Today I had a conversation with a fellow entrepreneur that blew me away. We started our companies around the same time, so our paths have crossed in Atlanta’s startup community over the years. Recently we’ve gotten to know each other better and have discussed how to improve the ecosystem for future entrepreneurs.

Today, we each talked about our background and our entrepreneurial journey. We wanted to help each other understand how our experiences shaped us and how they fuel our passion to help others. As we talked, we realized that we’re connected not only as entrepreneurs but also in various ways on a very personal level. We have close personal relationships with people who in turn have close personal relationships with each other.

Honestly, I was surprised. I didn’t anticipate the deep level of personal connectedness we uncovered. I had no idea we knew the same people. I’m thankful for the conversation. It allowed us to connect in a different way and develop a deep understanding of each other. I anticipate that it will prove to be the foundation of a great relationship.

Relationships are central to entrepreneurship (and, more broadly, to life). Entrepreneurs continually build relationships as we participate in various unrelated groups. Across many years, paths will cross. Inevitably, relationships will bleed over from one group to another and between business and our personal lives.

Relationships make the world go ’round—and the world is much smaller than we realize. Be mindful of this, entrepreneurs, in all your endeavors.

Today I attended a training session with other seasoned entrepreneurs. The topic was storytelling. Storytelling is conveying information in a way that resonates with people emotionally. Here’s a quote that sums it up well:

A story is a vehicle that allows you to put the facts in an emotional context.

~ Peter Guber

This topic interests me a lot. Why? Because I think I’m pretty bad at storytelling. I hope learning more about it will help me improve. After today’s session, I clearly understand where I’m lacking.

Here’s my big takeaway. Persuasive stories require the following:

• Ethos – Credibility and trustworthiness open people up. People listen to you if you have sound character. It’s tough to persuade if you’re perceived as shady.
• Logos – Logic, facts, and sound reasoning are convincing. If what you’re saying makes sense, people listen.
• Pathos – Talking about hopes and dreams, fears and worries, beliefs and ideals appeals to your audience on an emotional level.

We learned a lot of other great things too, like how to structure a story.

I see what my problem is. I’m a very logical person. Naturally, my stories tend to be heavy on logos. I try not to speak about things outside my experience, so ethos isn’t an issue. But my arguments lack pathos. They don’t have emotional appeal. I shy away from revealing how I feel or how something affects me personally. If my facts and logic make sense, people will be persuaded, right? Wrong! Now I know that most people will be swayed only by a story that balances all three elements.

I wish I had known this earlier. Storytelling is hugely important. It helps people buy into your vision—no small thing. It has implications for recruiting, team moral, sales, partnerships . . . Tell good stories and you will paint a clear picture of where you’re headed and convince your team to help you get there.

To every aspiring and current entrepreneur: are you a skillful storyteller? If not, figure out where you fall short and fill that gap. Telling a better story can do great things for your entrepreneurial journey!

Today I attended a webinar for early entrepreneurs about creating a minimum viable product (MVP). I know the presenter and wanted to support him. I also wanted to hear the latest and greatest on this concept. An MVP is a bare-bones version of a product. It’s designed to address your issues just enough to enable you to get feedback from customers. The feedback shapes what you build going forward.

Listening to the session today, a few things stood out. Speed was one. Getting something in the hands of customers quickly is key. Setting a launch deadline and meeting it, no matter what, is a great strategy—even if some features don’t make the cut. I can attest to that because I did the exact opposite at CCAW. Coming from corporate America, I was used to perfectly worded emails and lots of conversation before any action was taken. I kept working that way, wasting tons of time on things that didn’t matter at such an early stage. Perfection was the enemy of progress. It took me a while to learn that lesson, but I did. An email wasn’t perfect . . . oh well. We pushed the product out by the deadline but it was only 80% finished . . . no biggie. Progress was what mattered, and for that we needed feedback.

Another important thing the presenter said is how simple an MVP can be. It doesn’t have to be something that requires coding or other technical skills. You just need something that allows you to test and get feedback. The presenter once used spreadsheets (Google Sheets) as an MVP. Talk about simple and quick! He mentioned no code-platforms like Webflow as a possibility. His message: don’t overcomplicate it. You may end up scrapping it based on customer feedback anyway.

If you’re considering entrepreneurship, make sure you understand the MVP concept and how to apply it. Getting something in the hands of customers quickly can help you find a product–market fit much sooner—and succeed sooner. Wouldn’t that be great?

I caught up with a founder who shared his recent lessons learned. The pandemic forced him to shift his in-person educational events to Zoom. The lack of personal interaction initially concerned him. He worried about his customers not being able to interact and build relationships. In the end, he didn’t have a choice, so he decided to make the best of it. Soon, he realized he had an unexpected chance to capture content. He recorded the Zoom sessions and is building a content library and supporting marketing materials. He will offer the content to future customers as well as those he has now.

His story reminded me why he’s an entrepreneur. His positive attitude helped him adapt to a bad situation. Because he sees his glass as half full, he recognized an amazing opportunity and took advantage of it. I loved his outlook and approach. In the end, he exceeded his pre-pandemic expectations.

Sometimes the best-laid plans go awry. It happens to all of us. You did everything you were supposed to, but it wasn’t meant to be. Some things are out of our control. But these hiccups don’t determine whether we ultimately succeed or fail. In my opinion, perspective and response do. How we respond to adversity is 100% within our control. Our response is usually a reflection of our perspective. If we believe the cloud we’re under has a silver lining, chances are we’ll find it.

Next time things don’t go as planned, don’t fret. Consider what you can do to make something good happen.

Accomplishing anything significant usually requires a team. Sure, one person may be able to do it, but it will be many times harder and take much longer. The thing that makes teams so special is their synergy. Teams comprising members whose strengths and weaknesses are complementary in important areas are strong and may make the difference between the business succeeding or failing.

Not embracing this fact—or, for that matter, even knowing it—hindered me at various points in CCAW’s journey. You’d think I would have learned my lesson, but I didn’t. I didn’t know any better and didn’t have people pointing out this oversight until late in the journey. It was a huge knowledge gap.

Early on I had an idea, but I didn’t know if it would work. I focused on testing and figuring everything out myself. The end result was good: I got a product/market fit. But it took much longer than it should have. Like, years longer. I missed out on first-mover advantage in our space. We played catch-up while key vendors benchmarked us against a competitor.

Years later, we were at around $7 or $8 million in annual revenue. We had developed a reputation for being well run and fair to customers and vendors. We reached a point where a comprehensive go-to-market strategy was needed to get to my $100 million goal. How should we market to customers and installers? How could we most effectively partner with suppliers and manufacturers? How could we acquire customers cost-efficiently and predictably? All extremely important questions! I didn’t have experience in these areas, nor did anyone on the team. I tried to find people to bring on board, but I didn’t make it a top priority. So, we had a huge weakness in a critical area because I didn’t add the right people. We never hit the $100 million goal.

Creating a vision for CCAW was important. Honestly, It took me years to figure it out—much longer than it should have. Operating in our space was difficult because it was constantly shifting. My big mistake was in not thinking deeply about the skills required to achieve my vision and making it a priority to add people who had them to our team.

If you’re thinking of accomplishing something significant (personal or professional), consider what skills are needed to make your vision reality. Then figure out who has the skills you lack. Answering these questions could put you on the path to greatness with a great team.  

I was scheduling time to connect with a friend this weekend. I suggested trying a new app. He jokingly shot back, “What’s wrong with calling my cell . . . too old school for you lol?” It was funny, and it also reminded me of something about myself: I look for ways to improve things so they can reach their full potential.

I knew zero about technology when I started CCAW. Once I had product/market fit, I began to create a vision for the company. One thing was obvious: manual processes wouldn’t cut it. I started looking for a better way. Luckily, I got to know a few founders of tech companies via EO Accelerator. They made me aware of all sorts of technologies I had never heard of. Connecting the dots, I saw how CCAW could benefit from them. Fast forward to years later: we’d built in-house tech that made it possible for us to reach eight-figure revenue. We had turned my vision into reality.

Continually looking for a better way is what drives me as an entrepreneur. In hindsight, I see that it’s what led to my success. It’s who I am and how I’m wired. I believe that everything and everyone can reach their full potential. The hard part is figuring out how to make it happen.

How will you reach your full potential?

I’ve thought about what hindered and helped me as an entrepreneur. The list is long . . . really long. One realization: my more-than-a-decade-long journey was segmented. Each segment demanded something different from me. First came ideation. I tested until I found a viable model, persuaded customers and vendors to work with me, and figured out how to finance everything. Later, at $5 million in revenue, came the scaling segment. I needed to expand the team, build scalable systems and processes, and share my vision. There were other segments too. These are just two examples.

In hindsight, not knowing what to expect hindered me. I hadn’t seen the movie. I didn’t understand there would be segments. In fact, I didn’t understand a lot of things. I spent a ton of time figuring out where I was, what was going on, and what I needed to do to progress. Sound like a lot? It was. Doing it all at once slowed me down. Luckily, eventually I was able to surround myself with credible entrepreneurs who illuminated the journey by telling me about their experiences. Then I knew where I was and what I needed to do, and I just had to execute. Of course, I’m oversimplifying, but you get the idea.

Understanding what segment I was in, knowing what skills were important in that segment, and walking it with folks who’d done it successfully were game changers.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking to accelerate your progress, consider learning what the whole journey will look like, identifying what segment you’re in, and learning from people who’ve already navigated it.

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I recently had a conversation with an aspiring entrepreneur. She’s passionate about an idea and has the technical training to execute it. She asked my opinion on various things, which I happily gave. But she still wasn’t quite sure what to do next. I asked, “What’s the single most important thing you can do right now?” She named something. I suggested she start by taking action on that one thing.

As we talked, I thought about my journey as an entrepreneur. Early on, I was full of ideas and didn’t know where to start. When I was working with others, we could talk endlessly. Sometimes the sheer number of possibilities felt paralyzing. Indeed, sometimes I was paralyzed. Over time, I learned that one thing matters: action. It was action that would change a situation. It was action that would turn my vision into a reality. It was action that would separate us from others. At a certain point, I had to stop talking and start doing.

That lesson took me years to learn, but I’m glad I did. Taking action on something, even when the way forward isn’t 100% clear, has been my key to progress. It changed my life.

I’m encouraged by the positive conversations we’re having as a nation about race and police brutality. They’re overdue and they’re helping us gain the understanding of one another that we so badly need. As you have these conversations, consider asking yourself a simple question after each one: “What action am I going to take now?”

Today marks my ninetieth consecutive day of sharing my thoughts in posts. (I previously described how this started.) I recently spoke with a peer about my experience. He’s considering doing it too and wanted to ask me a few questions. By the time we finished chatting, I had had an epiphany: I understand things better when I share my thoughts widely.

I tend to think deeply about things. I try to understand by identifying connections that aren’t obvious. I used to ruminate and perhaps talk with one or two people very close to me. That approach was flawed. It didn’t help me achieve my ultimate goal: understanding.

It was a mistake to not share my thoughts or to do so only with a few like-minded people. I avoided opening up to others with different perspectives who would test my thinking or point out my blind spots (we all have them). I wasn’t really trying to understand, because I wasn’t talking to people who would be likelier to disagree with me. Naturally, I saw things only through the lens of my life experiences. My reality. I would come to understand an issue, or think I did, but since I looked at it only from my own narrow angle, I ended up missing things.

Sharing my thoughts broadly invites feedback. It sparks great conversations—opportunities for me to listen. I get glimpses of other people’s realities. I see things from their angle! I’ve learned that truly understanding something means getting as close as possible to a 360-degree view of it. The more people I talk to who are different from me, the closer I get to that goal.

Sharing my thoughts daily has illuminated all of this. Sometimes my initial thinking is wrong. (Whose isn’t?) When I share my thoughts with the world, I’m inviting others to help me acquire true understanding. Each person bridges a gap in that 360-degree circle.

I didn’t envision understanding things better as a benefit of sharing when I began posting every day, but it is, and I’m thankful for it.

I encourage everyone to share their thoughts more widely. It doesn’t have to be through writing; do it in a way that works for you. When you get feedback, listen. You’ll understand things much better.

This week, I shared some lessons I’ve learned with Startup Summer School attendees. One of the biggest was how important a cofounder is. I started CCAW as a solo founder. Even though it worked out—CCAW was a success—it was painful. Our progress was slower than it could have been and I was stretched super thin. I’ve thought more about why a cofounder is so beneficial. One word sums it up: accountability.

I often hear “not having to report to anyone” and “being my own boss” as top reasons for being an entrepreneur. But the most successful entrepreneurs are accountable to someone: a board of directors, cofounders, investors. Accountability leads to success. No accountability can prevent or slow your success. Why is that?

Accountability means that you’re expected to deliver on commitments by taking action. Others are relying on you. If you don’t deliver, there are clear repercussions for yourself and others. Translation: you can’t do whatever you want, whenever you want.

When you’re accountable to no one, you don’t have to commit. No commitment means no clear repercussions. Translation: you think you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Entrepreneurship is all about taking action to meet a goal. But when you’re not accountable to anyone, you tend to take action when you want to, not when you need to. Over time, no action or slow action hinders you. And you shortchange yourself and everyone who works for you but doesn’t have the power to hold you accountable.

If you’re starting a company, try not to go it alone. And whatever you’re doing, find a way to make yourself accountable to someone.