Hey Reader,
Did you know that more than 50% of new businesses fail within the first 5 years?
It gets even worse in years 6-10.
I just realized that we've had a profitable business for more than 10 years now.
Has it been smooth sailing for the nearly decade we've been trying to figure this thing out? Hell no. It's been a crazy ride with more twists and turns than I could have ever expected.
But, we're still here after a decade. That puts us in a category with a very small percentage of businesses.
Before I go any further, I have never, and will absolutely never, claim to be an expert in business (or anything for that matter), but we have learned a few key lessons over the years, and I wanted to share just 3 of them with you today.
So here are 3 things I would share with anyone starting a business today.
1. Know your numbers & focus on cash flow.
We are a self-funded company. Bootstrapped since day one. We started with less than $500.
Most of the typical accounting things people talk about are simply not that crucial to your business until and unless you have investors or are looking to sell.
I look at 3 numbers every day.
- How much money is coming in, and when will it come in.
- How much is going out (where, when, and why).
- When do we run out of cash?
Every decision should include looking at these numbers. If you know those 3 things, and focus on them, all the other numbers will usually be where you want them.
Your company valuation doesn't mean much if you don't have enough money to make it to the day someone will invest in you.
2. Listen to your business & those you serve.
We’ve only created new products/services when our community asked for them. We’ve only scaled when the business demanded it. We work hard to learn the lyrics of our community so we can better serve them. (See Pat Flynn ’s “Superfans” for more on learning the lyrics)
We've also cut things, changed ideas, and said no to a lot of shiny objects because they did not align with what our community was telling us they needed.
3. Focus on the mission, not the product/service.
So many things can impact your business, how you survive, and what your work looks like. Don't get tied to a product, service, or way in which you operate.
Focus on your mission. How you get there will change. Be flexible and be ready to adjust.
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I hope this helps
~ Jeff
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I appreciate you.
Jeff Gargas
COO / Co-Founder, Teach Better Team
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P.S. When you're ready, here's how I can help:
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🎧 What I'm listening to:
⚡️Things to Check Out
🤖 Anthropic has given its AI a blog.
- A week ago, Anthropic quietly launched Claude Explains, a new page on its website that’s generated mostly by the company’s AI model family, Claude.
- Populated by posts on technical topics related to various Claude use cases (e.g. “Simplify complex codebases with Claude”), the blog is intended to be a showcase of sorts for Claude’s writing abilities.
- It’s not clear just how much of Claude’s raw writing is making its way into Claude Explains posts. According to a spokesperson, the blog is overseen by Anthropic’s “subject matter experts and editorial teams,” who “enhance” Claude’s drafts with “insights, practical examples, and […] contextual knowledge.”
- 👉 Read the article here.
✅ Social Media Image Sizes for All Social Media Networks
- Social media image sizes seem to change … a lot. Never mind the confusion of new social platforms emerging, with their own content specs and aspect ratios.
- The lack of official image guidelines is likely directly tied to the frequency of image guideline changes. The platforms don’t want to invest the time and energy to constantly update their image guidelines for end users.
- This guides provides you with the most recent sizes, as of June 2025.
- 👉 See all the sizes here.
📢 TikTok Shares a Range of Ad Updates at Its World Event
- TikTok has announced a range of new ad options and tools at its fifth annual “TikTok World” event, including updated audience analytics, new AI-powered catalog ads, improved creator partnership insights, and more.
- The app is launching a new “Market Scope” analytics offering, which will enable advertisers to examine key audience insights, based on where they are within the buying cycle.
- 👉 See all the updates here.
💡CONTENT CREATION IDEA
3 Things I'm Loving Right Now
Here’s a go-to idea when your brain feels like mush: 3 things I’m loving right now.
This could be 3 tools, books, habits, podcasts, etc. Whatever’s been helping you lately.
Share the 3 things and how they're helping you and why you're loving them.
Happy creating!
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