Our Goals
For the original post about Our Goals for Shafer…Power! please click here.
I’ve been spending some time thinking about goals for Shafer…Power! and thought it made sense to put them in writing. Since I’m already working a full-time job and doing a little lot of parenting on the side, I want to ensure we’re making the most of our adventure. In terms of a big picture goal, I’d like to introduce the kids to entrepreneurism. Specifically, we’re going to meet some successful entrepreneurs and take part in a few of our own entrepreneurial projects. Our other goals are as follows:
Goal #1 – Have Fun: This one’s for me as much as it’s for the kids. My wife, Kathleen, has been kind enough to remind me if the kids are having fun doing an activity, they’re much more likely to stay interested and involved. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s smart as well, huh?
Goal #2 – Learn Something: My main goal is for everyone involved – Owen, Malia, Kathleen and myself – to learn something. For example, we may learn how difficult is to come up with a new business idea or the challenge of getting a product launched or the importance of using a patent attorney. I’ve always felt the role of educator is one of the most important ones can we play in the lives of our children, therefore, learning something is priority number two.
Goal #3 – Share In Our Success: At this point in our journey, success has a very loose definition but I want to figure out a way to share it with others. It could be as simple as inspiring a reader to take action toward their entrepreneurial dream or giving a fun toy to a less fortunate child. The beauty of this adventure is we get to make up some of the rules as we go along. Anyway, I think the journey will be much more rewarding if we can include others along the way.
UPDATE (4/23/12): Adding a 4th Goal
Goal #4 – Earn Some Spare Change: After rereading this post a few days after I originally posted it, I realized I may risk alienating the entire entrepreneurial nation if I don’t include a financial goal. Rather than put some sort of financial target – which is probably what I should be doing – I’m going to list the goal as “Earn Some Spare Change.” After all, this is just the beginning of the journey for our children and I’d hate to overwhelm them by demanding that we make a whole bunch of money. Besides, how much is a life lesson worth? (Answer…a lot!)
Shafer...Power! 
Carter Kostler was featured back in September as a Youngprenuer and as his step father I thought I would give an update on his progress. I am posting here because the last sentence in Goal #4 is something for every family contemplating the roller coaster ride of a family business to reflect on. What is a life lesson worth?
Carter’s invention, the Define Bottle, has just entered production. We are through many difficult steps such as patent protection and trademarking, design, branding, website creation, developing a marketing plan, crowdsourcing, product tooling, and social networking. Carter has learned something at every step of the way. He donated the first 550 bottles to President Clinton at his Health Matters Conference in Palm Springs this week and was honored to be mentioned in the President’s opening remarks. At age 14, he got to meet the President and has pledged to continue to work towards important social causes. Carter is hoping to present his idea for improving childhood obesity at the Partnership for a Healthier America conference co-chaired by the First Lady and Senate Majority Leader in March 2013. There is a Facebook vote in progress through Feb 1st, 2013 to determine who will be the top 3 contestants to present their ideas and so far Carter is in first place.
Carter has put in a lot of hard work and he has experienced the emotional turns of an entrepreneur. His invention was loved by the conference attendees in Palm Springs and he has felt the rush of adrenaline as he sees the product gaining momentum. The amount the family will invest in this project will be 6 figures by the time we have our first bottle on the market in 5-6 weeks, but the education and experience we received as a family is hard to measure. I would spend the money again in a heart beat.
Mark Weisman