💡 Entrepreneurial Insight
Stop competing on features and start competing on philosophy. Instead of just adding more features than your competitors, build your business around a strong point of view and a set of values. People who share your philosophy will be drawn to you.
Based on bootstrapped founder David Heinemeier Hansson's (DHH) and 37signals' approach to business
⚖️ Balance Hack
Next time you feel stressed about having lost a daily streak for a habit or rule, remind yourself: the goal in business (and life) is not serving specific rules or habits. It's about the rules & habits serving your business (and life).
Don't obsess over daily streaks; instead, focus on the progress you've made during the last months (even though you might have skipped some days).
Based on 'Meditations for Mortals' by Oliver Burkeman
🚀 Challenge
This week, it's time for 'Rejection Therapy': Make one uncomfortable ask this week where the answer could easily be 'no'.
Could be: pitching a slightly-out-of-reach client, asking for a testimonial, or reaching out to invite a high-profile person for a coffee.
Every rejection makes you more resistant. Because you probably won't hit a life-changing 'Yes' after 3 attempts, if chances are 1:100.
Inspired by 'What I learned from 100 days of rejection'
✨ Recommendation
In Marketing, build your strategy around human psychology. Keep in mind that for the last 50,000 years, humans have made decisions based on:
- Fear avoidance
- Status signaling
- Tribal acceptance
- Resource Hoarding
Based on Jon Brosio's X post
❓ Question for you to ask another Entrepreneur
If you could write a single sentence to your past self right before you started your business, what would it say?
⭐️ Community Insight
Last week's Q&A session within our 40HE Club with Daniele De Paolis, founder of the 7-figure brand MonkeyHands, was a masterclass in bootstrapping.
One key takeaway was his 'offline-first' approach to getting initial customers. Instead of starting with ads, he got his first sales by creating small sample boxes and personally going door-to-door to gyms in Rome and cold-calling others across Europe.
Was a great reminder that in the '0 to 1' phase, direct, unscalable actions are often the most effective way to gain traction and invaluable feedback.
Hit reply and let me know what your approach is/was to get first paying customers.