how to build a business that sucks (do the opposite and win)

Summary

easiest way to teach a complicated thing is to teach the opposite. here’s how to build a business that sucks. do the opposite of every line.

1. run it with no systems. live in your inbox. let chaos handle prioritization.

2. track everything in Google Sheets forever. resist real tools because they cost money.

3. don’t lead the team. don’t give feedback. don’t train people. let them figure it out by osmosis.

4. don’t plan. let the calendar fill itself. let urgent tasks crowd out important ones.

5. don’t think about profitability. obsess over revenue. spend whatever comes in.

6. skip mission and vision. tell people “we make money” when they ask what the company is for.

7. treat content as optional. let your competitors build the audience you should be building.

8. never hire above your skill level. keep yourself the smartest person in the room.

invert every one of those and you have a real business. systems, real tools, actual leadership, real planning, profit discipline, clear mission, real content investment, hires that scare you a little. that’s a better human business.

Transcript

introduction and background

The most impactful business is the business that genuinely improves another human, a better human business. And to grow a business like this, you have to continually improve yourself. This podcast is a documentation of that thesis, scaling businesses and also personal growth. My goal is for you to shortcut this journey.

importance of systems and automation in business operations

So if you’re ready to try hard, subscribe. If you like what you’re hearing, please share and enjoy. Let’s talk about how to make your business suck. So if you really just do the opposite of everything I say, you’re going to crush it. This is the better human business podcast. I’m Jerred Moon and I’ve been running online businesses since 2011 I’ve hit the ink 500 two different times, meaning I objectively have had some of the fastest growing companies, privately held companies in America, and I’ve generated over $25 million in the last couple of years, all digital online businesses.

And I’ve helped thousands of entrepreneurs scale their businesses. So while I wouldn’t say any of my businesses are perfect, I would say they don’t suck. So let’s talk about how to build a business that doesn’t suck by talking about what you can do to make your business suck. So focus on the opposite and you will be crushing it.

So first thing, don’t have any systems in your business. In fact, do every single thing by memory. Don’t automate a single thing and avoid any kind of software. If you got sticky notes, just write down things on sticky notes, write in your notebook, make sure your team doesn’t see it. Just keep everything to yourself.

the need for documented and standardized processes

No systems whatsoever. The second thing, avoid having any kind of process. In fact, do things differently every single time. Don’t make any kind of checklist. If you’re going to create some content, do it one way the first time, do it a different way the second time and never document it. Don’t have any screen recordings.

Don’t have any videos. Don’t have anything that shows how you do something and make sure you’re the gatekeeper of all that information so your team can never figure it out. And when they do ask you, if your team’s ever like, well, how do I do this thing, this process? How do I repeat what you did? Just tell them to figure it out.

Don’t give them any kind of training and make sure that it’s not documented anywhere. The third thing, run your business fully on Google Sheets. Like a hundred percent, don’t put anything anywhere else, have everything in Google Sheets. Every time you have a new idea, just create a new Google Sheet and put random data in there and shove it in some folder that has a weird, obscure name and make sure that you never look at it again.

how organizing and effectively analyzing data impacts decision-making

And then track everything in these dozens of Google Spreadsheets and then once you need some data, be so unorganized that it takes 12 hours to pull all these different Google Sheets together and you’re trying to make a sense of the mess that you have, you ultimately are unclear in what decision you need to make and you’re not even sure if you can trust the data.

So if you’re doing all of those things, you definitely have a business that sucks. So run your business on Google Sheets is number three. Number four, don’t lead your team. Why lead your team? You don’t need to lead your team. Don’t check in. Don’t show that you care about them. Don’t explain the why to them.

Don’t do any of those things. In fact, you could hire a brand new employee who has no leadership experience and because you don’t feel like it, put them in charge. Put them in charge and they will be the new leader of your team. And then also avoid reading any books. Don’t hire any mentors. Don’t take any courses on developing your leadership muscle.

leadership strategies and their impact on team dynamics

Just figure it all out on your own and I’m sure eventually you’ll get there. Number five, run your business with no plan. You do not need a plan. You just don’t need to. All you need to do is make money, right? You don’t need a plan. So forget having a plan for the quarter. Definitely don’t have one for the month or the week or the day.

You just show up to work tomorrow and just do whatever you feel like doing in your business even if it won’t move the needle. Don’t focus on any kind of plan or path forward to achieve a goal. Have no plan and just do everything by firing from the hip and you will have a business that sucks. All right, next, number six, try to have as little profit as possible.

We’ve all heard the saying, it takes money to make money, right? So just don’t have any money. Just sink it all, spend it all and make sure it’s not on things that will help you reinvest and grow the business. Just spend it on random stuff. Try to have no profit. Don’t worry about what you get paid.

the role of strategic planning in business success

You don’t really deserve any money. You shouldn’t take a lot of money home. You should feel really guilty about all the money that you make and so you don’t want to bring that into your personal bank account. Keep it in the bank and then if you’re getting too much profit, spend it on frivolous things that don’t really matter.

So really shoot for the smallest profit you can possibly have in your business or no profit at all and you will suck as a business owner. Now next, don’t waste your time on mission or vision. Who needs to focus on the future? You don’t need any of that stuff. You do not need your employees to know what the vision is, the mission is.

You don’t need your customers to get bought into what you do. You don’t need any of those things. You don’t need a mission or vision for your company. Again, you just need to make money. You just need leads. You just need customers. Why would I be focused on my mission, my vision, my values when all I need to do right now is make another dollar?

discussing profitability and financial management for growth

That’s where you should focus your time. And lastly, do not produce content for your business, period. Look, you are above that. You do not need content. It’s a waste of your time. Focus on things that keep you small and won’t lead to any new business opportunities. And you definitely don’t need to build a relationship with your audience and help.

Maybe don’t build an audience at all. So this is how you can absolutely have a business that sucks. Do all of these things. Don’t have any systems in your business. Avoid having any kind of process. Run your business on Google Sheets. Don’t lead your team. Run your business with no plan. Try to have as little profit as possible.

Don’t waste your time on a mission or vision and do not produce content for your business. Now obviously, you need to do the opposite of all those things. So if you can focus on the opposite of all that, being a leader, having profit, having a plan, not focusing on unorganized Google Sheets and business operations to grow your business, you will be moving down the line.

the significance of a mission-driven approach

But the reason I pick these points is because I have worked with thousands of entrepreneurs and I get it. A lot of these points are weaknesses for you. But you have to focus on them. But don’t worry about checking every single box all at once. Like a lot of my content, I say, let’s build a business that doesn’t suck.

Build a business that doesn’t suck. And some people don’t understand that. But what I’m saying is everyone’s business starts and sucks. And it can be because you don’t know what you’re doing. You have a lot to learn. And it can also be because you just don’t have the time to build out everything that’s required, even if you know what it is, to have this awesome business.

So all we can do is chip away at one thing at a time to make sure our business sucks a little bit less every single day. And when you focus on these things, you are more profitable. You’re a good leader. You have a mission. You have a plan. You have values. You have all of these things. You’re slowly chipping away and growing your business and you will have a business that doesn’t suck.

the importance of consistent content production in building a brand

But to do any of this, you are going to have to try harder.