Steven Cox - Founder of TakeLessons. Build Something You're Proud Of

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Current Obstacles Will Pass. Focus on the Big Picture.

I was checking my email this morning and a new start-up founder asked me the following:

"P.s.  how did you stay focused and motivated with so many obstacles and uncertainties when you were first starting takelessons?"

Great question and something all entrepreneurs will face. Here's my answer:

Peter,

Thanks for the note.

The obstacles are like the first down marker on a football field. You have to get to them and run past them in order to stay in the game. But the first down marker - and the challenge necessary to get there - is only temporary. What counts is the end zone - the big WHY behind what you're trying to accomplish.

Never lose sight of the end zone. It is much further away than today's challenges and more fulfilling than any smaller obstacle that is present now.

The uncertainties are as much a part of the business as rhythm is part of any good song. Learn to get very comfortable with it and thrive on it. The perils are half of what makes the game fun.

That's the way I look at it. I know I'm in for a long hike, so I put out of my mind any sort of short-term gratification. It seems to help keep me on the right path.

Just my two cents worth...

Steven

 

 

Related articles

• Today is TakeLessons' 5 year Anniversary (stevencox.com)
• Entrepreneurship 101: A Guide for New College Grads Looking to Fly Solo (dailyfinance.com)
• How To Stay Focused (styleandthestartup.wordpress.com)

Business Rules of Richard Branson

 

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I'm a big fan of Richard Branson. Half because he's a brilliant mind. Half because he's always held up a big fat middle finger to the status quo.

He does things his own way, takes calculated risks, sometimes loses, sometimes wins, but always learns.

That's a recipe for long-term growth... and i dig it.

I just finished a couple books he has written and here are my takeaways I've called "Richard's Rules of Business". These aren't officially his rules, just ideas and concepts that I've internalized.

1. Break the Rules. Start from the attitude of "Yes I can - OF COURSE I CAN" - Unstoppable self-confidence.
2. Have fun. Fun should be a prime business criteria. Fun is at the core of how he likes to do business.
3. It is only by being bold that you get anywhere.
4. If you are a risk taker, then the art of a good risk is to protect your downside while not limiting your upside.
5. The bgest way to cope with a cash crisis is not to contract, but to expand your way out of it.
6. Make up your mind on whether you can trust someone in the first 60 seconds. Then, go with your gut.
7. As Oscar Wilde said, "The only thinkg worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about."
8. Separate your companies. This way ione fails, it will not threaten the rest of them. You will most certainly have disasters, so your job is to contain them.
9. Numbers can be manipulated to prove anything. Don't just go by the numbers - go with gut instinct when looking at business.
10. "My interest in life is giving myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them."
11. When starting a business, survival is the key. Expenses are the wolves. Protect your young with cash.
12. Always be reinventing yourself. The world moves and you have to stay ahead.

 

Interview with the Northwest Young Entrepreneurs Association

I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Nick Hampshire with the Northwest Young Entrepreneurs Association about building companies and what I've learned as we continue to grow TakeLessons.

Here is the Q&A:

Audio MP3 download of Steven Cox interview is located here:

 Nick Hampshire: What is your philosophy on life and business?

Steven Cox: PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT
I live my life in a way that makes a positive lasting difference on people and my environment. I support my friends and family with my time and finances. I live with the full expectation of succeeding and excelling in all I do. I understand that the value of life is not in what I own, but who I love, and what I experience. I make my life count by being a man of integrity that accomplishes greatness by reaching out to help others, being passionate about what I do, and fully developing my mind.  I don't have the right to be ordinary. Therefore, I lead, I lift the human spirit, and I will create a legacy and an empire: an empire of both inner and outer wealth, and a legacy of love.

How did you get your start in entrepreneurship?

• College: Apartment locator service, bought seven houses on land contract/options, tried to buy a pizza business
• After school: Fisher scientific, but tried to open a gym
• Left my job to work for a startup ecommerce company

Do you remember your first "big" deal as a young entrepreneur and do you mind sharing a little about it (details, thoughts, feelings)?

• College – thought I could do everything. It wasn’t until things went bad that I started realizing that there was science and methodology behind operating a business. It’s harder than it looks.
• First Startup– landed University of Nevada. Wasn’t even in our wheelhouse. Changed the business.

What made you decide to start your own business?

• I grew up poor. Wasn’t happy washing dishes and working for other people.  I liked the creativity and struggle. I liked the uncertainty.

As you have started different businesses over the years, have the lessons you learned while starting each business changed? If so, how have they changed?

• Balanced optimism: I now focus not just on the upside, but immediately how to mitigate risk.
• Long term: entrepreneurship is not a quick fix to wealth. Some people get luck, but there is a very big chance that you or me will not be lucky. Thus, we have to understand there is a large price to pay, and we have to be willing to pay the price.  Else, just go get a job.

What do you see as the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs face?

External

• Blind towards risk
• Trying to do too many things for too many people– no focus
• Not clearly identifying a problem

Internal

• Arrogance
• Understanding your own weaknesses
• Stay up: “Certainty in the face of fear”

If you had to do it all over again, how would you start?

1. Find a problem
2. See if it’s a big enough problem that, if you can solve it, it will make a difference.
3. Focus on solving that problem. Find people that will support it through money and/or time.
4. Don’t think about the exit.

To all of the young entrepreneurs getting started in business now, what advice can you give?

• Plan on a long journey. The ‘quick hit’ is the exception.

• The 4-hour workweek? Complete horseshit.
• Want to build something that lasts? Work ½ day. (12 hours!)
• Because it’s a long journey, pick something where you’re passionate about solving a problem for others.

Have confidence in yourself and your ideas, but don’t believe your own hype.

• Don’t let optimism overpower realism.
• Admit when something isn’t working.
• Measure everything.
• Fail fast.

Build a team. Your job is to:

• Share the vision
• Hire smart
• Build a culture where others can strive

Capital: Raise enough to allow you to make mistakes with respect to your plan, but not so much that it makes you cocky  which leads to laziness.

• Your forecasts will be off.
• Stuff you though would work, won’t.
• Competitors will not sit idle.
• Perfection is the enemy of good enough.

Know what your shooting for

• Have written goals – Quarterly, monthly, weekly.
• Hold each other accountable

I often get asked questions about "quick cash" techniques while someone is getting started with a venture; if you had to make $1,000 in one week with no list, minimal cash, and no contacts, what would be your strategy?

• Honestly, I would say that you need to go get a job. Entrepreneurship is not a one-week thing.

What systems have you created or borrowed to manage & grow your companies?

• I have a personal goals system that allows me to manage different areas of my life (spiritual, career, relationships, social) and see results year after year. I’ve applied that to business as well.
• SEED – SELECT – AMPLIFY: Don’t ever put out perfection. Just get it out and iterate.
• Culture matters - create a culture of owners where they focus on constant improvement.

How have you used Strategic Partnerships with other companies & individuals to grow your business?

• Life is about people, and business is about providing value for those people.
• When you cut deals, you have to focus on the value you can provide.
• Deals take forever
• Never count on them to go through.
• After they go through, most of them won’t work out
• So, don’t rely on them to make your business. Don’t ever be reliant.

If you could go back and do something differently, what would it be and why (business or life in general)?

I would’ve been less arrogant in my 20’s. Looking back, I now know to stay humble and learn from everyone I can.

What closing thoughts/suggestions/advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?

• Some people are built for companies, some are built for entrepreneurship. Find your flow. There is no one answer, only a right answer for you.
• Don’t worry about someone stealing your idea. It’s already been thought of and tried. Focus on building a team that can help you execute.
• Your first two companies or your first 3-5 years will probably not be a big success. That’s ok. It’s part of the journey. Breathe and be ok with it.

San Diego Urban Land Young Leaders Social Media Panel

Tonight, I'll be on the panel discussing how small and local businesses can use social media to their advantage. Here are my key points:

• Focus on quality instead of quantity. Be consistent. Be real.
• Make sure someone is assigned to the task with definitive plans.
• Focus on Google Places, Facebook, and YouTube
• Other secondary tools include Google Alerts, blogging, twitter, skweal.com and groupon
• Showcase customers - not just yourself
• Answer back customer praises and complaints

Finally, remember that the quickest way to overnight success is to work years on it.

Here are a few links that I've found that can also be of help to you:

http://mashable.com/2010/11/17/business-leaders-social-media/

http://mashable.com/2010/08/20/top-5-social-media-trends/

http://mashable.com/2010/08/19/facebook-places-guide/

http://mashable.com/2010/11/22/sms-marketing/

http://mashable.com/2010/08/26/business-facebook-page/

 

Thanks to Steve Martini at Quality First Commercial (San Diego Commercial Real Estate) for the invite.

Getting your startup to $10mm in revenues

Here is a post (the first of two) from Steve Carpenter on the different potential business models for internet startups right now and some of the metrics necessasry to get to $10mm in revenues.

I believe that services are one of the best internet business models for the next 10 years for the following reasons:

• Price shopping. It is tough to compare a service provider to another using an apples to apples comparison. There are no SKU numbers because it's not a standardized product. Thus, it gives good companies the ability to establish brand and customer care around the service in order to raise value.

• It's just the beginning. Web services is still in its infancy. While there are well-established players for social networking, gaming, and product commerce, services is still the wild west. This leaves room for smart companies to position themselves and get a foothold without having to knock off the 800 lb. gorilla.

• Accepted. Services are an integrated part of the economy. You're not trying to teach an old dog new tricks. You're just making it more efficient for people to buy.

• Demographic shifting. More and more people in their 20's are reaching the age of starting their careers, having kids, and arguably increasing their spending power. As this happens, there will be a natural shift towards the web. People will seek out service providers over the web because that's what they're used to.

• Better technology. It's now worlds easier to discover and choose service providers on the web. Word of mouth is effectively shifting to the web through rating systems, transparent customer feedback, microblogging, and other tech advances. Over time, this will leave a digital identity of most businesses out there, and customers will use the feedback to make quicker, better-informed decisions.

13 Ways To Get To $10 Million In Revenues (Part I)

 

Strategic Partnerships with Big Companies

Recently, our company has been fortunate enough to strike deals with channel partners that should help us in our quest to become the "Starbucks of Music Lessons". Starting in August, TakeLessons will be giving in-store lessons in conjunction with our partners. The service will provide certified TakeLessons local music instructors to thousands of kids and adults throughout the country. Partners include:

• TakeLessons at Best Buy
• Child Time
• Tutor Time
• La Petite Academy
• Montessori Unlimited
• Childrens Courtyard

From a business perspective, cutting strategic deals is part art coupled with a ton of hard work. The video below walks you through some of the things we've learned over the past 2 years while negotiating with our partners. Main points include:

• Have persistence
• Focus on providing true value for the partner
• It's a long process getting to yes. Don't get discouraged.
• Build multiple relationships inside the channel partner
• Get a good legal team
• Don't spend cash until the deal is signed

Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make - Hire Right

Here's a good article from Neil Patel (co-founder of KISSMetrics). He interviewed a few successful entrepreneurs that had built businesses worth at least $50 million to learn what some of their biggest mistakes were.

By far, the reply that kept coming up is hiring the wrong people. It seems that just about everything else falls secondary to "getting the right people on the bus", as Jim Collins would say.

I agree with the general consensus. Your ideas will change, your direction will change, and the skills you need will change. What is critical is that you can find smart, hungry, driven, flexible people with raw talent. Just about everything else can be learned over time. However, just a couple wrong hires can kill a company's culture and make it extremely difficult to grow because you end up spending more time fixing internal staff problems and less time solving the customers' problems.

We've developed a pretty good system of weeding through candidates effectively. We have seperate interviews where a team of two interviewers' job is to specifically focus on one of three aspects: skills, work/school history, and culture fit. By spending a lot of time on each one, the interview teams can get a really good idea of the candidate, and we're not asking the same question to the candidate over and over.

If you've made a bad hire, believe me - your team knows it. Once you become convinced the person is the wrong hire, it's critical to cut bait early. You are doing yourself, your company, and the new hire a disservice by keeping them around. Let them go find something more suitable for their comfort level. If you don't cut bait, I believe it is hard for the new hire to overcome the psychological downward spiral of 'losers slime'. This is where the internal team is not impressed with the hire and thus becomes just a bit less likely to spend the extra time with them. This, in turn, creates an uphill battle for the hire to get up to speed, and eventually everyone ends up frustrated. 

Read the full article

Mint CEO Aaron Patzer discusses how to start a startup

I found this presentation on TechCrunch and Vator.TV. If you're doing a startup, you'll like this...

Mint CEO Aaron Patzer on Startups from Techcrunch on Vimeo.

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