed to thrive. With more than a little grit and humility, I was able to Persevere through that difficult period and eventually return to grow my marketing communications firm, Firespring, into the Evergreen company it is today.

Before I founded Firespring, I launched an AlphaGraphics franchise in 1992 in Lincoln, Nebraska. I encouraged the franchisor to embrace the early promise of website design, making ours the first franchise to open a dedicated commercial website division. When one of my team members had a lucky encounter with the Backstreet Boys at the running of the bulls in Spain in the mid-1990s, we landed the boy band’s website design. Suddenly our website business was flourishing.

by TugboatAdmin

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