Summary: “Everyone has something unique to offer that they can do and materialize in their life. Find your passion and follow it.” - Dave Collier The Bucket List Life Podcast #12 - Entrepreneur Dave Collier The utopian idea of loving what you do and doing what you love seems almost a fantasy for some people. For some of us struggling through a mundane work week that is unfulfilling and draining, it can be challenging to see the road to get to where you love Mondays again. Today’s podcast episode # 12 of The Bucket List Life, is with an ex-Pro Snowboarder who decided to follow his passion and go down that scary road in pursuit of his dreams. Dave Collier took his fun experiences in life and designed a lifestyle brand around what he knows and loves. He is now a successful entrepreneur running a print shop called Ink Floyd out of Charlotte, North Carolina. His business endeavors have thrived because he was driven, focused and believed in what he was doing. He also has a great story behind his brand and he actively promotes his customers in social media. Dave shares some great advice and insight with Kenyon about how he turned his passion and his lifestyle into a successful brand and business. Highlights from their podcast conversation: 3:30 Kenyon wants to know how Dave typically starts his day. Dave wakes up each and every morning with an “attitude of gratitude” and starts his day with a positive vibe right out of bed. 6:30 Dave talks about how he transitioned from skateboarding into snowboarding with his brother JJ back in the day, and then went on to become a sponsored athlete and travelled around the world pursing his passion. 12:00 Kenyon and Dave compare their amazing travel and cultural experiences in visiting, living, snowboarding and competing in Japan. 17:30 Dave talks about life after his snowboarding career, how he never really fit into the corporate game and eventually got that entrepreneurial spasm that told him to get out and start something for himself. Don’t let fear stop you from taking that first step and taking a chance. Have a plan of attack and lay the ground work. 19:45 Dave shares how his first entrepreneurial venture, Saturday Skateboards, was conceived out of the desire to follow his passion and create a lifestyle brand. Running on instinct, he strived to be different by designing an “un-professional series” and focusing on the cool factor of the whole brand. 25:00 Kenyon points out the importance of telling and individuals story when branding. “People don’t buy products, they buy the people or the brand or the story behind the product.” 26:00 Dave talks about the success of Ink Floyd and how it came about from Saturday Skateboards. 28:15 Kenyon wants to know, “How important is passion in the success with these brands?”. Dave says it was all about trying to create his own fun working environment and brand where he can also help his customers stand out in a crowd. 31:00 Dave and Kenyon agree that not everyone realizes that being a successful entrepreneur means that you have to be willing to where a lot of different hats in the beginning. It requires a lot of work, focus, tenacity and believing in yourself and what you are doing. There are always going to be challenges that put you into survival mode and sometimes you have to battle unsurmountable odds that put stress on your business and family life, in pursuit of your passion. 36:00 Why are entrepreneurs willing to take bigs risks in life? Dave suggests that if you are not happy with what you are doing and looking forward to Monday then the greater risk is that you are not living the authentic life you were meant to. 40:00 Kenyon acknowledges that the magic sauce in Ink Floyd is that “they always try to be more”. Dave agrees that what he really tries to drive home with his team is that “they are only as good as their brand experience.” “Everyday should be Saturday!”
