Monday, June 18, 2012
A few years ago I said something to a good friend in a casual conversation about my life and she actaully laughed because she thought I had lost my mind. I realized that 90% of the people who have come into my life in the past 16 years have no idea about a part of my life that has shaped me into the person I am today. So, you might just learn something new about me today:)
In 1982, when I was 4 years old, my dad started a company called Douglas Net Company. He makes fish nets and a various other products made from netting. It would take me forever to tell all that they make at his company so if you are interested you can visit the website http://www.douglasnets.com/home.php. There is also a little more history about the company on the website too.
My dad started the company but it was a family company. We all went to work. Mom worked, Kevin worked since he was the oldest, and Kristy and I soon would learn the family business. I remember going in with mom and dad to work before I was even in school! I have many, many memories of my brother, sister, and I playing at work. While other kids played in tree houses and in the grass, we played in boxes and netting. We would build houses and some times neighborhoods out of the boxes in the warehouse. Even as I write this it is hard to put into words what it was like growing up where you are raised in the family business. I guess as a son/daughter of a farmer you learn about farming, so as a daughter of a net maker I learned about nets. It is kind of weird because no one in our family is a fishermen and we never even owned a boat. I do have a pond I am trying to sell to the company :)It was neat today to see my kids running around where we used to run. I actually heard my dad tell the kids that he was going to call them "Kevin," "Kristy," and "Kim" today. They got so tickled.
Kids at play at work:)
So, I thought I would first share some things I have learned about life while growing up in a family business. I got up at 5:15 this morning to go to work with my dad. I would work all through the summers growing up and return almost every summer to work for a week, that is why I have decided to share.
1.) Work hard.
2.) Always do your best. Our name is on the products and it is our name that is being held to a standard based on the product. I can see how this has transferred over to bearing the name of Christ. Be careful what you are producing!!
3.) Always be considerate of the next person. In this type of work many products are part of a process that several people work on to make the finishing product. Don't make things harder for the next person.
4.) Think for yourself! My dad is famous for saying at work, "Don't ask me where the bathroom is!" Use your mind and figure some things out.
5.) There will be times that you do not like doing what you are asked to do. The job has to get done. Suck it up and do it.
There were a few other things I thought of today, but my mind is slowly getting fuzzy.
So, here are some products that I personally have worked on most of my life.
There is one product I have worked on more then any of my siblings and maybe even more than any employee:) This is the product I worked on most of today. I think my dad saves these just for me:) It is called a Decoy Bag.
Every product starts as a roll of netting that has to be cut into the size you want.
After I cut them I had to mark the nets on where to put the straps.
This machine is called a Tacking Machine. This is where the straps are attached to the bag. This machine paid for most of my first car!
After the straps are attached, it goes to a sewing machine where it is sown together and the drawstring is put in.
Finally, it is packaged and sent to stores all across America.
These have a real name, but we call them "Little Nets." These nets are ones you would use for a fish tank. We did not get an allowance, we got money by doing Little Nets. In fact, when we wanted to buy something we did not ask how much money is that, we would ask "How many Little Nets do we need to do?" The two purchases that stick out in my mind are (1.) Kristy and I could get our ears pierced when we had enough money. We sat in my dad's office and did these nets all day! We earned our money! (2.) Us kids wanted a VCR. So we took a weekend and we all worked and we got our VCR:)
Little Nets- We would have the wire and a net. We would put the net on the wire.
In 1982, when I was 4 years old, my dad started a company called Douglas Net Company. He makes fish nets and a various other products made from netting. It would take me forever to tell all that they make at his company so if you are interested you can visit the website http://www.douglasnets.com/home.php. There is also a little more history about the company on the website too.
My dad started the company but it was a family company. We all went to work. Mom worked, Kevin worked since he was the oldest, and Kristy and I soon would learn the family business. I remember going in with mom and dad to work before I was even in school! I have many, many memories of my brother, sister, and I playing at work. While other kids played in tree houses and in the grass, we played in boxes and netting. We would build houses and some times neighborhoods out of the boxes in the warehouse. Even as I write this it is hard to put into words what it was like growing up where you are raised in the family business. I guess as a son/daughter of a farmer you learn about farming, so as a daughter of a net maker I learned about nets. It is kind of weird because no one in our family is a fishermen and we never even owned a boat. I do have a pond I am trying to sell to the company :)It was neat today to see my kids running around where we used to run. I actually heard my dad tell the kids that he was going to call them "Kevin," "Kristy," and "Kim" today. They got so tickled.
Kids at play at work:)
So, I thought I would first share some things I have learned about life while growing up in a family business. I got up at 5:15 this morning to go to work with my dad. I would work all through the summers growing up and return almost every summer to work for a week, that is why I have decided to share.
1.) Work hard.
2.) Always do your best. Our name is on the products and it is our name that is being held to a standard based on the product. I can see how this has transferred over to bearing the name of Christ. Be careful what you are producing!!
3.) Always be considerate of the next person. In this type of work many products are part of a process that several people work on to make the finishing product. Don't make things harder for the next person.
4.) Think for yourself! My dad is famous for saying at work, "Don't ask me where the bathroom is!" Use your mind and figure some things out.
5.) There will be times that you do not like doing what you are asked to do. The job has to get done. Suck it up and do it.
There were a few other things I thought of today, but my mind is slowly getting fuzzy.
So, here are some products that I personally have worked on most of my life.
There is one product I have worked on more then any of my siblings and maybe even more than any employee:) This is the product I worked on most of today. I think my dad saves these just for me:) It is called a Decoy Bag.
Every product starts as a roll of netting that has to be cut into the size you want.
After I cut them I had to mark the nets on where to put the straps.
This machine is called a Tacking Machine. This is where the straps are attached to the bag. This machine paid for most of my first car!
After the straps are attached, it goes to a sewing machine where it is sown together and the drawstring is put in.
Finally, it is packaged and sent to stores all across America.
These have a real name, but we call them "Little Nets." These nets are ones you would use for a fish tank. We did not get an allowance, we got money by doing Little Nets. In fact, when we wanted to buy something we did not ask how much money is that, we would ask "How many Little Nets do we need to do?" The two purchases that stick out in my mind are (1.) Kristy and I could get our ears pierced when we had enough money. We sat in my dad's office and did these nets all day! We earned our money! (2.) Us kids wanted a VCR. So we took a weekend and we all worked and we got our VCR:)
Little Nets- We would have the wire and a net. We would put the net on the wire.
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