Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Koral. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Michael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think it takes hard work. I am also a teacher and tell my students that if the continuously give their best efforts for what life has to offer they will absolutely be successful. It may be different then what they initially expected but they will 100% have success. I did not expect to be vending at festivals, 10 years ago, to contribute to my income. . I found an opening and utilized the people willing to help me and worked as hard as I could to then be successful in it. I gained these beliefs through being a runner. You cannot get faster without training. You have to be smart but you have to work consistently hard.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am first and foremost a Physical Education teacher in Jefferson County Colorado. Unfortunately it had not been the smoothest ride during the beginning of my time as a teacher so I started looking for different options to help my income and create a potential second career option if necessary. I found a small company run by 2 guys who were friends of my parent’s. They sold Gourmet Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars Called Seven Barrels. They had mentioned how this would be a great side job for me because of the flexibilities in the summer. I decided to take a shot and see what happened. I dove in head first and had some successes and some learning experiences very early on but definitely saw the potential of what could be. In 2019 I decided to go all in and sign up for every event I could find and hire employees to help me run multiple shows on the same weekend. We had big break throughs every weekend and I realized this was now a business. I could not believe that I had convinced thousands of people to not only buy this product but many of them appreciated the experience so much that they came back online and bought more. I really take pride in my customer service as it is a dying quality in the service industry and I want people to feel good when walking away from my booth, That is dependent on me doing the best I can for my customers to give them the best experience possible. I am thankful for many of the complements I get during an event because it shows that people appreciate my efforts that I am focused on giving.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest lesson that I have had to unlearn and am still unlearning is that this business requires help from others. No business can be done alone. Whether it is the truckers delivering product, the promoters of events getting people to show up, or the employees that help me out I cannot do this alone. Things are going to go wrong because of this but I have learned this is just a part of life and business and there is nothing I can do to change it. I have learned to roll with the punches and do the best I can with the situation that is presented to me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I aforementioned I am a teacher first and have no intention of changing that. I have wanted to teach since 8th grade and spread the message of healthy living while promoting exercise. When the moment came that I was unsure if teaching would work out I was devastated because I never thought of doing anything else but I started to accept the possibilities of adding something to my career to create a second option and additional income. I thought that if my income was more stable I wouldn’t feel as much strain while teaching and be able to enjoy it more. Luckily when I made the jump that is exactly what happened. Teaching today is fun for me and I get to appreciate my students and help them become better people. It also made me realize if teachers did not have to worry as much about money all schools would probably be more successful as a lot of people do not realize that we do not do it for the income but the outcome is what we value.

Contact Info:

• Website: 7barrels.com
• Instagram: @7bcolorado
• Facebook: @7bcolorado

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