We are celebrating 10 years in business this year, which apparently only about 25% of companies achieve depending on which statistic you read. Will we celebrate 20 years of business? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but I think for any business that is around today and still alive in 10 years’ time that will be a massive achievement.
In honour of 10 years, I thought I would share my ‘10 from 10’. Seen as we typically learn more from our fails more than our successes, I thought I would share 10 failures that taught us something. A lot of these mistakes did end up with a silver lining.
So here we go, 10 mistakes I or we have made along the way that taught us a lot.
1. Invest in Marketing
When we first started Indicator a contact of mine said make sure you spend big on marketing as it will make you stand out from the crowd. We didn’t do that, and I am sure it cost us dearly. We know now how important it is. We see ourselves as a marketing company that sells and feel strongly that investing in marketing is critical even when you feel like you can’t afford it.
2. Expectation of lead flow
Expecting that when we had a website up and running that we would suddenly get an influx of leads. True story the only lead I remember from our first website was from a convicted fraudster who wanted to meet me. Before our meeting he was arrested, and his name was all over the front page of the newspaper. Go Figure! A website that sits and does nothing is unlikely to yield anything. Generating leads needs to come from multiple sources, the more the better. It is the lifeline for your business, and it needs to be worked at.
3. Always build Brand
In the early days we tried to grow two brands rather than one. It is hard enough to grow one let alone two. We got traction when we focused on one. It was also described to me that a brand name by itself means bugger all, it is apparently an empty cup that you have to fill up! Whether it is your company or your personal brand both take time to build and every interaction either adds to that brand or takes away.
4. Stay in your lane
In the early days we were offered an opportunity that sat outside our area of expertise. It was exciting and so we chased it. We invested time and energy, but it ultimately led nowhere. In hindsight, it was a costly distraction. Stay anchored to what you do well. When things slow down, it can be tempting to grab at anything that moves but staying in your lane is not a limitation it is a discipline. “Shiny objects are often just distractions dressed in opportunity’s clothing.”
5. Right fit or nothing with your people
We are incredibly fortunate with our team; I rate every single one of them however I did make a couple of missteps along the way with wrong hires. If you have some doubts about employing someone then don’t. As Mike Weinberg says, “No breath is better than bad breath”. If you are interviewing for a job and your gut tells you that something is not right, then also trust your gut. Always start with shared values.
6. Have the confidence to say no
Not recognising in the early days that cultural fit is so important when bringing on new clients. We used to invite everyone in but now recognise that not all clients are right for our business and we are not right for them and that is ok. A contact of mine says that the more companies you say no to the faster you grow. There is definitely an element of this, it is the sign of a mature business that knows when to leap or when to hide.
7. Overestimating the short term
I have made this mistake so many times, believing that things will be easier in the short term than they are. Whether it is setting goals for a new product or for your salesperson to achieve higher sales targets, we all do it however the longer you do anything the better you become. The longer you play a sport, sell in an industry or are in business the better you get, the more learnings you get and the more pathways you beat down. Bil Gates said “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”
8. Celebrate your faults
I used to hide my faults in the early days. Now I love them and use them as a badge of honour. I used to think that I had to be the best at everything but quickly realised it is better to employ people who are smarter than me. Vulnerability is such a good trait not a detrimental one. Share your faults with your manager or your employees as everyone can see them anyway and if you don’t it leaves an elephant in the room.
9. Own your mistakes
We made a mistake at about the midway point of our business. It was a problem that was caused by a 3rd party provider to our business that impacted a bunch of people. The client knew it wasn’t directly our fault, but it still wasn’t a great look for us. I was unsure whether to confront it or not say anything. Not saying anything would have been the wrong thing to do and I am very pleased to this day that we owned it and took some short-term pain. I think we actually gained respect rather than losing any. We all make mistakes but what a golden opportunity to enhance your reputation by owning up to them.
10. Don’t get comfortable
In truth I have never been one to get too comfortable for long, but I thought this learning is too important to leave out. One of my favourite quotes “success is limited to the paranoid”. If we ever sit still for too long and think we have “made it” then we are in trouble. I have been guilty of feeling that when things are going well but I do believe we all need a healthy dose of worry. Any business that is not worried about the impact of AI may get caught out, any salesperson or sales leader sitting back relaxing thinking they know everything will get caught out.
In case there any doubts we have made hundreds of mistakes along the way but we are still here and in fact if we didn’t make them maybe we wouldn’t be . Mistakes are all part of the process and in many cases need to be made. Ideally you make them just once!
