The Undiscussed Keys to Entrepreneurial Success

0:28So, hey, guys, are you frustrated with where you're at right now?

0:33this is the Ed Myron Show welcome back to the show everybody so this week a lot of you have been asking me if I would cover some stuff on business and being a leader in business and some of the things that I've learned over the years in terms of lessons that have helped me grow and scale different businesses and so I'm going to do that with you this week obviously this could be a hundred hours if we wanted it to be so I'm going to try to do is cover some things that I think are less covered when the topics of business and leadership come up just to give you additional things to add to your tool chest as a leader.

1:05And so first thing is that I want to talk about a couple books that I read that really impacted me as an entrepreneur on my journey. I read a book many, many years ago by an author named Michael Gerber called The E-Myth. And it really made me look at business differently. It's a really brilliant book about the nature of being an entrepreneur. And in this book, there's many things that I took away. But to this day, I remember him saying, if you're a good entrepreneur, you're going to picture your business as a product actually sitting on a shelf. The actual business is a product. And then you can pull that product off the shelf and you can look at every single element of that business on its own.

1:43And he talks in the book about many people suffer from what he calls like an entrepreneurial seizure, he calls it, meaning that there's a bunch of people who have gone into entrepreneurship who don't know the difference between working on their business and in their business. So I want to start out by talking a little bit about that, this entrepreneurial seizure that I learned about is that like a lot of people have a passion for something. Let's say they're a great baker. They go, man, I'd love to open up a bakery. And so what you end up having is a baker who's a technician owning a bakery, but they don't know how to run a business.

2:14And so they work in their business all the time on the logistics of the baking and putting the product out there. But everything from marketing to scaling, to inventory, to taxes, to HR, to profitability. These are things they don't understand as an entrepreneur. And so they're very much a technician in their business. Technicians have a tendency to have a passion or have focus. I watch a lot of people that are in the financial business. They're very technically good at what they're doing in their business. So they work in their business, but they don't have to work on it where they scale and grow a business.

2:47I've watched this with people that own gyms, that they're passionate about fitness. They're passionate about people getting in shape. And so they're great at the technical writing of the nutrition plan and having trainers and having the best equipment. So they work in their business very, very well. But they're not so good at working on it from a bigger perspective on growing it and scaling it and getting above it and looking at their business as a product itself sitting on a shelf that needs everything any other product would need. If you have a product, a normal product, you market, right? You're looking at all of it.

3:20You're looking at its cost. You're looking at its scalability. You're looking at its value. You're looking at the difference that it makes. You're looking at every element of how it feels when someone's consuming it, everything about it. Yet most people don't look at their businesses this way. So there's two mistakes entrepreneurs make. There's the entrepreneur who's the technician, in my opinion, when I've watched this over the years. They're very technically savvy at whatever their career is, whether that be real estate or like I said, nutrition, or they've got a chain of dry cleaners, or they're a baker.

3:49They own restaurant. They're very good technically at that part of the business, but they don't work on their business. So they work in it too much. Then there's the reverse. I watch a lot of entrepreneurs who no longer really work in their business. I've made this mistake where they only work on it. They're only thinking. They're only strategizing, but they don't work in it enough to know what the market requires, to know what the problems are that their employees are experiencing, to know what the client or the consumer really wants to have in their life. And so they no longer work in it. They don't get their hands dirty enough.

4:20It's one of the mistakes that where many entrepreneurs begin to lose their businesses. They start out working in it. And then at some point they know, man, I got to begin to work on it or it's not going to grow. And then what happens is they begin to work on it only. And they take the best player off the bench. Oftentimes the best sales person, the best marketer, the best vision caster is you. Yet because you think you need to work on it now, you take yourself completely out of it. And now all you do is work on your business. I found most of the great entrepreneurs, depending on the stage of their business, have learned to nuance part of the time working on it and other times working in it.

4:56I found that when I'm working in my businesses, I'm much more effective at working on it and knowing what I can do to grow it and scale it. But when I lose the ability to work in it and I've made this mistake, I'm not as savvy at knowing what will grow it what will move it And so you got to ask yourself this and also stage of business Some of you keep hearing all the time. You got to work on your business You got to be a thinker but not in the beginning stage in the beginning stages of a business. You're mainly working in it This requires your grit your grind your marketing your sales your everything And so really businesses become becomes about learning the transitions and and the ratios of working on it and working in it.

5:37And obviously, as a company gets bigger and bigger and bigger, the leader of that company will be working on it more and more and in it less and less. But I still believe the great CEOs, the great leaders that I know still walk the floor, still go with employees, still go on ride along, still want to know what's going on. So they're in touch with the current marketplace in order to know how to work on it. And so I just want you to begin to look at yourself as an entrepreneur and ask yourself today, am I working on my business enough or am I only working in it where I can't see the forest for the trees?

6:10I'm basically in it, in the grind, but I don't have a real marketing plan. I don't have a scaling plan. I don't have a growth strategy. I'm not doing the things and pushing the levers that'll make this thing bigger. That's one type of entrepreneur. The other one is saying, no, I'm the reverse. I've got so much working on this thing. I'm so much of a thinker. I have so many meetings. I'm not in the day-to-day grind like I need to be and I need to be working in my business more often. This ratio, this nuance, this rhythm, I believe is one of the biggest keys not discussed anymore in business that will be a telltale sign as to how you grow or if you grow in your business.

6:47The best entrepreneurs know how much time to be on it and how much time to be in it. And they do, they are not delusional one way or the other. They're honest. They go, I am just in it all the time. Grind, grind, grind. I don't ever look up. I don't have a plan. I don't have a 300 ,000 or 30 ,000 foot perspective. I don't know where I'm taking this thing. I'm just going to get around to that. That's a problem. The other problem is the one who doesn't do that at all anymore, though. And that's a lot of people because they don't really enjoy being in the grind of their business any longer. And so they would prefer to be just working on it all the time and get away from what is the hard work, the real work.

7:25in life. And so begin to nuance that based on the stage of your business.

7:33The next thing that I want to talk about is you being focused on the experience you're creating for your customers and your employees or your, let's say, independent contractors, depending on your business. What gets people coming back, what gets people giving you referrals without you having to ask for them is how they felt when they did business with you. So step back today and ask yourself, what's the experience you're creating for your customer or your client? Not just whether not just whether the product benefits them. What was the experiencing the getting them there? Were they did they feel grinded on?

8:06Did they feel pushed too much? Did they feel taken advantage of? Did they feel too pressured? Right. Did they not enjoy the process? You have to look at everything from how they interact with your team to post-sale experience to during the transaction. Every element is experience generated as an entrepreneur. And I think one of the things that's lost nowadays is, you know, how many sales did you get? How much marketing did you do? What was the profitability? Does the product help people? That's all great. But the greatest companies give you the best experiences. The best restaurants you've ever been to, it's an experience, right?

8:42dealing with even your phone. What's the experience of using the phone, the experience of buying the phone? Every element of every business. When you walk into a gym, what's the experience like when you walk in? I've been to gyms where I walk in and the person who greets you in the front, I can tell is well-trained. Good morning, Mr. Milet. It's great to have you here. Have a great workout today. How are you? I've also walked in where they're like on their computer. Hey, good. Just click in right there. And immediately you're disconnected. The experience of being in the gym where, what's the music they play in there?

9:12How well, how kept is the gym? Are the weights re-racked? All these different things are part of the experience of being in any business. Yet most entrepreneurs, the busier and busier they get, they become less and less connected to the experience. The experience is what gets you referrals. The experience is what gets you more clients. The experience is what you get in terms of repeatability. If a client can renew with you, if you have that type of a business, word of mouth. And then also the experience of working for you. Is it joyful? Is it fun? Is it exciting? Is it productive? Is it growth oriented?

9:44Do they feel like they're contributing? Do they feel a sense of certainty yet have variety in their business? Do they get recognition? Are they good? Are you good at recognition, which I'll talk about in a little bit. So these are all elements I think that are under discussed, which is why I'm throwing them out at you today, because a lot of you that listen today are entrepreneurs, are entrepreneurs at least, and or want to be one if you're not one and you'd like the lessons of doing it. The next thing is another book that I read was called Selling the Dream many, many years ago written by Guy Kawasaki.

10:17And Kawasaki was basically, as I get it, kind of like the marketing guy for Apple for Mac Intosh back in the day. And what I learned from that book was that although the entrepreneur needs to learn how to be in their business and on it, they need to learn how to create the experience. The next level, I believe that's under discussed, is their ability to cast a vision, is to sell the dream. and he talks a lot about how Steve Jobs and after that was so great at selling the dream and casting the vision and it's something that I took very seriously. I had to look at myself and say, how good am I at selling the dream?

10:49Remember this, as a leader of a company, of a business, whatever it might be, a real estate office, a gym, whatever it may be, you need to be able to sell a big enough vision and dream that the dreams of everybody who works with you, they can see themselves fitting inside that dream or their dreams coming true inside the dream you're selling. okay and it's got to be a real dream and so the best leaders are great dream sellers and one of the things they're reminded of of repeating that dream over and over again and also that they sell it in such a way that the people that work with them can see their dreams fitting inside the one they're selling and marketing now by the way it's got to be a real dream also one thing as a leader write this down it needs to be repeated more often than you think you almost have to get almost tired of saying it yourself and thinking you're saying it too much.

11:39Because business is not about saying new things to old people. It's about saying old things to new people. You've got to be really good at repeating the vision, repeating the dream. The more something is repeated, and by the way, we'll talk about in a minute other things you have to do, the more it's repeated, the more it's likely to happen. And I think entrepreneurs get what I call like a leadership fatigue of just repeating the vision, repeating the dream, thinking everyone's already got it already. No, everybody doesn't have it already. And oftentimes they need re-reminding and oftentimes you need re-reminding.

12:12So that's selling the dream. And I want you to write this down. Number one thing you got to do when you sell the dream, and I've made this mistake, you need to back it up with your personal example. You validate the dream by showing up and working hard. and maybe that's in the business and maybe it's on the business. But I have to tell you that if you set the example, and I've done a great job of this in my career, and there's other times candidly where I haven't, where I've just gotten so busy or have so many other things going on that my own example suffered, and then the dream isn't as valid.

12:44It's not as real for everybody around you. But if they see you showing up early, leaving late, doing the things that leaders do, that example can scream more loudly than even the repeating of the vision. Like I said, there's stages of my career. I've been tremendous at it. And in self-reflection, there's been other times in my career I was spread too thin or not focused enough. And I wish I had been. And that's why I'm sharing this with you. So being an example of selling the dream is important.

13:16Second thing is this. In addition to selling the dream, I think you need to consider what are you also against or do you have an enemy? or is there something that you're trying to eradicate? So I would write down against or enemy or eradication. I think great businesses have a big dream they're trying to create, and they also have something maybe they stand against that they want to fix or correct an injustice. Have something that you also can say, and this is what we're not, or this is what we're going to fix, or this is the challenge. So oftentimes great businesses have this big vision, and they're also like, and we're going to eradicate this problem.

13:55This is a challenge. This is what people need. There's this huge need in the market. And so what are you against? If you could find something you're against or you stand against or you want to fix or you want to improve or an enemy even in business, these are things that help solidify your business that's not talked about enough. The third thing is cause. What cause are you after? What's your crusade? What's your mission? Mission-driven, cause-oriented leaders who sell big dreams, man, that also have something they're against. That cause is something so many people in their life have a huge need for contribution.

14:32They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, particularly young people in our country right now. All the data tells us that young people right now would rather make less money and be a part of something they think is making a difference in the world than ever before. But I can tell you as a guy who's not a young person that I think most human beings are wired that way. Let's step back for a second. You've got this business where you're working on it the right amount and in it. You've found that example. You're selling a big dream that you're repeating that the dreams of everybody can fit inside.

15:03You've got that part going for you. You solidify it with an example. You're standing against something or something you want to fix, an injustice. Now you've got a cause and a crusade in a mission. Man, you've got something special now. You're starting to put together a business. And by the way, as you're listening to this or watching it today, maybe you're checking most of these boxes, but you're missing one. Then use the things I'm covering. They go, that's the ones for me. Or maybe it's all of it. But the reason I'm throwing out these things, I'm going to throw a few more out at you, is I want you to go, that's the one we're missing.

15:31Or that's where we're a little bit off. Or that's the thing I need to shift and change. Or that's the one I got to emphasize more right now. Business is like, you know, it's almost like spinning tops. You know, sometimes one of them getting a little bit wobbly, you're going to go spin that one. You know, those tops you see. And so sometimes you're like, man, we're doing a great job of selling the dream, but man, it's been a long time since we've really talked about our cause and our mission. Or you know what? We're really mission driven right now, but we haven't talked enough about what we're trying to eradicate or fix.

15:57Or I'm spending way too much time working in it. I got to start working on it more often. Or maybe it's the reverse. Maybe right now you're like, man, I am so working at 30 ,000 feet. I need to get back to the grindstone and do more selling and marketing myself. So cause is the next one. After that, great leaders do what I'm going to give you next. They transfer skill. They're teachers. Great leaders are not just motivators or inspirers. They're teachers. And if they can't be, they put people in place who can teach the skills required. It's one thing to be good at something. It's another thing to transfer that skill well to people.

16:32And just being good at something does not make you a great teacher. In fact, like in baseball, for example, most of the great coaches weren't great players. They were okay players. Some didn't even play at all. And the reason is, is that a lot of times a really great player can't relate to someone who doesn't have their talent or drive or ambition. And they're not great at transferring the skill because they did things so naturally. And so a lot of times the way you're doing it isn't duplicatable, isn't transferable to other people, whatever that is in business. And so make sure that you're transferring skills.

17:09Great leaders transfer skill. They teach, they equip people is what John Maxwell calls it, equipping people. And then the last thing I want you to consider today is recognition. I believe great leaders are exceptional at recognizing people. People who run great companies are exceptional at recognition, recognizing their clients. If there's such a way to do that and giving them acknowledgement and praise, but especially recognizing the people that work with them every single day. They find reasons to recognize. I think they create two types of awards, spontaneous awards that are just based on values and delivering on the company's core values and standards.

17:51And then sometimes what I call like historic awards, like every year, you know, there's going to give away an MVP award or a most supportive person every year. But what they're doing is they're looking for ways to recognize people. I'm telling you that we're a world stripped of recognition, that if you begin to look at everybody that you meet, I learned this very young in business, it says they've got a flashing sign on them that says, make me feel good, make me feel special, tell me how great I am today. And in my case, I would say to you, and say it with certainty, say it with truth, say it with passion, that you got to get better at recognizing people publicly and privately.

18:30The best recognition is not just in public. It can also be done one-on-one where someone comes in and say, listen, just sit down for a second. I haven't told you enough lately how much I appreciate you, how grateful we are to have you here, how amazing you are. I have to tell you, recognizing people is a trait of all the best leaders that I've ever worked with in my career. If you made me pick the five best leaders that I've ever worked with, I could tell you that I would probably pick them based on their ability to sell the dream, their unrelenting example, their incredible ability to express our cause and what we're standing against.

19:04They were really great at teaching me something, but man, probably above everything, they made me feel a certain way about myself, the work I was doing, and that I mattered. And so take a look at how you recognize people. Have traditional historic type awards and have spontaneous stuff. Have things people have to earn and things they didn't have to earn at all just for who they are. and if you become a great master recognizer of people and you do the other things I've discussed today, I think you're a better business leader than before this podcast. And so the reason I wanted to teach these things to you today and bring them up is they're not things discussed often enough, right?

19:44And so if we go all the way back to the beginning, by the way, if you want to go get the e-myth, I think it's a great read. If you want to go read Selling the Dream, I think it's a great read. If you want to read The Power of One More, where I talk about some of these things in this book, but today was really stuff that's even not in the book. I recommend it, my book, The Power of One More. And so be great about selling the dream. Be great about working on your business and not in it. Do an unbelievable job of focus on the experiencing you're creating for the people that work with you and your customers and clients.

20:10Sell that dream big enough that everybody's dreams can fit in it. Make sure you're against something or you're standing for something or want to eradicate something. Have an enemy. Focus on your cause. Set a great example. Transfer skill and recognize people. and I think you'll have some sort of upgrade into the way that you lead. I hope today helped you. I went through a bunch really, really, really, really quickly because I feel so strongly about this and I like to keep these episodes sort of tight and concise and also I wanted to cover things that aren't covered all the time. Leadership, being an entrepreneur, there's hundreds of things that we can cover.

20:47This is a very short list of just things that I've found lately as I see content and read books just aren't discussed very much anymore. The E-Myth is a very old book. Solving the Dream is a very old book. And the things that I'm talking about today are tried and true principles and the applications can be done different in modern times. So, all right, I gave you my best stuff for today on leadership and entrepreneurship because you asked for it and you said, cover stuff that's not covered a lot. So I hope I accomplished that today. Hope I helped. That's what I'm here to do. God bless you. Max out.

21:21This is the Ed Myland Show.