ReWork

by Jason Fried

already-successful entrepreneurs are far more likely to succeed again (the success rate for their future companies is 34 percent).

Planning is guessing

Writing a plan makes you feel in control of things you can’t actually control.

premature hiring is the death of many companies.

while small businesses wish they were bigger, big businesses dream about being more agile and flexible?

Working more doesn’t mean you care more or get more done. It just means you work more.

In the end, workaholics don’t actually accomplish more than nonworkaholics.

Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up. The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.

The easiest, most straightforward way to create a great product or service is to make something you want to use. That lets you design what you know—and you’ll figure out immediately whether or not what you’re making is any good.

If you’re solving someone else’s problem, you’re constantly stabbing in the dark. When you solve your own problem, the light comes on. You know exactly what the right answer is.

What you do is what matters, not what you think or say or plan.

No time is no excuse

If no one’s upset by what you’re saying, you’re probably not pushing hard enough. (And you’re probably boring, too.)

no matter what kind of business you’re starting, take on as little outside cash as you can. Spending other people’s money may sound great, but there’s a noose attached. Here’s why:

You need less than you think

Great companies start in garages all the time. Yours can too.

A business without a path to profit isn’t a business, it’s a hobby.

Your priorities are out of whack if you’re thinking about getting out before you even dive in.

Lots of things get better as they get shorter. Directors cut good scenes to make a great movie. Musicians drop good tracks to make a great album. Writers eliminate good pages to make a great book.

So figure out your epicenter. Which part of your equation can’t be removed?

You want to get into the rhythm of making choices. When you get in that flow of making decision after decision, you build momentum and boost morale. Decisions are progress.

It’s the stuff you leave out that matters. So constantly look for things to remove, simplify, and streamline. Be a curator. Stick to what’s truly essential. Pare things down until you’re left with only the most important stuff. Then do it again. You can always add stuff back in later if you need to.

It’s not about packaging, marketing, or price. It’s about quality.

The menus at failing restaurants offered too many dishes.

The core of your business should be built around things that won’t change. Things that people are going to want today and ten years from now. Those are the things you should invest in.

you just don’t need the best gear in the world to be good. And you definitely don’t need it to get started.

what really matters is how to actually get customers and make money.

Put off anything you don’t need for launch. Build the necessities now, worry about the luxuries later. If you really think about it, there’s a whole lot you don’t need on day one.

Here are some important questions to ask yourself to ensure you’re doing work that matters:

The way you build momentum is by getting something done and then moving on to the next thing.

Small victories let you celebrate and release good news. And you want a steady stream of good news. When there’s something new to announce every two weeks, you energize your team and give your customers something to be excited about.

Long lists don’t get done Start making smaller to-do lists too.

Be influenced, but don’t steal.

Don’t shy away from the fact that your product or service does less. Highlight it. Be proud of it. Sell it as aggressively as competitors sell their extensive feature lists.

When you spend time worrying about someone else, you can’t spend that time improving yourself.

You rarely regret saying no. But you often wind up regretting saying yes.

Making a few vocal customers happy isn’t worth it if it ruins the product for everyone else.

Scaring away new customers is worse than losing old customers.

Buying people’s attention with a magazine or online banner ad is one thing. Earning their loyalty by teaching them forms a whole different connection. They’ll trust you more. They’ll respect you more. Even if they don’t use your product, they can still be your fans.

Don’t be afraid of sharing.

Accounting is a department. Marketing isn’t. Marketing is something everyone in your company is doing 24/7/365.

Never hire anyone to do a job until you’ve tried to do it yourself first. That way, you’ll understand the nature of the work.

Hire when it hurts

How long someone’s been doing it is overrated.

Geography just doesn’t matter anymore. Hire the best talent, regardless of where it is.

The more people you have between your customers’ words and the people doing the work, the more likely it is that the message will get lost or distorted along the way. Everyone on your team should be connected to your customers—maybe not every day, but at least a few times throughout the year. That’s the only way your team is going to feel the hurt your customers are experiencing.

When you treat people like children, you get children’s work.

When everything constantly needs approval, you create a culture of nonthinkers. You create a boss-versus-worker relationship that screams, “I don’t trust you.”

Don’t be afraid to be you. That applies to the language you use everywhere—in e-mail, packaging, interviews, blog posts, presentations, etc. Talk to customers the way you would to friends.

Whenever you write something, read it out loud. Does it sound the way it would if you were actually talking to someone? If not, how can you make it more conversational?