Don't Get Trapped: Building a Business That Fits Your Life

What if the business you always wanted to start doesn't feel like the business you want to scale once you're 3 years in?

Can you relate?

If so, then don't continue operating the business.

"But I don't want to go back to working for ___ at _____."

Again, then don't.

Use your entrepreneurial problem solving and solve your way out.

(If you haven't started yet, just keep this in mind. I think diving in and learning beats staying put with whatever you're currently miserably doing. You can always pivot later, and you'll have learned a ton.)

You've discovered you like running a business and doing your own thing, but the model or industry just doesn't work for you.

I've been there.

For me, scaling my 4-year business further isn't the future I want.

Big lesson. We see the growth path ahead but that path doesn't feel right.

Make sure you're looking at the path, not just the destination.

Despite building a $200k+ revenue business with only 5-star reviews, a solid following, and corporate clients, we know it's not where we want to be.

When my brother and I jumped in, we weren't thinking about future lifestyle. We were young and ready to escape corporate life.

Working nights and weekends? Low margins? Dealing with bureaucratic BS? None of that crossed our minds.

We figured this wouldn't be forever, but would spark other ideas (we were right). After four years of talking, we were done with conversations. We just wanted to sell something—anything.

It's been 100% worth it. We've learned so damn much.

One big lesson: this isn't our forever business. We want something more location independent.

Time for something new.

I'm picturing the lifestyle I want first, then engineering my business to fit it.

My needs are modest and I'll work my ass off to make it happen.

My point? Don't get stuck in your business.

Get out there and learn, but get the hell out if you learn it's not what you want.

It takes an entrepreneur to start a business. It also takes one to exit.

We learned by being "baptized by fire."

We built a successful business with zero experience running a business and zero experience in the industry.

Because we adapted.

You can do this too.

Shit, I know you've already done it somewhere in your life.

You have a similar story. You've faced something completely new and figured it out. That's how we learn.

Whether you're stuck in a business you want out of, or you've been overthinking the leap for a year...

You. Will. Adapt.

You've been nervous before but overcame it. You're reading this right now, aren't you? You learned from whatever that was.

Draw from your past experiences or from others' advice, set up your framework, and jump in.

It helps to have some vision of where you're going.

That vision will change if you're new to this. That's okay.

If you're not crystal clear on what you want, don't overcommit.

Know what you want. Don't overcommit.

We didn't love taking out a $100,000+ loan for a restaurant. The demand was there but the risk felt too big for something we weren't passionate about. We weren't trying to get trapped.

That's when we knew it was time for something different.

If you're questioning going all in, then don't go all in.

If you haven't started, you need to dip your toe in. If it's not right, find another lake. If you're loving it, cannonball into that thing and become king of the lake.

If you've been in for a while and things have changed, get out.

Know your temperature. If it's not right, find something that is.

It's your life. You choose if your business matches what feels right.

Find it by following the flow.

Following the flow

What do you enjoy? What are you good at? What emerging trend has legs?

If you can nail 2 of these 3, you can build a business.

You can start fresh or get unstuck from your current trap.

Follow the flow. Life is all about flow.

I found digital whiteboards and thought "damn, this is it." I can finally get all this stuff out of my head and visualize it in one place.

I'm following the flow.

For me it could've been "man, I love this new taco concept, maybe I should..."

But I'm being pulled outside my current business.

So it's time for something new.

TTYL

James