Trep Story

07/09/2022

Bias towards action.

25/07/2022

Can Treps build a team as they scale? with Clint Washburn of IDL Industries

Clint Washburn is bringing high precision product design and manufacturing back the USA. Starting as a garage-based side gig, Clint has grown his business through hard work, calculated risk, and a strategic merger. Lately he has been scaling up rapidly, aiming for 100% growth every year, through enlightened team building.

Treps know that we can’t accomplish a big vision alone. Building teams is necessary to scale. Let’s see what Clint can share with us about building a team to scale up a company. Can Treps save the world through domestic manufacturing by building a great team?

Tune in on trepstory.com or wherever you get your fine podcasts.

25/07/2022

Congratulations Sandy Young!

Sandy's business, Verdis was recently recognized as the U.S. Small Business Administration's Idaho Woman-Owned Business of the Year for 2022!

Her Trep Story episode "From Grief to Grit" is here:

https://www.trepstory.com/can-a-trep-turn-grief-to-grit-with-sandy-young-president-of-verdis/

Read more about Sandy's award here: http://ow.ly/sgVt50K3NiI

30/06/2022

What role does Authenticity play in a Trep’s life and business? with Adam Schluter of Hello From A Stranger

Adam Schluter is an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning photographer and journalist whose career spans assignments in 20+ countries, published author, TED talker, and has been published thrice by National Geographic. Find out about the dark circumstances that led Adam Schluter to take a huge risk and try something completely different, innovating a new project from his most authentic place.

Learn about Adam’s childhood visit to Caracas, the murder capital of the world, and his tender experience with a young lady in Portland who has finally learned how to give back out of her pain and suffering. Let’s explore the thread of authenticity through Adam’s story, and ask ourselves if Treps being authentic can save the world?

Tune in where ever you get your fine podcasts and check out the notes at trepstory.com

23/06/2022

Can Treps turn their experience into a business? with Krista & Robby French owners of Stylus Wine & Vinyl Bar

Krista French is a certified wine Sommelier with vast interest, passion, and experience in the wine business. Robby French is a professional musician with a deep love for music, especially as it is expressed in vinyl records. How did this couple take these two passions, with all of their combined experience, and turn it into a brand new experience? We visit with this Trep couple one week after they opened. This is just the beginning of their Trep Story, tune in to see how it started, and stay tuned for future episodes where we revisit to see how it’s going.

Tune in where ever you get your fine podcasts and see show notes at trepstory.com

17/06/2022

Awesome article about Stylus Wine and Vinyl Bar and owners Krista and Robby French.

See comments for link to the article and the podcast episode where we interviewed them.

16/06/2022

Achieving the Next Level with David Schreiber, author of Leading the Entrepreneurial Way

David Schreiber has built businesses from a young age, including a board game company infused with passion and profit. Find out about his miraculous survival of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. What are the four quadrants, and how can you use them to lead your business to the next level? What are operational and entrepreneurial leader roles? David is saving the world with well developed ideas on Trep Leadership, tune in to find out more.

Listen where ever you get your fine podcasts, and see show notes on trepstory.com

16/06/2022

If God can't even score a 5 star review, do you think it's OK to not please everyone?

15/06/2022

Do you use the 5 steps?

If you can do these five things well, you will almost certainly be successful. Here they are in a nutshell:

1. Have clear goals.

2. Identify and don’t tolerate the problems that stand in the way of your achieving those goals.

3. Accurately diagnose the problems to get at their root causes.

4. Design plans that will get you around them.

5. Do what’s necessary to push these designs through to results.

Together, these five steps make up a loop, like the one in the comments. Let’s look at this process more granularly.

First you have to pick what you are going after—your goals. Your choice of goals will determine your direction. As you move toward them, you will encounter problems. Some of those problems will bring you up against your own weaknesses. How you react to the pain that causes is up to you. If you want to reach your goals, you must be calm and analytical so that you can accurately diagnose your problems, design a plan that will get you around them, and do what’s necessary to push through to results. Then you will look at the new results you achieve and go through the process again. To evolve quickly, you will have to do this fast and continuously, setting your goals successively higher.

You will need to do all five steps well to be successful and you must do them one at a time and in order. For example, when setting goals, just set goals. Don’t think about how you will achieve them or what you will do if something goes wrong. When you are diagnosing problems, don’t think about how you will solve them—just diagnose them. Blurring the steps leads to suboptimal outcomes because it interferes with uncovering the true problems. The process is iterative: Doing each step thoroughly will provide you with the information you need to move on to the next step and do it well.

It is essential that you approach this process in a clearheaded, rational way, looking down on yourself from a higher level and being ruthlessly honest. If your emotions are getting the better of you, step back and take time out until you can reflect clearly. If necessary, seek guidance from calm, thoughtful people.

To help you stay centered and effective, pretend that your life is a martial art or a game, the object of which is to get around a challenge and reach a goal. Once you accept its rules, you’ll get used to the discomfort that comes with the constant frustration. You will never handle everything perfectly: Mistakes are inevitable and it’s important to recognize and accept this fact of life. The good news is that every mistake you make can teach you something, so there’s no end to learning. You’ll soon realize that excuses like “that’s not easy” or “it doesn’t seem fair” or even “I can’t do that” are of no value and that it pays to push through.

So what if you don’t have all the skills you need to succeed? Don’t worry about it because that’s true for everyone. You just have to know when they are needed and where you can go to get them. With practice, you will eventually play this game with a calm unstoppable centeredness in the face of adversity. Your ability to get what you want will thrill you.

24/05/2022

What do you think of Charlie Munger's rules?

My favorite is #3.

18/05/2022

13/05/2022

Can a Trep turn Grief to Grit? with Sandy Young, President of Verdis

Sandy Young shares her incredible story of building a business with her husband, and when her husband sadly passed away, how she grew her business even more. We explore with Sandy the opportunity she stole from tragedy, and learn a lot about working within Federal Government programs designed to help underprivileged Treps. Turns out it’s not easy, free money at all! Can a Trep turn their grief into a successful business? Let’s find out from Sandy Young.

Tune in where you get your fine podcasts, and see trepstory.com for details.

13/05/2022

Watch for the next episode that proves this with the story of a successful entrepreneur who started when most people are retiring.

20/04/2022

What is the importance of saving and frugality to a Trep? with Anne & Lance Mitchell of MAM & Flannel Background

Anne and Lance represent on screen talent for movies, TV, and commercials. How did they survive the COVID shutdown of their industry? Tune in to hear about the principles of savings that they learned from their parents, and how those savings and frugal decisions kept them in the black and open for business while others in their industry are gone.

Listen where you get your fine podcasts and trepstory.com

07/04/2022

How can a Trep save the world with bookkeeping? with Kandi Johnson of A-OK Bookkeeping

Kandi Johnson has had a career helping people in accounting, banking, and business networking. In this episode we learn about her value of building up people, even if that means helping them find another job, or start a business outside of the scope she is providing. We also talked about the basics of bookkeeping and how important it is to get this right in your startup. How can a Trep save the world through bookkeeping? Tune in to find out.

30/03/2022

Revisit: Contractor Convergence – How these Treps are “building” a better world by helping contractors

We chatted with Rick Friesen of Contractor Convergence in episode 2, and a bonus episode about “It’s never about price.” In this episode we visit with his entire ownership team, including Jeff Patterson and Kyler Wolf, and get an update about how their business is going. This is the heart of Trep Story, telling the story of these Treps over time, and learning how they are saving the world.

Listen where you get your fine podcasts and trepstory.com

16/03/2022

Why would someone with a good job become a Trep? with Chiho Lai of Evolve Coaching

Chiho Lai has a great job. As a C suite executive at a large energy firm, he doesn’t need the money, so why did he join the ranks of Treps in starting a fitness coaching business? Why does he charge for coaching, and what are his secrets? We explore these questions and more as we find out one more way Treps can save the world.

Listen anywhere you get your podcasts and at trepstory.com

07/03/2022

Bonus Episode: It’s never about the price with Rick Friesen of Contractor Convergence

Rick Friesen of Contractor Convergence, who we chatted with in episode 2, recently put out a lead magnet that makes the bold claim that “It’s never about the price.” What can he possibly mean by this? How does Rick’s perspective help a Trep to sell? In this short, bonus episode, we break it down with Rick.

Find it anywhere you get podcasts and on trepstory.com

17/02/2022

Can a Trep tackle a huge vision? Catch Up with Joni Moore of Snacktivist

How a Trep can tackle a worldwide, systemic problem that affects everyone? We caught up with Joni Moore from Snacktivist to see how her Trep Story is going. We last spoke with her in Episode 3, and now it’s a year later, and we get to learn how her business is growing and changing. Dive into what makes a Trep with deeply held values get up in the morning and see how a B Corp can be profitable.

trepstory.com

25/01/2022

Can Treps save the world with Laughter? with Greg Kettner of WorkHappy Nation

How important is happiness in your business? In this episode we chat with Greg Kettner, a standup comic who has shared the stage with Robin Williams, Norm MacDonald, Gilbert Gottfied, and more. Find out what happened when he was told he was no longer essential at the beginning of COVID. Greg’s Ted Talk is a moving, impactful one that everyone should see. Join us as we ask the question: Can Treps save the world with Laughter?

Link in profile: trepstory.com

11/01/2022

What if your dream is really hard to start? Learn to Trep with Grit, with Alyssa Pukkila of Wired2Learn Academy

We chat with Alyssa Pukkila, founder of Wired2Learn Academy, a school specializing in helping students with learning disabilities like dyslexia get the brain-based education they need to become successful readers, and more. She knew she needed to start a school to help these students for 10 years before she actually started it. How does a Trep endure the hardship of starting a new business, in a field where nobody is doing what she needs to do, in a town where almost nobody can afford to do it the way she knows it must be done? Grit. Determination. Faith. Learn about this Trep Story in this episode…

Link in bio.

08/01/2022

Treps come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I don't know if this has actually been launched or not, but it just might work! What do you think?

On the Trep Story podcast we share principles of entrepreneurship through the stories of Treps. Visit trepstory.com for episodes, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

----------

"my post-art plan is opening a grilled cheese cart. it will serve $1 grilled cheese made with white bread, bulk cheese, bulk butter, and thats it. greasy as hell. no options, no artisan, nothing. there will be no change. you give me $5 youre getting 5, you figure your own life out

the business and cart will be called "$1 GRILLED CHEESE", with not a lick of irony or cleverness. it will be in IMPACT font, black on cheese yellow. i will decimate every other food truck or food cart out there.

its 1am, youre stumbling out of the bar or show. what do you want? do you want to wait outside some asinine truck for a $12 deconstructed grilled cheese with avacado relish that takes 20 goddamned minutes? or do you want 5 no bu****it grilled cheeses stacked in wax paper for $5?

its like a 10% cost of product when you aim low as i will aim quality wise and a built in upsell because, once again, i do not give change. money goes into a slot and thats that. figure your s**t out.

also my cart will have a boombox cranking doo-wop classics."

----------
Link to the$1 Grilled Cheese thread and Trep Story in comments.

04/01/2022

What’s working? What’s not? What’s missing? 2021 in review, looking forward to 2022

Every year, as the calendar changes over, we take the opportunity to look back and forward in our businesses. In this episode Sarah and Russell share the technique they use for a high level approach to this meeting, and we apply it to the Trep Story podcast. We bring in our producer, Ed Bejarana, who became part of our team this year, to gain more insight into what’s working, what’s not, and what’s missing.

We’d love to hear from you. Please consider leaving us a review on Apple podcasts, and share any thoughts you have with us in a comment or by email.

28/12/2021

Can a morning routine help a Trep? with Erik Allen of The Erik Allen & The Top Rated MMA Show

How does a Trep fit everything into his day? Erik Allen is starting up his business while working a full time job, and keeping sacred his time with his young family. How does he do it? Erik’s Trep Story is compelling, tune in to see how he’s saving the world.

Go to trepstory.com to hear about this.

23/12/2021

The Luckiest Trep in History? A Christmas Message

Our guest this episode is from the 1700s. He was known as the world’s luckiest entrepreneur. We look at some of his craziest trades and ask: Was it luck, or was he really living some timeless Trep values?

Check out the episode at trepstory.com

14/12/2021

Can you Trep inside an established company? with Shaun Brown & Sunil Prajapati of Itron

We chat with Shaun Brown & Sunil Prajapati of Itron who work in the Idea Labs intrepreneurial incubator. Treps with corporate jobs! What are the advantages and disadvantages to pursuing your Trep journey within a company? Shaun helps with many projects, and Sunil brought an idea to Itron, and is currently pursuing it from within the company. How can Treps save the world from their corporate job? Listen to find out more…

Link in bio...

08/12/2021

Can a Trep start businesses in completely different fields? with Tyler Lowe

We chat with Tyler Lowe about starting businesses in fields as diverse as Augmented Reality and safely capturing and relocating unwanted Bats.

Check out the Trep Story podcast, link in profile.

07/12/2021

Recorded a fun episode with Erik Allen today. Do you have a morning routine? You should hear his.

Stay tuned, the episode will be coming soon.

27/11/2021

Stay tuned to learn more about Treps saving the bats! Episode coming this week, just in time for Christmas.