So, Grampa’s Gourmet has been doing great in it’s second year of operations. We’ve exceeded our goals for this year already and the future looks promising as we begin to make more specific expansion plans for next year.
But I keep thinking about something that Brent and I talked about a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about the people who continue to live on old agricultural lands, and who maintain their family traditions and trades. More specifically, we were talking about the hills country of Texas and and the old stomping ground of his grandfather (Brent recently wrote two moving posts on the subject). A lot of people who live there, who maintain the old-world way of life are very poor, barely making by. This is true across the American southwest as well – there are a lot of artisans, traditional craftsmen, farmers – organic, old world farmers who refuse the label “organic” farmers – who barely scrape by a living.
I was talking to Brent about it, and asking him why they won’t change their approach to sales or marketing, or whatever it takes to get to a more lucrative, sustainable market, etc… but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Based on Brent’s answers, and my own understanding of these issues, I am seriously starting to suspect that the cause of this poverty and misery is not the result of lack of skills, or the time, or even the financial resources; it’s the people themselves! They won’t let themselves change their way of business, try something new, try something that might actually work in making them a success.
I’ve witnessed the same sentiment in my own family traditions, both in Armenia and Ukraine. It’s this notion of someone who is happy being unhappy. They’ve been unhappy for so long, that it’s the only condition that they recognize. Being unhappy also gives you a pass at trying – because you’ve already failed – there is no risk taken. Being unhappy is a way of life – and often a source of pride. You can be proud of being unhappy, and being able to cope with it, to live with it, to survive it, to persevere.
And now I’m detecting these same ideas in the same people I’ve been admiring so much. The ones that are carrying on their family traditions, the ones are the true to their roots, and seemingly pure in their authenticity.
In other words, as Brent put it, they haven’t sold out.
“Is that what you think you’re doing?” I asked him, “Selling out?”
Does he think that by building a company that actually has a chance of survival, no – has a chance of success, that he is “selling out”?!
Clearly, I disagree with the notion. Financial success isn’t an indicator of loss of values, or tradition, or authenticity. In the case of Grampa’s Gourmet, the success is in fact heavily dependent on the traditions and the craftsmanship that Brent has. Telling his grandfather’s story and the story of his hard work and efforts through the label and all of the resulting marketing in no way diminishes the values themselves…
And it’s depressing for me to think that someone as honest, and as impassioned about their craft would compromise their own success in this way.
I can’t let that happen, because what a waste that would be.
