An entrepreneur’s scratch pad
There isn’t a single definition of “success.” You don’t have to make hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars every year. You don’t have to employ 2, 20, 200, or 2,000 people. I know people who are: There isn’t one right answer. I challenge you to talk to others and learn how they define success.…
I read 10x is Easier Than 2x earlier this year, and Benjamin Hardy/Dan Sullivan talk a lot about your Unique Ability. In short, it’s the one thing you do best (what you are encoded to do). Unique Ability requires you to determine what you personally like and dislike doing, and decide that others’ opinions about…
Businesses don’t start with an autopilot button. If you are a founder-ran business, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. Something or someone relies on you all the time. Whether that be sales, operations, or execution, as the founder, you are the cornerstone. For some, that’s exactly where they want to be: and that is fantastic.…
I was chatting with Brian Sulka recently, and he asked me: Let’s say we met in 2027, and you were successful, what would that look like? I’ve been writing a lot about vision recently (one, two, three) and this question from Brian took me off guard. A lot of the posts I’ve written about “defining…
A lot of entrepreneurs are in normal, run-of-the-mill industries. Heck, I’m in the web design/development space. I did a Google search and within a few minutes I found 26 agencies just in Atlanta. That doesn’t even include the number of freelancers that are out there. If I had spent more than 10 minutes searching, I…
In baseball, the pitch that happens on a 3-2 count is called the “payoff pitch.” Something will happen as it’s the pivotal moment between the batter and the pitcher. The batter will: Other than the simple fact that it’s against the rules, would it be wise for the team’s coach to step into the batter’s…
Defining vision is difficult. As someone who has been self-employed for nearly 100% of my working life, it’s hard not to view running the business as a means to an end – much like having a full-time employed job. I didn’t start my company with a grandiose vision to change the world. I just enjoyed…
As a founder, a lot of times there is a heavyweight to be the one who: One of the first times I remember not being the smartest person in the room was when I was working on closing what would become our largest single contract to date. To win this client, we had to pitch…
People work with you and your organization because they need help solving a problem. That problem causes friction in their own company. If it caused zero friction, there wouldn’t be a problem and thus nothing to fix. Your company gets chosen day after day to reduce friction. However, the processes you go through contain friction…
I’ve recently realized that I need to take more care when giving my opinion. Yes, I run the company. If I need to make a locked-in final decision, I have the authority. However, wielding that power isn’t always smart. My unique vantage point is being able to see the forest. People on the team can…
The amount of risk I like to take is pretty dang close to zero. However, I was at breakfast with one of my friends/mentors who runs a similar business to me here in Atlanta. We got onto the topic of how much risk we like taking in our respective businesses. I was bemoaning the fact…
Saying “no” is a challenge especially when there is decent money on the line. I don’t remember a time where I have intentionally said “no” to an opportunity when I knew it wasn’t in our team’s wheelhouse. I will clarify and add that when I did say “yes,” we had the ability to execute it,…
You are unique. The value you bring to this world is unique. The angle that you take on solving problems is unique. How you communicate is unique. I was chatting with JR Baker over LinkedIn and he told me that he had a phrase he used during his preaching days: You might be the only…
As a leader, do you: One corporate VP had a favorite saying, quoted often and written on her door: “Ignore me as needed to get your job done.” This simple mantra signaled an important trust in the judgment and capability of others. Multipliers When is the last time you told your team to “ignore you”…
When you watch star athletes play, you notice that all the greats make things look effortless. At a concert, and you see the band perform, all the musicians play together with ease – it’s especially true when you are at a jazz concert and there is a lot of improvisation. What makes all of that…
You are a leader and you know many people (some of them your peers and others not). But when decisions have to be made, you can’t always go to your team (if you even have one). How do you decide which of your peers to talk to when none of them seem close? Or, you…
Where are you “going to the fringes?” The problem with being a “middle of the road” business is that the path is wide and well-traveled. It is simple to be good. A lot of people can: Good typically has a mediocre message behind it. It’s service-oriented. It’s a task list to get done. We go…
Polarity is the existence of opposing forces. Chances as, as a founder, you are the visionary. Finding the right person to take your ideas to reality is hard to find (Rocket Fuel says there is a 4:1 ratio of visionaries to integrators). If you are looking for an integrator, keep in mind that the stronger…
How are you using the people on your team? Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of founders not able to get out of the “creative genius” seat of the business. While that role isn’t easily defined on the org chart (or accountability chart), it assuredly exists. They are the person who comes in during…
Balance is a myth. Life ends up being a seesaw where we don’t have full control the weights on either end. No matter how fast we run to “remove weight from one side” or “add weight to the other” the weights change, and thus the seesaw leans more to one side. You are always somewhere…
”in the real world, people who take action are the ones who make the most mistakes and learn from them to win in the game of life.” Robert T. Kiyosaki For me, reading and writing regularly is something that challenges me. I’ve put my thoughts on LinkedIn for years, but those mostly revolve around my…
I am a perfectionist. It has taken me a long time to learn to delegate to my team and let them handle the finer details. I’m nowhere close to being perfect, but progress has definitely been made over the years. I know nothing will be perfect. In fact, it shouldn’t matter. I’ve realized when you…
A native genius or talent is something that people do, not only exceptionally well, but absolutely naturally. They do it easily (without extra effort) and freely (without condition). Multipliers It’s a difficult process to consider your long-term vision (or your personal mission outside of your own company). I have found this especially true for founders…
Focus on the process and less about the outcome. I’ve built my business off of word-of-mouth and I have not been as process-oriented over the years as I should have been. What could happen if I was more process-driven and held myself accountable to the process? Small processes add up. So, I’m going to turn…
There are a lot of professions that a lot of entrepreneurs can turn into amazing companies. I’m running a web/marketing business, and there are a lot of us out there (even when you look in the Atlanta area). In running a business, it’s easy to be mediocre. There are a lot of paths that lead…
Finding an accountability partner doesn’t have to be hard. Yes, finding someone who can meet with you regularly, ask you challenging questions, and push you to new heights is not easy to find. A lot of those take the form of a “coach” or an “advisor” and those types of people cost money. However, you…
The superheroes you have in your mind (idols, icons, titans, billionaires, etc.) are nearly all walking flaws who’ve maximized 1 or 2 strengths. Tim Ferris in Tools of Titans You don’t need to be amazing at everything. Find the one or two things you can excel at. And, you don’t even have to be the…
“Follow your heart.” While normally exegetical, the pastor at my church preached a sermon on a commonly misconstrued phrase that is not in the Bible. While it feels (and looks) right on the outside, at its core, that phrase makes it so that you completely rely on yourself and your gut instincts. That’s a lot…
I talk a lot with companies and the folks who run them. In the B2B space, I wholeheartedly believe that the individuals within the company should have their own brand and pull within the market. At the end of the day, we buy from people who we think like us and would be “in the…
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I feel like that question gets deeper the older we get. When you’re young, you may want to be a police officer, a firefighter, or an athlete because that’s what you see on TV (I definitely wanted to play on the Atlanta Braves growing up).…
“Don’t study Elon if you’re making $0.” Justin Welsh posted about this on LinkedIn recently. I’ve always wondered about entrepreneurs who study people leagues and leagues farther along. Yes, it would help if you surrounded yourself with people who have made it farther than you, but you need someone who can relate. The types of…
Everything we do impacts ourselves, families, friends, and people we don’t get to see. As the owner of a business, I feel like I get to see some of those ripples a bit further away (I don’t imply my impact is more or less than other people with differing job titles; just happens to be…
I’m learning how to play drums (teaching myself slowly, but surely … week over week). I’m learning that if you know a few “simple rhythms” and a few “fills,” you can get by without looking like too much of a fool. As I’ve been playing in my church band on Sunday mornings, I’ve realized two…
“The world is a classroom.” This is something I’ve never considered before, but rings truer now that I’m reading and writing on a more regular basis. Everything is a learning opportunity: The question is: are we listening? Or are we just going about our lives either literally or figuratively with our Airpods always in our…
And what would happen if I stopped thinking about relationships as a noun (something that just is) and started thinking about them as a verb (something that I do)? Laurie Drake Relationships require intention on both sides. A “relationship” that is simply one-sided is not much different than one person talking to a wall. One…
Deep relationships are critical for business growth. I was chatting with one of my mentors/friends earlier and he was emphasizing the importance of building deep relationships with the people you know. While the benefit of this is fairly common knowledge, it came on the heels of my bemoaning the fact that I need help on…
When you’re running a small business, you know that your reputation proceeds you. However, it’s hard to quantify. Your network tends to bring in more of the same type of client that you’ve been working with. Word of mouth expands in seasons: Your initial network is small and you can keep up with everyone Once…
Nathan Stuck wrote a post back in June and said: Capitalism as a catalyst Nathan Stuck As I’ve been processing bigger-picture things for Classic City, it made me think: What do I want to be a catalyst for? Both personally and professionally. What do I want to increase the rate of? In general, companies say…
Stuff doesn’t get done without deadlines. I find that, as a business owner, the larger the question is, the less urgency it has (ie. solving a client’s problem is something that can be done today, however, when you’re figuring out where you want the business to be in 5, 10, 15 years, you end up…
Complacency is a killer. I realized that firsthand through a few iterations of our business over the years. Getting out of a period of complacency is challenging because feels like you’re “starting over.” Each time, I came out of it with: There is a line between being content and being complacent. We’ll all step over…
I was reading one of Benj Miller’s weekday emails (check it out). In it, he was talking about a video from Jim Collins. Instead of thinking through: “what am I good at?” or “what can I be the best in the world at?” instead ask “what am I encoded for?“ It doesn’t matter whether: Coming…
In general, I’m a fairly passive/people-pleasing person. There are “pros” to that mindset, but there are also a significant amount of “cons.” When it comes to leading people and facing confrontation head-on, I find it hard to motivate myself to do what is necessary (and do it quickly). I know some leaders who are the…
I have been reading The Challenger Sale recently. It’s a data-driven book (which I appreciate) and not based on someone’s “cool theory” they came up with. I have really enjoyed the book primarily because it pushes me with two core principles It’s all about bringing up a fresh perspective that stands out amongst the noise…
I’ve been reminiscing a lot about how life has been running Classic City Consulting. A lot of entrepreneurs try a lot of new ideas, iterate quickly, shut down bad ideas quickly, and finally land on their “goldmine” a few tries into it.On the other hand, there is me. While, I haven’t started multiple businesses, Classic…
I was reading The Innovator’s Dilemma this past week. The core topic in the first part of the book is “how close should you stay to your customers?” Yes, you should always be listening to your customers and modifying how you serve them (and your clientele at large) based on that feedback. However, it puts…