36 episodes
The Fink Tank Cam and Col Fink
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- Business
A podcast for people dealing with the weirdness of running their own small business. Brothers Cam and Col Fink chat about work, life, and the confounding idiocy of themselves and others.
They've been brothers for 45 years. You get to pick who's older.
Col helps people run successful small practices, and is an expert public speaker and trainer.
Cam is an event producer and freelance videographer, and loves helping people bring their best selves to video.
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Get to the chopper
Tiritiri Matangi Island: Come for the endangered Takahē, stay for the emergency medivac helicopter!
After a peaceful day exploring the island and it's diverse native bird species, things took a dramatic turn when Chris' shoulder exploded.
Chris was in serious pain and unable to walk. With limited phone reception and the last ferry gone, things were stressful.
Less than an hour later, Ross Aitken repelled out of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and exuded the calm confidence we desperately needed.
Chris was whisked off to hospital for emergency surgery, and I hitched a ride home with some friendly locals.
Col and I reflect that while most jobs are less spectacular than repelling paramedics, the principles are similar.
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Vanity metrics
Vanity metrics aren’t a problem. Vanity is.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to increase visibility and reach. Just don’t be icky or out of alignment.
Agonising over the success of a post you care about is no fun, but having no clients or work is no fun either!
In this Friday Fink Tank, we discuss “vanity” metrics, our susceptibility to fall for their allure, and what we can do about it.
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The success of failure
As kids, we destroyed several hundred dollars worth of light globes while playing hacky sack in the hallway throughout our childhood.
The fact that our parents elected to allow the wanton destruction to continue says something about their attitude towards prioritising our growth.
It can be really challenging to cultivate the same level of compassion for mistakes (and encouragement for growth) when considering how we treat ourselves as adults.
In this episode of The Friday Fink Tank, we find gratitude for the way our parents raised us, and lessons for how to think about tackling challenges in the future.
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Deadstock
We record the Fink Tank on Col’s farm. They have lots of animals. Sometimes they die.
As someone fairly new to farming, Col still finds this pretty confronting.
Deakin, his 4 year old, is far less affected, because he’s never known anything different.
He’s used to deadstock.
When you’re operating a solo business, you have to get used to your deadstock.
Awkward sales calls, rejections, failed projects.
They’re the unavoidable by-product if you want successful sales calls and amazing projects!
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Thanks a lot universe, why are we like this??
Nearly everyone is prone to dips in self-belief. Those who aren't are surely lying.
Oscillations in confidence can be crippling.
When starting a new venture, the road is often bumpy. When developing a new skill, it's rarely a smooth ascension to mastery.
Most of life's endeavours come with peaks and troughs. Sometimes there are good reasons for them.
Often there aren't.
It's particularly galling when a loss of confidence is THE ONLY thing that might actually justify the loss in confidence.
"Thanks a lot, universe! Why are we like this??" - Col, reflecting on his mental rollercoaster in the lead up to launching the Solo Program.
The facts might not really change. And we're still the same person. If nothing is materially different, why the dip in self-belief??? What gives??
It can be a circular and confounding pattern.
In this week's Fink Tank, we chat strategies for how to cope with this annoying human condition.
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Do a shoey
When he was fifteen years old, Formula 1 driver Daniel Riccardo learnt a *teeeny* bit about how to drive from Col, who ran a go-kart company at the time.
Is your professional life analogous to a world famous F1 driver’s early karting career? Or to his penchant for “doing a shoey” with champagne on the winner’s dais?
Probably not.
But this gratuitous name-drop DOES have relevance when we talk about exponential growth curves (and Col gets to say the word “asymptote”).
Some growth curves deliver huge returns quickly. Like learning to drive a go-kart.
Some growth curves deliver success slowly. Like building a professional profile.
If you’re trying to establish a reputation, instant success is unlikely to land in your lap. It’s even less likely to deliver a crowd of adoring fans cheering for you to skol champagne out of a shoe.
You have to do the work. Consistently and diligently. For months. Years. Early progress might be slow or non-existent. It can be an unrewarding slog.
Stick at it. You’re at the start of a growth curve.
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We typically don’t discuss episode topics in advance of recording, as it can “let the fizz out”, as it were. Col’s failure to bring a bottle bubbles for a Fink Tank shoey for this episode is nothing short of devastating. Pathetic preparation.
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