Listening to a number of Silicon Valley discussions on and offline and their culture is one where you find the one thing they deal with over and over again is: how does one deal with failure.
The most basic question is: What do you call a failed entrepreneur in Silicon Valley? Experienced.
Anywhere else in the US and you have to change your name, move to another town, or your parents are embarrassed. In Silicon Valley after hearing about your first failure they ask, “What’s your next company going to be?”
The main culture should be innovation, that change is the name of the game, that leasing office space to 20 year olds is not unheard of, that taking a $2 Million dollar check and building a company around solving a problem is THE most important part of a startup culture.
It needs to be the same throughout the US, in schools and universities, businesses, and government institutions.
Are your kids bored? Is it difficult for your kids to get a job in today’s economy?
Think outside the box, have them start a business. Think work, not job.
There is nothing like teaching kids about the value of money, taking responsibility, and serving others with their ideas that have been converted into products and services.
Startup entrepreneurs need to have the guts and confidence to take on “the world” with their new idea. But as with any new idea, most are bound to get butterflies in their stomach. But here’s how to look at them
Butterflies in your stomach – this is a normal reaction toward fear of the unknown, some of you have small butterflies, others have BIG butterflies in their stomach. Some have so many BIG ones that they become paralyzed by their fears to the point of inaction.
No butterflies in your stomach – You never want to NOT to have butterflies in your stomach. If you get to know any US fighter pilots, Marines or Army, you’ll understand their fearlessness about their job. But they still get butterflies. It’s when you do NOT have them that is of cause of concern.
Getting your butterflies to fly in formation – here’s the answer to most people’s view of a certain situation: never have no fear, but control your fear to get you through what you need to do.
Push yourself to your limits – when you learn to fly each aircraft has a unique “flight envelop” which it stays within and pilots learn what these boundaries are. You need to learn your personal envelope to see what you are capable of including whether or not you can sing on American Idol. This means putting oneself into various situations and learning to get out of them over and over so that it becomes second nature to you, not a “it could never happen to me” reaction.
Build confidence by training, humbled to know more – is built by doing #1 above and learning and doing the skills correctly, over time, many time, and not overnight. But you have to define, learn, and faithfully apply the best lessons learned over time. There is a certain protocol of a good life, learn it and live it.
Discipline and take care of yourself first – (butterflies flying in formation) is the correct mental attitude. Have you ever flown in an airline and the cabin depressurizes? What do they say do? Put the O2 mask on yourself FIRST, THEN on those around you. Pilots call it having a “deliberate calm,” because staying calm under fraught circumstances requires both conscious effort and regular practice.
Be a leader - being a leader is not about being dictatorial, “It’s about me,” or creating a “dictatorial fear” about doing something, but one of taking responsibility for you and those around you. Invert the organizational pyramid, and serving leaders is what it’s about.
Share both the good and the bad – when it comes to things that turn out. If it’s good, then congratulate the effort, if it turns out bad, figure out how to prevent and prepare for it in the future. Tell the truth.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst – circumstances are never planned for, they just happen, it’s about “what if” this could happen and then planning some actions based on the inputs.
Job is not done until you’re home – Sully’s job did not end once he hit the water, it ended when he got home after all of the things were completed. He checked his plane twice to ensure everyone was out. He
Bottom line – Sully’s USAF military training of his mission, discipline, and responsibility never left him, even in the business world.
When startup entrepreneurs go for “funding” of their business, product, or service, there’s a general idea that founder-led companies might not be “up to the task” as “professional CEOs.”
Well, the data is in and the answer is: Founder-led CEOs WIN!
Founder-led companies had a market-adjusted return of 12% over the course of three years and a survival rate of 73%, compared with a return of -26% and a survival rate of 60% for firms that hired a new CEO…
You know, setting expectations with customers is your first order of business as a startup entrepreneur. But often, things get out of whack that are either in or out of your control. From the customer’s standpoint, many don’t care and may leave. Others may understand, but only if you show that you’re human and willing to make amends.
Most important for any startup entrepreneur: To learn what went wrong and where and remember it and figure out how to prevent it in the future. Prevention of a problem is FAR cheaper than fixing one.
As an entrepreneur, you consider everything regarding your product and service. In doing your marketing, have you considered the colors your choose?
In this web article How Color Affects Our Purchases [infographic] you’ll see how colors affect our purchases, which should hopefully affect how you intend to sell your product or service. This includes the color schemes of your brochures, web site, book cover, etc.
