Commitment & Sacrifice is What Makes It "Strategy" Businesses are increasingly awash in data, and begging to guzzle down more, but the real thing holding back businesses of all sizes - from innovation, from growth - is the ability to commit to a vision and execute a plan, while sacrificing old habits and heuristics that aren't helping.

1. Commitment & Sacrifice:
Strategy for a Start-up of One
Personal lessons learned
For #StartupFest
Montreal
17 July 2015
@farrahbostic

2. or,
The hard thing
about hard
things,
sole proprietor
edition

4. In 2012,
I had an idea.
I’m going to grow
my business!
I’m going to lose
weight!
I’m going to learn
to speak French!
I’m going to be
bicoastal!
I’m going to
complete Portal 2!
I’m going to learn
to code!
I’m going t
the wor

5. I knew a lot about my industry.

6. I had a lot of
tactics.
Pitching Email LinkedIn
Credentials
Presentation
Tw
Website Hiring Relati
Word of Mouth Logo Fac

7. But I didn’t have a strategy.
A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a major goal.
Nope, didn’t have one of those.

8. So I made 3 key mistakes.

9. I didn’t define my
positioning & offering.

10. I didn’t
develop
a true
business
model.
I did have a
cost sheet.

11. I didn’t follow good hiring advice.
“Hire someone who doubles your deal flow or doubles your capacity.”

12. So there’s a touch of
‘physician, heal thyself’
here.

13. Visualize the desired outcome.
Be specific.
Be measurable.
Be accountable.

14. Describe how to get there.
What is the approach to growth that
I can distinctively employ and
that I can effectively sell.

15. Idea Strategy Plan Hard Work
Iam
here

16. Make
Commitments
What will I build?
What will I invest in?
What will I amplify?
Make
Sacrifices
What aspects of the business will I kill?
Which will I starve?
What will I give away?

17. thanks!