We’re Not Failing Because We’re Idiots

In our latest podcast episode, Paul Downs says his phone has stopped ringing. Should he keep doing what has worked in the past or try something different?

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:

• An owner shares some hard-won lessons about buying business insurance.

• BizBuySell’s 2024 acquisitions report shows which small businesses are selling the best.

• Ami Kassar offers some reassurance on what’s happening to the SBA.

• Ken Rosenthal created what would become Panera Bread and the fast-casual restaurant category.

THE 21 HATS PODCAST

This week, in episode 234, Paul Downs tells Lena McGuire that, because his business has not picked up, he has had to lay off two employees. Paul explains how he chose which employees to let go, including to what extent he considered who has just had a kid and who just put a down payment on a house. We also talk about whether Paul should start experimenting with different ways to attract business or whether he should continue to do what’s worked in the past and try to ride it out.

• And then there’s this: Paul has managed to do what so many owners strive to do, which is to take himself out of the day-to-day operation of his business. But what does that mean when there’s very little business coming in? How should he be spending his time now?

• Plus: Lena and Paul respond to a small business subreddit post from a business owner who quit a comfortable job to pursue the idea he just couldn’t get out of his head. Now, he vacillates between thinking his business is going to be huge and thinking he’s made the dumbest mistake of his life, and he wants to know if anyone else has experienced that kind of doubt. I think we know the answer to that one.

• You can subscribe to the 21 Hats Podcast wherever you get podcasts.