What I Learned From Fireworks

Few experiences are hotter, sweater, and dirtier than hauling boxes of explosives around for 12 hours a day during the height of fireworks season in Southeast Missouri (where the average temperature is 100 degrees Fahrenheit with 1000% humidity).?

This is how I spent every summer from age 11 to about 23, working at my parents’ fireworks business - loading, unloading, stacking, sorting, pricing, and selling everything from little sparklers to reloadable mortar shells.?

But you know what? I liked it!

Looking back now, I suppose my own path to entrepreneurship was inevitable. My love for small business was strong enough to not just withstand the manual labor of working for my parents, but truly enjoy it (summer heat and all)!?

This wasn’t the only business my parents ran - my siblings and I were always there as a built-in labor pool to assist in their various endeavors, including

• A bait-n-tackle shop
• A mail order motivational tape business
• A sound system rental business
• a deli and pizza restaurant
• A mini putt-putt course
• A tent rental business
• A car wash

Hoffman Family Fireworks is the one family business that’s outlived them all, through nasty storms, stuff getting stolen (many times), stuff getting burned down (fireworks go poof if you shoot at a container of them with a gun), and sweaty, swampy Southern summers year after year.

I don’t know if my parents ever intentionally planned for the business to grow into the big warehouse with multiple locations that it is today—they definitely never had a business coach or a vision board!—but here they are 35+ years later having just had the best season on record.

I do believe an inherent part of sustainable entrepreneurship is having a growth mindset, that you are a naturally curious person who likes to problem-solve and learn new things. And you HAVE to be comfortable with some degree of risk and know that failure on many levels in many stages is just a part of it all.

There have been so many businesses in my life, and I don't imagine that will ever stop (it's probably not surprising to know my husband is a serial entrepreneur, too). Not all of them have worked out. A few flat out failed, others ran their course, and some of them have been wonderful successes by any measure.?

I share all this because whether your business is new or mature, coming back to some of the fundamental truths of entrepreneurship is a way to stay grounded in what really matters and connect to the heart of your work, especially during those times it feels extra hard or overwhelming.

Here are the truths I come back to time and time again:

1. A tiny business can remain tiny and still have massive impact.
2. No matter what the business is, it’s always about relationships.
3. It'll be hard work and it might take a long time to make things happen, but all that hard work builds character! (and pays off in more ways than you'd ever first considered)?
4. Keep trying new things so you stay fresh, relevant, interesting, and interested.
5. Never stop trying (unless it’s time to stop).

I'm grateful for getting to learn about business from an early age—thanks Mom and Dad!—and how much that experience has helped me in my own business and in my efforts to help others do well with theirs.?

Like a fantastic fireworks show I hope you aim high, take off with full-force, and trust that you’ve built an audience who can’t wait to see you dazzle.

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