Here we are again – another fresh New Year upon us. Last year felt fast.
Maybe that’s due to the massive growth we’ve had, adding just shy of $14 million in ARR and an overall revenue increase of 31%. Growth IS painful and chaotic, often creating more stress and anxiety than slow to no growth, which is why so many businesses only eke out tiny incremental growth year over year. They intentionally, or subconsciously, keep a foot on the brake at all times, like the little old ladies driving around at 15 miles per hour, only blue hair and knuckles visible over the steering wheel as they putter down the street, creating traffic jams and going nowhere fast, cursing under their breath about all these “crazy drivers” speeding along at 40 miles per hour.
At events, I often show a slide that describes the behaviors of two mindsets – the entrepreneur on one side and the tech with helpers on the other: the entrepreneurial “brain” being the gas pedal that loves to innovate, sell stuff, do marketing and go fast; the operations/tech brain operating as a brake, wanting to slow everything down, find reasons why things won’t work, attempting to organize everything to the point of going nowhere, fearful, timid and HIGHLY skeptical of anything that smells like a sales pitch. I DO point out that the tech “brain” is necessary since a car without brakes is a very dangerous vehicle to operate, but most are too heavily mired in that “go slow” mindset (brake pedal) that tolerates – or even outright resents – salespeople and marketing, that fears speed and change, that wants to have an organized, low-stress, no-surprises existence doing the tech work. This is what we call a job.
Essentially, they are craftsmen who admire, appreciate and love the work they do, seeing their business as a vehicle that provides them with an outlet to do the work they love rather than with an income and profit-producing asset that delivers wealth – which is why they never learn the business end of the business. Doing so would require them to stop doing the technical work they love (and are comfortable with) and instead start doing the work they don’t like or want to do, including business planning, marketing, hiring, running the financials, creating budgets, etc.
These mindsets are not hardwired as most think and CAN be changed or at least shifted, as I’ve witnessed many times over the last 20 years of working with tens of thousands of MSPs, VARs and IT services CEOs who almost unanimously come to me operating as, and thinking like, the “tech with helpers,” but who transformed into entrepreneurs who go from broke to very, very wealthy, running profitable, successful and growth-oriented businesses. Yes, I teach marketing, but more specifically I show MSPs how to take their damned foot off the brake so they can make progress and profit.
Just recently a member shared with me that he made over $1.2 million in personal income from his business this past year, with more growth to come. This is a member who, when he first joined, was mired in break-fix clients, clueless about how to package, price and sell managed services and making less than $100,000 a year, working his tail off. I’m sure he’s still working his tail off, but the work is paying off in a successful climb UP rather than a frustrating gerbil-wheel run, where year after year you run harder and faster but get nowhere. A tech with helpers turned entrepreneur.
So, as we move into another year, a question to ponder is where are YOU holding yourself back, your foot firmly on the proverbial brake, taking little to no action and AVOIDING what you know needs to be done? What baggage should you put down and decide NOT to carry forward into THIS year?
Years ago, when I didn’t know how to recruit, keep and manage great people, I SWORE I’d never have more than 10 employees. Many clients who’ve been with me for over a decade remind me of this frequently now that we’re on pace and budgeted for 157 of them this year. That “foot on the brake” mentality did nothing but hold me back, making me a LOT more stressed than I am today. Once I took my foot off THAT brake, things started moving in the right direction, proving it was ONLY a stumbling block I chose to trip over and hold me back.
As you’re setting plans for this new year, it’s a worthwhile exercise to take a hard look at what you’re avoiding and why. Brakes are useful, but you cannot move forward with your foot pressed down on them, even slightly.
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