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Crippled CEO Blog #151:

All of the mesh that we had in stock was defective and unusable.

The mesh that we received as a replacement for the last bad batch was also full of defects and problems.

For a company that makes removable mesh pool safety fence, being out of mesh is bad.

Very bad. 

With no mesh, the factory shuts down. The workers all go home. Orders don’t ship. Dealers start losing jobs. Children might drown. 

The person who took care of our account at the mesh company was an industry veteran named Tony Ward. Tony grew up near the company headquarters in Dothan, AL, started working in the warehouse as a teenager, and quickly moved up the ranks to where he was then — the salesman in charge of our business. 

Tony knew the trouble we were in. 

Tony knew the ramifications of us not having any good mesh to use. 

But Tony was just the sales guy. He wasn’t the one making the mesh. He didn’t cause the problem. There wasn’t much he could do to fix it. It certainly wasn’t his fault.

But even though Tony Ward knew these problems weren’t his fault, as the representative in charge of taking care of us for his employer, he decided that it was his responsibility.

And that’s why, on a Sunday evening, Tony loaded up his personal truck with as much mesh as he could fit, after personally inspecting every roll, and drove through the night from Dothan, AL to Delray Beach, FL. 

Tony and his truck full of usable mesh were waiting for us on Monday morning when we opened for business. Nobody had to be sent home. Orders were shipped. No jobs were lost. No children drown.

Tony Ward’s midnight run happened roughly 15 years ago and I’m still talking about it. He’s still at that mesh company. And when I called needing help with something a few weeks ago, he was happy to assist. 

Being a hero, in business or otherwise, usually doesn’t require any special skills or talents. Most the time, it just takes caring so much that you’re willing to do extraordinary things. It takes  choosing to take responsibility even when it’s not your fault. 

Tony was our hero that Monday morning, and I bet he never tells that story. In fact, I would wager that he has a library full of stories like that, where he’s gone above and beyond to do the right thing, that he never talks about. We need more people like Tony Ward. 

Not all heroes wear capes. Some drive trucks full of mesh in the middle of the night.

(Do you know who did some heroic stuff last night? Your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #150:

Most people have the wrong idea about marketing. That probably includes you. 

When you hear the word marketing, you probably think of ads on TV and on Facebook or Instagram or on billboards. You think of logos. You think about slogans. You think about website design.

And yeah, that stuff is part of it. But most of the time, the stuff you are thinking about as marketing is actually just advertising. And advertising is one small part of marketing.

Marketing is the entire process of trying to convince somebody to take an action. If it’s a business, that action is probably commerce. If you were a politician, that action might be getting people to vote for you. If you’re a nonprofit, it might be donations. And if you’re a mom, it might be getting your kid into that exclusive school you want her to attend.

Marketing is the entire story people have about your business. That story doesn’t come just from the advertisements you buy on Instagram. People‘s perception of your company is also driven by the quality of your products, the packaging that they come in, how fast your website loads, the charitable work you do for the community, and your reputation for underpaying your employees and treating them like garbage. Oh, that’s right — because marketing is everything you do that influences people’s stories about you in their head, that means you can market bad stuff to people as well. The way you treat your employees and how well you pay them is also part of your marketing — just like your logo is. 

I’ve said before that pricing is also part of your marketing. How much you charge influences the perception people have about your company, whether it’s good or bad. Are you seen as luxury/premium/high-end, a great value, cheap and crappy, or over priced? Your pricing, combined with everything else, determines this.

With this being said, it amazes me that companies can spend tens of millions of dollars on a Super Bowl ad, but then totally screw up what is simultaneously the cheapest and most powerful form of marketing that any business has.

I’m talking about your customer service.

Nothing has a bigger impact on the way people feel about you than your customer service.

Comcast spends over $100 million in advertising each year. What is your opinion of that company? I bet it’s terrible. And what is that based on? Certainly not the advertising. If it was their ads, you would love that. They spend a fortune on first class, top quality, professionally distributed advertising.

You despise Comcast because of the way they treat you. You despise Comcast because of their customer service.

I truly believe that if Comcast took their entire advertising budget for two years, stopped running ads entirely, and invested all of it into making every call in, email, or any other interaction a delightful experience that left customers amazed by their kindness, warmth, efficiency, and generosity, the word from that would spread like wildfire, and they would earn far more revenue than anything they are getting from the TV, Internet, and magazine commercials they are running right now. No question. 

Comcast is never going to do this. Because they are scared.

But you can. And the incredible thing about this, like I said, is that it’s not only the most powerful and most effective advertising, it’s also the least expensive. It’s way cheaper to go overboard for a customer or bend over backwards or throw in an additional surprise than it is to buy a billboard or a series of radio advertisements.

Giving out full refunds to people who probably don’t deserve them without batting an eye, having the phone, emails, and website chat answered by well-paid, friendly, capable people endowed with autonomy and power to help people generously and thoughtfully… this is the best marketing money can buy. This creates loyal, raving fans who will tell all their friends about you and will come back to you over and over again, even when you mess up, and even when you raise your prices.

Stop making customer service that thing you say you care about on your website, but treat as an after thought you try to put the bare minimum info to get by, and start thinking of it as the way that you are growing too grow your business in the smartest way possible.

Forget the ad on the park bench. Give the guy answering your phone a raise and a trip to Hawaii. That will get you a lot more work. I promise.

(Do you know who gave me some stellar service last night? Your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #149:

I was enjoying some amazing French fry crusted triple tail snapper from the Food Shack food truck before an undisclosed concert at an undisclosed date and time when my good friend, Jennifer Gomez, said something profound. (Also, real quick, when does a friend become a good friend? How do I know that she thinks she’s a good friend? Or is she going to read this and think, “I mean, we’re friends, but I don’t know about GOOD friends. Who does this guy think he is?!” But then, what if I don’t call her a good friend, and she gets upset in the other direction? It’s very tricky. Anyways…)

I was talking about Jen saying something profound.

Oh! Real quick again! Jen is an awesome estate attorney. And I’m not just saying this because we are friends (good friends?). She really is. If you think you might die someday, you should really hit her up to make sure that you don’t totally blow it. I think www.JenniferGomez.com is the best way to reach her. 

Alright, back to Jen’s profundity…

I was struggling to stab my (incredibly delicious) fish with the spork that the food truck supplied when she said, “Sporks are evidence that everyone needs a niche.”

At that point, I rose from my seat and gave her a standing ovation.

Just kidding. I can’t stand. Or clap. But I would have. Because she was absolutely correct.

We have a tendency to think generalizing is the smart thing to do. If we can appeal to more people, then we can have more customers. For example, why would we want to sell a product that’s only for SOME parents, when you can offer something for ALL parents? Isn’t that better?

The issue is that if you try to appeal to everybody, you’re not doing a great job for anybody.

If you’re looking to hire a lawyer to set up your estate plan, are you going to pick a lawyer who kind of does everything, or a specialist like Jennifer Gomez who only does the thing you’re looking for?

If you were a real estate agent looking to hire a web designer, do you choose the company who serves everybody, or the web designer who only specializes in making websites for real estate agents?

Back to my parent example above, if you think appealing to all parents is better than some parents, then you would conclude that my business is a terrible idea.

Our product is only meant for parents and grandparents who have children under six years old. And not even ALL parents of kids under six — only parents who have a child under six, own their home, AND have a swimming pool. 

That is a very specific demographic.

But it actually gets even more specific than that. In addition to all of the above, you have to be the type of parent who understands the necessity of protecting their pool. AND, on top of that, we cater to the kind of customer who wants to pay more for higher quality and better service. In this already very specific target market, we have deliberately excluded even more people from buying from us.

At first glance, this seems really dumb. The percentage of people on Earth who can buy from us is so small.

But the reality is that if you fit that very specific description — if you have a 3 year old, own a home with a pool, want to protect it, and want to invest more to get the best, safest product, then Life Saver Pool Fence is the only choice that makes sense for you. And apparently, there are enough people who fit that description around the world to support over 100 people financially year after year, for 35 years and running.

You are far better off being the best and only choice for the kind of people you want to serve than being one of 1 million choices for everybody.

Listen to my (good?) friend Jen. She’s smart. Don’t be a spork. Sporks suck. Choose your niche and make it as specific as you possibly can. 

(Do you know who dominated her niche with me last night? Your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #148:

Especially in business, we think it’s smart to make the professional, solid, safe choice.

We want the website to look clean and professional. We want it to remind us of other successful businesses.

The same goes for our company shirts. Polo shirt, logo over the left breast pocket. The safe choice, just like everybody else.

We hire the almost robotic sounding lady to do the voice work for our phone system. We are happy with how professional it sounds. 

Our business cards are safe, too. Name, logo, phone number. Nothing offensive that’s going to raise any eyebrows. 

Our promotional videos, our email signature, product packaging, brochures… they all look like a successful corporation should. Nobody who looks at them has anything bad to say.

We don’t just choose safe because we are afraid of failure. We choose to play it safe with all of these things because no one is going to criticize or shame us for it.

No one is going to say a negative word about your professional sounding automated phone system.

When your customer places an order, and they get back the standard order confirmation email, you are guaranteed not to offend anyone.

And that’s what we want. Because criticism makes us feel bad. No one wants to be shamed.

The problem is that not only are you guaranteed to not offend anybody, but you’re also guaranteed to not delight them either. There is a 100% chance that your standard order confirmation email doesn’t make them smile or laugh. There is an absolute certainty that your safe, professional brochure has virtually no impact whatsoever.

It turns out that doing the safe thing is safe for your ego, but it’s dangerous for your business.

The safe thing is guaranteed not to really do anything.

We have Morgan Freeman (or maybe a Morgan Freeman impersonator… that’s up to you to decide) on our phone system when you call the office. When you place an order with us, the automated email you get describes how the heavens opened up and angels sang when we received your order, and we have created a shrine to you, our favorite customer, which we kneel at every morning. We have a video about an Amish family with 50 children choosing our product to keep their pool safe from drowning. I’ve made company shirts that make the wearer look like Superman, complete with cape and six pack abs, with the famous S replaced by our logo. The two celebrity spokespeople that we have partnered with have been a UFC Heavyweight Champion who beats people unconscious for a living and a new mom who got Internet famous by using extra raunchy pickup lines to try to shag her guy. My email signature starts with “May the Force be with you.” This blog is called Crippled CEO and I end each one with a joke about banging your mom (even though your mom is no joke at all — she’s a freak). 

Not everybody likes all of those things. I’ve had my fair share of negative feedback and criticisms. And we do have a lot of things we do that are safe, boring, and professional. I’m trying to weed those out wherever I can.

Because while the safe choice has zero chance of winning, at least the risky or bold option MIGHT be successful, might be remembered, might earn a smile and some customer loyalty. It also might flop, but unlike safe and boring, at least it’s not guaranteed to do nothing. 

When you look at it like that, you realize that taking these risks is actually the only safe choice, because doing it the “professional” way is never going to give you what you want. 

Taking a chance on doing something bold and new is actually the wiser, more prudent choice, far less risky than the “safe” option — and it’s a whole lot more fun, too. 

Try it out. Take a risk. Do something fun and weird. I think you might be surprised.

(Do you know who was taking a lot of chances last night? Your mom. And her sister. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #147:

Little Moir’s Food Shack is my favorite restaurant in Florida. 

No — scratch that — in the world. 

They serve fish so fresh that each day a new, handwritten menu is printed out and distributed. The formula of delicious crusts around flaky fish over unique salads stays the same, but the ingredients change daily. 

Food Shack does not take reservations. On off nights, there’s a 30 minute wait. On busy nights, it can be over an hour. And despite that, my friends and I are still willing to drive an additional hour to go there and wait. That’s how good the food is. 

And part of the experience is the wait. You know it’s going to happen, so you’re not taken by surprise or upset when they let you know it’s going to be at least 45 minutes, leaving you to sit on benches or against the wall in the crowded strip mall corridor outside the front door. Oh, did I mention it’s in a strip mall? It is — a hidden gem, with barely a sign. You use that time to chat with your friends, to peruse the day’s handwritten menu and discuss what you should get, and maybe have a beer out on the sidewalk while you wait. 

When I learned that they were taking over the space next-door to the restaurant, expanding their footprint, I was giddy. More space meant more tables for people to sit at. This was it. Food Shack without the wait. I contemplated how the food quality would keep up, and part of me wondered if the experience would lose something, but I was still excited about not having to wait in the future, and the prosperity that should be in store for the proprietor, “Little” Mike Moir. 

But Mr. Moir is a genius. He didn’t use the space next-door to double the size of the restaurant and eliminate the wait. 

He created a waiting room.

Now, when they tell you about the hour long wait, they tell you to go have a seat next door and they will come get you when your table is ready. Connected to the main restaurant, the area next-door became a similarly themed tapas bar that sells drinks and very small plates — tasty snacks to hold you over and specialty beers and cocktails to wash them down with.

Mike Moir knew that he couldn’t continue to produce the high level of quality food if the output suddenly doubled. He also knew, I’m guessing, that he only wanted to serve the kind of customer who loved his restaurant so much that they were willing to wait an hour every time. And when you have a restaurant that’s so popular that it always has a long wait, and the people dining there are all huge fans, you can charge $30 for a generous portion of fish over a remarkable salad in a strip mall giving t-shirt and flip-flop energy to throngs of happy diners in Guy Harvey shirts and Rolex Submariners. 

So, if you can’t make the restaurant bigger, and the long wait is a necessary ingredient, then the truly genius thing to do is to make the wait more comfortable while simultaneously increasing your revenue per customer. He already had the people there. Now, he gets to make a lot more money off of them, and they love him for it. Why not serve them beer and snacks while holding them as happy hostages?

It’s genius. Truly. My hats off to you, Mr. Moir. I can’t wait to wait at your restaurant again. 

(Do you know who didn’t have to wait in line for an hour last night? Your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #146:

When Amazon went public, I knew it was going to be huge. I said I should invest. I told other people to invest. I didn’t.

If I had put $10,000 into Amazon when it launched, I’d have $9.9 million today. 

We all have stories like this — opportunities that we saw that we knew would work, but still didn’t act upon. 

Why do we do this?

Because the fear of change is greater than your desire for the opportunity.

At the time, I wasn’t a person who purchased speculative stocks. That wasn’t part of my identity. Going through the steps to do that would have been changing the story I told myself, changing a small part of my life and who I am.

This happens in business, as well. For the majority of our history, my company has exclusively sold to dealers who then resell to homeowners.

Around 10 years ago, a couple of companies outside of the industry started offering a DIY version of the product that was being sold online directly to homeowners.

We could have done exactly what all of our competitors chose to do, and decided that this wasn’t a part of who we were, that we aren’t an e-commerce business, but instead a wholesale distribution business.

We didn’t look at it that way, though. We decided that we are a pool fence company, and this was just one more way to sell pool fence. This is a much easier change in perspective than reimagining your entire business as an e-commerce operation.

We are the only major pool fence brand really selling online, direct to consumers, and over the last decade, this has become a major portion of our revenues. And now, given our lock on the market, it would be difficult for anybody else to try and get in.

The pain that comes from changing stopped those other businesses from seizing that opportunity. By reframing the change into something more palatable, we were able to move forward with it and succeed. The only difference was our perspective.

We are currently in the process of making another big change in our organization. There is a little doubt that it is the smart choice, and an excellent opportunity, but the fear and pain that comes from change makes you want to stop, abort, and go back towards what’s familiar. It creeps in at every obstacle and you have to be careful not to let it divert you from your course. You just have to redecorate the opportunity so it doesn’t feel like as big of a change, so it feels like the type of thing that you would do, and then you’ll be able to do it. No big deal. 

(Your mom wasn’t shying away from any opportunities last night. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #145:

Dr. Robert Lyons invented and sold the only pool alarm that I’ve ever been a fan of — the Safety Turtle. It features a wrist band the child wears that sets off an alarm inside the house if it gets wet. 

My company, Life Saver Pool Fence, offers these alarms. 

When Dr. Lyons sold his company to its new owner, he suggested to them that they continue to give us favorable pricing even though we didn’t purchase a lot of units. 

The reasoning he gave was such a genius concept, worded so succinctly, that I’ve never forgotten it. 

He told them: “They sell more than they buy.”

At first glance, this makes no sense. How could we possibly sell more of their products than we buy?

And then I got it. 

We love Safety Turtle, so we push it — hard. We rave about it on our website and our social media channels. When I am on the news getting interviewed about drowning prevention, I recommend it by the brand name. We give out Safety Turtle literature at trade shows and events. 

My company isn’t a big customer for them, but we do a ton to promote the brand. We sell more than we buy. 

I think about this with my own business all the time. We, too, have customers who sell more than they buy — customers who don’t purchase a lot of pool fence, but promote and support us at every opportunity. 

It’s a lesson that sometimes you need to look beyond the numbers on the P&L or the balance sheet to see the true value of something. 

Employees work this way, also. Maybe she isn’t your best performer, and her numbers aren’t that great, but she uplifts the mood of everyone she works with and is a huge supporter of the company and everything you’re doing. You can’t see that on a report, but it’s just as important — maybe even more important — than the numbers on the page. 

The analytics are important, and nobody loves tracking the figures as much as I do, but it’s also crucial to look at the big picture. Don’t dismiss your biggest cheerleader just because of their ones and zeroes. If they really do sell more than they buy, give them the VIP treatment they deserve.

(I was buying everything your mom was selling last night. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #144:

Who is happier: Lucky Lou who won the $10 million lottery, or his twin sister, Bad Driver Debra, who was permanently injured in a car accident? 

That seems like a crazy question, right? 

But check this out. 

Lou and Debra take one of the tests that psychologists have designed to determine how happy you are. They both get identical scores. Then, on the way home, Lucky Lou gets the call that he has won the lottery. At the same time, Bad Driver Debra smashes into a telephone pole. She survives, but she’s permanently injured, acquiring a limp for the rest of her life. 

This scenario was highlighted in the book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and it turns out, according to science, that if Lou and Debra take the same quiz two years later, as long as Debra’s injury is stable and she’s not in pain, they will score exactly the same — they will both be equally happy to each other, and just as happy as they were two years prior, even though Lou now lives in a mansion and Debra has a bad limp. 

So, a debilitating car accident will make you just as happy as winning the lottery.

I can sense that you’re skeptical. I get it.

The reason for this is that happiness isn’t determined by our circumstances. I mean, technically, at the base level, happiness is exclusively determined by chemicals in our brain. But what makes your brain give you the chemicals that make you happy?

As long as your base needs are met, it’s not money. It’s not even health. 

It’s the meeting of our expectations. Lou and Debra are equally happy because Lou expects to live in a mansion and drive a Bentley now — and he does — while Debra expects to live in her 3 bedroom home, drive a Toyota, and take a long time walking through the grocery store — and she does. 

This is why your wife is thrilled if you give her a single red rose on a random Tuesday, but she is far less enthusiastic if you only give her that same rose on her 40th birthday — when she asked you for a car. 

It is why you would be appalled at waiting 15 minutes to receive food for five people at McDonald’s, but you are perfectly happy with this wait at Ruth Chris. Likewise, the food you’d be just fine with at McDonald’s would make you very, very upset at the gourmet steakhouse. 

It’s why my dad was amazed by Pong when it came out, but today’s gamers are disappointed by the latest Call of Duty. It’s why I’m overjoyed to be flashed by a moderately attractive lady at Publix, but I’m unfazed by a gaggle of naked performers at a strip club. 

This is the reasoning behind my recent video (which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/WpKu1-TxQK4), where I explain how a good day for me, in my wheelchair with cerebral palsy, might be the worst day of your life, and a bad day for you might be the best day of mine. You wake up expecting to walk and dress yourself. I don’t. That’s why I’m not devastated by it every day. 

If getting what we think we want is truly the only measure of happiness, having a happy life becomes much simpler. You can stop running around trying to make yourself happy by buying this thing, redecorating that thing, and achieving this other thing. You just need to want less. That’s it. If you can lower your expectations, you will increase your happiness. It’s easy to say, but hard to do. But it’s impossible to do if you don’t realize that it’s the secret. Now, you at least have a chance. Give it a shot. Just don’t expect too much.

(Do you know who got more than she expected last night? Your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #143:

There is undoubtedly a recession coming. The economy is getting worse, and it’s going to continue to get worse. The signs are everywhere, including my companies’ annual revenues.

And yet, I am investing in “unnecessary“ things for my business. I am improving the products, researching new product lines, exploring additional markets, hiring new people for roles that previously did not exist (which means we could certainly live without them), redesigning our websites, making new videos, and putting a lot of money into new things to support our dealer network. 

If the overall economy is worsening, and about to get much worse, most would say that this is the WRONG time for needless spending or unnecessary risks. This is the time for saving, for being careful, and for making sure that you can survive the impending doom. I’m a Floridian, so I’m going to use a hurricane metaphor. The storm is coming, so now is the time to button down the hatches and board up the windows, not to build a second story on your house. 

But I’ve decided, just like in 2008, that I’m not going to let THE economy dictate MY economy. Not everyone loses during recessions — there are plenty of stories of people who got rich during the Great Depression — and I’m very rarely like “everyone else” in every other way. Why would I be for this?

And yes, the reality very well might be that people will have less money to buy what I’m selling, which is a very real problem. But if it’s going to be HARDER to sell stuff, then why on Earth would I cut back on marketing, R&D, customer support, etc. — the very things that make people want to buy?! This is the exact time when you want to do more, not less. Plus, if everyone else is going defensive, and pulling back into their shells like turtles to avoid the danger, then this is a great opportunity to take the ground that they are retreating from. I think I’m using too many metaphors here. 

The point is, you get to decide what your reality looks like. You don’t have to be a victim because the news tells you that everything is bad. How about this? I don’t think gas is expensive. I think gasoline is a magical wonder liquid that does incredible things, and we are grossly under paying for it. If they charged us $20 per gallon, we would still pay it, and it would still be worth it. Outside of the United States, it is common for people to pay over $10 a gallon. We should just be thankful that they aren’t charging us double or triple what we pay now, because they could, and we would all pay it. That’s the reality that I choose to live in when I fill up by gas guzzling SUV that takes premium fuel — “I love what a steal this is!” The price doesn’t change whether or not I’m happy about it, and this perspective makes me happy about it, so why not choose that one?

(Your mom had me fill up her tank last night — with extra premium. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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Crippled CEO Blog #142:

For a long time, I have considered taking on students and teaching the ways of small business in a more one on one fashion than I do in these blogs.

One of the best things I ever did for myself and my business was employing “habit stacking“ in order to start listening to educational audiobooks. Habit stacking is when you connect something you want to do with something that you already do so that you start doing the new thing consistently. For instance, if you started doing sit ups in the morning while waiting for your coffee or eggs or whatever to finish, that would be habit stacking. 

Mine is a little weird, but you could do something similar. I put an Alexa on my nightstand next to my bed, just outside my bathroom. Whenever I enter my room to tinkle, I tell her to start playing my current audiobook. Due to the whole wheelchair and cerebral palsy and what not, it takes me about five minutes to go through the whole process, but you would be surprised how quickly you can get through a book just doing five minutes at a time, a few times a day. Maybe you could do the same thing, but connect it to brushing your teeth or styling your hair.

In any case, these books that really helped me a lot, and if I was going to teach my personal small business course, I would make a few of them required reading, and I think they could really help you, also.

So, which books? I’m glad you asked. 

E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber 

For a long time, I thought that the letter E in this book title had something to do with technology or the Internet, but apparently the E actually stands for entrepreneurship. Revered with sacred reverence in certain circles of small business owners, this is the step-by-step guide book on turning your business into a well oiled machine of systems and processes, allowing your business to be successful without you burning out, or without you working at all. Some of the references are a bit dated, but the logic is still totally sound. This is a book that has to be done, not just understood or internalized, but doing it pays off. I would take this book over an MBA any day. 

Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes

This one actually has quite a bit of overlap with E-Myth, and has lots of similar suggestions, but it does focus a lot more on sales (shocking), and has several alternative methods for peeling the same kitten. I recommend reading both, and picking which parts of each work best for you and combining them Bruce Lee style. 

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin 

If you’re going to be implementing the systems as described in the last two books, then you’re going to have to be a leader, and this is the best leadership book that I am aware of. Written by two Navy SEALs that fought in the deadliest battles in Iraq, the mix of war stories and real world leadership advice expertly gets the point across and makes you reevaluate how you view the world. Everything is your fault, and that’s a good thing.

Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

A follow up to Gary Vaynerchuk’s initial hit, Crush It, has different lessons for different people, depending upon where you’re at. Personally, I didn’t need the inspirational stuff in the beginning or the testimonial stories, but the platform by platform guide to succeeding on social media in the latter half is tremendous. From YouTube to Facebook to Twitter, he gives you a list of steps to follow like a recipe on Pinterest, except this recipe makes your business famous on social media. The book is a few years old, so some of the stuff might be getting dated, but I still recommend it 100%.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Even if you’re not in business, knowing how to negotiate is essential, but if you are, it becomes even more mandatory. This is, by far, my favorite “self improvement“ book of all time, with every single sentence giving you pragmatic, actionable advice that you can start doing the moment you put it down. Incredible read, and in my opinion, a prerequisite to being in business.

And that’s it. With those five books in your brain, you will have the necessary core essentials. HOWEVER, if you want some extra credit at Cripple University, here are a few bonus ones that will add jet fuel to your fire.

The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

I always thought that the title made this book sound like a gimmick, but it’s actually really good. It will make you look at work and money in a whole new light, but the part I want you to focus on for your business is the section about hiring executive assistants in India that can do a ton of your work for you. We use the service that he recommends in the book, and it’s been a game changer.

Good to Great + Turning the Flywheel by Jim Collins

Collins and his team took a scientific approach to determine why some businesses are great instead of just good. While the focus is on bigger companies, the lessons are useful for businesses of all sizes.

Small Giants by Bo Burlingham 

The author set out to make Good to Great, but for businesses that choose to remain “small” (less than 100 employees), but are still very successful while also contributing positively to their communities. Really excellent. 

This is Marketing by Seth Godin 

Seth Godin is one of my heroes and this might be my favorite by him. You’re not going to get a lot of, if any, specific pragmatic advice, but you will get ideas that will help you shape the way you design your business and your products.

There are so many more, but I truly feel like this set of books is as good as any college business education you might get. Let me know if you read any, and what your results are, or if you have read any of these before. I want to know. 

(Do you know who was reading me like a book last night? Your mom. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.

Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)

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