7 DAYS OF MONDAY
7 DAYS OF MONDAY
You Just Have To Do The Push-Ups
Time…
Time is unrelenting. It doesn't care what you do or how you do things. It doesn't care who you are, how much money you have, where you live or what you do. It could care less about your emotional state or what you have to do tomorrow. It's something that passes at cocktail parties.
It's agnostic.
Time also has an amazing way of revealing character, truth and motive. It gives us a way to measure victories and accomplishments, defeats and failures by seconds, minutes, hours, days and or months. Generally, we use it as a yardstick as there is little else to do with it. It's not a currency we can trade or barter with, nor does time have an implicit value except to those whom are short of it.
In the past months we have had the good fortune to meet with a few individuals completing MBA programs. They are working on various projects and were in different stages of their programs and the conversations with them all revolved around similar themes. What does it take to get a brand off the ground? How much time does it take? What are the key success factors? Three relatively easy questions, right?...
The first question has an easy answer. Getting a brand off the ground is simple – you just have to be too dumb to fail (this is also a key concept related to overall success factors). This answer normally is met with a blank stare, nervous laugh, the person on the other side of the conversation looking at me like I have rocks in my head, and or a follow up of “what are you talking about?” To get a brand off the ground you inherently know it's risky. One in 20 make it to market and from there it's a war of attrition.
If you knew all of the trials and tribulations you would go through, you would likely never start. Anyone who is smart enough to assess all of the the risk factors would never start. This is where I think entrepreneurs see risk differently…like we are somewhat blind to it. We take a measured amount of time to asses the idea and then launch the business. There is no time like the present…right? And there is never a right time.
The key success factors are:
1. Be too dumb to fail, and if you do, fail fast and fix it.
2. Assemble a team that is clear on the mission, goals and values of the company. Most importantly they share the same work ethic and values you do. If you don't, it will be an endless source of frustration and tension. Everyone has to be all in all the time. If they aren’t they should move on.
3. If you don't have the stomach for risk, don’t start. Risk should be embraced, rewarded, championed. Without it the world would be a boring place.
All day every day is how much time it takes to get a brand to market. You had better be prepared to work more hours than you thought you ever should for far less money (none) than you think you deserve to make. If you believe your time has any real monetary value in a startup you are mistaken. Weekends are not optional work days, they are mandatory. 5pm is just the beginning of the evening shift for you and the start of someone else’s day across the world. Friends and family will think you are manic about your business and will get ready to send you to a 12 step program…ignore them, it’s mission critical to stay on task.
It’s one thing to bring a product to market. You can put it on a shelf or an e-commerce store and hope for the best. If it sells it sells. There is certainly an argument to be made for taking this path, it happens to be far less complicated. Its an entirely different thing to build a brand, create a community of people that believe in what you do and the message you deliver. The audience always has a choice to disengage. The product, messaging and brand positioning always have to be authentic otherwise you are done.
The key success factors are:
1. Be brutally honest with your audience, they will see through it if you aren’t. Stay true to who you are and what you do despite the temptation to take the easier path.
2. Be self aware and incredibly self critical about your business; in the end it pays to.
3. Focus on what you do and how you do it. Succeed and repeat relentlessly. Do the work. Grind. Make it happen.
If you do it right the money takes care of itself. You do it wrong and the money also takes care of itself…it’s gone.
One of the challenges we have in a startup footwear business is to get all of the components of the business aligned at the same time, and it's not easy. Oftentimes marketing is ahead of sales which is ahead of development and the factory production. The calendar doesn't care if you have your act together or not, the days pass anyway…and they pass quickly.
LALO has good systems, great people and amazing partners. All of us have some form of footwear design, manufacturing, and go to market experience. Most importantly, we have relationships in the footwear and apparel trade. Even with all of these assets, it's no layup to get things working well. It takes a little time to get things working the way we want them to, but it gets closer each day.
As the business starts to run more efficiently it allows us to spend more time focusing on the core mission of our business, collaborating with elite end users and then building innovative products. There is no question it's a luxury to be based in San Diego and close to Camp Pendleton and the Naval Special Warfare base. Being close to the Operators allows us to drill down on the needs they have and work on delivering a purpose driven solution.
Over the past couple of years our team at LALO has had the good fortune to meet an amazingly diverse group of individuals. Some we have met at events, tradeshows, or at their “shops”. Others while travelling or in the local San Diego neighborhoods.
The vast majority of the individuals we have been fortunate enough to meet have one thing in common, they aren’t afraid to do the pushups. They do the work, plain and simple. They confront failure openly and work hard to find a solution. They don't waste their time. They are productive citizens in their respective communities and It's a pleasure to interact with them. Those that don't, aren’t and they are weeded out quickly.
I can speak for all of us at LALO – we are incredibly humbled that you choose to spend your time interacting with us and the LALO community. This is something we will never take for granted and we will always be respectful of. We owe you our best in every single interaction, and work hard everyday to deliver. There are no easy days and doing the pushups is pretty common around here.
If you know, you know.
Until next time...
V/r
Jay
About LALO Tactical:
LALO was founded to serve the needs of Special Forces Operators. LALO uses top tier materials to create some of the best and hardest working tactical boots and athletic footwear for those that rise to the toughest occasions. The LALO Shadow, the ultimate Special Forces tactical boot, features a unique patent including a drainage system, a composite forefoot plate, a fast-dry component and the lightest weight materials on the market. The LALO Athletic line is a direct result of briefings received from Special Forces Operators. The need was to build a lightweight, packable, breathable shoe they could cross train and run in – a shoe they could count on, whether training or deployed. LALO’s designs put an emphasis on noise reduction, support and game day performance; gear that hits the mark time after time. Whether your path leads you to a career in the military, competing in an adventure race, cross training, tackling an urban athletic workout, or running a 5K, LALO has the shoe for you. www.lalotactical.com
LALO TACTICAL is privately held by LALO LLC, a California LLC.
Time is unrelenting. It doesn't care what you do or how you do things. It doesn't care who you are, how much money you have, where you live or what you do. It could care less about your emotional state or what you have to do tomorrow. It's something that passes at cocktail parties.
It's agnostic.
Time also has an amazing way of revealing character, truth and motive. It gives us a way to measure victories and accomplishments, defeats and failures by seconds, minutes, hours, days and or months. Generally, we use it as a yardstick as there is little else to do with it. It's not a currency we can trade or barter with, nor does time have an implicit value except to those whom are short of it.
In the past months we have had the good fortune to meet with a few individuals completing MBA programs. They are working on various projects and were in different stages of their programs and the conversations with them all revolved around similar themes. What does it take to get a brand off the ground? How much time does it take? What are the key success factors? Three relatively easy questions, right?...
The first question has an easy answer. Getting a brand off the ground is simple – you just have to be too dumb to fail (this is also a key concept related to overall success factors). This answer normally is met with a blank stare, nervous laugh, the person on the other side of the conversation looking at me like I have rocks in my head, and or a follow up of “what are you talking about?” To get a brand off the ground you inherently know it's risky. One in 20 make it to market and from there it's a war of attrition.
If you knew all of the trials and tribulations you would go through, you would likely never start. Anyone who is smart enough to assess all of the the risk factors would never start. This is where I think entrepreneurs see risk differently…like we are somewhat blind to it. We take a measured amount of time to asses the idea and then launch the business. There is no time like the present…right? And there is never a right time.
The key success factors are:
1. Be too dumb to fail, and if you do, fail fast and fix it.
2. Assemble a team that is clear on the mission, goals and values of the company. Most importantly they share the same work ethic and values you do. If you don't, it will be an endless source of frustration and tension. Everyone has to be all in all the time. If they aren’t they should move on.
3. If you don't have the stomach for risk, don’t start. Risk should be embraced, rewarded, championed. Without it the world would be a boring place.
All day every day is how much time it takes to get a brand to market. You had better be prepared to work more hours than you thought you ever should for far less money (none) than you think you deserve to make. If you believe your time has any real monetary value in a startup you are mistaken. Weekends are not optional work days, they are mandatory. 5pm is just the beginning of the evening shift for you and the start of someone else’s day across the world. Friends and family will think you are manic about your business and will get ready to send you to a 12 step program…ignore them, it’s mission critical to stay on task.
It’s one thing to bring a product to market. You can put it on a shelf or an e-commerce store and hope for the best. If it sells it sells. There is certainly an argument to be made for taking this path, it happens to be far less complicated. Its an entirely different thing to build a brand, create a community of people that believe in what you do and the message you deliver. The audience always has a choice to disengage. The product, messaging and brand positioning always have to be authentic otherwise you are done.
The key success factors are:
1. Be brutally honest with your audience, they will see through it if you aren’t. Stay true to who you are and what you do despite the temptation to take the easier path.
2. Be self aware and incredibly self critical about your business; in the end it pays to.
3. Focus on what you do and how you do it. Succeed and repeat relentlessly. Do the work. Grind. Make it happen.
If you do it right the money takes care of itself. You do it wrong and the money also takes care of itself…it’s gone.
One of the challenges we have in a startup footwear business is to get all of the components of the business aligned at the same time, and it's not easy. Oftentimes marketing is ahead of sales which is ahead of development and the factory production. The calendar doesn't care if you have your act together or not, the days pass anyway…and they pass quickly.
LALO has good systems, great people and amazing partners. All of us have some form of footwear design, manufacturing, and go to market experience. Most importantly, we have relationships in the footwear and apparel trade. Even with all of these assets, it's no layup to get things working well. It takes a little time to get things working the way we want them to, but it gets closer each day.
As the business starts to run more efficiently it allows us to spend more time focusing on the core mission of our business, collaborating with elite end users and then building innovative products. There is no question it's a luxury to be based in San Diego and close to Camp Pendleton and the Naval Special Warfare base. Being close to the Operators allows us to drill down on the needs they have and work on delivering a purpose driven solution.
Over the past couple of years our team at LALO has had the good fortune to meet an amazingly diverse group of individuals. Some we have met at events, tradeshows, or at their “shops”. Others while travelling or in the local San Diego neighborhoods.
The vast majority of the individuals we have been fortunate enough to meet have one thing in common, they aren’t afraid to do the pushups. They do the work, plain and simple. They confront failure openly and work hard to find a solution. They don't waste their time. They are productive citizens in their respective communities and It's a pleasure to interact with them. Those that don't, aren’t and they are weeded out quickly.
I can speak for all of us at LALO – we are incredibly humbled that you choose to spend your time interacting with us and the LALO community. This is something we will never take for granted and we will always be respectful of. We owe you our best in every single interaction, and work hard everyday to deliver. There are no easy days and doing the pushups is pretty common around here.
If you know, you know.
Until next time...
V/r
Jay
About LALO Tactical:
LALO was founded to serve the needs of Special Forces Operators. LALO uses top tier materials to create some of the best and hardest working tactical boots and athletic footwear for those that rise to the toughest occasions. The LALO Shadow, the ultimate Special Forces tactical boot, features a unique patent including a drainage system, a composite forefoot plate, a fast-dry component and the lightest weight materials on the market. The LALO Athletic line is a direct result of briefings received from Special Forces Operators. The need was to build a lightweight, packable, breathable shoe they could cross train and run in – a shoe they could count on, whether training or deployed. LALO’s designs put an emphasis on noise reduction, support and game day performance; gear that hits the mark time after time. Whether your path leads you to a career in the military, competing in an adventure race, cross training, tackling an urban athletic workout, or running a 5K, LALO has the shoe for you. www.lalotactical.com
LALO TACTICAL is privately held by LALO LLC, a California LLC.