Need a break from all that crazy COVID-19 news? How about an uplifting real life story from someone who decided to leave the rat race and follow her dreams?
Here in another exclusive, The Inspired interviews Jody Shakespeare from British Columbia Canada's very own Tapped Events, where pop-up tap bar and mobile bartending comes straight to your door.
And if you're wondering, how could any of this be relevant with COVID-19 changing how we live and work today?
Well, as some of us are forced to spend more time at home, with more free time on our hands, we see a great positive in everything unfolding around us - new opportunities and new awakenings are everywhere.
Life is as full of options, as it is obstacles. How you decide to live tomorrow is truly your choice.
One thing is for sure, COVID-19 will end, and when it does, the world will be a different place.
And so will you.
What each of use do with the time between now and then has the power to transform us.
Perhaps your journey will take you to a more tapped in existence.
To a place where we do more of what we love, just like Jody did with Tapped Events.
1. What's Your Story?
Well that sounds like a loaded question! There's a long version, and a short version: I'll keep it short-ish.
I found myself in Tech Recruitment about 10 years ago, and turns out I was pretty good at it. I motored my way up the corporate ladder, landing a Managing Director role by the time I was 30 in Vancouver.
At about the same time, my sister was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis (MS), a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) and that triggered a pretty comprehensive review of life priorities by both my husband and I.
We decided we weren't going to wait to see if we were healthy and wealthy enough to live our dream life at retirement and packed it all in to move to the Shuswap about 2.5 years ago.
Removing ourselves from the high valued Vancouver real estate market put us in a position that would allow for more risk taking. So after a year back in my sales role, building another strong portfolio, I knew it was time to build something for myself.
Unsure of what that would be, I committed to taking some time off work to ground myself and reflect. Recruitment and coaching will always be a part of my offering, but when the idea of a beer truck crept into my mind, I just couldn't let it go.
2. Why did you decide to start your business?
I own The Tapped Truck, the ultimate sud slingin' party wagons this side of the 49th: we bring beer (and other beverages), on tap, anywhere!
I started The Tapped Truck last year, on a whim really. Once we moved to the Shuswap it became clear that there was an opportunity cost to our move: I could either wallow about it or set out to build a business that would allow me to connect to the community and soak up lake life.
Supporting local is super important to me, so when we rolled into many a summer festival to see those red cans being served, I was frustrated. There are so many local brewers, certainly, we could do better! So, we set out to isolate and focus on the problem, design a solution and have a little fun doing it!
As we looked to solve that problem, we just realized we could do SO much more. Our fleet brings an experience to events. So whether you're getting hitched and wanting to do something none of your friends have ever done before, or you're hosting a customer appreciation event that you want your attendees to feel compelled to Instagram about...well, we've got you.
We haven't even hit our first birthday yet, and our fleet is growing. It turns out consumers in this segment, as with many others, are willing to pay more for a better, locally sourced product, and an experience that is unparalleled.
3. Tell us More about your New Adventure. What's it like to run your own business?
As I mentioned we are not even done our first year in operations yet. So we're still figuring lots out. I can tell you with 100% confidence that I never left corporate thinking I would own and build a beer truck business.
My husband works full-time and has his own consulting practice, so the bulk of all The Tapped Truck operations becomes "Jody's Job."
I do inventory, procurement and cash-outs, truck detailing and line sanitizing, I am always dreaming up new #tapped rigs, I work to stay educated on all things beer (I'm studying for my Cicerone which is basically a sommelier for beer), it's my responsibility to do outreach & business development, I set up training manuals and handle all marketing, I am the face behind every email, proposal and phone call.
My husband helps with reconciling the books, serving at events and heavy lifting...he also keeps me grounded. Some days you laugh, some days you cry: he's there either way.
And as far as our rigs, I am so lucky that my dad, who's a carpenter by trade, is generous with his time and happy to have these creative projects to work on. It takes a village as they say!
Honestly, I am often asked "what else do you do?" and truthfully, TTT occupies most of my time.
I am hungry, and want to see this business grow, so I am dedicating a lot to it. This is hard work.
Entrepreneurs often say being in business for yourself is like a roller-coaster, but I prefer likening it to a ripcurl: some days, you catch the wave, and it's exhilarating and you couldn't imagine doing anything else, other days the current is mighty and you're being thrown against rocks and coral and gasping for air.
No matter the day, you keep coming back cause those days when you're hanging loose - well, it makes it all worth it!
4. What have been some benefits and drawbacks that you didn't expect going into this?
Oh great question, and a tough one to answer.
I've always considered myself a student of life and a risk-taker. So learning an entirely new industry and even embarking on my Cicerone has been satiating!
I am making new friends all of the time, and the generosity of most humans continues to astonish me: the willingness from others to share knowledge, introductions, and ideas is incredible.
I guess conversely to that, I am aware we are trailblazers, which means there will be copycats. It's disheartening at times for sure. And I think how personally we take things when it's our own business, it seems logical, but I didn't expect to lose as much sleep as I do somedays over it.
I'm a pretty logical, even-keeled person and can easily mentally separate myself from most things...but when it's your baby, it certainly becomes more of a challenge to do that.
5. How can folks #gettapped?
We are proud to be offering our services from Calgary to Vancouver, including of course our local areas in the Shuswap and Okanagan!
So if you want to add a #tapped experience to a special event visit us at www.thetappedtruck.com or join us on all the social platforms @thetappedtruck.
6. What is one book, video, or speaker that is a must read or watch that's changed your life? Or at the very least, helped you in some major way.
This is going to sound a bit woo-woo, but when I was conflicted about whether or not it was time to leave corporate I was reading Gabrielle Bernstein's "The Universe Has Your Back."
I was on a beach in Mexico and hit a chapter all about asking the universe for a sign. She talks about a dragonfly if I recall correctly. I was like, "what the heck, ok I'll give this a go," and I asked the universe to show me a bear, 'cause there are NO bears in Mexico, and I think subliminally I really didn't want to make the risky decision: it seemed very unlikely that a bear would appear on a beach in Mexico.
No word of a lie, 20 minutes later a busker came down the beach with this large wood carving of a BEAR.
I was dumbstruck.
I gave my notice shortly when I got back.
----------------------------------the end ---------------------------------------
Wow...if that's not the universe giving out a sign out don't know what is. Incredible story Jody thank you so much in sharing your journey with us!
Again, if you'd like to get in touch with Jody at Tapped Events:
Tel: 778-689-4811
Email: cheers@thetappedtruck.com
Surf at: www.tappedevents.com
Bringing a truckload of fun everywhere we go!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Articles: Real Life Stories with Great Life Lessons
1. Be Brave Enough to Suck at Something New: Is there something you've always wanted to do, a personal dream sitting there, a goal, still waiting to be realized? Well, now more than ever is your time https://www.the-inspired.com/post/be-brave-enough-to-suck-at-something-new
2. 5 Lessons I Learned from My Father: Personal Growth, Overcoming Trauma, and How to Say I Love You: How's your Relationship with Your Father? If you're looking to improve here's my personal story
3. Are you a Slave to your Job? The Hell of Serra Pelada: As one of the most incredible real life stories, The hell of Serra Pelada is a metaphor for what we are willing to do for money, or the hope of riches.
4. FLOW: It Will Change Your Life: There is no manual to the soul. No guide, or rule book that tells us what our DNA was truly designed for, or how we were actually intended to live. So we make our best guess of it, until we discover FLOW
5. Chuck E. Cheese, Little Green Soldiers & The Worst Birthday Party Ever: This is a real life story about the power and importance of real friends. It's a story about money and the one thing it can't buy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COVID-19 Articles: My fact-checked articles with plenty of tools, tips and links to get you through the days ahead:
Bill Gates Pandemic Warning We All Missed. 10 Things You Need to Know: COVID-19 https://www.the-inspired.com/post/10-things-you-need-to-know-covid-19https://www.the-inspired.com/post/coronavirus-do-your-part-take-action-now
Coronavirus: Do Your Part, Take Action Now https://www.the-inspired.com/post/coronavirus-do-your-part-take-action-now
10 Tips in Supporting Your Community and Home Life: COVID-19 https://www.the-inspired.com/post/this-game-is-for-real-10-tips-in-supporting-your-community-and-home-life-survival-covid-19
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks again for reading. Until next time. Stay strong. Stay Inspired.
Please hit "Subscribe" and join the thousands who read The-Inspired.com free each month. Featured on Quora, Facebook, Medium and LinkedIn.
Goran Yerkovich Founder, The-inspired.com
