Mar
30
How To Be Selectively Unreasonable
What does it take to run a successful business?
Some people say it’s savvy.
Some people say it’s leadership.
Some people say it’s money.
Some people say it’s determination.
Some people say it’s faith.
Some people say it’s luck.
Most people say it’s a great idea.
But show me a failed business, and I’ll show you an owner with at least one of those assets in spades.
Clearly, succeeding in business takes more than we think.
The reality is that what you need to run a business changes every day. And some days, it changes back to what it was yesterday, or last week, or last year. And no guru can give you the magic solution or the perfect skill that will, with the right amount of effort, turn you into a success.
The tragic thing is, I’m not talking about magic pills. I’m not talking about the gurus who are trying to sell you a get-rich-quick scheme. I’m talking about legitimate unsleazy people telling us we need better time management skills or better networking skills or better funding or a better business plan.
Their advice isn’t bad. It’s just incomplete to the point of gross negligence.
Because time management or networking or funding or planning WILL NOT MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCEED. (Go write that down on a piece of paper and stick it to your bathroom mirror. It’s fine, I’ll wait.)
The real trick to business success?
Knowing how to be selectively unreasonable.
Deciding there’s money in the toe sock industry? Good unreasonable.
Paying $1000 in advertising on your credit card for socks you’ve never made? Stupid unreasonable.
Deciding there is NOTHING FUCKING WRONG with quitting your day job, no matter what your mother says? Good unreasonable.
Quitting your job because you know a lot of people have made money with niche sites? Stupid unreasonable.
But how the hell do you know if you’re being GOOD unreasonable or STUPID unreasonable?
You don’t. Isn’t THAT a bitch?
You need to be comfortable with risk. You can’t be so comfortable that you risk your assistant’s salary. You need to be confident. You can’t be so confident that you come off as an asshole.
And so on. And so on. And so on.
And therein lies the problem. It is essentially impossible to make the good vs. stupid determination in a vacuum. You can’t be objective. You can’t see the bigger picture. You can’t put things in perspective.
It’s not your fault you don’t know.
You don’t know what has worked for other people and you don’t know what has failed BECAUSE THEY WON’T FUCKING TELL YOU. (Why would they tell you now when they could tell you something small and then sell you the answer later?)
You wish you had a great business coach. You wish you had someone to guide you through all the drama of starting a business. You wish you had someone to teach you how to be selectively unreasonable.
Except you can’t afford a business coach.
(God, imagine how nice it will feel when you can make your decisions based on factors OTHER than money?)
I agree. You probably can’t afford a business coach. But you just might be able to afford the new IttyBiz coaching program called the IttyBiz SpeakEasy.
It’s a monthly program with coaching calls, guest experts, unlimited access to me by email, open chat sessions, and asskicking emails telling you EXACTLY what to do to move your business forward.
Seriously. I know money is tight, but you might be able to afford this. Go check it out.
There is also no magic pill. the situation is too complex and individual. BUT being part of a community like the one you are running is going to provide an opportunity for people to work out what applies in their situation. To figure out their complexity. To try things out. And to get feedback.
This is crucial. A successful business is built on hard work, making mistakes, and learning from your mistakes. It is easier to limit the size of those mistakes and maximize the learning from them in a supportive group.
This is an amazing development Naomi. I predict much success.
You have to take risk. No one knows exactly what they are getting into when they start something but if you put some thought into it you can measure risk to a degree.
But in the end put yourself out there. It’s the only way to truly know.
You are SO right! Having lived through this twice and observing it multiple times there is no magic pill. More companies fail than succeed for a variety of reasons…best thing to do is keep going up to bat and try to factor in as best as possible the curve balls life throws you. Those curve balls are doozies and make you wonder why you get up each day sometimes. :-)
Wow, reading about the SpeakEasy program blew my mind. For one, I finally sat down and wrote my sales page for consulting late last night. I included two options, one was a basic hourly consulting that lots of people (including IttyBiz) offers. The other was something I came up on my own, a package that includes 1) 4 hour long calls (1 per week) and 2) unlimited email consulting over the month – two things I had not seen anywhere else before I made it up AND I read it on the SpeakEasy after. So when I read the SpeakEasy page this morning I was like whoa… that’s spooky. But great minds speak alike so they say.
Another reason why it freaked me out is that I planned to charge $1500 for this package while you’re charging $44. Yeah. ‘Course mine is different, like the entire thing is just with the client and they’re really only supposed to do it for 1 month versus a subscription model, etc. But still, it made me think I might be crazy for charging that much.
The last reason it blew my mind was that I can actually afford it. Well, I can afford it for a month because I can afford $44. After that my business better start picking up the tab.
Hey Naomi,
Just because I haven’t mentioned it yet (today, anyway) I’m totally psyched for the SpeakEasy!
WOO HOO! You so rock, woman! Leave it to Naomi to create a huge, packed full of good stuff membership program that is affordable and allows so much freakin access!!
Thanks Naomi! Can’t wait to get started with the first call later today!
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