“You almost can’t be too narrow at the beginning,” Brendan says to succinctly summarize one of the many important lessons extracted from his interview with Adam Honig, CEO of Spiro. Narrowing your focus is the main theme that ran through Adam’s most useful advice, which Brendan expands upon in this episode of Billion Dollar Breakdown. As Brendan says, a lack of focus is a major mistake that new entrepreneurs make time and again. Though it’s easy to be overwhelmed by opportunities, and to be tempted not to limit yourself, it’s crucial to select your focus, and just as crucial to shut everything else down once you decide. Here Brendan explains how to choose your focus and what to base that choice on.
It’s also important to identify the empty space and go there rather than where the market is full, and Brendan takes an example from Arnold Shwartzeneger’s autobiography to make this point. Every position, whether you’re a CEO or a new hire, has its own narrow set of rules that you must understand, and play by, in order to avoid major losses.
Every successful company identifies their “villain,” a problem that needs to be gotten rid of, that stands in the way of their buyers. Identifying this and focusing on how your company works to eliminate it is another crucial element of Adam’s advice, and Brendan provides more explanation here.
Quotes:
“Most of the companies that we see go broad, were narrow at the beginning.” ([3:40]-[3:45] | Brendan)
“There’s this broader theme, in entrepreneurship and as an employee, of understanding the agreements you’re making and the game you’re playing. The game an early stage employee is playing is a very different game than an executive at a large company is playing. A venture back CEO is playing a very different game than a bootstrap CEO. A consultant, or an advisor, or an investor is playing a different game altogether. It can cost you if you do not understand those rules.” ([6:56]-[7:44] | Brendan)
“Adam chose a villain, and you should, too.” ([10:20]-[10:21] | Brendan)
Connect with Brendan Dell:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandell/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendanDell
Instagram: @thebrendandell
TikTok: @brendandell39
Master Class: https://www.brendandell.com/masterclass
Buy a copy of Brendan’s Book, The 12 Immutable Laws of High-Impact Messaging: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780578210926
Connect with Adam Honig and Spiro:
LinkedIn: @ Adam Honig
Twitter: @adamhonig
Please don’t forget to rate, comment, and subscribe to Billion Dollar Tech on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Use code Brendan30 for 30% off your annual membership with RiverSide.fm
About the Author
Brendan Dell
Brendan Dell is an author and the founder of The Daily Creative. As a freelancer he's worked with clients like Expedia, Cvent, Panasonic, Brother, Windstream and 100+ more to build unignorable tech brands. At The Daily Creative, he shares advice and lessons to help freelancers level up.
