Growing Stronger Every Day

Aug. 3, 2022

Exploring topics of how to keep growing even through difficult times.

My daughter turns 2-and-a-half this month. Seemingly each day, she dazzles my wife and I with a new word or a new ability as she grows up impossibly fast. The amazing thing about child development is that she does not yet know what she can and cannot do until she tries, and perhaps fails, and tries again, until she succeeds.

Growth in childhood is inevitable, unlike in business where it is striven for yet not always achieved. In both cases though it is the trying that is the only way to interrogate what is possible. Shop owners face a myriad of challenges in 2022, but that does not mean you stop trying to grow your business. You might be surprised at what you’re able to do.

This month’s feature is all about growth, and not only surviving but thriving in even the difficult economic times shops face today. The independent shop owners we spoke to have gone through the same challenges as everyone else yet found ways to keep growing without taking undue risks. Hopefully through their examples and strategy you’ll find some methods for doing the same. 

Growth and success aren’t only in the hands of the owner, of course. Nothing exemplifies that more than this month’s profile on Shawn Moody. The ownership structure at Moody’s Coworker Owned Incorporated—as the name implies—is shared among all employees such that everyone has a stake in the success of all 14 locations across Maine. 

One of our goals here at FenderBender is to bring you not only stories of success but stories of success found in different ways and from different perspectives. I think in this month’s pages you’ll find that, along with some news, tips, and everything else you’ve come to expect from us. Here’s to another month of rising to meet challenges.

About the Author

Todd Kortemeier

Todd Kortemeier is former editor of FenderBender magazine and started writing as a contributor in 2024.

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