johnmaconline

All three bring unique value to your new venture.

Need strategic direction, industry insight, or reaching into a network? Get yourself an advisor.
Need to learn, grow, or get better? Hire a coach.
Need financial support? Find an investor.

Each comes with a set of pros and cons.

Advisors provide wisdom, experience, perspective, and a network. But they’re not invested in your success in any material way. If you fail, oh well, that’s a shame.

Coaches help you identify and overcome your shortcomings, hold you accountable, and can provide tools and techniques. But they’re only invested in your success to the extent that they can use you as a testimonial. If you fail, you’re just an omission.

Investors provide the fuel (capital), likely strategy, and a network. They are deeply invested in your success, so they 100% want you to succeed. But that can lead to overbearing control of you and your venture. If you fail, you’re in trouble. If you succeed, you might still be in trouble.

You probably want one or more of these types of people along the way. Just remember, they don’t necessarily see what you see.

That’s all on you.

We just launched our company. 

To make it official with the government, the financial system, and customers, we needed a name. It doesn’t exist unless it has a name.

“What goes on the paperwork?” 
“Who do I make the check out to?”
“What do I say when I’m talking about us?”

So we went through that exercise. Even though the four of us have worked together for almost 10 years, we had to collaborate on ideas and in areas we’d never considered. Feelings, perspectives, and personal meaning were all on the table, in addition to practical considerations such as domain availability. It was bumpy, but we got there. Of course, we did; we always do. 

Then, we commissioned a logo. That went pretty darn smooth. We had the right partner on this one.

But now, what is our brand?

Because your brand is not your name or your logo. Once you’ve established your brand, then the logo or the name can invoke it. Not the other way around. You can’t establish your brand with a great name or a great logo. They’re just reminders. At launch, they don’t matter.

Brand, however, does matter. Immensely. In fact, at launch, it might be the most important thing.

So get clear on your brand.

“What do you do?”
“What do you stand for?”
“Who is it for?”
“What do you believe and what do they believe?”
“How do you help?”
“What tension do you relieve?”
“What will they say about you?”

Somedays, you wake up, and you’re energized and confident.

Some days, it’s the opposite. You’re drained and insecure. You’re in the swoon, and the swoon can derail you for a few hours, a few days, or your entire project.

First, acknowledge it. It’s here, and you’re in it. You’re not the first or the last. There’s nothing inherently wrong with you.

Second, remember this: Even though The World talks about launching your project, that’s not how it’s done. You don’t launch your company, book, or program.

You build it. Customer by customer. Paragraph by paragraph. Lesson by lesson.

Keep talking to people. Keep writing. Keep learning.

Hard times are undefeated.

Hard times can teach, hone, and elevate. Or they can overwhelm, crush, and cripple.

Hard times are coming. Not if. When.

How will you respond?

It’s easy and tempting to assume that others are out to get us.

But really they just don’t see what we see, and consequently, they don’t care.

If we want others to care about what we care about, we need to help them see what we see.

One perspective is that you do what you do for you.

Another is that you do what you do for someone else.

My guess is that, at its core, it’s both. In both cases, what you do is an opportunity to serve. The opportunity to serve is a privilege. It’s what transforms tasks into contributions.

You’ve seen great service. You’ve been on the receiving end. You know what it looks like and what it feels like.

Each time you pick up your drill, phone, or spreadsheet to do what you do, you have an opportunity to serve. What will it look like?

One way to look at all ventures is from the outside in. What are the objective or historical odds of success?

• Powerball: 1 in 292201338
• Roulette (single number hit): 1 in 38
• Blackjack: 100 in 237
• Survive a skydive: 199999 in 200000
• High School player making it to the major leagues: 1 in 6600
• Earn more than $100k per year in an MLM: 1 in 909
• Earn more than $100k per year as a musician: 1 in 1000
• Landscaping startup: 1 in 7
• Tech startup: 1 in 10

You can look at that list and decide which you think is the best investment.

However, it’s not that simple, is it?

For some things, you can measure success on a sliding scale rather than binary. For some things, only you can define success. For some things, you can create an environment more conducive to success. For some things, you can inherit or develop the necessary personal skills for success. For some things, luck may lead to success. 

Can you beat the odds?