Hi. My name is John Seiffer. I’m called a Small Business Advisor because I’m only 5ft 6. Obviously I couldn't make it as a comedian, so I had to find another line of work.
My History of being Unemployable
The truth is, I've never had a real job - only companies. I was an entrepreneur back when we were called business owners.
My first company in 1979 was a waterbed store. It’s my only company that didn't make money. Mostly because I didn't know what I was doing - and neither did the 2 friends I partnered with. There's a lesson in there somewhere...
Since then I've had companies that did make money. But the most lucrative I didn't even work at. I only worked ON them.
I Like Systems Because I'm Lazy
I'll work my ass off trying to figure out how to do a job easier. Turns out the easiest way is not to do it at all. But you can see the downside. The next easiest is to pay someone else to do it. But to make that work you really have to systemize the work so you can train people to do it well, consistently, and profitably.
But as soon as I figured the system out, I tended to get bored and look for the next thing.
Window Cleaning
In the 1980s, window cleaning was cheap to start, easy to train people, and very lucrative if you could hustle. The problem was many of the people I hired lacked initiative. Maybe Probably Definitely, it was me. But at some point I just didn't want to build a company like that. So I got a gig doing technical writing. As a contractor, I had to go to their office 40 hours a week but at least I didn't have to wear a suit.
Since I didn't want to give up my income from the window cleaning or fire my crew, I ran that company while working from their office. This was before cell phones and I refused to get a beeper. I did bids and checked on the crews before and after the other gig and at lunch. When they put a limit on how long you could work as a contractor, I was making too much money to want to be an employee.
Video Rental Services
In 1991, a buddy and I started what became my most lucrative venture. VRS leased movie libraries to apartments who used them as an amenity. We changed the movies out every month. We were like Netflix before Netflix.
Like most startups it took twice as long as we thought to become profitable. During that time I bought my buddy out. And also decided to move. It didn't make sense to move the company for logistical reasons, so I ran it from 1,500 miles away.
Systems To The Rescue
To run a company long distance, you have to set it up to thrive without your personal presence. Systems capture the skills of employees and infuse them throughout the company, so it can keep growing. Those systems became the foundation for my CEO Boot Camp.
You see, outside of the product you make, the other systems tend to be the same across all industries and they scale predictably as the company grows. At the early stages they're being done intuitively by people with natural ability. But that doesn't scale very well. That's why you need systems.
It wasn't too long before that company was almost on auto pilot. I was only working on it 10-20 hours a month, unless there was a glitch in the matrix. Seriously, there was no matrix when we started. They had to overnight me data tapes to put into my computer. I owned that company for 25 years from 1,500 miles away.
Coaching & Consulting
In 1994, a colleague suggested I look into coaching. She said I'd be a natural. I’d never heard of it before. But I checked it out, liked it, and was good at it. Since then I've been helping other business owners to do what I've done: systematize their companies so they can get what they want from their companies. And I started it while running Video Rental. Are you seeing a pattern here?
For a while in the late 1990’s, I was pretty involved in the coaching profession. I helped found the International Coach Federation and served as Treasurer and then President. Last time I checked, it had over 15,000 members in 80 nations.
Angel Investing
In 2007 I put some money into a startup and started getting involved in a the Angel Investor Forum. I became their president in 2012 and was an Entrepreneur In Residence for CT-Next. I made some deals, and got some returns but the frustrating part was that this model only works well for a small set of companies with a certain business model. I'm more interested in the kinds of companies anyone can run and do well at.
CEO Boot Camp
What I do now combines coaching and consulting. I help business owners scale by systemizing their companies (and learn from my mistakes). CEO Boot Camp is my attempt to share the things I wish someone had shared with me over 40 years ago when I started my first company. It’s been an exciting, sometimes terrifying, but overall satisfying and very lucrative adventure since then.
I hope the Boot Camp will help you have as much fun and profit in your journey as I've had in mine.
