“If You’re Not Failing, You’re Not Pushing Yourself Hard Enough”— How the Co-Founder of Bison Track Gets It Done
For Tosha Lackey, it starts with staying focused and finding your why.
What’s life really like as an entrepreneur? In our Female Founders series, we sit down with inspiring women and get real about life, career and starting a business. Follow along for insights and inspiration on the path to success.
Tosha Lackey is the definition of #fempreneur. An ENTP and "recovering CPA," she and her husband, Rob, quit their executive-level corporate jobs in 2019 to pursue entrepreneurship. She spent the better part of 2020 traveling full-time across the US in an RV following the MotoAmerica racing schedule in a grassroots marketing effort to build their business, Bison Track.
Alongside Bison, Tosha is also working on several other business ventures, including the Lackeys Be Trippin' brand website documenting their RV adventures, Caffeinated Consulting and an online childrens' boutique, Edie Kate. Oh, and she does all this while homeschooling her two youngest children, Edith (8) and Carter (13). Here's how she gets it done
On what the first hour of her day looks like:
To be honest, I’m not really a routine person. The first hour of my day can look very different from day to day depending on what’s on my plate for that day. One year into our entrepreneurial journey, I want to focus on creating better routines for myself and our family this year.
On her early experience and the lessons learned:
When I was growing up, I wanted to be a sports agent. I interned for a minor league hockey team for three years before becoming their Director of Finance at age 18.
I spent the next two years full-time with the hockey team before Rob, my then fiancé and now husband, and I moved to Oklahoma City. I ended up working for the General Manager in Oklahoma City for the next four years as the Operations Manager of an advertising company.
It was during that time that I shifted my degree from Sports Management to Accounting. I realized that I needed accounting experience to be able to sit for the CPA exam, so I left the ad agency to become an Auditor for the State Auditor’s Office where I would spend the next two years.
On her path to entrepreneurship:
After completing my Accounting degree, I got my MBA and sat for the CPA exam (which I passed on my first attempt!). I was offered a full-time position as the Controller of a marketing agency shortly after. When I left eight years later, I was VP of Finance serving as a member of the five-person senior leadership team.
My last couple of years there, the company invested in the Meyers-Briggs personality test for each of our team members. That’s when I discovered my natural voice which was far more entrepreneurial than my current role would allow. I made the difficult decision to leave a company I loved and pursue entrepreneurship.
On what an average day might look like:
These days because we travel full-time, our schedule looks different from day to day (depending on whether or not that day is a travel day).
On non-travel days, we typically wake up between 8 am - 9 am, work on whirlwind type items (not strategic, not focused) for our business until lunch time, eat lunch or go to the gym to work out and then focus on more strategic, focused items in the afternoon. Sometimes we’re done by 3 pm - 4 pm and other times we work until 10 pm. We usually go to bed around midnight.
If we’re at the track, we typically wake up around the same time and spend the day networking with our riders or prospective riders. During the race season, we often work 6-7 days per week with our only off day usually coming during the week.
On when she’s not working on Bison:
My husband and I spend time blogging/vlogging about our full-time RV adventure through our Lackeys Be Trippin' brand website and social media channels. We’ve also developed an apparel and accessories product line for that brand as well.
Caffeinated Consulting was something I started late in 2019 when I somewhat lucked into my first client. My daughter, Edith Katherine, and I also have an online children’s boutique called Edie Kate. She was born 15 weeks early and spent 77 days in the NICU, and we wanted to find a way to give back and help other families who were going through what we went through.
On her favorite tools for time management and being productive:
My favorite tool for time management is Toggl. The only way I can focus my brain is to start a timer and track my time for each task I complete that day. I also love the insights it gives me about my productivity. I can find out how much time I’m really working and what I’m working on.
On her favorite book to recommend and give:
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek because understanding the why behind a decision can create buy-in for a specific course of action. Striving to find the why also creates focus which I believe all entrepreneurs need to be successful.
On the best piece of advice she's received and how she applied it to her business:
Stay focused. It’s so easy to jump to the next idea or the next potential solution to a problem without really seeing that first idea or first solution through. Staying focused even when it’s sometimes uncomfortable to do so is the best advice I was ever given.
On how she decides what to delegate and what to manage herself:
I figure out where I can add the most value. If there’s something that I’m doing that is not adding value to the business, I delegate it. Ask yourself, can you make a bigger impact by working on something else?
On what advice she would give to her younger self:
I would have encouraged my younger self to try more things, put myself out there more. I think I would have learned a lot more a lot earlier if I would have failed more. If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing yourself hard enough.
On how she winds down after an intense day:
I usually sit down with a glass of wine and watch a mindless TV show or movie. It helps to keep my mind off of things I want to be doing or learning.
On how she defines success:
Success is a matter of perspective. I will feel like I am truly successful when I can step away from work for a week, a month or even a year and I still have money coming in the door. I want to create businesses that will run without me.
Find Tosha on Instagram @toshalackey or email tlackey@bisontrack.com.
