The New Entrepreneur

"As an entrepreneur, you have to get used to failure.
It is just part of the path to success."
-Mark Pincus,
Founder of Tribe.net
and Zynga, a San Francisco based
company that develops online games

Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself. Life is fully of setback. Success is determined by how you handle them.

Write down your short and long term goals four times a year. Two personal, two business and one health goal. A study at Yale University found that only 3% of the students had written goals. Twenty years later, the same 3% were wealthier and healthier than the other 97% combined.

I clipped and saved an article in the Small Business "The Journal Report" back on February 23, 2009 that was written by Kelly K. Spors as a reference for inspiring 'The New Entrepreneur'.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123498006564714189.html
The economic atmosphere today requires a new entrepreneur to answer these questions to see if you have what it takes. I have condensed some of the key advice from the Spors' article (with the inclusion of some great supplemental books):

1. Are you willing and able to bear great financial risk?
Roughly half of all start-ups close within five years, so you must be realistic about the financial risks that come with owning a business. Don't assume you'll be able to lower your risk substantially by finding investors.

2. Are you willing to sacrifice your lifestyle for potentially many years?
If you are used to steady paychecks, four weeks' paid vacation and employer-sponsored health benefits, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.

3. Is your significant other on board?
Don't ignore the toll running a business will take on your loved ones. Failed ventures frequently break up marriages because entrepreneurs devote so much time and money to the business.

4. Do you like all aspects of running a business?
In the early stages of a business, founders are often expected to handle 'everything' (from billing customers, hiring employees to writing marketing materials).

5. Are you comfortable making decisions on the fly with no playbook?
A book that lays out the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is written by Bill Wagner called "The Entrepreneur Next Door". Find a copy immediately!

6. What’s your track record of executing your ideas?
The ability to implement ideas is one of the biggest differences that will lead one to success.

7. How persuasive and well-spoken are you?
You must always be selling your mission and vision.

8. Do you have a concept you’re passionate about?
You must be eager and exuberant about running your business.

9. Are you a self-starter?
John Gartner, an assistant clinical psychiatry professor at John Hopkins University has written a book called "The Hypomaniac Edge".
It theorizes the many well-known entrepreneurs that have a temperament called hypomania. They are highly creative, energetic, impatient and very persistent.

10. Do you have a business partner?
If you don't have all the traits to run the show find a partner who compensates your shortcomings. Choosing a partner is not a light decision. Spend several days hashing out the specifics to make sure you are both on the same page.

Jon Gillespie-Brown seems to have taken notice of the article by Kelly K. Spors as well. Jon is a published Author, Lecturer, Founder/CEO and Mentor on Entrepreneurship. He currently mentors at Stanford, UC Berkeley and the London Business School. He recently wrote about liking the article as much as I did.
http://www.tobeanentrepreneur.com/blog/so-you-want-to-be-an-entrepreneur-at-the-wall-street-journal/
Jon Gillespie-Brown has a paperback book "So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur: How to decide if starting a business is really for you" that will also help you with your business plan.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1841128031?tag=soyouwantob05-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1841128031&adid=0GYBRPXJNK8EW07W71M2&

Twenty-five years ago today:

Thursday, March 22, 1984

Today we celebrated Barbara Reynolds' birthday (even though the official day is March 23rd). It was great fun. I left a little 'Happy Birthday' note in her incoming mail slot. I bought her a mini-birthday cake. I also selected a scarf for her at Emporium that she seemed to like. She was certainly surprised. She is too sweet. I wish I could have seen her face when she saw the card I found for her in Sonoma.

After work I called Helen Wong and we went to 'Headlines' in San Francisco. I bought a BIKE T-shirt. I couldn't resist not buying my brother John the "A Super Papa" sweatshirt.

We found our way to the 'Executive Health Spa'. I saw Stevei serving drinks. She recognized me. Helen thought she kept looking at me on occasion but I didn't notice any of that.
"You're the best-lookin' gent here," Helen whispered.
I was flattered as I was feeling the electric buzz from the triple vodka grape I had ordered. Dave Vigil made the drink for me. It found it tasty (after getting used to the flavor).

Helen and I did not dance. We both thought the band was "shitty". That's okay. We departed by 9PM and I drove Helen to her car at the BART station.

Before I knew it I was home in bed, dreaming.