Company Blog

No Guts, No Glory

by Adam Zack — April 30, 2025

“If you’re not investing in your store, your marketing, and your people, then you’re not staying in business — you’re just waiting to go out of business.“

Man, investing takes guts. It’s a commitment. It’s scary. It’s risky. It’s expensive. And often, it takes years to see any return. Sometimes you hit the jackpot. Other times, you lose your shirt. When we were younger, my dad always encouraged us to stretch our financial limits to gain assets. “If you want to get ahead,” he’d say, “you’ve got to take a chance — a smart one, with your homework done.” And that advice mostly worked. Except for the times we didn’t do our homework and jumped headfirst into things like the tech bubble… or deals that were just too good to be true. Live and learn. Remember the mistakes, but don’t repeat them. Whatever you do, don’t stop investing.

Saving isn’t investing. Saving protects. Investing grows. Saving is like standing still in a bad relationship — you’re technically safe, but you’re missing out on a better life. Investing — in your store, your house, your future — involves risk, yes, but also the chance for real reward. Some people just aren’t built for risk. And that’s OK. There are safe, steady, reliable people who live great lives. But in the grocery business? Playing it safe won’t cut it. If you’re not investing in your store, your marketing, and your people, then you’re not staying in business — you’re just waiting to go out of business.

Investing in your store takes belief. It takes guts, trust in your decisions, and the optimism that stretching now will mean thriving later. And hey — having a banker who believes in you doesn’t hurt either.