I spent last week looking at my juggling skills.
I’ve got a lot better over the years.
As a teenager I actually worked with a young professional juggler and he taught me how to juggle three balls.
Clearly it wasn’t enough. I needed to know how to juggle at least 25 things as a business owner!
One important thing he taught me though was “It’s no good keeping everything in the air if you can’t smile while you do it. You’ve still got to perform.”
Entrepreneurship is exactly that, isn’t it?
It’s the swan thing.
On top: graceful, lovely, calm.
Under the water: legs going like mad.
Every morning you walk through that sliding door into the day, and the game face goes on. Your team needs your energy. Your customers need your confidence. The world needs to believe you’ve got it handled… even when you’re quietly thinking, “If one more thing drops, I’m moving into a cave.”
However - it’s not just about juggling more balls.
It’s about making sure nobody can easily snatch them out your hands.
So I’ve been looking closely at our businesses and asking:
What’s our “moss”?
That stuff that grows around the castle walls, that makes you harder to compare, harder to copy, harder to replace.
Our wedding venue? It’s not just a room and a bar. It’s the location, the team, the service, the reputation. The things that make you feel looked after.
My commercial property? Location again. Good transport links. The right patch of the Southeast. That’s the moss.
At the moment, as I’ve mentioned before - I’m obsessed with education.
Podcasts. Interviews. Meeting other entrepreneurs. Nicking their best ideas and deploying them like a cheerful thief.
Because the minute you stop learning, you start sliding.
Right now I’m in a delightful village in the Alps called Valberg.
It’s owned and run by a handful of families. They control the lifts, restaurants, hotels, the whole experience. It’s not trying to be some flashy ski resort for Instagram heroes.
It’s mid-range, well organised, reliable.
They know their lane.
They know their customer.
And they absolutely rinse the turnstiles all day long because they deliver exactly what they promise.
So here’s a simple question to take into this week:
Where’s your moss?
What are you building around your business that makes you harder to compare, harder to copy, and easier to choose?
Go find one thing and improve it. This week. Not “soon”.
That’s the lesson.
Don’t just juggle more balls.
Strengthen your position. Know your lane. Keep tweaking. Stay bothered.
And whatever you do - smile while you’re doing it.
If I’m lucky, I’ll see you on the next one.
James