Bird by Bird
Team Letter | April 3, 2023
April 3, 2023
Bird by bird.
A book that I read once a year is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. It’s a book about writing, but the lessons in it reach far beyond. The book is named for a story she tells about her brother. When her brother was 10, he was struggling to write a report on birds. The teacher had given the class plenty of time, but he waited until the day before it was due to start it. He totally panicked and couldn’t imagine finishing the entire thing. Lamott's father put his arm around his son's shoulders and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."
You’ll hear me say it sometimes. It’s my way of reminding myself “you don’t have to do all of it all at once. Just take this one thing at a time.”
Today is the first day of Q2 at Alpaca - and we’ve got some BIG ambitions for ourselves in the next three months. Our goal is to hit $65K in MRR by the end of the quarter. That will require new district partnerships, a renewal of the OPS contract, and some big work to tell our story in new ways. Every day of the quarter should have a sales meeting happening, and we’ve got to fulfill our operations for April and May beautifully, allowing our product to shine!
I am 100% certain that we can do it, but I’ll admit that the prospect of it feels big and kinda scary. And I think it should. If we’re growing in big, audacious ways, it should scare us a little bit. That’s what separates a start-up company from a nice little non-profit. Growth and the prospect of building something truly remarkable that doesn’t exist today. What a privilege to get to do that!
So yeah it’s a little scary, but we’re just going to take it bird by bird.
Let’s look at our day, every day. Does it include an activity that you believe will help us grow our network of teachers and parents? Or an activity that you believe makes our packs better? Or an activity that will bring revenue into the company? If the answer is no, don’t panic - just tell me, and let’s figure out how to re-align!
I also want to challenge you to think about how you might step outside of your role to help achieve our goals this quarter. Building community, adding new schools, finding new sponsors, and creating beautiful, delightful packs is everyone’s job. You don’t have to take on a big project to try out an area of the company you haven’t worked on yet. Want to go to a sales meeting? Want to help onboard a new school? Want to write a blog post? Have an idea for a company who could be a great sponsor? Raise your hand! We’ve got more than enough opportunities.
I have so much confidence that we’ll achieve big growth one meeting at a time, one pack at a time, one school at a time, one district at a time. The reason for that confidence is that I know we have a truly extraordinary team - a team that cares about each other, a team that works hard, and a team that believes we’re building something really special.
Thank you for being a part of this team, and bringing your gifts and talents to work every day with such enthusiasm.
Let’s GO, Alpaca crew! Happy Q2!
KB