TMBA 519: Chasing Growth: What Happens When Your Business Burns You Out?
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We first spoke to Kevin Graham on this podcast two years ago in what ended up becoming a somewhat controversial episode about building generational wealth on Amazon.
Since then, it has become a sort of annual tradition for Kevin to return to the show and update us about his entrepreneurial journey.
Last year, he shared his thoughts on "The Helsinki Bus Theory" and his decision to start a web hosting business, which has since become Site Arrow.
Since we last spoke, Kevin had adopted a bold strategy of rapid growth, acquiring 9 different businesses in less than a year.
That plan ended up being more than he bargained for, though, and he found himself working long hours, getting into unhealthy habits, and ultimately feeling extremely burned out.
Kevin joins us today to talk about the perils of chasing growth, the steps that he's taken to course-correct, and the three principles that he has adopted to avoid getting burned out in the future.
Listen to this week's show and learn:
Some of the problems Kevin encountered acquiring businesses. (4:36)
The benefits of calmness as a business attribute. (9:12)
Why you don't need to become a manager in your company. (16:32)
How a founder's retreat helped give Kevin the clarity he needed to make positive change. (23:10)
Why you shouldn't chase growth for growth's sake. (28:51)
Mentioned in the episode:
Before the Exit - Our New Book
TMBA Masterminds
Sponsor the TMBA Podcast
The Dynamite Circle
The DC Podcast
DC BKK
Dynamite Jobs
Dynamite Deals
Smash Digital
Kevin Graham
Site Arrow
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
Paul Graham
Company of One by Paul Jarvis
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together by Sherry Walling
This week's sponsor:
This week's episode is sponsored by SmashDigital.com.
Longtime listeners will be familiar with Travis Jamison's companies Supremacy SEO and SaaSicorn. They have rebranded as Smash Digital, with the same incredible SEO insights and results.
What they offer is simple yet essential: fully managed SEO services, link building, and audits. It's how they deliver it that is unique. Get a fresh view on the potential your business has to reach a sustainable source of customers from organic SEO traffic by reaching out to the team at Smash. Smash Digital is offering a free SEO site review for the listeners of the Tropical MBA Podcast.
Head over to SmashDigital.com/TMBA today and fill out the form to get your free SEO audit. Big thanks to the team at Smash Digital for sponsoring the show.
Enjoyed this podcast? Check out these:
TMBA 375: How 100s Of Young Entrepreneurs are Making Generational Wealth in Less Than 5 Years
TMBA 436: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together
TMBA 471: The Helsinki Bus Theory
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Thanks for listening to our show! We'll be back next Thursday morning 8AM EST.
Cheers,
Dan & Ian