I love the Entrepreneurial process. I have been in the “start-up” world of some type for about the last 13 years or so. It is not easy—sometimes even discouraging, but it sure is rewarding.
I really kind of started down this path when I moved into outside sales. That took a whole lot more energy and start-up creativity to go out and build a successful sales territory. I think it was some of my most valuable experience for my personal entrepreneurial journey. It forced me out into the public in a new way, to start from scratch, and generate business.
My first real foray into what we might call the “start-up” space was launching a new Church in Providence Rhode Island. You might wonder—‘what does a church have to do with entrepreneurship…’ but it really is exactly the same. It required a vision, a mission, a business plan, networking, leadership, all the same legal entity formation, and capital raising. And even a Church has a “customer” to whom it communicates a product—a spiritual message that people, even if they really don’t buy it, they are at least called to “buy into it.”
Most recently is the launch of this brand, UNDERWARE USA, where we wrapped up a very successful Kickstarter capital raise of 25K On Nov. 17th. We are still fulfilling some of 260 plus pledge orders.
Through these experiences, I have learned some valuable lessons that I have had to integrate into my mindset. I am going to call them mindset elements. None of them are a complete mindset in any of themselves, but they help make up one.
What kind of mindset does an entrepreneur need to have? There are five key elements for me.
1. Adaptability: There is more than one way to do things
There is more than one way to do things. The entrepreneur needs to look at the horizon of his endeavor and sift the many methods and approaches offered and discern what is most immediately effective for him. In other word—what gets you profitable and able to do business another day as soon as possible.
"Consistent execution on an imperfect plan coupled with adaptability and teachability are far more critical to success than getting things perfect."
When he does, he needs to mover forward with both confidence and adaptability. There is not one way to do things, and therefore not a single way to be successful.
2. Things do not have to be perfect
You do not have to get it perfect to be successful. In fact, perfection is often the enemy of success. Perfectionism often stands in the way of action & progress. It more often than not, can lead to rigidity and freezing up. You always have to balance your commitment to a high quality product, service, or endeavor, with the practical commitment to actual production. In ministry, this was positively impacting peoples lives. In business, this is generating profit so you can operate another day. A great product is meaningless if it is not making you money. Think about it it, if you business is not churning a profit, it is not rewarding you with more capital to improve your product.
Many entrepreneurs today talk about the so-called ‘MVP’ or ‘Minimum Viable Product.” If you want to succeed, you have to put in excellence, or at least as much as you can, while getting your product to market as quickly as possible. Even though I knew this, I am guilty of waffling at times when execution on something would have been more profitable. But when you make the wrong choice, you cannot beat yourself up. Our briefs at UNDERWARE USA should have been to market much more quickly. But still by coming back to this concept, it still drove me to get it out there. Every business with have setbacks, including entrepreneur induced setbacks. You have to accept this, dust yourself off, and move on.
Consistent execution on an imperfect plan coupled with adaptability and teachability are far more critical to success than getting things perfect. Improvements are best made along the journey rather than all “up front,” which just stalls you from going to market. Be tenacious. This naturally brings us to our next point.
3. Failure is not final
If you falter in the process of your endeavor, you have merely just ruled out “how not to do it,” and it is not a failure until you quit. I like to distinguish between faltering and failing. Faltering is any natural mistake, loss, or setback in your endeavor. These are absolutely expected, normal, and unavoidable. Failure on the other hand is when you give up and walk away.
Damon Johns is known for having to step back and restart FUBU several times. Damon faltered, adapted, and persevered. He did not fail because he would not tap out. This brings us to endurance.
4. Endurance: Keep going in the face of difficulty with tenacious focus
What keeps your failure from becoming final? It is your commitment to endure. It is the attribute of endurance or perseverance. Jesus says at one point, “he who perseveres to the end shall be saved.” There is much more to that than space allows for here. But if we paraphrased the idea just for business we could say, “He who perseveres to the end shall be successful.”
The personal attribute of endurance is the outcome of endurance as a mindset choice first. You have to choose to endure in face of set-backs, obstacles, and difficulty. This is an entirely rational and cognitive decision making process that is rooted in vision and commitment—a choice to move forward against mounting obstacles even when it may feel impossible.
If your future is based upon how you feel, which comes and goes like the wind, then you will definitely fail. You cannot rely on your emotions to pull you through.
There are many good tactics and techniques to help this. First Having both a clear vision and basic business plan that you keep coming back to and reviewing daily is essential. These are your intentions as Trevor Blake calls them. What you endeavor to do and accomplish. Second, a running list of actionable items in your business is another highly effective tactic and one of my favorites. It is simple and easy to apply. Mary Kay, the brilliant Entrepreneur in women’s cosmetics swore by her “lists” to keep her on track and executing.
"Detractors are subtractors! They want to subtract and siphon off your mindset and success."
Another thing that has really helped me was the simple practice of picking a couple small items each day that moved the ball down the field closer to my goal. Even if I was really busy with other things, picking the next most important thing to execute on, even if it was small, has helped me immensely. In this third tactic, the key is to pick the top 1-2 next action items that moves the ball the most with the time you have available.
Launching a company like UNDERWARE is no small task, even though we are still a small company struggling to get our legs under us. It is easy to lose sight of the bigger goal amidst the details, especially when your biz is not at a money producing stage, or at least not producing big money. It its easy to let other things eclipse it and letting procrastination take over. This has gotten the best of me more than once. Stay focused, execute, and follow through.
Ignore your critics!
They are always there, and they are always out for your emotional and mental blood. Detractors are subtractors! They want to subtract and siphon off your mindset and success. They do not want you to win because winning is not part of their story.
Critics have no credibility simply because they are just that—critics! Anyone who roots for your failure, your fallout, or to say "I told you so" have already embraced mediocrity and failure as a way of life. It this their story, but not yours! Graciously pray for them and leave them out of the voices that you allow to speak into your life.
Write these down. Keep them handy and memorize them. They will help you in whatever endeavor you are pursuing.
At the beginning, I asked, “what kind of mindset does the entrepreneur have?” In summary, I will say this: The entrepreneur, whatever she or he is pursuing, needs to have a commitment mindset. They are committed to the endeavor, to do whatever it takes.
The mindset elements that we outlined here are the tools and grease that help propel us toward that goal in mind. Adaptability, endurance, a certain level of pragmatism, and ultimately, the ability to block out distractions and detractors that siphon off your energy are all key. Go do it!
I would love to hear your comments!
Todd
]]>We hope you are waking up happy and refreshed to a bright new 2024! I know a few of you might not be simply because, to quote Prince, you "partied like it was 1999!" We pray for your speedy recovery!
Our Website, which was not live for some time, is now up and LIVE.
By way of update, we ended 2023 with a lot of excitement with our successful Kickstarter Launch campaign.
Our Kickstarter managed to raise around 25K over the 31 days it was live from Oct 17th to Nov. 17th 2023. This was better than we expected. We greatly appreciate those of your who took part in the campaign and supported us. You who did are now the happy owners of some brand new "comfort-sack" briefs in some wildly cool colors. Thank you again for your support!
What's On the Horizon?
#1. More Sport & Athleisure Wear — As part of our crowdfund campaign we created add-on products which include the following:
We will post another blog post with more details on these super new products. You can preorder these now and view them by clicking on the links above for each. We are expecting these to be in by the beginning of February!
#2 New Styles and Fabric types for our briefs
On the horizon we will be adding some new styles, like a 9-inch inseam and we are developing prototypes right now of alternative and more earth-freindly fabrics like Bamboo and Merino Wool.
#3 New Website
We are working on an improved website that will make your shopping experience better. If you have any questions, we look forward to hearing from you. Post a comment, or email us!
Todd & Team UNDERWARE USA
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Grand Prize: Win 10 Pairs of Premium Comfort Sack Briefs | Why not start the year by winning. We are giving away 10 pairs of the ultimate comfort sack boxer-briefs. That's right 10! to our grand prize winner. We will also have multiple runners-up. who will receive one sample pair
Get your UNDERWARE Briefs NOW!
Win a $10 Gift Card just by entering | More than that, you win by just entering! — sign in and get $10 cash-value gift card that you can apply toward your first order in the UNDERWARE store.
***NOTE: Check your Email! — and click the "CONFIRM SUBSCRIPTION" button in the confirmation email to complete your entry and recieve your gift card!
Multiple entries and Mutliple ways to win | Moreover, you can increase your chances of winning the grand prize or a runner up prize by using our app to share and follow us on social media.
Rules:
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UW is not just an underwear and sportswear brand for men... What drives us is our values.
Let me get to the point. We care about hard-working men and hardworking women care about. We care about classic American values, hard work, achievement, and being authentic, compassionate, and strong men in the world.
What made this country great? — hard work and American values. Whether it was the the Founding generation or the Greatest generation, they were our models and examples. They set the standard for generations to follow!
UNDERWARE USA embodies those values in our products, our company culture, and aims at preserving our American Way of life.
We set out to serve men directly by creating products that apologetically celebrate masculinity and the best of this country and its history. But we are out to serve women too, not by our products per se, but by our celebration of masculinity.
"How does that work?" — Glad you asked!
Manhood and masculinity are taking a beating in pop culture. And the differences between masculine and feminine are being blurred.
As manhood is downplayed, so is femininity, womanhood, and motherhood. The two are beautified by contrast. As we celebrate one, the opposite looks that much more unique and beautiful. We serve women "by" serving men!
We have a lot of fun here in our celebration of manhood, but that should not be confused with "machismo" which is fake and empty. Real men are achievers, ethical, good husbands, and fathers. They get up and go to work tirelessly for their woman and children. They leave their blood on the battlefield of life every day, and sometimes on real battlefields too.
We are about this kind of man. If you are, or love this kind of man too, then we are also for you and your values!
Join the revolution!
Tell us what you think!
God and Country!
]]>I cannot tell you how exciting it was to see our briefs and our story featured in affiliates of NBC, CBS, and Fox, and many more local TV stations around the US as well as many newspapers websites including the Boston Herald!
We were even featured in financial outlets, most notably Market Watch. Click on the logos below to see our featured press releases!
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PRE-ORDER YOURS NOW FOR AN EXTRA 50 ENTRIES!
Introducing our August 2021 Contest!
During August we are running a give away contest to win a year's supply (a full 12 pairs) of UNDERWARE performance "comfort sack" briefs. Besides first place, there will also be two 2nd Place winners of two pairs of briefs, and five 3rd place winners who will get a single pair.
There is no purchase necessary to participate!!!
You can have many entries by social sharing and referring to your friends.
Get and Extra 50 Entries by Pre-ordering! — You can click here to pre-order at least one pair of shorts, and then enter the invoice number for an extra 50 entries! Don't forget to use the discount code provided on the pre-order page for 25% off or more!
]]>I want to just introduce you to a fantastic podcast I recently listened to on Ryan Daniel Moran's channel.
The podcast is titled: Adel Sayegh: Lessons From The Man Who Lost The World, But Gained His Soul
Basically Adel is the modern day Job. He had everything; he lost everything, and he still thanks God for it.
The key reason you should listen to this is that Adel's interview really forces you to think about what really matters—wherever you stand religiously. All of us talk about that. But Adel forces you to think about it in the context of business and life not going the way you want. In the midst of a battle with cancer, his leadership team embezzled his billion dollar company into bankruptcy.
This podcast forced me to ponder two critical considerations: (1) There is more to this life. and (2) There is more THAN this life. Yeah there is more to this life than work and worldly success. But more than that, there is more than this life, which is a bigger issue. Jesus asked the question, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"
Have you ever heard that? Have you ever stopped and really considered what that means? Adel's talk is a really helpful challenge. Very Thankful to Ryan Daniel Moran at Capitalism.com for doing this interview!
Please Share — Happy Listening
]]>I read a lot of self improvement, leadership, and coaching type literature. As someone who spent years in professional ministry as well as coaching executives I have spent thousands of man-hours coaching people on how to keep their head in the game.
There is a ton of good stuff out there and there are also kilotons of "meh." But of all the things that seem to "work" in getting keeping people's heads back in the game, mine especially, is a simple little thing called gratitude.
Gratitude or "thankfulness" has seemed to have arisen to the top in my life over and over again. Maybe that is because gratitude automatically forces us to consider what we have, and not what "we have not!"
Thankfulness in the Little Things
One thing I do every morning is a little meditation. This is not the "omani pe, me hom" stuff. It is just centering my mind, often with a little bit a prayer mixed in. There was a beautiful sunrise out my living room window this morning. I took a minute to thank God for that. That sparked thanking God for being alive today, having an credible wife of almost 27 years, six young men to our credit ranging from 11–26 years of age, and a whole bunch more.
Being thankful for the little things and the basic things will also serve you very well when you are very rich in worldly things. It will keep you grounded and your priorities in place. It works whether you have a lot, or a little.
The "Weakness" of Outward Success
People who have financial, business, and career success typically just carry themselves with more confidence. But that can be a false confidence when it is based on that success.
Your self worth is neither increased or decreased by the goods, renown, and success you have. You are a valuable, worthy, and amazing person regardless.
I spent some time coaching C-level executives in job transition. The single biggest pchallenge these highly successful leaders faced was being defining themselves by their current state. Many of them suffered severe depression and disillusionment by the mere loss of an income and a title. Their savior was simply finding another title with a big paycheck that they thought would make them "valuable again." If we put our self worth in the wrong things, it actually weakens us as a leader.
Leaning on Egypt
There is a great verse in the Old Testament book of Isaiah that illustrates this. God told Israel not to trust in what could not be trusted. In the political intrigue of 7th and 8th century Palestine, Egypt was an easy option to look to for help. But it always came at a cost:
Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. (Isaiah 36:6)
Houston We Have a Problem
There is a great scene in the movie Apollo 13, the movie which tells the true story of how those Apollo 13 astronauts almost did not make it home. In this scene, a NASA member gathers a bunch of experts in a room and dumps a bunch of junk on the table. Then he says something like, this is the stuff they have, and so this is what we have to work with to save their lives!
Starting with What you Have
That is the power of Thankfulness and Gratitude; it makes you take stock in what you have, not what you don't have. This gives you a foundation to work from. You can't use or leverage what you don't have. But you can leverage what you do have. And that is the perfect place to start. Our biggest problem is underestimating the resources we have; we will always underestimate them when we are not thankful for them.
The Mindset Boost
But there is more—much more. Our ability to leverage what we have is multiplied by a thankful "can do" attitude. Embracing the blessings you have, and enthusiastically putting them to work for you like you are the luckiest person on earth is a force multiplier for success.
Happy Thankfulness!
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If you are anything like me, when tasks mount up, I get overwhelmed. Sometimes it just feels like an elephant sitting on my chest.
Designing and bringing starting a brand, company or bringing a product to market is no small task. Things never move at the pace you want. Stuff stacks up, or perhaps we should say "backs-up" kind of like a toilet clogged with... You get the picture.
Getting Rid of "Overwhelm"
Here are some things I do to get unstuck when I am am dealing with "overwhelm."
1. Take the False Pressure off Yourself — I am not saying don't push yourself. You need to keep yourself accountable to execute. Just drop the ego. Get rid of the egotistical pressure and identity stroking. Let go of needing to be the next Eon Musk, or mega-entrepreneur. Most businesses plod along for some time until they hit an inflection point. It does not help you, your team, and your family if you are a wreck because you have to be the next "supastah!"
2. Focus on One Thing — When overwhelmed, I just try to pick one thing. You can only do one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is BS! Multi-tasking = multi-distracting! Yes you can put in a load of laundry while you are cleaning the bathroom, but that is because you have a machine to do that task so you can focus on another. We don't really do laundry anymore—we delegate laundry to a machine!
Find a key task for the day. If you make yourself execute on one task a day, or one or a few big tasks for your project per week, you will be amazed at how things build. When you are overwhelmed, pick the key thing you can do that will move the ball the most and shut all the other tasks out.
3. Be Flexible — Businesses and organizations die without flexibility. The recipe is simple; you cannot control everything. Successful people learn how to course correct on the fly to take advantage of the circumstances they have, not the circumstances they want.
Think sailing: Pros do not control the winds, they harness them. The wind is constantly shifting just like in business and life. They are constantly shifting to take advantage of the wind they have, not the wind they want. An inflexible business plan will sink you (pardon the pun). Take the opportunities that are in front of you.
In Sum
In starting UW, the process of getting samples and locating a manufacturer has been trying. What I mean by that is waiting...and the waiting, and waiting, and waiting! When one aspect of the business is stuck, I switch to another that is next highest in priority.
I find these things help me get unstuck, refocus, and get back to making progress. What helps you?
Happy Executing!
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So this awesome idea about the ultimate boxer brief for men had been rolling around in my head for several years, but quite unfortunately un-acted upon. It was around lat 2018 while listening to some business podcasts, most notably Ryan Danial Moran over at Capitalism.com, that I said to myself "What am I waiting for?"
So I decided to get started on my idea. The first step I took was reaching out to a clothing designer. I happened to have a friend, Philip Sawyer who was a custom designer and pattern maker in the Boston area. So I reached out to him, pitched my idea, and we got started.
This was totally new territory for me. I remember arriving at his swanky artist's loft studio in Boston that had been carved out of the cadaver of an old industrial mill to emerge as a mecca for artists and designers. I could feel the energy of creativity wafting through the air.
Get Started
When it comes to your entrepreneurial journey, the key thing is getting started. Most people never get started because they cannot see all the steps in the journey. This is just a futile attempt to keep it safe. There is no such thing as "safe" in any journey worth trekking. If you were to walk the Appalachian trail, you can only handle every bend and bank when you come to it. Its precisely all of life works. Recently I watched a video interview of Elon Musk where the interviewer asking him about his business plan. Elon, currently the wealthiest man in the world, retorted, "I never have a plan..." to which the crowd erupted in laughter. Action is 100X superior to a plan.
Find a Guide
Many think you need to be an expert in a field to start a company. This is a myth. What you will need is guides and supporting expertise. There is a Proverb in the Bible that says "there is wisdom in a multitude of council." The key to your journey is finding the right people and the right information to get you going, and get you to the next phase.
I found a friend, partner, and guide in Philip Sawyer. One of the first steps in creating your product is the prototyping phase. Now if you are not going to go with a "white label" product (and I suggest you do not) I then warn you that you need to be patient. You will need to go through several iterations before you get it right and effective. Don't drag your feet, but do be patient.
Oh you might be asking, "Todd what is 'white label'?" That is when a manufacturer has a ready made product that is ready for your name and logo to be stamped on it. There are advantages to this, but if you are going to build a brand, you need a USP — a "unique selling point." That is hard to establish if you are just repackaging what everyone else is selling.
Now there is nothing wrong with starting with a manufacturer who white labels for your product, but you want to "tweak it" a bit so your product stands out. Here is a great article on Capitalism.com on Travis Killian who simply tweaked something as mundane as the umbrella.
Phil worked with me for a couple months until we had arrived at a working model. This was a fun process. I will tell you more of what we did next in some coming posts.
You Don't Know What You Don't Know—And that is OK!
It is really important for you to find expertise and guides about what you do not know. This saves you time and money. It is also critical because people in an industry can show you how to navigate it much better.
Phil was able to also point me to other key resources. For instance, when we arrived at a prototype and pattern, you need that pattern digitized in formats that can be sent to manufacturers. Phil helped me navigate this and many other lakes and streams in the process.
Most important, it is OK if you don't know what you are doing. Nobody does when they start. That is OK, and don't tolerate anyone who wants to belittle you for that. that is proof positive that you do not want them on your team!
Phil's Work
If you are interested in garment design, I really encourage you to reach out to Phil. You can visit his site here. His designs run from, Men's and Women's apparel, to bridal, and even urban bike wear. And you cannot forget the ultimate men's boxer brief! (wink, wink!).
You can check out his collections here.
If you are thinking about designing a garment or a line on clothing, I cannot more highly recommend Philip Sawyer. I encourage you to reach out to him. Take the step to reach out to someone. If they are not the right person for the job, they will know someone who is, and off you go on your entrepreneurial journey.
Please Share and Happy Journey!
]]>Welcome to the journey, a fantastic quest over treacherous terrain. A journey where we will navigate hamlet and shire, mountains and mines in search of the elusive one ring of power (read waistband).
This is the maiden voyage of the UW blog—"The Daily Briefs" where we will keep you up to date on products, specials, good news about masculine comfort and general all around red-blooded American bad-assery!
When you are in the men's underwear business, you cannot take yourself too seriously. You gotta laugh about topics that some people find a bit awkward.
I don't find men's drawers that awkward to talk about, but I cant tell you how many folks do get a little flushy and blushy.
But There is More to It!
While we can't take ourselves too seriously, we still need to realize that there is something more to it. Your underwear actually affect both your health (especially testicular health—a very serious subject) and how you go about performing on the job, in whatever you do.
Lets face it guys, if your delicate parts are uncomfortable, they are distracting you and distraction always impedes performance. Period!
Our Mission
So how did we get started? What made us create a new line of men's underwear? I am so glad you asked—whether you asked or not.
Funny I was reading a little article today about Richard Branson and the two questions he asks entrepreneurs to help them find their purpose. The first question is: What is that you really like? This is a good place to start to get you into something you are passionate about.
The second question is probably the more important one and may have started more business ventures than anything else. The second question is simply: What do you dislike? Can't get any more simple than that! What is the problem, irritation, or thorn in your side that you think needs to be fixed in the world? Simply put: if its aggravating you there is a good chance it is aggravating others too!
So to the question, How did I get started doing this? It was something I disliked. I disliked how men's underwear are never made to anatomically fit a man properly. it seemed to me that the part of a man that is most cherished by both men and women for propagating the human race, gets the lowest quality care. We believe there is a better way. So we set out to build a better brief!
Presto! — the UNDERWARE performance brief. The evolutionary apex of masculine comfort.
Traditional skives or "tighty-whities" barely deserve mention. These are so poorly designed its like manhood abuse! The leg chaffing with these should be federally regulated.
Then there is your granddaddy's traditional boxer. I'd take them any day over some tighty-whities, but the feeling of going "jingle-all-the-way" as you are exercising or performing is unsettling.
The boxer-brief revolution was a slight improvement, but they never thought out what to do with your boys. The spandex feels good against your legs and rear. But your man-parts are somehow corralled into the formless no-man's land between your legs. Yeah so as soon as you get a it warm down there, you develop an acute case of "bat-wing." And No, that is not a vehicle or gadget from the DC universe. That is the uncomfortable feeling where your manhood has stuck to your leg so that you feel like you have a warm lump of cookie dough between your legs.
Well, I certainly could go on! But I won't. You get the picture... No—if you are a guy, you have experienced the picture.
We Thought It Through!
Ok so we found ourselves so frustrated with men's underwear design, that we were losing sleep at night. The thought of half the human on the planet in the constantly tortuous state of testicular suffering haunted our dreams.
Then it happened—one night I fell and hit my head while peeing int he dark, and there is was—my vision of the flux capacitor... (record scratch) Sorry wrong story.
Seriously I just started thinking it through—that is thinking precisely how I think men's underwear should fit. I mean those ladies have "Hanging things" and they get braziers with cups. Certainly we can do better for men!
Then it hit me—what men need is a BRO-ZIER! Men need a performance brief with a "comfort sack" that gives gentle support. That means things are not all dangle jangle, and neither are they crushed.
Most of all, men like the hardware to stay where it belongs.
The Best Wear for Your Hardware!
So I reached out to my buddy Phil Sawyer, a Boston based clothing designer, and we created UNDERWARE premium men's boxer briefs—the only brief with a "comfort sack" made just for yours!
More to come!
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