In Curtis Smith’s wallet there’s a neatly folded slip of paper with a short list of goals printed in blue ink.

Smith, an Albert Lea businessman, said he learned to set goals growing up as a state swimmer in Indiana and as an insurance salesman in Sioux Falls, S.D., and in Albert Lea.

Smith has tried to bring that goal setting to the businesses he owns and works with in Albert Lea. Smith is co-owner of Arrow Printing Co., owner of Red Carpet Carwash, part owner of Skyline Plaza and he works in his spare time, he joked, as administrator of the Moose Lodge. He also started Hotwheelz, a car dealership on the lot of Red Carpet Carwash.

“I know people that work 40 hours a week and they love it. I would honestly go crazy,” Smith said.

Smith, 44, said he loves to work and works 70 to 80 hours a week, if not more some weeks.

“I just love to push. That’s just me. And that’s good and bad. I tell people it’s a sickness,” Smith said.

“I just want to keep building,” Smith said. “I know that at some point I’m going to slow down, but it’s not this year.”

Part of that desire for growth began when Smith sold insurance and saw many people who reached retirement age and couldn’t afford Medicare insurance, Smith said. Smith said he wants to be prepared for his own retirement.

Age: 44

Family: wife, Jana; daughter, Brielle, 16; son, Preston, 12

Address: 1302 Southview Lane, Albert Lea

Livelihood: Small business owner

Interesting fact: He is a big fan of the Indiana Hoosiers.

“It’s fun to buy a business and be involved in that business and watch it grow and then see it growing into your future and be part of your retirement,” Smith said.

Smith, who works mostly with the financial aspects of his businesses, said he’s able to manage being involved in multiple businesses because of scheduling. Smith starts each day early at Arrow Printing, then goes to Red Carpet Carwash, and finishes each day by going to Skyline Plaza and then the Moose Lodge.

“All my vocations are very rewarding,” Smith said. “We take a piece of paper and turn it into a brochure. We take a dirty car and turn it into a clean car. We find people with dreams and hopefully help them fulfill their dreams and run a business and earn a living. So it’s fulfilling”

Flexibility is a big part of any new business opportunity, Smith said. A few weeks ago he adjusted his schedule to meet family for lunch after learning they were in town, and he can adapt his schedule around his children’s activities like concerts and sports.

Smith met his wife, Jana, at Taylor University in Indiana. Jana is from Jackson and Smith was unable to get a job in the television industry, so he took a job selling insurance in Sioux Falls. When given the opportunity to transfer, he and his wife chose Albert Lea over Rochester and Owatonna.

“I have full support of my wife and understanding, and that’s a key,” Smith said. “She encourages me when I’m too busy, and she makes it aware that I need put a briefcase down and do some family time.”

Smith and his family still find time for travel and recreation. Smith will take his work with him on trips home to Indiana, but he said he doesn’t take his briefcases if he travels overseas.

Selling insurance taught Smith to avoid instant gratification, and work toward growth, he said. While he’d earn a commission from selling a policy, Smith said he’s also earn more with a renewal, so it taught him to build and not be satisfied with that initial sale.

“When I look at buying a business you can get caught up in the emotion, it’s exciting and it’s like a new love,” Smith said. “But I let it sit for a week or two weeks or three weeks, and I go back and look at the numbers. And some of the things are a long shot.”

Not all of the businesses Smith has started have succeeded, Smith said he had a tree trimming business, but his partner had an accident and broke his back. Smith and the man quit the business and sold their equipment, and Smith said he learned his partner’s recovery was more important that the business. His partner is fully recovered.

“Now I’m a little more humbled just by a speed bump in life, but that’s a great life lesson to sit down with your kids and say, hey it didn’t work out,” Smith said.

Interacting with people is something Smith said he cherishes in his work, and many of the people he works with share Smith’s faith. Smith said he and Deane Christianson often hold devotions at Arrow Printing and Smith and the other Skyline Plaza owners take turns praying at meetings.

“I’m actually humbled by the men I work with, and I’m very truly blessed to have that. You can’t put a price on that,” Smith said.

Smith enjoys working with customers as well as employees and business partners, and said he enjoys picking on people: “The more I pick on them, the more I like them.”

Smith said he likes Albert Lea because it is a giving community, and he had participated in things like the Red Cross fundraiser Dancing With the Stars, which Smith won.

“When we get on our deathbed people aren’t going to ask how much we made or if we have a cabin or how many businesses a person owns,” Smith said. “What have you done in your life? Who have you helped? Who have you helped along the way? And I hope to be able to have helped other people. Maybe through education, maybe through encouragement, maybe through being in business with them, or a customer, or their boss. It is very rewarding and fulfilling, and sometimes I pinch myself because I get paid to do it.”