CW
Secrets For Building A Thriving Business - Daniel Priestley
@ Chris Williamson
05/27/25
Takeaways
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The UK has significant advantages like a favorable time zone, strong institutions, and fertile land, yet poor policy decisions are leading to economic decline.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Entrepreneurs are leaving the UK due to a declining entrepreneurial spirit and excessive taxation, which is driving away talent and innovation.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Ambitious individuals in the UK often feel compelled to move to London or leave the country entirely, as the opportunities outside London are limited.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The current economic climate in the UK is causing frustration among people who feel they are unable to get ahead despite working hard and following the rules.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Many people in the UK are feeling lonely and disconnected, struggling with relationship formation and family life due to societal changes.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The UK government is investing in geoengineering projects like cloud seeding, which seems misguided given the country's existing weather challenges.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
People who are skilled laborers are finding it increasingly difficult to succeed in a changing economy that values digital skills over traditional roles.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The industrial revolution system is in decline while the digital revolution is on the rise, leading to a disparity in economic opportunities.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The digital revolution is creating a divide between those who can leverage technology for business and those who are stuck in traditional job models.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Entrepreneurship is a team sport, and successful businesses rely on collaborative efforts rather than just individual founders.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Working for a small growth company can provide great opportunities, including flexible work arrangements and performance-based bonuses.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Agency in entrepreneurship allows individuals to express their ideas and have a meaningful impact on the world, which is essential in today's economy. I've had seven startups that went from $0 to a million in their first 12 months and three that have gone over $10 million. I've also run an entrepreneur accelerator for 5,500 companies, so I spend a lot of time thinking about entrepreneurship.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Entrepreneurship is a lot like getting a plane off the runway; you need to follow a predictable set of steps to ensure safety and success.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The first step in entrepreneurship is to work for an entrepreneur, ideally in a small team, to gain firsthand experience of how a business operates.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
After working for an entrepreneur, the next step is to engage in side hustles, like short-term projects, to test your strengths and ideas.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
When starting a business, you should come up with at least 10 ideas to avoid fixation on a single concept, and then evaluate them based on problem-solving potential, passion, and profitability.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
To validate a business idea, create a waiting list campaign to gauge interest; if you can't get at least 150 people to sign up, the idea may not be viable.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
High volume, low value businesses, like food and drink, are often dead ends for entrepreneurs due to scalability issues and high operational costs.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
B2B services are a great business model because they often require fewer sales to generate significant revenue, allowing for higher profitability with less volume.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The first two hires in a startup should focus on sales and customer satisfaction, ensuring that the business can both sell its product and maintain happy customers.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
A team of up to 12 people can function effectively, but hiring a 13th person often splits the team into subgroups, which can hinder communication and efficiency. When your team grows from 12 to 30 people, it becomes too big to be small and too small to be big, leading to awkward dynamics. The business thrives with a team of 30 to 150 people, where you can establish a strong executive team and achieve significant revenue.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
In the early stages of a startup, hiring anyone who can breathe and speak English is often sufficient. As the business grows, you need to be more discerning and look for individuals who can elevate the team's capabilities.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
To scale from $10,000 to $100,000 a month, you need to shift from one-to-one selling to group selling, utilizing methods like webinars, marketing campaigns, and establishing a key person of influence to represent your business.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Successful businesses have a product ecosystem, meaning they offer multiple products and services that complement each other. For example, a car company may sell cars at low margins but make significant profits from financing and insurance.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Outsource tasks that can be handled by AI, such as administrative work or data collection. AI can now perform tasks that were traditionally outsourced to human workers, enhancing efficiency and productivity.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Pricing should be adjusted based on the tension between demand and supply. Understanding when to increase prices involves assessing market demand and your product's value proposition. When you launch a waiting list with 100 people and only 10 spots are available, that creates demand and pushes the price up for those spots. Transparency of demand, like having a queue outside a nightclub, increases perceived value and can elevate prices.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Creating transparency in demand can be achieved through waiting lists, social media followings, and live events where people can see others participating. For example, sharing that 7,000 people took an online assessment for a limited service can create urgency and exclusivity.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
An ideal customer persona (ICP) is a specific type of customer who derives extraordinary value from your service. By focusing on an ICP, you can position your business as exclusive and cater to high-value clients, like a marriage therapist who only works with billionaires.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
In any audience, there are three market segments: the mass market, which is price-sensitive; the niche market, which values community and experience; and the luxury market, which seeks exclusivity and pedigree. Targeting the niche or luxury market can help increase prices.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Most businesses target the mass market, but they overlook that the top 10% of people control 60% of the budget. By repositioning as a key person of influence for passionate customers, you can earn significantly more.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
To overcome the discomfort of raising prices, create free content that provides value to those who may be priced out of your services. This way, you can still help them while establishing your worth in the market.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
When it comes to firing employees, it's essential to follow HR protocols, which can be frustrating. You may want to have honest conversations about performance, but legal constraints often prevent straightforward discussions.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
In the UK, firing someone involves strict rules that can hinder open communication. It's often necessary to follow a scripted process, even when the decision to let someone go has already been made.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
When selling a business, it's crucial to have a core team that will remain after the sale, recurring revenue contracts, and proprietary assets. These factors significantly increase the business's valuation.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
A lifestyle business is often built around the founder's brand and is not typically worth selling, as it is founder-dependent. In contrast, a performance business has a larger team and recurring revenue, making it more attractive for sale.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Type one fun is enjoyable in the moment, while type two fun is appreciated in retrospect. Both are necessary for a fulfilling business experience, and it's important to incorporate elements of both into your work life.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
To ensure running a business is enjoyable, incorporate fun activities for the team, such as outings or slow mornings. This can help create a positive work environment and enhance overall satisfaction. You've created a game where you only feel like you win when a $150,000 watch is doable. Let's make the game more fun by getting a more affordable watch along the way.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
If your business is giving you a lot of type one enjoyment, like being a nightclub party promoter, but you don't think you'll look back and be proud, consider linking it to a charity or a meaningful cause.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
If you have kids, you need to bring type one fun into your life because you already have a type two fun aspect from raising them, which is inherently meaningful.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
When you have kids, you can say no to things you don't want to do, which helps you focus on long-term success and decisions that you'd be proud of if your kids saw them.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The average high net worth person has three kids, indicating a correlation between family and long-term success.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The current era is the best time to be alive, but it's important to consider how our ancestors would perceive our challenges compared to theirs.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Many successful people are driven by a fear of insufficiency rather than a desire for greatness; they are often running away from something they don't want instead of towards something they desire.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The smartest people have been hired to optimize your time on their websites, making it difficult to resist distractions like TikTok, which can lead to a dystopian lifestyle for some.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
AI will create a society where some people consume more than they intended, leading to dystopia, while others create more than they intended, resulting in opulence.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The human experience is not fully captured by UBI policies, as studies show that simply giving people money does not significantly improve their life satisfaction or happiness.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Money is a status indicator, and without the associated status, having money alone does not lead to happiness or fulfillment.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
Trust fund kids often struggle with finding purpose and meaning in their lives, despite having financial security, leading to issues like depression and anxiety.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
If you succeed as the child of a great person, it's often attributed to your parentage, while failure is seen as a personal shortcoming, creating an impossible standard to meet.
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Daniel Priestley
05/27/25
@ Chris Williamson
The pressure on children of successful individuals to carve their own path can lead to rebellion, as they feel the need to differentiate themselves from their parents' achievements.