During yesterday’s Start It Up Georgia lesson lab, I shared tips that if implemented will increase an entrepreneur’s odds of success. Usually they’re learned by enduring painful mistakes. I hoped to help these aspiring entrepreneurs avoid some pain, save time, and succeed sooner. One of the tips was to focus. It seems simple and straightforward, but it’s very difficult to put into practice. Here’s what I shared:

• Squirrel syndrome – Entrepreneurs are optimistic people who see opportunity everywhere. This glass-half-full perspective is great, but it leads to short attention spans and being “all over the place.” Try to focus on one opportunity at a time. One problem at a time.
• Niche – Don’t boil the ocean. Solve a narrow problem first. When you nail that one, you can expand and solve related problems. If you try to do too many things at once, you’ll get nowhere.
• Target customer – Define and understand your target customer first. Identify the root of their problem and solve it. Once this customer is happy, you can expand to others.
• Metric – Measuring progress is important. Pick the one metric that matters most. Ideally it will be customer-related: number of new customers, revenue, new users, etc. Measure and focus on moving the needle on that metric.

When you start something new, you have limited time, energy, and resources. Efficiency is crucial to progress. Focusing on the things that matter most is a great way to maximize what you have. Yes, some balls will get dropped when you focus, but that’s OK. You can only do so much at once. Develop this habit and you’ll be on your way to success.

Take it from me—I learned the hard way!

Today I taught the inaugural lesson lab for Start It Up Georgia. This twelve-week virtual program introduces participants to all facets of starting a business, from testing an idea to forming a company to operating the business. Participants are matched with mentors who help them turn what they learn in each week’s lesson lab into actionable steps. The goal is to help aspiring entrepreneurs understand what it takes to be successful and educate them about the steps they should take to make entrepreneurship their reality.

When I was asked to teach the course, I wasn’t sure that I could make the time commitment. In the end I said yes, and I’m glad I did. My topic today was Entrepreneurship: Do You Have What It Takes? More than 340 people attended. I was shocked! I’ve never taught so many people. The team at Atlanta Teach Village did a great job making sure the event ran smoothly and successfully.

I appreciate being offered the opportunity to teach and hope I was able to inspire others to pursue entrepreneurship. It’s exciting to be part of something with so much potential and I’m looking forward to seeing what new companies come out of it!

Over the last few weeks I’ve been working on a project that’s important to me. I realized in its later stages that I don’t  have the skills required to complete certain tasks. I humbly reached out to others and asked for help.

Over the years I’ve had many opportunities. Most came through other people. Some of my luckiest opportunities weren’t the result of my hard work. I just knew the right person. I’ve always been mindful and appreciative of the help these people provided. They didn’t have to help me, but I’m grateful that they did. For this reason, I try my hardest to be there to support others in their time of need.

My requests for help this week were received openheartedly. My time frame was tight, and I made sure to communicate that (so people could opt out). Everyone said no problem; they’d be happy to help.

Healthy relationships truly are bidirectional. They require regular goodwill deposits by both parties. The responses I received to requests for help on short notice qualify, big-time!  Entrepreneurs (and everyone else, for that matter) should be mindful of this.

Doing things for others out of the goodness of your heart with no expectation of getting anything in return is one of the cornerstones of healthy relationships and communities. I think it’s also the foundation of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem. Your good deed today will inspire someone else’s good deed tomorrow. If everyone operates in this manner, the ecosystem will be strong and everyone can go farther, faster!

Today marked the end of my twenty-first week of working from home. Here are my takeaways from week twenty-one:

• Safe place – This week I tested working outside the house in a safe office space. I occasionally saw maybe two other people. I worked in a private office separated from others by glass, which was reassuring. I was able to relax and enjoy the different environment. My focus improved and I was more productive. I’m wondering if the future of work will include more private spaces and fewer communal ones.
• Deadline – This week I’ve been more focused because of a deadline. The change of scene helped me make substantial progress toward meeting it. Deadlines have a weird way of making people get down to business. Me included.
• Sharing – I shared my upcoming project with someone this week. It was one of those “What are you working on?” conversations. I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but he told me about some of his experiences with similar projects and gave me some great ideas for mine. I was glad I shared.

Week twenty-one was a pretty normal week. No major takeaways. I’m just glad I had a productive week.  

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed an increase in people considering becoming an entrepreneur. If you don’t have a relationship with a successful entrepreneur, it can be hard to know if it’s for you. You’re on the outside looking in, trying to understand what’s going on. Most people read books, listen to podcasts, and scour the internet as a substitute for personal connections. They’re trying to fill their knowledge gap so they can make a decision.

I was recently asked to create a framework that people can use to answer the question “Is entrepreneurship right for me?” It’s a tough task because that’s a multifaceted question. Every person’s circumstances are unique. The traits that make some entrepreneurs successful cause others to fail. It’s situational and challenging. I’ve thought about this before, but not deeply enough to develop a framework. I admit it—I’m struggling.

I have had one insight that I think can be consistently applied to anyone considering entrepreneurship. Ask yourself this question: “Will I enrich lives as an entrepreneur?” Here are my thoughts:

• Customers – The goal of any entrepreneur is to identify a problem, create a solution, and sell that solution to customers. You should enrich your customers’ lives with your product or service. Your entrepreneurial career will be short-lived if your customers aren’t happy. If the solution you envision won’t add value to your customers’ lives, entrepreneurship—at least with that idea—isn’t for you.
• Loved ones – The entrepreneurial journey is full of twists and turns. And you don’t travel it alone. Will entrepreneurship enrich the lives of people you care about? Will they learn from your experience; will they build relationships they otherwise wouldn’t have; will they be afforded opportunities and positive experiences? The answers should be yes. And in my opinion, enriching the lives of loved ones through entrepreneurship includes establishing a downside floor. Otherwise, you could permanently damage their lives. If your entrepreneurial journey will expose people close to you to unacceptable levels of discomfort, entrepreneurship isn’t for you—even if the upside is unlimited.
• You – Entrepreneurship is an iterative process. You constantly experiment. Some things succeed, but many fail. Entrepreneurs need lots of curiosity and a high tolerance for failure. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, you must be honest with yourself about how failure will affect you. Will it enrich your life by feeding your curiosity and helping you make a better decision next time? If the answer is no, entrepreneurship may not be for you.  

Because every person and every person’s situation is unique, there is no cookie cutter approach to deciding whether to pursue entrepreneurship. In my opinion, entrepreneurs exist to serve others. If enriching the lives of customers and loved ones rings the bell for you . . . you just might be an entrepreneur!

A thing I’ve noticed about entrepreneurs is how busy most of them are. They usually have a ton of things in their head. New ideas, current projects, you name it. I’ve been asked a few times how I manage lots of moving pieces. I’m human like everyone else and admittedly struggle with this sometimes, but here are a few things that work for me:

• Park it – I put my ideas somewhere in writing—often, in the iPhone notes feature. Parking lots let me catch and release. They get things out of my head and I don’t have to fear forgetting them. This frees up mental bandwidth and reduces stress.
• Visualize – When I get really busy or take on projects that involve lots of tasks and connected pieces, it helps me to visualize everything. Tools like Airtable are great for tracking and visualizing things in a variety of ways. Looking at something organized in a certain way makes it seem more manageable.  
• Prioritize – I have only a finite amount of time and energy. I can’t accomplish an infinite number of things. I prioritize and try to work on the highest-priority tasks first.
• Slippage – Things will occasionally fall through the cracks and that’s OK. Everyone is human. The trick is to make sure the things that slip aren’t mission critical. I try to identify things that can and can’t slip.
• Think about it – I’ve been guilty of saying yes too often. Over time I would end up taking on way more than I could do. I now avoid giving an on-the-spot answer to big requests. I ask for time to think about it and then I figure out if it works with everything else on my plate. If it doesn’t, I politely decline.
• Strengths – When I have a task in an area where I’m weak, I try to find a specialist and ask them for help. Sometimes they’re paid. I’ve learned that completing something I’m weak at takes me five or ten times as long as it does a specialist. And the end result is only half as good most times. It’s efficient to leverage the strengths of others.

What are your tricks for managing lots of moving pieces?

Update emails are a great tool for founders. They’re just what the name suggests: emails that highlight important recent information about the company or founder. They’re an electronic way of answering the “What’s new?” question from investors and advisors. When I meet with founders, I usually request that they add me to their update email list.

Here are some ways update emails add value:

• Efficiency – One email communicates your updates to many people . You can’t beat that ROI. Imagine having to bring each person up to speed individually.
• The luck factor – Opportunities tend to be offered to people who are top-of-mind. Sending updates regularly puts you on people’s minds.
• Accountability – Nobody wants to disappoint people they hold in high regard. Knowing that you have to send an update will push you to complete things you’ve committed to in the last one.  
• Help – It’s hard for people to help if they don’t know what you need. Updates bring awareness of your needs to a broad audience. I’ve seen founders receive help from someone on their update email list who was the last person they anticipated would be helpful. You never know what or who someone knows.
• Reflection – Experiences—good or bad—are valuable, and reflecting on them will help you grow and gain wisdom. But it’s all too easy to succumb to the daily whirl and never stop moving long enough to think deeply. Writing an update email forces some degree of regular reflection.
• Team building – People like to know what’s going on outside their area of responsibility, and that can be difficult for founders to communicate. Especially while everyone works from home. And I’ve seen founders benefit from including their teams on their updates. Again, you never know what or who someone knows. Team members can be great resources.

So, what makes update emails successful? Here are a few of my thoughts:

• Consistent rhythm – Send them regularly to stay top of mind. Consistency also helps keep the length down. Cramming six months’ worth of updates into a single email will ensure that few people will read it.
• Consistent structure – Organize and format your update emails the same way every time. This will allow readers to quickly find the info that matters most to them. And they’ll be more likely to read them.  A progress report, future plans, and requests for help are good things to include.
• Conciseness – Get straight to the point. The more concise the update, the better. People will stop reading if you ramble.
• Transparency – Don’t sugarcoat bad news. Include the highs and the lows. Nobody expects perfection from founders. Revealing problems opens the door for others to share the wisdom they gained from similar experiences.

I love it when a good update email lands in my inbox. If you’re thinking about starting a company (or you’ve started one), sending regular update emails is a good practice.  

When I started CCAW, I told people I was an entrepreneur. I had quit my job and created a company that had customers, and I controlled my own destiny (kinda). One summer when I was in New York with friends I tagged along as one of them visited his uncle in Connecticut.

The uncle was entering the later years of a wildly lucrative career. He’d worked in corporate America and then started a successful company with his wife. That company changed the family’s life. When I said I was an entrepreneur, he became more interested in me. He asked lots of questions about my company. Then came the most important question of the conversation: “How many employees do you have?” I remember thinking, Why does that matter? Little did I know that the answer would tell him more about my company and my mindset than anything else we discussed.

At the time it was me and a part-time contractor or two (I was bootstrapping so funds were tight). I proudly told him about my contractors, and he replied, “OK. Keep going; you’re not quite there yet.” What does that mean? I wondered.

In hindsight, I think he was telling me (politely) that I wasn’t an entrepreneur yet. I was on my way, but I hadn’t arrived yet. I had succeeded in creating a job for myself, not a company. I was a solopreneur, not an entrepreneur. At the time I didn’t know there was such a thing as a solopreneur.

Solopreneurs are workers. They’re usually the one and only full-time employee. They handle all aspects of a business and execute most tasks. With no full-time team, everything falls on this one person. If the solopreneur doesn’t work, the work doesn’t get done. They are the business. This setup limits how big the company can get because there’s only so much one person can do. Freelancers of all kinds, barbers, and massage therapists, for example, are often solopreneurs.

Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are managers. A team conquers by dividing the work. The entrepreneur delegates so he can focus on growing the business. He usually has a larger vision for the company and realizes early he can’t do it all alone. The business has its own identity independent of the founder. If the entrepreneur doesn’t execute, the work still gets done. I like to think of an entrepreneur as the driver of a machine that does the work. Businesses from which you purchase a product or service without interacting with the owner are likely run or were started by entrepreneurs.

Over time I realized that I didn’t want to be a solopreneur because I wanted to grow. I had a bigger vision for CCAW. I eventually hired a great team and focused on building CCAW into a machine that didn’t need me. We went on to accomplish some great things. Looking back, there’s no way I could have done it alone. It was a team effort.

I’m thankful for the conversation I had with my friend’s uncle. Although we met only once, he left a lasting impression on me. His entrepreneurial wisdom was priceless.

If you’re thinking about starting a company (or you have one already), have you decided whether you intend to be a solopreneur or an entrepreneur?

When I meet with entrepreneurs, sometimes I’m asked for feedback on their pricing strategy. Pricing is always challenging, especially at the idea or MVP stage. I typically share the following considerations:

• What’s the problem? – Can you articulate it clearly?
• How painful is the problem? – How does the customer view this problem? Is it slightly annoying or immensely painful? The more painful the problem, the more valuable the solution.
• How effective is your solution? – Is it a nice to have but they can get by without it? Or is it a painkiller they can’t live without? The more pain relieved, the more valuable the solution.
• Is there competition? – Are there competitors? How does their solution rank against yours? How do they price their solution? Understanding the market and where you rank in it is important.
• What does the solution cost? – How much does it cost you to provide this solution? You can’t charge less than your costs.

Deciding how to price your solution isn’t as simple as picking a number. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. There are lots of variables to consider. The reality is that the pricing process is iterative. Perfecting pricing takes years for some companies.

In the end, the goal is to quantify how much value your solution is providing to customers and capture as much of that value as possible in your pricing.

In my opinion, starting with a deep understanding of your customer’s problem is key. You’ll be more likely to create a pain-killing solution that customers will eagerly pay a premium price for!

I really enjoy talking with early entrepreneurs. Their combination of energy and optimism is unique. And it’s educational for me— the problems they’re solving are often new to me. When I chat with someone starting a company, I look for the answer to an important question. One that matters a lot to their chances of success. Is anyone holding them accountable?

I thought about the early days of building CCAW and realized something interesting. My most productive periods were when I was accountable to someone. Now, I’m not saying that accountability was the only reason I made progress or achieved success, but I am saying that it was a big factor.

In my opinion, volunteering to be held accountable doesn’t come naturally to most people. It’s human nature to do what you want when you want. We lean toward doing things we enjoy or are comfortable with. But building a company requires execution in all areas. You have to do a lot of things you hate or at least are unfamiliar with. You can create a great service or product, but if you can’t sell it to anyone, you fail. This is where accountability helps so much. It motivates you to do things you struggle with. When you give people permission to ask you for updates, you’re more likely to make progress because you don’t want to let them down (and embarrass yourself).

Accountability can be formal or informal. Co-founders, peer groups, advisors, spouses, family, friends—anyone you don’t want to disappoint—can hold your feet to the fire. Whatever the details, you must commit to what you want to accomplish, give regular updates, and be truthful no matter what.

Peer groups held me accountable. Every month, we all answered the same questions: Since we last met, what have you accomplished? Give us the highlights—positive and negative—of what you’ve been doing. What do you plan to accomplish before our next meeting?

Want to accomplish something significant? Arrange your life so you’re accountable to someone. You’ll be more productive and more likely to succeed.