This is my dad.

He’s pretty much taught me 94% of what I know about business.

We talk every day, mostly about business…

Big Daddy Bruce was an entrepreneur “before it was cool”.

Of his MBA class in the early 1980s - less than 10 became entrepreneurs.

Obviously, the world has shifted!

I’m spending a lot of my time these days "supporting” business owners via various projects - and while automations & global talent is a huge part of what I can help with - oftentimes more fundamental business truths need to be discussed.

So - I went to the man who taught me how to “live by my wits” (and who has done it very successfully for almost 40 years) to write a few timeless lessons based on his experience.

Not lessons from classrooms.

Not lessons from a vapid guru on IG.

Lessons from the real-life “knife fighting” on being an entrepreneur - and doing it well!

I hope you’ll revisit these rules as often as I do.

So, here they are - and off to Bruce!

———

We have a lot in common. 

Perhaps the most important thing in business that you can have in common……the desire to succeed or fail on the basis of your own skill, effort, creativity, and smarts. 

We’ve all rejected the company womb.  

We are the true business pirates of 2023 (although I became a business pirate in 1984).

First, brief context. 

To this day, my happiest day in business.  I had just graduated from Harvard Business School, the “West Point of Capitalism”. 

My classmates were all going off to Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and IBM. 

I interviewed a bit…most notably with Proctor and Gamble. 

Seven interviews for a single position in corporate strategy. 

In the end, I (professionally) blew the seventh guy off, saying that I could never work for a company that needed seven people to be involved in a hiring decision.

I started a magazine company based on a market niche I identified in business school. 

I had no money. 

My Father-in-law loaned me 20K. 

The printer took my accounts receivables as a deposit on the printing I needed to be done. 

Sweet talked a bank for another $20K.
  
My windowless office was next to a dentist specializing in kids. 

They screamed all the time.

It was heaven. 

Writing the initial sales on the “board”…first one, then five, then enough to beat breakeven, then enough to make some money was an indescribable rush. 

A rush I hope each of you is or will experience. 

There is nothing like it. 

Have you felt it? 

Incredible.

We….you and me….are people of action and results. 

And there is no better way to scratch that itch than by starting or buying a business.  

Business Truths

There are certain business truths. 

Every one of them applies to establishing and successfully operating a small business and living by your wits - here are 8 of my favorites!

1.      Sharks Closest to the Boat. 

You are in a small boat (your business….) 

You are surrounded by sharks. 

What do you do to free yourself of the sharks? 

Attack the ones closest to your boat. 

So if you have five problems on Monday morning, which ones do you tackle first? 

The ones that are the most pressing and the most time-sensitive. 

Yes, duh, a shark three feet from your boat is more of a threat than one 50 feet away. 

Same in managing a small business. 

A worker calls with a materials problem on a job, and your banker calls to discuss setting up a financing program. 

The worker and their problem are ‘closer to the boat’. 

The banker can wait.

2.      Bite-size Problem Solving. 

You will sometimes face big problems, and when you first see them, appear gigantic. 

What do you do? 

The answer is a joke, that I will undoubtedly mangle.

Question: “How does a mouse eat an elephant?”

Answer: “One bite at a time”

The lesson here is to break down large, intimidating problems into a series of smaller manageable problems. 

One bite at a time.
Solve all the small problems, and the big problems will be on the way to being solved.

3.      “Hot Food Hot”.  

I had a boss in my early years who came out of the restaurant industry. 

I was a young manager, coming off a successful entrepreneurial run, seeing what it was like to run a big corporate group.

I did not like him or the job much, but he left me with a magnificent insight. 

He said running a restaurant (and a business) is really simple….. “You just have to serve “the hot food hot, and the cold food cold”.

So how does this apply to a small business? 

Execution matters. 

A good product/service well priced is “hot food hot”.

4.      Don’t Do Stupid Shit. 

One of my good friends is a carpenter. 

He is a perfectionist. 

He never really succeeded as a carpenter because in his journey to carpentering perfection he chewed up his profits.

Funny story. 

He was working in a loft. 

There was some work that could have been done that would not affect the integrity of the job and would never be seen by the customer. 

He spent a day making it perfect, “because that’s just how I do things”. 

OK, he had it his way and made no money on the job.  

5.      Opportunity Cost as Mantra. 

As a small business owner, you’ll have a lot of chances to do lots of things. 

How do you decide what to do, beyond the simple concept of what makes the most money? 

Profit alone can be misleading. 

When Jon bought a company a few years ago, the owner would take jobs that involved custom work, often far away. 

On paper, they looked like home runs. 

But we could not do other smaller, more predictable jobs. 

We were chasing big projects in areas in unfamiliar areas, far away with tough-to-execute corrections. 

There were hidden costs that made the more complicated jobs bad business propositions. 

Sometimes the more simple task - that you know - can be far more profitable that the big flashy project. 

Remember…it’s not about sales, it’s about profits.

6.      Prepare to be a Target. 

Oh yeah, there are a lot of scumbags out there. 

Many of them are going to look for ways to get some of what they think you got. 

Often, this comes through lawyers, exploiting something to get shakedown money. 

You defend yourself by making sure your organizational structure protects you personally, and your company as much as possible. 

Business insurance can be very comforting, although sometimes expensive.

I’ve had an ex-employee literally make up stuff. 

He found a lawyer who wrote a nasty three-page letter alleging $300,000 in damages, but “he would settle for $30,000”. 

Oh really? 

We went to our very good lawyer. 

We did most of the legwork to keep the cost down. 

Our response was nuclear - and it wasn’t a bluff. 

Now the dirtball lawyer was looking at a mess. 

He was on contingency and would end up making nothing. 

We never heard from the dirtball lawyer and his dirtball client again. 

Semper Paratus.

Always be prepared.

7.      Ripe Peaches. 

Our family has a farm in New Jersey where I was lucky enough to work during the summers. 

My uncle, a no-nonsense farmer, taught me something important. 

I could never understand why we had to pick peaches at sunrise and go all day, and then load fruit trucks until 2 am. 

His message to me was simple. 

“When the peaches are ripe you pick the damn peaches.  If we wait, they will rot and we will have nothing”. 

Being an entrepreneur means sometimes working strange hours, whenever necessary, and doing things outside your comfort zone. 

There is nobody else to pick the peaches - or run your company.

8.      Stop digging.  My dad (Jon’s grandpa) and I were at an elegant restaurant in NYC. 

I got a small fishbone in my throat.  As only he could say, he told me to “eat a soft pretzel to make it go away.”

Bad move. 

I ended up, at 3am in a Harlem emergency room, with a doc digging into my throat.

I kept having the SAME problem, and if you own an business, you might have it too.

I had NO CLUE what my field people were doing.

Sales reps barely used CRM (only if threatened).

Crews were on the road all day (and would never sit down at a computer).

Here's How I Fixed It: First, some empathy.

Our sales folks are moving and shaking all day.

Running appointments, wolfing down lunch, answering the phone.

CRM apps are terrible.

If they're lucky, reps have sticky notes or notecards, that they try to put into their computer when they get home.

I've signed 17 business operating agreements in the last year.

You GOTTA have one to be a big boy (or girl).

Here are 10 things I look for in every one I sign

(Bookmark this): Entity Information:

Legal name, address, purpose of the business, and type of entity (e.g., LLC, partnership). Include formation date.

I am the laziest man alive, and this thread will prove it.

Everyone around you HATES your cryptic slacks, emails, and texts.

I don't blame them.

BUT you don't want to spend hours on long emails.

The solution?

Combining ChatGPT and voice memos from your phone!

Here's how: The problem with spoken word or things like Slack:

- Lack of a clear record
- Difficulty in referencing
- Ambiguities

But writing long emails can be slow.

Here's the lazy man's solution.

The Only 4 Things a Small Business Owner Needs to Know About Taxes, and Hiring Philippines Based Staff: 1. They are foreign contractors. No 1099 needed.

SMB Outsourcing 101

Over the past 5 years, I have hired close to 100 "virtual assistants" (I hate that name).

Want to know a secret?

I use the same 5 techniques every time 🧵👇 Technique #1: How Things Start (Is How they Always Are)

How it works:

- Have the applicant "perform the task" during the application process
- Give them minimal instruction
- Monitor Results

This lets you separate the "talkers" from the "do-oers".

I've spent millions of dollars growing my SMBs and consulting with others.

95% of SMBs don't use this tool, and it is costing you thousands of dollars a month.

This isn't some "mindset" or "guru" bullsh*t either; you can start next week; it's a lesson from the trenches.

🧵 Did you know 78% of customers buy from the company that responds first?

The avg response time for businesses is 47 hours.

82% of customers expect a response within 10 minutes.

If you are spending $ on leads and not replying to them within 5 minutes, you are wasting your money.

In 2016, I hired my first remote, high-quality, low-cost team member.

In 2023, I plan to hire 45.

Here's the five-step framework I use to hire & onboard quickly (and save me weeks of bullshit). 1) I always have a test in the job posting.

I don't want to have 73 short Zoom calls with candidates, that are largely indistinguishable.

Going to have them on the phone? Make them read a script.

Going to be an assistant? Test their research and organizational skills.

I grew a service business' revenue by 500% in about a year.

I did lots of dumb shit but occasionally had some new ideas.

One of those new/good ideas, I nicknamed the "Smokey the Bear" Process.

It kept me sane.

Here it is, step by step:

(1/13) Every business needs to define a "qualified lead" - meaning an inquiry that is worthy of sales pursuit.

As an example, when a customer contacts your biz, are they within your geographic coverage area?

You probably have a list of zip codes that you cover.

(2/13)

Since we now have SEVENTEEN affiliates in two different industries (and many, many more affiliates & industries coming) wanted to share the FTC's definition of the “Trademark”.

Important bc:

- Maintains our compliance
- No linked brand or products = Full local autonomy It's more fun to be a pirate than to join the navy.

Want to be one of our experts or explore our affiliate options?

Holler at me.

It’s the holiday season.

If you are using global talent, you need to know the customs and amounts of holiday bonuses, by country.

Here are my four most common: Philippines: 13th Monthy Bonus - Paid on or before 24th December and is equivalent to one month’s pay.

I've hired hundreds of remote, full-time staff - and have fired almost as many

Here are 6 red flags I look for in the first 30 days: Consistent tardiness.

Usually, it comes with a bag of excuses.

If it starts this way, it never goes away.

Trust me.

So many home service companies struggle to consistently generate leads.

Here are all the ways I've successfully generated "homeowner" leads.

Please add what you've done, and this thread can be a reference for newbies.

Only write those you've personally used!

👇 1. Google Pay Per Click (Search)
2. Google Content (Search Engine Optimization)
3. Facebook Traffic Ads
4. Yelp Ads
5. Direct Mail
6. GMB Optimization
7. Bandit signs
8. Referrals from existing customers
9. Neighborhood Groups on FB
10. Nextdoor - customer posts
11. YT Pre-Roll

Hiring a high-quality, low-cost global CSR can save you thousands/month.

I've hired tons - and a KEY is to define what a qualified lead is.

Below is a qualified lead flow I built for a home service biz spending 50K/month in ads

Here are 5 ways you should "squeeze" leads:

⬇️ 1. Lead is actively interested in our services (Not just price shopping).

This is tricky, but an important one.

Each industry will have different "clues" as to an active buyer vs a tire kicker.

Price shoppers should get added to an automated follow-up sequence.

5 things you said to your remote assistant that she didn't totally understand (and how to do better):

🧵 "Reach out if you have any questions"

She thinks:

"I have 10,000 questions. What if he thinks I'm not competent? What if I ask something dumb?"

Solution:

Be specific about what types of things she should figure out vs those she should ask you questions about.

Are you looking to buy a business in the next year?

Here are four ways you might not have thought of using high-quality, low-cost talent to help your search: Create Targeting Packages

Using ZoomInfo to generate owner information is old news.

Use a research assistant to look for ownership info and enrich it:
- Read customer reviews, and quote them in outreach
- Find owner hobbies. Mention them.

Minutes are hours, and hours are pain.

Every minute I save when assigning things to my assistant - makes me more money and saves me time.

I want speed + accountability + visibility.

Here's my "hyperspeed" tasking system: This project board in Notion is our bread and butter.

I add stuff to the "Inbox, " and she receives it and starts working on it.

If you know GTD, you'll recognize some of the stages.

There are about ten stages here.

Problem:

Having your assistant buy things for you is a major time saver and a big part of their value.

BUT

You're nervous about giving your credit card to someone based in the Philippines.

I have a simple & totally free solution. ⬇️ Privacy.com

In about 5 minutes, you can link https://t.co/dJZUNXiKXs to your bank account, and it creates a "virtual card".

This virtual card can be used anywhere a normal card can be - and is specifically for use by your assistant.

But that's not the best part.

"You can't use offshore talent for a home services company - these businesses must be done in person."

Bullshit!

Here's a simple case study of using offshore talent at a 10-year-old residential painting biz - and how it's saving them thousands of dollars a month.

(1/9) This case study came from my work with a current client.

I'm kind of like their Chief Systemization/Notion/Overseas Talent Officer.

(Owner follows me here, can weigh in if he wants).

This case is all about solving PAIN - entry-level labor pain.

(2/9)

This was my office view for three hours today.

I "wrote" four memos, six emails, & a half dozen personalized thank you cards.

How?

Two simple tools:

- Voice Notes
- A Well Trained Assistant (My exact playbooks, for free below)

Here's how

(1/10) As the self-proclaimed "Laziest, Highly Motivated Guy In the World," I'm always looking for a better tool to save time and $$$

Voice notes give a level of efficiency that I had only dreamed of.

Car rides, ski lifts, middle of the night - wherever.

I listen to my muse.

(2/10)

I've learned so much from the people I've interacted with by being "out there" a bit.

Here are my favorite things about 12 people in this community - that I appreciate & admire.

I think letting people know you appreciate them is time well spent!

You should do the same. 1) @tsludwig

- Taught me to give to the community, without expecting anything in return.

- Taught me the value of "sitting at the right table" - and that being well read in biz is a strategic advantage

- Taught me that I probably want to live in La Jolla.