(and other things I learned from woodworkers, entrepreneurs, and van lifers Candace and Dan)
Dan Alonso & Candace Sherrif are living some version of the millennial dream. They run a thriving woodworking company in cottage country paradise, Muskoka. In the off season they travel across Canada in their live-in van. How did they do it? That’s what I wanted to find out on our last episode!
Dan’s innovative mind clicked when he saw “slash piles” of unused and discarded wood while tree planting. He started making and selling charcuterie boards shortly thereafter, which is how he met Candace, when she bought his first board. With her design background and talent, she helped Dan grow the company into what it is today.
Of course, they were both quick to inform me that Dan also does design work, and Candace also does woodworking. In other words, they don’t just specialize in one area but rather they pick up new skills when needed. They’re true learners, or Amateur heroes, as I like to think of them. Indeed, they are both self-taught woodworkers, entrepreneurs, and now van-life enthusiasts. I couldn’t wait to learn from them. Here are some of the key insights I gleaned from our conversation:
1. Failure is necessary and inevitable: This is something that comes up again and again from my conversations with self-taught individuals. They wouldn’t have become an “expert” in their craft without dropping the ball a few times. The key is that they keep picking up the ball again and again until they get it right. “The biggest piece of advice I would say is you need to be able to be okay with failing,” Dan says. Failure is necessary and inevitable. So be okay with it, learn from it, and move on: Keeping on picking up that ball. Which leads to our next lesson…
2. Trial-and-error is learning by innovation: This is how learning from failure works. You try something, it doesn’t work, you think about what you need to do differently, and you do it again. Throughout our conversation, Dan and Candace credited trial and error for just about every skill they picked up, including woodworking, business development, and even van life. The trial-and-error method really works, it’s just a matter of trying. And as I’ve learned, if you don’t think you’re ready yet, you’re wrong. Dan agrees: “Jump before you look kind of mentality,” as he calls it. But of course, you have to “make sure you do learn from your mistakes because if you don’t you’re just gonna repeat.”
3. Find beauty in imperfection: When looking for the right piece of wood, Candace says that the ones that have “what would be deemed some flaws or imperfections, those are the pieces we love.” Similarly, when creating their products, they don’t sweat the imperfections: “Because we are more focused on the artistic side, I think we have a different way of looking at things sometimes and if it’s not a perfect straight angle, it’s okay with us.” The most beautiful things in life are imperfect: art, human beings, relationships. Flaws are an integral part of the human experience. At the very least, this gives people a tolerance for it; I think many of us even have an appreciation for it. Flawlessness is boring, while flaws give things personality. Flaw makes the good parts even better and adds to the overall picture. The same is true with van life, which “can be a beautiful mountain view or a Walmart parking lot.”
4. Put the cart before the horse: I was surprised to find that Candace and Dan started selling apparel before their woodworking products really took off. But because their apparel became popular, their brand spread, and with it, so did word of mouth. I think the lesson here is that just because something was done a certain way or in a certain order in the past, doesn’t always mean you can’t do things differently. This is an important part of learning by innovation. It’s all about trying different things and seeing how they work. And don’t sweat the haters. There will always be someone out there who thinks you’re doing it the “wrong” way. The truth is that the only wrong way is the one that doesn’t work for you. On that note…
5. Be yourself: In a world where everyone is trying present perfect images of themselves on social media, people crave authenticity more than ever. As Candace said, “what we do is very authentic, it’s very us, so…the best sales pitch is when we just are naturally talking to a customer and telling them about ourselves, telling them our story.” Most of us know this, which is why it has become a cliché. Unfortunately, we often try too hard to push a version of ourselves that we think people want, when what people really want is version You-point-O. Also, when you are truly yourself you can…
6. Find your rhythm: How can local business owners just take off in their van for three months? Candace and Dan found and developed a rhythm that works for them. They know what times of the year they are going to be really busy and also the times when they can slow down. They’ve integrated aspects of their work life into their leisure: Their van became a travelling showroom for them, and they brought inspiration (and wood) back from their trek out west. In this way, they’ve made their work a part of who they are. And they’ve worked rewards into their rhythm. Which brings me to my last point…
7. Take your leisure seriously: This is your reward for all the hard work you do. Make it count. Whether it’s a van trip, a beach vacation, or playing catch with your child, these are the moments that make the work worthwhile. This is your life. My last blog post was devoted to just this topic so I will leave it at that.
I hope you learned as much (or maybe more) than I did from Candace and Dan. Feel free to comment and let me know if I missed anything.