The First Commandment: Thou Shalt Solve

Sometimes I wonder if I should start a religion about solving problems.

I would call it "Entrepreneurship" and our church would be our beds at 2am, praying to the almighty Cash Flow to save us from the sins of...

...ourselves.

Time and time again, I talk to new business owners, agency leaders, and Japanese entrepreneurship students that have fallen in love with their own solutions, rather than the problems faced by their target market:

• The AI health tool that gives amazing data reports that don't help anyone
• The lead generation agency that can generate hundreds of leads in a week...it doesn't matter who they are, right?
• The creative firm that has such a high standard for their work that only the CEO can greenlight a social media post for a client.
• The solopreneur who is rigorously posting on LinkedIn, bragging about it, and not talking to real people about their real problems.

Forgive me, Entrepreneurship, for I have sinned.

I will be first to confess that I am guilty of falling in love with my solutions, processes, opinions, and being seen as someone who has solutions, processes, and opinions. Here's 18 examples of how my spirit was willing but my flesh was weak.​

It's more damning because I know better: business is not about touting how great you are, but how well you can solve someone else's problem. Today's hyperconnected world celebrates the hustle, the wins, and the epic fails, not the unglamorous work of slowly building trust, being available to hear someone's problem, sharing solutions freely, and finding a way for both parties to win.

To put my own house in order, I'm stopping this confessional and transitioning into atoning for my sins.

Let's solve a problem.

Here's a common problem small agencies face: discomfort with active business development that is authentic yet effective.

Business development matters: it's how an agency stays alive, and if they're good at it, grows.

Here's how you can identify if you have this problem:

• You don't know how to classify someone as a lead or qualified lead
• Your business development activities look a lot like inbound marketing and the bulk of your customers did not come in through a website Contact Us form
• You don't have time set aside every week (even just an hour) to dedicate to business development
• One person does all the "sales stuff" and nobody else knows exactly what they're doing
• Nine out of ten times you prioritize client work and their satisfaction over seeking new business
• You don't have an upcoming networking event on your business's calendar yet

If these sound like real problems to you, then I want to help you solve them.

Help me cleanse my spirit: grab some time with me so I can help you solve your problems at no cost...or we can just chat about the high holy days of Black Friday.

A TL;DR from the CRO

And now, Pastor Noodles will lead us in the homily, "Outsource Your Sins And Seek The Tax-Efficient Path to Righteousness," on page 37 of your hymnal.

-Roman Noodles, Chief Ruff Officer

TL;DRs From Around the Internetverse

We've been busy getting articles published around the internetverse: here's some of our most recent publications:

• ​The Feedback Loop Paradox: Why Your Open-Door Policy Isn't Working The Silicon Review
• ​Handle Middle Management With Panache Boss Magazine

ROCK TUMBLING UPDATE

A few TL;DR's back, I asked for suggestions on what to tumble next in my rock tumbler. The impeccable Kevin Thai suggested sodalite, to which I internally scoffed.

"Sodalite?! He wants me to tumble SODALITE?! It has a Moh hardness rating of 5.5. What a ridiculous suggestion."

But, you know- gotta please the fans.

To my shock, it is polishing extremely well. It's not done yet, but LOOK AT THE STRIATIONS!

In the woo-woo world, Sodalite is often associated with communication, enhancing self-esteem, and helping achieve inner peace.​

Touché, Kevin.

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Don't forget to charge your crystals under the full moon on February 12th,

Dan from Learn to Scale​

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​PS. Even Doechii knows that denial is a river.​