I was honored to be featured in a recent video by Florida Keys Lifestyle called “God Made a Small Business Owner.” The video, created by local Islamorada realtor Claire Johnson, truly captures the essence of the passion, dedication and self-reliance it takes to be Florida Keys small business owner. As an Islamorada fishing guide, I feel I can speak for the Keys small business community that we are no strangers to challenge. We endure the ups and down of tourism trends and stand united and strong to weather each and every storm that comes our way. We support each other no matter what.
The global pandemic of Covid-19 has forced authorities to shut off our island chain from visitors from the mainlaind, cutting the lifeblood of our economy. But we all realize this drastic measure is also what is keeping us safe. It is times like this that our Florida Keys small business community really shines. We remain humble, focused and open-minded and above all trusting that after all it was “God who made the small business owner!”
And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a job creator." So God made a small business owner.God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night worrying about how to make payroll. I need somebody who's okay with paying their employees before they make a single dollar. I need someone who will take all the risk to sign the front of the check….so that others have the privilege of signing the back. I need someone who will risk their life savings just to break even every year and hope that the next will be better." So God made a small business owner."I need somebody with a personality strong enough to handle a complaining customer and yet gentle enough to train a new employee. Somebody to run payroll, stock the shelves, skip lunch, run across town to hand deliver an order to an elderly customer, work late, and not get back to their own house until 10:30 PM." So God made a small business owner.“I need someone who will work 70 hours a week, every week, and be able to tolerate the media AND EVEN THEIR OWN FRIENDS saying that business owners ‘aren't paying their fair share.’” So God made a small business owner.God had to have somebody willing to always put the customer first, sometimes even before their own family. God needed someone willing to open early, stay open late, miss their kids' baseball games…just so that other parents wouldn't have to. So God made a small business owner.God needed someone who would get people what they need, when they needed it, for a fair price.Someone who could be a living example of the old-fashioned virtues of self reliance, hard work, and not spending more than you make.God needed someone to keep the American dream alive.So God made a small business owner.
