Starting up a company is a lot different than working for somebody else for a living. When you're in the business of "that hasn't been done before", there are a lot of mistakes to make. And in some senses, growing a start-up is all about learning how your business will work, by figuring out what won't work. The hard way. By screwing it up the first time.
And that's why a short memory and a long time-horizon is what makes an entrepreneur.
A business that is already up and running has standard procedures for dealing with the world. A way to service customers, and a means to acquire new ones. A system for purchasing goods, and back-ups in case one falls through. A way to finance the business, and a plan to make returns for its shareholders.
Through time and prudence, established companies have found their way to a set of policies, plans, procedures and programs that make its businesses work well.
For a start-up, just the opposite is true. Nothing is determined, nothing is time-tested, nothing has been molded by trial and error into a workable trade-off.
The result is pain. Lots of it. In repeated, persistent, capricious doses.
There's the marketing hire who gets away. The customer that signs up and then has a change of heart. The contact you've been buttering up for months at your potentially biggest game-changing partner who gets canned the week before the final meeting. The vaporware that the 800-pound gorilla announces to a gullible press that sucks the air out of your momentum and buzz. The thousand of ways that things can go wrong, big and small (usually both), that distract, depress, and discourage the mere mortal at the heart of the entrepreneurial venture.
I know they say that success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan; but then whoever is siring the little bastard is one promiscuous fella, because start-ups do nothing but create failure after failure.
Succeeding at a start-up is not, then, about being prescient enough, smart enough, and experienced enough to never make mistakes, but rather it is about learning why it went wrong -- both the symptom and the ultimate cause -- and rebuilding your business to be stronger in light of it. And the faster you make your mistakes, the quicker you'll take your lessons from them. That's how you learn.
So an important part of being an entrepreneur is forgetting.
They say that women's bodies produce a drug to forget the pain of pregnancy after they give birth, and maybe the entrepreneur's experience parrots that.
There are so many painful experiences in the course of a start-up's life that it's a wonder anybody voluntarily does it at all. The odds are bad, the pay is atrocious, the chances for advancement dubious, and the world is dead-set against you when it isn't ignoring you.
A typical person on a typical day would consider any one of these indignities worthy of surrender.
And that's why a short memory -- forgetting yesterday's pain while remembering the lesson that came with it -- is what makes for a successful entrepreneur. Because dwelling on the embarrassments, humiliations, and failures that happened before today's sunrise will do nothing to make you more successful by today's sunset.
Yep, a start-up is all about let-down and heartbreaks. And getting to success requires a mind that always forgets.
[Read Entry]
LinkUp's October Job Report Shows Slight Signs of An Improving Job Market In U.S.
I interviewed Silicon Valley insider Sramana Mitra on my
NPR-San Francisco show today. She said most of the action is in:
A national tragedy or a personal tragedy has a huge impact at work. And, workplaces can help people successfully weather the tragedy. They can ease the passage people experience during tragedy. They can help people deal with the helplessness and grief they experience during tragedy. They can provide a support system to help prop people up during grief.
Thursday's murder of 13 people and wounding of 31, who had promising lives, families who loved them, and futures yet unexperienced, at href="http://usmilitary.about.com/od/armybaseprofiles/ss/hood.htm">Fort Hood, by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist soon to be deployed to Iraq, is a major workplace tragedy. Fortunately, most of us will never experience a tragedy of these epic dimensions.
But, anyone who works and develops relationships in their workplace experiences tragedy, nonetheless. Coworkers die; their family members suffer catastrophic illness, and dreadful incidents happen to good people. So, even when tragedies are closer to home, these thoughts will help you deal with your workplace tragedies.
While the Fort Hood shootings will be remembered for their tragic consequences, heroism lived there, too. Celebrate Sergeant Kimberly Munley's heroism. Perhaps none of us will ever experience the terrifying reality of an armed gunman, but I'd like to think that if we did, we would rise to the occasion just like she did. And, even as I speak, more stories of heroism emerge from Fort Hood.
Officials at Fort Hood have established two hotlines for family members to obtain information about their loved ones.
All Topics |
Most Popular |
Newsletter |
HR Forum
Be a Technorati Fan |
Follow Me On Twitter
When Tragedy Strikes originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 15:03:37.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]
Do you have a bad
job, first job, or how you found a job story to share? We have
received lots of interesting
worst job stories - ranging from second wives to mind readers
and plain old bad jobs that are high stress and low
pay.
First job stories run the gamut, too - from paper boys to
princesses and just about everything in between. They are fun
to read, and we'd be thrilled to add your stories to the
lists.
Photos are a welcome addition to your story. Just a word of warning though - if you're still working at your bad job, don't include your last name or a photo. You don't want to lose your job because of what you posted online, regardless of how bad it is.
First
Jobs
What was your first job? How did you get your first job? What did
you love (or hate) about it? What did you learn from the
experience?
Share
Your First Job Story
How I Found a Job
Finding a new job isn't easy, especially in a difficult economy.
Share your job search success story and what you learned during
your job search.
Share Your Job Search Story
Worst Jobs
Have you had a really bad job? Share your worst job story and let
us know what made it a bad job, what you learned, and how other
people can avoid a bad job situation. If you'd like to include a
photo, upload one to go along with your story.
Share Your Worst Job Story
Image Copyright Alexander Hafemann
Bad Job? New Job? First Job? Share Your Story originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 07:08:01.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]My accountant told me recently that, to her knowledge, not a single one of her clients offered employee raises in 2009. The economic outlook is too foggy and employers are uncertain about where and how political decisions at both the state level and the federal level will impact their companies.
At the same time, the engine of job creation is sputtering. In the IT industry, near and dear to my heart, and provided as an example, some older companies are expanding their employment ranks, while others such as Microsoft are shedding jobs. But the real story is that startup companies that can generally be counted on to create new jobs, are not starting up. Not good news for jobs and I recognize I am using just one industry as an example - but it's a powerful one.
Hiring new employees is also relatively at a stand-still for this reason, too. Although employers are replacing critical positions, many have stopped expanding because of increased uncertainty. Employers are waiting for the next decision that will affect business taxes; employee healthcare; employer requirements such as paid sick time, paid vacation time, and workplace regulations; the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA); taxes on carbon emissions, and so forth. This list highlights just the tip of employer concerns.
In this environment of employer unease, the national unemployment rate rose to 9.8% (with some states and segments higher) in September, 2009, according to the figures available from the the Department of Labor (DOL). My understanding is that these numbers exclude the 400,000 or so people who have given up on job searching this summer, so my speculation is that unemployment is much higher than announced.
Edited (11-6) to add: In breaking news, the Washington Post reports that unemployment in October jumped to 10.2%. When you add in the people who have given up looking, the national unemployment rate is actually closer to 17%.
While the legislature passed an unemployment extension on November 5, the overall news on the employment front is not good.
The Federal Reserve, in a little remarked upon announcement in July, projected that unemployment would rise to over 10% in the next few months and that no net new jobs would be created for five years. News this week from the Conference Board indicates that, while 3,280,000 jobs were advertised online in October, 2009, this is a decrease from September, 2009 of 83,200 openings.
Much of this is sobering news if you are employed or an employer, and disheartening news if you are currently unemployed. My point, in making this post, is not to spread economic gloom, but to take a realistic look at what this means for employers and their employees. Alison Doyle, my colleague at About.com Job Searching, offers advice for the unemployed and job searchers.
Today, I'll focus on advice for employees and in a subsequent post, I'll feature thoughts for employers.
Advice for Employees in This Economy
Hold on to the Job You Have
Image Copyright Paul Conrath / Getty Images
It's the Economy: Little Job Creation originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 13:42:37.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]Go that way. Very fast. If something gets in your way.....TURN.
I'd be interested to know how many people can identify the genesis of that quote.
It's one that some of my colleagues and I fall back on whenever something goes inexplicably wrong, or if a humorous goof-up occurs with no forewarning.
We all take a lot of chances in this field. Every call is a chance. The ideal chance is one where you uncover the perfect candidate or generate the next big lead. The flip side is a conversation that deviates from its intended purpose and somehow manages to purge your personal inventory of valuable productive minutes.
We all move at breakneck speeds, sometimes unable to anticipate the challenges or moguls that could derail us. We should always anticipate that something is going to get in our way. The key is being ready to "turn" at a moment's notice.
That's the beauty of this simplistic advice, and its relevance to our field can best be understood by watching it in its original context here:
Note: The key lesson starts at 1:30 in the clip - but the lead in is kinda funny too.
NOW TURN!
There is a school of thought that says unconventional job search tactics work. Doing something different can help you stand out from the crowd and get noticed. It can also backfire, but that's a story for another day.
Job search engine Juju.com has compiled some of those tactics that job seekers use to get attention. Here's a sampling:
Advertise Yourself: Imagine being stuck in traffic and glancing up at a billboard only to see the words "HIRE ME" under a massive headshot. That's what Pasha Stocking did, spending $7,000 though, in order to get noticed.
Got Food?: A job candidate once sent a cake designed as a business card with his picture printed on the cake. Another job seeker baked cookies with icing to write several reasons why she should be hired. A way to getting hired is through a hiring manager's stomach?
HIRE ME Sandwich Board: "Experienced MIT Grad For Hire" read the sandwich board that Joshua Persky was wearing as he handed out resumes in a highly concentrated area of investment houses and commercial banks. This one worked - Joshusa got the attention of an accounting firm in midtown Manhattan, where he is currently working.
On a related, but a bit less unconvential note, Janet
FritzHuspen from St. Paul, Minnesota, landed a job after mailing
coffee cups to area employers. She found jobs
advertised online, then sent a box with a travel coffee mug, her
resume and a cover letter inside. That one worked, too.
Here's more on
guerilla job hunting and how it can help you find a job fast,
from guest author Kevin Donlin.
More: Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters
Image Copyright Online Creative Media
Hire Me - Maybe? originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 10:31:13.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]Opening your job search to include out of town and out of state locations is a great way to increase your chances of finding the best positions available - especially in today's tough and uncertain job market. Many companies are open to filling positions with out of town applicants and in many cases will offer comprehensive relocation packages.
It is easy to apply to all suitable jobs nationwide and say yes to recruiters who may present out of state positions. Unfortunately many job seekers do not consider what locations are suitable for themselves or their family until it is too late in an interview process. It is unfair to a potential employer to realize prior to an interview, after receiving an offer, or even worse, after accepting an offer that the location of their position is not suitable for your family. It's even more unfair to your family members to figure this out after engaging interest in a position and not discussing the position's location beforehand.
If you are open to considering out of state opportunities, be sure to have an open discussion with your spouse or family members to determine a list of acceptable and unacceptable geographic locations. Factors to consider include career opportunities for family members, housing prices, recreational activities, weather, schools, and friends & family in the area. Go to sites like Monster.com, Indeed.com, or ResuWe.com to get a feel for what positions are available for family members. Search real estate sites such as Realtor.com, Trulia.com, and Zillow.com to get a feel for actual home prices. This is a much better way to get a feel for the primary factor of the region's cost of living and a more accurate snapshot than a "cost of living" calculator.
If you are beginning or in the middle of a job search and open to relocation, simply make a Yes/No list of desirable and undesirable geographic locations prior to submitting your resume to any positions or companies in these areas. Doing so beforehand will save you a tremendous amount of headache and inconvenience.
You have found a new job and you're ready to give two weeks notice to your current employer. Or, you've lost your job. What's the best way to say goodbye? First things, first. Regardless of the circumstances of your leaving, if you are about to resign, your first responsibility is to let your employer know that you are resigning. You need to part on good terms and you don't want your boss hearing rumors of your departure through the grapevine.
The next step is to say farewell to co-workers and to let them know that you are moving on to a new position, starting a job search, retiring, or doing something else with your life.
Here's how to say goodbye diplomatically and without burning any bridges, include what to say, how to say it, and how to send a goodbye note.
More:: Goodbye Letters | Resignation Letters
How to Say Goodbye to Co-Workers originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 08:41:54.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]At some point in most careers, you will have had a job that you hated. No matter whether your worst job offered you lousy or distasteful work, a boss you hated, or coworkers who constantly undermined you or complained, you remember the job as your worst job - ever.
I thought back over my career, and mind you, because I have been writing and consulting for years, I have not taken any jobs except for clients I loved and for whom I really thought I could make a difference, in a long time. But, in the earlier days, I worked at a GM education center as a management development specialist.
I really liked the director, the clients, and the work, but my immediate boss was petty, self-serving, and a tyrant who wanted her way all of the time. Plus, coming out of 16 years in an education setting, I was first of all, used to running things, but secondly, I felt as if I was, once again, managing another school - the environment I had just left - on purpose.
The job gave me connections, however, and I was soon able to move to a GM plant where I learned a whole new world - and even became friends with my former boss when I no longer reported to her. If that opportunity had not come up, however, I would have spent all of my time job searching to get rid of a bad boss and a public sector repeat career in an industry setting.
I also worked as a Good Humor ice cream truck substitute driver during the summer of the Detroit riots in 1967. But, I loved that job, and its unexpected dire environment, is a story for another day.
Okay, I've shared my worst job story. What's yours? Compared to the stories I regularly hear about on this website, my story is mild, and fortunately, I got out of there quickly.
Please share your worst job - ever - story.
Image Copyright Bobbieo
All Topics |
Most Popular |
Newsletter |
HR Forum
Be a Technorati Fan |
Follow Me On Twitter
Describe Your Worst Job - Ever originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 01:29:02.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]One of the questions I get asked frequently is how to tell whether a job posting is a scam or a real job. There are as many scams as legitimate job openings on the job boards - sometimes it seems like more. And it can be really hard to tell the difference between what's real and what's a scam. Scammers are getting more sophisticated and coming up with new ways to take advantage of job seekers all the time.
Toby Dayton, President and CEO of JobDig explains, "There is just no question that job boards as a whole can be, if they are not diligent in managing the risk for consumers, a magnet for scams, rip-offs, and identity theft. There are hundreds of well documented techniques and examples that people should be careful to look for."
Before you apply for a job online, especially work at home job postings, review the scam warning signs to help you determine if a job is a scam. If you're not sure, take the time to research the company to make sure the job is legitimate. Googling the company name plus "scam" or "rip off" will give you some information on the company if it's not legitimate.
If you have been take advantage of by a scammer or know about a job scam, add it to our scam list and review the list of online job scams so you can avoid them.
More: Job Scams | Work at Home Scams | List of Job Scams
Online Job Scams originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 00:00:31.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
[Read Entry]