From Setbacks to Success: Walking Through Challenges with Trust

Life rarely goes according to plan, but how we respond to challenges defines our journey. In this episode, Corwin Keller shares his powerful story of entrepreneurship, faith, family, and perseverance through adversity. From business struggles to personal hardships, including raising a daughter with Rett Syndrome, Corwin opens up about the lessons he’s learned in faith-based leadership, business resilience, and the importance of community.

Through failures, pivots, and rediscovering purpose, Corwin walks us through how trusting God led him to a stronger business, a more fulfilling life, and a mission to serve others. We also dive into the role of silent retreats, sobriety, mentorship, and building a business on biblical principles.

📌 Key Topics:
✅ Navigating new beginnings in business and life
✅ The intersection of faith and entrepreneurship
✅ Overcoming setbacks and trusting God's plan
✅ Raising a child with Rett Syndrome and its impact on family
✅ The transformative power of silent retreats and spiritual growth
✅ The role of community and mentorship in personal and business success
✅ Breaking habits, finding balance, and achieving clarity
✅ The importance of trades in today’s economy and training future leaders

🎬 Chapters:
00:00 Navigating New Beginnings
00:54 The Journey of Entrepreneurship
03:48 Faith and Business Integration
06:45 Overcoming Challenges in Business
09:34 Family and Personal Struggles
12:55 The Impact of Rett Syndrome
15:48 Silent Retreat and Spiritual Growth
18:55 Hearing God's Guidance
21:48 The Role of Community in Faith
24:41 Lessons from Sobriety
27:36 Business Growth and Challenges
30:39 The Importance of Mentorship
33:36 Finding Purpose and Direction
43:04 Building a Strong Business Structure
46:00 Training the Next Generation of Leaders
48:52 The Importance of Trades in Today's Economy
52:41 Faith and Resilience in Business Challenges
58:01 The Power of Community and Support
01:01:23 Finding Clarity in Silence and Isolation
01:07:02 Breaking Habits and Finding Balance

Transcript

God doesn't always have to tell us the direction because he gives us that free will to do it. And there's some times when you're making a decision that they could both be good, right? And so it's just up to us to decide. And he's going to say, hey, you're good either way, right? And so he may not answer. I also sense when there's times that I feel like I'm not hearing anything, that what he's really saying is just be still, be patient.

Corwin, appreciate you showing up today and gracing us with your presence. I just wanted to get you on. I know you're from Minsk group that we're in together. so, business owner. It's over here on our sleeve. Yeah. you're an HVAC company here in town.second HVAC company. is. Yeah. Good story there.

 Get your, get your background and, entrepreneur and business and all that. why are you here? Yeah, it's good. so yeah, Corwin Keller. I'm actually originally from Western Nebraska from Gary and in Scott's bluff and made my way out East here to, Wayne state college.that's where I met my wife and my wife is from south of Omaha in Murray, Nebraska, Beaver Lake. And we made it about a year in college. And then she got pregnant. And so we started a family after that, tried to move back to Western Nebraska work for my parents, my parents have been business owners or business owners for 48 years. It was a long time. So I kind of had that entrepreneurial spirit already kind of built into me and the great work ethic for my parents, they were

They owned a catering business and my dad was also a meat cutter or butcher for a while. So we went out there and tried to work for them with a goal of maybe taking their business over and I just, my mom and I couldn't work together. We were too much alike is what my wife says. So moved back to Eastern Nebraska and that's when I found the heating air conditioning world. That was back in 99.

I worked for Standard Heating Air as a larger company here in town for about seven or eight years and met a gentleman there who was in sales and he was like, we should get our own things started. So we did and we thought we were so clever. It was, let's go start a business with no money and no business plan and steal everything from our current employer. And it didn't work out well.

She had a plan. was just me. Yeah. Well, and coming from a faith-based background, so my parents, I mean, I grew up in the church. My parents were heavily involved with the church. I mean, we were on a regular basis. They were going, they were doing Bible studies, a couple of Bible studies. You know, we were, had a lot of stuff to do with the church. So, I mean, I just had always thought that you had to separate your faith from business. And, well, I learned really fast and hard that you shouldn't do that.

So mean, when we started this business, stealing everything from our current employers, we ended up, I got fired from that place, which, you know, rightfully so, once they found out. And then every client that we stole from them ended up going bankrupt. And we ended up getting stuck for thousands of dollars of unpaid invoices. So it was, you know, the whole saying, you reap what you sow, we got it back. Right, exactly.