It was a cold winter night, and I couldn’t fall asleep. It was 2 am. My mind was racing, full of all of the open tasks on my to do list. I had thought that now that my business was really growing, and I had a team to support me, all the stress, overwhelm and sleepless nights would go away.
But I was wrong.
As a person in business, each day can feel like a new rollercoaster of experiences and emotions. One minute you’re engaged in an exciting sales call with a large potential client, the next you’re in an anxiety-filled strategy meeting. One minute you’re putting your best foot forward to deliver a presentation, and then you’re comforting your child after a hard day at school.
Meet Joseph (Yossi) Hoffman. Founder and CEO of Forwardslash, a Ptex sister company and experts in all things web, Yossi is a one-of-a-kind leader and digital maven. Known for constantly pushing his team to explore, innovate, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the digital sphere, Yossi has a deep understanding of what makes both people and businesses tick. He’s often seen feeding his large collection of tropical fish or strumming on his guitar—and rarely seen without a smile on his face. I interviewed Yossi about what drives him, how he overcomes challenges, and the secret sauce to the success of Forwardslash.
A few months ago, I was experiencing a challenge in my business; I had been going back and forth on different possible solutions, but when all was said and done, I felt stuck.
A few weeks into this challenge, I got a call from a friend and fellow business owner. He asked me for my advice on an issue he was having in his own company and wanted my opinion on what the best path forward would be. The answer seemed pretty clear to me, and I guided him the best I could. After about 25 minutes of talking, we hung up the phone.
Equal parts passionate artist and smart strategist, Chana likes to get her hands dirty with design. Previously, she has designed packaging for well-known electronic consumer brands like Polaroid, Sharper Image, and Limited Too. While she only joined the Ptex team about 8 months ago, Chana is already bringing her broad talent, unique expertise, and proclivity for creative adventure to the Ptex team. Shake up her talents, pour ’em out into Adobe Illustrator, and you end up with the perfect cocktail of beautiful, cost-effective, and solution-oriented designs that help businesses grow. (Did I mention they’re beautiful?)
I had so much fun interviewing Chana about her unique path to design, her love for creating awesome packaging, and what she’s learned about the industry and herself throughout her career. Here it is… Enjoy!
Two lumberjacks were competing in the finals of the annual lumberjack competition. One was older and more experienced, the other a younger and stronger lumberjack. The rules were simple: Whoever can fell the most trees in a day, wins.
The younger lumberjack, full of enthusiasm, immediately got to work. He could hear the other lumberjack in the distance. At regular intervals, the sounds of trees being felled would stop. The younger lumberjack grew even more confident, because he knew that meant the older lumberjack was taking a rest, while he had the stamina to keep going.
What makes a business a business?
I can’t count how many times I’ve sat down with people who asked me to sign an NDA because they had a Big Idea that they wanted to share with me, only to discover during our meeting that there is no viable business to back it up. Either it’s not a market fit, or there are similar products out there doing the same thing for a much cheaper price, or the cost of developing the idea would far outweigh the profits gained.
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