In a candid discussion, the host reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the pitfalls of dividing attention between multiple ventures, as he contrasts his experience with that of a successful trash company owner who capitalized on his expertise by replicating his business model. The host emphasizes the importance of strategic focus, saying no to distracting opportunities, and the value of perseverance and deepening one's knowledge in a single field. He stresses that growth comes from improvement within an existing business rather than starting new ones, citing personal anecdotes and the wisdom of sticking with what works to achieve long-term success.
"And the next year, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my business career, which was I started another business."
The quote highlights the speaker's reflection on their decision to start a new business as a major mistake in their career.
"So my profit went down and my revenue went up."
This quote indicates the financial outcome of starting the new business—higher revenue but lower profit.
"And he went from trash man to cash man and sold his business for multiple eight figures."
This quote introduces the neighbor's success story, emphasizing the significant financial gain from his business.
"He's like, I'm so good at trash, and I've spent the last three years working for the company that bought me."
The quote explains the neighbor's rationale for sticking with the industry he knows best and leveraging his enhanced understanding.
"A strategy means knowing what you say no to."
This quote underscores the essence of having a strategy—being selective and focused.
"You have to know who your avatar is and who it isn't."
The quote stresses the importance of understanding the target customer for a business and not trying to cater to everyone.
"Sticking with it was from developing the character traits of grit, from developing the character traits of stick to itness, from developing the character traits of perseverance, of focus."
The quote emphasizes the importance of developing strong character traits to maintain commitment and focus in business endeavors.
"And I think that at all levels in business, you get seduced by a woman in the red dress, which is the analogy that I like to use, because at every level in business, like, if you know the Matrix, there's a woman in the red dress who walks by Neo, looks again him, and then it's an agent pointing a gun at him."
The quote draws a parallel between the distracting temptations in business and the scene from The Matrix, suggesting that opportunities may not always be what they seem and can lead to negative consequences.
"And for me, it turned out I wasn't able to turn down about a 20 or $30 million a year opportunity when I was doing about 20, $30 million a year. And what ended up doing is it cost me a tremendous amount of time and effort and probably lost growth on my main business at the time because I didn't know what I didn't know."
The speaker's experience demonstrates the pitfalls of pursuing multiple business opportunities at the expense of the primary business's growth and success.
"You can't be CEO of two businesses. You can't serve two masters if you're the one running your business. And CEO, make no mistake, is the one running the business, even though if you're not doing the day to day just because you're like, oh, I'm an owner."
This quote highlights the necessity for a CEO to be singularly focused on their business to ensure its success and growth.
"And I think what ends up happening for most people is that one of the truths that I've observed is that the amount of money that I make is only proportional to the skill that I have as an entrepreneur. Period. That's it."
The quote suggests that an entrepreneur's income is tied to their skill level, and dividing attention between multiple businesses will not necessarily increase their income.
"Better begets bigger, not the bigger you get, the better you get."
This quote encapsulates the idea that focusing on improving the quality of the business is a more effective strategy for growth than simply increasing the size or scope of the business.
"The deeper you can sink your roots in, the more time you can put under the bar. This has been my finding. The better the business becomes and then as a result, the bigger it becomes because it comes from the disproportionate gains in knowledge we get at the end of the track, not at the beginning."
This quote emphasizes the value of deep, sustained engagement in business and how it leads to significant gains over time, which are more pronounced in the later stages of business development.
"It's learning what you learn in the 10th year and the 20th year. In that same business that gets you the disproportionate returns."
The speaker highlights that the knowledge gained in the long run, after a decade or more, is what truly sets a business apart and leads to significant competitive advantage.
"You've got sprinters, and if you're the best sprinter in the world, you win the gold and you might only be one 10th of a second better than the fourth best sprinter in the world."
The quote draws a parallel between athletic competition and business, showing how a small margin can lead to vastly different outcomes in terms of recognition and rewards.
"It's using time as an asset instead of a liability. It's not being in a rush. It's understanding that the growth that comes as entrepreneurs doesn't come from new, it comes from doing the same."
The speaker advises on the importance of patience and persistence, suggesting that growth is often a result of consistent effort over time rather than constantly seeking new ventures.
"If we're not growing, then it's our fault. It's not because we need to introduce a new thing. It's because we need to confront what is not happening."
This quote stresses the need for self-reflection and accountability in business. If growth is stagnating, the cause often lies within current practices, not necessarily the need for new strategies.
"And we use our business to try and satisfy our personal needs, when in reality, the business is only there to serve the customer."
The speaker points out a common pitfall where business owners might use their business to address personal issues, which can detract from the business's primary goal of serving customers.
"When I started my first five years in business, I think I had like eleven businesses. And it was only once I chose to commit to one of them that I saw the disproportionate returns in my life."
This quote provides personal testimony to the benefits of focusing on a single business venture, which resulted in greater success for the speaker after years of spreading efforts too thin.
And so you have to pick and you have to commit.
This quote underscores the necessity of making a choice and dedicating oneself fully to ensure the success of a business venture.
Most people understand that you have to spend less than you make, right? But no one does it.
The speaker highlights the discrepancy between understanding a concept and actually applying it in life, reflecting on the emotional challenges involved.
And that of doing more, of being able to stick your head down and continue through what you said you were going to do, is what creates the growth.
This quote illustrates the importance of consistency and perseverance in following through with a strategy to achieve business growth.
And so we sabotage things inside of our own business because we want to satisfy things inside of us that have nothing to do with business.
The quote emphasizes the danger of allowing personal needs to interfere with business decisions, which can undermine success.
Is it a belief about the world that that is incorrect? Is it a trait that I have not developed yet? Or is it a skill that I lack?
This quote encourages entrepreneurs to introspect and identify areas for self-improvement to overcome barriers to their business's success.
But that gets boring. And that's why do the boring work is one of the core tenets that I have.
The quote reflects the speaker's belief that embracing the monotony of effective business practices is a vital lesson for entrepreneurial success.
That is my hope. And if you enjoyed this and got value from this, hit the subscribe button, watch one of the other videos that we've got going on.
The quote conveys the speaker's aspiration to provide value through shared experiences and to foster a learning community by encouraging viewers to engage with the content.