A Groundswell Parable: A Vision Worth Shaping

Patience is a virtue because it’s not always easy. When building a business, we may be tempted to rush ahead to “make something happen,” but patience is a practice—something we choose to intentionally cultivate every day, especially when we’re anxious to see results.

This level of intention is the first lesson Koa and Kalani had to learn.

Koa was eager to get out of his retail job and devote all his time to making custom boards. To do so, they needed to increase sales enough to o set the loss of income he would incur, as well as have enough to cover costs of increased materials and overhead To make this happen, Kalani learned how to run ads and target middle-aged surfing enthusiasts who were fascinated by Koa’s techniques.

It worked! They gained lots of attention and sales, so much that not only could Koa quit his retail job—he had to quit to keep up with demand. Koa worked around the clock for two months straight fulfilling all the orders This surge in growth came at a cost—because Koa wanted to specialize in custom boards, he o ered a wide variety of materials to choose from. That meant that he kept a lot of di erent materials on hand, each coming from a di erent supplier. Additionally, because he allowed every buyer to choose their specific material, it was di cult to prep and have boards roughed out in general shape, waiting to be customized based on specifications This meant Koa was always starting from scratch, which put him behind.

The perceived benefit of o ering his buyers choice wasn’t serving the business or, it turns out, those he was creating for.

Kalani encouraged Koa to streamline his process by limiting the options he o ered his customers. This felt like a step backward to Koa, like he was shrinking his business. It wasn’t until the siblings watched a documentary about ocean plastic that Koa saw an authentic path forward. Together, they decided to pivot their model to a surf shop that specialized in custom boards made from recycled ocean plastic.

This was a niche market compared to what they had been targeting before. But it allowed Koa to narrow the scope of materials and focus more on his designs and techniques Their business embraced their identity as boutique rather than trying to compete with mass market. Instead of a race to the bottom in terms of quality and price, they recognized the value of crafting small batches of high-quality boards at a higher price point

When you have clarity in your mission and it’s congruent with your values, keep adjusting and innovating to find the way forward. Align yourself firmly to that vision and hold every decision you make to that standard. Ask yourself, “Is this direction and action authentically aligned with my Epic End?” Then learn from each mistake or obstacle that pops up along the way. This is what being patient with your plan looks like