Over and over again early business starters approach Corbett for advice and he notices them focusing on the wrong stuff, wasting time on unimportant things, things that have absolutely no effect on whether or not their business will be a success.
We can get so worked up about the trees that we miss out on the forest. What we need is clarity and direction and a higher vantage point on whether or not our business idea can be successful, and how to get it there.
There are hundreds of business questions you could worry about. Which are actually important and which will waste your time? That’s what we explore in this conversation.
Get your notepad out and look for Corbett’s “4 Parts of a Business” list. As you’ll find out, this’ll help you evaluate struggles and bottlenecks in your business and make some changes.
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““…most of the time, start-ups fail for the same reasons restaurants do: their food is bad.” ~ Paul Graham”
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Show Notes
Be Good by Paul Graham — “About a month after we started Y Combinator we came up with the phrase that became our motto: Make something people want. We’ve learned a lot since then, but if I were choosing now that’s still the one I’d pick.”
Paul Graham on Building Companies for Fast Growth | Inc.com — “…most of the time, start-ups fail for the same reasons restaurants do: Their food is bad.”
Nolan Bushnell on the Critical Ingredient — “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”
Twitter / hotdogsladies: Joining a Facebook group about … — “Joining a Facebook group about creative productivity is like buying a chair about jogging.”
What I Wish I’d Known Before Starting My Business (FS016)
Steve Jobs on the Secret — “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.”
How To Stay Motivated (FS010) — This is the Stephen Pressfield in his underwear episode.
Ira Glass on Storytelling on Vimeo
Brad Feld on the Most Challenging Thing — “It’s relatively easy to focus on the short-term cycle, such as the 90 days of an accelerator program; it’s a lot harder to think about the next decade and how what you are doing today impacts where you want to be ten years from now.”
Paleo Plan | Making the Paleo Diet Easier — this is the example we talk about in the episode. There’s an excellent founder’s story with the founder of Paleo Plan, Jason Glaspey in Fizzle.
John Galt – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It’s Not That I Don’t Suffer – Feld Thoughts — “Failure (and suffering) is part of the experience, but it shouldn’t be part of your soul or a permanent scar across your view of existence.”
The Struggle // ben’s blog — “The Struggle is when you go on vacation to feel better and you feel worse… The Struggle is when you are surrounded by people and you are all alone…”
Learn how to set goals that actually stick!
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
Along the same lines as your podcast today. After the Pirates game last night Clint Hurdle (manager) said about the awesome performance of the pitcher Jeff Locke:
“He had Intent, Conviction, and Execution.”
Intent is easy. Conviction and execution are much harder for me.
This isn’t a game, Donnie. And i’m not a pirate.
But I like your point.
Gentlemen…. I am new to your site, but eating up everything you serve on a plate. Thank you for paving the way for this struggling, brand-spankin’ new blogger. I WILL be one of you someday, following this passion of mine all “full-timey like”.
We WILL be careful what we put on the plate, Brian… I don’t want you to get sick.
Dig deep, care hard.
I always have trouble with focusing on the unimportant and I always feel like I have business ADHD, lol. It’s definitely something I work on everyday to improve. Gotta stay focused. Gotta focus on the important.
“It’s like a finger pointing to the moon. If you focus on the finger, you’ll miss all the heavenly glory” – Bruce Lee :)
Bruce Lee quotes always win…
Interesting fact: this is the first time we’ve recorded with each of us on skype. Typically Corbett and I are in the same room, which makes for a lively and intimate show. This, i think, comes off a little more thoughtful.
Again, Awesome work. Starting to love the fizzle show. Also, can you recommend recorder for skype on windows. I know a tool for mac but none for windows .
I imagined this scene while listening to the discussion on Action on Fizzle 019:
Drunken Inigo Montoya (The Entrepreneur): “I am waiting for Vizzini.”
Corbett as Fezzik: “Vizzini is dead. Do the work.”
Chase as Miracle Max: “Have fun stormin’ the castle!”
Which makes Caleb the Man in Black: “My brains, your strength, his steel.”
How i feel about this comment.
I was saying to myself “Yep, yep, yep” when you guys were talking about these 4 steps.
I feel that it’s also very very important to figure out from the get-go how to enjoy what you’re doing.
The internet has opened up a world of possibilities and ways to be successful. You can do a 10 minute podcast or a 10 hour one. You can do a 10,000 word blog post or a 10 word one.
So, while you’re figuring out those 4 important things, also figure out how to do them in a way that makes you feel good about doing it over and over again.
Holy moly.
Corbett, Chase and Caleb, this is definitely my most favourite episode of the podcast so far. I downloaded the show right before hopping on an hour-long commute from school to home, and it was the best use of my time. Spent entire trip rewinding the show over and over again, jotting down notes and quotes.
This episode really hit me, as I’m exactly in the position of planning waaaaaay too much, and not doing enough action.
You also brought up a really good point about everyone doing what everyone is doing. As mentioned, everyone is doing a marketing blog. Everyone is telling tales of their location independent lifestyle. Admittedly, these are areas I’ve been considering writing about. Perhaps it’s time to reconsider what exactly I’m doing..
Thanks again for this awesome episode.
Urgency. That is important in business. You have to spend a quality time at work. I mean, it take ages to decide, to get the job done.
That is why I agree with…
Nolan Bushnell on the Critical Ingredient — “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.”
Metz– kingged.com contributor
http://www.kingged.com/whats-actually-important-to-think-about-in-your-business-fs019/#comment-23165
Hey guys – I’m listening from New Zealand and I’m a huge fan! Really got that I need to niche down more – I’m still a noob so can do that pretty easily – now I help entrepreneurs deconstruct skills they want to learn, and then learn them quickly, so they can save time and money. (Not just “I help people learn stuff.”)
Awesome podcast looking forward to more :)
Hey Guys!
This has been by far my favorite episode and extremely helpful. Like another listener above I too have ADD or ADHD or both in regards to creativity. I get so many ideas that I want to implement that my energy and focus gets scattered all over the place (I suppose my coffee addiction does not help the matter :) and I land up not being effective in one area. Also, like mentioned in the episode I have gotten all caught up in blog/website design now for months due to lack of tech knowledge it has only led to frustration and discouragement. Now it’s up half way up and sort of decent but not up to my standards but I do see how much time I have wasted instead of producing content. I also love the part that we have to be willing to suck in the beginning and be able to preserver during that not so great period.
These pod casts have really been helpful to me and I look forward to each episode.
Keep up the good work guys!
Awesome Sarvasmarana! Pumped to hear it.
Very nice post, this is really important in business!
Yay, loved this episode! The latest episodes where a lot of funny chatting, but this episode was full of good info, like the earlier episodes. Keep up the good work guys!
Stopped in the middle of this and cranked out a post I could truly be proud of. I realized that I’ve been doing too much gaming and some real honesty and personality will help my brand grow. Thanks for the indirecy kick in the pants, guys.
-Kelby
Really super podcast! Quite enjoyed the inspirational readings from Chase. I especially appreciate the realistic, yet compassionate approach to your work. Your examples are always helpful and insightful. To hear your perspective on expectations, staying grounded and keeping the ball rolling is actually very supportive and assuring. I know you’re not bringing hype, I trust and value your authenticity, and genuine care for your people.
Thanks Fellas! Keep the podcasts coming. :)
Hello Chase,
when I heard that you referred to Atlas Shrugged and probably in another episode to Alan Watts, you had sold me, althoug I already bought Fizzle ;-). There are only a view people I know (my best friend included), who know something about Alan Watts and John Galt. This combination is not very common ;-)
Keep up with the good work :-)
Cheers
Gotta hold em both loosely :)
Somewhere between ‘mm’ and ‘that’s amazing’ hah but more towards the amazing. It was the first time I listened to you and I found it useful so I will most probably check your other podcasts and will definitely share this with some friends :)
“That’s why mulling over design/platform, or reading about it excessively etc happens, because it might feel like a stand-in for action.” I totally agree with you here, Sarah.
Really great question, Sarah. “you have to run to become a runner, you have to xyz to become an online entrepreneur.” It’s true, you do have to XYZ… and what the CORE of that is differs for every business.
Jacket makers have to make jackets.
If they’re JUST jackets, it’ll be hard to stand out and get found and chosen over other jacket makers. So maybe a jacket maker has to have style and trend awareness as well as the skills to make the jacket.
But then there’s getting more people to know about your jackets… That’s an other set of skills and tools. That’s part of the “xyz” that all of us entrepreneurs have to navigate.
So maybe the better question is: what is the “xyz” you should focus on FIRST. No sense in getting a lot of people to a jacket that doesn’t exist. Also no sense in making 10,000 jackets without knowing if anyone will want some.
So you make one jacket. See if you can sell it. See if you can get some feedback. OR you start growing an audience of people who care about jackets by reviewing jackets on a youtube channel or blog. OR you come up with another, much better idea that I can’t think of right now.
The XYZ’s aren’t eternal. They aren’t scientific. They aren’t formulaic (though there are some formulaic bits to learn from, this is some of the stuff we teach in Fizzle and on the podcast+blog). But — and this is the part I love most — this is where the art comes in. This is where your creativity gets to be used. Defining the XYZ is my favorite part :)
Break a leg, Sarah!