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​Working for big business certainly has its perks, there’s no doubt about it.  Stability, direction, benefits, work that is defined – you name it.  It can be a magical place so long as we do enough to stay off the radar of those watching while mentally checking out for 8 hours a day to do this thing we call ‘work’.

​If working for the bigs’ is so great than why are so many people changing their professional course of direction and seeking the world of the start-up?

The start-up world can be an exciting place.  I’ve experienced this personally over the last two years while also support many clients who are in the same place.  Decisions are often made speedily, there’s typically less bureaucracy, work is more flexible and of course it tends to be much more creative.
Then it’s settled, everyone should work in a start-up!  I mean, who wouldn’t want to work in that kind of an environment?

Pump the brakes my impatient chums.  Before you diving into the world of a start-up (including small business) take a moment to check in with yourself on how you land with these five characteristics of the start-up world:

1. Working Outside the Box
When we work for big companies often times our job and daily output is focused on a certain set of tasks.  It’s the opposite in the start-up world as often times the mentality of those who are successful in this space is that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and company moving forward.  This includes taking out your own trash!  If you’ve ever said “that’s not part of my job description” in response to work that was requested of you I would recommend taking a hard look at whether a start-up or small company is the right move for your career.
 
2. Time Requirements
Working 8-5 in a large company can be a very nice perk.  If you’ve done that for any length of time you may have forgotten how nice it is to mentally shut off at 5PM.  In start-ups working 8-5 is non-existent.  It’s common to work long hours and or be tethered to your smart phone around the clock.  The statement of ‘work life balance’ is blurred beyond recognition in the start-up world.  Those that are successful here know and understand that it takes time and effort to create something.  How dedicated are you to making that happen and what are you giving up in the process?
 
3. Ambiguous Nature
Working in a large company doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is clearly defined and outlined yet it is typical that SOPs (standard operating processes) are at the very least available for workers who choose to use them.  In the start-up world you may find yourself creating these on your own.  Take a moment to think how you would feel about being confronted with a daily situation where you are supposed to be working hard, hell – harder than ever before, and there isn’t a lot of direction or support to help you in that effort.  If the thought of that excites you than the start-up world may be a breath of fresh air, if not then maybe your 3 foot wide cubicle and plush ergonomic chair your large company bought is the safer bet.
 
4. Leadership
This is one of the most overlooked aspects of a start-up in my opinion.  Leadership.  If you haven’t worked in the start-up world before you may not be aware that people in leadership still do much of the hands on work.  In big business this is hardly the case.  Neither camp of leaders are necessarily better than one of the other, it’s just a very different environment.  In start-ups every person on the team has to give 150% to the cause which means those who don a leadership title still have to get dirty in the day to day work.  The reason you want to consider this as a part of your ‘can I make it in the start-up world’ is because leadership ultimately can have a great or very grave impact on the start-up business.  Seems a bit obvious but when someone is doing both daily work and in charge of strategic decision making their influence and involvement has a much greater impact.  In big business if a company experiences a failure with one of their leaders it typically can be salvaged whereas in the start-up world one or two cost mistakes by leadership will send the company into a grave six feet under.
 
5. Collaboration
Start-ups offer an intimate working experience. It’s a necessity.  Working in a start-up everyone knows everything about everyone.  It’s close quarters with high amounts of communication, partnering and feedback.  Collaboration of course exists in big business but not at the intimate level of the start-up.  When we work for a big company we are often a part of a team but doing work independently, even times on our own little island.  If you’ve come to enjoy your island and aren’t interested in having neighbors up in your grill on the daily than perhaps staying in big business is the right decision for you.
 
A professional life in a start-up can indeed be a rewarding and exciting adventure.  Once we’ve spent some time analyzing what’s most important to us in our career and what we’re willing to do to get it than we’ll have a better idea of how the start-up environment and career fits in with our plans.

The media loves the sensationalism of it. Many love to protest it. Others use it as a platform for reconstruction.

The American Dream - is it dead or alive?

​Seems like there’s a lot of talk about the American Dream at present in our country.  What is it anyway?
The American Dream is the national tenet of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity, and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work..." What stands out to me in this statement are the words ‘opportunity’ and ‘hard work’. What this tells us is the American Dream is an opportunity to prosper yet it only comes through hard work.

Yet this still does not address the question - is the American Dream alive or dead?

I know of a story which may help you with this question. While this may be just one story it’s important to note there are thousands of others like it. You decide.

Our story starts off with a talented young woman who calls Portland, Oregon her home. Carly Sitner is a mother of two, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a vegan and one tough cookie with the courage of a tiger.  Needless to say she's incredibly busy. Speaking of cookies, Carly happens to be a chef with a specialty in pastries, desserts and other fancy baked goodies that sooth the soul and make your taste buds run wild.

Carly (pictured here) has been a chef for 13 years in Portland working for a variety of bakeries, including some very large corporate establishments like the grocery store that sells only 'wholesome' things to eat.
​
At the age of 31 Carly decided that enough was enough and she was going to make her dream a reality. She was going to open the first ever vegan donut shop in Portland. What’s amazing about this story is what Carly is leaving behind in order to follow her dream, the American Dream. She's leaving behind a stable leadership role with the 'wholesome' grocery store, a good paycheck and a job that is rewarding - all for the unknown. Yet she’s doing it anyways. Mind you she has a very full life outside of work yet that doesn't seem to stop her.

Starting a small business is no day at the fair. It’s hard work, long hours, risky and takes determination. If it was truly easy everyone would be in business for themselves. Yet Carly pushes onward. It would also be important to note that neither Carly or her business partner are wealthy, nor have they been given a huge sum of money in which to seed the business. Often times I hear people talk about business owners and just automatically assume they all came from gobs of money. This just isn't the case.

Carly started off the ole fashion way with nothing more than an idea and a will to see it through. First they built interest in their product (craft made vegan donuts) in the local community by doing bake sales and small catering. They then took their idea on Kickstarter where the community responded with praise helping them pass their goal, handsomely. Carly and her partner then took those early wins and proceeds which were acquired with lots of time, patience and hard work and presented it to a couple local banks. With little collateral and just a dream a bank shared their vision and gave them a loan to start the business.

As we fast forward to present day, the donut shop, called Doe Donuts, is scheduled to open early this summer, albeit with a line around the block from patrons feverishly waiting to sink their teeth into the tasty baked goods Carly whips up.

The story of Carly Sitner and Doe Donuts may still be in the early chapters yet as with any good story you know you’ve got a winner even when you’re only a couple pages in. The story of Doe Donuts and the entrepreneurial spirit of Carly and her business partner sheds much needed light on the types of opportunities that exist in this country. Thomas Edison once said, “Opportunity is missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Apparently Carly enjoys overalls and hard work because this opportunity isn't passing her by.

Is the American Dream alive or dead? 

I believe it is indeed ALIVE and well and Doe Donuts is a fresh and tasty example of what can happen when someone puts words to action and follows their dream. 

As it turns out Carly Sitner, our pastry chef extraordinaire, also happens to be my younger sister.  I’m incredibly proud of her and the decisions she’s made to follow her dream of owning her own business while doing something that she truly loves.  

​I look forward to being one of her customers waiting patiently in line to savor their tasty donuts while taking a bite of Carly’s version of the American Dream.

​I had always wanted to start a business!

For years I tried my hand at inventing stuff, products that I thought would get me rich, if I could only sell a few million of them.  First it was a gaming chair, then workout towels and even a handheld flashlight projector.  I laugh looking back on those days while in college and the years shortly thereafter at some of the absurd things I did to try and be entrepreneur. 

​What I would eventually find out are those ideas didn’t work out not because they were bad ideas necessarily but because I was following the wrong dream.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2015 that I would find my way, diving head first into entrepreneurship.  Thankfully I had a lot of help from many close people around me (wife, parents, friends) who all were incredibly supportive, as without them I’m not sure I would be here today. 

With the first year of entrepreneurship under the belt I’m continually amazed at how much I’ve learned and how much I continue to learn about being an entrepreneur and business in general.  These are the eight experiences I’ve had which made the biggest impact being an entrepreneur:

1.Get A Mentor
This is the single second best decision you’ll ever make in business.  The first best decision is to become an entrepreneur.  Mentors have experience which you can learn from helping you avoid mistakes along the way. 

2.Support Gets You Over The Hump
Make sure those close to you understand your vision and support it.  They don’t have to buy in 100% but if it’s you against the world there are going to be some very long nights in store.  If you are married it’s vital your spouse understands the opportunity and supports it, even in the down times.

3.Some Things CAN Wait
Some people will tell you it’s important to write a business plan, vision, mission, blah blah blah, right away.  Unless you’re in a situation where you need to ask for capital to start the business the best thing to do is put those things aside and focus all your efforts on how to make money.  Ultimately being an entrepreneur means you’re selling something to someone so the more time you spend on how you’re going to gett paid for the product or service you’re providing the better off you’ll be.

4.You Can’t Be Everything To Everyone
I failed miserably here.  When I did start to get customers I tried to offer everything under the sun to get their business.  Now, I never over promised and under delivered, however I spent an exorbitant amount of time in areas that weren’t lucrative or didn’t align ultimately with what the companies direction was.

5.Having A Plan-B Is Dangerous
I’ve read countless articles about “the power of having a ‘plan-B’ ” or an alternative course of direction.  I hate that advice.  As an entrepreneur if you don’t believe in what you’re doing and have a plan-B set up in case you fail you’re almost destined to set yourself up for disappointment.  I’m not saying it’s not important plan ahead for bumps in the road but if you’re going to start a business that should be your one and only focus.  Anything other than a mentality of success has no place in your new direction.  Visualize to materialize.

6.Outsource Work
The first several months I attempted to handle all the accounting and finance portions of the business only to realize two things: 1 – I’m not good at it nor do I like it; 2 – I created more problems than I remedied.  Best advice I got was to pay the money to get a good CPA that understood our business and could help us scale it up by making good decisions.  Best money I’ve ever spent was on our CPA.

7.The Power Of Saying ‘No’
Crucial to your success as an entrepreneur is the ability to politely and professionally say ‘no’.  Similar to ‘you can’t be everything to everyone’ saying ‘no’ is harder than it sounds.  Naturally you want to say yes to everyone, making everyone around you happy, especially if it’s a customer.  Unfortunately when we do this we get pulled in a hundred directions which causes us to deviate from our destined course.  If you are asked to do something and it doesn’t align with your top 2 or 3 priorities politely decline and thank the person for the opportunity to be considered.

8.Breathe, It’ll Be Okay
Very few things in life actually have the ability to stop you from moving forward in your new business.  When bumps in the road momentarily derail you (you will experience plenty of bumps along the way) take a deep breath and be thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow as a professional.  Stephen Covey put it best when he gave us the 90/10 principle:
 
“10% of life is made up of what happens to you, 90% of life is decided by how you react.” – Stephen Covey

​Assumption is the KILLER of opportunity. 

When we assume we make stories up in our heads about what our experience or expectations should be.  In business the act of assumption can lead to major loss of opportunity simply because many of us aren’t aware we’re making the mistake in the first place.

Many of us do this, including me!

Last week I had the opportunity to attend an interesting workshop put on by Mark Leblanc, small business guru, author and keynote speaker.  Marc’s approach to success in the small business world was straight forward – take things one step at a time and measure your success constantly.

Throughout the morning Mark covered a variety of topics ranging from the 9 best small business practices to high value activities.  As the morning came to a close I caught myself laughing as I had recently committed one of the simplest mistakes people can make in business.  I didn’t just do one of them, I did both on Mark’s list which he refers to as the ‘Two Deadly Business Sins’.

Are you an assumption sinner?

Business Deadly Sin #1:
If my customer wrote me a check once they’ll call me if they need me again

Business Deadly Sin #2:
If my customer wrote me a check once they automatically know all that we can do for them

(note:  the word ‘customer’ is meant to reference an actual external customer however it can also be considered an internal colleague, cross functional team or business unit if you do not interact with external customers)

The first of our two delightful sins points at the assumption that if we’ve done business with a  customer once they will “of course call us back the next time they need help”.  This couldn’t be farther from the truth yet so many of us in sales, services, entrepreneurship, small business, you name it, fall victim to this fallacy. 

Mark further shared with us that it’s not uncommon for our customers to think “Matt hasn’t called me in a couple months, he must not want to do business with us any further.”  The assumption on Matt’s end that the customer will just call him when they’re ready furthers the issue as Matt doesn’t follow up leading the customer to believe he’s no longer interested in their business.  For Pete’s sake!  That couldn’t be farther from the truth it’s just Matt doesn’t know it yet.

The second deadly sin addresses the assumption that if you’ve done business with a client once they should then automatically know every aspect of your business, where you can help them and where you can’t.

If you’ve ever had a customer say “Gosh Jillian, I didn’t even know you offered that type of service.  We would have loved to work with you but we just signed up your competitor because we weren’t aware you could help us in that area.”  It’s like getting slapped in the face with a wet leather belt which leaves a welt for weeks.  Your customer, who self admittedly loves working with you, went to your competitor for help simply because they didn’t know you could help them.  Ouch. (and yes, I’ve actually done this more than once)

So how do we remedy this?

Let’s start by focusing on never assuming about the relationships you may or may not have with your customers or what they know about your product or service.  It’s always better to pick up the phone and call rather than wait for the phone to ring on your end.  Take the initiative!

When speaking with your customer ask questions about how their business is doing and which areas they need help in the most to best determine how your product or service can be a value add to their pain points.  Remind them often about what you do and how you do it.  Be consistent!

It’s amazing at how many things are sold to professionals which claim to be the next best thing in advancing your career.  From books and seminars to workshops and online tutorials, there seems to be an endless supply of crap that many of us buy to help our careers yet few ever see any real return on investment.

​There is one thing that doesn’t rely on fancy sales pitches or overdone workbooks and it can truly elevate your professional game.  Best part is we all have access to it and most often it is completely free of charge.

Welcome to MENTORSHIP.

No matter where you are in your career having a mentor is highly advisable as it can be the difference between you navigating the waters of a successful career versus drowning in the murky depths of the rat race.  Mentors aren’t just strategic career advisors they’re the angel over your shoulder whispering sweet nothings into your ear. 

So if having a mentor was so impactful how come more people don’t have them?

Typically it’s because we’re scared to ask for help.  It’s possible we don’t think we need the help, though many would object.  It could also be because we don’t know where to look to find such a connection.

At the start of this year I decided it was high time to get me a new mentor.  I’ve been lucky in my life to have a consistent and very good mentor in my father which I’m incredibly thankful and fortunate to have.  I was looking for an additional mentor that had specific experience – growing a business from the ground up and doing so with a technical customer base.

After doing some snooping around I landed on the website of Micro Mentor.  It’s like a dating site for professionals looking for a mentor, but no hanky panky is involved.  You fill out a profile and then your needs and interests are matched with a possible mentor.  Both parties get to review one another’s profiles after which they have an initial conversation to see if the match is a good fit.  This is where I met Bonnie.

Fast forward Bonnie and I have now been working together for eight months and I’m continually impressed and appreciative of the guidance and thought provoking perspective she brings to the table.  Bonnie started a technology service business in San Francisco a couple decades ago by investing a couple thousand dollars to start the company.  From that start she grew the business to over 100 employees and has recently retired, earlier nonetheless, as a result of the success she experience along the way.  Needless to say I feel like I can accomplish a lot knowing I have Bonnie in my corner. (let’s also not forget my father)

Why am I sharing this with you?  If you don’t have a mentor you need to get one! 

The relationship, when done right, will positively change every aspect of your career and outlook on business.  I’m so passionate about mentoring that I too am a mentor – it’s worth every minute of my day.

Here’s what mentors, like Bonnie and my father, bring to the table and why they’re so incredibly valuable to you and I:

> Business Savvy – they bring experience and knowledge to the table that just can’t be matched by a text book or online workshop.  You can’t replace real experience.  Learning from a mentor isn’t just about accomplishing big feats it’s also about learning from their mistakes.  Yes they’ve made plenty of them just like you and I.

> External Perspective – often times when we need advice we go to people who are close to us, most commonly that work for the same company.  While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing what is important to remember is that these people have a certain level of bias in their thoughts and advice.  Having a mentor outside your company gives you the chance to get advice which focuses on the situation at hand rather than personal bias or internal company politics.  Mentors can also share with you how they have dealt with situations perhaps in other lines of business or industries which could provide you with a fresh approach to handling a situation. When your mentor is outside your company you can also rest easier knowing you can share your true feelings and thoughts and know that information won’t get back to your boss or be passed along at the water cooler.

> Confidant – Mentor are great listeners.  Like my mentor Bonnie, she’ll sit on the phone with me and graciously give me ample time to spill my guts at which point she does an excellent job summarizing the situation and delivering exceptional feedback.  I trust that I can be open with her which ultimately helps my development process.

> Accountability – Mentors vary greatly in this area and how they approach it.  If you are going to ask for a mentor make sure you are willing to actually implement the ideas and suggestions the two of you collectively come up with.  There’s no better way to ruin a good mentor relationship than to talk the talk but not walk the walk.  If you are one of those people that sometimes needs a swift kick in the ass to get going mentors can also be utilized for that, just be careful how much ass kicking you need.  Mentors ultimately aren’t baby sitters and they’re not supposed to run your business or career for you.

> Comfort Zone Executioners – let’s face it, we all love dancing in the comfort zone for longer than we should.  Mentors are great at breaking up common thoughts or practices to get you out of your area of complacency.  When this happens true growth is right around the corner.