Phillip Kramer likes to grab life by the tail. This entrepreneur is not someone to sit back and watch life pass him by. In this exclusive interview, he shares some of his most difficult and beautiful moments.
Q. Please tell us about yourself, Phillip.
A. I am a serial entrepreneur from Maui, HI. I am 44-years old, been married for 22 years, and a father to two kids. I’ve done all kinds of jobs from delivering furniture, to being a garbage man, a GM, a VP, and an MD.
Q. What have been your life’s most outstanding high points?
A. Our family business in Maui, HI, had suffered some major financial drawbacks. It was about to go under unless we took some drastic actions. Once I graduated university I decided it was time to attend to the affairs at home. I made up my mind not to let go without a real fight. For all that my parents had done for me, it was time for me to step up and help them. With time and hard work and major creative financing strategies, I was able to not only pull our business out of extinction but raise it in revenue from $3M to $12M. We eventually sold the company in 2009, right before the economy crashed. I will never forget that time for two reasons — for the stress it gave me and my family and how I was able to pull us through it.
Q. What have been some of its biggest challenges?
A. I see overcoming the same situation as one of my biggest challenges too. But in business, the challenges you learn to overcome are more than just the ones that come directly from work. For instance, I grew up ten years in one night when we had to make some of the decisions we did to keep our family business from going under. I also remember delivering furniture all through college to pay for my studies as a real challenge that I was able to overcome by sheer determination and faith in myself.
Q. What do you like most about running your different businesses, Phillip?
A. For me, it’s the ability to trust your gut and go all in. In business, sometimes there’s no gray, only black or white. And it’s those moments that can define who you become in life. It’s thrilling. It allows you to express yourself in a way real life does not often give you the chance to do.
