Go All In or Go Home

It's a challenging task

There’s a saying: Go All In or Go Home.

Journalist Ian Crouch, writing for The New Yorker, explains: “Whereas ‘all in’ once referred to a scenario in which someone either wins a hand or loses everything in a flash, now it means that a person is simply generally enthusiastic or fully committed.”

“All in” often comes to mind when starting a business. Either you’re fully committed, or you’re not. Most snake oil salespeople will tell you during their pitch that unless you’re prepared to go “all in,” you won’t succeed. What this really means is focusing on one problem that needs solving—not a multitude—and going all in on how you solve it.

A common question I get from people starting businesses, especially those with many ideas, is: Which one should I go “all in” on? What they’re really asking is which idea has the greatest chance of success, and that’s not always an easy question to answer.

My advice is always to pick the idea you’re most passionate about and go “all in” from there. In practice, this means focusing on that one idea, choosing one marketing channel based on your customer research, and going “all in” to see if your customers respond to your proposition.

Going all in has countless applications when it comes to starting a business. It means avoiding the trap of trying to do too many things at once and instead focusing on areas that will truly drive growth. This could mean cutting out superfluous work—like running multiple social media channels—when only one or two platforms are where your ideal customers are likely to be found.

What I like to remind myself is that “going all in” doesn’t have to be forever. I spent several months on LinkedIn, for example, writing daily, to drive up my followers and create more engagement with them. Six months later, I had accomplished my goal and I took my foot off the pedal as I realised I’d accomplished what I wanted. At the moment, I’m going “all in” on Substack and enjoying the community there, the increase in my subscription revenue and the opportunities that have come my way through being more visible to people who commission me for work.

In practise, I suspect many of us finding going “all in” a challenge. We may be tempted to test out multiple social media platforms all at once rather than testing one at a time. Or perhaps we are constantly changing the messaging on our website without analysing whether one works better than another.

Tools such as Hotjar, for example, which are initially free, are a great way to discover what your customer is actually doing when they land on your site rather than second guessing their behaviour.

What does going “all in” mean to you?

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I have now added a new tab on website with all the dates for the Power Hour and the Moving Forward Group as a reminder. The Moving Forward Group is on 15th February.

February 2025

• 15th Moving Forward Group

All GWDC events are bookable via Eventbrite and you can book for the months ahead, which means you’ll receive reminders as and when they occur.

There are numerous workshops on your One Page Business Plan, Pricing your Creative Products that GWDC members can access for free. You will find the calendar of those upcoming events here.

Here’s what’s included when you join the GWDC as a PAID SUBSCRIBER:

• A monthly Power Hour to tackle tasks you’ve been putting off.

• The Moving Forward Group, where you can address any challenges you’re facing.

• 15-minute office hours with either Mark or me to discuss whatever you want.

• Free workshops and exclusive discounts on tools like Hubspot, Dell products, and more.

The 15-minute office hours alone are worth £25, making this a fantastic deal at just £9.99/month or £99.99/year. You can subscribe or upgrade by clicking the button below:

Until next time,

Suzanne