Are you willing to do the work?

Hustle and passion. Two unquestionable ingredients for success. Easy enough right? Not really. Is not called hard work for a reason you see. Hard work means, getting down and dirty, crawling in the mines to find your diamonds. Nothing good comes easy. There is a reason for that. If everything deemed as great or enviable came easy, then they are no longer considered great. All great things are so because of the level of difficulty that comes with acquiring them.

For some hard work maybe the nights spent coding or fixing bugs for a new website or software. For some it means the number of nights they spent in their cars while trying to promote their new products. Hard work is almost always a labour of love. And the love is a product of the passion.

Your passion is a measure of your interest and devotion to your venture. It is that thing inside you that reminds you to get back to work right after a quick lunch break. It is that voice inside your head that tells you no task is impossible for your venture. In fact it is what makes your struggle so enjoyable. I believe passion for a business is the feeling you get when you literally enjoy just working on your business even before the profits start rolling in. Without passion, you will eventually fizzle out. Your handwork ethic can only take you so far. After all you are only human. Passion will always whisper in your ear "Keep at it buddy, this product will take the world by storm very soon." Without passion we cannot perceiver.
If hard work is a measure of your strength , then passion is a measure of your endurance. You need both to succeed in anything.

Starting Boomslank with my brothers has been a very exciting journey. We've made a ton of mistakes and we've learned a lot too. There have definitely been times when I asked myself "what the heck have I gotten myself into by doing this?". Running this business is a major milestone in my life, it has exposed me to some of the harsh realities of the world. It is a very new experience for me. In return I have gained some serious respect for any successful brand out their. It just isn't easy. Is no cake walk at all.

Our current success wasn't free by any means either. So I find it rather funny when people send us emails asking us questions about how easy is it to start an anime clothing brand. Because it takes me back to the days when I was asking other veterans similar questions. The fact of the matter is, it is difficult. And it will remain difficult till you take the first step to do it. As I sit in my cubicle and write this little blog entry, my brain is already working on possible ideas for the brand. This is what happens when you start your business, it consumes you. You worry about it. Day in, day out you think about ways to improve it, get the word out about it, make it cash flow positive, reduce cost of operations, you name it. Your business becomes your passion.

My brothers and I, are ready to do the work. For us, hardwork isn't the problem. My brothers and I are ready to bleed for the brand. Our toughest problem is identifying where our energy should be spent to take our brand to the next level. Our latest grass roots strategy is to attend anime conventions in the US. We've hit Ichibancon, Animazement, the escapist gaming convention and planning on attending even more next year. Making these conventions is nothing short of real manual labour. We wake up early and pack our shirts and posters into two small cars and set off for whatever city is hosting the event. Carrying these posters and shirts back and forth and standing for hours on end selling our wares and telling folks our story is all part of our hustle.

Hard work and passion folks. Two easy definitive formula for success, yet very elusive to acquire. Always remember nothing good comes easy.