🤦🏻‍♀️Facepalm memory

Back when I was briefly in the tech start-up world, it seemed like the venture capitalists we were pitching fell into one of two categories. They either loved that I had a strong technical background and didn’t mind that I had experience in the payments industry: “Because you’ve got a fresh perspective, and that’s what it takes!” Or it was a reason they decided not to invest with us: “You guys don’t have enough experience in this industry.” Of course, I agreed with the former. (At least, at the time.) After all, experience was just another word for being jaded and used to conforming to “how things are done,” right? 🤦🏻‍♀️So embarrassing. All I have to say is, let’s just chalk that up to youthful arrogance…and ignorance. Because now, from the other side, what I’ve seen has “converted” me into believing that “fresh perspective” making up for lack of experience — and thus maturity — is the exception, not the norm. For example, and I’m about to admit to another facepalm moment… After I crossed my first million, I proudly told the fancy lawyer I hired that we were going to break $10 million in year two. Only to have to eat humble pie when we “only” (relatively) did a little over a million that second year. Because I wasn’t thinking about something more experienced entrepreneurs know to focus on FIRST: If your goal is to build a long-term business, you’ve got to build a solid foundation first. In my mind back then, we were simply going to 10x everything we’d done, and thus 10x our results. And the systems, experience, and team needed to support all that? Eh, we’d figure it out. Sometimes that attitude pays off. Most of the time, as I personally experienced, it doesn’t. It’s been almost 10 years since then. Plus, it’s not really one of my finest moments. (Not because of the mistaken thinking itself, but because of the arrogance that prompted it.) So I’d almost forgotten about it. Until recently, when a private client wanting to grow faster asked me, “Should I have my team slice my long-form content and recycle it across multiple platforms so I can create a lot more output?” In other words, Should I start systematizing and scaling to 10x my own results? In a world where everyone seems to be telling you to do MORE, I’m going to share something a little different. Especially if you’re thinking about your goals and plan for the next year. My answer was, “Heck, no.” Because in most cases, doing more like that only leads to burnout. Long before you start seeing any payoff from pumping up the volume. This applies to any part of your business. But specifically with your marketing content (which is one of the first challenges most businesses have to figure out), this is what I recommend: Aim for consistency first. One piece of content a day for a year is MUCH better than 100 pieces of content in a month…and then nothing over the next 11 months while you recover from burnout. Then, once you’ve gotten fairly good at being consistent, focus on iterative improvement. Getting just a little bit better from one piece of content to the next. THEN, do more. Then, take some of the resources you now have — like more cash in the bank — from doing the above, and invest it in building a team to help you scale. So instead of worrying if you aren’t doing enough (assuming you do have a plan and are being strategic about it), better questions to ask are: Is it more important right now to focus on iterative improvement and sustainability over sheer brute force? Are you doing what’s best for your long-term growth and sustainability? Are you maybe slowing down right now so you can speed up later? Right time, right place for everything. One step at a time. You’d be amazed at how fast that builds up. And no burnout either. 
 To playing the long-game (and winning at it in 2024), Luisa Zhou PS - If you’re ready to grow your business and want to learn how to do it in a way that’s strategic, systematic, and sustainable, here’s how my team and I can help… If you’ve been wanting to build a business and leave your 9-to-5: [The 4-Step Formula I Used to Build My Coaching Business and Replace My Salary BEFORE I Left my 9-5]( If you’re ready to go from 1-on-1 work to no longer trading time for money: [Successfully create & sell your own online course for true financial freedom]( And, if you’re at 6-figures ready to scale to multiple 6- or 7-: [Go from Hustling Coach/Course Creator to 7-Figure Business Owner]( If you no longer wish to receive these emails, click here to [unsubscribe]( Zhou Ventures, Inc. 459 Columbus Ave #4049 New York, NY 10024