Category: Entrepreneurship

New Webcomics series brought to you by #entrepreneurfail and GetEntrepreneurial.com. Enjoy!

Whenever I speak to entrepreneurs who have left the corporate rat race to pursue their own ventures, their experiences always echo my own. Sure, new small business owners expect additional flexibility, less bureaucracy and longer hours. However, those who leave the corporate world in search of greener pastures in a startup will realize that the job satisfaction trajectory between the two is very different, neither being a clear winner.

At the beginning of a corporate job, or a role within any large organization, there is a sense of pride that comes from the brand, the paycheck, and the responsibility. With time (and, of course, there are exceptions) the satisfaction decreases a bit, and plateaus out. The probability of this happening is consistently high because soon enough the reality of red tape and repetition sets in.  This is when some try to make the leap to a startup.

At the beginning of an entrepreneurial venture, the sentiment and satisfaction is uncertain and riddled with fear and budgetary constraints. The level of job satisfaction is consistently changing: variable but often in a positive trajectory. The stress often can result in more confusion and change in direction. With time there is potential to reach a high level of success and job satisfaction, but the probability of that is extremely low.

This quest for extreme job satisfaction is an #entrepreneurfail.  We all hear about the success stories and the glamour of starting a venture and the shackles of a corporate role but the irony is that neither is fully true.

The most recent count of failed startups is too high to rationally think about. However, we’re a risky bunch, so we think it’s worth the leap!

Did you leave a corporate role to job a startup? How did your job satisfaction change? Which factors affected you the most: salary, time, interesting work or colleagues? Let us know in the comments below.

Pursue your passion…and you’ll never work on your passion a full day in your life…

Wait…that’s not how the old adage goes, is it? Isn’t it true that you if you work on something you love, your’ll never work a day in your life? What’s this about not being able to work on your passion?

Well the truth is, while there are benefits in pursuing your avocation as a vocation – you’re not going to have too much time to work on that passion when it becomes a business. You don’t get paid for just pursuing your hobby! You get paid for distributing and selling your passion.

Freelancers know this all too well. Say you have a talent that you want to share and monetize: Baking? Web Development? Design? As you start offering your service, the most of your time will not be working on your expertise. The reality is that business development, marketing, sales, finances, tech support, and other day-to-day activities will take a longer portion of the day than the actual skill you are offering to clients. Also, many solo entrepreneurs have a side job to help make ends meet as they are growing their businesses.

For bloggers, Derek Halpern from Social Triggers says most spend 80% of their time creating content and 20% promoting it; these proportions are exactly the reasons why most bloggers fail. He claims that the most successful bloggers don’t spend most of their time blogging! In fact they spend 20% of the time creating content and 80% of their time promoting it.

All in all, the thing to remember is that starting a business involves MUCH more than just your skill set and yes, you will have to wear many, many hats and serve as a jack-of-all-trades for a while.

Did you pursue your hobby as a business? What was your experience? Did you get to spend enough time working on your talent?

This comic has been adapted from an original post on #entrepreneurfail: Startup Success. 

It was over 20 years ago.  I had decided to take a trip with an old friend to the west of Ireland.

It was a typical late summer’s day.  It was raining and windy, with bouts of sunshine trying to burst through.

We wanted to go over to the Aran Islands from Galway; this meant a short crossing on a ferry.

The sea was rough and we could hear and feel the wind and waves, the rain stopping and starting as we set out on the journey across the bay.

I have always loved boats, ever since my father took me fishing as a young child.  My instinct is to stay out in the wind and breathe in the fresh air, feel the spray and rain on my face.

I left my friend and weaved my way to the stern of the ferry, I wanted to be outside.

Up ahead another woman was doing the same thing.

Her walk was lilting with the waves and what I learned later was difficult post-operative hips (and perhaps some whiskey too!).

She had sneaked out for the air and a cigarette!

I was immediately drawn to this wild looking woman with grey long hair, a very colorful jumper and a mischievous grin on her face.

I introduced myself and we began chatting. I immediately loved her!

Mo was a true free spirit.  She had up and left her two ex-husbands and adult kids, her restaurant business and she had sold her house.  She bought a camper van and was travelling around the world.

She went where she could find temporary cooking jobs and then as her spirit guided her, moved on to new places.

Within 15 minutes she invited me to come with her to Scotland and work as her galley slave on a boat.  I immediately said yes!

That night, in a pub on the Island, accompanied by traditional Irish Music, stories and some great whiskey, we planned the next few months.

It was as wonderful as it sounds.  Mo taught me how to make the best bread (fresh every day), how to chop lettuce to the tiniest strips and how to keep vegetable dressings crispy fresh when you garnish fish.

We had some of the funniest times; balancing on the underside of a harbor wall with a bucket and a stick as Mo yelled where the best mussels were so I could knock them off and we’d cook them for dinner!

We worked hard together and played even harder.

We told stories, sang, laughed and cried together.

We drank great Scotch!

Not long ago, I learned that Mo passed away in the village that had become her home and her community for the last few years of her life.

With all her joy and fun, she had an immense sadness in her.  I am glad she found a home and peace throughout those last years.

She was a true inspiration for me; a free spirit with a deeply adventurous soul.

She taught me to follow your instinct and go where your heart leads you.  She showed me that life is full of fun, joy and freedom, if you can only reach out and grab them!

I am blessed by her brief presence and lasting resonance in my life.  Sometimes inspiration comes from unexpected places and in unpredictable times.

Who has inspired you with tears of joy, laughter and adventure?

When have you listened to your instinct and jumped at a chance that will change your life?

New Webcomics series brought to you by #entrepreneurfail and GetEntrepreneurial.com. Enjoy!

“Days of filling out forms and reading about tax implications of small businesses and figuring out the best computer for my business – I realized how I was just delaying the actual work that had to be done.”

You thought you could just dive right into your new venture? The first month of entrepreneurship is punctuated with administrative overheads like paperwork, forms, writing checks, balancing projects and accounts, with a little bit of actual work sprinkled on top. To make things worse, these administrative tasks create an #entrepreneurfail: a perfect storm of procrastination. In contrast, in a new corporate job, there are a few clerical details to take care of… benefits & tax forms, and then you are off and running!

Of course you cannot skip these administrative overheads. However, be mindful of how they may take over as you embark on your journey.   If you can delegate to a virtual assistant or find a vendor, this could help you make some quicker progress.  We used ODesk and Elance to scope out helpful and experienced talent so that we can actually work on our business.  Our only mistake is that we didn’t do it sooner!

Key Startup Lesson: Focus on your end goal: sales and building a sustainable business and don’t get bogged down by the administrative details.

How was your first month starting a new business? Let us know in the comments below.

Enjoyed this comic? You’ll find this one and many more in the book Cheating on your Corporate Job: A Comic Look at the Startup Dream available on Amazon for download.

Article Contributed by Kelly Gregorio 

As savvy as entrepreneurs are, they are one of the easiest groups to let the holidays get the best of them.  From family commitments, to vacationed employees and a bustling customer base, this is the season of being overwhelmingly busy.

Truth be told, the whirlwind of the holidays goes by in the blink of an eye.  And there you are, faced with a new year and a whole lot of catch up to do.

This year, don’t fall into the holidays’ black hole; instead read on to discover the places and policies that would be greatly served by a little extra focus and attention.

Show Thanks

The holidays go by in the blink of an eye, and if you’re not on top of things you may miss the appropriate time to thank your customers for their business.  Be diligent about sending out handwritten cards or perhaps crafting an email that promotes a loyal customer holiday sale/discount.  Whatever your approach, encourage customers to deliver feedback on what they love and what changes they’d like to see in 2014.

As for your employees, the end of the year should mean more than just an annual review.  Now is the perfect time to reflect and show thanks. Thank them for their yearly contribution and mentor them by establishing individual professional goals for the coming year.  Not only will employees feel valued and respected, but your appreciation for their effort may also give them a much-needed boost throughout the busy holiday season.

Stay Active and Bright

Chances are that the social media bug bit you earlier this year.  With all of the positive customer-interaction potential, you’ve hopefully jumped on the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram brand bandwagons.  Good for you! But don’t forget about your old friend, your website…

Now that you’ve moved on to other, more current technologies, it may be time to revamp the look and messages displayed on your web pages. Get rid of stale content and post something fresh that matches your style and tone.  Update your website with new products and upcoming services for 2014.  Also make sure all of your links to social media are just a click away.  Incorporating new technology into your brand’s outreach is key, just make sure your brand’s look and tone remains consistent throughout all of your different platforms on the web.

Evaluate Your Partners and Procedures

Before a fresh year is upon you it’s a good idea to evaluate your current partners and policies.  Take a minute and look at all of the outsourced relationships your business is currently involved in.  Are they working?  Is the competition offering something better?  If not then now is the time to make a change in the spirit of the upcoming New Year.  And if you’re happy, then extend a well-deserved thank you to keep your positive relationship going.

The same concept goes for your current polices and procedures.  Sure, you follow the steps you put in place because they are what got your business off of the ground, but are they still working?  More important, how can they be improved?

Prep and Envision a Strong 2014

Despite how busy you are it may be worth squeezing in a meeting with your accountant before the New Year’s ball drops. Buying new equipment, setting up a retirement plan or donating to a charity are all things you will probably do eventually, so why not do it when it makes the most financial sense? See if you can conduct any end-of-the-year adjustments to save your business money and more important, end this year on a financially healthy high note.

Also, before 2013 comes to a close it’s a good idea to sit back and reflect yourself.  What were your biggest hurdles this year?  How did you overcome them?

Take some time to envision your planned success in 2014.  Outline what changes you hope to see and start setting benchmarked goals that will lead you toward achieving them.  The holidays will come and go no matter what, how accomplished you’ll feel when this year’s calendar comes to a close is completely up to you.

How will you keep your entrepreneurial focus through the holidays?

Share your tips with us!

About the author: Kelly Gregorio writes about small business topics while working at Advantage Capital Funds, a provider of merchant cash advances. You can read her daily business blog here.