Confession time! I’m the worst at investing in certain areas of my business. Actually, one area in particular; marketing. I’ll give you an example. The other day a marketing task came up and I caught myself declaring, “I can do it myself!” It’s something I declare often.

As the words flew out of my mouth I realized there is someone in my life who also uses that phrase often. My 3 year old! He’s at that age where he likes to do everything himself even though he’s competent at only a small fraction of it.  I know, it’s important for him to be independent, master skills on his own and exert some control over his world.  Yes, this type of attitude is fantastic for a 3 year old child.  Not so much for a 36 year old entrepreneur.

While technically I could fumble through the task to completion, it would take me much longer to finish and the result probably wouldn’t be as good as if I just let someone else do it (like…a specialist).

It’s not even about the money. It’s about control. I have a background in marketing. I use this background to justify controlling everything related to marketing down to the tiniest detail, to the point where most of the time I just do it myself.  The problem is, this is no longer the best use of my time.  I also have access to specialists who can handle these tasks much better than I can.

At one time it made sense for Diana and I to do everything ourselves.  That time has now passed and it’s time for me to admit it. So I vow, here and now, no more declarations ’3-year-old-style’.  I will let go and let the specialists do their thing so I can focus on what I do best.

Do you ever find yourself uttering a “Do it myself” declaration? Is it about something that isn’t the best use of your time?  If so, it’s time to let go. You have more important things to do! That’s our challenge to you this week.

I recently read Ryan Blair’s Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur. In the book, Blair attributes his success to his ‘nothing to lose’ mind-set.

Blair hit rock bottom as a teen and, like an animal backed into a corner, his survival instincts kicked in. He had only two choices:

1. Ignore his instincts, cower and submit.
2. Obey his instincts and fight, no matter how desperate the circumstances. Just like an animal backed into the corner, there is nothing more dangerous.

Blair asks us to determine whether or not we’re in a nothing to lose situation. Ask yourself:
- At home, or around the water cooler, do you talk about how crappy your job is?
- Do you go to work everyday afraid that you might lose your job?
- Do you live pay check to pay check?
- Is someone else taking credit for your successes?

If you answered yes, then there is no better time to stop thinking like an employee and start thinking like an entrepreneur. That doesn’t mean that you need to run out and start your own business (though it is the most direct path to Pretirement). It simply means approaching your career as an entrepreneur would – take risks, fight for progress and, above all, never back down.

As parents, it can be difficult for us to embrace a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude, but it can make the difference between a mediocre life and a kick-ass one.  It’s time to start listening to your instincts and start fighting as if you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

How can you get yourself into ‘nothing to lose’ mode?

I am a huge believer in surrounding yourself with people who inspire and challenge you.  It is for this reason that I’m eternally on the hunt online for fabulous business women to follow.  I began following Angela Kim a few months ago and was impressed by her business acumen and the great work she does for women entrepreneurs through her networking group Savor the Success.

The other day I watched a YouTube video she produced called A day in the life of an entrepreneur from baby food to fashion walkway to running my businesses!

When the video ended I was surprised, disappointed and a bit sad. Why?

Angela’s 12 min video starts with a rush to get her daughter off to daycare, drinking coffee out of a sippy cup, running running running for the next 14 hours, saying about a dozen times how much she loves what she does and then saying how she wishes her daughter and husband were there, how she wonders how her daughters day is going. Before her evening events she notes that her daughter was crying for her before she went to bed. You can watch it here.

We’ve all been there, had those days when we’re so busy that we can’t even think straight. I get that. I’m the first to say this type of ‘imbalance’ is when truly amazing things happen.

But what disappointed me was how Angela Kim portrayed this as normal – as “the way it is” if you want to be a successful woman entrepreneur.

I don’t agree. How I (and many other Pretirees) run my businesses and life proves that you don’t have to sacrifice yourself and your family to achieve business success.

Angela also hosts a business event that brings in speakers to show women entrepreneurs how to reach $1M in revenue. I’m even more disappointed. Yet another role model for women entrepreneurs that would like us to believe size matters. As I pointed out in my last post The Myth of $1M, arbitrary revenue goals are meaningless and can get a business into trouble.

As entrepreneurs we need to think long and hard about who our role models are. There are so many ways to be successful in business without having to sacrifice ourselves or our families. There are many awesome people out there doing it right now!  But they are harder to find.  You have to dig a bit to uncover them because their stories may not be as flashy as some of the “success” stories we see in the business media.

My role models are people like David Siteman Garland and Brooke Castillo – they are not the Angela Kims of the world. Brooke turned down being on Oprah, signing with a major publisher AND a hit TV show because she knew bigger was not better for her. She loves her business. It is small but profitable and allows her amazing life experiences with her career, clients and family (including Wednesday date nights with her husband and never missing her son’s soccer games).

We hope that you go and find yourself a role model who can inspire and inform you as you forge your path. But please, choose carefully. Be clear about what you want to model – and do your research.

I recently came across a business event in NYC that brings in speakers to show women entrepreneurs how to reach $1M in revenue. This seems logical enough, at first.  In fact, $1M is a milestone most new business owners set their sights upon. I know I sure did.

We’re told that, in business, size matters and that revenue is a good indicator of size (along with employee head count).

The relevance of $1 million in revenue as a business success metric is questionable.

Changes to expect in your business when crossing the $1M revenue mark:
- When you get over $1M you’re usually around 10 employees. When your business reaches 12-15 employees it changes significantly, suddenly requiring significantly different operations, systems and roles.
- Your role will also change significantly as you will likely move into a more operational capacity and may become disconnected with the core of your business (the reason you started it in the first place). From a personal perspective, your flexibility decreases and you become more strongly tied to the business and employees than ever before. You may find your personal sacrifices sky rocket at this point.
- Your profitability decreases until you get through this stage (usually to $1.5M)
- This can be a very risky time for a business as you try to keep up with demand while managing growth.
- Did I mention your profitability decreases?

Instead of striving for $1M in revenue or other “bigger is better” metrics, we’d be better off focusing on more meaningful measurements like:
- Increasing net income
- Increasing profit margins
- Decreasing your time in the office

I would much sooner have a small business with higher profit margins than a large business with less profit.

I like to think of it this way – my business is more profitable right now than GM. I’m quite sure that if I were the CEO of GM, there is no way I would have the flexibility to travel for 3 months a year with my young family and work from different destinations. I wouldn’t be able to drop my son off at school and I certainly wouldn’t be home for dinner every night or have a “girls night” every month to reconnect with friends. I suppose it all comes down to your definition of success.

It’s easy to compare our business to others based on revenue or employee count, but realize that just because someone has a business with X employees or over $1M in revenue does not make their business any stronger or healthier than yours. Strive for substance, not size. Strive for quality not quantity. Know your success metrics and stick to them. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking bigger is better.