People who've never built anything love telling builders how to build.

Back in the 1950s a business owner named Sam had a small mom-and-pop store but wanted to open multiple discount stores in small towns.

Everyone around him told him it was stupid. They said small towns couldn't support it.

But Sam had done the research and wasn't flying blind. He ended up opening the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas anyway. Population 5,700.

That same year, Kmart launched in big cities with all the money and advantages. 

By by 1991, Walmart was the largest retailer in America.

Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002. While Walmart has around 5,000 locations in the US as of 2026.

Sam didn't ask the peanut gallery for permission. Others laughed at him but he bet on himself anyway. And the research he did early on is why his stores are still going strong today.

Unfortunately most business owners listen to the wrong people.

They get in your head when you're already stressed out and pretty soon you start doubting everything.

You need discernment. Listen to people who understand risk vs recklessness. Who've been where you're trying to go. Who understand setbacks, where to pivot but also when to push even harder.

Everyone else? Noise.

Stop taking business advice from people who've never run a business.

Who Are You Listening To?

 

When you run a business, everyone suddenly has advice.

Friends. Family. People who have never built anything.

They mean well most of the time.

But opinions from people who have never carried the risk of ownership can quietly destroy your confidence.

Entrepreneurship requires judgment.

You need to know the difference between reckless advice and experienced guidance.

The voices you listen to will shape the decisions you make.

3 go-to strategies when your prospect isn’t actively shopping.

 

1. The Comparison Bomb

Still missing key incident alerts. Want a side-by-side breakdown?”

Create a little FOMO. You're not saying they're doing something wrong, you're hinting that others are doing it better.

This works especially well with execs. Because what do execs care about more than anything?

What their peers are doing that’s new, cutting-edge, and just might make them look behind.

You can’t get on their priority list if they aren’t in the right awareness stage. But you can make them think they’re missing something that already is.

2. The Invisible Cost Angle

“CPA engineers spend 5–10 hours a week untangling codes and chasing down undocumented benefits, but that time never shows up on any report. It just quietly kills sprint velocity.”

The best problems to highlight in outbound aren’t always the loud, obvious ones — they’re the silent ones your prospect has learned to live with.

3. The “Why Now?” Trigger

“Google’s phasing out third-party cookies, and marketing teams without a first-party data strategy are already seeing weaker retargeting performance. The gap’s only going to widen this quarter. Want to see how others are adapting?”

This works because it:

References a clear, time-sensitive shift Creates urgency Positions the solution as part of what top performers are already doing

Thanks for reading!

Sell the Problem (Not the Solution)

 

Nobody cares about your product if they don’t believe they have a problem.

That’s why most emails that pitch the product fall flat. Especially when you’re selling something new or nuanced.

Here’s an example from a client that sells a recruiting automation tool:

Bad message:

“Save hours per week using our AI-powered recruiting assistant.”

Better message:

“Most hiring managers are still spending 5–8 hours per week screening resumes manually. We found that most of them don’t realize how much qualified talent they’re missing because they can’t get to every applicant in time.”

This reframes the product from "automation" to "talent loss". A much harder problem to ignore.

Here’s another example from a client selling an internal knowledge platform:

Bad message:

“Centralize your company knowledge in one easy-to-use platform.”

Better message:

“Most teams don’t realize how much time they waste answering the same internal questions over and over. When knowledge lives in Slack threads and individual brains, scaling breaks down fast. Especially when onboarding new hires.”

People Building Right Now

If you are an entrepreneur reading this, know this:

Your work matters.

Your perspective matters.

Your leadership matters.

Whether you are running a growing company, launching your first service, or expanding into new markets, you are part of a long and powerful legacy of people who dared to build.

And if you support businesses, keep doing that. Refer them. Share their work. Speak their names in rooms full of opportunity.

Because when entrepreneurs rise, entire communities rise with them.

We celebrate your courage, your creativity, and your commitment to growth.

Keep building.

Keep leading.

Visibility Matters

Here is something we know to be true.

Talent alone is not enough.

Hard work alone is not enough.

Entrepreneurs deserve visibility. They deserve to be discovered. They deserve to have their products and services seen by the people who need them.

Too often, incredible business owners build quietly. They serve faithfully. They deliver excellence. Yet they remain harder to find than they should be.

This month, as we celebrate people in business, we also encourage them to take up space. To make their presence known. To ensure their work is discoverable.

If you are building something meaningful, the world should be able to find you.

The Power of Women Who Build

When women start businesses, they do more than generate revenue. They create opportunity. They hire employees. They support families. They strengthen communities.

They solve problems that others overlook.

They bring empathy into industries that desperately need it.

They create spaces where other women feel seen, supported, and empowered.

That is leadership.

And leadership does not always look loud. Sometimes it looks like consistency. It looks like showing up every day. It looks like sending one more email, making one more call, serving one more customer with excellence.