Dave,

Thanks for sharing your business knowledge. I read the stuff you shared and often thought 'why is this guy sharing this? His competition could read it?' So I understand why you're going to stop it. But I appreciated it every bit! I learned A LOT!

 I recently went into business for myself and feel like I am looking up at a huge mountain that I must climb. I'm ok with that; its like the first time I went in a gym and felt the same way. Now I'm a little way up that hill (training) and everyday find out how much I don't know. I now look at my business from the same perspective.

Thanks again for sharing all of that. EFS; great company! great website! great people!
-Ed

Ed,

Thanks for the post and I wish you all the best with your business. If you happen to be in the gym or training center business I know a great place you can get all your equipment from. (had to do it).

Let me offer a bit different perspective and how I look at these things.

You wrote "looking up at a huge mountain." You know what? Hills suck! Going uphill sucks!

You're already standing on top of the mountain, but don't know it. It's not a mountain you need to climb, it's the one under your feet that will push you higher.

When you look at this as something you need to climb, you're assuming there IS something to climb in the first place. Right now there's nothing at all to grab onto or stick your foot on.

You CLIMB a corporate ladder - You BUILD a business.

Let me explain. When you are hired into a large corporation there is a large organizational chart that you can CLIMB your way up in the company. You pick your path, do the work, kiss the right ass and begin your path up. With a lot of hard work, luck and networking you might make your way up a few notches.

When it's your business, you are the top of the organizational chart. What you need to do is BUILD the positions below you. This is creating the mountain under your feet!

I'm often asked when I'm interviewing people where they think I see the business in five years. Granted I know this, but in a small to midsize business this is really a stupid question to ask.

More than likely you are being hired to do a position that hasn't been created yet or was part of a job that needed to be split off due to time and work demands.

Let's assume this is marketing. You might not see any way to CLIMB up the ladder because the only person above you is the CEO.

No problem!

Build the crap out of your department and revenue. If the sales triple do you really think only one marketing guy can handle all the advertising, social media, public relations, branding, etc? NO! More people will need to be hired. Who do you think they will work under?

The point is small, midsized and growing organizations are not ones you CLIMB up in. They are ones you BUILD to create better positions.

Don't look up when all the answers are under your feet!