Business Brink

If you're considering starting your own business, make sure you're ready to switch into "survival mode." This is comparable to doing 80 mph on the freeway in 2nd gear... RPMs are very high and your engine is under constant stress. The good news is that you've got more pick up than if you were in 6th gear; ready to go faster in an instant. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this analogy... anyway, be prepared to feel a LOT of pressure. This must be part of the reason why 50% of startups fail within the first five years of business.

Man, this was sort of a depressing entry. Sorry about that - it is what it is though.

My head is killing me... gotta get back to work.

Here's a good article written by Guy Kawasaki: The Art of Execution

I had the opportunity today to visit with my friend and entrepreneur Taylor Shupe, founder of Isis Dei. He's 24 and isn't afraid to go for the gold in life. Taylor has some good advise for those of you wondering if you should go after your dreams, so don't miss this one.

I'll try and edit/post it as soon as I can for you.

My wife and I went to Olive Garden for dinner the other night and it was about a 40 minute wait. This isn't that bad, considering what some have to wait to get into other restaurants, but they had a guy handing out a rasberry slush type drink to those waiting for their buzzers to go off. It didn't taste amazing or anything, but it made the wait a little nicer. This got me thinking...

No matter what your business is, your customers probably wait in some form or another. Products, services, technology, it doesn't really matter. In my business, the waiting period is much longer than 40 minutes (after all, I provide them with logos, websites, brochures, etc.) and sending them a slushy won't really do much. But perhaps communicating the status of their projects more frequently will do the trick. Maybe a phone call more often to talk about their project will help. I could run on here, but I think you get the point. It's all about the entire experience.

Everyday we are faced with hundreds of decisions to make (most of which we make subconsciously). What to have for breakfast, should I exercise or get to the office early, what projects to work on, how will I speak to my clients, how will I treat my family, etc.

But there are moments when you can see a big decision coming down the road. One that will (or at least we think) change our lives forever. As an entrepreneur, you must maintain focus on what it is that you want from life-keep your eye on the ball. For me, I want balance. I want to have quality time with my family, love my job and make a lot of money. Whenever I lose sight of what it is that I'm after, everything seems to fall apart. I lose control and my efforts seem hopeless. It's during these moments that I wonder if all of this is worth it. I suppose this is the up/down nature of being an entrepreneur and is almost like a test to see if you can make it through the heat to get to the other side.

Stay focused and work hard to get what you want out of life. Here's the kicker though: sometimes you may get to a point where you realize that what you were working hard to get isn't what you really want. This means it's time to change, and reset your focus on your adjusted views. It'd be a tragedy to keep going down a path you know won't make you happy.

Welcome to the game of life! Now get to work on what you want.

After being gone for a week for a family reunion, the days have whizzed past me as I've tried to keep up with the demands of my clients - catching up, putting out fires and focusing on new deadlines. I see two options: 1) get overwhelmed and stress out or 2) just do the best I can. I'm choosing the latter and it's working out so far. It's not to say that I'm not stressed, but I feel like things are getting done and I'm optimistic about growing my little branding company.