On running outta time, building brands and $450 million in exits
Edition #052
Hey folks,
Greetings from Porto, I hope you're having a great weekend!
After settling into our apartment for the next month I got thinking about travel, specifically how immersing yourself into another culture helps you to become more self aware.
The biggest thing I've noticed, is how Portugese culture (and much of Europe) intentionally prioritise life and leisure above work and hustle. Whilst people still work incredibly hard, drinking espresso and eating Pastéis de Nata with friends and family plays a huge role in day to day life here.
As entrepreneurs we all have the drive to build things but often that comes at the expense of leisure and socialising. Travel is a great reminder that there's more to life than just work.
p.s I really want to live in Europe now...
Here are this weeks finds:
I.
⏳ On running outta time
(Article)
📖 There are a little over 4,000 weeks in the average 80 year lifespan, that's not a lot of time...
I stumbled across this interview with Oliver Burkeman author of a new book called 'Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals'. I haven't read the book yet but I found his take on time-management interesting.
Instead of focusing on productivity hacks that enable you to get more done, Burkeman says that to make better decisions with your time you need to accept that there will be certain things you need to neglect.
He says that often the drive to get more done can become an excuse to avoid figuring out what we actually want to accomplish.
I'll be checking out this book and giving an update soon!
II.
🌵 On building brand first businesses
(Reddit Post)
🧱 Building in public is pretty common in 2021 but 8 years ago, not so much. This reddit post on building a brand first business from the founder of Beardbrand, Eric Bandholz is a fantastic guide on what is needed to build a strong brand.
As starting a business gets easier and consumers have become overloaded with choice, building a brand is the strongest moat you can build around your business.
After doing some research into Beardbrand you can instantly see that everything from the copy on their site to the visual identity of the brand aligns with the type of men they want to appeal to.
My favourite piece from the post is Erics views on pricing:
"I've had multiple marketing professionals tell us that we need to put our products on sale. I stand by our viewpoint that our product is fantastic, and when people are ready to buy they will buy. Granted, we might be missing out on some opportunity; but we feel in the long run we prefer the culture of quality over immediate gratification."
III.
💸 On $450 million in exits
(Podcast)
🌚 I don't listen to a lot of podcasts these days. Often guests will cycle through and talk about pretty much the same thing every time but, I saw a lot of people recommending Rob Dyrdek's episode on My First Million and it is well worth the listen.
Rob used to be a pro skateboarder and now owns a tonne of businesses alongside having multiple TV shows. Seeing how he operates and manages his time/energy is fascinating.
One interesting idea
“If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business— you have a job. And it’s the worst job in the world because you’re working for a lunatic!” - Michael Gerber (E-myth)
End note
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Have a great week!
- Stephen