How ‘Growing Up Military’ Helped This Florida Entrepreneur Grow A Custom-Design T-Shirt Company
Learn how this entrepreneur’s military family upbringing has made her a better leader.
As entrepreneurs, we can learn great lessons from athletes and veterans. Today, however, I’d like to open up an additional perspective with the help of Tina Bacon-DeFrece, the President of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts in Dunedin, Fla. Founded in 2004, Big Frog is becoming a “big dog” with a fast-growing franchise model as a high-tech provider of custom printed garments and tees.
The company has grown to $22.2 million in revenue in 2016 with 84 franchise locations in 25 states and an eye towards expanding to 300-plus U.S. locations by 2020. The company’s leaders, Leeward Bean, Ron DeFrece and Tina Bacon-DeFrece, were former engineering colleagues who went all in to launch an online company selling novelty items. Big Frog was born out of their idea to offer geeky slogans on T-shirts, such as “First rule of chemistry; don’t lick the spoon.”
In the Big Frog model, customers sit down with an artist to create a unique design, and shirts are printed either on the spot or within 24 hours. The company requires no minimum quantity and adds no charges for setup or design. The business model is reaching milestones, such as a 20.4% increase in revenue for 2016 and double-digit revenue growth for every year since 2008.
This week I spoke with Bacon-DeFrece, Big Frog’s president, about the influences that have helped her succeed. She credits her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering for helping her to understand the science of business in a favorable way. But even more than this, her childhood in a military family has influenced the leadership and communication style that has propelled her personal and company success in several significant ways, as follows:
Company Culture — A tight-knit community feels right
Bacon-DeFrece: I grew up hopping from one military base to the next, as my father was a Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard. Being constantly surrounded by other military families in unfamiliar places drove home characteristics that have shaped the person I am today — discipline, a strong work ethic, complex team-building skills and, most importantly, adaptability.
I was fortunate to visit my dad while he was working on various ships and bases. These environments exposed me to dedicated and hard-working people who were focused on accomplishing the tasks at hand. It was inspiring for me to witness the efficiency and productivity of my father’s units. Every member knew they were making valuable contributions, which empowered the team to be successful as a whole.
The culture of Big Frog has stemmed from these early experiences — encouraging franchisees and employees to be disciplined and systemized has been a factor in our growth. We’ve encouraged creativity, passionate customer service and dependability. Being able to strike a balance between systemized protocol and community engagement has shaped the tight-knit company and community we have always wanted to be.
Teamwork — Why a company’s members are better together
Bacon-DeFrece: One of the best things about growing up in a military family is the pride you foster for your country and your confidence in the American dream. I’ve lived on military bases as a child where you never feared for your safety and the sense of community was always strong — everyone on the base was part of the team. Even as children, we were expected to represent our parents and country well. I still believe today that this is the kind of structure and pride that makes you want to live up to and exceed expectations.
For example, while I was living in Galveston a hurricane threatened our coast from off of the Gulf of Mexico. We were living in military housing with other Coast Guard families at the time. All of the crews had to take their ships out of port and into the Gulf of Mexico to avoid the storm. This meant it was up to the families to batten down the hatches. While it was an extremely frantic and stressful situation, it was also one of the more poignant moments of my life.
Every family came together to form a new, collective family to board up windows and prepare for food and water shortages. This teamwork was critical for our safety and survival.
This is true in our business culture as well. I have always wanted our franchisees and employees to feel the same sense of safety and unity as I felt growing up. We get everyone, from the bottom up, involved in strategizing and decision-making. The belief that we’re always stronger and wiser when we work together has helped drive our success since our start.
Communication Skills — How constant moves contribute to communication ability with diverse people
Bacon-DeFrece: Adaptability has been one of the most defining skill sets I picked up from my childhood. Unlike some children, I considered moving around the country more fun than stressful. We were stationed in certain places for only a year or so, which meant that I had to learn to fit in quickly with new people and new schools.
The people and cultures were different everywhere we went (from New York City to New Orleans, for example) and adaptability was key to my wellbeing in these places. It became natural for me to tweak the way I communicated with others in order to get to know them and achieve mutually beneficial goals.
In the business world, companies are built on relationships with fellow executives, employees and entrepreneurs and depend on strong communication to evolve. Being able to relate to a variety of people has been crucial for growing and sustaining a national franchise system.
Adapting to new lines of communication is important as well. Being accessible via phone, social media, video chat or even surveys gives employees the ability to express their thoughts through a variety of channels to be as efficient and effective as possible. Strong communication depends on more than being personable and open minded. You have to know how to listen, understand and be available for your team.
Perseverance — The mindset of knowing there is nothing you cannot achieve
Bacon-DeFrece: We always immersed ourselves in the new cities where we lived, which fostered a sense of adventure and excitement that influenced the person I am today. Being exposed to new foods, landscapes, cultures and still finding success in my schoolwork and in interactions with classmates made me feel there was nothing I couldn’t achieve.
When I ended my career as a scientist and co-founded Big Frog, I never worried whether it would be a success. My thoughts were on when it would be a success. I had an inner drive to adapt to the unknown and find a way to make things work. In creating Big Frog, we’ve made some amazing strides and expensive mistakes that come with trying new approaches, systems and equipment. But if you’re too scared to make those big decisions, you can’t grow.
Moving can be scary; starting a new business can be even scarier. What hinders so many entrepreneurs is the fear of failure. However, if you go in with the expectation that failure will occur sooner or later, you’re better prepared to handle problems when they arise instead of backing down and throwing in the towel when things don’t go according to plan. Persevering and trusting yourself are key to a “success mentality” — without failure, there is no real success. I will always encourage entrepreneurs to explore, travel, meet new people and delve into new cultures, as getting out of your comfort zone is the best way to learn how to catch life’s curveballs.
Williams: In all, much has been said about the challenges of “growing up military” and moving from place to place as a youth. As Tina has demonstrated, however, a tight-knit community culture, teamwork, adaptable communication and perseverance are all great advantages of the military culture and of the particular challenges military families face as they move over time. In the final analysis, these are ideal traits for each of us to learn and to leverage as entrepreneurs.
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