You need to be a little crazy?entrepreneurship builds character

Q: One of my favorite lines in your book is this one: ?Running a business will bring out the best and the worst of who you are? (p. 125). What did you find out about yourself during your time as an entrepreneur that relates to this quote?
A: It is easy to be a great leader when things are going well in your business. But you are truly tested as a leader and entrepreneur when things are failing. How do you pick yourself up and move on? You will truly find out what you are made of during this time as you stand at the edge of the business cliff realizing that the market does not care about you. Relay on your resilience, your passion and your support structure so you can fight another day.

You need to be a little crazy?Partners

Q: Barry, you seem to cast a pretty harsh light on business partnerships. Why are business partnerships so difficult?
A: Partnership is marriage without the sex since it takes excellent communication. Don’t choose a partner because you are lonely. Get a mentor then. Choose a partner that complements your skills. Have a legal agreement in place from the start to govern your relationship since getting into a partnership is much easier than getting out. I mediate a lot between partners that do not get along and it can be war 🙁

You need to be a little crazy?Family Business

Q: What should every entrepreneur know about how entrepreneurship will affect his/her family? What advise would you offer to the spouse of an entrepreneur?
A: Regardless of what we think, running a business involves your entire family and their support is key to your success. Running a business is like driving a car around mountain road banging into the guard rails. Guess what? Your spouse is in the back seat turn around and blind folded (knowing less where you are going then you do). Your business sleeps in bed with you every night! Entrepreneurship is tough on spouses and families. But if you can share the good and bad times with them, they will carry you far!
Many people believe that we need to separate out our personal and business lives. With all the tools available today, I think this is impossible. We need to learn to integrate them together with some safe havens in our lives where we do not do business at all.

You need to be a little crazy?Networking is not a verb

Q: Barry, you argue against something that many entrepreneurs are taught from day one, that is, the value of networking. Why do you think that networking, as it has become known in our business culture is basically a pointless activity?
A: Too many people think that networking is sticking out your right hand to shake another person’s hand and simultaneously giving them your business card. Immediately, they say who they are and what they want or are looking for. Real relationships are built over a long period of time. You need to build trust capital or relationship capital and that takes time and effort. Don’t try to trade on relationships too soon. Always ask what you can do for that person before asking for yourself. As Tim Sanders says. “be a lovecat” but connecting people of like interests together.

The Language of Business

Whenever I talk to entrepreneurs, serve as their consultant, or teach them in my classes I always have one consistent message. They have to become financially literate to improve their chances of success in their ventures. In fact, I believe this so strongly that I wrote a book on the topic! Bradley Feld has written a summary of some of what he believes are the key aspects of sound financial management for entrepreneurs. Most of what he writes is right on target.

Continue reading The Language of Business

Exiting your entrepreneurial venture: seller beware

There is an excellent article by an entrepreneur named Alan J. Smith over at Kauffman Foundation?s EntreWorld web site on what lessons he learned from exiting his own business. One cannot over emphasize the importance of planning ahead for an exit, being fully educated about the options and their consequences, and being fully engaged in the actual exit process.

Continue reading Exiting your entrepreneurial venture: seller beware