Sunnyside Sports is where I work. I also am the majority owner. Sometimes this is difficult because I think of all of my coworkers as friends first. That being said Sunnyside Sports is not a place to hang out. It is about hard work, treating customers with respect and getting the job done. Those that see all of this fit in. We have just hired four more coworkers. I did none of the interviews, one I hadn't even met until her first day of work. This was on purpose. I am trying to get out of the day to day running of Sunnyside Sports. My goal is to have exchanged ownership of the Sunnyside by 2015. I want the decisions to be made my the new owners not the old owner.
Sunnyside is my other family. Family is not all about play, it is about growth, working together and being there for others when in need. That is how I feel about Sunnyside. We have been hurt, like all families, by this attitude, but we have also been rewarded. I do not let the being hurt distract me from what we have tried to do. We have monthly meetings and at these meeting it is very apparent how well we all get along. Many modern businesses use the term "team". I see all the time in ads for recruitment that companies are looking for "team players". At one time I thought that was a good term but I have come to the conclusion that when a company is looking for a team player what they really mean to say is someone who will follow orders and do as the boss says.
Sunnyside needs those attributes also to a point. What we really want is more. We want people we can work with in the day and then go for a ride with on the weekend. We want more than team players we want family members.
When it was just the two of us (Gary and I) it was pretty easy. We worked almost every day and we both knew we had to give a lot to make Sunnyside work. Now there are 16 of us (at least that is my count). I realize a group of 16 is harder to deal with than a group of two, but it is still my goal to have Sunnyside a family style work place.
I am excited with our new faces (Jared, Andrew, Bruce and Katie) I hope they fit in like the other 12. I hope to go on rides with all of them and do the fun stuff which Sunnyside is all about.
Sunnyside was named because we are on the Sunnyside of the Mountains. I like to think of the song though and think that Sunnyside is about the Sunnyside of life.
4 comments:
Don,
I think it's even apparent to the customers that come in what a great team/family you have at the shop.
And all 16 are lucky to be a part of your family.
Simply wonderful
Hey Don - This is brother Gary B. or cousin Gary B. or uncle Gary B. One of the Sunnyside family members. It does not matter how little I have been in Sunnyside recently, The secondI I get to work there is a feeling which is so comforting. My Father once told me to make sure you get to go to work versus you have to go to work. My life has changed a lot is the past 6 years. but getting to go to Sunnyside has remained consistent. I look forward to it every time. Even if I am yanking thorns out of a tire. Thank you Don for putting this into words.
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