We were lucky to catch up with Aaron Bertsch recently and have shared our conversation below.
Aaron, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?
Depends on how you define vacation.
If you mean do you ever take time to go to far flung destinations to eat at fine restaurants and see the sights, the answer is no.
If you mean taking time from a job or situation you don’t enjoy to do something you do, than every day is a vacation.
I spent 15 years pursuing a paycheck in an industry I didn’t enjoy being in. There were certain aspects that I enjoyed but overall I was there for the money. I had always loved working with my hands, particularly with metal, and had been blacksmithing as a hobby for a number of years. Taking the leap to full-time was both scary and exciting. Already owning my own construction business allowed me to avoid some pitfalls that a new business owner will face.
My goal in life is to enjoy all aspects of it including hard work. Forging is demanding mentally and physically, and I make much less money than I did contracting. However the trade off in personal pleasure and fulfillment is non-quantified.
My dream is that GypsyEDC will be a multi generational business with 1 or more of my 9 children pushing it forward.
We have chosen to live a relatively simple life close to the earth and each other. Growing and harvesting most of our food.
Life is lived via priority, determine your own and then make it happen.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
As I said I’ve always enjoyed metal work/ smithing so when the financial opportunity allowed for me to transition away from construction it was a no brainer.
My bread and butter is knives, but I do other smithing as well.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
Most businesses will fail in the first year period. If you make it to year 2, you have maybe a 50/50 chance of making it to year 3.
Knowing this upfront will allow you to plan for it.
It took me 2 years for Gypsy EDC to become profitable. It took almost 4 years for us to be able to live off of it.
If I didn’t have liquid assets set aside for the lean times the business would have failed.
My advice is start as early as possible pursuing your dream. Part of that might be working a job you don’t love to save money for cushioning the transition to one you do.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The 07/08 housing bubble almost destroyed my construction business. I was in the process of expanding, more equipment, and employees when it all came to an abrupt end.
I had to scramble and chase any work available. Those lean years taught me to cut the fat, make do with what you need. Keep debt as low as possible. I mostly buy used equipment these days.
Having multiple skill sets is going to set you up for success. Particularly having a tangible skill.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.gypsyedc.com
- Instagram: @gypsyedc