08/18/2026
The hardest part about business isn't always the work itself. It's feeling judged by people who don't fully understand. They don't understand our perspective, our story, our money, our time, our emotional investment. And in order to restore something like Shipley it takes all of those things.
Now before anyone stops reading - there's an important distinction between someone offering an idea and someone who criticizes what we've done. Many of you have thoughtfully offered advice and ideas - and we greatly appreciate hearing a different perspective. I fully hear these ideas while allowing myself to trust my own instinct and my own timeline - because that is how you build a business that is aligned.
In small town Iowa - it's hard not to compare your progress to other buildings that have been restored - the failed versions and the successful versions and the ones that seem all too familiar. But here's my stance as a business owner in all three of our businesses - I don't have to compare progress. I'm working with what I've got in this moment and focused on my own goals. I am already a self-motivated person that I don't need to look at what someone else is doing to want to grow and improve my own. Other projects have been done by people who had years of restoration experience or significant funding behind them. The circumstances simply aren't the same as mine.
Taking on a historic building, or even an old beat-up bus or two, is a huge undertaking. Doing it thoughtfully takes time. Establishing the right systems, learning the business, restoring Shipley thoughtfully, and growing at a pace you can sustain is a part of the success.
And you know what? There's something admirable about knowing, "this is what we want, but we're not ready for that part yet."
That isn't failure and it isn't lack of ambition.
That's being realistic about what you can take on.
The visible results may take longer, but the foundation we're building will ultimately support everything that comes next.
