Show notes from Episode #125 of the Sweaty Startup Podcast.
The world talks a lot about money. Entrepreneurs talk a lot about money. Revenue, profitability, sales, deals, and on and on we are thinking about money. Money isn’t everything, but it can give you the chance to live the life you want.
Nick was raised to think about money differently than most people. His parents taught him the value of money, how hard you have to work for money, and how money is the means to an end. Money doesn’t have to be the end goal, it shouldn’t be the end goal, but it can be what allows you to reach your end goal.
What most people don’t realize is that making money is a skill. And as soon as you begin to think about it like that, you’ll start to realize how you can get better at it. So many people think that they can just pick a business and make money; people think that they’ll get rich off of their first good idea or venture, but that’s incredibly rare.
You would never expect to pick up a basketball and be a good, competent player on day one, much less to compete in the NBA. You can read about and watch all the basketball you want, and these will provide some awareness and knowledge, but it’s a small part of actual basketball. A great basketball player has to be able to pass, dribble, shoot, jump, run, play defense, and have great court awareness and attitude, among other things.
Making money is no different. As you grow in basketball, over thousands of hours you elevate from practicing the fundamentals, to playing basic pickup basketball, to seriously competing. Just like a sport, you need to build up the fundamentals of making money first before you can really start to compete.
Think about the fundamentals of making money: decision making, communicating, selling, and managing expectations. If you’re one-dimensional and great at only decision making or selling, you at least need to be competent enough in the other areas to be great.
A great product or service will not carry you. There will be decisions to be made, systems to be built, and teams to manage. Where do you invest? Where do you pull money from? When do you shift gears, and when do you move forward? These aspects are hard to wrap your head around if you never practice.
This all comes with experience. Get out, start something, fail, lose time, and lose money. Start small and low risk. You won’t be good on your first day. Start honing a skill, start practicing making money. Make a website, get out there, get customers, and you’ll be shocked at how much you can achieve in a year or two.