Briefing Document: Key Insights from “The Sweaty Startup”

Executive Summary

This document synthesizes the core principles from Nick Huber’s “The Sweaty Startup,” which presents a counter-narrative to the modern, venture-capital-fueled startup ethos. The central thesis is that the most common and reliable path to wealth and freedom is not through revolutionary, high-tech ideas but by launching and expertly operating “boring” service-based businesses. These “sweaty startups”—such as lawn care, storage, or home services—thrive on proven business models with existing markets and often unsophisticated competition.

The ultimate goal of this entrepreneurial path is not fame or industry disruption but the attainment of leverage, which grants freedom: the ability to control one’s time and money. Leverage is built upon three pillars: Network, Skills, and Capital. Success is redefined as achieving a desired lifestyle, not simply accumulating a high net worth while being “chained to a desk.”

The methodology emphasizes a bias toward action, rejecting “analysis paralysis” in favor of rapid execution and learning. It advocates for copying what works (“Franken Business” model) rather than reinventing the wheel. The key to success lies not in the initial idea but in becoming an expert operator—mastering the universal business skills of sales, hiring, management, and delegation. People are identified as the ultimate form of leverage, and the document details a comprehensive framework for recruiting, hiring, and managing high-performing teams, including the strategic use of overseas talent. Ultimately, “The Sweaty Startup” provides a pragmatic, risk-managed roadmap for building sustainable wealth by doing “common things uncommonly well.”

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Part I: The “Sweaty Startup” Philosophy

Rejection of the Modern Startup Myth

The dominant entrepreneurial narrative, propagated by tech media and celebrity founders like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, is dismissed as “garbage.” This narrative glorifies revolutionary ideas, venture capital, infinite scalability, and billion-dollar exits. However, this path is exceptionally risky, with a failure rate of 99 out of 100 for “new idea” startups. This high failure rate discourages talented people, who often conclude they “don’t have what it takes” and abandon entrepreneurship entirely.

The document argues that the most common path to wealth is through small, boring businesses. The successful, wealthy individuals in most communities are not famous innovators but operators who run businesses like car dealerships, body shops, HVAC companies, or real estate services “just a little bit better than their competitors.”

Most of the highly successful entrepreneurs and business owners I know today are totally normal people. They aren’t brilliant. They don’t have exceptional IQs… What did they do well? They were consistent. They delayed gratification. They put their egos aside and did things they didn’t necessarily find interesting, fun, or exciting.

Success Redefined: The Pursuit of Leverage and Freedom

True wealth is defined not merely by monetary value but as a function of time and money, culminating in freedom. The ultimate goal is the ability to “do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it.”

Show me a person who makes $1 million a year but is chained to a desk for seventy hours a week to earn that money, and I’ll show you somebody who is not wealthy. Now show me another person who makes $150,000 a year but works five hours a week… and I’ll show you somebody who is very wealthy.

The key to achieving this freedom is leverage, which maximizes one’s advantage and decouples income from time. Leverage is comprised of three critical components:

Component	Description
Network	It’s not just who you know, but who knows you. A strong network provides access to employees, partners, investors, vendors, and opportunities.
Skills	The ability to execute effectively. This includes sales, leadership, hiring, management, delegation, and decision-making—skills that are acquired through practice.
Capital	Personal cash flow provides a massive advantage, allowing for investment in growth, risk-taking, and making decisions without financial stress.

Building leverage is a gradual process, like climbing a ladder. As leverage increases, an entrepreneur can operate from a position of strength, enabling the “No-Asshole Rule”—the ability to fire bad customers, partners, and investors.

Evaluating Opportunities Through “Return on Time”

Every opportunity should be evaluated based on its potential “Return on Time.” This involves asking two fundamental questions:

1. What is the return, in dollars, for an hour of my time today, a year from now, and ten years from now?
2. If I stop working, do I stop getting paid or will I keep getting paid?

A W-2 job offers a low return on time and zero leverage, as income ceases when work stops. In contrast, building a business that can eventually run without the owner’s direct involvement offers a potentially infinite return on time and leads to true freedom.

Part II: Identifying and Launching the Opportunity

A Framework for Vetting Business Ideas

Not all businesses are created equal. The document provides a clear framework for identifying high-potential opportunities by focusing on logic and avoiding emotional or passion-based decisions.

Businesses to Avoid:

• Venture Capital Dependent: Requires outside funding to start.
• New/Unproven Models: The idea has never been successfully executed before.
• Physical Products: Manufacturing and inventory are capital-intensive and complex.
• “Fun” or Passion-Driven: Fields like restaurants, fitness, or gaming attract high competition from dreamers who may not operate logically.
• High Status: Sexy or exciting ideas (e.g., AI) attract more sophisticated and well-funded competition.

Businesses to Pursue:

• Weak/Unsophisticated Competition: “Red Ocean” markets where existing players are bad at basics like answering the phone, marketing, or using technology.
• High Profit Margins: Industries where there is significant profit to be made.
• High Rate of Success: Fields where average people consistently succeed.
• Low Status / Boring: Mundane services like junk removal or grass cutting attract less competition.

This approach is likened to choosing to play a one-on-one basketball game against a fifth-grader instead of LeBron James when a massive prize is on the line. The degree of difficulty does not increase the reward.

A Bias Toward Action: Business is a Race

The most successful entrepreneurs do not engage in “analysis paralysis.” They operate with a sense of urgency and a bias toward action, following a model of “aim, fire, aim, fire, fire, fire, and ask questions later.”

Cold hard truth: Execution is a thousand times more important than your idea. Hiring. Delegation. Selling. Logistics. Communication. The boring stuff. That’s what the winners get right.

Time is the most valuable and non-renewable resource. The goal is to determine if a business is viable as quickly as possible. If it isn’t profitable within the first six months, it should be abandoned. This speed creates momentum, which is a key factor for success. As experience, skills, and capital grow, the opportunities become larger and more significant.

Tactical Idea Generation and Validation

A practical, low-risk process is outlined for identifying and validating a “sweaty startup” idea.

1. Assess Your Situation: Analyze personal requirements regarding capital, income needs, unique location advantages, and existing skills.
2. Build a List of 10 Ideas: Select ideas from different levels of complexity (Level 1: low-skill/capital; Level 2: moderate skill/capital; Level 3: high-skill/capital).
3. The Ten-Minute Drill: Call potential competitors for each idea to quickly gauge market saturation. If competitors are hungry for work and competing on price, it is likely a bad opportunity.
4. In-Depth Analysis: For the remaining ideas, act as a customer to get quotes and build a competitive matrix assessing Price (per man-hour), Speed (availability), and Quality (website, reviews, professionalism). This data reveals holes in the market that a new business can exploit.

Part III: The Essential Skills of an Operator

Becoming an Expert Operator

The success of a business is determined not by the idea, but by the execution. Great operators, not great technicians, build the best companies. At a certain scale, every business is fundamentally the same.

In a well-operated restaurant, the owner is not in the kitchen flipping burgers. In a large web development agency, the CEO is not designing websites… Great designers don’t build the best design firms… Great operators do.

Expert operators embrace uncomfortable tasks like sales and management. They delay gratification and are willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gain. They innovate not by reinventing the wheel, but by creating a “Franken Business”—copying and combining the best operational strategies from competitors and other industries.

Sales as the Foundation of Business

Sales is presented as the most fundamental skill, essential not just for acquiring customers but for every aspect of entrepreneurship: selling employees on a vision, partners on a collaboration, and investors on a deal. The core of successful selling is understanding four truths:

1. You can’t succeed alone.
2. You can’t make people do anything; they must want to.
3. Every person is fundamentally self-interested.
4. It isn’t about you; it’s about solving the other person’s problems.

A modern, trust-based sales methodology is outlined with seven key habits:

Habit	Description
1. Don’t Sell to Everyone	The goal is to find a good fit, not trick or manipulate someone into buying.
2. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable	Tolerate rejection and maintain consistency. Sales is a numbers game.
3. Prove You Are an Expert	Build trust by demonstrating deep knowledge, including the risks and difficulties involved.
4. Manage Expectations	Under-promise and over-deliver. One difficult conversation upfront saves ten later.
5. Add Value First	Provide genuine help with no expectation of immediate return to build trust.
6. Make Scarcity Work for You	Gently push customers away by being selective, emphasizing quality, and vetting for good fits.
7. Let the Other Party Sell Themselves	After establishing expertise and risks, ask “Why do you think we’re a good fit?” and let them articulate the value.

Time Management and Mindset

Time is the one resource where every person starts on equal footing. It is finite and must be invested wisely. This requires an extreme scarcity mindset regarding time.

A crucial tool for this is the Four Quadrants of Time Management. Most people get stuck in urgent tasks (Quadrants 1 & 3). However, true business growth comes from focusing on Quadrant 2: Important & Not Urgent activities like recruiting, sales, strategic planning, and implementing new technology.

This aligns with the 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle), which states that 20% of activities generate 80% of results. These high-leverage activities are almost always found in Quadrant 2.

Part IV: People as the Ultimate Leverage

Identifying and Recruiting High-Performers

People are the ultimate form of leverage, enabling a business to scale beyond its founder. Success in this area depends on being relentlessly proactive.

The Recruiting Mindset: ABR (Always Be Recruiting)

• It’s not about who you know, but who knows you and what you can do. A valuable network is built by first becoming someone worth knowing.
• Target the 80% of the workforce who are not actively looking for a new job but are not perfectly happy. The best talent already has a job.
• Recruit everywhere: the hustling Walmart employee, the competent hotel clerk, the organized teacher.
• Hiring friends and family can be highly effective if managed with clear expectations and communication, as trust and character are pre-vetted.

Key Attributes of Winners:

• Abundance Mindset
• Sense of Urgency
• Willingness to Challenge the Leader
• Good Decision-Makers
• Willingness to “Get Their Hands Dirty”

Deal-Breakers to Avoid:

• Morally Unsound Individuals
• Pessimists
• Manipulators
• People Who Gossip
• People with a “Status Quo” Mindset

The Art of Hiring and Retention

The first hire is often the hardest but is critical for breaking the bottleneck of the founder doing everything. A low-risk first hire can be an overseas administrative assistant, who can handle computer-based tasks for 80% less than a U.S.-based employee, freeing up the founder for high-leverage activities.

To retain top talent (“A Players”), leaders must:

1. Provide Structure: High performers thrive on clarity and knowing how to win, not chaos.
2. Make Decisions Quickly: Inaction on known problems is demoralizing and drives away competent people.
3. Surround A Players with A Players: Tolerate incompetence (“C Players”) and the best employees will leave. A company’s performance falls to the level of incompetence it tolerates.

The choice is simple. Fire your low performers or watch your high performers walk away.

Management and Delegation: The Path to Freedom

Delegation is the key to creating a business that runs without the owner. Effective delegation is a learned skill.

• The “Monkey on the Back” Conundrum: When an employee brings a problem, a poor manager takes the “monkey” and solves it. A great manager teaches the employee how to solve it themselves by asking, “What would you do and why?” This develops the team’s decision-making skills.
• Two Levels of Delegation:
  1. Delegating Tasks: The first step, where repeatable actions are handed off. This buys back time.
  2. Delegating Decisions: The key to true scale, where employees are empowered to solve problems and direct work.
• The “My Job, Our Job, Your Job” Framework: Proper delegation is a process.
  1. My Job: The leader demonstrates how to do the task correctly.
  2. Our Job: The leader works alongside the employee, coaching and providing feedback.
  3. Your Job: Once confident in their ability, the leader fully transfers ownership of the task.

Effective, concise communication is a superpower in delegation. Leaders must actively work to “get out of the weeds” to focus on the high-level, strategic work that drives long-term growth.

Contact Factoring Specialist, Chris Lehnes

The Sweaty Startup: A Study Guide

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

Answer each of the following questions in 2-3 sentences, based on the provided source material.

1. What is the core philosophy of a “sweaty startup,” and how does it contrast with the popular image of entrepreneurship promoted by figures like Elon Musk?
2. Explain the concept of “leverage” as it applies to entrepreneurship and list the three keys to acquiring it.
3. Why does the author advocate for starting a business in a “red ocean” rather than pursuing a “blue ocean strategy”?
4. According to the author, what is the “power law” in business, and how does it relate to the 80/20 rule?
5. What is the “monkey on the back” conundrum, and what is the author’s recommended method for handling it to empower employees?
6. Describe the author’s two-level framework for delegation and explain why the second level is critical for achieving true freedom.
7. Summarize the author’s argument against the “victim mentality” and explain the perspective on personal responsibility that successful people adopt.
8. What are the three criteria for a “not-feasible business” that an inexperienced and undercapitalized founder should avoid?
9. Explain the author’s strategy of “guerrilla marketing” and provide two examples of tactics used for Storage Squad.
10. What is a “franken business,” and how does this concept relate to the author’s views on innovation?

Answer Key

1. A “sweaty startup” is a business based on a proven, often boring, model that doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It contrasts sharply with the popular image of entrepreneurship focused on revolutionary ideas, venture capital, and changing the world, which the author dismisses as “garbage” for the average person. The sweaty startup path involves starting small, growing slowly, and focusing on excellent execution.
2. Leverage is what maximizes an entrepreneur’s advantage, allowing them to achieve a high “return on time” and gain freedom from trading hours for dollars. The three keys to acquiring leverage are building a strong Network of people who can help you, developing critical Skills like sales and management, and accumulating Capital to take risks and invest in growth.
3. The author prefers a “red ocean”—an existing industry with established competition—because it contains proven business models that can be studied and copied. This allows an entrepreneur to assess opportunities, learn from competitors, and find ways to compete by being cheaper, faster, or better. In contrast, a “blue ocean” (a new, uncontested market) is viewed as riskier because the model is unproven.
4. The “power law” in business is the principle that a small subset of activities generates a disproportionate share of results, also known as the 80/20 rule. This means 20 percent of an entrepreneur’s activities (like sales, hiring, and delegation) will generate 80 percent of their positive outcomes and growth. The author advises focusing on these high-leverage activities found in the “important but not urgent” quadrant of time management.
5. The “monkey on the back” conundrum describes when an employee brings a problem (the monkey) to a manager, effectively transferring responsibility. The author advises managers to put the monkey back on the employee’s back by asking, “What would you do and why?” This forces the employee to practice critical thinking and develop their own problem-solving skills.
6. The two levels of delegation are delegating Tasks and delegating Decisions. Delegating tasks involves having an employee perform repeatable actions, which buys back the owner’s time. Delegating decisions is the key to true freedom, as it empowers employees to solve problems, make strategic choices, and run the business without the owner being a bottleneck.
7. The author argues that a “victim mentality,” which blames external factors for a lack of success, is a flawed perspective. Successful people understand that their situation is a direct result of their past decisions and actions. They take full ownership of their relationships, income, and health, recognizing that they, and only they, are responsible for their future.
8. The three criteria for a business that is not feasible for a new entrepreneur are: 1) it requires raising venture capital to start, 2) it is based on a new idea with no existing model, and 3) it involves manufacturing and selling a physical product. The author believes these paths are too difficult and have an excessively high failure rate for an inexperienced founder.
9. “Guerrilla marketing” refers to unscalable, scrappy, and often difficult marketing tactics that most competitors are unwilling to do. For Storage Squad, examples included sneaking into dorms to slide flyers under every door and getting up at 6:00 a.m. to write advertisements on sidewalks with chalk in high-traffic areas of campus.
10. A “franken business” is a company built by studying competitors and other businesses and then copying and combining their best operational strategies. This approach emphasizes stealing and adapting proven ideas rather than radical, outside-the-box innovation. It is the practical application of the principle “copy what is working.”

Essay Questions

Construct a detailed response to each of the following prompts, drawing evidence and examples from the source material.

1. The author states, “Execution is a thousand times more important than your idea.” Analyze this argument by comparing the author’s experience with Storage Squad to the outcomes of his classmates’ “fantastical business ideas.” How does this principle inform the author’s criteria for evaluating business opportunities?
2. Explore the central role of sales in the author’s entrepreneurial philosophy. Discuss how the concept of “selling” extends beyond customers to include employees, partners, and investors, and explain three of the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Salespeople” that can be used to “change the dynamic” of a sales interaction.
3. The author claims, “Every single business, when operated at a high level, is fundamentally the same.” Deconstruct this statement by explaining what it means to be an “expert operator.” What are the core, universal activities that define an operator, regardless of the industry?
4. Using the “four quadrants of time management,” analyze why so many entrepreneurs end up “owning a job” instead of a business. Explain how focusing on “important but not urgent” tasks is the key to business growth and achieving leverage.
5. Discuss the author’s framework for building a high-performing team. What are the key attributes of “winners,” what are the deal-breakers, and why does the author believe it’s critical to “fire your low performers or watch your high performers walk away”?

Glossary of Key Terms

Term	Definition
80/20 Rule	Also known as the Pareto principle, it is the concept that 20 percent of activities will generate 80 percent of positive outcomes. In business, this means a small subset of high-leverage activities drives most growth and profit.
ABR (Always. Be. Recruiting.)	A business mindset where an entrepreneur is perpetually hunting for talented people in all aspects of daily life, not just through formal hiring processes.
Analysis Paralysis	A state of over-analyzing or over-thinking a situation so that a decision or action is never taken. The author warns this is common in entrepreneurship and is based on a flawed need for perfection before starting.
Blue Ocean Strategy	A business strategy that involves creating a new, uncontested market where competition is irrelevant. The author argues against this for new entrepreneurs, favoring the “red ocean” of existing markets.
Franken Business	A business created by copying, stealing, and combining the best bits and pieces of operational strategies from competitors and other successful companies, rather than through radical innovation.
Guerrilla Marketing	Unscalable, difficult, and often “sweaty” marketing tactics that most competitors are unwilling to do. Examples include distributing flyers door-to-door and writing chalk ads on sidewalks.
Leverage	The key to a good life, flexibility, and wealth; it is something that maximizes an entrepreneur’s advantage so they can achieve a high return on time. It is acquired through Network, Skills, and Capital.
No-Asshole Rule	A principle that an entrepreneur can adopt once they have achieved sufficient leverage. It is the freedom to fire bad customers, break up with bad partners, and buy out bad investors, thereby removing negative and draining people from one’s life and business.
Red Ocean	A term representing all current industries where competition exists. The author prefers starting businesses here because the market is proven, and competitors can be studied.
Return on Time	A measure of an opportunity based on two questions: 1) What is the dollar return for an hour of time now and in the future? and 2) Will you keep getting paid if you stop working? A high return-on-time leads to freedom.
Sweaty Startup	A business, often in a boring industry like home services or trades, built on a proven model without reinventing the wheel. It typically involves starting small, trading time for money initially, managing risk, and growing slowly through superior execution.
The Four Quadrants of Time Management	A matrix for categorizing tasks based on urgency and importance. The author argues that true business growth comes from focusing on Quadrant 2: Important & Not Urgent tasks (e.g., hiring, sales, planning).

The Sweaty Startup: A Study Guide

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

Answer each of the following questions in 2-3 sentences, based on the provided source material.

1. What is the core philosophy of a “sweaty startup,” and how does it contrast with the popular image of entrepreneurship promoted by figures like Elon Musk?
2. Explain the concept of “leverage” as it applies to entrepreneurship and list the three keys to acquiring it.
3. Why does the author advocate for starting a business in a “red ocean” rather than pursuing a “blue ocean strategy”?
4. According to the author, what is the “power law” in business, and how does it relate to the 80/20 rule?
5. What is the “monkey on the back” conundrum, and what is the author’s recommended method for handling it to empower employees?
6. Describe the author’s two-level framework for delegation and explain why the second level is critical for achieving true freedom.
7. Summarize the author’s argument against the “victim mentality” and explain the perspective on personal responsibility that successful people adopt.
8. What are the three criteria for a “not-feasible business” that an inexperienced and undercapitalized founder should avoid?
9. Explain the author’s strategy of “guerrilla marketing” and provide two examples of tactics used for Storage Squad.
10. What is a “franken business,” and how does this concept relate to the author’s views on innovation?

Answer Key

1. A “sweaty startup” is a business based on a proven, often boring, model that doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It contrasts sharply with the popular image of entrepreneurship focused on revolutionary ideas, venture capital, and changing the world, which the author dismisses as “garbage” for the average person. The sweaty startup path involves starting small, growing slowly, and focusing on excellent execution.
2. Leverage is what maximizes an entrepreneur’s advantage, allowing them to achieve a high “return on time” and gain freedom from trading hours for dollars. The three keys to acquiring leverage are building a strong Network of people who can help you, developing critical Skills like sales and management, and accumulating Capital to take risks and invest in growth.
3. The author prefers a “red ocean”—an existing industry with established competition—because it contains proven business models that can be studied and copied. This allows an entrepreneur to assess opportunities, learn from competitors, and find ways to compete by being cheaper, faster, or better. In contrast, a “blue ocean” (a new, uncontested market) is viewed as riskier because the model is unproven.
4. The “power law” in business is the principle that a small subset of activities generates a disproportionate share of results, also known as the 80/20 rule. This means 20 percent of an entrepreneur’s activities (like sales, hiring, and delegation) will generate 80 percent of their positive outcomes and growth. The author advises focusing on these high-leverage activities found in the “important but not urgent” quadrant of time management.
5. The “monkey on the back” conundrum describes when an employee brings a problem (the monkey) to a manager, effectively transferring responsibility. The author advises managers to put the monkey back on the employee’s back by asking, “What would you do and why?” This forces the employee to practice critical thinking and develop their own problem-solving skills.
6. The two levels of delegation are delegating Tasks and delegating Decisions. Delegating tasks involves having an employee perform repeatable actions, which buys back the owner’s time. Delegating decisions is the key to true freedom, as it empowers employees to solve problems, make strategic choices, and run the business without the owner being a bottleneck.
7. The author argues that a “victim mentality,” which blames external factors for a lack of success, is a flawed perspective. Successful people understand that their situation is a direct result of their past decisions and actions. They take full ownership of their relationships, income, and health, recognizing that they, and only they, are responsible for their future.
8. The three criteria for a business that is not feasible for a new entrepreneur are: 1) it requires raising venture capital to start, 2) it is based on a new idea with no existing model, and 3) it involves manufacturing and selling a physical product. The author believes these paths are too difficult and have an excessively high failure rate for an inexperienced founder.
9. “Guerrilla marketing” refers to unscalable, scrappy, and often difficult marketing tactics that most competitors are unwilling to do. For Storage Squad, examples included sneaking into dorms to slide flyers under every door and getting up at 6:00 a.m. to write advertisements on sidewalks with chalk in high-traffic areas of campus.
10. A “franken business” is a company built by studying competitors and other businesses and then copying and combining their best operational strategies. This approach emphasizes stealing and adapting proven ideas rather than radical, outside-the-box innovation. It is the practical application of the principle “copy what is working.”

Essay Questions

Construct a detailed response to each of the following prompts, drawing evidence and examples from the source material.

1. The author states, “Execution is a thousand times more important than your idea.” Analyze this argument by comparing the author’s experience with Storage Squad to the outcomes of his classmates’ “fantastical business ideas.” How does this principle inform the author’s criteria for evaluating business opportunities?
2. Explore the central role of sales in the author’s entrepreneurial philosophy. Discuss how the concept of “selling” extends beyond customers to include employees, partners, and investors, and explain three of the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Salespeople” that can be used to “change the dynamic” of a sales interaction.
3. The author claims, “Every single business, when operated at a high level, is fundamentally the same.” Deconstruct this statement by explaining what it means to be an “expert operator.” What are the core, universal activities that define an operator, regardless of the industry?
4. Using the “four quadrants of time management,” analyze why so many entrepreneurs end up “owning a job” instead of a business. Explain how focusing on “important but not urgent” tasks is the key to business growth and achieving leverage.
5. Discuss the author’s framework for building a high-performing team. What are the key attributes of “winners,” what are the deal-breakers, and why does the author believe it’s critical to “fire your low performers or watch your high performers walk away”?

Glossary of Key Terms

Term	Definition
80/20 Rule	Also known as the Pareto principle, it is the concept that 20 percent of activities will generate 80 percent of positive outcomes. In business, this means a small subset of high-leverage activities drives most growth and profit.
ABR (Always. Be. Recruiting.)	A business mindset where an entrepreneur is perpetually hunting for talented people in all aspects of daily life, not just through formal hiring processes.
Analysis Paralysis	A state of over-analyzing or over-thinking a situation so that a decision or action is never taken. The author warns this is common in entrepreneurship and is based on a flawed need for perfection before starting.
Blue Ocean Strategy	A business strategy that involves creating a new, uncontested market where competition is irrelevant. The author argues against this for new entrepreneurs, favoring the “red ocean” of existing markets.
Franken Business	A business created by copying, stealing, and combining the best bits and pieces of operational strategies from competitors and other successful companies, rather than through radical innovation.
Guerrilla Marketing	Unscalable, difficult, and often “sweaty” marketing tactics that most competitors are unwilling to do. Examples include distributing flyers door-to-door and writing chalk ads on sidewalks.
Leverage	The key to a good life, flexibility, and wealth; it is something that maximizes an entrepreneur’s advantage so they can achieve a high return on time. It is acquired through Network, Skills, and Capital.
No-Asshole Rule	A principle that an entrepreneur can adopt once they have achieved sufficient leverage. It is the freedom to fire bad customers, break up with bad partners, and buy out bad investors, thereby removing negative and draining people from one’s life and business.
Red Ocean	A term representing all current industries where competition exists. The author prefers starting businesses here because the market is proven, and competitors can be studied.
Return on Time	A measure of an opportunity based on two questions: 1) What is the dollar return for an hour of time now and in the future? and 2) Will you keep getting paid if you stop working? A high return-on-time leads to freedom.
Sweaty Startup	A business, often in a boring industry like home services or trades, built on a proven model without reinventing the wheel. It typically involves starting small, trading time for money initially, managing risk, and growing slowly through superior execution.
The Four Quadrants of Time Management	A matrix for categorizing tasks based on urgency and importance. The author argues that true business growth comes from focusing on Quadrant 2: Important & Not Urgent tasks (e.g., hiring, sales, planning).