Meet John Walker | Owner at cooks flips

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Walker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, do you have a budget? How do you make lifestyle and spending decisions?
I do have a very strict budget. When I initially began my business I thought I had such a good idea and great product that the money would flow in and I quickly learned that was not the case. I am determined to not borrow money from anyone to grow this business and I spend a large percentage of my time and efforts working with things like Instagram and Facebook because they are free and I can reach a lot of people with no cost to the business. I think About my personal finances like this. Do I need it ? Do I have to have it ? Will I survive without it ? Is this a want or a need ? Will this better me to better my business ? If it’s something that doesn’t better me to better my business or fall into the need to survive I do not buy it. The “wants” are things that I use for motivation as there so many things I would like to purchase but I can’t right now but I hope to one day because I will be able to because of the business success.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I do not consider myself an artist as I produce products which I see as performing more as tools/machines for people. I do not put any value on the creative or artistic side of my products, only the performance value of the product. That is not to say the products are not very beautiful pieces, but that is not their intended purpose. I produce products which are durable, functional, and have as low of an impact on the environment as possible. I find that artists have unrealistic goals about what they produce in terms of the products value and how the artist should be rewarded for it. It was very difficult getting to where I am today because I did not want to produce products in China but I found it to be too difficult to produce the products I wanted in the United States. In the USA there is an issue of finding people to produce the products and if you can find them they typically are so expensive that there is little margin left and their cost does not add up to the quality they produce. I searched the world over to find someone to manufacture my goods and found great producers in Mexico. Along the way I learned that if you believe in yourself and your product than there is very little advantage in getting advice or input from people. There are many more doubters out there in the world than there are believers, and if someone is the least bit jealous or resentful of your goals and attitude about the direction you are headed than they will quickly jump on board with the doubters and naysayers. Keep your head down and keep going. Mr T is one of my biggest idols and Mr T has a very strong theory on “Dream Killers” and how it is important to keep your dreams and goals to yourself until they become a reality otherwise people will want to put holes in your dreams and spring a leak.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My friend and I would load my truck up with peddle drive sea kayaks and head out to lake Jocassee. We would take all our fishing gear, food, beverages, and camping gear and cruise the lake coast fishing all the way and hiking up into the creeks that feed the lake catching trout. After a few days of this we would load the truck back up and head to the coast of North Carolina and camp along the beach while surf fishing and surfing the hole time. Cooking our catches up at night over the fire and enjoying the stars and the moon. If I have the time and the finances I love exploring in central America. It can be really easy to get off the beaten track of most travelers and find some really unique places with great surfing and fishing along the way.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family deserves more credit in helping me along the way than anyone. I think more importantly than who helped, is the people who didn’t help and who doubted the concept and business along the way which is always the case for a startup. It’s terrible the amount of people that want to put people and their ideas down and my family was always so critical in encouraging me to just keep my head down, stay focused, and work for what I believed in.

Website: www.cooksflips.com

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf2XsXEvaaSHNkaMiIzSCXg