RJG | Capital & Sales / Sales Management Consulting for Service Businesses

This video is getting 12x the views we typically see on the Tube. So, guess we ought to share it here, too. Hope it helps you get more ROI from your time on the platform. 🏝

I thought moving my family to Cabo and starting my own business would change everything. → Burnout → Exhaustion → Lack of fulfillment But in many ways, it made things worse. Because the behaviors and thought patterns that led to those feelings were still there. I was still: → Working long hours → Chained to my desk → Struggling to relax It wasn't until I realized that the problem was internal, not external, that I started seeing real progress. Because despite what the gurus tell you. Entrepreneurship is not the answer to problems that are created from within. You can change everything in your life. → Your geography → Your career  → Your boss But you’re still there. This was a lesson I had to learn from experience. And still re-learn from time to time. That’s why I implore clients and members of my community to start building a business with YOU in mind first. Then ruthlessly create and protect those boundaries. Because entrepreneurship does not automatically equal freedom. And it’s too damn easy to build a prison for yourself. 🏝 P.S. - I got as real as I think I ever have on Tim Perreira's podcast recently. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eD4UacQ2

I rented a co-working office awhile back. And it could've been worse, but: → No windows. → No enclosed walls. → Sitting next to the front door. → And sharing a wall w/a coffee shop. Was less than ideal. When I got back into my home office, I was: → More focused. → More creative. → More productive. For me, that translates to better work. And better work translates to more revenue. For me and my clients. So I'll chalk this up to a big lesson learned: A great workspace helps create great headspace. And great headspace is necessary to do great work. I’ll take my view now over the shared wall with a coffee shop. What's your ideal office environment? 🏝

There’s a secret ‘source’ of value you’re providing. But hardly any entrepreneurs recognize it. Generally, pricing services comes down to 2 things: 1. Economic value created. Are you: → Growing sales? → Generating leads? → Saving them money? → Saving them (or their team) time? 2. But then there’s the EMOTIONAL value created. Are you: → Boosting their confidence? → Improving their mindset? → Helping them with a lifelong relationship? → Giving them peace of mind? Ultimately, pricing is just about how big of a transformation you create. And recognizing the full impact of that transformation. Helps you price your services accordingly. 🏝 Join my email list for weekly tips where I drop weekly strategies and insider information to productize, market, and sell your expertise here: https://lnkd.in/etEy3ggY

Uber didn't start by launching a ride-hailing service for everyone. They started with black car service in major markets. And dominated it before tackling anything else. Same with Amazon and books. Facebook and college students. Tesla and high end, expensive cars. The list goes on and on. The lesson for entrepreneurs? Yes, even solo-founders and consultants. Or general service providers like IT companies. Niche down to scale up. Focus on perfecting a good offer to a specific market. Then leverage that success to expand. You don't need to be everything to everyone. Start with one thing. Do it better than anyone. Then, when you're ready, take on the world. 🏝

Cash is oxygen. And without it, your business dies. That leads a ton of entrepreneurs to think they need a salesperson. But if you’re not generating any interest in your stuff, ‘hiring a salesperson’ isn’t the answer. Instead, you probably need: - A better offer - Better marketing - Stronger positioning - A more effective strategy Or some combination of the above. Those are business problems to solve. Problems that aren’t going to be solved by hiring a salesperson. Hiring prematurely for sales is a common mistake. That ends up wasting a lot of time, energy, and money. You’ve got to get to the root of the problem if you want to grow and scale. 🏝

A lot of people ask me if my MBA was worth it. Generally, I look at it like this: An MBA is great for learning how to run a business. And it helped me get my first CEO role. But it didn't prepare me for starting one from scratch. And that's been another MBA in and of itself. Building a business from the ground up isn't something you can learn in a classroom. It's a process of trial and error, experimentation, and adaptation. And it's one of the most challenging but rewarding things I've ever done. So, would I do it again? Absolutely. I wouldn’t be where I am without the opportunities it helped create. But I'd also be ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work when I set out on my own. 🏝 P.S. - shout out to Tim Perreira for having me on his show while I was in Austin!

Do you want to be rich or famous? Despite what the gurus tell you: A big audience doesn’t make you big money. And a big audiences doesn’t necessary lead to making big money later on, either. Many of my best clients have had audiences far larger than mine. And these were smart people. But couldn’t monetize it beyond what they could make getting a 9-5. And they were stuck hammering away on social media all day to do just that. And trying to juggle that with actually doing the stuff they were selling. Because they didn’t have: → A clear solution for a clear market → A market that actually wanted that solution → A way of advertising that solution to that market They assumed popularity = profitability. For a select few, it may. (Kardashians anyone?) But most of the time it doesn’t. Because the fundamentals aren’t there. And they end up in a popularity contest.  Which might pay you as well as the ones you had in high school. Food for thought. 🏝️

Everyone’s heard of the first famous marshmallow test. But almost nobody’s heard of the second. It goes like this: Different groups of people were asked to build a structure using: → 20 raw spaghetti noodles. → 1 piece of string. → 1 meter of masking tape. And then balance a marshmallow on top. The test was given to: → Recent business-school graduates. → CEOs. → Kindergartners. The results? The kindergartners outperformed the CEOs and business school graduates. Surprising? For sure. But the reasoning makes complete sense. The kindergartners 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥. The started experimenting, iterated quickly, and figured things out. The CEOs and b-school grads? They spoke about it, planned it out, and tried to find the ‘best’ way. And turns out? It was less effective. The lesson? When it comes to solving challenges, Nike (and kindergartners) get it right. You really do have to ‘Just Do It’. 🏝