Steve answers his critics.

Steve Answers his critics.

As I expected, Steve was quick to jump on the bankruptcy rumor and I can’t say I blame him.

I’ll add a couple of carefully chosen quotes here rather than giving you the full response. It is representative of what he said, and I’m sure he will comment if I have made any conspicuous omissions or altered his intent.

Steve opens his response with a couple of clear assertions.

“Wow, rumors of bankruptcy. That is a new one. No idea where that is coming from.”

“I have never declared bankruptcy and I always pay my bills. No idea where this is coming from. ”

He goes on to elaborate on his early working life. The most important disclosure here is one that he has made many times.

“When I was 20 years old I was head of marketing for a company called Innovative Woodworking. It was a woodworking shop with about $100,000 of high end woodworking tools and shop equipment. We were in a 3,000 square foot building in what was at the time in 1983 booming Aurora, Colorado. It was a cool concept. It worked like a health club, you paid a membership and you could use the shop. After a year the business failed for a variety of reasons, one of the big ones was the inexperience of all three principals of which I was one of them.

That business cratered after spending $500,000 of investor money including money of some very close friends. It was a hell of an experience. So, passionate to understand why the business failed, I went back to school and got a business degree. What I learned was the business professors had no idea how to run a business either. What I did learn from that experience was the importance of cash flow and if you don't have receivables, you better not be spending cash. Another thing I learned is that, when you are in trouble, ask for help. There were good people all around us that could have and would have helped, and we didn't reach out while things were savable.

When you talk to successful businessmen all over the world, they will tell you, that the best experience they ever got was from a business that failed, more so than one that succeeded. Moreover, if you don't fail or fall down every once in a while, you aren't trying hard enough. The true measure of your character is how you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and then get back in the game…”


“…From that experience, I have been involved in at least 5 start-up or high growth companies, every one of them is either a going concern or was sold.”



Steve went on to outline his many contributions in the Ypsilanti community and made it clear that he has indeed been a persuasive voice for change.

Rather than risk becoming member of his promotional team, I’ll let you ask Steve about his achievements, I’m sure he’ll be happy to tell you.

Take Care

Rod