Starting A Startup

When everything changes, you need to consider changing everything.

Revisiting with CEO Tony Grace about his recent acquisition. Summaries and updates about lessons learned by myself for setting up a a multistate business.

One CEO who is 4 weeks post acquisition and myself 6 weeks away from closing on a location out of state, we sit down and discuss the different techniques, mindsets, and lessons learned in the process of acquiring a competitor.

A lot can happen in 9 months. Many people over estimate what they can accomplish in a week and under estimate what they can accomplish in a year. Here is the update to what was accomplished between both companies in since the last update along with lessons learned.

As the companies grow, things begin to look different. They are not better or worse, they are just.... different. The feelings involved with those changes will always pass on as we move into the next change. The only things we can do is choose how we want to experience that change.

A friend once told me "Say yes and then figure the rest out later." I thought that was an irresponsible way to live. Then, I realized it is how I should live. Weird... It worked!

Being able to modify and move is one of the most important aspects of running a business. Whether you are a seasoned company or an early startup, rigidity can end you. There are no shortage of surprises that happen in business. The only rigidity that keeps your business strong are your core values and ethics of operation. How you act and adapt to these surprises should be anchored in those. You should be willing to die on the mountain for those values. Everything else can and will change, be prepared to be surprised CONSTANTLY. Things rarely turn out the way you expect them to.

Pointing fingers has s negative connotation. When yopu hear the phrase, you may think of "blame". Sometimes though, a different finger pointing is exactly what you need. Pointing your finger to the horizon or to provide accountability will grow your business.

Habits quickly form whether they are good or bad. Holding others accountable for top performance also helps hold yourself accountable. Appreciate those in your life that identify ways to help you grow through criticism. Learn to love criticism and critique. Eliminate the emotion and listen to the message. Grow yourself by enjoying the pain of improvement and change.

Whether it is your friends, your vendors, your employees, or your mentors, surrounding yourself with great people is something everyone knows is a key to success. Can you stake a claim to a squad? Have YOU built your badasses? Who have you raised up grown developed or mentored? It is your responsibility to grow others as much as it is to grow yourself.

Your mind is freshly turned soil. If you don't do something with it, shit is going to grow there that you don't have any use for. Rip out those weeds and start planting your seeds. Dreams are the seedlings of reality.

With chaos, lack of control can be pervasive in your thoughts. Finding what it is you have control over and focusing on positive thinking and executing will bring you back to the top. This update has examples of how dire things can feel and how you can grab the steering wheel and regain control over your journey.

The strong survive any new obstacle but those that thrive are the ones who are willing to adapt. As people claim measurable failure due to things outside their control, many of us look at those failures as an excuse over a long standing weakness. Find the direction you need to go and move. Adaptation is more important than stability.

I bring on one of my favorite guests Tony Grace again where we talk about challenges with hiring people for things you do not know anything about. We also dive into the political issues of Covid and discuss some of the potential future outcomes we will see and concerns with the perception of them.

A few weeks after the most intense injury of my life, I reflect on the last 3.5 weeks of pain and the lessons learned. This could be the greatest challenge of my life. Largest economic swing of a lifetime coupled with a critically injured leader. Even at my worst, I will conquer this. I have never been more ready for this....

What happens when we speak out against something new? When did caring for yourself like you care for others go away? We have a GIANT problem out there and no one is saying what everyone is thinking. This problem is not going to go away. This problem needs to be faced head on. Society will decide that quick enough and we will find out, it was all just a bad dream.

I drive my custom made car "The Mini Buggy" home. Every level of fear, stress, panic, exhilaration, excitement, confidence, and achievement were experienced. I HAD to walk you through the mentality of what it feels like to be 100% committed to a terrible idea and how it feels when you succeed. Are you afraid or are you exhilarated?

As a pandemic sweeps the nation, the High Caliber Team springs into action to..... make fun of it. In the process, we were able to think clearly, be prepared, and give back. It is not as much work as it may seem. You want to give back, why don;t you? It doesn't take much....

EVeryone talks about building your following and best standardized practices. What are you doing it for though? Whether starting a new job, business, gym membership, group activity, why is it you are doing it? Yes, you need to know how to do it the best. Yes, you need to constantly learn and evolve. At the end of the day though, does it make you feel good? Do you enjoy it? Does it serve YOU? If the answer is "NO" to any of that, you will not be successful in it.

We ran the combined tracks and had a blast! So many things come to me after another day on the floor. Why do businesses not live below their means constantly? When and where should I invest the profits? What am I doing this for? What does my family want? What job is the priority. These are the real questions. Have you asked them yet?