He didn't come to Texas alone, of course. His parents brought him and his seven brothers and sisters to our big state. He was rapidly losing his accent, and adopting one more like mine. Perhaps this was a subtle sign of his adaptability, for in time he would prove himself very adaptable and incredibly resilient.

 

Coming from a large family, with more than their share of mouths to feed, my friend soon learned that if he wanted more than the essentials in life, it was going to be up to him. He found work to do, and learned to earn his own spending money while still in elementary school. We became good friends instantly, lifetime friends.

 

Still, it took a while for me to really get to know my new friend, and some of what I saw amazed me. I remember one summer evening in his backyard, my friend, barely junior high age, had an altercation with his eldest brother, who was twice his size and several years older. What caused the fight, I couldn't say, but my pal was determined to give his brother more than a piece of his mind. He wanted to land just one good punch to let him know how he felt.

 

He rushed his brother, who easily deflected the blow, twisted him around and booted him across the lawn. The smaller combatant, instead of quitting, was more determined than ever. Only when he rushed him this time, his big brother, just for the fun of it, picked up a rather heavy duty broom laying conveniently near by and swatted his little nemesis before he got nearly close enough to pose any threat.

 

Again, my friend went rolling across the yard. I thought surely he would give up now, but as soon as he regained his footingⁱ, he rushed back into the fray. He grabbed a trash canⁱ lid as a shield, and charged his target once more. But, partly blinded by the lid, his brother easily side stepped him, then swatted him once more with the broom, sending him tumbling across the grass as before. It would take several more tries before, exhausted, he gave up the fight. Man, I thought, this kid almost never gives up, and does so only if the effort is hopeless, which for him was almost never.

 

The friend I am talking about, who, at a young age, showed me an example of courage, determination, and resilience is Bob Wieber, the CEO of NBM, Inc. producers of trade shows and trade magazines, including the one you're reading now. He and his company have weathered a lot of storms over the last 25 years or so. And none of those years have been any more challenging than 2009, the year we just went through.

 

But early on, Bob started making the internal and external changes necessary for the company to adjust to the drastically different and rapidly changing business environment of the past year. And those changes, some difficult and even unpleasant, placed NBM Inc. on the solid footing required to weather this unpredicted and very challenging storm.

 

I have to respect someone with, as one of our old coaches used to call it, the “intestinal fortitude” needed to make the tough decisions required, and the nerve to make them quickly as well. As a small business person myself, I’m sure I could take some real lessons from the example still being set by my friend.

 

Not being the businessman that my mentor is, I tend to meet most problems with the strategy of just working that much harder, when it is certain that working much, much smarter would be the best approach. But, as I’ve admitted before, the adage “too soon old, too late smart” certainly applies to this old sign maker.

 

But, things could be worse. After a slow start, overall our sales at our sign shop were off by just 5 percent in 2009. Unfortunately, with the expansion we had been involved in before the crash, to pay the bills they desperately needed to be up by 10 percent or more. Well, that’s what we have to do this year. And with all the determination I can muster, and the cooperation of the crew we have in place, that’s what we’re going to do. To heck with taking punches, this year we fight to win.

 

I’ll keep you posted as to our progress, and I’d love to hear how your sign business is doing as well. Any advice you have, I’m all ears--just wish there was more between 'em!

 

Have a great month, and a great year,