Aaron Ross

Don’t forget to make more money, keep looking out for ways to make more money, and don't put things off. Focus on what you’re best at as a starting point because you can make it exciting.

For Ross, he likes to do things with partners because he had more accountability. He states that it’s difficult for him to do stuff alone. Another benefit is him nailing his niche. You can find a way to re-enjoy experiences and your expertise.

It’s important to work to make more money when you and your family need it. Kids are some of the best motivators to make more money.

On his second 2 Cent Dad interview, Aaron Ross, CEO of Predictable Revenue and author of From Impossible to Inevitable, says fairness is the wrong way to compare children. Some kids need more discipline and some need more love, and a parent is always trying to balance the two. He credits his wife with being better at that than he is. He then ties the point to money. When their first baby arrived he realized he had to earn more, and the children were his best reason to do it. Cutting costs was not enough. Growing income mattered more, which for him meant partners and a clear niche after Salesforce.

Aaron Ross tells the 2 Cent Dad podcast that he and his wife try to act consistently, so their kids could describe the family without being handed a slogan. He thinks the honest description would be a crazy family: often late, and full of fun. He compares it to company values. A value posted on the wall means nothing unless it names behavior you already have. He would rather ask the children how they would describe their parents, then reinforce what is working and do less of what is not. He rejects the blog picture of a perfectly run household. Theirs works because of systems, he says, but it is closer to herding cats than to a tidy machine.

Ross uses the example of chore time for his kids. He states that when the boundaries are too open ended, the kids becomes lost and confused. If they make them too by the book, they become unmanageable.

Ross describes chaos as the messy rooms. It takes too much work to spend all this time to clean. You have to pick your battles. In order to control it, Ross’ family has systems and plans to follow in order to maintain their own normal life.

You have to ask yourself if you’re avoiding your family by working more. Also, find out what you’re trying to accomplish and determine your reasons for working more to see how important those things really are compared to your family values.

Things get a lot harder for the first couple years after having children. You have to invest in your own relationship. Making more money is one key that improved Ross’ relationships. Also, he and his wife set a once a week date night rule to keep the love and romance alive.

When parents feel guilty or discouraged about not doing the jobs they think they should, it can motivate parents to become better parents for their kids.

Ross states that there is a seed of nature in kids, but the nurture part is incredibly impactful for them. Nurture makes such a huge difference in children’s lives. It’s important for parents to teach their kids about balance.

Aaron Ross states that it’s a combination of day-by-day activities to advance the things that he could. You need to have public commitment deadlines, blockout time, and to keep at it until it is done. You also come back to the realization that parenting is messy. His family doesn’t just talk about things, they do them.

Aaron Ross is an author and entrepreneur. He was previously the Sales Director at salesforce.com. Aaron has 11 children— and is seemingly not insane— and is still running a successful business.

Being a parent is a pain, and no one has it figured out. Bigger the family equals more challenges, more anxiety in some ways, but more fun in others. Overall, it’s it worth.

He wants to encourage parents to not just watch their kids play, but play with them. Engage more with your children-- whether it’s drawing or having them help cook with you. It’s great quality time that is beneficial to the both of you.

Aaron encourages people to make sure they have clear boundaries of their time. When you work, you work and stay focused. When it’s family time, it’s family time— for the most part. Keep work and family time separate, but also know when to blend the two. Most importantly, you do not want to divide your attention by attempting to focus on both.

By finding his balance and structure, he realizes that there are certain things that are going to pay off, but he cannot be sure of what will. This is why he feels like he shouldn’t work more than 30 hours a week and sacrifice his family time because it may not be worth the payoff.

He understands that there's very little slack when it comes to money. He takes what he has to invest in his company and expects to make money back from it. Whatever he’s investing in, it’s ultimately to benefit and support his family.

At first, he set a goal to only work 25-30 hours a week. As he worked more, he felt that he lost his insights and creativity. Growing his family and making more money, he had to shift his focus by putting his side passion projects on hold. Limiting his amount of work forced him to focus on the things that were the most important to get done.

Having a big family was one key motivator on making more money to support them. He balances the two by learning how to deal with the certain amount of stress that is acceptable. Having kids, stress is unavoidable and unrealistic. He believes it’s important to trust that things will work out for the better, and to do the things that feel right.