Resources to run a better business.

Why does your business exist? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself recently—and I’ve been reflecting on its importance. Our firm is known (I hope) for helping companies grow. We focus on increasing revenue, profit, and valuation. That’s WHAT we do, and it’s all about dollars and cents. But WHY we do it is actually far more important.

I once worked with a CFO who had a great saying: “If your product isn’t flying off the shelves…why not?” I ask myself this all the time, whether in my own companies or when working with clients. (It applies to service companies, too.) And I’ve come up with the universal answer. People aren’t buying your product…because they don’t want it.

Incremental change isn’t always easier.‍ That’s the default thinking, isn’t it?‍ Make progress, a little bit at a time. It’s the least disruptive. It’s the simplest to achieve.‍ The problem: that way of thinking isn’t always accurate.

Growth breeds complexity.‍ And I’ve had the privilege of watching many of my clients grow—significantly—over the past 3-5 years in particular.‍ Here’s an all-too-common scenario that I see when growth takes off: that talented, dedicated leader, who has been true-blue for years, begins to falter.‍ They can’t consistently hit their targets. They struggle to know what to do next.

When did money stop falling out of the sky? Many of our clients were primed to take advantage of the pandemic “boom” - pent-up demand, freely flowing capital, basement-level interest rates. While every business is unique, for many companies, growing your business has become more challenging (though we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel…). Sales cycles are longer. Budgets have tightened. Demand has slowed. You’ve got to stay focused on what matters most.

It’s not the easiest time to do business.‍Right now, most of the companies we work with are growing. But they are scrapping it out for every dollar.‍ Buying cycles are longer.‍ People are less willing to part with their money.‍The cost of capital is still high.‍The macro is impacting the micro. Things may not be bottoming out, but from what I’m seeing on the ground, our companies are facing challenges. ‍And during hard times, it’s easy to lose sight of what matters most.

You’ve heard the advice ad nauseam. You need to work ON your business, not IN your business. It’s true— 1,000%. Working on your business lets you pick your head up from the work of “what we’re doing” and turn your focus to “where we’re going.” Every time you run a strategic planning day, hold an executive coaching session, or just take time out to think, you’re working on the business. But here’s the thing that sometimes gets overlooked when we spend too much time speaking in cliches.

This post is for anyone who’s ever felt disappointed by entrepreneurship. If you’ve ever wondered if you were cut out for it. If you’ve ever thought, “Is it worth it?” If it’s ever felt too hard. Running a business, I think, can seem like climbing an endless mountain. You’re trying to scale (in all senses of the word) to the top, but the ground never seems to level off. I’m here to tell you: you’ll never solve all your problems. But it does get easier.

We will all be dead soon. Or at least, soon enough. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a heightened awareness of that fact. Life is short—too short to do everything you want. What do you want most? And what are you waiting for?