Young Entrepreneur Journey: September 2005 Archives

September 29, 2005

It's Inside of Me! I just know it.

In Helen Keller's autobiography she talks about how her early childhood was filled with temper tantrums. Even though she didn't know what traditional verbal and nonverbal communication were, she knew that she couldn't fully express what was inside of her.

This really touches me, because I feel the same way. I feel that there is something and inside of me impatiently thirsting for expression. My personal and professional accomplishments are partial expressions of this, but, I feel like there's more, so much more. I just don't know what IT is or how to fully quench its thirst.

All I can say for sure is that I'm listening, ready, and willing.

It is my prayer that my life and that of others can be an expression of that which rests inside of us.

Posted at 06:20 PM | Comments (2) | Top

September 21, 2005

The Good Life

I don't want to have a good life. I don't want to get drunk on weekends. I don't want to watch TV. I don't want a safe job that I don't enjoy. I don't want to be paralyzed by fear, anger, disillusionment or any other feelings. And, I don't want sugar, McDonalds, or any of that stuff.

I want to do what my conscience tells me, at any cost, even if I suffer and even it involves losing my life someday. Over the last few months from personal experiences and from studying people I admire via autobiographies, I've come to realize what I must give up. I've begun to realize how difficult it will be to do that, and my body has balked. I've gone back-and-forth only praying that I somehow will muster up the courage to live the life I want to. For the first time, everything inside of me knows that I will live that life.

In the end, one of the things that saves me is knowing that I could never forgive myself otherwise.

A year ago, after attending a 10-day silent retreat, I realized that I could be broken. That was scary. Now, I must push myself to that level repeatedly. I don't know what happens beyond the breaking point, but I want to. I've gone from being atheist to agnostic to now believing in God. I hope that God will give me the strength to follow this journey wherever it may lead.

It starts Today! It starts now.

Posted at 02:26 AM | Comments (4) | Top

September 18, 2005

Gratitude to My Ancestors

I'm here, but barely. My ancestors have all been the victims of injustice and even extermination as a result of being themselves; Jewish, Black, or Native American. When my grandparents were my age, they were in concentration camps. Their whole family - brothers, sisters, and parents - had been destroyed. The only way my grandmother survived was by risking her life to steal potato peels. My grandmother on my father's side marched in the civil rights movement to gain basic rights and moved to New Jersey where my father was the first one in his family to graduate college.

Today, for the first time in my life, I realized at a core level the sacrifice my ancestors have made to survive and to ultimately give me the opportunities I have today. They succeeded so much, that for my entire life I've felt disconnected from their struggles. My mom's beckonings for me to remember my past have fallen on deaf ears as I wanted to look only to the future. I've never felt the need to fight for basic rights or money to survive, because I haven't had to, having grown up in a middle-class, predominantly white, suburban community.

I hope that someday, after I've passed on, my grandchildren will tell their children how their grandparents struggled not against an external oppressor, but against themselves - their fears, their disappointments, their feelings of inadequacy - to make a large, lasting positive difference not only for their family, but for the world as a whole.

I hope.

Posted at 06:09 PM | Comments (1) | Top

September 12, 2005

The Power of Autobiographies

I've long been a reader of self-development and how-to books. I love the fact that you can have almost any goal and find books by people who've accomplished it and that tell how you can too.

I've now begun to appreciate autobiographies as well. Good ones provide an honest (albeit biased) and open retrospection of the author's life. They are entertaining, provide a new perspective on history, and are extremely valuable for understanding how great people think and the path their lives took. Recently, I've read the following books:

These books have given me the inspiration and determination to make some very large changes in my life, which I'll write about in a future entry. If you know of any great autobiographies, send them my way!

Posted at 08:14 PM | Comments (3) | Top

September 11, 2005

The Top 6 Mistakes of Committed Young Entrepreneurs

In my opinion, the first two mistakes that students can make with entrepreneurship are:

Not getting started
Not keeping with it

However, what happens once you get past these? Over the years, I've met hundreds of committed young entrepreneur, and I've noticed six recurring mistakes. Below you will find my advice on how to avoid thse:

Don't mistake early growth spurts with ability - Entrepreneurs are famed for having big egos. Young entrepreneurs may even be worse because they've developed a business passion/expertise early in life and differentiated themselves from peers who are still unsure of what they want to do and are focusing on the social and academic parts of life. Just because you develop your entrepreneurial ability and business acumen before your peers, don't mean you're necessarily better at these then them or older people. The earlier you can humble yourself, the better.

Don't depend on word-of-mouth - For something to take off dramatically and quickly as a result of word-of-mouth is an extremely rare phenomena. There are a lot of factors that affect word-of-mouth, such as being different, providing incredible products, and delivering great customer service, but even with these, word-of-mouth can be slow and take a long time. Word-of-mouth shouldn't replace making sales calls and having a real marketing plan.

Don't pretend to be in business - While entrepreneurship is all about following your passion, it is also about running a business. This means creating a strategy, making a list of prioritized action items, and executing on those items. If you're not doing what you've defined as most important and pursuing tangents instead, you're running a hobby business.

Get Real - Develop a habit of holding yourself accountable to results. Beware of the "once I do x, then everything will be better" mindset. The earlier you find out why you aren't getting results, the better. Find multiple people who've accomplished what you want to accomplish and seek their advice. Take it seriously, but don't follow it blindly.

Put branding behind sales - Having great letterhead, software, equipment, business cards, and a website don't mean you're in business. Having sales does. I've seen too many young entrepreneurs spend all their time and money building a brand and never getting a sale. A rule of thumb I use now is, "Spend your money only on things you're certain will generate positive cash flow in the short term until you reach cash-flow break-even." In other words, take the quickest path to cash.

Don't Spread Yourself to Thin - If you're a young entrepreneur, you probably get a new viable business idea every minute. Don't make the mistake of trying to pursue them all. Most entrepreneurs agree that 90% of the success of a business comes down to execution. Start small and grow large. Empires don't start with multiple companies. They started with an idea that was executed well and then expanded.

Posted at 12:14 PM | Comments (12) | Top

September 02, 2005

How to Win at College

If you're in college, about to be in college, or know somebody who is either one of these two, then you should immediately read How to Win at College. Written by my good friend and former business partner, it is extremely powerful. Cal interviewed many of the country's top students and distilled their wisdom into counterintuitive, punchy, and specific ideas that can all be read in one sitting. I've purchased many copies of the book for friends/acquaintaces and they've all been raving about it, even people who I thought would dislike it. Even though I read it after I graduated, I still found it it very applicable to my life. Check it out on Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Although Cal is my good friend, I would not recommend something this strongly without really, really believing in it!

Posted at 01:26 AM | Comments (0) | Top

September 01, 2005

Turning Weaknesses Into Strengths

Last Monday, I had one of the most important business dinners I've ever had. Things were going well until, half way through it, one of the guests asked, "So, what does the young entrepreneur have to say?" All the heads at the table quickly turned to me and multiple side conversations turned into complete silence.

Taken aback, my mind froze like a deer in headlights, not even letting me scan through possible things I could say. I looked down at the table and started to smile trying to buy time or sympathy...No such luck. The situation had not changed.

After a few moments, I saw somebody's mouth open (presumably to change the subject), and thought to myself, "Finally!". However, to my dismay, that someone added, "Oh..and it'd better be funny."

Once again I tried to think of something, but nothing came. This time I was able to visualize myself saying something funny and everyone laughing, but the words didn't come along with the image. Damn!

Next, someone trying to help commented, "Ok. What are some things you've learned then?" That's an easy one, I thought to myself, but still nothing came and there was silence until somebody finally changed the subject.

On my one-hour subway ride home, I involuntarily kept playing the situation back in my mind, undoubtedly making it bigger than it actually was. After talking with people about it and them saying I had blown things up too much, I felt better about it, but still not at peace.

That is until I got to the top of page 62 of Gandhi's autobiography where he says, "I must say that, beyond occassionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been no disadvantage whatever. In fact I can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greastest benefit has been that it has taught me the economy of words."

This reminded me of the importance of learning to accept and be who you are and turning perceived weaknesses into strengths. I'm now at peace and know what to say should this situation happen again, "Well, Norm, nothing comes to mind. I prefer not to say things unless it's meaningful or important."

Posted at 09:01 PM | Comments (8) | Top