What You'll Discover In This Episode:
Kris Dehnert figured it out long ago…
He was an unemployable wild card because he refuses to be anything but unapologetically authentic. So, he went the entrepreneur route and was too naive and stubborn to fail. He started nine businesses that leveraged his superpower via social media: communicating, interacting, and connecting with people.
He was successful in his business endeavors but for a long time, Kris was too worried about being important to those that didn’t truly matter and spent his time trying to impress them. He wasn’t prioritizing his family which caused a bunch of unwelcome problems, that is, until a near-death experience made him come to his senses. He ended some business relationships and cleared his plate for what really matters. Looking back, he offers the wisdom, “You can’t see a good thing when it’s right in front of you if your life is too cluttered by bullsh!t.”
Now, Kris chooses to have fewer, bigger, better conversations with fewer, bigger, better people (aka good folks). He is fiercely aggressive with and protective of his time - only doing what he wants with whom he wants. As such, he doesn’t have a calendar link and never will. He lives his life by the motto, Chase the happy, not the money because if you do it right, you’ll probably find both. And happy he is. Kris has a family he adores and gets to spend ample time with, he pays the bills, and he owns a business he is passionate about that allows him to work in his pajamas when he so desires.
In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with the CEO of Dugout Mugs, Kris Dehnert, to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of his successful business and dive into his entrepreneurial journey that took him from a near-death experience to making $55 million in sales.
Episode Links & Resources:
About Guest:
Kris Dehnert is a bold, no-BS entrepreneur who turned a wild idea—transforming baseball bats
into drinkware—into a powerhouse brand with over $55 million in sales, Dugout Mugs. With appearances on major media outlets like FOX & Friends, ABC’s World News Tonight, CBS Morning
Show, the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, and The View, Kris brings a proven track record
of innovation and explosive growth. A 3X Inc. 5000 honoree, he’s a master of sales, branding, and eCommerce with a knack for networking, understanding people, deliveringunforgettable customer experiences, and creating products that sell themselves. But behind the accolades is a man who nearly lost his life—an experience that forced a radical shift in his definition of success. Now, he chooses the happy over the hustle, builds lifestyle-first businesses, and teaches others to do the same. With a Rolodex of A-List stories to share, a clear perspective of what matters, and a fire you can’t put out, Kris has an “unapologetically authentic” approach that keeps it real, keeps it fun, and keeps it impactful from start to finish.
