In CCAW’s early days I was constantly trying to convince vendors to work with us. They’d never heard of CCAW and I was asking them to do things they weren’t doing for other customers. I sounded like that annoying customer who would be a pain to work with. Many said no, but a few said yes. Often the terms and pricing were unfavorable because I wasn’t in a position to negotiate. The opportunity, though, was worth paying inflated prices.

Over time our spend and reputation with vendors grew. Our use of technology meant that our relationship required minimal interaction. Translation: our account was highly profitable. Vendors loved working with us. We eventually became the largest customer of some of them.

One day I realized that our relationships had evolved from customer–vendor to more of a partnership. We had a unique perspective (and data to support it) on their operations across many states. We also had customer insights nationally. None of their other customers provided these things.

We began to embrace our strengths. We started providing data to our vendors, but we also made an ask. We had been bearing the brunt of their operational mistakes and eating the costs. In our minds it was a cost of doing business. As we scaled, the error percentage stayed the same, but the dollars were material (e.g., an 1% error rate went from a loss of $1,000 to $100,000 annually). We asked them to assume this financial burden. We thought they would say no. After all, it wasn’t something they did for any other customer. To our surprise, they quickly agreed. No negotiation. Just a quick yes. Apparently, the value we brought to the relationship far exceeded the cost of our request.

Healthy relationships are bidirectional. This experience taught me a valuable lesson about managing healthy business relationships. Ask for what you need to receive from the relationship. Good partners will recognize your value and want to reciprocate by saying yes.

In the past few months I’ve given two presentations, one for Start It Up Georgia and one for Start It Up Summer School. Before these, I hadn’t presented to an external audience—one not affiliated with CCAW—in a decade. I was recently asked how I prepare. I didn’t have a ready response, and I recognized the value in thinking it through to answer the question. I decided to share my approach with everyone.

Keep in mind that I was doing what felt right as I went along. I didn’t have a written process. This post is the first time I’ve documented my approach to presenting, which plays to my strengths of being analytical and deliberative. Here’s how I go about it:

1. Research – I develop a deeper understanding of the topic and recent developments. I check to see if I’ve written any relevant posts (they’re useful because they capture my thoughts).
2. Reflect – What is the topic? Why do people want to hear a talk about it? What do I want the audience to walk away knowing? I jot down random ideas.
3. Perspectives – If I know people who’ve presented on the topic or are familiar with it, I ask for their perspective. I share my thoughts and ask for their feedback.
4. Outline – I create a high-level written outline. What are the major points I want to cover? Does this flow make sense? This helps me logically organize my thoughts.
5. Deck content – I create the first version of the deck. Some content is new; some is borrowed from previous presentations. Visually it’s ugly, but the material is there. I run through it to evaluate the logic and flow.
6. Visual design 1 – I send the deck to a designer. We go back and forth until we have a V1 draft that I like. Nailing down the overall look and feel of the presentation is the goal.  
7. Deck V1 – I create notes for each slide. I detail the main things I want to convey and any relevant stories from my past experiences. I practice the presentation a few times. I start to get a feel for my pacing, total presentation time, and logical flow. I adjust my notes and content and make a list of desired visual changes.
8. Visual design 2 – I send the change requests to the designer. We tweak until we have a final version.
9. Rehearsal – I rehearse the presentation until I feel comfortable with it from beginning to end. Every time I run through it, I make small changes to my slide notes. I know I’m done when I feel relaxed with the timing and delivery and can’t think of anything else to change.

This seems like a lot, but it really isn’t too bad. It can take as long as I need it to or as little as two or three days. I do multiple steps simultaneously. I try to be respectful of the time of other people who contribute, such as the designer, and avoid a last-minute fire drill. (Sadly, it doesn’t always work out that way.)

Public speaking isn’t something I enjoy. It makes me nervous. The butterflies don’t go away until the presentation is over, but this process helps me build the confidence I need to deliver a good presentation.

What’s your approach to preparing for a presentation?

Today marked the end of my twenty-second week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week twenty-two:

• Safe place – This was week two of working in a safe office space part of the week. I was focused and productive, which I needed. I enjoyed the separation between home and work. I feel better mentally.
• Pace – This past week and weekend were busy. The preparation for Start It Up Georgia and following up with attendees took more time than I planned for. I wouldn’t change anything about it, but I’m looking forward to a slower pace this weekend and next week.
• Paying it forward – I made a point of following up with Start It Up Georgia attendees who reached out. I had meetings with some of them this week and will have more over the next two weeks. It’s a big time commitment but I think it will be worthwhile. I’m excited to continue seeing the energy people bring to entrepreneurship. It feels good to play a role (albeit a small one) in their journey.

Week twenty-two was a busy one. Lots of moving pieces with high stakes. Luckily everything went well. I was happy to give back to others. Next week I’ll spend more time on large projects.  

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

When I identify a problem that I’d like to solve, I try to remind myself to be self-aware. Am I suited to solve this problem? I ask myself. As much as I want to, I may or may not be the right person. I have to be honest about my abilities; otherwise I could fail to capitalize on a great opportunity.

I’ve addressed (notice I didn’t say solved) problems I had no business addressing. With hindsight, I can see that I usually lacked one or both of the following:

• Sufficient understanding of a problem based on experience or deep knowledge of the space.
• Relationships in the space that could open closed doors or lead to potential customers.

At CCAW, we moved into a new product category that we weren’t qualified to enter. I saw an opportunity to solve a customer’s problem with acquiring certain parts. The result: a slog. We spent years trying to understand and solve the problem. We later learned that no one had solved the problem because of the extreme degree of complexity and dependencies involved. In the end our attempt was marginally successful and took way too long. One of our main competitors lapped us (a few times, actually).

In retrospect, no one on our team had any knowledge or relationships in the space. We were clueless outsiders trying to solve something we didn’t understand. We eventually figured something out (kinda), but it was painful and prolonged.

I now approach problems differently. If I know I’m not qualified, I identify where my gaps are and try to fill them. Working with partners who complement me—my strengths are their weaknesses and vice versa—has worked well.  I’ve also had success working to fill my gap. For example, when I lack experience, I look for opportunities to gain experience and learn (even if it’s unpaid).

Entrepreneurship is all about solving problems for paying customers. If you aren’t qualified to solve the problem, you probably won’t do it very well. (Not good for customer satisfaction!) Ask yourself if you should be solving this problem. If the answer is no, try to better position yourself.  

During yesterday’s Start It Up Georgia lesson lab, I shared tips that if implemented will increase an entrepreneur’s odds of success. Usually they’re learned by enduring painful mistakes. I hoped to help these aspiring entrepreneurs avoid some pain, save time, and succeed sooner. One of the tips was to focus. It seems simple and straightforward, but it’s very difficult to put into practice. Here’s what I shared:

• Squirrel syndrome – Entrepreneurs are optimistic people who see opportunity everywhere. This glass-half-full perspective is great, but it leads to short attention spans and being “all over the place.” Try to focus on one opportunity at a time. One problem at a time.
• Niche – Don’t boil the ocean. Solve a narrow problem first. When you nail that one, you can expand and solve related problems. If you try to do too many things at once, you’ll get nowhere.
• Target customer – Define and understand your target customer first. Identify the root of their problem and solve it. Once this customer is happy, you can expand to others.
• Metric – Measuring progress is important. Pick the one metric that matters most. Ideally it will be customer-related: number of new customers, revenue, new users, etc. Measure and focus on moving the needle on that metric.

When you start something new, you have limited time, energy, and resources. Efficiency is crucial to progress. Focusing on the things that matter most is a great way to maximize what you have. Yes, some balls will get dropped when you focus, but that’s OK. You can only do so much at once. Develop this habit and you’ll be on your way to success.

Take it from me—I learned the hard way!

Today I taught the inaugural lesson lab for Start It Up Georgia. This twelve-week virtual program introduces participants to all facets of starting a business, from testing an idea to forming a company to operating the business. Participants are matched with mentors who help them turn what they learn in each week’s lesson lab into actionable steps. The goal is to help aspiring entrepreneurs understand what it takes to be successful and educate them about the steps they should take to make entrepreneurship their reality.

When I was asked to teach the course, I wasn’t sure that I could make the time commitment. In the end I said yes, and I’m glad I did. My topic today was Entrepreneurship: Do You Have What It Takes? More than 340 people attended. I was shocked! I’ve never taught so many people. The team at Atlanta Teach Village did a great job making sure the event ran smoothly and successfully.

I appreciate being offered the opportunity to teach and hope I was able to inspire others to pursue entrepreneurship. It’s exciting to be part of something with so much potential and I’m looking forward to seeing what new companies come out of it!

Today marked the end of my twenty-first week of working from home. Here are my takeaways from week twenty-one:

• Safe place – This week I tested working outside the house in a safe office space. I occasionally saw maybe two other people. I worked in a private office separated from others by glass, which was reassuring. I was able to relax and enjoy the different environment. My focus improved and I was more productive. I’m wondering if the future of work will include more private spaces and fewer communal ones.
• Deadline – This week I’ve been more focused because of a deadline. The change of scene helped me make substantial progress toward meeting it. Deadlines have a weird way of making people get down to business. Me included.
• Sharing – I shared my upcoming project with someone this week. It was one of those “What are you working on?” conversations. I didn’t expect anything to come of it, but he told me about some of his experiences with similar projects and gave me some great ideas for mine. I was glad I shared.

Week twenty-one was a pretty normal week. No major takeaways. I’m just glad I had a productive week.  

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

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed an increase in people considering becoming an entrepreneur. If you don’t have a relationship with a successful entrepreneur, it can be hard to know if it’s for you. You’re on the outside looking in, trying to understand what’s going on. Most people read books, listen to podcasts, and scour the internet as a substitute for personal connections. They’re trying to fill their knowledge gap so they can make a decision.

I was recently asked to create a framework that people can use to answer the question “Is entrepreneurship right for me?” It’s a tough task because that’s a multifaceted question. Every person’s circumstances are unique. The traits that make some entrepreneurs successful cause others to fail. It’s situational and challenging. I’ve thought about this before, but not deeply enough to develop a framework. I admit it—I’m struggling.

I have had one insight that I think can be consistently applied to anyone considering entrepreneurship. Ask yourself this question: “Will I enrich lives as an entrepreneur?” Here are my thoughts:

• Customers – The goal of any entrepreneur is to identify a problem, create a solution, and sell that solution to customers. You should enrich your customers’ lives with your product or service. Your entrepreneurial career will be short-lived if your customers aren’t happy. If the solution you envision won’t add value to your customers’ lives, entrepreneurship—at least with that idea—isn’t for you.
• Loved ones – The entrepreneurial journey is full of twists and turns. And you don’t travel it alone. Will entrepreneurship enrich the lives of people you care about? Will they learn from your experience; will they build relationships they otherwise wouldn’t have; will they be afforded opportunities and positive experiences? The answers should be yes. And in my opinion, enriching the lives of loved ones through entrepreneurship includes establishing a downside floor. Otherwise, you could permanently damage their lives. If your entrepreneurial journey will expose people close to you to unacceptable levels of discomfort, entrepreneurship isn’t for you—even if the upside is unlimited.
• You – Entrepreneurship is an iterative process. You constantly experiment. Some things succeed, but many fail. Entrepreneurs need lots of curiosity and a high tolerance for failure. If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, you must be honest with yourself about how failure will affect you. Will it enrich your life by feeding your curiosity and helping you make a better decision next time? If the answer is no, entrepreneurship may not be for you.  

Because every person and every person’s situation is unique, there is no cookie cutter approach to deciding whether to pursue entrepreneurship. In my opinion, entrepreneurs exist to serve others. If enriching the lives of customers and loved ones rings the bell for you . . . you just might be an entrepreneur!

A thing I’ve noticed about entrepreneurs is how busy most of them are. They usually have a ton of things in their head. New ideas, current projects, you name it. I’ve been asked a few times how I manage lots of moving pieces. I’m human like everyone else and admittedly struggle with this sometimes, but here are a few things that work for me:

• Park it – I put my ideas somewhere in writing—often, in the iPhone notes feature. Parking lots let me catch and release. They get things out of my head and I don’t have to fear forgetting them. This frees up mental bandwidth and reduces stress.
• Visualize – When I get really busy or take on projects that involve lots of tasks and connected pieces, it helps me to visualize everything. Tools like Airtable are great for tracking and visualizing things in a variety of ways. Looking at something organized in a certain way makes it seem more manageable.  
• Prioritize – I have only a finite amount of time and energy. I can’t accomplish an infinite number of things. I prioritize and try to work on the highest-priority tasks first.
• Slippage – Things will occasionally fall through the cracks and that’s OK. Everyone is human. The trick is to make sure the things that slip aren’t mission critical. I try to identify things that can and can’t slip.
• Think about it – I’ve been guilty of saying yes too often. Over time I would end up taking on way more than I could do. I now avoid giving an on-the-spot answer to big requests. I ask for time to think about it and then I figure out if it works with everything else on my plate. If it doesn’t, I politely decline.
• Strengths – When I have a task in an area where I’m weak, I try to find a specialist and ask them for help. Sometimes they’re paid. I’ve learned that completing something I’m weak at takes me five or ten times as long as it does a specialist. And the end result is only half as good most times. It’s efficient to leverage the strengths of others.

What are your tricks for managing lots of moving pieces?

I really enjoy talking with early entrepreneurs. Their combination of energy and optimism is unique. And it’s educational for me— the problems they’re solving are often new to me. When I chat with someone starting a company, I look for the answer to an important question. One that matters a lot to their chances of success. Is anyone holding them accountable?

I thought about the early days of building CCAW and realized something interesting. My most productive periods were when I was accountable to someone. Now, I’m not saying that accountability was the only reason I made progress or achieved success, but I am saying that it was a big factor.

In my opinion, volunteering to be held accountable doesn’t come naturally to most people. It’s human nature to do what you want when you want. We lean toward doing things we enjoy or are comfortable with. But building a company requires execution in all areas. You have to do a lot of things you hate or at least are unfamiliar with. You can create a great service or product, but if you can’t sell it to anyone, you fail. This is where accountability helps so much. It motivates you to do things you struggle with. When you give people permission to ask you for updates, you’re more likely to make progress because you don’t want to let them down (and embarrass yourself).

Accountability can be formal or informal. Co-founders, peer groups, advisors, spouses, family, friends—anyone you don’t want to disappoint—can hold your feet to the fire. Whatever the details, you must commit to what you want to accomplish, give regular updates, and be truthful no matter what.

Peer groups held me accountable. Every month, we all answered the same questions: Since we last met, what have you accomplished? Give us the highlights—positive and negative—of what you’ve been doing. What do you plan to accomplish before our next meeting?

Want to accomplish something significant? Arrange your life so you’re accountable to someone. You’ll be more productive and more likely to succeed.