Be our own bosses - It's every employed and married couple's dinner table conversation. That is exactly what Kim and Ryan McDaniel did when they started up their own company.
As with most married couple, each spouse went into their own professions. Kim worked in marketing while Ryan entered construction. For the first nine years of their marriage, they always thought of being their own bosses but never did anything about it. It was not until 2008 when the couple gave birth to Across The Board.
It started when Kim's mother-in-law brought home a board game with a horse-racing theme. It was family game night and Ryan didn't like the game. "He didn't like that it didn't take into account the odds of rolling certain dice; he didn't like the way it was built; and there were other things he didn't like," Kim told STLToday.
That's when it all started. Ryan went into the garage and made his own game. Seeing how he liked to make the game for family and friends, Kim asked him to make 50 more games to be sold at the Kimmswick craft fair. "Ryan thought it was the dumbest idea ever," she said, "until we sold all 50."
What started as a hobby turned into a business. Ryan had the woodworking equipment brought in and the couple went straight to work building their network. It could only happen though when they quit their day jobs.
The couple invested heavily into the game board business that Uncommon Goods picked the game up for their catalog.
But the couple faced their biggest challenge. Ryan was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon cancer. His illness didn't stop them from fulfilling orders - with the help of friends and family, the couple persevered.
Ryan went through surgeries and chemotherapy treatments but still came to work every day. He never quit until one day, his body did. On May 28, 2015, Ryan passed away.
Kim was left with the business to take care of and three children. She does not plan on stopping.
Now, she runs the business with her brother-in-law, Bill Wilson. The family business continued to stay in the family.
"So this is his legacy, this game," she said, pointing to a small "RMM" symbol that graces the lower left corner of each game box. The couple's passion still continues to this day.
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