3 Lessons from My Failed Business(es)

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, I had a business that failed.

Your Best Run was a coaching program for runners. It lasted for two years, only made ~$2,000 in revenue, and cost me $30,000. I made a lot of mistakes, but the one I see other folks also making is spending a ton of time focused on the competition.

I can’t recall how many hours I spent on other people’s websites and socials, comparing their content, pricing, and offers to mine. It was a lot. Far too many. Looking back, there are three lessons I took away from my experience and want to share with you that are relevant to building a successful business and getting a six-figure traditional book deal.

I could have done the math.

Instead of sitting there steaming over my competition going viral, I could have crunched the numbers. How many people were paying to work with them versus simply following passively on Instagram? Was this even a sustainable business?

I could have tested my content and concept before investing.

A lot of people come to me with results — of their own. Or maybe a small cohort.

But in order to land a book deal, your advice needs to work at scale.

For thousands of people.