1. Don’t Wish for Your Problems To Go Away… Because They Never Will

“The problems were never going to stop, I realized, but for the moment we had more momentum than problems.”

2. Hire a Team of Believers

why was selling shoes so different? Because I realized, it wasn’t selling. I believed in running. I believed that if people got out and ran a few miles every day, the world would be a better place, and I believed these shoes were better to run in. People, sensing my belief, wanted some of that belief for themselves.

Nike’s co-founder, Bowerman, a track shoe coach, was a believer too. And so were all other early Nike team members. For them Nike was more than just a job, it was their life’s mission. They were all shoe dogs.

some of Nike’s other early employees skipped cashing in their paychecks altogether. For them, working at Nike was not about money. It was about something else. It was about their calling.

Even if you don’t know what it means, seek it. If you’re falling your calling, the fatigue will be easier to bear, the disappointments will be fuel, the highs will be like nothing you’ve ever felt

3. Target Your End Customers

As startups, you should always cut through the noise and directly target your end customers. They are the ones who are going to benefit the most from your product and potentially influence the sale.

4. Your Brand Does Not Have To Be Perfect on Day 1

5. Take Care of Your Mental and Physical Health

There is nothing in the world, seriously nothing, more important than your health. Every dream, every opportunity, every dollar becomes irrelevant if your health is not with you.

6. Keep a Tab on Your Company’s Financial Health

7. Managing Work/Life Balance Is Tough

The buttfaces [Nike’s inner team] were like family, but every minute I spent with them was at the cost of my other family, my real family. The guilt was palpable.

8. Be Wary of the Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Michael E. Porter, in his competitive strategy framework, talks about how suppliers with huge bargaining power can adversely impact a company’s profitability.

9. Never Stop

Blue Ribbon simply couldn’t support me. Though the company was on track to double sales for a fifth straight year, it still couldn’t justify a salary for its co-founder.

Every runner knows this. You run and run, mile after mile, and you never quite know why. You tell yourself that you are running toward some goal, chasing some rush, but really you run because the alternative, stopping, scares you to death.

Let everyone else call your idea crazy, [you] just keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t even think about stopping until you get there, and don’t give much thought to where ‘there’ is. Whatever comes, just don’t stop.