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Climb Downers

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In business and life, DON’T fight the hills

FINALLY, THIS MONTH, I took my own advice and took a long vacation? a three-week, 200-mile hike of the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal. It was one of the hardest, and greatest, things I’ve ever done. I learned many valuable lessons, and will try to share a few appropriate ones here: 

Bought myself the most expensive Timberland boots in the store a few days before I left, despite warnings that I should break them in first. Result: by the end of my first day in the mountains, I had blisters ? although, I’m not sure ?blisters? is the correct word for a process in which the entire outside layer of skin on one’s feet is removed. 

LESSON: Before committing to a new tool, make sure you’ve really used it and are comfortable with it. 

For the next five days, I had to hike in sandals. Walking uphill in sandals on uneven terrain is hard. My feet were continually slipping out the back, and I had to curl my toes upward to keep the sandals on. The result: tendinitis in both feet, to the extent that I could literally hear squeaks every time I moved either of my big toes. 

LESSON: Don’t try to achieve big things without the right tools. 

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For the first several days of the trip, I calculated obsessively how much we’d have to climb to know how hard I’d have to work. And any time we weren’t climbing, I’d want to complain. But to who? God’s department of geology? (Hey, people, I just climbed up this hill ? now you’re gonna make me climb down it?) Anyway, after a while, I learned that the best, most rewarding, and ultimately easiest approach when confronted by a hill, is to just put your head down and walk up it. 
LESSON: Don’t fight the hills.  

Wishing you the very best business …

David Squires  
Executive Editor and Associate Publisher  
Click here

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Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success

After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone. Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently. The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.

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David Squires

Climb Downers

Published

on

In business and life, DON’T fight the hills

FINALLY, THIS MONTH, I took my own advice and took a long vacation? a three-week, 200-mile hike of the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal. It was one of the hardest, and greatest, things I’ve ever done. I learned many valuable lessons, and will try to share a few appropriate ones here: 

Bought myself the most expensive Timberland boots in the store a few days before I left, despite warnings that I should break them in first. Result: by the end of my first day in the mountains, I had blisters ? although, I’m not sure ?blisters? is the correct word for a process in which the entire outside layer of skin on one’s feet is removed. 

LESSON: Before committing to a new tool, make sure you’ve really used it and are comfortable with it. 

For the next five days, I had to hike in sandals. Walking uphill in sandals on uneven terrain is hard. My feet were continually slipping out the back, and I had to curl my toes upward to keep the sandals on. The result: tendinitis in both feet, to the extent that I could literally hear squeaks every time I moved either of my big toes. 

LESSON: Don’t try to achieve big things without the right tools. 

Advertisement

For the first several days of the trip, I calculated obsessively how much we’d have to climb to know how hard I’d have to work. And any time we weren’t climbing, I’d want to complain. But to who? God’s department of geology? (Hey, people, I just climbed up this hill ? now you’re gonna make me climb down it?) Anyway, after a while, I learned that the best, most rewarding, and ultimately easiest approach when confronted by a hill, is to just put your head down and walk up it. 
LESSON: Don’t fight the hills.  

Wishing you the very best business …

David Squires  
Executive Editor and Associate Publisher  
Click here

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success

After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone. Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently. The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.

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