RR#101 - The trap of expertise

Nothing in life comes with only advantages.

And I see this all the time with former-executives turned entrepreneurs.

They’ve got serious skills, and a ton of knowledge. They’ve got a great launchpad for starting their own business online. That’s the good news.

But the bad news?

There are massive differences between the corporate game and the entrepreneurship game.

And if those differences aren’t recognized, the strengths that served them so well in corporate can become weaknesses in entrepreneurship.

Here are a few:

1. Marketing Broad vs Narrow Strengths

In the corporate world, the rule of thumb is this:

Your employer is buying all your professional working time. So the more skills you have, the better.

In entrepreneurship, it’s almost the opposite. Your clients want a specific problem solved. They aren’t all that interested in your other strengths.

And trying to advertise everything you’re “good at” or “can do” just serves to confuse the market.

2. Using Leverage vs Creating Leverage

When I was in corporate, I had sources of leverage to use as an executive: loads of capital, labor, and existing systems that worked really well.

But in an early stage business, those resources are highly constrained. And you’ve got to get militantly focused on creating those sources of leverage out of the gate.

Being excellent at using leverage? Not at all the same as being excellent at creating it.

3. Avoiding Failure vs Embracing (Fast) Failure

You know how you get fired from a corporate role? By missing the mark on ideas, and making bets that don’t pay off.

So you learn to be conservative and “right” more often than experimental and “wrong.”

But if you hold onto that habit, you’ll fail as an entrepreneur.

Don’t get me wrong. You’re not actively trying to fail. But it’s inevitable, produces hugely valuable data on how to improve, and shows that you’re taking action.

So my advice to all former execs: don’t let old strengths become new weaknesses.

Ready to dive deeper and transform your corporate strengths into entrepreneurial wins?

Watch my YouTube video below

P.S. - Wanna take it on the road? Tune in on Repeatable Revenue Podcast here.