JAMES LAWS

I'm just a small business owner who loves solving problems and creating systems to work and live more effectively.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@airfrance Why won't your site or your app let me view my flight information? And why does your support chat say, "All our assistants are currently busy, and we are unable to take new messages at the moment. Please try again later." I've been trying for 3 days!

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

Most people skip straight to goals. But if you don't understand what actually happened last year — where energy went, what got neglected, what surprised you — you're just guessing at what to do next.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

December 26th is when I shift. The holiday is over. I've got 5-6 days to think about the year ending and the one beginning. Not rushing into resolutions. Just sitting with what was and what could be.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@chrislema I appreciate this take. It’s the very thing I have been doing for myself and for the company. Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas.

[Matt Pritchett @mrpritchett]

We have some really excited new features coming out for SendWP. If you aren't happy with your current email deliverability, now is a great time to jump in.

[Faisal #OpentoWork @faisalahammadwp]

@KatieKeithBarn2 is a special person in my professional life. Her emails inspired me to improve my skills after my 3-year career gap. I made a promise to myself to become stronger.

Every month, I enjoy reading some of her old emails, and hers always tops the list, alongside @JamesLaws.

She deserves more respect from me. 🫡

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

As we enter 2025, full-steam ahead, what actions or systems are you putting in place to ensure it’s as successful as possible?

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@chrislema The volumes of books I could fill with all the stuff, “I don’t know” is staggering.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@NinjaForms He’s a swell guy.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@NinjaForms My 10 year old just said it’s because Ohio is “tue sussiest of places.” He’s never been so I’m not sure his opinion counts.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@NinjaForms I just want to know how Mississippi got by unscathed.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@NinjaForms @kstover ✋

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@jeremymoore Nope. We all left.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

Watching everyone post their #CaboPress recaps reminds me how powerful that atmosphere is. Especially being around those people.

I had to miss this year and have hated it. Hopefully I’ll see you all next year. Safe travels home.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

That’s awesome and liberating.

To all the other business owners, demonstrate that for your team and give them that same freedom.

The freedom to make and learn from your mistakes is powerful.

[Katie Keith @KatieKeithBarn2]

One thing I love about being my own boss is being able to own up to my mistakes, as no one can fire me or anything than that!

I've noticed that it makes me a lot more honest and helps with my fear of failure 🦾

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@chrislema Ha! It will be tough, but I believe in you. I'll make it up to you next year.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

I don’t know that I have any public examples, but examples of things I've been able to do is with our project scheduling and tracking.

We built a custom execution system we call PACE. For it we use separate sheets to schedule, track, and and get stats on the work we're doing. We need stats by brand, by department, by team member, etc. We also need to attach smaller chunks of work to bigger initiatives to make sure we are moving towards the right goals.

There are seven sheets in all that all have to communicate with each other to stay up to date and and provide metrics and status. There are a lot of moving pieces and complex formulas in that I couldn't have written on my own.

Here is just one, and not the longest one, that get's the start date of a project based on Commitments made in another sheet:

=IFERROR(INDEX(Commitments!$3:$3, 1, SMALL(IF((MOD(COLUMN(Commitments!$B$6:$DA$28)-COLUMN(Commitments!B53)+1, 2)=1) * (Commitments!$B$6:$DA$28='Treks (H1)'!A49), COLUMN(Commitments!$B$6:$DA$28)), 1)) - (WEEKDAY(INDEX(Commitments!$3:$3, 1, SMALL(IF((MOD(COLUMN(Commitments!$B$6:$DA$28)-COLUMN(Commitments!$B$6)+1, 2)=1) * (Commitments!$B$6:$DA$28='Treks (H1)'!A49), COLUMN(Commitments!$B$6:$DA$28)), 1)), 2) - 1), "")

I'm sure that's not too difficult for someone, but with my knowledge of sheet formulas, completely out of reach for me.

[JAMES LAWS @JamesLaws]

@michelleames Nothing cold about your DMs.