“Start a business,” they said. “It’ll be fun,” they said.
(No one ever actually said this, but it sure does kind of seem that way on the ol‘ socials, doesn't it? "I get to create my own schedule and do what I want and watch the millions come in while I get my nails done...it's pure JOY!" seems to be WAY more popular of an entrepreneurship message than I ever thought it would be.)
Well, I can tell you from experience that if being an entrepreneur is fun at all, it’s definitely “Type 2 Fun.”
I have an awesome physical therapist who explained this concept to me:
- Type 1 Fun is the “typical” fun you think about. Parties. Theme parks. Going down a 20-foot waterslide backwards and naked with a martini in-hand. That kind of thing.
- Type 2 Fun, Type 2 Fun is the kind that actually looks a lot like suffering while you're in it, but after the fact you're like “Wow that was so fun!” even though it kinnnda wasn't fun at all. Think: climbing mountains. Running marathons. Winter camping. Parenting (ok I said it. 😬 Though parenting is also a lot of Type 1 Fun, too)...and, starting & growing a business.
That said, after 3+ years of pretty solid white-knuckling my way through growing this small-but-mighty business...2021 has been the most...Type 1.5 (??) fun I've had since starting Rasa...and as ever, it's all about the relationships.
3 years of some seriously hard work (and still at it, that hard work thing has a "can't stop won't stop" vibe), and I'm overcome with gratitude as we watch the unfolding fruition of major relationships:
- Team: we are now 15 strong + 7 contractors of inspiring, hard-working, seriously capable, heartfelt, authentic, FUN humans
- Suppliers: we are now sourcing from over 30 suppliers, and each one is a relationship we carefully tend and strive to build stronger connections across all of them
- Earth: we now source over 50 herbs from 15 countries. Each herb carefully chosen for long-term sustainability, considering both ecosystem and cultural impacts. And we have so. much. more. vision. for how we can continue to build this business in a regenerative way that honors the regions and cultures that bring these herbs to us
- Community (YOU!): we have now served over 11 MILLION cups of Rasa to over 125,000 customers. And, we now have over 1500 investors who have invested almost $2.3M in this vision to transform the way we energize.
This incredible web of relationships is what makes this small business feel not so small, and the big-and-small impacts we make in the lives of our team, suppliers, and community start to add up to something I can really feel.
And that’s what makes it all worth it. Type 2 Fun, baby.
So thank you for making this all possible. I'll admit that I'm not in a “I never dreamed Rasa would become like this” place, because my dreams for Rasa are so. much. bigger. We’re just getting started. And, this year has been a huge milestone for us, and you’ve been a big part of that.
And, I think our marketing team might fire me if I don't say...
“It’s Small Business Saturday and you should buy Rasa instead of those other guys 😒 because small is mighty and mighty is a pen and swords are cool too but if you drink Rasa daily you won’t need to stab people with them so buy Rasa yay!”
Or something like that. 😉
With gratitude,
Lopa