Instigator Blog

Go big or go home. It’s a great mentality; an approach that says, “I’m here to conquer and truly change things, not make a few waves and disappear.”

Many entrepreneurs start businesses with the goal of making lots of money. It’s not the only reason to start a business, nor should it be the first, but it ain’t bad if you can get it. And there’s no shame in gunning for it either.

The problem with entrepreneurs is that they live that goal so absolutely they forget to plan everything else around them.

Specifically, many entrepreneurs ignore solid, financial planning — after all, you’re going to be filthy rich when Google buys your company, so why plan for your financial future, right?

Tsk. Tsk.

For years, my financial strategy was to hit it big with my entrepreneurial endeavors and not worry about anything else. My startups didn’t have pension plans, and I wasn’t putting a lot of money away. Part of that was my own sacrifice to keep my company afloat - for the first few years I barely paid myself and when times were tough I was down to half salary. So there wasn’t a lot to put away…but when there was, financial planning for retirement wasn’t a high priority.

Times have changed. I’m starting a new company, Standout Jobs, which means throwing myself in heart, mind and wallet. But I also have a greater perspective. I know Standout Jobs will be successful, but I also know that it’s important to think about the long term future.

At The Power Within a few weeks ago, financial guru Terry Savage, spoke about the basics of smart investing. The simple act of putting some money into an RRSP every month starting at a young age, can pay huge dividends in the future. She wasn’t teaching anything new, but it did remind me of how important it is to have a financial plan that goes beyond, “sell to Google for billions.”

Every entrepreneur should think about the long term future.

It will give you a greater perspective on what you’re doing. It’ll force you to think more seriously and impassionately about your finances. You don’t want your passion for entrepreneurship clouding your perspective of how to be financially smart.

Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to be a cavalier, free spender with no sense of what’s coming tomorrow or thirty years from now. I hope you sell to Google. I hope you make millions. Even if you do, the fundamentals of smart financial planning and investing will always be critical; don’t ignore them.

Greg Balanko-Dickson is writing a new book about the irrepressible entrepreneur.

In his brief book overview he asks for people to participate - and one way is for Greg to do an interview with you via phone or email. I asked Greg to send me the questions so I could take a crack at them.

Be careful what you wish for! I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Greg asked big, big questions…so here goes.

1) What has been your greatest challenge in business to date, how did you cope with it, and what did you learn?

My biggest single challenge was firing people when I couldn’t afford to pay them. I also consider it my biggest failure. It was a very difficult thing to do, and although it was many years ago, I remember it clearly. I coped by working to separate my feelings of disappointment and frustration and my personal emotions from the business. I was running a business. The business wasn’t doing well (it was during the dot-com bubble burst) and I had no choice. I had two choices: reduce costs (and salaries are always your biggest cost) or fold up shop. I chose to fight another day.

2) When you think of the word entrepreneurship, what does it mean to you?

• Starting companies from scratch.
• Passion.
• Going for it. Trying to hit home runs every single day.
• Fun.
• Challenging.
• Different. You’re an entrepreneur, you’re different. You stand out.
• A way of life.

3) What has been you greatest success in the last 30 days? Why is it so significant to you?

My greatest success in the last 30 days has been the continued growth of my network with an incredible number of amazing people. I’ve had phone conversations with people I’ve met through the blogosphere. I’ve met new people in-person that rock. I’ve started a Montreal Technology Entrepreneur Breakfast Meetup.

One of my biggest mistakes over the years was not networking enough in my own backyard. That’s changed a great deal in the last 30 days. It’s important because you will succeed in large part due to the power, resourcefulness and extent of your network. And while I can’t say enough about my online network of friends and contacts, there’s nothing that truly replaces meeting face-to-face with someone.

4) When you started your business, what do you wish you had known that you now know? How might things have been different had you known?

Success doesn’t come to you. You have to go out and grab it by the proverbial you-know-whats. That means always looking for opportunities. Turn everything into an opportunity. Find the angle. Make the connection. If you’re selling a blue box and everyone wants red boxes, find a new way of doing it. Either find a new market for your blue boxes, or paint them red, or do something. Success doesn’t just fall in your lap.

But for me, the question is really, “What did you know, but failed to realize was so incredibly important?”

Here are a few:

1. You can’t carry lousy business partners on your back and succeed in spite of them.
2. You need to develop a personal brand for yourself. You might not be THE business (it’s helpful if a business can succeed without you) but developing a strong personal brand helps.
3. You can’t do everything. Find a way to outsource. And related to that, run a lean, mean organization. Stay organized.

5) When you look ahead at the world of entrepreneurship, what do you see, what concerns you, what excites you? And why?

In the technology world there are a few things going on right now that will continue. Namely, it’s getting easier to start new companies, ramp up quickly, launch quickly and do it inexpensively. It’s getting easier because technology is improving and more accessible, not because there’s some magic pill you can take to become a super entrepreneur.

I see more young people getting into entrepreneurship, which is great - although this is something we need to work harder at. They should be teaching entrepreneurship in highschool.

I see more angel investment going into very early stage startups. Examples like TechStars and Y Combinator are great; they show us that you can invest small amounts, bring in lots of expertise and help a couple of guys in a garage make something happen.

My concern with the most recent boom is that we get stupid again. Things are cyclical after all, and there are plenty of younger entrepreneurs that don’t remember the dot-com crash. Heck, there are plenty of people who lived through it that don’t remember it either. Money is being invested more smartly, and less of it is being tossed around, but nevertheless, I’d hate to see another dot-com fiasco with a rat-race of stupid ideas getting millions of dollars to go nowhere.

Want your story heard? Want to get into a book?

Now is your chance! Greg Balanko-Dickson is writing a new book on genius and irrepressible entrepreneurs.

A quick quote from Greg:

There is just something about a genius that makes me curious. These people are lively, invigorating, and full of energy and vigor. They can be overbearing and obnoxious but their spirit exudes confidence, excitement, and that wide eyed sense of discovery often lost among domesticated humans.

Greg is looking for stories of inspiration - what keeps you moving, what drives you as a wild and crazy entrepreneur? What do you love about being an entrepreneur and how do you stay focused?

These are all the issues Greg hopes to tackle in his new book.

Greg’s planning to offer the book as an online wiki for free. There will be some elements of collaboration for the community once it goes live; but those are details Greg is still working out. Printed copies will be available for a cost as well.

His goal is to have the book completed by May. Anyone who contributes will receive a free copy.

I plan on contributing through some form of blog post soon, to give my thoughts on being an irrepressible entrepreneur.

Greg’s also just posted a quick book overview that I encourage you to read if you’re interested in this project.

Incidentally, although this form of contribution (to a book, group writing project, etc.) isn’t listed specifically in Ron McDaniel’s 57 buzz challenges I think it should be added as a 58th. You’re seeing more and more online, group writing projects and collaboration efforts, and these can certainly generate buzz.

Robert Hruzek had a contest to write a story in 6 words and received over 400 submissions! Easton Ellsworth runs the Fortune 500 Blog Review Project, where he and the community tracks down what each of the Fortune 500 are doing with blogs. They use a wiki for updates, reviews, etc.

Online participation in contests, writing projects, group collaboration efforts, etc. will generate buzz. It will also create strong contacts in your areas of expertise and interest.

So if you’re an irrepressible entrepreneur, overflowing with passion, enthusiasm and a will to succeed, consider submitting something to Greg’s new book on entrepreneurship, get your name in lights and have some fun.

Over at my b5media blog Startup Spark, which focuses exclusively on entrepreneurship, I’ve launched a Carnival of Entrepreneurs designed to collect as much quality content related to entrepreneurship as possible. This is the second Carnival I’ve run and I’ve been very pleased with the quality and diversity of content.

Please check out the Carnival of Entrepreneurs, visit the various blogs listed there and maybe you’ll contribute for next week!

The Carnival goes live every Wednesday. It’s easy to send in a submission.

You just need to go look.

And you don’t even have to lift any heavy rocks.

The world is rife with opportunity.

Opportunities to:

• start new businesses
• help others
• build communities
• get out of your comfort zone
• create challenges for yourself
• succeed

2005 was my “Year of Living Under a Rock.”

2006 was my “Year of Moving the Damn Rock Out of the Way.”

I learned that there are tons of opportunities out there and they’re easy to find.

1. Start blogging and once you have keep learning how to do it better. Remember: online friends are real. Take those online relationships seriously; grow them into personal and professional relationships.
2. Get out there and meet people face-to-face.
3. Be comfortable in your own skin and with your own abilities. You rock at something, don’t be afraid to tell people what it is.
4. Know what you want. Tell people what you want. Tell people how you can help them.
5. Follow up, stay friendly and have fun.

Those are the steps to opportunity-nirvana.

The biggest thing holding people back is that they’re not out there looking for opportunities. They’re not looking for ways to succeed.

Finding opportunities is easy. You just have to go look.

This is part of the What Have You Learned Group Writing Project. You can participate as well! Write a post about what you’ve learned in 2006, link it back to Instigator Blog and tell me about it.

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I’ve also submitted this post to Darren Rowse’s group writing project about reviews (of the past) and predictions (for the future.)