Sometimes you work really hard on things and they never get used.

This video is one of those things. Many many hours were spent creating this video several years ago and it never saw the light of day. Until now.

This really bothered me for a long time. I never received any feedback about why it wasn’t used. Maybe they just didn’t like it. Maybe something about it offended them. Who knows.

All I know is that I was proud of the work I did and I felt like it was time to share it.

I received a letter today (yes, some people still send those) from a company that outsources web development services on an a la carte basis.

Not a bad idea. Especially at $20 per hour.

I perused the letter looking for their web address. No luck. A sales letter for a web development company with no web address. Interesting.

Ok, I did find a couple of email addresses and I’m smart enough to know that the URL after the @ will usually take you to the right place. But each email address had a different URL after it!

I’m not sure why terrible marketing efforts fascinate me, but they do.  I guess I’m just amazed at the amount of money people waste on irrelevant, unsuccessful advertising.

Every new idea is incremental.

Every action is incremental.

Every seemingly insignificant breakthrough is incremental.

The incrementals build on each other until they equal a great business or a great book or a great film.

Great doesn’t just happen in one fell swoop; it happens incrementally.

Sound elementary?

In concept, it is elementary. In practice, being intentional about the incrementals requires constant attention, a sense of urgency, and disciplined action.

Scrappy organizations know how to get what they want.

Their process may not always be pretty, but they get it done.

They are full of fighting spirit which is what it takes to get a business off the ground.

What do I mean by “scrappy”?

The way I see it, to be scrappy is to be unafraid of rejection, ready to try anything, and resilient enough to get the sh*$ kicked out of you once in a while.

The funnest time to be part of a business is in the scrappy phase. This is a time with new breakthroughs every day, very few processes, a unified sense of direction, and a time when every little accomplishment feels like conquering Mt. Everest and every failure feels like jumping on a bike with no seat. It is a time of incredible creative energy. And anyone who tries to slow the momentum will get clipped at the knees.

Too many businesses lose their scrappy spirit as they grow. Hierarchy takes the place of bold decision making and rigid procedures replace spontaneous creativity.

No matter how big our company gets, I hope we keep kickin’ it scrappy style.

(Wow, even this post is kind of scrappy!)

I’ve always heard people say pursue your passion and the money will follow.

But what if the money doesn’t follow?

What if the thing you are most passionate about just won’t pay the bills?

For anyone reading this who knows about or is involved in the company I work for, please know that we are not going out of business any time soon! We have solid investors who are committed to seeing this through. I’m just contemplating the path we’ve been going down for several years now.

You see, for almost five years, we’ve been fervently launching a publishing company that produces and sells videos to help people deal with difficult issues. Millions of dollars, countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this (ok, maybe not the blood). Freedom Begins Here (our company) has become my passion. I want so badly to see it succeed.

We’ve overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We’ve developed our own sales and distribution model which people told us could not be done. We’ve seen lives radically changed because of our work.  But we have yet to see this venture become profitable.

Of one thing I am sure, it has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of passion. Our team is more passionate about seeing it work than we have ever been. We have the right people on board. We have a product that is proven to help people deal with one of the biggest (if not the biggest) moral/social issues of our time–pornography.

Yet, we have not achieved profitability. I constantly ask myself why. Is it something we are doing wrong? Is there something we should start doing? What is it? We’ve tried just about everything there is to try. The passion is there, and I’m convinced that once we discover the economic engine, we can provide plenty of high octane fuel to keep it running.

Until then, we will continue our passionate pursuit until the money does follow or until our passion leads us down another road.

And that’s just it, maybe our passion for this venture is preparing us for something we can’t see yet. Something even more exciting. I think if you truly follow your passion, you can’t just look at what’s currently happening. You have to look at where your passion is taking you. It may look very different from where you are today.

Today is my wife’s birthday. She is the love of my life and the best friend I’ve ever had.
Below is the birthday card I made for her (the ganster theme is becoming a birthday card tradition as you will see from the 2008 card below it):

2009

2008

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “cash is king.” If I only know one thing about running a business, this would be it. The number one reason businesses fail is under capitalization, which is just a fancy way of saying they run out of cash.

A recent article in Inc. Magazine featured a conversation with Jim Collins, author of several best-selling business books including Good to Great. The article was aimed at giving advice on how businesses can thrive amid the chaos and uncertainty of the times.

In this article, Collins discussed an idea that I find extremely wise and practical. Collins keeps at least one year’s operating budget in cash at the bank all the time. His company could go an entire year without a penny of revenue. His goal is to eventually build up three years of liquid operating cash.

This cash shock absorber empowers Collins and his team to focus entirely on their work. By not constantly chasing cash to make next week’s payroll, they are able to chase after what really matters. And because they are focusing on doing great work that is highly sought after, sales and cash should inevitably follow.

Can you imagine? What would it feel like to know that your business could run for an entire year (or three) without making a penny? I can’t answer that question because I’ve never been there. But I want our current company to get there, and if/when I start my own company, I want this to be a top priority.