Sharing My Thoughts For the First Time

Jimmy Iovine said something that has stuck with me since I heard it, which is this: If the shit is bigger than the cat, get rid of the cat. In the current space we find ourselves existing in, that quote seems even more relevant. As the co-founder of Grand Hustle, a partner in AKOO, HG Sports, the founder of the Strivers Row brand, partner in All Def, Investor and CEO of a new music-tech company, Heavy Sound Labs, I’ve been a serial entrepreneur for over 15 years at this point and even longer if I include my childhood days shoveling snow and making mixtapes. In the midst of this global health crisis we’re experiencing, my enterprising mind is choosing to look at what’s happening as an opportunity to analyze my businesses and business practices amongst many other things. One thing a situation like this can teach us is that it’s not a lot in life that we can control and how much of what we do on a daily basis can be minimized or eliminated all together. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is to be nimble. If ever a time was needed to possess that quality, it’s now. Using Jimmy’s quote as context, I’m looking at my businesses (the cat) and examining the data (the shit) and weighing the output against the input. Whatever hasn’t been working in my favor, after reasonable time and resources have been allocated, is getting cut. I think we’re in a “back to basics” climate where if a business, project or client isn’t adding to our bottom line we should place our attention on what deserves it. I encourage others to utilize this lockdown period to get the proverbial balancing scale out and do the same. These cataclysmic circumstances will eventually subside; however how you fare in the aftermath will depend greatly on you cleaning out that shit in your litter box.