Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor

Advisor/Consultant | Executive | Emmy Winner | Apparel Brand Founder (exit), Franchise Owner (sold) | Free problem solve chat, no pitch just clarity 🔗

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

Most advice comes from people who’ve only done one thing.

I’ve built award-winning media, launched a 7-figure apparel brand, scaled a global car platform, and helped founders solve problems.

Here are 6 business lessons I’d bet on again:

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

It is a totally believable story bc I had it happen to me yesterday.

Vehicle has price listed but ‘click for sales price’. I do so. They ask how I want to be contacted (email) and then proceed to text and call me 7 times.

Do I need to post the missed calls to prove that to you?

This is Hendrick btw. A big organization.

The vast majority of car dealerships are terrible. The stories of bad ones aren’t figments of people’s imaginations.

The dealer lobbying groups restrict how things are sold across every state. That isn’t real choice for consumers. It’s me having to choose the best of bad choices.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@MikeCalcara

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

The most dangerous phase in business is “fine.”

Revenue is steady. The team is functioning.

Nothing is on fire.

It sounds good. But is it?

In my experience, this is where founders start delaying decisions because they're afraid it will "mess everything up."

Unfortunately, staying "fine" IS actually messing everything up.

Staying status quo is when you lose momentum, and opportunities start passing you by.

If things feel “fine,” it’s worth asking what decisions you've been putting off.

That’s usually where the real work is.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

Make him sign a deal that you get all merch rights in perpetuity.

If he’s a good kid and works hard at the stuff you want him to do - school, whatever - I’m prob making a deal w him over this.

My daughter played travel soccer. We made her work for us when we owned a soccer training franchise. A little skin in the game.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@therayjgreen Long career in voiceover who got paired up w some really talented tv people.

Right person, right place, right time.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

With the New Year here and a few new faces around, a quick reintroduction feels right.

To anyone just joining me, I'm Andy Safnauer.

I’ve spent the last 30 years building, scaling, and sometimes shutting down businesses across industries. From e-commerce to automotive.

At various points, I’ve been a studio owner, a founder, a consultant, and the person brought in when something needed to be built quickly and figured out as it went.

Simply put, I've picked up a lot of playbooks.

These days, I help founders and leadership teams make confident decisions when the next step isn’t clear.

I sit in the discomfort with them long enough to reach the decision.

A few things about me that don’t fit neatly on a bio:

- I used to work with Ludacris (he was Chris Lova Lova back then)

- I once wired $36,000 to China without an on-site inspection or contract (it worked out)

- I have an Emmy (happy to share that story if you're interested)

- Every weekend I get closer to finishing my rebuilt Ford F-100 (my wife isn't worried)

That's me. Tell me about you.

Glad you’re here.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@Camp4 The struggle for me sometimes is delineating between actual work and busy work.

ESP when you’re trying something new to see what sticks.

The key has been to be aware of not getting stuck too long once you realize it isn’t getting you where you want to be.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@themgmtconsult Oh, I like them all - those were just ones that really stood out.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

Agreed that it’s an unlock - not sure it’s not a trait though.

Def a developable skill.

Hard to move some people to be interested in learning new things.

For me, it’s been always putting myself into rooms with smarter people. I want to learn from them (partly to level up to feel more part of the group and partly to have actionable insight to deploy).

Feel like Justin is looking at me w ‘mediocre intelligence’ comment lol.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@carkerpox @nahuelhilal You are making this person a better player. And they seem to appreciate it - which indicates to me they want to get better.

Building confidence in decision making is hugely valuable in a world where many people won’t or outsource to ai.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

I found someone who has never been to the dmv.

[Andrew Jones @AJonesMines]

@Jason @willibossman Healthcare is broken precisely because of entrepreneurs and the profit motive. Government is much better to run it, as is show all over the world.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@Webmiester @MikeCalcara Same

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@MikeCalcara You’re the best in the biz brother.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

I've never followed the “grow at all costs” script.

I’ve built businesses in very different ways.

One stayed intentionally small for 20 years.

Another scaled to seven figures and competed with PE-backed brands.

Different outcomes, same principle.

Growth is a choice.

But so is the life that comes with it.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@themgmtconsult I’ll buy you a glass of wine in 26 and tell you the details. It’s not publicly shareable - it’s unspoken by anyone in my bridal party. And it happened 28 years ago lol.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

Govt/teenager : It’s cold in here. You need to turn up the heat.

Me: Why don’t we just close the windows and doors?

Govt/teenager: (rolls eyes) capitalism is bad.

[Austen Allred @Austen]

Kinda funny that the two stories dominating my X feed are:

1. Needing to take 5% of net worth from billionaires to prop up government spending

2. Fraudsters brazenly taking billions of dollars of taxpayer money with little being done to stop it

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

@MikeCalcara @mattressguy_ Sleep more. Spend less.

Who are you trying to appeal to w these? It can’t be ‘everyone’.

[Andrew Safnauer | Business Ops & Strategy Advisor @longtrain]

There’s a specific kind of "stuck" I see in founders. Tell me if this sounds familiar.

You already know the right answer. You just can’t get yourself to make the call.

So you:

- Revisit the same conversation
- Ask for more data
- Delay one more week
- Tell yourself you’re being “thorough"

But deep down, you know these are just delaying the inevitable.

This is where I do my best work.

I’ve built, scaled, and exited businesses across media, e-commerce, automotive, and manufacturing.

And after 30 years of studying patterns, I can tell you that most “complex” decisions aren’t actually complex.

They’re just noisy.

My role is to cut through that never-ending noise, align the room, and help you make the call you already know you need to make.

If the decision feels heavy and you’re tired of circling it, it might be time to talk.