thank you to over 11,000 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.
i also include a personal note in the end so i am grateful that you let me do that without judgement.
in the early days, we were setting up business just like any business would.
for example:
hired sales and then marketing.
did founder led sales and then tried to hire more sales to scale.
created a dashboard that tracks inbound and other channel specific metrics.
set up a CRM and marketing automation to track all the details and steps.
started creating nurture programs and thought of creating a blog/newsletter.
guess what… we ended up scraping the old playbook and did this instead.
here is our FROM » TO business model today:
instead of hiring sales/marketing and creating silos » we have a GTM team that brings all the marketing, sales, CS function together
instead of hiring a bunch of sales people » we realized that our growth is going to be based on partner-led GTM motion.
instead of building a big team » we are building a licensing model to find scale in both distribution and reoccurring revenue
instead of setting up a full blown CRM and MA platforms » we test several small integrated apps that does the work for us
instead of weekly note to the team » i am writing becoming intentional note (like this one) sharing everything openly as much as possible building a bigger brand
instead of sponsoring other peoples events » we run almost a monthly roadshow that is focused on our target audience
instead of creating a boring newsletter about us » we created a original content research note that over 30,000 are subscribed to it in a year
the interesting thing to note, is that we are exactly the business we envisioned we would be but we are fundamentally doing if differently.
nothing that i have listed is old school.
everything that used to work is not working any more and the best way to move forward is to learn and test new ways.
i call it, “the next move”.
the next move is really about not planning too much far in advance that forces us to make dogmatic decisions without recognizing that buyers, markets, and opportunities are changing by the minute.
the next move, is all about making the next logical move for the business without boxing into the old way.
staying true to the vision but flexible on how you get there.
in some cases, the old playbook might still work.
but in most cases, i am learning, that everything i knew about running a business doesn’t matter.
the game has simply changed.
with the exception of how one leads people and culture, the mindset of the next move is critical to not only survive but also to thrive in this new market conditions.
on a personal note, we love our Saturdays.
initially, as a family, we looked at Saturday as a “tech free” day to break the tech cycle we all live in.
now that we have been doing that for a few years, my wife and i have changed our mind.
Saturday, as traditional sabbath, was never about tech, was it?
the true reason for us was to get closer to God.
so instead of no tech, we are actually testing if we can spend time in any way possible to get closer to God.
so yesterday we spent time reading the Bible, spending time as a family, doing a worship night (missed it for a while), read books by Christian authors on their journey, research online on any questions around any topic related to God (like why Jesus, apologetics on different faith matters), or watch talks/sermons on a specific topic from a biblical perspective.
Sabbath has always been about rest, not just physically but also spiritually resting in the name and work of Jesus, at least from a Christian perspective.
well, to tell you the truth, i feel free.
i feel that we are on our next move when it comes to understanding and practicing how we love and honor God, not by mandate but by our hearts and actions.
our prayer for us and the kids is to become a family after God’s own heart and not our own.
leader point: in business and in life, staying rigid on vision but flexible on how you get there, is how you find your next move.
The sales and marketing battle is always on...it was one team a few decades ago..
The synergistic approcah between the teams is whay helps drive a successful outcome!
Wrote about ot eaelier this week:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gauravbhatia_salesandmarketing-maketing-activity-7164581757445476352-9MbB?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android