The Gambit

400. That is the number of different ways you could open a chess match. It is also the number of ways in which your opponent can respond. As the game progresses, the amount of potential movements only increases. To spare you the math, let’s just say that “endless possibilities” in chess is not too far from the truth. When you sit down at that checkered board, you’re not just sitting down to pawns and rooks, knights and bishops, a king and a queen. You’re faced with 400 possibilities, but it all comes down to 1 choice. Suddenly the game is a little more daunting. If you want to win, you need a strategy. If you want to win big, you need the Gambit.

The board is set, the pieces are in place, the game has begun. Now it’s your move.

Making Your Move

Of the many opening strategies, there is one sort that stands out among the rest — that is, the Gambit. If you play chess, or have had a Netflix subscription in the past year, you have undoubtedly heard this word, and more specifically its most famous iteration, the Queen’s Gambit. What makes this move so interesting is that it is a motion by which one seeks to gain an advantage through sacrificing one of his or her own pieces. Whereas the loss of a piece in chess is already inevitable, a Gambit requires one to lose a piece willingly.

So what’s the advantage? How much success can possibly be gained by willingly giving up a piece? The answer: much.

Amateur players of chess often see their pawns as inconsequential, fodder in the way of the more “powerful” pieces (particularly as calling someone a “pawn” has become something of an insult). The Queen’s Gambit, however, makes a single pawn the piece whereby a player can take control of the center of the board, a position that can turn the tides of any game. By willingly relinquishing control of a single pawn, you could very well gain control of the strategic high ground and place a potential victory in your grasp.

The Chess Master And The Business Owner

So, what does this have to do with business? As a business owner, you’re sitting at the metaphorical chess board. You are, in fact, the chess master. This is where the distinction between the Business Owner and the Job come to play.

Just as the chess master cannot limit him or herself to the moves of a single piece, you cannot afford to engulf yourself in a single job when you’ve got an entire enterprise to look over.  Just like any other human on this earth, you’ve got 24 hours in a day and you have got to use them wisely. The pawn, the rook, the knight, even the king and queen cannot see the board at large, but you can. Therefore let the pawn do the job of the pawn, the rook do the job of the rook, and so on, so that you can watch and make the movements necessary to keep things running smoothly. Sometimes — in fact, all the time — that’s going to require…

The Business Gambit

As the business owner, the pieces are in front of you, and so are the possibilities. Maybe you do have 400 potential opening moves. Maybe fewer. The point is that you need to go into this with a strategy and where business is involved, chances are your first move will be the Gambit. Remember that sacrificing your pawn in this sense is not to abandon it. Rather, it is to relinquish control of it so that you are free to make the moves that only you can make.

When you make the Business Gambit, something amazing happens: your enterprise will grow. By handing control of a pawn over, you’ve in fact expanded your horizons. Your possibilities increase. The path to victory becomes just a little clearer. But your business is not the only thing that will grow — you will too. Together, you and the company you’re growing will become more self-reliant. The cogs will start to turn without you having to physically turn them yourself, giving you more freedom, and lightening your load until all that’s required is a little grease every now and then to keep it running smoothly.

To Run The Gambit Successfully, You Must Be Committed

The Risk And Reward Of The Gambi

You’ve heard the phrase, “You’ve got to spend money to make money,” right? In business, that is not just true, but an established fact of amelioration. Often it might sound counterintuitive, and the fear of throwing good money after bad is very legitimate. That’s why gathering data and making a strategy will help find the channels to make your Gambit an educated one, the result of which will lead to a freer schedule, more fulfillment in your work, and even an increased cash flow.

Now this is not a work exemption. Part of having a strategy is sticking to it. Improvement is an on going process, not just an event. Remember, when playing chess, you still have the opponent to consider and you have to respond to their moves just as they have to respond to yours. You might find yourself making more than one Gambit before victory is fully yours.

That is why hiring an established marketing team is a Gambit worth taking. By hiring one, the money you spend and the control you relinquish are directed towards giving you a greater grasp on the business you’re growing as a whole. What sounded at first like giving up power is in fact giving you room to expand your capabilities, becoming more self-reliant. We know that because we’ve seen it happen.

Growth Outside Of The Comfort Zone

We’ve recently worked with a client who had grown her business from a seed. She was knowledgeable in her field and she was yielding success. The checkered board was laid out before her and she knew her pieces. But after a while, growth required more hands than two. In order to continue growing and maintain the quality that she was searching for, she needed to make a Gambit.

That’s when she reached out to us. It was a sacrifice she was making, one that would take her out of her comfort zone for a little while. But she was willing to relinquish control of her pawn in favor of greater control and an increase in quality. By making this move, she has gained the freedom to improve in her field, becoming better at what she does, while we are able to expand her control of the board. Checkmate.

Don’t Put Off Improvement

Not long ago, another client came to us. For years, he had a product that he believed in, but found that by doing everything alone, his growth had become stagnant. It was time for a Gambit, in which he relinquished control of marketing to us. By developing a strategy and making a calculated move based on data we were acquiring, we found great feedback which we have been able to direct towards getting his product out there. Meanwhile, his workload has lessened, giving him more room to move and more freedom to focus on improving his business.

Your Board Is Set. It’s Your Move

When a parent hands the keys of the car over to their teenager, it’s a sign of trust. As a child grows, the parent has given more responsibility, which has encouraged growth, self-reliance, and experience. These experiences have built up to the moment when that freedom, those horizons, have been unlocked. It’s the same way with business. Just like the chess master who sacrifices his pawn to gain the board, just like the parent who finally hands over the keys, you as the business owner have the opportunity to make your opening move. 400 potential openings, and you get to make your choice. How liberating is that? We want to see you make the right one. Which is why we extend this call to action: Are you ready to give up some control of your marketing to gain control over your company?

The board is set, the pieces are in place, the game has begun. Now it’s your move.