Is Your Business Barefoot?

Do you treat your business like the Cobbler’s kid that wears no shoes? 

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it’s an ironic phenomenon that happens to many business owners. 

The long and short of it: When Entrepreneurs actually stop doing for themselves the very thing they provide for their clients.  

It’s referred to as Cobbler’s Children Syndrome (named after the proverbial children of shoemakers who don’t have their own shoes).  

We are ALL guilty of this at one time or another. Myself included. 

And I’ll admit it, because I get it.  Here's why this hits so close to home ...

I've not only been there, I've struggled with this over and over again for decades. Whenever a client need comes up, I put the client first (more often than not above the needs of our own company). 

Tell me if this sounds familiar …

You make a conscious effort to work “on” your business and even gain some traction from your effort(s).  All of a sudden a client needs something urgent, or a new client comes on board, or a new opportunity arises. The “squirrel” mentality subconsciously kicks in and working “on” your business yet again is moved to the back burner. 

What I’ve found over the years is there are two types of businesses: 

1. Those that have More Time Than Money to invest in their business. 

2. Those that have More Money Than Time to invest in their business.

As a business owner, you know immediately which category you fit in as your business stands right now. If you are the business owner that checks off the “more time than money” box: 

You should study. 

You should learn. 

You should grow. 

You should do it yourself. 

However, here's the interesting twist ... Using us at Business Nitrogen as a good example. We have a whole team. We’ve got over 25 team members that focus their daily efforts on helping our clients build and scale their businesses. And yet for some reason, up until recently (and I say recently because we've got a whole team just dedicated to us now) we put ourselves on the back burner. 

We haven't done what we needed or wanted to do. Since we moved ourselves up the priority ladder (by taking action steps to actually make that happen), I've been able to dedicate a fair majority of my time on strategizing, ideating, putting our flywheel together, recording videos, and creating content to help us serve our clients even more. Building assets that we need as an Infinite Business to grow and scale while adding even more value for our clients. 

Seems easy, right? Not quite. 

As I mentioned before, I’ve struggled with this over and over again for decades … It’s not an easy transition. Sure, it’s easy to hire someone (or a team) to specifically focus on your internal marketing. Yet, as soon as a client need surfaces, it’s damn near impossible at times not to pull that one dedicated person (or team) off of your stuff and on to address your client’s needs. 

“It's easy to focus on others and not on yourself (and your business). But one of the most important things I realized is that the best way I can serve other people better is by focusing on ourselves by making ourselves a priority.”  -David Asarnow

How’s that? 

Simple … Do As We Say. 

People don't necessarily look at what we say … They look at what we do. And when we put an effort in on ourselves and make an effort “IN” our business people do take notice. 

I'll give you an example. 

A business associate I’ve known for many years pulled me aside at an event I was recently attending and said, “I just want to thank you for the emails and newsletters you're putting out because I have to actually stop what I’m doing and read them when they pop up in my inbox.” 

Surprised (as I had no idea she was on our mailing list) I then asked her: “You mean you have to stop what you’re doing and read my newsletter?”  

She smiled and said, “Yes, I’m not kidding … There's so much value and I know that if I make it to the bottom, I'm going to get to the lesson and I’ll have something that I can implement in my business that day.” 

When I hear stuff like this it further validates that we need to focus on ourselves. For us, focusing on ourselves equates to creating value for others. You’ve heard me say this before. 

Building assets creates value based clients that appreciate what you offer a whole lot more. 

So, if your business is barefoot and you’re guilty of Cobbler’s Children Syndrome, first, identify which category you fall into:

1. You have More Time Than Money to invest in your business.  

OR 

2. You have More Money Than Time to invest in your business. 

If you have more money than time, hire an agency like Business Nitrogen or another team or agency of dedicated people to help you get the clarity and direction you need.  Get a tactical plan implemented to help you grow and scale your company into an Infinite Business. 

If you have a killer team in place, consider setting up a discovery call with my team to see if you’re a right fit for our Internal Scaling System (a brand new program we’ve recently launched). 

Imagine gaining access to proven business-building strategies, expert marketing and sales insight, and tactical know-how directly from a team who has actually accomplished what you want to do in your business … Multiple times over. 

If you can answer YES to both of these questions ...

Have you achieved traction in your business, yet still can’t seem to reach the 7 or 8-figure mark? 

Do you have a killer team behind you that can help you execute exactly what it will take to break through that invisible ceiling in your business?  

See if you qualify for our new program. 

Simply fill out our 2-minute application and we’ll then set up a time to chat. 

To your success, 

David

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I don’t know many Entrepreneurs who haven’t plateaued multiple times and struggled to reach the pinnacle of success they dreamed about when they first made the decision to start their own business…

So what do you do if you’re stuck, or don’t know how to get to the next level? 

My go-to has always been to find someone who has been there and DOES know HOW... 

I’m sure you’d agree that we all have at least one or two things that we really excel at… it’s what makes us unique. Never have I met someone who excels at everything...

Think about the most successful people running some of the most successful companies. Do you think they did it alone? Heck no. 

Look at Apple. Many think Steve Jobs is solely responsible for Apple’s success and visionary approach. But he didn’t do it alone.

Steve Wozniak designed the very first Apple computer and co-founded Apple with Jobs in 1976. In fact, Steve Jobs told his biographer that without Wozniak, there never would have been an Apple.

They both recognized that they had skill sets that complimented each other, and together they could make a bigger impact.

It was collaboration that laid the groundwork for Apple’s success, and that unique alliance changed the world.  

I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to have to learn this lesson the hard way, like I had to...

When I first started out as an Entrepreneur, I actually failed to the point of having only 30 days to turn it around... or lose everything. 

When I say everything, I mean it...my house, my cars, my family, my business, my confidence, my pride… everything. 

At 37, I became the CEO of the first digital portrait studio chain in the US. After successfully franchising it, we grew by leaps and bounds. The company was soaring...

I felt unstoppable, and I was confident I had the formula to success all figured out. 

Until one day I met with the board on the direction I wanted to take the company.  Nothing I hadn’t done over a dozen times before. I show up, make my presentation, everyone gets excited, then I execute on the plan. Everyone’s happy. This time was different though. 

This time, I was told “No”.  

I was honestly confused and didn’t know how to react. Did they not understand my plan?  That’s when I was reminded that I was the Chief Executive Officer (not an Entrepreneur), executing on direction from the Board of Directors.

I worked for them! 

I wasn't blazing my own trail as I had convinced myself that I was…And just then, a voice inside my head said, “Dave, it's time to start something on your own. Speak up right now, resign and give them your 90 days notice.” 

So I did.

Man was I energized! I was free! I was finally going to be able to live my life on my terms and do what I want! 

I started with a sizable safety net. I was putting in all the time and the focus but the revenue just wasn’t there. I couldn’t figure it out… What was I doing wrong? 

1 month became 3 months. 3 months became 18 months. And before I knew it, I went from having everything to being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. 

Credit cards got canceled. The creditors started calling. Things were so bad I had to ask my daughter to borrow her babysitting money just to pay our mortgage. It was the lowest point in my life. 

When I hit rock bottom, I had just 30 days to turn it around or things would happen I didn’t feel I would rebound from. 

I needed a totally different approach, so I headed out to the woods for a few days to reflect. 

“How did this happen?” became like a song playing on repeat in my mind. Unable to come up with the right answer, I decided to answer this question with another question instead. 

What would my grandfather do? Came to mind. 

My grandfather was a very influential man in my life… He was a salesman most of his life until he decided he wanted more, so at the age of 50 he and my grandmother sold everything, and moved away to start his own business.

By year 2, he was very successful. I remember asking him once how he was able to give up everything and take a risk to start his own business. He answered with one word: Collaboration.  

He was able to leverage his skills, and the relationships and the skills of others in order to make it all happen for him in his business.

And there it was. 

I was trying to BE and DO everything.  I was looking as if it was all on me...That all my previous successes were a solo effort. Far from the case! 

I realized I was missing the key players with the expertise I didn’t possess to make my business work. And as soon as I found those people, everything turned around. 

It also became one of the biggest cornerstones for my success in business to this day. Thirty years, many awards and many successful companies later, it still holds true. 

Effective Collaboration is a SUPERPOWER in business. 

My team is a shining example of it. They are all superheroes in that they all have their special, unique abilities to propel our client’s businesses forward. Together (all our superpowers combined) we’ve grown and scaled businesses to the 8-figure mark at an accelerated pace. 

There are also businesses we haven’t been able to help… 

I talk to a lot of Entrepreneurs. Many are prospects wanting to hire our team to take them to the next level (and beyond), but they just can’t afford it.  

Let’s face it, having a seasoned team of expert strategists and implementers dedicated to take your business to the 8-figure mark? An investment with my team can range anywhere from $16-$25K a month (depending on what’s needed), and significantly more with performance bonuses. 

One of the things we’ve always wanted to do at Business Nitrogen is find a way to help these Entrepreneurs (those who had incredible businesses but didn’t qualify for our full service agency) get to where they wanted to be. 

We knew there had to be a way for each one of them to benefit from the expertise and know-how our team possessed, and deliver it in a way that they themselves could implement. 

And that’s when The Infinite Business Circle was born. 

A unique coaching program exclusively for Entrepreneurs who want access to the proven strategies and expert insight from a team of superheroes who have actually done what they want to do… multiple times over. 

But not only that.... Giving them the direction and support to successfully implement it themselves.  

Knowing what we created was unparalleled to any other traditional coaching program out there, we took it upon ourselves to design it quite a bit differently...

Including the intentional curriculum of incorporating all FOUR Business Accelerators: Branding, Marketing, Sales, and Scale (not just one of them). 

And giving exclusive access to our team of experts for each of these Business Accelerators.

Experts that would not only teach you the WHAT & WHY, they will also show you the HOW.  A missing piece so many others haven’t been able to successfully deliver.  

But WE can. 

My team and I have produced incredible results for our clients (time and time again). What comes from that kind of success is a different level of understanding. We’ve seen and experienced things that most people have never seen…

Because of that, we're able to understand and explain things on a different level. We’re able to consider and identify nuances (that most people dismiss) that are actually quite game-changing.

We’re able to foresee when to pivot and when to stay on course. 

In so many other coaching programs, when challenges arise or bottlenecks occur, no one seems to be there to support you. 

That’s a huge indicator to me that the teacher doesn’t want to take accountability for their student’s results. 

In The Infinite Business Circle, while you are learning proven methods, strategies and solutions for each Business Accelerator (and as you test and implement) we will be accessible to help guide you through it...every step of the way. 

Providing you with the right support exactly when and where you need it. 

Imagine that... Your own team of key players (in areas you need help with most) to help you propel your business to the next level.

Earlier I revealed my go-to whenever I felt stuck or didn’t know how to move forward: “Find someone who DOES know how”.  

The second part to that is “....That is also willing to roll up their sleeves and help you do the same.” 

The Infinite Business Circle is exactly what you’ve been looking for if you've achieved initial traction in your business and want to know how you can truly scale and accelerate your results…

Your business. Your legacy. Our purpose. 

Reply to this article or message and include the words “Infinite Business Circle”, and we’ll set a time to see if we can help you scale faster.

Right now we are offering a special “Founder’s Rate” for the first 12 qualified candidates. 

Find out if you qualify...

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"Becoming part of the Playrix family is a great honor for Cateia Games," said Cateia co-founder Dejan Radic.

Free-to-play mobile developer Playrix has acquired Croatian studio Cateia Games for an undisclosed amount.

Based in Zagreb, Cateia boasts a staff of 40 and mainly develops time management sims and point-and-click adventure games for PC and Mac.

The studio has been rebranded as Playrix Croatia, and has begun development on a new free-to-play mobile game,

"Becoming part of the Playrix family is a great honor for Cateia Games," said Cateia co-founder Dejan Radic.

"We are one of the oldest studios in Croatia, so this is the start of a new and exciting era for our team as well as a great opportunity for the local gaming scene to grow and prosper."

Playrix co-founder Dmitry Bukham said: "The talent of the Cateia Games team combined with our resources and expertise gives Playrix Croatia significant opportunities to create a new mobile hit for millions of players around the world."