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 the pleasure of being taken on a digital deep dive by a mentor. The content—social media marketing strategy—was prepared by VaynerMedia, so its quality was extremely high. Here are some of my takeaways:

• Platforms – Each should be viewed as serving a different purpose and targeting a different audience (usually). Knowing how to use the features of each platform is critical.
• Amazon – Marketers now see Amazon as a marketing platform. I hadn’t thought of it in that light.  
• Strategy – Without a defined strategy, your efforts probably won’t be effective. It should be tied to the organization’s larger objective. Having a strategic leader with social media experience is important.
• Team – Proper staffing and budgeting is a requirement. Treat digital marketing on social media like any other critical function.
• Outsourcing –It’s difficult for agencies to know what resonates with your customer. In-house is more effective—hire an internal team.
• GaryVee – There’s a serious machine behind his personal brand. It’s well thought-out and well funded. What the public sees is the result of a ton of behind-the-scenes effort.
• Perception – It’s everything, even if it isn’t reality.

Full disclosure: I’m awful at marketing. I’m just not wired to think that way.

I was extremely impressed by the thoroughness of the content. The way the strategy component was explained connected the dots for me. It’s like a light bulb clicked on. I now look at social media differently and have immense respect for its marketing value. Social media and marketing are rapidly changing and I’ll be excited to see how technical evolution affects their trajectories.

I recently explained that I completed a 60-day challenge to share my story via daily posts. Today I’m reflecting on what it’s meant to me.

My three big takeaways:

• Giving back – I still struggle with the notion that my experiences are valuable to others. I think of myself and my experiences as average. But telling the world about them has shown me otherwise. People have expressed how a post was helpful to them. It feels good to know that I’m adding value to others’ lives.
• Thinking – Writing forces me to synthesize scattered thoughts so other people can understand what I’m getting at. This was by far the biggest benefit. My brain is in a different state when I’m reflecting and looking for connections. It’s like I’m exercising my brain. I found myself bringing up my newly coherent thoughts in ordinary conversation.
• Top of mind – People I know but with whom I haven’t been in contact have reached out or commented. I’ve reconnected with some of them.

Lessons learned:

• Conditioning – Creating quality posts day after day is a big, difficult commitment. But it got much easier over time. I’m now conditioned to think of a topic and what I want to say about it and then write, every day.
• Consistency – Daily posts are perfect for me. Fridays and weekends are the hardest, but I still prefer doing them daily to taking days off.
• Timing – There’s no perfect time to start posting because it will be hard regardless.
• Perfection – Don’t aim for a Pulitzer every day. That’s not the point. It’s OK to miss the mark from time to time. Everyone has off days.
• Conciseness – Write simply. Leave the fluff out. I’ve noticed my emails and other writings are more concise now.
• Simplicity – I started with LinkedIn because an audience existed and the functionality was there. I focused on establishing my habit and thinking about my content. I was glad not to have to deal with marketing or technical challenges. LinkedIn isn’t perfect (for example, searching for articles isn’t great), but it’s good enough to start with.

What would I do differently?

• Start earlier – I’ve gotten so much from this that I wish I’d started years ago.
• Write succinctly – My first posts were more in depth but they took too long to write. A post should be short and communicate a single point. It needs to be created in a reasonable amount of time and be quick to read.
• Enhance visibility – There are ways to make posts more visible on and off LinkedIn. I wish I’d experimented more. After all, the goal was to help others. I can’t help them if they don’t see it.
• Add pics – At first, I was just focused on getting the content out. A reader suggested that I add photos to enhance visibility. Toward the end of the challenge I did, and it helped. I wish I’d done it earlier.

I’m appreciative of this challenge and look forward to maintaining this new habit. I hope others continue to see value in my posts.

For years, I’ve struggled with managing certain relationships. I do fine with family and close friends—I’m in touch with them regularly. (Mom may beg to differ sometimes.) It’s people outside this inner circle that I have trouble keeping up with. They get my attention at random times. Someone will pop into my mind and I’ll reach out to them when I get home (if I don’t forget).

After acknowledging my weakness, I decided to do something about it. I did some research and spoke with people about what I was trying to do. A close friend recommended the Fabriq app. It’s new and still evolving, but I decided to give it a try. I’m using it for my personal contacts. (I take a different approach to nurturing professional relationships.)

Here are some of my takeaways:

• Circles – The app triggered me to think about the type of relationship I have with each person and what circle they’re in (inner, middle, outer, etc.). This exercise took a bit of time, but it was very helpful.
• Schedule – You set the touch point frequency for each contact, and the app nudges you when it’s time to reach out. This has been useful—it’s helping me work toward establishing a habit.
• Reminders – Custom reminders can be set for important dates, follow-up activities, and anything else you like.  
• Notes – Information can be added for each contact. After a call I sometimes create a note about something important that I just heard but that I’m not likely to remember. I look over my notes about a person before calling them next time.
• Initiate contact – Texts and calls can be initiated from within the app. There are templates for conversation starters too.

Overall I’m pleased with the app. It’s not perfect, but it has improved how I manage relationships. I like how proactive Fabriq’s team is. They’re constantly improving the app, so I predict that it will get better over time. That said, it’s not a silver bullet. I still have to make the effort to use the app consistently.

What’s your strategy for managing personal relationships?

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 caught up with an entrepreneur friend. At the end of the call, I asked if there was anything that I could help him with. He asked if I could help get a college student an internship in AI, machine learning, programming, or a related field. The pandemic, he explained, has made it very difficult for students to obtain internships.

In college, I participated in INROADS. This organization prepared students for and connected them with internships at great companies. My older brother interned every summer because of his participation in INROADS. Naturally, I followed in big bro’s footsteps. That decision was pivotal. Not only was I introduced to other highly motivated students across the country, I also learned how to operate in a fortune 500 company and got a front row seat to national politics. My internship was year-round with one of the top lobbying organizations in Louisiana. My bosses were highly connected in politics and state government. That experience led to interning with a US senator in Washington, D.C., after my sophomore year. My final summer was spent as an IBM intern traveling around the country.

Those three internships had a huge impact on me. The work experience and the relationships that I developed helped prepare me for not just corporate America but also entrepreneurship.

The pandemic has changed things for most businesses. If you can, though, please consider giving a student an opportunity to gain experience this summer, even if it’s only part-time and unpaid. It could be the catalyst for great things in the student’s life.

How did an internship help your journey?

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?

Yesterday I watched the 2020 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting. It was held virtually and streamed live on Yahoo! Finance. I’ve never attended one of Berkshire’s annual meetings, so I figured this would be a great learning opportunity. Warren Buffett is a famous investor whose opinions about financial markets have a big impact on many people.

Here are a few of my takeaways:

• History – Buffett spent quite a bit of time giving a history lesson on the markets since his birth (which was during the Great Depression). He was extremely knowledgeable about market history, specific actions on specific dates, and key figures involved in those decisions. I’d imagine his knowledge of history has been a key factor in his success.
• America – He was bullish on America and warned his listeners many times that no one should ever bet against America.
• Airlines – Until recently, Berkshire owned roughly 10% of the four largest US airlines, which Buffett said all have excellent management teams. He thinks air travel has been fundamentally changed by the pandemic and sold Berkshire’s airline positions in March for $6 billion.
• Patiently waiting – Berkshire has over $137 billion in cash and cash equivalents, but it didn’t buy much of anything in March or April. Buffett said he hadn’t seen “anything that attractive.”

The meeting was packed with great information. I was impressed with Buffett’s mental and physical stamina. He talked nonstop for almost five hours about complicated topics and answered audience questions. I’m going to watch it again! I picked up a ton of great nuggets, but I’m sure I missed another ton of equally great ones. If this sounds interesting to you, consider watching the replay here.

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.