Adopting the language of Michael Gerber’s “E-Myth”, I am a technician learning how to function as a manager and think like an entrepreneur. I work as the production manager for a wildlife rugging studio (yeah, wholesale bear rugging is actually a thing), a volunteer firefighter, and I put in three shifts a week at the local gym. In my free time, I’m a jack of all trades and master of none, and beyond that, I write to save my own life: to manifest salvation in a way that resonates with the deepest parts of my soul, and I desire to share that freedom with others.
I’ve been doing the taxidermy thing for about six years, learning everything I currently know on the job. I don’t plan to make a career in the taxidermy industry, but doing complex, artistic, detailed tasks suits my nature well. Additionally, being immersed in the benefits and challenges of a small business is forcing me to grow because I have to play so many different roles, and because there is not much insulation between my performance and the performance of the company. If I want my job, I have to make it work: I am no longer just an employee, I am a business. This is a necessary and ongoing mindset change.
I’m in this season where the pattern of growth in my life is really accelerating, so I’ve been consuming more personal and business development material. My faith is core to this growth, and I give God the credit for ongoing revelation about all aspects of life. So, I want to make the truths I believe about Him accessible, I want to speak those truths in such a way that they are activated in people’s lives. If my particular perspective causes a breakthrough in someone’s thinking, that’s what I’m after. Other people have done that for me, and in whatever way I can, at this moment, I want to do the same.
Getting back to specifics, prior to taxidermy, I unloaded trucks at Wal Mart for about five and a half years. Nothing wrong with that, but it was time to move on, and I’m glad I did.
I did a couple years at a Christian college. I was not academically successful, but the experience gained me a whole lot of fresh perspective. The number one thing I would say is; the experience raised my standards. That’s been eight years ago, now.
Since then, I’ve been working. On the side I’ve messed with some small-scale farming activities and gotten ok at swinging a hammer. I’ve failed a lot and learned a lot. It’s messy. It’s millennial. It’s even a little redneck. The important part is, each day brings so much newness that the previous day pales by comparison.
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Andrew K. Banks 