Adopt a clear, simple business philosophy like ‘sell cheap, tell the truth, don’t cheat the customer’ and take these ideas seriously to guide all decisions and interactions.
Prioritize long-term customer relationships by offering genuinely good deals, understanding that short-term profit sacrifices lead to greater volume and goodwill over time.
Refuse to accept artificial constraints and view circumstances as variables you can change. Instead of complaining about problems, actively create solutions and alternative paths.
Don’t wait for perfect conditions; create momentum by taking immediate action, especially in the face of adversity. Action generates options that passivity never reveals.
Approach catastrophes not as endings but as forced opportunities for reinvention. Be transparent and authentic during crises to transform potential ruin into marketing opportunities that deepen trust.
Understand that your reputation, built on the collective positive experiences of others, creates opportunities and determines which doors open for you, even before you enter a conversation.
Maintain a singular, disciplined focus on your core business or goal, eliminating distractions. This immersion creates a depth of experience and knowledge that competitors cannot match.
When hiring or partnering, look past formal education or pedigree and assess for intelligence, energy, and integrity. Trust is paramount, as a good deal cannot be made with a bad person.
Set extremely high standards for performance and customer focus, acting decisively when those standards are not met. Character reveals itself in the smallest actions, and excellence demands unreasonable commitment.
Maintain direct product experience and view quality control as a personal responsibility that cannot be delegated, even as the business grows. Personally inspect shipments and feel the product to ensure quality.
Select partners whose strengths complement your weaknesses, amplifying your overall impact. A strong partner provides a steady foundation and balances your intensity.
Turn being discounted, overlooked, or slighted into a powerful, enduring source of motivation. This ‘chip on your shoulder’ can drive you to work harder and push further.
Cultivate a ’taste for salt water’ by developing the capacity to endure discomfort and work through pain. Exceptional people don’t avoid pain; they push through it.
Be vigilant for every opportunity to make even a small profit, no matter how insignificant it seems. Value every customer and every potential transaction.
Think creatively to attract customers and source products, especially when conventional channels are blocked. For example, rent out products or find alternative suppliers.
Empower customers to gather pricing information from competitors. Use this data to strategically price your products and offer better deals.
Express genuine appreciation for support, such as giving gifts to firefighters who helped in a crisis. These gestures build goodwill and can also serve as strategic marketing.
Instead of relying on rehearsed interview personas, observe people in their natural state or during interactions to assess their character and suitability for a role.
Adopt a perspective where customers are ’loaning’ you money, creating an obligation to provide them with genuine value and a return on their investment in you.
Do not optimize your life around what others think of you. Instead, let your unwavering core beliefs and principles guide your decisions and actions, even if it leads to conflict.
Strive for simplicity in your business philosophy and operations. Simple approaches eliminate friction, move faster, and scale with less overhead and fewer bottlenecks than complex systems.