Anniversaries are a good time to reflect and look back. What have I learned from the online business startups I have been a part of?
When I wrote this in 2017 I was working at Copyblogger/Rainmaker-Digital, a short time afterward Rainmaker was sold, and then the StudioPress division was also sold to WP Engine so that was another startup with a successful exit, even if it was super stressful at the time. Here is what I said back then:
It’s 10 years since the end of Performancing, and I just had a work anniversary at Copyblogger/Rainmaker Digital, so what have I learned in the last 10 years?
- You’re not the customer – Empathy is paramount.
- No sacred cows.
- No ideas are “stupid”. I told Mike Stelzner he was crazy to start a new conference. Yeah.
- There are no stupid questions, other than the one you don’t ask but need to.
- No blamestorming. Find solutions.
- It’s not “succeed or fail”, just experiments and learning from them.
- Don’t be a jerk.
- Don’t let someone else get away with being a jerk in your presence if you can help it.
- But otherwise, tell someone privately if they are being a jerk.
- Plan, communicate, implement, iterate.
PS.
I intentionally made this into a list post because I know it will irritate some people, hence breaking rule #7 😉