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As a kid I played a lot of cards with my family.

My mom, my aunt Karen, and my uncles were all kind enough to let a ten year old kid play with the grown ups.

Our game of choice was spades.

Card games are a great way to bring together family, to have fun, and best of all–compete.

Although I loved to compete, I was the WORST loser. When things weren’t going my way and I started to lose, I would literally throw my cards and yell, “I quit!”

Looking back I really appreciate their patience with me as this behavior was not a one time occurrence. Each time I asked if I could play they challenged me to ensure I would finish the game. Over time I learned to behave and ultimately the outbursts subsided.

Quitting, if unchallenged, becomes a habit.

My childhood quitting habit was thwarted further by my baseball and football coaches. Thanks to athletics and the coaches who volunteered, I learned to compete, and lose, and to continue to fight. Giving up was no longer an option.

So much of life is represented in competition. There is always someone or some circumstance that stands between us, our dreams, and our joy in life.

Ultimately, it is our choice whether or not to quit.

One of the more challenging times in my life was during the financial crisis of 2008.

I was a real estate agent with RE/MAX going into my 6th year. Things were going well so I started looking for ways to build for my retirement. I decided after looking at a lot of different options to purchase a small cabinet manufacturing business. We closed on the purchase in May of 2017 and things went well until the fall of 2008.

Both of my businesses, the real estate practice and the cabinet business, were devastated by the financial crisis. People were losing jobs. Lenders stopped lending. Houses weren’t selling. Cabinets weren’t being purchased.

As 2009 came to a close, it became clear to me my path forward, I had no choice, I had to close the cabinet business. In fact, I wondered if I could even continue my commission only job as a real estate agent.

After the close of the cabinet business, I looked at my circumstance, weighed my options and made a decision to get my real estate broker license and start my own brokerage.

Last week Bastion REALTORS® turned seven years old. We are not quitters. We don’t quit on our agents. We don’t quit on our clients. We don’t quit on our community.

What about you? Are you competing?

Competing is a necessary way to view business and life. We will have victories and we will suffer losses, but we have to be determined to continue the battle, win or lose.

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While writing at the coffee shop a few weeks ago, a friend of mine stopped by and told me about a real estate seminar he was attending the upcoming weekend.

The seminar was held at a local hotel and the promise was to teach attendees the secrets of flipping houses. You know, buy a foreclosure home, fix it up, and resell it for profit.

My patience for these types of seminars has come to an end. Almost always they over promise and ultimately the attendees end up a few dollars poorer.

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On Friday I met a guy named Adrian at one of the houses I’m getting prepped for sale. A few years ago he started a business doing “clean outs”. In the real estate world a “clean out” is removing a house of unwanted furniture and personal property no longer needed. Normally this happens when someone is downsizing and has no room in the new place, however, sometimes these can be bank owned properties where the homeowner has abandoned the house. In either case, clean outs are necessary to prepare the house for sale.

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Did you know that Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus closed down last May? After 146 years the Greatest Show on Earth is no longer in business.

Good. I hate the circus.

Also, I hate the zoo.

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Jill Rolfes grew up right here in Loveland, Ohio. She remembers Loveland before the nice restaurants, walking and bike paths, and the typical summer evenings of live music and crowded parking lots. Downtown Loveland may not have been so “cool” before but that’s all changed now.

In school she loved reading and history because it was all in story form. But Jill’s story came with its difficulties as well. Her home life in high school was not easy and taught her how to act like everything was ok with her friends. She also found herself in an abusive relationship. The type of relationship that makes one feel not worth much and trapped. She was able to find a way out of it but it was those experiences that led her to what she does today.

Now Jill owns the company Deliberate Designs, which is a Fair Trade company. Fair Trade focuses on paying a fair and living wage to makers and workers in 3rd world countries. This directly helps fight against human trafficking. A common issue with products made and imported from 3rd world countries is that a lot of it is produced by slave labor. These people are forced into situations that make them feel worthless and trapped. By supporting companies that pay fair wages, Deliberate Designs is working to combat the massive industry of human trafficking while also bringing high-quality goods to the United States.

You can connect with Deliberate Designs on Facebook or go to deliberatedesignsohio.com. If you are interested in finding out how to combat human trafficking locally you can go to http://www.endslaverycincinnati.org 

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Brent Zuch, now the branch manager of Security National Mortgage, grew up in Loveland, OH. In school he developed a love of history and science. These subjects helped him develop his curiosity. He rarely accepts new information without asking “why” so that he really understands what is being presented. 

As a kid Brent always knew he wanted to serve in the armed forces. It just seemed to be in his nature. After graduating high school he decided to join the Navy and served there for four years. Brent then went to Miami University of Ohio where he studied political science and ended up working for a campaign and working in the state legislature for a few years.

All of this eventually led him back to Loveland, Ohio where he settled down with his wife. During their first home buying experience they realized how poor the service was between his mortgage officer and the listing agent. He had trouble getting calls returned to him and no one seemed to be eager to have his back and help walk him through this stressful process. 

The process was so difficult that Brent decided to work with the seller directly and make an agreement so that the deal could go through. After seeing this, his loan officer’s manager reached out to him and offered him a job.

Now Brent works at Security National Mortgage where he puts himself in the customer’s shoes. He wants them to know he has their back and will help them through the process of getting a mortgage every step of the way.

The benefit of working with someone like Brent is that his bank works solely with mortgages and, therefore, is focused on doing one thing really well. Traditional banks offer mortgages but they have many focuses and most customers become just another number to them. But perhaps the biggest difference is seen with closing time. A traditional bank might close within two months, on average, but Security National Mortgage closes with an average near 22 days.

To get in contact with Brent Zuch, call or text him at 513-477-3834. You can also get more information or apply online at brentzuch.com

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Doychin Karshovski grew up in Bulgaria under a communist regime in the seaside town of Varna. This made his childhood a little different from what you might be used to in America.

The government of Bulgaria told students what to learn and when Doychin was a student they focused on fitness. Fitness was everything and Doychin learned to love it. He started off as a swimmer until his mom made him choose another sport.

He eventually landed into the sport of Marine Pentathlon, which as you might be able to tell by the name, involves a lot of water sports including swimming. He let his mom figure that swimming detail out a little later on.

Doychin worked his way up to a great job in Bulgaria where he started a foundation to help orphans and youth. His wife also did well for herself and was the CFO of a company. But it was when every thing seemed to be at the best that things changed.

The couple had applied for a green card to the United States on a whim, not thinking it would come through for them. But to their surprise they got approved. They moved to Cincinnati where the former executives had to start over.

This decision ended up working out well for them, however. Doychin learned not only about the fitness clubs in Cincinnati but he started coaching people on his own. 

After learning from a financial adviser that he should be saving for retirement with a 401k, he realized the same principles could be used for fitness. This became the foundation of his book “401 Fitness.”

Just as one would save for retirement so that they can enjoy life, so should someone take small actionable steps with their fitness so that they can enjoy their retired life. Check out the book at 401fit.com.

You can also reach Doychin by texting him at 513-238-9952

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Mimika Cooney, a multi-passionate creative, TV Host, Christian author, inspirational speaker, serial entrepreneur, branding strategist, marketing maven, award winning photographer and aspiring filmmaker… grew up in a way that might seem familiar to you and I. 

Before all her amazing accomplishments, Mimika, who grew up in South Africa, faced rejection, bullying, and a broken childhood. She chased approval and tried to find her worth in awards and accolades.

From an early age she developed the drive to hustle and create. She had a good work ethic, but it crept into perfectionism in many areas of her life. She knew growing up that she could never fit into a corporate mold and desired to be an entrepreneur. Mimika and her husband decided they would both be entrepreneurs so they could have time freedom when starting a family and so that they could do what they loved.

She ended up creating several businesses, many of them the first of their kind, such as an internet-based business in 1997. She also pursued photography, where she started winning awards for her work.

Everything seemed to be going really well until it all came crashing down at once. Within a short period of time she lost her mother-in-law to cancer, one of her children faced severe depression, and Mimika’s health started failing due to stress.

She realized that she had been pursuing the wrong things and had strayed from what made her want to be an entrepreneur in the first place. It was in this moment that God showed her she doesn’t need to hustle just for hustling’s sake and she doesn’t need to pursue awards when her worth is found in God.

It is this message that she desires to carry out in her new book “Worrier to Warrior: A Mother’s Journey from Fear to Faith.”

To hear more about her story check out her new book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0052GNJGY

If her story has resonated with you, let Mimika know on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/mimikacooney/

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Evangeline “Van” DeVol grew up in many places around the world including England and South America. Her family moved around frequently during her childhood because her father was in the aluminum industry and he had to go where the work required him to be.

Because she was exposed to many different cultures she saw poverty firsthand and she experienced the feeling of not quite “fitting in” while in school. This experience eventually led her to the desire of wanting to be a teacher herself.

Van decided to officially call the United States home after a few years in the classroom in England. She moved to Washington D.C. where she was exposed to the poverty in America’s inner-city schools. She saw the problem the students were having with family members constantly in and out of prison and the students themselves getting wrapped up in the wrong groups. Few of the students had hope of ever going to college or getting out of poverty.

Years later Van found herself moving to Loveland, Ohio with her husband for his work. After a family crisis she found herself out of the classroom for the first time in a long time. This moment caused her to reevaluate her goals and direction in life. Though not immediately, this led her to starting NEST Community Learning Center. 

NEST describes itself as a provider of sound Nutrition and targeted Education in a Safe neighborhood environment that will Transform the outcome of at-risk school-age children. In short, their goal is to provide hope to children living in poverty.

NEST helps these children by taking a mobile classroom in an RV to the neighborhoods of these children, providing nutritious meals, tutoring, and community. Van wants to give these students confidence, which is the beginning of success. When they have help studying for tests and getting their homework done, they can stand at that bus stop the next morning one step closer to being successful in school and breaking the cycle of poverty.

NEST is always looking for volunteer help and donations so they can expand their outreach into the communities. For more information or to donate contact Van at nestclc.org or 513-582-0673. 

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Jerry Beerman grew up on the West side of Cincinnati and went to Elder High School. Jerry’s family instilled the idea of working hard to him from birth.

School was not one of his favorite activities, however. Jerry got the work done and graduated but he found a true passion in tennis. Not only did he enjoy playing tennis, but it became one of his early entrepreneurial ventures as he started teaching tennis lessons through school and after he graduated.

Jerry has always been the type of person to seek out new opportunities. One day he was sitting in a drive-thru line at Burger King when he noticed that every car seemed to drop oil at certain places in the line. That would leave quite a stain in the pavement over time. So, he did what any person looking for opportunity would do: he asked for the manager and worked out a deal to clean it.

Though he has started and been a part of many businesses and even a church, he found his latest passion at Alluring Glass, a company that makes custom fit shower glass and mirrors. Jerry will tell you the only tool he knows how to use is duct tape but in reality the greatest tool he has is his desire to mentor employees and other business owners. 

He realized that every business owner goes through the same struggles as him so why not build a community that can help each other out? His dream is to see a ripple effect of positive change in the business community where people are finding their tribes and getting involved in their communities.

To find out more contact Jerry at jerry@alluringglass.com 

Or follow him on Instagram at: alluringglass 

Takeaways:

1. Scaling means you need to get help
2. People don’t quit companies they quit leadership
3. Create or join a tribe of like-minded people. You need community
4. Invest in people