Ryan Deiss argues that at $500k revenue, sales is the only skill that matters. Hiring, delegation, negotiation, financial literacy, recruiting, public speaking, decision-making, and storytelling are all secondary because without sales there is no revenue to support them.
Sales or hiring? Sales. You don't need to be doing hiring at $500K. Sales or delegation? Sales. You don't have a ton to delegate at $500K. Sales or negotiation? Sales. There's nobody to negotiate with at $500K. Sales or financial literacy? Uh, still, let's go make some sales and create the need for the financial literacy. Sales or recruiting? Sales. Sales or public speaking? I mean, if you're doing public speaking for sales, maybe, but I'm still going to give sales the nod. Sales or decision-making? Sales. Sales or storytelling? Sales. So, is the most valuable founder skill at $500K sales? It is. If you're not making sales, then nothing else matters.
