There is so much information out there on starting and operating a business that it's easy to become scattered and distracted trying to find a course of action. One of the main things I've learned during the past decade is that you should find someone you really trust, have faith in their skill set and then just follow the recipe they provide. You ( Shane ) and your team at Thrive Themes have been that for me and I can't thank you enough.
Thanks for all your great leadership, training and tools. My 3 best take away for the decade. 1 Choose wisely who influences you and what training you invest in. 2 Regualar person to person meet up with at least one person who is on the same journey for mutual support. 3 Look after your health so you don't burn out and enjoy the ride.
Skills, never stop learning and careful choice of mentors. In the latter so happy to have you Shane, I always feel that you are doing your best to educate and motivate me to be the best business person I can be. Have a Happy New Year!
Hi Shane, wonderful. Some worthwhile nuggets in there. If I may, I,d like to leave you with a festive compliment. From the first time I saw you , about 5 years ago, I think, your easy and forthright way has been a gift. (I was at first suspicious because you weren't lounging over a Ferrari!) However, you do have a way of always being real. Aside from Thrive and all your content, you are an all-round solid individual. Or, as we say here, you're a biscuit. I would struggle to explain how much value you have given suffice to say, I really appreciate it. Happy Christmas and an even more rewarding next decade.
Hi Shane, success has a HUGE amount to do with mostly 1) the existence of a good market, of sufficient size, for a long enough time and 2) doing a reasonable (or great) job in that market. In your case, the market was there and you did a GREAT job of products to satisfy the market. Work ethics, creativity, focus, and everything else fall under 2 because they have to do with filling the niche, scaling up, and being better than the competition. The first factor 1 (especially if it's a long-lived problem) makes up for a lot of mistakes and low performance. But to really hit a home run, you need both 1 and 2. And success comes fairly quickly (a few years) when you're in the sweet spot and stay there for a few years. Thank you again for your wonderful perspective videos.
Very true, Kevin! I agree with your 2 factors and indeed, a common mistake is trying to build a business where there's just not enough of a market or need.
Thank you for another great video. I would also like to say your videos like this are so helpful. When the road gets bumpy, I will watch a few of them on entrepreneurship or marketing tips, and they always lift my spirits and give me a brighter outlook on the future. And that reframing of mindset helps me reevaluate things and move forward instead of staying stuck in fear or pessimism. What you have to say, how you say it and your approach to life and business is inspiring, to say the least. You have a real gift for helping people, not only with your products but also with your equally valuable videos like this one.
Shane, You inspired me so much that sometimes I secretly wish that somehow we both get lock inside a room so we may have endless discussions and I could pour out all your knowledge and perspective about everything. I try to emulate the way you talk the way you think. Don't get surprised if in future someone from the other part of the world stalks you and gives you a surprise visit. Just to say Thank-You. Cheers & Happy new year.
LOVED this video!!! The "playing the long game" lesson was exactly what I needed to hear right now. Even more, I want to thank you for your integrity Shane. I have been running my online course business using Thrive Themes for three years now. Your honest, no B.S., approach to helping entrepreneurs like me has been a HUGE help. I've learned more from you than all of the other online business "gurus" combined. Thank you so much!!!
Thank You so much . I love your advice. I am your customer and absolutely love it . You saved my sanctity . I also live in your country - Ireland lol. Happy New Year !!!!
Thanks Shane - I appreciate your honest take on what entrepreneurship is really about: building something that brings value to others. Thank you for the reminder, we need more of this in the online space.
I love this quote by Hermann Hesse “All I wanted to do was live the life that was inside me, Why was that so hard?” Whatever I do I want it to be a reflection of my value and do good to others, which includes the business as well. I am so glad that I've found you and your company, definitely set the standard of how I love to run my business. May you be healthy, happy and prosper!
As for what I've learned over this past decade...hmm...I'll have to ponder that. However, watching this video has confirmed a few things for me, and given me a few insights: 1. As for the lone, genius entrepreneur, I think that, from a psychological perspective, it's good to have a "face" to go with the brand (because I think people relate better to a single person rather than a team or a faceless corporation). But of course, just as Steve Jobs, the "face" of Apple had his team, it's good to have a team of carefully-selected people who work toward the same goal. 2. I like that work ethic is the #1 thing you look for. When I saw that, I said to myself, "I need to hold myself to that standard, too." (Not that I don't have a good work ethic, but I know I can always improve in that area.) 3. As for the "greed," or overly money-focused aspect, I think I know exactly what you mean. Of course, I want to earn money, but I want to do it in a way that provides something of value to others, and be more values-focused rather than money-focused. (To be a go-giver more than a go-getter, as in the book The Go-Giver.) 4. As for setting a long-term, sustainable goal, there's a parallel to that: picking a business model that has stood the test of time. As I think Ryan Holiday would say, if something's been around for 10 years, it'll probably be around for at least another year (and I'd guess probably much longer). That's what I consider when pursuing a business model. 5. As for your position on skill development, I couldn't agree more. The books that come to mind are Deep Work by Cal Newport and Ultralearning by Scott H. Young. Though I have barely started Ultralearning, I think both books are great for those who want to quickly acquire new, challenging skills in a reasonable amount of time. There are more things I can say, but time limits me. However, those are my memorable takeaways.
Awesome perspective Shane, thanks for sharing! I love the long term take and the focus on fundamentals and creating something really valuable. What was the driver that kept you going despite all challenges, even when feeling down? A strong vision + determination?
That's a good question! There isn't a single answer to it. For sure, a clear vision of what I wanted to create and why helped. And I've always been intrinsically motivated to create things. So, apart from momentary success or failure, I still want to create good things. But over such a long time, my vision and motivations also changed. There were also times when it was thanks to my business partners that things kept going. I was at my wit's end more than once and would have probably given up if it weren't for the people around me.
Thank you, Shane. Two things I'm sure of, from my own experience: Together we can do a whole lot more than either of us can do alone ... and ... I'm more likely to strike pay dirt by digging one hole 1,000 feet deep than by digging 1,000 holes just one foot deep. You are appreciated.
Haven being there when u started, i appreciate the insight you have shared so far. and more important i am very proud of what you have turned thrivethems into today. arguably the most valuable unlimited licence my business own till date. i have used Thrive Themes to build funnels that turned over $1million in sales during the last decade. thanx for such an awesome product and thanx for sharing your valuable insights
Thanks for your question! I define work ethic as an ability to work hard and well and to do so consistently. It's the ability to do loads of work, combined with grit or perseverance. Building a business is, in a way, a long series of challenging problem solving situations. A good entrepreneur (and a good business partner) is someone who can keep taking on new problems and keep putting in the work needed to knock them down, one by one.
6:04 - Very good video, except for the capitalism part (imo). Capitalism means that the means of production are in the hands of the people, and not in control or a centralized coercive institution (the state). It has nothing to do with "as long as you're making money it's OK", or any other personal preference, or lack of principles. And, in a world where the state has a monopoly on the means of exchange (money), on laws, on the economy as a whole (central banks), on the people's property (taxes), to say that we live in a capitalist society, I think is far-fetched.
Thanks for your comment! This is something worth discussing, so I'll reply at some length. "Means of production in the hands of the people" seems not quite the right definition to me. Encouraging people to seize the means of production isn't exactly a capitalist slogan, if my history isn't too rusty. :) I'd say that capitalism means private ownership. People can own their clothes and cars and houses (although they seldom do), but the means of production are generally not owned by the people, but by powerful private entities that are controlled by rich and powerful people. It's true that capitalism doesn't directly mean that anything that makes money is okay. That's not part of the definition. But in a capitalist system, the more wealth and power someone has, the more they can bend the rules to their will to accumulate more wealth and power. And pretty quickly, you get to the "if I don't, someone else will" argument. If I don't cut costs and underpay people, my competition will and then they'll take over the market and put my out of business. If I don't act in a greedy, profit seeking, unethical way to increase shareholder value this quarter, someone else will and they'll put me out of business. This is why I'm connecting the idea of greed to capitalism. Plus, you don't have to look far to see the worship of money in our culture.
@@ActiveGrowth People = group of individuals. Private property = things owned by individuals (people) as opposed to central coercive control of things (statism) What you describe "rich and powerful bending the rules" sounds more like corporatism (corporations are a legal, aka state-created, entities) or fascism, which I say it's what we have in the US (control of the state over the private means of production). Also, you're only describing half (or much less really) of the equation: the entrepreneurial sector. The other vast majority of it is composed by the receivers of the value created by entrepreneurs. They get increasingly higher quality of goods and services for less cost. It's a long conversation to have on youtube, but It all boils down to the non-aggression principle. Having said this, if you promise to release the theme builder soon. I'll concede any point you made; I'll even say that capitalists are evil greedy pigs.
@@feed5750 Theme Builder is in final beta and looking good. Members will indeed get it soon. The whole economics thing does get complicated quickly. I see what you mean, at least in theory. In practice, I think the "receivers of value" are just as commonly "victims of exploitation" because the biggest businesses in the world are businesses of addiction. Obvious ones like alcohol and tobacco and less obvious ones like the majority of what the food industry produces, the pharma industry, behavior manipulation through apps and digital media and so on. The incentive is to build a large monopoly that gives consumers less choice and extracts maximum value out of their time, attention and lives. And many companies have become shockingly good at this. So yeah, the consumer gets the benefit of nice gadgets and tasty food and such, but not benefits like a good life, fulfillment, freedom...
@@ActiveGrowth Pragmatically: big businesses (corporations), get protection from the state, through barriers to entry (licenses, patents, subsidies, laws, etc.). State's intervention in the economy is the opposite of a free (non-coercive, aka capitalist) market. Philosophically: of course that even in a completely voluntary (aka free, capitalist) market, problems will arise; abusers will try to abuse, and assholes will try to... be assholes. But they won't have access to force (the state) to get away with their plans; they would need to win their customers in a voluntary way. People can decide if they want to do business with them, consume their goods and services or go with a myriad of competitors (who have no artificial, ie. coercive, barrier to entry). And, if that's a real problem, there's going to be a huge incentive for entrepreneurs to step in and solve it. Like with anything. In a state-regulated economy that's not possible (not legal). Or are you suggesting the solution to problems is the initiation of force (statism)? Because there are only two ways to solve a problem (economic or not): Peacefully (people interacting voluntarily) or coercively (state intervention). Glad to hear about the Theme Builder. Thanks for the update. :)
@@feed5750 As you can tell, I'm not a libertarian. I don't think freer markets would lead to a better situation. But of course, there's abuse of power on the corporate side as well as on the government side. So "more government" is also not the solution. Frankly, I don't know what the solution is. I don't believe in the libertarian ideal because it assumes people have far more control and willpower than they do. For example, in theory, the abuse of people's private data by companies such as Facebook is a huge problem and one that people suffer from in countless ways (albeit indirectly). But despite that, alternatives that enter the market to solve this problem (e.g. a social network with data privacy) have never gained any traction. And if they do, Facebook can just buy them and integrate them into their data hoover machine. Or take the food industry: sure, every individual can make their own choices about the food they consume. But the reality is that as large food companies move in, get their products placed in schools, get their ads shown everywhere, offer cheaper junk food alternatives to real food etc. the population as a whole grows obese and sick. And alternative companies aren't making a noticeable dent. People aren't good at making choices that are beneficial to them. And coroporations, even if they're 100% free and in a real competitive environment, are excellent at exploiting people's nature against people's interests. One thing I think we need is a culture of not extracting all the value that can be extracted.
