Make sure you're hard to kill

The biggest thing I've learned in the last 6 months is business is war.

It's not this thing you get to do just to call yourself a CEO or so you can make cool Daniel Dalen style POV vlogs.

This shit will whoop your a** to the ground and keep you there if you let it.

I experienced my version of this in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.

Everything that could go wrong came my way. Wrong deals, wrong hires, wrong partnerships, wrong investments.

On a personal level, lost people. Nearly lost my dad to septic shock.

That one I'm still processing if I'm honest.

Trying to act normal on client calls. Replying to Slack messages with one hand while feeling helpless losing someone you love.

The business doesn't pause because your life is falling apart. The ads still need to run. Payroll still goes out. Clients still want their result.

And that's when I realised the SOPs weren't good enough. The systems weren't good enough.

Too much was still in my head. If I'd needed to disappear for two weeks the whole thing would've started leaking.

It got to a point I thought someone was out to get me with the amount of bad things happening back to back.

I nearly closed down one of my businesses because I didn't understand why everything was going so wrong.

But then I remembered an agreement I made with myself a long time ago.

It doesn't matter what gets thrown my way, I'll always make sure I'm the hardest person to kill.

I got this from the famous 50 Cent quote. Get rich or die tryin.

I'm dying trying.

Because really, what other option do you have?

I had to realise this is war. War with my old self, war with my competitors, war with the doubt that tries to creep into your head.

I don't deep stuff too much or try to sound philosophical. But my conclusion is like Michael Beasley said:

"Sharpen the sword for the sake of the sword being sharp. Don't just sit there waiting for the war to start. Prepare for war in the time of peace."

If you're in business, always be ready for the war. Shit will go wrong. I repeat. SHIT WILL GO WRONG.

But just like you make yourself hard to kill, make sure your business is hard to kill.

You build it hard to kill before anything tries.

Here's what that actually looks like, and what I changed after the last 6 months hit me.

Backup payment processor. One processor freezing your account is enough to take a month of cash flow off the table. I've now got a second one set up and dormant, ready to switch on the same day if anything happens to the main one.

Backup Meta account. If you're running paid, you already know how fast accounts get killed for nothing. Have a second Business Manager on a separate domain, with a warm pixel and creatives ready to deploy. The first time you lose an ad account is not the time to start setting that up.

Cash spread across multiple accounts. Not one bank. Not one processor. Not one country if you can help it. The day Stripe holds your funds for review, you’ll understand.

SOPs strong enough that the business runs without you. This is the one I learnt the hardest way. When something goes wrong in your personal life, the business should still operate. If everything lives in your head, you don't have a business, you have a job that's harder than a job.

Pipeline always open. Even when you're full. Especially when you're full. The worst time to start prospecting is the day after a client cancels. The pipeline doesn't close because you're busy, it closes because you got comfortable.

Recruitment channels always open. Same logic. Keep talking to setters, closers, editors, media buyers even when you're not hiring. The day your key person quits with no notice, you should already have three names in a doc you can call that afternoon.

None of this is exciting. None of it makes a good Youtube video (why I haven’t picked up the camera in months - I’ve been at war lol).

But it's the difference between a bad month being a bad month, and a bad month being the end of the company.

Most people read this and nod. They’ll agree and then they go back to their week and don't change a thing because nothing's on fire today.

Don't be that guy.

Pick one this week. Set up the backup processors. Audit your pipeline. Document the process that lives in your head.

Sharpen the sword in the time of peace.

SHARPEN THE SWORD FOR THE SAKE OF THE SWORD BEING SHARP!!!

The war is far from ended but we’re coming to the end of this particular battle so expect some more newsletters and content.

For Service Business Owners:

We build growth systems for operators who plan to still be standing in 5 years. If that's you, message me on Instagram (@quamob_) with one word: WAR. We'll take it from there.