Finding Gratitude in the chaos

Thanksgiving week hits different when you’re an entrepreneur.

Over the past 9 years, our gun shop business, Garrett’s Guns & Ammo, has put our heart and soul into our Black Friday Event. We start planning and prepping right after Labor Day. We place massive (scary big) orders and hope they arrive in time. We miss Thanksgiving with our families so that we can be at the shop setting up. We try desperately to put the word out and hope that people show up… and then last year: we got 5 feet of snow over 3 days (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Sunday).

And yet… we’re grateful.

Not in the fluffy, Pinterest-quote way. But in the gritty, earned way. The kind of gratitude that comes from building something with your own hands, your own brain, and your own stubborn refusal to quit.

We’re getting ready to go through some major changes at the gun shop over the next year. This Black Friday Event feels particularly taxing.

Here’s what I’m reminding myself this Black Friday week, and maybe it will help you too:

1. Gratitude Isn’t Calm. It’s a Discipline.

Entrepreneurs don’t sit around peacefully journaling with lattes this time of year (do we do that at any time of the year?). We find gratitude in the in-between moments:

• Between customers

• Between phone calls

• Between the “OMG how is this even happening right now?😭” moments

Gratitude isn’t a soft feeling, it’s a choice.
And the more chaotic the season, the more important the practice becomes.

2. Gratitude Doesn’t Mean Pretending Everything Is Great

You can be grateful and exhausted.
Thankful and overwhelmed.
Hopeful and worried about next year.

You don’t have to fake positivity to be a grateful entrepreneur.

Some days, gratitude looks like:
“I’m thankful the building didn’t catch on fire today.”
Other days, it looks like:
“I’m thankful I get to build something that’s mine.”

Both count.

3. Gratitude Grows When You Notice the Small Stuff

Yes, big wins are great! Record sales, amazing customers, hitting goals.

But gratitude really grows in the small moments:

• A customer who brings you coffee ❤️

• A team member who steps in when you have to pee from said coffee

• A random message that reminds you your work matters

• A customer who drives through FEET of snow during a city-wide state of emergency just to buy from you (gosh, last year was terrible)

Entrepreneurship is full of small sparks.
Notice them, and you’ll see your fire rebuild.

4. Your Customers Have Choices, And They Chose You

Whether they spend $5 or $500…
Whether you have five customers or five thousand…

People choose your business.
Your brand.
Your service.
Your personality.
Your energy.

That’s never something to take lightly.

During Black Friday especially, when the whole world is being blasted with ads from every direction, the fact that someone chooses your small business is a quiet miracle.

5. Give Yourself Some Credit

Entrepreneurs are notoriously terrible at acknowledging themselves.

So let’s pause for one second:

You’ve pushed through overwhelm.
You’ve learned things you never planned to learn.
You’ve kept going when most people would’ve stopped.
You’ve made hard decisions, big and small.
You’ve shown up on the days you didn’t feel like it.

You’re doing better than you think.

And I am so damn proud of you 🙌🏻

6. Gratitude Is What Keeps Us From Burning Out

Black Friday is loud.
Entrepreneurship is demanding.
Life can be terrifying.

But gratitude keeps us going.

Not in a fake, spiritual bypass way, in a real way.
It reminds us why we started.
It reconnects us with our mission.
It keeps our head clear and our heart steady.

Gratitude is the entrepreneur’s fuel, and this week, we all need a refill.

A Thanksgiving Note From One Entrepreneur to Another

If no one has said this to you yet:

Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for building something that freaking matters.
Thank you for contributing to your community, your industry, your customers, your people.
Thank you for creating opportunities for yourself and others.

Your work is seen.
Your effort is felt.
Your impact is real.

I hope this week gives you a moment * even if it’s a tiny one * to breathe, regroup, and remember why you started.

Happy Thanksgiving, and cheers to a strong, steady, intentional Black Friday weekend.

🙌🏻 I am rooting for you!

🎉 I would LOVE to hear how you find gratitude in the every day chaos! Join us over at The Hub, North Community - real people talking about our real businesses. The good, the bad and the ugly!