🎙 Inventive Journey | Real Stories From the Startup Survival Club

Always make sure that you are establishing your relationships. Always say to people what can I do for you? And Never burn a bridge even if people are wrong. Wrong things have happened to me, and it does not matter.

Get a coach and or mentor. You probably think it is self-serving saying getting a coach. It may be a little self-serving, but it's also speaking from experience because I have benefited tremendously through the years from having tremendous coaches but, also have had some mentors. If you not in a place where you can hire a coach look up people in your industry, look up people who are doing what you are doing, look at people who are successful at what you are trying to do, and just contact them.

I would say be fearless it really does take that. I have talked to so many people. I was coaching football for my son, just the little league football. One of my assistant coaches, a great guy still good friends to this day, came up to me and says I have an idea that I know will make me a millionaire. I was like, well, awesome, what is it? And he said I am not going to tell you you will go do it. And I said well, one I won't but two fine don't tell me I don't care what it is. Why don't you go do it? He literally said because I am afraid I will fail. I think that has stopped more people from ever becoming successful than any other thing.

First, I would try and make sure they are ready to do it in the first place. I don't necessarily take my own council right here but, particularly for a younger entrepreneur, you got to put in your time. I mentioned earlier that I considered my 10-year at Deloitte an apprenticeship. That's really what it was. I didn't roll out of bed at 25 and start Kalypso. I put in a decade learning the industry, developing my skills, developing a management model, and leadership philosophy. That was the foundation of that firm.

In my experience, this is why the bottleneck of so many businesses is the CEO. It's because they are not making decisions, opportunities are being lost, and everything else is falling behind. They within themselves are not showing up as the CEO in their business. And that is why I am such a firm believer that your business growth can't outgrow your inner growth. If you really want to not just perform at that level but breakthrough to the next you really have to evolve within yourself. You need that level of thinking and the ability to control the stress and pressure and all of the mindset shifts in order to actually sustain your success.

Surround yourself with really good advisers. I know that's said really well but let's talk more about how to pick advisers. I would say that as a founder to find your philosophy for how you are going to grow your company. How you are going to treat the people you are going to support. Find the advisers who are experienced in the area where you have a gap. Go to accelerated programs. Go to your local co-working space. Go Google spaces if you don't have any in your community and search out people that have had success in the areas that you would like to have success in that you are not very good at. Then offer to compensate them well for being in the company. In that relationship over a couple of conversations, you will figure out if they are just trying to get equity or get compensation. Or if they are really in it for a mutually invested interest and the vision you are trying to drive.

Just do the research. You know so many people who have an idea get excited, and they automatically turn to marketing. They start spending money on marketing. I would strongly suggest you do the research. Identify if your product or service has competition or is it innovative? Look and see what other people are doing. What niche do you fit into? Where do your customers hang out at? Those are just some small things to really start thinking of before you just automatically start jumping into trying to make money.

Listen. Find a problem. We were in a hospital once when I broke my back. It was a family and doctor-owned hospital. It was family so, my wife and daughter were there and, my daughter was ten at the time. She said hey I would like a milkshake. They said we don't have any milkshakes. So They called down, and they had a chef at this kitchen. So they made her a milkshake. The next day they had milkshakes on the menu for the kids of the family. They fixed that little problem. I think that it's fixing problems and looking for solutions, and then it is just listening to the people around you. You put them in your sphere for a reason. You hire your attorney. You get your bookkeeper. You have to listen to the people around you. Then you ultimately have to make the right decision.

I am going to steal something that I have never forgotten that I learned 35-40 years ago. People today may not be familiar with it. It's called the entrepreneur credo. One major line in the entrepreneur credo, in fact, it may be the first thing is, never fall in love with your company it is a thing, not a person.

Never ever trust your family. You are alone in this game. Your family is going to be overcoming themselves when they promise anything. Just because they over emotional, they are not rational. If you do that, then it's going to fire back. My one piece of advice is you are alone in this game. Don't count on anyone. No one is there to help you. If you plan that way, then you will go a long way.