All right, I'm quitting my job. I'm taking all the money I had in my 401k. I'm going to rent a building, I'm going to buy equipment, I'm going to figure out how to make shutters, and I'm going to start a company that's going to kick ass. She just looked at me and then looked over at my son. She's like, we have a newborn, and I just quit my job what are you thinking you can't do this and I'm like no no no I'm doing it and it's gonna work that

was kind of in a very empowering moment because when you finally make a decision to do something that puts you on a path forward to your goals, it's empowering.

And that job turned out to be the finding moment for me in my life and what I later

understood is kind of my entrepreneurial journey. So one of the things at 51 I can

tell you that's critical that if I had to do all over again so much earlier on is

After two or three days of meetings with this team and myself he sat me down in the room alone he says look you got a problem he goes you need to fire all three of these guys because they're trying to take over your business

they're alienating your employees I have no trust and confidence that they're not playing games with the

financials and you got a problem.

My name's Rick Skidmore. I started and run a company called Timber Lane and we manufacture custom window shutters and window

shutter hardware. We're located in a suburb of Philadelphia, about an hour outside of the city in

Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania.

And how old are you?

I am 51.

And how long you've been running the business?

Since day one.

So we're in our 24th year.

I remember when we were talking earlier.

I usually don't see entrepreneurs, it seems like stay with a company this long but it seems like 24 years strong is pretty long time especially given your age.

Yeah, if you had told me when I started the business that I would still be in this business in 24 years I probably

wouldn't have believed you at the time I think I probably would have

categorized myself more as a serial entrepreneur not that I knew what that was then

but it just kind of took a life of its own and evolved and grew organically and here I am 24 years later.

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