A Little Bit of Jazz and Disco: Key Lessons and Learnings From Year 1 of Running a Business

The old axiom says time files when you are having fun and this couldn’t be more accurate when leading a business. Ever since I burned the boats and decided to go on this adventure it has been a true nonstop growth journey. When people ask what the biggest takeaways and advice are you could give for those about to embark on a similar path, I say you got to understand entrepreneurship is a mixture of jazz and disco. You have to be flexible enough to dance and create your own rhythm but capable enough to have the stamina and energy to dance the night away.?

Below is a summary of the top lessons taken from some of the leading jazz and disco tunes that have proven prescient in the day-to-day grind.

Lessons from the Duke, Coltrane, and Miles:

1. It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing: Never go into an engagement without setting up the right guardrails, build a balanced and diverse team, know your client and set the expectations and keep the rhythm flowing. Remember in this venture you are the conductor and orchestra so that swing needs to be driven by a tremendous amount of internal motivation, if you wane that swing falls!
2. A Love Supreme: As a valued mentor once told me, in order for something to be a strength you have to both be better than most at it and you have to enjoy it. If you are not passionate about the work, the client and the transformation you are building don’t engage in the work. Life is much too short to follow someone else's vision. Ensure that you truly love the craft and the rest will follow.
3. Lonely Fire:? Entrepreneurship is one of the loneliest roads, regardless of partners you may have in the business, momentum and praise its often a tough slog where you can overthink, overanalyze and grow weary. The key is to keep that fire stoking and avoid falling into an echo chamber with your thoughts. In order to avoid the loneliness trap. I schedule a day a week where I force myself to re-connect with people in person and truly reflect on others' journeys and experiences so that the blinders don’t take over.

Disco Insights: Bee Gee’s, Earth Wind and Fire, ABBA

1. You Should Be Dancing: The pace and rhythm of the business is unpredictable if the music is on (clients with paid needs) you got to take advantage and dance. The unpredictability and uneven nature of when and where the dancing (business development) takes place means you have to be able to have your dancing shoes close by to take advantage.
2. ?After the Love Has Gone: One of the toughest things to do is to know when you should retire or break up with a client. Like everything else in life there will be natural times when you have built something great with a client and the sentimentality of that keeps you in an engagement past its expiry date. Those who master business growth and scale know when its time to tag the next dance partner
3. When All is Said and Done: Remember the legacy and business you want to build and keep aiming at that North Star. It is easy to get swept up in the noise and lose the beat of the music. When that happens you are not building your business but getting swept in the tide.
4. Islands in the Stream: At the end of the day whether you are sitting in Boston or Montana we are all part of the same business community. Partner lead growth and word of mouth is core to sustainable growth. No one wants to work with a jerk and collaborating on projects and clients opens up a world of jamming possibilities.

As year two kicks off I am looking forward to learning more lessons and learning from this great community. I am certain there will be highs and lows ahead but to paraphrase the great Dolly Parton I hope to be? “In the same boat with a lot of my friends. Waitin' for the day my? ship will come in.” In the interim I will keep tabs on the lessons and the milestones on the journey.