How to Build a Business that Lets you Quit your Job - Dickie Bush

Added: May 17, 2024

Dickie Bush's Journey to Viral Success

Dickie Bush begins by recounting his realization in late 2018 that he needed to sort his life out. He is advised to write a newsletter every week for 52 weeks. Starting in January 2020, Dickie writes a weekly newsletter but feels frustrated after nine months with only 100 subscribers. To accelerate his feedback loop, he undertakes a 27-day Twitter challenge. On the 28th day, his Tweet thread about biology goes viral, gaining him 500 subscribers overnight and more Twitter followers.

Dickie's Rapid Online Writing Success

Capitalizing on this newfound attention, Dickie creates a $19 Notion template summarizing podcasts, making $600. Shortly after, he earns $5,000 for ghostwriting for a client. This sudden success shocks him, as he went from making nothing for nine months to earning $5,600 in just two weeks by writing on the internet. Motivated by this rapid progress, he launches a 30-day accountability program on Twitter, attracting 50 paying participants. He conducts daily Zoom calls to keep them accountable and later offers one-on-one sessions with each participant to understand the product better.

Dickie's Success Story: From Side Hustle to $500,000 a Year

This initiative evolves into 'Ship 30 for 30', where Dickie starts making $40,000 a month in addition to his day job, eventually leading to a yearly income of $500,000. Reflecting on his journey, he emphasizes the importance of not quitting your job prematurely when building a side hustle. He advises setting a goal to make twice as much income from your side hustle before considering quitting. This approach ensures a sense of security and forces individuals to think bigger and more long-term.

Efficiency and Intensity in Side Hustle Balancing

Dickie stresses the need for intense effort and efficiency when balancing a day job and a side hustle. He highlights the significance of operating from a place of security rather than scarcity, leveraging the limited time available to focus on high-impact tasks. By maximizing the four extra hours before and after work, individuals can build a sustainable and successful side hustle while maintaining their full-time job.

Extreme Work for Extreme Success

He also discusses the concept of work-life balance, suggesting that achieving balance involves operating at extremes rather than a middle ground. Dickie believes that outrageous outcomes require outrageous inputs, and building a successful business often entails sacrificing certain aspects of life temporarily to achieve long-term goals. He emphasizes the importance of exponential upside, no downside, and sustainability when evaluating new opportunities.

Motivation through enjoyment and expertise

Reflecting on his own experience, Dickie shares how he motivated himself through the avoidance of negative outcomes and the pursuit of positive emotions. By making the side hustle enjoyable and fulfilling, he was able to sustain his efforts and stay committed to his goals. He also emphasizes the need to tap into pre-existing expertise and leverage existing skills and interests when starting a side hustle, as this reduces the amount of additional research and effort required.

Energy Management for Productivity

Dickie also touches on the concept of energy management and how it plays a crucial role in productivity. He highlights the importance of identifying activities that drain your energy and replacing them with ones that re-energize you. By focusing on activities that bring energy into your life, you can increase your productivity and motivation to work on your side hustle after a long day at work.

Finding Your Niche for Success

Furthermore, Dickie discusses the idea of finding a niche for your business or content creation. He advises narrowing down your target audience as much as possible to ensure that your ideal client can easily identify if your product or service is for them. By being hyper-specific in your niche, you can attract the right customers who resonate with your offerings.

Adding Value to Summaries

In terms of summarizing and curating content, Dickie suggests going beyond just summarizing information. He recommends adding your own insights, experiences, and applications of the content to make it more valuable and unique. By sharing how you have applied the information in your own life, you can differentiate yourself from AI-generated summaries and provide a more personalized touch to your content.

Leveraging Existing Knowledge for Originality

Bush emphasizes the importance of leveraging existing knowledge and resources when starting a business. He mentions that originality is often a result of remixing and repackaging ideas from the past. By studying successful entrepreneurs and writers, he was able to curate their frameworks and apply them to his own work. He highlights the significance of curation as a starting point for creating original content and developing personal frameworks.

Learning from Those Ahead

The concept of looking back versus looking ahead is also discussed. Bush explains that it is essential to learn from those who are slightly ahead of you in order to progress. By studying the work of others and gaining insights from their experiences, individuals can build their own frameworks and eventually create original content. He shares his own experience of studying various writers and entrepreneurs before developing his own frameworks and gaining a following on Twitter.

Identifying and Addressing Bottlenecks

Another key point is the idea of identifying and addressing bottlenecks in business and personal life. Bush explains the concept of bottlenecks using the analogy of a beer bottle, where the narrow opening restricts the flow of liquid. He suggests that the key to improving a business lies in addressing bottlenecks related to leads, conversion, or operations. By focusing on the most critical bottleneck, individuals can make significant progress in achieving their goals.

Identify, Inhale, and Iterate Framework

To address bottlenecks effectively, Bush introduces a framework called 'identify, inhale, and iterate'. This framework involves identifying the goal and bottleneck, inhaling resources to address the bottleneck, and iterating on solutions to improve the business. By following this framework, individuals can prioritize their efforts and focus on the most impactful areas of their business.

Iterating on Course Curriculum

Bush also shares his experience of launching a cohort-based course and refunding participants who did not complete the program successfully. He emphasizes the importance of gathering feedback from participants to iterate on the course curriculum and improve the overall experience. By listening to customer feedback and making necessary adjustments, businesses can enhance their offerings and attract more customers.

Framework for Million Dollar Revenue

Bush provides a framework for reaching a million dollars in revenue in a year. He suggests focusing on a specific platform, target audience, problem, and solution to create a successful business model. By concentrating on one platform for marketing, targeting a specific audience with a common problem, and offering a unique solution, businesses can attract customers and generate revenue.

Investing in Education and Mentorship

The discussion also touches on the value of investing in education and mentorship to accelerate business growth. Bush highlights the importance of learning from experts and investing in coaching or mastermind programs to gain valuable insights and guidance. He explains that while it may be uncomfortable to invest significant amounts of money in education, the returns can far outweigh the initial cost by helping businesses reach new levels of success.

Bottleneck Thinking in Personal Development

In addition to business strategies, Bush applies bottleneck thinking to personal development and health goals. He shares his experience of losing weight and improving his fitness by identifying the bottlenecks in his health journey. By addressing his lack of knowledge and motivation, he was able to find effective solutions and make progress towards his goals. He emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and continuous improvement in both business and personal life.

Goal Setting and Overcoming Obstacles

The podcast delves into the concept of setting goals and overcoming obstacles to achieve success. Bush encourages listeners to identify their goals, determine the bottlenecks preventing them from reaching those goals, and take action to address those obstacles. By consistently applying bottleneck thinking and focusing on solutions, individuals can make progress towards their objectives and create a business that allows them to quit their job.

Embracing the Journey Towards Success

He shares a tweet where he mentions the importance of enjoying every step of the journey towards your goals. Bush explains that it is crucial to be present and appreciate the process of growth and success, as looking back, one may regret not enjoying the journey more. He reflects on his own journey and emphasizes the significance of being grateful for the progress made.

Identity Catching Up with Circumstances

Bush also discusses the concept of identity lagging behind circumstances by two years. He talks about making decisions based on future goals and how one's identity may need to catch up with their current circumstances. He shares his thoughts on flying business class and how it can be a way to expose oneself to new experiences and perspectives.

The Pursuit of Wealth

The conversation shifts to the idea of wealth and the pursuit of financial success. Bush talks about creating abundance in various areas of life and how wealth is a result of the value one creates for others. He reframes the pursuit of wealth as a positive sum game where every dollar earned signifies the value generated for others.

Contentment vs. Aspiration in Finances

The guest also delves into the notion of needing less or making more money to achieve financial goals. He encourages listeners to consider whether they can be content with less or if they need to strive for more based on their personal values and aspirations. Bush emphasizes the importance of recognizing the value one creates and the impact it has on others.

Reframing Perspectives on Wealth

Towards the end of the podcast, Bush addresses the idea of balancing financial success with personal well-being and relationships. He discusses the false dichotomy between making more money and prioritizing health and relationships, highlighting that it is possible to achieve both with proper time management and mindset shifts. Bush challenges limiting beliefs around money and success, urging listeners to reframe their perspectives on wealth and value creation.