What every small business owner needs right now

Spoiler alert: It's not money

Four years ago I had a Rage Room in my shop in Truckee. Now I have this newsletter because we had to close up shop when the pandemic hit. Nothing except for the pres has been the same since.

People with money (investors) love to ask people who they think need money (business owners) what it is they need the most. It’s a trick question because the most obvious answer—money—isn’t an acceptable response. PWM want to see that PWOM are clever and creative and that you are willing to engage with them beyond their pocketbook. The latter is fair. The way they go about it is wholly annoying, as asking a question and not expecting an honest response is a grand waste of time. As an ex-boyfriend once said to me: Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.

I haven’t tried to raise money in nearly a decade but because I still attend business and startup events, I find myself in conversations with people who wish they never started them with me. That’s because even though I don’t want a check from them, what I believe we need isn’t something they can easily help us with. And that’s not how you play the game. So what is that we need?