Thoughts from the PeeMan

thinking

The PeeMan has been told by those who know about things like this, that it is important to have a never-ending flow of good fresh content on your blog. The PeeMan is told people really like that. Even though he can’t quite figure out why people like it, the PeeMan is not going to argue about it. It seems to be settled science in the age of social media. So over the weeks ahead, the PeeMan is going to share with you excerpts of a book he wrote in 2015 entitled “Thoughts For My Daughters”. The PeeMan has daughters: Erica, Laura and Emma – and all have played key rolls in building, growing and operating the Pee business! As you will see, the PeeMan’s thoughts and observations are heavily influenced by his Christian faith… so you can’t say he didn’t warn you! Here are some of the topics that the PeeMan will be covering:

Opportunity, Anxiety, Over-Thinking, Church Attendance, Pain, Communication, Patriotism, Planning, Confidence, Problems, Conflict, Question Inflection, Reaction To Others, Disagreements, Risk, End of Knowledge, Second Guessing, Failure, Self Employment, Faith, Self-Management, Fun & Humor, Giving, Solutions, Goals, Strength, Invest-Divest, Stupidity, Leadership, Success, Listening, Teaching, Tolerance, Love, Trust, Maps, Understanding Scripture, Money, Wisdom, Words, Nature, Work, World View, Nehemiah Method, Worry

Virtual Handshake

Greetings from the FROZEN north woods! Highs in the teens today. . .brrr.

So, I have decided to up my blog game in 2016. I am taking Blogging 101 through WordPress. Learn something new? At my age? Well, my wife would wonder what I could possibly learn since I seem to know everything. As much as I hate to disagree with her, there are a few tricks I don’t know yet.

When I started in the business world, phone calls, business lunches and handshakes were what got things done. Now, my business is entirely online, I avoid the phone and I only really press the flesh at church or when meeting my daughters’ new boyfriends. The explosion of blogging and social media still befuddles me, and as always I don’t know why anyone would care to read about a 60 something Maine entrepreneur, but I guess this is now my virtual hand shake or phone call, and it sure is a lot cheaper than a business lunch.

My first assignment for Blogging U(which is not as cool as Predatorpee University aka PU, but more popular as it turns out)is to reintroduce myself and possibly set some blog related goals. Well, I wish I had waited to write Back to the Blog until after I had received my homework! That’s just like me – always ahead of the curve! Anyway, here goes . . .

peeman_puckets So, how do you do? My name is Ken Johnson aka The PeeMan. I am a long-time entrepreneur( 5 Qualities of an Entrepreneur ), husband and father to 3 lovely grown up daughters(Thoughts for my Daughters: Risk ). I fled New Jersey right after high school and rejected the corporate rat race shortly thereafter, always preferring to work for myself, and a lot of times by myself. predatorpee.com is a big part of the family business that now occupies my entrepreneurial energies. I like the solitude and natural beauty Maine affords. At my home, Winterberry Farm, we have chickens, 2 dogs and flower and vegetable gardens in the summer. If I have to “share” anymore about myself, then I might as well meet you for that business lunch after all.

2016 finds me right where 2015 left me – feeling my age, filling my days with farm chores, honey do projects, and of course – pee. The pee business just keeps on “flowing” and even in the cold winter months in Maine, people in warmer parts of the country and world are ordering predatorpee to keep away coyotes, pesky rodents, hungry deer and moose, etc.

My blogging goal for 2016 is pretty simple – write the dang blog posts! Topics will probably include such things as: life on Winterberry Farm, tales from the seasoned entrepreneur, project updates, blunders, mishaps, glimpses of the family, and of course all things predatorpee related!

Until I find more words(which will probably be tomorrow because I will have more homework) . . .The PeeMan

Thoughts for My Daughters: Risk

Greetings from the snowy North Woods!

A little less than a year ago, I reworked some things on the blog and promised to expand my topics. I haven’t done a great job so far, but it is New Year’s resolution time and I might as well give it another go. I mentioned in a previous post( The Long Winter)that I had written a book for my 3 adult daughters and given it to them for Christmas 2014. I have decided to publish some of it on the blog. Probably going to stick with the topics that will have the broadest appeal. Like I wrote in the foreword:

Some shallow(thoughts), some profound, some foolish and some so-so – but nevertheless all for you(daughters)

Dedication:(names are deleted to protect the innocent and not so innocent)

To(oldest daughter)who made me think being a father was going to be easy, to(second daughter)who proved that it wasn’t, to(youngest daughter)who showed me how much I still had to learn and to(my wife)who allows me to be the father I think I should be.

Love, DaD – Christmas 2014

Risk

What risks are worth taking? That is a question that we deal with in almost every endeavor. Will telling the truth damage a friendship? Will making a certain decision potentially cause an unforeseen problem? Will inaction allow something bad to happen? Will intervention put someone in harm’s way? Plus all the risky decisions that involve finance, family and livelihood. As you know, I am chronically non-risk adverse. So, take this advice accordingly. Risk is a matter of weighing the benefits against the harm and that process takes a little effort. My process starts with three steps. The first is to clearly evaluate the benefits to determine if it is even worth considering the risks. If step one is positive, step two is clearly to picture the worst case scenario if the action goes badly and estimate the likelihood of that happening. Step three is to ask yourself whether you can handle the worst case scenario. Then consider carefully all that information and make a decision.

Excerpt from Thoughts for My Daughters by Ken Johnson

Until I have more thoughts . . .The PeeMan

5 Qualities of an Entrepreneur

As a long time entrepreneur, I often get asked what it takes to start your own business. Here’s what I’ve got:

I once saw a cartoon that gave the following definition of an Entrepreneur:

“Someone who will do almost anything to avoid working for someone else”

That about sums it up – even though it defies logic. When you work for yourself you risk everything you have despite the fact that you know 80-90% of new businesses fail. You work longer hours than anyone else and sweat bullets over how to meet payroll every week. Every decision you make can have life-changing consequences for you, your family, your employees and their families. Vacations are something other people talk about. Yet despite all of this you will tell everyone you meet that working for yourself is the best thing you have ever done. think-entrepreneur

If you recognize these qualities, there might be a new businessbusiness in your future:

Ability to defy gravity – So the first quality an Entrepreneur must have is a strong dose of healthy self-delusion that will enable him or her to persevere against all odds. Almost every friend and family member will tell you all the reasons you shouldn’t start your own business – and every one of them is absolutely right! 80-90% of all new businesses fail so what makes you think you can make it? Good question, but to you, the entrepreneur, it makes absolutely no difference at all. You know you can do this. The 80-90% that fail do not clutter up your vision – they are invisible to you – your vision is fully focused on the field where the 10-20% of successful ones play. You can’t figure out why anyone would think any other way.

Unshackled from conventional wisdom – One of your friends finds out you are thinking of starting a business so they give you a business book to help you out. At least that is what they tell you. In reality, they are giving you the book to prove to you how utterly ill-equipped you are to be an entrepreneur. The book will tell you the degrees you should have, the financing you should have in place, the number of years of experience in the field you should have, the team of advisors, accountants, lawyers you should have in place etc. But you know in your heart, that by the time you did all that stuff, the window of opportunity for your business idea would be long gone. You are ready to open the doors and get started. Bring it on.

Ability to create something out of nothing – A friend of mine once told me that he was astonished by the way I could seemingly create something out of nothing. I asked him to explain. He said he would see me one day on the ropes after suffering a business setback and a few weeks later fully engaged in a new product or project that was once again generating revenue. To him it was astonishing, to the entrepreneur it is as natural as breathing. Business is subject to constantly changing circumstances. The entrepreneur never sees obstacles as barriers – he sees them as launching platforms.

Ability to embrace failure – Failure is a fact of life for an Entrepreneur. You might have small failures or colossal failures – but for certain, you will have failures. Embrace them, learn from them and just try to make sure you fail at something new each time! Do not fear failure. Failure is one of the greatest teachers there is. Remember – the only people who never fail are the ones who never try anything new!

Faith – this is the one quality that I did not find until I was nearly through my first decade of entrepreneurial activity. The understanding that we are not in this alone and that we are accountable to God for everything we do adds a dimension to working for yourself that fully completes the package. It provides the ethical and motivational foundation for all that we do. We don’t do it perfectly, but with God’s help an entrepreneur with faith and an understanding of Biblical teaching can build a business that serves its customers well and honors God in the process.

If these qualities ring true with you, you look like an entrepreneur. What are you waiting for?

Until I find more words . . . The PeeMan

The Long Winter

Greetings from the FROZEN North Woods,

It has been four months since I last blogged. Four months of winter. I live in Maine, I should expect it, right? It may come every year, but each Maine winter has its own surprises. This winter is no exception. Big snow storm and freezing first of November. Early December more snow. Then, it all melts and it is near 50 for Christmas! January is colder but no snow. And then, the Emperor of the North(I stole that phrase from somewhere)descended on a carpet of white and has yet to recede one bit. We now have 4 feet of snow and February is going on the books as the coldest month in this part of the world. Not only the coldest February – the coldest month – jumping ahead of four Januarys in the top five coldest months on record. So, I have just been on shovel, snowblow, plow, roof rake and repeat mode for a month. My stink pipe has frozen over multiple times, the roof of the greenhouse almost collapsed under the weight of snow, my transmission went in the truck, I substituted the Scout for plowing, got the truck back, one of my laying hens died, and meanwhile the snow drifts just keep growing and blowing. My driveway disappears regularly with the drifting which means more plowing. In between snow duties, I have to find time to make sure the pee gets out the door. I have to have inventory deliveries made at my daughter’s house in town because the UPS guy can’t always make it down the driveway. So I haven’t had much time for blogging. I have complained an awful lot and I don’t like just letting problems hang out there without resolution. Advice to self – “So, quit your bellyaching and do something!”

Snow Scout reporting for duty!

Well, I can’t make the snow disappear but I can use the time inside forced on me by the brutal wind and snow to do something productive. So, I am updating the blog, changing some things up and broadening the scope of my posts. Don’t worry, I will still pass along tidbits about all the wonderful uses of pee – I am the PeeMan after all! But, I will start posting about what life is like for me. Now, I don’t know why anyone would really want to take time to read about a 60 something entreprenuer who lives in the woods of Maine, but my daughters tell me that this blogging is an important part of the whole internet commerce thing. On that note, think backyard chickens(2015 is the year of the chicken at predatorpee.com), think gardening – seedlings going to be started soon, don’t forget airstream refurbish #2, the Scout project, pig husbandry, and maybe even some excerpts from the book I wrote for my daughters for Christmas 2014.