This Business of Business

Although in my ideal world people give themselves breaks and don’t worry about productivity over the holidays, we don’t live in a society that rewards sabbaticals. Thus, the general consensus is that rather than focusing on how to relax, we need to focus on how to work diligently (though maybe slightly less) through break time.

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Jim Breyer, interviewed by Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch, is quoted as saying,

“It is the best time over the last decade that I can think of to be an entrepreneur. The collision of mobile and social platforms and the need to build these companies from the ground up—whether it’s a game, a healthcare application, an education application—building these from the ground up is what allows entrepreneurial activity to be unleashed. And it’s as good an opportunity from a time standpoint as I’ve ever seen.

The entrepreneurship he’s referring to, of course, has to do with the tech industry – apps, sites, services, and so on.

However, not all entrepreneurs work in the tech industry, nor do they want to. Thus, he is neglecting a large part of the demographic of “entrepreneurs,” meaning his statements aren’t entirely valid. Based on my experiences of small business work and looking into news on venture capital (even within the tech industry), I also beg to differ that this is a Golden Age of launching. Rather, I think the successes of businesses and larger companies is based on the mother of invention: necessity.

I think most companies are not thriving because they’re brilliant or advantaged – I think they just have to, or they’ll die just like the rest.

I’d like to hear your opinions on what he’s said – regardless of where and in what industry you work. Do you think this is a good time for start-ups? A bad time? Why?

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I feel the need to be excruciatingly honest (or hopelessly pessimistic, depending on who you ask) with myself a lot. I check in with myself, with my family and friends, and with other people I respect to see how I’m doing from time to time. Okay, so it’s more compulsion than reason.

From time to time, we all get a little insecure and decide to check in with other people. We ask, “Would you buy my product?” “How could I improve my marketing?” And, of course, “Do you love me?”

Okay, so maybe that last one has a hint of undertoned craziness. It doesn’t make it any less pressing when you’re feeling insecure.

Insecurity and checking in are two human limitations that keep us from ever becoming our businesses. Your business doesn’t cry. It doesn’t feel hopeless or scared. It doesn’t feel anything. You do, though, and remembering and recognizing that make up the first step.

Fortunately, I have a lot of people in my life that can help me through basically everything that gets thrown at me. I have a wonderful supportive husband and parents, insightful and intuitive friends, and knowledgeable colleagues. I want to say thank you for all that they do, here.

In this time of Thanksgiving, I want all of you (even the non-Americans) to take a moment to think about your so-called Oh Shit Bar (You know – that bar in automobiles that you can latch onto to keep from bouncing around)… Who in your life do you turn to when you’re having issues? How do you stay sane? How do you keep your cool, so to speak, and get back to your happy place when the going gets rough?

I don’t normally write about benchmarks of success. I decided to start changing that today. This is a post for those of you out there who have recently had an “oh shi-” moment but haven’t yet come to the conclusion that panic is excellent fuel for success.

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Or, You can bet your sweet ass you know what to write about

Because I do not write nearly enough, I have become rusty at coming up with topics. Indeed, though I have been venturing into blogging for a couple years now, I still have a lot of trouble pulling ideas out of my head. While the follow through is strong when I do have a topic, it’s not the writing itself that is at an impasse. This became remedied, recently, through a couple different variations of the same method. Some people apparently call it riffing. I prefer to call it the genius method. As in, “talent borrows; genius steals.”

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