Juggling client work, growing DCM Communications, and marathon training is a constant balancing act. Each requires focus and dedicated effort, both of which take up time and there are only so many hours in a day.
In order to bring all of my goals (running & business) to fruition, I’ve worked to find ways to combine my training with business growth—like listening to marketing and business podcasts while I run.
A Podcast Lesson That Shifted My Perspective
Recently, while listening to Founder’s Journal by Morning Brew’s founder Alex Lieberman, one statement hit home. He discussed how, in the early stages of his latest business venture, he’s handling the “boring work”—the necessary but less exciting tasks that outsourcing isn’t yet an option for.
“Boring work means you have the privilege to consider some work as boring and other work as non-boring.”
That perspective stuck with me.
The Difference Between “Hunting” and “Farming” in Business
In marketing, there’s a clear distinction between short-term, high-impact activities (hunting) and long-term efforts that pay off over time (farming):
- Hunting: Direct sales activities with immediate results, like email campaigns that generate sales, meetings that close deals, or ads that convert.
- Farming: The strategic, long-term marketing efforts—content creation, relationship-building, and brand consistency—that don’t yield instant results but lay the groundwork for future success.
Both are essential, and this resource explains why, but the patience required for farming can make it feel like the boring work.
The Hard Truth About Entrepreneurship
When someone tells me they want to start a business and are really looking forward to the flexibility of hours, I try to give them a solid dose of the reality that flexibility comes with that privilege.
Owning (and growing!) a business is HARD.
A. There is no guaranteed paycheck that hits your account every two weeks independent of whether you’ve had a rough day/week/month. You eat what you kill, so to speak.
B. Retainers and recurring revenue are 100% possible to combat A, but they take time to establish and will likely only be a portion of your necessary revenue.
C. Your ability to develop solid sales skills and execute on them, is what makes it a business vs. a time-consuming hobby.
Yet, despite the challenges, there is one privilege that makes entrepreneurship entirely worth it in my opinion:
The ability to choose who you work with.
There is no manager telling you to “make it work” with a team member or client. You are the boss and if a relationship isn’t a right fit, then you can politely exit or decline the contract.
Reframing “Boring” Work as a Privilege
Not everyone has the financial or logistical ability to leave a steady paycheck and take a risk on a business. Many people have great ideas but lack the internal drive—or external means—to turn them into reality.
So, the next time you find yourself frustrated by the tedious, behind-the-scenes tasks of running a business, remember Alex Lieberman’s words:
“Boring work means you have the privilege to consider some work as boring… You have the choice to optimize how you spend your time on work versus looking at work as a mechanism for survival.”
Embrace the “boring” work—it’s a sign of the success and choices you’ve built for yourself. Yeah it’s a drain sometimes, but it’s 100% a privilege to feel drained by a part of your work rather than simply fighting to, sometimes literally, survive another day.
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