052 Matthew Manos: Finding Purpose in Crisis

In this episode, we talk to Matthew Manos, the Founder and Managing Director of verynice. Since 2008, verynice has built and managed remote design and strategy teams to tackle projects for hundreds of clients. Matthew has recently authored a new toolkit, Make It Remote: A Survival Guide For The Future Of Work, to provide businesses with a road map for taking their business online.

We talked about:

• The pros and cons of the physical model, hybrid model, and virtual model
• The mindset shift and tactical shifts to entrepreneurs going through this transition now
• The importance of defining what success means for you
• Lessons he learned when he started his business during the 2008 crisis
• The tactical advice to turn this challenging time into opportunities
  • For gig workers
  • For aspiring entrepreneurs
  • For current business owners
  • For brick and mortar business owners
• Discerning important/not-urgent decisions and not-important/urgent during the Covid19 crisis
• His first awakening moment when he first found his purpose

LINKS

• Leave us a 5-star review if you enjoy this episode bit.ly/noblewarriorreview
• A mini-course about managing your mind in the middle of chaos cklin.com/certainty.
• Everything Matthew knows about bringing an office online: https://gumroad.com/l/makeitremote
• Everything Matthew knows about bringing a syllabus online: https://lnkd.in/gNZ7kH9
• verynice Matthew's design strategy agency

QUOTABLE QUOTES

‘Art is the creative process not just the painting hanging on the wall’

Right now, there's too much uncertainty to have a single anchor

if you're launching in this kind of environment right now, my advice to you is to I kind of see that as a as a godsend to be able to actually work ON the business in and find that unique voice for yourself and make that happen.

I'm not going to get trapped in my typical reactionary mindset. And I'm going to think about the future.

If you're constantly reacting to right now, you'll never be able to actually see that future. And if you can see that as an opportunity to say "Oh, by thinking my purpose, I actually am laying the groundwork to be able to actually do this to actually kind of change that path for myself"

When you're starting your company, really take the time to reflect what does success mean to you? Don’t let other people define what success mean for you.

A painting is hung when the person decides to stop stroking the brush, right, but the actual art is in stroking the brush. When I go to a museum, when I stand in front of a painting and I try not to see the painting, I try to see the hand in front of the canvas that made it

'Lost' is wandering around aimlessly and not sure when you're going to go back home; 'exploring' is choosing to leave your home and choosing to to be lost but knowing that you have somewhere to come back to.

[On finding purpose] look at all of the activities, all the things on your plate, and ask yourself, what is the source of each of these things? What is the thing that is motivating you to do each of these things?