Lessons Learned: Building a Sustainable Business

If there's one thing I've learned from my years running a bookstore, it's that the business world never stops teaching us lessons, whether we want them or not. Ryan Deiss, a name some of you might recognize from the digital marketing realm, recently shared his own hard-earned insights from what he describes as a challenging year. Now, I can't verify his claims about 2025—it sounds like a typo or a futuristic prediction—but the lessons he outlines are timeless.

The Value of Distributions

Deiss emphasizes that distributions, rather than mere sales leads, are the real indicators of a business's health. It's a notion that resonates with anyone who's ever watched the cash register tally up but still wondered why the bank balance seemed unchanged. During my bookstore days, there were months when the sales numbers looked good on paper, but if I wasn't careful about the margins, I wasn't exactly rolling in dough. Deiss had to confront this reality when one of his companies lingered at $6 million without growth and, crucially, without distributions. His solution? Shift focus from chasing sales to enhancing margins—a tactic that paid off when it yielded more distributions in one quarter than in the previous two years combined.

The Myth of Multitasking

"I can only do one thing at a time," Deiss admits, a lesson he relearns annually. It reminds me of the time I tried to manage both an expansion and a book club launch simultaneously. Spoiler: neither thrived until I focused on them one at a time. Deiss's experience mirrors this, having green-lit more initiatives than feasible and finding that fewer, focused efforts yielded more success. It's a classic case of less is more, where concentrating on fewer tasks enhances output and, ultimately, satisfaction.

Time Management: The Calendar Never Lies

Another of Deiss's truths is that what's not scheduled doesn't get done. He recounts scanning his calendar and realizing that scheduled weeks were productive, while unscheduled ones blurred into oblivion. This hits home for me, as my bookstore's busiest days were often the ones planned down to the hour. If you don't claim your time, someone else will. Whether it's filling Fridays with golf or strategic meetings, intentional scheduling is key.

Content Compounding Requires Patience

Deiss talks about the slow burn of content marketing, likening it to a 13-week "chickening-out period"—a timeframe during which you commit without question, hoping for future payoff. It reminds me of when I first started hosting author events. The audience was sparse initially, but persistence paid off as word spread and attendance grew. Deiss's advice to choose one channel and stick to it is wise, particularly in today's saturated social media landscape.

Turning Excuses into Action

Perhaps the most profound lesson from Deiss is about excuses. He suggests flipping excuses into reasons for action. It's a concept that I'd unknowingly applied when I finally decided to let go of an underperforming inventory that "might sell one day." Instead, clearing it out opened space—and budget—for better opportunities.

Deiss's insights, whether from a tumultuous past year or not, echo the realities many of us face on Main Street. They compel us to scrutinize our operations and remind us that the challenges we encounter are often opportunities in disguise. As you consider his lessons, ask yourself: What excuses are holding you back from making the changes you know are necessary?

By Dorothy "Dot" Williams