Difficulty. Partners. Resilience

A few years ago (yes years … its taken that long), Joel Griffin, Carrick Longly, and I embarked on a journey to open a restaurant / brewery in Fredericksburg called The Port – Oysteria and Brewery in downtown Fredericksburg, VA.  Since we've started, there are other important business and financial partners who have joined the party.  

As is so often the case in life, little did we know of the incredible challenges and difficulties that lay ahead.  

Murphy's Law has been in full effect on this project.  From massive construction delays during COVID, cost increases, wrong decisions we made, permitting challenges, supply change issues, key persons dropping out, equipment failures, plant problems, building and space problems, difficult team members … all the stuff! 

If it could go wrong, it did go wrong, and sometimes, multiple times. 

During a particularly dark day, Joel and I were chatting.  Joel said … "I feel like I have swum halfway across a broad swift river. It will take just as much effort to swim back to where we started (in other words, cut our losses and shut this whole thing down), as it will to keep going and get to the other side and finish, so we have to keep going." 

This quote has stuck with me.  It’s a perfect metaphor for so many of life's journeys that we launch out on.  Life is full of challenges, and sometimes those challenges are big, and come with great risk.   

I remember having similar thoughts during the early days of launching Harkcon when the going got tough.  I distinctly recall … I'm in too deep.  I've come too far.  There is no way I can stop.   

In the circumstances described above, there were two things that kept us going, both with The Port, and with Harkcon.  These are the important takeaways, the lessons from this journey, so far.  

1) The importance of good partners 

2) Resilience 

When the going gets tough, good partners hold you up, keep you accountable, encourage you, have energy when you don’t, say the right thing.  At different times, each partner played their role in keeping things moving. It's not perfect.  There are always challenges with partnerships.  But none of us could have done this on our own.  Choose your partners carefully. 

Resilience is the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress. It involves not only "bouncing back" from difficult experiences but also involves profound personal growth. And in this case, the growth is painful. 

Supportive relationships and networks help us overcome adversity and thrive. Having those people there for you helps a lot.   

Sheesh …..  

A couple weeks ago, we finally got The Port done and opened, and it's very nice.   

But the game is far from over.  

Now we have to make it profitable, which is no easy task.  We are not out of the woods yet. There will be many more challenges ahead. 

But remarkable things happen when you just keep going. With resilience, and the support of good people around you, you can overcome the challenges.  One good person can do a lot.  One good team can do much much more. 

Character Prevails

.