32 years. Been nose to the grindstone -- chasing the dream. What dream? Well, the dream of an entrepreneur. You see, I really started when I was 14 years old. Hauling a bunch of glassware down to the swapmeet, all purchased at a discount. Going to resell it and double my money.
Of course, at 14 years of age, your mom or dad is playing taxi driver. But there I was, standing behind a folding table, pitching my wares to anyone passing by. Could hardly believe I could do something like this. You know, playing little entrepreneur. What a thrill.
And now, 32 years later? It’s still a thrill and yes, I can hardly believe I get to live the dream of an entrepreneur. But, has it always been a dream?
No way. No how.
Back-breaking, earth-shaking, hard-core lessons along the way. So, in memory of…. well, 32 years of being an entrepreneur, I give you 7 stories with 7 lessons…
Lesson 1: Living in my car in L.A.
Man, I remember when I first arrived in the land of milk and honey. Otherwise known as Southern California. Being from Colorado, I dreamed of the riches of this place. You know, reading all those books of gold in the hills. Watching all those episodes of Beverly Hillbillies. Just had to get there.
So I did. Dropped out of college, loaded up my little Fiat X19 (if you can even call it a car), and headed out.
Well, 4 months after arrival, am I sitting in the cat’s meow seat soaking up the wealth of California? No. That’s me, standing outside the 7 Eleven convenience store, asking if you have any change you can spare.
Can you imagine? Starving my buns off, hadn’t eaten much in 3 days, and just at the end of my rope. Standing there asking for spare change. Lord help me.
It’s hard for me to even look back on those days. No money, no opportunities, no chance. Basically, couldn’t catch a break.
But did I give up? No. I didn’t. I kept pressing on.
Lesson: It’s not always going to be easy. But you can do it. Your resolve to rise above mediocrity is stronger than the forces pushing you down. You simply cannot give in to negative outcomes, negative thoughts and negative feelings. How? You just get your tail up the next day and try, try again. Your break may be just around the corner.
So don’t quit. Don’t give up. Will you need to change things once in awhile? Yes. Now days they call it a “pivot”. So what. Run into a wall? Just do a pivot and go the other way. Winston Churchill uttered this infamous line years ago:
“Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
Um, that’s 8 times of “never” giving in. Yes, even if you’re standing outside 7 Eleven begging for money and don’t have a dime to your name. Keep going my friend.
Lesson 2: Stole my first client.
So hungry to get something going in business at age 20. How hungry? Too hungry.
You see, I was helping a guy with his business; someone who trusted me, and what do I do? I steal one of his clients and run off to start my own business.
Ridiculous.
My drive for success combined with my strong type-A personality turned me into a monster. So obsessed. So driven. So greedy.
Why was I this way? I think looking back on it now, 26 years later, I was consumed by the idea of wealth and success. You know, watching “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”, reading in Forbes about guys with Ferraris driving beautiful women around and dropping big bucks on boats, airplanes and mansions.
I wanted that. All of it. And to me, at the time, it didn’t matter what was in the way.
Funny thing is? If you look around, this is happening today for many entrepreneurs. No integrity, driven by pure greed and willing to run people over to get there. Well, not me. This one time was enough. I was young and not very bright. Sorry Paul.
Lesson: Seriously, have some integrity will you? It is simply not right to lie, cheat and steal in business. Solid companies are built on integrity, honesty and respect. These are core values ingrained from the start. Who ingrains them? You do. You’re the entrepreneur, you’re the leader. So build out your core values as a company, carve them in stone for all to see, and live by them. You, and everyone around you, will be better off for it.
Lesson 3: Lost one of my best friends.
It’s fun to imagine doing business with people you like. In fact, I wouldn’t do business with anyone else at this point in my life.
However, getting into business with family and close friends has its hidden death trap. An ugly door in the floor you don’t see until you stumble right in. Head first. Face plant. And most times after you’ve taken that fatal step, it’s too late to turn back.
In my late 20’s and decided to get into business with a good friend. We’d grown up together, gone to school together and basically hung out together. Sounds easy peasy right? I mean, who wouldn’t want to do business together with a friend?
Yeah. That’s what I thought.
Three years later, we’ve got attorneys shuffling divorce papers back and forth. Talk about ugly. Ugly words; ugly environment; ugly mess.
Did I make a lot of money from this deal? Yes. Plenty.
Was it worth the destruction of a friendship? I’ll let you answer that.
Lesson: Be extremely careful about doing business with your family and friends. Money changes things. The more money on the table, the more things change. Yes, Bill Gates and Paul Allen were friends who founded Microsoft. Um, do you know how long that arrangement worked?
And ever heard of Steve Wozniak (okay techies, you can’t answer this)? Well, he was friends with Steve Jobs when they founded Apple Computer together. Mr. Wozniak was quoted in 2006 saying he and Steve Jobs “were not close friends”. Yes, I looked it up. See, things change when you do business together.
So be in business with people you like, but be extremely careful about doing business with close friends and family. And if you do, be prepared to lose those relationships.
Lesson 4: Had a crazy idea people said wouldn’t work. I did it anyway.
1996. Early years of the Internet. Got my first email address -- light bulb exploded in my head. People are going to want to check their email while away from their home or office computer. You know, like at the airport, or in a hotel lobby, or other public locations. (Remember, this was WAY before mobile Internet. In fact, weren’t we still using the Motorola brick phones? Oh, right. That was in the 80’s. :-))
The idea? Stick computers in kiosks; allow people to slide in a dollar bill or swipe their credit card; and voilà: access to the Internet.
What did some of my family and friends think of the idea? Well, in a nutshell, they thought it stunk. “No way will that ever work” was a common response.
Boy, talk about disheartening. Man can’t even get some encouragement around here. But you know what? I did it anyway. Started an Internet Kiosk company.
Lesson: You’ve got to reach for your dreams and not let other people hold you down. Well meaning people can dampen your spirit with their negative viewpoints.
But here’s the thing: You’re an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs see the world differently. They do not think like everyone else. So, when you start talking about your far-fetched idea, expect people to say “no way” or “that’s crazy”. It’s okay, it’s not their fault. They’re just not wired like you. Which is why you’re an entrepreneur, and they’re not.
Taking advice from well-meaning worker-bees who have never risked stepping out on their own is a bad idea. Yes, you need wisdom and counsel. But get it from other entrepreneurs and mentors who think like you do.
Lesson 5: Burn rate giving me heart burn.
First, what does burn rate mean? For those of you who know, bear with me a moment. Burn rate is the amount of cash you are “burning” through every month. So, if your income as a start-up is zero, but you have cash expenses of $5,000.00 per month, your burn rate is, well, $5k per month.
Okay, so back in 1999, I was funding my own company. Yes, using my own money. Bucks I made previously, all going into my new start up. How much every month? Well, my burn rate at the time was $50,000.00 per month.
Now, yes, I had money. But, my wealth was in the 7-figures, not 8 and 9-figures. So, during the peak of growing without revenue, (now remember, this was dot-com boom days where revenue was simply not perceived to be important), I was waking up every morning at 4:00am in a full-on panic attack.
Pounding heart ready to burst from my chest; cold sweat down my spine; and just flat-out feeling sick in the pit of my tummy. Yuck. Hate even thinking about it now.
How in the world did I get myself into such a mess? Well, in one word: Greed.
Yes, Gordon Gecko kind of greed. Except in the movies he plays with hundreds of millions, and me, well, not as much. Oh, but "Wall Street" was a fairy tale movie and mine was as real as a hard paddle slap on the butt.
Lesson: Simple. Don’t be so greedy as to put yourself in this position to begin with. Yes, you need to go for it. And yes, there are certain risks involved. But, be smart too. You can take chances with calculated risks behind them. Try not to bet your entire farm (or nest egg, or whatever you want to call it) on one thing. Spread your risk around. And goodness, don’t be so crazy in the head with greed. Period.
Oh, and if you don’t take the advice and go for it anyway? Get ready for Xanax to be your best friend…
Oops, one more thing: Am I still a greedy entrepreneur? No. Everything changed. You’ll learn why in…
Lesson 6: Yellow Ferrari Spyder, 7 bedroom house, ain’t life grand.
Oh yeah. Finally made the big time. Driving my F355 Ferrari Spyder down the road. Just sold my 8,000 square foot house, and hanging out in my new pad in Southern California. Got the beach house to boot, and a little townhouse in Lake Tahoe. Hangin’ at the Country Club, flying first class all over the place, and a 850i BMW on the side. Man, life is good. No, wait a minute, life is GRAND.
Um, except… I’m miserable. Seriously. Hurting in my heart, shattered by divorce, sitting in a big house all by myself. Wow. This stinks.
Lesson: Be careful what you wish for. All those dreams of fancy cars, big houses, and a fat wallet might just come true. And if they do? Are you going to look around and find yourself alone because you’ve killed all your relationships by working too much?
Yes, entrepreneurs need to work hard. But, you and I have to strive for balance. If you’re married and have kids, you cannot outsource that. You must fight just as hard for your relationships as you do for your business. So please, if you learn nothing else from my words here today, learn this: Don’t screw up your most important relationships because you failed to spend time nurturing them.
Now thank God I was given a second chance. Some guys and gals never get one though. Don’t be one of them.
Lesson 7: Yes, I’m afraid. So what?
So here I am. 32 years later. Just started a new venture called Mighty Wise Media. Aiming to help entrepreneurs build forever strong companies so they can live their dream. More money. More freedom. More influence. Whatever it is for you.
Oh, but wait: I’ve got a home to pay for, a wife and 3 kids to feed, and goodness, starting a new venture at age 46? Unthinkable.
And there’s more: Here I am on Forbes -- writing to you. Reaching out in my nakedness. Stepping out once again and putting myself on the line.
Am I going to fail in my new venture? I could. Am I going to lose money? Maybe. It’s happened before. Are you going to reject me and my writing? I hope not, but you very well could think I’m the worst writer on the planet.
And so am I afraid of all these things? Of course. I mean, who likes having their business fail and being rejected by others?
But you know what? I don’t care. I’m moving forward anyway.
Lesson: Yes, fear is part of life. And some say you need to learn how to “get over your fear”. What if you can’t? Well, just do it afraid. Think there is any bit of nervousness or fear when a guy goes to try that 50 yard field goal in overtime to win the game? You better believe it. Can you imagine? “Um, coach. Can you give me an hour or so to try to overcome my fear of kicking this field goal? Really would appreciate some time here.”
Yeah right. No, you have to just go ahead and kick the ball while being afraid.
Oh, and one more thing: Is everyone on the face of the planet going to like you and your company? No. You will get rejected. It’s just part of life. So get over it.
But you know what? Some people will love you. They will love your stuff, your ideas, your products and your company.
Sometimes we just have to do things afraid. You’re not going to lose the fear of rejection, since it’s part of our human DNA. So just be afraid and do it anyway.
See? Just like I did here.
So that’s it. 7 Lessons From an Out-of-Whack Entrepreneur. Still think I’m out-of-whack? Oh wait, don’t answer that…
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(You can also find me hanging out at Mighty Wise Media; on Google+ , LinkedIn or Twitter @MightyWiseMedia.)
