The Pathless Path with Paul Millerd #168 Building With "margin for life" — Justin Jackson on lessons from running a skate shop, optimizing for profit, running a "calm company," co-founding Transistor, having kids early, designing margins and how money actually does make him happy
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Feb 27, 2024 
Justin Jackson shares lessons from running a skate shop, optimizing for profit, designing a 'calm company,' co-founding Transistor, having kids early, and how money brings happiness. He emphasizes the importance of financial stability, customer support, and creating margin for life in business.
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Hard Lessons From Skate Shop
- Running the snowboard shop was much harder than software business due to cash flow and inventory challenges.
- The shop closing with debt was a painful lesson that shaped Justin's future business approach.
Profit First Margin Strategy
- Prioritize profit in your business by allocating a set percentage of revenue first to profits.
- Maintaining good profit margins provides breathing room and reduces stress in business.
Surfing Customer Demand Waves
- Customer demand acts like a wave you must learn to recognize and surf to succeed.
- Market choice largely determines entrepreneurial success more than other factors.