The Art of Perseverance

It takes grit and guts to build lasting success.

Having worked at companies through multiple economic cycles including Apple’s struggles in the 1990s and watched the ups and downs of many startups, I’ve developed a framework for business resilience. This list isn’t about pixie dust and unicorns. It’s about grit and courage and do or die decisions that determine an entrepreneur’s success.

Don’t depend on silver bullets

Magical funding from investors, politicians, and governments aren’t likey to suddenly materialize when you need them. I would even make the case that money is least likely to appear when you need it the most.

If you get the money, hallelujah, take it and run, but a good business strategy is not, “And then the miracle will occur…” Assume there’s no such thing and go from there...

Focus on cash

Cash is king, queen, prince, and princess. Perseverance is not about image, positioning, and “strategic” anything. Perseverance is about surviving. I’ve talked to many entrepreneurs who are afraid of tarnishing their brand because of discounting and actions that, frankly, look a little desperate.

Do you know what’s really bad for your brand? Going out of business. So stop deluding yourself so that the whole world will notice your acts of desperation and then think less of you and start generating cash. Hell, Porsches get discounted.

Run the right race

Part of perseverance. is understanding the nature of entrepreneurship. Many think it’s a sprint that’s both short-lived with a definite starting line and finishing line. That is just so wrong.

First, it’s not a single event requiring a single skill. It is closer to a decathlon that requires at least ten skills. And you are not doing them one at a time: you are running, jumping, vaulting, shot putting, javelin throwing, etc all the time,

Second, even if you wrap your mind around the variety of a decathlon, it’s not a two-day event. It’s closer to an all-encompassing commitment that lasts a lifetime with little respite much less the mythical “work-life balance.”

Cut deeper than you think you should

The rising tide floats all boats, but the falling tide affects big boats the most. My experience is that entrepreneurs, in hindsight, regret not reacting fast enough and tough enough.

It’s better to look back and say, I cut too much and left money on the table than I should have done more, but I didn’t, so I died. With the former, at least you’re still in business with the latter. You are gone.

Go direct

You cannot depend on multiple tier distribution. Imagine if Amazon decided your product wasn’t essential and delayed fulfillment. Or if your resellers aren’t even open to accept your product, much less sell it.

You should be so lucky that your biggest problem is that your channel partners, assuming they’re still around, resent that you did business directly.

Tap your customer base

The easiest people to sell to are the people that you’ve sold to before. Of course, this requires that your customers are happy with your previous efforts, so stop thinking of sales as just “transactions,” and instead more of opportunities to establish a long-term relationship.

Be transparent with your employees

It’s not like you’re going to tell them something that they haven’t read about or heard from their friends, families, and colleagues.

Also lying and shading take a lot of time and energy, and you have none of either to spare. That said, a leader can never have a bad day. A leader’s role is to provide a calm, rational, honest, and empathetic model, even if you have to fake it. I never saw Steve Jobs have a bad day.

Give to get

You’re asking a lot of your employees, so give a lot. The currency that you have is stock. Using stock is not going to affect your cash balance. I hope you end up in a situation where you say, “I should not have offered so much equity” because it means you’re still alive. That’s a lot better than owning 100% of a dead company.

Evaluate your supply chain

Stuff made locally doesn’t need to be shipped and won’t get slapped with a whimsical tariff. Robots don’t get sick. Maybe paying a little more is worth not being subject to the whims of trade wars, much less pandemics. So examine your supply chain to see if you can simplify and control more of it.

Conclusion

It takes grit and guts to build lasting success. Getting lucky and having hope are not strategies. Focus on fundamentals while staying alert to new opportunities. The companies that emerge from crisis will be stronger, smarter, and better positioned to thrive in the long term.

Mahalo!

Guy

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