What’s going on, everybody?

Momentum is a beautiful thing.

There’s a ton of resistance in any endeavor when you’re first getting started. You feel weak, lousy, ill-equipped, and are constantly battling the voice of self-doubt that tells you you’re going to fail, revealing to everyone what a pathetic loser you are.

Getting started is brutal!

But, if you overcome that initial resistance and get the ball rolling in the right direction, something incredible happens: You gain momentum.

Momentum usually starts small, though. It can be as small as getting your first lead. Or adding 5 lbs of weight to your bench press. Or, for one beautiful moment, the internal voice of confidence overrides the voice of self-doubt and you’re filled with optimism about your chances of success.

Because momentum starts small, it’s easy to despise its humble beginnings. Instead of celebrating the wins — one lead, 5 lbs more, one good moment of clarity, to cite the examples above — many make the mistake of focusing on the negatives. They beat themselves up that they still haven’t signed a client, are still 95 lbs away from their goal, or are still lacking the objective markers of success.

This tendency to overlook small victories and exclusively focus on what you haven’t done is the equivalent of pulling the e-brake on any momentum you’ve built. It sends you into a tailspin and, more often than not, causes you to give up on your goals prematurely.

Successful people build upon momentum. They stack their wins. They learn from their failures. They see where they want to go in the future but resist the urge to shake their fist at the sky and complain about all the reasons they haven’t yet arrived.

So, what’s a win you can celebrate today that will fuel your momentum towards your goals?

What win are we celebrating? Glad you asked!

We’re popping the champagne over your eyeballs being on this page and your brain absorbing these words and ideas!

To you, we raise our glasses.

On Tap Today:

• Lessons from the Week

• A Banker’s Perspective

• Featured Episode from the Pod

• Someone You Ought to Know

Top Lessons from the Week

1. Humanize your deals.

   Let’s face it: As entrepreneurs and investors, we get geeky over numbers. We love plugging scenarios into our spreadsheets to calculate monthly cash flow, yearly cash-on-cash returns, and debt service coverage ratios.
   
   It’s easy to feel like the only thing that matters is whether or not ‘the deal’ pencils out.

   
   Disagree with that last statement? I don’t blame you. Most would probably contend that, at the end of the day, the numbers are the only metric that matters.

   
   But here’s the problem: most entrepreneurs and investors are so laser-focused on numbers that they come off as cold and mechanical in their initial interactions with owners of businesses or properties they want to buy.
   
   You probably know the type: the highly scripted cold-caller who quickly begins to grill the current owner with questions about profits and losses, operating expenses, and how much they’d accept for their business, home, or whatever.

   
   Remarkably, this approach does occasionally work. You see the advertisements on YouTube for the nutters who slam the phones making 10,000 calls a day in order to source one deal. And, if that’s your style, you do you! No judgment here. Although, you may want to skip ahead ‘cause this next bit might sound a bit judgy.

   If it’s obvious to everyone that numbers are the only thing that matters to you, you won’t inspire many people to work with you.

   
   For as great as numbers can be, numbers alone are not captivating. They do not connect with people’s hearts or engage their imaginations with visions of a brighter, better future. Numbers are sterile and fixed, whereas humans, at their best, are vibrant and dynamic.

   
   So, when you’re speaking with an owner of an asset you’re hoping to buy, set aside the numbers at first and focus on making a human connection. Ask them about their story, what the business or property has meant to them, and their vision for the future — both for themselves and the asset. Look for alignment, empathize where you can, and sincerely engage with their dreams, showing how your acquisition of their business/property moves you both toward your ideal futures.

   
   In doing so, once you do get to discussing numbers, you’ll have more productive conversations with a better understanding of what the seller truly wants. This knowledge will help you structure a deal that is as appealing as possible. And, even if the terms aren’t exactly what the seller wants, because they trust you, like you, and want to work something out, you’ve got a much better shot of coming to an agreement.

   
   At the end of the day, the numbers may be the most important factor. But at the start of the day, it’s the relational work of honoring the humanity of others that sets you up for success.

2. Look around the room.

   When building something or working toward a goal, it’s easy to put your head down and get lost in the work.

   
   There’s a time and place for grinding on your own. But, if you spend too long with your head down, you lose sight of the world around you. You forget all the others in your sphere—sometimes even on your team!—who are also putting in work to reach collective goals.

   
   It’s a good practice to lift your head and take note of what everyone else around you is doing.

   
   Why?

   
   For one, entrepreneurship can be lonely. It’s lonely at the start when you spend a lot of your time by yourself, creating into the void. But it’s also lonely once you’re established because it’s always lonely at the top. Lifting your eyes and taking a moment to acknowledge those on your team or friends working on their personal projects helps you remember that while you may feel alone, you’re not. Other people get what you’re going through. They feel the struggle. And they, like you, could use a word of encouragement to keep going.

   
   Secondly, you’ve got to occasionally resurface and take stock of the community around you because those are the people who will get you unstuck when you’re in the vicious cycle of pounding your head against a wall. It sounds so silly to have to say it but ask for help. Looking around the room from time to time will remind you of who has the experience or skill to help you progress in your goals.

   
   Lastly, corny as it may sound, we’re better together. We often say, “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.” Again, there’s a time for getting things done quickly and on your own, but sustainable, long-term growth happens in the context of community. Cities are never built by one person. They are the result of thousands of people collaborating. Though the scale is smaller, your entrepreneurial ambitions are similar. To go far, you need people to go with you. So, take a look around the room. Who you got?

A Banker’s Perspective: Tips to Grow Your Business

One of the most overlooked superpowers of a business owner is to see the world differently than everyone else. More than likely, if you're an entrepreneur, you already have this somewhere inside of you. It amazes me that as we continue to have numerous conversations with successful folks on the podcast, they all seem to have this common thread and buck against the "common wisdom" of today.

I see this ring true in banking as well. Watching companies up close over the last few years has been very interesting. Inflation, staffing issues, Covid requirements, and supply chain shortages have hammered most small and mid-sized businesses. Almost all businesses that I talk to have faced one, if not all of those issues, but seeing how businesses have handled such challenges is fascinating.

Here are a few key takeaways from my observations and the companies that have thrived through all this and risen to the top.

1. People are everything.
   The businesses that have committed to their people and obsessed over ensuring their employees are well taken care of have struggled way less in the staffing department. If people feel respected and treated well, then they remain loyal.

2. To steal a word from Ross on the famous sitcom Friends, "Pivot" is key! 
   In an ever-changing world, the ability to pivot, be agile, and look for new opportunities has been essential for business owners. I watched an auction company go from four in-person auctions yearly to monthly online auctions. This change saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in event setup costs. This example and many like it showcase the change you need to be willing to make at a moment’s notice.

3. Lastly, be hawkish on your expenses.
   One of the things that separates successful business operators from others is the constant laser focus on their financials. It seems obvious, but if revenue and sales are down, the cost of goods and operating expenses also need to go down. If you can’t make the necessary adjustments on the books to keep your income strong, it will hurt your bankability in the long run. Sometimes, being a business owner means you must make the hard decisions, and being committed to cutting costs where possible is essential.

Featured Pod

This week, The Abundant Journey Podcast featured Devon Alexander.

Devon is a serial entrepreneur, real estate investor, private equity broker, and world-class basketball player. We loved having him on the show to share his formative experiences growing up and early on in his career. He talks about how falling in love with the process is crucial to success. If you can learn to love putting in the work required to build your dreams, you can do anything.

The conversation is well worth your time, so be sure to give it a listen!

Also, Nick James’s new daily show, The Entrepreneur’s Journey, is live! Nick gives digestible and practical tips to ensure you remain bankable and are primed for growth in this new podcast. Check it out here, and be sure to subscribe!

Something Else You Should Listen To

If you haven’t heard of Acquired, you’re missing out.

Don’t feel too bad. I only discovered the Acquired podcast a month or so ago. But since being introduced, I’ve been binging episodes like a madman. Which, let me say, is no small undertaking as episodes are anywhere from 1.5–3.5+ hours long!

So, why am I so hooked, and, more importantly, why should you check out Acquired?

Excellent question! Let me tell you . . .

Hosts Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal love telling the stories of the world’s most influential companies. In preparation for each episode, they spent countless hours researching a company’s history and defining moments that culminated in forming the brand we know today. The episodes themselves are highly entertaining and educational.

I especially loved their recent episode breaking down the history of Costco. Despite the episode being three hours long, I listened to it twice. Once on my own and once with my family so they, too, could experience the enthusiasm I now feel whenever I walk into that club-based warehouse, which has redefined retail in American culture.

So, after you finish the latest episodes of Abundant Journey & Entrepreneur’s Journey, queue up an episode of Acquired. I expect you’ll love it.

That’s a wrap.

Thanks for coming on this journey with us!

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1. Forwarding this email to a friend and encouraging them to subscribe.

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3. Replying here with any feedback you have for us!

More content is on the way!

In the meantime, you can keep up with all the latest by visiting AbundantJourney.net.

Onward & Upward, Friends,

Nick & Nick

PS:

Are you wondering who we are and what we’re up to? Maybe this will help:

Founded by Nick ‘James’ Zalk and Nick Aufenkamp earlier this year, Abundant Journey is a community of active and aspiring entrepreneurs who desire to make the world a better place through business ownership and strategic investments.

Currently, the most active part of our community is The Abundant Journey Podcast, a weekly show featuring incredible stories of successful individuals from diverse backgrounds and industries. By sharing their stories, we aim to inspire you to take massive action and live with purpose, meaning, and abundance.

In short, if you think the world is improved by people starting businesses and investing in projects they're passionate about, you’re going to love it here!

So, no matter where you’re at in the process, we invite you to join us on this Abundant Journey.