Like most entrepreneurs I have the unfortunate habit of thinking that the grass is greener on the other side.
In just the last decade, I have started and then quit a lot of businesses:
- Started and then left behind a business working with kids with autism
- Started Robin's Cafe, which I sold on Craigslist
- Started a conference about dance and behavior change, which I discontinued
- Started Responsive Conference, which I paused due to the pandemic, and then brought back this year
- Started my agency Zander Media
(There are many more, but you get the idea.)
Compounding
We take for granted that money compounds. The more you have, the easier it is to make.
Relationships also compound. The longer we work with a client at Zander Media, the better the work and those relationships become.
To describe the opposite, Alex Hormozi uses the metaphor of the “woman in the red dress.” He's referencing an artificial attraction in The Matrix, which the main character Neo has to learn to avoid at his peril. Things that look appealing may, in fact, try to kill you!
Narrow your focus
I've come to realize that going deeper down a specific path is healthier and more lucrative than jumping around.
In our first year of Zander Media, did perhaps $100,000 in gross revenue. Within two years, we 10x our revenue. Here’s a video about the tactic I used to accomplish that.
When your business has a narrow focus, the entire company gets practice refining its processes. Employees get practice doing the same thing, over and over again. Customers know what to expect. The entire system improves. Here's an article about my mistakes doing the opposite at Zander Media.
But compounding isn’t just about dollars, relationships, or process improvement. It applies to every area of behavior change.
If there’s one lesson I could offer myself ten years ago, it would be "go deeper."
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Homework
Write out all of the projects you are in the midst of right now.
Or, if that isn't a lot list, all of the things you've started and stopped in the last three months.
This exercise, which I do at least quarterly, is one way to assess when you’ve spread yourself too thin and where you might narrow your focus.
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3 things I’ve loved this week
I spent the last week with my dad hiking in the eastern Sierra. The aspen, as then turn gold and before they drop their leaves, are breathtaking.
Book I'm reading: Draft No. 4 by John McPhee
John McPhee is a masterful writer and storyteller. But this book blew me away. He breaks all the rules – using passive voice because it reads better?! – and it is beautiful.
I’m a sucker for well written books about writing, and this is at least as good as my other two favorites, On Writing by Stephen King and On Writing Well by William Zinsser.
Something I keep in my camping kit: Maldon salt
I’ve used Maldon salt every day since the era of Robin’s Cafe. As most professional kitchens do, we kept it on hand as a finishing salt.
(It was particularly good on our avocado toast.)
These days, I buy it in bulk for my home kitchen, but keep a box in my camping box at all times. Even the most humble camping meal is made better with great finishing salt.
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Until next week,
Robin