Embrace your [constraints]
You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb
You buy a car and the next month your neighbour arrives in a flashier model. You buy the latest phone and the next day your co-worker shows you his brand new AI powered model that unfolds like origami.
Shiny new products are being rolled out at an exponential pace and it is clear that trying to keep up with the Joneses is a race to oblivion. We are bombarded with marketing messages that justify why we need to buy this new shiny thing, right now! Joining this consume-circus ultimately leads to debt entrapment, in your bank account and emotionally.
The same logic applies to your business with a slight twist: you may be too focused on what your competitor is doing, comparing yourself, with no idea whether that business is even profitable or not. Shiny offices, expensive in-your-face-marketing and unbelievable low prices, “how do they do that?!”.
If you are in the tech industry like me, this is elevated even more with a constant stream of acquisition news, new funding rounds and company CEO’s getting a chip on their shoulders for taking on new investors, all while most are making a loss. These businesses operate in a bubble of learning how to spend money, not to make money, all while chasing a pot of gold that few ever see. Even with all the money in the world, success and profit is not guaranteed:
On the opposite side of the spectrum there are founders building sustainable businesses, following a less shiny, twisty and very humble road. To do this, you need to be a realist and ask yourself if there is some end goal you are chasing and what it looks like.
Building Entegral over the years (20 years of bootstrap), I’ve always circled back to this truth:
Embrace your constraints, own your freedom. Something money can’t buy.
Do I need a shiny office or new car to impress clients? Nope.
Do I need a six figure marketing budget to drive growth? Nope.
Do I need a massive team to build world-class real estate products? Nope.
It is easy to fall into the trap by thinking you need more money to be more successful, all while the secret recipe to success is hiding in plane site: better time management.
How do you embrace those constraints?
For me it is about finding mental happiness right now, outside material end-goals. Our happiness is relative to our immediate environment:
“You see, someone who is used to wearing fine shoes will feel their absence when they don’t have them. But for us, we had never worn shoes in our lives.” ~ Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India in his recent Lex Fridman podcast.
In practical terms this means:
🫰 Spend less than you make so you can weather the storms. You don’t need a bigger house, office, or shiner car, you need to lower your ego. Cut out the unnecessary expenses and learn to operate with a frugal mindset.
🫰 If you try to keep up with your better funded competitor, you are going to cut yourself out of creativity. Focus on less, and make what you focus on incredibly good. Play the underdog and chase the small, regular wins.
🫰 Learn the habit of reinvesting back into your company and the habit of questioning and improving everything in small steps. Compound effort and consistency is a superpower.
🫰 Success is skin deep. Marketing doesn’t equal success, it equals spend. It takes money to keep up appearances and maintain, at all costs, an overflow of obligations. Wealth is skin deep, don’t outsource your emotions to your competitors.
Become an expert
It is only through embracing our constraints that we learn how to become experts in our field: we are forced to think innovatively and our brains are rewired. Use it to your advantage. We’ve been through some tough times at Entegral, but we always saw the upside and made things work, not failing has become a habit. It’s kept us focused on our clients too.
You don’t need a big investor pumping millions into your business. Smaller teams right now can create magic and deliver better products and services compared to teams x10 or x100 times your size. Case in point below ;)
A team of experts at your disposal
As I’ve pointed out in my recent Impact of AI in real estate presentations, every hungry entrepreneur now has a team of experts at their disposal via the latest AI tools, where the costs to use these service will continue to decrease over time: intelligence democratised!
I believe there has never been a better time to start any business (especially a real estate business). Throw away the old school thinking and understand that technology, and now AI, is leveling the playing field at a rapid pace. Funding is becoming less important, creativity combined with a deep understanding of your audience, is what will win the game.
To do this you need the freedom to pick the platforms and service providers that aligns with your goals. Not everyone will move as fast as you, pick a winning team, this includes your employees.
So if you are feeling constrained, I urge you to make a bold move, and take the exciting choice that will free your mind, one where you can own all your decisions. Choose freedom and embrace your constraints.
I’ll leave you with some wise words from Jason Fried “Good businesses are durable”:
