Episode 009 - "Visiting the Wahiawa Botanical Gardens on Oahu"

That's also tough with, like, me being not in the company right now. He's taken over all of the HR and the hiring and all of that.

So then that weighs on you mentally and emotionally, and that takes, like, a battery toll as well.

I think that one of our core values is going to be intentional, right? Be intentional. I think that something that I would want my kid to learn is to be intentional with how you spend your time, because I think that we could get more done as a family, as a business owner, as a CEO, and as a husband and father if we just be more intentional about everything that we're doing. But we really let the chaos seep into our lives and allow us to get undisciplined with our health, with our personal lives, with our relationship with each other.

You know that bananas are a grass monopodio, or runners. I think that, like, Millies nowadays, millennials, nowadays, we really like access, not ownership. It's like, we want access to the pool and the house and all of that. We don't want ownership. It's like, I don't want to deal with fixing it. Hi, I'm Alison Sand.

And I'm Adam Sand.

And this is Building the Sandcastle. After traveling the country for two years, we settled here in Hawaii, where we welcomed our first son, Atlas.

With 20 employees working remotely, we had to go to market with a completely new product and service offering in order to keep growing the business and create stability for our family.

But it hasn't been easy, and we wish that we could see our heroes on their hardest days and experience the.

Lessons as they learn them, because social.

Media only tells a story after they've made it.

If we believe in ourselves that we might be someone else's hero someday, then we owe it to the future entrepreneurs of the world to document our story.

Even when it's vulnerable.

If you're at the start of your entrepreneurial journey, then follow along with us and share in the experience.

So last week, we got a Kona low, which is, like, just wind coming over, and it's, like, frigid, like, super cold. And mom was saying, like, how cold it was, and she's like, I never thought I would get cold in Hawaii. It kind of like just like torrential downpours. Like, it's insane and, like. Yeah, but then this week, it's, like, overcast. But, like, you can actually see the mountains now, and it's warm. Like, really warm. So.

So we totally lucked out.

You lucked out on, like, a good. A good week to come.

So we're onboarding a lot of people. A new director of operations is start today. I have a really high profile, experienced, high ticket salesperson starting today, like an account executive. I have a really amazing teammate that used to work here three years ago who came back as a customer success manager as well as a really good technical exper and a person who's going to be a revenue growth manager. So there's a lot of human resources stuff that I'm taking care of.

That's also tough with, like me being not in the company right now. He's taken over all of the HR and the hiring and all that.

So then that weighs on you mentally and emotionally and that takes like a battery toll as well.

Right.

Psychologically. Because then you're feeling two places at once and then you feel guilt, but.

Knowing I have to be here. Guilt for not being here and wanting to be here.

And such is the nature of parenting.

Right?

You wish that you could, like, duplicate yourself.

Do I neglect their business or do I neglect my child? And it does.

It feels like there's no such thing as work life balance. It's actually synergy and they feed into one another because, like, they're pushing.

Some days it really feels like I'm in over my head and I'm trying to do things I've never done before and fear that this is just going to be a complete failure and I'm going to fail as a dad. Like, so, like, I have really, really, you know, really, really tough days. But they're. They're short term, you know, but overall, I feel really positive because we have an amazing team. And then now we're stacking a really great leadership team and we've recruited some amazing people to help our customers. Like, people who are smarter than I am. Like, the customers who are buying RBP for Adam sand are now going to be better served by the people that I am hiring.

Want to get out some of that.

Moisture before you put the gel in.

Because then there'll be even tighter spirals.

So then bring it back this way. Yeah, I think there's definitely times where, you know, I miss having my family close by. It was really hard to see mom leave. I know it'll be hard to see you leave. And it's nice when you guys can come here, but I'm also asking a lot of you to, like, travel into another country, into the middle of the ocean. I don't know. I've always kind of felt like home is just like what you make of it, you know, and it's like, the one thing that I've noticed is that I have to be way more intentional. I think I've gotten better at prioritizing my time and prioritizing the things that matter to me. Not that I'm perfect, but, like, that I've. That I've really started to notice, like, what is my journey, right? And like, how can I prioritize and honor my friends and my family and. And be able to, like, pour in?

Allison and I, you know, we're used to being single, no kids, and now that we have Atlas, it just means more being more intentional. So tonight, Alison, I'll be focusing on a family planning meeting, which is essentially, we are trying to put together our mission, vision, and values for our family, our chores, like essentially creating the discipline and consistency of a schedule for Atlas. Because about around six weeks is when apparently you can start trying to schedule, you know, their sleeps. And you can try. I think that one of our core values is going to be intentional, right? Be intentional. I think that something that I would want my kid to learn is to be intentional with how you spend your time. Because I think that we could get more done as a family, as a business owner, as a CEO, and as a husband and father if we just be more intentional about everything that we're doing. But we've really let the chaos seep into our lives and allow us to get undisciplined with our health, with our personal lives, with our relationship with each other, because we've just been so focused on the business. And the time has come where all the uncertainty. Alice is here. He is healthy. The new go to market motions have been launched. All the new employees have been hired. There is no more ifs. It's now what needs to be done. And it really allows us to start categorizing and prioritizing our time.

Today we're going to go to the gardens. I've actually never been, but I always drive past it. And I just love gardens. My favorite plants are tropical. Is that just.

Just a rooster just making his way downtown.

Walking fast, faces past him. He's homebound. What happens when the chicken crosses the road? What happens when the chicken crosses the road?

Oh, he's gone. So you're telling me you've never been here before?

No. That looks like bamboo. Do you guys try the bamboo toilet paper? I have not as luxury as I would think. I mean, would not order again. I did feel it would not subscribe and save again. I was so disappointed. It said that it was like the most luxury toilet Paper you could buy. It's actually a grass. Yeah. Which is really interesting.

You know that bananas are a grass.

Monopodio so. Or runners. The clumping bamboo tends to grow in clumps.

You know what? Which scientist named this clumping bamboo? Daddy Long Legs.

That's a fire. That's a spider. So interesting. How about that? That's cool.

It's so glossy.

How about. Look at this, like, hairy tree. I really enjoy, like, family coming here because it really makes me see the beauty here. Whereas you start to kind of, like, just not see it anymore. Like, when you get a new car.

And then it becomes like, oh, it's just cars. You're really excited about it for a while, and then it's like.

And you live with the reality of it. It's crazy that, like, I've. I've driven past this on California, like, over and over and over and over, and I've never come in here before. But, like, this is a place that I would love to spend, like, Sundays. Like. Yeah. The only thing better would be if they had a Starbucks in here.

Since we've got the house, I'm kind of, like, looking down the barrel of, like, what else is out there? And, like, is.

Am I, like. I don't want to say I told you so, but I. Yeah, yeah. That. I think that, like, Millies nowadays, millennials nowadays, they really. We really like access, not ownership. It's like, we want access to the pool and the house and the. And all of that. We don't want ownership. It's like, I don't want to deal with fixing it. I don't want to. So it's like, I lease vehicles, I rent houses. And it's like, sure, eventually I'll buy something and I'll. And I'll. And that. That will no longer serve me. But right now it's like, I love the idea of, like. And once my lease is up, I can just. I can go anywhere. We went to the. That's huge botanical gardens, and they have a rainbow eucalyptus here. Wanna say hi to grandma? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Adam's working. He was gonna. He was gonna try and come, but there's just a lot going on. Bye. See you soon, Allie. This is so cool. Not bad for December. Not bad for December. I've done worse with car. Did you see this one? Oh, it looks like fire. So interesting things. So Adam went to roofing process conference in Florida on Sunday. I don't even know what day it is right now on Sunday. And we dropped him off at the airport at 6:30 and Atlas was sleeping and then we pulled away from the airport and he has cried ever since. I thought that I would be able to get a lot done being that I didn't have to just take care of Adam as well. But not the case. He's just, he won't sleep unless he's on me. He's putting on weight really quickly, which means a lot of feeding and nursing. And it's also the first time, like my mom's gone, my sister's gone, and so it's just been just me. So it's been a good, like, learning curve discovery.

A couple things I like about your story is that you have spent time working in the roofing industry. The software, they don't understand exactly what it does. And so I think a good place to start is to kind of tell your story with the software and what pro line is.

This is the nastiest greens I've ever had in my entire life. Sometimes they try to be too healthy and they just put way too much stuff in them. That looked like a level scoop, didn't it?

Oh.

I'm not excited about this. Apparently there's a lot of health benefits of the moringa tree, but the grossest thing ever. Hello. I get some work done between 1 and 4am so usually he'll get up to nurse and then I'll get some work done there and then we kind of contact nap all day because I'm just trying to get him to like, get some type of schedule and then we'll see what, you know, if he changes or if he decides that he can be put down again. That would be nice.

I really appreciate you being here, man. It was a pleasure. Thanks, Adam.

Last night we talked around six for about an hour. It seems like everything's going really well. A lot of our customers are there and I really wanted to go, but Atlas still doesn't have his birth certificate. So just trying to do some administration stuff while they're gone. But it seems like it seems like the conference is going really well and it's pretty exciting because it's usually a lot of legwork for Adam and I to like orchestrate everything and try and get everything on time. And the team completely stepped up and took control and got, got like banners and they even created new apparel. So I think it's so exciting to see, see things get done without our involvement. Like things are happening. And as a business owner, you always kind of want to jump back in and be like, you know, how are they doing? But at the same time, you have to step away, and eventually you have to allow them to succeed and fail on their own. This morning he was so happy, and I was like. And this morning he was. Yeah, he was so happy, and, like, I was talking to him and he was making, like, all, like, the baby sound and the smiley eyes for a little bit. I was like, oh, he has my nose. He doesn't have anything. He has. He's 100% Adam. He has the same nose as Adam, the same mouth as Adam, the same eyes as Adam. Like, he's 100% Adam. He's got Adam's hands, like, just like these massive, like, catcher's Mitch of hands and like, these crazy toes. He has Adam's weird toenails. He's 100% Adam.

We are, like, in a position right now where if we don't start selling some more stuff, it's going to be like, tough decisions time. Like, ugly decisions that I don't want to have to make. It's seven days till Christmas, but payroll still due, expenses are still due, bills are still due. We're, like, two days away from me canceling every meeting on my calendar and only doing sales. It's a very scary place to be. Knowing that I might have to make tough concessions. I might have to ask for concessions from others, and I might have to let people go. You can't be cold in Hawaii, people, if you don't have any. What our friends will do to us back home, what we excommunicated as Canadians. The dogs follow you everywhere.

I know. I'm just trying to get away from them because they're grossing me out. Like, I gotta clean the couches again and gotta clean the floor. So I pull up the mats. Okay, good. Good conversation. I'll get a grande iced gingerbread oat milk chai. I just said, I'm gonna take you to your second home. And then he smiled and he was super excited.