“Nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiasm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
It takes a lot of passion to be a successful entrepreneur. It’s the passion that gives you the energy to get it done. It’s motivating. It also helps to provide you with direction and focus. A passion for building relationships and solving problems is evident in every interaction with Trail Blazer Products.
It was on an airplane, flying from Ontario back to Nova Scotia, that it really hit home how passionate Shawn was about making Trail Blazer work. Curtis and Shawn had just signed on as national vendors with Home Hardware. “That was big for us,” Shawn reflects. But it was more than that. As Shawn explains, “I did all the talking in that meeting. So, first of all, I’m nervous presenting to a national chain and then, there’s my Dad, who I respect so much, sitting in the room. It was the most nervous meeting I’ve ever had.” And when Curtis started sketching out a company logo on the motion sickness bag (it was the only paper they had!), everything just fell into place “Dad’s not going to come up and pat you on the back,” Shawn says. “You get these subtle hints. Like that logo to me was huge. He just made me feel like I did it. That was one of the points where I knew this is what I’m doing for the rest of my life.”