In today’s episode of The Sweaty Startup, Nick talks about “old-fashioned” business. The wealthiest people he knows started regular “old-fashioned” businesses, not some sexy new ideas with venture capital money. They just had good ideas and worked hard at them.
The way the world portrays and views people like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, Entrepreneurship seems flashy, new, and revolutionary. That’s not exactly what it is for the majority of entrepreneurs, however. Smart people who have good ideas think they have to bring on a bunch of outside investments, big ideas, or a lot of people to their idea. What it really takes is seizing opportunities and carving a small piece out of the pie.
Find something that you’re good at, even if others are already doing it, and do a good job at it. For Nick, that’s buying self-storage facilities who only accept cash and checks, have no websites, and only operate with physical locks. He goes in and adds a website that can be rented from, a keypad for the gate, and easy online or credit card payments. Nothing revolutionary. Nothing crazy. It’s about doing the little things well, and growing.