Ten things I learned in ten years...

Today marks the ten year anniversary of me "setting out to do my own thing." While I planned on "setting out" to be a consultant (never intending to start a full fledged business - or businesses), I ended up owning an agency of sixty or so people that produced award winning work, having a stint being co-owner of a successful bar/restaurant, and pivoting to a SaaS platform CEO with technology that is changing the world! (Heard that before?! But really, we are...)

I want to first off thank everyone who had a part in these last ten years, including yourself. This is an email list that I closely curated and with the initial group led to the first round of clients which allowed us to have our spark in the beginning. I am truly grateful for all of your support throughout the years.  

For what it's worth and for whomever it might help, here is a quick list (ten for ten felt fitting, but I tried to keep the details short) of things that I have taken away from this past decade:

10. Listen to people more (really listen) and allow their idea's to influence your direction.

I am writing this list at the urging of my first ever hire, Troy Allen, who urged me to not write a generic email and to provide some value. Troy, who many of you know, was instrumental in building the agency (Conversation) and we serendipitously started working together again this week on this decade later anniversary of our first go 'round. Whether from Troy or conversations I had with others that were "within our four walls", in pitches, or in general day-to-day discussions I have learned that listening has taught me more and led to more positive outcomes then just speaking or responding. Here's to ten more years of trying to perfect that skill because god knows I haven't yet!

9. Proof read and check specs constantly. Then proofread and check them again.

This one speaks for itself and actually comes from my Deutsch/Mr. Youth (MRY) days (shoutout Deutsch'ers and Youth'ers!) There will always be things that can be perfected and other situations where you need to allow room for error but if you proofread as if it was the first time and check the specs 15x over you can just chalk it up to "bugs by nature." Do your best, "perfect is the enemy of good", but for gods sake proofread and double check the specs!

8. An appearance on a TV show can be a good thing, or a bad thing, or a good thing and a bad thing. Just be ready for your "character destiny" to be left in an editor's hands.

Anyone seen The Pitch?! As I have said time and again since our episode aired in 2013 when we won a project with popchips: "if you have seen our episode, we have a LOT to talk about!" Let me just reiterate that being on the show was a rewarding experience, and I'll leave it at that as I usually do. Although we did get a pretty good testimonial we've ever gotten from the CEO of popchips after our win! 

7. Shared office space is the WAY to go in 2018.

WeWork didn't exist when Frank O'Brien "the consultant" --> Conversation, LLC --> Five Tier, Inc. opened it's doors in 2008 and if it had I probably would have made the mistake of taking out an office lease instead of a shared space early on anyway. It's a pride thing when you're first starting out I suppose, and we threw some GREAT parties during that period. In the end though, letting a company like WeWork focus on office maintenance and upkeep allows you to spend more time focused on growing your business vs worrying about lightbulbs and music volume (sorry guys!)

6. Don't make the same mistake twice.

We almost found ourselves back in a full floor office this year and making the decision not to make that move has made us even more focused (see number 7.) I also realized the parties were something that connected people and did more for business than most other marketing channels. Stopping those parties turned out to be a mistake. Parties will continue, full floor offices might have to wait until after we're acquired and the decision isn't up to me!

5. Focus!

This one may sound odd coming from me since we still get the "Five Tier does so many different things" comment but in hindsight the line "do one thing and do it well" actually has something to it. Chalk it up to having grown up in a world where being "well rounded" was glorified, but the years where we were focused we did better than years where we were trying to figure out what our focus was. I'm happy to say today we're closer to finding that focus and at present are focused on solutions that help businesses to grow at a lower cost with a higher degree of effectiveness. That's where I'm at currently and as I write these final four I will try my best to leave that as the most pitch-y thing you'll read in this email!

4. Be genuine and don't be afraid to ask for forgiveness.

Another great party we threw was for the premiere of the movie "The Social Network." In promotions for that movie the line "you don't get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies" is used and - in the spirit of being genuine - it resonates with me! As many of you have known me throughout my career you may have known one version of Frank vs another - not all of which you may have liked. Life is a marathon not a sprint, and in these last ten years having also run four marathons I know what it's like to have a cramp or two at different points in the race. For those of you that I was "crampy" with, please accept my apologies. I'd love to reconnect and I will do my best over these next ten years to... cramp less? ;0)

3. Have an exit strategy.

This should probably be #3, #2, and #1 (and etched in stone by Sonny P Fontaine then hung on the wall next to a bunch of televisions - some of you should get my joke.) When I started on my one day gig in consulting I didn't know the first thing about EBITDA or multipliers. While I do have a business degree and have taken all of the coursework that is required, no class can teach you what it's like to be in the trenches or how to respond when someone comes to you and asks questions about multipliers or EBITDA when they're talking about buying your business.  

For all of you business owners or entrepreneurs out there today - if you don't have a long term plan or exit strategy - my best practical piece of advice can be "stop what you're doing, and figure that out." It's the only way that one day you will be able to take a step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Otherwise, as I've also been asked, "what are you in business for, performance art?" Seriously though - after your vision, passion, and drive to do great things (and gumption to keep getting back up after getting knocked down): have focus and a plan. This is probably the single most important practical piece of advice that's applicable to everybody that I can give on this list.

2. Look to provide solutions to people outside of your industry.

In 2017 we stumbled on the out of home industry. Now, we're one of the leading innovators in the space. The relationships (and friendships!) we have made over the course of the last year have been nothing short of amazing, eye opening, and are some of the most rewarding. Our business has grown by helping others grow their business with solutions neither of us would have thought of had we not opened up a dialogue. Which leads me to...

1. Have a Conversation...

Only fitting to leave on this one, as it was the name of the agency that started ten years ago today and the bedrock of what has led to me being able to be in a position to write this email ten years later. Referencing some of the above: whether it's speaking to your clients in a genuine way, opening up a dialogue with a new industry, making that call to discuss a difficult topic, or just sparking up a chat with the person next to you to learn more about what makes them tick - interaction is a vital component of growth.

Thank you for your time and ongoing support.