4th of July Special: Back to the Ice Business Days

When most people think of the 4th of July, they think of freedom, fireworks, barbecues, drinks on ice, and time with family. Me? I think about ice. Lots of ice.

For most of my life, 4th of July wasn’t a holiday. It was game time. From the time I was a kid all the way into my twenties, I spent nearly every Independence Day working in the ice business. Our family company based in Garnavillo, Iowa distributed packaged ice to stores, gas stations, events, bars, restaurants, and everywhere in between. Think thousands of bags, loaded and delivered in the heat of the summer, across the tri-state region!

This wasn’t your average side hustle, this was our Super Bowl.

Every year, especially during 4th of July week, it was all hands on deck. We woke up early, worked late, and moved product like our business depended on it, because it did. In our market, 70% of our annual revenue came between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That meant three, maybe four, months to make or break the business. And nothing pushed the limits like that first week of July.

We used to challenge ourselves just to see how much ice we could move. Some years we’d hit 140, 150 tons in a seven-day stretch. For a family-run operation, that was a massive lift... literally. We were stacking pallets, running multiple trucks, loading bags nonstop. The goal was to push harder than we thought possible, break our own records, and keep every cooler in the region stocked.

And while I’m no longer slinging ice bags on the back of a truck, that mindset has never left me.

Now with Big Brand Ventures we help companies scale, launch new products, and engineer marketing campaigns that move the needle. And when we hit our version of a busy week like launching a product, filming a show, or hosting one of our Shark Retreat events... I go straight into that ice business mentality.

I learned early that success often comes down to short bursts of focused, relentless effort. Just like we had to crush it in that summer heat to carry the business through the winter, we now approach our biggest brand moments with the same urgency. For every product launch, event week or new client deal, if we hit it right it could set the tone for the rest of the year.

Entrepreneurship is about identifying your critical windows and going all in.

So while this 4th of July I may be relaxing a bit more, you better believe I’m still thinking like it’s go time. That part of me never turns off. I still think about how we can create those intense, profitable windows of impact in the businesses we work with. And every time I pass a bag of ice, I smile because I know the hustle that goes into keeping those coolers full.

If you grew up working in a family business or had a seasonal grind of your own, you get it. Whether you were farming during harvest, working retail during the holidays, or pushing through summer shifts to save up for something bigger, you know what it means to give everything you’ve got in a short window of time. That kind of work ethic stays with you and shows up in everything you do.

Happy 4th of July week!

Here's To Your Success.

Best,

BTA