Escape from Cubicle Nation

Sneak peek at Guy Kawasaki's new project

I don't think Guy sleeps very much, given his advising, mentoring, managing, writing, speaking and blogging schedule.  Apparently all this is not enough activity: he is at it again with a new project from the Truemors team. It is called Alltop, and basically it is a web-based dashboard or table of contents for your favorite topics.

Apparently, the idea was born from observing the work of Thomas Marban who added Truemors to his single-page aggregation of news and tech sites called popurls. The traffic to the Truemors site was bigger from that page than from Google, which led the team to think there was something to this page aggregation stuff.

After testing and brainstorming, the team came up with a prototype of Alltop, with site topics such as gaming, Macintosh, sports, politics, automobiles and celebrity gossip. Each topic has the latest five stories from thirty or more sites on a single page. My favorite so far is oddities, which is a nice way to see the quirky side of the world in one place.

This project appeals to me for a few reasons: 

• I was never any good at the whole "surfing the web" thing. I would stare listlessly at the Google search bar and wonder what in the world I should look for.  Then came del.icio.us and Digg and a lot of other ways to see interesting topics, but all seemed a bit overwhelming.  I really like StumbleUpon for its addictive randomness.  There is something clean and simple about the layout of Alltop which is appealing to me.
• It demonstrates the model of "prototype quickly, launch, get blasted and revise" that I have heard both Guy and my friend Ramit Sethi talk about at length.  The concept is that you do not spend months and months with focus groups and surveys to launch a product, you just "lean into" the market (to use Seth's term), create something quickly and watch instant feedback come in.  The key is to immediately and continuously revise based on this feedback, so within a short period of time the product takes consumer-friendly shape.  This is how Ramit and his buddies launched a prototype of PBWiki, Super Happy Dev House style, in 24 hours with a room filled with smart software engineers, Red Bull and a good idea.  48 hours after launching, they had 1,000 users signed up. I think this model is the wave of the future for all of us, even with non-technical products.
• I like to watch how Guy  handles the product feedback.  Those who follow his blog know that he was reamed, crucified and ridiculed by some for his Truemors project.  He responded with humor, occasional sass and straight talk.  I get the sense that he views business and the internet as a vast petri dish where he can play and experiment.  The ability to take really brutal feedback and keep moving is a highly evolved characteristic of an entrepreneur.  As Guy mentions in his books The Art of the Start and Rules for Revolutionaries, you want to polarize people into lovers or haters of your product.  And as he told me once, "controversy is good."  As a recovering criticism wimp, I stand by that mantra.

I will leave it to Techcrunch and a million smart, critical engineers to pull apart, break down, analyze and improve the technical side of the product.

For me, it is fun to have a place to find a whole bunch of undiscovered wisdom in an easy-to-access format.

For the rest of you, go ahead, look at it, tear it apart and give your feedback.  You know where to find Guy.

Alltop

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Test your knowledge of entrepreneurship

Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western University and author of Illusions of Entrepreneurship:  The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors and Policy Makers Live By, alerted me to his quiz, which I promptly took.

I scored 50%, while my buddy Guy Kawasaki scored 40%.  At least I don't feel so bad!

It is a good example of promoting a book while educating about its core content in an interesting way.  I look forward to reading it for my own book research, as  I think illusions abound for the want-to-start-a- business-crowd.  Based on my results, I have a few illusions myself!

Check it out here and let me know how you score.

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Update later in the day:

VERY interesting follow up guest post by Scott on Guy's blog which may clear up some questions you had about the quiz:  Top Ten Myths of Entrepreneurship. 

A very intriguing, slightly deflating point from the interview (the first point in bold is the "myth"):

"Starting a business is easy. Actually it isn’t, and most people who begin the process of starting a company fail to get one up and running. Seven years after beginning the process of starting a business, only one-third of people have a new company with positive cash flow greater than the salary and expenses of the owner for more than three consecutive months."

Probably true.  Still worth it, I say!

Happy New Year from my family to yours!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I really appreciate all of your comments and emails this year.  I am really looking forward to 2008, not just for the projects that I have on the burner, but also to see the great creativity you unleash through your new businesses.  I feel very blessed to be part of your community, and by extension, part of your family.

This homegrown video was taken from my iMac with software that choked up in the middle ... but hopefully you can capture the sentiment from my family to yours.

Excellent reading for those paralyzed by fear of leaving their job

One of the best ways that I learn about my readers is by regularly checking incoming links to my blog.  It was this way that I found an excellent article by Mike Ambrose, a communications guy who writes Krooz:  Comments on Communication and Culture.

In Mike's words,

"The past two weeks have been rough! I developed "Total Fear Paralysis At Going Out On My Own" and turned to the drugs I know will best numb the panic for me: McDonald's, television, and getting lost in the Wikipedia. Still, I kept thinking "Who am I kidding? My consulting will never get off the ground and fly!" That is, when I wasn't thinking about the bills coming in, especially the money I owe over the next year for my building's brick repointing project. Yikes!

Instead of moving on to stronger drugs (like jumping out my fourth-floor window), I scanned the Web for blog postings from people in the same dire straights. I tried to find personal stories, along with examples of errors I'm afraid of making and advice stronger than "Buck up, you'll be fine." And these are the people who spoke to me:"

He compiled a list of 10 posts which are remedies for the fear of starting your own business.  Thanks for including my post Mike!  I really enjoyed reading the others.

All I can say is you are not alone!  Everyone has big fears of starting new things, even those you may consider the "pros."  So check your perfectionism at the door and just get moving with little things ... as the last article Stop Reading Lifehacks recommends:

"Here’s a novel concept for our hack-happy society: stop reading all of these hacks, step away from the keyboard and actually do something!"

I know everyone here is cheering you on.  When one person makes progress busting through fear, it inspires us all.

Thanks for sharing this list, and good luck with your business!

Resource-rich post for women entrepreneurs

Thanks to Rich McIver from businesscreditcards.com for alerting me to this great list they compiled on their blog with tons of information for women entrepreneurs (and good info for men too!).  Check out The Woman Entrepreneur's Toolbox:  100 Networking Resources, Guides and Links. 

There is a real mix of eclectic and practical, and I look forward to reading up on some new topics. 

There sure is a lot of information available, and my challenge is finding the time to read and explore it all!  I suggest skimming the content for relevant links, and taking in small bits of useful information.  Otherwise you spend all your time researching and little time doing.

I was added to the list too, which I always appreciate.  Although you all know that I am an "equal opportunity" entrepreneur site.  Translation:  I write for whoever wants to read me.  :)

The secret to great relationships with mentors? Reciprocity

I can honestly say that my business would have failed miserably without great mentors.  Since the first day I opened my doors (11 years and 2 days ago!), I relied upon the good faith, support, advice and encouragement of smart and experienced mentors.  In addition to helping with general questions (How much should I charge a client?  How should I market my services?  How do I deal with a surly and difficult executive?), just knowing that they cared about my success gave me a tremendous psychological boost.

I have written about how to find good mentors before, but I wanted to highlight a key component of an effective mentor-mentee relationship that was driven home for me recently:  reciprocity.

Besides people that I have worked with directly or know personally, I have a collection of "professional mentors" that often have no idea I exist.  I guess it is the equivalent of being a business guru groupie.  These are people whose work I follow over a number of years because I like what they do and who they are as people.  And over time, given the right conditions, we connect personally.  For my business, these include people like Martha Beck, Andrea Lee, John Jantsch and  Robert Middleton.

I first met Robert Middleton at his workshop in the San Francisco Bay Area about 6 years ago.  He is a marketing consultant who works exclusively with independent service professionals (like coaches, consultants, therapists, and advisors).  In the workshop, he introduced the concept of "Infoguru," which essentially states that in order to build a strong and  effective connection with your market, you should share a large quantity of high-quality, useful and free information,  build a relationship over time, then charge a premium for specialized products or services.  I really resonated with the concept as I have never felt comfortable with a one-sided and pushy sales and marketing model.  I applied a lot of his ideas to my own business, and that of my clients, to great success.

In the years since I met Robert, by actively reading his weekly ezine, I saw his own business grow, going from a mailing list of 5,000 to 50,000, and his products and services change to meet the needs of his client base.  What I like best about him is that he is very sincere and practical.  His information products are truly useful, and I never get the "slimy marketer" aftertaste when reading his sales letters.  He slowly builds his business, based on careful research and testing.  I have probably referred thousands of people to his website over the years, all with no hesitation, as I knew that what he offered was really valuable.

So recently, I noticed that while he posted a version of his weekly ezine on his blog, he didn't do much else with it, nor did he talk about blogging as a central and effective marketing strategy.  Due to my own amazing experience with blogging, it seemed like he was missing some opportunities to share this  strategy with his readership and clients.  So I sent him a brief email asking what his thoughts were about blogging as a marketing strategy.  And he responded back, curious to hear how I had used my blog to grow my business.  He said he had heard lots of hype before and was a bit skeptical of the whole thing.  So we had a phone conversation which really piqued his interest.  And he followed up a few days later asking if I would be willing to be interviewed about blogging for an audio product that he could share with his readers.

We put together an outline and had a juicy 75-minute conversation about how you can use blogging as a key and central part of your online marketing efforts.  He got really jazzed about how he could use blogging to share more information and build relationships in his own business, in addition to how it applies to his readers. (You can see the resulting product here)

The whole experience made me feel really good.  Here was someone who I had admired for years, whose work I had followed and applied with great success.  And despite his 23 years experience as a professional marketing coach as compared to my "enthusiastic amateur" status, I had a sliver of professional insight that was truly new and useful to him. 

And this is what I took away from the experience:

• Those you admire the most have a need for new and different insight, information and resources.  No one is omnipotent, and even the smartest business gurus have blind spots.  Look at their business and ask "What is missing?" If you know of information or resources that would help them fill these blind spots, share them.
  
• Be proud of what you know.  It can be intimidating to approach someone you really respect because you may wonder if you are "worthy" of their time and attention. Hogwash!  All of us have something valuable to offer the world, and we often project superhuman qualities on those we admire.  They are exactly like us, with the same anxiety and stresses.  The only difference is that they have mastered action and implementation.  (Qualities I now think are the essential characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.  Planning, brilliance, innovation and creativity are all important, but mean nothing if you can't get off your rear and get some things done.)
  
• Beware of becoming "one who asks too much."  As I said before, a great mentor-mentee relationship requires give and take.  Even the most generous soul will tire of continual questions and advice, since they have their own business to run and life to live.  So if you find yourself continually asking for advice or favors, switch tactics and ask  "What can I offer this person that will make their life or business easier or more successful?"  One of my dearest  mentors, Dr. Srikumar Rao, always approaches people he is interested in connecting with this way, and it is both refreshing and very genuine.

I offer my encouragement to each of you to reach out to a respected mentor this coming week and share a piece of valuable insight or information.  Don't worry about the outcome -- the important thing is to get in the habit of doing it on a regular basis.  You may just end up like me, and be delighted by a totally unexpected result!

Dipping your toes in the side of the pool will get you nowhere: dive in!

I had a powerful and visceral lesson about the importance of doing vs. analyzing yesterday that has tremendous implications for wannabe entrepreneurs.

My two-year old son Josh had his first swimming lesson.

We haven't taken him swimming too much in his short life, but when we have, he has enjoyed it, so I thought he would jump right in and enjoy the lesson.

Wrong.

He was totally terrified, clinging to me like a baby monkey to his mama in the face of dangerous hunters.  When the kind, experienced and gentle instructor asked me to bring him to the edge of the pool, he screamed, yelled and gripped me harder.  My first instinct was to protect him, so I said "Maybe he should just watch for this first lesson so he gets more comfortable."

She smiled, and said "No, it actually is better if he just goes in.  The first 3 classes will be the hardest, but then he will adjust and things will be fine."

I sat in pained maternal silence as I watched him scream and thrash in the water for his first 1 minute (very safe) drill.  After he was done, he climbed out of the pool and clung furiously to my leg.

This continued for two more short drills (swishing around in circles in the instructor's arms).  His cries got a little less intense each time, and his clinging a bit more relaxed.

Then, at the 10 minute point, a miraculous thing happened. The instructor took him underwater to dive for a plastic ring.  My heart was in my throat as I thought "But he has never been under water before!" and "He doesn't know how to hold his breath!"  After 30 seconds (update:  it may have been more like 10 seconds, but it felt like 30 years), they both came up for air.  He was clutching the ring with a big smile on his face. 

The remaining 20 minutes of the lesson, he jumped off the diving board, swam underwater with the instructor and sat patiently on the steps of the pool with the other 2 students for his turn at drills.

He was beaming and excited by the time he left. 

If it were up to me (someone who has NO expertise in swimming), I would have probably let him sit by the side of the pool for the first three classes, then dipped his toes in for the next three.

What broke his fear, and accelerated his learning by 900% was diving into deep water right away.

And that is where the lesson lies for entrepreneurs.  How many of you:

• Analyze and re-analyze your business idea, strategy and tactics?
• Spend months (or years) questioning your ability to start a business?
• Agonize about which business to start or which product to create?
• Spend 9 months designing your business card, website and stationary before landing a single client?
• Wait for the "perfect time" to quit your job and start your business?

The message that hit me squarely between the eyes yesterday is that the way to exponentially accelerate your learning is to:

• Jump in and do something right away.  If you want to be a coach, start to coach someone.  If you are a software developer and want to create your own product, start with a small application.  If you want to start a cookie business, bake 3 dozen and sell them on the street corner.  Get started with your endeavor and you will quickly learn what works and what doesn't. 
• Choose the right mentors.  I can think of no situation where I felt more vulnerable and at risk than with my toddler's life at the edge of the pool.  We chose an instructor that is experienced, certified, qualified and capable, and I knew that she would never harm my child.  Don't "fling yourself into the pool" with just anyone -- make sure you have good support around you.
• Don't run away from fear.  We often wait to do things until we "build up enough courage."  Secret tip:  fear is always present when doing new things, no matter how seasoned or experienced you are.  You just learn to feel it and do it anyway.
• Trust the process.  As I elaborated in my post about the "conscious competence learning model," you can't expect to go from novice to expert in one step.  It will take time, practice and experimentation to develop competence and confidence.  But if you never take the first step, you will guarantee one thing:  you will be perpetually stuck in the novice stage.  And the longer you stay there, the more timid you become.

I will harness some of Josh's courage and resilience as I move forward in scary new areas of my life. 

I encourage you to do the same.  Go ahead, dive in!

If you missed Seth Godin's live Dip Tour, tune in to a couple of free calls

Recently, I wrote about my pleasant experience hearing Seth Godin talk live about his new book The Dip here in Tempe, Arizona.  A lot of folks chimed in with their perspective from live events in the Bay Area, Boston, Salt Lake and Ann Arbor.

As a way to continue discussion (and promotion, no doubt!) about the book, Seth is participating in two live calls, hosted by two buddies of mine, Andy Wibbels and Rich Sloan.  Since I consider this whole notion of "when to quit and when to stick"  central to the emerging entrepreneur's daily existence, I encourage you to join a call and see what you can take away from it.

I personally sign up for as many free calls as I can, partially cause I am cheap, and partially since I know that learning from and connecting with others is central to my work.  So if the shoe fits, wear it!

CALL #1 with Seth, interviewed by Andy Wibbels, blogging expert and author of Blogwild:
Thursday, June 21st, at 2pm ET
Register here.

CALL #2 with Seth, interviewed by Rich Sloan, Co-Founder of StartupNation.com:
Tuesday, June 26 at 1pm ET
Register here.

Knowledge of the learning process will help you through the stumble-bumble stage of new entrepreneurship

If you are transitioning from a "safe" corporate job to entrepreneur, chances are you are doing a lot of new things.  It is amazing how much there is to learn when you start a business for the first time;  from forming new work habits to web design to bookkeeping to product development to sales and marketing.

Based on your background, natural strengths and experience, you might find some tasks easier than others.  Regardless of what you are learning, if it is new to you, you will go through a determined set of steps which us training and development wonks  call the "conscious competence learning model."

Why should you care about an obscure model?

Because when  you understand the natural stages your brain goes through to learn something new, you are more likely to relax, expect confusion and resistance, seek opportunities to practice and give yourself lots of time to learn.

Most of us are impatient by nature, and if we don't understand something right away, think either (depending on our degree of self esteem) "I am a lunkhead" or "this is stupid and not worth learning."  Either of these thoughts may cut short critical personal and professional development.

So here is a breakdown of the stages of learning:

STAGE 1:  UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE. 
You aren't aware of what you don't know.  Otherwise known as blissful ignorance.

Example:  If you are a full-time employee of a corporation and have never pondered becoming an entrepreneur, you have no real idea what is involved. The idea sounds dangerously romantic, and you spend hours in your cube, fantasizing about your carefree lifestyle.

What you need in this phase:  A dose of reality.

STAGE 2:  CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE
You become painfully aware of what you don't know.  This is the "hopeless klutz" phase.

Example:  You get excited about the possibility of working for yourself, so you poke around on the web and buy a few books.  You find out there are a million things to take into consideration and everyone has a different opinion about what will make your business a success.  You don't feel like you have a handle on things, and it feels both uncomfortable and overwhelming.

What you need in this phase:  Sound guidance, support and information from trusted experts.

STAGE 3:  CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE 
You are able to do the task with focus and mental effort.  Think of how you felt as a kid when you were able to ride your bike without your Mom or Dad's hand on the back of the seat, and you didn't wipe out.

Example:  With careful planning, study and support, you are able to start your business.  You develop your product or service and begin to sell it.  You start to interact with customers and handle all aspects of running your business.  You still need to use instruction manuals, get expert guidance and spend a lot of time preparing, but you are able to run your business with a decent level of comfort.

What you need in this phase:  Practice, practice, practice.  And feedback from a trusted source.

STAGE 4:  UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE
You do the task effortlessly without even thinking about it. Very smart author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls this flow.

Example:  You are in business for a few years and work very hard.  You perfect your products and services, understand your market  and develop real expertise in your field.  You learn from your mistakes.  You handle all aspects of running your business without a lot of stress.  People look at you as an expert and think "man, he must have been born doing that, since he does it so well."

What you need in this phase:  Not much, as you are comfortable and "at home" with your new skills.  Pretty soon, however, you will need to challenge yourself with something new or focus on improving your performance, since if you stay in the "unconscious competence" stage for too long you can get bored.

The power of this model was really hammered home when I used to teach presentation skills around the country.  Regardless of experience, most people were terrified of standing up in front of a camera and giving a presentation, especially when they were trying to change some ingrained habits, like inserting"ums and ahs" in every other sentence, rubbing their hands together nervously as if they were being interrogated by an IRS agent, or rocking back and forth like an ocean buoy.  Many would get extremely frustrated with themselves when they were unable to expunge habits after one 3-minute practice run.  After introducing the conscious competence model, however, they realized that they had to go through each stage of learning to successfully change habits, and they relaxed.

Over time, you will learn that you get stuck in stage 2 or 3 with certain tasks and it never gets better, no matter how much you practice.  This is a good indication that a skill is not a natural strength, and it may be better to hire someone to do it for you.

What we can learn from Guy Kawasaki's "Web 2.0, User-Generated Content, Citizen Journalism, Long-Tail Social Media Site" venture

I have been watching the development of Guy Kawasaki's new venture, Truemors, from the sidelines for the last couple of weeks, fascinated by both the business idea and the reaction in the blogosphere.

He took a subtle approach to the launch at first, hinting at the kinds of input he wanted from his blog readers.  This garnered some strong reactions, among them:

• "Did you hear that Guy is the new Perez Hilton? He must be out of his mind! Please tell me this post is a joke."
• "Did you hear that Guy has sunk to a new low? Come on Guy… gossip is one step away from pornography."
• "All the pitch’s (sic) you hear, and this is the kind of thing you want to attach your name and valuable reputation to…another hurtful, hateful gossip site/company?"
• "stick to tech, guy, that’s what you are. don’t cover hollywood gossip bs."

His response was interesting, and as always contained a general lesson about entrepreneurship in addition to responding to the criticism.  An excerpt:

"Truemors, and your idea, might not succeed, but if you listen to the naysayers, you won’t even try. Then, for sure you won’t succeed. The first lesson is:     If you believe in something, go for it. This is the only way to really find out. Mathematically, the naysayers are right 95% of the time, but believing you’re in the 5% is what makes entrepreneurs entrepreneurs."

Subsequent coverage has been really interesting, from some virulent detractors (mixed with a few supporters) at TechCrunch to an unimpressed Seth Godin (although a recent post Pundits are (nearly) always wrong is an interesting follow up) to a very revealing interview on Red Herring.  Some of my favorite quotes from the Red Herring interview:

RH: You said something in your blog about you have to believe in something. You have to push it and see what happens.

Mr. Kawasaki: Granted, it may not work. The odds are 90 percent it won’t work. But how do you know when you have the 10 percent unless you try. That’s the whole point, right? Now, to say that a few years ago, you’d have to say, ‘Well, how do I know if I have the 10 percent chance of succeeding, but I need $2 million to do that.’ Now, you can say, ‘I have a one in 10 chance of succeeding, and I need $12,000 to know that.’

RH: Presumably you feel you’ve been successful.

Mr. Kawasaki:  As a person you tend to pick a definition of success that makes you successful. So at the end of the day, if I were to meet my maker, the question is, was I a good father, was I a good husband, and in my professional career, did I make the world a better place. And if you use that test, I think I was successful. And have I made the world a better place by evangelizing Macintosh? Yes. Have I made the world a better place by evangelizing, or writing these books and giving these speeches? Yes. I think I’ve helped many an entrepreneur be more successful. But do I have a yacht that can only go underneath the Golden Gate Bridge at low tide? No. Do I own a Ferrari? No. Do I have a G3? No. So, maybe I’m a failure. I don’t lay awake at night about this. But I would like to drive more than a Toyota Sienna.

RH: How do you deal with the criticism that shows up on your site.

Mr. Kawasaki: Well, I assume that all one thousand people in the world who hate me have now expressed themselves. It’s cathartic. You cannot take it personally. I bet you the day that Vista shipped, Bill Gates got a few emails and a few rants. And the day Steve Jobs announces the next iPod or whatever. It comes with the territory. It would be somewhat hypocritical for me to say, “But, hey, you can only say good things about me.” But don’t get me wrong. You know, the purpose of Truemors is to either inform or entertain. And if you just put something up there that says, “This site sucks,” I see no redeeming value of keeping that. I delete that. I don’t even hesitate.

Then there are perspectives like Bob Sutton who didn't comment a lot on the business, but rather analyzed the way in which it was launched in  The Prototyping Process:  How it has Evolved on the Web.

I cannot profess objectivity when it comes to Guy, as I have had extremely positive and constructive interactions with him on multiple occasions.  But despite my respect for and friendship with him, I know he is a tell-it-like-it-is kind of person and abhors mindless "attaboys" as much as he does reactive criticism.  So here are some thoughts and questions about the venture:

• Is a lot of the criticism coming because people find an endeavor like this does not jive with Guy's philosophy to "change the world," or is it because we hate it when people we respect do unexpected things?  How does this relate to each of us as we experiment with things that our parents, colleagues or target market may consider "out of bounds?"
• Is there anything inherently wrong with creating a venture to exploit popular social and technological trends, and try to make a lot of money, all in the name of experimentation?  As long as no one gets physically hurt and air pollution is not increased, do we need to have every business we engage in have deep social impacts? 
• What was it about this idea, out of the hundreds that he probably considers on a monthly basis, that lit a spark and seemed exciting enough to implement?  I don't see Guy being at a point in his life where he needs a lot more money or exposure, so there must be something about the benefits of starting this business that outweighed the risk of doing it.  Perhaps it was the challenge, or the financial opportunity or the simple urge to rankle his stuffy VC peers, or to tickle a funny bone.
  
• Does the nature of the site lean more towards citizen journalism and social networking, gossip or entertaining factoids like a modern Farmer's Almanac on steroids?  Or might it spawn abuse and smear campaigns, like some fear?  Random samples from the page of Truemors:    

• "Did you hear that Greenpeace is building a replica of Noah’s Ark to publicize the dangers of global warming?"
• "Lindsay Lohan’s back in rehab? Talk about unflattering photos!"
• "Google and Jeopardy are partnering. I think this is a good thing."
• "Did you hear some guy in New Hampshire wouldn’t shake Mit Romney’s hand because Romney is a Mormon?"
• "Did you know that it costs $600,000 to get a NY taxi medallion?"
• And what John Dodds found amusing, "Mike Meyers got kicked out of yoga class for farting"

I will never be able to take the "morally superior" position on the content, as I am as likely to devour a People Magazine, watch American Idol, scan the headlines of newspapers and gasp at political scandals as anyone else.  Will I spend all my time perusing factoids at the expense of completing meaningful work?  Probably not, but I will enjoy taking breaks to entertain and distract myself from real life challenges.

One thing I look forward to is learning about the experiment every step of the way through Guy's blog.  I am notoriously wimpy when it comes to sharing business challenges and failures with the blogging world, probably out of fear of criticism and ridicule.  Guy, on the other hand, seems to embrace it, and believes, as he once told me as I was whimpering due to attacks on my choice of Che to illustrate a blog post, "Controversy is good."  That has stuck with me, and it somehow seems fitting behavior for entrepreneurs whose job it is to rock the boat and challenge widely held assumptions.

Guy is telling the behind the scenes story of Truemors at Launch:  Silicon Valley 2007, with a talk from which I stole the title of this blog post:  “How I Launched a Web 2.0, User-Generated Content, Citizen Journalism, Long-Tail, Social Media Site for only $10,918.09” Given the juicy reactions so far, it promises to be a lively session.

What is your reaction to the Truemors launch?  What can you learn from it to apply to your own startup venture?

Nice Wall St. Journal Online Small Biz Blog List

Today's Startup Journal (part of the Wall St. Journal online) has a feature on what small business owners can learn from blogs.  I am thrilled that Escape from Cubicle Nation made the list, and invite you to check out the others, some of which I am familiar with, and others that I am eager to check out.  The list includes:

• Work Happy
• Franchise Pundit
• Young Go Getter
• Biz Bang Buzz
• Venture Capital Cafe
• Marketing Blog
• Small Business Trends
• The Invent Blog
• How to Change the World

For new readers from the WSJ, here is a sample of writing from this blog to give you a taste of what's here:

My swan song to corporate consulting which caused quite a stir for a few days (drew 20,000 hits and 400 incoming links the first 2 days .. a record for this blog!)
Open letter to CXOs across the corporate world

Follow up letter to corporate employees:
Open letter to employees across the corporate world

Managing your life topics if you are or are considering becoming an entrepreneur:
Avoid becoming the stressed-out, overworked entrepreneur
Overwhelmed with too much to do?  Outsource everything possible

Building your business and networking:
How to avoid fright-inducing link sharing and networking techniques
How can you find great mentors?
How do you introduce yourself?

Developing the mindset of an entrepreneur:
5 ways to get out of "job" mentality when starting a business
Here is a picture of my 10 million dollar yacht

Overcoming fears:
Is there a sure-fire way to know if your new business will be a success?
Is starting a small business impossible if you are the sole income earner in your family?
Why is it so scary to go from corporate drone to entrepreneur?

Finally, a popular post on operating in a global environment that has excellent tips from readers in the comments section:
How not to be a cultural knucklehead in a global business world

Welcome new readers, and thank you to all of you who have frequented and contributed to this blog!

Tips on how to get your spouse to support your entrepreneurial dreams

I feel very lucky that my husband is totally behind me and my business, and shows nothing but enthusiasm and support for what I do.  He is also an entrepreneur, so is used to managing risk and uncertainty in the job arena.

I know this is not always the case:  I hear a lot of concern from blog and ezine readers about the lack of support they get from their spouse for their entrepreneurial dreams.  This can range from skepticism about the business idea to fear that the budding entrepreneur will totally ruin the financial base of the family.

While frustrating, there are actually some very good reasons why a spouse may express fear or concern.  And it is not because they don't  love you or want to see you forever miserable and bound to your cube by a menacing chain.  Here are some more reasonable explanations, and suggested remedies:

1. They don't understand your business idea because you haven't explained it in a way that makes sense to them.  You may be totally enthusiastic about developing a computer program that fixes a critical flaw in a major software application, but this could be too technical or meaningless to your spouse.
   
   Remedy:  Simplify your business description, using terms and analogies that they understand and can relate to.  This is a good thing to do in general, as most people you meet won't have a clue what you are talking about either.  Laura Allen has some nifty tools for doing this at 15 Second Pitch.
   
2. They don't have enough information about your business to decide if it sounds viable or not, so they assume that it isn't.  You may have been thinking, planning and researching your new business venture for a long time and feel very familiar with both the business idea and the opportunity for success.  But if you haven't shared this information with your spouse, he may assume it doesn't exist.
   
   Remedy:  Share your business plan with your spouse, demonstrating the information and research that you have done to backup your idea.  What, you haven't done any analysis or business plan?  You should have more concerns than a reticent spouse.  Go here for some good tools and guidance on writing a business plan.
3. They have deep fears about risk and money that don't have anything to do with you personally.  A caller in one of my teleclasses mentioned that his spouse was terrified about losing financial stability if he went out on his own.  He was frustrated with this, as he felt he had a very viable business idea and a solid plan.  When I asked him about his wife's background, he told me that her father had quit his job and started a very unsuccessful string of entrepreneurial ventures, adding stress and tension to the family.  That is where the real heat of her emotion was coming from.
   
   Remedy:  If your spouse expresses fear about any part of your plan, ask a lot of "what, why, where, when and how" questions in a very open and non-judgmental manner.  For example, ask "What in particular are afraid of?  Why do you feel this way?  When did you feel something similar in the past?  What would you need to know or experience to dissipate this fear?  The key here is to ask questions and listen, not refute each point.
   
4. They think differently than you.  You might perceive your spouse is unsupportive because they ask lots of critical questions about your business plan.  But maybe that is just how their brain is wired, and they must ask the questions in order to understand and support your idea.  My Mom is and example of this:  she is an extremely supportive person, but is risk averse by nature, so usually when discussing something new, she first comes up with a list of questions and concerns about it.  It used to frustrate me, but now I realize that it is simply her way of processing new information.  Ironically, I find I have the same behavior with my husband when he first broaches a business idea or expansion plan.  We truly do become our mothers as we get older!
   
   Remedy:  Don't react negatively to critical questions, use the same questioning techniques as described in #3.   Pay attention to how your spouse processes information and give them the resources and time to digest it.  If your spouse is highly analytical, you may want to give them some detailed information about your business idea or plan.  If she is big-picture and results-oriented, stay brief with your description and focus on impact, results and rewards.  I have used the DiSC profile a lot in my corporate work with leaders and teams, and virtually everyone who I administered the profile to said it helped in their personal relationships.  Alicia Smith, known as the DiSC Ninja,  has the profile online.
5. They have seen you start and stop many projects in the past and are not confident that you have the follow-through skills to pull off the marathon of entrepreneurship.  I don't know if I totally agree with Dr. Phil that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, since I have seen many people make significant changes in their lives.  But in the last 10 years if you have shown your spouse that you enthusiastically start  remodeling projects and then lose steam with holes in the wall or a half-painted room, if you join a gym and never go, if you get enthused with new hobbies every month and never take them anywhere, you may have some problems with follow-through. 
   
   Remedy:  If you think that this endeavor is totally different, explain why.  Share why you think it is not just a cool, fleeting idea, but something that you are willing to invest a lot of effort and energy in for the next couple of years.  And practice the art of discipline and follow-through by sticking with projects to completion.  You  may also want to stay in your "day job" a bit longer than other people while you develop your business idea over time, to ensure that it maintains its same appeal and value after months of hard work.
6. They don't know what the exit or backup plan is.  Leaving a job to start a new business may seem like jumping off a cliff to your spouse.  It is not a point of no return ... every new entrepreneur should be able to describe an exit strategy if the venture fails, or takes longer than anticipated to get off the ground.
   
   Remedy:  Create an exit strategy with your spouse's input, determining things like:   how much money you are willing to spend without return, the amount of time you will allocate to see if your business idea will be successful, alternatives for generating income and strategies for getting a job if you need to jump back in the world of employee-hood for awhile (this is totally natural and not to be ashamed of - I call it "becoming your own venture capitalist")
7. They are afraid you will leave them if you get too happy and successful.  This may seem crazy and counter-intuitive, but it is a real fear for some people.  It is usually based on insecurity on the part of the spouse, where they feel like they need to keep things just the way they are in order to maintain the relationship.  We have all seen the media stories of spouses who got insanely jealous of their partner when they lost weight or hit the lottery jackpot.
   
   Remedy:  Reinforce the love you have for your spouse.  Talk about what the relationship means to you.  Make sure that you carve out time for your relationship as you are working on your business plans.  Do all that you can to reinforce the love your spouse has for his or herself, as we all know that insecurity and self-loathing is the root of all jealousy.
8. They are bitter that you get to have fun while they are sacrificing as a corporate drone.  This is a tough one, as often one spouse does have to sacrifice something while the other undertakes the startup phase of a new venture.  The same thing happens when one spouse works to put the other through graduate school.
   
   Remedy:  Talk with your spouse about his or her dreams, and make plans for bringing them to life.  Your spouse's dreams may have nothing to do with entrepreneurship, but rather involve visiting interesting places around the world, or getting in shape, or learning how to carve wood. Get clear on timelines for each of your interests, and be sure that each of you is making sacrifices to support the others' happiness.    If they see how you are willing to adjust and change to support them, they will be more likely to support you.

If you find that your spouse is still totally resistant and unsupportive of your hopes and dreams after applying all these remedies, you may have some more deep-seated problems than an entrepreneur coach can solve.  Get yourself to a relationship counselor, and see if that helps.

For those of you who have made the transition from employee to entrepreneur successfully, what helped your spouse support you along the way?

Is your business idea the next YouTube or a Jump to Conclusions Mat?

We would all be rich venture capitalists if we had the specific formula, knowledge and insight to decide which new business ideas were destined for millions in sales and which were destined to bring emotional and financial heartbreak to its founders. 

As an entrepreneur, how do you know if your idea is the next YouTube or a Jump to Conclusions Mat?

For those of you not familiar with the lowbrow but highly hilarious movie Office Space, let me explain the term Jump to Conclusions Mat.  Office Space is a parody of cubicle life.  One character named Tom Smykowski has what he thinks is the next million dollar idea to follow the Pet Rock.  His dialogue with co-workers goes like this:

Michael Bolton: You think the pet rock was a really great idea?

Tom Smykowski: Sure it was. The guy made a million dollars. You know, I had an idea like that once. A long time ago.

Peter Gibbons: Really, what was it, Tom?

Tom Smykowski: It was a "Jump to Conclusions" mat. You see, it would be this mat that you would put on the floor... and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO.

Michael Bolton: That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my life, Tom.

Samir: Yes, this is horrible, this idea.

While I certainly don't have an airtight formula, here are my initial thoughts on evaluating your business idea:

Signs your business idea might be economically feasible, if not destined for YouTube fate:

1. It serves a significant need in the market that is real, evidenced by thoughtful research, not speculation
2. You have a unique approach, skill or capability that will allow you to serve this need better than anyone else
3. When you talk to people who are the target market for the product or service, they get excited about it and ask when it is going to be available
4. You have the capacity, resources and support for getting the business launched in a timely manner
5. You have chosen an area to which you provide value beyond cheap production price, which could be easily undercut by a competitor
6. Your target market is not only interested in what you have to offer, but they have the money to pay for what you are selling
7. You create a prototype and it generates buzz and interest
8. You have a firm grasp of the financial metrics of your business
9. If you require others to build your business, you have a network of smart and capable people who would like to work with you
10. You welcome any and all feedback about your business idea, and use it to continually improve your product or service

Signs your business idea might be an expensive hobby, if not a Jump to Conclusions Mat

1. You "feel" there is a market based on hunches and a few conversations
2. When you discuss the idea with people who would be the target market for your product or service, they are either overcome by an embarrassing silence or are direct like Michael Bolton from Office Space and say "That is the worst business idea I have ever heard."
3. When someone challenges your idea, you get very defensive and immediately change the subject, thinking "They obviously are not smart enough to get my brilliant idea."
4. You spend hours, weeks, months and sometimes years working on the idea without ever bringing it in front of either a potential investor or customer
5. You are unable to describe the true need this product or service might fill
6. You business success is dependent on huge sales, without which you will quickly lose money
7. You have never undertaken a venture like this before AND you don't surround yourself with people who have
8. Your personal network is very limited, and you don't think anyone you may have worked with in the past would be willing to join you in your venture
9. You view your venture as "all or nothing" and will only consider launching one business idea, regardless of feedback from others
10. Deep in your gut, you are not sure this is a good idea, but you are too proud to admit it

I really welcome challenge and insight into this topic, since it would be very cool to craft a well-rounded assessment which could  help new entrepreneurs test their ideas and see where the gaps are.  I am an eternal optimist and hate to squash anyone's dreams.  But I feel a responsibility to not string along someone who has a business idea that truly doesn't have any market potential.

Any VCs like Sean, if you want to weigh in, that would be great.

As it turns out in the movie, Tom Smykowski gets hit by a car, reaps a huge insurance settlement and is able to produce his beloved Jump to Conclusions Mat product.  I don't wish similar fate on any of you!

Overwhelmed with too much to do or life in general? 5 tips to make things easier

I have often said that the journey to entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint.  There are times, whether they be at mile 10 or 22 of your 26.2 mile journey (which begins again as soon as you finish it), that you feel overwhelmed, tired, discouraged, uninspired or simply lifeless.  Instead of employing the self-flaggelating techniques that many of us grew up with such as "work through the pain," "feel the burn" or "get it done by any means necessary," I opt for the mantra that my dear coaching buddy Andrea Lee reminded me of the other day:  How can you make it easier?

I remember being startled by the question, as I was in the midst of a "this is hard, I have so much work to do, there is so much I don't know, besides which, I am an incredibly nauseated hormonal pregnant woman and this sucks" kind of a moment.  In our modern society, we can try to outdo each other with the list of overwhelming and herculean tasks we have to complete, such as:

• "You only get 500 emails a day?  I get at least 1200, and more on the weekends."
• "You only work 40 hours a week?  I work 100+ hours a week on my business."
• "I completed a website redesign, launched a new product, tended to my sick mother, served as Chair of our local charity event and baked cupcakes for my son's class birthday party.  And that was just today!"

In reality, one of the best reasons to choose to become an entrepreneur is to throw away those outdated notions that more hours at work = more success and redefine your relationship to work.

So how can you use the mantra of "make it easier" to get unburied or unstuck?

1. Spend a day doing the opposite of what you should be doing.
   There comes a time when no matter how much you try to force yourself to get things done, your fatigue or resistance will be so great that it is a losing battle.  So why stress yourself out?  Take a day and do whatever is the irresponsible, fun, adventuresome antidote to the task at hand.  Catch a triple feature movie.  Go golfing all day.  Luxuriate in the spa.  Eat junk food. 
   
   Yesterday was a perfect example for me.  I had a podcast to write and record, articles to finish, a class to design and hundreds of emails to catch up on.  But I was so nauseated and tired that all I could do was lay in bed all day and watch a 24-hour marathon of Law & Order.  Since that is one of my favorite shows, I considered it a divine seal of approval that they chose to run the 24-hour marathon on the very day I was a slug in bed.  Although I missed my podcast deadline for the first time ever, I know that it was the right thing to do.
2. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
   As a pathologically committed recycler, I love the  "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra that was popular when I was running my college's recycling program.  It basically states reduce the amount of waste you generate, reuse containers as much as possible, and that which you can't reuse, recycle.  Looking at your workload, what can you reduce that will decrease your stress?  The "I get 1200 emails a day" is always a favorite for me especially in a corporate environment.  My answer is always "Why?"  What lists could you get off of?  How can you un-cc and bcc yourself from messages that your colleagues or assistants can handle themselves?
   
   What can you reuse that will make your job easier?  A client once asked me cautiously "Do you think I can re-purpose some of my blog posts into an info product or article?  Isn't that cheating?,"  to which I responded a resounding NO.  Reusing carefully crafted material in new, useful ways for new audiences is one of the best things you can do for your business.  I saw that Guy Kawasaki is re-purposing popular blog posts for a new column in Entrepreneur magazine.  More power to him!  Maybe you have a great software product that could be tweaked a bit to fit the needs of a new market.
   
   Finally, don't be afraid to recycle. Customers may welcome back an old promotion that worked well.  Your new blog readers will appreciate it if you dust off an old favorite post and republish it.  "Melt down" some of your old product and create something new and interesting from it without incurring the time and expense of starting from scratch. 
   
3. Relentlessly delegate and outsource.
   I realize that you can handle the many tasks of running your business, but should you?  What can you offer to a partner, delegate to an assistant or hand off to an outsource company? There are probably hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs who have garages filled with product which they spend hours carefully packing and shipping themselves.  Why not hire a company to do that for you?  The amount of time you spend in this labor-intensive, no added value task could be spent on valuable marketing, product development and sales activities.  Don't be so concerned about losing pennies on your dollar that you miss the boat entirely on the appropriate balance of your labor.
4. Reclaim your place in the natural world.
   Us modern-day humans are the only species I know of that can choose to ignore the ebb and flow of the natural world.  Through climate control, cell phones, Blackberries and remote internet access, we try to program ourselves to work at full-out speeds every week of the year.  This is not how the natural systems work!  There is always a planting and a resting season.  Animals hibernate after working hard to gather nuts.  I am convinced that the reason we have so many aliments and muscle pains and headaches is because we do not respect our need to slow down and replenish energy at certain times of the year.  As much as we would like to distance ourselves from nature, our bodies have different cycles of productivity.  Instead of fighting them, why not plan your business around them?
5. Re-gain your sense of joy and humor. 
   For goodness sakes, you don't have to be so serious all the time!  We can choose to make work laborious and grueling and thankless by our attitudes alone.  If you find yourself grumbling "I have so much to do," "no one understands how much work this is," "I am never going to get this done," guess what, you are probably right!  Instead, re-focus on why you are choosing this endeavor in the first place.  If you work with people, how will their lives change as a result of them working with you?  What problem will your product fix, and how might the world be better as a result?  How can you enjoy your relationships more?  When you have a big catastrophe, how can you find the hilarity in it and roll on the ground laughing at your stupidity or hubris or stunning lack of foresight?

By employing these techniques, you may find that that which you thought was impossible and overwhelming is actually quite tame and feasible.   Trust me, your journey doesn't have to be hard and painful to be successful!

The critical importance of "beginner mind" when starting a business

We all get cocky sometimes and think we know a lot about a lot of things.  This is probably true; your life experience and education have given you a rich body of experience that you should be proud to share with others.

However, if you go into entrepreneurship for the first time with an attitude that you know everything, you will quickly be humbled by the reality that what you think you know, you really don't.  It is a better strategy to approach your new venture with "beginner mind."

What is "beginner mind?"

Beginner mind is a state of being where you approach learning with no judgment, censoring, editing or preconceived expectations. 

When you are in a state of "beginner mind," you think things like:

• Wow, this is cool!  I wonder how it works?
• That is interesting!  Why do you think that?
• I want to learn as much as I can about this topic!
• I really don't understand this person, but I wonder what makes him tick?
• I can't wait to get in front of customers to hear what is important to them
• What else?  Tell me more.

It is in direct opposition to its cousin "expert mind" where you think things like:

• When is this person going to stop talking so I can share what I know?
• This person is so wrong in her explanation and I can't wait to prove it to her
• I tried that already and it didn't work
• I can't wait to share my 152 Powerpoint slides at my first sales meeting.  They will be so impressed with what I say that they will probably buy my product before I leave the building.
• This is a total waste of my time.  I am learning nothing.

"Expert mind" can be very dangerous as a new entrepreneur, since you are in a phase of discovery where you need to soak in as much as possible about your new area.  Some expert mind traps can be things like:

• "I don't need to bother learning small business marketing, since I am a certified marketing expert from Corporate U and was the Senior VP of Marketing for the entire globe."
  
  Mistake:  The marketing you know may be very, very far removed from what you need to know to be an effective entrepreneur.  Although it may sound similar in concept, in practice it is very different.

• "I know there is a need in the market, since I have studied it extensively online for the last 2 years and have the spreadsheets to prove it.  I do not want to bother talking with someone in the market, since I know they will just confirm my research."
  
  Mistake:  Nothing substitutes talking to real people in your target market.  Many entrepreneurs see the potential of a five billion dollar market in their area.  But how many can personally name those that are ready to buy the first ten products?

• "I don't really want to talk to people that have been in this field for awhile, since they are too "old school" and don't have half of my fresh ideas or academic degrees."
  
  Mistake:  You can learn many, many valuable things from seasoned entrepreneurs in your field.  You may not agree with everything they say, but you can avoid many mistakes by listening to what they have learned by hard-fought experience.
  

I could always spot the difference between "beginner mind" and "expert mind" when I taught martial arts classes in San Francisco.  A "beginner mind person" would come into class, introduce himself humbly, and follow all instructions in the first class.  He would pay attention, ask lots of questions and carefully watch how I did the movements. 

An "expert mind person," by contrast, would strut in the class and immediately tell me that he was an experienced martial artist.  As I was trying to explain the movements, he would focus on watching the more advanced students work out.  When I gave a point of direction or corrected a position, he would get a slightly annoyed look on his face as if to say "who are you to tell me what to do?"

The interesting thing is that many times the "beginner mind" person had just as much experience in other martial arts as the "experienced mind" one, he just had a different attitude toward learning.  By coming in with a fresh perspective and seeing the art as a beginner, he picked up techniques much quicker and in the long run developed more talent.

Cultivating a beginner mind as an entrepreneur will greatly increase both the depth and pace of your learning, and make the process fun and exciting.  You will find that more people are willing to talk with and support you when you  are open and non-judgmental. 

The "Big Four" every entrepreneur needs

I get a lot of questions about very specific areas of setting up a small business such as:

• Should I set up my business as a S Corporation or a LLC? (Two examples of U.S.-based business structures)
• Do I need liability insurance?
• Should I make people sign a non-disclosure agreement if I share details about my product or business model?
• Should I set up my books on a cash or accrual basis?

These are all great questions for which I have a singular response:

Don't follow my advice, talk to a professional.

I certainly have opinions, but this is very different than understanding the details of your business and the myriad of (always changing) laws and regulations that govern it.  Many an unhappy entrepreneur has gotten into hot water because they "followed Uncle Bill's advice" instead of investing money in a lawyer (nothing against Uncle Bill).  Startup Nation  talks about the "big four" professionals every entrepreneur needs to run an effective business:

1. A lawyer
2. An accountant
3. A banker
4. An insurance specialist

These professionals can ensure that you set up a solid foundation for your business.  Often, entrepreneurs try to "bootstrap" everything and only call in an expert when they are in trouble.  Investing in the right professional advice early on can save you headaches, or worse, in the long run.

Since most of the "big four" have high hourly rates, to get the most out of your investment, be very prepared for your meeting and come with specific questions. If you can describe the nature of your business, your target market and your products and services in a succinct way, they will be able to get you the information that you need more quickly.

So how do you find these professionals if you don't know any personally?

• Ask successful businesspeople in your field whom they recommend.  We found our very competent accountant by asking our trusted insurance agent.
• Search for professional directories like the The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the Small Business Law Firms .
• Contact your local Small Business Association and ask for referrals
• Search for members in your local Better Business Bureau.
• Don't sign up with the first person that fits your criteria.  Startup Nation has specific questions to ask each of your "big four," similar to these for a prospective accountant:
  1. Do you specialize in businesses like mine?
  2. Are you qualified to prepare income tax returns as well as keep my books?
  3. Can you provide me with references from clients similar to me?
  4. Can you explain your fee structure?
  5. Are you a CPA (certified public accountant)?

I realize that cash flow is king when you are starting a business.  It can be painful to write a big check to a professional when you may want to use the money to develop a prototype or invest in marketing.  In the long run, however, you will be happy that you set things up the right way.  No one should endure the heartbreaking loss of someone stealing your intellectual property, face the agony of huge tax adjustments in favor of your government when it is discovered that your accounting was inaccurate, or deal with the frightening experience of a lawsuit that puts your personal assets at risk.

I realize that most of the resources listed are U.S.-based.  If you have recommendations for your corner of the world, please share them in the comments.

Finding grace in the throes of gut-wrenching failure

This month's ezine topic is a juicy one, if you are anything like most people who struggle with failure ...

I think we have a very skewed view of success and failure in our modern-day society.  I find it hard to reconcile the concept that "failure is good" with the reality that "failing is gut-wrenching, agonizing and generally to be avoided at all costs."

Failures can be things like:

• A business partnership flops
• The product you thought was going to sell 1,000 units sells 5
• You failed to deliver what you promised to your client on time
• You get terrible feedback from users reviewing your new website
• You choke in a live presentation
• You don't secure the venture funding you were counting on

Based on work with clients and my own personal gut-wrenching, I have found that there are some steps to take that not only make you feel a bit less stressed at having made a mistake, but actually make you feel good about the things you learned from the experience.

The highlights:

1. Describe the situation objectively
2. Brainstorm reasons why you think it turned out the way that it did
3. Figure out what you could do differently in a similar situation in the future
4. Make a plan of recovery
5. Honestly and sincerely thank yourself for learning the lessons

The complete article with more details is here.

I know that the only way to grow and learn is by experimenting.  Sometimes, this will involve making mistakes.  By taking some of the self-flagellating heat out of our experience of failure, we will learn faster. 

How do you emotionally process failure?  What have you done to recover from it?

Announcing my new coaching program with StartupNation!

After a lot of creative brainstorming and work, I am thrilled to announce the fruits of a juicy collaboration with StartupNation which is the 10 Steps to Open for Business Coaching Program.

This is a 12-week coaching program starting on February 14 (Newsflash:  due to a timeline switch in testing the online environment, we pushed the 1/31 launch to a later start)that combines weekly 75-minute group coaching sessions over the phone with a lively private online forum for the class participants and 1:1 coaching sessions with me.  We have also partnered with John Jansch of Duct Tape Marketing who will be personally coaching these first groups with me on the topics of Branding and Sales and Marketing.

Some of you may have visited the StartupNation site and found the content of their 10 Steps to Open for Business helpful.

Through this program, we aim to offer group structure and support to ensure that you not only grasp the material in the 10 Steps, but actually do something about them and get your business off the ground!

This program is for you if:

• You have a specific business idea
• You're intrigued by the thought of going into business for yourself
• You don't have an organized process for how to do that….yet!
• You're stuck in your day job and working on your business on the side, and your next big step is to go full time in your business
• You're a self-starter who would appreciate some support and structure
• You're ready to take action!

To register for the class I am teaching from February 14-May 2, go here.

To register for the class Philippa Kennealy is teaching from February 16-May 4, go here.

And an update for those who can't quite swing the whole payment at once:  you can pay in three installments over the three month program.

The virtual-Web 2.0-social networks-do-good backstory

The birth of this program is an example of the power of blogging and social networks.

About a year ago, Rich Sloan of StartupNation discovered my blog and we began talking.  We discovered that we had a natural synergy in both our personal values and approach to entrepreneurship.  And our businesses fit nicely together since as I helped people escape their cubes, he would readily welcome them into the world of startups.  I wrote a series of articles for StartupNation, as well as did some other projects with Rich and his brother Jeff.

As I referred more and more people to the 10 Steps to Open for Business information, I had a "lichen business strategy" moment, where I saw a natural  fit  for my coaching services within Startup Nation's offerings.  Rich agreed, and we got busy working on the program.

Then, as we saw that it involved a lot of design and input, I brought in my good friend Philippa Kennealy, The Entrepreneurial MD, to help design the program and teach her own session.  Philippa and I met virtually as participants in a coaching program, and became friends and "mastermind" partners for over 8 months.  After experiencing what a gifted coach and business person she was, I knew that I wanted to work with her.

John Jansch of Duct Tape Marketing was in conversation with StartupNation about integrating their marketing materials with his excellent coaching and information.  This coaching program seemed a great way to get John and his Duct Tape Marketing coaches to get hooked up with people who were ready to apply the information.  So another partner and asset to the program was born.

I share this "backstory" with you to demonstrate that you can grow your business and establish wonderful business partnerships through the medium of web, blog-based and virtual business.  I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to work with people I enjoy, and most importantly, to work hands-on with a group of cube dwellers who are actually going to take action and fly the cube!

After lots and lots of individual coaching, blogging and podcasting, it feels great to release a real, live program.

Enrollment is limited for this first session, so if you feel this is "your time," go for it!

If you have any questions about the program, email me at pcs@ganas.com or call 480-663-3252.