Would you Shave the Dog, and other dispatches from the edge of entrepreneurship.

Rance Loftsgard
Aug 9, 2017 · 3 min read

No, really, would you?

As a quasi-millennial, I’ve gotten a bit of a front row seat to the cultural phenomena that has crafted entrepreneurship into this sexy, en vogue profession, which I love.

It makes sense though, we grew up in the midst of the first major terror attack, the collapse of an “un-collapsable” part of the market and other deeply significant events that created a climate which brought out one of our nation’s greatest assets; ingenuity. For those of us who didn’t have to make our own way out of job loss or financial collapse the stage was and remains set for anyone with vision and a compelling narrative to carve out a way, social media is constantly evolving to give you, yes you a platform and way to create the future you have in your minds eye.

I started out this post wanting to give you a glimpse into the grind, grit, and hustle that entrepreneurship truly is, in an effort to not be remised, here are 3 lessons I’ve learned on the journey and a tool or two:

  1. GO!

You can read the books, follow the guru’s and say all the mantra’s, nothing beats doing. The establishment is gone, the 65-year-old, rich white men telling you to go get an MBA and that you can’t are gone. The narrative is yours for the writing. The old lie is that someone else will do it or that every idea and disruption is created by people smarter than you, it’s simply a lie. Go, fail, learn, adapt, evolve and disrupt. The future belongs to the doers.

2. What’s your why?

The most basic human need is never money, power or fame, rather narrative. If we do not have a compelling narrative within we become bored, dangerous humanity bound and constrained by our impulses, addictions, and circumstances. The same is true in business if we do not have a compelling narrative to tell and to invite our market into we might as well not have a product. Bottom line: If your life, company or product story wouldn’t make a good movie, it won’t make a meaningful impact.

3. Would you Shave the Dog?

This is perhaps the best litmus test of the above point, what are you willing to pay? Not in money; yours or your investors, rather in sweat, tears, and humility. Even the roads to wealth and success that seem easiest are seeded with countless, unseen and largely unappreciated failures, seemingly impossible moments and hours of unglamorous and embarrassingly hard work and seemingly unconnected tasks.

I was reminded of this several weeks ago. I was getting ready for a major trade show for a better menswear, handmade accessories line I launched; Avenue 33. In preparation, my long time friend Alan offered to 3-D print my sign letters in exchange for some work. I happily agreed and next thing I know, I’m sitting on his porch, shaving the underbelly of his designer puppy, which, obviously led me to ponder many things, including the true cost of starting a business. It helped me remember that over the course of my entrepreneurial journey I have; shaved dogs, gotten hit by an Amtrack (more on that later), and helped a disabled man with daily activities all with the goal of, in some way becoming an entrepreneur. Has it been easy or always fun? Absolutely not! worth it? Totally, even in the darkest of times, including the many, many times I’ve failed in very public and eccentric ways that should have taken me out. I look back on every facet of my journey and feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for every sleepless night, every moment I was wrong or right, every moment I push off and tried again, because out of the mess I have learned a deep confidence, joy, and optimism that is only birthed from the fire, hustle and grind that is, entrepreneurship.

Let us continue to dream, for the sake of the future and for others.

  • Rance