Operator lessons on leadership, capital discipline, and innovation — published regularly.
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about one of the most overlooked growth levers in leadership: learning to fire yourself. Most founders think scaling means adding. Adding more…
Howdy! In today’s newsletter, I want to talk about something that comes up a lot as your company grows: You can’t be involved in everything—and you shouldn’t try to be….
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something I’ve seen play out in every company I’ve built: Your team will mirror your leadership. That means your communication style….
Howdy! In today’s newsletter, I want to talk about something we all love to build, and almost always get wrong: forecasts. Revenue projections, growth models, burn-rate scenarios, you name it…we…
Howdy! In today’s newsletter, I want to talk about one of the biggest unlocks for growth that most founders overlook: You can’t scale yourself—but you can scale your mindset. One…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about one of the most overhyped ideas in entrepreneurship: That vision shows up like a lightning bolt. The myth goes like this:…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something that separates good leaders from great ones: how fast decisions turn into action. It’s not just about being decisive; it’s…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about one of the most important lines a founder needs to draw and protect. Your values should be fixed. Everything else is…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about one of the most important and also most overlooked decisions you’ll make as a founder: who you hire first. The first…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something almost every founder will encounter, but not enough of us have spoken about honestly: when to pivot and when to…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something that might not show up in your metrics, but it runs the whole machine: your company is your culture. Not…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something that doesn’t get enough credit in the world of startups: resilience. It’s nothing flashy, and it’s definitely not going to…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about something that can slow down your business even more than bad strategy, weak tools, or low revenue: indecision. I call it…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about a mindset shift that’s served me well for over two decades of building companies: Build it like you’re keeping it. Even…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about a trap I’ve seen far too many founders fall into—chasing vanity metrics. When the numbers look that good on paper, it’s…
Howdy! In today’s blog, I want to talk about a mistake that nearly every founder has made at some point — delegating far too soon without having any idea of…
Howdy! In today’s article, I would like to discuss something I believe destroys many bootstrapped businesses: unnecessary spending. When you’re bootstrapping, every dollar counts. Despite this,…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to discuss the power of rethinking and how challenging your own assumptions can fuel innovation. Something to know about me: I like things that unhinge…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I’ll explore why people feel the need to reinvent processes—and a simpler way to run your business. The reality is that you don’t have to reinvent…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to discuss why it’s important to stop lying to yourself about debt and steps for how to get out of the hole. Whether you…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to discuss the power of business disruption and the importance of paying attention to what’s happening around you. How many stories do you need…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to discuss the unspoken power of being committed to your team. Since starting my business in the early 2000s, we’ve changed industries and faced…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to discuss the difference between lifestyle and growth businesses. Both operate on fundamentally different philosophies, let me tell you why 👇 Lifestyle…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to discuss the power of mentorship in business. This topic is especially important to me because I learned many years ago that starting…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about moving on from an idea, product or business. There’s nothing worse than pouring your heart, soul, and bank account into…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about why action is always better than stagnation. When you are an entrepreneur or a corporate innovator, indecision is a luxury…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about the character trait that helps you adapt, overcome setbacks, and keep moving forward toward success: resilience. Resilience is essential for success…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about what happens when you get addicted to OPM (other people’s money)—A.K.A. venture capital funding. Relying too heavily on what I like…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about maintaining control of your business while growing at scale. I think control is a bit of an illusion. You can influence…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about what to do when you face a setback and how to keep the bigger picture in mind. If your goal is…
Howdy! In today’s blog post, I want to talk about how to sell and market your product while bootstrapping. It’s no surprise that when you are bootstrapping, you don’t have a…
In today’s blog post, I want to discuss why capital efficiency is important in bootstrapping. Any market where you are competing against well-funded, deep-pocketed private equity and…
In today’s blog post I want to talk about the importance of focusing on solving your company’s big problems before adding AI into the mix. Everyone is talking about large…
In today’s blog post, I want to talk about VC-funded vs. bootstrapped companies and how to gain a competitive edge. Any capital-efficient business has a competitive edge. Why? because it’s…
In today’s blog post, I want to talk about gaining a new client’s trust through a system of risk and reward. We know that switching services, even from Excel or…
I believe there are 5 steps to follow to innovate from within, and today I want to talk about Step 5. If you missed Steps 1 through 4, check out our latest blog…
I believe there are 5 steps to follow to innovate from within, and today I want to talk about Step 4. If you missed Steps 1, 2 & 3, check out our latest…
I believe there are 5 steps to follow to innovate from within, and today, I want to talk about Step 3. If you missed Steps 1 & 2, check our most…
I believe there are 5 steps to follow to innovate from within, and today, I want to talk about Step 2. If you missed Step 1, check our most recent blog…
I believe there are 5 steps to follow to innovate from within, and today, I want to talk about Step 1. Fundamentally, I believe that almost every company has the…
The little things you do every day feed into bigger habits and end up being a part of who you are…that’s what the bootstrapping mindset is all about! It forms who you…
I consider myself a hard worker, who is always adapting, innovating and ready to make things happen. Since I was young, I knew I wanted to build something for myself. So, here’s…
Today, I’m here to talk about the importance of prioritizing coaching in business and the value of clearing your schedule frequently. Prioritize Coaching I’ve mentioned previously that my dad was my…
Today, I want to talk about company values and the importance of defining who you are as a company. I always say that if you can’t repeat it, you don’t believe…
My accounting degree taught me a lot about how business works. I learned the ins and outs of running an effective business, but what I wanted to know was why…
On January 14th, 2008, I thought that my business was done for. We had a distracted employee who wasn’t monitoring his responsibilities and all of our servers from our data…
The line between being a traditional bootstrapper and being a VC is starting to become more and more blurry. The difference is, as a bootstrapper, you tend to be out of…
In today’s blog post, I want to talk about the importance of mentorship in business. Over the years, I have had numerous mentors who have played a crucial role in…
Let’s talk about ways to nurture intrapreneurs within your company. When you have long-standing employees who are passionate about what they do and the company itself, the smart thing to…
I’ve spent over 20 years building a business from the ground up. It has been incredibly rewarding and dare I say, fun. That’s right, the ups and downs, the highs…
A disruptive person has a fairly negative connotation but hear me out. Sometimes it can be useful to be disruptive. I think it should be used as a tool to…
