4 tools to get clarity in 2025...

Last week, I mentioned I’m in a different season of my entrepreneurial journey!

My goal for 2025: 8 figures in profit with < 50% of my time.

I won’t start new businesses. My focus will be super tactical across the portfolio.

Let’s talk about the 4 ways I got clear on this vision.

My top entrepreneurship rule.

Most days, I think all of entrepreneurship is very simple:

DO SOMETHING (anything!)

And then REFLECT.

DID IT WORK?

If so, keep doing it or even DOUBLE DOWN on it.

If not, cut it. Or CHANGE it dramatically.

Most mistakes I've made come from either not cutting something soon enough (see Unbloat) or not doubling down on something that's working soon enough (Bootstrapped Giants/my content).

Accounting means seeing things exactly as they are (looking at facts without rose-colored glasses). Did you actually do what you said? Did it work?

Response means interpreting and deciding what to do with that. Double down, cut, try something else.

This regular feedback cycle is super powerful for you and for your team’s culture.

How do you implement it?

My favorite ways to implement Account and Response

A. Regular reporting and data

As often as makes sense for the problem, I like to see performance dashboards or project mgmt charts. I like getting teams in the habit of doing it and reacting to it regularly.

B. Soliciting team feedback

Especially as the year closes (but even NOW), ask people what they think is really working and what isn't. You'll be amazed at how even your most junior folks have a nose for it.

This was especially helpful when talking with the CEOs of each Gateway X company about where I could plug in and be useful.

C. Sensitivity analysis around budget

If I cut budget by 50% or 25%, what would I cut? What would happen to the business?Would it tank, be the same or something in between?

What if I added 25% of budget to certain areas?

I love getting my nose into the PnL this way.

My favorite guide to use is the YearCompass. It’s free, comprehensive, and has great prompts.

I used it on New Year’s Eve. After the kids went down, I spent 2 hours doing the "2024 review" section.

First, I reviewed my whole calendar for major events/happenings. It BLEW my mind to be aware of the number of things I forgot.

Then, I went through meaningful categories (e.g., family, career) to reflect on major themes. Then, some learnings, lessons, letting go, etc.

It served me really well to remember, reflect and even move on from 2024.

Then I slept.

The following night on the 1st, I did 2025 planning.

Of course, this started with visualizing what an amazing year would look like. I just let it flow. Themes quickly emerged.

What would my marriage look like? What type of business goals make sense?

It does a nice job of helping you see how you can create that 2025.

What I covered last week rapidly emerged from this exercise. At first, it might seem insane to spend 4-5 hours on all this.

BUT there are 8,760 hours in a year… these 4-5 hours will have amazing ROI through that clarity.

Try it. It’ll make you more effective, and more peaceful.

One of the things I learned from Dave Kashen that I use ALMOST every day comes in the form of a question. He asked me this as the year closed out:

Go ask your employees, biz partner or spouse, "How am I doing 0-10?"

The answer doesn't matter. Could be 3 or 8.

It’s the follow ups that matter:

A) What makes you say that number (and not a zero)?

This follow-up tells you what is ALREADY working! Do more or double down.

B) What would have to be true for you to be a 10/10?

THAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

Dave asked me this and it gave me immediate clarity. Half my answer was family-related and marriage-related, but the other half was all business-related.

Dave kept his questions coming:

• "What would your week have to look like?"

• "What specific items in each business can you drive the most impact on?"

• "What could you do there that would let you pull away more?"

• And on and on.

That type of clarity, questions and coaching made a WORLD of difference!

After I have feedback, reflect and create vision, I want to take action.

The easiest way to adjust my life is to adjust my calendar and that's exactly what I did.

My calendar last year looked like this:

The key difference: I've focused a specific day on each business.

This allows me to be more effective and tactical. But it also makes it easier for people to know when I'm available or not.

It's also giving me specific, flex time!

Will it work? Who knows! But you gotta DO something… then account/respond.

jesse

PS. Does it feel like you’ve gotten a lot of Sales Accelerator emails from me & Andrew lately? I don’t want to flood you, but I’m proud of what we’re building. It’s become the most impactful way for Bootstrapped Giants to grow my readers’ businesses.