Business Brain Pickings

small businesses account for 99.9% of all US firms,
98% of them make no profit in the first years and 10% of them fail,
the average annual income for a small business with no employees is $44k.

it is HARD work having a small business,
I’ve been there, I should know, maybe you know it too.

now, it’s impossible to get any real numbers on this, so use your guesstimation…
out of the 80’ish million US users on TikTok, it is fair to say that a substantial amount are small business owners.

I often see them on my FYP advertising their businesses with behind the scenes footage, “life in the day of” videos, doing live Q&A streams and…

publicly shaming and complaining about their customers.

grumbling about your customers isn’t a particularly new phenomenon, (the customer isn’t, in fact, always right) but doing it so openly is.

I admire people’s entrepreneurial pursuits and their desire to take their financial freedom into their own hands…

however, (almost) no one can get rich unless they enrich others,
and they most certainly will not build a clientele by bullying the very people that show an interest in their products.

the bar to start a business is so low, that most people do it for themselves; consequently, they treat customers as an unnecessary inconvenience.

I’m sure you’ve had unfortunate experiences dealing with disgruntled workers sitting at the till, or on other end of an email exchange, that genuinely seem not to want your business.

the same system that allows us private ownership (capitalism) also allows the customer to take their hard earned coins elsewhere.

put your customers first and you’re already doing more than most.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 257 of the year, there are 108 days remaining of 2022.

right now, are you wearing the cheapest possible t-shirt you could buy?

what about the device you’re reading this on, is it the cheapest?

that time you had to get a minor procedure done, did you look for the cheapest doctor?

why not?

as much as people love to complain about the cost of products, they rarely buy on price alone.

people want to feel like they got a good deal, that’s it.

if I sell you a brand new iPhone for $100, your first reaction is to think there’s something wrong with it,
if I sell it to you for $3000 you’ll want to know what’s so special about it.

intrinsically we know we get what we pay for.

next time you want to lower your prices ask yourself “am I giving them a deal or am I making them question the quality of the product”

a very good book on pricing is “How to Sell at Margins Higher than Your Competitors“

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 248 of the year, there are 117 days remaining of 2022.

if you were to start a business today, you have a:

20% chance of failing within the first 2 years;
45% chance of failing within the first 5 years,
65% chance of failing during the first 10 years.

843,320 businesses were started in 2021 in the US.
statistically 168,664 will close shop by the end of this year (2022)

inspiring prospects.

it’s very tempting to sit here and offer broad reasons as to why this happens:
poor management,
lack of financing,
bad karma…

ultimately, the most important thing to understand is this:

most people don’t plan to fail,
they just fail to plan.
(yes, even for bad karma)

you don’t have to be the CEO of doing things the hard way,

for every 3 out of 4 businesses that fail,
1 thrives survives for 14+ years.

find out what they are doing,
and do the same thing.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 238 of the year, there are 128 days remaining of 2022.

whatever brilliant thing you were going to do this year,
do it this month.

whatever brilliant thing you were going to do this week,
do it today.

whatever brilliant thing you were going to do today,
do it now.

become a person of immediate action.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 223 of the year, there are 144 days remaining of 2022.

the world collectively lost its s#!t when Simon Sinek published his now bestseller, Start with Why.

for the first time in the history of trade, we’re not selling services because:
A. we were born into it
B. our livelihood depends on it
C. it’s just way things are

we do it because we want to make an impact, we want change, we want to matter, to be unique, to be remembered, to be appreciated,

we also want money, but that’s not new.

when why replaces how,
work is whatever you want to change,
and what a privilege that is.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 207 of the year, there are 158 days remaining of 2022.

the first time I’ve ever had to write a CV was for school, as homework.
it’s not all that surprising, seeing how I have a bachelor’s degree in human resources.

what is surprising, however…

is that, my first time writing a CV, has conveniently also been, my last.

why? well, at the risk of inserting too many backfitting explanations, it still reads as nice story, so here goes…

CV is an acronym for curriculum vitae.
curriculum = course/schedule
vitae = life

I’ve been completely financially independent since the old age of 20,
have had quite a few jobs clients since,
and have never once been asked to summarize my life’s course,
not in a linear-progression-of-job-titles-per-anum kind of way.

and thank god for that, I don’t think my kindergarten teacher would want to provide a reference.

work is less about the different forms of work and is more about the skills you develop playing this infinite game.

if you’re lucky to live in a country that gives you the freedom of choice and information, then you hopefully know that no one in history has ever had more options to choose a new career and access to learn the necessary skills, than we have today.

there is nothing inherently wrong with the idea of having your life’s course laid out, for an employer to measure your fit within the company,

what is wrong, is the mass obsession it produces for aesthetic job titles, as opposed to rewarding, or, dare I say, enjoyable ones.

I understand the need for a system that allows for easy vetting, but we must not substitute rigor for logic,

there are innumerable inimitable personal and professional experiences that cannot be reflected in a LinkedIn profile.

we have the technology to do it,
it’s simply a matter of erasing the hard lines the industrial revolution has drawn around work,

now we know better, so we must do better.

as for myself…

I am moved like a puppet pulled by the strings of my own curiosities,

the collection of rabbit holes I have fallen into trying to figure out “how this fucking thing works” now accounts for my continuously evergrowing and everchanging skillset,

I’ve completed enough levels to now know what game I want to play, indefinitely.
(at least for now)

today is day 199 of the year, there are 166 days remaining of 2022.

if you’ve been writing marketing copy for more than 5 minutes you’ve probably heard of Blair Warren’s “One Sentence Persuasion…”

People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.

I used to break it apart into a checklist and revisit my copy to ensure I’ve touched all of those points, at least once…

still do, sometimes.

but regardless of the niche I would write for and how familiar I was with the topic, “justifying their failures” came completely naturally to me,
the keys on my computer would press themselves faster than I could read,

I have an unfair advantage, you see…

I’m in a strong, monogamous, relationship with failure,
her and I go waaay back,

come what may,
through thick or thin,
better or worse (especially worse,)
we stick by each other,

I feared her for the longest time,
didn’t want to commit, felt like she was weighing me down,
so we were on and off for while…

it was futile of course,
the second I understood what a great talent for teaching she had, I went running back to her.

we’ve never been apart since.

I love failure.

she forces me to ask all the right questions and give name to the nameless so it can be thought.

I failed at every single thing I’ve ever done, you have too.

the guaranteed way to success is to be willing to fail long enough until you succeed.

so instead of postponing the inevitable, ask yourself…

where are you most afraid to fail?
maybe you should start there.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 188 of the year, there are 178 days remaining of 2022.

a date fraught with significance…

the birth of american independence,
the celebration of freedom, togetherness and justice;

I like the sound of these words, even if they are false.

as an european watching the news unfold in painful silence (not unlike a student in a depressing lecture,) I’ve always felt that it’s impolite to have opinions about things that I haven’t dedicated enough time to get educated on, or am directly influenced by.

I do, however, find it fascinating that I can more readily provide the date for american independence than its romanian counterpart (1st of december)

tribalism is human nature,

and there’s something to be said about a country that has managed to develop an impenetrable sense of we-ness, not because, but in spite of its cultural differences.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 185 of the year, there are 181 days remaining of 2022.

congratulations! you’re in business!

you’ve been in business from the moment you’ve entered the job market.

in fact, I would argue that You Inc. opened to the public the second you were born.

from the moment life was gifted to you, you’ve been building and refining your experience, your personality, your skillset and ultimately, your client list.

whether you’re a student, an artist or an engineer, whether you’re self employed or working for someone else,

as long as you’re trading some thing for something else

you’re in business.

everyone making use of your experience, personality and skillset is your client.

patients? clients…
supervisors? clients…
students? clients…
bosses? clients

we’re all in business together.
we’re all buying each other’s services.

you’ve not quit and you’ve not been fired, you’re marketing your services somewhere else.

you’re not doing your masters, you’re bringing a new product to market.

you’re not an employee, you’re in business.

to have complete power over your financial security is freedom.

most of us are free, we’ve just decided to cage ourselves.

you don’t just have a job, you’re in business.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 176 of the year, there are 189 days remaining of 2022.