Lately I’ve been spending more time helping other entrepreneurs and thinking about the traits that successful entrepreneurs tend to have. I don’t have a complete list yet, but here’s one that stands out: willingness to take action.

Taking action—doing things!—is what separates entrepreneurs from other people. Ideas aren’t in short supply, but concrete steps to turn ideas into a business are. The first step is usually the hardest and many never take it.

Now—full transparency here—there’s a downside to taking action. But it’s a necessary part of the process. Entrepreneurs seem to be all over the place, especially when their ventures are young. I’ll speak from my own experience. In CCAW’s early days, I had no idea what I was doing, but I never would have admitted it. For all the stuff I didn’t know, one thing was crystal clear: if I didn’t do anything, I was sure to fail.

So, I tried a bunch of things simultaneously. I was throwing spaghetti at the wall to see if it would stick. I was learning on the fly. Not glamorous or strategic, but hey . . . it’s the truth. To outsiders, I looked like I was scattered—and that was true! I was spreading myself thin as I tried to keep everything I was juggling in the air. I was basically running a bunch of mini experiments. I expended just enough energy on them to find out whether the results were good or bad. Nothing got my full attention in that phase.

But once I realized what worked, I zeroed in and never looked back. I went from being scattered and unsure to being confident and laser focused. This, combined with the observable traction that CCAW was gaining, changed other people’s perceptions of me and how I viewed myself.

There are lots of other traits that make entrepreneurs successful, but willingness to take action is a big one. Looking back, I often had a good idea of where I wanted to end up, but the path was murky. I learned to start walking anyway because the path became clearer with each step.    

Are you willing to take action to turn your ideas into reality?

On January 27, I had lunch with a friend and fellow entrepreneur. We met in 2011 as members of EO Accelerator and have kept in touch since then. On this particular day, our goal was simply to catch up, since we hadn’t seen each other in over a year. We talked about what was going on in our lives and about our plans. I reflected on my journey and what I learned while building CCAW over more than a decade.

My friend listened and encouraged me to share that story with more people. I was pretty resistant to that suggestion because I’m very private, and I brushed it off until he said this: “It may seem normal to you, but not many people have founded and built a company to over $10 million in revenue. Let alone accomplish this in their thirties. Sharing your story could encourage others.” He was right.

According to Verne Harnish, only 4% of companies make it to $1 million in revenue. I grew CCAW to many times that. He was right, I’ve achieved something unusual.

My friend told me his story and how he’s sharing it with the world. I discovered that even after all these years, I wasn’t aware of many things that shaped him.

After hearing him out, I decided to share more. The truth is, I’d always known that I wanted to share what I’ve learned, but I’d never got around to it. To give me the kick I needed, my friend proposed a 60-day accountability challenge: we would both commit to sharing more of our story and what we’ve learned along the way and to holding each other accountable. I loved the idea. Here are the rules we set for ourselves:

• Duration – 60 days (March 9 to May 8).
• Post type – Video or written.
• Accountability – By 11:59 p.m. EDT every business day (weekends optional), we will text each other links to our posts.
• Content – New, thoughtful, and meaningful. Posted publicly, attached to our name and face, and permanent (Facebook and Instagram stories don’t count).
• Fine – Missing a day will obligate us to send $50 by Venmo or Cash App to the other person. On May 12, the total amount collected will be donated to a charitable cause.‍
• Recap and reflection
• By May 13, each of us will send the other a text summarizing the lessons we’ve learned, what we now do differently, and our three biggest takeaways.
• Sometime the week of May 11, we’ll have lunch together to celebrate.

This past Friday (May 8) marked the end of our challenge, and I’m happy to report that I’ve posted every single day (even weekends) for 60-plus days. Thank you, Ethan, for sharing your story, suggesting this idea, and holding me accountable for following through!

And thank you to everyone who provided feedback and support. I received lots of encouraging words from people who found my posts helpful, which motivated me when I had writer’s block. I’d love lots more feedback, good or bad, about my posts in the last 60 days.

I learned a ton about myself, but more importantly I hope I helped others. I truly enjoyed this process and I plan to continue posting daily!

I spoke with a buddy today whose mother tried Instacart because of the pandemic. She’s an amazing Southern cook who took pride in handpicking the best ingredients. According to my buddy, she’ll probably never go to the grocery store again. Not regularly anyway. Yes, she enjoyed the Instacart experience that much. I walked away thinking that e-commerce has hit a critical inflection point. A significant segment of consumers of all ages are comfortable purchasing most items online.

When I started CCAW in 2007, e-commerce was available and thriving, but it hadn’t fully penetrated everyday life. The idea of buying groceries online wasn’t new, but to the masses it was farfetched. I’ve been reflecting on how today (or rather 2019) compares to 2007. I looked at e‑commerce juggernaut Amazon.com to compare the two time periods. Here’s what I found:

2007 Annual Figures

• Revenue (sales) – $14.8B
• Net income (profit) dollars – $476M
• Net Income (profit) as a percentage – 3%

2019 Annual Figures

• Revenue (sales) – $280.5B
• Net income (profit) dollars – $11.5B
• Net income (profit) as a percentage – 4%

Of course, Amazon does a lot more now than in 2007. It owns Whole Foods Market, sells computing services through its AWS unit, and is involved in a host of other things. However, all these other business lines seem to complement its core e-commerce business. To keep things simple, I used its high-level figures and didn’t strip business units out.

Here are my takeaways:

• Amazon’s sales increased 19x from $14.8B to $280.5B in twelve years. Impressive, especially when you consider the law of large numbers.
• Walmart is probably the largest retailer in the world. It reported over $520B in sales during a similar period (Walmart’s fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, while Amazon’s ended December 31, 2019). Amazon has a long way to go, but it’s conceivable that its sales could surpass Walmart’s in the next decade.
• Net profit as a percentage is small at around 4% of 2019 revenue. Price competition is serious when many retailers offer the same products. Amazon keeps only 4 cents for every $1 in sales. That’s about right. Walmart keeps about 3.8 cents.
• Net profit dollars increased 24x from $476M to $11.5B in twelve years. Net profit dollars grew faster than sales despite the heavy investment required to support rapid growth. I know for a fact that Amazon’s other business units (mainly AWS) contributed significantly to increasing profitability.

Commerce has changed a lot in the last twelve years, and the pandemic has accelerated this change. Amazon was well positioned to capitalize on it and has made the most of it. I see a wave of new companies like Instacart contributing to the refashioning of commerce by fulfilling consumers’ needs in innovative ways via the internet.

What do you see commerce looking like in the next ten years?

Today I had a great conversation with a friend who’s an entrepreneur. We talked about many things, but one of his comments especially stuck with me: “We’re in one of those grow-or-die periods.” I’ve written a post about how certain businesses must grow or die, but he meant something different. We were talking about personal growth and adaptability at the time. He believes we’re currently going through a period of pain that’s required for growth and evolution. It’s inevitable because pain is the precursor to growth, or so he believes.

I digested his comments, reflecting on my experiences with CCAW. There were more than a few painful times. My own decisions (founding the business alone, for one) caused some of them; outside forces (such as the Great Recession) caused others. During most of the tough times, something had changed and I didn’t realize it or acknowledge it quickly. This led to pain, and eventually the magnitude of that pain forced me to reflect on its origin. I was able to connect it to the change that had occurred, accept the change (sometimes begrudgingly), and adapt to my new reality. Usually, I formulated a plan and moved forward. The entire process was always one of learning and growth.

I don’t necessarily agree with my friend’s phrasing or all the nuances of his argument, but I think he’s basically right. If I hadn’t grown and adapted as an entrepreneur—and for that matter as a person—CCAW would never have reached eight figures in revenue. The truth is that the world I was operating in was changing and I had to grow (that is, adapt) to survive.

How has painful growth positioned you for success?

This week I had the pleasure of attending Techstars Demo Days “in” Boston and Boulder. These events are held in cities all over the world and historically they’re hosted by each city’s local Techstars Accelerator. Accelerators are three-month programs in which entrepreneurs receive “funding, mentorship and access to the Techstars network for life.” Because of the pandemic, all spring 2020 demo days are virtual (I’m not sure if virtual attendance used to be an option). I jumped at the chance to learn about new companies and ideas in various places.

Techstars accelerators give entrepreneurs access to a lot of really smart people—including past and present entrepreneurs in the Techstars network—who can help them fast-track their progress and otherwise support them. Demo days are a great way for entrepreneurs to get introduced to customers and potential investors.

Techstars has seven additional demo days scheduled in May and June. You can register for upcoming events and review past ones (including viewing pitches) here. If you’re interested in hearing about new problems and solutions, consider taking a look.

Today I had an interesting conversation with a buddy. We talked about how certain environments accelerated our success. He believes that proximity to success increases one’s own likelihood of success and I agree with him.

When I started CCAW, I was working out of an apartment and had zero interaction with other entrepreneurs, which was pretty miserable. I felt isolated and had to do everything myself—after first teaching myself how to do it. Eventually, I joined EO Accelerator, headquartered the business in Atlanta Tech Village, and then joined EO’s Atlanta Chapter. Each was a stepping stone. While I was in EO Accelerator, CCAW was doing less than $1M in annual revenue, but I was mentored by EO members whose companies had crossed that threshold. The path to $1M suddenly became clearer. Before the move, we had almost zero technology. At Atlanta Tech Village, I was surrounded by tech companies, so I could bounce from floor to floor getting technical questions answered. Building tech became a lot easier and we surpassed $1M in annual revenue. Once I joined EO, I was surrounded by local peers who had built companies with annual revenue from $1M to $100M+ and who were willing to help in any way they could. The path to $10M spread out before me.

Without proximity to these groups, would we have exceeded $10M in revenue? Maybe. Did it help us get there faster? Without a doubt.

My experience tells me that being around people who are where you aim to be makes it more likely you’ll get there. Success seems more real when it has names and faces. You learn little secrets through osmosis. You can find out the details of their journeys, get game-changing intros, and ask for help strategizing. Proximity isn’t the deciding factor in your success, but it can be very influential.

How has proximity accelerated your success?

There’s a project I’ve been wanting to do for a few years, but I always told myself I didn’t have the time. Then a few weeks ago, I decided that during the pandemic would be the perfect time to knock it out. It’s about a subject that I have no experience with or knowledge about, so I’ve spent most of my time doing research. After a while, with a self-imposed deadline (which I had told other people about) approaching, something occurred to me: I hadn’t made enough progress, and I was going to miss the deadline if I didn’t make a change.

A few months back, I took the StrengthsFinder assessment. I shared my top two strengths in a previous post. My number three strength was that I’m a learner. StrengthsFinder defines “learner” as follows:

You have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites you.

Today, I realized that this strength was hindering me from completing my project. I was stuck in my comfort zone, learning more about it than actually doing it. In truth, I was unsure about how to move forward. My lack of experience and knowledge affected my confidence and I overcompensated with my “learner” strength.

So, the change I made was to reconnect with an acquaintance who has eight years of experience in this area. In an hour on Zoom, we caught up on life and he filled my knowledge gap. He gave me a high-level overview of the topic and specific recommendations geared to what I’m aiming to accomplish. After our call, I felt encouraged and super confident about how to proceed. I put my head down for three hours and finished the first version of the project. Unbelievably, in four hours today I accomplished more on this project than I’ve been able to do in years.

I have a few important takeaways from this:

• Self-awareness – My natural strength took over without my realizing it and handicapped me. Once I was aware of it, I had to offset the handicap.
• Experience sharing – In an hour, I was able to learn exactly what I needed from someone else’s years of experience. This saved me a ton of time and gave me the confidence to move forward.
• Roadblocks – For years, I thought my roadblock was lack of time. In reality, it was lack of confidence rooted in lack of knowledge and experience. The next time I put something off, I need to ask myself what the true root cause is.
• Public accountability – Setting a deadline and sharing it with other people made me accountable. Without the looming prospect of explaining my failure to those folks, I probably would have just pushed the deadline out. I’m glad I put myself under the gun.

How have you overcome self-doubt to reach a goal?

I had a recent conversation with some folks from a company that’s trying to survive the pandemic. They’ve furloughed many employees and seen revenue drop by half. They’re automotive B2B, so this isn’t surprising. (You may have noticed that cars aren’t being driven as much these days.) The company has a good reputation, quality products, and a good team. They’ve just been bludgeoned by our invisible enemy.

I asked about their plans. They intend to get business back to normal by communicating more often with current customers and convincing former customers to consider doing business with them again. This isn’t much different than what they’ve always done. The strategy isn’t bad, and I’m sure their customers appreciate the extra attention.

However, as I thought about it more, I saw neglected opportunity. Instead of strategically positioning themselves for post-pandemic success, they’re banking on the future looking like the recent past. But consumer habits have changed drastically since February. To be fair, people will revert to some of their old habits when they can, but even so, a host of new habits are being formed. Businesses like this one can choose: adapt, or risk being forced to give way to new companies created for new times.  

I view today’s mass transformation of consumer and business habits as a land-grab opportunity for forward-thinking, open-minded entrepreneurs. Those who acknowledge that habits are shifting and create products and services to meet consumers’ new needs will be successful.

What new consumer habits do you predict will stay with us post-pandemic?

Today I spoke with an entrepreneur who asked for my perspective on a distressed asset opportunity. He’s seeking opinions on whether he should pursue the deal and on ways to maximize the value of the asset.

It occurred to me how different the conversation was from others I’ve had recently. In the midst of a pandemic, this entrepreneur is thinking of jumping on an opportunity to acquire more assets when others are minimizing costs and stockpiling cash. As I thought more about this, I realized a few things:‍

• ‍Perspective – Where others see uncertainty, this entrepreneur sees opportunity. He’s your quintessential glass-half-full kind of guy. ‍
• Positioning – He has positioned himself to be presented with and to capitalize on opportunities. Over the years, he’s developed a strong network that he reaches out to regularly. This keeps him top of mind—people think of him when opportunities arise. And his network is full of subject matter experts who can provide valuable insights when he needs them. Lastly, he isn’t leveraged, so he can pull the trigger quickly when he sees an opportunity that he wants to seize. It’s classic “quick close” positioning.
• ‍Just the beginning – This could be the beginning of a period of exceptional opportunity for people with an appetite for risk and the vision to see post-pandemic potential.‍
• Relationships matter – The sellers could get more for their asset, but they’d rather deal with someone they know who has a track record of honoring his commitments.

The future is very uncertain, but some people will thrive. I see entrepreneurs turning ideas into great companies and creating value in distressed situations.  

What opportunities have you taken advantage of in uncertain times?

I recently caught up with an acquaintance who happens to bean entrepreneur. We discussed what’s happened since the last time we spoke and what’s on the horizon. He mentioned that a recent change of scene allowed him to focus better and feel more at peace. He’d been feeling distracted by how well some of his peers are doing and under self-imposed pressure to reach headline-grabbing heights. I was reminded of a quote I like:

Comparison is the thief of joy.

~ President Theodore Roosevelt

This entrepreneur has a thriving company. Revenues are growing and his team is expanding. By most measures, he’s achieved a remarkable level of success. Now, is he the most successful entrepreneur of all time? No. Has he made the cover of Forbes? Nope. Has he built a great company he can be proud of with happy customers? Absolutely!  

My big takeaway was that even accomplished people feel insecure. Successful people, like everyone else, have their moments—or days, weeks, or months—of self-doubt. They just may not be as open to admitting it. Fortunately for this entrepreneur, he is self-aware enough to recognize what was distracting him and make changes to mitigate the problem.  

How do you avoid comparing yourself to others?