Issue 136: Strategy Unlocks from prohibited industries 💉

Boy, bad time to be a billionaire, amiright?

Either your super yacht is sinking or you’re getting locked up for your app of you’re getting shot through the ear. I mean, what’s a billionaire gotta do these days to catch a break??

| TWEET OF THE WEEK

I remember it so clearly.

My brother called me, clearly stressed out. He was our CFO, and he was telling me we were weeks away from running out of cash.

We were in a bit of a sales slump. A bunch of business we were expecting to close hadn’t come in, and we had been on a bit of a hiring binge trying to get the company ready for our next phase of growth.

I couldn’t believe it. I was a living example of “getting out over your skis”.

We’ve all been warned. Hell, I’ve written about hiring a LOT here on this newsletter.

Hire too slow, and your team will bleed from their fingers and eyeballs.

Hire too fast, you expose yourself to risk.

We’d spend almost 8 years never getting anywhere near running out of cash.

Our business was the total opposite of this. We printed profits.

I tell people all the time, if you want to make a lot of money consistently, start a service business.

If you want to take a bigger swing, go for “scale”, start a product business.

Side Note: In my opinion, all first-time entrepreneurs should start a service business. It’s an incredible first-at-bat kind of company to build. You have a higher probability chance of getting to financial security by building a service business.

Ok, back to my story, and a lesson.

We got extremely lucky. We had 6 weeks of cash left and I was facing a decision I hadn’t had to make before. Do I inject money into my company? All those years of taking profits out, did I now have to give a significant chunk back?

To put it plainly. I was freaking the fuck out.

This was two years before we actually sold the company, so you know the story ended well.

But in that moment, I hadn’t ever experienced stress like this.

This moment shaped me as an entrepreneur.

I have friends that have been through worse. No question.

But for me this is that defining moment that taught me many things.

| YOUTUBE UNIVERSITY

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| QUICK SHOTS

• @OliverScale01: DTC Facebook Ads Question - what would you suggest when your CPA is significantly lower on saturdays/sundays? Allocate 90% of spend to these 2 days?

• @zachmstuck Brands that are afraid to run discounts/offers because it’s going to “hurt their brand/reputation” are just wrong.

  • @heyitsalexP: I generally agree with this sentiment. But if you're trying to sell the brand, an acquirer will pay a premium for the ability to pull that lever themselves.

  • @coltybrah: terrible take. The thing is you don’t see the brand damage immediately, but once it’s been done there’s no going back. This isn’t up for debate. It’s a fact. Discounting DESTROYS brand.

• @sourfraser: No one cares about your brand. I hate to break it to you, but you aren't Apple. So stop make ad creative that "tells your brand story" And start making ads that convert scrollers into customers.

| HERE FOR THE MEMES

| EASY LISTENING

| AND IN OTHER NEWS…

| GET LINKED

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| STAT ATTACK 👊

| THE OUTRO

Okay, so risks included, being a billionaire is probably a reasonably pleasant way to go through life.

Not saying I would turn down a cool billion, even if my ears, yachts and personal freedoms experienced an inordinately higher risk level compared to your average non-billionaire.

So, if you have access to someone handing out billions, please forward them this email. ✌️ Much appreciated.

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