How do you guys stay disciplined on your calorie/portion control/diet on weekends? I am pretty disciplined during the week except for the occasional sweets binge but on weekends when not super busy at work and at home more it’s so much harder to resist the urge for sweets. What

Self-funded searchers: the best business is the one that is right for you. Not necessarily the one that is the biggest and trades at the highest multiple.

I’m convinced that one of the things that makes entrepreneurs different is our follow up persistence. I was talking to someone who doesn’t have an entrepreneurial focus or interest the other day and he was shocked at how much following up I do. I’ll follow up with a lead 10-15

So many things in SMB you just have to learn to do yourself. No one is gonna care enough to watch your back if you don’t know your stuff. The only way to know your stuff is to learn it yourself.

I don’t know if there is a business that has lost more potential sales from me than Starbucks. Their drive thru lines are always absurd at peak times. I spent $7 for an oatmilk latte at Dunkin’ instead. This happens at least once a month. I wonder how much money they are

What does “semi-absentee” mean? The problem with the promise of passive SMB ownership in the self-funded world is how passive do you truly think you can be after you PG a loan? Idk about you, but I’m certainly going to be watching anything I own with PG’d debt on it like a

My wife and I welcomed our second child, Patrick, on Monday. Mom and baby are doing great. Grateful to God for the gift of life, to my amazing wife and daughter and our families. With baby number 2, I’ve been blown away already with how quickly my capacity to love grows.

Who is going to build the next app to replace Mint? Also, with AI would think it could be a pretty powerful tool for budgeting, goal setting, recommendations, etc. I miss Mint.

One thing I’ve already noticed making the jump from 1 child to 2: there is no upcoming downtime! With one child, as you’re balancing everything, you have a rest period to look forward to where you can just chill on the couch for 20-30 min. With two, that’s over. I’m loving it,

I don’t know if there is ever a way to fully escape the stress of business ownership until you sell. Even if you have a massive company with great processes and systems, I guarantee there are headaches. And they’re probably bigger headaches than when you were smaller. There is

We had our son last week and I’m back at work this week. When I was in my corporate job I had several months of pat leave when we had our daughter. I think it’s a great benefit, and my goal is to be able to provide similarly awesome, family focused benefits to our team. But I

SMBs need more managers who lead with love, support, and encourage their teams, especially when they’re not perfect. BigCos need more managers who lead with toughness - there is way too much coddling of people who need a swift kick in the rear. Unfortunately, what we have is

One of the most amazing and joyful things about having a toddler is that they have their own language. My daughter says certain things and pronounces words in ways that only her my wife, me, and her teachers understand. It’s a privilege to be a part of their little world. And

I hear from printers who push people in the industry to sell more based on quantifiable benefits of print (ROI of physical marketing collateral, direct mail, etc.) I largely reject this idea. Maybe I'm naive, but I don't feel like it's our responsibility to convince people to

You can’t escape the reality of having to win new customers if you want to grow. There is a misconception that growth can be achieved by “selling more to current customers.” Maybe true in the short-term, but over a long enough time horizon it is obviously unsustainable.

One thing that people always forget about growing a business and doesn’t show up in the financial model: it takes time. Just keep going.

When you have kids and a busy life, sometimes getting less sleep and getting a workout in is a better recipe for a successful day. Yesterday I chose more sleep. Today I chose to go for an early morning run. I feel better and more ready to take on the day today.

I once read (possibly on SMB X) that your growth is directly proportional to the amount of difficult conversations you’re willing to have. I reflect on this often. By avoiding the difficult conversations that need to happen in your business, you are choosing comfort over growth.

When I’m at my best as a leader I am acutely aware of the fact that none of it is about me. Not the business, my family, my sobriety, and any successes I’ve had past or future. I’m at my worst when it’s all about me and what I want and think I need.

I am noticing a cold calling trend where people just say “I’m [name] with [company], give me a call back when you can at [ph#]. Does this no context provided strategy improve conversion? I find it borderline deceptive and feel like I’m much more likely to return a call with a