Business Leadership Is Bold and Win With Sean Castrina

November 03, 2020

Start with the assumption and plan to win

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If you’re going to take a position, take a bold one
Bought a business plan from Amazon from his son who was getting started but they were all bad
All the business plan books were fantasy
No one can tell you how much money you’re going to make in your business

I’m going to win, of course. (If you’re going to take a position, take a bold one.)”

Build a business you want to keep
If you can’t pivot, you may not survive
If you have more money going out than coming in and you don’t know when it’s going to stop…you may not make it
How to know when to call it a day
- When nobody wants what you have to sell
- When you don’t know how to market to them
- When people won’t pay the price you need to sell it to be profitable
He gets a daily spreadsheet that shows all of his key metrics
You need a dashboard to see blips vs. trends vs. sustained trends
A startup is like flying a kite: any little gust can bring it down
“If you meet with your accountant every three months I know you’re going to have problems.”
Focus on the fundamentals. Do you have what your customers want?
Annual practice
- War Game Scenario: what can put you out of business? (Build a moat around your business.)
- Always add a new profit stream

You better be competitive.”

It really is a mindset
Are you an entrepreneur or a business owner with a couple of entrepreneurial moments?
What makes you happy? Is it profitable?
Hire who you really need, that one critical hire that moves the needle
Start with sales
Don’t try to save money or hire family
Maybe sign off on each job at first
Be a good mentor for a bit to grow
You gotta have a few “yous”
Your #1 job as a business owner
Sell them on the future
Staffing was key to his growth
He made the sacrifice to hire great people from his own profit
1 + 1 = Done
He doesn’t want another entrepreneur. He wants an analytical person who will eat, sleep, and drink this work.
They are an industry expert and will make great money
Your people must know there is extraordinary oversight to remove the temptation to steal
He teaches his partners how to hire
They can’t hire “7’s.” They’re either a six or an eight.
He does a 50/50 partnership in the profits but not the stock
He always does 50/50 because without him there would be no company
If asses don’t move when you talk, you’re not a leader
Your social media efforts are all for vanity if it doesn’t make you money (See Why Social Media Gooroos Are Broke!)