10/24/2026
I've made a lot of mistakes getting Three Little Peppers Sauce Co. to where it is today. Some were expensive. Some were embarrassing. A few cost me something I can't ever get back.
I sold product to a restaurant before I fully understood whether I was allowed to.
I called myself a farm when, in reality, growing some peppers didn't automatically make me the kind of farm I was claiming to be.
I spent countless hours searching the internet for answers that the Oregon Department of Agriculture was perfectly willing to give me. Turns out, picking up the phone and admitting you don't know something works pretty well.
I let my education and business experience convince me I understood things I didn't. I even caught myself acting like knowing business somehow meant knowing more than the people actually "practicing medicine." I spent years in healthcare. I should know better than anyone that expertise and experience aren't interchangeable.
I misunderstood licensing requirements, missed training opportunities, made mistakes on labels, bought equipment that wasn't sufficient for what I needed, and confused having a process approved with having permission to sell a product.
I misunderstood an inspection and had to reschedule it.
I put something in the freezer that belonged in the refrigerator because I had a thousand other things on my mind. That's not an excuse. That's what happens when you spread yourself too thin.
And somewhere along the way, I learned that Dunbar's number applies to me, too.
There's a limit to how many meaningful relationships one person can maintain. I've spent so much time meeting people, helping businesses, building connections, and trying to make things happen for this community that I've sometimes forgotten the people who need me most don't need another business connection.
They need their dad.
I've spent the better part of a year trying to build something for my family while sometimes being absent from the very family I'm building it for.
That's the mistake that hurts.
Because a year is too long. Hell, a day is too long when you realize how quickly your kids are growing up.
I've gotten a lot of things wrong. I probably have a few more mistakes ahead of me, too.
But I have learned that being willing to admit you're wrong is worth more than spending your life trying to convince everybody you're right.
Three Little Peppers started with a family growing peppers and making sauce. Somewhere along the way, it became a lesson in food science, government regulations, entrepreneurship, community, humility, and what actually matters.
And for all the things I've learned about pH, processing, licensing, and running a business, none of them are more important than being present for the people I love.
So today, I'm celebrating life.
Not because I've accomplished something. Not because we've finally made commercial sauce. Not because everything is going according to plan.
I'm celebrating for the people who don't get to anymore....
For the people who aren't here to watch their children grow up.
For the people who are still here but aren't getting the opportunity to celebrate this part of life today.
And for the people who would give absolutely anything to have one more ordinary Saturday with the people they love.
I still have a lot to learn.
But I don't want to get so good at making a living that I forget to actually live.
Go spend some time with your people today.
The work will still be there tomorrow.
❤️🌶️ Three Little Peppers Sauce Co.
