The Incredible Hulk is a pretty interesting superhero. When he gets angry, he becomes indestructible.
Actually, better than indestructible; the more people mess with him (shoot him with bullets, RPGs, lasers, whatever), the STRONGER he gets.
At one point, Hulk even went up against Superman (supposedly the strongest / most invincible hero in comic-world), and it ended up a draw.
Talk about one nasty honey badger.
But this begs the question…
How can something be better than indestructible?
The answer is simple: better than indestructible is something that GAINS from that which tries to destroy it.
Antifragile, a term coined by Nassim Taleb (who wrote a book by the same name), refers to things that gain from disorder.
Another way to understand this concept is to start with its opposite:
The porcelain teacup is fragile. It doesn’t like to be thrown. In fact, it is hurt by such volatility (throwing the porcelain teacup onto cement is a catastrophic event for the teacup).
A bunker (or Superman) is robust. Drop bombs on it and it can withstand the impact (up to a point).
The average person may believe robustness is the opposite of fragility – that there are only things in this world that are destroyed by disorder and things that can withstand disorder (up to a point), and our job is to avoid the former and build the latter.
But robust is not the opposite of fragile.
The opposite of fragile is something that actually IMPROVES or gains from disorder, volatility, and uncertainty; something that wants to be shaken, thrown, or disrupted...
Like options traders, Donald Trump, or the Incredible Hulk – the more you throw at them, the stronger they become.
I believe there’s another thing that is antifragile by its nature:
Entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is a disruption-seeking enterprise. If everything were consistent, proven, and complete, entrepreneurship could not exist.
But the entrepreneur exists because things are chaotic, disordered, and broken - and because there is room (and need) for change, improvement, fixing, and redesign (and new design).
Of course, just because entrepreneurship is antifragile doesn’t mean all entrepreneurs are antifragile.
On the contrary, many are as fragile as employees at the robot factory, prone to the dips and busts of the market.
Many, but not all.
Some entrepreneurs are antifragile – they thrive on uncertainty, chaos, and disruption – and their businesses benefit from such volatility.
This is the type of entrepreneur you want to be (if you care about survival or success).
Of course, to become antifragile requires that you build your businesses in a particular, often times unconventional way.
Here’s how:
*note: this is my interpretation of Taleb’s Antifragile and my attempt to apply his logic to the world of entrepreneurship. I would encourage anyone who reads this and finds it interesting to consider reading Antifragile as the book is full of powerful, domain-independent ideas.
When it comes to the world of entrepreneurship, some projects you start (and ship) will flop - bad. Most will have marginal success, but not much (not enough for you to retire). And a few, just a few, will blow up.
Therefore, the more projects you start (and ship), the better, as you increase the odds of creating something that is a big winner.
If you only start (and ship) one project – one book, one novel, one album – you are essentially putting all your eggs in one basket and rolling the dice. It might work out, although the probability is excruciatingly low. If it does, good for you.
More than likely, it won’t.
So don't just start and ship one thing.
Commit to output.
Be consistent. Show up every day. Learn from your successes and failures. And keep shipping.
Survivability in entrepreneurship, as in life, is less about scoring a big win, as it is about mitigating the big loss.
The hunter doesn’t increase his odds of survival by killing the biggest elephant, but by avoiding snakes, lions, and poisonous berries.
In order for the hunter to limit his exposure to these catastrophic things, he must (1) know what they are, (2) know where they are, and (3) create systems (or easy to follow guidelines) to avoid them.
For example: don’t set up camp in the high grass; don’t hang out by the watering hole; only eat the berries the rest of your crew eats, etc.
In the same way, a business should avoid the snakes, lions, and poisonous berries of their operation: high-barrier-to-entry businesses, fierce competition, and debt.
As a rule of thumb:
High-barrier-to-entry businesses are any businesses that employ lobbyists; you’ll know a fierce competition market when you receive lots of warnings about consulting an attorney, etc.; and debt is, well, debt (don’t go into it to build something).
The following are some systems (or easy to follow guidelines) that will help you limit your downside exposure:
Bootstrapping means building something (product or service) with limited financial investment (internal or external).
The less money you put into an unproven product or service, the less downside risk if it doesn’t work. On the contrary, the more heavily you invest in something, the more you NEED it to hit big (remember the John Carpenter Effect?)
When we bootstrap, we automatically limit downside (you can’t bootstrap a high barrier to entry business, nor can you go in debt), yet we can still expose ourselves to unlimited upside depending on what we’re building (more below).
The sooner you can test your product (or book, blog, movement, etc.) with an audience, the faster you can find the answer to the most important entrepreneurial question: will this work?
When the reverse happens – when we take our time building and perfecting the product before we validate, we run the risk (arguably, the certainty) of going over budget and designing something no one wants.
This is the single thing that cripples more businesses (and dreams) than anything else.
What’s worse, the longer we spend fondling our great idea, the more we fall in love with the solution, and the market hates entrepreneurs who fall in love with their solutions.
So how do we fix it?
Get over yourself: ship fast and ship often. Create a minimum viable product (service, anything) – something stripped of every feature you think you need (but don’t) – and sell it to someone.
Another rule of thumb: there’s no validation unless money exchanges hands.
The desk-jockey is linear. In exchange for (supposed) safety, security, and a consistent paycheck, the white-collar worker becomes fragile. Any sudden movement in the market and there goes his job (and all the – supposed – safety, security, and consistent paychecks).
The entrepreneur, by his nature, is nonlinear. Meaning: there is an asymmetry to his actions. 1 more hour at work does not mean another $17.25 (plus overtime depending on the time of day) in his pocket (like it does for the linear robot factory employee). It could very well mean $0. Or negative (as in – we finance ourselves and lose money because we haven’t made a sale).
But it could also mean $22,105.00 like it did for my friend John Lee Dumas, whose newest product made that from a new webinar (approximately one hour long).
John has embraced nonlinearity by creating products with unlimited payoff. What is the most John can make from his digital ecourses? Exactly.
*note: there’s another way that John has leveraged nonlinearity, which is by creating a product that requires very little to scale. If it blows up, he may need new hosting, maybe a new server to rent…but no new offices, nor new employees are necessary to scale these products. He has created a very positive, nonlinear business, and it shows.
Success equals options.
Simply put: successful people have more options than less successful people.
You might disagree with this at first glance, but think about it.
If Richard Bronson, Steve Jobs, or Alexander the Great thousands of years ago wanted to start a new enterprise, could they? Of course they could. They could start a dozen. Money creates options.
Aladdin the street rat, however, is limited in his options (until he finds the genie, which, naturally, increases his optionality and thus his success).
Make sense?
Before you get bummed and throw in the towel because you have no money, realize this: skills create options too.
The skilled copywriter can take on all sorts of new jobs (and charge a premium). So can the skilled artist, magician, and brain surgeon. The more skilled we become, and the more skills we learn, the more options become available to us.
Three ways to increase your options:
1. Make lots of money (or be born into a trust fund, which is more common)
2. Make lots of friends (a strong network with skilled people increases your options and opportunities)
2. Acquire and perfect new skills.
The former may seem the most desirable, but in reality, money without skills leads to no money (and still no skills) very quickly. So if you’re born at the bottom, take comfort – you have the incredible opportunity to learn necessary and essential skills that will increase your optionality as an entrepreneur (and help you create real wealth that lasts).
This rule is particularly geared toward solo entrepreneurs who are trying to bootstrap a business.
One of the best ways to increase your optionality, limit your downside risk, increase your upside potential, and become antifragile is to take part in as many entrepreneurial projects as possible (to the point where you can still deliver impact in each project).
This works for the same reason that shipping often works: some things you do will work. Most won’t.
Better to have a 5% stake in 100 companies than a 100% stake in one.
The former makes you antifragile, the latter a slave.
This doesn’t mean throw away the work you’re doing on your startup. Keep at it.
What I’m saying is: increase your optionality (and antifragility) by teaming up with other entrepreneurs on other projects. Ones that can leverage your strengths without consuming a ton of your time. And make sure you have an equity stake if possible (in not, make sure the project itself will lead to growth in your other businesses or expand your network in a positive way).
So what’s the verdict in your business – are you antifragile?
If not, what can you do to become antifragile?
Leave a comment and let us know how you leverage antifragility in your business – or how you plan to in the future.
Started, finished, and shipped in Windhoek, Namibia.
Total Writing Time: 2:57 hrs.
In February, I had the pleasure of speaking at The Game Changers Live event in Sydney, Australia.
I gave a presentation on how to start, finish, and ship any creative project (from business to blog to movement).
If you’ve read The Art of Instigating, you’re already familiar with my 3 step process for instigating anything:
1. Start
2. Finish
3. Ship
Simple right? Almost annoyingly simple…
But how many people do it?
How many people actually start, actually finish, and actually ship?
While this question is rhetorical, it shouldn’t have to be…
This is me on stage (sexy, right?)
The problem I see time and time again (and experienced in my own life, time and time again), is that we start with version 9.0 of our idea.
What’s version 9.0?
So what’s the problem with starting with version 9.0?
If you paid attention to those last three sentences, something should have stood out to you…something that wasn’t quite right.
You get the point.
Here’s the problem with version 9.0: it doesn’t exist and never will.
Not, at least, in the way you currently envision it…
I know what you’re thinking – what about Facebook and Harry Potter and all those other famous companies and products…certainly these things are “version 9.o’s.”
These ideas may not have started at version 9.0, but they got there over time, didn’t they?
Here’s the thing:
The current iterations of all of these ideas are not only different than when they started, but are entirely different than the perfect, idealized version the original creators envisioned at the start.
Zuckerberg: “I just really want to see everyone focus on college and make a really cool college directory product”
Rowling: “I began to write 'Philosopher's Stone' that very evening, although those first few pages bear no resemblance to anything in the finished book.”
And this is the dirty truth of version 9.0 that few founders, artists, and authors will admit (at least not at the outset):
The final version will never be the same as the original idea.
The alternative to starting with 9.0 is to start in beta: with version 1.0.
In software development, beta is the point at which some features have been added and are ready for testing…but there are still bugs and issues that need to be worked out, so it’s not “final” product code just yet.
With the advances in technology and connectivity over the past 10 years (see: faster computers and faster internet), some pieces of software spend years in beta - intentionally. Not because they wouldn’t be able to release a finished product sooner - they could - but because beta allows us to rapidly deploy and test code with users without worrying about things being perfect.
When we’re in beta, it’s a given that there will be bugs, problems, and rough edges. And this is okay.
There will be bugs, problems and rough edges no matter what you’re creating.
So what?
Start with beta.
For any idea – whether product, service, story, or art piece – there is a basic version, one without all the bells and whistles.
Start here.
If your idea only works if you have the perfect user interface connected to 10 million customers with 3d glasses…well, let’s be real: no one wants your idea anyway.
Start with beta.
This process is simple like starting, finishing, and shipping…and it can be equally uncomfortable.
Nobody wants to take a great idea they have and rip it apart so there’s nothing left that resembles the original idea.
Yet that is EXACTLY the process every single author, artist, and entrepreneur goes through on their path to product manifestation.
So why beat around the bush?
Tear your idea apart at the start and you’ll be much better off later on.
This process is called thrashing. It’s about reducing your idea down to its most basic, purest form. It’s about deleting the unessential. It’s about removing everything but the core.
It is not a comfortable process but it is essential.
Attached below is a free PDF to help you through this process of starting in beta with version 1.0.
Get the QUICK START Guide Free
This is the same document I had printed and given out to everyone who attended The Game Changers Live series in Sydney. The response was overwhelmingly positive. A couple people told me it was exactly the resource they were looking for.
I hope by sharing it here for free, I can help more people start the right way – and not waste another hour (month, year…) of their life building something no one wants.
My friend Jason Spencer and I are launching a new business incubator, and if you’re interested, we're still accepting applications.
It’s called The Flight Formula, and it’s the first of its kind in many ways:
1st – it’s the first EVER heart-centered business incubator.
This program is about building heart-centered businesses – the kind you deeply, passionately care about - not just another SaaS company that drains your creative and emotional energy for the hope of monthly reoccurring cashflow.
2nd – it’s the first EVER generosity-based business program.
Jason brought me on board as a teacher / coach for entrepreneurs on unconventional pricing techniques and gift economy business models…he also got me on board to help make The Flight Formula practice what it preached.
So I told him to get rid of price altogether and let people choose what they want to contribute back.
I’ve been told I’m crazy for doing this - that a model like this is stupid and it won’t work. That I’m ridiculous for even offering something like this (“What about costs?! You have to eat don’t you?”).
I don’t begrudge this attitude.
I actually understand it more than most could appreciate…
But all I can say is I’m confident the right people will find this program and their generosity will allow us to create something remarkable. Call me a dreamer if you’d like…
So if you’re interested in finding out more, check it out:
The Flight Formula Heart-Centered Business Incubator
* * *
So that’s it for this week.
I’m working on a number of big projects right now – The Flight Formula being one of them – and I apologize for the less than consistent posting schedule.
Insurgent Publishing is growing – the next issue of Bootstrapped is going to be bigger and badder than the first (with contributions from guys like Andrew Warner of Mixergy, among others) – so check it out if you’re interested…
I continue to offer PWYW consulting, and some people really like it:
Just had a consultation with @tmorkes to talk about my #smallbiz. SERIOUSLY, Y'ALL, HE'S AWESOME. (And worthy of all caps.)
— Punch Presence (@punchpresence) March 26, 2014
Note: I am booked out completely for consulting gigs into 2015. Will let you know when I open up more spots. If you're interested in getting notified, make sure to sign up for The Resistance Broadcast.
Thanks for your time and attention – it seriously means the world to me.
Keep creating and stay on the path.
Started, Finished, and Shipped in Big Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
Total Writing Time: 1 hr 56 minutes
Soundtrack: Repave by Volcano Choir
Myrmidons! My brothers of the sword! I would rather fight beside you than any army of thousands! Let no man forget how menacing we are, we are lions! Do you know what's waiting beyond that beach? Immortality! Take it! It's yours!
Troy
We want the freedom to create whatever, whenever we want...
But the market will only compensate us for what IT wants.
This leaves your average creator (whether entrepreneur, writer, or artist) in a particularly uncomfortable position, with only two real options.
Many creators do just that. They build for themselves and completely ignore the rest of the world.
There’s only one problem with this: it rarely pays off.
Yes, there are outliers. But that’s exactly the point: they’re outliers.
If the market doesn’t like what you create, you bear the burden.
‘Do what you love’ sounds fun and sexy, until you realize you’ve been living on your mom’s couch for 3 years.
Many other creators (probably the vast majority) choose this route.
They ignore their curiosities, inspirations, and passions, and build widgets instead.
There’s only one problem with this: it comes at a cost.
How long can we supply the demand for something we don’t care about? How long can we commit to creating something personally valueless? How long until the money’s not worth being a robot in the robot factory?
Of course, this is a false dichotomy.
It doesn’t take a human geographer to realize there are other options besides ‘starving artist’ and ‘miserable cog’ when it comes to the life we choose for ourselves.
Just look at how many starving cogs and miserable artists there are in the world…
I kid (sort of…).
So why do we do it?
Simple:
We create this dichotomy, first and foremost, because it’s easier to process the world this way. The brain can only process so many things at one time, so simplifying things makes the brain happy (we avoid sensory overload).
Second – and much more insidiously – we create this dichotomy to create an out.
The Enemy wants to keep us stagnate. An ‘either / or’ dichotomy with seemingly brutal consequences is the perfect weapon to make this happen.
If the world is a zero-sum game, if it’s either win or lose, if it’s either me or him…well, better reason to just stay put, keep your heads down, and blend into the rest of the tribe…
Now that we have a good, rational reason to sit still, we are off the hook for not taking action. We have our out.
But of course, this out isn’t really an out.
It’s submitting for comfort and safety (or so we think…).
The real dilemma isn’t: do I do what I love, or do I do what makes me money?
This dichotomy doesn’t exist – it never did.
The real dilemma is: do we acquiesce to a life and lifestyle undesired because it’s comfortable and safe?
Or…
Or do we take the uncomfortable, uncertain, and difficult path…the one we know won’t be easy, clear, or guranteed…the one fraught with hardship, setbacks and failure…
Because we know it will be worth it?
You can do important work and make money from it.
It’s possible, I promise you this.
I meet new people doing it every day.
More importantly, they’re doing it their way: they’re picking the route, choosing their packing list, and drawing the map as they go along. No, it’s not easy - but it was never supposed to be.
The same reality can be yours.
It’s waiting for you, just beyond that beach…
The question is: will you take it?
p.s. interested in taking the beach, but rather do it with an army? I'm writing a new book that will teach you how to assemble and lead a team to take the beach (and own your market). Sign up here.
Start, finished, and shipped in Cape Town, S. Africa (after hanging out with penguins!)
Total writing time: 5:30 hrs
After 6+ months of testing, tracking and recording...
3 months of intensive research, study, and compiling...
And 1 month of all-consuming writing, editing, scrapping...and writing some more...
I've finished my new book:
The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing: How You Can Share Your Work and Still Make a Profit
Author Tom Morkes delivers. Some readers might think anyone advocating sharing and generosity advocate wearing "KICK ME" signs on our backs as people steal our creations. Not Tom. Instead of some BS-ing cheerleader long on promises and short on specifics, this guy creates a detailed game plan anyone could win with.
- Tom Owens, author | 101 PO'ed Poems: Frustrations in Free Verse
If you've been following me for a while, you already know what this book is about.
For new readers, here are some links to get you up to speed on the topic of Pay What You Want, and why it's important:
1. Pay What You Want: The Ultimate Sales Strategy (external link)
This was a post I did for Medium.com. It's kind of gone viral. People are tweeting Justin Bieber about it. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
2. Pay What You Want Pricing with Tom Morkes on the Content Warfare Podcast (external link)
I sit down with marketing expert Ryan Hanley to discuss why Pay What You Want is one of the most powerful marketing techniques available.
3. 3 Ways Pay What You Want Leads to More Profit than Fixed Pricing
I show you 3 case studies of people crushing it using PWYW pricing.
4. Get Unstuck and Start Making Money Now (external link)
I sit down with marketer Tema Frank to discuss my origins in the online world and how I got started using Pay What You Want pricing.
This is my reason WHY for what I do / create / write.
6. How Letting People Choose Their Price Can Make You a Millionaire
A case study of my first Pay What You Want product: 2 Days With Seth Godin.
***
The free resources above should get you started.
If you're at all interested in the subject and would prefer a more in-depth, yet practical look at the pricing technique (and how to apply it to your own business, writing or art), definitely check out the book.
I put my blood, sweat and tears into this one - I promise you that.
If this book isn't your style, but you'd like to support my creative work, any and all contributions are welcome.
So is sharing (I even made it easy):
If you're an entrepreneur, check out @tmorkes new guide The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing: https://gum.co/pwywguide [click to tweet]
Check out this killer new book by @tmorkes: The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing: https://gum.co/pwywguide [click to tweet]
Want to sell your art? Try giving it away to make a profit instead The Complete Guide to Pay What You Want Pricing https://gum.co/pwywguide [tweet]
The best sales and marketing book since Cialdini's Influence. Get it: https://gum.co/pwywguide @tmorkes [click to tweet]
Okay, that last one is a little self-aggrandizing...but if you do tweet it, you are awesome and will have a place in my heart forever.
***
So if you're this far down on the page and still haven't bought a copy, seriously grab one:
Thanks so much for reading, and thanks so much for your support - it really does mean the world to me.
***
Started, finished and shipped on 25 November 2013 in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Total writing time: 1.5 hours
Total time spent waiting for the massive upload that is 'The Complete Package' to finish: 5 hours (I'm not kidding)
The Conventional Entrepreneuren·tre·pre·neur:
"The owner or manager of a business enterprise who, by risk and initiative, attempts to make profits"
The entrepreneur seeks to make a profit – at least, conventionally speaking.
The conventional entrepreneur believes he can do something better (cheaper, faster, closer etc.) than what exists in the market place.
He builds something to fill a need in exchange for profit, and, we might imagine, does so because profit is the goal.
art·ist:
"One, such as a painter, sculptor, or writer, who is able by virtue of imagination and talent or skill to create works of aesthetic value, especially in the fine arts"
The artist creates things of aesthetic value – again, at least conventionally speaking.
The artist does what he is compelled to do – which is to create art. The artist creates what doesn’t exist, and, we might imagine, does so because he loves his craft intrinsically.
I propose a third option.
Someone who loves the process as much as the potential impact; who wouldn’t create if it didn’t affect others powerfully and positively; who takes himself seriously enough to do the terrifying, creative things others would gladly avoid.
I propose the idea of an entrepreneur who doesn’t create solely for return on investment, and an artist who doesn’t create solely for internal self-satisfaction.
I propose a hybrid: the Creative Entrepreneur.
cre·a·tive en·tre·pre·neur:
One whose business is an extension of one’s personality and art; whose purpose is creating something bigger than oneself, something that can grow and expand, but never at the expense of creating art as a gift; who seeks true freedom, even if it means uncertainty or failure; who desires self-determination, even if it means challenging the tribe; who does the hard, creative work, day in and day out, because it matters.
The Creative Entrepreneur weaves his art into every project, like AJ Leon from Misfits Inc. (twitter: @ajleon)
The Creative Entrepreneur invents beautiful, practical tools that enhance our lives, like Nate Kutsko of Kutsko Kitchen (twitter: @kutskokitchen)
The Creative Entrepreneur tells a story through film and story (and teaches others how to do the same), like Benjamin Jenks from Adventure Sauce (twitter: @benjaminojenks), or writes to inspire writers, like Jeff Goins from Goinswriter.com (twitter: @JeffGoins ).
This concept is nothing new – the Creative Entrepreneur has always existed (from Archemides to Da Vinci to Ford).
But now, becoming a Creative Entrepreneur isn’t just more attainable than it’s ever been, it’s more imperative.
The ordinary fades away, the average is ignored, and the usual is just that (and lost in the noise).
But the Creative Entrepreneur stands out, sticks around, and leaves an impact.
The life of the Creative Entrepreneur isn’t easy, nor is it comfortable.
But it’s not supposed to be.
We need to be happy in this wonderland without once being merely comfortable. [G. K. Chesterton]