7 ms·
Here's 30 years of experience for you: 1. Few business problems can't be solved by more sales. 2. Cut expenses when the storm is approaching, not when you're
by armc 4y ago
Here's 30 years of experience for you:
1. Few business problems can't be solved by more sales.
2. Cut expenses when the storm is approaching, not when you're soaking wet.
3. You can't eat assets or inventory. Don't get emotional about what you own, only about your cash balances.
4. Banks are your friend only when you don't need them. Corollary: One bank for borrowing, one for cash balance accounts.
5. 70 completed calls per week. Not emails, calls. You can do it, start now.
6. Don't be an asshole: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No_Asshole_Rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No_Asshole_Rule
7. Hire and retain "T-shaped" people. In difficult times those employees execute across multiple domains.
8. Client, vendor or employee drama is quicksand. You assist with a stick or a rope, you don't jump in with them.
9. Don't romanticize work & try to avoid romance getting in the way of work.
10. You're only as happy as your unhappiest child. Prioritize good parenting over work. Good parenting = SOS: Self awareness, objectivity, selflessness.
11. Get a prenup. No, really, do get one.
12. Pay yourself according to a financial model that prioritizes healthy business cash balances, and not your personal desires.
- slashnik 4y ago1a) and be sure you have those sales, and keep them I know a startup that failed because they thought they were doing ok on sales, but it turned out: lots of people were signing up for the product, but then not using it, or not being able to, and un-signing soon after.
- germinalphrase 4y agoAre you using parenting metaphorically in #10?
- bartread 4y agoNo, they aren't. They're literally saying you should be a good parent to your children. Your children - their physical wellbeing, emotional and mental health, behaviour - have a profound impact on you that, for good or for ill, will absolutely colour your own behaviour and decision-making at work.
- a_c 4y agoCan confirm. Have a stable family is key to work success. Or put it other way, always put family first
- tnolet 4y agoSales fixes everything. Very hard to learn for engineers and designers often.
- williamtwild 4y agoUnless the product you are selling is defective.
- arethuza 4y agoAssuming the product that has been sold actually exists!
- fxtentacle 4y agoThat can sometimes be fixed with "don't walk there" stickers and/or ignored.
- blowski 4y agoI wonder how many dev teams exist that think their product isn’t defective.
- tnolet 4y ago
- senko 4y agoGreat lessons, all. I'd add: ARR is a metric, cash is king. (related to 2-4 from your list)
- polote 4y ago> 1. Few business problems can't be solved by more sales. This obviously completely wrong. The only problem that can be solved by mores sales is when your are not selling enough. And even in this case just having more sales not always work. I'm the first to say that what matter most for a company is its ability to have more customers. But having more sales when you sales org is badly structured will make you loose a lot of money. Same products problems won't be solved by more sales, same for Marketing problems, or People problems or actually any problem.
- armc 4y ago> This obviously completely wrong. You might familiarize yourself with Rule #6 before commenting on Rule #1.
- skeeter2020 4y ago>> But having more sales when you sales org is badly structured will make you loose a lot of money Read the original point. The OP is not saying sales globally optimizes all things, like how your sales department is organized, rather it mitigates (i.e "fixes") the problem. All your other points are secondary, and definitely don't hurt as much if you've got lots of sales. Larry Ellison of Oracle definitely fails rule #6 but he gets at least one big thing right. There are only two roles: You're either building the thing or selling the thing.
- polote 4y agoBut this is not true, it is not more sales that fix the problem it is more sales that are -successfully selling- that fix it. I've seen companies where more sales has amplified the problem EDIT: I use Sales as a shorthand for "Salespeople" but OP use Sales for "revenue" maybe ?
- eru 4y ago> EDIT: I use Sales as a shorthand for "Salespeople" but OP use Sales for "revenue" maybe ? Yes, definitely.
- 4y ago
- lasereyes136 4y agoGood sales people are critical to success. Most sales people aren't good, pick them with care.
- dsr_ 4y agoThe goodness of salespeople is measured on two orthogonal axes. The one that everyone pays attention to is "money brought in". The one that is hard to evaluate is "lies to customers". "money brought in" is air that your company breathes. "lies to customers" is poison that your company drinks.
- billyhoffman 4y agoHire sales people 2 at a time. If you hire just 1, they will have an endless list of reasons they aren’t making sales (product doesn’t demo well, not enough marketing, bad leads, etc). sales will always say this, but with more than one, you can tell how real of an impediment to closing deals those actually are
- lemax 4y agoThis applies to nearly any team, you ideally always want to have 2+ people at similar levels competing for the promotion.
- tootie 4y agoThe sales thing is super important but the channels and investment really depend on the type of business. B2C won't scale with phone calls you need marketing organization.
- skeeter2020 4y agoScaling sales is a very different thing from getting sales, and I'd argue you won't know how to scale until you find a channel that works but is not cost effective. Otherwise you're essentially shooting blind, but at scale, which doesn't hit much but uses a lot of ammo.
- tootie 4y agoI'm thinking more from the low-touch, low-margin perspective. If you are trying to make money with ads, calling 70 people to get 70 ad views is a terrible ROI no matter how persuasive you are. If you're selling a subscription SaaS product and expecting a lifetime value in the thousands per customer, then cold calling is a pretty decent way to bootstrap.
- jrumbut 4y ago> calling 70 people to get 70 ad views is a terrible ROI But calling 70 people to get 70 new advertisers is OK, or if it's early days 70 people who can get you some traffic.
- JohnWhigham 4y ago11. Get a prenup. No, really, do get one. While true, unfortunately in many (blue-leaning) states, they're starting to become at the judge's discretion. Absolutely sickening to be honest.
- upupandup 4y agowas just going to mention that prenups really no longer carry the weight that people think it does. For 2 years, whether you are married or not, exposes you to the same liability a married individual would face in the event of a break up here in BC which is crazy. > Couples who have been living together for two years share the same legal rights as married couples in BC, including a 50/50 split of debts and assets—excluding pre-relationship property, inheritances and gifts. With a rate of 40% for divorce, a pre-nup may no longer be just for marrying couples, it may be needed for any relationship where cohabiting occurs. Also, there is absolutely no chance the judge will side with the men in places known.
- systemvoltage 4y agoOregon state has destroyed my good friend’s entire life. Child taken away, only get 4 hours a week of time with his kid. My friend is smart, kind and nicest person you’ll ever meet. Personal net worth fucked. One of the reasons for me to consider leaving California.
- dragonwriter 4y ago> Oregon state has destroyed my good friend’s entire life. Sorry to hear that. > One of the reasons for me to consider leaving California. You do realize that California is not an administrative subdivision of Oregon, but a completely different state, right?
- paulcole 4y ago> One of the reasons for me to consider leaving California. It's required on HN for rich tech guys to threaten this from time to time.
- altdataseller 4y agoI'd modify 10 to: 10. You're only as happy as your wife. If she's unhappy, you're unhappy.
- kennethh 4y agoIf wife is unhappy get a new one:)
- altdataseller 4y agoHaha I’ll probably be cycling through hundreds of them in my lifetime if I followed that rule ;)
- adamsmith143 4y ago>7. Hire and retain "T-shaped" people. In difficult times those employees execute across multiple domains. As in people who have broad knowledge but also specific expertise?
- CharlesW 4y ago> As in people who have broad knowledge but also specific expertise? Basically, but more like "capable in many areas but an expert in one (or two)". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills
- phlipski 4y agoAll excellent advice. Damn - I'll just skip that MBA now! I'd expand #9 a bit: 9a: Don't hit on your co-workers 9b: Don't sleep with your co-workers 9c: Don't date your co-workers