FiftyYears
Oct 20, 2026Story
The Fifty-Year Overnight Success
American Hat Makers has been in business for more than fifty years. When people call it an overnight success, I try to explain what fifty years actually looks like from the inside.
Field ofDreams
Oct 13, 2026E Commerce
The Field of Dreams Mistake
My father was building websites before most of his competitors were. For twenty-five years he never did internet marketing, and that gap has a cost you can measure.
AtFifteen
Sep 29, 2026Story
I Fired My Brother When I Was Fifteen
I hired my brother to drive me to hat shows because I was fifteen and could not drive myself. He took half the money. That was the first deal I ever got wrong.
OnHiring
Sep 22, 2026Leadership
I Kept Hiring for Yesterday
For years I promoted whoever had been around the longest. Longevity felt like loyalty, and it cost me.
The Honest Founder ConfessionWhat I Wake Up at 3:30 For
Sep 15, 2026Founder
Pressure Is a Privilege
I'm up at three-thirty most mornings. Not because I love the dark. Because the day doesn't wait and there's too much to do.
TheReal Cost
Sep 08, 2026Craft
What a Hat Actually Costs to Build Right
Most people look at the price tag and think they understand what they are paying for. They usually don't.
WhatLasts
Sep 01, 2026Craft
What Makes a Hat Last
After fifty years and a million hats, I know the difference in my hands. Most people learn it only after a hat falls apart.
TheHire
Aug 25, 2026Leadership
The Hire You Cannot Afford But Cannot Wait On
The hardest hire in a small business is the one you need and cannot yet afford. That math never fully resolves. You just decide how much discomfort you are willing to carry.
TheMargins
Aug 18, 2026Leadership
It's a Game of Tenths, Not Whole Numbers
Fifty years in, the big moves have mostly been made. What moves the needle now are the small things you engineer on purpose.
TheBottleneck
Aug 17, 2026Leadership
I Had to Stop Being the Bottleneck
For years I was the answer to every question in the company. I thought that was leadership. It was just a bottleneck with my name on it.
RepeatCustomers
May 05, 2026Retention
What 50 Years of Repeat Buyers Taught Me About Retention
My dad started it in a station wagon in 1972. He has had customers for 50 years. I learned more about brand loyalty watching him answer the phone than I ever learned from a book.
On theFloor
Apr 28, 2026Leadership
Run the Shop You Want to Work In
I'm the last one to get paid. I'm up at 3:30. I'm drained a lot. I'm also really, really blessed to be here. Pressure is a privilege. You don't get to complain about the weight when you chose to carry it.
SellingOnline
Apr 21, 2026E Commerce
What I Got Wrong About Selling Online
We spent 25 years building websites and did zero internet marketing. Zero. Field of dreams. Build it and they didn't come. It took COVID, a lot of bad agency money, and $10,000 checks that bought nothing to finally figure it out.
The LongGame
Apr 14, 2026Mindset
Patience Is the Most Underrated Strategy
My dad felt like quitting many times. He was down to one employee. He stayed because he was unemployable and had to figure it out. Fifty years later that stubbornness is the whole story.
Buildingin Public
Apr 07, 2026Story
How a Station Wagon Became a Workshop
I started selling hats at 15. Couldn't drive, so I hired my brother to take me to the shows. He took half the money. I fired him. By 16 I was doing it alone. No GPS, no cell phone. Just me, a van, and the next city on the map.