The Generational Business Trap

Choose Your Reason and Season Wisely

Some entrepreneurs build businesses for a compelling, undeniable, passion-fueled reason regardless of their venture’s timeline. Others hop on a bandwagon or try to master a trend and either sink or swim in one short season. Rather than try to compete with a herd of rats who are already decades ahead of you in an... See more

1) All businesses are loosely functioning disasters.

2) Operating a small business feels like a daily knife fight where you get out of bed, try not to get stabbed, get back in bed, and do it all over again.

3) Small businesses don't stay small on purpose.

4) Most companies don't make much money.

5) What money they make is almost always reinvested back ... See more

…the path to establishing that kind of persistence is not linear, there's a step change. There's a period when a company can establish that, and that window often closes, if you will. It's the kind of business that you're so familiar with. It's in the earlier stage.

We are currently trapped in the illusion of growth. The belief that all businesses should grow indefinitely. To expand their business, profits, and workforce… Everything in nature is circular, so there’s nothing natural about this growth craze.

The more static and predictable the world is, the less narrative matters. Historically most businesses followed clear precedents and fit neatly into paths. If starting a restaurant, the potential range of revenue and costs is known. There are few surprises, so it’s easier to look at the current state of the business and know what it will look like ... See more

When I was in grad school, the unstated assumption in most of what we were taught was that the sole point of a business (or any institution, really) was to grow. To grow, grow, grow, to as large a scale as possible. To build an empire, take over the world. My classmates — tycoons in waiting — lapped it up. “Lifestyle businesses”? Nah! Those were fo... See more

Greatbusinesses create enormous wealth over long holding periods acrossmarket cycles, even in the midst of negative macro headlines about highinflation, rising interest rates, geopolitical tensions, weak macroeconomicdata points, and political uncertainty. Gruesome businesses eventuallydestroy wealth, irrespective of whether the news is positive or... See more