From the outside, entrepreneurship looks irrational.

Nearly 90% of startups fail, and over 35% shut down because they can’t find product-market fit. Founders willingly trade stability, predictable income and work-life balance for uncertainty, stress and a statistically unfavorable outcome.

Yet entrepreneurship persists because when it works, it compounds. Those who survive the early chaos build systems, teams and products that create long-term leverage.

Through my journey of owning and investing in multiple businesses, I’ve discovered foundational principles that apply universally. I call this the PPPT Framework — Products, People, Process and Training.

Had I understood these principles earlier, I would have shortened my learning curve by years. More importantly, I would have built with clarity instead of learning through avoidable mistakes.

The PPPT Framework: The foundation of your success

The Product:

At the heart of every successful business is its product — the solution it provides to customers.

Your product or solution must address a real problem and deliver exceptional value. As a founder, it is your responsibility to understand what your customers truly need and prioritize solving just that, which is why founders who solve their own problems and productize their solution have an unfair advantage: They have lived through the pain and understand the gains of using the solution.

In my first company, it took me nearly four years to realize that I wasn’t just selling video surveillance, alarm systems or audio/video solutions. What I was really offering was convenience and cost efficiency. A one-stop shop for customers to get everything they needed from a single source, often at a better price.

Likewise, in my second company, I wasn’t just selling internet and phone systems. I was selling peace of mind, ensuring my customers’ businesses would never lose sales due to internet, phones or WiFi outages.

To uncover your unique selling proposition (USP), start by listing all the reasons you believe your business is better, then prioritize them.

Validate your assumptions by engaging with customers and asking directly:

• Why did you choose us vs. our competitors?

• What keeps you here?

Their answers will reveal what sets you apart, but more importantly, they simplify and put it in words that any of your prospects would clearly understand. Their answers should become your Go-to-Market (GTM) message.

The People:

In a recent podcast with the COO of Dave’s Hot Chicken, a company that grew from $900 to $1 billion exit in just five years, I learned a valuable lesson: Hire fractional C-suite executives early on.

Fractional leaders bring top-tier expertise without their full-time cost. They can help you lay a strong foundation, avoid costly mistakes and accelerate growth. Once your business can afford it, you can transition them to full-time roles in which they should excel because they helped build it.

When hiring, remember this: Great leaders know great doers. If a leader you are considering doesn’t have a network of talented individuals they can bring on board, they are not the right fit.

Hiring will always be a challenging process, but with a core team in place, you’ll have the support needed to scale. To gain an edge, I now clearly define responsibilities of the role in writing, set measurable outcomes with deadlines and align expectations upfront to avoid costly missteps.

The Process:

In the early stages, resist the urge to over-engineer your processes. Focus on solving today’s problems today and tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. It’s tempting to build sophisticated systems and automate everything and get lost in the excitement of geeky technology, but this will slow you down and even overwhelm you; therefore, you will not start. Instead, start with a basic workflow, refine it through experience and scale it as you grow.

Once you’ve optimized your processes, document them into Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These SOPs will enable your team to replicate proven methods, maintain consistency and free up your time for higher-level tasks. Without these SOPs, scaling beyond a couple of million in revenue while keeping customers happy and employees efficient will be nearly impossible.

The Training:

As your business grows, transferring your knowledge to your team becomes essential. Start by documenting your SOPs, then create a Learning Management System (LMS) to standardize training. It is one thing to have your SOPs documented, but a separate challenge to train everyone in the company. I have assigned a dedicated trainer to onboard new hires on our core values and foundations while relying on department heads for specialized training within each department.

There is an additional cost to having a full-time trainer. However, it is imperative to have someone to communicate changes across all departments and keep everyone aligned.

Another key lesson I have learned is to get new hires into the “pilot seat” as soon as possible. Initially, we overwhelmed trainees with five days of intensive training. Now, we start with two days of foundational training, followed by on-the-job learning for four weeks and conclude with three days of specialized training at the end. This hands-on approach helps new hires grasp concepts more effectively after they have been pre-exposed to the day-to-day job.

Scaling beyond $5M: Values, culture and metrics

Company values and culture:

It took me years to appreciate the importance of company values and culture. For a long time, these concepts felt vague and intangible. Who had the time to come up with words that were written on a wall, and no one understood the relevance of it to the business? But recently, I asked myself: What values have we upheld that have driven our success?

For us, it boiled down to four practical principles that we delivered on internally and our customers echoed in their response:

• Trustworthiness: Earning and maintaining client trust.

• Product knowledge: Deep expertise in our products and solutions.

• Process knowledge: Consistently executing and delivering on our promise.

• Autonomy: Making decisions that simplify life for our customers.

Our values reflect what has already brought us success — not aspirational ideals that we want to be or achieve.

Metrics: The key to $10M and beyond

Once your business surpasses $5M in revenue, metrics become your best friend. Metrics provide clarity, remove emotion from decision-making and help you allocate resources effectively. Whether you’re solving for sales growth, hiring employees, training or customer retention, always start with metrics.

During a recent conference, I learned how to simplify and focus on these four pillars:

• Is it a demand generation problem?

• Is it a conversion problem?

• Is it an ROI problem?

• Is it a money problem?

Metrics allow you to identify underperforming areas, cut losses and double down on what’s working. It is the compass that will guide your business to $10M and beyond.

These lessons have cost me millions of dollars and years of setbacks, but they’ve also paved the way for my success. I hope this framework helps you navigate your entrepreneurial journey with greater clarity and confidence.

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