Your business-building habits, expertise, and go-to tools are quickly making you slow, dumb, and eventually broke.
I don’t usually take on “build me a business” type of clients, but in this case, the offer was too attractive (and lucrative) to refuse. Plus, I’ve built, advised, and consulted countless businesses in my life, so it wasn’t like I’d be reinventing the wheel here. In other words, I had my go-to tools, systems, and processes, so I knew exactly where to start…
And that’s where most entrepreneurs — and nearly myself included, this time — go wrong. However, I did something I don’t usually do, which ended up saving me — and my client — loads of time and thousands of dollars going forward.
Rather than talk about the $15 secret that’s rapidly overtaking every key tech tool powering most startups, let’s discuss the signs your experience-honed business-building habits are holding your company back — and beckoning your future demise. Most founders have no clue they’re on the brink of extinction until the writing on the wall is too clear to ignore or erase; but today, there may still be time to turn things around.
Past entrepreneurial experience is kind of like cotton candy: It sounds good on the outside and everyone loves having it, but if you rely upon it too much, it will still rot your teeth (or let you down in business).
Where experience shines — and the reason so many people clamor to recruit “experienced hires” to their teams — is ironically the very reason I believe said experience entrepreneurially handicaps seasoned founders. The assumption here is that a key (arguably, the primary) benefit of experience is increased efficiency, vastly accelerated progress, and the avoidance of many pitfalls and obstacles that might be the downfall of a less-experienced team.
Here’s the catch, though: That assumption is built around the belief that experienced founders (and hires) should continue to do things the way they’ve done them before. Why? Well, they know it works (or has worked in the past). They’ve done it before, so they’ll likely be…