Wil Schroter wants you to stop reading this and go sell something.
Schroter is a repeat entrepreneur who, among other things, writes a syndicated column about business.
One of his best columns deals with growing your business. He says: “If you are sitting at your desk in the middle of the day with a computer and phone next to you, I think you should put this column down right now and get back to work.”
Don’t all writers want us to read what they write, and isn’t educating yourself important? Sure, but this is why I like Schroter. He is a pragmatist who thinks in terms of priorities, and if you are in business growth better be at the top of your list.
His point is this: “If you have time to read this column, you have time to pick up the phone and call a major new business prospect.”
Schroter says there’s a reason we don’t always follow our stated priorities. It’s what he calls housekeeping. In business, everything that is not akin to sales or marketing or serving customers may legitimately need done, but it may not be essential to survival or growth.
It’s called housekeeping because although “it keeps things tidy, it doesn’t change the size of the house”. If you want growth, if a “bigger house” is really the most important thing to you and your company, your daily actions need to support that.
Another recurring theme in Schroter’s columns is bootstrapping, or starting and operating with little or no money. He calls this concept “Survival of the Brokest”.
He believes that the less capital you have the better off your business will be, because you are forced to be resourceful and disciplined in your business practices, especially in the spending area. You and your company will be smarter and stronger in the long run for having learned how to survive those lean years.
A business really proves its worth – or not – through the acid test of selling products and services and living without external funding. “A disciplined company looks to validate its business model with customers, not capital,” he says.
In Schroter’s world, sales and customers are what cause new businesses to grow, not funding from other people. It’s not that external capital is bad, but it will be used more wisely, it will be easier to get, and your organization will be better prepared to survive long term after you have established your ability to attract and serve customers and to manage with very little extra cash.
The success of Schroter’s start-up companies – like swapalease.com, gotcast.com, and fundable.com – makes me believe he practices what he preaches.
Tom Poorman is President of the Chamber of Commerce
Schroter is a repeat entrepreneur who, among other things, writes a syndicated column about business.
One of his best columns deals with growing your business. He says: “If you are sitting at your desk in the middle of the day with a computer and phone next to you, I think you should put this column down right now and get back to work.”
Don’t all writers want us to read what they write, and isn’t educating yourself important? Sure, but this is why I like Schroter. He is a pragmatist who thinks in terms of priorities, and if you are in business growth better be at the top of your list.
His point is this: “If you have time to read this column, you have time to pick up the phone and call a major new business prospect.”
Schroter says there’s a reason we don’t always follow our stated priorities. It’s what he calls housekeeping. In business, everything that is not akin to sales or marketing or serving customers may legitimately need done, but it may not be essential to survival or growth.
It’s called housekeeping because although “it keeps things tidy, it doesn’t change the size of the house”. If you want growth, if a “bigger house” is really the most important thing to you and your company, your daily actions need to support that.
Another recurring theme in Schroter’s columns is bootstrapping, or starting and operating with little or no money. He calls this concept “Survival of the Brokest”.
He believes that the less capital you have the better off your business will be, because you are forced to be resourceful and disciplined in your business practices, especially in the spending area. You and your company will be smarter and stronger in the long run for having learned how to survive those lean years.
A business really proves its worth – or not – through the acid test of selling products and services and living without external funding. “A disciplined company looks to validate its business model with customers, not capital,” he says.
In Schroter’s world, sales and customers are what cause new businesses to grow, not funding from other people. It’s not that external capital is bad, but it will be used more wisely, it will be easier to get, and your organization will be better prepared to survive long term after you have established your ability to attract and serve customers and to manage with very little extra cash.
The success of Schroter’s start-up companies – like swapalease.com, gotcast.com, and fundable.com – makes me believe he practices what he preaches.
Tom Poorman is President of the Chamber of Commerce