Why successful businesses fail

Plus, how to build a business that runs itself ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  October 11th, 2021 The Memo | Issue #63 TOGETHER WITH If this week’s Memo has a theme, it’s resilience and preparation. Without both, even the best businesses can falter. You need to build a foundation that allows your business to scale and achieve manageable growth. But you also need to be able to pivot and be resilient when things don’t go according to plan. Now, let’s dive in... How to Build a Business that Runs Itself Do you run your business or does your business run you? If you answered the former, [here's a video I just posted that should help](. Whether you know it or not, your business has an Operating System. It shapes everything: from your monthly results to your employee retention rates, and pretty much everything else. I’m going to show you how to build an Operating System for YOUR business...that RUNS ITSELF. So you can step away and, I don’t know, go to Hawaii, or do whatever it is you wanna do. [Click here to check it out.]( Success Comes From Resilience and Pivots “Being flexible in the face of the unexpected—knowing how to react to a change of plans or knowing when to initiate a necessary change of plans—is where the real learning happens.” When you founded your business, you had a plan for how things would go and how you’d grow the company. Chances are, life didn’t follow your plan perfectly. That’s normal… so why don’t we hear more founder stories about how things didn’t go according to plan? Behind most of the wild success stories we hear, there’s likely a lot of [resilience and willingness to pivot.]( It’s the only way to scale in the real world. This issue of In The Works—a publication for mission-driven founders—breaks down how 2 co-founders managed a purposeful pivot, how to navigate the pivot from founder to CEO, and more. Related: Speaking of, [annual plans are the worst.]( Handling Writers is Like Herding Cats [Sponsored] Hiring and handling writers is like herding cats. Different types of writers, different types of content, different objectives, and a whole lot of creatives who have a whole lot of ideas make management…well, difficult. We can help! [Verblio]( makes it easy for marketers to work with freelance writers. Tap into a deep bullpen of subject-matter experts, and Verblio takes care of the rest—writer vetting, payment, and all of the hard cat-herding stuff. Use Verblio to: - Move faster than you can with freelancers - Create awesome blog and website content fast - Easily scale content creation in any niche Even better, Verblio is offering a special discount for the Scalable community. [Schedule some time here]( to talk to Miranda Gilkerson (part of Verblio’s surprisingly delightful sales team). Attending Scalable Impact Live? Come find us at the Verblio booth. 6 Reasons Why Successful Businesses Fail “If you can’t articulate your vision in 10 seconds or less, it’s probably unclear, it's probably uninspiring, and it’s probably misaligned.” Once you get a little traction, it’s off to the races, right? Wrong. There are plenty of examples of seemingly successful companies that end up failing. Why? According to Scalable co-founder and CEO Ryan Deiss, there are actually 6 answers to that question—and [6 reasons why companies]( and founders fail after seeing some level of success. In this article, Ryan shares all 6 reasons—including lack of vision, the wrong strategy, and more—along with actionable tips to help you avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Related: Prefer video? We just [posted one on YouTube]( addressing this exact topic. Don’t Be Like These Entrepreneurs “Since your face and name are tied to the business, stopping your choreography requires a full rebrand and potentially losing your edge in the marketplace. This business doesn’t have transferable value because, without you, there is no business.” Plenty of entrepreneurs fail to reach the level of success they hoped for when launching their business—and most of them fall into one of 3 identifiable founder types. According to Scalable cofounder Roland Frasier, those 3 types are eminently recognizable: the toothless chihuahua, the dancing bear, and the hamster on a wheel. [Don’t be like these entrepreneurs.]( In this article, we break down what each of those types looks like in the business world. Then, we share the solution—the Scalable Impact Framework—and how it can help you establish: - Bankable profits - Transferable value - Predictable sales Related: Skip straight to [the Scalable Impact Framework]( One Last Thing... Chances are, you’ve had to change some plans over the last year or two. How’d it go? Think back to how your business has handled change: how can you be more resilient and ready to pivot in the future? - The Scalable Team --- We hope you enjoyed this week’s issue. If you did, could you do us a favor and share it with 3 friends and colleagues? It would mean the world to us. Thanks. :) Share The Memo Step 1: Click the button below Step 2: Share the Memo with friends Step 3: Earn Rewards Refer 3 friends and get listed on our site as a "Founding Subscriber," plus some mystery gifts we know you'll love... :) [Share The Memo]( Or copy & paste your referral link to share directly with others: What is The Memo (a.k.a. the thing you’re reading right now)? Every week, my partners and I send an email memo to our internal executive leaders (the people running our companies) sharing news and insights we believe they should know. Sometimes it's an interesting article...sometimes it's a new thought or idea...but it's always something timely, tactical, and actionable. Now, you can get the same memo... and you don't even have to sell us your company. 🙂 What is The Scalable Company? The Scalable Company is a collective of founders and entrepreneurs who have no idea what they’re doing, and are willing to admit it. You can read our “Accidental Entrepreneur Manifesto” [here]( and peruse our internal “wiki” of resources and best practices [here](.  Sent to: {EMAIL} The Scalable Company, 4330 Gaines Ranch Loop, Ste 120, Austin, Texas 78735, United States Don't want future emails? [Unsubscribe](