While we were eating dinner together as a family for my birthday, we got on the topic of marketing and how famously, Coca-Cola invented the public facing image of the modern day Santa Klaus, you know: white beard, red suit, sleigh, reindeer. All dreamed up by a boardroom full of Mad Men-esque type executives - all to sell more carbonated sugar water. What I didn't know, and my dad told me, was the tradition of KFC during the Christmas Season in Japan. 'Kentucky Fried for Christmas' The BBC starts the story with, "The genesis of Japan’s KFC tradition is a tale of corporate promotion that any business heading to Japan ought to study, one that sounds almost like a holiday parable." “It filled a void,” Rokka says. “There was no tradition of Christmas in Japan, and so KFC came in and said, this is what you should do on Christmas.” Amazing. Sometimes the biggest movements can be started just by taking action and holding on to the idea.

Have you ever had that realization moment of something that happened in your past became almost instantly different, because you remembered it from a new, fresh, older, wiser perspective? One of these impactful moments for me was remembering watching my dad sacrifice [i] who he was and wanted to be [/i] to take care of his family. Family is always more important than any individual's happiness. A college drop-out, dad pursued graphic artistry and was making a pretty good go of it until laser printers came out. He picked up a job as a manager at a pretty major reptile & aquarium store on the other side of the city. He went back to school at nights to learn how to code, I remember some giant book with like an "A-" on it and I know for sure he had some C# and C++ books. Come to think of it, that does mean he set a pretty good impression on taking your studies seriously also, and he made sure to remind me a few times "this is not what you want to do, go to college before having a family, don't drop out, keep your head on straight." etc. etc. So, the whole reason he started this night college program to learn code was because my uncle (his brother-in-law) had just acquired a company and needed an IT dept. manager. It was a pretty big operation - contracts with several states and government agencies to aid in fulfillment. I got to start working at 14, helping stuff envelopes, run a large postage printing machine, I mean heck, that's some exposure to business operations from a young age. As the summers went on, I eventually turned 18 and could start answering the phones in their call center. Sometimes Dad and I would ride into work together if I wasn't on nights. From my perspective, I'm getting to work a great summer job for $9/hr which was way more than bussing tables and dishwashing at the pizza joint for $5.15 an hour (minimum wage at the time) From my Dad's perspective, he's grinding out a managerial job for over a decade helping my uncle grow his company, day in and day out, some weekends on call, even.

Shiny Object Syndrome I call these my “beach companies” My wife has “beach reads” I have “beach companies” My eBay store I’ve had since 8th grade, my blog, and my Shopify Even then, I see “opportunity” everywhere How have you consistently said no to SOS? That way you don’t need to send an SOS! (Bad dad joke?) -daddy Dave

there are many kick ass mompreneurs as well! Dadpreneurs was just the first thing I thought of being a dad and all, but moms should definitely join the community too!

We’re the community for dads who:💼 Are chasing dreams while changing diapers⚡ Can pitch an idea with one hand and hold a bottle with the other🏆 Believe that being a great dad and building a great business go hand in hand This is your tribe if you’ve ever asked yourself: “How do I grow my business without missing bedtime stories?” 🌟 Tag or invite your dad-friends who are hustling, building, and raising the next generation of legends. The bigger the community, the stronger the support. Let’s laugh, learn, and lift each other up. Welcome aboard, Dadpreneur. 💪