A pile of stuff I have learned from being in business for 14 years.

Today is the 14th anniversary of the day I incorporated The Idea Integration Co. When I started, I didn’t know half the things I know now, and not sure I ever thought we would hit this milestone. Starting a business is easy, but sustaining one isn't. Something like 96% of small businesses fail within the first ten years. In our 14 years, we have completed projects in 6 different countries; our work has been featured in 5 best-selling NYT business books and countess podcasts, media mentions, and even a handful of cease and desist letters. Grew the business from zero staff to 29, including many alumni from Mad Magazine and The Simpsons. All this sounds impressive, and it is, but we also made many mistakes along the way. Here are some of the (sometimes expensive) lessons we learned along the way, so you don’t have to find out them on your own.?

Set really simple goals

I am not a planner. I have learned to be over time but my original goal after starting my business was to find three clients and not lose them. It is easy to believe your own mission statements, "set out to be a disruptive force,” and use words like paradigm and synergies, but really small goals do not make them the easiest.?

Year one - find and keep three clients.?

Year two - manage four clients and make sure 2 of them are from the year one original client list

Year Three - make this a real business, whatever that means.?

Luck is Bullshit; Just Do The Work

This should probably be #1 on the list, but I can’t stress this enough. Luck is just probability made personal. All good things come from just doing the work. Have no clients? Send out more pitches. Ideas not coming easy? Do more research. Every time (and this is all the time) I put in work, I get a proportional amount of results and successes from that work. The more events I attend and the more people I talk to, the more “luck” happens.

Follow-Up Is More Important Than The First Impression

When I started, I struggled with executive function. It has taken me years to learn to be organized and on top of things, and still fall down sometimes. In my first year, I would attend every event I could and meet people who had real opportunities that we could work together on, but I would lose the card or take two weeks to follow up. No Followup or late follow-ups are bad form and set an expectation. I do all my follow-ups in bed the night of the meet while everything is fresh in my mind, and make sure I put follow-ups in my calendar. When I started to schedule my follow-up, it helped me close deals and develop a better relationship with my clients.

Learn To Sell And Ask For What You Want.?

I still don’t like selling; I wish I could work on cool projects for free and not have budgets get in the way of a close, but my team and I need to eat and pay bills, so I had to learn to sell. Sales are the lifeblood of any organization. Learn your offering, what makes you unique, why people should work with you and no one else, and most importantly…don't be shy; ask for the close.?

“Are we going to do this?”

We Are All Going To Die

Seriously, we are, so you might as well take some risks. I already mentioned the failure rate of small businesses, so if you are going to jump into this, you can’t play it too safe. Dumb risks like getting a huge office thinking you will grow into it or hiring the wrong person to be your first c-level person (like I did) are bad, but taking calculated risks like hosting VIP-style dinners with decision-makers instead of a paid campaign might just be your path to success.

Be The Best In The World At A Small Thing

Early in my career, I decided I never wanted to be a generalist and instead wanted to be the best in the world at a small skill set. For me, it was word of mouth and creative marketing. Going deep instead of wide means I would be the first and hopefully only person you think of when you need what I am offering. By adopting this approach, I established myself as a leader in this space and was regularly called for media quotes and appearances on my topics. The more exposure I got personally helped the company, and when you add the fact that when I had media attention, I usually gave memorable and sometimes inappropriate responses, it just grew the myth about working with me. I live my brand, which has been one reason I have been able to stay somewhat relevant. Staying relevant is as hard as keeping a business going.

Success Is Imaginary

Remember, at the beginning of this, I listed all those company milestones but guess what? While they are all cool, I have never felt like we are successful. This has nothing to do with wanting more, but rather anything we accomplished has been hard, and as a company, we celebrate projects but don’t really believe our own BS because we know it can all end anytime. That may sound dark, but one of our company values is to enjoy the moment and have fun but remember that we are all going to die. OK, that may not be the actual value but the spirit for sure.?

Manage Your Time

Days are long, weeks are short, and years are shorter. The best thing I ever did for my business was live by my calendar. I work from Sunday to Thursday on client work or whatever needs to be done. I keep open for cold or warm pitching on Fridays, and on Saturdays, I watch movies and sleep. May not sound very sexy but that is kinda what running your own business looks like. Your time is important and developing a schedule is key to not burning out.?

A few really good relationships can go a long way.

Be really good to people, even when it doesn't directly result in business. One of the things I am most proud of is that there are six clients (and now friends) whom we have worked with in 3 different companies along their career journey. As they move to new opportunities, they bring us with them as their “secret weapon.” We cherish these (and all our) relationships because referrals are easier than closing new businesses.?

Growth Hacking Is Bullshit

Put your flaming pitchforks away; you can disagree with me but hear me out. Everyone wants to grow their company, be a bigshot and make a lot of money. I get it, I want that too, but one thing that kills many companies is trying to grow too fast. We are a 29-person company that was a zero-person company for years. Our first jump was zero to four, four to ten, and ten to twenty-nine. I don’t pretend to know everything, but I do know that if we grew any faster, we wouldn’t be here today. Our company has never been stable. We have huge highs and lows. Luckily there are always more highs than lows but while rapid growth sounds validating, from having lived it through consulting with clients, slow and steady is much more sustainable.

We Are All Going To Die (Part Two)?

I once told a client who was nervous about a stunt we were executing for them that my main job is to worry. I worry about everything, and so should you. I am a pragmatist and look at every situation as “what is the worst thing that could happen” and try to think of fixes for them before they do. It is the same with your business. Worrying is healthy because you are doing it to ensure the longevity of your company.?

9-5 is Bullshit And Limiting To A Creative Business.

I find I am most creative either in my bathtub or from 8 pm to 1 am. That's when I prefer to do my creative work. I do it all day long and whenever I indeed do, but those are my preferred places and times. If you run a creative business or any business, you really need to let the 9-5 mentality go and allow yourself to work when you feel most inspired. This doesn't mean you need to work 24 hours a day and ignore your health; that's stupid but finding out how you like to work leads to better, less “forced” work.?

My day starts at 8 am when I go through my calendar and “to-do” list and plan my day. My 9-5 is usually filled up with client meetings and working with the team. I do creative work all day long, but I also schedule two daily breaks. I take a 45-minute nap at 5 pm take an hour to watch some youtube or read a book, and two times a week, I work out in the middle of the day to clear my head. Inspiration breaks are valuable and make you more productive.?

You need to celebrate your successes.

I made a rule a long time ago that I would buy a pair of sneakers at the successful completion of every project to commemorate it. I stopped once I got to 200 pairs and now celebrate in several ways, but the spirit is the same. When you don’t celebrate your successes, they tend to pass you by and aren’t special. Early in my career, I worked at a place that rang a bell every time they closed a sale. It was annoying and silly but also motivating and made you feel good when you heard it 28 times a day. Stop and appreciate everything. It's worth it and reminds you why you started this in the first place.?

Things can get lonely.

This isn’t something I predicted, but running a business is mostly a solo activity. I am lucky to have wonderful friends; some are business owners but have still found it hard to find people who are in the same place as I am or understand the unique issues I am dealing with, and I am for them. To combat this, I try to have as many conversations as I can. Not looking for help, but it is just good to chat with people to offer and receive support. Makes a difference.?

The Customer Is Not Always Right

I am sure you have heard the saying, “the customer is always right.” While this may not necessarily be true, it is true that each person is deserving of your respect and professionalism.

I’ve worked with almost 350 clients. Most of them were wonderful relationships, some of which even turned into friendships. But of course, some clients were less-than-kind or disrespectful to my team or me. When a client (or anyone, ever) is rude or unkind, I am always human and treat them with respect and professionalism, but I always stand up for my team. Nothing good comes from always trying to “prove that you’re right,” so this is one of those times you need to take a path. Also, there is nothing wrong with firing a client; this is advice I wish I learned way earlier.?

Reading Isn’t Bullshit

I try to read or listen to as many as four audiobooks a month. I am always on the hunt for new ideas about running a business, sales, or the philosophy of people. I have an ego, a big one. But even with that, I know there is always more to learn, and I never let that notion go.?

Burned Bridges Stay With You For Life.

When I was younger, I was angrier and had no problem telling people they were wrong and sometimes stupid. As I have aged, I have grown perspective on a lot of things and put that anger away. I may think you are wrong, but I will keep it to myself, and so should you. Relationships are key, don’t burn them.

Everything Tends To Work Out.

At the beginning of the pandemic, my clients all shut down their marketing until they saw what was coming. We went seven months with no revenue, and it was incredibly difficult, but no one got to let go, and it forced us to look at the business and work on futureproofing it. From then on, we saw the opportunity to bring on the team from Mad Magazine and create new offerings outside our core. Tough times sometimes work out with new opportunities.?

Final quick hits!

Don’t take yourself too seriously - we are all going to die

Perfection is impossible; strive for 93%

Money is great - charge what you are worth

Trust yourself with blind faith

Make decisions and don’t second guess

Ignore your competition and focus on yourself

There isn’t a ‘right way’ - ignore best practices

Ask all the questions - don’t guess when you don’t have to

Good communication is essential