I read a lot of interviews in Entrepreneur magazine. A LOT. If you haven’t already picked up on this, I am obsessed with all things start-up, Silicon Valley and innovative. Unfortunately, my own endeavors led to one pile of handbags and a second, larger pile of debt. But I’m still an entrepreneur…and as such, I need to keep learning.
Successful start-up CEOs all share unique war stories about the roads they traveled to attain their good fortune, ways to thwart the most ominous pitfalls, and creative ways of bringing an idea to market and creating perceived value and demand for a product or service.
But there are certain sound bytes that stay consistent across the board.
1. You’ve gotta be willing to take the risk. It’s going to cost a boatload of money and time, and knock downs are going to HURT but the only way for you to be really hungry is to put yourself in a place where you HAVE to succeed. Desperation makes us do crazy things, things we’re advised NOT to do in business school. Be like Indiana Jones. Keep your eye on the prize and go after it, no matter what. Go rogue. You may crash and burn, but if you take the beatings it could turn out to be very lucrative for you in the end.
Nasty Gal CEO Sophia Amoruso: ‘Wisdom is Earned Through Experience, Particularly Mistakes.’
2. Keep moving, thinking, creating. Don’t stick to one idea…as you learn, you have to evolve. You may end up with a better result than you initially anticipated. Keep thinking out of the box. Continue to learn and absorb. Always strive to become BETTER.
3. Be smart with your funds! Make a financial plan and stick to it! Ohhh, this one is sure to aggravate my Hubby and I’m going to hear an earful later since he still hasn’t forgiven me for my reckless spending on Krina, but hey, we live and we learn.
I keep telling him not to worry about the debt. One day, I’ll be on a bestseller list and then I’ll be able to pay it all back and take a nice long vacay to celebrate!