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Rod Aparicio

Perspectives.

Published about 1 year ago • 1 min read

Now, it’s been 10 days since my last email after 2 years of non-stop dailies. Was on a trip in India with a client and it brought some perspective (besides the jetlag that really messed up my rhythm 🙃).

It brought perspective about the level of impact. The scale of impact.

Here’s a shift in my practice. From a perspective of one, to a perspective of one who leads.

A small firm. A small business.

If you’re running one of these you’re at a disadvantage. Or are you??

I’d argue that running a small biz gives you a few advantages:

  • You can break the traditional pricing model(s) in your industry.
  • You have more flexibility.
  • You can take certain calculated risks bigger players can’t/won’t.
  • You can choose a specific focus.
  • You can make changes at a higher speed.
  • You can re-structure things in your own ways.
  • You can be pickier with who you serve.
  • You can develop deeper expertise.
  • You can ditch hourly.
  • You can reposition leaner.
  • You can focus on transformations (meaningful ones).
  • You can shift your sales culture.
  • You can scale up your ops.
  • You can increase your margins dramatically.
  • You can make a larger impact.

Yet, it won’t be easy.

You’ll have trade-offs.

And you’ll need to decide the way.

Rod Aparicio

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Read more from Rod Aparicio

Or is it? While revenue is important, it’s the wrong thing to measure to know if your business is doing well and can go a level up. It doesn’t require a rocket scientist to know that more revenue than costs makes profit. Yet revenue is the thing that can make you miss the mark. What happens if you're underpriced and leaving lots of money on the table? What happens if your costs are hidden and you're bleeding dry? Revenue is a vanity metric.

about 22 hours ago • 1 min read

"You break things." I was told that. And it's been the best compliment EVER. Yes. You do, too. Breaking things.- Seeing how things are (the usual way, how it's been always done) and moving them to do something new. Intentionally. Moving people to think different. To be uncomfortable. To push boundaries. To do bigger. To feel vulnerable. That's how you stand out. You break things. Break things.

3 days ago • 1 min read

Acting on fear closes your options and gives away your power to say No. The real only power you have in the market is your capacity to choose. You can choose what you do. You can choose who you work with. Most important, you can choose who not to work with. Sure, if you have bills to pay and there's only that non-ideal available, take it. Pay your bills. And find your way to get to your ideal. Where you can say No confidently. Free of fear.

4 days ago • 1 min read