Guard Your Mission, Stay in Control

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Seth Goldman, cofounder and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the fast-growing pioneer of organic brews favored by discerning tea lovers including President Barack Obama, shared the advice that has shaped his company and career: Never lose control of your company’s money, whether you’re spending it or raising it. And run your business as if you are going to own it forever.

I got lots of bad advice as I was building Honest Tea. Luckily, I was smart enough not to take most of it. Among the worst nonstarters:

• Add more sugar (which would have undone one key factor that made us stand out).
• Rebrand Honest Tea as a low-carb company. (Those low-carb diets, with people eating bacon three times a day, have little appeal for our health-conscious clients.)
• Sell energy drinks. (There was almost zero overlap of energy-drink buyers with our core customers.)

Any of those ideas would probably have wrecked the company. But fortunately, we benefited from two wonderfully wise advisers--Gary Hirshberg, cofounder of Stonyfield, and Jeff Swartz, CEO of Timberland. Their counsel shaped my company, my career, and my life. They preached two core rules: Never lose control of your company’s money, both incoming and outgoing, and run the business as if you plan to own it forever.

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