This is my first post so it should be no secret that Sheepdog Strong is a new business. And like your first born child, you have to obsess over what to name it. I’ve probably been thinking about this business since 2011 and it wasn’t until early 2015 when I finally decided what it should be. I know; 4 years is a little excessive. At least with a kid, the second half of the name is already decided and you can narrow things down further once you figure out the sex (unless you’re my wife who MAYBE wants to name your daughter a boy’s name…we settled on Charlie). A business name is much harder. How many words should it be? What should it represent? Will it give you a general understanding of the business such as the name Facebook or 24hr Fitness? Or can I be like Uber or Apple? I mean Apple has nothing to do with apples and what is an Uber?
In the interest of moving on with the business design and cease obsessing over a name, I decided on two words and it had to describe the business in some capacity. One word was dedicated towards representing the tactical community and one representing the fitness industry. The problem is, for a primarily web-based company, try finding any combination of synonyms for “Warrior” and “Fitness” that doesn’t already have a website or someone who simply owns it, expecting a guy like me to come along with thousands of dollars to buy it (and I don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a website name). Finally I settled on Sheepdog Strong, registered the name, and bought the web address.
Finally proud of actually naming the baby, I did what any new daddy does and started sharing the news of my newborn child. Imagine my disappointment when around 50% of the people I talked to asked, “What is a sheepdog?” Well crap.
Well then, let’s get right to the point. The first time that I heard the term was through LtCol Dave Grossman, the author of On Killing. Here, he describes speaking with a Vietnam Veteran who explained to him that there were three types of people in this world. There are sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves. The sheep are the everyday citizenry just trying to make a life for themselves, minding their own business and contributing to society. They’ve got private sector jobs, hobbies, family’s, and friends. On a Friday night they just want to unwind and crack open a beer or bottle of wine. Then there are the wolves that wish to disrupt that. For whatever reason, they hate the sheep and their way of life. They want to hurt the sheep and have both the capacity and desire to carry out that violence on them. In the middle stands the sheepdog, those who “live to protect the flock and confront the wolf.”
In the book, LtCol Grossman describes the sheepdog as this, “…what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.”
There are many that dedicate their lives to being a sheepdog. The ones that come to mind are the men and women that serve in our nations military, law enforcement communities, and fire fighters. Of course there are others such as first responders, military contractors, and even the guy roaming the malls. The one thing they all have in common is the willingness to sacrifice life’s comforts when necessary and even sacrifice their own lives to protect their fellow sheepdogs or the sheeps life.
In many cases, the sheep doesn’t like the site of the sheepdog. His presence alone reminds them that there are wolves out there and even among them. A true sheepdog doesn’t mind and keeps his mind to task. But conversely, there are some sheep that are ready to do the work of a sheepdog if the situation merits it. There are still some that are willing to keep their recording devices in their pocket and step up. Maybe it’s a dad walking through his home with a baseball bat because he heard a bump in the night. Or maybe it’s the guy that helps push a stalled car off the freeway before someone unprepared comes flying up their rear end, pushing his heart out because he doesn’t know if that cars on its way while he’s still on the bumper. And to you, I honor you the same.
Well there you have it folks. That’s who this business serves. And the word Strong in Sheepdog Strong? Believe it or not, it wasn’t selected just because the Sheepdog Strength URL wasn’t available. But that’s a story for another day.
-Tony / Founder of Sheepdog Strong
Sheepdog Strong 