My experiences working in my family’s manufacturing and distribution business for 17 years shaped my early life, and they continue to do so today. I was there at the conception of the company; I helped choose the company name and the colors of the packaging. When I was 15, I worked in the packaging department after school and on weekends (seven days a week for free). When I was 16, I received a raise to one dollar a day! This put $7.00 worth of gas in my VW van, enough for all week. One day, after a 24-hour period with no sleep (when we rushed out the largest order ever in order to make a deadline), I asked my father, “Why are we working so hard?” The answer was classic: “One day this will all be yours.” It worked! There were no complaints ...