Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
“You have to be willing to suck at something new.” That’s what the founder of Mercury Mosaics, Mercedes Austin, thinks about growing her custom tile-making business to each new level. I’m loving her viewpoint as I embark as a beginner on so many pursuits.
Austin is a ceramics artist who was making and selling individual tiles with beautiful designs. “I wanted to turn being an artist into a day job. I thought, how hard could it be to start my own tile company?” she recalls.
She launched Mercury Mosaics, named for the Roman god of craftsmanship, in 2002. Today Mercury Mosaics has 35 employees and a robust base of custom clients, plus a new front office and design space to complement its production facility in Northeast Minneapolis.
She attracted an equity investor last year, Hill Capital, and launched a new product line called Mosaic Candy Shop, which repurposes leftover tiles as creative kits for kids and adults. With every step, she’s had to be brave enough to be a beginner again.
Take the task of writing the company’s vision, mission and values. “I said, that’s for corporate,” she recalls. “I was letting my ignorance get in the way. We were in business for 17 years before we sat down with eight of us,” and took on the project. “It’s helped us have a common language.”
She recalls other inflection points. “I spent the first 10 years of the company making and selling tiles the way you ‘should,’” she says, meaning the way other mass tile makers do it. “The turning point: we learned the rules and decided to do it differently, and that was where everything changed.”
They started working with commercial designers and architects to create custom patterns for stunning, large-scale mosaic installations. Did they make mistakes at first, with each new change? “One hundred percent,” Austin says.
“You talk about 10 years” of your company’s history, “and it sounds so genius, but you have to suck at first. You have to pick yourself up,” she says. “The most important thing is when you make a mistake you own your mistake and make it better.”
Austin’s simple words act as profound encouragement to anyone trying something new, like me. A year ago, I left my day job as a business writer and editor, a career where I built up expertise for almost 40 years. I knew what I was doing, times 10.
Since then, not so much. I’ve taken surfing lessons from a dude in Mexico who patiently coached me as I tried and failed five times to get up on the board. When I finally did surf for about 10 feet, I yelled “Cowabungaaaaa!” and he cheered like a maniac.
An amateur musician, I prepared an audition for the Minnesota Chorale but was out of my league—everyone else sounded like Renee Fleming, I swear. I’ll work on my range and try again next year. A leisure sailor, I’m taking lessons in the Apostle Islands next month on a 40-foot boat to become a certified captain. What could possibly go wrong?
I’m taking it from Austin, and you should, too: It’s OK to suck at first. What a freeing idea for any person or any business owner, at any age or stage.
