Top Startup

Luck strikes again! Outsourcing saves money

I was at a Microsoft launch event in Houston and I met with a guy from NetProSys, a global outsourcing firm. Every time you approached a booth at the conference the company in the booth would scan your badge for a prize drawing. The prize was usually a Zune (no iPods allowed) or something like that. Well, Im aware of the odds of winning a prize at a conference (or lottery) so I dont pay any attention to them. Well, I was in luck! From an email received tonight:

…you have won one of the five prizes we were offering at the raffle. In the first round of drawings only 2 winners showed up to claim their prizes, afterwards we conducted the drawing again and your name came up as one of the winners for “Free $4,000 worth of Software Development Services** â€?.

Internally, we’ve been discussing integrating a global outsourcing firm into non-critical-path development for our company in order to keep the core development team lean and mean. It’s really exciting to have a trial opportunity to test it out.

Im going to be going to the NetProSys offices in March to meet and discuss how we would like to use our prize!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Entrepreneurial stresses and the power of positive thinking

I underestimated my level of stress when leaving my job. Financially, emotionally and mentally, my stress level increased. I worried about the next inflow of capital. I worried about being able to pay my bills. Could I spend $10 on lunch? Maybe I should eat at home instead. Anything it was possible to worry about, I did. Up until a few days ago.

Stress is a dangerous thing. Not only does it affect your mental state, but it affects your physical state too. Under stress, my body produces excessive amounts of stomach acid and I experience severe indigestion. The whole experience is quite uncomfortable. When I have it for a prolonged period, I start to realize I am stressed and then it gets worse! This reaction to stress is ridiculous and unproductive. For me, managing stress is essential for physical and mental health.

If it were easy and comfortable to be entrepreneurial, many more would do it. It is not easy and it is not comfortable. The stresses, however, can be overcome.

The root cause of my stress is FUD – fear, uncertainty and doubt. For example:
I fear that I will fail.
Im uncertain if I will be able to pay my mortgage in 6 months.
I have doubts about my own abilities.

Every single one of those notions is utter nonsense. Naysayers around you seed your mind with these thoughts. Don’t listen to them! Others criticisms of you are rooted in jealousy and lack of confidence. They contradict what you know to be true:

“I will be successful. I will achieve my goals. I will meet and exceed my expectations�

This doesnt mean to say that you overcome stresses purely with your mind. Taking action to deal with stress is a large part of it. There are several things that I did to lower my sources of stress and enable me to focus on my startup.

1. I transferred in excess of my credit card balance to a 0% interest card for 12 months. This allows me to leave my cash reserves as is in case of a serious emergency. Moving has been expensive. It cost me more than $3000 to move to Boston. These are expenses that I hate paying, but they are necessary and you need to bite the bullet and do things correctly.
2. Not rushing into a new lease / mortgage (if you’re moving). If you’ve laid the groundwork, you already have a large network of friends around the country. I am subletting one of my friend’s apartment while he is in India on a consulting gig. That gives me 3 months to look for the “rightâ€? place to live for the next year.
3. Find people you trust and offload responsibilities to them. I am starting two companies at the same time! My “Top Startupâ€? and my real estate company (at the moment, there is just one property). In order to rent my Texas house out, I needed to find a property manager, a carpeting guy, insurance, paint, tenants etc… For the property manager, I went with my friend and Real-Estate agent, Nelson. I trust him and he is great at what he does. He’s not yet experienced in property management, but I know he will do right by me. For carpeting, I went with a company that is about 5 minutes away from my property where I liked the way the guy explained different carpet qualities and advised me to get the cheapest carpet for my rental. They were less expensive and more knowledgeable than Home Depot. I used the same insurance company I used for my homeowners insurance and they got me a rate that was comparable. For paint, I went to the closest place – Sherwin-Williams, also 5 minutes away. Tenants, I used craigslist. This saved me money (no fees) and it is a great way to find people to fill your place. By going with people and companies I am familiar with, I am able to get things done in half the time. It may not be bottom dollar, but how much is your time and energy worth? I will take this same mentality to our company. There is a point of diminishing returns with each incrementally “betterâ€? deal you find.

In addition to clever ways to reduce stress and increase productivity, there is also a larger idea that I know will help:

Your thoughts influence what happens to you.

This may be a tough one to swallow. The basic premise is that people who think bad things will happen to them HAVE bad things happen to them. People who think good things will happen to them HAVE good things happen to them. I have had a strong belief in the power of positive thinking for a while and I recently had this reaffirmed in the movie “The Secretâ€?. As a side note. I am writing this from First Class aboard a continental airlines flight. I didnt pay for first class, I was upgraded. Why was I upgraded over everyone else on the flight? It’s probably a combination of my frequent flyer status, the fact that I checked in online for my flight and the fact that I want to sit in first class and I believe I deserve the things I want.

I also believe I will be successful. I believe that my team will build a successful company and make my investors and my partners very wealthy. I know these things will happen because I believe them to be true. That statement will sound strange to the large number of skeptics in the world. It is true. It will happen. Keep watching this space to find out how.

Popularity: 7% [?]

The difference between being a successful entrepreneur and being homeless.

I try to run at least 3 times per week. Running is a great way for me to clear my head and evaluate my next plan of attack. On my running route through Eleanor Tinsley park, I generally pass around 3 - 5 homeless people. Being newly unemployed, I got to thinking about their situations and what led up to them being homeless. At some point, they too were without a job and had to make a decision on what to do next.

First of all, I was thinking about the similarities between myself and a homeless person:

1. We don’t know from where our next dollar will come
2. We’re required to use our wits to find food to eat
3. The only one responsible for our success or failure is ourself

Clearly there are many things that I share in common with the homeless men and women that I see on my run. I got to thinking if I would allow myself to be in that situation. As I ran, I thought more about myself and why I am different. In my mind, Im already a successful entrepreneur. I have a defined vision of the world I seek to create. Every minute of every day I take steps towards that vision.

I am aware that homelessness is largely caused by drug & alcohol abuse, mental illness, and sometimes pure bad luck. Here are some of the traits that prevent homelessness from happening to entrepreneurs.

1. You create your own luck. If you believe good things to happen to you, they will.
2. You are dedicated and committed to improving your life and the life of those around you. You help people with no expectation of compensation
3. You look for opportunities in the world around you and find ways to do things better
4. You are inspired and you inspire others. People are magnetically drawn to you and want to be involved in what you are doing
5. You see failure as another opportunity to learn something new. If something isnt working, you cut your losses and try again

You may not embody all of these traits. Take note, that the positive traits, I directed at “you”, the reader. Since you are at this site, you are already taking steps to give yourself the edge required to compete in todays global market place. Remember - being an entrepreneur is as much about fixing your flaws as it is about being born with the right stuff.

The only pre-requisite to success in my book is being able to evaluate your behavior in a detached manner and change the things keeping success out of your reach. Recognizing and compensating for your faults is the difference between being a successful entrepreneur and being homeless.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The first day

Im excited. Im newly unemployed (by choice), and Im starting a company with some fantastic, talented people.

Who I was yesterday:
My name is Colin. Im 24, I live in Houston, TX. I have a fantastic job in sales with great career prospects. I own my own house. I own a 2004 japanese sedan w/ low mileage.

Right now, Im closing the chapter on my old life, packing up my things and making the big move to Boston.

Who I will be in two weeks:
My name is Colin. Im 24. I live in Boston, MA. Im an entrepreneur starting a technology company. I lease out my house and rent an apartment. I own no car and take public transport. I don’t have steady income, but I will succeed.

This is my road to success.

Popularity: 4% [?]