Today marked the end of my second week of working exclusively from home. Here are my takeaways from week 2:

• Physical activity – I embraced running outside during week 1, but it’s been raining too much to do it consistently this week. I adjusted by incorporating bodyweight exercises into my routine. I even began a daily challenge (with friends, for accountability): 200 push-ups and 200 sit-ups. Fitbod is a cool app with algorithmic daily workout suggestions customized for you and your situation. Happily, it works when you want to lose body fat and you’re stuck at home with no equipment.
• Time – My days began to creep a little. I found myself working at 8 p.m. one day. Going forward, I intend to stick closely to defined working hours.
• Social interaction – I attended a Zoom video happy hour, which was a lot of fun. And I’ve been using Zoom videos often to catch up with people. It helps to see someone’s face during a conversation.
• Meals – I’m cooking more (after calling Mom for her favorite recipes). Researching and discussing recipes (“What are you cooking?” is a great conversation starter these days) highlighted some of the unhealthy things in those tasty restaurant meals I’m accustomed to. I really miss not doing lunches with people, but I’m replacing them with—you guessed it—Zoom video calls.
• Relationships – This has been a great time to reach out with and catch up with people. More folks answer or return calls quickly.
• Goals – Having this much downtime may never happen again in my life. I want to make the most of it. This week, I’m going to consider what I want to accomplish during this lull.
• Reflection – I’m a thinker by nature, and now I have more time to think deeply about things, which I’m enjoying.

This second week of working from home wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t bad, either. I’ll continue to reflect on my goals and look for creative ways to interact socially. I plan to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

I’ve been using Zoom video calls to conduct meetings for the last few weeks. Zoom is a perfect example of a startup (well . . . it used to be) that improved on an existing product rather than creating something new. Zoom’s founder worked for Webex, and he realized its product was becoming obsolete in the age of cloud computing. And Webex’s acquisition by Cisco, a large enterprise company, slowed Webex’s evolution.

The founder saw an opportunity. Wouldn’t video conferencing be better if it was designed to work on cloud computing infrastructure? He built a beta product, raised some capital, and the rest is history. Today, Zoom is publicly traded and has a market cap (i.e., worth) of more than $42 billion. Its product is popular with customers even though it has lots of competitors and it wasn’t the first video conferencing product. (Side note: Zoom currently has an enterprise value of forty-five times 2020 projected revenue. For most publicly traded SaaS companies, this number is in the vicinity of ten.)

Many entrepreneurs feel they should create something transformative that no one else has thought of. But building a better mousetrap can be just as rewarding. (I’m not saying it’s easy—the product usually needs to be ten times better than existing products to scale quickly.) Zoom is a great example. Its founder combined his deep knowledge of video conferencing (his “unfair advantage”) with new technology (cloud computing) to create a much-improved video conferencing experience that customers love.

I like this path because everyone isn’t an idea person or futurist. Most professionals, though, have years of experience in some corner of the world of work and can easily tell you what people don’t like about it and how it could be improved. A great startup idea could spring from that specialized knowledge.

Today I had a conversation with a close friend who is an entrepreneur. His business has multiple locations that provide services to children. We discussed the pandemic and how it’s affecting him (local stay-at-home orders forced him to close). He’s concerned, of course, about the well-being of his fifty employees and of his customers.

The biggest thing bothering him is the uncertainty. He doesn’t know how long he will have to be closed, which makes planning difficult. And he doesn’t know what to tell his team. He’s also not sure whose directives to follow. The city’s? The county’s? The state’s? The federal government’s? I sympathized with him and we decided to brainstorm about ideas to help him through this.

During our conversation, he settled on a strategy. He’s going to make contingency plans for closure lasting one, two, three, four, five, and six months—different plans for each scenario. And he’s going to communicate this approach to his team members, vendors, and customers. Proactively managing the situation is important to him.

I’ve never run a business like his, so I’m not familiar with its nuances. But the merits of his overall approach are obvious, and I give him a lot of credit for coming up with it. He isn’t worrying about things he can’t control. He’s accepting uncertainty, planning as best he can on the basis of the information at hand, and communicating his plans. They won’t be perfect, and things will likely change, but I’m confident that his employees, customers, and vendors will appreciate not being kept in the dark.

I believe strongly in the impact of timing. When I incorporated CCAW, it was spring 2007 and the economy was going strong. I figured this trend would continue, so a few months later I made a leap of faith and quit my job. And you know what happened next. In 2008 the country was in financial crisis. Things looked bleak. No one was buying my products and my last employer was laying people off (no way would it rehire me). For the next two years or so, I was in survival mode.

For CCAW’s business model to work as I envisioned, I had to pitch a new way of doing business to automotive vendors. In 2007, most of them weren’t receptive. But in 2009, they were open to almost anything. I seized the opportunity and never looked back. We took that new way of doing business, added some technology, and over the next decade built a company with eight-figure revenue.

Looking back, I can see what happened. I finally got the timing right. In 2007, I was too early. My vendors were doing well financially, so they had no incentive to try new things. A year or two later, they were desperate for new ideas—with revenues down 30%–40% they were looking for ways to grow again.  

I believe you can be too early, too late, or right on time. Sometimes this means you have a good idea but your timing is off. Recognize when you’re too late or too early and adjust accordingly.

Tomorrow, I’m speaking with a group of rising entrepreneurs about my experience founding CCAW. They’re all very early-stage, don’t have established customer bases, and may not have a product–market fit yet. I’ve been pondering what will be most helpful considering the allotted time (it’s hard to condense more than ten years of insights into twenty minutes) and the reality of the pandemic. I decided to prepare by mapping my CCAW journey in a lifeline (a diagram of the major highs and lows of something, such as a life or a career).

Doing this exercise recalled to my mind lots of great (and not so great) times. I decided to focus on sharing the lows of my journey. My goal isn’t to be negative or pessimistic—quite the opposite. I’m assuming things have gotten very difficult, very fast for this group. By sharing my low points, I hope to communicate these points:

• Take advantage – Negative experiences mark us the most, and they shape entrepreneurs. Appreciate this time as a learning opportunity.
• Change – People are forced to embrace change when times are tough. Make wise changes.
• Cycles – They’re inevitable. Those who survive downturns ride the wave up and do well. Focus on keeping your business alive.
• You’re not alone – Every entrepreneur (and every business, for that matter) is dealing with the same pandemic. Find a peer group. Their experiences—if you pay attention to them and apply them—will help you navigate this difficult time.
• No comfort zone – When you’re uncomfortable, you’re usually growing. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
  

More and more state governors are issuing stay-at-home orders to protect people from exposure to the coronavirus. Consequently, many of us are spending more time inside than we usually do. I assume that some view this positively and others negatively. Either way, the orders are a short-term fact of life that we have to deal with.

Though far from ideal, this is a rare opportunity for some people (including me). Today I thought about what I can work on that will have long-term importance to me and that requires some concentrated time.

Here are some of my ideas:

• Research things of interest – I’ve been interested in trading stock options for years. Now I have time to read about it.
• Care – Call a wiser family member (Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa). Considering the effect this virus is having on wiser (read: older) people, I’m sure that most of them are anxious (even if they’re not saying so). Calling to check-in will make them feel cared about.
• Work on a project – Now is a great time to work on anything you’ve been putting off around the house. I’m unpacking a ton of boxes.
• Check on friends – I have great relationships with a decent number of people that I don’t talk with more than once or twice a year. I’m reaching out to see how they’re doing.

If you’re already staying home, what are you doing? If you’re not, your time may be coming—consider making plans.

Today I read the weekend paper (yep, I still read a physical paper), and it was pretty scary. The pandemic has everyone worried, and rightly so. We haven’t experienced anything of this magnitude in our lifetimes. Most of the constant updates are not positive. As I digested all of this, I thought about something else—gratitude.

Things are never perfect. I don’t have X, Y didn’t go as planned, Z was unfair, and so on. In the current environment, the list is longer than ever and that’s totally understandable. But there’s always something to be thankful for as well. I’ve been stuck in my house . . . not so great. I have a home to be stuck in . . . many people aren’t so fortunate.

Today I made a list of three things I’m grateful for (actually, I do this every day). The simple act of thinking about this and writing the list is powerful. It forces me to think about all the wonderful people and things in my life. Some days, I list things that are deep and weighty. Other times, it’s three of life’s little joys. Regardless, I take the time to notice and appreciate the good things in my life.

What are you grateful for?

Yesterday I spoke with a close friend about the current business landscape. He’s an avid investor and regularly trades his own stocks. Throughout the day, he checks the market’s performance, and he always knows how each of his positions is performing. The conversation turned to the market downturn and all the negative economic news. I asked him how his portfolio was doing, and to my surprise he said he didn’t know. I probed a little more and he admitted being too scared to look.

Reflecting on this, I realized I had once done something similar. Every morning at CCAW I was provided with and reviewed a series of reports and metrics. They detailed our current state (MTD revenue, cash position, A/P balance, etc.) and projected our future revenue and profitability. These reports were critical to my understanding of our current performance and where we would probably end up. If I didn’t like our trajectory, I could be proactive and initiate actions to change it.

We had a rough patch when we were constantly being hit with bad news. Week after week, macro things were happening that affected us negatively. After a while, I stopped reviewing the daily metrics and reports. I told myself I was too busy and tired, but the truth was that I didn’t want to see the data quantifying how bad things were.

I realized that I didn’t have the experience to navigate these rough waters on my own. I owed it to the team to do better, so I hired an advisor with experience in grappling with challenging business environments. One of the first things he asked me was how bad it was. I told him it was bad, but I didn’t have exact numbers because I hadn’t looked at the data. I expected him to chastise me, but he told me that was normal. (In fact, he had done something similar when one of his companies struggled.) It’s human nature, he said, to avoid bad news during difficult times. He encouraged me to start looking at the data regularly and discuss it with him. I did.

Takeaways:

• Don’t avoid – A bad situation doesn’t get better because you avoid it. Look at important information regularly so you can make better decisions.
• Data availability – If you don’t consistently have access to critical information, you can’t plot a course. Consider taking time to put processes in place to make that information available.
• Communication – Whether your numbers are good or bad, share the news. People will appreciate not being kept in the dark. You never know—someone may have an idea that could change things.

Have you ever found yourself avoiding during a difficult time? If so, what did you learn?

Today marked the end of my first week working exclusively from home. My normal routine has always included working at home part of the time, but until now I’ve worked mostly in an office.

Here are my takeaways from week 1:

• Physical activity – I like being active and usually work out in a gym. Since I couldn’t do that (thanks, coronavirus), I adjusted by taking up running outside (I hate running). Surprisingly, I enjoyed the fresh air and constantly changing scenery.
• Time – Not having to take time to “get ready” and then commute was refreshing. I had more productive time.
• Social interaction – Not being around people affected me initially, but video calls and meetings provided enough social interaction for me to feel normal.
• Meals – I typically have lunch with friends or colleagues a few times every week. I didn’t care for not being able to. A friend mentioned they had done a virtual lunch via FaceTime. I haven’t tried it, but I may if this becomes the new norm.
• Focus – There are distractions at home, so I have to make more of an effort to focus on work.
• Separation – Traveling from my office to my home has always helped me shift my mindset from work to my personal life. Now, I must create that separation within my home. Having a dedicated home office has been helpful.

During this first week, anyway, working from home all the time hasn’t been as bad as I imagined. I’ve learned what I need in order to feel normal, and I look for alternatives that work in the current environment. I pay attention when people mention what they’re doing to help their teams adjust to working from home (for example, video happy hours and breakroom channels in Slack). I can't control this situation, but I can make the best of it. I plan to learn from this, adjust as necessary and share my experience with others.

Today I participated in a conversation among successful entrepreneurs in a variety of industries about COVID-19’s impact on businesses. COVID-19 is bringing crisis to most companies.

As we talked, I reflected on a perfect storm in my past. Macro political changes were negatively affecting my business, a member of my immediate family had an unexpected life-threatening medical situation, and I was facing personal headwinds with the potential to upend my private life. It was not a fun time. The stakes were incredibly high across the board. One bad decision and life could spiral out of control quickly. I was stressed, to say the least.

I learned things then that I shared today:

• 80-year-old’s lens – Fifty years from now, when I’m in a rocking chair telling my story, what will matter most? Relationships, not accolades or wealth. I needed to align my current actions with this future perspective.
• Priorities – I’m only human. My time and energy are limited, and I can’t be effective in every domain at once. Viewing things through the lens of my elderly self, I prioritized the headwinds pushing at me and put family first. I got comfortable with the idea that other balls would drop and things would get ugly before they would get better.
• Communication – I couldn’t immediately focus on lower-priority headwinds, and there were people I cared about who would be affected by that. I clearly explained my thoughts to them. Some agreed with my priorities and appreciated my honesty. Others were extremely upset. I made sure they all knew what my top priority was, how I would be allocating my energy, and how I came to that decision.
• Focus on the light – I focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, not the darkness of the tunnel I was in. I figured that once I was out of the tunnel, I’d have plenty of time to reflect on why I’d been in it.
• Experienced advisors – I pulled together an informal group of people I respected who had experience in areas in which I was inexperienced (I even sought out and paid one person). I asked them to share their experiences with me and incorporated them into my decision making.
• Emotional control – Emotionally, I was riding a rollercoaster. But I was purposeful and made sure my emotions didn’t dictate my decision-making, my actions, or my words. I took time to talk through my decisions with people I trusted and asked them about my blind spots before I took action.

Did everything turn out perfect? No. Was the process painful? Yup. Could I have done some things better? Absolutely.

In the end, it all worked out. It took a while, but looking back, I’m happy I addressed each headwind separately. The passage of time with no action on some of these problems made them worse in the short-term. But what I would have gained from trying to solve them all simultaneously would have been outweighed by the toll it would have taken on me and the people around me. I don’t think this approach would work for everyone or every situation, but it worked for me in that perfect storm.

If you find yourself buffeted by a perfect storm (and you will if you’re an entrepreneur long enough), take time to think. Navigate it your way—not someone else’s way—consistently with your ethics and morals.