Anything You Want - Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers wrote the book Anything You Want, in which he explains the 40 lessons he learnt while establishing his music business over a ten-year period.

Derek founded CD Baby in 1998 and sold the company for $22 million in 2008. He discusses how he established his business and built it to a multi-million dollar enterprise in this book.

Another fantastic feature of this book is Derek's discussion of knowing when it's time to leave a business.

Here, I'll go over the five lessons that have had the most impact on me and are assisting me in building a stronger business for my community.

1. You don’t need a plan

Derek argues that you don’t have to make a plan or have a vision in order to start a business. In fact, he encourages you not to have one because people’s needs are constantly changing.

He advises you to start by solving a problem for yourself first. Once you have identified your problem and found a solution that is feasible for the masses, then you go out and start helping other people solve that same exact problem.

The main focus here is to not plan monetization for your solution but to help as many people as you can.

2. Care about your customers more than about yourself

One point Derek repeats throughout the book is the importance of your customer’s needs. As a business owner, your primary focus should be on the customer and their best interests.

One thing he puts emphasis on repeatedly is the utopian customer experience. By that, he means to put yourself in the shoes of the customer and think about what the perfect service would entail.

If you provide the customer with exemplary service, you can rely on them to refer you to other customers without the need for advertising or marketing. This essentially comes down to how happy customers are with your service.

Turn your customers into your fans.

Please do not start a business with the intent of making a lot of money. Starting a business focused on helping others will accelerate your journey to making a lot of money.

3. Delegate or die: The self-employment trap

Many people start a business and surround their entire business model around them. Meaning, every little decision needs to go through them before it is executed. This makes them essential for the business wheel to continue turning.

Derek advises against doing that. Instead of making yourself the business owner essential, set up the business so that it continues to run without you.

This is life-changing because, as he explains, when he started to delegate important decisions to his employees, his company grew from $1 million to $20 million.

By showing his employees the mindset behind his decisions, they started making the right decisions without resorting back to him for every little thing. This allowed his business to grow and prosper as he stepped away to do other things.

Become a business owner that is not vital to the business and you will be surprised with the results.

4. Make it anything you want

My favorite lesson in this book is about making your own happiness. You don't have to be the CEO just because you started the company.

Being a business owner gives you the flexibility to do what you love. It also gives you the opportunity to outsource the work that you don’t enjoy as much. Find someone that loves doing the work that you don’t.

It's crucial to stay happy during your business journey, and if you are not happy, then what is the point?

5. Why I gave my company to charity

Lastly, Derek ends the book by talking about knowing when you have enough.

He emphasizes this lesson by sharing how in 2008 he had enough to live a simple life that kept him happy.

Therefore, when he decided to sell the company for $22 million, he decided to give it away to charity for music education. He decided he did not need the money because he simply had enough.

He did not need to live lavishly with that amount of money, nor was he looking up to people with higher net worth trying to catch up to them.

Knowing when you have enough is your selfless reminder to be content.

Bottom Line

Anything You Want is a small handbook of lessons that showcases 10 years of wisdom in a one-hour read.

If you are looking to start and grow a business centered around a community, I strongly suggest you read the full book.