What I wish someone had told me about running a business.
And the mindset shift that changed the whole game.
šš¼Ā Hey, IāmĀ Anna! Iām a founder and operator in an ongoing relationship with writing. Welcome to my weekly newsletter where I share business, career and life lessons that Iāve learned over years of trying hard, failing often, dusting myself off and improving until I succeed.
When I started out in business almost seven years ago, every moment felt like it was life or death.
The stakes were sky high in every pitch, phone call, negotiation and presentation, and I constantly felt like I was teetering on the brink. Despite having two co-founders and a strong support network, I often wondered if any other business owner experienced such heightened levels of emotion and anxiety, or whether it was just me.
Newsflash: they do, and it wasnāt just me.
My intense levels of stress were simply part of the entrepreneurial experience, and dealing with dire problems - like no money in the bank, system failures, frustrated customers, demanding clients and unresponsive suppliers - are all in a regular dayās work.
I wish someone had told me this because once I learned it for myself, my entire approach changed. Instead of acting like everything was life or death I started treating business as a game.
Business is a game you can play to win.
According to the Collins Dictionary, a game is defined as:
An activity or sport usually involving skill, knowledge, or chance, in which you follow fixed rules and try to win against an opponent or to solve a puzzle.
It becomes obvious when dissecting this definition, that business falls squarely within it:
āAn activity or sportā: Building a business is a competitive activity and therefore can be classified as a sport.
āInvolving skill, knowledge or chanceā: Succeeding in business requires all three; skills (sales, marketing, logistics etc.), knowledge (product, category, industry etc.) and some luck that things will go your way.
āYou follow fixed rulesā: As founders, there are laws you must follow and sadly you canāt go totally rogue (even though you might like to, lol).
āTryā: Thereās no doubt that building a business involves taking action. You canāt win if you donāt try.
āTo winā: Every business has an end game thatās self defined. Winning might be an IPO, or having total freedom over how you spend your time, or having a positive impact on those around you.
āAgainst an opponent or to solve a puzzleā: For some, business is a zero sum game with winners and losers. But in my world, business is more like solving a puzzle. I think about it like this: how can I find a problem, and create and sell a solution, in such a way that the numbers add up (ie. itās profitable)?
So if business can be classified as a game, then how can we play to win?
How I play the game.
Building a business is just like playing a game of basketball (caveat: I donāt watch nor have I ever played basketball, but letās just run with this metaphor shall we?). Hereās what Iāve learned about how to play:
Play with the end in mind.
The objective of a basketball player is to score points and beat the opposing team. The way to win is crystal clear.
Taking inspiration from the Kobe Bryants of the world, when thinking about my business and career I also start with the end in mind. My personal goal is to do work with a deep sense of meaning, earn great money, have ownership over my time and impact as many people as I can. This end game dictates everything I do.
Develop the game plan.
An NBA team tailors their match strategy depending on multiple factors: which players are injured, whether itās a home or away game, the teamās strengths and where the opponentās weaknesses lie.
In business too, I build a game plan depending on whatās happening in my life. I consider things like how much money is in the bank, my sales pipeline, how excited I feel about a particular project, what gives and drains my energy, how much time I have, and what Iām trying to optimise for. When I plan for the day, week, month and year, all of these things (plus many more) factor in.
And when my plan inevitably goes to shit, just like a ball player, I dodge. I weave. I adapt.
Acquire new skills.
A young basketball player starts out by learning how to pass the ball. Once theyāve nailed that, they learn how to shoot hoops. Then they move onto layups, free throws and jump shots. Itās only through dedicated practice that they move from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced.
In business itās no different. Iām a big believer in learning by doing (rather than learning by learning), and so I often roll up my sleeves, jump off the cliff, figure it out and upskill as I go.
Treat losses as wins.
Michael Jordan had 366 losses over his career and he was arguably the greatest champion of all time. Whenever I screw up or fail I think about MJ, and remind myself that losses are inevitable and thereās no point getting worked up about it. Instead, itās better to view them as necessary obstacles on the road to building something great.
Many things have gone catastrophically, dramatically, explosively wrong over my career. Iāve experienced the cold, harsh, brutal truth of running a business first hand. But Iāve survived. And these days I know more. I know different. I know better.
Unserious business.
When I started viewing business as a game to be played and my progress as something to be won, everything changed.
Even the most mundane situations became exciting. Hard times became opportunities to learn new skills and a chance to move up a level. Instead of thinking my life would implode if I lost an opportunity, I rested easy knowing another would come along. I shifted from trying to solve problems for right now, and worked to solve them for good.
While I certainly still have panic inducing, soul destroying moments, Iām now entirely focused on the levers I can pull and the buttons I can press. Iām more savvy. I enthusiastically dive into the abyss because I realise that itās not that serious.
Itās just business.
Itās game time.
As one of the greatest basketball players of all time said:
"The only way to get better at basketball is to play basketball." - Shaquille OĀ“Neal
While playing with the end in mind, developing a game plan, acquiring new skills and treating losses as wins are all important, hereās the fundamental truth of it all: to win in business, whatever that means for you, you must get on the court. You have to dive right in. Boldly. Wildly. Enthusiastically.
So flex those muscles. Do your warm ups. Put on your game face.
Get out there and shoot your shot.
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Love this business advice Anna! I like your advice about planning - I used to hate it, because you're right, the whole plan would end up in the trash and it was like planning was barely worth it. But over time, it really does becomes invaluable, especially bc it helps you broaden the time horizon in your brain, and you feel less panicked about the minute-to-minute in business.
Also, it does appear the upskilling rarely ends...my brain wants to see when it ends. Maybe I should stop looking for that š
Great stuff Anna!