The Reign of Erik!

I suspect that anyone who is an entrepreneur knows this particular type of insomnia. The framework of my brain would just not turn off! The buzzing about my businesses was loud and incessant.

I was worried about our new start-up that’s 6 weeks behind and way over budget. I analyzed the Otion staff meeting; which, was a bit fuzzy given that I did a tequila tasting for them. I’m still wondering if I really invited them over to my house to play the board game “Settler’s of Catan” or if that was part of a somewhat ill-advised dream. Then, I re-wrote the speech for the Keynote Address for the Arizona Soaper’s Conference, all in my head, lying prone in bed.

That’s all pretty par for the course for thoughts and worries. I can usually sleep through that neural net of business woes and concerns. The really big thing occupying my brain is that my brother is moving in. Today! With his dog. And his fiance. Into our small house.

So, after much tossing and turning, I decided to be productive. Thus, the 3:11 a.m. pasta salad foray. Followed by washing dishes. And then reading 55 pages of the book “I was a Good Mother Until I had Kids” (yes, it’s as funny as it sounds).

Erik and the dog (Sam, in the photograph above, a purebred Boxer) and Cheriss arrive in about an hour. They are moving from California and will be staying with us until they find a home of their own. It will be a treat to have them with us, for probably about the first four days. After that, I suspect everyone (Erik included) will be highly motivated to find them a house of their own.

After four years of Otion running under my “leadership” and a parade of managers that came and went, I feel confident that we’ve hit upon a winning strategy: family. Erik is smart, motivated, talented and best of all, shares in the same gene pool that spawned me. Some of that work ethic and entrepreneurial bent had to have gotten into him through osmosis or indoctrination from my parents! To back up that mesh of learned and inherited traits, he has a business degree to boot! So, the reign of Erik will start at Otion in the next few weeks.

I’m excited to welcome him to the self-employed life. His goal is to get Otion Bellingham healthy enough to fund an expansion into Seattle and become an owner/operator of the Seattle store. So, if you’re in the area, please stop into Otion and say “Hi.” He’ll be the newbie so you experienced soapmakers, please be gentle!