Startstuff stopping for a bit…
Posted on | May 12, 2012 | No Comments
Over the next three weeks, I will not be updating startstuff.net regularly. I would suggest that if you like what you have been reading that you sign up to receive the blog posts in your e-mail so that when it starts back up you will get them. Have a great rest of the month of May! See y’all in June!
Starting over…
Posted on | May 10, 2012 | No Comments
Starting something is such a rush! It is such a great feeling of euphoria! When we begin a new job, a new project, make a new purchase etc. we are filled with such a great sense that we are beginning something new that will change the world or at least something in it.
Then the world sets in.
In order to achieve success we must consistently do the work each day to make our dreams come true. We keep driving forward with our passions even when that rush wears off.
Should you start your own business?
Posted on | May 9, 2012 | No Comments
One of the reasons that being an entrepreneur is such an attractive thing for many people is the idea that you are your own boss. Did you know that 90% of startup businesses fail? I am sure at the moment you are thinking, “This guy is a terrible motivator! He talks about choosing myself and then tells me that I have a 90% chance of failing!” Knowing that failure is an option is important to keep in mind. Knowing that you have a chance of success is what keeps the entrepreneur going!
When you choose yourself to start something, it is up to you to make it work! You do get to be your own boss, but guess what? You are a much harder boss to work for than anyone else. You can’t call in sick if you aren’t! Because as the boss, you know you aren’t really sick. You won’t be lazy about getting your product shipped or the service taken care of because you know that if business starts to slump, you will be back to working for someone else!
I Choose YOU!
Posted on | May 8, 2012 | 2 Comments
“I choose YOU!” Those words make us feel good. It doesn’t matter if you are a 4th grader in gym class and the teams are being divided up to play dodgeball or if you are a struggling author attempting to get her first book published. “I choose you.” Makes us feel like we are part of the team. We have been chosen and that makes us good enough. Depending on what we are hoping to be chosen for, it may really take the wind out of our sails if we are rejected. It hurts to deal with someone telling you that you aren’t good enough. The wonderful thing about the world that we live in is that it is changing. In today’s world, we can each choose ourselves! You can start doing what your passion tells you to do! You can accomplish amazing things!
One thing I have told my students each semester is the secret of how to retire young. Here it is: “Find what you would do whether you were paid or not. Find a way to make that pay and you will never have to work another day in your life!” It sounds so simple, but that second part is the rub. Finding someone to pay you to do what you love isn’t always easy. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! When you think of the happiest and most successful people, they have passion for what they are doing with their lives. They may or may not have a lot of money, but they have true fulfillment in doing what satisfies their soul. Their life is full of purpose! So, start living your life with passion on purpose and you may find that you not only are very fulfilled in what you do, but that you are extremely successful too! You can choose yourself! You can decide what you will do with your future!
So what are you going to do?
Start with a crazy idea…it just might work!
Posted on | May 7, 2012 | No Comments
In many families living at the poverty level, they are scraping by, but if one thing goes wrong then they are sinking like a rock financially. A kid gets sick, the car breaks down, the electricity bill is a little higher than normal etc. then they can’t make ends meet. Many times, a business is in that same situation. If your normal outgo is almost identical to your normal intake with no profit or money put away for future needs, then what do you do when the inevitable “something” comes up?
In personal finance, one principle is to work a little more so that you can save up an “emergency fund” so that when those little things happen in life they don’t become emergencies. It won’t take care of real emergencies, but it does mean that the water pump going out on the car doesn’t put you into a financial tailspin.
In business, it is the same. If you find that there are to many areas of your organization that are getting by on the idea that nothing can go wrong or they are underwater, then you need to take a drastic look at changing things.
For example: Where I work, almost every department is “getting by” while understaffed. The university has worked hard on its 15 year plan to reduce the number of courses each full time professor is expected to teach as part of his/her contract. The problem is that this has not been offset by hiring of sufficient faculty to make up for the reduced teaching loads and take into consideration the constant growth of the school. We have averaged 100 students a year growth since 1992! The crazy I would like to propose is that we quit kidding ourselves about the “ideal teaching loads” and go back to teaching 5 or even 6 classes as our contract load. For those of you outside academia who read this, I am suggesting the basic idea of working a 60 hour week for the 40 hour pay. This would save the institution money in the short run which could free up funds for the hiring of additional faculty in the long run. It would also allow us to do our primary duty which is to offer all of the courses to the students that are needed for those students to graduate. The increased teaching load could be offset some by reducing the expectations of professional service (Involvement in professional organizations) and by reducing the expectations of professional publication.
(I think I heard the thud of someone on the faculty fainting and their body hitting the floor as they read this.)
What could your business do that might seem ludicrous to even suggest but that would make things run better for the organization?
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