Umbrellas, Purpose, and Walking Through the Rain

On school mornings, my kids love to test the limits of an umbrella. They tilt it, twirl it, poke at the puddles. Meanwhile, my wife and I try to keep everyone moving in the same direction with backpacks zipped, lunches packed, shoes on feet. It’s ordinary life, and it’s also a perfect picture of what it means to build anything that lasts: family, business, community. You open the umbrella first. Then you walk.

For me, the umbrella is purpose and vision. Purpose is why you’d leave a warm house in the first place. Vision is where you’re headed and who you want to arrive with. Purpose says, “We’re here to help people do work they’re proud of.” Vision adds, “And we’ll do it in a way that uplifts the neighborhood, not just the bottom line.” 

When that’s open above you, it changes how you walk. It sets the tone for how you speak to customers, how you treat your peers, and how you show up when the rain is falling sideways.

At home, our umbrella is a few promises we try to honor no matter the weather: listen first, apologize quickly, share the last slice. It’s not perfection; it’s trust. In business, it’s similar. Choose your promise to your customer and let it cover everything you take a swing at. If a tactic doesn’t stay dry under that promise, it doesn’t belong to you.

I think of this umbrella thinking a lot. We talk about growth, but the kind that matters is the kind you can walk through together. It’s the coffee shop that remembers your name and hires local teens for their first job. It’s the contractor who texts a photo when they finish, thanks you by name, and circles back a month later to make sure it still looks good. It’s the nonprofit that keeps its mission right up front and invites nearby businesses to lend a hand. The weather never ever stops. The umbrella never closes.

When I tell my kids, “We help each other,” it only lands if they’ve seen it in how I carry their projects from the kitchen table to the car without crushing a single glitter star. 

There are days when the forecast changes three times before lunch. On those days, purpose and vision are the difference between flailing and moving forward. They let you decide (calmly) which puddles to step over and which to splash through. They give you the courage to slow down in intersections and the wisdom to speed up when the light turns.

If you’re a fellow business owner, here’s my encouragement: choose a promise you can live with, and live by it. Let it guide the way. Every message is a chance to show what you value. Will you keep people dry when it rains?

If, like me, you have young kids tugging at your sleeve while you’re thinking about invoices and headlines, welcome to the real laboratory of leadership. 

Our families see whether our umbrellas are only for show. They watch how we talk about customers at the dinner table. They hear whether we give credit, whether we take responsibility, whether we encourage or deflect. The person you’re becoming at home is the person you’ll bring into every room you enter. That’s a gift. You get to practice the kind of steadiness other people can stand under.

I want that for my business. I want it for this community. I want us to be the kind of place where people expect clarity and kindness from the brands they buy from, and where those brands expect accountability and patience from themselves. I want our kids to grow up in a place where “doing good work” means doing right by your neighbors as well.

The rain will come again tomorrow, and maybe the day after. The forecast isn’t the point. What matters is whether we’ve got a purpose we can carry, a vision we can walk toward, and a circle big enough for the people who matter. Open the umbrella. Take the next step. Meet your customer with something sturdy and simple. Then keep going, slowly, kindly, together.

An Umbrella at The Nexus

If your umbrella is purpose and your pace is steady, you still need a sidewalk: a place where thinking turns into doing. That’s why we opened The Nexus. It’s a calm corner for focus, conversation, and creative work—somewhere you can set your umbrella by the door, warm your hands on a good idea, and leave with next steps that feel doable.

Come by and see what an ordinary day can open up. Bring your team or just your notebook. We’ll keep the coffee warm and the weather outside. Let’s make something good together.

Visit The Nexus

461 Sandy Creek Rd, Suite 4109, Fayetteville, GA

Hours: Monday–Friday, starting at 9:00 AM