BE Lean

I'm co-organizing the must-attend entrepreneurship event of the year in Silver Spring, and you're invited! As a leader of the Owners and Entrepreneurs Circle (OEC) within the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, I'm thrilled to announce our second annual event on Tuesday, September 10th, celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of our community. ?????????????????????????? ??????????????: ?? ??????????, ????????????????????????, ?????? ?????????????????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? will feature a networking reception and a panel discussion with local business owners who will share their honest experiences and life lessons. Last year, I was honored to be a panelist. It was the most authentic and real panel I’ve ever been a part of—no peacocking, no pretense, just raw, vulnerable stories of success and failure. That’s what the OEC is all about: getting real, sharing wins and challenges, and learning from each other's journeys as entrepreneurs. I’m excited to bring the spirit of our monthly peer-learning and support group to the main stage for the entire community to experience. Because it truly takes a village to grow a business. I hope you'll join me at this can't-miss event. And let me know, what groups or communities have supported you in growing your business? Register and learn more at https://lnkd.in/dFvdiRxD #Entrepreneurship #SilverSpring #SmallBusiness #Networking #BusinessGrowth

???????????????????? ??????'?? ?????? ????????. ?????????????????????????? ???? ?????? ????????. In 2008, some college friends and I started the first stationless bike sharing program in the North America, a decade before bikes and scooters appeared on the streets of every major city. And the first question everyone asked us was this... ??????'?? ???????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ??????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ????????? People assumed theft would be rampant, and they expected Fort Knox level security accordingly. But they weren't asking the right question. We didn't need Fort Knox level security to prevent 100% theft. ???? ???????? ???????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ???? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ????????????????????. I'll spare you the details, but rather than?over-engineering an expensive?bike lock, we?created a simple?solution that would prevent 95% of theft at a fraction of the cost. We launched?our first program on the campus of the University of Maryland in 2009. After two years, hundreds of riders and thousands of trips, only one bike disappeared. I don't know about you, but to me it seems like brand promises are becoming bigger and bigger these days. And there's this underlying assumption that companies need to deliver perfection. ?????? ???? ??????????'?? ???????? ???????????????????? ???? ?????????????? ???? ?? ?????????? ??????????????. And you don't have to take it from me... Bombas will offer a full refund with no questions asked if you don't like their socks. (And you get to keep the socks.) Nordstrom famously will accept any return, even without a receipt. And how many companies have you seen that confidently offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back? These businesses don't offer these kickbacks because they expect they'll nail it 100% of the time. They do so because they've gotten to a point where they nail it most of the time, and they've calculated that the cost to remedy the few remaining mistakes is less than the cost it would take to get to perfection. ???????? ?????????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????????????????? ????????????????. ?????? ???? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ????????????????, ?????? ???????????? ??????. Because perfection isn't the goal. Profitability is the goal. --- Are you putting more effort into preventing problems than it would cost to simply solve them? Are you investing too much to mitigate a risk that's unlikely to occur? How do you know when good enough is good enough? Let me know your thoughts below. ?? #profitability #perfection #scalability #operations

Do you know a business like this? The business has found some success, it's grown in size, and that addition of ???????????? and ???????????????????? starts straining the business. The infrastructure starts to break down. And in order to continue scaling, something has to change. What I'm describing is the inflection point that all growing businesses will face at some point on their growth path. As the business is transitioning from its roots into the business it wants to become. And it's that point in time where BE Lean comes in. When so much is working, and yet it feels like there's something still holding you back from reaching that next level that you just can't seem to crack. If that's you or someone you know, do me a favor and give me a holler. I can help. But I'd also like to know from you, have you even been at this inflection point before? How did it feel at the time and how did it feel when you finally broke through that barrier? Share what you've learned or seen! #scaling #growingpains #inflectionpoint #entrepreneurship

?????? ?? ?????????????? ?????????????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ??????????. This was overwhelmingly voted as the story you all wanted to read the most. And I'm a man of my word, so I've dropped a link to the article in the comments. But before you read it, you should know, ???????? ?????????????? ??????'?? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????? ???? ????. That became apparent to me reading the comment section of the poll last week. The perception by most was that the story is a lesson about??????? to sell. In other words, having an approach that's not too pushy or aggressive will lead to more sales. i.e. Don't be salesy. Build relationships. Add value.?You know the drill. And while it's a valid lesson, that story has been told before, and I'm not the right person to tell it. After all, I'm a operations guy, not a sales pro. No, the message of the story is actually quite different. It's about profit. More specifically, it's about how the way you market and sell affects your profit. And it comes from a time when the company I was with was literally losing money with each and every sale we made. And we had no idea. That's right, we had a stinker of a service line that was costing us more to market than the profit it actually generated. And we didn't know because our sales folks weren't talking to our operations team. And nobody was looking at the right numbers. I can't tell you how many times I've seen this in other businesses as well. It's very common as businesses grow for the gap between sales and operations to grow wider and wider. In some companies, Revenue Operations is an operating entity all on its own. But the more the sales arm of your business gets separated from the operations arm, the more likely you'll find yourself in the position I was in. So?I hope you'll take a moment to read the story and learn from my past mistakes. The link is in the comments ?? Then let me know - how do you ensure your sales team and operations teams are talking to each other? Do you know how much you can spend to acquire new clients and remain profitable? Let me know in the comments below. Happy reading! #sales #scalability #lessonslearned #profitability

?????????? ?????? ???????????? ??????????. This is my culture ethos. In business, stuff goes wrong. We all know this. And as a company scales, there's more stuff to go wrong. So it will. And when that inevitable something goes wrong, how do you respond? Blaming the system first means that instead of immediately placing blame on a person, always look to find blame in the system first. Was there a breakdown in our process? Our policies? Our tools? Our support structures? If there's a deficiency somewhere in our systems that can explain why things happened the way they did, let's fix them. And if we can't find fault in the system, only then can we place the blame and disciplinary action on an individual. ????????'?? ?????? ????????'?? ??????????????????. When people fear being blamed... ?? They do the minimum for fear of making a mistake. ?? They hide mistakes for fear of being caught. ?? They continue the cycle and look to blame others. But when you blame the system first... ?? They take smart risks and embrace creativity. ?? They don't hide mistake and become part of the solution. ?? They become more accountable. That's the power of systems and why I love them so much. Great systems are a cornerstone of great cultures. What about you? How do you respond when someone on your team makes a mistake? What are the cornerstones of your company culture? #scalability #systems #workplaceculture #accountability