Category: Making Meaning

My son is now an ‘entrepreneur’. That’s what you’re called when you don’t have a job. – Ted Turner

Strange comment coming from an iconic entrepreneur…

Thankfully, we are living in the post industrial age when success is not tied to a lifelong career with a corporation.  But the cliche is true: “Along with freedom comes great responsibility.”  Entrepreneurs embrace the fact that their destiny is in their hands and not dependent on the prescribed rules of the corporate career ladder.

In the startup stage, your boss is not the shareholders.  Your boss is the customer.  This changes as you grow and take on investors and other stakeholders but a least in the early days, you have the singular focus of satisfying one group.  This is the stage where value is created.  Embrace it and work maniacally toward getting note customers.

As for Mr. Turner’s opinion, you’ll work harder than any job you ever had enriching someone else.

Blogging Gazelle is publish daily by Shawn Carson

 

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“All animals except men know the principle business of life is to enjoy it.” – Samual Butler

Entrepreneurship is hard, but then so is anything else that changes the world.  That does’t mean you can’t or should’t enjoy the work.

You have to love making your meaning.  There will be days when the decisions are tough, like having to lay off good people or fire those who aren’t going to make it.  Your competitors may resort to unfair practices or litigation to protect their markets.  And the government eventually has a say in how thing go.

You have to love your customers because they won’t always love you.  If the meaning you make is significant, you will attract detractors whose job they believe is to warn the world about the bad things that will happen when you change the things.

The money isn’t enough.  Getting rich is a good goal but it won’t help you retain your humanity in the bad times.

Doing good is the thing.  Doing good brings joy and that’s the principle business.

Blogging Gazelle is publish daily by Shawn Carson

“If I didn’t make any money after 4 years, can I still say I had a hell of a ride?” – Steve Blank

The questions was asked of Steve Blank during one of his Lean Launchpad sessions, “How do we know if we should start the company?”  Hi reply was recorded in this video:

Steve’s Video

This quote was one of the replies to the question and it’s significant because it speaks to the inherent need for passion and belief beyond just the dream of getting rich.  Making meaning is about changing the world for good, even if it’s for a season and even if it only touches the lives of a few.

Blogging Gazelle is published daily by Shawn Carson