20 lessons for business success
20 Jan 2021
I’ve been in business for more than 20 years now, and over that time I’ve learnt a lot of very valuable (and often difficult) lessons for business success. Here are 20 of them:
- Cashflow is everything
- Growing anything from zero to $10m is going to take at least a decade so make sure you do something that energises you
- The business model is more important than what you’re selling
- Everything is your fault
- Only compete where you have a good chance of being the best, and then do everything you can to be the best
- Marketing & sales can fix most business problems
- The service is NOT the business – just because you’re good at doing the work, doesn’t mean you’ll be good at doing the business
- You’re either growing or shrinking (and if you’re standing still, you’re shrinking)
- You can grow profitably if you focus on it
- It’s difficult to turn a business around, so try to make the best decisions you can every single day
- Speed and quality of execution is everything
- There are no rules – only laws
- Business growth is one of the most creative pursuits on the planet
- Set a standard that you take seriously, and don’t worry about all the small stuff
- You don’t need money to make money
- It’s all about the third lead / sale – one is luck, two could still be luck, three confirms the process works
- The best investment you can make is on education that solves your biggest challenge right now
- Only listen to people who have achieved what you want to achieve
- Your best people will always move on, so make sure to create an environment where there’s a steady stream of new talent joining the business
- It’s hard to make a profit, no matter how much revenue you make – so keep a tight reign on costs as it’s the only lever you have
I’m sure there are more but these were the first 20 that came to mind.
I co-founded Webprofits in 2006 with the belief that there's always a smarter and better way to do things. We're now a digital growth consultancy with offices in Australia, Singapore, and the United States. I'm passionate about personal and professional growth, and I like to surround myself with people who are as well. I have substantial private board experience, and have successfully launched an IPO.
I’m the co-founder of Webprofits, investor in a number of different companies, and have successfully launched an IPO. Get access to 95% of my best life hacks.