Common sense told me to start a consulting company but marketing can be an adventure which lands outside such a realm.
My almost ten years of experience directed me to vendors on the multiple award schedules of the VA and GSA while research has shed light upon such vendors inside DoD although I was trained in five-phase contracting.
The email barrage has ensued. As of late winter, I have contacted all awardees on the nine FSS schedules. I am currently contacting those vendors who have a GSA contract. They are different entities. COs inside both agencies will be quick to let you know. Just as they are trained.
My blue grass efforts differ from the white collar approach taken by some who begin a startup. I use free methodologies both for communication and advertisement while others rent out restaurants. Neither way is wrong but the dirt road is all I know. It’s how I was raised.
I grew up in a small Iowa bedroom community that is surrounded by farmland where the neighboring town is the one with money while we are the one that they all go to work in.
My childhood hometown is one that generations never leave, stories never change and if you build it they will come. It’s history started with a church named after its founder and took off from there. Everybody who is anybody starts a small business or hobby from the ground up once in their life. I always said that’s because they had such a desire to be one of those generational stories that never changes but they are simply living God’s plan for Barnes City.
For example, I grew up with grandparents and a father who ran a service station for two generations. It was the hub of the community during the business week. Robertson DX was where people started and ended their workday. Grandpa said that was just for the free coffee and newspapers but it filled my heart with life lessons only taught in church.
The boys in the town grew up on baseball. Whether it was bubble gum packs from the DX or grandpa’s Little League dynasty, baseball garnered an attendance that was only rivaled by church and they had 300 a week. Everytime the kids played the homemade field was filled with supporters. They then celebrated with a town-wide party consisting of the boys’ favorite home cooked dishes when they beat neighboring towns that reminded them that tiny can be mighty. Those kids won several league championships and the lore of the Bobcats still lives on.
That love morphed into a community-wide men’s fastpitch softball team. They wanted to play it then host games. So they built a field that hosted weeknight league games and weekend tournaments day and night. My father spearheaded that effort for 30 years and he’s even in a Hall Of Fame! Their reputation as one of the midwest’s teams still lives on during bondfires and barbecues. Opponents were always amazed that the community had multiple generations who were so good at playing ball.
The community has always had businesses. Some stay and some go. Barnes City has always had a restaurant that the community has always been conscious to support. Owners always reference how proud and surprised they are that 190 people can be so mighty. Currently, the Longhorn Saloon is where people finish their day. They even have names from Nashville perform there in the summer. Not bad for a blue grass town with deep roots is it?
The most recent success story is GutterWorks. In the late 1980s a man with a vision moved to town. The old-timers gave him no hope and no money. He said that even when his electric shut off, even when he ate ice chips for meals, he knew Barnes City was the place for him to realize his dream. He sold his invention and company after being sold in box chains, going to nation-wide trade shows while owning multiple properties in multiple states and buying any toy his heart desired. He cites the longstanding success of the community as an example that tiny can be mighty.
The newest neighborhood hobby is a self-taught butcher just because he needed something to do. The 30-something farmer built a shop, bought supplies from local auctions and routinely donates any lame livestock to himself. He smiles when he tells you it was very difficult to learn because nobody in Barnes City admits that. He now graciously shares his product with the community without seeking anything in return just because he has it and he can.
Now, I have the bug. I’ve seen it done and I want a piece of the pie. My vision for Robertson KX embodies what I learned from small town Iowa and was taught in the big city. Although I don’t have Chicagoland money I have grown up around giant slayers and have even slayed a few myself.
To date I’ve contacted about a quarter of the GSA umbrella. I’ve conducted standardized free introductory calls with many and others are keeping my information for use while compliments on my background pop like late Spring dandelion’s.
If you know me and my company then please pass along my information. I know very successful people that know very powerful families and if they find this blog or my introductory email then they may send me a digital slap on the back but I didn’t want to start out there.
I guess I want to be one of those generational stories in a town that never changes living a famous line from “Field Of Dreams”. You can, too.
Let’s slay giants and turn your company into one.
If you think I can help you then email nicholas.s.robertson@outlook.com for your free consultation.
Don’t forget to tell a friend.
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