01
Being an entrepreneur is a gift
I believe there are laws that govern the universe. I cannot jump on top of a building no matter how hard I try or how much I may emotionally feel like I should be given the right to.
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Building Value
Essays on creating a durable, transferable business that is genuinely useful to customers.
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02
dylan's updates May 3 2022
[1:44] Real estate deal update [3:42] On demand labour update [6:52] Because of COVID we are lean and now need to grow Market News [8:38] Elon Musk / Twitter [11:13] Amazon Netflix 1 month charts [14:34] Unionization for Starbucks and…
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What to do when business is slow
The share price for Netflix has dropped significantly over the past week as the market tries to figure out what they think the future of the business will be.
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dylan's updates April 12 2022
Tune in today as Dylan goes through his recent tweets. Twitter: @dylangallagher Listen to this podcast episode on any of these platforms: Watch the livestream: https://youtu.
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dylan's updates April 5 2022
Tune in today as Dylan goes through his recent tweets. Twitter: @dylangallagher Listen to this podcast episode on any of these platforms: Watch the livestream: https://youtu.
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How will inflation force you to change your business
How will inflation force you to change your business? Inflation is a funny thing. You can't pinpoint the exact day it impacted your business.
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What is the point of growing a business?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? When you consider the work required to keep a business alive, trying to figure out how to grow a business can seem impossible and pointless.
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Want a simple goal? Double your results.
It doesn't always need to be complicated. It doesn't always need to be difficult. Sometimes the simplest goals are the ones that don't require a lot of thinking.
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You never can tell.
The best times in a business are not obvious until you look back. Was it the market helping your business do well or was it brilliant management decisions?
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Take the hit and move on.
It's easy to see in hindsight where you may have went wrong. As entrepreneurs we can often find ourselves making decisions that may not necessarily be contributing to a better result.
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What is the most exciting trend in your market today?
Day in and day out things can often seem the same. As entrepreneurs we can get into the habit of keeping our head down and focusing on the numerous tasks and requests being made of us without looking up to see what's going on in our market.
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Sir Richard Branson captures another dream through Virgin Galactic.
Many entrepreneurs (myself included) are reminded today that we are only limited by our imaginations when it comes to realizing our dreams.
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There is always a new normal after a downturn. Watch the box office.
It can be tough to keep your head on straight when life seems to be crumbling down around you. The financial crash of 2018/2019 was a tough time for many entrepreneurs.
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I am looking to invest
I am looking to invest in a private business that needs some capital and some help creating value or increasing its value.
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Bag of gold
I believe we all have a bag of gold. Some people have one piece of gold in their bag while others may have 2 or more.
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Failure happens
I don't like to fail. I use to think that failure was weakness and something that I needed to try harder to be better at, stronger at.
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Winning happens
When I catch a break, it tends to catch me off guard. Running a business is like running a marathon... uphill!
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Honesty happens
It's tough sometimes to come to terms with reality. Even as an entrepreneur it can be difficult to hold out hope for the future when your current circumstances suggest there should be no hope.
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Change happens
Wouldn't it be great if the best decisions you made were able to provide a lasting difference? Wouldn't it be great if things stayed the same in your business?
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Organic or ???
Do my actions and activities change the result? It's a tricky question for an entrepreneur to answer because we tend to think that everything we do matters.
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Mondays are the best
I use to hate Sundays. More specifically Sunday evenings. I would begin to think of all of the outstanding tasks and issues I would be faced with come Monday morning and would being feeling the anxiety creeping into my chest.
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What's your next move?
Every day you are either moving your business forward or it is moving backwards on its own.
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How to have the hard conversations
Everyone has a different way of dealing with difficult circumstances. One of the keys to getting through a difficult time is to be honest about the challenges you are facing and the people that your actions (or inaction) may be impacting.
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Has the dust settled?
It's been a few weeks since the market changed and you may want to ask yourself: "Has the dust settled?" Are the market conditions that your business is experiencing right now going to change?
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(5/5) How do you increase the value of your greatest asset?
One of the bittersweet aspects of being an entrepreneur or business owner is never being satisfied with progress.
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(4/5) How is your greatest asset performing?
Making decisions often involves measuring results against expectations. There is a small percentage of entrepreneurs that run their business according to a budget and even less that hold themselves accountable to it.
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(3/5) What is your greatest asset worth?
What is the real value of any business? Could one answer be its ability to add value to the market by solving a problem for people that are prepared to pay for it?
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(5/5) Why will you fail or succeed?
There is a theory that states it is easy to find the answer once you know the question but it's very hard to ask the right question.
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(4/5) Where can you find what you need?
By definition (my definition) an entrepreneur or business owner's job is to bring people and resources together to solve a problem in the market.
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(3/5) What do you need right now?
Identifying the problems your business struggles with is easy. Determining what you need to solve those problems and prioritizing them can be more challenging.
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(2/5) Where will your business be when the dust settles?
For those entrepreneurs that have been through tough economic moments before, they know that when the economy "comes back" or "returns to normal" that it is never like it was before the tough moment came along.
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(1/5) Where is your business today?
The statistics tell us that 50% of business fail by their fifth year. There are numerous reasons why a business fails and from time to time there are economic circumstances that can speed up the failure rate of small businesses.
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The sun will rise tomorrow
Knowing a storm is coming and being in the middle of it are not the same thing.
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Small gestures matter.
A positive gesture or action, no matter how small, can have a massive impact.
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Where can your business be useful?
For entrepreneurs that do not find themselves in a crisis during tough times, there is always an opportunity to use the skills, talents and resources your business has to help the community it exists within.
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One day at a time
When it seems like everything is out of sorts and you can't find your footing, remember that one thing you can get control of is your approach to your challenges.
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Is what you are doing working?
Find yourself spread too thin? As you look to manage your business are there areas or tasks that maybe have consumed more of your time and resources than the results would suggest are necessary?
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Pull out all the stops
There are times when you may need all hands on deck to complete a task, project or to solve a problem.
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What is your business good at? Double down on that.
When the time comes to make tough decisions about what to do in your business, it can be helpful to keep one principle in mind as you work through the challenges you may be facing.
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Get busy executing.
“Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement them are priceless.” As an entrepreneur are you a dime collector or are your skills priceless?
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Is your business right sized?
Trying to grow a business that can't quite get to the next level can be frustrating. Trying to turnaround a business that has experienced some setbacks can be frustrating.
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If you can’t beat them, copy them.
There really are no original ideas. Everything is copy of something else. The features may have improved. The usability might be better.
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Eventually something connects
You may have tried something once, twice or even three times without seeing the success you were hoping for. Feeling defeated you may have walked away and decided to focus on something else.
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Growing your business is a good thing right?
When things are going well in your business it can be easy to think things are going well without realizing that your business is way off track.
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Everything changes. Always be ready.
Just when you think your business has everything figured out, something happens in the market that can have a profound impact on your bottom line.
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How can you easily find new customers?
Finding a new market of customers when you have an existing customer base can be tough to do. This is because as an entrepreneur you tend to see what it is you want to see.
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Zig when others zag
Timing is everything in business. It takes courage and conviction to make a decision that appears to be against the grain of conventional thinking.
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Does your business compete on price? Maybe it shouldn't.
Competing on price is one of many different strategies a business can use to attract more business.
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A little humility can ensure success
Generally speaking, every entrepreneur believes their business is more valuable than what others may think it is.
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Apple vs. Swiss - you can always do more
There can be days when you may think your business has run its course. You have served as many customers as you believe your business is capable of serving and you may not think new opportunities exist for your business to do more.
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ExxonMobil’s value drops $184 billion. Even the best stumble.
When you are on top of your game and your business is the best in its market, you can make the mistake of thinking that the party will never end.
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What worked then probably doesn't work now.
It's always hard to check your ego - especially as an entrepreneur.
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Tim's is going back to basics. Should you?
Getting lost in the forest of ideas is a common problem faced by entrepreneurs.
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Sometimes the magic runs out.
The work required to create, sustain and grow a business is not for the faint of heart. Entrepreneurs spend years and even decades investing their life into a business that they hope will provide value to customers.
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Remember when your business was self-funding? Elon does.
There is a special moment many entrepreneurs experience when they realize their business is working.
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Getting ahead of yourself is ok if you have a plan. If not, adjust.
When things are going well you may tend to think that they will remain that way indefinitely. It’s not uncommon for an entrepreneur to underestimate the need to be forward thinking and overestimate how long success lasts.
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Little Caesars leverages DoorDash to win marketshare
As an entrepreneur you can't be good at everything. Depending on where your business is in its lifecycle, your business probably isn't good at everything either.
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Like Netflix & Chill Ice Cream your business may have an obvious opportunity.
Entrepreneurs generally know their business better than anyone else. In fact, some entrepreneurs know their business so well that they miss the obvious opportunities that exist to provide their customers with more value.
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Boeing proves you should always have a Plan B.
Getting an opportunity to take on a contract from a large reputable company can be a big win for any small or medium sized business.
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You never know when your business will be FedEx-ed.
Be prepared. Always be prepared. Be prepared to have significant changes made to your business overnight. The loss of a major customer.
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Monica + Ryan + gin = marketing opportunity
Timing is everything. Well thought out plans are important but sometimes you need to act quickly to take advantage of a window of opportunity that may only be open for a moment.
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Every business has a weak spot. What’s yours?
Your business is only as strong as its weakest part. No business big or small does everything perfect. There is always something holding your business back from getting to where you want it to be.
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Win-win. Rent the Runway makes a good partner.
Whether your business is growing or in the midst of being fixed, partnerships can be a low cost way to improve your bottom line.
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A real life business turnaround (hopefully)
" Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Funny how we are creatures of habit.
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Don't overthink. Improving your bottom line could be this simple.
Analysis paralysis. At least that's what it feels like when an entrepreneur tries to think about how to grow or improve their business.
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Find your passion. Grow a business. RIP Jake Burton Carpenter.
Will this work? Am I crazy? How am I going to make payroll? This mistake is really going to set us back. It's 2 AM and I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
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A $206,000,000 share purchase validates RH is on to something.
There is no shortage of good advice, quotes and sayings that entrepreneurs can use to guide their efforts each day as they grow their business.
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One company's garbage is another company's treasure. Gas and bitcoin mining - who knew?
Where can an entrepreneur find growth? Sometimes growth can be found offering more products and services to existing customers.
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Need a simple way to leverage your business into new revenue? CloudKitchen.
Seeking new revenue? Stuck for ideas? Looking at your business the same way through the same lens each day can prohibit you from seeing new opportunities.
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Does Disney+ compete with Netflix? Are you sure?
Entrepreneurs are always looking for a competitive advantage but it can be tough to find real examples of companies that do it well.
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Don’t react - counteract.
Listen to the podcast here: If there is something going on in your business that is causing you to feel frustrated and anxious, the best thing you can do is to counteract - not react.
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How to survive a recession
Listen to the podcast here: Lots of talk these days about a slowdown in the market. Is your business ready for a recession?
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How to focus when your business is in trouble
Listen to the podcast here: It's hard enough to focus when times are good and especially hard to do when life is not working out.
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Life After a Division 1 Proposal
Listen to the podcast here: Are you considering filing a proposal with your creditors? Are you concerned about what might happen?
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What is your "why" for starting your own business? Has it changed since you started?
Some people will say “I did it because I didn't want to work” or “I didn't want to have a job”. Other people will say “I found an opportunity and I just ran with it”.
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What is the best advice you can give someone planning on starting a business?
Probably the best advice that I can give someone who's planning on starting a business is to understand what business you're in.
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Broken businesses can be fixed
Listen to the podcast here: "We are not going to make payroll this week" says someone from the accounting team to the entrepreneur(s) running the business.
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Electric airplanes and self driving shuttles (daily vlog)
The next obvious use for innovative technology will be with airplanes – electric airplanes. London eases people into self driving shuttles.
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How can your business #DoMoreWithPeople?
Listen to the podcast here People use to be paid based on their daily physical output. How many widgets could they build?
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Do you really #KnowYourCosts?
Listen to the podcast here If can happen to a large company ( see story here ) it most certainly can happen to your company.
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Is there a little Leo in all of us?
"You're hot one moment and cold the next". These are words spoken by Leo who is a homeless man living in New York.
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Execution is everything and here's proof
What if your business never existed - would anyone care? What if you never took that idea you had and pursued it relentlessly to form a business that is now delivering value to the market?
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What your business can learn from the GoPro stock price crash
Even a good business isn't safe from competition or market forces - just ask GoPro.
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Are we out of options?
I spend lots of time thinking about the economy and read a story that again talked about the same topics I have seen for almost a decade: Low interest rates and flat economies In the greater world around us improvements generally seem to…
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When is the right time to raise capital?
I have a friend who is pursuing a new direction with his business and was looking for some advice. His existing business has been operating for many years and he has been boot-strapping his new venture.
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One year later...
mlenow. ca v2. 0 It has already been a year since mlenow. ca was launched and I am pleased to announce that it has been given a new look and has been re-launched thanks to the folks at TalonX (thanks Nick - www.
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Christmas is coming...what does this mean for your business?
With Christmas around the corner, many businesses may be getting ready to wind down for the year. Amongst the Christmas parties, cheer and celebrations make sure you take a moment to think about what happens after Christmas.
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What does it mean to have "capital support"
"Capital support" is a term I use to figure out how a business can access the capital they need to support their activities.
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Bitcoins and business swings
As I write this, the market price for a single bitcoin is $1,259 on the Mt. Gox exchange. It was around $152 on November 1.
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Wow - this is not only innovative but really pushes the envelope
From time to time I read a great article (defined by me to be innovative and creative) and feel the need to share it.
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What would your business be worth today?
This comes up often with small business owners - what is your business worth today? Many small business owners don't usually have a clear answer or even an idea of how to value what they are building.
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Small business doesn't have to be big [VIDEO]
http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=P_MtHe3ZXKs This video (click here ) was a great reminder that small businesses are unique and each fill a small void in the marketplace that when earnestly worked can produce something amazing.
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I did it...I had to
Today Twitter goes public. A company that has lost tens of millions of dollars is going public today and I bought the stock because I had to.
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It will always take twice as long and cost twice as much
The saying about renovations is true - take your budget and timeline and double it, because that is exactly how much it will cost and how long it will take.
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This is proof that we all follow the herd (well most of us)
It's not often that an LOL means I actually laugh out loud but today was one of those rare moments when I experienced an genuine LOL.
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What's the one thing you believe that no one else does?
Sarah Lacy of PandoDaily holds fireside chats with various people involved in the tech sector and at the end of each interview asks the question "What is one thing you believe that no one else does?"
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Just because you can doesn't mean you should
In keeping with my theme from yesterday ( click here ) I continue today with the question: "Should renters be able to pay their rent with their credit cards?"
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Who is your champion? Don't have one? Get one.
You may not know this or even have considered you would need this - but we all do. We all need a champion for our cause.
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Have you ever owed more than $2,000,000...personally?
I recently listened to Sarah Lacy interview Chris Sacca who ( click here ) has an amazing story of triumph, failure and recovery to become a venture capitalist that has had some great wins (Instagram, Twitter, Kickstarter, and Uber to…
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Be careful what you ask for (you might just get it) US government shuts down
Yesterday I mused about the US government shutting down ( click here ) and now watching CNN I am struck by the fact that they actually did it.
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When it all falls apart
As a result of the recent tragic flooding in our city and province this past week (in addition to a incident involving a train on a bridge that brought traffic to a halt) and having had several conversations with people affected and not…
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Who makes $100,000 per year and lives in affordable housing?
Reading through an article today in the Calgary Herald title " Taxpayers group finds well-off living in housing for poor " I couldn't help but find my way over the the City of Calgary website to learn more about the affordable housing…
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Blessed? Cursed? Both...?
It is interesting to note that as entrepreneurs we can tend to get caught up not knowing the difference between a blessing and a curse.
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Learning years or earning years
Having owned a business for more than 12 years it has occurred to me that in addition to normal economic cycles of boom and bust there is also another cycle - that of learning years and earning years.
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It's like being a farmer
"Some people plant seeds and some people hope for magic beans" (Anonymous). I heard someone say this over the past week and I couldn't help but agree - and laugh.
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Entrepreneurs still need to deliver
In considering the US election results I am reminded of the old adage "Plans get you into things but you've got to work your way out.”
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CBC News - Calgary - Website connects struggling Calgarians with help
CBC News - Calgary - Website connects struggling Calgarians with help.
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Calgary Herald - Bridge Financial shares its success
When they reach a certain measure of success, many Calgary individuals and businesses become generous to the less-fortunate, something for which this city is noted.
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