From Sideline to Startup_ The Business Journey of a Former NFL Player - Chris Gronkowski

In this episode of "Nickels and Dimes: Finding Financial Freedom," host Natalie Kime interviews Chris Gronkowski, former NFL player and co-founder of Ice Shaker. Chris shares his journey from professional football to entrepreneurship, emphasizing lessons on hard work, financial responsibility, and business success. They discuss the influence of his upbringing, family values, and the importance of financial education. Chris also talks about his Shark Tank experience, the significance of valuation, and the need for continuous personal growth. The episode offers valuable insights into entrepreneurship, family dynamics, and making a meaningful impact beyond financial success.

Bullet Points

- Chris Gronkowski's journey from professional football to entrepreneurship
- Lessons learned about hard work, financial responsibility, and building a successful business
- Influence of upbringing and family on personal and professional life
- Importance of financial education and instilling work ethic in children
- Transition from NFL to entrepreneurship, including experience on Shark Tank
- Importance of valuation in business and determining company's worth
- Origins and impact of Ice Shaker, a premium insulated bottle company
- Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and defining success
- Continuous learning and growth required for business success
- Legacy and values Chris hopes to instill in his children

Check out Chris, his brothers and Ice Shaker here 

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Transcript

Natalie Kime (00:00:03) -  Welcome to Nickels and Dimes Finding financial Freedom podcast. I'm your host, Natalie Kime, and today I'm talking with a very special guest, Chris Gronkowski. Chris is an accomplished American entrepreneur and former professional football player. His athletic journey began during high school, where he excelled in multiple sports, including football and baseball. In 2010, his talent and determination led him to fulfill his childhood dream of playing in the National Football League. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, and later played for both the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos. Following his football career, Chris embarked on a new path as an entrepreneur. He co-founded Ice Shaker, a premium insulated bottle company, in 2016. Chris has made numerous media appearances, including Shark Tank, where he impressed both the panel of investors and viewers with his innovative products and entrepreneurial acumen. Chris Gronkowski is a dedicated family man. He cherishes his relationships with his wife, children, and siblings, who are also accomplished athletes in their respective fields. Chris is unwavering support and love for his family have been a driving force in his professional and personal life.

Natalie Kime (00:01:22) -  His determination and commitment to excellence serve as a testament to his remarkable journey and the impact he's made in the world of sports and business. Chris, thank you so much for being here with me today. There's so many things I admire about you, and it's an absolute honor to have you here. I originally started following you because of a podcast that I saw you and your family on, and here we are. It's come full circle.

Chris Gronkowski (00:01:49) -  Yeah. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.

Natalie Kime (00:01:51) -  Yeah, absolutely. So I know when we talked about you coming on the podcast, I shared with you, you know, my dream was really to get more financial education out there to the masses. I mean, I can meet with a lot of people, but I can't meet with everyone. And so if I can impact people having more conversations about personal finance in general, but about creating financial freedom and chasing their dreams, which is something you've done in, in different ways throughout your life. that's what I want to do.

Natalie Kime (00:02:20) -  So I'm excited to have you share a little bit more of your story today and jump into some of the things I admire about you, and, just tell the people all the things. So I have an icebreaker question, though, that I'm going to throw at you first. And it is if you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?

Chris Gronkowski (00:02:42) -  I mean, you got to be Superman, right? I mean, the guy can fly and he can do it all. So, I mean, I'm definitely going Superman on this one.

Natalie Kime (00:02:50) -  I love it, I love it. So I want to start kind of at the beginning, I guess, in a sense, and just talk about like, where did you first learn the value of hard work and how how did learning that? I know a little bit of your story, but how did learning the value of hard work really impact you throughout college and into your NFL career? And then how did all of that translate over stepping into entrepreneurship and building a business?

Chris Gronkowski (00:03:21) -  Yeah.

Chris Gronkowski (00:03:22) -  For sure. I think my parents did a really good job of teaching us, the value, really the value of a dollar. you know, we grew up, we didn't have much money. My mom used to, so our socks together. I still remember it. Where?

Natalie Kime (00:03:35) -  Wow.

Chris Gronkowski (00:03:36) -  Lay in the basement, and we had a concrete floor. And, just from running on that floor, we get holes in our socks and shoes actually sewn back together. same with our pants and our sweatpants. And we wear each other's shoes. as we got older, you know, you you wear your brother's shoes that he had already worn. so, you know, our parents, I mean, really, my mom would collect coupons and make sure she stretched every dollar because they didn't have a lot. And, there's five of us, and we ate a lot, and we played a lot of sport. definitely had some costs associated with everything that we did. but with that, like, they, they did a great job of teaching us, the value of a dollar and hard work as well.

Chris Gronkowski (00:04:19) -  You know, if we wanted something, it was never handed to us. yeah, a lot of parents. And it's happened to me. And I had to kind of use my parents the lessons that they used on me. But, you know, you walk through a grocery store and, you know, the kids start grabbing food and they're begging for toys. They're crying, they're screaming. And no matter what we did, the parents didn't just hand it over to us. We didn't. We didn't get the candy in the line. a lot of our friends would stop at, you know, the fast food restaurants we had Burger King at the time. that was on the way home from our house, and all of our friends would stop there, and we'd see them waiting in line, and we do the whole BK chant, and, we're all over our mom and dad about stopping at BC and, you know, they won't stop. You know, we go home, we eat at home because it was cheaper.

Chris Gronkowski (00:05:02) -  you know, it was easier for my mom to handle us as well. And so that's what we did. So, we started working early, you know, we had a paper route, I think I was ten years old, younger, my older brothers were kind of the ones that were responsible for. But it was a responsibility of all five brothers to get it out. So I really taught us how to get it done in an efficient way. And also to split time between the brothers and, find a way, no matter what, to, to get it done and out on time. whether it be you, I do it once a week and, you know, one of the other brothers do it once a week or two of us split the route in one day and do it twice a week together. then we'd all kind of do it on the weekends, So, umpiring, you know, I started to umpire the local baseball field when, first year I could. I think I was probably 10 or 12 years old.

Chris Gronkowski (00:05:52) -  you know, really umpiring the younger kids that were five and six years old at the time, and then just work for my dad. You know, I think I was 15 years old. I started working for my dad and helping deliver fitness equipment. and when I turned, I think 16 at the time and was old enough to drive and got my license, I was driving the trucks, on the weekends and delivering fitness equipment. So, if we wanted anything, parents said, great, you know, buy it. You want to go to college? Perfect. You know, get a scholarship or.

Natalie Kime (00:06:23) -  Yeah.

Chris Gronkowski (00:06:24) -  Go get a loan. we'll help you get there, but we're not paying for it. So, I think just by having them, you know, really make sure that we work for what we wanted, what we got just instilled hard work on us throughout, you know, the rest of our life. And at first my parents didn't have the money. But when by the time I got to college, they did and they could have easily handed it over to us.

Chris Gronkowski (00:06:45) -  But that was never the case. It was never, you know, great job. I'm going to give you a free car now. It was, hey, you got a scholarship now you got to buy a car to get to college. So, doing that and earning everything you have really makes you, value what you have. And also, you know, really shows you what hard work can get you.

Natalie Kime (00:07:06) -  Yeah, absolutely. I love that they did that. And and even when they were in a position where they could have done things differently, they didn't do that. So then let me segway that in. You've got four little ones, three boys and a beautiful little girl. How do you carry that forward with with your kids, right. Because you've you successful as a professional football player, successful in building a business. how much more maybe is there a challenge of being where you're at and having some of the resources and the means that you do, and still instilling those things and not falling into that, that trap, maybe that we all want to as parents of like, yeah, okay, you can have it.

Chris Gronkowski (00:07:47) -  Yeah. We were starting to fall into the trap, so I had to get out pretty quickly. And, you know, there is a thing called Amazon now that we didn't have when we were kids. And yeah, there was multiple times where the kids figured out that they can just hit add to cart and purchase and boxes showed up on the porch the next day. So, the lesson came quick, though, for us, we ended up getting in them wallets. for their birthday or for Christmas. And we put money in the wallets for the holidays or for their birthdays or whatever came up. And, we showed them that if they want something, they can pay for it themselves. Now, at this point. So of course, the first time they had money in their wallet, they ran out, or they, they bought a couple things and, things they didn't need, but I let them buy whatever they wanted to. And you know, they bought some dinosaurs and other toys. And, within a week they were all destroyed.

Chris Gronkowski (00:08:39) -  And, you know, they were they were gone. And when we went to the store again and they wanted to they asked for something else, I said, where's where's your wallet? And, the second time they didn't want to buy it.

Natalie Kime (00:08:50) -  Yeah.

Chris Gronkowski (00:08:52) -  So, and since then they've, they haven't bought anything, since then. So it taught them really quickly the value of a dollar that it's, it's not just free. Yeah, yeah. It's limited. What's in their wallet that they get for their birthday, had value to it. But that value only extends so far. So, very quickly they stopped asking for things. They don't ask and beg for things, when we're checking out at the grocery store anymore. So it's, it's worked out really well so far.

Natalie Kime (00:09:23) -  Yeah. I think, you know, as times change and and situations change, it's really easy to fall into those traps. And, and learning those lessons is a little different in today's age than maybe when, when we were kids, I started working at at 15 at Arctic Circle.

Natalie Kime (00:09:37) -  It's basically like a Burger King. but that's how I had to get things, too. And then with my son, you know, as a single mom, there were a couple times I was in between jobs and things were really, really tight. And I had to say no all the time. But then I fell into that trap myself of when things turned around when I got that job, built the savings back up, you know, was making a good income again. I'd start saying yes to everything, and I had to realize that one that didn't help me plan long term from a financial perspective myself. But also I wasn't teaching him the lesson of of what it takes to create all of that. So I love that you guys are doing that. So we're work ethic really came from your parents and stuff. So when it came to applying that on the field, was it just a simple translation of as hard as I work to get the money to, to provide the things I want for myself, by the things I want for myself? I've just got to apply that then, you know, in in sports and then in with with your business now.

Chris Gronkowski (00:10:38) -  Well, sorry. My son decided to somehow find me and the ones. You're okay.

Natalie Kime (00:10:43) -  That's all right.

Chris Gronkowski (00:10:46) -  But, No, I think a lot of the on field stuff came from just natural competition. Hold on. Oh, gosh.

Natalie Kime (00:11:02) -  It's all right.

Chris Gronkowski (00:11:04) -  but, yeah, I mean, you put five brothers in a household, and, you know, really, that competition is going to drive hard work because you want to beat your brother and everything, right? your older brother, you want to beat him and his friends and your younger brother. You want to make sure he never beat you. Ever. So, the natural competition physically, in sports, I think, really drove us to work really hard to make sure that we were the best players on the field.

Natalie Kime (00:11:29) -  Yeah, absolutely. so, I mean, that makes perfect sense. So then when you go and I mean, anybody that follows the gronkowski's. Right? Like, I've, I follow all of you guys on social media.

Natalie Kime (00:11:44) -  And so you can see that just in your everyday life and especially there's a lot of things you guys still collaborate on and, and, and things that, you sponsor through different organizations and stuff. So that competitiveness like, doesn't look like it's gone away. and I imagine you're seeing a little bit of that in your boys too, right? Especially as they start playing sports and kind of competing at different levels.

Chris Gronkowski (00:12:07) -  Absolutely. Yeah. It's it takes them to a whole nother level. And it's it's not just the brothers. we have cousins and my nephews that are all mixed in there as well. And once they get together, that's, that's really when they excel because they want to be the best in the family and they want to compete and, they take each other to another level.

Natalie Kime (00:12:29) -  Yeah, I love that. So let's shift a little bit and talk about, you know, when you were getting out of the NFL, what was your initial plan of here's what I'm going to do next. And then from that, how did I Shaker come to be?

Chris Gronkowski (00:12:44) -  Yeah.

Chris Gronkowski (00:12:44) -  So, the NFL was something I knew that when it lasts forever. So really always had a plan B. The plan B, I guess had nothing to do with what I currently do. I went to school. I was an accounting major, and I thought there was a good, a really good opportunity to do taxes for players. As a player myself, I've never had filed myself. a lot of these guys never really had jobs where they had to file, taxes. And now you have to file in every state that you played in as well. So there's kind of this wrinkle there that no one really understood and never had to do before. And it was hard to trust a random person to do their taxes. So I thought there was a big opportunity there to come in and be a trusted source, and file for a lot of these players and really help them financially, understand what was going on with the taxes and with their, their really their situation that they were in. So that was the game plan.

Chris Gronkowski (00:13:43) -  it quickly changed. wife started a business herself. My third season in the NFL, because I went to three different cities and she didn't want to find another job, so she started an online business. So I joined that, realized there's a big opportunity there. And, you know, it really took off. So I did that for five years with her, the business. She still has it today. It still does really well. But, you know, after five years, I realized it was her passion and not mine. And it led into me chasing a passing passion, really, as a side hustle that ended up becoming a full time job for me.

Natalie Kime (00:14:22) -  Yeah.

Natalie Kime (00:14:23) -  It's amazing how things happen like that. Like, my background is accounting and finance, 20 years in corporate America. And you know, when I came across my business, I have now it is still in that same realm. right? I just help individuals instead of corporations to grow their money. but I saw the ability to create some of the time freedom and the financial freedom for myself.

Natalie Kime (00:14:45) -  I didn't have any limits except the limits I put on myself. And so the way that those opportunities come across, I wasn't looking for this opportunity when I found it, but I happened to cross it honestly on Facebook and just seeing what I could do for people instead of corporations made a huge difference, and obviously has led to where I am today and putting out the podcast and the information to just help as many people as I can so I know. Okay, so you start Shark Tank, you're getting it off the ground. At what point did you go or I'm sorry I shakers you started I shakers get it off the ground. At what point did you go to Shark Tank? Kind of. What was the idea around that? and tell us a little bit about how all that worked out.

Chris Gronkowski (00:15:30) -  Yeah. For sure. So we were let's see, I was three months in, had about $25,000 in sales at that point. And, I had a previous email from my agent that said that Shark Tank was looking for any current or former NFL players to join the show.

Chris Gronkowski (00:15:46) -  So so kind of had this in my back pocket. I didn't want to reach out until I could at least say that this was somewhat of a legit business at that point.

Natalie Kime (00:15:54) -  Yeah.

Chris Gronkowski (00:15:55) -  so I thought the 25 K and three months was, was to a point where, at least they would entertain the idea. so reached out, they asked for a video submission. I was able to submit a video, kind of describe myself, the product. you know, what was different about it? What made it unique, why I should be on the show. And, I was lucky enough to be invited to, you know, the next steps and ultimately get on the show. So I had about another three months to get my sales up as high as possible. at that point got them to about 80,000 in sales and went on the show to record and ask for $1 million valuation. So, ended up getting 4 or 5 sharks to bite on it, put in offers, and ended up closing a deal with with Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez.

Natalie Kime (00:16:38) -  I love it. I know one of the things. So my my parents actually live with me. I brought them here to Texas to live with me almost two years ago. My mom's my mom's got dementia. And one of their favorite things to watch are any kind of game show. But they absolutely love Shark Tank. And so we watched that. And one of the things that you see in there is that those valuations on your company and knowing your numbers are so absolutely important, and I think that's something that I want to make sure that listeners realize is like you, you can have a business and you can have people in place to do those things. But, you know, as a business owner, you still need to know what that looks like. You still need to know how to tell the story about your business in numbers. And so I'm guessing like that was that was a huge thing for you in in presenting that, how much did your background, you know, from accounting and all that play into it, or was there a lot you still had to learn in the process from the numbers side of the business as as it grew?

Chris Gronkowski (00:17:41) -  well, I was lucky enough to have my dad, who's been in business, for over 30 years.

Chris Gronkowski (00:17:45) -  So of course, I called him up and I asked him, how to get to my valuation and what he thought. And, really, what it came down to after talking to people was the valuation is whatever you can make them believe it is, and that you can prove. So if you do have the numbers behind it and it makes sense, then you could ask for that number. So, with my dad, I kind of just, Back in, back ended into the number. You know, I at the end of the year, I thought we'd be able to sell a certain amount with the margin, at that number. And by doing so, that would give us a profit of, you know, say 200 K with A5X return on it. And that got us to the million dollar valuation. So, I was really it was it was my dad's help. that really helped us figure out the number that we should go in and ask for. And after being on the show and even asking Mark's team, like, how do you do the evaluations? It's really about whatever you can really describe and make them believe it is.

Chris Gronkowski (00:18:48) -  So, pretty, pretty interesting to hear that from them. But when you're that young into a company, yeah, it's it's pretty much impossible to put a true valuation on it.

Natalie Kime (00:19:01) -  Yeah, no, that makes sense. So then from getting the deal on Shark Tank to where I shaker's today and jeez, I've been following you for I think it's around four years now. I think it was in in 20 summer of 2020 that we, we first connected. And I've seen by following you how much ice shaker is grown. So how much did that deal with the sharks really impact where ice shaker is today?

Chris Gronkowski (00:19:28) -  By that I mean the immediate deal was was huge. went from 80,000 to over 3 million in sales in the next 12 months. And it's just the exposure and it's the concept. You know, you have 5 million people watch it, you know, live, and then you have all the recordings and the reruns and people talking and the articles about it, Hulu picking it up and people playing it later.

Chris Gronkowski (00:19:53) -  So, massive. And then to have all five sharks actually put an offer in, was just telling everyone that saw it that this is something they all believed in and that they should buy as well. So, it was huge. Absolutely huge. I mean, it definitely jumpstarted the company. all the money that came in from it, I was able to take and invest back into the company. All the money that came from the actual sharks themselves. I was able to do the same thing with, you know, put it back into the company and, and bring in more products, more colors, more sizes. and that's what we did. So, even though it did so well and we were always profitable and we've grown every single year. I actually never took a penny back out until two and a half years later. so invested about a quarter million of my own money into it. to get it off the ground, get it started. Really? A lot of it was into inventory before Shark Tank.

Chris Gronkowski (00:20:47) -  to make sure that I didn't miss the the one moment, on TV where I could, I could really maximize. So I'd seen so many companies run out of stock when they air that I just wanted to make sure that that didn't happen. So in order to do that, before I received any money from the sharks, I had to put a lot of my own money into the company. so rode that all the way until, two and a half years into it, before I ever took a, a dividend check back out of the company. And, wasn't getting paid a salary either. So, two and a half years where I didn't get a penny back, and, all just went back into growing. It is big and as fast as I could. So with the help of Shark Tank, plus all the money that came in, we were able to go from really one skew, one size, to do over really about 60 different SKUs in the first year and over 100 by the second year.

Natalie Kime (00:21:40) -  That's amazing.

Natalie Kime (00:21:42) -  I think.

Natalie Kime (00:21:43) -  Like a couple of things I take from the the last couple of bits that you've shared is number one. Like when you have an idea and you believe in it and you know it can make a difference, like step out there and bet on yourself, right? I think it's so easy nowadays. Well, one of the things I hear a lot of times from my clients is like, does the American Dream really still exist? And my answer is absolutely yes. It exists for those who are willing to fight for it. And so it's about whether whether you're an employee with a job, then be the best damn employee you can be, like, be the best at what you do because it sets you up for everything you want to accomplish in the future. And from a business owner perspective, it's that that same thing, like you knew what you had and you were willing to fight for that and bet on yourself and walk in there and who knows what was going to happen.

Natalie Kime (00:22:37) -  I'm I personally, the listeners can't can't see us. But I'm sitting here with my, proud marine mom. I shake her that. A couple of years ago, I reached out to you to help me kind of design that. But we haven't really talked about what an ice shaker is, so I want to pause for a second and just give you a minute kind of describe the product and and what it is and why. Like what? What made you want to create it and why do you think it's had such a big impact in the market? Because there's a lot of things out there in that market, right?

Chris Gronkowski (00:23:12) -  For sure. Yeah. Yeah. I mean really it started for a need for myself. I was working with my wife and now go home and, I go to the gym and I go home and I grab a plastic shaker bottle. I had cabinets full of them. And you get a free one when you bought a bunch of supplements and I fill it up with with water. for the most part in ice.

Chris Gronkowski (00:23:32) -  And by the time I got to the gym, it'll be melted everywhere. And, I was making little sweat rings on the ground in between said gym, and I was like, this doesn't make any sense. There's all these insulated bottles out there. There have been for years, but there's nothing actually out there that you could easily mix and blend powders with. And there's people like taking a yeti, putting their finger over the spout and trying to shake it. And it was flying everywhere. It was swell. That was out there. That was like this little tiny bottle opener or bottle open opening where they have to put a funnel into it, and then you kind of need a special brush just to clean it. If you were going to do that. And there's really nothing that would actually blend or mix powders, with these types of bottles. So I always said it was the simplest idea that no one ever did. I go home and I jump on Amazon and there'd be a hundred of them on there, and I did, and I would jump on there, and there was insulated there.

Chris Gronkowski (00:24:25) -  There was insulated bottles, and then there was shaker bottles, but there wasn't an insulated shaker bottle, on Amazon or Google that you could buy. So, there was stainless steel ones. They weren't insulated though, So metal is a conductor. When you put ice in it or you put something hot in it, it's actually going to either freeze or burn your hand. So, I didn't really understand why there was metal ones that weren't insulated, but there was metal shakers out there. But, you just couldn't really use them unless you wanted the same problem with the plastic, where it would just get really warm really quick. So, went out and really made this very simple version of an insulated cup with a shaker top on it, and that was the very first one that we use to sell and really make sure that this thing had legs before we went all in.

Natalie Kime (00:25:15) -  Yeah.

Natalie Kime (00:25:18) -  I love him. My, my son is is both he'll still use those plastic shakers and I can't stand them for a few reasons because sometimes he forgets to clean them out right away.

Natalie Kime (00:25:29) -  And like, the plastic is never the same after that, you know?

Chris Gronkowski (00:25:34) -  Are we done?

Natalie Kime (00:25:36) -  Yeah, but they do exactly what you say. Like they're going to keep hot things hot. They're going to keep cold things cold. And I've tested them a couple of times and I'll put ice in a drink maybe in the afternoon with some water. And the next morning I pick it up and it's still cold. There might even still be ice. Some pieces of ice left in there. So huge, huge product that people need and people use them. What I like to say is that it's so versatile that it does have. You didn't touch on this, but I'm going to you have the twist in top that actually blends the powder when you shake it, but you have the ability to take that out if you just have ice water or whatever in there and utilize it that way too. So, they're really flexible from, from that perspective, but a huge market for that. And you're right, something that didn't exist.

Natalie Kime (00:26:23) -  I'd never heard of it or seen it before. And I'm sure that played huge into, you know, in the sports market, in, in the workout world of people carrying those plastic bottles around. a huge impact to be able to combine that Yeti idea with that plastic shaker and take it anywhere. I know you guys have added some pretty cool features to a lot of them too, so when we post the episode, there's going to be a link to the website and all that kind of good stuff where you can see the range of what's available, you know, with, with Ice Shaker. so we've already talked a little bit, you know, or a lot about how your dad's business impacted you and seeing him work that hard and seeing him create what he did. And then also in the advice he was able to give you in getting your business started, getting prepared for Shark Tank and all of that. So what advice would you give to listeners who are transitioning in their careers considering business ownership? and kind of stepping into that new world.

Chris Gronkowski (00:27:31) -  Yeah. I mean, I know a lot of people want to be entrepreneurs. for me, I've always told people, you know, started slow, started in what I did. And I mean, really, what my wife did as well is it was almost the side hustle. You know, my wife started on our kitchen table. you know, I started out of the upstairs of the house, and, you know, she started with a couple thousand dollars, maybe. was what it cost her to start her business. And, you know, I started with a little bit more. really? I didn't spend more than 50,000. until I had to, because of an opportunity with Shark Tank to really stock up on inventory, but start slow. prove it first. You know, make sure you can make a living doing it. And make sure you love doing it as well. You know, for me, it was something I was passionate about. it wasn't going to fail because I thought it was the greatest thing in the world, and it fit right into what I did all day, every day with.

Chris Gronkowski (00:28:31) -  With my fitness and my health. so there was a lot of ups and downs, especially right at the beginning. first batch of product was, half of it was bad and I had to change out 5000 lids by hand. But, you know, I was super passionate about it. So I love doing it. And, you know, every day after work, I went upstairs and I changed out lids and watch TV and, if I didn't love what I was doing, there was really no point of want to continue doing it because we were already really well off and doing well with my wife's business. But start slow, prove it first, and then once you prove it and you can really make a living off what you're doing, then. Then go all in on it.

Natalie Kime (00:29:09) -  Yeah, I love that. that's really how I did things with my business, too. I stayed in corporate America for the first two years, just over two years with my business, working it exactly like you said, as kind of a side hustle or part time.

Natalie Kime (00:29:27) -  And in my first year it was probably ten hours a week. My son was a senior in high school getting ready to go in the military, and so I wanted to spend as much time and make sure I was showing up everywhere that I needed to for him. And in year two was 2020, and I started working from home, and it gave me a little bit more time to spend on my business. And towards the end of 2020 is when, you know, I got challenged by a mentor of mine that said, when are you when are you going to go full time and start making a difference for more people? And for me, I was like, hey, I'm a single parent, I have one income, I have a house payment. And he's like, time out, time out. Isn't your son in the military making his own paycheck now? And that was like for me, I needed that influence or that mindset of somebody else to look at my situation and say, where you've been the last, you know, 12 years as a single parent isn't where you are now.

Natalie Kime (00:30:19) -  Like, what do you want to do with this? And I sat down that night and started the outline for my business plan and put together a plan to save up for six months. And that was at the point I felt like, okay, I can jump into this thing with both feet because I know that worst case scenario, I can get by for almost two years if I cut back things and stretch the money that I have. But my business was already making money, so continuing that just gave me the leg I needed to really grow from. So I appreciate you you sharing that and definitely passion. I mean, that's a huge part of it. Like you started in 2016, right?

Chris Gronkowski (00:30:56) -  Yep. Right at the end of 2016.

Natalie Kime (00:30:58) -  So here we are in 2024. Are you just as passionate as you were when you first launched the business?

Chris Gronkowski (00:31:05) -  Yeah. For sure. I mean, I'm still living the same lifestyle, and it's all day, every day. Still, still live in Ice Shaker.

Chris Gronkowski (00:31:13) -  I think the kids have definitely, taken some of my time away, but.

Natalie Kime (00:31:20) -  Yeah.

Chris Gronkowski (00:31:20) -  That, like, it's always finding ways now to integrate, like Shaker with youth sports and with what we're doing. So. Absolutely.

Natalie Kime (00:31:29) -  Yeah. And I think that's a really good point. The passion side of it, because it's not I mean, it's it's not an easy process to start a business and to keep a business going like there's in any business, there's times of the year that maybe there's lulls or there's things that happen in the economy or whatever that hit you. And if you're not passionate about what you do, you're not going to show up and continue to fight for that dream or that business, that lifestyle you're chasing to some degree. And, and and then you're going to have those upsides to where you get to celebrate and have a lot of fun. And and you've been able to do a lot of that in the last two years. I mean, it seems like some amazing things have come down the pipeline and Ice Shaker is just exploding, not just with the different kind of products that you offer, but some of the licensing deals and things like that.

Natalie Kime (00:32:17) -  And so it's like I would say it's definitely having a mentor, having somebody that can see what what you don't see kind of what your dad was for you. So you capture those opportunities when they come. But I want to ask you this like, first of all, what is it that motivates Chris Gronkowski? What motivates you to get out of bed every day and to just show up fully in all the areas of your life.

Chris Gronkowski (00:32:45) -  I mean, I think it's it's family and team, for me. So showing up all day, every day for the kids, for the family is definitely a huge motivator for me. and then my team, you know, we built this company, like a locker room. You know, if if I win, if if my team, my sales team wins. If my warehouse team wins, my marketing team wins, we all win together. so if I don't show up and I don't put in full effort, I'm letting down the team. So I want to make sure I show up all day, every day and that my team does as well.

Chris Gronkowski (00:33:19) -  And we really piggyback off each other and motivate each other to keep working hard.

Natalie Kime (00:33:24) -  Yeah. That's awesome. So let me ask you this. How would you define success?

Chris Gronkowski (00:33:33) -  I really for me, it's it's when we win as a team, when all, you know, all the pillars of our team are working together. the success comes along with it immediately, like, you see it, and, you know, you skyrocket when everybody's working together as one team. And once we, really accomplish that, that is. That's when we saw success. We really did we we three acts to the company's profit in one year by sitting down and just finding out and figuring out ways to motivate each other to work as teams instead of as individuals. So, to me, success is it's really comes down to everybody being on the same page, working as one unit.

Natalie Kime (00:34:16) -  Yeah. That's awesome. So then let me ask you this. When it comes to success, what do you think leads most to it mindset or strategy?

Chris Gronkowski (00:34:28) -  Oh, you definitely have to have the mindset.

Chris Gronkowski (00:34:32) -  you know, there's if you have people that are just walking in and they're continuously negative, it's never going to work, you know, that's, that's the cancer and you have to get rid of it. immediately. So, really the mindset has to be there. You have to have a bunch of people that want to win, that want to work together, that want to be teammates, that want to be there and that want to have success. So, the strategy doesn't matter if you don't have the right people in place that that actually want to be there and, and actually put the strategy in place. So, I think it's the mindset that that really has to come first.

Natalie Kime (00:35:10) -  Yeah I agree. And I think too, like you gotta have people that want your business to succeed, like your employees need to want for the company to win as much as you do. And then you you've got to want for your, your employees, your team to win alongside you. And I think also one of the things too, like would you agree that from 2016 till now you personally have had to continue to work on yourself and your mindset and your own growth along the way as the company has grown?

Chris Gronkowski (00:35:38) -  Yeah, absolutely.

Chris Gronkowski (00:35:39) -  I mean, there's so much you learn every single year. you have to I mean, there's so many ups and downs that you have to continuously get better. You have to work on yourself. You have to work on your own mindset. there's things that you think are the end of everything. And, you know, if you're not strong enough mentally to work through them, through those relationships, whatever it might be, yeah, you're going to fail. So it's never easy. But, you gotta you gotta continuously get better every day or else your competitors catch up to you as well.

Natalie Kime (00:36:14) -  That's a really good point. So let me ask you along the way, you know, throughout your career and everything you've done, how have you had to adapt and pivot?

Chris Gronkowski (00:36:28) -  I mean, right from the beginning, for me, I guess it was it was probably it came to the point where, you know, I was doing everything, everything I possibly could. I felt like it was my responsibility to take on every task in the company, from customer service to marketing to supply chain, to clean the floors.

Chris Gronkowski (00:36:49) -  doing it all. So, I was super competitive. I thought I could take on anything, and I also refused to ask for help, so, I had to pivot. I had asked for help eventually. you know, Covid came. I was going to the warehouse at 430 in the morning. I was engraving and shipping packages till 9 a.m. I was going home and then working on the business while trying to watch, three kids, including a newborn, without anyone helping babysit while my wife and I both ran separate businesses. And, it finally came to the point where you had to pivot because it was it. You couldn't sustain what I was doing. It was absolute mayhem. And, you know, I realized really quickly that first off, I need to ask for help. have to write aside, ask for help. And I had amazing mentors like my dad that I could easily ask that I just refuse to use, because of my own pride. and the other and really, the I mean, more of the advice just came from him, but the big pivots were, you know, you have to delegate.

Chris Gronkowski (00:37:51) -  You have to be a leader. you can't do everything yourself. And, you have to build a team. It should be the same thing as a locker room. You're not a player and a coach, and, you're not running the organization. You're. You're just a player. When you were there and you loved it, and you knew your responsibility, and you were there to to fill that role. And it's the same thing with the business. You have to look at your employees the same way. You're going to have players, you're going to have coaches, you're going to have assistant coaches. And you know, they all know their role and they're all there to do what you brought them there to do. And they all feel like they're a part of the team when you let them do what they're supposed to do. So, you know, don't feel bad because you're having them do a job responsibility that you think you can handle yourself. you brought these people in. This is what they specialize in, and that's what they're going to do a great job in if you let them do it.

Chris Gronkowski (00:38:42) -  So, that was something that was really hard for me to do and to pivot from and to let go of the responsibilities that I thought I had to continue doing. and let someone else take it over. And just like my dad said, the second I let, them take it over and gave my current employees more responsibilities, they all actually thanked me. It was like the exact opposite of what I thought. you know, they wanted more responsibility. They wanted to be more human. I brought them in to to do that job. And by not letting them do it, you know, they felt like they weren't contributing and they felt like they weren't a part of it. So, that was a huge mindset and a huge shift that I had to realize and grow upon and really understand because I was just so competitive and trying to do everything myself. So, that was about year three when I finally, finally understood that to full capacity and then really started delegating responsibility so that the company could actually grow instead of being stuck where it was, because, you know, I was limited on how much stuff I could actually do.

Natalie Kime (00:39:46) -  Yeah. And let me ask you, as a follow up to that, do you feel like both you and the company grew in different ways? As soon as as soon as you let go of some of that.

Chris Gronkowski (00:39:59) -  Absolutely. I mean, the company grew significantly. and yes, I mean, I, I was then able to go and take on bigger tasks that had more meaning and, and more direction to them instead of just doing the day to day, instead of just putting in orders and answering emails and, ordering products, you I was now able to really figure out strategy, not just for today, or next week. Like it was kind of set on. it was more strategy for next year, for five years from now for, you know, the entire game plan and where we wanted to be, you know, within the next quarter and the next year and the next five years. So, absolutely. And that was all new stuff that I didn't even think was even made sense. I mean, why would I need to plan out five years? Like what? What's going to happen? But, when you do it and you have a plan, you can stick with it and you can adjust if it's not working.

Chris Gronkowski (00:40:53) -  So, all things that I just learned once I finally let go of the day to day.

Natalie Kime (00:41:00) -  Yeah. I appreciate you sharing that. It's I it's funny, I have a business coach, and I'm very much in that part of my business where some things are starting to grow. And then I've added the podcast and I do, some workshops and presentation and things like that. And she, she literally said to me this morning, she's like, Natalie, I think it's time for you to start thinking about even if it's just a couple hours a week, what are some of the tasks that you can hand off so you can focus at the next level for growing your business and expanding in some of the areas that you want to? And so, that's that's where that question came from, because I looked at her like, but and the thing that's funny is it's not the stuff I love to do, but it's that exact mentality you talked about. You think you can do it best, right? You created this.

Natalie Kime (00:41:49) -  This is your baby. It all depends on you. But there comes a point for it to really grow and become what it's supposed to become. You have to actually let go, or you're going to hold yourself and the company back your team as well, like you mentioned. so let me ask you this. I know your your family's huge, you know, extended family and everything, and, and I, I've loved watching the things you share with the kids, seeing them start to play sports, and then seeing that little girl show up. She wasn't around when I first started following you. but seeing her right in there with the boys and stuff, it is fun to see. So. What legacy do you most hope to leave for your children?

Chris Gronkowski (00:42:33) -  Good question. yeah. I mean, my legacy is, of course, you you want to hopefully have the business one day that they can come in and take over. I know that was kind of my dad's legacy as well, that I kind of walked away from.

Chris Gronkowski (00:42:48) -  So he wasn't too happy about that. But, overall, I mean, the legacy is more of just, you know, being somebody that was always there for the kids, and just showing them the right way to do things, you know, with integrity and hard work and, just just getting to a place where they can be successful as well. You know, there's a lot of kids that you see that have parents that are successful, that aren't successful. you know, they they get everything handed to them and, you know, they never really have to work for it. And then it's kind of, hey, yeah, that guy was given everything kind of mentality, and they're never really anyone themselves. So, hopefully the legacy I leave is just teaching them how to do it themselves as well. not just look for handouts and really put that same hard work in and follow the path that I had to take myself.

Natalie Kime (00:43:39) -  Yeah.

Natalie Kime (00:43:41) -  I love that. I think that's all any parent can hope for, right? Is that you give your your kids, you help your kids build their wings, and someday they're able to take off and fly because of it.

Natalie Kime (00:43:52) -  and, and chase their dreams wherever they go. I know your your dad. You said he's been in business over 30 years.

Natalie Kime (00:43:59) -  Yep.

Natalie Kime (00:44:00) -  And still growing, right?

Chris Gronkowski (00:44:03) -  Yeah. He's still figuring out new things every day.

Natalie Kime (00:44:06) -  I love it, I love it. So tell me, as we kind of wind things down, I want to talk a little bit about Ice Shaker, what's new and how can myself and the show and my listeners support you and the company?

Chris Gronkowski (00:44:21) -  Yeah. For sure. So we, I always doing something, but lately it's been more of our partnerships. we have all teams, all leagues now, including the NFL, which is a big one. we have a pretty cool Dragon Ball Z partnership that, has done really well for us. We have a partnership with the US Army, as well with the licensing deal. And then we have a couple of really newer sizes, a couple of newer ideas that we have coming out as well that will be, be pretty interesting. So we're still working through them and hopefully we can launch them soon.

Chris Gronkowski (00:44:55) -  But really for us, it's just continuing to build partnerships, build licensing partnerships. And, really it's a market that we can continue to really build upon. very I mean, I still say it all the time if you ask ten people in my neighborhood, or this area walking down the street, if they know what I shaker is, you know, there might be 2 or 3 people that know what it is. and that's right here in our hometown. And, you know, there's just much more room that you can easily grow. So it's just continuing to find ways to reach more customers with, you know, where they're at.

Natalie Kime (00:45:31) -  Yeah.

Natalie Kime (00:45:32) -  That's awesome. I know, I love the partnership with with the Army. I mean, all the things you're doing, I've got several of the different products, and I love every single one of them. when I first reached out to you, it was just to tell you how much I enjoyed the podcast that I watched with y'all. And. And when I followed you on Instagram, I saw the ice shaker.

Natalie Kime (00:45:54) -  I'm like, what is this? You know? And so I sent you a DM that you actually replied to, which blew my mind, you know, and, and and bought my first one. But over the next couple of months, I loved it so much that I started buying a few more of them. And with my son being in the military, I noticed on the website you had a program where, you know, you buy one and one gets donated. and so I started buying that. Was it. Every quarter you had a new design that came out?

Chris Gronkowski (00:46:24) -  Yeah, we had a quarterly design. Yeah.

Natalie Kime (00:46:26) -  Yeah. And so I would buy it for my son. And then I knew it meant like one was getting gifted somewhere else. And so I was he was, stationed over in Okinawa at the time. And so he would get these boxes with an ice shaker and he's like, oh, my gosh, these are so cool. And, from that I actually noticed, you know, some of the, the programs that you guys were involved in from a volunteering perspective.

Natalie Kime (00:46:49) -  And I remember emailing you and asking you, like, how do I help support this? You know, I was a new military mom, and I wanted to to plug into some things in, in my local community where I could give back. and you plug me into Adaptive Training Foundation, which was closed at the time because it was Covid and, And, I was able to circle back around the next year and start volunteering there. And so this this October, it'll be three years I volunteer there. And so, as much as I appreciate the attributes of, of hard work, integrity and just flat out passion and determination to build what you build. I'm super grateful that when me, some lady in North Texas follows you on Instagram and buys an ice shaker, like you became a resource for me to tap in more into my community and give back. And and so I just want you to know how grateful I am for that. And for the example from a business owner, seeing you grow and continue to work for for your dreams, that went well beyond, you know, playing on the field at this point is an example to me as an entrepreneur to keep working hard, and, and going after what I want and look for opportunities to fill a need that exists.

Natalie Kime (00:48:10) -  So like you said, there's so many people that, you know, don't know what an ice shaker is. So you're constantly, as a business owner looking to continue to to bridge that gap and to meet the needs of people. And I think, you know, for listeners, whatever it is that you're trying to create, whatever passion you have it, number one, like take advantage of the opportunity in the lifetime of the opportunity, you know, ask questions and tap into the resources you have. And if you don't think you have any resources, if you start asking questions, you might be actually surprised. but just keep going after it, you You know, like you said, to have that passion to wake up every single day excited, and then have, you know, you talked about how important your family is, and to want to be able to provide an amazing life for them, but also teach them those things that are important to you, I think is vitally important. So I, I appreciate so much for you taking the time to be here with me today to share some of your entrepreneur experience, some of your background, some of your knowledge and wisdom with the world.

Natalie Kime (00:49:21) -  Is there anything else you'd want to share? Anything I didn't ask you about that you think would be important for people to hear?

Chris Gronkowski (00:49:30) -  No, that was great. I really, really appreciate you having me on today.

Natalie Kime (00:49:34) -  Yeah, thanks for being here. So thank you guys. Listeners, you know, as always, I appreciate you guys tuning in to the Nickels and Dimes podcast. I'm your host, Natalie Kim, and I look forward to continuing to bring amazing content each week that will educate you, support you, and help you to find financial freedom. I look forward to having you listen and learn in the future episodes. And until then, take care and stay safe.