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I’m writing this blog as a bit of a personal history project, a bit to promote my company, and of course primarily as an exercise in narcissism.
Currently I’m sitting at home, on my sailboat berthed in New London harbor. My wife Grace is at work as a middle school science teacher. About a year ago I quit my middle management job in low finance to start my own company called Captineer. At Captineer our primary service is converting sailboats to electric auxiliary power. In later posts I hope to lay out the whole story of how we got here but for this introduction I’ll try and stay current.
Currently the wind is whistling through the rigging, a sailboat nearby has its halyard clanging off the mast in the wind. If I pay attention I can feel the waves and hear them hitting the haul in little smacks and gurgles.
Right now I’m stressed about business. I need more customers but I don’t know how to find them. I need to find more effective marketing for my very limited budget. I’m also a little worried about my wife currently being the primary bread winner, as all the money generated by my efforts is being put back into the business without yet seeing the returns. But when I’m not busy I feel guilty, and so I’m worried I’m inventing tasks to keep busy because I don’t know what to do.
Right now I’m stressed about living on our boat for the whole winter in New England. I think discussion of life aboard will be the primary subject of this blog in the near future. Grace and I live on a Tripp 37 with our cat Kitniss.
Right now I’m happy that I have the opportunity to follow my dreams. However, there is still that little voice in the back of my head that tells me that getting what you want in life might not be a good thing. I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do, but what if it doesn’t work out? Dreams are sometimes best as dreams, because then it’s always something that could be. Whereas reality is dirty and sometimes ugly and when you mix it with your dreams you can lose them in it.
Right now I’m happy because I still have my dream, but I’m stressed because it’s been harder than I thought it would be to sell people on a superior product.
But I’m mostly happy because I have a great life, a great wife to share it with, and pretty good cat who usually comes when she’s called, but not if she doesn’t feel like it.
Thanks for checking this blog out, and please share it around if you’re the sharing type.
10/31/16 – Derek Rupe