Sandy Hansen, Rock Solid Motion

Dealing with what life threw at Sandy Hansen led her to a greater understanding of herself and how to be successful in life and business.

By Nancy Leasman
Published in Central Minnesota Women magazine, October/November 2009

Sandy Hansen planned to live happily ever after. She applied the solid work ethic she learned growing up on an Albany area farm and earned a degree in Human Relations/City Planning & Development at St. Cloud State. She found a job and got married in October of 2001. But stuff happens. Dealing with stuff can be life changing.

Sandy’s husband, Randy, had just bought out his partner in AgVenture Feed and Seeds in Watkins when leukemia, diagnosed only a month and a half before their wedding, claimed his life in January of 2003.

Taking over the business

“I knew we had a lot of new debt and that things were going to be tight. I wasn’t real involved in the sale (of Randy’s partner’s share of the feed business) and hadn’t examined the details,” says Sandy who was working full time as an insurance agent at the time. “I really felt the business was in a position of vulnerability as I took it over.”

That vulnerability bordered on desperation as Sandy learned the business was in danger of bankruptcy if something didn’t happen quickly. If she wanted to keep her house, and the business, she needed to take the helm and steer quickly away from the deep waters of debt.

“I remember thinking, ‘Isn’t the fact that my husband is gone enough?’ I felt cursed because it was a lot to endure.”She felt the scrutiny of the community watching to see what this young widow would do.

“Only my bookkeeper, banker and accountant knew how bad it was. I had to appear strong to maintain confidence in the business,” she says.

“We saved the feed business by making some hard decisions and looking at the business in a new way. The biggest changes were selling the semis, getting pre-ground feed and contracting out parts of the business.” Sandy says she knew only two percent of what she needed to know. It was a fast learning curve. Collection agencies were calling. “A business leader orchestrates everything; keeps things going. But it was hard, not knowing enough. I felt I was making it up as I went . I learned with hard knocks.”

The hardest part of keeping the business going was getting out of bed to be there when she just wanted to grieve. “I needed a reason to get out of bed,” she says and knew that the competitors in the feed business could have capitalized on her misfortune.

Growing through the pain

Sandy sees now that the biggest changes were within herself. Initially, she became a very private person. She felt she needed to handle everything. But she quickly learned that she couldn’t handle everything.

“I looked at the resources around me and who had expertise on my team. It freed up time because other people were working on my team: sales support, suppliers, customers too. I really feel like my customers and staff stand together and look at the horizon. I try to nurture that in the business. It does take a team. We’re all players in the same game. I try to hire the most competent people I can and they make decisions. I support the decisions and trust in the competence of others,” says Sandy who has learned to steer a good ship. “I don’t need to do this all myself. I’m not always the best person to carry out parts of the business. Pride and ego aren’t good decision makers.”

Sandy credits her husband’s brother, Rick, with helping to get the business back on its financial feet. He joined the business six months after his brother died.

“He came into the business to drive truck. He started and quickly moved up to take on leadership as needed. An instrumental part of the business still being there is that he could see what needed to be done.”

“A lot of people helped and I’m grateful for miracles,” says Sandy, looking back on the dark days. “There’s no reason I should still have the business. I’m so thankful for blessings. We all have the power to do neat things with our lives if we just keep going; endure when we feel like giving up.”

The value of a good consultant

Sandy learned on the job, with only her banker and accountant as consultants. Now that the business has reached a level of stability, Sandy recognizes the value of a good consultant. “I’m working with Mary Riebe.” Mary is affliated with South Central College in Mankato. “I meet with her privately. I didn’t think I could afford her and met her over lunch.” Learning that she would pay for credit hours in the business program freed Sandy from the fear of paying the high cost of a consultant. Working with Mary is helping Sandy take the feed business to the next level.

Mary, who founded two centers for women entrepreneurs and has worked with women business owners for 25 years, says, “Sandy is an unflappable woman. The words ‘no’ and ‘it cannot be done’ are not in her mindset. Her spirit is warm and engaging. You want to be with Sandy and learn from her.”

She notes Sandy’s strengths, “She has many. One that is key for me in working with women entrepreneurs is that she takes advice. She may not like what she hears, but she acts upon the information. I know it has helped her grow enormously in her business.”

Mary believes all women business owners should carefully analyze their business strategies. “Think Big. If you are going to have two employees, think about growing to 15. It's the same issues and will impact your eventual harvest strategy.”

That same message came through at a spring 2009 conference of Women Presidents' Organization which Sandy attended. “Women’s biggest mistake is to not dream big enough.”

Sandy has learned this and other valuable lessons along the way. “Women give away their success. We don’t credit ourselves with the things we’ve done. The worst thing I thought I could do was fail. Dreaming has opened up possibilities,” she says.

New directions

Sandy is working on larger projects and now sees AgVenture as not just a local or regional business but is preparing to take the team in new directions. Sandy’s life is going in new directions, too. With all that she’s learned in saving her own business and getting on with life after suffering the loss of her husband, Sandy has recognized the value in sharing her experience with others.

“I get excited about business ideas. When I have the opportunity to creatively brainstorm with a business, I love it. The dreamer in me sees potential; how do we capture it? Look for the fork in the road rather than the road block.”

What she’s learned in business also crosses over into her personal life and what she’s willing to share on that level. “Letting my life craft and my business craft is what I’m trying to embrace. To allow the world to open up. It takes a lot of discipline. I’m a work in progress, a thinker, that’s who I am. It’s an important lesson to me: we’re all diᴀerent. We need to embrace who we are; be the best person we can be. It’s hard to do because we’re always trying to reach the next level.”

Rock Solid Motion

Recognizing that what she has learned is in demand, whether meeting one-on-one with potential business owners or speaking of her experiences to larger groups, Sandy bills her oᴀerings under the name Rock Solid Motion. “The Rock is my faith and spirituality, God, my base. Solid is the foundation, where everything needs to start from. Motion is my way of moving forward; not afraid to be me.”

Sandy is looking down the road and doesn’t see herself working full time in the feed business. At the first of this year, she hired Jeff Brinker to take on some of her duties. She feels this has opened up other possibilities.

Sandy wants to make AgVenture the most viable business possible. “I’m thankful that I have a great life, again. I’m letting my life craft. If I try too hard it can be a mess.”

She knows, too, that planning doesn’t always take you the way you want to go. “In every person’s life there are so many things that happen that we don’t understand. But we find the beautiful outcomes when we endure. At my core, I can’t survive day to day without my faith and spirituality,” she says of the development of her own personal philosophy. “I observe a lot and learn from other people. I wasn’t always teachable. I wanted to be left alone. I didn’t like being under the community’s scrutiny.” But she’s made a lot of progress and knows it’s from the combination of everything: surrendering to be human, stumbling, and learning. To know it’s OK to be a work in progress. “I try to be transparent about life. I had a conversation with Randy before he died and vowed to share our story to help other people to have hope.”

She shares her story in speaking engagements and says she never gives the same speech twice. She doesn’t always know what she’s going to say but is open to sharing everything. “Being transparent is most effective but it’s hard to lose privacy,” she says. She knows, though, that she doesn’t lose by giving it away when it gives courage and hope to others in working out the impossibilities in life.

The future

Having moved from their rural property a year and a half after Randy died, Sandy currently lives in Cold Spring. She’s eager to move back into the country and is looking for a place that will feel comfortable in her next phase in life. “I want to live a peaceful life where I can enjoy every day,” she says of her ultimate goal. She knows she’ll never go anywhere without the power of the people around her. She’s thankful for her employees and cares about them. She takes responsibility for that and tries to support them and their lives. She’s thankful for opportunities and is excited about what may come in life.

Visit www.rocksolidmotion.com for more information and to contact Sandy.

Nancy Leasman writes for local, regional and national publications. She is the editor of Central Minnesota Women. Her book about Leatherwood Vinegary, the wine-vinegar business she shares with her husband, Ron, will be released in 2010.

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Sandy Hansen, Rock Solid Motion