What One Of The Best Debut Albums Of All Time Can Teach Us About Business

I love seeing excellence.  It doesn’t matter if it is in sports, business, or music.  I know that the principles of success don’t change across different endeavors so I pay attention when I see people getting results.  For example, you don’t have to be a Guns N Roses fan to appreciate the greatness of their debut album Appetite For Destruction (1987).

Every song on that album was considered a hit at the time even though “Sweet Child of O Mine” was somehow the only track that hit number one as a single.  The album as a whole did hit number one and was the 7th best-selling album of all time in the United States.  Rolling Stone ranked it the 8th best debut album on its Top 100 Best Debut Albums list.  The album was such a success that the band rode its momentum for the next decade with some not-so-great follow-up albums.

In music, business, and life when you have big wins early it can pave the way for a much easier path going forward.  If you know this going in, you can make this principle a part of your success strategy.

Where You Start Can Determine Your Early Results

There is a lot of upfront work required in business acquisition.  You have to figure out what kind of enterprise is a good fit for your skills and temperament.  Once you know what vertical you want to be in, then there is a ton of research and deal hunting before you put an offer in.  Even then things can fall apart.  It can take multiple tries to lock down an acquisition.  This can be frustrating.  In the beginning, I would remind myself when things got hard that financial security for my family was worth the effort.

When I had a couple deals under my belt, I realized that things went pretty smoothly after the acquisition on the deals that I did the most upfront work on.  From that point on, I doubled my efforts in the early part of the acquisition process because I knew it would make things easier going forward.  It seems counterintuitive but what most people consider the “busy work” of business actually can result in more free time on the back end.

Laying the early groundwork of success is a skill that I try to get better at every day.  

Set The Conditions For Success

There is a very high probability that if you look at a successful business, it currently uses different systems and frameworks than it did when it started.  That does not mean that the early methods were “wrong”, most of the time it means that the owner survived long enough to optimize what they are doing.

To go back to the Guns N Roses example, their 300th live show was better than their first because of all of the experience they got in between.  The early success, however, gave them huge crowds and tons of exposure that made those early reps even more powerful.  The same concept applies in business.  If you can crush it out of the gate, you have the potential to grow much faster year over year because the early results give you the breathing room and reps to optimize.  If I were to start from scratch with the knowledge I have now, I would know exactly what to do because I will always have the experience I earned.

The more clear you are on what you are trying to do early, the higher the likelihood it is that you will reach your goals.  You can help set the conditions for success if  you:

• Know what you want

• Have a support system

• Have the faith to persist until you can win

The faith part can trip people up but I have found that if I have the first two the third one is a lot easier.  It is also important to remember that setting the conditions for success is not limited to only the business side of things.

Your Environment Matters

How you begin your day sets the stage for success.   This actually begins the night before by going to bed at a decent hour.  There are tons of studies out there that the quality of your sleep has a huge impact on your health and productivity.  Just like early success helps in business, it is easier to be productive the entire day if you can start on the right track.  I get a lot of questions around my morning routine so I put together a video that runs through the entire thing.  You can watch it here:

If you want to get into the acquisition game, do the work to ensure that you get that early momentum going.  You aren’t a rock star either so make sure to practice self-care so you can get to where you want to go safely and without drama.

Have a great rest of your week!

 As always, if you want me to help you get off to a great start when buying a boring business (or acquiring a portfolio of them), book a time to chat with me here: Calendar 

Ben, I Want to learn more…

If you feel that you are constantly working "in" the business instead of "on" the business and feel that your goal of financial freedom has led you to a prison of your own design.

You are not alone, I used to be there as well.

I have 6 companies and counting and work less than 20 hours a week on them - COMBINED.

It is not rocket science and I can help you do the same for your business.

Choose a time on my Calendar and we will get to it.

Onward,

Ben

PS - Coaching compresses timeframes. If you want help on finding the perfect deal for you, book a time on my calendar here to explore becoming an Acquisition Ace: Calendar

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