What motivates an entrepreneur is important. The journey is tough and full of emotional highs and lows, and it usually takes many years. The right motivations help you make it to the finish line. Yesterday I wrote about my why, which is one of my motivators as an entrepreneur.

I’ve noticed a few things about my motivations over the years. I can have more than one at a time. But one—my why—always dwarfs the others. It’s usually the only one that I have strong convictions about. Historically, I’ve been happier with decisions based on it. I call it my one-to-one rule, and it simplifies my decision-making and how I move forward. When I’ve made decisions to satisfy more than one motivation, it just hasn’t turned out as well.

My motivations change over time. I originally was passionate about helping automotive consumers because I was a car enthusiast (still am). Now, it’s helping entrepreneurs (small and medium-sized businesses). Why? Material things matter less as I mature. I still love cars, but not as much as I love people. These days, I’m motivated to help people I can relate to.

Motivations are important. They helped me stay the course during my entrepreneurial journey. Do you know what motivates you?

Last week I taught Intro to Entrepreneurship at Atlanta Tech Village’s Startup Summer School. My session touched on the need to know your why. Since then, I’ve been in touch with a few of the people who attended, helping however I can. This morning I received a Slack message from one of them. He asked a great question: “So what was your why with CCAW, and is it changing as you start your next chapter?”

This entrepreneur’s business is in its early stages but making great progress. He built a working MVP and then signed twenty or so paying customers within a few months of launching. All during a pandemic. He’s on to something, in my opinion.

When I started CCAW, I was a few years removed from being an undergrad. I had some corporate experience and no real responsibilities. A car enthusiast for years, I had automotive parts relationships. As a parts consumer, I knew how difficult acquiring the right part at a fair price could be. In high school and college, I had a company that developed and executed plans to customize customers’ vehicles (think Pimp My Ride). Having worked with parts manufacturers and distributors, I knew their struggles well. My why was simple: I wanted to help consumers easily connect with parts companies. This would help two groups I was familiar with. There was also a financial motivation, but it was secondary.

Now to part two of his question. What’s my why for my next chapter? I’ve thought a lot about this and it’s simple, too: I want to make life easier for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business. Especially those with big gaps in knowledge, relationships, or capital. (In other words, people like me in CCAW’s early years.) I know their struggles. I’m one of them, and I’m passionate about helping them. If I’m successful, I’ll accelerate their success. I’m hopeful they’ll give back to someone else when they’re able to.

My whys were born of my personal experiences. That makes me credible and able to relate well with the folks I seek to help. And it drives the passion behind my why.

What’s your why?

I recently had a conversation with an aspiring entrepreneur. She’s passionate about an idea and has the technical training to execute it. She asked my opinion on various things, which I happily gave. But she still wasn’t quite sure what to do next. I asked, “What’s the single most important thing you can do right now?” She named something. I suggested she start by taking action on that one thing.

As we talked, I thought about my journey as an entrepreneur. Early on, I was full of ideas and didn’t know where to start. When I was working with others, we could talk endlessly. Sometimes the sheer number of possibilities felt paralyzing. Indeed, sometimes I was paralyzed. Over time, I learned that one thing matters: action. It was action that would change a situation. It was action that would turn my vision into a reality. It was action that would separate us from others. At a certain point, I had to stop talking and start doing.

That lesson took me years to learn, but I’m glad I did. Taking action on something, even when the way forward isn’t 100% clear, has been my key to progress. It changed my life.

I’m encouraged by the positive conversations we’re having as a nation about race and police brutality. They’re overdue and they’re helping us gain the understanding of one another that we so badly need. As you have these conversations, consider asking yourself a simple question after each one: “What action am I going to take now?”

Today marks my ninetieth consecutive day of sharing my thoughts in posts. (I previously described how this started.) I recently spoke with a peer about my experience. He’s considering doing it too and wanted to ask me a few questions. By the time we finished chatting, I had had an epiphany: I understand things better when I share my thoughts widely.

I tend to think deeply about things. I try to understand by identifying connections that aren’t obvious. I used to ruminate and perhaps talk with one or two people very close to me. That approach was flawed. It didn’t help me achieve my ultimate goal: understanding.

It was a mistake to not share my thoughts or to do so only with a few like-minded people. I avoided opening up to others with different perspectives who would test my thinking or point out my blind spots (we all have them). I wasn’t really trying to understand, because I wasn’t talking to people who would be likelier to disagree with me. Naturally, I saw things only through the lens of my life experiences. My reality. I would come to understand an issue, or think I did, but since I looked at it only from my own narrow angle, I ended up missing things.

Sharing my thoughts broadly invites feedback. It sparks great conversations—opportunities for me to listen. I get glimpses of other people’s realities. I see things from their angle! I’ve learned that truly understanding something means getting as close as possible to a 360-degree view of it. The more people I talk to who are different from me, the closer I get to that goal.

Sharing my thoughts daily has illuminated all of this. Sometimes my initial thinking is wrong. (Whose isn’t?) When I share my thoughts with the world, I’m inviting others to help me acquire true understanding. Each person bridges a gap in that 360-degree circle.

I didn’t envision understanding things better as a benefit of sharing when I began posting every day, but it is, and I’m thankful for it.

I encourage everyone to share their thoughts more widely. It doesn’t have to be through writing; do it in a way that works for you. When you get feedback, listen. You’ll understand things much better.

This week, I shared some lessons I’ve learned with Startup Summer School attendees. One of the biggest was how important a cofounder is. I started CCAW as a solo founder. Even though it worked out—CCAW was a success—it was painful. Our progress was slower than it could have been and I was stretched super thin. I’ve thought more about why a cofounder is so beneficial. One word sums it up: accountability.

I often hear “not having to report to anyone” and “being my own boss” as top reasons for being an entrepreneur. But the most successful entrepreneurs are accountable to someone: a board of directors, cofounders, investors. Accountability leads to success. No accountability can prevent or slow your success. Why is that?

Accountability means that you’re expected to deliver on commitments by taking action. Others are relying on you. If you don’t deliver, there are clear repercussions for yourself and others. Translation: you can’t do whatever you want, whenever you want.

When you’re accountable to no one, you don’t have to commit. No commitment means no clear repercussions. Translation: you think you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Entrepreneurship is all about taking action to meet a goal. But when you’re not accountable to anyone, you tend to take action when you want to, not when you need to. Over time, no action or slow action hinders you. And you shortchange yourself and everyone who works for you but doesn’t have the power to hold you accountable.

If you’re starting a company, try not to go it alone. And whatever you’re doing, find a way to make yourself accountable to someone.

Today marked the end of my twelfth week of working exclusively from home. Here is my takeaway from week twelve:

• Focus – We’re experiencing troubling times as a nation. It took a big toll on me. I was distracted and struggled to focus. Talking through this with others helped a lot.  

Week twelve was a rough week. Ironically, it had nothing to do with working from home. My big takeaway: Understanding each other will lead us to appreciate each other.

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

In an earlier post, I shared my views on the power of listening to understand. I’ve continued to think about how we can help each other through this turmoil.

As CCAW grew, our team grew. I was no longer involved in every decision or even aware of every initiative. An empowered team making decisions without me was my goal. Inevitably, some decisions didn’t result in the desired outcome. Translation: things blew up sometimes.

No one is perfect, and my team members had good intentions. We were all in it together, working to build a great company. Naturally, we sometimes had different ideas about how to do it. Our different perspectives were valuable and often lead to amazing outcomes. But sometimes they caused us to miss the mark.

By the time something reached my desk, it usually meant a decision had worked out poorly. Instead of beating a dead horse, I learned to focus on the reasons for the decision. Why did you do it that way? Why was that the chosen path? What led up to you making that decision? Asking these questions was far more valuable than casting blame. I listened with the intent to understand, and ultimately, I did—I understood their why. Then I was able to work with them to develop solutions that supported their why.

Understanding why begets perspective. More importantly, it gives insight into the other person’s perspective. Understanding why someone makes the choices they do is a building block in (or even the foundation of) the positive working relationship required to achieve a common goal.

We’re all in this together, but that doesn’t mean we all see things the same way. Consider listening to understand why. When you do, you can begin to see things from a different perspective.

You might be interested in this short video about Colin Kaepernick's and Army veteran Nate Boyer’s desire to understand one another. It led Nate to “understand that we’re not that different, and we probably want the same things at the end of the day” and to a compromise that incorporated both perspectives.

Be part of the solution. Understand why.

Today I had the pleasure of teaching an Atlanta Tech Village (ATV) Startup Summer School course over Zoom. It was the first Intro to Entrepreneurship course. The turnout was great—kudos to the ATV staff for organizing everything.

I enjoyed the experience, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity. Here are some of my takeaways:

• Zoom – It felt weird not seeing the audience as I presented. I wasn’t able to gauge whether it was going well. Based on the questions at the end, I think it did, but I was flying blind before that.
• Gaps – Entrepreneurship is fraught with unknowns. Courses like this one can accelerate your trajectory by filling your knowledge and relational gaps.
• Flashbacks – I was in their shoes years ago, but I’d forgotten how helpful it is when fundamental questions are answered. It connect the dots. Sometimes the little things make a big difference.  I was reminded of my aha! moments as I learned from more experienced entrepreneurs.
• Focus – Preparing the material, I realized how much information is out there for new entrepreneurs. I tried to help them focus on the things that matter most at this early stage.  
• Interest – I was surprised by the number of attendees. Apparently, many people want to become entrepreneurs, which is great.
• Nervousness – I was nervous before I started talking, which felt odd. After a while I settled in and relaxed as I spoke from experience.
• Hindsight – The things I discussed seem simple, looking back, but to new entrepreneurs they feel hard if not impossible. The view is different from the top of the mountain—something to look forward to!

I was pleased with how the course turned out, and I hope the information was useful. Without others helping me early on, I would have failed. With that in mind, I want to continue helping rising entrepreneurs and giving back.  

Startup Summer School is a nine-week bootcamp with weekly courses taught by instructors who volunteer their time. Check out the ATV schedule and sign up if you’re interested.

I’ve been thinking deeply about what’s needed to see us through these troubling times. I shared some things I’ve learned in yesterday’s post. Today, as I sorted through my thoughts, I read a quote that resonated with me:

Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.

                                                                ~ John Steinbeck

The best way to understand someone is to listen to them—to not just hear their words, but to pay attention to what they believe and what they feel. When we understand each other, we can relate to each other. When we relate to each other, we can appreciate our differences and love each other. If we don’t listen, or we let their words flow by while we formulate our rebuttal, or we mindlessly dismiss them, we will not understand them (and we will give them no chance to understand us).

So where do we start? No one knows what the solution looks like. That makes it hard to know what to do. As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned the power of taking a step in the right direction even when the path is nearly invisible. Often, I had no idea what I was doing, but I sorted it out as I went along. Always, I kept my eye on the outcome I hoped for. I see our current state of affairs as no different.

If you want to take that first step, here’s my suggestion:

Reach out to someone with a background different than yours—someone with a perspective on life that you might not understand. Ask them if they’re OK and if they want to talk. If they say yes, just listen.

This act is simple but powerful. Anyone can do it. You might be interested in this short video about one person who did it and how it affected the person he struck up a conversation with. If many of us do it, we will open lines of communication that will lead to what we sorely need: an understanding of each other.

Be part of the solution.

As CCAW grew, I had to learn how to lead. It wasn’t always pretty. At times, I was very uncomfortable doing it. Leaders have to make tough decisions. Unpopular decisions. Sometimes you do your best, but you get it wrong anyway. Like all leaders, I experienced self-doubt. Eventually, though, I settled on a style that worked for me.

I’m not lively or outspoken, so being a boisterous leader was out. It just didn’t feel right. But that was OK. I chose to lead by example instead. It’s subtle but powerful, effective, and authentic. I communicated how I envisioned CCAW operating (fairly, respectfully, and ethically) and was deliberate in aligning my behavior with that vision. I tried to hold myself to the same standard that I held everyone else to. I wasn’t special or exempt. The team noticed and followed my lead. They treated everyone they interacted with as they would want to be treated and we became known as a well-run, upstanding organization.

No one is perfect and I’m sure I had my days, but I tried to always be deliberative. Of course, I did make bad decisions sometimes, and here are my takeaways from them:

• Owning it – Acknowledge your mistake quickly. I tried to reflect and share what I learned from a bad decision. I wanted my team to know that it’s OK when things don’t turn out as planned as long as we learn from the situation. They appreciated it.
• Doubling down – I lost my team’s respect when I refused to own a mistake and instead doubled down. Don’t throw good money after bad. Once respect is lost, it’s difficult to regain it. And it’s impossible to win the war if the troops stop following.
• Letting go – Leaders can’t make all the decisions. It’s impossible to know everything about a complex organization. I learned to acknowledge my gaps and defer to others who had more knowledge in specific areas. Empowering people motivates them.
• Listening – Sometimes people just want to be heard. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and their own perspective. It’s OK to disagree with someone, but it’s disrespectful to them when you refuse to listen. And sometimes you learn something by being open to what others have to say.

We can’t expect perfection from anyone. But leaders should hold themselves to a high standard—one that’s at least as high as the one to which they hold their team. If they don’t, their lack of integrity will erode trust and divide the team over time.

What have you learned from your mistakes as a leader?