I loved this interview with Chase Jarvis and the infinitely quotable Seth Godin. It spoke to my entrepreneur soul and reinforced so many things I recently have told my entrepreneur coaching clients. (It’s great when a highly respected thought leader validates my current thinking.)
I want to pull out some of the best parts of this interview, “Why Strategy Always Beats Talent (w/Seth Godin),” but I do recommend you watch the whole thing.
The importance of having a strategy
In the rush to get started on your business, or to try to take it to the next level, you may be tempted to do what other people are doing without thinking if that is the right path for you and your business.
Godin says:
Strategy says it doesn’t matter how fast you’re going if you’re going in the wrong direction and figuring out where the prevailing winds are. Figuring out who we’re trying to help, getting that part clear before we start racing around with all the tactics and the clicking and the posting, it is so important and yet people skip it.
The only way to succeed as a soloist (or very small business owner)
This was so good and will speak to most of you who read this blog. This is the only way you will be really successful.
Godin says:
The only way for you to have achievement, for you to advance, is not to work more hours, because you can’t – it’s to get better clients. Better clients demand more, talk about you more, come back more often, and pay you more. You don’t get better clients by doing a really good job for bad clients, you get better clients by creating the conditions for better clients to seek you out.
So, the reason that you need a strategy is because what you’re doing right now is getting you the clients you’re getting right now, and a strategy says here’s how I’m going to find a different path to get a different outcome – the people I seek to serve.
I am getting chills as I write this. Mic drop.
Godin also shared a very compelling story about having to fire a client who was sucking his team’s time and energy. Everyone hated working with this client, but this client brought in a sizable share of the company’s revenue.
After meeting with his team, everyone agreed that the bad client had to go. While they were worried about losing the revenue, the increased energy they had because they weren’t working with that client anymore created space to bring in good clients, and they made up that revenue quickly.
This happens so frequently that it should be a rule of entrepreneurship. A solo or very small business will almost always benefit from “dumping the duds.” I have seen it happen consistently for 15 years.
Need some help with this? Message me on LinkedIn.
From the YouTube description:
Seth Godin returns to talk strategy and why getting the direction right is way more crucial than just moving fast. We chat about how creatives and entrepreneurs often confuse tactics with strategy and how fixing that could transform careers. Seth shares stories, insights, and the tough decisions he’s made to get better results, like firing major clients to create bigger opportunities. It’s all about finding your path and making the right moves for long-term success.
Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash
