5 Feb, 2009 Posted by Tom

Deliver me from evil…

Today, I want to talk about the difference between a good idea and a GOD idea. The concept isn’t mine, it comes from a book I read (and still re-read) by Andy Stanley called, Visioneering. In it, he describes divine inspiration and the process of making your dreams a reality. His “guide” was very benefitial to me as I began working on the idea for almightees. And today I want to focus on how I got the idea and where I was when I got it.

Shortly after 9-11, I was laid off from an advertising agency where I was the studio manager. After several months of trying get rich quick in real estate investmening, I had to get another job and ended up at a small apparel company.  We made popular, screen printed, designer t-shirts. Without giving too much away, I found myself reading the bible every day at lunch to get through the workdays. Just coping.

I’m not sure if I was extremely paranoid back then, or if the atmosphere was oppressive, but eventually everyone left, so I have to imagine it was the latter. During the time I worked there, reading the bible, reading Andy Stanley’s book, coping, thinking up new ideas for shirts that were starting to get more and more offensive, being treated poorly and sacrificing my self-worth, this idea that I could do something positive and fun started germinating in my head. I even came up with a name, sketched the logo in the margins of Visioneering, and added a tagline to it. (scan will go here)

And then it was time for me to move on. Our kids had been going to Haven Fellowship Church near our house with my wife’s mother and her husband. The days that the owners of the company were gone were the worst. My mind would spiral out of control and I was not very healthy back then. I called on the pastor at Haven and we sat in his office and prayed for deliverance. A few days later I left the company, signed up with Aquent, a creative staffing company, and have never looked back.

The idea for almightees started back in those darkest of days and I couldn’t do a thing towards making it a reality. Except wait. And wait. And something wonderful happened during the waiting. I began to heal. God helped me help myself, I got into a recovery program and therapy for my troubled marraige, I started taking care of myself and things were going better in my career as a graphic designer. And every once in a while, the idea for almightees would creep back into my head and I would start thinking up cute taglines for the shirts. Or I’d sketch some more logo ideas. I was always looking for a company out there that was doing anything like what I had in mind. I never did find anything close.

One day I heard Dr. Dobson talking about an apparel company’s new catalog and the risque imagery they used in it. I knew it was time. I knew this idea was bigger than me right then. I started considering the business model I would pursue. I started concepting and researching. I found some sites that helped me write a business plan and a plan on what I wanted my life to be like. I got organized with help from my wife and her Franklin Covey training.

With her banking contacts we approached a local banker for a Small Business Loan of $20,000 and we were approved during lunch. A few months later, in August 2008, we started upgrading computers, purchasing new software, locating printers, signing agreements with apparel wholesalers and contracting a web developer.

Last Saturday we launched the website. That next Wednesday we sold our first three shirts to our dentist, Wayne Kerr! Monday we got our first sign up on the website for the newsletter and yesterday we got our first comment on the blog!

A friend of mine told me that the definition of a faith based business is: “Doing something so great that it is doomed to fail lest Christ be in it.” I just can’t imagine where I’d be if Christ wasn’t in this with me from the beginning.