I Don't Have the Cash—Partner or Borrow?

I Hired a Marketing Company and Got No Leads—Here's What Went Wrong

Mario hired a marketing company. They promised: "We'll put your ads out. You won't even have to think about it." And they did. The ads looked great. But they weren't converting into leads. The problem: They measured the wrong thing. The company delivered on their promise—ads. But Mario wanted leads. They never actually promised leads. Mario assumed it was implied. The lesson: If it's not specific, it's not the deliverable. "Ads" is activity. "Leads" is the result. Measure results. The outbound calls example: "We'll make a thousand outbound calls a day." Great. How many leads? "We can't guarantee leads." Same trap. Scott's corporate story (No Rev 7): At a Fortune 300 rental car company, there was a report tracking cars with no revenue in 7 days. The intent was to flag broken, lost, or stolen cars—or overfleeting. But locations started gaming it. They'd swap cars just to avoid appearing on the report. The company incurred costs to move stuff around so they didn't show up on a report. The principle: When you measure the wrong thing, you take actions that manipulate the data. The Variability Trap callback: Two employees can do the same work with completely different results. If you don't define what "done" looks like, you get inconsistency. The fix: Be specific. Not just "leads"—qualified leads. Not just "ads"—ads that convert. Define what success truly looks like. Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask [https://www.scotttodd.net/ask]

"I'm Ready to Throw in the Towel—What Do I Do?"

Last week at an event, someone walked up to Scott after his presentation. Full-time job. Side hustle. New business. All kinds of doubts. Ready to throw in the towel. Here's what Scott told them. 12 years ago, Scott was in the same boat. VP at a Fortune 300 company. Saw the writing on the wall. Started a side hustle in real estate investing. The emotions—doubt, self-doubt, resistance—are all part of the process. You gotta keep going. You're going to have self-doubt. Can I do this? Am I doing it right? You gotta keep going anyway. Protect your money. The number one reason businesses fail is underfunding. Don't run out of capital. Budget for the hard times. Read The War of Art. Stephen Pressfield wrote it for creatives, but it should be required reading for every business owner. The inner critic troll will show up. Acknowledge it. Write it down. Say thank you. And keep moving. Pick one to three big things. Don't try to do everything. Pick the goal. Walk toward it. The arbitrary date: The target date you picked? It's arbitrary. You gave it your best. If you miss it, don't spiral. Look at the movement you made. Measure progress, not perfection. Give yourself grace. If it takes three years instead of twelve months—who cares? High achievers struggle with this. Keep grinding anyway. Move your feet. (The lacrosse story.) When the player froze, the defense didn't. If you stop, the world doesn't. Do something. Find a win. The wins journal: Every day, write down five wins. No matter how small. One person signed up for your email list? Win. You woke up and did something for your business? Win. Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask [https://www.scotttodd.net/ask]

I Keep Doing My Team's Work—And I'm Better at It Than They Are

Christopher writes: "My team is frustrating. I hire people and end up jumping in and doing better than them. What am I even paying for?" The two lies: 1. "It's faster if I do it myself." 2. "I can do it better than anybody else." The truth: When you jump in, your team learns they can just come to you. You become the bottleneck. The business can only move as fast as you can move. The Goal (Eli Goldratt): The Theory of Constraints. Find the weakest link in the chain. Fix it. Move on. (Also covered in Scott's book, Fix This Next for Real Estate Investors.) The Batman analogy (from Mike Michalowicz): When the police chief loses control, he turns on the bat signal. Batman swoops in and saves the day. But the movie ends with smoke and ruins. He left a mess. That's what happens when you swoop in to "save" your team. You're stealing their growth: Every time you jump in, you deprive them of learning. You prove they can't be trusted. And you exhaust yourself. The real problem: You haven't defined what "done" looks like. (Episode 56: Define the output, not the task.) The prescription: For one week—or one month—don't redo any work. Document what's wrong. At the end of the week, train on those gaps. The diagnostic question: Am I the constraint—or is my team the constraint? If the team is the constraint, don't step back in. If you're the constraint, figure out how to unconstrain yourself. Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask [https://www.scotttodd.net/ask]

I Thought I'd Have This Figured Out By Now

Joe writes: "I'm seven months in. I thought I'd have this figured out by now. I'm working harder than ever, and the results aren't there. Is this normal?" Yes. Welcome to the muddy mile. The hardest part isn't starting—it's sustaining. The newness is gone. The initial excitement is gone. You're in the grind. The lag: The results from today's effort might take months to appear. But if you stop and restart, you're back at zero. The Gap and the Gain: Dan Sullivan's concept. Stop measuring forward to the goal. Measure backward to where you started. That's the gain. The lie: The startup opportunists say you'll crush it from the get-go. They don't tell you about the muddy mile. The physics: Momentum takes time. A rocket starts slow. A plane builds speed. You're building the foundation. The prescription: Lower your expectations on the timeline. Raise your expectations on daily effort. Ask: What can I do today that keeps me moving toward the goal? The lacrosse story: Scott's son was playing lacrosse. The team had the ball, approached the goal, and froze. A dad on the sidelines yelled: "Move your feet." They started running. That's the answer—don't freeze. Move your feet. The close: You're right where you need to be. This is why only 6% of the population own businesses. Keep moving. Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask [https://www.scotttodd.net/ask]

I Don't Have the Cash—Partner or Borrow?

Tony writes: "I found a deal, but I don't have the cash. Should I bring on a partner or borrow the money? How do you decide?" The reframe: This isn't a finance question. It's a control question. Borrowing (debt): * You keep 100% ownership * You owe payments regardless of performance * Lender doesn't care if the deal works—they want their money back * Risk: Deal fails, you still owe When to borrow: When the cash flow covers the debt and you have confidence in the deal. If you're confident, you want full control. Partnering (equity): * You give up ownership and control * No payments if the deal doesn't work * Partner shares the risk—and the upside * Risk: You're married to this person for the life of the deal When to partner: When you need expertise, connections, or credibility—not just cash. Scott's story: Considered a retail strip center. Talked to an experienced partner. Numbers didn't work. Walked away. Had the numbers worked, he would've partnered for the expertise. The diagnostic question: Do you need capital—or capital and capacity? Cash only = borrow. Cash plus expertise = partner. The warning: A bad partner is worse than bad debt. Debt ends when you pay it off. A bad partnership drags on for years. Treat it like a marriage: * Get to know them first * Written agreements * Exit terms, breakup terms * "You need a prenup" The close: "They're great until they're not." Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask [https://www.scotttodd.net/ask]