Today I had a great conversation with investors. They mentioned how important it is to say no quickly. Their thesis is simple: you want to have straightforward criteria that allow you to quickly recognize when you can’t move forward. One example: an entrepreneur either is or isn’t a solo founder. An investor who has decided not to invest in solo founders won’t waste time and energy considering a solo founder’s startup. Listening to this reminded me of my early days at CCAW and how I learned this lesson the hard way.

Before we had a steady vendor base, I had to make cold calls and sell vendors on doing business with us. Courting tons of vendors and getting them to agree to partner with a company they’d never heard of was time consuming. Sometimes, after agreeing to terms, I would learn it wasn’t feasible to do business with them. A couple of common issues were that they didn’t have electronic products or couldn’t provide pricing data. They’d say something like, “Just call us and we’ll give you whatever you need.” I’d spent valuable time and energy on a relationship that would never go anywhere. It was frustrating, to say the least.

I eventually created a checklist of questions to ask vendors early on. It focused heavily on their technical and operational capabilities. If their answer to any of the questions was no, it wasn’t a good fit and I walked away. Over time, I refined the checklist to the point that we spent time only on partnerships that were a perfect match.

Define your bottom line and quickly say no when someone can’t meet your standards. You’ll find a lot of value in this, personally and professionally. We all get the same 24 hours; how we use them is what separates us. Walk away sooner rather than later from relationships that can’t progress.

How do you manage your time more effectively?

I’ve had thought-provoking conversations over the last few weeks about what’s needed for Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to reach the next level. What’s the next level? A regular stream of companies transitioning from early stage (sub–$100 thousand in annual revenue) to $250 million-plus liquidation events (acquisitions, IPOs, etc.) within ten years. Atlanta has a robust entrepreneurial scene and a community that’s super supportive (local government, universities, corporations, accelerators, etc.). In my opinion, Atlanta is one of the, if not the, strongest areas in the southeast for building businesses. But there’s lots of room for improvement.

The folks that I’ve talked with and I came up with a bunch of things that we think would help. But here’s what I believe could be game changing: people who’ve helped build companies that have had liquidation events exceeding $250 million. Founders, executives, key early employees, no doubt others. People who’ve earned their credibility by experiencing the journey to liquidation. These folks have seen the movie and they know how it ends. By no means am I saying that Atlanta doesn’t have such people. But there aren’t enough of them. I think that once you increase their presence in the city (assuming they’re excited to give back), you can start changing the ecosystem.

Why is that true? Easy . . . proximity to success. Going back to my post about this, it’s game changing for early-stage entrepreneurs to have access to successful people. If more people who know how to create companies that can liquidate for $250 million-plus are available to connect early-stage entrepreneurs with the right people and otherwise mentor them, the newcomers have a huge advantage. They are much more likely to succeed. Larger liquidation events happen more frequently, which attracts more investors, which attracts more high caliper entrepreneurs to the city. It creates a flywheel.

Now that we know what’s missing, how do we get more of these credible people in Atlanta?

I had a good conversation with someone in the fitness industry. As you can imagine, fitness, like other industries, is navigating the pandemic. He shared some great insights. Here are few takeaways:

• Gyms reopen – Where they’re open, usage is nowhere near pre–COVID-19 levels. Cancellations have accelerated. Personal training sessions are way down. So is class attendance.
• Spacing – Gym floor plans were designed to pack in as many machines as possible. That’s not safe now because it makes social distancing impossible. Equipment must be removed. More space could be leased, when feasible.
• Air quality – Hourly changes of air from outdoors, UV lighting, and air filtration aren’t things many gyms have thought about, but they may consider them to make customers feel safe.
• Virtual – Virtual exercise offerings by boutique gyms are surging. Clients have embraced them and these options will probably still be around later.
• Outdoors – With the quarantine, more people are exercising outside (e.g., running) and in groups (e.g., at “boot camps”). People love getting out of the house. Habits are forming and many will stick.
• Trainers – Many trainers have adapted their business models away from revenue sharing with gyms to outdoor boot camps and personal training. More of them are learning to build personal brands and market to attract clients.
• Peleton – Affluent consumers are embracing things like Tonal, Peleton, and other home options.

My biggest takeaway is that there is still a strong consumer desire to work out, but gyms currently can’t meet that need for the masses. This void has upended the industry and created an opportunity to provide new workout options that feel safer. Gyms will be forced to adapt and make investments they otherwise might not have ever considered. Exercise rooms may become more commonplace for home builders. Many people may continue to spend more time outdoors, playing sports or otherwise working out in the fresh air.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I predict that gyms will still be around but their business model will change. I think the home workout category will be the biggest beneficiary, closely followed by more biking, running, etc. and use of public recreational areas. I see scrappy entrepreneurs taking advantage of this opportunity and building the next generation of fitness businesses.

One of the most consequential decisions I made as an entrepreneur was to seek out mentors. Over time I had a few as CCAW transitioned. It took me several years to find my first really good mentor, but when I did it made a world of difference. At the time, CCAW was doing around $500,000 in annual revenue. The company was just me and one team member. My mentor was in a different industry, was doing around $60 million in annual revenue, and had more than a hundred employees.

I recently reflected on what made the relationship so impactful. There are lots of things, but one especially stands out: credibility.

When I described a challenge, my mentor could relate to it because years earlier his company had been at the stage where CCAW was. He drew on the specific experiences that helped him resolve the same challenge or one that was similar. His credibility came from having already achieved what I was trying to achieve. He shared his blueprint for success, which comprised knowledge amassed over many years. He essentially laid the path to success at my feet. I still had to walk the path, but I didn’t have to figure out where it was or what it looked like.

I believe that everyone could benefit from this type of wisdom and should consider establishing a relationship with a credible mentor. To increase the likelihood of a fruitful mentorship, I encourage people to first decide on the answers to two simple but powerful questions: What am I trying to accomplish? Has my prospective mentor successfully done the same sort of thing? If you can’t answer the first, you’re not ready to be mentored. If you can’t say “yes” to the second, you haven’t found the right mentor.

When seeking knowledge from another person, always consider whether he or she is credible. On my business journey, the wisdom of credible people has been a game changer many times.

I’ve begun testing a website builder. Webflow allows you to build beautiful websites without knowing how to code. Historically, creating a website required at least two skills: designing its look and feel and making it functional. For both, coding was a must. Now, though, user-friendly tools can help you create a great website without knowing the first thing about code. Webflow, Weebly, and Squarespace are just a few of them.

Here are my takeaways:

• Power – Webflow is extremely powerful. The possibilities feel endless.
• Learning curve – The product is dense because of all its capabilities. It’s intuitive once you understand the building blocks of the system, but it’s no iPhone. You can’t just start using it with no training or study. There is a learning curve.
• Webflow University – This resource is well thought out and user friendly. There’s lots of easy-to-digest content with great videos. An engaged user community helps you get answers to your situation-specific questions.
• Comparison – I played with WordPress and Webflow simultaneously. I liked Webflow better. Its educational resources were higher quality and more concise. I got the impression that Webflow has more native functionality, whereas WordPress requires plugins to accomplish some of the same tasks.
• Migrating – It appears that it could be challenging to migrate from Webflow to another platform, depending on the specifics of your site.
• Templates – The library of templates is impressive and a great starting point. Webflow doesn’t have as many as WordPress, but they are higher quality (in my opinion).
• Design – The platform isn’t a silver bullet and won’t save you if design isn’t your forte.

I’ll continue to play with Webflow and come up with a final verdict on it, but so far so good.

I remember, when I started CCAW, having conversations with teams of people to create simple brochure websites. The sums I paid back then for those simple projects are laughable now. With Webflow, the same things can be done by an entrepreneur in a weekend or, even if you want to use a good designer, for a fraction of their former cost.

I love how the no-code movement is allowing entrepreneurs to do more with fewer skills and resources. Reducing startup costs lowers barriers to entry and makes entrepreneurship a reality for more people.

If you want to start a company but are discouraged by limited resources or skills, see if a no-code solution is available. You probably aren’t the only person facing your challenge. Worst-case scenario, someone has documented their journey to the solution of the problem and you can follow their lead. Best-case scenario, there’s a no-code solution that can solve your problem quickly and inexpensively.

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

• Virtual learning – I took advantage of a few virtual learning opportunities, which I enjoyed. I’ll be doing this again.
• Change of scene? – Eight weeks of the same environment is getting a bit old. I miss the variety that coming and going entails. I’ve been debating whether to go somewhere else for the next month or so, and I’ll get some feedback and continue to mull this over.
• Relationships – Maintaining professional relationships may be harder in the medium term, so I started using a new tool that should help. I’m excited to play with my new toy and see how it helps my relationships.
• No meetings – For the first time in a long time, I had two days without meetings. With no interruption looming, I was focused and productive. However, I did miss the professional interaction.

Week eight was a good one. I was productive and in a good rhythm. No epiphanies this week—just an awareness that it’s been two months.

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.

Today I had a great conversation with a friend who owns a logistics company. His fleet of trucks delivers goods to individual consumers and businesses in Georgia. He shared his pandemic experiences with me. As others were hunkering down, his team was steadily making deliveries. He hasn’t felt the pain other entrepreneurs have. In fact, he’s thinking about expanding his business into more offerings and has a long-term vision for a large logistics firm.

As I listened, I thought about the big impact logistics has on our everyday lives. How is the food we eat delivered to restaurants and grocers? How do our medicines make their way to pharmacies? How does fuel get delivered to gas stations?

Because of the pandemic, I now receive a steady stream of deliveries. I asked my friend about consumer deliveries. He said this is an area that has changed and will continue to change. Consumers are having more things delivered, and he and his team are still learning how to grow that part of his business efficiently. He wishes there were more tools to help a smaller operator like himself better manage consumer deliveries.

Logistics isn’t sexy and it can be complex. But it’s an essential component of serving many large markets. Consumer deliveries will continue to expand rapidly. For people with knowledge and experience in this space, I foresee opportunities to build large businesses that provide tools to support the ability of smaller logistics companies to operate efficiently or help smaller companies whose core business isn’t logistics manage their logistics.

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?