The Martell Method w/ Dan Martell

Are you running out of money?

Do you have something people want to buy?

Do you have a cost effective marketing plan?

Do you have the skills to lead your team?

Are you able to hire great people?

Have you built a system that outlines how you deliver value to your customers in a repeatable way?

Feeling overwhelmed by this avalanche of questions, and wishing you could get back to your regularly-scheduled programming of being “fake busy” and avoiding the hard sh*t?

Sorry. Won’t let ’ya ;)

Too much at stake.

Cause these are the questions that will save your business.

And in this week's video I’m going to share with you the 6 reasons 90% of companies fail and what to do about it.

Failure is so easy to avoid if you understand these key areas of focus, and the habits to continue to improve a few parts of your business.

It doesn’t matter how fast you're growing, or the accolades you’re receiving, you can still fail.

But understand the key business fundamentals, and you win.

On that - and #6 in my list - are you subscribed to my YouTube channel?

If not, do it... be sure to invest in your education and continue to learn and grow.

Thanks in advance for your comments and likes!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

When I was 26 I spent $150K to hire a business advisor/coach named Stew.

It was almost all the cash I had left in my business at the time, but I knew if I wanted to play a bigger game I needed to invest in myself and my business.

Here’s one of the many big ideas he taught me.

“Right time, right action”

This is the way it works ...

... you can have two different entrepreneurs execute the exact same list of growth strategies, yet a few years later, one could be flying around the world heli-skiing full-time, while the other is left liquidating his office’s entry level Keurig machine just to keep the lights on.

Why?

It all comes down to understanding what matters most today, versus tomorrow, versus next week, versus next year.

That’s the ultimate skill of a strategic leader.

So today I want to unpack the exact process Stew shared with me to leverage when evaluating my todo list.

The cool part is that you can teach this to your team.

To make it even easier to implement, I’ve added a simple scoring system.

Here’s how it works:

Start by listing your task, projects or strategies in a spreadsheet so we can easily score and sort them.

Here’s how to score them.

1. Makes Money: 3
2. Make Customers Happy: 2
3. Repeatable System: 1

If something doesn’t fit that filter, then it’s a 0.

So for every item in your list score it against those 3 criteria and for each use the weighted score.

Example:
- Implement paid marketing webinar: 3,2,1 = 6
- Follow up on aged receivables: 3,1 = 4
- Hour call with new connections: 0

Once you have each one scored then re-sort them based on highest score and start your day there.

Simple? Yes.

Do you have the discipline to implement it?

If you’re down for trying this for a week, then leave a comment with your commitment.

Over the next few months I’m going to share more of the key strategies I learned from working with Stew for over a year.

He played a huge part in the growth and exit of that company.

More to come...

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

I’m the guy that gets the call when a business is in trouble...

... when a business is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Friends call me.

Banks call me.

If I’m lucky, the entrepreneur calls me before it’s too late.

The truth is, it’s always challenging for me to see another entrepreneur failing...

... especially when they have major debt owed, personal guarantees and their biggest dreams hanging in the air as collateral.

It’s even more heartbreaking when kids are involved.

It crushes me inside.

That being said, the game plan to turn things around is ALWAYS the same.

The #1 thing it takes is uncomfortable discussions, honest assessments and quick decisions.

Hard? You have no idea.

However, staring at the light waiting for the train to hit you isn’t the right move either.

Recently I was able to take a company losing tens of thousands each month, to profitable in 14 days.

In this week's video I provide a step by step process for getting you off the tracks, and pulling a sharp 180 regardless of the challenges you're facing.

When it comes to the steps and process they go like this:

1. Get clarity from the numbers (scary as hell, but necessary)
2. Test the business model
3. Cut deep but not the bone
4. Focus on the customers
5. Write the rules
6. Build it back up

The truth is, this strategy is something most companies should use to evaluate their real success.

Too many times I’ve had founders tell me their business is doing “GREAT” only to ask a few questions and have them realize they’re way below the market norm.

Stop being romantic about your business and get serious about how you’re measuring your progress.

Leave a comment below with your business, industry and top question you have about your business model or challenges and I’ll be sure to provide some insights to help you evaluate your progress!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

Yesterday I was talking with a founder who’s got a ~$6M a year business that has been flat for the past 4 years.

It’s funny because 5 years ago they jumped from $3M to $5.5M, but since then they’ve gone sideways and have been struggling to figure out what to do next.

This is what I told him...

Your business should be growing in 3 cycles...

... and knowing where you’re at now, can cause you to hold back when you should be leaning in and pushing.

It’s probably what happened when he almost doubled in a single 12 month period.

My guess is that he focused on the first phase that year, then didn’t do the second, and that caused him to get gun shy.

More on that in a bit...

… but first, I shot this video to help you understand the 3 cycles and what specific steps you need to take to powerfully (and predictably) ascend from one to the next.

If you want to take action and jump in with two feet, here are the cycles:

1. Going after sales - focusing on top line revenue
2. Building cost controls - improving your gross profit
3. Improving market reach - getting your message into the market

You just keep cycling through each one and if you're smart, you’ll be using quarterly themes so you can get the whole company behind it!

The friend I mentioned above decided he needed to push hard on sales, build a team and ensure they were well managed.

It’s funny how understanding the “big picture” and the context for where you’re at can light a fire under your butt to improve!

Clarity IS power.

Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know what phase you need to spend some time on. Maybe your cashflow is hurting, so cost-controls need to be implemented? Let me know.

Keep up the good fight!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

Do you think Google was the first search engine? AirBnb.com the first online vacation rental site? Dropbox the first online file storage company?

No. No. No.

Why does this matter?

Because it’s the most common excuse wantrapreneurs like to give for staying on the sidelines.

“Someone's already doing this... it already exists.” is their reason.

Bull-oney.

It’s nothing but a convenient cop-out that keeps you from making your biggest impact.

If anything, I get pumped when I see competitors, especially big ones making bank.

It means there’s a market.

It means I can hire their top staff.

It means I have competition to make me better.

How do you compete?

That’s what I cover in this week’s video.

If you’re still struggling to find a way to make a meaningful dent in your competitive market, leave a comment with your challenges and I’ll reply with my thoughts.

Be sure to provide context so I can be ultra specific in my recommendations.

Here’s to the crazy ones who go into battle when the guns are shooting!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

I used to believe ANYONE could be an entrepreneur.

Until the day my friend Julie went bankrupt.

When she started her business, I was pumped... probably more so than I should’ve been.

She left our meeting excited to take on the challenges and get going.

The reason she failed is because she didn’t understand her role in relation to her business...

... which caused major gaps (like sales) to occur.

At a high-level there’s 3 business personalities.

Understanding which one you fall under is the first key in making sure you’re surrounded by team members and advisors who can lift you up and fill in your gaps.

In this week’s video I go over all 3 Business Personality Types and how each aren’t better than the other, just different.

Think you’re an “Entrepreneur”? Think again... be sure to watch the video to understand how to self identify...

... but at a high level it comes down to one of the following:

- Artist (or E-Myth calls it: Technician)
- Manager
- Entrepreneur

So what do you do if you discover that you’re an Artist, or Manager?

That’s a big question...

... maybe I’ll cover it in an upcoming video :)

Till then I have a favor to ask... I would love for you to leave a comment with your honest assessment of which one you are?

No judgement, just curious.

Talk soon.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here: http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

How To Measure Your Daily Value Creation Score

Four Level of Leadership

Today Is My Birthday

How To Grow Your Business