The Ups and Downs of an Entrepreneur

It is rare that I blog about how I feel as I don't want to be seen as a big softie or too in touch with my emotions in case my big tough guy persona is shattered in the eyes of my friends. The truth is, many of my friends know I am a little bit mad and cope as best I know living through the ups and downs of starting businesses.

The ups and downs are more than financial. In fact so far I have found the financial aspect of having a lot and having little in various seasons not much of a concern. The toughest part for me is the adrenaline and unpredictability of getting a company built. This is where I make a strong differentiation on building a product and building a company. Building a product is not the easiest thing to do (at least getting it right is not easy) but it fades in comparison to the complexity, unpredictability and expense of building a company. Products are not expensive to create (I am primarily talking about web-based technology) but companies are.

If someone goes out with the mindset to build a product they will end up with something very different than the person who goes out to build a company. A company is a band of people who love to work together and want to create something together that has value in the marketplace. They are a team of people who share the load and remain dedicated to solve a problem and are not just out to get rich. Gathering a company like this is the real joy of entrepreneurialism yet the toughest part. It is tough because it necessitates the entrepreneur to give more away every day. The original idea has to die and become something more. Unless a seed dies it cannot bear fruit.

Two articles were brought to my attention this week which got me thinking about all of this:
My wife said this one by CNN explains me in a nutshell.

Another friend (@biffmon) sent me this link from Tim Ferriss' blog which really stood out to me. I have experienced this cycle many times and have hit the crash and burn of Stage 4 which is no fun whatsoever but necessary for the seasoning of any entreprenuer. This time around I appreciated the detail of Stage 3 and relate to it with Stage 5 in my sight. I really think the advice on what to do in each stage is wise.

So, yes I am a little mad but committed and not resistant to the journey. It makes a man out of you...(unless you are a woman and I suppose it does the equivalent whatever that is)

Comments

[Mark Dowds]

Rick, what a pleasant message to wake up to on my birthday. It would appear that you seem to have some sort of idea of what we are doing. I think you are making some uninformed assumptions on how we run our business and work with our clients. I hope you take the time today to encourage someone.

[Rick]

brain park is bound to fail because you have put too much stock in your management team without a direct line to a market need AND you have no real core technology architecture team.

Perhaps you can reclaim some of those wasted salaries through sr&ed. Good luck.

[Paul Neto]

Great post. So true.

[Brett Jackosn]

softy...haha jk

good post