week 37: 10 go-to-market principles that helped to get to million in 9 months
this is hard but not impossible
thank you to over 10,000 of you who read this weekly and share with your friends and family for behind the scenes on building a million dollar business from scratch and beyond.
last week, i shared that we finally reached the milestone that 0.04% of companies reach in their lifetime.
i got to do it twice - 0 to million in 9 months and i for don’t take for granted.
so i am doing, what i do best, document it and share for others to take what they can.
in the chart last week i shared that both companies over the last decade were very different in type, market condition, founder state, product/services, money raised and the list goes on but the same outcome.
when i took a step back to evaluate how it happened, here is my honest review of the 10 principles that i believe helped us get here:
Redefine the problem (create a new market)
Your PoV is your strategy (change the narrative)
Find your lane of genius (you can be great at only ONE thing - find it and do it over and over again)
Become the guide and create a standard (build a media company - newsletter, podcast, events, books, frameworks, state of market)
Create a movement (create artificial sense of urgency for decision making)
Build a community of early practitioners and thought leaders (without a community, you are simply a commodity)
Keep competitors, partners, analysts, and media close (there is no such thing as category of one)
Be the first to create industry awards (everyone loves it, you get to name it)
Don’t try be brilliant (being intentional is more important than being brilliant)
Build a Dreamer, Doer, Driver team (missing anyone of these 3 skills will lead to frustration)
now, for the next few weeks, i will go through in a bit details on each one of them so stay tuned and let me know if any of these spikes your interest as these are in no particular order of these principles.
the beauty is when these 10 work together in unison and you are able to sequence it to best of your abilities.
on a personal note, every year, my family and i write new year resolutions.
it’s cheeky but it helps us all to document it and every so often, we will revisit it as a family and hold each other accountable as well as celebrate milestones.
for me, i have learned to organize in four categories and i will give a few examples:
Spiritual: Prayer life to follow Jesus more closely by being faithful in little things
Family: Yearly mission trip and 1:1 time with each family member regularly
Personally: 3x workout a week and to be able touch my toes (believe me it’s a challenge for me and the kids remind me all the time)
Professionally: Publish a book, keep GTM Partners profitable, speak at 10 events a year
each of us do it our own unique way but having some sort of structure allows for growth in all areas of life and not just one.
Leaderpoint: When you get 1% better each week, consistently, you will be amazed how far you have come at the end of the year.
who knows, you might be able to touch your toes too. Go ahead give it try :)
Thanks. The two I am lost interested in hearing more about are buliding a community - you did it brilliantly around ABM - and building a team of Dreamer, Driver, Doer. I think I know what you are envisioning here but would love to know more. Thanks for sharing all of this with us.
I'm enjoying your newsletter. Today really resonated with me, and the last note I put in my journal this morning and one of my resolutions was - work to do a little bit better each day. Like you said, sounds cheeky, but it's true. Progress not perfection. I also like the top 10 principles you've outlined, and they've help structure how I'm planning for FY23.