Shit happens.

As an entrepreneur, it’s inevitable that things aren’t going to work out as planned. Just because you came up with the idea, doesn’t mean it will work.  That would be like working out at the gym and thinking just because you put the weight on the bar, that you should be able to lift it. That’s not how it works.  There’s a point where the weight is too much and you’ll fail to lift the bar. Now, that doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to lift that weight, it just means today you can’t – you’re just not strong enough, yet.

So what do you do when this happens in your business? When you’re trying to manage more projects than feasible, and worse, your not seeing the progress you want?

Here’s what I do when this happens.

1. Revisit my “Why”

If you don’t have a strong “Why” for building your company, then start there. If you forgot your “Why”, then revisit it and ask if you’re still on that path. Many times entrepreneurs start of keen on solving a certain problem, for a specific customer in a unique way – but for one reason or another – things don’t pan out, so they pivot. The risk is you pivot out of your passion. Then one day you realize your building a company that you aren’t excited about.

So stop and re-align.

The #1 energy source for entrepreneurs is their passion for the business. It’s why 2 guys in a garage can compete against a fortune 500 company with unlimited resources. They have so much passion, that they won’t give up when any normal person would. That needs to be present, or everything else just won’t work.

2. Do less

Many times, entrepreneurs get to this point because they have too many irons in the fire. My advice is conduct an audit of all the initiatives and projects your have going on in your company, and prioritize and kill the bottom half. It’s always better to put more wood behind fewer arrows, then to spread yourself too thin. Doing less is o.k. Just do less at a higher quality. Make it your best work.

“.. more companies die of indigestion than starvation”

Bill Gurley

I probably reasses 5 times a year, where I sit down and review all of our projects and ask – what’s really important to get right? What’s noise or “busy work” that won’t create a better experience for our customer? What am I working on that is for pure ego? (yep, I ask that – cause we all do it). It’s hard to do. Most entrepreneurs have this tendency to create work, as that’s what they do best, creating. But sometimes you need to stop building, and ensure the things you’ve built is delivering the value to the customer you expected. Many times you’ll realize they’re not.

3. Become a secret shopper

When’s the last time you used your own service as a new customer? How does that process feel? I usually spend a week every 3 months improving this process. Every new customer / lead / prospect will go through this process – so it needs to be rock solid. Become a “secret” shopper – signup or use your company but don’t tell your team (or have a friend do it). Experience your service from their perspective. If you have dozens of different types of customers, re-read step #2 . Figure out how your message is being communicated on your website, write down all the things that are broken in your on-boarding, and see how responsive things feel. Were you delighted with the experience? If not, fix it.

Business thrive on 2 things; 1) Retention – do you customers that buy, keep buying, 2) Profits: are you making enough profit per customer to re-invest in the business to grow. If you don’t have those, stop and fix them. Many companies operate at a loss, or essentially work for $9/hour when you calculate all the cost involved in getting new customers and delivering the service. Or worse, never have a customer buy again or recommend a friend. This means you need to keep acquiring new customers every few months JUST TO GO SIDEWAYS = no growth. Run the numbers. Be sure that you’re actually building a business, not creating a low paying job for yourself.

—-

That’s all I’ve got.  I’ve worked with many entrepreneurs thinking through each one of these  buckets, and it’s always helped them get out of a rut.

Just to recap:
1) Ensuring your hearts still into it – and if it’s not – fix that.
2) Make a list of all your open projects, commitments and initiatives, and kill some.
3) Start with your customer and work backwards. They need to be put at the centre of everything, without them, you don’t have a business.

Hope these help you out next time you’re feeling stuck.

P.S. Please excuse any typos. If I had to proof read and fix all grammar mistakes it would take me 3x as long to write – so you get it raw and real.

I read a lot of tech news and blog posts from smart startup people. I believe it’s important to stay on top of things to get a feeling for new trends, to learn from fellow entrepreneurs, and to hear what my friends and colleagues are working on. There is one problem with tech & startup news though… there’s too much! There’s a lot of not-so-interesting content floating around, and it’s difficult to filter and find only the best, most valuable content that I can learn from to help make Clarity the best it can be.

Recently, I’ve been using a new product called Quibb that does just that. You can follow startup & tech professionals to see what they’re reading each day, and you can share what you’re reading too. There’s also a lot of interesting discussion going on, all from professionals who actually live and breathe tech & startups on a daily basis.

I think that it’s going to be a force in the future of publishing and content discovery. If you haven’t heard of it, or signed up yet – do so now (you must apply though).

So… want to know what I’m reading? Check out my Quibb profile!

P.S. I’ve got some speaking engagement coming up – if you’re interested in hearing me share on growth hacking (Montreal & Toronto), my entrepreneurial journey (University of Michigan), beliefs that create success (Kansas City), or building a startup (Vegas) – be sure to register and find me there. I’d love to meetup in person!

Since then we’ve

• Retooled the product and launched publicly in May
• Completed over 12,000 calls
• Connected entrepreneurs from across 47 countries
• Signed up over 7500+ experts & advisors

And today things continue to grow!

Today I’m super excited to annouce that Clarity has raise $1.6M in a round of funding from some of the best investors from Silicon Valley & across Canada.

Here’s a quick video I made, also talking about our new blog and Clarity Needs – both launching today.

[OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

TechCrunch Clarity Raises $1.6M Seed Round From Baseline, Mark Cuban And More To Build Its Mentor Advice Network

GigaOm Advice from Mark Cuban at $10,000 an hour: $1.6M in seed funding for Clarity

The Next Web Clarity raises $1.6m to become an entrepreneur’s lifeline, launches Clarity Needs and new blog

Financial Post New Brunswick-based Clarity gets $1.6-million from Silicon Valley backers

Betakit Clarity Adds $1.6M from 500 Startups, Mark Cuban to Be ‘Lifeline for Entrepreneurs

TechCocktail STARTUP ADVICE PLATFORM CLARITY RAISES $1.6 MILLION

We’ve raised 1.6M from the best investors from Silicon Valley & Canada

Today I’m excited to announce that after six months of steady growth, we’ve raised $1.6M from investors that are nothing short of amazing. We are thrilled to have some of the US and Canada’s top funds and angels backing us including

• Mark Cuban (Billionaire)
• Baseline Ventures (First investors in Instagram, lead investor in Flowtown)
• Freestyle Capital (Josh & Dave are badass entrepreneurs)
• Real Ventures (Mark MacLeod & team)
• Version One Ventures (Boris Wertz is the man)
• 500 Startups (Dave McClure & team)
• Venture 51 (Brandon & Ryan are amazing!)
• Ariel Poler (Early investor in Twitter and amazing kiteboarder)
• Howard Lindzon (Canadian entrepreneur and angel investor)
• Gerry Pond (Ranked #1 angel investor in Canada)
• Brian O’Toole (Sold his company for $350M>
• Haroon Mokhtarzada (Founder of webs.com)

What does this mean for Clarity? This funding will help us to develop and grow the company by hiring some key players for our engineering team. It will help us grow globally. We want to see Clarity expand into more countries and help an even wider reach of entrepreneurs in need.

New: Clarity Needs

In addition to announcing funding today, we’re also launching Clarity Needs, a streamlined way to help entrepreneurs identify the right person to ask for advice. Clarity Needs will allow those seeking advice to post topics they wish to discuss so that others within the community can help recommend individuals within their network that may be the right expert for the call.

Our learning engine captures these recommendations from other members, allowing for better categorization and making sure only the best experts, based on expertise and responsiveness, will respond to your need.

An Opinionated Blog for the Entrepreneur

Today, I am also extremely excited to be launching this new blog – dedicated to offering a window into the life of an entrepreneur. Instead of assuming or guessing what you want to read – our team and Clarity community members will be collaborating to offer you a wealth of resources dedicated to entrepreneurial education. In addition, we’ll actively watch for common themes from Clarity call requests so that our content is tailored to what entrepreneurs need most.

It’s going to be edgy. It’s going to be raw. But I promise you that above all – it will be honest and real. We’re not only helping entrepreneurs get unstuck – we’re offering entrepreneurs a lifeline that they can trust.

——-

Last But Not Least – Scott & Vincent

I want to give a special thank you to Scott Wadden & Vincent Roy who’ve been instrumental in getting Clarity to this point. Their dedication to product, engineering and our users is the reason why we’ve achieved so much in such a short time. None of this would be possible without them.

Remember, if I can ever be of help – give me a call on Clarity (link to free profile)

Love to hear from you in the comments below.

1. Find A Great Location

To have a productive workation you need to find a place that not only has amazing sights and weather, but great internet and a place for you to work. Once you’ve decided on your destination, I would recommend using AirBNB or VRBO to find a real apartment or condo. Having your own place – instead of staying on a resort or hotel – will definitely help you stay focused on the “work” part of the day. Last year we did a week of Kiteboarding in Aruba, and this year (where I’m writing this from) we’re in Exuma, Bahamas. Both places have great internet and desks for Renee and I to work from.

2. Structuring Your Day

The plan is to get up get started early. If you’re looking to maximize your time, you’ll do start with something active, then get working on the most pressing projects. Here’s how I structure my day.

• 6:30AM – Workout / Run
• 7:30AM – 12PM (Noon): Team meetings, complete major projects, calls
• 12PM – 6PM: Activities or just relaxing
• 6PM-8PM: Dinner (In-house or nice restaurant).
• 8PM – Bed: Emails, review projects, paperwork

3. Make Your Health A Priority

As I mentioned above, I like to start my day with a workout. If you’re in a place that warm, you’ll want to go out before the sun start beating down on you. One downfall I see happen many times on “vacation” is to let loose and eat like a pig. I actually take the opposite approach and leverage the time away to get back into a routine and feel good about my health. Kicking off your day with a workout also makes for a very productive morning.

4. Communicate With Your Team

Since I’m physically away from the office, I usually turn to Skype Video (1-on-1) or Google Hangouts for connecting with the team. Video lets everyone see you – which I feel is super important. I’m big on transparency and I don’t hide my schedule. If I’m going to be around in the morning, then gone surfing in the afternoon, then I tell them. Whenever possible I also try to keep up on emails so that I can help move things forward – even if I’m sitting by the pool.

5. Work Hard, Play Hard

The whole point of a workation is to work hard, and play hard. I’ve always been an adrenaline junky, so I’m trying to plan my trips around extreme sports. Either snowboarding, snowkiting or wakeboarding. I always opt-in to connecting with a local to fast track your experience and quickly get the lay of the land for the area you’re in. It might cost money, but it’s usually well worth it in the end.

Those fives secrets have helped me not only be more productive and see the world, but also come back to the office feeling recharged and not overwhelmed.  Will this scale once the family grows? I’m confident we’ll make it work.

Let me know if there’s any locations or tips I should consider for my next one!

I believe that it takes more than innovation to succeed. It requires a great product experience. Apple definitely set the standard, but many new companies have embraced this trend and the bar has been set higher.

Product design will be a huge differentiator going forward especially when it comes to mobile and consumer applications.

Mobile web, displays and browser technologies have all elevated what’s possible now online and the expectation of our users. They expect more.

.. and I want to give it to them.

What I’m looking for

I’m not looking for a certain design style, I’m looking for a certain design approach and taste level. Simplicity isn’t enough – clarity (pun intended) is where it’s at. You think about how people interpret the objects on the screen. What they think about, what moves them, what frustrates them, what makes them happy. You know that the right design decision can make all the difference.

You’re excited to discover a better solution, even well into a project. You don’t mind throwing something out in favor of a better idea or implementation. Projects at Clarity.fm start with real code. Feedback from an evolving prototype guides the team. While we’re very pragmatic about code, it is important that your design/code is easy to change in response to feedback.

How to apply

Send relevant work samples, and anything else that will make you stand out, to join@clarity.fm. Include [UI DESIGNER] in the subject of the email.

Bonus: Link to your Dribbble, Github, Twitter or Blog

If I think you may be a good fit I’ll get back in touch with step two of the application process.

Deadline for application is April 15, 2012.

More details

• Team size 4 (3 engineers and me)
• Location is Moncton, NB, Canada
• Compensation includes equity
• Free lunch everyday

Why you wouldn’t be a good fit

If you’re not ready to be part of a startup. Startups are all consuming and very intense … but a whole lot of fun. However, it’s not for everyone.

Why would I pay six figures for a UI designer in Moncton?

My goal is to create one of the best product and engineering teams in Canada and I know the best people are well compensated and already employed. It’s not about comparable salaries vs. cost of living – it’s about impact to the product and our users. Designers matter more now than ever.

If you know anyone, email me.

3 years ago I had the great fortune to be connected with Jeff Rosenthal, one of the co-founders of Summit Series. It changed my life.

It’s events like Summit that reminds me how polarizing passionate individuals are and how they truly posses the power change the world.

Last year during Summit at Sea, Peter Diamandis gave an inspiring talk that ended up getting used in the video below. His words continue to inspire me to think bigger, work on problems that matter, and surround myself with people who share similar beliefs. Hope you enjoy:

From Peter:

“We are living extraordinary times.”

“Where you’re empowered to do whatever you want.”

“We will, you can, change the world and make it a vision of what you want it to be.”

He closed with

“The question is … what are you going to do?”

“Where are you impassioned?”

“What game are you playing?”

“Play it big!”

All the Summiteers are now part of my extended family. Love you guys.

Dan Gould's Car - Investor in Flowtown

Time is money. Money buys time. You can get more of one by investing in the other. Both are resources you can use to create a more meaningful life. Things that are important to me are; being close to my family, being creative, travelling, connecting with brilliant people, and solving problems that will leave a dent on the world.

The way I do this is by trading money for time and then invest that time on those things. There’s a bunch of ways to do this, but here’s a quick list of how I spend money for time.

• Grocery service
• Driver
• Assistant
• Travel agent
• Maid
• Laundry service
• Hiring great people
• Money manager
• Property management

I could do a whole post on the services and people that I use, but that’s not the point. The point is how you should look at money and where you should be investing your time. There’s no point in being successful financially if you don’t create time to spend it with those you love the most.

I either hang out with my family and friends, or work. That’s it. On the surface some might think I’m lazy or I like to waste money – but that’s because they don’t understand how and why I do this. I only work on things that I’m uniquely qualified to do and that will act as a force multiplier to create value. Value in my life as an entrepreneur means wealth and relationships. Anything else is a distraction and huge waste of my time.

The way I look at “investing” my money is in myself or other people. I’ve always been an entrepreneur and have an active company that I’m working on – today it’s Clarity.fm. I also invest in real estate. The other way I invest is in other people as an angel investor. Today I’ve been involved in 15 other companies and have already made a positive return even though 10+ of those companies are still running.

What I don’t waste my money on is car payments, consumer debt, and other expensive crap that’s not useful. If I can’t buy it cash – and will have time to use it – I don’t buy it. Furthermore, most things can be rented – no need to own. On that note, I’d much rather invest in a company or startup then buy a new car. It’s just more fun, and it plays into what I said early: “connecting with brilliant people”.

The truth is I didn’t start off this way. For a long time I did everything myself and nearly got burnt out. Over the past few years I’ve change things around to get more time and it’s allowed me to be more present, focused and effective.

I’m blessed each day I get to create great product, with brilliant people, for customers that I love. I’m fortunate to be able to travel to visit my friends and family all over the world. I wanted to share some of these beliefs and hope to inspire you to look for was you can trade money for time, then use that time for opportunity to create more meaningful value (wealth), or just spend more time with your family.

We don’t need more stuff. We need more time.

I was born on December 26th, 1979. Today I turned 32, although I still feel like I’m 17. Turning 30 was tough, but the past few years have been the most rewarding times of my life. Last summer I got engaged to a beautiful women and two weeks later we signed a term-sheet to sell Flowtown to Demandforce. Looking back to the successes I’ve had over the years, I realized that it wasn’t my upbringing or education that were critical in my achievements, but in the quality of the advice that I got from some amazing people along the way.

Have you had any of these types of conversations?

That’s why four weeks ago I started a company call Clarity that would enable this activity regardless of someones social status or geographic location. Clarity makes it easy to connect with others looking for advice over the phone. The service is all mobile, is private and secure, has some amazing features that make it fast and delightful.

So for my birthday this year I have one wish.

I’m asking every business owner, community leader and entrepreneur out there to offer one hour of their time – for free or for charity – to give 6 entrepreneurs 10 minutes of advice around their expertise or passion. Each call takes only 10 minutes. All calls are off the record, private (Clarity takes care of connecting both parties) and are filtered for quality.

Here’s how to commit your phone time:
1) Create an account
2) Block out an hour in your calendar January 5
3) On that day, promote your availability on Facebook / Twitter

We’ll be providing updates and instructions leading up to the big day. If at anytime you have questions, don’t hesitate to email me directly, or better yet, call

There’s already 300+ of the world best entrepreneurs, venture capitalist and marketers who’ve taken a pledge to give back and I would ask that you consider joining them. It’s only through advice from those who’ve been there before that we truly gain insight into the challenges we face as entrepreneurs.

There’s nothing that would make me happier then to end this day, my birthday, with a 1000+ amazing entrepreneurs giving me the best present I could imagine – their time and advice – for others to enjoy. Please take 10 seconds to sign-up for an event that will certainly move and change their life forever.

Signup here to give me the best birthday present ever.

Remember: It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur.

Man, it feels good to finally get that out!  As most of you know, I’m an open book with most things and keeping this great news private for the past 7 weeks has been extremely hard.

Too many people to thank

First off I want to thank my amazing team – Ethan, David, Assaf and Jerome.  Most people don’t realize that we’re only small team of five. Ethan and I have always believed that a small / talented / focused team could out innovate and execute better then one that’s bloated with sub-par people just to “get things done”. Even when we had 35,000 registered businesses on Flowtown – we made it work. The even cooler part is that everyone on the team is an entrepreneur. Everyone, before joining Flowtown full-time had their own companies or projects on the go, and they we’re willing to put their dreams on hold to be part of the Flowtown story. Today I’m proud to be able to publicly thank them for believing in us and our vision.

Why I’m excited

We found a place where we have 10x more resources to execute on a shared vision to improve marketing for small businesses all over the world. Demandforce has thousands of customers in several verticals and delivers millions of marketing messages a month. Our technology has already started to be integrated into their platform and our team is currently working on new and innovative ways to push the marketing envelope.

Two amazing people

All that being said I need to mention two amazing people, Renee and Ethan. Last August I became the luckiest guy on earth when Renee said yes! She’s been so supportive as we’ve been heads down on building out the company. Secondly, I want to thank Ethan for being an amazing co-founder and a best friend. Two weeks after getting engaged, I got a call from Ethan letting me know that paperwork was finalized with Demandforce. That was easily the best month of my life.

So what’s next?

Why do people love to ask me that question? The answer is who knows. I’ve been working with the executive team at Demandforce for the past few weeks and I’m really impressed. They’ve created an awesome company and I’m getting an opportunity to learn new and interesting things. Regardless of what the future holds, you can rest assured that whatever I do next – it will leave a dent on the world. Anything less is not worth getting out of bed for.

About Demandforce

Founded in 2003, Demandforce helps small businesses thrive in the Internet economy. The Demandforce D3 software-as-a-service application is used by thousands of customers to grow revenue, keep clients coming back, and manage operations more effectively. Demandforce’s flagship product, Demandforce D3, connects Demandforce clients to over 72 million consumers via email communications, text messaging and online services. Demandforce has achieved 24 quarters of over 80% year-over-year quarterly growth and is led by a management team with over a decade of experience developing and delivering web-based applications that drive real, tangible business value. Demandforce, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. To learn more visit www.demandforce.com.

Related
Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again: The Story of Flowtown

I’ve had an epiphany.  It hit me the other day that no matter what’s happened to me in my life, I’ve always been able to work it out.  Sure I’ve hit some crazy walls and got stopped in my tracks, but at the end of the day I figured it out.  Things weren’t as bad as I thought and good things always came from those experiences.

So the big realization was that I wasn’t thinking big enough.  Or better yet, I wasn’t taking big enough risks.  Or said even simpler, I didn’t give myself enough credit to solve the problems that those risk would certainly entail.

Well enough of that.

It hit me that no matter what issues I’d faced in the past, or will face in the future, that I’m more than capable of handling them.  That doesn’t mean that I’m going to be reckless in my business or personal life, or think that I can succeed at anything I put my mind too, but I do believe that no matter what – I’ll be able to handle it.

That’s a huge realization.

The impact has been incredible.  I’m focused on bigger projects, moving way faster and looking for bigger opportunities to create massive value.  My sights are set higher than ever before and the cool part is that it’s polarizing others to join me and help out in a way I’ve never experienced before. In some ways, it’s actually easier – sounds crazy, right? We’ll, it’s not.

The future is brighter than ever before and I think we all need to give ourselves more credit then we do.  We’re capable of achieving way more than we give ourselves permission to persue.  Holding back isn’t doing anyone any good. The world needs us to.

“Too many of us sit on the sidelines of fear and doubt, unable to contribute to a world in need of our brilliance.” Chris Guillebeau

So with that I challenge you to take bigger projects, take more risk, trust in your abilities and set your sights higher. Who knows – you might just learn that the only thing stoping you, is you.