Derek Sivers founded CD Baby in 1997 and went on to sell the company for $22 million.
In his book "Anything You Want" Sivers breaks down how he built a business without any of the nonsense. If you're an entrepreneur: read this book.
These are the guiding philosophies he explores:
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Business is not about money. It’s about making dreams come true for others and for yourself.
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Making a company is a great way to improve the world while improving yourself.
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When you make a company, you make a utopia. It’s where you design your perfect world.
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Never do anything just for the money.
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Don’t pursue business just for your own gain. Only answer the calls for help.
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Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently promoting what’s not working.
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Your business plan is moot. You don’t know what people really want until you start doing it.
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Starting with no money is an advantage. You don’t need money to start helping people.
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You can’t please everyone, so proudly exclude people.
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Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
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The real point of doing anything is to be happy, so do only what makes you happy.
Never Just for the Money
In direct contrast to the core principle of most corporations Sivers never had the mindset of making more money, he simply wanted to make something useful & along the way he just so happened to make a decent chunk of change. When analyzing "success" in its many forms - it seems Sivers hits on something here. He enjoys the work he is doing, it is fulfilling because it helps others (in his case independent musicians) - and it provides him with income to sustain a lifestyle that he wants. Of course there are always many factors to what life brings, and everyone has different expectations. What we can be sure of after reading this book however, is that Sivers had in mind what would make him happy & allow him to enjoy his life - and once he had that he didn't change his objective to strive for more.
Refuse Formalities
There is also a pre-conceived notion that when you start a company there is a set way things have to be done. Paperwork to file, protocols to follow, methodology that will guarantee success - he tosses all this out the window. It's too easy to focus on the wrong things when you are simply trying to follow a formula. You have to look at what is important. Who is this product or service for? Why is it useful for them? What problem does it solve? What is everything I can do in my power to make this easier for them? If you efficiently solve a problem, you can get to the formalities later - if at all. Sometimes that's not even necessary.
One of my favorite examples of refusing formalities from this book is when Sivers realizes that he doesn't actually need to go to university for 4 years to learn what he wants - he can do it in less time than that. So he does. His realization is that systems of learning and doing are established in the name of simplicity and repetition for the masses - not for speed and efficiency of the individual. You as an individual have the ability to set your own pace. The standard pace? That's for chumps.
A lot of what he says is common sense. Success doesn't come from promoting a solution that isn't needed or doesn't work. You have to improve, adapt, evolve. If you solve a real problem for real people you will not need to drain your resources on promotional efforts, that part should take care of itself.
Focus by Means of Exclusion
It is also very important to remember that it is completely impossible to please everyone all at once. Many people approach problem solving by trying to do just that. Don't. It is a wast of mental faculty & resources. Focus on those that face the most stringent challenge. Focus on those who lack the most resources. Focus on those who have a very particular problem and solve that. If you do it well, other opportunities to help other people solve other problems will inevitably come along.
The final two points on Sivers' list above you really have to adapt to your own situation. If you are trying to start a business to have a source of income with minimal day-to-day oversight - then yes, it should be able to operate without you. But if taken in context of his final point, and managing operations is what makes you happy - then it is pretty clear you should embrace that role. Of course there is never a one-size-fits all solution when it comes to entrepreneurship, so it helps knowing what your objective is.
Find What Makes You Say "Hell Yeah!"
When it comes down to it, perhaps the simplest & most impactful words of advice from Sivers are that if you aren't super excited about it, don't do it. That doesn't mean don't be excited about trying new things that might lead to opportunity - some people have to spend a lot of time trying a lot of different things before they find what really energizes and excites them. Other are lucky to reach this inflection point much sooner on in their journey. The key is: once you find that thing, use that knowledge to allocate your energies effectively. Some people call this your Circle of Competence. That's when you become acutely aware not only of what you know, but also being particularly cognizant of what you do not know.
You can read about that in Farnam Street's The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts Volume 1.
Once you've comfortably identified where you are competent, it will be easier to look at an opportunity & recognize whether it truly energizes you. That's when you can use Siver's advice & the decision is easy: either "Hell Yeah!" or "No."
You can order Derek Sivers' book "Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur" here.
You can also purchase The Standard Pace is for Chumps Coffee Mug or Large Format Framed Poster Print.
Until next time.
Be well,
Yuppie
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