Today’s my two year anniversary! Marriage is a crazy concept.

At 25, I was scared, nervous, and worried I was going to spend the rest of my life alone. At 31, I am so happy I waited and found my perfect person.

If you’re single, don’t worry your time is coming. I can tell you that the more you look for it, the more it doesn’t happen. From my experience, real love happens in the strangest and most unexpected ways and that’s the best part of it. Six years in, I’ve never been happier building a life with Lyndsey. Somebody I find equally as beautiful as she is smart, silly, and goofy. I lucked out.

As how any of this pertains to CROSSNET? Well it doesn’t at all to be honest. If I don’t head to dinner in a few minutes she’s probably going to delete my entire newsletter list so I’ll make today beautifully direct and to the point.

Life in the Trenches

Last year I launched a private founders community called The Founders Club that has honestly grown so fast that I am quite shocked at how I’m building it, alongside CROSSNET. If you haven’t looked into it, it’s a private community for now nearly 200+ entrepreneurs spread out across North America.

After attending too many boring conferences that just jammed sales cards down my throat, I decided I needed to create a closed off community for founders to mastermind, network, and to provide real help in the best and worst of times. I’ve come close to selling my business a few times and bankrupting it a few others and the one thing I always wish I had was a circle of people who actually understood what the hell I was talking about… sadly unlike my old high school and college friends.

If you’re interested in applying, I’d love to meet you. Just answer a few of the questions here. We’re accepting around 15 new members for October.

One perk of founding The Founders Club is that I’ve had the privilege of connecting with entrepreneurs who have truly been in the trenches.

Although its amazing to hear about the wins, the true learnings always come from breaking down the mistakes. As my team will tell you from my management style, the only way we get better is with candid negative feedback. The wins are easy to celebrate and we’re blessed to wake up and do this job for a living.

I can’t believe we are now less than 60 days away from Black Friday and 3/4’s of the way done with the year. Here are some of the top mistakes to look out for for the end of the year.

1) Focusing on Perfection Instead of Progress

If you wait for your product or service to be “perfect” before launching, you’ll end up waiting forever. Too many entrepreneurs obsess over every little detail, tweaking their offer in their minds.

Some people say, “the beauty is in the details.” It’s a nice quote, but in my experience, the beauty is in the results. Perfection doesn’t exist in business.

What you need is momentum. The key is getting your product out there, learning from real-world feedback, and improving as you go.

The most successful businesses started as rough, imperfect versions of what they became. While you chase perfection and delay launching, your competition is earning market share.

Launch now, improve later. The faster you can iterate, the quicker you’ll grow.

2) Trying to Do Everything Alone

When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to take everything on yourself. After all, it’s your business, and no one cares about it as much as you do, right?

…Okay, that part is probably right: you should care more about your business than anyone else. But caring about your business isn’t enough.

No matter how talented you are, you have weaknesses. Sorry to break it to you. Whether it’s accounting, marketing, or even day-to-day operations, there are tasks you’re not good at — and that’s okay.

Don’t let your ego tank your business. The sooner you recognize where you need help, the faster your business can grow.

Don’t be afraid to hire experts or outsource work. Focusing on your strengths allows you to do what you do best and leave the rest to others.

Build a team, outsource what you’re not great at, and keep your focus on what drives your business forward. Pro tip: start with part time before hiring full time.

2.5) Not Using Walmart Marketplace

When we launched CROSSNET one of the biggest power moves we ever made was getting listed on Walmart.com. We immediately went from a “made-up” backyard game to being legit and sold on the best online marketplace in the world.

Just last month Walmart leaders unveiled several initiatives to thousands of sellers attending Let’s Grow! 2024 Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit. Notable announcements from the summit include category expansion, multichannel fulfillment and new features that simplify selling across markets. Walmart Marketplace, one of the fastest-growing eCommerce platforms, continues to invest in capabilities and solutions to fuel seller success and offer customers an endless aisle of items they need, want and love.

Learn more and sign up to sell on Walmart Marketplace today.

3) Chasing Every Opportunity Instead of Focusing

My biggest advice is to big three important things each week. It’s easy to get excited about every new opportunity that crosses your path.

New market? Let’s do it. New product? Why not?

But chasing every shiny opportunity is how you lose focus — and a lack of focus can kill a business fast.

The best entrepreneurs stay laser-focused. They pick one direction and stick with it. Instead of spreading themselves thin across multiple ideas, they double down on what’s working and push that forward.

You don’t need to pursue every opportunity that comes your way — just the right ones.

I don’t have a secret formula for picking the “right ones.” It takes practice and intuition that you can only develop by trying and failing.

4) Ignoring Cash Flow Management

You might have the best product in the world, but if you’re not managing your cash flow, your business is on a path that will only end in you losing money and listening to the saddest Spotify playlist you have.

Cash is king, and one of the biggest reasons startups fold is poor cash flow management.

Early entrepreneurs focus only on revenue or profit, but fail to see the importance of managing how money moves in and out of their business.

You need to know exactly how much money is coming in and going out each month — otherwise, you could find yourself unable to pay bills, no matter how well your sales are doing.

Set up a solid financial tracking system from day one. Cash flow should be your top priority.

5) Neglecting Marketing

“If you build it, they will come.” Look, Field of Dreams is a classic (RIP James Earl Jones), but this quote just doesn’t work in the real world.

You can build the best product or service in the world, but if no one knows about it, what’s the point? Too many new entrepreneurs think that simply launching a great product will bring customers flooding in. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

Marketing isn’t optional — it’s essential. Whether you’re running ads, building a social media presence, or investing in content marketing, you need to spread the word about your business. 

Don’t assume that people will just “find you.” We’re working in the attention economy. Your competition is spending money to steal their attention away from you.

If you’re not actively putting your product in front of your target audience, you’ll miss out on growth opportunities.

6) Ignoring Customer Feedback

You might think you know what your customers want, but until you get real feedback, it’s just a guess.

It can be intimidating to stick your neck out and ask for criticism, but feedback is critical. Without it, you’ll end up with a product or service that misses the mark. Your customers are your best resource for improving your business. If you’re not listening to them, you’re flying blind.

Whether it’s through surveys, reviews, or direct conversations, take their input seriously and make adjustments based on their needs and preferences.

Constantly seek customer feedback, and use it to refine your offering. Happy customers are the foundation of a successful business.

7) Being Too Rigid and Failing to Adapt

Starting a business means creating a plan and sticking to it, right? Wrong. That was a trick question.

Stubbornness can be fatal in business. The market changes, customer needs evolve, and what worked last year might not work today.

If you’re too rigid in your approach, you’ll miss out on opportunities to pivot and adapt.

The best entrepreneurs are flexible. They recognize when it’s time to shift gears, explore new markets, or change their strategy.

But most importantly they understand what they are working for.

In the past 24 months, I’ve really started to understand my why. It’s important to remember why you want to be successful in the first place, and some of the compromises you may have to make along the way. For me its all about building a family, buying my dream home, and being able to retire early while not missing a single one of my child’s soccer games.

With that, I’m off to dinner to celebrate the anniversary. I look forward to seeing your application for The Founders Club.

Have an incredible week and talk soon!

Chris