By: Joshua Finley

Brad Burns has charted an unlikely path from rural Missouri farm life to leading successful multimillion-dollar companies. His journey offers many transferable lessons for those with big entrepreneurial dreams.

Adopt A Focused Mindset

Brad believes adopting a focused mindset is essential to drive results as an entrepreneur. Despite lacking business experience, he jumped in fully committed. “You just have to completely be all in and go for it,” Brad asserts. “You can’t tiptoe into it because you’ll never reach the success you want.”

He advises avoiding analysis paralysis and excessive planning. Take focused action for a defined period to give your business idea a real chance to blossom.

Lead By Outworking Everyone

Right from the start, Brad established a leadership style built on outworking all employees. Even if they put in 10-hour days, he would push to 16 hours to demonstrate commitment.

“If you do that, you don’t have to ask people to step up when they need to,” Brad explains. “It trickles down, not as an expectation, but as inspiration to follow you.” By putting in long hours himself, Brad motivated his team to push themselves without pressure. Employees saw if the boss consistently went above and beyond, they should as well.

Manage Cash Flow Diligently

When his business was scaling quickly early on, Brad faced a major cash crunch. With hundreds of thousands owed to workers and suppliers, he suddenly couldn’t make payroll. After urgent conversations with clients, he secured emergency financing just in time.

“I knew if those guys didn’t get paid, all work was going to stop until they did,” Brad recalls. “It was a very nerve-wracking few days, to say the least.”

He cautions entrepreneurs to vigilantly manage cash flow, especially during rapid growth periods. Always be fundraising and have access to short-term financing as a safety net.

Embrace Making Mistakes

Looking back on mistakes from his early days, Brad gained hard-earned lessons on contracts, hiring, client agreements, and managing finances. “I already screwed up so many times in the first five or six years with landscaping,” he says. “It helps mitigate some challenges you find in a new business.”

He urges entrepreneurs to view mistakes as learning opportunities, not failures. Let missteps guide you rather than discouraging progress.

Identify Marketplace Gaps

Brad has proven adept at recognizing gaps in the marketplace primed for new entrants. When a longtime local seafood supplier suddenly shut down, he pounced on the opening.

“We bought all his equipment and employees followed him to us,”  Brad details. “We were able to hit the ground running.”

Keep an eye out for disruption creating opportunities in your industry. Have the operational agility to capitalize on openings.

Empower Complementary Partners

Rather than go it alone, Brad believes in partnering with those possessing complementary skill sets. He handles finances, legal, accounting and empower partners to execute operations. “I’ll make sure we always have money and are compliant,” he explains. “You focus on what you’re good at and I’ll handle the rest.” Identify weaknesses holding you back and bring on partners who can address those gaps. Align diverse skillsets behind a shared vision.

Despite his major success, Brad remains firmly grounded. He emphasizes gratitude for the talented people around him who believed in his vision. Brad Burns shows how an unshakable work ethic, laser focus, managing cash flow, and expressing gratitude can help chart a course from modest beginnings to entrepreneurial success.

To learn more about Brad Burns, you can visit his LinkedIn profile.

Published by: Nelly Chavez