The Greater Dayton School opened its doors in 2022, serving exclusively under-resourced students in the Dayton area. After its first year of operation, the school recently received an impressive accolade — a Startup of the Year nomination. The award from the Dayton Business Journal is part of the annual Business of the Year awards that celebrate the region’s best organizations.
This recognition comes thanks to the hard work done by you, our Connor Group associates. By doing your job at a high level, you are helping fund the school and the game-changing work our teachers, students and staff are doing.
Loop asked partner and founding principal A.J. Stich to take us through his lessons learned through leading this endeavor. Below are his thoughts on launching The Greater Dayton School. He hopes you find value and can apply some lessons from his experiences to what you do at your properties, the Central Support Office and in life.
Lesson #1 – Leap before you look
In almost all circumstances, this is terrible advice. However, when doing a startup, it’s best to be naive. Leap before you look.
A friend recently asked me if I’d do it all over again if I knew how hard it would be. I really struggle with that question. Part of me says “no” because startups are gut-wrenching. Nonetheless, I feel a true calling to this work, and I realize how fortunate we are – as Connor Group associates – to work for a company with a moral backbone. It’s a privilege to do what I do.
If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably still say yes, albeit, with a heavy dose of begrudgement because I know how hard it is.
Lesson #2 – Put your head down and work
In February 2022, our director of operations resigned. He got a more competitive offer from Amazon. In the same week, our lead teacher resigned because she decided she didn’t want to work in education anymore. This all went down four months before the school was set to open.
I lost a lot of sleep over this. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back to sleep. I figured working was the best thing to do with all those sleepless hours. Month after month, I was working 12 to 15-hour days (and nights). I’d schedule emails to send at 8 a.m. so people wouldn’t think I was losing it.
I had this belief that no matter how bad things got, if I just kept my head down and worked, we could keep moving forward, and the school would open. I was right.
Lesson #3 – The problem you’re facing feels catastrophic; it’s not.
When our director of operations and lead teacher resigned, it felt like I had been bludgeoned with a 2×4. I experienced physical pain from what seemed like a game-ending loss. These folks were my #1 and #2.
That pain I felt – I later realized – is hard-wired. It’s passed down from our ancestors, who experienced it back when humans were hunter-gatherers being chased by bears. That pain triggers the motivation to run, which is useful when a bear is at your back.
In modern day, however, we’re not being chased by bears, so that same impression isn’t so useful. I’ve come to realize this and name it when I feel its onset. These are not fatal problems. They can be managed.
Lesson #4 – Find your key people; count on them.
It was Sunday night, and the Packers (my favorite NFL team) were playing. It started to rain. Heavily. This was a problem because of the faulty sump pump in our temporary school site.
I leaped into my car and drove to school. When I got there, the water was an inch deep and seeping into the classrooms. I called (partner) Ryan Ernst and my wife, Kendra. They both came as fast as they could.
We put the sump pump into overdrive and sucked up the water. We mopped up the remainder with wet-dry vacs. We were there for hours. We were filthy, wet, and – worst of all – I missed the end of the Packers game. But the water was gone.
Ryan and Kendra had my back. We were in the trenches together on Sunday night when the rest of the world was resting on their sofas.
Tad Hunter – partner and regional service trainer – later came and fixed the sump pump. We sent him a box of diapers on his R&R list, which may have been the most bang for his buck R&R we’ve given. I sleep well during rain storms now.
Reward and recognize the key people you have around you. They are your lifeline when you’re in the thick of it (or dampness of it).
Lesson #5 – Your partner is your biggest asset
Kendra is my wife, and I love her. I don’t think anyone knows how much she endured being married to me during the two years we were in startup mode.
We had three kids and two dogs and no immediate family in Dayton. We were doing “life” on our own. And frankly, I wasn’t all that present. She bore nearly the entire burden of raising our family and fixing up our home while simultaneously being my therapist, cheerleader, and – in the end – a teacher at the school.
Mid-way through our first year, I had to fire a teacher for bad performance. And I asked Kendra – an extremely talented teacher in her own right – to take on the extra caseload of students to fix the problems this teacher left behind. The students were severely behind — some as much as two years. After four months of the kids working with Kendra, they all performed at grade level. She’s a bit of a miracle worker.
If you have someone in your life who is your rock, you are very fortunate. Buy that person a nice bottle of wine and thank them for keeping you grounded, like Kendra did for me.
