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From the book, “Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief” by Chris Cooper I’ve been a mentor for years. We currently have over 420 entrepreneurs in the TwoBrain family; over 2,000 have done a free call with me in person; and 20,000 purchased my first book, Two-Brain Business. Every single entrepreneur needs a 1:1 mentor, because no two businesses are identical. But entrepreneurs generally fall into four broad categories: Founder, Farmer, Tinker and Thief. We call these the Four Phases of Entrepreneurship. Which phase are you in? You can take the test here: www.twobrain.com/test Your phase isn’t determined by longevity. It’s determined by your profitability; your systems; your team; and your growth as a leader. Founders need different marketing strategies, branding and income than Farmers do. And Tinkers have completely different challenges. Every entrepreneur needs a mentor. And that mentor should offer education, advice and inspiration that’s specific to the entrepreneur’s needs RIGHT NOW. In the Founder phase, the entrepreneur leaps off the cliff with his big idea. His goal is simple: to survive. He opens his business. He buys his equipment and supplies. He signs the lease, the loan, and the letter of intent. He flips the open sign on the door. Then what? The Founder’s big idea might leverage a better life, but his labor is the fulcrum. And that’s understood by the Founder, who embraces the romantic ideal of the entrepreneur: poring over the books at midnight, a trace smear of flour or gym chalk on his tired face, pondering the next step up the ladder to success. #hustle #grind The Founder phase takes a heavy toll — physically exhausting, financially terrifying, and the largest strain on every personal relationship the Founder has. My job as mentor is to get the Founder out of the Founder phase as quickly as possible. Many businesses never survive this phase. The Farmer phase starts when the entrepreneur begins the shift from self-employed to ...

Catalyst gets a lot of drop-ins in the summer. Located at the intersection of I-75 and Highway 17 (Canada’s only coast-to-coast highway), the Sault is Canada’s gateway. Visiting CrossFitters show up almost every day in the summer. Some of them have heard of Catalyst through the CrossFit Journal, or TwoBrain Radio, or the CrossFit Podcast.   When possible, I take the visitors for coffee at our cafe next door. I always ask, “How does Catalyst compare to your own gym?”   The most common answer I get is, “It’s not much different at all…”   And if you’re a gym owner, that should make you very excited.   I have cool equipment. So do you. I have amazing coaches. I’m sure you have some too (or are one yourself). I have nice bathrooms, nice t-shirts, and fun workouts. Just like you. I don’t have a whiskey bar, or a dedicated stretching room, or couches where athletes can “chill out” and talk about how they’re going to stay at Catalyst forever.   So WHY do I get to work 20 minutes at Catalyst every two weeks, and still make a great living? How can I possibly own the gym, and its building, and all the property surrounding it, and the building next door, and still take long bike rides and write books and sponsor dozens of kids–and you can’t?   Because when it comes to building a business, those things don’t make a difference.   I don’t make more money than you do because my coaches are 30% better.   I don’t get all this time off because my floors are cleaner. And my wife doesn’t tease me about being retired because my marketing game is amazing (it’s not–my marketing game is mostly handshakes and “good morning!”s)   Those things–excellent coaching, clean bathrooms, classes starting on time–are the bare minimum requirements.   No one is Googling, “Biggest CrossFit gym in Sault ...