Don found work–life balance— and grew his company by 176%.
Don Kick, Impact Shirts
Granada Hills, CA
Fun that didn’t last.
Don started his own business printing shirts when he was in college, running production out of his garage using a handpress. There was no way to know how quickly it would grow—or how much it would begin to consume his life. After several years of fast growth, what was once joyful had become a place to go to work, something that sucked his energy and robbed him of time with his family.
Summer was always the worst... I was working crazy hours. I just spent all my summer, when my kids have the most free time, working 65 hours a week.
Don Kick, Impact Shirts
Helpless to fix the business.
Don reached a point where he couldn’t think straight; questions and problems were coming so quickly that his thoughts weren’t his own anymore. He was overwhelmed by the sheer number of hours he was working and felt helpless to fix the situation. He didn’t know where to look for answers.
We’d gotten to a point where the business...was doing well financially, but it owned me. My days were consumed putting out fires, dealing with customers, dealing with employees. It was just too much.
Don Kick, Impact Shirts
Learning to let go.
Don had put his heart into his business. For over 20 years, he’d been working with a passionate mission to create quality shirts at a reasonable price so that groups he cared about could get the best quality out there. Don had built his company based on one core value: community service. To Don, taking time away from the business to be with his family meant risking that commitment. Then, he found his solution: infusing every part of his business with his values.
The year I started working with Matt, we had just finished our year…at $1.7 million. Last year, the end of the first year with Matt, we did $2.3 million. This year, I’m hoping to be around $3 million.
Don Kick, Impact Shirts
Three factors for success
Envision the company you want.
Don knew exactly how he wanted his company to look, act, feel and perform—he’d been doing it for years already. So he created a similar vision of his company without him in the driver’s seat.
Build a team that shares your values.
To entrust the business to his team, Don had to find his people—people in the world who thought like he did, did things the way he did, got joy from similar areas of life—so he knew they would make the right decisions without him.
Design the business to run without you.
To free himself from day-to-day operations, Don built the structure that helped his people be accountable, make choices and solve problems on their own.
Loving his business and his life.
Now, Don loves his business just as much as he did when he started it in 1993. He can have fun in business again. He can have all the time he wants with his family. And most importantly, he can choose how he wants to show up for the business every day.
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