Last year we have build e-shop. It turned out it is not good.
Actually, it sucks. What should we do now?
We have invested like $5k in initial development and another couple thousand in following improvements.
It still sucked.

So, we scraped it and started to build new one from scratch.

I tend to not consider sunk cost. Don’t feed more into something that is not working just because it cost you some money. If you learn from it and make it better next time, your investment was worth it.

When I discussed this e-shop case with my friend who wanted to buy it I said:
“Look new shop will cost us $13k”.
That is $5k for new shop and $8k we already invested in building the shitty one.

Would new e-shop pay out also for development of old one? Definitely.
Would we build great new e-shop without screwing up the old one? I don’t think so.
Was it all worth it? You bet.

Delegation of tasks and responsibilities is one of the biggest time savers.

More things you can delegate more free time you have.

You should delegate at the point if somebody is able to do the job
80% as good as you would do it.
Remaining 20% will come with time and it’s not worth to wait.

When delegating you basically want the person to get from A to B.
I have found 3 kinds of people when delegating.

First group you delegate the task and you need to closely monitor progress.
Checking with person almost every day making sure things are moving and if moving then in right direction.

With second group you only need to check with them on bigger milestones.
These people work by themselves but need occasional check to keep them going.

Last group you don’t need to supervise at all.
They will meet you at point B delivering all that was agreed and many times even more. You can basically forget the task once you delegate to these kind of people.

Over time you expect people from group 1 move to group 2 and 3.

When delegating, it is important that you both have clear picture of desired outcome. Sometimes it is also good to agree on how you get there.
Sometimes you don’t care, result is only thing that matters.
You must be very specific with people from groups one and two.                                       With group 3 you only need the end result.

It is always good to explain purpose of the task and why you have chosen this very person. This helps people understand, gives them additional ways how to achieve it and motivates them.

Delegate as much as possible. Not only it saves your time and frees your hands for important tasks, but also gives people new challenges and more responsibility which I have found very motivating and rewarding.

Constantly try new things and if something works stick to it and do more of it.
Beware of exceptions.
I am not advocating doing one thing forever just because it worked before.
Always try new things and if new works better, replace old (and do more of it).
But beware of exceptions.

Here are two examples from business and personal life.

At Chefparade we have elaborate 4 steps process for hiring people.
I have described it in this post.
All people who went through this process are good performers and long time with company. Last year we made exception and hired someone who did not go through the whole process.
He’s no longer with us and it was costly mistake.
For next round we do no exceptions and added 5th step to make sure this will not happen again.

Last year I went on 6+1 diet. That means 6 days zero carb, 1 cheat day eating anything.
I lost like 2 inches from my waist in 3 months only by sensible eating.
Later on, I loosened my standards.
Exceptions started to crawl in. Beer here or there, sandwich or ice-cream.
Just this one, just today.
Result? 1 inch gained back.

Looking back at the exceptions I have made in business and in life,
none of them was worth breaking the rule.

When do you get best feedback ever?

Based on my experience, it is the day when you’re leaving company.

I have seen people leaving who were begged to stay, offered anything.
People who were announced as “regretted loss” for company.
People for whom parties were organised by co-workers and companies
to show appreciation for what they have done for them.
I have seen people crying at the announcements that some people are leaving.

I have also seen people leaving without a trace.
Nobody mentioned them the day after.
Nobody organised parties and nobody stayed in touch.
Nobody tried to talk them out of it.

Very strong and very honest feedback like that you will get only when you’re leaving.
Nobody has any hidden interests, no more games to play.

What would you prefer? How was it when you were leaving?

Last year I hired a manager for one of my companies.
We agreed on goals and he started to work on them.
Checking P&L later it became obvious that business is growing.
Which is fine. One thing though was apparent as well.
All other items in P&L started to grow as well.
People cost, food cost, CAPEX, operations.
As a result our margins went down and we started to lose money behind this growth.

At that moment I have realised that this manager belongs to the group
I call “more for more“.

These people will achieve more, if you give them more.
Give me more people, give me more resources and I will deliver more.
Not kind of people you should be looking for.

Second group would give you “more for same“. Much better than the one above.
Finding new opportunities, improve effectivity, get more out of what is already available.

Group number three is my favourite. “more for less“.
This is kind of people I am looking for and so should you.
Very scarce to find, but there are some, so keep looking.

Related posts: Three kinds of dogs; Why Do I Pay You

Recently I had a chance to mentor couple startups.
We had half an hour scheduled for the session each.
When they came to table where I was sitting, we greeted each other and then I asked them how can I help.
They didn’t know. They had no questions prepared.
They were just hoping I will tell them something useful.

On contrary I had Skype call with one friend from P&G times who wants to leave corporate world and start his own business.
When we started he had questions ready, summarised what we talked at the end of the call and left call with 5 (!) pages of handwritten notes. Similar experience last week with Canadian filmmaker I talked to about one of this projects.

Why is this so important for me and I strongly believe for all of us?

Most of all, writing structures your thinking.

When you prepare your questions in writing it makes you think.
Simple test I give to people on this topic.
I ask them “Do you know what you want to achieve in life, what are your goals?”
Everybody says yes. Then, write it down.
At that very moment they will realise they don’t really know.

This is one of the reasons I also write this blog.
To make me think harder and to give structure to what I think.

Also, if you summarise meeting in writing you have notes left you can come back to.

Last week I had coffee with one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Czech republic and we talked about business and life. At the end of our informal meeting he said: “OK, so from today I am leaving with these things” – and he summarised 3 points he learned during our talk.

My strong belief is, that for long term success in life and business
small things like this add up.
Therefore my advice is simple:
Prepare questions (in writing), make notes.

Related posts: To Do List; Hard Work Explained

There was a discussion recently on couple blogs I read about being successful.

Many interesting definitions of “being successful” were mentioned.

Few of them for perspective:
“to be top 1% in whatever you’re doing”
“to have enough money for myself and my family, be free to travel and enjoy life”
“to be better off than I was a year ago”

and so on, with another person joining discussion another definition of success comes up.
I believe there is no universal definition of success.
This discussion made me think though.
What is my definition? How do I measure my success.
Can I say – I’m successful?

I guess, I can. Thinking about it, I would fit most of the definitions mentioned.
Most importantly I would fit into my definition – which is most important for me.

“You are successful when you’re are using your abilities to the fullest”

That is my definition. What is yours?

What kind of experience do I need to start my own business?
Should I have some business experience?
Do I need experience from the industry in which I am planning to run my business?
What kind of experience will help me to build successful business?

Here’s kind of experience that helped me to build 6 successful ventures over last 7 years:

Travel                                                                                                                                             Over years I have travelled (mostly by myself) over 40 countries on 5 continents. Being exposed to different environment,  culture and situations helped me broaden my understanding of the world. All travels I did were on a shoestring budget – backpacking which also adds to experience.

Books                                                                                                                                                 In last twelve years I have read or listened to app 500 business and self-development books. Plus countless articles and blogs. On average I read hour a day. Books always served me as great source of information and inspiration. I am big believer in books and feel like they are being overlooked today. (working on project to change that – coming soon).

Party                                                                                                                                               One of the most important things in business is relationships building. Whole social environment you will create inside and outside your company. Being kind of a “party animal” back in my mid and late twenties helped me to practice and improve my social skills that helped me greatly when starting from scratch in new cities, industries and cultures.

Living in foreign country                                                                                                       This is similar to travelling but more in-depth. You understand the country and its people much better and at the same time you must do more to succeed.  Being there without family, friends and whole social network and known environment is helping you grow.

Sport                                                                                                                                       Especially practicing for IronMan (20+ hours a week while running a company) was great exercise in discipline, goal setting and following through on my resolutions. Finishing the race was one of the most rewarding moments in my life and left me with lifelong feeling that I can do anything. 

Working for P&G                                                                                                                       Listing work for big corporation as great prep for running your own business seems to be contradictory. Procter & Gamble is great company which from the very first moment gave me full responsibility for job I do, let me learn a lot and sense of ownership I had there was hardly comparable to any other corporation out-there. Working there in F&A and Marketing gave me very solid foundation to build on when I started my own business.

It may be surprising I did not list university studies or some other kind of formal or informal education. Rightly so, they did not help me at all.