You are not a special flower

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I should be upfront and say that the only reason I am writing this blog post is because it is one of the critical mistakes I have made in my own business. And I have seen a lot of business owners, especially ones just starting out or solopreneurs, make it as well.

We all start out so excited. We’ve found something we want to put the full power of our determination and wit behind.  We talk marketing, product, and strategy. We fill our world with phenomenal scenarios – both good and bad, but mostly good because, God knows, entrepreneurs are fabulous at ignoring the bad.

We think we can do it so much better than the competition. After all, if we didn’t think we could do it better, why would we open a business?

And we do what every person in love does – we ignore the obvious. We say things like, “It won’t be like that for us.” “We’re going to do it differently.” “That’s just the way it is for them.”

Listen to me carefully – You ARE NOT special.

I know – that stung but, believe me, it’s good advice.

When we started Seven Sisters Scones, we would look at comparable businesses and we would say, “Oh, but it won’t be like that for us.” or “ You know, our idea is kind of different.”  We had great advice that we had cultivated over years. For example, every cafe owner I knew said that same thing – Don’t start with a white box and build out, it’s expensive and you probably won’t get the return you need.  Instead, find something that you can take over and tweak, even if it isn’t 100% your vision. Did we listen? Nope. Instead, we argued that our hybrid model of specialty food company and cafe meant that we needed a specific and flexible set-up. We built out.  Two years later, we realize that we could have probably just tweaked and gotten as good of a solution.

We were told that we should only look for foot traffic and not car traffic. We argued that being in a suburb was different and that people would stop. Now, we really want a retail location with foot traffic.

I could go on.

The downfalls of any industry will apply to you and maybe hurt you even more than your competition. If your competition isn’t doing something that seems painfully obvious, there’s a reason.  Figure out those reasons. Know the dynamics of your industry in and out. Take qualified advice even when it’s not what you want to hear.

Then, go out and prove that you really are special.

Setting Your Business Expectations Early and Realistically

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I talk to small business owners and CEOs a lot. I used to talk to them when I was a marketing consultant and now as a fellow business owner. If you do the same, you’ll find that business owners like to talk about the future a lot – their hopes, their goals, their dreams. In short, what they expect the future will bring fo them, their business and their shareholders.

As a marketing consultant, this was good data for planning. What did the company’s management believe the company could do in sales, operations, customer service? How were we going to execute on that belief? (Honestly, marketing is more about the operational execution and communication of a company’s goals than anything else.)

When I became a business owner, we talked a lot about potential sales and where we thought we could sell our product most effectively. We had these big dreams that we layered into spreadsheets. Sure we could hit a couple of million dollars in revenue within the first three years.  I mean, is it worth it if you can’t?

Here’s the thing – everyone tells you to put together financial projections. To do that, you talk about expectations. Business owners that are just starting out are asked to estimate sales in a market they have just entered with a product that was just created. They have some anecdotal feedback to rely on and not much more.

That’s why 99.99% of small business financial projections are creative bullshit.

The truth is – you don’t know. The past isn’t a good indicator because the market is constantly shifting and you’re growing. Things happen, opportunities come up, costs rise or fall. All of this affects your bottom line.

My advice is simple – set your expectations low. It will take longer than you thought, more hard work than you imagined, and cost more than you projected. Yes, I know this sounds like heresy and I am raining on the young and tender vision fo your business. But, this is one of the cases where you have to be cruel to be kind.

Here’s the kind part – it’s ok. Veterans of small businesses will expect nothing to go as planned. And by keeping your expectations low, you know what’s going to happen? You’re going to be conservative with your spend, cautious with your investments, and you’ll learn to carefully nurture this thing you have started without overextending yourself or the business.  And that makes for a healthy business indeed.

Beware White Knights

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When you start a business, everyone has a lot of advice. “Just do this…” and everything will be great. Usually, this is quickly followed by what I call a “white knight”

What’s a white knight? In shot, it’s that “one thing that would change everything.” You’ll recognize it because it usually starts with the words if only.  If only I could get X or Y, then everything will be different. When it comes to business owners, every owner has one. Sometimes, it’s magazine coverage – if Oprah would cover us, then we would have a line out the door! Or if this investor just SAW us, we would be all set

White knights are seductive because they are easy and a final destination. Just grind for a specific period and once you get this one thing, you can kick back and relax. They also tend to illicit dreams of fame, success and mega sales or what I like to call the Tiltillating Trifecta.

They often are a major let-down. Getting a white knight is one in a million for many small businesses. Or, if you are part of the chosen few, they can cause more harm than good.  How many businesses have been brought to their knees by explosive growth and have had to reorganize, disappoint customers, or worse close?

Look, I won’t lie – sometimes white knights pan out and they are life-changing. You get on Shark Tank and suddenly the phone doesn’t stop ringing. And, if you’re lucky, you’re prepared. You’ve thought of the logistics, operations and finances needed to manage growth. Hopefully, you haven’t given up so much equity and control during negotiations that it’s not your company any more.

Here’s my suggestion. Don’t spend your time pursuing white knights. Instead, spend your time on your business. And be patient. Adjust your expectations so that you expect success in 10 years rather than five. It’s a safer bet.