Trust Hard Work - Two Years of goodwerks
It’s been two years. Two years of pushing thread through fabric with a tiny steel post, over and over again. Two years and thousands upon thousands of stitches, hundreds of yards of fabric, thousands of feet of zipper coil, countless hours of cutting, and seemingly endless sloppily-written ‘thank you’ notes.
This year was vastly different than the first. I couldn’t have imagined that goodwerks would grow like it has. It’s gone from a small, niche business supporting (and supported by) folks in the rucking community, to a slightly larger business, making a splash in the edc community trying desperately to keep up. Not only has the business grown but, more importantly, the community has grown. Folks from all over the world are interested and interacting with goodwerks.
It first hit me when I was strolling down the boardwalk along the atlantic in July, not too long after goodwerks surpassed the one-year mark. The sound of sand scraping and grinding beneath our shoes on the weathered planks, the surf rolling to the sandy shore, the lively chatter of folks on vacation. I wasn’t about to crawl onto the giant adirondack chair with everyone else. In my refusal, as I watched friends scurry into position for an instagrammable moment, something dawned upon me: We were all like the other. Every person I was with had a Boogie Bag slung ‘round their waist. Every person I was with had, at some point, invested their hard-earned money in this business. Not only that, but they had, free of charge, marketed for goodwerks; Proclaimed their pride in owning something I had created. goodwerks was becoming… something.
Admittedly, this was not the first time I had spent with folks wearing boogie bags. However, it was the first time I realized that goodwerks was making an impact. goodwerks was becoming something that people not only wanted to be part of, but were proud to be part of.
I saw it again a couple months later. many of the same people (plus more) grated, ground, and gnashed themselves into the concrete of New York City to commemorate lives lost and acts of valor from an event that changed our lives forever, twenty years ago.
Speaking plainly and in a manner less-than-encapsulating, these tasks are difficult. challenging. Grueling.
“why bother bringing it up?” You may ask. “What’s the purpose in reminiscing about days past that involved a specific group of people?”
The purpose is this: this is an indicative sampling of the folks that have helped me build goodwerks. A litmus, if you will.
I’ve always spoken of the quality of people that drive this business forward. Referring to those of you that save and enrich lives daily, that push yourselves to your limits, and then again to make sure the limit is always being tested. Tried. Your resolve tempered. Those of you that sacrifice yourselves for others, mentally and physically. I’ve witnessed it time and time again. It’s one of the reasons why goodwerks has sponsored Ruck:Fest and The Heavy Drop Training Rufus’s THrowdown events For the 2021/2022 season. A small reward for excellence. A small reward for being part of a frequently selfless community. A small reward for sacrificing yourselves for your families, your friends, your teams, your communities.
The past year also saw the beginning of Old Fashioned Fridays. It’s difficult to call a community a “community” without interaction. It’s even more difficult when 98% of the time, I’m rooted behind a sewing machine or production table.
In the aftermath of 2020, many of us learned the merits of the almighty zoom call. Employers, bosses, managers, invaded the comforts of home and personal living spaces as many of us were forced to work remotely. It also provided us an alternate way to communicate with one another besides FaceTime.
After realizing that Instagram Live wasn’t as interactive as I had hoped, O.F.F. was migrated to Zoom and turned into it’s own sort of animal. Cute and fuzzy but also bears teeth. It’s been a pleasure “meeting” many of you via Old Fashioned Friday and there will be many more to come. All are welcome, just prepare yourself for a bit of a shock. We’re an odd group.
At this point, the goodwerks community has collectively raised over $14,000 that has been donated to multiple non-profit organizations across the country, supporting many different causes. It’s been a while since we’ve had a non-profit raffle and it’s definitely overdue. I know that y’all will come through and we will help make a difference once again. goodwerks has never been solely about making money. The intent has always been, and will always be, to use the business as a vehicle to catalyze positive change.
Internally, goodwerks has had a bit of change. Saying that keeping up with demand can be overwhelming, is a vast understatement. Many days I’d enter the workshop before sunlight and leave after it had passed. I needed (and still need) to find a more efficient and better way to make goodwerks products.
It started on a single, domestic sewing machine that sat on a folding table with a wooden and metal stool in front of it. The buzz and groan of a small clutch motor before the needle sped off, out of control, for a sewing novice provided a daunting learning curve. Within the first year, it was apparent that this machine would never withstand the volume and weight of the materials that are required to build goodwerks products, so a prosumer machine was added to the shop and the pace picked up.
Around the same time it clicked that goodwerks was having real, forward movement, after the one-year-mark, another investment was made into a new machine. This time, an industry standard sewing monster that would handle whatever I threw at it. Since then, two more industrial machines have been added to speed things up. that whiny, angry, little domestic machine has been gently retired and placed into its box until I require its services once again.
Persistence. Consistency. Accountability. Three more reasons why the community around goodwerks is crucial to both the business, and to me.
Before that first sewing machine was set up in my basement, I never thought I’d be using it to make money. Let alone having sewing as my primary source of income. At the same time, I never thought this path would be easy. I never thought this path would be trivial or novel. I’ve worked for myself for a lot of years. I know the pitfalls of being your own boss, making your own schedule, answering to yourself for everything. If the demand is there, failures and successes are determined by you. And only you.
Over the past year, I can confidently say that I’ve never worked at something as hard as I have worked on goodwerks. It has required investments I was unaware were required. Investments I was unaware I was capable of. It has required help that I Could and cannot be too proud to ask for. It will continue to need those investments and help to continue to grow.
I’ve spent more nights sitting on the floor of the workshop, or behind my machines, with my wet face in my hands than I would ever care to admit. I’ve struggled desperately with depression, apathy, lethargy, self-hate, you name it. I’ve spent weeks, months, trapped under ice. I’m incredibly fortunate to not only have the purpose of community to pull me through, but to have people in my corner. People that are unyielding, unfailing, patient, kind, understanding, firm, and steadfast. People that allow me to pull myself up, dust myself off after my mistakes and struggles, and move forward. I’ll always take one more step. (If depression is something you struggle with, know you’re not alone. You can reach out to me any time and I’ll be more than happy to listen. Sometimes that’s all it takes to help. I know this because it’s what helps me when I’m navigating the depths.)
I have been listening to what the community has been saying and I will be addressing, head-on, the problems involved with goodwerks. Availability, being the biggest current concern, is in the crosshairs. There is an “Open inbox” policy for goodwerks. If ever there is an issue, contact me directly and we will remedy it. There is no space here for excuses. Yes, I will make mistakes. I’ll even make the same mistakes time and again. but I’ll always own up to them and do my best to remedy them. “Sorry” just isn’t good enough.
For now, the focus is forward. There are big things on the horizon for goodwerks. I’m glad you’re here for the ride.
I couldn’t possibly have an anniversary post without addressing a few more things:
The community: It’s already been made clear of the importance but it hasn’t been said yet: Thank you.
The regulars in my DM’s: Many of you are the core of the goodwerks community. Support on tap. Thank you.
The Boogie Bag Queen: I don’t think either of us suspected that taking a few pouches I made in my basement to test out would turn into… well, any of this. I couldn’t ask for a better ambassador for goodwerks. You’re the embodiment of what goodwerks stands for and aims to be. Thank you.
My amazing wife: Patient and supportive. Tolerating my odd hours, long days, mental struggles, me being a “poor,” and any plethora of issues at home that comes with the investment involved to make goodwerks grow. It will pay off, I promise. Thank you. Love you.
Without y’all, I couldn’t have learned the merit of trusting hard work, going about it intelligently, and having faith in what I’m doing.