“3rd And Long” (The Parallel’s Of An MVP Quarterback & A Business Visionary)

Ahhhh…good ol football.

America’s favorite mind numbing pastime.

True gladiator style entertainment at it’s core.

What could be better then to watch 6ft. 280lb men crush one another over a piece of pigskin while you scarf down your local chicken spot’s favorite buffalo wings while you rave with absolute uncontrollability over seeing your team just catch a winning touchdown!?

I’ll guess nothing.

Is it the rush?

Is it the physicality?

Is it the unmatched athletic skill of seeing a person lay their body on the line for the glory of being called the best in the league?

Idk..but I can say the NFL effectively captures the attention of 90-100 Million viewers yearly so they must be doing somethin right.

One position, one golden spot on any NFL team is arguably the most loved and most hated of all positions and that’s the quarterback position.

Teams win, Teams lose, they rise and fall from the vision and hyper focused play calling ability from their leader. Which is the exact same position a business founder is in.

If this is the position you’ve found yourself in then huddle up.

In this letter you’ll learn:

• Why Most Founders Fumble Their Businesses & Never Recover.
• How To Build A Solo Team Of You, Contractors & Yea you guessed it You.
• How To Maintain High Output Against All Odds.

Greatness You Can See:

“Just as a quarterback reads the defense and makes split-second decisions under pressure, a solopreneur must navigate challenges and seize opportunities with agility and confidence.” -Cassion Herve.

Granted yes. Football is a team sport. But what is a team without high level players who are continually bettering themselves in order to push the team towards victory?

I won’t be talking too much about the team aspect of football. More or less the singular role of a quarterback in relationship to the founder of a one person business.

So for starters, let’s get some context behind the role of an elite level quarterback and what kind of mindset they have when they approach every game.

There are key leadership traits that make up a great quarterback. Most of which you will notice run parallel with some of the greatest minds in the entrepreneurial world.

1. Football IQ: The importance of a quarterback’s intelligence and ability to read defenses (market competitors). Great quarterbacks have a keen understanding of the game, allowing them to anticipate plays and make quick decisions.

2. Leadership: Elite level quarterbacks are natural leaders. They inspire confidence in their teammates, rallying them during tough moments and setting the tone for the team’s performance.

3. Work Ethic: The best quarterbacks are those who are dedicated to their craft. They put in the time to study film (market trends), practice their mechanics (their skillset), and understand their opponents, which sets them apart from others (Unique offer or mechanism).

4. Poise Under Pressure: Elite quarterbacks maintain composure in high-pressure situations. Their ability to stay calm and execute plays, even when the game is on the line, is a hallmark of greatness (and a staple trait of a high level entrepreneur).

5. Adaptability: Great quarterbacks can adjust their game based on the situation. Whether it’s changing a play at the line of scrimmage or adapting to a new offensive scheme, their versatility is crucial. Like an entrepreneur, they must possess the strong ability to pivot when necessary. The ability to see a downward trend and being proactive in avoiding a potentially disastrous outcome is apart of being a visionary (QB Vision).

6. Connection with Receivers: The importance of chemistry between quarterbacks and their receivers must be solidified in order to move the chains forward (contractors, personal assistance). Great quarterbacks develop a rapport with their targets, allowing for precise timing and execution on passing plays. Like the development of a venture, product or service a solopreneur must be able to remove themselves from roles, allowing the team that they’ve assembled to execute their own roles for the betterment of the business.

7. Expectations: From elite quarterbacks, it is expected to not only witness exceptional performance on the field but also the ability to handle the pressures of being a franchise leader. They are often the face of the team and must manage both success and adversity with grace.

Elite quarterbacks have a unique blend of talent, intelligence, and leadership, capable of elevating their teams and making a significant impact on the game.

The game of business is no different.

It takes this same unique blend of talent, mindset and skillset which makes you the invaluable asset to your own business. Without these weapons in the wing, you can rest assured that your solopreneur endeavors will come to a screeching halt when the inevitable blitz comes from the defense.

The quarterback position is grossly overlooked in terms of seeing it from the self-development lens.

The kind of individual you must become from both the dual perspective of both quarterback and founder must be one of pure hearted leadership. There’s no way to lead other people if you’re incapable of leading yourself.

Did I Do That?:

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day”. -Jim Rohn.

There isn’t but so much time in a day to be great. We’re allotted 1,440 mins exactly from 12AM-12PM.

So what we do with that time determines the course we take for the day. Narrowing your scope down a bit for starters as a solopreneur free’s your mind and creates more mental bandwidth to accomplish more.

The problem that a lot of founders are having is that they’re still attempting to integrate old habits into a new OS “Operating System”. This is where they fumble the rock and almost never recover.

Who you were when you had to work a regular paying job, will not fly in the entrepreneurial world. I stress becoming a new person to heavily because that’s exactly what it takes. But for the meat of the letter I’ll now get into why most founder fail.

This list isn’t law and on your own journey you may still encounter some problems, but these are just some that nearly wiped me out in the beginning.

1. Lack of Prioritization: Failing to prioritize tasks can lead to you spending time on low-impact activities instead of focusing on what truly drives the business forward. (pretty landing pages, re-reading sales scripts 400000x etc etc…

2. Poor Time Management: Not using time management techniques, such as the Pomodoro Technique or time blocking, can result in wasted hours and decreased productivity. Pomodoro is just one but there are many others, ultimately what you give time to expands. So focusing on shit that’s not moving the business needle is costing you heavily.

3. Multitasking: Trying to juggle multiple tasks at once can reduce overall efficiency and lead to mistakes. Focusing on one task at a time is often more effective. This isn’t an opinion, this is facts. When you’re spread thin for too long this can lead to some serious long term brain fog. Identify high priority tasks that are considered real wins once accomplished.

4. Distractions and Interruptions: Allowing distractions from social media, emails, or phone notifications can disrupt your workflow and lead to significant time loss. Losses you can’t afford especially when the clock is winding down. Learn the art of no. no emails. no calls. no text. no hanging out until you’ve sourced your big problem and uprooted it in your biz.

5. Failure to Set Boundaries: Not establishing clear work hours or boundaries can lead to burnout and decreased productivity, as work-life balance becomes skewed. Again say no. You’re inability to call an audible and move out of the line of fire when what you’re doing clearly isn’t working is what leads to loss in time, revenue, clientele and your sanity.

6. Inadequate Planning: Not taking the time to plan weekly or daily tasks can result in a reactive rather than proactive approach, this is a clear sign when you need to start reassessing you priorities from greatest to least. Not planning content for example or a product launch hurts your authority and ultimately kills opportunities for your business.

7. Overcomplicating Processes: Creating overly complex workflows or systems can slow down productivity. Simplify man. By simplifying your processes this can lead to greater efficiency across the board from your CRM, follow ups, email marketing I mean you name it.

8. Not Leveraging Tools and Technology: Failing to utilize productivity tools (like Notion for template design, Capcut for content editing or Hemmingway if you write blogs) can lead to inefficiencies and wasted time. Time is a powerful resource. It’s the only thing that stands between you and what you want.

9. Avoiding Delegation: A lot of solopreneurs especially the ones I teach feel they must handle everything themselves. Not delegating tasks, when possible, can lead to overwhelm and hinder growth. You don’t want to be involved in every minute task when you can just pay someone else to do it.

10. Inconsistent Routines: Show me your daily routine and I’ll I can guess the health of your business. If you’re not consistent then stop selling and get back into the job market. You’re only wasting your time along with the people you’re trying to sell too. From this day forth, establish a clear routine and thank me in the next 30-60 days when your productivity and profits begin to skyrocket.

1. Ignoring the Importance of Breaks: Not taking regular breaks can lead to diminishing returns in business productivity. Sit down, schedule your times for non-work and don’t think. Short breaks can help you, recharge refocus and recalibrate your creativity. (You need short breaks with high burst of intense focus to accomplish your goals).

1. Failure to Review and Reflect: Not regularly reviewing progress and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t is a big no no. You can’t improve if you can’t even tell what’s working and what’s not. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Continuously improve and keep notes about where you fell and rose along the way.

1. Not Setting Clear Goals: Without specific, measurable goals, it can be challenging to maintain focus and motivation, you need checkpoints benchmarks which highlight progression. Without them your leading to scattered efforts and reduced productivity.

These are the solopreneurs no no’s.

If you can recognize and address these key productivity pitfalls, as a solopreneur your going to be good to go my friend

You won’t have to keep living on “3rd and Long” hoping, wishing and praying for a miracle. I created a 1 Person Business Blueprint for all who are currently getting sacked in their business and need a new play call. These foundations have proven to help me a long with hundreds of other creative solopreneurs not just survive but score, winning touchdown after winning touchdown time and time again.

Business, like sports is about repetition and often times it leads to the best man standing.

So If you can read the blitz (whatever your current difficulty is in your business) then you’ll be better off when the next defensive stop comes your way. (Whatever that looks like).

The Championship Recipe For Business Success:

“The price of greatness is responsibility.” -Vince Lombardi

This is a very under looked quote.

We often times want so much of what we think is going to be such a benefit to our lives.

That we don’t even stop to think the price that will need to be paid in order to get it.

Solopreneurship is just that a one man or woman (SOLO) act.

But if ran effectively you don’t have to take the walk of shame because you quit from not developing the systems needed to stay afloat.

So we know what doesn’t work. Let’s end it with what does.

Short, sweet and to the point.

Actionable steps to get you closer to that Hall of Fame style of business play.

Here are clear and actionable steps you can take to improve your one-person business in real time:

1. Set Daily Goals: Each morning, write down 3 key tasks you want to accomplish that day. Focus on high-impact activities. Begin from greatest to least. Your mind already has some pretty good hardware pre-built for remembering, but do it some justice and write down your goals the night before. Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.

1. Time Block Your Schedule: Allocate specific time slots for different tasks (e.g., client work, marketing, admin) to minimize distractions and maintain focus. The clearer your outcome the easier it should be to say no to everything else. If 1M a year is what you’re aiming for then over the course of 12 months you should be making at least 83K. Random scrolling and binging Netflix will not produce this outcome.

1. Limit Distractions: Identify your main distractions (e.g., phone, social media) and set boundaries, such as using “Do Not Disturb” mode during work hours. I prefer Airplane mode. (Don’t even try to get through).

1. Use a Task Management Tool: Implement a simple tool like Trello, Asana, or Todoist to organize tasks and track progress. A.I has made it very easy for us humans to stay on track. Don’t go against the grain by not using these tools to make your life easier. Neglecting them is business suicide.

1. Batch Similar Tasks: Group similar tasks together (e.g., emails, social media posts) and tackle them in one focused session to improve efficiency. Use these tools to boost your social media planning and content distribution: Hootsuite, Sendible and TweetHunter.

1. Schedule Breaks: Use the Pomodoro Technique—work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break—to maintain energy and focus or leverage the Eisenhower Matrix which is a time management tool used to prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance

1. Review Weekly: Set aside time each week to review what you accomplished, what worked, and what didn’t. Adjust your strategies accordingly. As I said earlier in the letter. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Stay on top of your wins and losses. Once you know what works you record won’t start look so bad, given you found a viable strategy that works for business workflow.

1. Network Regularly: Another under the radar way of improving your business. Dedicate time each week to connect with peers or potential clients through social media. Not that this is the only way, by all means connecting in person should be preferred. Just realize were living in the digital age so the internet can be a wonderful tool to connect with more people at a larger scale. So don’t be shy, say hi.

1. Invest in Your Learning: Allocate time each week for professional development, whether through online course platforms like Udemy or Skillshare. Reading is an extraordinary way of acquiring rapid business knowledge (which happens to be my favorite). The ROI is unmatched.

1. Automate & Delegate Repetitive Tasks: Identify tasks that can be automated (e.g., email marketing, invoicing) and use tools like Zapier or Mailchimp to streamline processes.

1. Track Your Time: Use a time-tracking tool (like Toggl or Clockify) to understand where your time goes and identify areas for improvement. The more you understood that time is the life’s bloos to your productivity. The more you’ll cherish and pay more attention to ways you can redeem it. Be the quarterback in your business who thinks 3 plays ahead.

1. Celebrate Small Wins: Take a moment at the end of each day or week to acknowledge your achievements, no matter how small, to boost motivation. You need intrinsic drivers for days where you just don’t have it. Keep track of your wins and use them as trophies to showcase progression.

1. Seek Feedback: Regularly ask clients or peers for feedback on your work to identify areas for improvement and enhance your offerings. Don’t be shy especially when your first starting out this only gives you a clearer path to your ideal way of conducting business sooner. Be quick to act but be quicker to get feedback.

If these tools are implemented, you’ll start seeing some pretty noticeable boost in your productivity and effectiveness as a solopreneur. Leading you to your ideal business touchdowns time and time again.

Well folks it’s been fun.

I hope this letter was as fun for you to read as it was for me to write.

Strategy is nothing without execution.

Take the tools you’ve been given and go be great.

You’re one first down away from your nexy solopreneur touchdown.

Don’t give in to the opposition. Which in reality is just your old self who’s not so happy your changing for the better. (they’ll get over it though).

Let’s touch a million in 2025 fam.

in the meantime.

Create Your Own Reality.

Talk soon.

-Cass.