If There’s Not Much to Delight In: Starting a Business in the Post-Silicon Valley US, Part 2

I don’t like, I don’t love, I fall in love with what you do

Many do not believe that this is possible, but many people do not want to be entrepreneurs.

Make it possible by choosing a business that combines the two “P’s” which are your “passion” for _______ and the ability of that passion to lead to realistic “return”.

If any of the variables are less than 30%, I would recommend taking a second look before starting your business.

Employees may love their jobs; entrepreneurs must make a job a masterpiece for life.

Let your work promote you, not your words and don’t let the amount of money you make control your perceived self-esteem.

Self-promotion is for losers and if you’re doing it, learn to stop.

People are too wrapped up in their own lives to really care about what you’re doing, how much money you’re making, etc., unless it somehow engages or interests them.

Regardless of how successful you are, it’s best to stay humble.

It has become a frustration of mine that I see someone and the first thing they mention is how well they are doing in business. He seems insecure, and while he doesn’t mean to, he alludes to the fact that I’m ignorant enough to judge people by how successful they are.

Your ambitions must be larger than life, your ego is a different story – When starting a business, you must be filled with a driving ambition and check your ego at the very moment you register your corporate domain.

To hire my first employee, I had to get on monster.com (a tool I had for the recruiting business) and I would start cold calling applicants who would hang up, not call back and treat me like I was somehow inferior to them because I worked out of an apartment.

Last vacancy posted by my company, we got… see last point.