What I’m thinking about: Full transparency, trying to write this article before my flight home from Land UnConference, while a bunch of kids hyped up on sugar are running around me at the gate. Forgive me if I’m a bit less polished this week. 🙂 (Edit upon completion: I think I did a pretty bang up job, you be the judge.)
First, for the many of you at UnConference that mentioned that you read this newsletter, or listen to my pod or IG/FB shorts….THANK YOU! Hearing that absolutely made my weekend, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have a small share of your limited attention. I will continue to deliver.
Some takeaways:
Distraction is the mind (and business) killer. I’ve never been more convinced that FOCUS is the #1 determinant between success and failure.
At probably the most stacked land investor conference I’ve attended (seriously, Dave, you attract the absolute BEST), the largest operators were relentlessly honed in on consolidating operations to win in ONE area. In that group, there were no exceptions to that rule.
(And for the newer land biz owners, don’t be discouraged. There were a number of folks that had started within the last 1-2 years that were growing quickly with excellent margins, and could 50x their business if they wanted. The differentiator? They did ONE thing really well.)
Frankly, as tools become more powerful, the education gets better, and operators become collectively more capable, if you aren’t F-O-C-U-S-E-D…you don’t stand a chance.
As a visionary who lives in the future and wants to do everything, I have to remind myself of this constantly.
For example, a few folks asked me if I still had plans to host a live event centered on ‘Shark Tank’ style deal funding, and how to structure capital and underwrite deals like billion dollar Wall St. firms.
It had been on the back burner, so I bounced the idea off JT Olmstead, one of the most energetically determined entrepreneurs in my circle, and who I can always count on for quick, no-BS advice:
JT: “Do you need more capital?”
Me: “…Not particularly.”
JT: “Do you need more deals?”
Me: “More are always welcome, but not hurting for them.”
JT: “Ok. If your plate is already full, and an event isn’t a necessity for your business right now, what’s the core reason you want to host it?”
Me: “…I guess mainly for general brand-building, and to educate the industry further.” (and if I’m being honest, feeding my vanity and sense of significance.)
Not great reasons, and certainly not critical (my sense of self-worth will survive, haha).
To the back burner it goes.
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Even if you are focused, poor overhead management will kill you too. This topic deserves it’s own post, but some bullet points for now:
- Is EVERY line item being reviewed on a monthly basis? At least quarterly? Legacy purchases (and hires) bleed your business.
- Rank order your hires. If you were drafting your team from scratch, who would be your first pick? Who would be last? (Can positions be combined with more focus?)
- Tough market conditions need war-time decision-making. Everyone loses if your business fails. Who/what needs to be cut to live to fight another day?
- What are your results from Q2 2025 onward? Expect that to be the new normal for ~2-3 years. Adjust accordingly.
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Particularly at in-person events, humans are biologically programmed to compare ourselves. Use that to your advantage.
I’m irrationally competitive and have gotten caught in the comparison trap more often than I can count.
I’ve gotten better at this over time, here’s how:
First, my hard results and profits are ALWAYS better when I’m not spending time comparing myself to other investors/business owners. Probably because I’m more FOCUSED on spending precious time delivering results. Are you sensing a theme here?
Next, no one cares unless you win. And even if you do win, from a total population level, almost no one will ever know (and even those people will fade to dust eventually). You’re basically invisible.
If no one cares until I win, and almost no one will ever know even if I do win…then the only person I need to compare myself to, and impress…is myself.
No one else knows the story in my head, and the full scope of the challenges I have (and will) overcome, so I need only compare myself to who I was yesterday.
A more freeing mindset, right? Do you…for you.
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Quick Land Pricer update: So many of you asked what the status is, and expressed universal enthusiasm for the approach we are taking. Some of you are even saving a spot in your tech stack for the software! (Coming by end of September now, almost all the kinks are worked out).
I’ve never been more confident that we’re going to hit the mark here (with some inevitable bumps and bruises along the way).
I was showing some of our image analysis AI prompts and UI flow to my dear friend and AI coach, Callan Faulkner, and her brilliant biz partner, Carter Jensen, at dinner last night, and they were blown away by the potential.
Callan thinks Land Pricer will be even bigger than our funding business, something that is hard to fathom, and I hadn’t even considered. (I know you read this, Callan, I hold your opinion in the highest regard, and this meant the frickin’ world to me, you have no idea!)
My excitement that all this hard work, and enduring crushing defeats, may actually pay off is absolutely peaked, and kept me up late last night pondering the potential (remember, I live in the future.)
Now excuse me while I recover, and get back to focusing…
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Looking for funding from the most reliable underwriting team in the industry? Relentlessly focused, and we play to win. $50K min purchase price deals only.
P.S. Dave Denniston’s face now that the Land UnConference is over… 🙂
(Get some rest, brother)
