The Dark Side of Owning a Company

(3 lessons from the trenches):

Author

Eric Hinman
January 23, 2025

read time: 5 minutes 

Welcome to The Movement Memo, a bi-weekly newsletter where I share actionable tips to help you live your best day ever, every day.

Today's Programming 

Today's Movement 

Complete for time with a partner:

  • 100 burpee box jump overs

  • 400 meter run

  • 400 meter walking lunges

  • 400 meter run

  • 400 meter farmers carry (70 lbs.)

  • 400 meter run

  • 1000 cal ski

  • 400 meter run

  • 1000 cal row

  • 400 meter run

  • 100 wall balls (20 lbs)

Muscle Mountain Drop — Coming Soon!

Today's Quote

“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”

 – Thomas Jefferson

Luck doesn’t show up out of thin air—it’s created through action, persistence, and resilience. 

Founders, not companies, are the real drivers of success. It’s in the relentless work ethic of a leader who doesn’t freeze under pressure but moves forward, even when the path is uncertain. The hard times will come, but those who keep showing up and doing the work turn obstacles into opportunities. 

Luck is just hard work in disguise.

Today's Lesson Learned:

3 Lessons From The Trenches (the dark side of owning a business):

Imagine sitting at your desk, staring at a spreadsheet that feels more like a ticking time bomb.

Your website traffic has dropped 25% overnight. You owe $50,000 a week to manufacturers and your credit line? It’s gone. 

Your team is looking to you for answers, and the survival of everything you’ve built rests squarely on your shoulders.

That’s the reality a founder shared with me during a recent call. 

It wasn’t about celebrating wins or planning for explosive growth. It was about survival, grit, and finding a way forward when the odds seemed stacked against them. Here’s the thing: I don’t bet on companies. 

I bet on people. Why?

 Because businesses don’t build themselves. 

The real arbitrage lies in the founder—their ability to weather storms, solve problems, and show up every single day, no matter how tough it gets. This call wasn’t just a lesson in survival. It was a testament to the value of entrepreneurship—why not everyone can do this, and why those who can are worth betting on. 

Let me share the 3 most powerful lessons I took away from this conversation.

Lesson 1: Clarity in Communication Turns Chaos Into Progress

The founder said something that hit me hard: “I just need my team to get it.” 

They were juggling website updates, financial pressures, and an SEO crisis—all while trying to keep their team focused and productive. But here’s the thing about chaos: it multiplies when communication breaks down. This founder didn’t let that happen. Instead, they tackled the situation with clarity:

  • They didn’t just delegate vaguely; they assigned specific tasks with clear deadlines.

  • When their website needed updates, they asked their team members to screen-record the process so it could be repeated without bottlenecks.

Every action had a purpose, and every task had an owner. That level of clarity created forward momentum, even in the middle of a storm.

Why This Matters: In tough times, communication becomes your greatest asset. When you remove ambiguity, you give your team the focus they need to execute and move forward.

How You Can Do It:

  • End every meeting with a summary: who’s responsible for what, and when will it be done?

  • Overcommunicate priorities and follow up. Clarity eliminates chaos.

Lesson 2: Overthinking Kills Progress—Action Saves It

The founder’s credit line was gone, but $50,000 weekly payments were still due to keep their supply chain alive.

They didn’t have the luxury of overthinking their options or waiting for the perfect solution. 

Instead, they acted.

  • Within days, they lined up six meetings with potential lenders.

  • They tapped their network for introductions and advice.

  • They tested their payment system themselves, using their own credit card, to make sure it worked.

It wasn’t elegant, but it moved the business forward. And that’s what separates great founders from the rest—they don’t freeze when things get tough. They act, even when the next step isn’t clear.

Why This Matters: Entrepreneurship is a series of decisions made in imperfect conditions. The people who succeed aren’t the ones who wait—they’re the ones who act, adapt, and keep going.

How You Can Do It:

  • Pick one problem you’ve been overthinking and take one action toward solving it today.

  • Focus on progress, not perfection. Every small step moves you closer to your goal.

Lesson 3: Your Network Is Your Greatest Asset

When traffic tanked and cash flow tightened, this founder didn’t try to solve everything alone. 

They knew their network could open doors they couldn’t on their own. Here’s what they did:

  • They called SEO experts to troubleshoot the drop in traffic.

  • They reached out to investors and lined up meetings with lenders.

  • They negotiated a $500,000 partnership deal down to $185,000—turning a long shot into a lifeline.

What stood out most wasn’t their resourcefulness (though that was impressive).

It was their humility. They weren’t afraid to ask for help, and because of that, they unlocked solutions that would have been impossible otherwise.

Why This Matters: No one builds a business alone. Your network is a multiplier for your efforts. The people around you can help you see solutions you’d never consider on your own.

How You Can Do It:

  • Reach out to three people this week for advice, introductions, or support.

  • Don’t hesitate to ask for help—pride won’t build your business, but collaboration will.

Why I Bet on People, Not Companies

Here’s what this founder reminded me of: the most valuable asset in any business isn’t the product or the market—it’s the person leading it.

Markets shift. Traffic drops. Credit lines dry up. 

These things will happen. 

What determines whether a business survives isn’t the business itself—it’s the founder’s ability to navigate those moments. That’s the arbitrage of entrepreneurship: not everyone can handle it, but the ones who can are unstoppable.

This founder didn’t just focus on getting through the tough times. 

They used the storm to show their team, their network, and themselves why they were the right person to lead. And that’s why I’ll always bet on people, not companies. 

Entrepreneurship is hard. 

There’s no sugarcoating it. But if you’re the kind of person who shows up, takes action, and leans on your network, you’ll find a way through—even when it feels impossible.

Here’s your challenge:

  1. Communicate clearly: What’s one area in your business where miscommunication is creating bottlenecks? Fix it today.

  2. Take action: What’s one thing you’ve been overthinking? Start it now.

  3. Lean on your network: Who can you call for advice or support this week? Reach out to them.

The value isn’t in the company. 

It’s in you. 

The hard times will come, but they’re also the moments that define you.

Today’s Optimization

As we age our cells age, but I believe we get to choose what 40-year-old, 50-year-old, and 60-year-old we want to be. I envision mountain biking into my 60's and surfing in my 70's. But here’s a fact, after 30, muscle mass decreases by approximately 3–8% per decade. I’m pretty fascinated with cellular health at the moment and recently I learned the primary cause for this decline is based on mitochondrial function, the “powerhouse” of our cells.

I started researching ways to limit this decline and have come to believe mitochondria are the bedrock of good health. Healthy cells rely on healthy mitochondria. Their optimal function leads to incredible health benefits and is particularly essential to heart, kidney, eye, brain, skin, and muscle function. As we age, mitochondrial function declines. Our mitochondria are constantly renewed to produce energy and fulfill the vast energy demands of muscle, skin, and other tissues, but as we get older, mitochondrial renewal declines and dysfunctional mitochondria accumulate in the cells, resulting in significant issues.

I recently started taking Timeline’s Mitopure (a clinically studied/proven supplement), which unlocks the power of Urolithin A, a molecule that stimulates this crucial recycling and cleansing process in our mitochondria - ultimately protecting cells from age-associated decline.

Know friends, training partners, or co-workers who would take value from weekly tips on a healthier lifestyle, enhanced accountability, and improved routines? Thanks for sharing!

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Publisher: Eric Hinman

Editor-in-chief: Bobby Ryan