It’s a bright sunny Sunday morning as I sit sipping hot coffee in the salon of our 41’ cruising sailboat that I live aboard with my husband writing this. It’s been 6 years since we’ve been aboard full time. After living aboard when I was in my teens, I vowed that I would come back again, and here we are. The temperature is changing as I feel the chill on board. It is here that I have celebrated, laughed and cried over LOL for the last 6 years.
It’s hard to believe that it was 8 years ago that the little idea of bottling my lavender lemonade recipe became a reality. That one fateful day that I was let go from my job with the local school district due to budget cuts after 12 years of working turned out to be the best day of my life. I was stuck in a job that wasn’t a representation of who I was nor what I could do and it was like I was on a hamster wheel running and running, without a way to get off. And literally, the day I was running on the Ojai trail, training for an Ironman Triathlon, I got the call that would change my life – they didn’t need me anymore. And after a few weeks, I realized I didn’t need them either. I got forced off the hamster wheel and couldn’t have been happier. As soon as I let go of the anger and frustrations, everything started to change – my entrepreneurial self came back, I was flooded with ideas and possibilities, and then LOL jumped into my life and I embraced it with every ounce of my being. An idea I had thought about for a few years came back with a vengeance and this time I was ready. October 17, 2011 was the day I stopped feeling sorry for myself and became the Chief Believer of Lori’s Original Lemonade.
LOL and I have had some amazing times together, but we’ve had our share of heartaches. Life as a new entrepreneur is frustrating, exhilarating and terrifying every day 24/7. But, I feel the need to be here, pushing my limits to see where we can go next. We have learned so much this year and I have adjusted the sails of my ship for a new course. And like the new sail we have on our trusty sailboat, I have put new sails on LOL and we are headed for a brighter horizon going into our 9th year.
I appreciate the hard lessons I have learned this year and I thank each and everyone of you who continued to believe in us even when I was questioning everything. Thank you for those who have pushed me to be better at what we do- I started LOL to reconnect with people after becoming an empty nester – connect is what I have done- to the most amazing people. My reality in LOL is beyond anything that I could have imagined when I was creating it.
Thank you to all of you – every day for supporting us. I am dedicated to bringing you the most delicious, organic and unique lemonades.
Lori Volk, Chief Believer Officer
Lori’s Original Lemonade, since 2011
